//------------------------------//
// Chapter 61: Flee, Fear, Frythan, Foes 
// Story: Caverns & Cutie Marks 
// by TheColtTrio 
//------------------------------//

	The sounds of hoof falls echoed through the ruins as Light Patch and Just Duty sprinted through its halls. The consistent rhythm interrupted only when the two colts were jumping over pressure plates or ducking under trip wires, thanks to the markings they’d left earlier. Occasionally, Light Patch would set a trap off using his Sonic Burst spell behind them.  Unfortunately, it had become apparent to them that they had missed traps, having had to jump more than once over a sudden pit or duck under a hail of arrows. Eventually, the fatigue from the distance they had run and dodging traps they had triggered forced the two of them to slow down.
“Is it just me, or do you feel slightly embarrassed at how many traps we’d missed on our way in?” Light Patch asked between gasps.
“I won’t lie. I am a little bothered,” Just Duty wheezed. “I am also realizing I am not in nearly as good of a shape as I thought I was.”
“I think we’ve opened enough of a lead. Let's take a short break and then get moving again.” Light Patch said, sitting down. Just Duty nodded in agreement as he sat down and dug through his bag. After a few moments, he pulled the artifact out and eyed it.
“Considering how little time I had to shove it in my bag, I was afraid it would have bounced out,” Just Duty said, turning the artifact to look at it from all over. Before either of the stallions could start their abandoned argument back up, the sound of a quiet noise caught their attention.
“Did you hear that?” Light Patch said, standing up.
“Yes, I heard something as well,” Just Duty whispered, swiveling his ears to listen. The two listened in silence for a few minutes. “We should get moving again. It’s possible our lead was not worth as much as we thought.” Light Patch nodded, not wanting to give any more noise for their followers to hear them.
Already standing, he moved to take the lead, and passed Just Duty as he shoved the artifact into his mouth, not wanting to take the time to stow the artifact properly. The two of them moved as quickly and quietly as they could.
“I’d say we should leave it behind,” Light Patch whispered. “But considering that two fairly under-prepared adventurers like us have managed to get this far with it...” He let his statement trail off with a shrug.
“Which is exactly why I wanted to deal with this as soon as I could, and why I ended up moving by myself,” Just Duty said.
“Yeah, I can agree on tha-” A sharp click echoed through the hall. The two dropped to the ground just as the storm of bolts filled the area they’d been standing. Luckily, the traps mechanisms had deteriorated. Most of the bolts were slower than normal. Several were missing their head and blew to dust upon impact with anything. The remaining effective ones were too few to be matter.
The two got off the ground after a few seconds of silence. Light Patch dusted himself off as he checked for wounds. “How you doin’ Just? Need some heals before we get moving again?” Light Patch asked, pulling a couple of bolt shafts out of his armor.
“I am unharmed, aside from a few bruises,” Just Duty replied, having pulled the artifact from his mouth. “My armor protected me fro-” He fell silent mid-word. Light Patch readied his hammer, worried that the artifact’s guardians had caught up with them.
“We shall not go down without a...fight?” Light Patch’s war cry ended lamely as he twisted to face an empty hallway. Turning again he checked to make sure Just Duty hadn’t been secreted away by trap or pursuer. “What's wrong?” he finally asked after trotting up to Just Duty and trying to look at what he was staring at.
“The artifact.” Just Duty began slowly. “It- it was… It has been... damaged,” He finished. Light Patch blinked in surprise before craning his neck around to check. On the side of the artifact was a deep gouge, probably cut from one of the traps bolts.
“If that trap could damage the artifact, we should easily be able to break it,” Light Patch said.
“No, we still need to be careful. The magic released when it’s broken could be terribly destructive,” Just Duty retorted. He frowned at the snort from Light Patch.
“If it was gonna explode with magic, don’t you think it’d be acting up? Or showing some kind of reaction to the damage? It's probably drained of magic or something; maybe even totally dead.”
I hate to admit it, but he could be right. Just Duty frowned. “It could be, but it could be recharged. Or perhaps it’s just not reacting because it isn’t totally destroyed, or simply not activated at the moment.”
“Well then, let's rig one of the pounding traps to crush it some time after we’ve run for the hills,” Light Patch said, pointing at a plate they’d marked further down the hall.
“No! We- we only know of rumors of its powers. It could just be a freezing spell,” Just Duty replied hurriedly.
“And it could be something worse. Or exactly what the rumors said it was,” Light Patch snapped back.
“Even if it was, imagine how useful it’d be if the phrase ‘Halt in the name of the law’ actually worked,” Just Duty said. Knowing he was grasping at straws, he put the artifact in his pack and slowly reached for his hammer.
“And what if the law they were to halt in the name of was unjust? Or not even the law?” Light Patch shouted back. “Why are you so insistent on keeping this artifact intact?”
“Because with this, I could force ponies to choose right!” Just Duty shouted back. “I could remove the choice that ponies should never have been allowed!” he shouted, swinging at Light Patch’s head. The pegasus jerked back, avoiding the blow and quickly readied his own hammer.
“Can you claim to fight for good if you deny others the choice to make it themselves?” he retorted, swinging his own hammer. Just Duty batted the swing away with his hammer as he moved to strike again. He reared back, bringing his hammer crashing down, slamming into the floor, cracking the tiles and shooting lightning bolts from its enchantment.
“Being good isn’t something ponies should have to chose between it or evil; it should just be done! And with this artifact, it will be. I’ll make sure they only chose good!” Just Duty said, sweeping low for Light Patch’s legs, prompting him to jump up and hover near the ceiling of the corridor.
“So you’ll be making the choices of what is right and wrong?” Light Patch asked, dodging around Just Duty’s attacks. “How long until the power makes you arbitrary? How long until wanting free will becomes wrong, or acting against you?” Light Patch swooped down at Just Duty, swinging his hammer. Just Duty sidestepped the blow and swatted at Light Patch, only to miss as the pegasus used the momentum of his attack and dove out of the way.
Light Patch alighted on the ground and quickly turned to face Just Duty, just in time to be hit in the side with Just Duty’s hammer. He cried out in pain as he hit the wall and slumped to the floor. Just Duty moved up, raising his hammer to finish the pegasus off, but was struck by magic. He reeled back, shaking his head in an effort to clear his confusion. Taking advantage of the distraction his spell created, Light Patch tapped himself on the chest, healing himself and hopped up, swinging his war hammer into Just Duty’s side. The older stallion stumbled backwards, tripped sprawled on the floor.
He recovered swiftly and faced the pegasus. However, the clasp on his pack holding the artifact had come undone during the fight. The momentum of him springing to his hooves and turning to face and swing at Light Patch launched the artifact from the bag. Neither noticed as they both focused on their attacks, until the arc of the crystal and gold egg brought it between their hammers as they struck one another.
There was the of sound of ice cracking, followed by the duller thud of the hammer heads colliding. The feeling of the impact rolled down the handle. The next thing the two ponies knew was the world exploding in blue flame and a deafening roar as they felt themselves thrown from where they stood.
Through the ringing in his ears, Light Patch was just able to make out the sound of armor impacting the wall as a flash of pain tore through his body. He fell to the ground and struggled to stand up, his vision blurred and spun like a whirlpool. He tried to use his healing magic, but the only result was a whisper of Discord’s voice saying his mana was too low. Lacking his magic, he simply laid on the ground, taking deep breaths and waiting until his vision stopped spinning horribly and the ringing in his ears subsided.
Still focusing on his breathing, he shakily stood up, leaning against a wall he tried to take a couple of steps forward. He intended to check on Just Duty and make sure he was okay; then maybe kick him. He noticed one of the tiles at an odd angle and feeling a bit loose. His vision dropped down just as the tile dropped away into the crater blasted through the hole in the floor. The sound of metal scraping on the stone came from the other side of the crater. Squinting to focus, Light Patch was able to make out the stirring prone figure of Just Duty.
He glanced down at the pit. He couldn’t make out any specifics. But from what detail and color he could see, either they were at the bottom of the ruins, or the caverns came up towards them. Feeling a little more steady now, he looked back up towards the other side of the hole.
Light Patch pushed away from the wall and backed up a little bit, intending to jump and glide over. He lifted his wings to use them for some extra jump height, however the pain that flowed through his right wing brought him to the floor again, as a scream of pain came from his mouth.
Just Duty started awake as he heard Light Patch scream. He lay still, mentally noting the pains and aches of his body, and lightly moving as he checked for damage. With a mental satisfaction, he noted that, while he was going to be sore and bruised, nothing seemed broken. He slowly and carefully stood up, facing the moaning pegasus. He looked at the battered pegasus, a twinge of pity flowing through his mind as he noted the obviously broken wing and deep rends in the armor. He easily spotted the handle of the pegasus's warhammer and the fragments of its head. He gathered his own, and noted with satisfaction that it appeared undamaged; the magic of his likely protected it from the battering of the artifact’s explosion. Another moan echoed through the hallway, and Just Duty looked at the pegasus; and again he felt pity for the weaker creature before him.
“I see,” he said slowly, catching Light Patch’s attention. “Now that you haven’t learned to take your hits very well” He locked eyes with Light Patch. “I also see now that, at best, you are a coward who is unable to do what is needed to rid the world of evil.” He paused, pointing an accusing hoof at the still prone pegasus. “Or at worst, you have something you still wish to hide.” Light Patch’s pupils shrank in fear at how close Just Duty’s comments had struck home. His wing still damaged, he could only watch as the paladin slowly made his way out of sight.
Light Patch stayed prone for a bit, letting the ache of his wing die to a dull throb before he moved to stand up. He limped over to the remains of his warhammer. If it’s even fair to call it that, he thought, looking at the small bit of iron still clinging to his brand new ten hoof pole. He sighed and gathered the fragments he could find, while his mind worked to ignore the pain of his wounds as he tried to figure out what to do next. He’d gathered most of the large pieces when he was able to make out a sound down the hall. He jerked around to face the threat, not able to retreat with his damaged wing.
The sound grew louder, allowing Light Patch to make out more than two pairs of legs making noise. He tensed as the creatures neared the turn into the corridor he’d found himself in. He wanted to jump into the pit, but without being able to see a bottom and lacking the ability to use his wings, it would be more likely to just lead to a much slower and painful death. The noises stopped just before the corner. He could hear the creatures milling around for a few moments before a group of them moved. 
An Arachcolsid rushed around the corner before suddenly stopping. The two stared at each other in stunned silence. “Are you Light Patch?” the Arachcolsid asked, recovering first. “Thirster of Water Elementals?”
“I can’t say I’ve ever been called the thirster of water elementals, but I am Light Patch,” he said. His strength gave out and he collapsed. “I am also in need of some assistance.”
The Arachcolsid chittered in laughter for a moment, then turned to its companions and speaking to them in, what Light Patch assumed was, the Arachcolsid language. After a few seconds, four more of them came around; two of them crawling along the walls and the ceiling to check out the far side of the corridor. Light Patch watched with fascination as another two used their silk to weave some splints together for his wing, and a hammock for them to carry him with. The fifth continued to stay close to Light Patch, checking for further wounds and talking to him as Light Patch filled him in on why he was in the ruins.
“It appears we were here for similar reasons. The queen had sent us to investigate rumors about these ruins. She was also thinking of using this as an outpost, or possibly a trade post, considering its closeness to the surface,” the Arachcolsid said, putting the wing in the splint, ignoring the small sounds of pain from the pegasus. “With luck, though, we should be able to get you some better medical help soon. The hole made by the artifact should lead down to the cavern system we used to get here.”
“Awesome, but how are you gonna get me down?” Light Patch asked, glancing over the edge into the hole.
“The plan is to set you in the hammock, secure you to it, attach it to two or three of us, and then we walk down the roof and walls of the cavern,” the Arachcolsid replied simply. Light Patch squinted at the spider before looking back at the hole, then once again at the Arachcolsid guard.
“I suppose now would be a bad time to bring up my fear of heights, huh?”