Let's start with an old mare's tale of the Ghostrider.
There was a pony that made a deal with Tirek, the King of Tartarus, to save his family. But he was betrayed. The deal was that Tirek would save his parents from death, and in return he would become the Ghostrider and collect evil creatures for his army. The pony accepted and became the Ghostrider. Tirek saved his parents, only to transform them into brainless monsters that served his every will. His parents were sent to attack a village, and had to ultimately be stopped by the Princesses Celestia and Luna. With his parents now truly dead and the deal half broken, the Ghostrider kept his fiery powers but was freed from his servitude to Tirek.
He swore revenge on Tirek and his army of evil, and traveled across the world to fulfill his promise. Someponies say that he still travels to this very day, to punish evil so he can forget his pain.
“Woooh! That was a good ghost story Dashie!” Pinkie Pie said as she poked her head out of her sleeping bag.
“It was indeed,” Rarity added. “Poor Fluttershy is shaking so much I can feel it from here.”
Rainbow Dash laughed. “Fluttershy is afraid of her own shadow.”
Fluttershy buried herself deeper into her sleeping bag.
Twilight groaned. “First, this is only an old mare's tale, and second, the princesses would never go so far.”
“But sugarcube, wasn’t Nightmare Moon supposed to be an old mare's tale?” Applejack asked.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Ok girls, let's get some sleep before somepony says something they regret."
It was now quiet in the town of Ponyville. A chilly breeze blew in from the South. A lone unicorn trotted down the streets. "Hopefully I can have some peace here." He whispered to himself.
The unicorn had a white coat with a black mane and tail. He wore thick glasses and his cutie mark was a flame surrounded by chains. The unicorn trotted down the dirt road to Ponyville, then sat down on a bench at the outskirts of town. I can’t do much at this hour. Maybe I should try to get some sleep.
He laid down on the bench and tried to get some sleep, but soon the sun was rising and he had to get back up. "I guess sleep is out of the question now," He murmured to himself. He made his way towards town hall so he could get a job and a home.
Twilight woke up early because she had a meeting with the mayor to help plan the financial distribution in Ponyville for the next month. She quietly stepped around the others as she exited the library. She didn’t want to accidently wake them.
I can’t believe Applejack would suggest such a thing as the Ghostrider might exist. Twilight though as she made her way toward town hall. A black alicorn skeleton, surrounded by flames that cannot be extinguished, wrapped in chains, and black sockets with glowing embers instead of eyes. You would have to be crazy to think that this is a true story. What’s next, zombie ponies? Twilight looked up. She had arrived at the town hall early. Oh well, better early than late.
The town hall came into the unicorn’s view. It was a tower with a few flags. There was a purple unicorn standing out in front. Hmmm. What’s a pony doing just standing outside of town hall? He thought to himself.
He walked up to the mare. “Good morning, my name is Soul Chain, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”
She gave him a confused look. “Uh, good morning. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What kinds of questions do you have?” she asked.
“Well Ms. Sparkle-”
Twilight interrupted him. “Just call me Twilight.”
“Sorry. Twilight, I'm new in town-”
In the distance, he quite clearly heard a voice shout “A NEW PONY IN PONYVILLE !!!”
“... Uh, alright. That was awkward. Anyway, I'm new here and I would like to settle down, do you know when the town hall opens?”
Twilight answered, “ It should be opening any minute.” At that moment, the doors opened and a tan mare with a gray mane came out.
“Good morning Twilight, a bit early aren't you? And who is this stallion on your side? I don't remember him being invited to the meeting.”
Twilight replied, “Good morning to you as well. Mayor Mare, this is Soul Chain. He is new here.”
“Good morning,” Soul Chain said. “It´s a pleasure to meet you. If you’re not busy, I have some things I’d like to discuss.”
The Mayor looked at the stallion questioningly, “What kinds of things would like to discuss?.”
“Uh, do you think we could go inside first? It’s a little chilly out right now.” Soul Chain said as he shivered slightly.
“Oh, where are my manners, come in.” Mayor Mare stepped aside as Soul Chain and Twilight entered. “Would either of you like some tea, Twilight or Mr. Chain?”
“Yes, thank you.” Soul Chain replied. “If it isn't too much of a bother I would like dandelion.”
“No thank you. But thank you for your offer anyway.” Twilight said as she sat down.
As the mayor stepped out for a second to get the tea, Soul Chain tried to start some conversation with Twilight. “So, Ponyville is a pretty peaceful place I’m guessing.”
“Well, as peaceful as any other town I guess. Everypony gets along pretty well.”
Mayor Mare came back a second later with a tea cup. “Here is your dandelion tea. So what was your question Mr. Chain?”
Soul Chain coughed. “Please, call me Soul or Soul Chain. Now, let´s get down to business. I came here to Ponyville to settle down, and I would like to know if you have a job opening for a blacksmith and a place for me to stay.”
“How coincidental!” Mayor Mare said. “The last Blacksmith recently passed away, may Celestia be gracious with his soul.”
Soul Chain frowned for a second at the mention of Celestia. “ My condolences for your loss, but that does mean the position is open?” His eyes begged her for the answer.
“Well, I suppose we can give you the job temporarily to see how well you actually do. As for a house, I suppose you can take Metal Hammer, the former blacksmiths, house. But I should warn you, it’s in pretty rough shape.”
“I’ll take it. I’ve lived in worse. Just tell me where it is and I’ll go take a look. Also, before I go, when am I going to start working?”
“You're eager, I like that. You can come to my office at 10 AM tomorrow. Now, to get to the house, simply go down Main Road down until you see Sugarcube Corner, which looks like a gingerbread house, and it will be the second house to the left of it.”
“Thank you.” Soul Chain said as he got up. “I should get going now. It seems you two have some things to discuss, and I don't want to take up any more of your time.”
Soul Chain trotted to the exit as Time Turner entered. They made eye contact as they passed each other, and Soul Chain stopped just long enough to say, “Your eyes are old and sorrowful like mine.”
With a smug smile he galloped away. Time Turner, confused as he was, just turned around and asked himself, “What?”