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#Post#: 3349--------------------------------------------------
Vampires and Werewolves
By: Checkmate Date: September 28, 2017, 2:44 am
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Across the sea in a faraway land lies the nation of
Pransylvania. A small and superstitious country, known for its
distrust of outsiders and lack of technology...and for the
unusual denizens that are rumored to originate somewhere in its
woods.
The most notable of these aberrations are the vampires and
werewolves. Most everypony has heard of them, though in
Equestria, far removed from the supposed source of them, most
consider them to be an old mares' tale, used to frighten foals
into cleaning their plates. "A dirty plate will earn you a visit
from the werewolves," they'd say, and this is enough for some
children to make sure their plates are clean, though they
sometimes mix up the meaning and just end up tossing their
uneaten food in favor of getting their plates cleaned faster. So
a bit of a backfire, but the point remains.
Werewolves are ordinary ponies gifted (or cursed) with the blood
of the wolf, imbued with lunar sensitivity. They can transform
into wolves themselves, quite large ones, with increased
strength, speed, and endurance. Even when not in the form of the
wolf, they possess greater senses of hearing and smell than
regular ponies. Healing magic is largely ineffective on them,
but this is compensated for by natural healing that is many
times faster than normal, at differing rates from specimen to
specimen.
In return for these boons, werewolves are inflicted with an
aversion to silver. Simply touching it burns them, and these
burns and any wounds touched or inflicted by it are unable to
heal for a full lunar cycle. Additionally, those who are turned
tend to have trouble sleeping and dreaming, and never seem to be
as well-rested as those who are not. And any one of them can
tell you the anguish that can be caused when their heightened
senses are exposed to powerful stimuli, like dog whistles and
particularly pungent compost bins.
Werewolves come in three general varieties. The first, referred
to as Wolfkin, possess a great deal of control over their
alternate form to the point that they can transform at will
between wolf and pony. This is, of course, easier under the
moon, but they can do it at any time.
The second variety is the one most commonly thought of and
doesn't have a separate name from Werewolf. They have little to
no control over their transformation, but for the most part feel
little to no bloodlust even when caught up in the throes of
their lunar-induced state.
Ferals are by far the most troublesome of the werewolves. When
they transform from pony to wolf, they never change back and
their minds are completely overridden by pure animalistic
instincts. They generally begin attacking indiscriminately or
flee into the woods to live as an animal. When a feral is
spotted, the ponies of Pransylvania are quick to organize a hunt
for them, as ponies turned werewolf by Ferals are quite likely
to become Ferals themselves.
Wolfkin and Werewolves, when not Feral, still don't get a
particularly good reputation due to their supernatural nature,
but it's not an irredeemable quality socially speaking. One can
be a Wolfkin or even a regular and as long as they don't cause
trouble they're not regarded with a large amount of fear.
Distrust and superstition, but this can be overcome.
Vampires, though...vampires are another story.
While the origin of vampires is unknown and disagreed upon - a
pony bitten by a mutant bat, magical experimentation gone wrong,
a poor execution of a practical joke - it's common knowledge how
it spreads. Vampires drink the blood of other ponies to support
their own existence, prolonging their unlives by taking portions
of others'. The exact mechanism of how a pony is turned is
unknown, but as far as it's known any one of a vampire's victims
might become one as well, doomed to obey the one who turned them
and "live" what could generously be called their "lives" with an
insatiable thirst for the blood of the living.
In Pransylvania it's "known" that vampires have a multitude of
powers and are responsible for a wide range of problems, from
potato blight to mad cow disease to clocks falling off of
nightstands in the middle of the night. There are about as many
things attributed to vampires as there are ponies to tell the
tales, but there is a small list of powers and abilities
generally agreed upon in common among the stories.
First, of course, they drink the life force of others, usually
in the form of blood, and gain strength from doing so. Their
power is directly tied to how much life they consume, and they
will weaken when they go too long without feeding, but as long
as they continue to do so they seem to be basically immortal.
Second, they're thought to have some form of hypnotic power of
suggestion. All it takes is eye contact for one to fall under a
vampire's spell. It's their first line of defense, and even the
weakest vampires are said to be able to exert tremendous force
over the wills of others. The most powerful ones are said to be
able to do so merely with their voices.
They're also thought to have some shapeshifting ability, capable
of changing forms. There's disagreement over whether they turn
into mist or small vermin like rats or bats, but it's commonly
believed that they can turn into something.
Their bodies are said to be much more resistant to damage than
most creatures, and as long as they have life force to sustain
them they also tend to heal quickly.
This being said, they're not unstoppable. There are key
vulnerabilities that, even if they don't lead directly to the
defeat of a vampire, can keep ponies safe from
them...supposedly. The most notable supposed weakness is
sunlight. There's no dispute that sunlight is bad for them,
though the exact extent is unknown. Some say sunlight merely
stops their supernatural abilities from functioning and renders
them mortal and killable, while there are tales of it being
deadly enough to them to turn them to dust on the spot.
Regardless of whether or not they're able to fly or turn into a
flying creature, they're said to be unable to cross naturally
running water on their own power. They may be carried by another
creature suited for it, but they're powerless to pursue or flee
over a river or stream without help.
They're also said to be unable to enter an owned dwelling that
is not their own without invitation. This is one of the most
controversial rumors about their limitations.
And of course, the biggest reason why nopony wants to be a
vampire is that they have an aversion to garlic. And what's the
point of living if you can't have garlic?
Because of their unfortunate need to consume, vampires are
viewed as one of the ultimate evils of the world that must be
snuffed out as quickly as ponily possible. A simple accusation
of vampirism isn't enough to convict somepony, but if ponies can
be reasonably convinced of somepony's vampire status it quickly
results in a mob out for blood (pun intended). This is a largely
self-defeating response, as most ponies who are falsely accused
are powerless to defend themselves against such a mob and if
unable to prove themselves innocent are forced to flee or stay
and meet imprisonment or worse, and an actual vampire is
generally able to evade the mob entirely at which point its
whereabouts are thereafter unknown.
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