Mares and Gentlecolts, name's Brute Force, best damned unicorn in the whole Collective, and most handsome to boot.

I'm going to tell the next part of this story, because, obviously, Cane was in no shape to recall the events, so better that I just write them and let him edit it rather than recounting the whole ordeal to him over and over while he writes it out himself.

Windbreaker had a needle tucked in his wing when he ordered Cane closer and triggered the reward on his collar, then as soon as Cane staggered from it he injected him. The liquid inside was an almost neon pink. I didn't even notice until he'd already injected Cane with it. I'm sorry to say I was blinded by rage from seeing the pegasus from Ruby's memories right there in front of me.

“Go get one of the fillies from the waiting room. This buck is well equipped for breaking a few in.”

“Hey! What are you doing!?” I demanded, forgetting my cover as I saw Cane stagger and his eyes glaze over, taking on a pink tinge themselves.

“Shut your muzzle faggot or I'll shut it for you.” Windbreaker snapped.

A terrified earth pony filly came into the room, shaking from head to hoof, she looked no older than CB, but she had no cutie mark. She was chocolate brown with a straw yellow mane and a slave collar around her neck, a LOT fancier looking than the ones we had.

“You are in luck child, today you become a mare. Maybe you'll even get your cutie mark.” Windbreaker said to her, smiling evilly.

“W-W-What d-do I h-have t-t-t-to do?” She stammered, trying not to cry.

“Open the cell door little filly.” He gestured to the cell that held Cane.

She moved towards it slowly and pulled the door open.

“Now go in.” Windbreaker said softly, still treating it like it was nothing.

She walked in slowly.

“Step behind him and lift his tail. He has a metal thing on his penis. Remove it.”

“Stop it!” I demanded, struggling not to blow our cover, and at the same time not wanting the filly to be hurt.

“I said SHUT IT!” Windbreaker roared, driving a hoof into my muzzle and knocking me backwards across my cell. My fault for getting too close to the bars. Unfortunately it knocked me for a loop for a minute when my skull collided with the hard stone along the back of the cell.

“I-It's locked...” The filly whimpered.

“So pick the lock,” He said, pulling a bobby pin from his mane and throwing it into the cell, “You didn't have any problem picking the lock when it was on your cell.”

Cane was shifting a little but he was totally out of it, head slouched, even drooling slightly.

She shifted around behind him for a moment before I heard a click and saw the metal contraption fall away from his body.

“Now, get under him and put his penis inside of you.” Windbreaker ordered, clearly revelling in watching the sick act take place. My head was still reeling and I was trying to gather myself because at this point I was ready to strike.

“P-Please Sir...Please no...” She begged, “he...he's so big...Can't I just wear one of the training harnesses?”

“You listen here FILLY, if you come out of that cell still a virgin, then I will be the one to take your virginity, and it's going to be long and painful if I do it. If you do it in there then at least you can go at your own pace of comfort.” He said, stepping aside to allow the filly the option to exit the cell, as if that was an option.

Cane groaned and muttered something incoherent, slumping down more.

“Time's up filly. Make your choice.”

I had reached my breaking point, if I didn't act this wasn't going to end well for the filly, and even less so for Cane, because I knew he'd never forgive himself.

I grabbed my collar with my magic and pulled it apart to fire. Luckily the sign I had been hoping for finally came. A massive explosion shook the whole place, dust falling from the ceiling and then the lights snapped off, plunging the whole area into darkness. There were screams and gunshots above as all hell broke loose.

“RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! RUN TO FREEDOM!” I heard Lily roaring, she must have transformed into something huge for her voice to boom like that.

“What the fuck...” Windbreaker started, but I had opened my cell door and I bucked him hard into the wall.

“Run little filly.” I said to the terrified girl in the cell, still cowering under Cane, who seemed to have totally lost consciousness. My horn grew brighter and brighter, filling the area with orange light, the girl scampering up the stairs and out of my sight, dozens of other ponies following her as the cells filling the basement sprang open as the power failed.

“What do you think...Ack.” Windbreaker started to say, but a hoof to the groin silenced him as I came to tower over him.

“You...it had to be you. I'm going to enjoy killing you like you wouldn't believe.”

“What? You're upset that I was going to use your friend to fuck some fillies? Grow up faggot, that's how the wasteland works.” He laughed bitterly, spitting at me. I ignored the spit.

“It's not how the wasteland SHOULD work. This hellhole we've cultivated disgusts me, and it's only the hope that I can make a better world for my family and my friends and my children that keeps me from putting a shotgun to my head and ending it all.”

“Well faggots like you don't tend towards children.” He sneered, “so you might as well just off yourself now.”

“You'd be amazed what you can do when your lover is a Changeling.” I countered, enjoying the look of surprise on his face, “however, this isn't about that. This is personal.”

“Personal? How can it be personal? I've only been down here a year. I never met you before.”

“Never met me maybe, but you know a good friend of mine.”

“Look I have trained a lot of slaves, it's just busin...” I cut him off with a blow to the jaw.

“You sicken me.” I raised the laser pistols and fired into his right foreleg, severing it clean off his body, causing him to howl in pain.

“PLEASE! I DON'T KNOW YOU!” He begged as I adjusted the pistols down and let loose simultaneous blasts into his wings, over and over until they were burnt, shrivelled and useless, totally irreparable. I stomped my hooves down over and over into them until the bones shattered and broke from his body.

By this time he was just a weeping ball of pain. “You want to know why it's personal?” I asked, looking at the cell door by where Cane still sat. Grasping the door in my magic I shot at a part of the flatter outer edge of the door, heating it with the lasers until I could tear a jagged shaft of it from the door. “You ruined my best friend's life. You tortured her, you raped her, you laughed in her face as you made her suffer.”

I brought the jagged piece of metal over, spinning it rapidly to cool it off after the laser blasts, didn't want anything going too smoothly for him.

“Your friend? How should I remember...” I cut him off again, pressing the tip of the torn metal against the slit of his penis.

“Her name is Ruby Star,” I could see in his eyes, thinking it over before it finally clicked.

“The red filly...The one the Colonel wanted...She's still ali...”

“And kicking. This is from her, straight to you.” I drove the metal down, tearing through his stallion-hood with the rusty metal, from tip to balls, practically tearing it clean in two, leaving a bloody mess between his legs. He howled in pain, but the explosions and battle raging overhead drowned him out. I threw the metal to the ground and moved to help Cane.

“Come on buddy, lets get you the fuck outta here.” I lifted him up onto my back and held him with my magic, ignoring the all too erect penis that pressed against my flank, and moving out of the cell.

I started for the stairs, but stopped short. On a whim, and inspired all too morbidly by Lily's armour, I took up the jagged metal and roughly cut the cutie mark from Windbreaker's flank. “A memento, for Ruby. Maybe we'll start a collection if we find more of you fucking around on the surface world.”

He just whimpered and said nothing more. I took the pack he had brought down with him, seeing that there were more needles of the weird pink stuff, we'd want to have it analyzed just in case. So I stuck his Cutie Mark into the pack and headed out. I also, just because I'm a jerk like that, pulled a healing potion out of the pack and threw it at him with my magic as hard as I could. It shattered on his chest and the healing liquids seeped out, starting to fix up the wounds they came into contact with, helping ensure that any extreme damage he'd suffered wouldn't easily be fixed, since the potions couldn't heal his severed leg, or his destroyed wings...or any other parts of him I'd wrecked, but they'd do things like stop bleeding and healing over stumps, preventing reattachment.

I rushed upstairs. The top floor of the mansion was on fire! Seriously what did I miss? I hurried outside.

“COME ON BITCHES! STAND AND FACE ME!” Lily bellowed, swooping down and attacking fleeing slavers. She had transformed into a terrifying dragon, breathing jets of emerald flame down on them. There were some slaves here and there fighting with their former wranglers, but most, it seemed, had fled in terror as soon as the power had gone out. I saw dozens of slavers with a single bullet in their skulls, or necks, or nethers...Dead Shot and Bulls-eye certainly lived up to their reputations.

“LIL! WE GOTTA GO!” I roared up at her, using my magic to amplify my voice, “CANE IS IN A BAD WAY!”

Lily pulled up from another fire run and swooped towards us.

“What happened?!” She asked, landing hard in front of us, kicking up a huge cloud of dust as she did, and transformed back into her usual self.

“Long story. Can't you just fly us out as a dragon?”

“Are you kidding? Do you know how much EFFORT a dragon form takes? Not to mention focusing my magic into actual fire.”

“Alright alright, lets go.” I said, rushing out the front gates, a couple slaves just a few dozen feet ahead of us.

“Come on come on come on!” I hollered at them, rushing past them through the town.

“LOOK OUT!” Lily squealed, pointing at the roof of a building. A slaver was perched above us, a pair of missile launchers in a battle saddle, and two missiles racing towards us already.

“I got it!” The stallion running beside us declared, catching the missiles in his magic and flinging them back at the roof, blowing the top off the building and causing it to start crumbling in on itself. “HOT DAMN! SWEET CELESTIA DID I MISS MY POWERS!” He cheered, throwing up a magic wall to keep the crumbling building from coming down on us as we rushed passed.

“I take it we have you to thank for that?” The earth pony mare running with him asked.

“Don't worry about it,” I grinned, “a friend asked us to act, so we did.”

“You're the friends Chrystaline talked about aren't you?”

“Yeah we are.” Lily said, pulling a carbine from her pack and firing at a couple slavers that came around the corner ahead of us.

“Well shit, I guess I owe her dinner.” The mare laughed.

“Well I can show you how to find her once we're safe.” I offered, shifting Cane on my back. He was freaking heavy and being a total dead weight didn't help.

“Why don't you ditch the stiff?” The mare asked, “he's slowing you down.”

“He's my best friend, and part of the reason you're not still in a cage back there waiting for another round of 'rape the mare' so you best just clam up about it.” I snapped.

“S...Sorry.” She stammered, going quiet and just running on.

We reached the sky wagon a few minutes later, about three dozen stallions, mares and children had made their way on board. Ruby was helping ponies get situated in the small area and was watching constantly for other arrivals, and to make sure no slavers snuck up on them.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SUGAR?!” She cried when she saw us coming up with him.

“Long story!” Lily said, since she didn't know either, “there was nopony else behind us, lets go lets go lets go.” She pushed Ruby towards the cockpit as fast as she could, hitting the button by the door to seal it again. The two that had been with us took seats with the others that had found their way to the ship and we moved into the cockpit, closing the door for the time being.

I set Cane down gently in one of the crash seats and strapped him in. Ruby and Lily were already in their harnesses, powering up the ship.

“We're in!” I heard Dead Shot call through the door.

“Punch it.” Lily said and Ruby nodded, the wagon rushing forward and shooting into the sky.

After a few moments of silence Ruby finally spoke up, “so, care to tell me what happened to Sugar back there? He seems rather worse for wear.”

I launched into a long and detailed explanation of the events that took place in the holding cells, though I omitted the fact that he was one of Ruby's attackers for the time being, didn't want her freaking out or anything.

“So wait, he DIDN'T penetrate her right?” Ruby asked firmly.

“I don't think so no, but like I said, the lights went out, and I'm sure she stopped short.”

“Well...” She hesitated, “c-check and see if his penis is wet...”

“What?” I asked flatly.

“If she was worried she would have gotten herself aroused first to try and make it easier...”

“Ruby...let me stop you right there, I just ran, for almost two miles, with Cane's penis rubbing against my flank, it has to be the first, and probably only time, in my life that I have been weirded out by a penis that close to my ass, but I can promise you that if there had been any moisture on him I'd have felt it when we were running.”

“Alright...” She sighed, “I just hate to think of that poor filly...I hope she got away.”

“I'm sure she's fine.” Lily said, trying to be comforting.

“I know...and we can't save them all,” she said, getting quiet for a while.

About an hour into the flight, Cane started to groan and squirm, a pained look on his face.

“What's wrong with him?” Ruby asked, glancing back at him, looking more concerned than I'd seen in a long time.

“I don't know...I've never seen anything like the drugs they injected him with.”

“We need to get him home as fast as we can so the doctors can check him out.”

He whimpered and moaned louder, rubbing his forelegs against his stomach, clearly in pain.

“He's gonna hurl,” Lily said, looking at me seriously, “he's gonna...”

Cane wretched and threw up, thick pink foam falling to the floor, fizzing and popping, distilling down into a simple puddle, the second wave soaked down his chest because of the way his head shifted as it came up. I got a bucket before more could come out and caught the rest. I could see pink tears forming on the sides of his closed eyes and then vanishing as they soaked into the fur under his eyes.

“Is he okay?!” Ruby asked frantically once he had finished.

“Yeah...yeah I think he'll be fine...” I said slowly, watching him to make sure he didn't have any more in him.

“Faster...We gotta go faster.” Ruby said, trying to force more out of the ship.

“Here let me...” Lily's horn lit up and a massive magic green shape appeared in front of us, shifting and turning into a giant wedge.

“What the hell will that do?” I asked, looking out the window.

“It'll cut our wind resistance.” Ruby said, gesturing to a readout that displayed just that and I could see it did drop significantly, while at the same time the speedometer was rising, not a whole lot, but every second could make a huge difference.

“Collective tower, this is Sky Shot Alpha, we're coming in hard, medical emergency, have staff on standby.” Lily called into an intercom when we were close enough.

“Roger that, land on outer field, medics and assistance personnel on standby to receive our guests.”

We came down quickly, sliding to a stop, probably faster than we should have, but Ruby had us down in record time and we could hear the freed ponies being shuffled out of the ship. I opened the cockpit door and grabbed a medic. “Hey, Cane's in a bad way, I don't know about these other ponies but he needs to get medical attention like, now...he's been injected with some unknown concoction of drugs and it's messed him up bad.”

“Alright Brutus, just relax. We'll help him same as the others.” The medic said, grabbing a stretcher and loading Cane onto it, taking the pack with the drugs in it at the same time. He was taken out past the healthy ponies still waiting to disembark and despite both Ruby's and my desire to stay with Cane we sat in the cockpit with Lily while the rest of the ponies in the back were unloaded and taken for processing. Finally once the wagon was clear and some techs stepped in to clean it up and put it away we headed out.

We immediately went to the medical wing to wait, sitting outside in the waiting area until we were given the go ahead to see him, which wasn't for hours.

“Word of warning before you see him, he's awake...but he's really messed up still.”

“Well, what about the drugs?” I asked.

“They're a horrifying concoction of things.” The doctor said, flipping a page on the clipboard he had and looking at it for a moment. “It's a mixture of Neurociline, which is an old neural control suppressor that was used to try and induce mind control, the Ministry of Morale used it before the invention of the memory orb, mixed with phuqital, which is a neural dis-associative, causes you to just stop giving a shit about anything, at least three different fairly common muscle relaxants and boner meds and an old Trottingham medicine called Ret-Con 5 that causes short term memory loss, the whole thing was fused with the contents of a healing potion since they're so good at spreading through a body quickly and effectively. The system also detected enchantments of some kind that prolong the effects of the drugs.”

“That's terrible.” Ruby said, looking beyond shocked by the explanation. “I have to go see him...”

“Of course, but like I said, he's going to be really out of it.”

“Yeah that's fine.” She said, hurrying off through the doors, into the area beyond.

“It's amazing how much you can tell about those drugs.” I said, looking at the list the doctor held.

“Well we're very lucky. As great as Doctor Cane was for upgrading out equipment, his brother has gone so far above and beyond to help us. He got us access to prewar data archives, thousands of hours of research, data on drugs, on diseases, methods for synthesizing drugs we haven't had for 200 years, it's like he was Luna sent to push our medical abilities forward.”

“Yeah, he's great,” I nodded, tired of hearing ponies sing his praises, “is he here?”

“Yes of course, he ran the tests on the drugs while we worked on Doctor Cane.”

“Is he coming to see his brother?”

“He said he'd be down as soon as he's finished with the report on the drugs. He's looking for ways to counteract the rest of the effects.”

“The rest?”

“Well we were able to counter the phuqital with some simple meds that counteract the effects, though it leaves him in a kind of drunk like stupor, and the effects of the muscle relaxants are fading on their own, seems they're the shortest lasting of the drugs.”

“Alright thanks.” I said, starting into the medical area.

“No, no Sugar, sweetie, you have to stay lying down.” I heard Ruby saying up ahead. I came up to the door and saw her trying to get Cane to lie down in the bed, he was partially pushed up, but slumped to the side. They had put grey rubber pants on his backside for some reason and he was trying desperately to push them off, but his legs wouldn't cooperate and he was helpless to do anything about it and he didn't seem to remember he had magic to try.

“Ruby please help,” he whined, looking at her desperately, “it hurts so bad...”

“It's for your own good.” She said, pushing him back down again. “Now STOP!” She added firmly.

“O-Okay...” He said, trailing off and shifting back on the bed, “I'm sorry ma'am.” He added, looking at her abashedly.

“Don't be sorry, just lie down and get better.” She looked up at me and sighed, managing a weak smile, “Look Sugar, Brutus is here to see you.”

“Brutus! Buddy!” He threw himself into a sitting position again, but couldn't hold it and slumped to the side.

“Dammit Sugar!” Ruby growled.

“Here, I got him.” I offered, grabbing Cane in my magic and laying him out properly again.

“Brutus...Brutus...dude...I gotta tell you...I love you bud...” He laughed, grinning at me, “we were in those cages and I dunno what happened, but you...YOU got us out.”

“He's already talked about you twice.” Ruby said.

“No Ruby, seriously, Brutus is awesome. He saved my life, MY LIFE!” He bellowed that last part.

“Cane, inside voice.”

“What? Oh, sorry, sorry...” A nurse stuck her head in and looked at us curiously, “I'm sorry Ms. Nurse...I was talking too loud.” Cane said, nodding his head quickly, “I'll be quiet now, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry.”

“Cane, focus.”

“Oh yeah, so we're in the cages right? This big ass pegasus comes down the stairs, looks ready to start some shit...”

“Cane, why don't you tell this story later?” I asked, trying to shut him up.

“Nu-uh, I gotta tell the story. Uhh, right pegasus...Windbreaker! You remember Windbreaker right Ruby?” He asked, resting against Ruby's side, “he...he put his penis in yo bum...” Cane snorted and laughed, “I know you didn't want him to, and it was REALLY painful, cuz I saw your memories and I felt what you felt, but you have such a cute little bum...”

I flinched and looked at the ground, blushing deeply because I knew Ruby was glaring at me.

“Then what happened?” Ruby asked, trying to move Cane off the subject of her butt.

“I dunno,” Cane shrugged, “everything goes pink...I thought everything was supposed to go black...but it's all pink...is that weird?”

“No, it's from the drugs.” Ruby said, stroking his mane gently.

I could see her shaking and she was trying to console herself against Cane, and though he was just a dead weight in her hooves she still took great comfort in it.

“So what happened then Brutus?” Ruby asked, looking up at me, “you got away...did you kill him?”

I sighed deeply and shook my head. “I did worse, far worse.”

“Hold on sweetie.” Ruby said, sliding off the bed and laying Cane down again before walking over and looking at me intently. “What. Did. You. DO?” She asked, calm as anything, but with a barely concealed rage I knew could explode on me at any moment.

“I punished him for hurting you.”

“Not a good enough answer.”

I blushed again, “I cut off his leg, I scorched the wings from his body and smashed the bones that held them. I gelded him with a jagged piece of steel and I cauterized the wounds so they couldn't be easily healed with magic,” I paused a moment and sighed deeply, “and I cut the cutie mark from his flank and took it as a trophy.”

“So you tortured and maimed him?” She asked flatly.

“Y-Yeah...it was a heat of the moment thing, I was so blinded with rage from everything that was happening, recognizing him from your memories, remembering all the horrible things he did to you, all the horrible things he was doing to the slaves in that place, the children especially, and I just went off, I wanted to make him suffer, I didn't want to put him out of our misery, I wanted him to have to wallow in his.”

She sighed deeply and after a moment hugged me tightly. “Thank you Brutus...Does that make me a bad pony? That I'm glad you hurt him and left him to hurt?”

“No, it makes you normal. He got everything he deserved in that basement.”

“I love you Brute Force.”

“I love you too Ruby Star.”

“Guys!” Cane whined, taking us out of the nice moment we were having, “doesn't anyone love me?!” He whimpered.

“Not really no.” I said, grabbing him in my magic and lying him back again.

“That's not nice...I love you guys.”

“I love you Sugar.” Ruby said, going back over to the bed and kissing his horn again. “You're a good buck.”

“And you're having my baby so you're stuck with me.” He laughed.

“Well, I don't mind being stuck with you.”

“Good...” He hugged her tightly. “Hey Ruby? Remember before we went to confront Venture, and you came to me and said you wanted to have a baby?” He asked, getting quiet and seeming to focus intently on each word as he spoke.

“Yeah?”

“You remember we talked about how, if I died, at least you'd have a baby?”

“Yeah...”

Cane just smiled and sighed deeply, sitting back again and growing still.

“What? Cane...CANE!” Ruby cried, shaking him. After a moment an alarm went off as his vitals flat lined.

“NO! NO, LUNA DAMMIT CANE! COME ON!” Ruby screamed, shaking him harder.

“Move move move move!” A nurse yelled, rushing into the room with two doctors.

Ruby wouldn't move so I grabbed her in my magic and yanked her back, up and away from the bed, putting her down beside me, staying back as another nurse ran in with a cart in tow.

“Charge up the defibrillator.” The doctor said, grabbing a needle and driving it into Cane's chest.

Ruby sobbed loudly and I had to keep her forcibly held back so she didn't get in the way.

The doctor grabbed the paddles and pressed them to Cane's chest. “Clear!” The nurse moved back and the doctor discharged the paddles into Cane.

Cane screamed and shot up in the bed before falling back, panting hard. “The fuck was that?” He asked, but his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Ruby started crying against me, in relief now at least.

The doctors worked for a few more minutes just to make sure he was okay, but his vitals stabilized and he relaxed so they cleared out and just the nurse stuck around for a bit.

“Jerk...” Ruby sighed, hugging him fiercely, “don't scare me like that. I can't take losing you again.”

He didn't answer this time, he was unconscious and we didn't know how long it would be for.

“Hey...” I heard Lily call from the hall. I turned towards her and she gestured her head, moving away from the door.

I followed out into the hall. “What's up?”

My question was answered with a slap across the face. “You fucking asshole!” She snapped, “I told you! I fucking told you that you were being too rash, and look what happened! Cane almost died.” She said angrily, stomping over to a chair and sitting down.

“I...I'm sorry.” I stammered.

“Sorry isn't good enough. I realize that you've been having trouble lately, but this self destructive bullshit isn't helpful. I'm talking to Ruby about it once Cane is better and we're going to deal with it.”

“No...No it's okay.” I said, sitting down in front of her, “I hate to admit it, but I got the violence out.”

“What do you mean you got the violence out?”

“The buck that drugged Cane, he was one of the pegasi that raped Ruby back in the Enclave...”

She covered her mouth. “What did you do?”

“I...I gave him what he deserved.” I replied, “I beat him, I maimed him, I tore his penis in two with jagged metal and I broke a healing potion on him so that he'd survive his injuries but be unable to recover from them.”

“Shit Brutus...that's dark.”

“I was low...I haven't been that low in a long time.” I admitted, “in fact the last time I was that low I got my nickname after killing those Zebras.” I looked down at the ground, ashamed of my actions.

Lily's legs wrapped around me after a moment and hugged me tightly. “Alright, I'll forgive you for now, but if you start acting out again I'm gonna kick your ass and then we're going to have a serious talk with Ruby and Crackshot.”

“Yes ma'am.” I sighed, feeling a little relieved.