You suddenly wake up with a loud gasp, your eyes darting around quickly, before quickly regaining your composure once you realize where you are. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling softly, you feel something poke at your arm.

"Hey, you alright there Anon? Seems like you had a hell of a dream. Again." Your partner, Sentinel Pines, asked, clearly worried for you.

You nod, your breathing slowly going back to normal as you take a moment to stretch, trying to shake it off, "Yeah man... I'm uh... I'm good."

"Nah, I'm not buying that." He deadpans, "the last thing I need for you to do is to lose your composure once you see your first dragon over at the Badlands."

"It was just another weird dream is all. Nothing to lose myself over."

Sentinel shakes his head and continues to stare at you with a soft glare, "You know I ain't that stupid."

You look back at Sentinel, knowing damn well that he wouldn't drop it until he knew what was really going on.

"...was it about Thunderlane?" He asks, his tone growing softer.

Although you do feel a slight pained tug at your heart, you shake your head, refusing to think more about that day, "No, no it's not that. I've been over it for months now."

"What is about how you got here?"

"Mmhmm. Still all a bit surreal for me, you know?"

Sentinel simply shrugs, "I can't say I relate. I've never been suddenly transported to a completely different world/universe before."

"Though if I'm being honest, I doubt I would have handled it better than you have."

"Pfft, you wouldn't have passed out after taking a couple of steps."

Sentinel raises his eyebrow at you, "You passed out after only a couple of steps? I've always figured you were walking through the swamps for days, from how you looked when I found you."

"I didn't walk through it for days on end, but I think I might've been knocked out there for several days. Plus it didn't help that I had a hell of an infection." You look at your shoulder, your gunshot wound now nothing but a gnarly permanent scar. "Still, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here."

Sentinel just chuckles and shakes his head, "It's no problem. You say it to me almost every damn week it seems. Don't act like you haven't saved my flank a couple times either."

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be grateful and humble at the same time." You reach down for your pack and bring it up to your lap, taking out rations to reorganize, as well as some other essentials, like toothbrushes and matches.

"How long are we staying here again?"

"For about a week. Why, you already getting scared of dragons?"

You roll your eyes, "No, I'm just making sure I didn't under-pack or anything. You double checked your shit too?"

"Yeah, right before we boarded." Sentinel then looks around, raising an eyebrow at you, "Uhh... you didn't forget your... what's it called... 'shat-gun', did you?"

You shake your head, reaching under the seats and pulling out your 870 shotgun. You double check the safety and brush it off a little bit, gently set it back down, under the seats. Sentinel and his group were only able to recover so much from the wreckage, but you're more than grateful that they managed to snag your shotgun that was still inside the SUV.

Although you were permitted by Shining Armor himself to carry the weapon on you, he pressured you to use non-lethal shells made by the blacksmiths of the Royal Guards. Although these rounds still packed a powerful, painful punch, it was specifically designed to stun and incapacitate, not create any lethal or permanent damage.

Which was fine by you, but you still kept a couple normal buckshot shells in your pack in case things really go awry. Especially since you were in the most hostile border in Equestria.

Thankfully, they haven't been used. And you hope it stays that way.

You and Sentinel are suddenly pushed forward a little, then pushed back onto the seats, feeling the train come to a stop, the steam engines hissing outside as the train stops in front of a Royal Guard station. The conductor then steps out and slides open all the doors for the passengers.

"Final stop for all the Guards, final stop for all the Royal Guards!"

With a groan, you and Sentinel stand up off the seats and stretch a bit, before collecting your gear and beginning to walk down the cab of the train. As the both of you pass the smiling conductor, he looks at you both and nods.

"Good luck out here, gentlecolts."

You both nod in return and smile, walking out of the train and onto the wooden floor of the station. You turn around and look further down the station, watching all the other guards walk out, as well as their company leader. All in all, there were around thirty or so guards, who would all be in groups of either two or three.

Continuing to walk towards where all the other guards are, you look up and take a moment to admire the massive mountains and volcanic structures that border and overlap the normal, dense forests and valleys behind you and the train.

"Kinda overwhelming, huh?" Sentinel asks, nudging your leg a bit. You continue to stare in awe and slight nervousness for a bit longer, before snapping out of it and looking down at Sentinel, simply shrugging as you both continue towards the company commander.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire, it seems."

You receive a punch from Sentinel, giving him a chuckle as you both walk up to the company leader, who's giving out orders, assigning ponies to their groups and sections of the border they're supposed to patrol. The leader then looks over at Anon and Sentinel.

"You two will be in charge of patrolling Omega section for the week."

"Fuck..." Sentinel says under his breath, not loud enough for the company leader to hear, but loud enough that Anon could pick up what he said. And he couldn't blame him one bit.

Before they boarded the train back in Canterlot, he told Anon that he hoped with all his being that they wouldn't be assigned to the Omega section of the Dragon Badlands. After asking why, he soon felt the exact same way deep down.

The volcanoes and mountains in the Omega section overlapped severely over the Equestrian border, and not only did they overlap, they are considered by many dragons to be the one of the best locations to search for the more rare and delectable gems, especially 'smokey gems'. All you really knew about those were that they were incredibly rare and sought out for by both nations, and would virtually make someone rich for the rest of their life.

Not too long ago, Equestria claimed that since most of the volcanoes, caves and mountains in this sector passed over to the Equestrian border, that it would become an official part of their territory for prospectors and their mining operations.

The dragons of course, didn't take well to this. Although no war or anything came of it, dragons have been crossing the border more often than usual. Since then, it has been a very heavily contested area for both sides, to the point where some skirmishes not too long ago resulted in the first deaths of the Royal Border Guards since its founding.

"Yes sir!" You both say at the same time, before walking the other direction. As you walk down the steps off the station, you both are handed a bottle with an orange tint by a Unicorn.

"This will last you the entire week out there. No need to worry about getting burned in case something happens." He says, handing them out to the rest of the guard who pass by.

You pop open the bottle and quickly chug it down, finishing it quickly and scrunching your face up, groaning and shuddering, "This tastes like fermented cat piss."

Sentinel laughs and drinks his with ease, although he does shudder a little when he finishes his, "Yeah, no kidding, but I'd rather drink this than get burnt to a crisp."

You both continue to walk down a pathway into the mountainous forest for a couple hours, discussing about what you were both going to do after the week was up. As Sentinel tells you his plans, you begin wandering off in your mind as to how you ended up in the Guards.

During the first couple of months in your time in Canterlot, you talked to Twilight Sparkle a lot during one of her many visits, specifically about what you were before you came here, as well as the events that unfolded just before you randomly appeared in this world.

After you explained your former job and what you specialize in and left Twilight to drool over her research notes, you came across Shining Armor, who after introducing himself and asking a couple more questions about your current financial and social position, offered you a chance to join the Royal Border Guards, one of the more recent subdivisions of the Royal Guards, as you soon learned.

It's a small universe after all.

Although you were slightly reluctant at first, once Shining told you the salary you'd make working for them, any doubts in your mind were instantly vaporized.

Now that you look back at that day, you probably didn't put the best example, but he saw the obvious potential in you, and you're pretty content with your job. Albeit a bit more relaxed than how it was back home, (which you honestly didn't mind at all) it still brought you some spice to your life. An incredible improvement over just sitting in your house doing mundane and boring things.

And you've made some damn good friends here too.

"-course, that's all my opinion, but her newest album just doesn't have the same spice as her older... hey, you even listening Anon?"

You come out of your train of thoughts and look down at Sentinel, giving him a sheepish smile, "Uh... yes?"

Sentinel stares at you with a deadpanned look, before rolling his eyes and sighing, "Alright, alright. Let me tell you something more relevant then."

You nod as you both cross over some broken logs, this time intent on paying full attention to the Earth pony.

"You know how this isn't my first time here right?" He asks. You nod, "right, well, on my first patrol here, there was a massive thunderstorm that ravaged the area on our fourth day. The weather ponies wouldn't arrive until the morning, so I was trying to find a cave to try and sleep inside for the night. No way I could pitch a tent out in the woods like that."

"Some lightning hit a tree in front of me and some pretty heavy branches collapsed right on top of me before I could get out of the way. I was knocked out cold before I could even try to escape."

"But I woke up the next day... inside a cave. There were bandages made out of leaves and sap around my waist and a splint made out of wood on my leg. When I began to get out of the cave, I swear I saw a pretty big looking dragon fly away. I tried to call out to it, but it either didn't hear me or just ignored me."

"He was probably just fixing you up as a quick snack." You smirk, while Sentinel willfully ignores you and continues on.

"When I got back to the main camp with all the others, I asked around if anyone was messing with me and fixed me up last night. Nobody confessed. I had to be sure in case I was losing my mind."

"And for the record, why would a dragon even go through the trouble of fixing me up if it really did want me as a snack?" He retorts, looking up at you with an eyebrow raised, "If the dragon really wanted to eat me, he would've done so on the spot."

"Point taken."

"Anyway, since that day... I guess you could say I had a slight change of heart about dragons. I've only really seen 'em as ruthless, stupid brutes who don't know any better than gems and barbarism, but... I'm not as ignorant as I was before, you know?"

"Yeah, I can relate to that. Though the only dragon I know that isn't brutal or heartless is Spike. But then again, he's the only dragon I know in general. But I tend to keep an open mind when it comes to individuals for the most part."

Sentinel smiles and hops up onto a mossy boulder, "That's good. I mean, I don't really think all dragons are as polite or kind as that one... but it's good to know not all of them are fitting a barbaric stereotype."

You nod, walking through a small, very shallow creek. You look up and take note at the color of the sky, knowing that in less than an hour, it'll turn dark.

"Let's hope that any dragons we come across are more like the one that saved you."

"Indeed." Sentinel says, keeping up with you as you both reach a relatively open and smooth patch off the forest floor, and just beyond a few trees is a decent sized cave. Sentinel looks up and nods, "Let's set up camp here. It's already getting darker."

You set your pack down and open it, quickly and neatly taking out your rations and other items, as Sentinel begins to prepare the tent as well as unfolding the sleeping bags.

As you organize and double check everything, you stand up and head to the edge of the treeline to collect some stones and firewood. You then look up, beyond Sentinel and at the entrance to the cave. You smirk at a sudden scenario popping into your head and turn to your partner.

"Hey, Sentinel!"

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if you found one of those 'smokey gems' in that cave there?"

"I'd go up to the Dragon Lord, show him the gem, dethrone him, and rule the entire Dominion, easy peezy!" You both laugh at the thought of Sentinel sitting on the throne. A pony ruling over dragons.

"What about you, Anon? What would you do if you were lucky enough?"

You stop collecting firewood and stones to think for a moment. What would you do if you suddenly became one of the richest beings on the continent?

"...Honestly dude? I think I'd just quit. Settle down. Not work another day in my life and focus on hobbies and shit. Live a good life, you know? No money problems."

Sentinel raises an eyebrow, smiling, "Oh, so it's like that huh?"

"You know what I mean."

"More money, more problems, Anon."

"Bite me."

Sentinel laughs and stays quiet, finishing fixing and nailing down the tent before he speaks up again, "Seriously though, that's not a bad idea. I'd probably do the same. But at your age though?"

"Yeah, why not? Though I'd probably still work, just not these kind of jobs. Something more calm and non-nerve wracking. But those are just hopes, I doubt we wouldn't be lucky enough to even see one."

"Hey you never know. I could walk into that cave right now and get a smokey gem."

"Only in our dreams, Sentinel. Make sure you tell Luna about that if you really want it so bad." You smirk at Sentinel, who chuckles and shakes his head.

You finally gather enough firewood and stones, placing them all together neatly as you strike a match and light up the wood, all while Sentinel watches and holds both of your food rations.

He then places both of the rations over the fire, while you look up at the clear night sky, your shotgun now resting on your lap.

"...You know, any star up here could be the one belonging to my Solar System..."

"Listen Anon, I'm not here to get my brain melted by your knowledge of the universe. I'm just here to eat." He pleads, daring not to look up at the sky and be lost in a train of thought as well.

Sentinel then grabs the rations off of the plate hung over the fire, opening them up and handing Anon his ration. "Yo, Anon."

"Anon."

"A-non."

"Monkey butt."

Sentinel then whistles loudly and you look down, seeing an unamused Earth pony handing you a packet of warm, processed food.

"Oh. Thanks."

You rip open the packet a bit more, revealing the contents inside, consisting of a combination of rice, beans, carrots and some sort of chicken substitute.

"One of these days, I'll get off this vegan diet. I can guarantee you that." You mumble, using your spoon and mixing it around for a bit to let it cool faster.

As you begin to eat, you look down at your shotgun and think back to what you were told back before you were deployed.

You were informed how dragon scales were, for the most part, incredibly resilient to any sort of melee and projectile weapon (as you found out when you tested your shotgun against a shield made of dragon scales) and were also fireproof by any means.

However, the main weakness of a dragon was its underside, where the body was very soft and very vulnerable. This also proved more useful when you found out that a majority of dragons were bipeds, though this is mostly by choice.

"...I wonder if a dragon would enjoy belly rubs." You randomly ask to no one in particular.

Sentinel looks up at you, completely taken off guard, and smiling in both confusion and at the sheer randomness. "Wh... what?"

"You know how ponies like belly rubs? Don't even bother denying it." You add in, earning a slight blush from Sentinel, but you ignore it and continue, "well, since they have a soft underside, you think they'd be just as sensitive to such a thing?"

Sentinel can't help but chuckle, shaking his head, "Heck if I knew, dude. I've never thought of going up to a dragon and saying 'hey, want me to rub your tummy?'

"It's just a hypothetical question!"

"Yeah, next thing I know, you're gonna 'hypothetically' ask how big a dragon's cock is."

Now it's your turn to blush, "Fuck off."

Sentinel's eyes widen with a smile, but before he can laugh, you both freeze up when you hear the sound of flapping wings, and multiple people talking.

"That sound like any other guards you know?" You whisper to him. He shakes his head.

You both then get the same idea and set your food down, gathering your weapons, and quickly but quietly rushing over to hide just under a tree's canopy.

As you both wait, the wings beat louder, while the voices come closer and closer, and become audible.

Author's Note

And here's the first official chapter! Hope you enjoyed it.