Steeping out of the train, Pharynx doesn't waste time taking in the winter view before activating his earpiece. "Team Two reporting, we just exited at the train station, 20 miles away from the Crystal Empire'' He stared at the road ahead, which was currently overtaken by overgrown giant, thorny vines choking the train tracks, making it impossible for them to advance any further.
"The tracks are compromised by giant thorny vines, making it impossible for the train to advance. We will have to continue on foot from this point on"
"Understood. Keep me posted on anything else you find, and be on alert. According to Penny, the flora was created to contain the spirit of chaos, so you better assume the area would be crawling with all sorts of traps," Sparrow warned him before ending the call.
With a sigh, Pharynx looked behind him to see how Princess Cadence and Penny were still arguing, just like they had been doing since before the train had to make an emergency stop.
"See? What did I tell you?" Penny made her point by putting a hoof on one of the overgrown vines that finally withered and crumbled under its weight before turning to dust from her efforts to cancel the magic of its creation. "Just one single vine took me what? Five minutes to cancel, and there are 20 MILES worth of those straight ahead!" She complained, pointing at the numerous thorny vines blocking the way. "Even if I knew what I was doing, which it seems that I need to keep reminding you, I don't! Removing all those weeds will take months, even if I don't sleep or eat."
"And I keep telling you, half of her magic or not, this is still your doing, and between the two of you, you manage to take the entire world hostage. For pony's sake, you are holding the power of the tree of existence in your horn! Are you completely sure you can't do more than this?" Cadence gestured to the pile of dust, showing how she was equally irritated by this delay.
"Yes, again, these plants feed on chaos! Of course, it is as unpredictable as its target. I highly doubt Desi, and I could get rid of it that easily, even at full power."
"You made them!" They were inching closer to one another as Fluttershy remained in the middle, trying to keep things peaceful. "Ah, what do you say if we all took one tiny second to breathe?" She suggested, but the two mares didn't seem to be listening. "Ah, girls?"
With a sigh, Pharynx lowered his head, closed his eyes, and gave it a shake before marching to the arguing mares and roughly separating the two. "Ok, I had enough of your whining!"
"Hey!" They complained simultaneously, but the changeling prince was done listening to them at this point.
"No! You are going to listen to me, and you are going to listen now! I'm a changeling. I'm in tune with the emotional spectrum, so much so that I can taste emotions. Do you know what resentment and hostility taste like? Think of a lemon dipped in a glass full of tabasco and a heaping spoonful of dirt. DOES THAT SOUND TASTY TO YOU?!" He yelled at them, making them flinch and stand back. "Yeah, and I have been biting the blade for hours now, giving you ponies time to make up and do some song and dance number or whatever in Tartarus you do to end a fight."
He mentioned moving around his frontal legs.
"Ah, that is not exactly what we do," Fluttershy voiced her opinion.
"Whatever! The point is, I had enough of you two complaining while we are stuck here freezing our flanks off" Once he was done venting, the Prince took a deep breath before continuing and looking at them, his expression shifting to one of pity. "Look, I get it, Cadence, I do. You are worried sick for your hive, mate, and larva after some crazy stalker..."
"Hey!" Penny complained but stopped once Pharynx glared at her.
"Some crazy stalker!" He reiterated, not looking at Penny, "Turned your home into a garden, tried to take your crown, and put your citizens at risk, not to mention what she did to the entire world. Being angry..."
"I'm not angry" Cadence tried to defend herself, but the same happened.
"Being angry!" He did the same with Cadence. "It is more than understandable, but PLEASE, take one minute to stand back and remember how she," He pointed at Penny, "Just got unlimited god-like powers just a couple of days ago. Or what? Were you able to move the moon the second you got your horn?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow, and Cadence couldn't do much but look down in shame
"No"
"That's what I thought!"
"Yeah, I'm doing the best I can here. Cut me some slack, would you?" Penny add
"As for you!" The changeling then turns to her, "I get your frustration. Having to have someone you don't exactly like as your boss isn't exactly thrilling."
"Ah yeah, Chry..." Fluttershy nodded but stopped when the changeling prince continued, making her blink in confusion.
"But Thorax isn't all that bad, and his heart is in the right place, and so is Cadence's, so PLEASE, could you try to be more patient with her? If she keeps pushing you, I will call her out, but you must also pull your weight. Maybe she can think of something to help you out."
Penny looked down and grumbled, "I suppose."
"Good. With that settled, we will have to walk the rest of the way and be on the lookout for any other issues. So please, try to get along, stop fighting with one another and do your bucking jobs, or I swear I will put you in a time-out cocoon, turn this train around and take you back to Las Pegasus this instant!"
The mares remain quiet for a moment. "She started it," Penny finally replied, looking at Cadence.
"I certainly did not!"
"I don't care! Act your age, for Chrysalis' sake! Lives depend on us. We can't waste time fighting with each other now!" He huffed in anger. "Now, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to take my platoon, scout ahead, and give you mares time to cool down and do whatever you need to do, yell, vent, dance, sing, or whatever else you need to do to hash out a truce and work together.
Once you are done with that and feel like doing something productive, come up and join me so we can fix the Crystal Empire." He turned around and started marching away, with his guards quickly falling into formation beside him. "I swear, what did my brother see in these ponies and their antics? The queen was bad, but she at least knew how to focus on a task." He muttered to himself until he was out of earshot, leaving the three mares in silence, with two looking down in shame.
Fluttershy was looking at both of them, unsure what to say, opening and closing her mouth when she couldn't think of a rebuttal, making things even more awkward when they turned to her to see if she had something else to say.
"Ah...Pharynx!" She called for him and rushed to his side before walking next to him with a worried tune, "Don't you think that was a tiny bit much?"
"No," He replied immediately before looking at her. "Trust me, Fluttershy, you give them your hoof, and they will chew your wing. I get that you don't exactly like it, but there are times when some tough love is needed."
"No, I understand" She nodded once as she looked back in pity, remembering an event when she was in that position. "I don't like it, but I understand. I think, do you think this was the time for that?"
He sighed and stopped to look at her. "Normally, I would let them figure things out at their own pace. Who am I to judge or give advice? I'm not a psychologist. But I meant what I said: Fluttershy, many lives depend on us. There is a time and place to address their personal issues, and the middle of a crisis is not the time. So trust me, at the very least, I have faith that Cadence knows that as a princess and will try to come up with a compromise, right now the best we can do is give those two mares time to vent and, at the very least, come to some kind of truce."
The pegasus smiled and nodded at the Prince's logic. "You are surprisingly good at this Pharynx. And you were right, others are counting on us, and while mean, I suppose what you said needed to be said."
Pharynx shrugged at the compliment. "I'm a changeling. Understanding other's psyches to a degree... comes with the territory. Now come, let's see if we can find some animal that may tell us what we are dealing with here." They resumed their task, letting the other mares resolve their issues.
The bone-deep fridged wind was the only sound, as neither princess nor the writer wanted to start this particular conversation.
With a sigh, Penny finally decided to break the silence and speak first, "I'm sorry, ok?" She began, turning to Cadence.
"Huh?" The princess looked at her, confused by the admission.
"For what happened to Blueblood, for...what I did here...for...well, for everything." She looked down in shame, "I'm not a monster. I know what I did was wrong. Deep inside, I think I...I always k-k-knew, but I just kept ignoring it. I was so in love with him. I still am, but I now know that what I did was wrong, and for that. I'm sorry."
Cadence, for her part, remained quiet, observing how the mare was still looking at the ground. "Penny, what you did, and the reasons you did it. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if you could call it love."
That irked Penny as she glared back, but Cadence stopped her by lifting a hoof before she could gather a full head of steam to retort. "Let me explain. Yes, you were passionate about it and focused on wanting to make a lasting relationship. But at the end of the day, I'm not sure you ever were in love with my cousin."
"I will not dignify that with a response." Penny replied coldly as Cadence got closer while the unicorns turned back to the princess.
"Don't get me wrong. It's ok to be passionate about something or towards someone. but you have to respect boundaries and not go overboard!" She quickly added as Penny looked over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "But please, at this point, you need to accept the reality of things, Penny. You fell in love... with a concept rather than a living being. And that is a sad tale that would only lead to heartbreak, no matter how hard you try to make it work."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you never loved Blueblood, the Prince. You became obsessed with being with THE Prince and convinced yourself that the only way to obtain that was to become what said Prince desired."
"Yes, I understand that. Blueblood already told me." She snapped back before looking down. "I only focused on him rather than showing him the real me." She stared at her reflection in a nearby icicle. By then, Cadence was standing beside her.
"True, but that is only half the lesson here."
"Huh?" Now intrigued, Penny looked at the princess, who smiled.
"Don't get me wrong, Penny, this is a common mistake every filly makes growing up. The truth is that when they say. "Find prince charming" they don't mean finding a prince. It is a concept." She looked at her and tapped at her heart. "It's about finding YOUR prince charming, your special someone that makes you feel like a princess, and in that regard, any pony can be that special prince you crave so much."
"But that is what I keep telling you. I found him! And it's Blueblood, I know it. He is the pony of my dreams."
"Is it now? Or are you confusing love with lust?" Cadence asked for clarification with a raised eyebrow. "Sure, you know him, you know what he likes, you know what he is attracted to, but do you know what he enjoys as a hobby? Have you two had one conversation where there was no flirting, no innuendoes, no lingering hugs, and nothing romantic? Just two ponies chatting?"
"Yes, there was, there was that time..."
"You and Pinkie Pie organizing a party doesn't count. That was Pinkie forcing you into that situation" Cadence shook her head and smiled calmly at her. "And you hated every second of it, didn't you?"
"Well, I...she was getting in my way! If only she tried to..."
"To what? Make the situation romantic somewhat?"
"...Yes," She finally admitted, and Cadence nodded while putting a wing on Penny's back.
"This might sound contradictory, but a relationship can't survive on romance alone."
"What?!" Penny asked flatly, staring at Cadence like she sprouted a second head, making Cadence laugh and nod.
"I'm serious, love or at least the one you share with your special somepony goes beyond what you understand of romance. It is about embracing and devoting yourself to your partner and vice versa, both the good and bad of them. It finding the flaws, those hidden layers no one can see, and meets them with acceptance, trust, and security. Shining and I can be just in the same room, tranquil, reading separate things, and be perfectly fine with that. As the old saying goes, you like his or her face but love his or her morning breath."
"EEEYuu! That is just disgusting!" Penny recoiled at the implication causing Cadence to laugh again
"That Penny is love. It's messy, confusing, unpredictable, and, yes, even, at times, disgusting. It's hard to explain, but I can no longer sleep without hearing my sweet Shining's snores. I bet that is a sentiment your parents shared and showed you firsthand, didn't they?"
"I..." Penny wanted to deny it, but the more she thought about it, the more she recalled those tiny details she seemed to have forgotten from her childhood. Their bickering, their arguments, their harmless jokes about their appearance. Even the occasional jab they tossed at one another "...oh dear Celestia, you are right, how didn't I notice?"
"Because you were a child. Children don't see the whole picture, Penny. They only see the core of the thing, which is how your parents love each other a lot. Not despite their flaws but rather BECAUSE of them. When you find a partner that accepts you like that and you accept them for it, then THAT, that right there is finding your Prince charming."
"I...I'm so confused." Penny had to hold her forehead. "All this time, I thought I knew everything about love and desire. I never thought it possible to have this many layers of subtlety."
"You know, I could teach you if you give me a chance."
Penny looked at the princess with surprise for the second time as Cadence returned her stare with a broad smile. "I have been thinking about finding an apprentice for a while now. You can easily say no. But think about it. I'm sure you could make something simply spectacular with my guidance."
Penny chuckles a little "Love and Desire working together as teacher and student? What would that make?"
"Love and desire combined? Wouldn't that be…?" Cadence started to think about the concept before they both replied at the same time, "Passion" They both arrived at the same conclusion as Penny nodded and shared a small chuckle at their timing.
"I appreciate the offer, princess, and in truth, now I'm more intrigued by what you could teach me about love. Just let me think about it." Penny answered before turning to march back to where Pharynx, Fluttershy, and the soldiers stood on guard, followed by the two changelings that stayed behind to guard the two ponies.
"That is all I ask of you." Cadence nodded and walked beside them as they continued marching until they reached the top of a small hill, where they were surprised by the sight before and below them.
Down the hill were their companions who gathered at the entrance of what could only be described as a four seasons plane, where the four seasons seemed to collide and merge in bizarre combinations like bushes devoid of any leaves like they were in the middle of winter yet they bore fruit ready to be harvested at the ends of their branches. Towering trees held spring flowers at their tops while leaves hung in beautiful fall hues, and a thick layer of grass spread to the horizon coated with a precise white coloring, like a bizarre grass-snow field.
All that plus the same overgrown vines twisted everywhere, with barely enough space for the group to walk through.
"What in Tartarus happened here?" Cadence asked once the group reunited.
"Ah, good, you two didn't take long then" Pharynx nodded, looking at the mares and smiling because he could no longer detect any resentment in the two. "Does this mean we can now focus on the mission?"
"We can," Cadence nodded once. "And thanks, Pharynx. Penny and I needed to have a heart-to-heart."
"Indeed, I don't want to admit it, but both of us had plenty that we didn't know we were holding back."
"Ok, ok, no need to get mushy either." Pharynx complained, raising his hooves in a warding gesture. "Let's focus on the backward landscape, shall we?" He points at the bizarre plane.
"It's the delirious seed we released." Penny explained, tapping some grass. Closing her eyes, she ignited her horn, and soon the strange plant vanished, returning to simple snow. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and smiled in pride at her work. "Ok, I have good news and some potential bad news."
"What is the bad news? Fluttershy asked. "I found a few birds earlier and tried to speak with them, but they kept ignoring me. Are we in danger of something?"
"Hmm, yes and no. The bad news is that my plant is starting to outgrow any semblance of control I might have had. Desire could get rid of it with no problem, but the best I can do is remove patches of the landscape. And it is starting to mutate. It is feeding off the desires of animals, which is a curse and a blessing in disguise since all fauna only desire food, shelter, and mating" She pointed at a couple of wolfs munching on some strange round red fruit looking extremely mellow.
Intrigued Pharynx approach, yet the animals don't seem to mind and let him pick one of the fruits and take a bite. "It tastes like meat. Does it even feel like that? Is this a..."
"A meat plant, correct? All the bushes and trees most likely produce fruit of their favorite meals for them to enjoy without effort." Penny explains, "As long as we don't provoke them, we should be fine."
"Oh, thank goodness there aren't any species having their mating season soon either. Or that might be a problem," Fluttershy added, and just in time, they could hear the distant roars of polar bears. "B-But, just to be sure, be careful and stay alert in case they want their privacy."
All of them nodded at the advice.
"Well, that would be the bad news. What is the good news?" Pharynx looks back at Penny.
"The flora is spreading itself thin; I can feel myself gaining more control over it the further it expands. It's enough for me to carve a path for us to use until we reach the empire. We could even turn the tables and make something to help us if there are more traps. Still, we can't lower our guard. Once we reach the empire's entrance, I am not confident I will have any control over the landscape. We need to weaken whatever we find before I can erase it."
Cadence rested a hoof over her shoulder. "Don't worry, Penny, we got your back. We will buy you as much time as we can."
"And perhaps that would not even be necessary," Pharynx mentioned. "We could still try a sneak attack. If we enter the place and reach the heart, we can end this threat from the inside."
"Agreed. We will decide what approach to take once we reach the empire's entrance" They all agreed and started moving, with two changelings at either side of Penny as she got ahead and used her magic to make a route for everyone to take. Fluttershy and Cadence took to the sky on the lookout for any surprises. Pharynx and two other changelings took the rearguard to stay alert for any traps lying ahead, starting their trek toward the crystal empire.
"Team two here. The seed that Penny released has mutated and is expanding at a slow pace outside the empire, creating a bizarre plane with all types of plants catering to anything the local fauna might desire. We are proceeding with caution." The changeling prince filed a brief report of their discoveries through the earpiece before resuming his job as a lookout.