As I begin to walk out of the gardens, towards the crystal caverns, Celestia runs up and steps in front of me.

"Hold on Miles, you can't just walk through Canterlot like this."

"What? I'm one of the only people here covering themselves." I say as I look back to the bed sheet. That was one hour of well earned work.

"No, I mean you can't just walk through Canterlot as an alicorn. Ponies would... well, we don't want to cause a panic. Speaking of which, how many ponies saw you like this?"

"Well, not counting your guards, Diamond, Blueblood, and the castle staff... just Shadow." I say as I think back to that encounter. Tumbling, stairs, and a screaming little filly. Yeah... I'll have to talk to her next chance I get.

"Okay, that's good. Look, you need to keep yourself hidden until we can get this sorted out. Bringing a new alicorn into the world is... well... lets just say we nearly had a war with the goblins because of Twilight." Celestia tells me as she stares off into the distance.

"... really? Why?"

"Really Miles? It's not obvious?" She asks me, to which I shrug off and continue walking towards my destination. "We're immortal beings Miles. Not to mention the raw amount of magical energy we hold is... daunting. Other nations will look to you and judge us by your actions."

"... so... unless I publicly denounce my Equestrian ties, I'm a world leader for you guys.... cool-"

"It is not cool, Miles!" She snaps, making me chuckle.

"Calm down, Soror. I know it's not a joke. Don't worry, first chance I get, I'll be sure to make the entire world know who I am and where I stand. But until then, I need to get to Outpost Zero. So unless you're going to teleport me there, I suggest-"

FLASH

"... see? What that so hard?" I ask her as I walk into the cavern. "And... thanks for coming with me." I tell her coyly.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested to learn more about this place." She admits as we walk together. "Can you really not use any magic? Not even some basic levitation?"

"*sigh* no. It's a completely different mindset of magic, Soror. This is more physical, where my magic was soulful. Not to mention mine required movement, where yours is completely mental. It doesn't make an ounce of sense to me." I tell her as we stop before the open gate. A few ponies are inside the still lit room, examining the runes and machinery. I glance over to Celestia, making her smile back to me uncomfortably.

"What? You really think I was just going to let this sit here and not try to learn anything from it? Human technology is fascinating." She tells me as I step into the room. I cough aloud and wait for everyone to look to me, only having to wait a few seconds. Once I do have their attention, the room falls dead silent.

"Well, I think we all know who's in charge. I need two things from all of you. The first one is your continued silence. I was never here and you never saw me. If word gets out about me, I'll blame all of you and have you all castrated. Secondly, I need you all to clear this room. Now." Without any arguments, they file out of the room as quickly as possible. Most of them stare at me as they do, but I don't blame them. I am almost half naked after all.

"Miles, why would you threaten them like that?" Celestia asks me as she steps in.

"Are you kidding me? You're the one who made a law that would have had me castrated and killed had I been with Luna before marriage!"

"What!? No I didn't!" She says as she takes a step back. She pauses and thinks about- "OH! EW! Don't talk about my little sisters sex life! EW EW EWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW! OH *GAG* I think I threw up in my mouth. Blech." I laugh at her over-reaction. It's good to know I have an ace up my sleeve to make her uncomfortable.

"Hey, you're the one who made the law. Not me."

"Yeah, maybe a thousand years- ooooooh. That explains it. No, that is not a current law. Luna was thinking of one we had a thousand years ago. No law like that exists today."

"You know, Soror, despite your constant freaks outs about Luna and I getting it on-"

"I hate you right now-"

"You seem to be taking all of this in stride. I mean, I thought we'd still be yelling at each other right now."

"To be honest, had this happened earlier, I probably would have. But at this point, I just... I don't know, I just want the fighting to end. Somepony has to lose, and I guess my losing is better in the long run really. At least now that is. And... well... I'm sorry, Miles. Many of the things I did were not right. Could you ever forgive me?"

"Of course."

"Just like that? No heartfelt talk about family? No angry rant? No-"

"Celestia. We wouldn't be here now if it weren't for what happened before. So, with everything that's happened, forgiving you is easy." I tell her, giving her a warm smile.

"Well, thank you Miles-"

"Plus I get to just destroy Luna when she gets back so-"

"*GAG*"

"You okay?" I ask, chuckling.

"Mmhmm." She says as she holds her mouth shut and tries to force herself to swallow something.

"Alright, enough talking. Let's get this over with already." I say as I walk in and head towards the main mechanism.

Hours go by as I inspect the enchantments in the room and the machinery. The enchants follow a stabilization pattern, though one I've never seen before. Though I don't understand why they would need two looping ones. Not to mention that I've never seen a looping enchantment before. Something like this would need to be set by some kind of genius enchanter, someone who knows something no one does. It's almost on the same level as my duel enchanting, maybe same level. Maybe.

The main cannon is something I've only heard about. The back is an archaic condenser that shoots out a beam of high energy. At least twenty thousand power, easy. The barrel of the canon seems to be made into sections that are held by two long slides on the side. If I had hands I would try to move it, but with hooves I guess I'll have to wait for Celestia to wake up.

The last part I check out is the computer station. The terminal is one of the older, but more sturdy models. Whoever designed this, they built it to last. After some failed attempts to type- hooves aren't great for finger sized keys- I finally decide to wake Celestia up. I walk over to the side of the room she's sleeping in and bring myself right beside her ear.

"Soror.... Celly... OI!"

"Huh!" She says as she jolts awake.

"I need your help with something, come over here." I tell her as I go back to the computer. She does a few quick stretches before coming to my side.

"Okay, what do you need?" She asks groggily.

"Why are you so tired? We've only been in here for a few hours." I ask her.

"Miles, it's ten at night. You've been in here for half the day. Didn't you see me leave to lower the sun?"

"Huh, guess I was distracted. Anyway, I guess we have to do this the hard way. I'll point to a button, and you press it. I need to get on here. DON'T PUSH ANY BUTTONS I DON'T TELL YOU TO PUSH!" She nods quickly and we start the long and arduous task of typing entire functions.

"... and then hit enter."

"Which one is that?"

"That one. The same one as before-"

"What?"

"Nothing! Okay, great. We're in. Lets see... one message, and power readouts along with a charter of names. Hmm..."

"Miles, is this where ponies came from?" Her question catches me off guard, making me give her a double take.

"Are you serious?"

"Well, it turned you into a pony, why not?"

"Celestia, there were ponies before this machine was made. You were born before this was ever set up, let alone used. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, it just came to mind." She says, slightly blushing. I shake my head and click the message. Mouses, big buttons, great invention.

I take a deep breath as the video begins to play, showing Susurrans sitting before us. The Background is of the room we're in now, only it's dimly lit. Susurrans is sitting in his gold trimmed armor with a bandage wrapping one of his eyes. His normally well kept brown hair is disheveled, mostly due to the bandage. He's just sitting there, spinning the tip of his claymore into the ground. It takes him nearly five minutes to finally look up to the screen.

"Miles. Well, you made it. Welcome to Outpost Zero. The last step for humankind. Once we left New Garnet for the surface, the Unfamiliar stopped chasing us. We've spent a month trying to make it out here, but people are still hysterical. They believe that they'll come after us, that we need to hide. We've made contact with a small group of... well, I would say ponies, but they all lacked the essential parts and were half the size. They attacked us, on site. We killed them. Every. Single. Damn one of them.

I don't think they knew what they were going up against. They rushed a scouting group and ran into our contingent. Even with their lesser magic, it's hard to stand against fifty thousand armed people. But, even with that, we still have one massive problem. Discord. He's still chasing us down, toying with us. One day he comes and slaughters hundreds. The next, he makes all of our food turn into Bio-bots. We've run out of choices, it's time for a change.

I can't explain how they're still here, but the... 'ponies', were untouched by the Unfamiliar. I guess they didn't see them as a threat or something. So, that's where the emergency council has decided humanity should hide. This... this device is to assure us our survival... it's... well, the enchantments were made by the best damn mage I know. How I wish she was here... she would know what to do... what to say...

Miles, there were so many things I wanted to tell you. So many things I wish I had the courage to do. I know that life was hard for you, and for that I am sorry. Had I known-"

THUD

"Heheheh. Ooooooh Susurrans." A somewhat familiar voice calls out from behind the bulkhead. It's... I can't quite put my finger on it. I know that voice, I just don't know whose it is. Susurrans sighs as he takes his sword and puts it away underneath the computer.

"This is it Miles. I hope you end up somewhere... better. You deserve better... far better than me. This the Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, Terra division. Who wishes to challenge me?" He says as he stands and faces the bulkhead, setting his fist on his hips.

KER-THUD

The door rips open in three slices. From the other side slithers a beast. A certain beast I've only seen in statue form. He takes a few steps and chuckles as looks over the mechanism.

"Really Sussy? You have to ask? I'm a little offended, really. Now, where are the others!" He asks as he hovers in the air a bit. Susurrans just ignites his hands and takes his stance, readying himself completely.

"For the death of countless souls and the- SSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHSHSSHSSHSSSSSSHHHHHHH"

"What's going on?" Celestia asks. I just sit there, watching the fuzzy screen. He couldn't say it. He just couldn't fucking say it!

"HE JUST COULDN'T FUCKING SAYING IT!" I yell as I slam my fist onto the metal console.

"Miles, calm down-"

"No! No I will not calm down! This entire journey was wasted on the belief that he would finally fucking say it! AND HE COULDN'T DO THAT! FUCK!" I yell as I push myself away from the console and begin to pace about. I can't even think clearly right now I'm so angry! Why!? Why couldn't he do it! I wasn't even in the fucking room! He didn't even have to say it to my fucking face!

"Miles... Miles, look. It's blatantly obvious that you are his son. You look just like him. You-"

"I know I'm his son! But it's not the same without him fucking saying it! He's not my father until he fucking admits it!" I yell back at her. She reels back, shocked from my outburst. I sigh and step away from her. "I'm sorry. It's not right to yell at you, you don't deserve that."

"Miles... you knew? For how long?" Celestia asks me.

"Only recently, post my arrival. Once Luna made some comments about us, I started think on it. I did some analysis, based on features and build. Plus, once I met my mother, there was no arguing it. Susurrans Bellum was my... biological father. I went on this little adventure, racing death, in the hopes he would finally admit it. And he didn't. He... he just couldn't do it. Why? Why couldn't he do it, Celestia? Why was it so hard for him? Was it me? Did I do something? Was I-"

"Stop, just stop Miles." Celestia says quietly. I rub my eyes as I try to stop the tears from breaking out, losing a couple in vain. "Miles, I can't tell you why he didn't say it. Nopony can. It's just... something you'd have to ask him yourself, and... well, he died thousands of years ago."

"Thanks Celestia, cheered me right up." I say as I walk away from her, ending up beneath the machine.

"Miles, I'm sorry. Look, sometimes you just don't get what you want. I once tried to use a time traveling spell to find what killed my mother, but there are just some things you can't change. I-"

"Wait, what?" I ask her as I turn around. "You did what?"

"I tried to find out what happened to her. Tales say she died of a broken heart and turn to the cosmos, but I don't ever remember her being sick. So I went back to-"

"You know a time traveling spell... this entire time you've known a time traveling spell." I repeat as I step towards her. "Ever since you've know me, and that I've traveled through time, you've kept this secret. Not even mentioning it. The ENTIRE time." I say as I continue to step towards her. She backs away from me until she bumps into the wall, where she tries to offer me a smile.

"I guess it slipped my mind." She tries.

"Do the spell, now."

"Well, two problems. One, the spell isn't perfect. You can only be sent back once and only for a few seconds. Two, I wouldn't know when to send you. That recording had no date-"

"FUCK!" I yell as I pace back towards the machine. "Fuck... yeah. And only a few moments isn't enough. There has to be another way."

"Well, where are the elements of Harmony?" Celestia asks me as she stands back up. "If I had them, and were able to use them, I could send you back with a bit more time. But then there's still the problem of the date."

"The Elements are back home. I tried picking them up but... yeah. How do any of you do that by the way?" I as her, getting her to shake her head.

"Okay, let's go then." She says as she turns and-

THUNK

SSSSSSSSSSTHUD

Ooooh, that looked like it hurt. She had turned a little too fast and smacked her horn against the bottom of the machine. The cylinder part of it slid forward, knocking her over and revealing a bright, shining compartment. Several different hues fill the room and force me to close my eyes.

"What is that?" Celestia asks as she gets back up.

"I'm not sure, try grabbing them." I reply. I hear her ignite her horn and begin to fumble around with the machine. After a few tries, she finally gets them to come out, ending the bright light.

VVVVRRRRRMMMPPPP

"I don't believe it." Celestia says. I look back to her and feel my head tilt as she stands there with a large tiara on her head. "They're the Elements of Harmony. How did they get in here? I don't understand, how did these get here? How did they attach to me? Miles? What's going on?" I step closer and examine the Elements a bit more closely. I can't search them magically, but they are acting like the Elements. Super charged, but most likely them.

"Well... I have no clue. My best bet is that they used these to provide the power for this. Do the other Elements still exist?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "So, as of right now there are three pairs of Elements. Mine, yours, and these ones." I say as I begin to examine the inner workings of the machine.

"Right. You got yours from Topaz Falls. I got mine from some ponies in Roam. And these ones seem to have been here the entire time. What should we do?" I look at the compartment where the elements were held and see a small gem sitting there.

"Hey Celestia, you missed one." I tell her as I point it out. She looks up at it and wiggles it out with her magic. "It looks like there's a message in there, try adding some energy to play it.

"How can you tell?" She asks me as she brings it down to herself.

"Can't you see the energy?" I ask, getting her to re-examine it. "Anyway, just play it." She nods and begins to add her energy to the gem, making it play its message.

"Professor Qui last recording. Date: October sixteenth, eleven thirty three.

The final group of people willing to undergo treatment have finally awoken. Now we begin our next journey. Though I have lost my life work and must now work through the hardships of primitive living, it's better than death. We've already sent out a group to start a settlement camp, and so far they've been successful. No threats from intelligent life. Some other locals have even tried trading with them. Camp Romeo, Omega, Alpha, Major will be our next destination. I only regret letting that buffoon Inficiunt naming our settlement. It makes no sense whatsoever.

This is Professor Qui, Dean of space time analysis at Stella Ficor, signing off. Forever."

Celestia and I look to one another and smile.

"We have a date." I tell her. "We have power. Anything else?"

"I think... I think you should take an extra set of Elements with you. If I'm going to retrieve them from your friends that is."

FLASH

...

FLASH

She reappears with an open jewel encrusted chest. inside are two sets of elements, each taking their base stone form.

"Okay, you only get one shot at this, so don't mess it up. You have to give one set to whoever is going to settle Roam, and the other to whoever needs it for the machine." Celestia says as she shuts the case and gives it to me.

"Right. Sounds good... is this spell going to hurt?" I ask as I fumble with the case, trying to keep it in my hooves.

"No, but you might get a little dizzy. Now, hold still so I can cast it. Remember, you will only have a few moments. There's no telling how long you will have with the Elements powering the spell, so don't waste anytime." She says as she charges the spell.

"Got it. Thanks Soror, couldn't have done this without you." I say as the energy begins to wrap around me.

"Good luck."

KER-FLASH

Next Chapter: Chapter 174 When In Roam... Estimated time remaining: 36 Hours, 53 Minutes