So here I am, in a small cubbyhole dug into the side of the tombs that we hollowed out for use in the unfortunate case of a fatal accident, jotting down my thoughts as the scent of formaldehyde and unclean corpse wafts around me like a reeking fog. The smell is certainly a peculiar one: When I first walked into it, it made me want to run away and snort vinegar just to try and get it out of my sinuses. After a few minutes of forcing myself to endure the terrible odor, it began to seem like a strangely familiar scent; however, after half an hour, I realized that there was a single booger hanging out of my nose which may very well be the parchment on which my nose wrote its final goodbyes to the world before it killed itself, and that is why I can now smell nothing at all.

It shall be a long evening as I can already tell, but I am dedicating this entry solely to an autopsy of the Deicidian pony that we procured this summer. Let me admit that this is more of a dissection than an autopsy (considering that by looking at the deep cleave in the front of his neck, I already know what killed him), but I feel it is important that I finally take a look at the internal workings of one of these creatures to find what similarities I can between the ponies of The Sun of Chance that I am familiar with, and these creatures referred to as Deicidian ponies. Be comforted that this is done solely for the pursuit of much-needed knowledge, and I will do what I can to conduct this as professionally and respectfully as possible.

My supplies have all been gathered for this occasion. Bunsen was instrumental in obtaining all that I would need, as she happened to already have a chemist's set that had almost all of the chemicals required. As mentioned before, I have formaldehyde here for disinfecting the body and for helping to preserve it (does she expect me to embalm the body? I hope not), ethanol-based cleaning solution for my own use, a few moisturizing agents, and an assortment of tools containing (but not limited to) scalpels, thread and needles, staples, rags, forceps, scissors, and syringes. There are quite a few more bottles and instruments that I quite honestly have no idea what they are for or how to use them, but this is a venture of discovery anyways so I will perhaps attempt a bit of trial and error to learn what their function is. I have just secured the cloth mask to my face and put on the specialty gloves I had Rabbitfoot make for me just for this occasion. I shall return to record some findings after my initial overview.

I have just finished cleaning and examining the body at this time. Just for good measure, I began by checking the body for a pulse (even though I am sure that this is indeed a corpse, it is still good practice to go through the motions). To no one’s surprise, I found none and began looking to remove the contaminants from the body. One of the first things I wished to do was to remove the horrifying amount of blood that had seeped into the pelt along the left side of the neck and down to the chest, staining the mane's crest and collecting in a pool of now-viscous fluid at the bottom of the table. I drained it off of the table into a bucket and used the ethanol-based cleaner and a rag to try and scrub the blood out of the dark charcoal colored pelt, which was successful to an acceptable degree. I have secured some cloth beneath the wound at the neck to help keep the blood from dripping any longer and getting back into the area once again. I also took the time to wet a cloth in some water and scrub away the caked mud from the creature's hooves, as well as pick out briars and other foreign impurities that were matted into the shaggy pelt. Finally, I had to clean up the mess that the creature had made when it soiled itself at the time of death using one of the rags and more ethanol, which I have discarded of already.

Let me give a few details about the examination I was able to give immediately following the cleaning:

This is a male pony with an abnormally shaggy pelt (two or three times what I perceive as the normal length for ponies). Pelt color is charcoal, mane is a very light blue and snow white. The eyes of the creature are a dark gold (easily mistaken for orange) and have slit pupils. The hooves of the creature are notable, as I almost cut my hand when cleaning them: They have been ground down (perhaps with a whetstone of sorts?) to have razor-sharp edges. Opening the mouth revealed that this creature has dagger-sharp teeth that interlock with one another. The ears have an additional tuft of hair jutting from the very tip.

These factors lead me to believe that the creature must be from a harsh arctic or tundra environment, as the length of the pelt suggests that it is acclimated to surviving in low temperatures. It is carnivorous, as its teeth suggest that they are used for tearing flesh from bone. The subject is a hunter as well, which would explain the need for more advantages added to his natural weapons (I.e.- the sharp edged hooves). The pelt color and pupils lead me to believe that this is also normally a nocturnal predator, as it might very well be able to see in low-light conditions due to the shape of its pupils.

Next I will begin dissection of locations of interest and make notes about the structural layout of this pony.

My first location has been to start with the front legs. I have questioned many times as to the structure of these limbs in ponies, and it seems I may finally have an answer. Starting from the shoulder of the front leg: The leg connects to the chest of the pony with a ball-and-socket joint, allowing movement in almost all directions (with limitations imposed only by the possibility of tearing muscles that cannot stretch to many of the angles greater than 90 degrees from left-to-right, and 180 degrees in the front-to-back orientation). The front of the chest happens to be protected by a large bone that extends from the front of the collar, at the base of the neck, and wraps back at the front of the bottom of the chest where the joint of the front legs connect. The ribcage does not begin until the barrel of the pony, behind the front legs (with the exception of a few smaller ribs that happen to be tucked up closer to the sides of the plate at the front of the chest).

Remarkably, going down the leg, I believe the next section of joint and bones resemble a working human arm: A humerus that starts at the ball-and-socket joint at the shoulder extends to a hinge joint at the elbow, which connects to the ulna and radius. This allows the elbow to bend in only one direction when flexed (normal orientation at rest suggests that it is to go forward and backward) but can be adjusted with complex combinations of movement with the ball-and-socket joint of the shoulder. The ulna and radius in the lower leg, however, would allow pronation and supination of the lower leg if needed, which I can see would be important for the following bones.

I have discovered that the ankle/wrist of the front leg is actually a pair of joints. Both of these condyloid joints are synovial in nature (considering that excessive twisting or stress caused the joint to “pop” and released fluid trapped within), and are connected to one another along the vertical length of the leg by a bone with the peculiarity of a divot in its side that faces the back of the pony while at rest. The bottom one of the two joints connects to the hoof and the other connects to the radius higher up the leg. These two joints together could very well create the “curling” motion I have witnessed some ponies do when they grasp objects with their front legs. The divot in the bone, connecting the two joints between the hoof and the radius, is what the ponies “hook” the object into when they curl and lock their hoof around it to secure it in their grasp. Combining this with the rotational movement allowed by the ulna and radius bones in the lower front leg would allow for a large field of possible movement when coordinating the combined abilities of each of the joints.

This is absolutely fascinating! I finally understand just how these creatures have been able to use tools effectively to get to their current point of civilization. I am not too familiar with the skeletal structure of horses on Terriel, but I am certain there is no possible way that the front legs relate to these.

I now must direct my attention to the back legs to see if they hold similar properties. Be back after examination.

The rear leg confuses me some, as the shape is much more feral than the front leg. I am able to locate where the pelvis meets the spine, and it is fused with a long bone (or series of bones? I cannot tell at this time due to the fluids in the way.) which then connects to what must be a femur in a ball-and-socket joint at the hip around the haunch area. The visible leg does not start until the next joint in the series (actually three joints grouped into one spot, which was difficult to discern through the sheer labyrinth of ligaments intertwined in this area). I find that this joint grouping has roughly 120 degrees of available movement, perhaps a bit more if it was not hindered by the rigor mortis taking effect.

I'm not even sure what the hell I'm looking at now as I go further down into what is the visible leg above the knee. I can locate a tibia and a fibula that are what the mass of ligaments above is connected to. At rest, the tibia and fibula seem to point backwards to what has to be the most incomprehensible mass of bone and cartilage I have ever witnessed. What is that? Oh dear heavens, what is that? Is that even normal? Is this some malformation of this creature that differs from normal ponies? Manually working the leg, it seems to function just fine, but it appears to be some sort of interlocking series of three rows with two bones each. I have no idea what kind of joint this is to be honest. It seems to work, however, so I will stop questioning it for now.

Finally, past the “knee” of the creature, I can now see what looks very familiar to the front leg, with the exception that the condyloid joints near the hoof have been replaced with simple hinge joints instead.

Fuck, I think I broke something just now when testing the rotational and movement capabilities of the joints near the hoof. Crap, I can't seem to get it to go back in. Dammit all. I'll try to correctly position it and look into sewing back up the leg to clear up a bit of the mess, as well as sanitize the body once more. The sound of the bone grinding on bone whenever I try to put it back together just sends chills up my spine...

I have done what I can to stitch up the long cuts I made on the front and back legs to examine the interiors of them. After cleaning the areas once more to remove the blood stains, I realize how poor the air circulation in this room actually is as I feel lightheaded from the choking scent of formaldehyde, ethanol, and blood. I will press onwards, however, as this may be the only chance I get to explore the inner workings of these creatures without consequence. Next I will be exploring the wound at the neck and the cranium for abnormalities.

Yep, he's dead alright. That's all I could think when witnessing the mass of severed chords, veins, and arteries in the front of the neck where the axe has torn through. Hell, they all have blood in them now, so I can't very well tell which were arteries anymore. I had to excise some of the tissue in the area to remove the ragged portions left from the rough chopping the axe did to get a better view of where each one was meant to be. It seems that there are two tubes down this far in the neck, which must mean that the epiglottis is located higher up near the skull. This caught my attention as I wanted to see exactly where the epiglottis was located, so looking a bit higher up, I found it located beneath the jaw line, separating the larynx and the esophagus. This means that the ponies' oral and nasal cavities are connected freely by the pharynx: This is remarkable because it means that the ponies (as I should have realized earlier) can breathe through their mouths. It is something I had not thought of before, but the horses back on Terriel cannot breathe through their mouth due to the epiglottis (or a similar organ) being located at the back of the oral cavity, which cuts it off from the pharynx at all times except when swallowing. This explains to me how these ponies can communicate verbally!

There are lots of arteries and such there too, but I'm not very interested in their circulatory system at this time. The knowledge that they have one, and have blood to put in it, sates quite enough of that curiosity. Even without knowing much about their circulatory system, I understand now that they have blood considering the ridiculous amount of it that continues to ooze out of this cadaver! I've considered going to the bar in the dining hall and grabbing some corks to shove in these holes just to stop them up for a while so I can continue my research.

I peeled back some of the skin around the cranium to view the skull in hopes of understanding a bit more about it. I also took a peek at the cheek and jaw area for my curiosity. The cranial shape of these creatures is unlike those of the horses back on Terriel for a few notable reasons: The skull is much rounder, especially at the top and around the back near the connection of the spine and skull. The facial structure differs in that the bones for the nose seem much shorter than I remember on horses back home, and the shape is a bit blockier than I would have imagined (but considering the shape of the faces on the females here, I assume this is just a gender difference, as the female's noses appear much more pointed in nature than the blocky shape I have encountered in this male specimen). Something that is different from the ponies I am currently familiar with is the forehead of this creature seems to be positioned farther forward in a Neanderthal-type manner. What does this mean about the creature?

Shit, I don't know. Makes him look like an equine caveman kinda. Well, after I stitch his head back together that is. I wonder if the stitches are going to be visible over the shaggy coat though. Oh yeah, they are visible. Kinda like I've turned him into a baseball.

Oh my lord, I made frankenpony! I need a couple of bolts to cram in his neck and a lightning storm, and I shall become a god among men!

Ugh, back to research. That smell is still terrible. Perhaps it's just late and I am tired. Maybe that's why I can't focus very well right now.

Those eyes... dammit, I'm getting tired of his eyes being open. I keep trying to close them with my hands, but they just slowly slide back open again, and the corpse continues staring off into space. Not to mention, his mouth hanging open is bothering me because he seems so distraught. Scared? I can't even discern the emotion right now, I just don't like it. I'll see about doing something about it so I can get back to concentrating on my research.

Well, I think I've spent the last hour positioning this specimen's face over and over until I found an expression I liked. I tried the whole eyes-closed, peaceful thing for a while, but it just made me kinda sleepy. “Why is he so unhappy?” I thought. Maybe he's really enjoying himself. Maybe he's dreaming about lady ponies or something, so I tried stitching one of the sides of his lips to his cheek so that it would lift up. He had a smarmy-looking smirk at that point, and because I wanted to punch him in his smug face for it, I did the same thing with the other side of his lip. His nose got displaced when I did that and he just looked stupid, so I sutured the mouth completely closed and secured the bottom lip to the bottom of the jaw in hopes to put the mouth back in the right place. He now has the most extreme v-shaped smile I could conjure, but I'm not changing it. It amuses me.

The eyes aren't so bad open, as I now have stitched the eyebrows into a position that is less terrified. One of them is really high up on the face, and the other is turned down like he's angry. Combined with his v-shaped smile, kinda looks like he's mocking someone or perhaps he's sucking on really sour candy and trying not to laugh. I laugh plenty when I see his face though, so I can just chuckle enough for the both of us.

Dirtnap just came in and boy was he maaad. I don't know what crawled up his butt, but I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little in here. "What in the name of Celestia are you doing, Prodder!?"

"Arranging a tea party with my friend here, Dirtnap. Wanna join? We have cleaning agents, some water and stuff, and like lots of blood if you're interested. Poor guy is feeling a little under the weather though, so don't get too close to him. You might catch your death! Haw haw haw."

"You... I can't believe this. I can't believe you've butchered this poor creature. You're desecrating him!"

"Pfft, Desecrating? How could I be doing that? This is for science, Dirtnap, and great science at that. The best science, and my friend here knows it. Look, Dirtnap, see? He's smiling! He's happy to be a part of science!"

"He's not happy: you've sewn his face into that stupid expression! Are... Are you drunk?!"

"What!? Nah, nope, not a single thing to drink in here. I haven't had anything... well, there's ethanol in that bottle, but I haven't drank any of it."

"You need help. Oh Sisters; you need help, that's it."

"Nah, I got everything under control here. Whoa! Wait, actually I do need help! Where does this thingy go? I broke it off, like, half an hour ago and fuck if I know how to get it to go back in."

"Just stop touching anything, Prodder! Oh... what a mess... what a disgrace..."

I swear he’s acting like somebody died.

Ah crap, that's right, this thing is dead. Can't win 'em all I guess.

Well, Maple is here and telling me I have to go to bed. Dirtnap's still really, really pissed too. He's got this vein on his forehead that I can see, and it looks like it might pop if he gets any angrier. Guess they are right, it's pretty late, and I have important bossman stuff to do tomorrow. A quick cat nap sounds pretty great right about now. I'll talk to you tomorrow or something, Journal. It's been fun and all. Bye bye.