//------------------------------//
// Special Delivery 
// Story: I Dream of a Genie with a Light Brown Mane 
// by Metool Bard 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1:
Special Delivery


As Celestia's sun began to set, Twilight Sparkle was hard at work organizing and reorganizing her shelves, as was her wont.  She groaned.

"Spike, how many times do I have to tell you?" she said. "Sea Pony Tales goes in the Myths and Legends section, not the Equinpology section."

"Really?" said Spike, scratching his head. "Pinkie Pie says they're real."

Twilight gave her number one assistant a deadpan look.

"I'm just saying that not everything she says is crazy," said Spike with a shrug.

"I know, but really, Spike," said Twilight. "Everypony knows that there's no scientific proof of sea ponies."

"Same thing goes for Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense, but you don't complain about that anymore," said Spike.

Twilight was about to comment when there was a sudden thump outside her door.

"Spike, go see who that is," said Twilight. "I'm trying to work."

"Fine.  Run away from my winning argument," Spike said jokingly.  Twilight had to smirk.  She could tell when the baby dragon was being silly.

"Just go," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Right, right.  I'm going," said Spike.  When he opened the door, he saw a grey mailmare sprawled out on the ground.  Slowly, she got to her feet.

"They say the secret to flying is missing the ground," the pegasus said, her yellow eyes spinning in opposite directions. "So why do I keep hitting it?"

"Don't ask me," said Spike. "Can I, help you with anything?"

The pegasus looked around before asking. "Um, yeah.  Where's your mailbox?"

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Mailbox?  We, actually don't have a mailbox.  All of our mail comes from the Princess, and she delivers it through me, so..."

"Oh, so you're the mailbox?" asked the mailmare, staring intently at Spike (in the loosest definition of staring).

"Um, technically, I guess..."

"Okay then!" said the mailmare.  She then reached into her satchel and pulled out a package. "Open up, Mr. Mailbox!  It's time for your breakfast!"

"Wait, wha—?"

Before Spike could protest, the wall-eyed mare jammed the package into his mouth.  The commotion between the two got Twilight's attention.  When she saw what was happening, she didn't know whether to laugh or sigh in exasperation.

"Hello, Derpy," she said, recognizing the mailmare right away. "You have a package for me?"

"Oh, Twilight!  I didn't know you were home," said Derpy Hooves.  She then pried Spike's mouth open and retrieved the package, which was now covered in dragon spittle. "Here you go!"

"Um, thanks," said Twilight, using her magic to pick up the package. "I, actually wasn't expecting a package.  Any idea who it's from?"

Derpy placed a hoof to her chin. "Hmm.  Now that you mention it, I actually have no idea."

Twilight raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What do you mean you have no idea?"

"Just what I said," said Derpy with a shrug. "Sorry.  I just don't know what went wrong."

"No, it's fine," said Twilight, looking over the small brown box. "Well, there's no return address, so I can't send it back."

"But it's addressed to you.  I got that part right," said Derpy, pointing at the sticker on the package.  Sure enough, there was Twilight's full address.

"This is most peculiar," Twilight mused. "Well, I'll just have to look into this.  Thanks, Derpy."

"No thanks is necessary.  It's my honor and duty," said Derpy with a salute.  She then began to fly off, but then stopped in midair. "Wait, I think Fluttershy's cottage is in the other direction." She turned around and flew smack dab into one of the branches of Twilight's house. "Oops!  My bad!" she said as she got herself free and flew off.

"Spike, remind me to let Derpy know that you're not a mailbox," said Twilight as they went back inside.

"Duly noted," said Spike, still recovering from the ordeal. "Blech.  I'm never gonna get that taste out of my mouth."

"I'll let you have some ice cream for dessert tonight," said Twilight. "Now, let's see.  What am I going to do about this package?"

"Maybe it's from a secret admirer," Spike suggested, to which Twilight gave him a look. "Hey, it could happen."

"It's not very likely, Spike," said Twilight with a sigh. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."

Carefully, she opened the flaps of the package.  After digging through the bubble wrap, she found what appeared to be a dusty oil lamp.

"Okay, now this has gone from peculiar to just plain weird," said Spike. "Who in Equestria would send you something like that?"

"You're asking the wrong pony," said Twilight, observing the lamp carefully. "Hmm.  There seems to be some sort of design here, but I can't quite make out what it is.  Spike, go get my book on ancient Equestrian artifacts so that I can make a cross-reference."

"On it," said Spike as he began searching through the library.  As he searched, Twilight got a dishrag from the kitchen and began cleaning the lamp.  Just as she got it to a shine, a fine mist seemed to pour from the lamp's spout.  The mist grew and grew, swirling and spiraling in front of the lavender unicorn's eyes.  Suddenly, there was a burst of steam from the cloud that knocked Twilight onto the ground.

"Twilight!" Spike called out as he rushed in. "Are you alright?  What hap—?"

As Twilight shook herself, she saw what caused her assistant to stop in his tracks.  There standing before her was a beautiful mare with a luxurious peach-colored coat, beautiful eyes of jade, and a flowing light brown mane.  From the waist up, she was dressed like an exotic dancer, complete with a translucent pink veil that barely covered up the golden reins wrapped around her muzzle.  From the waist down, however, she was something else entirely.  She had no hindquarters to speak of, only a wispy tail made entirely of mist.  Twilight stood there, her mouth agape.

"Twilight, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" asked Spike.

"I-I don't know," said Twilight. "I don't know what I'm looking at right now."

"To tell you the truth, neither do I," said the mare, looking around. "I'll tell you one thing, though.  It looks like I'm not in Saddle Arabia anymore."

The enigmatic pony's comments caused light bulbs to go off in Twilight's head. "Wait, you're from Saddle Arabia?"

"Well, yes," said the mare.

"Spike, quick!  Get me my book on Saddle Arabian folklore!" Twilight ordered.

"Um, sure thing," said Spike, still very dumbfounded.  When he didn't make a move, Twilight's pet owl swooped in and dropped the book in front of his owner.

"Oh.  Thank you, Owlowiscious," said Twilight as she began flipping through the book. "Let's see here...  Ah-ha!"

"Ah-ha what?" asked Spike, confusion snapping him out of his shock.

"Right here," said Twilight, pointing with her hoof. "It says here that there are legends about mystical spirits that live inside oil lamps.  When a pony frees them, they are obligated to grant that pony three wishes."

"Story of my life right there," said the mare.

"Wow," Twilight said in awe. "So, you really are a...?"

"I sure am," said the mare. "I'm the genie of this lamp, and you have set me free, Mistress."

Twilight's eyes sparkled. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed. "I mean, I've always read about genies in books, but I never thought I'd actually meet one!"

"Well, today's your lucky day, o lovely mistress of mine," said the genie with a bow.

"Oh, you don't have to call me that," said Twilight. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can just call me Twilight."

"But of course, Mistress Twilight," said the genie.

Twilight gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Just Twilight, please," she said, blushing slightly.

"Alright then," said the genie. "So, what'll be your first wish?"

"Just a minute," said Twilight, looking back in her book. "It says here that genies have a set of guidelines for their wishes."

The genie stared at Twilight for a moment. "Yes, and?"

"Well, aren't you going to tell me what I can't wish for?"

"Oh, right!" said the genie with a nervous giggle. "Ah, silly me.  I, must've been stuck in that lamp for longer than I thought."

"Spike, you might want to write this down so we don't forget," said Twilight.

"Uh, sure thing, Twi," said Spike, and he hurried back to Twilight's study.  When he returned, he had a piece of parchment and a quill in claw. "Alright, ready."

"Very well then," said the genie. "First off, I can be many things, but there are three things I cannot be.  I can't be a hitpony, I can't be a matchmaker, and I can't be a necromancer."

"Necro-whatzzit?" asked Spike.

"It means she can't bring the dead back to life," Twilight explained. "Please, continue."

"Right," said the genie. "Second of all, I'm no Discord.  There's a lot he can do that I can't.  If something is too difficult for me to handle, I'll let you know so that you can retract the wish.  No harm, no foul."

"Nothing that's beyond your powers.  Got it," said Twilight. "Anything else?"

"Just one," said the genie. "Don't ask me for anything you can't already do yourself.  Trust me, the last few masters I had were all lazy bums that wasted their wishes on me getting them things just so that they wouldn't have to get out of bed.  Ugh, it's so annoying."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," said Twilight. "Spike, you got all that down?"

"Sure thing," said Spike.

"Good," said the genie. "Alright, now.  What shall be your first wish?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Um, actually, I can't think of anything right now."

The genie blinked. "You can't?"

"Well, I have to be careful what I wish for, don't I?" said Twilight. "This is a lot of power in my hooves, and I need to use it wisely."

"Oh, come on now," said the genie, placing an arm around Twilight's shoulder. "There has to be something you want.  Infinite wisdom?  A room full of gold?  Maybe to be an alicorn for a day?  I'm just spitballing here."

Twilight gently pushed the genie back with her hoof. "Look, I don't know how it went with your other masters, but I need time to think this over," she said firmly. "So please, just let me sleep on it.  I'll give you my first wish when I'm good and ready."

"Are you, sure about that?" asked the genie.

"I'm sure," said Twilight with a nod.

The genie shrugged. "Well, I'll give you this, Twilight Sparkle.  You're a lot brighter than my other masters.  Fair enough, I can be patient."

"Thank you," said Twilight. "Oh, I forgot to ask.  Do you have a name?"

The genie gave Twilight a quizzical look. "A, name?" she parroted.

"Yeah.  What do ponies call you?" asked Twilight.

The genie sheepishly brushed back her light brown mane. "I, actually don't have a name.  It's not like I need one or anything."

"No name?" said Twilight, aghast at the prospect. "Now that's just ridiculous.  How can ponies address you if you don't have a name?"

"Again, it's not exactly something I need," said the genie. "Why are you concerned about this, anyway?  None of my other masters cared."

"Well, I guess I'm the first then," said Twilight. "I'm really not comfortable just calling you 'genie' or 'hey, you.'  Hmm, let's see.  How would you like to be called Misty?"

"You're going to insist on this name thing, aren't you?" said the genie. "Listen, you don't need to..."

"I know I don't need to, but I want to," said Twilight, standing her ground. "So, do you like the name Misty?"

The genie sighed. "Alright, if you insist, Mistress Twilight.  From now on, you may call me Misty."

"Perfect!" said Twilight, clapping her hooves. "Well, I'd better get supper on the go.  Would you care for anything, Misty?"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "I think you'll see in that book that genies don't need to eat anything."

"Oh, you're right!  Sorry," said Twilight, sheepishly brushing the back of her head. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then.  I'll let you know when I think of my first wish."

With that, she trotted off past Misty and into the kitchen with Spike at her heels.  Misty simply floated there for a moment, not sure how to feel.  Only one thought crossed her mind:

Okay, looks like this is going to be more complicated than I thought it would be...