Rising Above All: The Origins of New Edenia

"Well well well, look what the wastelands regurgitated for me." Windera chuckled as she saw Twilight walk into the throne room. The bruises and burns from Tartarus had disappeared from her body as she graced Windera's throne with her presence. The alicorn had a face of pure, emotionless confidence. It was liking looking at the greatest poker face one could ever make, not a silver of emotion could be seen on her face. Despite this, Windera just laughed at Twilight, "And you came just in time for your friends to perish under my frozen hooves! I hope you're ready to see their despair alicorn, because I will destroy all of them!"

Twilight just stood there, unfazed by the windigo's threats. She didn't even talk back. She just stood there, like a statue. Seeing this, Windera continued to yell at her. "What's wrong?! Cat got your tongue?! Is my power so great that you can't even speak before my unspeakable might?! WELL?!"

As Windera kept yelling at the purple alicorn, she just continued her stiff, unmoving stance. All the others in the room just stared at her, noticing the large red and black shard pointing out of her saddlebag. While the others stared at her new weapon, Thorn instead stared at her eyes. As a small clump of blood fell out of his mouth, his eyes narrowed and squinted as he looked into Twilight's eyes. Yes...that's good. Thorn thought as he felt the sting of the icicle spears still stuck in his stomach. He knew he didn't have long to live, but he was satisfied now. He knew it the moment he saw the confident, unfazed eyes that Twilight was now sporting. Those are good, strong eyes. You're no longer the frightened alicorn I saw when you first encountered with Windera. With those eyes...you're ready.

One last spurt of blood spewed out of his mouth as Thorn quietly whispered. "I...leave the rest...to you."

With that last statement, Thorn closed his eyes permanently. His lifeless body laid fully down as his head kissed the frozen, icy floor. Seeing this, Fluttershy, Spike and Flash's eyes widened as they saw their new friend give up the ghost. Fluttershy put her hooves over her mouth as she went pale as a sheet. "No....NOOOOOO!!!"

"Thorn!" Flash yelled as he tried to move, his wings still frozen to the wall. "THORN!"

"No way...this is gotta be a dream..." Spike muttered, his body shivering even more as his frozen body began to shake some ice off.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Windera laughed as she pointed to Twilight with a triumphant grin. "Did you see what I have done here?! You were too late! The prince is dead! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Despite the queen's goading, Twilight just stood there, not showing a single emotion. Her entire being just stood like a statue, unmoving as Windera kept laughing. That is, till a small tear slowly appeared under her eye as her horn began to shine. She bit her lip before letting out a low, dark hiss. "You will pay for what you've done here Windera."

"Oh?" Windera's laughing stopped as she cocked an eyebrow in response. "And what makes you think you can make me pay, you scared, pathetic little worm?!"

"Simple." Twilight snorted as she spread her wings into a battle stance. "I'm going to make sure you never step hoof on this land ever again."

"You?! Stop me?!" Windera scoffed as her body began to glow in it's usual light blue aura. "You must be joking." With that statement, Windera's eyes shined a bright light as she opened her mouth, blasting out a burst of icy wind onto Twilight. In a single moment, she became a completely frozen statue. Seeing this, Windera began laughing again. "HA! I've already won!"

Seeing this, the others in the room just lowered their heads as they saw their last hope became a living popsicle. Flash began to yell in anger, his body struggling to escape the ice. Fluttershy's eyes began to flow a waterfall of tears along with Spike, the two just crying at the sight. As for Windera, she kept laughing, slamming her hoof on the ground as she closed her eyes while she kept giggling. "AHAHAHAHA! How pathetic! To think that stupid alicorn was that idiotic prince's last hope! How truly path-"

"Is that all you got?!" yelled a familiar voice. Windera's eyes shot open, only to see the frozen statue of Twilight completely gone. Instead, there stood a completely unfazed and unfreezerburned Twilight Sparkle, her wings fully flared. Despite this, her face didn't show a hint of anger, her expression still showing a completely unfazed emotionless face.

"What the....how did you escape?! Why are you no longer frozen?!"

"Simple." Twilight said as she cricked her neck. "You're not as strong as you think you are."

"Wha...WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU WORM?! HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!" Windera screamed as she began glowing again. "FREEZE, YOU MAGGOT!" Another blast of ice flew out of her mouth, the burst covering over half the room. The already frozen was greeted with a new thick sheet of ice as she continued to blast ice all over the room. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" she yelled before finally closing her mouth. A few seconds later, the mist that had followed from the ice blast faded away, revealing where she had spread her ice-filled fury. However, despite this, Twilight was still standing right where she was at the start, her body not bearing a single bit of ice. "No...how?!"

"I just told you Windera. You're not as strong as you think you are."

"Grrr...SHUT UP!" Windera exclaimed as she smashed her hooves into the floor, the ice inside breaking into hundreds of pieces. "DON'T YOU DARE MOCK ME IN MY DOMAIN! DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM WINDERA, QUEEN OF THE WINDIGOS!"

"No you're not. You're just a monster that needs to be stopped." Twilight deadpanned, causing Windera's face to morph into a swirl of pure, now doubled anger.

"SHUT UP! DIE, YOU PIECE OF FILTH!" Windera yelled as she tried to freeze Twilight again. As she did, Twilight still stood there, unmoving. And just like the last time, Twilight stood there without a single piece of ice on her body. Windera's eyes went wide again before she tried to freeze her once more. She tried again and again, but the result was the same. Twilight just stood there, not a single trace of being frozen on her body. "No...NO NO NO! DIE YOU SCUM! DIE!"

The attack continued. Windera unleased her ice breath again and again, and every time the result was the same. The same purple alicorn just stood there, unfazed and untouched. As Windera kept screaming at the standing alicorn, the others just watched the scene with their jaws dropped. Flash stood wide-eyed, no longer struggling against his still frozen wings. Fluttershy kept glancing back and forth from Windera and Twilight, completely dumbfounded at the sight. Spike was the same way, his eyes also trying to figure out what Twilight was doing.

And yet, after the seventh try, Twilight was still standing tall. There was nothing on her, just her mane flowing in the wind. Not a scratch, bruise, cut or shard of ice. Nothing. It was if she had never been attacked. Seeing this, Windera just stood there, shaking in fear. "No...NO! How...how do you keep doing that?! Why won't you freeze?!"

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" Twilight said with a shrug as she let out a small chuckle. "Like I said, you're not as strong as you think you are."