24 - Lies and Deceit
Loving Bud
Teacher at Manehattan Academy and mother of two foals that just so happen to be reincarnations of Equestria’s forgotten princess.
Loving Artemis
Loving Bud’s newborn son that she learned to be the reincarnation of Princess Luna.
Loving Artemis
Loving Bud’s newborn daughter that is the reincarnation of the infamous Nightmare Moon.
Sabah Glow
A merchant from Southern Equestria that is soon to become a mother. For the sake of her foal, she chose to move to Canterlot to live with her fiancé, Sunset Spice.
Duchess Bluebelle
A niece of Princess Celestia and mother of Prince Blueblood. She serves as a curious ambassador of Equestria to neighboring lands.
“Luna’s decision to integrate a race of creatures none had ever seen into Equestria was a groundbreaking course that not I or even my three grandmothers had considered,” Celestia continued her tale. Bud noticed how intrigued the other mares were of a history they never knew existed, but she on the other hoof was befuddled by the contents of Celestia’s story. “She managed to convince us to accept the thestrals into Equestria and we tried to accommodate them to Everfree. Though I am afraid ponies were much too fearful of their carnivorous taste and their unique features.”
“You speak quite fondly of this Luna,” Beryl spoke. “It is astonishing that this is the first time I am hearing of this mare.”
“Yes,” Velvet added. “Luna appears to be a special pony. Especially if she is your first student. And to have the ability to enter the dreams of others. How have I not heard of her?”
“Luna is a delicate subject that I do not feel comfortable sharing with ponies,” Celestia confessed. “Her labor to unite the thestrals with ponies did not end the way as she hoped. I did not want that to be a part of her legacy.”
“There is no legacy to speak of if she is not remembered, Princess,” Beryl said.
“I realize that,” Celestia admitted. “However her ties to the thestrals are much too strong to conceal. I fear that any scholar could unravel the truth of her if they looked hard enough.”
“Well I assure you, Princess,” Beryl responded. “None of us shall disclose her secrets to the public.” Her words were followed by the nods and confirmation of the other mares.
“I thank you,” Celestia said. “I have my reasons for hiding this from ponies. But to spark a genuine friendship with the six of you, I feel I must be open to some of my secrets.”
“Thou honors me with your trust,” Cloudy Quartz nodded. “But on the topic of thestrals, where did this race reside in Everfree?”
“There was a cave that Luna and I selected for them to take shelter in. It lied only a few miles from Everfree for us to serve food and garments to restore their strength.”
“I wonder what kind of work the thestrals did,” Pear wondered. “I’m sure they worked themselves hard to make things work in Equestria.”
“The thestrals served me as the royal night guards. The thestrals are nocturnal creatures, serving well to patrol the nights and keep Luna company.”
“Princess,” Beryl started. “Just to play the devil’s advocate, are the thestrals’ reason for no longer being citizens of Equestria tied to Luna’s fate?”
“That is quite the bold question,” Celestia said. “How did you come to this idea?”
“Forgive me if this sounds harsh, but based upon your story, it would seem the thestrals became dependent upon Luna. After all, she did rescue them. I would think they would return her kindness by protecting her home as the night guard they became. However, if something happened to her, or worse if they had done something to her…”
“Oh no, they would never do anything to Luna,” Celestia assured. “They loved her more than any pony. Possibly more than I did. There would rarely be a moment when you would see Luna without the thestrals. The reason she is not mentioned is due to her ties with Equestria when she decided to leave her homeland.”
“She left Equestria,” Pear wondered. “Why’d she do that?”
“Despite my assistance in helping Luna to unite the thestrals with my ponies, they held too much distrust of the thestrals. Ponies of that time were much too fearful of the unknown and I fear her irritation in them drove her away along with the thestrals.”
“That’s so tragic,” Velvet voiced. “I can’t imagine the pain of a beloved friend drift away from me.”
“I can…” Pear mumbled.
“It is a pain that I still endure,” Celestia admitted. “She was my first student; I daresay my first friend. My first real friend.”
“I am sorry that you had to bear such a pain,” Sabah voiced. “I can only hope that you can find assurance in our friendship. I believe our bond will last quite a long time.”
“Yes,” Celestia smiled. “I would like that very much.”
“...Why is she making these lies?” Bud wondered in her mind. She had remained silent of Celestia’s story, anxious to point out a slight flaw to its contents. No, it was a big flaw. A key fact that questions much of what she has said.
Bud also held a growing concern as her daughter leered at Celestia from Princess’s hold. “Please Nebula,” Bud anxiously hoped in her thoughts. “Don’t do anything rash.”
No, she can’t risk it. Her daughter is much too stubborn and disturbingly prone to violence. “Um,” Bud started. “Princess Celestia.”
“Hm,” Celestia along with the other mares looked to Bud. “Yes, Loving Bud.”
Bud had made a terrible error in distracting the Princess. Nebula had borne a blank face as Celestia rub her forehead, but Bud could tell that her daughter was seething with unyielding rage. And at the sudden moment when Celestia left her attention for Bud, Nebula made her vengeful strike.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
The mares widened in shock at the thestral filly after sinking her teeth upon the Princess’s hoof. Nebula held her clutch upon Celestia, attempting to deepen her fangs into her.
“Oh my goodness,” Bud placed her sleeping son aside and then rushed to grab Nebula. “I am so sorry about this!” Bud attempted to pull Nebula off of Celestia, but her stubborn daughter would not let her fangs off of the Princess.
“I-it’s okay,” Celestia tried to assure Bud, but she flinched at the shifting of Nebula’s fangs. “I was made aware of her habit to bite others. It’s my fault for not being careful.”
At her breaking point with her daughter’s stubbornness, Bud bit her daughter’s ear. Nebula tried to dig deep into her rage to resist her mother’s touch, but once again her body failed her. She let out her shameful squeaking voice and loosened her grip from Celestia.
The Princess’s hoof quickly became soaked with her blood. Celestia raised her hoof to observe the wound. “My, this may stick around longer than I like.”
“We must get that wound treated,” Beryl urged. “Come, I’ll guide you to the clinic.”
“Ease your minds my ponies,” Celestia voiced. “My life is no danger. I will simply wash my wound and bandage it. I can attend to it later. I would hate to end our picnic so suddenly.”
“Are you sure that is wise Princess,” Sabah asked. “You appear to be gushing quite the amount of blood.”
“I appreciate the concern, but please trust that my body is more durable than you would expect. I will only be gone for a few moments. I promise it will not take too long.”
“P-please allow me help,” Bud nervously voiced as she held a strong grasp on her limp daughter. “This is my fault after all.”
“You have nothing to feel at fault for. However, I shall accept your generosity.”
“Thank you, Princess,” Bud said. She then looked at Pear. “Pear could you watch my foals for me?”
“Don’t you worry,” Pear assured. “I’ll keep my eyes on them like a hawk. I also got my chompers ready just in case.”
The bathroom of the royalty was indeed something to behold. Ranging wide and tall, the bathtub within this room resembled more of a large pool than what common ponies would have. The life of the privileged is open to a bountiful of pleasures.
Celestia ran a showerhead over her wounded hoof as it streamed the blood off of her coat. An excessive amount of her blood funneled in the drain.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the clinic?” Bud’s voice echoed into the room.
“Trust me Loving Bud,” Celestia assured. “I know my body well. A rinse and bandage will suffice. Besides, the castle nurse will only sputter in shock and have me sent to the hospital over this flesh wound.” Celestia noted the concern in Bud’s eyes and then added, “But I promise to get checked after our picnic.”
“Mm,” Bud anxiously nodded.
“I must say, your daughter is already showing promise as a hunter. I did mention how adept thestrals are as predators, did I?”
“Yes Princess,” Bud agreed.
“...” Celestia paused at Bud’s brief words. Once her wound was rinsed, Bud began wrapping bandages she collected from the clinic around Celestia’s wound. “Something appears to ail your mind Loving Bud. I am here to listen to your concerns if you like?”
“Oh...um…” Bud stopped herself as she appeared bewildered by Celestia’s observation. She shouldn’t be so surprised, Celestia is her Princess after all. She has dealt with countless diplomacies, so of course, being observant of body language would be second nature to her.
Celestia sighed at Bud’s hesitance. “I should’ve known one day would not be enough. It would seem my status continues to arise as an issue to our friendship. Loving Bud, I--”
“Why…”
“Why? What do you mean?”
Bud took a deep breath and then finished wrapping the bandages onto Celestia’s hoof. She then took a step back and looked at her Princess in the eyes. If Bud was going to do this, then she can’t remain timid about this. “Why did you lie about Luna being your student?”
A chilling silence brewed between the two before the Princess finally responded. “I assume you learned of this from your partner, am I correct?”
“I…” Bud was again filled with hesitance. There is no partner to speak of besides the remnant stone that is embedded inside her. But if she told her that, then she would risk revealing the identity of her children.
“You are not fully correct Loving Bud,” Celestia continued as she teleported a towel to dry her coat and bandage. “I didn’t lie when I said I served as a teacher to her. Despite how passionate she was, Luna was a bit of a slow learner. I would always be far ahead of her in our studies under Starswirl and I would have to provide tutor to prevent her from lagging behind me. But she wasn’t just a student of mine. She is also my sister.”
“So, it was a...half-truth? But why do that?”
“I imagine it wouldn’t take long for ponies to realize that sister became Nightmare Moon. She and I are the only alicorns that have ever existed after all. I refuse to soil her name because of the terrible decisions she and I made.”
“W-what terrible decision?”
“You would like for me to lay out all of my cards then?”
“I just want the truth Princess,” Bud blurted.
“I see,” Celestia nodded. “That’s fair. Perhaps being upfront now will save us from future strains in our friendship.” Celestia teleported the towel away. “As I have said Luna is my sister. Both of us are granddaughters of the first rulers of Equestria and reigned as Princesses together over Equestria. I was to guide lands during the day, and she during the night.”
“How did that all change? Why did she become, you know…”
“To this day, I still do not understand why she did what she did and how she became the creature she is now. And that is my greatest failure as a Princess and as a sister.”
“Princess,” Bud instinctively raised a hoof in an attempt to console the saddened Princess. Celestia faltered Bud’s hoof when her eyes loomed heavily upon Bud.
“I knew how ponies looked at Luna and I knew how much it tormented her,” Celestia continued. “But I foolishly believed that she could overcome her struggle and become a far greater Princess than I would have ever expected her to be. To gain the trust of ponies despite her intimidating abilities, to unite ponies with another race, I was certain that it would be the foundation of her legacy. I truly wanted her to succeed, but I should have contributed more. But she was just so stubborn. So prideful. I never should have left her to deal with the burden.”
Bud desperately wanted to calm the now agitated Princess. She looked as though she was teetering upon tears gushing out.
“The creature she became, Nightmare Moon,” Celestia continued. “She spoke of uniting ponies and thestrals by subjugation if need be. My voice couldn’t reach her and she left me no choice but to use force. But...I couldn’t match her. What she became far exceeded my power. I had no choice but to use the Elements of Harmony upon her.”
“They’re real?” Bud awed.
“My valiant stand with the elements as told in the tales were in truth a desperate attempt from a mare that didn’t want to die. She was the first to make me so fearful for my life. I wasn’t sure if the elements would even respond to me. Half of them had belonged to her after all.”
“Luna was wielder?” Bud asked. “Which did she have?”
“...honesty, laughter, and loyalty,” Celestia answered. “I understand your confusion. I have described Luna to be quite a serious mare, but she did bear silly antics. Sadly, the thestrals and I were the only ones to see that in her.”
“I’m sorry. You don’t like remembering these things, don’t you?”
“Do not apologize. These are things you welcome to know, for you are now within my circle of trust.”
“I am?”
“You have learned of things that I do not want most ponies to know of. You have placed yourself in a position that could change the shape of my sister’s fate once she has returned.”
“Return?... You mean the Mare of the moon?”
“Her return is not long from now. In less than two decades, Nightmare Moon will walk the lands again.”
“...”
“I’m sorry to scare you with this news, but you must promise to never tell ponies of this.”
“Then, why tell me?”
“I have a plan to save her. When I used the elements of harmony, my emotions were awry and I was not the rightful user of half of them. I believe that the elements could’ve saved her, but due to my faults, I imprisoned her on the moon to only fester her rage. I am no longer worthy of the elements. That is why I must find the newly chosen wielders.”
“But what does that have to do with me?” Bud’s thought drifted to her previous interaction with the Princess. At the hospital, Bud noticed desire in Celestia’s eyes when she looked at her son. Artemis. Artemis… “No…Not Artemis.”
“Your son possesses extraordinary potential in magic. It’s possible that one of the elements, specifically the element of magic, will respond to him.”
“You want my son to fight...her.”
“I do not intend for any pony to be harmed. With the elements garnered upon the new wielders, they will overwhelm my sister and assuringly rescue her from the darkness that plagues. It is also our only means of defense. My strength alone will not best her.”
But that’s the thing. There is no darkness to rescue her from. She has departed this world. And has returned no longer as herself, but as Artemis, Loving Bud’s spirited son.
“I will avoid the event of your son standing before Nightmare Moon if possible. The elements will only come into play if I have failed.”
“What do you mean?”
“My failure to help my sister has haunted me for centuries. I would like to try again to reason her. I want to try myself to make things right with her.”
“...”
“I understand your concern. There is a possibility that she would harm me, perhaps even kill me after what I have done to her. But if it comes to that, I would at least like for her to know how I feel. I want to apologize for not giving her the attention that she needed.”
“You would die to tell her that? But what about Equestria? We still need you.”
“And that is why I have the elements as my contingency plan. Once the elements have recovered her from the darkness, the wielders I have trained will guide her to lead Equestria in my place.”
“You think ponies will just accept that!? If she kills you, they’ll...they’ll…” They won’t do anything because that would never happen. Luna is not coming back.
“Why do you suppose I have left my sister’s identity a secret? My trusted circle can concoct information about my sister to sway the ponies to accept her. Such as her being a prisoner of Nightmare Moon. Ponies would be sympathetic to the torment she had endured. As long as Luna is not recognized as Nightmare Moon, they will welcome her. The ponies of this time are far more open than those of the past.”
“Why are you so nonchalant about dying?” Bud’s voice quivered. “You should never be so resigned to death.”
“I just want my sister to be happy Loving Bud,” Celestia confessed. “I don’t care what happens to me, as long as I can make that dream a reality.”
Bud faltered at the face of the Princess. Has she always looked this depressed? Her eyes so gloom and void of the light that assured the minds of many ponies. Was this what her Princess truly was? A sad and desperate mare that wants her sister back?
“There is...a chance for me not to die.” Celestia continued. “If there is a way for me to discover why Luna did what she did and how she became Nightmare moon, there’s a chance I could save her myself. If I can just speak with a thestral on the matter…”
What is Bud to do here? There is no partner to speak of besides the mysterious remnant embedded inside her. But she can’t tell the Princess that. She can’t tell of its ties to Nightmare Moon, to Luna, to Artemis.
Bud would break the heart of her Princess if she told her that Luna was forever gone. And how would she react if she learns the identity of her foals? Any truth she gives will lead to Celestia to ask more questions. And when she learns, what will she do then? Would she take them away from her? Would she harm Nebula?...
“I haven’t seen him in weeks,” Bud said. Her words made her sick, but she chose to endure. “I’m not sure if he’ll ever come back.”
“Do not be troubled my little pony,” Celestia held a hoof on Bud’s shoulder. “I have known thestrals to be quite loyal to creatures they care about. Especially towards their family. He will not abandon you, and I will not take him from you. All I ask is once he has returned, is for a chance to speak with him.”
“I will tell him, Princess,” Bud said.
“Thank you, Loving Bud,” Celestia smiled. It looked so heartfelt as if she felt a fraction of her burden whisk off from her.
As Bud followed Celestia out of the bathroom, she couldn’t help but feel disgusted in herself for misleading the Princess. She betrayed her trust. She has given the Princess a false hope of saving her sister.
“For my foals,” Bud said in her mind. “For my foals. For my foals. For my foals…” Bud repeated those words over and over like a mantra in her head. Yet no matter how many excuses she made, she still felt sick inside.
In the garden, the mothers decided to place their foals in the middle and allow them to greet each other. Well, all but Nebula, who was wrapped in Pear’s hooves.
Shining anxiously looked toward Limestone, but the filly glared at him and scared him into Little Mac’s hooves, who tried to rubbed his forehead to stop him from crying.
Blueblood and Artemis appear uninterested in the others as Blueblood attempted to return to Beryl. His mother constantly pushed him back to the group and courteously urged him to make some friends.
Artemis’s attention was caught by a butterfly that fluttered about around the picnic. He turned about following its trail as his body nearly teetered to the ground from his erratic movement.
Nebula silently observed Artemis, getting anxious when he nearly falls over. Her eyes briefly shift to Limestone. She swore if that brat makes her Luna cry, she will fare a far worse pain than her Princess.
The butterfly flutters off away from their picnic blanket as Artemis widened at the disappearing from his sight. He kicked off as he rushed out of the picnic to chase after the butterfly.
“Artemis,” Pear voiced as her grip loosed from Nebula. The filly immediately soars to the air and follows behind her brother. “Oh, not you too.” Pear trailed behind the two foals.
The butterfly landed upon a large flower that had such massive petals that it could be mistaken for an exotic venus-fly trap. Artemis crept close to the butterfly and awed at its blue wings.
Nebula descended beside Artemis, “What are you doing Luna? We need to go back.”
Artemis pointed at the butterfly, but then it flew off when his hoof drew near it. Artemis attempted to run after it, but then Nebula grabbed his hoof. “It’s just an insect Luna, it bears no importance.”
Artemis voiced his opposition to Nebula as he tried to pull his hoof away from his sister. “Stop fighting with me Luna,” Nebula urged. “You’re going to get us in trouble with mo-” Nebula pulled her hoof away from Artemis to clamp her mouth shut. She faltered at the gaffe she was about to make, not realizing the large flower her flank bumped upon. At the touch, Nebula flipped towards it as the flower unbudded right before her and shot its spores squarely upon her face.
Nebula let out a series of coughs as she aimlessly swatted looming spores away from her. Her vision began to blur and her face started to feel numb all of a sudden. The next thing she realized was that her head was resting upon the walkway after an alarmed Pear Butter rushed her way.
“Luna…”
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Do you believe the "Sad" tag be attached to this story?
I percent thought for me from the moon down the insensitive body Princess Luna in the form of a zombie
Oh she's remembered alright, just by a different name
So instead you hide/remove any trace of her existence?
Yes, yes it would
The answer is at least partially "The Tantabus"
Yeah, about that
And you think you dying, worse, her killing you, will make her happy, she'll be in mourning for the rest of her life
Oh ho ho, progress
Still don't trust this Celestia or any adults in this story except for Loving bud and her mom. Majority of the ponies has approached the twins with ulterior motives.
Loving bud is right to be paranoid, so far two ponies she knows were using her for ulterior motives.
I also don't trust any version of celestia that isn't trollestia,
10127863
A tad disingenuous, though honestly I have no patience nor tolerance with trollestias of all sorts.
Imagine the fear and confusion n Celestia's face when the barrier drops and all she finds on the moon is the withered husk of her long dead sister. and then the subsequent shock when Nebula strikes her in retribution and scolds her for the injustices Luna faced
New Element bearers:
Artemis (Bud): Magic
Shining Armor: Loyalty
Limestone Pie: Honesty
Blue Blood: Generosity
Little Macintosh Apple: Kindness
Sunset Shimmer: Laughter
(I got a good feeling about this batch, also they will be lead by Nebula)
10127976
I can get behind this thinking, Luna was the element of honesty so she's not afraid to call out that deceiving bs going on in the nobility which is probably why they had to get rid of her.
10127941
where does tyrantlestia list on things you tolerate?
10128010
Just a bit below trollestia. And no I dont find this celestia as a tyrantlestia
10128024
no, just wanted to know where tyrantlestia stood on your scale of variants of celestia.
This has nothing to do with this celestia whose completely tame in comparison to tyrantlestia.
10127714
Maybe
do you suppose nightmare and Tantabus were better siblings and family to luna in there own misguided ways?
I can't tell if the tantabus is also nightmare moon or if there separate beings so I'm saying siblings till stated otherwise
Cliffhangers, a authors most versatile weapon against us readers. A weapon most hated by most readers.
I started reading this story, and it seemed interesting, but the terrible grammar in the first couple chapters really turned me off of it. I skipped here to do a quick skim to see if it would improve and it seems to have gotten much better. Does it get better quickly, or will I have to push through a lot of bad grammar before it improves? The plot seems good, but those first few chapters were almost painful for me to read (currently on chapter 4).
10137062
I'm sorry to hear about that. Maybe now is the time that I look back at my previous chapters and brush them up a bit more.