Chapter 13_Rescue to Repay a Debt
Dread filled him making his heart race as the implications of what must have happened to Mike and his friends became clear. Even as the light of day forced Nigel to squint, the blaring health alarm for the White Rabbit Team kept the elf’s attention.
Something felt off with his body as Nigel tried to clear his vision. Every limb tingled and crackled with a static like sensation. His eyes were hurting him more as his vision came into focus and took in his overly vivid surroundings.
When Nigel did adjust to his senses he had to duck out of the way of an out of control Changeling as it spirals helplessly in the wind and smashes into a crowd of stumbling human solders who moved to catch it. The poor things body seemingly shifting as random. Nigel could feel Sumac’s hand grasp his collar and the gust of her wings flapping as he got back to his feat.
Arrayed before some stadium style bleachers that were still in the process of emptying were guard ponies from various tribes, Minotaur, Griffins, changelings, and the humans from before. All of them looked battered and seemed sick as they provided an ailing defense for the crowd beyond.
Nigel could not figure out what was happening. Where was Mike, Lava Gazer and the rest?
“Worry not for the vessels that bore my arrival, child.” A soft spoken yet heart chilling voice calls from behind the elf to answer the unspoken question. “I, Harmony’s Tribunal; have come to heal all and Sheppard all.”
Nigel pivoted turning to where the voice was and gazed at the horror of a 10ft wide Drider shaped monstrosity. Its hairy legs featured tree trunk like over armor, it abdomen was covered with a grove of 5 miniature trees the colors of the Harmony jewels, and its scaly torso ended with the antlered head of a bear with shimmering princess pony mane. In the shadow beneath the Harmony Tribunal were the bloody and barely moving bodies of the White Rabbit team.
Nigel fumbles away his sword and screams in pain having burned his own hand with its magic when he tried to draw it.
“Tsk, tsk. You should be more grateful child. I will take away your curse and your fear and you will be another herald of my coming.” The Harmony Tribunal chides shaking it head at the elf before addressing the gathered defenders. “We all here desire the light of perfect balance so unite with me.”
“Damn you. You have the nerve to say all that while they are dying right underneath you!” Nigel shrieks clutching his hand and casting his glance from the Tribunal to Mike and company.
“Nigel move!” Sumac shouts firing a lightning ball a web snare erupts from underneath Nigel.
Nigel had gotten out of the way just in time and the web net was ripped apart by lightning however this put him in danger of being hit by one of the stray bolts that came off the broken web.
A Pegasus grabs Nigel pulling him off the ground as they are hit by the bolt. Both are sent flying backwards toward the crowd and it defenders. Out of the corner of Nigel’s eye he could see the Stallion Blueblood cut up a web snare that had been launched at them. A number of screams for help alerted him of others not being as fortunate. Looking past Blueblood Nigel saw three separate groups of mixed defenders struggling to keep a snared ally from being pulled in toward nasty wooden mouths harboring brain like appendage and its hand that emerged from the dirt.
“Struggling will only make this hurt.” The Tribunal disapprovingly states pulling the webs taught.
From a place unseen a loud boom was heard followed three smaller booms. The spider like monster was set on fire and knocked sideways away from the White Rabbit team its web tethers getting shredded preventing the snared from being pulled with it.
“Where did that fire come from?” someone calls out.
“I don’t see them.” Another voice replies.
The smoldering monster gets up and puts out the fire with geyser of water before using its magic to turn the water to fog and blasting it across the field. A band of four invisible figures were reveled by the dew from the fog. They were positioned between the monster and Ponyville proper.
The Tribunal glares hatefully at the four as the tallest of the group fires another shot hitting a crystal shield the Tribunal creates on its right arm. Nigel runs for his sword and unnoticed by the defenders Petal Lulamoon runs over to the white rabbit team.
“So I’m forced to convince you to accept Harmony.” The Tribunal mutters coldly as each tree on its abdomen lights up. Raising a hand high, the grove erupts in prismatic light.
A memory calls out to Sumac as she tumbles in the wind of her wings and focuses on the Tribunal.
“You should be able to cast this one by calling out Song of Reversal. You and your Displaced may one day need its help in this path in life.” A sullen Displaced, Samantha of Perim; gently addresses the fairy from the old memory.
A half dozen rainbow comets erupt from the grove on the Tribunal’s back each seeking out defenders, onlookers, and helpless non-combatants alike causing Sumac to shout in a desperate need to protect everyone from the magical danger. Hoping with all his heart it would work.
“Song of Reversal!” Was the resounding Echo of Sumacs desperate plea and rising from the fairy’s hand was the nearly forgotten crystal ring. When Sumac’s magic entered the ring however the mugic spilt into half a dozen identical rings making just as many echoing musical chords.
A rainbow comet headed for Blueblood and his guards…
A rainbow comet headed for the crowds and Johnny’s Boogiemen…
A rainbow comet headed for Petal Lulamoon and the barely alive white rabbit team of Mike, Brian/Lilly, Tina, Peoria, Dandelion and Lava Gazer…
A rainbow comet headed for a forced open portal to Earth and its human defenders…
A rainbow comet headed for Nigel who was struggling with drawing his now lightning crackling sword and had become trapped in place…
One last rainbow comet headed for Sumac herself leaving her to stare at the inevitable…
But none of the comets found their intended mark.
In a brilliant flash the Tribunal was bombarded with its own comets causing its form to lose its color and wither and also diminishing its infectious magical aura that was responsible for diving everyone’s special powers out of control.
Sumac deciding to press his advantage and go for the kill shifts forms and mauls the spider shaped monster. The Tribunal shrieks and throws Sumac off itself but fails to notice the parasitic shoots embedded in its body from the attack. Mutant growths exactly like the kind Sumac developed after his exposure to Robotroploice”s Pollution burst from the Tribunals body and a haze of pollen spreads out across the battlefield.
To Sumac’s mortal embarrassment, the sight of his flouring forelegs had confirmed for him and everyone with eyes and noses the timber wolf had gone into full bloom over the magic in this fight. Not only that but three sapling timber wolf cubs sprang to life around him from unseen native seed or nut.
This was a hell of a time to establish a pack of his own and so many creatures were unwitting witness.
Nigel now free of the magic surge’s grip charged the Tribunal and pierced a middle leg making it explode and arcing lightning across the others. The Tribunal collapse onto it abdomen crackling with blue sparks.
Nigel pulls his whistle to call the new pack to hold down the monster hoping they would have the power now to trap the menace.
Eyes of unexpected others headed the call however as Brian/Lilly's fox body channeled Nigel’s Whistle’s command. Being close to Lava Gazer the fox Element Bearer became a conduit to pull enough strength into the group that they were revived enough to pull themselves up off the ground some.
“Petal…” Lava Gazer whispers to the startled filly. “Will you give us your trust?”
“What do I do? I mean yes how do I help?” Petal Luamoon asks.
The Tribunal turns to face the white rabbit team ignoring the fresh timber wolf pack efforts to pin it.
“Harmony aid us give this innocent one your blessing so every creature may be saved from this darkness.” The group asks placing hand, hoof, and paw on the astonished filly.
The jewels of the Elements release soft light wisps that merge briefly with Petal before exiting again as a single light. The light wisp instantly grows and transforms into an ethereal being not dissimilar to the Tribunal only this one carried traits of the Bearers in its form.
“No more Judgments shall be conducted today. Harmony is not to be forced where it already shines with promise.” The ethereal being decrees instantly causing the Tribunal to lose all form and substance. The last part of it to vanish was its shadow on the ground. The ethereal one momentarily followed vanishing where it floated next to the Bearers.
The defenders of every race and Nigel were seen racing toward the hurt Bearers as they collapsed again.
‘Just hang on…’ was Nigel’s and Sumac’s and the rest’s one unified thought.