The day had come and gone, and soon enough it was evening again. The main hall of the Misty Hills Correctional facility was filled to the last spot with slavers. Ponies were standing gathered around the pit - chatting, laughing, and exchanging bets for the upcoming battle.

Most, if not all of them had heard about the story behind the two ponies that were about to face each other - both former friends of the big boss, way back in the days. Rumor had it they had turned their back on her one day; shot her in the back while she wasn't looking, and left her out to die in the wasteland. Only through their betrayal, so ponies said, had the boss become the pony she was today.

Apparently she used to be some form of social justice fighter before - walking the wastes, fighting raiders, slavers, and just about anything else that didn't fit into her image of a perfect world. Though saying goes being shot in the back by her friends shook her to her very foundations, and eventually led her to taking over the prison and starting her own thing here.

And now, it seemed, her friends had returned, possibly in an attempt to make amends, and the boss was about to get a first-row view of the two ponies going at each others throats.

Others might wonder what was going through the bosses head in these moments, knowing that her two former best friends were about to kill each other at her command, but most of the crowd, including both the slavers gathered around the small arena, as well as the slaves eagerly watching from their cells, were too preoccupied with the prospect of another pit-fight to waste any thoughts on that matter.

Calamity swallowed as his hooves touched the still bloody spot where Sunbeam had been decapitated a few days earlier. He took in a short breath of the hot, sticky air, and held back a flinch as he heard the door behind him being shut. The ambient noise in the hall was enormous, filled with cheers and shouts for blood as the door behind his opponent was closed as well, but it all seemed muffled and distant to him.

He tried to drown it all out; to not think about why he had come here, or what the crowd looking down at him expected him to do.

Feeling his throat getting tighter, Calamity slowly, reluctantly raised his head, his eyes meeting those of the pony he was supposed to kill today.

Velvet Remedy didn't look any better than him. Her mane was ruffled; matted, and getting increasingly thinner, the stress and terror of the weeks that lay behind her presumably leading to hair loss. Her fur looked ... just as awful, really, And her eyes... oh goddesses, her eyes. Once shining with hope and empathy as one of the last genuinely kind ponies in this wasteland, they now looked nothing short of empty... and hopeless. She, just like Calamity, knew what was about to happen, and from the look on her face, it brought her just as much pain as him.

"Gooood evening, everypony!" the cheerful voice of the announcer tore through the hall as the white stallion once again standing in the middle of the arena started heating up the mood, "Welcome to a spontaneous and very special pit-fight!"

The crowd outside stomped in approval, causing Calamity's ears to fold back from the noise. Bitterness was crawling up his throat as the integrity of things caught up with him - what a great feeling it was, hearing other ponies shout for his death.

"Now, what makes this fight so special, some of you may ask!" the announcer continued undeterred, "Well friends, why don't we have a look at our fighters for tonight?" he turned towards Calamity, pointing a hoof at the pegasus, "In this corner we have one of the rarest creatures you'll ever find in the wasteland! His name is Calamity and-"

"Get on with it already!" an annoyed shout came from the upper ranks, causing the announcer to cut himself off mid-sentence. His equally irritated look went upwards to search for the pony that had so impudently interrupted him.

However, as his eyes met those of Littlepip and he realized that the big boss herself was getting impatient, his head sank back, and he muttered a weak, "Alright, let's go!" into his microphone before spinning around on the spot and trotting past Calamity and towards the exit door behind him.

The pegasus' eyes rested on him as he walked over to the gate; a slaver from the other side unlocked it, the announcer stepped out, and the door was swiftly closed and locked again.

With a sigh, Calamity turned his head back again, knowing that there was no way back now, and positioned himself with his back facing the closed door.

Slowly, with shaky steps, the two opponents walked into the middle of the arena where the announcer had stood moments ago, and where their weapons were now laying ready.

Calamity didn't quite understand why the slavers had allowed them to choose from a wide variety of melee weapons before the fight. His best guess was that they expected to make the fight more challenging... or something. Maybe just make it more bloody and brutal.

Slowly, the pegasus leaned forward, picking up the tool he had chosen to be his murder weapon: a crowbar - simple, handy, and good for a quick and -at least somewhat- painless death.

Velvet Remedy, now standing only a few feet away from him, bowed down to pick her weapon as well. Pacifistic as she was, she had opted for a metal riot shield. While it didn't seem like much, Calamity was sure it would get the job done - one way or another. An intense shudder ran through his whole body.

He took another deep breath, wiggling the crowbar around in his mouth, then led a hoof up to bis bomb collar, making sure it was sitting properly. The last thing he wanted was for it to go off sometime during the fight, as it might end up killing both of them at once.

The shouts coming from the crowd became more intense, shouting for the two to begin already, and Calamity could feel his legs begin to shake.

His look went back to his opponent, and through a small acryic glass-window in the shield he could see the eyes of his lover - she was crying, knowing all too well what the slavers expected her to do; knowing that they wouldn't be content until one of them was dead.

He kept his eyes locked with her for a few moments, trying to figure out how to end this as quickly and painlessly as possible, but was horrified to see that his lover had apparently begun establishing her own plans: with a loud, hoarse, and utterly desperate scream, Velvet Remedy had begun running - and was now charging right at Calamity, riot shield held up high.

He spread his wings, wanting to get himself out of the line of fire, but it was too late. He never expected a pony like Velvet to develop such amounts of sheer strength, but...

The shield's impact was like that of a brick wall. His ears still filled with his friend's battle cry, he could feel his body being dragged along by the shield like a dead fly on a windscreen.

Only seconds later, Calamity let out a pained groan as he collided with the wire mesh of the door, and he was sandwiched between it and Velvet's shield. The crowbar, his only real means of defense, was knocked out of his mouth, almost knocking out a tooth in the process, as it got stuck somewhere in the wire mesh.

"V-Velvet!" he barely managed to gasp as the air was forced out of his lungs, "Velvet please!"

He was pressed gainst the wire mesh fence, metal digging into his face, but was relieved to see that his pleading seemed to have some form of effect on his friend at least. Moments later, the unicorn mare pulled back, making the limp pegasus drop to the ground like a wet sack.

It seemed the normally so pacifistic unicorn was only slowly realizing how much power had been behind this first charge as she watched her friend lie on the ground; the attack clearly had taken its toll on the weakened pegasus. Dropping her shield like thunderstruck and leaning over her friend with eyes wide in horror Velvet gasped, "I ... I'm sorry, Calamity! I just-"

She was cut off as the pegasus used this short moment of distraction to deliver a blow into her lower belly, causing her to flinch and retreat with a pained yelp.

Not missing a beat, Calamity jumped back to his hooves, placing a hoof on her shoulder and shoving her away before taking flight to the other end of the arena.

Velvet, still seeming affected by the punch to the guts, looked at him, and in an instant the pain and regret on her face seemed to turn into a boiling rage. Giving a furious growl, she got back to her hooves and started chasing after him, only stopping for a moment to pick her shield up again.

The hunt went on for a few moments. Calamity used his speed and agility as a pegasus, running along the side of the round arena, trying to come up with... something. However, Velvet was hot on his heels, shield once again raised up high.

Calamity felt his heart in his mouth; his veins were filled with adrenaline; eyes wide. He bit his lip as his hunt with Velvet brought him back to the spot where it had begun earlier, and where his crowbar was still firmly lodged between the wire mesh door and its makeshift-doorframe.

His eyes narrowed, heart kicking into a higher gear.

Here goes...

Biting his lip and knowing that it was now or never, he raised a hoof towards his collar, fumbling around the lock, and feeling relief wash over him as the mechanism came loose with a soft click, and the now disabled collar slipped off his neck with ease.

He kept his eyes locked onto the spot where the crowbar was still stuck at around mouth-level, hoping that Velvet had managed to free herself from her collar as well, then leaned his head forward, bowing down as he ran, and slipped through under the crowbar with ease.

Only split seconds later, there was a loud clank as Velvet Remedy's riot shield collided with his crowbar, followed by a metallic whine as the force of her impact pryed on the door, until finally the lock holding it in place sprang open with a metallic whine, and dropped to the concrete ground, and the door sprung open.

"Just ... just a little further to the left..." Calamity softly whispered, fumbling with the screwdriver in his mouth. Lockpicking had never been his best discipline, and the fact that what he did basically compared to an open-heart surgery conducted with barely enough light to see his hoof in front of his face didn't make things any easier.

He could feel Velvet Remedy draw in a breath to say something, but then cut herself off, too tense to bring out a word. Hell, he was sure he couldn't speak either if his life was completely in the hooves of somepony else, no matter how much she trusted that somepony.

A few more moments of tense silence, only occasionally broken by the nightly ambience that poured into their small cell, then...

"That should do it." he said, to himself this time, as he held the bobby pin in place with a wingtip, and started to gently spin the screwdriver with his mouth. Velvet's body tensed up, and he could tell she was fighting to stop herself from trembling; struggling to remain motionless at all cost.

He could feel sweat run across his forehead, having to put a literal blindfold on his mind to stop himself from thinking what would happen if he would screw this up. He had seen bomb collars go off more than just once in his life, and the results were hardly ever what one could call pleasant.

No! No, he couldn't think about that! He just had to focus! Just... just turn the screwdriver a little further to the left, slow and steady... make sure it doesn't block and...

His body tensed up, the world around him seeming to come to a standstill as his gaze locked onto the lock in front of him, completely drowning out everything else.

Just a little further... a little further and...

Ae had to contain himself to not let out a shout of victory as the bomb collar around Velvet Remedy's neck gave in with a soft click and fell to the ground with a muffled thud.

Velvet Remedy, giving a long, drawn-out but utterly relieved sigh, softly sank to the ground where she caught her breath, hear head dropping forward - thankfully still connected to her body.

Calamity, now giving a relieved sigh as well, lowered the screwdriver in his mouth and brought himself down to his lover. "Told ya I still have it in me." he said, smiling more out of relief than anyhting else.

To be completely honest, him managing to remove his friend's bomb collar was probably more attributable to pure luck than anything else - beginning with the fact that he had found both, the screwdriver and two bobby pins within the course of the past day.

The screwdriver he had stumbled over on the way back from his shift earlier and had. Surprisingly enough, it was lying on the ground in front of their cell - unseeming, unnoticed. Calamity hadn't missed a beat - whoever had left this here, and whyever it was lying there... really, it didn't matter. The second he had seen it, he had known what to do and, thanks to the slaver leading him there being focused on his gun instead of his slaves, had managed to pick it up and hide it in his mouth before anyone had noticed. The bobby pins had been laying under their shared cot earlier - Calamity suspected they had been leftover from the previous cell-dweller and simply fell out with time, going unnoticed by the two dwellers up until now.

Well, and now here he was. He never thought he could pull it off, but finally, Velvet Remedy was free from the mortal threat around her neck - a fact he promptly appreciated by gently caressing the stressed fur on her neck with a hoof.

Despite everything that had happened during the past days, Calamity could feel a smile form on his face. This ... this was a first step, right? A first step on the long road to freedom from this hell.

Of course, there still was quite a couple of things to get done, but the thought that, technically, Velvet Remedy could simply walk out of here now did manage to lighten his mood. Of course, this was utterly impossible - if not due to the slavers guarding the place, then simply due to the fact that the two were sitting in a locked prison cell, secured by centuries-old but still perfectly functional locks. However, having the collar removed did raise his hopes quite dramatically - it was a shimmer of hope; something to hold on to, and build on.

"So ... you thought about our plan again?" he asked his friend softly, his hoof continuing to gently massage the sore skin around her neck.

The charcoal unicorn nodded gently. "Yes." she said softly, "I ... don't really like it, but I suppose it is the best alternative we have at this point."

"Ayep." he replied briefly, "'s what Ah was thinkin'. Trust me, Ah wouldn't suggest somethin' like that if I knew that there's an easier way."

"Of course." Again, Velvet nodded, giving a soft sigh from her friend's attentions to her sore neck. "It's just ... we have to make this look real. Littlepip is smart. She'll notice if we're just pretending."

"Ayep." Calamity agreed briefly.

"That's why I'm so nervous. If we can't completely convince her, she'll outsmart us." she bristled, "Like she did with Homage."

Calamity nodded. "Yeah. Don't wanna end up with a dart gun in our side." Casting a quick look to his friend, he added, "Not again, anyway."

Velvet Remedy frowned, visibly struggling with the memories. She shook her head, bringing the subject back to the matter at hand. "Should we try again?"

"Sure," Calamity affirmed, "Let's hear it."

On cue, the mare next to him slowly got to her hooves -the stress from the bomb collar-removal was still evident in her body- and began began to tremble. Calamity could see her face tear up in the dim light.

"W-why!? Why are you doing this!?" Velvet whimpered, "We ... we don't want to fight! We just want to be free!" her face contorted in staged pain - a sight that, despite the fact that it wasn't real, made Calamity want to put his arms around her and comfort her. "Why are you making us do this!?" she asked the pegasus with tear-stained eyes, "We ... we used to be friends!"

That caused Calamity to flinch softly. Heck, he knew Velvet was a good singer - who knew she was a decent actor as well?

"Okay..." he nodded affirmingly, swallowing. "Guess that'll do it."

"You think so?" Velvet asked, her voice back to normal, albeit slightly hoarse now, as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Yeah." he agreed, then cracked a thin smile, "Heck, you almost convinced me back there!"

The unicorn wiped her face again, but couldn't hide the ghost of a smile on her face. "Okay then." she said softly, sitting down again, "Should we go see her tomorrow?"

Again, Calamity nodded, "We should. ... But first..." he picked up the unlocked bomb collar with his mouth, and gently, reluctantly lifted it back over Velvet Remedy's neck, "Better keep that close to you. Wouldn't want anyone catching you walking around without it."

"You're right." she replied, giving a soft nod, although the discomfort about feeling the life-threatening device around her neck again was obvious. Her eyes travelled to the screwdriver laying on the ground in front of them, then to Calamity's still active bomb collar, nervousness forming in her gaze. "S-should I ...?"

"Think ya can do it?"

"I ... hope so." Velvet replied hesitantly, "I mean, I've picked a couple of locks, but that was with my horn." she said, looking up at her still immobilized horn. Contrary to the 'traditional' closing mechanism on the bomb collar, the ring could only be removed with magic, meaning that she had to remain a de facto earth pony until the two were out of here - not a pleasant circumstance by any means, but nothing that could be changed at the moment.

"Ah'm sure you can do it." Calamity said, working on an encouraging smile. "Just ... relax."

"Okay." his friend said with a short nod, then bowed down to pick up the screwdriver with her mouth. Calamity used his wing to fumble one of the two remaining bobby pins into the lock on his collar, then could feel his muscles tense as Velvet carefully inserted the screwdriver.

"Ah believe in you." He whispered softly as he could feel her fumbling with the bobby pin, before slowly, carefully, turning the lock.

Now it was now or never!

Feeling his heart in his mouth Calamity spread his wings, stopping almost on the spot. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as he spun around and flew back to where Velvet was sitting on the ground, knocked back to her haunches by the sheer force of the impact.

Without hesitating, the pegasus grabbed her foreleg and pulled her back to her hooves, a little rougher than he would have under normal circumstances. Hearing the slavers above him gasp as the reality of what was happening seemed to dawn on them, he reached under her arms and pulled her up with him.

All was going to plan.

Velvet Remedy, despite still being a bit dizzy from being knocked back by her shield, reacted just in time. Hastily leaning forward just as she felt her lover's hooves around her, she reached out and bit down hard on the handle of the riot shield - a motion that still felt all to bewildering to the unicorn.

But she did her best to keep herself composed. They only had this one shot at escaping; she could not afford to mess this up!

Groaning from the effort, she could already feel her jaws begin to ache from the effort, just as her partner flapped his wings and the two lifted off the ground.

She felt her body tense up, her eyes widening, ears twitching as screams of outrage filled the hall, the slavers finally seeming to realize what the two ponies were up to.

It wasn't long before the first shots rang out; yells of dismay mixing with rifles and shotguns going off. Velvet pulled her head in, the thought of ponies shooting at her sending an unpleasant shudder down her spine. Mere split seconds later, her head jerked back as the first bullets collided with her shield; bottles, rocks, and goddesses knows what else followed almost instantly.

The mare suppressed a squeal, forcing her teeth a little tighter together, and wrapping her rear hooves -her front hooves were still held tight by Calamity, who seemed to be struggling himself- around the sides of the shield for additional support.

She groaned, pain shooting through her mouth as bullet after bullet collided with her shield... goodness, she could see the metal bulge out from the impact!

Velvet forced her eyes shut in an attempt to stop panic from taking over her mind. She just... had to hold on! The shield was large enough to cover both of them, and if only she could hold on a few seconds, longer, they would be free! Free!

She grimaced from the exertion, tears running down her cheeks. The pain in her mouth was overwhelming, and it was only by sheer willpower that she managed to keep up the shield as Calamity flew them over the slavers' heads and up the single set of stairs.

Just... just a little longer! Two seconds, one second...

Calamity let out a colossal gasp as the pair arrived at the top end of the stairs and he, not as gently as he'd want, dropped Velvet and the shield, before coming to a not-so-gentle landing in front of her.

Two seconds. The two ponies needed two seconds to collect themselves, briefly catch their breath, and force themselves back to their hooves, freedom within reach!

Not missing a beat, Velvet Remedy and Calamity got under way again, running up the second set of stairs that would take them up to the prison's visitor center and eventually to freedom.

Thankfully, in her surge of excitement about the upcoming battle, Littlepip had made sure that everypony in the whole facility was gathered around the pit to watch the fight, giving the escapees an unexpected head start. Unbeknownst to them, there was only one mare close enough to them to actually catch up; a mare that had started running as soon as the escape attempt had begun, and was quickly closing in on the escapees with an unrelenting determination.

Regardless, both of them knew that there was no time to waste as they dashed up the stairs, arriving in the mostly darkened visitor center, before taking a sharp turn to the side and running towards the hallway that would take them to the main entrance.

Velvet Remedy's ears twitched as they picked up the all too familiar sounds of gunfire on the stairs behind them, accompanied by voices. Voices that announced not necessarily pleasant things should they get their hooves on the breakaways.

But she didn't care. She knew that at the end of this corridor she would find freedom; a way out of this hell! A way back into the Equestrian Wasteland; and a way to put an end to this madness. All she had to do was-

Her breath caught in her throat as her look shot to the side for just a second, and she gasped: Calamity wasn't with her anymore!

Within split seconds her head shot around, and she spotted the pegasus standing in the hallway a few yards behind her. She stopped abruptly, sliding to a halt on the bare tiles, a shout on her lips. However, before she could say anyhting, the pegasus pointed an outstretched arm at the exit looming at the end of the corridor and shouted, "Go! Ah'll distract 'em!"

"What!?" she shouted back, her eyes wide. This... this wasn't part of the plan! "No!" she affirmed, furiously shaking her head, "No way! I'm not leaving without-"

"Go already!" Calamity screamed at her, clenching his teeth, "Get outta here and get help! Ah'll manage!"

Velvet remained silent, looking at her lover with eyes wide in shock. She didn't know what came over her, but before she knew it, she found herself under way again, running towards the desired door leading into freedom.

She... she couldn't bear the thought of leaving her lover behind. But... but if her getting out meant she could come back and free Calamity from this hell... it was a chance she had to take.

Pressing her lips together, she heard the slavers running up the stairs, and Calamity dashing out through the rear door leading into the inner yard.

She just... had to trust him.

It was only a few seconds later when she arrived in front of the exit door. Sliding to a halt, she reared up and placed her front hoof on the double doors to kick them open as fast as possible. She could already smell the evening air from outside, freedom just seconds away! She just had to-

"Velvet stop!"

The unicorn froze on the spot.

This voice wasn't that of Calamity. Neither was it that of Littlepip or one of the slavers.

Her head spun around, and her eyes widened as she spotted a gray unicorn coming running down the hall towards her with eyes wide in panic.

"Homage?" Velvet asked, her hoof still resting on the already opened door. "What are you-"

"Stop!" Homage shouted again as she closed in on Velvet... and leapt. "For the love of Celestia, don't go through that door!"

"W..." Velvet gasped as the shorter unicorn straight-up tackled her, throwing her off her hooves and holding her pinned to the ground, "Why!?" she squealed, terror in her voice. She was... she was this close! This close to getting out of here and escape this nightmare once and for all!

"You..." Homage gasped breathlessly, only slowly catching her breath as she lay atop Velvet Remedy, "You're gonna die!"

"What!?" it burst out of Velvet; adrenaline and pure outrage at the fact that she was being kept this close from freedom making her forget about her normally so good manners, and giving her voice a sharp edge. "Get off me!"

"Please!" Homage begged again through heavy gasps, seeming to have trouble getting her thoughts sorted out as Velvet squirmed, trying to throw the lighter unicorn off, and she struggled to hold her down, "I-I've seen it myself! If... if you go through that door you're gonna-"

"Well, would you look at that?"

There it was again. That voice. That voice that reminded Velvet Remedy just how much she had fucked up. Sounding worryingly calm and filled with a natural superiority, it seemed to taunt her with every word its owner spoke.

Velvet's head spun around. The unicorn trotting down the hallway and slowly approaching her wasn't the first thing she noticed; neither was it the needle gun coming flying into her direction. No, the first thing she noticed was a short, stinging pain in her flank, almost similar to the sting of a mosquito.

She didn't scream. She didn't have time to scream. It all happened within split seconds, and before her mind could even process what had happened, or what that meant, she could already feel her body weakening, her mind becoming foggy as she began to slip from reality. Briefly, she felt the weight of the mare lifting off her back.

Then, blurred and distorted, she heard a voice. Homage's voice.

"I'm sorry, Velvet." she heard through her hazy mind, her friend's voice sounding as if she spoke through water. Sluggishly, the poison doing its work, Velvet's head drifted to the side, her eyes catching sight of Homage who looked back with her with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." the shorter unicorn breathed softly, before closing her eyes and lowering her head.

"You really are starting to learn, huh?" her eyes already drifting shut, Velvet could hear Littlepip's commanding voice, sounding distant and blurred to her as she struggled to keep her head up.

Fighting a losing battle against the poison, she struggled to turn her head towards the exit door. The exit door that would grant her release from this nightmare; release Homage had... had denied her. Had Velvet been sober, the realization would have hit her like a sledgehammer. Now, however, it was just another remark popping up in the blurring mess her mind was descending into.

Groaning, the charcoal mare struggled to raise a hoof, yelling at her muscles as they refused to work. Almost in vain, she stretched out her arm towards the saving exit - red light of the sunset was shining in through the open door. She could... she could feel the breeze against her fur. Just... just a little... further...

"Prevented a breakout without anyone having to tell you. Guess I really did underestimate you." Littlepip's voice became more and more distant as Velvet lost touch with reality, and from the corner of her half-lidded eyes she saw her looking down at Velvet's pitiful form. "Would have loved to see the fireworks, though. Oh well. Guess we'll just have to..."

Her words faded away, her voice turning into white noise in Velvet's head as her body lost the fight, and her eyes drifted shut. A last, weak groan, and she found herself falling back into an all too familiar emptiness.

It must have been hours until she finally came around again.

She... didn't know. She couldn't be bothered to care. Her head was pounding, mouth dry, and her body felt like it had been thoroughly treated with a sledgehammer.

A short breath escaped her throat as she slowly drifted back into reality. Slowly, laborously, she opened her eyes, struggling to lift her head.

She was sitting in a darkened room. The walls and floor were covered in filthy white tiles, and only a small, shattered window to her right allowed a bit of sunlight into the room.

A groan escaped her throat as she lowered her head again. Her vision was swimming, head pounding heavily. The anesthetic was still heavy and her bones, and she could feel it all too well. Velvet Remedy groaned again as she slowly sat up, and a jangling sound-

She froze.

That sound... that sound!

She felt her anesthetic-ridden heart skip a beat as the sound occurred again, almost simultaneous with every little movement she made. Gasping, her look darted to her side... and her eyes widened. With horror she noticed that her forelegs were tied up and connected to the wall with thick iron shackles. She was... she was chained to the wall!

Her eyes widened in horror, her still drowsy mind picking up the pace as the events of the past hours rushed past her mind's eye. Of how she and Calamity had faced each other in the pit, in arguably one of the best ruses they had ever come up with. Of how their plan had worked out at first; how she had dashed up the stairs into the visitor center, of how Calamity had...

Her mind tripped as she thought of her lover. He had stayed behind! But where was he? Was he alright!?

But even before her thoughts could drift off to her partner in chains, her mind was back to recalling what had happened before. How she had stood in front of the open door, freedom from this hell just a step away; how Homage had approached her from behind, and how she had ... had...

Velvet Remedy could feel her throat getting tighter, heart pounding. Had Homage really stopped her from escaping? Had she ... had she already given up hope so soon? Or could it be that ... had she gone down the same path as Littlepip? Had the fallen heroine already corrupted Homage's mind enough to make her follow her path? To make her... make her hate Velvet and her friends?

Oh goddesses ... Velvet felt tears forming in her eyes, her face contorting in pain.

Why? For the love of Luna, why? She had already lost Littlepip, she couldn't lose Homage too!

Why was this all happening? Celestia! Luna! Which higher deity had she infuriated to deserve this?

She clenched her teeth, sadness and pain quickly turning into anger; into a furious, boiling rage. She could feel the muscles in her forelegs tense, putting stress on the chains connecting her hooves to the wall. Giving a noise that was half-scream, half-growl she shouted out her frustration into the darkness of the abandoned room.

She didn't know what would happen next, but fuck if she cared! She just wanted it to stop! For it all to be over! To be back in Tenpony Tower, watching Littlepip work on that wretched needle gun - the goddesses-damned thing that had started it all.

She took in a deep breath, preparing to unleash another shout of frustration, but it caught in her throat as the sound of a light switch resounded through the room, and seconds later she found herself exposed in the glaring light of bright, pale neon tubes mounted to the ceiling.

Groaning in pain, she forced her eyes shut and directed her look at the ground. She could already see her mind drawing up images of what was going to happen next. She, a slave in the eyes of her tormentors, had tried to escape, and had been captured - it didn't take an arcane scientist to know that... that punishment would await her now. She had seen it plenty of times in the past.

An intense shiver ran through her spine as her mind was flooded with images of gruesome, brutal imagery of what she had seen in the wastes, and she forced herself to direct her thoughts elsewhere.

Slowly, she struggled to lift her head.

Her shoulders sank.

Down a flight of stairs and into what she now recognized as an empty room with plain, gray concrete walls, was coming a pony. A pony she had... had once held dearly.

She had to look away. Seeing her formerly heroic friend wearing raider armor was a sight she would never get used to.

"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead." Littlepip said with a mock friendliness as she came walking over to the captured mare, seemingly without a care in the world, her steps echoing through the empty hall.

She stopped in front of Velvet, but said nothing for a while. Maybs she was just enjoying the sight of the unicorn mare being tied up and helpless.

Velvet kept her head hanging low, knowing that any second she spent looking at her 'friend' could just cause her to get overwhelmed with emotions again; she really didn't want to go through another breakdown.

"You know..." Littlepip began after a few moments, strutting to and fro in front of Velvet Remedy. "I didn't think you could actually pull this off. Tricking me into believing you'd actually turn against each other to be free." she stopped suddenly, fixing Velvet with a half-serious grin, "Well played, really."

The thought of Calamity caused another surge of tears to well up inside Velvet, and only with a solid effort could she keep herself from sobbing loudly.

"Where is he!?" she wanted to ask; to shout out, right into Pip's face. But she contained herself, knowing that if she would get a reply at all, it'd probably just unsettle her further. She didn't know where he was; and who knows, maybe Pip would end up making things up just to mess with Velvet.

But Calamity could take care of himself - that she knew. Or rather, that she had to force herself to believe in order to not freak out entirely at the prospect of a pegasus being at the mercy of savage, brutal wasteland-dwellers.

"Now..." her tormentress spoke up again, continuing her walk in front of her prisoner. "I've been thinking a lot about what to do with you now. After all..." she stopped a second time, shooting Velvet a glare, "You tried to fuck with me. And I hate that." she declared, her voice dropping drastically.

She remained still like this for another second, then shook her head and continued her walk, her horn lighting up. "Of course, I could just have you executed..." she stopped. "BLAM!"

Despite her best efforts, Velvet couldn't help but to flinch as the revolver came flying from Pip's flank seemingly at the speed of light, was lined up with her face with the barrel resting right between her eyes, and the trigger was pulled with a soft 'click', revealing once again an empty cylinder.

But she tried to keep her poise up, not wanting to give Littlepip the pleasure of looking like a helpless little lamb, no matter how close she might be to being just that.

"But that'd be boring, wouldn't it?" the mare in question asked, cracking a smile and pulling the empty gun away from Velvet's face. "Instead I, no..." she cut herself off, doing a double take, "Actually it was Homage who came up with this idea. Genius, that pony. Really."

Velvet could feel her heart sink as yet another part of her hopes went down in flames. So her worries had been right.

Homage was now one of them.

She took in a deep breath, letting her head sink, and shivered softly. This ... this couldn't get any worse, could it?

"Now..." Pip spoke up again after a moment as several hoofsteps came walking down the stairs she had come from a few minutes ago. "I know you've been through a lot during the past days, so I thought I'd spare you from the punishment breakaways normally get. See it as a token of our... friendship." she said, unable to hide the disgust in her voice at that last word.

Worried, but nevertheless confused, Velvet Remedy slowly raised her head again. Her eyes widened as she watched a group of three ponies coming walking down the stares - two slavers and a slave, based on their appearances. The slave -the shorter pony, walking between the two taller ones- was connected to the two slavers with a thick metal chain around their neck, and had a black bag over their head, concealing their face.

"Instead..." Littlepip continued swiftly, turning towards the two slavers, "I elected someone else to take that bullet for you." she explained, cocking her head into the direction of the slave. "And I mean that quite literally, really." she added, grinning slyly as she once again raised her revolver. With a practiced ease, the cylinder was flipped to the side and loaded with bullets from a satchel around her waist.

"Who ... what are you ...?" Velvet Remedy stuttered, her mouth running dry from the quick turn of events. Of course, the most obvious candidate for this kind of treatment would have been Calamity, but that pony under the hood was an earth pony and, on second look, way too small for a fully grown pegasus.

So Pip had just elected a random slave to be ... to be executed? She could feel sickness crawling up her throat at the mere thought of ... of ... this!

But ... but that pony seemed familiar. Velvet couldn't put her hoof on it; the memory of where she had seen this brown coat before was drowning somewhere in the chaos that was her memory of the past 24 hours.

"So," Littlepip spoke up a few moments later, as the slavers had left the captured slave to their mistress and had left. Her revolver had already found its way over to the poor chained-up pony, "Where should the bullet go?" shooting Velvet a smug grin, she explained, "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you decide~"

Breathless, her eyes wide in shock, Velvet Remedy forced her mouth open, but all that came out was a disbelieving gasp. She ... she knew that her friend had changed; had become ... different, but this ... this ...

This was just too much for her to handle. She wanted to protest; to fight, to beg; anything to stop that poor slave from being killed, just because of her stupidity.

But she couldn't. No matter how much she struggled, no matter how much she fought with herself, the integrity of things had simply left her speechless.

"Clueless, huh?" the slaver mare said, keeping her revolver pointed at the slave's head. "Here, let me help your memory out." her horn glowed a bit brighter, and in one swift motion the black hood was removed from the slave's head, revealing a light brown mare underneath.

No, not a mare, more an adolescent filly; a young mare at best. That very same young mare that had stood in the pit not too long ago; that very same young mare Velvet had bumped into on her first day here - Fallen Leaf.

Her mouth was covered in duct tape, rendering her mute, though her eyes, staring daggers at the slaver mare, spoke volumes about the things she would like to do if she weren't tied up.

"So," Pip said with a smirk, "now that you can see that cute little face, where would you like to-"

"NO!"

Finally, Velvet Remedy had found her voice again. And it burst out of her with the power of a thousand thunderstorms. No. Not ... not this pony. Fallen ... Fallen Leaf, right? No, this ... this just couldn't be!

"No!" she yelled again at the top of her lungs. Her voice was at the verge of breaking from exhaustion, but she kept pushing on nonetheless. "No!"

But it seemed Littlepip had expected this sort of outburst, and simply gave a soft chuckle. "What's gotten you so worked up? You could almost think you know this mare." she asked tauntingly.

"You ... you ...!" Velvet growled, her despair veering into a boiling rage, "You worthless abomination of a pony! How can you do this!?"

But Pip just grinned at her lightheartedly, ignoring the insults. "Struck a nerve, huh?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows. "Knew it."

"You can't just- ... no!" Velvet shouted again, struggling to find words.

"What, should I kill you instead?" Littlepip asked dryly, shrugging.

"Yes!" it burst out of Velvet, long before she could even begin to think about just what she was saying. "Yes! Just ... just don't kill her!"

The slaver mare hesitated at that, then raised a hoof to her chin in a reflective stance, directing her look at the ceiling.

"Nah." she finally concluded curtly, "That'd be too easy."

And with that she turned towards the filly again, who was still eyeing her with a hateful look, her mouth moving underneath the tape. "Alright, I got places to be, so let's make this quick." she announced nonchalantly.

In an aura of green magic, the revolver floated up to Fallen Leaf's head, pressing against her temple, ready to fire a deadly shot at a moment's notice.

"NO!" It burst out of Velvet again. The charcoal unicorn shot forward, but was restrained by the chains binding her to the wall, their unrelenting clatter reminding Velvet all too clearly that there was no breaking away. "No, please! I'll do anything!"

Littlepip just grinned dryly at that. "Please." she said, cocking an eyebrow, "If there was anything you could still give me, I would've already taken it." she grinned a sick grin at her former friend, "So just lean back and enjoy the show!"

Velvet Remedy could see it. She could see it right in front of her eyes. The wall behind the filly, splattered with blood and gore; her lifeless body falling to the ground; another innocent soul, doomed because of her actions.

She couldn't let this happen!

Bursting forward again, fighting against her shackles for all she was worth, Velvet watched the trigger slowly being pulled, and in the heat of the moment shouted out the only reasonable sentence that seemed to come across her mind.

"I'll fight you!" she screamed out with all of her remaining power, then fell back onto her back as the shackles yanked her legs, "Just... just the two of us! One on one! Like you said!"

Thanks to whatever divine intervention, that made Littlepip hesitate, and turn her head towards Velvet. However, she was not lowering the revolver that was still firmly resting against Fallen Leaf's head.

"Really?" the slaver asked, cocking an eyebrow in what seemed like genuine interest.

"Yes, really!" Velvet shouted with wide eyes, "I'll do it! Just ... just don't kill her!"

"Hmmm..." Littlepip mused, seeming to contemplate for a second.

Finally, the revolver sank, and simultaneously a very, very broad grin grew on the slaver mare's face.

"Alllright then." she cooed, and her gun was stored back in its holster as she came walking towards the charcoal unicorn. "I'm glad you've made up your mind at last. Knucks!" she shouted, turning her head towards the stairs, where promptly the blue unicorn slaver came walking, accompanied by a light red earth pony mare.

"Get them back to their cells." Littlepip commanded, cocking her head into the direction of Fallen Leaf, then Velvet Remedy, "And prepare the pit for another fight tonight." she grinned, revealing her teeth, "And tell them it's going to get messy."