Monday morning wasn’t something Sunset had been looking forward to as she walked up the steps of the school building while doing her best to ignore the glares and harsh whispers of her fellow students. She was starting to wish she stayed home, making her realize that after a few short days she really was starting to view Hillhurst as a home. Sure the others living there were strange to say the least, but over the weekend she had actually gotten to know them a bit better as both Saturday and Sunday had ended with her cooking dinner for them as well as herself.
She was a little surprised at just how much she learned about the three monsters, though Flabber remained mostly a mystery other than what little he said on her first morning there. She learned the most about the mummy who pretty much embraced his nickname as Mums, even though his real name was Seth Ptolemy. He claimed that he used to be rather handsome and a very good singer known as Pharaoh before his mother cursed him. Apparently there was a huge blow up when he defied his mother’s wishes and clinged to his music as well as rebelled against her choice of wife for him, instead choosing to pursue another singer. Then his mother blew a simple kiss on the cheek out of proportion when Cleopatra thanked him and he was punished by his mother, the curse robbing him of his looks and voice for singing while sealing him in a tomb for centuries.
Frank was actually the one who was a little scary when thinking about it as he was actually THE Frankenstein’s monster who named him Frank. His nickname he found amusing, if a little embarrassing, as it came from his love of beans and the problems they caused him. The revolting, toxic and nauseous problems they caused him and everyone around him. They called him Frankenbeans, and Sunset couldn’t help the name kind of fit him as she learned not to be around him too long after he eats anything with that food in it.
And finally, as the others called him, Count Fangula. A name the vampire despised as he was actually one of two descendants of Count Dracula. Vlad and his brother were conceived right before the original Count Dracula was cursed with his vampirism. In an attempt to turn his wife, the original Dracula infected the two unborn babies with the curse which in turn killed their mother during childbirth before she could be turned. Vlad had somehow inherited the lion’s share of the curse, though didn’t truly come into his powers until he was killed by those striking out at the crazed Count Dracula. Vlad had returned as a full fledged vampire and helped several others defeat his father before he could kill too many more. As for his brother, he gained a few things such as the ability to extend his life by drinking blood and the ability to turn into a bat while all other powers eluded him. He was blessed with an actual living body that did need food, but could naturally produce offspring for the first century of his life and had a daughter. Sadly, he became sterile after that though he didn’t really seem to suffer any other ill effects.
The three could act like such big idiots, but at the same time they actually did have hearts of gold for the most part. They just didn’t want a bunch of people coming and intruding on their peace just to get a few thrills investigating the haunted house. It was something Sunset couldn’t fault them for, they deserved their peace and Vlad truly did own the house. He had accounts set up with automatic payments to take care of the utilities and had deliveries made for the things Frank and Mums needed to survive while he went out himself to take care of his needs. It was something that still creeped out Sunset to some extent, but he wasn’t really harming anyone at least. If he was killing people then there would be a huge panic going on, and there wasn’t.
Shoving her thoughts to the back of her mind, Sunset focused on the matters at hand more… like getting through another fun-tastic day of CHS where she was once again the target of spite. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but she had to admit she was getting fed up with it. While she admitted fault for her current predicament because of her wish, she could lay a huge share of the blame on most everyone walking these halls. She could even go farther and blame most of it on the Rainbooms as they were the ones to announce Sunset was behind everything and threw her to the wolves. If it wasn’t for them, she would still have her job and home and never would have had to venture inside Hillhurst.
Speaking of the girls, she couldn’t help but wither away from their glares as she passed them. No matter how much she psyched herself up, no matter how many pep talks she gives herself, it seemed that their opinion still mattered greatly to Sunset. The problem was, she was getting to the point of the love she had for them being squeezed out by the small amount of hate that was starting to form in her heart for them. She was starting to wonder if the truth did finally come out and they came saying how sorry they were and begging for another chance, if she would give them one. She would like to think she would, but with every passing day, she could feel the bond she had with them slipping away more and more. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was already too late for them as they had a large hand in destroying what little life she had built up rendering her homeless and without income over some stupid gossip column. It just wasn’t fair.
It just wasn’t fair. All day yesterday the shop was closed because of the police investigating Saturday’s incident involving the monster and Beetleborg. Wallflower knew her mother was scared, but still would have known the difference between a stupid publicity stunt and something far more real, and potentially dangerous. Yet the police mostly wanted to blame the most likely suspect. Thankfully, the only officer on the scene that seemed to have half a brain deemed them innocent of any involvement and finally left them alone.
Seeing Sunset walk by in a somewhat hunched up position as if trying to hide reminded Wallflower of the other problem she had to deal with. She hated Sunset Shimmer, there was no denying that after everything the girl had gotten away with at the school. She even destroyed the front of the school and had gotten away with it, something Wallflower highly believed the fire haired teen should be sitting in jail over. She wasn’t though, Sunset was the beautiful girl, the popular girl, the untouchable girl that always got away with everything and even ended up with a bunch of friends she didn’t deserve.
Wallflower hated to admit it, she knew she was being petty, but she felt Sunset deserved the hate and scorn she had been experiencing lately. It was karmic payback, it had to be as Wallflower couldn’t think of any other way the second time queen bee finally had everything crumble around her. Sure Wallflower felt that Sunset was most likely innocent of the whole Anon A Miss ordeal, but she deserved to suffer because of everything she had done.
Yet she couldn’t fight the growing ball of guilt gnawing away from the inside as Wallflower never wanted to see anyone lose their only source of income. She never wanted to see anyone become homeless, even her worst enemies. It just wasn’t fair, the school bully turned angel turned queen bee was making Wallflower feel sorry for the girl and it was pissing the green haired teen off to no end.
“Heh, bet it will take Sunshit weeks to clean the paint off her apartment door.” A boy snickered not far off, obviously bragging to his friends over what he had done.
“Do you think it’s funny you idiots caused a girl her only income and her place to live?” Wallflower snapped at them as she slammed her locker and swirled around to face three sheepish looking boys. While she tried to stay unnoticed at the school, it was a double edged sword as she didn’t pay attention to most of the students so didn’t know who the three boys were. Not that she cared, her rage was an active volcano eruption complete with hot molten lava at the moment. “Because of you a teenaged girl is alone out in the cold for Christmas! Are you idiots proud of that?”
“What do you mean, are you saying Sunset is homeless?” One of the three boys asked in a worried tone.
“What do you care?” Wallflower snapped before her anger drained and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and mortification of what she was doing and saying. Hugging her school supplies tight she hurried away from the three boys while ignoring their cries of wait. Why did she have to draw so much attention to herself by that outburst? Now she was going to be the center of attention for the rest of the day. It just wasn’t fair.
It just wasn’t fair. Wallflower’s outburst had brought back some less than stellar memories for one particular girl. Trixie had to admit she never much cared for Sunset Shimmer, yet she never hated the girl either. If anything Trixie was a little indifferent to the girl with the bacon colored hair. Sure she liked to get a rise out of the girl at times, but if anything, Trixie was a little jealous. Sunset had made a group of friends and the admiration of a large portion of the student body after the Battle of the Bands despite all of the trouble she had caused. Yet Trixie had a hard time making and keeping friends. Even her two friends from her band left her citing she was too full of herself. It wasn’t her fault that she had a tick that seemed to urge her to talk in the third person. Instead of fighting the urge, she accepted it and even owned it by making it her thing. After all, a little positive reinforcement was always good.
Sorting through the mess that was her locker after checking her makeup in the door’s mirror while wondering if perhaps she should have checked her makeup last, she overheard the distressing claims the green haired girl had made. Wallflower Blush had insinuated that Sunset Shimmer was now homeless which didn’t sit right with the stage magician. She had been homeless herself a few times and knew how rough it could be despite her father finally hitting it big and having more than enough to provide for their family now.
Withdrawing what she needed for class she decided to head that way while wondering what she should do with the information. She didn’t truly believe Sunset Shimmer was guilty of the glorified gossip column, only an idiot truly would, and Trixie was no idiot. It did leave her wondering about the rest of the student body and a few of the teachers. What moron would work as hard as Sunset did, making up for everything she had done in her bullying days in order to make her friend group proud of her and then turn around and throw it all away over stupid gossip? Anyone with a lick of sense could see that the whole thing was a poorly conceived frame job.
“Just what is Trixie supposed to do about it though?” Trixie mused to herself as she entered her classroom and took her seat near the back and kept an eye on Sunset. The girl did seem dejected, but she was dressed in what appeared to Trixie to be new clothes, begging the question how much of what Wallflower claimed was true? Still, who in their right mind could look at the pain the girl was going through and believe she was doing it to herself by keeping up the most hated profile on MyStable? It just wasn’t fair.
The day had gone by rather slowly in Wallflower’s opinion and watching the hell that Sunset went through was horrible to see from the outside. She didn’t want to know what it must have felt like for Sunset to actually live through it personally. Thankfully the day was finally over, though it left her with one problem…confronting Sunset. She had promised her mother to check in on the girl and do her best to make sure the fiery teen was okay. Wallflower just couldn’t bring herself to go up to her throughout the day as her nerves defeated her every time she tried. Of course her anger and hatred at the girl didn’t help much either.
After shoving her books in her locker as she had completed all of her homework during her free period, she quickly formulated a plan. She wouldn’t have to confront Sunset at all in order to keep her promise to her mother, all she had to do was make sure she had a home and someone to look out for her. All she had to do was follow Sunset and make sure the girl had a safe place so Wallflower could reassure her mother and be done with the entire situation. With plan in mind she carefully followed Sunset out of the school while hanging back enough to look as if she wasn’t stalking her.
“What are you doing following Sunset?” A voice asked from next to her, making her jump a little in fright. Turning to look at the owner of the voice revealed it to be Trixie walking alongside her.
“If you must know, I’m not. My home is this way.” Wallflower defended, crossing her arms as she gave a petulant look at the magician while trying not to shrink in on herself.
“If you say so.” Trixie snorted, “Though Trixie thinks you are worried about Sunset Shimmer. Much like Trixie is worried for her… nobody should have to deal with having no home to go to or no way to provide for themselves.” Trixie said softly, giving Wallflower a sad look.
“No, I guess they don’t.” Wallflower sighed. “What do you plan to do if you do find out she is homeless?”
“What can Trixie do? It might sound cruel, but Trixie plans to report it to Principal Celestia so Sunset can get the help she needs. She may hate Trixie for it, but it would be for her own good.” Trixie explained, pulling her hat from her head and clutching it to her chest.
“I guess that might be for the best.” Wallflower said. “... Do you think she is Anon A Miss?”
“At first Trixie wondered, but Trixie isn’t stupid nor blind. Why would Sunset work as hard as she did to be better only to throw it all away? It doesn’t make sense and Trixie blames those girls who Sunset called friends for things getting as far out of hand as they have. If they stuck by her, nobody would have believed she was the culprit.” Trixie said, keeping an eye far ahead of her on the fire maned girl.
“There are times I believe it is her and others I don’t, but yeah, you have a point. None of it makes sense really.” Wallflower admitted, admitting to herself that a part of her really wanted Sunset to be guilty just so she would have justification for all of the negative feelings she’s had against the girl.
“Trixie might not act like it, but she’s… jealous that Sunset Shimmer had so much popularity. Twice even.” Trixie admitted, something that was hard for her to do. “Trixie doesn’t have any real friends as they always leave her sooner or later. Even Trixie’s band finally left her.”
“I’m sorry.” Wallflower said softly, realizing she felt the same exact way. Ever since Sunset reformed it seemed as if everyone flocked to her wanting to be friends, or at least after the Battle of the Bands they did. A part of Wallflower wished she could get over her shyness and have close friends like Sunset seemed to have. Then again, seeing what those friends did to Sunset, maybe it just wasn’t worth it in the end.
“Don’t be sorry, it isn’t your fault. Trixie has problems that make it hard for her to keep friends for long because all they see is Trixie’s mask.” Trixie said so softly that Wallflower almost didn’t hear it. Thinking about it, Wallflower realized that ever since the secrets came out about Trixie’s bandmates making fun of her behind her back, the magician has seemed so down in the dumps and mopey. It must have really crushed Trixie’s spirits making Wallflower feel really bad for the girl.
“If you like, you can come over and see my garden after we finish with Sunset.” Wallflower managed to finally squeak out after a few moments of warring with her shyness.
“Trixie loves gardens, is it a flower or vegetable type?” Trixie asked, a little sparkle gleaming in her eyes.
“Both actually, I love flowers but also grow stuff to help with the grocery bills.” Wallflower said with a little more enthusiasm.
“Trixie has a small vegetable garden too with a few flowers.” Trixie said, “It helps with the food bills and the flowers Trixie can use for her performances.”
“No way!” Wallflower gasped, a little bit of fright flowering inside her as Sunset started cutting through the Everfree Forest. They had walked for quite awhile, but they never expected this. There were two options, Sunset was sleeping in the forest itself or she was crashing at Hillhurst Manor. Neither option was very good as both places creeped Wallflower out despite usually liking places with a lot of plant life.
“What do we do?” Trixie asked nervously, fidgeting as worry took over her expression.
“We do what we set out to do.” Wallflower said with a heavy sigh, “We follow her.”
For the next few minutes the pair of girls followed Sunset at a distance while trying to maintain enough coverage from the trees so they wouldn’t be spotted. Wallflower couldn’t help silently praying that Sunset was going anywhere else in the forest, anywhere but Hillhurst. Unfortunately, that was exactly where Sunset was heading as the pair watched her go through the messed up gate and into the large house.
“She went in there?” Wallflower sputtered, “Is she insane?!”
“Maybe it isn’t so bad?” Trixie supplied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “She apparently lied about somebody taking her in. Trixie thinks maybe we should confront her, see if she is okay.”
“That means going in there though!” Wallflower hissed out, pointing to the supposedly haunted house.
“What’s the worst that can happen? A haunted dust bunny going to attack us?” Trixie giggled as she walked forward, leaving Wallflower with little choice but to follow. As the two silently made their way to the door, Wallflower reached up to knock on the door, but Trixie shook her head and put her finger to her lips in a silencing motion. Nodding stiffly, Wallflower followed Trixie as the magician tried the door and it opened without any problems.
The inside was surprisingly welcoming as the two basked in the warm blast of air that flowed over them as they walked down the hallway toward the sound of a television playing.
“I can’t believe you got a new tv!” Came Sunset’s surprised voice. “How did you get a new tv?”
“Old Fangula thought it would be nice to get you something to watch at night while you do your homework.” A male voice said, making the pair of girls pause just outside the room. Wallflower noticed the man was a little odd looking, but nothing harmful… hopefully. Then again, he was a total stranger, what if he was planning on hurting Sunset, or them? What if he already has?
“Again, the police are requesting everyone stay clear of the area while they try to deal with this new monster that is apparently very real.” A newscaster said from the television.
“I guess I better go take care of it.” Sunset sighed.
“I don’t like you going by yourself.” The man sighed.
“I messed up and made the wish causing these monsters to appear. It’s my responsibility to get rid of them.” Sunset said, pulling a familiar looking device from her pocket and thrusting it out in front of her. “Beetle bonder!” Sunset cried out, energy rippling down her arm and into the device before she thrusted it high in the air with a cry of, “Beetle blast!”
Wallflower and Trixie both watched in stunned silence as Sunset Shimmer transformed into the Red Striker Beetleborg from the comics, and the same one who defeated El Pyre Tigre, the fan of fried fries and frying enemies. The creature was one of the earliest monsters in the comics, and one of the weakest when they discovered his weak spot. Just how was this even possible? The two didn’t have time to ponder the question as they ducked back around the door just before Sunset ran by them and out the door.
“Did we really just see that?” Trixie asked, shock clearly etched into her features as both of their phones received notifications at the same time. Pulling them out at the same time only for both girls to see the same thing, a new post for Anon A Miss. Concrete proof that Sunset wasn’t behind the whole thing, something Wallflower wasn’t sure how to feel about. Sure a part of her didn’t believe Sunset was behind it, yet there was a part of her that just couldn’t let it go.
“Hello girls, would you like some tea?” The strange man asked, the sudden appearance shocking the two girls.
“Well, Trixie is parched, but Trixie has a very important question first.” Trixie replied calmly, slowly bringing her finger up to point in the direction Sunset had left while shouting, “What the hell was that?”
“Ah, I guess you two saw everything.” The man sighed, “I don’t suppose you both could just forget what you saw?”
“No, we won’t forget what we saw!” Wallflower actually snapped, storming past the man to pace in the room behind him. It was some living room or something with a couple couches, coffee tables and what appeared to be a new television set up playing the news which the girl was tuning out. What was she supposed to think, Sunset was the girl Wallflower hated most in the school. Probably the only person she actually hated, yet Wallflower had felt her own concern for Sunset’s wellbeing besides her mother’s own. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the person she wanted to meet the most in life and the person who Wallflower owed a debt to for saving her mother was the same person. How was she supposed to deal with that?
“Well, you see, Sunset was sort of confronted with some really scary… people when she came here. When she freed me from the organ, she earned a wish from me even though she didn’t know about that. She sort of wished she was a Beetleborg to protect herself and I may have messed up and not only brought the Beetleborgs out of the comics, but also the villains.” The man sighed, obviously agitated as he led Trixie into the room as well and turned his attention to the television where an insect-like man was beating Sunset rather badly.
“Uva!” Wallflower gasped. He just wasn’t one of the monsters from the comics, he was the worst of the three generals under the command of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. A race of humanoid insects that acted like energy vampires, though they were mostly drones that barely had any kind of sentience about them. They were basically the generals canon fodder later in the series.
“Is Sunset going to be okay?” Trixie asked.
“I don’t know little lady. I’m bound to the organ, I can’t leave the property.” The man said, biting his nails as he was sweating large amounts.
“You said you brought the Beetleborgs from the comics? Where are the other two?” Wallflower asked, chewing on her lip as she tried to figure out what to do. As much as she didn’t really know how to feel about Sunset, Wallflower just couldn’t let the girl die at the hands of some comic monster brought to life. Especially not after Sunset had saved Wallflower’s mother.
“Over there.” The man pointed to the blue and green balls of fire floating over the pipes of the organ. “With nobody to claim the power, they took up residence there.”
“I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I have to help her.” Wallflower said, shaking on the inside at the thought of facing that thing while at the same time realizing adrenaline was pushing her out of her shell for the moment and knew as soon as it wore off she was going to be a mess.
“Trixie isn’t going to stand by and let that thing hurt Sunset or you!” Trixie declared.
“Ever read a Beetleborgs comic?” Wallflower asked, giving Trixie a bit of a grin.
“A couple, we could never really afford comics much.” Trixie admitted sadly.
“Do you remember how they changed?” Wallflower questions, smirking when Trixie nodded and they both thrust out their hands while crying out, “Beetle bonder!” The two flames shot from the organ and into the two girls' hands, green going to Wallflower while blue flew to Trixie, and formed the devices in the two girls’ hands before they thrusted them into the air with a louder cry of, “Beetle blast!”