A story about love, manhood, courage, belonging, and three men falling in love with a talking horse
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Item#: 9349
Level1
Containment Class:
neutralized
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
{$disruption-class}
Risk Class:
{$risk-class}
SCP-9349
Special Containment Procedures
SCP-9349 is to be monitored remotely. In the event its anomalous properties remanifest, it is to be captured and held in a Class-4 equine enclosure.
Description
SCP-9349 was a domestic horse (Equus ferus caballus) which seemingly possessed human-level intelligence and was anomalously capable of speech. The entity claimed to have once been a human transformed into its current form by thaumaturgy. As SCP-9349 was never fully within Foundation custody, further information is limited largely to the entity’s own unverified claims.
Discovery
The Foundation learned of the existence of SCP-9349 while monitoring a small conclave belonging to the Order of the Sidereal Stag, an occult religious order devoted to the eponymous Sidereal Stag, a minor deity. This surveillance began when it was discovered that this conclave, located in Southeastern Missouri, had failed to maintain the counter-divinatory wards usually used by members of the Order to avoid detection. Hoping to gather information about the secretive group, the Foundation quickly subjected the conclave’s domicile and its surroundings to extensive thaumaturgic surveillance. As a result, the Foundation possesses extensive records of events taking place on and near the property between March 2024 and January 2025.
Prior to SCP-9349’s arrival, three individuals resided on the site.
Remy Bulter (28): The conclave’s “Sidereal” (leader), a skilled thaumaturge specializing in “folk magic,” especially magical healing.
Earnest Knight (26): The conclave’s “Horned Warden,” and an accomplished theurge.
Nathan Sharp (25): The youngest member of the conclave, Sharp is a skilled and studious alchemist known to frequent the Wanderer’s Library.
The Foundation became aware of SCP-9349 on August 18th, 2024, when the entity approached this conclave’s residence while looking for sanctuary after escaping captivity on a nearby farm. Below is a transcription of the earliest Foundation record to feature SCP-9349.
Foreword: SCP-9349’s approach triggered a thaumaturgic alarm placed by Butler, alerting the conclave that someone was approaching. The three emerged from their domicile to investigate.
<Begin Log, August 18, 2024, 03:03>
[Butler, Knight, and Sharp approach the boarder of the conclave where the disturbance was detected. Knight has a bow at the ready.]
Earnest Knight: They came from this way?
Remy Butler: Yeah. The alarm went off just a minute ago. They should still be nearby.
Nathan Sharp: How are we supposed to spot anything out here? It’s so dark.
Earnest Knight: Hold on, let me do something about that.
[Knight clasps his hands together.]
Earnest Knight: Father of the Night, bless us with your sterling sight.
[Knight relaxes his pose.]
Earnest Knight: There. We should be able to see, now.
Nathan Sharp: That’s much better. Thanks, honey.
Remy Butler: There’s a horse over there.
[The three look in the direction Butler is indicating, where SCP-9349 stands. SCP-9349 looks back at them.]
Nathan Sharp: Just a horse?
Earnest Knight: Apparently. Do we have any idea where it came from?
Nathan Sharp: Or why it’s staring at us?
Remy Butler: It probably belongs to one of the farmers around here.
Earnest Knight: Then we need to get rid of it as soon as possible. We don’t want anyone to have a reason to visit us. They could see something.
Nathan Sharp: Relax. It’s just a horse. I’m sure we’ll resolve this without any trouble. Rem, can you cast something to help figure out where it came from?
[SCP-9349 begins to approach the group.]
Earnest Knight: And now it’s walking toward us.
Nathan Sharp: I guess we look friendly.
Earnest Knight: I like to think I don’t.
Nathan Sharp: Yes, you do.
Earnest Knight: Well, either way, we need to figure out where it came from.
SCP-9349: Perhaps it would be easier if I simply informed you?
[The three stare silently at SCP-9349.]
Earnest Knight: Did you just talk?
SCP-9349: Yes.
Earnest Knight: Okay. That’s good, then. Not going insane.
SCP-9349: I gather from your conversations that you are spellcasters?
[Knight and Sharp both look toward Butler, who hesitates for a moment before speaking.]
Remy Butler: Yes, we are.
SCP-9349: Excellent. To be clear, I ask only because I would not want to attract the wrong kind of attention by being open about my ability to speak among those unaccustomed to the supernatural.
Remy Butler: I understand. Why are you here?
SCP-9349: I’m looking for shelter. I have recently escaped captivity on a nearby farm. I do not expect my absence will be noticed until morning. However, once it is noted, I believe my owners will begin searching for me. I do not wish to be returned to them. They are not aware of my intellect, and should they reacquire me, I will be forced to once again take on the role of an unspeaking beast of burden.
Nathan Sharp: You poor thing…
Earnest Knight: Can you prove anything you just said?
Nathan Sharp: Earnie!
Earnest Knight: I’m just being diligent.
Nathan Sharp: He needs our help.
Earnest Knight: Possibly.
Nathan Sharp: [Sighs, and turns toward Butler] What do you think?
Remy Butler: [Studies SCP-9349 for a moment.] How long do you need someone to hide you?
SCP-9349: I should hope to impose on you for as little time as possible. I would not approach you at all, except that my owners will rise soon, and I would not like to travel further until they are once again asleep.
Earnest Knight: Who owns you?
SCP-9349: The McCallisters.
Earnest Knight: [Studies SCP-9349 for a moment.] I guess it is your call, Rem. I don’t trust this, but… maybe someone does need our help.
Nathan Sharp: Maybe?
Remy Butler: [Looks up at SCP-9349] You do need our help?
SCP-9349: Gravely. As I said, I should like to impose as little as possible. I wish only to be housed for the day and not turned over to my owners. I shall resume my flight tomorrow at dusk, when they are asleep once again.
Earnest Knight: We don’t have any food for you, and we can’t afford to buy any.
SCP-9349: I am not asking you to. I do not intend to remain here long enough for such a thing to be needed.
Earnest Knight: We don’t have any other facilities for keeping a horse.
Nathan Sharp: He’s sapient, though. We don’t need a stable to keep him in. We can just keep him in the barn.
[Knight doesn’t immediately respond. He looks at Butler. Butler sighs.]
Remy Butler: I’m sorry, honey. I think we have to help him.
Earnest Knight: [Takes a long, deep breath.] Okay.
Remy Butler: [To SCP-9349] We can let you stay in our barn. Our car is in there, and there’s some ritual stuff, too, but there should be enough space for you to hide.
Earnest Knight: Just stay away from our stuff.
SCP-9349: Of course. I wouldn’t dream of damaging your belongings. I appreciate your hospitality immensely. Thank you.
Remy Butler: Alright then. Follow me.
[Butler leads SCP-9349 to the barn. Despite being large, the building seems mostly unused, save a blue sedan parked near the center and a single corner set aside for thaumaturgic and ritual use. Walls near this corner are lined with shelves and crates containing a variety of occult items, including candles, cards, a large astrological calendar, and four antlered masks.]
Remy Butler: You’ll have to stay inside until morning. The door won’t stay closed unless we latch it from the outside. We don’t have a way to make it so you can come and go as you please.
SCP-9349: I understand.
Earnest Knight: We’ll have to cover the windows. We don’t want him to be seen from the outside.
Remy Butler: Good idea.
Earnest Knight: What level of heat do you have on you, exactly? Are people going to think you were stolen? Because if someone finds us hiding you and thinks we did something—
SCP-9349: I understand your trepidation, and I would not blame you at all if you were to turn me away outright due to this concern. However, I have a history of escape with which my owners are well acquainted. I believe it extremely likely that theft will be the McCalisters’ first assumption. As I said, my owners do not know of my intellect. I do not believe they will expect anyone to shelter me.
Nathan Sharp: That’s good.
Remy Butler: It just dawned on me that there isn’t a great place for him to sleep in here.
SCP-9349: It’s quite alright. I can take the floor.
Remy Butler: No, you shouldn’t have to. We don’t have straw, or anything, but… Nate, could you try to find something in the house? Even if it’s just a few blankets, that’s better than nothing.
Nathan Sharp: Alright. I’ll get what I can.
SCP-9349: That’s very kind of you. You once again have my gratitude.
Earnest Knight: I’ll stand guard outside. We need to make sure he wasn’t followed.
[Both Sharp and Knight exit the building, leaving Butler alone with SCP-9349.]
SCP-9349: Once again, I must profusely apologize for any inconvenience I have caused you.
Remy Butler: Don’t worry. Part of our job is protecting people who need protection.
SCP-9349: I see.
Remy Butler: So, I don’t mean to pry, but Earnie will get mad at me if I don’t ask this question for security reasons. How is it you can talk? I’m sorry to phrase it so bluntly—
SCP-9349: It’s quite alright. Your curiosity regarding my nature is understandable. Suffice it to say, I was transformed into my current form as punishment for… a transgression. This happened a long time ago, and the circumstances responsible will not affect you. I will not make you sit here and listen to my entire life story. Suffice it to say, I do not believe there is any chance I will ever be transformed back into a human. I have resigned myself to remaining as I am.
Remy Butler: I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to pretend to be an animal and be treated like one.
SCP-9349: Thank you for saying so.
Remy Butler: What should I call you, by the way?
SCP-9349: You may call me Zachariah. That is the name my human parents gave me, long ago.
Remy Butler: Well, Zachariah, I’m Rem. The one with the bow is Earnie, and the other one is Nate. You can rest here for the night. I don’t think there’s a long-term home for you here. We’re… we’ve gone through some stuff recently, and aren’t really recruiting right now, but we can help you while you need us.
SCP-9349: Of course. That’s all I would dream of asking for.
<End Log>
Afterword: Shortly after this exchange concluded, Sharp returned from the conclave’s domicile with several blankets, from which rudimentary bedding was improvised. Shortly thereafter, the four agreed to allow SCP-9349 to stay the night in the barn and further discuss their situation in the morning.
Foreword: Once back in their domicile, the conclave’s members discussed the implications of SCP-9349’s arrival.
<Begin Log, August 18, 2024, 03:28>
Earnest Knight: Listen, Rem, I respect your decision as Sidereal, but remember that we need to be careful.
Remy Butler: I know, but I can’t turn away someone in need, and I don’t think helping him is that dangerous. We know people in Three Portlands. We just need to get someone there to come pick him up. I’ll start making calls in the morning.
Earnest Knight: Okay. Let’s just try to get him where he’s going as fast as we can. You need to remember that you can be a bit too vulnerable to sob stories. We’re still recovering from—
Remy Butler: I know. I promise he won’t stay long.
<End Log>
Addendum 9349-1: Additional Divinatory Logs
Due to the surveillance on the conclave’s residence, the Foundation was immediately alerted to the presence of SCP-9349. However, it was decided that no immediate action would be taken for fear of alerting the conclave to the failure of their anti-surveillance wards.
Foreword: The following morning, Butler, Knight, and Sharp returned to the barn to visit their guest and further discuss their situation.
<Begin Log, August 18, 2024, 10:18>
[The three members of the conclave enter the barn. As soon as the door opens, SCP-9349 bolts out. Knight quickly jumps out of its way. SCP-9349 gallops around the outside of the barn. Knight begins to follow it, but Sharp objects.]
Nathan Sharp: Earnie, give him some privacy.
Earnest Knight: Why?
Nathan Sharp: Because he’s been in the barn for eight hours and probably has to pee!
[Knight stops.]
Earnest Knight: Right. That makes sense.
[Just a moment later, SCP-9349 returns.]
SCP-9349: Apologies, friends. I have been in… relatively dire need for some hours now.
Remy Butler: It’s fine. It should have occurred to us that there’s no place for you to do that inside the barn.
SCP-9349: Oh, not at all. Even if it had occurred to you, there would have been nothing to be done about it.
Remy Butler: I guess.
Earnest Knight: With that taken care of, we should get back in the barn. Every second Zachariah spends outside is an opportunity for someone to see him.
[The four of them go back inside the barn. Knight closes the door behind them.]
Remy Butler: Alright, so, I’ve been making some calls.
SCP-9349: [Tilts head.] Calls?
Remy Butler: Phone calls. I’ve been looking for a place to send you. Somewhere behind the Veil, where you won’t have to pretend to be an animal.
SCP-9349: Oh, no. I cannot ask you to do such a thing. Sheltering me for this one night was already more than I had any right to ask of you. I could not possibly impose—
Remy Butler: No, it’s really okay. It’s a lot easier for us to arrange for you to be transported to Three Portlands than it would be for you to find your way somewhere safe.
SCP-9349: Please, my friends, I cannot possibly ask so much of you.
Nathan Sharp: Can you honestly say you have another choice? It doesn’t seem like you really have anywhere to go.
SCP-9349: I have wandered much in my many years. I can wander again.
Nathan Sharp: Won’t that just get you back in the same situation on a different farm?
[SCP-9349 does not respond.]
Remy Butler: It’s your choice. I won’t make you stay here, but please don’t leave just because you feel guilty about accepting help from us. I’ve already called a friend of ours in Three Portlands. They can come get you in about a month, then you’ll be in a free port where a talking horse can openly exist. I promise, it’s not an imposition. We sincerely want to do that for you.
SCP-9349: I see. You are exceptionally kind. Once my circumstances change, I will do what I can to repay you.
Remy Butler: If you want. We can keep you around for a month.
Earnest Knight: That’s how long we can afford to buy hay.
Remy Butler: But that’s the only part that’s at all difficult.
SCP-9349: [After a moment of silence.] Very well. I cannot reject a gift so heartfully offered. I can only imagine such compassionate souls as you would make wonderful hosts. Please, acquire no more for me than you can afford. I will graze as much as I can without being seen.
Nathan Sharp: The wards we have on this place should help keep people from noticing you. It won’t be foolproof. We’re still going to want to minimize the time you spend outside, but it’ll help.
SCP-9349: Thank you so much, friends. You are kinder than I dared hope.
Remy Butler: Speaking of hay, Nate and I are going to go into town to get some. Is there anything else you’d appreciate?
SCP-9349: My friends, you are already doing so much—
Nathan Sharp: Look, we genuinely don’t know very much about taking care of a horse. There are probably things you need that we won’t think of on our own.
SCP-9349: I suppose that is fair. A hoof pick and brush would be of use.
Nathan Sharp: Sure thing.
Earnest Knight: And you remember what you’re going to say if someone asks why we need them?
Nathan Sharp: No one’s going to ask—
Earnest Knight: Do you remember what you’re going to say?
Nathan Sharp: [Sighs] That we’re horse-sitting for a friend. Be vague, but mention the horse being black in order to throw people off.
Earnest Knight: Good boy.
Nathan Sharp: Hey, you’re only supposed to call me that while we’re—
Remy Butler: In any case, we’ll be back with that as soon as we can.
<End Log>
Afterword: Butler and Sharp departed soon afterward and returned later with the indicated supplies. The two of them brought the hay inside for SCP-9349 to consume, and SCP-9349 guided Sharp in the use of the aforementioned tools.
Foreword: The following evening, the conclave returned to the barn intending to use it as a ritual space.
<Begin Log, August 18, 2024, 17:24>
[Knight, Butler, and Sharp approach the barn. They are not yet inside.]
Earnest Knight: So, are we just going to do it even though there’s someone else there?
Remy Butler: I don’t think there’s any harm in him watching. It’s not like we’re going to do anything that’s supposed to be secret.
Earnest Knight: I guess. I just don’t like the idea of revealing exactly who we are.
Nathan Sharp: He’s already seen our masks. If he knows about our order, he already knows we’re a part of it.
Earnest Knight: Has it occurred to you that that could be a bad thing? We don’t know where he comes from. We don’t know how old he is, and he’s dropped a few hints that he might be pretty damn old. He might not be crazy about people like us.
Nathan Sharp: What, pagans? Gay people?
Earnest Knight: Either.
Nathan Sharp: Look, Earnie, I get it. We all know that we can’t just trust everyone. No one here has forgotten… what happened, but we have no reason to doubt this guy’s story. We verified while we were in town that the McCallisters really did lose a horse.
Earnest Knight: You did? How hard are they looking for him?
Nathan Sharp: Not seriously enough that they’re going to break into our barn or watch us like a hawk. Zach was right about them thinking he’d escaped, and they frankly don’t seem too worried about it.
Earnest Knight: That doesn’t mean he can’t screw us over if he has different intentions than he claims.
Nathan Sharp: Screw us over how? Even if Zach has the worst intentions we can imagine, what could he do? Tell someone in Three Portlands where we are?
Earnest Knight: Why not? There’s Horizon Initiative people in Three Portlan—
Nathan Sharp: He already knows we’re casters. He seems to be okay with the occult world.
Earnest Knight: Fine, but we need to be at least a bit careful. Don’t just tell him our whole life story.
[The three arrive at the barn. SCP-9349, which had been lounging on its pile of blankets, arises.]
SCP-9349: Oh, greetings. Can I do anything for you?
Nathan Sharp: No. Actually… we’re here to use the barn the way we normally would. Do some ritual stuff in that corner over there.
SCP-9349: [Glances at indicated corner.] Ah. I see. Do you need me to wait outside?
Remy Butler: No. It won’t hurt anything for you to be here. Just don’t come over and mess with what we’re doing.
SCP-9349: I wouldn’t dream of it.
[The conclave retreats to the opposite side of the barn and begins a Class-2 Theurgic Divination Ritual. At the beginning of the ritual, SCP-9349 isn’t paying the practitioners much mind, but over time, it comes to take more interest in them. About half an hour into the ritual, the three take a break while waiting for an alchemical reaction to conclude. Soon after they start making light conversation, SCP-9349 speaks up.]
SCP-9349: Excuse me, you seem to be taking a break?
Earnest Knight: Yeah. Why?
SCP-9349: My apologies. It’s rude of me to interrupt. You should proceed with your—
Remy Butler: No. It’s fine. Do you need something? Oh, do you need to go to the bathroom again? I can open the barn door.
SCP-9349: Oh, no. That’s not… actually, come to think of it, that might be a good idea, but it wasn’t my original reason for speaking. I am simply a bit curious about what you’re doing.
Remy Butler: Oh? It’s nothing much. Just a bit of theurgic divination.
SCP-9349: I see.
Nathan Sharp: Do you know what that means?
SCP-9349: Oh, well… perhaps I could benefit from an explanation, if you please.
Earnest Knight: Nate…
Nathan Sharp: Divination is magic you use to try to learn something. Where something is, what’s going to happen in the future, that kind of thing.
SCP-9349: Like… like a fortune teller?
Nathan Sharp: That’s not totally off the mark. Right now, we’re trying to help a friend escape a difficult living situation. To do that, he needs to know when an opportunity to run away is going to arise. This is information that needs to be more specific and actionable than you can get from astrology or a tarot reading. We need the exact time and date something is going to happen.
SCP-9349: I see. You mention your… order? What manner of sorcerers have I found myself the guest of, if it’s alright for me to ask?
Nathan Sharp: The Order of the Sidereal Stag.
Earnest Knight: Nate!
Nathan Sharp: He’s just curious.
SCP-9349: I apologize if I am prying—
Nathan Sharp: No. Not at all.
Remy Butler: It’s understandable that you’d be curious about the people you’re living with.
SCP-9349: I will confess, I do not believe I recognize the name you have given.
Nathan Sharp: It’s sort of a religious order crossed with a coven. The group is… this isn’t quite right, but for simplicity’s sake, you could call it “all-male.” We aspire to healthy masculinity, so there has to be some masculine component to your gender for you to be in it. It’s a social club where men and the man-adjacent with occult interests gather to protect and help each other.
SCP-9349: I see. You said it was religious as well?
Remy Butler: Somewhat. We have a patron god. Still, it’s not all about worshiping him. Think of it as a notch down from Ortothans, whose whole thing is the worship of a specific deity, but a notch up from people who just practice theurgic magic and deal with gods purely as a means to an end.
Earnest Knight: Though we do that, too.
SCP-9349: What sort of god do you serve?
Nathan Sharp: The Sidereal Stag. Like Rem said, he’s a representation of masculinity. Idealized, but healthy.
SCP-9349: Healthy?
Remy Butler: You know, non-toxic? Instead of trying to see manhood as a bunch of rules you have to follow in order to be a real man, we try to see strength, bravery, and protecting and providing for each other as virtues to strive toward.
SCP-9349: I see. I fear for my ability to please such a being.
Remy Butler: What makes you say that?
SCP-9349: I… I am not a brave man.
Nathan Sharp: Not everyone has to have the same kind of bravery. We’re not about the idea that all men have to be the same. People can accept each other’s differences while still aspiring toward the same virtues.
SCP-9349: I suppose.
Earnest Knight: Also we’re mostly gay.
[Both other members of the conclave look over at Knight.]
Earnest Knight: What? I mean, since we’re apparently giving him a crash course on the Order of the Sidereal Stag, we might as well mention that bit. [Stares directly at SCP-9349] Is it a problem?
SCP-9349: What? No. Not at all! My deepest apologies if something in my continence made it seem like I disapprove. I swear I had no such intention.
Nathan Sharp: Don’t worry. You haven’t done anything wrong. Earnie’s just being a jerk.
[Knight scoffs.]
SCP-9349: I… confess I come from a time and place that was less enlightened regarding such things, but I retain no allegiance to the faith in which I was raised, and that leaves me with no reason to disapprove.
Earnest Knight: Good.
SCP-9349: Would it be alright if I asked… which two of you—
Earnest Knight: We’re a polycule.
[SCP-9349 does not respond.]
Earnest Knight: You don’t know what that is either, do you?
SCP-9349: I’m afraid not.
Nathan Sharp: We’re all each others’ partners.
SCP-9349: [Takes a moment to reply.] I see.
Earnest Knight: Do you?
SCP-9349: I believe I do, yes. Forgive me, I seem to have done something which has led you to distrust me. I can only assure you that that was never my intention. You are the kindest souls with whom I have had the pleasure of speaking in many years. I feel only gratitude toward you.
Nathan Sharp: It’s okay. We…
Remy Butler: …We should get back to our ritual. The solvent is probably done.
SCP-9349: Very well. I shall bother you no further.
<End Log>
Afterword: Butler, Knight, and Sharp finished their ritual, wherein they called upon the Sidereal Stag to inform them when an associate’s father would next be away from home for an extended period of time. Their precise intentions with this information are unknown but not believed to be of any urgent significance.
Foreword: A few days later, Butler and Knight returned from an outing. After parking their car inside the barn, they exited the vehicle. after which they returned to the barn to speak with SCP-9349.
<Begin Log, August 20, 2024, 19:34>
[As Butler and Knight exit their vehicle, SCP-9349 is in the far corner, examining some of the ritual objects stored in the barn. Sharp is nearby, shelving jars of incense. Both Sharp and SCP-9349 turn to face the others.]
Earnest Knight: I see you’re talking an interest in our stuff?
SCP-9349: Oh, yes. Nathan was showing me what some of these artifacts were. I hope that’s alright. I find myself curious about them.
Remy Butler: It’s fine. In a minute, I might join Nate in answering your questions. First, though, I have another piece of news.
SCP-9349: Oh?
Earnest Knight: It doesn’t seem like the McCalisters are looking for you.
Nathan Sharp: What?
Remy Butler: We ran into Mrs. McCallister while we were getting your hay. Earnie… inquired as to the status of their lost horse, and she admitted she didn’t really care about finding you.
Earnest Knight: Apparently, you have ‘behavioral issues.’
SCP-9349: I see.
Earnest Knight: Did you really break a dude’s wrist when he tried to whip you?
SCP-9349: Oh. Um, that… I cannot truthfully deny that that incident occurred. I did not intend to harm him so gravely. I was simply… emotionally overwhelmed. They had not used such means to prod me prior to that point, and I feared this first use of that instrument portended a lasting decline in their treatment of me. I should not have reacted so harshly—
Earnest Knight: [Shrugs] It’s what I would have done.
SCP-9349: It is?
Earnest Knight: Of course. Anyone who tried to treat a member of my family like that, whether it was me or someone else, would be lucky if all they had to deal with was a broken wrist.
SCP-9349: I see.
Earnest Knight: Anyways, they’re not looking for you. They think you’re more trouble than you’re worth, and they don’t think they can sell you to anyone. It also helps that they think you’re near the end of your life. Apparently, you’ve been with them for longer than a horse would normally live.
SCP-9349: Ah, yes. I suppose they would be under the impression that I’m likely to die soon.
Earnest Knight: How old are you, exactly? Because you’ve alluded to being pretty damn old. Your ‘many years.’ Coming from a time and place that wasn’t okay with gay people. What’s up with all of that?
[SCP-9349 hesitates for a moment.]
Nathan Sharp: Hey, he doesn’t have to say if he doesn’t want to.
SCP-9349: Thank you, Nathan, but Earnest is right. I have been secretive about this matter. I often find that it is easier not to explain my origins. However, you three have given me reason after reason to trust you, so I shall confess, I am about six-hundred years old.
Earnest Knight: What?
Remy Butler: Six-hundred?!
SCP-9349: Yes. I was born in 1419.
Nathan Sharp: Holy shit.
SCP-9349: I do not like to mention it when I do not need to. I did less than nothing to earn my immortality. I would shed it if I could, but I cannot, just as I cannot reclaim my human form.
Nathan Sharp: Still…you’re older than the country we’re in. You’re from before Europeans even came here. Before lightbulbs. Before cameras. Before Napoleon. Before Shakespeare. Before Guns… Do you… did you know anyone I’d recognize from history?
SCP-9349: No. I never had any interactions with anyone whose name you’d recognize. I was only twenty when I gained my present form, and, as a horse, I have had no occasion to interact with the famous or notable.
Remy Butler: Still…
SCP-9349: I understand. It is a remarkable thing. I will do my best to answer any questions you have, so long as they do not concern my personal life. Just be aware of my limited perspective on worldly events. I have lived nearly my whole life in this form and spent most of that time pretending I could not speak.
Nathan Sharp: Of course. I won’t bombard you with questions, and I won’t let either of them do it, either. You don’t owe us your life story.
SCP-9349: Thank you for understanding.
<End Log>
Afterword: After this interaction, SCP-9349 began to spend more time outside of the barn due to decreased concern regarding it being seen.
Foreword: Over the weeks following the above conversation, SCP-9349 witnessed most of the ritualistic and thaumaturgical practices which the conclave took part in, as well as several personal interactions between them. Throughout this time, it continued to show curiosity and interest in their religious rites. This culminated in the following interaction.
<Begin Log, September 2, 2024, 20:05>
[The three members of the conclave approach SCP-9349 while it grazes about twenty meters away from the barn. Hearing them approach, SCP-9349 turns toward them.]
SCP-9349: Greetings. How are you today?
Nathan Sharp: So, we’ve been thinking—
Earnest Knight: I would like to state for the record that everything you’re about to hear was Nate’s idea.
Nathan Sharp: Which the others agreed to.
Earnest Knight: Eventually.
Remy Butler: Earnie, lay off.
Earnest Knight: Fine. Sorry.
Nathan Sharp: Anyways, I’ve noticed that you’ve shown a lot of interest in our religion while you’ve been here, and since you’re not going to be a lot longer, I thought it would be good to give you a better look at it before you go to Three Portlands.
SCP-9349: Oh? What would that entail?
Nathan Sharp: What we decided was to let you join us for a basic communion ritual, if you’d like.
SCP-9349: Communion?
Remy Butler: It’s something we do every now and then. A lot of groups do it weekly. We’re not as formal about it, but we try to do it around that often. You’ve already seen us do it. It was the one where we just lit candles and sat in a circle holding hands. For the most part, you’re supposed to be a member of the order in order to join in our rituals, but this is one that people curious about the religion can join in.
SCP-9349: …I see.
Nathan Sharp: Only if you want.
SCP-9349: Forgive me. Someone more polite would have already offered his enthusiastic agreement.
Remy Butler: You really don’t have to do it if you don’t—
SCP-9349: No! It’s not that! At least, not really. It’s just… it’s a strange thought. I’ve not seen myself as a religious man, or rather, horse, for quite some time. I have seen too much to believe the benevolent god of my upbringing could rule this universe, and I never thought to look for another.
Nathan Sharp: That’s totally valid. You have seemed curious, though.
SCP-9349: I cannot deny that I am.
Nathan Sharp: So, do you want to join in?
SCP-9349: Yes, I think I do.
Remy Butler: When do you want to do it, then?
SCP-9349: [Takes a moment to reply.] How soon can it be arranged?
Nathan Sharp: We can start setting up now, if you want.
SCP-9349: I suppose that is what I would like.
[The conclave leads SCP-9349 into the barn, and into its far corner.]
Earnest Knight: Were we going to bother with the masks?
Nathan Sharp: There’s a first timer here. Of course we’re doing the masks.
[The three of them retrieve four of the antlered masks typically used in the Order of the Sidereal Stag’s rituals.]
Remy Butler: Are we going to be able to get it on his face?
[They attempt to fasten the mask over SCP-9349’s face but find that SCP-9349’s equine anatomy is incompatible with the shape of the mask.]
Nathan Sharp: Wait, we could use this.
[Sharp retrieves a headband bearing similar antlers to the masks.]
SCP-9349: Is that an adequate substitute for the mask?
Nathan Sharp: It’s an accessibility aid. It’s for people who can’t or don’t want to wear the whole mask. Clearly that includes you, so it’s fine. Now, tell me if this is comfortable.
[Sharp places the headband on SCP-9349, who is able to wear it comfortably. The other three don their masks. While Sharp directs SCP-9349 to lie down, Knight sets about preparing incense, candles, and other elements of the ritual.]
SCP-9349: This is all… quite a bit. It smells nice, though.
Remy Butler: It’s all about building the right atmosphere. Apologies if there are any… discrepancies between what is relaxing to you and what is relaxing to us.
SCP-9349: Do not worry. This setting is reasonably serene.
[Knight sits down on the floor. Butler and Sharp do the same, flanking him on either side.]
Nathan Sharp: Now, Zach, lie down.
[After a few moments, SCP-9349 lies down between them.]
Remy Butler: Okay, now we need to join hands. [To SCP-9349] Oh, that’s not going to be a problem, is it?
SCP-9349: If hands are strictly required, it will be. However…
[SCP-9349 extends its front legs outward, allowing Butler and Sharp to each place their hand on one of its hooves.]
Remy Butler: Okay, so, just close your eyes and… reach out.
SCP-9349: Reach out?
Nathan Sharp: Try to think open-to-divine-contact kinds of thoughts. We have an established relationship with the Stag, so, with us here, he should be the first divinity to show up.
Earnest Knight: Don’t let your guard down completely though. The Stag’s enemies sometimes pretend to be him.
SCP-9349: I will endeavor to be careful.
[All four of them sit quietly with their eyes closed. Several minutes pass before the candles set out between them begin to dance and flicker without apparent cause. With their eyes closed, none of the four subjects witness this.]
SCP-9349: How… how will I know when I’ve done it?
Nathan Sharp: When you’ve achieved communion with the Stag, you’ll know. He’s… he’s something.
SCP-9349: …I see.
Remy Butler: Communion in the sense we’re looking for is sort of a feeling. For the Stag it’s like this sense of unconditional love, acceptance and protectiveness. It’s like being in the presence of a perfect parent. He sees exactly who you are. He loves that person unconditionally, and he wants to protect and guide you as much as he can while you learn to be the best version of your true self.
SCP-9349: I see. I… I do feel something. It’s…
[Several of the candles surrounding them levitate. SCP-9349 shudders.]
Remy Butler: Deep breaths. Stay with us. The presence it’s a lot, I know.
[The flames on the candles grow unnaturally large. Pounding hooves can be heard in the distance.]
SCP-9349: He’s big.
Earnest Knight: I know.
SCP-9349: It’s like I’m a drop of water next to an ocean. I find myself afraid that I’m going to be lost in its vastness.
Remy Butler: But you won’t split apart like a drop of water would. It’s more like… like you’re an ant standing on top of an elephant. So long as the elephant knows where you are and cares about you, you’re in no danger.
SCP-9349: Yes, the presence seems to wish to reassure me of this, and of something else.
Nathan Sharp: You’re getting a message?
SCP-9349: Yes.
Remy Butler: Do you want to share what it’s saying?
SCP-9349: I…
[SCP-9349’s eyes shoot open. The subject abruptly rises to its feet. The other participants open their eyes as well. SCP-9349 bolts to the other side of the barn. Every candle in the room sinks to the floor, and their flames return to their expected size. The other members of the conclave rise and follow SCP-9349. Knight and Butler stop around two meters away from it, but Sharp approaches closer.]
Nathan Sharp: Are you okay?
SCP-9349: Yes. Apologies for that. I… I’m fine.
Nathan Sharp: You just get overwhelmed?
SCP-9349: I suppose.
Remy Butler: Do you want to tell us what exactly the problem was?
SCP-9349: There was no problem. None at all.
Earnest Knight: No offense, but you acted like there was.
SCP-9349: What I mean is… it was exactly what you said. Like a perfectly loving father. I felt totally accepted and sheltered. The presence told me that who I am is enough, and… and that I didn’t deserve the things that have happened to me.
Earnest Knight: And that made you run away?
SCP-9349: Yes.
Remy Butler: Do you know why?
SCP-9349: No. I don’t.
[An extended silence.]
SCP-9349: I have declined to tell you certain things about my past, things which are painful to contemplate. Things I am ashamed of. However, I fear I cannot properly provide context for my actions without explaining some of what I have held back.
Nathan Sharp: You don’t have to tell us anything if you don’t want to.
SCP-9349: No, it’s quite alright. You have invited me into your spiritual lives. This being the case, I should like to participate in them fully, and that means allowing you to… to help me, if you can, and wish to.
Nathan Sharp: Of course we want to help you.
SCP-9349: I know. You are all so kind. As kind as the god I just fled from. Kinder than I deserve. Give me the night to prepare myself to say what must be said. Come morning, I will tell all.
<End Log>
Foreword: The following morning, the conclave met SCP-9349 in the barn.
<Begin Log, September 3, 2024, 9:02>
Remy Butler: So, I just want to say one last time that you don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to.
SCP-9349: I appreciate the sentiment. However, I feel it may do me some good to confess these things. I feel safer with you than I have in a long time. I don’t believe there’s still anyone alive who knows the story I’m about to tell you, and perhaps it would be better if there was. Perhaps it is the sort of thing one is not meant to bear alone.
Remy Butler: If you think it will help, then we’re all ears.
SCP-9349: Very well.
[SCP-9349 takes a moment to steal itself.]
SCP-9349: I told you I was born in 1419, yes?
Nathan Sharp: Yeah.
SCP-9349: I was born in England, in a nameless peasant village. The conflict between England and France which you now call the hundred-years war had raged for generations, and whole villages of men were routinely conscripted to fight in it. I was one such man. I had a wife, and a young son, but, by royal order, I was required to leave them to fight on the front lines, with no guarantee that I would return.
[SCP-9349 closes its eyes and bows its head.]
SCP-9349: In this time, one did not refuse the King’s order to fight. Any coward’s attempt to do so would be met with swift and brutal punishment. However, I did not wish to leave my family behind. I was a simple farmer. When I was collected for being an able-bodied male, I knew nothing of combat save that it was where fathers died and left their wives and children with nothing.
[SCP-9349 shakes its head.]
SCP-9349: I wanted nothing to do with that, so when I first felt that the opportunity struck me, I fled, hoping to return to my wife and son. I wanted to hold and comfort her. I wanted to raise him, to teach him to be a man.
[SCP-9349 huffs.]
SCP-9349: I thought I was clever. I truly did, as if I was the first coward ever to sneak off in the middle of the night and make for home. I don’t know what I would have done if I had gotten there. Certainly, I could not have stayed. They would have known to look for me.
[SCP-9349 wobbles, unsteady.]
SCP-9349: In the end, it didn’t matter. I did not make it home. I made it so little distance that I briefly tried to fool them into thinking I’d simply gotten lost rather than ran like a coward, but the rations I’d stolen for the journey home betrayed my intent. I thought they would hang me, but they did not. They did something crueler.
Earnest Knight: They turned you into a horse?
[SCP-9349 nods.]
SCP-9349: The punishment was carefully molded to fit the crime. I would not avoid the battlefield. No, I would be ridden into battle by braver men. They would claim all the glory and honor I might have known, while I would know only the terror and brutality of combat.
[SCP-9349 sheds a tear.]
SCP-9349: I would not die, though. A good death was a reward for an honorable warrior. Death would never come to me. I would face injury and suffering. I would be worked to the bone, skewered with arrows, and ripped to shreds by swords, but no matter how my body was mangled or mutilated, nothing would ever kill me. Even the worst injuries I might suffer would eventually heal, leaving me fit to be ridden into battle again. Meanwhile, my wife and son would be told I’d been hanged as a deserter. Where they could have been the widow and son of a soldier, they were now simply the leavings of a coward. And yet, I would be doomed to lose them, too. To outlive them by hundreds of years, trapped in a form where I could never know love like theirs again.
Nathan Sharp: That’s horrible.
SCP-9349: It was. Though I retained my ability to speak, most who rode me were not permitted to know what I was. They viewed me as merely a tool. It is not wise to grow attached to a warhorse.
Nathan Sharp: I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.
SCP-9349: It has been a horrible fate. I never properly learned what became of my family. I know that my village was eventually abandoned, but not what century this occurred in. At best, they built good lives despite my cowardice but have now grown old and died.
Nathan Sharp: You didn’t deserve that. You know that, right?
[SCP-9349 shakes its head.]
SCP-9349: As part of my punishment, it was arranged that I would always have proof I do. Proof that I truly am a coward.
Earnest Knight: There’s nothing cowardly about not riding to war for some stupid king who doesn’t give a shit about you. Trying to get back to the people who actually cared for you was the bravest thing you could have done.
SCP-9349: No. I am not a brave man. Of that fact we can all be certain.
Earnest Knight: How? Because that sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.
SCP-9349: There is an escape built into my curse. A cruel, taunting promise there to forever remind me that a better man could regain his human form, and that it is only due to my own cowardice that I remain as I am.
Remy Butler: What would turn you back?
SCP-9349: I would regain my human form in a moment, if only I were to be truly brave.
[Knight shakes his head.]
Earnest Knight: No. That’s a bunch of horse shit. You’re being brave right now.
Nathan Sharp: Yeah. Clearly it was hard to tell us all this, and you did it anyway.
SCP-9349: Not according to the impartial eye of magic. It has gazed upon me for six hundred years, and it has never seen me prove myself capable of courage. If it had, I would no longer be what I am.
[For a moment, no one speaks.]
Remy Butler: All of that is horrible. You shouldn’t have had to go through any of it.
SCP-9349: You are kind to say so.
Earnest Knight: There used to be a fourth one of us.
[Every gaze in the room turns toward Knight. After exchanging looks for a moment, Sharp and Butler turn back to SCP-9349.]
Remy Butler: He was our leader, actually. Our Sidereal, before I was. His name was Damian. He… he’s no longer with us.
Nathan Sharp: We were at a large meeting, a gathering of several conclaves on a scale that rarely happens outside of astral projection. It was… It was…
Earnest Knight: …Attacked, by self-righteous murderers. Members of the Horizon Initiative, a hit-squad who called themselves the “Scorchers of Sodom.” They… they didn’t intend to leave any survivors.
[A smirk bleeds through Knight’s somber expression.]
Earnest Knight: Fuckers underestimated us. They thought thirteen people, a squad leader and twelve ‘disciples,’ could just waltz into our grove and slaughter a hundred of us. The minute they showed up, all of them were pumped full of arrows. One had his skull smashed in by one of my summons. One of them even had their soul eaten by a demon. In the end, more of them died than us, but… Damian was one of the ones we lost.
SCP-9349: I’m so sorry.
Earnest Knight: Thank you.
SCP-9349: Despite my cowardice, I have known my share of battles, and despite being a mere animal to most of those who I have fought beside, I have lost those who I have come to see as comrades. I know it is the most dreadful thing in the world.
[Knight nods, his eyes moist.]
Nathan Sharp: Rem has been our leader ever since.
Remy Butler: I didn’t want to be, but I was… outvoted.
Earnest Knight: And you’ve done a fine job.
Remy Butler: If you say so.
Earnest Knight: You’ve done a better job than I would have, that’s for damn sure. I wanted to kick Zach to the curb when he showed up. Thank the Stag you were there to stop me.
Nathan Sharp: [To SCP-9349.] Would you mind if I pet you?
[SCP-9349 looks back at him but does not reply.]
Nathan Sharp: I mean, it’s okay if you’d rather I didn’t.
SCP-9349: No. It’s alright. You have already brushed me plenty of times. You may stroke my mane if you wish.
[Sharp steps over to SCP-9349 and begins stroking its mane. It closes its eyes and bends its neck toward him.]
SCP-9349: I would like to try the communion ritual again, if that’s alright with you. I would like to succeed at it at least once before I depart for Three Portlands.
Remy Butler: Of course.
Nathan Sharp: I’m going to miss you, big guy.
SCP-9349: As I will you.
<End Log>
Afterword: That evening, SCP-9349 did indeed perform the ritual again. Though the subject’s alleged contact with the Sidereal Stag still brought some discomfort, it did not flee, and, at the conclusion of the ritual, stated that it had been gratifying.
Foreword: Over the following weeks, the four residents of the compound became increasingly friendly with one another. SCP-9349 began to routinely join the others for rituals. Later, at the conclusion of a ritual a few days before the conclave’s contact had agreed to transport SCP-9349 to Three Portlands, the following interaction took place.
<Begin Log, September 16, 2024, 22:21>
[The four rise from their meditative positions. Butler begins picking up and putting away many of their ritual components, and the members of the conclave make small talk with one another. During this conversation, SCP-9349 is notably silent. Upon noticing this, Butler turns to SCP-9349.]
Remy Butler: Is something wrong?
SCP-9349: What? No. Nothing.
Nathan Sharp: You sure?
SCP-9349: I was… having a somber thought is all.
Nathan Sharp: Is it something you want to talk about?
SCP-9349: I was simply thinking about how I’ve come to enjoy my time here. It is bittersweet to know I am destined to depart in just a few days.
Nathan Sharp: I know what you mean.
SCP-9349: Of course, I cannot impose further upon you. I know it’s been difficult for you to afford my care.
Remy Butler: I guess. I can’t deny we’ve had to do some freelance casting to make ends meet.
Earnest Knight: But it’s been worth it.
Nathan Sharp: Yeah, I’m glad we met you. I’m glad we’ve gotten to show you our faith. There are multiple Sidereal Stag conclaves in Three Portlands. You can join one if you want to keep pursuing membership in the order.
SCP-9349: I do. I’m certain I do.
Nathan Sharp: That’s wonderful.
SCP-9349: In fact, given that I am already sure of this, and given that it will still be a few days before I depart… would it be alright for you to initiate me before I go?
Remy Butler: [Smiles.] If you want, yeah. We can probably get it to happen tomorrow. We’d only be inducting you as a fawn—your proper initiation would be several months away—but we’d love to be the ones to bring you in.
SCP-9349: I am glad to hear that. It feels fitting for you to be the ones to do it. It was you who introduced me to this faith. You ought to induct me into it, and I should like to carry the memory of your doing so with me, even as I find another conclave to call home.
Remy Butler: Alright, then. This ritual is traditionally done at dusk. We’ll set up to do it tomorrow.
SCP-9349: Thank you.
<End Log>
Foreword: The following evening, the ritual occurred. This was an extended process, taking over an hour, and culminating around dusk. The following log depicts only the end and aftermath of the ritual.
<Begin Log, September 17, 2024, 19:54>
[The four members of the conclave stand in a forest clearing at night. Knight, Butler and Sharp are wearing their antlered masks. SCP-9349 wears nothing.]
Remy Butler: And so, shall you protect and enrich your community, even as they protect and enrich you?
SCP-9349: I shall.
Remy Butler: And shall you be studious in learning our ways? Shall you respect our order’s past, present, and future, shutting out neither the voices of those who came before us nor those who shall come after?
SCP-9349: I shall.
Remy Butler: So you have sworn. Now, as a fawn among us, you shall have the chance to prove it so.
[Butler places the antlered headband on SCP-9349’s head. In the distant woods, a luminescent, quadrupedal figure watches, though no one in the conclave reacts as if they see it.]
Remy Butler: That’s it, then. You’re a fawn now.
SCP-9349: I am delighted to hear it.
Earnest Knight: Another conclave will have to take up your training, but we shouldn’t have a hard time setting you up with that.
SCP-9349: I suppose. Still, it is bittersweet that I will leave you for some larger conclave, which shall hold so many strangers.
Nathan Sharp: I’m going to miss you, too, buddy.
[Sharp approaches SCP-9349 and strokes its back. The entity leans slightly into the gesture.]
Remy Butler: Zach, if… if you had the choice, would you rather stay here?
SCP-9349: Oh, no. I could never inconvenience you like that. I know you’ve struggled to afford my accommodations.
Nathan Sharp: But we’ve been making it work, and it’s getting cheaper now that we know what we’re doing.
SCP-9349: But my owners—
Earnest Knight: Aren’t looking for you, remember? Not that we can be reckless or anything—there’s still the Veil of secrecy to be worried about—but I don’t think it’s logistically infeasible to arrange for you to be able to stay.
SCP-9349: No. No, I’m sorry, I can’t inconvenience you like—
Nathan Sharp: It’s not an inconvenience, dummy. We’re asking because we don’t want you to leave either.
SCP-9349: …Truly?
Remy Butler: I’ll put it this way. We would rather keep you here than see you go. Now, can you honestly tell me that, putting aside guilt and the fear that you’re imposing on us, you want to leave?
SCP-9349: No. Of course not.
Nathan Sharp: Then you’re staying, end of story.
[SCP-9349 bows its head.]
SCP-9349: Thank you. Thank you so much.
<End Log>
Afterword: Later that evening, Butler contacted his associate in Three Portlands to cancel their plans to transport SCP-9349, instead making arrangements to acquire facilities that would make SCP-9349 more comfortable on their residence. Over the course of the following months, SCP-9349 further integrated itself into the conclave, forming closer social bonds with its members.
Addendum 9349-2: Additional Divinatory Logs
Early in the morning on December 21st, shortly after SCP-9349 participated in its conclave’s winter solstice celebration, the Foundation detected a large anti-Akiva emitter approaching the compound.
When alerted to this anti-Akiva spike, Site-272’s liaison from the Department of Tactical Theology judged that a demonic entity powerful enough to create it was likely a grave and imminent threat to the public. MTF operatives stationed at the site were immediately charged with identifying its source and, if possible, containing it. These agents immediately departed toward the homestead.
Foreword: The entity approached in a large, dark red pick-up truck with large tusk-like flourishes on its front bumper. Due to the same thaumaturgic alarm that alerted the conclave to SCP-9349’s approach, Butler awoke in their shared bedroom. He awoke Knight, who in turn attempted to rouse Sharp.
<Begin Log, December 21, 2024, 7:34>
Sharp: [Groggily] Wha…?
Earnest Knight: Someone’s outside!
Nathan Sharp: It’s too early for someone to be outside.
Earnest Knight: Sure, sleepy head. You stay inside while the big boys deal with it.
Nathan Sharp: Ugh, fine. I’ll get up.
Remy Butler: Zach knows to stay in the barn, right?
Earnest Knight: He does. I’m more worried about whether our guest will have the courtesy to stay out of the barn. There’s more in there than just a horse. Tons of occult stuff. Nothing that would break the Veil on the spot, but enough for someone in the know to figure out who we are.
Nathan Sharp: Fuck, we’re not careful enough with this shit.
Earnest Knight: Yeah, I keep saying that, don’t I? Somehow nothing ever gets done about it.
Remy Butler: Not now. We need to get out there.
[The three hastily dress and run outside. While they do, the detected entity emerges from its vehicle. Despite emitting thaumic and anti-Akiva radiation consistent with a powerful, malevolent supernatural entity, it visually appears to be a tall, Caucasian, man around fifty-five years old, dressed in worn (or distressed) denim. Upon emerging from the vehicle, the entity approaches the conclave’s residence. The three residents emerge from the front door before it arrives. The entity greets them.]
Nathan Sharp: Uh, good morning, sir.
Entity: Mornin’.
[The entity’s voice carries a thick southern American accent.]
Earnest Knight: What do you want?
Entity: I’m looking for a bit of stolen property that’s gone missing around here.
Remy Butler: [Feigning nonchalance] Stolen property?
Entity: Some sad little thieves have made off with someone else’s horse. Guess their fathers didn’t raise them right.
Remy Butler: A horse?
Entity: Went missing a few months ago. Its owners gave up looking for it, but some people have seen it around here, and now they’re antsy to get it back. A lot of people feel like they’ve seen it on this property. I think it would set a lot of minds at ease if you let me take a look around, maybe check inside your barn?
Earnest Knight: Right. Quick question. Who the fuck are you?
[The entity’s gaze snaps directly to Knight, and it sneers.]
Entity: Is that how you always talk to your elders, boy?
Earnest Knight: I don’t give a fuck how old you are. Who the fuck are you? You’re not wearing a police uniform. What the hell gives you the right to search our property?
Entity: You know the answer to that question.
Earnest Knight: No, I really don’t. Unless you can explain why you have the right to be here, you’re going to leave, right now.
[The entity’s brows contort.]
Entity: You know, someone who didn’t have anything to hide wouldn’t be acting like such a spoiled brat.
Earnest Knight: Someone who had the right to search our property would be holding up a warrant and a badge. You don’t seem to have either of those things, so you can fuck right off.
[The entity frowns. It glares at Knight for several seconds.]
Entity: Fine, but this isn’t over.
Earnest Knight: It is. If you trespass on our property again, we’re the ones who’ll be calling the police.
Entity: Heh. Sure you will, boy. I’m sure you’re just fine with them taking a close look at this place.
[As slowly as it had approached, it returns to its vehicle and leaves. Knight, Butler and Sharp watch until it disappears from sight.]
Remy Butler: Who the heck was that?
Nathan Sharp: Earnie, are you sure that was the best tack to take—
Earnest Knight: With some old fart trying to intimidate us without even bothering to pretend he’s a cop? Yeah, I’m sure.
Remy Butler: Do we have any idea who he could have been?
Nathan Sharp: SCP Foundation?
Earnest Knight: No. They would have pretended to be a cop. They’d probably even have a warrant.
Remy Butler: He said people have been seeing Zach on our property.
Earnest Knight: Clearly, we’ve been careless. We need to start being more careful.
Nathan Sharp: We’ll talk to Zach about it as soon as possible.
Remy Butler: Is there any reason ‘as soon as possible’ isn’t ‘right now?’
Earnest Knight: That creep could still be nearby. Depending on where in the barn Zach is, he might see something. We should wait at least a few hours.
Remy Butler: Okay.
Earnest Knight: You guys should get back to sleep. I’ll stay up and keep watch. I’ll wake one of you up to take over in a couple of hours.
Remy Butler: [Takes a deep breath.] Okay.
Nathan Sharp: [To himself.] It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.
<End Log>
Afterword: Shortly after the entity left the property, the Foundation’s divinatory systems ceased to detect it. MTF agents initially intended to search the conclave’s property instead began to search the general vicinity for the entity, with no success.
Foreword: The conclave continued to sleep—with both Knight and Butler taking turns at watch—until late morning, when they awoke Sharp and entered the barn. Even after they entered, they found SCP-9349 asleep. Sharp approached the subject, sitting down next to it and stroking its mane.
<Begin Log, December 21, 2024, 12:16>
Nathan Sharp: C’mon, big guy, you gotta wake up.
[SCP-9349 slowly awakens.]
SCP-9349: Oh, good morning. If indeed it is still morning. What time is it?
Earnest Knight: Around noon.
[SCP-9349 neighs.]
SCP-9349: Noon? I suppose that is to be expected after going to bed so late. My newfound faith is not for early risers…
Earnest Knight: No, it definitely isn’t, but we need to talk about something else right now. While you were asleep, someone came here looking for you.
SCP-9349: What?!
[Knight’s at-length recounting of the entity’s visit has been expunged for brevity.]
SCP-9349: And he said he came at the behest of the McCallisters?
Earnest Knight: He did, but I think he was lying. I don’t know who he could have been. I’ve been turning it over in my head over and over, and I can’t figure out who would send some old guy in an ugly shirt and jeans instead of a cop, or at least someone pretending to be a cop.
Remy Butler: Shadow Stags?
Earnest Knight: I don’t think so. They target trans people, but this guy wasn’t here about me. He was here about Zach. Not something the Shadow Stags would care about.
Nathan Sharp: It… it couldn’t be the Horizon Initiative again, could it?
Earnest Knight: No. I don’t think that makes sense. They wouldn’t care about Zach specifically. Even if they knew about him, they wouldn’t have asked to look for him. They’d have shot us on sight for being gay pagans.
Nathan Sharp: What does that leave?
Earnest Knight: I don’t know. I don’t know who that was or what’s going on.
SCP-9349: My presence here has put you in danger. Perhaps my staying here was—
Nathan Sharp: Don’t you even say it.
SCP-9349: I—
Nathan Sharp: Don’t you even say it!
[Sharp leans over, resting his head against SCP-9349’s shoulder.]
Nathan Sharp: We’re not sending you away, big guy. You’re part of our conclave. You’re stuck with us. I’d abandon this homestead before I’d abandon you.
Remy Butler: Nate…
Nathan Sharp: Don’t ‘Nate’ me!
Remy Butler: It’s not that simple. Earnie and I both have jobs here, and other connections.
Nathan Sharp: He’s been advancing with us for months now! We already have him astral projecting. He’s going to do his first Mirror Hunt soon.
Remy Butler: And we won’t cancel that unless we absolutely have to, but… Nate, sometimes, for people like us, the world is cruel. Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices to stay safe.
Nathan Sharp: No! We’re going to find another solution to this! Final answer!
Earnest Knight: Rem’s the Sidereal. He gets the final answer.
Nathan Sharp: Too bad, because I just gave it.
SCP-9349: If I may interject…
Nathan Sharp: You’re not leaving.
SCP-9349: I can’t endanger you.
Nathan Sharp: You’re not—
SCP-9349: I’m not saying I should, or will leave, but if I do not, we have to find some other way to keep you safe. I could not live with myself if something happened to you on my account. Please do not make me carry that burden for centuries to come.
Nathan Sharp: [Takes a deep breath.] Okay. [Strokes SCP-9349’s mane.] I don’t want to lose you, big guy.
SCP-9349: Nor I, you. You are the dearest compatriots I’ve had in a long time.
Remy Butler: We’ll figure out what we have to do, but I promise we’ll do our absolute best to stay together.
Nathan Sharp: Good.
Remy Butler: But even if we can’t—
Nathan Sharp: Don’t.
Remy Butler: But even if we can’t, that’s not the end for us. We have the Astral Grove. We have the Forest Paths. Even if we can’t live in the same place, we’ll stay a conclave however we have to.
<End Log>
Foreword: A few hours later, while Knight and Butler were together in the house and Sharp and SCP-9349 were practicing Astral Projection in the barn, Butler received a phone call from an associate.
<Begin Log, December 21, 2024, 14:44>
[Butler and Knight are both in their home office. Knight is attempting (without success) to find a social media footprint corresponding to their visitor. Butler is communicating with a contact in Three Portlands, the house’s phone rings. Butler picks it up.]
Earnest Knight: Who is it?
[Butler looks at the phone.]
Remy Butler: Luke Moore, from the Church of the Blessed Sacrifice.
Earnest Knight: The Ortothan Church in town?
Remy Butler: Yeah.
[Butler answers the call and places the phone to his ear.]
Remy Butler: Hello?
Luke Moore: Hello, Mr. King?
Remy Butler: [Winces] No. He… he’s not here right now. What do you need?
Luke Moore: I’m calling to alert you that a friend of mine saw something concerning in town.
Remy Butler: What?
Luke Moore: It was a delivery team, from Spicy Crust Pizzeria.
[Both Butler and Knight’s eyes widen.]
Luke Moore: I simply wished to warn you. I don’t know that they were… delivering pizza to you in particular, but I once promised your Sidereal that I would alert him to any such sightings. Is he well, by the—
Remy Butler: Thank you for telling us. Is that all you needed to say?
Luke Moore: [Briefly pauses.] Yes. That’s all.
Remy Butler: Alright, then. Thanks again for the call.
Luke Moore: You’re quite welcome.
[Butler hangs up the phone.]
Earnest Knight: Fuck.
Remy Butler: You were saying earlier that you didn’t think it was Foundation.
Earnest Knight: You’d better not let Nate do that stupid dance he does when he thinks he’s proven me wrong about something.
Remy Butler: No. That’s not where I was going at all. I just… I was considering whether it could be a coincidence that the Foundation is in the area at the same time as that guy.
Earnest Knight: My instincts tell me no.
Remy Butler: But then why hasn’t an MTF already busted down our door?
Earnest Knight: I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t think it’s good, or safe, for any of us, including Zach. I… I don’t know that our barn is the best place to keep Zach right now.
Remy Butler: Earnie, he’s one of us.
Earnest Knight: I know. I promise, I hate the idea of him having to leave, but I’m this conclave’s Horned Warden. I have a duty to value our safety over everything else.
Remy Butler: I know.
Earnest Knight: And it’s not like we’re the only ones in danger! If anything, Zach will be the worst off if something happens. If it is the Foundation, we’d probably just be amnesticized. The Order would find us and fix it. Zach would end up in a containment cell, forever.
Remy Butler: I know.
Earnest Knight: And that’s assuming it is the Foundation. What if it’s something worse? What if they were here because something else, something worse, is in the area. What if it’s Children of the Scarlet King? A bunch of them massacred a conclave just a few weeks ago.
Remy Butler: I know!
[Butler physically throws his hands up in the air.]
Remy Butler: I know it’s a totally, terminally fucked situation. I know we don’t have any good options. But… Zach is one of us, now. A fawn, but that means we have all the more obligation to protect him. We can’t send him away if he doesn’t want us to. That’s out of the question.
Earnest Knight: Do you think I don’t know that?
Remy Butler: Of course you do, but I’m struggling to figure out what it is you are trying to convince me to do.
Earnest Knight: Look, Zach isn’t the one who’s totally unwilling to consider the idea of him leaving. I guess what I’m trying to convince you to do is talk to Nate or at least help me talk to him. We need to get him to understand that Zach hiding somewhere else, even if it’s just for a little while, is probably the best option we have.
Remy Butler: [Sighs] Yeah, it probably is.
<End Log>
Foreword: While the above conversation was taking place, SCP-9349 and Sharp were practicing Astral Projection back in the barn.
<Begin Log, December 21, 2024, 14:52>
[SCP-9349 awakens, having just concluded its most recent projection.]
Nathan Sharp: Wow, you’re already getting up past half an hour now. That’s amaz… what’s wrong?
SCP-9349: Nothing. As you say, my progress is heartening.
Nathan Sharp: C’mon big guy, you know you’re not good at pretending to be okay. What’s going on? Just everything that’s been happening, or…?
SCP-9349: [Takes a moment to reply.] I spent the first few minutes of that projection in the Astral Grove, but… after that, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look around here, in hopes that I could discover something helpful. Something that might help us in solving our dilemma.
Nathan Sharp: What did you see?
SCP-9349: Nothing. No sign of the man you described, not that I got a thorough enough look for that to prove anything. It’s just…
Nathan Sharp: What?
SCP-9349: I overheard a conversation the other two were having, just now.
Nathan Sharp: About what?
SCP-9349: About what we should do.
Nathan Sharp: What did they say?
SCP-9349: They seem to have been alerted to SCP Foundation presence in our vicinity. They were considering what should be done about this and… I think this is a conversation all four of us should be present for. Gossiping about one another will do us more harm than good.
Nathan Sharp: They were talking about sending you away.
SCP-9349: For a time, while the situation is resolved.
[Sharp does not reply.]
SCP-9349: Because it could be resolved. Perhaps it could even be resolved relatively quickly. If it’s safest for me to go to Three Portlands for a week, or a few weeks… I understand not wanting to be forced to do that by external circumstances, but it’s a far cry from never seeing each other again.
[Sharp is silent for half a minute.]
Nathan Sharp: I’ll go get them right now. We’ll have another talk about it.
<End Log>
Foreword: Shortly thereafter, Sharp returned to the house to retrieve Butler and Knight. The four of them once again gathered in the barn.
<Begin Log, December 21, 2024, 15:07>
Earnest Knight: So you were watching us?
SCP-9349: Yes.
Remy Butler: That’s… actually really impressive. I mean, Zach’s only been projecting for a couple of months.
Nathan Sharp: I know, right?
Earnest Knight: You’re right, it’s impressive. It’s also worrying.
Nathan Sharp: What, are you going to get mad at us for spying on you?
Earnest Knight: What? No! Nate, the fact that he could watch us astrally means there’s a problem with our wards! With the Velvet Veil up, Astral Winds should have made it difficult to linger around here. I don’t think I could do it, and it’s way beyond what a beginner should be capable of. Zach, did you feel anything trying to push you away from here while you were watching us?
SCP-9349: [Takes a moment to reply.] Perhaps?
Earnest Knight: Perhaps?
Nathan Sharp: He’s new. He’s not any good at judging the astral windspeed around him.
Earnest Knight: Okay, fair, but if the Foundation, or someone else, suddenly knows all about us, a problem with our wards would explain why.
Remy Butler: And, if the Velvet Veil really isn’t protecting us… we’re in danger. A lot of danger.
SCP-9349: How long would it take to replace this veil?
Remy Butler: Days. You’re not supposed to let it run out.
SCP-9349: Oh dear.
Earnest Knight: Agreed. This is bad.
Nathan Sharp: And if it’s true, it’s a reason for all of us to leave this place, not just Zach.
Earnest Knight: Why are you… Nate, I’m not hunting for reasons to send Zach away. I hate the idea as much as you do, but we can’t keep getting away with what we’ve been doing. Has it occurred to you that there’s horse shit in our yard? Since that talk with the McCalisters, we’ve been conducting ourselves with the assumption that no one cares if we have him. If that’s not the case, our present living situation is totally untenable.
Nathan Sharp: [Takes a deep breath.] You’re right. It probably is. For a moment, let’s accept the premise that all of us need to leave as soon as we can, how difficult would that be?
Earnest Knight: We could fuck off in a random direction right now if we wanted, but traveling safely to somewhere we could safely stay? Days, at least. Back when we thought we were sending Zach to Three Portlands, we had to have him stay here for a month.
Remy Butler: I’ve already called that friend again. That month-long wait was due to a bit of bad luck, but it’s still going to be a week or so.
Nathan Sharp: Alright then, we have a plan. We’ll prepare to leave in a week.
SCP-9349: If the situation is as grave as you say, should we not just go immediately? Surely arrangements can be made on the fly—
Earnest Knight: No. If there is someone looking for us, then there’s some reason they haven’t already attacked us here. Fleeing into the surrounding wilderness might just make us helpless against them. Same with the Deer Paths. We should definitely use them if we absolutely have to run away, but it’d be better to make more properly safe arrangements.
Remy Butler: I’ll start casting some stuff to hide evidence of Zach’s presence here. Things like the horse poop. We should’ve been doing that this whole time.
Earnest Knight: Agreed.
<End Log>
Addendum 9349-3: Additional Divinatory Logs
Over the following days, the Foundation’s continued efforts to locate the unidentified demonic entity in the area continued to be mistaken by the conclave for Foundation efforts to locate SCP-9349. There was internal debate about whether to overtly approach the conclave under the theory that their assistance containing the more dangerous entity might be useful, but tactical analysts concluded that they likely had little to contribute to that effort.
Foreword: A few days after the above conversation, the unidentified entity was once again sighted on the compound.
<Begin Log, December 24, 2024, 22:53>
[Near the end of the day, SCP-9349 has laid down on its improvised bedding. As it tries to fall asleep, the entity suddenly appears on the far side of the room, opposite the entrance. Because SCP-9349 is attempting to sleep, it does not notice the entity’s presence until it speaks.]
Entity: Evenin’, Dasher.
[SCP-9349 rises to its feet and looks directly at the entity. SCP-9349 loudly huffs.]
SCP-9349: Who are you? Where did you come from?
Entity: Heh. C’mon now, surely your little convent of fags has taught you something about me?
SCP-9349: [Turns away from the entity.] I have no reason to listen to yo—
Entity: Of course. Run away from everything I have to say, just like you run away from everything else. That’s why they called you Dasher, ain’t it?
[SCP-9349 turns back to face the entity.]
SCP-9349: How do you know that name?
Entity: I can hear your mind screamin’ it right now.
SCP-9349: What do you want?
Entity: Only to tell you the truth.
SCP-9349: And what good will this truth do me?
Entity: Who’s to say? It will be the truth, though. The one you already know deep down.
SCP-9349: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Entity: You can’t lie to me, Dasher. I can see your mind better than you can see this room. I know about all your deepest fears. All your twisted urges, all those thoughts you hide from the people around you in a vain attempt to stop them from seeing what you really are.
[SCP-9349 does not respond.]
Entity: Out of excuses? Good. I much prefer an honest conversation. And oh, there’s a great deal you have not been honest with yourself about as of late, let alone your new [chuckles] “friends.” Because that’s all they are, yes? Friends? How utterly indecent would it be if you were beginning to see them as something more? How disgusting would it be if the sight of them awakened sinful urges you’ve had since before you even became a horse? Those urges were disgusting enough then. Now that you’re not even human? I can hardly summon the words for it.
SCP-9349: I… I haven’t done anything—
Entity: What does it matter what you’ve done? Your thoughts betray who you truly are, and we both know your feelings for this little coven of queers go beyond ‘friendship.’ As weak as you are, I don’t think even you would stay here so long, willfully endangering them, if they were only your “friends.”
SCP-9349: They want me here!
Entity: Because they’re as weak as you are. Because they’re also blinded by sinful love. That doesn’t change the fact that nothing you bring them is worth the effort, money, and now danger you’re subjecting them to.
SCP-9349: Shut up!
Entity: The truth is usually painful, isn’t it? And don’t get me wrong. It’s understandable. You’re stranded between two species, so lonely, with head full of so many sick urges, of course you’d long for their [laughs] companionship.
SCP-9349: I will not listen to another word—
Entity: Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? To tune me out. But you can’t, because deep down, you know that I’m only tellin’ you the truth.
SCP-9349: No! No, you’re just repeating my fears to me.
Entity: But hasn’t your fear always been what told you the truth? You’ve listened to it every day of your life for six-hundred years.
SCP-9349: I’ve been braver since I came here! I’ve let them get close—
Entity: [Laughs] Dasher, if you’d been brave for a single second, here or anywhere else, you wouldn’t still be a horse! But you are still a horse, and do you know why? Because you haven’t been brave, not once in your six-hundred years. In fact, let me tell you a secret. No one ever has.
SCP-9349: What are you talking about?
Entity: What mortals mistake for courage is simply one fear beating out another. Even if you had made different choices at every point in your life, fear still would have been driving you. Fear of being called a coward for refusing to fight. Fear of being ridden into battle. Fear of becoming a burden to such kind people as your new [chuckles] “friends.”
SCP-9349: That’s not true!
Entity: You know it is, and so did the people who cursed you. How else do you make sense of the fact that you haven’t managed to be brave once in hundreds of years? Because you, along with all other living things, are a slave to fear.
[SCP-9349 does not reply.]
Entity: You know that your presence here endangers the humans you have oh-so-perversely come to love, and you’re starting to fear that the guilt you’ll feel when your presence finally ruins them will be worse than the heartbreak you’ll feel leavin’ them behind. Either way, you get caught. Either way, the Foundation has what it wants with you. The only thing you have the power to change is whether you take your “friends” down with you. You can stay here, and see all of them suffer because of you, or you can run off into the woods, and you, alone, will suffer.
[SCP-9349 does not respond.]
Entity: Truth be told, I want you to stay. It would be so much fun to see you take them with you, but you won’t do that, because you love them, and that means you fear their suffering more than you fear your own. No, you and I both know exactly what you’re about to do.
[Inexplicably, the car inside the barn switches on. It accelerates at unnatural speed, slamming into the barn door and tearing it open before driving into the forest outside.]
Entity: You’ll hurt them by leaving, but not as bad as you’ll hurt them by staying.
[SCP-9349 gazes out the open door. In the distance, the car smashes full-speed into a tree and is totaled.]
Entity: The sooner you go, the farther from them you’ll be when the Foundation finally finds you.
[SCP-9349 looks back at the entity, then back out the door.]
Entity: C’mon. You know you’re going to do it. Your hesitation does nothing but waste that much more of everyone’s time.
[SCP-9349 takes a tentative step toward the barn entrance. After one final moment of hesitation, it gallops out the open door, and off into the forest. As soon as it reaches a gallop, the entity vanishes.]
<End Log>
Foreword: The car’s spontaneous activation and impact made a great deal of noise, which alerted Sharp, Knight, and Butler that something was going on outside. All of them rushed out to investigate.
<Begin Log, December 24, 2024, 23:01>
[The three human members of the conclave rush outside. Sharp is scanning the area, while Knight is staring at the barn door.]
Earnest Knight: Fuck.
[While scanning his line of sight, Sharp spots SCP-9349 itself running into the forest. He immediately pursues it.]
Nathan Sharp: Zach! Zach, come back!
[While Sharp runs after SCP-9349, Knight runs over to examine the inside of the barn. The demonic entity is no longer present. Butler runs after Sharp.]
Remy Butler: Nate!
[Sharp ignores him, continuing to pursue SCP-9349.]
Remy Butler: Nate, he’s a horse! You’ll never catch him.
[Sharp stops running. He turns back toward the barn.]
Nathan Sharp: The car!
Earnest Knight: [Pointing] Is mangled and smoking about a hundred feet down the road.
[Sharp turns to look at the car, then back toward Butler, as well as Knight, who’s now approaching.]
Nathan Sharp: This is your fault, Earnie! You told him he was a danger to us. He fucking believed you! That’s why he’s leaving!
[Knight doesn’t respond.]
Nathan Sharp: Really? Nothing to say for yourself?
Earnest Knight: We have to get him.
Nathan Sharp: Yeah, I worked that much out on my own.
Earnest Knight: If he thinks running into the woods protects us from anything, he’s gravely mistaken. When he gets caught, the Foundation will have no trouble getting information out of him. He’ll tell them all about us.
Nathan Sharp: Really? That’s your first concern right now?
Earnest Knight: Yes, Nate! The safety of our conclave is always my first concern.
Nathan Sharp: I can’t fucking believe you! We have to go after him.
[Without waiting for a response, Sharp turns and runs after SCP-9349 at full speed.]
Earnest Knight: Nate!
[Sharp ignores Knight and continues pursuing SCP-9349. Knight runs after Sharp. Several seconds later, Butler begins pursuing the both of them. Knight catches up to Sharp.]
Earnest Knight: Nate!
Nathan Sharp: Don’t try to stop me.
Earnest Knight: I’m not trying to stop you!
[Knight runs up to him and places a hand on his shoulder.]
Earnest Knight: Look, there’s no point in running. He’s fundamentally faster than us. Let me get some stuff from inside—like my bow—and we’ll track him properly, okay?
[Sharp closes his eyes and cries.]
Nathan Sharp: Fine.
<End Log>
where he shall rot eternal
Zachariah’s heart pounds as he runs into the woods. He can hear his conclave running out of the house behind him, but he doesn’t dare stop. He can’t let them catch him. If he speaks with them again, even for a single second, his cowardice will take over, and he will lead them all to their doom.
He hears Nate calling after him. He steals himself and gallops all the faster, so fast that the woods around him seem to blur. The sounds of his conclave, the smell of the burning car, the gentle light of the moon and stars above, vanish. Zachariah stops. He looks up. He finds himself in a flat plain with no trees to hide him. In the sky, not a single star shines. There is only the moon, unnaturally large, and glowing an angry red.
“Where am I?” Zachariah asks.
The man appears. “Somewhere where you can never harm those ‘friends’ of yours.”
Zachariah sniffs the air. This thing does not smell like a human. Not truly. There’s sweat and blood, but also sulfur, grease, and ash, without a hint of flesh, of clothing, of anything soft.
“Don’t speak to me in riddles!” Zachariah says.
“There’s no riddle, Dasher. This is the only place I could have taken you where your selfishness can never hurt anyone else. It wouldn’t have done them any good for you to just run off into the forest. You’d have been captured, and everything you know about your,” once again, that sick laugh, which seems at once to echo from the distant mountains and boom in Zachariah’s ear, “‘friends’ would’ve been extracted from you. I’ve taken you somewhere where you’ll never be caught by the Foundation. It’s safer for everyone that way.”
“That’s—that’s not what I agreed to!”
“You know what it’s like to be a fugitive. You know what it’s like to be hunted, and found, by the people chasing you. Don’t you want to spare them that? Don’t you want to let them go back to the life and love they had before you walked into their barn and made them care for you?”
A great shout echoes behind Zachariah. He looks toward it. Behing him, running, chasing, is a familiar squad of soldiers. Clad in clanking mail atop pale horses, they shout.
“There he is! It’s the deserter!”
Zachariah is at a full gallop straight away, but, somehow, his equine legs are so much slower than their mounts that he may as well be running on foot. The knights run him down and soon have him pinned to the ground with a sword to his neck.
“Got you, coward.”
“Please, please, I—”
“Not even the dignity to keep yourself from begging, eh, boy? Pathetic. You know, the king’s law would have you put to death for what you’ve done.”
“Please don’t kill me. My son—”
“Still not brave enough to face your death?” the man says, sneering. “Well, lucky for you, we have something else in mind.”
The vision fades like a morning mist. Zachariah scrambles to his feet. In the distance, he can see the boy he once was being led away in chains.
“He just wanted to see his family…”
“But he never saw them again, did he?”
“No.”
The mist clears, revealing a small wooden hut. A woman holds a small child, innocently grabbing at her hair while a soldier speaks to her.
“He died a traitor, and a coward,” the soldier says.
The woman shakes her head. “No. No, he can’t have. He promised me he would come back!”
“I was trying to keep that promise.”
The soldier smirks. “I guess that promise didn’t mean as much to him as saving his own skin.”
“No! That’s not true—”
The soldier looks away from Zachariah’s wife, turning to him.
“Isn’t it, though? Some part of you must have known you couldn’t just run away. Perhaps you thought a coward’s noose would be a cleaner death?”
Once again, the image fades.
“Let me out of this place!” Zachariah cries. “I don’t want to be here!”
“And send you where? There’s nowhere on this globe the Foundation doesn’t rule.”
With everything he has, Zachariah wants to refute that statement, to rebuke this demon, but he can’t.
“I understand,” the man says. “I really do. It hurts to be here, and coward that you are, you struggle to bear that pain, even for the people you love. Still, I know, deep down, you’re thankful to me for protecting them from you.”
The ground around Zachariah curls upward, twisting and hardening into concrete. The dim light of the red moon is visible through a window far down the hall, but its glow is overwhelmed by the flickering, bright white of electric lights.
Black-uniformed guards and white-robed researchers stand in the hall, looking into three adjacent cells, where Nathan, Rem, and Earnest are trapped, each utterly alone. Earnie is pointlessly banging on the door and demanding release. Nate is weeping, begging for mercy from these pitiless jailors. Rem cannot bring himself to speak at all. He’s simply curled in the corner, sobbing.
“Do you really want this for them?”
“No.”
“Then you’ll need to stay with me, won’t you?”
Zachariah does not respond. There’s no need to say it aloud. They both know the answer.
The whitewashed cement hardens into dark stone. The blinding electric lights become dim, flickering torches. The scientists become mages, and the guards’ rifles become shields and swords. In this dungeon, a single man, not that he deserves to be called a man, cowers in a cage.
“I strongly recommend you get on your hands and knees,” one of the mages says. “Being curled up in the corner like that is only going to make this worse.”
“What are you going to do to me?” the boy asks, cheeks wet.
“You will serve in the King’s armies,” the mage says. “Your service shall never be ended, not even by valiant death.”
“I just want to go home.”
“And you could have! You could have been a warrior! Won honor and glory! You could have given your son a father he could have been proud of! Now, you will never return to them. You will live forever as a coward.”
The mage raised his hand and uttered an incantation.
“Will it hurt?” the boy asks.
“Yes, it will,” whispers the horse as the mage’s hand begins to glow.
“But you deserve it, don’t you?”
“I do.”
The world melts away again. The horse now finds himself being ridden on a battlefield. The enemy line can be seen in the distance, closing in fast. The weight of the heavy knight sat atop him makes him ache as he is whipped.
“Get going, you stupid horse!”
The horse neighs and gallops forward, toward enemy blades. An arrow has already pierced his heart, and fear pierces his heart just as sharply, yet he rides forward. He knows the worst fate he might find on the battlefield is better than what they will do to him if he runs again.
When the cavalry walls collide, a sword hews Zachariah’s leg, making him fall on his side. The battle above takes no note of this, and he is quickly trampled by the steeds above him. Bones crack. Flesh is crushed. He should die, but he can’t. He never will, no matter how badly he is mangled.
The horse at last finds himself in a stable. He has been here for weeks, slowly, ever so slowly, healing, until nothing remains of his injuries but scars.
The man now stands outside. “There’s another battle tomorrow,” he says.
The horse says nothing.
“You could try to get away again. Don’t you want to?”
“Yes.”
“But will you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m afraid of what they’d do if they find me again.”
“And why can’t you face that danger like a man?”
“Because I am not a man. I am a coward. I am a horse.”
Foreword: The conclave trek through the woods. Knight has his bow at the ready. All three of them have had their eyes enchanted to see in the dark.
<Begin Log, December 25, 2024, 00:46>
Nathan Sharp: He’s a white horse. Hopefully that’ll make him easy to spot in the dark.
Earnest Knight: But not so easy that the Foundation finds him first.
[Knight continues to scan the area ahead.]
Nathan Sharp: Why’d we have to make him run away?
Earnest Knight: We can’t worry about blame right now. We need to find him before the Foundation… or whatever worse thing is at play, does.
Remy Butler: Could it be the Huntsman?
Earnest Knight: Fuck knows.
Nathan Sharp: Huntsman would explain the old guy… Wait, was the old guy—?
Earnest Knight: If he was, our wards are completely shot. We might not be able to stay after all this is done. We’ll worry about that later, though.
[Suddenly, Knight stops. His gaze is fixed on a spot on the ground.]
Remy Butler: What do you see?
Earnest Knight: A disturbance in the grass. Fresh.
[Knight walks over to the side of the road and leans down.]
Earnest Knight: Hoofprint.
Remy Butler: So this is where he got off the road?
Earnest Knight: It would seem so. I’ll start following the trail.
[They follow the trail for an extended period of time.]
Earnest Knight: Wait… that doesn’t make sense.
Nathan Sharp: What’s wrong?
Earnest Knight: The trail dies out here.
Nathan Sharp: What?
Earnest Knight: There’s mud all around here, and clear hoofprints to go with it. They should continue after this point. There’s no way he could’ve avoided leaving them if he’d continued walking, but they’re missing. It’s like he disappeared from this spot.
Nathan Sharp: No…
Earnest Knight: I’m sorry. I can’t explain it.
Nathan Sharp: He’s gone.
Remy Butler: Don’t give up yet.
Nathan Sharp: But if he just suddenly vanished, he could be anywhere, or nowhere.
[Several seconds of silence.]
Nathan Sharp: Zach!
Earnest Knight: Nate…
Nathan Sharp: Zach! Zach, where are you?
<End Log>
As four stags weep as one
The man outside the stable is grinning.
“You’re being a good boy right now, aren’t you, Dasher?” the man says. “Still remembering what happened the last time you ran?”
Screams echo in the distance, along with rhythmic incantations and the sick, wet sounds of warping flesh.
But a moment later, another voice echoes in the distance.
“Zach!”
Zachariah’s ears perk up. He knows the voice. It’s Nathan. What’s he doing here? Is he somehow trapped in this place, too? That thought horrifies Zach more than any of the visions he’s seen.
The man sneers and glances toward the door out of the stable.
“Zach!” the voice echoes again, “where are you?”
“They must be worried you’ll expose them when you’re captured,” the man says. “Hopefully they don’t keep looking for you too long. It would be a shame if they got caught looking for you, even after the sacrifice you made.”
“Zach, please, where are you?”
“I’m sure they’ll give up on you soon enough. They’ll be safe, if you stay in here.”
“Zach!”
“You’re safe, too, after a fashion. You can’t ruin anyone’s life from in here. No more wives will weep for you. No more sons will live and die with only the story of a coward to call ‘father.’”
“Zach, please, I need you to hear me. I… I don’t want to lose you! And… even if you don’t want to stay with us, I need to at least know you’re okay. Please, tell me you’re okay!”
“Nate…” came the horse’s voice, weakly.
“Zach? Zach, was that you?”
“I wouldn’t answer if I were you. It’d be cruel, to taunt him with your voice.”
“But he can hear me.”
“Yes! Yes, I can hear you! Where are you?”
Every movement makes Zachariah’s muscles explode with pain. By all rights, that should keep him pinned to the ground, but, somehow, he plants his hoof in front of him and begins struggling to his feet.
The boy in the cage is still screaming outside, his pained cries warping into neighs as his body is twisted and changed. Zachariah does not allow himself to listen to those screams. He forces himself to listen to Nate’s voice as he pushes himself upright.
“Zach, please? I love you. I want to see you again. Please, wherever you are, hear me.”
Zachariah pushes himself to his feet. He stumbles but does not fall.
“He doesn’t know what’s good for him. He’s even stupider than you are.”
Zachariah sticks his head through the gap over the stable’s door and looks toward the voices. He doesn’t see Nate, only the mages, the cage, and the boy inside it, half-way morphed into a horse.
“See that?” the man says. “That’s what happened last time you ran away.”
“Nate…”
Then, another voice. Rem. “Zach, we hear you too.”
And a third. Earnie. Their warden. “I’m sorry,” he cries. “I’m sorry if I ever made it seem like I wanted you to leave. I don’t. I promise I never did. I was afraid, but I want you to be with us, always.”
“You’ll destroy them.”
As if the man had not spoken, Zachariah rears back and slams his hooves into the stall door. He runs out into the stable’s main hall. The cage, and the morphing boy inside it, are still there, but so is the cool, gentle forest. Above the blood red moon, three bright stars twinkle. The man is also outside, dressed as a mage. The boy in the cage starts screaming again, and Zachariah’s eyes find him. He takes a single step back.
“That’s right, you know better than to run.”
“Zach, where are you?”
The horse looks at the man. “They want me…”
“So, what if they do?”
Zachariah takes another step back. The Entity raises his hand, which begins to glow with crackling, red power. Zachariah’s gaze lingers on him. He closes his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lenore. I wish I could have come back to you, too. I hope… I hope you understood that I tried.”
Zachariah charges forward, directly toward the cage and the voices beyond it. The man utters an incantation and shoots an enormous jet of fire out of his hand. The heat engulfs Zachariah. His flesh sizzles with burning pain. Every cell in his body is screaming at him to turn back, to run, to hide, but he charges through the fire until he reaches the threshold of the building.
He doesn’t even see the man until he’s already run into him, his weight and speed knocking him over. He charges into the wooded night, passing through the mages, the cage, and the boy inside, as if they weren’t there.
Every speck of hair on him has been scorched away. Every inch of his skin is burning, but he still runs into the cool night.
Just a moment later, he trips. He falls forward, and begins to roll across the ground, spinning and tumbling, but not hurting, as if the cool night grass were somehow soothing his burning skin.
<Begin Log, December 25, 2024, 00:50>
[As the members of the conclave continue to call out for SCP-9349, a large, fast-moving figure suddenly appears near them. It flies through the air for several seconds before impacting a tree and falling face-first into the mud below.]
Nathan Sharp: Zach?
[SCP-9349 stumbles to its feet.]
SCP-9349: Yes, I…
[SCP-9349 looks downward, noting its apparently human form. It is nude. Large patches of its skin are covered in mud, and it bears several scrapes and lacerations, but no burns. Its eyes go wide.]
SCP-9349: I… I…
Nathan Sharp: Zach, is that you?
SCP-9349: Yes, I… I believe it is.
[As soon as SCP-9349 finishes uttering the word ‘yes,’ Sharp runs up to it and pulls it into a firm hug. He is openly weeping.]
Nathan Sharp: Thank you. Thank you so much. I was so scared. Scared I’d never see you again.
Earnest Knight: What the hell happened?
SCP-9349: I… I ran away from you. I was worried I would get you hurt, but then I heard you calling for me. I had to run back, no matter what. I guess… I guess I was brave.
Earnest Knight: Holy shit.
Nathan Sharp: Yeah, holy shit. That’s amazing.
Remy Butler: But I think it makes sense. If that figure was the Huntsman, any trap he set would be a mental one. If he used Zach’s thoughts and feelings to take him somewhere else, a change in those thoughts could allow Zach to come back. Mind over matter, going in and coming out.
[Sharp hugs SCP-9349 still more tightly.]
SCP-9349: Careful. I’m delighted to see you, too, but I’m still not totally well.
Nathan Sharp: Sorry.
[Sharp relaxes his grip but doesn’t pull away.]
Remy Butler: We should get you home. We need to get you washed up.
Earnest Knight: And see if there’s anything we can do about those wounds.
Remy Butler: I should have brought spell components. I can probably close these once we get back to the barn.
[Knight removes his shirt.]
Earnest Knight: Here, better than nothing to bind the wounds with.
Remy Butler: This is going to be a long walk.
Earnest Knight: Unfortunately, we don’t have another option. Zach, can you walk?
SCP-9349: I believe so. Only if Nate lets go of me, though.
[Sharp ceases hugging SCP-9349 and takes a step away. SCP-9349 takes a few steps forward. It has a visible limp but still manages to walk forward.]
Nathan Sharp: Does that hurt? It looks like it hurts.
SCP-9349: A little. I am also rather out of practice walking on two legs.
Nathan Sharp: Here, put your arm around my shoulder, I can—
[SCP-9349 shakes its head.]
SCP-9349: I believe that would slow us down too much. The scrapes, I… I think they’re just from hitting that tree, but we still want to get them cleaned.
Earnest Knight: Hard agree. Plus, if we can get Zach cleaned up and dressed, we’ll be able to pass him off as an ordinary human. That could save us in an encounter with the Foundation.
Remy Butler: I’m not sure you’ll be ‘passing him off.’ I think he is an ordinary human, now.
SCP-9349: Yes. I suppose I am.
<End Log>
Foreword: Upon returning home, the conclave cleaned SCP-9349’s wounds, then used “folk magic” to partially close them. Once the bleeding had stopped, Sharp and Butler drew a bath for SCP-9349, who proceeded to thoroughly clean itself. It later emerged from the tub and dressed itself in clothes borrowed from Knight. Once dressed, it returned to the living room where the others were waiting.
<Begin Log, December 25, 2024, 03:31>
[Sharp, Knight, and Butler are whispering to one another.]
Nathan Sharp: I mean, he’s not a horse anymore, so…
Earnest Knight: I don’t know. I mean, if I saw that body on Grindr, I’d definitely say he had a horse—
Remy Butler: Guys, we can’t talk about him like that yet! We need to make sure he’s comfortable with it first.
Earnest Knight: [Sighs] You’re right.
Remy Butler: In fact, maybe we should wait to ask. We don’t want to overwhelm him. We’ve been helping him a lot, and he’s kind of dependent on us right now. Besides, the only partner he’s ever had, as far as we know, was a wife. He could be bi, but the odds are against it.
Nathan Sharp: But what’s the harm in asking?
Remy Butler: Will he feel free to say no?
Nathan Sharp: I think so. I don’t think he’s afraid of us. I can’t imagine him thinking we’d, like, retaliate or something.
[SCP-9349 becomes visible near the top of the stairs.]
Remy Butler: He’s coming.
[The conclave’s attention remains on SCP-9349 as it descends the stairs. It approaches the couch.]
SCP-9349: Should I… sit down?
Remy Butler: If you want.
[SCP-9349 sits. It shifts in its seat.]
Nathan Sharp: Is something wrong?
SCP-9349: Not at all. I am just continuing to adjust to this body.
Remy Butler: You’re managing, though?
SCP-9349: I believe so. I’m sure it will get easier as time goes on.
Remy Butler: [Smiles.] Good. Regarding your accommodations… you’re obviously not going to be sleeping in the barn anymore.
SCP-9349: I still could, if—
Nathan Sharp: No. I’m taking the couch. You’re getting my bed. No arguments.
SCP-9349: But—
Nathan Sharp: No arguments.
SCP-9349: May I please say just one thing?
Nathan Sharp: Absolutely not.
Remy Butler: Nate.
Nathan Sharp: Fine.
SCP-9349: I… I apologize for saying this so soon after everything that happened. Oh, and I apologize for everything that happened, too. I shouldn’t have run away. That was stupid, and cowardly, and it almost made us lose each other forever. However… just before that happened, I had a conversation and… I was forced to acknowledge some thoughts I’ve been having for the past few months. Since I’ve been here.
Earnest Knight: Wait, who exactly were you talking with?
SCP-9349: No one good, but regardless of his intentions, I think one thing he said was true, and something I needed to confront. I have… feelings. Feelings I’ve been hiding from. Feelings that I had been ashamed of for a long time, both since I first had them and since I met you.
[Butler’s eyes widen.]
Remy Butler: Oh.
Nathan Sharp: “Oh?” What’s… Oh.
[Sharp becomes visibly elated.]
SCP-9349: I… Now that I’m a human, I want to explore being more than just a member of your conclave. Not that you’re not already more to me than that. You’re my dearest friends in the entire world, but… I think at least a part of me wants you to be more. Wants… to be to you what you are to each othe—
[Sharp leans over and kisses SCP-9349 on the lips. SCP-9349 is surprised for a moment as he approaches, but then leans forward to meet Sharp’s lips with his own. Knight and Butler smile as they look on. The kiss lasts several seconds, and seemingly only ends because Sharp wishes to speak.]
Nathan Sharp: We were already debating whether to invite you.
SCP-9349: Really? That’s…
[SCP-9349 begins crying.]
SCP-9349: That’s amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Earnest Knight: Nothing to thank us for. Nate has been praying for you to become human for months, and we both know w—
Nathan Sharp: Hold on there! He was subject to a literal curse. Getting to kiss him was nowhere near the main reason I wanted him to be free from that.
SCP-9349: It was a reason, though?
Nathan Sharp: …Maybe a little.
SCP-9349: I see. This being the case, I suppose there is no need for anyone to sleep on the couch? I can simply join you, in your bed?
Nathan Sharp: For sure.
Earnest Knight: We’re all in the same room. Are you okay with that?
SCP-9349: Yes, I believe I am.
Nathan Sharp: And is that all you want to do? Sleep, I mean?
SCP-9349: [Blushes] Oh, um… for tonight, yes. I… I will need to spend a bit of time readjusting to this body before I am ready to explore… frontiers which I never explored when last I was human.
Nathan Sharp: Sure thing. Just tell us when you’re ready, and what for.
SCP-9349: I will. I… I suspect, in a few weeks, I will be so inclined, though I will need your guidance as to how… how two men—
Earnest Knight: Four men—
SCP-9349: Yes, of course. In either case—
Nathan Sharp: Don’t worry big guy. We’ll give you all the help you need.
<End Log>
Addendum 9349-5
Two weeks after the above conversation, the conclave successfully restored the Velvet Veil to their residence, preventing further Foundation divination. Less than a week later, it came to the Foundation’s attention that their residence had been abandoned. Agents searching the property found neither the conclave nor their belongings.
Addendum 9349-6
In late 2025, forces charged with monitoring the Order of the Sidereal Stag learned that various associates of SCP-9349 and its partners were being invited to a grove in Montana for a wedding. The Velvet Veil was deliberately lowered during this event to allow it to be photographed.
Foreword: The following footage was obtained from an attendee of the wedding.
<Begin Log, January 24, 2026, 18:45>
[SCP-9349, Butler, Sharp, and Knight stand in front of a crowd. The suits they are dressed in vary in style, and are various shades of green and blue. They are all wearing antlered ritual masks.]
Remy Butler: And now, beneath the light of the distant stars, let a new man be joined to our union. Where we were once three, let us be four again, each fully partnered to one another, joined in commitment and love. Under these stars, let us be united to one another for the remainder of this life, and hereafter. Now, with a kiss, let this union be sealed.
[As Butler, Sharp, and Knight stand in a line, SCP-9349 walks by, removes each of their masks and kisses them. When it finishes doing so, the four spouses join hands.]
Remy Butler: And so, a bond is formed. Stars willing, may it never be broken.
<End Log>