//------------------------------//
// Chapter7.5: Twilight's Report 
// Story: The Missionary 
// by Radon18 
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Chapter 7.5





Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as the esteemed instructors of the Royal Canterlot Academy.

This is my fourth weekly report of the progress of research into Subject E. First and foremost I must apologize for my tardiness in sending you this report as there has been an exciting breakthrough in the linguistics department that has kept me occupied.

I have initiated linguistic contact with Subject E! I am very excited to be the first to exchange words with the alien and receive a response. Once I determined the creature would not ever correctly speak standard Equestrian due to a physical inability to reproduce the correct sounds, (physical description included in form 1), I proceeded to devise a translation matrix dependent on a framework drawn from my work into spell 37b. Subject E’s apparent strong negative reactions to unfamiliar magical fields (Rate of tolerance increased thirteen microthaums per second of exposure) was treated by a spell focus derived from focusing runes applied to a base of sapphire. The magical field was entirely contained within the device and did not come into contact with Subject E. The device was activated and I proceeded to recite the Standard Equestrian Contact Greeting, version four. Once I had finished, the creature responded with a long and rapid series of words of which the matrix was only able to translate a single word: “Pants.”

I believe this was a request for the aforementioned garment. Plans are underway to supply the subject with his original garment, or a copy thereof.

There are some health concerns that have recently arisen concerning Subject E. This morning, as I arrived to commence testing, Subject E was found in his cell with a rather large amount of blood on his face and the cot he had been using as bedding. The blood had apparently come from an internal haemorrhage in the subject’s nose. The bleeding has since stopped and appears to be non-fatal. The local expert on animals, my friend Fluttershy, has assured me the injury is not serious and should not be cause for alarm.

As you already know, until today all research into subject E was met with heavy resistance from the subject himself. I hope that once we supply him with his requested garment he will become more cooperative. Now that linguistic contact has been made, I am requesting a formal timeline for his exposure to the public and eventual integration into Equestrian society.

I would also like to request an update as to the status of the research into the items Subject E had with him upon his capture. Along with satisfying my own curiosity, knowledge of the items may be necessary for more advanced communications.

Your faithful student / friend / colleague - Twilight Sparkle


Form 1

Complete Physical description of Subject E

With input from Miss Fluttershy


Subject E is a tall (slightly over 18 hoofs in height when fully upright), bipedal, simian-like creature, possibly distantly related to the great Zebrican Planes Giant Ape (see page 167 of the Zebrican Expedition's log for descriptions and photographs of the Zebrican Giant Apes). The creature shares many features with these apes, most notably in the facial structure and general body layout. The creature possesses structures on the ends of each of its limbs similar to the claw and foot structures on dragons. Claw is a rather misleading term for the structures on its fore-limbs as they do not possess any sharp features. It does possess a small hard surface on the end of each of its twenty digits where claws might have once been located. The structures are thin and ill-suited to hunting for food, but still might be somewhat sharp if they were allowed to grow beyond a certain length. Surprisingly, this does not happen as the creature itself shortens them in a very strange self-grooming behavior, wherein the creature chews the structures until they are very short.

The creature’s feet are very similar to its claws in structure, but the digits appear to be fused together in a fashion that seems to provide great stability. Both its “claws” and feet are far more dexterous than any hoof, with the feet being the lesser of the two. There may be as many as four joints per digit on both claws and feet. The creature’s fore and hind limbs appear almost identical to that of adolescent dragons. There are a great many similarities in the inner structure of the torso and pelvic areas as well, and some relation or hybridization, though unlikely, may be a possibility.

Subject E specifically is almost entirely bald, foregoing fur for a mane-like turf of hair on the very top of its head that is a medium brown in coloration. This is a feature that differs from both the scales of dragons and the golden fur of Giant Apes. It also possesses very fine body fur that is almost invisible as well as thicker hair on its face (around the jaw) and near the genitalia; there is no known or theorized reason for this (which may have something to do with the implied desire for clothing).

The creature’s eyes are made up of very dark brown irises with white sclera. Its eyes, while smaller than a pony’s, are very similar in appearance and function. The creature’s skin is a very pale pink in color, and is similar to the skin of the domestic pig. The creature’s tooth and jaw structure is very unique among the many species of Equis and is only vaguely similar to that of the Zebrican Giant Ape. The jaw and mouth are on the bottom of the skull and only extend forward from the rest of the face by small fractions of a hoof. This means its face is very flat and ill-suited for preying and hunting. The contradiction is in the teeth; its rear teeth are actually very flat and similar to a pony’s, allowing for a diet of various plant species, but there are also teeth in the front of the mouth dedicated to the holding of prey and the severing of flesh. This, combined with a very weak bite strength (in comparison to other meat eaters), would make hunting a very difficult prospect. It is theorized that sometime during the creature’s evolution, nutritious plants may have become very scarce for the entire population, leading to the need to consume flesh to make up for the loss, as is believed to be the case with the Giant Ape.

The creature’s nose is similar to that of the Zebrican Giant Ape’s, although where the ape’s is very flat, subject E’s is raised and pointed. Testing is planned to determine the sensitivity of the olfactory senses.

The creature’s ears are also a feature it shares with the Giant Apes, as they are immobile. shell-like pieces of skin and, most likely, cartilage. This immovability of the ears is one of the reasons for the short lived belief that the creature lacked emotion. It was later discovered that the creature was merely hiding its emotional responses, perhaps in some effort to make itself more imposing as a defense mechanism (as is common with some ponies as well as various other sapient species). Testing is planned to determine the sensitivity of his auditory sense as well.






Author’s Note: Since I felt so guilty for giving you guys a 1700 word chapter, here is a little bonus for you. - Radon18

Co-Author’s Note: And I suddenly understand why our protagonist wants pants so badly. Twilight has to learn how to manage personal space.
-Admari