Dragons and Ponies, oh my!
A sweet aroma drifted through the fields of a far off farm, tucked away from most of Equestria's busy towns and rambunctious goings on that seemed to engulf the nation every other year. Rows of great apple trees stretched across acres and acres of lush and fertile land that stretched around the base of a towering grey mountain, one of many in a long range that stretched for as far as the eye could see. The apple orchard had the grand luck of being positioned in such a way that the shadow of the mountains did not fall upon them until late evening, giving them plenty of time in the sun to continue growing strong and healthy all day long. Such a fertile land also brought with it a health of life for the animals that lived off it as well, roaming herds of deer and bears thick off plentiful fish and berries were all to common of visitors to the base of the mountain.
Within this picturesque corner of Equestria stood a massive red stallion, currently busy pulling along a large cart of timber towards a large cliff side near the base of the mountain. Nearly half again the height of most other stallions, this earth pony had quite the impressive musculature that seemed to barely notice the cart's weight as he walked. The pony had a deep apple red coat, and a rich orange mane and tail that made it certain he'd stand out in any area. Upon his hindquarters were a pair of cutie marks in the shape of a green apple cut in half, showing the core.
Right on up to the mouth of a cave the stallion would go, letting out a large whinny of relief when he finally stopped and unhitched himself from the weight he'd been pulling for some time now. To the side of the cave lay a large pile of timbers much like the ones that he'd just carted here, along with the skeleton of a very large barn. Only the basic framing had been set up, giving the rough outline of a giant rectangle that was far beyond the scope of what a single pony, even a larger one like this stallion needed.
A far away sound came echoing forth, like the slow beating of massive drums, playing out in a steady rhythm. While many a creature near the apple orchard scattered to the winds, the pony stallion remained where he was, and at ease. So at ease, he leaned up against the side of his cart and let his eyes droop close, his breathing shifting to a slower and much more steady pace, even as the sounds from a far soon became sounds nearby.
A series of gusts accompanied the heavier beatings, no longer the low thrumming of a drum, but the unmistakable beating of huge wings upon the air that they soared through. Wind rushed through the nearby trees, the rustling of leaves soon competing with the rustle of leathery wing membrane against itself as the owner of such powerful limbs drew closer and closer to the ground. Until finally, with a last pair of slamming, gust generating, and heaving flaps the creature did land, shaking the ground with its weight. The vibrations sent through the earth to the stallion relaxing against his cart, bringing what would be a very odd smile to any others looking down upon the scene unfolding. The smile upon the stallion's face would continue to grow, as the creature that bore such mighty wings took a step, then another, and another. The tiny tremors the creature's steps made upon the ground with its weight formed a soft lullaby in the pony's mind as they spread up from his hooves and into his entire body.
The comfort he received from the steps of a beast that should have sent him and any other pony running in fear, was natural to the big red stallion, even as the scaled snout of the huge beast, as wide as the stallion's hindquarters, met the back of his neck and shoulders. Scaled lips stayed curled over lethal fangs as the snout brushed itself up and down the throat of pony in a tender nuzzling that should have been inconceivable for such a creature. Its heated breath tinted with the scent of blood, sulfur, and sweet fruit tickled both his fur and nostrils, drawing a pleasant knicker from him and drew his right fore-hoof to caress the scaled maw in kind, drawing it and its owner closer to his body as a whole.
Several tender moments pass by of the uncommonly peaceful affections, with the leaves of the apple trees settling down to a tiny little rustle with the occasional breeze. With the animals of the orchard gone, it was only the slow breathing of the two bodies pressed so sweetly together that truly prevented a deafening silence from settling in. Eventually however, the quiet would seep into the tow a little to deeply, and the red stallion drew himself off the cart to turn and face the scaled maw nuzzling at him. A sea of crimson scales greeted him, along with a toothy grin of incredibly huge fangs upon the scaled snout the stallion still held with his fore-hoof. His tender hazel eyes beheld the blazing golden eyes of a dragon several times his size, that stared back at him with a fiery passion that he met with his sweet and ever-patient affection in turn.
From the massive wings that ended in broad hands that had carried it here, to the expansive and tapered tail that extended as far as the rest of its body was long, and everything in between, the dragon's body was just as muscular as the stallion's. And though the talons its hind legs and wings had could rend apart bedrock with ease, when it reached forth to comb through the pony's mane with a set, they nary tugged on a single hair, let alone flesh. In mimicking fashion, the stallion lifted his other fore hoof and brought it up to the dragon's head, balancing both upon his hind legs and the dragon itself now. Those hooves would brush along the dragon's cheeks with just as much tenderness as his mane received from those talons, and down further until they were able to snake around the huge scaled through that supported its head in a warm embrace that drew a distinctly male, low, and delighted rumbling of contentedness from the scarlet scaled beast.
The pair met with a slow and tender affection in their kiss that their muscular bodies would not normally lead one to believe was possible from one, let alone both. Each precious and silent second they spent with scaled lips locked upon fleshy ones, they spent wholly enraptured in each others' gaze, dragon and pony finding every reason to let the world just pass them by in their own slice of bliss, in their own little corner of the world. It was held for an indefinite period of time, however many seconds or minutes that past mattered not, for by the time they parted lips, the sun had begun to set and turned the sky as rich in red as the pair of lovers below it. One with a grin of domineering and prideful passion set upon scaled maw, and one with a bashful, but oh so warm and sweet smile upon furry snout, both with a bit of work left to do before the day ended. But, they would make whole their new home the same way both still strove to make themselves whole as people, by working together.
