I woke up again after that. When I did, there was nobody in the room. I mentally cursed myself for acting like such a wimp at the sight of a talking unicorn. I work at the SCP Foundation, for crying out loud.
I got up from the bed I was in, and moved towards the door that led to the outside of the room.
When I got out, I met a giant blue crystalline hallway. I walked around the hallway, wandering aimlessly, searching for an exit. I have been to SCP - 106's pocket dimension once (an experience I'd never like to be through again), so those crystal hallways and rooms weren't so confusing at all. Just very, very time consuming.
Eventually, I reached a room. It was huge, and circular. The windows reflected a slightly green-ish light. The very place had an amazingly soothing aura. There were seven thrones in the middle of the room.
One of them was occupied by the same unicorn I've met before, and besides her, on a smaller throne was the green reptilian creature that was with her. On another throne, there was a white unicorn with a purple mane. On another throne, there was a pink pony, with a rather disturbingly happy smile. Floating around another one was a light blue pegasus, with a mane that had all colors of the rainbow. On the fifth throne was another pegasus, light yellow with a pink mane. And at last, there was an orange pony, with a blonde mane.
I barely had time to turn back and leave, when one of them spotted me in there. The yellow pegasus squeaked upon seeing me, so all others followed her gaze and saw me.
"So you're awake... again..." Said the lavender unicorn.
I reached for my gun, but I wasn't able to find it. In fact, it was then that I realised I didn't have my armor aswell. I was wearing a pink outfit with a few details made of shiny gems.
"What the hell is this?" I wondered aloud.
"Oh, darling. It's just something I made for you while you were asleep. That black outfit is completely unfashionable, I thought you would like something more acceptable." The white unicorn answered.
I looked at her in disgust. She realized my condemning glare and mumbled to herself.
"Just add a little pink, and every male goes crazy about it."
"Anyway, hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle." The lavender unicorn said. "And these are my friends." She continued pointing to the other equines in the room. "And you are..?" She said extending a hoof.
I thought about it for a while. Should I trust her? I had no idea how I got there, as far as I knew she could have captured me. Either way, she seemed friendly, and so did the others, so I decided to play along.
I took her hoof and shook it.
"Anthony Williams." I said.
"What kind of name is that?" Asked the rainbow-maned pegasus.
"Rainbow! Show a little more respect." Said the white unicorn.
After a brief discussion I learnedthe names of two of them. The blue pegasus with rainbow mane was called Rainbow Dash, and the white unicorn with purple mane was called Rarity.
After the two calmed down, Twilight presented me to her other friends. The orange pony with blonde mane was called Applejack, the pink pony was called Pinkie Pie, the yellow pegasus was Fluttershy, and the reptilian was actually a dragon called Spike.
Twilight showed me around the place. As I walked around the halls of that place she called 'Castle of Friendship', she talked about her and her friend's stories. Turns out she was the 'Princess of Friendship' who was also the leader of the 'Bearers of Harmony', a group who walked around that universe saving everyone when necessary. There was also a seventh pony who had just awoken, called Starlight Glimmer. Her story was that she was once a villain, and tried to make all of Equestria equal. She seemed interested in knowing me.
Eventually, Twilight finished showing me the place, and took me outside with her friends.
That place seemed rather dumb on the outside. It was basically a tree made out of crystals.
One of them, Starlight, came to me and spoke.
"So, what about you?" She asked.
"Uh? What about me?"
"You see..." Twilight started. "We have been to the human world once. Once we saw you, we thought you could have been from there. We tried to contact one of our friends there, Sunset Shimmer, but appearantly, you aren't like the humans there. She said you could just be something different that resembles a human... so... what are you?" Twilight asked.
"Human." I answered simply.
"What? But Sunset told me..." She started.
"Perhaps it's another human world. I am 100% sure I'm human." I said.
"Well, you do look a lot like the ones in there. But your name doesn't seem like one of the ones in there. And in general, you don't act like them." Twilight commented. "Still, I'd like to know your story." She gave me a pleading look.
I thought about it for a while longer. Sure I was playing along, but I still didn't trust her completely. As far as I knew she could turn me into stone, or something like that. After a while thinking, I decided not to tell her, at least not for now.
She looked disappointed, but understood anyway. She then showed me around town. Ponyville was the name. As I walked around, I noticed how there were very few ponies. Some of them seemed scared of me, not sure what I was.
Eventually we reached a place called Sugarcube Corner. The place was dark on the inside, and Pinkie invited us in. Still playing along I joined them.
When inside, the lights suddenly turned on, and I could see at least a few dozens of ponies. I immediately took a defensive stance, and got ready for the worst, as all of them shouted "Surprise!"
Pinkie saw my worried expression, and giggled a bit.
"No, silly. It's just a surprise party. You're new to Ponyville, so I called everypony to give you a party. " She explained.
I still disapproved the idea, but I went along with it.
Eventually, it got late, and so Twilight, Spike, Starlight, and I went back to the castle. I went back to the room Twilight arranged for me, sat in the bed for a while, contemplating what to do next. Eventually, I felt tired, and finally went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up, and moved towards the throne room. Twilight was there waiting for me.
"Good morning." She said.
"Morning..." I said, still not sure of what to think of her.
As if reading my mind she asked. "Still not trusting me, are you?"
"Well, you and your friends seem friendly enough, but I am still not sure of what to think." I admitted.
"Why?" She asked curiously.
After contemplating a little, I decided to give her a short answer. "Let's just say that after a few things I've been through, I am not going to trust anyone so easily."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
After a brief silence, I answered. "That's a story for another day."
She invited me into the kitchen, and I reluctantly accepted. Upon entering, I realised I was still wearing that pink outfit.
"Sorry for asking so early, but where is my armor?" I asked her.
"Huh?" She questioned.
"My armor. I think I was wearing it when I came here." I told her.
"Oh. Rarity must've taken it. She mentioned something about making it more fashionable." Twilight answered.
"Oh great." I said sarcastically.
"We'll go get it later. Why don't you take a seat and have some breakfast." She asked.
"I'm not hungry." I half lied.
"Well, at least wait for the others to wake up." She told me.
"Ok." I answered.
A few minutes later, Spike and Starlight woke up, and went to the kitchen. After having their respective breakfasts, and asking me every now and then if I wanted to eat something aswell the two of them joined me and Twilight on the way to Carousel Boutique.
Once we arrived, Twilight knocked politely on the door.
"Come in." Rarity's voice sounded on the other side.
We entered the place, and I must admit, it was quite impressive. The mannequins were all pony shaped. The place was pink everywhere inside, and the mirrors had a golden edge. The place seemed like a mixture of simple, yet elegant.
"Oh, hello darlings!" Said Rarity, entering the room.
She was wearing some glasses, and carrying a few dresses she was working on.
"Hello, Rarity." Said Twilight.
"What brings you here today?" Asked Rarity.
"Oh, we're just here to get his armor back." Said Twilight.
"Do you mean that old and ugly outfit?" Asked Rarity, with a horrified expression.
"Exactly." Said Twilight.
"Whatever do you want that for?" Rarity questioned me. "Oh I see, you dislike it because it's pink. I understand." She said, seemingly disappointed.
"It's not that. It's just... It's my uniform, you know? I kinda need that armor. I am a soldier after all." I explained.
"A soldier?" Starlight asked, looking at me curiously.
"I'll explain someday." I told her.
"Fine, I'll see if I can find it." Rarity said, getting out of the room.
We waited for a while. While the ponies talked, I wondered what could have possibly happend with my squad. Had any of them come here too? I wasn't sure, but if they had, then that could mean that... The SCPs could aswell.
That thought sent my mind rushing like never before. Twilight saw my worried expression and asked.
"Something wrong?"
"No, not at all." I said.
She simply nodded, and we waited a few more minutes for Rarity.
Eventually, she finally entered the room, holding my armor with her magic. I thanked her, and got into a dressing room.
First, I slipped off of the pink outfit, removing the shirts, then the pants, then the shoes. After this I started putting my armor back. First the pants, keeping them there with my belt, and checking if my guns were where they should, as well as extra ammo. Then, I put on my boots. At last, the chest armor, with bulletproof vest.
While putting on my helmet, I realised Twilight was behind me. I looked at her, and saw her look of fear while staring me.
"Is something wrong?" I asked her.
"What is... that?" She asked, pointing at my right arm.
I saw what she was looking at and realised what she meant. She was asking me about that huge scat that covered a big part of my skin. Bad memories from SCP - 1048.
"Well, as I said. I am a soldier. Getting hurt is part of my job." I answered simply.
She looked at me in disbelief, but I had to tell her the least amount of information possible. She walked out of the room, appearantly sad I refused to tell her anything.
I got out of the room, and gave back the outfit Rarity made for me.
"Oh, that is not necessary. You may keep it. It wouldn't really fit anyoneelse here." She said.
"Thanks." I said.
"You're welcome." She said.
After this, we left the place.
On our way back, Twilight told me I would have to go see the princesses, for security measures. She said that I was still a creature from another universe, therfore the authorities had to meet me personally. I agreed, at least now that I could see their leaders I could finally decided whether or not to trust them.
The day went along, as Twilight, Spike, and Starlight helped their friends. Meanwhile, I was in the Castle of Friendship, writing some logs, either for someone else who got here, or for the Foundation once I get back.
Eventually, Twilight and the others returned from their activities, so they came to the castle. Twilight trotted near me and spoke.
"Well, it is time. Let's take you to Canterlot." She said.
I realised her horn was glowing, so I decided to prepare myself. Eventually, there was a bright flash of light, and suddenly we were all in a new place.
The halls were white, with details in gold. The windows had shapes that resembles ponies and their achievements.
On the end of the room, there were two alicorns, one much taller than Twilight, and one about the same size. The bigger one was white, with a flowing mane that resembled a rainbow, and was wearing golden adornments. The other one was dark blue, with a blue mane that resembled the night sky, and was wearing black adornments.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna." Twilight greeted the two politely.
She looked at me, and signaled for me to come closer.
"This is Anthony Williams." Twilight said gesturing at my direction.
I bowed before the princesses. If they were as powerful as Twilight depicted, I did not want to upset them.
"Rise." Said the white one, Princess Celestia.
I did so, and looked up at them. They were staring at me with curious eyes. I already knew what they would say next.
"Where do you come from?" Asked Princess Celestia.
"As I have explained to Miss Sparkle before, I come from the Human World." I asnwered as calm-sounding as I could.
"As I am sure Twilight has explained to you already, we have the knowledge of a 'Human World', yet you don't seem like any of the ones in there." She stated.
"There are more than one reality, this one you know may just be a different one." I explained.
"Twilight has told me a few things about you. From the letters she sent me, you are a soldier. In your dreams, you keep saying random numbers as well as the letters S, C, and P. And usually mentions something known as 'The Foundation'." Celestia said, looking deep into my eyes. "As Princess of the Sun, it is my duty to protect Equestria and it's ponies, so I must know as much about you as possible." She said.
I was still unsure whether to trust them or not, but after thinking for a while I realised that, even after all the time I've been here, they showed me nothing but kindness. Of course, some of them didn't really trust me, I could see it in their eyes, I didn't blame them for that, as I wasn't sure abut them either. Still, if I was in this world, something else might have come here too, and if that was the case, I might need more help than I thought.
I took a deep breath, and asked the princesses something.
"What I am going to say now stays in this room, mass panic is something that neither of us want." I said, looking at Celestia seriously.
"As you prefer, now explain." She answered.
"I am Anthony Williams, a soldier of the S.C.P. Foundation." I started.
"SCP? What is that?" Asked Twilight curiously.
"S.C.P. stands for Secure, Containt, and Protect. We are an organization that is specified on locating, cataloguing, containing, studying, and testing anomalies, whether they are objects, places... or creatures." I said. "We call these anomalies the 'SCPs'." I finished.
"So that's what you keep saying on your sleep..." Mumbled Twilight. "You are talking about these anomalies, right?" Asked Twilight.
"Exactly. We have 3 main categories for them. Safe : It's an SCP That is either harmless, or that has been already neutralised. Euclid : It's an SCP That is either non-comprehended by us, or just not able to be easily contained. Keter : Run. Run for your life. Run as fast as you can, and never look back. Hard-to-contain, extremely dangerous, or straightforward nightmare fuel. Stay. Away. From. Them." I said, looking at them sternly.
They looked back at me, terror and concern in their eyes. I realised I might have scared them more than I intended to.
After another deep breath, Princess Celestia spoke.
"Still, that doesn't explain how, or why you got here." She said regaining her composture.
"There has been a breakout." I said.
After this, nobody even tried to hide their dread. I continued explaining.
"Several SCPs have gone loose, most of them Euclid, or Keter. I was alongside my team trying to confront them, and contain them back. However, I got here. Appearantly, I fell in an SCP and was sent to this dimension. I am honestly concerned with the fact that when I was there, there were other SCPs in the room with me, and it is possible they come here aswell." I told them.
"So why didn't you say this sooner?!" Asked Starlight, in disbelief.
"Because I still couldn't trust you." I told them.
"Why? We accepted you, helped you,even gave you a welcome party. Why would you be so cynical towards us?!" Asked Twilight, not understanding my resons.
"Remember those scars you have seen?" I asked her.
She looked pale, seemingly getting the messege, and simply nodding.
"That's why." I said.
"Let me guess, 'story for another day'." Said Starlight, disappointed.
"I belive it's best. If the other SCPs are here, then I have the duty of stopping them. It is possible that even some of my comrades are here too. I must find them, if they are." I said.
"We will arrange for you to go searching for these 'SCPs'." Said Celestia.
"Really?" I looked at her.
"If there is anything remotely threatening the peace in Equestria, it is my duty to stop it. You may go hunting these creatures." She said.
Sure I wasn't expecting that. Even though I wanted to, I still wasn't sure I could do that on my own. As if reading my mind, Twilight spoke up.
"Can me and the other bearers help him?" Asked Twilight.
"What?" I asked her.
"It's our duties as elements of harmony to keep peace through Equestria, and so, we should help you save everyone from these awful creatures." She said.
"It's too dangerous." I said.
"We have faced danger before." She said.
"Not like this..." I tried to convince her.
"Don't worry. We all belive in you." She said.
I looked at Princess Celestia, who simply nodded, and said.
"Fine, Princess Twilight. You may help Mr. Anthony Williams." She said, looking at me. "I trust you will be able to keep them safe, is that alright?" She asked.
"I will do my best." I said, bowing my head.
"Excellent. Now, you may want to go back to Ponyville, and..." Celstia started speaking, but was cut off by a loud noise.
A white unicorn with a blue mane entered the room. He looked terrified, and beside him was a ping alicorn carrying a little filly.
"Shining armor? What are you doing here?" Asked Princess Celestia.
"There is... something... on the Crystal Empire!" He stuttered.
"What is it, brother?" Asked Twilight.
He looked at me, and his eyes widened with fear.
"What is that?!" He asked.
"He is just our guest." Said Princess Celestia. "But he may aswell be the solution to your problem." She looked at me, then back at him. "What is on the Crystal Empire? Give the most details possible." She asked him.
"I'm not sure what it is either. It looks bipedal, but made out of rock, like, real hard rock. It looks kinda like a statue, it is mostly white, with some details in red and gree. It doesn't move, but is seen constantly on different places. Recently, several ponies have been found..." He hesitated. "...Dead..." He said at last. "We were able to link the sightings of this mysterious statue to the dead ponies, as it was usually seen before someone died, but we are never able to catch it, and we don't know where it will go next. It has recently disappeared from anyone's sight, but I know it is still there... somewhere... waiting..." He started to sweat.
Twilight was horrified by this, and hugged her brother to confort him, as he hugged her back even more tightly. I was aware of the possibility of one of them popping up, But I didn't belive it'd happen so soon.
"Does it sound like any of the ones you know?" Celestia asked me.
"Yes. I am perfectly sure I know who is he talking about." I looked at all of them, giving off my best serious look. "SCP-173 / A.K.A. The Sculpture." I said.
"The what?" Asked Twilight.
"It's a creature made out of concrete. It can't move when being looked at, but when you aren't looking, it becomes active. It generally kills it's victims by snapping their necks, or suffocating them. It's extremely fast, being able to move various meters on the same time you take to blink. It's an Euclid type, wich means, we don't know where it came from, or what it's reasons are. It is generally kept in a cell, monitored at all times. If it is in the Crystal Empire, we must go there Immediately, I know how to stop it." I said.
"Should I call the other bearers?" Asked Twilight.
"We have no time for that, if it's already there, many ponies are in danger right now." I said.
Twilight nodded, and said goodbye to her brother and friends, as she started the spell to teleport us into the Crystal Empire.
"Goodbye, sis... Be careful." Her brother called her, much calmer now.
"See you brother! Don't worry, I'll be fine." With that said, a bright flash of light covered the entire room.
Both me and Twilight found ourselves into a dark alley, there were no ponies on the street. They were probably too scared to get out of their homes.
"Where do we go now?" Asked Twilight.
Suddenly, we heard a scream, far away. I looked at the direction where the scream came from, then back at Twilight, then asked her.
"Where do you think?" I said, as we started running towards the direction of the sound.
I got my gun and bullets ready. This was going to be a very, very dangerous mission. And it was my duty to see it through.