SCP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBPK_oXeJgA [Embed]
>Day Number…
>You toss the shitty journal into your locker and shut it
>You hate keeping a log of everything you do
>But no, the lab coats want you to keep tabs on every little thing you do
>Whatever
>Those eggheads do whatever the hell they want with their little experiments in the compound
>You’re here you keep them safe or something
>You’re like, the second line of defense they call in when something goes catastrophically wrong
>Or when the regular security ponies couldn’t handle it
>But when that’s not going on, you’re on patrol around the underground compound
>The route varied from day to day
>You didn’t really read the massive binder on the procedure you’re supposed to take, but after a few chewings out from the captain, you were pretty clear on it
>You’re still using it as a paperweight on your nightstand
>You were under strict instructions never to speak to anypony about anything from down here
>As if anypony would believe you about what the fuck existed down here
>Oh Celestia the things that went on down here
>It was a conspiracy theorist’s wet dream
>An entire facility
>Entire facilities all across Equestria
>For dealing with “anomalies” as the coats called them
>Half of them were monsters
>Then there were the inanimate objects that did crazy shit
>Plants
>Anything really
>All of it probably wanted to kill you at some point or another
>But who were you?
>You were Lightning Law, a mare formerly employed in the Baltimare SWAT division
>Formerly
>Now you were employed in the SCP-E Foundation
>It was a massive pay raise, so you can’t really complain
>And the Foundation paid for your move into Fillydelphia
>Into a really, really nice apartment too
>You just wish that this place wasn’t so dreary
>Fluorescent lights flickering all over the place
>Drab concrete walls
>Yeah, you suppose it was more for security than anything else, but damn this was depressing


>You trot along, somewhat hoping that something would brighten up the day
>You pry away your armor and scratch your chest
>You knew now why all the Royal Guards had ornate metal armor
>Because all of the really good materials were going here
>What did they call this stuff, plasteel?
>Whatever
>It was sturdy as hell, and that was what mattered
>Ceramic plates layered in between
>This stuff could probably tank an explosion if it needed to
>Though you weren’t too keen to test that out
>Your rounds today brought you to SCP-…
>You know, you don’t even know the number
>Class: Keter
>That was the really, really bad one, if you recalled
>But at least they had it sealed away behind this "glass"
>At a glance, it looked like a perfectly normal mare
>A light cinnamon coat and a pastel orange mane
>Innocuous and cute, like any other mare
>But that thing wasn’t a mare
>Far from it
>It looked like she’d gotten larger from the last time you saw her
>She was around Celestia’s height now
“I take it you’ve been feeding this thing more, huh doc.”
>The stallion in a lab coat glances over at you
>You didn’t know his name, you referred to every scientist here as “doc”
>Some insisted they weren’t doctors
>It was better than being called egghead
>”Class D personnell are expendable after all.”
>You shudder a bit
>You still can’t get over the fact that they’re referring to other ponies as “expendable”
>Damned lab coats
>”In fact you’re just in time for another.”
“Ehhhh, I think I’ll pass on that. Got rounds to make and all.”
>You turn to leave, but out of the corner of your eye you swear you can see that thing eyeing you
>A chill runs up your spine as you leave
>You don’t wanna hear the screaming again


>You trot down some stairs and swipe your keycard
>You put in your numerical password
>You go through the whole song and dance just so that you can get into the break room and take your lunch break
>Yep
>Same Hearth’s Warming Tree in the corner
>Surprisingly, that thing’s an anomaly
>Looks like a normal artificial Hearth’s Warming Tree you’d get at the store
>But nopony can disassemble it
>It’s physically impossible
>You’ve tried
>Copper tried
>The Captain tried
>So it just sits there in the corner of the break room
>It’s safe of course
>You trot up to the vending machine and drop in a few bits for a hay and cheese sandwich
>With a little thunk it falls down and you reach in, plastic crinkling as you grab it with your hoof
>You magic open the packaging as you take a seat at one of the nearby tables
>You take a bite
>It’s good, but then again, you don’t really have high standards for food
>You’re healthy enough
>You’re sitting there, musing about life
>Maybe today would be the day that you gave your parents a call
>Maybe not
>Maybe today was the day you’d finally get laid
>Most likely not
>Maybe today was the day you’d get out there and get yourself a boyfriend
>That’d be rich
>Maybe today was the day tha-
>The lights shut off and a second later the emergency lights come on, bathing the room in a golden yellow glow
>Alarms start blaring
>You hear the intercom repeatedly say this is not a drill
>Maybe today was the day that something really, really bad was gonna happen
>You scarf down the rest of your lunch and make your way out of the break room as fast as you can
>You gallop your way to your equipment locker, several other ponies doing the same
>Time to break out the gear


>You don your helmet
>Attach the PDW to your forehoof
>Sidearm, holstered on your side(heh) after checking to see if the silver bullets were in
>Never knew what some of things took
>You’re just glad you didn’t have to hold one of the riot shields
>You double check to see if you’ve got everything and you step out of the equipment room
>Nothing crazy has happened YET but you knew shit could go from 0 to 100 real damn fast
>You made your way down the darkened corridor
>The emergency lights were placed as such that there were massive patches of darkness in between
>Great
>Awesome
>Were you afraid of the dark?
>Pssh, you?
>Of course you were
>Just a little bit
>You really wondered when the rest of Nu-7 was gonna get here
>Nu-7 were the big dogs that got called in when things went BAD
>Fuck
>What if 939 got out
>Great, good job making yourself scared, Law
>You take deep breaths and calm yourself down
>Some of these things could literally eat your fear, probably
>Your electric, yellow aura glows around your weapon, casting a slight glow on the floor as you trot along
>You feel rumbling down the hall
>You know, everything in your body is saying that you should go the other way
>But it’s your job to go towards it
>Save the lab coats
>Be a hero
>Yeah, a hero
>You snort
>You tentatively make your way down the hallway until you hear screaming
>Oh boy
>It’s coming from that thing’s chamber
>You gallop over, hooves pounding against concrete as you enter
>Oh dear fuck what were they doing in here after you left
>There were two awful, spindly-limbed masses of flesh consuming the scientists in the room
>What the fuck, why were there two?
>They seemed to be fighting over one
>Poor bastard
>You fire a few shots at him, hopefully ending his suffering before it got worse
>Unfortunately this gets the attention of those things
“Fuckfuckfuck”
>You retreat through the door you came through and bust open the emergency lock, pulling the lever and sealing the thing in


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFdIGYfYXJw
>You reel back as it slams into the emergency blast door, making a dent in it
>Nope
>Nope nope nope
>You tactically retreat and turn the corner back into the main corridor
>Oh yay, the sound of gunfire
>You turn your head towards it and watch as an entire squad gets torn to shreds
>Crimson splashes against your helmet
>Yay, the sounds of IMPENDING DEATH
>You look around frantically
>A pony crawls over
>It’s one of the scientists
>He looks like he’s on his last legs
>He scrawls something on the concrete floor before passing out, presumably dead
>You peer your flashlight down to see what it is
>He’s scrawled a symbol of what looks like a circle with two diagonal lines at 10 and 2 o’ clock perpendicular to each other
>Fuck
>What symbol was that again
>You really wish you’d studied up on that a bit more
>You start to slowly back away before one of the… Whatever they are, turns its head(?) towards you
>Shit
>You turn and start sprinting away as fast as you can
>Fuck this
>No
>You’re outta here
>No pay raise is worth dying over
>You find the nearest stairwell and seal the door shut behind you with the emergency bar
>WHERE THE FUCK WAS THE REST OF NU-7?
>You look up at the daunting seat of stairs leading all the way back up to the surface
>You wonder how far underground you are
>You’re not gonna die stuck down here
>If stairs were the only thing between you and freedom, you were gonna become the stair master
>You quickly start to ascend the steps, going 2, 3 at a time
>You’re fit of course, law enforcement did that to you
>But fuck, stairs are an enemy of ponykind
>You mentally remind yourself of what could feasibly be following you up the stairs
>You’re back to climbing the stairs with renewed vigor
>You don’t know how long you’ve been climbing these stairs
>But you can see the floor numbers slowly approaching the negative single digits
>You were so close
>So close to leaving it all behind


>”Evacuate immediately.” Says the intercom
>Finally
>Oh thank Celestia finally you were at the emergency exit
>Unfortunately the emergency exit had a decontamination airlock before it led outside
>But since this was the emergency exit, it was open already despite the lockdown
>You step inside and press the button to close the chamber
>Right as you start to slump over and close your eyes for a second, you hear an unearthly screech
>A nearby vent is clawed apart and a fleshy mass pries itself out of it
>No
>No Celestia why would you do something like this
>That thing had followed you
>Perhaps it had some sort of self-preservation instinct in it
>You rapidly press the close door button
>Too late
>That thing had clawed its way inside
>Naturally, warning sirens go off in the decon chamber because this THING was in here with you
>Come on Lightning Law
>Remember the basics of CQC
>HOW DO YOU DO THAT WHEN THIS THING HAS LIMBS AND MOUTHS EVERYWHERE
>It lunges at your head and you’re able to stop part of it
>You don’t know what part, but you stopped part of it
>Unfortunately some very sharp bone teeth things were now conveniently piercing through your midsection
>Don’t cry
>Don’t die
>Don’t scream
>You really wanted to do all but one of those things
>You grit your teeth and squeak as even more penetrate you
>Divine intervention, now would be a really great time for you to happen
>You watch in terror as a massive maw begins to form itself out of the part you stopped
>Is it... Smiling?
>You cry out in vain for help
>As if the universe were playing a cruel joke, something happens
>An explosion happens
>Far below
>More explosions up the stairwell, getting closer and closer before...
>All of the sound is sucked away
>There’s nothing but silence before a powerful explosion breaks through the thick doors of the airlock, sending you flying through the opposite doors and skipping across grass, concrete, metal
>A lot of very, very hard things
>You pass out


>It’s dark by the time you wake up
>Granted, you didn’t pay attention to what time it was as you were exploding
>You look around
>You can’t open your left eye
>Everything hurts
>Well, everything on your right side hurts
>You can’t feel anything on your left side
>You can’t move anything on your left side
>You reach your hoof over, wincing as you do to feel if everything’s still th-
>Oh no everything’s not still there
>You quickly realize why
>You’re missing a little under half of your right side
>No this can’t be happening
>You’d be dead if you were missing the right half of your body
>Ha
>Ha ha
>Ha ha ha ha ha
>You wanted this joke to be over right now
>So
>Why wasn’t it happening
>Oh right
>Because this was reality
>You decide to close your eye and accept the sweet release of death
>Maybe now you could bleed out all your blood and get some sweet reincarnation deal
>Or something
>Your hoof slumps down
>And as you drift away into nothingness your hear something hissing and screeching
>Maybe later you’d deal with it…
>You gasp and cry out with a start, waking up in a cold sweat in your bed
>You blink a few times, closing each eye in turn
>You had both eyes
>You hold up your hooves
>Both hooves
>Was that all a dream?
>You swing your hindlegs over the side of your bed and sit there for a moment
>That was all so vivid
>The pain felt real
>So did the sounds
>And you were in control of your actions
>Was that what lucid dreaming was?
>You don’t wanna lucid dream anymore
>Your stomach growls
>You’re starving
>You groan and step out of bed, trotting into the kitchen to make some breakfast
>You turn on the stove and yawn a bit, brushing a bit of your scarlet mane from your face
>You break out the eggs and as you go to crack one over the hot pan, your hoof recoils
>Or rather part of it depresses inwards as you hear your bones cracking
>”NO! Bad girl! Away from the heat!”
>That wasn’t your voice


>You stand there, staring at your hoof for what feels like an eternity
>You poke at the part on your hoof currently bent inwards
>There’s no pain
>Yet you can still feel it as you poke the spot with your hoof
>After a moment, your hoof goes back to normal
>You rub the side of your head and blink a few times
>Did you have a hangover or something?
>You try to go back to preparing your breakfast, and it happens again
>The second your hoof nears the heat of the stove it recoils away with a sickening crunch and stretching of flesh
>You feel like you’re gonna be sick watching it
>”What’d I JUST say?”
“W-What?”
>It sounded like it was your own thoughts
>But like somepony was saying it from inside your head
>And it wasn’t your voice
>But it sounded familiar
“Who are you?”
>”Oh you don’t remember me now, is that it? I’m hurt, Lightning.”
>You feel your skin crawl
>Literally
>You watch as your skin and muscle on your forehoof starts compounding in on itself, forming a small facsimile of a pony
>Oh no
>It’s that pony-thing from the Foundation
>”Ahhh, you remember now don’t you? You thought that was all a dream huh?”
>The tiny pony facade imitates your looks perfectly and even talks using your voice as she mocks you
>”Oh no, death could never happen to me, I’m big and strong and have a bunch of friends to back me up.”
>You would say that you don’t sound like that, but she’s using your voice
>”Well newsflash sweetcheeks, your friends or squadmates or whatever you call them, they’re dead. I ate them.”
>You’re about to interject before she says something else
>”Oh yeah, you died too. Well, more like almost died. You were right at the edge, you know.”
>You remember that part
>”You know I never usually see a pony that’s been split in two before. Usually I’m the one that’s made that happen. But you were fortunate for me to be there, and for me to have also been in a similar position.”
“You what?”


>”That explosion nearly killed me too, and the way I saw it, it was a win/win for both of us. You get to keep on living, and I get to merge with you and get away from that awful facility. Really you should be thanking me.”
>You look upwards in thought
>If anypony from the foundation ever found out how a Keter anomaly had forcibly merged with you, you’d be next in line for a number in the system
>Then again, the branch you worked at had just exploded
>The mini pony thing receded back into your hoof as she spoke again
>”You know this body of yours isn’t HALF bad.”
>Did she just
>You hear her snickering in your brain
>You've hit ponies for lesser puns
“W-Wait a second, just how much of me is me and how much of you is me?”
>”What’s that? Oh, I’m more you than you, sweetie.”
“What?!”
>”Well I couldn’t JUST assimilate you AND keep us both alive at the same time. I also needed more biomass to stay alive. That was a really big explosion we got caught in, you know?”
>You go back to preparing your food while she’s distracted, cracking an egg over the edge of the pan
>”So I may have eaten you a teensy tiny bit, you know, for your own good! And mine.”
“How much of me did you…”
>You shudder
“Eat.”
>”Dunno, a few organs or so, left the brain and the rest of your head. Long story short there’s enough you for you to be having free will like this.”
>You feel one of your hindlegs starting to kick at the floor
>”But for the most part, I can pull the strings on your body wheneeeever I want.”
>You sigh and scoop the egg out of the pan and crack another in
>You put some bread into the toaster while you’re at it
>”You know you’ve got a pretty cute tush there, Lightning.”
>You glance back and see, to your dismay, that your tail has turned into an eyestalk
>You can’t even cover up your naughty bits with your nonexistent tail
"Er... Thanks?"
>What was with this thing?
>Was it always so blunt?


>”I mean, geez have you ever thought about taking up a career in stripping?"
"No. I've done security for as long as I can remember."
>You feel your tail return to normal
>"I mean, you did get FIRED recently. You've even got an opening to look for jobs."
>You're wishing you died last night, these puns are awful
"I'm not going to be a stripper."
>”You're no fun."
>You roll your eyes
“Anyways, I've got a friend that helps me out finding jobs. He's got connections like that.”
>”Is he cute?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
>”We’re like roommates, but even closer, we share a body, you know.”
>You get the feeling you know what she’s getting at
>It doesn’t make it any less creepy
>You shudder a bit
“I don’t really look at him that way, sorry.”
>You hear it sigh
>”You’re no fun. Guess I’m just gonna have to eat some more ponies.”
“Wait, you can’t do that, you’re me!”
>”Implying there’d be any witnesses. You doubt my abilities?”
“I doubt me wanting to be present while it happens.”
>”Oh alright, lemme just split on off and…”
>You feel as if you’re being literally torn in two, pain and all
>You hear splattering as blood (your blood) hits the kitchen floor
“Waitwaitwaitwaitstop!”
>Your body starts to reassemble itself
>”What was that?”
“Fine, fine. What do you want from me?”
>”You've got two options: I go assimilate some ponies to sate myself for a bit, or I you can stop being a prude so I can feed off some pony love goo.”
>You groan as you turn off the stove
>You never want to hear that last phrase ever again
>"They say it's the purest form of nutrition and a good workout too~"
>You doubt the validity of that statement
“L-Look, I don’t like either of those ideas, isn’t there ANYTHING else we could do?”
>”I could assimilate the rest of you, then you wouldn’t have to be there while I go get more.”
“That’s even worse.”
>”Which is why I didn’t suggest it.”


>You sit out on your balcony and eat breakfast
>You feel an eyestalk moving about on your left shoulder, examining the apartment
>It’s just as unnerving as you thought it’d be
>After you’ve finished, you sit there and think about the current situation
“Hey uh… You there?”
>”Of course.”
“Do you have a name?”
>”Just call me Amber.”
>You think that’s a bit of a strange name for an organism like her
>But okay
“So what’s existing like for you?”
>”What kind of question is that, you hippie?”
“I just wanted to know what it’s like inhabiting my body, slash me being a part of you and such.”
>”Imagine that you have individual control over every single cell in your body, and you can make them do whatever you want on a whim.”
“Huh… Can I do that, since we share a body now?”
>She snorts, or giggles or something
>”No. This isn’t a comic book.”
>Yet she says you having sex with ponies will sate her appetite
>You still hoped you'd gotten cool powers
>You'll just have to settle for being alive
>You finish up your food and head back inside
>It was time to get ready for the day
>You took a much needed shower (which still didn’t wash away the feeling of wrongness)
>You brushed your teeth
>You replaced the bow in your mane
>And you were ready
>You step out the door and lock it behind you
"Now PLEASE don't do anything crazy when we go see Steel today, okay?"
>”Ooh, what a name.”
“Hush, please. I don’t want ponies thinking I’m insane for talking to myself.”
>”But you aren’t talking to yourself, you’re talking to me.”
“They don’t know that. And please don’t do anything weird like put excess limbs and eyes and such on me in public, okay?”
>”You think me to be that dumb? I know how the Foundation is, they’ve got eyes everywhere, like me when I feel like it. Don’t worry about it so much.”
>Don’t worry about having yourself merged with an alien creature, right


>You trot along the sidewalk of one of many main roads
>All the while your eyes dart about, on the lookout for anypony that looked connected to the Foundation
>”Hey, Lightning Prude, calm yourself. You look like you’re strung out on Diamond Dust or something.”
“I…”
>You look around
“Sorry alright? I heard stories about what the Foundation can do.”
>”Calm down and keep walking you spaz.”
>You sigh and do so
>You trot inside a familiar, inconspicuous looking building
“I need to speak with Steel Vaults, please. Tell him that Lightning Law is here to see him.”
>She eyes you curiously before trotting off to the back
>”So what does Steel even do, hm?”
>You keep your voice low
“I don't know. I've never asked. Whatever it is he makes a lot of money from it.”
>One of the doors opens and a secretary beckons you over
>”Mr. Vaults will see you in a bit. Please take a seat.”
>You do so, taking a seat in one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs as you wait
>There’s a large painting of Steel up on the wall, and you feel your head turning and gaze drawn to it
>”Oh hohoho, so this is the Steel you’ve been hiding from me.”
“You only started living in my body today!”
>”Looks nice. Think he might be connected to the SCP Foundation?"”
>Your heart stops
>Amber starts it again
"W-W-Why would you even joke about that?!"
>Amber laughs inside your head
>"Because it gets a reaction out of you. 'Sides, Steel doesn't look like a Foundation spook or bigwig. Relax."
>Real easy for her to say
>You take a few deep breaths and try to calm yourself


>The door almost slams open
>In the doorway stands a massive purple stallion, easily dwarfing your stature even as you stand up
>”Shit, I thought the painting was exaggerating.”
“No, he’s a Clydesdale, they're big ponies.”
>You whisper, before Steel turns his attention to you
>”Aha! Hello Lightning Law, what a pleasure it is to see you again!”
“Hey there Steel, long time no see.”
>”Come in come in, we have much to speak about.”
>You trot inside and take a seat in one of the chairs facing his desk
>He of course, sits down behind it in his huge swivel chair
>”So what brings you back to me, Lightning? The job going well? How’ve you been? It’s been a few months, hasn’t it?”
>See this is why you never liked coming in and visiting Steel
>He always fired a barrage of questions at you and you always clammed up
>This time was no different
>Except it was, because you didn’t have control of your body anymore
>Or your voice
“Oh I’ve been doing okay, for the most part, unfortunately I was kind of uh… Fired from my job.”
>Did she really just make that pun AGAIN
>The fact that you could still see everything through your own eyes was incredibly surreal
>And hearing words come out of your mouth that you hadn’t spoken was as well
>”Fired? Oh whatever for, Lightning? Surely they know what a valuable employee you are.”
”Eh… Renovations. They liquidated a bunch of personnel including me."
>Now you don't even know if she's making jokes
>”Well that’s a shame, I take it that’s why you’ve come here today?”
>He flashes a smile your way
>Normally you’d blush and avert your gaze
>BUT YOU AREN’T IN CONTROL RIGHT NOW
“That, among other things.”
>Amber don't
>Do not try to make a move on your friend with your body
>Please
>”Right then. Well I suppose it won’t be too difficult to find you another place of employment. Somewhere that can utilize your skills. Did you enjoy working at your previous job?"


>”Of course, it’ll be a couple of days. But everypony likes to enjoy a vacation now and again, hm?”
“Oh of course!”
>You can feel part of your hindleg splitting off and snaking its way underneath his desk
>You’re also greeted with an entirely new perspective, as it seems your hoof has grown an eye
>You wonder just what Amber is up to
>”Getting a good look at what he’s packing, duh. Wanna make sure that our body is ready for tonight.”
>Oh joy, she’s already referring to it as “our” body
>Wait
>Tonight?!
>”Yes tonight, I’m hungry.”
>You fight for control over your other hoof and use it to step down upon the eyestalk
>At least you managed to do so before you got an eyeful of dick
>"Hey, Lightning Prude, what's your malfunction?"
>YOU ARE
>"Uh huh, and?"
>You aren't too keen on fucking your friend
>"Mhmm, so I take it you're fine with me eating ponies?"
>You didn't like it, but it was better than surrendering your virginity so easily
>"Alright then, if you say so."
>"Er, Lightning? You okay there? You look kinda spaced out."
>You suddenly realize you've been given control back of your body
>The eyestalk is even gone
"O-Oh uh, sorry I was just thinking a bit."
>He adjusts his tie a bit as he rifles through a few papers
>"Right, I was just asking if you would be fine working for the same company that you were fired from."
>You bite your lip
"Are there any other options?"
>The Foundation paid well, but it was dangerous to be working there if you were merged with a Keter anomaly
>"My name is Amber."
>Oh right she can hear your thoughts
>"Mm... I'm not sure. Give me a few days and I can see what I can come up with.”
>You nod, giving a little smile
"Thanks a bunch!"
>Quickly you stand up, making sure to get out of here before Amber could change her mind
>Luckily there were no excess limbs
"H-HehwellI'llseeyoulaterthenSteelbye!"
>You trot quickly out of the door and close it behind you, speedwalking away like an autist


>You are Ballpoint, Foundation employee and former Project Manager of Site-16
>Class C
>Security Clearance Level: 3
>”I take it that Site-16 has been successfully razed?”
“Yes ma’am. All anomalies accounted for, all personnel evacuated and transferred to Site-12.”
>”Well, not ALL personnel and anomalies of course.”
>You nod
“Er, yes ma’am. I have information on that act-
>The mare holds up her hoof
>”Please, continue your report on Site-16, we’ll discuss SCP-3088 afterwards.
“Yes ma’am, my apologies. A-As I was saying; we’ve sent MTF Epsilon-2 in to conduct a sweep of the remnants of Site-16. Anything they find will be reported directly to you.”
>You watch her check the window to her left, rain gently pattering against the pane of glass
>”And what of the media?”
“The coverup was as simple as feeding them a story about a gas leak in the building used as the front for Site-16.”
>”Everything by the book then. Very good. I’m pleased this went off without a hitch.”
>You give yourself a mental pat on the back
>”Now, onto SCP-3088.”
>Right, that thing
“SCP-3088. Object Class: Keter. An extraterrestrial organism capable of shapeshifting and perfectly mimicking any organic lifeform. Research shows that it retains all memories of assimilated individuals. Its preferred form appears to be that of an Earth Pony mare possessing amber eyes and a brown coat. Interrogation revealed this form to be the first pony assimilated upon its first appearance here in Equestria.”
>”Yes, I am aware of what it is. Please, continue.”
“R-Right.”
>You take a deep breath
“After being caught in the explosion from one of the charges placed in Site-16, SCP-3088 was noted to be in a state of irreparable damage. Most of its body was vaporized in the explosion, leaving only its head intact.”
>You take a drink of your tea


“The other pony caught in the explosion was…”
>You look at your report
“Lightning Law, member of the Site-16 response team. Security clearance 3. Class C. Her psychiatric profile is unremarkable, other than listing her as sexually repressed and strong willed. Close to death and having been bisected in the explosion as she tried to escape Site-16, SCP-3088 took the opportunity to save itself using Law’s body. Weakened by the explosion, 3088 was unable to assimilate Lightning Law in her entirety. As of right now, 3088 resides within what remains of Lightning Law, though it seems that she’s retained her free will, as well as her own brain.”
>The pony across from you raises an eyebrow
>”Is this true?”
“Field agent Steel Vaults has recently come into contact with the organism now known as SCP-3088-L, and his reports state that Ms. Law still retains cognitive ability and fine motor control, as well as her own personality. While that is already characteristic of SCP-3088, Steel notes that she seems to talk to herself discreetly, hinting that the original 3088 still resides inside.”
>”I see. Do you have anything else to report?”
“Uhh…”
>You flip through the rest of your reports
”Ah! Yes, Lightning Law’s class has been changed to E, and I’ve put in the request to have her security clearance scrubbed. We’ve continued to monitor her within her apartment, and she appears to be none the wiser.”
>The mare waves her hoof dismissively
>”Cancel the request. Let her retain her security clearance.”
“B-But ma’am, that’s INCREDIBLY dangerous! You’re talking about letting an anomaly have the same access that a response team member does! If I were in charge I wouldn’t even be letting her wander around in her own apartment like this, she should be conta-“
>”But you AREN’T in charge, Mr. Ballpoint. You’d do well to remember that. Now sit down.”


>You hadn’t realized it, but you’d gotten heated and stood up, your forehooves on the desk
“R-Right… I understand that. But I still don’t understand what the Foundation has to gain from allowing an anomaly free reign to roam about unchecked.”
>”Yes, but she isn’t unchecked, now is she? We’ve got our field agent Mr. Vaults keeping an eye on her, as well as the rest of our field agents investigating other facets of Ms. Law’s life. And, in the result of something… Unexpected happening, we’ve got the City Slickers standing by.”
>You close up the folder you have and place it on the desk, sliding it over to the mare
“I suppose you’re right, but Law is still paranoid about being monitored, for good reason. We need to make sure that she doesn’t suspect anything.”
>The mare thinks about this for a few minutes
>”Contact Steel Vaults, I’d like him to maintain a daily watch over SCP-3088-L. He’ll do so under the guise of a relationship with the subject. Of course, he’ll also receive a raise in pay for this. We’ll also tell the lab to increase the production of the artificial pheromones in Law’s apartment so she’ll be more agreeable to such a thing. We can’t make her seek him out of course, but we can put the pieces in place.”
>An odd plan
>But not the strangest you’ve heard of in your time working here
“I’ll do so after leaving then, ma’am. But don’t you think agent Vaults will have a problem interacting with an anomaly on a daily… And nightly basis?”
>”I’m sure that he’ll find the substantially increased paycheck more than enough incentive, if the… “late night liaisons” aren’t.”
>The thought made you shudder with a mix of revulsion and morbid curiosity
“I’ll… Make sure he has a secondary E classification then.”
>”You are dismissed, Mr. Ballpoint. Leave your reports with me.”


>You are Lightning Law
>”And Amber.”
>You grumble a bit as Amber chimes in
>Right
>You open up the door to your apartment, the warm air hitting your face like a welcome pillow and inviting you to take shelter from the cold rain outside
“Haaaah, it feels so good to be home.”
>You flop down facefirst onto the couch
>Or at least, you were facefirst for a moment until your entire head twisted around, much to your dismay
>The horrible cracking and crunching of your vertebrae nearly made you sick
“Amber why.”
>”I hunger.”
>You want to slap your hoof against your face in exasperation
>But your joints don’t bend that way since your head is on backwards
“I can cook us food if I could see in front of me, this is EXTREMELY disorienting.”
>You hear derisive laughter come out of your mouth that isn’t your voice
>”Silly mare, I have no need of your “food.” You know exactly what I eat.”
>Right
>She eats other ponies
“But why do you need to assimilate other ponies? Doesn’t being merged with me keep you sustained?”
>Your body starts to pick itself up and off the couch
>”Think of it this way, Law: The hungrier I get, the more appealing the rest of your body is.”
>You take control and force your head back around the right way, before popping your neck
>Amber seems noticeably surprised
“Yeah, but if you eat or assimilate the rest of me, won’t you have to deal with the Foundation finding you easier since you’d be back in your normal form?”
>Snickering
>”Oh Lightning Prude, you really don’t know how I work do you? I assimilate the rest of you, and then I take your place. You die, become one with the many, and nopony is the wiser. Only difference being that you don’t exist anymore.”
>Shit


>”So don’t act like you’re the one in charge here, little miss Law. You live because I had no other option to keep myself alive.”
>So now she’s effectively holding you hostage inside your own body
“Then what incentive do I have to allow you to assimilate ponies? If you get yourself back to full strength, then you’ve got no more use for my body. But If I DON’T then you’ll just eat the rest of me and go about your merry way! It’s a lose/lose situation for me!”
>”Exactly! I’m glad you’ve finally realized that you’re only alive because I let you be. Like I said before, you should be thanking me.”
>Suddenly the entire situation got quite a bit more sinister
>Amber hadn’t been this aggressive before
>And you hadn’t been this confrontational and possessive of yourself either
>What happened?
>”So here’s what we’re gonna do: We’re gonna take a nice stroll outside, maybe chat up somepony in a diner, get them alone, then I’m going to assimilate them. And if I feel like, it, I’ll continue being your “roommate.”
>You don’t like the emphasis she put on roommate
>But you didn’t have any other choice
>You would just have to do your best to stay in Amber’s good graces if you wanted to keep on existing as you are now
>You trot to your room and put on the jacket you’d been given from your previous security job
>Nice and comfy
>You barely have the time to straighten the bow in your mane before Amber wrenches control away from you and starts for the front door
“Hey hey hey what’s the rush!”
>”I told you I was hungry. Would you rather I start eating the rest of your organs?”
“No, I’d prefer it if we could coe-“
>As you opened up the door and stepped out, you run facefirst into a wall
>Who the hell put a wall up in front of your door?!
>And… Did it smell of cologne?
>You look up, rubbing your scrunched nose
“…Steel?”


>You are Invisible Ink
>Investigative journalist and paranormal investigator
>You usually make sure to leave out that second part when introducing yourself
>Your horn glows a soft gray as you pull up your binoculars to your face
>You had been staking out an office building for a few months now
>The sign out front SAID that it was a staffing agency
>But why in the world would a staffing agency need armed guards?
>Combine that with the explosion you’d witnessed a few days ago
>And the… odd creature you’d seen come crawling out of it
>Along with the injured pony
>Unfortunately you were in no position to help
>Nor did the idea of getting caught appeal to you
>You put away your binoculars and crawl out of your tiny camouflaged lean-to
>Which was really little more than a hole in the ground
>The rain made it very inhospitable however
>You pull your coat around you tighter
>It had started pouring down just a few hours ago and hadn’t stopped since
>Making your way down the hill, you take note of the entrance
>Of which there were police officers stationed there
>They didn’t seem to enjoy the rain either
>A day or so after the incident with the explosion they’d moved in, but you noted that a more heavily armed group had gone past the police line and inside
>They hadn’t come out since they’d gone in
>The building itself wasn’t very large either
>Why would they need to be so heavily armed, and why are they taking so long?
>Nothing here was adding up, and you were going to get to the bottom of it


>You keep a wide berth from the security officers and make your way around the side of the building
>Of course, the entire place was surrounded by a fence
>Luckily there was a dumpster nearby that you could hop onto and easily clear the fence
>Before you do so, you concentrate hard on your magic
>Your horn glows its soft gray before the magic envelops you
>When it dissipates, you have, as your name implies, become invisible
>Well
>Technically not completely invisible
>Nopony would ever be able to manage true invisibility
>The risk of simply dissipating into nothing was too great
>However, this spell can make you ALMOST completely transparent
>To the point where if you stood still, somepony would have to be actively looking for you to even have a chance of stumbling across you
>It really helped when you were snooping around like this
>You hop onto the dumpster and deftly leap over the fence
>You waste no time in making your way inside through what looked to be a blown out airlock?
>When you’re inside you take a picture of it, taking the polaroid out and giving it a shake before putting it in your saddlebag
>The other benefit from your spell was that it could be transferred to objects as well
>No spooky floating cameras here!
>The downside being that the longer this went on, the more of a strain it put on your mind
>That’s the one thing Unicorns never talk about
>The headaches from overuse of magic


>Apparently the story went that this building blew up thanks to a gas leak
>But as you proceed deeper inside, you start to get the feeling that’s not entirely true
>Granted, you hadn’t believed it to begin with
>But now you knew for sure
>The offices on this floor are nothing impressive
>Standard stuff you would expect
>Just slightly more burnt than usual
>It’s only when you return to the staircase you’d come across when you first entered that your spine tingles
>You weren’t afraid of the dark or anything, but descending into the ground like this filled you with a sense of unease
>Your hooves emanate muffled clips and clops as you descend the concrete stairway
>Portions of it have crumbled away
>And at one point you had to jump down to another landing
>You’d worry about finding your way back out when you had some sufficient evidence for a story
>In the back of your mind you were also making sure to keep an eye out for that armed squad of ponies
>Unless they’d left when you slept, they would still be in here
>And you got the feeling that they had interesting ways of dealing with trespassers
>After all, you weren’t supposed to be here in the first place
>Clip
>Clop
>Clip
>Clop
>Clip
>Clop
>Your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but it was still spooky down here
>There was absolutely no sound
>And you’d lost track of how many flights of stairs you’d went down
>Yet there was still no entrance or exit, save for the one you came through
>Fortunately, as if on cue, you come face to face with a door
>It’s ajar, and there are three glowsticks on the ground near it, casting an eerie red glow on the walls
>They weren’t fresh, and at least two of them are starting to fade


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozft-BDgOBE
>This could mean one of two things
>Either this is simply the color that the squad that came in here are using to mark their path
>Or that the color meant going through the doorway was dangerous
>You were hoping it was the former as you stepped through the doorway into the long concrete corridor
>Doors line the left side of the wall, while the right side holds a staircase flanked on both sides by what looks to be glass
>Or rather, perhaps it used to be glass
>Now portions of it lay shattered on the ground
>Carefully trotting around the glass, you take a picture of the doors behind you as you trot down the steps into the room below
>In this room there are multiple desks, filing cabinets, and whatnot…
>But everything looks like it’s been burned
>And not in the fake gas leak explosion sort of burned either
>You take another photo, this time of the room you were in
>The filing cabinets have all been pried open, along with the desks
>And there was a pile of ash in the center of the room
>You trot over and rifle through it
>Though you don’t find much of note, you do find the remnants of a folder that hadn’t burned all the way
>Was this done deliberately?
>You could only guess that it had to do with those armed ponies that might be down here with you
>You take a picture of the ash and half-burned folder before retreating up the stairs
>There seems to be an odd symbol drawn in chalk beside each slightly opened door
>A diamond with a diagonal line drawn through it, each time
>What could it mean?
>You take a picture of the symbol and move on, as there looked to be nothing of interest in the rooms separated by the doors


>It seems that the more you explore this place, the more questions arise
>Just what the hell was this place, for one
>And what did they used to keep here?
>You’d come across numerous things you could only describe as cells
>Not in the traditional sense like a prison, mind
>But holding cells, like something was supposed to be contained inside
>Of course you’d taken pictures of everything
>You’d even had to load in more film
>There was SO MUCH here!
>You must’ve stumbled upon a metaphorical goldmine with all this
>A secret underground facility, covered up by an innocuous building
>This was the kind of thing you only DREAMED about!
>But you had to do your best to stay calm
>Something catches your gaze out of the corner of your eye
>You turn and look
>There are scorch marks covering what looks to be a logo of some sort
>This was the kind of thing you were looking for
>If you were lucky you could put a name to this facility
>You do your best to wipe away the soot and after a few minutes, you manage to clear enough away to make out some large, white letters
>SCP Foundation. Secure. Contain. Protect.
>You’d never clicked that photo button faster in your life
>You had a name now
>You made sure to take two pictures, placing one in the breast pocket of your jacket and one in your saddlebag
>Always be thorough
>You calm your racing heart and take a turn down another corridor, taking the stairs down
>As you followed the trail of glowsticks, you began to realize that they’d started getting brighter and brighter
>Which meant you were hot on the trail of the ponies that were in here with you
>And by “hot on the trail” you meant that as you exited the stairwell, you could see them in the corridor ahead


>”Are we done yet?”
>”Does it look like we’re done, Lock?”
>You hide behind the corner of one of the walls, peeking out to take a good look at these ponies
>They were wearing some strange armor, and holding some very heavy duty looking weapons
>On their heads looked to be some sort of harness that projected a screen in front of their eyes
>It glowed yellow with the telltale sign of a magical enchantment
>Odd
>Was it to help them see in the darkness?
>”There’s a reason they call us the Janitors. We don’t leave until all the evidence of the Foundation is scrubbed from this place.”
>The smaller mare, Lock, responds in kind
>”Then why aren’t we just burning it all?”
>”Oh yeah sure thing, go ahead and answer to one of the O5s when you accidentally burn important information on SCP-835.”
>”S-Shutup, everypony knows the O5s wouldn’t deal with something that trivial!”
>The rest of the team stays silent, looking at each other
>You’d been recording this with a small tape recorder, and whiel it’s clear that the team seems to be messing with Lock, judging by her flustered attitude, the kind of things they were saying were only serving to pique your curiosity more
>SCP-835? O5s? The Foundation (which you already knew about.)
>Even the fact that these ponies had a nickname for their squad was telltale of strange things
>The 4 other ponies break out in laughter, and Lock looks at them angrily
>”Guys that isn’t funny! You had me legitimately scared!!”
>One of the other stallions gives her a light smack on the back of the head
>”Then stop complaining and let’s get going, we’ve still got work to do.”


>The throbbing pain in your temple notifies you that it is now time to leave
>At least before your invisibility wears off
>You retrace your steps, following the fading glowsticks back towards the entrance
>You have to climb up the railing to get past some of the crumbled portions of the stairs
>But eventually you make your way back out of the ruined airlock
>You didn’t feel like dealing with a heavily armed group of ponies tasked with a coverup
>BUT OH MY GOSH
>A TASK FORCE MADE TO COVERUP A CONSPIRACY LIKE THIS
>YOU WANTED TO GO HOME AND CELEBRATE RIGHT NOW
>You have to snip the fence to get out this time, but you put it back in place haphazardly and gallop away
>You don’t even mind the cold rain stinging your face
>Oh did you have a story to tell now
>When you get home to your tiny apartment, you close the door, locking it up tight and taking a deep breath
>You knock your horn against the wall, just to make sure you aren’t dreaming
>It was time to get to work


>The next morning…
>You are Lightning Law
>”A-And Amber.”
>You lay in bed, sheets and blankets twisted around you and hanging off the bed
>Steel snores in the bed next to you, splayed out
>You’re not a virgin anymore
>For some reason you had figured there’d be more ceremony involved
>”What, did you expect a banner to unfurl from your ceiling and confetti to shoot out?”
>Well
>No
>But you figured it would be a bigger deal than what happened last night
>I guess your friends were right, it’s not as important as you made it out to be
>But it was still unexpected
>After you and Amber had that little spat with each other, you were about to leave
>That is, before your friend Steel showed up at the door
>Before you’d had a chance to ask him why he was here however, Amber took control of your body
>And your voice
>She’d invited him in with no questions asked
>Sure she’d been interested in Steel when you went to visit him yesterday
>But you figured that was just because she was trying to mess with you
>Not the fact that she actually wanted to do the horizontal bop with your friend
>But the one thing that took you by surprise last night was THE FACT THAT STEEL WAS THE ONE INITIATING IT
>He’d apparently been into you for quite a while
>But he didn’t say anything about it
>You never took him to be the shy type
>And you knew that he didn’t have trouble talking with mares
>Maybe you were different or something


>Regardless, it didn’t take long for Amber… Or rather YOU to get in his pants
>Even if all he was wearing was a dress shirt and vest
>And so here you lay, in your bed, face pressed into a pillow, hindquarters in the air
>”What an embarrassing position to fall asleep in.”
“Says the pony that couldn’t even keep our body from nearly falling apart last night!”
>”Hey, quiet down before loverboy hears you and thinks you’re insane!”
>You’d almost rather be insane
>Hell, maybe you were
“My butt hurts.”
>”Yeah he really did a number on us.”
>You roll over, flopping out of the bed onto your back
“Auuuugh….”
>You feel the bones of your ribcage crack and splinter before they shoot out of your back
>Amber drags the both of you out of your room, skittering along on your bones like a spider
>You’d care if you weren’t nursing a hangover
“Hey Amber… Can’t you like, fix us?”
>”What, I’ve never had to deal with a hangover before.”
>You groan as Amber deposits you facefirst in the bathtub
>Your hindlegs hang over the side as your ribcage recedes into your chest where it belongs
>Your hoof reaches out in vain for the shower knobs, finding no purchase
>Your hoof slumps to the tub and you groan again
>Amber however is not bound by your puny pony physiology
>You turn your head to the side and watch as your veins pry themselves out from under your skin, lashing out and turning both knobs
>Warm water gushes from the faucet in a loud torrent that assaults your ears
>A thin pool of water fills the tub while most of it drains


>Of course, you do nothing, the water feels nice against your cheek
>Your arteries clump together and turn the middle knob so that the showerhead actually starts up
>Then everything kind of schlorps back into your body quickly
>It makes you shiver
>You realize something is missing however when you drag yourself the rest of the way into the shower
>You stare into the wall
“Where’s my left eye.”
>”Keeping an eye on Steel.”
>Clearly she isn’t affected by the hangover if she can keep making horrible jokes like this
“What if water gets in the socket?”
>Amber rolls your remaining eye you almost reach up to keep in place, lest it fall out
>”Oh come on, it’s just water. Besides, you’ve let worse into your body before.”
“Yeah, YOU.”
>”I meant your friend’s dick, but you can be rude if you want.”
>You grumble some more and do your best to make sure no water gets in your eye socket
>You squirt some shampoo onto your hoof and stare at it for a moment
>If it hurt to get shampoo in your eyes, approximately how bad would it hurt if it got into the eye socket?
>You’re not keen on finding out
>You always hated showering
>Because it made you feel like an Earth Pony since you couldn’t use your magic
>But why couldn’t you use your magic?
>Well


>Your name wasn’t LIGHTNING Law for nothing
>Call it a mutation, a birth defect, or something else altogether
>But your magical aura had the distinct properties of electricity
>In fact that’s all it was
>It was still used like a normal Unicorn’s magic
>And functioned the same way
>But it would electrocute you if you touched it
>Or y’know, if it touched other stuff
>In some ways it was more of a hindrance than an aid
>Though on the bright side, you never needed a stun baton when you worked security
>You continue to run your hooves through your mane, when another odd thought comes up
“Is my mane alive?”
>”Well, now that you mention it, I suppose that TECHNICALLY all of my cells can be made into whatever I wish for them to be, I could use your mane or tail as biomass when I shapeshift.”
>That only led to more questions
>”Can you even take the appearance of somepony else thanks to our uh… Unique situation?”
>A protrusion made of muscle and sinew rips through your neck, causing you to cry out
>It didn’t hurt, but it felt awful
>It also surprised you
>This was essentially just another, smaller pony protruding from your shoulder
>It was Amber’s… “default” form
>Or rather the pony she took the form of usually
>”Well, for one, I don’t really need to, seeing as how I’m safe inside your body, nibbling bits and pieces of you occasionally.”
“HEY!!”
>”Oh relaaaax. It’s just a few cells here and there. Maybe more.”
“Stop that!!”
>You give the pseudo-pony a smack on the top of the head
>”Ouch! Hey I can’t okay? It’s just how I work!”
>You run your mane under the water
“So you’re saying that eventually… there’s just going to be none of me left?”


>”Well… Yes. It’s not really a process I control. My cells forcefully assimilate yours pretty much 24/7. What’s left of your body makes more of course, but I just keep making them mine. Technically they’re mine, but they replicate you perfectly. Which is why you aren’t trotting around with just half a body and half of me.”
>This isn’t a revelation you wanted to hear
>Especially not this morning
>”I assimilate things, Lightning. It’s what I do. I am everything. I have become countless worlds over and over. What you ponies have called “extinction,” I call communion. I am entire populations, Lightning.”
>All the things she’s saying are starting to make you even more scared
>And she can feel it
“T-Then what, why am I different then? Why aren’t I assimilated?”
>”I pity you, Lightning.  In fact, I pity your entire species. Always so skittish, afraid of what you don’t understand. And when I try to make you understand, you run, you burn me, you slice me open.”
>You’re trying to wash your body while she speaks, but it’s getting harder and harder to do so as she takes control away from you
>”And when the containment opened and let me out, I held no malice towards the scientists. They received communion also. But you ran away.”
“And we exploded, yeah.”
>”I lost so much biomass, all in an instant. But you were there. And so instead of taking you in my communion. We became one in a symbiosis… Ya dig?”
>Holding up a hoof to the open eyesocket, you put your face under the water
“But you’re more like a parasite, taking my cells every day. If you wanted a symbiosis, couldn’t you stop it?”
>The pony facsimile rubs its chin
>”Now that you mention it…”


>The unnecessary pause was driving you insane
>”There’s something I could try, but you might not like it.”
>You generally didn’t like the situation you were in regardless, but not eventually dying was a better proposition
>”If I assimilate part of your brain, I’ll gain access to… Pretty much all of your memories. But I’m like 99% certain that your body will stop seeing me as a threat. If it stops seeing me as a threat, my cells won’t assimilate you over time.”
>To be honest, you’re a little worried about losing that part of yourself… But if Amber can mimic it perfectly then it’s like you never lost it at all, right?
>Right?
>Deep breath in
>Deep breath out
“Alright go ahead. I trust you.”
>You see Amber smile, but there’s something else in it…
>You watch her mouth open wider than it should, jaw unhinging as rows of decidedly non-pony teeth reveal themselves
>Your remaining eye widens as they sink into your flesh
>But it doesn’t hurt
>In fact it’s like she only did it to scare you
>Tendrils that were once your veins wrap around your head and sink into your ear, muffling all sound
>Your eyelid twitches, which is the only thing that signals her having assimilated part of your brain
>And as soon as it had started, it was over
>You’re back to normal
>Sans an eye of course
“I-Is it done?”
>You hear laughing
>Amber’s telltale mocking laughter
>Your ears pin back
“H-Hey, what are you laughing at?”
>”AAAHAHAHA! Holy shit Lightning. You look so adorable. What a cute little outfit~”
“S-Stop looking through my memories! T-Tell me if it worked! Are you not eating me anymore?”
>”Oh what that? Oh yeah I was never slowly eating you unless I wanted a snack. I just wanted access to your memories.”
>Your eye twitches again


“So… Y-You said all that. Got me thinking I was gonna DIE. Told me what your communion was like. And got me feeling all scared and bonding with you…. JUST SO YOU COULD LOOK THROUGH MY MEMORIES?”
>”UH HUH! And oh MAN was it worth it!”
>You feel a mix of shame, embarrassment, and anger
>But you can’t do anything about it
>Maybe you could strangle yourself
>Right as you’re about to berate Amber, the missing eye comes back to you and shoves itself back into its socket, giving you back the sight from the eye
>The bathroom door opens shortly afterwards, and an eyeball appears on your neck, looking towards it
>”You gonna be in there for too much longer?”
“Huh? Oh! I uh… Was jus-“
>”Why don’t you join me instead? There’s enough room.”
>Why
>Why you gotta be like this
>The shower curtain opens, revealing Steel standing there, towering over you
>His usually slicked back red mane is now unkempt and mussed
>He’s looking down at you confusedly
>”Were you talking to somepony?”
>Amber doesn’t take control
>Instead she leaves you to flounder by yourself in front of your new boyfriend(?)
>(Was that how this sort of thing worked?)
>He DID go on about being way into you and such when he came over last night
>”Ahhh… No? Sometimes I just talk to myself when I’m alone. Just a habit of mine I picked up! K-Kinda forgot you were still here because I don’t get visitors that usually stay… Overnight.”
>”Smooth like sandpaper, Lightning.”
>You opt to ignore Amber, and step aside slightly as Steel enters the shower with you


>”I certainly hope you enjoyed last night, Lightning.”
>You do your best to stammer out a response, but just end up nodding rapidly
>”Well that’s good. Glad your first time was memorable.”
>FUCK HOW’D HE KNOW
>He stands over you, nonchalantly washing his mane while your normally golden-hued cheeks redden
>”Unfortunately I won’t be able to stick around, I’ve got a rather busy day today. I’ll be back tonight however.”
>You pause for a moment as you wash our body with the loofah
“Wait, why? I thought you told me you didn’t work today.”
>”I don’t, but I’ll be finalizing the paperwork and pulling some strings to get you transferred to your new job. And if everything goes well, you’ll be able to start tomorrow.”
>He pats your head
“Well I mean, that’s certainly nice, t-thanks. But you still haven’t told me what the job is.”
>”That’s because I can’t. I don’t even know what it’s gonna be. My connections will be telling me that info today.”
“Oh.”
>That made sense
>Sometimes you wondered what kinds of things Steel even did
“Er ah… Hey Steel, what do you even do? I don’t think you ever told me.”
>He stops for a moment as he’s rinsing off his coat, looking down at you
>”What’s that now?”
“I asked what you do, like… As a job. You’ve never told me.”
>You reach up and adjust the showerhead so the water’s hitting you as well
>”Hm? Oh I’ll tell you when I get back.”
>And then you have sex again
>In the shower


>Steel leisurely steps out of the shower, glancing over his shoulder at you
>”Uhh, you gonna be alright?”
>You ask him to just leave you in the tub
“I’ll… G-Get out soon.”
>Steel shrugs and dries himself off before leaving
>Amber chimes in, having been eerily quiet the whole time
>”I can’t place it, but something’s off about him.”
>What?
>That was completely out of left field
“What makes you say that?”
>”Seems kinda dodgy about his job, right? He even gave you the D so you’d forget about it and stop asking.”
>You’ve never been a suspicious kind of pony
>But Amber seems like she’s overly suspicious of Steel now
“You didn’t act like this before, what gives?”
>Amber stands you up after turning the water off
>You step out of the shower
>”I’m really good at reading things. How stuff ticks, what makes a creature do what it does. I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve assimilated countless planet’s worth of species. Steel is hiding something.”
>She has a point
>But she’s also lied to you before
“I’m gonna withhold judgement for now, alright?”
>As you start to towel yourself off, you realize that you’re no longer wet
>Must be Amber’s doing
>It’s a nice time saver at least
>You continue with your usual morning routine
>Amber hisses at you as you turn the stove on, but you assure her that you’re not clumsy enough to get burned
>You eat breakfast on your balcony, noting that the clouds are gray, and the air’s got a slight chill to it
>It was probably going to rain
>You go back inside and put a bow in your mane, like usual
>And you put on a coat
“Hey Amber, is it possible for us to get sick?”
>There’s a moment of pause
>”No. Probably not. Most likely not.”
>As good an answer as any
>You step outside and lock the door


>You are Invisible Ink
>And you’re currently inserting pins into a corkboard
>Your room is a mess of papers, some crumpled in the trash, some strewn about
>Posters advertising movies are plastered on the walls neatly, though the most important one was above your bed, telling you every morning when you woke up that “The truth is out there.”
>Multiple journals filled with your own writing are also stacked neatly near your bed, labeled with masking tape and marker
>You’ve been awake for… quite a while now
>If the dark circles underneath your eyes are anything to go by
>But you don’t feel tired
>Far from it in fact
>You feel excited
>This is the biggest story you’ve ever gotten your hooves on
>You blow a strand of your mint green mane out of your face and pin up another polaroid photo
>You levitate over the Chineighse takeout that you’d ordered and eat some of the rice
>On your corkboard you had many things, the most important of which being to photo in the center taken of the logo of the building you were in
>The SCP Foundation
>You wrapped the pin in thread and linked it to another pin, this one holding up the photo you’d taken of the pony and the creature you saw on the day of the explosion
>You’ve been trying to nail down just who it was, but with half of her body missing, it was tough
>Of course, you also took photos of what happened when that creature got a hold of that pony
>It was… Gruesome, to say the least
>But then that pony got up and trotted away like nothing had happened
>That was the scariest part
>Was it a zombie?
>Or something else entirely?
>Worse yet, that pony must live somewhere in this city if that was their job
>And judging by the logo on her uniform, she did


>There were multiple photos like this, all linked to each other, and most of them linked back to the SCP Foundation
>And from the research you’ve done so far, the SCP Foundation doesn’t even exist
>There are no records of them
>No interactions with city officials
>Nothing
>But obviously, it DOES exist if their logo is there
>And if they’ve got armed guards
>And a task force to clean up the remnants of a secret underground facility
>It was very clear that this SCP Foundation is something very secretive
>You were lucky to even get this much information
>You transcribed the audio of the recording you took of that squad talking with each other
>The things that stuck out were their mentioning of the O5s, and of something called SCP-835
>Truthfully, the O5s wouldn’t have stuck out if Lock hadn’t been so fearful when the rest of the squad teased her about them
>And SCP-835 could be anything
>If they went by traditional number conventions, that could mean there are at least 834 SCPs before it
>And just what in the world was an SCP?
>Was it another one of their facilities?
>One of those creatures?
>Something else entirely?
>You had no way of knowing for sure
>And there was something else that was gnawing at the back of your mind
>If the SCP Foundation is as secretive as they are, you could be in danger just by KNOWING about this
>Nothing strange has happened since you’d come home, but it was making you ever more paranoid by the minute
>To be safe, you went out and got some extra tough looking locks to put on the windows
>It was more for your own peace of mind than anything
>Because deep down you knew that if the SCP Foundation has a lot of resources at their disposal, it would be trivial to take you down
>They just didn’t know you knew about them yet
>You hoped


>After a few more hours of trying to make connections
>Doing research
>Sketching up an image of the cleanup squad
>And just generally doing what you usually do
>You begin to realize that you aren’t getting anywhere
>You must have pored over this information a dozen times by now
>Squeezed out every last drop of insight it would give you
>And now you had to start doing the more dangerous stuff
>Asking around
>Snooping
>And just generally being a nuisance
>If the SCP Foundation didn’t know you existed now, they would certainly notice somepony asking around about them
>You would have to be more subtle
>Start smaller
>Unfortunately you only had one other lead
>And you wouldn’t exactly call it small
>OR less dangerous
>You unpin the picture you took of the pony that got up and walked away after being split in half and put back together
>This was the pony you would have to find
>Just in case, you make sure to take the rest of the photos in case she tries to lie her way out of it
>Because whatever it was, it wasn’t a pony anymore
>It was wearing the skin of a pony
>But it wasn’t a skinwalker like you’d researched
>This was something different, and far more terrifying
>You might even have to defend yourself if things get out of hoof
>All you’ve got is your magic, so that would have to be enough
>But you could do that later
>Right now what you needed…
>Was a nap