Author's Note: AHH! I FEEL HORRIBLE FOR MAKING YOU GUYS WAIT FOR SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE THIS STORY! I don't know how to make it up to you guys. And I'm sorry to say this, but I might not be able to update very soon again either, since school is being a problem to me. But, you all deserve this update.
In the throne room of Canterlot Castle, the focal point of the capital city of Canterlot, the two royal sisters were currently not located in the large and regal room. To those that weren't around the Princesses enough would've thought that they were taking the day off, which is beyond unheard of. But to the guards and staff on duty, especially the bakers and confectionery chefs, this meant the royal sisters of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were currently locked away in either's room, hoping to have at least one day where they didn't have a representative telling them why they should raise taxes on the middle families or have a noble telling them who did what and why the pony who did it should be banished for it.
But even when locked away from bothersome petitioners and stuck up nobles, their work was still never done. After deciding that Celestia's room would be a good place to bunker down, Celestia removed her neckpiece as she Luna entered the brightly colored room.
"Hahhhh, I just don't understand why our ancestor's thought that royal regalia made of gold and platinum was a good idea. I'm tempted to just sneak out of the castle and get a massage from that spa down in Ponyville."
Luna giggled a little as she used her magic to pull off her crown and neckpiece.
"Yes, that certainly seems like a nice thought. At least Miss Lotus and Miss Aloe don't constantly fret and worry that a small slip up will result in their spa being shut down. Well, at least after our third visit they stopped worrying."
Celestia chuckled lightly as she finally managed to get the rest of her regalia off, setting her crown, neckpiece, and shoes neatly by the dresser, which Luna also set her regalia at. Luna then trotted over to the door and leaned out so only her head showed. She checked the guards that were standing motionless on each side of the door. They were both pegasi from the Night Guard, the bat-like appearances, slitted golden eyes, and bat wings contrasting greatly against the bright hallways and the warm colors. They both looked almost completely alike, except for the manes being a different color, one being solid black and the other a slate gray.
Ever since a fight broke out at the training course between some veteran(in a sense) Night Guards and the new recruits for the Solar Guard, Luna and Celestia opted to give the Lunar Guard some more freedom in duties, such as letting them guard Celestia's room if she wanted and letting them patrol in the daytime. Although only a select few worked during the day.
Luna calmly placed her hoof against the door.
*tap, tap-tap tap tap*
*tap tap*
Luna grinned big, as did the guards who returned the answer to the 'secret code' and finally dropped the stoney gaze for the youthful look they always had for ponies their age and mind.
"Ah, Cross Wind and Thunder Cloud. It's always a treat to have you two around."
Cross Wind, the one with a slate gray mane, sheepishly rubbed his foreleg while Thunder Cloud, the one with the black mane, puffed out his chest in pride. Luna smiled at the display. Cross Wind and Thunder Cloud were one of the very few guards on either side that allowed themselves to let their manes down, so to speak, around the Princesses.
"Since Tia and I will be finishing business in her room, you two must know what needs to be done, correct?"
Cross Wind perked up.
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Good. We'll need two boxes of glazed donuts and a third box of donuts with extra sprinkles from Pony Joe's. And please pick up a thermos of fresh coffee too, please. After the chef's spotted the remains of sprinkles in our teeth the last time, the health advisers made Tia and I run laps everyday for a month. I do not want that to happen again."
Thunder Cloud gave a mighty salute, a serious look in his eyes.
"We will not fail you, your Majesty."
He smiled.
"And thanks for not ratting us out when they asked who was 'bootlegging' the donuts to you. We owe you, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia as well."
Luna flushed slightly and waved a hoof.
"It's no problem at all, now go on you two. Don't keep us waiting, please."
Cross Wind and Thunder Cloud saluted and walked off, making sure not to look suspicious to any passing guard or maid. Luna scanned the hallways, making sure no one was spying on them, and went back into Celestia's room, quietly closing the door. She trotted over to her sister, who was finished setting up the work spaces. A small table with an inch thick pile of papers on each with an inkwell and three quills next to the pile.
She sighed.
"Ohhhh, why must everypony rely on us to solve every little squabble?"
She picked up the first paper. She groaned before even reading a third of it.
"Is this some kind of joke? A dispute over a tree?"
"Now Luna, I know that some of our subjects can be rather...puerile-"
"Puerile?! Last week a noble barged in and wanted us to put a mailmare in the dungeon because she lost a package by accident!"
Luna slumped and hung her head.
"Took me an hour to calm Ms. Hooves down. It breaks my heart to see such a nice mare cry because she made such a small mistake."
Celestia moved over and sat down next to Luna. She wrapped a foreleg around the smaller alicorn.
"I know that the nobles can be so insufferable, Luna, but we have to endure it. After all, Me forbid what would happen if one of them gained more power than the others."
Luna giggled a little at that.
"I suppose you are right, Tia."
"Good, now lets try to get some work done while Cross Wind and Thunder Cloud get us our guilty little pleasures."
Luna nodded with a smile and went back to her stack of papers, making sure to write 'Handle it amongst yourselves.' on the paper she had first read.
XXXX
She felt as though she was floating in a hazy fog on top of a cloud. Her eyes were refusing to open and she couldn't move any of her legs.
"...tter...."
She could've sworn she had just heard something. Was there somepony trying to call for her? Was there somepony trapped here with her as well?
"Flutter...?"
There was a voice trying to call for her, but where was it coming from?
"Fluttershy? Please wake up."
Her eyes opened, the blurring around the edges disappearing as she saw the concerned faces of all her friends, staring down at her prone form. It was Rarity who was calling for her.
"Oh Fluttershy, we were so worried about you! One moment you were finally working up the courage to speak to our new friend and then you simply collapsed! The nurse couldn't find anything wrong and said it was okay for us to take you to the boutique. Are you alright darling?"
Fluttershy noticed that she was not on the hospital floor, but instead lying on her stomach on Rarity's favorite 'fainting couch'. Her gaze caught the sight of the new pony, Johnny Blaze, as he walked around the shop, looking at the various mannequins dressed in some of Rarity's recently finished dresses. She looked back over at the others.
"Uh, yes, um, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
Rarity sighed in relief.
"As long as you are okay darling. Now, back to business."
Rarity suddenly walked over and ushered Johnny Blaze, who looked rather reluctant, back to the group. Rarity cleared her throat.
"Ahem, now Mr. Blaze, why don't you tell us about yourself."
Fluttershy could see that he still looked rather reluctant, but he still nodded.
....
What could he say to these ponies? They'd likely label him crazy if he told them about where he REALLY was from. Johnny had to think fast.
"Um, well, as you know, my name is Johnny Blaze, and I'm...a traveling stunt performer, I believe."
Good, just play it up as a bad head injury and likely memory loss.
"I..can't really remember much though. Farthest I can remember is waking up in that field. I know my name, and my talent, but I don't remember anything about my past."
Twilight Sparkle, if he remembered right, seemed to be taking notes. How she found a quill, piece of paper, and somehow managed to blow his mind with the fact that her horn was glowing and lifting both objects up were lost to him. He then remembered his wings. He could kill two birds with one stone! Or just dig himself a deeper grave. He hoped it would be the first one.
"And, well, I can't even remember how to fly."
THAT got their attention. Especially to the rainbow maned pony, Rainbow Dash.
"Dude! Are you serious? You can't remember how to fly?!"
Twilight set the quill down.
"Now Rainbow, let's calm down. I think I've read in a book-"
"-among other places-"
"-about this form of amnesia. It's something akin to selective memory loss. I don't know why he would forget to fly, but if he can't remember that, then he can't fly."
Johnny needed a moment. He could've sworn that Twilight had just repeated herself. He was about to voice this when he heard something outside. It sounded like laughter. And not the kind-hearted or good-natured laughter of buddies and friends. No, this was taunting laughter you hear when you see the schoolyard bully shoving a kid over. The Rider was starting to act up, making Johnny wince and his mind fog up. He needed to check it out, if only to get the Rider to calm down.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Turning around, he quickly trotted out the door of the boutique, a little bead of sweat on his brow.
....
"What was that about?"
Rainbow started towards the door.
"I'm gonna go see what he's doing."
The others followed after Rainbow Dash, their curiosity peaked.
....
It wasn't hard for Johnny to find the disturbance. A group of stallions were playing a game of Keep Away with a mare's satchel, said mare was trying to get it back, desperately pleading that she needed to deliver the mail or she will lose her job if she doesn't.
"Like you'd keep that job anyways, you ditz. We're speeding up the process. Besides, there's no way a retard like you can make a living anyways."
The stallion that had said that was a dark, near black purple with a spikey white mane. He was joined by two others, one being green with a blue mane, and the last a dark yellow with a red buzz cut mane, who spoke up next.
"You're better off giving your daughter to Child Services. Maybe they can find her a mom who isn't stupid and worthless like you. Or at least one with normal eyes!"
They all started to laugh.
The mare started to cry.
Johnny's grip on the Rider's leash loosened.
*WHOOSH*
The stallions looked up in confusion as the bag disappeared, only a hazy trail of smoke left in it's wake. Hearing a thud, they looked over at the pegasus stallion who had the bag in his mouth, his wings flared, and a lazy trail of smoke rising from him. His eyes were narrowed with hate. He spoke, his voice sounding rather raspy.
"You best clear out before I lose control and bring the wrath of justice upon you."
The stallions looked at him.....and laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're actually DEFENDING this brain dead loser?!"
The green stallion pointed at the gray mare as he said that. She started to tear up even more.
The Mane 6, who were standing by in awe, could've sworn that Johnny's eyes became darker and his voice became raspier as he spoke.
"Your souls are tainted with your cruel acts upon those that can't defend themselves."
He started to walk towards them, slinging the satchel around his neck.
"Feel their pain."
The stallions only laughed harder,
"You really think you can fight us?! It's three against one! You must be as retarded as Derpy over here!"
Johnny, with the Rider behind the wheel, charged at them in full gallop.
XXXX
"Should we really go to this little 'get together'? All it will be is the nobles stabbing each other in the back to get our favor."
"I'm afraid we will have to. We have been putting off the invitations for too long now. If we don't attend to at least one 'soiree' each month, the ponies will think something has happened to us."
"But I was going to surprise the Element bearers with a surprise visit that day!"
"...Perhaps you can invite them as your guests? I'm sure the nobility will put up a fuss, but you have the authority to do it anyways. And you can shut them up with a glare if nothing else works."
"BUT-.........."
"Is something wrong Luna?"
"...Tia....I sense something....something powerful....and angry."
BANG! Man, ain't I a terrible person for putting a cliffhanger here? But don't worry. The next chapter may be a little shorter, but you'll all get your fix. I never leave out a good Rider fight scene. And I apologize if this chapter is not very good. Like I've said, this is pretty much the only MLP/Ghost Rider crossover, so I don't really got much to go one without being cliche or copying from others. Gotta work on that. SEE YA LATER!