During a diplomatic visit from King Thorax, Princess Luna discovers that, inexplicably, his brother Pharynx hates her lavender. And for that matter, potted plants in general.
That won't do, of course – even if Pharynx is the new Changeling Prince – and so she'll need to teach him a lesson.
And one lesson won't be enough.
Featured from 18/05/2020 to 20/05/2020, peaking at #4 in the box.
Featured on Equestria Daily! Also featured in Equestria Daily's 38 Fanfics to Read for Luna Day 2020!
9/10, from My Little Reviews & Feedback.
8.8/10 and 8/10, from the Reviewer's Mansion.
Rated Really Good by Ghost Mike!
Edited and proofread by VoxAdam, pre-read by Valtyra. Thanks, you guys 
Written for the May 2020 Original Pairing Contest.
Cover by hosikawa_choco.
Chapters (1)
And that, dear Children, is how the second coming of the Nightmare began.
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So begins the second coming of the Nightmare, with a killer possum by her side
Hope you've enjoyed this tale 
Can you feel bug love to night? XD
Never expect Luna's love to smell like Lavender, always thought it's Twilight. But hey, this fiction is fun to read. So no complain. Thank you for a nice story! ^^
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Leave it to Pharynx to completely miss the cue, hehe.
Funnily enough, I had thought of what the other love-scents would be, and Twilight's, in my mind, would be a new book
But thank you
I'm glad you liked it!
Wow! An excellent interpretation of her character, and new to me. Never seen this before!
Overall this was a wonderful piece of work. Thank you!
This story is simply adorable, thank you for this cute story!
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No problem
And thank you, too!
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It's something that, a while ago, latched onto me and I haven't been able to shake it off since
So often do we hear about Luna being an astronomer, but gardening just felt right as something she'd have picked up as a hobby!
And, heh, I'm very glad you enjoyed this whimsical little tale
I loved this story! Can't believe this is your first attempt at a shipfic, it's simply magnificent! Loved the way Luna was depicted as a gardener who tends to her subjects' dreams, and that part where her love smells like lavender absolutely killed it. Pharynx was one hell of a fun character, too. You should probably do more stuff like this!
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Oh, thank you
I'm happy to see it strike a chord with you! And, after the experience of writing this, I'll definitely consider writing more one shots when I have the idea.
The samurai were gardeners, too. And painters. Poets, calligraphers, musicians. Peaceful pursuits to accompany their pursuit of war, for if battle is all that occupies a warrior’s thoughts, then battle will become all that occupies their actions.
Without peace, war has no purpose. Without war, peace has no meaning; that is the lesson that Chrysalis never learned.
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Well put, and that is indeed the lesson learned.
Well this was a nice story to wake up to
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Also, I have an idea for the name of this ship: Lunarynx! I guess Pharna sounds like a word too, but that doesn't sound as distinct as Lunarynx. Yeah, I think Lunarynx is better.
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Pretty sure “Lunarynx” has been existing for a while now.
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Ah. Then "Moonbug" shall it be!
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Nah, Lunarynx is a good name for it. Just because it’s been existing doesn’t mean it can’t be used
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Sure thing. Lunarynx is good.
This was an absolutely lovely story that expanded upon both Luna and Pharynx's characters in perfect ways
Thank you for it!
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Then Lunarynx it shall be
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I'm glad it worked! Happy to see you enjoy it
Oh, yeah, how cartoony a villain is Chrysalis.
As your regular co-writer on Spectrum, mate, I do know which ideas and images originated in that story, including everything in it more sophisticated than that little joke - however, this remains a beautiful, and masterfully low-key exploration of Luna and Pharynx, two characters who walk in darkness to stand by their siblings' side in the responsibilities of ruling.
Several other readers have already commented on the unique take of comparing Princess Luna to a gardener.
And it's a representation that adds a whole new layer to her character.
But personally, I agree that putting Luna and Pharynx in the same room only needed a creative fan's imagination, once Luna put up flowers and Pharynx destroyed them in two separate episodes.
The amount of wholesome here is just fuckin right. 10/10
This quote was beautiful.
This story was beautiful, if not a bit on the long side.
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And, yeah, it was a self-imposed challenge to me to write a complete, layered tale within 10k words. Glad you've enjoyed it!
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And, heh, don't think I forgot about you either, mate
Thank you so much for giving this a look over and a neat trim (heh, trim).
Who could ever forget that moment of Chrysalis being petty indeed, hah!
I am, frankly, a little surprised Luna as a gardener is rarely, if ever, explored in the fandom. It just seemed like a natural thing for her to be doing.
All in all, thank you, as always, for your help
Oh that will not end well. Assigning a Royal Guard to Thorax, that is. Pharynx will tear them a new derriere.
Mmm. A gardening book from Twilight as a gift in such a honorable place. But of course.
Ah, set right before 'Triple Threat' I see.
Keyword: thorns
I entirely expect Pharynx to be growing them for the thorns and their defensive properties.
A cute end.
Apparently Lavender carries meanings of silence, devotion, and caution. Words that can describe Luna and Pharynx both, I think, with their silent watch over their subjects, whether it be against threats borne of the waking world or the sleeping world.
I loved the... prose, is it? What is this mild, unassuming sense of writing called? So delicate and graceful...
I really don't know how to describe it.
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Indeed
Why of course - I couldn't just let it be implied they didn't keep in touch after Luna Eclipsed
Aye - it was fun figuring out the episodes that took place in and around Moonbug
Indeed. And they need not be in the shadow of their beloved siblings, for this is their tale of finding a kindred spirit.
I don't know the exact words either
But I wished to convey the feeling of a garden, with all its ambience, from water falling unto a gentle stream, the gentle sounds of a wind chime, and the rustling of leaves.
I certainly tried a touch of whimsy with the flow
Happy to see you've enjoyed this tale!
I'm a bit dissapointed I waited so long to read this. It's a quality story and actually feels really natural, which is extremely rare for a romance one shot. I very much enjoyed it.
I quite like the addition of Tibbles, and what you did with Luna. Very good characterization. I'll assume I could say the same about Pharynx but to be honest I never watched that episode and never intend to.
All in all, fantastic work.
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I was worried there wouldn't be enough of the romantic build up, because I felt like while these two can make a bond, it would take time, heh
Thanks! Glad you've enjoyed it
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Thanks! Glad you've enjoyed it, heh
Hello, I've posted a review for your story here in the My Little Reviews & Feedback group. I hope you find it helpful.
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Thank you for your time
Hope you've enjoyed it!
Well, I never would have thought such a good fic could have come from a ship randomizer and a Discord conversation, but here we are.
I never would have thought of Luna as a gardener, but with her characterization here, as well as her comparing ponies to flowers, I'm gladly accepting it into my headcanon. I enjoyed how you tied in the story to various canon events. It was really seamless. Pharynx's gradual shifts in perspective, while still maintaining his warrior persona, were well done. And of course, Tiberius was adorable.
The pacing here was great, too. Nothing felt rushed or dragged out, and that can be hard to do with such timeskips.
Overall, a very fun read, and a good fic for a (literal) random pairing. Definitely worth favoriting.
Enjoy the only relevant ship pic I could find (though you've probably seen it already):
derpicdn.net/img/2018/11/10/1879068/large.png
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Hey, thanks for the favourite
And also the art, surprisingly hard to find art for these two!
Don't forget that one scene with Luna and her lavender, and also Pharynx trashing flowers, hehe
. Sometimes all you need is the bare minimum of canon.
Luna as a gardener, I honestly thought it'd be a much more common headcanon after that one scene in "A Royal Problem", but I'm glad it made it your way into yours, too
.
All in all, I'm happy to see you've enjoyed it
After this terrific read, i really hope this wont be the last romance we will get from you. Especially since, surprisingly, is the first one you made.
From the get go, you delight us with an impeccable characterization and portrayal of thorax' awkwardness and meek attitude even as a ruler. What a strong start indeed.
Throughout the fic, the characterization of not only Thorax, but every character was more than consistent enough to subconsciously imagine their Lines voiced by their VAs. Thats a neat spell you casted with yer magic words. Really something worth remarking.
Calm Luna, Excited Luna, angry Luna, romantic Luna, wise Luna… Man did you show us lots of the different moon phases in this story. So much that it would be difficult for Luna not to grow on the reader after finishing it. Thats what character development aims to achieve right? To get to know the character enough for them to become endearing, relatable. And that was Pharynx case as well. Really steady and not rushed character development from start to finish. All staying within their own character bounds while fleshing them out to their fullest. Maravillosa jugada.
I really, really dislike being redundant and repeating what others have already said but, damn aint this worth remarking a thousand times. Fics that despite being standalone from the series in one way or another but still tied with the show canon (events especifically) really make the fic feel like mlp, just as much as good characterization. This was the case with this fic X10. You kept coming up with ways of reminding the reader that this is an mlp relared story they are reading right now, be it with mentions of the mlp movie, phyllis origin… they made a world told in 9k words feel a hella lot more alive. You didnt have to, yet you did. For us.
If it wasnt for how engaged i was with everything that was unfolding, i would have fallen asleep at times man. This was a very, very relaxing and light fic, one that basically reads by itself. Theres something about the tranquil nature of gardening, along with your fancied use of long, subordinate sentences (which btw, intentional or not, worked well with luna as its POV character, given the way she usually talks) that madw this read something soothing, written asmr maybe. A really strong and unique mood was conveyed here.
What could otherwise be considered/easily come off as info dump or boring narration of the time skip, ended up being an engaging and naturally paced one. Just enough info to give us what we need in order to follow the story, and enough to not bore us. That requires serious narration skills that apparently writing 20k chapters provides.
Oh my. The best saved for the last. And the core of the story no less. Yep. The ship itself.
The parallelism between Luna/Celestia and Pharynx/Thorax made it hard for us to not think about the possibilities.
Some person once made the clever observation of how much Pharynx was the embodiment of how war veterans looked at the peace movements (hippies for short).
While Luna has a tendency to create, Pharynx had a tendency to destroy. Theres no apparent middle ground here right? How could this ship work out?
And you, our savior, gave us an answer on the most unconventional way. Gardening of course! The flowers were the answer all along!
By observing Luna gardening activities on a certain episode, and Pharynx heavy dislike of the hive flowery decorations, you saw an opening. And you attacked by delivering a pleasant blow full of fluff.
You used gardening as not only a device to kickstart conflict and solving it, but also to dwell into the characters psyche, one that otherwise we wouldnt have got, such as Pharynx concerns. THIS is why fanfiction was invented dammit. Not only it makes for the romance to envolve organically by giving both characters something to bond over in a way that makes sense for them, but it also gives us a good old slow burn type of romance that wraps up in a satisfying way that contrast with how they begun (lavenders are a symbol of this), that makes you beg for more.
Working equally as a metaphore of hope for the future, and something that makes the shipped characters click, gardening here was a hella versatile motif that you, in all your wisdom, knew how to make the most out.
Despite the length of this comment, words cannot express how awesome this fic was.
But numbers can. 11/10 would fluff at again.
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Oh my, my what a comment to see
I'm glad the characterisation landed just fine
It was what I set out to do with Moonbug, a tale of two kindred souls finding love.
I wanted to make it feel like it belongs in the MLP-verse, something that happens just off-screen, and I set out to show that, in small ways, everyone is connected. Because that's what slice of life is, I feel - a showcase of a living, breathing world.
All in all, and might be redundant here, but I really am glad you, and so many others, have enjoyed this little tale.
“Well, Pharynx is back at the Hive, I believe. He didn't want to go with Thorax in visiting Ponyville. A little too 'soft' sounding a place he said. And… well, you know how he doesn’t like to go out much.”
Luna scoffed.
“But you said the Dragon Lord is coming as well,” Luna said, frowning. Changelings and dragons weren't known to get along… or know one another, really. “I was not aware of any other diplomatic visit.”
Oh so this is before the episode triple threats and before pharynx was mention and then later on making his appearances very clever
Oh shoot this is basically before the movie came around wow
Aww this was a pretty nice story and seeing how Luna is been doing on her spare time when she's not doing her duties so basically she was doing her Garden but when thorax visit but he was not alone he had his brother pharynx and those two did not go very well with each other he even trapped her pets ( which that is pretty sad we never saw him or the Phoenix they just suddenly disappeared ) but then Celestia got the idea for Luna to go to the hive to set up a flower garden so Luna agrees to be at the hive and it looks like pharynx change for the better even though he's still the same but not as rude as before when they first met and few months later they started to get to know each other and pharynx was kind of worried about the future what may happen if he's not around Luna wants to reassure her that they will live on then few months later she returned to Canterlot then after the attack of the Storm King Princess Luna has to fix her garden again when they destroyed her work in the sweetest moment pharynx came to visit her and even getting lavender for her despite he hates lavender which that was sweet of him to do that for her this was a pretty nice story keep up the good work
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Okay. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I went into this, because I went into it blind, but this was a very pleasant read. Almost makes me feel a little jealous of your writing skill; I feel my SoL dialogues aren't anywhere near as meaningful and true to the characters. I don't typically care for SoL, being more of an action-oriented fellow, but I feel as though I may come around, at least in your case. You did manage to make it interesting enough for me to keep reading up until the end, where it led to an unexpected yet not unwelcomed pairing that didn't feel rushed, which is difficult to do.
Excellent work! I'll have to check out a few of your other works when I have the time.
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Glad you've enjoyed it, heh.
Here's a review! It was a pleasure to read. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or follow up.
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Hey, thanks for your time! I'll be sure to check it out - and glad you enjoyed the story
I'm always glad to see more rare ships, especially when they're at this word count. You did a good job in focusing on building up how these characters got together instead of rushing things. The pacing was excellent in allowing us to be eased into the happenings around the castle. I will say that this does seem to be more towards the slice of life side than the romance one, but seeing as a) they are just getting together b) you admit this is your first shipfic it makes sense that it would not be oozing with a romantic tone just yet.
You should write more uncommon Luna romance stories. Or follow them up with sequels. Just saying. 👀
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That, and that these two goofs, I feel, aren't the sweeping romantic types when put next to each other, heh.
Glad you liked it! And, yeah - I don't have much in the way of Luna pairings, but I do have one in store. Just need to find the right time to write it.
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Please sir, can I have some more?
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Soon (tm), I need to do mine queue first
Ohh yeah! Go nightmare moon on his ass, lulu.
Thing is. . . Pharynx and Luna have a lot in common. If she does a nightmare moon demonstration and then tells the story of being BANISHED TO THE MOON, I’m sure he’ll unwillingly come around
People’s psyche’s can rot for the time being.