The filly blinked sleepily and stretched, but stopped short when she met resistance in the form of Fleur's large white body pressed against the back of her own. She looked up and followed the arc of Fleur's neck all the way to her chin before shaking her head experimentally to see if she had a hangover to deal with. Nothing.

"Huh, I thought I'd have to be seriously drunk to get in bed with a mare... or anypony for that matter." She glanced about her surroundings and saw the slumbering forms of Trixie, Twilight and Octavia before suddenly remembering that the events of last night had actually happened. She clamped her hooves over her eyes and groaned, "Was I really that emotional last night?"

"After all we told you last night, that's the bit that concerns you?" Trixie sniggered quietly before stretching where she lay. "By the way, you and Fleur looked absolutely adorable snuggled up together like that. Makes me I wish I had a camera."

The filly narrowed her eyes at Trixie, "What do you care about how we look? You don't even want me here."

"It's nothing personal." Trixie tapped a hoof on her chin as she thought, "Okay, maybe it is slightly. I mean you did rob me and leave me locked in the basement of some strangers house. What if he had been a murderer or a rapist or something?"

"If he was I wouldn't have done that. Yes I'm a cheeky bugger who will rob you for every marc in your possession but I do have limits. I try and make sure that if I'm going to con a pony that they're not going to get hurt in the process. If I knew that pony could hurt you then I would've thought of something else."

"Hmmph, very well, so you do have a conscience. All the same though I don't think dragging you along with us helps us in the slightest while at the same time puts us and you in danger."

"I don't care what you think Trixie. I have a chance for a better life here and if I can help in any way then I will. What are you here for Trixie? All you seem to do is whine and complain."

"Oh, Trixie has her uses. Far more than your infantile mind could ever fathom."

"And yet far less than her ego would ever let her admit," Fleur mumbled, cracking one eye open to enjoy the look of indignation on Trixie's face. "And never ask her for a witty comeback. Hers are awful."

Trixie huffed and puffed and blew a raspberry at Fleur, "Of course it’s going to be rubbish when I'm put on the spot like that. Besides, it's not like you're that useful yourself."

"Oh yeah? Well at least I never took over a town in a dark magic fueled, powe-"

"Oh will you fuck off with that!" Trixie snapped suddenly, waking Twilight and Octavia up. "Why is it that everytime I disagree with something, or have an opinion that you don't like, you have to say that like it's some giant trump card! It was stupid and I regret ever doing it! I don't need you and the others rubbing my face it all the fucking time, and it shouldn't be used to legitimize your own stupid fucking things! 'We can't do that, it's bad! But not as bad as Trixie using a dark magic amulet so we should be okay!' Or 'I shouldn't steal all this stuff. But then what's that compared to Trixie taking over a town in a fit of megalomania?' I've tried to be good humoured about it, but seriously, fuck off!"

The others lay in a shocked silence as Trixie glowered at them, panting slightly. "I... didn't realise you felt so strongly about it Trixie," Twilight said after a few seconds.

"Of course I feel strongly about it. I regret what I did, and I'm sorry it ever happened. But I'm not here to have my biggest mistake thrown in my face repeatedly and reminded about how badly I screwed up, and I'm certainly not here for ponies to compare their own actions to mine. Just because it's not as bad or evil or stupid as what I did doesn't mean it isn't still bad, evil or stupid!"

"I never did that, did I?" Octavia asked tremulously.

"Hmm," Trixie screwed up her face in thought. "No... I don't think you did." She shuffled her sleeping bag closer to Octavia, "I'm going to be over here, with the nice pony."

"I don't get it," said Fleur thoughtfully. "Why'd you do all those things just to regret it later?"

"I only wanted to get revenge on Twilight for besting me at magic when I started, which is dull enough as it is. I had no desire to hurt anypony or take over Ponyville, but that amulet... changed me, made me into a monster. I mean Trixie grew distrustful of wheels for pony's sake! What pony in their right mind doesn't trust wheels?"

"She's not kidding Fleur," Twilight said. "The amulet she was wearing corrupts the user. If it was you wearing it you wouldn't have been any better. And for what it's worth Trixie, I'm sorry if I upset you by bringing it up inappropriately."

"Yeah, sorry Trixie," muttered Fleur.

Trixie closed her eyes and breathed out slowly through her nose. "Very well, I shall forgive you. Celestia knows I probably deserve some teasing about it, but it shouldn't be used as a 'one argument beats Trixie' style of thing."

"Damn you guys must take your roleplaying games seriously," the filly said as she them all strange looks.

"What?" Twilight mouthed quietly, hoping for an explanation from the two awkward looking unicorns in the room.

"We... may have brought it up in the presence of the filly back when I found Trixie in Prance. To cover it up we pretended it was from a roleplaying game we were doing..."

"Wait... you mean it actually happened? It's real?" The filly looked up to Fleur who nodded in confirmation. "Ho-ly crap Trixie." She gave Trixie a look of mock horror, "You fucking psycho."

Twilight rattled the handle to the door that led from the cargo hold to the rest of the ship. Unfortunately somepony had the foresight to lock it, although Twilight couldn't think of any practical reason why they should when the ship was supposedly empty and the exterior entry to the hold was still wide open. "Probably to stop ponies sneaking on-board overnight," Fleur had suggested.

Trixie walked up beside Twilight and studied the lock for a second before enveloping the lock in her magic and unlocking it with a click a moment later. Trixie must have noticed the surprise in Twilight's expression, explaining that she learnt to pick locks with her magic for her escapism act.

"And you didn't think to add that to your résumé when we started this?"

"Trixie thought it was obvious that she could do that. After all, she is the most talented unicorn in Mareitania," Trixie exclaimed smugly.

"Surely that would be Twilight?" the filly said, sounding confused. "I'd say that picking locks doesn't compare to fighting soldiers."

"Twilight doesn't count." Trixie said, coughing awkwardly. "Anyway... how about we go see what's going on upstairs." She went to open the door when Fleur shouted, "Wait!"

"We should strip off before going upstairs," she said, explaining that this boat was going to be full of fancily dressed rich ponies. Five ponies dressed in grubby cloaks would look severely out of place. "We'd be less conspicuous going unclothed."

"Nuh-uh, no way," the filly said defensively. "There's no way I'm going anywhere in the nuddy."

"That's silly," said Trixie, "there's nothing wrong with going in the buff. Ponies in Equestria are pretty much naked all the time."

"I have my reasons..." the filly muttered, her expression dark. "I guess I'll have to stay here and watch your stuff. I promise not to steal it before you think that I would Trixie."

"Why would I trust the promise of a liar and a thief?"

"That... is a very good point. Touché. I guess you'll just have to have some faith in me instead."

"Come on Trixie," said Fleur with a hint of warning, "you're going to make us go over on this morning’s argument quota if you're not careful." She reached into one of her bags and pulled out a small toiletries bag, "First stop, hygiene. Be good... you," she said to the filly.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. You go do whatever it is you're going to do," the filly said as she waved them off. "If you happen to find me some breakfast I'd appreciated it."

Fleur nudged the door open and poked her head through, looking around for a moment before carrying on through, followed by Twilight, then Octavia with Trixie bringing up the rear.

"Might I ask what the bag is for?" Octavia asked from behind Twilight, who seemed strangely mesmerized by the swaying of Fleur's uncovered flank.

"We're on a boat full of the rich and well to do, Octavia. A wash and some makeup is going to go a long way, believe me."

"Why is Twilight staring at Fleur's ass?" Trixie asked loudly.

"Huh? What!? N-no I'm not! I was just hoping nopony touches my sides in case they feel my wings."

"Would you feel better if Fleur touched your sides?"

"Shut up!"

"Stop being mean to Twilight about her confused sexuality-"

"I'm not confused!"

"Besides, I must be losing my touch if you're not staring either."

"Actually, Trixie would say your rear looks better than ever, all the walking and running over the last few weeks have really toned those cheeks up."

"Why thank you Trixie. And there I was thinking that getting a compliment out of you was like getting water out of a stone."

Trixie shrugged, "Thing is though is that I know where my preferences lie unlike Twilight."

"I like cock!" Twilight blushed as she realised what she had just blurted out and her ears folded back as they filled with Trixie's laughter. "I-uh, I mean I would... if I-uh... wasn't a... Oh shut up!"

"You heard it here first," Trixie choked between laughs, "Princess Twilight likes cock!"

"Where are we anyway?" Octavia asked in the hopes of steering the conversation towards something useful and away from Fleur's rear, Trixie's preferences and Twilight's... Twilightishness. "This doesn't look nice enough for the rich ponies to be staying in," she said as she observed the rough wooden walls.

Trixie snorted and nudged her, “Is that all you're going to contribute to this conversation?"

Octavia bit her lip, "Well... okay, there is something I have always wondered about. Is it true what they say about unicorn horns? About them being sensitive? I would've asked Vinyl but I was worried that she’d give me a demonstration if the answer was yes."

"Nah," said Fleur, "complete load of rubbish. Horns are made of bone and don't have sensations like that. Bloody hurt if you smack them though. It is, however, true what they say about pegasus wings being sensitive isn't it Twilight?"

"Not. Saying. Anything."

"Oh lighten up Twilight. Anyway to answer your first question Octavia, these are probably the servants quarters, or at least I hope they are otherwise this tub has some shitty accommodations. I'm hoping that there's some kind of communal bathroom or something where we can freshen up." She soon espied a door emblazoned with a small 'WC' and led them in.

"You know, Trixie has always wondered why it's called a water closet when it is neither a closet nor particularly watery."

"And I've always wondered what it is that goes on inside your head Trixie, but I fear only madness lies down that route." Fleur walked up to a sink and turned the tap before splashing herself with water, "Cold!"

"What time do you think the Viscount will be here? Twilight asked as she viewed herself in a mirror, before pulling at the bags under her eyes and sighing.

Fleur dried herself off with a towel before answering, "If he's the hedonistic little twit I've been led to believe he is then I doubt he'll be here any time before midday. Gives us plenty of time to wander around and work this out."

There was a grunt as Octavia pulled a brush through the knots in the end of her tail. "I really ought to have cut this thing before we came."

"I really never understood the thing with having your tail touching the ground," said Trixie. "Sure a long tail looks nice but it seems horribly impractical and wouldn't it turn into a-"

"Knotty, mud laden mess? Hence why I wish I'd had it cut. It's not so bad around Canterlot if I wash it and brush it often, but here? No chance of either of those happening much. I guess this is what my morning will consist of if I wish to be presentable by this afternoon." She sighed and grumbled, "This'd be so much easier if I was a unicorn."

"It does make you wonder how Celestia and Luna does it," Fleur commented as she applied eye shadow; "I mean Celestia's mane and tail are freaking huge!"

"Or how their manes seem to be blowing in the wind all the time," agreed Trixie. "Is that going to happen to you someday Twilight?"

"Goodness I hope not. I like having hairy… hair. Sure Celestia has said the hair is easy to handle since it never really gets dirty as it tends to float just above the ground and doesn't need styling because it tends to do as it pleases, but at the same time both princesses have confessed to having to rely on magical senses since it's ridiculously easy to sneak up on their right side."

"What does it feel like though?"

Twilight pursed her lips as she tried to think of an adequate answer. "Okay, it's like the lightest, softest piece of silk imaginable but in lots of little hair-like strands and seems to be constantly moving like it gets blown in even the slightest breeze, no matter how hard you try to stop it." Twilight stared into the distance and smiled wistfully, "I used to love cuddling up in Celestia's hair when I first started my apprenticeship with her, it was always so soft."

"I've changed my mind, she doesn't have the hots for Fleur, she has them for Celestia and her luxuriously soft hair. Sorry Fleur, you've been replaced."

"What? No! Me- Me and the P-Princess?" Twilight spluttered. "I could never do that, she's like a mother to me!"

"And not because you're 'apparently' straight Twilight? You didn't say you haven't thought of it," Trixie said as she smirked, making Twilight blush and stammer. "Ooh, maybe Twilight likes a bit of Princess Luna! Wanna explore the dark side of her moon, eh Twilight?"

"I'm not gay!" Twilight shouted as she blushed furiously. "I don't know why you would think I am!"

"You were staring at Fleur's ass."

"I couldn't care less about Fleur's rear end!"

"Fleur gasped mockingly, "But I have a fabulous tush! You've broken my heart Twilight," she said before starting to giggle. "Sorry," she said after the others asked what was so funny, "it just struck me as amusing that after the last few weeks and everything that's happened, here we are having girly talk in a bathroom. You could almost think we were getting ready for a night on the town, not working to overthrow a corrupt and evil government."

"Normal does seem a long way off doesn't it," agreed Octavia.

"Not that Trixie ever knew what normal was in the first place," Twilight snarked.

"Ooh meow, kitty got claws! Besides, you're not wrong," Trixie said haughtily. "Trixie would never be so plebeian as to have a 'normal' life. Perish the thought."

Octavia grunted as she pulled the brush through a particularly knotted part of her tail before putting the brush down with a thunk. "This is going to take me forever to sort out," she groaned. "Perhaps you ought to leave me here while you go scout around the ship."

"Trixie's ready to go whenever." Trixie shrugged and moved over to the door.

"Doesn't anypony else find it odd that the better the mood Trixie is in the more she refers to herself in the third pony," Fleur said, grinning at Trixie who stuck her tongue out at Fleur in return. "Anyway, I'm ready to go too, how about you Twilight?"

Twilight levelled a scowl at Trixie before answering. "I'll stay here and help Octavia with her tail. Perhaps some magic would speed things up."

"Oh come on, now you're making things too easy for me," Trixie cleared her throat, "Twilight and Octavia, sitting in a tree, f-u-c-k-i-n-g!" Trixie sang before running out the door laughing maniacally. She poked her head back through the door and grinned saucily at Twilight, "And Twilight, if you're going under Octavia's tail, make sure you get her consent first," she said before running off again.

"She does seem cheerful today doesn't she." Fleur patted Twilight on the back in a not very comforting manner as Twilight ground her teeth. "We'll meet you back in our hiding place, hopefully with good news."

"Fuck my life," Twilight muttered once Fleur departed.

"Damn you're going for everything today aren't you?" Trixie said from the doorway.

"Dammit Trixie! Get out of here!"

Trixie let out a low whistle as she perused the grand ballroom she and Fleur had stumbled upon. "So this is what Mareitanian taxes get spent on."

"Actually most of this country's taxes are spent on the whole pegasus... thing."

"Really?"

"Yep. Oppressing a race of highly mobile, winged ponies ain't easy and it ain't cheap." Fleur ran a critical eye over the decor and started to frown as she realised something. "Trixie, do you notice something odd about the stuff in this room."

"Other than it smells strangely of cookies in here, not really."

"Exactly, I mean wh- hold on, what?" Fleur sniffed the air experimentally, "I don't smell cookies."

"Yeah, neither do I, but you clearly wanted something out of me when you asked."

Fleur rubbed the bridge of her nose and groaned as she came to realise she was the sole focus of Trixie's ramblings now it was just the two of them. "Right, if you were paying attention you would have said something like 'gee Fleur, it sure does look like a lot of this stuff was made in Equestria,’"

"Trixie does not sound like that,"

"And then I'd be like, 'that's right Trixie. Doesn't that strike you as odd seeing as how Mareitania is mostly cut off from Equestria and has very limited trade with them.'"

"Why yes Fleur, that would strike me as odd if I had any credible reason to believe that you are in fact not talking out of your arse."

Fleur gave Trixie a long, cool stare. "I hope you're acting like this to get it out of your system before the party."

"You say that like Trixie has a limit to her obstinacy."

Fleur rubbed the bridge of her nose again and sighed heavily, "Anyway... this light," she said pointing at one of multiple wall mounted lights, "Fancy Pants has the exact same fittings in his mansion leading me to suspect they're from Equestria." She picked up an ornate china plate in her magic and flipped it over before pointing at its hallmark, "This plate was made by the esteemed Clay Brothers company in Fillydelphia." She picked up a few more plates, "as was this one, this one, and this one."

She trotted over to the bar which stretched along most of a wall and picked out a variety of bottles. "This rather expensive champagne was produced in the expansive vineyards of Las Pegasus, and this cherry liqueur was made in the cherry orchards of Dodge Junction. Not forgetting this lovely apple cider produced on Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville itself. Do I need to go on because there are plenty more things I could point out."

Trixie sat down and folded her forelegs, "Trixie has spent most of her life either being poor in Manehatten or travelling around Equestria in a little wooden caravan with minimal possessions. Excuse me if I can't immediately point out all these things a wealthy pony living in a mansion in Canterlot would know about. But, now you have said it, yes I see what you're getting at."

"I didn't mean it like that..." Fleur ran a hoof down the back of her head as she thought, and sighed through her nose. "Sorry Trixie, sometimes I forget you're not a Canterlot pony like the other two."

"Or you?"

"I guess there is more Canterlot in me than I like to admit." Fleur fell silent as a group of ponies entered the room the same way they had. Most of them bearing bulky instrument cases, and all of them, five mares and three stallions, were looking unhappy.

"About time we found this bloody ballroom. You'd think there'd be some kind of steward or something sorting this all out!" The stallion in the front, a glossy dark grey colour with a mahogany mane and tail, glanced about before spotting Fleur and Trixie. "You there! The," his nose wrinkled up in disgust, "unicorns... I don't suppose you know who's in charge here?"

"Don't you dare imply it's you," Fleur whispered to Trixie out the side of her mouth before replying to the stallion. "I'm afraid not, we seem to be in the same boat, excuse the pun, about finding where we're meant to be." She pointed across to the corner of the ballroom where a grand piano resided upon a raised stage, "Is that there what you're looking for?"

The stallion glanced at the stage and a look of relief crossed his face, "Ahah! Finally! Perhaps now we can get practicing before tonight." He trotted off to the stage followed closely by his bandmates.

"You're welcome!" Fleur said bitterly. "If only we could find out when this whole thing is kicking off we could stop wondering around like morons."

"Yes, that would be convenient. If only there was some kind of itinerary like this one Trixie found on the bar over there."

"And you were going to mention this when?" Fleur said in a low growl.

"I was hoping to hold out for when you were ready to give up in a fit of despair for maximum annoyance, but I don't think we have that long."

Fleur scowled at Trixie and snatched the itinerary off her with her magic before skimming through it, "Viscount's arrival at two in the afternoon followed by guests... Then setting off at three once guests are settled. Stallions are welcome to brandy and cigars in the smoking room while mares would be welcome to have tea in the drawing room- Ugh that would so not work in Equestria."

"Because there'd only be ten stallions here in total?"

"Well yeah, that and Equestrians don't really seem big on the drinking and smoking thing either so there would be plenty of competition over the tea." She skimmed further down the page, "Dinner at six then an opportunity for the guests to change into their outfits in preparation for the masked... ball..." Fleur placed the itinerary back down on the bar and pouted, "Shit."

"Does this mean we have to acquire some masks now?"

"It seems we do." Fleur lifted the barrier to behind the bar and rooted around in the hopes of finding something to eat. "Where's the bloody bar snacks in this place?"

"You do remember what kind of ship you're on right? There's probably going to be a buffet with hor d'oeuvres', and canapés, and whatever else it is that rich ponies live on."

"I know that, but I don't want to have to listen to that filly moaning because she skipped breakfast." Fleur tapped a hoof on the floor as she thought but nothing occurred to her. "Oh I don't know, I'm sure we can find something somewhere. Let's get back to our hidey hole. At the very least we can come back with news."

"And tell Octavia that there's a cello player here," Trixie said, nodding at the band where a mare was extracting a cello from its case.

"A cello player you say? Hmm..." Octavia rubbed her chin as a thoughtful and slightly evil expression spread across her features. "That might be worth investigating."

"You're already thinking of ways to get rid of her aren't you?" the filly said before starting on her second apple. Much to Fleur's chagrin the filly had decided that waiting was boring and had instead decided to find her own breakfast. Somehow she had managed to find the galley and steal a bowl of fruit almost as big as herself without being seen. Not that anypony minded since she was happy to share.

"Do you realise how long it's been since I've been able to play a cello? The last one I even held I was forced to smash around somepony's head to stop them from... uh... Ahem, anyway... yes I would like to get a chance to play if I can."

The filly nodded and folded her legs. "Okay then, how lethal do you want this to be?"

"Lethal? Are you suggesting we kill her because that's a bit much."

"Righty oh, non-lethal it is."

"Does anypony find it odd that Octavia and the filly are plotting like this just so Octavia can play a cello for the evening?" Trixie looked around hoping to find some agreement but failed to find any from Twilight or Fleur. "I guess Trixie's on her own then."

The filly thought in silence before breaking out into a sinister grin, "Does anypony know where we can get a laxative at this hour?"

Trixie gave the filly a flat look before rolling her eyes, "You mean this normal daytime hour where you could buy such things in a shop?"

"You just have to ruin everything don't you!"

"There must be an apothecary in town somewhere," said Fleur thoughtfully. "Guess there's only one way to find out. Come on Twilight, filly, let's go."

"Me?" Twilight asked, "Why do I have to go?"

"Maybe Fleur's looking to buy some lube in a flavour you like," said Trixie with a snigger.

Fleur smiled sweetly at Trixie while Twilight stammered incoherently, "If I was to buy any lube my dear Trixie, it would be to aid the passage of your head up your own ass which might be an event happening sooner rather than later if you don't knock it off."

"Okay, okay, sheesh."

"And you Twilight, are coming with me because you're the smart pony who probably knows what we need."

"What time is it?" the filly asked.

"About ten I think," Fleur told her, "why?"

"I'm just counting down the hours until these poor sods can go back to being normal." The smile patrol did seem to be out in force as time drew close to the Viscount's arrival and the ponies around them bore ever shakier smiles than before.

Fleur shrugged casually even as her own cheeks quivered with the effort to keep looking cheerful. "I wouldn't worry about it too much on the simple basis that it's not our problem."

"It does make you wonder though," Twilight pondered out loud. "Did the Viscount request this? Or is it happening without his knowledge? Or is it in fact a complete misinterpretation of something like 'tidy the town up and make it look cheerful.'"

"Pfft, like that matters," the filly said obnoxiously. "I just wish that it wasn't happening."

Rather get into a heated discussion concerning the filly's manners, Twilight instead went back to observing her surroundings which is probably why she was the first to spot the apothecary when they came across it. She led the way over to the shop and entered it first which unfortunately meant she was first to encounter the owner of the premises.

A bright yellow earth pony stallion with a near neon green mane jumped over the counter and shoved his face into Twilight's the moment she entered. "Hallooooooo, how I can haaaaalp you?" the stallion asked, spraying Twilight with spittle from his impossibly wide, and in Twilight's opinion, chemically induced, smile before sniffing around her quite vigorously. "My my, you smeeeeeell veeery halthy! Whaaaattt could yooouuuu neeeedddd my ser-vaces for?"

What the bloody hell kind of accent is that supposed to be? Twilight thought to herself before grinning nervously as the stallion continued to march his one pony army all over her personal space. "I-uh, I'm looking for extract of Senna Alexandrina actually, I don't suppose you have some in stock?"

"Seeeeenna Alexandriiiiina? Do yooouuuu have a toooouch of tha constipaaaation? Yooouuuu don't smeeell like you dooo..." Twilight's cheeks tinged red as Fleur and the filly giggled behind her.

"It's not for me, it's for a friend," Twilight said, hoping the stallion would take the hint and drop the issue. He sort of did when he shrugged and said, "It would seeeemmmm that a lot of pooooonies have sick friends in this toooowwwnnn."

He trotted back to the counter and addressed a small, all white unicorn mare that was sat behind it smiling bemusedly, "Liiiiiillydrop, see that this uuuuunicorn gets what she neeeeedddddsssss. I'm going out back tooooo... refreeeesh my smiiiiillle..." He walked around the counter and through a door behind it from where a moment later there was a loud sniffing noise.

"Called it," the filly said to Fleur quietly.

"And? I wasn't exactly arguing," Fleur whispered back.

The white unicorn stood up and grinned disarmingly, "My apologies for the master, he's a tad... eccentric."

"Isn't that a posh way of saying he's off his rocker?" the filly said, cocking an eyebrow for emphasis.

"Maybe..." Lilydrop admitted before sighing slightly. "Don't get me wrong, he's a master at his craft, but... let's just say he's also a cautionary tale against eating strange mushrooms you find in the forest. Anyway, you're looking for extract of Senna Alexandrina?"

"That's right," Twilight said with forced cheerfulness, causing the unicorn to start searching through one of the shelves, muttering to herself as she went.

"Aha!" she shouted suddenly, making the others jump. She returned to behind the counter brandishing a small vial in her magic which she deposited in front of Twilight. "Need any instructions on how to use it?" Twilight nodded in affirmation and the mare assumed what Twilight thought of as a lecturing stance.

"Right, depending on how bad your little problem is you should only take two or three drops at a time. More than that and you'll probably develop the opposite problem, and certainly don't take the entire bottle at once, because even if you don't shit yourself to death you may well wish that you could. Mix the drops with a glass of water and drink, preferably in the morning because nopony likes getting up in the night to go to the bathroom right?"

"Right..."

"Anyway, that'll be five marcs." Twilight fished the money out of her bags and hoofed it over before gently placing the vial in instead. "Thank you very much," the mare said. "Please come again?" Twilight could easily make out the tone of pleading in her voice that said 'please please please don't leave me alone with the madpony!'

Sorry, Twilight thought before heading out the door and back to the boat.

"Hold on," said Fleur, "I just remembered that we need to get some costume masks since apparently it's a masked ball."

"Okay, let's do that, then we can go back to the boat."

"Trixie looks like a moron," Trixie deadpanned as she tried on the dark purple mask that the others had bought for her.

"And that concerns you more than usual... why?" Fleur said jokingly as she tried her own red coloured mask on.

"Oh ha ha... Trixie just doesn't like wearing masks, that's all."

"I'm afraid that's something you're going to have to get used to," said Twilight as she tucked hers and Octavia's black masks into her bags with her dress for safekeeping. "If we're going to try and fit in then we're going to have to wear them."

"You don't need to explain it to Trixie like she's a foal. Besides, what about you Twilight? Now that Octavia's hell-bent on playing the cello in the band you don't have a cover story."

"Actually I've been thinking about that and I think I have a solution. I've been playing around with the spell Luna taught me to hide my-uh... appendages," she muttered as she remembered the filly's presence, "and I think I can alter it to disguise my horn as well." She lit her horn and a moment later the horn faded from view leaving behind a cone of purple magic. "As long as I don't use any magic, and I'm careful nopony touches my horn I think I can pass as an earth pony and therefore just another guest."

"I don't suppose that's something you could teach me and Fleur?" Trixie asked. "It would be useful."

"I don't think so, Luna said only... certain powerful ponies would be able to use the spell originally since pegasi can't do magic and unicorns don't have normally have to hide things so they wouldn't need to know it. It's kinda specialized like that."

"Oh boy, more weirdo cryptic talk," the filly muttered to herself as she tugged at the new cloak Fleur had bought her, reasoning that the ratty brown thing she had been wearing wouldn't do in this situation. "Why do I need this? It's not like I want to go to the party," she huffed.

"Too bad for you." Trixie rolled onto her back and stretched her legs out in all directions. "I never thought that sneaking onto a ship to gate-crash a party for the country's elite would be so... boring," she said wearily. "I hope Octavia's having more fun than us."

Octavia followed the directions Fleur had given her to the ballroom, the coin purse that hung around her neck jingling as she trotted. She hadn't wanted to bring anything with her but she had needed some way to inconspicuously transport the vial of extract, and actual money might come in use. She gently nudged the door open to the ballroom and immediately her ears were assaulted by a tune going wrong. Despite that though it somehow seemed... familiar...

"No no no!" a stallion shouted. "Have you forgotten how to read music or something!?"

"I can't help it," a mare whined. "I've never even heard these songs before, let alone played any of them!"

"Oh for goodness- Look, it's not hard." a Grey and mahogany stallion stomped over from his piano to a lilac mare who instinctively hid behind the treble bass she was wielding. The stallion loudly and animatedly explained something to the mare who flinched with every gesture he made, but Octavia stopped listening when behind the bassist she spotted a yellow mare holding a cello and giving the bassist a rather disdainful look.

Thwap! Octavia was brought back to the moment when the stallion smacked the bassist around the head with a roll of paper before returning to his piano. Octavia was about to express her disapproval but managed to curb herself. She frowned as the cellist sniggered at the bassist but ignored it as the band started up again, sitting quietly as she listened. The only motion she would make were her ears twitching every time she heard a mistimed or off-key note. Suffice to say her ears never stopped twitching.

The piece wound to an end and the stallion flopped onto his piano and gave a little groan. Out of sheer politeness Octavia applauded the band which quickly drew the ire of the lead stallion, just as she hoped it would.

"Are you kidding me? Are you actually applauding the abomination that last piece was?"

"I wasn't going suggest it was perfect but it was a good effort. Is it wrong for one musician to applaud the work of another?"

"When it's as bad as that was, yes, yes it is."

Octavia looked around the room, which had a lot more ponies in now compared to the amount Fleur said it had earlier. Fortunately that also included a pony working at the bar. "Perhaps I could offer to bring you some refreshments in exchange for letting me get a look at some of your sheet music, it does sound like an... unusual piece."

"Yes, fine, fine." The stallion waved her off languidly before berating another member of the band he was with. Octavia headed over to the bar where she was greeted by the friendly grin of the stallion behind it. "Bar's not open yet miss," he said.

"I'm only trying to organise some refreshments for the ponies playing over there," Octavia said, pointing over her back to the stage to where the lead stallion was screaming at one of the other stallions there.

"Doesn't matter miss, bar's closed until the ball tonight."

Octavia looked into her purse, "Would ten marcs change your mind?"

"Would you like ice with those?" the barpony asked with a broad grin. Octavia counted the money out of her purse and placed it on the bar.

"No, but I would like a tray."

Octavia waited patiently as the barpony prepared nine glasses of what appeared to be lemonade and placed them on a tray for her. She picked the tray up in her mouth and carried it over to one of the tables placed around the side of the room before turning her back to the stage. She took the vial out of her purse, opened it and put a couple of drops into one of the glasses before shrugging and tipping almost half the vial in. Then she waited.

The band came to the end of murdering another piece of music, prompting Octavia to pick up the tray and balance it on a hoof before heading up onto the stage. Being careful to keep rotating the tray so that the wrong pony didn't pick up the wrong glass she eventually came to the cellist who immediately went for the untainted glass.

Octavia shied back, "Ah-ah! That's mine. It's-uh... got a little something added to it, if you know what I mean." The yellow cellist shrugged and picked up the other glass in her mouth before sitting down, taking it in her hooves and drinking almost half in one go.

The cellist 'hmm'd' and squinted at the drink through one eye, "Tasted a bit funny, are you sure you didn't give me the wrong drink?"

Octavia shrugged, "Reasonably sure." The cellist shrugged in return and downed the rest of her drink.

Octavia waited on the stage with the tray as the rest of the musicians finished their drinks and returned the glasses to her. She returned the tray to the table and went back on stage before tapping the pianist on the shoulder, "May I?" she asked, pointing at the stack of sheet music he had next to him.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," the stallion muttered, waving her off again. She went back to the table, took a sip of her drink and waited for the show to begin. A sliver of guilt poked the back of her mind but she shrugged it off, reasoning that it was too late to go back now. She decided to pass the time by looking through the sheets the pianist had let her take. It didn't take long for her to work out that something was wrong.

She skimmed through the sheets one more time, to be certain of what was plainly obvious to her. "All these songs are Equestrian... What in Celestia's name are they doing playing them here?" At least she had solved the mystery of why they had sounded so familiar. She glanced at the stage to see if anything was happening and wasn't disappointed to see the cellist looking uncomfortable as she gently rubbed her stomach.

She waited a bit longer, watching as the poor cellist grew increasingly pained, when suddenly, in the middle of a song, the cellist dropped her instrument, fell to her knees and clutched her stomach with both forelegs. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." she whimpered, "Bathroom! Where's the fucking bathroom!"

Octavia pointed to the nearby exit, "Through there, then first door on your right," she supplied helpfully, having the foresight to find out in the suspicion something like this might happen. The cellist whinnied and charged off, smashing through the doors.

"Well that's just fucking great!" the stallion roared. He looked around and pointed at the bassist, "Go check on her, see if she's still alive."

"M-me? W-w-why me?"

"Because I said so, that's why." Poor thing Octavia thought as the pony gently laid down her instrument before sprinting for the door. Octavia and the remainder of the band milled around until she returned a minute later. "Well?" the stallion demanded when she came back, looking a little sickly.

"Well-uh... she's alive, but she might be in there for a long time."

"Brilliant! That's just fucking brilliant! How the bloody hell are we supposed to practice without our cellist? She was the only one of you getting this right! This is the Viscount's birthday; we can't afford to get this wrong!"

Octavia watched as the vein on the pianist’s forehead bulged in a most disconcerting manner before gently clearing her throat. "Perhaps I could be of assistance?" she said, trying to keep her eagerness out of her voice.

"No thank you whoever the bloody hell you are!"

"But I can play the cello so at least you can keep practicing until your proper one... recovers." Hopefully not that she will any time soon...

The pianist huffed and puffed irritably before growling his response. "Fine, there's a small chance you'll be better than these other buffoons." Octavia couldn't help but smile joyfully as she headed on-stage and picked up the cello from where the yellow mare had dropped it before playing a few notes and tweaking the tuning a bit.

It wasn't as nice as the one she had held in Prance but that didn't matter. Here, a thousand miles from Canterlot and her own cello, she suddenly felt right at home. She studied the sheet music in front of her and nodded her readiness to the pianist, who started them off. Within seconds she was lost in the music as she finally put her art to good use and might have made the mistake of being too good as she played the familiar tune perfectly.

"How the fucking hell did you do that?" the pianist asked as the others around her gave her equally suspicious looks.

"Um... beginners luck?"

"Well... I don't care how you did it, just keep doing it!" Octavia smiled warmly as the band launched into another song, her heart floating with the melody despite the others' mistakes. Perhaps I ought to check on the real cellist and take her a drink just to make sure she doesn't recover too fast...

"You'd think more ponies would question why three unicorns and a filly are aimlessly plodding around their ship," Trixie commented as she and the others wandered the exterior parts of the ship looking for a good place to view the Viscounts arrival from.

"Ponies tend not to ask questions in this country," Fleur told her. "They might not like the answers or how they're told them."

"I'm meant to be an earth pony, remember," hissed Twilight through her teeth to remind Trixie to not call her a unicorn. She wriggled around trying to get the dress she was wearing comfortable but for some reason it pinched in the worst places despite her attempts to magically alter it.

"Will you stop squirming," Fleur whispered to her. "You look stupid when you do that."

"Sorry but this dress is trying to murder certain parts of me. Who puts straps in that kind of place anyway?"

Fleur regarded the midnight blue dress that Twilight was wearing and decided she didn't have an answer she could call sensible. "If you had disguised your cutie mark you wouldn't have to wear it. Since you can't do that with magic you'll just have to suck it up."

"Why'd she have to cover it up anyway?" the filly asked from her vantage point atop Fleur's back.

"Star bursts and star related cutie marks tend to belong to unicorns skilled in magic, or at least in Equestria they do. Might be a bit suspicious for an earth pony to have one."

"Oh, right." She squinted into the distance to a trail of small dots were moving towards the town and pointed them out to Fleur who nodded.

"I guess this is it ladies, show time."

Author's Notes:

Time for posting again, and I do so wish when you copy pasted stuff into fimfic that all the italics and stuff got copied too. Oh well.

Here's where I apologise for the quality of the editing and writing and stuff but I'm tieeeerrrrdddd. Leave me alooooonnnneeeee...