Frigid’s dreams were full of turmoil and confusion. Now and then, he saw the town as vividly as he did in the real world, and his legs kicked around in the air. Huffs came out as he tossed and turned, but there was no ice forming around his lips. Aphrodite’s gaze popped up multiple times in his dreams, but something shifted towards the end of them. Rather than the trials he had to go through, there was nothing to worry about down there. All he saw was lines of shoreline on both sides, and one side had Ember sitting on her flanks. She watched him with a smile and without a care in the world.
Then his eyes slowly opened up.
He didn’t recognize the little apartment or villa he was in, but it seemed nice enough for one made for ponies. The bed was soft against his scales, and the pillows were nestled tight along his face. When he looked around, he saw little splotches of ice along the walls. He rubbed his claws along his head and groaned. At the same time, all the exhaustion and pain he went through was gone.
Despite the small headache pounding between his ears, he lifted up his head to glance at the window by the front door. It was late in the afternoon, and sunset wouldn’t be far away from then. A few ponies were swimming in the ocean, and they weren’t screaming from some threat anymore. That was enough to remind him that they actually won.
He rolled out of bed, groaned again, and headed for the front door with a heavy sigh. The door seemed just wide enough for him to fit through, but the doorknob turned to the right before he reached it. He sat there by the door, curious who would be on the other side. After a little bit, he was treated to the best sight of all.
Ember carried a few bags of drinks and to-go boxes from some restaurant, but she stopped after catching Frigid alert and okay. “You’re awake? Thank Celestia. I got worried there for a second. They said you were fine, but you were out for hours.”
“I was? You mean that fight with Aphrodite wasn’t a dream?” He pinched his foreleg with a claw to see if he was still dreaming. The muscles on the leg twitched up, and the doubts were gone. “Huh. I just have a headache now, and it will go away in a bit. How are you doing? She hit you with a lot of waves before she fled.”
“She left a few bruises, but that’s it.” She plopped down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Despite his size, they had no issues sitting on the edge together. “Figured you’d like something like this.” She opened up the box, and it was full of gems of all colors and sizes.
Frigid leaned down and checked the box out. Seeing what she did for him, he lightly grabbed it and enjoyed a few fire rubies. “Thanks. That’s really nice of you.” A small snort came out his nose. “What happened when I passed out?”
“It was pretty much over by that point,” Ember explained as she rested on her side. “Aphrodite disappeared in the ocean, and we fixed the mess she left behind. I already got a letter sent to Princess Twilight, and she wants to meet me when I get back to the mainland. I’m going to share everything about her that we found out.”
“That’s a good idea. She won’t stay away forever, and she can do terrible things. Somebody needs to stop her for good.” After he ate a few more gems, his eyes lowered. “Right before I passed out, I remembered everything you said before you kissed me.”
Ember’s tail twitched from the memory, and she lowered her head, too. “I’m sorry, Frigid. Refusing to go out with you, just because you’re a dragon, that was so, so stupid. I should have seen that from the beginning.”
“No, not just that,” he interrupted. “I meant everything else you said. Did you mean all that about me?” He remained stoic, but she swore she could feel a lot of emotions radiating off of him.
“Ohhh…” Ember reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. “That. Well, yeah, I did. You’re a good dragon at heart, and anyone that wanted to be your partner would be lucky to have you. I’d be lucky to have you. It’s just that…”
“I’m a dragon, right?” He finished up the last of the gems.
“No, not just that. It would be an adjustment, but there’s something else.” Ember sighed and leaned her backside against the bed. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but sometimes, it’s hard to get a read on your feelings and emotions. On the other hoof, I’m the complete opposite. I’m not sure if you’re my type, or if I’m your type.”
“Oh. I understand what you’re saying.” He dropped the box gently into the trash can. “I don’t know how I ended up like this, but I hope it’s not a bad thing. I like that I can always tell what you’re thinking. It’s easy to get along with you that way.”
That was enough to elicit a smile from the pony. “Thanks. It’s not a bad thing that you’re like that, just that you’ll be the first boyfriend I’ve had that doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve. But you know what? We should give it a shot, find out if it could work out between us. Plus, you can fly, so it shouldn’t be hard to visit me in Ponyville if you wanna hang out or go on a date.”
“I thought you came from Canterlot,” Frigid pondered.
Ember paused and realized her mistake from earlier. “Well, the cruise I came to Equus Town from set sail from there. I spent most of my life in Canterlot, but I moved from there to Ponyville eventually. Now it’s just my brother and cousin living there.”
“Hmm, I see,” Frigid responded. “I’ve heard good things about that town.”
“Still, what do you say to hanging out sometimes, maybe even a date?”
“A date. One of those pony things would be mates tend to do.” He scooted a little closer and petted her mane with a front limb. “I’m okay with that as long as you want it, too. I might have been upset that you didn’t want to go out with me at first, but don’t let that be the reason we’re dating. It should only be because you like me enough to try it.”
“But I do like you enough to give it a shot,” Ember corrected him, leaning into the pets. “You’re strong, caring, and nothing gets under your skin. Those are the things I like about you.”
“Thanks. What should we do now, then--” He was interrupted with another kiss to his lips, and he didn’t know what to do. Still, the amount of passion Ember showed him was enough, and he accepted it gracefully.
In fact, she swore she saw a tiny blush on his cheeks, but it might have been all in her imagination. When she pulled back, she made no attempts to hide her own blush. “That’s another pony thing, kissing. Well, griffons do it, too...and hippogriffs...and others…”
“Dragons can do it, too.” Frigid lightly kissed her back and sighed. “I promise to give it my all with this relationship, and if it works out, I’ll be happy. If not, I’ll respect your wishes. I just don’t know what we should do next.”
“Hmm…” She turned to check out the window and noticed the time of day. “We still have a lot of daylight left. How about we do our first date right now? We could go flying around the jungle, grab more gems, stuff like that.”
“That sounds great. Maybe you could show me more of those pony things, and I’ll show you more of those dragon things.” He got up from the bed and headed for the door. Once he lumbered his way through, he opened the door for Ember to go first.
“Heh, now I’m curious what you mean by dragon things. Still, it’s a beautiful day, and I got a few days before the vacation’s over. We both deserve a break after all that hell.” Ember trotted outside, and she was treated to the coolest day of the week so far. The breeze was nice on her back, the sound of ponies and griffons playing filled her ears, and everyone was having a good time.
To her surprise, again, Frigid had no issues twisting around the doorframe to poke out of the villa. “It is nice out here. Not as hot as before, either. So where do you want to go first? The jungle or one of those restaurants?”
“Hmm, flying. I promise I won’t throw up this time.”
With that decided, she climbed up on his back, and he spread his wings to their full span. It wouldn’t be long until Ember got to see the island from the point of view of a dragon or pegasus like before, but something was different about this time. She didn’t want to throw up again, nor was she thinking about the threat of the orange fish lady. Instead, she was calm and relaxed. Frigid looked to be the same way, even by his standards.
As they continued their flight, she nuzzled deep into his head and kissed him again. He tilted his head to meet her face to face, and he was treated to the sight of her smiling and nuzzling his face. Their lips would meet once again in the middle of the skies, like it was something they had done a million times before.
What the future of their relationship held in store for them, they wouldn’t know right now. For that moment, though, they were blissful in each other’s company. It would be more than enough on a day like that.