//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: I Dream of Twilight Sparkle 
// by Salnalus 
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The following morning went by smoothly. At least, sort of. The hot air balloon had finally arrived in Ponyvillle, hovering over all the houses and other buildings. It was very early in the morning when the balloon came within sight of Applejack, who was the first pony to see it approaching the town while she was busy bucking apple trees. She immediately took off to find the others, before they all settled where the balloon landed: behind the Golden Oaks Library.

Spike was the only one to come out of the basket when it landed, and he was carrying Twilight’s bottle while he walked out in front of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. They all gathered together to have a grand reunion with their best friend and her number one assistant. But Twilight was nowhere to be seen, and she wasn’t in the basket. All of the mares looked confused, almost lost as to Twilight’s whereabouts.

Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy were worried that something had happened to Twilight, and she had been left behind in Saddle Arabia without Spike. This left Rainbow Dash and Applejack somewhat angry, or at least that’s what it looked like to the calm baby dragon. Those two had some of the meanest glares that Spike had ever seen on a pony.

They were all also wondering why Spike seemed calm, despite everypony’s worries. But he simply told them that Twilight was here, which left them even more confused than they already were. Pinkie guessed that Twilight was just invisible, as if by a new magic spell, or that the Spike they were talking to was Twilight in disguise, and the real Spike was elsewhere. That is when he revealed the true location of the purple mare: inside the purple bottle bearing her cutie mark. But they all knew ponies couldn’t fit into bottles.

But they were all proved wrong when the bottle uncapped itself, and the smoke inside expanded to form Twilight’s body. As soon as she reformed, everypony’s eyes widened, and their pupils shrunk as well. As fun as it was to surprise them, Twilight felt the need to explain her reasoning for being in the bottle, as well as her ghostly tail and her attire. As soon as she formed her hind legs and detached herself from the bottle, she began to explain everything that happened to them during their trip to Saddle Arabia.

They all understood everything that she explained, and even welcomed the idea of their bookworm friend being a genie. Though, they all had their own specific reactions. Rainbow Dash admitted the whole genie thing, the being able to grant wishes with incredible magic abilities and stuff, was pretty awesome. Pinkie Pie was no surprise, as she was a pony that would get excited over practically anything. So Twilight and Spike saw her reaction coming from a mile away. Fluttershy didn’t exactly know how to react to such a big change in Twilight’s life, but she was fine with it as long as Twilight was.

Applejack was a tough one, though. She didn’t exactly understand why Twilight would want such a thing, and was the most unsure about the whole ordeal, so it took a bit of explaining to convince her that the whole thing was something she did not even need to worry about. Twilight even mentioned that Applejack could wish for Granny Smith’s hip to be replaced if she wanted. That swayed Applejack’s mind, since Granny Smith really needed a better hip.

As for Rarity, she didn’t hear a thing, as she fainted on the ground upon first seeing Twilight float out of the bottle. She was going to hear the story later by some means, but the important thing was that the whole genie experience was Twilight’s own decision, and though it came with some downsides, all of her friends supported her all the way. Now that Twilight was back in Ponyville, it was time for her to settle back into her normal life… as normal as a pony turned into a genie can settle into.

Back in the library, which the duo had to admit they missed very much, Twilight and Spike had been preparing a letter to the one pony that gave them vacation time in the first place.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to report that I am finally back in Ponyville, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Saddle Arabia, as did Spike. We really had a lot of fun, but we couldn’t be happier about being back home where we belong. So we don’t need the hot air balloon anymore. You can send some guards to take it back.

Now, there’s something really important I have to say, and it’s not very easy to do that. You see, I made a really big life-changing decision while I was there. First of all, it was not my fault, as it involved a stallion there who tricked me into a situation I didn’t want to be in in the first place. But, now I’m comfortable with it.

You see, this stallion… he changed me into a genie.

This is no joke, by the way. I really am a genie, and I’m sure you probably know something about Saddle Arabia’s history with genies, as I have learned a lot about during my stay there. I’m bound to a bottle with my cutie mark on it, though I can choose to detach myself from it whenever I please. I had three days to choose whether or not I wanted to turn back to normal, or stay a genie. And believe it or not, three days was all I needed.

I had read a lot of things about genies, and you wouldn’t believe the vast amount of information I learned. It was like a goldmine in there! While I was there, I visited another library where I found a lot of books I couldn’t even find in the Canterlot Royal Library. They were so rare, I was practically beaming in there.

I would go on, but there’s only so much I can fit on a scroll, so I’ll make this as short as I can. After thinking so hard about the advantages and disadvantages of being a genie for a thousand years, it bothered me a lot, but then the thought of Spike really pulled through for me in making my decision. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a rash decision. I was really sure I wanted to stay a genie for the next thousand years.

However, because of this whole genie thing, my magic has really improved! So now, it won't be too much of a concern for me. But that doesn’t mean I’m not the same pony I was before. I’m not all-knowing, so I still have much to learn. 

I hope this isn’t too much. I would like your thoughts about this. It would mean a lot.

Your faithful student who is now a genie,
Twilight Sparkle

After that, Spike breathed a green flame onto it, whisking it past Twilight. It flew out the window toward its destination to Canterlot. As expected, they received a letter back almost immediately.

Dear Twilight,

This is… this is a lot to take in. I hope you are really one hundred percent sure about the decision you have made. I know about the genification process myself, as I have heard stories about genies. I’m very surprised that not only did the instructions for it managed to survive for several millennia, but that you were to be affected by it in the first place. When I heard from you that you chose Saddle Arabia as a vacation spot, I didn’t think this would ever be possible.

I wish for you to come to Canterlot to explain more to me in person, whenever you have time, though it would be best to come as soon as you can. I must hear more about everything that happened during your vacation to Saddle Arabia.

I hope, for your sake, that things turn out fine for you in your new life. I’m sure you already know that, with your new genie form, you will outlive your friends and family. But you probably already thought about that.

As for that last thing you mentioned, do remember that magic is not the sole reason for you becoming my student. There is still a lot of things you must learn about life and friendship. Don’t think there isn’t anything left I can teach you. In fact, there may even be things you can teach me. With you being a genie, I could learn a thing or two. Besides, the more I know about your situation, the better. Just don’t think that it can help you with everything, for your next level of studies requires something other than genie magic.

As I had said already, I would like to meet you, so come when you can.

Princess Celestia

After having read that, Twilight and Spike genuinely smiled at each other. Twilight was sure to make her appointment to Canterlot to visit Princess Celestia days later, and Celestia did indeed learn a lot. It even surprised Princess Luna, who doesn’t know much about genies herself, so she got in on the knowledge as well.

Many months have passed since then, and the more Twilight lived as a genie, the more she was comfortable with it. Things were surprisingly great with her, but it didn’t mean she didn’t get into a few mishaps every once in a while, such as when the Cutie Mark Crusaders wished for cutie marks. Luckily, Twilight’s new genie form gave her extra magical stamina, so she wouldn’t have been as strained when she used magic as she used to.

Despite the weirdness that Twilight would have to go through, it was worth it to live through everything for the one individual that made her decision worth living, and that was her number one assistant, Spike.

Twilight would enjoy every single day she could for a thousand years, and she learned more every day. Even if she would outlive her friends and family, as long as she had Spike and the Princess around, loneliness wouldn’t be such a problem. She couldn’t wait to experience living life as the genie of current times.