//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Wings of Gold 
// by totallynotabrony 
//------------------------------//

	El Centro, California
It had taken Rainbow more than a little effort to make it to the tryouts for the Blue Angels.  She’d met the team a few times at various air shows.  Being a multicolored pegasus ensured that she would be remembered.
Once she passed the minimum flight hours requirement in the Hornet, she’d applied.  The current members of the team voted on potential candidates, and invited them to audition.
The grey Hornet that she had control of looked rather drab compared the line of blue and yellow jets parked near the runway.  Still, Rainbow was counting on getting every last bit of performance she could out of the plane.
On the radio, a voice talked her through maneuvers.  She was being graded on how well she could follow orders and her overall control of the plane.  She had no idea how many people were watching, but the news that a pony was trying out for the Blues had to be noteworthy.
She’d been constantly accelerating, decelerating, turning tightly, looping, and tumbling for twenty minutes straight.  It was all at the whim of the radio.  She knew that they were trying to pressure her into a mistake, and wasn’t about to let that happen.
Finally, she was ordered to land.  Rainbow almost extended the tail hook, forgetting for a moment that she had a nice long runway to use.  She caught her mistake just in time.  
Once the plane was slowed down, she turned off the runway and taxied to the parking area.  The ground crew helped her shut the plane down and climb out.
A couple of the people who’d graded her were waiting when she stepped down onto the pavement.  Their blue flight suits were immaculate.
“How do you think you did?” one of them asked.
“I did perfectly.”  Truthfully, it might have been the best flying she’d ever done.  If it wasn’t perfect, then she had no idea what was.
Another man nodded.  “It was pretty impressive, I’ll give you that.”  Rainbow looked back and forth between the group of them, sensing a but.
“We’ve never flown with a pony before,” explained one of them.  “There’s no way to tell what might happen.”
Rainbow’s breath caught in her throat.
“What we’re going to do is make you the number seven pilot.  You’ll fly the twin-seat jet to take people for rides.  In a year, if you check out all right, you’ll become part of the main event.  Welcome to the Blue Angels, Dash.”

When she could, Rainbow called Milk to tell him the good news.  He was in the process of moving to a new duty assignment, and was able to talk.
“That’s good to hear.  You did a great job," he said.
“Thanks.  All this work, all these years, and I’ve finally done it!”
“So what happens next?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you.  You’ve always got to have something to work towards.  What are you going to do after the Blue Angels?”
“I guess I haven’t really thought about it.”
“There’s a lot of opportunities.”
“I want to keep flying.”
“NASA’s hiring.  Want to be an astronaut?”
“The first pony in space?  Sounds like I’ve got a new goal.”