(Listening to this is recommended, but not required)
The Wonderbolts. I didn’t know who they were when I was a filly. Just distant stories spread around Cloudsdale. Everypony spoke so highly of them that they wounded like a myth, a story parents would tell their children.
“They’re the most amazing ponies ever!”
“When I grow up, I wanna be just like them!”
“The single, most awesome, group of ponies to ever live!”
Ponies praised them everywhere I turned and I didn’t understand why. After all, how could ponies obsess over them so much? They were just a bunch of stunt ponies, right? All smoke and tricks?
I maintained that mindset even when my father, with his rainbow-colored mane and tail, brought me to the stadium one day to watch them perform. He lifted me up onto his shoulders and as we approached the stadium, I could hear the deafening roar of the crowd as thousands of ponies flooded into the Cloudsdale Arena. Wonderbolts banners and posters decorated the walls of the stadium, something I had never seen done before.
These ponies are crazy! Its just a show! Just plain old tricks! I remember thinking as he walked nearer to the stadium, the cheering only getting louder with each step he took. He showed two tickets to this huge pony at the entrance. The pony glanced up at me and Dad before tearing away a small part of the tickets and letting us go through the turnstiles. He found a spot in the middle of the standing crowd. There were many chairs around the stadium but few ponies were sitting down. They gathered as close to the edge as the security ponies would let them, anxiously waiting as they chanted ‘Wonderbolts!’ repeatedly.
I sat on Dad’s shoulders, my arms folded and my face lowered into a frown.
“I should be at home, flying fast or something.” I muttered under my breath. I’m sure my father heard what I said, but if he did, he didn’t respond at all.
“And now ladies and gentlecolts...” A low-pitched announcer spoke through the sound system, his voice emitting all throughout the stadium. The crowd immediately went wild, silencing the next few words which the announcer spoke. When the crowd fell silent enough to hear the announcer, I could only hear him say, “...welcome, the Wonderbolts!”
That one word sent the crowd into a frenzy. Fillies jumped into the air, sporting Wonderbolts hats and shirts. Even grown stallions and mares were cheering at the top of their lungs. I just didn’t understand it.
And at the word ‘Wonderbolts’, I saw three large streaks of smoke rise from the middle of the stadium. I thought it was just an effect but when the whole crowd tilted their head upwards, I did too. There they were: the Wonderbolts. Three ponies, each dressed in their signature light-blue uniform emblazoned with yellow thunderbolts, rising high into the sky at a speed that was just breathtaking.
They really did look like myths pulled from a storybook, not like I read any back then. My mouth slowly fell open as I stared at the ponies who were soaring up into the sky. Then, without warning, they descended, cutting through the air and gaining such incredible speed, I started to worry for their safety. As soon as they were at the audience’s level, they did a ninety-degree turn, sending a huge gust of wind into the audience’s face and completely messing my mane up, but I didn’t care. I was captivated by their skills, their teamwork, their...awesomeness.
I remember more Wonderbolts appearing from the sidelines, flying with them in such a tight formation, I couldn’t muster words to show how amazed I was. While the other ponies in the crowd roared and cheered, I sat on my father’s shoulder, eyes open, mouth hung agape, speechless. No words could justify the amazing routine in front of me. Twists and turns! Spins and rolls! Death defying stunts! Clouds formations! Smoke trails! I remember them all so clearly!
It was at that moment, that I felt something in me ignite. Something just clicked within me as I saw them execute their tricks flawlessly. That was it. I knew what I wanted to be. A Wonderbolt! I wanted to be a Wonderbolt! I wanted to wow crowds with my blazing speed! I wanted thousands of ponies to cheer for me, go up to me and request for autographs! I wanted the awesome attention and praises! I wanted to... motivate. Like how they did for me. How they inspired me to follow my dreams! To want to join the Wonderbolts!
I don’t remember much after the show, though my parents told me that they saw a glimmer in my eyes that they never saw before. Apparently, all I would talk about would be the Wonderbolts at every chance I got and how I wanted to be with them. What I do remember is sitting on a stray cloud every early morning, before the sun rose. I loved clouds with broke off from Cloudsdale. Not only were they softer and more comfortable, they seemed to be free, no longer bound by the big cloud. Free to go wherever they pleased, finally separated from the rest of the clouds in the sky.
I would find and sit on a stray cloud which surrounded the Cloudsdale Arena, which was a short distance from my house. I would gaze over at the stadium, watching the Wonderbolts practice their routine over and over again, until it could be executed flawlessly. The smoke trails as they flew through the sky, the wonder of seeing them work together as a team, doing stunts that I thought weren’t even possible. I would watch until the sun would rise and bath Cloudsdale in its warm and welcoming light, outlining all the buildings with a calming glow.
I still remember clearly, the one day where my father found me. It was still dark out and I thought he would be angry with me but instead, he sat next to me and watched the Wonderbolts train. I knew he was beside me, but I didn’t turn to face him.
“You know I’m with you all the way, right?” I didn’t understand the question at first. Of course I knew he was supporting me! That’s what a father does, isn’t it?
“Yeah. I know.” I was too captivated by the Wonderbolts to give the enthusiastic answer I wanted.
“Someday you’ll make it, Dashie.” I felt him lean over and kiss me on my forehead, a little longer than the kisses he would give me at night when he thought I had fallen asleep. “I believe in you.” Those few words hung in my head as he flew back home. As if on cue, the sun had started to rise from below, bringing with it the light I was so familiar to seeing.
I whispered the one word that mattered to me the most as the Wonderbolts finished their routine and descended into the stadium, hiding themselves from my eyes.
“Someday...”
