After all preparations were finished, the trip could finally begin. This whole process took longer than Twilight expected, longer than she needed... Now, every single second was now part of a final countdown. A countdown that, when it came to an end, would take the lives of countless ponies with it. And it needed to be stopped. Although it was long after midnight, the purple alicorn embarked into Cadence's personal train along with her loyal assistant. A long night was about to begin.
Taking their respective sits, the mare and dragon remained silent. In the hollow corridors of the empty train, everything appeared practically ethereal. All this emptiness caused the thoughts of the two passengers to inevitably drift towards the Entity.
"Twilight?" called Spike with a hesitant voice, trying to break the persistent silence
"Yes?" answered the mare in question "What's bothering you?"
"It's just that... this whole Entity thing... I'm scared." admitted the little drake, his voice shaking "Things have been happening so fast, I just... I just don't know what to do."
Seeing his dismay immediately chased all other thoughts from Twilight's weary mind. She needed to comfort this poor creature, but how? "Don't worry" she said unconvinced of her own words "we're going to get through this together."
"I hope." he replied "All this mystery just starts to seriously get on my nerves."
Suddenly, the sky outside lightened. It almost felt like the Moon was back, taking its usual place amidst the stars. But this didn't look right. Something bad was about to happen, but what?
A strange feeling of feebleness slowly crept into Twilight's mind. It wasn't a natural weakness, but the purple mare was sure she already felt it before. A realization arose in her mind: the Entity was about to feed. Their magic was going to be absorbed.
A teal beacon of light formed in the middle of the wagon, it's twisting form ascended, carrying the precious magic of the passengers in its relentless ascent. The alicorn princess felt it, the forces were leaving her frame. And, as her vision began to blur, the cold embrace of sleep took hold of the poor mare, sending her into a realm of peace and tranquility. Or maybe not...
Fog
It was the first thing Twilight could see. As her vision became clearer, its nature became apparent. This wasn't just regular fog... it was darker. The cold luminaries of stars provided their distant lighting to the scene. Nothing but the fog could be seen, not even the ground itself.
She was inside the Entity. Only thinking about it made the purple mare shiver. In this alien place, simply breathing wasn't an easy task. The ambient air itself felt strange, its density higher than usual. However, there was something else in this ethereal atmosphere. A great power was scattered all over this place, the air itself was filled with mana. Every single aspect of this idiosyncratic setting had something terrifying to it.
All of a sudden, the surrounding haze began swirling. Blueish maelströms formed, all drifting towards a single spot. Their hypnotizing flows merged together forming the semblance of an outlandish portal. Through her extreme panic, Twilight's outstanding curiosity managed to get hold of her. What was this portal? What would come traversing it? Unlike many others, these questions weren't destined to stay unanswered, as an ethereal yet pony-like form emerged from the mysterious gateway. Its luminous incarnation radiated as if made of fragments of the Sun itself. Who was this being? The answer to this inquiry was revealed as it began to talk.
"It is nice to encounter you in person after all this time, Twilight Sparkle" pronounced the Entity, its surreal voice recognizable among a million "Your efforts to stop me are truly remarkable, but sadly vain nonetheless"
Stunned by this turn of events, the mare in question just couldn't wrap her tired head around all this. How was this happening? Being inside the thing that was about to destroy your world, confronting its avatar, wasn't exactly the best for one's sanity. Considering all this, Twilight couldn't manage a coherent answer, she chose to remain silent instead.
Displeased by its interlocutor's lack of response, the Entity continued its hypnagogic speech. "Don't leave my greetings unanswered, I know you have plenty of questions plaguing you mind"
Collecting what was left of her resolve, Twilight tried to calm herself. And yet, the only thing sound she managed to produce was "Why?"
"Why? The answer is quite simple: Power. To me, your entire race is the equivalent of what insects are to you: insignificant. Destroying you, is only a mean to reach my goal and the price to pay does not bother me in the slightest." the cold words of the Entity echoed in the ambient void, as its incandescent gaze fixed the purple alicorn.
"NO!" snapped Twilight "You can't just take countless lives and end them for the sole purpose of your personal gain! How could you even think about such things?"
"So could have said the ants, carelessly murdered by your kind during a simple walk in the park..."
Cracking her eyes open, Twilight was still in their cosy wagon. Spike was sitting nearby, mindlessly staring into the Moonless sky. All this was just a dream. Or was it? This nightmare seemed all too vivid, all too real. What if the Entity used this as a way to communicate? She just wasted this precious occasion to uncover more of its enigmatic nature.
Noticing his friend's movement, Spike turned his stare towards the now awaken mare.
"Are you alright?" he inquired with worry in his voice "Your sudden collapse really freaked me out."
"Thanks Spike, sorry for robbing you of your sleep." she said, noticing the extreme exhaustion in the little drake's face.
"You're really sure you're good?" questioned the dragon "Cause you didn't stop shifting and turning, and even now, you look pretty scared."
"Oh, that's nothing. I just had a pretty disturbing nightmare and..." Twilight stopped as the Entity's speech arose in her mind. The vivid memories made her shiver.
"And what?" asked Spike concerned with his friend's frightened look.
"It's just that, in the nightmare, the Entity seemed to be communicating with me, I can't understand why"
Their conversation was interrupted, as the train's whistle signaled its arrival to Canterlot. This quest was far from being finished...