A few minutes later, Velvet Remedy was walked through the pale hallway and back to her cell by the blue unicorn slaver. She kept her head hanging low as they stopped in front of the cell door, and the slaver raised a keyring to unlock the door.

She ... she didn't want to think. She couldn't think. All this ... everything that had happened over the course of the past 24 hours, it was just too much for her to handle.

The hope; the certainty that it would all be good again soon enough; the only thing that had kept her going ever since she and Calamity had been captured, it was gone now. She wouldn't escape. She wouldn't get her friends out of here. And she wouldn't reform her corrupted friend, and make it all like it used to be.

No, it was all over now. A few hours, half a day at best, then she would have to face her former friend in the pit, and fight until... until...

She swallowed.

She ... she wouldn't survive. Even if she could get herself to actually try and attack Littlepip, Velvet was sure that she wouldn't stand a chance against the fallen heroine, especially without her magic. Velvet had never been one for fights; her skills in combat, safe for supporting roles, were practically nonexistent.

Besides, based on what she had seen during the past days, Pip was not only well-trained in close combat, but also highly determined to put an end to her friend's life in whatever crazed frenzy of revenge she was in.

Velvet gave a deep sigh as her door slid open, and she stepped inside without protest. What point was there in resisting now, if her life would be over in a few hours anyway?

She shook her head, feeling her mind reel and grasp for straws now that the end seemed inevitable.

Who knew, maybe Calamity could teach her the one or other thing about fighting, so that she could survive for at least a few minutes instead of mere seconds?

...

Calamity!

And just like that, she could feel her face lighten up at the thought of seeing her lover again. Even ... even if she wouldn't survive tonight, at least she could spend her final hours with the one she liked most in this world!

Biting her lip to fight back tears, she slowly looked up - and could feel her heart shrink even further.

"...where is he?" she muttered under her breath as her look glid over the empty cell room.

"Where is he!?" she asked again, more direct this time, as her head shot around, focusing the slaver who was busy locking the door behind her.

The blue stallion ignored her, pretending to not have heard her at all.

"Where is he!?" Velvet barked, running towards the door and slamming her hooves against the metal bars, all sadness forgotten as a sudden anger overwhelmed her, "Tell me! Tell me where he is!"

"Don't know. Don't care." The unicorn slaver replied bluntly, turning the key and locking the door with his magic.

"Listen here you son of a whore." Velvet hissed, her voice becoming threateningly low as she leaned forward, glaring at the lightly armored stallion. "You better tell me right now where you brought my friend, or so help me Celestia, I will-"

She fell silent abruptly as a blue hoof collided with her face, throwing her back and making her see stars for a few moments.

"Shut it, cunt." The curt growl was quick to reveal her assaulter, as Knucks shook his hoof, then turned away.

Stumbling, stunned from the punch to the face, Velvet shook her head, trying to hold on to a clear thought. "You..." she growled, tears flooding her eyes, "You worthless, miserable..." she was cut off by a sob escaping her throat, "I swear I'll ... I'll..."

But she couldn't finish her sentence. That punch had just ... just been too much. Words couldn't express what she wanted to do to this stallion in that second, yet her body and mind were worn out from what lay behind her, rendering her incapable of putting her threats into practice.

She was at the end of her tether. All alone - without Calamity by her side, without SteelHooves or Homage to rely on, and with the end of her life ticking closer with every passing second -an end that would be caused by the pony that had put her life at stake to save hers too many times to count- it all seemed so hopeless now.

So she, or rather her body, did the only thing it was still capable of. Watching the slaver look at her for another second, then turn and walk away, she clenched her teeth, her mouth wording all the things she would do to him in due time, before everything finally overcame her, and she collapsed into a sobbing heap, her body hitting the floor.

This ... this was it.

No hope left.

"Feeling like a hero yet, Knucks?"

To her very surprise, it was the rough voice of Cinderblock, the stallion in the cell next to her, that caused her to stop sobbing for just a second -out of surprise if nothing else- and perk up her ears.

"Shut it, slave." the slaver growled back, stopping and fixing the gray stallion with a glare. "The boss told me not to talk to you anymore."

"Is that what you call 'making a difference'? 'Fighting for change'?" Cinderblock asked, "Where's all that change, huh? Have you saved the wasteland yet?"

"Shut up!" The slaver snarled back, now legitimately angry. "I've changed my mind, okay? You can't change the wasteland. This world is fucked, now all we can do is try and deal with it."

A moment of tense silence, then Cinderblock gave a sigh.

"Look, forget about the wasteland for a second. What they're doing here is wrong." Cinderblock said emphatically. "I know it, and you know it too." he declared, his eyes never leaving the slaver, "Ponies aren't meant to enslave each other. They never were."

"Just ... shut up. Don't give me another one of your moralizer-speeches."

"Think about it." Cinderblock replied curtly, "We all have this voice in the back of our minds. That voice that tells us to change; that what we're doing is wrong. You can either listen to it, or die after a life full of regrets. And trust me..." he paused for effect, fixing the slaver with a serious glare, "The longer you ignore it, the harder it gets to make that change. Believe me, it was hard enough for me. But I made it." he explained, his voice carrying a distinct weight to it, "And it's not too late for you yet."

Another short period of silence, then the gray stallion added, "Just think about it, will you?"

That prompted a long moment of hesitation from the slaver, until he finally gave a sigh and shook his head. "You've made your decision, Cinder. I've made mine. It's too late to go back now." he declared, and Velvet could have sworn she heard a touch of sadness swinging in his voice, "Now go to sleep or some shit. Don't bother me again."

And with that, he turned and walked away out of Velvet's line of sight. Cinderblock, after looking after the slaver for a few moments, turned his head back, and Velvet quickly lowered her head to the ground, pretending to sleep. Luna knows what those two were talking about, but better to pretend she hadn't heard any of it.

However, despite putting on her most convincing sleep-breathing, she could feel the stallion's look resting on her, watching her.

She had to fight with herself not to shiver. Hell, she felt so exposed without Calamity; so ... helpless.

The thought of her pegasus friend caused another rush of tears to well up in her eyes, as her body began to shiver.

"He's fine."

Velvet Remedy almost flinched as the voice came from the neighboring cell. Instinctively, she wanted to raise her head to look at her neighbor, but decided that it would be better to continue pretending to sleep, so as to avoid trouble.

"Your friend ... Calamity. They brought him into a different cell downstairs a few hours ago. Looked a little battered, but fine nonetheless."

Now her ears were perked up. Sure, for all she knew this stallion was just playing some sort of sick joke on her, but ... what if he wasn't?

Slowly, carefully, she lifted her head, opening her tear-stained eyes and looking at her cell neighbor.

Cinderblock was sitting on his plank bed in a relaxed position, looking right back at her with his light brown eyes.

"Are you ... are you serious?" she asked cautiously, wiping a hoof over her face to free it from any remaining tears.

"Aye." He replied briefly, tilting his head into the direction of a cell on the lower level.

In an instant, Velvet was back on her hooves, dashing over to the front of her cell and searching the general area Cinderblock had pointed her into.

"He's not there right now, though." The stallion's sobering explanation came just as she stopped at the barred door, causing her to go rigid for a second before slowly turning her head towards him, giving him an angry look - was he only playing with her after all?

"They picked him up for work about half an hour ago." her cell neighbor explained, standing up to her look, "Like I said, he's fine, but he won't be back for a few hours."

Velvet Remedy sighed deeply, stepping back from the bars and letting her head sink.

Finally, she looked up again and focused the gray stallion, who was still looking at her. "Why should I trust you?" she asked bitterly, "How do I know you're not just playing with me?"

That caused the stallion to give a bemused-sounding huff, and crack a thin, bitter smile. "You can't." he declared soberly, "Hell, for all you know I'm just another one of those heartless fuckers playing their games with you. You'd probably be better off not trusting me."

That caused Velvet to cock an eyebrow, not sure what to make of this announcement. Sure, he probably was just playing with her, but ... if he was, why would he tell her?

She reflected for a few moments, then shook her head.

No. She wasn't going to get her hopes up again. Even if the stallion did sound somewha trustworthy, she knew she couldn't stand being let down again.

Lowering her head, she turned away from the door, and walked back to her cot, sinking onto it with a heavy sigh.

Silence filled the room for the following moments, only occasionally broken by single noises coming from somewhere in the enormous hall or outside.

Then her ears perked up again as she could hear hooves hitting the concrete ground behind her, and coming walking into her direction.

"So..." the deep voice of Cinderblock came to her ears again as the hoofsteps stopped, "I've heard you're gonna fight against Pip later on?"

Velvet Remedy pressed her lips together, an intense shiver running through her body as the images flashed past her mind's eye again, depicting her bloody corpse lying in a heap in front of Littlepip.

While she tried not to engage in any conversation with the stallion out of fear of hearing something that might unsettle her further, her body shivering as if it were struck with an electric shock was all the stallion needed to hear.

Velvet closed her eyes, folding her ears in. Remembering what had happened in the pit the day before; dozens of slaves shouting for her and Calamity's death, she knew all too well what would happen now.

However, instead of taunting her, or depicting all the cruel ways she could get killed tonight, all that came from the stallion was a long, sad sigh.

"I'm sorry." He finally said, his voice indeed full of hurt. "I..." she could hear him lick his lips, seeming to fight with himself, "It's my fault you're here."

That made Velvet open her eyes again, and turn around on her cot, giving the stallion a confused look.

He was sitting on his haunches, right in front of the bars that separated their two cells, his brown eyes resting on Velvet, filled with something that looked like genuine gloom.

"Remember what I said a few days back? About me having known Pip for a while already? Well, that wasn't a lie." he admitted drably, "I have known her for a while now. Bit more than three years, actually."

"Wait ... what?" Now Velvet's interest had been sparked. Sitting up on the bed, straightening herself up, "You ... you've known her since..."

"I was a caravan guard when I first met her." Cinderblock explained, "That is, I used to be one. Our caravan was attacked by raiders a few miles from Manehatten. We fought 'em off, but one of them managed to get a shot at me." he paused, lifting his left foreleg and pointing at a nasty-looking scar. "Went straight through my leg. Couldn't move it by an inch. I was by no means helpless, I just couldn't walk properly. But that was reason enough for the head of the caravan to declare me useless."

Velvet could see his legs tense up, a deep growl escaping his throat. "He shot me in my other leg, and left me to rot out in the wasteland. Leaving me behind like a piece of trash."

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, "I managed to find some shelter in an abandoned house, and treat my wounds with what little supplies I had on me. The caravan had long since moved on, so I was on my own, but..." he shrugged silently, "I tried to make the best of it."

"Just a few days later, though..." his eyes glazed over, "Stumbling into my shelter came this crazed, malnourished unicorn mare in the stable suit. She was talking jumbles and could barely stand on her own legs, but..." he shrugged, "Well, she seemed harmless. So I let her stay, and rest."

Velvet nodded like stunned, listening in awestruck silence.

"She recovered a few days later. Ran away as soon as she woke up and saw me, but then came back when she realized that my life was just as fucked up as hers... and I suggested we'd stick together." Despite everything, a thin smile found its way onto his face. "Those were the times back then. Just the two of us, against the rest of the world. We had a lot in common, really. Two loners, betrayed and abandoned by those we used to believe in." he paused for a moment, then gave a brief, wry laugh, "Really, it was our hatred against you ponies," he said, tilting his head into Velvet's direction, "That made us bond so much. We swore to ourselves that we would never; never, ever, let somepony betray us like this again. Screw the wasteland and all of its inhabitants, it was just the two of us."

"Wow..." Velvet Remedy couldn't help but to gasp in awe. So this was what Littlepip had done all these years? Bonding with this ... pony? She didn't quite know how to feel about that, really.

"And well... one day, after a long night and a bit too much whisky, we came up with an idea." Cinderblock continued, his head drifting off to the side for a moment, his gaze wandering over the prison cells around them, "We would build our own little fortress. Our own sanctuary, so to speak. A place where we could rule, and not waste a single damn thought on this godforsaken wasteland out there ever again."

His look went back to Velvet. "So we started wandering around. And not too much later, we found this place here. We settled in, started growing our own food, getting our own supplies ... everything was good for the first couple of months. Hell, every now and then ponies actually came to join us - Knucks was an old friend of mine, and one of the first new members of our..." he hesitated, seeming to search for the right words, "Group."

"Hell, we were like a family for the longest part; a small, familiar group of outcasts who all wanted nothing to do with this wasteland out there.

"Then however..." the earth pony bit his lip, letting his head sink, "Things got ugly."

"What do you-" Velvet wanted to ask, but fell silent as she once again felt the cold touch of the bomb collar around her neck. Leading a hoof up to it and gently touching the lethal weapon, she softly said, "Oh."

"Yeah..." Cinderblock said heavy-heartedly, "It was just a makeshift-solution at first, really. We both hated slavery. But as more and more ponies came to join us, we had to start forming work groups. And when the workload kept growing and nopony wanted to volunteer ... well..."

Velvet gave a pained sigh, turning her head away. She knew that story all too well - settlements starting off with only the best of intentions, but gradually falling for the Equestrian Wasteland's cruelty. It was an awfully common sight in the wasteland.

But the ... the cruelty with which things were handled here; this whole throwing underperformers into the pit-thing, and of course, the fact that the pony she had considered one of her closest friends was playing a major role in it, made it all so much harder for her to handle.

"Yeah. I know." Cinderblock said softly as if to agree, "I really didn't think about it at first. Saw it as a necessary sacrifice - same old story every slaver's going to tell you, really."

He paused for a moment, seeming to wager if he should continue or not, but then added, "Thing is, I got more and more into it with time. Really enjoyed it at some point." he hesitated, but then reluctantly added, "Hell, it was me who came up with the idea of having the weakest performers fight each other." With a weak shrug, he added, "As cruel as it is, and as much as I hate myself for it now, it did a great job keeping the performance up. Hell, it still does."

"B-but ... I don't understand." Velvet Remedy chimed in, her thoughts inevitably going back to her slaver-friend, "Pip, she..." she cut herself off, "What in Equestria made her change like this?"

The gray stallion said nothing for a moment, seeming to contemplate his answer. Then, slowly, he raised his head, locking eyes with Velvet, and said, "The wasteland changes ponies - never for the better. I don't know how long she was stumbling through the wastes before running into me, but based on how fucked-up she looked, I'm guessing it was about a week." His face darkened as he continued, "Now imagine yourself waking up on a cart in some dark hallway. You're feeling dizzy, your mind is fucking with you on all sorts of levels due to PTM-withdrawal, and the last memory on your mind is your friend shooting you with a poisoned dart out of fucking nowhere."

Velvet bit her lip, but remained silent. She ... really didn't want to picture what Littlepip must have gone through back then.

"Add to that a week of straying through the wasteland with neither orientation, nor allies, nor supplies, nor plans, all the while going through an abrupt PTM-withdrawal with all the fucked-up side effects, haunted by the image of your friend shooting you."

"But I didn't-" Velvet wanted to protest, but was silenced by Cinderblock raising a hoof.

"I know." he said bluntly, "I've been listening to the two of you talking. I've heard her side of the story plenty of times now, and damn me if I didn't believe it, but I gotta say..." he shrugged, "Yours does sound more believable. Hell, after that show your friend delivered the other night, I have a hard time believing what she told me about you ponies being devious, backstabbing traitors."

"And well..." Cinderblock wrapped his explanation up after a moment of silence, "I guess being in charge of a pack of slavers got to us. To both of us." His face darkened, "Pip ... she started getting into all that. Bossing others around; being the one in charge; having ponies at your disposal like livestock ... she liked it. She fucking loved it. ... And I did, too." he admitted guiltily, "It felt great being the one in charge after a lifetime as some trader-asshole's guard."

Velvet cocked an eyebrow, a bitter part of her mind trailing off and searching for occasions where she had bossed Littlepip around, causing this form of change in her friend, but coming up empty - at least for now.

"The only difference is that I came to my senses a few months ago." Cinderblock explained soberly, "I don't know, it just ... came over me. One second I'm calculating how many..." he hesitated, seeming to struggle with that part, "how many slaves we'll be needing for the next week, next thing I know I'm lying on the ground, wheezing, almost puking out of pure disgust at what I was doing; what I had done for those past years." His eyes narrowed, "I hated myself so much in that second. If I had had my gun with me, I would've probably just..." but he cut himself off, shaking his head. "I talked to Pip that same day; told her how I realized that we had changed; that what we were doing was wrong, and that we needed to stop it!"

"...What happened?" Velvet couldn't help but ask, as the stallion didn't continue from there.

"Well..." he said with a shrug and a bitter grin, "She actually was kind enough to offer me a choice. Said she could shoot me on the spot, chop me up and feed me to the slaves, or I could join the workforce as a slave myself and continue to contribute to whatever it is we've built up here." and as you can see..." He pointed a hoof at the bomb collar of his own, "Well..."

A moment of stunned silence.

"But..." Velvet Remedy wanted to protest, "If you helped build this place up, how come you haven't escaped yet? If you were in from the start, I'm sure you must know the weak spots of this place. Finding a way out can't be this hard!"

"It's not." Cinderblock replied briefly, shaking his head. "Hell, you of all ponies should know that. All you need to do is get rid of your bomb collar, make a run for the exit, and somehow escape without getting vaporized."

"...Vaporized?" Velvet asked, her eyes widening ever so slightly, "By the guards? I didn't know they had magical energy weapons."

"They don't." The stallion affirmed, "But the array of turrets we installed around the building won't let anyone or anything out without a fight." At the mare's horrified expression, he gave a short, dry laugh and said, "Don't tell me you didn't know that. Oh mother of Celestia..."

He paused, eyeing the unicorn mare from head to toe, "But if you really didn't know about the turrets, you really are lucky you haven't been turned to ash yet." Again, his face darkened, "But I guess it doesn't really matter now, does it? Hate to say it, but I don't think you can hold up against Pip in the pit. That mare's dead-set on seeing your dead body at her hooves."

At Velvet Remedy's bitter expression, he did a double take. "Sorry. Way to kill the mood, eh?"

Velvet didn't react.

"Look," he started another attempt after a few moments of awkward silence, "I don't know what else to tell you. I tried getting you two outta here, but with the way thing went after that..." he sighed, shrugging lightly, "Really, I wish I could help you more, but I've got no more aces up my sleeve."

That made Velvet look up again, cocking an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'getting us out of here'?"

Despite his obvious gloomy mood, Cinderblock cracked the thinnest of smiles at her as he led a hoof up to his neck, tapping the bomb collar around it. "Where do you think that screwdriver and those bobby pins came from? I had those hidden as a backup to escape for a few months now, but eventually figured that you could put 'em to better use than me."

The charcoal unicorn looked at him with her mouth hanging open. Was he ... was he serious? But why? Why would he want to help her and Calamity escape? And more importantly, if he had the means to free himself, why hadn't he made use of them already and escaped from here!?

Seeming to sense the question preying on his cell neighbor's mind, Cinderblock gave a dry chuckle. "Don't overthink it, filly." he said bitterly, "Believe me or not, but I think you're good folks, and after everything that's happened, with Pip and all, I felt like you two deserve to be free. And I knew that if I'd just give the tools to you, you'd probably think it was a trap or something, so I hid 'em where I knew you'd find em." he sighed lightly, "Damn shame it didn't work out. Shoulda told you about the turrets."

"But ... why didn't you escape when you could?" Velvet asked the second question that had been preying on her mind. Even with the turrets activated, she was sure that, being involved in its construction, Cinderblock knew quite a bit about the prison, and probably knew how to disable them and sneak out without anyone noticing.

The former slaver replied nothing at first, his drab look resting on the unicorn for a few moments, before he softly asked, "Have you ever heard of karma, kid? You do good and life's gonna reward you. You fuck shit up and ... well..." he looked around his cell, shrugging, "You end up in a place like this."

Velvet Remedy just silently cocked her head to the side, unable to follow him.

"What I'm saying is..." Cinderblock elaborated, sitting up, "Call me crazy, but I think I belong here. The goddesses up above have made me realize how much I've fucked up in life, and after ruining so many ponies' lives by forcing them into slavery, I don't think I deserve to be free anymore either. And honestly..." he gave a dry, sad-sounding chuckle, "The fact that I'm now sitting in the very same prison I helped construct just makes it all so much more ironic." But he shook his head, clearing his thoughts, "But I deserve to rot in here. Me being free after all I've done just wouldn't be fair to those whose lives I've ruined."

"Hmm..." Velvet Remedy muttered, letting the stallion's words sink in.

"Anyway, the reason why I'm telling you all this is..." Cinderblock spoke up again, but hesitated, making Velvet look back at him.

"I'm sorry." The buff stallion apologized, his eyes locked with those of Velvet. "It's my fault Pip has changed the way she has; it's my fault we're here right now, and it's my fault you'll have to..." he cut himself off, knowing better than to rub additional salt into that wound, "My point is..." he started over, "I fucked up. Big time."

Slightly taken aback, the charcoal unicorn watched as he knelt down in front of her, lowering his head, "I'm not asking you to forgive me, because you probably shouldn't, but I just want you to know that..." he repeated himself, "I'm sorry."

Velvet just looked at him in awestruck silence, her mouth opening and closing a few times. She truly was at a loss of words in this moment.

Then, however, she shook her head, and turned away. She didn't have the nerves to let all this get to her right now. Regardless of ... well, of everything Cinderblock had told her, the fact still remained that these were probably the final hours of her life, and for what it was worth, she wanted to make the best of it.

With that in mind, she let her look linger on Cinderblock for another moment before walking over to her cot and laying down, letting out a deep sigh and closing her eyes.

So ... this was it. She would be dead in a few hours. Now what to do to numb the pain the mere thought of that caused?

She let her head sink to the side, her thoughts trailing off.

She knew what would make this easier to endure. A hug. An embrace with feathers she knew only one pony in this wasteland had.

A shiver ran through her body, her eyes opening and releasing a new rivulet of tears that now ran down the side of her face.

"Where are you, Calamity?" she whispered softly, feeling more and more tears form in her eyes and run down her face. "I ... I need you."

A few hours later, in a different room of the Misty Hills Correctional Facility, a gray unicorn was lying on her makeshift bed, her eyes resting on a small, yellow metal box held in her magic, floating in front of her.

Time was running short! She had to do something! And she had to do it now!

Ever since Littlepip had returned a bit more than an hour ago, giddy as a filly on Hearth's Warming Eve, Homage had known that things were starting to escalate. And when her former friend and mistress had explained to her that she was going to fight the very pony she despised so much in the pit, she had realized that she had to do something.

Homage had already failed her friends once - twice, if one counted what happened yesterday. True, she had saved Velvet Remedy's life, but looking at the integrity of things, Homage couldn't deny that she had stopped Velvet from escaping. She had saved her from a horrible gruesome death as well, but nevertheless, she was sure the upcoming fight wouldn't be happening if she hadn't interfered.

Fortunately for her -and to some extent her friends- Homage had a plan. Not a great plan or a failsafe plan, or even a foolproof plan, but the best she could come up with, seeing how she was still held hostage by the leader of the slavers, and was only allowed to leave Littlepip's private quarters when she was with the mistress herself.

A few days ago, she had overheard two guards patrolling the building talk about 'the terminal' again. This was, as she had realized fairly early, referring to the facility's central terminal that controlled ... well, almost everything in this place. Based on dialogue snippets she had overheard, it was used to control the turret systems, the bomb collars, the PA system, and Luna knows what else.

However, none of them had ever revealed its actual location when she was around -probably an order given by her over-cautious mistress- though a few nights ago, finally, one of the guards passing by the door had spilled the beans, announcing that he had to head to the armory, as Littlepip had ordered him to access the central terminal earlier this day.

This had been promptly rewarded with a slap across the face from his comrade, warning him that this was a topic to be strictly avoided around 'prisoner #1' - the term commonly used to refer to Homage among the guards.

The slaver had defended himself, arguing that Homage probably couldn't hear them anyway through the closed door, and his comrade had left him alone with an offhanded insult.

Fortunately, he had overestimated the insulating properties of a pre-war wall that was barely thicker than a piece of cardboard - Homage had indeed heard them, and now, finally, knew where she could find the terminal that would set off her and her friends' escape.

The only problem was that, being situated in the armory, the terminal was behind a thick, heavy steel door, secured with a second terminal only a handful of ponies in the entire facility could access - a sobering realization Homage had made as she had tried to hack into it earlier today.

Walking around the smaller, secondary building that hosted Littlepip's quarters was no real issue for Homage. While she was still wearing her bomb collar, the spell matrix setting it off was only able to detect two-dimensional movements, so that, as long as she wouldn't set hoof outside the actual building, she could move within it without any problems.

That is, as long as Littlepip wasn't around, of course. Something that only happened occasionally.

Nevertheless, Homage had known what to do. And it had been earlier this day while Pip had been out what she had called 'disciplining the escapees' that Homage had finally found the key to her escape - the key to end this nightmare once and for all.

Again, her hazel eyes darted back to the metal box floating in front of her.

So why was she hesitating?

Well, first and foremost, those pills she had here wouldn't guarantee her escape. They would give her a realistic chance to break out, but in no way could they guarantee that she would not only get out alive, but also manage to come back, free her friends and reform the pony she still loved.

But more importantly, it were those hellish pills that had started it all. In her magic she was holding the very reason why things had gone so brutally downhill three years ago.

Party Time Mint-als she read the inscription on the tin, sending a shiver through her body.

She had found those while going through the crate holding 'confiscated goods' situated in the secondary building's first floor today. The building had three floors overall. Littlepip's quarters -the place where she was right now- took up the integrity of the third floor, underneath that were the slavers' bunk beds, underneath that a general storage area, while the basement held what the slavers called the 'straightening room' -not much more than a small dungeon, really- and the armory behind steel doors one floor further down.

Of course, she had known that being caught going through these things could get her in big trouble. Stored in the crate was everything new slaves coming into the facility had on them, safe for weapons of any kind - chems, healing potions, toys, anything the boss didn't see use for right away.

And of course, Homage also knew all too well what would happen if Littlepip were to catch her with a tin of Party Time Mint-als in her quarters. The slaver mare didn't talk about what had happened during the past years with Homage, but the unicorn mare knew her hero well enough to sense the revulsion in her voice when somepony mentioned the zebra-drugs. Homage's best guess was that she had kicked her addiction by herself, and now avoided Mint-Als like the pest, probably out of fear of relapsing.

In any case, her plan was clear: throw in a Mint-AL, talk her way into the armory and get a bit of firepower, then raise hell! Her original plan had been to just disable the turrets and make a run for it, but with the recent developments, and the prospect of Velvet Remedy having to fight against Littlepip, she knew that she couldn't just run away. She had to save her, and everybody else!

Still, she hesitated, her look never leaving the tin of Mint-Als. What if something would go wrong and she would end up doing more damage instead? Or what if ... what if she would get addicted? Even if she should manage to get herself and her friends out of this alive, Luna knows what could happen if she would fall to the addiction as well!

She lowered her head, giving a sigh. There was no point in worrying about the consequences - her friends needed her help, and if she had to risk getting addicted to the drug that had caused this nightmare in the first place, then that was a risk she had to take - not only for her own sake, but for the sake of her friends.

With that resolution, Homage nodded to herself, her magic opening the box, only to flinch and almost spill it as the front door to Littlepip's quarters got opened and walking in came the slaver mistress herself.

Panicking, Homage quickly hid the tin of Mint-Als in one of her cot's many crevices, thankfully before Littlepip saw any of it.

"H-hello ... mistress." Homage greeted her in a faux-friendliness, forcing a fake-smile onto her face.

The slaver-mare had announced that she would be in the basement, training for the big fight, earlier. The sweat on her forehead and her wet mane indicated that the training had indeed been a success.

"Is everything well?" Homage asked cautiously, trying to distract from her own nervousness. If Pip would find the Mint-Als ... it'd all be over.

"Couldn't be better." Littlepip replied with a toothy grin, walking past Homage, her magic picking up a towel that was lying ready on a table next to her. "Are you excited? 'Cause I'm excited. You don't know how long I've been waiting for this day."

"O-of course ... mistress." Homage replied, still working on that grin on her face, barely resisting the urge to throw up as she thought of what she was talking about, "I-I'm sure it'll be a great fight."

"You bet. That bitch won't last two minutes." Littlepip replied excitedly, rubbing her sweaty mane dry with the towel, then throwing it in a corner. "I'll wash up, then we can head to the main hall." she announced, walking towards a door that Homage knew led to a small, makeshift bathroom.

"Sure! I can't wait!" Homage mentally patted her back for that - that had sounded way more excited than she had expected.

Seeming content with her slave's excitement, Littlepip gave a short nod, then disappeared in the bathroom, closing the door behind herself.

"Alright, it's now or never." Homage breathed softly, her horn lighting up and pulling the Mint-Als from behind herself, popping the lid.

There was no time to second-guess herself now. Pip would be back in less than a minute, and if she would miss this chance, it'd all be over!

Closing her eyes, and trying to ban those negative thoughts from her mind, Homage picked up one of the light pink tablets and led it to her mouth, swallowing it in one swift motion.

The effects came instantly. Suddenly, she could see the world so much better. Colors were brighter, her vision was clearer, her hearing was better ... she felt like a far better version of herself!

Now to dispose of any evidence...

Shaking her head and suppressing a relieved sigh, she arose from her cot, taking the tin of pills with her. She walked over to the balcony, softly opened the door, stepped outside, and used her magic to toss the small box towards the fence. Her Mint-Al-fueled mind had already calculated the best throwing angle, sending the box flying just over the edge of the fence to minimize its time in the air and the chance of someone seeing it.

Even before she had turned around to walk back inside, the laser turrets had already sprung to life, their beams engulfing the packet in their sickly rose-tinted glow, and vaporizing it in less than a second.

Relieved that, apparently, nopony had witnessed the incineration -most slavers and slaves were in the main hall already, anticipating the fight- Homage turned around to walk back inside and gently closed the door behind herself, lowering herself back onto her bed as if nothing had happened.

Mere moments later, walking from the bathroom came a mare that truly made the hairs on Homage's back stand on edge.

Granted, she had never been too fond of her friend's new style, what with the raider-armor, the sidecut, and all, but what Homage saw now went another step further beyond that.

She was wearing different armor. Black instead of the dark brown, adorned with what looked like small metal spikes on her shoulders. The holster carrying her revolver was gone, now replaced with two smaller combat knives on each side. Hanging on her waist on the other side, next to her trusty needle gun, was what Homage hoped was merely a large kitchen knife and not a ... not a machete.

"Looking good, huh?" Littlepip asked with a grin, focusing Homage. "It's been a while since I've last been in the pit. Gotta make it count, right?"

Not leaving the unicorn mare time to reply, she started walking to the door, motioning Homage to follow her. "Come on now," she said, excitement in her voice, "Don't wanna be late, do we?"

"A-actually, I ... uh..." Homage spoke up, biting her lip as she focused, "I was gonna stay here ... and join up with you later."

"...What!?" Littlepip snapped, her eyes widening in outrage. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I ..." Homage hesitated, praying that the PTMs did their job. "I'm ... a little exhausted." she forced out, feeling her tension vanish as the lies rolled off her lips, "I was gonna stay here for another minute or two, so I can be at my best when the actual fight starts!" she made an effort to keep eye contact with Pip, her lips curling into a wide smile, "After all, I wanna cheer you on when you give that cunt what she deserves. And I don't want my voice to fail halfway through."

Pip remained silent at that, just eyeing her former friend with a skeptical glance for a few moments, and Homage could feel her body tense up again. If this wasn't going to work out ... all her plans would have been for nothing.

However, to her very relief, Littlepip rolled her eyes, and turned towards the door. "Alright, fine." she said briefly, "Stay for another five minutes. But I want you to be there for the finale!" she declared with anticipation, "Trust me, it's gonna be a doozy!"

"Of course!" Homage agreed, forcing out a laugh, "Don't worry, I'll be there before things get serious."

"Alrighty!" Littlepip replied with a pleased nod, "I'll leave two guards here to accompany you downstairs." She announced, opening the door. Indeed, there were two ponies -a stallion and a mare- standing ready at the other side of it.

"Don't be la-ate!" she happily chanted over her shoulder as she stepped out of the room, and closed the door behind herself.

Homage remained sitting on her cot for another few moments, waiting for the slaver mare to leave the building. This was going ... surprisingly well so far.

Hell, she never thought it'd be this easy sweet-talking Littlepip, even under the influence of PTMs.

For a very brief moment, she found her thoughts trailing off, thinking about all those situations having a PTM-enhanced mind could have saved her a lot of trouble. Yes, if she had had a tin of those little helpers with her at certain points, things might have been different. Hell, if she had taken one of those before coming here, she definitely wouldn't have fallen for Littlepip's show, and she could have avoided all this before it had even begun!

But she quickly cut that train of thought right there. No! PTMs were bad! Hell, they were the reason all this had begun in the first place!

Shaking her head, glad that she had disposed of the leftover pills earlier, she got up off her bed, making her way over to the door.

However, she stopped on the way, standing next to her table-turned steel ranger-friend for a moment. Looking at the immobilized soldier and feeling her heart become heavy, she gave a soft sigh. "Don't worry, big boy." she said, softly patting the ranger's metal shoulder plate. "We'll get you out of here. Not tomorrow, not in a week, but today."

With that, she made her way over to the exit door. Feeling adrenaline rush through her veins, she put a hoof on the handle.

This was it. Now or never! This was when she was going to put an end to all this; to save her friends, and to make it all good again.

Clearing her thoughts and bringing a surprisingly confident smile onto her face, she opened the door. The two slavers standing on either side turned their heads towards her, but she stood up to their looks.

"Hello my friends!" she greeted them cheerfully, the confident smile never leaving her face as she put a hoof around the stallion's shoulder, "Why don't we talk about how the two of you are going to help me get out of here and save my friends' hides?"

Earlier this day, yet not far away, a rust-colored pegasus was leaning against the bars of his cell with both his front hooves.

His body hurt from what lay behind him. His legs and torso had taken a fair beating from being captured during the failed escape-attempt, but his wings had been the slavers' main target. They were -thank the goddesses- not broken, but they hurt like they had been treated with a sledgehammer, and he was sure flying would be nearly impossible at this stage.

All the same, the pain in his body felt almost numb compared to what he was feeling in his heart.

Velvet Remedy.

She was lying in the cell the two used to share, resting on her cot with her eyes closed, presumably sleeping.

He had heard about the upcoming battle. Hell, it had spread like a wildfire once news got out. And it hurt his heart to imagine that the pony he loved would have to fight the pony he had considered his closest friend for years now.

But what hurt even more was the knowledge that he was down here, and not with her. He didn't need to be up there to know that she needed his shoulder in this moment, and the thought that there was nothing, absolutely nothing he could do to help her in any way ... it drove him insane.

Calling for her would be futile. The general noise around the hall had grown noticeably as slavers and slaves were walking about, getting excited about the upcoming fight - declaring their excitement, discussing about how long Velvet Remedy was going to hold up against Littlepip -with bets ranging from two seconds to three minutes- and placing bets. For a moment he had contemplated asking one of the slavers walking about to alert her to his existence, but had quickly discarded that thought - after causing such turmoil the other day, he and Velvet weren't necessarily popular among the slavers, and he concluded it was better to not draw any more attention to himself.

So all he could do is stand there and watch. Count as the seconds ticked by, each and every single one of them bringing the inevitable a little closer.

Just like Velvet herself, Calamity knew that her chances were drawing near zero. She had never been a fighter, and while the years of searching for their friend alongside the pegasus had taught her the one or other thing about surviving in battle, most of the time she had stayed back, leaving the actual combat to Calamity, SteelHooves and Homage, and only helping out with shield spells and healing afterwards. And now, being reduced to a practically magicless earth pony, it was obvious that her future didn't look to rosy.

And he wasn't stupid either. He had seen the way Littlepip had acted around Velvet - she wanted her dead, no matter what the cost. This was, for all he knew, just her big, final triumph - something she had possibly been looking forward to for years now.

And he was going to watch helplessly. After being captured, the slavers had, in addition to putting a new bomb collar around his neck, tied up his already injured wings with thick leather straps, making it impossible for him to fly. And with him locked up securely in his cell, he knew that there was nothing he could do to aid his lover during the fight.

Of course, he had talked up any slaver passing by; told them that he was going to volunteer and face the mistress in the pit. Hell, he would have gladly sacrificed his own life if it meant saving that of Velvet.

But so far, all the slavers had given him the same response: No. Fucking. Way.

Apparently, Littlepip had anticipated Calamity wanting to take that bullet for his friend, and had explicitly told the slavers that there was no way she would talk herself out of this - anyone making such agreements with the two would get shot on the spot.

In the heat of the moment he had even gone so far as to offer himself being publicly executed for the entertainment of the slavers to spare Velvet, but they had made it clear that there was absolutely nothing he could do.

And with that knowledge, he, too, had started to lose hope.

What ... what else could he do? This was it. Velvet was going to ...

He had to end that train of thought.

Really, he didn't know what else to do or say, sinking back to the ground as he realized that he probably wouldn't even get to talk to his lover again before the fight.

He sighed, wiping his face with a hoof.

Calamity wasn't a stallion to easily cry. But this ... this was just too much. He considered himself to be a tough pony, but every pony had their breaking point, and Calamity had just reached his.

"Hey, you're that ... pegasus-guy. Friend of Velvet Remedy, right?"

His ears perked up as he heard the voice from somewhere behind him. Spinning around, his eyes scanned his environment for a moment before they came to rest on the pony in the cell next to him.

A young mare, barely older than a filly, with a dark brown coat and black mane. She seemed ... familiar.

"Wait a minute." The upcoming battle seemed forgotten for the moment as Calamity tilted his head to the side, reflecting. "Ah know you."

She rolled her eyes. "No shit. The whole damn place knows me after what happened last week."

"Right..." Calamity muttered, "You were the one in the pit."

"Yeah."she replied briefly, "Look, I wanted to talk with you."

Calamity raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"You're with Velvet Remedy, so..." she bit her lip, looking to the side, "I owe you. I owe her even more, but ... I can only repay you, and not her. At least at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm going to break out of here. And I'll take you with me."

"...what? How?" the pegasus asked skeptically.

"I have a plan." she announced, her voice low. "I'm gonna walk out of here. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but soon enough. And after what your friend has done for me, I'll be damned if I don't take you with me. I owe her my life."

While his mind was tripping over that last part for a second, Calamity decided to skip that question for now and instead asked the more obvious question. "And ... what exactly is your plan?" Giving her a skeptical lookover he added, "You don't seem ready to walk outta here right now."

"I ... don't know yet." Fallen Leaf admitted slightly abashed, "I mean, I know the area around here, but right now I'm still trying to figure out how to get past the turret-system. But I will get out of here, and I guarantee you'll be the first to know when I have a plan."

Calamity rolled his eyes, turning his head away. He normally considered himself a rather friendly pony, and if things had been different he would have probably told that filly that he appreciated her being thoughtful of him and offering him a chance to tag along in her escape.

Now, however, things weren't different.

He was a prisoner; a slave, enslaved by the first pony he had ever called a true friend. Being locked away in a dark prison cell was starting to get to his mind, as his pegasus-instincts yearned to be flying free, their complaints seeming to get louder with every passing day. His body was aching from the hour-long shift on the field he had pulled before coming here; the bruises all over his body, inflicted by the slavers as they had captured him, didn't make things any more pleasant, and the ties around his wings were starting to hurt the sensitive muscles and bones.

But above all that; the one thing that turned his situation from a mere inconvenience to a heart-wrenching ordeal: Velvet Remedy wasn't with him. He hadn't talked to her since their failed escape-attempt, and all he could see now was her motionless, almost lifeless-seeming body lying in her cell - a single spot of charcoal black in an ocean of concrete-gray.

And to top it all off, the certainty that turned the heart-wrenching ordeal into a nightmare come true: the chances that Velvet would survive tonight were vanishingly low, if existent at all. He knew it, she knew it, the whole facility knew it.

And the worst thing about it: there was nothing he could do for her. No chance to put a wing around her and tell her that it'd all be good, no way of showing her how to defend herself against Pip with what little experience she had; not even a chance to look into her eyes, hear her lovely voice, or just enjoy her mere presence for one last time.

Not now, and probably never again.

So yes, things weren't different. Things were the way they were. Fucked-up. Fucked-up on a whole new level.

So he wasn't too surprised about himself as he focused his look back on her, a small part of his immesureable frustration and anger being released as his face turned into an angry grimace.

"Well, great!" he snapped at her, clenching his teeth, "Great shit! You'll let me know when you have a plan! Good for you!" he snarled, more and more talking himself into a stupor, "Until then I'll just sit here with my hoof up my ass and watch my friend get torn to pieces! Great fucking idea!" he yelled at her, stomping his hoof, "In case ya haven't noticed yet, that's mah mare up there!" he angrily pointed a hoof into the direction of Velvet's cell, "And she's gonna be dead in a few hours if I can't stop it from happening! Ah'm the only one she has left, and she's gonna die if Ah let her down! An' Ah can't even get outta this fuckin' cell! But good thing you'll let me know when you have a plan! That's what Ah needed to hear! Now all mah problems are jus' gone! Fuckin' helll!"

He stomped the ground again, kicking up dust, then turned around and stomped back to the wooden plank that served as his bed. The rusty chain creaked, and the plank gave by a few inches as he sat down, letting his head sink, muttering a curse under his breath. He could feel Fallen Leaf's look rest on him, but ignored it. Good on her if she wanted to help, but it just didn't use him one bit!

He had to do something! He had to come up with a plan! To get himself out of his bomb collar, unlock his cell door, make it out of his cell without being shot to bits, then make it over to Velvet's cell, get her out of her cell and collar, and make it out of the facility alive - an endeavor they had already attempted - and failed miserably.

But he had to do something! He had to come up with something! He couldn't just sit here and watch his friend get executed!

He sank back on his cot, his head colliding with the wall.

But how? How would he do that? Hell, he and Velvet had already tried to escape and failed once - and back then they had had time to work things out and a solid plan. Now he had nothing! Nothing!

He gave a sigh, closing his eyes. He was going to come up with a plan! He was going to get Velvet and himself out of here! And if he had to chew his way through the metal bars! He was going to save Velvet!

All he needed ... all he needed was ... was time.