What ARE the Wonderbolts?

[ARGdov 13]

I'm a bit confused by the nature of what the wonderbolts are as a organisation. In Friendship is Magic, it is stated that they are the greatest flying team in equestria. This seems to imply that there are other flying teams, which is fine. But in Sweet and Elite, Rarity attends a wonderbolts derby, which is basically a horse race, but it features more than the 3 'main' wonderbolts, which seems to imply it's some sort of league. But then in Secret of my Excess they are shown to have some sort of military function, which is backed up by the episodes Wonderbolts Academy and Testing, Testing,123. There seems to be a big contradiction in between there appearances in my opinion, and I was wondering what other people thought about this.

[Shanks 10,816]

The Wonderbolts are based on the Blue Angels which are a division of the Navy which are known for putting on shows similar to the Wonderbolts. Since I am way too lazy to go into detail perhaps my good friend wikipedia can help.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Angels

[Silver Letter 1,832]

The wonderbolts are the Equestrian royal air force.

[Cwanky 17,661]

What Earthbendingprodigy said is just about spot on. Functionally the Wonderbolts are a division of what would be the equivalent of the US Navy or Air Force.

 

Since they are part of the military and their role includes defending Equestria, they can also, at least some of their members, be considered part of the reserve or national guard as we see them acting in Secret of My Excess hopelessly trying to fight off a giant Spike. 

 

Considering the poor track record of the Wonderbolts though and the Equestrian Royal Guard and Army as a whole, one would have to think Equestria has a very poor defense. Their supposed leader, Spitfire, has a very questionable integrity and moral fitness not to mention lack of leadership, and Celestia and Luna in turn seem to always be absent at the worst times, which leads the Royal Army to flounder with no apparent general, since Shining Armor moved to the Crystal Empire.

[paradoxical 1,735]

They are a morale boosting group with military history.  The challenges that Equestria faces seem to have little to do with military might, but the morale aspects have an important role.

 

Much of this is head canon, but it's about all that makes sense (to me).

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

As EarthBending Prodigy stated, The Wonderbolts are a mimic of the Blue Angels. There are also a military group that comes to aid whenever there is need. 

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

judging from season 4 I take it their suppose to be Equestria's Air Force because the guard's represent the Army

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

I always thought of the Wonderbolts as the equivalent of the Blue Angels, as well. They're part of the military in the same way that the Blue Angels are part of the US Navy, but they're really more for show than anything else. I guess you could consider them like an elite squadron.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Regulus

[Scootaloodle 1,623]

Aren’t they supposed to be a sort of equivalent to the Red Arrows? Like they can do the serious stuff but also do entertaining stuff like fly and put on shows?

 

Also for the history

 

[Thunderlane 550]

Maybe there are certain ranks, the ponies like Spitfire and Soarin' are the highest rank, other ranks may be in the Air Defense, some for shows and races, but I do think they serve a military role as well as being a flight team.

[Ali_Derp 89]

Wonderbolts (wh-un-dr-bo-lt-s)

 

     1. A part of a fictional show called "My Little Pony: Freindship is Magic"

         The Wonderbolts are the equivalent to the military Flight Display

         Team.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,163]

One thing I do wonder is that if Rainbow Dash joins the Wonderbolts full time, how would she react to military duties?

 

Granted she IS the Element of Loyalty, so it could fit her just fine.

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

Best as I can guess, the Wonderbolts were founded to serve as a military force, but seeing as how Equestria hasn't seen any wars or anything requiring military action outside of a changeling invasion or the odd dragon attack in quite some time (as far as we know), the group probably morphed into the Blue Angels-esque show team we know them as now.