//------------------------------// // Children of the Crystal Corn // Story: Flurry Heart is Evil! // by UnknownError //------------------------------// The first Princess Burger had started in the Crystal City over a thousand years ago. Most ponies were surprised to learn that. It also came as a surprise to the board of Princess Burger when the Crystal Empire returned. It was a double-princess-burger sized surprise that the founder was still alive and very upset at the use of clowns for marketing. The proceeds from the lawsuit funded half of the Crystal Empire’s GDP. For the Crystal Empire, all of this meant that Princess Burger was an honored and sacred place in the city. A top-of-the-line fast food eatery for anypony to enjoy, with a fine dining area and a large playroom for little filles and colts. It was well-maintained with a dedicated staff and plush booths. It also had large air vents for proper ventilation. Cadance was grateful for that last one. Without any ceremony, the pink alicorn fell through the ceiling and landed in the ball pit in the play area. Nopony noticed. Cadance entered through the roof in the torrential downpour outside, discarding her disguise and raincoat, shimmying through the ventilation system like the time she decided to spy on the hoofball team. The rain and thunder masked her heavy landing and the displacement of hundreds of cheap plastic balls. Her horn and bloodshot eyes slowly emerged from the plastic pit and turned towards the dining area. Her daughter was holding court. After herding her acolytes to the restaurant, they had swiftly taken over a large portion of the tables. Twenty-two fillies and colts rambunctiously bounced in the booths, or dragged extra chairs over to sit at the end and gather together. Clad in capes and pirate hats and cloaks, they drank sugary soda and were concerningly careful not to spill anything on their costumes. And Flurry Heart was the worst of them. Rather than storm the cashier, Flurry gathered them around to collect their orders. The colts and fillies waited patiently as the orders were written in a notebook by Snowberry. Flurry had devised an alphabetical system, based on first name. Everypony set their allowance down on the table as part of the agreement. Flurry gathered the large wad of bits together in her magic, demanding that her acolytes pay tribute to her grotesquery. Snowberry finished the list of orders in a spiral notebook decorated with stickers of some heavy metal band, then passed the page to Flurry like a hunched-back assistant, sniveling for approval. Flurry thanked him with a metallic smile and trotted over to the counter; she missed how he blushed. You fool, Cadance pitied him. Blinded by love. “Hello!” Flurry chirped to the cashier. “Princess,” the teenager nodded. The acne-riddled mare yawned and adjusted her paper crown with a hoof. "I got everypony's order right here!" Flurry shouted happily. She floated the notebook over to the teenager. Her eyes sagged and she accepted the notebook with a hoof, slowly plugging the massive order into the register. “43 Bits.” Flurry floated over a stack of Bits and held the remainder in her magic. “Thanksh!” Flurry winked and added another two Bits to the side. The cashier wordlessly pocketed them with a hoof. The mare did not even nod. “Princess is back!” she called emotionlessly over her shoulder. “Order up!” A series of wails emerged from the back of the kitchen. She drains the life out of them from her mere presence. Cadance slowly swam through the ball pit to the edge. Concerningly, her hooves did not touch the bottom, but her bandaged hoof did touch something sticky. She assumed it was spilled soda. Flurry passed the remaining money back to the gathered children. She split it evenly and Cadance shuddered. Communism, the blackest of magics. Unlike a proper group outing, the fillies did not bicker over the check and attempt to dine-and-dash. “That was awesome!” a ruby filly cheered to Flurry. She pumped her hoof. “I can’t believe you made that roll.” “My lucky die never fails,” Flurry proclaimed with an upturned muzzle. “Because you cheat!” another filly accused. Flurry gasped and sprayed spittle over the table. “You take that back!” she whinnied with twitching ears. “No.” The filly huffed and folded her legs. “I bet it’s weighted. Nopony’s that lucky.” “Luna tested it,” the filly that played Steel Hoof replied. “If she catches you cheating, you get chased by giant dice in your dream.” “And how do you know that?” Steel Hoof the barbarian filly looked away and huffed. “Everypony did really well,” Flurry changed the subject. "My lucky die is specshal," she lisped with a blush. "Special." "Why?" “It just is," Flurry responded stubbornly. "Whatsh going on with your games?” The colts and fillies rapidly spoke to each other, overlapping youthful voices rang with stories of dark arts and horrific battles. Flurry absorbed the dark tales with a smile and occasional giggle. Cadance struggled to follow the stories. They must speak in code. She cast her eyes around the restaurant. Some of the other patrons seemed a little annoyed by the gaggle of children, but most smiled and waved at Flurry. She returned the wave every time. Cadance wanted to believe with all her heart that Flurry was not too far gone, but everything she discovered suggested otherwise. She had gotten to Shining; she had won over the guards, even the citizens of the Empire treated her like she was normal. Perhaps this was going on from the start. The trays were eventually carried out by dead-eyed staff, drained emotionally by Darkheart’s enthralling embrace. Flurry thanked them anyway, clearly relishing in their misery. "Thank for your coming to Princess Burger," the cashier intoned emotionlessly. "We hope you have a very Princess day, Princess." "You too!" Flurry yelped. Her acolytes repeated their dark lord. Flurry ordered a double-princess-burger with extra ketchup. The hayburger was stacked high and oozing with extra calories. Cadance sniffled at it, imaging it going to her precious daughter’s waistline. Flurry's cloak hid the worst of her pudge. No wonder she’s so fat. The thought was very cruel and Cadance reared back, accidentally sliding deeper into the ball pit. Sure, she’s a little pudgy, but that’s the dark magic. Flurry mashed her muzzle into the burger and smeared ketchup across her muzzle. She smacked her lips. Cadance watched, horrified, as her daughter devoured the burger like… Well, like Twilight. Maybe that just runs in the family. Cadance always made sure to eat properly, even as a teen. She binged and shoved a hoof down her throat like all the other popular fillies. But Flurry’s side dish was far more sinister. She had ordered corn-on-the-cob, but the alicorn slowly scraped the corn off the cob, muttering to herself and baring her braces with a frown. “You know the Foal’s Meal has the corn—” Snowberry started. “I’m not ordering the Foal’s Meal,” Flurry interrupted. “Sthupid braces. Stupid Mom. She’s acting all weird again.” “Well,” Steel Hoof chuckled, “she’s an airhead.” “Don’t call her that,” Flurry snapped. She set down the bare cob, clearly saving it for some evil ritual and levitated the corn kernels into her mouth, chewing carefully. “She kinda is,” Snowberry snorted. "You remember her book, right?" "That book about Prismia is awful," another filly groaned. "I had to write a book report on it. It's only, like, ten pages." Cadance scowled and huffed, knocking a plastic ball aside. That book was hard work. She wrote it herself. “Itsh because of Sombra,” Flurry lisped. “I am so sick of him coming back. The BBEG is for, like, three encounters or whatever.” The colts and fillies nodded sagely. "You have a plan?" Snowberry prompted. "Next time he comes back," Flurry narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. "Itsh the last time. The Empire will never be the same." The fillies and colts ate quietly, absorbing the proclamation. "What 'bout the game?" a colt asked. "Oh," Flurry giggle-snorted. "The Sun Witch is mine. Gordon might fight me over it." "You can take him." "I don't wanna fight Gordon," Flurry shrugged. "I like Flash." "Well, it's in-character," Snowberry remarked. "Sombrero would fight Darkheart, but..." "But Sombrero's got a crush on Darkheart!" Steel Hoof sang. "I do not!" Snowberry whinnied with a luminescent blush. His coat glittered like a kaleidoscope. "Duh," Steel Hoof rolled her eyes. "I said Sombrero, doofus." Flurry crinkled her muzzle "Ew. I don't like romance in O&O." "B-but Darkheart kissed his cheek," Snowberry answered hopelessly. "Yeah," Flurry shrugged a hoof. "After he saved her." "What'd your mom say about it?" another filly, one wearing a black witch's hat, asked. Flurry's ears pinned back and she looked to the side. "She never shows up." "You should be Princess," a filly groaned. The gaggle of children stomped their hooves in agreement. "I am a Princess," Flurry answered with a frown. Her muzzle was stained in ketchup. "Yeah, but you'd be like, the best Princess ever!" a colt claimed. "Better than Twilight!" Cadance narrowed her eyes. They were plotting against her. “Excuse me,” a soft, quiet voice called out next to her. Cadance tried to jump, but only sank deeper into the ball pit. She stared up at a tiny crystal filly with a red ribbon in her mane. “Ma’am,” the filly said politely, “the ball pit is only for eight and under.” “Begone,” Cadance whispered. “Leave this place. Run far away, filly.” “I wanna play in the ball pit.” Cadance sank deeper into the pit, and her hoof squelched as she brushed against something that was very much not spilled soda. She turned her bloodshot eyes up to the foal. “You’ll float too.” The filly’s muzzle trembled and she fled. Cadance returned to her daughter. Flurry/Darkheart sat happily at the booth, waving her forelegs and totally ignoring the colt with an obvious crush on her. How long had she been like this? Cadance did not know. She needed to return to the source, to investigate, and it was clear it was up to her. Everypony else was hopelessly compromised, even her husband. Especially her husband, considering that he almost married a bug monster. “Ma’am!” a mare marched to the front counter with the red-ribbon, sobbing filly on her back. “My daughter says there’s a terrifying witch in the ball pit!” The teenager sighed and lowered her head under the counter. Cadance was not prepared for the teen to poke her head back up with a red chainsaw gripped in her muzzle. The cashier pulled the cord with her teeth. “Sombra!” the teen shouted over the motor. “If you’re in the ball pit again, I’m going to be very angry!” Flurry’s group stared in awe as the teen took the chainsaw in her hooves and marched across the restaurant. “Groovy,” Snowberry said numbly. Cadance struggled to free herself, but the plastic balls only pulled her deeper. As her horn disappeared under the tidal wave of plastic, a dark light emanated from below her legs. Cadance’s horn lit up and she gathered her magic. The ball pit exploded and Flurry’s group cheered. The cashier revved the saw and growled, “Swallow this!” She hacked at the plastic balls, just to be safe, and the children cheered louder. In the alleyway behind Princess Burger, Mi Amore Cadenza erupted from a dumpster covered in trash and old wrappings. Several stuck to her bandaged hoof. She had been aiming for the alley proper, but missed and blown apart every trash bag inside with her teleport. Because of ‘Defeat of Sombra Day,’ nopony had collected the trash yet. Cadace crawled out of the dumpster and flopped to the ground. She huffed and dislodged an old ice cream wrapper from her muzzle. One way or another, Cadance vowed, this ends today. She stood up with a squelch. Shower first, she amended.