That night, everypony ate their dinner in silence. It was almost like the days before they cast their vote, except that this time the tension was directed fully at one particular pony. The irony was not lost on Caughlin, though Furhich did not show any signs of being perturbed.
She had been watching him. He was eating very slowly - a deliberate slowness, she had realized, each mouthful the same little amount, possibly to last the duration of meal time. Quite some time had passed, and though the animosity was nowhere near dispersed, Caughlin was feeling sorry. And not just sorry, but worried - if the leader of the Order of Order was captured, what would become of their plan?
"Furhich," said Caughlin softly, getting up from her seat and walking over to him. The clank of dishes halting mid-air rippled across the table.
"First off, I want to apologize. Not for reacting, but for resorting to hoofs." She offered a foreleg grudgingly. Fuhrich nodded mutely, and shook it firmly, once.
"I, too, am wrong," answered Furhich. "I was just so, well, disappointed. You can't imagine how much we're relying on you. And seeing the alicorn as but a filly, well... you can figure out what happened." He bowed his head, and Caughlin saw a balding patch in the centre of his scalp - that, and the brittleness of the hairs. She realized just how old he was, easily around Macquarie's age if he were still alive. Even his voice matched, a bit hoarse, patriarchal and measured. "I let my heart get ahead of my wits. I am truly, truly, sorry."
The sudden turn in attitude caught her off guard. "No, it's alright. I suppose we're all being pushed closer to the edge, what with Discord stepping up his antics."
"I see. I noticed, miss Caughlin, how you tried to reason with Discord. It was odd, attempting to make sense to a being of chaos. But your efforts were noble. I respect you much more for it," continued Furhich.
"Weren't you all disappointed and mad moments after?" shot Whooves from across the table. Caughlin shot a chagrined look in his direction, but Furhich simply smiled and waved a hoof.
"Respect is earned, and has nothing to do with feelings. If anything, I was as angry as you saw me because I respected you so much. To have my hopes lifted up by so much by seeing her step up on behalf of Canterlot, then having them dashed, no, it did not feel good. But still what I did was unjustifiable." He looked at the two squarely. He had guarded eyes. Ones that seemed old and accepting, yet hiding something behind that guise... Intelligence, she thought to herself, and not just verbosity.
"We accept your apology," said Caughlin.
The screeching of table legs against the floor sent pulses across her ears. "Wait, we do?" half-shouted Whooves' lone voice, riding on the tide of unspoken doubt from the rest of the congregation.
"Yes, Whooves, we do. Or, at least, I do. I don't want this event to be a stumbling block any longer. But..." She turned to Furhich and lowered her gaze casually. "I warn you, watch yourself when around Luna. You may be leader of the Order, but ponies here take orders only from me." Yes, that sounded good. Firm, but willing to compromise. Fixing him in her glare, trying hard not to blink, she let the last word out. "Deal?"
"Yes, miss Caughlin. I humbly accept," said Fuhrich, giving her a relieved smile. "But then, what of your colleagues?"
"They'll come around," said Caughlin confidently. "Won't you, guys?" Although there were only non-committal murmurs and diverted gazes in response, it was good enough.
"This is a very big relief to me, miss," said Furhich. "But, if I may be so bold, we cannot ignore the fact that Project ALICORN is not coming to fruit yet." He stood up now, and Caughlin found herself stepping back more than a few steps instinctively. "Discord is using a lot more force to deal with us, much more than we thought. He's increased his disaster output too soon - what little preparations we could have made are even more insufficient now. The average body count is rising. Resources are extremely scarce. I wish to sacrifice as few ponies as possible, and for that to happen we need to take him down quickly. Every day spent in chaos is a day wasted. Surely you ponies would be most aware of this."
"Believe me when I say we do not want anypony to die unnecessarily," defended Caughlin. Anypony. Not "as few as possible". "But the alicorn is more than just a tool or a weapon. She is a pony just like you and I. She needs what everypony needs. And care is one of them."
"Then she is a lucky pony. Others above do not have this luxury," said Furhich, a restrained rumble in his tone. "I... I had a foal, about her age, and..."
When he did not continue, Whooves prodded, "And...?"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned him," said Furhich, voice now stone cold. "But the point is, there has to be compromise. Perfection of a single pony at the expense of all Equestria is something I cannot accept. I know she is precious to you, all of you, and I understand that feeling. However priorities are priorities, and mine are to my followers and Equestria. I beg of you to re-consider yours, and where they lie."
Equestria, Equestria, sang the voice in her mind. He sure likes to speak on its behalf. Aloud, she frowned and sighed, "I do see where you are coming from. And we are sympathetic. Why else would we have agreed? But a pony is a pony, and their growth processes, physiology, they're all courses of nature, and they need to play out at their pace. Her development is precisely that: her development. We can't change that. It's not like force-feeding her or zapping her with electricity would make her grow faster."
"What if you programmed another alicorn to do so?" asked Furhich without missing a beat.
"Wait, what? Program a pony to grow faster? Age, mature..."
"Yes, all that," cut Fuhrich. "Isn't it possible?"
"Well, theoretically, yes..." Caughlin trailed off. Already her mind was whizzing away at possible algorithms for sped growth. They had done this sort of thing for crops, hadn't they? But to use it on a pony, a living, feeling, thinking pony, who felt...
The question hung in the air uncomfortably before Caughlin cleared her throat. "We need to discuss this before we can decide. We have to think through this thoroughly. All things considered." Including ethics, added Caughlin meaningfully.
"Thank you," said Furhich, bowing again. "But I pray, please think faster. We have not much time to spare."
The debate started soon after Discord's next visit, exactly sixty-five hours and twenty minutes after the last.
A debate system had somehow worked its way into the discussion, with ponies crossing over the side of the table to support or oppose the portfolio of ideas produced. As they battled out their protests and suggestions, it became evident that Furhich was no less skilled in theory - but the way he commandeered his points and the flow of discussion betrayed his high level of experience. Amidst the parries, the baits, and the increasingly frustrated arguments, Caughlin tried to listen and pick out points, jotting them down.
Home team:
1) Running a 2nd alicornification process without Discord's approval.
2) Acquiring resources for the alicornification process without Discord.
3) Performing lab work and calculations without Discord's approval.
4) The unavoidable pain involved with rapid cell multiplication.
5) Sustainability issues given hormones, emotions and the negative feedback system.
Furhich:
1) Possible to manage the work if the Order provides sufficient distraction.
2) Lab work can be done by the Order without a need for double-checking.
3) The Order can provide more materials: Furhich seemed willing enough to bear the costs, and argued that the alicorns were their only hope, and hence worth every ounce of resources spent.
4) Drugs and magic can be used to ease birth pains and control growth
5) A 2nd, faster-growing alicorn was necessary to save more ponies, and to liberate Equestria faster.
"So it's a matter of risk," murmured Caughlin. The sound of her voice immediately brought a hush of unintended silence. Once again the crowd turned to look at her. She had remained quiet all the while, but that was just because it was hard to listen and think at the same time. "So you propose that you can distract Discord while we develop the second alicorn. In other words, we are to bet our lives on whether or not your ponies can keep Discord away. Isn't that right, Furhich?"
He did not reply. Caughlin went on. "By artificial means, we keep this second alicorn alive. But for how long? When will this altered system stabilize? Do we keep her on drugs and hide her in a room? Discord will show up at any time, maybe even now-" She paused and looked around - "so we can't bring her out. She'll be cooped up in her little room, stupefied. How can you expect to teach her anything? She'll turn out a feral beast, if the trend continues."
"But with the help of my scientists, I'm sure we can find-" began Fuhrich, but Caughlin raised a hoof.
"No, Furhich." The words hung heavy in the air. "The cost is just too much. For both ourselves and the second alicorn." She closed her eyes and saw Luna tucked up in bed, blissfully none the wiser. She could not imagine her grown up, much less bruised and battered and, knowing Discord, much worse off than that. "Furhich...I'm sorry. Equestria will have to wait until Luna matures. I am not going to bring another pony into this world if she has no chance of happiness." Caughlin stood up and gazed at him keenly. "So that's my decision. Shall we take a vote, then? Everypony against the production of a second alicorn, raise a hoof."
Silently, they were raised.
"A majority of all minus one." Caughlin bit her lip. "I hope you understand."
"I...do," sighed Furhich. He turned to face the others. "I thank you all. You are all brilliant ponies with such wonderful gifts. From this, I can see why you will not take the risk. Yes, you have a point." He gulped visibly. Probably for show, thought Caughlin suddenly. She became alert as she examined his words with renewed doubt.
"But I will ask you. Will you at least share your equipment, if we acquit you of all risk? If we can ensure that you will not come to harm because of the second alicornification, will you allow us to come and perform it ourselves?"
Caughlin felt something rise in her throat. That was it.
Furhich had... planned for this?
Her heart raced as she tried to foresee every possibility. The Order knows about this place. They've had a pony teleport in here before. Furhich was brought here by Discord himself. They have ponies with special abilities, like me and Whooves.
Share equipment... that means he has some way in?
She was about to shout for quiet when the hubbub of protests escalated to screams.
Turning to the opposite direction her scientists were running away in, she saw them: jet-black ponies filtering through the ceiling like water through a paper cone. There was no time to think about it as she swiftly turned to Whooves, and with a nod from him, lunged at Furhich. With the backing of her magic, she pinned him down, Whooves following half a second later. With a yell, she shouted for the other ponies to brace themselves, to watch out, to hold guard... then there was a flash of light, a deafening roar of magic unlike anything she had heard before, and everything became dark.
Caughlin woke up feeling sore in the head. She had had a rough night. She got out of bed to check on Luna's cradle. Luna was not there. She's probably having breakfast already, thought Caughlin.
"Good morning, Gummy," yawned Caughlin, stretching a leg. The dragon, of course, gave no reply. She got herself washed up and ran through a mental checklist on her things-to-do as she trotted out into the den.
"Good morning, Furhich."
"Good morning, miss Caughlin. You're up late today."
"Yeah, I know. I had a bad night." Caughlin stretched her neck, trying to ease the stiffness. "Gah. Well, anyhow. You know, I'm glad we worked things out," she half-sang with a sheepish grin. She relaxed at the memory of last night and tried to suppress the feeling of embarrassment. And even after she had committed to not repeat the offense, too...
The Order's watchmen had been monitoring them, ready and waiting to protect Furhich in case of untowardness due to Discord. He had made a careless remark and Caughlin's hasty jump at him had set them off. Furhich had quickly dismissed them and tended to her. After she awoke, they had more conversations. She was skeptical of the situation - something just felt odd about the recap he gave he, in his knowing, careful voice - and still was to an extent. But Furhich had finally managed to convince her, and she had to concede that it was probably just the concussion playing with her mind. He was so sincere about his regret for the intrusion that he had apologized to each pony individually.
"I too am glad. Misunderstandings are so cruel," said Furhich, smiling warmly. "I am honored by the generosity of you ponies in letting us come."
"Don't mention it. You're the ones at risk, though. I hope for your sakes that you can keep Discord busy and at bay," replied Caughlin, shaking her head. "You're really into this, aren't you?"
"Anything for Equestria," answered Fuhrich gravely, and they both laughed.
She felt a bump on her knees, and she bent down happily. "Luna! Oh, Luna, there you are. Did you have a good night's rest? Hurry up, Luna, and then I'll get you started on some work before I go for breakfast." A quick cuddle and a peck on the forehead, and the foal waddled off. She looked around her, where the other ponies were gearing up already for the day's projects. Two of them would be doing supplementary work on the growth algorithm for the second alicorn, while the rest continued with their previous stuff. The Order would handle the rest of the load, just as agreed. It was a good thing that they had voted unanimously in support. She was loathe to deal with rifts in opinions at a time like this; the scientists were decidedly stubborn and bad when it came to fundamental disagreements.
"By the way, Caughlin, I have an idea for the implanting chamber. Do you know of guise spells?" asked Furhich, drawing her attention once more. "They're rather simple but useful things. It's basically an upright plane of magic woven in, like a patch on a quilt but in two dimensions, and what happens is you can hide the changes by making it seem like..."
Furhich talked on, but Caughlin wasn't listening. She felt her head throb briefly.
"Eh, I'm sorry, Furhich. Headache," she said, feeling her eyes cross briefly. She squeezed them shut and gave him a wan smile. "I must've been more out of it than I thought. I think I need to take a nap later."
"Don't overwork yourself," chuckled Fuhrich. "Don't worry, I have your back. By the way, out of curiosity, what shall we name her? The second alicorn."
Caughlin blinked. At least she could handle this without too much thinking. "Well, the first one's called Luna. I'd like to think they'll become sisters. So one's named after the moon, the other the Sun, perhaps? Ray-ray? No, that sounds ridiculous, no. Hmm..."
"How about Celestia?" suggested Furhich.
"It sounds so grand and royal," complained Caughlin, frowning. "I mean, it's important for her to still be a pony, rather than an object. But I suppose...I can't come up with anything. The Sun. What is the Sun's name in Old Pony, hmm. Ah well. Celestia it is."
She glanced at Luna, who was already deep in reading. You're going to have a sister, Luna. Isn't that nice? I hope you get along with her. Because she's going to be family too.
She felt her head throb again. She wasn't going to be able to do much. Somehow, her mind just felt addled today. And yet amidst this mess, there was a tiny but persistent, nagging feeling that she was forgetting something.
She would have to ask Whooves later.