Earlier that day...
Rainbow's eyes fluttered open.
She blinked, staring up at a familiar ceiling.
Lifting her head, the mare looked around.
The dull, ordinary walls of her bedroom lingered in a dim morning glow.
It was ten minutes until her alarm clock went off. She was a prisoner.
Another blink, and she slumped back onto the bed.
She didn't even have the energy to sigh.
The front door opened.
Rainbow Dash stepped out. Spreading her wings, she prepared to take off—
"Guh!" The mare slipped on something. She looked straight down.
She had stepped on a pile of envelopes. For the moment, the pegasus couldn't remember how long they had been lying on her stoop. Judging from the moisture gathered along the edges, she imagined it had been a while.
Her ruby eyes squinted. She squatted down low and picked the envelopes up. One of them was from Green Saddle Reality. The letter had an ominous weight to it.
"Mmmmm..."
She flipped to the next envelope. Again, Green Saddle Reality.
Rainbow flipped again. Her brow furrowed. So she flipped one more time.
Her hoof grasped a piece of stationary. It was embossed in gold. Turning it over, Rainbow recognized the Mayor of Ponyville's hoofwriting: "Rainbow J Dash. You are cordially invited to City Hall so that you and the rest of your weather team may receive medals of honor for your swift courage in saving the town from—"
"Hrmmmff..." Without looking, Rainbow tossed the mail behind her back and into the house. She closed the front door with a rear hoof, raised her wings, and flew west under the glow of a rising sun.