//------------------------------//
// One way trip (Re-EDITED) 
// Story: Stuck in Equestria 
// by Gaming_Knight 
//------------------------------//

The elevator rose to the 25th floor as the door opened to the, somewhat bland, hallway. The building itself was inside a walled area surrounded by armed guards 24/8 and was also guarded inside by 3 separate AI constructs. However, the man in the elevator could care less about these things.

He strode down the hallway with purpose as a man on a mission. Although he was just an informant for the pentagon, he carried a 9mm pistol in the inside of his coat. When the man had arrived at his destination, he knocked 3 times on the office door at the far end. The doorplate read 'Monroe'.

"James! You in there?" he called. No reply. “James, it’s Matthew! We need to talk!” Still no response. Matthew sighed. "Im coming in."

He opened the door to the lavishly decorated office. Some elegant paintings hung on the walls while the solid oak desk supported a trio of monitors. A towering locker stood in one corner (likely with more storage than necessary for a man of James’ position) while a large window filled out the back wall behind James’ desk. His chair was facing this window.”

When Matthew entered the room, the chair spun to face him. However, the person in the chair was not who he was expecting.
"Shawn?"

"Del Ray," Shawn replied calmly. Mathew Del Ray shifted his weight a bit and adjusted his coat.

"Ahem, Shawn, I'm looking for James. Is he here?"

"No, he isn't,” Shawn replied. “What is it you need from him?"

"I need his response to the newest threat."

"Which is?"

Ah yes, go ahead, feign ignorance! Not like I have any better things to do than answer stupid questions while more urgent things are at hand! "What is he doing about the rifts. You know, the ones, if I remember (and perhaps, not you), that were caused by the disastrous Worlds Apart portal built by Alex, who, by the way, hasn't been seen in 3 years?"

"Alex wasn't in the best place when he built that thing,” Shawn admitted calmly. “It has been… tinkered with, to be safer. But we haven't powered it. We still need to deal with the rifts it created. As for James, he's currently dealing with one of them."

"So where is this rift?" Matthew asked.




A long, barren, desert road lay quiet disturbed only by the occasional tumbleweed or scuttling insect. In the distance, a low roar filled the air and the ground shook as the approaching vehicle sped down the road at speeds much faster than intended. This 1966 Ford Fairlane GT had only one passenger, its driver. I, James Monroe, had the radio blasting a song I know all too well (perhaps I should branch out? Nah). I belted along to Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen as I sped down the dusty road.

“Oh-oh, Thunder Road!!! Sit tight, take hold, ThUnDeR rOoOoOaAaD!!!!!!!!!” And then my jam session was rudely interrupted as a different voice muted the radio.


"Sir, We are approaching the destination," O.W.E.N said. OWEN is my personal AI. He helps with everything in and around E.C.O.

"ETA?"

"10 minutes," he replied. I pushed the pedal to the floor, “Make that 10 seconds sir…” and then slammed the brakes upon reaching my destination. I got out of the car and saw exactly what I came for: A literal rip in space-time the size of Bruce Springsteen’s biceps (okay, maybe it was bigger, but still). One of the side effects of project Worlds Apart was that rifts in the space-time continuum would spontaneously form. Luckily, they could be contained quickly.

I opened the trunk and pulled out a small portable containment field generator (a necessity in every space-rift-closer’s toolbox). Alex, you have overdone yourself with these! What a shame you’ve gone missing without a trace. Wonder what happened… I adjusted my faded military jacket and deployed the containment field. At first, it was working just fine. The rift began to dissipate and shrink until it was the size of a peanut. But, just as it was almost closed, the rift grew and become unstable. I grabbed the car to hold myself down only to discover that it was being sucked in too. Ah shit… I got in and pulled the hand brake to try and keep it in place to no avail. As soon the car and myself were sucked in, everything went dark and I couldn’t feel a thing. I don’t know what’s just happened, but I get the feeling I’m about to find out. Now to just wake up…