Rank & Full Name: Swift Wildshadow, F.O.S.
Letter’s Date: 1x/2x/xxx3
Address: North Solar Boulevard, Bldg. 0123, District 001, Canterlot, Equestria
Contents: Letter

“Good evening, Mom and Dad.

Now, I know. Over the past few weeks, some newspaper articles may have been floating across Equestria, with some odd quotes that are definitely ‘out-of-context.’ I understand you may have questions regarding the new creature here in Canterlot. Well, for one, I am safe and doing fine. Secondly, I have had a unique advantage over everypony that has met the colossal giant. No, he’s not a giant…let me start from the beginning.

Being a First Officer Specialist, as you know, I get assigned to a creature of high importance to the subjects and creatures of Equestria. Apparently, with the unexpected arrival of this new creature, both princesses have decided it would be the best opportunity for me. And…wow this one!

So far, it has been challenging to talk with the...what did they call him? A ‘hyu-man?’ No, that’s not right…Oh! A ‘human!’ Remove the ‘y,’ and you get how it is actually spelled. So, yes, it has been challenging to communicate with the human creature since I first met him. I don’t think he liked me when I did my whole rant to the princesses outside his door….

Yeah, that did happen. Sorry, Dad.

I have been able to make some progress. Alex, a ‘man,’ is considered male in his world, so he would technically be a ‘stallion’ in our world, although he doesn’t look like one. He has these weird appendages called ‘arms’ and ‘legs,’ similar to us. But, his kind refers to what’s at the end of them as ‘hands’ and ‘feet,’ with bony digits called ‘fingers’ and ‘toes.’ They help him feel things, a sense he calls ‘touch.’

His stomach and chest region is where he said his vital organs are, which pales in comparison to the most important one, so he says. He has a heart, but his brain is the most essential to his kind. I mean, I have to agree with him. Of course, I want to keep my brain, too, but what envelopes it captured my interest.

His ‘head,’ as he says, consists of these weird skin flaps called ‘ears,’ which can help him with ‘hearing’ things, such as a pony’s rant. His hearing is quite impressive, more fine-tuned than ours. In addition, a ‘forehead’ region sits right below the top of his head. Speaking of the top of his head, a pile of what looks like fur? His species calls it ‘hair,’ and his hair appears very spiky…like a hedgehog!

Then there’s the weird bridge down the middle of his face that spears into two holes underneath. He says it is his ‘nose’ and finds it odd we call it a muzzle. It helps him ‘smell’ and can be helpful when breathing, but it can also harm him.

On both sides of the middle of his ‘nose’ are two pupils, his ‘eyes.’ These help him with his sense of ‘sight,’ but there’s something odd about them. He says his vision has been lacking over the years, and he has to wear either ‘glasses’ or these things called ‘contacts.’ As a matter of fact, I did walk in on him once and saw him putting something in his eye. He was upset I didn’t knock but was all right with showing me them. Watching him remove it from his eye was disgusting, but I saw what looked like a transparent, thin lens. It helps him ‘see’ better.

What is most scary about him is his ‘mouth.’ When he opens it, they are traced with these rock-like white pearly things that he refers to as ‘teeth,’ and the tongue on the bottom of the mouth helps him ‘taste’ food. And I did learn what he prefers to eat. Mr. Alex’s species are ‘omnivores,’ and…well, they eat plants and MEAT! When I asked him what he had been eating since he got here, Mr. Alex said he had been eating food rich in ‘carbohydrates’ but was also given ‘steak’ to try. I do have to admit that it is terrifying to think about.

But, probably the craziest thing about him? He has, and I mean HAS, to always wear garments on himself. ‘Clothes,’ as he calls them, are intended to cover himself and make him look ‘dignified.’ Every creature I encounter has asked me why, and I always say, ‘I don’t know, ask him yourself.’ They always shy away from the bipedal creatur-YEAH! I forgot about that! He walks on two legs, not on all fours! Crazy, right?

Unfortunately, I got into a heated debate with him, and he told me why he needed to wear clothes here. On his ‘planet,’ called ‘Earth,’ everycreature like him, the ‘humans,’ all wear clothes. It is apparently an unwritten rule since the beginning of time called ‘decency.’ So I asked him why he really couldn’t go out naked, to which he simply replied, ‘I…don’t have a sheathe. It’s…just out there, so no, I am not taking my clothes off...weirdo.’ I was so dumbfounded and blindsided by the nickname that I finally realized what he was alluding to too late and needed to excuse myself for a moment.

His clothes consist of a ‘shirt’ that covers the upper half of his being, to which he can put a ‘jacket’ over it to keep him warmer. Next, he has a ‘hat’ to cover his head, and sometimes these thin fiber garments called ‘gloves,’ which keep his hands warm. Then there are his ‘pants,’ which primarily cover the lower half of his body. Moving on, he has ‘socks’ to cover his feet, and on top of that, he puts said feet into ‘shoes,’ or what he has called ‘boots.’ I find them a little scary since they can hurt if he steps on somepony’s hoof. Please don’t ask how I came to know about this. It’s a long story….

And that is how I would describe him. Mr. Alexander…I forgot his last name, but he is an actual ‘one-of-a-kind’ creature that is the only one of his species HERE in Equestria! I have told him about this, to which I was given one response: he angrily tells me to leave the room, and once I do, I hear him…crying. And that’s when I figured out that because he is the only one of his species, being reminded of it is probably a touchy subject. So, I will leave that alone for now….

But, he did tell me what his life was like back on his home called ‘Earth.’ However, I will also save that for a different time. I had a busy time these past seven days, and now, I am getting a well-deserved rest. In contrast, according to the two princesses, Alex gets only six hours of sleep a night and will remain in Canterlot. So, unfortunately, I can’t show him where I live…yet. Hopefully, he will be given a chance to explore the city.

I should wrap this letter up with this: my interest has been peaked by the duty of guarding this human. Whenever he speaks to the princesses, it is always with this calm and humbling demeanor. I assume because we discovered what transpired to him getting here and how they subdued him, he has forgiven them and is trying to get situated with his new life.

Oh my gosh! That’s another thing! Did you hear that the human actually FOUGHT BACK? He tried to run from them, which forced Princess Celestia to hit him with a single shot of magic. That whole walk through Canterlot you probably read about? They were clearing a path for him to receive medical attention immediately.

Okay, that concludes this letter. Feel free to ask any questions if you do have them. And don’t be too concerned, Ma. I am not too worried about him. He seems…friendly.

Stay strong and resilient. Your son,

Swift Wildshadow, F.O.S.”

========================================<>=========================================

“Fascinating,” I softly commented while folding the letter. “So he got here and made himself ‘look’ like a threat and was treated like one. And...I don’t blame him. I tried being one toward my parents, and that’s when I was introduced to ‘Mr. Belt, Five-Time Generation Champion.’”

I shook my head and placed the envelope in the box, retrieving letter EIGHT from the stack before me. I turned it over and saw another message written on it. Only this time, one word was written in a massive font across the backside.

“UPDATE.”

“Okay.” My mind was fixated on that word as I opened the envelope and unrolled the letter from its confines. Then, they turned to abject horror as several blood splotches stained the page.

“WHAT THE FU-”

Author's Note

Very descriptive, I see.

Remember, this is from Swift's perspective. His parents have only heard rumors of what this 'thing' is, so him giving a description like this is not only warranted, but was absolutely fun to write!

As always, feedback is appreciated in the comments below. See you in the next one!

-Harpy