Insanity: In Another Life

Prologue: Who the Hell Drugged Me?

The first thing that I felt was the gentle brush of grass tickling my skin. The second was the splitting head-ache I had. The third was the wind rustling the trees. The fourth was my eyes snapping open to immediately take notes of the air around me. Immediately, I regretted that as I realized that the sun was still a thing, and that I was a dumbass. I shielded my eyes with my left arm, then slowly pulled myself to my feet.

The first questions I had were formulated on their own accord. Why and how am I here? And why do I feel much taller and more mature? The possible answers to that last question immediately came to me in my mind. Maybe I was in a coma of some sorts? But that just made no sense, since I would be on life support. My next answer was drugs. Perhaps I had been drugged somehow, maybe as a joke by my friends, and I was convulsing on a bed at a hospital or something while they were getting their asses beaten for doing such a stupid thing. But that explained nothing. This felt so real, much more real than anything else in my life.

It was like before this very second, I was no more in control of my own actions than an instinct-driven animal. The sheer power of this feeling was overwhelming, so I decided to take a moment, move out of the sun, and gather my bearings.

Upon stepping into the shade, I plopped down onto the grass. The nice, soft ground in the shade was comforting, and I began to sort out what I had on me. The first item I noticed was a knife. This was no ordinary knife, as I had a marine's standard-issue knife, a KABAR, in a sheath on my belt. I did own a collection of knives, but I have never owned a KABAR. This only raised more questions. Where did I get such a weapon and how am I so old? I decided to put these two questions away for later.

I was wearing a coat that went halfway down my thighs. It was grey with white and blue highlights and had a hood. It was made of a thick canvas material with some insulation inside. Additionally, I had a long-sleeved white shirt on. On my face were my glasses, which I had a distinct feeling of having not worn them in a while, as the areas on my nose where I usually put them had risen back up. As for pants, I had some cargo jeans and a leather belt, where my new knife was mounted. I searched my pants and jacket, finding what appeared to be a folded map, a lighter, a canteen, and a small tin full of small wood shavings-- probably a tinderbox by my guess. I had an empty book tucked away in my jacket, which is what I'm recording this log in.

It appeared that, whoever or whatever, that put me here wanted to ensure my survival. They probably had an ulterior motive to this, like using me to intimidate or impress others. Of course, I cared nothing for such a thing. I wanted to immediately find some place to hide away from my 'benefactor' or whatever brought me here. I sincerely doubted that, if this was real, I was anywhere near my home planet of earth. I had memories I distinctly recalling not having, like how to use flax to make clothes, and how to skin animals. I even understood how to farm effectively, which I do not recall reading about.

Another thing that troubled me was that I had a heightened sense of sight, hearing, and smell. I could smell things I was sure normal people couldn't, like the distinct smell of tree-bark, even from ten feet away from the tree I am attempting to smell. Also, I could hear very subtle things, like the slightest gust of wind. My eyes darted back and forth, trying to see everything in the vicinity. Ugh, I think I'm getting sensory overload from these new-found sensing abilities.

Additionally, I seemed to be able to perform several styles of knife-fighting in addition to my blue belt in Krav Maga. Yes, I know if anyone is reading this they'll probably think I'm crazy for not taking karate instead, but I much preferred the brutal and effective style of Krav Maga.

The first thing I did to prepare myself was I removed my knife sheath from my belt and moved it back slightly, so that it could be concealed easier if I encountered anything or anyone that was willing to have friendly discourse. The second was to check the sun's azimuth, which placed it nearly dead center at the top of the sky. It was probably about eleven AM right now, an hour before lunch.

As if triggered by the word 'lunch' my stomach growled. I needed to find a source of food to eat, some shelter, a clean source of water, and a suitable area to set up a campfire. Preferably a raised area or a cave with only one entrance besides a small opening at the top to funnel out smoke. It would probably be best to gain a sense of my surroundings, first.

All around me were sparsely spaced trees that reached up into the clouds, like the redwood trees out in the west of the United States. I was currently under the shade of one of those monstrously tall trees, the thick leafy boughs guarding me from the sun. It was quite cold, probably about forty to fifty degrees, and I didn't doubt that I had been dropped straight into winter with no preparation. My best option was to either find good shelter, freeze to death, or try to find civilization, but who knows if there even is any civilization for miles around. If there is, are they going to be hostile?

To be honest, I was scared, cold and alone. Would I ever see my mother again? My friends? What about my best friend, who I considered to be like a brother to me? I instantly began to feel droplets of tears start to fall from my face, but I wiped them away. I can't think like this right now, wasting time like this kills people. I stood up slowly, and I began to try and use my enhanced senses to sniff out some suitable habitation.

Meanwhile in Canterlot...

"Luna, you cannot possibly mean that you are going to try and find the source of this strange magic by yourself! It could be far more powerful than we expected!" Celestia was berating her sister due to the flaring up of a strange magic somewhere in the White Tail Woods.

"Sister, we have prepared carefully for the journey. Our guards are armed with the best equipment from the armory, and we have nothing to fear. If it satisfies you, we shall contact the bearers and ask them to assist us in our mission." Luna replied, calm and collected. Celestia didn't have an arguement to this. She really was prepared, and she couldn't leave her duties at the capital to go chasing strange magic.

"You! Guard, prepare the platoon to move out and have our royal chariot ready in the chariot pool by 12:30 AM sharp!" The princess of the moon barked at a nearby lieutenant, who proceeded to salute and then scamper off to carry out her will.

"Very well sister, I shall continue with day court as planned. I expect you back by at most 6:00 PM to raise the moon, and no later or I will send my guards to locate you." Celestia said to Luna, before turning and walking towards the throne room.

"Wait!" Luna shouted. She then ran up and nuzzled her sister.

"I love you, Tia."

"As do I, Lulu. Be safe, and make sure not to eat any strange mushrooms like last time." Celestia teased, smiling.

Luna sputtered, but then walked away with a huff in mock anger. Celestia continued to the throne room, giggling.

Back with our protagonist...

I had finally gained a foothold of my own, a small cave ideal for what I had in mind. The cave was elevated on a cliff face, which I had walked about two miles deeper into the forest to find, making sure not to step too hard to make footprints the entire way. I admit that picking a direction and walking was foolish, but at least I had the small compass on the butt of my KABAR. The map was no help, as it was a general map of the land I was in. ~~It had no names on the map, just the continents and land masses.~~ (Update: It will change to show the names of the lands when I learn what they are. Additionally, I can take two fingers and zoom in to find where I am, which is marked by an 'x'.)

Additionally, about a fourth a mile back I saw a river that led into a small lake. That would hopefully be able to sustain me for both water and nutrition, at least in the protein department. One thing I needed was a garden or a sustainable source of nutrition, like berries or roots. Another to do is to make a cage to capture a mouse, so I could feed it some of my food to see if it was not safe to eat. But that could come later. For now, I could catch some small prey like rabbits and squirrels to eat.

The cave was about 50 feet square with a 7 foot height average. I was only 5'6, so there was plenty of room to poke my head up, which was ideal for a living space. I quickly claimed it as my own, and began preparing for my survival. I drew up a checklist in my

I set up a small campfire with a spit to cook with in the center of the cave, then caught some prey to eat. I skinned the three rabbits I caught and then cooked one, roasting it well over the fire. My dinner was quite delicious, and I found some edible cabbage to have with the rabbit. I made a quick jerky rack over the fire to make some rabbit jerky with the other two.

I created a makeshift bed using some pine branches, which were quite comfortable, and a blanket made of pine branches and cordage from some saplings. Since it was only around two o'clock, I set my watch to wake me up at three o'clock so that I could get a nice nap in to restore my energy from all that work.

I woke up forty five minutes later, eager to continue work. I watched the jerky dry, then I went outside to find something to build a cover for the entrance to my cave. I returned with some sturdy sticks, pine branches, sapling cordage, and a few ideas. I made a basic frame using the sticks, then bound the pine branches to it using the saplings. I covered the cave entrance with it, then grabbed it and slid it to the side. It would work perfectly, and keep out any unwanted visitors, at least until I could ready myself to attack. It also helped to keep the heat inside the cave, which would be beneficial once winter was in full swing.

The last thing I did before deciding to relax for the rest of the day was to find some suitable stones to put around the fire, and a good sharpening stone for my knife. I did this without too many problems, spending two hours on the task. While I was out, I gathered some good firewood and took a note to make a primitive hatchet to help me chop logs.

I returned home and began thinking about the difficult questions I couldn't answer earlier.

I doubted that I would ever see any of my family or friends ever again, but that didn't bother me as much anymore. I realized that maybe there was some way back, but I didn't know for sure. I decided that trusting my instincts and gaining a foothold in this world would be for the best right now, then I could search for a way back home. I drifted off to sleep with my mind still turbulent, but I was too tired to care.

Meanwhile with Luna...

"Captain, we have not found any evidence of whatever happened here. We suggest that perhaps some unicorn was testing a spell and had a magical surge. Perhaps we should also post a watch around the edges of these woods so nothing can enter or leave." Luna suggested to the Captain, who agreed.

"You two! Lieutenant Crimson and Sergeant Breaker, take your men and secure the White Tail Woods. I want nothing in and nothing out! Anything that attempts to leave is to be detained and anything that enters is to be detained as well. Hop to it!" The Captain barked at the soldiers, who quickly complied.

"I can only hope you're right, My Princess."

"Twilight!"

"Yes Luna?" Twilight asked.

"We would like if you would study this anomaly to discover what it was. We will allow you to come and go, just show this to the guards." Luna hoofed her a stack of documents, which Twilight managed to lift.

Twilight made a sound of enjoyment that sounded much like a 'squee' except longer and much louder.

Luna just rolled her eyes and let the overzealous bookworm have at it.

Luna watched as Twilight went back over to her friends, then turned towards the forest. She frowned, then turned and barked an order. "Private Shield, prepare my chariot."

The private saluted and scrambled off to do her bidding.

Author's Note

if anyone's interested, this is how you would spit roast a rabbit: spit-roasting a rabbit
how to make jerky: making jerky