What ARE the Wonderbolts?

[pnylvr 185]

Most episodes portray them as something like a sports team, but occasionally (Secret of My Excess, Testing,Testing, 123), they're portrayed as more like a military unit. So which are they? I think they're primarily a sports team now, but they have a paramilitary contract with Canterlot that originated from when they were the EUP guard. 

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

Perhaps an "aerobatic" division of the air force.

[Megas 27,086]

They're meant to be like the Blue Angels, who are both stunt performers and a military group.

 

At least that's what I know(someone tell me if I'm wrong)

Edited December 4, 2016 by Reinbow Dash

[cider float 2,536]

Probably a combination of being in the Air Force but has multiple functionalities like the army does and isn't just combat oriented. Like if they were to fly over a place and drop resources like food and materials they would be up to the task, sending mail through enemy lines for communication, or as they did in that episode with Fluttershy sending water up from the ground to Cloudsdale.

[carousel~ 11]

you mean. . . other than useless? >w>;; correct me if i'm wrong but i do not recall them ever doing anything, other than performing, successfully. 

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

I would like this answered as well... it is why i really want to see a Wonderbolts episode with RD performing a mission with them. It stated at the end of Top Bolt they had an emergency...  performing in some aerial show would not be an emergency since it is planned out ahead of time, in my opinion that would be something military or defense related for it to count as an emergency... at least in my opinion. It may have been something as simple as a wandering bugbear attacking some town somewhere, or maybe something much larger... who knows.

 

In peace time, I imagine they are just like the Blue Angels and are mostly performers, but I would expect with their skills and ability to fly, they would be used for everything from espionage to an assault force if needed.

[cmarston1 5,952]

People have mentioned the comparisons to Blue Angels with them being both performers and military flight groups so I guess that's what the writers are going for.

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

I'm fairly sure that they're something like the Red Arrows, ostensibly a military unit (at least on paper) but in actual fact purely a display team.  They certainly had their origins as a military unit back in the days of the EUP guard but I think that has become nothing more than their heritage, and they are now purely for ceremonial purposes.  This would seem to be supported by their entirely lackluster performance on the few occasions that they have tried to do anything beyond mere fancy flying.

[cider float 2,536]

They're basically pegasus chosen to be the best fliers

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Most episodes portray them as something like a sports team, but occasionally (Secret of My Excess, Testing,Testing, 123), they're portrayed as more like a military unit. So which are they? I think they're primarily a sports team now, but they have a paramilitary contract with Canterlot that originated from when they were the EUP guard. 

They're like the blue angels: TECHNICALLY a military unit, and they're Trained and drilled LIKE they're in the military, but they won't see active combat unless pulled out of the Unit or canterlot is desperate.

 

So their purpose is showmanship but they have the classification of a military group.

[Thrond 3,257]

The general implication seems to be that they're a sort of military unit which is known for performing in air shows, and episodes such as "Newbie Dash" revolve around them paralleling military culture. To be honest, I kinda think that aspect weakens Rainbow's character arc, as she only ever talks about flying and never about military action, and I really have to wonder if the prestige of the Wonderbolts would be prefereable to the sponsorship money and lack of required military service which comes with a private group, which surely there are at least a few of. Would all the best flyers really default to the Wonderbolts?

 

I know the show probably wouldn't discuss sponsorship, but the militaristic element of the Wonderbolts always just seems beside the point of Dash's character arc. Again, she never talks about military duty; that's blatantly not important to her. It's easier to accept now that she's saved Equestria countless times, but I'm not sure I'll ever like it, even if it is a big part of why I enjoy "Newbie Dash" so much.

Edited December 8, 2016 by AlexanderThrond

[sweetolebob18 724]

Some people have said they don't think The Wonderbolts can be in the military because they are ineffectual.  They're not any more useless than the rest of the guards.  I'd bet it's a standard trope in shows where the protagonists are Heroes that "Government forces are ineffectual at best"   That way, the characters lookbetter because they handle stuff the government can't

[Ganondorf8 11,120]

I see them as a specialized military unit that take on missions that are usually too difficult for regular soldiers, like the Canterlot Royal Guard for example, and also have leisurely activities like competing in sporting events and putting on air shows. Much about them still remains a mystery so maybe the writers could further expand on this? Rainbow Dash is their newest member so the audience could be shown how they really work from the viewpoint of one of the Mane Six.

[Tropical Melody 5,122]

Was is The Cutie Re-Mark, they were shown in combat with changelings? So military then.

[heavens-champion 1,893]

Was is The Cutie Re-Mark, they were shown in combat with changelings? So military then.

They weren't fighting Changelings, if I recall. They were fighting mind-controlled Crystal Ponies.