Rising Above All: The Origins of New Edenia

"A sea?" asked Twilight as she listened to her coltfriend after he had returned from his search. It had been two days since they had made camp at the gate they had ran into. Since then, not a single bit of activity had came out of the gate or the unicorns that were guarding it's top. Despite this, the travelers felt that this was a good place to setup camp and see what their next move could be. Yesterday, Flash had flown down the right side of the mountains to see if there was anything beyond there besides the massive rocky skyscrapers. Unfortunately, he didn't find a thing and returned to camp exhausted. It was the second day though, that he found something. When he went to the left side that day, he found a very narrow valley inside the mountain range, just barely enough to be two ponies wide. Being a single pony searching the valley, he easily walked through until he found himself on the edge of a cliff, viewing a vast sea of sprinkling water.

"Yeah." Flash nodded as he took a swig of water. "I found it after I went through that valley I just told you about."

"Huh..." Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. "Think its part of the eastern ocean? You know, the one we tried to avoid?"

"Could be." Flash grumbled as he put his bottle of water down. "Also, when I was on that cliff, I noticed there was a small town at the edge of the sea."

"You mean like a fishing village? Wait..." Twilight said before stopping and pulling out a map from her saddlebag. She looked it over and then spoke up, "Hmm...I don't think its on any map of Equestria."

"Oh my," Fluttershy gasped. "Does that mean its someplace outside of Equestria's boundaries?"

"I'm guessing so." Flash replied as he started rubbing his wings. "Not only that, when I was going through that valley, I kept wondering why it kept getting colder and colder. Then to my surprise, once I hit that cliff, I noticed that there was nothing but snow on the other side of the mountains."

"Snow?!" the others asked in unison.

"We're down south Flash." Spike deadpanned. "It keeps getting hotter and hotter the farther we go. That is, till we hit this gate. But its still hot now! Are you saying there's snow past this gate?!"

Flash nodded. "If I had to take a guess pal...yes. There was a thick sheet of snow around that town in the distance, and plenty of the white stuff around me as well."

"That's crazy." Twilight gasped as she put her hoof over her mouth. "The only way that would be possible this far south would either be an ice spell of immeasurable power or...there's a pegasi unit that is deliberately making sure snow is there twenty-four seven." Twilight looked up to the sky, seeing Celestia's sun still blaring down on the Badlands. "But...that doesn't seem possible with the sun being this hot out here. Could it really be that?"

"No, its not that." Flash shook his head. "Pegasi can't control the weather I saw. Granted, we pegasi can make snow and blizzards but...when I saw that sea and town covered in that sheet of snow, I looked up immediately. There, all I saw was constant gray clouds. The Sun couldn't even be seen in that condition."

"Wow." Spike said as he rubbed his temples. "Just where are we? What country is beyond that gate?"

"I don't know Spike." Twilight sighed as she also took a swig of water. "I just don't know..."

"Um...everypony?" Fluttershy whispered. "Can I say something?"

Flash turned his head to her. "Sure Fluttershy, you can always say something. What's up?"

"Why don't we um...just go see it ourselves?"

The others looked at each other for a second, all of them blinking before letting out a series of giggles. Spike fell over as he started to go into a fit of laughter while Twilight patted Fluttershy on the back. "You're right Fluttershy, we were overthinking things way too much. Thank you Fluttershy."

"No problem." Fluttershy shined a small smile. "I'm always here to help."

"Right." Twilight nodded before looking at each of her friends. "So, we all in agreement to going to that valley and figuring out where we are?"

"Agreed." the others said in unison.

One small trip later...

The six friends were now standing in front of the valley Flash had mentioned before. Their pets Angel and Owlowiscious were fast asleep on Fluttershy's back while Spike was starting to doze off on Flash's back. Twilight then turned to Flash and asked, "So, is this it?"

"Yeah." Flash nodded as he pointed at the valley. "Beyond this valley is that cliff I was talking about. I'll go ahead and warn you, its gonna get chilly once we start to go inside."

"Hmm...okay." Twilight replied as she rubbed her chin. "It looks like the valley is relatively small like you said. Guess we should go in a line."

"Yeah..." Flash rubbed the side of his head before he tapped Twilight's side. "Say, how about I go in front? I'll make sure that nopony sneaks up on us on the other side...that is, if there's anypony on the other side."

"You're thinking somepony related to those gate guards will appear?" Twilight asked, which she got a nod in response. "Okay. Go ahead Flash." With that, Flash put the now asleep Spike on Twilight's back and placed her saddlebags on his back. He then started to walk through the valley, causing Twilight to turn to Fluttershy. "I'll go next, is that okay Fluttershy?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." Twilight grinned before following Flash's hoofsteps. That, and her grin started to get bigger as she stared at her coltfriend in front of her. Nice...very nice view.

A few minutes later, the alicorn and pegasus behind her felt a certain cold chill. Twilight's wings tried to fold inward as she felt the a small flake of snow tap her head. "Brrr...you weren't kidding Flash. There really is snow here."

"Yeah, and its gonna get worse the farther we go in." Flash replied as his eyes picked up the cliff. "Here we go...we're not that far away now."

"Okay..." Twilight then turned her head. "Hey, you okay Fluttershy?"

"Yes." Fluttershy nodded. "Just a little chilly, that's all."

"Same here." Twilight turned back. "How far are we now?"

"Just a few minutes. Don't worry, when we get to the cliff, we'll have enough room to move besides this straight line we're doing right now."

"Okay." Twilight remarked before staring slightly downward again. Darn. Didn't last long, did it?

It wasn't long till they reached the cliff. There, Flash split off from the line so that Twilight and Fluttershy could see the sight he had told them about. Twilight and Fluttershy's jaws dropped as they saw they thick long sheet of snow over the entire mountainside, along with the vast plains of land beside the sea and the town covered in frozen water. Twilight quickly summoned a spell over her eyes so she could see through the skies, only to see that there was nothing but gray clouds. The puffs in the sky were nothing but faucets for the snow that constantly descended down on the land, creating a frozen wasteland.

"Incredible...this must some kind of advanced magic. Or some kind of spell." Twilight remarked as she kept staring at the landscape and it's covered sky. "I don't understand. Why is this frozen...wasteland behind the Badlands?!"

"I don't know Twilight." Flash replied, crossing his hooves. "I'm guessing you just used a spell to increase your vision, right?"

"Yeah." Twilight turned to him. "Why?"

"Hmm...I'm guessing there weren't any pegasi up in the sky?"

"Nope." Twilight shook her head. "Just...snow. Snow everywhere."

"Oh my." Fluttershy gasped as she pointed at the landscape. "If that's the case, nothing can grow or live out here. Except maybe...penguins or polar bears."

"Yeah, you're right." Twilight nodded as she looked at her old friend before looking at the town by the sea. "Makes me wonder who can live down there." Twilight then looked back at the wasteland, squinting her eyes. "Not only that, there's something else out there."

"Out where?"

"There." Twilight pointed at what appeared to be a large blizzard way off in the distance. Flash and Fluttershy tried to follow her, but couldn't see anything but the storm.

"Um Twilight...there's nothing there but that blizzard."

"No, there's something else there." Twilight replied as she walked to the edge of the cliff. "Something that looks like a...a...a city?"

"A city?!" the others yelped in unison.

"Twilight...you're not serious are you? That's a massive blizzard out there." Flash said as he pointed to the storm. "Is that spell of yours really working?"

"Well...I don't know. But I can barely make out something out there." Twilight remarked as she closed her eyes, canceling the spell as her horn lit up for a second. After this, she turned to her friends and pointed to the town in the distance. "Say, why we don't we try that town first? Maybe we can get some information there."

"Sounds good to me." Flash nodded before turning to Fluttershy who nodded as well. He spread his wings as he got close to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the rocky mountainside below them. Flash slightly grimaced at the sight before glancing at his friends. "Looks like we got quite the walk ahead of us."

"I agree." Twilight commented as she looked over the edge as well. "I just hope that town has an inn."

"Same here."

Meanwhile...

"P-p-p-please y-y-your m-m-m-majesty!" a small unicorn servant yelped, his entire body besides his head frozen in ice as he tried to speak. "T-t-that was all in t-t-the r-r-report!"

"I know it is. I just read the scroll, you piece of trash." replied a cold, hissing voice. "However, the news on this scroll is not what I want to see."

"B-b-but your m-m-majesty Q-q-queen W-w-windera, t-t-that's all the m-m-message had on it!" the servant replied, trying to shiver his still frozen body. "T-t-the g-g-guards of the g-g-gate are-"

"ENOUGH!" Windera yelled as she opened her mouth, a large burst of ice flying out of it. Her very breath froze the top of the unicorn's head, silencing him into a statue-like state. Seeing this, she let out a large groan as she fell back onto her throne. "Ugh...idiot. Can he not see that this is a problem?! If that pegasus from two days ago has not returned, that means that he could have gone back into Equestria! I...I can't have that happen right now!" she yelled as she slammed her hooves on the arms of her chair. "Not now...not when I'm so close in completing my goal here."

The windigo then leaned back in her chair, rubbing her chin as another thought entered her head. But...perhaps he didn't go back? If he didn't...there is another countermeasure at my disposal. Perhaps I should start with that? She waved her hoof in a circle, causing a small ball of snow to appear in it. The snow was glowing as a purple and red aura surrounded the frozen water. "I'll only need one of them. That should be enough." she said to herself as she dropped the snow onto the ground. The glowing white powder began to move on its own, its form slowly growing. "Good...good."

The queen then looked back up at the messenger. With a quick tap of her hooves, the ice incasing him disappeared. The stallion fell to his knees, gasping for air as his body vibrated like crazy. He quickly wrapped his hooves around himself as water poured down his body. "Oooohhhhh...t-t-that's c-c-cold. So cold..."

"Messenger." Windera hissed, causing the stallion to quickly bow, his face kissing the floor.

"Y-y-y-yes your m-m-majesty?!"

"Alert all the guards. I want double time on their shifts." Windera commanded as she scratched the side of her head in thought. "And...send an extra units of guards to the Gate of the Silent Eyes. I need to make sure that no outsider stands against me."

"Y-y-yes your m-m-majesty! I will d-d-do this a-a-at once!" the stallion saluted before turning and rushing out of the room. As he ran out, Windera smirked at the frightened fleeing figure. What followed was nothing but laughter as she took pleasure at the fear she had caused in that pony. This alone was more than enough to amuse her. For now.

Meanwhile...

"W-w-we m-m-made it." Twilight stuttered as her teeth shook from the shivering cold. Twilight and friends were not equipped for the cold, especially since the transfer from the scorching wasteland that the was the Badlands was not exactly welcome for the group. After all, they didn't need clothes for the Badlands, but they needed it here. With that in mind, Twilight entered the town that was their earlier destination.

"Y-y-yeah." Flash agreed as he continued to cling to his wings that were wrapped tightly around his chest. Fluttershy was doing the same action, though she tried to wrap them on top of her body so Angel and Owlowiscious could try to stay warm inside her yellow feathers. Spike on the hoof, clung to Twilight's back as she tried to do the same as Fluttershy, but with less results.

"C-c-can we f-f-find s-s-some w-w-warm clothes already?!" Spike exclaimed as he pointed at the town.

"We w-w-will S-S-Spike." Twilight nodded as they began their trek inside the town, their hooves dripping inside the snow.

As they entered, they quickly noticed something was off. The town was small, they knew that from seeing at a distance, but they didn't expect it to be this small. There was only one street, and it was lined with about ten to twelve buildings. At the end of the town was a large wooden ship, though it looked to be only about two-thirds fully built. Seeing this, they trotted up to the closest building and Twilight tapped the door. "H-h-hello? Is anypony in t-t-there? We n-n-need to know w-w-where in this t-t-town we can get some s-s-shelter."

"GO AWAY!" yelled a voice inside, causing them to jump back.

"Huh?" Twilight gasped before asking, "W-w-what do you m-m-mean g-g-go away? We just w-w-want some s-s-shelter. Honest."

"NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE UNICORNS!" the voice yelled again. "YOU'RE HERE TO KILL US, AREN'T YOU?!"

"Umm...no?" Fluttershy responded in a small, light tone. Twilight had let her go to the door, knowing she was better at sounding sincere. "L-l-listen, we mean n-n-no harm."

"DON'T LIE TO US! You're...you're..." the voice responded before slowly stopping. A second later, a small window in the door opened and two small eyeballs showed themselves behind it. "Hmm...you wouldn't look like that in this weather unless you're crazy." The eyes blinked as they started to scan Twilight's group over. "But, only one of you is a unicorn. Wait...you have wings and a horn?"

"Y-y-yes. I'm an a-a-alicorn." Twilight nodded. "Please, we mean you n-n-no harm. We just w-w-want s-s-shelter from the c-c-cold."

"Hmm..." the eyes muttered before closing the tiny window. Then, the door opened. "Fine, come on in."

The friends quickly ran inside as the individual that had opened the door for them quickly closed it. As Twilight and the others walked in, they noticed there was a fireplace that was fully lit and quickly huddled around it. While they were still shivering from the cold, Twilight glanced around the room, now seeing the others inside. The one that opened the door was a male deer with two small horns. Also inside with him was two foal age female griffons and a male earth pony with a short beard. Twilight blinked at the sight as she scanned them all over. It was here that the earth pony walked up and spoke to her. "You...who are you?"

"I'm Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight replied as she turned to her friends. "This is Fluttershy, Flash Sentry, Spike, Angel and Owlowiscious. Who...who are you?"

"I am...nopony important." the earth pony shook his head before walking over to a shelf. There, he pulled out several blankets with his teeth and threw them over to Twilight and her friends. "Here, wrap yourselves in these."

Quickly complying, the group wrapped themselves and Twilight said, "Thank you. And um...thank you for letting us inside your home here."

"Don't thank us yet." the pony hissed, causing Twilight and the others to slightly backpedal. He looked at Twilight with cold, drilling eyes. "Now, I would like to ask you a few questions. I believe we have the right since we let you inside instead of freezing out there."

"Um...sure." Twilight nodded. She knew she had nothing to hide. Not only that, when she looked at the young griffons, she saw nothing but fear in their eyes when they looked at her. Or, fear when they stared at her head. Twilight glanced at her friends, all of them giving nods of approval. With that in mind, she turned and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"I..." the earth pony hesitated, as if he didn't know what question to ask first. After a few moments, he spoke up, "Listen, we don't want any trouble here. All we want to know is why a unicorn is here."

"Well um...first off, I'm an alicorn." Twilight stated as she sat down, clutching the blanket a bit harder. "As for why we're here, we're travelers. We were just trying to find an inn to stay at for the night."

"Travelers eh?" the earth pony then looked her friends over, a skeptical frown on his face. "And why should I believe that?"

Twilight and her friends just looked at each other, not sure how to reply to that. Fluttershy then decided to take the initiative. "Um...mister earth pony?"

"Yes?" he replied back with a cocked brow.

"We um...we don't mean you any harm if that's what you're thinking. We really are just travelers." She said with pleading eyes. Her tone caused him to slightly backpedal. After a minute or so, he shook his head to reply.

"Sorry to say missy, but as long as you have something similar to a unicorn here, I can't trust you."

This statement completely confused Twilight and her friends. They all looked at each other again, blinking. Fluttershy then spoke up again. "Um...what do you mean? Why don't you trust unicorns?"

The earth pony just looked back at the deer in the room, who just gave him a nod. He turned back to the group and walked up to Twilight, glaring down at her. "All unicorns are evil in this land. They're outlawed."

"Outlawed?!"

"Yes." he replied in a low, cold tone. He hung his head as the grim word came out of his mouth. It was here that Flash looked into the earth pony's eyes and saw something that none of the others could see. Despair and bloodlust. The earth pony then raised his hoof and cocked it back, its being slowly tightening as a grimace graced his face. "I'm sorry."

The earth pony quickly swung down his hoof, ready to strike Twilight. However, before she could even start a spark of magic, a sword was at the throat of the earth pony.

"Don't touch her." Flash hissed as his blade got slightly closer to the earth pony. "If you try that again, I won't hesitate to slice you in half."

The earth pony only backed off for a second before narrowing his eyes. "You traitorous pegasus, how dare you defend a unicorn! Don't you know that-" the pony began blinking as a certain realization dawned on him. "Oh...you're her bodyguard, aren't you?"

"He's not my bodyguard!" Twilight barked, "He's my friend!" She turned to Flash, "Put the sword away Flash, we don't want to get into fight here."

"But-"

"Put. It. Away." She commanded, causing him to slowly sheath the weapon. She then turned back to the earth pony, "Now, could we not immediately resort to violence and talk this out in a civilized manner?"

"Grrr..." he growled before finally sitting down on his flank. "Fine. But I want answers. Why are you here, winged unicorn?!"

"We're here...because we don't know where to go right now." Twilight replied while scratching her neck. "Like we said, we're just travelers."

"If you're travelers, why would you come here?!" he yelled back. "And why are do you look like that?! Is it some kind of unicorn trick?!"

"Nope." Twilight shook her head. "I got this...form by pure accident." Twilight then tapped her wings before continuing. "Besides, why are unicorns forbidden here?"

"That is..." the earth pony looked at the deer, only to receive a nod. "The queen has banned all unicorns from this land."

"The queen?"

"Yes. The queen is ruler of this land. She has outlawed all unicorns that do not swear loyalty to her." he replied in a low tone before pointing to Twilight's head. "As long as you have that...accursed thing on your head, you're a menace in these lands. I suggest you leave at once."

Twilight looked back at her friends again. They could read each others minds over this. They were all thinking the same thing: We are really far off from home here. Thinking this, Twilight nodded to Fluttershy, knowing she would be able to calm the pony down.

"Um...mister earth pony? Who is this queen?"

The earth pony just sat there, shaking at the question. He glanced at the deer in the room, gesturing to him. After a few seconds, he looked back at them with cold, icy glare. "You're travelers, correct? You wouldn't be this ignorant if you weren't."

"We are." Twilight nodded. "We were just passing through."

The earth pony sighed. "If that's the case, if I let you stay in a spare house we have in our village, will you leave tomorrow morning and never come back?"

Twilight glanced at her friends, who all nodded once more. She wasn't satisfied with not getting an answer about the queen, but she knew this would be the most peaceful solution. She looked back and nodded. "Sure. Though uh...could we at least ask what this village is called?"

"Glacier Peaks. And that's the last question I'm answering." He then gestured to follow him. Twilight and the others quickly got up and left the house. Thankfully, the spare house was just a block down, and Twilight with her friends found themselves in a spare, well made brick house. Inside was an unlit fireplace that Twilight quickly lit, causing them to gather around it. As they did, the earth pony asked them one more question. "And you promise to leave tomorrow morning, no questions asked?"

"Yes. We're sorry for intruding on your town."

"Its not mine. And be glad we're kind to intruders."

With that, the earth pony left. Flash then nudged Spike with a chuckle. "'Kind to intruders' he says. What a load of horsefeathers."

"You're telling me."

"Now now Flash," Fluttershy remarked. "We did come here unannounced. We don't know the rules here."

"Fluttershy's right. We should be glad we have a fireplace here in this...snow-filled town." Twilight commented before getting up. "Besides, I have a feeling this place has something else its hiding."

"Ya think?"