I had been keeping my eye on Twilight since we had broken free from the earthen prison below. She had accidentally managed to splash one of her wings into the falls on the way up. She played it off, but I knew she must have been freezing. When we reached the surface, the cold air froze the water on her wing, as well as wherever else it may have landed. North didn't see her wind hit the water, and thus, didn't realize there was a problem.
At the peak of our ascent, Twilight's wing was entirely frozen. While looked around, trying to see where we were, Twilight fell. I jabbed North, trying to get his attention, but instead, I pressed to hard. Shocked by the sudden pain in his ribs, he let go of me.
So there I was, a few thousand feet in the air, and falling fast. At first, all I could make out was white snow and blue skies, but then I saw a pony below me. Twilight had fallen an eighth of the way to the ground already. I leaned forwards to make myself more aerodynamic, and raced to catch up to her. With the wind rushing past my face, I had to squint in order to see.
When I caught up to her, we were about halfway to the ground. Not close enough to panic, but getting there. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought any farther ahead. I didn't know if I could levitate both myself and Twilight. There was one was to find out. I attempted to catch us both, but instead I couldn't catch either. The ground was now much closer. This could be problematic. Then North was by my side.
"We've only got one shot at this!" He yelled over the air flying past. "You snatch her exactly when I grab you! On three, Ready? One!" His front legs wrapped around me. "Two!" I wrapped Twilight in my signature pinkish-purple magic. "Three!"
Everything stopped moving. We hadn't hit the ground, but the stop had been so sudden, it almost hurt. I had a chance to brace myself, but that only helped slightly. I would have to ask the doctor about possible whiplash when this was over. Twilight moaned in pain, but at least she wasn't dead. Even North let out a grunt when we stopped.
"Sorry about that. There was really no smoother way to do it, given the amount of time I had." He apologized.
"We're still alive, which means it was better than the alternative." I told him, looking down. We were about a hundred feet from the snow. It was definitely one of the closer calls I've had. North set us down, before turning to the Crystal Empire.
"It's going to be a long walk, and she's definitely not trotting that on her own." He nodded at the unconscious princess lying in the snow.
"Wouldn't be the first time I've done something like that." I told him.
"Then we should get moving. I'd like to be back before sundown."
I wasn't going to argue. The wind was bitter, and I hadn't had a decent meal in more that twenty-four hours. My stomach growled in agreement.
I was no doctor, but I was all too familiar with hypothermia, and that's exactly what Twilight was experiencing. I hated myself for not catching the problem sooner. If I had paid more attention, we wouldn't have almost died. Starlight was trying her hardest to play it cool, but she was still pretty shaken up over everything. It was all my fault.
The barren wastes were as frigid as always, but I paid it no mind. Right now, we had to get the Princess somewhere warm, and this Crystal Empire was the closest place I knew of. We were still a good hour out, and I was worried Twilight wasn't going to make it. If I knew how to make her immune to the cold like me, I would have done it. Sadly, I couldn't even understand how I was impervious to it, let alone if I could make other ponies the same way.
Fire always beats ice. Those were Midnight's parting words. At first I had thought that he was just making a clever quip, but now I wondered if those words had a deeper meaning. I had never seen a spell that melted the ice the way his did.
"Hey, Starlight? Have you ever seen a spell like the one Midnight used to drop us into that cave?" The wind had calmed enough that I didn't need to shout, but it was still there.
"You mean how he melted the ice? No, I've never seen anything like that. Why?"
"I think Midnight was trying to hint at something bigger."
"By melting ice?"
"No, his parting words. 'Fire always beats ice.' Could he be the fire, and me the ice?"
We trudged on, pondering this concept. Starlight spoke next.
"I suppose it would be possible. If you've adapted to the ice, maybe he's done the same with fire."
"But he's done more than just adapt to it. He's learned to wield it. Could I do the same with ice?"
"I'm not sure if I'm the pony you should be asking these questions to. You'd want to take it up with one of the princesses. They might have dealt with this before."
"I hope so, because I'm lost."
Walking into the Crystal Empire, Twilight regained consciousness, but she was still out of sorts. Starlight and I had taken turns carrying her, and right now Starlight had her.
"Where should we take her?" I asked.
"It doesn't seem too severe, so we should just need to get her somewhere warm. Maybe Cadence and Shining Armor would like a surprise visit from their sister."
"Who?"
"The rulers of the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor is Twilight's brother. They would be more than willing to help us."
"To the big castle, then?"
"To the big castle. By the way, it's your turn to carry her."
"Where are we going?" Twilight groaned.
"To see your brother." Starlight told her.
"Ooh, fun. I haven't seen him in a few weeks. I hope they have a fire going, because I am cold."
"We know."