Twilight wasn't sure what she had expected when her mother had sent her an antique lamp from Saddle Arabia. It was a beautiful lamp to be sure. But why did she need another one? She had plenty.
Twilight Velvet, though, had always been a bit eccentric. And despite what seemed like a pointless purchase for her daughter, Twilight would not throw it away. She loved her mom too much to do something like that.
Yet as she rubbed it, trying to remove the dust, and smoke began billowing out of the stem, Twilight began to wonder if this had been such a good idea after all. But when the smoke began to take on a living shape, her eyes widened. This couldn't be what it looked like. Could it?
Finally, though, the smoke resolved into a pony form. A mare far larger than Twilight herself, her whole body seemed to be formed from flame and smoke. Her eyes were a ghostly white as she stretched.
"Finally! Two thousand years will give you such a pain in the neck!" She grumbled, popping her neck back and forth before her eyes settled on Twilight herself, who wore a look of shock at what she was looking at. "You are the one who released me?"
Twilight nodded, her mind going over what she knew of what and who she was looking at. A Jinn. A being of smokeless fire, with the power to shapeshift. Being beings of the flame, they were always unpredictable. They had free will, as most creatures do, so every jinn was different. They usually didn't interact with non-jinn. Unless one angered them, the jinn was feeling mischievous, or the pony had run into an Ifreet, the malevolent kind.
That everything seemed to be fine for the moment told Twilight she probably wasn't dealing with an Ifreet. She hoped as she bowed her head. "Yes. I am Twilight Sparkle." She paused, unsure of how to phrase her next question. "Oh, great Jinn. May I humbly ask? What is your name?"
The Jinn smiled. "I see you are one who knows enough to be polite when first meeting my kind. Very well, Twilight Sparkle. My name is Serhoofna. I thank you for letting me out. For however long it might be." Her smile grew as she leaned closer to Twilight. "Ponies usually start asking for wishes right about now."
Twilight tilted her head. "Aren't their rules for how those work?"
Serhoofna nodded happily. "Oh! You are a smart one! Most don't even care to ask about the rules until everything is on fire from their third wish. And by then they're too late to fix anything." She floated away for a moment. "Rule One. No wishing for more than three wishes. Everyone does that. Rule Two. No making anyone fall in love with you. If you're so lazy as to wish for it, then you deserve to die a virgin. I can help. But you have to make that pony fall for you without any of my magic pushing their minds that way."
Twilight nodded. That made sense. Not that she was ever that desperate anyway.
Serhoofna frowned. "Rule Three. No bringing back the dead. Anyone stupid enough to think that would be a good idea deserves the consequences of messing with the natural flow of life and death. And Rule Four. No wishing death, disfigurement, or permanent harm on anyone. You wish it. It's instant loss of any wishes you have left, and I will leave. If I am really mad. Then you might not live through it. Or at least with your sanity intact."
Twilight gulped. She could hear the venom and darkness that lurked behind that statement. She had no doubt that Serhoofna meant every word she had said. Not that Twilight ever had any intention of doing something like that to anyone.
Serhoofna looked down at Twilight's sides. Her smile seemed to grow. "I see that you are an alicorn?" Twilight nodded. "Then you have several more rules about how and what she can wish for. What I just said still applies. But there are more you are bound to."
Twilight scratched her head. "Like what?"
Serhoofna floated closer. "No wishing away your immortality and eternal youth. If you cannot stand the thought of eternity, it is not my problem." She pointed at Twilight's wings. "That also means no wishing away your wings, horn, or whatever you got when you became an alicorn."
Twilight's ears dropped. She had been afraid of that. She'd almost grown used to the idea that she would outlive her friends and family. Except for Spike, Cadance, Flurry Heart, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. But a part of her still hoped that it could be changed.
Serhoofna's look softened a little at Twilight's unease. "And lastly. You cannot wish alicornhood on anyone that you may know. They have to earn it for themselves, not have it forced on them by you. Especially if they do not want it."
Twilight nodded. That was actually a weight off her shoulders if she was being honest. Out of all her friends, only Fluttershy had ever seemed like one who would rule with compassion and kindness. The less said about the others, the better.
Serhoofna seemed to sense that Twilight got the message, for her smile widened. "So. Do you wanna waste your wishes now or later? Most don't even hesitate. It's more fun that way. Questions don't count," she added, seeing that question in Twilight's eyes. "There is no rush though. If you are as smart as you seem to be, Twilight Sparkle, then you will think long and hard about them."
Twilight sighed, but she still had one question. "Why isn't there a time limit? Not that I want there to be one."
Serhoofna poked Twilight's chest with a hoof. "We are bound to each other. The moment you released me, I was bound to you. I can serve no other until you use all three of your wishes. Or you break one of the rules. I would caution when you say "I wish" around me. I might take it as one of your wishes. You never know," she smiled mischievously.
Twilight thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. "No. I'm not going to waste all three wishes right now. I still have so many questions. And frankly, I don't trust many ponies with your lamp, and not somehow mess things up." Her smile grew. "Besides. It sounds like you need a friend more than anything, Serhoofna."
The Jinn blinked in surprise, as Twilight turned and left the room for a moment. Her form dissolved back into smoke, as she returned to her lamp, a faint smile coming to her lips.
Maybe. Just maybe. Twilight Sparkle would be the one.
Author's Note
So I need to say this now. Heavily inspired by The Clever One by Winston. Serhoofna is taken from that story in fact. Used with Winston's permission of course.
And then, indirectly, thank you to Shekhsoukh. Who explained more about how Arab Jinnis work than I ever knew in a comment on The Clever One.
The ending is an easter egg to something from the 1992 Disney movie, Aladdin. But that's all I'm saying for now. This will stay a one-shot for now. I've got too much else to work on for the moment. But I will come back to this universe in the future.
Twilight wasn't sure how long she stood there, deep in thought. There was too much to go over, and a lot of things for her to consider. She had a golden opportunity presented to her, and she was not about to mess it up by not thinking things through.
She had spotted a technical loophole in the rules she was now bound by. Serhoofna couldn't give alicornhood to her friends or family. But that never said anything about granting them immortality. But for one small thing.
As much as Twilight loved her friends, even she knew that granting them that wouldn't be fair. Applejack wouldn't want it, and the same could probably be said for some of the others as well. Some would take it, but it was still wrong to give it to some, and not to all.
There was also the galling thought of vindicating the brainless morons who had complained loud and hard to her after her ascension. Ponies, for some Celestia, dammed reason, couldn't seem to comprehend her ability to make new friends.
Of course, Twilight would mourn the girls and her family when they passed on, and a part of her would always more than likely miss them, but she would not fuse herself to living in the past. That would be an insult to their memory. It violated everything she stood for. Everything she represented.
So no. Twilight wouldn't give them that. As much as a part of her screamed too. But that still left her with what to do with her three wishes?
She had a small idea of what one could be. She had seen the golden bands around Serhoofna's hooves. Knew what they represented and what it meant for the Jinn. Twilight wouldn't wish that on anyone.
But not yet. She still had too many questions, and a part of her had to know more before she even made her first wish. Let alone her last one. Twilight would not take that risk. Not yet.
Smiling, Twilight turned around and returned to her room, picking up the lamp once more and rubbing it with a hoof. A part of her wondered if she would have to do that every time she wanted to speak with Serhoofna.
A moment later, the Jinn came pouring out of the spout, a smirk on her face. "Well. I hope you gave great thought to what your three wish-"
Twilight held up a hoof. "Two."
Serhoofna stopped, a perplexed look coming to her face. "Huh? I assure you, I can grant three-"
Twilight nodded, smiling. "Oh, I believe you. It's just that I have no intention of using my third wish."
The Jinn blinked. "O... kay? May I ask why?"
Twilight began to pace back and forth around her room. "Well, as I understand it, using up my third wish would once again imprison you for potentially millennia." She frowned at the thought. "And that is utterly against all of my principles. As such, if and when I do use my first two wishes, I will keep the third one withheld so you can remain free for as long as possible."
She paused, before smiling sheepishly. "Or at least as free as you are right now. I don't know the exact limits of your freedom and mobility at the moment. But I'm sure we can work something out."
Serhoofna tapped her chin. "But, if that's the case, couldn't you just use your third wish to free me and cut out the middle pony?"
Twilight nodded, having heard the underlying hope behind that question. "In theory, yes. But not until it can be ascertained with as much certainty as possible that you wouldn't be a threat if I did free you."
Her ears fell as Serhoofna seemed to deflate. "I... really am sorry about that. It's just... well, I have no way of knowing whether anything you've said or will say could be intended to manipulate me into unleashing a major threat on the world." she placed a hoof on Serhoofna's chest, a rather odd feeling to be sure. "It doesn't seem likely. But given the potential consequences, if that is the case, I can't take that chance."
Her smile softened as she looked up at the Jinn's face. "But still, I will do everything that I can to help you live a life outside of your prison in the meantime."
Serhoofna looked down at her, doing her best not to look weak. "I, uh... well, I guess that makes sense? Much as it pains me to say that."
Twilight's smile grew as she stepped back. "Great! Let's get started!"
Serhoofna rolled her eyes. "You know? I can't decide whether you're the best possible pony to have found me... or the most infuriating."
Twilight giggled. "Don't worry. I get that a lot."
Author's Note
Need to thank two people before I say anything else. First to The Iguana Man, whose comment gave birth to most of this chapter. And Spiritus Arcane, for the comment that inspired the beginning.
Now comes the fun part. I'm stuck on wish ideas. Twilight's third and final one is strongly hinted at here. But nothing is set in stone. That's what the first two wishes are for.
They will determine whether Twilight does the right thing for Serhoofna or not.
JFalk had a couple of ideas in an earlier comment. But I'm open to anything else anyone has. I've got nothing.
