//------------------------------//
// 2 Weeks Later 
// Story: The Magic Lamp 
// by Silver Butcher 
//------------------------------//

Spike and Cozy looked at the stall they had been given for trading, it was an absolute mess and the location was terrible, being perfectly positioned to catch all of the suns heat but catch no cooling breezes. Spike and Cozy where given paper work to sign that Cozy had Spike magically complete, and the two where now sitting in wait, hating the stall they where in.
"I hate this," Cozy declared irritably.
"Your the only one of us with any say so, we can just leave, don't really need his map, could just wish one up,"
"No," Cozy shot back "We'll stay a while, I wanna see who's going to be tracking me, that way I can plan my schemes accordingly while also throwing them off trail,"
"look I'm just saying," Spike said as he leaned his neck down and whisper to her "One wish to be an adult and they'd never know it was you, I mean your gonna have to do it anyway if the plan to marry Flurry heart is to work, doubt she'll be willing to get it on with you the way you are now,"
"Shut up," Cozy spat at him "I wish for this broken down stall to be fixed, and alluring to the towns people so we can get to business. Pweety Pweese. Spike smiled and reeled his neck in and gave his nose a bop, Cozy watched as his eyes spun like a slot machine and Landed on 7's with one glowing on his forehead.
"Your Wish, is Granted!" Spike cheered as neck popped out like a jack from a box and the stall around them swirling around them and in the blink of an eye was embellished with fine silks and furs, spices and exotic fruits where set up in front of them, and a set of magic fans where set up on display and blasted the duo with cooling air.
"Alright where all set up," Cozy called out loudly, the stall very quickly attracting a crowd "We sell, we buy, and we trade! Please speak to the Llama if you have any questions about merchandise we don't have on display, And to me about making purchases, selling goods, or potential trades,"



"It's strange," Starswirl said as he and his team looked over the cave that Cozy and Spike had once been housed in "no...it should be impossible," Starswirl looked back at his team, consisting of Ember and Rain Shine, both of whom where giving each other the dead glare instead of scanning the cave like they had been asked to. "I can't say how, but it would seem that Cozy has not only used all three of her wishes but exceeded them,"
"What do you mean exceeded?" Rain Shine demanded, losing interest in her squabble with Ember "Spike can only grant three wishes per master, I tried desperately to get just one more so I could keep him and we found nothing,"
"Well, it would seem that Cozy Glow has found a way around this, although how she has done so is beyond me, I had Spike for years and failed to find any way to exceed the three wish restriction, I wonder how..."
"Who cares," Ember cut in abruptly "It doesn't matter how many wishes she has so long as we find the lamp and give it to Luna or Me, or any of his other none masters, infinite wishes won't mean a thing if Spike is freed from his enslavement," There was a moment of silence before Starswirl nodded.
"You're not wrong, and once he is free we can always ask how she did it," Starswirl looked around the cave in silence before nodding "Ember, Rain Shine I need you both to examine the area surrounding the cave, see if Cozy walked out or if one of these wishes was used to take them to a different location," The Duo split apart from one another, neither wanting the deal with the other as they began slowly scanning the farthest reaches of the cave. Starswirl sighed at the two's behavior before turning back to the unnatural table donning the center of cave and scanned the area where Cozy had made multiple wishes, trying to figure the number of wishes and see if any had been to keep her hidden from being tracked.



Cozy yawned as she lay on the bed, leaving a hefty coating of sand on it as she did so, she quickly wished the room clean with a pweety pweese and was content to enjoy the bed as Spike jumped on the other and split into all his forms, all forming a dogpile on top of one another. The Dragon, Kirin, and Llama all crawled under the covers in different positions, now wearing Nightcaps, and instantly fell asleep, the Breezie and The Diamond dog both lay atop of the sleeping Spikes and began casually playing the most confusing looking game of chess. Cozy had several questions to ask the Genie and had indeed already asked a few while they had spent their day in the Saddle Arabian traders market.
"You really can't fully fall asleep?" She asked.
"Trust me," Breezie said as he moved a piece across the board with all his might "I have tried so hard to slip fully into unconsciousness, it would have made those centuries in the lamp slightly more bearable, but the best I can do is to split my mind and leave some of it to sorta rest,"
"You should probably get some rest, aren't you antsy to fall asleep for the first time in over a decade?" Diamond dog asked as she moved a piece using only her left foot.
"Are you...sure your still one person?" Cozy asked, ignoring the Diamond dog's notion of sleep and instead looked over at all the different versions of Spike "Cause...you argue about some of the weirdest thing,"
"No idea," Breezie replied casually before licking one of its pieces and leaving it to move of its own accord. "I've spent countless centuries with nothing to do but...well, play this stupid game with myself, and talk to my self I guess, nothing much else to be done," Cozy watched as the two versions of Spike played their odd game of chess, exhaustion slowly gnawing at her before Diamond dog gave a sigh.
"Cozy you have been in a constant state of awareness for 16 odd years," She said as she got to her feet and made her way over to Cozy, the Breezie following after her as the chessboard melted away, The Diamond dog took a seat on the edge of Cozy's bed and the Breezie getting nice and comfy on the bed frame. The look on Cozy's face was all Spike needed to figure the problem.
"Listen Kiddo," Breezie said as he pointed at himself "If you're that concerned about Twilight tracking you down, or that Princess Luna will find you in the dream world...just wish that she can't, or wish for something else just as good, you got yourself a loophole, ain't got to be picky choosey with your wishes so long as you use the magic word,"
"Exactly," Diamond dog said as she picked up Cozy and carefully tucked her into the bed "and besides, you got all of me watching over ya, and so long as I'm out of the lamp I can do a lot of things to stop most creatures from messing with you,"
Cozy looked at Spike in silence before replying.
"I wish to be safe while I sleep, Pweety Pweese,"
"Don't worry kiddo," Breezie said as he fluttered down and patted her head as Cozy let her exhaustion take her to the dream world "Your wish is granted," They waited until she was sound asleep before getting back up and jumping back on top of themselves and continuing their game of 5th-dimensional chess.
"Well that was sweet," Breezie said to Diamond dog, "aren't we just a sweetheart.
"So?" Diamond dog shot back "almost 2 decades trapped in stone, she's probably gonna have nightmares for the rest of her life at best,"



Spike and Cozy waved their latest customer good bye as the sun began setting in the sky, it had been 2 weeks since their arrival in the town and thus far they where a hit. The two had noticed the Horse who had first met upon entering the town talking with some rather regal looking horses, and had yet to receive the agreed upon map of Saddle Arabia from him, Much to Cozy's irritation. She'd made a quick wish for Spike to keep an eye on him and had left it at that.
"I think we've fallen for something," Spike said as he scratched his chin "We have less coin then we did yesterday, some of the furs are missing, and someone nicked my Favorite fan,"
"What more no Equestrian Search parties have come searching for me," Cozy said with a groan "Spike I think it's time we packed up and split," Before Spike could agree, He suddenly with stiff and his eye's began glowing and he spat out a small crystal ball with the horse who had brought them into town laughing as he took a sack of gold coins and passed the regal horses from a few days prior some papers.
"Pleasure doing business with you, you'll find them working the stall down the lane, A Equestrian Pegasus, either a child or short no one's sure, and the agreed upon Llama," Spike gasped as the crystal ball evaporated.
"We're being slave traded!" Cozy said angrily as she spotted a set of horsed in armor making a B-Line for the stall "Spike set the stall on fire and lets scram," Spike hocked a loogy that caught on fire and Cozy jumped on his back as he jumped the stall, the two rushed from the now flaming stall as the Armored Horses rushed after them.
"Halt in the name of the Duke of the Western Kingdom's,"
"I don't live here," Spike called back as he high tailed it down the towns pathway "Call me when a Princess is involved," Spike continued running as the Guards gave chase before looking back at Cozy "Why are we running exactly?"
"Eh, no drama in life if we just poof away from every problem, Spike I wish that guy in the lead would trip, and the one next him would have their armor fall off.
"Your Wish, is granted," Spike reapplied, The Two watched as the guy tripped and his spear slashed his fellows armor, The guards armor fell apart and reveal a Horse mare who skid to a halt and let out a scream as she tried to cover her shame for some confusing reason.
"Never understood why ponies do that," Spike said as he turned his attention forward "Like we're not all running around naked at all times," The two continued running as Cozy wished a comedic fate upon any of the guards in her line of sight, from getting smacked from a granny horse, to having a flower pot fall of their head and make them lose balance. The two's fun was abruptly cut off when they took a turn and Spike ran full throttle into a shield barricade of guards. Cozy and Spike lay sprawled on the ground, Cozy sporting a bloody nose and Spike's neck being full of kinks with his eyes spinning in their sockets. The two where lassoed together and dragged across the ground and tossed before the Horse who had sold them, and another fabulously dressed horse whom they assumed was the duke.
"Damaged goods," The Duke said, snatching his bag of coins back from the Slave Trader "We'll have to negotiate a new price, Sets of spears where pointed at the Horse, who shook before them.
"It's...it's not my fault they ran, there was no way for them to know!"
"I want my map," Spike demanded "Or so help me I'll...do whatever she tells me to do!"
"He'll do it," Cozy threatened "he's crazy," The Duke waved to his guards.
"Have the short one's wings clipped and put her to work in my kitchen, Send the Llama to my tailor, I want a lavish new cape this time next week,"
"Your gonna skin me," Spike demanded "Dude that's messed up, Llama's are like endangered or something cause I'm the only one I've ever seen, and I've lived a long time believe me," As the Guards began dragging them away Cozy smiled.
"Hey Spike," She said as she looked at all the guards, obeying the duke without hesitation or question.
"Hm?"
"I wish to have the Duke's title, power, and all that comes with it, Pweety pweese" Spike smiled as his eye's began glowing.
"Your Wish, is Granted," He declared merrily as Reality began shifting around them.