Author's Notes:

Once again, this chapter spoilers major parts of the original Fo:E; the beginning essentially builds on the 'betrayal'-scene in the eponymous chapter 19. I strongly recommend reading that part again before starting with this story.
With that said, enjoy!

As Velvet Remedy floated the blanket over me, covering my body, I swore I’d kill her.

“She’s gone!”

Calamity still remembered it like if it was yesterday. He had been in Doctor Helpinghoof’s office, waiting for Velvet Remedy with the unconscious Littlepip in tow to arrive. Even though the doctor had told him several times that there was nothing he and Velvet could do help either him or Littlepip during the process, he had insisted on staying in the doctor’s office and with his friend until the procedure was over.

At least, this had been the plan.

He had known that something must have gone horribly wrong when Velvet had burst through the door half an hour late, drenched in sweat, eyes wide in horror, and repeated the same thing over and over again. “She’s gone! She’s … gone! I … I can’t believe she’s … she’s…”

Then she had collapsed, breaking into a sobbing heap right in front of Calamity’s and Helpinghoof’s eyes, blubbering, cursing herself, Littlepip, and this whole, messed-up world.

Three years had passed since then, and the two still knew just as little about the circumstances of Littlepip’s disappearance as they knew about her current whereabouts.

Between crying, blaming herself for the loss of their friend and cursing her own stupidity, Velvet Remedy had tried to explain to Calamity how it had been possible for her to lose Littlepip in the first place. After all, she was sure that she hadn’t taken her eyes off their unconscious friend for longer than five minutes – and even then only because two guards from Tenpony Tower had stopped her when she was halfway to Doctor Helpinghoof’s office.

They had –justifiably- been alerted by the unconscious body Velvet had in tow, and had insisted on her coming with them to be questioned; only after telling them the whole story behind her friend’s drug addiction, and only with some serious persuasion had she been able to keep the guards from arresting her for further examination.

However, when she had left the guards’ bureau –they hadn’t allowed her to take her unconscious friend with inside- she had noticed with horror that her red wagon was empty, and that Littlepip was gone – without a trace, it seemed.

Despite months of combing through seemingly every inch of the wasteland, despite a comprehensive search-campaign led by Homage as DJ-Pon3, and despite a search that almost compared to a hunt, seeming to get more desperate every day, Littlepip remained missing; lost without a trace – it was as if she had vanished off the face of Equestria.

That is, until today.

Possibly.

“Are you sure about this, Calamity?” Velvet Remedy asked cautiously, a touch of worry in her voice, “What if this is just another misunderstanding?”

The rust-colored pegasus cowering on the ground next to her replied nothing, his stern look focused on what lay ahead of them.

“I mean,” Velvet Remedy continued, “I want to find Littlepip just as badly as you, but what if this turns out to be just another raider’s nest? Don’t you think we’ve seen enough…” she had to cut herself off to swallow, “dead and dismembered bodies? I appreciate ponies trying to help us find her, but these hints we’re getting just keep getting more and more vague. What if this one turns out to be a prank too?”

“Then we’re gonna move on. An’ keep searching.” Calamity replied coldly. “She is somewhere out there, an’ Ah’ll be damned if Ah give up searchin’ before Ah find her.” Then, after a short pause, “Or at least her body.”

Velvet Remedy sighed heavily, giving her friend a pleading glance. “I know. And I … I understand your determination, but…” she wanted to end it there, but as her friend just replied with a raised eyebrow, she forced herself to continue, “We can’t spend the rest of our lives searching for her! We can't-“

“Why not?” Calamity cut her off sharply. “Why can’t we?” Before Velvet Remedy could reply, he proceeded, “She’s mah friend, Velvet. Heck, she’s like family for me.” He paused for a second, letting his words sink in, “If one of our friends suddenly disappears that’s a horrible thing, but if we can just shrug it off an’ say ‘Tough Luck.’ then that’s even more horrible if ya ask me.”

“I know, and she was my friend too, Calamity.” Velvet countered, “But what I am trying to say is: there still is a wasteland out there! There still is a long way to go to make this world a better place.”

“And?” Calamity asked skeptically.

“And we can’t do anything to make it a better place if we keep running from settlement to settlement searching for Littlepip just to end up finding another unicorn mare that roughly matches Littlepip’s description.” Velvet said emphatically. “Think about it: if she were still here, do you think she would want us to spend each and every sort of resources on finding her, or do you think she would want us to continue fighting her fight, and make this world a better one.”

Her words faded away, and a long period of silence followed.

Calamity said nothing for a while, just looking Velvet Remedy in the eyes, before he slowly turned his head back and his look went back to the buildings in front of them. Reaching over his shoulder, he opened a dust brown saddlebag fixed to the back end of his battle saddle and pulled out a set of binoculars, looking through them back at their destination.

Finally, after another moment of silence, he spoke up again. “Ponies say they’ve seen a short unicorn mare with some sorta device on her foreleg around here.” He explained calmly without lowering the binoculars. “Ah dunno ‘bout you, but that’s reason enough for me to go in there and see if it’s our unicorn mare.”

Velvet Remedy drew a breath to protest, but then cut herself off, thinking about what Calamity had just said. True, that ‘device’ could be just about any sort of device, and there certainly wasn’t a lack of short unicorn mares in the wasteland, but somehow … she couldn’t put her hoof on it, and maybe it was just hope induced by despair that made her think this way, but somehow this one sounded a little more promising than most of the other hints they had gotten before.

Then again, they had received hundreds, if not thousands of these, and so far none of them had ended up leading them to their lost friend.

“Ya don’t need to come with me if ya don’t want to.” Calamity continued, calmly, but with determination, “But until Ah know that this one’s a dead end too, Ah can’t just ignore it.”

Turning her head back, Velvet gave a defeated sigh. Then, after a moment of silence, said, “I know.” Determination now also swinging in her voice, she added, “And I won’t let you go in there.” Calamity lowered the binoculars, turning his head to give her a questioning look.

“Not alone.” She declared, forcing an encouraging smile onto her face, “I am with you. For better or worse.” She took in a short breath of the mild evening air, then got to her hooves, “Let’s go.”

“Easy there.” Calamity said, getting to his hooves as well, grabbing the charcoal unicorn by her tail and pulling her back down, gaining a startled shriek from her. “We can’t go. Not yet.” He explained, lifting his binoculars and offering them to Velvet Remedy who, after a moment of looking at him confused and with a light blush on her face, lifted it with her magic and levitated it over to her face.

Through the binoculars, the complex of buildings looked even more impressive: in a valley ahead of them was what looked like a prison from pre-war times: a brutalist gray building that looked like it had been carved from a single block of concrete, surrounded by two rows of ten feet-tall barbwire fence from three sides, with four watchtowers forming the corners, making for a rectangle about a hundred yards on each side. A lone sprite bot was bobbing around the building.

Facing the two ponies was the building's front: adorned by nothing but a heavy-looking metal door and a handful of small, slot-like windows, it indeed revealed the complex to be the ‘Misty Hills Correctional Facility’ which was written above the entrance door in faded black paint.

Within the limits of the high-security fence was another, smaller building, some random junk lying about, as well as several spots where the ground had been ploughed to reveal the brown soil underneath – something Velvet had last seen in the apple orchards back in Stable Two.

“Fields?” she asked herself, slightly confused, until she saw the dozens of ponies on the fields. While she certainly wasn’t an expert on wasteland-related topics, she had seen enough to know just what sort of ponies these ones were: if their empty, hopeless looks hadn’t given them away, Velvet would have recognized them from their malnourished bodies or –if nothing else- from the thick, black bomb collars around their necks.

“Slaves.” She noted sadly; then, with new hope, “Do you think Littlepip might be among them?”

“Ayep.” Calamity replied curtly, “That’s what Ah was thinkin’. But they ain’t the reason why we can’t go in there yet. Look at the watchtowers.” He said and directed her gaze into the right direction.

Indeed, aside from two big spotlights, each of the watchtowers also had two ponies on it – ponies carrying guns and armor, who didn’t look like they were too keen on letting intruders in.

Slowly, Velvet Remedy lowered the binoculars again, nodding her head. “I see…” she muttered, “So … I take it we should wait until the sun has set, right?”

“Ayep.” Calamity confirmed, nodding his head, “Ah’d say we wait till it’s dark an’ then sneak inside. No point in runnin' in there an' risking our lives till we know that she’s actually here.”

"Right.” Velvet Remedy agreed slowly, nodding as well, feeling new hope kindling in her heart. “Do … do you think we might actually find her this time?”

“Ah certainly hope so.” Calamity said, looking at his friend, then back at the complex, “Ain’t much else we can do anyway, right?”

The last beams of the afternoon sun were just about to vanish as Velvet awoke from a light slumber with a soft jolt. Alarmed by a sudden noise, her ears perked up, eyes scanning her environment for potential threats. However, she relaxed again as she saw that the source of the noise was nothing but a spritebot flying past her in a fair distance and playing that ever-repeating pre-war music - nothing to be worried about.

Feeling herself relax, Velvet let out a soft sigh and sank back to the ground.

The two had set up a makeshift camp, hidden from the prison's view behind a few rocks, and Calamity had insisted they would try and find some rest before starting their operation, seeing how it could very well turn into an adrenaline-loaded gunfight should their cover blow.

Breathing softly, keeping her half-lidded eyes focused on the cloud-covered sky above her head, Velvet could feel her thoughts drifting off - and an all too tempting feeling crossing her mind: hope.

The wasteland wasn't a place for hopes or dreams - she had known this even before her friend had disappeared. And she remembered all too well the numerous times she had gotten her hopes up during the years that lay behind them, only to watch them going down in flames as the pony they had found had turned out to be anypony but the one they were looking for.

Really, at this point she had a hard time believing that Littlepip was still out there at all. Thinking about all the days, weeks, months, Velvet and her friends had spent searching; searching every last corner of this Celestia-forsaken land.

She lightly raised her head, her look going into the far distance, and could feel herself bristle.

"Where are you, Littlepip?" she whispered softly, feeling sadness overwhelm her once again as her mind drifted into darker places.

What ... what if all their endeavors were meaningless after all? What if Pip had died years ago? Velvet could feel herself tear up as her mind pictured her friend, weakened from an anesthetic Velvet herself had applied, stumbling through the wastes, running into raiders or slavers or ... or hellhounds, or...

Her thoughts were cut short as she could feel another sob breaking loose, tears finally rolling down her cheeks.

"It's all my fault..." she breathed softly, her body trembling as her mind continued to descend into darkness.

What ... what if Littlepip was still alive; what if she knew about her friends searching for her, and was merely hiding from them? How could Velvet Remedy be sure that she would come with them, even if they should end up finding her? And if she was, why ... why didn't she just come back? Didn't she know that Velvet; that Calamity, Homage, SteelHooves, and all her friends were missing her dearly?

Clenching her teeth, fighting back tears, Velvet Remedy looked past the building ahead of them, into the distance, as if she would find her lost friend somewhere in the endless wasteland.

"Littlepip, I..." she whispered softly, her voice quavering, "I'm sorry. If you're out there; if you can hear me, please..." she had to cut herself off, sobbing again, "Please, know that you can come home. Anytime." her vision began to blur as tears once again flooded her eyes, "It's alright." she gasped, struggling to breathe for a second, "Whatever has happened between you and me ... I ... I'm sorry. I'm sorry! ... But ... but it's over now. It's all forgiven. If ... if only you could ... hear me."

Slowly, her words faded away, and she fell silent, looking into the distance with watery eyes for a few moments, before her own feelings overwhelmed her yet again and she dropped her head, sobbing heftily.

"Fuck!" she cussed loudly, frustration and desparation overwhelming her, "Where are you, Pip!?" she shouted into the nothingness, "Why can't you just come home already!?"

"Hey..." she could feel Calamity's reassuring hoof on her shoulder, though it did little to calm her down. "Shush." he said softly, resting his head against hers. "She's alright. Ah promise. We'll find her, and it'll all..." he swallowed, "It'll all be good again."

Slowly, Velvet turned her head to look at her friend and companion. While the look on his face was all too quick to reveal that Calamity wasn't much more hopeful than Velvet herself, it did manage to remind her that sitting here and whining wouldn't make things any better. That, in fact, there was a vanishingly small, but nonetheless existent chance that their friend was being held captive in the institution right in front of them. And that, if that were the case, it was up to them to come and save her. Not tomorrow, not in a week, but right now!

With that resolution in mind, Velvet softly nodded her head, gave a soft "Yes. Yes, of course." before arising to her hooves, a look of new determination spreading across her face as she watched Calamity, who had understood the gesture, arise to his hooves as well, and follow after her.

"Let's go find our friend."

“Somethin’s wrong here.”

Calamity could feel the hairs on his back stand on edge as the two left a narrow hallway and stepped into what must have once been the prison’s entrance hall.

His original plan had been to fly himself and Velvet Remedy over the fence surrounding the complex and enter the main building through the back door – it just seemed like common sense that the back entrance to a slaver’s nest wouldn’t be as heavily guarded as the main entrance.

However, after Velvet Remedy had pointed out that –due to the height of the fence and the positioning of the watchtowers- flying over it would bring them dangerously close to the guards who were still keeping watch from the towers and thus increase their chance to get caught right away.

Instead she had proposed to give the main entrance a try first – after all, it seemed to not be guarded at all, and the main building made for a small but noticeable blind spot, out of the guards’ line of sight.

The two had waited until the sun had set completely, using the cover of darkness to sneak up to the building. Maybe their sneaking-skills had increased noticeably, maybe they just had a lot of Celestia-damned luck, but they had managed to reach the front entrance without being noticed by any of the guards on the towers, and the door had not been guarded at all – the slavers probably saw the guards on the towers as sufficient during nighttime.

However, Calamity had become suspicious when they had arrived at the entrance door: while it was heavy, rusty, and appropriately hard to pry open, both, the doorlock that had been manufactured into the door as well as a heavy padlock that –from what it looked like- had been mounted on the door after the war were unlocked, making it almost too easy for the two to break into the former prison.

Even though -speaking from experience- Calamity had somehow expected to be met with a bullet-storm as they had entered the building, they had seen … nothing. No guards, no slavers, no turrets. It was as if the whole building had been abandoned years ago.

The door had led into a narrow, darkened corridor, leading them through a set of two heavy barred doors that were standing wide open, until it opened into the hall they were standing in right now.

From what it looked like, this might have once been the prison’s visitor center – broken, toppled tables were laying in the corners, a few deserted chairs were standing here and there, and motivational pictures and quotes had been painted on the walls – most of which had been repainted with obscene graffitis by now.

Nowadays it seemed the hall was used as some sort of common area for the slavers, as a set of old sofas and tables with playing cards on them suggested.

However, to their surprise, there was nopony here. Sure, it was nighttime and most of the slavers and slaves probably were asleep by now, but Calamity would have expected some sort of resistance – maybe a night guard, or at least a turret.

But there was nothing. If it hadn’t been for what they had seen earlier this day, he would have thought the place had been abandoned entirely.

A voice in his head had been shouting at him ever since they had set hoof into the building, warning him that this couldn't be a coincidence; that the unlocked door and the complete absence of guards were all signs indicating that him and Velvet were walking right into an ambush set up by the slavers.

The voice of reason in his head was telling him to turn around and bring himself into safety, but he knew that there was no other way: if they wanted to see if Littlepip was among the slaves kept here, they had to get an image of all the slaves, and it was clear that there would be no better chance to do so than now, during the night.

Shaking his head to drown out his reservations, Calamity stopped in the middle of the room and reached into his saddlebag again, this time pulling out a small flashlight that created a small, yellow-ish cone of light and looking around the room, looking for clues on where to start searching.

Velvet Remedy caught up with him a few seconds later, stopping next to him and letting her gaze wander through the room.

Aside from a set of doors that –according to the signs on them- would lead them to the building’s toilets, and another door that –based on the smell coming from its general direction- would lead to the actual toilets, the room didn’t have too much to offer – at least in terms of what they were looking for.

“Where should we start looking?” Velvet whispered after a moment, leaning closer to Calamity so as to cause as little noise as possible. Her look fell onto a metal door at the other side of the room, barely recognizable as such in the twilight the room was in.

“Look.” She whispered, pointing a hoof into the direction of the door, “I think this one leads into the backyard. Maybe the slaves are accomodated in that other building.”

Carrying the flashlight in his mouth, Calamity was unable to speak, but gave a muffled sound of disapproval and shook his head.

Slightly confused, Velvet Remedy turned her head to look at her friend, noticing only now that he had turned around and was pointing his flashlight at a door right next to the one they had come through. A mutilated metal sign on the wall next to it read ‘HOLDING CELLS’ and a thick arrow pointing downwards.

“Oh.” Velvet replied with an intrigued nod of her head, wondering how she could have missed the door when she had been looking around earlier.

“Ah say we check down there first.” Calamity whispered with some difficulties due to the flashlight in his mouth, “Seems like the best bet.”

Velvet just nodded in agreement, not wanting to talk more than necessary.

“Ah’ll go ahead.” Calamity clarified, “Stay close to me.”

Again, Velvet nodded, and the two ponies started walking towards the dark doorframe; the set of stairs that lay behind it led the two one floor below ground, and into a hall at least three times as big as the one above.

“Jackpot.” Calamity would have said if he hadn’t been carrying the flashlight in his mouth. He and Velvet were standing on a balcony that encircled the room's entire upper floor; a set of metal stairs in front of them would lead them to the bottom of the basement, where –in the middle of the room- a hole of about ten yards in diameter had been dug into the ground and covered with a makeshift cage of chainlink fence. A full set of neon lamps, including three big spotlights were fixed to the ceiling, but were all turned off, so that a few rows of emergency lamps on the walls were the only thing saving the hall from complete darkness.

However, neither of the two had eyes for this in that moment: on the level of the balcony they were standing on, as well as on the ground level, the walls were filled with prison cells, all filed with sleeping ponies – most likely slaves.

Calamity and Velvet Remedy turned to face each other with meaningful looks, then nodded almost simultaneously.

“Ah’ll check the lower cells. You stay up here.” Calamity said, storing his flashlight back in his saddlebag now that minimum lightning was provided.

Again, Velvet nodded in agreement, and the two ponies split up, Calamity walking down the stairs, careful, so as to not wake up anyone and maybe trigger an alarm, while Velvet started walking past the holding cells on her level, looking inside to see if the pony they were looking for was among the prisoners.

“She’s not on the upper level.” Velvet Remedy concluded resignedly as she approached Calamity from behind. The pegasus was standing in front of one of the lower holding cells like petrified, looking inside with a deadpan look.

“Have you found her?” Velvet asked with just a touch of new hope in her voice.

Slowly, reluctantly, Calamity shook his head, and his eyes trailed off to the ground. Slightly confused, Velvet now looked into the cell as well – and could feel her shoulders sink.

Laying on a metal plank bed that was lined with the smallest bit of moldy hay was a short mare. A short unicorn mare. A short unicorn mare with a device on her foreleg that –without a doubt- was a PipBuck.

Only that it wasn’t Littlepip.

The mare’s features seemed completely different to those from their friend – her body was a little more buff, her mane and fur had entirely different colors, and her cutie mark –barely visible in the nightly twilight- was a picture of a rusty cog wheel instead of a PipBuck.

Velvet Remedy could feel herself sink to her haunches as the integrity of things caught up with her, and she tasted bile in the back of her throat: another failure; another opportunity gone bust.

She could hear Calamity growling next to her. “It’s not her.” He hissed, “It’s not her!” In his anger, he shouted out a curse, giving the cell door a strong blow with his off. “Fuck!”

“Careful.” Velvet warned him. While she could understand his frustration –she was no less frustrated after all- she also knew that they were still intruding somewhere and thus had to keep their noise level reduced to a minimum. “Somepony might hear us.”

As if by command, the mare on the plank bed let out a muffled groan, before slowly lifting her head. “W-what?” she asked with half-open eyes, “Who are you?”

“Damnit!” Calamity cussed, ignoring her and turning away from the cell, “Damnit! Ah was sure we had her this time!” he gave the ground a hard stomp in frustration, "Three years! Three fucking years, and we're still clueless! Shit!"

“Calamity please!” Velvet begged, making sure to keep her voice low, “If we keep making noise, we will get caught! I know that you’re disappointed, but we can’t-“

Suddenly, with a click, followed by a soft whirr, the lamps on the ceiling came to life. The formerly dusky hall now was completely enlightened, and the spotlights, focused on Calamity and Velvet Remedy, left the two as exposed as a deer in the headlights.

Simultaneously, their heads shot up, and just as simultaneously, their jaws dropped.

The entire balcony on the upper level was filled with at least two dozen ponies – slavers, most certainly. Weapons ready and pointed at the intruders, mouths grinning with wicked smiles, eyes looking the two over with gazes like those of hungry predators, they were standing there, ready to shoot the two to pieces at a moment's notice.

Taking in a deep breath and suppressing a curse, Calamity focused, trying to come up with a way out.

To his surprise, the slavers hadn’t started shooting yet. For now they were just standing still, eyeing them with smug glares. They knew about their superiority, and wanted to let them know it too.

Slowly, Calamity leaned over to Velvet who was looking at the armed ponies like petrified.

“On the count of three, we’ll run over to the stairs and seek cover behind ‘em. You go ahead, Ah’ll cover you.” He muttered into her direction.

The charcoal unicorn replied nothing, seemingly unable to look away from the hordes of ponies above their heads.

“Understood?” Calamity asked carefully.

While she still seemed to have some trouble moving, Velvet slowly nodded her head, her eyes finally leaving the slavers and drifting over to the set of stairs.

“Alright then.” Calamity said, drawing in a long breath, “One…”

Slowly, reluctantly, Velvet turned around to face the stairs, tensing her legs.

“Two…”

Calamity grabbed the mouthpiece of his battle saddle, eyeing the mass of enemies. He would have to seek out and take down the ones with assault rifles first, as those would pose a bigger immediate threat than those equipped with shotguns and combat knives.

Having his eyes locked on his first set of targets, he lowered his body into a crouch, tensing each and every muscles in his body to the maximum.

“Three!”

...

Nothing.

It took Calamity’s mind less than a second to figure out what was going on, but even that second felt like a whole eternity to him. The whole world seemed to stand still: Velvet wasn’t running; the slavers weren’t shooting - he was doing neither.

He couldn’t move. Not by an inch. The slavers above them were laughing at their misery, cheering in delight, but –thank Celestia- not shooting them.

It was by then that Calamity noticed an aura of green magic around his and Velvet Remedy’s body. Seconds later he felt himself torn away from the ground and up into the air, leaving him hovering several feet above the ground.

He felt his heart pound, the sensation of flying without using his wings something he had never experienced before, and the instinct to struggle and break himself free from whatever was holding him in place overwhelming every other thought.

But the magic aura around him didn’t give in, and he could have sworn that the more he struggled against it, the tighter it would get, only adding to his primal rage and frustration.

From the corner of his eye, he saw that Velvet Remedy had suffered the same fate, her eyes wide with shock as she floated mid-air next to him, unable to move as well as she was engulfed by the magic green aura.

Once again, nothing happened; the world seemed to stand still for just a moment, then a voice cut through the room, drowning out the laughter of the slavers who altogether silenced abruptly.

“Well, what do we have here?” Calamity’s ears perked up as he heard the voice – that is, they would have, if he had been able to move.

This voice, it sounded familiar. Awfully familiar.

The raiders on the top end of the stairs stepped aside, and past them walked a single pony – the leader of the pack, based on the serious, respectful looks on the slavers' faces.

The pony slowly walked towards the stairs, then stopped, lifted her head, and looked at the two immobilized ponies; a grin crept onto her face.

Calamity was sure, even with the magic aura still holding his body in place, his jaw dropped by at least two inches as he saw her.

Velvet Remedy’s heart must have stopped as she saw her.

Littlepip!

She was here! They had finally found her! Their friend was back!

These were the thoughts shooting through her head in the first couple of seconds. But her optimism was short-lived: after keeping her look focussed on the pony for a few more seconds, she could feel her heart sink again.

No, this wasn’t Littlepip.

That is ... she was still wearing a PipBuck that looked awfully smilar to the model her friend had, but this ... this mare was dressed in heavy raider armor; her mane was militarily short, unkempt and done in a steep sidecut, and her eyes were cold, showing no signs of the fire and the determination she had seen in those of her friend.

Besides, looking at the integrity of things, it was clear that this mare could not be Littlepip: obviously, she was working with the slavers that had ambushed them! And looking at her brightly gleaming horn, it was her who was holding Velvet Remedy and Calamity in place.

But who was this mare, then? Her eyes, her mane, and those parts of her fur that weren’t covered by her armor did make her look like a perfect copy of Littlepip, and even in height she did come amazingly close to their friend.

A distant relative, maybe? A long-lost twin? Or a clone?

Velvet Remedy had to admit that none of these possibilities sounded particularly likely, but anything else would mean…

“Intruders, huh?” Velvet didn’t have time to finish that thought, as the pony spoke up again. Her words sent a shiver through Velvet’s body: even her voice sounded exactly like that of their friend.

Slowly, as if she were enjoying every step, the slaver mare walked down the stairs, her look constantly focused on the two ponies floating above her head; a group of slavers followed shortly after her, weapons at the ready.

“You sure look familiar…” she said, eyeing the two closely, “I could swear I had friends like you once.” she paused for a second, then her eyes narrowed and her features hardened, “Until they betrayed me!” she snarled; the magic aura around her horn vanished, and her two captives fell to the ground. Calamity, his instincts kicking in in the nick of time, was able to spread his wings and soften his fall at least a little bit, but Velvet Remedy crashed into the ground at full speed, letting out a pained groan as she struggled to get to her hooves.

“Velvet!” Calamity shouted appalled and wanted to run over to her, but was stopped as the green aura came to life again, holding the two ponies in place.

Littlepip walked over to Calamity and looked at him for a long moment, seeming to contemplate something, but then shook her head, turned her head towards the slavers behind her and said, “Get him out of my sight.”

Promptly, four slavers –three stallions and a mare- stepped from behind their leader and walked towards the still immobilized Calamity. The pegasus’ eyes widened and he prepared to fight as soon as Littlepip would release him from her magic, but he was hit with a wave of disillusionment as one of the slavers pulled out a syringe with a reddish fluid in it, and he could only watch helplessly as they walked up to him and rammed it into his shoulder.

It must have hit a vein, as the effects were immediate: within a few seconds, Calamity could feel his eyelids getting heavier, his legs getting weaker, and despite his fierce determination to resist whatever the slavers had in mind for him, he collapsed to the floor as the magic aura holding him in place vanished just a few seconds later, his eyes failing him as they drifted close and he lost consciousness.

Velvet Remedy could feel her heart in her mouth as she saw the body of her friend hitting the floor, before being picked up and carried away by the group of slavers. Her eyes were wide, breathing stifled. She didn’t remember when she had last felt this furious; maybe never. Even though her body still wasn’t moving and she could barely blink, she swore these ponies would pay for this! She would … she would break free and make them-

Her thoughts came to a halt as the leader of the slavers now walked up to her. Her eyes were cold and as emotionless as before, but the cold grin on her face didn’t bode well.

She stopped in front of Velvet who was still sitting on the ground, and looked her over.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she said calmly, never breaking eye contact with Velvet Remedy, “Last time I saw you you were pointing a gun at me.”

Velvet’s breath caught in her throat as Littlepip’s horn glowed a little brighter and a revolver came flying from a holster on her flank, floating in front of Velvet Remedy’s face with its barrel pointing right between her eyes.

“Funny how tables can turn, right?”

Like petrified, Velvet looked past the revolver and at Littlepip, eyes wide in shock and sheer disbelief.

But Littlepip seemed unaffected, staring right back at Velvet with a cold glare and the weakest of smiles on her face. "What?" she asked casually, "Don't say you weren't expecting something like this." the gun floated closer to Velvet's face, its cold metal barrel now pressing against her forehead.

"What goes around, comes around, right?" Littlepip said with an almost innocent shrug, "You shoot me..." The revolver gave a soft click as its hammer was slid back; Velvet Remedy could feel her skin creep, her mind going heads over heels, trying to digest what was going on, but only descending into chaos.

"And I'll shoot you." Littlepip concluded with a grin.

With horror, Velvet watched how slowly, Littlepip's magic pulled the gun's trigger back. Seeing her life rush past her inner eye, she gave one last pleading stare at the pony she had used to call her friend, before she drew in a short breath and closed her eyes, expecting to meet her maker.

*click*

"But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?" Littlepip said with a chuckle, pulling the unloaded revolver away from Velvet Remedy's face and throwing it into a corner of the room. "And if the wasteland must have taught you one thing, it's that things are never easy, right?" she continued; her voice sounded almost friendly now.

And with that, she dropped her magic field around Velvet's body, causing the charcoal unicorn to fall onto her back with a breathless gasp, both out of relief and exasperation.

"No." Littlepip said with a shake of her head, "Since you went out of your way to sneak in here..." she paused for a second, her thoughts seeming to trail off, "And by the way, next time you're planning an infiltration..." she lifted her foreleg, typing something into her pipbuck.

"So … I take it we should wait until the sun has set, right?" Velvet heard her own voice coming from the device's speaker.

"Ayep. Ah’d say we wait till it’s dark an’ then sneak inside. No point in runnin' in there an' risking our lives till we know that she’s actually here.”

"Check your surroundings." Littlepip said sternly, her voice seeming almost annoyed, "Watcher isn't the only one who can hack into spritebots, you know. We have surveillance around the entire area. Nopony enters or leaves without my knowledge."

She shook her head, "Anyway, since you went out of your way to sneak in here, I think it'd only be fair to let you stay for a while." she announced with a malicious grin.

Velvet wanted to say something, but was too absorbed in her thoughts to bring out a word; all this was way too much for her!

"And," Littlepip continued, her face lightening up noticeably as she walked over to Velvet who was still laying on the ground, positioning herself over the bigger unicorn like a lion about to kill its prey with a bite to the neck, "I even have a welcome present for you!" Again, her horn lit up, and she floated something out of a pouch on her flank. Velvet was both, surprised and horrified to recognize it as a needle gun. Taking a closer look at it, she realized: it looked exactly like...

"You left this with me in Tenpony Tower." Littlepip explained coldly, "After you shot me!" her head shot forward, her face stopping mere inches away from that of Velvet, her eyes wide and teeth clenched in anger.

The shorter unicorn remained like this for a few seconds, before her mouth formed into a grin and she -just loud enough for her and Velvet to hear- slowly whispered, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment."

Engulfed by Littlepip's magic, the needle gun floated between the two, resting just more than an inch above Velvet Remedy's chest which was heaving in accordance with her horrified, ragged breathing.

With pure delight, as if she were savoring every single word, Littlepip bit her lip, then said, "Eat this, cunt."

Thwap!

Eyes torn open, mouth opened wide for a scream that never came, Velvet Remedy could feel the needle pierce her skin, and the poisoned dart do its job: within seconds, she could feel herself losing consciousness, and her mind drifting away from this world.

As her mind went fuzzy and her eyes began to drift shut, she could hear Littlepip growl in anger, the needle gun trembling in her magical grip.

Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!

Another three shots broke loose from the gun; only one found its target in one of Velvet's legs, the two others missed.

Thwap! Thwap!Thwap! Thwap!Thwap!