Day 1; In the forest
So. I'm still in the forest after waking up. I had hoped that I was just doing the pain test wrong, but the chances of this being some kind of lucid dream is seeming less and less likely. Not that it was ever a likely chance, but denial has always been a very human response to the unexpected.
I normally don't keep a journal, but 'normally' doesn't seem to be the situation that I'm in either. My thoughts aren’t making sense in my head, and I feel like just a few steps away from a panic attack. Though usually my outlet is poetry, writing has always helped organize myself (the sanity retained is also a plus).
I woke up yesterday in a giant forest, and when I found myself in an unfamiliar, organic area I promptly decided I was dreaming. I grabbed my backpack and then continued with the hiking dream. Until I got hungry. I didn't expect hunger in a dream, so I tried to wake up with the pinch test, and then decided to take a short nap. Idiot.
I took a nap in an unfamiliar, open area, in a forest! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid! Even at my grandparent's house you don't do that because there are a number of wild animals who could really hurt a guy like me. Wolves, giant cats, hogs, bears; any of them could have attacked and I wouldn't have been able to defend myself. Note to self, act with common sense at all times, regardless if what I think is happening is a dream or wonderland or whatever. Hopefully I can limit any needless stupidity on my part...
OK, so I'm lost in an area that I don't know. Priorities are water, food, shelter, and a route to civilization, and the only things I have are my clothes and whatever I might have in my backpack. OK, I'll be right back. It's time for a more thorough inventory than just grabbing a notebook and pen.
…
Hey again. I'm back, not that you could read how long it took from the page. I'm pleased to announce that I'm not as completely screwed as I thought I'd be. My backpack had pretty much what you'd expect, school supplies, but I guess I forgot to clean out the back pocket from the last time our family went camping. I found that 5 inch work knife I've been looking for the last month, some parachute cable, and best of all, my combination flint/magnesium block!
I wrote out the whole list on a different page, but between the fact that I can make a fire, and the fact that I had a lunch packed into the backpack, I just might have a chance at survival. I don't know how long I have till nightfall, so I think that I'll stop with the planning, and get to actually doing the things that might save my life. Hopefully it won't start raining.
Day 2; In a tree
It is currently night, and since I'm writing this, you can tell that I obviously made it through OK. I actually made it to a tree last night, and after climbing up fairly high, I tied myself to the branch with the parachute cable I found so I wouldn't fall off. I then slept undisturbed. Mostly, anyways. There was something making noise last night, and its out there tonight as well. I really hope I'm just being paranoid, but I climbed to a higher branch than last night just in case. I must have been really lucky to survive the nap yesterday.
In fact, I've been having enough luck that I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. For one thing, I found some blackberries, which is really weird, since it's closer to the winter side of spring, not summer. For another thing, I found a path, or at least, the remains of a path. Both of those should be good news, but for some reason, I find myself on edge. Maybe I'll be better after some sleep. Don't expect me to write for a while, as I think that my thoughts are mostly in order, and I've got a plan of action. Cautiously optimistic, good night.
Day 3; On a log
Shit and Fuck. My apologies for the language, as I generally don't curse, but the path I spent most of today following turned out to be a kind of dead end. The thing gradually got smaller and worse until it suddenly vanished into some undergrowth. That leaves me with almost no water, a single granola bar and no progress. I was totally right to suspect something from the universe.
Oh yeah, I just realized that I might be doing this journal thing more than I suspected yesterday. This forest is creeping me out; it's way too quiet when I'm not hearing something that sounds big and hungry. Where are the birds and other small animals? It makes me want to scream, but I figure that writing would probably be safer, at least until I get out of here.
To do list before I run out of daylight? Find a good branch to make into a spear/walking stick and look for something to make into a tent cover. I've been lucky with the last two nights, but if today's luck continues, I'm going to need it.
Day 5; Sunrise, sunset
It's time for the morning show. Yesterday wasn't happy, what with running out of food and water, but after a very small breakdown (Yeah, that's why there's three or four lines of scratched out paper above. I just wasn't able to write right until I had some time to recover), I was able to get back up and continue on. Even more depressingly, the path teeters out on the other side as well. I only have a line segment of a path here, but at least this side doesn't end in such thick undergrowth.
I'll keep going in the direction that the path was going when it ended, as there's still a chance that I could pick it back up. I don't think I'll be traveling when the sun is highest though. Despite the fact that the very thick canopy blocks out most of the rays, it does get noticeable hotter during noon to five, and I really don't want to lose more water than I need to. Ironic. I didn't want it to rain the last few nights, but now I really, really wouldn't mind if it did.
Day 6; To kill a mockingbird
I woke up to the most melodious thing I've ever heard this morning, a mockingbird. I promptly located it and then used my extra special dehydration desperation powers to catch and kill that thing. To further my good fortune, I then found another patch of blackberries. That was even more thrilling. Berries have juice, and juice has the water that I so desperately need after going a little under 2 days without it.
Plus there's the psychological component to all this. I now had a reason for a fire, I now had food, and I now had something wet to put into my body. All of that gives me new hope, and the fact that I heard something other than myself and a few bugs is a little reassuring. I hadn't even heard the spooky predators last night.
Just right now, and just to you, I think I might make it.
Day 7; Blue skies...and fields.
So, last night went exceedingly well. There was a downpour, and I drank to my hearts content, and then filled up my water bottle, and then drank some more. While walking today, I realized that non of that water could have been as clean as I'd like, as it had dripped down from the canopy, but it wasn't like I had that many options. Ah well, that's how life goes sometimes, and there's not much use complaining (...and yet, complaining remains remarkably appealing as an option).
Walking more or less in a straight line since I last wrote, I have failed to rediscover the path, but today has brought a curious setting before my eyes. Right now, I sit writing before a small clearing. It's the first time that I can clearly see the sky in my week of being lost, but more interesting than the sky is the tiny field before me.
The field is filled with vividly blue plants, and I was fixing to go into the patch when I noticed yet again how silent the forest has been. Only, this happy little patch of sunshine doesn't even have insects flying from flower to flower. I would have expected something to be there, and because of the lack of animals, I've once again been creeped out by the forest.
I'll probably be going around the clearing when I'm done with my break, if not for my gut feeling, then for the reasonable fact that things like some poisonous berries and frogs are also brightly colored.
Day 9; An eerie loudness?
It's night once again, and though I'm running low on food and water again, I must admit that I'm pleased that there's been food and water to run low on. The forest remains remarkably unsettling at night, but during the day, I've started hearing the sounds of wildlife. It's strange, because the forest itself seems to be getting more ominous.
Up to this point, the forest that I've been traveling through has been a kind of temperate forest, with lots of tall deciduous trees, some pine trees, and a LOT of undergrowth, but now, the forest is gradually becoming... swamplike? The canopy is starting to lessen, the area is beginning to have jutting rock walls, and the ground is changing...
I don't know. I'm not an expert on these sorts of things. At least with the increase of wildlife, there's a better chance at getting food, though I need to remember that it comes with the better chances of running into something I can't handle as well. I think I'll see if I can sleep with an eye open tonight.
Day 10; No words
OK, if you're a young delinquent who's somehow stolen my notebook and reading though this, close your eyes and read in Brail for the next four words. Ahem. "WHAT THE FUCK?" I screamed into my hat as I wrote, so I'm better now. And as I know you bunch of delinquents went ahead and read what I told you not to, I bet you're a little curious as to why I'm so frustrated, yes?
I saw a manticore. A real, living, breathing, thankfully-not-seeing-me manticore. No, I haven't gone crazy (well, not hallucinating crazy anyways), and no, I'm not mistaken in what I saw. I have a fondness for mythology, and so I KNOW what the lion creature with the wings and the scorpion tail was. If it weren't for the fact that I know a little lap dog would be a horrible companion to be dragging through this swampy woods, I would want one just to say that I'm not in Kansas anymore to.
I'm suddenly a lot less confident in my ability to make it to civilization alive for a number of reasons. Number one, I'm not sure if civilization still exists anymore. Where on earth could I be that has manticores? Number two, if there are manticores in this forest, could there be other monsters? What am I going to do if I get caught by one? I'd doubt my ability to escape or fight off a bear, much less a mythological creature famed for killing and eating...men...
...
STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! I screamed into my hat? Do I have a death-wish? I have no clue how sensitive that manicore's hearing is, and I go and scream soon after it leaves?
I suddenly have no confidence whatsoever in my survival. I'm going to (silently) cry myself to sleep, and then I guess you'll know if I get back to this journal if you see an entry after this. Horrible, terrifying night.
Day 11; Night 11?
Sometimes, I really hate the fact that I'm a fairly chivalrous guy. I can also find it in me to hate the fact that I'm about as photosensitive as a plant. I find it difficult to wake up until light hits me, and if there's light when I'm trying to sleep, I find it almost impossible to do so. There's a reason I own both a lamp and a night cap, and that I keep both next to my bed.
But anyways, I woke up to feminine screaming voices, and I immediately grabbed my stuff, slipped out of the tree, and took off. It never really came up in my mind that I might not have been able to actually help whoever was screaming, nor that rushing blindly off towards the screams could very well place myself in peril. I fully blame that on the low ambient light levels.
Fortunately, my services were NOT required when I actually reached the area that it had originated. In fact, by the time I had gotten close, the voices were singing a rather catchy tune (and playing music? Maybe I was just hearing things). I distinctly remember thinking something along the lines of 'At least I found civilization', when I broke through the final bit of undergrowth.
To tell the whole truth though, I did more than just break through the low level plants. I also tripped on a root, and spectacularly landed face first into the ground. Oh yes, I also set off a whole new round of screaming, can't forget that.
I tended to my bleeding nose and bitten tongue while I waited for the girls to stop screaming. I didn't look up, as it was fairly dark, and I was fairly certain that I had broken my nose for the first time in my life.
I looked up in surprise when I heard the one of the screamers actually use her vocal cords for a different purpose than screaming: communication. And then I froze in shock as I realized that the screaming people were actually screaming...equestrians? My first thought would have been technicolor-ed ponies, but I noticed that mythical creatures had once again started sprouting up around me. Two were indeed ponies, but two were pegasus, and two were unicorns! That's when I found that total shock is perhaps as great an anesthetic as morphine and adrenaline.
“What is it? Fluttershy, do you know?” The purple one had asked.
Mythical creatures spoke English? I would have thought that if such things could speak, they would talk in Latin, or Greek. What an amazing discovery! I decided to answer, even though the question hadn't been directed at me.
“I'm human.” I said, and then, swallowing my manly pride, I decided to ask for directions. “Um, would any of you know the way out of this forest? I've been in the forest for over a week, and I'm quite lost.”
All of the creatures stared at me, and as the awkward pause drew on, I slowly regained painful feeling in my nose. It was time to break the silence.
“So? Would that silence be a yes or a no?” I asked, gingerly feeling out my nose and carefully wiping the blood away.
The yellow pegasus started, and then began stammering an answer.
“O-oh, w-we would be happy to help you Mr. Human, o-only...” And the pegasus's voice dropped to such a soft volume that I wasn't able to hear it.
“Only what?” I asked as gently as I could.
“Only we don't have the time!” The blue pegasus said, “We've got important business to take care of.”
“At night?” I asked “I found out that its kind of dangerous to travel at night, and I'm bigger than any of you”
Or taller anyways. Though I guess if you have two creatures with the ability to fly and two with the ability to use magic, they wouldn't have as difficult a time as I would.
I noticed that they had all...tensed when I said night though. I looked down at my watch, and started when it said 10 a.m. Where was the sun?
Before any of the equestrians had time to answer my previous question, I asked another.
“Um, do any of you know what happened to the sun? I just checked the time and...”
The purple unicorn sighed.
“We need to get going. You can come with us, we'll fill you in on the way. Come on girls.”
The unicorn paused, looking at my bloody face, and then horn lit up, and my face didn't hurt any more. I thanked her, and she waved it off as no big deal, and then we went on our way. The blue pegasus quickly informed me that she 'had her eye on me.' Ah, the pleasures of being with people again.
From there we met a dragon (I had to restrain my reactions. I love dragons), who was helped through a low self-esteem issue by the white and purple unicorn Rarity. I obtained the dragon's autograph, and he let me keep the scale that Rarity had used for his make-over, and then we continued on.
There was a bridge out, and I must say that everyone who had to cross that thing has nerves of steel. My own metal like nerves also felt a curious urge to harm whoever had designed the flimsy thing. A bridge should not sway like that!
After the bridge, we found ourselves at a large set of ruins, and... Oh, I forgot to put down what the six ponies were even doing in the forest. Apparently some uber-powerful unicorn-pegasus hybrid is responsible for raising the sun wherever I'm at (I started somewhat skeptical, but the fact that I was in a forest with mythical creatures is a pretty strong hint that suspension of disbelief would be a wonderful idea right now), and her evil sister who had just escaped from prison had plans to make an eternal night. The six that I was traveling with were looking for some ancient artifacts that could save the day. A fairly standard fantasy quest I guess, but if I'm dealing with mythological creatures, then I guess that's to be expected.
Anyways, at the ruins, we found five stone bowling balls, which meant that we were missing one. Twilight (the purple unicorn, not the book series) had a plan to find the sixth, when the uber-powerful evil sister struck. Sister, Twilight, and bowling balls all vanished in a blue glittery cyclone. Thankfully, the giant strobing light show in a relatively nearby tower gave a good indication of where they went.
We went after Twilight and caught her giving a heroic monologue (A Monologue! I thought those were for the tasteless villains to give?). While she called up her friends to give a glowing magical beat down, I remained behind the glowingness, as I wasn't certain that I wanted to become collateral damage. I did ready my knife and dead brick phone though. If evil sister overcame the equestrian group, I would fling both at evil sister.
It wasn't necessary. Twilight and the others of the group started floating all possessed-like and then sent a rainbow tidal wave to evil sister, who promptly became an exhausted, guilty feeling Princess Luna. It wasn't really all that unique though, as all of the equestrian people seemed rather unconscious after the display. I waited for them to come to, watched the sun rise, and then got to see a rainbow haired uber-powerful hybrid being enter the area.
There was a loving, tearful reunion, and then I had to go and break the moment. It wasn't like I meant to though. I hadn't eaten in two days! My stomach growling, though inappropriate (and possibly humorous) was totally beyond my control as an involuntary action. It would have——
I'll finish this later, in a different journal entry maybe. The guard outside the door just said that Princess Rainbow Hair is ready to talk to me now. Wish me luck!