(Everfree cave. Present)
Prosperity.
That was the name Typhon had given her.
She had been just a nameless drake, scraping by from whatever she could steal.
And then she found an object she had never seen before. Glasses, Typhon called them. And the thing he used to track them 'GPS'.
He kept lamenting that he hadn't followed her tracks, thinking that she was like other dragon babies - it never crossed his mind that she was alone, and thus he would not find a jealous dragon parent guarding a hoard.
That was OK, though. He more than made up for his so-perceived transgression. He and Clover and Whistler and... all of them.
Prosperity the dragon.
And it was not the first choice, either. Typhon had tons of names for her, with so many wondrous meanings like 'miracle', 'guardian', 'protector', 'fire', 'fairy', 'harmony', 'wind', 'air'... She almost went with 'Zephyra', but something about her new situation had called her to 'Prosperity'.
All because he saw her tracks, and decided to not get involved with dragons.
Not that she could fault him; Tiamat had been acting very unpleasant towards all, even other dragons - save for her followers, of course.
She caressed the armband that held the spell together. She was of his size now, and the arm- well, given that it displayed the symbol they had chosen for their group, she liked to think of it as an armlet. A thin strip of cloth, making a huge dragon with teeth the size of a pony remain as small as a human.
Well, not exactly; it kept the shape spell from expiring.
It was a complicated method to cast spells, but the results were undeniable.
"My little baby girl!" Typhon said, hugging her and lifting her with his freakishly strong arms. "It's been so long!"
"I'm not a baby any more!" Prosperity replied, wiggling in his grasp. "We are nearly the same age, dad!"
"Ah-ha! You still call me dad!" He laughed, tossing her high into the air, where she opened her wings and glided away; her membranes were white, as well.
The chamber was long, tall, and full of books... and jewels and gold, but that was secondary.
"It-it was a slip!" She crossed her arms, huffing as she landed just on her hind legs. "Besides, we saw each other a month ago - or what, forgot about your own dream-self in your old age?"
"You are so unfair; I couldn't be out of the Time-stop Array for long - I didn't want to know if dream-selves aged... I would have been in trouble if it weren't for Clover." He sighed, floating after her.
Prosperity grimaced.
Typhon placed a hand on her head - as a female, she didn't have a crest, and her spinal scales were curvier, more elegant (though she hated that they were still white). He smiled, kissing her forehead.
"Don't be sad, Prospit; whatever happened to Clover was Clover's own choice, we can be sure of that - Clover was simply too cautious and... well, clever to end like Starswirl." He hugged her, and she gently returned it.
"Phantasma passed away." She said solemnly.
"I know... one of her daughters told me." He calmly stroked her back. "She lives in Canterlot, but she keeps in touch."
"You're going to stay, right? You and Seiryu and the others, right?" She gripped him a little bit tighter, head against his chest, hearing his heart beat.
"I'll do my best, my little White Queen." He shifted his arms until he held her head. "If something tries to take me away from you, its going to have to try real hard."
"I'm still upset, you know... fifteen hundred years and I'm still upset." She said.
"I'm still sad, too, just... never forget; never let it rule your life."
"I know, I know; it was the way you taught me, after all, but... I still want to know she's sorry."
"She is, Prospit. We'll go see her some day, if you want."
"I... I don't know... I have nothing to wear." She swallowed, turning away.
"I still have your old clothes... and we commissioned a dress for you, too." He placed a hand on her chin; shorter, rounder than a male's.
"How?"
"My glasses are also computers; that's how I knew where you were all that time ago..." He sighed. He really lamented not having followed her tracks.
"Oh, right. You have the notes of my measurements." She blushed, the pink showing easily on her snow-white scales. She had been raised in a mixture of pony and human culture, so she felt awkward. "The spell would have been harder if you didn't, right."
"I still don't know why you're still ashamed of being white."
"It's not shame... I just want to be more colorful."
"It's getting late. Do you want to go tomorrow?"
"Sure. Can we get a ring made? I don't want to have to depend on something this frail."
"Of course, my dear Prospit."
Typhon chuckled.
"Look at us. We speak of each other so casually, and as soon as we're together, we're family."
"We were always odd... dad. I blame dream-self shenanigans."
*****
(Typhon. The past)
When I sneezed, I lost my glasses... I had to alchemise a second pair - luckily, I didn't have anything of importance in the memory, but I still didn't want some pony to find them by accident, so I popped the Map app and followed the instructions.
I noticed that they started to move.
That wasn't a good sign.
Aaaand there were footprints. Dragon footprints.
Well, if they became part of a dragon's hoard there was no chance of a pony getting them, and a baby dragon was liable to destroy them by accident anyways.
I really didn't want to find if what was implied in Dragon Quest was accurate. Mama Dragon was a serious step up from Mama Bear, so no tracking their children.
'I'd... I think I should simply let them be. Just keep in mind their location, and any activity.'
Ugh... one problem at a time! Storm Chaser dropped by the house earlier, and, although I couldn't see him by myself, Whistler fumed for a good hour.
'I just hope that we can find a good pony.'
*****
A small white dragon held a strange object in her claws.
She had found it along her route to her... shelter. It might have been a nook under a tree, but it was hers.
She couldn't stay there for too long, but, for the moment? It was hers.
She was smart - a sackcloth hood and cloak to hide her shining white scales, and a little bit of quick footwork to get under the caravans or carts, and she could get in and out of the pony settlements with ease! She had gotten a decent meal...
But she knew she couldn't keep living like that; one day, she would grow too large, and the monsters were practically waiting for her to be too large to hide, but not large enough to fight back.
Still, making her hoard felt like a decent distraction. It might be a bunch of random things she found, mostly broken pony toys, but it was hers.
The air was a little nippy, but it didn't stand a chance against her inner flame.
She just hoped that she wouldn't have to be near if a storm like the one from the other day happened again.