The smell of blood hit Spike's nostrils.

The dragon sat up with a gasp, looking around as the memories of last night's events came rushing back. Him walking through the forest, something attacking him, then darkness. Spike didn't remember what had happened, but the smell of blood indicated that something bad occurred.

Then he saw it.

The body of a deer lay several feet to his left. The deer was barely recognizable, for it was horribly mutilated. It's head was twisted towards the back, most of it's flesh missing. There was a gaping hole in it's midsection, and it's left leg lay behind it. Spike wanted to turn away at that moment, but he felt compelled to simply stare at it, even as several lizards came up to the corpse, looking at Spike for a moment before feeding on whatever flesh remained. Spike then felt something dripping down from his cheek. Slowly he reached up and touched some kind of liquid, before he looked at the liquid that got onto his hand.

It was blood.

Spike gasped in horror, quickly jumping away. He calmed down as he wiped off more blood from his face. It wasn't his blood, for he had no kind of injury, but instead it came from…the…deer…

Spike shook his head. No, there was no way he was responsible. There was no way that was possible. Spike saw a nearby creek, quickly moving up to the moving water and washing the blood off of himself. Once He had cleaned himself, Spike got a good look around. He appeared to be on an open grassland, with the trees visible in the distance. There was no other signs of life here aside from the lizards feeding on the deer corpse. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, which was perfectly flat. Spike knew he had to get back home. Who knew how upset Twilight would be. Spike turned towards the west. Strangely enough, he felt like he knew exactly where home was.

Spike quickly walked off, heading towards where his senses told him was home.

Twilight sat in her chair. The rest of the six pony friends sat in a circle along with her. All had been grieving over Spike's condition, praying that he wouldn't pass on. They were recounting all the times that they had with Spike. Rarity was currently speaking.

"We all remember the giant Spike incident. Well, as he started to admit his love for me, I realized that the feelings I had for him were true. It seemed that we meant for each other…"

Rarity quickly broke down in tears once more, Applejack putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Twilight was trying all her best to fight back her own tears. It was too much for any of them to handle. Their own Spike, probably on his last breath-

There was the sound of the door opening.

Then came the voice.

"Guys? Is that you?"

Everypony practically flew out of their seats, only to see Spike standing in the doorway.

Reunion initiated.

The Mane 6 practically glomped Spike, Twilight and Rarity the most happy. Spike was covered with hugs and kisses from all the mares. He would've loved to just remain in a heaven like this, but there was a lot of explaining to do. Twilight released her grip from Spike to ask the question on everypony's minds:

"How are you okay?"

Spike just shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't know. The last thing I remember was me walking through the forest, then something hit, and I woke up in a field."

He left out the part with the dead deer and his bloody face, for he didn't want to see how his dearest friends would react. Twilight looked at him with surprise.

"Wait, you were in a field? I brought you to the Ponyville hospital. How could you end up in a field?"

"No idea. I don't remember anything."

Rarity pulled Spike into a hug. Not just a friendly hug, but a loving, almost sensual hug.

"The only thing that matters now is that you're back with us, my little Spikey Wikey!"

Rarity playfully kissed Spike on the neck, and the dragon chuckled a little. It was strange. Normally he'd pass out from the excitement of being kissed by his crush, but now he took it as if he were Big Mac. How strange, not that he cared, of course.

Pinkie Pie was crying for joy at that moment, before she suddenly gained a look of her usual happiness.

"Hey! You know what this calls for? A PARTY!"

Spike grinned. This was easily a good time for a welcome home party.

Later that evening…

The library was littered from everything party-related. The celebration itself was a blast, one that had Spike exhilarated. Many of the ponies he knew came, including Lyra and Bon Bon, and even Vinyl Scratch came with her famous music. Spike had noticed something peculiar. Every mare in the party seemed to be particularly attracted to him. Even the normally timid Fluttershy had acted like one of the more rough loving mares. At one point Spike ended up getting a good look at Vinyl's plot, the DJ pony intentionally showing off in front of him. Perhaps Spike was secreting his pheromones again? He wasn't sure, but he certainly didn't care.

The last ponies to leave were Pinkie Pie and Rarity, the latter giving Spike a passionate kiss on the lips before she left. Spike was strangely calm from the luck he had throughout this party, but he was ready for a good rest. Twilight couldn't stop sneaking glances at her assistant as he climbed into his bed. There seemed to be something…new about Spike. He seemed more built, more fit, set with that predatory look. She wasn't sure. Putting it off as growth, Twilight and Spike both quickly feel asleep.

Spike was having a wonderful dream. In his dream, Vinyl, Rarity, and Twilight were all naked and stroking him across his body. The dragon was in a world of bliss, when all of a sudden, everything around him disappeared. Darkness surrounded him, and there was a single pillar of light atop the dragon. Looking up, Spike saw what appeared to be some kind of creature, larger than himself, but he couldn't tell what it was. Then the thing pounced on him and Spike knew no more.

It awoke in another unfamiliar environment. It stood up, cloth falling off it's body as it looked around. It immediately spotted the mammal asleep before it, but something told it not to hurt this mammal. It saw the mammal as kin, and decided not to hurt it. Instead it saw an opening to the outside. Quickly it opened up the glass blocking it, so it wouldn't wake the mammal, before it leaped out, running off on all fours. It headed straight into the forest, where it was at it's element.

The bear stood up, bellowing furiously. Ahead of it, the Allosaurus roared out, tearing up the ground with it's talons. The two predators were natural rivals, and they would not stand to have either in this part of the forest.

The bear charged at the Allosaurus, taking a swipe at the reptile with it's claws. Ducking to the side, the Allosaurus swung it's jaws down upon the bear's back, it's upper teeth stabbing into the flesh. The bear bit down on the Allosaurus' leg, bringing out a howl of pain, before the bear pulled up, throwing the Allosaurus off balance and causing it to fall over. The bear stomped down on the Allosaurus' chest, bellowing at it to keep it down. The therapod snorted, before it kicked out with it's legs, the talons on it's feet stabbing into the bear's stomach. The bear backed off, snarling bitterly, and the Allosaurus swiped at the mammal's snout, blood trickling down the cuts. The Allosaurus then bit down on the bear's neck in an attempt to bring it down, but the therapod's relatively weak bite force combined with the bear's toughened muscle made this difficult. The bear wrapped it's arms around the Allosaurus, crushing it in a bear hug, before it slammed the dinosaur headfirst into the ground. The Allosaurus clawed at the bear's face, making the mammal back off and allowing the reptile to rise.

It sensed the two predators dueling. Any others of it's kind would avoid this event, but it's hunger and primal strength urged it on, and so it moved in.

It ran at the bear, swiping it's claws and slicing through the mammal's flesh. Howling in agony, the bear fell, and the Allosaurus ran at it, swinging it's jaws like an ax. It reached up, grabbing the dinosaur's neck, before it bit down onto the jugular. The Allosaurus struggled for a moment, before it bit down harder, crushing the neck vertebrae. The dinosaur went limp, collapsing to the ground alive no more. The bear slowly rose, and the sight of the dead Allosaurus made the mammal run off. It spotted the bear trying to run, before it dropped to all fours and raced after it. The bear ran through a maze of trees in an attempt to lose it's attacker. It leaped up, climbing up on of the trees and leaping off.

The bear ran into a clearing, where it stopped to catch it's breath. Standing up on it's hind legs and looking around, the bear saw and sensed nothing. After a moment, the bear went back on all fours and started to walk away.

It rammed the bear from the side, knocking it over. Before the bear could rise, it slashed the mammal's stomach with a single swipe, spilling out the intestines. It roared into the night sky, before grabbing the bear's head in it's jaws and dragging it back to the Allosaurus corpse, where it began to feed.

It quickly climbed up the tree, before jumping off and clinging to the side of a building. Although it's hunger should've been satisfied by now, it's strength was still growing, and with it, it's hunger. It climbed to the top of the building and looked around, it's great vision seeking out any easy prey. It saw it in the form of one of the small mammals, except this one was smaller.

Weaker.

The little filly quickly trotted down the street. She needed to go home, especially at this time. She thought she heard something moving on a nearby building, but she didn't pay attention to it. Then she heard a thud, before something rammed her hard, knocking her right off her feet. Before she could rise, she felt something slice through her stomach. She curled up and covered her stomach with her hands. There was no pain. Only shock. It was then she noticed her stomach felt…slimey. Slowly she looked down.

She was holding on to her own intestines.

Before she could scream, she felt something like daggers stabbing into her skull. A split second before death, the last thing she saw was the head of a beast.

Spike woke up.

Slowly the dragon sat up, placing a hand on his head. What a strange dream he had. Wait.

Why was he in the forest again?

Spike slowly stood up, confused. He felt something dripping down his face, and with horror realized it was blood. Quickly he ran up to a nearby bush and brushed off the blood from himself. What was going on? Why was he in the forest covered in blood? Unless- no, that was impossible. There was no way he hunted. He would've surely remembered it. In the distance he saw Ponyville, and the library. Quickly he ran back towards Ponyville.

Twilight looked through her books urgently. Mayor Mare had come by earlier and told her of a tragedy only last night: A filly had been mysteriously killed, and the way of which didn't match any pony killers. Also, Fluttershy found the bodies of a grizzly bear and an Allosaurus laying mutilated. According to the mare, a single creature killed both, but what she didn't know. Now Twilight had looked to the books to find an answer, but so far she found nothing. Plus, where was Spike? She had found that his bed was empty and the window was open. Why did he leave? Twilight was trying to make a connection with Spike's disappearance and the murder, but she couldn't figure it out.

At that moment, Spike walked in through the doorway. Twilight turned to face him.

"Where were you? I've been looking for you for something urgent."

"Sorry Twilight, but I don't know. I woke up in the forest for some reason."

"Well if you've been here earlier, you would've found out that a filly had been murdered last night."

"Really? That's terrible."

Twilight noticed something odd about Spike. He should've been shocked by the news, but he just took it like it was no big deal. What was with him?

"Spike. Do you know anything about the murder?"

"What? Of course not!"

"Well Fluttershy said that she found a bear and an Allosaurus having been killed in the forest, and you did say you woke up in the forest-"

"That means nothing! You can't just accuse me like this!"

Spike let out a growl before he punched the wall, his fist going right through the wood. Twilight was immediately scared and backed away from the dragon.

"I'm sorry Spike. I just thought that-"

"Well don't ever accuse me again! You know very well I couldn't do any of that!"

Spike angrily walked up the stairs, leaving a scared Twilight to get back to her work.