//------------------------------// // 6 - The Wonderbolts // Story: Soaring on Little Wings // by tom117z //------------------------------// So. Many. Colours. Little Wing could have sworn she was going to have an epileptic fit because there were so many. Each pony had their own unique colour scheme and all together made Rainbow Dash’s mane look tame by comparison. Of course, it was equally pretty to look at. However, she just wished they wouldn’t look back. Little Wing gave a shy squeak as one such mare glanced her way, and the foal promptly hid herself as far as she could between her mother’s two feathery wings. Little Wing had been laid on Windy Whistles’ back for pretty much the entire trip, she had to admit to feeling particularly safe there. Though the crowds were certainly still unnerving to the filly, she had never been amongst so many people in that life or the last. Every single one of those people were heading to the same destination, a stadium slap bang in the centre of Cloudsdale. There were even some non-pegasi there, most walking on solid paths for their convenience but some walked on the cloud as if they themselves were pegasi. That is to say, they had received the proper spell before they came to the city. It was all a lot for Little Wing’s mind to process, though her parents made sure to keep a close eye on her in case she got too overwhelmed. “We’re almost there sweetie,” her mother assured her as they continued on down the street towards the gigantic stadium at the other end. “Then we can find our seats, we’ll have one of the best views thanks to your sister.” “You can never beat VIP seating,” Bow Hothoof agreed, the filly’s adoptive father grinning like he himself were a foal. Little Wing didn’t respond, not even in her usual preferred babble. She instead stayed quiet, and positioned herself so she was as unnoticeable as possible by the surrounding crowds. All this to see what these Wonderbolts were really all about. She had heard much from the general chatter of her parents, including that her adoptive sister was one of them. Of course she also had a fondness for the action figures back home, so she had to admit she was genuinely curious to see the real article. Maybe then she could begin to understand why her aloof sister had garnered such an admiration from both her parents and Scootaloo. Finally, they reached the long queues that led up into the stadium’s entrance. As the approached the line of pastel ponies she fully expected them to take their place at the rear of the que and be forced to wait for hours, days or even years on end to get in. But to her surprise, they bypassed the line completely and headed straight for the front. This did earn them a few scornful looks from those less fortunate, which only validated Little Wing’s efforts to blend in with her feathery environment. When they did reach the front they were suddenly halted at the gate as somepony asked for their identification, and the filly hoped they didn’t simply cut the line without permission. Looking up from her safe spot between her mother’s wings, Little Wing froze in both fear and utter awe as she saw Bow hoof over a pass he had been carrying into what was decidedly not a hoof but rather a claw filled with razor sharp talons. The creature seemed to be half lion and half eagle, examining the pass and a list he had on him with his sharp eyes. Then he glanced over to the filly on Windy Whistles back, at which point Little Wing immediately fled back to the safety of her mother’s protective wings. The strange creature chuckled. “A shy one ain’t she?” “A little bit, yes,” Windy replied with a titter of her own. “She’s also never seen a griffon before, it’s all new to her.” “Ah, I see,” the griffon said in understanding. “I still remember the first time my little nephew saw a pony, he didn’t know what to make of the situation.” “Children are children,” Bow remarked. “The whole world is an adventure, ready to be taken at full speed!” “Some of our children are still doing that it would seem,” the griffons stated, confirming their identity as the family of Rainbow Dash. “I assume you know you’re way to the VIP box?” “We can manage,” Windy assured. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” the griffon replied as the family began to move through the gate, giving one last glance at the filly. “And good day to you little miss.” Little Wing summoned up the courage to give the griffon a little wave as they passed by, albeit still largely hidden between her mother’s wings. That probably wouldn’t change until they got to their seats. “See, he was nice,” Windy said to her daughter. “The world is full of many different people from all sorts of species. I’m sure you’ll see for yourself as your grow.” Little Wing didn’t respond, instead choosing to examine the large space they were walking on into. And ‘large’ was certainly an understatement. The stadium was filled to the brim with hundreds, if not thousands, of seats spread out throughout the entire perimeter. On top of the normal seats there was also various clouds set about the stadium where some pegasi had already taken their places as they waited for the show to begin. The entire centre of the stadium was not solid ground or even a cloud, but rather the entire centre consisted of empty space that gave a brilliant birds-eye-view of the land below. Windy Whistles glanced back at her daughter to see her wide eyed awe, giving a giggle at the sight. “I think she likes it.” “Well she should, this place make that stadium where they do the young fliers competition look like a school playground,” Bow replied. “Well, it IS the biggest in Cloudsdale.” “Well never mind that, we got some stairs to climb.” Windy gave her husband a deadpan look. “We’re pegasi.” “…Point taken.” Windy rolled her eyes, before looking back towards Little Wing. “Now, hold on tight dear.” Little Wing did as she was told as her mother unfolded her wings and took to the air, Bow Hothoof doing the same. They were heading directly to one end of the stadium, where a bunch of seats were located on a platform raised slightly higher than the rest. This platform was also cordoned off, so it had to be the VIP seating. However, there was also a platform rising out of that one which was even higher up with fewer seats, and then one final platform rising up form that. That final platform seemed to contain almost four seats, if they could really be called that. They were more like thrones, and each one had a unique mark decorating the backrest. From left to right facing the thrones: a lavender starburst, a sun, a moon and a crystalline heart. Little Wing couldn’t help but feel she had seen those marks before, were they on some of her toys back home? She wouldn’t get answers however, since those thrones would remain empty that day. The family touched down on the platform, the ride for Little Wing having been short and smooth going. It took only a few moments for them to find their assigned seats, with Bow and Windy sitting next to one another while Little Wing sat between her mother’s legs. And then the waiting came. The VIP seats gave them a great vantage point over the rest of the stadium, allowing Little Wing to watch as the seats were slowly filled up as time passed them by. If she thought there had been so many ponies in the streets, she wasn’t prepared for the amount of people collecting in that one location. And it wasn’t just ponies, she could spot a few more of those griffons amongst the crowd too. They were in a vast minority, but they were still present nevertheless. Eventually ponies stopped piling on in and the doors were closed with a few more having taken spaces in the VIP box, one of whom was an aged yellow mare with a fiery orange mane. She didn’t get too much time to examine them however, the intense chatter throughout the stadium being suddenly silenced in but a moment by a shockwave cascading through the air that heralded the arrival of five pegasi dressed in blue uniforms. The lead pegasi seemed to have a fiery orange mane that matched that of the mare with them in the VIP seating. With her was a stallion with a blue mane, two mares with a white and yellow mane respectively and one final member of the team who Little Wing could recognise anywhere. The prismatic mane was a dead giveaway. “Give it up for the Wonderbolts; Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Surprise and Rainbow Dash!” an announcer stated over a speaker system previously unnoticed by the filly, making her jump in her seat. Cheering and stamping hooves filled the stadium, the Wonderbolts simply hovering in the air a few moments as they examined the gathered crowd before them. Then Spitfire smirked and gave a nod to her squadmates, she and Soarin promptly diving downwards as the other three soared upwards. This marked the beginning of the team’s aerial performance. And Little Wing was hooked the whole way. Barrel rolls and loops. Aerial manoeuvres both simple and complex. At one point the performance seamlessly transitioned into a mock version of what appeared to be pegasus dogfighting, all the while still making their moves as flashy and fantastical as they could. Throughout the performance the Wonderbolts didn’t seem to even break a sweat, pulling off each action flawlessly and with the utmost skill required of them. Each manoeuvre was met with a mix and sounds of awe, but none more so than from Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof. Not that Little Wing paid her overexcited parents much mind, she was too invested in the performance. Finally, after what seemed like a well spent eternity, the performance began to draw near its conclusion. The intensity of the tricks began to wind down, the end drawing near. And then the team gathered directly in the centre of the stadium at the lowest point, Rainbow Dash in the middle with the other four surrounding her. Together they then all shot up into the air, Rainbow Dash seemingly gaining more speed than her fellows and pulling ahead of them. Then, a little ways above the top of the stadium the others pulled backwards away from Rainbow Dash and did a flip as they descended back down until they were equal distances apart and came to a stop around the middle of the stadium height-wise. While they were doing thus, Rainbow Dash shot up ahead with a sudden burst of speed that produces another shockwave akin to their initial entrance, everypony quickly losing sight of her high in the sky. Several moments passed them by with nothing occurring, all eyes on the sky looking out for the Wonderbolt. Then she began to become visible again, the pegasus shooting directly downwards as a plethora of energy built around her. Then, rather abruptly, a gigantic explosion rocketed the sky as a rainbow coloured shockwave was sent hurting throughout the sky, reaching all the way to the horizon. The explosion was so large that other cities in Equestria almost certainly heard it at the very least. Little Wing had just witnessed her sister’s sonic rainboom. The stadium erupted into cheers, the Wonderbolts gathering together once more and all giving a bow to conclude their performance. Little Wing had never seen anything like it. The world in which she found herself in was full of surprises, she only wished she could pull of such complex moves. “You would never think they were a part of the EUP as well as performers,” one of the ponies in the VIP box stated, just catching Little Wing’s ear. “I always said the military was good for more than just fighting!” So the Wonderbolts were more than a simple acrobatics group. That was information Little Wing stored away in her mind, it seemed important. “GO RAINBOW DASH! YEAAAAAAH!” her father’s voice snapped her out of her ruminations, the stallion hovering above his seat shouting at the top of his voice. “YOU SHOW THEM HOW IT’S DONE! YEAH!” Her parents were certainly… supportive. Soon the Wonderbolts vanished from sight and ponies were ushered on out of the stadium. But while most do that, a staff member escorted Little Wing and her parents inside the stadium itself. They weren’t the only ones, that yellow mare from the VIP box was with them. The interior was pretty bland, tunnels leading off to various storage rooms and showers. They bypassed these and were taken directly to what appeared to be the Wonderbolt’s main changing room. When they arrived the Wonderbolts were having something or over read to them from a clipboard by who appeared to be a trainer of some kind. All of them were still in their uniforms albeit with their hoods now down, the only exception being Surprise who had already taken it off and was stretching her wings out with a yawn. “Spitfire, darling!” the aged yellow mare spoke out. “Heh, hey mum,” Spitfire responded. “Was the show to your liking?” “As always, I assure you,” Spitfire’s mother assured her daughter. “We’re here too!” Windy spoke up. “Hey Dashie!” “Hi guys!” Rainbow Dash responded. “I would ask if you enjoyed it, but I could hear the answer from across the stadium. Nothing new there.” “Hey, at least we didn’t use fireworks this time,” Bow pointed out. Rainbow scoffed. “That’s nothing to brag about, Dad.” “Well it was really fun!” Windy Whistles stated. “And your little sister LOVED it!” “Bwubba!” Little Wing called out. “Oh, she did huh?” Rainbow Dash said, only then noticing the foal on her mother’s back. “That’s… great, I guess.” “Little sister!?” Surprise suddenly appeared right next to Windy and Little Wing, examining the foal excitedly. “Crash! You never told us you had a little sister!” Little Wing nervously examined the alabaster pegasus. Now the suit was off her mane had poofed up to the point where it seemed like yellow candy floss, her cutie mark being that a three purple balloons that matched the colour of her eyes. “Well, it’s a recent thing…” Rainbow stated sheepishly. “She’s, uh… adopted.” “D’awww, isn’t she the cutest thing!” Surprise cooed gleefully. “Please tell me you had an adoption party!” “Slowpoke, I’ll never understand your fascination with parties,” Spitfire deadpanned. “Yeah, have I ever said you seem eerily like an earth pony I know?” Rainbow Dash added in. “Earth pony?” Surprise had a look of intense thought for a moment. “Well, I do have some earth pony ancestors. I think our family line split some point…” “Enough of that,” Soarin interrupted. “What’s the filly’s name anyway?” “Little Wing,” Windy answered. “She’s only a few weeks old.” “Heh, she is a cute one isn’t she,” Fleetfoot commented. “Yes yes, the foal is adorable and all that,” Spitfire stated. “But give the poor foal some room.” “Oh Dashie, I just remembered!” Windy suddenly blurted out. “While you’re in Cloudsdale, could we ask you for a favour?” “A favour?” Rainbow questioned. “What do you need?” “You see, me and you father are going out for a… romantic meal tomorrow night!” Bow blinked. “We are?” Bow grunted as his wife kicked him lightly, but sternly. “Yes, we are. So, Dash, we were wondering if you could foalsit your sister tomorrow night?” “I, uh… huh?” Spitfire snickered. “Crash the foalsitter, never thought I’d see the day. Hope you’re good with babies, Crash!” “Now hold on, I haven’t agreed to anything yet!” Rainbow Dash protested. “Oh come on Dashie,” Windy half-pleaded. “Your father and I haven’t had a romantic meal in… well, forever. I’m sure you can handle Little Wing for ONE night, can’t you?” “Yeah. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with spending some time with your little sister is there?” Bow Hothoof added in. Rainbow Dash looked at the pleading faces of her parents, the expectant looks of her team and finally she glanced towards the filly curled up her mother’s back. Little Wing seemed so timid, surely she could endure one simple night? Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it.” Little Wing looked up at her elder sister. Their eyes met, and Rainbow’s held the same perplexed look they had the first time she had set eyes on Little Wing. That look caused Little Wing to shrink that little bit further. She honestly had no idea how the following night was going to go.