//------------------------------// // Dragon's Worth, The first month: What is Hope? // Story: One Year Later // by Kaptein //------------------------------// When Spike woke, only one thought occupied his mind. Only one need consumed his waking desires, begged and pleaded his body for a single request. Hunger. Deep and powerful, a hunger clawed at his stomach and chest, eliciting raspy breaths and painful moans. It was like a frozen spear driving deep into his core, forcing the baby dragon to shiver as its coldness spread through his body. The tips of his claws tingled with a chilled numbness as he clumsily pushed himself upright. His whole body was sluggish, sending him stumbling forward into a bountiful pile of gems. Gems. His eyes widened, an acidic saliva forming in his mouth and throat as he saw the delicious, delectable gemstones surrounding him. Spike… want… A low rumbling thundered around Spike, the baby dragon barely registering the noise.“Eat, hatchling.” A claw reached out, grabbing one of the larger rubies, the numbness causing him to fumble and drop it. His eyes bugged out as he lunged forward towards the falling gem, snatching it up again before it would be lost. Noisily stuffing it into his mouth, the dragon bit down as his diamond-hard teeth crunched up the ruby with ease before he swallowed it. A tidal wave of warmth spread through his body. A resurgence of heat and feeling tingling at the tips of his claws. Wriggling and stretching his digits, he grabbed a fistful of gems and shovelled it down his throat. A haze took over his mind, blurring the lines between consciousness and unconsciousness. By the time he had finally gained enough mental faculties to process the world around him, he was laying belly-up in a pile of gems and gem dust. Spike let out a loud groan, before burping loudly. His claw reached and rubbed his belly tenderly. “Euhhh... I overate…” he moaned, closing his eyes. A deep rumbling made the young dragon jump back up to his feet. He wobbled for a moment before stumbling back down onto all fours. “Whoah!” he cried out, unsuccessfully trying to steady himself. “Have you had your fill, hatchling?” Spike nearly soiled himself. His whole body went rigid, eyes wide and looking straight down at the massive hoard of gems beneath him. Slowly, his eyeballs turned upwards. “Holy moly,” he breathed at the size of the massive beast of muscle, scales and sinew towering over him. ‘My life is a monument to regret,’ Spike thought to himself. Very suddenly, he found himself acutely aware of the numerous crumbs and powdery remains of the various rubies, emeralds, topazes and other gemstones he had gorged himself on. The sheer massive snout moved forward towards the baby dragon. The dull red scales were criss-crossed with scars from long forgotten battles. Just how could something be that big? “I - I - I - ,” Spike began, immediately scrambling away from the other dragon. “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know it was your hoard, I’ll replace the gems I swear!” The fiery bronze eyes narrowed as the beast’s head moved even closer. “P - p - please don’t hurt me!” Spike cried out. He flung his arms above and around his head, clenching his eyes tight. He waited for the inevitable crunch or swat The deep rumbling voice broke through Spike’s “Now, why would I do that, hatchling?” Spike tentatively opened one of his eyes, peering up at the elder dragon. After noticing the placid look on his face, he just as carefully relaxed his pose. “So...you’re not going to eat me?” The elder dragon let out a booming chuckle, his head shaking side to side slightly. “I have no interest in cannibalism, hatchling.” “And...you’re not mad that I ate a ton of your gems?” “I gave them willingly.” Spike repressed the smile wanting to tug at his lips. “So...you wouldn’t mind if I got a little peckish later and I ate some more?” The elder dragon responded by snorting out a thick cloud of soot, completely covering Spike from head to toe. “I take that as a no,” he said after coughing out some of the soot loudly. He gave a small shake, the black dust falling off of him, before sitting gently down onto the mountain of gems. “So...why aren’t you mad?” “I have no reason to be angry at a piece of my own hoard,” the larger dragon huffed, before his large head drew away, the gargantuan body slithering away. Spike’s jaw had dropped in sheer awe at the size of him. Wait...did he just say, a part of his hoard? Spike’s eyes went wide as he stood up. “W - wait...what did you mean? I’m a - a - part of your -,” he began in a shaky voice. A powerful rumbling erupted throughout the chamber as the elder dragon’s tail lifted up, a shower of gems and gold cascading off of it, before he slammed it back down again. “You were abandoned here by your previous caretaker. By right of possession, you are now my property.” Spike blinked a few times. “Wait...how did I…?” The larger dragon turned and moved forward towards Spike again. “Get here? Your caretaker left you here. Through her arrogance and neglect, you had almost died the cruelest fate a dragon could face.” Spike shook his head, trying to jog his memory. The last thing he remembered was feeling cold and falling asleep. But...how long ago was that? He slowly gripped his shoulders, hugging himself as he repressed a shiver. “T - Twilight...left me?” “The Arcane Princess could not do with a dragon that was dead - so she left you here with me.” Spike made an odd choking noise as he tried to process this information. Why would Twilight leave him? She had promised...she had promised never to leave him! He was her number one assistant… The low rumbling of the other dragon’s voice pulled Spike from his thoughts. “Perhaps an explanation is in order, hatchling.” “E - explain what?” Spike asked. He was still hugging himself tightly, starting to shiver with the cold realisation of the situation. Twilight had...left him? “Your Twilight Sparkle neglected your health as a dragon and it nearly resulted in your death, young Spike.” Spike hiccupped. He fell down onto the gem pile, hugging himself even tight. Wide eyes stared at his knees as he curled into a ball, tears forming and spilling as he hiccuped again. “No…” he whimpered. “I don’t believe it…” “This is the truth, hatchling,” the dragon rumbled, before turning and slithering away deeper into his lair. “I will return for you once you have worn yourself out.” ****     **** Spike lost track of time. He didn’t know how long he had been crying for, only knowing that his tears had tried long before his lungs had started to ache from the wailing. Half-lidded eyes regarded the chamber with a dull look. He rocked back and forth slightly, mostly out of a sense of boredom overcoming his mind. The cave was truly cavernous in size - various tunnels and passages around what he presumed was the main chamber. Idly, his mind calculated the nett worth of the gem and gold inside this chamber alone. “Huh,” he remarked, picking up a small emerald and examining it. This chamber alone was worth more than Canterlot Central Bank’s entire fortune. He throw the gem across, a slight pinging noise ringing through the chamber as it landed among its peers. A loud thundering echoing deeper into one of the tunnels marked the return of the elder dragon keeping him here. He looked on impassively as the massive beast crawled and settled his gargantuan weight in a circle around Spike. “What do you want?” Spike asked as the dragon finally settled. A snort of steam engulfing him was the response. “It is not a matter of what I want, it is a matter of what you want.” Spike glared - or as much as he could glare at the massive dragon staring impassively at him. “What do I want?” he huffed. “I want to know how I got here. I…” he repressed another tired sob. “I want to know why Twilight abandoned me…” A claw extended from the dragon, its agility and nimbleness surprising Spike as it rested inches from his chest, pointing at it. “What burns in your chest, hatchling?” Spike looked down at his scaled chest, before looking back up at the dragon, an eyebrow raised. “Huh?” he blurted out stupidly. “Where do you think your fire comes from, Spike?” he asked, the claw inching slightly closer. “Uhm…” He was sorely tempted to say ‘magic’ but something told him it was a stupid answer. “I...I actually never thought about it. I just use it…” Spike thought he caught the hint of a smirk on the other dragon’s face as his claw retracted. “A wise answer.” Spike’s puzzled look prompted him to continue. “There is no shame in admitting you do not know something, so long as you strive to correct this.” The ridge above Spike’s eye raised. “So...where does my dragon fire come from, then?” The talon extended outwards towards his chest. “In every dragon’s chest lives a powerful ever-burning furnace, fueled by gemstones and other materials. It keeps a dragon’s blood warm and allows us to breathe fire.” Spike frowned slightly as he mulled this information over in his mind. his own claws gripped his chin lightly as he sifted through this new piece of information. “Makes sense, actually,” he said after a while, shrugging. The elder dragon snorted briefly before his whole body shook, sending a shower of wealth throughout the cave. He gave him an incredulous look. “You understand the core of a dragon’s anatomy through a brief description?” The younger dragon shrugged, picking up one of the gems from the ground and eyeing it carefully. “Well, yeah. I mean, thinking back on it, it did explain the constant hunger pangs for gems and why I was snacking on them all the time. Plus, that also explains when I became...cold...and Twilight…” he trailed off, abandoning the gem as he hugged himself again. The chamber remained still for a long while. Neither dragon moved, or showed any intention to. Finally, the elder dragon began twisting his body left and right, sending another shower of gems and gold all around the room. Spike flung his arms up to protect against the wealth raining down on him. After a few tense seconds, the bountiful assault subsided. Peering between clenched eyelids, he saw that the dragon had buried himself underneath his hoard, leaving only his massive head exposed and looking directly at him. “It is good you show such intuition, young Spike,” he began, the fire-bronze eyes boring down at him. “You may yet become my most prized possession in my hoard, my most valuable asset.” Spike’s eyes widened slightly, unable to speak as the dragon’s voice thundered around him. “You must hope for a better future, little Spike.” The hint of a smile flashed across his maw. “For where you have been discarded by one, I will teach you.” Spike finally found himself able to speak, albeit weakly. “T - teach me what?” he asked. “You have been denied your heritage by your previous masters,” the dragon began, before a powerful rumbling emanated  from him, causing the gems to skitter and shake around them. “I will mould you into what you are truly capable of, young Spike. Have hope, for your future is unwritten and I intend to shape it into something truly magnificent.” The rumbling continued to intensify. It took Spike a few seconds to realise it was building up from deep inside the dragon’s throat. “But...I don’t even know what to call you…” he managed, feeling very silly immediately after saying it. “I am Al’Mal’Gorath.” The giant’s lips parted in a wide and particularly toothy smile. “But you shall call me Al’Gorath, young Spike. Study my teachings and you will learn the worth of your dragon’s blood.” Spike nodded numbly. Despite having all hope completely stripped from him, despite the towering pit of despair he had been left in… he felt a small glimmer of it build up in his chest.