FimFiction Link - Short ID: 526130/meat-and-bone-sinew-and-bile
Published: Nov '22
Meat and Bone, Sinew and Bile is a roughly 5,000 word short story of the dissection of Princess Luna.
I will admit that I was rather uncomfortable while reading the process, as the author did not hold back in how the processes go. It's gross and make my skin crawl and I'll admit that I rather enjoyed it even though such stories aren't really my thing. The prose feels rather cold, which is fitting given the medical setting and the process involved. Overall, if you can stomach medical procedures being described thoroughly it's a fascinating read that I would highly suggest.
Meat and Bone, Sinew and Bile is a 5k horror story. Of two kinds!
Princess Luna has, sadly, passed away. And doctor Livor Mortis has the dubious honour of being the one in charge of dissecting her body. For science.
What follows is a thorough medical procedure where the doctor slowly and methodically cuts Luna open and slowly removes her organs while analysing them and pointing out the differences between alicorn and regular equine physiology. That is one layer of horror. There is another one, but I'll spoiler it. If you're reading it on the site, skip this part if you want to have a fresh view of it going in. You should.
-----
I like how the doctor's equipment seems to malfunction at times when working with Luna's body. Not to mention the odd ways her body itself behaves. Once [the big event] happens, the words spoken are chilling to hear. I think every part of that is great.
-----
If I had to nitpick, I'd say I that--other than wanting more--I would've liked it if both aspects of the horror had been better intertwined. Go further into the medical procedure, and show more of the doctor working on Luna's remains. Expanding this also allows room for there to be more of those odd moments I mentioned, resulting in an even stronger build up for the finale.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this. If you want to see gore done well and not for purely shock value, this is a good example.