//------------------------------//
// 37-Back to the Empire 
// Story: The Life of a Non-Brony 
// by BronyWriter 
//------------------------------//

I have to say, I never thought that I'd actually go back to the Crystal Empire. The last time I was here I was forced to come to terms with the fact that I would be in Equestria forever. No going home ever again. I guess it just goes to show how far I've come along in...

Holy cow, was that seriously ten years ago?

I shake the thought out of my head and lean back on the seat in the private train car I've gotten for the four of us. Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy are also in the car with us, talking with my wife and child about something or other. Jeez, a wife and child. It still sometimes hits me, even with how long it’s been. Cheerilee and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary just a few months back, and we adopted Comet almost four years ago.

Ugh. Comet. She's going to turn thirteen here pretty soon. She's still a filly in my eyes, even if her voice is changing and she's growing at a rate much faster than I'd like. I still remember the days when she was a little filly who could rest comfortably on my back. Of course she still tries that from time to time. Not that I mind, really.

Eh, she'll always be my little filly, no matter how old she gets. Though I'm going to have to start grabbing Reginald to make sure that no colts make any advances on her that they shouldn't. Ponies mature a bit faster than humans do, so it's not out of the question that Comet is going to start getting looks from the opposite sex. And giving them, too.

Not if I have to say anything about it, though.

Man, have I seriously become that over-protective father that I always rolled my eyes at? Good grief, I have changed.

We pull into the train station about five hours later. When I see the tall crystal buildings that make up the Crystal Empire, I still get a twinge of sadness in my gut. This place had the final moment of six years of fighting. I might still avoid certain areas of the empire, though. Yes, Cadance and Shining Armor are putting us up in the palace, but I'm definitely going to avoid the room where the portal failed. If I didn't see the Crystal Heart either, I wouldn't be terribly upset. Shame that particular outcome wasn't likely, given that powering it back up was the whole point of the fair. I could deal with it, I guess. It would be bad for Comet and Cheerilee if the biggest moment of the whole event didn't have me there because I excused myself just before it all started. I could deal with it.

The four of us left the train, allowing some porters to take our luggage to send it over to the palace. That left one less thing on my plate. I didn't let them take Reginald, though. I don't know why I brought it, to be honest, other than the fact that it helped relax me a little bit. Same thing with Oswald: spend six years with the thing and it feels weird to not travel around with it. Besides, it's me. Bad things attack me all the time. I'd rather be able to defend my family if it came down to that.

At any rate, thankfully we're only coming to the Crystal Fair as guests, so I don't have to help with any set-up this time around. After a twelve hour train ride, I didn't really feel like setting up booths and jousting areas. It'd just be me and my family relaxing. Heh, maybe I could go back to the dining room of the palace and tell some stories. Maybe of Earth. It might be difficult to remember Earth stories, though. I'm getting close to forty after all.

We're led to the palace by a few guards. Odd, really, seeing as how usually it's some servant that takes us over. When we arrive, I see that Celestia, Luna and Cadance are already there. I smile and give them a small wave, while Cheerilee bows to them. Comet, being my daughter, only gives them a single nod of her head. That's my girl.

"Hello, everypony," Celestia says, smiling at our group. "I trust the train ride over was comfortable enough?"

"Not too bad," I confirm. "We mostly just spent it playing games and napping on occasion." I raise my eyebrow and look around at all of the guards around us. "So, uh, looks like there's been some added security since I was here last. Anything going on?"

Celestia lets out a small laugh and shakes her head. "No, TD, nothing is happening. We have merely added some security volunteers to help out with making sure that the fair goes smoothly. Nothing more."

I shoot Cheerilee a glance. I don't buy it for a second. I saw guards around every door when we entered the palace, and I spotted a few patrols around town. Security was nowhere this tight when I was here last. Still, it's not like Celestia would just tell me what was going on if I pushed her on it. If I asked her then she'd either give some vague answer, or just insist that nothing was wrong and that I read into things too much. If there is something up, she'll handle it, I guess.

Either that or she'll get Twilight to fix the problem for her like she usually does, but as far as I'm aware, they left the Elements back in Ponyville. Maybe I am just reading into things too much. Whatever.

The four of us reach our room, and I see that I have a rather nice look out into the main courtyard of the palace. From this high up, the crystal ponies look like ants, scurrying around trying to get everything set up for the fair. I smile at the sight and head on over to the extremely comfortable bed, which I happily collapse on. Comet flies up to me and perches right on my back.

"So, when's the fair starting?" she asks. "I want to try crystal corn."

"Well, not for another five hours," Cheerilee says, laying down on the bed next to us. "What do you want to do until then?"

"I wanna go exploring!" Comet chirps. "This place is really cool!"

"It sure is," I mumble, closing my eyes and nestling deep into the pillows. So comfy.

"Kinda weird that there are so many guard ponies around," Comet observes. "Maybe they saw a single fly and have spent days trying to catch it, completely stopping set up for the fair."

I snort at the idea. "I'll bet that's what it is."

"Totally." Comet lays down and nuzzles the spot between my shoulder blades. "You gonna go to sleep, Daddy?"

"I think a short nap is in order after that train ride. The beds in the private car are nice, but nothing like this."

"Fair enough," Cheerilee says, nuzzling me before sliding out of bed. "Come on, Comet. Let's do some exploring."

"Cool!" Comet says, hopping off of my back. "You coming, Oswald?" Oswald chirps something in Phoenix that I can't understand. "Eh, well, suit yourself. I wanna see the throne room!"

"We'll see if we can," Cheerilee replies. "If not, we can maybe look at some of the set-up for the fair. As long as we don't get in the way."

"Oh we won't, we won't." I can almost hear the grin in my daughter's voice. "We won't knock over anything, either, since Oswald isn't coming with us."

Oswald hisses at Comet, who merely giggles at that. I allow myself a smirk before moving underneath the covers of the bed. "At any rate, I'll see the two of you later. I shouldn't be asleep for that long. Just an hour or so."

"Sounds good. I'll see you later, TD. I love you."

"Love you too, Cheers." I yawn and feel myself sink into the pillow. "See you soon."

"Alright, enough chit-chat, lovebirds! We've got a palace to see!"

"Alright, Comet. We're going."

I hear the door to our room open, then close as my wife and daughter walk out of the room. I yawn and move deeper underneath the covers before letting sleep take me.


*  *  *  *


My eyes open up a little while later. I glance at the clock near my bed and see that I've been asleep for about an hour and a half. I sit up in bed and stretch my arms, feeling refreshed. Oswald still has his head underneath his wing, and I think I can even hear some light snoring from him. Ah, I'll let him sleep. He'll know where to find me when he wakes up. I quickly glance outside the window to see that the fair is still being set up, but a lot of the booths look finished. They should be ready to go in a few hours. I admit, despite everything that happened the last time, I'm looking forward to the fair. It was fun, even if everything that came after it was soul-crushingly brutal.

I rub some sleep out of my eyes and leave my room, quietly closing the door behind me so that I don't wake Oswald up. He can be kind of cranky if you wake him up in the middle of a nap. Best let him rest. With that settled, it's time to find my family. They couldn't have gone too far. I wasn't asleep that long. They're probably still exploring the palace. Or maybe they got caught up in the library, or something. I walk through the halls, stopping when I see a guard on patrol.

"Excuse me, have you seen my wife and daughter lately?"

The guard stops and thinks about it for a second. "Uh... yeah, I think I saw them not too long ago. They were headed to the throne room."

"Alright. How long ago was that?"

"'Bout ten minutes, I think."

"Cool. Thank you."

The guard nods back to me, and I make my way to the throne room. They've probably not been there that long. Maybe they got in a conversation with Cadance or Shining Armor. Either that or Cheerilee's trying to stop Comet from sitting on the throne. I chuckle to myself at the thought. Princess Comet. That would be something else. Profanity might be the second language of Equestria if that happened.

To be fair though, she has gotten a lot better about that. She usually only swears when she's angry, hurt, or when she meets someone she thinks is a real jerk. Far fewer casual swears.

I reach the throne room and I frown when I see that there aren't any guards around. Usually there are some posted at all times, even when Cadance and Shining Armor aren't there. Or at least, I would assume so. That's how it works for Celestia. It's especially weird with the tightened security around here. I shrug and open the door to the throne room. Maybe all of the guards are with Cadance setting up the fair. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of it.

However, when I go into the throne room, there's nobody there. No Comet and no Cheerilee. Either I beat them here, unlikely, or I just missed them. There's not too much to explore in an empty throne room. They probably went out to check out the set-up for the fair. Best place to check next.

However, as I turn around to leave, I hear a loud rumbling behind me. I spin around and my jaw drops when I see the floor near the throne opening up. My gut says that I probably shouldn't blindly walk over to see what happened, especially not without my knives or Reginald, but... eh, nobody called me smart. I gingerly walk up to the large hole that has appeared in the floor and see stairs leading down to darkness. A secret passage? Cadance never mentioned this! Maybe Cheerilee and Comet triggered it when they were in here somehow.

"Cheerilee? Comet?" I call down into the hole. I don't get a response. Maybe it's a large secret passage and they're far beneath the palace? It's worth a look, at least. I run a hand through my hair nervously. Not sure why. Sure, I've heard the stories of Sombra, but they killed him, right? Even if something untoward lived down here during his reign, they would have gotten rid of it, right?

Curse my curiosity. It's going to lead to bad things. Maybe not today, though. If my wife and daughter are down here, it would be best to find them. I slowly begin walking down the steps. I wish I had a lighter or a flashlight or something. However, once I get down a dozen steps or so, I see a light shining in the darkness.

"Cheerilee? Comet?"

No response. Hmm. I start to wonder if they are down here, and if they are, did they get into some kind of trouble? I should have run into them by now if I was only ten minutes behind them. Still, if they are in trouble, I don't want to just assume that they aren't down here. They could need help.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and don't see some long hallway. Instead, I only see a single door with a gem just above it. Either Cheerilee and Comet aren't down here, or they went through the door.

Yeah, yeah, brilliant deduction, Holmes.

I slowly reach out and grab the handle of the door. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe this door just leads to some interesting secret room and my family is just exploring that. Maybe it--


*  *  *  *


The mare and I giggle as we stumble drunkenly into my house. I run my hand down her back, stopping at her wings and sliding my fingers down one of her pinion feathers. She shudders in delight and flies up to me for a kiss. I gotta admit, it's gotten easier kissing a pony. Not too bad anymore.

"So, where's this magical bracelet of yours?" she croons.

"Bedroom," I reply with a grin. "Discord gave it to me."

"I can't wait to see it. I wonder what you'd look like as a pony."

"Not as much as I wonder what you'd look like as a human," I respond, picking her up. "What's say you and I find out?"

She plants another kiss on my lips. "Sounds like a plan to me. Although are you sure nopony else is home?"

I scoff and make my way to the bedroom. "Completely. Cheerilee's at some conference, and Comet's playing with her friends. It's just you and me for the rest of the afternoon."

I open up the door to my room and toss the mare onto my bed. She flicks her tail to the side and spreads her hind legs for me. I lick my lips and move over to the bed, where I pick up the bracelet and twirl it around my finger.

"You ready?"

"Come and get me."

I move onto the bed and slide the bracelet around her foreleg. When the flash of light is gone, I see an exceptionally attractive human woman lying on my bed. She sits up and we begin hungrily making out, pausing only to tear my shirt off. She rubs my chest and nips at my ear while I rub my hands around her body. She's just about to go for my pants when a single voice stops us.

"Daddy? Are you home?"

I curse and get off of the bed. The mare frowns at me and tilts her head. "I thought she wasn't supposed to be home yet?"

"She's not," I say through gritted teeth. "Just... hold on a second. I'll get rid of her."

"Get us some drinks while you're down there."

I nod, then open up the door and follow Comet's voice. She's just about to hit the top of the stairs when I reach her. She smiles at me and is about to fly up to hug me, but stops. She frowns and tilts her head, sniffing the air around us.

"Uh... is something going on, Dad?" she asks. "Is... is somepony else here?"

I smile comfortingly at Comet. "No, no, nothing like that. What are, um, what are you doing home so early?"

"Apple Seed wasn't feeling well. I think it might be something she ate. Food, though. Not poison. I would be able to tell if it was poison."

"Right, yeah, that's too bad. So, um... I'm kind of busy right now, so if you could actually see if another friend can play with you today, that would be great."

Comet's frown deepens. "Why? Are you writing another book? That doesn't make sense. Why are you writing it from the bedroom?"

"It's just comfortable in there, that's all. Now off you go."

Comet sniffs the air again. "Who do I smell? There's somepony else here. It doesn't smell like Mommy."

My eyes narrow, and I glare at Comet. "It doesn't matter, just get out of here."

"But who is it?" Comet tries to move past me, but I block her. "What's she doing here?"

"Nothing! There's nobody else here! Just listen to me and go play with your friends!" I feel my anger rising. What a stupid kid. I always hated how nosy she is.

"But other mares shouldn't be in the bedroom!" Comet insists. "If Mommy--"

And then... I hit her.

Comet squeals in pain and falls back down the stairs, stopping on the middle landing. She doesn't move for a second, but slowly gets up and curls into a ball in the corner. I see tears brimming in her eyes, and I don't doubt that she'll have a black eye.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispers, curling her tail over her body protectively.

"Fine. Then get out of here and just leave me be. Go play with your friends. Just get out of here and stop bothering me." I scoff and shake my head. "But you can't help yourself, can you? You just--"

It's at that moment that I feel something pulling me back.


*  *  *  *


"TD? Are you okay?"

It takes my brain a moment to realize that I'm not in that Hell anymore. I'm not the cheating husband and abusive father. It was just a terrible vision. After another moment I realize that I'm shaking, and tears are pouring down my face. I feel a pair of familiar hooves wrap around me, and I let out a single sob.

"TD, it's okay," Cheerilee says. "Whatever you saw, it wasn't real."

I sniffle and sob again before leaning into Cheerilee's chest. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I would never do that to you."

"I know, TD, I know. Whatever you saw was fake. You're a good man, TD. I've never doubted that." I look up at Cheerilee, who smiles comfortingly at me and squeezes me closer. "It's okay, TD. Nothing is going to happen. Just relax. It's all going to be okay."

My eyes widen when I see Cheerilee turn her head in the direction of the door. "Cheerilee, don't!"


*  *  *  *


I hum to myself as I finish the final preparations for lunch. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Comet's favorite. She should be back from playing with her friends soon. I smile when I hear the front door open, and I set the stove to a simmer before heading to the main room. TD is practically skipping. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited.

"Well, what's got you in a good mood today?" I ask.

"Something awesome has happened!" he cries, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"I figured that. Don't leave me in suspense. What happened?"

"Celestia finally figured out the portal! She can send me back home!"

My smile slowly fades, and I break away from the hug. "O-oh. Uh, home? Like back on Earth?"

"Yeah, isn't it amazing?"

I weakly chuckle. Maybe he's pulling a prank. "W-well, what about Comet and I? We have a life here. I don't know how well Comet would adjust to Earth."

"I know that," TD says, waving his hand at me. "Don't worry. It's just me going back. It's gonna be fine for you two. You'll have my money to take care of you."

Yes, he has to be pulling a prank. This is ridiculous. "But we don't care about the money. You're my husband. We've been married for years, and--"

“Yeah, yeah, I get that. It's been great, Cheers, it really has been. But it's past time for me to go back to where I belong. To my real home. You know? I'll always love you and remember you fondly, but--"


*  *  *  *


"Don't Cheerilee. Don't look."

Cheerilee sniffles and leans her head on my chest, hugging me tighter. She nuzzles me and takes a deep, shaky breath. "Don't leave me," she whispers.

"I would never, okay?" I run my hand through her hair and squeeze her a little. "Even if a portal back to Earth appeared, I wouldn't go. I belong here with you and Comet. This is my home."

"Right. I know that, it's just..." Cheerilee shudders. "That was so real."

I weakly chuckle and nod. "Yeah, yeah it was."

"What did you see?"

My weak smile fades, and I take a moment to adjust my sitting position so I can hold my wife closer. "I, uh... I was cheating on you. I hit Comet."

"Hit Comet?" Cheerilee looks up at me with a frown. "TD, you'd rather lose your hand than do that."

"More than that. I'd rather die than do that to her. I know what I saw in the door was ridiculous, but..." I have to take a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know if I worry about doing that so much as just generally being a terrible husband and father, you know? I know I mess up with that sometimes."

"I mess up with being a wife and mother sometimes, TD," Cheerilee replies, nuzzling my chest again. "We're all imperfect. You don't have to be afraid of being a terrible husband and father. You are a wonderful man, TD."

My response is cut off when I hear hoofsteps coming down the stairs. I look up to see Celestia and Luna coming toward us. Luna has Comet perched on her back. I smile comfortingly at Comet and stand up.

"Hey, Comet."

"Is everything okay, Daddy?" Comet asks uncertainly.

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. Just a nasty old door. Nothing to worry about. It's..."

My eyes widen when I see that Celestia is looking through the door. Just like Cheerilee, her eyes are glowing green. She's seeing something. After a few seconds, though, she blinks and manages to look away from the door.

"I see. This is lingering magic from when Sombra ruled the empire. This must be the trap Twilight informed me of during her report when they finally recovered the Crystal Heart.” Celestia walks over to Luna and gently nuzzles her before continuing. "It would be best if I find some way to disable this. I would not be beneficial to have somepony else run across it."

"What's so bad about this door anyway?" Comet asks, flying off of Luna's back and landing in front of it. "Does it--"

"Comet! Don't!"


*  *  *  *


"Hey, Daddy! Mom! Is dinner almost ready?"

Mom and Dad smile at me as I fly into the dining room. "Yeah, should be about ten minutes," Dad says. "Before we get to that, though..." He points to my spot at the dinner table. "Sit down. We need to talk."

I shrug. "Okay." I sit at my spot, while Mom and Dad do the same thing. "So what's up?"

"Well..." Dad grimaced a little bit and grabs Mom's hoof. "See..." He chuckles and shakes his head. "I thought this would be a bit easier, but..."

"Oh you've practiced this a hundred times, TD," Mom says, nudging Dad with her shoulder. "Let me do it." She turns to me with a comforting smile. "Comet, TD and I have been talking and we've decided... well, I don't want to say we've changed our minds about having you around, but... I don't think we thought adopting you all the way through."

"W-what?" My stomach tightens up and I look at Mom, then Dad. "W-what do you mean?"

"It's not you, per se, Comet, it's just that... uh..." Dad runs a hand through his hair. "We just..."

"Are you giving me up?" I whisper.

"Well, I guess if that's how you want to put it then... yeah," Dad says.

"I can't think of another way to say it either," Mom agrees.

"B-b-but..." My jaw wobbles, and tears begin pouring from my eyes. "Was it something I did? I can do better, I promise! Just tell me what to do!"

"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, yeah, you've done some stuff we don't like, but I'm sure your next parents won't care about that. They'll love you," Dad insists. "Hey, I can even talk to your real parents and see if they'll take you. I'm sure they would."

"But YOU'RE my real parents!" I cry. "I don't wanna go!"

"I'm sorry, Comet, but this is the way it has to be. You won't be unhappy, I promise. We'll put in a good word for you at the orphanage if your real parents don't want you either."

"But I don't wanna go! I'm sorry! Whatever it is I'm sorry! I can do better! I--"


*  *  *  *


I finally manage to slam the door shut with Celestia and Luna's help. Fucking door would just not close. I can't imagine what Comet saw. I turn to my daughter and see that she's lying on the ground, completely unblinking. Cheerilee rushes over to her and scoops her up.

"It's okay," she whispers. "It wasn't real. It was all lies. Whatever you saw wasn't real."

Comet begins shivering, but after a little more coaxing from Cheerilee, she gently leans her head against Cheerilee's chest.

"Momma," she whimpers.

"I'm here, Comet, I'm here. Nothing's going to hurt you. You'll be okay. Don't worry."

"Don't wanna go," Comet whispers.

"You won't. You won't ever need to go." I kneel down beside Comet and begin stroking her mane. "We will never give you away. You are our daughter forever. Nothing will ever change that."

I take a deep breath and look up at Celestia with a glare. "Some security you have here. This wasn't an accident. Somebody opened up this passage."

"I agree. We will do everything we can to catch whoever is responsible."

"Bang up job so far," I growled. I took Comet out of Cheerilee's forelegs and held her close, allowing Cheerilee to stand up. "We're going back to our room. I don't think we're going to the fair today. We'll probably head back to Ponyville." I grunt in disgust. "I'm never coming back to this stupid place again if I can help it."

"Whatever you need to do, TD. Take care of your wife and daughter."

"Right. We'll be in our room. Don't disturb us unless the fucking palace is on fire or whatever. Also, destroy that fucking door."

I walk out of the throne room without another word. I feel Comet's tears dripping on my shoulder as I carry her to our room. Once inside, I put Comet on the bed before lying down on my stomach.

"You can lie on my back if you want to, Comet. I want you to feel safe, okay?"

Comet sniffles and nods before crawling on my back and curling up in a ball. Cheerilee lays down beside us, and I grab her hoof.

"It's gonna be alright. It wasn't real. We'll be fine."