Vampony: Bound Together
Chapter 1: It Begins

The Mane 6 were facing down Nightmare Moon, their Harmonic energies intertwining to obliterate the dark demon.

Nightmare Moon started charging a spell. “Even if you defeat me, you won't be able to BEAT me! See you in the afterlife, Ponies!” she said, spitting the last word as if it were foulest venom. Firing off the spell just as the Elements of Harmony were fully charged, a beam of energy thrusting toward her.

Nightmare Moon screamed in pain as she was torn to pieces, some of her energy being thrown in all directions.

Moments later, Princess Celestia came through a nearby window.

“Princess Celstia!” the heroic ponies exclaimed, bowing to their goddess, feeling hope and oddly a bit of fear, but that was shrugged off.

“Yes, yes. You have done well, my little Ponies. You have defeated Nightmare Moon and freed my sister.”

“Sister?!” they all queried.

Celestia went over and comforted her sister briefly before receiving a hug.

“You know what this calls for?” said Pinkie Pie, “A Pa-AUGH!!” she said, interrupted by a scream. Her own, along with those of her friends.

Thinking quickly, Celestia scanned them with a spell, eyes widening. “Oh no! I was afraid that something like this might happen!” Quickly she teleported them out of there (and her sister) with all haste.

Twilight was the first to awaken. “Where... am I?” she asked. Cliche, yes, but a valid question.

“You're in the Hospital. Fillydelphia branch.(1)” said a voice. “It's fortunate that you had Celestia to bring you here.”

“Huh?” Twilight queried.

“Yeah. You're a Moonkissed, now. Do you feel different?”

Twilight quickly gave herself the once-over. She was feeling stronger. More powerful. Feeling her coat, she could feel hard muscle underneath that wasn't there -or at the very least was greater than- before.
Her front teeth were now pointed, her vision much clearer, her hearing sharper. There was probably more, but she turned back to her conversation partner.

“I'm Twilight Sparkle. So.... Who are you?” she asked.

“Evenin', miss Twilight. Name's Jack. Some call me Union Jack.(2) And the sun goddess already filled me in.” he replied. “But that's not really important right now. What happens to be important would be you and your friends adjusting to things.” he added. “Look, they're waking up now.”

Twilight wheeled around so quickly that her hooves produced sparks. Sure enough, her friends were getting up as well.

“Where am I?” They said simultaneously. Deja Vu? More like Deja Ecoute.

Twilight noticed that they all looked slightly different.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked a little dishevelled and had membranous wings instead of feathery ones; their Cutie Marks had changed to a trio of cute-looking bats and a chromatic cloud (that changed colour slightly if one adjusted their angle) with a blood red lightning bolt.

Rarity looked a little darker, with a Cutie Mark of winged diamonds.

Applejack looked visibly stronger and had red eyes instead of the green they were. Her apple Cutie Mark had eyes and fangs on it.

Pinkie Pie looked much the same, but her typically messy mane and tail were slightly straighter than the usual. Her Cutie Mark had shifted entirely. It was now a trio of noisemakers (two blue, one yellow) with bats on the end and confetti above.

Looking back at her own flank, Twilight saw that her Mark had become a nine-pointed star instead of six. Also that she got the feeling that she should have wings as well, for some reason. Like they were there, but.... NOT there.

And they all had fangs. Don't forget the fangs.

“Ah, it's about time the lot of you got up.” Jack said. “Now we can get some things explained.”

“Like what?” Applejack asked, getting to her hooves.

“Firstly, like I told your lavender friend here, I'm Jack. I was sent here to explain what happened to you all and to get you adjusting to your new lives.”

“New lives?” Fluttershy queried, in a slightly deeper voice than usual, no hint of a quaver in it.

“Yeah. Apparently Nightmare Moon was a sore loser and blasted you all with one final spell. Likely, it was meant to kill you. But due to the Elements of Harmony (which are now irrevocably connected with and TO you, thanks to that spell) took the brunt of it. You can see that those are now bound to your bodies; you can't take them off.”

The sextet looked at themselves, noticing that, indeed, the Elements were fused with them, embedded in their chests. Save for Twilight, whose element was where her third eye would be.

“This, you might imagine, complicates things.” Jack continued. “You've all become very close knit, but are all of very different clans. Hybrids of said clans. This could prove to be a double-edged sword, but enough of that depressing stuff. By the way, you all look wobbly. Haven't had a Drink yet, I take it?”

“A drink of what, Darling?” Rarity asked.

“Ah, so we're poppin' a cherry here! Okay, check it out. As a Moonkissed, you're gonna absorb less nutrition from your food, but unlike most vamps can still eat recreationally. So what you need is blood. At least an 8 oz glass of it a month. More if you can help it. That'll kick-start your system, allowing you to function better in just about every way.”

The lot of them winced at this, but let Jack continue.

“We anticipated this and set out six blood packs for you all from the stashes of some willing greater vamps, ones related to your respective Families; the real good stuff. Be sure to tear into them at once, or you'll be likely fighting over it. Just sink those little fangs in and feed. Get ready, though, because *heh* It's never as sweet as the first time.”

Each of them picked up a blood bag in their hooves, hesitantly.

“And.... bite.” he signalled.

As they all bit into the bags and felt the blood rocket through their systems, they all felt different things.

Applejack felt heat flood her system. She saw a vision of taking hundreds of blows without feeling a thing and hitting back harder than she ever could have before. She felt stronger. More powerful. Smarter.

Fiercer.

Rainbow Dash felt a different kind of heat. This one almost sensual, coaxing her further along as she drained the bag. She smelled the telltale scent of mares in heat and stallions servicing them, saw a vision of her looking over four dozen thralls, all perfect of body.

Rarity felt a chill run through her, and later a more.... refined cold. She felt simultaneously powerful and... classy. More so. She tasted wine made with the finest grapes, set to ferment for 100 years. But she also felt darkness lingering at the corners of her mind. She saw herself in her element, mingling with the noble elite, occasionally using a bit of her magic to aid in her flirtations with some of the males.

Fluttershy was much more tentative and as the first drops of blood hit her tongue she felt much as Applejack did, but different. She felt the call of nature around her, enhancing her senses, strengthening her, empowering her. For the first time in her life she felt sure of herself. Like she could take on the world and win!

“Oh, buck yes.” she moaned before drinking more deeply.

She felt the essence of every creature around her, not only her fellow Ponies, but also the insects, the various animals that were nearby, especially the birds and bats perched on the various spots around the building. they were in.
She also felt something else at the back of her mind. Something much more primal was taking in some of the blood's energy as well. Not enough to awaken it, but enough that it was beginning to.

Pinkie Pie felt a bitter cold that permeated her every nerve, mostly felt within her mind. Though she wasn't the most stable of her friends, this time she felt even less so. She saw hundreds of pictures, of tricks she could do with her new power or lore behind things that she otherwise shouldn't have known about. The knowledge itself was intoxicating, almost.

Lastly, Twilight felt something much like Rarity had, but this had something of a more... magical nature to it. Instead of wine she tasted apple cider, left to ferment for a long time, made with the finest zap apples and served with the choicest cheeses that a cow could take pride in producing. She saw herself mingling with the upper class, a courteous magocracy(3) of sorts in place. All of those around her were powerful, but she knew that she was an order of magnitude above them.

As they all opened their eyes, Jack said, “Yeah. Yeah, you're all feeling it. All of that power lifting you to new heights. Now i can tell you about the REALLY fun stuff.”

The six stayed silent, listening eagerly.

“Now, like I said, all of you are hybrids of different clans. Ol' Nighty must really have had it out for ya.” He pointed to each of them in turn.

“Applejack. You're a combo of Brujah and Tzimisce. You've got the strength of the former and the cunning of the latter.

Skittles, you're a hybrid of Lasombra and Toreador. You have the dark power of the one and the inclination to pleasure and adrenaline of the latter. You'll probably feel the impulse to gather thralls, too.”

Applejack nudged her friend, “Sounds familiar already.” she said, smugly.

“Hey.” Rainbow replied in (mostly) mock insult.

Jack continued. “Rares, you're Ventrue primarily and Raynos secondarily. A noble trickster.

Flutters, you're Gangrel and Brujah. You're gonna feel like you're closer to nature and more in tune with the beast within than any of the others. But do NOT let that control you.

Pinks, you're Malkavian and Raynos. Much like Skittles here, but more crazy and knowledgeable than sensual.”

“That's Pinkie for you.” five friends agreed in unison.

“Hey!” Pinkie responded with (fully) mock insult.

Jack grinned before moving on. “Twiggles, your types are Ventrue and Tremere. You'll be able to learn some new magic, you'll be glad to know, but will also feel more like one of the nobles, like Rares over here. Can also tell that you're to be the leader of your brood.(4)"

Twilight smiled and nodded, eager to learn.

“Now for the REALLY fun stuff. All vamps -including you girls- have a few things in common. Things that'll set them right up on the top of the food chain.”

“Like?” Fluttershy prompted.

“Oh, like sharper senses, a body that can take a beating, some cool powers and -if you play you cards right- nigh-on eternal life. It's no sure bet, but a chance at immortality isn't too bad, wouldn't you say? And that's just for starters. As Moonkissed you get some fringe benefits too.”

“So, you're saying... we'll be immortal?” Pinkie asked eagerly.

Jack clarified. “Well, you can still be destroyed, but forget the books and movies. Garlic? Worthless. Some of us even enjoy it. A cross? Pfft! Shove it right up their plots! A stake? Only if it catches you in the heart, then it's just paralyzing. Unless of course your head is removed afterwards. Running water? No problem. I bathe or go swimming. Occasionally.

Now, a gunshot to the head? That could be trouble. Fire? Silver? That's REAL trouble. Sunlight? Well, if most vamps catch the sunrise it's all over, but again, being Moonkissed, your power is just halved. Get it?”

“Got it.” the bevy of friends said in unison.

“Good. You'll discover your powers as you go along, but for now -speaking of sunlight-, it's nearly sunup. You'll survive it, but I wouldn't. See ya later, gals. Peace.” Jack said, fading into the shadows.

Applejack sighed. “Okay, girls. What now?”

Twilight replied, “Presumably we.... SHOULD be safe to go home. I hope.”

"For now, i feel (*yawn*) awfully tired, darlings." Rarity said.

"Yeah. I-I'm feelin' it too." Applejack agreed.

One by one, each of them began to feel drowsy, eventually falling asleep in a loose pile.

Outside the room, Celestia said to her sister, "They took that quite well."

Luna nodded. "Indeed We shalt see how they dost react whence they awaken. For now, We are feeling a touch drained as well." she said. "Let us adjourn for now, Sister." she added,walking away.

"Have a good sleep, my little vamponies. Tonight your training begins." Celestia said, before waling away as well.

Author's Note

1: For those of you who read the comics, you might remember the line "Peculiar is a slow day for us".
2: Yes, for those who have played the game, this guy is based on Smiling Jack.
3: borrowed from Neverwinter Nights;

"You were raised in a land where mighty wizards order affairs. Where powerful spellcasters are common, cautious courtesy is the norm and everyone has an eye for magic goods."

4: Yes, a brood is a group of vampires. This applies to a group who rally around a central leader.