"Glad you could make it.  Hope the Minotaurs haven't been giving you too much trouble."

Through the armored displays the party didn't look too much worse for wear.  It was a little unnerving to see a few small spatters of blood on Celestia's horn and golden armor though the rest of her was untouched.  The rest of the group was eyeing the newly healed princess warily as if there was something I had missed.

"I have spent far too long asleep and away from the world, especially when my sister and my little ponies needed me most.  Any thoughts on how we should move from here?  The vast majority of Canterlot was devoid of Minotaur forces and it appears that they have retreated to the palace.  A frontal assault would be suicide of course."

None of the ponies seemed amused when my giggles turned into full on laughter after a second.  The Queen bitch  who just about deep fried my ass by complete accident was talking about suicidal actions?!  Then again, it was a sobering thought to think that the minotaurs had managed to nearly assassinate her with a surprise headshot.

"Sorry.  It just really mistranslated what you said."  Not my smoothest lie but hopefully one I could play off.  "Ahem... Anyhow, like you were saying, a frontal assault is probably suicide, but unless you have a secret path in or out of the castle it's really the only plan we have.  Bottling the enemy up would just give them time to organize and get ready for us.  Nailing them while they are panicking is the way to go.  Considering all the drones are assigned and Control is largely inaccessible at the moment, it might get interesting.  I could probably get it to spare the power for one shot without too much system stress though.  Question is, where?"

A short time later...

For the record, ponies are an interesting species but some of the stuff they can do makes no sense.  I'm not even talking about the hooves that are flexible enough to grip things, I can deal with that.  Being on the back of a freaking flying chariot is a vastly different thing.  This plan was probably the most insane thing I'd ever heard, but hey nothing wrong with helping allies understand asymmetrical warfare.  It would probably be called racist, but as I looked around the chariot the ponies with me seemed to be chomping at the bit for some payback.

I should be flattered that they placed several of their specialists in the same chariot to 'ensure my safety' but I still wasn't pleased that the prismatic pain in the ass was included in that batch.  Things to take care of later.  Rainbow Dash had suitably impressed me with her little side task from earlier in the evening and proved to me at least that she was the fastest pegasus around.  For something so brightly colored, she was able to get near the palace wall and place a beacon without being spotted.  That bright green dot in my hud was the whole point of this plan.  The beacons location was also my mental escape from being on a rough hewn chariot with no safety gear several hundred feet in the air.  Bit by bit, I watched the distance counter tick down to the start of the fireworks.

>>>All will be well Alex.  Regardless of what happens this night you'll be considered a hero of our ponies.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear or consider, but that was immaterial when the ticker hit zero and a simple button was pressed on my tablet; the one labeled 'FIRE.'

"CLOSE YOUR EYES BOYS!"

Nothing could override the bleating alarm in my helmet as the beacon pulsed green, green, red, and the screaming started.  A heartbeat was all it took for a small star to be born next to the castle wall.  Just a heartbeat to superheat the beautiful stained glass and stone work.  A fraction longer for the overpressure to shatter whatever bonds held it all together and shower the inside of the throne room in molten rock and incandescent glass.  Part of me felt sorry for the minotaurs inside, but it was a very small part.

"Release!"

That was the part of the plan I didn't like.  Seeing three support drones and their now unpiloted chariot sailing through the newly made window into the heart of the castle was sort of awe inspiring though.  Their programming was simple but good.  If it was minotaur and still alive, make it not be.  Circling a hundred meters away, I could still hear the weapons firing like I was in the room.  The party really started when the first pegasi sped into the rapidly cleared landing zone, quickly followed by chariots full of enraged ponies set on payback.  

The royal chariots and guards were the next to pile in.  By the time I landed, it was a abattoir instead of a seat of power.  The once white marble and magnificent tapestries were spattered with gore and bits of flesh.  I never expected stepping onto marble to make a squelching noise either.  Thankfully my helmet was tightly fastened and the filters were working.  It had to smell wretched in here.  Ponies were amassed by the topled throne across the room, but there was something else to attend to.  Namely the three drones presenting to me with open hatches.  Rainbow kept an eye out while I fed ammo into the hoppers of the waiting machines.  Their grenades were yet unfired thankfully.  I had a backup plan with those.

The occasional gunshot interrupted my work, but as a whole the throne room large had silence descend on it.  With a sharp tug on a charging handle, the final gun was reloaded and the drones not to quietly drove toward the cluster of ponies.  They appeared to have the chamber locked down tightly and would know what was happening better than myself.  It didn't turn out to be a big mystery though.  The ponies had placed their thick shields over a tunnel that lead down and out from the throne room.  That same tunnel is where the occasional shot rang out from as well.

Fucking tunnelling cows...