Just a few moments ago, the whole field had been filled with cheers of those seeking victory on one side, and the arrogant bellows who had hoped to triumph once again on the other side.
But now, a palatable silence hung over the crowd. The excitement of the day and the fear of everybody felt once the magic had been unleashed had been replaced with the silence of a tomb, as everyone stared at the spot where Connor Nickell once stood.
At the epicenter of the magical incident, the chilling calm was the most profound, as Wondercolt and Shadowbolt alike stared silently at the phone, smokey shoes, and the pendant laying idly on the ground, almost catatonic. The solemn quiet, seemingly lasted an eternity, but it was broken after a few moments by a voice laden with concern.
"Connor," said Spike, as he approached the spot where the boy once stood. The voice was soft, but it quickly broke the trance the two teams were in. They all stared at the sentient dog, their faces still solemn. If the Shadowbolts were stunned by hearing a dog use human speech, they did not reveal it.
"Connor," Spike repeated, in a voice that held even more crushing sadness. He walked to the center of the scorch mark, in between the phone and pendant. "Come back," he cried out in a pained voice, collapsing onto his belly in tears.
His anguished cries, though barely audible, broke the restraint of some of those present.
Among the Wondercolts, Pinkie Pie began to weep like a baby. Her wild, poofy hair straightened, as if the unforeseen energy that made her energetic drained away. Fluttershy walked over to the mournful Spike, picked him up and cradled him like a baby. As she tried to comfort the dog, sad tears were running down her cheeks.
Among the Shadowbolts, Lemon Zest fell to her knees, her face like that of someone who had committed a crime of passion and regretted it, and began crying, taking her precious headphones off her head, and throwing them down in a fit of self-loathing. Sour Sweet also began crying, her anguished noises filling the air. Those who were able to maintain their composure looked toward the entrance, hearing the noise of heels running across the concrete path.
A frantic Dean Cadence ran toward the burn mark on the ground, her face full of concern. She bent her neck, looking down at the artifacts of her student, like she was looking at a grave site. Her eyes were that of a person about to mourn.
"What happened to him," Cadence asked desperately. Despite her sadness, she saw the Wondercolts who had maintained their cool turned their heads to Sunset. Cadence walked over to Sunset, realizing she was the only person present who could give an answer.
"What happened to him," Cadence asked Sunset in a louder voice. The fired hair girl, her eyes beginning to water, first looked to her friends, who sought her guidance. She then looked toward the Dean, whose face was growing impatient with Sunset's silence.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!"
"I DON'T KNOW," Sunset screamed at the Dean, her face red with frustration. She saw the tears beginning to flow from the Dean's eyes, and composed herself again. "I don't know," Sunset uttered, her voice broken.
With that, Cadence's composure slipped, and she fell to her knees, releasing a cry of agony so loud, it could be heard in the heavens. She wept the loudest, picking up the phone and pendant and clutching them to her heart. Spike wiggled out of Fluttershy's grasp, and walked over to the more familiar woman, putting his head against her legs, as they both mourned Connor.
Those who had maintained their equanimity couldn't hold it in anymore. All the Wondercolts wept, as did the Shadowbolts. Celestia and Luna walked over to the anguished Dean, and both hugged her tightly in an attempt to calm her down.
In the bleachers, both Canterlot and Crystal Prep student alike were in varying degrees of sorrow.
The mourning of the two teams was interrupted by the approach of a very angry principal.
"You did this," screamed Cinch, staring furiously at the Wondercolts. They all stared at the angry woman, tears full of sadness and regret. Sunset's face was morphed into one of guilt.
"Principal Cinch," Sunset said in a quiet, guilty voice, small drops falling from her face, "I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to-,"
"Enough," she hissed said angrily, causing Sunset to cease defending herself, "you and Canterlot's magical shenanigans just killed my student. I plan to report this to the proper-,"
"You're the one who made her use the magic," shouted Sugarcoat, her voice full of rage. The Wondercolts and the two administrators of Canterlot High looked at Cinch, their eyes still crying, but their faces becoming angry. Except for Owen Bzinak, who unbeknownst to everybody, suddenly, stopped weeping and staring at Cinch with cold eyes.
"What," Cadence barked, looking at Cinch and the Shadowbolts. "You made her unleash the magic," Cadence said sadly, her face that of someone who had been stabbed in the back.
"Actually, we're all to blame." said Sour Sweet sadly. She suddenly glared at Cinch. "She's the one who thought it was a good idea," she paused as she saw Principal Celestia, her voice laden with anger.
"You made her unleash the magic," Celestia said furiously, "What were you thinking?!"
"I see what you're doing," Cinch said, ignoring Cadence's dismay. "You're trying to blame me when you are the ones who cheated. I demand you forfeit the games immediately." The Windercolts and Shaodwbolts stopped weeping, their faces replaced with disgust and shock. Owens's face remained calm and composed, but he began to clench his fists, and looked at Cinch like a silent predator about to pounce on his prey.
"The games," Celestia said, her voice filled with disgust as she began clenching her teeth. "you lead your students to push Twilight into unleashing something she didn't understand, which killed him, and you're talking about the games?! Don't you give a damn about him?!" Her face softened as she heard Cadence's tears. Cinch however, retained her cold appearance in the face of everyone's anger. Fluttershy looked to Owen, and while Owen's face remained composed, she also noticed the vein on Owen's forehead was throbbing, and the boy's ballad fists were beginning to tremble.
"The boy was the strongest athlete in school. And that girl was my ticket to success, and you destroyed him," Cinch yelled back. "For that, you deserve-," what words were about to leave her mouth stopped as she heard a furious scream to her right. She turned her head, and saw Owen running toward her, screaming with rage, his face as red as parts of Sunset's hair. Before Cinch could react, Owen pounced on her, tackling the middle-aged principal to the ground. Cinch was shocked as no student had dared laid a finger on her, let alone attacked her. But the shock ended as she felt her glasses being pulled off. Cinch saw Owen climbing on top of her, the blonde-haired boy's face resembling that of an angry animal. Before she could call for help, she felt a white fist collide with her face. And then another. The boy wailed on the principal, his eyes without an ounce of pity, his voice full of grunts as he laid a blow after blow on the principal.
The pummeling lasted for a few minutes before she felt Owen being pulled off of her. She laid down, feeling blood on her lips, wondering why no one was coming to her aid. Though injured and dazed, she still had the energy to pull herself up. When she stood up, she saw a hyperventilating Owen being held back by Rainbow Dash and Applejack. While the boy was restrained, the fury in his eyes remained.
"This little demon attacked a member of faculty," said Cinch when she finally regained her composure, "that alone should disqualify you-,"
"You know what," bellowed Owen, pulling his arms free from the girls. "Fine. Go ahead. Disqualify me! I forfeit! You win!" Cinch was shocked at the statement, as were the Shadowbolts.
"They called this event the 'Friendship Games'." said Owen, his voice laden with righteous fury. "One would think that is what these games should be about." He narrowed his eyes even more. "But you people don't care about that. You use this contest just so you can make yourselves big and make us feel small. You don't seem to know what FRIENDSHIP is!" His voice carried throughout the field. Crystal Prep students were shocked by the boy's invective. He paused. He turned his eyes toward the Shadowbolts, glaring at them with the same amount of contempt he gave Cinch. The Shadowbolts barely resisted the urge to run from Owen's wrath. "You don't even give it your own teammate! You put him in danger, and made Twilight unleash something none of you could control just because you wanted to win! How selfish and stupid are you people!" The Shaodwbolts flinched and bowed their heads in shame. A not so small number of Crystal Preppers did the same as well. "You pushed her into that, despite the fact you knew something dangerous had happened the last time magic was unleashed, I just can't..." Owen pinched his nose in anger, too furious to speak. He took a deep breath.
"I learned long ago that there is something more important than winning." he glanced at the girls, giving them a warm smile, which they returned. His anger returned when he turned back to the Shadowbolts. "I don't need to step on other people to feel important, or win a contest to make myself feel good." he looked down, at a bit of regret on his face, before looking scornfully. "But that's all you people care about! So, you know what, enjoy your victory." He clenched his teeth. "You earned it," he growled out.
He then stormed out in rage. Slowly but surely was followed by the other Wondercolts, who all glared at the Shaodwbolts, with Rainbow Dash's glare being so strong, it could melt lead. Soon, the Canterlot student body also followed Owen's lead, and all walked away from the bleachers, giving Crystal Prep students varying degrees of angry looks. Within minutes, all of Canterlot High had left, except for Luna, Celestia, and Cadence, who were trying to comfort Connor's family.
All of Crystal Prep in the stands sat their ashamed or crying, except for Cinch, who was shocked by Owen's forfeiting the games, who was feeling the pain from Owen's blows. Twilight picked up the pendant, she glared the cursed thing with angry tears that killed her friend just to get to Everton, she threw the device away and cried in regret. Cadence was giving Cinch a particularly cold look, as she comforted them along with spike.
Cadence heard a ring of her cell phone, and saw Shining Armor calling her up. She reluctantly answered.
"Hey Cadence," Shining's happy voice said through the phone. "I'm sorry I couldn't come to the Games. How were they? Did Twilight come out on top?" Cadence wept even louder into the speaker. Eventually Celestia took the phone from her, while Luna continued to hold the grieving family.
"Shining Armor," Celestia said calmly into the speaker, "Cadence can't come to the phone."
"What happened, why is she crying?," Armor said, his voice alarmed by his wife's cries. "And where's Twilight?"
Celestia bit her lip, wondering how she was going to explain what happened. Her eyes watered. "Well Shining," she said, tears starting to drop from her eyes.
The Rainbooms all followed Owen to the parking lot, with varying degrees of anger. Rainbow Dash, however, smiled proudly at Owen, and ran up to greet him.
"Owen," Rainbow Dash said excitedly, "that was awesome what you said back there..." she paused when she saw tears leaking down from the white boys eyes. "Owen, are you OK," she asked. Owen sprinted away, crying loudly.
"Darling wait," Rarity screamed, concerned for the boy.
Owen ignored their concerned cries, ran away from the school into the night, his wails audible to all, until she was far from the school. The girls looked at the direction he had left in, their eyes full of sadness.