Silver moved to the cushion laid out. There weren't any other chairs she could see. She sank heavily on it, staring at Blueblood. She wasn't sure what emotion she should be feeling. It didn't... "Prince Blueblood."
He pressed his forehooves together. "Yes, my dear?"
Silver took a slow breath. "Not like this. Why? Why would you hunt me like this, only to have me dragged in front of you? When Celestia finds out, or Luna... Why?"
He rolled a hoof. "Tell me why."
Silver frowned a moment before she nodded. Why... "You're not afraid of them knowing."
"Mmmhmm."
"You're not afraid of anypony knowing."
"Mmmhmm. Do go on."
"You... Look. This has been a very trying day, to put it mildly. I want to hold onto this. I want to be a pony worth calling a pony." She lifted an ear. "If your goal was secrecy, that's done."
A smile slowly spread over his snout. "The ones I hide from will remain in the dark." He held out a hoof towards her. "I'm very sorry for this dreadful treatment, fellow prince. I haven't harmed you. You know this."
Silver tilted her head. "No, no you haven't. I haven't harmed you. You know this."
He rolled a hoof. "You wouldn't believe the effort of squirreling myself into their trusted circle, and to rise to some level of command... Good thing I did as well. They've become quite good at what they do, hiding from Luna and Celestia's watchful gazes."
Silver licked over her lips. "Is that really it?" She sat up. "Is it over?"
"I'm afraid not." He ran a hoof slowly along the armrest of his chair. "They expect me to question you, fellow prince, and to extract information. I haven't yet found out exactly where your foal is, or how to extract him." He smiled a little. "Can you be patient?"
Silver bobbed her head quickly. "Y-yes! Knowing you're looking, that means a lot. Please... If you're not in charge, who is?"
Blueblood leaned back, his chair squeaking lightly. "I have some authority, here, but even a vaunted 'inquisitor' pales before the upper echelons. The Prime Investigator of Harmony is their title, but I know precious little more than that. I've received letters, each one with different penmanship, all supposedly from them. Dreadful business, really."
"Does Celestia know of this?"
"She knows I'm involved, and how. More than that, we don't share, for our mutual benefits." He lifted a glass of wine and sipped from it before sending it to shatter against the opposing wall. It exploded in a spray of dark red fluid and bits of glass, and the angry pony from before shoved his head in. "She's become troublesome." The man scowled at Silver, looking almost ready to pounce. "See her, safely, to the barracks, room 14. She needs time to consider her sin."
"As you command, inquisitor." He moved for Silver with a grunt. "On your hooves! Time to move."
Silver looked towards Blueblood, but his act was back and he showed no interest in her more than a casual disgust. With a near-silent sigh, she went as she was directed. When she wasn't climbing the stairs fast enough for her guard's likings, her legs were kicked out from underneath her, sending her crashing to the stairs and sliding down several in a symphony of pains. "Your sin holding you up? Move like you have somewhere to be, heretic."
She clambered back to her feet quietly and strode past him, set on not giving him the satisfaction of a reply or a response. She quietly set her energy flowing and directed them at the sore places, including the dull ache in her horn, willing her body to mend itself. She grew warm and a little dizzy, but the pain was fading. It was working, bit by bit. Replacing the pain came a hunger, but asking the guard about mealtime seemed an invitation to be abused.
He opened the door and pointed inside. "Get!" As soon as she was in, he slammed the door shut, and the sound of the lock being deployed came moments later before the clip-clop of his hooves retreated back down the hallway he came.
Silver was alone in a small room. This one was better appointed than the original holding cell, and there was no second pony. She moved to the small bed provided and sank down on it. There was no food to chew on, much to look at, or do. She tried to relax. Relax and recover, that she might be ready for whatever came next.
A loud thud echoed from elsewhere. Silver perked up and looked to the door as hooves rapidly approached. Someone banged on the door. "Silver, are you there?!"
"Y-yes, in here!" The voice sounded so familiar.
The door exploded inwards, followed by the magically-enhanced hooves of Night Watch. She set her hind hooves back under herself with a snort. "Come on, we're leaving."
Silver's ears flipped back. "N-Night! I'm so happy to see you, but it isn't that simple. If I vanish, my son might be killed."
Night spun on Silver, wings going wide. "Then we find him first, and free him. Then we find every pony responsible, and make them wish we'd never learned their faces." She licked over her fangs. "Come on. And you, stop right there." She slowly turned to glare at Samantha, who had a syringe floating beside her. "Put it down, lay down, and maybe you won't be savagely beaten today."
Silver stomped a hoof. "Stop it! I don't even think Samantha's with them, not really. It's complicated, Night Watch. Please believe me..."
Held securely in Samantha's magic, it suddenly darted forward for Night despite her orders. Night ducked to the side, and it turned with her, plunging into her chest and depressing on impact, injecting her with something as she hissed. "Damn..."
Silver hurried to Night's side. "Please," she whispered harshly. "Go, keep an eye on me, but go!"
Night struggled against the intense dose of sedatives she'd been filled with. Her necklace almost burned with heat as magic gathered in her, battling the drug for supremacy. She hadn't been knocked out, as any pony with that much of the stuff Samantha had used had right to be, but everything was blurry and spinning a bit. "R-right. I'll be back." She suddenly dashed down the hallway and vanished around the corner.
Samantha strode forward, looking to where Night had gone before turning her gaze to Silver and smiling gently. "Good girl." She raised a hoof and ran it gently along Silver's snout. "You would have made me sad if you ran away before we could finish. Mmm, now go, lay down, come on, that's right." She gently led Silver back to her bed. "You are such a lovely specimen. Now if you need anything, you just call." She moved to the door and pulled it shut behind her with her magic. The door wasn't locked.
Silver wondered just how much she was trusted? How serious was Samantha being? She rolled over to her belly. "Samantha?" Nothing happened, so she called louder. The sound of approaching hoofsteps became clear. The door was nudged open and her face came into view.
"Hello there, my delicious puzzle. What do you need?"
She glanced away, then back at Samantha. "Oh, uh, I need to use the little fillie's room."
Samantha looked far too pleased at the idea. "Oh delightful! This way." She turned away and began leading the way back towards her lab. "Don't worry about that moron guard. He was beaten savagely. I have you all to myself for a day or two until they send a replacement." She looked over her shoulder. "We get to work together without any distractions. Isn't that lovely?"
When they reached the lab, Samantha guided Silver over a grate, then brought over a large glass container. "Go ahead."
Silver blinked owlishly. "W-what?" That certainly wasn't any bathroom she could recognize, and the glass being held between her legs gave her ideas. "You want a sample, like that?"
"And whyever not?" Samantha arched a brow. "Go on."
Silver tried to think of most anything else as she delivered the sample for Samantha. The scientist looked delighted and floated the container of amber fluids away before bringing over a rag and cleaning Silver up. "There you are. Nothing to be scared of. See, I'm not here to hurt you." She raised a brow. "This reminds me, are you fertile? You've clearly proven capable of a stud, but as a mare?" She leaned in suddenly. "Can I have your next egg? Just think of the things I could learn from an examination."
Silver winced at the request. "Do you even know what you would be looking for?" She couldn't imagine pony science was advanced enough to get much out of a random egg.
Samantha rolled a hoof slowly. "Well, no, but we won't learn without looking anyway. You'll be pleased to know I'm still parsing over your horn marrow and it's absolutely fascinating. I could stare at your numbers all day long." She took a soft sigh, then stood up and trotted away. "But that's for tomorrow. Tonight, I'd like to test your reflexes. Do Alicorns have different reflexes than the universal pony ones? Do they share all the tribal peculiarities? How has this not been tested before!"
For a moment, Silver shared her question. How had that not been tested before?
Samantha grinned. "I can see it in your eyes. You want to know too. Of course, you're not precisely ideal, also being part human, but I think this will be good enough until I get my hooves on Celestia or Luna." She pointed up on her table. "Sit, sit. I won't even strap you down this time, promise. I need to see your movements."
Silver approached the table, eyeing it a moment before she slid up on top of it. "Please, no more jabbing."
Samantha held up a hoof. "No more jabbing, today." She plucked a little mallet off her tool chandelier and brought it over to Silver's knee. "Now just relax. Pretend I'm not even here. She bonked against Silver with it and she felt her leg flex without her control. "That's one down..." She happily tested each leg in turn, each joint in turn. She tried for places Silver didn't think would react. Some of them did. Samantha noted each and every one down for positive or negative. "Fascinating..." She scribbled busily a moment. "Tell me, did you know that mare? The lunar pony. She seemed to recognize you, and you didn't look surprised to see her."
Silver was quiet.
"I see. A shame I couldn't catch her. She seemed a fascinating subject. Not as perfect as you, of course." She put a hoof to Silver's cheek and rubbed. "Nobody could be as perfect as you are, my delightful little abomination of scientific advancement."