//------------------------------//
// The Wake-up Call (Part 1) 
// Story: The Northern Sky 
// by DashTillDawn 
//------------------------------//

We were wandering the caves near the Crystal Empire, on what Twilight referred to as a 'friendship lesson.' Really, she was investigating some magical disturbance, and she didn't want to come out to these ice caves alone.
We had been searching for just a few hours, but the cold was already taking it's toll. My muzzle was beginning to turn pink, and I couldn't feel my hooves. Rarity had provided us with the warmest winter gear she could put together, but it still wasn't enough. At least we were out of the wind. The wind didn't care if you had protection or not. It chilled you to the bone anyways.
"Hey, Starlight! Come here!" Twilight called.
I crunched through the thin layer of snow on the cave floor, making my way to where I had heard Twilight's voice. When I reached her, she levitated the shovel off of my belt, and planted it in the snow.
"What'd you do that for?" I asked.
"Look at it." She responded.
Not much of an answer, but I did as I was told. The shovel head was entirely buried in the snow.
"What about it?" She was trying to get at something, but I couldn't see what.
"The snow is deeper here."
Now she made sense. Through most of the cave, there had just been a thin sheet. Here, there was enough to plant the whole shovel, and maybe more.
"I was beginning to think I had done something wrong." I laughed. "So... what should we do?"
"I guess we dig. If I had know we were looking under the snow, I would have brought another shovel."
"How do you know what we're looking for is down there?" I questioned skeptically.
"We are right about where the disturbance was felt, and I don't see any other clues. This is the best lead we've got."
And so we dug. we took turns using the shovel and our hooves. The loose snow must have gone down for five or six feet, before we hit something new.
It was my turn with the shovel, and I had felt it hit something other than snow. It was still soft, but it was harder than the snow around it.
"Got something." I told Twilight.
"Loose the shovel. We should be gentle with it, whatever it may be."
So I tossed the shovel to the side, and we started pushing snow aside with our hooves. As I moved another small pile, some brown poked out. We rushed to uncover more.
"It- it's a- it's a saddle bag?" Twilight guessed.
"Is somepony down here?" I asked.
We made eye contact, and Twilight expression only furthered my curiosity. She showed both uncertainty and concern. So we dug on.





In the thousands of years I had been stuck down here, I had only recently started regaining my senses. First, I was able to finish a thought here and there. Then my heart started to regain a slightly more normal pace.
When the weight above me began to shift, I became conscious of faint voices. When they exposed my face to the air, I started to breathe again. My heart picked up. My mind started to leave it's haze. I wasn't awake, but I was alive. I had beaten the odds. I had survived the impossible. But I was still so cold.





"There is a pony down here!" Twilight shouted, uncovering a face. "And he's alive!"
"There's no way he's still alive." I told her.
"But I can feel his breath! Put your hoof in front of his face."
Still skeptical, I did as I was told. She was right! I felt the air moving in front of his nose.
"We have to get him out of here!" I shouted, now as excited as Twilight.
We dug him out of his frozen encasement, and used our combined magic to lift him out of the hole. Either of us could have done it on our own, but we were being extra careful.
He was a unicorn, with a coat color similar to Rainbow Dash's, but darker, and a mane of black and deep purple. His only protection from the cold was an old, grey coat. He reminded me of the northern lights. The slow rise-and-fall of his chest confirmed that he was alive, but just barely.
"We have to help him." Twilight announced.
"Yeah, but how? The Crystal Empire is miles away, and there's no place closer that can help him."
"We'll carry him if we have to, but there's got to be a better way."
We sat and thought it over. Then I had it.
"I know! We can take a sheet of ice, and use it as a sled."
"Won't that make him colder?"
"He's been under that snow for Celestia-knows-how-long, and you're worried about him being a little cold?"
"Touché."
"Then let's get to it!"
Twilight carved a sheet of ice from the wall, and I fashioned makeshift reigns out of the rope in our bags to pull it. We lifted him onto our sled, and used extra rope to ensure that he didn't slide off.
Twilight pulled first, and we made our way to the entrance of the cave. Even from here, we could feel the wind. Not letting that stop us, we pushed on.
With the extra weight, the journey took twice as long as it should have. By the time we reached the warmth of the Crystal Empire, we were almost as cold as the pony on the sled.
Knowing that the difference in temperature would melt our invention, we untied the ropes, and levitated this mysterious stranger to the hospital. Even though it was warmer here, you could feel the cold radiating from him like we were still in the caves. Bursting through the front door, we sat him in one of the chairs of the waiting room, and ran to the reception desk. Not knowing what else to say, I made something up, while Twilight was still trying to come up with her excuse.
"Our friend over there needs help! We think he has hypothermia. He was out in the wasteland too long."
That was all it took. In less than two minutes, the stranger was on a stretcher, and being pushed through the 'Staff Only' doors.