I stared at them for a few minutes, waiting for them to say something. After a moment, Pinkie Pie looked right at me and exclaimed: "We should have a party!"

I blinked, what is she talking about? Twilight looked irritated, "Why, Pinkie?" She asked.

Pinkie Pie hopped around, looking very much out of place in the darkness of my shack, "we found a new friend, of course!"

I blinked and stood up. How did they find me? I wondered. I licked my lips and coughed, "How?-"

"We decided we would help you and bring Princess Celestia here so she can help," Rarity said proudly.

My blood ran cold and my heart skipped a beat, "What?" Horror rose in my throat and I felt nauseous.

"Eternity, it is nice to see you again.' The floaty, noble voice of Celestia startled me and I instinctively turned into my human form. I growled and hissed at her, backing up toward my table. I bared my teeth, and Celestia smiled, it was warm, and reminded me of the Celestia that had been kind and caring. I sharply reminded myself of the monster she had become after her parents' death.

"It has been a very long time. I see you have not given up this more animal shape," Celestia sounded like she was talking about a cockroach, "I do believe she is unable to be saved. She is clearly insane, driven mad by being alone for almost three thousand years."

I met Celestia's purple eyes and growled again, "Leave this place, Celestia. I am not your subject anymore. I do not mix with your subjects, and I wish you and yours to leave," I ground out, wishing my voice was stronger.

Her eyes narrowed, but she did not anger as I suspected her to. I remembered the Elements, and realized they were the reason I was not dead. I placed my hands on my hips, "I leave your subjects alone and you will leave me to my own devices."

"You are one of my subjects," Her voice allowed no room for argument, "I treat all of my subjects fairly."

I laughed, I couldn't believe it. She was lying to me, with her loyal subjects right there. I glared, "Leave."

"It seems you are in need of some manners," Celestia said coolly, "Not much has changed, then." She turned to Twilight, "I would like my once faithful friend returned to me. Could you take her in until she can live on her own again?"

Twilight nodded, "Of course, Celestia. I'll do anything for you."

I crossed my arms over my chest, "I take it I have no say in this?"

Celestia looked at me and smiled, and I caught a glimpse of malice in her eyes, "You are mentally unable to make your own decisions. I will allow you to get your belongings."

"I want my armchair," I said stubbornly.

Celestia sighed, "Transport can be arranged."

'I am not leaving until I know it's safe."

"Princess Celestia is a good pony, your armchair will be safe." Rarity

"No, I am not leaving-"

"We can transport it magically," Twilight said suddenly, "If Rarity and I focus our magic we can bring it with us."

I nodded, "Fine." I started looking around, what could I take? My notebooks, journals and the few books I owned would obviously come with me, but what else? I mentally went through what else I had in the shack. I could carry my mirror on my back if need be, and my few articles of clothing would be placed on the chair.

That was it, three thousand years and all I had was some furniture, books and a few articles of clothing. I sighed, "I know what I need." I dug through my pile of clothing on the floor and pulled several outfits from it. Next, I placed them on the chair. Then, grabbed my books, journals and notebooks and wrapped them in a blanket. They were heavier than anticipated, I cleverly tied several blankets together to make a bag. I slung it over my shoulder and turned into my pony form. I considered my mirror. What could I do with it? Clearly, a second trip wasn't an option.

The Element of Loyalty looked at me, then looked at the Element of Kindness, "Fluttershy and I will carry that for you. It's not that far of a fly for us."

The yellow pegasus nodded shyly, "Yeah."

I nodded, "That's everything, then."

Twilight blinked, "That can't be it."

"It is," I repeated more forcefully then I meant, keeping Celestia in my peripheral vision, "Can we go?" I asked.

_..._

The trip to Ponyville was shorter than I imagined, and in they dying sunlight the buildings didn't look as bright as they had earlier. The neon colours were diminished, still bright, but tolerable. We entered a pavilion, with a fountain at it's centre. We walked close to a large house that was built into a tree, when we neared it a baby dragon stepped out.

My blood froze in my veins and fear gripped my heart. My mind flashed back to the war:

I have to stay in human form, I thought frantically. I've got to.

I looked around, hoping to see if we were winning or not. It seemed to be close, but we were winning. I used my dagger to find some ponies that were clearly mind-controlled. My magic reserve was drained, I killed them.

Cheers bombarded my ears, and I felt happy. Were were going to win, we were going to help Equestria. Suddenly, overhead, I heard dragons roar in the distance, and my heart sank. We couldn't defend against dragons, and I felt an overwhelming sense of doom build in my chest.

I started to sound the retreat, but it was too late. Ponies started screaming, and the smell of burning flesh was made even worse by the various colours of dragon fire-

"Eternity!" Twilight suddenly yelled, breaking me out of my thoughts, I jumped.

The dragon was in front of me now, looking a little concerned and scared, "Uh, are you okay?" He asked, looking at his feet.

I took several deep breaths, trying to steady my heart's frantic pace. I examined the dragon more closely, he was purple with green eyes and spikes to match, "This is Spike," Twilight said after a moment.

I swallowed, but couldn't think of anything to say, I looked in between my hooves and studied the ground. I heard Pinkie Pie hop up beside me, "Hey, we should throw a 'welcome home' party! We had one for Princess Luna!"

I grimaced, and to my surprise, Celestia shook her head, "That would be a bad idea, Pinkie Pie, although the thought is appreciated. Eternity needs to heal first before being put to the centre of attention."

Her voice made me shiver, but I couldn't look away from Spike. Most of my consciousness was trying to persuade me to believe that the baby dragon was harmless. The rest of me rebelled, trying to remind the rest of me of the war. Dragons had wiped out almost of the Unifliers. Unifliers were unicorns with wings, like Luna and Celestia, they were the only ones of their kind left. Unifliers had been wiped from history, like almost everything else. The unifliers had been Celestia's family, and she had wiped them all out because they posed a threat to her rule.

I could still see clearly in my minds eye the dragons burning everything, different colours reminding me of a twisted rainbow. The dragons had carried anyone of value off, like me. I was helpless, swordless, and completely out of my league when I had been carried off. Dragonfire still burned bright in my nightmares, and the dragons themselves watched the prisoners for weeks, until we broke.

I was broken out of my thoughts again when Spike poked me in the leg. I jumped, hissed, and growled at him. I crouched, and growled, using the combination of human DNA and pony DNA to my advantage. Spike looked stunned, and hid behind Twilight.

I stretched into my full height. I felt Celestia's wings brush against me, and I shuddered as a chill worked its way up my spine. Celestia stood in front of me, "That is no way to treat my subjects, Eternity. This is very impolite, and it is better if you treat your hosts with kindness and respect."

I bit my tongue, what does she know about kindness and respect? Celestia looked at Twilight, "I hope you will take care of her for me, Twilight. Maybe she will learn her special talent and earn her Cutie Mark."

All the Elements gasped, "She doesn't have her Cutie Mark yet? She is as old as you, though!" Twilight gasped.

Celestia nodded sadly, "She has never been fully exposed the the magic that helps ponies find their talents. Maybe it is a good thing she is going to be with you seven. I must go now, Luna is expecting me."

With that, Celestia flew off, and left us alone, "lets get all your stuff into the basement. I think there's a bed down there," Twilight said suddenly.

Everyone nodded, and got to work; Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash carried my chair and mirror down while Rarity and Twilight started dusting off shelves, and Spike went in search of clean bedding. The bed looked comfortable enough, even if it was dirty. I spotted my mirror, and noticed how dirty it looked in the bright lamplight.

I sighed, and used magic to conjure a bucket full of water and a rag. I started to wipe some of the accumulated grime off and hoped no one would notice the unusual method I used for my magic. If anyone did, they didn't comment on it.

Soon, the room looked more habitable, and reasonably clean. Twilight thanked everyone as they left and I gave them weak smiles as they passed, "Thanks," I murmured to Twilight. I slipped off my makeshift pack and stacked my books on the dresser.

Twilight inched over, "You can look at them," I told her.

"What are they? I have never never seen them before."

I looked at her, and picked two books out of the pile, "read these first."

Twilight nodded, "Thanks," She left, back up the stairs.

I sighed, and stretched. I flung off my cloak and looked at the mirror. My normal reflection was still there. As I lay in the bed, I thought back to my life, before the Fall. I tried to picture what it was like before the war, and came up blank. I barely remembered my family, couldn't remember my name and was fighting for a memory that wasn't even remembered.

I searched my memory, looking for gaps. I searched and found large periods of time were missing in my memory. Much of my childhood, several large gaps during the war and my capture and eventual escape were gone. They were there, I knew it. It was like trying to find a word and coming up empty. It was on the tip of remembrance, but I was unable to.

I lay awake for several hours, trying to remember. I finally gave up and rolled over, but still couldn't fall asleep. I threw off the covers and crept up the basement stairs after putting on a large baggy shirt. I started looking at the books on the large shelves and decided I would see how much Celestia had changed history. After a while, I started taking jot notes on a piece of parchment. I had to write out my letters first, though. It had been such a long time since I had written anything, the quill felt odd in my hands.

I started reading in dim candlelight, but realized the wording, letters and almost everything else were different. I looked on the desk, and noticed the books Twilight took. There was loose parchment sticking from several them and a full inkwell nearby. Twilight had to be having the same trouble than. I started comparing the two, finding similarities and started to decipher what I was reading.

I worked well into the early hours of morning, and started making notes for Twilight so she could decipher my books. With my work in hand, I tried reading the book I had picked out again. From what I could make out of it, it was about how peaceful Equestria had always been, and that the only rulers had been from the same line of Celestia. It was said that Celestia was so wise because she is over one thousand years old and had ruled all on her own for most of that time.

I put the book down, and rested my head in my hands. Every single pony was had been brainwashed for years to believe Celestia was a good pony. Celestia seemed revered, almost worshipped. I had to break that belief, even though all the ponies had been relatively safe.

"Have you not been to bed yet?" Twilight's voice startled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and smirked, "I tried, but couldn't. It feels really odd o sleep in a bed again."

"I tried to read your books. It's all different," Twilight said after a moment.

"I'm sorry, I should have realized there would be a language barrier. It's my fault. I found all the similarities and made a translation key. It's not in your language though, and I don't know how to explain it."

"Can you read it out loud?" Twilight asked, flipping her mane out of her face.

"No, it wouldn't be a good idea. The only thing I can think of it trying to do what I did. Compare and figure it out,' I shrugged, and rubbed my bad leg absentmindedly with one hand. I rubbed my eyes and stood. My knees cracked and I hobbled toward the basement stairs again.

"What happened to your leg?" Twilight asked suddenly, I looked down and realized that the large scar winding its what around most of my leg was visible.

"Long story, and I'm tired. I'll tell you when you can read those books," I replied. It would be easier to explain if she had a general idea of what had happened.

I stumbled down the stairs, and flopped back into the bed. My eyes slowly drifted shut as I saw the red of the coming dawn.

_.._.._.._

I awoke later, a bright beam of sunlight streaming into my sensitive eyes from the small window. I rolled over and almost fell off the side of the bed. I sat up, and blocked the sun with my hand. I stumbled over to the stairs and climbed them.

Twilight looked up from the table, "There's some fruit over there if you're hungry. I don't like these, they're too awful for stories."

I blinked, and picked up an apple, "They're not stories. These things happened."

"They couldn't have. I know all the books front to back. They're not real. They can't be, it's impossible," Twilight denied.

I shook my head, "You are so naive. Do you really think everyone is always perfectly honest?"

Twilight looked at me defiantly, "You are insane. I believe Princess Celestia."

I sighed, "Then you are doomed, as is all of Equestria."

Twilight looked at me, shocked, "I've talked to Spike. He says dragons wouldn't be put into a force like the ones described here."

"Not now, Celestia had trained dragons for hundreds of years before they were up to her standards," I shuddered, feeling the heat of a dragon's teeth wrap around me, cutting my leg open to the bone, "Believe me, please."

Twilight looked at me, "please," I repeated.

"I need proof," Twilight said after a pause.

I blinked, "There is no proof around here. It's been ravaged by time or Celestia."

"Well, then. I think it's better if you don't let anyone else what you think." Twilight left out the front door. I blinked, and sat down at the table.

The rest of the day, I researched using my limited pile of before the Fall books, and trying to cross reference with the library I had access to. Several hours later, I was enraged, confused, hungry and tired. I had never realized how disconnected I had become of what had been happening to Equestria.

Celestia had let almost all of the world become grown over, and uninhabited, keeping only Cloudsdale, Canterlot and Ponyville the most densely populated areas. There were many other cities, but Celestia only ever frequented Ponyville and Canterlot. She sometimes visited Manehattan, or Appleloosa, but rarely visited any other places.

I found a large roll of parchment and made two maps. One of the Equestria I remembered and one of both the new Equestria and the old. It was amazing, she had built many cities far away from the old ones or right where they had been. I ran a hand through my hair, she had been smart, many old cities she had destroyed after the Fall, or had let time and harsh climate take care of the others. I looked at the map, and realized I was missing the old capital. I grabbed my old, beaten up atlas and looked it up, hoping I would be able to read it.

I searched through it, then found it: Gallopville. I added it to my map, and looked at it in full. It was a messy mixture of the current language and the old. I could understand it, but I doubted many others would.

I sighed, and looked around. I felt slightly guilty; I had torn apart Twilight's library in search of anything useful. I looked at my own meagre collection, and wished I had been able to save more books. I had, at least, been able to write down a lot of information about anything and everything in the journals and notebooks I scavenged.

I rolled up the parchment and started to clean up the library, after a few more hours, I was bored again. I carefully opened the curtains, only to be blinded by light. I flinched, and hissed at it. Cursing my luck, I squinted at the square in front of the library. The large, stone fountain was there; it's water sparkling in the sunlight. I also noticed several shops, or maybe they were houses. I couldn't tell. Everything was so bright, it was unrealistic, and slightly disturbing to see a large population of ponies. I closed my eyes, and bathed in the warm sunlight for a while. I thought of my plants, and how they would soon wither and die. I thought about how to get Twilight to believe me-

Then, it hit me.

I needed to bring Twilight to someplace that Celestia hadn't done anything to. I knew of many hiding places we could use for shelter, and even some battlefields we could go to. But, first I had to eliminate the places close to the cities and surrounding area. It only took fifteen minutes for me to figure out where we could go.

We had to go to Gallopville, Dragon's Keep, the Battlefield of Lost Souls and, the Cemetery just outside Gallopville. There were many smaller villages I could show them, and at least fie good shelter spots to rest in.

The trip would take a week, but if I could get Twilight to agree, it would be perfect. I smiled, and leaned back in my chair. Now, I had a plan, and the war general that I had been hiding from within myself came rushing back.

He next few hours seemed like an eternity for me as I waited for Twilight to return. I ate more fruit than I normally did in a month, and paced tirelessly. I had tried to go to sleep, but found myself unable to. I had watched a sunset, and watched the activity in the square below die down. As I pony watched, I felt a slight rustle of doubt and guilt rise in my chest.

To these ponies, War, poverty and death that was not from accident, illness, or old age was entirely foreign to them. The ponies had always been safe, just lied to and brainwashed. The door slammed downstairs, and I rushed down the stairs.

All six of the Elements, plus Spike, were standing there. Twilight was looking at my map, and the circled destinations on it. She looked confused, then I realized she couldn't yet read most of my language. She looked at me, and her expression was confused and a little angry.

"You asked me to show you. I can, but it'll be a long trip," I said honestly, switching into my pony form.

"I don't know if I want to believe you. You're crazy!"

"Hold on, y'all!" the Element of Honesty spoke up, 'Y'can't go sayin' stuff like that. Twilight may be right, but Eternity might be too."

"Applejack's right," The Element of Loyalty but in. Her dark purple eyes burned with a fierce determination.

I fought to control a smirk, and surprisingly won, "If we do this, we'll need food, water and enough supplies for a week, maybe a little more than that."

"That's impossible!" Rarity exclaimed, "I just got my hooves done. I am not chipping them because of some camping trip-"

"Rarity, that's not nice.." The Element of Kindness broke Rarity off. Fluttershy, that's her name, "Besides, we're always trying to learn lessons. This could be one of them."

I suddenly loved the soft tones in which Fluttershy talked, when she talked, ponies had to listen. I suddenly had the urge to know all of their names, I knew their elements, but that wasn't good enough. Fluttershy was Kindness, Rarity was Generosity, Twilight was Magic, Applejack was Honesty and Pinkie Pie was Laughter. I struggle to remember Loyalty's name. It came suddenly in a flash, it was Rainbow Dash.

I had never been good with names, so I was proud to remember them all. It appeared I had missed some of the conversation, but hadn't missed anything important. I sat in a chair, half paying attention to the argument.

"Why don' we just go?" Applejack asked, "It'd get rid of all doubt! An', besides. It'll be fun!"

"She's crazy! She could be luring us into a trap!" Twilight argued back.

Annoyance, anger and a little shame filled my stomach. I snapped into a standing position and switched into my human form. Everyone turned to look at me, "If I wanted you dead or hurt, you would be already," I ground out, "I wouldn't be even suggesting this if I didn't think this would help you! This will be hard, but I need your help."

Everyone stared at me for a moment, before Rainbow Dash lifted her chin in defiance and determination, "I'm in!"

Rarity looked at Fluttershy, who nodded meekly, "We're in too."

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, who just giggled, and bounced happily on her hooves, "That means I'm coming too!" she exclaimed.

A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips, and we all looked expectantly at Twilight. She sighed in defeat, "Alright, fine."

Suddenly, the door banged open and three fillies came flying through the door. I jumped and growled in surprise. They stared at me in surprise, one of them giggled softly. One was a unicorn; white in colour with a light purple mane and tail, the next one was a pegasus, with an orange coat and a purple, spunky mane and tail. The lost one had a light yellow coat and a pinkish red mane and tail.

I noticed none of them had their Cutie Marks, and I relaxed. I doubted they could be a threat, "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo! What are you three doin'?" Applejack asked.

The yellow coated one smiled a little, "We wanted to have a sleepover! But you guys weren' at home."

Applejack sighed, "Apple Bloom, I doubt it."

All the girls sighed, and looked at the ground, disappointed. Apple Bloom looked at me then did a double take, "Hey who are you?"

The orange furred one looked up, "Hey, I think you mean 'what are you.'"

"Scootaloo!" Twilight scowled, "That's not nice."

I snorted, so that left the white one, Sweetie Belle. She looked at me curiously, but didn't say anything.

"Why can't they have a sleepover?" I asked quietly.

"It's late, and Scootaloo probably hasn't asked her parents-" Rarity said.

"I did!" Scootaloo protested, "They said it was okay if it was okay with you guys."

"Who's going to take them, then? If we're going on that trip, I have to get ready," Rarity said snootily.

I sighed, how had she become the Element of Generosity was beyond me.

"I can take them," Applejack sighed, "We can have a sleepover in your fort."

The three fillies simultaneously squealed. I winced at the loud noise, but they ran out the door, Applejack soon after them. I smiled, and started going down the stairs to the basement.

The plan was going to work, I could feel it.

I heard someone follow me down the stairs. I looked back to see Twilight, "They seem like good kids," I remarked.

"They are, they're trying to find their special talents and get their Cutie Marks. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Do they have any idea on what their talents may be?"

"Sweetie Belle has the prettiest voice, Scootaloo is good at stunts on her scooter, and Apple Bloom is good at decorating," Twilight replied, "I hope you know what you're doing. If Applejack, Rarity or Rainbow Dash gets hurt, those three fillies will be devastated."

"I know what I'm doing. This is in the best interest for every pony in Equestria. We should leave soon, in a day or too. We can discuss details tomorrow."

Twilight nodded, and left. I sighed, and flopped onto the bed, pulling the curtains closed so I could sleep through the sunrise.

AUTHOR"S NOTE

How did everyone like this? I think the ponies are a little more in character this time, and now we know who each element is! The ponies and other pony related things that belong to Hasbro belong to Hasbro. I do not make any money off of this. Whatever else you see belongs to me, or my mom (She gives me ideas sometimes). Please review or leave a comment!