Overthrown

As soon as I opened the door to my home, I immediately collapsed onto the floor. So many thoughts circled my mind that eventually I just felt exhausted. Slothfully getting up, I closed the door, moved my way to my bed and collapsed again.

“Cheerilee, what were you thinking?” I asked myself. “You just enlisted in a war! You’ve never been in a fight in your life! Maybe I should just tell her that I changed my mind…” As my eyes wandered, they rested on a picture that sat on top of my nightstand of all my students. “I can’t do it. I’ll be killed! Plus all the training that I’ll probably have to do—it just wouldn’t be fair to the kids. After all, they’re what matter most, right?”

Then Flitter’s words rang in my head.

“Pretty soon, they’ll be dying by the hundreds, and it won’t stop there…”

I covered my face in my pillow and screamed at the top of my lungs. “Oh, what do I do? I can’t abandon anypony who needs me. If a pony like Flitter thinks I can do it… but should I trust her? I’ve hardly even met her, and I just put my fate into her hooves! But I believe her…” I screamed into my pillow again. I laid there motionless for a few moments more. It didn’t seem like it was enough. I was still feeling panicked. I screamed again. Nothing changed. I screamed until my voice cracked, but all that was left was a lavender earth pony, sobbing into her pillow.

More thoughts flew through my mind, making things more complicated.

“You know that you always have somepony here who can’t wait to see you every day. Me, of course!”

“Ponies are dying.”

“You must really be a loving, caring pony, Miss Cheerilee.”

“Will you help save Equestria?”

“I DON’T KNOOOOW!!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, resulting in more sobs. “I just… I just don’t know…”

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. I jolted up, wiping my tears away. I really hoped nopony heard me screaming. I forgot to muffle the last one with my pillow. After quickly fixing my mane so that it was presentable I opened the door, revealing an earth pony, pegasus and unicorn.

“Hey there, Miss Cheerilee!” Applebloom exclaimed.

“We saw that you weren’t at school today and just wanted to make sure you were OK,” said Sweetie Belle.

“I uh…” I started, trying to think of an excuse off the top of my head. Lying was not my special talent. “I actually woke up terribly sick this morning.”

“Really?” Scootaloo chimed in. “You don’t look sick.”

“You don’t sound sick either,” Sweetie Belle said.

I gave a fake cough, trying my hardest to make it sound legitimate. “Oh, I’m definitely sick. You know I wouldn’t miss class for just any reason. I promise I’ll be there bright and early Monday morning.”

“Well, OK,” Applebloom added with a sympathetic tone. “We just wanted to let you know that we love you and that we hope you’re OK.”

“And that you’re the best teacher ever!” Scootaloo added.

“And that we missed you so, so much!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, her voice cracking at the end.

My eyes started to tear up. “I love you too, girls.” I cleared my throat, wiped a tear from my eye and smiled back at the fillies. “Thanks for stopping by. It really means a lot to me.”

“No problem, Miss Cheerilee,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “We gotta go now, though. We’re having a slumber party with Applebloom’s boyfr—OW!” Applebloom sent a swift kick to Scootaloo’s ribs. Scootaloo winced in pain as the earth pony tried to seem as casual as she always was.

“She means uh…” Sweetie Belle started. “We’re sleeping over at Applebloom’s tonight. Well, we gotta go! See ya!”

The three fillies then ran off as fast as they could. Although I couldn’t hear what they were saying, it sounded like Applebloom was scolding Scootaloo for almost revealing whatever they were hiding.

Closing the door, I slowly slid to the ground. Everything was clear now. “I’m going to do it. Those kids look up to me, and I’m going to make them proud.” Walking back into my room, I took one more look at the photo atop my nightstand. “Thank you, girls.”
*
Once the other two went their separate ways, I continued walking. I didn’t have any specific direction or goal. All I could do was put one hoof in front of the other. I couldn’t think; there was too much on my mind. In fact, the very last thing on my mind was that I had just signed myself up to be part of some stranger’s military scheme.

After hours of walking as the sky turned red and bronze, I finally stopped in the middle of the Everfree forest, crying into my hooves. What that pegasus said cut down to my very core. Even through all the humiliating things that I had been through, nothing pierced my soul like what she said.

“I wanted to get three ponies with as little training as possible. That’s when I found you three.”

I was never a lady to cry. I thought it was unnecessary and juvenile. It was a way for little girls to seek out attention so that other ponies would know that they were hurt. This time, though, I was the one who was hurt, and like a little girl, I cried out in despair.

I wasn’t keeping track of the time. I just knew that the sun had gone down completely over an hour ago, and the whole time, I sat in that spot, reflecting over what happened. I didn’t even bother looking around to see if anything or anypony were around, at least not until I felt a hoof gently lay on my shoulder. With my eyes still in tears, I turned to see the concerned look of a tender, yellow pegasus.

“Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed. “We need to get you out of here quick! Night is when all the scary creatures come out. Follow me. I’ll take you to my cottage.” Without saying a word, I nodded and began to follow her to her home.

On the way there, I didn’t speak. The yellow pegasus was trying very hard to be polite and make casual conversation, but I just was having no part of it. “My name is Fluttershy,” she said. I couldn’t even make eye contact. Never in my life had I felt more miserable than I did during those past few hours. After a few moments of silence, she asked, “Your name is Trixie, isn’t it?”

Somepony knew my name? “Yes,” I replied looking up for the first time. “How did you know?”

“Well, you see, I live in Ponyville, and—”

“Oh… that’s right…” I remembered back to when I had ruled as a dictator over the town. I continually tried telling myself not to worry about it. It was just the alicorn amulet. It wasn’t really me that put the town in bondage… was it? Suddenly when I thought I couldn’t feel any worse, I did.

“I hope you know that I forgive you for what happened,” she said after a few more long awkward moments.

“You do?”

“Of course. I know about how the amulet corrupts the user. You must not have known what was going on.”

I drifted my gaze back to the ground and said softly, “I really hope so, Fluttershy… I really do…”

Fluttershy’s cottage was almost immediately adjacent to the forest. She opened the door, flicked on the light and led me inside. She had quite a wonderful home. I felt like I shouldn’t have been there, though. “You know, I don’t mean to impose,” I started.

“Oh, nonsense,” Fluttershy replied with a smile. “I insist that you stay here for the night. U-unless there’s somewhere else you need to be.”

“Well… No, I guess not…” I sat down on a couch near the door. “But… why are you being so kind to Trixie?”

“I guess you could say that kindness is just my special talent.” She sat down next to me and patted me gently on the back. “Now, do you wanna tell me what’s been on your mind?” She gave me a tender smile.

I wished I could tell her everything, but I gave Flitter my word that I would keep everything secret. “Just a… Just a long day at work, you could say.”

“You mean at being a magician?” I couldn’t help but cry again. Fluttershy held me close, wrapping a wing around me and letting me cry on her shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry if I said something wrong.” Unable to speak, I simply shook my head. “Trixie?”

I lifted my gaze towards hers, sniffling. “Yes, Fluttershy?”

“You can stay as long as you’d like. I’m always welcome to company.”

Somehow, she knew exactly what I wanted to hear. I had never had somepony show so much kindness toward me before. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I had ever had a friend before. Although I felt undeserving after what I had done months earlier, I felt like this was where I was supposed to be for now. Wiping a tear from my eye, I whispered, “Thank you.”

Finally, all the sorrow was temporarily out of my system. Training started now.
*
Ohshootohshootohshootohshootohshoot!

Once the girls and I separated, I suddenly realized that I had work! Honeysuckle must’ve knocked me out for almost a full day! I was already going to miss my shift for cloud-clearing, but I still had a chance to make it to the post office before my shift started. Then I remembered that I didn’t finish my route yesterday, either.

“Oh, jeeze, what do I tell the boss?” I thought about telling him the truth, but Flitter told me to keep everything secret. If I told him that a mare gave me some kind of poisonous muffin, he’d definitely need an explanation. “I’ll be OK. I just have to wing it. Twilight told me that that’s what she does when things don’t go as planned, and things turn out fine for her. You’ll be fine, Derpy. Deep breaths.”

Today I had been abnormally anxious. It wasn’t like me at all. Still, how was I supposed to be acting with all that had happened in the past 24 hours (the majority of which I was in a coma for!)?

Just before flying into the post office, I took a few deep breaths. I was just going to waltz in there like it was any normal day. Nothing about today was different than any other day. Then, as I flew in, everypony stopped what they were doing and surrounded me.

“Are you OK?”

“I thought you were hurt!”

“How are your wings feeling?”

“Are you sure you can work today?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What’s goin on here?” my boss said as he tried fanning his way through the crowd. “Derpy? OK, everypony, you can talk to her after your shift. Back to work.” The large crowd surrounding me had suddenly dissipated as the pegasi all returned to their stations. “Derpy, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital!”

“You thought… what?” I asked quizzically.

“A pegasus came by with your mail bag yesterday and said you accidentally crashed into an apple tree while doing your route. She said you hurt your wing pretty bad, too. How is it feeling? Can you flap it OK?”

“I’m fine, boss. I can do my route today.”

“Oh, no. I don’t care how tough you think you are. From what that pony told me yesterday, you got beat up pretty bad.” I scratched my head in confusion. Who was he talking about? “Look, Derpy, I know you want to prove that you can be a dependable mail mare, but I’m putting you on medical leave for the month.”

“What?! The whole month?!”

“Derpy… your wing got twisted all the way down. You may look fine, but I’m not gonna take any chances, you hear me? I’ll just get Blossomfoth to cover for you until then. Go home. Relax.” He put his hoof on my shoulder. “You work hard enough as it is.”

Suddenly, an idea came to my mind. I slowly met my boss’s eyes and asked, “Boss… what did this pony you were talking about look like?”

“Well, she was about your age. Light blue mane, kind of a grayish coat. I’d say more of a shade of periwinkle. Oh, and she had this pink bow.”

I looked away, remaining silent for a minute. “I guess she really does need me…”

“Huh?”

“What? Oh, nothing, boss. I just… my wing was just giving me problems.”

“You see what I mean? Take some time off. Rest that wing of yours. Come next month, I want you flyin at top speed.”

“Yes, boss. I guess I’ll get going, then. See you later!” I waved my boss off, about to start flying until I realized that I was supposed to be faking an injury. Pretending like I was in pain, I limped out of the post office.

I flew my way over to the weather station to try and explain why I wasn’t there this morning either, but I was met with the same reaction. They told me that they heard how I had crashed into a nearby apple tree and that my wing was twisted from top to bottom. Then I was put on medical leave so that my wing could get better. Flitter must really have done her homework.

Upon leaving the weather station, I was greeted by a friendly, familiar face with a spiked mane. Oh, no. “Hey, Derpy!” Cloudchaser said gleefully as she pranced toward me. “You working at the moment?”

“What? Oh. No, I was put on medical leave. I uh… twisted my wing up pretty bad yesterday.”

“Oh, wow! I’m sorry to hear that. Can you fly OK?” She was about to examine my wing, but I pulled it away sheepishly, hoping she didn’t find out that I was a big fat liar.

“Not really. It really hurt getting up here to Cloudsdale to tell everypony that I got hurt. I uh… I crashed into a…” This story got more and more embarrassing the more times I went over it. “…a tree.”

“I’m really sorry, Derpy. How long are you out for?”

“A month, but I uh… I gotta get going. My wing is starting to give me problems and I should probably go rest it.” I really just couldn’t stand lying to one of my best friends. “I’ll talk to you as soon as I can fly again, OK?”

As I turned away, Cloudchaser quickly interjected. “Wait!” I flinched at the sudden burst of sound. “I’m sorry, I-I just have to ask… Did you see Flitter at all?” She sounded so worried.

A tear ran down my cheek. I didn’t know anypony who loved their sister more than Cloudchaser loved Flitter. I couldn’t even turn to face Cloudchaser. “No…” I lied, trying to sound as casual as possible. “I’m sure she’s fine, though.”

I could hear her fighting back tears. “I just miss her so much.”

Before I let her see that I was crying with her, I took off. I didn’t say good bye, wave or even look at her. I just flew away as fast as I could while still trying to fake a wing injury. “Flitter…” I said to myself, “I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
*
Later that night…

“We have been lied to, fellow pegasi. We have been told that we have been living in harmony in Equestria for millennia. We have been told that pegasus, unicorn and earth pony have all inhabited the land as equals. Well, I am here to tell you that it was all a lie.

“We pegasi are the reason that Equestria exists. We are the ones who give water to the crops. We are the ones who clear the clouds to let the sunshine in. Weather pegasi alone are responsible for the agricultural well-being of every city, town and field in Equestria. Can you tell me any unicorn that can do all that?

“Now, we have lived with them for thousands of years without any war or conflict. Some would say it was because we had good relations. Maybe it was because we were all friends. OR MAYBE IT WAS BECAUSE WE WERE ALL LEFT IN THE DARK!”

Several voices chimed in throughout the room. Pegasi had quiet conversations between themselves.

“Let’s get to the point: Princess Twilight Sparkle.” She spoke with malice as the words escaped her lips. “I for one must say that I respected her. She was great at what she did, but what she was was a UNICORN! Don’t you see? The kingdom has shown that they hold favoritism for their race. No matter how talented we are at flying or, heaven forbid, our JOBS as PEGASI, we will never find favor in the sight of the princesses, at least not in the same way as a unicorn would. What are the possibilities that any of us will ever become a monarch? I don’t see any, and do you know why? It’s because to the princesses, magic is more important than being a pegasus or earth pony!

“Fillies and gentlecolts, this is where we step in. This is where we make our mark in history. We are going to show once and forever more that pegasi are just as strong as unicorns. If we can’t show that we can rule a kingdom with our talents, then we’ll show it to them in a different way. We are going to overthrow the kingdom and take control as pegasi and earth ponies! That will prove once and for all that we are far more capable of ruling a kingdom than even the princesses. We are going to make an example out of them, and do you know how? We are going to kill Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

The room roared in conflicting thoughts. “Be still, everypony! I understand your dilemma. Princess Twilight has been an example and a friend to many of us, but to what degree are we going to let the kingdom trample over us? At what point are we going to say ‘I wanted to be treated as an equal’ to even our closest friends? We need to stick up for ourselves, and if we don’t do something now, the oppression will just build up. Soon we will tell our children about what life was like before the unicorns took control. Princess Twilight’s coronation may not seem like a drastic change at the moment, but what do we do when all pegasi and earth ponies are mistreated by the unicorns? Have you not seen how the Canterlotians carry themselves about? Their pride has brought them to a point where they think that everypony is beneath them. Now, let me ask you another question. How many pegasi have the luxury of living in Canterlot?

“If I can leave just one thought in your hearts this evening, my friends, it is that you think about it. This idea may seem radical at the moment, but if you ponder over this message, you will begin to see what I mean. We’re not doing this because we hate Princess Twilight. On the contrary, actually. Many of us love Twilight with all our heart, but where do your loyalties lie? With Princess Twilight or Equestria?

“I, for one, believe in a new Equestria! Many believe that we are equals already, but that is just our goal. Our goal is to put a pegasus and earth pony in the government and GIVE OUR RACE A VOICE FOR THE FIRST TIME!”

The crowd erupted in cheers and began chanting, “LIGHTNING DUST! LIGHTNING DUST!”

The spring green pegasus smiled at all of her followers. It was really happening. She was creating a new world order, and soon, nopony would be able to stop her.

“My friends…” She smirked. “We have a lot of work to do.”