G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire

Ruby Jubilee and the Dreamlands were starting to feel a bit out of place while the four of them and their friends were solving the mystery of the vampire who supposedly had been brought back to life by an ancient resurrection ritual.

I mean, this was their first quest, and the Mane 6 and Mystery Incorporated had been solving mysteries together for quite a long time.

Who wouldn’t feel a bit out of place when you're trying to solve a mystery, but only had performing experience?

Fortunately, the Dreamlands and Ruby will get their chance to be real heroes like their friends... even if they themselves don't know when that opportunity will arrive.

XXXXXXXX

After Zipp suggested that they head back to the festival and talk to some of the people there, the group hightailed it back to the park and got inside the festival without much hassle.

But as they began looking for potential clues, Kelly Smith was giving her news report in front of her camera crew and all the people watching at home. “Eyewitness accounts aside... we've had no confirmation of the supposed vampires' existence from anyone associated with the fair.”

“You want confirmation?”

Everyone looked over at the large crowd of reporters surrounding Lita Rutland, who was showing the reporters a supposed bite mark that she had on her neck. “No one is safe. I'm here to tell you from firsthand experience... that vampires bite.”

Sunny sighed and looked at her friends when they saw this. “So much for keeping this on the down-low...”

That's when Lita began to sing her own song to ensure as many people came to the festival as possible... even going as far as stretching the truth a bit.

Lita Rutland: Gather round, hear me now
Listen up, 'cause I vow
There's a vampire roaming the night

He had wings and a snout
With these fangs hanging out
That can rip and can tear when they bite

He flew down from the skies
With those red glowing eyes
And he smiled and I knew in a sec

He had come there for me
Cause he leaped up in glee
Then he pounced and he bit me on the neck

This led several people around Lita to vasp, believing every word of Lita's story.

Lita Rutland: Yes, I screamed and cried out, "It's a vampire!"
I escaped and ran into the light

That's when she picked up a cross that was on display and held it out for other people to see.

Lita Rutland: I held up one of these
And we all saw him freeze
Then he shrieked in the night

Be advised and be scared
Be alert, be prepared
Buy this garlic we have here on sale

Gel a charm for your neck
We rake cash, we take check
And ship free, COD through the mail

How 'bout this vampire spray?
It keeps dandruff away
Sold in tonic and lotion or mist

Here, these potions we make
And this big wooden stake
At a price that you just can't resist

We lake MasterCard, Visa and Chase
Not Discover
We're open till 9 every night
Not on Sunday

In bulk, any size
Then our discount applies
So invest in the best
Bring ID or a check

And buy one of each
Maybe two, what the heck
You can't be loo safe
When protecting your neck

From the vamp...
The vampire's bite!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

XXXXXXXX

Needless to say, our heroes couldn't find out anything at the festival that night, so they decided to head back to the festival the next morning in order to get a fresh start.

But by the time that they arrived the next morning, the festival was already a lot more crowded. The Mane 6 (except Misty) stuck near Daphne and Velma while the Dreamlands went for a walk with Fred to get a snack and Ruby wanted to sign some autographs for some fans that heard about her thanks to Pipp’s livestreams.

Daphne looked at the large crowd with a mixed expression on her face. “Looks like Lita's little press conference was good for business.”

“And I have a bunch of feelings that I just can’t explain,” Zipp said. “Is that weird?”

“It sounds perfectly understandable to me,” Sunny said. “It makes me think that Lita knows more about this vampire than she’s letting on.”

“AHH!!!” some tourists shrieked and ran as Fred and the Dreamlands approached their friends again. “VAMPIRE!!!”

Fred spit out his pizza at this. “Where? Where?!”

But as it turns out, it was only the kid in the vampire costume from before pretending to scare everybody, causing a sense of relief… and a bit of annoyance. “Fred,” Minty scolded, “don't tell me you're buying into the hype.”

“Of course not,” Fred said before holding his pizza out to her. “Want a bite of this garlic pizza? It has magical protective powers.”

“Oh brother…” Hitch sighed irritably under his breath. “I just hope Ruby, Misty, Shaggy and Scooby are having better luck than we are.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Lita was admiring the scene she created with her press conference the night before. “Having a vampire on the loose is the best thing that's ever happened to this festival!”

However, as he sat at his table with Ruby Jubilee, trying to get more people to buy his book, Mr. Van Helsing sighed. “Hasn't boosted my book sales.”

Lita, seemingly having a change of heart, walked over to the table and picked up one of the books, placing some money down on the table. “It just did.”

Ruby gasped in shock and amazement at this, a wide smile beginning to form. “Thank you, Lita!”

“You want it signed?” Mr. Van Helsing asked. “Sure. Make it out to ‘receptacle’,” Lita said with her own smirk. “Trash receptacle!”

And with a mean laugh, she snatched the book away from Mr. Van Helsing before throwing it in the trash can… the same trash can Misty was hiding behind and the same trash can Shaggy and Scooby were hiding in. “Hey!” Shaggy yelped as the book hit him on the head, prompting him and Scooby to peek out of hiding. “It's getting so you can't find a safe place to hide anywhere.”

“Why did you guys choose to hide in a trash can anyway?” asked Misty curiously. “Well,” Shaggy said, “it’s the least likely place that anyone would think to look, right, Scoob?”

“Yeah,” Scooby said with a firm nod. “We’re safe in here.”

But at that moment, the protestors, led by one Jasper Poubelle, walked past them, but Jasper didn't take any notice as he led the protestors through the park. “Vampires are all around us, people. Now, keep alert.”

And just like that, the protestors continued their search for the dreaded vampire. “Did you hear that, fellas?” Misty asked with urgency in her voice. “Let's move, move, move!”

And so, Shaggy and Scooby climbed out of the trash can and immediately followed after Misty... just as Lita marched after the protestors, irritated by their actions. “Hey, Poubelle! I told you to get off the property. You're scaring away the customers!”

XXXXXXXX

After a spending a little time at the festival, the group went back to Mr. Van Helsing's museum to get themselves and the clues they had so far put together.

On the news was Jesper Poubelle and Kelly Smith, the latter doing a story on the supposed vampire and was interviewing the former. “I'm here with Jesper Poubelle from the Society for Moral and Wholesome Living. Jesper, how can people stay safe from vampire attacks?”

“They can join in our crusade of moral righteousness against supernatural evil,” Jesper told Kelly and the people watching the broadcast. “Together we can stamp out the vampire scourge.”

“Okay, I don’t know about the rest of you,” Zipp said as she muted the TV, “but I’ve heard enough crazy talk from that guy.”

“That guy is becoming quite the media star,” Daphne noted. “Which, in other circumstances, would be good,” said Pipp, “but in this circumstance… it just feels wrong.”

“Yeah,” Snuzzle nodded with a suspicious look on her face. “Like he’s milking the situation for everything it's worth.”

“So, what do you think we should do?” Scooby asked worriedly. “I don’t know about the rest of you,” Ruby said with a bold look, “but I think it’s time we pay Mr. Poubelle a visit.”

“Me and the rest of the Dreamlands can stay here,” Minty offered, “in case old Lord Creepy decides to show up again.”

“Good thinking, Minty,” Sunny nodded. “The rest of us are gonna head to Mr. Poubelle’s trailer and see what we can figure out.”

XXXXXXXX

Within just a few minutes, the Mystery Machine with Mystery Inc, the Mane 6 and Ruby Jubilee inside it, parked not too far away from the trailer where Jesper Poubelle was having yet another press conference. “That’s right,” Jesper told the reporters and photographers gathered around him. “This is a certifiable, undeniable crisis, people. It is high time we institute a dusk-to-dawn curfew.”

Little did he know it, but Jesper was being watched by Mystery Incorporated and their pony pals, at least Zipp gave some orders out so they could investigate further. “Sunny, Hitch, Velma and I will keep Poubelle occupied,” the white pegasus said to her friends. “You guys see what you can dig up.”

“If you need us, just send up a cutie mark flare,” Misty told her friends before she, Ruby, Pipp and Izzy joined the rest of Mystery Inc, running behind the trailer, where Daphne began to use a bobby pin to pick the door lock. “Shaggy, you, Ruby and Scooby stand watch,” Fred instructed. “If anyone comes, tap on the door.”

That’s when Daphne heard the door click, realizing that it was now open for them to access. “We’re in!”

Izzy pushed the door open with her hoof, only to reveal the inside of the trailer was completely overrun with trash, rats and even more disgusting stuff. “Yuck!” Izzy groaned. “What a wreck!”

“Those guys may be moral and wholesome,” Pipp shuddered, “but they're not very clean.”

“We gotta start looking,” Misty said. “Who knows? Maybe something in here can prove Mr. Poubelle is behind these vampire attacks.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Velma and the other ponies were listening in on the press conference, sneaking up from the back of the crowd to talk to Poubelle. “We've got hundreds of reports of vampire sightings,” he kept saying to the crowd. That’s when Sunny decided to speak up, causing many to turn toward her and her friends. “Couldn't people be imagining these things because you're causing them to panic? Fear is something that shouldn’t be messed with.”

“I didn’t create the evil,” Jesper responded back, approaching the group. “Maybe not,” Velma added, “but Sunny has a point. You sure seem to be eager to take advantage of it.”

“Young lady,” Jesper spoke, “you and your friends’ questions were not cleared with my staff. Someone check their credentials!”

“Uh, I think we left them in the car!” Hitch said quickly. “Let us go get them real quick.”

And so, he quickly nudged the girls away, not wanting them to get in trouble and potentially blow their cover.

XXXXXXXX

Daphne pushed open a door in the trailer and looked inside, immediately finding something worth investigating. “Girls, Fred, I found something!”

“Ugh!” Pipp groaned in disgust as she brushed herself off for what felt like the 100th time. “I hope it's not more spiders.”

That's when Daphne pointed out what she had seen-- signs, posters, banners... all of them reading one thing and one thing only: 'Poubelle for Mayor'.

This immediately got the others' interest. “Poubelle for mayor?” Daphne questioned. “What is all this?”

“It’s definitely something worth telling the others about,” Misty said. “This might be a good motive for him to be involved with these vampire attacks, even if he isn’t the vampire himself.”

“Ooh! You gotta admire his unicycling skills though,” Izzy said. “These paint colors are amazing!”

“We can admire the paint job later, Iz,” Fred told her. “We gotta keep looking for more evidence.”

XXXXXXXX

Ruby, Shaggy and Scooby were sitting on the back steps of the trailer, waiting for their friends to return with the evidence inside, when suddenly, one of the security guards for the press conference walked around the corner and spotted them, becoming suspicious immediately. “What are you three doing back here?”

“Uh… um…” Scooby gulped nervously as he, Shaggy and Ruby stood up to try and alert the others. “We’re, uh… door inspectors!” Shaggy said as they began to repeatedly tap on the door. “Yeah, uh… you might wanna stand back!” Ruby went along with the act. “This thing could be set to blow!”

However, the security guard merely approached the door, shoving the three aside and letting Ruby scream as she fell onto the ground. “Doors don’t explode--”

But as soon as the guard started speaking, the door burst open, and the others ran out to their friends. “Why’d you signal?” Fred asked, just before the guard pushed the door away. “Stay right where you are!”

“Run away!!” Izzy and Shaggy shrieked as the eight of them began to run as fast as their feet and hooves could take them, with another security guard joining the chase after a few moments.

After a few seconds, the Mystery Machine screeched to a halt in front of them, and Hitch opened the back doors for the others to get inside before they were caught. “Quick! Get in!”

The others did as they were told, and they immediately left the scene, sighing in relief as they sped out of the security guards’ sight.

XXXXXXXX

As they drove down the road back toward the museum, Daphne was telling the others about what she, Fred, Pipp and the unicorns had uncovered. “Poubelle is running for office!”

“It’s true!” Misty said with a nod. “He had signs and banners and everything!”

“That explains a lot,” Zipp pointed out with a frown. “He's using the vampire to get attention for his movement… and in order to boost his upcoming campaign!”

“Still,” Velma countered, “it isn't proof he's behind the vampire attacks. He's just using them to his advantage.”

“Velma, be careful,” Sunny warned as she looked into the fog ahead. “This fog is like pea soup-- maybe Freddy should drive for a little bit.”

“That’s okay, Sunny,” Velma reassured with a smile. “I'm good. Sort of enjoying it.”

All of a sudden, Lord Valdronya leapt from the fog and clung to the front of the Mystery Machine, causing the group to scream as they tried to find a way to get him off. But no matter how much Velma swerved, he wouldn’t let go.

Eventually, after Velma kicked the Mystery Machine into high gear, Lord Valdronya did let go, but immediately resumed the chase, immediately grabbing Daphne by the arm. Luckily, Izzy was able to slap him off of her, much to everyone’s relief.

However, the chase wouldn’t be over so easily.

Lord Valdronya ripped off the hatch on top of the Mystery Machine, reaching down and trying to grab Daphne from the top of the van. “Daphne!” Fred cried. “Look out!”

Daphne strained and tried to pull away from the vampire, but only managed to tear off a piece of his cloak. “Brace yourselves!” Velma said as she swerved off the road and into a dry riverbed, causing the group to scream once more. After a few moments, Fred noticed a bridge not too far away, and it was so low, the Mystery Machine wouldn’t fit through there with Valdronya on top of it. “That opening is too tight! We won't make it!”

“Oh yes we will!” Ruby cried. “Velma, floor it!”

Velma slammed her foot on the gas and sped toward the bridge, and upon noticing it was coming, Valdronya let go of Daphne just as Izzy and Misty pulled her back into the Mystery Machine… and just as they went under the bridge.

As they continued to drive down the road, the group took a few moments to catch their breath. “Phew… that was way too close,” Sunny sighed. “Ruby, how did you know Valdronya wouldn’t try to follow us under the bridge?”

“Honestly? I didn’t,” Ruby shook her head. “I guess it was just severe luck.”

“Severe luck that totally saved us, you mean,” Fred spoke with relief. “Good thinking on your hooves.”

“So… what happens now?” Misty asked. “We need to stop by the museum and check on the Dreamlands,” Sunny said firmly. “Then, we need to head to the festival and double our clue search. If Valdronya really is after Daphne… then we ALL could be in danger if he isn't stopped soon.”

“So, with that being said,” said Zipp, “we need to hurry and get this mystery solved-- fast.”