Stygian wasted no time as he trotted into Ponehenge, already beginning to weave the spell necessary to complete the rite. He could feel Artemis doing the same. Unseen, but, as always, by his side as his most stalwart companion and greatest supporter.
On the opposite side of where he had entered was Starswirl. Pinned to one of the stones by a myriad of weapons run straight through his body. He was not a petty stallion by any means, nor vindictive, but he would be lying if he didn’t say he got some amount of pleasure seeing the monster so helpless.
The battle had been long and hard, but it had been cathartic for everyone to skewer the lich with everything they had. Stygian himself had been the one to throw the javelin right through the center of his head.
There was a shimmer around Starswirl. Apollo, sealed to his avatar by some nasty spellwork courtesy of Artemis and supplemented by the twisted minds of Erysimum and Lyre. This would ensure that they would both be trapped in Limbo, with Apollo unable to bail at the last moment.
He would suffer for what he’d done, and truly was it a joyous occasion that Apollo would face consequences for his actions.
“You know this is only temporary,” Apollo remarked using Starswirl’s mouth. “Be it decades or centuries, we will return.”
“That may be so, but, frankly, this is going to piss you off and drive you mad with how boring it is. Very appealing,” Stygian replied.
“You could have killed us,” Apollo growled.
“Oh, please.” Stygian rolled his eyes. “You know that’s not possible at this time. Besides, a couple of centuries of being trapped in a white void sounds much worse for you.”
Starswirl, or rather Apollo, glared at him.
“Anything else to say? Some witty retorts or promises of vengeance?”
“When this seal comes undone, we will come for you first,” Apollo said.
“Uh huh, how original,” Stygian drawled. “Now, if you’re finished, I would appreciate it if you could take your loss with some amount of grace.”
The shimmer darkened, leaving the lich of Starswirl behind. Apollo had resigned to his fate, aware that there was no trick nor conniving play he could pull to get out of this. Stygian felt a large measure of pride getting one over on the monster.
“... You will be nothing,” Starswirl said darkly.
Stygian ignored him.
“As always,” Starswirl continued, “your legacy will be to wallow away in my shadow. A shade that is barely a footnote to the greatest unicorn of a generation. My name will last a millenia, while yours will be forgotten and besmirched. Naught but a pony of shadows.”
He continued to ignore him, focusing intently on the spell building in his horn.
“You lived a mediocre existence, wasting your life on this pointless pursuit that will come undone in a mere few centuries worth of time. You are truly useless, my apprentice.”
Stygian smiled. The spell was ready to cast. He could afford a few moments to taunt his failure of a mentor.
“It’s funny, because I would have thought that the greatest unicorn of a generation would be more than capable of winning over some so-called ‘pony of shadows’,” Stygian remarked.
“Watch your tongue,” Starswirl hissed. “You have only won temporarily. The record will tell the truth.”
“Yes, they will,” Stygian agreed. A self satisfied smirk spread across Starswirl’s face. “They’ll say that the so-called great and powerful Starswirl got his flank hoofed over to him by some nobody called the pony of shadows. That’s so embarrassing for you.”
Starswirl’s features twisted into rage. He readied to retort.
Stygian casted the spell.
White enveloped him. His surroundings faded away. Ponehenge was gone. Starswirl was gone. It was just him, and the infinite white void that he presumed was Limbo.
And then two hooves wrapped around him from behind.
“Thank you for taking on this monumental task, my friend,” Artemis said.
Stygian wrapped his hooves around hers. “Thank you for always believing in me.”
They lingered, hugging each other tightly and enjoying each other’s company. It would be the last vestiges of touch they would both experience for a long, long time.
“Rest now, Stygian,” Artemis whispered. “Close your eyes. When next they open, there will be much to do, but, for now, you have earned some peace.”
Stygian nodded, drowsiness quickly overtaking him. He fell back into Artemis. He felt safe, for the first time in a long time. An overwhelming sense of relief flooded through them as he finally felt that he had finished his long, hard labour.
He closed his eyes.