(The Prompt: Cheese Sandwich isn’t the only one; write the story of a pony who got their Cutie Mark after being inspired or spurred on in some way by one of the Mane Six after they got their Cutie Marks.)
I remember the first Wonderbolts show I went to.
It was just one of the usual shows, in Cloudsdale. They do a lot of them, you know, to drum up recruitment. I went with my dad, one of the days he had time to go with me. It was bright and warm outside, perfect weather really, and the show was amazing.
See, before that day, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I mean sure, I was a pegasus, and I was a good flier yeah, but plenty of pegasus ponies are good fliers. But seeing the Wonderbolts doing their trick flying, and showing off just how fast and how agile a pegasus could be... it was amazing!
But the Wonderbolts weren't really what changed everything that day.
See, the Wonderbolts... they're special. They're the best fliers in Equestria. To any little filly watching, sure they're amazing, but they're unattainable. They're some kind of special breed, something a pony like me could never join, right?
Wrong. Because that day, the day I first saw the Wonderbolts, I saw another pony too. She stood out even in the brightly colored crowd, with her bright rainbow mane and blue coat. She wasn't any older than me, and she was across the cloudosseum from where I was sitting, so I wasn't sure or not at first if she was a blank flank like me.
So yeah, I saw her before the show started, with her bright mane, sitting there with a pony that I guess was her mother. But what really caught my attention was about halfway through the show: see, the Wonderbolts were doing sort of a mock derby. They were flying at full speed around the course, dodging in-between each other and jockeying for position. It was all choreographed beforehand, but as a little filly I didn't know that.
But then suddenly, there was another pony beside them. Rainbow Dash. She was going just as fast as the Wonderbolts, and even from my cheap seats I could see the surprise in their eyes. Of course, she was young, and she only managed to keep up with them for about half a lap before collapsing out of the air, panting and rolling in the clouds. Security took her out of the grounds and I never really saw her in person again. I read about her the next day, there was a short thing in the paper, about the filly who got arrested at the show. No real charges, but enough of a spectacle to write about, I guess.
But that sight, of a filly no older than myself keeping up with the Wonderbolts? That sight changed my entire outlook.
I wasn't just some stupid filly with no talent. No way, if some other kid could do it, so could I!
I stopped caring about my stupid games with friends, I stopped worrying so much about class and weather work. After that show, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be a Wonderbolt, and if she could do it, so could I.
I trained every day. I worked my stupid blank flank off. My parents worried about my grades, but whatever, you only need to graduate to be a Wonderbolt, not be top in your class. Yeah, I didn't see my friends so much either, but so what? I was quickly becoming the best flier in my class, and then in my entire school.
One day, during weather drills, one of the advanced teams lost control of one of their thunderheads. It went careening across the other practice lanes, and everypony was staying away. Of course I wasn't even paying attention, I was running laps instead of doing my schoolwork. So, like an idiot, I almost ran into the cloud. But at the last second I saw it, and I saw the lightning bolt coming right toward me.
I dodged it.
That was when it hit me. Not the lightning, but the realization that yeah, it was more than just a dream. It was more than inspiration. Being the fastest, most agile, and flat-out best flier in Equestria was my destiny. That's when my cutie mark appeared, bright yellow lightning right there on my flank. I couldn't have been more proud if Princess Celestia herself had shown up to congratulate me.
Meanwhile, I had kept track of Rainbow Dash. She moved to some boring earth pony town, and I thought she'd just gotten complacent and slow. But no, she didn't. She even managed a sonic rainboom at a competition! I thought it was impossible, just some old legend, and BOOM, right there! She didn't let anything stop her, and I decided I wouldn't either.
Sure, there's always ponies that act like I'm not as good as I think I am. I had to go through flight school, like they had anything they could teach me. I had the colts calling me stuff like "Lightning Bust", whatever. Got into a few fights, but I still made it through alright.
I even got a job in the weather factory, doing roundups on escaped clouds and condensing leftovers from rainstorms on the ground. It was boring grunt work, but it paid for food and housing while I practiced and trained. Every day I was a little better, and every day I was a little older.
Finally, I hit the minimum age, and I sent in my application.
I got in.
So yeah, here I am. Wonderbolt Academy. I'm standing with my fellow recruits, waiting on the instructor to get here. Then, I see her. It really can't be anypony else. Right there, in my class... heck, she's in my squad! Rainbow Dash! But hey, who cares, right? She's just another pony, just like me. Sure, I'm the best flier in Equestria. She's probably second. Maybe I'm even getting that backwards. But she never lets anything stop her, she inspired me to get this far, and I'm going to show her that I'm even better.
When Rainbow Dash and I are in the Wonderbolts together, nothing's gonna stop us.
I take my place at her side, and straighten up. After all, Spitfire's coming to greet us, and we'll have all the time in the world to be friends once I show her my stuff.