"You've got to be kidding me."

Apparently the minotaurs weren't exactly happy with being bottled up in a dank hole.  The armored forms of the guardsponies shuddered with every impact and shot against their stacked shields.  Nothing was getting through the layers of wood and metal, but they flinched at every hit.  Big Mac of all ponies stood aside in his gore encrusted armor while eyeing the stack of metal and meat warily.  How he could swing that massive warhammer in his jaws, I'd never know.  Never want to get in front of it either.

"Me and mine can take care of the 'taurs down there if ya like.  Been itching for a good fight."

Whenever he comes back online I'd need to remember to thank Seven.  The translation software was literally saving my life at this point, even if it did get glitchy at some points.  Mac didn't seem too enthused when I shook my head 'no' however.  

"I'm going to need you and your specialists here protecting the royals Mac.  I'll take care of the tunnel myself since we have no idea what is down there.  Just keep the throne room secure."

After a moment's pause, he only muttered a single word.  A word that I could see him using to express a variety of things.

'Eyup."

The icons for the airborne drones were still showing 'Offline' after the last shot as expected.  It would just be the ponies, support drones, and me for a while.  Going to be interesting I guess.  Still, it was a lot more firepower than they had before so it is a step up.  It also gave me an idea.  The primitive screwheads seemed like they could only figure out the basic firearms.  It would be a good time to introduce them to my own form of shock and awe.  With that idea in the forefront of my mind and tablet in hand, orders started getting typed out.

###Princesses, I don't want to speak out loud in case the minotaurs can hear me.

###Mac and his specialists are going to stay here and help you hold the throne room.

###The drones will remain here to assist as well.

###I'll be heading into the tunnels momentarily.  For their safety, nobody is to follow.

A small chorus of thanks and questions scrolled across my displays while I dug through the cargo compartment of a support drone.  Tenderly I slipped out two of the palm sized power banks and clicked them into the corresponding sockets in my armor.  It only took a moment for the extra power to show in the system reserves.  Better safe than sorry and all.  

"Pull the shields aside on the count of three and get into cover.  After I go in, recover the hole and only open up if the Princesses say it is me."

"Three."

"Two."

"One"

The guards scrambled in a clatter of metal away from the now looming hole in the ground.  More importantly was the yells of rage coming from the pit as the minotaurs charged out of the chasm.  Or at least tried to.  The shattered marble crunched against my boots as I sprinted toward the hole, ignoring the soft coughs coming from the drones.  Armored plates were already falling in front of the viewports when the first grenades shot into the hole.  A burst of light and sound erupted from the abyss a fraction of a second before the screams.  Great flashes of flame shot out of the hole a heartbeat before I leapt into hell.  Before my feet could hit earth and stone, the guards had already started piling shields against the hole and trapping me in with the minotaurs.  Or more accurately, they were trapped in here with me.

Breathing through a recycler doesn't sound anything like the movies.  The weirdest things come to mind when you are stepping between the still smoking remains of probably half a dozen hostiles.  Apparently they don't react well to a combination of flash bangs, riot grenades, and the engineer's best friend, thermal grenades.  Not that I can imagine that being blinded, rendered deaf, sprayed with a mixture of rubber balls and irritants, all before being lit on fire was a pleasant sensation.  All the crap in the air was also why my armor remained sealed.  I had no idea what was down here, so better play for overkill.

To say that the tunnel was large was a bit of an understatement.  Past the initial slope down, it quickly broadened into smooth features that I was too familiar with.  It started with a tickle at the back of my mind, but every painted marker on the walls built and built on my paranoia.  Other than the occasional flickering torch in the distance, everything was dyed pale green through the night vision.  From the clock, I could tell that I'd only been in the tunnels a  few minutes but it could have been years.  There wasn't a single sound except the crunch of concrete against my boots and the soft hiss of my rebreather.  Depressingly enough, it was as silent as a tomb down here and it only made me wonder where the rest of the minotaurs had disappeared to.

You know, it is always right when you say something like that when things go crazy.  Just me all alone in a pitch black tunnel when sobbing echoes down the concrete halls.  If my heart hadn't already been pumping hard and fast in my ears, it would be from the sorrowful and eerie sounds serenading me with every step.  The further I travelled, the louder and more pitiful the noises became, quickly turning into a orchestra of pained screams and yells.  I wanted to run, but that would give away my position to whoever was down here.  I could only suffer in silence as I moved toward the creature I already felt sorry for.

Rounding a corner, there was a figure backlit against one of the flickering torches.  Two of them guarding a doorway but trying to watch the spectacle within.  Somehow I had a feeling that I had found my destination.  Pulling back around the corner wasn't hard in the blackness.  I could see fine, but the minotaurs couldn't see or hear me.  It only took a moment to feel a familiar shape in one of my pouches, a quick look to confirm a dimpled shape with green and black striping.  After all these years, I still repeated the mantra of 'Safety, pin, throw, cover' when the grenade flew from my hand and landed in the doorway with a clatter.

"What's that?"

It was really hard not to laugh when both minotaurs kneeled to look at the flashbang.  It was really hard not to when it went off in their faces and lit one on fire.  His screams were even louder than the ones coming from the room, but were perfect cover for a second.  My rifle rose against my shoulder to bring the glowing reticle up to the face of the second minotaur that was still reeling.  A loud cough and sharp shove from the rifle sent the guard down in a shower of gore.  Not that his compatriot was in any shape to notice, especially when an axe buried itself in the back of his head, before another armored minotaur stepped into the hall.  His eyes were glowing even through my night vision and making me very uncomfortable.

"Stop screaming, worm.  I've been waiting for you Ancient.  My master will pay your weight in gold for me to bring your shattered..."

Call me an asshole, but I knew where that speech was going, and considering I like living I did the only thing that came to mind.  I think a flicker of comprehension went through the minotaur's mind as I leaned into my rifle.  The bastard tried to raise his other axe but didn't get too far when thunder rippled down the hallway.  With the night vision I could still see the gore that used to be his head smeared across the walls.  All the blood and violence couldn't prepare me for what was in the room.