//------------------------------// // Battle royal // Story: The Gunslinger who saved Christmas // by Trigger_Finger //------------------------------// The guards screamed something that sounded like stop but Jack paid no attention and mounted the M2. He pressed down on the trigger button and the Browning roared to life, spitting out .50 cal. rounds with deadly results. The guard to the left spun and was taken off his hooves and tossed through the window of the border crossing building. The Bronco smashed through the flimsy wooden gate and Jack swiveled the Browning back towards the other guard and tore his body apart with a burst of .50 caliber rounds. I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes… Jack swiveled the Browning back around and took aim of a group of shadow guards as they rushed out from behind large snow hills. Jack let out a war cry and held the trigger of the M2 down as it spit out lead death. The shadow guards screamed as their flesh and muscle was ripped from the bone, blood covered the snow and the snow turned from beautiful white to dark red. I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black With flowers and my love both never to come back… A barricade of carriages was set up to block their path and ponies took cover behind the carriages, Jack motioned for Luna to turn down another path and lined up a shot with the barricade and unloaded on them. The carriages were no match for the mighty .50 caliber rounds and the rounds simply tore holes straight through the carriages and riddled the bodies of any shadow guards unlucky enough to be behind them. I see people turn the heads and quickly look away Like a newborn baby it just happens every day… A group of ponies began to pursue the Bronco with a motorized armoured carriage but its armour was light and meant to stop small caliber rounds like .45 and 9mm, not .50 caliber. Jack swiveled the gun around and took aim on his pursuers, squeezing the trigger down and letting off a barrage of ammunition, brass casing littered the truck box along with spent ammunition linkage. I look inside myself and see my heart is black I see a red door and must have it painted black… The carriage was torn apart and the occupants inside shook violently as .50 caliber rounds tore through their bodies and ripped them apart. Luna drifted around a corner to where yet another barricade had been foolishly set up to try and stop them. Jack swiveled the gun again, “What do we do?” Luna asked and Jack began to fire the M2. “Drive through it” he ordered. Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts It’s not easy facin up when your whole world is black… The M2 shook violently and spat out rounds at a rate of fire around 500rpm. Jack continued his war cry as the Bronco slammed into the carriage blockade and smashed through it. Carriages flew flimsily through the air as the Bronco ceased to slow its pace and continued on. Jack pivoted the gun and fired on the guards still foolish enough to stand around. His ammo box ran dry and he began to reload it. No more will my green sea turn a darker blue I could not foresee this thing happening to you… Luna drifted around another corner of a snow bank and continued on, Jack loaded a new belt of ammunition in the machinegun and cocked back the charging bolt. “GET SOME” Jack roared out. A lone shadow guard lay prone on top of a snow bank, wearing a pure white winterized camouflage suit. He took aim on the truck as it continued its rampage. If I look hard enough into the setting sun My love will laugh with me before the morning comes… The shadow sniper cocked the bolt on his rifle and peered through his scope, he took aim on the truck and figured to take out the driver, and then pick off the gunner while the truck slows to a stop. He slowed his breathing as he took aim on the alicorn princess driving the truck. I see a red door and I want it painted black No colours anymore I want them to turn black… The sniper took aim and led the target by an inch or so as she came ever closer, he saw her say something to the gunner but he couldn’t make it out. He steadied his aim further and waited for the exact right moment to strike. I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes… His moment had arrived, he prayed a quick prayer to Sombra as he pulled the trigger. His 30-06 rifle boomed and kicked in his hooves, the round projected at high speeds and slammed into the windshield of the truck. The windshield spider webbed and cracked, the truck lost control and drove up a snow bank and came to an abrupt stop. The sniper smiled. The landscape almost seemed to zone out as the lone melody of ‘Paint it black played’ for a seemingly infinite time. I want to see it painted, Painted black Black as night, black as cool Jack’s voice could be heard giving out a terrifying roar as he squeezed the trigger on the M2, .50 caliber rounds tore apart the snow bank that the sniper was on and his body was eviscerated by the barrage of lead death, blood erupted into the air in a fine mist. I wanna see the sun, blotted out from the sky I wanna see it painted Painted Painted Painted black… “LUNA!” Jack yelled and grabbed for the alicorn mare in the driver seat. He ducked his head inside the truck to see her body. She looked to him and gave a weak smile “sorry but… We can’t see out of the window” Luna replied and Jack sighed as he remembered he had installed magically enhanced bullet-proof windshields on the truck. The music of ‘Paint it black tuned out as Jack pulled out his M60 and slammed the butt stock of the gun into the window until it fell out. “Make sure to have a protective shield over yourself” Jack said and Luna gave him a teasing smile “We… I never knew you cared so much about me Jack” she replied and he chuckled to himself as he mounted the machinegun once again, “Guess I have a soft spot for you” Jack chuckled. The tunes of ‘Satisfaction, by the rolling stones’ began to play and Jack smiled to himself as multiple shadow guards tried to take vantage points on top of snow banks and Luna reversed the truck and sped towards them. A guard called out to one of his comrades and pointed to the truck, he leveled his M16 assault rifle and fired off a quick burst, the shots were terribly inaccurate and didn’t strike anywhere near the truck. Jack took aim and began to fire the M2 once again. The guard with the M16 screamed as rounds ripped apart his chest and he tumbled down the back side of the snow hill. Painted black… Satisfaction I can’t get no Satisfaction… Jack leveled the M2 on another guard who was firing at them with an MP5 sub machinegun and fired off a quick burst into the guard, his foreleg was torn off as a 50 cal. round ripped through his shoulder and severed the limb from his body. Cause I try And I try And I try And I try… Several guards burst from an outside office building and fired at the truck as it past, “Turn around” Jack ordered and Luna cranked the steering wheel, the truck skidded in a 180 degree motion and began to race back toward the office building. I can’t get no I can’t get no When I’m driving in my car And that man comes on the radio… The guards stood foolishly outside the office and as the truck past they exchanged fire, but Jack had the obvious advantage and his mighty M2 destroyed the guards and shredded them to pieces. And he’s telling me more and more About some useless information Supposed to fire my imagination I can’t get no… Luna cranked the steering wheel and they drifted around another corner, Jack lined up his targets and shot them down like dominos, that exploded horrifically with blood and guts. Luna sped up and Jack took aim on a small pocket of guards that had dug into some fox holes they had created. It was a little more effective than the carriages, but not by much. The .50 caliber rounds devastated their bodies and left a crimson of blood and gore as a tribute of the guns massive firepower. Oh, no, no, no Hey, hey, hey That’s what I say… A group of shadow guards had positioned themselves behind a large barricade of carriages in hope that it would stop them. “Drive up in front of them and stop” Jack ordered and Luna did exactly as he ordered. The truck stopped in front of the barricade and several ponies where stupid enough to peek over the top of carriages. Jack began to unload into the barricade and shadow guards screamed as they were chopped down by the onslaught. I can’t get no Satisfaction I can’t get no Satisfaction… Jack finished up with the barricade and pointed for Luna to turn around and continue driving. She spun the truck around and Jack spotted a guard on top of a rock crusher. ‘Wait, okay hold on… why the hell is there a rock crusher on the north pole?’ Jack asked himself but quickly shook off the thought and filled the guard with hot lead. The guard fell back into the rock crusher which for some reason was running and crushed the shadow guard’s body. As the song went on, Luna drifted around a corner but as she did a sleek sports carriage slid underneath the truck’s tires and flipped the truck on its side. Jack fell out of the truck and rolled. He spotted the sports carriage spin around and several gun-ponies leaned out windows of the car and began to fire sub machineguns. Jack raced back to the carriage and grabbed his M60, cocking back the charging bolt, holding the M60 in one hand and the belt feed in the other he charged out from behind the truck and hip fired the machinegun at the sports carriage. The carriage was totalled within seconds and the occupants inside were torn up by the smaller 7.62mm rounds. Their bodies shook violently as the rounds ravaged their bodies into a bloody mess, the car came to a stop and black smoke emulated from under the hood. Jack watched as a group of 7 shadow guards charged around the snow bank and took aim on him. Jack once again began to hip fire the massive M60 from hip level as the shadow guards took aim and began to fire. But for some reason, despite the guards taking aimed shots and Jack simply firing from the hip, the shadow guards never scored a single hit and Jack tore them down with a barrage of lead. He raced back to the truck where Luna crawling out from the truck. Jack crouched down and began to pull the truck upwards, or at least trying to. The truck began to tilt back onto all four tires but despite Jack’s immense strength he wouldn’t be able to lift the 2 and a half ton behemoth of a truck. Luna’s horn glowed and a magical aurora encased the truck and tipped it back on its tires, amazingly the truck was still running. Luna hopped in the driver seat and Jack lept into the box and once again mounted the machinegun. “Wait… Luna, turn the truck off” Jack ordered. “Why?” Luna asked and Jack simply motioned for her to do as he said. She obliged willingly and Jack listened to the quiet breeze. “What do you hear?” Luna asked and Jack shook his head “Nothing” he replied. “Is that bad?” Luna asked and Jack nodded, “yeah cause right about now we should have just about every Shadow Guard on our asses” Jack began but suddenly a distant gunshot went off, “Luna start the truck, and head towards where that gunshot went off”