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.