"Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."
-The Doctor, A Good Man Goes to War
"You've been awfully quiet."
Spitfire looked up at Flim and sighed, poking at the biscuit that sat on her plate. Twilight had used one of her wishing stars to conjure up some food for the hungry troops, reasoning that ponies were more likely to listen when they had nice full bellies. From the way several of the ponies were shoveling the meal into their mouths, Spitfire had to admit that Twilight might have been on to something. But the flyer found no comfort in biscuits or salads. The pains she was suffering from could not be easily cured by a full plate.
Flim nibbled on the sandwich he had made for himself, knowing it was useless to press the Wonderbolt. The inventor and schemer had run into plenty of ponies during his long years on the road and prided himself on knowing when to push and when to back off. For some, they were begging to be led by the nose and one could easily lead them about like a puppet. Others required a more subtle touch; hinting words and coy little comments that would draw the target towards the answer Flim wanted them to arrive at.
But there were some, like Spitfire, who bucked against the trend. Trying in any way, shape, or form to get them to do what you wanted would cause them to clamp down and tune one out. That was only useful if your goal was to get them to NOT listen to you, and such situations rarely presented themselves.
So, it was better for him to wait her out. He had planted the seed and now he just had to see if it would grow.
"I don't want to talk about it," Spitfire stated.
"Of course not," Flim said with a smirk, returning his attention to his sandwich.
Spitfire glowered. "You won't get me to talk."
"You are quite right."
"I know you are going to use your reverse psychology or some mumbo-jumbo like that... but it isn't going to work!" Spitfire jabbed her hoof at Flim, who merely cocked an eyebrow. "You... you think you are so smart!"
"I think nothing... I know," Flim said with a smirk.
Spitfire glared at the scarred inventor, eyes blazing with a look that would have incinerated most ponies. "You cocky-"
"It isn't cocky if you can back it up," Flim stated calmly. "I tell you, I know your head better than you do!"
"If that is the case, then why I am I so upset?"
Flim scoffed, waving her off. "That is painfully obvious."
"Try me."
"Rainbow Dash," Flim said, holding his hoof up to forestall her next comment, "is not the issue. She is part of the problem, obviously, but she is not the main source of your aggravation."
"Then who is?" Spitfire grumbled avoiding his eyes.
"The rest of us." Flim shrugged, a slight smile tugging on his lips. "If your issue was merely with Rainbow Dash you would have dealt with it. And, the truth of the matter is, you already have. You tried to attack her and failed. You aren't one to do the same thing over and over and expect different results... that is the definition of crazy, by the way. No... your problem is that the rest of us haven't gone for her throat." His horn glowed and he brought up a biscuit, which he drizzled with butter before chomping down on it. "It is enraging you that we are not stringing her up now and reducing her into quarters. You see it as a betrayal of everything we do and everything we stand for that we let a queen live."
Spitfire trembled with rage; whether it was because of her rage at the rest of the rebellion or her anger that Flim had been able to read her so well was a matter of debate, even within her own head.
"I am not a good pony," Flim stated simply. "I could have been great... had things gone different I could have rivaled Fancy Pants in wealth and prestige. But life is fickle and so am I. I like the way my life as gone and I have enjoyed the path I have taken. But that does not mean I have been a good stallion. To quite a few ponies my brother and I could be seen as villains. We have schemed and tricked and deceived. We used our talent and our Creator-given gifts to make a quick bit. We have nearly ruined lives... and have ruined our own, if one wants to be bitter."
"Why are you tell me this?" Spitfire asked.
"I am telling you because there are plenty of ponies that should hate me... but they forgave me when I decided I wanted to help. Just as I forgive Rainbow Dash, now that she has come to her senses." Flim stood up, gathering up his empty plate and cup. "That, lovely lady, is true Harmony... the thing we are fighting for, if I am not mistaken. Wallow in revenge and self-pity all you want, but I tell you this: such actions only make the queens right."
Spitfire merely watched him go.
~MC~MC~MC~
Rainbow Dash looked over the magical model Twilight had suspended in front of them, circling it and giving it a critical eye. Of any pony, Rainbow Dash was the one most specialized to confirm that the model was correct. She had ruled the city as its queen only days before and in her youth she had called the place home.
Cloudsdale. The city of the clouds. Stronghold of the Rainbow Guard, Dash's elite fighting unite.
The prison which held the foals, fillies, and colts of Equestria.
"There have been several changes made to Cloudsdale since you last visited, Twi." Rainbow's own horn began to glow and she grit her teeth as she worked to reshape the model. Rainbow wasn't ashamed to admit that Twilight was simply better than her at magic and even if Rainbow spent a thousand years studying she had little hope she would be able to match the lavender mare. Twilight was magic itself and with time Dash was sure even Celestia and Luna would be surpassed by the purple alicorn, if they hadn't already.
Rainbow pushed down the twinge of guilt as she thought about Celestia and Luna. It did no good to worry about them and wonder if they would ever be able to become alicorns again. It did no pony any good to focus on things that were out of their control; better to focus on what few mistakes Rainbow could fix.
Number 1 being the rescue of the foals.
"We are using compacted clouds that are dense enough to hold the weight of a pony," Rainbow stated, motioning for Twilight to enlarge a section of the model that she had been working on. Where once had been a simple stretch of houses there now stood a long, flat building made of clouds. "They are safe and comfortable. Security measures were put in place to ensure that no matter what, there was no way that the foals could escape the building and end up on the weaker, fluffier clouds."
"What sort of measures?" Shining asked.
Rainbow pointed to the entryway of the building. "The building is made up of two walls sandwiched together. Between them there is set up a gale wind that is continuously blowing. Only pegasi with specially charmed armor will be able to pass through; if a foal tried to they would find it like trying to walk through a wall."
Twilight looked at the prison, deep in thought. "I suppose we could try and steal some armor..."
"But that still doesn't help us," Shining told her. "There are simply too few of us to stage an attack." His horn glowed and he began to do a count of all the fliers they had. "We have maybe 20 pegasi we can count on. Even with you and Rainbow Dash the odds will be against us."
"If Scootaloo keeps my squad up there then we are looking at atleast 150 pegasi," Rainbow said sadly. "And that isn't taking into account the normal citizens or the Wonderbolts."
The lavender alicorn merely smiled. "Don't worry, big brother... I have an idea that will not only even the odds but also give us the element of surprise. As for the foals' compound..." Twilight turned to The Doctor and Clyde. "I need to talk to you both about an idea."