After evil King Sombra conquers the Crystal Empire, why is Flurry Heart the only pony in her family who thinks something is wrong?

A contest entry for: The Shining Armor Is A Bad Dad And Also A Himbo And Flurry Heart Is A Goth Or You Will Be Penalized And This Is Definitely Not Somebody's Weird Fetish List Contest

briefly featured for part of 2-24-24, somehow

Snails has a secret: a secret power only he can wield, a secret batch of knowledge only he can grasp, a whole secret world over which he rules as an absolute monarch.

Secret except, y'know, it's right there on his flanks. And I'm getting pretty sick and tired of it making that bean-brain act like a complete and total jackass!

No offense to any donkeys reading this...

An entry in Imposing Sovereigns IV, using the prompt Snails/Knowledge (Or Lack Thereof), this story received an Honorable Mention!

Twilight drinks coffee in the shower, everypony else is appalled. It has to be horrible! Right?

Thanks to 6-D Pegasus for proofreading.