Blitz

1

The Cloudiseum dominated the sky from his short perspective as Blitz walked towards it, his wondering mind completely transfixed by the structure.

"It's so huge..." Only a whisper made its way out, his jaw hanging slack and his neck beginning to ache from craning it upwards. "I bet it can fit thou-oof!" His mind was pulled out of its fascination and back to reality as he accidentally ran into the hind quarters of a blonde haired magenta pegasus standing at the end of a line leading into the Cloudiseum. She gave a high pitched 'yip!', jumping into the air and turning around to see what it was that bumped into her.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Blitz regained his footing and watched the mare as she landed, facing him. "It was my fault, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."

"It's quite alright, young man," she assured him sweetly, "The Cloudiseum really is quite magnificent. I can't blame you for not taking your eyes off of it. I'm Swirl by the way." She extended a hoof towards him; he politely shook it.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am. My name is Blitz." Her smile widened upon hearing his name.

"You're THE Blitz? Your father talks about you quite a lot down at the Weather Factory. He's very proud of you, you know." She smirked, finally able to see the legendary Blitz with her own eyes.

"Aw," he looked down at his hooves, blushing, "I'm nothing special. I can't even fly yet."

"Maybe not, but I see you already have your cutie mark." He turned sideways to proudly display his flank. Permanently etched upon it was a pair of stiff, elongated wings, with one slightly overlapping the other; it signified his unique ability to glide by pushing off the ground with his hind legs, extending his wings straight back and letting the air carry him. "But yes you are special. Blaze never stops talking about how fast you can glide. And at the speeds he mentions, you're already practically flying! Even if it just a hoof off the ground." He grinned, both to himself and her. His special way of gliding was one thing he couldn't deny; many of the ponies had already seen it as he'd zip around Cloudsdale, living up to his name.

"Well, uhm, thank you ma'am," he replied bashfully. The line was starting to move as the ticket-pony took his post. They continued talking as the line slowly trickled into the Cloudiseum, ponies still falling in behind them. Eventually the line in front of them was gone and it was their turn to enter.

"Next ticket, please," the olive colored pegasus sounded bored behind his counter. It was a long day already, and from where he sat it seemed as if the line had no end. Swirl stepped aside and swept her hoof forward, letting Blitz move in front of her.

"Re-really?" She nodded, smiling as he stepped forward. He grabbed the ticket from his left shoulder pouch with his mouth, giving it to the ticket-pony.

"Looks good," he turned it over, looking over it with a professional's eye. Some ponies would try to fake their way into an event this big. "Alright kid, go on... wait, hold on a second." He had spotted an emblem in the top left corner on the back. Blitz gulped, his knees turning into rubber, not knowing what to expect next.

"This ticket here..." The ticket-pony handed it back to Blitz, who took it with a shaking hoof. "This ticket has a back-stage pass to Meet and Greet the Wonderbolts after the show!" Blitz's jaw seemed to hit the very cloud he was standing on. It was more than he could have possibly hoped for.

"Woo! Congrats, kiddo!" Swirl clapped her hooves behind him. Even the ticket pony grinned. Seeing the indescribable joy on the colt's face made his entire day and renewed his vigor for the long workday ahead.

Blitz hopped around in pure joy while Swirl handed over her ticket, and they walked into the massive Cloudiseum together. His head turned back and forth, up and down, trying to take in everything at once.

"This... is... amazing!" He hopped in the air, excitement getting the better of him. They followed the crowd under a series of archways, the halls wide enough to comfortably accommodate every pony there. Soon they breached a doorway and walked out into the arena stands. Blitz almost had to pick up his chin with his own hooves as he stood in awe of the sheer scale of the stadium. Pillars rose high into the air all around the arena, with sets of clouds in between to serve as seating. On the outside, three massive rings wrapped around the pillars, serving as the walls. A statue of Princess Celestia stood on a cloud above a podium that served as the real Princess' personal seat, though it would be vacant today. He gasped as he looked in the arena's center and saw no floor; it was just an endless gaping hole.

Most of the pegasi would simply float to their desired vantage points, but walkways had been constructed for the occasional special guest, or the young foals who didn't yet fly. He was just taking a step forward when Swirl placed her hoof on his shoulder.

"Uh-uh kiddo, we need a good place to sit." She hovered above him, lifting him and flying up to an unoccupied cloud which floated at the center of the right side of the arena. They would be able to clearly see when the Wonderbolts flew in, and would be sitting right in front of the action.

"Wow! Thanks again, Miss Swirl!" He opened his saddlebag, deciding to have a quick snack before the show began. The sweet aroma of the oats wafted into his nostrils, making his stomach growl. He offered half of his lunch to Swirl; she accepted gratefully. They ate in silence, watching the other ponies fill the rest of the clouds. He could feel the excitement build up in the air, felt the very same in himself, becoming almost volatile. Movement caught his attention as a cloud holding a white-maned blue pegasus floated into the center of the arena. The announcer was wearing a black silk shirt trimmed in white, blue-tinted opaque sunglasses to compliment the outfit, and a headset over his ears with the microphone hanging under his mouth.

"ALLLLRIGHT EVERYPONY!" His amplified voice echoed across and out of the Cloudiseum, "FIVE MINUTES TO GO UNTIL WE SEE THE WONDERBOLTS PERFORM LIVE! JUST SIT TIGHT, I'M TOLD IT'S GOING TO BE ONE HAY OF A SHOW!" Blitz's heart was racing. Everypony was staring intently at the southern entrance where curtains were drawn. Behind these curtains, they all knew, the Wonderbolts were making last-minute preparations. He couldn't feel his cheeks anymore he'd been smiling so hard. His tail had started twitching, swishing back and forth from his exuberance. After what had seemed like an eternity, the announcer returned to the center.

"IT'S TIME, EVERYPONY! HERE! COME! THE WONDERBOOOOOLLLLLLLTS!" The curtain barely had time to open as they exploded out of the waiting room, the crowd roaring with excitement as they blew past, three each taking a side, giving the crowd one full lap before lining up abreast above the announcer.

"INTRODUCING THE WONDERBOLTS THEMSELVES! I GIVE YOU, THUNDER! FLASH! SOARIN'! SPITFIRE! BARON! AND INTRODUCING THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE GROUP, RAINBOW DASH!" Each Wonderbolt rose a foot higher as their names were called, waving to the audience and receiving a deafening cheer in return. The announcer flew out of the way and took a seat as the Wonderbolts positioned themselves, Rainbow Dash trading places with Spitfire in the center so her unique rainbow trail would fit perfectly with the crackling smoke.

In unison, they slipped their goggles over their eyes, spread their wings to full glory, and began the show.