"Gosh how time flies. You are all grown up now and beginning a new chapter in your life. May it be filled with love, dedication and happiness." ~Unkown
There exists a time in a pony's life where he or she needs to move on. Where he or she needs to realize that they aren't fit to do what they have been doing their whole life. Aren't fit to do their job. A certain member of an elite flying group, the Wonderbolts, had this realization in the last competition. She was slowing the whole team down. She was causing a loss in formation, and even failing to do a couple stunts she had done thousands of times before. This pony was Spitfire.
She was an old mare considering her sport. In her early 40s, 42 to be exact. Most stunt ponies don't keep at it past their mid 30s. Yet here she was, trying to keep up with the younger stallions and mares on her team. There were only two other Wonderbolts who remained from the team she started commanding when she became the Captain. Soarin' and Rapidfire. They were both noticeably younger than her, Soarin' was 32, and Rapidfire was only 29. However Rapidfire showed signs of decay from his many injuries from stunts gone wrong.
The three of them sat in silence. It was a peaceful silence for most of them. Soarin' and Rapidfire just enjoying each others company as they looked around the room. Spitfire, however, was nervous, and spent all her time thinking of the right words to say. It was an odd feeling. She was normally calm and collected, even before and during a show, yet she was nervous for the task in front of her. Finally, after what seemed like hours to Spitfire, which was a measly two minutes to the other two, she decided to speak up.
She stood up, taking a deep breath. "Now, I don't know if you two know why I called you in here, but you could probably assume." She took another second to compose herself as her legs shook. "It was pretty obvious that I dragged us down the leader boards a few days ago, and cost us first place-"
"Now wait just a second," Rapid started, cutting off his Captain. "You can't say the whole thing was your fault, it was a team effort."
"I know it was a team effort," she started again, a little ticked at being cut off. "But I couldn't keep up, and that made us lose formation. Not to mention I could even do a thunderclap, something I've done hundreds of times in practice." She looked away, slightly embarrassed.
Soarin' noticed the pause, and decided to give his own opinion of the matter. "Spit, you can't let that get to you. You're the Captain of the Wonderbolts! So what you were a little slow, or couldn't quite get the Thunderclap done, you still flew flawlessly, where as the rest of us made rookie mistakes!"
"Well those rookie mistakes would take us down from first to fifth in the rankings!" Spitfire shouted before realizing her volume. "And... And I'm not the Captain of the Wonderbolts anymore. I resigned yesterday."
The faces of the two stallions turned from one of slight fear to shock in an instant. Spitfire... Resigning? The Captain for a strong 9 years is throwing in the towel?
Soarin' was the first to speak up. "So... What does this mean for the team? We can't have a team without a Captain."
Spitfire looked away, hiding the tears welling up in her eyes. "I nominated you, Soarin', for the position of team Captain. You've been by my since as long as I can remember." She found the courage to look him in the eyes. "You have a few good years left in you, I know you'll do well." She turned to Rapid, who couldn't help but stare slack-jawed at his not former Captain. "I would have nominated you if your past injuries didn't effect your performance. I called you hear too because I feel you should know since you've been with me from the beginning.
"Soarin', I know you'll get the job as Captain. I want you too take good care of this team. You'll need a second in command, I suggest Rapid or Rainbow. They're the two most ready for the role."
She stood there, a few tears escaping and flowing down her face. Soarin' and Rapidfire looked at each other and both stood up to walk over to their friend, embracing her in a tight hug. They all stood in silence, just as they had before Spitfire started talking, except this time, they all felt different. Spitfire sad, yet relaxed. Soarin' and Rapid both sad and accepting.
Spitfire broke the embrace after a couple minutes, tears now flowing freely down her face. Soarin' spoke up. "What about the rest of the team? When are you going to tell them?"
Spitfire let a smile form on her lipsas she turnedto face Soarin'. "Would you two mind telling them? I planned on traveling tomorrow. It's funny, ya know? I've been to every single city in Equestria, yet I've never actually spent my time to walk around and see the sights." She let out a small laugh. "I was thinking Vanhoover. I might even buy a train ticket and travel to the Crystal Empire. I heard it's just BEAUTIFUL all year."
She started making her way towards the exit. "Oh, and you had better keep everypony in check, Soarin'. I'll go to a few shows, and if it's not flawless, I will beat you flank, and I can promise you that." She gave him a wink and walked through the door, still thinking about where to go now that her first official day of retirement started in a couple hours.