Bon Bon didn't know which was worse, the fact that Fleur had failed to get in touch with her, or the dozen scenarios she had invented as to why that was, ranging from Fleur simply misplacing her part of their highly essential method of staying in contact, to the invasion of Canterlot. She knew that the invasion of Equestria had only really just started, so that seemed unlikely, but it was still in her head.

If Bon Bon had clear objectives she'd push on with them, but the time was quickly coming for a decision to be made concerning their attack on the Hayfield estate, and the nobles that would be there. Flicker was pushing for it to happen, while Honeydew was pushing against, and the rest of them were relying on Bon Bon to make a decision based on what Fleur said, and Fleur had said nothing.

Bon Bon groaned and smacked her hoof down on the speaker stone, frustrated at how things had gone. Their attempts at whittling down the Mareitanian war machine seemed to be having mixed results. Denying the enemy their production ability was in her mind a good way to slow them down, but the Mareitanians had invaded Equestria anyway, and seemed to be doing just fine ignoring the problem. They even seemed to be seeking out other means of arming themselves from smaller entities. Even your average blacksmith could hammer out a sword with a bit of know how and the right incentive.

If anything, their efforts were being undermined by increasing recruitment into the Mareitanian army. Ponies seemed more willing to fight Equestria when Equestria was aggressively blowing up their source of employment. It made the whole thing feel kind of pointless, even if those recruits weren't exactly the best equipped. A poorly equipped army can defeat a well equipped one half its size.

What they needed was a solid hit on Mareitania, and if Bon Bon was honest with herself, the attack on the nobles at the Hayfield estate didn't really sound like it. Not entirely. Killing Lord Hayfield himself seemed worth it, but not at the cost of killing what was potentially a large number of ponies that didn't need to die other than to fulfil Flicker's almost insane need to have them dead at her hooves. Was getting Lord Hayfield worth that cost?

Bon Bon didn't think so, and without any word from Fleur saying one way or the other, she was going to play it safe. Hopefully Flicker would understand, although Bon Bon doubted she would. The mare's need for revenge was shifting to a near psychotic degree as the time approached for Bon Bon to make a decision.

Bon Bon stood and brushed herself off, starting the process of walking back to camp. She'd spent quite a bit of time on her own in the woods over the last couple of days they'd spent there, just trying to get her mind back to some middle ground. The week before had been an almost nonstop trip around the country, doing everything they can to stymy Mareitania's production of war materials, so it was nice to have a little peace, even if it was spent fuming at the lack of direction from the pony in charge of her.

Their camp was a humble affair, with one tent shared between all six of them, and they'd scrounged all the marcs they could to buy it. Without management by pegasi or Faust, the weather was becoming increasingly stagnant, and it often rained as the aging clouds broke down and forged their own weather. As a result the tent became necessary. It did leave them wondering if the weather was turning wild without pegasi or Faust to maintain it. The griffons hadn't touched it once in the time Bon Bon knew them to be there, so it could be possible. Frankly none of them knew enough on the subject to be sure.

"Morning Chief," Rocky said cheerfully as he cooked something over a small fire that managed to be smokeless in the way only Rocky knew how to make them. "Any word?"

"Nothing," Bon Bon replied glumly. "I really do think something must have happened back in Equestria."

"And if something has? What then?"

"I... I don't know. We were never given any contingency plans in the event of Equestria falling, or Equis falling at least. I guess we'd have to go into hiding, because without the war to distract them they'd put a lot more focus into hunting us down. There'd be no point in getting ourselves caught, trying to fight a war that'd already been lost."

"Ah." Rocky nodded sagely, "I see you've reached the glum, introspective part of your mental journey.Really, I'm sure it can't be so bad as you're imagining."

"Or maybe it's worse. That's just it, we don't know." Bon Bon groaned and grabbed a tin mug, filling it from a pot of coffee that permanently lived on the edge of the fire. She downed half of it, topped her mug up, then sat by the fire, wishing for something so innocuous as a bagel for breakfast. "Where are the others?"

"Honey and Crème are still sleeping, and Tootsie and Flicker are off scouting the estate, since the gathering is tonight. I think Flicker's going to explode if you don't make your mind up soon."

"Actually I have made my mind up."

"And?"

"And... we're not doing it. That's a lot of ponies dead for the few that would actually make a difference. Although, if we can, I want to take Lord Hayfield out."

"You mean... kill him?"

Bon Bon rolled her eyes, "No, I meant dinner and a show. I have no idea what you're thinking of."

Rocky ignored the sarcastic reply, "And what if there are other Council members there? Are we going to go for them too? Make it a double date?"

"Then yes, although from what we know of the Council, the only other one we can expect to be there is Ivory Spire, and that's a maybe." Bon Bon sipped at her coffee, then shrugged, "Perhaps we should focus on the one pony we definitely know will be there, as I'm pretty sure killing Ivory Spire, and probably Daybreak, wouldn't make us any friends back home."

Rocky snorted a laugh, "At the risk of upsetting our pay masters, who cares what they think? These ponies are heavily involved in starting this war, so who gives a fuck if them and a few of ours were friends once?"

"Yes they might have had a hoof in starting this war, but should we actually stop Faust, they might be the only ones that can end it."

"Perhaps," Rocky admitted with a shrug. "But if that's true, why kill Hayfield?"

"Because he speaks for the ponies that run most of the industries. Those same industries we've been dismantling for the last fortnight. Those nobles are probably in a complete panic by now, so imagine what they'll be like if Hayfield gets killed. It might undermine their support for the war if they feel that threatened."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then they called our bluff. Good on them."

"And if the government takes over those industries?"

"Then the government shows its true colours as being willing to do anything to support Faust's war. At the very least some ponies should take notice of that."

"Considering the brain washing and stuff, I doubt that's going to have the effect you want."

Bon Bon drank more of her coffee, "I know, but we'll have to see. Depending on what Tootsie comes back with, I might call the whole thing off. I'm not putting us into serious danger to do this."

"Oh thank goodness."

Bon Bon rolled her eyes at the voice in the tent that had probably intended to not be heard. "Good morning Honeydew."

"Oh, uh, you heard that?"

"We did."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't apologise," Bon Bon sighed. "I know you've been against this whole thing since Flicker brought it up."

The flap of the tent was pushed aside, and Honeydew stepped out, looking dishevelled. The roots of her natural yellow hair was showing under the blue dye, and Bon Bon decided that would have to be fixed before Flicker got suspicious. She sat beside the fire and groped about for a mug, filling it with coffee and downing it. "Right, good morning. What I was going to say was that Rocky is right, this won't have the effect you desire, at all. I'm still not convinced this isn't a trap. You'd probably be safer forgetting about it and moving on."

"So you have no opinion on us targeting only Lord Hayfield?"

"It's an improvement over killing all of them, yes, but still not a good target."

"Then what is?" Rocky asked pointedly.

"I don't know, just not this! Flicker shouldn't be trusted."

"Any more than you?" Rocky said sweetly. "You're both Mareitanians, need I remind you?"

"I was never under Faust's control," Honeydew spat angrily. "Who knows how messed up that's left her. What if this whole idea was left in her mind to lure you into a trap? What if she isn't actually free from Faust at all? Or is loyal of her own volition?"

"She helped me kill Iron Prize," Bon Bon said with surety, "who was a rather important pony to the war effort, and a friend of one of the Council. I doubt the Council would let him be killed just to have her prove how she's not under Faust's control. Not when he was also one of the founding members behind the rebellion."

Honeydew shook her head at Bon Bon in disbelief, "You have no idea how far these ponies would go now."

"Maybe, maybe not. I like to think they wouldn't betray one of their own like that." Bon Bon waved her hooves frantically at Honeydew before the mare had a chance to answer back. "Look, I'm going to wait until Tootsie and Flicker get back and I have more to base my plans off. If it's too risky, we'll forget it. But if not, it might be worth it. We'll have to see."

"There's guards," Tootsie said bluntly. "Like lots and lots of guards. I think we've made them nervous. There's actually a few guests not turned up either, so perhaps they're expecting an attack from us. Or they're late." She levelled a hoof, "Y'know, one or the other."

"They should be nervous," Flicker said with an edge to her voice. "Those arrogant pricks are going to pay."

"Perhaps," Bon Bon said evenly, "but we aren't the ones collecting."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean we're not going ahead with the mission. I've heard nothing back from Fleur, and I'm not giving this the go ahead without her. It's too big a risk for something she might not want to happen."

"Fuck what she wants! She's not the one that's been helping you! I have! You owe me!"

"And we saved your life, so that debt has already been cleared." Bon Bon narrowed her eyes slightly, "I warned you from the start that we mightn't go through with this, and we're not."

"But killing those pricks helps you!"

"There are families and children there," Tootsie said quietly, earning herself a glare from Flicker. "I'm not exactly keen on going ahead with this."

"Me either," said Crème. "I know you're angry at them Flicker, but killing children isn't going to help us or you. I really suggest you let it go."

Flicker stood and stomped a hoof, an angry sneer on her face. "No! No I will not let this go! If you aren't going to help me, then I'll just have to do it on my own!"

Bon Bon closed her eyes and sighed, "Rocky?" Rocky nodded once, then swept a hoof out, knocking Flicker to the ground and pinning her down.

"Hey! Get off me!"

"I'm afraid we can't let you do what you're going to," Bon Bon said to Flicker, doing her best to sound sympathetic, but not feeling it as the more the mare struggled in her insistence to murder a large number of ponies, the less Bon Bon actually cared. "I can't in good conscience let you kill innocents."

"There are no innocents there. Those children will grow up to be just like their parents, then create more ponies to grow up in their image!"

"Yeah, this is bordering on a creepy obsession now," Tootsie said as she pulled a rope out of her bags and tossed it to Crème, who in a matter of seconds had Flicker securely hogtied. "Permission to gag her as well Chief?"

"Eh... denied, for now."

"Maybe Faust's magic left its mark more than we realise," Crème said as Flicker struggled to free herself. "That obsession with obeying Faust might have turned itself into an obsession with something else instead, like for example, destroying something she hates."

"They deserve every bit of my hate!"

Bon Bon shrugged at the theory, paying no attention to Flicker. "Maybe? That's something for somepony else to work out. For we should think about our actual mission. Tootsie, what are the odds on us successfully assassinating Lord Hayfield?"

"Hmm, depends on the method really. A direct assassination probably wouldn't work, and trying to get him from range sounds difficult. You'd probably have the most luck with something indirect like poisoning him."

"Surely that would require infiltration?" Crème pointed out.

"Probably," Tootsie agreed, "but what's easier to infiltrate than a party? Just go as a serving pony and nopony would be any the wiser. All these ponies bringing even more ponies in their retinues, who's keeping track of all of them? Probably nopony."

"Do we even have poison?" Rocky asked, feeling it was a pertinent question if this was the plan.

"Of course!" Tootsie went back into her bag and pulled out a few small vials. "We have fast acting, slow acting, delayed reaction, untraceable, and our personal favourites, cyanide capsules in case we're captured. You'll have to forgive me for not bringing those up, since there is no way in hell I'm taking one under any circumstances."

"Forgiven," said Bon Bon. "I guess we'll have to use the delayed reaction one to allay suspicion in this case. Fast acting would be too obvious, and I doubt anypony fancies watching him die slowly."

"Delayed it is," Tootsie said cheerfully, placing the other vials back into her pack, and spinning the remaining one on the tip of a hoof. "That just leaves the question of who the lucky pony to go in will be. Personally I recommend a pony that would be invisible to most of these nobles for all the wrong reasons."

Crème's face went slack, "You're talking about me, aren't you?"

"Nothing more invisible to these nobles than a unicorn, right Flicker?"

"Fuck you."

"Exactly. All you need Crème, is a servants' uniform and you're just another supplier of hor-d'oeuvres' to them. Then you just need to pick your opportunity, and boom, we have one dead Council member. Only, y'know, without the boom. Poison doesn't work like that. Chief?"

"Sounds good to me," said Bon Bon. "Crème?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sneak in, acquire a uniform or whatever, blend in, and pick my opportunity. Piece of cake."

The guard situation was just as Tootsie had described it; extensive. There didn't seem to be a patch of ground around Hayfield manor that didn't have at least one guard scrutinising it at all times. It was almost enough to make Crème concerned as she scaled the wall at the rear and dropped into the manor grounds.

She swept across the grounds, moving from cover to cover while avoiding a pony next to a tree with a serious beetle issue. She rolled into the shade of a log shelter, then jumped atop it, pushing open a window and clambering inside, taking a moment to check for ponies in the room before shutting it again.

As she had hoped and predicted, she'd managed to end up in the servants quarters if the shared bedroom she found herself in was any indication. It also wasn't as nice as she expected the guest rooms to be, which was also another clue, but that wasn't to say it was unpleasant by any means. The furniture was of decent quality, and the bed reasonably soft and comfortable, and the wardrobe contained nothing a female servant would wear.

"Shit," Crème cursed, under her breath. Not finding anything of use she slipped out of the door and into the traffic of the corridor beyond, earning herself a few raised eyebrows, but no actual interference from the other servants as they hurried about. A strong smell of food made Creme's mouth water, suggesting she was near the kitchens, but she remained focussed on her task.

Whether by luck or circumstance, she passed a laundry room just as another mare left it, giving her a good look within. There seemed to be very few ponies within, so she entered and moved through it past the washing area to the drying area, finding piles of freshly ironed clothes. Crème had just started to go through them when a pony behind her pointedly cleared their throat.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?"

Crème turned and found herself eye to eye with an aging yellow mare with far too many chins beneath her withering scowl. A rotund body perched on stumpy legs completed the image.

"Sorry," Crème said, genuinely concerned about the glare the pony was giving her. "There wasn't enough uniforms to go around, so I was sent here to find one." Crème hoped to hell that was a convincing lie.

"I thought I didn't recognise you. You must be one of the extras that Lord Hayfield got in from the town."

Crème slid into an easy smile, relieved to have gotten away with it. "That right. I'm Crème."

"Mmhmm," the mare grunted, totally disinterested in Crème and her name. "I'm pretty sure I made certain there was plenty of uniforms for the extras when they were hoofed out earlier."

"And there was," Crème reassured her, smoothing over her lie from earlier. "Unfortunately there was none left in my size, so I was sent here to see if there were any more."

The mare rolled her eyes and violently turned Crème to the side, her eyes roving over Crème's body with practiced ease. She then walked over to a pile and pulled out a uniform. "Here, this should fit you, now put it on and get outta my laundry room." The mare departed, grumbling to herself.

Crème quickly pulled the uniform on, her magic playing over the buttons and doing them up in seconds. She smoothed the bit of skirt that went over her tail, and straightened the cuffs on the sleeves, before pulling on the cap, wishing she'd had a chance to clean up her mane a bit. Thankfully it didn't look too bad.

"Okay, surprisingly modest maid uniform... check. Now to just figure out the rest of this crazy plan." Crème pulled the vial of poison out of the pouch hidden in her tail, and placed it in one of her breast pockets for easier access, then made her way out of the laundry room. Before she could do anything, she needed to learn her way around. You couldn't exactly ask for directions when running for your life.

Tootsie rested her chin on her hooves, boredly watching the manor from the edge of the woods, next to Bon Bon. Neither of them had seen anything of interest, and couldn't hear screaming, so they could only assume Crème's insertion had worked out.

"Do you think one of us should have gone with her?" Tootsie asked after a few minutes.

"Too suspicious," Bon Bon replied curtly. "Why, are you worried about her?"

"Forgive me if I say this too often, but I have a really bad feeling about this."

"This was your plan."

"And? That doesn't make it a good one! I'm starting to think we should call this off."

Bon Bon shrugged at Tootsie, "Too late now. Crème's already in there, and we can't exactly go get her. All we can do is hope she has everything under control."

"Ah, such blind optimism. It's pretty cute on you."

Bon Bon smacked Tootsie on the side, then resumed watching the manor, burying a sigh. It was going to be hours until the main event actually started.

It turned out that they layout of the manor was reasonably simple. The ballroom, drawing room, and smoking room was in the east wing, the dining room in the west above the kitchens which were underground for some reason, and that was pretty much all Crème felt she needed to know. All she figured she needed to do now was work out how to get the poison from her pocket to inside Hayfield.

Since the evening hadn't started yet, she didn't actually have a way to do that. Instead she intended to spend her time catching up on the gossip that passed between the nobles. What she'd learnt so far was quite pleasing, from a personal point of view anyway.

The nobles were terrified of Crème and her team. Not openly, as that would never be said, but they were spoken about in hushed whispers, and were given cute names like 'those devils,' and 'the fiends.' It had put quite the bounce in her step until she forced herself to tone it down.

There was also an opinion amongst the nobles that the war wasn't going as well as they were told. Crème figured this was largely down to them bearing the brunt of Equestria's reprisals, or at least what reprisals four ponies, one turncoat, and Flicker, who had really been neither help nor hindrance until now, could dole out.

Ultimately this knowledge was pretty useless, but it still warmed Crème's heart to know that they'd got all these prissy nobles in such a twitter. It was just too bad that the underlining theme was that they would happily risk their wealth and more to aid Faust, as the Lady would surely lead them to victory. That alone was enough to make Crème want to spit, but she was content to take what victories she could.

"You there, serving girl."

Crème jumped as the voice behind her stamped its hooves all over her thoughts, and she spun to face the stallion talking to her. Thankfully she'd already delivered what was on the tray she was carrying to the pony on the balcony, otherwise she'd had made a mess. "Yes m'lord?"

"I don't suppose you've seen Lord Hayfield around, have you girl?"

"I'm afraid not m'lord. I haven't seen Lord Hayfield all day."

"Then perhaps you ought to go and find him. His guests are waiting for him."

"Uh..." Crème made a face, as she hadn't made a point of finding out where her target was, assuming she'd find him later. "I'm afraid I don't know where he is m'lord."

"He's likely in his office, so go find him."

Crème clutched her drinks tray nervously to her chest with her magic, wishing that it was entirely an act. "I'm afraid I'm only temporary staff here m'lord. I don't actually know where that is."

"Oh for the Lady's sake. I suppose I shouldn't have expected more from one of your kind. I'll find him myself."

The stallion stomper away angrily, and as soon as his back was turned Crème was glaring at the him, motioning with her tray like she intended to frisbee it into the back of his head, at least until a playful titter caught her attention.

"Rather unbecoming of a maid, don't you think?" a mare said, smiling playfully at Crème, who had totally forgotten she was there despite having just delivered a drink to her.

"Perhaps, but is it unbecoming of one of my kind?" Crème asked back, making the cream coloured mare laugh, her long blue-grey tresses falling over her back in a way that caught Crème's attention, because it highlighted the bulge of a short blade hidden in her dress.

"I had a feeling you weren't the usual maid material. I could tell from the way your cutesy little 'yes milord' accent seems to have vanished."

"And it wasn't me wanting to throw a tray at the back of his head?"

"Wanting to throw at tray Lord Chiseltine is par for the course. You'd only be the first if you'd actually thrown it."

"Aww, now I actually feel like I've missed out on a unique opportunity." Crème coughed awkwardly into her hoof, realising that she should probably stop being herself. "Apologies m'lady."

The mare snorted with amusement, "And now we're back to you being a demure little mouse again. This'll never do. Tell me, what's your name?"

"Crème."

"A delightful name. In return you can call me Rose."

"Shouldn't that be Lady Rose?" Crème took note of the rose in the mare's mane, but didn't comment on how clichéd that seemed.

Rose laughed again, "No, I am no Lady. Just Rose will do. Tell me Crème, any particular reason you're working here tonight?"

"Just for the extra marcs if I'm honest. I'm told it could be a particularly hard winter this year, and the extra money will help, either to buy food or firewood. Last winter was particularly difficult right after the war ended, and I don't want a repeat of that."

"Indeed not. I take it you live in Hayfield's delightful little town?"

"Nearby, out in the countryside, where it's quiet and I don't have to worry about pegasi attacks." Crème hoped that a little bigotry might help her fit in a bit more. She thought she'd failed as a hint of disappointment flashed through Rose's eyes, but it quickly vanished.

"There haven't been any pegasi around here since the Council sent Equestria's spies back home. There certainly hasn't been any attacks here."

Crème shrugged at Rose, "Better safe than sorry."

"I think you might be taking that to its extreme, but very well."

"Uh, I don't mean to offend, but I am rather busy and do need to get back to work. If there's nothing else you need from me?"

"Hmm? No, not right now, but another drink in say... half an hour would be greatly appreciated, thank you."

"Same again?"

"Please."

"As you wish, my lady." Crème turned on her heel and hurried away without trying to look like she was hurrying away. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but she had the faintest suspicion she should be concerned.

Evening rolled around soon enough, and was just the prelude to another round of complaints from Flicker, who had been doing her best to make her displeasure known all day. Some of her complaints were more legitimate than others though.

"I need to pee."

"Then try not to do it in the tent," Rocky said to her, amused by the angry little snort she directed at him, even if it was through the wall of the tent.

"I'm tied up you asshole!"

"Is that so? Tell me more..."

"If you don't take me to pee I'm going to do my best to get it all over everything!"

"Including yourself and Bluebell?"

"If I have to!"

"I'd rather that not happen," Honeydew said after a short silence.

"Alright, fine! Sheesh." Rocky aggressively poked his campfire once more, and stood to poke his head into the tent. Flicker glared up at him, still immobilised by her hogtie, while Honeydew was sketching something in a notepad. "What you drawing?"

"A machine for the automated removal of shells from nuts."

Rocky twisted his head to get a better look at the blocky device, and saw the scale image of a pony next to it. "Why's it the size of a house?"

"I'm... working on streamlining it a bit."

Rocky noticed a smaller sketch in the margins of the notebook. "And the thing that looks like it's supposed to hurl large flaming rocks over a mile?"

"Old habits die hard," Honeydew sighed.

"Hey! Peeing being increasingly imminent here."

"Alright y' impatient pain in the flank." Rocky wriggled a hoof under Flicker and hefted her onto his back, trying to hide his grin from the squeaks she made as he jostled her bladder. He left the tent and walked a dozen meters away before plonking her back to the ground. "Try to make it quick."

"I can't go while you're watching me," Flicker said flatly. "Turn around, or even better, leave."

"Yeah right, I'll just leave you here on your lonesome, because that seems like a really good idea."

"I'm tied up."

"Yeah, I've been playing this game longer than you, so I suggest you get to peeing before I change my mind."

"Can you at least turn around then?" Flicker asked. "Please?"

"The more you ask, the more suspicious I get, but fine. If I don't hear peeing in the next ten seconds..." Rocky said, leaving the threat open. He stomped around, and after a few seconds he nodded as he heard Flicker go about her business, and stood there until the sound stopped. He was even faintly surprised to find Flicker still there when he turned back around, although the biggest surprise was when she punched him, the rope around her ankles now on the floor.

"Fucking asshole!" Flicker screamed. "First you hit me in Prance, then earlier, and you only had to let me pee!"

Rocky swung a hoof at Flicker, but the mare dodged it easy enough, and the next. Apparently attacking Flicker when she was ill and unprepared was nothing like attacking her when she was fit and ready. The smaller mare dodged every one of his strikes with ease, and even returned a few of her own. Rocky was actually glad she didn't have her magic, as that would be a fight he wasn't sure he would win. He could certainly suspect why she was considered Shades material.

"Knock it off Flicker! Why are you so determined to kill all these nobles? I know you're pissed at one or two of them for obvious reasons, but all of them?"

"They were part of the problem when the Duke ruled, and they're part of the problem now!" Flicker jumped away as Rocky tried to kick her legs out. "They're always going to be part of the problem until somepony stops them!"

"I won't deny some nobles deserve a good kicking, and a lesson of what it's like living at the bottom of the pile, but you're going way too far with this! Stop before you get yourself killed!"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Of course I don't! I wouldn't be trying to stop you if I did!"

"Uh, guys? What's going on?"

"Stay in the tent Blueb-" Rocky went cross-eyed as Flicker took advantage of the distraction and ducked beneath him, moved to his rear, and did something very unladylike as hard as she could. Rocky collapsed to the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream until he vomited into his own mouth.

Flicker wasted no time worrying about him. She ran to the tent and shoved Honeydew to the floor before rummaging through the bags to find a short blade she strapped to her foreleg, and a small crossbow complete with a quiver of arrows. She glared at Honeydew to ensure the mare didn't try to stop her, then ran for the woods.

Honeydew waited a moment, then leapt to her hooves and ran to Rocky, whose only movement since Flicker had bucked his somewhere sensitive, was to fall on his side and protectively hold his front legs between his rear.

"Are you alright Rocky?"

"There should be a law against kicking a stallion here," he hissed between his teeth. "Where's Flicker?"

"She grabbed a dagger and crossbow and ran into the woods. Should we go and find her?"

Rocky shook his head, "There's no point with a talent in stealth like hers. She'll be heading to the manor, so we should go find Bon Bon and let her know. Perhaps we can stop Flicker before she tries anything then." Rocky shuffled his hooves to try and stand, but stopped as it hurt. "I really think she's cracked my eggs."

"Do you want me to go and find Bon Bon?"

"No, you're staying here where it's safer." Rocky tried standing again, and rocked onto his hooves, keeping his rear ones apart to lessen the pressure on his tender bits. "She's going to pay for this one."

"Are you sure I should stay here? You look like you need help."

"I'm sure. Stay here until one of us comes for you." Rocky pointed at the tent until Honeydew took the hint and entered it, then set off into a shuffling waddle that spared his tenders from the discomfort that walking now provided, although things had improved by the time he had reached Bon Bon's position.

"Rocky?" Bon Bon said in surprise. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be watching Flicker."

"Yeah, about that."

"What?" Bon Bon worked it out from Rocky's expression, and dropped her head to rest on her fetlock. "For fuck sake. Did you see where she went?"

"She ran off into the woods, but I wasn't exactly in a position to be watching. It's pretty obvious where she'll be going though."

"Yeah." Bon Bon raised her head and tapped her hoof irritably. With the amount of guards around the manor grounds, it seemed unlikely that Flicker would get very far, which she was fine with, but if she succeeded... Crème was in there. There was also the chance that what Flicker did could compromise their attempt to assassinate Hayfield their own way. "We need to stop her."

"Yeah, no kidding," Rocky grunted. "How though?"

"We'll have to wait for now, until she shows up. Tootsie, go keep an eye on Honeydew."

"Me? Rocky's the one that fucked up, so why am I on babysitting duty? I also don't have the same... weaknesses as him."

"If this goes south, I'm trusting you to get Honeydew to safety and scrub away any signs of us being here. Sensibly I should be throwing Crème under the cart here, and hope she makes it, but I refuse to do that. Either way, go keep an eye on Honeydew."

"Ugh, fine."

"And Tootsie, if we're not back in three hours, get out of here."

Tootsie froze, then nodded. "Understood. Good luck Chief. Good luck Rocky. Bring yourself and Crème back safe."

"That's the plan," Bon Bon muttered as Tootsie left. "This whole thing really was a bad idea."

It bothered Crème as to how ponies performed maid duties for a living, and it outright horrified her that ponies ended up with this crap as a destiny, and got stuck with a cutie mark displaying their aptitude for servitude. You might as well change your name to Bottom Bitch with a destiny like that. At least as far as she was concerned.

For all the running around she'd done, she was sure she could count the number of times she'd heard the words 'please' and 'thank you' on her hooves, and those few times tended to come from the same ponies. If she'd known that this plan would involve dealing with these ungrateful nobles, she might have told Bon Bon to shove it.

So far the evening had dragged her from serving dinner in the dining room, to hoofing out hor-d'oeuvres in the ball room, and moving on to serving drinks in the smoking room, where she could almost feel her lungs burning from the clouds of cigar smoke choking the air. To think that these ponies found this pleasurable.

She was also no closer to completing her one task, which was to slip a small measure of poison into something Hayfield was going to consume. He'd spent all evening in the company of a group of ponies, and before Crème could ever get a chance to get close, some other servant was always there first, denying her any opportunities.

"Girl? Another brandy if you would?"

"Of course m'lord," Crème said politely through clenched teeth, turning away before any of the stallions' companions could make a request. Chances were they'd all ask for the same thing anyway, but that was besides the point.

"Yet another brandy," she said wearily to the bar pony in the back corner of the room once she'd trudged the full ten meters over to it, irritated that none of these assholes could be bothered to make the journey themselves.

"Coming right up," the bar pony replied. Crème thought that either the mare was a better actor than herself, or was genuinely happy to serve the same drink for hours to ponies that would probably laugh if she died right then.

It irked Crème that a year or so earlier, this house was then centrepiece of a plot to get these very ponies to side with the rebellion. It seemed to be a far cry from what she could see of the place now. She'd romantically imagined Hayfield as a genuinely noble noble, but his ability to indulge himself and his cohorts had tarnished that image considerably. The fight for freedom must have seemed worth it so long as they could maintain their supply of cigars and brandy.

"It's ready."

"Hmm?" Crème rose out of her thoughts to find the bar pony giving her a funny look over the glass of brandy sitting on Crème's tray. "Oh, thank you."

"Are you alright? You seem a bit put out. None of these ponies have tried anything with you, have they?"

"Uh, no actually. Does that happen a lot?"

The bar pony's gaze turned dark for a moment, "Eh... more than it used to. Ever since the Viscount and his parties ended, the debauchery that everypony knew went on at those tends to spill out in other places, even if it's not as obvious. Did you know that it's also considered bad manners to refuse these ponies?"

Crème raised an eyebrow at the mare, "I'm guessing the ponies that say that happen to be the same ponies that benefits?"

"Perhaps. All I'm saying is that you should take care before you end up in trouble... like some unfortunate mares. Anyway, I'm sure the gentlepony would like his drink now."

"Right." Crème took the tray and tried to put what she'd heard out of her mind. The last thing she needed was to feel like she had dozens of eyes roving over her. Hopefully they'd get as far as her horn and stop.

"Your drink sir." Crème placed the glass down and swept the empty up in one smooth movement, moving on before the other stallions could get a word of an order out. As she walked away she thought about what the bar pony had said about the nobles supposed behaviour, and why she hadn't seen any of that so far. She suspected that might be down to the one other mare in the room that wasn't a servant. Rose.

Draped along a chaise longue in the company of Hayfield and his cohorts was Rose, relaxing, drinking, and shifting between raucous laughter and seductive poses. She seemed utterly at ease in her exclusively male company, and it had Crème wondering about the mare. She supposed the bar pony might know more, and maintained a deaf ear to any requests of her as she made her way back to the bar.

"Let me guess," the mare said with a tired smile, "brandy?"

"Actually no, although I would love a martini myself. I was really wondering what you knew about the mare over there? The one with Lord Hayfield?"

The mare looked over the crowd at Rose, and shrugged. "Honestly not much. She's probably the only pony here I don't know much about. Her name's Rose, although I question how real that name is, and she's supposedly related to one of the noble houses through some means, but that's it. I do know she's the reason a large number of these 'fine' stallions are watching their tongues."

"Huh. I thought there'd be more than that."

"Why are you so interested?"

Crème turned back to the bar mare before she was caught staring, finding the earth pony was giving her a funny look instead. "I don't know really. There's just something about her. Some kind of presence."

"And it has nothing to do with the way she looks? Or because she's the only mare in here that isn't a servant?"

"Eh, as beautiful as she might be my barn doors don't swing that way. Mostly I'm just curious." And curiosity was all it was, as Hayfield was really the only pony she should be interested in. Speaking of. "I think Lord Hayfield's drink is dry. Is there anything in particular he drinks?"

"It's called having cigars and brandy for a reason." The bar mare whipped a brandy glass out and poured a generous glug of the amber drink into it. "There you go, don't keep him waiting."

Crème placed the glass on her tray and departed the bar, taking a slightly circuitous route that she hoped would obscure her actions as she removed the vial of poison from her pocket and poured it into the brandy, swirling it around to mix it in. She replaced the vial into her pocket and corrected her route to head directly for Hayfield, picking up his empty glass and replacing it with her poisoned one. She turned away, not waiting to see if he drank any, but stopped when a quiet tink of glass caught her attention, even over the sound of the room.

"That's her."

Crème turned back towards Hayfield, and found Rose looking her directly in the eyes, her outstretched hoof resting on top of the glass.

"That's your assassin."

Crème tried to hide her surprise, but the faint curling of Rose's lip into a smile informed her she hadn't done very well. "I don't know what you mean Miss Rose, I'm not an assassin."

"You're certainly not a maid either." Rose waved her free hoof, and a few of the other ponies serving in the room walked over, including the bar pony much to Crème chagrin. "But I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to make sure either way." Rose removed her hoof from the glass and gestured at Crème, "Drink up."

Crème picked the glass up in her magic and looked into it. She had no idea how quick the poison worked, or if Tootsie had an antidote if she did drink it. Either way she'd failed her mission as the poison would be drank by the wrong pony. The thought of killing herself didn't exactly appeal either. She sighed and poured the drink onto the floor, dropping the glass and sitting to place her hooves behind her head.

"Fine, you got me."

Author's Notes:

Apologies for not updating yesterday, but I went off somewhere to watch The Last Jedi, (which is awesome!) and didn't get back until late. As for chapters over the next few weeks, there'll be one next week, but I'm not guaranteeing anything for a week or two after that because I get the feeling my writing time will be swallowed up by festive bs. Bah, Humbug.