You pant heavily as you run out of the forest and begin to approach the main camp just a couple of yards ahead. You're currently carrying Sentinel in your arms, as well as all of the camping equipment and gear on your back. If you weren't exhausted before, you sure as hell were now.

But your needs were the absolute least of your concerns, especially when the life of your best friend was on the line. Despite your best efforts with what you had, Sentinel’s wound was infected. And it kicked in really quickly.

Poor bastard could barely walk after the first hour of rapidly hiking through the forest. Before then, you insisted on just carrying him all the way to camp, but he refused, saying that he could do it. You know how incredibly stubborn he can be, but you should have at least pressured him a bit more.

Well, you probably would have, if he wasn't teasing you about the albino dragon you encountered earlier. Cunt.

As you and Sentinel quickly approach the entrance of the camp, two Guards immediately rush towards you both. One of them pauses and gasps when he looks at Sentinel, while the other one looks up and stops you.

“What the fuck happened out there, Anon?!” The Guard then looks at Sentinel, “Holy fuck… Sentinel, you still awake?...”

“Long story short… we had a skirmish with a pair of dragons. I'm fine, but they got him pretty good…” You quickly run into the camp, the other two Guards quickly in tow. One of them quickly rushes towards the Infirmary as you look back towards the forest, quickly scanning the bushes and treeline in case the dragons decided to follow you.

Not that you could do much right now if they did.

“I did what I could, but he needs to get to a hospital ASAP. I don't know how, but the infection formed really quickly. Even when I cleaned the wound and everything.”

The Guard nods, whistling over the Guards coming out of the Infirmary with a stretcher, “I...is he half blind now?”

You shake your head, “No, the dragon mostly cut the white part of his eye, but he'll lose his sight if he doesn't get out of here now.”

Sentinel shakes his head and looks up at you with tired eyes, struggling against your grasp, “I don't need surgery or a-anything like that, Anon… I just… need a bit of rest and some medicine.”

You press your hand gently against his forehead and shake your head, “You're developing a fever, dude. I know you don't like the thought of being put under, but it's necessary.”

“Besides, you couldn't even walk after the second hour.”

Sentinel groans a little, visually groggy, “H...heh...ugh… I suppose that's karma for teasing you…”

“...if this doesn't kill me, my marefriend sure will…”

You smirk a little at that and look up, seeing the two Guardsponies from earlier arrive with a stretcher and an IV bag, “She’ll be more relieved than anything dude…” You reassure, gently setting him down onto the stretcher.

“Stay safe out here, Anon… and h-have fun with your new dragon toy…~” He chuckles and begins to cough. You resist the urge to retort, and instead watch as they quickly carry him away to the Infirmary tent.

You watch until you hear someone whistle behind you. When you turn around, you see the company leader, Strikewing, motion you over to his tent. You sigh and turn back to Sentinel, who is already inside the Infirmary tent, before you make your way to the xommand tent.

Pushing aside the tent flaps, you walk inside and look over at the desk Strikewing is sat on the other side of. A huge map of the Equestrian/Badlands Border covers the entire table as well as other miscellaneous items, such as pens, compasses, and paper.

He motions you to sit down and you do so after you set your pack beside the entrance of the tent, sighing a bit and getting comfortable, “It's been quite a first night, sir.”

Strikewing nods, grabbing a paper and pen, then he looks up at you, “I definitely don't doubt it, Anonymous. I'll fill out the report, you just give me a quick rundown on what happened, alright?”

You nod and begin to explain what happened to you and Sentinel in the past several hours. From when you eavesdropped on the dragons for a little bit, to when the red dragon, Garble, got provoked by what Sentinel said about informing the Dragon Lord. You also explain how the third dragon, a pink and white one, “saved” you from Garble by punching him and pushing him to the ground.

Strikewing pauses for a second and raises his eyebrow a little, “Hmm… So, you're saying that a supposed Omega dragon of a pack, turned aggressive against the Alpha of the pack… to save you from being burned?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“...damn.” He says, looking quite surprised, “It's rare enough to hear a dragon help a Guard around these parts, but to risk that degree of insubordination to save a Guard? That's a first in our history.”

“Even neutral behavior is uncommon. Were you able to get this dragon’s name?”

You shake your head and sigh, “I didn't, unfortunately. As soon as the fighting stopped, the dragon disappeared. No idea where he is now.”

“A shame too... I would have liked to at least thank him for what he did. Even though I wish it would have all ended differently…”

Strikewing finishes writing and he looks at you, studying your facial expression before speaking up, his tone less authoritative and more casual, “...you holding up alright, Anon?”

You shrug a little, “I… I don't exactly know how to feel at the moment.” Strikewing leans in a little as you continue, “Like… part of me feels so furious and saddened about what happened to Sentinel, you know? Seeing him put out of commission all because of a stupid dragon.”

“The other half of me… feels tired. Exhausted.”

“...doubtful.”

“Go on, Anon.” Strikewing nods, taking a more relaxed posture.

You stay quiet for a moment, thinking of how you should word out what you're about to say. After a couple seconds of silence, you groan and just speak your mind, “I just… ugh, I feel like I need a change in my life. I'm having second thoughts on the choices I've made.”

Strikewing nods understandingly, but lets you continue with interrupting.

“I… look, I love how much I've contributed to the Guards. To Equestria. I love the connections and friendships I've made with the countless ponies here. But... but I just can't see myself doing this for the majority of my life.”

“The Guards are the reason why I was able to get back up on my feet and continue what I loved doing back home. Yet at the same time, I don't want this job to be the one that…” You pause for a moment, hesitant, but there's no backing out now.

“...the one that holds me back from other things I want to do. Or worse, knocks me back down.”

You exhale a bit heavily, looking at Strikewing. He stays silent for several seconds, looking down blankly at the table as he takes in all that you just said.

He then smiles gently and looks up at you, “I know exactly what you mean, Anonymous. I've been in a similar position before myself.”

“I understand if you want to leave the Guards right now, bu-”

“No no no no, I don't want to leave this instant, sir.” You quickly interject, “My mind isn't quite made up as of right now. I definitely do not want to leave during the middle of a patrol either.”

“I wish to at least finish this deployment before I finalize anything else. And maybe bring Sentinel some much-needed justice. One way or another.” You say sternly, the sheer thought of the two dragons making your blood boil.

“I still have unfinished business here, sir. And I intend on at least trying to finish it.”

Strike Wing smirks at your words and nods, “That is exactly what I like to hear.”

You nod, then point out on the map where you and Sentinel were attacked, “I didn't exactly see where they flew after they disappeared beyond the tree tops, but I'm assuming that they're still in the Equestrian side of the border, since if they were gonna head back to the Badlands, they would have gone this direction for a faster route.”

Strike Wing looks at this and quickly makes some notes before he looks up at you, “Are you certain you want to redeploy to the Omega Sector? I understand what you said before, but I won't blame you if y-”

“Yes.”

Strikewing nods, his smile returning as he looks over your shoulder and at your relatively empty and messy pack, “Well, if you do plan on redeploying, then I think you should restock your equipment.”

“Take some extra from the supply depot as well, since you'll be on your own out there.” He also notices the completely empty first aid kit as well as the lack of water and cleaning supplies from your pack.

You stand up from your seat and quickly salute, grabbing your pack and beginning to walk out, until you hear Strikewing call out to you from behind.

“Before you go, Anon… I just want to say this. Although I am proud that you did not use lethal force and avoided a political disaster, you still have every right to defend yourself from anything and anyone that threatens your life out here.”

“I understand your selflessness and all, but please keep that in mind.”

You nod understandingly and walk out of the command tent, sighing as you watch a Royal Guard chariot fly in from the night sky and land directly in front of the Infirmary tent.

You smile a little when you see some of the guards quickly carry Sentinel into the chariot. You then continue towards the supply depot, passing by the main supply pony, who looks over at you as he puts down a box of rations for sorting.

“Hey Stockade.” You nod over to him as you make your way beyond the many unorganized crates.

“Sup Anon,” He greets you with a smile and sets down his pen and clipboard, “I heard about what happened out there with the dragons. How you holding up?”

“How'd you already know?” You look over your shoulder at him.

Stockade rolls his eyes and smirks, “I mean, despite the fact that you ran in here holding Sentinel in your arms? Well, you should know how much of a talker Sentinel is,” He says, handing you a couple of canned rations, “even when he's borderline delusional from morphine.”

You shake your head, smiling a little as you restock your first aid kit, “Yeah, he can talk for days on end. But I think I'll hold up. I still got a job to do, and I intend on doing it.”

“You're quite noble.” He comments, before smirking a little, “For a gay hairless ape.”

You both chuckle a little as you finish up restocking your equipment. You make sure to double check everything, including your pepper spray canister, as well as sharpening your survival knife once more. You finish off by changing the batteries on your flashlight.

“Good luck out there, Anon. Stay safe alright?” Stockade says as you pass by him. You nod and give him a quick hoof-bump, making your way towards the exit of the main camp, going back the way you came.

You pass the two guards at the exit, nodding at them both as they open the gates for you. Quickly adjusting your vest and armor underneath, you walk beyond the gates and make your way back into the dense forest.

Fizzle waits quietly in the dense bushes of the forest, watching worriedly as the tall guardsman, who he now knows is named Anon, carries his partner, Sentinel, into the main base camp with what seemed to be medical ponies and the two guards at the gate.

...Anon…

...You still can't get over how... cute that name sounds… it almost brings a smile to your face.

Almost. It wouldn't be quite fitting, considering the situation that's currently developing between the guards.

You've been stalki- f-following the two guards ever since they left the camp site and you've been... listening to their conversations.

You really didn't get a lot of information regarding Anon, which still left your curiosity unsatisfied for the most part, but at least you knew his name.

They couldn't really talk casually though, since his friend, Sentinel, was getting worse and worse, which led to Anon stopping constantly to help his friend out, to the point where he carried him for a majority of the trip. Whenever you saw Sentinel stop to rest, or saw Anon change the bandages on his friend's wound, it only increased the guilt in you more and more.

...It was kind of impressive though... to see Anon carrying a pony, as well as every single other thing they had with them, including gods-know-what inside the packs.

...He looks incredibly strong for a biped... n-no wonder he was able to throw Garble off of you with such ease... despite him being a fully grown teenaged dragon…

A sudden image flashes in Fizzle's mind... he imagines Anon's strong arms wrapped around him instead... holding him… ...protecting hi-

…

...Why?

Why are you so suddenly falling for this Guard? Let alone someone who isn't even a dragon?

...Were you really this desperate?

...it's not like nobody else has even shown you that much respect in a long, long time…

...or selflessness.

...You were so, so confused... but so happy at the same time.

If anything, this all ended up as the perfect excuse to stay away from the Badlands... if even temporarily...

You really, really didn't enjoy it there…

...You hated it there. Yes, you were born there... but it just... didn't feel like home.

You wanted out.

You wanted to be yourself.

If even temporarily. Which is why you went into the forests so often.

But where would you even go? Equestria wasn't too keen on having dragons into their lands anytime soon as far as you knew… and you wouldn't really last long out here... but you wouldn't last much longer back in the Badlands either, with how little is being thrown your way, and especially now that Garble will have all but put a bounty on your head…

Before Fizzle's thoughts could go any further, he sees that Anon has begun to walk out of the camp, making him hide further into the bushes as he watches him.

Anon looks up at the starry night sky and then back at the path in front of him, sighing as he continues back to where he was.

Fizzle slowly and quietly follows alongside Anon, the bushes covering him well from the handsome guard's eyes. The ambient sounds of the forest night also covering most of his sounds. For a dragon, he was quite light and short, therefore walking quietly wasn't too much of a challenge for him.

Anon was currently having some doubts.

Strong doubts.

You absolutely love what you've done for Equestria, and all the benefits and opportunities this job has given you... just like how it was back on Earth.

But with what happened to Sentinel a couple hours ago... you hate to admit it, but well... it really shook you up. Of course, not all the borders were incredibly dangerous, but... to think that you'd be doing things like this for the majority of your life?

You couldn't see that. Especially if you planned to settle down at some point.

You sigh heavily and rub one of your eyes, frustrated as to why you're feeling this way. You've been in skirmishes before. Hell, a border skirmish was the reason you were even brought to this planet in the first place. Despite it all, you never quit or backed out of a patrol deployment. Not here. Nor on Earth.

But you guessed that it all really started to wear you out. You didn't really crave action or anything like that anymore.

You've become more... separated from it all.

Beginning to realize just how dangerous and incredibly intense your patrol deployments were.

You know that not all your patrol deployments were in a dangerous location, but due to your prior experience, you were always sent to the more dangerous borders more often than not.

And with how horribly you handled trying to help Sentinel... and that you almost started a political disaster for two countries…

Fuck me... You think to yourself, recollecting all of your previous experiences as you walked through the forest.

As much as you hated to admit it…

You were simply burnt out.

You want something more... peaceful.

But you don't know what.

And in terms of pay, you didn't really know any job that paid quite as well as this one.

…

You stop walking and look around, your entire body finally beginning to succumb to exhaustion after walking for so many hours, realizing just how sore you really were.

You notice a relatively small patch of flat forest ground and decide that you'll make a small camp here and decide that you'll make a small camp here and rest up until morning.

After a small stretch, you crouch down and yawn softly, setting down your pack and taking out the main components of the tent, as well as setting aside your comfortable sleeping bag.

If you were any more tired, you would have just unrolled the sleeping bag and slept on the spot. But you weren't looking to find spiders or centipedes or whatever other demonic creatures that lurked the forest floor would make their way onto your body. Fuck that.

As you set up your tent and gear, your thoughts begin to mellow a little bit. Regardless if you leave the Guards or not, you would at least have Sentinel to help you out. He'd have your back either way.

And you'd definitely receive some sort of pension... and employment support, on whatever you decide to do after this.

You stretch and groan softly, tying down the edges of the tent. As you do, you begin to whistle a soft, relatively cheerful tune of a song you've heard endless times back on Earth.

Don't worry about a thing... You reassure yourself.

Fizzle continues to study Anon's face, despite how dark it is. You can clearly tell that he's struggling with something. Seeming upset... or sad even.

Although every fiber of your being wanted to just come out in front of him and try to help, you know that it would only cause more harm than good... if the first encounter earlier tonight was proof of anything…

...You know for a fact now that Anon is having some sort of internal conflict with himself. You should know, since you've had more than your fair share of those things…

But you wonder what exactly is Anon thinking about?

...Was it about you?

D-don't be stupid, Fizzle... y-you're not even on anyone's mind... why would an i-i-idiot like y-you ever be relevant to a-anyone...let alone a Royal Guard...

Before you could delve deeper into your pit of self loathing and belittling, you notice that Anon has suddenly stopped and is looking around, his eyes scanning the area in which you're currently hiding.

You manage to suppress a sudden gasp and make yourself smaller, pressing your body into the ground and against the bushes behind you. A surge of fear and nervousness quickly taking you over.

You manage to calm down a bit when you're certain that Anon doesn't see you. You watch as he walks over to the patch of flat forest floor and kneels down, unloading his backpack in front of him and pausing to let out a soft, gentle yawn.

Your wings twitch a little and you struggle to keep your tail from swishing. You begin to feel that odd tight feeling in your chest and throat again.

...C...cute...~

You begin to slowly relax and ease up a little, watching as Anon begins to prepare his tent and sleeping bag. Your ears perk up when you hear a soft, cheerful and mellow whistle coming from Anon.

You stare at him blankly for a moment as your mind begins to comprehend the whistle. Soon enough, you find yourself slowly swaying left and right, closing your eyes and quietly whistling the same melody that Anon is repeating. You actually feel a gentle tug on your lips as your feel yourself smiling.

Anon’s whistling gets slightly more out of tone as his exhaustion takes him over, but you couldn't care less. The cheerful, mellow tone still there. You actually feel somewhat relaxed. Happy. Free of any worry.

So much so that you almost completely ignore the feeling of multiple legs crawling up your leg~

…

...Wait...wh-what?...

You pause, open your eyes and slowly look down at your leg.

And you scream.

Very, very loudly.

aaaaaAAAA NONONONOPE

Quickly jumping out of the bushes, you rapidly brush your legs and entire body, completely oblivious of the tiny spider that was able to jump off your leg and back into the bushes, unscathed.

You pant heavily, quickly checking your entire body and hair in a panic, slowly calming down as you realize that whatever was on your leg is no longer there.

As you begin to calm down, you suddenly freeze up, unsure why at first.

...Then you begin to feel the horrible sense of dread drape over your entire body as you come to the realization that you're not hidden anymore.

As well as the feeling of being watched from your side.

Fizzle very slowly turns around, before his hot pink eyes instantly lock onto the eyes of a certain Guardsman.

Who is currently in an awkward defensive position.

Trying his best to hold a skillet in the most intimidating way possible.

…

...H... h-hi…?

Author's Note

Here we go. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! Also, I have some news. I am currently not able to write with my laptop due to a broken charger, so I have to use my phone, which makes things much slower, so I apologize in advance for longer time periods without chapters. It won't stay like this for a while though, I promise. ^^