The Temnokt Empire

by ladyanaconda

Horizontem

Twilight couldn't actually believe there was no information about the Temnokt once she asked Princess Celestia. She read every book about dragons she had ever read, but there were no entries for the black-scaled dragons, and in the few books there was a mention of the Temnokt it only had the phrase 'Undocumented'. Not even Discord could help her; he had about a thousand years, but he had never interacted that much with the Temnokt race, finding them creepy.

Fukkuteru barely fit into the library; in fact, he only fit to his shoulders and waist, with his wings outstretched outside to be more comfortable. Twilight offered him a cupcake, but another interesting detail about the Temnokt she discovered was that they didn't know about cupcakes. But soon she discovered Fukkuteru didn't even know about milkshakes or sweets or apple fritters.

"Do you not have desserts in Krussia?" Twilight asked him while putting away all the treats he had politely declined.

"Yes, but they're not as..." Fukkuteru examined one of the cupcakes which Twilight was yet to put back in the fridge, "... flamboyant as yours."

"What do you mean?"

"Krussian desserts, unlike yours, are not precisely sweet. We're not used to tasting food with too sugary taste, so we usually add little or no sugar in our desserts." Fukkuteru let out a sign of longing, "I miss those bitter Mousses."

"Fukkuteru," Twilight managed to gather the courage to ask what she had in mind, but she had the feeling he would try to avoid the question, "I'd like to know... Why is your kind so reclusive? I mean, why are there no entries about them in the books? I haven't even seen a single black dragon in Equestria but you."

The Temnokt was initially taken aback by her question, but soon he looked down, "It's... hard to explain," he spoke solemnly. "After the Equestrian-Krussian war, my race left Equestria for good and vowed never to return. Ponies don't know this, but Temnokt are not very friendly with Equestrians, especially Unicorns. If a Gryphon tourist from Eagleland, or a Samareai from Neighpan, or even a Zebra from Zebrica comes to our country, most of us welcome them with open arms, but Ponies..." Twilight noticed the black dragon was starting to grow uneasy, "I don't know what happened in the past that made us think like this about Equestrians."

Twilight had the feeling he was lying, but decided not to pressure him so much; after all, it could be a national secret or something, and it was simply not allowed to disclose it to outsiders. She decided to save that subject for later, and levitated a quill and paper to her face. "So, Fukkuteru, would you mind telling me a bit about Krussian customs?"

---

Lord Clawblack Drakkon

Hookbait

---

The Canterlot Airship Deck was buzzing with activity. Ponies were running in and out of the Intercontinental Zeppelin the girls would take, carrying crates and supplies, and probably making it more comfortable for them. It was two days of traveling, after all. The captain of the zeppelin, a mare with a fiery orange coat and a bright yellow mane, was speaking with some of the sailors. Her Cutie Mark was that of a zeppelin, with two clouds on one side, hidden beneath a navy blue captain coat.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Excuse me, miss."

The orange mare twirled her head around, and examined the group carefully before speaking. "Ah, you must be Twilight Sparkle, right? I'm captain Cloud Dancer, and I shall take you to Greva. You may put your luggage in that cart, my colts will load it up on your cabins later."

"Wow, Princess Celestia sure prepared an awesome transport for us!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, taking off and examining the airship upside down.

Cloud Dancer had been informed with anticipation that one of the passenger was a Temnokt and the other a Changeling, so she didn't react when said passengers started examining the ship. Stormfly had never seen an Equestrian airship this close, while Fukkuteru's race needed no airships at all, as he had put it. Screwball, after putting her pink and purple suitcase in the loading cart, trotted to the Changeling's side. Mist Wing was on her father's back, napping soundly.

"I must admit, this is beautiful. Simply beautiful." Stormfly said, "I've never seen anything like this."

"Just wait until you see the cabins!" Screwball grinned fondly as she wrapped a hoof around Stormfly's shoulders. "It's all very comfy and tidy and neat! you will love it!"

Discord, struggling to get the triplets under control, didn't fail to notice the approach his daughter was having with the Changeling. Twilight noticed the look he had, decided to say something before he drew conclusions. "Don't worry, she's just being nice with him, that's all."

Discord narrowed his eyes at the pair when Screwball tightened her grip in Stormfly. "I think she's being a little too nice."

Astral Aurora started wailing when Night Charge started nibbling at her tail. Twilight levitated her daughter to her back. "There, there, it's okay. Mommy's got you."

Discord gave his son a scolding glance. "Night Charge, what have your mother and I told you about nibbling on your sister's tail?"

Captain Cloud Dancer walked down the wooden platform leading to the ship's deck back to the port and addressed the group. "Everypony, we are ready to depart. But we must still wait for Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But you may come into deck if you wish so."

Soon the ponies walked into the ship for different reasons. Rarity wanted to choose her own cabin, Screwball was going to tour Stormfly around the Zeppelin's interior, Fluttershy and Applejack wanted to settle in and Rainbow Dash wanted to see the Zeppelin's engine room. Fukkuteru opted to wait for Shining Armor and Cadence with Twilight.

"Honey, mind if I go into our ship's cabin? My arms are starting to fail me, I've been carrying Night and Lavender for three hours!" Discord whined at his wife, his arms aching to no end.

Twilight rolled her eyes with a grin. "Okay, I guess you and the triplets can wait inside." She gave Astral, who had already stopped crying, back to her father. As Discord flew away into the ship's deck, Twilight noticed Fukkuteru's worried expression. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just that..." The Temnokt sighed sadly. "It's been so long since I last saw my country. What if everything has changed since I was last there?"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'm sure your family will be happy to see you."

"Yeah... My family."

"Twiley!"

Twilight's face brightened with a smile as she galloped towards her brother, and the siblings nuzzled their snouts against each other. Blade Kiss was on his father's back, playing with his mane.

"I'm so happy to see you, BBBFF!" Twilight squealed in delight. Soon, she was happier when she saw Cadence trotting off towards them with a smile on her lips. The lavender unicorn trotted to meet her former foalsitter.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.
Clap your hooves and do a little shake."

Twilight and Cadence laughed, not minding if the sailors gave them funny looks or thought they were odd. The Temnokt smiled softly upon seeing the mares do that particular dance. He had seen ponies dancing, but he had never seen that type of dancing. Must be some kind of greeting dance or something, he thought.

"All aboard!" Cloud Dancer's voice echoed through the speaker. "We depart in five minutes!"

---

Winter.

Unlike Equestria's gentle winter, Krussian winters were merciless, vicious and infamously long. The fields were constantly covered by a thick blanket of snow, and the skies were often blocked out by dark clouds from where the snow fell. There were no snowflakes, the snow was simple and round, like Equestria's snow before a little blind Pegasus made them see the blessings of winter by creating the first snowflake ever. Unfortunately, there was never such an individual like that in the Temnokt race, and considering that unlike ponies, the Temnokt didn't control their own weather, winters in Kruscow were always the same.

But this did not make their lives miserable. No. Under the rule of King Bittercold, unemployment and delinquency was low, morale was high, and everytemnokt had a roof under which to sleep. Being one of the most powerful countries in the world, the Temnokt' capital city, Kruscow, could be compared to Canterlot, the capital of Equestria in terms of beauty. The buildings resembled those of Maris, Prance, but they had a gothic touch to it. In this unforgiving weather, citizens often had to wear long winter garments like scarves, cloaks, boots and hats in order to leave their homes. Even common folk had elegant-looking and espacious homes, considering that the birthrate was rather high, despite the conditions they lived in.

A great citadel, resembling an ancient Medieval castle turned gothical, with walls of the darkest shades of gray and spines sticking out some walls, made the Imperial Castle look rather intimidating to foreigners. The head of a Temnokt was looking through one of the transparent windows in the highest levels of the castle. His whole body was concealed under a winter cloak, but underneath that cloak were garments worthy of his position as Imperial Confidant. His deep amber eyes were gazing over the snow-stricken land, his spiky short Mohawk of gamboge hair cascading to the left side of his face.

"Milord."

The Temnokt noble didn't react upon hearing his servant's voice. Servants, unlike most Temnokt, were shorter than an average Imperial Temnokt, and their scales didn't gleam as much as a common folk's either, probably due to the lack of exercise. This particular servant, his right claw Temnokt, had a long black hair tied up in a feather-like style. His underbelly was a contrasting chalk white, making his scales look blacker than usual.

"Any news, Hookbait?" The Temnokt in the winter clothing inquired.

Before speaking, Hookbait gave his master the mandatory bow, unfolding his wings to the ground as he did. "Lord Drakon, the new ambassador of Equestria will arrive in three days, minimum."

"I know that, Hookbait." Lord Drakon hissed, narrowing his eyes. "I'm the Royal Family's most trusted advisor and confidante, do you think they would not inform me of new ambassadors crossing the Great Ocean to come here! I mean if there's any news from you know what."

"I'm afraid it's not as easy as I wished, milord. Commander Whiptail has sharp eyes, he is suspecting something."

"Sharp eyes? Him? That's an irony, Hookbait, considering his condition."

"With all due respect, milord, Commander Whiptail is not blind, he just cannot see with his left eye."

"We don't need to worry about him. Even if he actually suspects of me, it's his word against mine." a cruel smirk formed on his lips. "Who do you think Bittercold would believe more? Anyway, did you research what I asked you?"

Hookbait nodded and his horns flashed green and purple as he levitated three books, and a few newspaper articles on the tea table next to the High Blood Temnokt. He had a bad time obtaining these, considering they were only found in Equestria, and only a few Krussian libraries had them, and they were reluctant to part with them. It took him a lot of sweet-talking and money to get his claws on these books.

Copies of The Elements of Harmony, History of Equestria, and Unicorn Magic Basics, along with prints of the Equestrian newspaper The Canterlot Gazzete featuring articles like Nightmare Moon Defeated a Second Time, Spirit of Chaos Brings Havoc, Changeling Invasion and, most recently, Dead King and Changeling Queen defeated by Elements of Harmony.

"These so called Elements of Harmony are the most powerful force known to Equestrians." Hookbait explained. "With them, the Equestrians were able to defeat the Mare in the Moon, the spirit of Chaos, and a Changeling army and their Queen, not once but twice. Even he who must not be named was wiped off the face off the Earth by the Elements of Harmony."

"Imagine it, Hookbait," Drakon whispered in an almost unaudible tone. "If we were to lay our claws in those Elements, we would be unstoppable. Even King Bittercold would be unable to stand up to me. I would rule the Empire as I see fit.

Hookbait agreed. "A strong Empire, milord. An Empire we can be proud of."

"That old fool has ruled for too long. It must be I, and I alone, who rules the Empire. We must obtain these Elements of Harmony as soon as possible."

"Steal the Elements of Harmony? That's impossible!"

"If we play our cards carefully, it isn't. I understand there are six elements, right?"

"Yes. Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty and, the most powerful of all, Magic."

"If we could obtain the Magic element, our own magic would triplicate. I can imagine how much magic power it must contain."

"There's something else, Milord." Hookbait spoke. "Apparently, the Elements themselves are protected by Wielders, and these particular ponies are linked to the element of the characteristic they posses. Only they can wield them. Even if we could steal the Elements, we would have to search for these Wielders, bring them here and force them to use the Elements in our favor."

"That won't be a problem," Drakon glanced across the snow-covered pines of the stretching forest on the edge of the city. "I have the feeling we will meet them very soon."

---

After nightfall, when everypony but the sailors and Captain Cloud Dancer, reunited in Twilight Sparkle and Discord's cabin, after putting the foals to bed, Fukkuteru proceeded to explain a few customs of his people to avoid 'misunderstandings'. The cabin was very espacious; the walls were painted in a soft yellow, the floor was a velvety red, and on the sides of the cabin there were round windows allowed the ponies to see the starry night sky, brought forth by Luna. There was a king size bed on the opposite wall of the door, and a few couches for the others to accomodate themselves. Twilight and Discord were resting face-down on the bed, Shining Armor and Cadence were sitting on one of the couches, Pinkie Pie opted to rest on the floor, while the rest of the couches were occupied by Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity. Rainbow Dash was resting next to Pinkie Pie, while Stormfly and Screwball lay down next to each other, much to Discord's annoyance.

Fukkuteru's family had offered them to accomodate at their home for the duration of their visit. Krussians loved visits, made wonderful hosts and displayed special generosity and goodwill to visitors from another country. Real Krussians were more than happy to accomodate visitors at their homes. They would also be very pleased to show their guests around the city, accompany them sightseeing and take them to interesting places. However, it was also a custom for Krussian guests to bring a gift for their hosts- a chocolate box, a fruit basket, or anything they could afford.

Twilight Sparkle was writing down the information enthusiastically on sheets of paper; she still had the 'first to document Krussian customs and traditions' idea in her head, and there was no stopping her. She often reread what she wrote down; Krussians were quite emotional but often kept it to themselves, were curious about strangers, the elders were very respected there, and were known for expressing what they felt (but not to the point of being extrovert). For some reason, they apparently seemed to have a strange resistance to alcohol.

However, they had their flaws as well; Krussians were very proud, and pointing out their vices or criticizing their country was a very bad idea. They were superstitious, and to enworse things, only a few Krussians could speak Equestrian (luckily, Fukkuteru's family and The Royal Family were among that group).

But what upset the mares the most, was that Krussian society was very gender based.

Apparently, in Krussian eyes, drakes -Krussian term for male- should be strong and assertive while dradies -the term for females -although often smart and beautiful, should be quiet, reserved, obedient and servicing. An ideal mate for a male was demure, graceful, polite, delicate, poised and were expected to stay at home as cooks, caretakers and craft-makers. In fact, King Bittercold was the first ruler to accept females as co-rulers of the Empire, and to give females equalitarian rights.

But old habits died hard.

"Remind me to give them. Piece of my mind when we get there," Rainbow Dash commented, signaling punches with her hooves. "I will show them what an angry female is capable of!"

"Rainbow Dash, you can't just arrive at a foreign country and expect them to change their culture just because you don't like it," Twilight scolded her.

"I must say I agree with Rainbow Dash, Twi," Applejack commented. "I know we can't force them to change their traditions..."

Fukkuteru looked down and thought. Not that they would listen to you, anyway.

"But if they expect us to simply sit down and let sta- drakes," Applejack quickly corrected herself. "Do everything for us they're going to get it!

"Girls, I understand how you feel," Cadence joined the conversation, giving Applejack and Rainbow Dash a serious look. "But remember; as much as they will try to make us comfortable, we are guests in their country and we must adapt somewhat to their customs as they will adapt themselves to avoid offending us."

"You haven't seen anything, princess," Stormfly muttered. "When I was in Chrysalis's Hive, it was the other way around. Females dominated males."

"You girls don't have to worry about it. Since you are only guests, you won't be forced to fill a drady's work, but don't be surprised if you encounter a sexist drake."

Rarity immediately hopped from the red couch and stomped her hooves on the velvet carpet, "What?! What barbarity!! I'm not giving myself away to such a... A..." She looked for a proper word, not wanting to spook the Temnokt in front of her. "... Savage race! How can they force females to do that?!"

Fukkuteru panicked.

"No, no, no, no! You misunderstood! When I say sexist I mean prejudicial and discriminating behavior based on gender!"

Rarity's ire cooled down upon hearing those words, and her face became red or embarrassment. "Oh," she whispered.

"Anyway, I think we should all rest," Shining Armor concluded. "It's getting late, and we'll need all of our energy tomorrow."

Fluttershy let out a small yawn, covering her mouth with a gentle hoof. "I guess you're right. Goodnight, everypony."

When Twilight and Discord were left alone in their cabin, the Draconequus leaned his head closer to his wife's ear and whispered. "Well, now that the children are asleep, and we're completely alone, how about we have some..." He softly nibbled on the lavender unicorn's ear. "... Fun?"

Twilight giggled, blushing deeply and wrapping her hooves around Discord's neck. "You sure know how to make a night exciting, don't you?"

"You have no idea, Twi."

"Then show me."

The couple joined their lips in a passionate kiss, and soon the pillows and bedsheets were all scampered across the floor as Twilight and Discord were carried away by their passion. Discord wrapped his tail around Twilight's as she kissed deeper into his mouth, their tongues tasting each other and their hooves (claws and paw, in Discord's case) caressed and stroke the other's skin.

The door creaked open.

"Hey, Twilight, how much until we- SWEET CELESTIA!!!"

"SPIKE!!!" Twilight and Discord screamed simultaneously, quickly grabbing the edge of the bed sheet to hide their 'little game', looks of shock stricken on their faces. The baby dragon was staring wide-eyed at the scene, his mouth agape, his pupils shrunk, and his left eye twitching in complete dismay and shock. Discord gave his wife an awkward glance.

"Twilight," he spoke. "I think we'll have to give him the Talk."

Comments

[magicspark]

Aw man! That last part made my jaw drop! Keep up the good work!

[Nightmare Loopy]

I'm giggling like a madman now.

congrats.