The return of the Timber Dragon... or Most Exciting Sisters Day Out Yet![closed]

[Ashton]

The sun was on it's declining arc over the horizon as Celestia took a moment to rest upon her throne, it had already been a full day and she had more to attend to. Her warm golden glow envolped her 'to do' list as she looked down it to see the next item on her excessive agenda.

The silence though was interrupted as the doors burst open and a pony burst in "Your highness!" exclaimed the guard "Terrible News from Ponyville!"

Celestia looked up quickly, her face going serious "What is it?" she asked "Has something befallen Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"er, no, your highness, if you remember The princess and her Enteroge are attending the crystal gardens recital in the crystal empire this week"

"Yes, of course, please continue with your report" said Celestia, though she did not look happy at the description of her former pupil's friends

"There have been sightings of a dragon in the Everfree" said the guard

An adviser stepped forward "that is nothing new, why does this concern her highness?"

"Because this dragon is made of dead plant material, animated by magic unknown, and all attacks have proven futile for even when we damage it, the creature simply repairs the damage" said the guard

"the Timber Dragon..." said Celestia "He has slept long, why does he awake now..."

"There are reports of him terrorizing the citizens who come near the forest, though he will not leave it's bounds"

Celestia nodded "The magic which animates it fades with distance from the Everfree, so it cannot travel far without losing it's strength" she said

"We have already mounted no less than five attacks on the beast, and while there were no casualties, more than a few of our officers are in the hospital"

"I see why you come to me" said Celestia "Please, summon my sister, I will need her council on how to handle this matter"

"At once, my princess" said the advistor as he walked, quickly, out the door.

-----

Luna would soon awake to the sound of a pony knocking on her door...

[warmen111]

Luna softly snored as she slept, her body occasionally shifting slightly as she tried to get into a more comfortable position. Sadly for Luna though, not even after a hard day of work a princess could get some rest.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

While at first the princess slept through the loud knocking, soon she began to wake up, her eyes shooting open with anger as she glared at the door. Who dared to disturb the one and only true princess of the night during her slumber?

"Your reasoning will better be good, Guardsman. I do certainly not appreciate this disturbance!" Luna shouted through the room as she got out of the bed, her body already missing the warm and comfort the alicorn sized bed offered. Moving towards the giant obsidian doors, Luna opened one slightly and popped her head out, her eyes seemingly trying to burn whoever had disturbed her. "Did I not make myself clear enough the last time I requested that any nobles can come to my night court were they to disagree with my judgement?! They do not have the right to summon me, especially not during my peaceful slumber, guardsman!" Luna said as she glared daggers at the poor stallion in front of her.

[Ashton]

The guard, having long since dealt with celestia, luna, and worst of all Twilight, did not look phased "My apologies, your highness, I will inform Princess Celestia that you refuse her summons and are enraged at her daring to disturb you" he said flatly, turning, though giving luna plenty time to change her mind...

[warmen111]

Luna quickly opened the door, stumbling outside as she tried to stop the guard. "Now, Guardsman. You did not tell me it was my sister, who had summoned me. Please tell my sister I shall arrive at her study in ten minutes." Luna said as she trotted back inside, softly mumbling something about dungeons and treason to herself.

Quickly grabbing a brush, Luna began to brush her mane, making sure the tendrils of stardust merged with each other in just the right places. Looking at a nearby mirror, Luna decided it would have to do, she put the hairbrush the aside and continued to tend to herself. Black Mascara soon endorsed her eyelashes Whilst light blue eye shade covered her eyelids. Even for a informal visit to her sister, a princess needed to look at her best after all.

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Not much later, Luna knocked at her sister's door, her hoof-guard sounding loud as it clanked against the white doors.

[Ashton]

"Enter" said Celestia

Inside the princes's mane looked faintly, but noticably frazzles as she levitated a dozen different books before her, researching any accounts of the Timber Dragon, even obscure anecdotal references "It is good to see you, my sister, I fear we may be up against a fearsome foe, and with Twilight in the crystal empire we will have to handle it ourselves" she said, floating a somewhat dark and blurry photo of the Timber Dragon to luna, having been taken many, many, years ago...

[warmen111]

Hearing she was allowed to come in, Luna opened the door before trotting in, closing it quietly as soon as she was inside. It was still late at night after all and there was no reason to wake up any of the ponies sleeping in the castle. Granted, they probably wouldn't even be close enough to hear it but still, it was the idea.

"Dear sister, what is your reasoning for waking me up at this late hour?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow as she saw the picture in front of her. Hearing the description of what it was from her sister, Luna frowned. "Sister, next you will be telling me that this news was brought to you by bighoof himself." Luna said a bit irritated, an old legend was reason enough to wake her? The news couldn't wait until tomorrow?

Every sighting of said 'Timber Dragon' offered no clear evidence if the creatures even existed! How could Celestia possibly even believe this nonsense! Maybe even worse, how could she wake her up for a mere myth?! As royalty herself she knew how busy her life could be, right?! Every second standing here was valuable sleeping time wasted!

[Ashton]

Tia sighed "you wouldnt remember it, would you, my sister, it happened many many years ago, when we were just fillies, traveling near the everfreee and one of our guards dissapeared... eventually all they found was his helmet filled with splinters and bite marks far too large for a timberwolf, even the king himelf. After that loss I take every sighting seriopusly, and lately the sightings have increased and this worries me... one or two could have been a timberwolf or perhaps some swamp gas or a weatherballoon, but when they occur like this..." she sighed "we must be prepared to investigate, my sister, we cannot afford to wait, if some dred forced has awakened such a beast..."

[warmen111]

Luna sat down on her haunches, not quite sure what to say, but how could one? When one's sister tells her tales of the past, tales filled with a wicked beast. "Fine then... We shall leave at dawn tomorrow morning. I assume Equestria can take care of itself during our absence?" Luna asked, still not entirely sure how the new government worked. The way Celestia had described it to her, it almost sounded as if they weren't needed anymore at all.

Luna still wasn't too fond of the idea, what if the ponies decided that they were indeed not needed anymore? What if they would take over, overthrow them? Granted living like a normal pony didn't sound that bad... No more late nights spend overworking, no more pesky nobles... Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

[Ashton]

Celestia nodded "yes, as much as I hate to leave you with this, I will need to get some rest so I will be at my best tomorrow, I suggest if you have a moment or two you take a nap as well, my sister, we dont know what we will find when we reach the everfree" she paused "let us hope it is simply a poorly-made wooden puppet" she let a tiny hint of a smile tug at her mouth, joking, of course, but also wishing this really would be the case, because if it wasn't that would mean a lot of trouble and possibly bloodshed, or would it be sap-shed? no matter, she was starting to get tired and it was wearing on her mind...

[warmen111]

"I assume I am the one in charge of the research now?" Luna asked as she sighed, the large tome in front of her certainly not looking like an easy read through like those detective romances she oh so loved. I'm not going to bed anytime soon... Luna realised as she noticed the tome wasn't even in modern Equestrian. Of course, she had grown up with the language but still, the fact that it wasn't printed but hoof written certainly didn't help.

Why did her sister even wanted to do so much research anyways? While just bursting in without a clue also wasn't the best option, it would at least allow her to get some more sleep...

[Ashton]

Celestia smiled "For tonight" she said "I will try to get up in time to do more research before we set off, unfortunately most of the information we have is scattered accounts over the years, but I believe we can piece together the facts from the fiction" she shook her head "It's a pity that Twilight Sparkle is not here, she would love doing all that research" she smiled a little more "but I must be off to bed so I will be fit for the journey, have you any other questions, dear sister?"

[warmen111]

"Do I really have the read this entire thing?..." Luna asked one final time, still hoping this would all just turn out to be a bad dream. Not even she was immune to nightmares after all. "Can't I at least get a little more details? I mean, surely you must have found something already, sister." Luna said, a little hope in her voice, maybe, just maybe she could skip the entire book all together if Celestia already knew enough!

I'm really acting like a little filly, aren't I? Hmm... I suppose the promise of sleep does bring the worst out of somepony. Luna realised as she noticed she was acting just as in the past, when she really had just been a little filly. She couldn't help it she wasn't such a fast learner as Celestia, right? So why give her more homework? Even after milenia t'still seems unfair to me. Luna thought a bit annoyed as she sat down on her haunches.

[Ashton]

Celestia smiled "I may have missed some detail that could mean life-or-death, sister, I would feel far better knowing that you had read it all as well, in the heat of battle I could even forget something important" she said, making it sound more like she was the one who was more likely to fail than luna, trying to boost her sister's confidence

[warmen111]

"Sister, if all else fails, I am certain we could burn it with fire to at least do as much as fend it off. I highly doubt we could miss such an important detail." Luna said, a little grumpy as she realised she wouldn't be able to dodge this one. She understood her sister in wanting to know every little detail, she really did but what was there more to know? It wasn't as if the fate of Equestria would be in their hooves. All they needed to do was burn it to ashes, right?

Of course, her sister wanted to keep the dragon alive, it being the last one remaining of it's species and all, but still! That was like saying they needed to start breeding more alicorns because it was an endangered species! Not even for the world would I want a foal, I'll stay the nice aunt. Luna thought as she thought about raising a little foal, how did she even get to this stream of thought? I suppose I've been sidetracking a little too much this evening... Perhaps the lack of sleep is finally getting to me.

[Ashton]

"I would prefer we not have to resort to that" said Celestia "After all the creature is the last of it's kind, and besides that it has been mostly harmless and even now we don't know the reason it's been appearing. This might be less a risk of the dragon itself but a warning that something far more sinister is coming" she paused "after all, if a fire-alarm is going off it would be foolish to curse the alarm and ignore the fire" she smiled "Be sure to get some rest this eve', sister, we must be at our best tomorrow"

[warmen111]

Luna sighed, she knew Celestia was right, but that didn't make it any easier for her. Couldn't Celestia for once just stop being the kind and caring pony she was for a day or so? Trying to keep a species of dangerous wild carnivores from going extinct, only she could do it. "You have a heart of pure gold, sister. Trying to save a rare, almost extinct species whilst running a kingdom filled with naïve yet friendly ponies together with an sister who occasionally still needs to be told she still is the younger one when she's getting a little out of her place. How do you do it, Celestia?" Luna asked with a grin, even though she was merely joking right now, she was honestly wondering how her sister did it.

After all, the stress, the lack of privacy, the expectations... How did she do it? Luna occasionally just locked herself away from the world, finding relief in visiting the dreamscape, yet as far as she knew, Celestia rarely did anything but work. Why had she been complaining about missing sleep anyways? How did she dare, when her elder sister sacrificied already so much in her daily life? Not to say that Luna didn't sacrifice anything being a princess and all, but still, compared to Celestia, she was running a students council, rather than a kingdom.

"Sleep well, Sister, I shall brief you tomorrow about my findings." Luna said as she levitated multiple tomes with her magic, her voice filled with kindness and compassion now that she had once more realized how much her sister gave already each and every day. "If you're looking for me, I shall be in my personal quarters." Luna said with a smile, trotting outside before quietly closing the door.

[Ashton]

Celestia smiled "Dear sister, even if the flowers of your praise have their share of thorns, I take them gladly" she said "I'm sure one day you will see things as I do and will be an even better leader for this country when I am gone. For now, we shall rest though, I shall take a few last-minute preparations and shall be up at the usual 5am to raise the sun and begin our journey, if I hurry I may get six hours of sleep" she smiled "rest well, my sister" she said as she headed to her personal chambers to finish up the days work and preparations for their departure.

[warmen111]

As Luna trotted towards her personal chamber, a few books floating next to her, she couldn't help but wonder. Would she ever be like her sister? Her own student, even more responsibilities to worry about with only Twilight Sparkle to back her up. Would she be able to handle that? Of course, the thought of Twilight next to her side, who certainly was a capable mare, did put her worries to ease, but still...

Would she ever be as great as her sister? Would she be able to handle the pressure? She always loved to tell her sister that she wasn't a little filly anymore, that she could stand on her own hooves, that she was a full grown mare, but the longer she thought about it... Would she really be able to live up to her claims?

Luna sighed as she entered her chambers, why was she worrying so much? Even for an immortal alicorn that time was still so far away, surely she would be more prepared by then? Even if not, Twilight would certainly be. Heck, by the time that time arrived, Luna wouldn't be surprised if Twilight would be a more capable ruler than she and her sister combined.

"Oh sister, you certainly made the right choice when you chose Twilight Sparkle as your student." Luna mumbled to herself as she layed down on her bed, the pile of ancient tomes next to her, ready to be deciphered by her. It was going to be a long night, that was for sure, but if it would help her little ponies of Equestria, it would be certainly worth doing so.

[Ashton]

The night did seem to drag on, but a dissembodied voice soon spoke to luna

"What's this I hear about you and Tia going on an adventure, hummmm?" came the voice of the familiar draconequis... though he did not make his appearance just yet... in face despite the phrasing, he seemed genuine for once, perhaps he was actually interested, or perhaps he was simply bored and wanted to pester the younger sister a little before he went to bed himself, in either case there was no doubt it would be an interesting discussion...

[warmen111]

At first, Luna thought she was hearing things, the dissembodied voice and the lack of sleep fitting quite well together. As the voice continued however, Luna quickly changed that statement. "Discord, I do not have time for your antics tonight, I am currently occupied with something of the highest importance." Luna said, hoping the god of chaos would just leave her alone for tonight. Normally it was already bad enough if he was around to pesker her but tonight she really didn't have time for that. she still had one entire tome left for studying after all.

[Ashton]

"And that is exactly why i am here... you two really need to get some help, just the two of you darling girls going up against an big, ancient monsterous undead dragon? It gives me the shivers to think what he might do to you... especially since none of us wield the elements of harmony anymore...." he added, no doubt trying to get under luna's skin and get her to slip up and say things she didnt really want to say...

[warmen111]

"We might not be as powerful as we once were, Discord. However, my sister and I are still two celestial beings with the strenght of both the moon and the sun at our disposal." Luna said, quite clearly a little offended. How did that oversized lizard dare to claim they were no match for a mere dragon?!

"Besides, since when do you care about the well being of others? Celestia may think you've been reformed, but I do not even trust you as far as the element of kindness could throw you." Luna scolded the draconequus, knowing all too well what the foul creature had done to her, her sister and all of Equestria.

[Ashton]

((Warning: Massive Fannon incomming!))

"Oh princess luna! you wound me!" came discords voice as violin music began to play "Ever since my reformation I have done nothing but good, and I have looked out for Celestia's every need and whim! How could you possibly bearm me so much ill will" the music reached a cresando as discord sounded like he burst into tears and indeed luna's sholdier became wet "You, who can look into dreams shoudl know how much I care for my Tia, I just am not the best at expressing myself!" he bemoned, and indeed if luna had attempted to view discord's dreams, what parts of them were even remotely viewable without giving her permanent brain damage... she would have seen quite a few scenes with celestia that were... well... not the sort that foals should be exposed to... The disturbing thing was if she looked into celestia's dreams as well she would occasionally find one of Tia and discord being very happy friends, nah, more a couple, if not exactly public about it... but they were just dreams... or were they?

[warmen111]

(I rarely mind headcanon, but this is kinda a ship I do indeed heavily dislike. So, if mentioning of this would be kept to a minium, that would be highly appreciated. Also, for our scoots rp, will it get any worse? Because to be honest, I personally think you're going a bit too far with this... I thought this would be a simple "bad friends, so she steals stuff" thing, not... well... That...)

Luna just huffed, she had seen the dreams in the past but hadn't cared much about them. They probably had just been created for the sole purpose of trying to let her make the wrong assumptions anyways. All for the enjoyment of the draconequus. "For all I care she was married to you, even my sister makes misjudgments at times." Luna said as she closed the book in front of her, realizing the chances of her actually getting anything else done tonight had become rather slim the moment Discord visited her room

"Even if your affection to my sister was the sole truth, not just some with mischief filled plan of yours. Why would you care about me?" Luna asked, finding it hard to believe the chaotic creature would actually care for his future sister in law. At least, if the dreams of both her sister and Discord had been true and not merely illusional spells of the draconequus to provoke her.

[Ashton]

"well if you want to be honest, it's because losing you would hurt my poor tia" said Discord "Otherwise you can go -CENSORED- a rosebush for all I care" he said flatly then his voice perked up "I'm kidding!" he added with a laugh and a huge, invisible, smile "We're all one big family now!" he said, from the feel of it putting his lion arm around luna's neck as a cake appeared on the coffee table in front of them "Dont you remember the good old days before all this madness when you and Tia and Swirly and I... and... I can never remember the other one... but when we all went around saving equestria with those magic trinkets much like that... delightful Twilight does" he clearly had to strain to be polite about twilight, but he still made the effort.