Canterlot City
The blistering cold hit Sunset Shimmer like a freight train, why did she think that walking alone in the harsh winter was a good idea? Her teeth chattered together upon reflex to the cold as she wrapped her arms around one another in an attempt to warm herself up. Her nose became runny, and her fingers began to feel numb, this definitely wasn't a good idea in the slightest.
But her attention was brought away from the cold when she accidentally bumped into someone on the sidewalk. "Oh, excuse me." Sunset said politely in an attempt to apologize for her clumsiness.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sunset Shimmer." The bacon haired girl stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the oh so familiar voice. When she turned around, she was greeted with the sight of The Dazzlings smiling viscously at her.
Sunset clenched her fists as she tried to remain calm.
She failed miserably.
"Adagio, Sonata, and Aria," Sunset listed off their names with distain, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" She asked, clearly not in the mood for any type of game they were willing to play.
The Dazzlings chuckled before Aria flicked her hair, "What? Is it illegal to go out for a nice stroll in the middle of the night?"
"Besides," Adagio continued, "We're reformed now. Not like we can do much since you removed our magic."
Sonata then added, "Well, we can eat as many tacos as we want, but that's beside the point."
The Equestrian girl looked at the former villains suspiciously before placing one hand on her hip, "Well exuuuuse me for not exactly believing a word any of you say." She replied before adding, "It's not like any of you guys are exactly trustworthy."
Adagio rolled her eyes, "Oh you made that perfectly clear at the Starswirled Music Festival. You know, when you broke into our bus and manhandled our toaster!"
Sonata looked to the sky in sadness, "He hasn't been the same since."
Aria looked to her sister in an annoyed fashion, "Sonata."
"Yeah?"
"IT'S A FREAKIN' TOASTER! IT DOESN'T HAVE FEELINGS, MORON!!!"
Sunset rolled her eyes and turned away from the trio of Sirens, already having had enough of their shenanigans, "Look, I don't know why you girls are back in Canterlot and right now I frankly don't care. I have other crap to deal with. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."
And with that, Sunset Shimmer continued her walk down the sidewalks, leaving The Dazzlings to themselves. However, once Sunset was out of earshot, Adagio took out her phone and dialed a number before placing it on loudspeaker.
"Alright, we did what you asked." Adagio informed the recipient of the call.
The Clown Prince of Crime.
"Well played, Kiddo! Ya did good!" Joker praised before adding, "Now get your asses back here! Time for a good ole fashioned game of Cat and Mouse. Hahahahahahahaha!"
Back with The Rainbooms, it had only been ten minutes since Sunset had decided to go her own way. Twilight Sparkle was worried about her friend, she seemed really distant since the girls' encounter with Batman. She held Spike in her arms as he whimpered slightly, also worried about the former Equestrian.
The Princess of Friendship looked over to see the others looking dejected as well. Not only did they have to worry about Rainbow Dash, but Sunset as well. She noticed that her counterpart had curled herself up and rested her head against the window of the vehicle.
Twilight's eyes softened as she laid sight on Sci-Twi. All of that amnesty she had been feeling toward her seemingly vanished when she gazed upon her. By the way she was sitting, Twilight could tell that her human reflection was genuinely worried for her friends.
They had made a real connection.
Maybe... Maybe she should do the same with Sci-Twi.
Start over. Begin a new chapter. Sunset is right after all. It's not healthy to keep such emotions bottled up and it is certainly not right to push all of that anger and sadness onto an innocent girl who just wants to be liked. Twilight sighed, gently stroking Spike's fur as she turned to face her counterpart, hoping to build new bridges between the two of them.
"H-Hey, Twi--"
But whatever she intended to say didn't get said as a minivan smashed itself into the side of the vehicle, sending the van tumbling down the road and stopping on its side, the engine of the car smoking out of the now destroyed bonnet. Twilight's vision became hazy, she could feel a warm liquid dripping down her forehead.
The last thing she saw before fading into unconsciousness was Applejack being pulled out of the drivers seat... And the door on her side open up, revealing a man in a green suit standing above her.
Sunset sat at the edge of the roof of her apartment complex, feet dangling and swinging side to side as she was left alone with her own thoughts.
"Okay, so I know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. What the hell do I do now?" Sunset thought to herself, "Well I obviously can't tell anyone, as that's a can of worms I do not want to open." She then looked downward in worry, "But I don't want to keep things from my friends. Secrets are like walls, eventually they break down and people get hurt. But if I tell anyone, people could get hurt."
Shimmer exhaled, the freezing cold air showing her breath leaving her mouth.
But it was then that a thought came to Sunset's mind.
"Wait, if Batman knows of our abilities and what we can do with them... Then why did he let me grab his arm? Why risk the exposure of his identity? ARGH! THIS IS SO CONFUSING! WAS IT A TEST? DID HE SIMPLY NOT KNOW?" Sunset sighed and rubbed her forehead ferociously with her hands, finding it hard to think straight with all these questions running amok in her brain.
Well at least she was alone with her thoughts and not having to deal with anyone else's crap while driving herself mad.
"Shimmer."
"YIPE!!!" Sunset exclaimed loudly before turning her head to face Batman, who's cape was shrouded around his entire form. She let out a sigh of relief before asking, "Do you have to sneak up on people like that?"
Batman however wasn't in the mood for small talk, "What did you see?"
It was then that the teenager's eyes widened in shock and predominantly fear.
"S-See?" Sunset stuttered before turning to face the vigilante completely, standing up from the ledge of the roof, "What do you mean?"
Batman's glare harshened, "I'm not in the mood for games, Shimmer, I know you looked into my memories."
At this, Sunset looked down shamefully, she was caught red handed.
Not a word was spoken between the two, at least not until Sunset tried this.
"I'm sorry about your parents."
Batman's eyes widened for a second before returning to that scowl he was known for. "You looked into my memories. Why?"
Sunset then raised her hands defensively at the accusation, "I-I didn't mean too." She pleaded to the dark hero, "I just wanted to stop you from leaving."
"The wards in my suit should've prevented you from peering into my head, how did you break through them?"
Sunset was now confused, "'Wards'?"
Batman's glare remained as he elaborated, "I don't like magic users peering into what doesn't concern them. That's why I had a certain Magician conjure wards into my suit to protect my mind from magical intruders. But you broke through them and I want to know how."
Sunset Shimmer was now at a loss for words. If what Batman said is true, then how did she break through the wards? Maybe she underestimated the sheer power of Equestrian Magic? The girl rubbed her arm awkwardly before answering, "I honestly don't know. For some odd reason my magic just... Flared up. I didn't mean to peer into your mind, I swear I didn't. I'm not gonna tell anyone, I promise."
Batman didn't respond, he just simply stared at the girl as his cape flapped with the wind. The two just stared at one another before Sunset looked to the ground in sadness.
"If it's worth anything, I know what it's like to lose your parents as well."
Now that caught Bruce's attention.
As Batman didn't respond, Sunset took that as a sign to continue, "When I was a filly, I lost my parents as well. We were so happy, nothing could separate us. But then one night, as I was practicing magic, one of my spells went wrong and it started a fire." She stopped suddenly as she hugged herself with her arms, "I didn't mean it, I tried to stop it but I couldn't. I screamed in fear as my parents shot into my room. Without even a hint of hesitation, my mother and father dashed over to me so they could protect me."
It was then that Sunset looked away and squinted her eyes closed, tears leaking from the enclosed orbs.
"B-But that was the last thing that they would ever do. The floor beneath them collapsed and they fell... And they were.... W-Were..." She couldn't even finish as she began openly sobbing, she hated thinking about that night. It always ended up with her in tears.
But all of a sudden, Sunset felt something embrace her shivering form. Someone wrapped their arms around her to comfort her.
Batman held the young girl close, he knew what it was like, he was reminded of it every single day. The loss of your parents really made an impact on your life. It would change you forever. He felt the girl sob into his chest, bawling her eyes out as the painful memory returned to her.
Batman made no movement whatsoever. He just continued to hug the poor girl.
And he would continue to for as long as he needed to.