After a moment or two of internal debate, you make your decision, and speak up confidently, “…I wanna be a vampony”

     The lord of the dead holds back a giggle, “Well that’s a bit…well…emo, isn’t it?”

     You raise an eyebrow, “and what exactly do you mean by-”

     He claps his hooves together, “Nothing, nothing, NOW. Let’s get on with the blood drinking, shall we?”

     His horn glows a familiar dark green hue, before it explodes into a near-blinding white flash. On your way out, you think you hear him whisper, “Good luck”

     You open your eyes. You’re playing chess with your zompony servant.

     He raises a rotting eyebrow, “Graaah eehhh reh rah?”

     Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t understand the slur of his rotten vocal cords, but you have lived amongst your family’s zompony servants for your entire vampony life and, as such, have been able to understand them, “Are you alright, Sir? You seemed to feint for a minute there”

     You have a splitting headache, so you naturally put a hoof to your he- oh, a horn. You have a horn. You’re a unicorn. A vampony unicorn. That’s useful.

     You blink, then quickly shake your head, “Yes, I’m quite alright, thank you…I just had the weirdest headache”

     “Perhaps you need to hydrate?” he offers, clearly concerned for his master.

     You smile gently, “After this game, Draug”

     Draug has been your personal servant since he was resurrected by your father a little after your 53rd birthday. You wouldn’t consider him a friend…just an acquaintance who will do anything for you whenever you ask him to regardless of the extremity of the request…but not a friend. Certainly not. That's just silly.

     You look down at the board and notice that you have taken almost all of his pieces, but also that he has not taken a single one of yours.

     You facehoof, “Zomponies are terrible at chess…it’s probably because half of your brains have rotted away by now”

     Zomponies don’t really mind insults, and have in the past even SUGGESTED that their owners say bad things to them as a sign of their submission. It’s tragic, so you generally avoid insulting them, but sometimes they’re just ridiculously stupid. One time, Draug was SUPPOSED to scrub the floor with a large, damp sponge, but ended up eating it claiming that "it would have been a tragedy to waste a perfectly good brain"

     Sometimes you think he ate his OWN brain long ago...

     You easily take the rest of the game by storm and excuse yourself to the hydration table near the castle kitchen. Is it morning, yet? Should this be considered breakfast? Vampires always keep the blinds up due to their hatred of sunlight, and since they have no need for sleep, they never really need to keep up with the time of day.

     You sit enter the long dining hall, which had once seated a great pony lord, but now housed your father, the vampony who killed him, and his family. Your brothers and sisters sit on both sides of the large, ebony table, all politely sipping from their goblets whilst looking into them neutrally. Nopony talks, bar the occasional business-related conversation in whispers.

     It’s not like you all hate each other; you just see no need to disturb the divine tranquility of feasting.

     As soon as your mother sees you come to the table, however, she whispers something into your father’s ear on the throne next to hers. He clears his throat softly to gather everypony’s attention before smiling, showing his teeth to all of his children.

     Speaking just loud enough for all of your sensitive ears to catch, he addresses his offspring in a joyfully sad tone, “I believe today is the day that your brother, #27, goes out to make his fortune in the world”

     You stand up, bow politely as your brothers and sisters clap softly, then sit back down.

     “Your mother and I have had the greatest pleasure housing you, and we hope that you return again one day to visit us” he smiles again, more genuinely this time.

     “Certainly, Father” you smile back.

     As the goblet in front of you empties, so does your will to leave. It’s a cruel world out there. Nothing but brutal ponies, pitchforks, and fire. Wait, no there isn’t. You were just outside 1000 years ago…oh, wait, you’re a vampony now, you’re not supposed to remember that…whatever. Your nerve returns and you smile softly.

     Licking your lips, you order one of the servants to take away your goblet, and head back to your room to grab some coins before you leave. Draug hands you your coin pouch.

     “Your money, Sir” he offers as you take it.

100 bits added...

     All you can really bring is money; anything else would be too much weight for a bat to carry.

     He bows, “It was an honor serving you, Sir, may we cross paths again”

     You smile, “I shall most likely return one day…and if/when I do, I expect you to be better than me at chess. Is that understood?”

     “Yes, Sir. I live to serve, Sir” He bows again.

     Without another word, you Change into a bat, and fly out of your window into the nighttime sky, far, far away from your family’s castle. Where will you go? Well, you hadn’t really thought about it, but it doesn’t matter…

     Faster and faster you fly. Wow, you forgot the free feeling of flying on your own, and it feels...pleasant! What a terrible, terrible emotion. You shake off the feeling of pleasantness and sigh loudly, gathering up all of your pent-up angst and letting it fester into all-too familiar depression. Ah, much better.

     After a long while of flight, you wonder if you've made it into the country next to yours, Ponsylvania. Er, what was it called, again? Equestria? Right, Equestria. After flying over a large forest, you finally spot a sprawling settlement.

     "Hm...what's that over there?" you wonder aloud in your bat language.

     A small, lonely cottage sits off on a dirt path leading from the newly discovered town. Flying a little closer, your sensitive bat ears pick up...breathing. Slow, tired breathing. The kind of soft breathing you do automatically as you sleep. Only it's not one sound of breathing, it's...many. Many tiny, tuckered-out breaths. Whoever owns that cottage must have a wide variety of pets...and pets mean animals...and animals mean blood...and blood means food...and food means happiness. Er, I mean, depression. Happiness is for regular ponies. You're a vampony. Angst angst angst, grr, I hate my life, woe is me, angst angst angst.

     You're not necessarily hungry, but it might help to stake the place out for further hunting trips. All that food in a convenient location...that might help in the future. Then again, there IS a massive forest just teeming with wildlife literally right next to it. Plus, concern may spread through the town if that pony's pets end up missing...

What will you do?

Choice:

1. Meh, I guess I'll just move on, there are plenty of meals all around that are less likely to attract suspicion. Click here

2. Well...it's not gonna hurt if I quickly CHECK, is it? Click here