Nostalgia

In the years before the Princess Sisters Celestia and Luna, crime was something found everywhere. There were killings, muggings, robberies, rape, and the like.

However, there was one killer that provoked fear in earth ponies everywhere. The Butcher. In all of the Earth Pony kingdom, ponies were found mutilated, with bashed in skulls. The same MO, the same missing parts, and the same destruction of the body as if it were wrapping paper. Eighty-four killings over the course of two years, with no large time gaps in between them.

During these two years, Earth Ponies locked themselves in their homes in fear.

Never, other than the rise of Nightmare Moon, had ponies been in such a state.