The grandfather clock chimed for the third time since Rarity and Fancypants arrived at his home.

After the first chime, Rarity had still been hopeful. She and Fancypants had hardly been in Canterlot for a full hour and she had no idea how long it would take for Fancypants's best ponies to travel back to his home to deliver Ivory Lace.

By the second chime she was starting to feel a pit grow in her stomach. She sat on a chaise trying to take up as little room as she possibly could as she kept glancing back and forth between the clock and the windows. Fancy had promised her that she would be holding Ivory Lace in her hooves by now, but she still hadn't seen any ponies coming up to his elaborate home.

By the third chime, she had been convinced by both Fancypants and a few of his servants to try to take her mind off the rescue by sitting down to enjoy a meal.

Try being the key word there. Every small forkful of food she was able to eat made her stomach churn and she found it more agreeable to just push the food around on her plate while she waited, hooves teetering impatiently for Ivory Lace to appear at the door.

“You know, Rarity...” Fancypants began, trying in vain once again to distract her. Unfortunately, every attempt at conversation went half-listened to as she continued to steal looks at the windows.

“Fancypants, where is she?” she finally asked, interrupting her companion's conversation. “You told me that if the Silver Guard saw the paperwork, they would have to give her back. It shouldn't take long for the ponies you dispatched to show them the paperwork and bring Lacey home.”

“I'm sure she is on her way.” He coughed. “However, the paperwork doesn't guarantee an easy out. Ivory Lace is the Silver Guard's only option and they won't be willing to let go of her that easily. The paperwork does serve as a legal document that states that once she is out, she can't be taken back.” Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but Fancypants continued. “Not to worry though; when I left to visit you, I was told the extraction was about to happen. They are likely just tying up loose ends.”

She looked up at him hesitantly.

“You have my word,” he assured her.

She looked back down at the salad she had been pushing around her plate. She wanted desperately to believe him, but past precedence had proven to her that, despite her wishes she couldn't believe anything that came out of his mouth.

“Right. Your word. Of course,” she replied curtly.

Fancypants leaned in towards her. “Pardon?”

Rarity looked up hesitantly.“Well...” she started with a sigh. “It's just that you haven't given me a reason to trust your word in a very long time.”

“Ah, I see,” he said thoughtfully as he placed his silverware gently on the table. “I understand why you wouldn't trust me right now... or anypony for that matter. You have had a very rough couple of weeks, but I simply cannot imagine why you would think I would lie to you about this. I would never want to give you false hope.”

“I don't know,” Rarity admitted. “But in the same vein, you have lied to me about so many things lately. Even though I desperately want to believe that you have my best interest at heart, I can't. You knew about Ivory Lace's existence, you lied about it when I told you, you brought me to Manehattan under false pretenses...” She paused, letting the gravity of her anger set in. “Shall I continue?”

He didn't respond, but focused his attention back to his dwindling plate of food.

“I don't think you understand how difficult this has been for me,” Rarity said with a sigh.

“Of course I do,” he assured her.

“No, Fancy, this is my daughter! She may only be a foal, but she means everything to me. Looking for her has been the only thing that has kept me from going completely insane because these past few weeks alone at home without her have been miserable. You can't just offer me a sliver of hope and pull it away from me like that! You promised me she would be here!” she cried.

“I am so sorry, Rarity, I assumed she would be here by now.”

Rarity stood up and walked away from the table until she was standing in front of one of the large floor to ceiling windows that adorned the formal dining room. Fancypants followed closely behind her and put his hoof on her shoulder.

“I know she doesn't mean much to you,” Rarity said quietly.

“Of course she does.” Fancypants reassured her. “She's your daughter.”

“Exactly,” Rarity replied in a voice hardly above a whisper. “She's my daughter and since the day she was born all I have ever wanted was for her to be safe and I couldn't even get that right for her.”

“It isn't your fault. This whole situation is out of your control. Besides, you likely have nothing to worry about; they don't want to cause her any harm. She is just part of a political move they want to make. Of course, now you have paperwork to prove that according to Equestrian Law the prince is no longer her father so they can't do anything. She'll be safe again, Rarity.”

Rarity nodded silently, not taking her eyes off of the window. “Do you really have ponies out there getting her?”

“Of course I do. I would never lie about that. I want her to be with you almost as much as you do. I'm just sorry it has taken my ponies so long to get her back.”

“Aren't the Silver Guard comprised of mainly upper-class ponies and... what? That one group of ponies that attempted to 'attack' us in the library? How hard can it be?”

“I'm not entirely sure; I wasn’t filled in on the specifics.”

“But when you came for me in Ponyville, you said that you knew where she was being held. Correct?” she questioned.

“Correct.”

A light blue shimmer of Rarity's magic lifted Fancypants' hoof away from her, leaving him standing in place with a raised eyebrow as she galloped away from the window. Next to her seat at the table sat her light pink saddlebags carefully perched upright and ready to be picked up at a moment's notice.

“Then perhaps it's time for a new plan. After all, if you want something done right, do it yourself.”

“You aren't planning on going there yourself, are you?” he asked, bewildered.

“Of course I am!” she responded proudly.

“I can't let you go there! It's not safe!” Fancypants argued.

“If I wanted to stay safe, I wouldn't have left Ponyville at all after I learned she had been foalnapped, but she's my daughter and I would give my own life to keep her safe.”

“Rarity...” Fancypants groaned.

“You can come with me or you can just tell me where she's being held, but either way I am going to get her. I can't sit around here any longer and pretend to be interested in making small talk.”

Her companion tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in thought, before ultimately letting his shoulders sag in defeat.

“If that's what you really want to do then go ahead. I'll stay here just in case she is brought here before you get to her.” Fancypants pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and hoofed it over to Rarity. “Here's the address of where I was told she was being held. Please stay safe, okay?”

“I will. I promise,” Rarity replied, as she took the paper out of his grasp and made her way out the front door without another glance back.

* * *

If looks could kill, Fleur would be dead by now and she seemed to take pleasure in knowing that. Blueblood couldn't pinpoint how long he had been in here, but Fleur must have popped her head into the room with a plate of cold mushy food and an ever-growing smile several times a day.

How could it be that at one point he had willingly pursued her?

And even worse, he had convinced her to spend the night.

Just the mere thought of it, knowing what he knew now, made him cringe.

Sitting in that room, Prince Blueblood had nothing but time to think about everything. There were no more distractions of possible routes to Ivory Lace, no more petty fights to get into, and no more places to explore to get his mind off things. At first, he spent that time blaming himself for spending that evening with Fleur; if he had just turned down her offer for that long-awaited date that week none of this would have ever happened.

Over time that thought dissipated.

Turning down that one date wouldn't have done anything except change the date of the foalnapping. After all, nothing else would have changed. The Silver Guard still wanted his title, Ivory Lace would still be illegitimate and if they hadn't already been outed by the papers, he likely would have continued to keep the knowledge that he had a daughter under wraps. It felt like it was an unwinnable situation.

The first few times Fleur returned, he tried to stay strong and ignore her. With the help of solitude and frustration though, it didn't take long for his confidence to wane among all the comments and insults that she hurled at him, all while keeping a smile on her face and a bounce in her step.

It was unpleasant to say the least.

When Fleur opened the door that day, with a plate of food scraps levitated in front of her, Blueblood didn't even bother getting up; something his pink-haired jailer took particular pleasure in.

“Well, don't you look chipper today.” She beamed as she placed the food down in front of him. “You know, I was just with your daughter earlier and she is having such a fun time here. Can I let you in on a little secret?” She giggled. “Of course I can, it's not like you can tell anypony anyway.” The prince tried to ignore her, hoping she would just disappear, but instead she just continued to taunt him. “Well, earlier today I'm pretty sure I heard her call one of our members, 'daddy.' Wonderful isn't it? Do you remember the first time she called you that?”

He flicked his eyes over towards Fleur and back. She was clearly enjoying his pain and while he kept his mouth shut, it was clear that he was disgusted with her.

“Oh, that's right, she never called you that. Honestly, it's been so long, she's probably forgotten all about you! You were barely a blip on her radar while she's all you've thought about for weeks.” She stomped her hooves in glee. “Oh this is just getting better and better!”

Blueblood took that as an opportunity to turn away from Fleur as she continued to gloat in the doorway. He didn't know how long she stood there, continuing to hurl insults at him until finally she deemed pestering him an unworthy cause, but as soon as she put down the plate of food and closed the door he sighed in relief.

He turned back around towards the door and reached a hoof out to touch the plate, as if he were afraid it would bite him if he got too close. The food wasn't gourmet by any definition, but they hadn't been giving him much food at all in the time he had been here and was so hungry that almost anything would do at this point.

Halfway through his plate of food, Blueblood noticed that there was the tiniest sliver of light on the ground next to his plate. Light had become a rarity when locked in a dark room. It really only happened when Fleur came in to give him food and harass him. To see it outside such negative experiences almost didn't feel real. The prince looked up at the door and noticed that it had not fully clicked into place, leaving it just slightly ajar. Just enough so that if he tried he could possibly get out of here.

He stood up slowly and walked carefully towards the door, holding his breath as if he were afraid one errant gust of wind would blow the door into its rightful place. He placed the tip of his hooves in the groove between the door and the wall and moved the door just slightly towards him before stopping short.

Escaping, he believed, wouldn't work out for him in the long run; they had made it very clear that this had been planned for years and they would not have a problem restarting the whole situation over again. If he escaped and somehow managed to get out of... wherever he was, nothing would change. Prince Blueblood was a very well known figurehead, after all. Ponies knew who he was and there was nowhere he could hide. Besides, disappearing would be pointless if they still had Ivory Lace in custody. All it would do was extend his life. He took a few tiny steps away from the door in fear, hoof still outstretched as he tried to muster up the courage to decide whether or not he wanted to stay locked in here or attempt an escape.

His thoughts were cut short by the sound of hoofsteps quickly growing louder outside the door.

Was Fleur back already? He thought she had just left, but it was possible that he had just been standing in front of the door for hours. He no longer had any concept of time.

He covered his eyes as the door creaked open slowly, to keep the increased light out of his eyes. He expected the usual: a nasty comment, Fleur's light hoofsteps that seemed to float rather than trot, but this time the door opened with little fanfare. And despite being able to tell that the light had flooded his cell, there was no cackling to be heard and no nasty comment. The prince slowly let his forelegs drop from his eyes and instead of seeing the lithe pink maned mare or anypony else that he had suspected, it was Rarity who stood in the doorway, hoof on the doorknob.

He had to admit, he had never been so happy to see Rarity in his entire life.

And judging by the look on her face, he assumed she must have felt the same way.

“Blueblood?!” she exclaimed, taking a step forward “What are you doing here? How are you doing? You look simply dreadful!”

“Well, I assumed that my beautiful face hadn't been tarnished, so knowing that I was wrong is just another reminder that things haven't been so great.”

“What happened to you? I thought you left!” she exclaimed.

“I did. I mean, I had a plan at one point, but this isn't it.” He looked around the tiny dark closet that had been his home for the past few weeks. “This definitely isn't it.”

She took the magic inhibitor off his horn and dug through her saddlebags until she found a brush and canteen of water. He sent a flow of magic up to his horn and then out towards the objects she had presented him. Having actual water to drink and something to clean the knots out of his coat and mane made him feel presentable once again and in a less-weakened state. It was the first positive experience he had in a very long time.

“How did you find me anyway?” Blueblood asked as soon as the last drip of water had escaped the canteen.

“I was given the directions to where Ivory Lace was being held and I snuck in here to find her. I've checked a few rooms so far, but I wasn't able to find her. When I heard some ponies chatting and walking away from this general area, I waited until I was sure they had passed and then came over to see if perhaps they were leaving Ivory Lace over here.”

Blueblood stopped short. “I don't like the sound of that. Are you sure nopony saw you?”

“Oh hush, whoever was here has already left. There's nopony around. Trust me.”

“So nopony knows you're here?”

She looked around nervously, her foreleg scratching the back of her head. “Actually, Fancypants knows. He's the one who gave me the directions here in the first place.”

Blueblood rolled his eyes. “Of course he did and he would never steer you wrong. Although, I could have sworn we decided that he couldn't be trusted.”

“We didn't decide anything.”

“For all you know he just led you right into a trap.”

“It was the closest thing I've had to a lead to our filly in weeks! So pardon me for deciding to check it out. Besides, I know I can't trust him. He told me that he could get Ivory Lace out of here because 'you' signed the paperwork for termination of parental rights.”

She pulled the paperwork out of her saddlebag and showed it to him. “I realized fairly quickly that the signature on this paper doesn't quite match up to your actual signature, but...”

“It was easier to go along with the lie to get Ivory Lace,” he responded as he glanced over the paperwork. “No, I understand.”

“Yes, but I haven't even found a trace of her yet,” Rarity replied, before quietly adding, “it's beginning to feel hopeless. I just want this whole nightmare to end.”

“I know, me too,” he said as he pulled the unwilling mare closer to him. “But, Rarity, there's something I have to confess.”

“Pardon?”

“It's just that... in all my time here, I've gotten a few snippets here and there about what's going on and it isn't looking good for us.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that this situation is us or them and they are the ones with the upper hoof. I understand you want to take her home. So do I. More than anything, but if we get out of here, it won't be over. I know who some of them are and they know where to find us. What will you do if this happens again? Because it probably will. You have a job to do. You have customers, family, friends; you can't just disappear again.”

“Your time in here has made you negative,” Rarity said, desperately trying to stay positive. “I'm sure there is something we could do to prevent this from happening.”

“There are hundreds of precautions we can put into place, but it won't stop them. Even if I end up having an official royal heir in the future or if it turns out I have other...”

He trailed off. Rarity shook her head as if begging him not to say it.

“Ivory Lace is the one they already know they have the best bet in getting back.”

“No, I don't believe that.” She took a step away from him and took a step towards the door. “There's so much we could do. I know there is.”

“Like what? We don't have that many options. In all the time I've been here the only options I was ever able to come up with were that we could disappear, which is difficult when I'm sure we are being watched constantly, and I am the Prince of Equestria; ponies know what I look like.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Or we could get married, which neither of us wants for obvious reasons and it is, of course, far too soon to put together a proper elaborate wedding. Oh, and of course, my favorite option - we could go back in time and stay away from each other at the airship party so we don't end up with a foal.”

“Oh, be serious for once in your life!”

“I am serious! That's the problem with our options; not only are they horrible, but considering we've been inside enemy lines, even if one of them was a possibility, it still wouldn't be over for us.”

“So what do you want to do then? Would you prefer to just stay here in this locked room until they decide it's time to kill you off? You could just leave our daughter, the one that you have told me over and over again that you want more time with, in the hooves of the ponies who snuck into your home in the middle of the night, took her out of her crib, and burned the remains of her nursery?”

“Rarity, just let it go. Please,” he pleaded. “You know that they would let you see her and spend time with her, but this could be for the best. Ivory Lace could be a Princess and isn't that better than letting her grow up in Ponyville?”

“So you would prefer to die than watch your daughter grow up?”

“Of course not, but it's more complicated than that! I just believe that she would be better off without me. I have been a horrible pony and my antics would just rub off on her. She could be so much better than me if I didn't raise her.”

“...You do realize you aren't her only parent, right? I would never let her grow up to be just like you,” she snapped.

“I...”

“I don't know what they said or did to you in here,” she interrupted, “and maybe I'm not the best pony to give you a pep talk—Celestia knows the amount of times I've cursed you out in my mind—but the Prince Blueblood I've come to know, the one who tried to find his daughter instead of hiding, wouldn't just give up.”

“It's not giving up, it's giving her a life we can't give her. A life without us arguing about who gets her when, a life where she's a princess. I thought you would be more open to the idea since the only reason you spoke to me in the first place was because you wanted to be a princess.”

Rarity stepped back towards the door, shaking her head.

“You know I love her. If I didn't think she deserved better...” he said, his voice drifting off mid-sentence as he waited for Rarity to interrupt him. For a few pregnant seconds, neither of them said anything, but the glare she gave him was an answer enough.

“You can stay here if you want,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don't care anymore, but I honestly thought you were better than this.”

Rarity walked away from the door and back into the main hallways of the building. Despite his reservations, Prince Blueblood followed not far behind her, cautiously looking around with every step he took.

“Where do you think you're going?” he demanded.

“It's no longer any of your business, but since you've asked, I plan on going out there, getting my daughter, and bringing her home.”

“Our daughter,” he reminded her.

“She isn't yours if you plan on staying here for the rest of your life,” she replied innocently without breaking her stride.

“Rarity!” Blueblood whispered harshly. “Stop! You have to get out of here or somepony will catch us. Every minute we've spent together here feels fishy. Think about it; my door was open, you were given the directions to this building, and nopony came to check on us the entire time you were in my cell. This is why I want you to stop; they've planned everything and we can't do anything about it.”

“I'm not afraid of them and I will not leave until I get what I came here for.”

“They are probably far more capable than you think they are, and believe it or not, I actually care about the safety of you and our daughter, not just my own.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of hoofsteps growing increasingly louder stopped her short. Her eyes grew wide as she started to look around the hallway for places they could duck in to.

“Do you still believe that it's safe for you to be here?” he whispered.

She rolled her eyes, but as the hoofsteps got closer they both looked at each other, visibly worried. Blueblood grabbed her hoof and pulled her along as he started to sprint in the opposite direction.

The hallway they ran through seemed endless, but they assumed with doors on each side that at least one of them would offer them sanctuary, but every door they tried was locked. They tried to increase their pace, running faster between the doors, trying the handles with all the strength they could muster as they looked over their shoulders, but luck didn't seem to be on their side.

Finally the prince was able to jiggle open one of the doors and motioned for Rarity to follow behind him. She glanced over her shoulder where a few shadows at the other end of the hallway were beginning to become visible and quickly followed him into the room.

He quickly but silently closed the door behind them and locked it immediately. The hoofsteps echoed throughout the hallway, each step louder than the last until it sounded like the pony was right in front of their door. From the sliver of light underneath the doorway, they could see the shadows of their pursuers' hooves and waited with bated breath until those shadows and the echoing hoofsteps disappeared. Both unicorns sighed in relief that they had been able to evade the Silver Guard, and slumped to the floor on either side of the door, trying to catch their breath.

“Where are we?” Rarity whispered.

“I don't know,” Blueblood said, “but it shouldn't be too difficult to find out.”

The tip of his horn illuminated with a bright silver light and Rarity followed suit with a bright blue glow emanating from her horn. The pale glow lit up the room around them and it became clearer that the room that they had stumbled into was the very room they had been looking for: Ivory Lace's temporary nursery.

Author's Note

Believe it or not, I had a goal at the beginning of this year to be better about this story, especially considering I've been working on it for so long and it's so close to being done. Then I let this chapter sit, almost entirely completed, all summer because I was too busy. Oops.
Anyway, as always, huge shout out to Nyerguds for proofreading this for me and offering helpful auggestions!