//------------------------------//
// Friendship Report 
// Story: Dear Princess Celestia, 
// by Shakespearicles 
//------------------------------//

Dear Princess Celestia,

It has been a long time since I sent one of these friendship reports.

I remember when you would tell me that even though you were a teacher, you never stopped being a student. You never stopped learning. And I understand just how true that really is. Even as the princess of Friendship, and even while I was the head-mare at my School of Friendship, I continued to learn valuable lessons about friendship.

Today I had a student from your School for Gifted Unicorns come to me with a friendship problem. Or rather, I asked to see her. She reminded me so much of myself. She was so focused on her studies and hadn't any mind to try to make friends. But you would have been so proud of me. After telling her my own story about friendship, I set her on the right road straight away. She's making all sorts of new friends in Ponyville right now.

You helped me learn so much about friendship. And for that I am so, so grateful. For sending me to Ponyville, for helping me meet my friends. For this life. My life is so much better for the experiences that I've had, and for the ponies in it. And that has only grown more true over the years.

That was the friendship lesson that I learned. That it wasn't about how many friends you have that makes friendship magical, or the types of friendships. But rather it's the fact the friendships are like any other long-term endeavor, like an orchard, as Applejack would say. Friendship, like an orchard, takes work and commitment. Sure, you could just have one or two trees that you might get a few apples from with a minimal amount of work. But to cultivate many apples takes time and effort. 

Just as with the magic of friendship. The greatest magic of friendship doesn't lay in a potion or a spell. It's the fact that the magic of friendship grows. And that lesson isn't one that can be found in a textbook or taught in a classroom. It can only truly be learned with time and experience. Much like wisdom.

- HRH

- Princess Twilight Sparkle