//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: The Return of Grima 
// Story: Equestria: Awakening 
// by Fighterx345 
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	"...But, how? Why, why are you... Nothing here makes sense! Are you not the real Naga? Some shapeshifting being? Gahh...! What's going on here?!" I vented. 'There's no reason why she should be here. If anything, I'm in an alternate universe populated by ponies, but that doesn't explain Naga! I know I'm not imagining this but... Good gods, am I going crazy?'
Naga calmly read my face like a book. "No, Robin. I am truly here. I am as real as you in this reality. However, this place is much more familiar to you than you may realize."
I weakly got on both feet and stood. "What... what do you mean?"
Naga continued. "Did you not recognize the mountain Canterlot is built upon? It is the place you first met me, when Chrom performed the Awakening ritual."
My brain began working again. "Mount Prism... You still reside here, but this castle, the ponies, nothing else adds up. This mountain is remarkably similar to Mount Prism, but the similarities end there. There are no people, no humans, only ponies. The kingdoms of Ylisse are replaced by the ponies, griffons, and diamond dogs."
"..Tell me, Robin. You have seen a map of all of Equestria before meeting me, correct?"
I nodded.
"What is the shape of the continent of Ylisse, and how does it compare to Equestria?"
I thought a little, and began, "Well, the continents look rather similar, but there are differences around the..." I paused, and blinked. "The ocean to the East does not extend as deeply into..." I paused again. I compared my mental images of both continents before looking back at Naga.
"They're... they're.."
"They are the same exact shape, yes." She nodded, her ethereally flowing hair seeming to maintain its own inertia.
"But... why?"
Naga sighed; for the first time, I read her expression as sadness, which caused my heart to plummet into a sea of worry.
"Robin, you successfully defeated Grima, and you survived, due in no small part to the bonds you shared with your soldiers. You did not die..."
She paused. My heart hammered in my chest.
"...but neither did Grima."
My blood ran cold. "Wh..what? But, but you said that the only force that could kill Grima was himself! Because of my fellblood connection with him and my future self's bond, you said I could stop him. Not for a thousand years, but for eternity!" I was nearly fuming. "What was my sacrifice for if Grima will come back!? Nothing good has come from my choice, I should've let Chrom just deal the finishing blow!"
Naga calmly replied. "No, Robin. Your victory over Grima has made all the difference in the world."
I was still indignant. "But how? The point was to defeat Grima forever instead of a thousand years. If he comes back, what I did was useless. And I still abandoned my friends for it..."
Naga paused. This was the first time I've seen her deep in thought. It frightened and silenced me. It looked as if she were contemplating with all the weight of one about to pass judgment on the last existing human. She finally spoke. "Perhaps... perhaps I should allow him to tell you in person."
I grew confused. Very confused. And what happened next would haunt my conscious thoughts and unconscious dreams for years to come.
Naga called out; strangely, her voice shifted to a different tone altogether when she did so. It was slightly deeper, and seemed to echo less with power and age, but it was no less commanding. I assumed this was the voice she used when under the façade of Princess Celestia. However, this didn't hold my attention as much as what she said.
"Please enter now, Princess Luna."
My eyes shrunk. 'The other Princess! ...But what does she have to do with this?'
I snapped my eyes back to the front doors of the throne room. With a slight creak, the doors opened as the two guards outside pushed them. Luna, the other Princess, with rule over the Night, had entered. She wore similar regalia to the image of Princess Celestia, and her hair seemed to flow in the same invisible wind. Yet her hair was dark, as if it were a void glistening with dispersed stars: a localized galaxy. However, I instantly noticed that the guards who opened the door did so without actually looking inside the room. I quickly surmised, 'With the truth of Celestia being a dragon deity, I have no doubt Naga wants to keep this a secret.'
But I still had no idea as to how another Princess would factor into this. 'Considering alicorns are a race (and de facto royalty at that), maybe Luna is a natural alicorn who ruled alongside Naga, who was just disguised as one to prevent social and political controversy.' As she approached us, I couldn't help but feel she still knew more about the situation than I did. Upon seeing me and Naga (or rather, Celestia in human form), she merely raised an eyebrow. She spoke in a similar commanding tone as 'Celestia' did.
"Is it time, sister?"
At this, Naga nodded. "Yes, it is time, brother."
Once my brain processed that, I did a massive physical and mental double-take. 'BROTHER?'
My thoughts were cut short as Princess Luna's form was enveloped in a purple light. It resonated with darkness and energy all too familiar to me. My mind progressed from confusion, to realization, and utter horror as the transformation developed before me. 'Luna', covered in darkness, stood on two limbs and shifted form to that of a human. Her hair shortened and fell from its ethereal flight, losing its constellation-like shine, taking on a solid shade of white. Her snout shortened, her skin turning light. Her dark coat seemed to split and mold into a cloak of black and purple, bearing a hood which fell to her shoulders. Her eyes glowed white; the shine cut off when she closed them. When she opened them again, they had changed color from their deep blue to a very familiar shade of brown: the same shade of brown I had seen every time I looked into a mirror. The transformation was complete, and the dark power surrounding 'Luna' faded, but only slightly. The floating shadows that remained resonated in my thoughts as an ancient energy which bore only misery and destruction. I looked at the being before me, and saw myself. Horror and confusion racked my body, yet all I held in my blazing heart was righteous fury and indignation. I clenched my fists as I stared at the monster before me, the cause of all this, and the cause of countless of my countrymen's deaths.
I grit my teeth and roared. "GRIMA!!!"


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