For Want of a Quill

It was a humid summer's day in Ponyville. It was so hot, nopony wanted to do anything more than flop around lazily in their bed. This could not be less true for a young unicorn. He was pacing this way and that, seeming to be deep in thought.

"C'mon, Smarts!" an earth pony groaned from her room, "stop all your pacing and use your stupid magic to turn on the AC or something." Book Smarts had just finished his second year in Canterlot University with top marks in Equestrian literature. He was spending the summer with his best childhood friend Sally Mu. "It's hot, and boring, and I wanna take a bath, but they cut off the water, and wanna play P-box but they cut off our power…"

"They cut off our power? What about all the food in the fridge?"

"Oh, our clumsy old mailmare cleaned it out… Apparently my aunt Carrot is a good friend of hers or something…"

"So…" Smarts said, "you're saying that we have no food, no water, and no electricity?"

"Duh, Smarts. God, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one…" Sally was the same age as Smarts, but she dropped out of high school. Instead, she worked odd jobs around Ponyville, from maintaining the old dam to nursing in the hospital when they were short on staff. Because of the slightly less than reliable income, her bills sometimes didn't get in on time. As a result, she loses access to power and water often. After living a routine life for the past 19 years, Smarts just didn't know how to cope with Sally's impulsive attitude.

"And how, exactly, did you think I could turn on the AC with no power?"

"You just use your unicorn magic thingy and make the AC go *vwoooosh…* Isn't it obvious?"

"Never mind that, Sally. I'm trying to think." Smarts was thinking for the past week. He wasn't thinking about how to deal with Sally's antics, but he was thinking of what to write for his story. He seemed smart and studious on the outside, but on the inside, he was a colt at heart. He still loved video games and cartoons. Especially a certain TV series called "My Little Human." He wanted to write a story as a tribute to his favorite show, despite the fact that it was aimed towards young fillies.

"So, Smarts, I have an idea on what you could write for your story. What if you make up characters and made the story about how he has writer's block and can't think of anything to write?"

"Sally, that is, without a doubt, the stupidest idea I've ever heard you say. Only an idiot with absolutely no imagination would even consider writing a story like that." He knew that he could think of something better than that. He decided to delve into the slightly more fantastic part of his mind.

"Alright, then. What about you write about the ponies who saved us all from Discord and Nightmare Moon, only as humans from your stupid TV show?"

"I've heard about famous stories and legends about some of the ponies town. But, they can't be any more than just that. Legends. Supposedly, Pumpkin Cake's babysitter was a member of a team of six, which saved Equestria three times? And the old librarian and the apple farmer were in it too? No. They couldn't have been."

A tedious hour of thinking later, Smarts finally found his inspiration. He would write a story about a sinister evil that captures the main characters, and the princess of the land would save the day. The only problem was that he couldn't find his lucky writing quill. He practically tore the house apart looking for it, until he remembered that he left all of his writing equipment in his dorm in Canterlot. He had to go outside in the sweltering heat to the stationary store and get some more.

When Smarts opened the door, he felt a massive wave of heat hit him square in the face. He didn't take three steps out of the door before all of his pores were gushing with sweat. He had to keep going, though. The stationary store was an arduous half-mile away. While he could normally run there in a heartbeat, the utter heat of the day made every step absolute torture.

When Smarts got to the store, an equally suffering stallion who, despite his obvious discomfort, greeted him with a smile, "Welcome to Quills and Sofas! How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a quill. What do you have?"

"We have this quill that just came in," the shopkeeper replied, "supposedly, the quill is from the tail of Princess Celestia's pet phoenix." Smarts' ears perked up at the mention of the majestic animal. All his life, Smarts had a strong liking of phoenixes, ever since he was rescued at the hands of an evil basilisk because of one of them.

"The princess's pet? Philomena?"

"Personally, I think it's nothing more than a pile of horse apples, but it looks very impressive. It's a brilliant red orange, and it writes smoother than silk. It's 86 bits if you want it." Smarts happily shoveled over the full contents of his wallet and felt the phoenix's feather. It was a beautiful color, and Smarts could swear that he saw flames and embers dance when he grabbed it.

Halfway back to Sally's house, a blue portal appeared in front of him, and out of it ran a battered stallion. He looked as though he was involved in some brawl of some kind; his long black cloak was torn in pieces, and he had an ugly black eye. He looked at the feather in Smarts' hand with great intent. "Young stallion, that feather you have there, it's more powerful than you think. Whatever you do, don't give it up to anyone. I have to go. Perhaps I shall see you soon." And all at once, he vanished through an orange portal that materialized underneath him. Despite the intense heat, Smarts shivered, wondering what the mysterious pony's cryptic message meant.