Blood.

The first thing he noticed as he came awake was the smell. And the taste. It was something he had not experienced in a long time. The second thing he noticed was, he was not in his bed at home. This time he was not in a cozy little library either. It was cold, the air smelled of blood and the encroaching storm. He had trouble focusing his eyes, and his body ached all over.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He reached out with his magic to sense what was wrong, and felt.. nothing. The magic was there, flowing around him like it always did, but his will had no effect on it. It was like the old world, where he could sense things, but had no power over them. His magic was gone. He began to stand up, and clawed the ground in frustration.

Clawed?

Everything snapped into focus again, as a shot of adrenaline coursed through his body, realigning his senses and kicking his brain into gear. He looked down and saw he indeed had claws. he turned his head, and found that his neck was far longer than it had been. Now he saw his entire body, long, lean and reptilian. He was a dragon. How was he a dragon? Part of his brain wanted to make one of his usual peanut gallery jokes, ‘Never go full dragon!’. he squashed the thought, it was no time for jokes. Something bad had happened.

He looked back down at his claws, and saw they were covered in blood. It was in the grooves under the claws, and ‘Oh god, it’s in my mouth!’. Further realization sank in. His stomach felt distended as if he had eaten a meal just a bit too large to handle. ‘Oh god, oh god, what have I done. What did I kill? WHO did I kill!?’ Panic started to creep into his mind, as he envisioned himself blindly going on a rampage among his pony friends.

He tried to wretch. He wanted to empty the contents of his stomach. All that came forth was some bitter bile. It seemed the dragon anatomy didn't allow for such things. Looking around for a corpse, fur, feathers, anything, he saw no sign of whatever had fell victim to his nightmare.

Nightmare.

He suddenly remembered. For the last few weeks he had been having nightmares. Dreams of violence, hunger, and blood. He had always awakened to Pinkie Pie holding him, and a craving for meat. He suddenly missed meat. After two years of living on a vegetarian diet, he had stopped craving it. Except bacon. He would always miss bacon. But now after each night he awoke craving meat again. He never told Pinkie about this. The last thing an herbivore wanted to hear is her lover was craving the flesh of another living being. And since all animal life in Equestria seemed to have some small level of intelligence... He shuddered at the thought.

He looked around, seeing he was under a large tree, and somewhere in the Everfree forest. The dark closeness, and dank smell of foliage and decay was unmistakable. There was surprisingly little sound for a forest. But then the presence of a large alpha predator tended to make the smaller creatures stay hidden. He needed to find out where he was, and how to get home. But first he needed to clean off the blood.

Despite a lifelong dream of being a dragon, he had never attempted to try becoming one here. He was happy as a pony, with other ponies, and being a dragon would just upset his new friends. Now he had become one against his will, and apparently done something horrible in the process. He tried again to reach out for the magic, willing himself to change shape as he had done so effortlessly before, but nothing happened. The magic that had become like breathing to him was simply not there.

Stretching his wings, he tested his new body. It responded just as naturally as his other forms, and other than a few stiff joints from laying on the ground, he felt fine. He launched himself into the air, glad to see he at least had some of the natural magic that Equestria seemed to give other large flying creatures. Wings alone would never carry his massive weight, any more than a cloud would hold a pegasus.

Circling quickly to catch a dying thermal, he spotted a small stream, and in the distance, Fluttershy’s cottage. He glided in for a landing on the bank of the stream, still noticing a distinct lack of wildlife. The smell of the blood alone would be enough to drive off most smaller critters. He washed himself as well as he could, cleaning his claws and head. He at least felt presentable, although the full belly still twisted in knots of guilt. How was he going to approach his friends looking like this? What would Pinkie Pie think?

The thought of Pinkie sent a icy shiver of dread down his back, tying his stomach in further knots. ‘Oh dear Celestia, what if I hurt her?’ He shook his head to banish the thought, but quickly swung it around as he heard a startled gasp behind him. Standing frozen in the bushes was a familiar yellow pegasus, eyes round in fear.

“Fluttershy?”

The pony meeped, and shrank lower, hiding herself behind a wing and shivering.

“It’s me Shy, Drax. Your friend.” He slowly turned around to face her, lowering himself to all fours. “I don't know what happened, but I woke up like this, and I can’t change back.”

The shy pegasus unwrapped herself and peered uncertainly from behind her pink mane. All the old fear and shyness was back in full force. “D-d-drax? How are you a..? Why?”

Drax shook his head sadly. “I don't know Shy. I need your help. I can’t go into Ponyville like this, and I need to find out what happened. I need you to find Twilight Sparkle. Mebbe she can find out what happened. And you have to find Pinkie Pie! Tell her where I am. I need to know she is ok.”

Fluttershy nodded, still unsure. “O-ok Drax. You can come stay at my cottage while I go find them. Um... just .. ahh. Please don't eat any of my friends?”

He wanted to blurt out that he would never do such a thing. He wanted to. But the full belly and bloody claws proved otherwise. Instead he just nodded mutely and followed the gentle pony to her home. As they approached, most of the smaller animals that usually frolicked around the place scattered, hiding from the large dragon. He plopped down disconsolately, and laid his head on his claws. Part of him wanted to cry, but the rest just felt hollow and cold.

“Please wait here. I will come back as soon as I can with help.” She quickly took to the air, an unusual sight for the ground dwelling flier, and sped away toward town.

It was a while before she had returned, alone and looking even more frightened. A storm was moving in and the wind was blowing her mane, tears streaked her face. The rain had not started yet, and they were clearly visible as she approached the cottage. She came within a short distance, but would not approach the large dragon.

Drax looked up, worried. “Shy, what’s wrong? Where’s Twilight and Pinkie? Why are you crying?”

She was panting in fear, and looked as if she would run, but she steeled herself and took another cautious step forward before losing her nerve again. “Umm.. T-t-twilight. Ahh.. she. Oh Drax. She says she will be here soon. She n-needed to gather some books.” The lemon yellow pony stopped and looked at the ground, unable to go on.

“What about Pinkie? Oh god, please tell me she is ok. TELL ME!” He suddenly roared, making the frightened pony jump and back up several feet. “I’m sorry.. I’m. I’m just so worried I did something and cant remember.”

Fluttershy looked up at the tears now welling in the dragon’s eyes, and her natural loving nature moved her into action. She moved forward to comfort him, hugging his neck, which she could barely get her hooves around. “I’m so sorry Drax. I couldn't find her. I checked the shop, and I checked the house. She wasn't there.” She stopped and swallowed hard. “D-drax.. there was blood. Blood everywhere in your house. I didn't find anypony, but somepony must have been hurt bad there.”

At this Drax’s mind froze. No. It can’t be. Not Pinkie. Not again, never again. It was happening all over again. The last time he had given his heart to someone in this way, bonding on such an emotional level, she had died while he was away on a trip. She had died alone, and thinking he had left her. The guilt had eaten him for years, driven him to attempt suicide at one point. Only his friends had saved him, pulling him back from the brink. The wound was still there, scarred over his heart where it would never be forgotten. And now, it had happened again.

And it was his fault.

He screamed. He roared. The forest shook with the might of his roar and the pain of his heart.

To her credit, Fluttershy never left his side. She cowered next to him, huddled in a ball, but she stayed there all the same. He turned to her, and picked her up carefully in his claws. The scared pony meeped, but still looked up at him, fear and compassion warring in her eyes. Then he brought her to his chest and hugged her. She hugged him back with all her tiny might, and together they cried. Cried tears of pain and loss.

And after what seemed like hours, they parted. She stayed with him as he lowered his head to the ground, all life gone out of him. He didn't have the willpower to even lift it anymore, and she just held him, whispering comfort into his ear as the tears continued to flow unheeded. She stroked his spiky mane, and told him everything would be alright. But he knew it wouldn't. He knew his life was over. The one thing he loved in the world had been taken by his own hand, and he didn't even understand why.

Finally he opened his eyes. He saw Fluttershy, beautiful, kind Fluttershy. Mother to all, with a heart bigger than a dozen ponies her size. Able to wipe away fear to offer kindness. Kindness she was giving him now, like the mother he had left behind as a child. But all the love and kindness in the world could not mend the emptiness that filled him now. He was hollow, empty. He was a monster. He had destroyed the one thing he loved, and now he had only himself to destroy to make things complete.

Getting up, he nuzzled the yellow pegasus, who looked at him sadly. “Thank you Shy. I am so sorry it has come to this, but I don't think I can be your friend anymore. I am now a monster, and as such I only deserve to live among monsters. Tell Twilight and the others not to look for me. I am going into the forest, and I will not be coming back to Ponyville.

The pegasus gasped. “No! Drax, you cant leave! Twilight will be here soon and we can help you!”

“No. Nopony can help me now. If I hurt Pinkie, then there is nothing left for me here. I must leave.” And without another word he launched himself into the air. Fluttershy had to run for cover as the wind buffeted her from his takeoff. The storm was beginning to empty onto the forest, and she was soon driven inside by the rain. The last she saw of the dragon was a dark form making for the canopy as lightening flashed across the sky.

As he flew above the treetops, the lightening flashed around him. The storm was in full swing now, and the winds buffeted him. He ignored all this as he flew on, not sure where he was headed, but just heading away from Ponyville and his friends he had betrayed. He was approaching the old ruins of the Twin Sisters, when lightening stuck the archway. Brilliant light blinded him, but not before and image was seared into his mind. An image of a black pony, with dragon wings, and a violet mane.

Diving sharply he came to a landing at the entrance. Nothing was there, but he knew what he had seen. Making his way into the chamber, barely fitting through the entrance, he came to the platform at the end of the hall. There standing was something that both confused him, and yet made some sort of perverted sense. It was him. The pony form of him at any rate. Wings flared, and horned head held high.

“You have got to be shitting me. In a world of cliches and bad puns, I finally face the biggest one of all.” He rolled his eyes and clawed the stones beneath him.”Lemme guess, you are my shadow self, and now I gotta fight you for the princess and all that, yadda yadda, yadda.”

The dark stallion shrugged, then grinned. “Took you long enough to get here. It’s something like that. Except you don't have to fight me if you don't want to, and I’m afraid your Princess is in another castle... or something.” He cackled evilly, and pointed a dark hoof at the dragon before him.

Drax suddenly wished again that dragons could vomit.