Rainbow Dash was taken through so many hallways she couldn't have found her way back in a decade. Eventually, they stopped in front of a large sliding metal door, with a full platoon outside guarding it. She had never been to Commander Sombra's quarters, as only Countess Chrysalis was normally allowed in. He never left it, except once a month when he inspected progress on the top secret 'Project Aquamarine'. Dash didn't know much, but she knew that it involved a new superweapon of some sort. Spitfire was allowed a tiny bit more clearance than she was, and everyone once and awhile she would "let slip" a little information. If anyone knew, Spitfire, and Rainbow for that matter, would be executed. One of the guards spoke into a radio, and a moment later the door opened. One of her escorts jabbed her with their rifle, telling her to go in.

When she went through the doorway, the door closed behind her. The room had a large window on one side, overlooking the rest of the fortress and the land beyond. A simple metal bed was in the corner, with a bookshelf next to it. Sombra stood in front of the window and was looking out. "Your story is quite extraordinary, Captain Dash. You were rather… fortunate to be the sole survivor," he said. "Tell me, just how was it that you knew to shoot the Timberwolves-" He stopped suddenly. Dash stayed silent. "Or whatever it was you called them? Well, either way, just how was it you knew the eyes were their weakness?"

"Sir, I took a guess. It only seemed logical."

"Mm-hm, and the so-called radiation. It was very unusual. The Doctor said that it followed no known patterns, and you even seemed to have… purged the radiation. He didn't even need to treat you for it." Dash was confused, she had assumed she had been treated for radiation poisoning before being given the prosthetic. "Maybe your body is capable of producing special chemicals," he said. "Or, as I believe, it was a poorly approximated fake." Dash started to speak on impulse.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Do not speak out of line, Captain. I will explain regardless of you knowing what happened. What I mean is that you made yourself temporarily sick to cover for the cause of death of the rest of Strike One." Dash managed to keep her multitude of questions in her mouth this time. "Because none of them died of radiation or the… wolves, now did they, traitor?" Sombra said.

"What! I-I would never- I have no clue what you're talking about!" Dash said, bewildered.

"Because they never existed, did they?" Sombra said, his voice rising.

"But they did! Ask Spitfire, she saved me from them!"

"Oh, we did. You two have kept your plot hidden very well."

"I- we- what would we even have to gain by killing just one unit?"

"You mean the unit that has killed many of the leaders in the Red Eagle Alliance? Crippling their infrastructure?"

"I still didn't do any of what you're saying!"

"Oh, the REA never were the smartest where they? They should know that's a horrible cover. That's what any Red Eagle spy would say, of course."

"I have been loyal for over 15 years, and you accuse me of being a traitor? Does loyalty have no meaning?" Unseen guards seized her from behind. They must have gotten some sort of signal. She hadn't even heard them come in in her disbelief.

"Take her to the prison camps. Don't trust a word she says, the Red Eagle dog." Dash struggled to break free, managing to get her new arm free and send one of them flying several feet into a wall with a gut punch, but then she felt something hit the side of her head. The last thing she thought was I should never have been here. Then she was out cold.

She opened her eyes, seeing pale white above her head, and a bright light shining in her face. Thank Celestia, I was just dreaming. I'm still in the hospital room. Must've needed more sleep than I thought. She was laying on her back, so she rolled onto her side and propped herself up on one arm while rubbing her eyes with the other. I do have back control. That's one thing good about this being real. She only had on a grey t-shirt and sweatpants. Dash quickly realized something wasn't right. She definitely was not in the hospital. The walls were a pale white fabric, with dirt and grime smudged all over. The light was just an LED lantern hanging from one of the metal supports. The bed was only a mattress on a metal frame. She had never seen an Iron prison camp, but this seemed to fit the bill. She sat up and put her head in her hands. So it was real. How can this be happening? What is even happening? She recounted everything that had happened since she woke up in the hospital room. She found out about her arm, was taken to Commander Sombra, accused of treason, and thrown into a prison camp. Her! The captain of the most important unit in the Iron Federation! Sombra must be getting paranoid. Then again, massive wooden wolves that are impervious to bullets and strange types of radiation does sound like some stupid cover. Actually, he did seem to slip and call them by a name, as if he'd already heard of them. Or maybe it was an honest assumption. One thing is certain, I can't stay here. I need to get out of this place, and far, far away from the Iron Federation. I'll be executed. She heard fabric brushing together. She turned and saw a woman with long pink hair, holding a tray of what Rainbow could only assume was food. It looked like grey goo. Not even the lowest units in the army got something like that for a meal.

"Oh, good. You're up. I was hoping this wouldn't have to get cold. You'd rather starve at that point, believe me. The first time I tried, I puked it straight back up. It was also the last time."

"Who are you?" Dash asked.

"Fluttershy. You?" She replied.

"Captai- well, just Rainbow Dash now I suppose." Dash realized that her status, gained through years of cheating death in combat, now meant nothing.

"Another one? I should have figured," Fluttershy said.

"Another what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Another soldier. I swear Sombra must have sent half his army to these camps by now," Fluttershy said with a sigh.

"But why?" Dash wondered.

"Hell if I know. He must be getting paranoid or something, afraid someone will betray him."

"That would fit." Dash prepared to tell her what had happened, taking a deep breath. "I was sent here because Commander Sombra thought I was an REA spy, and that I had killed my squad. But I didn't! It was these - and this is going to sound ridiculous - massive wolves made of tree bark. Our pilot saw them too, saved me from them." Dash realized the implication of what Sombra had said about Spitfire. "Have you seen a woman, about my height, with blazing yellow and orange hair?" Fluttershy sighed lightly.

"Yes."

"Can you take me to her?"

"Yes, but if that's Spitfire…" Fluttershy trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"What? What is it?"

"She's in a bad way." Dash became concerned.

"In what way?"

"I don't know, she was thrown in here the way she is now just an hour before you were, the only difference is that we've bandaged most of her wounds." Dash felt dread creep through her body. She had to see Spitfire.

"Take me to her."

It turned out that Spitfire was in the neighboring tent. Fluttershy explained that it was where all the injured prisoners went. Currently, Spitfire was the only resident, and for good reason. She had gashes all over her face and arms, though most of them were covered by blood soaked rags, and she had a black eye. Blood had saturated her clothes, the same grey shirt and sweatpants. Oh Celestia, what did they do to you…

Dash went to the side of Spitfire's bed. She was barely breathing and was being tended to by another prisoner.

"Oh Celestia… how is she doing?" Dash asked the attendant.

"She's gained consciousness a few times, but not for long. For the most part, the wounds aren't bad, but it's just the quantity that's been so nearly lethal. The wounds should heal in a few weeks and..." The attendant looked down at Spitfire's face. Her eyes had blinked open.

"Spitfire! Are you okay?" Dash asked her.

"Peachy," she said sarcastically, and weakly. "What do you think? My body hurts like hell…" She coughed. At least she still had her sense of humor.

"What happened to you? Who did this?"

"Sombra… he ordered the guards-" she coughed again. "He ordered the guards to beat me until I told the truth about what you did to the squad. But of course I had told him what really happened, about the wolves. He didn't believe me. Accused us of being traitors." She started coughing again.

"Same thing I went through, but apparently I skipped out of the beating." Spitfire glanced at Rainbow's new arm.

"That's new. Why wouldn't he just let you die?" She said.

"I think Sombra may have put it together when my story matched yours, after I had gotten this. I told the Doctor everything I remembered. If he just knew we both saw the same absurd thing, it would seem like a cover." Dash was beginning to regret it.

"Huh. Well, something's clearly not right here." Spitfire glanced at the nurse. They were in the corner doing something with their back to them. Fluttershy had disappeared at some point during their conversation. Spitfire gestured Rainbow Dash closer. "We need to get out of here," she whispered.

"I know," Dash whispered back. "I knew the moment I was taken to Sombra. I just hadn't realized it yet."

"I can't leave any time soon, it's up to you. Get out of here. I'll find a way out when I'm ready," Spitfire said. Dash knew Spitfire was condemning herself to let her escape.

"I can't leave you."

"You must! You're too valuable for the world to lose you. I, I..." she drifted out of consciousness. The attendant walked over.

"Spitfire should probably rest. She's looking better now, but we don't want to reverse that," the attendant said.

"Of course, nothing to slow her recovery," Dash said, knowing it really meant more to the both of them than the attendant realized.

Rainbow Dash left the tent and found Fluttershy waiting outside.

"So, you were Spec Ops?" she asked.

"How did you know?" Dash realized she had no clue whether Fluttershy had actually known or if she had just confirmed her suspicions.

"Sombra's army never works in lone squads," she said.

"Hmph."

"So, about escaping?" Dash was shocked.

"Wha- how did you hear…"

"I didn't. It's pretty obvious. A high ranking operative in a very prestigious unit is accused of working for the enemy and is thrown in prison. They know too much to let them live, and they know enough to know that. The logical option? Escape. Get far, far away from the IF." Rainbow had to admit, her deduction skills were uncanny.

"Well, what about escape? Why do you need to?"

"Do you think I want to be here? Do you think anyone does?"

"Fair point."

"Besides, I want to try and find some of my old friends…" She stared off into the distance for a moment. She shook her head jarringly. "You provide my best chance. A trained soldier who knows this place."

"Okay. But I've never seen a prison camp. You've been here longer than I have, any ideas?" Dash inquired.

"Not a one. They thought of everything. The double layer fences are electrified, barbed, and go 20 feet up and down. They have guard towers in the fields beyond, and there are patrols that pass any one point every 20 seconds."

"You've counted?"

"I've been here 4 months. It's like clockwork."

"Well, there has to be some way out? How does food get delivered?" Dash inquired.

A special patrol brings that goop twice a day. They come in through triple layered gates, with a different code that has to be entered at the same time on two separate keypads, which are on opposite sides of the gate," Fluttershy said. "I've studied every routine." She definitely knew a lot.

"Then what makes you think I could help?" Fluttershy sighed.

"I don't know. I just hoped you'd know something."

"Spitfire had a higher clearance than me, she might know something that will help." Rainbow said with a sigh.

"Then talk to her, when you can." Fluttershy seemed to realize what Spitfire's injuries meant for her chances of escape. Her face reflected what Rainbow Dash felt. Spitfire's information wouldn't help herself at all. But it was necessary to use her, if any of them were to leave alive.

"When do they do executions?" Dash asked, knowing well that whatever Fluttershy said would be the deadline for their escape.

"They do it every three weeks, and the last one was two days ago," she replied.

"So we've got about a month to plan an escape from the largest and strongest military in Equestria," Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically.

"That's about what it measures up to." Fluttershy responded unhelpfully.