//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Shield's Birthday Blitz 
// by Shieldheart204 
//------------------------------//

The Commissioners smiled and fired a variety of bullets at the tsunami of orcs attempting to enter Ponyille. The orcs met the ammunition like any regular being could imagine: tanking some and succcumbing to others. Shield Heart fired standard assault rounds, Cherry was busy firing a near perfect stream of bullets, and Thunder was busy pulling the trigger of his grenade launcher while thrusting his pelvis with each shot. 

The orcs were torn to shreds or reduced to burnt giblets, but even with the slaughtering of their comrades the orcs were still charging full force. The  wave soon made it to the bottom of the hill and slammed through the force field. But many realized their stupidity too late. Only one out of every four orcs managed to survive the barrier’s calcinating properties. Those lucky enough to survive saw their war buddies inhale the dust that used to be their unfortunate comrades. 

“For Queens and Country, CHARGE!!!” Shield commanded, pointing his falchion toward toward the mass. The Storm brothers immediately dashed, holstering their ranged weapons and grabbing their melee weapons. With a flap of his wings Thunder immediately took to the skies, while Fire set himself ablaze and sprinted toward the green wall. 

Shield pulled out Snow and fired as many shots before he met an ax-wielding orc. It swung forward, clumsily losing its balance and stumbling back. Shield tightened his grip and forced the blade to glow a weak carmine. The commissioner took a step forward and thrusted his blade, cutting through flesh and spine with ease. He fired three shots as he deflected a spear tip from his jugular. Two shots managed to perforate foreheads, the third bullet pierced a stomach.

Fire jumped a second before meeting his foes and ignited small jets from the soles of his boots, With his spear he managed to pierce two heads and a neck as he slammed against the mass of orcs. He left his spear and pulled out his shotgun. He fired one shot forward and allowed the momentum to throw the weapon back. He fired again, blasting an orc’s head apart. He swung to his left side and fired another shower of pellets. 

From the skies came Thunder, with the speed of a falling meteorite into the middle of the oncoming mass. As he slammed his axe to the ground he caught the face of an orc in crude iron armor. The glowing blade cut through the helmet like wet paper. Pulling out the axe with blinding speed, Thunder followed with a tornado strike, decapitating three goons in one swoop. He turned to the one with the heaviest armor and lifted his middle finger.

In a fit of rage, the orc charged with its halberd pointed toward Thunder’s throat. With the slash of his mighty axe the seraph neutered the weapon. But the warrior did not stop. It drew a broadsword and charged once more. It raised it sword, but dropped it after a bullet exploded its skull like a watermelon. 

“Hey that was my kill!” Thunder yelled. He dodged an axe meant to separate his head. He countered by lodging his axe on the orc's groin. With a yelp of pain it fell to the ground. Thunder followed with a shot from Blasto, the explosion turned at least ten orcs into an old memory. He kicked the barrel open and loaded another canister. Firing once more, he vanquished ten more foes. "M-M-M-MONSTER KILL!!!" Thunder roared as he recovered his axe. "I wanna see which one of you wimps can beat me." He grabbed a can of beer and gulped it down. 

Before a dozen rusted swords could claim Thunder's life they fell to the floor by a decapitating bullet. "That's twenty five for me!" Moondancer replied with a grin. She leapt into the air and fired three more shots, each ending at least five orcs. “You can’t beat my killstreak!”

"Get the fuck out of here Moony, this is my zone!” He replied. “Go find your own space!” he swung his axe again, the power field slicing through flesh and bone with ease. An orc fell behind him, a hole pierced its head. “I thought I said to stop stealing my kills?”

"That wasn't me." She protested as she shot three more goons. Her DMR hissed loudly as the heat escaped the chamber. 

"Then who the fuck stole my kills?"  Thunder asked, blasting three orcs with a shot from Blasto. 

.oOo.

While the Commissioners were busy stemming the tide of orcs and Crystal, Twilight and Rarity were busy taking care of stragglers, nobody bothered to look after the only little girl. Hawk Eye skulked behind everyone, trying her best not to give away the Macintosh rifle and the satchel slung to her back. She stacked as many boxes as she could and sprinted toward the roof. 

She kept running up the roof, trying her best to avoid slipping down. Once on the wooden beam she sat down and let the wooden underbarrel rest on her knee. She looked down the sights, aimed at a shotgun-armed orc, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. She didn’t give herself time to enjoy her shot as she pulled the bolt back to let the brass case fly off. She slammed the bolt back and aimed at an orc ready to backstab Thunder. 

.oOo.

Fire Storm dodged a thrusting sword, slamming his spear to the ground and jumping on the sapphire pommel. "The floor is lava!" he chuckled. A small area around his spear immediately caught fire. The foes were set ablaze, either ignited by Fire’s spear or by his blazing shotgun blasts. "That' thirty more kills, so I get my second point." 

Shield burst through, passing his friend and toward the edge of the border. With a spin of Riot he downed five foes. He dodged a blade and cleaved his claymore unto an orc. He continued by pulling out his pistols and unleashing a barrage of bullets, most were hits, and it only downed seven orcs. "We’re tied Flameo.”

With a shout of rage, Fire arced his spear forward. A wave of flame erupted from its tip and hit a group of orcs. Pointing his sapphire pommel at his crowd he unleashed a beam, and stabbed the ground. The stab produced a chain of explosions, ending in a blast that encircled six orcs. 

Both commissioners felt bullets whiz past their ears, one of which singed Shield’s hair. He turned around toward the angle of origin. “Hey! Watch it!”

“Sorry!” shouted Twilight. She fired six more bullets, none of which required dodging on his part. But it did require some reaction from the orcs, as five shots met their mark and two orcs fell down. 

Another freezing shell hit, followed by a stream of gatling fire. From the air landed Cherry Blossom, announcing her landing spot with a burst of fire from her minigun. As she landed, the boom from her boots forced orcs to fall on their bottoms. She pulled out her scythe with her left hand and decapitated the few enemies that failed to react. With her right hand she fired her weapon at a group, and with her other she pulled an enemy in she dropped her gun and went for the barrier. 

She ducked under a war axe and swung her weapon. The blade cut through the unarmored foes with ease. She spun her  scythe around her waist and and cut another wave of orcs. She quickly held her scythe with her hand and spun it vertically, sending an orc into the air. She flapped her wings and began her airborne assault. 

“Gimmie a sec.” Shield shouted as he embeded his falchion on an enemy. With a clap of his hands his bracers activated and steeled his hands. He turned to the orc closest to him and delivered a series of glowing taps. He continued this pattern with the next four orcs, dodging whenever necessary but never inflicting any sort of damage. With a stomp of his right boot he sent the victims into the air. “Go!”

With a Cheshire smile, Cherry swung her scythe in the blink of an eye. Her strike decapitated the flying orcs, and with a back swing she batted the head into a crowd. Infused with Shield’s magic, the heads exploded like grenades, knocking back scores of green-skinned humanoids. Cherry gripped her minigun and sprayed the area, keeping to the air as a few hostile shots attempted to clip her wings. 

Shield let go of the strength on his feet as another flurry of bullets soared toward his head. This time, they were blue bolts with a sparkling trail. As he looked to the sniper’s balcony he saw Rarity viciously pulling the trigger. Unlike Twilight, her shots disarmed the orcs. Mainly the ones with big weapons or the rare troopers with shotguns. 

Shield parried a rusted blade, swinging to his left and using the momentum to deliver a crushing heel kick to its face. Another orc rushed in with a hammer in tow, and let out a battlecry as it swung toward his head. Shield grinned and stepped aside, driving his sword into its neck. He left his falchion and delivered a hook punch to the nearest target. 

He followed with two jabs to the torso and a snap kick to its hip, letting the magic flow out of his limbs with each blow. He instinctively ducked, letting three of Moondancer’s bullets trim the battlefield. He extended his hand toward his falchion and stared at it. It nudged itself free of the orc flesh and rocketed toward him. 


.oOo.


“Hey Pyro, think you can cover for me while I get more beer?” Thunder asked his brother as he smashed an orc with the pommel of his axe. His brother merely nodded and released six balls of fire from his gloves. As each sphere touched the ground it exploded violently, knocking down those that were saved from the flames. 

“Where the hell did all these orcs come from?” Cherry asked as she punched her minigun. The weapon opened an exhaust port and hissed violently. “I thought we killed the Canterlot Battalion last year.” She pulled her scythe and diced the nearest orc charging toward her without even a glance. 

“Damned if I know.” Fire answered, blasting three orcs with the flaming bullets. “But some of them are from the Battalion, so maybe we didn’t get them all.”

Moondancer jumped into their little circle, bloodied rapier on her left hand. “Have you killed any lieutenants?” The other commissioners looked at each other. 

“I was hoping that the Captain was keeping them under control.” Fire answered as he rammed his spear through three throats. “So who the hell is stealing our kills?”

“Hawk Eye,” Moon answered, skewering a head and leaving the rapier in place. She withdrew her handbows and began shooting energy bolts. She cartwheeled away, using her sharp heels to slice her way back to her sword. “she’s been perched up there for most of the fight.”

The ground shook violently, forcing the Commissioners to jump. Shield sheathed Riot in favor of his rifle. He kept jumping over orcs, killing those that made a run for the house and disarming those that stayed in the fray. He poised himself over a head and jumped, once he felt that gravity was coming to reclaim him he put his right foot ready and turned his arms into small rockets. The impact caused by his stomp sent various orcs into the air. 

Thunder took the chance to run and slammed three enemies into the ground. Fire ran behind him, blasting shells everywhere and setting enemies ablaze. Cherry followed close behind, spinning her scythe like a tornado and laughing .

The ogre was busy firing an antique 80mm cannon at them, or at least flogging the two goblins that were in charge of manipulating the gun. Each shot appeared to shake both the barriers and the gun itself, which was probably going to fall apart. Eventually the magical wall began to give way, cracking violently and letting chunks of magical energy dissipate. 

“Twilight, Rarity!” Crystal shouted. “I need you to get that barrier back into primer condition!” She fired a couple of rounds before expelling a hissing clip. “Rainbow!” she screamed. the polychromatic girl looked at her. “Help me get rid of these freaks!” 

Twilight raised her rifle and immediately ran for the door. As she neared the glass doors she saw that Pinkie Pie was holding an artilery mortar, humming some song as she walked by. Without letting anyone object, she set it on the ground and fired a round bomb. Twilight barely saw how it crashed against the horde and erupted in geysers of confetti

She looked behind and saw her friend right behind her. Without saying a word of encouragment, she ran through the bedroom and down the stairs. “Let’s hope the door didn’t lock itself.” she murmured to herself as she turned the doorknob. And to their relief, the door swung easily. The study was relatively unchanged, except for the large, bulky console on the wall. 

“Shield to base, how’s that barrier holding?” Came the Commissioner’s voice through the speakers in the room. As his voice came through the ground shook again, letting the girls know that the barrier was cracking again. “I don’t want to be a bother, but could you speed up whatever it is that you’re doing?”

Twilight ignored the voice and gripped the nearest magical pylon. Instantly, a large bolt of static erupted from the machine and hit her square in the chest. Her body was paralyzed for a second, apparently content with letting the bolt run its course. Rarity offered her a hand, which Twilight gladly accepted. What Twilight didn’t accept from her friend was a hairbrush.  “What? Your hair’s a mess.” 

Twilight’s hands went for her hair, or as she soon learned, a static mass of rigid fibers. Oh right, static makes hair go up. She thought to herself. 

“Shield to base, you can stop whatever you’re doing. Get back inside and start lockdown. The barriers have collapsed.”The voice came, letting the speakers blare out with the alarm. “Oh, and the enemy is retreating thanks to your friend’s confetti bombs. Uh… wait, scratch that. Apparently they’re just sending a couple of well armed dudes at us.”