Year 984 CE (Celestial Empire). Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack, age 7, was sitting on the fence, watching her father working on the orchard.

"Pa is so strong!" she said. "Ah wonder if Ah'll be a strong as you one day..."

"Of course ya will, Jackie!" he said before bucking another tree with a single leg. "After all, yer mah kid, right? Y'all will be as strong as yer Pa one day!"

"Did you said something, darling?" a female voice came from behind her. The filly turned around and smiled.

"Ma!" she said before jumping from the fence and hugging her mother, who hugged her back.

"Back from the market already, sugar?" her father asked.

"Eeyup!" she answered. "I couldn't buy much stuff, though. Not many ponies go out these days because of... You-know-what!"

"What are ya talkin' about, Ma?" little Applejack asked.

"Nothing, sugarcube. So, did your father said something about you becoming as strong as him?"

"U-Uh, Ah meant to say that yer gonna be as strong as yer Ma, heheheheh."

Applejack and her mother laughed. Her father started to laugh as well.

"When are y'all comin' in?" Granny Smith called from the porch of the house. "Dinner's ready."

"We better go in quickly." the mare said. "Your Granny Smith gets really cranky when we leave her waiting."

"That's my Ma for ya." the stallion said before kicking one last tree. "Ah'll just carry those bushels to the barn an' we can go."

That night, Applejack woke up to the sound of a howl. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with a foreleg.

"Is it Zap Apple Season already?" she asked to nopony in particular. Her throat was dry, so she decided to drink a glass of water. The moment she opened her bedroom door, she heard murmurs coming from downstairs.

"...something Ah have to do. Not as a householder or as the owner of Sweet Apple Acres, but as a son, a husband an' a father." she heard her father saying.

"Sugarcube, please, reconsider." this time it was her mother speaking. "I don't want you doing anything reckless!"

"Ah know, sugar, Ah want to stay here an' hug y'all 'til mornin' comes, but mah instincts are tellin' me to go out there an' kill that thing!"

"The Mayor sent a letter to them earlier today. Leave it to the professionals!"

"Sugar, Ah have fifteen Shooting Contest medals, Ah am a professional."

"Ma? Pa?" Applejack called. Her parents looked at her.

"Jackie? What are ya doin' up this late at night?" her father asked.

"Ah just wanted a glass o' water. Are ya goin' somewhere, Pa?"

Her father sighed. "Jackie, Pa has to... Chase a varmint outta our property."

"Them rabbits again?" she asked.

"Somethin'... A lil' bigger!" he said while tightening the grip on his hunting rifle. "Ah'll be back in the mornin', alright?"

She nodded. Her father removed his hat and placed it on his little filly's head.

"Can ya hold it for me? Ah don't want to get it dirty!"

"Sure thing, Pa!"

The stallion hugged his wife. "Take good care of our kids 'til Ah'm back, ok?"

He then opened the door and left. Applejack's mother leaned against it, sighing. Applejack sat beside her and nuzzled her hind leg.

"Don't worry, Ma! Pa will be back in the mornin', remember?"

"I want to believe in that..." she whispered to herself while stroking her daughter's mane.

They just sat there for several minutes. Applejack was almost falling asleep again when she was startled by a noise coming from outside.

"What was that?" she asked her mother.

"A-A gunshot." she unconsciously replied. They then heard another. And another. The mare closed her eyes and bit her lip. After a few moments of silence, she ran to the kitchen, grabbed the largest knife she could find and returned.

"Ma?" Applejack asked.

"You stay here! I will help your father. If something happens, wake up your granny and your brother, then take your sister to the basement, alright?"

"But Ma--"

"Please, Applejack. Can I count on you?"

"R-Right. Ya can count on me!"

"Good girl!" she opened the door and ran, disappearing in the darkness of the night.

Applejack sat there until sunrise, staring at the door, waiting for her parents to return, but they never did. The first pony to get up that morning was Granny Smith.

"What are ya doin' up this early, young'un?" she asked after a big yawn.

"Waitin' for Ma an Pa." she said.

"Where did they go?"

"Pa said they were gonna chase a varmint away. He took his thing with him."

"'Thing'?"Granny Smith knew that's what her granddaughter called the family rifle and looked at the wall where it was supposed to be, but the only thing there were the old, rusty hooks. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Without thinking twice, she summoned all the strength on her tired legs she could muster and ran.

Applejack decided to follow her grandmother. After a few moments of runing around the orchard, Granny Smith suddenly stopped.

"Did ya find them, Granny?" she tried to look past her grandmother, but the elder pony covered her eyes with a foreleg.

"D-Don't look, Applejack."

But before Granny Smith could completely cover her eyes, Applejack saw it. The image that would be forever burned in her mind like a photography: her parents, lying on the grass, with large slashes and bite marks on their bodies, both covered in blood; even though they were no longer alive, they were still holding hooves.

Later that afternoon, Applejack saw ponies from her bedroom window. Curiosity took the best of her and silently approached them. She hid behind a tree and watched them. Out of the three ponies, she only recognized the Mayor, the other two were complete strangers. They were wearing dark magenta suits, brown pants and black shoes. She also saw some kind of badge pinned to their suits, a blue shield with a smaller, yellow shield in the middle.

"This is getting out of control!" the Mayor said. "The Apples are the seventh and eighth victims of this monster. Something must be done!"

"We're working on it, Mr. Mayor!" one of the ponies said. "So, what are we dealing with here, Sonata?"

A fourth pony, a dark grey unicorn mare with brown mane and wearing the same clothes as the other two, joined the group. She adjusted the black-framed glasses on her muzzle and began to talk:

"Based on the pattern of the cuts and bite marks, I'd say either a werewolf or a lycan. And since it's not full moon yet, only one of those can be the culprit."

Applejack gasped. Her uncle told her stories about those creatures and she was well aware how terrifying they are. She turned around and ran as fast as she could back home. If there was a monster on the loose, she didn't wanted to be outside, where she could very well be its next meal.

The years passed. Applejack grew up into a fine, strong, honest mare and eventually took over the family business. But the culprit, the one who took her parents away from her, was never caught. She tried to live a normal life after this, but the sadness and anger she felt never left her heart. But everything changed in one fateful day.

Author's Notes:

So, Sonata, is it true that you were once a member of the L.R.E. Organization?