The Blank Flank Adventurer

by Sapare

Government Ponies

The Blank Flank Adventurer
Chapter 1: Government Ponies

It was a quiet evening in the small village of Ponyville. The streets were practically empty, save for a lone pony. Dream Feather did not know enough about the quaint town to consider his solitude particularly strange. There was one thing out of place enough to catch his attention, a poster that had been pinned to every post and wall he could see.

Missing? Element? Celestia?

His thoughts were a jumbled mess as he quickly scanned the nearest poster. Even though he had not expected to give it a second glance, he was quickly drawn in by the questions that raced through his mind.

How could a pony ever go missing? I've lost track of objects before, but a pony? Much less any pony of importance to Celestia?
And, why do I feel like I've met this pony before?

The pony pictured at top of the poster stared at him with magenta eyes that seem to shine with confidence and pride. Her distinctive rainbow colored mane made his mind race with glimpses of a forgotten memory. He read the poster much more closely this time.

'Rainbow Dash
Female Pegasus
Leader of the weatherteam of Ponyville and holder of the Element of Loyalty
The pegasus Rainbow Dash has gone missing and Celestia has called for all ponies to report any relevant information to Twilight Sparkle at the Ponyville Library'

Element of Loyalty? Is that some sort of government office I have not heard of? It seems mighty strange for somepony out here to be of such rank. And why can't I remember where I've seen her before?

The pony sat down in front of the sign and pondered, having completely forgotten about his original reason for visiting Ponyville. He was still trying to remember where and when he had seen this pony before when his thoughts where interrupted by a low voice.

“What do you know about this pony my good friend?“

Of course this startled him, but at the same time he felt a wave of calm rushing through his body. He suddenly felt very safe and peaceful. This pony had to be his friend, how else could he or she make him feel so secure?

“I don't think it's a very interesting tale, but if you want to hear it...“
Dream Feather became lost in his memories, his voice becoming monotone, “It was two years ago, I was working on my latest piece of literature.“
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I was close to completing the most important part of my book, the foreword. No one can write a good book without a foreword. But my focus was disturbed by a burst of noise as the door to my house was forced open, almost falling off its hinges.

I slowly turned myself toward the entrance of my house. There were a good number of things I had expected, but, I must admit, the thing my eyes finally rested upon was certainly not one of them. The source of the disturbance was another pony, but she looked very strange to me. Her mane and tail were strangely colorful and her coat was a light blue.

“Ugh, not again...“

The pegasus picked herself up, seemingly not caring that she had just crashed through my door. She started to take in her new surroundings and ended up focusing on the only interesting object in the whole room; the machine I had been writing with.

I was rather confused by these events to say the least. No pony wakes up in the morning and expects somepony to literally fly into their house. I tried to use my diplomatic skills to find out the cause of this sudden intrusion.

“Hello?“

I fell silent. To be honest, I was never the best at starting conversations with ponies that had crashed into my house.

The cyan pony turned towards me and gave a sheepish grin as she seemed to finally notice the owner of the building she had just entered.

“Oh, hey... Sorry about that! This kind of stuff happens when you practice as much as I do.“

The blue pony turned her head away from me and resumed her inspection of my typewriter.

At this point I had managed to overcome some of my confusion and remembered that I should be quite upset about this intrusion.

“I think you owe me a name. And... practicing what exactly? Crash--“

“My flying skills! How else will I become the fastest flyer in all of Equestria? I'm Rainbow Dash, the only pony to pull off a sonic rainboom!“

This pony seemed oddly self assured considering she had crashed into my house a moment ago. I briefly wondered if she had taken some damage to her head.

I found myself lacking an appropriate response to her declaration. So I just mumbled something in hopes that she would know where to take the conversation. “I have no idea what a sonic rainboom is, but I'll just assume that it's some special type of crash.“

Why I had to pick something offensive to mumble, I have no idea. It was definitely a bad choice.

“Says the pony sitting in a house with just a strange metal thingie. I'd challenge you to a race to show you how good I am, but you don't look very fast. Have you even used those wings before?“

Even though she just said I wasn't worth racing, she still flexed her wings and gave me a strange look. Did she expect me to dispute her claim or something?

“I...um sorry? And for your information, this 'thingie' is a typewriter. It allows me to write for long periods of time without straining myself.“

I tried to change the subject and slowly took a step backwards. I also gave a comforting grin. More to comfort myself than Rainbow Dash.

But don't be mistaken, even though I was wary of her short temper, I also was drawn in and intrigued by her. Her words were rough and prideful, but she was at least nice enough to simply insult me in response to my own mean comment, rather than assault me. Her mane and tail also fascinated me, as have never seen such strange coloration before.

She looked at me like I had just burst into song or something. I couldn't help but wonder how many of my conflicting emotions were showing on my face. Probably far too many.

“You are one weird pony. You still haven't told me your name, you know? And why would a pegasus ever want to write for a long time? This 'typewriter' thing seems pretty silly to me.“

She seemed uncertain of the word. Not surprising, considering typewriters are not commonly used technology in Equestria. I had to have mine imported.

“It's for writing books! I am an author, and I going to become famous for my work.“

I pulled myself together and stood proud as I spoke. I probably looked a bit like she did when she was boasting of her flying skills. I managed to refrain from mentioning that I thought writing was much more worthy of such an attitude then simply flying fast.

"I don't care much about books, but I've never heard of a famous author that wasn't a unicorn."

The rainbow maned pony seemed to be getting bored of just standing around and started to flap her wings to prepare them for more flying.

I kept my calm and gave a soft grin as it seemed my self control had brought the conversation back from the edge of disaster.

“Which is why I have this typewriter. It creates the letters for me, all I have to do is put pressure on the correct metal plate.“

Rainbow Dash just gave an overexaggerated nod. It was obvious that she was reaching the end of her attention span.

“Yeah that's cool I guess. Well I better get back to flying, can't let my body fall asleep. But you really shouldn't be sitting here all day. You should get out there and use those wings! If you keep wasting away in here, you're gonna become a bookworm.“

She giggled at the thought of bookworms, she must have considered books a complete waste of time.

I did not giggle. I didn't even grin. I glared at her, “It certainly can't be a worse waste of time then fl-- I mean crashing all day!“

I could not understand why she would care about her wings so much. Were they really such an important part of her life?

“Hey! I was just trying to warn you about wasting your time. Unicorns can learn magic from books, but what can you do with them? You're a pegasus! You should get out there and work on getting that cutie mark. I didn't get mine by sitting in a house all day!.“

She spoke quite passionately on the subject. She seemed to truly believe that she was giving good advice. I should have seen that she meant no offense to me.

Sadly, I wasn't very good at understanding other ponies back then.

“Close the door, from the outside, and do not bother me again!“

I barely heard her give a quick “Bye“ before leaving. I didn't care. All I did was sit down and continue writing. It was a slow and painful process, made even worse by my anger, but there was nothing else for me to do.

“Adventures are not to be had, but to be written...“ I said out loud, forcing myself to believe it.
She never did bother me again.
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When Dream Feather came back to his senses he was still staring at the poster. He was sitting there all alone.

Why did I just recite that memory out loud? I thought there was somepony here who asked me about it.... But that would be really silly. Why would anypony care to know about this, and why would I tell them if they did?

And now that I remember her, I can't help but wonder about what happened to that girl. She was the strangest pony I have ever met, but she did not seem the government type. She was so focused on becoming a great flyer. How did she end up becoming an Element, whatever that is? Will I ever become as important with my writing?

"Writing..." He looked back at his flank and gave a quiet sigh. He softly whispered to himself, "Maybe she had a point. For most of my life I've been writing these stories no one wants to read. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, is important enough to have Celestia looking for her. But what is this Element of Loyalty? I want to figure this out, no matter what."

He took another look at the poster and quickly found what he was looking for, the contact information "Report any relevant information to Twilight Sparkle at the Ponyville Library."

A library? That's a strange place to house a representative of Celestia. Was there really nowhere more appropriate in this town?

It was not Dream Feather's first time in Ponyville. He usually came here to buy any supplies he needed. Ponyville was less crowded than Cloudsdale, which made it easier for him to keep his distance from other ponies. However, this lack of interaction also meant that he had learned very little about the village itself. As such he had not heard about the Elements of Harmony or the ponies which represented them.

He made his way to the library, which didn't take long. Wings had their uses after all, though he still couldn't understand why Rainbow Dash had been so obsessed with them. The library was easy to find, a building made out of a living tree is pretty hard to miss. Knocking on the door, his thoughts wandered once more to the odd housing choice.

"Why a library? Did they need reference materials to help them find Rainbow Dash? Or maybe she went missing near here and they hoped to find clues? And that name 'Twilight Sparkle,' I'm sure I've heard it before..."

Before he could give it much thought, the door opened and he was greeted by a purple unicorn. Her mane was disheveled and she looked rather stressed.

She seemed to brighten up quickly. Whether to hide her worries or because she hoped for good news he did not know. "Hello there. I'm afraid the library is closed."

The mare paused for a moment.

"Or are you here to share some information about Rainbow Dash?"

Dream Feather cringed a little as he saw the purple unicorn's eyes shine with hope. He took a small step backwards, because he felt uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, but no. I just saw the poster and decided to come here...“ Dream Feather paused and tried to think of what to say next. But the only thing he could think about was the fact that he should have planned out what he would say before knocking on the door, not after.

Before he could find more words, Twilight had found her own and gave a questioning stare.

“You don't have any information on Rainbow Dash, but you came here after seeing the poster. Why would you do that? Do you know her?“

Dream Feather suddenly felt very silly as he thought about the reason for his being here.

“No. Well, not really. I came here to find out more about this Rainbow Dash and The Element of Loyalty. My name is Dream Feather. Are you Twilight Sparkle?"

He hoped this pony would not be too upset about his curiosity getting the better of him.

His secret hopes went unanswered. The mare's body language changed in an instant. She took a step forward and looked down at him as she raised her head high.

“You see news that somepony has gone missing and the first thing you do is disturb the ponies who are doing everything they can to find her? Either you are the most curious pony ever, or the most inconsiderate! Either way you don't seem like the kind of pony I would want to share important information with.“ The unicorn lectured, practically shouting as she glared at Dream Feather. Her frustration at her search's lack of success was obvious in her voice.

Dream Feather took another few steps back and was stuttering as he desperately searched for the correct words. "I—I am sorry, I just thought-- Well I'm a writer and as such thought there might be an interesting story in all this...“

He trailed off and tried to give a comforting smile. It was meant to comfort himself rather than Twilight. Old habits die hard.

Twilight did not seem to care for that particular smile at all.

“Oh great! A pony who wishes to write his little news story on the disappearance of Rainbow Dash. You should have told me that earlier, now I am so ready to tell you everything.“ She growled sarcastically at him.

“N-No! Not for a news story...“ Dream Feather tried to make himself understood, “I am a writer of ponyfiction and I love mysteries and government affairs! I wanted to find out more about the government branch called 'The Element of Loyalty' or whatever that is. I wanted to see why somepony so important to Celestia was placed in such a small village.“

He blurted his words out as quickly as he could. He really did not want to be interrupted by this agitated pony.

“Surely the oddest government pony I have ever met... Not that I've met many government ponies.“
He thought to himself as he tried to understand how had he managed to get caught in this situation.

The purple pony gave him a scrutinizing look, but she finally seemed to calm down a little.

“You are certainly not from around here.“

She stopped examining him and finally took a step back as she spoke in a softer tone, “That still doesn't excuse the fact that you were being very inconsiderate, but I'll let it slide for now. Come in. If you could explain yourself better maybe I will answer some of your questions.“

Dream Feather was relieved at this change of attitude. He had been worried about what it would mean if he had upset a government official. He was glad he didn't have to find out.

“Thank you.“ He didn't know what else to say and decided to accept the generous offer.

He followed the mare into the main room of the library. The familiar feelings of joy and comfort he got from being surrounded by books helped him relax for the first time since Twilight had begun with her accusations. So far everything he had seen in this village seemed like smaller, less cloudy counterparts to the same places in Cloudsdale, but this library was very different from rest of Ponyville. He would freely admit that this library held knowledge far beyond his own personal collection. The titles of some of these books implied that they had been written somewhere far away, by a variety of different cultures. He wondered how a village so small had acquired them.

“Dream Feather!“

Dream Feather was startled back into reality. His mind had drifted to distant places and lands as he tried to take in the knowledge that surrounded him.

“Oh! Sorry. There are so many books here that I could not help but wonder where they came from. I doubt a village like this would have need of so many obscure books.“

Twilight gave a soft smile at this remark and nodded understandingly.

“You are correct with that assumption, but the explanation will have to wait for another time. First we have something more important to discuss. You said that you're an author? I've never heard of a book written by Dream Feather or any other pegasus, for that matter.“

She held her smile but it had gained an edge that Dream Feather couldn't identify.

“Well... I use an object called a 'typewriter' to help me write. But I... um I have yet to publish any of my work.“

He gave an awkward smile and nodded at his own explanation, feeling like he had managed it rather well.

“Okay then... You said you came here because you were curious about Rainbow Dash and The Element of Loyalty. What do you know already?“ Twilight inquired. She seemed relieved to have something to distract her from her worrying.

Dream Feather tried his best to think of a response that wouldn't force him to talk about his encounter with Rainbow Dash. He wasn't really proud of the things he had said in that meeting.

“Well... nothing? At least nothing worth talking about to anypony I know or do not know, at all.“

He looked towards one of the bookcases and tried to act like he was totally calm. Based on Twilight's reaction, Dream Feather could tell that he had not succeeded.

“I don't know why you're so against telling me. It's like you're trying to hide something. Something which would upset me if you told me--“

"I am not!“ Dream Feather yelled out, feeling upset at her admittedly justified suspicion. It only took him a moment to remember that he was talking to a government official. He tried to calm down and bring back his smile.

“I mean... I'm not hiding anything. I just don't feel like telling some pony I hardly know about my life.“

His earlier outrage only served to make Twilight more suspicious of him. Dream Feather was unable to think of a way to alleviate her doubts. He was too distracted worrying about what it meant to be under suspicion from a pony working for Celestia. If this pony thought he had something to do with the disappearance of Rainbow Dash, it would definitely be an unpleasant experience.

“You really shouldn't interrupt ponies like that.“ The purple pony moved over to the door and closed it, sealing off Dream Feather's only hope of escape. “All I wanted to know was if you were hiding anything that might help me find Rainbow Dash. Now it seems like you're panicking and ready to run. For Rainbow Dash's sake I cannot let you go now. Not unless you tell me everything you know about her.“

The disappearance of her friend had taken a toll on Twilight. The stress and frustration had built to the point that she was willing to do whatever it took to uncover some clue or lead. Her tone of voice told Dream Feather everything he needed to know. He wasn't getting out of here without explaining his encounter with the missing pegasus pony.

Before Dream Feather could respond a new voice cut in, "Twilight, what are you doing? I know you're upset, but don't you think you are overreacting a little here? Rainbow Dash knows how to take care of herself. I doubt any pony as timid as this guy had something to do with her going missing."

The calming voice came from a baby dragon that Dream Feather had somehow missed in his inspection of the room.

"Do you really think anypony who managed to steal away Rainbow Dash would be stupid enough to come here and start asking questions about her?" The dragon continued his attempts at reasoning with the stressed mare. Dream Feather was not sure why this dragon seemed to be on his side. The only explanation he could think of was that the dragon was just worried about Twilight and did not want her to do something she would regret at a later time.

Twilight thought about the dragon's words for a moment before opening her muzzle to respond, but before she could state her conclusion the door behind her opened with such force that it sent the purple unicorn flying. An orange colored earth pony stood in the doorway.

"Sorry sugarcube, had no idea you were hugging the door. There's been news about RD, but we can't waste time sitting around here. I'll explain everything on the way, come on!" The pony rushed her explanation out so quickly that nopony else had time to interrupt her. Dream Feather quietly wished he had as much determination as this mare seemed to possess, though he was quite glad he didn't have her strong country accent.

The pony was so centered on saving Rainbow Dash that she either did not notice Dream Feather or did not think there was enough time to introduce herself.

Twilight rose to her hooves, shaking away the sudden impact, "We should get going then. Spike watch Dream Feather until I get back! I still have some questions for him.“

With that Twilight and the earth pony took off, leaving behind a confused pony and a worried dragon.

“Wait! What if you girls need my help? And how am I supposed to stop a pegasus from leaving?“ Spike shouted after the mares as they grew more distant.

Only one thing was sure to Dream Feather, "This is not how government ponies are meant to behave. Not at all."