When Shitlords Attack

Dan's Comments
DISCLAIMER: My Little Pony is the property of Hasbro, Inc., Harry Dresden is the property of Jim Butcher, Carl Kolchak is the property of ABC/Universal Television, Ranma Saotome is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sailor Jupiter is the property of Naoko Takeuchi.

Makoto looked at her force, and the elven army, and realized that the odds were too close to even for her tastes. 'If you're in a fair fight, you're sparring, or you screwed up', she remembered both Ranma and Patrick saying.

The 'ping' in her mind interrupted her gloomy thoughts, as the world itself reminded her it was time to raise the sun and lower the moon. She reached out her power to grip them, only to feel them lifted from her `hands`.

She felt in her mind Celestia answering her song, 'You're here, there's nothing I fear, and I know that my heart will go on.'

Makoto grinned, and shouted out, "We give you this chance to surrender and withdraw. After this, your fate is in our hands and not yours."

She saw the twisted rage on the Elfqueen's face, her plots were unraveling, and the army had seen her fail. Makoto knew that the annihilation of those who'd seen the failure was the only way it would escape notice. "Kill them all!" the Elfqueen ordered, but her troops were slow to begin carrying out the order.

The light of the rising sun lowered to illuminate both forces hovering there and trying to stare down their opponent.

"That's more than the Princesses and the Bearers," Scholar said of the shadows within the sunlight.

"Attack," Makoto said as the elves saw not only Celestia, but a huge flying army as well.

"What's Bruce doing here?" Ranma asked.

"He brought the elves," Makoto said as the line raced into the fray.
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Celestia had heard the orders, and watched the elves piecemeal advance against the moving line that the bronicorns maintained. She knew a line beat a mob any day. But for a moment, she let the elves absorb the blow from Makoto and the others. She felt Luna, Comb, and their forces straining the bonds to charge in, but Celestia knew that a second blow once heavily engaged would be more effective than a single, larger blow at the beginning.

Then she saw something that would have horrified her about anyone else. Ranma leapt from Makoto's back, and landed feet-first on the back of one of the elves odd pegasi. The elf who'd been there a moment before was plummeting to the ground.

"Note that Ranma moves with purpose, because he knows his friends will rescue him if he falls. The elves are not so certain of their fellows."

"They are certain," Baker called back, "That no one will save them. A lesson we have unlearned in Equestria."

Scotty, Bruce and the others let the elves fall most of the way to the ground, then caught them with their magic. The traumatized elves were easier to police up. Nopony would get very close to them.

Ranma leapt from back to back, sending elves falling like meteors to the ground. Celestia watched and noted that after he ripped off the bridles, the elves' pegasi would try to buck him off.

"He just uses the buck to fly to the next elf," Luna said in fascination, "They are insane."

"Good they are our friends then," Celestia said, "I think it is time to rescue them. Forward!" Celestia, Luna, Comb and Cadence were in the van, with the assembled guards and Bearers straining to keep up.

'We'll stay forever this way,' Celestia continued the `singing` of Makoto's song.

The elves seemed to focus on the shadows moving out of the sun, and they went from dread to panic. The Equestrian force slammed into the elves as they redeployed to deal with the superball that was Ranma Saotome.

For a few moments there was chaos. The elves' superior numbers against the bronicorns were neutralized by the Equestrian's superior numbers and experience in aerial hoof-to-hoof combat. Celestia's `decorative` horseshoes shattered shields both magic and mundane, and often the arms that bore them. Luna shouldered the elves' mounts, while her horn slashed the bridles off, leaving the elf astride a mad thing that wanted to be freed of the elf.

Some of Comb's changelings formed flying stepping stones to get Ranma back into the midst of the heaviest fighting, and closer to Makoto and her bronicorns.

Applejack and Rainbow watched for where Makoto was, then unleashed the Elements into the swarm of changelings who'd regrouped to ambush the Equestrian force. Most went sailing over the horizon.

A bellowed, "Behind!" came from Spikezilla as he was torn between breaking his word, and not being able to save Celestia from the Elfqueen, her invisibility spell fading, coming in from her blind spot, and staying put to keep the truce with the dragon.

"BOOM!"

The trio of pies blew the Elfqueen from the flying carpet she'd been riding on. It seemed no one was interested in rescuing her, but at least two of Comb's group broke off to verify the hard landing.

Celestia looked at the air chariot and the Bearer's pets reloading the party cannon. Angel gave her a grin and a thumbs-up, before returning to the loading. "They must have used steel pie plates," Celestia said to Luna as her sister drew close.

"What was said about enemies and menaces being Equestrian Partisans?" Luna asked.

"I am grateful they are," Celestia said, and watched the elves vanishing back to wherever they'd come from, unwilling to continue to follow their fallen queen. "They'll need our help to secure her."

Luna nodded as the few elves who couldn't escape were policed up by Makoto's force in close concert with Comb's changelings. The guard units followed Celestia and Luna to the mass of prisoners.

The Elfqueen was a mess, the bakery elves had either missed her fall, or allowed it to happen. "This world will be mine."

"Maybe, I shan't allow you to reincarnate into the people here," she said and watched the Bearers approach. The rainbow converted the Elfqueen into a statue. "You may have the plot of land in Tartarus where you'll be imprisoned until the galactic core consumes this planet."

Celestia signaled the guards to remove the statue to Tartarus.

"There are yet more traitors to deal with," Luna reminded her as Makoto was eased to the ground a distance away, also under guard, but Makoto's injuries were due to her fighting in the thick of things, not a failed ambush.

'You are safe in my heart, and my heart will go on and on', Celestia completed te song-spell, and headed to where the medics were moving Makoto.
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The throne room was full of celebrating ponies. Which, according to Shining Armor's reports, half of them were staunch partisans of whichever fundament rested on the seat Celestia occupied, regardless of whose it was.

Dark thoughts for another time, Celestia told herself. She suppressed a wince as the real drama of the day unfolded. She had been confident of her plan. Now she was afraid Makoto would simply collapse on the floor and expire there.

Makoto was obviously the worse for wear, being supported by both Ranma and Patrick. She should have been in a wheelchair, Celestia thought and shot Luna a worried look, But the trio stand together, ready to accept their fate together.

As much as Luna wanted revenge, a child could have dispatched the entire trio, had Celestia ordered it, and offered clemency to the last survivor. Celestia was glad she saw pity twinge Luna's face, and her desire to rush to the girl's aid seemed almost to overwhelm her.

Interesting, Celestia considered from her throne, She comes as Makoto, an ordinary girl, rather than Sailor Jupiter who is considerably more powerful. Celestia briefly considered the effect of calling for their execution without the offer of 'the last one stands'. The bronicorns would barely be enough to contain the trio, she thought, then ruefully added, But the Canterhorn would be leveled in the exchange of fire.

She forcefully put that particular prank away, and concentrated on her original route of attacking this thorny problem. "The plan worked out well," Celestia said loudly enough for the entire court to hear.

"Yes, your Highness," Makoto said, standing tall with some help, but facing her fate unflinchingly.

"Although, did you have to throw yourself into the depth of the battle?" Celestia asked, "The guards and the bronicorns must have felt slighted."

"It was best I be where the fighting was the hottest, your Highness, where my powers and resolve would serve best. With you and Princess Luna there, I was no longer responsible to be the general, just another fighter," Makoto said, "Although I didn't expect the dragon, or that it would take Patrick out of the occasion."

Celestia ignored Luna's feather ruffling at being accused of not being where the fight was the hottest. Neither I, nor Comb, nor Luna was anywhere other than where a general should be. All right, she's in too much pain to think clearly, Celestia thought, Better to end this quickly.

"Can you forgive me for letting you take the burden? I know the plan was necessary, but it seems it was harder on you that anticipated." The murmurs from the court and her own sister began running in the direction she'd expected 'Celestia planned this?' seemed the overwhelming response, but other, supporting responses were heard.

"Yes, your Highness," Makoto said, not understanding where this was going, but understanding that she and her allies were off the hook.

"Return to the medical wing, rest, we'll talk later," Celestia said and nodded, not quite a bow, but low enough. When she raised her head, Patrick and Ranma were helping Makoto onto a stretcher provided by the medics. The two carried her out quickly, escaping before either could give away the game. Celestia watched them, so she would have to meet Luna's questioning stare.

Celestia turned to Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood. "I was told she was very convincing," she said.

"She had me fooled," Blueblood admitted, then he frowned, "I should have known making me her chancellor was your sense of humor."

Celestia just grinned back at him while Shining Armor studied the ceiling frescos that weren't there. Celestia practically heard the penny drop for Luna.
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The pegasus filly who sat in the small park was a dark gray, and seemed to have a complete fascination/revulsion with the hooves of her forelegs. "This is not what I expected as part of your plan," she said to Spike who stood off a short distance beside Makoto who more resembled a pile of blankets pile against a tree than a woman.

"You wanted to regain what you lost. The physical damage is easily enough repaired," Spike said, "Don and Bruce have already done it. The psychological and spiritual will take longer, a few months."

"I understand how you feel," Makoto said, "When I discovered that as Sailor Jupiter I couldn't have kids, I was incensed, until I understood that Kino Makoto still could." She turned to Spike. "Did you work out a pony name for her?" she asked.

"The closest I could come up with was Crescent Zephyr, but Crescent Spirit might be easier to understand," Spike said, "If I had five words I could do a better job, but ponies would turn it into an acronym, and begin called Curdf wouldn't work out."

"Dragon swear word?" Makoto asked.

"Part of curds and whey," Crescent Spirit said, "I have no desire to be called cottage cheese."

"Right, got it," Makoto said, turned and spotted the other part of Spike's cunning plan, "Well, you're doomed now. I hope you like tree sap."

The filly turned to look at the trio of fillies approaching throwing fearful gazes at Makoto. They tried to approach Spike and Crescent, without getting close to Makoto.

Applebloom grabbed Crescent and threw her on her back before galloping away with the pegasus.

"Run away, she's Nightmare Moon and she eats kids!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle screamed in unison on their retreat.

"Well, there are better ways to be introduced to the Crusaders," Makoto said to the facepalming Spike, "But saving someone from mortal danger is always a good ice breaker."

Spike briefly looked at her, then returned to facepalming.