"Rarity, this is boring." Rainbow Dash said, not for the first time.

"Boring?" Rarity looked over her shoulder as she trotted into the dark little shop. "But we just got here!"

"Yeah, just got to this store. It's like the fourth one we've looked at!"

"Fifth, actually, but that's sort of the point, Rainbow. Canterlot's antiques district wouldn't be much of a district if it were a single store now, would it?"

"I don't see the difference." Rainbow Dash huffed. "All these places are dark, crowded, and filled with junk."

"Not junk, antiques." Rarity said.

"Whatever. It's still kind of depressing, if you ask me. I mean, everything here's so...old."

"Not old, vintage."

"Are we even speaking the same language?" Rainbow Dash frowned.

"Please, Rainbow. It's just a matter of professional vocabulary. It's no different from you talking about barrel rolls and loop the loops and what have you."

"But those are awesome." Rainbow Dash's wings fidgeted in impatience. There simply wasn't enough room in the dimly lit curios shop to hover properly. "And it's not even, like, a fashion thing, either. I mean, it's cool when you make new dresses and stuff, but why...this?" Rainbow Dash gestured to the piles of forgotten furniture and knickknacks. "It's all old timey and dusty and weird. Shouldn't you be looking at, like, new stuff?"

"Ah," Rarity's eyes shone with enthusiasm, "that is a valid point. But, you must realize, fashion does not occur in a vacuum- rather, it's an ever flowing river of ideas and styles, building and branching out from each other in endless permutations. In order to stay ahead of the game, one must be familiar with what's come before- if nothing else, so you don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Here-" Rarity levitated a somewhat dusty pile of woolen curls off of a blank-faced mannequin head. "Did you know that, barely eighty years ago, it was considered the height of fashion to wear a wig? I can hardly believe it myself. I mean, why pile a half pound of wool up on your head, when a properly coiffured mane looks far, far more striking?" Rarity tossed her blue curls back and admired herself in a slightly-tarnished mirror for emphasis.

"Uh." Rainbow dash blew her hair from her eyes. "If you say so?"

"Well, I suppose I can't fault you for not following the minutae of fashion history, but in my field of work, such knowledge is essential. Though there's an aspect of discovery there, too- like, here." Rarity hung the wig off the corner of an overloaded oaken bookshelf, and turned her attention to the blank head the wig had been resting on. "Now this? This is interesting. All these years, and it's in wonderful shape- and can you imagine the contrast, seeing one of my hat designs displayed on this?" Rarity levitated the mannequin head into the air and slowly turned it around so she could analyze it from every angle. "It'd no doubt lend an air of timeless elegance to one of my hats, especially if I went for a neo-retro design."

Rainbow Dash stared at the eyeless floating head. "It looks creepy and smells like my grandma's house."

"Oh pooh, that's nothing a little bit of reconditioning won't fix. Stop being such a spoilsport, Rainbow. Besides, we've got hours and hours before the Wonderbolt air show, and my business meeting isn't 'til tomorrow morning, so we have plenty of time! Isn't this much more fun than just sitting around the palace suite?"

"Uh." Rainbow Dash thought about the Daring Do novel she'd left on the bedside table. "Maybe? I just wish the rest of the gang could make it, y'know?"

"Oh, so do I, Rainbow. But, you know how busy everyone's schedules can be. Though, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure if this'd be the best place to bring Pinkie Pie. Quite a few of these items are quite delicate, and you know how...enthusiastic she can be. But, we'll make the best of it, you and I! Oh, look at that!" Rarity wove her way through the tightly packed shelves, picking out her target with a hunter's precision. Carefully, she levitated a small circular pin off of its shelf. She turned it over, revealing a single yellow thunderbolt painted on a blue background. "How fitting! An old Wonderbolts commemerative pin. Why, this may date back to the Second Wyvern War."

"Whoa, really?" Rainbow Dash reached up to take the pin between both hooves. "Why didn't you mention they had Wonderbolts stuff?"

"Sorry darling- it just didn't come to mind 'til now. I tend to steer clear of military antiquities- just not my style, you know. But, if you look hard enough, it's entirely possible to find some real gems." The unicorn smiled, and dropped the pin into her shopping basket. "Here, Rainbow. Consider it a 'thank you' for following me all across town."

"Aw jeez, don't have to do that, Rarity."

"Oh, I insist. And I won't have you arguing otherwise. In fact, why don't you see if you can find any other Wonderbolts memorabilia? Sometimes they've got old uniforms or recruitment posters or...anything, really. My treat!"

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It'll get you into the spirit if you start looking for something specific. Now go, shoo!" Rarity hustled the pegasus deeper into the shop. "There's a display case full of old needles that I want to look at, and that's going to seem even more boring to you."

Spurred on both by a chance for escape, and the opportunity to get her hooves on something cool and Wonderbolts-y, Rainbow Dash went deeper into the store.

Rainbow Dash didn't think it possible, but the nameless antique shop got even darker and more crowded as she went on. There was no rhyme or reason to the merchandise. Tarnished bits of armor (cool) sat next to rusted farm tools (not cool), with the occasional blank-eyed stuffed doll inbetween (arguably cool, but only in a freaky Nightmare's Night sort of way).

"Seriously," Rainbow Dash muttered herself, "could it have killed them to label this stuff?" She picked her way around a precariously stacked pile of mismatched horseshoes. "And great, now I'm beginning to sound like Twilight. Don't tell anybody I sound like Twilight, Rarity." The pegasus looked over her shoulder, but her friend was already well out of both sight and hearing distance.

She bit at her lower lip, and shifted from one hoof to the other. Rainbow Dash had never liked shopping to begin with, but there was just something about the store that put her on edge. She looked up at the too-low ceiling, and pulled her wings closer in against her body.

"Oh hey, what's this?" Rainbow Dash was distracted, as one might expect, by something shiny. She carefully picked her way around a dusty box filled with other boxes, and zeroed in on the brassy glimmer within. Amidst the faded, dusty colors of the shop's merchandise, the glint of brass caught her eye.

Rainbow Dash pushed an ancient hatbox out of the way to get a better look at the shiny thing. "Some kinda teapot? Weird." She picked it up between her hooves and held it up to the light. The years hadn't been kind, as blotchy tarnish spread across the brass, obscuring the etched filigree beneath. It almost looked as if there was some sort of writing beneath, but Rainbow Dash couldn't make it out. On a whim, she rubbed at the side of the teapot to get a better look at what it said.

That's when the antique shop exploded.

"I didn't do it!" Rainbow Dash cried out, beating her wings to clear the sudden cloud of orange smoke. She felt her wings brush across the close-packed shelves, and then heard the tinkling crash of something that was probably both delicate and expensive.

"I didn't do that, either!" She blurted out, still coughing.

"Please, Miss. Stop moving. You're only making it worse." Somepony said in an odd, lilting accent.

"Uh, okay?" Rainbow Dash froze, but she tensed up, ready to make a hasty escape in case the voice turned out to be attached to an angry shopkeeper. "But whatever just happened, it's totally not my fault."

"I know," a sleek, gold-colored pony stepped out from the orange smoke. "As the fault was entirely mine. My apologies, Miss. How may I be of service?"

"You work here or something?" Rainbow Dash said, "'cause if you do, you guys really should make this place more pegasus-friendly. I don't even have enough room to stretch my wings out here- I could get wing cramps or something, and lemme tell you, wing cramps are pretty much the worst thing ever. Not that, uh, you'd know, since you don't have wings..." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she got a look at the other pony. "Or...legs." Sure enough, the elegant looking pony's hindquarters trailed off into a sort of reddish cloud.

"Okay," Rainbow Dash said, "stay cool. And...just don't look backwards. Okay? That kablooey right there might have been a little bigger than I thought, and, uh, you're obviously in shock. Or something. So, um. Just...wait here. We'll...find a doctor. A really good one. Yeah." Rainbow Dash backpedaled into a tall bookshelf, and sent a handful of overly-cute porcelain figures toppling down to the floor.

"Oh, this?" The gold pony looked at her hindquarters, "don't worry, Miss- I'm fine. Again, it's my fault for not materializing properly. Would this make you more comfortable?" With another puff of orange fog, the odd pony stepped forward, now on all four hooves. "It's been quite some time since I've been summoned." She stretched out one of her back legs, experimentally.

Rainbow Dash stared.

"To judge by the look on your face,, I'll assume you don't know who I am, or why I'm here."

"Should I?" Rainbow Dash said. "Like, are you some kinda Canterlot celebrity now?" She paused. "Do you know the Wonderbolts?"

"While I'm well known in...some circles, I'm afraid I'm not exactly a member of high society. You see, you're the one who released me from my vessel, and therefore I'm bound to you, Miss."

"Wait, what? I thought you were gonna explain things and make things less freaky. So, uh, stop being bound to me. Go home."

"You don't understand." The golden pony said. "I cannot. It's not in my nature to leave you be- I'm a djinn."

"Gin?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head. "That's a weird name. Then again, my best buddy Applejack's named after booze too, so I guess that makes sense."

The djinn rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "That's...not what I meant. Here, perhaps another demonstration is in order." She waved one hoof airily, and every antiquity Rainbow Dash had broken (there were quite a few of them) disappeared from the floor in a burst of orange smoke, re-appearing whole and sound on their shelves from before. "The word, Miss, is djinn. I may look like a pony, but that's just a minor manifestation to make interaction easier. Even I know the column of flame look went out of style years ago."

"Hold on!" Rainbow Dash pointed an accusatory hoof at the strange new pony. "You're not a celebrity! You're some kind of weird ancient elm ridge evil thing! Joke's on you, though, 'cause I totally beat up ancient horrors all the time with friendship rainbow lasers and stuff." Rainbow Dash puffed her wings out and lowered herself into a fighting stance- at least as good a stance as she could manage in the crowded little shop.

"The word you're looking for, Miss, is 'eldritch.' Which, I might add, I assuredly am not." She held a hoof up to her chest, to protest her own innocence. "I've got nothing but your best wishes at heart, Miss. In fact, I am here to serve you."

"You're going to challenge me to a dance off?"

"Not unless you wish me to, Miss."

"Why would I want you to do that?"

"It's in my nature, Miss. As I mentioned before, you released me. As your reward, I am ready to grant you three wishes."

"Wishes." Rainbow Dash deadpanned. "What...kind of wishes? Like, 'get me a sandwich' or 'make me Queen of all Equestria' wishes?"

"Either would be well within my power," the djinn said, smiling, "although, if I may make a suggestion, the first would be a waste of my talents."

"Whoa. Really? You could really make me the Queen of all Equestria? Not that, like, I want to be a queen. Or a Princess. Or whatever. But you're saying that you could do that."

"Let me show you."

Yet another plume of orange smoke blinded Rainbow Dash, prompting her to burst into a fresh round of coughing. She blinked tears from her eyes, and beat her wings to clear the smoke again. As her senses returned to her, Rainbow Dash noticed something immediately.

Her wings were bigger.

She turned to look at one of her wings- somehow, it'd grown larger. Stronger. More...regal.

Rainbow Dash fluttered her wing out of the way, and looked around- realizing she wasn't in the antique shop anymore. Pillars. Stained glass windows. Vaulted ceilings. It took a moment for Rainbow Dash to register just where she was.

Princess Celestia's throne room looked a lot different from the throne.

"Okay." Rainbow Dash fought down the urge to poke her forehead to see if she had a crown, a horn, or both. "This is...kind of cool, but still freaky."

"Ah, not to your liking?" The djinn was at her side, as if she'd always been there. "Fair enough. As I mentioned, that was just a demonstration, not an actual wish." Rainbow Dash's vision was blurred by another plume of smoke, and she was back in the antique shop, back to her normal proportions.

"Whoa." Rainbow Dash said. "So you're the real deal, huh? And you have to do anything I say?"

"Three wishes, Miss."

"And you can do...anything?"

"Anything you desire."

"Whoa. Deep." Rainbow Dash said, "but...heck, this's gonna be easy! I just need one wish!"

"Do tell." The djinn leaned forward, ever so slightly.

"I wish I was a Wonderbolt! I want to be the most famous Wonderbolt ever!"