If one says that only the one interviewed would be nervous, they clearly don't know the job well. Vision Grey is clearly nervous interviewing Spitfire, but he did his best to mask it. His client is somepony whose name is spoken with a high regard, it's only natural to be nervous.
Thinking back, at first Grey thinks it's rather weird that Spitfire would accept his request so quickly. Somepony like the Wonderbolt Captain would have hundreds of interview requests lining up for her. From what he heard, they would usually wait for weeks or months to get an answer, and most would be disappointed by a no. In his case, however, Spitfire immediately contacted him a couple of days after his first request. Her reason is soon revealed during the interview, though, but to be honest, it only flatters him. The interview also reveals the life of Wonderbolts and Spitfire's own experience of being the captain of the team and more, something not many can get their hooves on.
Vision Grey would not risk making a mistake and spread misinformation about somepony who's seen as a celebrity by Equestria. Once again, he presses the play button to play the recording of their conversation, just to be sure.
Kkkkrrrrr
"Captain Spitfire, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you for this interview."
"..."
"From how quick your response is, I presume you know about me from one way or another?"
"I do. Vision Grey, a journalist that's known to be honest with their report, and has no interest in making gossips and speculations. I had way too much of that."
"Wow, I... Did you perhaps saw one of my works?"
"From one of the team managers. When you're as famous as the Wonderbolts, you'll get tons of connections everywhere. When I heard that you wanted an interview, I know I can accept it because you'll stick to what's right."
"...You think too highly of me. I'm just another interviewer, Captain Spitfire."
"No, because I know you will tell the world exactly what I say. No cropping, no manipulating, and no 'As long as my sales are high' principal. You got a name for yourself, so ponies will believe what you write, and it's better that they believe the truth rather then some gossip tabloid."
"I... That's true. So is it safe to say that you hoped to dispel any kinds of rumors about you and the Wonderbolts?"
"Exactly. A few bad rumors wouldn't hurt, I've grown to live with it. But recently, lots of crap are going on. It's the first time that I actually bothered to do any media business, I usually never give a damn about it."
"I see... Well, should we start?"
"Yes, we should."
"My first question would be this, how long you were in the Wonderbolts? And how and when did you get promoted into a captain?"
"This year marks the... fourth year since I became captain, but I've been in the Wonderbolts for seven years. I was chosen to be the captain after the previous one retired."
"Why did they choose you as the captain?"
"I was the Drill Instructor, so figures they chose me for the leadership aspect. Back then, the Wonderbolt captains rarely deal with those fresh cadets."
"Oh? They chose you as the Drill Instructor as well?"
"No, I volunteered for that position, because I like to be in command and yell all the time, heh heh. Actually I'm pretty sure that's why I'm called Spitfire in the first place. You ever feel a fire in your heart that makes you want to shout out loud?"
"I... guess? Like watching a hoofball match and your favourite team scores?"
"Yeah, that works. It's just who I am to want to be in command, and I also love shaping those cadets into a proper flyer. Knowing that we can change somepony's life by turning them into high class fliers is one of the reasons I became the Drill Instructor"
"Hmm, speaking of which, you wished to dispel the rumors about you and the Wonderbolts, right? So if you don't mind..."
"Oh, crud, you've done your research, huh..."
"...Something like "Spitfire enjoys berating cadets" has been circling around..."
"Sigh"
"I... I'm sorry if it's inappropriate to bring up dark gossips here, but what can you say about that?"
"...Whoever said that don't know crap about the Wonderbolts. We demand discipline like you've never known before. It's been that way since the first time. Fillies need to be mares, and colts need to be stallions..."
"Alright, you foals, STAND STRAIGHT!!"
The newest bunch of Wonderbolt tryouts all knew this is coming, but mental preparations are never enough. Everypony that knows about the Wonderbolts also know how Spitfire is a 'killer' drill instructor. You mess up, she'll make sure it's stuck in your head. You underperform, her stare will cause your mane to spontaneously combust from the intensity. You try anything funny, your ears will not stop ringing until you get married. These daring new group of pegasus will have to have a heart of steel to survive the captain's words.
"So, you're all here, that means you want to be a Wonderbolt. BUT! Do you really got what it takes!?" The yellow pegasus is apparently known for the amount of spit that flew from her mouth to anypony unfortunate enough to be in her line of fire. Thankfully, this time, no one fell victim.
"Let me tell you something, you DON'T!" Some of the cadets winced. "If doing fifty laps around this course scares you, go home now!"
Spitfire stares down on the group. Looks like this batch is a bit hardier then the last one. Although there are nervous ones, most of them maintains their posture pretty well. She smirks, maybe this time she'll have an easier time. But they're far from done.
"I see no one had flown home with their tails between their flanks, so GET TO IT! Fifty laps around this course! Last one to finish gets to do fifty wing ups as well! MOVE IT!!" The captain ordered.
Some took flight eagerly, some took flight out of fear, and some almost fail the take off altogether, only responding three seconds after the original order had been told. Spitfire watches from the runway as the cadets flew through the oval shaped sky track marked by floating buoys. As an experienced flyer, she knows which cadet shows promise, and which cadets won't make the cut. Finding the right flyer is important, especially--
"Hey Spitfire, you gotta see this."
Out of the blue, Fleetfoot appears behind the orange pegasus, holding a file for the captain to see. Spitfire skimmed through the writings briefly before sighing in annoyance.
"We lost FOUR graduated rookies, are you kidding me?" Spitfire complained, before looking at the paper again. "And one of them is Hydro Plane too, of coarse we're going to lose the one flyer I actually like..."
"Bummer, right? His parents don't want him to be a Wonderbolt." Fleetfoot rolls her eyes. "Speaking of rookies, how's this batch, captain?"
"They have better nerves, I'd say, but their flying hasn't impressed me so far." Spitfire locks on the pegasus on the back of the pack, a dark pink mare with a similar shade of pink on a part of her mane. "HEART TRAILS! Pick up your pace! Even your trail of hearts are faster then you right now!" Said pegasus got through her initial shock and zips away.
"So, looks like the formation for our next rookie show must be changed, huh." Fleetfoot said. It's a much less famous show, but sometimes the Wonderbolts did a public air show where only the rookies perform as a part of their test. The spectators are mostly the friends and family of the cadets. Since the show is still supervised by the main Wonderbolts squad, they'll be the one arranging the show. Now they're missing a few cadets for the upcoming show.
"Sigh I gotta grind these cadets to make sure they can fill in the spots." Spitfire looks up at the flying flock of pegasus again, spotting a black pegasus in the middle of the pack cutting a corner too much. "Hey! Smoke Screen! I saw that! You get extra ten laps for that!"
"Huh, you know all their names?" Fleetfoot asked.
"Definitely, a captain must know all the ponies under her, right?" Spitfire smirked. "And a drill instructor also has to make sure these newbies can be melded into a professional flyer. Otherwise, it's media hell for an entire week." Spitfire were never fond of the media, any questions she ever answered is with a quick 'yes' or 'no', and that's already a rare thing to happen.
"By the way, Fleetfoot, you're not doing anything, right?" The captain noticed the white maned pegasus is in her grey suit instead of her flight suit. "Why don't you... encourage the cadets by showing them how a real Wonderbolts fly."
"Heh, if you want." Fleetfoot shrugged. "I kinda want to fly without that flight suit for once."
"Don't be too rough on them, alright? That's my job."
"...So Fleetfoot ended up tailing the struggling cadets and acts like a... motivator, if you will."
"How, exactly?"
"You know, being passive aggressive, like saying "You know you won't make it to the Wonderbolts like that" and "I don't fly that slow as a cadet". It's effective and not that rough, actually. I think I should let her or the other members of the teams to do that all the time."
"The cadets took it nicely?"
"Mostly. Anything not from me is nice for them, heh heh heh. Only complains are from naive hotshots that think they're the best flyers. So far, only a few of them ever matured from that state and managed to get into the squad."
"Like Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah, she's the perfect example. Tore everything we threw at her, thinks she's 'super awesome' all the time, thinks she's the best flyer in the whole pack. But now, she's a team player, a great one too."
"Okay, there's another rumor going around. Let's see... You're... sexually attracted with Rainbow Dash?"
"NO."
"...Alright, there's not much I can comment on that..."
"I have my own private life, and I want to keep it private too. But I give you my word that I'M. NOT. A. FILLYFOOLER. Give my regards to those goddamn tabloid writers."
"Okay, I will not touch that subject again... Moving on, about the competition in Rainbow Falls. You have been rumored to switch Soarin for Rainbow Dash, is that true?"
"Oh, that. I'm not proud of myself back then. But I kinda did that to Soarin..."
"Did it create some kind of rift between the team?"
"A bit, but it's already solved long ago..."
The Wonderbolt academy has a lounge only accessible to the higher ups. Comfortable sofa beds flanked by coffee tables with numerous snacks made up most of the room. Currently, only Soarin is present in the room, happily reading a comic. That soon changed when the door into the room opens, revealing Spitfire walking into the room.
"Hey, Spits." Soarin called. "Is it time for the Equestria Games briefing?"
"In a few hours." Spitfire noted. "But... I'm here to say sorry, Soarin."
"Huh? For what?" Soarin puts the comic he's reading on the table beside him.
"Don't tell me you already forgot what happened at Rainbow Falls?" Spitfire looks mournful. "Me and Fleetfoot kinda ditched you for Rainbow Dash."
"Oh, that. I already forgive you." Soarin said nonchalantly. "It's not like I got permanently kicked or anything."
"But... is it really that simple? Cause I can't forgive myself yet." Spitfire admitted, hovering to sit right next to Soarin.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, everything works out in the end. I mean, I got to fly for Cloudsdale." Soarin said, wrapping his hoof around the captain's shoulder.
Spitfire sighed. Soarin is sometimes too pure and innocent for a stallion his age, which makes it harder to swallow the fact that you did something wrong to him.
"I know that you're desperate to get Rainbow on the team, but it'll only works out when you slowed down on purpose. I agree that mare got the looks on her behind." Soarin laughed in a too gleeful manner. Okay, maybe he's not that innocent.
"Goddamnit Soarin, you made me consider actually kicking you." Spitfire hissed, but she eventually smiles at the joke.
"But seriously, I'm not mad or anything, and neither should you, captain." The blue pegasus looked at Spitfire in the eye. "I'll be more upset if we fail to qualify because of my wing, and not because I'll be called 'Clipper' again for months."
Spitfire looked back at the pegasus next to him. He's way too nice to her that it kinda stings. If she's the one ditched because of a small injury, she'll set something on fire. Soarin had been more then a loyal wingpony, he's a kind friend as well. Spitfire would have to swallow her guilt for his sake as well now.
"By the way, did you see how Rainbow Dash flew back there? You think we still have a chance to win?" Soarin asked.
"Don't be silly, we're the Wonderbolts! We've been winning gold for Cloudsdale for years! No matter how much of a great flyer she is, we'll get the gold again this year." Spitfire declared. "Now, I'm just wondering how amazing our air show will be if she joins us... Fire Streak WAS considering retirement..."
"You have been eyeing Rainbow since she's a cadet?"
"Yeah, I haven't seen somepony fly as good as her for a while. Besides, she can do the Sonic Rainboom. Imagine the roar of the crowd when she does that in our show."
"So you wanted Rainbow to... boost the Wonderbolts?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong-- Wait, is that one of the rumors circling around?"
"Um, no. That's a spontaneous question of mine..."
"Okay then... No, that's not exactly why we want Rainbow. I mean, the extra fame is nice, but she's been dreaming to join us from the get go. She's already a great flyer, and she kinda saved me before, so why not bring her in?"
"So it's some sort of a repay for her saving you?"
"You can put it that way, I guess."
"Hmm, I think you've explained the rumors and my questions pretty nicely, so I have one final question. Can you tell us about you when you first joined the Wonderbolts?"
"...Whoa, I knew that question will appear."
"If it's alright with you...?"
"No problem, no problem. So! Where to begin... I was a pretty good flyer in flight school, don't mean to brag. Oh, coincidentally, I was in the same school Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Rainbow Dash was."
"Oh my, really? So you know she's a great flyer from the beginning?"
"Well, I don't remember that much, but I remember that she got better every time. Anyway, when I graduated, I do want to be an even better flyer, so I thought, why not join the Wonderbolts? What can go wrong?"
Well, she's the one who put herself in this position.
In a line facing the drill instructor, Spitfire glances to Soarin who's next to her, and wonders how can he maintain such a straight face. Everypony else, including her looked pretty nervous. The young flier do feel the presence of her friends, Soarin and Fleetfoot, made her feel less scared, something most other pegasus here don't have, but she can't stop the tremor in her hooves.
"Alright, you cadets have the nerve to come here, I see." The instructor, a bright red stallion with a rather long yellow mane, walks back and forth to get a good look on the cadets. "Do you know what you're doing by joining the Wonderbolts?"
Spitfire is rather unlucky to be the one chosen by the instructor to answer the question as she felt his hoof poked her chest.
"Umm... Uh... T-To be a better flier, s-sir." Spitfire briefly felt her tongue failed her.
"Hmm, not bad, but you know what that means?" The instructor looked at the rest. "It means that right now, you're nowhere as good as a rookie Bolt! And it is MY job to make you fillies and colts good enough to be considered as a flier of the Wonderbolts."
Several gulps were heard. Spitfire glances to her right to see how Fleetfoot's doing, but she's on the other side of the line. At least Soarin doesn't seem to be too worried, said stallion also turns his head to look at his friends to nod, as if silently convincing them to be more confident.
"And, you know what makes it better? The Captain wants to see this training take place. That's right! Captain Raven Blackfeathers herself will be here soon!" Okay, the pressure just got doubled for everyone. "So you better not embarrass yourself, and you better not embarrass ME! Now get on your wings, and give me fifty wing ups!"
It's been a week ever since her first day. It's been the same every day, wing ups, track flying, obstacle courses, cloud kicking, and advanced maneuvers. The barrage of routines and activities started to take it's toll, some of the cadets already surrendered or deemed unworthy of being a Wonderbolt. Fortunately, Spitfire, alongside Soarin and Fleetfoot survives the trial.
But today something different happens, she is summoned alone to the Captain's office. THE Captain.
Captain Raven Blackfeathers always had this weird aura around her. Maybe because of her being a rather big pegasus with completely black coat, but most cadets finds her very unnerving, even when she doesn't say a word. The thought of sitting in a room with her facing each other gives Spitfire the stomach knot, but to be a Wonderbolt, she has to be brave.
The double doors that leads into the Captain's office is one of the scariest place for a cadet to be in, and Spitfire can feel her hoof tremble before she can knock on the door. To her surprise, the door creaks open, it's not locked. However, what awaits her inside made the double doors looks like the entrance to a foal's playground.
Like what she'd seen before, the Captain is a pretty big pegasus for a mare, her light blue eyes gazes her fiery orange orbs. She's sitting behind her desk, both hooves held each other in front of her muzzle. Spitfire slowly made her way to the chair across the desk, flying midway because her hooves started to fail her.
"Cadet Spitfire." The captain suddenly checks the drawers of her desk, looking for something.
"Y-Yes Captain?" Spitfire said in response. She watches as the black pegasus pulls out a stack of paper.
"Did average on wing ups, slightly above average wing power, but noticeable leadership and looks promising in advanced maneuvers." Captain Raven read the paper in an almost monotonous voice. "A good candidate for the cadet's flight lead."
"W-What?" Spitfire's eyes temporarily shrunk. "I... I mean... thank you, Captain..?"
"You are promising, but whether you can do it or not is to be decided." The Captain said. "I'll be watching the rookie air show next month, that's your chance."
When they say the Captain is notorious for breaking a pony under pressure in any way, they're not making things up. Spitfire just got the role of flight lead seconds ago, and now the Captain told her she wants an air show in a month? Spitfire felt like she's melting from her own sweat. The rookie air show is the ultimate test for the cadets, messing up there will make one's dignity vanish to thin air alongside their chance to be in the Wonderbolts.
"I've decided to allow you to choose two wingponies, they will be briefed on the routine with you tomorrow." The Captain noted. "Well, you are dismissed for now. Report to me tomorrow morning with your wingponies."
Spitfire glances uneasily to her left and right, where Soarin and Fleetfoot is flanking her right now as they walked towards the practice runway, where the Captain is supposed to be waiting. Since Spitfire only knows the two of them the most in the academy, they're naturally chosen by her to be her wingspony. Although, deep inside, the yellow pegasus knows this is not the best choice either.
"You sure about this, Spits? I mean, not that I don't trust you, but..." Soarin voices his concern.
"Yeah, you know I'm not one for leadership. Even as a wingspony, there's a chance I'll be leading a number of flyers on my back." Fleetfoot added.
Spitfire slightly shakes her head. She hopes her friends can't read her mind, but she don't need this right now. If Soarin and Fleetfoot's nerves are already as tangled as a pegasus that never preens, hers would be three times-- no, five times worse then them.
"To think the Captain chooses you personally though, that's pretty amazing, don't you think?" Soarin said.
"If I don't get chosen as the flight lead, then yeah..." Spitfire remarks, glancing up after keeping her head low the entire journey. Here they are, the runway. However, the Captain is not found anywhere on the ground. That is, because, she's well up above it.
Clad in the blue and yellow Wonderbolt suit, the Captain with another pegasus are doing some slow, but complicated aerial maneuvers. As they're flying, one flap of their wing forwards stops them almost instantly, turning their bodies to do a loop before diving down without opening their wings. Spitfire had her breath held in her throat as the recovered to fly parallel with the runway with mere inches to spare, landing to a halt not too far from her.
The other pegasus is a stallion with a dark orange and light brownish grey mane, his purple eyes just now hidden by the flight goggles met with Spitfire's as he nonchalantly walks away from the captain.
"Hoo-wee! Are you the rookie that the Captain chose?" He asked, sweat visibly dripping down from his face. Spitfire just nodded to answer. "Well, good luck. Not to intimidate you, but you'll need that."
As the stallion walked pass the group, Captain Raven took off her own goggles and meets with her chosen cadet. Spitfire must admit, she looks rather elegant in that flight suit. It's almost like she's not the intimidating black pegasus since her coat is mostly covered, but her stare remains.
"Are you ready?"
"That pony was Fire Streak, in case you're wondering..."
"So, how did the preparation went?"
"It went surprisingly okay-ish... Instead of briefing us with the board and stuff, she made us do the routine herself, right there and then. At least she's an understanding pony, because if it was me, I'll probably drown young me with the amount of spit I give for yelling."
"Do you still remember parts of the routine?"
"How can't I? That was my first experience as a 'Captain', and also, because the routine requires a FREAKING SOLO CLOSURE. The Captain is a nice mare, but seriously..."
"Oh... So what did you do at your solo?"
"Nothing, except doing my now famous Ring of Fire. Aaaahh... Maybe that's how Rainbow felt when she does her Sonic Rainboom. Who knows my best moment of my life appears right at the end of my hell month?"
"Well, my parents used to say that you must got hurt first before achieving happiness."
"Anyway, Captain Raven is actually impressed by that, and my leadership, that all the cadets got accepted into the academy. I actually grown rather close to her during that time, especially when I become the Drill Instructor. She's like my mentor before I was Captain."
"Hmm, do you know where she is right now? Captain Raven, I mean."
"Sure. She's somewhere in the Lunar wing, working for Princess Luna. She can't say where, though, probably some super secret branch or something. She chose me as her replacement herself, saying that I have great leadership and a good flyer. One of the few times I almost shed a tear..."
Spitfire peeked into her soon to be office, having just promoted into a Captain not too long ago. It's a complete mess, boxes of papers, documents, and more sat on the floor, or the Captain's desk. She's quite happy that the training session she had to do finished sooner, because she don't want to miss this moment.
"Captain Raven?" Spitfire called into the room. Said mare appears from under the desk, seemingly collecting something into a box. She said nothing as Spitfire enters the room and closes the door.
"I'm no longer Captain, Captain Spitfire." The black pegasus brought a box filled with documents and other things on the desk with a 'Thud!'. "I'm afraid I haven't finished moving out my stuff."
"You'll always be Captain to me." Spitfire rebutted. "And... I'm here to see you one last time before--"
"Don't be silly, I'm not dead." The mare smirked, she actually smirked. The Ex-Captain rallied all of the boxes, three of them, to the desk. Spitfire can see that one of them is mostly filled with frames containing medals and awards. She moves closer to inspect them, but she was stopped.
"Please don't touch that, I had trouble jamming those in the box in the first place." The Ex-Captain said. "Besides, I'm sure you'll get the same medals for yourself, it's not that hard."
"I don't know... You think I'll be an even better Captain then you?" Questioned the yellow pegasus.
"I don't relinquish the title of Captain to anypony, you know." Raven smiled. "I know you, Spitfire, you'll get through."
Spitfire smiled back. Being promoted to Captain of the Wonderbolts is an honor that few ponies can ever achieve. Of course, she knows it'll be a very hard work, especially since she chose to stay as the Drill Instructor as well. But her mentor trusts her, who very rarely made any mistakes in her judgement, and she will make sure not to break that trust.
"I-It's an honor to had flown with you, Captain Raven." Spitfire saluted with her wing. The pegasus she's saluting mirrors her move.
"You've been a great friend too, Captain Spitfire." The Ex-captain took a box on her hoof, and two more on her back. "Take care."
As the black pegasus left the office, with Spitfire opening the door for her, the new Wonderbolt Captain knows it'll be a long time later before they'll ever see each other again. Spitfire sighs as she looks at her new office. Currently, it's more empty then it used to be, now it's up to her to turn this place for the new Captain. Her.
"Did you ever met again?"
"I saw her in one of the Grand Galloping Gala, don't remember which year, but we haven't met face to face since then. I'm busy with Captain duties, and Luna knows what duties she has to attend to."
"I see... I believe we're getting close to the end of this interview. So, anything you'd like to say before we end our session?"
"I do have something to say... I love my job. But if you think I'm a bad mare by being a drill instructor, then you're too naive of a pony. Only the best may be in the Wonderbolt, but if anypony wants to give it a shot, then go ahead. Who knows you'll be the next Wonderbolt captain?"
"Speaking from experience?"
"You bet. Thanks for this interview. I actually enjoyed this."
"You do?"
"I mean it. Feels like chatting with a friend, and I feel you'll make a great friend. Take care, Vision Grey."
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