Yawning as she rose from her nest, Myriad saw that the sun was barely up, the sky a deep violet twilight. She was still tired, and thought about laying back down to rest longer…
"Nu gu back tu sweepies…
“…nee’ wun! Nu wet…”
“MEANIE DUMMEH HOOMINS…”
“…getchu…take yu back tu ba’ pwace…gib yu huwties…”
“*huuu…*huuu…*huuu…nu wan gu back…nu wan huwties…”
Exhausted, the alicorn looked down to her nest. While it was nothing more than a pile of garbage she had gathered into a pile, it was sadly the most comfortable place she had ever slept. Kept in a cage that was almost too small for her, with her only respite from the cramped pen was the metal table and the needles, the little nest was almost cozy.
“Buh…buh Miw’iad am sweepy…su tiwed…”
“…nu west…nu sweepies…”
“…hoomins wiww getchu if yu west tu wong…”
A sullen look on her face, Myriad streteched out before leaving behind her makeshift home, her stomach grumbling loudly as the alicorn trotted along, making her way deeper into the city.
“Miw’iad hab tummeh owwies…Nee’ gu an find nummies…”
It was exceptionally cold within Room 1499 today. Dr. Mayhew liked to keep the Vivisection Lab at a traditional 68°F, but as he shivered through his cleansuit, rubbing his sides for warmth, he could have sworn it felt ten degrees cooler.
All of the metal tables within the lab were pushed far against the walls, save for one. Empty, at least for now. Mayhew was both nervous but also excited. He had to explain to his superiors the failures of that dreadful Mr. York, which unfortunately occurred on his watch. It was ridiculous to expect a brilliant man such as he to divide his time between the research they paid him to do and to babysit the help.
But they also had a unique specimen for him to examine today, the only other MYRIAD experiment that had come as close to success as M-442. Sadly, the subject had perished over a week ago, but her cadaver was kept on ice and while he was more comfortable with vivisection, Mayhew was just as talented at autopsy.
Annoyed as he was kept waiting nearly an hour, a loud klaxon suddenly blared throughout the lab. “Finally…” Mayhew said to himself as he rolled the table over to the adjacent wall, a small panel opening up as he approached. Stretching the band that held his ID, he wiped the card against a small scanner before hitting a series of letters and numbers on the digital keypad, a small chime signaling when he had finished. As the panel sealed up, the connected wall began to rumble and hum, slowly rising as Mayhew tapped his foot impatiently. Finally open, a series of sealed black bags could be seen sliding by, connected to hooks on a conveyor rod. The bags passing quickly at first, their pace slowed and then finally stopped as Mayhew smiled. “SM-235…a pleasure, I’m sure…”
Taking the bag, Mayhew placed it carefully onto the table, unsealing it and disposing of the top of the bag within the biohazard bin. The cadaver, Subject-235 was an alicorn, with green fluff and a deep blue mane and tail. According to her lab charts, the subject had began to have extreme stomach pains before screaming wildly, her heartrate skyrocketing before perishing ten minutes later. An autopsy had been scheduled sooner but with the unpleasantness of M-442’s escape, what was left of the wing’s staff was simply not trusted with such an important task.
Taking out his recorder and placing it next to the cadaver, Mayhew clicked it on, taking a small scalpel and making an incision along the chest. Using a spreader, he began to crack the ribcage, widening the opening and holding it in place. “Beginning autopsy of Subject-235. Primary incision made down the cadaver’s midsection and opening chest cavity.”
Once the ribs were parted, the fluffy’s organs and entrails were visible, with Mayhew using a gloved hand to reach within and firmly grasp them, slowly pulling the organs out for analysis. “Organs of subject have began a slow decomposition but within parameters of storage within cryo-facility. Removing stomach and small intestine for post-mortem inspection.”
Finding no faults within the stomach nor the small intestines, Mayhew then worked the cecum out of the cadaver’s chest, instantly noticing a large blockage as he lightly grasped it. Mayhew nodded, as with the lab report, an issue somewhere in the subject’s digestive tract would make the most sense, and worked the cecum onto the table, grabbing his scalpel.
“Upon preparing to remove the subject’s cecum, a large blockage was discovered, first by touch roughly…four inches past the cecum’s entrance. An estimated diameter of just over three inchs that covers an area five inches deep. Now preparing incision into cecum for visible post-mortem inspection of blockage.”
Myriad had been walking for so long, her stomach growling as she tried to ignore the growing discomfort it caused. Wary of being captured, she stayed out of sight, from crouching behind garbage cans that had sadly already been emptied, to taking back alleyways.
“Su hungwy…an tummeh hab wowstest owwies…nu wike…”
Mayhew gasped, his scalpel clattering to the cold laboratory floor. Within the freshly incised cecum was a tumorous mass with the bodies of several foals merged together. Pulling out a depressor, he lightly pressed against the head of one of the foals, it giving weigh only slightly. “Blo…blockage discovered visually to be…be subjects’ offspring. Located within…within the cecum, they have been partially absorbed into the digestive mass surrounding the cecum walls. While parts of the offspring can still be visibly identified, most of their remains have fused into a tumorous growth, the resulting mass being the most likely cause of death for Subject-235.” Clicking the recorder off for the moment, Mayhew rubbed his temple through his cleansuit, shaking his head. “How in the hell did you get there…?”