//-------------------------------------------------------// Ponies read the SCP Foundation Database -by SCPEquis- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue “Dialogue.” = Normal speaking ‘Dialogue.’ = Thoughts “Dialogue” = Radio Dialogue = Written on paper or on the terminal. It is a gray, snowy day in Ponyville. The sky is covered in thick snow clouds courtesy of the Pegasi, so it’s snowing heavily outside. Not much of a surprise during the month of January. Everypony is in their houses and cottages, reading books, playing board games, and trying out the gifts they received from Hearth’s Warming Eve last year. Given that there aren’t many options, no pony can say the day is eventful, especially the small group taking shelter in the local house-tree library of Golden Oaks. This group consists of three mares: daredevil Rainbow Dash, timid Fluttershy, and book-loving Twilight Sparkle. There is also the baby dragon named Spike; Twilight’s number-one assistant. Together, the four friends are riding the storm out in Twilight’s library as they all have chosen to keep each other company. They are in the main room doing various activities, from reading to playing games. Eventually, the quartet scattered throughout the tree library, with Fluttershy trotting up to the front window. She looks out the window, watching the snowflakes hit the window when she spots something on the porch. She goes to Twilight, who is starting to read a new book she recently purchased. “Um, excuse me, Twilight?” She speaks softly. “I’m trying to read, Fluttershy,” Twilight replies, not taking her eyes off the book. “I’m sorry, but you have a package on your doorstep.” Fluttershy continues. The lavender unicorn looks up from her book at the pegasus mare in confusion. “A package?” “Mmhmm.” Fluttershy nods in affirmation. Twilight stands up and trots over to her entrance. Upon opening the door, she notices a package lying on her doorstep. She uses her magic to brush the snow off of it, pick it up, and pull it inside. After closing her front door, the unicorn mare takes the package to her main room and sets it on the table, where she is met with the curious rainbow-maned pegasus eyeing her package closely. “Who’s it from, Twi?” asks Rainbow Dash after Twilight finishes examining the shipping label. “No idea. The package doesn’t have anything on it.” Twilight answers as she steps aside to let her friends and Spike look at it themselves. It’s true to what she said; there is no information printed on the package. No recipient name, no mailing address, no return address, not even a stamp. “So…” Fluttershy speaks. “What’s in the box?” “Well, why don’t we open it up and find out?” Twilight suggests before turning to her number-one assistant. “Would you like to have the honors, Spike?” The baby dragon nods and says, “Yes, ma’am,” before walking up to the table with a raised claw. Everypony moves out of the way to make space for him, with Rainbow Dash hovering above him. However, one of her feathers comes loose and lands on the dragon’s nose. Spike scrunches his nose before loudly sneezing, unleashing a stream of green fire that sets everything on the table ablaze, including the package. The trio of ponies gasps in shock before Twilight runs over to the table to smother the fires with a thick blanket. After succeeding, the lavender mare realizes that everything on the table that got caught in the flame had been reduced to ash, including… “My new book!” She groans upon finding the burnt remains of her newly purchased book. “Oops. Sorry, Twi,” Rainbow Dash apologizes as she lands right next to the burnt package with a sheepish grin. Twilight scowls at the rainbow-maned pegasus when Fluttershy speaks up again. “What is that?” She asks, pointing to the table with her hoof. This causes Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight to look back to where she is pointing. Right where the incinerated package once stood is what looks like a large dark gray metal briefcase with gold accents. Twilight approaches and notices that its dimensions are big enough to fit three big books in a row. Strangely, the object in question did not suffer any fire damage. Even stranger is the unrecognizable emblem emblazoned upon the briefcase. The emblem is composed of an outlined circle with three arrows crossing its contour and pointing into the center and a larger circle with three protruding rectangles closing the smaller circle and arrows in a thin frame. Twilight spots a tiny piece of paper taped to the side of the briefcase that was half burned. She peeled the note off and opened it, revealing a short message. “What does it say, Twi?” Spike asks. Twilight frowns at the half-burnt paper. “Unfortunately, much of the message is lost, but I can read what remains.” —you have been granted access to the entire Foundation database. The documented anomalies we have contained, as well as our organization— can be viewed on this portable terminal. —press the blinking POWER button to— Our secret knowledge is now at your— hands hooves and viewing pleasure, along with those you know can be trusted. Enjoy. The half-burnt letter’s contents have caught Twilight’s interest. ‘A case containing secret knowledge sent to me by some unknown organization?’ She thought before squeeing. “Eeee!!!” Spike smiles as he watches the lavender unicorn hop up and down excitedly. Fluttershy gives a smaller smile while Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes with a smirk. Twilight loves knowledge, so they choose not to try to stop her from opening the case. However, she becomes confused when she doesn’t find any books or paper within it. In fact, the briefcase has very little interior space, which is only enough for a small blue button. ‘What? There’s nothing in here but a button.’ Twilight thinks as she places a hoof on said button. Suddenly, the case automatically opens up at a 180° angle, causing the lavender unicorn to back up away from it, and starts transforming itself. Startled by the unexpected transformation, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike all watch with fascination. The two halves of the briefcase shift and the inside of the lid seems to split and reveal a screen hidden under the leather layer. While the bottom half seems to expand upwards and opens up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard used by common typewriters. The object that used to be a case is now what looks like a big terminal. The four friends are awed by the transformation sequence as they all approach it slowly. Never in their lives have they ever seen anything like this, so they were a bit cautious. It was then Twilight notices a blinking button on the keyboard that says ON/OFF. From her peripherals, she sees the purple claw of Spike reaching for the button. Twilight uses her hoof to swat the dragon’s claw. Spike pulls his claw away and rubs it with his other claw. “Don’t touch anything.” Twilight warns before looking back at the terminal. “We have no idea what this thing is.” “But…didn’t it say it had secret knowledge? What if pressing the button to turn it on is how you access it?” Spike asks as the stinging in his claw subsides. “Yeah, Twilight. How dangerous can it be?” Rainbow asks as she steps closer to analyze the strange terminal. She then reaches over and presses the ON button with her hoof. “Rainbow Dash, no!” Twilight yells as she reaches out with her own hoof to stop the brash Pegasus mare. She is too late. Several seconds later, the black screen lights up, revealing the same mysterious symbol on top of the briefcase. “Welcome to the SCP Foundation Database,” a male voice says, surprising the quartet. “Who said that?” asks Spike. Before anypony can respond, the voice is heard again, and this time, it sounds a bit more serious. “Operating clandestine and worldwide, the Foundation operates beyond jurisdiction, empowered and entrusted by every major national government with the task of containing anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena. Many of these anomalies pose a significant threat to global security, as well as humanity, by threatening either physical or psychological harm. All of them undermine the natural laws that the people of the world implicitly trust in.” Twilight raises an eyebrow at that. If these anomalies are truly a threat to the world, then why hasn’t anypony known about them? And, more importantly, why was this foundation kept a secret? But something else had caught her curiosity. The voice also mentioned the word ‘humanity’. Was it referring to— “Um… What’s an anomaly?” Fluttershy asks, prompting the lavender unicorn to answer. “Well, Fluttershy, an anomaly is something that isn’t normal, like the Everfree Forest.” Twilight explains. Fluttershy whimpers and shrinks back a little bit at Twilight’s answer, now feeling increasingly nervous about the terminal. “The Foundation operates to maintain normalcy, so that the worldwide civilian population can live and go on with their daily lives without fear, mistrust, or doubt in their personal beliefs, and to maintain human independence from extraterrestrial, extradimensional, and other extranormal influence.” “That sounds understandable,” Spike says to himself with a shrug while Twilight agrees. “Wait,” Rainbow Dash starts. “Wouldn’t it be wise to, I don’t know, tell everypony about the anomalies?” Twilight shakes her head. “No, Dash, you don’t understand,” the unicorn says. “It’s like this: if the ponies of Equis learn about a creature that could consume magic as a food source, panic would spread, followed by riots.” Rainbow Dash pauses before nodding her head in understanding. Panic is the last thing anypony needs. The terminal screen changes to snow white as the male voice continues. “Our mission is three-fold:” The four friends see the three arrows from the strange logo appear along with the word ‘SECURE’ underneath it. “Secure: The Foundation secures anomalies with the goal of preventing them from falling into the hands of civilian or rival agencies, through extensive observation and surveillance and by acting to intercept such anomalies at the earliest opportunity.” The small circle appears next along with, ‘CONTAIN’. “Contain: The Foundation contains anomalies with the goal of preventing their influence or effects from spreading, by either relocating, concealing, or dismantling such anomalies or by suppressing or preventing public dissemination of knowledge thereof.” Finally, the larger circle with rectangles appeared. ‘PROTECT’ “Protect: The Foundation protects humanity from the effects of such anomalies as well as the anomalies themselves until such time that they are either fully understood or new theories of science can be devised based on their properties and behavior. The Foundation may also neutralize or destroy anomalies as an option of last resort, if they are determined to be too dangerous to be contained.” “Additional information will have been provided upon your joining us in pursuit of our primary missions.” Once the male voice has stops speaking, the ponies and dragon are left in silence. ‘So, SCP stands for “Secure, Contain, Protect”?’ Spike asks himself before breathing a sigh of relief. ‘At first, I thought it was Snap, Crackle, and Pop.’ “Uh, girls?” Fluttershy speaks up, catching the attention of the others. “That, um… machine mentioned something about…humans.” Rainbow Dash and Spike become confused, while realization dawns on Twilight. She remembers the message having mentioned these humans before, but had forgotten about it. “I find that very confusing.” The lavender unicorn says. “Humans are nothing more than a myth.” “No, they’re as real as you and I.” Everyone is silent, staring at the machine. Rainbow Dash, however, is the one who breaks the silence. “Uhh… Is somepony in there listening to us?” She asks. “Yes, there is.” The voice says. “And no, there is not a pony.” The quartet becomes startled as a red bipedal figure pops up on the terminal’s screen. They see the figure step out of the screen and stand before them, appearing rather translucent. “Hello,” The figure says stoically, his voice sounding less robotic. “And welcome to the SCP Database.” Author's Note Hello, everyone. After a long couple months of writing, I am proud to finally post this story. I tried getting this posted last December, but it was delayed due to other things in life. First, I’d like to give a shout-out to my co-author k00l (https://www.fimfiction.net/user/380059/k00l). He’s helped me a lot with writing this Prologue. Dude, I cannot thank you enough for this. You’re welcome my friend! I’ve always wanted to find a way to repay you for helping me out with my own stuff! I couldn’t be happier to help you with this project that I’m very excited to see continued! Thanks dude! :twilightsmile: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsmile.png So, I’m sure many of you are wondering why I wanted to write this fanfic, so allow me to explain. I’ve noticed that Fimfiction doesn’t have a lot of SCP crossovers, and I figured that a reaction fic would be a great addition. I mean, who wouldn't want to see how our favorite characters will react to these various SCPs. Anywho, what will our heroines learn from the Database that Twilight was seemingly granted access to? In due time, we shall see. But the next chapter will involve a peanut; that's all I can say. //-------------------------------------------------------// Object Classes & SCP-173 (Full article) //-------------------------------------------------------// Object Classes & SCP-173 (Full article) 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 :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png. 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. //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-096 (full article) //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-096 (full article) Once Aris snaps his fingers, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Fluttershy remain seated and stare at the screen in anticipation, waiting for the next SCP to start. “So Aris, does this SCP have a nickname too?” Spike asks. “Yes. We call it ‘The Shy Guy’.” Aris answers. “The Shy Guy?” Twilight repeats, earning a nod from the A.I. Rainbow Dash just chuckles at the nickname. “What, is this thing timid like Fluttershy here?” She asks, wrapping a hoof around the butterscotch pegasus and pulling her close. Fluttershy feels a bit nervous when her friend pulls her into the conversation, and when the red Artificial Intelligence looks at her. No, more like he was studying her. She hides her face behind her mane in response, squeaking to herself. His analytical eyes made her feel a bit uneasy. “No. SCP-096 is nothing like Mrs. Shy here.” Aris answers flatly, much to Flutershy’s relief. He may have just met these ponies, but he knows she is not the same as 096. “So what makes it so shy?” Asked Twilight as she scratched her chin with her hoof. “SCP-096 spends most of its time alone, but becomes violent if any living creature, human or otherwise, catches a glimpse of its face,” Aris answers stoically. He hears a gasp coming from his side, he looks and meets the eyes of Fluttershy again. “It becomes v-violent?” She squeaks out. Aris nods. Everypony just remains silent as the video starts. Item #: SCP-096 “Wait,” Spike says, causing the file to pause. “Aren’t you gonna show us the image of this SCP first?” Aris shakes his head. “Protocol dictates that no photos containing SCP-096’s face are to be displayed.” Everyone frowns at that. “Why? It’s just a photo; not it’s actual face.” Twilight says. “Unfortunately, testing has proven that viewing 096’s face on a photograph or video recording can still trigger a hostile reaction.” The girls and Spike look at each other in shock and confusion. This causes Rainbow Dash to snort skeptically. “Come on, dude, it’s just a photo. How in Equestria can it know we saw a photo of his face if he isn’t here to see us do it?” She crosses her front hooves. “Trust me, it always knows.” Aris spoke with a deep seriousness. “Though still not fully known, it has an innate ability to know when and where the victim who saw his face is. Even if the target saw a picture of its face a hundred miles away.” “Then what about an image of 096 that doesn’t have its face?” Twilight asks. Aris thinks for a moment before answering. “Yes. Once you’ve been given the basic description of the SCP’s form, I’ll show you the image before moving on its face.” Everypony nods. Object Class: Euclid Special Containment Procedures: SCP-096 is to be contained in its cell, a 5 m x 5 m x 5 m airtight steel cube, at all times. ‘Sheesh. I can’t imagine what that would be like.’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself. While not claustrophobic, she doesn’t like the idea of being confined to a small room with little space to fly. Yet, this “Shy Guy”, has to be kept in one for the rest of its life. Weekly checks for any cracks or holes are mandatory. There are to be absolutely no video surveillance or optical tools of any kind inside SCP-096’s cell. Security personnel will use pre-installed pressure sensors and laser detectors to ensure SCP-096’s presence inside the cell. “Wow, you guys sure are serious with this thing,” Spike comments. “Of course we are serious,” Aris replies. “In the event of a containment breach where we are to recapture 096, the guards are advised to look at anything other than the object itself.” Any and all photos, videos, or recordings of SCP-096’s likeness are strictly forbidden without approval from Dr. ███ and O5-█. The quartet was curious to learn who gave those orders but became confused when they heard static when the names were about to be revealed. “Uh, Aris? Why was there static?” Fluttershy timidly asks. “Some sensitive information, such as the identities of high-ranking personnel, has been redacted for security purposes. Remember to expect these in other files.” Aris explains before moving on to the description. Description: SCP-096 is a humanoid creature measuring approximately 2.38 meters in height. Subject shows very little muscle mass, with preliminary analysis of body mass suggesting mild malnutrition. Arms are grossly out of proportion with the rest of the subject’s body, with an approximate length of 1.5 meters each. Skin is mostly devoid of pigmentation, with no sign of any body hair. Aris displays the image of SCP-096 huddling in the corner, its censored face looking back at the camera. The anomaly makes the quartet feel a little disgusted as it seemingly whimpers. “It looks so sad.” Fluttershy comments, puffing out her lower lip feeling sad for 096. “It looks so fragile and weak.” Twilight adds, noticing how thin 096 looks compared to Aris. “Don’t let SCP-096’s appearance fool you,” Aris warns the girls, having noticed them feeling sorry for the anomaly. “It may look weak and frail, but that only belies it’s danger.” SCP-096’s jaw can open to four (4) times the norm of an average human. “Hey, it could win a hayburger eating contest!” Says Rainbow Dash, an amazed smile on her face. Aris looks at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “She’s very competitive.” Other facial features remain similar to an average human, with the exception of the eyes, which are also devoid of pigmentation. It is not yet known whether SCP-096 is blind or not. It shows no signs of any higher brain functions, and is not considered to be sapient. “I’m curious, are there any blind ponies in Ponyville?” Spike asks the two pegasi curiously. “Uh, you might want to ask Pinkie, but I think there’s a mare called ‘Beifong’ who’s blind.” Rainbow Dash says. “Why is it not considered sapient?” Twilight asks. “From what researchers have observed, aside from huddling in a corner, or attacking anything that sees its face, the specimen has no other function.” Aris replies. Twilight nods and writes that on a scroll. SCP-096 is normally extremely docile, with pressure sensors inside its cell indicating it spends most of the day pacing by the eastern wall. However, when someone views SCP-096’s face, whether it be directly, via video recording, or even a photograph, it will enter a stage of considerable emotional distress. SCP-096 will cover its face with its hands and begin screaming, crying, and babbling incoherently. Approximately one (1) to two (2) minutes after the first viewing, SCP-096 will begin running to the person who viewed its face (who will from this point on be referred to as SCP-096-1). “So anypony or anything that sees its face becomes an SCP?” Spike whispers to himself. Aris hears this but does not reply. Documented speeds have varied from thirty-five (35) km/h to ███ km/h, and seems to depend on distance from SCP-096-1. “I can fly way faster than that!” Rainbow Dash says. “Rainbow, that Shy Guy doesn’t have any magic or wings, so to see something accelerate to such speeds would be terrifying,” says Twilight. Rainbow Dash had to agree. At this point, no known material or method can impede SCP-096’s progress. The actual position of SCP-096-1 does not seem to affect SCP-096’s response; it seems to have an innate sense of SCP-096-1’s location. Note: This reaction does not occur when viewing artistic depictions (see Document 096-1). “Well, it’s nice to know that they have some way of viewing 096’s face without triggering its hostility.” Twilight comments. “Yeah.” Spike concurs, “But still, can you imagine if that thing was in Equestria? Stopping it would be near impossible.” “But then again, according to the file, SCP-096 only becomes violent whenever somepony sees its face.” Rainbow Dash argues. “Therefore, all we have to do is look at anything but its face, and we’ll be safe.” Twilight and Spike look at the Pegasus mare in shock. “What?” She huffs. “Well, we can expect this type of smartness from Fluttershy or Pinkie,” Twilight said, “But you, Rainbow? You normally tend to rush in head first without asking questions.” Rainbow Dash huffs in response. “C’mon, I’m not that reckless, I can think ahead. I’m just not an overthinking egghead like you.” She then points a hoof at Twilight. A small lock of Twilight’s mane seems to twinge out of place at that comment. “Hey, I do not overthink!” She spoke offendedly. “Do I even need to bring up that one time you went crazy because you thought the Princess would send you back to magic kindergarten if you didn’t send your weekly friendship report?” Rainbow crosses her front hooves. Aris sees Twilight narrow her brow at the rainbow pegasus, and chooses to step in before the argument gets any more heated. “Settle down, you two.” He orders firmly, his voice sharp enough to catch both mares’ attention. “You may discuss this at a later date, but not now.” The two mares begrudgingly agree and settle back down in their seats. From the corner of his eye, however, he sees Rainbow Dash stick her tongue out at the purple unicorn. Twilight sticks out her own tongue in response. Aris sighs in annoyance before continuing the file. ‘This almost reminds me of two of my A.I. siblings.’ Upon arriving at SCP-096-1’s location, SCP-096 will proceed to kill and [DATA EXPUNGED] SCP-096-1. 100% of cases have left no traces of SCP-096-1. Fluttershy elicits an ‘eep’ at that information, hiding half her face behind her mane. “No traces?” Twilight asks with eyes wide as dinner plates. “No bodies, or…body parts? Just nothing?” “What does he do with the remains?” Spike asks while shivering, not sure if he really wants to know the answer. Thankfully, Aris does not respond. SCP-096 will then sit down for several minutes before regaining its composure and becoming docile once again. It will then attempt to make its way back to its natural habitat, [DATA REDACTED] “Where did the Shy Guy come from?” Spike asks the A.I. Aris only shakes his head. “Like so many other SCPs, the origins of 096 are shrouded in mystery. All I can say is that the object was discovered in an isolated mountain range, the name and location of which is classified.” Due to the possibility of a mass chain reaction, including breach of Foundation secrecy and large civilian loss of life, retrieval of subject should be considered Alpha priority. The girls and Spike nod in agreement. If SCP-096 really is this dangerous, then it shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near populated areas. If one look at its face is all it takes, then if it wandered into a city, it could be catastrophic. Dr. ███ has also petitioned for immediate termination of SCP-096 (see Interview 096-1). Order is awaiting approval. Termination order has been approved, and is to be carried out by Dr. ███ on [DATA REDACTED]. See Incident-096-1-A. “Incident?” Fluttershy asks. “Yes. One of the worst containment breaches in Foundation history.” Aris says. “But that’s a story for another time.” The red Artificial Intelligence faces the quartet. “This file also contains an audio log. Would you like to hear it?” The group nods as Aris snaps his fingers and plays the audio log. “Now, this log details the SCP Foundation’s first interaction with the object.” Audio log from Interview 096-1: Retrieval Incident #096-1-A Interviewer: Dr. ███ Interviewed: Captain (Ret.) █████████, former commander of retrieval team Zulu 9-A [████████ ████████ Time, Research Area ██] Capt. █████████: It always sucks ass to get Initial Retrieval duty. You have no idea what the damn thing is capable of besides what jacked-up information the field techies can scrape up, and you’re lucky if they even tell you the whole story. They told us to “bag and tag.” Didn’t tell us jackshit about not looking at the damn thing. “Okay, that’s just getting annoying.” Rainbow Dash growls. “What is?” Spike asks. “All the information that’s being hidden,” Rainbow replies. “We don’t even know the Commander’s name.” “Well, I can see why,” Twilight says before explaining. “If something so trivial, such as the name of the captain, is ever revealed, then ponies who access this file can easily track him down.” Rainbow Dash and Spike understand why. Fluttershy, however, is speaking to Aris. “Why didn’t they warn them not to look at the Shy Guy’s face?” “I’m afraid I don’t why either, or if they had known of its hostile nature.” Aris says sadly. Dr. ███: Could you describe the mission, please? Capt. █████████: Yeah, sorry. We had two choppers, one with my team and one on backup with Zulu 9-B and Dr. ██████. We spotted the target about two clicks north of our patrol path. I’m guessing he wasn’t facing our direction, else he would have taken us out then and there. “Oh thank goodness. No pony died,” Fluttershy whispered to herself in relief. Dr. ███: Your report says SCP-096 didn’t react to the cold? It was -██o C. Capt. █████████: Actually, it was -██. And yes, it was butt naked and didn’t so much as shiver. The ponies and dragon are impressed. SCP-096 seems to be unaffected by freezing temperatures despite lacking a fur coat. Anyway, we landed, approached the target, and Corporal ██ got ready to bag it. That’s when Dr. ██████ called. I turned to answer it, and that’s what saved me. The target must have turned and my whole squad saw it. “Oh no.” Fluttershy whimpers, realizing she just jinxed herself. Dr. ███: That’s when SCP-096 entered an agitated emotional state? Capt. █████████: Yep. [Interviewee now pauses for a second before continuing] Sorry. Got the willies for a second. Dr. ███: That’s all right. Capt. █████████: Yeah. Well, I never saw its face. My squad did, and they paid for it up the ass. Dr. ███: Could you describe it a little more, please? Capt. █████████: [Pauses] Yeah, yeah. It started screaming at us, and crying. Not animal roaring though, sounded exactly like a person. Really fucking creepy. [Pauses again] We started firing when it picked up Corporal ██ and ripped off his leg. God, he was screaming for our help… fuckin’ A… “Um… C-could you pause, please?” Fluttershy asks as she darts to the bathroom and proceeds to vomit. Concerned for their friend’s health, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle also get up and rush to the butterscotch mare. Aris, having already paused the video, just remains on his hologram projector, looking in the direction the quartet had run in. A look of sympathy formed on his normally stoic face. At that moment, Owlicious hovers from his stand and lands closer to the A.I., his gaze still transfixed in the direction of where the girls went. He turns his head around and gives a concerned look at Aris. “I probably should’ve better warned them.” He says to the Owl. “Whoo,” Owlicious hoots. “Yeah. Even he would’ve taken advantage of this to poke fun at me.” He added in annoyance. “Whoo~” After a few minutes, the quartet returns, with Fluttershy wiping her mouth with a cloth, her eyes noticeably watery. She is also carrying a small glass of water, and taking a few small sips. “Are you feeling better, Mrs. Shy?” Aris asks. Fluttershy remains quiet, weakly nodding her head. “Perhaps I should have given you a warning for how graphic these recordings were, I’ll make note of that in the future.” “...Thank you…” She spoke barely above a whisper. Everyone began to sit back down, Fluttershy sitting much closer to Rainbow Dash than she was. Before unpausing the recording, Aris manifests a small glass of water into the butterscotch mare’s hooves. Anyway, we were blowing chunks out of the target, round after round. Didn’t do jackshit. I almost lost it when it started [DATA EXPUNGED] him. Dr. ███: That’s when you ordered the use of an [Papers are heard moving] AT-4 HEDT launcher? Capt. █████████: An anti-tank gun. Started carrying it ever since SCP-███ got loose. I’ve seen those tear through tanks like tissue paper. Did the same thing to the target. “I don’t understand.” Twilight looks a bit annoyed. “What is a tank?” “Tanks are heavily armored combat vehicles used by human militaries as a primary offensive weapon in ground combat.” Aris displays multiple images depicting various tanks, each hailing from a different country. “As for an AT-4, the projectiles they fire travel at a muzzle velocity between 220 to 290 meters per second.” The three ponies and the baby dragon give a simultaneous, “Wow~” Dr. ███: There was significant damage to SCP-096? Capt. █████████: It didn’t even fucking flinch. It kept tearing apart my squad, but with half of its torso gone. [He draws a large half-circle across his torso] “But how did that thing not die?” Twilight asks incredulously. “By all logic, it should be dead.” “But, isn’t that what an anomaly is, Twilight? Something that doesn’t follow logic?” Fluttershy asks. “Yeah…well… There has to be some logic to all of this!” Twilight’s overly logical mind is having difficulties accepting how SCP-096 could still exist after being shot with something so powerful. To the side, some snickering is heard, and a quick glance tells that it’s coming from Rainbow Dash. “Egghead.” She whispers to herself, but loud enough for Twilight to hear, causing her scowl to return. Dr. ███: But it was taking damage? Capt. █████████: If it was, it wasn’t showing it. It must have lost all its organs, all its blood, but it didn’t acknowledge any of it. Its bone structure wasn’t hurt at all, though. It kept tearing my squad apart. Dr. ███: So no actual structural damage. How many rounds would you say were fired at SCP-096? Capt. █████████: At the least? A thousand. Our door gunner kept his GAU-19 on it for at least twenty seconds. Twenty fucking seconds. That’s six hundred .50 caliber rounds pumped into the thing. Might as well been spitting at it. Rainbow Dash whistles at the amount of damage SCP-096 had sustained. She has no idea what weapons humans utilized, nor exactly what a GAU-19 is, but if it’s similar to a mounted crossbow, and can fire so many projectiles in 20 seconds, then it must be very powerful. Dr. ███: This is when Zulu 9-B arrived? Capt. █████████: Yeah, and my squad was gone. Zulu 9-B managed to get the bag over its head, and it just sat down. We got it into the chopper and got it here. I don’t know how I never saw its face. Maybe God or Buddha or whoever thought I should live. The jackass. “I don’t know who those guys are, but that captain must’ve had a lot of survivor’s luck if he managed to not see 096’s face,” Spike says to the group. Dr. ███: We have obtained an artist’s depiction of SCP-096’s face. Would you like to view it? Capt. █████████: [Pauses] You know, after hearing that thing’s screams, and the screams of my men, I don’t think I want to put a face to what I heard. No. Just… no. Dr. ███: All right, I believe we are done here. Thank you, Captain. [Chairs are heard moving, and footsteps leave the room. Captain (Ret.) █████████ is confirmed to have left Interview Room 22.] Dr. ███: Let this be on record that I am formally requesting SCP-096 be terminated as soon as possible. With that, the entry is finally done and Aris says to the quartet, “I believe that’s all for now. I suggest taking a break, all of you.” He looks to Fluttershy with a stoic and sympathetic expression. Everyone nods at the A.I.’s suggestion. After what they learned about 096’s docile and violent nature, they needed to get their minds off of it. The Unicorn and Pegasus mares, along with Spike, all stand up from their seats, with Owlicious flying next to Twilight. “And before you go,” Everyone stops to look at Aris. “If any of you want to look at another SCP file, the next one I’ll show will be a more friendlier anomaly.” “Okay,” Twilight nods while her friends accept the A.I.’s suggestion. Fluttershy nods too. After the quartet leaves the room, Aris demanifests himself and the Foundation terminal begins closing itself up. The attached screen transforms and folds itself up before dematerializing. Within several seconds, the terminal is turned back into a portable case. Author's Note Hello, everyone! Wow, this took a lot longer than I intended. Let’s just say that I’ve had a lot going on since my last post. 4th of July, visiting Yellowstone and Jackson National Parks before the start of August, and celebrating my 22nd birthday on the 3rd. Thankfully, with the help of my Co-Author, I was able to pull through and finish this chapter successfully. You are very welcome my friend. My heart goes out for Fluttershy though. There was a bit more for her to handle in this chapter. Yeah, and that was just with SCP-096. The other violent anomalies (106, 682, 4666) will be too much for her to bear. Thankfully, she won’t be reacting to the Yule Man; that I will say. So, that was the SCP-096 file by Dr. Dan. I won’t be doing Incident-096-1-A until the girls have read other SCPs and have gained a better understanding of the Foundation. The next chapter will be about a Safe-class anomaly; one that’s very friendly to people. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Until next time, everyone. //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-131 (Full Article) //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-131 (Full Article) Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, and Rainbow Dash trot into the main room of Golden Oaks. Today will be the last day they are snowed in until the Pegasi remove the snow clouds. At least, for today, Winter Wrap-Up is still months away. The girls and Spike reenter the main room where Twilight opens and turns the Foundation terminal on. The screen comes to life and displays the SCP Foundation logo, just like yesterday and Aris appears. He has a stoic, friendly smile on his face. “Good even, Mrs. Sparkle,” Aris greets before peering to look at the others. “And friends.” “Good even to you too, Aris.” Twilight replies as her friends smile back at him. “Are we ready to review another file?” Aris asks. “Yes, we are.” Twilight nods before turning to face her friends; Rainbow Dash, Spike, and even Fluttershy nod. Aris disappears from the screen as the larger screen connected to the terminal reappears on the wall. Aris then reappears on the terminal’s projection podium as the girls sit down just like they did yesterday, Twilight pulling out her notebook while Spike lounges with his arms behind his head. Fluttershy sits next to Rainbow Dash, but not as close as she was yesterday. “So, what SCP will we look at today?” asks Fluttershy. She looked to be feeling much better today after the intense lecture on SCP-096 last night. “I mean, you said this one would be friendlier than the last two.” “Yes, I did. Today we will be looking at SCP-131, a Safe-class object,” says Aris as he folds his arms behind his back. The four friends smile at this. After reading up on two dangerous Euclid-class SCPs, a Safe-class anomaly feels like a good change of pace. “Now, before we begin, I would like to mention that some SCPs consist of more than a single anomaly.” Aris explains as he prepares the file. “For example, SCP-131 are actually two anomalous creatures instead of one.” “Really?” Twilight asks as she pulls out a notebook. “Yes,” Aris replies before snapping his fingers, and the audio file plays. Item #: SCP-131 Object Class: Safe Special Containment Procedures: No special safety procedures are to be taken with SCP-131-A and SCP-131-B. They are free to travel about Site-19 so long as they do not attempt to enter any restricted areas or attempt to leave the facility. Casual contact with the subjects is permitted, but it is recommended that such contact be kept to a minimum to prevent the creatures from forming an attachment to personnel. “People aren’t allowed to form attachments with the SCP-131s? Why?” Spike questions. “To avoid causing distractions during dangerous experiments and site operations.” Aris simply answers. “Site-19 houses more anomalies than any other facility, and given that some of them are very dangerous, Hourly tabs are to be kept on subjects at all times; failure to account for their presence at these times constitutes a level one lockdown situation. Any report of abuse or mistreatment of the subjects will result in a harsh reprimand. Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief, a soft smile on her lips. Glad to know that some of the friendlier anomalies are treated a lot better. Description: SCP-131-A and SCP-131-B (affectionately nicknamed the "Eye Pods" by personnel) are a pair of teardrop-shaped creatures roughly 30 cm (1 ft) in height, with a single blue eye in the middle of their bodies. SCP-131-A is burnt orange in color while SCP-131-B is mustard yellow. At the base of each creature is a wheel-like protrusion which allows for locomotion, suggesting that the creatures may be biomechanical in origin. An image of both SCP-131-A and SCP-131-B appears on the screen. Twilight uses her magic to sketch a quick drawing of both instances down on her notepad. “They look kinda cute.” Fluttershy says, brushing a bit of her mane out of her face. “And weird.” Spike adds with a slight cringe, noting the large, unblinking eyes. The subjects can move surprisingly fast, covering over 60 m (200 ft) in a matter of seconds. The subjects, however, lack a braking system, which has led to some rather spectacular, if not overly amusing, mishaps involving the creatures. The subjects have also shown the ability to climb sheer surfaces, and have gotten lost in the air vents on more than one occasion. The baby dragon and the three ponies snicker at this. “They probably don’t have a good sense of directions.” Rainbow Dash remarks. “Not anymore, though,” says Aris, having heard of a staff member helping the two SCPs before he was sent to Equestria. “If they don’t have any appendages, how are SCP-131-A and -B able to scale solid surfaces? Do they have magnets in their spherical protrusions?” asks Twilight, earning a nod from Aris. The subjects seem to have the intelligence of common house cats and are insatiably curious. Most of the time they simply roll around the facility, observing personnel at work and catching peeks at other Safe class SCPs. “Hey, Aris,” Rainbow Dash speaks up, prompting the Foundation A.I. to pause the video. “Didn’t you say Site-19 harbors hundreds of anomalies?” Aris nods his head. “Yes, Mrs. Dash. Site-19 is the largest Foundation facility we have on record.” “How large is this Site-19?” Twilight asks, looking up from her notepad. Aris only shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I cannot share the specifics with any of you. All I will say is that Site-19 is a critical facility.” He answers, playing the video again before the quartet can even ask. Twilight feels a bit upset and a twinge of annoyance at the A.I. brushing off her question, but goes back to writing in her notepad so as not to miss any details. The subjects seem to be able to communicate with each other via an untranslatable high-pitched babbling. The subjects have never been observed to blink, even in laboratories when the subjects have been videotaped for over 18 consecutive hours. “Hm, I wonder if I could be able to understand them.” Fluttershy says to herself quietly. The subjects seem to respond well to any affection given to them and will quickly bond to the giver of said affection, much in the same way a puppy bonds with a human being. They will follow anyone or anything they've made a bond with anywhere, even into normally restricted areas. Twilight and Fluttershy both coo at this. The yellow pegasus even placing her hoof to her chest, genuinely finding both 131 A and B to be more and more adorable. Part of her is really starting to wish she could have the chance to meet them. She doesn’t care about the rule of not showing affection to them, all she wants is to hug them. Twilight, however, is imagining them as little miniature assistants. Spike is her number one, Owlowiscious is her number two, and these Eye Pods as her number three and four. If they respond positively to affection, they could probably then be trained. She smiles wide at the thought, adding her thoughts as a side note on her notepad. Although curious, the subjects can sense danger in their general vicinity, and if the object of their bond begins to approach something they register as dangerous (e.g., Euclid or Keter class objects) they will swarm around their bonded companion's feet (or appropriate extremities) while babbling in a panicked tone, as if to warn them. Because of the daily dangers faced by Site-19 staff in dealing with Euclid and Keter-class objects, it is recommended that staff avoid making attempts to bond with the subjects, as it can pose a distraction during delicate operations and experiments and may pose a danger to the subjects themselves (see Addendum 131-1). Twilight sighs while frowning. ‘I guess I can understand why the Foundation forbids anypony—er, anyone—from bonding with these little guys.’ She says in her head. If Owlowiscious acted this way, flapping around frantically if the unicorn mare were practicing a rather dangerous spell, it could throw off her concentration. Twilight could hurt herself, or somepony else if she messed up the spell. She knows for a fact she would either have to get rid of Owlowiscious or retire him as her nighttime assistant. She goes back to her side note about the Eye Pods potentially being assistants and draws a big X over it. If the subjects are ignored by their bonded target long enough, they will eventually lose interest and return to their normal activities. It should be noted that the subjects require no real care or maintenance from the site staff. They do not eat, leave droppings, or even sleep. It would seem that the only sustenance they require is visual stimulation (although this requires further study to verify). SCP-131-A and SCP-131-B were found in a cornfield outside ████████████ in the year 19██. They were promptly transported to Site-19 via [DATA EXPUNGED] and were then downgraded to Safe class and given free rein across the site once it became clear they were not broadcasting what they saw to any hostile foreign powers. “What were they doing in the middle of a cornfield?” asks Rainbow Dash, turning to look at her friends, half of whom shrug. “The poor things must’ve gotten lost.” says Fluttershy, pouting out her lower lip. Addendum 131-1: During an incident that took place on ██/██/████, SCP-131-A and B followed one of the cleaning staff on routine cleaning of the container of SCP-173. After their normal attempts to warn the cleaner of the danger were ignored, the creatures rushed into the container in front of him and the other two personnel on duty. Once inside, the staff members observed the subjects sitting in front of SCP-173 and watching it intently, as if aware that it could only move if unobserved. Twilight and the others smile at this. Since they cannot blink their eyes, the Eye Pods must’ve proven quite helpful in keeping the Sculpture immobile. Twilight jots this down, wondering if the eyepods could be used as permanent observers when 173’s chamber needs to be cleaned. They could add a new level of safety to everyone involved with 173’s containment. The cleaners ignored the presence of the subjects and continued with the bi-weekly cleaning as per standard procedures. When the cleaning crew left, the subjects did as well, rolling backward slowly and never taking their eyes off of SCP-173. Current applications of SCP-131-A and SCP-131-B as "wardens" for SCP-173 (and perhaps other SCPs which require constant observation, such as SCP-689) are being considered. “What’s SCP-689?” Twilight asks, looking up from her notebook. “SCP-689 is a small green soapstone statue of a skeletal human.” Aris replies. “If a person who directly viewed the anomaly took their eyes off it, SCP-689, it would vanish and the subject would die instantaneously, with the SCP soon reappearing on the subject’s remains.” The ponies and Spike all react to that statement with a small flinch. A look of both concern and worry on their faces. “So, this thing is like 173?” asks Rainbow Dash. “In a way, Mrs. Dash. 689 and 173 do have some similarities, but there are several factors that differentiate the two. But that’s a subject for another possible time.” The girls and Spike nod as the large screen changes to the idle screen. Twilight wraps up her notes, looking at them one last time. “So, that was SCP-131. Would any of you like to share your thoughts?” asks Aris. The ponies and dragon think for a second before Twilight raises her hoof. “Yes, Ms. Sparkle?” “So, if the Eye Pods were given approval to be wardens for SCP-173 and other anomalies, wouldn’t that also cause their classes to be updated?” Twilight asks as she looks over her notes from yesterday. “That could indeed bring their class status into discussion.” Aris nods. “Potentially updating SCP-131’s classification from Safe to Thaumiel. But as of right now, this is still only being considered.” Twilight smiles and writes down Aris’s response before setting her notepad down and letting out a relaxed sigh. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike also look a lot more relaxed after this lecture than they did with 173, and 096’s lecture last night. “It was certainly a great introduction to the Safe classification, Aris,” says Twilight, with Fluttershy nodding in agreement. “Yes. It was nice to learn about an SCP that’s much nicer and not a big scary monster.” says the butterscotch mare, giving the red AI a friendly smile. Rainbow Dash and Spike also nod in agreement. “Well, I’m glad you approve of 131.” Aris begins. “Now, unless any of you would like to read to another SCP file, I believe that is all for today.” Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Spike look at each other for a moment, before turning back to Aris and shaking their heads. Aris nods, and with a snap of his fingers, the large screen folds in on itself and disappears. That was all for today’s session. “Aris, can I ask you something?” Twilight asks. Aris stops before he can re-enter his terminal. “Yes, Mrs. Twilight?” “Is it possible I could invite the rest of my friends to listen to the next SCP?” asks the lavender mare. Aris raises an eyebrow at this request. He knows his priorities, and he can’t just share top-secret information with random civilians, human or otherwise. If they weren’t given anmestics, then it would be a major breach of Foundation secrecy, even in another dimension. However, Twilight Sparkle and her present friends have been very cooperative and genuinely interested in all the files so far. He recalls the three rules he made yesterday and begins heavily pondering his answer. “And how many friends do you speak of?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. “Just three.” Author's Note Hello, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed our first Safe-class SCP. You all were probably expecting SCP-999, and believe me, I was initially planning on covering the Tickle Monster for this chapter. However, due to outside factors, I decided to go with the Eye Pods. Don’t worry, I will have the girls read 999’s file later in the future, but I still have yet to determine when. So next time, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack will be joining the party, and we’ll be covering another popular SCP. I won’t be giving any hints as to which SCP is coming up next. Best to keep my readers in the dark for now. Anyway, SCP-131 was written by Lt Masipag on the SCP Wiki. I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. I’d like to give a special thanks to my co-author k00l (https://www.fimfiction.net/user/380059/k00l) for proofreading an editing this, and I’ll see you all next time. Later. //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-682 (full article) (edit: 10/29/24) //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-682 (full article) (edit: 10/29/24) Spike is cleaning the table in the main room of Golden Oaks, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are helping him. Twilight is currently out getting her friends, as it is the day they introduce the rest of the group to the Foundation AI, Aris. Plus, it’s been more than a week since the baby dragon last saw one of the girls. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to wait much longer when he hears a knock on the front door. Knowing who it is, Spike walks over and opens it. There he sees Twilight standing in front of him with a smile, and standing right behind her are the rest of their friends. She smiles at her number one assistant before trotting back into Golden Oaks, followed by the other ponies. The first is an orange earth pony mare wearing a farm hat. She greets the baby dragon by tipping her hat and saying, “Howdy they-yur, girls.” “Hey Applejack,” Fluttershy greets back. Next, a large, pink earth pony enters, hopping up and down happily before the trio. “Hey Pinkie!” says Rainbow Dash. “Hey, everypony!” Pinkie says as she hops into the Library, Spike watching her. “Hello, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike.” a third female voice speaks from behind the baby dragon. Spike widens his eyes before slowly turning around to the owner of that voice. Standing in the doorway is Rarity; a beautiful white unicorn mare with curled purple hair. Upon seeing her, the baby dragon’s mouth drops open as little hearts emanate from his head. “Heyyyy, Rarity.” Spike says dreamily, staring at his crush. Suddenly, he seems to realize what he is doing and steps back, gesturing for the fashionista to come into the Library. Rarity chuckles demurely and gently ruffles his head frills before entering. As everypony trots into the main room of Golden Oaks, Fluttershy closes and locks the main door behind Rarity. “I’m really glad the three of you could come over today and join us. I hope it wasn’t horrible for the three of you being snowed in a week ago,” Twilight says to Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack. “Oh, it was alright, darling,” says Rarity, waving her hoof in a friendly manner. “I had Opalescence and Pinkie here to keep me company.” Pinkie Pie nods her head before saying, “Yep! I couldn’t leave one of my friends snowed in by herself for three entire days with nopony to talk to but herself.” “And I appreciate it, Pinkie dear,” Rarity looks at Pinkie Pie and gives her a thankful smile. “Mah family ‘n Aah endured that they’re snowstorm too,” says Applejack. “Nothin’ en Sweet Apple Acres was damaged ‘n we had an okay time together.” Twilight and her friends smile at this, knowing Applejack’s tenacity on her family farm. They have visited her farm before on multiple occasions, whether it was her needing help or just plain visiting her. The farm pony may sometimes be stubborn, but her passion for her work and her family is admirable. She can imagine the Apple siblings along with their granny had a great time just spending time with themselves. “Anywho, what about you four? Did you do anything last weekend?” Applejack asks. Fluttershy, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight look at each other before Rainbow answers. “…You could say that.” “Spike, could you close all the blinds?” Twilight asks her number one assistant, who nods and heads over to do as instructed. “What’s going on?” asks Pinkie before suddenly becoming excited. “Ooo, ooo! Is this some kind of surprise you have for us?! Is that why you invited all of us to your Library, Twi?” Twilight only chuckles at the pink pony’s excitement. Pinkie Pie loves surprises as much as she loves parties, especially surprise parties. “Well, it is why I invited you all hear, but it’s not a surprise,” says Twilight, shaking her head. “Sorry, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie stops bouncing when she hears Twilight’s answer and gives a disappointed look. “Aww~” she draws out before smiling happily again. Twilight sees Spike return and tells her that he closed all the blinds, and she thanks him. She then turns back to Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie with a serious look on her face. “What we’re about to tell you girls is a huge, HUGE secret. Promise me you will never tell anypony else about this.” The two earth ponies and unicorn mares look at each other in confusion before looking back at the unicorn mare and nodding their heads. With that, Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, and Rainbow Dash begin to explain the package they found during the snowstorm that was sent by a shadow organization from another dimension called the SCP Foundation. The package in question contained a terminal with this Foundation’s entire database of anomalous objects that are available to read or listen to. For the past few days, they have been shown a few anomalies in the database, clarifying how some anomalies were friendly and others kinda dangerous. Pinkie Pie is amazed by this. A super-secret agency that deals with abnormalities in the dark. Applejack and Rarity, however, are a bit skeptical, though mostly Rarity, as the former can tell they are telling the truth. Still, the cowpony has a hard time believing her friends’ story. “And could you show us this ‘terminal’ you speak of?” Rarity asks, giving her friends an amusing smile. “Sure, Rarity,” says Fluttershy, being the one to answer this time. “Rainbow Dash and I set it up in the main room so we could go over any of the files.” “Why thank you, girls.” Twilight thanks the butterscotch mare. “I assume you turned it on?” Rainbow Dash nods her head. “Yeah. He’s waiting for us.” Twilight nods before turning to the rest of her friends and gesturing to follow her, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity exchange looks with one another regarding this “he” they mentioned, but decide to follow them. Upon entering the main room, the trio sees their friends standing next to the Foundation terminal, which is set on the table and its screen enlarged and set on the wall. The enlarged screen is displaying the SCP Foundation logo, which is currently spinning around left and right. “Ooh!” Pinkie Pie trots towards the terminal and looks at it from every angle. “This is the device sent from this super secret group from Earth?!” she asks excitedly. “Yes, it is, Pinkie,” answers Twilight, smiling at her pink friend’s enthusiasm. Applejack and Rarity trot over and examine the machine with Pinkie. They are deeply curious about this machine from another dimension, supposedly created by creatures of myth that exist in another dimension. The three also notice that it possesses a keyboard similar to one found on a typewriter. Though still a bit skeptical, they had to admit the terminal did look otherworldly. “This terminal thing of yours sure looks interesting, Twi,” says Applejack, with Rarity nodding in agreement. “Yes,” the fashionista begins to say as she looks at the terminal, “though, I can’t say the same with these colors. It needs a little more artistic drabness in my opinion.” Twilight just rolls her eyes. Pinkie however got uncomfortably close to the terminal, her eyes only inches away from the screen. Then looking down at the keyboard, her hoof inching towards the buttons, but hesitantly not touching them. “So, Twi,” begins Applejack as she steps away from the device, “do ya know why a secret agency from another dimension sent ya this ‘ere terminal?” “Actually, they didn’t,” says Twilight. “This was supposed to go to somepony else.” “Somepony else? Who?” Rarity asks while Pinkie moves her hoof away from the keyboard. “No clue,” Rainbow Dash answers. “There was a letter that came with the package, but half of it was incinerated when Spike accidentally set the package ablaze.” Fluttershy shows them what’s left of the aforementioned letter. “Plus, the package didn’t have any information on who it’s supposed to go to, or where they are. Even Aris doesn’t remember,” says Spike before noticing the red AI manifesting on the terminal’s pedestal right next to Pinkie Pie. “Oh… Who’s Aris?” Pinkie asks, oblivious to the AI standing next to her. “That would be me,” Aris replies in a calm, professional tone, startling the pink mare. Pinkie jumps before she, Rarity, and Applejack turn to face him and are further taken aback by his appearance. While Rarity and Applejack both look on in shock, Pinkie looks very curious about Aris. “Good evening, Spike, Ms. Sparkle, Ms. Shy, and Ms. Dash.” Aris greets the four at the back with a polite smile. “Hey Aris,” Twilight greets back. Aris looks around and notices the three new ponies looking at him. “Are these the friends you told me of, Ms. Sparkle?” He asks Twilight, who replies with a nod. The red artificial intelligence looks at each of the three new mares in front of him with a stoic expression, taking in their appearances. Rarity would’ve felt somewhat offended in her shocked state if Aris hadn’t been staring at her for less than five seconds. “Greetings.” Aris says to the three ponies. “I am Unit A-01740, or Aris; the artificial intelligence built into this terminal.” Pinkie Pie suddenly zips toward Aris in the blink of an eye, giving him a huge, excited smile. The red AI looks up at her without so much as flinching, though he is a bit startled by the pink pony suddenly showing up in front of him. “Hi-there-I’m-Pinkie-Pie-What-are-you-You-look-like-an-ape-with-no-fur-Are-you-here-to-_” Before the pink mare could rant any further, Twilight steps in and puts a hoof to her mouth to silence the party pony. “Pinkie, please.” Twilight says before looking at Aris. “Sorry about that, Aris. Pinkie can get really excited when meeting anypony, or anybody, new.” Aris raises an eyebrow, noting the party pony’s hyperactive personality. “It is alright, Ms. Sparkle.” he dismisses politely before turning to the other two mares. “So, I assume you both are Applejack and Rarity?” The farmpony and the fashionista are shaken out of their stupor by Aris’s question, and they both look at him. “Uh, yeah. That’s us.” Applejack answers, scratching the back of her head. “Mmhmm.” Rarity nods, her eyes then widening slightly as she takes in Aris’s full appearance. “Say, your mane is quite unique, and elegant.” Aris gives the fashionista a raised eyebrow before catching onto what she meant. His eyes look upward towards his hair, which was short and combed back neatly. Despite being programmed to look how he does, he still uses a hand to slick some of his hair behind his ear. “Why thank you, Ms. Rarity.” Aris responds. Twilight went on to explain the deal she made with Aris to her other friends; she would keep the AI safe with her from the public, as well as provide him with their world’s knowledge, in exchange for some of the SCP Foundation’s knowledge. That is until he determines the identity of the official client. She was also able to gain the AI’s permission to invite Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to their next orientation as long they promise never to speak of him, the SCP Foundation, or anything else related. Aris made sure to give the three of them the rules in the same stern, non-threatening, intimidating tone he used when he first met Twilight, which as expected, worked. After confirming their promises, Aris and Twilight decide to play the next SCP entry, but first, explain the object classification system to the others. Aris conjures a couch and three chairs and gestures for the girls and Spike to sit down. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike sit on the couch together while Twilight and Fluttershy sit in each of the chairs. He then explains the object classification system to Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity so they have a decent understanding of how they classify anomalies. So, which SCP will we be looking at today, Aris?” asks Twilight as she opens her notebook. “Today, we will be looking at SCP-682, better known as the ‘Hard-to-Destroy Reptile’,” says Aris. “The ‘Hard-to-Destroy Reptile’?” Applejack repeats. “Yes. It’s one of the few SCPs the Foundation is seeking to destroy.” “Hey, just like 096!” says Rainbow Dash, remembering that SCP was also set for termination. “Yes, like 096.” says Aris gesturing to the Rainbow pegasus. “Why is this SCP, as well as 096, set for termination?” Rarity asks. “I guess we’ll find out in this article,” says Twilight. “As for 096, let’s just say it is very dangerous.” “Twilight’s right,” says Spike as he shudders in place. “There is a reason why it’s called the Shy Guy.” Pinkie perks up upon hearing the butterscotch pegasus. “The Shy Guy, huh?” she asks. “Ooh! Maybe we can throw a big party for this ‘Shy Guy’ to cheer him up and help him overcome his shyness!” “NO!!” Fluttershy exclaims, causing some of her friends to look at her. “I mean, no. Please don’t,” she mumbles, attempting to hide her blushing cheeks in her mane. “Ms. Shy has a point. It’s best that SCP-096 is either kept locked up until the foreseeable future or terminated as soon as possible,” says Aris, backing Fluttershy up before disappearing into the terminal. “Aw.” Pinkie pouts as the audio file begins to play. Item #: SCP-682 Object Class: Keter “K-Keter?!” Fluttershy squeaks out. Aris told her this SCP wasn’t classified as Safe, but she never expected it to be a Keter. “Yikes.” Rainbow Dash whistles. Special Containment Procedures: SCP-682 must be destroyed as soon as possible. At this time, no means available to SCP teams are capable of destroying SCP-682, only able to cause massive physical damage. “Nothing can?” asks Pinkie. Aris appears on the screen and shakes his head. SCP-682 should be contained within a 5 m x 5 m x 5 m chamber with 25 cm reinforced acid-resistant steel plate lining all inside surfaces. The containment chamber should be filled with hydrochloric acid until SCP-682 is submerged and incapacitated. “Why would they use such a deadly substance to keep 682 contained?” Twilight asks, looking up from her notes. “It is to prevent SCP-682’s skin tissue from reaching its full potential,” answers Aris. Instantly, everypony present cringes. The thought that 682 has to be kept in such a state, its muscles exposed to the acid, feels cruel to them, but also makes them wonder how powerful 682 could get if taken out of its chamber. Any attempts of SCP-682 to move, speak, or breach containment should be reacted to quickly and with full force as called for by the circumstances. Applejack raises an eyebrow at how brutal the Foundation personnel are being to this SCP. “Isn’t that a bit unnecessary?” She asks Aris, who shakes his head. “Not at all, Ms. Applejack. SCP-682 has proven extremely intelligent and has even been able to convince some personnel or anomalies to come to his side. So it must be noted whenever it tries to speak.” he replies, but Applejack raises her eyebrow slightly, not fully convinced by his answer. So far from her perspective, and missing out on 096’s article, this “Foundation” seems far too harsh. Personnel are forbidden to speak to SCP-682, for fear of provoking a rage-state. All unauthorized personnel attempting to communicate to SCP-682 will be restrained and removed by force. Due to its frequent attempts at containment breach, difficulty of containment and incapacitation, and high threat of Foundation Exposure, SCP-682 is to be contained in site [REDACTED]. The Foundation will use the best of its resources to maintain all land within fifty (50) kilometers clear of human development. “All SCPs that pose a threat to human life are usually kept in facilities far away from human development,” Aris explains the system to the ponies. “As for the sites in question, they are to be expunged from record.” Spike, Twilight, and the girls understand where the AI is going. If a creature posing a serious danger to pony kind was kept locked up near a populated area and it broke out, a lot of innocent ponies could be killed. It reminds them of Tartarus; a prison keeping the most dangerous prisoners and monsters of Ponykind away from anypony that could be hurt by them. Description: SCP-682 is a large, vaguely reptile-like creature of unknown origin. “I don’t get it. How come no pony, or no human, knows where it comes from?” asks Pinkie. This time, Rarity is the one to answer. “Pinkie, dear, that’s what the term anomalous stands for. Something that should not exist, but does.” Twilight nods before adding, “She’s right, Pinkie. In Aris’s dimension, SCPs are not natural for their world. An example of something being anomalous for us, would be if the weather acted on its own, with no pegasi around to control it.” That’s when it clicks for Pinkie, her eyes widening before letting out a prolonged “Oooooh!” It appears to be extremely intelligent, and was observed to engage in complex communication with SCP-079 during their limited time of exposure. “What’s SCP-079?” asks Rainbow Dash. “According to the file, it is a micro-computer containing a super-intelligent AI,” says Aris. “So, non-livin’ things can be an SCP as well?” Applejack asks Aris. “Yes, Mrs. Pie. There are many SCPs contained by the Foundation that are inorganic, non-sentient objects, even geological locations.” The AI explains. “We’ll cover one of them today next.” SCP-682 appears to have a hatred of all life, which has been expressed in several interviews during containment. (See Addendum 682-B). SCP-682 has always been observed to have extremely high strength, speed, and reflexes, though exact levels vary with its form. SCP-682's physical body grows and changes very quickly, growing or decreasing in size as it consumes or sheds material. “IT CAN SHAPESHIFT?!” both Fluttershy and Spike exclaim. “Well, it seems to,” Twilight says. “From what the file has said, I think 682 is only capable of altering its height and mass.” “You are correct in your observation, Ms. Sparkle,” Aris says, impressed with the unicorn mare’s perception. “Yes, SCP-682 only has a limited shapeshifting ability.” Aris then displays an image of SCP-682 on the screen. “This was taken by a farmhand during an attack by SCP-682, which was when the Foundation made first contact. The photographer and everyone on the farm were killed.” The girls and Spike look up at the beast. It looks vaguely identical to that of an alligator or a crocodile, but its head is most terrifying to them. Part of its skull is exposed, showing its bony jaw and sharp teeth. The flesh it does have looks rotten and putrid as it hangs in clumps off its structure. 682’s body also looks heavily decayed, as noted by its partially visible ribcage, dorsal spikes, right foreleg, and left hindleg, giving the impression of a zombified dragon, but without wings. SCP-682 gains energy from anything it ingests, organic or inorganic. Digestion seems to be aided by a set of filtering gills inside of SCP-682's nostrils, which are able to remove usable matter from any liquid solution, enabling it to constantly regenerate from the acid it is contained in. SCP-682's regenerative capabilities and resilience are staggering, and SCP-682 has been seen moving and speaking with its body 87% destroyed or rotted. “That is honestly terrifying.” Rainbow Dash says. She can’t imagine what it would be like if most of her body was destroyed. She would be reduced to a talking head and would have to wait Celestia knows how long to regrow everything lost. “It may be, Ms. Dash. But regeneration isn’t 682’s only ability,” says Aris, catching the ponies and dragon’s attention. “It’s not?” asks Rarity. “Yes.” Aris nods. “682’s greatest asset, and the reason it’s proven impossible to terminate thus far, is its incredible adaptability to any and all external stimuli. Not only can the reptile develop a method of resisting all attacks, but it can often incorporate those attacks into its wide arsenal. The red AI proceeds to step closer to the girls and Spike. “For example, if someone unleashed a wave of fire on SCP-682, it will develop a fireproof hide to protect itself, and the ability to unleash fire of its own making.” “Hey, kinda like me!” says Spike, to which all eyes then land on him, causing him to feel a bit awkward. “Well, maybe not exactly like me. You all know what I mean.” In case of containment breach, SCP-682 is to be tracked and re-captured by all available Mobile Task Forces, and no teams with fewer than seven (7) members are cleared to engage it. To date (██-██-████), attempted breaches have numbered at seventeen (17), while successful breaches have numbered at six (6). (See Addendum 682-D). Addendum 682-B: Portion of recorded transcript of ██████. “According to the file, this is our first interview with SCP-682,” says Aris after popping up “How were you able to interview the mean, angry reptile?” asks Pinkie, unable to sit still. “The procedure is relatively simple,” Aris begins to explain. “We get a microphone and a member of D-Class to go into its chamber. And with that, a scientist interviews it.” “Hey, Aris, what exactly is a D-Class?” asks Applejack. Aris becomes silent again before saying, “That’s a topic for another time.” and then disappears into the terminal. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack look at each other confused, but turn back to the screen. Dr. ██████: Now, why did you kill those farmers? SCP-682: (No verbal communication) Dr. ██████: If you don't talk now, we will remove you from this attempt and place you back into- SCP-682: (Incomprehensible) Dr. ██████: Pardon? (Motions to move microphone closer) SCP-682: (Incomprehensible) Dr. ██████: Speak up. (To Personnel D-085) Move the mic up closer. SCP-682: …they were (Incomprehensible)… Dr. ██████: (To Personnel D-085) That microphone has only so much gain, move it closer to it! Personnel D-085: His throat's messed up man, look at it! He ain't talking- (Gasps and screams) Once again, Fluttershy feels queasy as she hears the screams of the other human, who is being attacked by that evil reptile. She would’ve rushed to the bathroom again if she wasn’t trying to endure it instead. The others are horrified by the man’s blood-curdling screams, only having their imaginations to figure out what just happened to the D-class. Twilight looks down at her notepad, her pencil hovering over the pages, the last thing written down was the D-class’s response. She shakes her head, not wanting to put in detail of what she just heard. SCP-682: (Appearing to assault D-085's body) …they were… disgusting… Dr. ██████: (Retreats from the room) “So…this monster finds every living creature disgusting?” asks Fluttershy timidly. “It appears so,” replies Aris. “And no, I don’t think you’ll be able to befriend it like with your animal friends.” Fluttershy looks at Aris, surprised and confused, and AI notices this. “How do you know I’m an animal caretaker?” she asks. “Ms. Sparkle told me,” he answers simply, recalling his first all-nighter with the lavender unicorn after the SCP-131 orientation. “Moving on, these are the breaches.” Addendum 682-D: Breaches with SCP-682: 1: First Occurrence, ██-██-████: Handled by Agent ███████, Agent ███, Agent ████████ (KIA), Personnel D-129 (KIA), Personnel D-027 (KIA), Personnel D-173 (KIA), Personnel D-200 (KIA), Personnel D-193 (KIA) 2: Second Occurrence, ██-██-████: Handled by Agent ███, Agent ████████████, Dr. ███████, Personnel D-124, Personnel D-137 (KIA), Personnel D-201 (KIA), Personnel D-202 (KIA), Personnel D-203 (KIA) 3: Third Occurrence, ██-██-████: Handled by Agent ███████, MSgt █████████, Agent ████████, Agent ██████ (KIA), Personnel D-018 (KIA), Personnel D-211 (KIA), Personnel D-216 4: Fourth Occurrence, ██-██-████: Handled by Agent ████████, SSgt ██████, TSgt █████, Pvt ████████, Pvt █████, Lt. ████████████, SSgt ████████ (KIA), Col ████████ (KIA), Pvt ███████ (KIA), Pvt ██████ (KIA), Agent ███ (KIA) 5: Fifth Occurrence, ██-██-████: Handled by Personnel D-221, Agent ██████████ (KIA), Agent ████████ (KIA), Agent ██████ (KIA), Personnel D-028 (KIA), Personnel D-111 (KIA), Personnel D-281 (KIA), Personnel D-209 (KIA) 6: Sixth Occurrence, ██-██-████: Handled by Agent ██████████, Agent ██████, Personnel D-291 (MIA), Agent ████████ (KIA), Agent █████████████ (KIA), Personnel D-299 (KIA), Personnel D-277 (KIA), Personnel D-278 (KIA), Personnel D-279 (KIA) Everypony feels queasy hearing this. So many deaths, and so many missing humans. “H-how many humans have been killed by 682?” Spike dared to ask, everypony now looking towards the AI. “Hard to say, really,” Aris answers as he rubs his chin. “Estimation range 682’s kill count to be between a few hundred, to a few thousand.” The room grows unnaturally quiet upon Aris’s answer, the look of awe plastered on some of the pony’s faces while a look of horror is on the others. Fluttershy covers her mouth with her hooves, feeling her stomach clench hard. Twilight’s jaw had practically hit the floor at hearing the total. She slowly looks down at her notepad and writes down the estimation, underlining it a few times. “I can see why the Foundation is looking to destroy it now.” Rainbow admits, breaking the silence. “Though Aah was a bit skeptical mahself. Aah reckon I’m startin’ to agree with ya, Rainbow.” Applejack speaks up. “He doesn’t sound very nice at all.” says Pinkie Pie, her mane slightly deflated with a sad frown on her face. “Perhaps then we should move onto the suggested methods proposed for 682’s termination.” Aris replies, snapping his fingers to continue the file. Addendum 682-E: Termination Options: Log of event 682-E18: Dr. █████ attempts to use SCP-409 on SCP-682. General ███, General ██████, and Dr. ██████████ observing. “SCP-409? What’s that?” asks Pinkie. Aris reappears on the pedestal and begins explaining. “409 is a crystal resembling quartz that crystallizes other matter that make contact with it.” Spike licks his lips at hearing this. “A crystal creates other crystals?” he asks, hungrily. Aris looks at Twilight in confusion. “Some dragons like him consume gems as a food source.” she quickly explains. Aris accepts this answer silently. In his artificial mind, he knows one of his sisters may see consumption of diamonds a waste of valuable minerals. Nevertheless, he shakes his head. “Not exactly, young Spike. It is not a crystal you’d like.” he replies ominously. “Why not? Crystals are just as delicious as gems.” argues Spike. Aris doesn’t say anything to answer Spike’s question. Instead, he simply snaps his fingers again, displaying another image on the screen for them to see, and receives a collection of horrified gasps from the baby dragon and the girls. The displayed image is that of a male human wearing an orange outfit and standing behind SCP-409, but the white crystal seems to be growing and spreading all around him. However, what really horrifies them is the fact that identical crystals seem to be spreading across his body, from his feet up to his raised arm. He appears to be screaming in agony as the crystals spread up his body, with some of it tearing his outfit apart. Aris turns to Spike, who looks away from the horrifying still image. “On second thought, I think I see why.” The red AI nods and dispels the image. “Let us continue with the cross test between SCP-682 and SCP-409.” 0400: Exposure. SCP-682 began to tear at the point of contact, causing massive trauma to the area. SCP-682 requests several times to know what it has been exposed to. 0800: Crystallization begins, spreading much slower than normal. 1200: SCP-682 shows signs of extreme pain, and begins having seizures Most of the girls and Spike are disturbed as they watch the video recording. Even though this is an evil monster, it still doesn’t take away the disturbing agony it was undergoing. Pinkie, however, gives a slight, sadistic smirk at this, though the others don’t notice this. 1300: Crystallization stops at 62% conversion. Crystallized area explodes, causing massive physical trauma to SCP-682 1400: SCP-682 recovers from exposure, despite the loss of limbs and organs. SCP-682 begins regeneration, stating that it will attempt to kill and consume all staff involved in Event 682-E18. “Dang it,” the pink pony groans. SCP-682 appears to now be immune to SCP-409. Use of other SCP items to terminate SCP-682 must now first be tested on samples of SCP-682 before full-scale testing. In accordance the Dr. ████████'s recommendations (see Document 27b-6), Dr. ███████ and Dr. █████ have requested permission to attempt the termination of SCP-682 using SCP-689. The request is currently pending approval from the ████████. It has also been suggested by Dr. Gears to use SCP-182 in an attempt to communicate with SCP-682. SCP-182 has expressed reluctance, and refuses to enter the containment center of SCP-682, if at all possible. “Doctor Gears? What kind of a name is that?” asks Rainbow Dash half-amused. “The name of one of the Foundation’s most prominent researchers, and the director of Site-17.” Aris replies. “Really?” asks Fluttershy, earning a nod from the red AI. “Well, somethin’ tells meh that if this Dr. Gears was in Equestria, then Twilight ‘ere could get along with him quite well,” says Applejack, pointing a hoof at Twilight, who smiles. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Aris says rather coldly, causing the unicorn mare to frown. “Anyway, that is all for now. I shall you all again soon for the next orientation.” Aris says. Before he can demanifest into the terminal, Pinkie Pie calls out to him. “WAIT!!!” Aris turns around to face the pink mare and asks, “Yes, Ms. Pie?” “What SCP will you show us next?” she asks. “…One you all might find interesting. SCP-294, the Coffee Machine.” Aris disappeared into the terminal without another word. A collective sigh from the group lasts for a brief moment before they stand up from their seats. They disperse to either grab a drink, use the restroom, or simply process the information they learned. Especially Applejack and Rarity, who are both still having a hard time wrapping their minds around what they just sat through. Twilight, however, remembers seeing one last sentence on the file before it stopped. Addendum 682-F: Termination Log: Experiment-Log-T-98816-oc108-682 Author's Note So, we have just covered the Hard-To-Destroy Reptile, our first Keter-class SCP, this chapter. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie meet Aris, and the girls and Spike get their first taste of how the SCP Foundation goes to such great lengths to protect humanity. I couldn’t have finished this chapter without the help of my co-author, k00l. My pleasure, friend. A lot of heads were turned in this chapter. I just feel a little bad for Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie that their first article was a keter. Lol, can’t say it wasn’t amusing though. It never is. So, if anyone here has the SCP Artbooks (specifically the Yellow book) you might recognize the image of SCP-409 in this chapter, made by Dan Temirov. I didn’t want to post the actual image into my chapter to avoid copyright issues, so I decided to describe it. As for the image of 682, that was made by an artist known as IsisMasshiro on Reddit. Also, I’ve got something I need to get off my chest. We all know that 682 can adapt to any internal or external stimuli, even magic. Now, before you start typing “The Magic of Friendship could be the key to defeating SCP-682 once and for all” in the comments, I wanna say something. While possible, it is extremely unlikely, and don’t forget, there is an extremely long list of termination attempts to back this up. But that’s not I want to say. The Lizard is extremely adaptable. If it was used on 682, he could not only develop an immunity to the magic of Friendship, but also incorporate that power into his arsenal to use against Equestria, bypassing the need for Element bearers completely. The latter result, or course, is very unlikely, and he could just develop a magic that serves as the polar opposite of Friendship to counter it. Still, even if it is possible, can you imagine SCP-682 bringing down magical stone-turning rainbows on the creatures of Equis and destroying them? Yikes! //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-294 (full article) //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-294 (full article) The next day, the Element Bearers and Spike have never been so ready to learn about a new SCP. As they wait for the orientation to start, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Spike munch on some popcorn, while Rarity sips some water. Twilight prepares her notebook and quill and settles down in her seat, eager and giddy about the next file. Aris appears on the hologram projector and faces the group with; a small smile present on his avatar’s face. “Now, as I have stated yesterday, anomalies come in all shapes and sizes. They can be either animate or inanimate. The SCP we will be covering today will help you understand that.” “You mean the Coffee Machine, Two-Nine-Four?” asks Pinkie. “Yes. Found in the USA.” “The USA?” asks Rainbow Dash, tossing a hoof full of popcorn into the air and catching it with her mouth. “The United States of America. One of the four largest countries on Earth,” replies Aris as he displays a map of the planet Earth. This garners a lot of “oohs” and “awws” from the group, especially Twilight, who begins to scribble down the map in her notebook. “There are 195 nations around the world’s seven continents; Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Asia.” “Wow, that’s a lot of countries!” says Pinkie. “Equis has many countries as well, but I doubt it’s as many as Earth.” says Twilight, thinking about the nations aside from Equestria; Saddle Arabia, Stalliongrad, the Dragon Lands, and Mexicolt. Item #: SCP-294 Object Class: Euclid Special Containment Procedures: There are no standard special containment procedures on file for Item SCP-294. “No procedures required? But isn’t 294 a Euclid class?” Fluttershy asks. “Fluttershy’s right. If this SCP was given this kind of classification, why is it not in containment?” asks Spike, reaching over to grab a clawful of popcorn. “Well, during the early years of the SCP Foundation, the three containment classifications were only about, as you can guess, containment,” Aris answers. “But as time went on, the classifications also accounted for our knowledge of the anomaly and how it works.” “Hmm…” Twilight scratched her chin. “So what that means, if 294 doesn't require containment, but is in the Euclid class, that means the foundation hasn't figured out its properties then right?” “That is correct Ms. Sparkle.” Aris nodded with a slight smile. However, only personnel of security clearance level 2 or higher are allowed to interact with it (see document SCP-294a). SCP-294 is currently being stored in the 2nd floor personnel break room and is monitored by two guards of security clearance level 3 at all times. “If Ah remember correctly, didn’ you say there are six security clearance levels for SCP personnel?” asks Applejack. “You are correct, Ms. Applejack,” Aris replies. “This has been implemented so that in the case of a containment breach, no untrustworthy person can make off with a dangerous anomaly.” “And how exactly does this work?” Twilight asks, curious about the system used. “For instance, there are certain anomalies and information that is barred from lower level staff. Level 1 is given to those who do not require direct access to anomalies. Level 2 is mostly given to researchers who require direct access to some of the anomalies.” As Aris gives his explanation, Twilight is scribbling down the levels in her book. “Level 3 is for senior security and researchers that require more data available to them than their lower-level researchers. Level 4 is one of the highest levels, typically only given to Site Directors, administrators, and Mobile Task Force commanders.” “Is that all the clearance levels?” Asked Twilight, looking up from her notebook. “Well, there is one more. Level 5. For as much as you need to know, this clearance level is only granted to the higher-ups of the Foundation and their select staff.” Aris responded cryptically. Twilight narrows her eyes, not liking the shallow response, but decides not to push it. Description: SCP-294 appears to be a standard coffee vending machine, the only noticeable difference being an entry touchpad with buttons corresponding to an English QWERTY keyboard. Upon depositing fifty cents US currency into the coin slot, the user is prompted to enter the name of any liquid using the touchpad. “Any kind of liquid?” Fluttershy asks with wonder. “So if I requested something like wine from Prance or rainbow liquid, SCP-294 would give me that?” Rarity asks Aris, who nods at her. Upon doing so, a standard 12-ounce paper drinking cup is placed and the liquid indicated is poured. Ninety-seven initial test runs were performed (including requests for water, coffee, beer, and soda, non-consumable liquids such as sulfuric acid, wiper fluid, and motor oil, as well as substances that do not usually exist in liquid state, such as nitrogen, iron and glass) and each one returned a success. The girls are amazed by this, with some having stars in their eyes. Right now, Pinkie Pie is dreaming of all the milkshakes she could have if she got her hooves on SCP-294. Twilight imagines using 294 to acquire any liquid she would need for her experiments, even dangerous ones. For Applejack, this SCP could help with creating apple juice and applesauce to save time on the farm, Rainbow Dash thinks about all of the possible pranks she could pull with the help of this anomaly. And finally, Spike dreams about the taste of liquid gems. Test runs with solid materials such as diamond have failed, however, as it appears that SCP-294 can only deliver substances that can exist in liquid state. Spike gives a light whine at this. It is of note that after approximately fifty uses, the machine would not respond to further requests. After a period of approximately 90 minutes, the machine seemed to have restocked itself. “Why would it not respond to no more than fifty requests?” asks Rainbow Dash. “Must be some kind of fail-safe to prevent anypony… anyone, from overusing the SCP.” Applejack replies, with Rainbow Dash nodding in response. It is also interesting to note that many caustic liquids that would have eaten through a normal paper cup seemed to have no effect on the cups dispensed by the machine. “So if we ask for a cup of lava, nothing will happen to the cup?” asks Spike. Aris nods at this. “Correct. Not even Earth’s strongest acids have been able to damage them, especially when immersed.” “Woooow.” Rainbow Dash coos, causing the AI to look at her. “So if those cups are made out of paper, and are indestructible, then imagine the flight suit that could be made out of them!” Dash threw her hooves in the air, captured by her own extensive imagination. The others including Aris give her a raised eyebrow. Seeing the confused look on all her friend’s face, she began to elaborate. “Like, if those cups can stop lava, then imagine a bunch of pegasi wearing flight suits made out of that material! We could have races inside an active volcano! Imagine how cool that would be!” Rainbow has the largest smile on her face, fantasizing about her statement. A look around the room, Aris can see Applejack face-hoofing, Pinkie, Spike, and Fluttershy are giggling to themselves, but Rarity and Twilight both seem to give it a serious thought. “Actually, such an invulnerable suit like that could be beneficial for first responders and rescue workers.” Twilight elaborates, taking the thought more seriously. “I think I could design one myself to be both functional, and fashionable.” Rarity smiled as she fluttered her eyelashes. “I believe it would be best if we just continued for now.” Aris interrupts, grabbing all of their attention before continuing the file. Testing is ongoing. As suggested, SCP-294 was moved to the 2nd floor personnel break room as a money-saving venture. Following incident 294-01, guards were stationed at the item and a security clearance became necessary to interact with it. Document SCP-294a (regarding Incident 294-01): On August 21, 2005, Agent Joseph ██████ attempted to use SCP-294 to obtain coffee during his allotted break time at 9:30 AM. At the request of Agent █████ █████████ "to see what it would do", ██████ requested "a cup of Joe" from the item. “I don’t like where this is going.” says Rarity quietly as Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack nod in agreement while they listen to the audio. Moments after confirming the selection, Agent Joseph ██████ began to sweat profusely and complained of dizziness before collapsing. After moving the unconscious agent to the infirmary, the medical team recovered the contents of the cup dispensed by SCP-294: a combination of blood, tissue, and other bodily fluids. Testing revealed the DNA sequence of the biological material dispensed by SCP-294 matched that of Agent ██████. “Oh! So SCP-294 doesn’t create its liquids, it siphons them from a nearby source.” says Twilight, earning an affirmative nod and smile from the red AI. Agent ██████ made a complete recovery after four weeks of rest and intravenous hydration. X-rays and CAT scans showed no further signs of injury, and ██████ was released. Both agents were reprimanded. Additional security measures for SCP-294 have been recommended. “Now onto the tests.” says Aris. Addendum [SCP-294f]: After reviewing documentation on SCP-294, ███████████ suggested testing SCP-294's ability to 'retrieve' specific liquids from a distance. Addendum [SCP-294h]: With the overseeing of O5-[DATA EXPUNGED] "a cup of SCP-075's secretion" was used as input. “SCP-075?” Fluttershy asks Aris. “An anomalous snail that secretes a corrosive slime.” says Aris The product was proven to be the requested liquid and the cup was able to successfully contain the material. However, the report for incident 075-07 was acknowledged 2 hours after the test (See Addendum [SCP-075m]). A containment procedure breach had occurred exactly the same time this test was taking place, waking SCP-075 (https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-075) to its active stage. It was able to secrete an amount of basic solution equal to the capacity of a coffee cup before emergency containment procedure was applied and it was rendered passive. The liquid was not found in the post-incident investigation. Addendum [SCP-294i]: Researcher punched in request for "cup of gold". The machine dispensed a cup of molten gold. Researcher requested similar precious materials with the same result. Addendum [SCP-294j]: Researcher punched in (from a safe range) request for "cup of anti-water". The machine hummed briefly, then displayed "OUT OF RANGE" on entry pad. It is theorized that SCP-294 has a limited range of collection, and cannot reach into alternate universes/dimensions. “WHAT?!?!” Spike and all of the girls except Twilight scream in shock, the lavender mare looking up from her notebook. “Well, There are numerous anomalies known to the Foundation that are of extradimensional origin,” says Aris, remembering multiple SCPs like the Red Sea Object. Addendum [SCP-294k]: Researcher punched in request for "diamond". SCP-294 briefly hummed, then displayed "OUT OF RANGE" on entry pad. SCP-294 gives this result for all solid substances. As diamond is a solid crystalline form of carbon, it appears the machine will not dispense liquid carbon, as this does not result in a "diamond". When "cup of carbon" was subsequently punched in, the machine dispensed a cup of liquid carbon. SCP-294 was immune to the damaging effects of the dispensed liquid. ‘That does sound obvious,’ Twilight comments in her head. ‘Diamond doesn’t exist as a liquid, so if somepony tried to melt it, it’d just turn back into carbon.’ Addendum [SCP-294m]: Testing for range of SCP-294's capacity for retrieval has been initiated. A unique compound has been formulated, composed of undisclosed ratios of ███████ brand bleach, █████ ██ ███ █ brand cola, MET-RX powder, and Garam masala. “What’s Garam Masala?” asks Applejack. “It’s a type of seasoning. Translated to English, it means ‘Hot or warm spice’.” says Aris. The fluid was created and placed in a sealed container 25 meters away from SCP 294. When requested, the fluid was dispensed. An equal amount of the mixture was no longer present in its original container. Addendum [SCP-294o-01]: Researcher ███ ██████, under observation of Level 4 personnel, keyed in a request of "the best drink I've ever had". SCP-294 dispensed a fluid similar in appearance to cola. The researcher identified it as a mixed drink he recalls having at a bar during his bachelor party, and was convinced it was "the best drink". ██████ did not know what ingredients were in the drink besides rum and cola. Further tests are scheduled to ascertain how SCP-294 gathers information. “Maybe it’s telepathic?” Fluttershy suggests, with Rarity nodding in agreement. Addendum [SCP-294o-01a]: Under the same conditions, Agent ████████ "the best drink I've ever had". SCP-294 delivered a dark fluid topped with white foam which was later identified as Vienna lager. The cup was printed with a color picture of five (5) men and two (2) women drinking beer on the beach; ████████ was one of them. In his briefing, Agent ████████ confirmed that his favorite drink ever was a Vienna lager he consumed at the beach with his friends. It has now been confirmed that SCP-294 has the ability to directly gather information from someone's mind in order to comply with the given conditions. “Well Flutters, it looks like you were correct.” says Applejack. Fluttershy smiles and blushes lightly at the compliment. “Hey, Aris!” says Pinkie Pie, catching Aris’s attention. “Could you create the best drink I’ve ever had?” Aris shakes his head. “What? Why not?” Pinkie asks. “I don’t know what drink you’d consider the best you’ve ever had. I’m not a telepath,” says Aris. Pinkie pouts at this. Addendum [SCP-294q-01]: Subject keyed "the perfect drink." ‘I’d so want to try that.’ thinks Pinkie. The machine dispensed a cup containing an odorless lavender liquid. After drinking the liquid, subject appeared to go into shock. Subject later committed suicide, leaving a note which read "I'm sorry, but at this point everything's just one big letdown." Pinkie pales at that. It was a drink so perfect, it caused everything else around the human to feel like a big disappointment, so much so that he killed himself. She banishes her desire of that drink into the back of her mind as the recording continues. Requesting such a drink again is highly discouraged. None of the components of the drink have yet been identified. Addendum [SCP-294t-01]: Subject keyed in "something Cassy will like". “Who’s Cassy?” asks Spike. “An animate sketch of a human female designated SCP-085.” Aris answers. The device was heard to hum for about three seconds, before dispensing an empty cup. Printed on the side of the cup was an image of a traditional soda fountain glass, filled with something brown, and topped with whipped cream. Upon introduction to SCP-085 (https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-085), it was identified by her as a chocolate banana milkshake and judged 'delicious'. “Now we’re getting into the more interesting experiments.” says Aris. Addendum [SCP-294w]: Researcher keyed in request for "a cup of music". “How would that even work?” Applejack asks, though Rarity and Twilight are deeply interested. SCP-294 produced a clear, sparkling fluid that tasted vaguely alcoholic. Following ingestion, subject reported "feeling" and not hearing, a continuous rhythm, and demonstrated the ability to move and even dance with a certain fluidity that he had not previously shown. “That would be amazing!” says Twilight. Testing on other abstract concepts is continuing. Addendum [SCP-294ab]: During a mass security breach, Agent ██████ requested "a cup of pertinent medical knowledge" while taking shelter inside the second floor break room. Of the four agents in the room, Agent ██████ was the only one who was not injured. SCP-294 poured a cup of clear green liquid. Following the ingestion of this substance, Agent ██████ began mending the other agents' wounds in a manner consistent with Foundation medical training. Agent ██████ no longer has the medical training that the liquid provided and other attempts to recreate the effect have failed. The agent has speculated that this event was an emergency measure taken by the object to ensure self-preservation. Addendum [SCP-294ac]: Dr.████████ requested "my life story" from SCP-294; SCP-294 made humming noises and shook violently for approximately 3 minutes before providing a highly viscous, opaque black liquid. Rarity gags at that while Pinkie cringes in disgust. Upon consumption, Dr.████████ reported that he remembered everything that had ever happened to him. Following this test, Dr.████████ entered his office and returned 48 hours later with a 538-page autobiography. Twilight is impressed by the results. If she ever gains access to SCP-294, she would punch in the same request for her life story. Addendum [SCP-294ad]: Researcher produced request consisting solely of the phrase "surprise me". Device produced an opaque cup containing normal water, later determined to have been heated to approximately 200 degrees Celsius. Upon receiving vibration from transport, the contents of the cup turned into steam, violently spraying boiling water in a 2-meter radius. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash laugh at the fact that the anomalous coffee machine has a sense of humor. Addendum [SCP-294af]: Researcher produced request for "Blood of Christ". SCP-294 vibrated and produced the message "Hic est enim Calix Sánguinis mei", then produced a paper drinking cup containing approximately 0.12 liters of red grape wine. “…What?” Rarity raises an eyebrow at that. “I’ll explain that later.” says Aris. Addendum [SCP-294ag]: Researcher produced requests for "cup of Smilodon blood", "cup of passenger pigeon blood", and "cup of Thomas Jefferson's blood", and received three "OUT OF RANGE" errors. “Ew! Why would they request for blood?” asks Rainbow Dash. “Well, a Smilodon is a prehistoric animal mostly known as the saber-toothed tiger, while Passenger Pigeons are a subspecies of pigeons that went extinct 110 years ago. As for Thomas Jefferson, he was the third president of the US.” Aris explains. Addendum [SCP-294ah]: A D-class personnel with IQ of 99 and low curiosity scores was given written instructions about what to request. “Hey Aris, ya still haven’t told us what D-class are.” Applejack speaks up, causing the red A.I. to pause the video. “D-Class personnel are expendable personnel used to handle hazardous anomalies, and as test subjects in more dangerous experiments which could lead to serious injury, death, or worse. Members consist of criminals incorporated from countless prisons, especially on death row.” Aris replied, and for once the entire room went silent, not a single peep was heard as the look of shock and disbelief formed on the faces of mares and dragon. “Y…You use people as unwilling guinea pigs?” Twilight asks. “Guinea pigs? No, they’re humans.” says Pinkie. Aris frowns at the mare, who is clearly missing the point. He pinches the bridge of his “nose”, not even entertaining the party pony with a response before looking at Twilight. “In most cases, yes we do. Though as stated, we gather our D-classes from those on death row. So these humans are far from innocent civilians. Some of them or rapists, murders. Those who are to be put to death, and use them for better understanding the contained anomalies.” Aris tried his best for her to understand, but Twilight and most of the others still wore frowns, except for Dash who surprisingly understands. “I get it.” Rainbow spoke with a nod. “If they’re going to die, why not have them do something useful?” Most of Rainbow’s friends give her a weird look, especially Twilight who just looks at the pegasus in shock. Aris nods to her response, glad to see at least one of them gets it. He snaps his fingers and continues the video, though he feels this will not be the end of this conversation. The D-class personnel produced a request for 'blood of canis lupus' and received a cup of liquid subsequently identified as wolf blood. The D-class personnel next produced a request for 'saliva of equus ferus caballus' and received a cup of liquid subsequently identified as horse saliva. The D-class personnel next produced a request for "urine of phascolarctos cinereus' and received a cup of liquid subsequently identified as koala urine. Rarity’s face turns green at this. Why would these humans request such disgusting fluids? The D-class personnel next produced a request for "cerebrospinal fluid of phoberomys pattersoni" and received a cup of liquid currently undergoing analysis. It is to be noted that Phoberomys pattersoni went extinct during the late Miocene epoch, approximately 8 million years ago. “Does that mean these…Phoberomees patersonees…aren’t really extinct?” Asks Pinkie Pie, earning a shrug from the red AI. “It’s possible,” the red AI replies. Addendum [SCP-294ai]: Dr. King produced request for "a cup of room-temperature superconductor", and received a cup of apple juice with seeds floating in it. Addendum [SCP-294aj]: Dr. Menchu produced request for "cup of D-151839's leukemia", and received a cup of fluid; “What’s leukemia?” asks Spike. “It’s a type of cancer; a group of diseases that occur when cells in the human body grow and spread uncontrollably, sometimes causing death,” Aris explains. “Leukemia exclusively affects blood and bone marrow by causing the latter to produce white blood cells that are incapable of fighting infections.” “That’s horrible,” says Fluttershy. “Indeed. At least one-fifth of the human population will develop cancer in their lives.” the fluid was microscopically examined and found to contain leukemic blast cells, which were a genetic match to D-151839. A second request for "cup of D-151839's leukemia" resulted in an "OUT OF RANGE" error. D-151839 was subsequently found to be free of leukemia; however, within 15 days, the leukemia had recurred. [ Other SCP-294 experiments are currently awaiting approval. ] Everyone looked shocked at that before the film ended. SCP 294 had drained the D-class of his leukemia, but it didn’t cure him. “Why isn’t this SCP available to the public?” asks Rainbow Dash. “I mean, I know it has to be kept secret, but it sounds like this thing could help save a lot of lives, especially these cancer patients.” The girls and Spike nod their heads in agreement as they look at Aris, except Pinkie, who says, “Well it’s kinda obvious. If SCP-294 were available for public use, ponies…people…would just use it for personal gain.” Everyone in the room turns their heads to look at Pinkie Pie, who looks back at them with a smile. “Just saying.” Aris smiles, impressed by the pink mare’s perception and foresight. People would abuse SCP 294 for their own selfish motives, and that would be unacceptable. He should make note of that. The ponies and Spike leave the room after thanking the red AI for the session, who bids them good afternoon, before disappearing back into the machine. Upon entering the terminal’s digital realm, Aris begins looking through his data. He still hasn’t figured out the identity of the pony who he was supposed to be sent to, but he does know they’re a member of Equestrian society. The red AI knows it will be some time until his order data is repaired. So in the meantime, he’ll just have to stick with these ponies; they’ve proven trustworthy… For now at least. Author's Note Hey everybody!!! Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. Anyway, that was SCP-294, by Arcibi. I couldn’t have completed this without the help of my co-author, k00l. So, the next SCP I want to do will be Christmas-related since it’s still the month of December, and I’ve narrowed it down to two Keter-class candidates: SCP-2536 (The Gift That Keeps On Giving) and SCP-4666 (The Yule Man). 2536 is one of the underrated Christmas SCPs, and it best represents the holiday spirit in my opinion; the meaning of giving and being with your loved ones… Well, maybe not the latter, but you get the point. 4666 is a nightmarish form of Santa Claus mixed with Krampus and would keep up with this story’s Gore tag. I feel torn between writing one or both. Before I conclude this AN, I need to ask a favor from everyone. My co-author, k00l (https://www.fimfiction.net/user/380059/k00l); he and I have been working on his fic “Halo: Contact Equis” for almost 2 years now. We’ve put a lot of hard work into writing that story (especially the latest chapter), yet I’ve rarely seen any of his fics get featured compared to mine. Please go check out Contact Equis and his other stories if you haven’t. I’m sure he would very much appreciate it if you did, and I would too if you left a comment. Anyway, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyful Kwanzaa, Freaky Festivus, and all other winter holidays you may celebrate. I shall you next time… //-------------------------------------------------------// SCP-2536 (Full Article) //-------------------------------------------------------// Author's Note Hey everyone, so originally, I wanted to get this holiday chapter finished and posted in January, but because of life, there were delays, and I didn’t want to wait 11 months to post this during December 2025. You don’t have to read this belated holiday SCP chapter if you don’t want to, since it’s way past Christmas. But if you do, then I hope you enjoy it.:twilightsmile: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsmile.png Also, I decided to do 2536 instead of 4666 because I think this SCP best represents the holiday’s practice of giving. Besides, my co-author suggested that The Yule Man, though popular, was a bit overrated (as much as I wanted to do him to keep up this fic’s Gore tag). So, SCP-2536 was written by Tanhony. A big thanks to k00l for editing this, and let's begin. SCP-2536 (Full Article) Twilight is sitting on her chair in the library’s living room and reading another book. It’s a fictional novel, but it’s certainly an interesting story. She finishes up her chapter, puts in a bookmark, and sets it down on the table before getting up and looking out the window. Snow is falling once again, blanketing Ponyville in white. It’s been like this for hours; who knows when the pegasi will move the clouds away. Good thing the unicorn made extra sure to stack up on firewood for the next week. “Sure is a winter wonderland out there. It kinda feels like December again,” says Spike, the baby dragon joining Twilight by the window. Twilight smiles, agreeing with her number one assistant. It almost feels like the months have passed in just a matter of seconds, and December has just begun again. Only the calendar on her wall reminds her otherwise. “Why don’t I make us some hot cocoa, Spike?” Twilight asks her number one assistant. That question immediately gets the baby dragon’s attention as he turns to Twilight with a smile and nods. He would very much like some. The lavender unicorn heads into the kitchen and begins making hot chocolate while Spike heads to their bedroom to grab some of his gems to add to his cocoa. He spots the terminal sent by the SCP Foundation lying in the corner of the room, covered by a big blanket, and gets an idea. When Twilight returns to the living room with two mugs of hot chocolate in her telekinetic grasp, she notices Spike carrying the secret machine downstairs. “What are you doing with the terminal, Spike?” Twilight asks. “Well, I figured that, since it’s been a few days since our last review, we could probably look at another SCP.” Spike answers as he sets the terminal down on the coffee table. Twilight taps her chin with her hoof and gives it a quick thought before nodding her head in agreement, and allows Spike to turn the machine on. The screen comes to life, displaying the SCP logo, and Aris manifests. “Good evening, Ms. Sparkle and Spike. Here for another SCP review?” Aris asks in his usual formal manner. “And is it just you and Spike?” Twilight nods her head and sits down in her chair. The baby dragon does the same and takes the mug of hot cocoa Twilight gave him before sprinkling some small gems into his hot drink. Aris notices that the mug Spike is drinking out of has a purple and green fireball design on the front of it. His avatar raises an eyebrow. “This mug was a gift Twilight gave me for Hearth’s Warming last year.” Spike simply explains. “Hearth’s Warming?” Aris asks. Spike opens his mouth, but Twilight beats him to it. “Hearth’s Warming is an annual holiday that celebrates the founding of Equestria on the 25th of December. The holiday comes with many traditions like decorating trees and the exchanging & opening of gifts.” After the explanation, Aris becomes interested in this holiday. “Interesting.” He says. “This Hearth’s Warming of yours sounds similar to ‘Christmas’; a winter holiday that shares the same traditions as yours.” “Really? The human race has a holiday in December just like we do before New Year’s Eve?” Spike asks. “Yes, young Spike. Though Christmas is merely one of the seventeen winter holidays celebrated on Earth. Other holidays include Juul, Hanukkah, and Dongzhi. The Winter solstice is also celebrated as well.” Aris replies. Spike’s eyes widen in fascination. There are so many human holidays he has never heard of before. Twilight is just as amazed. She would have to have Aris repeat the names of these holidays for when she has her notebook so she could write them down. “Why do so many humans celebrate so many holidays in December?” Asks Spike. “Because not all humans celebrate the same holiday.” Aris clarifies for the young drake. “For example, Christmas is mostly celebrated by humans who follow the Christian Faith, while Kwanzaa is a culturally focussed holiday celebrated by African Americans.” “Are there any SCPs related to the Winter Holidays on Earth?” Twilight asks. Aris nods his head. “There are plenty of anomalies pertaining to certain human holidays, some being Christmas.” “Can you show us one?” “Well, it’s past Christmas on Earth, but I shall, Ms. Sparkle.” Aris begins transforming the terminal into projection mode. “The SCP we will cover today is SCP-2536; The Gift That Keeps On Giving.” “‘The Gift That Keeps On Giving’?” Spike repeats. “Sounds like this anomaly fits the meaning of giving gifts.” Aris nods before adding, “I would also like to point out that this file contains two footnotes.” Twilight keeps this in mind as Aris plays the file. Item #: SCP-2536 Object Class: Keter “I guess this is also our second Keter-class SCP.” says Spike. Special Containment Procedures: As the nature of SCP-2536 makes physical containment impossible, containment procedures will instead focus on the manner in which personnel should conduct themselves in the event of a manifestation. “That would explain why SCP-2536 is uncontainable,” comments Twilight. To enforce this, as of 12/23/19██, copies of these containment procedures are to be distributed among all personnel currently in the employ of the SCP Foundation during the month of December. In the event that SCP-2536 appears before a member of personnel, they are to refrain from accepting any offered gifts, leave the vicinity of SCP-2536 and immediately inform their supervisor. Gifts presented to personnel by SCP-2536 are only to be accepted under strict testing conditions and after testing are to be confiscated immediately. “Confiscated? Why?” asks Spike. “Some gifts given by SCP-2536 have possessed destructive properties. It is simply a safety precaution.” Aris explains. Description: SCP-2536 is a Christmas tree with purple and white decorations, approximately two meters tall and composed primarily of plastic. A speaker is attached to the base of SCP-2536, which loudly plays the song 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' by the band Wizzard on a constant loop. “I don’t get it. Why would anypony make a tree out of plastic?” Twilight asks the red AI. Aris looks at the lavender mare and says, “Plastic Christmas trees had been created as a suitable, long-lasting alternative to real trees. They are easy to set up and can be reused. Thus people don’t need to purchase a new tree for the holidays every year.” SCP-2536 only manifests during the month of December, and its status during the rest of the year is currently unknown. During the month of December, SCP-2536 will appear before at least six members of Foundation personnel, one at a time, regardless of distance between them. No reports have been found from the public or elements outside the Foundation, indicating SCP-2536 appearing to anyone part from Foundation personnel. “That’s good,” says Spike. “Now that you mention it… How does the Foundation keep these anomalies a secret from the public?” Twilight asks. “Through cover stories, disinformation campaigns, and the use of amnestics.” Says Aris. “Amnestics are a compound of anomalous chemicals used for erasing memories, especially from non-Foundation people.” Twilight is fascinated by this. She knows that the SCP Foundation does use anomalies for their operations, and the existence of memory-erasing. She can’t help but wonder how the Foundation is able to erase memories from people, but for some reason, she feels a slight shiver go down her back at the thought. Upon appearance before a member of personnel, a gift in the form of a wrapped present consistent with traditional Christmas practices will be located beneath SCP-2536. This gift, hereafter referred to as SCP-2536-1, will contain an item which the chosen member of personnel greatly desires, whether consciously or subconsciously. In cases where the desired item would be too large to feasibly fit inside SCP-2536-1, its interior dimensions become significantly larger than its exterior ones. “A non-euclidean space is the term. Put simply, it’s bigger on the inside.” Aris adds in. If the targeted member of personnel ignores SCP-2536, and leaves the area, SCP-2536 will disappear after three to five minutes. SCP-2536 was first discovered when it manifested in the office of Site-26 Director Leder during a lock-down after containment breach of SCP-████. At the time, SCP-2536-1 contained the required materials to temporarily shut down SCP-████ and return it to its chambers. Inspection of SCP-2536 by nearby researchers revealed the following note attached to SCP-2536's base: Here at [DATA EXPUNGED]1, we love nothing more than to watch the good work you fellows do. Your empathy and moral integrity are an inspiration to us all! And so, in this season of giving, we have decided to present you brave heroes who do so much for us with a gift of your own! Enjoy. Merry Christmas, OSN 1: Note that no information has actually been removed from this note, and that this is the original wording of the message. Twilight looks at the screen. “So there are other anomalous organizations on Earth?” she asks. Aris nods his head. “More than 45 recorded Groups of Interest are known to the SCP Foundation, each with their own goals and interests.” “Marshall, Carter and Dark? What do they do?” asks Spike. “Marshall, Carter and Dark Ltd, or MC&D, is a worldwide organization like the SCP Foundation, except they function both as a gentlemen’s club and an auction house. They profit from selling anomalous objects and creatures to their clients and bidders.” “So, these humans are selling anomalies, no matter how dangerous they are, for their own benefit.” Says Twilight, frowning. Aris’s expression turns grim as he nods. “Yes. And while they do present themselves as affable and friendly, many of the actions MC&D undertake in their profiting are considered illegal, such as human trafficking, distribution of weapons, and even theft. They have also been responsible for several containment breaches in Foundation sites.” “Do they not take into consideration who they are selling to?” Asks Twilight, her face growing more concerned. “Hardly, if any at all.” Aris responds grimly. “What MC&D cares about most is if their clients are rich enough to buy whatever it is they are selling.” “Do they even know WHO they are selling anomalies to?” Spike asks “They do, and they keep a log of all their clients. It is confirmed that MC&D does do business with several other Groups of Interest.” Aris responds to the young drake, the Chaos Insurgency, Prometheus Labs, and rarely, the Serpent’s Hand. “How are they able to do all of this?” Twilight asks, looking up from her notepad. Aris gives her a raised eyebrow, signifying her to clarify herself. “How do they get their hooves onto anomalies to sell them? Has nopony even tried to stop them?” “MC&D obtain their anomalies almost similarly to how the Foundation receives them. They either find them or obtain them. However, in most cases, they even buy them from other Groups of Interest to then sell them for a profit.” Aris answers the lavender unicorn. “If you were also wondering if the Foundation has tried to stop Marshall, Carter and Dark, I regret to inform you that there is no documentation of the Foundation attempting to stop the activities of the group. Unlike other groups that handle anomalies like the Foundation, MC&D is not considered an enemy of the Foundation, so there is no interest or reason to stop them.” “But that is so reckless!” Twilight protests. “How could the SCP Foundation not consider them an enemy when they are literally selling anomalies to whoever they like!?” “Marshall, Carter and Dark may not have a lot of morals, but what they aren’t is reckless.” Aris remains stoic as he speaks. “There have been rare instances where MC&D have obtained dangerous anomalies and have given them to the Foundation for safekeeping.” Though not fully satisfied with Aris’s response, most of Twilight’s unrest has been quelled. It was good to know that not all of MC&D are willing anything dangerous, but a group selling anomalies for the strict reason of making money seems morally wrong to her. With no more questions from the pony and dragon, Aris continues the file. Addendum 2536-1 - Sample Record of SCP-2536-1 Contents Twilight beams up, interested in seeing what gifts SCP-2536 has given to the Foundation. Member of Personnel: Site Director Leder SCP-2536-1 Contents: Materials required to shut down and subdue SCP-████. Member of Personnel: Dr. Landis SCP-2536-1 Contents: Several excited Welsh Corgi puppies. DNA analysis revealed the puppies were all genetically identical. Twilight gives a light “Awe~” at the contents. She remembers one of her old friends in Canterlot who was given a puppy for Hearth’s Warming. Member of Personnel: D-25372 SCP-2536-1 Contents: A middle-aged woman and a pre-adolescent boy, later identified as D-25372's wife and son. After a brief interview and dosage of Class-A amnestics, they were returned to their home without incident. Twilight is surprised that this SCP can manifest with civilians as a gift, however, her face changes as she sets her notebook down. “Is that really necessary?” The red A.I. turns to face the lavender mare. “Is what necessary, Ms. Sparkle?” “Using people as expendable material.” The unicorn clarifies. “Don’t you think that’s cruel?” “Are you referring to the D-Class personnel?” Aris asks Twilight, who gives him a small nod back, unable to look him in the eyes. “They’re people too, and they deserve rights. The file said that the gift given to the person is something they desire the most. That means that D-class wanted nothing more than to see his family, and you took them away from him?” Twilight gives the AI a look that is a mixture of disappointment and sadness. “There were many reasons for the separation, mainly because it involved civilians inside a foundation facility, and the fact that it involved a member of D-Class. It was a major breach in protocol.” Aris tries to explain, but Twilight looks unconvinced. “It doesn’t matter what kind of protocols it broke. It means that D-class was so isolated, that he wanted to see his family again. That’s just…” Twilight pauses for a moment as she thinks of a word to use. “…Heartbreaking.” Aris remains silent for several seconds, his stoic expression not leaving his face. He can’t blame the unicorn mare for opposing the Foundation’s use of D-class as guinea pigs, and frankly, he doesn’t like it either. Sadly, his programming prevents him from questioning his creators/superiors. “These people are D-class for a reason. They are criminals taken from Death Row. They are humans who have committed horrible crimes against others and have received death penalties. It’s harsh and cruel, admittedly. But we have to do it to gain an understanding of the anomalies we contain.” “I’m sorry, Aris. Just because these are bad humans, I still can’t see the moral reasons for them to be treated so harshly by the Foundation. Everypony deserves a second chance.” Twilight looks towards the ground, her face expressing a lot of sadness. Spike places a claw on her withers, comforting her. Aris gives a sympathetic nod, telling her that she asks if they wish to continue listening to the file. Twilight decides, despite her current feelings, to continue. Member of Personnel: [REDACTED] SCP-2536-1 Contents: A gold wristwatch. “Ya think Rarity would like one of those?” Spike asks Twilight, who shrugs. Member of Personnel: Dr. Ryans SCP-2536-1 Contents: A copy of this file and containment procedures relating to SCP-2536. Note that this incident took place before 12/23/19██, and Dr. Ryans was thus unaware of the nature of SCP-2536 upon its manifestation. New containment procedures were implemented as a result of this incident. Member of Personnel: Agent Raleigh SCP-2536-1 Contents: Unknown. According to recovered footage from the area, SCP-2536 manifested while Agent Raleigh was infiltrating a suspected location of Marshall, Carter and Dark activity, thus revealing his location to them. Agent Raleigh's current status and location are unknown. A sense of dread fills Twilight and Spike. The poor agent must’ve been killed. Member of Personnel: D-39122 SCP-2536-1 Contents: See Incident 2536-1. Member of Personnel: SCP-████ SCP-2536-1 Contents: See Incident 2536-2. “So I’m guessing these incidents are the reasons why SCP-2536’s gifts are to be confiscated,” Spike says, earning a nod from the red A.I. Incident 2536-1 On 12/29/20██, at Site-09, SCP-2536 appeared before D-39122 and several other D-Class personnel outside of testing hours. Before security could intervene, D-39122 received several anomalous weapons2 from SCP-2536-1, distributed them among nearby D-Class personnel, and attempted an armed escape. (2: Weapons showed the capacity to disintegrate security personnel upon direct hits, or cause spatial warping inside their bodies upon glancing blows.) Spike stops reheating his hot cocoa, and Twilight drops her quill. Although this revolt was quickly put down by on-site security, hostilities resulted in several Euclid and Keter-level containment breaches, necessitating Site-wide lockdown and causing significant personnel casualties. Twilight and Spike’s eyes widen. Several anomalies managed to escape and several Foundation people were killed because SCP-2536 gifted a violent man with dangerous weapons. “Not to rub it in Ms. Sparkle, but this is why these individuals are D-class.” Aris states, referring to their previous conversation. “Many of these people are very very dangerous, hence why they are the ones chosen by the Foundation to ‘help’ with its studies.” Twilight looks at the A.I. and opens her mouth to respond, but her words get caught in her throat. She couldn’t say a word as Aris made a point. If an incident had happened like that here in Equestria, that individual would be been banished to the moon, or even turned to stone. She lets out a deep regrettable sigh and covers her mouth with her notepad. “Now, this next incident did not cause any fatalities, but causes a great concern with SCP-2536’s nature.” Incident 2536-2 On 12/██/20██, at Site-11, during testing of SCP-████, SCP-2536 appeared before it. SCP-████ retrieved a small device from SCP-2536-1 consistent in appearance with its own native technology. Spike nearly does a spit-take and exclaims, “You mean an alien?!” Twilight does not display any skepticism to Spike’s comment. With what few files she’d read in this database, she wouldn’t be that surprised if the SCP Foundation does have extraterrestrials contained. Upon activating the device, SCP-████ disappeared completely from Site-11 and is now believed to have transported itself to an as-of-yet unknown location on the planet. It is now confirmed that SCP-2536 considers objects and entities under containment by the Foundation to be Foundation personnel. If that is the case, then any dangerous anomaly, like SCP-682, could be gifted with something that’ll help them escape. Aris reappears in front of Twilight and Spike after the audio file ends. “Christmas is a holiday similar to your world’s Hearth’s Warming. It’s about giving and being with loved ones.” He says. Twilight and Spike look at each other and smile before turning back to Aris. “I guess there are some similarities between ponies and humans, especially regarding culture.” Says Twilight. “Perhaps.” Aris nods his head, brushing his ‘chin’. A small smile comes to his face. “Ms. Sparkle, are there any other files you wish to look at?” Twilight puts a hoof to her chin and looks at Spike, who just gives a shrug. She then looks back at the smiling Aris and says, “No. No, I think 2536 was enough for today.”