//------------------------------//
// "How the hell did I get here?" 
// Story: The Survivor in Equestria 
// by Leon Banz 
//------------------------------//

  “Damn deer, you moved out of the fuckin’ way, you asshole.” Leon said as his arrow flew right past the deer he had aimed so carefully at, startling it. It ran off in another direction, away from him. 

“You needn’t be so explicit, dear one.” The voice in his head told him.

“I know, I know. But it is very aggravating when your shot was perfect.” He said aloud, knowing the goddess was still with him. When he was young, Leon had started to hear a voice in his head, so he would talk to himself a lot, which made his parents worry about him. When he was older, he had learned that it was a great goddess that always watched him and told him how to live by his and her own ways.

“Maybe you can catch another one somewhere else.” She told him.

“Maybe I can.” He gathered his arrows and clipped them to his belt, making his pants slide down only slightly. He decided to carry his bow and slung his flask over his shoulder. He continued through the dense forest until he came to a clearing. It was barren of trees and shrubs and had a small lake in the center of it. He stepped up to the water and put his things down, kneeling to look over the water. It was clear and reflected him like a mirror would. His messy black hair stood up in one spot near the back. His red eyes were clear of emotion.

He reached down into the water and grabbed a handful, bringing it carefully up to his face, splashing the tiredness out of him with the cool liquid. Grabbing his flask, he popped the top off and dipped it into the lake, filling it for the journey back. A loud crack sounded from somewhere in the woods, and he instinctively grabbed his bow and an arrow. He brought the arrow to the string, nocking it.

“Who’s there?” He asked into the woods. No response came but shuffling. Grabbing his things slowly and quietly, he stood and crept back into the woods, his arrow still ready. “Who’s there?” He asked again, louder this time. The only response was a faint whisper that came from somewhere deeper in the woods. He continued on, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Come closer….” The whispers said. It drew him further and further into the woods. The further he went, the more frequent the whispers came. Leon came to a cave where the whispers were louder and they overlapped each other.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Leon.” The goddess said. 

“I do to, but we’ll never know who is in here if we don’t take a look, right?” He said as he stepped into the cave. His body was instantly cold as his foot stepped into it, and he ignored the pain.

His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, and he could see faint outlines of drawings on the walls. From what he could tell they were drawings of some type of horse. As he continued on he saw them become more frequent. A light started to form at the end of the cave. It looked to be bioluminescence, for it glowed a vibrant green. He walked closer and closer to the light until he came to a large cavern full of green crystals. They glowed brightly and beautifully.

“Never have I seen anything like this before.” He said aloud, looking at the crystals that hung from the ceiling. 

“Neither have I.” Said Okami, who could see through his eyes. Leon snapped to a tunnel that led to another part of the cave as a loud crack sounded from it. He pulled his bow back up to eye level and started to walk down it. His eyes narrowed like the path he walked.

At the end of the path there was nothing but darkness as he looked around. He could see no figures standing anywhere, nor any other paths. Leon sighed and took his arrow off of his string, placing it back into his quiver.

“There’s no one here, so where did that sound come from?” He asked out loud. He looked back to the path that led out of the small cavern, only to find that it wasn’t there. “What?!” He yelled out, looking around and checking twice. Leon started to panic, his breath becoming quicker and his movements more frantic.

Then everything went white. His mind was nearly blank and he felt like he was in a void. Everything he saw was black nothingness. Every way he looked was black. A distant voice called to him from somewhere he couldn’t distinguish. He looked around and tried to call out to the voice and found he couldn’t. The voice came again, faint and the words were jumbled.

“W...e...h...e….” The words came again, a little more clear this time. Leon looked around again, looking for a source.

“We...he...f...a...w..r...o….” The voice said, getting clearer. Still, Leon looked for the source of it. His eyes searched for an embodiment to place the voice.

“ We...a...e...he...e...fo...r...a...wa...r...io….” It came this time. He calmed himself and focused on the voice instead of looking for the source.

“We are here for a warrior!” It yelled into his ear, causing his eyes to fly open to find himself in a field of flowers. The flowers were vibrant yellows and purples. It reminded him of his home, where the garden that sat outside his house had flowers of many colors.

“Wait, Okami, are you still there?” He said, panicking slightly.

“Of course, dear. I could never not be with you.” She replied in a clear voice. Leon sighed deeply, relieved that she was still there with him.

“Good. Now if I could just find someone to tell me exactly where I am.” He looked around as he stood, the weight of his quiver still tugging at his belt. He could still feel his flask around his chest, and the bow in his palm. 

At the same moment Rainbow Dash was flying straight down, a rock having hit her wing mid-flight.

“Look out below!” She yelled as she crashed into Leon, knocking him to the ground. They rolled for a few feet before stopping with Leon under the pegasus. “Sorry about that. Someone threw a rock at my wing….” She trailed off as she opened her eyes to find the human staring back at her with the same amount of confusion.

The two stared silently at each other for an agonizing minute until Rainbow Dash lifted herself off of him. She backed away slowly, putting distance between the two.

“What are you?” She asked. Her eyes held both fear and curiosity, an odd pairing.

“I’m a human. What are you supposed to be?” Leon asked the strange creature.

“What are you talking about? I’m a pegasus!” She yelled, getting defensive quickly. Her emotions switched quickly from fear and confusion to anger in a split second. She leaned back, ready to spring forward and spread her wings.

“I meant no offense to you. It never was my intention to do so.” He told her, clipping his bow to his waist. He raised his arms in surrender, and the pegasus relaxed only slightly.

“How did you get here?” She demanded. Leon sighed and opened his eyes.

“I haven’t a clue how I got here or where I am.” He said plainly, trying to get out of the conversation. He tried to walk past her, but she walked back in front of him.

“What do you mean, you don’t know how you got here?” Her eyes told him that she wouldn’t let him leave until he told her. He sighed again.

“I mean, I don’t know how I got here, and that’s that. I’m going to go find the nearest village.” He said, pushing past the pegasus. He walked down the hill, which was covered in a bright green grass that looked natural rather than tended to. It made him think.

When he got to the top of the next hill, he could see a fairly sized village. From what he could see, the houses were made out of wood. Near the center, a large castle-like tree stood. It had crystalline branches like the rest of the tree. He shook his head and walked down the hill. As he walked he saw a farm not too far away from the village.

He stepped into the town, automatically gaining attention from every...pony?...in the village. They gave him confused or scared looks, some backing away from him as he walked.

“Mommy, what’s that strange thing walking through town?” He heard a filly that had yellow fur and a blue mane and tail ask who he assumed was her mother. She gave her a worried glance and ushered her on to which the filly protested.

“Are you seeing this, Okami?” He whispered to himself.

“Yes, of course I am. And I am getting weird vibes from everywhere.” She told him. As Leon walked further into town, he found that the ponies seemed to become a little more sophisticated. When he neared the large crystal tree, he found that a group of ponies were standing around another pony that was slightly taller than the rest. She was purple, her mane and tail a deep purple with a violet and magenta streak in it. She looked over at him and her expression turned welcoming.

“You must be the ‘visitor’ everypony was telling me about, right?” She asked.

“Yes?” He told her confused as to why he was able to speak to a pony in the first place. Much less one that had wings and a horn.

“Then welcome to Ponyville.” She smiled nervously, obviously unsure of what to do.

Leon shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He thought of a flame, a single flare, and focused on it. He then looked around, taking in all the different colors that he was surrounded by.

“Okay, to be completely honest, I still have no clue where the hell I am. Even though you just told me.” He stared blankly at the unicorn, pegasus thing. Everyone around groaned and slapped a hoof to their foreheads.