//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: A Dream Come True? 
// by Slevac 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1


Garrett Hafner was walking home from work Friday night, as his truck had a dead battery in the parking lot. Taking his usual route home, he deduced the twenty minute drive would easily take over an hour on foot. While the first ten minutes of the walk was frustrating, it turned out to be more invigorating and enjoyable than he thought.
As he was passing a certain alley that he always looked down, he spotted something out of the ordinary. "What is that?" He said to himself as he squinted his eyes to see better in the dark. There was a faint glow down past the bend of the alleyway. He walked toward it suspiciously-being slightly paranoid because of his mothers personality-as if a band of thugs were about to jump out and mug him.He stopped at the corner to gather his courage one last time.
"Okay Garrett," he said to himself. "You have to do this. What if it's a woman who is getting mugged?"
That settled it for him. Garrett knew he was a sap when it came to being the hero, that is why he had a job at the local hospital being a paramedic. So, clutching his medical equipment bag as if his life depended on it, which it may as well in this situation, he turned the corner. Then immediately shot back around the corner, breathing vigorously.
Eyes wide with a combination between shock, fear, yet still slightly speckled with a tinge of curiosity, he tried to deduce what he just saw. What he thought he saw, as he gathered up with wits a second time, was a four legged creature, which slightly resembled a pony. It had wings and, unlike a pony, which usually have certain coat colors such as white, black, brown, or gray, had a brightly blue colored coat and a multicolored mane and tail.
"Who's there? I-I'm not afraid of you!" He heard a voice, most likely female, call from around the bend.
"So," Garrett said quietly. "There is a woman over there." 
He then heard the voice mumble from around the bend."Must've scared them off. Ha! I sh-showed them."
Garrett could easily hear the wavering courage and telltale signs of fear when she spoke. So, concluding that they were more scared of him than vice versa, he turned the corner again. Only to find himself unable to move. The creature he saw earlier had vanished, but since the creature was no longer occupying his attention he saw what was making the glow. What seemed like a glowing, floating, swirling pool of liquid was hovering mid air in front of him. Without realizing it he was walking towards it. Something about it was calling to him, he didn't know why, or what is even was, but he felt a need to investigate it.When he was about a foot away he stopped, reached out with his hand, and touched it. 
"It feels like cold water, almost like a swimming pool." Garrett said aloud without realizing it. He knew he was going to jump through it before he even decided it himself. He started to set down his medical bag on the ground, but then reconsidered and slung it back over his shoulder.
"If I'm incapacitated and I can't reach my bag..." Garrett trailed off, shuddering at the thought of what could happen. "Three...Two...One!" He yelled, as he ran and jumped though the "water."
His mind then, without himself realizing it, took in three very big details all at once. The first thing he realized was there were no more buildings or concrete, only trees. The second thing was that he could hear talking off in the distance, but other than that everything was all quiet. The last thing he noticed, which was unfortunate for him, was that he was now ten feet off the ground, not ten inches.
As he fell those ten feet in less than a second, he realized he would have no time to brace himself. With a loud pop and an equally loud grunt, he hit the soft earth and fell over. Thanks to his medical knowledge and the sound that accompanied it he deduced his ankle had popped out of place, and with a small adjustment and a shove, along with another grunt, he popped it back into place. 
"At least it wasn't broken," He said.
After applying a small wrap on his ankle for extra support and taking two small pain pills, he zipped up his medical bag and stood up. Looking up at the portal he realized it was getting smaller and smaller before disappearing completely.
"Well, what now..." Garrett mumbled to himself before realizing how utterly exhausted he was.
He shouldn't have, but curiosity had gotten the better of himself, and he started to do a small bit of scouting. Making some landmarks consisting of broken twigs and arrows, he started looking for any telltale signs of life. A half eaten berry here, a pile of excrement there. He definitely knew there was animals or some form of creature living here. And in his condition, if he got caught by some form of carnivorous predator, things would be in bad shape for him. But he continued scouting, this time in a more subtle manner. Listening for sounds, watching for rustling bushes, and other sorts of cautious behavior. Thinking he had gotten as much information that he could gather in his state of mind he started to head back to the camp.
He knew it probably wasn't the best idea, and passing out was not what he wanted, but it was his only choice. So, thanks to his childhood of watching survival shows on the military channel and the discovery channel, he huddled down at the base of a tree, in a little nook he found to make it harder for the animals to spot him. Pulled a bit of foliage over his legs and chest, and drifted into a deep sleep.



------Author's Notes------

I wrote this short chapter in my first and second periods at school, so it did not take me that long. And yes, before any people ask let me clear this up now. I am supposed to be the main character of the story, that is my actual name, and I am going into the medical field as a paramedic. One other thing I have to say is that, Rainbow Dash fans, don't get too excited. RD is not gonna be one of the main characters in my story, I just thought she was the most daring, so it would only make sense that she go through and explore the portal when she found it. She will probably be mentioned once or twice more, and may even have some speaking lines. But don't expect an entire chapter devoted to her.