//------------------------------//
// SCP-EQ-012 - How Do You Lock The Key To Its Own Cell? 
// Story: SCP Foundation - Equestrian Files 
// by DagaYemar 
//------------------------------//





Item #: SCP-EQ-012

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-EQ-012 is to be kept under a clear glass cover in the center of a 12 m x 12 m x 8 m reinforced concrete room. Adjacent rooms on all sides cannot be used for sensetive purposes. No door is to be affixed to the lone entryway into the room. Four (4) guards must be on duty around the entryway at all times.

Testers need to have their identities triple checked and possess written permission from at least two (2) Level 4 or higher personnel to enter the containment cell. Due to risk of catastrophic containment breach, all testing must be done within the containment cell. SCP-EQ-012 may not leave its cell for any reason.

Description: SCP-EQ-012 is a large pale blue gemstone, with a rounded head approximately the width of a hoof that tapers to a sharp point. It has a gold band 3 cm thick welded to the upper circumference and a gold ring with two points on it magically suspended around this band. A similar golden cap covers the tip of the gemstone. The gemstone appears to have been expertly carved at some point, displaying a round double cut with eight distinct sides.

SCP-EQ-012's anomalous properties activate when it is brought within five meters of a lock, whereupon the lock will magically distend into a conical cavity. Should SCP-EQ-012 be inserted into this cavity, the lock will instantly disengage on its own.

Testing has shown that SCP-EQ-012 will even work on locks that do not require a physical key to open. Types of locks affected by SCP-EQ-012 include key-in-lever locks, padlocks, combination locks, dead bolt locks, drop bolt locks, magnetic locks, vault doors, barred doors, barricades, knotted ropes (all knots in general), latched boxes, sliding puzzle cubes, code cylinders, entry pads, hoof print scanners, horn locks, binding spells, magical sealing constructs, [REDACTED], and [REDACTED]. SCP-EQ-012 will not react to locks that do not serve any purpose, such as carvings of keyholes or locks that have been damaged to the point of not functioning. Should a surface or object not have enough surface area, it will anomalously gain mass or distend until it can create the cavity. This warping does not have any affect on any object behind the locked surface.

Should SCP-EQ-012 be removed from the area of a lock without using it, the lock will regain its original shape and be usable again. However should it be inserted into the cavity, the hole will retain its new shape and be rendered inoperable for future use.

SCP-EQ-012 must be placed into a cavity by a willing subject. It must be placed by hoof, as all attempts at remote insertion have been unsuccessful. Once it has been used by a subject to open a lock, it will shatter to dust should it ever come into contact with that subject again. The remains slowly reform into its original shape over the course of twenty-four hours. How it remembers which pony has already used it in the past is still being determined.

It was originally assumed that SCP-EQ-012's ability to discern whether an object is locked was due to some type of sentience, but this has been disproved. A latched box was crafted and disguised as a foal's toy where shaped blocks are placed into holes and a D-class with no knowledge of SCP-EQ-012's properties was instructed to use it. The box failed to open when SCP-EQ-012 was placed in its cavity, leading researchers to believe that it only functions if the user recognizes that the lock exists.





Additional Notes: I would like to take a moment to impress upon all staff that SCP-EQ-012 is one of the most potentially dangerous objects the foundation possesses. Not in and of itself, but because of what it could unleash. SCP-EQ-012 can open any cell, undo any containment procedure, and we simply have no way to stop it other than to remove the locks ourselves. What if some enemy were to discover it and use it against us? Even worse, what if it gets on the other side of a door and renders us unable to unlock our own cells? Do not let its apparently harmless nature fool you; SCP-EQ-012 is just as dangerous as any Keter threat in its own way.

So "The vending machine ate my money!" is NOT an appropriate excuse to jeopardize everything we work for! That, and the machine is unusable now. Whoever you are, I hope the peanut butter crackers were worth it.
--- Head Researcher T___ T_____