Stolen Minds

by TcogArchitect

Mission Log 14: Hopes and Dreams

Published November 22nd, 2013

"F-Fluttershy? What are you talking about? C'mon, it's me, Dash. I'm your friend, remember?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know that name. And who's Fluttershy?"

"It's not funny, Fluttershy! Come on, you have to know your own name! Please, tell me you're just trying to make a bad joke! Please!"

"I don't think I'd ever make a joke that hurt someone. I'm sorry, but I really don't know you. And I've never heard the name 'Fluttershy' before." Rainbow practically collapsed onto the edge of the bed, obviously disbelieving of the situation. The others were in similar states as the doctor stepped forward.

"Well, this is... unexpected, to say the least. And although I'd like to let you all stay, I'm afraid I need some space in order to do a proper analysis of what can be done to fix this. Sergeant, if would?" I nodded, and crouched down next to Rainbow.

"Come on, Rainbow, we need to move. She won't get better until the doctors can look at the problem more closely." She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and stood up. I gestured for the rest to follow, and we all left. Outside, the party had died down considerably with the absence of Pinkie, and I led them all back to the far wall. I sat down nearby, and started planning out everything that had to be done.

Let's see... First, we have to deal with Fluttershy. They should be able to do a basic mind meld, and fix her that way, but I should get in contact with the Artisan, just in case. Then there's the matter of getting the rest of the ponies signed up for citizenship that want it, and when Twilight and Rainbow are ready to start training, I need to get them signed up for that. Although... I should probably see if Pernaki has made any progress working out their language, since they'll need to learn ours in order to fill out the forms and whatnot. Yeah. When the others get back, I'll check up on the doc, then get in touch with the Artisan. After that, the medical team should have some more info on Fluttershy's condition. I just hope it's not too bad... With my plans set, I looked over the five ponies that were with me.

Pinkie was still wandering around, acting the part of the hostess with an impressive resilience, though a not-so-impressive mask on her true emotions. Rainbow had her head in her hands, her entire body tensed like she might explode at the slightest provocation. Twilight seemed to be in deep concentration, probably working out her own plans for the near future. Rarity was watching Pinkie with admiration, and maybe a little envy at her friend's ability to go right back to being herself, even if it was faked. Applejack, though, she had her fists clenched, one arm against the wall with her head pressed against it, and into the metal slightly. I could tell, though, that she was crying. An occasional small speck of refracted light as her tears floated away made it easy to see from where I was. She's going to want to fight. She's pissed, now. I guess I need to start putting things together. I looked back to the door, and saw my squad come in, redressed in their normal clothes. I kicked off toward the ceiling, and bounced off it to land in front of them, reactivating my mag-boots while they formed up around me to listen to what I had to say.

"Alright, everyone, I've got a lot of work to do. Fluttershy woke up, but she has amnesia. She doesn't remember any of the others, or herself. She's been blanked. The doctors are looking at her now to see what treatments they can use, but I'm going to check on another option, just in case. Also, I need to get paperwork ready for any other ponies who want to try for citizenship, and I'm going to check with the science division to see if they've made any progress with the linguistics project. I need all of you to stay here, and do what you can to help. Contact me if the doctors decide to do anything before I get back." They all nodded, and moved past me toward the ponies as I left the room. First stop, engineering and science.

A few minutes later, I walked into the science division's gravity wheel, careful not to lose any parts as the doorways matched up and slowly closed off again. Moving through the area, I noticed several blueprints of what looked like pony-based equipment, as well as a couple of testing stations for new devices that had already been constructed. Eventually, I found Dr. Pernaki, sitting in front of a simulation of what appeared to be a new flight suit. He turned as I came in, and stood up to greet me.

"Ah, Sergeant Maldone. Nice to see you again. What did you need?"

"Just an update. How's the language decode going?" He tilted his head at one of the adjoining doors, and I followed him into another room, filled with people typing furiously at various computers.

"This is the linguistics team that was put together to figure out the ponies' language. So far, we've made some relatively impressive progress, but there's still a lot we don't know."

"I take it you just got a whole bunch of recordings from the debriefing files, and used those?" He nodded.

"Correct. We now know that their sentence structure is almost identical to English, and once we had that figured out, we managed to decipher several different words right off the bat. The species names, for example, are 'pana', for ponies as a whole, 'unia', for unicorns, 'erna', for the earth ponies, and 'pena', for the pegasi. Also, we've discovered something particularly interesting from one of the unia." I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Already using the correct terms and everything, too, huh? Ok, I'll bite. What's the big shocker?"

"On their world, a human is a mythological being known as a 'honra'." That threw me off for a moment.

"Wait, what?"

"Well, they're all mythological beings on our world, right? And we already know that there are other creatures on their world from our mythology, so it makes some sense, doesn't it? The real question is: how do our worlds know about each other?" He was right. It did make sense. And the implications of the two worlds having contact previously were immense. There weren't many possibilities, and none of them were particularly comforting.

"I don't know. Let the Admiral know, he'll want to hear about that. Anything else I should know about?"

"Nothing pressing. We've been fine-tuning the magic harnesser, and we've already come up with several improvements to existing technology with biological data from the ponies, but it's not particularly specific to you."

"Alright, then. I have a couple other errands to run, so I'll see you later."

"Until next time, Sergeant." I went back to my quarters, careful not to kill myself on the rotating door, and quickly sent a message to the Artisan, telling him of my possible visit. Once it was on its way, I sent in a request for citizenship forms for the rest of the ponies we had on board, and started back up to the communal room. When I got there, it had calmed down considerably, but the ponies I was looking for were easily recognizable, right where I had left them, with my squad keeping them company. I floated over, and landed next to Toyoko.

"Any news yet?" She shook her head gently, making her hair float around.

"Not yet. They should be done soon, though. Ron just got back, he said they looked like they were putting everything away."

"Good. I want to know what needs to be done soon, that way we can get it finished, and get these ponies healthy again. All this morbidity is starting to irk me. I'm going to go see if I can get a prognosis, I'll be right back." I pushed myself over toward the ICU, but about halfway there, the doors opened, revealing the doctor we had been talking to before. I landed next to him, leaning on impact from the extra momentum I hadn't bled off yet. "Well that was good timing. How's she look?" He sighed.

"I think you might want to see for yourself." Ah, crap. That's never good.

I followed him in, and he took me to another room, where several different scans showed what appeared to be a lopsided, asymmetric brain.

"As I'm sure you know, pony biology has already been determined as being extremely similar to our own. Their brains, in particular, are almost identical. Obviously, this means that an image of a healthy pony's brain would be comparable to a human's. The images you're seeing are scans of Fluttershy's brain."

"...Holy shit."

"Indeed. The tissue is excessively swollen, and any attempts to tamper with her neural patterns now could cause serious, permanent damage." I tore my gaze away from the misshapen images, and turned back to the doctor.

"So what you're saying is, you don't currently have any way of helping her."

"I'm afraid not. Until the swelling goes down, I wouldn't dare even the most basic of procedures. If something were to go wrong, she could end up being crippled. Or worse." I knew what he meant. A brain operation gone wrong could kill you, if you were lucky, or it could turn you into a vegetable. Completely aware of your surroundings, but unable to do anything. Not move, not speak, not eat, not even hold your waste in when you were done digesting. Definitely not a fate I would want to risk, given any other option.

"So what's the expectation on when she'll be healthy enough for an operation?"

"Basic physical operation? A month. Basic mind meld operation? Six weeks. Maybe seven." I nodded.

"Have you told her yet?"

"No. I'm not sure we should, given that the stress could make things worse. For now, she needs rest more than anything else. And we've already had orders placed for higher-quality food for all of them, so she'll be getting plenty of nutrients, as well. I plan on overseeing this case personally, as do several other colleagues of mine. Don't worry, she's in good hands."

"Oh, I already know that, but I always worry. That's why I'll be having one of my squad on guard duty at all times."

"You really think that's necessary?"

"No, but this whole situation burns me up, so I'm a little more paranoid than usual." He nodded his agreement, and I walked back out to the communal room to call over the two I wanted to take care of this. "Carlton! Groove! Get in here, double-time!" They both launched themselves around the bodies in front of them, and landed in front of me. "Alright you two, pay attention." I guided them back to the room with the scanner images. "This is what Fluttershy's brain currently looks like. It's supposed to look like one of ours." They both gave me worried looks. "My thoughts exactly. The doctors have already said that they're going to do everything they can, at all times, but I don't feel good about leaving her alone up here without some protective firepower. From this point onward, you two are on guard duty. I want at least one of you to have line-of-sight with her at all times. I don't care how you make it happen, that's the primary directive on this. You both already know why I want you here. Make me look smart on this. Who's taking first watch?" Carlton raised his hand first. Groove just shrugged. "Alright, then. Groove, I suggest you get some sleep."

"Yes, sir!" As he left, Carlton and I returned to Fluttershy's room. She looked pretty miserable, unable to remember anything. She looked up as we entered, and lifted her fingers in a small wave of greeting.

"Hey there, Fluttershy. You feeling any better?"

"Not really. Is that really my name?"

"From what the others have told me, yeah. They also told me you were the nicest pony any of them had ever met."

"Well, I don't know why I wouldn't be nice..."

"A good way of looking at things, if a little naive. Now, you probably already know this, but you're not going to be able to go anywhere for a while. Your head got really badly hurt, and until it heals on its own more, we can't do much to help you. While you're here, though, the doctors are going to do everything they can to make the process go faster, and your friends will be around to keep you company most of the time. This situation, however, has left me a little paranoid that something else might happen to you, and more than a little angry about what you had to go through. So, I'm going to have two of my team, Groove, who is currently resting in preparation for his shift, and Carlton here, who's going to be with you first. You don't have to be quiet while they're around, though. You can ask them anything you want, and you can talk to them as much as you like. Just don't expect much response from Carlton. He's mute, but he's a better listener than most, and he'll give you feedback when you need it. You need anything, just tell whichever one of them is with you, and they'll get someone who can take care of it. You have any questions for me before I go?"

"Just one. Why do you want to help me so much?" I smiled a little.

"Well, I don't know why I wouldn't help you." She blinked twice, then gave me a bigger smile than I had seen yet. She settled back into the covers, and Carlton got situated in a chair in the corner of the room as I shut the door.

"I think I know exactly why you want to help her." I turned to see Rainbow staring at me with her arms folded. "I think you guys just want us to help you by using the Elements of Harmony. Am I right?"

"Not even close." She wasn't expecting that, as her posture relaxed, suddenly unsure of herself. "Your magical artifacts may have been powerful on your world, but from what I've heard, they are not very powerful in comparison to our own weapons. Just cheaper. Although even that's debatable, considering possible casualty figures during setup and deployment of that weapon type. More important right now, though, is the fact that you've now confronted me on several occasions regarding my motives and logic. I'm curious as to why." She suddenly tightened up her body, looking away defensively.

"None of your business!" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, you've certainly gone to great lengths to make it my business. I'm not going away, Rainbow. You ponies just became the most important part of this whole war. If we manage to get the rest of you out of Emrini control, we've essentially won. They won't be able to keep up against us after that. So, instead of fuming about it for however much longer you'll be here, why don't you tell me what you're so worried about? Maybe I can do something about it." She fought with herself about it for a few seconds, then sighed.

"When I was little, I went to flight school. While I was there, my dad was maimed by a dragon, who had come to Cloudsdale because he thought somepony had stolen something from him. Obviously, not a good image for dragons. But while I was there, I also became friends with a griffon named Gilda. I thought she was really cool, but we fell out of contact afterward. One day, she just showed up in Ponyville out of the blue. I thought she would like it there, but I later found out that she had been treating all of my friends like garbage. She had done a lot of really mean things to most of them, and the town in general. It ended with her attempting to really hurt Pinkie, but she ended up hurting me, instead. Add to that, everything the Emrini did, and maybe you're able to figure out why I'm not exactly trusting of predators?" I nodded.

"That does clear it up considerably. In response, however, I'd like to tell you something about humans. We have a class of weaponry called 'nukes'. These are, by far, the most powerful and destructive weapons in our arsenal. The largest one we have is capable of destroying a small country. Care to guess how many times in our history these weapons have been used?"

"I dunno... A hundred?"

"Twice." Her jaw went slack. "They were used twice, right after their creation, to end a war that would have gone for at least another ten years without them. Since then, we have used every other means available to end a conflict. We have, for almost two hundred years, not truly needed to use nuclear warheads in combat. They have always been a last resort, and there has always been a better way. I tell you this in order to make what I am about to tell you more meaningful. Humans, individually, are very impulsive. Most people have difficulty seeing beyond their own personal experiences and opinions. As a whole, however, we are far more thoughtful. Get as few as three people with different views into the same room, and forbid them from attempting to harm each other, and you have a surprisingly dependable way of making decisions. That's not to say it's infallible, not by a long shot, but it's a lot better than having one guy calling all the shots. I have put a significant amount of effort into being that effective at making decisions on my own. I have to, or else my berserker condition would be kicking in every other day. Most of the other people on this ship have trained themselves similarly, because if they don't it could cost them their lives, or worse, the lives of those close to them. What I'm getting at, Rainbow, is that although you have more than sufficient reason not to trust without evidence, you do not have enough reason to accuse without evidence. I don't mind you being suspicious, I really don't. In fact, I approve of it. Being suspicious keeps you alert, keeps you aware. Keeps you alive. But you don't want to be accusatory, because one day, you're going to accuse someone, and they're going to get pissed off. And then you really will have to worry about them. Do you understand?" She thought about it for several seconds.

"I think so.... Basically, don't trust someone until you know them, but don't assume they're out to get you?" I smiled.

"I might just get through to you yet I assume you heard what Fluttershy's condition is?" She nodded. "Alright, then. Go ahead in. I'll let your friends know what's going on." She went inside, and I told everyone else the situation. Needless to say, they weren't thrilled about it. After they went in, I headed back to my quarters. I was tired, and I needed some sleep.

----------------------------------------

I woke up in a city. Not any city I recognized, though. It seemed... medieval. There were cobblestones making up the road, and the buildings were made of white bricks, capped by ornate, cylindrical pyramid shapes, like castle spires. I turned around, noting the complete lack of population, only to find myself at the front gate of what appeared to be an actual, inhabited castle. It was massive, and well-kept, with various foliage and stylized images of the sun and moon everywhere. The gates and main doors were open, so I walked inside, already understanding that this was a dream. I had on my casual clothes, not my military ones, and I knew I hadn't simply been unconscious for a long time, because my hair hadn't grown any. I had decided a long time ago that if I started having memory loss, I wouldn't cut my hair, as a way of keeping track of time. And since I still had it short, that hadn't happened. Which meant, this was a dream. I entered the castle, and intantly, sound hit my ears. A thousand voices, sobbing and wailing in misery. It was so loud, I instinctively grabbed my ears and fell to my knees. Now there was no way this was anything but a dream. Sound didn't work like that. I forced myself back up, working past the pain. I followed the crying, the sounds growing louder with every step. It didn't take long for me to climb about halfway up the castle, arriving in front of a pair of doors at the end of a hallway. The noise was so loud, now, it rattled my bones. I moved forward anyway, my ability to breathe becoming hampered as my ribs vibrated against my lungs. About halfway there, I suddenly remembered I was dreaming. I exhaled, and didn't inhale. I let the sound pass me, without actually touching me. I stood back up, and walked the remainder of the hallway with ease. When I reached the doors, I placed one hand against each, and pushed. They swung open, and the crying suddenly stopped. I knew I had reached my destination. When I entered, I was mildly surprised to find what appeared to be a throne room, filled with ponies. I walked in, looking at them each in turn. All three species were accounted for, and their colors varied wildly. As I approached the throne itself, a tired, but still authoritative voice called out, echoing weirdly in the dream space.

"Who, and what, art thou?" I looked up again, to find a pony with wings, and a visibly longer horn, sitting on the throne. She was obviously not in good health, but the defiance in her eyes showed that she was far from beaten.

"My name is Kuro Maldone, Sergeant of the United Earth Sphere Defense Force. I'm a human. Or as you call us, a honra." The assembled ponies broke out into quiet whispering. The pony on the throne looked at me curiously.

"How didst thou come to be here? This place is under my watch, and should not be capable of being intruded upon." I shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. I just fell asleep, and now I'm here. I assume this is some sort of dream world, yes?"

"Indeed. And since thou appear not to be hostile, I shall introduce myself. I am Luna, Princess of the Night, and co-ruler of Equestria."

"I see." I looked around, noting the absence of any other alicorns. "How come you're the only one here? Where are Celestia and Cadence?" The entire room burst out with conversation, and Luna stood up, her eyes widened in shock.

"How dost thou know of mine sister and niece?"

"I found out about all three of you from a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle." The conversations ceased as Luna seemed to grow weak in the knees.

"Twilight? Twilight is with thou? And what of the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony? Dost thou have them, as well?"

"Yes. All safe on board the Star Spectre." And now I've confirmed the existence of magical superweapons. "We also have most of the population of the town of Ponyville with them." She sat back down in her throne, smiling slightly. After a moment, she returned her gaze to meet mine.

"And what art thy plans for them?"

"First, figure out where your planet is. Then, kick out the Emrini. After that, we'll be returning any others we find to your world, as well. The only ones who won't come back are those who choose to help us fight. But that will be their choice, and theirs alone." She seemed satisfied with that.

"It is good to hear they are finally free. I am, however, still curious as to how you got here." I shrugged again, as the room started to fade.

"I don't know, but it looks like my time here is up for now. Once we find you, we'll speak again, I'm sure." I barely heard her answer.

"I look forward to it."

Comments

[Mecha G]

Things are heating up. So, the trauma it's physical, instead of mental? Or perhaps both?

[TcogArchitect]

3524704

Both. Specifically, brought on by mental trauma, and sustained by physical.

[Emv7]

Poor Fluttershy I hope she may be ok at the end but what about
the Fillies and Colts? and there will be Bat ponies?... MOAR!!!

[Mecha G]

3524873 That's what I thought.

[TcogArchitect]

3525434

Actually, I already mentioned what happened to th colts and fillies, although I didn't go in-depth with the details yet.