Into the Night

by TacoTues4Eva

Chapter 2

Author's Note:

I want to thank Sunny Scriber for not only proof reading this story, but also obtaining the awesome cover art which was created by Cotton whose twitter is https://twitter.com/smolducko.

Sorry, this is something I truly should have addressed in chapter one. For those of you who are wondering, yes this is a Big Bad Beetleborgs/Beetleborgs Metallix crossover. There will be many changes from the canon for Beetleborgs as well as some for Equestria Girls. For starters, except for Flabber and the Pippettes, the monsters at Hillhurst have real names and the names from the show are nicknames. Some may embrace the nicknames, while others may not enjoy them. They also won’t be as aggressive as in canon and will be a lot more competent. They will also be smarter, for the most part, except for Frank seeing what he is.

Another difference from canon is that the villains won’t be the same ones from the comics, and there will be a few original characters. Some of the original characters will end up using pictures from other shows as their basis which the first will be introduced in chapter three, though they are hinted at in chapter two.

As for the Equestria Girls side of things, I know some of you may groan at this, but it does take place during Anon A Miss. There will be a lot of changes to it though, the first being that it started at the beginning of December. I really don’t see them having slumber parties every night on school nights, so the plan was two parties a weekend for the first two weeks with a fifth one of the third week and staying over at Apple Jacks again for Christmas Eve for Sunset, while the other girls came for their annual party and went home. After the first party, they all started wondering what happened and how someone posted about Piggly Wiggly. The second night was Rarity’s so that was Friday And Saturday, so Sunset went home Sunday morning and the pictures were posted. Monday the girls confronted Sunset over her phone and cut her off from the group. It was Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that Sunset was harassed at work and lost her job and it was Wednesday, Thursday and Friday that Sunset’s place was vandalized and she left and ended up at Hillhurst.

As for the Beetleborgs, something that Sunny Scriber suggested I mention, and I totally agree with, is that when donning their armor their voices become impossible to distinguish. I will mention this in the story, but the armor changes their voice so they won’t be recognized that way. In fact, it goes a step farther and creates an echo effect that mostly keeps up with them speaking and casts their voice in several pitches at the same time so it sounds like several people are talking at once with both male and female sounding voices mixed in. Their armor is so bulky it is impossible to tell what gender they are under it. So all in all, it is almost impossible to figure out which is the real voice…unless you are a genius.

Well, that’s all for now. Hope you enjoy the story.

Sunset couldn’t remember the last time she felt this comfortable as she shifted in her bed. She couldn’t remember when she was able to stretch out this much since her bed was way too small to do so, which made her pause and think. Since when was her bed this large and perfectly comfortable? Her bed was small, lumpy and had a couple springs sticking through that she had to pad over with a blanket to try and cover them up to keep down uncomfortable pokes. Slowly opening her eyes she noticed it was difficult to see much in the room as it was still dark out and there were no lights on. She did see the form standing next to the bed leaning over her though reaching out toward her.

“Come on child, wa-” Was all the farther the voice got before Sunset twisted over and kneed the figure in the groin causing him to squeak out in pain and collapse to his knees.

“What in tarnation is going on in here?” Flabber asked as he stormed into the room, flipping the light switch as he entered, bathing the room in soft light.

“I was trying to wake the child up to tell her about our decision.” The vampire groaned, clutching his groin in pain as he turned his glare to Sunset. “Something I’m beginning to reconsider.”

“You were leaning over me to bite me!” Sunset accused him as she pointed for emphasis.

“I was leaning over to shake your shoulder, child, and ask you for the thousandth time to wake up!” The vampire snapped, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. “I don’t know what I expected of a human child! Always jumping to conclusions and never giving somebody a chance!”

“I’m…sorry.” Sunset sighed after a few moments, hanging her head as she realized that her jumping to conclusions against the vampire was exactly what the entire school has been doing to her. She also couldn’t deny that it did sound like the man may have been saying wake up, or something similar before Sunset kneed him. Her fear filled mind just jumped to conclusions in the hazy state she was in from just waking up. “I know how that feels, and for what it’s worth, I am sorry. I’ll try not to jump to conclusions anymore.”

“Well shucks, little lady, there’s no need to get so melancholic over a small mistake.” Flabber said uneasily, the two men sharing a worried look between them.

“It’s just I know how it feels to be blamed for something you didn’t do and nobody will listen to your side of things.” Sunset sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbed at her eyes.

“What do you mean, child?” The vampire asked, actually sounding saddened by what Sunset was going through which surprised the girl a little.

“I admit I used to be a horrible person, I bullied everyone in school. I changed though, I worked so hard to prove that I did and I thought I made friends who I could see as family. Something happened and everyone blamed me for it, including my so-called friends. Students cost me my job by causing trouble at work and then they started vandalizing my apartment which spilled over to the neighbors and I lost my home. So now I have no family, no friends, no income and no place to call home.” Sunset explained softly with teary eyes, “So yeah, I do kind of know how it feels to not be given a chance to explain.”

“Look child, I know you are probably scared of us, but we truly mean you no harm. It is almost sunrise and I need to speak with you before I turn in for the day.” The vampire said, crossing his arms and giving Sunset a serious look.

“Sunset.” Sunset sighed.

“What?” The vampire asked, arching a brow in askance.

“My name, it’s Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset said.

“Well, Sunset Shimmer, you can call me Vlad, or Mr. Tepesh. You will likely hear the idiots calling me Count Fangula though.” Vlad said, “Flabber let us know what was going on after you went to bed and I’m not exactly happy with the situation. None of us are. We won’t let somebody starve or freeze to death, especially a child.”

“I’m not a child.” Sunset snorted, crossing her arms.

“How old are you?” Vlad asked.

“I’m sixteen.” Sunset replied.

“You are a child, and you need a stable home life. While we aren’t exactly your typical, average family, we will let you stay here. There will be rules though, and we expect you to follow them.” Vlad explained, smirking a little at the girl’s shocked expression. “First and foremost, do not start bringing a bunch of people around here. We like our privacy and we are making a huge exception for you as we believe no child should be without a home.”

“Not exactly anyone jumping at the chance to talk to me anyways, much less wanting to have a sleepover.” Sunset huffed.

“I’m sorry your friends are being ignorant, but the rule still stands.” Vlad said, shaking his head, “If by chance you absolutely must have someone over make sure to give us plenty of notice and we will stay in the basement and upstairs while they are here. All of you will remain on the ground floor, there will be no exploring the spooky haunted house!”

“So this floor is mine?” Sunset asked, a little surprised by this news.

“For the most part, yes. We will be coming through this floor too, but we won’t invade your bedroom without knocking… unless it is to wake you up for something important. And you don’t have to worry about us hurting you, none of us have ever hurt a human except in self defense.” Vlad said, “You are safe here with us and if somebody tries to hurt you here we will protect you.”

“Why go so far for a stranger?” Sunset asked, a little suspicious of the vampire’s motives. Yet it would be nice to have a place to feel safe... Well as safe as being in a house full of monsters can be.

“Because we would never forgive ourselves if a child was hurt or killed when we could have prevented it. None of us are overly fond of humans, but we are usually pretty good judges of character. I was coming in to tell you that this would be a trial basis only, but I don’t think that is needed any longer. I have several abilities not in those foolish movies you humans like and one of them is the ability to tell if a human is telling the truth or not.” Vlad explained, not really planning on revealing it isn’t always accurate as it relied on a human’s physiology much like a lie detector. A sociopath could pretty easily trick his senses, but they also wouldn’t naturally display all of the emotions Sunset has shown since being here. “So you can consider this your home as long as you don’t go advertising it to anyone not needing to know.”

“Thank you.” Sunset whispered softly.

“The appliances in the kitchen may look a little old, but they all function perfectly.” Vlad explained, pulling a wallet out from his pants. “Do you have a license?”

“No, I don’t exactly have any identification or paperwork.” Sunset admitted, turning away from the two men who once again shared a worried look.

“We will have to get that taken care of soon, little lady.” Flabber said softly.

“Until then, while Frank has similar dietary needs, they are still somewhat different from humans. We have moved him upstairs so you can have full access to the kitchen, though Frank will still use the stove.” Vlad explained pulling out a few bills and handed them to Sunset, who tried to refuse at first. “Take the money, child. You need food more fit for human consumption and if that was all you brought last night you will need some clothes and toiletries.”

“This is way too much.” Sunset said through tears as she took the money realizing every single bill was a hundred dollar bill.

“You will be representing Hillhurst, for better or worse, and I will not have my legacy starve or go around in ratty old clothes.” Vlad said, crossing his arms after returning the wallet to his pocket. “I have more money than I will be able to spend in a hundred years with more coming in every day from royalties among other things. I have been around for a long time, I’ve taken many identities, and I am a very rich man.”

“Thank you.” Sunset said, unsure just what to say. She was scared so much of this man earlier and now he has done much more for her in a few minutes than anyone has since coming to this world.

“You are welcome child… Sunset. We will discuss other rules later, though none will be too bad. I will also provide you with an allowance so you can have some spending money so you won’t have to worry about work and can concentrate on school.” Vlad said, “I will not have a legacy that is stupid.”

“Why do you keep saying legacy?” Sunset asked.

“The only way I can help you get paperwork is by adopting you into my family, hence you are my legacy. Don’t worry, it is in name only and I won’t try and force you into doing anything as long as you follow the simple house rules that will be set. I want to see you succeed and get a good education so you can get a good job and a bright future.” Vlad said, truly meaning that as the best way to get the human out of their hair is provide a little so she could stabilize herself and once she gets a job move out on her own. Two years was nothing for an immortal anyways and he wouldn’t have this child starving or freezing to death on his conscience.

“You would do that for me? I’m a stranger and I was just treating you like crap!” Sunset exclaimed, jumping off the bed and staring up into the man’s eyes looking for any kind of ulterior motive making him chuckle at the action.

“You are actually acting much better than most humans would in your position. Besides, think of this as an investment in your future so you can get into a good school and get a good job and you can move on with your life.” Vlad said, ruffling Sunset’s hair who swatted his hand away while earning another chuckle from the vampire.

“I’ll pay you back somehow.” Sunset said as she hung her head and gripped the money tight.

“If you want to pay me back, then do your best.” Vlad said giving a kind smile which was something he didn’t grace people with too often. He had a sneaking suspicion he would be giving more to this girl as time went on. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to retire for the day as the sun will be rising soon. Good day, child.”

“Um… good day.” Sunset said, as the vampire turned regally and swept out of the room. He seemed so much different than he did last night and from the look on the phasm’s face, it surprised him too.

“Never thought I’d see the day old Fangula grow a soft spot for a human.” Flabber said, seeming serious which just didn’t seem to suit him for some reason.

“And I never thought I’d come across a bunch of monsters from a horror movie that actually seemed nicer than my old friends.” Sunset sighed, her stomach rumbling a little.

“Please don’t call them monsters, it doesn’t make them monsters just because they are different from you, does it?” Flabber said.

“I’m sorry, I just… I don’t know. He seemed much different than he was last night though.” Sunset mused, dropping back onto the edge of the bed to sit as Flabber sat in the chair by the small table.

“If you meant not as scary, they were only trying to frighten you away thinking you were just another thrill seeker. If you mean he wasn’t acting goofy... Well, trying to act scary while panicking because I was released is a hard act to balance.” Flabber said.

“Why panic because you were released?” Sunset asked, curious as she admitted she actually liked the phasm a little. Sure he fed her last night, but it was more that he seemed so earnest and trustworthy as well as kind of funny once getting over the weird stuff he did. “For that matter, why were you stuck there in the first place?”

“Well, my magic can be unpredictable at times since I was banished here from my home in the seventh dimension and my magical levels fluctuate because of my connection to home wavers wildly which is where my magic comes from.” Flabber sighed, “As for why I was banished, I was the second son of my world’s ruler and my family didn’t exactly like my carefree attitude so banished me here. Which I’m fine with by the way, I would never want to fit in with those stuffed shirt psychos anyways.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sunset said, reaching out to squeeze his hand which was resting on his knee. She was a little surprised it was solid and actually a little warm once her mind caught up with her actions.

“Don’t be, little lady. I’m happy with where I am, even if I’m bound to the organ. To answer your question though, a phasm hunter actually tried trapping me but it backfired and sealed me in that organ. The others left me there to teach me a lesson because me going overboard with my magic is what lured the hunter here.” Flabber admitted, looking a little sheepish. “I know I can be annoying with how I act, but I can’t help it. It’s just who I am.”

“Hey, I like you just the way you are and if somebody doesn’t like you for who you are then they aren’t your friends.” Sunset said, giving the sad looking phasm an encouraging look.

“Those idiots are my friends. They actually protected me from that phasm hunter and would be there for me if I needed it. I do admit I needed the time out, it gave time for the heat to die down from the hunters who kept coming around.” Flabber shrugged, standing up and giving Sunset a large grin. “Enough of the serious stuff, yeah? You need to get ready and go get you some food.”

“Thanks, Flabber.” Sunset said with a bit of an uneasy smile.

---

Breakfast consisted of some French toast sticks, mini hash browns which were more or less glorified tater tots, and an orange juice. All in all, it was a pretty decent meal though she didn’t plan on always eating out as that just wouldn’t be healthy, as well as it would eat into the money Vlad had given her. She didn’t exactly feel right about accepting it, but maybe it would be nice having a semblance of a real family for once. Not that she fully trusted any of them, though if she did it would be Flabber and after this morning, possibly Vlad.

She did need to decide what to do though as buses did not run up to Hillhurst, it was a good ten minute walk at a brisk pace to even get out of the edge of the forest and even see a sign or town. She couldn’t carry a bunch of groceries that far so she would have to make multiple trips as getting a ride was out of the question. She could get clothes first, but she wasn’t about to go all the way across town to the mall to get clothes then come back and try to lug groceries with them.

“Why couldn’t the mansion be closer to everything?” Sunset groaned, walking down the small street littered with privately owned shops that she preferred to bigger stores though were usually out of her meager budget. A store actually caught her attention just as she was about to turn around and head the other way. It had a plain sign hanging above the door that said, “Autumn’s Comics & Book Store” in brightly alternating colors for each letter. There were several advertisements written on the window such as percentages off new hardbacks, buy four used paperbacks and get the fifth free, and Sunset’s favorite, a free smile with every purchase.

“Well, hello dear.” A woman with dark green hair and a light orange skin tone said as she pulled one of those foldable sidewalk signs out of the store and sat it up on the freshly shoveled sidewalk. “Why don’t you come in and get warmed up?”

“I’m okay, I can’t really buy anything here right now anyways.” Sunset sighed, actually wanting to enter the warm look store to get out of the chill for a few minutes. Thankfully it warmed up considerably since last night, but the chill air was still highly uncomfortable.

“Nonsense dear, you don’t need to buy something to come in and warm up. Why on earth are you wearing something like that right now anyways? It’s freezing out here!” The woman exclaimed, motioning to Sunset’s skirt and sleeveless top combo with her leather jacket. Thankfully her boots were pretty much watertight, so tracking through the snow at Hillhurst to get out of the forest wasn’t so bad.

“Well, it’s all I have to wear today until I do laundry later.” Sunset admitted, a bit sheepishly as she felt a little shame at losing most everything she once owned as she couldn’t carry it and she refused to take the outfit Rarity made her after what they had done to her.

“Then come in! I’ll get you a cup of coffee on the house and we can sit and chat until customers start coming in.” The woman said, ushering Sunset into the store, much to the teens' protests. “By the way, my name is Autumn Blush. What’s yours?”

“Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset said with a bit of a sigh, fully expecting the woman to toss her out if she was family to anyone from school.

“Oh, are you that girl from Canterlot High?” Autumn asked as she pretty much pushed Sunset down in a comfortable chair behind the counter before turning to a coffee pot and pouring two disposable foam cups full. “Do you take cream or sugar?”

“Both please.” Sunset squeaked out, nervous of what this woman was going to do to her after hearing she was from Canterlot High. The only way she would recognize her name was if she had a child at the school or was faculty, and she wasn’t faculty.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Autumn said handing Sunset her doctored up beverage while sitting down with her own.

“Yes, I’m from Canterlot High.” Sunset sighed. “Want me to leave?”

“Not really, but I have been wanting to talk to you.” Autumn said, narrowing her eyes a little. “I don’t appreciate your bullying toward any of the students, much less my daughter, but I’ve heard you came around and worked hard to make up for past mistakes.”

“A whole lot of good that did me.” Sunset sighed. “Lost everything I had, even my job and home.”

“What do you mean?” Autumn asked with worry.

“Because of this Anon A Miss disaster, everyone is blaming me and is making trouble everywhere I had anything to do with. My job had to fire me because it was affecting their business and when vandals almost hurt a neighbor at the apartment building, I willingly left to keep it from happening again.” Sunset said, keeping truthful because she was a little scared of what this woman might do to her if she detected any hint of deceit. Normally she wouldn’t care much as she prided herself in her ability to take care of herself, but the pain and trauma of the last week has left her an emotional wreck.

“While my daughter doesn’t exactly believe in you, I don’t see why someone who has worked as hard as you would turn around and pull something like this smear campaign. It doesn’t have any finesse that I would expect from the great, Sunset Shimmer.” Autumn explained, giving an amused smile while Sunset looked at her wide eyed. “Don’t think I’m some innocent or something because I’m nice now dear, when I was about your age I was queen bee of the school and terrorized so many students. I had a rude wake up call and I worked my tail off make up all of the pain and suffering I caused. I would never have thought about going back to my old ways once I got a taste of real friends and I have the feeling we are in the same boat.”

“Really?” Sunset asked, sipping her coffee a little. It was good, she just wasn’t a big coffee drinker though it did its job warming her up a little.

“Really.” Autumn nodded, “Now about your home situation, I take it you are on your own.”

“I was… someone took me in last night though and will be letting me stay with them.” Sunset said, hesitating a little as she couldn’t tell this woman she was staying in Hillhurst.

“That’s good dear, I’d hire you but I truthfully can’t afford it. I can afford to give you a warm place to stay though if needed.” Autumn said, reaching over to pat Sunset’s knee.

“I appreciate it, I really do, but I’m fine.” Sunset assured the woman, before waving out towards the store that seemed to have two parts to it. On the side near the entrance is pretty much your standard comic book store with little figurines, big figurines, toys, and of course comics. Toward the back of the store things changed into a pretty good sized book store by the looks of it. From Sunset’s vantage she could see new books, but also what looked like used ones as well. “I never seen a comic store built into a book store before, I love it.”

“My father owned the building so we have an apartment upstairs and our store down here. My daughter also has a small garden on the roof that she likes to spend most of her time with.” Autumn sighed, “I just wish she could make some friends.”

“I would have been happy to meet her a few weeks ago, I’m sorry.” Sunset sighed.

“Don’t be sorry dear, I wasn’t asking you to and I don’t expect you too. You have enough on your plate right now and if you ever need anything, or someone to talk to, I will always be here to listen.” Autumn said, the bell at the door giving a chime as somebody walked in. “For now dear, duty calls.”

---

“Hey mom, you called?” Wallflower asked, coming down the stairs from the garden when her mom called her phone from the shop. It wasn’t unusual for Wallflower to need to tend the store when her mom needed to make a quick errand on Saturdays so she wasn’t worried until she saw the expression on her mother’s face. The look made her anger at Sunset Shimmer vanish from the post the girl just made a few minutes ago.

“Yeah, I need to talk to you about Sunset. I shouldn’t have let her go like that, but I don’t really have any reason not to believe her. I just have a bad feeling.” Autumn said, looking toward the door.

“What did she do now?” Wallflower nearly growled out.

“It isn’t what she did, it’s what that school of yours did to her sweetie.” Autumn rebuked.

“The school? She’s the one posting everyone’s private business on her My Stable!” Wallflower snapped, wincing when she saw the disappointed look on her mother’s face. Sure she was shy, but when it came to being along with Autumn she was able to act more bravely. That didn’t mean that when her mom was disappointed it didn’t hurt.

“I thought you weren’t too sure about that, sweetie.” Autumn said.

“I wasn’t, but she just posted something else about her friends that only they would have known about.” Wallflower said.

“When did she post it?” Autumn asked, a feeling of vindication washing over her as she was sure this was going to prove her right that Sunset wasn’t behind this.

“About twenty minutes ago.” Wallflower said, pulling her phone out and showing her mother the post.

“Well, there you go, it can’t be Sunset. She was here sharing a cup of coffee with me.” Autumn said, feeling a little bad as the color drained from Wallflower’s face. “She admitted to the students costing her not only her job, but her home. She said she was taken in last night, does she have any family?”

“No, not that I know of. It’s been an ongoing debate with a lot of the students if she even has a family.” Wallflower sighed, “You think she’s homeless now?”

“I do. I should never have let her leave. At first I just believed her, but as she left doubt started and it’s bothering me. Can you watch the store for a few minutes while I see if she’s still around?” Autumn asked, knowing her daughter would. Neither of them wanted someone to experience homelessness as they had before moving into this building and opening the store up.

“I’ll watch it, go on.” Wallflower said, shooing her mother away who instead hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

“Thanks sweetie, I’ll hurry back.” Autumn said, rushing out of the store. She spent the next twenty minutes asking people and searching the area frantically and was about to give up for the moment as the girl could be anywhere. She was wondering if calling the Principal would be of any help or maybe she could have Wallflower bring the teen home on Monday.

An explosion just ahead drew her attention from her thoughts to see a humanoid tiger with red armor stalking down the middle of the street with a couple cars in flames and people running away while screaming about a monster. She noticed a few of the people collapse that were closest to the creature as police sirens could be heard coming straight toward them.

“I need more energy!” The creature roared, breathing out flames that seemed to cause small explosions along its path, blowing up another car, along with breaking an electrical pole that brought down the power lines with it and right toward her. She didn’t even have enough time to scream out before a red armored person jumped in front of her protectively and blocked the flames from reaching her.

“Are you okay?” The person asked, looking over their shoulder, momentarily showing that against all odds it was the Red Striker Borg from the Beetleborg Comics. She couldn’t tell if the person was male or female as their voice was distorted and seemed as if multiple voices were coming from it at the same time giving it a scary surreal effect.

“I’m f-fine.” Autumn said, shaking at just how close she came to being killed and not being able to see her daughter again.

“Please get to safety then, Ma’am. I’ll handle Tabby over there.” The Red Striker Borg said before rushing at the monster. Whoever was dressed up as the Beetleborg was pretty clumsy during the short battle, stopping several times as if talking to themselves, or to someone else. When the police sirens got closer, the armored tiger seemed to have enough and quickly fled the battle, the Beetleborg going after them and soon vanished from sight. Deciding that recently arrived police and Beetleborg had things well in hand, Autumn stumbled away from the action and hurried back to her store. She prayed that Sunset was okay, but the only thing on her mind was getting back to her daughter.

“Mom!” Wallflower cried out, rushing to help her mother to a seat behind the counter that the woman gratefully collapsed in before pulling her daughter into a tight hug. “What’s wrong mom? What happened?”

“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again!” Autumn sobbed, it taking awhile before she calmed down enough to explain the situation to Wallflower who didn’t want to believe it at first until the news came on the small television behind the counter. Apparently there were only minor injuries to the bystanders thanks to the Beetleborg, and even though the police tried, the Red Striker quickly ran off and vanished before the police could question their mysterious protector.