For Want of a Quill

They tried to tiptoe in quietly, which was hard for ponies as their hooves clopped loudly on the floor. They found a large bed and a figure stirring inside of it. They quickly rushed to the bed and prepared to apprehend the leader for what he did. "Hey!" Smarts shouted "Wake up!"

The figure in the bed stirred, and Sally raised her sword in defense. They expected the figure to be some cold-blooded killer with a wild look in his eyes that could make seas boil just by looking at them. What they found was a young female unicorn, coat green as grass, no older than the age of ten, looking at the two of them with wide, excited eyes. "Ooh, ooh! Are you guys here to play with me?"

"Umm… No." Sally replied. "Actually, we were-"

"HEY!" The unicorn interrupted. "That's rude. I don't even know your names yet!"

"I'm Book Smarts, and that's Sally Mu."

"Heehee. Those are weird names!" Smarts felt a wave of irritation rush over him. "My name is Comet!"

"Well, nice to meet you… Comet…" Sally replied hesitantly, "We were wondering, do you happen to know a pony who has control over ice?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The unicorn replied excitedly. "I know her! I know her real well!"

"You do? Where is she?"

"She is here." Comet gestured to herself.

"She is… here?" Smarts was confused, "But she's not you."

"Oh, no." Comet replied with a smile. "She is me!" There was a brief moment of silence that fell, but Sally's laughter broke it like china falling to the floor.

"You?" She asked incredulously, "You have control over ice that apparently set ice demons over to Ponyville?"

"Yes. That's what I'm saying." Her grin was starting to widen, and they saw her teeth were unnaturally white.

"Okay then. Well, we're going to have to take you away from here."

"Oh," Comet responded, smile starting to fade, "I'm sorry, but that can't happen. In fact, you two can't leave either."

"What?" Sally shouted, "Why the hell not?"

"I'm just so lonely here. Everypony who comes here is always so mean. They always run away. But don't worry. They are still with me." She opens a door to a walk-in closet and hundreds of ice statues of ponies stood there, with their terrified expressions stuck on their faces for the entire world to see. "See? It's no big deal. I don't want to leave. And I don't want you two to leave either." She started to use her magic. A bone-chilling wind whipped up and they felt the temperature plummet into sub-zero temperatures.

"No." Smarts replied, "We're getting out of here, and you're going to stop this. Whether that means you stop on your own accord, or…" Smarts draws a flaming sword, which fell to the ground, scattering sparks into the air, "if you stop because you can't move."

"Oh," Comet used her magic to create a flail made out of ice, "looks like you guys want to play after all!" She hits the ball on the ground, making a loud clanging noise. The two unicorns rush at each other with their weapons, sending chips of ice and sparks flying with every hit. They both destroy each other's weapons within the first minute. Smarts grabs his quill and draws fireball after fireball, but Comet artfully dodges every one of them, as though she were a cheerleader. "That's a cool move you did just there, guy! But it's my turn now." She sent a massive hail of icicles, each one the length of a baseball bat and razor sharp, cascading down on Smarts. Smarts dodges each one, but only barely. They stick into the ground hard, and Smarts gets an idea. He draws a smaller fireball and launches it at Comet. She dodges it by quickly sidestepping to the right, and all of the icicles start to melt. He then quickly draws a lightning bolt on the paper. It leaps from the page and strikes the ice pillars, coursing through the water until it reaches Comet. She didn't expect the attack, and was caught off guard. Experiencing the powerful electric shock, she drops to the ground, unable to move. "Wow…" she said quietly, "you guys are the most fun I've had in years…"

"Oh, we're just getting started." Smarts replied with a sadistic grin. He readied his quill and began drawing a guillotine.

"Wait!" Sally exclaimed

"Oh, come on, what now?"

"We can't kill her."

"We ca- Sally! Are you insane? She almost killed us, not to mention everything that we've been through was because of her! And Celestia knows how many other hapless ponies she killed too." He turns back to Comet. "All because you were lonely and bored."

"Smarts, stop it. You don't know what it's like, killing somepony. You don't want that kind of blood on your hooves."

"Well fine! What do you think we should do with her? Huh? If she lives, she's gonna continue! If she dies, you're gonna feel guilty! So, Comet," he spat, "what do you want?"

Comet was at the point of tears; she hadn't been so close to death before. "I don't know anymore!" She wailed, "I just… just wanted somepony to play with me! I didn't want them to go! I didn't mean to kill them! Honest! I just lost control of my powers!"

"Oh, so you 'lost control of your powers.' Is that it?" Smarts replied with distasteful sarcasm, "Oh, then everything is fantastic! Gee, I'm sure those ponies you froze into ice cubes would agree, isn't that right guys?" He asks the closet of statues, "Yes indeed! Everything is hunky-dory!"

"Smarts, just… stop. You're taking this too far. What we should do is take her to Princess Celestia. She'll know what to do."

"Fine." Smarts replied with a scowl on his face, "Let's take her to the princess. But don't think for one second that you'll get any special treatment because you're only a foal."

"Thank you," Comet replied, tears streaming down her face, "thank you both for giving me a chance to live."