“Luna!”

A hoof pressed against Twilight's chest, keeping her from springing onto her hooves. Her head stretched as far as her neck would allow it in every direction, but it was no use.

“Twilight, be quiet!” came a harsh hush.

Twilight released her struggle, but her nerves continued to jostle. A certain darkness that lingered made it seem as though color had been sucked out of the atmosphere. The swirling white mist had gone, and the mirror-like walls were no more; corners and columns stuck out from the dark walls, and spread between them on the floor were ponies lying down, their eyes either closed or dark with fear.

The unique pastel colors of Twilight's peers slowly began to emerge from the dimly-lit chamber, though their eyes, manes and coats never shed the layer of gray. It took a moment for Twilight to realize that the hoof holding her down was dark blue.

“What happened, Twilight?” came Colgate's voice as her eyes, navy like the deep blue sea, went to work examining the bookworm's quivering figure. She removed her hold from Twilight as she figured her friend was no longer aiming to run off screaming.

“I spoke to her,” Twilight uttered, sitting up. “I spoke with Luna- wait, where's Professor Yorsets?”

Colgate's breaths quickened as her mouth opened and closed, a sign that was not so reassuring to Twilight.

“Where is he, Colgate?” Twilight repeated, then standing up.

“He said he'd be right back,” Colgate answered, then muttered, “a while ago...”

“How long ago was 'a while ago'?”

Twilight watched as her friend's eyes mimicked the slow circling of the hands on a clock. They moved counterclockwise as though counting back.

Colgate's answer squeaked with uncertainty, “An hour, maybe?”

“An hour!?” Twilight shrieked before swiftly being hushed. She looked around at the others, most of which had the hair on their manes standing on end. It was only then that Twilight realized the entire company had spread across the performance hall, though most were in some proximity to the entryway. They kept their heads low and limbs tucked as though they were trying to compact themselves into little balls.

Twilight surveyed the group and broke the silence with a whispered, “What exactly is going on?”

Lyra approached the two and, true to her expression, said with a trembling voice, “While you were out, there wasn't a noise for some time. Professor Yorsets said something about checking up on the others, and teleported out of here, saying he'd be right back. Right before you woke up, we heard another crash.”

“The dra-?” Twilight cut herself off; she wasn't sure how much she should reveal. Her friends already seemed worried as it was.

Telling them might only cause more panic.

“Yeah, I guess I lost my concentration on that sleep spell,” Colgate admitted, heavy-hearted. “But it sounds like you heard from Luna anyway; what did she say?”

Twilight thought back to the peculiar encounter and the scene within the strange clouds.

“She gave me instructions as to what we need to do until she gets back,” she whispered. “When I think about it, though, we're basically doing everything she told us to. The plan is to try and stay safe by hiding until Luna gets back.”

Colgate's ears perked up. “Where is she?”

Twilight tried to remember the mysterious place where she had been floating, but the image was quickly fading from her mind. The vagueness grew only more mysterious in her memory, and before long she found herself struggling to recall her entire conversation with Princess Luna.

“She didn't say. Since I was in my dream, she came to me to speak. I think.”

Lyra bowed her head, though her eyes stayed fixed on Twilight's. “Nothing at all-?”

The shadow in the sea...

“I think she said something about the ocean,” Twilight rejoined, though reluctantly. “She must have meant the Equestrian Sea.”

“So she's close by? Thank Celestia,” Lyra remarked as her eyes began to shine, however dim they still appeared. “Maybe she's just a mile or two out. She'll be here in no time!”

Twilight intervened, “Still, Lyra, with Professor Yorsets gone there's no way to contact the others, and staying in contact with everypony possible was something Princess Luna told me to do. Do you think somepony here knows how to use advanced telekinetic spells?”

Twilight caught sight of all those in hearing range, including Colgate and Lyra, but not a single one made any signs; just stares.

“Hello? Anypony there?”

Twilight paused as the voice echoed in her head. “Professor?”

“Um, Twilight, I'm not a professor...”

Twilight patted her muzzle. The voice sounded very familiar, and the more she thought about it, the less it sounded like Yorsets's.

“Who is this?”

“My name's Pokey Pierce. Who is this?”

“Pokey? And you just said my name; it's Twilight Sparkle. How in Equestria do you know an advanced telepathic spell? You're not in the performance hall, are you?”

“My mom made me learn this some years ago. I help keep track of my younger siblings back in Ponyville.”

Twilight blinked. “You have younger brothers and sisters?”

“Yup. Nine.”

“Wow, how didn't I know- grr, what am I saying? Listen, Pokey Pierce, Professor Yorsets left our group a while ago and hasn't come back yet. Where are you, and have you seen him recently?”

“Gee, that's a lot of questions... Who is this again?”

“It's Twilight, Pokey.”

“'Twilight Pokey'? That's a strange-”

“Twilight Sparkle!”

“Oh, gotcha. Uh... what were you asking again?”

Twilight slapped herself before the frustration could burst, taking the anger out on herself. The motion generally worked, as it did then.

She asked again, this time more slowly, “Have you seen Professor Yorsets?”

“No, but he talked to Gallant not too long ago. They were talking for quite a while.”

“What were they talking about? Do you know?”

“I think Gallant said something about somepony slamming a window shut in Prim Rose's group. I think it broke.”

“It WHAT!?”

The performance hall filled with a violent hush once more, but Twilight paid the others no heed. Their shushing noise was more irritating than embarrassing due to the heat of the moment.

Twilight lifted her eyes to the thin but long windows at the front of the hall. A shiver shot up the mare's spine at the thought of something similar happening.

“Listen, Pokey, where are you right now?”

“In a box.”

Twilight exhaled; she had learned to be patient with Pokey, but at times his cluelessness could be irritating.

“Where in the building are you?”

“Oh, I'm in one of the classrooms.”

“So you're on the second floor, then. Who else is with you?”

There was a pause, one long enough to make Twilight begin sweating over picturing just what could be happening all of a sudden. With the mysterious ice and frost as well as the random monster's strikes – combined with a vivid imagination – anything seemed possible.

“Looks like I'm all alone.”

“Wait, what? How's that possible?”

“They must not have seen me get in my box.”

Twilight could barely control herself from beginning to bark at her friend; though flustered, it was really her concern that was beginning to make her nerves twinge.

“Pokey, stay right where you are,” Twilight ordered. “I'm coming to get you.”

But Lyra, who had overheard Twilight's whispered answers, stepped forward.

“Oh no you're not,” she said stubbornly. “Professor Yorsets told us to not leave this room, no matter what.”

“No, Lyra, you don't understand: Princess Luna told me to find a book in the library on-” She stopped upon noticing everypony staring her down. “-er, books.”

“A book on books, huh?” Colgate asked as a grin slowly began to show. “Whatever, a trip to the library's a trip to the library. Count me in.”

Lyra gasped. “Colgate! Professor Yorsets put us in charge while he was away. We can't just leave our peers unsupervised. My conscience would simply be weighed down if I just left on a whim like that.”

“I have to go,” Twilight said. “After all, Yorsets didn't put me in charge.”

“Then I'm going, too,” Lyra suddenly interjected. “Colgate, you stay here in case Yorsets needs to reach one of us.”

And with that she trotted toward the doors with her head held high, eyes closed, a look of complete decisiveness covering her face. With a magic nudge she pried open the exit and peered outside, and within seconds she beckoned Twilight to join her.

Twilight glanced back at Colgate, who could only watch in utter disbelief, and – unsure of how to handle the situation herself – simply allowed herself to be dragged out, leaving behind all the others.

This should only take a minute. Once we get Pokey, we'll be able to contact Colgate in case of emergency.

Planning and survival were the only things on Twilight's mind. A checklist of what to do and how to accomplish such measures had already formed from the minute she woke up from her magic-induced slumber. One by one she checked off items on her mental list as she followed Luna's plan as closely and efficiently as possible.

“First we need to get Pokey,” Twilight whispered to Lyra as the two flattened themselves against the wall besides the doorway. “He's in one of the classrooms upstairs.”

“Got it.”

Lyra suddenly took off at a speed Twilight had only ever seen in races, despite the minty mare bearing all of her belongings. Her steps were oddly silent as her sprint continued up the stairwell, until she was crawling upon reaching the second floor.

Twilight marveled at the speed. Soon after she herself took off, though, she found herself more astonished by her silence. The loud clapping of Twilight's hooves against the floor echoed off of every wall in the foyer, and its resonances made the mare slow her pace. The slower she went, however, the more she pictured the dragon – whatever it was – spotting her from one of the chamber windows. After a minute of edging her way along in the open, Twilight clenched her teeth and galloped, closing her ears as best she could to drown out the mysterious thundering of her steps.

Once at the top, she found Lyra holding a look of exasperation.

“Could you be any louder?” she growled beneath her breath.

Twilight snorted.

How is she so quiet!?

The two made their way to the nearest classroom, and this time the carpet absorbed most of the sound. Still, Twilight's steps sounded awfully clamorous in her own ears, though the mare wondered if her nerves were simply getting the best of her. Every other step she would glance at a window nearby, waiting for something to creep into view.

A dragon... what kind could it be?

Lyra cracked open the classroom door and peeked inside. Her undisturbed stare signaled a sign of safety, but Twilight didn't feel the least at ease.

“Is it safe?” she asked.

Lyra removed her nose from the gap in the doorway. “Yes, but I don't see Pokey anywhere inside.”

Twilight nudged her way past Lyra and entered the room, scanning for the boxy fortress inside of which she knew her friend was hiding. The far wall was lined with dark curtains, not a single glass panel in sight. The small desks and chairs sat piled along the screen, forming a blockade to protect the windows. The rest of the room seemed empty except for a lone coffin sitting in the corner.

“Pokey?” Twilight called. “Are you in here?”

Silence. Twilight started to back into the doorway; the curtains had suddenly grown a little darker.

Twilight called again, this time whispering, “Pokey Pierce? It's Twilight.” She turned to Lyra, heart pounding. “Well, he said he was in a box. Let's check the next room-”

Suddenly the lid on the casket flew open and ever so slowly a head rose from within the container. A blue figure with goldenrod eyes stared at Twilight.

“Coffin? Is that what this is?” came the voice of Pokey Pierce.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief after nearly retreating all the way back to the performance hall.

She nodded. “Yes, Pokey, that's a coffin, not a box. Now, we need to get to the library. I want you to come along so the three of us can stay in contact with the other groups with your telepathic spell. Okay?”

Pokey weighed the thought in his mind; with what else, Twilight wasn't sure.

“Can I bring my box?” he asked in his usual dopey manner.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “No, Pokey, no coffin; it'll only slow us down. We don't want to lose you or anything.”

Pokey nodded in understanding as he climbed out of the wooden casket, a slight sadness filling his eyes. Twilight wondered if he was even aware of the overall danger that they were in; his cluelessness hadn't seemed to have faded even in such a perilous state of affairs.

As he approached the two, Twilight asked, “Do you think you can contact Colgate real quick? You know, to tell her we're safe?”

“Sure,” Pokey replied with no sign of complaint.

He closed his eyes as his horn glowed a baby blue color. The look of concentration on his face multiplied immensely as his eyes scrunched tightly and teeth clenched as though biting through a sheet of metal. The color of his horn gradually expanded to form a larger and larger cone, until the light flashed and proceeded to fade away.

He opened his eyes and stared off into space. Twilight and Lyra looked at each other, puzzled.

Twilight waved a hoof in front of the stallion's face. “D-Did you find Colgate-?”

Pokey suddenly chuckled. His mouth hung open before he suddenly laughed again, after which he closed his eyes and shook his head as though ridding of a wetness in his mane.

His eyes instantly shot to Twilight. “What? Did you say something?”

Twilight swallowed the anxiety that was beginning to choke her. “Did you find Colgate? Is she okay?”

“Yup. Just dandy.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “But how do you know? You didn't even say anything.”

“I do it all in my mind,” Pokey replied without a care in the world. “I've practiced a lot. I think having a big imagination helps, too.”

“Why were you laughing?” Twilight inquired.

“Colgate said that she wasn't happy with Lyra's decision-making skills.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, if that's all, then let's head to the library. There's no time to waste.”

She made her way to the door and eased it open, taking one safe glance out into the open. The windows were still frozen over, and the view outside was white. The hall was dim, the air cold and stale, but it beat coming face-to-face with a monster.

Twilight stepped out into the open, the other two right behind her, and took on the cold once more for a battle of endurance. The three tiptoed their way along the dusky-colored carpets, breaths held, until they reached library across the way. From a distance Twilight tried the door with a magic grab. The handle jiggled.

Locked.

The mare turned to face the other two. She tried to contain the pressure that was making itself evident all throughout her body, but she could see Lyra and Pokey giving worried looks as they soon understood the situation.

“Any ideas?” Twilight asked.

Pokey and Lyra over the door behind her from top to bottom. With a solid oak composition covered in metal bars and embroidery, the door seemed like an unlikely target for brute force.

Yet, Pokey stated, “We could try and buck it open. That's what I did at home if I couldn't get inside.”

“How barbaric!” Lyra opposed with a gasp. “Why not just make like a couple of thieves and break in?”

“That's what he just said, Lyra,” Twilight mumbled.

“No, not like that!” Lyra snarled. “Like this.”

One pouch from her overloaded saddlebags opened and a couple of blue and pink hairpins floated out. Lyra approached the door and lowered herself until her eyes were level with the silver handle. Carefully she stuck one of her pins into the keyhole and began jiggling the flimsy thing around. After a few seconds of metal rustling a distinctive click made the trio's ears stand.

“Well, that was easier than I expected,” Lyra laughed, though quietly.

Twilight was taken aback as the three entered through. “Do you do this often?”

“I used to forget my house keys all the time, so I took on lock-picking as a hobby. It's come in use a number of other times as well.”

Pokey paused mid-step. “What else do you use that for-?”

“No matter! We're in,” Lyra laughed uneasily. “Let's just get this book Twilight so desperately needs-”

A shake of the floor threw the three into the library and the door slammed shut behind them. A series of cracking and creaking broke the air in rapid succession as though stone were grinding against stone. Books began plopping onto the floor as shelves tipped and swayed ever so slightly. A terrible shattering of glass suddenly sounded off in distance, and in its fracturing din a distant scream broke out. Powerful winds quickly swept the sounds beneath its might.

Twilight couldn't breath. Another loud thump against the great structure followed, along with stronger gales blasting time and time again. It took a moment before Twilight realized that the noises were not coming from their own room; in fact, when Twilight came to her senses it seemed as though it were happening on the opposite side of the grounds.

The clamor returned as bursts of wind sounded in the distance, like the beating of winds against the air.

Is that... the dragon!?

Though void of breath, Twilight got to her hooves and ran over to the towering windows. They faced the west where the hills and low mountains sat, but none of it was visible through the icy glass and snowy curtain behind it. Trembling, Twilight couldn't seem to pull herself from staring outside. She had to know what was out there.

She only turned her head enough to relay a feeble order aloud. “Pokey, try and contact Professor Yorsets.”

The stallion's eyes wandered around the library for a moment before his full attention went into processing the request.

“Professor Yorsets, got it.”

Pokey closed his eyes and the sequence of his telepathic spell began anew as the baby blue light flickered into life. Pokey sat and lowered his head as though ready to drive it into whatever obstacle was in his way, his teeth grinding audibly, more so than before.

After a minute of this, Twilight began to feel her stomach twisting. She was losing patience, and fast. Thinking of the dragon being right above them, ready to strike as it just had not a minute ago, put her in a terrible panic. She managed to contain herself, however, thanks to previous experiences in tight situations.

“I'm going to look for the book,” Twilight said to Lyra, who had gone pale as a ghost. “Find a place away from this window, but be sure to stand somewhere nearby.”

Twilight headed straight for the animals section, a part of the library she had not often browsed herself. That had always been where she could find Fluttershy and, on occasion, Spike.

Memories began flashing into Twilight's mind, of Ponyville, her friends, and of her home, the library. The warmth from just picturing home gave a distracting comfort. Winter was going to clear in just a couple of weeks, after the annual Winter Wrap-Up, of course. By then the town would experience its summer months once more and she and her friends would enjoy the return of the sweet flora and friendly fauna.

Fauna. Animals.

Twilight's attention returned to the present. She jumped upon realizing a book was floating before her very eyes, one with a black silhouette on its cover. As Twilight looked closer, she saw that it was a flying dragon. She quickly looked around her, but no pony was nearby. She figured her subconscious must have sorted through the shelves on its own while her mind wandered off into the dream world; after all, it wasn't uncommon for her to find and shelf books without even thinking about it. After living in a library for a year, she could pretty much do so in her sleep.

Without further ado the mare made her way back to the others, flipping through the pages as Luna's final words ran through her mind.

If only I had had an extra minute or two in that dream... What kind of dragon is it?

Twilight approached her friends, who hadn't moved far from the library entrance, and held up the book in weak triumph.

“I think I found it,” she said.

“'It'? You mean there was only one?” Lyra asked, bemused. All of a sudden she shrieked. “Wait, is that a book on... dragons!?”

Twilight held out the thick tome and leafed through the pages. Pictures of different kinds of dragons decorated in all sorts of colors passed through the three's sights, along with paragraphs of information and warnings.

“I didn't want to scare the others before,” Twilight answered as she held the book up and buried her nose into it. “Princess Luna said it was a dragon, but I woke up before she could tell me what kind it was.”

“We don't even know what kind?” Lyra asked, nearly crying. “And t-that thing that's attacking us is a dragon?”

Twilight gulped. “Yes.”

“But, that means...” Lyra couldn't even finish her sentence as she sobbed. “We're doomed!”

“No we're not,” Twilight stated. “Fluttershy scared off a dragon once. I'm sure there's a way we can do it too. We just have to figure out its weakness.”

“Well, first we have to figure out what kind of a dragon it is! You saw how many entries there were when you flipping through there; that could take hours!”

“Not if we use some common sense,” Twilight said. “Dragons are usually pretty rare, so they're called by simple names that generally describe them, like 'Fire Dragon' or 'Forest Wyvern'.”

Lyra frowned. “So what, is it going to be called 'Frost Wyrm' or something?”

Pokey suddenly exhaled as though he had been holding his breath for the past few minutes.

“Pokey, what's wrong?” Twilight asked. “Did you find Professor Yorsets?”

The stallion stopped as he looked at the ceiling. His eyes then lowered as he stared Twilight eye-to-eye.

“No.”

Lyra leaped back and onto her hooves. “You don't mean-!?”

“He's frozen too?” Twilight gasped.

Her eyes wandered down to the book in her magic hold and began madly flipping through its pages. “Something with White, maybe Snow...”

“Should I see if I can find somepony else?” Pokey asked, unusually calm.

“Tell Colgate that Yorsets is missing. Who else was put in charge? Prim Rose? Gallant? Find them too!”

Twilight found herself going through pages faster than she ever had, even while skimming through. Her eyes only need the title or a picture, even a single piece of a sentence on each page to tell what its content covered. The shivers and shakes made her flicking through the pages faster.

One page flew past, its title 'Ice Drake'. Twilight paused the frantic flipping through and backtracked to the the entry. A white and light blue dragon, thick and massive, was sketched on the opposite page. Its small black eyes were menacing, its closed mouth a sign of silence.

Twilight read aloud, “Ice Drake: This creature is extremely rare and only found at great heights or in isolated areas. It can only travel when snow or ice is present as it cannot survive without the touch of cold. It often freezes its prey with a mystical ice breath that normal magic cannot undo. A touch of its talons will cause whatever comes in contact with them to freeze as well.

“Its stare is what distinguishes it from most other dragons. It is said that the joints of anything that comes eye-to-eye with the Ice Drake will lock up momentarily, allowing the dragon a moment to contemplate its next move. It is aggressive and extremely defensive, though what criteria it takes into account regarding its territory is unknown. They generally inhabit mountains or entire tundras, though some are said to temporarily dwell within icy waters where they are often mistaken for glaciers.”

“But there aren't any mountains around here,” Lyra remarked, shaking. “And the ocean hasn't been particularly cold recently, has it?”

A memory flashed back into Twilight's mind. She remembered discussing the idea of remaining monsters with the Tigbalan; it had been one of her wishes.

He said there weren't any more monsters on the island. Was it all a lie?

A deafening crash blew the three off their hoofs. Glass shards littered the floor like stormy waves washing up on shore. Cold spewed into the library like an icy waterfall, and along with it came a flurry of snow and pellets of ice. Twilight got up, stumbling, adrenaline coursing through her system. She looked up to see the library windows completely shattered, leaving the dim sky outside in plain sight. Two frames were not empty, though, for two sets of giant white talons reached inside.

Shelf after shelf of ancient books and text fell to the floor as the long, sharp claws reached deeper into the library. White and light blue scales began to shimmer against the darkness of the chamber, their colors breathtaking, their size nothing but frightening.

It was the dragon. It had found them.

“Get out of here! Hurry up!” Twilight screamed.

She pushed the other two toward the door just a few paces away, but stopped as the rows of bookshelves fell like dominoes, cutting off their exit. Twilight looked to her right and left quickly; there was no other way out that she knew of. Pokey and Lyra looked just as helpless.

But there was one spell that came to mind.

“Brace yourselves!” Twilight warned as the tip of her horn began to light. “I'm going to try and get us out of here!”

Her spell zapped into action, and before she knew it the three were standing out in the foyer, quaking, just a steps away from the performance hall entry. The terrible sounds of the dragon carried through the foyer, but something else tickled away at the air as well. It took a moment for Twilight to hear it, and when she did she began scanning the hall. It didn't take long before she spotted a sparking white line of frost slowly covering the central staircase.

Another breaking of glass sounded, and with that there was no more waiting; Twilight made a dash for the performance hall. She pushed the doors with all her strength, even with magic power added in, but for some reason the doors refused not budge. They seemed perfectly normal; that is, until a familiar white frost crept out from between the cracks in the doors.

“Colgate!” Twilight yelled. “Colgate! Can you here me!?”

Twilight held her ear up to the door, but a freezing sensation made her jump back. She waited. No response. The frost continued to consume the doorway.

Twilight turned to see which doors in the foyer still appeared untouched, but to her shock they all seemed iced over. The door to the lounge, the door to the dining hall, even the door leading outside had ice or snow piling around its edges.

Twilight felt on the verge of complete panic. “We need to get outside.”

“Outside, are you crazy!?” Lyra shouted.

“I'm teleporting us out of here,” Twilight announced, not taking 'no' for an answer. “We're sitting ducks if we stay in here!”

And in another flash the three found themselves outside in the commons. Snow reached halfway up their bodies, and the touch of the cold seemed one hundred times worse. More numbing was the sight of the academy: not a single inch of the buildings or grounds went untouched by the accumulating snow and ice.

Princess Luna... where are you!?

Next Chapter: Chapter 35 (Episode 9, Part 2): The Secret Within Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 2 Minutes