Hoverboard Anon part 2

>Congrats, Anon. You’re now on the ground and fighting for your life in the middle of a crowd of enraged p0nies who are doing their very best to reduce you to a pulp.

>Fortunately for you, these guys know as much about fighting as you know about quantum physics…perhaps even less. Only the two guards seem to know what they’re doing as they take turns at pounding on your chest and arms with their hind hooves.

>But at this rate, if you don’t get up and run the hell outta here, this won’t end up well for you.

>You are still trying to get on your feet, all the time taking punches and kicks all over your body when a soft but commanding voice makes its way between the chorus of angered cries and insults. From where you are, you cannot understand a word of what the voice is saying, but it seems the p0nies can do otherwise. Gradually, the beating stops and the uproar dwindle until it’s just a low rumble of confused and annoyed whispers.

>You shake your head confused and manage to stand up and get your right foot on your board.

>Finally, you can leave. But then the same voice who stopped the crowd from hurting you badly speaks again. This time, its words are crystal clear to you.

>”Anonymous the Human, don’t leave, please”

 

>You turn your head towards the voice’s origin and you locate it in no time. It’s easy considering that you tower above the p0nies, even more now that you’re on your hoverboard again.

>The pink Alicorn princess has her eyes fixed upon you and you are surprised because the only thing reflected in them is concern. You had expected her to be angered and incredibly mad at you. After all, you provoked an accident that could have ended up really bad for her.

>But hell no, she’s worried.

>Again, she speaks.

>”Are you all right? You look awful”

>She’s right. Your clothes have several fain patches of dirt all over them and you can feel several bruises on your arms and chest where the armored hooves of the two guards did their deed. You, being the way you are, try to play it cool.

“Nah, don’t worry. I’ve been worse”  

>That’s more or less true, considering that, back on Earth, getting violent with the police usually lead to far worse things than a few bruises. Well, let’s just say that if the pair of royal guards had broken one of your arms, it wouldn’t have been your first time.

 

>But still, the two fuckers did a good job with you and now you’re beginning to feel it. You stroke your left arm as you hiss through clenched teeth. The guards and several of the crowd p0nies give you shit eating grins and laugh quietly.

>Motherfuckers.

>You manage to get pass the dull pain, though, just in time to see the princess advance towards you. The crowd silences as it parts aside to leave space for her to pass. The two guards exchange a confused look before taking positions on either side of the Alicorn. You speak.

“But how are you doing? Are you hurt or something? Princess…?”

>”My name is Mi Amore Cadenza. And I’m much all right, thank you”

“Glad to hear that… princess Mi Am…”

>You struggle to recall her name. Gladly, she notices your problem.

>”Cadence is fine, Anonymous”

“Cadence? Very well… and, how do you know about me, by the way?”

>“Who hasn’t heard of you, Anonymous? You are the only one of your kind in all of Equestria, after all”

>Ah, yeah, right. One and only human in this whole planet. Those kicks at your head must have had some effect on you for sure because right now you’re feeling incredibly dense. You then remember why you are in this situation and feel like it’s time to, at least, try to apologize.

 

“Look, princess Cadence…,“ you struggle at trying to find the right words, “I really didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble…,” you say pointing at the still tipped chariot, “I’m sorry, real sorry for what I did and… well…”

>You can almost hear your mother calling you from another dimension. “Is that all you have to say, young man? Haven’t you learnt anything or what?” She would most probably say. Yeah, that was a pathetic excuse of an apology.

>That’s why you are shocked when she accepts it.

>”It is fine, Anonymous. You didn’t have any intention to harm us and nop0ny got hurt, so there is no need to worry about this”

>Then, there’s a flash of magic from her horn and you find yourself surrounded by a pinkish aura that tickles all over your body, the sensation akin to that of static electricity. Then, in an instant, the aura is gone for good, much like the dirt on your clothes and the bruises on your arms.

>Fucking magic, how does it work?

>”There. Much better, don’t you think?"

 

>Now several p0nies stay agape at the scene and the whispers begin anew. Nor the p0nies, nor you, can actually believe this. She just didn’t get mad or started a fucking conversation as if nothing had actually happened. Not only that, but this mare, who is so important to these classy pricks, just helped you out. You would call her bro, but she’s no stallion and, besides that, she’s from the royalty.

>Instead of that, you stretch a hand out to her and incline your head as if you were bowing. After a moment of hesitation, she raises a hoof and you slowly shake it. Horrified gasps come from the crowd at this breach of protocol and you’d swear you have just heard someone fainting on the back rows of the multitude, but the princess doesn’t seem to pay these things any mind.

“It’s better now, princess Cadence. Thank you. I owe you one”

>”Oh, it is quite all right”

>You smile and she lets out a quiet giggle. One of the guards is stealing nervous glimpses to the princess, probably wondering if she has just lost her mind. The other is simply staring off into space, apparently having a quiet nervous breakdown. Meanwhile and all around, the other p0nies watch the whole scene as if this was the second coming of Tirek. Too many novelties in one day for Classy Canterlot, you guess.

 

>Suddenly, you realize that you’re losing time, time you could spend practicing with your board and, more important, precious time you need to think about Quake’s work offer. So, as much as you hate to do so, you have to see off the pink p0ny princess.  

“Well, it’s been an… honor, meeting you, Cadence. But now, if you don’t mind, I was on my way to the park and…”

>”I understand, Anonymous,” she smiles, “Go. You are free to leave”

>You nod and turn around; ignoring the shocked stares and silent glares you are receiving from everyp0ny, still not believing your incredible luck. When you’re about to leave, you hear her voice call you out once more.

>”And, one more thing, Anonymous”

“Yeah?”

>”Next time you are on that…,” she points at your board with a hoof, “….thing of yours, be more careful, will you?”

>There’s a slight inflexion in this last sentence that makes her sound different. There’s sadness and… disappointment? It doesn’t make any sense but, for some strange reason, you feel like you have to oblige.  After all, you owe Cadence this one.

“I will, princess. I swear”

>And with that and a polite nod of your head, you fix your goggles and leave the place, air compressors working at its max as you surf again through the streets of Canterlot towards the park, not nearly as fast as before, but fast nevertheless.

 

>And you couldn’t leave at better time because; no more than half a minute after you have gotten out of Cadence’s sight…

 

Cadence’s POV.

 

>”Your Highness!”

>You turn in time to see a dozen of very worried-looking royal guards enter the street and immediately form a perimeter around you and the wrecked chariot, pushing the crowd aside and sending everyp0ny to take care of their businesses.

>”Nothing to see here, citizens”

>”Move along, move along”

>”Are you all right, your Highness?”

>The last question comes from a medical officer of the guard, a red cross emblazoned in his helmet and a first-aid kit attached to his saddlebag. You smile and reply:

”I am just fine, guard, thank you. We simply had a little accident on our way here, but everything is all right now”

>“Well, that is indeed a relief! ,” an affected voice exclaims voice behind you, where four more royal guards are approaching the site from an adjacent street, in a tight square formation. These guards, however, are different.

>Unlike their counterparts from Canterlot Castle, their armor is covered with white and blue textiles that hang from their backs as miniature banners, alongside silver engraving depicting an all too familiar compass rose, a mark associated with a very influent member of the Royal Family.

>In a moment, the guard formation breaks, and a white-coated unicorn, with flowing golden hair, steps forth from it. Just the p0ny you were thinking about.

 

>Blueblood.

 

>”It is good to see that nothing bad has come to happen, after all”

”As good as meeting you again, Prince Blueblood,” you politely reply. You have always considered Blueblood a nice stallion, but his affected manners and the rumors about how he managed to get all of his influence in the city of Canterlot sometimes unnerve you.

>”But tell me, Cadence, for I must know. What in Equestria caused this?”

”Well, the human Anonymous was aboard his…metal floating… scooter, I think they’re called. He was moving really fast and then…”

>”No more words are needed, dear Cadence”, Blueblood harshly interrupts. His expression of calmed and well-managed worry has changed to another not so appropriate for a member of the Royal Family. For a moment you see a glint of pure hatred appear in Blueblood eyes.

>Fortunately, his expression changes in a matter of seconds towards one of bad-dissimulated annoyance and disgust. The prince scowls then.

>”The nerve of the monkey! Not only does he cause trouble to the residents of Canterlot, but he also threatens the life of…!”

>You interrupt him, feeling disturbed by the tone in Blueblood’s voice.

”There is no need to worry, Prince Blueblood. He apologized for his behavior and promised me to be more careful in the future”

 

>”Oh, did he do that?! Now he dares to lie to one of the Royal Family!”

”I don’t think he was lying, in fact…”

>”That’s not the point, dear Cadence. The point is that this monkey…”

”Human”

>”Excuse me?”

”He’s a human. Celestia told me that’s how he calls his own species”

>”Human, monkey, whatever! I know you have recently arrived from the Crystal Empire, dear Cadence, and that you have been terribly busy. And perhaps Aunt Celestia hasn’t told you yet but, during these months you’ve been away, running the Empire, this…Anonymous…has been nothing (and excuse me for my language) but a pain in the rear!”

 

Back to Anon.

 

>After a few minutes travelling down the streets and trying to assimilate what happened, you arrive at Canterlot Park.

>Before your eyes lays more than half a square kilometer covered in trees, decorative hedge mazes and parterres, filled with blooming lilies, roses, daisies and the like. The flowers are not as impressive as their more exotic counterparts at the Castle Private Gardens, but they do manage to create a serene and beautiful environment. Paths extend between the different areas of the park, lined with stone benches where the citizens of Canterlot relax and enjoy the day.

>Several groups of tourists move around the fountains and monuments that dot the park, taking pictures, talking animatedly between them or listening to the explanations of a sightseeing guide. Most of the tourists are p0nies from other cities across Equestria, but you can also spot visitants from distant nations like minotaurs, griffons and…is that a group of teenager dragons?

>Groups of fillies and colts play around in certain designated areas of the park while their parents keep an eye on them. You move with your board along one of the many paths that opens before you.

 

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3anK6yGG-E

 

>When the younger p0nies notice your arrival, they quickly abandon their games and, much to the dismay of their parents, begin to bounce happily around you, giggling and laughing all the time.

>”Hi, Mr. Human!”

>”Your here to do some tricks?!”

>You crouch on your board and pat one of the fillies following you in the head.

“You bet I am, kids”

>”Yayyyyy!!! ,” they yell excitedly before leaving for another section of the park, where they can better watch your oncoming performance. Some of the most worried-looking parents are trying to take their foals back home, but to little avail.

>”Emerald, darling, isn’t it time for your piano lesson?”

>”But, daddy…!”

>”Carat, we are going home, right now!

>”But mum, I don’t wanna miss the awesome!

>”Such uncouth language! ,” the mother exclaims with shock, ”Where in the world did you hear those words, young stallion?!”

>The mother, of course, already knows the answer to that question and glares at you with open disgust. The other parents are following her example, some even talking about getting the guard, but you don’t give a damn. After all, you aren’t doing anything illegal here, right?

 

>You swing your right leg and propel yourself down the path. A cute-looking couple who was busy kissing and nuzzling on a bench is startled when you, transformed in a blur of green and blue, pass by. You can hear the colts and fillies cheer as you pick up speed.

>You then turn lightly to the right and make a good and high jump towards an empty bench.

>The kids hold their breaths as you fall through the air, getting closer and closer to the bench. Their parents eye the scene intently too, silently praying for you to screw yourself up with this trick.  

>Their eyes are filled with disappointment when you land straight and right on the back’s edge of the bench, leaving a faint trail of sparks behind you as the reinforced-steel surface of your board’s tail slides across the stone.

>Grinding is magic, bitches.

>When your board “touches” the ground again, you find that you have attracted the attention of one of the group of tourists, two or three dozens of meters ahead of you. Several of the p0nies are now taking photos and watching you, mouths agape, while others are searching frantically through their guidebooks and stealing glimpses at you. You laugh inwardly at their efforts, because there’s no way you are going to be written down as a tourist attraction. Even though you’re kinda well-known in Canterlot, in other places you are, at best, a rumor, a tavern tale, a whispered story that spoke of a distant creature which few have ever seen.

 

>And if these p0nies are reacting to your presence in this way, you can only wonder what must be going through the minds of the few griffons of the group.

>You were told a while back by Quake that these creatures are, as a rule, always playing it cool, as if everything is not enough impressive for them. A proud race, Quake had called them, although a bit too full of themselves.

>Well, let’s just say that if Discord and Celestia were making out right in front of them, these griffons wouldn’t be much more amazed than they appear to be right now. Yeah, no stories about the “magical monkey” reached their lands.

>Their beaks are now opening in awe as you accelerate towards them and fix your eyes on your next objective. Behind the group of tourists lies a wide circular fountain, a magnificent statue of a pegasus warrior from ancient times standing in its center, stone wings outstretched in all its length. On the base of the statue, carved in wide letters, you can make out a name: “Commander Hurricane”.

>Well, today this Hurricane will help you pull off a stunt of yours.  You hope nothing goes wrong, because this particular trick is kinda risky.

>First, you turn to the right go around the group of tourists, and then jump to begin grinding along the copping of the fountain’s low walls, all the time struggling to keep the right momentum as you encircle the pool of water. P0nies are already stomping their hooves, but the best part of the trick, if you manage to pull it off, is about to come.

 

>Using the inertia acquired, you build up pressure in your hover-board and make an almost impossible jump towards one of Commander Hurricane’s stony wings. For a moment, the entire park goes silent as you cross the space between you and the statue.

>A wave of relief goes through you when your board lands cleanly on the wing’s tip. The relief, however, is short-lived when your air compressors release pressure one more time and you, using the stone feathers of the pegasus warrior as a jumping platform, dive wildly through the air again, almost flying over the group of tourists.

>Well, here goes it.

>As the ground comes closer, you take a sharp turn in the air, full 180s, and find yourself landing backwards. You then raise your right feet to orientate the tail air compressor, in an effort to compensate your momentum and soften the oncoming landing.

>But when your board’s nose touches the ground at a neck-breaking speed, you know your efforts are in vain.

 

>Fuck, fuck, fuck.

>You trip over, losing your precarious equilibrium, and the next thing you know you are sliding painfully on your back across the ground. Could this get worse? And, as if destiny has listened to your silent question, you only come to a complete stop when your head bangs against the leg of a bench.

>Bright points appear in your suddenly darkened vision as an enormous pain fills your cranium, flowing from the back of your head. Your body goes completely limp and you faint.

 

>When you wake up, you find yourself surrounded by the saddened faces of various unicorn fillies and colts. When you stir and try to wake up, expressions of delight and relief flash across them.

>”Thank Celestia!”

>”Are you all right, Mr. Human?”

>”Of course he’s not!”

>”We have to get him to the hospital!”

”Don’t you worry over me, kids. I’ll be all right,” you reply. You reach a hand behind your head, looking for any wounds. Fortunately, there seems to be no one. Well, aren’t you one lucky bastard? You smile and try to get up.

>However, before you manage stand up on your own and much to your surprise, several talons grab you by the shoulder from behind and pull you up with a delicateness you would have thought almost impossible for a clawed appendix, the sharp claws not even tearing the fabric of your jacket.    

>When you are on your board again, you dust your clothes off. Fortunately, no damage has come to them.

>Yes, buying them from that second hand-market was one of the best ideas you have ever had. Those 20th century manufacturers, unlike the corporations that ruled global economy in your days, knew how to get shit done and, moreover, how to make it last.

>Your board appears to be in one piece, too. Well, that was expected. You suffered far worse accidents with this baby and, apart from a few scratches, nothing really bad has ever happened.

>You are driven back to reality by a female voice. When you turn, you see a pair of griffons staring at you, a strange mixture of mockery and respect shining in their eyes.

>”Good,” the one to the right is saying, “looks like nothing is broken”

 

“Just my pride, sis, just my pride…,” you reply, shaking your head.

>They both laugh before eyeing you again. The other griffon outstretches its wing and you shake it with your right hand. When it speaks, you find out that it’s a male.

>”But, despite…, “he raises his claws and makes a mimic of you falling, “that…it was really cool”

>”Yeah, you got balls, monkey pal! ,” his companion just adds, staring at your hovering board with non-dissimulated curiosity.

>”And loads of them, if I might add”

“Well, thank you guys, but it was really…,“ you stop talking when you notice a small turmoil behind the pair of griffins, next to the fountain. Apparently, the p0nies in the touristic group have begun to argue among themselves. And you cannot fail to notice that most of the arguing p0nies are pegasi and that a certain number of them are glaring at you.

>You begin to worry when you see some pegasi, alongside a group of worried parents, talking to a trio of golden clad royal guards, at times pointing at you with their wings, then to the statue, then at you again.

“What’s going on there?”

>”That? ,” the male griffon looks over his shoulder, “Nothing important, really, but you seem to have made some of those…,” he lowers his voice’s volume, “… grass-eaters pretty mad”

>”Yeah, they didn’t like one bit the thingy you did with the fountain and the statue, “ the other griffon snorts.

 

“Well…shit, “ you say before starting to think.

>Leaving now to avoid the trouble, or stay for a while? Well, this might get interesting and, besides, the worst thing that the guards could do in this situation would be fining you for altering public order or something like that. And by “fining”, you mean being forced to pay the “ludicrous amount” of ten bits. Ten fucking bits. Sometimes you wonder about what kind of a pussy made laws in Equestria.

>You make your decision.

“I think I’m gonna check it out”

>And with a wave to the griffons and your little admirers, you approach the multitude.

>”There he is, guard!”

>”He insulted the memory of Commander Hurricane!”

>”He’s trying to corrupt our foals!”

>”Arrest him!”

>On hindsight, perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea.

 

Again Cadence’s POV.

 

>”When Celestia allowed him to move to this city, I thought it would be a good idea, dear Cadence. I thought that, finally, this creature would forever remain under the direct supervision of the rulers of Equestria. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Back in P0nyville, the Elements sure did a nice job helping this Anonymous adapt to his new life here, but you will have to agree, Cadence, that it would be much better to have him controlled by the two most elevated of all p0nykind here, in the capital of our land”

>”Can you then imagine my horror when, just after his arrival, he promptly refused to stay in the Castle and preferred to live in the…the…slums of Low Canterlot?! Of all the possible outcomes, this was by far the worst! ,” Blueblood raises a hoof to his forehead in an overdramatic gesture, “Not only was that Anonymous going to escape… I mean… go on without the guidance he still much needs. No, moreover… and because of this, now he lives in one of the most disgraced, vice-filled and lowest places in all of Equestria!”

>You put on a façade of interest and continue to listen to Blueblood. The Prince has “graciously” put one of his personal carriages at your disposal and the two of you are now travelling inside the vehicle. Through the windows, you can see the streets and p0nies of Canterlot pass rapidly, like a blur of bright colors, as the carriage advances, non-stop, down the road that leads to the Castle.

 

>For more than twenty minutes you have been listening to Blueblood as he describes Anonymous stay in Canterlot and the “problems” he has been causing.

>And, although you already knew of Anonymous shenanigans through the letters Princess Celestia sent during this last month, the way Prince Blueblood is describing everything makes them appear more as crimes than anything else. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to remember any mentions to “panic, anarchy or violence” in Celestia’s letters. The Princess of the Sun simply thought of Anonymous’ actions as, well, as those of an oversized foal, childish and hasty, risky perhaps, but never ill-intentioned.

>You then decide it’s time to interrupt Blueblood’s monologue.

”Prince, please, may I ask you something?”

>”Yes, dear Cadence, whatever you need to know”

”Has Anonymous provoked any accidents during his “raids”, as you called them? Apart from today’s incident, of course”

>”Well…no, “ Blueblood seems at a loss for words for a moment, “…not that me or any of the Royal Guards know…but it was only a matter of time that the caused one, as you may have seen today!”

”I certainly have, Prince Blueblood, but still, I don’t quite see why we should care so much about what Anonymous does”

>”I beg your pardon?”

”I mean that, although some of Anonymous actions are to be frowned upon, he hasn’t caused any real harm to anyone and, more so, he doesn’t wish to. In fact, I believe a little talk is all that we would need, should it come to that extreme, to prevent this matter from getting, as you said, out of hoof”

 

>”And what makes you think that this…human will have such a good disposition? After all, he disrespects and makes fools of the members of the Royal guard stationed around Low Canterlot on an almost daily basis!”

”Just the same way some of the younger p0nies of that area do, if I am not mistaken”

>”What little mischief those slum-dwellers may cause, from time to time, is nothing compared to what that human has been doing since he moved there”

”Are you insinuating than those p0nies could be acting as a bad influence for the human Anonymous?”

>”Quite the opposite, dear Cadence”

>Blueblood leans slightly forward and you inwardly shiver when his eyes and voice suddenly turn as cold as those of a Windigo.  

 

>”For, right now, I’m more worried about the influence He might be having on them”