"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you," the princess said, stepping a touch closer to me. She was much alike to the one I had seen in my dreams, her coat only a couple of shades brighter. It was a surreal experience, being in front of an alien species that I had had no previous knowledge of, perhaps humans as a whole. It wasn't a clear cut answer, though. ONI, The Office for Naval Intelligence, loved to keep secrets, so perhaps this world wasn't exactly new news to them.

I coughed, clearing my throat. I wasn't one for speaking very much. It made my superiors upset at times, but with the low manpower, they took anyone. I was always the silent protagonist, for as long as I can remember.

"Rookie." I clarified, looking at the... Pony. They were certainly strange looking. They certainly weren't as ugly as the members of the covenant though, not by a long shot. I looked at those behind her, she'd certainly made their party a lot larger. The two guards, herself, and five others. One hid behind another, two looked at me with menacing looks, and two others I'd glanced at too quickly to tell. "Rookie?" A pink one asked. She had a wide smile, an almost unnerving one at that. "That's a funny name! Rookie what?" She asked, before going on a large ramble, one I don't care to remember.

I looked away from that one, after a moment of stunned silence, back to the princess. Having a decently sized crowd around me had me a little anxious to say the least. I was no Spartan. I wasn't invincible like the stories they told us of the Chief, or of the Sargent. I was an elite ODST, nothing to scoff at, but definitely not bullet-proof. "Would you mind... Moving to a less populated area?" I asked, looking at the colorful crowd of aliens. They seemed afraid of me, of my intentions, of what I would bring with me. It was unsettling.

"Are you really going to let this thing walk into our home, then tell you to move somewhere else? I want to hear it right here or I'm not letting it take another step!" The blue one that had been giving me a dirty look a moment ago yelled, looking directly at her leader. That one clearly didn't seem to like me. The purple one sighed, shaking her head. "Rainbow... Can you please let me talk to him before you start a fight? He hasn't even said more than two words for Celestia's sake!" The princess yelled in response, giving the rainbow maned one a small snack on the head before looking back at me. She looked uncertain. "Well... Rookie... Why don't we go to the castle, and we can discuss there. I'm sure having all these ponies here may be making you a little nervous." She said with a smile, that look look of uncertainty disappearing. The others all seemed to cave into her decision, the felt much less tense. The guards gave me yet another dirty look, going to the princess's side, to protect her no doubt. I gave her a nod, and she turned around, beginning to walk steadily with her group.

I assumed I should have been following, and so I did. I stepped forward, a few of the ponies flinched, standing still as I began to follow the princess, all watching me with that same uncertain look. They'd clearly had a bad run-in with something a little ago. "I dunno if this is is ah good idea, Twilight," The orange one whispered to the princess, quite loudly. "What if he does work for Tirek, or somethin' worse?"

"Shh! Did you forget that we should respect everyone, no matter their appearance! Let's talk with... Him, first and we'll find out what to do. I already sent a magic scroll to Celestia. Her guard should be down any moment, if we need it, we'll be fine." The princess whispered back, looking back and giving me a wide smile, before looking back at her friend. They weren't very quiet, if that's what they were trying to accomplish.

They talked more and more along the way to the large crystal castle, the guards eyeing me as we came closer and closer. The more we got closer, the more guards I saw, a few standing to attention at the door. I kept the gun at the ready, my finger on the safety, ready to flip it at a moment's notice. It felt much too much like a trap, something I'd fallen for already. We walked inside, and two of the guards at the door followed from behind, prompting me to turn on the helmet's HUD. I didn't want to get suprised like I did before. Being transported to a pony-filled world was okay with me, for now.

I followed until we reached the end of the grand hallway, and into a large room. There was a table, with six chairs around it, all made of the same crystal the building was made of. It was certainly visually appealing, but that wasn't my top priority for what to think about. "So..." The princess said, heading to the largest chair, and sitting on it, the other six doing the same, still in their unique ways. "Why are you here? What are you? Where are you from? What is your full name? Are you from Equestria? If so, how come we don't know about you?" She asked, all of those questions seeimingly happening at the same exact time, with no pause in between them.

I coughed, thinking of the proper response. It seemed she knew nothing about me after all, or what I was. That meant I was likely the only human on this planet, the only representative of the UNSC, of humanity. I took a deep breath as I took that in, letting it dissapate slowly. I wasn't an ambassador, I was a soldier. "I... My name is J.D. "Rookie." Service number 11282-31220-JD, rank Lance Corporal. I serve the UNSC ODST," I said, looking straight at the princess, "As... The United Nations doesn't have a representative on this planet, from what I have heard, I will represent that role until I can be relieved. I hope you can bear with me until I know more about where I am."

They all sat in silence, looking at me with looks ranging from fear, to boredom, to seriousness. I took a few steps towards the princess, making of the few guards very tense. I reached my hand out, the princess staring at me wide-eyes, clearly confused. "I ask that you please create a non-aggression pact with the United Nations." I didn't want the UN to have another group to fight. I'd seen enough destruction.

I unblurred my visor for her to see me, to see that I wasn't just a helmet, a scary figure. She looked up at me with a blink, before smiling. She clearly saw what intended it by it, that I was appealing the their... humanity? She shook my hand, and I blurred my visor again with my other hand.. "The Equestrians will gladly agree to your request," she replied, moving back her hoof. I nodded in quick reply, taking a step back.

"I'm glad to see you seem to be friendly. I was almost a bit worr-" The princess uttered with a sigh, only to be cut off by the sound of the chamber's doors opening. A handful of new dots appeared on the radar, making me look over. There came more guards, only these looked much different than those I'd seen. A few were bright white with golden armor, and the few others with more darker coats and armor.

"Excuse us for interrupting, Princess Twilight. Princess Celestia and Luna ask to speak with our newcomer, at the earliest convenience. We will escort him to the capitol, if he so wishes." One spoke, stepping out of the group, then back in with clear discipline. These soldiers were obviously better trained than the ones here. I turned back to the princess, who looked back at her group, then back to me.

"I suppose we don't have to keep them waiting, J.D. Let's go meet the other two, I'm sure you'll enjoy their company." She said with a smile, pride clearly visible. I nodded, stepping back from the table she and her entourage sat around.

I guess she wasn't the only royalty I'd meet today.

Author's Note

Yeah, it's been a little. Sorry! Chapters should start coming out more regularly now! I hope you can get past my amateurish writing, and let me know of any mistakes in my DMs! Thank you for taking take out of your day to read this!