//------------------------------//
// Second Interview 
// Story: The Grey Interview: Spitfire 
// by StatiZkyZ 
//------------------------------//

Vision Grey had interviewed Captain Spitfire before, and his article based on that interview had been published. The amount of ponies that bought his article on the Captain of the Wonderbolts is above average, although he thinks that some of the buyers are the kind of ponies that just want to see Spitfire's picture, or thought his work is similar to the tabloids or magazine. However, he noted that something is a bit different from his other works in this one: The amount of feedback and comments.

Although more then half comments in a positive note, some has said that it's incomplete. One pony cited that 'It haven't cleared Spitfire's name from all the dark rumors' (Vision Grey immediately assumes this pony is a big fan of Spitfire), while some others accused that it was made incomplete on purpose, to save Spitfire's reputation. The hazards of the job, he guess. He knows it's coming when he interviews somepony like Spitfire.

So, the interviewer's next step is to do another interview with the Captain again. Thankfully, it seems that Spitfire is once again happy to oblige. This time, Vision Grey really made sure that he had addressed all the things that his readers requested. As usual, he presses the play button on his trusty recorder.





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"Captain Spitfire, it's good to see you again."

"Same here, Vision Grey, same here."

"Hmm, out of curiosity, do you actually enjoy being interviewed?"

"Depends what it's for. Tabloids and magazines is a pet peeve of mine. Newspaper is okay. Your article though... Your way of interviewing is just like having a chat with a friend, and I find it to be enjoyable."

"I appreciate that. Did you read my article about you?"

"Yes, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. But since we're here again, are you going to release a second version or something?"

"Yes... I kinda forgot to ask you some things, and some of my readers demands it to be answered."

"Gee, just like tabloid readers... So, what questions do you have for me now?"

"Okay, I needed to do quite a lengthy research to get this data, but my first question is, are you familiar with a mare named Lightning Dust?"

"Oh, her... I'm guessing you're going to ask why I kicked her away from the academy?"

"Not exactly... I heard that Lightning Dust was a cadet that will blow everypony in her way to be the best flier. Is that true?"

"Literally. She whipped up a tornado, A TORNADO, without permission. She better be thankful I wasn't there when she did it, else I could alert the entire complex and treat her as an actual threat."

"Oh? I thought you're supposed to keep an eye of the cadets?"

"I got some paperwork to do in my office. Besides, I assigned the cadets to clear the clouds in pairs, which would take a while, so I thought why not clear some work while they're busy? I never expected anypony to use a tornado to clear clouds that fast."

"What about when she just knocks everypony out of her way during a flight?"

"...That is not really an issue for me. I mean, it'll be a different story if she knocks her teammate out, but that was when she's paired up with Rainbow Dash only."

"But wouldn't that effect their teamwork in the future if all cadets must fly together as a team?"

"...Maybe. To be fair, not all cadets will make it, so they will most likely fly with a different group of ponies, having to build trust on each other from zero again. But, I guess that's one of the faulty systems in the past, should've changed the drill format earlier..."





A group of young Wonderbolt cadets line up in a straight position by the captain. It's been a few weeks in the academy, and each cadet got their wingspony. Spitfire must admit, this group is overall better then the usual she has to deal with. Even though their flying is still not top notch, it's to be expected.

"Alright cadets, you know what you're going to do? Going through our obstacle course." Spitfire said. "One thing I'd like to point out is, this is no race. The object of this exercise is to work on your precision flying under extreme circumstances. Got it?"

Most of the cadets nodded firmly, then turned on their partners to discuss their flight plan. They all seem confident.

"HOWEVER, you won't be flying as pairs." Spitfire announced, surprising the cadets. "This time, you are all in a team. No pony goes ahead, no pony left behind, and no pony endanger others. I'll be watching closely, you all got that?"

The cadets looked at each other with a bit of confusion. They have known that this part is usually done in pairs. This is the first time Spitfire wanted the course done as a team. It's not like the group had any major problems with it, though. They just didn't expect it."Hey, did you all hear me? I said, did you all got that!?" Spitfire repeated.

"Yes ma'am!" A synchronized yell came from all the cadets.

"Well hurry up and get going!" Spitfire ordered, prompting all the pegasus in front of her to take off immediately.



"Honestly, it could've went better. As cadets are mostly hotshot pegasus that think they're the best, they're pretty alien to the concept of teamwork. There are one or two cadets that keep helping the others, but that's it. We keep doing this to new cadets since then."

"I see... Did it showed any improvement?"

"We're getting there, but we don't get another case of Lightning Dust, at least."

"Hmm, by the way, a lot of ponies had said this... Why would you still kept Lightning Dust in the academy despite she had shown signs that she didn't care about other pony's well being?"

"Oh boy, this will be hard to justify... Um... Let's just say that, the Wonderbolts is a... rougher place back then"

"Come again? Rougher?"

"...We've learned our lessons, but back then, we prioritize achievements. We want somepony that pushes themselves very hard. Lightning Dust fits that criteria to the T, and we want her in. I... was kinda blinded because of that, I guess."

"What about the other ponies that got hurt by her?"

"I thought it's not big of a deal, because if they got assigned with her, they have to follow her like it or not. It's a basic rule to follow the flight lead. And, about the got hurt part... They only got thrown to clouds, it shouldn't be that serious."

"But wouldn't that still be a bad--"

"Yeah, I know. "Spitfire is a bad pony", and all that. But even I made mistakes. It took Rainbow Dash to snap me out of my stupidity, and once I learned that Lightning whipped up a tornado, I decided to end her run right there and then. I... tried to make things better, at least."

"...Speaking of Rainbow Dash, there's another matter I'd like to discuss. My sources said that Rainbow Dash used to be a reserve Wonderbolt, until she's chosen to replace Fire Streak, correct?"

"Yes."

"She's one of the most eager ponies to join the Wonderbolts, correct?"

"That's right."

"But, according to them, when Rainbow first joined the squad, things didn't go well?"

"Oh crud, I honestly hate talking about that part... Somehow somepony outside caught wind of that, and the whispers about Dash and the squad even reached my ears."

"Really? How?"

"Beats me, probably some creep planted a bug or something. Anyway, what do you want to know about Dash?"

"What exactly happened to Dash during her earlier times as a Wonderbolt that makes her didn't enjoy being one?"

"Well, first of all, there's this tradition in the Wonderbolts where everypony is given a nickname, or a call sign, usually based from their first impression in the team, their personality, but most often, their screw up in the past. You know, that common military stuff."

"Oh? It's common among all the Equestrian armed forces?"

"Yeah. Royal guards, Unicorn guards, even the Elite Thestral guards have it as far as I know. Now, in Dash's case, things went wrong because she didn't know about the tradition, and the name we gave her seems to hit her nerve. We had no idea that she was hurt quite bad."

"There's nothing that hints her real feelings?"

"...Actually, she did act rather strange after that. But again, we don't know it's her name because we thought she knows about the tradition. I mean, she had been our big fan and practically willing to kill to join us. You can't blame us that we naturally think she knows about the tradition, can you?"

"Umm... Personally, I understand. But I can't guarantee that my readers will understand..."

"Urgh, I'm just gonna have to live with that... Anyway, I feel that because of the name calling, Rainbow thought we're bullying her for her mistake. I tried to cheer her up, but it backfired because, again, I expect her to know about the call sign tradition. The breaking point happened during one of our show. Dash added a new routine segment without my permission, and you can guess how well that went..."

"...So, did Dash ever confront the matter?"

"Not before her first show, she kept it to herself. After her routine went haywire, she got filled in about the call sign tradition, and things got better after that..."



It's rather late at night, but Rainbow Dash is still cleaning the hallways of the Wonderbolt's compound. 

She kinda deserved this, she thought, as her catastrophic stunt almost ruined the Wonderbolt's entire show. But the most important thing is, she's still in the team. It turns out that Spitfire and the others have no intentions to hurt her, instead, they really respected her as a flyer. She needs to work on her teamwork skills, though, because that's what made the Wonderbolts famous across Equestria.

Rainbow exhales and dunks the mop she's using in the bucket of water. The mess hall is the last place to clean, and it's quite big. The blue pegasus decided to take a momentary breather, staying motionless as she stared at the empty room, waiting to be cleaned.

"Hey Crash!" Came a voice echoing from the hallways. Rainbow slightly panicked and almost tipped over the bucket with her mop, but thankfully, disaster had been successfully averted. She sees Spitfire walking up to her from the corridor into the mess hall.

"Y-Yes ma'am! I'm here!" Rainbow saluted out of reflex.

"Heh, at ease, rookie. No need to be so jumpy." Spitfire looked around the room, before taking a seat on one of the empty lunch tables. "Here, take a breather for a bit. I need to talk to you."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow before doing what Spitfire tole her to do. She sat across the Wonderbolt captain and waited for her to talk, which didn't take long.

"You know, 'Crash', you might not be the first one that complained about their call signs, but you really seem to be hurt." Spitfire's emotion is a bit unreadable. Her usual authoritative persona is still there, but there's also a bit of curiosity, sadness, and uncertainty mixed in. "Can you elaborate for me?"

"Umm... Let's say this is not the first time I was called Rainbow Crash." Rainbow's eyes drooped a bit. "It all started because I crashed into a trash can during flight school, in front of everypony. That was such an embarrassing moment... and everypony started calling me that while laughing."

"That's sounds familiar, now doesn't it?" Spitfire very briefly smirked, but were quick to remind herself that this is serious talk. Rainbow shot an unfriendly glance at her before sighing.

"I know, it's my fault that I changed by routine without your permission..." Rainbow said. "Shouldn't have done that, that was stupid"

Spitfire's expression softened a bit. Yes, it is true that it WAS Rainbow that messed up her routine, but what really caused her to do it? Does her call sign really hurt her that much? Maybe she should give Rainbow a special exception regarding call signs?

"...Rainbow Dash, tell me." Spitfire's eyes almost looked like they were pleading. "Did we... hurt you bad? Did calling you 'Crash' made you feel absolutely terrible?"

Rainbow suddenly finds it hard to make any eye contact with the captain. She can't lie to her and say no, she'll be lying to herself too. On the other hoof, Rainbow knows that the Wonderbolts had no idea about the origins of 'Rainbow Crash', a memory she rather bury forever. Thanks to them, she had to relive those moments, and it hurts to finally reach your dream at the cost of having to remember that terrible moment again.

".....Ma'am, I know that you a-and the Bolts wasn't trying to humiliate me, b-but... Yes, ma'am... It hurts." Rainbow croaked, struggling to speak.

"I... see." Spitfire closes her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry... no, we're sorry, Rainbow Dash."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Rainbow lifts both of her hooves, as if surprised. "The captain of the Wonderbolts, just apologized to me?"

"I'm not asking for forgiveness as a captain, but as a friend." Spitfire looked at the rainbow pegasus again. "So, will you forgive me and the other Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash?"

The eye of the prismatic pegasus seems to twitch very briefly. She let out a soft groan as she avoids eye contact again. Silence descends on the room for a couple of seconds.

"To be honest... It's hard to forget the pain you all did to me." Rainbow blurted. "I want to forgive everypony, but it still hurts. But... since I messed up the show, can we call it even?" 

The Wonderbolt captain sighed, but nodded. Rainbow Dash's dignity isn't the only thing that got damaged when she got injured at the show. The media is quick to pick it up, and some ponies dare to question why'd the Wonderbolts got her in the team. The team's reputation took quite a hit from their 'fans'. She just hope that Rainbow and the team can get along together in the future, the last thing she want is a messed up team.

"Well, whatever preens your feathers, Dash. Just want to tell you that we're sorry." Spitfire noted.

"I know." Dash replied. "If that was it... I need to get back to cleaning this room."

"Hang on." Spitfire stopped the pegasus just as she got up from her seat. "You can go straight to sleep, forget cleaning this room."

"Huh? Does it mean... I won't have to clean this room?" Rainbow asked, surprised at the captain's gesture.

"Just for tonight. Unless you want some kind of special treatment." Spitfire smirked as she walked next to Rainbow. The rookie Wonderbolt stood up straight.

"Heck no, ma'am! That would make me an uncool Wonderbolt!" Rainbow saluted. "I will clean this hall right now if you allow me!"

"No, I don't think I need to repeat myself." Both mares stared at each other with a sly smile. "Go to bed, Rainbow Dash. Get some well deserved rest."

"If that's what you want, ma'am!"





"Does Rainbow's relationship with the team got any better after that?"

"More then ever. She really is an amazing flyer, not to mention she saved Equestria before. Maaaaybe we tried extra hard to be good friends and teammates with her."

"You're giving her a... special treatment?"

"No, that's not what I meant... That's not what she wanted anyway. We messed her up badly last time, so we just want to make sure that doesn't happen again. Wonderbolts and their air shows are like a machine with gears, you know."

"...It only works if all the cogs are turning."

"Exactly. Wow, can you read my mind or something?"

".....Uuuhhh, one last question. How long do you plan to be in the Wonderbolts? Or stay as captain in the Wonderbolts?"

"Hmm... I don't have an exact date or a plan for retiring, but I always wanted to start a family."

"Really? That's unexpected..."

"I got my own dreams too, you know. If I find 'that one stallion', we'll probably get married soon, live together, and have fun and such. If I feel our road to the future is secured, I'll probably leave the Wonderbolts to be a mother. It'll probably be a sad farewell to the home I've grown so long with, but we'll see, we'll see. As being a captain... I don't think I want to leave my position that easily. The previous captain did honor me with the title."

"Is there no limitation in how long you can be a captain in the Wonderbolts?"

"No, it depends on the captain and the team's decision. I love being the captain, though. If I really must step down, then I'll be sure to find a perfect replacement."

"Just like your story..."

"Yep. So, that's it, right?"

"Actually, I just thought of something. Have you found... that one stallion?"

"Oh, you sly pony. I said before that I'd like to keep my life a private matter. Leave that matter to the paparazzi, and your imagination, heh heh."

"Alright, I'm just curious. Thanks for the interview once again, Captain Spitfire."

"No problem, Vision Grey. I really enjoyed our chat. Spitfire out."



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