When the coronation and all the celebrations that followed ended, things settled to relative normality. Twilight returned to Ponyville a few days later, along with a veritable mountain of paper about what being a princess meant, royal expectations, and all that. Harry considered himself lucky that his only homework was his status as a citizen and a ward of the state. To simplify the latter, there was a monthly "allowance" of sorts and a bunch of stuff that detailed things he already knew about, like the age of adulthood and whatnot.
It was very boring stuff.
"Done!" Harry proclaimed proudly.
He slammed the completed Ward of the State forms on the desk he was working on. He had been working on it in between making modified quidditch gear and learning magic. He slipped the paper into an envelope and commanded it to go to the mailbox. Harry smiled as he watched it float away.
"I'm glad you're making progress," Twilight mumbled tiredly. She was slumped over her desk, another pile of paper stacked neatly. "I was up all night finishing these papers. Spike was taking a—"
"Seven-hour bubble bath, I know," Harry chuckled. "He fell asleep in the tub."
Twilight jerked her head up.
"That's not safe at all! Spike!" she scolded the dragon, who was scrolling through the shelves.
"Sorry, Twilight," he said meekly, plenty embarrassed.
"Don't worry, I put him in bed myself," Harry said.
"Thanks for that," Twilight said. She stood up to stretch, then winced once her wings cramped up. "Ow! Ow ow ow! Oh, these wings are so much trouble."
"You need to give them a stretch, take a flight, hover, do something with them," Harry suggested. "Rainbow said she was relieved of cloud duty today, she and I were planning to test the new quidditch gear."
"I suppose. But I thought you were teaching her that wizard game today?" Twilight asked.
"We can do both. It'll be good practice, and you can land on the clouds like a pegasus. I just need to get my Firebolt and some gear, and then we can go," Harry reasoned. He summoned a small chest to himself. Twilight had helped him put a minor expansion charm on the inside.
"Your what?" Spike asked.
"My Firebolt, my broomstick. You know, the thing wizards use to fly?" Harry reminded Spike.
That seemed to ring a few bells with the dragon. Spike jumped down from the ladder and ran across the library. He scanned the shelves, then pulled one book down.
"Here, page twenty-seven. The spell allows earth ponies or unicorn ponies to fly for three days— more or less. Just use this," Spike suggested, pushing the book forward.
Harry scanned the spell quickly, then winced.
"I don't know, this is probably way too advanced for me," Harry said, flipping through the book. "This cloud-walking one could help. I don't think I could cast this wing spell, it's too difficult."
"Not for me," Twilight countered.
Her horn glowed and Harry felt magic flicker across his frame. When the glow subsided, Harry looked at his sides, seeing a pair of sparkling multicolored dragonfly wings on him.
"Wicked," Harry breathed.
Harry hovered up gently, watching the wings buzz about. This was very different from a broom or Buckbeak. He was flying under his own power! Harry dashed left, right, up, then up again into the ceiling. He crashed into the floor a second later and a few books fell on him from their shelves.
Twilight laughed. She picked the books up and put them back in their place.
"Looks like Rainbow Dash is going to have two students today," she quipped between laughs.
"Laugh it up, egghead," Harry said.
"That's Princess Egghead to you," she replied.
"Alright, Princess Egghead, let's go," Harry said before he buzzed out the door.
Harry and Twilight made their way to Rainbow Dash's home, trying to stay on the ground for now. Rainbow Dash was there with several other pegasus ponies. Once Equestria's fastest flier noticed Harry and Twilight, she flew down to greet them.
"Twilight, Harry! Nice to see you. Here for flying lessons?"
"Yes, we are," Twilight said.
"We?" Rainbow took a second to notice Harry's fake wings. "Awesome! That's two new flying buddies! Hey Harry, you can teach me that game now! What's it called again?"
"Quidditch. But first, Twilight needs the basics; I've got those down," Harry said. He hovered above the ground just to prove he could. Turns out the wing spell instilled the most basic instincts imaginable in them. Plus they were weightless, so bonus.
"That's great! Go talk to those pegasi over there, I talked them into joining the game. I'll have Twilight flying like a pro in no time," Rainbow Dash boasted.
Harry nodded and flew up to the other pegasi. There were four mares and three stallions. They gave him some odd looks as he hovered with his magic wings.
"Morning everypony. Did Rainbow Dash tell you about the game?" Harry asked.
They all shook their heads.
"Nope. Most of us had weather duty off for today, so she convinced us to come along last-minute. She just said it was going to be 'awesome'. Not much of a description coming from her," one of the stallions said.
"Sounds about right for Rainbow Dash," Harry replied.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" one of the mares asked. She had a grayish-lilac coat, mint mane, and a cutie mark of blue and white dragonflies. "How did you get those wings. They are so shiny and I've always liked dragonflies, the way they flitter about. Are they magic?" she asked.
"Yep. Twilight made them for me," Harry explained.
"Wait, Twilight? As in Princess Twilight?! You know her?" the same mare asked. She had a white-pink coat with a green and red mane.
Harry nodded. "Twilight's one of my best friends. She and I have been pen pals for years, sort of," Harry said. In hindsight, figuring out the clock should've been a higher priority. The pegasi looked at Harry, surprised.
A white-pink mare flew closer to Harry, almost nose to nose with him.
"You know, you're kind of cute; you single?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm fifteen."
"Oh, sorry," the mare said, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "I guess it's the scar, makes you look older, more adult," she confessed. "I am so, so sorry!"
"Well, no harm, I guess," Harry admitted. Harry sighed, rubbing his scar. You know, I'm getting the impression this thing wants to make my life difficult. Another pony gently pushed the mare away.
"Ignore Blossomforth, she likes to chatter," one of the stallions said. He had a dark grey coat and a blue mohawk. He approached Harry with a smirk. "I'm Thunderlane. So, you're this mysterious stallion Rainbow had been telling us about. I'm not one for games, but she insists that it'll be worth it."
"Trust me, quidditch is fun. It's even better when you can fly on your own. I can teach you the rules now if you'd like," Harry offered.
The pegasus nodded and voiced their approval.
"Alright, so quidditch is a game in which the goal is to finish with the most points. Points are collected in two way: scoring and the snitch. There are four positions for players: chasers, keepers, beaters, and seekers. There are three balls in play." Harry levitated up the pony gear. "The quaffle is the main ball. The players who are chasers pass and fly the quaffle to one the of the other team's three hoops. The one player who is the keeper of each team defends their hoops at close range. Get it through the enemy's hoop, and you get points."
Harry stashed the quaffle back in the box. He pulled out two smaller balls. These were supposed to be like bludgers, but with some changes. They were no longer glorified metal cannonballs with an attitude. First, they were made of something like rubber or plastic and wouldn't shatter bones on impact (a painful lesson learned in Harry's second year). Second, Twilight was teaching Harry a method to turn their enchantments on and off when the game started and ended, as an extra precaution.
"These are bludgers. Normal ones chase players around in an attempt to knock them to the ground. But since this game wasn't meant for a pegasus, these ones will merely bat you around a bit before moving on. The beaters can keep them away from other player, which is what these are for."
Harry pulled out several dozen horseshoes. Touching his hoof to one stuck it to him. These horseshoes were the analogs to the beaters' bats.
"These stick to your hooves and repel bludgers on contact. Normally only beaters would have them, but since we don't have a full team we can give them to the chasers. And that wraps up all but one of the positions."
Harry returned the bludgers and horseshoes. He pulled out a small golden orb, which hovered next to him.
"This is the golden snitch. Only the seeker can catch this bugger. Catching it gives you points and ends the game. Each team only has one seeker, who is normally the fastest and most precise flier."
Harry returned the gear to its box.
"Any questions?"
Thunderlane spoke up, "Yeah, um, why is the snitch so important?"
It took a while, but Twilight managed to get her wings to flap properly, mostly. Aerial acrobatics was still way above her skill level (both figuratively and literally) but she could fly, and that was the important part.
"Alright, good job Twilight! I think you're ready to take this seriously!" Rainbow Dash said proudly.
"Oh no, I can barely fly straight. Please don't-"
"Eh, you'll be fine, trust me. You're good enough to play a game with us," Rainbow Dash insisted.
"Are you sure-"
"Yes! Now come on, have some fun!" Rainbow pushed Twilight up to the other pegasi.
They had crafted the clouds to resemble the basic elements of a Quidditch field. Three hoop-shaped clouds floated on either side of the field. The pegasus ponies had laid out a "safety net" of additional clouds beneath the arena. A handful of fluffy clouds drifted lazily through the center of the arena. Twilight reminded herself not to be so easily impressed by how easily pegasi manipulated clouds; after all, she could do it herself now. Twilight and Rainbow landed on the cloud "ground" to wait for the others. Above them, Harry continued to issue instructions to the ponies.
"Alright everypony, I think that looks good!" Harry shouted to the seven other ponies.
The group went down to where Twilight and Rainbow sat. When Harry tried to land he fell through the clouds. Twilight giggled.
"Oops. Sorry, should have cast that cloud-walking spell," he apologized, looking at the hole in the floor.
Harry's horn glowed for a second before he tentatively landed on the clouds. Satisfied he wasn't plummeting to the ground, he helped cover his hole. He pulled up his chest of gear and set it down.
"Okay Rainbow, is Twilight good to go?" Harry asked.
"Pfft! Of course. Just let her have some fun, and she'll be flying like the rest of us in no time!" the cyan pegasus replied.
"I can't believe you get to teach a princess how to fly! What an honor!" Cloud Chaser said.
"And we get to play a game with one!" Flitter squealed.
"It's not that big a deal," Twilight protested, feeling shy. At this rate, she was never going to get used to being a princess. Everypony else was already calling her princess and whatnot, even if she wasn't wearing her crown.
"You're a princess, accept it, Twi. Now, lets play a game!" Rainbow said.
"Speaking if, what position would you like to play?" Harry asked. "I'm a seeker, and I know Rainbow Dash would be. We have no beaters, so you can be a chaser or keeper," Harry said.
"Which one has the least flying involved?" Twilight asked.
"Keeper it is. Keepers defend the hoops from chasers. You'll do fine. If it gets hard to fly, we set out some clouds in the arena. The bludgers aren't allowed to touch the clouds, which makes them good hiding spots, or a place to relax if your wings hurt or get hurt," Harry said, pointing at the wispy clouds in the center of the field.
Harry pulled out all of the pony gear, handing out the magic horseshoes to everypony except himself, Rainbow, Twilight, and the last keeper, a stallion named Star Hunter. Harry activated the bludgers and snitch, sending them careening up. Twilight felt an iota of pride as her "student's" projects worked as intended. She might make a fine magician out of him yet.
"Let's play!" she shouted.
Harry tossed the quaffle up, and the game began.
Harry looked down at the field as the two teams played the game. The fact that Twilight's defense was awful was mostly offset by her team's stellar offense. So far the bludgers had succeeded in knocking the quaffle out of several ponies' hooves and keeping them away from clear passes. Some were taking advantage of the bludgers' cloud avoidance and used them as hiding spots to sneak the ball around. The score was roughly tied as well, making the snitch the deciding factor.
"So, uh, what are we supposed to do?" Rainbow asked. She was squinting at the air, looking for the snitch.
"We wait, mostly. Seeker is a bloody boring position 'til you see the snitch," Harry said.
"Well that's dumb, we're playing a whole separate game to them," Rainbow said, pointing at the others. "I mean, we basically win the whole game here."
"But we can catch the snitch and still loose," Harry reminded her.
"But why would you ever do that?"
"I... don't know," Harry said. A glint of gold reflected at the edge of his vision. "Speaking of snitches..."
Harry dove down quickly, eyes locked in on the snitch. Hopefully, his experience would balance the scales against Rainbow Dash's unrivaled speed. The snitch dove down till it was skimming the clouds that made the "floor" of the field. He reached a hoof out for the snitch, intent on hitting it to the clouds below.
"Nice try, Harry, but this one's mine!" Rainbow Dash said.
The blue pegasus was dropping from above, planning the dive-bomb the golden orb. Harry and Rainbow Dash pushed themselves harder, Rainbow Dash devouring Harry's head start. Harry and Rainbow reached for the snitch, both mere inches away.
The two crashed in a cloud of— well— clouds. The safety net prevented the two from plummeting to the ground. Harry and Rainbow went head over heels— do ponies have heels?— until they stopped in a tangle of limbs.
"Ugh... that hurt. Did ya get it?" Rainbow Dash asked from atop Harry.
"Nope. But I can't deny this was my softest crash. Clouds are fluffy," Harry groaned.
The two untangled themselves as the other players made the descent down to land.
"Oh my gosh, are you two okay?" Flitter asked.
"Brilliant," Harry responded.
"So who won?" Cloud Chaser asked.
"Won?" Harry echoed.
"Yeah, look," Twilight said as she landed. On her hoof was one of the bludgers. The other bludger fell out of the sky, magic disabled. "Somepony caught the snitch."
"Hey, what's that in Rainbow's mane?" Blossomforth asked.
Rainbow Dash shook her mane, and a small gold ball rolled to the clouds, inert. She had caught the snitch, just not the way it was intended.
"I caught it! Yes!" Rainbow Dash whooped, flying into a loop. "First quidditch game in Equestria won by yours truly."
"It's a team sport Rainbow. The snitch ends the game, you can still catch it and lose," Harry reminded her.
"Yeah, but why would you? The snitch is a massive advantage. The seeker chooses when the game ends, they'll never grab it when it won't end in victory. Depending on how good the seekers are, the snitch wins every game," Cloud Chaser argued.
"Maybe we can add a countdown next time?" Harry said. "I can workshop the rules later; I think this game went well."
"We are going to a need better name," Blossomforth added. "Quidditch just doesn't roll off the tongue."
"Air hoops?" suggested a mare named Clear Skies.
"No offense, but that's a basic name. How about cloudball?" Rainbow Dash countered.
"Cloudball? I kinda like the sound of that," Twilight said.
"Well, if the princess likes it, then it's official. Cloudball," Cloud Chaser said.
"Oh no, I didn't—"
"Twilight, don't argue it. I think cloudball is a fine name," Harry said.
"This was fun," Cloud Chaser said. "Can we borrow your gear sometime soon? Who knows, maybe one day this might catch on in Cloudsdale."
"Of course. Anytime," Harry said.
They played another game after that, this time with some more modifications to the rules, such as the timer. Harry caught the snitch in the second game but lost due to a few last-second goals by the other team. After that, it took only a few minutes for everypony to say their goodbyes and for Rainbow Dash to take down the field on her own. Harry and Twilight walked back home, deciding they'd done enough flying for today. They practically collapsed when they walked inside, tired but laughing all the while.
And that was the first game of cloudball played in Equestria, though certainly not its last.