It had been about three hours since I had been dropped off in my little holding cell. The place just looked like a futuristic version of an interrogation room. The same metal-like material was encasing this room as the halls and doors. The table and two chairs in the room were also metal, but of a much shinier variety. Also, there was, of course, the two-way mirror on one of the walls. Though, I did expect some kind of smell to accompany the room. On that, I was off. It was probably because of where it was.
It was interesting... for all of five minutes. Not even five minutes, to be more specific. It was obvious that either they weren't sure what to do with me, or they just wanted me to stew in here for awhile until they were ready to ask some questions.
I honestly didn't let it bother me. It probably would have bothered me if I hadn't already talked a little with J'onn. Instead, I just took my time and waited since they would digest that info and help me just on the fact of them trying to find her. At least I hoped that they did.
In the meantime, I just tried to come up with things to do. It was just like when I was at Fluttershy's cottage. I couldn't help but think about how short and yet how long ago that was. Just like then, I had to fill up my time with things to do while I waited for someone to show up.
This time was, thankfully, a different story. Sure, I still didn't have any games to play while I waited. This time, what I did have was my illusion magic. Thanks to that, I could come up with some things to entertain myself.
For the first hour or so, I simply listened to some songs while sitting up against the wall. Some AC/DC, some Metallica, some Five Finger Death Punch, some Shinedown, quite a few different artists. Though I did think about Wrestlemania when I played Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva. I always do. I also, unfortunately, think about Chris Benoit when I do since that was his last Wrestlemania. It was just a sad thing to think about.
It also broke me from that train of songs. Instead, for the rest of the time, I simply conjured an illusion spell to watch some television. That honestly made me feel pretty good. The funniest part was that I just ended up watching Iron Man. How ironically hilarious was that? Watching a Marvel universe movie in the middle of a cell in a DC universe was awesome. It made me think a bit about Inception for a bit. I was a man inside a DC universe television show, watching a Marvel universe movie. For a bit, I was concerned about turning the place meta, but then again I doubt I was even using the term properly, let alone having that happen. Curse my lack of terminology knowledge!
As the credits rolled, there was a knock on the door. I instantly dispelled the illusion and got into my chair. I then watched as the door slid open and a figure walked in.
It was the Batman.
"Of everyone who could have come to ask me some questions, I can honestly say that you were the guy I was expecting the most," I said; unable to hold my tongue.
He simply narrowed his eyes and walked over to the other side of the table. He was every bit as intimidating as I had expected him to be. It was the eyes that really sold it. It wasn't what you saw in them, but rather that you couldn't see anything in them at all. It was like a spirit that you knew could break you without even touching you.
I closed my eyes for a bit and thought about what I was doing here in order to help calm myself. I needed to rescue Rainbow Dash. Nothing else really mattered as much as that. I had to do this. Despite who was in there with me, I needed to remain on that subject.
Although, the best way to deal with the Batman was actually the Joker's route. Humor in the face of danger, I mean. I wasn't a psycho after all.
I opened my eyes to see him in the same position as he was in when I closed my eyes. He hadn't moved an inch. I simply smiled at him a tiny bit.
"Sooooooo, you don't look too happy right now. Anything I can do to fix that?"
"I want to know what you are doing here," he said in a low tone.
"I already told J'onn that," I said in a confused manner. "I would have thought that he mentioned it to you. It's been three hours since I've been in here. That seems like more than enough time to tell you. But, in the interest of cooperation, I'll say it again. I'm looking for a friend of mine. Her name is Rainbow Dash."
I waited for him to respond. He looked like he was examining me to see if I was telling the truth. He really did have trust issues.
"Would you care for an image of her as reference? Maybe you could help me find her, please?"
Hearing me say please actually made him back up a bit. His eyes even widened back up to normal.
"How is it that this Rainbow Dash came to be in our universe as you say?"
"Ah, that would be the fault of Discord. It is a really complicated mess of time travel and multiple universes that I'm still not one hundred percent has resolved themselves. I'll try to make it as short as possible for you. That is, if you do want to hear it."
"I do."
"Well," I started while taking a deep breath, "it began when I was woken up in the middle of the night by this being known as Discord. Discord is an amalgamation of different animals put together and who uses his magic to cause chaos. His power is not really measured, but is very powerful. He woke me up, let me get halfway dressed, and then tossed me this coin around my neck."
I lifted the coin around my neck for visual effect.
"He then tells me to keep it on me and then shoves me into a portal that eventually dumps me into a forest. After wandering out of the forest, I am treated to the sight of a blue pegasus flying through the sky with a rainbow following in her wake. I then find out that I'm in a planet full of equine creatures that call themselves ponies. I made friends with a bunch of them as well as their leader, after a bit of a rough start.
"Then, I find out that the being who sent me there has kidnapped the royal sisters along with their guards. I then challenged him to a duel to get them back. He accepted pretty much immediately and gave me a day to prepare. Then, after some of my friends touch the coin I was given, I found out that it wasn't the same Discord. The one who gave me the coin was a Discord from the future. He had imbued the coin with his own magic and gave it to me after casting a few spells on it including a message spell to explain what was going on. It turned out the coin gave me magical abilities and the six friends I had made had stabilized the magic after touching the coin. At least, that's part of what I got out of that. The coin gave me enhanced durability, strength, some improvement to memory, and magical powers. Aside from a few spells, though, I could only use chaos magic. For example-"
I snapped my fingers and a plate with cookies appeared on the table.
"I can do things like that. I have a few normal spells like teleportation, levitation, invisibility, illusions, and a couple others. However, by snapping my fingers, I can conjure up just about anything I can think of. Well, after that image of him faded, I went to meet the present version of Discord and had a duel with him. Apparently, the rules were that whoever injured the other three times first was the winner. After a bit of a brawl and a close call with death, I actually managed to beat him.
"Unfortunately, while I was celebrating with my friends he decided to be a sore loser and chucked some kind of spell at me. I managed to counter it and throw it back at him. However, he countered that and there was this explosion of magic. The coin managed to protect me, but he and my six friends were caught up in the resulting magical cascade, for lack of a better term. The effect was that each of the seven of them were ripped from that universe and sent into a different one. My coin here lets me go after them and track them down so I can bring them back. I've already saved four of them so far. Rainbow Dash is the fifth mare that I have to go after. After I get her back, I still have to go and save Twilight Sparkle. And maybe Discord too," I said grumbling out the last sentence.
I looked on as Batman he seemed to digest this information. He was ever the detective I had heard of. I'm willing to bet he's going to try and ask me about some things from my story that probably don't add up somewhere.
"So, how do I know your telling the truth and that you aren't this Discord in disguise?"
"Ummm, because I'm not him? That's a good question though. I don't really have any proof of my story do I? I'm kind of wishing I did now. Crap. Would you just be willing to trust me?"
I looked on as his eyes narrowed on me.
"I'm guessing that's a no. Well, damn, I'm not sure what to do in this situation. I don't want to do extortion. I mean you're the good guys, after all. I like the good guys. Whenever I play video games I like playing the good guy. I don't always do good things, but I try to. Trust is a hard thing to receive, though. I don't really have any way to prove that trust or earn any trust just sitting here either."
He continued to glare at me while he stood up from his seat. I got a little uncomfortable with him staring down at me from across the table.
I wasn't even sure where my next sentence came from.
"Would a hug change your mind?"
I saw him cock an eyebrow at that and his glare lost a great deal of it's bite. I decided to keep working with that.
"Is that a maybe?"
I swear I heard the sound of laughter coming from behind him. I also saw Batman take a quick turn of his head towards the two-way mirror behind him. He then turned his attention back to me.
"Come on now. Let's hug things out. I bet you could use a good hug."
That time I definitely heard the sounds of laughter coming from behind him. That laughter really helped me calm down quite a bit. I then had a horrible, yet unwavering little idea come to mind. I knew it would be a bad idea, but I hoped that they would get over it. Hell, I got over it.
"I know what you need! You need a party!"
I snapped my fingers and a cannon appeared on the table. His eyes shot wide as my hand went down to fire the cannon. He dove to the side and reached down on his belt as the cannon went off. The next few seconds were a blur as a plethora of colors erupted around the room. It was a swirl of craziness that eventually died down and revealed a very different room.
The entire room was now party central. There were balloons in each corner and tied to the the chairs as well. The table was now set with a plaid tablecloth of red and white that somehow got under the plate of cookies that was still on the table. Next to the cookies on one side was a cake and on the other was a bowl of purple punch. The walls themselves were now decorated in vertical stripes of red and white. There was also now a pink carpet that had somehow gotten under everything in the room. It was a literal party explosion.
Oh, and I was now wrapped up in a bolo rope.
Batman continued to stare at me while I was looking around at the room. I was surprised at the ability of that cannon. That thing could really do a number on a room.
"You know, I had that same reaction when Pinkie Pie pointed that party cannon in my face. That girl really knows how to throw a party. Did you know that she literally pulled that thing from inside her mane? How did she do it? I'm guessing hammerspace access of some sort."
I snapped my fingers and the rope turned into licorice. I snapped those bindings off and took a seat. I realized then that the party cannon itself had disappeared. I wondered where it had gone and simply shrugged while taking one of the cookies off of the plate.
I didn't even realize that Batman had gotten off of the floor until he twirled me around and planted me on the table. He looked upset. I guess he didn't get over it as fast as I did.
"Don't ever do that again."
"Yes sir," I squeaked out.
He released me from his grip and backed up a bit.
"I kinda felt the same way when, like I said, that cannon was pointed in my face," I said while finding my voice again. "It also helps me recharge my magic."
"Recharge your magic?"
"Yeah, that's right. My magic isn't infinite. I have to recharge it. Since the being who gave it to me was Discord, the only way to do it is by engaging in random acts of chaos. Though, from what he said in the message I'm willing to bet that just being in the vicinity of chaotic occurrences should also do the trick. And-"
I smacked myself in the forehead as I remembered what I was doing.
"I'm getting off track. I'm here to find Rainbow Dash and bring her home. All this other stuff, while entertaining, is frivolous and time consuming. Sure, there isn't anything happening back home for her right now, but she is one of the Elements of Harmony. Without all six of them there, the elements won't work."
"The Elements of Harmony? What are those?"
I sighed a bit.
"This feels like I'm giving a dissertation. The Elements of Harmony are a group of ancient artifacts that are wielded by the ones who best represent that element. They are based on five tenants of friendship; honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty. The six element is the result of the others and is summed up as magic. Together, these artifacts tap into a magic that can bend reality to reshape it in order to create harmony.
"Each of the six of them I have to or already have rescued corresponds to each one of those tenants. Applejack represents honesty. Fluttershy represents kindness. Pinkie Pie represents laughter. Rarity represents generosity. Rainbow Dash, the mare that is here, represents loyalty. Finally, Twilight Sparkle represents magic.
"I know that you don't trust me. I think that's pretty evident. I don't have anything that can really help alleviate that mistrust short of mind-reading and there are secrets in my head that I do not want getting out. Besides, I already had that done once by the princess and she didn't take it too well. Thankfully she is thousands of years old so she was able to get over it."
"Did you say thousands of years old?" he asked without a bit of surprise I could detect in his voice. Wow, that was professional.
"Yeah, she said she's about fourteen thousand years old. She also told me not to tell any of the other ponies about how old she is so I'd appreciate nobody telling Rainbow Dash that. Still, it brings me back to the fact that I need to go rescue Rainbow Dash. Sitting here is not going to help me accomplish that. Can you let me leave now or, better yet, help me find her?"
He just stared at me for a moment.
"We'll see."
After saying that, he went to the door and exited the room.
"That had to have been the coolest, scariest, funniest moment of my life. All I need now is a handshake from Superman and a kiss on the cheek from Wonder Woman and then I could take a bullet and still be happy!"
I turned around and took one of the cookies from the plate and had a bite. I honestly wish I had come here last. That way, I knew that everyone I cared about was safe and then I could rescue Rainbow Dash and just chill out here for a bit. I mean I just met the Batman! Sure, it was an interrogation and a half-hearted one at that, but it was still cool! I'm probably the only person in existence who could honestly say that they fired a cannon at Batman and didn't get beat up for it! I was having a total nerdgasm from the whole thing!
It took me about twenty minutes to finally calm down from the entire thing. It was another twenty minutes until I was greeted by another figure.
Green Lantern: John Stewart.
"Okay, we've decided to let you out of here."
That was all I heard before I went giddy again.