//------------------------------// // Quidditch Finals // Story: Who Needs Broomsticks to Fly? // by bookhorse125 //------------------------------// The morning of the final match of the Quidditch Cup dawned sunny and cold. The ground was just frosty enough to be solid but not quite enough to make it slippery. The air was crisp and cool, the kind of air that would numb your face instantly when you dived. Perfect for a Quidditch match. The energy in the Great Hall at breakfast was full of excitement. Everyone was looking forward to the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Of course, the Slytherin team, as always, had dominated Quidditch that year, but a new challenger was threatening to knock them off their seven-time-winner-of-the-Quidditch-Cup podium for the first time in nearly a decade: the Gryffindor team. No one knows why Oliver Wood wasn't going to be the Quidditch captain this year, or why the privilege was given to another girl in his year. No one knows why the team was made up entirely of girls whom no one had much confidence in to win the cup. When the first match came, most Gryffindors hid in their dormitories, hoping to avoid the utter humiliation of losing to Hufflepuff in the first match of the season. But, unexpectedly, the Gryffindor Quidditch team pulled a win in less than fifteen minutes - a new record. Spectators swore that the Gryffindor Seeker could move faster than lightning, and that the Keeper could conjure shields out of thin air to block the ball, and that one of the Chasers could move the ball telekinetically, and that one of the Beaters had explosives in her hair while the other one kept unintentionally breaking the Bludgers when she hit them. And so the Gryffindor Quidditch team flattened every team they played against. However, unlike previous matches, the losing teams weren't mad that they were beaten. They enjoyed playing against Gryffindor and felt like the Gryffindor team would be the team to finally beat Slytherin. Most students were sporting Gryffindor signs and posters, and, even though they were in different houses, some wore Gryffindor colors to show their support. Every conversation was on the same topic: who would win the match? Meanwhile, in the locker rooms of the Quidditch pitch, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was giving her teammates a pep talk. Sunset Shimmer paced in front of the other girls. "Okay. Today is it. The big one. The one we've all been waiting for." She turned to her friends. "We may win, or we may lose. But whichever is the case, we must try our best and play our hardest. Because, if we do, no one can ever defeat us." "Good pep talk, Sunset!" Rainbow Dash said, leaning on her broomstick. Sunset grinned at her Seeker. "Thanks. Got it from Wood." She resumed her pacing, the critical thinking part of her brain working overtime. "Okay. Strategy. Rainbow, I want you to stay out of trouble. The Slytherin team is good; they'll go for the Seeker. Don't get engaged in the match at all until you see the Snitch." The rainbow-haired girl nodded confidentially, her dark pink eyes fierce and ready to steamroll Slytherin. "Rarity, as usual, only use your shields if there's no way you could block the ball by yourself. We don't want Madam Hooch to have an excuse to give us a penalty. AJ and Pinkie, keep doing you, although tone down the sprinkle-explosions, Pinkie. Only drop sprinkles on the Slytherin Chasers if they seem like a threat." Applejack nodded and grinned while Pinkie Pie saluted before pulling out a cupcake from her hair and taking a bite. "Twilight, don't go crazy on the telekenisis. Fluttershy, keep doing what you do; there's nothing I need to talk about there. So. AJ and Pinkie, go for the Slytherin Seeker; Rainbow probably doesn't need any help, but we can never be to careful. Besides, it'll demoarlize the other team. I'll play defense while Fluttershy and Twilight go offense. If we need to, Twilight, come help me with defense." The girls paused as the speakers announced the game would be beginning in two minutes. Sunset turned to her team. "All right! Get your robes on, girls, and let's go play some Quidditch." After putting on their scarlet robes and grabbing their broomsticks, the Gryffindor team marched outside to an explosion of cheers from the three-quarters of the crowd that wore scarlet and gold, screaming and waving banners depicting the Gryffindor lion. A small portion of the crowd, down at the south end, was green and silver, cheering for the Slytherin team. Sunset met Slytherin captain Marcus Flint in the center of the field and shook hands. She felt that maybe she should have let Applejack to the handshake; Flind seemed like he was trying to break her hand. "Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch said. The two teams obliged, glaring daggers at each other. Hooch grabbed the Quaffle and threw it in the air while kicking the chest with her foot, releasing the Bludgers and the Snitch. Sunset's team launched themselves into the air, with Rainbow Dash circling the pitch from above, Applejack and Pinkie knocking Bludgers all over the place, Rarity in her position at the Gryffindor goal posts, and Sunset, Twilight, and Fluttershy dodging Bludgers and trying to steal the Quaffle from the Slytherin Chaser Warrington. Lee Jordan took the megaphone and began his usual commentary for the match. "And Slytherin's got the Quaffle, nice show there, dodging a Bludger from Pie, Warrington's streaking up the field, is he going to make it, he shoots, it's a flawless throw, and... Oh, blocked by Gryffindor Keeper, nice move there, and very good looking, too, I must say..." "Jordan!" Professor McGonnagall glared at Lee, who avoided her furious gaze. "Sorry, Professor..." Sunset put on a burst of speed as she launched herself at the Slytherin Chaser, starteling him and making him drop the Quaffle, where it fell into Fluttershy's waiting arms. Fluttershy flew up the field, the Quaffle under her arm, unaware that a Bludger was heading straight towards her. Luckily, Applejack soared up and hit the Bludger so hard it cracked, now heading for the Slytherin Keeper. While he was dodging the speeding black ball, Fluttershy scored the first goal of the game. "... And a nice show from Apple and Shy, there, and... She scores! Ten points for Gryffindor!" The scarlet parts of the crowd went wild, marred here and there by barely audible boos from the Slytherin end. Sunset and Twilight flew by Fluttershy and AJ and gave them high-fives. The game continued. The Slytherin Beaters started aiming all their Bludgers towards Rarity, since she was blocking every single one of the Slytherin's shots. Pinkie and Applejack guarded her, their Beater bats ready. While the Chasers and Beaters were busy down at the other end, Fluttershy continuously scored goal after goal. Twilight and Sunset were tasked with distracting the Keeper, and while everyone's attention was down at the Gryffindor goal post, no one noticed if Twilight used her telekenisis powers to tug the Keeper's broom a little off track so that he couldn't stop Fluttershy from scoring. Up above the pitch, Rainbow Dash surveyed the game below her with enthusiasm. Gryffindor was winning, seventy points to nothing. The only way Slytherin would win now is if they got the Snitch. Rainbow's eyes scanned the match, turning at any flash of gold she saw. It was because of this that she didn't notice the Bludger heading towards her broomstick until it was too late. The shiny black ball crashed into her broomstick handle, breaking it in two. Rainbow Dash pulled her hands out of the way just in time, but now she had a damaged broomstick. She plunged towards the ground rapidly, gaining speed every second. Lee Jordan shouted frantically into his megaphone. "Gryffindor Seeker's broomstick is damaged, looks like she's falling, someone, quick, catch her!" As Rainbow Dash plunged past Sunset Shimmer, she shouted at her, "Rainbow lasers!" Rainbow Dash nodded and concentrated. Blue light surrounded her as she grew ears, a ponytail, and wings. A split second before she hid the ground, she flapped her wings and managed to get off the broomstick before it crashed. The crowd gasped and whispered to each other, wondering how in the world the Seeker had suddenly grown wings. The Slytherins were yelling at Madam Hooch to give Gryffindor a penalty for using magic, but she instead gave Slytherin a penalty for breaking the Seeker's broomstick. Sunset called a huddle, and her teammates and friends landed on the ground for a group chat. "Who hit that bludger?" Rainbow Dash demanded as soon as her feet hit the ground. Twilight wordlessly pointed at the Slytherin Beater Bole, who was currently being yelled at by a furious Madame Hooch and an even angrier Professor McGonnagall. "Never, in all my years, have I seen such brutal tactics!" Hooch screamed. Taking a few calming breaths, she marched over to the Gryffindor team. "Do you have a spare broomstick?" she asked Rainbow Dash, who shook her head. Hooch sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Should we postpone the match until we can get a replacement?" "Madam, I think my Seeker still has the ability to play, even if it is without a broomstick," Sunset interjected, coming to Rainbow Dash's side and gesturing to her wings. Madam Hooch seemed to consider this. "I suppose it will have to do," she decided. "I usually wouldn't allow it, but these are special circumstances." She walked over to Professor McGonnagall and explained the predicament. McGonnagall nodded and returned to the commentary box, where she whispered something in Lee Jordan's ear. Lee picked up his megaphone and told the anxious crowd the solution. "And, after much consideration, we have decided to continue the game," he said as cries broke out on the Slytherin end. "Make them forfiet!" one person yelled. "They've got magic! It's unfair!" screamed another. "Well, we wouldn't have this problem if it wasn't for your Beater," Lee said hotly. McGonnagall was nodding along, not even trying to stop Lee from pissing off the Slytherins. "And now, without further ado..." Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the two teams lifted into the air once more. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and resumed her position above the pitch, this time with Applejack at her side to prevent any more stray Bludgers from getting to their Seeker. The game resumed, and Fluttershy flew forward to take the penalty. She threw it at the goal, and it missed the Keeper's fingertips by an inch, soaring into the goal. The crowd cheered as ten more points were added to the Gryffindor score. The Slytherins pushed back with renewed energy and new tactics that resembled Gryffindor's own. One Chaser would distract Pinkie Pie, another would distract Rarity, and a third would put the Quaffle through the goal. Sunset moved back to help them, leaving Twilight to protect Fluttershy on her own. "AJ, you have to get back down there!" Rainbow Dash cried after the Slytherins had scored five goals. "They're getting slaughtered without you." "Well, I can't just leave you here," Applejack protested. Rainbow Dash's eyes caught a gold flash over by the Slytherin goal post, and she grinned. "You won't have to," she said to Applejack before tipping into a dive and streaking across the field. "It looks like the Gryffindor Seeker has seen the Snitch!" Lee Jorden called out, causing every head to turn towards Rainbow Dash. The Slytherin Seeker flew after her, but it was too late; Rainbow's fingers closed around the cold metal and she held it triumphantly in the air as the horn sounded. Gryffindor cheers exploded into the air as the team landed on the soil. The Slytherins grumbled and stalked away, grumbling to themselves about unfair play. "Gryffindor wins!" Lee shouded. "I repeat, Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!"