Vinyl Scratch is (not) a vampire

"I have a right to know." Vinyl grunted as she finished plugging in her turntable. It took serious deconstruction and reconstruction to get it to Manehatten and she wasn't about to let it just sit around and deteriorate. Neither was she allowing her 'companion' any breaks in questioning.

"If I knew, I'd tell you." Silver Spear sighed. "If only to get you to shut up."

"In the past three days, I've looked up everything I could." Vinyl growled out. "Everything that you, Plow and Yellowjacket have told me points to the Dawn's Light not being completely brain dead. With the exception of that one who broke down a door that wasn't locked."

"Yeah. They've got resources, tactics and smarts. So what?"

"So why are they after me? It's not like I'm one of you."

"Again, I don't know." Silver Spear was rubbing his head as if to alleviate a headache. "I've wondered that myself."

Before Vinyl could ignore his statement and ask the question again, the door to her apartment burst open.

"SIlver, problem!" Plow shouted. "Light, camping about a mile north of the city. Scouts."

Vinyl popped her head out from behind her turntables. "Why not just come inside? It's not like they're unwelcome by the vast majority in the city."

Plow ignored her. "You coming or what?"

Silver nodded. "Better than sticking around here, for sure." He cast a glance in Vinyl's general direction, but the mare was already heading for the door.

Plow, grabbing her, asked, "What are you doing?"

Vinyl impulsively punched Plow, sending the surprised stallion reeling. Now stuck with Plow standing dazed in the doorway and Silver Spear starting to bear down on her, Vinyl quickly calculated her chances of injury and jumped out--or rather, through--her window. Being three stories up, she got caught in the branches of a very convenient tree that was planted in a patch of ground in the middle of the sidewalk. Thanks to being slowed by the branches and leaves of the tree, Vinyl landed with nothing more than a few scratches from broken glass.

Adjusting her shades, she grimaced when she heard Plow and Silver Spear rushing through the building. "Not until I get my answers." She promised to both herself and anypony who was listening. "Maybe not even then."

<><><>

Switching her glasses to the increasingly useful of late infrared setting, Vinyl peered through a bush to the camp. Each of the six signatures she got were moving, with the exception of the largest which was, in fact, a campfire. So, five.

Switching to the magic detecting version of sight her glasses provided, Vinyl made note that only one reading was now visible. Nodding to herself, Vinyl whistled a short tune, attracting the attention of the entire camp but remaining behind her bush.

"Was that a bird?" The unicorn asked. A mare, by the voice.

"Wasn't a type I've ever heard before."

"Could've been one of those cocatrices. Or maybe cockatri?"

"No, those make chicken noises, if the chicken in question is rabid and half demon. Besides, they're only common round the Everfree."

As the gathered quintet moved closer from curiosity, Vinyl rolled one of the four flashbangs she had kept on hoof since leaving Canterlot.

Increasing the opacity of her glasses, Vinyl used her hooves to cover her ears.

<><><>

One of the Dawn's Light looked down at the small metallic object. "One of you please tell me this is some sort of rare egg."

The 'egg' let out a small ding.

"Son of a b--"

<><><>

Vinyl gripped one of the stunned ponies in a headlock, rolling across the back of the pegasus and using the momentum to drive the pony into the ground, face first. Running over and snatching a hefty looking stick from the campfire and double checking to make sure that yes, the end of it was on fire, she closed the distance between herself and the nearest pony. The unicorn, as luck would have it.

Bringing the flaming end around in an arc, she caught the unicorn by the ankles, bringing another pony to the ground even as the first was starting to rise again.

An earth pony charged at her, but he was several precious feet to the left, still suffering from the grenade. Even more preciously, he was wearing a vest with several pockets on it. Flammable pockets. Plus the rest of the vest.

Jabbing several times, Vinyl made sure he was good and ignited before making her way to the side of a tree opposite from the Dawn's Light.

Two of them recovered and helped put out their friend, who was slowly being roasted by his own traitorous clothing. The other two were busy following the glow from Vinyl's burning stick. Nodding to each other, they ran around opposite sides of the tree, hoping to ambush the ambusher.

Instead, they ran into each other with a sharp crack of skull slamming into skull. The glow they had seen was the stick jammed into the ground next to the tree. Vinyl leaned down from her spot on a tree branch, using her hind legs to hold her up while she dangled upside down. Grabbing each stallion by the backs of their heads, she couldn't resist grinning so widely that if she were a vampire, you'd be able to tell.

"Now, kiss!"

Pushing with all her might, Vinyl slammed their heads together again, a favorite tactic for her. To add to the fun, the two, in fact, did lock lips for a moment before they fell to the ground.

"I can put a scratch on anyone's heart." Vinyl whispered to herself before frowning disgustedly. "Plow, I hate you."

One of the three others rushed around the tree to find the source of the commotion. The other two were likely still recovering from third degree burns and helping their burned companion, respectively. As the pony tried to reawaken her companions--it was the unicorn again!--Vinyl used her levitation to raise the burning stick out of the ground.

The unicorn noticed the change of shadows caused by the rising source of light and turned abruptly to... get hit in the face. Repeatedly. With a stick. That was on fire. In the face.

Jumping down from her perch, Vinyl attacked the unicorn with hooves and stick, alternating between jabbing and several left hooks--her right wasn't as powerful for some reason--and using the levitating torch for both of its useful functions in a melee: Bashing and burning.

The mare relented not long after. The rapid attacks kept her from concentrating hard enough to cast any spells and came too quickly to parry in any way. With three confirmed down and one possible down, Vinyl skirted around the tree.

The one pony had several burn marks on his torso, but was far from finished. From the look in his eyes, he was now fighting with a heavy dose of anger on his mind. Likely for the vest.

"That thing cost me thirty bits!" He cried in anger, pointing at Vinyl.

So yeah, the vest.

Vinyl grabbed her torch with both hooves and slung it at him. It passed far to the side. The pony laughed derisively. "The buck was that? You can't even throw properly!"

Vinyl narrowed her eyes in concentration, the light blue glow around her horn flickering into existence. The stallion lowed his stance, preparing for a magical attack. Vinyl grinned as the torch came back around, homing in on its target.

When the stallions eyes widened and he went into a complete 'at attention' stance you'd likely see from an especially nervous royal guard recruit at bootcamp, Vinyl had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. While she had been aiming for his head--again, her favorite tactic--this was so many times better.

Pushing the torch in just a little farther, Vinyl watched the stallion fall to the ground, face completely expressionless and body stiff as a board.

The final pony put her hooves over head. "I give up."

Vinyl trotted over and gave the mare a couple pats on the cheek. "Good girl. Now," She grabbed the mare and slammed her against a tree. "Do you know who I am?"

"Vinyl Scratch." The mare struggled out. "Some sorta researcher. I just thought you were some hack DJ..." Vinyl put a hoof on the mare's throat. "A v-very good hack! Really t-talented! Yeah!" Forcing laughter and getting a bit of choking as a side effect, the mare tried to attempt a smile. "You're wanted by some of the bosses."

"Yeah. Kinda noticed that." Vinyl nodded. "Any idea why?"

"Vamp. If not that, you've been helping them. That's usually how this goes." The mare squirmed.

"Here's the thing about that..." Vinyl smiled, putting some extra pressure on the mare. "First, not a vamp." She opened her mouth and gave the mare a good view. "There's your proof. Second, I never knew about any of this before you jackflacks dove in and wrecked my lab. Frankly, if those other three hadn't come along, I'd only be pissed about my cannon. Took me nearly a year to get that thing to the point where it was at."

The mare exhaled sharply and inhaled just as much. "Don't know anything about a cannon. Please, I'm just a soldier. From the sound of things, you've got problems that need to be taken to someone higher in rank than me. Let me go and I'll vouch for you. Honest!"

"You think I'm stupid?" Vinyl snarled. "You'd kill me as soon as I gave you an opportunity!"

"Well, you're right about one thing, miss Scratch..."

"And what's that?" Vinyl asked with a derisive snort.

"I think you're stupid enough to be distracted."

Vinyl activated a second flashbang and tossed it behind her. It dinged as soon as it hit the ground.

"Son of a b--"

After recovering from the disorientation, the four Dawn's Light found that Vinyl Scratch had vanished from sight.

"Okay..." The unicorn muttered. "That was just slightly terrifying." She spared a sympathetic glance to her still down fifth compatriot. "Sorry, but I'm not the one who's going to help Photon over there with that stick problem he's got going on."

When a pony next to her cleared their throat, she turned towards them. "Something you'd like to--" She paused mid-sentence when she saw a yellow pegasus that was decidedly not a member of her squad.

Looking around, she found that they were surrounded by the pegasus and two earth ponies.

"Son of a b--" The stallion was cut off when the attack began.