Emotion comes from the heart, people say to their sentimental values. But in reality emotion is a chemical reaction located in the brain. Excitement can be directly affected by adrenaline, and using your willpower will cause a reduction in blood-sugar levels and leave you with less ability to concentrate until the body balance is restored afterwards. These are just two examples, of many. The brain often controls the reactions of the body through the subconscious, yet these emotions add a layer of mystery on their own that differ us from basic animals or golems. The mystery deepens even further when you consider the implications of the thought processes a magical being, or plant based being can think or feel. What may be comprehensible as pain to a pony could be completely unidentifiable or even an alien sensation to a plant. This is all rooted in the biological nature of multiple different complex beings. An example of this being in Griffon culture, where some activities that take place behind closed doors may be physically painful and unattractive to a pony, is pleasing, and arousing in the Griffon mentality. Of course, when you start considering mix breeds, like draco-ponies, and pega-iffons. Or even Alicorns, then we have entirely new avenues to explore the social intricacy of the brain.
Chrysalis, of course, says love comes from the heart, yet on demonstration with one of her recent captives that are helping to feed her hive, the magic is drained from the head of the three races, and most pronounced on unicorns, as it is all but siphoned off the tapered point of their horns. This leaves little room to ponder by own beliefs.
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Light comes with the starting of a brand new day. A new day that for once held new possibilities that weren't there before. Once again had the Caretaker been working tirelessly, but now there were bags filled with seeds, at the same rate that would of grown an orchard worth with saplings the caretaker had perfected and changed his seeds for distribution. He had multiple bodies of wood now transporting the precious cargo as well as a bonus plant. A rather temperamental plant at that.
The Caretaker had many plants to take care of in his forest, while all obeyed him, most had minds of their own. The mind of the forest was a slow one to process, as they didn't care much for time, thus making them seem almost inanimate, but it was within these slow minds that great discoveries could be found in knowledge of profound wisdom. Wisdom that the Caretaker himself used to rely on so long ago. This plant wasn't one of the slow ones. Like his tunnelers and himself, they were a fast thinking plant, who lived with the same perceptions of time as a pony. It was also very child like for an Ent.
Are we there yet?
No...
Are we there yet?
No...
Are we there ye-
With mild annoyance The Caretaker replied the same answer yet again, but added in, If you would connect yourself to the rest of the forest, you would see just how far was left to go.
The burly Ent was in the shape of a pony, but several times larger, like himself it was a spirit of the woods, but a much more minor part than the full forest. Wheras The Caretaker maintained the majority of the forest and whose consciousness was contained in the largest tree in its forest, this particular Ent was younger, and carried his tree with him, as a result his form was as if a pony had been mixed with a tortoise as its fruit bearing branches swayed and weaved around the other trees, like a fish among a school. His name? Carl.
Carl grumbled, I don't like cheating like that, it ruins all sense of exploration! Besides the elder trees would just lecture me about wisdom and seeing all that the minds eye has to see and what not.
True but it isn't a matter of exploration or wisdom but knowledge that can also be gained from indulging in the shared senses of the forest.
More grumbling from Carl as he obliged, only to send a mental glare at the nefariously old caretakers chuckle as he learned that he was infact, just about there. As the large ent emerged through the shifting treeline, he grumbled more so to himself than the sudden swarm of curious bug-ponies that he was met with. As he put his bags down on the ground, the Caretaker formed next to him from a separate tree and waved down the biggest bug of the bunch.
"Carl, this is Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. Chrysalis, this is Carl, my younger self."
The queen remarked, "Theres more than one of you?"
Carl Grunted, "Trees are capable of more than just one form of reproduction you know. Asexual reproduction is a very strange art though for most species."
"I was curious at one point." The caretaker admitted, "Carl was the result of my attempts, though we are quite different from the upbringing I'd assume." he looked lost in thought for a second, "What was..." he shook his head, "Anyway, I had Carl here help me bring some bags of seed for the changelings to distribute across the nation with many more bags to come. Carl is also here due to volunteering to aid in keeping your captive, well, captive."
"What makes you think that my changelings need any help in that department?" Chrysalis asked.
The caretaker deadpanned and cast his gaze over to the injured camp, where four changelings were nursing broken noses, another three had bite marks on their horns, and seven were nursing bruised ribs, "Three hours spent breaking her bonds, followed by an hour regenerating her magic supply before attempting a breakout only to be stopped by trying to rescue the other ponies and getting dog piled, even after this point she fought two dozen of your troops and managed to injure most of them before sedation."
Carl commented, "Firey lass, isn't she? Sounds like it'd be a pleasure to watch."
Queen Chrysalis deadpanned, "You were watching, eh?"
The Caretaker snorted, "Don't be offended, I watch everything at the same time in my forest, just my attention tends to focus on one thing or another more, thus my form. "as for these seeds, you'll want to plant one at every mile or so, they're like a few types of fungus and will be spreading their roots far before they actually surface as saplings. But by the time their saplings arise so too will the 'zap' portion of their namesake ancestor."
"Great... We'll send out changelings immediately and that force will soon grow depending on how many seeds you wish to spread around."
"Feel free to heavily seed the area around towns and cities, for these trees aren't just meant for take over but as sustained as well. Of course additional seeds make it easier to grow, but the risk of detection may grow. How long do you think it will take your changelings to seed the nation of Equestria?"
"Lets see, its early fall currently..." Chrysalis mused to herself, "Considering the size.... and the portions south of the Everfree..." she looked back to the two tree-ponies, "You do want the plains seeded, right?"
"It isn't required but it would be appreciated, though don't group them up if you can help it, too much clutter gets in the way of the empire of buffalo."
"Empire of buffalo?" Chrysalis asked, "Uh, they haven't been an empire for near a thousand years..."
"Wait, what?!" The forest shook with the Caretakers surprise.