Chapter 9: Myths and Legends

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A lavender hoof shot out from the roll of sheets and blankets on Twilight’s bed, slapping the offending alarm clock into blissful silence. Twilight groaned as the tiny sliver of sunlight bored into her eyes. She was halfway through rolling over and wrapping herself back in her cocoon of blankets before she remembered why she had set the accursed alarm: she had to get ready to meet this mysterious pony that Celestia had told her about at the train station. Giving a long yawn, she pushed herself, regrettably, out of the warm comfort that was just calling her to sleep in longer. Sleeping on a cloud mattress was a gift and a curse; they would always give you the best night sleep, but would make you want to stay in bed all day.

Stepping onto the hardwood floor of her home, Twilight gave a long cat like stretch, accompanied by a chorus of joints popping from hours of stillness. She then stretched out her wings. It was still so odd to have wings. Every day she expected them just to be gone but they were still there. She loved having them—she could help her friends more, and it did make getting to and from home quicker—but it was still such a strange concept to wake up with.

Regardless, she found her way to the bathroom. She was just about to start her morning ritual when her stomach gave a loud grumble.

Breakfast first, then shower, Twilight thought as she left the bathroom and made her way downstairs. On her way, she passed Spike’s room. Now that he was much bigger, he needed his own room and could not just simply sleep in a basket by her bed. Though, the dragon had at times moved his mattress into Twilight’s room to sleep. Some habits are just too hard to break at times.

Before she even reached the doors she could clearly hear the rusty chainsaw-like rhythm of Spike’s snoring, but as she crossed, she could hear something else in between—another set of snores, this one more calm and quiet, and in perfect counterpoint to Spike’s. It was the kind of rhythm that could only be achieved by two ponies who spent a lot of time in bed together. She rolled her eyes as she continued on towards the kitchen.

“Honestly, Spike, you could at least warn me when you are going to have company,” Twilight murmured to herself. She made a mental note to remind Spike about whose roof he lived under.

She still remembered running into the young stallion one morning when he was trying to find the bathroom. He looked absolutely terrified when he ran into her after a evening of boinking her little brother, at least according to his sweaty mane, ruffled feathers, and beet-red complexion. Twilight had just walked by with a simple ‘Hi.’ She was not like Shining, who would have blasted any stallion with a wave of magic if they so much looked at her in a lustful manner.

Why does he have to keep it a secret at times? I don’t care if Rumble is going to spend the night. I just rather not wake up and finding a strange pony in my home, she thought, walking through the library only half awake. She needed two things to start fully functioning: food and coffee.

Getting to the kitchen, she went right for the pantry shelf that held the key ingredient for the Elixir of the Gods: one hundred percent, Southern Equestria cinnamon roast coffee. Grabbing the bag, she poured the contents into the maker and hit the start button. She made enough for six cups, seeing that they did have a guest. She proceeded to make her way to the fridge to grab two slices of bread for her morning toast when she noticed the Manehatten Times on her breakfast table. Placing the bread in the toaster she sat in her chair and began to read the front page article:

Ghost Rider Still At Large! Five Nights of Terror Throughout Equestria! Evildoers Beware!

Twilight groaned at the sensational headline. The media always had a field day whenever the so-called “Ghost Rider” showed up. She still found it hard to believe that not only had this individual not been caught yet, but also that Rainbow Dash had never heard of him, and that this pony thought what they were doing was right. Scanning the article, she started to go through the description of how the bodies were found, the ponies that were place in that odd coma state, and the description of the Ghost Rider.

“‘At every scene of the attacks, eyewitnesses report that they were saved, rescued, or saw a pony riding off on a motorcycle. They appeared to have a skull for a head with a metal horn protruding from their skull, and, as always, was on fire,’” Twilight read out loud, waiting for her coffee and toast to be done. It was a bad habit, she knew, at least one that irritated Spike to no end, but reading aloud was an old habit from her school days. That, and externalizing her thought process.

“Who believes these kind of stories? A single pony committing all these murders? The speed they would have to travel to get to each city, the amount of magical power they would have to have to fight so many attackers, not to mention to even use a spell to make a motorcycle fly, have a burning skull and such is just ridiculous! Who even believes this nonsense?”

“I do,” a voice said from behind her.

“Ahh!”

Twilight nearly fell out of her chair, then spun, wings flared to their full length. Standing behind her was a very tall, very thin earth pony with a brilliant white coat and a well-coiffed blonde mane. Immediately, Twilight was drawn to his eyes: one was a dull gray, the other a bright yellow, slitted vertically like a reptile's. They were currently inspecting the article that Twilight had just been reading.

Twilight stood there, not able to form a sentence as the stallion just continued to skim the article.

“This business with the Ghost Rider does always make good fodder for the rags, does it not?” the stallion said, in a almost musical accent, his face not seeming to register Twilight’s reaction. “I have been following the trail of the Ghost Rider for quite some time and he always seems to leave a story that the press just can’t get enough of.”

With a shake of her head, Twilight glared at her uninvited guest. “Where did you come from?” she demanded.

Before the stallion could answer her, a door upstairs burst open.

“Twilight?!” Spike leapt over the railing and landed in a crouch at the bottom of the stairs, followed closely by Rumble. Both males made their way to the kitchen to see Twilight and the strange stallion. Spike had his claws extended and small wisps of smoke escaping his nostrils, while Rumble took up the traditional pegasus fighting stance, his legs slightly bent and wings flared, making the lithe teenager seem much bigger than he was.

“Well, I was in Stalliongrad the night before, Canterlot for a day, Manehatten a few nights, Canterlot, and Prairieville before any of that,” he said, not even acknowledging the two males ready to attack at the drop of a hat.

“That is not what I meant!” Twilight said, stepping in front of the two. “I mean how did you get here and— ”

“The front door,” he answered, as he looked over at the brewer that had just dinged. “I let myself in.”

“I locked that last night!” Spike spat, “right after Twi went to bed and Rumble snuck... er, I-I mean...” Said stallion had a light blush covering his face now, but maintained his threatening posture

The other stallion just looked at Spike with what looked like a look of confusion, before his eyes trailed over to Rumble and finally to Twilight.

“Really? I just tried the handle this morning and it was open,” he laughed slightly as he poured himself some coffee. “Excellent blend here. Though I usually prefer Kopi Luwak.” The stallion took another sip of coffee before walking back to the breakfast table and flipping to the continuation page of the main article. “Besides, why would I break into a building housing an alicorn princess, an adolescent dragon going through the early stages of his second growth spurt, and a Wonderbolt Academy cadet?”

Twilight sent a glare over at Spike and the blushing Rumble. That conversation would have to wait. For now, she returned her smouldering gaze to this pale interloper.

“How... how did you know all that?”

“I read your file. You’re twenty six, daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. Your brother is General Shining Armor, commander of the Royal Guard Special Forces, and Prince Consort of the Crystal Empire. You graduated from Princess Celestia’s school of Gifted Unicorns. Personal student of Princess Celestia, bearer of the Element of Magic, and crowed princess at the age of twenty two.”
Twilight’s jaw hung open as the mysterious pony took another sip of his coffee as he kept looking over the paper, not even bothering to look up while he talked. She looked over at Spike and Rumble, who both looked as shocked as she felt.

“Who are you?”

The white stallion looked up at her for a second before clearing his throat.

“Sorry, I seemed to have forgotten my manners. This new article about the Ghost Rider took most of my attention,” he said as he reached into his suit coat and pulled out a small felt case, that he flipped open to reveal his badge. “Special Agent Bentgrass of Their Majesties’ Royal Investigation Service. I believe Princess Celestia wrote to you about my arrival?”

Twilight looked down at the badge for brief moment, her mind trying to connect everything that had just happened.

“Wait, I thought I was supposed to pick you up at the train station at nine. It’s only—” Twilight looked up at the clock in the kitchen “—seven thirty. How did you get here so early?” Bentgrass was already sipping on his coffee again as he used a quill to circle a few lines in the article he had been reading.

“I actually never boarded that train. I took the express that left two hours earlier. I just had the report delayed so it looked like I boarded that train.”

“You lied to Princess Celestia?!”

Bentgrass didn’t seem phased by her outrage. He just kept on looking at the newspaper and made a few more circles.
“Not at all. I just simply left out the ‘express’ part of the train I was getting on and the time I left. It was to make certain that I would arrive here with limited interruption.” With a final flourish, Bentgrass finished marking the newspaper and made his way to the library proper, walking right past the stunned Twilight.

“A lie of omission is still a lie!” Twilight growled, trailing after Bentgrass, followed by Spike and Rumble. “You better have an excellent reason for that, Agent Bentgrass, or I will be sure to inform Princess Celestia about how flippantly you seem to be treating this case.” Twilight followed Bentgrass all the way to a table that had books piled up on it along with a large map. “Did you take those out?”

“This is a library and not a private collection, right?” Bentgrass asked, but his impassive tone bartered no response. He instead pulled out a book from the stack and opened it to a dog-eared page. “And fire from his eyes shall spout, to burn the souls of the wicked and the wretched.” He slammed the book shut, making everyone present jump as the sound echoed in the cavernous room. “Do you believe in souls, Princess Twilight?”

From the accent of his voice, the strangeness of how he talked, and the random quoting of a book, Twilight was not prepared for such a non sequitur. She shook her head, then eyed the pale agent with a curious glance. “A soul? Well, I suppose so. Why does this— ”

“But can you prove a soul exists without doubt, Princess Twilight?”

“Well no, there is no way to— ”

“Yet most ponies believe that we have a soul, and when we die that soul will either go to the paradise of the Elysian Fields, or we will burn forever in the pits of Hell. How can so many ponies, as well as creatures from all across the globe, come to this conclusion? That there is a essence inside of us that will live on after our bodies die?” Bentgrass’ hooves were pushing books around, trying to get at one that seemed to be at the bottom of the pile.

“Scientifically, we can’t prove that souls exist,” Twilight finally stammered out, her brain working furiously to piece the odd conversation together. “It all comes from an ancient belief that we have souls and that such planes exist. If we look back at the history of Equestria we will find— ”

“Ancient myths and legends about heroes, monsters, villains, trials, and so much more,” Bentgrass interrupted again, pulling out a small black pocketbook from his coat. It was extremely worn out and looked heavily used. “Almost every one with a lesson of some sort. Those are not the ones that concern me. No, this is the only one that concerns me. A modern legend.” Bentgrass pushed the book towards Twilight before he moved books away from a large map.

Twilight looked down at the pocketbook, before the purple glow of her magic aura covered it. Bringing it close enough to read the title: Ghost Rider.

Despite the situation, Twilight let out a quiet scoff. “Agent Bentgrass, you're not suggesting that this Ghost Rider is some kind of... spirit, are you?” As she asked, Spike and Rumble looked over her shoulder to read the cover as well.

Bentgrass was just looking over the map, his eyes scanning it as he traced his hoof in a pattern over and over again. “It’s a not about suggesting, Your Highness. It is about putting facts together and keeping your mind open to every possibility.”

Twilight could not help but roll her eyes. “Agent Bentgrass, that is ridiculous. I will admit that the crimes seem a bit... odd, but to assume that it’s all the work of some kind of Boogey-Mare is foolish! Hockahm’s Razor tells us the simplest explanation is true.”

“Ah, yes. Dear Professor Hockham, the bane of the exploratory mind for many a generation.” Bentgrass chuckled, already returned to the map on the table. “Tell me then, Highness. How would you explain the multiple crimes in multiple areas, all with the same signature?”

“M-maybe he’s a pegasus?” Rumble said. Twilight and Bentgrass both glanced at him. He shrunk down under their withering glares. “W-well, I know... uh, some pegasi can, um...”

“Babe,” Spike said, putting a claw on his shoulder, “this is egghead time.”

Twilight shook her head, then turned back to Bentgrass. “Likely, it’s the work of more than one suspect,” she said with an air of smugness she felt no need to try and hide.

“And how does a cabal of like-minded criminals with such coordination sit with you and the professor? And what of the flying motorcycle?”

“Levitation spells are foal’s play. Literally, I teach them to local fillies in my spare time.”

“The numerous accounts of a pony with,” he cast an eye to his notebook, “ ‘a flaming skull in place of a head’?”

“An illusion spell.”

“And I suppose the mysterious comas are all the work of some kind of exotic poison, one that conveniently does not show up on any known toxin panel?”

“You said it, not me,” Twilight responded with a smile.

“Heh, indeed.” Bentgrass flicked a hoof to the notebook still hovering by her head. “All the same, I advise you take a look at my notes. I fear you and dear Professor Hockham might find it... enlightening.”

Opening to the first page of the book, Twilight found the pages to be worn, having been flipped many times. The second thing she noticed that it was crammed with writing. Some looking as though it had been just written, while in other parts the ink was fading.

Max Bronius. Foalnapper and murder. Penance Stare.

Color Spectrum. Serial killer, smashed victims skulls in. Impalement on fencing outside of police station.

Tweak. Believed to be leader of a cult that sacrificed ponies of all species in order to become all powerful. Beaten within inch of life with blunt object (probably chain) then given Penance Stare.

Rotten Seed. Pony Sex Trafficking and murder. Burned Alive in front of victims.

Twilight looked down at the page in confusion. It was a list of names, crimes, and execution, that went on till the very bottom and continued for many pages.

Karmic Dasher. Murdered three ponies. Hung by chains until dead.

Pluck n’ Holler. Known train robber and murderer. Chained to train tracks and ran over by passing train.

Shock n’ Awe. Accomplice of cousin Pluck n’ Holler, known murder. Penance Stare.

Base Drifter. Connected to several armed robberies throughout Equestria with several killings. Thrown off roof and then given Penance Stare.

Pencil Pusher. Suspected of murdering business partner. Thrown from Manehatten skyscraper to death.

Harmony Quill. Drug smuggler and suspected of four different murders. Penance Stare.

Dusty Tome. Committed Ritual Murders in order to boost magical power. Chained to a tree and ripped in half by motorcycle.

Twilight flipped through a few more pages, seeing that almost every page was more of the same. She could feel Spike and Rumble’s eyes over her shoulder reading the book as well.

“Agent Bentgrass, what is this?”

Bentgrass looked up for a second. Twilight felt like he was analyzing her with those eyes, as if taking in a painting for the first time and trying to find it’s meaning.

“Have you ever heard of any of those ponies before, Princess Twilight?” Twilight looked back down at the book again, flipping through the pages and getting to the ones in the back.

Twilight bit her lip. He was baiting her, she knew it, but for as much as she hated it, he did have a point. “I have,” she finally answered. “These are all victims of the supposed ‘Ghost Rider.’ But it is impossible for one pony to do all this! It has to be a network of them. Working together to make ponies believe that-”

“Ahh, yes. The Multiple Rider theory. It is very popular, and would have worked in any other circumstance. However, I have been to each and everyone of those crime scenes, Princess Twilight. The details of the crime are so exact, so precise in their execution, that it is impossible for it to be done by different ponies.”

“It’s just ridiculous!” Twilight spat, slamming the book back on the table. “These ponies were supposed to be killers! How were they killed so easily? And what is this,” she looked back to the notebook, “Penance Stare? Is that causing the comas?” Bentgrass gave Twilight a confused look, but a small smile appeared on his face as he took the book back and flipped to a random page.
“Tell me, Princess Twilight, what are some of the strongest emotions a pony can feel?”

Twilight felt her wings puff out slightly. These random shifts in tone and topic were grating on her last nerve. “I hardly see how that has to do with-”

“Oh, but it has everything to do with it. Come now, what are the strongest emotions a pony can feel?” Another trait of this pony Twilight was starting to dislike: he kept interrupting her. He was worse than Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity combined when it came to voicing opinions.

“Fine. I’ll play your little game Agent Bentgrass. Obviously love is one. Anger, grief, happiness, and hate are all strong, as well.” Twilight felt a few of those emotions creeping up on her now as Bentgrass just stood their with a thin smile on his face.

“Very true. And when we lose a special somepony, we experience a lot of those emotions. Mostly anger, grief, and hate. Those emotions tear us up on the inside, just begging to get loose and unleash themselves on the world. All that pain and suffering bottled up inside. Now, imagine that as a weapon. A weapon to be used on those who caused all that pain.”

Twilight saw a gleam of sorts pass through that reptilian like eye of Bentgrass as he described this. As if he was taking pleasure in the thoughts of those emotions becoming a weapon. To have such a weapon would be terrifying to any criminal she had to imagine, to feel all that pain and loss of losing loved ones.

That was when it hit her.

“Wait...are you saying that is what this Penance Stare is? And that the coma is-” The mental images of a pony just laying in a hospital bed, unable to move or communicate was having to relive the horrors that they committed, that they would feel all those pain of loss every second of everyday till the day they died chilled her to the bone.

It was a fate worse than death.

“No, that can’t be real,” Twilight said firmly. “Agent Bentgrass, you’re turning this murder into something supernatural for no reason. This is all just legends forming from terrible acts! You're just as bad as Rainbow Dash saying she raced the Ghost Rider!” As soon as those words left her lips, several books hit the floor. Turning to the noise, Bentgrass was staring right at her, his hoof was just slightly above the map, shaking ever so slightly as he looked at her.

“I’m sorry, Princess Twilight, but I thought I heard you say somepony didn’t just see the Ghost Rider, but actually raced him.” Bentgrass said.

“Um… yes… but I wouldn’t believe it. Rainbow Dash is always prone to make stories wilder than they seem. I mean the way she—”

“How did she describe him?” Bentgrass demanded, getting from his seat and making his way towards Twilight. A gleam of some kind was visible in his reptilian eye, like he was ready to pounce. Spike and Rumble must have sensed it as well, because they both moved in between her and the tense agent.

Spike glared hard at him. “Agent Bentgrass, you need to—”

“You're right, I need it from the witness herself. You said it was Rainbow Dash right? Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Wonderbolt for three years, and currently works as Ponyville’s Weather Manger correct?”

“How did you—”

“I read the folder on anypony of importance here. Now, I must be on my way. Who knows how much she has forgotten of that encounter.” Bentgrass turned and started to make his way towards the door, till a purple aura surrounded it. Turning back, he saw Twilight advancing towards him.

“Now, hold on,” Twilight said, now stepping in front of Bentgrass. “Princess Celestia told me to help you in anyway possible. You broke into my house—”

“Uh, I may have left the door unlocked—” Spike cut himself off at Twilight’s glare.

Twilight continued. “You terrified me, drank my coffee, went through my books without much regard, and now you are just leaving? Celestia may think highly of you, but so far, I’ve seen nothing but a rude and superstitious pony. I am coming with you Agent Bentgrass.”

If the sudden change ferocity and authority that Twilight Sparkle had any effect on Bentgrass, he didn’t show it. “Very well then, I could use somepony that knows the lay of the land and the most likely of spots to find our witness. So please, after you Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight didn’t know if him using her full title was to be some kind of insult as he opened the door for her.

She growled something under her breath, then turned to Spike. “Watch the library while I’m gone.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Spike said with a salute.

“And next time you want some hanky-panky, lock the door.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!” Rumble said with a shaky salute of his own.

Her piece said, Twilight marched out the door, the aggravating agent hot on her hooves.

--

Rainbow Dash floated high above Sweet Apple Acres glowering down at it. Normally, this was her favorite place to hang out on her off time.

She could watch Applejack, Soarin, Apple Bloom, and Braeburn all working hard in the orchards, getting ready to harvest apples and make some of that amazing cider. She would also be able to see her favorite nephew, even if they weren't related, and maybe foalnap him for a few hours to give him some private training. However, the new addition to the farm made visiting the place almost unbearable.

Wild Blaze...

Everything about that stallion rubbed her the wrong way. Not only did he stop her from performing an amazing stunt, he somehow managed to steal away Little Macky’s attention. Ever since Blaze met him, the little tyke hadn’t shut up about how “awesome” and “cool” Wild Blaze is, like he was the most amazing thing ever!

A title that belonged to her, and her alone!

Not to mention that Wild Blaze just seemed like a poor rip off of Big Mac. Sure, he might be around the same strength as Mac was, but he was no where near the same stallion he was! Big Mac was cool in his own way. Sure, he didn’t say much, but his quiet—stoic, she would say, if she were a total egghead, but she wasn’t—demeanor was so much cooler than the “tough pony” act that Blaze put on. And Mac was loyal to his family to no end, while this guy just moves from town to town with no attachment to anything at all!

Rainbow kept glowering down at the large maroon stallion, who was currently pulling a large cart out of the orchard. He looked so out of place there on the farm. Even Soarin did a better job of blending in than this guy! Even with a yoke on—a yoke that should have been on Big Mac—he looked out of place.

She just wished he would leave Ponyville and never come back. He wasn’t any good for the town in her opinion.

With that, Rainbow Dash took to the sky. She still had weather managing duties to take care of that day, and spending that time over the farm was not going to get them done. Looking back over her shoulder at the farm for one more glance, she gave her wings a mighty flap and began to speed through the sky.

Her flight was cut off abruptly when she noticed a purple object speeding towards her. From the shaky flight path, unnecessary flapping of the wings, and just the overall poor flying skills Rainbow knew it was Twilight. Rainbow made a mental note to crack down on the princess about keeping up with her flight practice.

“There you are, Rainbow! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Twilight gasped, floating down to a cloud to catch her breath.

“Well, I’m right here, Egghead. What up?” Twilight just glared at Rainbow for a split second before taking another deep breath.
“Remember that letter I got from Princess Celestia yesterday?”

“Ya, about me being right about the Ghost Rider?” Rainbow grinned, joining Twilight on the cloud. Twilight just rolled her eyes as Rainbow sat there with a toothy grin.

“Well, that special agent would like to talk to you about that. Apparently, he believes these Ghost Rider stories, as well.” Twilight sighed. “Really, though, why do people believe this nonsense?”

“Because he totally exists! And I beat him in a race!” Rainbow added as an afterthought. “Now, where is this guy? He’s probably gonna want my autograph after I get done telling him all about me winning!” Twilight just rolled her eyes.

“Right beneath us. But Rainbow, I need to warn you, he’s a bit—” For what felt like the thousandth time that day, Twilight was cut off as Rainbow Dash did a backflip off the cloud and dove down to the ground to meet with Agent Bentgrass. “What happened to manners today?” Twilight grumbled as she glided back down to meet the two.

When she arrived, Rainbow Dash was already standing right in front of Agent Bentgrass, her head cocked to the side as she looked at the stallion. Bentgrass didn’t seem to find this odd; he just studied Rainbow with those odd, mismatched eyes, as impassive as ever. Twilight could already tell that one of them was going to say something to set the other off, so she moved in ready to stop any miscommunication.

“Special Agent Bentgrass, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, this is Special Agent Bentgrass,” Twilight said, trying to put as much goodwill into her words as possible. It was Rainbow Dash who raised her hoof first for Bentgrass to bump.

“What up, Bright Eye?” Twilight wanted to facehoof.

“Greetings, Ms. Dash.” Bentgrass said politely, as he bumped Rainbow’s hoof. “I understand you had a run in with the pony known as Ghost Rider?”

“Heck ya I did! Totally beat him in a race, too!” Rainbow Dash said, pounding her hoof against her chest. “After all, I am the fastest pony in all of Equestria!”

“Yes, I remember reading that in your file. By the way, another agent will be down here in a week or so to check with you. There seems to be some anomalies with your tax returns during your time as a Wonderbolt. Nothing to be concerned about, I’m sure,” Bentgrass said flatly, as he reached into his coat pocket for a notepad. As he did this, Twilight saw a glimpse of what seem like worry pass through Rainbow’s eyes.

“Uh...tax returns?” Rainbow laughed nervously, “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, nothing. We just need to make sure you paid your taxes in full. A clerical error, most likely, since I doubt you actually own an account in the Hayman Islands.” Bentgrass flipped to a new page and looked up at Rainbow. “Now then, please tell me what happened the night you saw the Ghost Rider.” Rainbow shook her head lightly as she cleared her throat.

“Well, it was about a week ago. I was sleeping when all of a sudden there was this loud noise, like a huge stampede was passing next to my house. I live in the clouds, so that was just strange to begin with. When I looked outside there was this trail of fire! It looked like it was burning on a invisible road in the sky before it started to fade.” Rainbow said, gesturing to objects as she talked.

“Trail of fire,” Bentgrass repeated, scribbling into his notebook. “Please continue.”

“Well, when I looked around I saw the trail of fire was coming from somepony that was going super fast! Not as fast as me, but still really fast. So, I started to chase after them. I mean hey, they interrupted my sleep, and now they had to pay for it with a race. He noticed I was coming after him and tried to lose me with turns, dives, and whatever else he could think of, but he should have known nopony gets away from me that easily!

“When I started to get closer, that was when I noticed he was on some black motorcycle with what looked like chains on it. I thought it looked really lame, but hey, to each their own. Finally, he went into this nosedive as if they could get away from me that way, but I pulled a Sonic Rainboom on them and totally sent him flying!”

“And then?” Bentgrass asked, his notepad forgotten. His eyes were locked on Rainbow, hanginig on her every word. This just made the speedster smile even wider.

“Well, I turned back around to see him hovering there in the sky. So I approached him and told him that I had not had such a good race in such a long time. That’s when I noticed his head was on fire, and there was this, like, metal spike coming from his forehead!”
“Were you scared at all?” Bentgrass asked, as he took a few quick notes as Rainbow got to his description.

“Please! I’ve fought so many monsters and saved this country so many times that it takes more than that to scare me! Actually, I think I scared him, because as soon as I got close, black smoke started to consume everything around us. It blinded me for a second, but when I got out he had already taken to the sky again so I gave chase! Thought he was trying to go for two out of three.”

“And did you catch up to him?”

“Nah, before I could he dived down into the forest and I couldn’t find him again. I looked for awhile but I had to get to work, I had a early morn—”
“What time was it?” Bentgrass suddenly asked. Rainbow turned to him then to Twilight who just shrugged her shoulders.

“Uh… I don’t remember. I mean, he woke me up and I didn’t really care to check the time.”

“Then how soon did the sun rise after that? Can you recall that bit at least?” Rainbow snorted at that last bit.

“I don’t know. The sun was just barely up when I caught up to the Ghost Rider the first time. So I guess it was beginning to rise. What does that have to do with anything?”

Bentgrass didn’t answer, as he feverishly wrote down a few notes, a small grin on his lips.

“Thank you, Ms. Dash. I think you might have just proven one of my theories.” Bentgrass said, taking a step back to face the two mares. “Now then, this is a question for both of you. Have you noticed anything strange in town for the past week? Anything at all?”

Twilight sat there for a moment, looking up to the sky as she thought. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened that week except for Fluttershy’s engagement, but Bentgrass probably didn’t care for that. There was that little bit of mischief caused by the Cake Twins with some magic backlash, but other than that...

“No, I don’t think so Agent— ”

“Just that stupid drifter coming into town,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, earning a glare from Twilight.

“Rainbow, just let it go. Just because Little Macky thinks he’s cool doesn’t mean that he’s not interested in you anymore.”
“It’s not that! The guy is just bad news! I can feel it!”

“Did you say, a drifter?” Both girls looked over at Bentgrass to see his eyes were as wide as they could be, and the notebook he had been holding had fallen from his hooves.

“Um, yes. There is a new pony in town. He just arrived last week. Nothing really strange about that,” Twilight replied, looking nervously at Bentgrass.

“A week ago? You mean the same time that you had you your race with the Rider?” Bentgrass was looking right at Rainbow Dash who was scratching her chin.

“Ya… the exact same day… you think he is the Ghost Rider?!” Rainbow asked excitedly. Bentgrass just smiled as he picked up his notepad and put it away.

“Where can I find him?” Bentgrass asked, trying to keep his voice normal as he ran a hoof down the front of his coat. “I don’t know, but I am sure he might be able to give me some useful information.” Twilight took a step back. She didn’t really want to get Bentgrass on Wild Blaze’s case. The pony seemed to have enough on his mind without some eccentric government agent hounding him.

“Now Agent Bentgrass, I don’t think that would be—”

“His name is Wild Blaze! He is over at the Apples’ farm right now!” Rainbow Dash said, taking to the air and circling the two other ponies. “I can lead you straight to him!”

“That would be most appreciated, Ms. Dash. Please lead the way,” Bentgrass said, and no sooner than he did Rainbow Dash was off, leaving a rainbow colored trail for the two to follow. Bentgrass followed right away, a almost unnoticeable skip in his step as he trotted down the path.

Twilight swallowed nervously as she followed the pair to Sweet Apple Acres.

I hope Wild Blaze is ready for what is coming for him.

Author's Notes:

Huge shout out to my boys Jake and Jszellmer for all the edtis! This was a very hard chapter to write due to the awesomeness that is Agent Bentgrass! Then another special thank you to all the writers that let me use a version of their name for Ghost Rider's list. Here they are as they appear:

Max Bronius: Mr. Maximus

Color Spectrum: RainbowBob

Tweak: Jake the Army Guy

Rotten Seed: Bad_Seed_72

Karmic Dasher: KarmaDash

Pluck n’ Holler: Shrapmo

Shock n' Awe: Captain Unstoppable

Base Drifter: CptBrony

Pencil Pusher: Allonso Bronyguy

Harmony Quill: Crowquill Symphoy

Dusty Tome: jszellmer