The quartet just stared at the small figure in front of them with wide eyes, never moving or saying anything. They’d never seen anything like it before, and the fact that it came from the machine before them made it seem all the more strange. Twilight was still startled by its emergence, taking quite a few steps back away from him. Spike hid behind Twilight, hiding his face behind her tail. Fluttershy also hid behind Rainbow Dash instead, shaking like a leaf as the rainbow-maned pegasus. Additionally, Twilight’s pet owl, Owlowiscious, had flown into the room and landed on the table. Everyone looked in awe at the strange, somewhat transparent figure.

Twilight noted the figure was bipedal and looked mammalian. He (the ponies assume it’s a ‘he’) had no fur except for a thin patch surrounding his mouth and a short mane. It stands at half the height of Owlowiscious, who is looking at the figure. The figure also wore a set of formal clothing similar to what some ponies wear.

Noticing the ponies and dragon were still staring at him, the figure cleared his throat and spoke. “Do you all intend to keep staring at me?”

The figure’s remark snapped the ponies from their bewilderment. Twilight was the first to take a daring step closer to the figure, eyeing his head to toe as her thoughts finally caught up to her.

“Wh-who and what are you?” Twilight asks in a calm stammer.

The figure turns to look at Twilight with a blank expression on his face. He stares at her for a few uncomfortable moments before finally speaking.

“My designation is A-01740, but you may call me Aris. I am the Artificial Intelligence installed into this Foundation terminal.” He says, his voice almost monotone as he spoke as if it were common sense.

“Artificial?” Asked Rainbow Dash, who trotted forward to Aris and pointed a hoof at him. “As in, you were made by somepony?”

Aris looked back at her and said, “Yes. I was created as part of this machine.”

“And by these humans of yours?” Spike asks, who steps out from behind Twilight. The Artificial Intelligence gives the dragon his already present stoic expression.

“Correct, dragon.” He responds, making Spike feel perplexed.

Despite being in front of non-humanoid entities, Aris is more than capable of reading their facial expressions with ease. He was programmed to read emotions easily.

“Yes, I know what you are.” He turns to the girls. “In fact, I know what you all are. Ponies; equine entities that inhabit this realm, possess a variety of thaumaturgical abilities, and are composed of four different subspecies.”

Aris turns to Twilight and says, “You are a unicorn; a pony that can actively manipulate an anomalous energy you call ‘magic’, with your horn-like protrusions.”

Twilight gasps. This Artificial being knows about her kind and what makes each tribe unique. She has more questions to ask but decides not to speak as she watches Aris turn to Rainbow Dash.

“You are a Pegasus, as is the one behind you.” Aris points at Fluttershy, who slowly trots out from behind Rainbow Dash. “You both possess a pair of wings for flying and other capabilities.”

The two pegasi look at each other, perplexed. An awkward silence falls all around the library as the A.I. continues.

“There is also one other tribe amongst your kind known as Earth Ponies, who possess immense physical strength,” Aris adds. “And then, there are the Alicorns. Ponies that possess the characteristics and thaumaturgical abilities of all three tribes.”

The girls and Spike stand still with their mouths open. Aris knows a lot about their kind. But how he knew this information was unknown. This only increases Twilight’s interest and curiosity of the A.I., wanting to know more about him and his origins

Rainbow Dash manages to snap out of her shock and gives Aris a suspicious glare.

“How is it you and your ‘human race’ know so much about us ponies?” She questions, pointing a hoof at the Artificial Intelligence who looks back at her stoically.

“Miss, how the Foundation knows about pony kind and of this realm is none of your concern,” Aris replies flatly. “In fact, I’ve answered more than enough questions for now. “I was sent here with one assignment, and I intend to fulfill that task.”

Ignoring the glaring look from Rainbow Dash, Aris turns his attention towards Twilight and gives her his full attention. “May I have your name, miss?” He asks the Unicorn politely.

“Uh… Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight responds with a hint of nervousness.

“Ms. Twilight Sparkle,” Aris begins in a formal tone. “Your request to access and browse the SCP database has been granted. I am here to serve you from here on out.”

Once again, the entire library falls into complete silence. All eyes turn to Twilight, who is staring at Aris. She was so confused.

“What?”

“Your request, Mrs. Sparkle,” Aris replies, noticing the confused tone in her voice.

Before she can say anything, the lavender unicorn hears a whispered “Twilight?” from behind. She looks back at her friends who all give her curious looks. Fluttershy is the closest pony to her.

“No, I–I didn’t make any request to anypony, especially some secret organization supposedly from some other universe.” Says Twilight.

“You didn’t?” Aris asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I think you’ve got the wrong pony.” The unicorn mare says, rubbing a hoof on the back of her head.

“Then tell me, if you are not the client I am supposed to serve, how did you come into possession of this terminal?” The A.I. asks in a polite tone.

Twilight explains that her friend Fluttershy found the package on her doorstep before she brought it in rather than leave it outside in the snow. Aris turns his gaze to the butterscotch pegasus mare, who nods nervously, confirming the truth in her friend’s statement. He believes them. These ponies and the dragon look just as confused as they sound.

“Did you read the letter after opening the package?” Aris asks.

“If by ‘open’, you mean ‘incinerate’, then yes, we read the letter.” Spike answers before nervously adding, “What’s left of it, that is.”

Twilight lifts the half-burnt letter and shows its contents are now barely legible. Aris looks at it and gives it a disgruntled look. He crosses his arms before glazing back at the ponies and dragon.

“And how did the letter get in this state?” Aris asks in a less-than-pleased tone. Upon his question, he notices Spike beginning to look down at the floor and twiddle his thumbs.

“It… it was an accident. I promise.” The baby dragon speaks regretfully. Seeing the genuine sad expression on Spike’s face made him confirm that he is regretful. Aris softens his expression softly before letting out a half-annoyed sigh.

When Spike asks him if he knows who he is supposed to be sent to, Aris becomes more confused. He should know the identity of who he is supposed to serve, but he can’t seem to remember who it is. Without saying a word, Aris jumps back into the terminal and begins looking through his data, specifically the instructions that he was given. Upon opening said document, he found that a majority of it had been corrupted, which was concerning, because this terminal was fitted with the SCP Foundation’s most advanced technology that was able to resist data corruption.

Confusion is plaguing Aris. The last time he was activated, his superiors/creators said his packaged terminal would be sent directly to their contact, and they even said their name. So why doesn’t he remember the one he is supposed to serve? How did he end up on the porch of this library? Did something go wrong during the dimensional delivery?

Aris does not have the answers to his questions, but he does know one thing. He is here to educate someone, and he must find that individual. The only problem is he can’t. Plus, he doesn’t know where to start looking.

Aris returns from his terminal and notices the girls still surrounding the table but are talking to each other. His reappearance causes them to drop their conversation and look back at him.

“I don’t know who I am supposed to serve.” Says Aris. “My memory files have been damaged by unknown means, and I am unable to contact my creators.”

“So…what will you do now?” Fluttershy asks.

“I must fulfill my purpose.” Aris replies. “But that will be a problem.”

Twilight suddenly steps forward to the Artificial Intelligence with a gleam in her eyes. “What about us?”

Aris looks at her, confused. “What?” He asks.

“Since you don’t remember who you are supposed to share your Foundation’s knowledge with, could you share it with me and my friends?” She rephrases.

Aris stiffens up at this. “And why would I share such classified information with a bunch of civilians who accidentally got a delivery not meant for them?” He asks, looking at each and every pony, dragon, and owl in the room.

“Look, you said you were built to educate somepony about your anomalies, right?” Twilight asks calmly as her friends from behind give her confused and worried looks. Aris, in response, gives her a stiff nod. “So, until you remember or figure out who you are supposed to serve, you could share your knowledge with me and my friends while we keep you hidden from the public.”

Aris thinks about Twilight’s offer. Sharing classified information with civilians, human or otherwise, would be a gross breach of secrecy. However, the A.I. does not have any other choice at the moment. Also, he remembers something else he has to do.

“I could agree to those terms, but there is one other thing you can do for me, Ms. Sparkle.” Aris says.

“What is it?” She asks.

“While the SCP Foundation knows a decent amount about your kind, I am very curious about learning what we do not know about this world.”

Aris looks around the room, noticing all the books on the shelves. “I assume you are a librarian?” Twilight nods. “Then perhaps you could teach me your knowledge as well.”

Twilight smiles happily, grinning from ear to ear. She claps her front hooves together gleefully before responding. “How can I say no to that!? I would love to!”

“And what about your friends?” Aris asks, looking over at Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Fluttershy.

“Who.”

“Ms. Sparkle’s friends.”

“Who.” Aris turns around and notices it was Owlowiscious hooting and not someone else asking him. He ignores the owl and turns back to the lavender unicorn mare. “Your friend group back there would like to view the anomalies we have contained?”

Twilight looks behind at her friends, who are all curious and willing to look at this secret information. Rainbow Dash and Spike nod affirmatively while Fluttershy is hesitant.

Twilight looks back at Aris and gives a firm, “Yes” in response. “Although this is just half of my total friend group, the others aren’t here in my library.”

Aris ponders to himself. “I see. And a few more things.”

Aris leaps off the table and lands on the floor with complete grace. He stands still before suddenly enlarging himself in size, growing to almost the height of Princess Celestia. He then looks at the quartet sternly, making them feel a bit intimidated. Aris slowly moves forward and walks around the four, never taking his eyes off them.

“One; you must never speak of me to anyone else,” He begins, still walking around them. “My existence must not be known to any other pony without my approval. I cannot let myself and my terminal be stolen and accessed by some untrustworthy individual.”

The quartet nods simultaneously.

“Two, I will only grant you access to any file with Level 2 or below clearance. Anything classified higher is strictly forbidden.”

They nod.

“And lastly, you can invite the rest of your friends, Ms. Sparkle, as long as they promise to abide by these rules. Got it?” He asks.

“Yes, Aris.” Twilight says nervously.

“Very well. You’ve got yourself a deal.” Aris smiles warmly, a sense of friendliness replacing his intimidating aura. He then offers a hand to the Unicorn, which suddenly loses its transparency, becoming more solid in appearance.

Twilight raises her hoof and shakes it before Aris shrinks back down to his original height. “Welcome to the SCP Foundation Database. Would you like to view any available files?” He asks.

“Twilight looks at her friends and number-one assistant before saying, “Sure.”

“So, do we have to read these files, or…?” Dash speaks up.

“No need to fret, Ms. Rainbow Dash.” Aris assures the Pegasus. “The database comes with a Text-to-Speech function so you all don’t have to read them independently. In fact, why don’t you all grab any nourishments you want while I set up our first session?”

The girls and Spike head into the kitchen to grab some snacks and drinks, as well as lock the doors and close the blinds. When they return to the book room, they notice a series of chairs they had never seen before have been set up, all facing the terminal, which has numerous cords hooked into its back and is missing its screen. Following the cords, they notice an even larger screen set up in front of the wall, facing the chairs and terminal.

“Whoa. Where did these come from?” Rainbow Dash asks.

“This was my doing.” Says Aris, who manifests on the terminal’s pedestal. “Since there were little furnishings, I decided to produce some that are more comforting for the four of you. I also took the liberty of upgrading the screen to that of what we humans call a ‘television’ for your viewing pleasure.”

“Wow, thanks.” Twilight says before adding, “You can create things with magic?”

Aris shakes his head. “I do not possess any thaumatur… I mean, magical abilities, Ms. Sparkle. My powers are a topic for another time.”

Twilight accepts the answer before sitting down in one of the chairs. Her friends follow suit and take one of the available seats, with Owlowiscious sitting on the nearest perch. Aris reappears on the terminal’s pedestal facing the group.

“So Aris, how many entries are there?” Spike asks as he sits in the smallest chair next to Twilight.

“Not counting the anomalies yet to be classified, there are more than 8000 entries in the database.”

Twilight’s eyes widened at that. Whoever the Foundation members were, they must be extremely smart to create all these entries for anomalies.

“So, um, is there an entry you recommend we read first?” Fluttershy asks.

“Of course, Mrs. Fluttershy. Another directive I was given is to have the client read a few basic entries first to understand how dangerous many anomalies can be. However, do not misunderstand that all anomalies are a threat to humankind.” Aris says. “Anyway, the first SCP you can read is SCP-173.”

The girls nod.

“Now, before we begin, I must explain the object classification system to provide you a bit of background. When determining the containment procedures for an anomalous entity, object, or phenomena, they must be assigned an object class, which indicates how difficult they are to contain.”

“Okay. So what are these classifications?” Twilight asks. Aris steps aside and gestures to the TV. The screen displays a logo with a vibrant green circle surrounding a black padlock at the center.

“First, we have the Safe class.” Aris begins his lecture. “The Safe class is for SCPs that are easily and safely contained. This is often due to the fact that the Foundation has researched the SCP well enough that it does not require a large amount of resources to be contained.”

“So, this class is for SCPs that are completely harmless?” Fluttershy asks.

“Not exactly. The anomaly can still be dangerous if not contained. Safe refers to its containment as the Foundation has pretty much figured out how to safely keep the anomaly in containment without risks of a containment breach.” Aris clarifies as he glances at the meek yellow pegasus.

Turning back around, Aris makes a hand movement directly at the screen to move to the next slide. The icon on this slide appears identical to that of the Safe class but with a yellow background and a white padlock.

“The next containment class we have is Euclid.” Aris says, still facing the screen. “SCPs of this classification require more resources to contain completely or where containment isn’t always reliable. Usually, this is because the SCP in question is insufficiently understood or naturally unpredictable and hostile.”

Aris turns to face the quartet. “Euclid is the most common class that is used in the foundation classification system and is arguably the most broad. Furthermore, any SCP that’s autonomous or sapient is generally given this class due to the inherent unpredictability of an object that can act or think on its own.” Twilight is fascinated, while her friends become more intrigued. Just how many SCPs are classified as Euclid?

The lavender unicorn does not get the chance to ask as the screen displays the next class. The red logo presented has few key differences from the others they’ve seen because it has a broken padlock. The quartet can tell this is a very serious class, as evidenced by the serious look Aris gave them.

“The Keter class is reserved for SCPs that are exceedingly difficult to contain, with containment procedures often being extensive, complex, and expensive. The Foundation often cannot contain these SCPs well due to lacking either a solid understanding of the anomaly, or the technology to properly contain or counter it.”

“So Keter-class SCPs are the most dangerous anomalies the Foundation keeps locked up?” Rainbow Dash asks.

“Most of them are, yes,” Aris answers. “However, there are some that pose no threat to humans and other wildlife.”

With that out of the way, Aris snaps his fingers, causing the screen to project the next containment class. The icon is much different from the others: a curved pentagon with a flower-like design in the center and a second 3D pentagon in the very center. Everyone can tell that this class will be much different from the others.

“The Thaumiel class is one of the many secondary classes in our system. These SCPs are anomalies that are vital to the Foundation and are used for various purposes, such as the containment of other SCP objects.”

“So, you use anomalies to contain other anomalies?” Spike asks.

“Of course we do. The Foundation has also utilized many SCP objects to benefit our operations.” Aris says as he remembers a colossal anomalous eel back on Earth.

“Will we be reading those files too?!” Twilight asks excitedly

“That’s highly unlikely, Mrs. Sparkle,” Aris answers bluntly. “The existence of Thaumiel-class objects is classified at the highest levels of the Foundation, and their locations, functions, and current status are known to few Foundation personnel outside of the highest rank.

Twilight pouts at that answer but sets it aside when another icon appears on the screen, one with a light gray background. This one has a padlock in the center like all the others, but is crossed out by a large white X. “And lastly, we have ‘Neutralized’ from the Non-Standard object classes.” Aris says.

“I take this class is for SCPs that are no longer active or were destroyed?” Twilight asks as she writes in her notebook.

“Yes, Mrs. Sparkle. This classification also includes SCPs that have lost anomalous properties as well.” Aris nods, smiling. The screen changes and the Netralized class icon disappears. “That is all about the object classes for now. Shall we begin our first SCP?”

Everypony and dragon nods.

“Okay. Now, some of the entries in the database can be disturbing, so if any of you feel like taking a break at any point, please inform me.” Aris advises them.

“Oh, please,” Rainbow Dash reassures. “We’ve saved Equestria from threatening forces twice together. We can handle whatever your Foundation calls anomalous.”

There is a long pause between the ponies, dragon, and A.I. Aris can see the confidence in her voice, as well as the unsureness on Fluttershy’s expression, but he simply says, “Suit yourself.” before facing the screen.

Soon, the first entry pops up. They can see an image, which happens to be of SCP-173 standing in the corner of a metal room. Everyone is weirded out by the object’s appearance. It is a sculpture made entirely out of concrete and standing on it’s hind legs, much like a human. Its large head has a green, black, and red paint coated over its face, with some black paint over a few of its other areas. Below the image reads “SCP-173 in containment”.

“That is an SCP? It looks so weird.” Spike says.

“It looks like a giant peanut with a stupid face painted on it!” Rainbow Dash says while laughing.

“Don’t be fooled by what it looks like, Mrs. Dash,” Aris speaks in a warning tone. “173 is very dangerous and has killed many Foundation personnel in the past.”

“SCP-173 can move by itself?” Twilight asks.

“Only when it’s not being observed by any human or creature,” Aris replies before snapping his fingers, and the file begins.

Item #: SCP-173

Object Class: Euclid

“So it’s a Euclid class,” Twilight says, keeping the object classes in her brain.

Special Containment Procedures: Item SCP-173 is to be kept in a locked container at all times and the enclosure must be cleaned on a bi-weekly basis. When personnel must enter SCP-173’s container, no fewer than 3 may enter at any time and the door is to be relocked behind them. At all times, two persons must maintain direct eye contact with SCP-173 until all personnel have vacated and relocked the container.

“Excuse me, Aris,” Aris looks at Spike. “Does this SCP have a name of some kind?”

“Yes, it has been called ‘The Sculpture’ by the guards and researchers that monitor it, though D-Class only know it as SCP-173.” Aris replies.

“D-Class?” Fluttershy questions, raising an eyebrow.

Aris becomes silent before saying, “Moving on.”

Description: Moved to Site-19 1993. Origin is as of yet unknown. It is constructed from concrete and rebar with traces of Krylon brand spray paint. SCP-173 is animate and extremely hostile. The object cannot move while within a direct line of sight. Line of sight must not be broken at any time with SCP-173.

“Additionally, the 173 will move if the observer blinks or barely looks off the object,” Aris adds. “And it can move faster than the blink of an eye.”

Even Rainbow is impressed. ‘I can’t run that fast on my hooves. But I’m much faster with my wings. Am I?’

Personnel assigned to enter container are instructed to alert one another before blinking. Object is reported to attack by snapping the neck at the base of the skull, or by strangulation.

The group simultaneously widens their eyes as they flinch. The Sculpture could snap their necks if they ever took their eyes off it, even for a split second. Fluttershy whimpers and hides behind a few of her feathers, while Spike is seen wincing a bit, rubbing his own neck with his claw.

In the event of an attack, personnel are to observe Class 4 hazardous object containment procedures.

Personnel report sounds of scraping stone originating from within the container when no one is present inside. This is considered normal, and any change in this behaviour should be reported to the acting HMCL supervisor on duty.

The reddish brown substance on the floor is a combination of feces and blood. Origin of these materials is unknown.

Everyone is disgusted by the last bit of info and is both fascinated and disturbed by this SCP. It is a living concrete sculpture that can move when it’s not being looked at by a living creature.

“There. That is SCP-173. Any thoughts?” Aris asks.

The group is silent. Rainbow Dash and Spike are looking at each other while Fluttershy fidgets nervously. The silence is broken by Twilight, who says, “That was… very interesting, Aris. So, a living sculpture that…snaps your neck when you look away from it.”

“And that SCP is merely the tip of the anomalous iceberg compared to what the Foundation contains on Earth,” Aris adds.

“There’s an iceberg SCP?” Rainbow Dash asks.

“Uh, I think Aris was using an idiom, Dash.” Twilight says to the Pegasus.

“Yeah, I know that, egghead.” Dash replies with a smirk. “I was just joking.”

Aris, however, knows the rainbow-maned mare wasn’t wrong.

Spike turns to their artificial guest. “So, Aris, what SCP is next?” He asks.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight turn back to Aris with a big interest in their eyes. Fluttershy, however, looks more nervous, but no one notices.

“Next, we shall look at… 096.”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, SCPEquis here! Wow, this chapter took much longer to write than I had thought. Life sure has a way of impeding progress . Luckily, I managed to pull through, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my co-author, k00l. I couldn’t have done it without your help, dude!

No problem buddy, always happy to help! I’m just as excited as you are to continue to see and write the reactions from our favorite group of mares to the Foundation’s more sinister anomalies.

Me too.

So, there you have it! The legendary peanut (or the Weeping Angel rip-off) everyone! I thought I’d begin with a small SCP article after explaining the Object classes to our heroines, and 173 was a good starter.

Coming up next: everyone’s favorite Shy Guy.

P.S.: Yes, I was using 173’s original appearance. I initially wanted to post the image on this chapter, but decided not to.

Until next time.