Once I rose above the noise and confusion
An aquamarine unicorn with a cyan and white mane emerged from the darkness with a smile on her muzzle.
Twilight managed to maintain a friendly face, and greeted the mare back.
“Hi there Lyra… This is my cousin, Orion.” She gestured the stallion to her right to come closer ”He just came back from the northern border. He was going to Canterlot to visit my parents, and he thought of swinging by… Right, Orion?” she said with an expectant voice.
Bright Light look confused for a moment and then swiftly answered “Uhm, yes, yes.”
“Now Lyra, if you’ll excuse us, I have to take Orion to train station, or he’ll miss his train.” Twilight placed a hoof on Bright Light’s shoulder and started walking away. But Lyra dashed in front of her, cutting her off and saying enthusiastically.
“What a coincidence! I have to go to the train station too! Bon-Bon’s returning from her sister’s place in Baltimare tonight, and she asked me to help her with her bags! We could walk there together!”
“Yeah, sure, why not?” Twilight responded with a smile, while cursing herself for choosing such a banal lie.
They started walking: the lavender unicorn was up front, and Lyra stayed back to talk to Bright Light. Twilight couldn’t help but feel observed. There was something off about the green unicorn. She still had a bubbly attitude, but there was something more to it.
Ugh, why did this have to happen? We can’t let her remember about us. As soon as we’re alone, I’ll ask Bright Light to give her an amnesiac spell, then we get out of here. That agent, though… That’s a funny codename… And finding Lyra near the library, at this hour? That’s strange too. Her house is near the train station, why would she walk all the way up here? She only comes to the library to pick up books about those mythical creatures, huma-
Oh.
Ponies are herbivores, prey in nature. Long before Celestia and Luna appeared to rule ponykind, even before the three tribes, they used to live in the wild. Those ancient ponies were not blessed with civilization and the feeling of security it can give. They were hunted. And, like all prey, they developed a sense, a switch that activated when they felt observed. The things that waited in the darkness of the forest: things with teeth, scales, claws and eyes. Watchful eyes. After ponies managed to get together and form an actual society, those things slowly faded off. But the switch remained. And since evolution is mostly conservative, it was just put to different use.
Now Twilight could feel it. She was observed. She had been turned into prey. She knew that one false step, one discordant lie and the Princess would instantly know everything. Bright Light would just disappear, probably. Even if he’s member of a supranational organization, if Celestia wants you, Celestia will get you. And Twilight? Permanently amnesiaced, surely. And sent to live a life of mediocrity and boredom.
That’s not going to happen.
Bright Light was actually holding up pretty well. It looked like lying was a special talent of his. He just spurted out believable excuses without faltering even once.
Now is not the time to daydream. I gotta think of something to get Lyra off our back.
So she tried thinking of a plan while the green unicorn merrily waltzed around ‘Orion’ shooting questions:
“So, Orion, right? You don’t see Twilight very often?”
“Actually, no. When I’m not stationed at the border, I live in Manehatten, but it has been too long since I saw mom’s side of the family” he ended with a smile.
He’s good. He could even fool Applejack… Wait, stationed? Maybe I can make something of it.
“Manehatten … I bet it’s quite the experience to jump from the Big Apple to a small town like Ponyville!” exclaimed Lyra, who was actually walking backwards, facing Bright Light. Twilight could have sworn she was still looking at her. She was starting to panic. The train station was near, and she still had no clue what to do.
“Well, they’re different, of course. But you need a vacation from time to time, and Ponyville is a really peaceful town”
Lyra’s everlasting smile flickered for a moment.“So… You said ‘stationed’, I take it you’re a soldier of some sort?”
“Not quite. I’m in the bureaucratic side of the army. Just a chair warmer… Although, sometimes even the ones behind the desk get some action…” and he laughed a little.
Ok, calm down. If Lyra is the informant, she’s probably trained as a magician. I’ve never seen her do anything more than levitate objects, yet, I can’t risk it. What if Light tries to suddenly give her amnesia and she manages to escape. It will take us less than 5 minutes to get to the station, for her to see that there is no midnight train for Canterlot. First, I need to inform Light that she is the informant…
Twilight turned herself around and walked backwards facing both Lyra and Bright Light, and chimed in:
“Lyra, do you know Orion is actually pretty fond of mythological creatures, especially humans? Every time he sends me a letter, half of it is him talking about a new book on mythology he found in a deserted griffon library up north. What was that thing you always found fascinating about humans… Hands, was it?” and looked expectantly at the stallion. It was now or never. She just hoped he could get it.
He smiled for a moment.
“Yeah, I always found humans endearing. I mean, the technological prowess, that dexterity, all those… fingers, isn’t it just intriguing?”
Lyra just lost it. To find another person interested in humans? A unique occasion!
“I KNOW! Bonbon is always telling me ‘to stop reading fairy tales,' but I think they are amazing! So, what do you think about-“ And she started babbling about cars, planes and phones. Bright Light actually had some knowledge about humans, as he intervened in Lyra’s exposition to point out theories, things he agreed with and so on. Twilight was surprised: he was actually pretty knowledgeable about humans: he seemed to know them just as much as Lyra if not more.
Ok, he knows. Now, devise a plan to get him to amnesia her without meeting resistance. Easy enough. The train station is just behind this building. Think Twilight, think. Something to catch her on surprise. An occasion where no one would find suspicious to use magic…
“And then they have these things called fics that-“
Twilight interrupted her and looked at the stallion with concerned eyes.
“Orion, are you alright? You look a little pale. Maybe it’s the wound?”
Lyra turned around to face the purple unicorn and asked with a suspicious face. “Wound?”
“Yes. A stray diamond dog pack attacked the outpost he’s stationed at last month. They injured poor Orion right on the top of his head. Now he frequently gets seizures. Doctors say it’s the irregular blood flow.”
“Oh, that’s horrible!” Twilight could read sincere concern in her eyes.
“It is, isn’t it? However, I know a spell that regularizes the blood flow in case of an-“
They heard a loud thump, and looked back: Bright Light was on the ground, convulsing, his eyes were rolling madly and a white froth was coming out of his mouth. Lyra, horrified, looked towards Twilight, expecting her to do something.
Good work, Light.
Twilight shouted:
“Lyra! You have to keep him still! I must touch his horn to regularize the blood flow! Just block him!”
“YES!”
She jumped with no hesitation on the convulsing ‘Orion’, placing her forelegs on his and keeping him pinned down. She still looked at Twilight, the whole time.
And she stood still, doing nothing.
“Twilight, what are you doing! Just conjure the spell, or he’s gonna die!” she screamed at her, keeping her eyes on the mare and trying to pin the stallion down.
“Down here, actually.” A male voice surprised her.
She looked down at Bright Light, who was no longer convulsing, and was actually smiling at her.
“What the-“ Her horn started to light up, but it was too late. Twilight had already anchored her with her magic while she was distracted keeping him still.
“Sweet dreams, Lyra”
His horn flashed, sending out a dazzling white light. Lyra dropped to the ground and passed out.
“So, she was the informant uh?” He approached the senseless mare, studying her. If she was the informant, then Celestia really chose her well. She just looked like a lively, enthusiastic mare enthralled with humans.
“I guess if they’re really good you would never suspect them…”
“How much have you blocked?” Twilight asked, visibly exalted by the thrilling experience.
“Just the last ten minutes. Now, we have no time to lose. Let’s go.”
It was almost dawn when they reached the edge of the Everfree Forest. They stopped for a moment to rest, just outside the line of trees. You could see Celestia’s sun just peeking over the horizon, bathing everything in a sweet pink hue. Twilight always found the forest fascinating: wild, untamed, not controlled by ponies. Things would just regulate themselves, like a natural balance. For a moment, it almost seemed the right order. There was a rhythm to it: the forest breathed in and out. Like a living being. She felt every bug crawling on the ground, every animal sleeping on the soft grass. It was like seeing the same thing from a thousand different perspective. She wanted to go inside it. She wanted to feel the moisture on her coat. The bare earth under her hooves. The leaves caressing her mane.
But she was afraid. She really, really wanted to start walking into the forest. To just leave everything behind and go. But a voice screamed inside her.
If you go there alone, you’ll never come back.
“Amazing.” She heard another voice. She turned: it was Bright Light. He looked at her, fascinated. As soon as he talked, she got out of her trance, like she just escape a thick, impenetrable fog.
“What- what happened?” She asked confused.
“You felt it, right?”
She wasn’t exactly sure what he was talking about, maybe that strange sensation she just proved? “The need to enter the forest? Yes, I did.”
“Why didn’t you enter then?”
“I don’t know. I had just this instinct that if I actually entered the forest alone, I would have not returned."
“Incredible…”
“What?”
“You were right, about your instinct, I mean. The Everfree Forest is an SCP. It’s perfectly safe if you cross it at least 30 meters near another sentient being. If the distance gets bigger, or you enter it alone... Well, you just disappear. Like, off the charts. We tried everything: smoke, tracking magic, even ropes. We just tied one volunteer to a rope and off he went. After thirty seconds we pulled the rope back: there was nothing attached to it. No bites, no cuts. But, as long as you have company, you’re perfectly safe 100% of the time. So, whatever happens, stick close to me.”
“How did I…” It was the second time this strange trance saved her life. What was going on?
“How did you know? I have no idea. But it looks like the first time wasn’t a lucky chance. Come on, let’s move out.” He climbed down the rock and started to move, but Twilight stopped him.
“Wait!” She tried to reach for him, and grabbed his shoulder.
“What?”
“What about Spike? And the girls? And the Princess? What happens when Spike wakes up and discover I’m not in bed?”
Bright Light looked at her for a moment, then slammed his left hoof on his forehead.
“Geez, sorry, I guess I forgot to tell you. You do remember I told you that you would have to leave your ties behind you?”
“Yeah. Of course I do.”
“Well, you can’t just disappear, right? They’ll look for you. Eventually Celestia will be able to do 2+2 and she’ll find out everything. We can’t let that happen. So, I contacted a sleeper agent of the Foundation residing in Ponyville and-“ Twilight interrupted him, shocked that there could be an agent of this organization without her even realizing it.
“Who is he?”
“I believe he uses a false name… Whooves, I think? Anyway, I told him to place a copy of your body made from SCP-142, a programmable cloning machine. If he didn’t hear from me in the morning, he was supposed to make the clone’s heart fail. Don’t worry, they’re just meatbags, not actual sentient beings. It will look like you passed away in your sleep.”
“Is it really necessary to make them believe I’m dead? It’s so cruel.”
“Hey, you chose this. I hope you’re not having second thoughts…”
She didn’t like it. She didn’t like one bit. But what else could she do?
“No, it’s okay… Let’s just go, please.”
The branches were thick and hard to avoid, so they weren’t going all that fast. Bright Light said it was not so far from the edge of the forest. While they were crossing a small river, he asked.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“No”
“Why did you leave? It looked like you had a pretty good life: peaceful, serene, lots of friends…”
“Yeah, I thought so too. There was nothing to it, actually. Just empty days, with no purpose. Research the magic of Friendship… The Princess left me in a goddess forsaken town to research something she came up with! Even the Elements of Harmony… Everything I’ve done is just false. I was false with my friends, false with the Princess and false with myself. At the end, they were even not my friends, either. They didn’t believe me. They always treated me like a nutcase…”
“Twilight…” She already regretted that she had started talking. She felt terrible, “Look, can we just talk about this another time?”
“Yes, yes. Oh, we’ve arrived.”
They slipped past some trees and found themselves in a clearing. There were no buildings though, just a lonely trunk in the middle. Twilight could feel the weight of the forest on her back. An eerie silence, and the wind flowing through the trees. The grass moved like a single organism, following the breeze. Bright Light knocked on the trunk twice, then neared his horn to a small hole in the bark. At first, nothing happened. Then the silence was suddenly broken by the sound of gears and moving machinery. The trunk, along with a good chunk of terrain, moved to the side revealing a stone staircase illuminated by torches. Bright Light gestured her inside.
“Ladies first,”
Twilight slowly went down the stairs. There was actually a corridor built out of rock, that led into a small circular chamber. At the center of the chamber, there was a small container that resembled a filly sized pool. But it looked it was made out of a strange, lucid pink matter. It seemed to contain just mundane water though. At the side of the ‘pool,' there was a rack, filled with rocks. Twilight heard a sudden noise and she turned to see Bright Light coming down the stairs, while the passage was closing down behind him. He approached Twilight Sparkle with a smile and said while pointing at the strange object with a hoof:
“Let me introduce you to SCP-21, the ‘Pool’. This foal pool is made out of plastic. However, not vinyl, the kind we use. It’s made of a strange carbonic compound that we’ve not been able to synthesize yet, but we believe it’s a concoction of several organic creatures. Not plants, though.”
Twilight stepped back a bit. Something made out of animals? It was disgusting…
“I know, a little creepy. But it’s all worth it, since this baby can actually teleport you to very distant places. However, they are fixed, and in a sequence. You cannot teleport to location C if something was not actually teleported to location A and B. Wait a bit, let me set it to The Horse.” And he threw two rocks in the pool.
“The Horse?” She was surprised by the name. “Horse” among ponies was a fairly derogatory term, so it being used by a shadowy all powerful organization was not something she expected.
“It’s the training and briefing base of the Foundation. It’s also where the 05 council meets every month.” He started to approach the pool, but he stopped when Twilight spoke again
“How many locations are there apart from The Horse?”
“Three : The Scorpion, which is the biological containment base, the Box, which is the artifacts containment base, and the Hole, a base that only houses really dangerous and difficult to contain Keter-class SCPs. Then, there are other three locations that the pool can teleport you to: a chamber in the Canterlot Palace, somewhere deep in space and lastly, a classified location. I don’t know where or what is it, so don’t bother asking.”
“So, deep space, uh… How do you know that?”
“Testing. Trust me, it wasn’t pleasant. Poor fellow was two weeks away from retirement…” He shook his head.“Anyway, the pool’s set on The Horse, so get on my back.” Suspiciously, she looked at him.
“Get on your back? Ehm, why would I even-“
“Look, if you enter after me the pool will have already advanced to the next location, which ironically is the deep space one. So, unless you want to see your body in freeze in 10,5 seconds, you’ll bear this incredibly awkward moment. Now mount me, Twilight! Wait, that came out wrong.”
The lavender unicorn, while blushing madly, slowly put her forelegs on Bright Light’s shoulder. Then she pulled herself up on his back.
“Comfortable?”
She struck him down with a furious gaze.
“Geez, I was just kidding.” And he jumped high in the air, diving for the pool.
“Why are you jumping, it’s just one f-“
She felt the cold water surrounds her. It entered every open crevice of her body, cooling her of a heat she didn’t even know she had. All around her, there was water, water to no end. Like an ocean. It was dark. The surface was as black as the night, and she couldn’t even see the depth. Suddenly she felt something pulling her up: Bright Light held her tail in his mouth and was swimming towards a white patch of water. He lifted her up and embraced her, then he entered the light.
It was so white. Blinding. Twilight Sparkle was lifted and lowered. She could feel a cold floor beneath her, noises around her, shadows of grey moving like ghosts, fading in and out of her vision. They were dancing, morphing and amalgamate. A hissing in her ears. She couldn’t just stand it. She put her hooves on her eyes and waited in the comforting, healing darkness. Slowly the clamor turned into clear, distinguishable voices, but the shadows of her vision still danced in the blackness like neon lights.
“It’s her?” Twilight didn’t recognize this voice. It was hoarse, like a rattle.
“Yeah. Is the council already in session?” This was Bright Light’s voice, though.
“You bet they are, they started 5 minutes ago. You need some help with-“
“No, I’m fine, I can do it.”
Twilight Sparkle felt a gentle touch on her left shoulder, and gently the stallion said,
“I know it’s hard, but you have to open your eyes. It’s painful the first time, but you’ll get used to it.”
It WAS painful. She could feel her eyeballs throbbing through her eyelids. But the voice was so soothing…
She slowly opened her eyes. And a flood of light invaded her vision.
“Twilight, you have to keep your eyes open, you have to readjust!”
The whiteness invaded her, making her eyes water crazily. She could feel the blood pumping in her, trying to give oxygen to cope with the immense amount of sensory information. But slowly, the glow faded, and all that was left was a big, big room. It seemed made out of metal sheets painted white. It was really large, maybe ten meters in height, and completely empty. She looked around, still lying on the cold floor: there was the small pink pool at the center. Another rack made out of the same material of the walls with some rocks in it, Bright Light smiling at her and lending her a hoof. She grabbed it and pulled herself up. There was no one else in the room. She heard that other voice, though. She started slowly walking around, looking amazed at the peculiar space:
“So, this is The Horse?” She neared one of the wall and touched it. It was really cold, and from the sound it was not hollow, there was a filling behind it.
“Yes… Well, it’s just the ‘waiting room’. This is not a containment base, so there’s not much movement around here. Most of the personnel here are permanently stationed. Are you ready, Twilight? We need to go to the 05 Council. Normally, there wouldn’t be any need to involve them in mere recruitment, but you’re special. Follow me” And he started walking towards a wall. Looking more carefully, Twilight realized there was a door in front of her, white as the rest. Bright Light touched a small (white) button and the door opened to reveal one of the most incredible sight Twilight had ever seen.
A gigantic cave that extended further than the eye could see. The gargantuan cavern was illuminated by a great many spotlights scattered all around the walls of geological marvel. They were on a steel catwalk, suspended over what seemed to be a bottomless pit, and from this very catwalk lots of branches conducted to smaller holes in the solid rock. But the most amazing sight was not this incredibly big natural structure, but those who were in it. Twilight had never seen so many different species in a single place: griffons, diamond dogs, wyverns, zebras... But no signs of ponies apart from herself and Bright Light. She expected a cold, sterile environment, instead she instantly liked the homely feel of the ambient: the cave was so big that even with the spotlights, you would only have a soft orange light, like the glow of a fireplace in winter. And even if Twilight had some bad run-in with some of the species she saw, they all looked so nice… They talked, joked, laughed, gesticulated. They also had very distinct clothes. A lot of griffons and diamond dogs had a grey double-breasted coat, with a golden band on their left arm. Some people were wearing what Twilight immediately recognized as a lab coat. Some didn’t wear anything at all.
Bright Light had to hold her hoof, since she was constantly looking around with an amazed look on her muzzle, without paying much attention to her surroundings or where she walked. After five minutes of switching corridors, Bright Light stopped in front of a black door that had thin red letters inscribed on it which said :
05 COUNCIL
Twilight, distracted by a small lake to her left, didn’t stop and bumped into him. The stallion grabbed her on the shoulders to gain her attention. She instantly turned to face him.
“Bright Light, this place is amazing. All th-“
“Twilight, listen to me, this is very, very important. Behind these doors you will find the individuals that will decide your fate. They are the 05, the highest ranking members of the Foundation. We will need their approval since you’re a special case. You have to let me do the talking, clear?”
“Crystal clear.”
“Good.”
And he opened the door. Inside, there was nothing but black. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything was black. There was just one light, illuminating the center of the room. Around the luminous cone, there were six smooth blocks of black material. Each of them had glowing red letters written on them which read ‘05’ and a number from 1 to 6. She actually expected the 05 council to be there in person, but it looked like they were going to communicate through those strange monoliths.
A voice, soiled by heavy interference, broke the silence. The writing on the 05-1 monolith flickered rhythmically as the voice came out of it.
“Dr. Light, why is she here?”
05-4, a different voice but with the same static interferences, spoke:
“Indeed we are curious to know why you disobeyed an order from Celestia. She specifically asked not to involve her in the Foundation.”
Now it was 05-2 that spoke:
“She is not a member of this organization, but she’s still our biggest funder. If she finds out, the already small amount of patience she has for us will disappear completely, and we could lose our fundings. What then? You thought that maybe the Draconic Consult could give us some of their hoards? And you risked all of this for just a hunch?”
During this reprimand, Bright Light kept his head down, like a scolded foal. Twilight suddenly realized the extent of his gamble on her: she was the Princess protégé, and she specifically asked to leave her alone. Even so, he saw the potential in her and he willingly risked everything to make her fill that void, pursue that particular goal she tried to find for all her life.
So, it ends like this, uh? You go home like a rebuked little filly, ending an adventure that lasted a mere five hours. How pathetic are you? How insignificant? How low can you get? You wanted to free yourself from boredom and mediocrity, and you can’t even speak in your own defense?
Shut up.
“May I speak for a moment, please?” All the noises, the 05 telling off Bright Light, him trying to justify himself, the low humming of the monoliths, all went silent. “You don’t have to blame Bright Light. He gave me a choice, and I took it. I chose to come here and save lives and know more about this universe. I know you’re risking a lot, I know that. But please, please, let me stay. I’m willing to do everything it takes to stay here. I’ll throw my old life away, even my name if I have to but please, don’t let me sink back into that sea of dullness. I will be a valuable asset, worth the risk. Just, let me try…”
“Fine. You will be allowed to join the Foundation. But you must prepared to leave everything behind.”
“I am prepared.”
They exited the room. As soon as the door was closed, Bright Light grabbed her and looked at her with an incredibly serious face. What if he was angry with her for stealing the initiative from him? Her fear soon disappeared as soon as the stallion talked.
“You are absolutely NUTS!” His stern expression turned into a warm smile “You just practically told the Council to buck off!”
Gulp. I did?
“What? It wasn’t-“
“You are amazing! No one ever had the courage to speak against an 05 decision. And you stood up to all of them!” He joyfully interrupted her, and grabbed her shoulder.
“Finally someone with the same mindset as me! We can show all those boring old doctors who’s right!” He started trotting merrily, dragging her with him as they moved between endless corridors carved out of rock that looked all the same. “We’ll show them that we can use those abominations for the betterment of all sentient species!” He started rambling about “the injustice of the system” and “a need for meritocracy," but Twilight was already lost in thought.
I made it. I’m out. Ehrm, I’m in. Well, both. No more waking up everyday wondering what to do. No more ponies looking down on you because they’re ignoramuses that don’t know anything about science and magic. No more “egghead” jokes, no more bullying, no more deadlines, no more stress. No more… them.
Please, don’t tell me you’re going sentimental.
She suddenly felt the pull come to an end. She saw Bright Light looking expectantly at her and asking:
“You’re going to become a researcher, right Twilight?” There was more than a hint of fear in his voice. He really wanted to work with her. That was the first time someone actually shared her desire for knowledge.
I’m not. I don’t need them anymore. I have someone here who’s the same as me.
She evoked the happiest smile she could muster and responded, “Of course. There’s no way I wouldn’t”
Bright Light took her in a small, well lighted room. They didn’t cross anyone on the way. There was just a table with a projector on it, and a small screen. The stallion started to fumble with the object, while Twilight stood beside him.
“You’re lucky, you know? Back when I joined, you had to read and memorize everything. Now, you just watch it, and thanks to our newly invented photomnemonic spell, the pattern in this projection will instantly fixate permanently in your brain. “
“So, I’ll remember this as long as I live?”
“Yeah. The spell contains a failsafe in case you are captured: you just need to focus on your horn and conjure three short light beams. Your brain will signal the spell to auto-erase itself. Anyway, I’ve finished setting this baby up. Let’s watch it”
He pressed a button on the machine and it instantly lit up and started projecting.
“3
2
1
Welcome, new member of our glorious foundation! You are here because your government or the equivalent in your culture proposed you to our recruiting agents. You are the best of the best; we are proud to have you here, and you should be proud working with the most brilliant minds Terrenia has to offer. As you were told by your personal recruiting agent” Twilight turned to smile to Bright Light, who responded with a small smirk,” we devote ourselves to contain dangerous artifacts, secure them and protect all sentient species on Terrenia. Racist behavior is not accepted in the Foundation: each and every xenophobic episode will be reprimanded and severely punished. We are formed by all sorts of sentient species, and we fight for everyone. This video will provide you with the basic knowledge needed to work here, as well as some Foundation’s background information on your own heritage and culture. This set of data is called ‘Zohar’, and is the backbone of every single task you will perform here in our Foundation. This tape contains Zohar A-2, Equestrian or equivalent pony background.
Let’s start with the fundamentals: the Foundation’s purpose and mission is to find and secure dangerous objects that threaten normal sentient life in any way. The Foundation is ancient, dating back to approximately 2700 years before this video was recorded, 1285 aDd.” That was just three years ago. Twilight was still in Canterlot, locked up in her ivory tower, oblivious to anything but her studies and Spike. The video was kind of entertaining: the narrator was pretty fervent, and various images cyclically appeared in the background. ”As we ran across more and more artifacts, we started to realize how they were heterogeneous and different from one another. Rampant disorganization started to undermine and impede the Foundation’s duty: all culminated in the 282 aDd containment breach of what is now known as SCP-03. The SCP managed to entice one of the regents of the Equestrian Diarchy, Princess Luna. The resulting merge of the two created SCP-03a, commonly called ‘Nightmare Moon’, which proceeded to wage a civil war against the other Princess, Celestia. The war lasted for 33 years, before a brilliant researcher of the Foundation, Starswirl, found out that SCP-11 resonated to 03a just like they did with 34. Starswirl theorized 11 followed a specific set of conditions that allowed them to exit their state of stasis. After 15 months of studies and constantly shifting locations avoiding the hunts conducted by the Lunar Republic, he discovered said conditions: SCP-11 contains a primitive form of intelligence, capable of subtle mental indoctrination. Prolonged exposure to the artifacts will make the subject believe that 11 is a set of 6 powerful artifacts, capable of great feats of magic, although absolutely benign, and that they are agents of a so called Harmony, what the subject described as a shamanistic life force of some sort that permeates and regulates the Universe. This is not true. The only known 2 cases” So this is before our little adventures, uh.” where 11 was used showed no signs of magical activity. The Elements don’t emit any signs of energy: what they actually do is instantly influence what is perceived as a threat by making it, the threat, believe everything about Harmony and the Elements. Eventually, the threat is forced to unconsciously terminate itself, believing it’s actually being beaten by the power of ‘Harmony’. During this process the Elements create powerful hallucinations that can fool even the most trained trickster, but can’t deceive mechanical recording processes, such as cameras. The Elements, even imprinting in the minds of those who use them that they take force from admirable traits such as loyalty, honesty and so on, actually predate on the darkest side of the user's psyche and use flaws instead of qualities to activate itself. After all this info was discovered, Princess Celestia managed to activate 11, and used it against her own sister: 03 was put into stasis, imprisoning Princess Luna’s devastated consciousness with her. As her body continued to surge harmful raw magical energy, she was taken into custody by the Foundation. Celestia told the Foundation that the Elements ‘talked to her’ and told her that in a thousand year, 03 would come back from the stasis. The other use of the Elements of Harmony is only documented in folklore and legends: Celestia herself doesn't remember having used them before the incident with her sister. But even encased in stone, 34 maintains a certain degree of self consciousness, and with the aid of particular mind reading spells it was discovered that ‘Discord’ also was victim of the indoctrination effect of the Elements. Further studies suggested that 34 and 03 were also implanted more hypnotic suggestions: the former was convinced to be a ‘God of Chaos’, the latter a ‘Nightmare’. Even in the present time it’s still unclear when 11, 34 and 03 made contact, for how long, or their origins. We took 03a in custody, and Princess Celestia took advantage of 11’s story to cover up any possible tie with the Foundation by passing the indoctrination materials as historical facts. This concludes Zohar A-2, thank you for watching."
Everything tumbled down on her. She didn’t pay much attention back in the Everfree Foreste when Bright Light told her a little bit: she was hyped up, her blood pumping with the adrenaline that only transgression can give. Now, where everything was eerie calm, the reality she’d just been told hit her like a brick wall. Everything, everything she was told since she was a little filly was false. Completely false. Even her friends, all host for a deranged, mysterious parasitic being. Everything she fought for was utterly fake, lies fabricated by a strange set of objects and masterfully repurposed by her mentor, the pony she looked up to the most, to shelve the inconvenient truth. It was too much to take. Bright Light noticed her distress and he walked up to her and tried to comfort her:
“Look, I know it’s a lot to take in. But, now you’re no longer bound by anything! You told me you were unhappy, not satisfied with your life, because of some giant cosmic scheme dangling over your head. Now, even if it’s hard, you know it’s all bogus. You don’t have to save the world from Discord. You don’t have to use the Elements again, you’re free to use the rest of your life as you see fit, really doing something to save the world…”
You have the reins of your life in your hooves! You can do whatever you want, and no Princess, friend or brother will tell you otherwise! You’re free, you’d better start getting used to it.
I know. He’s right.
Twilight Sparkle raised her head, a grateful look shined on her muzzle.
“Thanks, Bright Light. Now, I believe we still have a movie to watch?”
He smiled, and started tinkering with the projector again. He extracted one small cubic object and then inserted another.
"3
2
1
Welcome to Foundation 101, your gateway to a new, exciting world. In this video, we’ll talk about SCP, how they are classified, our personnel, security measures and levels. As you know, SCP are dangerous artifacts or beings that the Foundation secures and contains. What you don’t know is how they are classified. After the outbreak of SCP-03 (please refer to Zohar A-2 or your nearest recruitment agent) the Foundation introduced a classification system based on the danger the SCPs pose. The “Safe” class SCPs, if adequately used or contained, are completely harmless. The “Zaqar” class SCPs are not completely understood, yet even if they pose a threat, they can be in some way secured. The “Keter” class SCPs are incredibly dangerous, harmful and/or difficult to contain, and they pose the most significant danger to every sentient species. Containment breach are ordered in three different levels: level 1 is a relatively safe outbreak, level 2 is mildly dangerous and level 3 is incredibly hazardous. Level 3 breaches can cause ‘end of world scenario’, divided into ‘MN,' caused by biological agents, ‘TL,' by magic, and ‘XZ,' by inanimate objects. Specifically tailored safety measures are used to prevent such events from ever occuring. We are very proud of our staff, from the 05 council member to the janitor cleaning the halls, each and every member of the Foundation is a luminary in a field of expertise. A-Class personnel is formed by our top conducting members, compromising managers, administrators of our bases and the 05 Council, the Foundation’s top authority. B-Class personnel features our top doctors and researchers, constantly working to better understand SCPs and invent effective safety measures. Field agents form C-Class personnel: hailing from the top of law enforcement, armies and security companies all around Terrenia, they find and bring back SCPs. D-Class personnel consist of internal security, hygiene operators, bureaucratic staff and volunteers for research. The presentation is over, please return to your recruitment agent, you shall be escorted to the Collocation Office."
She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder and Bright Light gestured Twilight to follow him. They exited the room and after a series of corridors, went back to the giant cave. He called it “the Hub." Again, no one paid attention to the mare, and again she didn’t see anyone that resembled a pony apart from her and Bright Light. She was once again admiring the incredible vitality and the sheer imposingness of the rock pillars that surrounded her. How old were they? For how long they stayed like that, supporting the enormous weight of the surface, until someone dug this deep into the bowels of the earth and discovered such a majestic marvel of nature? Like sentinels, they stood, stoic to the noises, the life and heat irradiating from thousands upon thousands of living, breathing bodies, that stretched, inflated, deflated rhythmically, their need to breath dictating the pace. Unfazed, stuck eternally in a fixed position, just sustaining everything over them, even behind their backs: the grass caressed by the wind couldn’t possibly know about these rocky pillars, resistant to any change, nor did the animal blindly following his instinct, oblivious to anything else except his life.
A fitting metaphor for this organization.
They reached a cavity, covered by a grate. On the other side a big, imposing and old looking Diamond Dog sat, his eyes locked on the lavender mare. As soon as Bright Light neared the metal grid, his gaze shifted to him, changing what looked like a suspicious stare into a warm, welcoming face.
“Bright Light,” he nodded. Twilight instantly recognized the voice: he was the one Bright Light was discussing with back at the pool.
“Darrrl, how are you? I bet you heard about Twilight Sparkle here” He gestured her to come closer.
“Yeah, heard about her. Fresh meat, that’s why you’re here. I know who she is…”
The stallion put a hoof on the counter. “Then you know what I want! Just give her the authorization and put me in charge of the briefing!”
Darrrl stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity, abandoning his friendly visage for a more serious one. Suddenly, he sighed, and responded:
“I’m sorry Bright Light, she is not B-Class material. The higher ups insisted for another classification….”
The stallion was caught off guard, but the surprise was almost instantly replaced by anger.
“WHAT? She’s a magical genius, a freaking prodigy, and they don’t want to let her study the most powerful artifacts in the whole world?”
“Look, I’m not the one in charge of this whole shindig, orders are orders. She’s not going to be a B-Class.” He reached under the counter to grab something: it was a small metal badge, painted yellow and black, with “FAIT” written over it. When Darrrl gave him the strange badge, he went pale.
“Is this some kind of joke? She’s just a scholar, they can’t just…”
“What’s wrong, Bright Light?”
He turned around, and looked straight into her eyes.
“FAIT stands for Field Agent In Training. They’re sending you to C-Class. Look, this has to be a mistake. Wait here, I’ll sort this out” He reached for a small door beside the grate and opened it. The diamond dog rose up, and tried to dissuade the furious stallion by putting a paw on his shoulder:
“Look Bright-,“ He shook it off angrily and uttered “Shut up Darrrl," and kept walking until he disappeared behind another door. Darrrl went after him, and Twilight could still faintly hear him trying to calm Bright Light down. Five minutes passed by, and no one came back. The waiting was unnerving to say the least, sometimes she could hear voices yelling at each other in the distance, but couldn’t distinguish what they were actually saying.
C-class, the video said they’re “field agents”… So they’re the ones that go around catching doomsday devices. And I’m supposed to do that? I’m just a librarian, I belong in a laboratory, not in a wild lethal hunt for strange artifacts! I can’t do it, I don’t have it.
You’re kidding, right? You managed to escape hydras, kick some changeling’s butt, defeat a crazed all powerful whatever, calm an Ursa Minor, take Cerberus back to Tartarus and discover a coup d’etat behind the façade of a lovely, beautiful marriage. You’re paranoid, good with magic and brave enough to not break down and start crying when-
Her line of thought was interrupted by the sound of an opening door. She saw Darrrl and Bright Light come back from the dim lit corridor, the latter with a sad and defeated expression. His eyes fixated to the ground, as if they were looking for an excuse written on the floor. He lifted up his gaze and looked Twilight straight into the eyes, and then extended the badge to her.
“I’m… sorry. This is a specific order from the higher ups. I don’t know why though. Look, if you wanna call it off, it’s fine, no one’s blaming you. The training is incredibly hard, and the job… Well, I’ve never seen a C-Class in retirement.”
Resting on his hoof was a small rectangular piece of metal. This was the crossroad. What would be in store for her if she accepted? What she could lose?
Not much.
The risk. The danger. The peril. Anxiety. Fear. Adrenaline. Excitement. Satisfaction. Death.
The safety. Boredom. Dullness. Death.
This was it. The focal point of her entire life. Twilight Sparkle was standing exactly over two precipices, one dark and mysterious, the other small and filled with pillows. One was inviting her to taste the darkness of the unknown. The other to slowly but surely live comfortably in tedium.
She looked at the badge for the last time. It was shining under the hot and bright spotlight illuminating the cave. In the reflection, one second there was Ponyville, and her library. Applejack was knocking on the door, bringing some surplus apples. Rainbow Dash was inside, reading Daring Do’s new book. Rarity was chatting with Spike in the kitchen about the quality of griffonian rubins. Pinkie Pie was in the living room, setting up the decorations for the “Welcome Back Twilight” party. The sun was starting to set, leaving everything gleaming of a deep, welcoming orange. The night breeze was starting to touch her mane. Everything was so warm, so fine, so nice.
So… boring.
It disappeared, leaving only the smooth texture of the metal. There was nothing shining on it, no slice of life, no predictions for the days to come. Nothing, just reflections of the light. Nothing to tell her what was going to be of her. Just uncertainty.
She extended her hoof and touched it.
“I’m in.”
Bright Light was running faster than he thought his body could allow, avoiding all sorts of beings on his race: dragons, wyvern, zebras, diamond dogs. Even things that could challenge a small house in size he swiftly dodged. He ran through some corridors, and the crowd started to decrease until he was alone, sweating rivers and shooting through more and more passages carved out of rock. His mind was going just as fast as his body, formulating thoughts at the speed of sound. The majority of it was made of insecurity, fear and concern. But everything stopped when he reached the door. It was humongous, easily the size of one triple stored building. It was completely made out of gray, shining metal. The locks, gigantic bars of blackened steel, looked positively intimidating, just as the rest of the apparatus. It was called the Door to Tartarus for its menacing bulk. One could wonder why such a massive display of defensive prowess was needed, and what could be so daunting that was deemed necessary to be locked behind 2.5 meters of a thick alloy made of steel, nickel, and diamond dust. The only ones that knew were not authorized to say, for a good reason: if any of the recruits saw the training area they had to live in for six months was behind a gigantic door, they would have been biased to say the least. No one apart from the C-Class knew what was going on behind that mass of metal. There were voices about having to survive with no prepared food or equipment for the entirety of the training, in an incredibly harsh environment, full with dangerous creatures. But the agents would not say anything about it, even between them, so the feared training of the C-Class had remained a secret since its institution 670 years before. Bright Light was waiting for her. Back at the Collocation Office he had been amazed by the resolve in Twilight Sparkle’s eyes. Sometimes it happened that some of the recruits didn’t come back. Of course, no one had the slightest idea why. So he tried everything to make sure she passed the training: they had one week to prepare before going in. Cardio, basic self defense spells, how to light up a fire, to find water, treat injuries with natural remedies, and so on. But at the end of the week, he felt like none of that could have possibly prepared her for what was lying behind those doors. She wasn’t the only one going in, there were two other recruits with her, a male Pegasus and a female earth pony. Bright Light could see the door slowly opening, just a chink, and managed to take a look at the training area: just complete darkness. They entered, all trembling, and it closed behind them, leaving only the sound of the bars switching back into place, and then a complete and utter silence.
Six months passed fast: Bright Light was assigned to the Department of Containment Engineering, leaving his job at the Folklore Department. He made quite a name for himself back there and some friends, so he wasn’t exactly thrilled, even if it was a big promotion. But he fitted in pretty well and found that his encyclopedic knowledge about lore and myths became useful in designing containment solutions. For the first four months everything was pretty frantic: there were a lot of SCPs waiting containment and they had to work like crazy designing and building everything. But after that, just dead calm. No SCPs were found for 2 months, all investigations turned out to be bogus and the Foundation was slowly losing funders: no objects found meant governments on the alert, more money spent. They started thinking they could the job themselves, and it wasn’t good. All of the Foundation was desperately trying to stay afloat, but the SCPs came out slowly. The biggest funder, Celestia, wasn’t exactly in good relations with them: even if everyone in her inner circle tried to convince her otherwise, she still blamed the Foundation for the death of her pupil, and sought every possible failure as an occasion to reduce the budget. Bright Light was busy designing a cage that could stop a being capable of going through walls when an A-Class, a zebra, entered his office. His gaze was imposing, but the stallion still had an open wound for the whole C-Class incident with Twilight, and tried to look as secure as possible. He expected a long talk about bureaucratic stuff, but he just came in, said:
“FA Sparkle has passed the training. You’re going to pick her up tomorrow.”
And left.
He couldn’t sleep that night. Even if they spent just a small amount of time together, he had really grown attached to her, and saw her like a little sister of some sort. He was really excited to see her again, even if now that she was a field agent, there wouldn’t be a lot of occasions to see each other. Nonetheless, he still couldn’t fathom why they instructed him to pick Twilight Sparkle up. Maybe because they knew each other.
And here he was, waiting for her. The training was ruthless, that much he knew. What if she had been injured badly, or scarred?
It wasn’t possible. She was a strong mare, she surely managed to pull it off with no incidents.
His mind, filled with concern and doubts, blanked as soon as the pillars started to move: they rotated and retreated inside the jambs. The joints creaked, not used for six months, and finally the titanic barrier of hard metal started to move. Just a small narrow crack. Again, Bright Light managed to see only darkness behind her, as she slowly trotted out. She wasn’t injured, as far as he could tell, but she was completely different. He expected her to change for the worst, cold, detached. But she looked so happy, and with no worries. There was a big smile on her muzzle and her whole body emanated an aura of tranquility and peace. Her mane was different: it wasn’t straight anymore, but wild and disorderly, though not dirty. It was fairly similar to her friend’s, Rainbow Dash, was it? She approached him, and said cheerfully:
“Hi, Bright Light!”
He was still a little confused, but managed to utter:
“Ehi Twilight. You’re… different...” She started to laugh, then stopped and said:
“Yeah, I guess I am. Who’s the one behind you?”
He turned; behind him there was the same A-Class that contacted him the day before. He approached Twilight and offered his hoof. She took it and shook it vigorously.
“Happy to see you completing your training Miss Sparkle. I’m Mbura, an Observer.” ‘So, he’s assigned to monitor agents and their team. What am I doing here?’ thought Bright Light. “I’ve been following closely your astounding progress, and I’m very surprised by the methodology you’ve developed. So, I asked the council to get you under my observance. Dr. Bright here,” he pointed to the stallion without even looking at him,” is a renowned expert of folklore and legends, and since you two already know each other, I’m assigning him as your Oracle. I’m sure our work will be swift and efficient. Your designation is Team Theta, and your room is 1345, third floor. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an audience with the Council.”
And left. Bright Light was still trying to keep his jaw from hitting the ground. Him. An Oracle. The one responsible for supplying the agent with knowledge and information. That was… a lot. A honor, of course, but also a stressful position. At least he was with Twilight, not some hardened veteran. He heard an elated voice from behind him:
“Isn’t that nice, Bright Light? We’ll still going to be working together!”
“Yeah… amazing…”
Their office was at third floor, just one level above basement and logistic. The noise of the machines that kept the water and air clear and fresh annoyed both Twilight,who lost a big part of her good mood as soon as she entered the small, claustrophobic office, and Bright Light, who wasn’t exactly thrilled to begin with, as he lost a pretty comfortable job in just a minute. There were just two tiny desks. They started to clean them in silence, the awkward levels rapidly increasing. They both sighed in relief as someone knocked. The stallion went to open and in front of him stood Observer Mbura. He walked in without asking for permission, extracted a small file with no writings on the cover from his black suit and lowered it on Bright Light’s desk. They both asked in unison:
“What’s that?” The stallion opened it and started reading.
“That’s your first assignment.” He then looked the mare straight into her eyes “Miss Sparkle, you’re going to Canterlot.”
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888756 Well, if you're actually thinking of releasing that monstruosity on the internet, I'll make sure to continue. Glad you like it so much :3
This is quite the start for an adventure. :) great idea and I hope it continues to be this quality for the rest of the fic! (also about other races. Do we get to see the other races that join the SCP foundation?
889000
The focus will be on Twilight, but yes, we will see other members of the Foundation that are not zebras or ponies.
By far, one of the best fics I have EVER read. Please keep it going.
940579
The third chapter is shaping up, expect it to hit the site sometime next week.
The dialogue is grammatically incorrect.
SCP-21 (The Pool, not the tattoo) dosen't exist, nevermind.
So...erm, you are not going to write about Twilight in the training room...at all? I know it could be to keep it mysterious but... come on D=.
Also, the video part could be done a lot better if broken up with more descriptions. You had also not explained Dr. Bright's appearance and cutie mark despite him being an important character.
On a side note, it's easy for brains to register the designation if you use the full designation. Don't use "11", use "SCP-011".
Also, what is a Zaqar class SCP? Why not use Euclid? Since many SCPs are extradimensional in origin and the lore of humans is common knowledge - their accuracy not withstanding - why not just use Euclid? Considering Keter is a Hebrew word, i'm not sure why there is a switch.
On a third note, you forgot the Ethics Committee. They are the guys who order around the O5 Council.
I very much enjoy this story. Very fun to read. However, I found your switching of Euclid to Zaqar odd. Why make the switch? Also, loved your explanations of the Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon and the like. Really helped out in bringing the whole "SCP" feel to the story...
Good work overall!