Applejack the Vampony Slayer

by Immanuel


First day at new school

Chapter 1: First day at new school

"Y'all got yer stuff fer school now?"

"Ah do." "A'course, Granny Smith!"

"Got yer stake with ya, Applejack?"

The young mare rolled her eyes. "Ah do, Granny."

The filly at her side pouted. "Why can't ah get a stake?" she whined.

Applejack looked at her sternly. "Ye'll get yer stake when ye're ready, Applebloom."

"But ah am ready!" the filly said with adorable conviction.

Her sister was not swayed, however. "Not yetcha ain't, sugarcube!" she said sharply.

The elder green mare smiled patiently and looked the little pony in the eyes. "Yer sister's right, Applebloom. Slayin's a job fer bigger ponies. Ya just make sure ya stay behind her, when the going gits tough, ya hear? Ah don't want to hear ya gitting yerself killed or vamponized on yer first day at school now, hm?" she added with a bit of sterness in her voice before softening it again. "Ah get ye're impatient, but ye'll get to slay when ya get yer cutie-mark. Just keep to yer training and keep safe, and the time will come before ya know it!"

"Okay, Granny Smith," Applebloom sighed dejectedly. She knew her stuff! She could put a stake through a bulls-eye at sixty paces and pass the training course in just under five minutes, but because of her dumb cutie-mark kept not appearing, she wasn't considered old enough to take part in the sacred Apple tradition of ridding the world of Dark creatures. She knew she was a lot smaller than her siblings and couldn't hold a candle to them strength-wise, but surely she could at least help a bit? Nevertheless, she bit her lip and accepted her fate. Applebloom was not a filly to go against her elders lightly.

Applejack rolled her eyes again. "Ya don't really expect the vamponies to attack at a school, now do ya, Granny? Before sundown?" she added pointedly.

Granny Smith snorted and narrowed her eyes. "Ya quit yer sassing right there, lass! This town is founded at the border of Everfree. Why, Ah don't surely know, but all manner of beasties continuously crawl from there to prey on the innocent townfolk, and the Apples have maintained a presence here since the founding to keep 'em from doing just that!

"Now, ah was a-slaying before the turn of nine-hundreds and would be still, if'n that a-cursed dire wolf hadn't given me a bum hip, and when ah say this place is dangerous, y'all better darn tooting believe it is dangerous!

The old mare's voice turned somber. "Yer Pa gave his life while defending the good folk at Manesfield and yer Ma passed away not soon after in the Blitz of Baltimare." Her face grew stern again, and steel enter her voice. "Now ah ain't gonna have ya pass before yer time just 'cause ya were careless, missy! So keep yer eyes open and one on yer sister while at school. Big Mac will be at the town square hawking the summer harvest and keeping an eye on things there.

"Yer Uncle Appleseed upped and vanished in this town with nere a trace but a drop of blood and a Slayer's journal, so the farm and the town are now under our watch! We can't, we won't let 'em down!"

Applejack, who like her sister had grown sad when Granny had talked about their parents, looked up with determination in her eyes, nodded sharply, and adjusted her father's hat on her head. "And we won't, Granny!"

Granny Smith smiled. "Ye'll do good, Applejack. Ah know ya will, just as ya did with that vampony nest in Colton."

Applejack grimaced. "And all but got us thrown outta town at the same time. The mayor would've charged me with arson, had ya and Big Mac not meddled!"

"Such is our lot," the elder said with a small sigh. "But we do what we must, without thanks. Now y'all get to school and have some fun! And remember to buy some nutmeg after school!"

* * *

The school year in Ponyville started with a service. The school chaplain and magic teacher, a unicorn stallion of a respectable age and demeanor held a short sermon about growing up good and kind ponies and concluded with a short prayer.

"...and we ask your blessing, Oh Heavenly Sisters, for the coming year and hope you will guide us to grow strong and faithful ponies, with goodness in our hearts and kindness in all our words and deeds.

"Please have your Sun watch over our days with a smile, oh Celestia. Let your Moon guide us in our dreams and bless our nights, oh Luna. May the will of the Eternal Princesses be done in all of Equestria. May your magic flow through your faithful. So shall it be."

"So shall it be", chorused the children. About two hundred of them were sat in the floor of gymnasium, all the children of the small town of Ponyville between ages of six to seventeen. Applejack and Applebloom sat in the back, a bit unsure of themselves as the newcomers to the town. Applebloom turned to her bigger sister and whispered in her ear.

"Do ya think the Princesses hear, Applejack?" she asked, not for the first time.

"Ah don't rightly know, sugarcube," Applejack answered, much as always. It would have been nice to think so, but "The Family tradition says the Nightmare consumed Princess Luna and that Princess Celestia had to give Her life to stop the thing." Then she shrugged. "They sure weren't like mortal ponies, though. If there's something left of them, ah don't think anypony can say for sure. But ah'd figure the Family Blessing must come from somewhere and we thank the Princesses for it."

The young mare stopped to let the Principal have her turn at the podium. The principal was a brownish Earth pony called Flutey with a flaming orange mane in a tight bun. She had an air of strictness about her, but smiled kindly at her pupils. "Thank you kindly for your words, Chaplain Wax," she started, then made a point of passing her gaze from one end of the gymnasium to other. "It's wonderful to see you all again, my dear colts and fillies. For those of you, who are starting here as new students: Welcome! I hope your time here will be as fruitful and enjoyable as it is for all us teachers."

Most of the youngest ponies, sat in a single group next to a kindly looking portly mare, looked a bit unsure, but smiled at her hopefully. The younger of the Apple sisters caught the eye of another teacher standing a bit further behind the podium, an Earth pony mare the color of burgundy rose named Cheerilee she had been introduced earlier that week as her new teacher. The mare smiled and nodded at her. Applejack would be attending more advanced classes with specialized teachers according to a timetable, so she didn't have a specific head of a class to go to. She had been shown the common room for the upper classes, and would be sure to check it out during her free period later that day.

"For the rest of you, welcome back!" Principal Flutey continued. "I can't wait to hear what wonderful accomplishments you all will manage this year!" Applejack rolled her eyes, then watched in dread as the Principal put on some reading classes and dug up a thick notebook and started to read. "As the great poet Wordsworth said..."

* * *

Applejack stumbled towards her first class in a daze. The honorable Miss Flutie had put her to sleep with an hour-long recitation of the dullest poetry and most pompous historical quotes she had ever heard. Now she wished for her life there were time to go for a run before the first class of the day. She worked as hard at school as she did at everything else at life, but at heart she was a mare of action. Sitting still for an hour listening to a pointless windbag, pardon her rudeness, was torture. She hardly noticed, when a white unicorn mare with a gorgeously coiffured purple mane and tail walked up to her.

"Hullo!" the mare started cheerfully. "I see you're new here. Allow me to be your official greeter to Ponyville Central. My name is Rarity and I welcome you to the unfortunate blandness and exquisite camaraderie that is the Ponyville Central Elementary and High!", she said with a smile and a smirk.

Applejack smiled back tiredly. "Howdy. And thank ya kindly for the welcome. Ah swear yer principal put me to sleep with hers!"

Rarity giggled. "Yes, she can be dreadfully long-winded, I'm afraid. I assure you, the rest of us aren't!"

"Glad to hear that, Rarity," Applejack said. "Mah name's Applejack. Ah take it we will be class mates then?"

"That we shall, dearest Applejack! I'll make sure you get to know everyone in our year. I would be remiss in my self-appointed role as the school socialite, if I didn't!" Rarity said with mock seriousness.

"Thanks. Ya can call me AJ, by the way. It's nice to meet friendly folk in the first day."

"That's Ponyville for you! Most everypony in this town is as friendly as they come!"

"Good to hear! Er... pardon me fer asking, but are ya a born Ponyvillian? Cause ya talk a bit like mah Uncle and Aunt Orange in Manehatten."

"Oh Manehatten!" Rarity swooned theatrically. "The Big Apple! The city of light and sophistication! I only wish I was from there," she said with faked bitterness. "Alas, I am indeed a natural born 'villian' as we sometimes call ourselves." The unicorn mare looked left and right before leaning in conspiratorially and whispered loudly. "Don't tell anypony, but it's an affectation! After graduation, I'm so going to take over the fashion world, and the ...eh... gentleponies of the upper crust wouldn't take me seriously if they thought I was just a hick from the woods, no offence to Ponyville."

Applejack smiled at the young unicorn. Rarity seemed a bit flighty to her, but to a mare accustomed to keeping dark secrets and fighting against monsters in the pit of night, most ponies did. The contrast to her life was pleasant, and the mare's natural warmth that shone through her exaggerated theatrics was catching. Talking to her made Applejack feel ...normal.

"Now, may I ask, where might you be from, darling? I can't quite place your accent, I'm afraid, even though it sounds familiar..."

Applejack grimaced slightly. "Yeah... It's a family thing. Ah grew up in Colton. We moved here to take care of the Apple orchard on the northern side of town, after Uncle Appleseed... passed away."

"Oh, you're Johnny Appleseed's niece, then! I should have recognized the accent, but I'd only ever heard him use it!" Rarity paused and said a bit more quietly. "I'm sorry for your loss. He was a nice stallion, a true gentlecolt, if I may say. Were you close?"

Applejack shook her head. "Can't rightly say ah knew him well. But he was family. Ah remember him giving me and my sister rides on his back at a family gathering when ah was her age and she was just the size of a bunnyrabbit. That was before mah Pa and Ma passed away," she added quietly.

"Oh, darling!" Rarity said with genuine compassion. "I'm so sorry to have brought this up," she said with a hug that took Applejack by surprise. Rarity hesitated a bit before saying, "You might be surprised to hear it's not that an uncommon story in Ponyville."

"Oh?" Applejack said with a raised eyebrow.

Rarity nodded. "It's not commonly spoken about, but just about everypony knows somepony with a dead parent or cousin or other." She shook her head. "I don't know why this town attracts sad stories, but there you have it. Why, there are two fillies in our very year who've both lost their parents, and moved here from elsewhere," she said and pointed at a pair of mares walking close together.

"The pink Earth Pony with the saddledress is Pinkamena Diane Pie. She prefers the middle name. Lives in a bakery, of all places. I don't know what happened to her family, but she moved to Ponyville when we were still in Elementary," she whispered. "I've never seen her cutie mark!", she added with a scandalous tone.

"The petite purple unicorn is Twilight Sparkle. She's originally from Canterlot!" There was a note of longing in Rarity's tone at the name of the mountain city. "Again, I've only heard rumors about the demise of her family, but what I do know is that she's just about the only filly in this school who can perform more magic than just a spark of light or a weak push with telekinesis. But she never does it when she thinks somebody sees her! Unless she can perform it in front of Chaplain Wax during their private magic lessons," she said with a shrug. "I'd say they have an illicit affair, if I didn't know that Twilight is about as shy and nervous as a... well, I don't know what I should compare her with. I've never heard her say more than two words to anyone except a teacher and Diane, and even then it's almost always in a whisper or a stutter.

"I don't think either of them has another friend. Not that they seem to want any, but as it is they both have a bit of a reputation for being, well, odd. I wouldn't dream of saying a bad word about someone with such a tragic past, but some of the others in the school aren't quite as understanding."

Rarity looked around her, before leaning in conspiratorially again and whispering intensely. "They say they wander about the town at night in dark clothes and goggles! Personally, I bet it's just a private nerd project of theirs, but they are strange, always whispering together and hiding in the city library and comparing notes. And they just stare, when somepony tries to speak to them. It truly would be a social death to befriend them."

She sighed. "It's such a shame. They'd both make such gorgeous mares, if they'd just step out of their shells and put some effort in their looks. I mean, seriously, look at Di's dress! I swear she gets those used! And would it hurt to show a bit of flank every now and then. Twilight's big brother is a dream, though..." Rarity finished with a distant look in her eyes.

Applejack let most of the gossip pass her by, but one thing caught her attention. "There's a magic tutor at Ponyville Central?"

"Mm-hmm," Rarity nodded and resurfaced from her daydream. "Chaplain Candlewax, the stallion who gave the sermon in the morning service teaches all the Tribes in their natural magics." She let out a derisive giggle. "I should say 'teaches'. Like I said, as far as I know, only Twilight has any magic to speak of here. For the rest of us, it's about as useful two hours twice a week as listening to his sermons." Her face suddenly got a mortified look. "Oh dear, I didn't offend you, AJ darling, did I? Are you religious?"

Applejack laughed softly. "Don't ya worry yer purty head, Rarity. Ah ain't a fundie."

"Well, that's a relief. How didn't you know already about him, though? Earth ponies get four hours of pointless meditation in the gardens, as far as I know."

"Ah guess ah get a pass for working at the farm."

"Hm, that makes sense. I wish I got a pass. That's four hours a week I'd much rather spend productively." Rarity suddenly seemed to remember something. "Say, was that adorable little thing with the red bow sitting next to you a relative?"

"Sure was," Applejack said smiling. "Applebloom's my little sis, and mah junior by five years. Cute as a button, but stubborn as they come. Starting to fret over her cutie mark too. Won't listen to me when ah tell her it'll come in time. Ah think ah was actually a bit older than her when ah got mine."

"Oh, I know the type," Rarity said with an exasperated little smile of her own. "Sounds just like my own little sister. Sweetie Belle is a treasure, but she can be so annoying! I saw yours going with Cheerilee, so they are going to be in the same class. We'll have to arrange a play date for them if they don't manage to hit it off on their own."

"Sounds good to me, Rarity. We can take turns with who has to put up with them for a day," Applejack said. And it would be right helpful to know she's taken care of, when me and Mac are out slaying, she added silently. "Ya think we should head to class, though? Ah wager everypony else was there about ten minutes ago."

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty head, darling. Mister Slacks has a crush on me. He'd never dare write me up for tardiness, and you're with me!" Rarity said with a giggle and satisfied smirk.

* * *

There most certainly is somepony or something else killing the beasts. Targets I've marked keep disappearing. That alone I could accept as a mistaken identity if it had happened once and twice, but twelve? I think not.

Today was confirmation, though. Not a disappearance, that may or may not be either a vampony or a victim. Not a corpse that may or may not be that of a werepony or a victim. Not a bunch of burnt sticks that may or may not be remains of a timberwolf or burnt firewood in an out-of-way picnic spot. A strangler.

I found its corpse submerged in a swamp, obviously dragged there through the woods for some distance. The drag marks were covered, but not completely. The strangler was mutilated. Smashed, cut and burnt in a way that suggests either a group or torture after an ambush. The wounds were all equally fresh and unhealed, though, so I lean towards a battle. But who was it then?
The townsfolk are mostly ignorant. They know that the Everfree is dangerous, and know not to wander there, but otherwise they are as blessedly ignorant as everypony else.

The marks on the beast's body strongly suggest towards a small group of well armed professionals. As far as I can tell, the beast was inconvenienced through ranged attacks. I found accurate points of entry for some kind of projectiles at very precise locations in the body, designed for maximum effect. The burn marks on its body might well be the result of some kind of incendiary chemical delivered in a fragile vessel: a firebomb, in other words. The beast was finished by cutting off its head and heart. I didn't find them.
The accuracy and the totality of the wounds means coverage by the attackers, so there must be at least two, more likely more than that. It would be extremely unwise for any non-slayer to engage a strangler with minimal force. Thus, a group.

Dragging of the corpse and the attempt to hide it suggests that its attackers wish for their activities to stay hidden. So, a clandestine government operation? Or a warlock, getting some kind of material for his or her activities? It could even be a turf war between different factions of Dark creatures, though the town seems too small for such.

I'll quietly look at the activities of one Shining Armor. He moved with his younger sister to Ponyville some four years ago, and had previously received military training he has put to good use as the sheriff's deputy. If there is a military black ops going on, he might be part of it, or at the very least, be in the know.

What to do, if that's the case? The Family has not been part of

A high pitched scream cut short Applejack's reading of the previous resident Slayer's journal. She had spent about half of her free period investigating the current situation of the town and searching for clues to his disappearance. Johnny Appleseed had kept a thorough journal that put Applejack's own attempts at record-keeping to shame, and she found most of his cases an engaging read.

Her own notes of the 'Colton incident' read in their entirety: "Found a bunch of vamps napping at the wine cellar of mayoral mansion. Too many to engage, no access to daylight. Burned the building. Got caught by law enforcement. Granny Smith dealt with it. Mayor not a vamp, just a perv."

The scream gave her a start, engaged as she was in her reading, but she turned it into a trot to the door of the high schoolers' common room, where she had retired to read. Clearly ahead of the rest of the room's occupants she found herself facing alone a stampede of cute little middle schoolers fleeing down the stairs towards the dining hall and outer doors. She dodged most of them, but Applebloom tackled her in a flying hug.

"What's the matter, sugarcube?" Applejack asked quickly just a moment before she realized her sister was not trembling or panicking quite convincingly.

Applebloom pretended to bury her face in her sister's mane as she whispered in her ear. "A vampony victim, biology lab. Saw bite marks, stuffed in a closet or something. Colt. Age, between ya and Mac."

"Will he rise?" Applejack whispered quickly back.

"Can't say, didn't see the inside of his mouth," Applebloom whispered before twisting her face in a resemblance of horror and crying loudly: "There was a dead pony in the biology class, sis!"

* * *

Applejack sneaked fast but quietly through the shadows, a dark cloak helping to cover her movements.

A quick conference with Big Mac had resulted in Applebloom's first ever sleepover, at Rarity's home. The girl's younger sister had been quite beside herself for having seen the corpse, but having seen how calmly and collectedly the younger of the newcomers had comforted Sweetie Belle, Rarity had quickly attempted to get both sisters to help calm the nerves in a 'group therapy session'.

Applejack had consulted her brother and they ended up having Applebloom staying the night at Rarity's and Sweetie's parents' house, Big Mac staking out at the town morgue, just in case, and Applejack attempting to search for clues at the school itself after nightfall.

Rarity was told that work at the farm prevented either of the older siblings to come over for the evening, and she ended up having to look after not two, but three (supposedly) traumatized little fillies, as Scootaloo, an orphaned pegasus filly and a friend of Sweetie's had tagged along. Quite shocked herself, she was a bit disappointed at the lack of help, but hoped to get the girls to participate in a makeover to get their (and her) minds off of the shock of the day.

Applejack moved around the school, checking windows and doors. They all were locked, but more importantly, the frames all had a small symbol of a stylized sun carved into them. Most people thought it a traditional decoration, or a small show of faith in the Heavenly Sisters in the same way as having moon pies during Samhain had originally been. Only the Apples and a few scholars specializing in folklore remembered that the 'decoration' had started as protective talismans against the monstrous troops of Nightmare Moon. Only the Apples knew that they were completely functional.

In one window, the carving was missing, the area scratched out. Applejack studied the frame for a moment, then forced the window open and climbed through.

Behind a bush a few hundred yards further, a young mare with a serious countenance lowered her binoculars and whispered: "Target entered through the compromised window. Preliminary identification: New girl." A figure next to her nodded quietly, and wrote the information in a notebook. "Victim?" she asked in a very quiet whisper. "Negative. The target entered alone," the other answered and raised the binoculars again.