SCP-042: A Formerly Winged Horse

SCP-042: A Formerly Winged Horse SCP-042 is a rough one. A white horse has two broken-looking bones sticking out of open wounds in its back, where wings apparently used to be. Those wounds never heal. It barely moves, refuses food, and has to be kept alive through forced nutrition. Staff use electric shocks to make it stand. Even then, it eventually lies back down. People describe its expression as pleading, and some researchers believe its repeated injuries are deliberate. The file never settles how much it understands. The Foundation's precautions include watching medical staff to prevent them from ending its suffering. That tells you plenty about what working around this animal does to people. During a transfer, a doctor takes control of the aircraft and sends it into a dive. For nearly a minute, the horse experiences weightlessness. Afterward, it kills two guards and touches its muzzle to the doctor, who becomes euphoric until they're separated. Was that gratitude? Recognition? Something stranger? The story leaves room for those questions. The horse gets a brief experience that resembles flying again, and then it's back in custody. There isn't much comfort in that ending. https://t.co/5P1oXBxFrA