The problem isn’t that Lightning was using a tornado, it’s that she was using a tornado in a dangerous and reckless fashion. Spitfire didn’t care about the tornado, but that using it endangered other ponies. It’s the difference between driving a car according to traffic laws and a driving a car 40 MPH over the speed limit and trying to weave around pedestrians.
 
Or to use Smiling’s mortar analogy, it’s less like civilians randomly wandering onto the field while the mortar is in the air, and more firing the thing wantonly without bothering to check if the field is clear first. The tornado would have been perfectly fine if Lightning and Dash had kept it under control and warned everyone out of the way first.

Drako:  
So Dust. You say you need my help.  
Dust:  
They kicked me out of the wonderbolts!  
Drako:  
I know that but why come to me?  
Dust:  
I need you to teach me discipline. Sometimes I don’t think and I just can’t control myself. I wanted to impress everyone but i went to far and I’m really sorry.  
Trixie:  
The great-  
Drako:  
pushes Trixie out the door  
no. trust me, you wont help.  
turns back to Dust  
the problem with you Dusty is that you push yourself too hard. You aren’t aware of your own limits. I knew someone like that once and I can tell you it’s not a good way to be.
 
It’s good to push yourself to your absolute limit but you go too far you’ll mess up. Like you did.
 
Now I’ve got the perfect partner for you. Someone who can teach you all you need to know about control. Allow me to introduce-
 
rainbow dash enters
 
Dash:  
Hey Drako  
You said you got some important wonderbolt business for me.  
where is it?  
Drako:  
She’s right there  
points at Dust  
I’d introduce you two but you’ve already met.  
Dash:  
ugh  
you again  
what do you want?  
Dust:  
I wanna be a wonderbolt  
Dash:  
Well duh  
So does every flyer in equestria  
After what you did  
No wonder the wonderbolts wont let you back in  
Drako:  
Shut it Dash  
Be nice  
Dust here is very sorry for what she did  
She wants to be a wonderbolt just like you  
I’m sure you know how that feels  
Dash:  
well yeah  
but not everypony is cut out to be a wonderbolt-  
Drako:  
She is  
Dash:  
says who?  
Drako:  
says me  
Dash:  
humph  
Drako:  
I’d like Dust here to be your student Dash  
Dust & Dash:  
What?!  
Dust:  
She’s just a new recruit  
Why should she be my student?  
I’m better than that  
Dash:  
You sayin I’m not good enough for ya?  
You’re the one that got kicked out of flight academy  
Drako:  
Ladies please  
You’re both very pretty  
But Dash here has something she can teach you Dust that I don’t think the wonderbolts are very good at.  
Dust:  
Yeah?  
What?  
Drako:  
Putting others first  
You gotta admit, it’s the main reason you got kicked from the academy.  
And the reason Dash here didn’t  
Now all I’m asking is that you Dust listen to what Dash has to say and learn from it  
And you Dash treat your pupil fairly and without prejudice  
Dust & Dash:  
fine  
Drako:  
Now as a test of your rekindled friendship  
I have an obstacle course for you to run  
Dash, I think you know the place  
The canyon you used to test your pet?  
Dash:  
I’m on it  
Drako:  
Wait  
Dash:  
ugh!  
What?  
Drako:  
You two stay close to each other  
BOTH of you
 
both fly off
 
Drako:  
You can come back in now Trixie  
Trixie:  
finally  
the great and powerful Trixie does not take kindly to being shoved out of the room  
Drako:  
I want you to go to the canyon  
Make it extra dangerous  
But not any more than they can handle  
You got that?  
Trixie:  
huh!  
the great and powerful Trixie is not too stupid to be unable to follow a simple order like that  
Drako:  
This is important  
Screw this up and you’ll get knocked down a couple of grades  
If they end up in serious danger then you’re out on your ear  
You got that, “student”  
Trixie:  
Yes..sir  
Drako:  
Good  
Now get going  
The two of them will soon be done showing off to each other.

Lightning Dust did not check for civilians in fact she new it would hit the other recruits and did not care and that was also obviously against the rules.
 
Spitfire did not know that Lightning Dust knew the recruits were on the field when she said that it was excessive but effective. She investigated immediatly after the complaint and the full facts came out. If she knew the recruits were on the field then she definitely did not check for civilians in the airspace.
 
Since the civilians were not punished it is safe to assume that, that was public airspace and the fault is 100% on Lightning Dash for not checking. The suitable charge is recklessness which is exacyly what Spitfire said she did wrong.
 
So to sum up.
 

 
If tornadoes aren’t dangerous and expected to be used as a tool, then Dust shouldn’t have been punished so severely. Using the the shooting range analogy, it’s like trainee calling a mortar strike on a target inside the firing zone, and while the munition is in the air, suddenly a bunch of civilians rush in out of nowhere and get hit.

Dat scrunchy face.

I had a couple of jackasses at JCLC (1 week of mini-bootcamp for JROTC cadets) in my platoon that went over to D company’s barracks (we were B) and went inside the barracks and pissed all over the floor.  
They got smoked and cashier’d.
 
@Irony  
I can see where you’re coming from, but there’s an evident time skip when between the time that Dash left Spitfire’s office to the part where she joins her friends on the airfield with saddlebags on.  
In the time it took Rainbow Dash to collect her things and (presumably) say her goodbyes, Spitfire likely had more than enough time to collect evidence that there was wrongdoing on Dust’s part.  
That said, there should’ve been a formal inquiry or something, but since it didn’t seem to be formally sponsored by a government agency and Spitfire was likely in charge of the operation, she’s probably the one who ultimately decides who stays and who goes.

Look through the episode Smiling Pony. At no point did Spitfire see any “reckless” action until Dash brought it to her attention. Your complaint is basically that she should have known because the audience knew.

@The Smiling Pony
 
Anyways, the point is a dangerous action shouldn’t have “it went wrong” as a deciding factor between praise or punishment. If the balloon had never been there, nothing bad would’ve happened and Dust would’ve been praised to heaven and beyond.
 
That would seem to imply that tornadoes are essentially verboten for pegasi to use, since they’re so dangerous. But they’re not. Rainbow Dash conjures up a couple herself without anypony batting an eye, and it’s apparently a ritual for the pegasus ponies to move water to Cloudsdale with a tornado, instead of something less risky, like carrying it. It’s just a thing for them. And you’re probably right. It would have just been another bit of praise for Dust and Dash, had not RD’s friends come along.
 
I think the point was more the ponies’ attitude towards it all – Lightning Dust didn’t care about the other ponies. Rainbow Dash did. The tornado is apparently all and well a viable tactic for pegasus ponies to do what they need to do.

The wonderbolts are a flying team.
 
as with the thunderbirds and blueangles, pilots who are not teamwork-oriented are not even considered.
 
Lightning dust’s conduct was unbecoming of a wonderbolt trainee, let alone an actual member. It was clear that even if RD’s friends didn’t show up in the baloon, Dust’s behavior would continue to compound into something catastrophic for herself or a teammate.

A dangerous action? Who said a Tornado is a dangerous action? That is like saying if someone uses the shooting range the deciding difference between between punishment and praise is someone getting shot.
 
Spitfire did not know how strong the Tornado was or if Lightning Dust cleared the field, simple as that. If she did use a reasonable Tornado and checked for air traffic / cleared off the other cadets then it would indeed deserve praise.
 
It doesn’t matter if all the exercises we have seen were supervised by Spitfire because this one wasn’t and chances are it was not supposed to be.
 
You are going after Spitfire for doing the exact right thing. Investigating the situation and punishing the perpetrator.
 
So if the event was not supposed to be supervised and she did not know the circumstances of an event that is obviously approved of and she investigated it as soon as she learned that dangerous action was taken what is your problem with her?

BLOOD WOULD BE NICE
 
But hey, she supervised all the exercises except that one. Anyways, the point is a dangerous action shouldn’t have “it went wrong” as a deciding factor between praise or punishment. If the balloon had never been there, nothing bad would’ve happened and Dust would’ve been praised to heaven and beyond. And that’s bad.

Should have known what? She is the Camp Commander and clearing clouds is practically daily calisthenics. Is she going to supervise each bite of food they eat also?
 
She was in her office at the time and had no idea what strength the tornado was or the negligence involved in setting it up.
 
You seem to think she is psychic and that there is only one degree to any event. When informed of the circumstances she immediately went into action and investigated said circumstances.
 
What more do you want from her then that? Her blood?

Honestly, I was expecting Spitfire to pull a “this was my plan all along” right then and there. Her reacting with shock just made it seem like Dash actually changed her mind, which…makes her seem like an asshole anyway.
 
Great writing!

@ALIS
 
She should’ve known, considering she’s the one shown to be in charge of training cadets in every other exercise.

Yes because all Tornado’s are the same size and strength. Spitfire through telepathy of course knew that Lightning Dust didn’t check the field for civilians or clear the other trainees off the course before starting the Tornado.
 
Damn you Spitfire for not knowing the strength of the Tornado and the amount of care in which it was administered automatically.
 
What really makes it all the more worse is she didn’t take the time to investigate before making snap judgements. Oh wait…

@The Smiling Pony
 
Spitfire did voice a small concern that the tornado was “excessive”, albeit effective, however, whatever praise she gave Lightning Dust in that statement was essentially in the context of clearing clouds. And maybe it’s like what #aceofscarabs was saying, perhaps she investigated what Lightning Dust did, especially after Rainbow Dash gave up her badge with the accusation that the Wonderbolts condoned such “reckless” behavior. And then I imagine Lightning Dust gave Spitfire an explanation with her usual flippant demeanor. Up to that point, Spitfire was convinced Lightning Dust was only pushing herself (and the other cadets were just failing to keep up), but this particular incident painted a very different picture.
 
But, that’s just speculation. Maybe Spitfire herself should’ve supervised, I wouldn’t know, but that’s what those other two ponies (the Top Gun expies) appeared to be there for. (Although it might beg the question of why they didn’t go to Spitfire to report or directly reprimand Lightning Dust instead.)

>”Eh, is the usual that happens, episode conclusion almost always feels rushed, especially for secondary characters.”
 
Definitely

It was just odd.
 
RD. “Dust did this super dangerous thing!”  
SF. “Hmm, well, it worked, good job!”  
RD. “She almost killed my friends, sod the Wonderbolts!  
-sometime later  
SF. “So yeah, you’re awesome and we’re going to publicly humiliate (and possibly kick out) Dust now”
 
Super dangerous thing should’ve been either yay or nay on its own; that it almost killed someone shouldn’t suddenly have been such a huge factor (going from praise to huge penalty).
 
Eh, is the usual that happens, episode conclusion almost always feels rushed, especially for secondary characters.

Bah, that was the wrong thing to say. More like, it depends on how “military” the Wonderbolts and the academy actually are.
 
When a military scenario is presented in a cartoon, obviously it’s just going to be both exaggerated and simplified, so it’s difficult to determine what exactly is to be expected in situations like this.

Most of us already assumed that.

@Background Pony
 
I think it somewhat varies by branch.
 
And this is assuming the Wonderbolt Academy is a tight analogy for the military.

Vree and Japanese Teeth have the right idea.

@Smiling  
I was thinking the same thing. Do drill sargents not supervise these things?

Told off by one of the Hero’s of Equestria?
 
Silly Smiling Pony that doesn’t count for anything, most ponies don’t recognize them and even less care.
 
Being a hero in Equestria brings about as much praise and respect as being Townhall janitor.
 
Excuse me there is this yellow pegasus in line a head of me taking to much time so I’m gonna just punt her out of the way.

@The Smiling Pony
 
…and then how little she seemed to care about when informed about how dangerous Dust’s actions were.
 
She cashiered her, didn’t she?