//------------------------------// // Cause I'm Free // Story: Free Falling // by Ditz //------------------------------// “…And so, we have to think of our relationship with Saddle Arabia before we decide upon this event, your majesty, and furthermore… “ “Of course,” Celestia replied with her usual regal tone. One that she was accustomed to use under any circumstances, it was one that she was able to uphold despite her feelings, being a princess and all. Of course, that didn’t make the occasional boredom go away. Which was her current emotion as she walked the halls of Canterlot’s castle with her advisor. Celestia’s mind wondered, only half-listening to the hard-working pony with a list of -according to her current mood- tedious things to do. She hadn’t woken up in a particularly good mood this day. “And we musn’t forget!" he continued. "We have to visit your nephew too! It’s, well…” “Is it another one of his self-imposed laws?” Celestia guessed. “Has it become that predictable?” he asked, but she didn’t reply, instead opting for a slight nod. Celestia had always been a transparent pony with her subjects, she always admitted that her role required time to learn, that it was stressful for anypony, that only a few could really get used to it. “And yet, even after a millennium of many challenges, I cannot say that I can truly handle Blueblood of all ponies,” she thought, turning her head as she reached the large windows that showed the backdrop of Equestria’s own blue sky. It was a motion that she had long since done by routine, much like the way she walked the halls, a walk that she had literally done hundreds of thousands times before, allowing her to learn the area on a more intimate manner. “I could walk this hall with my eyes closed at this point,” she thought, watching intently for something interesting, something different that would make her day anything but the current dullness than it already was. And then, very suddenly, she saw it; it was a small robin, an animal she had seen before, but this one was different, as its usual reddish chest was colored yellow, and extended beyond it, covering most of the creature, much to her surprise. “Oh my…” she said out loud, a smile appearing on her face. Having lived as long as she had, it was not fully wrong to think she had seen most things the world had to offer, having traversed numerous lands throughout the years, she had seen the most rare creatures to ever be seen, made the strangest type of friends to ever be made… And yet, here she was, enthralled by a robin whose genetic code made it look different than any other of its kin. “Your majesty, watch out!” the voice of her advisor suddenly called. “Huh?” she mumbled, failing to notice that in front of her, was a set of stairs. She recognized them, as she had before gone down all thirty-six of them, and she knew that as she realized what would happen next. “Woah!” and with that simple word of surprise, she began falling. “Ooooooh noooooo…” came the slowed voice of her advisor, stretching his hoof towards her in an effortless attempt to catch her. Meanwhile, in Celestia’s quickly running mind, she couldn’t help herself and grinned. She hadn’t had an accident of the magnitude for decades, and despite herself, she felt the monotony of her usual work day disappear, continuously thinking as she tumbled forward. “I wonder how I’ll fall? Maybe I won’t cast a protection spell this time and I’ll feel the pain… Haven’t felt any sort of accidental pain in a good while…” she realized what she thought, giggling to herself. “Oh my, that’s rather masochistic of me.” A mere instant later, she raised her head upwards (or downwards, depending of angle) noticing the floor that was coming in fast, spotting numerous ponies who watched with horrified expressions as their princess foolishly flew through the air, some even began their attempts at stopping her, but would be unable -- they were too far to catch her. “I wonder if the tabloids will make up a story for this,” she thought surprised. It hadn’t been too long since she had had a column dedicated to silly rumor, as it was common practice for them to do, but it always seemed to involve some sort of outlook in her way of governing, or strange conspiracy theories about her not being a queen. “I wanna see them make something good of this,” she thought, expecting to read something good for the following week. And then, just as sudden as her tripping, she hit the floor, and having already carefully adjusted herself to land on her side, she felt the pressure as her left wing took most of the pressure of the fall. She hissed silently as she bore the pain, able to listen to the distinct sound of her head regalia clanking as it bounced off her head, landing near the now gathering crowd of ponies around her. “Your majesty!” cried out her advisor, whose voice echoed alongside the dozens of ponies there. “Oh my goodness, your majesty! Are you alright? Oh what am I saying, of course not! You aren’t alright, we have to take you to the infirmary!” he said, having approached her and attempting to help her. Slowly, Celestia got on all hooves herself, sighing with eyes closed. “That is quite alright, Kibitz,” she said reassuringly. “I was not hurt,” she made a show of it, extending her wings to point out what she meant. “Pardon my insolence, but nonsense!” Kibitz said, shaking his head. “We must make sure! Guards,” he began calling to the guards who had been only watching with astonished expressions. “They all will have something to tell to their kids for certain,” she thought, imagining the looks on their faces. “For that matter, I wonder what Twilight will do?” she imagined her student back in Ponyville, dropping everything and rushing over without thinking it over, imagining her mentor had suffered a terrible accident. “Actually, I believe she will do just that.” “Your majesty!” Kibitz called. “Your stretcher is here!” he pointing to a number of unicorn, carrying an oversized stretcher that seemed far too clean to have been used. “Please get in, we’ll take you to the hospital wing!” Celestia shrugged in defeat. “If I must,” she said, getting on the stretcher and heading off with Kibitz trotting right behind her. “What a day,” Celestia thought. “Five minutes and I’m on my way to the hospital wing to check on injuries I possibly do not have… I’ll probably have to work fast on today’s events, maybe I’ll wake Luna and let her handle day court.” “Your majesty! What happened!” Kibitz suddenly asked, catching her mid-thought. “On all of my years of work I’ve never seen you commit such mistakes... Is something perhaps troubling you?" Celestia thought back on the event for a bit, thinking of an appropriate answer to give... She couldn't really complain, having her job had become routine for sure, but she was happy with the life she had, as the country remained consistently peaceful "... For the most part, at least," she thought. "Your majesty?" Kibitz asked again. "Not at all," she answered. "Then what happened?" Repressing a chuckle, she gave out her honest answer. "I was distracted by a bird.” Kibitz took in her words, stopping to mull over them for a few seconds before replying to himself. “What?”