Chapters "I can't believe this." Sunset muttered as she rode her bike alongside Rainbow Dash. The athlete had insisted they take their bikes out for a late night drive, and while Sunset was hesitant, it had been a while since she had a proper ride with the old girl, so she relented.
That was until Rainbow started driving way out of town, and now they were speeding down some random country road.
Though Rainbow didn't seem to mind if the wheelies she was pulling off every twenty seconds were anything to go off of. It was at that point Sunset realized she hated the sound of dirtbikes.
Sighing, she decided to give her surroundings another scan, and wasn't shocked when she couldn't see anything through the pitch black night, just like all the other times she looked. Alright, enough is enough. "Dash! I think we should start heading back!" She shouted.
Rainbow Dash glanced behind her "What?!" She shouted back.
"I think we shou- hold on." Sunset mumbled as she accelerated her bike to pull up next to Dash. "I said we should head back!"
Rainbow just scoffed at her and smirked. "What? Scared of the dark, Sunny?" She snickered to herself while Sunset gave her a blank look.
Rainbow scanned her face for a second before pouting. "Aw c'mon! I've barely gotten the time to do anything super awesome!"
Sunset growled. "You won't even be able to see yourself do anything super awesome! It's too dark out here!"
"What?!" Rainbow shouted.
Sunset growled again and looked at Rainbow. "Hold on! Pull over!" She commanded before starting to slow and pull off to the side.
Rainbow pouted but did as she asked.
Once the girl got off the bike, she looked at Sunset who was giving her a glare. "What?"
"'What'?! What do you mean 'what'?! We're in the middle of nowhere at 1AM! Do you even know how far we are from Canterlot?!" Sunset said, jabbing a finger at Rainbow.
"Do you?" Rainbow snarked.
"NO! AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM!" Sunset screamed.
Rainbow shrank under the other girl's outburst, but before she could reply, her ears picked up on something. She quickly glanced in the direction. "Do you hear that?"
Sunset frowned. "Don't change the su- Actually yeah, I do…" She said before glancing in the direction Rainbow was looking.
What they both heard was the hum of a motorcycle, not dissimilar to the one Sunset rode. However, upon looking they both noticed the orange glow that accompanied the noise.
"Well there!" Rainbow said. "We can ask that guy for directions!"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Rainbow…" Sunset muttered as she continued to look in the direction of the motorcyclist.
"Aw c'mon, what's the worst that could hap..pen..?" Rainbow trailed off as the cyclist got closer to the girls and they could make him out.
The tires on his bike were scorched in flames, leaving a trail of fire behind him as he rode.
"What the heck?!" Rainbow shouted as they looked on. However, as they continued to stare, something far more unsettling revealed itself to them.
His head was on fire. Or rather the lackthereof. The Rider just had a skull. A skull that was engulfed in flames.
"Wh-Wh-What?! Sunset, what is that?! Is that some creature from Equestria?!" Rainbow screamed at the girl.
Sunset for her part just stood in shock as it got closer. She couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't really think. She just stared as the flames got closer.
That's when it spoke.
"Sunset Shimmer! Your soul is guilty of great sin! And for that, you must repent!" It yelled in a low, haunting voice. That finally snapped Sunset out of her shock when she turned to Rainbow Dash
"We need to get out of here!"
The two girls hopped onto their bikes and peeled off in a hurry. Sunset had never gone this fast on her bike before, but she could tell it wasn't helping at all. She didn't need to look in her mirror to tell that the Rider was getting closer to them.
"It's got a chain?!" She barely heard Rainbow shout behind her. Glancing in her mirror, she saw that the girl was correct, as the Rider had a chain that he was spinning above his head like a lasso.
A chain that was also on fire.
"Speed up!" Sunset shouted at her. Rainbow nodded at her, but before she could even think about accelerating, the chain wrapped around her bike and tugged her to the side.
"WAAAAH!" Rainbow shouted as she was tossed aside into the dirt.
"RAINBOW!" Sunset shouted as she watched her friend tumble away, her bike totalled.
"Your friend has paid the price for your sin! Surrender now, before others pay the same price!" The Rider shouted at her from behind her.
Before Sunset could even think about replying, the same chain had suddenly wrapped itself around her bike. "Uh oh."
With another violent pull, the Rider had flung Sunset off her bike and off into the dirt.
She landed with a painful thud against the ground and yelped in pain when she looked at her arm. It didn't look broken, but it certainly didn't look not broken.
She laid on the ground as the Rider pulled his bike up in front of her and stepped off. Once he was down, she could fully bask in his appearance. He wore black boots, a black pair of pants, and black leather jacket with a white stripe on it, with spikes protruding from the shoulders, and had a chain wrapped around his torso. But it was his head that entranced her the most.
As mentioned before, his head was nothing more than a skull that was on fire, but looking at it, frightened yet amazed her. It wasn't like any creature she had seen in Equestria.
She noticed now that he had little orange pupils, presumably also made of fire. He stared down at the girl before speaking in his horrifying voice.
"You must atone." He spoke.
Sunset suddenly realized that she was in immense danger and should probably do something. "W-Wait! Repent for what?! What did I do?!"
The Rider stared down at her and answered. "Your soul is guilty. You stole the power of a forbidden magic in this world, and used it to transform into a demon." He paused as he grabbed her by her jacket and hoisted her up. "You enslaved innocents to do your bidding, and yet you were allowed to walk free. And I cannot allow that. The Ghost Rider's job is to bring penance, and that is what you shall receive! Now gaze upon my eyes!" He shouted at her.
Before she could argue in her defense, or do anything really, she found herself compelled to stare into his eyes. His fiery pupils seemed to glow brighter as he began to do…something to her.
Before whatever he was doing could go any further, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him.
"Let her go- AHHH AHH AHH HOT HOT HOT!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she suddenly let go of Ghost Rider and looked at her arms which now sported bright red burns.
That was able to distract Ghost Rider long enough for Sunset to break free of his grasp and back away. The Rider looked back at her before grabbing his chain and swinging it. "Do not attempt further escape."
Rainbow suddenly scooped Sunset up in her arms, letting out a hiss of pain as she agitated the burns, and then looked at Ghost Rider.
"Yeaaah, sorry, but we promised our mom's we wouldn't date anyone without a face, sooo…" She said to him before using her super speed to dash off, before he grabbed them.
______________________________
The girls soon arrived on the outskirts of town, where Rainbow dropped Sunset, and then collapsed herself. Sunset quickly scrambled to her feet and looked at her friend.
"Are you okay?!" She worriedly asked.
Rainbow Dash weakly looked up at Sunset. "He, uh, actually got me pretty good. I think adrenaline was just fueling me for that…" She mumbled.
Sunset examined her friend and found multiple cuts along her friend, but also the fact her foot seemed to be bent in a direction it shouldn't be.
"Sweet Celestia, Rainbow! You ran on that?!" Sunset shouted at her.
"Had to get us out of there some way…" She weakly replied.
Sunset ran her hands along her face as she looked around and contemplated what to do. Some flaming skeleton was coming to presumably kill her, and her friend was really hurt. After glancing around for a few minutes, she paused and took a deep breath.
"Alright. Here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna call the girls and we're gonna form a plan to stop this creep. Then I'm taking you to the hospital." She said as she picked up Rainbow and slung her arm around her shoulder.
"It's not that bad." Rainbow insisted, though the second she stepped on the foot she yelped in pain.
"Alright, decision made. Let's get everyone to my place." Sunset said as they began to hobble to her house. Though in the back of her head there was that nagging feeling. Why was he coming after her? Hasn't everyone forgiven her? Hadn't she paid enough?
She hoped her and her friends were enough to stop this thing.
____________________________
The Ghost Rider stared off in the direction they had run for a moment before speaking.
"None can escape the Spirit of Vengeance. I swear on the fires of Hell, I shall make you repent, Sunset Shimmer!" He said.
The Ghost Rider walked back to his motorcycle and got onto it, revving the engine which set the bike ablaze, and speeding off towards Canterlot.
Author's Note
this version isnt really based off of any specific version of Ghost Rider but i was aiming for how he was portrayed in the 2010s Disney XD cartoons as despite those shows...varying levels of quality, i enjoyed some of their depictions of characters.
"Those idiots…They just don't understand the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Great and Powerfulness!" Trixie mumbled to herself as she walked down the street annoyed. She had TRIED to show off an incredible and really awesome trick to her peers, but those morons just ran right by her, babbling about skulls and bikes.
She glanced down into her magician's hat and saw a few pieces of spare change and loose one dollar bills and scowled. This wasn't enough to pay for new supplies.
While she was busy looking at her failure to bring in stable income, she heard a motorcycle pull up in front of her.
"You." She heard the person on it say. She growled to herself. Great, some creep hitting on her was the last thing she needed.
She looked up to tell the guy off, but her words died in her throat as she gazed upon him and saw a flaming skeleton.
"I…uh…" She barely managed to say as it made eye contact with her.
"Where did Sunset Shimmer go?" He asked her.
"Um, uh, she, uh, she went…that way…" Trixie got out as she pointed a shaking finger towards a neighborhood.
Ghost Rider looked off in the direction she pointed and then back to her and nodded, then revved his cycle and zoomed off in that direction.
Trixie just stared at the trail of fire that he left behind. Then she fainted.
______________________________
"Soooo…That's pretty much the gist of it." Sunset said as she finished explaining the story to the rest of her friends, all of whom were sporting looks of fear or bewilderment. Except Pinkie. She seemed unfazed.
"So, Ah jus' wanna be sure Ah'm hearin' ya right, Sunset." Applejack started. "You an Rainbow were out drivin' and a big fella with a flamin' skull fer a head tried to kill ya?"
Sunset nodded.
Applejack frowned, but before she could say anything more Rarity cut her off. "Puh-LEASE, darling. That is not a funny joke, nor is it clever. Some of us need to get all eight hours to make sure we're as fabulous as we can be for the day." She said as she fluffed her hair, which despite just being woken up, was nicely done.
Rainbow Dash shot her a look. "Are you serious?! What would we gain from lying about this?! Look at my leg, Rarity!" She yelled as she gestured toward her twisted leg.
Rarity scoffed and crossed her arms. "I'm sure you just fell off your bike and thought it'd be funny to pull a fast one on us all."
"Yeah, okay, I got in an accident and then I somehow convinced Sunset that it'd be way better to pull a prank on you guys at 2AM than to go to the hospital. You caught us." She sarcastically replied.
"Thank you for admitting it. Now if you'll excuse me, with SOME luck, I'll be able to squeeze out the last four hours of sleep." Rarity said as she got up and brushed her shirt off.
"Um…Rarity, I think she was being sarcastic." Fluttershy quietly told her. Rarity looked at Fluttershy and then back to Rainbow. Rainbow shot her a smug look.
Rarity growled a bit as she got up to Rainbow. "Look, missy! I know you think you're funny, but SOME of us have things to do and- Twilight, darling, would you PLEASE knock off that typing?!" She shouted as she looked over at Twilight who had been on her laptop nearly the whole time.
The girl jumped a bit as she was addressed, but composed herself and fixed her glasses. "Sorry Rarity, just looking into something." She then turned to Sunset. "You said he called himself Ghost Rider?"
Sunset glanced at her and put her head in her hands. "Yeah, something like that. He said his job was to make me repent." She mumbled.
Twilight nodded and went back to her computer.
"For what? Didn't he get the message that you were the All New, All Friendly, All Totally Awesome Sunset Shimmer?" Pinkie Pie asked as she shoved…some sort of sugar monstrosity into her mouth.
"I don't know! The only thing I can think of is the Fall Formal, but that was like two years ago! I thought I paid my debt to society." Sunset exclaimed.
"Yer makin' it sound like ya did hard time, sugarcube." Applejack pointed out.
"I would've rather done that than deal with the entire student body giving me the cold shoulder." She mumbled.
"Ah doubt that." Applejack said as she looked over at Twilight who was still staring at her screen with a much more focused look. "What'cha doin' over there?" She asked.
"Just looking up something…" The girl responded with, though it sounded like barely registered the question. Applejack looked at her for a second and then turned to Rarity who was still sulking.
"This is all pointless!" Applejack rolled her eyes as the girl started complaining again. "Honestly, the fact we're entertaining this idea is asanine. I have half a mind to-" Rarity didn't get a chance to finish as Twilight cut her off.
"Found it!"
The girls all turned to her. "Found what?" Sunset asked.
Twilight pushed her glasses up slightly and looked at them. "Okay, well, there isn't much, but I found as much as I could about 'Ghost Rider.'" She told them.
"HE'S REAL?!" Rarity shouted. Rainbow scoffed.
"Told ya." She snarked. Rarity shot her a look, but before they could go any farther, Twilight continued.
"Anyway, not a whole lot is known about him. The most I found were a couple of old myths and legends that tell of wandering travelers with fire for heads and on skeleton horses." She explained.
"Were the horses on fire?" Sunset asked.
"Yes, the horses were on fire." Twilight answered.
Sunset shivered.
"Well, I guess the legends were true." Rainbow said. "What about recent stuff? That weirdo can't be new."
"See, that's where things get weird." Twilight said as she glanced back at her laptop. "I've done some looking from the simple term 'Ghost Rider' to 'Flaming Skeleton Guy.'" She explained.
"And?" Rarity asked, gesturing for her to go on.
"And apparently he's a member of the Avengers." She stated casually and was met with a room of silence.
"The who?" Applejack asked.
Twilight shrugged, but flipped her laptop around so she could show the rest of her friends. They leaned around and looked at the picture Twilight was showing off, but Sunset pointed a finger at him. "No, that’s wrong. The guy who attacked us had a motorcycle. This guy has a car."
Rainbow leaned over her shoulder. "Yeah, and his head looks different."
Fluttershy started to shake harder than she already was. "D-Does that mean there's m-multiple…?" She shakily asked.
"Yes, I was going to get to that." Twilight said as she flipped around her computer and pulled a different tab up. "I was able to find some about the motorcycle Ghost Rider. There have been sightings of him that date all the way back to the late 80's early 90's in Illinois." Twilight explained as she turned the computer again to show off a blurry photo of the Ghost Rider on his bike. "What he's doing all the way here is beyond me."
"So that means there could several at once?" Sunset asked.
"Maybe there's even a Cosmic Ghost Rider!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with stars in her eyes.
Twilight nodded her head. "Possibly, but all we know for sure is that he's bad news, and we need to stop him before he gets his hands on Sunset. There's some pictures online of what his victims look like, and, to put it simply, I'd not like my friend to look like them."
The group all nodded. They wouldn't let this thing get ahold of Sunset if it was the last thing they did.
After a moment of silence, Applejack hopped up to her feet. "Alright, Ah'd say it's about time we got Dash to the hospital."
"Aw, c'mon! I wanna help! See, look, it doesn't even hurt anymor-Ow, ow, ow!" She was shut up as she tried to jump on her leg.
"That's what Ah thought, sugarcube. C'mon, let's get a move on." Applejack said as she slung Rainbow's arm around her shoulder and made her way to the door.
"Be safe you guys. We'll make sure to call you if anything happens." Sunset said as she got up and stretched.
"Can do. Night y'all." Applejack said as she opened the front door.
However, instead of being met with the sight of the road, she got a faceful of leather.
Glancing up, her eyes shrunk as she took in the sight of the flaming skull.
Ghost Rider pushed the two stunned girls aside and threw his chain which latched around Sunset.
"What the?!" She shouted as she was yanked back and through her front door.
"SUNSET!" The rest of the Rainbooms shouted as they hurriedly rushed past Ghost Rider and to their friend, who was now sprawled on the street.
Ghost Rider turned to face them and began strutting over to them. However, one of the girls shot up and and stomped right over to Ghost Rider.
It was Fluttershy.
"You monster! You dare hurt an innocent girl?! What is wrong with you?!" She shouted at the Rider.
"She is far from innocent. Her soul burns with guilt." He responded in his haunting voice.
"That's wrong! Sunset Shimmer is one of the nicest and most caring girls I've ever met! She's tried so hard to make up for what she's done! Isn't that enough?!" Fluttershy yelled.
"No." Ghost Rider said as he went to move past the girl. However, he once again stopped as Fluttershy stared into his eyes. The rest of the Rainbooms gazed as they knew the power of her stare.
However Ghost Rider simply kept looking at the girl, before leaning down. "Nice trick. Wanna see mine?" He asked as his pupils burned brighter.
Fluttershy couldn't tear her eyes away as she looked into the flaming pupils, entranced. It scared her to no limit, but she just couldn't look away.
Ghost Rider eventually stood back up straight and spoke, his pupils shrinking again. "Your soul is the most innocent soul I've come across. Please, stay out of my way." He said as he was finally able to move past Fluttershy, who was now frozen in fear.
Only to be stopped yet again as he was encased in diamond.
The girls glanced to see that Rarity was using her amulet to trap to Rider.
"Are ya sure that’s gonna hold?" Applejack asked as she slung Rainbow over her shoulder again.
"It's solid diamond, there's no way he'll be able to get through that!" Is what she would have answered with if a leather gloved fist didn't shoot through the diamond.
"Oh dear…" Rarity mumbled as Ghost Rider broke through the rest of the diamond with his chain. He threw his chain at her, wrapping her up, and then tossing her off to the side.
"AAAAAAH" She shouted as she landed at least a block down, using a diamond to create some form of landing board.
"Now ya done it! Ah'm gonna crunch that skull like an egg in one of Granny's pies." Applejack yelled as she got up and cracked her knuckles.
Ghost Rider made no attempt to stop her as she closed the distance between them and threw a punch.
To his surprise, when her fist collided with his torso, he actually went flying back into the wall of a building.
And Applejack, to a less surprise, felt like she just touched a stovetop with how much her hand burned. "Aw heck!" She shouted as she started to blow on her hand.
Ghost Rider got back to his feet at the same time Applejack stopped fussing over her hand, and both swiftly began to make their way over to the other.
Applejack went for another punch, but this time Ghost Rider caught it.
"That wasn't bad, but this is how it's done." He said as gave her an uppercut which sent her flying and landing into the bed of her truck.
"HIIYAAAAAH" He heard as he turned and saw Pinkie Pie with a fistful of sprinkles. "No more hurting my friends! Taste my sweet revenge!" She shouted as she chucked the sprinkles at his skull.
They melted before they even got the chance to do anything.
Pinkie Pie blinked and then stomped her foot. "Aw man! I just wasted good sprinkles for nothing!"
His chain wrapped around and also threw her away. "WEEEEEEEEE" She shouted as she was flung off into the night.
Rainbow Dash growled and stood up, ignoring the pain in her foot, and stared him down.
"Rainbow, no!" Sunset, who had been in the same spot on the street the entire time, pleaded. "Your foot!"
"Screw it! I can't sit here while he hurts my friends!" She turned from Sunset and glared at Ghost Rider. "Alright pal! You and me! Let's do this!" She shouted as she dashed at him with her speed.
He simply moved aside and held out his arm, clotheslining her, causing her to drop the ground gasping for air.
"Rainbow!" Sunset shouted as she reached her arm out, but had to pull back when Ghost Rider began to make his way to her.
She glanced around frantically until her eyes landed on the only person who hadn't moved since they got outside. "Twilight! Help!"
But the girl just stayed put, shaking violently as she eyed the Ghost Rider.
"She's smarter than your friends. She knows she cannot save you from your guilt." He said as he continued to get closer. Sunset got to her feet and started backing up until she felt a wall of bricks behind her.
Watching him inch closer and closer, Sunset panicked and threw up her arms. "W-Wait! Don't I at least deserve to know what you are?!" She pleaded.
Ghost Rider paused for a second before answering. "I'm a Spirit of Vengeance. I make those guilty pay for what they have done."
"H-How did you end up like…that?" She asked, pointing her finger at his skull.
"I made a deal, and now the power of Hell itself flows through me." When he said this, the flame above his head glew a little brighter.
"A deal with who?" Sunset asked uneasily.
The Rider simply looked at her. "Who do you think?" He asked as he grabbed his chain.
"N-No, wait!" She yelled as she threw her arms in front of her face.
However no blow came.
"What is this?" She heard Ghost Rider ask. Lowering her arms she saw him tugging at his chain attempting to throw it, but it was as if it froze.
That's when she saw the purple magic engulfing it.
"T-Twilight!" She exclaimed as she looked and saw the girl obviously struggling to hold back the Rider's chain.
"Release my chain!" The Rider demanded as he looked at Twilight with what Sunset assumed was a glare.
Sunset saw Twilight strain even harder as suddenly the Ghost Riders chain wrapped itself around him, preventing him from moving. "How is this possible?!" He shouted.
With one final bout of willpower, Twilight engulfed all of Ghost Rider in her magic and with a shout threw him to the other side of town, while Rarity was running back over. She looked up and saw him fly off. "Hmph. Must've scared him off."
With a puff of air, the violet girl collapsed to the ground. Running over to Twilight, Sunset saw her other friends gathering back around.
"So, uh…" Applejack started. "We got our keesters kicked pretty badly…"
"Don't mention it…" Rainbow Dash wheezed.
"That guy wasn't very nice…" Pinkie Pie said as she materialized between Applejack and Rainbow, causing the two to jump.
The girls nodded in agreement before just standing in the road, unsure of what to do.
They were snapped out of their stupor when Fluttershy started crying.
Rarity rushed over to her and rubbed her back. "Darling, what's wrong?"
Fluttershy sobbed for a second and looked up at her friends after sniffling. "We can't beat that thing."
"Nonsense! Twilight just threw it across town!" Rarity attempted to reassure her.
"And now look at her." Applejack pointed out, as they looked over at Twilight who was panting heavily in Sunset's arms.
"I…er…' Rarity stuttered.
Fluttershy let out another cry. "My friend is gonna die!" She sobbed into Rarity's shoulder. Rarity stroked her fingers through the girls hair, doing her best to soothe her.
As Sunset looked over her defeated looking friends she felt something burning inside of her. She wasn't going to let something as stupid as a motorcycle riding skeleton tear them apart.
Gently setting Twilight down, she stood up. "Enough! We can beat him! He just caught us off guard!" She shouted, gaining their attention.
"Think about all the other things we beat! Sirens, a plant demon, a weird chick with a phone, a reality deatroying demon," Twilight flinched at that one. "Hell, you even beat ME as a demon! This one guy is nothing! We'll just have to Pony Up!"
The girls looked at each other uneasily for a moment. Then Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"Heck yeah! Let's take this loser down, and show him how awesome I am!"
"How awesome WE are!" Sunset corrected her with a smile.
"Oh, uh, right!" She said sheepishly.
"I'm not sure, darling. The biggest of those, we had Princess Twilight to help us." Rarity told her.
That's when Sunset smirked. "Exactly. Which is why we'll need help."
_______________________
Trixie wasn't even sure why she was out at two in the morning to begin with, but now she's not sure why she's just waking up on the side of the street.
She grumbled at herself to make sure she didn't get mugged while she was knocked out and started making her way home.
That's when a man with a flaming skull for a head landed with a thud in front of her.
"GAAAH!" She screamed as he got up and broke off the chains that were around him.
He looked up at her and nodded before snapping his fingers.
Trixie didn't know what that meant, but she assumed it was to bow before him, so that's exactly what she did.
Then a flaming motorcycle pulled up beside her by itself and the Rider mounted it.
"Take it easy, kid." He said in a deep voice before doing a wheelie and driving off.
Trixie fainted again.
Author's Note
i dont know how much im allowed to say on this site but lets just say i made the first chapter of this story after some "gardening" however despite being in that state i thought i was onto something so i thought what the hell and kept going. lemme know what yall think and thanks for the support on the first one.
Things Are Getting A Little Out Of Hand
Sighing, Sunset closed the book that allowed her and Princess Twilight to communicate and glanced around the room to all her friends.
Knowing that Ghost Rider would likely head back to Sunset’s house, the girls had retreated to Sweet Apple Acres after Sunset had grabbed some of her things, notably the book that served as her only form of communication between Earth and Equestria besides the statue. They knew that heading to Applejack’s farm wouldn’t shake the Rider from their trail, but it’d hopefully buy them enough time for their plan.
Currently, Sunset was holed up inside of the farmhouse sitting on the couch watching the Apple gamily’s ancient television.
Applejack had flopped down next to her and stared at the TV for a second before side eyeing Sunset. “So, what’d the Princess have to say?”
Sunset sighed again as she flipped the book back open to see the latest conversation she had with Twilight.
_______________________
"Hey Twilight! Random question; if a guy (pony I guess for you) with a flaming skull for a head started chasing you, telling you he was gonna make you pay for your sins, what do you think you'd do?"
"Oh, hello Sunset! That's a rather unusual question. And oddly specific. Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing's wrong! It's just one of those random late night questions, y'know?"
"Oh, I see! Well, I suppose I'd do the obvious thing and try to find the best way out of the situation without anypony getting hurt."
"Right, okay. Well, what if can't be reasoned with. Like, you try to talk to him, but it's like he's just on autopilot to destroy you."
"Well…I suppose I'd try to contain him."
"Hm, okay, but say he's able to break through pretty much anything."
…
"Twilight, you there?"
"I'm thinking."
"Can he break through stone? Like, for example, being sealed in stone like Discord used to?"
"I…don't know. That's a good theory. Alright, thanks Twilight!"
_____________________
As Sunset finished recounting her exchange with Princess Twilight, Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ah don't get it. Why'd ya lie to her? Wouldn't it be better if she came and helped us?"
"Maybe, but remember, here in the human world, Twilight doesn't have full access to her magic, and we don't know if the rest of it unlocks when she Pony's Up." Sunset explained.
"Ah still feel it'd be better to have as much help as we can get…" Applejack muttered as she glanced at the book.
"Well, there is another reason." Sunset said as she also glanced down at the book and bit her lip. "Knowing Twilight, despite what she said in the book, she'd probably still try to reason with Ghost Rider, and that would likely end in disaster."
"Shucks." Applejack said as she adjusted her hat. "Ah suhpose ya got a point there, sugarcube."
Sunset nodded as she and Applejack sat in silence for a moment.
"Alright, I need to make sure everything is ready." Sunset said as she got up from the couch and put her jacket on. "Are you sure we'll be alone out here?"
"Of course." Applejack replied as she also stood up and put her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Granny an' Big Mac are out in Vegas on Apple Bloom is with her friends fer the night." She explained.
Sunset looked hesitant for a second, but nodded. "Right. We got this."
"We sure do."
The two girls walked out of the house to make sure everything was prepared.
__________________________
Ghost Rider sped past Sunset's home. He could sense she wasn't there, so he didn't bother stopping.
Though the question of WHERE she disappeared to was still prevalent. The Rider pulled his bike to the side and took a moment to use his senses to find where the girl had gone.
If the Ghost Rider had eyes, imagine they shot open as he picked up on Sunset's location. Revving his bike, he sped off towards the direction.
As he was apart to leave the city and enter the country, he noticed a pair of headlights on a car.
Speeding closer, the Rider saw what appeared to be two men trying to shove a woman into a car.
Ghost Rider decided he could allow himself just a little time before going for Sunset.
It's the little things after all.
___________________________
Sunset rubbed her sleepy eyes as she gave one final look over the farm. Nodding to herself, she glanced up at the roof of the barn. "Everything okay up there, Rarity?" She called.
The girl looked down from her perch as she continued filing her nails. "Yes, everything is fine, darling." Sunset heard her mumble something, but didn’t care enough to ask her to repeat it.
Walking away from the barn, she made her way a bit down the field before hearing a boom and being pelted with sprinkles. "Hiya Sunny!" Pinkie Pie chirped.
Sighing, she glanced at her. "Hello Pinkie. Everything ready?"
"You betcha! That meanface won't know what hit him!" Pinkie replied with a stern look.
Sunset chuckled and ruffled Pinkie's puffy hair. "I'm sure."
Passing by apple tree's, she saw Applejack tending to Rainbow Dash.
By tending, she was tying the girl to the tree.
"AJ, c'mon! This isn't fair!" She yelled as she struggled against the binds, but it was for naught.
Applejack snickered as she watched her friend try her hardest to break free. "We both know ya wouldn't stay down, sugarcube. Ya can't be on that leg."
"Yeah, but once we pony up, it'll heal itself!"
Applejack paused for a moment and stared down at the girl. “Well, that is true…” She mumbled while scratching her chin.
“See?! Now lemme go!”
Applejack contemplated it for a minute before Sunset stepped in.
"That may be true, but that's the last step in our plan." Twilight explained.
Rainbrow growled as she threw her head against the tree behind her and then recoiled with a hiss of pain.
Chuckling to herself, Sunset gave one more passing glance at the surrounding area.
"Hey, where's Fluttershy?"
"She's inside with Winona. Ah figured this ain't her fight. She got mighty shaken up last time we tried taken this fella on." Applejack explained.
Sunset frowned. "We'll need everyone out here so we can pony up."
"Yeah, that's why Ah told her when she hears somethin' blow up, that's her cue to come runnin'."
Sunset nodded, but kept the frown on her face.
The girls all sat for a moment in silence, but they were snapped out of their stupor but the familiar hum of a motorcycle.
"Aw heck." Applejack muttered.
Twilight started to run her fingers through her hair. "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh…"
Sunset took a deep breath and looked at her friends.
"This is it you guys."
_____________________
Ghost Rider drew closer to his prey as dirt kicked up under the flaming wheels of his hellcycle.
Ghost Rider sped straight into the farm as as he looked around the open fields of the farm, he started to drive in circles around the plantation.
"Don't you know open areas are where I work best?!" He shouted as he burned the soil beneath him.
As he finished shouting, a diamond appeared right in front of his bike, prompting him to swerve to the side. He can break through them with his strength, but just driving into one would be a bad idea.
As he continued to drive, multiple diamonds appeared sporadically, causing him to drive around like a maniac.
"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this going!" Rarity shouted.
"Just keep it up a bit longer!" Sunset shouted.
Rarity continued to summon diamonds as her energy was drained more and more.
BOOM
Just as she was about to give out, the diamonds had led Ghost Rider straight into Pinkie's cannons.
While they didn't harm him directly, they did cause him to go flying off his bike.
After crash landing and getting his bearings, Ghost Rider glanced up in time to see Applejack walk up to his motorcycle.
"Nice wheels." She said as she picked up the bike and tossed it off into the night sky.
Ghost Rider watched as his bike flew away and looked back at Applejack as she grabbed his chain.
"Why do you insist so badly on protecting her soul?" Ghost Rider asked as he spun his chain.
"Cause Ah know she's a good person. And yer not takin' her." She replied.
"Heard that before." Ghost Rider stated as he swung his chain at Applejack.
However the girl didn't even flinch as his chain was once again enveloped in purple light as he glanced at where Twilight was standing with a smug smirk.
"Not too bright are ya?"
The chain once again wrapped itself around Ghost Rider, while the loose end was directed toward Applejack, who grabbed it, swung it around a few times, and threw Ghost Rider through a few trees until he violently crashed into the wall of the barn.
Rarity quickly summoned a diamond around Ghost Rider for extra measure against him moving while Fluttershy ran out of the house.
The girls all ran over to where the Rider was trapped and locked their hands with each other.
"Your terror ends here, Ghost Rider!" Sunset shouted. "Allow the Magic of Friendship help you!"
"The magic of what?"
The girls all stared at him with smirks for a second while Ghost Rider stared back.
"Um, why isn't anything happening?" Fluttershy nervously asked as she looked at her friends who all had equally nervous looks on their face.
"Hey! Forgetting someone, you jerks?!" They all heard the raspy voice of their friend call out.
"Rainbow Dash!" Sunset shouted as she turned and saw their friend still tied to a tree.
"Shoot! Ah forgot to undo her knot, and nothing breaks an Apple Family knot!" Applejack shouted.
"Why'd you even tie her up in the first place?!" Rarity yelled at the girl.
"Ah thought it'd be funny…?" Applejack nervously shrugged.
The girls bickering was put to a stop as Ghost Rider's flames burnt brighter. "'Not too bright are ya?'" He mocked as he started breating fire on the diamond, causing it to start cracking.
Sunset's face paled as she glanced at the Rider and back at Rainbow. "Keep him stalled!"
The girls all gave varying sounds of confusion as she ran towards the binded girl.
"Bout time! I'm giving myself rope burn trying to get out of these things!" Rainbow shouted as Sunset started tugging on the rope.
"I know! I know! I'm sorry! Now shut up, so I can get you free!" Sunset yelled back at her.
"Sunset! Yer not getting that knot undone!" Applejack called out as she tried tying another rope around the diamond.
Sunset grunted as she backed away from the rope and glanced at her hands which sported burn marks on them.
Looking around her surroundings, she spotted something.
"Screw it!" She exclaimed as she got up and grabbed a hoe and walked back over to Rainbow.
"WOAH, WOAH, HEY, LET'S NOT BE RASH HERE!" Rainbow shouted as Sunset walked over to her and started swinging her hoe against the rope over and over.
"Darling, I don't mean to rush you or anything…" Rarity called as she tried to patch the diamond that was cracking. "But, perhaps you could hurry up?"
Sunset glanced over and watched as Pinkie was putting bubblegum all over the diamond, Twilight trying her best to use her telekinesis to stop Ghost Rider, and Fluttershy watching scared.
She looked back at the ropes to see that they were almost cut.
"Alright, this is it!" She exclaimed as she wound up one last big swing and brought it down on the rope, which cut, setting Rainbow free.
"Aw yeah!" She shouted as she sprung up, and then instantly regretted as she remembered her foot.
Grabbing her arm, Sunset pulled her towards Ghost Rider and the rest of the girls. "Let's finish this."
Rainbow Dash nodded with a determined smiled as they ran (hopped in Rainbow's case) over to Ghost Rider.
The rest of the Rainbooms meanwhile were on the verge of giving out when Sunset and Rainbow showed up. "Everyone! Now!"
Just as she shouted this, their efforts finally proved to not be enough as Ghost Rider burst free from his trap.
As the Rider prepared himself, he was stopped by a bright glow that took him by surprise.
These girls were proving to be more interesting than he anticipated.
The Rainbooms floated in the air and in a brilliant flash of light, grew pony ears, and some wings.
"As I was saying;" Sunset started. "Ghost Rider! Prepare to feel the Magic of Friendship!"
After she said this, the girls joined hands and with another bright flash, Ghost Rider saw a magic rainbow beam fly straight at him.
Trying his best to defend himself against the blast, he let out a burst of flames from his jaw, but it didn't hold long, as he soon was overpowered and fully blasted with the friendship rainbow.
After a moment, the Rainbooms let up and descended back down to the ground.
"So, he should be depowered now…right?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at the crater Ghost Rider know laid in.
"Yeah, they usually are after we hit them with a rainbow beam." Sunset said.
"Awww yeah! Another awesome victory! And my foot is fixed" Rainbow exclaimed as she pumped a fist and stomped her foot against the ground a few times. "This gives me an idea!" She said as she suddenly zoomed off and came back at the speed of light, now equipped with her guitar.
"Prepare for the sickest riff of your life!" She told her friends as she started going to town on her guitar.
Applejack chuckled and glanced around the farm. "Granny's not gonna be happy when she gets back." She said surveying the damage.
"She won't even notice!" Pinkie Pie said. "We'll have it cleaned up before you can say Awesome Party For Celebrating Defeating Fire Skeleton Man!"
Rarity giggled. "Yes, I suppose a celebration wouldn't be so bad. Besides, it has been dreadfully long since we used these abilities, I forgot how fabulous we all looked!"
Twilight huffed and sat down. "I'm just glad it's over."
However before anyone else could respond, they all noticed the crater where their blast had hit illuminate with an orange glow.
"No…" Sunset mumbled as a gloved hand gripped the ground and pulled the hauntingly familiar flaming skull back for all of them to see.
"You cannot extuingish the fires of vengeance." The Ghost Rider stated as he climbed out of the hole, not a scratch on him and looked at the Rainbooms.
Sunset Shimmer just stared with an empty look in her eyes.
Her soul was damned.
Author's Note
got busy gaming yknow how it is and also lot of writers block and also wasnt under the influence for most of it so i apologize if some of it seems weird
All of the Rainbooms stared in horror as Ghost Rider stood up from the crater, completely unscathed.
Twilight's mouth hung open. "H-How…?"
Ghost Rider moved to look at her and before anybody could react, threw his chain at her, wrapping her up and leaving her immobile.
"GAH!"
"No more tricks from you." He stated as he yanked her aside as her friends tried to grab her.
Though instead of that, Sunset remained motionless, her eyes firmly locked onto Ghost Rider with the occasional twitch.
Then she snapped.
"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!" She shouted hysterically. "WE USED THE ELEMENTS! YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THE EVIL EXTINGUISHED FROM YOU!"
Ghost Rider snapped his skull to look back at Sunset. "My power comes from Hell, but I am not evil. I hunt those with evil souls."
Sunset grit her teeth. "HOW AM I EVIL?!" She demanded. "I HAVE WORKED MY ASS OFF TRYING TO MAKE WHAT I DID RIGHT! WHY DIDN'T YOU COME FOR ME WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY A BITCH?!"
"I was occupied, but now I am making up for lost time. And you are on the list."
"BUT I'VE CHANGED!"
"The guilt is faint, but it is there nonetheless. And, as faint as it may be, your soul is still guilty, meaning you must repent."
Her friends watched the exchange with stunned expressions, too shocked to move.
Sunset fell to her knees in front of the Rider and let tears fall from her eyes.
"I don't understand…I thought everyone had forgiven me…" She said with a defeated voice glancing up at the Rider's flaming face.
"They have." He spoke.
That made Sunset pause and look up at Ghost Rider. "W-What…?"
Ghost Rider kept his eyes locked on her.
"They have. All have forgiven you." He then held up a finger. "All but one. And while that one still finds you guilty, your soul is damned."
Sunset started breathing frantically. "Wh-Who?! Who is it?!" She pleaded as she got to her feet.
The Rider did not answer as he walked over to her and grabbed her by her jacket.
Just as he began to lift her, a voice spoke up. "STOP!"
All heads turned to look at Twilight, who was still chained up on the floor.
"You can't take Sunset!" She shouted.
"Her soul-" Ghost Rider started, but was cut off.
"I DON'T CARE!" She shouted, much to everyone's surprise. "Sunset is my best friend! She saved me from ripping reality apart, why isn't my soul guilty?!"
“You have been forgiven.”
“And everyone has forgiven Sunset!” Twilight screamed. “Do any of you still hold grudges?!”
“Heck no. That girl’s done more fer me than Ah can count.” Applejack said.
“Yeah, she’s saved us more times than Rarity’s cried over a stain, which is really saying something.” Rainbow Dash added.
Rarity glared at her. “While I detest that statement, it is a true one.”
“She’s a really nice person…” Fluttershy said with a lot more force than most were anticipating.
“So see?! Sunny’s a really super awesome cool person!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up.
Ghost Rider stood still as they all spoke and glanced around at the group.
Then he looked back at Sunset and wrapped a bony hand around her neck. “That changes nothing. One of you still does not forgive her.”
“WHAT?!” They all shouted in unison.
Sunset struggled against the Rider’s grip, trying desperately to pry his fingers away from her throat, but it was useless.
That’s when she realized something.
Ever since the Fall Formal she had spent all that time kicking herself in the ass. She herself had never really gotten over it. All that pain she caused, how could she?
And then it clicked.
...Was Sunset Shimmer.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Ghost Rider spoke. “Now…GAZE INTO MY EYES!”
Her friends all screamed out in horror, as Sunset locked eyes with the Ghost Rider’s fiery pupils that seemed to entrance her.
However, before the stare could take full effect, Sunset spoke up. “I FORGIVE MYSELF!”
Ghost Rider paused as his pupils shrunk down to normal. “What?”
“I FORGIVE MYSELF! FOR THE FALL FORMAL AND FOR EVERYTHING I HAD DONE BEFORE IT! FOR TEARING A GROUP OF FRIENDS APART, FOR MESSING WITH PEOPLE, FOR EVERYTHING!” She shouted.
The air around them all seemed to become thick enough to cut with a knife as everyone looked at the Spirit of Vengeance as he dangled their friend from his grasp.
“You are sincere.” He finally spoke after an agonizingly long silence.
"Y-Yes, of course I am!" Sunset said as she continued to pry away at Ghost Rider's fingers. "Do you think you can let me go?"
Ghost Rider released his grip causing Sunset to fall with a thud as her friends all ran up and began to hug her and check to make sure she was alright.
“Your soul has been cleared of sin.” Ghost Rider said, snapping the girls out of their hug.
Sunset got up and looked at the Rider. “D-Does that mean you’ll leave me alone?” She asked hopefully.
“If you continue to stay pure, then yes, I will not be forced to hunt you down again.”
The group all let out a collective sigh of relief as Ghost Rider’s bike pulled up beside them and he got on top of it.
“Stay in school, kids.” He spoke as he revved the bike and took off in a burst of speed.
The girls watched him leave before Sunset collapsed to the ground. “I am so tired.”
________________________________
The crowd cheered as The Rainbooms just finished a show at Sugarcube Corner. Sunset smirked and looked out at the group of people applauding their small little concert. She was surprised at the size of the turnout considering Sugarcube Corner wasn’t very big, but she couldn’t complain. It was nice.
As the last few people started to either leave or go back to their tables to continue eating their treats, the band began to clean up the stage.
“I swear, we need a crew or something to clean this stuff up for us.” Rainbow Dash said as she sat on an amp plucking random strings on her guitar and did nothing to help clean up.
"That would require money. More money than an average group of high schoolers can make." Applejack said as she lifted the amp Rainbow sat on. "Get offa that."
Rainbow blew her tongue at the girl, but hopped off.
Sunset chuckled to herself as she watched the exchange and started wrapping her guitar up. A few days had passed since the Ghost Rider incident, and after a time, and a large scolding from Granny Smith over a destroyed farm, things had gotten back to normal.
"Excuse me. Are you the Rainbooms?"
The girls all turned to see a blonde man wearing a leather jacket looking at them.
Rarity stepped forward. "Why yes, we are! Could you be a fan, darling? I do autographs."
The man chuckled as he looked at the group. "Just stepping in to see the show. Gotta hit the road in a few." He said as he jabbed his thumb towards a rather familiar looking motorcycle.
"Well, thank you for seeing the show." Twilight said with a smile.
"And if you got some spare cash, we're always taking donations." Rainbow Dash said with a sly smirk.
Applejack elbowed her.
Sunset had kept quiet the whole time eyeing the man. "What'd you say your name was?"
The man chuckled. "Name's Johnny."
Author's Note
alls well that ends well, eh?
took longer to write than i anticipated but theres gaming to be done and movies to be watched yknow. yall seen spider-verse that dropped since the last chapter its peak.
Adam Warlock flew through the infinite galaxy in peaceful silence, no destination really in mind as he wandered aimlessly, content with the quiet.
"Hey pal! Over here!"
The Warlock sighed as he turned to face the voice that called out to him, which was a man on a floating motorcycle with a dome concealing a skull that burned with cosmic flames.
Frank Castle, once The Punisher, and currently the Cosmic Ghost Rider.
He spoke to the figure. "I told you Francis Castle, I know not where Galactus is. Now, leave me alone."
"Nah, that's not what I want this time. You ever heard of Equestria?"
Adam Warlock raised an eyebrow. "No, I cannot say I have."
"Yeah, ya wouldn't. It's in a different dimension." Cosmic Ghost Rider said as if it was obvious.
"Then how are you aware of it?"
Cosmic Ghost Rider threw a little device at Adam. "Check this out. Swiped it from Kang."
Adam's attention went from the device to Cosmic Ghost Rider. "As in the Conqueror?"
"Yeah."
Warlock nodded and looked back at the device. "I would ask how you obtained it from him, but I'm sure it would be a waste of my time."
"It's a long one. Anyhow, there's some trouble going down there, and I think the ones responsible are in need of some…punishing."
Adam stared at Cosmic Ghost Rider for a moment before tossing him the device. "Right then. Well, I wish you luck in your journey."
He turned to fly away, but before he could, Cosmic Ghost Rider grabbed onto his cape. "Hold on buster. You're comin' with me!"
"I see no reason for me to." He stated as he turned to fly again, before a chain wrapped around him. "What the-?!"
"Nope! I don't feel like going on another solo adventure, and I think you'd be a fun adventuring buddy."
With that, Cosmic Ghost Rider used the device to open a portal. Adam glanced through it and saw color everywhere.
It looked…nice.
The Warlock hummed to himself. "Perhaps I can accompany you."
"That's the spirit! Now let's go!" Was the last thing said as the Cosmic Ghost Rider and Adam Warlock flew into the portal.
______________________________
Princess Twilight fell threw the portal in front of Canterlot High.
Quickly scrambling to her feet, she frantically looked around for her friends only for her eyes to land on Trixie standing in the middle of the road.
Getting her balance on two feet, she quickly made her way over to her and flipped her around.
"Trixie! Have you seen Sunset?!" She asked urgently.
Trixie's eyes shrank and her face went pale. "Is this some trick from the skull man?! HA! You cannot fool the Great and Powerful Trixie! Now begone hellspawn!" She shouted as she threw a smokebomb at Twilight.
The smoke poured out of the bomb as Twilight glanced around only for there to be zero Trixie.
She groaned as she ran down the street trying to find her friends.
Trixie hid behind a fire hydrant. "Hehehe. Nothing can top the genius of Trixie."
"Hiya Trixie!" Lyra said as she and Bonbon walked by.
Trixie growled and got up. "I'm going home."
Author's Note
just some little extra fun stuff. i thought of while hanging out. first ones just an excuse to include Cosmic Ghost Rider and Adam Warlock. at this moment i dont have plans fot a sequel with them but who knows a few ideas have come to mind.
writing this has been more fun than i anticipated despite the time to write it and its varying quality so i think i may do some more.
next ones gonna be a one shot blast to the past with a certain Stranger, but after that we may get en extended adventure with a Man Without Fear.
anyways who knows but hope you guys had some fun with this.
