A Dragon's Heart

Chapter 2

A strange place

"For the love of Celestia, please don't eat me!!" Berry cried, reeling back in fear.

"By the ancestors, please don't kill me!" Sora said in response, covering his head. Sora blinked...and looked up to the mare, who was bearing the look of confusion the young drake shared. Berry expected him to be hostile, much to the nature of Equestria's draconic residents, yet he made no motion to attack or prove hostile in any form. The same went for Sora. A creature that he had never seen before was pleading for it to not be hurt when he assumed it would bring harm to him.  To each other, they were both of foreign origin....

"You're not gonna eat me?" Berry asked. Sora shook his head.

"You won't hurt me?" He replied, to which Berry shook her head as well. The drake picked himself up and stood on his legs, coming up to the same height as the mare. She was taken aback. She had thought that all dragons were fearsome, vile and ugly creatures that despised ponies to the fullest extent. And yet in front of her was something different. A kind, peaceful dragon who sought to bring no pain or carnage....and was rather cute. Albeit his face was hidden under a skull-shaped stone mask. But cute, nonetheless.

The air was silent. The two were now completely still, unable to find words. Someone had to break the tension. And luckily, the young drake was the first to find his voice.

"I'm Sora." He introduced himself. "And you are?"

"Berry. Berry Punch." The mare responded. "Um...Sora, was it?" Sora nodded in reply. "Why are you here? I thought you dragons lived over in the mountains."

"Some dragons in Avalar live in the Temple of the Ancestors. So I guess you could say that some of us live in the mountains. But I live in the valley, watched over by the Cheetah Tribe." Sora explained. Berry raised a brow and stared at him.

"Avalar? Temple of the Ancestors? Cheetah Tribe? What are you on about?" She asked him. "There's no such places in Equestria." Sora blinked.

Equestria? I've never heard of such a place, he thought. "Is this...Equestria....some sort of realm? I had taken what acted like a portal to get here, so--"

"What? No. It's not...well...I guess you can...well it....ugh. I wish Cheery was here. She's better at explaining these , kind of things." Berry whined. Sora lowered his head and whined softly, feeling as though he offended the mare. Berry, taking notice, smiled nervously and scratched her head. "That's not what I meant. What I mean is...Equestria is the land we ponies live in. It's where we are, but the specific place we're in is the Everfree Forest."

"Ponies? Everfree Forest?" Sora said, his turn to question her.

"Oh. The Everfree Forest is where we are right now. See?" Berry said, waving her hoof around at the trees. Sora looked all around him and noticed that he was indeed in a forest. Though he had not known what the name of it was upon arrival. "And ponies are....well, me. It's what I am."

Sora stared at her for a moment, taking in the idea of what she was supposed to be. She, like him, was a four-legged creature. But unlike him she had no wings, which rendered her flightless, she had fur, their muzzles were shaped differently and her tail was the same as her mane. An odd mark in the shape of grapes were on her flank as he started to circle around her, sniffing her. Berry took notice and looked back at him and saw that he had reached just behind her and was under her tail. A blush came to her face when she noticed that he was mesmerized by something.

Sora was standing directly behind her, staring at one particular spot of her body. Her lips were glistening, but not wet and her started to sniff. His muzzle touched the mare's private area, earning a small gasp from her and he continued to sniff her. The smell was tantalizing and quite interesting to him. Curious, he stuck out his tongue and licked her marehood. Berry moaned softly and blushed furiously. Now realizing what it was that he just touched,  Sora continued to lick her and Berry moaned, but stopped and turned around and slapped his muzzle away.

"D-don't touch me there!! That's rude!" She screamed. Sora rubbed his face and looked at her.

"But you were wet. And you made that noise." He speculated. "Is it not your desire to mate?" Berry's blush turned into one of anger and embarrassment.

"It is...but not now! Well, not saying yet, but maybe. At some point. But not with you. I mean...i'm not saying I WOULDN'T with you, but....ugh!!" Berry let out a frustrated grunt and sat down. "Look. Here in Equestria, we don't just let a male touch us like that all willy-nilly. There are standards and practices you must go about before we'd allow such a thing to happen. And the same goes for the stallions, too." She explained.

"Stallions? Standards and practices?" Sora asked, confused again. Berry rubbed her temples, the drake beginning to give her a headache.

"It's a lot to explain. Maybe I can explain on the way back to Ponyville. Oh. Ponyville is where I live. I'll show you. Come on." She said, walking back down the path she came. Sora smiled and followed behind her as Berry started to give him the rundown on how things worked in Equestria to the best of her abilities. All the while she kept her tail in place to prevent him from seeing her precious flower, blushing as she thought about when he licked her earlier.

BGM

The air of the forest was chilling, to say the least. As Sora continued to follow the mare, he examined his surroundings. All over, it felt as though he was being watched. It both frightened him and intrigued him. He wondered just what sort of creatures....animals or even monsters existed within this world, aside from.....ponies, as Berry called her kind.

Berry's lecture on how things worked in Equestria, what existed there,  what ponies ate and more was quite informative as Sora began to understand things much better, thanks to her. In return, he apologized for having touched her inappropriately and she forgave him in kind.

As strange as Berry looked to Sora, he appreciated her kindness and her willingness to help him understand their world better. Being with her, Sora actually felt more open. And yet, he still felt alone because he was so different. Though dragons exist within Equestria, he was out of place. In a world that was not his own.

And Berry was quite pleased to meet a dragon as kind as Sora. Though he was a little clueless, he was a fast learner and she was happy to start sharing some things with him, including personal topics. And yet, she still felt heartbroken. She still had her drinking addiction and she was neglecting her only daughter...lying to her...all because of a past she cannot forget.

"So tell me, Berry. Can you tell me about your relatives?" Sora asked, breaking the silence. Berry froze in place and stared at the forest floor.

"W-well...." Berry was cut short as a series of growls resounded around them. Sora returned a growl of his own, Berry scooting closer to him for safety as four pairs of green eyes shone from the darkness. As the source of the eyes came from their place, Sora thought to himself.

Monsters made from wood? ....This truly is a strange place.....