The Temnokt Empire

by ladyanaconda

Prem'yera

Nopony knows we're here, smiling beneath the black mantle of the night and the pale moonlight while we remember our dear mother.

For we'll forever be her Children of the Dark.

- Anonymous Krussian Mage

---

Glacial Fire

Rock Dust

---

Fluttershy sobbed uncontrollably. Dinner time was a complete disaster for both parties, mostly due to Fluttershy's emotional breakdown, the ponies' vegetarian -as Lightfire put it- habits and the difficulty their reptilian hosts had in looking for something their flat teeth could chew. But even then, Fluttershy lost her appetite upon seeing Catseye devour one of the legs of the poor animal, and so Fukkuteru's older sister, Lightfire, was asked to lead the creamy pegasus up to the guest room. Unfortunately, the only place the Temnokt could offer was the attic. They did whatever they could to make it more comfortable for their pony guests, using their magic to make red-clad beds with white pillows appear and put them in place so that they fit in. Luckily the attic was spacious, and it didn't really take much effort. Twilight and Rarity offered to help, but Lake Wave and Velvet politely declined the offer, saying that it was their duty as hosts to make them as comfortable as possible, making the ponies doubt if Celestia had been exaggerating when she stated the Temnokt were distrustful towards ponies.

Before heading back down, Lightfire turned to see Fluttershy made a ocean of tears, lightly tainting the bed sheets with the salty water from her eyes. She could not bring herself to just leave the poor thing crying her eyes out by herself, and deciding her meal could wait, Lightfire silently approached the edge of the bed, the old wood creaking in protest.

Fluttershy heard the Temnokt walking close to her, but she didn't mind. She still couldn't get that image out of her head, the lifeless corpses of two poor deer on Catseye's back, and the way he had held them out for them to see; pridefully, he had been proud of committing the atrocious deed. She could imagine it, as much as she tried not to think about it; the fawn's terror as it was chased around the boreal forests by the black dragon, its pain as it felt Catseye's claws dig into its flesh mercilessly and the agony of having it's neck twisted around, ending its life.

"Miss Fluttershy? Are you alright?" Lightfire inquired.

"How can they do it?" Fluttershy sobbed, wiping her mucus and tears off her face. "How can they kill those poor little animals? It's barbaric!"

"Excuse me, but... Don't you have meat in Equestria? Fukkute had mentioned you have tons of animals there."

"W-We do... But..." Fluttershy sniffed. "We don't eat them, it's cruel..."

Cruel... Now Lightfire knew why, in the years a certain number of population emigrated to Equestria they returned to Krussia within days, or even hours. They said ponies had 'no taste for juicy, red meat,' and their diet consisted of nothing more than apple, hay and salad-derived meals. Their teeth gave their herbivorous diet away, anyway. Pony teeth were flat, meant to simply chew their plant-derived food in order to make it easier to swallow and digest; Temnokt teeth were sharp and pointy, meant to chunk off pieces of their prey, which they sometimes swallowed without chewing.

That's why ponies didn't eat meat. Not only because they loved animals and often saw them as family members. But because their bodies and teeth were not made to consume red meat, just like a black dragon wouldn't be able to gain enough nutrients from an apple in order to survive; heck, they wouldn't even be able to chew on the apple at all.

"Sorry if my brother made you feel... Uncomfortable." Lightfire shuddered. "It was not his intention. But since we're not used in having ponies as guests, we did not know meat was not acceptable in your country. But unfortunately we can't feed on hay and apples to live off, just like you can't even look at meat. I hope it doesn't ruin your stay..." Lightfire looked down. "It has been so long since we last had any guests, so we want to make you feel as comfortable as you can, but I suppose our dietetic habits just ruined everything."

Fluttershy gently turned her neck around so that she was looking up to the young drady with glossy aqua green eyes. Her lips trembled as she tried to give her a smile, but her mouth had other ideas, and she could do no more than offer the drady an almost unseen grin that nearly escaped Lightfire's sight. Lightfire decided to try a different approach, and to leave the subject of their eating habits. "So, Fluttershy. Could you tell me a bit about your animals?"

---

"Could you tell me more about your animals?"

"Twilight!" Discord whined. "Seriously, stop pestering Catseye like that!"

"Catseye, why are those foals all deformed?" Tinder innocently asked when Night, Lavender and Astral curiously crawled towards her to sniff her.

Catseye nearly spat the tea in his mouth. "TINDER!!" He shouted at his little sister before turning to Twilight and Discord. "I'm sorry! She didn't mean it! She's just confused from all that chocolate she ate this morning!" The older drake levitated the youngling away from the triplets.

Twilight was taking notes nonstop, and though she had asked if there were any books about Krussian customs in order to prevent another incident like the one with Bagaesh when they first set hoof in their home, there were actually none. In fact, Lake Wave was pretty serious about the book thing, not even letting Vasi bring the unicorn a book from the shelves upstairs. When the blizzard subsided Applejack and the girls opted to go out and take a peek around Kruscow, something which Bagaesh had been waiting for with terrifying eagerness. He even dragged Lake Wave and Velvet along, despite their protests. Fukkuteru and Vasi managed to sneak out from his grandfather's 'tourism party', but five minutes later Bagaesh returned and forcefully levitated his grandchildren out. Only Catseye and Tinder remained home. Cadence and Shining Armor decided to go upstairs after a rotten stench started to emanate from Blade's diaper.

As for Screwball and Stormfly... The young mare had taken the Changeling out for a walk, which had spiked Discord's fatherly overprotection, but Twilight Sparkle prevented him from following them.

But she had said nothing about sending Spike to follow the pair.

"Don't worry, I know it must be..." Twilight struggled to find a word. "... Awkward to see our foals' looks are not precisely... To the standards."

"In other words, Catsy, thanks to my... Varied genetic code, the triplets are mixed blends of their mother and I." Discord summarized what Twilight was saying, earning a reproachful stare from her. "But they're still my children! Our children! We love them more than anything else, and we would love them even if they were more mixed-up than they already are!"

"Drake, you parents chose well." Catseye simply said, directing his words at Twilight Sparkle while he took another sip from his tea.

Twilight blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your mother and father. They chose a good husband for you, but I simply cannot imagine how they managed to see past that..." The drake tried to sound as less offensive as possible. "... Appearance."

Discord would have yelled if Twilight had not answered quickly. "No, no, no. My parents didn't choose Discord for me, I chose him."

It was Catseye's turn to remain silent for a while, his cup of tea floating in mid air. "You... Chose him?"

Discord crossed his arms. "Any problem with me?"

"No! It's just that... Ponies choose their own mates in Equestria? I suppose you brother chose his own wife as well, right?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded.

"Drake, you guys are lucky." Catseye sighed. "I can't say the same for us."

"Wait a second. You... Don't choose your mates here?" Discord inquired when he noticed the drake's downtrodden expression.

Catseye shook his head. "Our parents choose our mates for us, whether we like them or not. Father is already looking for a mate for me, actually."

"And Lightfire and the rest of us can't marry until Catseye has because the eldest child always has preference over the younger ones." Tinder innocently added, freeing herself from her brother's magical grasp.

Twilight and Discord were completely silent. Catseye did not seem eager to mate yet, it seemed, and with some Temnokt he didn't even know wasn't helping. But before Twilight could say something else, there was a knock at the door. A subtle knock. Catseye rolled his eyes at being interrupted, but he had to open the door or his parents would surely give him a lecture about hospitality. He just didn't want that. Reluctantly, Catseye lay his cup down on the table, stood up from the red couch and walked towards the door.

As the door opened with a creak, Catseye was met by a pony in a winter coat.

"I beg your pardon." The voice of an elderly stallion echoed through the wind. "Is this where the Equestrian Delegates are staying?"

Confused, the drake simply said. "Who is searching for them, if I may ask?"

"My apologies! I'm ambassador Meteoric Sun, and Princess Celestia has asked me to meet the delegation to discuss a possible audience with King Bittercold."

"Okay, pal. You don't need to give me a lecture. Come in, two..." Catseye thought for a moment... Or five members are currently in the living room, but I'm afraid most of them have gone out." He stepped aside to let the pony walk in, and closed the door.

"If you need me, I shall be in the courtyard doing... Something."

As Catseye walked away to have a little fresh air, Meteoric removed his winter coat, revealing a shimmering golden coat, with a jet black long mane and tail. His eyes were of a soft green that could be compared to the soft spring grass back in Equestria. Meteoric Sun walked to the living room, where Twilight and Discord still sat, trying to control their children's curiosity. Letting out a small cough to call their attention, he stepped into the living room.

"Good evening, Miss Sparkle, and Mister Discord."

Twilight instantly panicked. "Oh my gosh!" Twilight levitated her children over to Discord to gallop towards the ambassador. "I'm sorry, mister! I completely forgot about you!"

"Twilight-" Discord tried to speak, but his wife didn't stop.

"It's just we've been so busy getting used to Krussian lifestyle that we haven't been thinking about our diplomatic mission!"

"Miss Sparkle!" Meteoric Sun had to raise his voice to call Twilight's attention. "Do not worry, I understand. I was in your same position when I first came here, but it's not that hard to get accustomed to the Krussian customs. However, I'm here to go straight to the point. Getting an audience with Bittercold won't be easy, I've been trying for years but Commander Whiptail always denies my petitions!"

Discord twitched an ear which Night Charge started nibbling on. "Whiptail?"

Tinder giggled. "He's daddy's friend. Sometimes he comes over to dine!"

Meteoric nodded. "He's the leader of the army. He doesn't like ponies in the least, I believe that is the reason that overgrown lizard won't let me see the King, almost like he believes I will do an assassination attempt or something! You will meet him sooner or later, but..." the old stallion shuddered. "I must warn you, the Commander has an.... injury."

Twilight gulped when an air of dread surrounded them. "Injury? What kind of... injury?"

"His left eye. He is blind of his left eye, and most of that side of his face is scarred for life. He got a burn sometime in the past, and he lost his eyesight on the left eye. I don't know the details of how he got it, but I can tell you he doesn't like when anypony or anytemnokt keeps staring at his scarred wound."

"How does it look like?"

"DISCORD!" Twilight wailed.

Meteoric chuckled darkly. "Mr. Discord, I would not take Commander Whiptail so lightly if I were you. One wrong word can make you earn an enemy in him, and believe me when I tell you it's not convenient to be on bad terms with Whiptail."

Twilight gulped at the tone the ambassador was using, but kept her composure. "Speaking of which, Mr. Meteoric, how do we get an audience with King Bittercold? Do we have to speak with Commander Whiptail?"

"I believe that before we speak about the audience, we should first wait for my son. He should be arriving anytime soon, but yes, we must ask Commander Whiptail for an audience with King Bittercold. He is in charge of the Krussian Royal Family's safety, so you have to convince him you're not carrying hidden weapons or he will have you incarcerated. The only alternative..." Meteoric Sun sighed in dismay. "Is that King Bittercold himself requests your presence and invites you to the castle, but that has never happened with ponies of Equestria."

Before Twilight could say anything there was a knock at the door, this time louder than before. Since Catseye was in the courtyard, Tinder took it upon herself to open the door. The trio of Equestrians heard the door creak, and Tinder's voice. "Miss Sparkle! There are two guards outside who want to speak with you!"

"M-me? Did I do something wrong?" Twilight asked nervously as her hooves started to tremble.

"I don't know, but they say they're here to deliver a message!"

"Message?"

Twilight Sparkle picked Astral up and headed towards the doorway. She nearly fainted when she was encountered by two large drakes clad in silver and gold armor. One was burly with thick neck and legs while the other was thin and more elegant-looking. Their helmets almost reminded the Unicorn of the Pegasus guard's helmets but colored in silver with gold trimmings, with the crests apparently matching their hair color as well as she could guess.

The burly drake had grayish vermillon underbelly and hair-crest, while the slim drake had brilliant azure underbelly with a similar colored hair-crest. Two jaw-lenght bangs hung from beneath his helmet, probably part of his actual hair. The vermilion Temnokt had small spines on top of his eyebrows, but his partner lacked them. The blue Temnokt's Age Marks were shaped like water currents, while the vermilion Temnokt's looked like fire. The one thing they had in common, they were staring curiously at Twilight and Astral.

"So this is how an actual female pony looks like, huh?" the burly drake sniffed at the lavender mare.

"Is that how a pony hatchling looks like?! I thought they would be more..." the slim soldier took a look at Astral for a good while. "... Errr... pony-like."

"Oh, no! It's just that Miss Sparkle's husband is a mutant dragon!" Tinder innocently explained, making Twilight shudder internally. "But don't worry, her hatchlings don't bite! Well, actually one her hatchlings likes to nibble on things he finds!"

"Sorry, Miss Sparkle, we have not introduced ourselves." The blue drake stated softly. "My name is Glacial Fire," he pointed at his partner with a wing. "And this is Rock Dust."

Rock Dust turned to see at his friend in annoyance. "That does not sound like an appropriate introduction for her, don't you think?"

Glacial frowned at his partner. "And what do you want me to do? Bring highlights?"

"No, but at least we could have done something much fancier just than simply say our names!"

Twilight coughed. "Excuse me, gentlecol- gentledrakes, but I believe you had a message for me?"

"Oh, that's right!" Rock Dust shifted and arched his neck rightwards to look into a satchel hanging on his right side, but as he looked into the bag, he started to panic.

"You lost it, didn't you?" Glacial Fire sighed in exasperation.

"No, I didn't!" Rock Dust's voice sounded more nervous every second that passed. "It's right over here!"

"I can't believe it! I told you to be careful with it, but nooo, you never listen to me!"

"If you don't stop rushing me, I'll make you listen your own wheezes as I strangle you!"

"HEY!" Twilight lost her patience and yelled at the two drakes, startling Tinder and Astral. The hatchling rushed back inside while Astral started wailing in fright. "Gentledrakes, if it doesn't matter if you don't have the actual letter, just pass on the message!"

Glacial Fire gulped as Rock Dust kept searching in the satchel. "Well, Miss Sparkle, we would like to but... We were not told what the message is about, we were only ordered to deliver it to you. In fact, if we go back to Commander Whiptail without your reply, he'll have our heads."

"Here it is!" Rock Dust's relieved voice cut the conversation, and he rather abruptly passed the scroll - a Dragon-sized scroll- to the unicorn. "Well, our job here is almost done, miss! We shall wait here for your answer!"

Twilight struggled to carry both the scroll and her daughter, but she managed to blurt out. "One more thing, gentledrakes... I'm married, so I'd thank you if you could please call me ma'am."

Glacial Fire and Rock Dust grinned. "Sure, miss!"

Twilight sighed in exasperation, but before she could head inside, their words processed through her brain. "Wait a second," the twirled her head around. "Aren't you guys coming in?"

The grins faded.

"We would, Miss Sparkle. But we are on an assignment, and we are not supposed to go into homes without permission."

Reluctant to leave the soldiers out in the cold, Twilight finally walked back into the home, but left the door half-open in case they changed their minds. When she was out of earshot, Rock Dust commented. "She's nice. And she has a good body too- OW!" Rock Dust yelped when his partner smacked his head with his wing. "What was that for?!" Rock Dust snarled at his partner.

Glacial Fire snapped. "Didn't you just hear?! She has a mate! You should not say those things about Miss Sparkle!"

"Come on, bigamy is not even allowed here, so I doubt-" Another smack. "Would you knock it off?!"

"Don't get any ideas into your head!"

Luckily for the two of them, Twilight was not listening. She gave ambassador Meteoric Sun the scroll she had just received so he could translate it; ever since he came to live in Krussia, he had to learn to read and write Krussian so that he would be able to properly do his diplomatic duties.

"Well, honey, I think I'll take the triplets upstairs." said Discord, holding Night and Lavender in his arms and wrapping his tail around Astral to lift her off his wife's back. "It appears you could use some quiet time." With a snap of his fingers and a flash of white, he was gone.

Meteoric unfolded the scroll and read out loud.

To Miss Twilight Sparkle.

Princess Celestia sent me word of your arrival to discuss a possibility of a treaty between our countries. So you and the rest of the delegates are cordially invited to dine at the tomorrow after the sun has gone down. However, I am aware that you brought your children, and I'd rather have you leave them at your hosts' home so we may calmly discuss. I look forward to our meeting, Miss Sparkle, and I do hope you enjoy your say in our fair country.

Yours truly,
King Bittercold Dreadstalker.

Stunned was not enough to describe Meteoric's reaction.

---

Stormfly hadn't time to shapeshift into his pony form as Screwball dragged him away, and he felt very nervous when the crowd of black dragons stared at him like he was some kind of freak. Well, he'd have to be a freak in Krussian eyes, they had probably never seen a Changeling in their entire lives. Mist Wing, as always, was completely oblivious to the incredulous eyes peering at them. Screwball finally came to a halt in one of the turns leading into another street, making sure her father had not followed her. When she was certain she and Stormfly were alone, she let go of his hoof and startled giggling.

"Uh, Screwball, it's not that I'm being insistent, but..." Stormfly gulped. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Well, Stormie, there's something I've wanted to tell you about..." Screwball said with a broad smile. "Have you ever heard of the butterflies in the belly?"

"Wha-?" Stormfly's cheeks became red, so much that his face gained an almost reddish black color. "W-what do you m-mean?"

"It's funny, really. Mommy Twilight says that those butterflies appear every time when you're with your special somepony."

"Yeah, and what about it?"

"Well, lately I've started feeling those butterflies..."

Stormfly didn't like where this was going. "Really?" he asked. Mist Wing was curiously staring at her father's expression. "Any particular moments?"

Screwball gave the Changeling a... was that a seductive grin? Stormfly backed away into a brick wall, but Screwball walked closer to him, until her face was a few inches from his snout. "... Well, in particular, the butterflies usually come when..."

She leaned in to the Changeling's face.

"Yes?" Stormfly started to tremble.

"When I'm close to-"

Suddenly, the mare was pulled back by a dark purple aura. Before Stormfly could do anything about it, a young drake with mint-colored long hair rushed into the alley they had unknowingly walked in, his horns glowing in a purple aura. "Stay away! He might be sick!" he snapped at Screwball as he gently released her on the ground before examining the Changeling closely. "A pony with holes on the legs must be infected with a mortal plague!"

"Excuse me?!" Stormfly protested before he felt his giggling hatchling being levitated away from his head. "Hey, be careful with Mist Wing!"

Screwball stepped in front of the levitating Changeling protectively."Drop Stormie right now, you meanie!" She demanded.

The drake stared at her like she was mad. "Are you kidding me?! Look at him! That plague might be contagious!"

"I'm not ill!" Stormfly protested, using his own magic to counter the drake's aura and release himself. "I'm supposed to look like this! I'm a Changeling!"

The drake stared at him for a few good seconds before speaking. "What's a Changeling?"

Yup, just as he thought.

"Have you never heard of them?" Screwball asked in a softer voice, her characteristic tone of innocence back.

No reply.

"Insect-like, parasitic ponies that feed on love?" Stormfly urged on.

Nothing.

"They take the form of somepony you love and gain power on feeding on your love for them?"

"I really don't know what those things are, sorry."

Stormfly smacked his forehead with his hoof. He took Mist Wing from his back and handed her to Screwball for what he was going to do. "Look at this." Much to the drake's surprise, Stormfly's horn bubbled with green magic, and he was suddenly surrounded by a sickly green magic aura; it glowed so brightly the drake had to cover up his eyes with his wings. When the glow died down and the drake set his gaze where the Changeling had been standing, he was dumbfounded in astonishment when he saw...himself.

Stormfly had taken the shape of the drake to prove his point. The young Temnokt examined him closely. "What are you?"

"I told you. A Changeling." Stormfly imitated the drake's voice perfectly, further scaring the dragon.

Screwball giggled. How she loved when he did that.

Author's Note:

Okay, I'm not getting many ratings, but don't worry! I'll finish this! Even if it's the last thing I do! BWAHAHAHA!

Comments

[magicspark]

Misunderstandings and feelings are abound, but everything
always turns out alright in the end. Right?
Plus, glad to see it'll be finished regardless of ratings.