Rot While You Trot

All was quiet in the Everfree Forest but, underneath the green and thriving land was the facility of the long forgotten science organization Unicorp, Still conducting the experiments they were forbidden from performing years ago by Princess Celestia herself.

Deep within the facility, somepony was arguing.

Unicorp main headquarters (Underneath The Everfree Forest),

Serum Development Lab A-3,

Professor Lucias Klem,

Junior Assistant Keeley.

"Sir It's too soon to start tests on live subjects!" Exclaimed Professor Klem, a tallish, smart looking white colt with long brown hair.

"Do not defy me Klem! *cough cough* You can see that my condition is worsening... I need that serum complete as soon as possible!" An ill looking but well dressed pony said in an anxious tone.

"I understand that Sir but..."

The well dressed pony interrupted with a swift reply "No buts! I want results not *cough* excuses!"

"Yes Mr.Mercury sir..." Klem said with a sigh.

"Good I expect to be cured the next time *cough* I return to this lab! Do not fail me Klem or your life will be on a much thinner thread than that of mine." The well dressed pony shuffled out of the lab with his weary legs.

"What do we do professor?" Said Klem's junior assistant and student Keeley Bright, a young looking small female pegasus with a long golden mane.

"We do as he says... We don't have a choice... Hook the lab rat up to the heart monitor, I'll prep the serum for injection into the subjects bloodstream."

Keeley replied with a quick "Yes professor!"

She lifted a large white rat out of a metal cage and into a cushioned clamp, sticking all sorts of wires to its body in various spots.

"We'll start with a small 10 milligram dosage and see where that takes us, probably nowhere considering the size of the subject"

A small syringe on a robotic arm reached out and pierced the rat's skin injecting a small amount of the serum into its body, Klem and his assistant watched carefully for results.

"Cell regeneration rate increased slightly... Keeley... I think it may be working!"

Suddenly the long bleep of the heart monitor echoed through the lab and its surrounding corridors, the rat was dead.

"Fuck! I thought we had it! I really thought we did! How or where could we have gone wrong!... turn off that racket..."

Keeley switched the heart monitor off and took a seat next to Klem

"What is it that's wrong with the serum? It's cells... they regenerated... what could it be?"

Keeley shrugged with a confused look on her face.

"Thank you Keeley you're a great help..." Klem let out a huge sigh and tapped his chin with his hoof. "Well! Better get back to work and find out what it was then! No use just sitting around complaining about my failures is there?"

"Would you like a coffee professor?" Keeley asked.

"Oh yes please... I could use it..."

As Keeley stood up she caught a glimpse of movement over near where the rat was still clamped, she froze and watched carefully.

"Keeley are you OK?" Klem asked as he stood up

"Shhhh! just watch...."

He shifted his eyes over to the rat, a few seconds passed and then a single twitch from the rats front right leg indicated possible life!

"Turn the machine back on!"

Keeley flicked the switch on the machine but it was still the long bleep of the heart monitor flatlining.

"What in equestria is going on...?"

Suddenly, The rat was flailing about trying to wiggle free of the clamp that held it in place! The heart monitor still letting out the long bleep, Keeley jumped at the rat in an attempt to get it safely into the cage of which it was previously held!

"Keeley be careful! It might....!" and at that moment the rat bit her on the arm! The chunk of flesh it took was considerably big given the size of the rat, despite that she got the rat back into the cage and proceeded to the first aid cabinet.

"Keeley! Fuck! Are you OK?!" Klem stuttered in a panicked tone,

"I'm fine... professor... I'm fiiiii...." Keeley collapsed just short of the first aid cabinet!

Klem rushed over to help "Keeley?! Keeley!"

He checked for a pulse but there was nothing... Keeley was gone...

"No... No! No! No!" Klem sat curled up next to her lifeless body, the sudden loss of his student hit him like a ton of horseshoes.

But she wasn't dead just yet...

Her body twitched itself to life! Klem, still in shock didn't notice anything until the shadow of Keeley''s body appeared before him.

"Keeley...? You're... alive? But... But you had no pulse!"

Looking up, he realised that his wasn't the Keeley he knew... Her eyes were hollow and lifeless, her stare intimidating, She lunged herself at him in an attempt to bite him, Klem backed off and stumbled up onto his hooves, grabbing a scalpel off of a surgery tray. He extended it towards her threatening her.

"Stay back Keeley! I don't want to hurt you! What's wrong with you?! I can try to help!"

It was useless... Keeley continued lumbering towards Klem with a hunger in her eyes.

"I said get back!"

Klem lunged at Keeley with the scalpel, stabbing her straight in the neck with its short but sharp blade, he definitely hit a main artery, there was blood gushing out of her neck like a crimson waterfall, But, Keeley didnt seem phased by Klem's attack at all and continued to lurch towards him.

He looked around for a clear escape route but he was cornered with no way out.

"What do you want?! Stay away from me!!!"

He turned and bucked his hind legs, hitting the former pony on the muzzle and forcing her limp body to stumble back, suddenly, an opening appeared! A clear run to the door, so he made for it! He reached the door and looked back at his former assistant, still stumbling to regain balance.

"I'm so so sorry Keeley... I truly am.. " With a single tear rolling down his face he locked the door and ran, heading for his boss' office, he had to warn him of the dangers of the serum.

"Mr. Mercury, Professor Klem is here to see you."

"Ah yes! Excellent! Bring him in!"

Klem rushed through the door "Sir! The serum!" he stuttered

"Yes Klem? *cough* Spit it out!"

Mercury coughed and spluttered for a short while before regaining his breath,

Klem continued on "We tested it on a live subject as you asked and the results were... somewhat intriguing. Its cells, they started a slight regeneration process but then strangely the subject died."

"You walked all the way here to tell me of your failures! *cough cough*" Mercury shouted in an angered tone.

"No sir... Me and... Keeley... sat down to figure out what could be going wrong, she stood up to get us both coffees and something caught her eye. The rat, was moving again, it was alive or at least we thought it was."

Mercury looked at Klem in a puzzled way "What do you mean 'You thought'?"

Klem continued on "Well i asked Keeley to turn on the heart monitor again but still nothing, no heartbeat just a flatine as if it was dead... It tried to struggle to get free of its bonds so Keeley dived at it to get it back into its cage and it bit her..."

"Yes and...?" Mercury asked curiously,

"Well she headed for the first aid cabinet, I asked her if she was OK and she said she was fine but... she collapsed.... I ran over to her worried... checked her pulse and there was nothing... she was dead..."

Klem hung his head before lifting it slightly to continue

"But like the rat... she wasn't dead... she stood up and when i looked at her... her eyes were... were dead... like i was looking into an endless void... She tried to bite me.... So I stabbed her in the neck with a scalpel... She just kept coming... She's not Keeley any more..."

"This is excellent news!" Mercury shouted with joy

"You've achieved more than I expected! A serum that brings ponies back to life! *cough cough* I was expecting a 'heal all cure all' serum but what you have created is another chance at life!"

Klem raised his voice in anger "Don't you get it?! It doesn't bring ponies back to life it turns them into monsters! and It wasn't even the serum injected straight into Keeley, it was a simple bite! It's not the serum is a mutaed gene!"

Klem hung his head once more and said in a deep tone "This isn't a second chance... It's a ticket straight to limbo... not dead... not living..."

"Get him out of my sight... In fact, get him out of my facility, I never want to see this piece of trash again!"

Mercury shook his hoof gesturing to a couple of guards.

As Klem was being dragged away he shouted warnings at Mercury "Sir you can't use the serum It's dangerous! I'm saying this for your own good! Don't use it!!!"

The guards dragged Klem for a while, down the long and winding corridors of the facility, he squirmed to get free but they were too strong, he could not break free of their grasp...

With his head low and his hooves dragging, he let out a sigh of regret, for what he had created and for what happened to Keeley...

He thought for a moment and smiled, maybe it wasn't so bad that this was happening... He'd been cooped up in this facility for years, feeling like a prisoner for so long.

He lifted his head with the grin still spread across his face to see a big metal door with 'EXIT' printed upon it.

One of the guards punched a code into the console next to the door and with a loud 'CLANG!' the door began to open and the light of day poured through the small gap in the door...

The outside world that Klem had not seen in years was open... He was free...