Cyroxim could do nothing as he fell to the ground, everything but dead. And even that, he neared.
He could hear Twilight screaming. He could hear the cruel laugh of Cronus. He could feel the pain of the wound in his chest and the blood he lost from it. The cold of his heart had slowed his blood, anyone else would have died already.
He was too weak to move, or talk for that matter. He could not comfort the unicorn that stood over him, tears mixing with his blood. He could only will the ice over his body. He would live, and he would return, but not today. He was still too weak.
But why did he fail? He had bested Cronus once before, what could be the reason he would fail now? He was stuck inside the ice for a century, if not more. That must have been it, time had worn his skills to near nothing. He would need to work much harder next time.
He looked back to Twilight. He could not hear her screaming at him. He couldn't feel the tears that fell upon him. He could only wonder.
Why? Why do you cry? He meant nothing to you. He stood only as the Frozen Gate of Tartarus in your mind. I represent nothing except hope that Cronus will not succeed. Do you cry because he had failed? Then you cry for yourself. But then why do you not appear angry? Could it be possible you cared for him?
No. It couldn't be. No one has ever cared for him. Only one has ever bothered to follow him. And even then, she could not come near. How could you? Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn, student of the Princess herself, who had only known him for two days, care about him?
His strength derived from his indifference. The hatred in his heart had brought the Windigoes to him, and with them came power over ice and cold. His heart froze over from the hatred he felt towards everyone else.
But why did he hate them? They had done nothing to him. They simply refused to help him when he wanted it. That was why. He hated them for not giving him what he wanted. He never needed the help, he could have eaten snow and ice all the same. It was his fault all this happened.
It was all his fault his father kicked him out. He was weak, when he could have been stronger. He could have showed his true power, when he hid it. His family was the only that cared to keep him. He knew full well why they kicked them out. What he didn't know was that his mother would've have kept him, even if it cost her life.
He didn't know that, but now that he thought about it, he could imagine it. He could vaguely remember the moment when he was kicked out. He could see his fathers' face, disapproving and disappointed. But then he looked over to the left. Were those tears of sadness coming from his mother? How?
His mother cared for him, he realized, and losing him meant losing a piece of her heart. A loving heart that he never learned to have. Love, what a strange thing.
Was that what Twilight was feeling? Could it be love? No, it wasn't love, but it was something close to that. It was enough to cause pain when he left. He cared for no one, and the only one who cared to stop and watch, he failed.
He looked up at Twilight. He could feel his eyes water up. Could it be possible he cared for her too? He blinked the moisture away. Twilight was looking around him. He could feel the ice closing around his neck and crown. When Twilight looked back in his eyes, he struggled. With his few final moments with her, he mouthed two words.
"I'm sorry."