Sins of The Past

Cadence addressed her subjects, choosing her words very carefully. Celestia and Luna stood in the crowd, but neither Cadence or Shining Armor wanted to make eye contact with them.

"As of today, the Crystal Empire is revoking its alliance with Equestria. We will be allying with our neighbors to the east, the Hajahactian Empire."

Murmurs swept through the crowd. Celestia looked like she had been slapped, tears in her eyes. Despite this, Cadence continued.

"She has brought to our lands, foreign species, thereby revealing our secrets to outlanders. In the pudding lies the proof!" Cadence yelled, her voice taking on a sharp edge of pure rage. Her eyes glittered with a green light and from her horn, she let loose a spell at the nearest outlander: Frost. His form melted away, revealing a very angry, very old man. His white hair trailed on the ground behind him, and though he was naked, he approached the Princess with all of the confidence of a king and the wrath of a winter storm.

"You are the problem! Not her!" he roared, pointing to Celestia. The sky was growing darker, the air colder, with every step he took towards Cadence. Any unfortunate ponies caught too close to him were frozen instantly, their screams preserved for all time. Hail clattered against the crystal structures and against the crowd of ponies who were too awe-struck to even try to run.

His voice dropped to a quiet whisper.

"And now, every frozen body will cry out at you as their murderer," he said, disappearing in a brilliant swirl of ice and snow.

Ebony stood, the ice around him melting from the extreme heat radiating off his fur. He tossed his mane and approached Cadence, embers jumping from every hoof step.

"Do you even comprehend what you have done?! Now, not only will the Hajahacts ravage the Equestrian countryside -- they already are -- but you thought the hateful spirits of Winter were bad? You just sicked a temperamental ex-god on not only your country, but the whole goddamned world, to freeze everything until none remains but he and his snow. Everything else will die." Ebony snarled, pointing accusingly at the princess. "This is on you. You may as well have killed them with your own hooves. Come on, Meinhard, let's go chase the ice queen down."

Thunder looked around, torn between staying with Celestia and following Ebony.

"Actually, stay here. Protect Celestia, the only one with any goddamn sense in this goddamn country," Ebony ordered, taking off to the north. The moment he was out of sight, the crowd broke out in a roar of confusion, fear, and anger. Somepony tipped over a barrel, smashing it into nothing. That's when the riot started. In the midst of the chaos, Celestia stood like a bastion of calm.

"If you had only asked, Cadence, I could have told you more about the terms of my deal. I have the power and authority to command them --" When Celestia said this, Luna opened and held up a box, containing three glittering gems with the corrosponding color schemes of Frost, Ebony, and Thunder. "-- but you didn't ask, did you? You insolent little child. This will be yours to correct. I will defend Equestria and Equestria alone. The death of the rest of the world will be your mistake to correct. I wish you the best of luck."

With these final words, Celestia and Luna flew off, not looking back. Cadence looked down at the burning city from her balcony, the chaos being the only noise, and wept in silence.