//------------------------------//
// Wide Open (Epilogue) 
// Story: Wild, Sweet & Cool 
// by Kwakerjak 
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Dear Princess Celestia,

For a long time, I assumed that I would remember the day that you took me on as your student as the pinnacle of my entire life. Of course, since I began my studies in friendship, I’ve very quickly realized that that day was, in reality, merely the start of a journey, rather than the culmination of one, and my tandem flying with Rainbow Dash is just the latest example in support of that idea.

I would have written to you about this earlier, but the media blitz has been overwhelming. With the way we’ve been treated, you would think we’d actually won! Then again, I suppose for a pair of amateurs with no tandem racing experience to place at the Las Pegasus Stratochase is pretty impressive, no matter how you slice it, even before you take the Sonic Rainboom into account. We’ve already been offered several endorsement deals, and the Stratochase’s organizers have already invited us back for next year, but after some soul searching, Rainbow Dash and I have turned most of these offers down. As exciting and potentially lucrative as a career in tandem racing could be, Dash ultimately wants to be a Wonderbolt, and I want to be an accomplished magician, and training for those goals won’t leave us with much time to focus on this sport. 

This is particularly true since Team Fast-Time (a.k.a. the actual winners) have already announced that they’ll be using PommelHorse equipment next year. Since they’re professionals, they can devote months to learning how best to take advantages of the saddle’s qualities, and they would no doubt beat us by a much wider margin in a rematch. In addition, now that the saddle’s been accepted by such a prominent team, more teams are probably going to defect from the “old guard” in the weeks and months ahead. What I find most encouraging is that the PommelHorse saddle appears to completely neutralize the advantages associated with having a winged rider, which means that the sport might see more unicorns and earth ponies competing in the future.

Speaking of PommelHorse, they’re the one company that Rainbow Dash and I have chosen to endorse officially, since it was their saddle that made this little adventure possible in the first place. We’ve decided to license the “Rain-Spark” name to them for their new line of racing saddles, for what the press release described as “an undisclosed sum.” (Let’s just say that it might be a while before I have to take advantage of my stipend again.)

But of course, the reason we started doing this in the first place was to get Rainbow Dash closer to her dream of joining the Wonderbolts, and on that matter, I’d have to say we were successful. Spitfire got in touch with her, and apparently, they’re convinced she’ll do well in the teamwork department, as she now has an unofficial open invitation to try out for the squad—it would be an official one, but politicians are nothing if not stubborn. Spitfire is recommending that Rainbow Dash wait at least a year before requesting her official invitation, both to help make things go over smoothly with the “wait-in-line numbskulls” (her term, not mine) and so Dash can refine her routine until it’s flawless.

As for me—

“Hey, Twilight!”

The unicorn sighed as she opened the window in the library’s main room to see her flying partner hovering expectantly. “Is something the matter, Rainbow Dash?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s practice time.”

“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up to you when I’m finished writing my letter to Princess Celestia.”

As the pegasus flew off, Spike looked up from the scroll. “You know, Twilight, we can finish this later.”

“I’m almost done, Spike. All I need to do is add the friendship report.”

As for me, I have seen how the friendships I’ve cultivated here in Ponyville have created opportunities for me to do things that I never would have thought possible back when I spent all my time poring over obscure texts and esoteric spells. By simply being open to the new possibilities it presents, friendship can lead you down paths you never knew existed, and life will be all the better for it.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle