The reason why these RG and Wonderbolts were so mediocre in combat was because it has been peaceful for such a long while, that they lack the fighting discipline that there predecessors had.
@Mayojar77
I meant the more modern army helmets and hats.
Dragonshy
They must have at least been used in past wars. I think the Wonderbolts do conduct rescue and maybe even some combat missions, but rarely because its relatively peaceful era. The royal guards are just a branch that primarily protect the royalty and their subject in royal cities such as Canterlot. Equestria might have various conventional armed forces.
Army helmets and hats appeared about a couple times in the show. Dragonshy and Dragon Quest. Either those were part of an old military uniforms or they may be simply costumes. But even costumes have some sort of inspiration from somewhere.
@SeraphimDawn
And they currently aren’t any more militarized than the unicorns, with their contribution to weather being considered their most important trait by the inhabitants of the setting.
I see them as a team of flyers like the Blue Angels. The Wonderbolt team may not be directly military, but the members are at least former, if not current, military fliers.
@B2C
From the description and the show, they’re full time aerial performers. Anything else is pure fanwank, and vaguely contradictory.
Although… Being associated with weather would explain why Rainbow Dash thinks her job as a weather pony is a better idea than joining the Royal Guard, like one would expect if they were military.
Food for thought, although I’ll have to credit Mayojar77 with the idea.
@Mayojar77
From the context, it means elite stunt flyers. That’s the only category referenced in it. Nothing in that description implies military.
Most pegasi have nothing to do with either weather maintenance or the guard, so why would you assume that it refers to either?
Heck, to most ponies, being good at being a pegasus means being good at flight and maybe weather control. The only elite pegasus we’ve seen with an identified day job is Rainbow Dash, who’s a weather pony.
The Wonderbolts being weather ponies would go a long way towards explaining why Spitfire was overseeing the waterspout in Hurricane Fluttershy.
@Sjogre
Actually, It says they’re elite Pegasi. If generally most ponies only come across Pegasi either in weather maintenance or military service, then the term ‘elite’ would almost certainly refer to the military.
