Rainbow was awakened by the sound of loud knocking at the door. "Thirty minute warning!" the voice from outside her door yelled. Rainbow stretched her legs out. The picture she was holding fell out of her front legs and onto the floor. She must have held onto that picture the entire night as she slept. She put the picture back into her saddle bag and began to quickly get dressed. She didn't have time to go down and get something to eat, so she simply grabbed a protein bar and gnawed on that. She brushed her teeth and put on her uniform as quickly as possible. She grabbed her saddle bags and strapped them onto her back. She quickly made it out the door.
Outside the hotel, her carriage was waiting. She hopped into the seat and she made it to the train.
Once on board, she quietly took a seat next to the window without saying anything to her team mates. She sat there and stared out the window as if she was in a deep trance. By now, all of her team mates knew not to bother her.
As the train began to pull away from the station, she let out a depressing sigh and began to fall asleep. Sleep was something that she did often and used it as an escape from her painful reality. That sleep was short lived when the conductor announced that they had arrived at their destination.
Rainbow's mind was foggy and she couldn't think straight.
Her performance at the show was almost a disaster. She was lagging behind her team mates, she made numerous mistakes, and she failed to perform the grand finale. Thankfully, this was her last show in this city.
She soon found herself back on the train headed back to the Wonderbolts headquarters. She kept looking at the picture of her five friends together. She missed them dearly. She was thinking about quitting the Wonderbolt's and moving back to Ponyville for good.
A still voice inside her was telling her that if she were to quit the Wonderbolt's, that she'd be a failure in life. She wished that she could have been a Wonderbolt for a few more years, but the more she thought about that goal, the more it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. After all, she already put her team mates lives at risk several times by screwing up the performance. Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof down. It was right there that she made up her mind. She was going to see Spitfire and tell her that she's done with being a Wonderbolt.
When she arrived at her destination, she gathered whatever strength she had and flew up to the Wonderbolt's recruiting center. She figured that Spitfire would be in her office at this hour. As she walked down the halls, she glanced at all of the gleaming trophies and awards on display. When she got to Spitfire's office, she stared at the door for a moment and took in a deep breath. Rainbow Dash put her front hoof close to the door and paused for a moment before knocking on it several times.
"Come in," the voice said.
Rainbow Dash slowly opened the door and walked inside. This wasn't going to be comfortable for her and she was afraid of how Spitfire may react to what she was about to tell her.
Spitfire was busy going through some papers. She looked up and said, "Well, well, well, if it isn't our rookie Wonderbolt member, Rainbow Dash. How are you doing?"
Rainbow Dash lowered her head and said, "Not well. I'm kind of having a lot of personal issues, and I just can't perform well with the team anymore." Rainbow Dash put her head down and lowered her ears. "I need to quit."
Spitfire lowered her sunglasses and cocked an eye brow. "Are you kidding me, Rainbow? You have only been on this team for three years and you're backing out already? The least we expect out of our team members is five years, unless of course you have some serious injuries. We've spent a lot of resources into training and conditioning you."
Rainbow couldn't look up at her. She closed her eyes and said, "I'm sorry Ma'm, but I can't go on anymore. If I were to stay, then I'd be risking the lives of my fellow team mates. I need to back out. It's for the best, I assure you."
Spitfire was still surprised. "If you need to go, then go, but I'm extremely disappointed in you. I was expecting a lot more out of you than this. You can stop by next week and pick up your last pay check. Now you may leave my office. I am very busy here."
Rainbow Dash left and closed the door behind her. She looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. She felt as if a huge burden was lifted off her shoulders. It was difficult to do, but she knew it was the right decision. She made enough bad decisions in her life. It was time to start over again.
Rainbow quickly left the building and headed her way toward home. She needed some joy back in her life and was going to stop by Twilight's library, but instead, she decided to go straight home. If there was one thing she desired most right now, it was to sleep. Rainbow Dash got home and went right to bed. Tomorrow would be another day.