The Temple and Monastery of Harmony ((Sign-up RP - Not a Jump In))

[The Stars]

"Power can be abused. That's what everypony keeps telling me, but I see that it's the other way around; Power abuses us. The stronger one becomes, the easier it is to fall out of ones morals, easier to find a way to use their power that benefits themselves. Intelligence could also be said to have the same principles; Intelligence and insanity being two sides of the same coin. Knowledge, although a godsend, can override ones natural thinking, being drawn more and more to their own side of enlightenment... In the end, they've gained so much knowledge that they gave up other regular function in order to cope with their enlightenment... Part of me thinks that's what happened to the poor guy... Just part..." Price said, seeming to look away from everypony.
"W-What do you mean?" Polar asked, still not sure how to take all of this in.
"Well... Zinrax was perhaps an individual that became so smart that he just started to seem insane to the rest of us... And who knows; Maybe we appeared insane to him... And you know, maybe that insanity is why his own powers have caused no harm to others; his insanity kept his strength in check so as not to abuse it... He's managed to turn a deadly two sided coin into a lifesaving equilibrium within." Price said, thinking about it a little more. At this point, his face seemed to be in a bit of surprise, realization of what kind of stallion was their father.
"If he's our dad, does that make us crazy?" Black Star began to query.
Price chuckled as he rubbed his nephew's head. "Well to be fair, the entire family's a little bit crazy, but in a good and comforting way. Don't you worry, You and Polar are no different, Star."

[ArtVeigar]

More than half of the travel has passed by, and now the carriage was making it's turn east, staying at a safe distance from the Foal Moutain. They would have already arrived at their destination if they could go through the short way, but going over the Mountain would be too risky. But even they could still get a good look of the mountain from that height, nothing seemed to be wrong. - "I really wonder what's happening.... From here everything seems to be okay. To be honest, this whole situation is bugging me. Usually the Prncesses have at least some more information about the mission They assign us, but this time They didn't even tried to guess what the matter was. That's reeeeally unusual...." - Skylight seemed to ponder about it. Looking at Nightwalk, she knew he was also thinking, even if his expression was the same as always. - "But I think we can't figure it out no matter how much we think... We know too little... But at least, look! We will be arriving soon!" - From the distance, a forest could be seen. It looked like a normal forest, but if one pay enough attention, the tip of a few buildings could be seeing piercing the canopy made of the tree leaves.

[The Stars]

Price sighed as he sat back. "Yeah, and hey, maybe once we get Hallow Shades somepony will know what's up?" He took a deep breath and then let it all out. "You know, never thought I'd hear these words out of my mouth, but it feels so great to be back on a battlefield. Just finally a good chance to back away from being an Ambassador dealing with other politicians and getting back to doing what I originally sigh-... No... Not signed up for... Forced into for 26 years. After so long, you start thinking the place your purpose mattered most was on the lines of battle. The excitement... Thrills of the high stakes, the reward, the challenge. And kids, just remember this." He says, catching their attention. "Your sword is a tool of justice: Not to be used in vengeance, but to protect the weak. Rule of Nature states the strong prey on the weak.We're here to prevent that."
"Then... Wouldn't we be the strong and they become the weak?" Polar asks.
She'd gotten him pretty good with that sentence; would the role become reversed if we preyed on the strong? "Y-...Yeah... But..." He says, actually in a bit of a spot here. "The point is when the strong prey on the weak for the wrong reason... That's when our time to strike is right." He finished up with what the best reply he could mutter.

[ArtVeigar]

"We aren't the strong preying on the weak, because we don't fight to prey, we fight to protect." - Nightwalk spoke for the first time in the whole travel, what caused Skylight to look at him with an amused face.

"So you CAN speak! I was starting to get worried!" - She stared at him for a couple of seconds, but not even a single word was spoken anymore. - "Oh well, it's a start. But it's like he said. The difference between fighting to prey and fighting to protect is that we don't fight to cause suffering, we fight to stop it. I hope you kids always remember this." - Her voice was soft and gentle. But suddenly, she felt something cold falling on her muzzle. - "What?" - She raised a hoof to feel another snowflake fall over it. - "But we are in the middle of spring!" - Looking ahead she could see snow falling all around, and now closer to the forest, they could notice white spots over the tip of trees and buildings. - "Something is not right. Ready yourselfs, ponies, we will land soon!"

[The Stars]

(( @.@ Where the heck's Super Nova?))
Price held his hoof out and lets one of the flakes fall out on his hand. He can sense the cold, quickly evaporating on his warm body and looks up to the sky to see any abnormal weather cloud. "This is quite unusual..." Price says, muttering underneath his breath. He takes a hold of the suitcase next to him, ready to press the latch release in case anything went wrong. The foals looked around at the snow around them, watching as it fell down on their heads as it begins to snow more heavily.

[ArtVeigar]

((Sorry again for the delay. Finally having time to think and post.))

As they shortened the distance between them and foliage of the trees, Nightwalk's horn started to glow silver. Even with the bad visibility caused by the falling snow, he easily found some sort of antenna sticking through the leaves, and a beam of mana was shot towards it. The antenna started to glow with the same silver color, what suddenly spreaded through the nearby trees. It's leaves started to separate one from another, forming a gap over the foliage, big enough to fit the entire carrige, just like a natural gate leading the adventurers to their first stop.

As soon as they entered, the gap they came through closed, leaving behind almost all of the natural sunlight. Inside the town, everything seemed to be almost completely dark. Really thin rays of sunlight pierced through the foliage, and a few, spreaded out candles and lanterns could be seen here and there. There, under the foliage of the trees, the snow could barely come through, and just a few white spots could be seen around the places where the sunlight hit the soil.

The carriage landed and stopped in an open area right under the passage they went, as it was too big to fly inside the forest. As their eyes got used to the darkness, the adventurers could see themselfs over a platform, what seemed to be a landing place, behind a building mostly made of wood and stone bricks. It was tall and seemed to blend with the nearby trees, as if they were part of the structure. Between them and the building, two ponies were waiting the newcomers. The first was a blood-red male Night Pegasus wearing a black blazer overtop a red social shirt and a black tie. It also covered his cutie mark. His black mane was straight and slicked back, and his golden eyes really stand out from his color scheme, almost as if shining. The other was a cream colored female Earth Pony, with dark-gray mane and tail, both tied with a red ribbon in the base and another near the end, braided between both ribbons, what makes them look shorter than they really are. Her eyes were red with a dark makeup around them, and she was wearing a plain and black silk shirt, one black armband in each front leg, and a golden hooflet with a small ruby on each hoof. Her cutie mark was the head of a black dragon.

Skylight turned back to the party with a smile - "We are here! Let's get off this incredible nice carriage and see the town!" - With a hop, she got down from the carriage.

"Don't forget why we are here. We don't have time to lose." - Nightwalk also came down, but a lot less excited than his fellow captain.

The two ponies came closer, both smiling, even if some uneasy feelings could be noticed in the eyes of the mare. - "Welcome, adveturers and guards of the Sun, to the Hollow Shades!" - His voice sounded almost like a whisper. He turned at Nightwalk and the other Moon Guards - "And welcome back home, guards of the Moon! I'm happy to see you all back, even if you aren't staying long." - Turning back to the adventurers and Skylight, he started introducing himself - "I'm the mayor of this town, Vladmir Blackwood. It is a pleasure to have you all visiting our town!" - He smiled again. Then, he pointed to the mare accompainying him - "And this wonderful mare here is the one sent by our Princesses. Her name is Tian Long, and she will be your guide."

Blushing after the mayor's praise, she bowed deep to the adventruers and royal guards - "It is a pleasure to meet you all, and I hope we can get along well!" - Raising herself, she gave them a wide and friendly smile.

[The Stars]

"More than just some wonderful mare." Price says as he exits the carriage and steps up to Tian, not even bothering to get his cases first. "A strong-willed and strong bodied friend... Been about a year or two, hasn't it, Tian?" Price says, smiling, glad to see a familiar and friendly face. The young foals climbed out and looked up at Tian, climbing ontop of Price's back to get a better view. To them, compared to many other ponies they've seen and met, she seemed a bit different, yet not so much at the same time. They shrugged the thought, thinking they're just seeing things. They figured it'd be nice to at least wave at her instead of just giving her a blank stare. "Heh, and Range has had a couple of new additions to the family, and I'm supposed to be evaluating them on this mission... I tried to say they couldn't come, but they just...wouldn't... stop...asking!" Price emphasized his last few words, laughing along with his niece and nephew.

[SuperNovaNightmare]

((Sorry bout the overly long absence, wasn't getting any notifications from this for some reason. ))

Phoenix shook herself out of her daze. She wasn't sure why she was like that, but they had arrived, and thats what mattered more. Froth was bounding about, excited about seeing the sun.

"Something about him and snow......."


"Heya! Its nice to meet you Tian! I'm Phoenix, and this is....."

Froth cut her off, bouncing to her side.

"I'm Froth. Its a pleasure."

He stood there, beaming like he got an award.

"My, what got you so hyped up?"

He just shook his head, and continued to stand there. Phoenix rolled her eyes.

[ArtVeigar]

At seeing the changeling getting down from the carriage, Tian's smile grew as wide as it could. She would never forget the face of a good friend. - "Price?! It's been so long!" - Letting go of any formalities she had shown until then, she just pulled Price into a tight friendly hug. - "It's so good to see you again, my friend! How have you been?" - Letting go of him, she looked at the two foals with him. - "And these are Range Conjure's foals, you say? They are so adorable!" - Looking back to Price, she gave him a reassuring smile - "And you don't need to worry that much. It's actually good to have them with us. You would be surprised at how many problems can be solved by just the innocent mind of foal." - She ran a hoof over the mane of the filly. Then, she turned to the other two, one of them also being a young foal. - "And we have another adorable thing here!" - She also ran a hoof over Froth's mane, messing with it. - "This one will definetely be a fun trip! The company sure seems to be one of the best you can get! Oh, and there is still another one!" - She saw the last adventurer coming down from the carriage.

Arty joined the others feeling more excited than he thought he would be. It seems the cream colored mare just irradiated it all around. Without wavering his voice, like he usually does when talking to new people, he introduced himself. - "Hi, I'm Arty Brightshadow! It's nice to meet you!" - He gave a smile he had already forgotten he could. That was strange...

"Hello, Miss Long! It's good to see you again!" - Skylight raised a hoof toward Tian, who grabbed and shook it

"Indeed, it's nice too see you too, Captain Skylight! And you as well, Captain Nightwalk." - She turned to Nightwalk and gave him a smile.

"Yes, it is." - He nodded in agreement.

"He's still not a stallion of much words, but I'm sure he is happy." - Skylight's comment made Tian giggle.

"So, did you guys had a nice trip? Canterlot's Royal Transport is one of the best things in this world, I can asure it!"

[The Stars]

Price slightly blushed, although grunting as he playfully tries to escape. "Hah, aside from my new position as Ambassador, same old, same old." As he becomes released from her grip, he coughs a little bit and laughs. She really did give him one tight squeeze. "Heh, And don't be fooled by what little spells the kids know. What they make up for in lack of variety is made up with complete flexibility." He says, looking at Polar and then Black Star.
As Tian runs her hoof through Polar's mane, she chuckled and stood proudly as she replied, "You can count on us Ms. Tian Mam!" She says, saluting. Her brother simply looked towards her, lightly giggling but only returning a nod to Tian.
"The trip was quite visual to say the most!" Price says, going by to take out all of his luggage. "And hey, this pretty much helped me get to understand where I should go to meet up with you. We've got lots of catching up to do; So much has changed in two years that it shocks me even." He carries around everything upon his back as he returns back to Tian, strangely enough his overhaul seeming to not encumber him that much, or at least showing discomfort. "I'd like to mention a few other things but..." He says, looking around at everypony else. "Iiii might be wasting time trying to make small talk. Heh, I'll try to save it for another time." He smiles, quite friendly.

[SuperNovaNightmare]

Froth became quiet from the sudden contact. Phoenix just laughed.

"Ah don't mind him, he shy around strangers."

Froth nudged her, his way of saying "stop embarrassing me." She went around and got their luggage. Froth sat down and began condensing what snow was around him into a sphere. She watched him as he made short work of the snow.

"Seems like he does that quicker and quicker every time."

[ArtVeigar]

"Ambassador? Wow, congratulations! I always knew you're destined to great things." - She turned to the moutain's direction, even if it couldn't be seen from there. - "The way up the mountain isn't really short, so we will have time to catch up, don't worry." - Tian turned back to him with a smile.

"Yes, so let's go to what matters." - With his usual rispid and could voice, Nightwalk interrupted the ponies conversation. - "Mayor Blackwood and miss Tian, please report what you have discovered so far."

Vladmir Blackwood shook his head in a negative sign - "I'm sorry, but I am of no help in this matter. Besides the obvious out-of-date snow, I don't know anything. I actually wouldn't even bother about it if it wasn't linked to what might be happening at the Monastery. Most of us actually like the could air." - He said in a carefree way, as if it really wasn't much his problem.

"But thanks to the researchers you lend me, we could confirm out that this snow really isn't natural, and is probably a side effect of what is happening up there. It is really fortunate that we have someone with knowledge in ice magic." - She looked at Froth as he seemed to play with the snow around. - "But from down here we couldn't figure out what is really causing it. We need to go up." - She motioned to the direction she had looked before, the way they had to go.

"But before that, are you all ready? Have you packed your sweaters? Because if you need anything, I'm sure you can find it in this town." - The mayor said with proud in his whispering voice.

Arty felt unconfortable for being the only one without a luggage, and without any bits at all. But before he could gather the courage to say anything, he heard the capitain of the Moon Royal Guard.

"And you don't need to worry about necessary expenses. Everything will be covered by the Princesses." - His voice and expression were the same, but Skylight smiled at the pony's statement. She walked near him and whispered so that only he could listen.

"That wasn't really in the script, you know."

"I'm sure the Princesses won't mind. Either way, I'll take responsability. It is important for our adventurers to have everything they need, for the sake of the mission." - He replied, speaking lower but not trying to avoid being heard.

"For the sake of the mission, heh? Yea, I'm sure it's it" - Still smiling, she turned to the party. - "So, it's up to you. What will you do?"

[The Stars]

"Well, I think me and the foals have everything we'll be needing. Range suuuuure did load us up quite a bit." He says, setting the two large cases down as they make a metallic clinking noises. "I'm just about ready to go up there any time if you all are, just going to go over a few things first..."He looks through his overstuffed right side of his saddlebag and pulls out one large, hard, thin leather coat to wrap around himself. He then pulls out a few scarves and cloth goodies for Polar and Star, seeming to be tailored specifically for their size. "Cold enough down here, Kids. Higher we go up, it gets even colder, also you might start to feel a little light headed. Don't worry about it too much, but if it becomes serious, tell me and I'll get you down as soon as I can, alright?" He asks the foals. They respond back with a nod as they hastily put on their winter attire.

"If anypony needs medical supplies, I have about 5 Life regenerative potions, along with 2 separable small bottles filled with a concentration of smelling salts. Quick warning before you actually do ask me for some: It's not the ammonia based formula, rather made with lavender instead, but that doesn't mean it's not as strong... Believe me when I say: You don't wanna smell too much of it." Price says, laughing. "But anyways, I assume everypony else came prepared for whatever's causing the problem?"

[SuperNovaNightmare]

Both Phoenix and Froth nodded.

"Yup! Even though i'm as warm as fire, I still packed myself some covering."

Froth was still concentrating on the ball of snow, now slowly becoming ice.

"And even though I don't look it, I can live in the snow. I don't really like warm or hot so....."

Phoenix nodded.

"Very true. He's gone and played in a raging blizzard, and seems to be in a better state of health than before! When it gets to warm for him though, he gets sick rather quickly. Not sure why."

[ArtVeigar]

Arty looked even more embarassed for being the only one who haven't packed any warm clothes. Of course, he would if he had any. And the cold was starting to affect him, as he felt a chill going down his body. But he didn't want to delay everyone. But the mountain would be too could for him to climb naked.

While he were still figthing himself mentally, Skylight decided for himself, as she remembered he was the only one who didn't have any luggage at all. - "So, I guess mister Brightshadow is the only one who will need a sweater and a scarf. No problem! Slash, could you do me a favor and get some clothes for our adventurer?" - As she motioned toward a dark gray pegasus with red mane and tail, the stallion presented himself and saluted his capitain.

"Yes sir!" - The guard went flying toward the town.

"But don't come back here! Meet us at the mountain's foot!" - She said out loud, while the guard was still in sight. Something that didn't last long - "He is one of our fastest, and he has been here before. He must be ready in a blink of an eye." - As she said, she winked at Arty, who blushed, still embaressed of his situation.

"Thank you..." - He still managed to smile.

"Well, so I think we can get moving! I'm really excited at getting back up there, even in a situation like this. I was planning to stay outside for at least five years before coming back, but it seems plans have changed. I'm really curious about how they are holding up right there..." - Tian started to get side tracked in her own thoughts.

"If you all can follow me, the mountain is this way." - Said Vladmir, taking the lead. - "As the mayor of this town, it's my duty to lead the Princesses' adventurers and Royal Guard to your destiny." - He started walking toward the building they were behind.

"Let's go!" - Overly excited, Skylight lifted herself and did a loop in the air, before following Vladmir. Nightwalk sighed and Tian giggled at the white pegasus before also following, with Arty going right behind, with just a smile.

[The Stars]

Price nods and follows the Mayor along with his niece and nephew. "Don't worry so much, Tian. I'm sure they'll hold their ground till we can get there. Besides, I just know these two youngsters are just waiting to get a closer look at adventuring." Price says, looking back. Polar nods excitedly and Star just nods a little bit as they both climb up on top of his back and sits there for the duration of the walk up the mountain. "Well, might wanna get comfortable, you two. No doubt we're gonna get into a whole lot before this is all over."

[GalvinRoe]

 Fei was rather busy observing his right-front hoof, He'd stepped on something and splintered the outer cuffs, lost his horse-shoe too. That was going to cost him in-town but he wasn't willing to spend the bits he'd saved up and was procrastinating outside the town, not as if he hadn't been in town earlier but he'd only done some preliminary begging and reciting. The overall charity of the town seemed to be rather low, at least for a traveling poet in mud splattered clothes.

Rubbing his splintered hoof in the mud before him, he sighed. He would be too hungry to go on at this point, which meant he'd NEED to pay if no-pony was willing to spare some food and although Fei wasn't poor, he didn't like spending his saved money, there was always the chance the next town wouldn't be anymore hospitable than this one and if he didn't have enough to buy paper and ink . . . well if that ever happened he might as well be dead. Poetry was his life and full purpose, without it, well that wasn't even worth considering.

Rubbing off the excess mud onto the patch of damp moss besides him, he leaned further back against his rock looking up at the sky, barely visible between the tree branches he'd taken refuge under. At least he was warm! The think swan feather blanket he wrapped around himself had taken years to make, taking every feather he ever found and weaving it into the down blanket he wrapped around himself. "Hnn, what's to happen now?" He spoke to the sky, and she did not answer. So he nodded and allowed himself a small nap to calm the nerves.

[ArtVeigar]

Going inside the building that seemed to be almost like a tower of a castle, they could see a couple ponies wandering by carrying piles of papers and files. The hall was wide and round, with a couple of doors at each side and two staircases, one at each side, leading to the next floor. Like outside, it was darker than most would expect. Paintings of unkown Night Ponies were hanging in the wall, and the ceiling was decorated with a moisaic of a solar eclipse. At the side, next to the main entrance, there was also a counter, where a gray female Night Earth Pony with yellow mane and wearing glasses was standing behind.

"This is the town hall. Beautiful, isn't it?" - He motioned his hoof toward the paintings and mosaic. - "Those were the past mayors and other ponies important to this town and the Night Pony's race in general. After the corruption of our loved Moon Princess, Luna, and her subsequent banishment, the fear of the ponies agains the beings of the night grew exponentially. We were also banished from society, and were forced to find a far away place to build our society." - A hint of sorrow and sadness could be noticed in the mayor's voice. - "It was thanks to them, and to the monks at the monastery, who have never thought bad of us even after the war, that we found and built this town, so we could live happily and peacefully. Even today, some of the prejudice from the past still lingers." - He looked back at Price - "I think a Changeling probably understand how we feel. We surely share some historically similarities in this matter."

Skylight, Tian and Arty listened silently to the story, and Nightwalk only nodded.

********

In the forest, the tall and dark trees blocked most of the sunlight, making the inside really dark. Taking advantage of this darkness, different types of fungus could be found over the trunk and near the base of the trees. There were lots of different types of mushrooms, some edible, but some poisonous. The animals that lived there also had darker coat, as stealth helped to protect against predators or not to be noticed by prey.
The forest outside the town was a little brighter, as the trees were slightly more apart from each other than where the town was built. Even if the Night Ponies are usually quiet in their daily lifes, outside of the town was even quieter, and it was easy to listen to the birds, insects and other small animals. It was the natural definition of peace. Until the sound of something big and fast flying thorugh the foliage breaked the silence.
The dark gray pegasus. holding a medium size bag, came from the forest and landed some distance away from where Fei was lying. He looked to the sides, and then sighed. - "I think I was too fast... Hopefully they won't take long to get here." - He said to himself, still not noticing the pony.

[The Stars]

Price sighs and nods as he steps up towards the paintings. "... There's a lot of things our race isn't really proud of... Yeah... Although, it still pains me a bit to know we still have to fight the ones who chose to stay by Chrysalis's side." He says. "I... I promised her everything: A clean slate, a chance to redo all the things we wronged and live in peace. Yet... She and her followers refused... Among them my own father stayed by her side." Price's voice fell into a melancholy tone.

I could never understand why. I'm not sure I'll ever find out why, but the cycle of animosity will still continue on more and more." Price says, touching the walls that framed the paintings. "Although... You all have it rougher, by the seems. Still prejudice even though the misunderstanding of the Princess Luna has been over and done. It makes me wonder if we'll ever get out of the hole we're in if equines will still Preconceive against their own kind for so long even after all misunderstanding has long passed..." Price looks up to the paintings again and sighs. "It's a happy, yet sad world we live in. Gilded with friendship in the hopes it would wash over into a gold... Though... I suppose the idea isn't really too far fetched when ya think about it." Price smiles, his voice lifting as he backed away from the paintings. "I've gotten to know a handful of ponies who've proven to me, not to mention the 6 elements."

[GalvinRoe]

"I could agree that you were 'too fast' but that implies that one can be too anything. Do you really think the universe turns without a balance to keep every action in check and every scenario properly categorized, not to say in any 'sensible' and, to our minds 'reasonable' order but then perhaps one day we could comprehend it. " Fei didn't even both to sit-up, it WAS cold and he was quite comfortable in his soft down blanket.

"Where empty skies greet the moon
I find myself lost
But not of path or road with boon
Instead I cannot find my sense of life

And so I sit here warm and fulfilled
For life grants me the kindest gifts
She takes all things I might have spilled
Like opportunity or chance

In this void that might have been
Is replaced a constant way
And this fair path I have but seen
  Once in the waking world."

Fei let out a great sigh, and plumes of hot breath became visible in the dim light. "I'd offer you a blanket friend, but you look quite warm from that exertion there. So I shall offer you a chance to rest and take reprieve and then I shall offer you a blanket. But nay, you've stated you were 'too quick' or rather 'too fast' and that implies that you have something you are doing and probably of some import, so I shall let you be. The woods are hardly a welcoming place for a lone pony, though I find it's touch maternal and loving, I believe those ill prepared would find it otherwise." And Fei rolled into his blanket further, letting his sparkling eyes trace this other pony's movements as he looked around for the speaker.