Leland woke up with his arms and legs bound in roped. “This is not a good start to the day” he thought to himself.
Military training taught him to observe his surroundings. He had learned a lot from his days in the service and even more working as a vigilante. He had also made many enemies. Fear raced through his body at the thought at what they might do to him in situation like this, with him at their mercy. He shuddered.
He opened his eyes. He was in a room with four white walls, angles between which appeared to be 90 degrees. One of the walls had a door in it. The angles weren't important, the door was. No sound was coming from it. That could indicate that he was alone though whatever he did, he would have to do it quietly because if there was a guard, he did not want to alert him.
He was tied to a bed by rope tried to his ankles and wrists. Just as concerning; he was completely naked. He knew how it worked, removing the clothes of people made them feel more vulnerable.
“This cannot get anymore fucked up” he muttered to himself as he tested the ropes. The knot in the ropes was well made and he doubted that he could pull himself free with brute force. However the ropes were not overly tight which was strange.
He considered the fact that he was bound by ropes strange, after all most people who would try to capture him new better than to tie him up with rope. And on the off chance that they did, there is no way they would be stupid enough to leave the rope relatively loose.
Leland tested the rope by flexing his wrists and then his ankles. The rope allowed for a bit of movement but he could not move his wrists more than a foot or so. The ankles were the same.
Leland took a second to think out his next plan of action. If he had been wearing his favorite cloak, he could of rubbed on a sleeve to bring out a blade to cut his bindings but for some reason he was naked. Maybe that was the reason they took his clothes. Most of them did contain concealed weapons.
“I need to get these bonds of me somehow. Breaking the bonds is impossible, I would need something with which to cut the rope. The knot on the bed is not going to break either.” he mused.
He examined the knot on his wrist. “There is no way in hell I’m gonna be able to untie that, but maybe I can rub the knot against the bed and slide the rope off my hand.” He looked at the soft sheets he was going to use as leverage to rub the rope. “This is going to take a while”.
Applejack sat outside the hospital staring at the door. Twilight sat next to her, having just finished writing a letter to the princess about the strange ape-like creature that now lay on the inside of that door.
“So you just found this creature in the south field when you went to check on the harvest?” Twilight asked.
The orange mare nodded, her creamy mane covering her face. “Like I said, ah never seen anything like this critter before. Neither has Big Mac”
“I’ve never seen anything like it either and I’ve studied the different species of mammals”
Applejack turned and looked at Twilight, raising one eyebrow as she did “You sure he’s a mammal?”
The alicorn nodded. “Only mammals have nipples. His species must be sentient, why else would he of been wearing clothes. Plus there’s the matter of this case that you found next to him.”
“You opened it yet?”
“No, heaven knows what’s in there. It could be dangerous.”
“So when’s the princess going to get here”
Twilight broke eye contact with Applejack. “If I had to guess I would say in 5. . .4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1”
A shadow fell over the two mares as a carriage pulled by white stallions in gold royal guard armour passed over the hospital.
The carriage opened and the white princess stepped out. Her mane flowed like liquid in the light breeze. Her guards took up formation behind her, relaxed but alert. They knew Applejack and Twilight well, the two young mares had been involved in multiple matters of state security, most of which the royal guard had trouble dealing with. Also, Twilight was now a princess so the guards were bound to protect her even if she had chosen to not have any personal guards.
“Princess!!” Twilight squealed as she ran forward and embraced Celestia. Applejack bowed, while she was sure the princess would not mind if she had just greeted her as a friend, it was always best to bow to royalty.
“Hello Twilight, I came as soon as I got your message about your guest.”
“Thank you. Applejack found him outside in one of her fields. I checked the area and found no sign of him walking there.”
“He did na walk there, ma sister Applebloom said she could find no tracks and if she can’t find any tracks, I’m telling you princess, they ain’t there.” Applejack interjected.
Celestia and Twilight both looked at her. “Your sister is a tracker?” Celestia asked surprised. Ponies who could track were rare, with tracking being an unneeded skill that was only useful mainly in the Everfree Forest where it was a good idea to know how to recognise animal tracks.
Applejack shrugged. “Yea, I dunno when she learned to do that but after the bunch herd of cows panicked and broke into the forest, she was the one that tracked them all down, even the ones who had crossed rivers. Ah reckon she been spending too much time in that forest.”
“But some of those cows made it miles into the forest before they stopped.” Twilight exclaimed loudly. “Even my magic had trouble find some of them after they had travelled so far and crossed rivers.”
“Did Applebloom notice anything that would hint as to where this creature came from” Celestia asked changing the subject. She was slightly concerned, strange beings appearing out of no-where usually did not go well for her subjects and the kingdom.
“She mentioned to me that the ground was slight impacted as if he had fallen from a considerable height.” Twilight replied.
Applejack looked at Twilight amused. “Told you in those words did she?”
Twilight shook her head. “Not quite, the exact wording was it looks like fell out of a hell of a tree. But that can’t of happened, the nearest tree was five meters away and Applebloom told me the angle of the landing was wrong. Not to mention the tree was no-where nearly as high as what would be required to cause the marks in the ground.”
“So it would seem as if it appeared out of thin air” Celestia asked for confirmation.
“Appeared of thin air from high enough to leave marks in the ground without damaging himself while bringing two large cases with him.” Twilight replied.
“Cases?” inquired Celestia. The two young mares nodded. Twilight gestured over to the cases that were lying beside the door. “These came through with him. We haven’t opened them yet in case they were dangerous.”
It was Celestia’s turn to nod. “That was good thinking. I’m glad to see you two took proper precautions.” Twilight blushed at the complement from the princess and Applejack said “Aw shucks, its what anypony with a brain cell would do.”
Celestia turned to Twilight. “What makes you think that this creature is male?”
Twilight’s blush was now showing through her purple coat as she answered. “We too…took its clothes off so that we could check for injuries.”
Applejack facehoofed and Celestia smiled at Twilight’s embarrassment. Twilight did not notice this as eye contact with Celestia had become considerably harder.
“What do we know about him physically?” the now amused Celestia asked.
“Um, he’s, I mean… I wasn't looking, not that I would ever look. I don’t know…”
Eye contact with her old tutor suddenly became impossible for the purple alicorn and she leaned her head forward so her mane covered her blush.
“Sugarcube, that wasn’t what she was meaning, she was asking what did he look like” Applejack turned to Celestia. “He looks a like a monkey that has no fur. We restrained him so that if he was dangerous, he would not hurt anypony”
Celestia nodded and began issuing orders to her guards. “Once we see this creature, surround him as soon as possible. He may be harmless but take no chances. However, if he does attack, please try not to hurt him.” The guards nodded their understanding.
Inside the room, Leland moved his ear away from the door.
Getting the ropes off him had been tricky but his persistence allowed him to rub the rope off his right wrist. Using his free hand to undo the other knots had been easy. Now he was free and no-one had any idea about it. Not that that would last for long. What his captors were talking about was interesting, by the sound of it they did not want to hurt him. That was good, it meant that he would not have to fight his way out of it. While he had faith in his skills, combat was dangerous normally, fighting multiple opponents was just a bad idea.
“What the hell did they mean by anypony though, are they crazy or something” He shrugged. He could have just heard wrong. If not, this was going to be an interesting conversation.
He heard the sound of multiple hooves clopping towards him and he stepped back from the door.
Author's Note
My first attempt at a fanfic. Not sure whats happening in later chapters though I am thinking of shipping [DATAREDACTED]
Dedicated to my friend Madi.
Fixed the misspelling of vigilante.
Actually, I would like you to criticize please, I need all the help I can get.
Also, take a guess what is in those cases. I haven't decided yet so I'm open to ideas.
Chapter 2 was delayed by my trip to USA. Sorry about that. Not that anypony cares.
Celestia opened the hospital door with her magic. The guards trotted into the room, spears at the ready, expecting the creature to be tied up on his bed. This was not the case.
Since they did not have orders relating to this situation as they had been told that the creature would be restrained, they were quite surprised to say the least. Downright concern was more accurate.
While the creature had not yet made any hostile actions towards them, the last thing they wanted to do was give it a chance.
They surrounded the creature, their spears pointing at its body until there were enough spears that any movement on the creature would result in it being stabbed.
Celestia entered the room, followed by Twilight and Applejack. All three mares noticed the creature seemed to be in a state of shock.
Leland’s jaw dropped. He had chosen to sit cross-legged on the bed to greet whichever person opened the door.It was a very dignified position as far as he was concerned, even if it did restrict movement. It was also the best way for the sake of modesty. He was just hoping that they weren't trying to kill or hurt him. If they were, this as going to be a lot harder to escape.
He did not expect the see what looked a lot like a white horse with a horn, wings and a multicolored mane to be standing there. His mind went blank. It never occurred to Leland to react as the pony guards surrounded him, making any potential escape much more difficult, if not impossible.
“They’re horses, ponies, something!! Oh this is fucked up on so many levels. This can’t be happening! Someone must have spiked my food!” He started in a normal voice but as disbelief turned to panic, his voice became louder and higher.
“You can talk?” an orange mare asked him.
He turned to look at her and repeated her question. “You can talk?”
“All of ponykind can talk” the large white one. Leland noted that all the other ponies as seemed to answer to her. This must be the one called Princess Celestia as she was by far the largest, standing nearly twice as tall as the ponies next to her.
“Where am I?” Leland asked. He knew that there was no place on earth that there were talking ponies. Hell, this entire situation seemed absolutely ridiculous. He still hadn’t ruled out the chance that he was under the effects of drugs, if anything it seemed more likely. Talking ponies ruled by princesses? Ponies using spears? His panic began to dissipate as he relaxed. If this was a delusion, he might as well enjoy it. If not, well this was going to get a lot more interesting before it got normal.
“You are in Equestria. I am one of four princesses that rule this land. This is Twilight Sparkle, she is my personal protégé and the youngest of the princesses.” Celestia gestured to the purple pony next to her.
“Um… how is she holding that notebook?” Leland asked.
Twilight’s horn was glowing with purple energy as the notebook. A similar purple energy was surrounding the notebook as a quill hovered over it.
“Magic” the purple pony replied. “Don’t you have magic where you come from” she asked.
Leland shook his head. “Wait, you guys can use magic?”
Twilight nodded. “Unicorns and Alicorns can due the horn on our heads that can channel magic. While all ponies have some form of magical energy that is present in their bodies, only unicorns and Alicorns can use magic in this form. Pegasus grow wings and can walk on clouds and earth ponies have a natural affinity with the earth that make allows them to farm on the ground.”
An orange mare slammed her hoof into her face. “Sugar, he didn’t need the whole lecture.” The mare turned to Leland. “Howdy, I’m Applejack, the local apple farmer”
The human nodded “I’m Leland, the local.. um..” Now this was a scenario he had not envisioned. How in god’s name do you explain to a bunch of ponies that you are a serial killer? Ok, sure that the people I killed deserved it but why should they believe me. Besides, I doubt ponies are going to like the idea of killing. Still, probably better if I tell the truth, if they have magic, sooner or later they will find out if I lie.
While he was thinking this, all the ponies looked at him expectantly.
He took a deep breath and asked “How would you feel if I said I was a vigilante?”
The two princesses and Applejack shared a glance and judging by the change in body language, they took him a bit more seriously. He wasn't surprised, leader generally hated vigilantes as they could undermine their power. That and professional vigilantes tended to have little respect for authority making them difficult to control.
“I would want to know if you were a threat to the citizens of Equestria” Princess Celestia asked. What this being did in his world was his concern but if there was a chance he would hurt one of her subjects…
“I have never intentionally hurt an innocent person.” Leland weighed his words carefully, telling the truth in a favourable way.
“And what of those you deemed guilty” Celestia asked harshly. She had no patience for those who thought themselves above the law.
Oh god, shes pissed. “I made sure they were guilty of the crime for which I hunted them.” He kept eye contact with Celestia. “Once confirmed what they did, I killed them.”
Twilight and Applejack gasped in horror. The guards tightened their grip on their weapons. Celestia had no visible reaction but inside she was even more concerned than before. This creature, Leland he called himself, showed no concern about admitting that he had killed.
“What did they do to deserve death?” Celestia asked.
“Do you know what slavery is, your majesty?” Leland chose to use the term of respect in deference to her rank, no sense further pissing off a creature who could probably kill him in a heartbeat.
Celestia frowned, slavery had been stamped out centuries ago, after she and Luna had defeated Discord. While there had been a more recent period in history in which stallions had been kidnapped, that was long over though traces of that time could still be found in Equestria's culture.
“I know what slavery is.” she replied. “Does your kind practice it?”
Leland scowled in disgust. “We banned slavery centuries ago but it still goes on. People are kidnapped off the streets and sold into slavery. The females get sold into the sex trade and the males go into manual labor.”
Twilight and Applejack gasped in horror.
“Thats… thats horrible!! Why in tarnation do you allow it?” Applejack burst out angrily.
“For most people, it one of those out-of-sight-out-of-mind things. I can assure you, I personally did not allow it. Why do you think I got these?” Leland gestured to his crest. The ponies then noticed that it was interlaced with scars, some more recent than others.
“You fought them.” Celestia breathed. Now this put things in a different light, this Leland may not be as bad as she had originally thought. Still, killing was not something she took lightly, no matter how justified it was.
“I fought them.” he repeated, confirming her statement. “I hunted them, I ambushed them, I poisoned them, I shot them, I stabbed them, I made sure they payed!!” His voice started quietly but quickly escalated into shouting and by the end of his tirade, the ponies were wincing at the volume and Applejack had pulled her hat down further over her head in a vain attempt to block out some of the noise.
He noticed this. “Sorry, sore subject.”
“Why do you hate them so much?” Celestia asked. He opened his mouth to reply but the princess cut him off. “I don’t mean from a moral point of view. Your hatred of them is much more personal than that. The slavers did something to you.”
‘Holy fucking crap, how the fuck did she know that?’ Leland thought. That was his most personal secret, the one thing he kept hidden from almost everybody he knew. Only his family and a few other vigilantes knew. Those few were friends he had fought with and trusted with his life.
“I’m not sure you need to know that, Princess.” his tone darkening.
The mood in the room darkened, refusing any princess was a foolish move but to refuse a, already wary Celestia…
“I’m sorry” Celestia said quietly. Leland looked at her quizzically. Before anybody in the room could move, Celestia moved forward and touched her now glowing horn to Leland. Everything went dark for him.
Leland looked around the darkness and saw Celestia standing next to him. “What did you do?” he asked her nervously. She looked at him in sorrow. “These are your memories. This is the memory of what you refused to tell me.”
Leland shuddered. “Why do you want to see this?”
“Because I can’t risk you having a secret that could potentially hurt any of my subjects.
Leland comprehended this. “You want to see why I hate the slavers? Very well. How do I show you?”
“Just think of the memory.”
The darkness faded to reveal a street with two children playing on it. Celestia could recognise Leland, he had the same dark hair on his head as a child as he now did.
“Who is the other one?” Celestia asked gently. She could see this memory was causing Leland a lot of pain. Whatever happened next was not going to be pleasant.
“My cousin Sophie.” was the curt reply.
“You seem very close for cousins.” Celestia could feel everything that was in the memory, including Lelands emotions at the time.
“We lived together, we may have been cousins biologically but we were more like brother and sister.”
“Were?”
Leland gestured towards the street. “Watch”
He moved forward to where the children were playing and started speaking like a narrator, albeit a bitter one. “Thirteen year old Leland Price and fifteen year old play together in the back streets of Paris, France. Then suddenly….” Leland paused and waited for dramatic effect. As black van drove up, the children didn’t notice it until it stopped and masked men jumped out. Both the children tried to run. The boy made it to the safety of a shop. The girl didn’t. Leland and Celestia watched as she was dragged kicking and screaming into the van.
The memory faded out as Leland lost control and when Celestia turned to him, she could see the tears in his eyes.
Author's Note
I really need a proofreader.
I wanted to add more to chapter 2 but this just got stuck being background story. I don't like that either. I really just want to get Leland out and about and have some fun there.
