By the time Twilight and Spike had reached Malakhar’s hut once more, Malakhar was eating some buttered toast. As he was nibbling on his small breakfast, he turned around to notice the duo standing behind him.
“Hello again, Twilight and Spike. I thought I told you two to return once Twilight has made her decision.”
“That’s the thing, Malakhar. We just came back from the library, and Kubuya gave us a lot of information regarding this whole genie thing.”
Malakhar raised an eyebrow in wonder as Spike settled the bag down on the floor. “Kubuya?”
“She’s the mare who runs the library. I’m surprised you don’t know who she is, seeing as you live here, and you seem so intelligent about genies. I figured you went there to read books about them, or something.”
“I have, on occasion. However, I never did socialize much. My life is rather simple, and I don’t really have much of a taste for making friends or some such nonsense.”
“Nonsense?” Twilight reeled back, clearly surprised. “You do realize it was friendship that powers the Elements of Harmony you know are very powerful. It was friendship that made me a better pony than I once was when I lived in Canterlot. Friendship has helped me a lot, and it can help everypony, even you.”
“Well, I didn’t say it was a bad thing…” Malakhar said with a poker face, but Twilight was clearly not amused. “I could at least try to if it makes you feel better.”
“I’m not saying you have to. I’m just saying that friendship has helped me a lot, and it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”
Malakhar took a deep breath and sighed. “Very well. I’ll see what I can do. But I think telling me about friendship wasn’t the reason you came over here… or to interrupt my breakfast.”
“Sorry, but yes, there was a more important reason for us returning here. Like I said, we came back from the library. Kubuya, the librarian there, explained to as a lot about Saddle Arabian culture, and how much genies were tied to it.”
As Malakhar listened, he took the time to take another nibble of his toast, and then swallowed before replying. “That sounds fascinating. What exactly did she tell you?”
Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, first, how do you know so much about genies in the first place? And, although it’s less important, does it have anything to do with bottles?”
Malakhar took a short pause to swallow another bite of his food before he cleared his throat. “Well, you don’t seem to be angry at me anymore, so I sense that you are calm?”
Her eyes narrowed, showing the stallion that this was far from true. However, she lightened her glare by closing her eyes. “I’m still peeved that you tricked me into becoming a genie against my own will. However, I am not very as mad as I used to be anymore. You don’t have to worry about me getting angry at you anymore, though. So yes, I have calmed down.”
“Well, alright then. You’re going to be here for a little while, but trust me when I say that this may or may not affect your decision to stay a genie or be wished back to normal.” Malakhar took a deep breath himself and exhaled. With his vast knowledge of genies and his collection, he was prepared to tell Twilight and Spike all he knew.
“First, I’ll answer the bottle part. Though bottles are part of it, I mostly sculpt pots. You see, my main profession is pottery. When I was younger, I would learn the pottery trade from my mother. At first, I was horrible. I… won’t be afraid to admit that.”
Malakhar chuckled a bit before continuing. “Still, over time, basically years, I finally got the hang of how to bend the shapes of the clay used to make the pottery, and eventually I mastered it around my teen years. I’ve been making countless pots and bottles ever since. Still, I figured there was more to life than making and selling pots.”
“And what was that?” Spike asked before his stomach growled a bit. He groaned from his sudden hunger and turned toward Twilight. “Hey Twilight, please tell me you brought another one of those delicious gems.”
“Sorry Spike. That other one you ate already was the only one we brought.”
Spike looked down in sadness. He really wanted something to eat until he suddenly beamed. “Wait. Twilight, I wish for another Saddle Arabian gem!”
“Oh. Well, I can surely grant you that.” Twilight’s horn glowed, as did the headband she wore on her forehead. A purple glow appeared in Spike’s claws before a gem materialized in them. He gasped in delight and stuck it in his mouth.
“Uh, I wouldn’t just force it in your mouth if I were you…” Malakhar warned. Twilight was wondering what he meant when Spike spitted the gem out of his mouth and back into his claw.
“Twilight, did you grant my wish wrong? This doesn’t taste anywhere as good as the gems from here!”
“Yeah, that’s the thing,” Malakhar stated as he pointed to the gem in question. “If a natural resource or renewable resource is wished for by a genie, they'll generally be of less quality than that of normally cooked food or found gems.”
“Aww… I mean, it’s not horrible. I was just expecting to eat something with more taste. Guess it’ll have to do for now.”
He inserted the gemstone back into his mouth and started to suck on it, though the sour expression on his face showed the two ponies he wasn’t enjoying it much. Twilight shook her head and turned back to Malakhar. “So… back to Spike’s question. What was it you figured was more to life than this?”
“Right, right. It wasn’t until I was about twenty that I got into the history of Saddle Arabia. So I did try out that library you went into several times since you arrived here. I learned much about genies and how their lives went, how their powers worked, and the magical properties that surrounded them. But when my grandfather learned of my new sudden interest, he wanted to teach me more about it. One of the things he told me about was the kinds of ponies that could be the greatest of genies.”
“Sort of like me, right?” Twilight guessed. “You made me a genie because you thought I could be one of the greatest genies in the whole existence of Saddle Arabia?”
Malakhar shifted his eyes nervously, but he wasn’t going to try and make Twilight angry again. “Uh, yes! Precisely. I was just continuing a tradition. See, my ancestors were among those who created genies. They had the right mindset, intelligence, and wisdom to choose the perfect candidates for geniefication. Of course, they also had to be willing to become genies in the first place, something I most definitely failed to check before attempting. Once again, I am very sorry for that.”
“It’s alright, Malakhar. We still have time until I have to make my choice, but it’s not long. If you would, please continue your explanation.”
“Of course. Well-“
“Wait!” Spike interrupted hastily, receiving confusing glances from Twilight and Malakhar. Spike proceeded to pick up the book from the library and held it up in the air. “Twilight, remember what Kubuya told us about? Maybe Malakhar knows something about it!”
“Knows about what, Spike?”
Spike set the book down. “You know, that Anti-Genie regime.”
Hearing this, Malakhar lowered his head sadly, which Twilight and Spike noticed immediately. They were about to ask if there was something wrong when he suddenly spoke up again.
“Right… I actually do know about that, despite not being there. Normally, I wouldn’t talk about it, but since this concerns genies, and I turned you into one, I might as well. You may have already heard that the Anti-Genie regime did whatever they could to make sure genies weren’t around. This didn’t mean that they weren’t being opposed, though. They actually did come under fire from a few groups that created genies that didn’t exactly share the same ideas. They somehow eluded the attacks, but they were still around. In fact, they went so far as to even keep close eyes on those groups that opposed them. Because of this, making more genies became more difficult.”
“What else did they do to try and prevent geniefication?” Spike asked, still not getting used to the taste of the magically-created gemstone.
“Well, they searched high and low for any sort of remaining information about the methods of creating genies, such as books and scrolls, and attempted to burn them in hopes of preventing anypony from learning how to create more in secret. But that didn't mean they hid everything...”
“Can you explain?” Twilight asked, always wanting to know more about any subject. “I mean, this probably isn't much important to my decision, but I kinda want to know more about this whole genie thing.”
“Well, I wouldn't want to bore anypony here who doesn’t want to hear all of this boring stuff,” Malakhar insisted, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh no, please go on. I'm rather intrigued myself,” Twilight reassured.
“If you say so. Anyway, somepony in my family... my ancestry, found a way to hide a lot of the information, and it stayed hidden for quite a long time. Unfortunately, not all of it was safe. The Anti-Genie regime somehow found out about his secret, and he was forced to rip up the information and keep it hidden. The whole knowledge of genies, however, was still kept alive by being passed down by generations. He would tell his offspring, who would in turn tell his offspring, and it would keep going on and on like that. This kept going until the Anti-Genie regime came to an end.”
Twilight looked stunned from the story. The cunning of Malakhar's ancestors surprised her to the point of speechlessness. Malakhar suspected that would happen, and gave a hearty chuckle.
“Yes, they were fierce, but the ancient ponies were never idiots. They always had plans or ideas to keep the genies alive, and their most ingenious one was to wait until the regime ended, then find somepony in the bloodline who could restore genies back to Saddle Arabia in spectacular fashion. They kept their information hidden, though. They didn't want anypony from outside the bloodline knowing that the information was still known, just in case the Anti-Genie regime was secretly still alive. And not only that, but none of them could ever find anypony capable enough to fit the criteria of being a good genie. Straying away from that criteria is what led to the creation of the regime in the first place.”
“So what does this have to do with me?” Twilight interrupted. “From everything I learned since becoming a genie, I was the first in a long time.”
Malakhar facehoofed, then slid his hoof slowly down his face. “Perhaps if you allowed me to explain... there's actually something about you that I was going to explain next.”
“What about me could you have known? You wanted to make me a genie before even meeting me personally.”
“Malakhar raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. “Well, this is where my grandfather came in. In all of the history of Saddle Arabia, genies were a big deal. However, what about the possibility of somepony fitting the criteria of a genie who's not from Saddle Arabia?”
Twilight gasped, which made Malakhar curl his lips up into a smile. He figured she caught on to his idea, and decided to continue his explanation.
“Yes, he thought that the potential perfect genie could exist outside of Saddle Arabia. My father, when he heard of the possibility, thought that was a bit crazy, as he couldn't see somepony outside of this place understanding things enough to actually be a part of what's a big culture in a foreign location. The only thing that got in the way was the fact that to even find somepony outside of Saddle Arabia would require trekking across the San Palomino desert, and that was a near impossible task. So, all my grandfather could do was wait for possible news that could bring him somepony that could revive the values our family had long put into creating genies.”
“And let me guess...” Twilight inquired with uncertainty. “This is where I come in?”
“Correct, my dear Twilight Sparkle. It was you and your five friends, in fact. Once news about the defeat of an evil being known as Nightmare Moon, a bit after a seemingly long night, reached Saddle Arabia, I told the news to my father, and more importantly, my grandfather. What intrigued him most was that she was defeated by six new bearers of the legendary Elements of Harmony. He had a sort of twinkle in his eye, more like an opportunity to have one of those bearers being a perfect choice as a genie. And he knew about the Elements of Harmony, including the strongest Elements that binds them together: the Element of Magic, which you represent if I understand correctly.”
“Yes, I represent the Element of Magic. But wait...” Twilight paused as she thought hard. “Now that I'm here, and now a genie, wouldn't you want to show your grandfather?”
Malakhar hung his head in melancholy, a dreaded thought in his mind. Twilight caught sight of this, and her ears lowered in anticipation. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, not at all. It's just... right when this news was heard, an illness struck my grandfather. Before he could achieve his dream of reviving the genies, he passed away. He hadn't lived to see what he had striven for. I stood there by his deathbed, mourning over the loss of somepony near and dear to me.”
Twilight's heart sunk from hearing this, and apparently so did Spike's. The atmosphere in the room filled with a sense of sorrow.
“However,” Malakhar started in an attempt to dissipate the heavy mood in the room, “as I stood there, he gave me one final wish. About the Elements of Harmony... he wished for me to find one of the bearers of the Elements, and placed the duty of making her an honorable genie onto me. I respected my grandfather very, very much, and would try my best to fulfill his final request.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow again, as if that didn't happen enough. But a lot of thoughts were being made. “So how did you think you were ever going to meet one of us if you knew you couldn't cross the San Palomino desert?”
“Well, at first, I didn't even think about that. I was focused on looking more into the Elements of Harmony themselves. I first thought the Elements of Loyalty, or Generosity, or even Kindness would work best, but then the obvious hit me. It has to be the most powerful element of them all: Magic. Knowing that you were the bearer of this element, I just had to reach you somehow. I thought very hard about how this could be possible, but there wasn't any sort of way I could think of. As mentioned before, I couldn't just travel outside Saddle Arabia. The San Palomino desert is a harsh mistress.”
A thought hit Spike as he turned toward Twilight. “So, do you think Malakhar's saying it was just a huge coincidence that we just happened to choose this place as our vacation spot?”
“I think so, Spike,” Twilight answered as she turned back to Malakhar. “I suppose you were lucky we came across Saddle Arabia in those reference guides we looked through back in Ponyville; otherwise, I never would've chosen to come here.”
Malakhar chuckled jokingly, humoring the situation. “I suppose I was just lucky, then. It's quite possible I would've never even been able to find a way to you in the first place, so it's highly coincidental indeed. I just... I didn't see the bad in what I was doing when I formally met you, Twilight. I'm not a bad pony; I was just wanting to fulfill my grandfather's last request.”
Malakhar hung his head, and continued to speak. “Even if you were going to be wished free by Spike soon, at least then I could say I accomplished in creating the first genie in a long time. I did try to fulfill what my family's been wanting to do for generations now.”
“Hmm...” Twilight pondered before looking back at Malakhar. “About that piece of paper you said that pony ripped up and hid... how could that information still exist?”
“Well, it wasn't really that hard to put back together once the regime left him alone. Although the paper was in pieces, if you put it together, it would've still been intact enough that anypony could've made it into sort of a puzzle and it would still be readable. Either way, the knowledge was still kept inside the pony's mind, so it wasn't that easily forgettable.”
Twilight scratched her head, trying to think of more questions to delve further into detail. “What was the paper about, specifically?”
“That, if I remember correctly...” Malakhar took a pause to gather his thoughts. Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike stared uncertainly at each other until Malakhar spoke up again.
“Alright. The paper went into detail of listing how to enchant a container, From what you may have already read, the container doesn't have to be a bottle like yours is.”
Twilight took a brief moment to look at her custom-made bottle, noting that it was indeed, a bottle.
“If you paid any attention to those foalish fairy tales, small lamps were also used. Whatever was used, it would be enchanted with special magical properties that allowed the magic energy to bond with the pony who would then be geniefied. Funnily enough, the enchanter doesn't have to be a unicorn. Even though I'm an earth pony, I enchanted your bottle. The last part of the geniefication process was something I had to, uh... trick you into doing, and that was to open the bottle yourself.”
“So that's why you had me open the bottle instead of opening it yourself,” Twilight concluded.
“Exactly. That perfectly explains why it had to be you to open the bottle, not me. With all of that, you basically, even if it was forcefully, upheld to the quality of genies my family always wanted, especially as the most powerful Element of Harmony. I know that sounds very shallow when you put it that way, but...”
Twilight giggled, which left a confused expression on the stallion's face. Once she settled down, she exhaled deeply. “Malakhar, I totally understand. It seems very noble of you to keep a promise to your family for this. I just wished you told me about this whole thing in the first place. I still forgive you, don't worry. I can see why you wanted me, of all ponies now. I would probably fit the role of a genie greatly, possibly even more so than genies from way back when. It makes even more sense considering since I am the very Element of Magic, I would be the most ideal choice out of the six bearers because the element I represent is the Element of Magic, which is the one that binds the others together.”
“And what else are genies known for than being really magical, right?” Malakhar added with a chuckle, a smile on his face as well.
“Twilight Sparkle, I really did enjoy the company, and very much liked sharing with you all this information about genies, the Anti-Genie regime, and even my ancestors and my grandfather's wish, but it's time I gave you one last warning...”
Twilight's smile faded quickly. She feared there was yet more information he kept from her. “What is it?”
“It's regarding your time... you only have about twenty four hours left.”
Twilight wasn't aware of the time. She was so focused on learning everything she could regarding her genie position just in case it made her decision more worthwhile. But now that she saw just how much time she had left, she couldn't think much. Spike felt worried about her, but didn't know what to say himself.
“Twilight?” he asked while reaching a claw out to Twilight. She just shook her head in response, pausing for a few seconds before she opened her mouth.
“I... think I just need the rest of the time to think. I need to be alone.”
“Twilight...” Spike pleaded.
“No, Spike... I need to focus on what I really want. What really matters to me most. This is the toughest decision I have ever had to face in my life. What I choose ends up affecting a lot of things. I need to be alone so I can think things through in peace. Once time comes close to the end, I'll come back and make my choice, but until then, I need time alone... Spike, stay with Malakhar. I'll see you both again when I've made up my mind.”
Without any rebuttal, Twilight stood up from her spot. Spike was about to interject, but after everything Twilight just said, he decided against it. She lifted up her bottle with her magic, and walked out of the hut quietly.