//------------------------------// // Undeniable Evidence // Story: Scenes of Immortality // by Kytin //------------------------------// Celestia stared at the corpse lying on the ground before her. Her expression was one of utter shock and disbelief. "Did I kill him?" She said quietly, her voice that of a mare stunned by the unthinkable. She slowed the beating of her wings and began to drift back down toward the ground. As she got closer, she realized she could see through the blackened hole in her victims face to the dirt beneath. "I... I really killed him." Completely stunned by what had just happened, she finally dropped onto her hooves and folded her wings. "I killed him." She repeated, as if saying it again would make it more believable. She carefully nudged the body of the dragon with a hoof. The corpse did not react. Her expression finally shifted from stunned disbelief to surprised delight. "I killed him! Luna! Luna, did you see that? I... Luna?" Celestia turned her head one way then the other, searching for her sister in the devastated landscape. She failed to spy any trace of her sibling. "Luna!" Celestia cried out desperately as she searched through the wreckage that had once been a well tended farm. "Oh please be okay." "I'm here." The Princess of the Moon called out as she finished struggling out from under the claw of the dead dragon. "I'm fine." "Oh thank goodness!" Celestia swiftly flew over to her little sister. "For a minute there I thought... heh. Well, it looks like I saved your life again." Luna glared at Celestia before raising a hoof and striking her sister along the side of her head. "Ow! What was that for?" Celestia yelped while rubbing the side of her face. "For dragging me into this mess in the first place!" Lunas voice took on a mocking imitation of her sister. "Come on Luna, we're going to go kill a dragon." "You didn't have to come." Celestia grumbled. "Celestia, if I hadn't been here that dragon would have squashed you flat the moment your first 'plan' failed." Luna retorted. "Hey, it was a perfectly good plan! It's not my fault the stupid Element didn't work." said Celestia sourly. "Uh... I don't suppose you know where it went?" Luna gave her sister a look of disbelief. "You lost the Element of Magic?" "I was kind of busy saving your life." Celestia replied in irritation. "You're welcome, by the way." "I saved yours first!" The Princess of the Moon protested. Celestia turned away and began looking around. Luna huffed in frustration then took her first good look at the wound that had slain the monster. Luna stared at the corpse for nearly a full minute before she spoke again. "What... what did you do?" She asked with an unmistakable tremor of fear. Celestia abandoned her halfhearted search to return to he sisters side. "I... uh... okay. When that thing grabbed you I kind of panicked a little and threw the Element of Magic at him." Celestia began. "And that did this?" Luna turned to face her sister with wide eyes, and waved a hoof at the hole that had been burned through the dragons eye and out the back of his head. "What? No, it just bounced off. But it did distract him a little, and when he turned to look at me I summoned the brightest sunbeam I could to try and blind him." Celestia shifted uncomfortably. "It, uh, was a bit brighter than I expected." "A bit brighter than you expected?" Luna repeated numbly. "Celestia, you just burned a hole through the head of a dragon." "Yeah, I was pretty worried about you, so I didn't hold back." Celestia said solemnly. "No, you just burned a hole through the head of a dragon." Luna replied, her voice rising in pitch. "Nopony has ever done that before. Ever. I didn't even think it could be done! I mean... are you sure the element of magic didn't do something?" "I didn't feel it activate or anything." Celestia replied with a frown. "And didn't you say that the Elements couldn't be used to kill anything? That's why we have a Discord statue instead of an urn full of ash." "But... there had to have been something." Luna spoke desperately, searching for an explanation that would allow her world to make sense again. "Ponies just don't have this kind of power. There must have been something else that made it stronger or... or gave you more power or... something." She looked at her sister, eyes filled with pleading. "Uh..." Celestia wanted to comfort her sister and give her the explanation she wanted, but her ego was not yet ready to give up the credit for the victory. "Well, we aren't exactly ordinary ponies, remember? We're the ones that found the Elements of Harmony and stopped Discord. The 'Fated Heroes of Equestria', right? Maybe we really are just that powerful." Luna stared at Celestia with her mouth open. She looked as if she wanted to protest, but no words came out. Eventually, Luna closed her mouth and looked away. She spoke in a quiet voice, as if only to herself. "Our manes blow in a wind that doesn't exist, and we aren't getting older..." She shivered as if from a sudden chill. "What are we?" "Ponies?" Celestia guessed. She wasn't quite sure why this bothered her sister so much. The thing with their manes was a bit freaky at first, but on the whole it was kind of cool. And staying young and having immense magical power were both good things right? "Ponies get old. Ponies don't blow up dragon heads by accident." Luna continued to stare into the distance. "Really cool ponies?" Celestia hazarded. Luna gave her sister a long look that was meant to be solemn, but was rather spoiled by the twitching at the corners of her mouth. "Damnit Celestia!" Luna exclaimed as she failed to hold back the laughter. "Can't you take anything seriously?" "Not if I can help it!" Celestia replied cheerfully. She was happy and rather pleased with herself that she was able to break her sisters dark mood. "Now come and help me find that stupid Element of Magic."