Letters from St. Valentine's High

Subject: Case Files

From: Woolridge, James

To: Brooklyn, Thomas; Blackwood, Jack; Hathcock, Samuel

Date: 14 April, 2013

I have more letters compiled for the pony case. There appears to be a small discrepancy in the interval of the letters sent. It’s after the second letter. Our missing pony seems to just not have written that letter that was supposed to be written that day and then returned to his normal schedule. I’ve already read through these set of letters and there seems to be no reason for this.

Figure it out.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Sorry for not writing again sooner. Things picked up pace after the first week of classes. Actually, that would be an understatement. We jumped right into the flesh of things after the weekend. I’m not sure if it’s the classes I’m taking or if it’s just how the curriculum is built . I’m still doing okay so far, but the work will probably get a lot tougher as the year goes by.

Joey’s been taking some heat lately, although that’s probably because he’s one of the more vulnerable kids. I’m surprised no one has gone after me yet. Maybe it’s because they don’t know the extent of my magical powers. The others have seen me use telekinesis in class. I guess they thought I can do other magic too. I can’t. Leave it to religious fanatics to blow things up (metaphorically, but I wouldn’t put it past them to literally blow things up). Why am I complaining though? It works to my advantage. Poor Joey, I need to stick up for him next time.

Dinner wasn’t that great tonight. You’d kill to be here when I say: “we had steaks tonight.” I used to like steak, our entire family did. Now, the sight of meat makes my stomach churn. Even if I somehow managed to actually swallow a piece, I don’t think my body would be able to digest it. Joey seemed to enjoy the food well enough. The only thing I was able to eat was the mashed potatoes.

I know that when you respond to this letter, you’ll probably say something along the lines of “just eat the food; at least you won’t go hungry.” Well, like I said before, I don’t think my body can even handle meat. I’m feeling the insides of my mouth right now (I’m using telekinesis to write!), and I can’t feel any canine teeth. My body is definitely not geared toward meat eating. On the bright side, if dinner isn’t tolerable for the night, I could always sneak off to the courtyard and graze.

Heh, it must be strange reading about your son grazing on a piece of lawn.

If that’s the case, I just gotta make sure I don’t eat all the green in the courtyard. It’s probably vandalism (vandalism via grazing, there’s a thought). Joey told me that the schoolmaster paddled someone for tearing off a tree branch. I gotta be careful. It’s likely if I get into any trouble, there won’t be any mercy.

Mail sure is slow; I haven’t gotten a single letter from you guys yet.

-Michael

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Dear Mom and Dad,

The same people from yesterday were giving Joey problems again. This time, like I promised in my last letter, I stepped up to defend Joey with what little abilities I had. Up close, these guys were huge. It’s like someone was able to cram nerds and football jocks into one person and then cloned him a few times. Their grins told me all I needed to know.

My body must have been pumping adrenaline because I remember wrenching Joey with my magic like he was nothing and booking it down the hall. I’m glad I was able to actually grab onto Joey, these nerd-jocks are monsters; they could very well compete in the Olympics! Obviously that was an exaggeration, but in any case they were chasing me down and not breaking a sweat. At least that’s what it felt like.

As common sense would dictate, I can run fairly quickly, probably with one Horsepower. Get it?

They didn’t quite catch up with me, but then again, they were still keeping pace with me. How I got out of that mess still bewilders me. Luna must have been looking down at me and had decided to give me a miracle.

I used my first spell! I have no idea how I performed it, but I still cast it nonetheless! Again, as common sense would dictate, hallways eventually end. I suck at turning. I ended up crashing into the wall. Luckily, I was holding Joey with his back to the floor, so there was minimal damage there. Anyways, I crashed into the wall, and the last thing I remember thinking about was just wishing to be hidden. At the last second, those burly guys just stopped right in front of us and stared like they were looking at E.T. About 30 seconds later, they angrily huffed and shuffled to their classes.

Later that day, when Joey and I met at the courtyard, Joey told me that I had cast an invisibility spell. We both were surprised (and excited) about my new spell casting abilities. We spent most of our free time trying to replicate the spell, albeit, to no effect.

I wonder how my magic compares with other unicorns. I’ve never been to Equestria before (obviously), so I don’t know what their standards are. Maybe Princess Celestia will take me there one day. Joey would be so jealous. The chance to go live in your fantasy world isn’t there for everyone!

Trying that invisibility spell has really tired me out. I’m going to bed now. Goodnight Ma and Pa!

-Michael

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Dear Mom and Dad,

Do you remember that library downtown? The one I used to go to for Calculus tutoring? That was a freakin’ big library. I wish you were here though, because St. Valentines has one awesome library. Heck, it’s bigger than the HP Pavilion! How they were able to build the school, let alone just this freaking library on the mountainside is really awe-inspiring. Hopefully, there’s more non-fiction and “based on real events” books here than fictional material.

Since we’re on the topic of books, could you send over the books on my bookshelf? I haven’t read all the books I’ve gotten over the years. Plus, I also want to show Joey what kinds of books I read. He’s been bugging me about learning more about me. I kept telling him that I read mostly military books, but he wants to actually read the books for himself. Maybe giving a list of the names of said books could get him off my back.

Joey and I have been hanging out more. More specifically, we’ve been hanging out while everyone else was in the ceremony hall having their sermons or something similar. They’ve never actually given me the chance to confirm it for myself. We talked about the state of affairs of America today. The conversation was kind of depressing. I mean, American people boast about living in a free society where everyone is treated equally in said society. Joey brought up a good point this morning: is that really how it is here? People are still discriminated against. African Americans still have some lingering image that they’re all thugs. Asians are called bad drivers and people wrongly believe that all asians are either Chinese or Japanese. What the hell happened to the Koreans and Vietnamese? Hell, what happened to the Mongolians!? I think I also remember reading a blog post from one of my favorite fanfiction authors about getting run out of a town just because her significant other was Native American. Let’s not forget about the media! And may Luna have mercy upon my soul because Fox News is the worst of them all. Those redneck wannabes are the biggest and most disgusting idiots I have ever seen and heard! They don’t give a damn about good reputation and the truth. All they care about is money and ratings.

Whew, that was me in rage mode. Sorry. This kind of thing just gets me riled up. I hate it how people can be so... I don’t even know the word.

One last thing before I wrap this up and go to bed: have you ever seen a meteor fall at night before? Right before I started writing, I was talking out my window, pretending I was talking to Princess Celestia and Luna. I saw a fireball gliding between the forests and mountain sides. It was beautiful and I wish you could’ve seen it.

-Michael

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Dear Mom and Dad,

First off, Dad, are you still trying to send me emails? I thought I told you that we don’t have outside electronic access. Or is the mail just that slow? Oh, well, you’ll figure it out eventually.

Joey got a black eye today and the nurses wouldn’t look at it, probably because they think I caused it and that its some kind of curse. Yea, everyone knows we’re buddy-buddy now. Anyways, I ended up having to tend to it. I broke into one of the teacher’s office and snuck some ice from it (I was trying to treat someone in a possibly hostile environment!). I also had some painkillers in my first aid kit, so I dropped him some Tylenol (don’t worry, I’m not going to let my best friend become a druggy).

Joey says it’s nothing and that he gets beat up all the time because people think he’s a nerd. I get the feeling there’s something more behind all of this.

Strange actually, I thought I saw one of the school postal worker carrying a bag of charcoal. I don’t remember there being a fireplace in there. Why would you even have a fireplace in an postal office? When I asked about it they just shrugged it off and after some pestering said that it was for a school barbecue. Last I checked, schools normally don’t have those until the end of the year of something. Against my better judgement, I think I’m going do some snooping some time in the future. Perhaps I can try to put my invisibility spell into use.

Speaking of spells, I’ve been practicing my telekinesis in a more intricate form. I... locked myself out of my room. And don’t you dare tell my brothers. Anyways, I didn’t want to ask for help because I feel it wasn’t a good idea. Please don’t send back a letter telling me why that is stupid. I honestly think that asking for help would have been a bad decision. Everyone (except for Joey) feels so hostile to me.

Anyways, I ended up trying to using my magic as a sort of key. Actually, it was more like a lockpick. So yea, I picked my own lock to get into my room. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything criminal with it. If My Little Pony has taught me anything...

I wonder if I’m any better at public speaking; I have some speech I have to recite. I never really was good at planned speeches; I do much better when I just know my stuff and wing it. Perhaps I don’t give myself enough credit, but either way it still makes me very nervous. The fact that almost the entire school hates me with actual religious fervor doesn’t help either. I just hope that they can remain objective when they grade me.

I saw a what looked like a fireball perched on a tree in the distance. I tried to get a better view of it, but it flew off as soon as I pulled my binoculars out. Maybe next time.

-Michael