Chapter 1
The throne room at Canterlot's castle was empty, yet bright, light filtering in to the high-ceiling room where the thrones of the Princesses sat. Princess Luna, normally preparing for her nightly delve into the bad dreams of her troubled subjects, stood near one of the windows, letting the soft rays warm her up, as she felt cold from something troubling her. Her two loyal guards gave each other concerned looks, but stood in silence, hoping that their leader was going to be fine.
“Yet more loose ends crop up,” she sighed, tilting her head up, “do you suppose I will ever truly be free?”
Silence would likely further her pain, but the guards Jools and Jops didn't see it as an opportunity to answer. The brothers stood there like rocks, the white pegasus ponies having normally tended to Celestia had no idea how they could help her sister with her problems.
Eventually though, one of the brothers knew they'd have to say something to the distraught Princess Luna. They had been informed that morning by the royal about her new predicament, and to keep it a safe secret from her sister, which would not be easy.
Jools decided to be the first to speak, and grunted in his masculine voice, “Well my lady, you're doing the right thing by having something done about the situation at hoof.”
“I appreciate your kind words,” she answered glumly.
There was a knock on the massive doors to the throne room, and Princess Luna called out for the visitor to enter. The throne room doors opened, and escorted in by two gray unicorn stallions was Techorse, a green earth pony stallion with brown, messy mane hair, blue eyes, and his cutie mark of three yellow checkmarks stacked like chevrons, which sometimes disguised his profession as an inventor. On his back was a metallic saddle, his favorite invention way ahead of its time, a robotic toolkit which concealed his personal gadgets dubbed the “Battle Saddle”.
“Techorse, you're here,” said Luna, smiling as she turned away from the window, “thank you for coming on such short notice.”
Over the past year or so, Techorse had been introduced to friendship by Twilight Sparkle and her friends after having a rough start in Equestria. The young inventor had also developed a good relationship with the Princesses, and was eager to help them whenever he could.
“Of course your Majesty,” answered Techorse, a smile on his face, “you wanted to see me and bring a few of my friends?”
“Yes, as you know, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are out on a diplomatic mission to Saddle Arabia,” confirmed the Princess, nodding, “so I hoped you would be available to take on this task for me.”
Earlier that morning, Techorse had been checking his mail at his small fortress built on the edge of Ponyville, when he saw the red royal wax seal over a letter addressed to him. The instructions from Princess Luna were to gather some friends and meet at Canterlot Castle to discuss an important task she had for him.
“Of course, your friends don't seem to be with you,” she said, looking behind him just to make sure they weren't in the doorway, “were they let in by the guards?”
“They weren't permitted past the tea room,” sighed Techorse, “Do you think you can come downstairs and explain to us what's wrong? Your letter made it seem pretty dire.”
“Absolutely,” answered Princess Luna, “Jools, Jops, you are dismissed.”
The two guards nodded and left the throne room with them, with Luna and Techorse proceeding down a set of marble stairs down into the main area of the castle, where they turned left to enter the tea lounge. The room was open, with many bay windows letting in light, a fine wooden table draped in white tablecloth sat in the middle, where servants had brought tea and fresh cookies for Techorse's friends. Two were seated at the end near the snacks, making the table seem rather unnecessarily large.
One was a pegasus with a graphite coat and a black mane with electric blue stripes running throughout, his brown eyes timid, yet bright with energy. His cutie mark, a black colored heart with a white dove over it, declared his role as an ambassador. The other was a very light gray unicorn with a fluffy and messy black mane and tail, a single white stripe running throughout, and a cutie mark of a flaming note on a set of piano keys.
“Oh wow, never met either of the Princesses before in my life,” said the unicorn, getting up from his seat and walking over to Princess Luna, “It's an honor to meet ya! Name's Flaming Ivory.”
Despite his rough, city-like talk, Flaming proved himself to be a bit traditional as he took Princess Luna's hoof in his and kissed her metal slipper gently before returning her leg to the ground.
“Flaming Ivory, I suppose you are a musician,” she said, looking him over, reminding her of a servant she once cherished so long ago.
“Piano, of course,” he smirked, “what else is there?”
Princess Luna took amusement at the comment, then addressed the pegasus, “I've already met you, Shadow Breeze. I hope your training as a diplomat for Equestria is going well!”
“I'm so close to my final exam,” he answered eagerly, flapping his wings and hovering in the air in front of the alicorn, “your sister should have my assignment ready soon... I hope.”
He landed in front of her and bowed gently before standing back up.
“Techorse, Celestia and I are happy you've made other friends besides the girls,” said Princess Luna, turning and addressing all three of the stallions with that bit of worry still stuck on her face, “and now that you're all here and the girls are out, I am counting on you to help us in her place.”
“Just say the words, Princess!” said Flaming Ivory confidently and highly informally.
Princess Luna's horn glowed a soft light blue color, and an image of a silver chalice appeared out of thin air in front of the stallions. The silver cup with a crescent logo on the front and sapphire gems dotting its stem rotated slowly so they could get a good look.
“This is my clearest memory of my chalice,” explained the Princess, “my favorite cup since ancient Equestrian times. A thousand years ago I took a last drink from it before being banished to the moon. Now that I've returned, I want to reclaim the chalice and keep it here in Canterlot.”
“Oh cool, a treasure hunt,” said Shadow Breeze, smiling, “I guess it means a lot to you!”
Princess Luna gained a worried expression and continued, “This is more than just a treasure to me. While I'm very ashamed to admit it, this chalice was forged by unicorns loyal to me when I allowed that demon to transform me into Nightmare Moon.”
The three stallions' ears dropped in surprise, tilting back in worry.
“Uh oh... it's cursed?” asked Techorse, hoping that wasn't the case.
“It is not cursed in the traditional sense of the term,” Luna admitted, “it was forged from a magic sensitive silver, in tune with the light of the moon I protect. Whenever the chalice is exposed to the light of the moon, the cup corrupts any magical liquid poured into it. Thus, one with evil intent can measure the ingredients of a potion during the full moon using this chalice, and create evil brews with terrible power!”
“So the chalice corrupts potions only when exposed to moonlight?” said Techorse, simplifying the explanation.
She confirmed his answer, “Yes, and while many artifacts created by my followers were destroyed, the condition of requiring moonlight helped it to avoid destruction, or so it would seem. It has recently turned up in a collection, and I need it back to prevent it from falling into the wrong hooves.”
“So what's the matter?” asked Flaming Ivory, raising an eyebrow, “Can't you just go to the chump with this cup and demand it back?”
Princess Luna didn't appreciate his attitude and growled back, “The chalice is in the possession of the Fletcher family, a wealthy griffon household that live in the city of Stargazer's Peak. They have refused to give back the chalice on account of its value, given that it's a keepsake of my past mistakes, and have refused to see me. I need a diplomatic team to trade for it.”
“That sounds like a job for Shadow here,” said Techorse happily, patting his friend on the back.
“Exactly, but I wanted you to lead the expedition Techorse, as the griffons in Stargazer’s Peak have heard of your cooking appliance business and frequently use your ovens meant for use in the mountains,” the princess continued, “your inventions have given you a bit of a name there.”
“Among other things I'm sure,” joked Flaming Ivory, aware of Techorse's adventures.
Princess Luna ignored the humor, “I have an offer for twenty five thousands bits for the chalice on a scroll. Please take it to the duke and duchess of the Peak and offer to trade the money for the chalice. Griffons will usually accept a generous offer such as that.”
“Gladly, and thanks for this assignment,” said Techorse, “I was getting a bit bored with Twilight being out for so long.”
“Aren't you short a team member?” asked the Princess, looking over the stallions, “I do believe you responded to the message I sent saying there would be four of you on this journey.”
“Oh, he had some things he said he needed to take care of with family,” answered Techorse, scuffing his right hoof on the ground, “we'll pick him up on the way to the train station to head out east for Altitude’s peak.”
“Good,” she said, smiling, “and once again, thank you so much for agreeing to help. If this chalice were to get out, there's no telling what kinds of dark magic might happen.”
“D... dark magic?” gasped Shadow Breeze, terrified of the thought.
“Come on, Shadow,” assured Flaming Ivory, “we're just gonna go get the cup, and there won't be any dark magic sailing around, ok?”
“Ok,” answered the timid pegasus, perking up.
Techorse turned to them and said with a smile, “This is going to be fun. Let's head for the train station and wait for our fourth pony.”
“Good luck Techorse,” said Princess Luna, “and thank you.”
“It's an honor,” he assured her, before heading out with his two friends at his sides.
The Princess thought as she watched them leave, “I hope they can retrieve that accursed cup. I only told them the least of what it can do...”