I don't often have dreams. I'm not a very superstitious person, dreams weren't serious. However, the one I've just had was different. I have dreams in Mombasa occasionally. They're always in different areas of the destroyed city, in differing situations. I despise these dreams. I saw many things I'd never want to see. Millions of civilians died there, and what was the largest city on the African continent was reduced to nothing but rubble. This dream felt very different from the rest. I didn't feel alone when she was there, watching me. I've always been alone, especially in my dreams. I've survived, had survived, many different battles, most alone. The cold, dreadful feeling of loneliness, I've gotten used to that. Even now, I'm alone, but now, the feeling stung. When she was there, that feeling was gone, that I haven't felt in a long time. Not even with Alpha-Nine.

I sighed and got up, putting on the helmet clutched in my hands. There was still no response to my radio message. It was unnerving, being alone again, it wasn't a good feeling at all. I got up, heading over to my cargo hold. I needed some fresh air. My boots touched down onto the cool grass, it was much like Earth's. There was an uncanny similarity on this planet compared to Earth, but there was no way I was there. I had just been shot in the head on Draco III, a good distance from the human capital. I had no idea where I was, and the only sign of any life was a beat up pelican in the middle of nowhere. I seemed to have just jumped into existence here out of nowhere, and for all I knew, that pelican could have too. I took a good moment to look at my surroundings for a while. I hadn't looked too far when I had first gotten here, I was too shocked from Draco to have had a clear mind.

There was a collection of clouds to my south, and they were the oddest thing I've ever seen. They seemed to be raining, not rain, but rainbows? It was an odd sight, for certain, and I was interested in finding out what they were. I remembered a sniper that was stored in the hold of the pelican, and I could look around for a greater distance than I could with my eyes. I went inside, grabbed the rifle off of a weapon rack and headed back outside. Now I just had to find a good spot. I walked away from the pelican, finding a small hill I could comfortably look around on. I propped up my rifle on the ground, laying behind it, and looking into the scope. I didn't need to use the trigger, I hadn't even loaded the gun, but I still held onto the trigger as I looked around. I suppose I had done it so much by now, it was hardwired into my mind. I looked at the clouds, the sight confusing me even more than I already was by the sight. There seemed to be buildings on top of these clouds, from what I could tell. Even with the advanced sniper, the sight was blurry and I couldn't see everything in detail. I decided to look around at other locations too, looking directly south, towards a mountain. I was going to skip this mountain, but something had could my eye. On an edge of the mountains, barely visible, there seemed to be a collection of towers. They were too perfect to be mountain peaks, and I could only see this mountain around.

I looked back, without the sniper, looking at these two anomalies. There were both strange, things I had never seen. Mountains weren't ideal strategic locations to put bases or cities in, and clouds were clouds. You can't put things, especially buildings on top of clouds. I had to check these locations, perhaps I could find the UNSC, or someone, there. I picked up the rifle and got up, heading back to my pelican. I put the rifle in place once I was back, closing the hatch to the plane before heading to the pilot's seat. I wasn't an experienced pilot, by no means, but I was trained how to fly a minute amount in ODST training. ODSTs were meant to be adaptable, no matter the situation. If that meant you had to fly a covenant ship, with all its oddities, so be it.

I sat down and set a course for the mountain, going at a low and slow speed. Pelicans weren't silent planes, so going too fast or high could startle whoever I ran into, who wouldn't be expecting me. While the covenant war had ended, we still had the threat of starting a fight with ex-covenant races, and it happened on occasion. I kept my hands on the pilot's wheel and continued on, the soft roaring of the engines my only companion. It seemed like an eternity, but after a while of approaching the towering mountain, I saw something in the wide plains. I looked down at what seemed to be train tracks. My heart raced as I saw that, my eyes following along its path, leading towards the mountain. Trains were a Human invention, that had to mean that this planet was occupied by the UNSC. I looked further on at the track, seeing it go into the mountain, meaning it would most likely come out from the other side. I set the pelican to do so, going towards where it would come out of the mountain, between a ridge of mountains to my east and the towering one to my west.

I eventually saw where the train tracks came out, leading towards a small town. There was a river between here and there, with a large forest to it's south. I brought the pelican to the east side of the river, hidden in some foliage. The sight of the town brought some relief to me, I just had to see if it was inhabited by someone. I went to my cargo hold, deciding the quickest way to this town would be with the mongoose. I took it out of the pelican, slamming the bird's door shut and hopping on the bike. I turned on the vehicle, it's engines roaring to life. I rode towards the town, the river was shallow enough to allow me passage. I rode along for short while, arriving on top of a collection of elevated hills, looking down towards the village. I zoomed in with my helmet, looking around with an astonished look. These houses and buildings all seemed to be made out of straw, something entirely strange to me. My whole life, buildings only had been made out of metal or concrete, straw and wood seemed far too outdated, almost medieval. Behind these group of buildings, there was a towering castle, made out what seemed like gems. It was an odd sight, and I gave it a couple glances over to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. It was real. It must've been where a highly distinguished figure or an important bureaucrat lived. I glanced over to the mountain that had led me here, wondering what the towers I had seen on the north-facing part were. On the side of the mountain lay a large city, with a towering castle towards it's back. That must have been what I had seen earlier.

I took a deep breath before driving onwards toward the town. This looked to be like a human settlement, based on the building's structures, meaning the UNSC had to have had a presence here. It could also mean that a rebel group could have been holed up here. I had to proceed with caution. I arrived fairly close to the town, putting the mongoose in a group of bushes, doing my best to conceal it. If hostiles were present here, I had to have a way out, a quick one. I glanced towards the village and approached it, my gun at the ready. It was starting to get dark, and I used the looming shadows to my advantage. I walked over a bridge, a town center in front of me, a large building in the middle. There were buildings to its right, businesses maybe. It seemed as if no one was here, maybe due to the chilly, cold air, and the fact that it was becoming dark. I was going to go in closer when something came out of the main building, a being similar to the one I had encountered in my dreams. Her mane and tail were graying, and she wore yellow glasses. I attempted to duck for cover behind a nearby cart, but she had noticed me before I could.

She took a good, long look at me, halfway hidden behind the cart. She quickly dashed back into the building, a flurry of papers dropping all around where she had just been. Damn. I got up with haste, backing up towards the bridge, keeping my gun level upwards. Three came out, two of them in golden armor, with spears pointing towards me. I pointed my weapon at them, taking a step back. This wasn't looking good.

"Go get the Princess, Mayor! We'll deal with this!" One of them said, approaching me, spear pointed upwards. "Stand down, creature! We order on behalf of Princess Twilight and all other ponies of Ponyville, stand down!"

The 'Mayor,' nodded and bolted off towards her right, leaving a trail of dust behind. I took a deep breath and pointed my gun at the two in front of me, backing up slowly. More of these, 'ponies,' started to gather around from adjacent buildings, gawking at me. They stayed a good distance away, but I was still able to hear some of the words they said. "That thing is scary!" "What is it wearing?" "What is it holding in its claws?" "Is it dangerous?"

I kept my eyes on the two holding their weapons at me. They were holding spears, out of all weapons, yet had railroads. It confused me, that they had such primitive weapons with their current technology. One of them suddenly started to move to my right, once we were on top of the bridge. Before he could fully flank me, I shot a bullet in the air, causing him to panic and go back to his companion. The crowd seemed to be unnerved by the bullet, taking a few steps back while staying silent.

The two guards suddenly charged at me simultaneously, their spears pointed directly at me. I aimed and was about to shoot, my finger putting pressure on the trigger. As I was about to shoot the two, my gun was surrounded by a purple aura and snatched from my hands. The guards in front of me both stopped in place as their spears were also enveloped in the purple aura, snatched from their hooves. "What is going on here?! I thought we all knew not to judge a newcomer by their appearance!" Said a voice from behind them. The two guard's eyes widened as the moved aside, a large, purple 'pony .' She was unlike all the others I had seen, she was slightly larger, and she had both a horn and wings. From what I had seen from the others, they only had one of the two, or none, like the guards in front of me. My gun dropped in front of me, and I knelt down to get it. How she managed to get the weapon without physically touching it, I don't know.

"I'm sorry about those two. Some of us are still learning how to be more accepting," She said with a cough, the two sighing.

"Princesses Twilight, with all due respect, he could have been related to Tirek and..." one said, only to be interrupted. "It's just Twilight, Gloomy. Tirek is no longer an issue, he is locked away. He presents no threat to us. Now, what was your name?" 'Twilight,' asked, looking at me. She couldn't see my face past my obscured visor, but she seemed friendly, or at least acted so. I leveled my gun downwards, looking at this princess. I hesitated for a moment, before opening my mouth.

"They call me Rookie."

Author's Note

Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Here's a map for this chapter, In case you wondered where he had been traveling.