When Legends Rise

Some hours later I was sat on the roof of the Palace, listening to music from my phone. For once they others had actually taken the hint and left me to my own devices

Above the music playing through my headphones I heard the sound of hoofs clicking on roof tiles and upon turning towards the source of the sound I was surprised to see Octavia of all ponies walking along the apex of the roof. Upon seeing my quizzical look she smiled wistfully.

“I spent my childhood exploring this palace, I know of hidden corridors and secret doors that even my parents are unaware of” she explained, sitting next to me, I paused the music I was listening to. “Myself, Vinyl and Autumn have been talking…”

“you aren't obligated to come with me” I said “And if I do this by myself then at least you lot won't be dragged into any fuck ups caused by me” Octavia nodded at this.

“True” she said “admittedly even Vinyl was taken aback by certain comments you made”

“I still plan on splattering the Keiserin’s brains” I said, causing Octavia to scoff and roll her eyes.

“Don't be so dramatic” she said “but anyway, we talked, and we've decided that we will probably be coming with you. For what it's worth Tarn probably would have gone with you either way”

“There's something about her” I said “She seemed a little clingy, it's a touch unnerving”

“Well…” Octavia said hesitantly “The way Vinyl explained it to me, you were the one who got the drop on that griffin…brute. Tarn most likely won't admit it, but I personally think that she's taken something of a liking to you”

“Great…” I muttered “I value my personal space…not sure how I feel about having someone clinging to me”

“But you won't drive her a way, will you?” she asked, I shook my head.

“No, god knows she's been through enough” I said “if she's simply trying to be friendly then I'm not going to push her away, besides, it's not like I've ever had much in the way of personal freedom here anyway” I could practically feel Fantasia laughing in the back of my mind, but decided against a mental retort “so...have we got a decent amount of bits for the journey, or are we going to end up slumming it most of the way? Boat notwithstanding” Octavia absentmindedly pawed at the roof tiles with a hoof.

“I wouldn’t say we’ll be swimming in bits” she said “but we’ll have enough to get by, my parents have made sure of that” we descended into a comfortable silence as we both looked out onto the sprawling scenery, a typical city not unlike something from 1700s England, with fields and hills just beginning to poke out on the horizon.

“So…” I began, somewhat awkwardly “a princess, huh? How’s that gonna work out now that you’re…?” I trailed off, waving a hand between myself and her.

“A wrakjon?” she asked. “Well, the assumption is that I shall take the throne as intended once they step down or die, I’ll just be taking a more active role in the defense of this nation against those more...unusual threats, Tirek being one example. But, should I still be occupied with our little quest when they die then a steward shall keep the kingdom running until word can reach me...” she trailed of, before humming in thought and smiling “No matter what Fantasia might say, my service to my country will always come first….” I was somewhat startled as I began to hear disembodied music, the sound of a lone guitar being plucked, with Octavia herself joining in by singing words which rung no small amount of familiarity in my shattered memories:

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love...

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her kin;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters, she calls and calls to me.
Her love that asks no question, her love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best…

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service...the service of my love....

...And just like that, the music faded away into nothingness and I was left astonished on two levels, on the one hand I hadn’t realised that Octavia could sing as well as play the cello, though I had yet to see her do the latter either. On the other apparently musical numbers were a thing on this planet.

“Uh...what was that?” I asked, she regarded me with confusion

“Uh...Trottinghamshire’s national anthem-” I cut in.

“No-no, I’m talking about the music” I said quickly “don’t take this the wrong way, it was beautiful...it’s just that people don’t just randomly break into song with full musical accompaniment where I come from…” her eyes lit up in understanding.

“Oh! That is something known as arcane melodic harmony” she explained “You’d be better off asking Twilight for specifics, it’s really as simple as sometimes if the mood is right, a pony or a group of ponies will begin to sing and music will magically accompany them. It’s just one of those things that happens” almost immediately I felt a mischievous smirk come to my face as I thought of all the ways I could use that to my advantage for less than innocent means. Octavia noticed my change in expression and deadpanned. “No...just no!” I let out a chuckle.

“Oh come on, it’d be funny!” I said “besides, I’ve got some real crackers in my music collection, people keep telling my tykes are rude but I bet they don’t come close to some of the downright auditory smut I’ve got” Octavia rolled here eyes as she stood up.

“I’m sure you have, you uncouth lump” she said, before holding out a hoof, which I accepted after picking up my phone, and found myself slightly surprised at her strength as she heaved me up “now come on, I think you’ve sulked up here for long enough, and there’s a kobald girl who’s pining after you” she then quickly stepped behind me and gave me a shove to start walking.

“Playing matchmaker, are we?” I asked sarcastically.

“No” she retorted as she walked alongside me “But you aren’t just going to dump her on us then bugger off in a sulk because of politics, you’re going to be a good gentle-stallion and look after her” I rolled my eyes.

“Alright, Mom” I muttered sarcastically.

“You’re beginning to make me feel like one after what you and Vinyl pulled last night” she replied, no small amount of annoyance creeping into her words “and I get the feeling this won’t be the last time, either…”I thought it wiser to not respond to that, lest I aggravate her further. As we made our way back through the rather expansive palace it became clear that Octavia had a set destination in mind, eventually we reached a door located in the depths of the palace. Octavia opened the door slightly and poked her head inside, before retracting it and gesturing for me to follow her as she opened the door and stepped inside. closing the door behind me I was confronted with the sight of Tarn, still naked, stood on a podium and facing me with her arms outstretched as a unicorn mare attended to her with a tape-measure. She must have seen me quickly avert my gaze as I heard her snort in amusement.

“Oh please” she said, I could practically hear her eyes rolling “I’m not so modest about my appearance as you seem to be, and truth be told I’m quite used to being eyed up by those less well meaning than yourself” a good nights sleep and a decent wash had done her wonders to her demeanor, her voice was much lighter and cheerful, her quasi-welsh accent lending an airy, almost singsong quality to her words

“Old habits can be quite hard to break” I said, spying a bench along one wall and taking a seat next to Octavia.

“Be that as it may, as I’m coming with you on what I’ve been told is quite the journey then I would suggest you get used to me being unclothed, as whilst clothing does have its uses in cold and rain, there are times when it’s quite frankly irritating” Tarn said, before adding with a small amount of irritation creeping into her light voice “I would also prefer it if you at least look at me when I’m talking to you” hesitantly I cast my gaze towards her, and saw her looking straight at me with a raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry” I muttered.

“I shan't blame you for the way you were brought up, if what I have been told about you is true” she said, before her concern flashed across her face “Is it? You can’t really be the only one of your kind in these lands”

“As far as I know” I said “The Human race; population: me” she made a sort of mewling growl in what I could only assume was a tone of sympathy.

“Iesu Mawr!” she cursed in what I could only assume passed for Welsh around here “damned gods, not a scrap of sympathy in them” this elicited as sharp inhale of breath from Octavia, whilst the seamstress hesitated for a moment, this caused her to roll her eyes “Bah! If the gods were at all sympathetic I wouldn’t have gone through 7 years of being raped nearly every day, I freely curse them” her eyes shone with defiance.

“Uhh...Not that I don’t disagree with the sentiment” I said “But I’d mind what you say, especially when one in particular is keeping a very close watch. Hell, I never did anything to directly anger her, and I still ended up being soul bound for my trouble” a low growl rose in her throat.

“And you’re stuck doing her will, aye?” she asked.

“Him and the rest of us” Octavia spoke up “Tell me, are you familiar with the wrakjon legends of old?”

“Rhyfelwyr-elfen?” she asked, the worlds rolling off her tongue like silk. Octavia thought for a moment, before she replied in the same language.

“Rwy'n ... ie, by-ddai hynny'n gywir” her own words were much more hesitent.

“I’m sorry...but what are you two saying?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing in particular” Tarn said noncholantly “you speak this tongue naturally enough, tell me, does your kind know of llleferydd-mynydd?”

“If it’s the language I’m thinking of, then yes” I said “but we call it welsh, and it’s something of a minority language” Tarns eyes lit up in delight.

“Ah! Do you by any chance know some, then?” she asked.

“Me? Nah, not a lick of it, I wish I did, though. But I do know of some music in welsh” I said, this made Tarn’s brows crease in confusion.

“Wha...how can you not know the language, but know of some songs?” she asked.

“Later” Octavia cut in “Trust me, it’s easier to show than to explain” I then let a small chuckle escape my lips as a distant memory came into my mind.

“What?” Tarn asked.

“I tell a lie!” I said “there is one thing I know in your language” this made her ears prick up.

“Well go on then!” she said eagerly.

“It’s not so simple, you’ll have to give me a moment” I said, before mouthing it out a few times, once I was happy I nodded in satisfaction “OK, I think I’ve got it. Now, I want you to keep in mind that this is all one word, and it’s some sleepy little town on a island”

“Ok?” Tarn said, I mentally prepared myself.

“Hoo, boy, here goes” I said “llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch” Octavia’s eyes glossed over, whilst Tarn immediately looked confused.

“....what?” she asked, blinking owlishly.

“I swear, genuine town name” I said.

“Llanfair...pool of the white hazel...over against the rapid whirlpool...Llantysilio...of the red cave?” she asked, seeming slightly distressed, before her expresion shifted into annoyance “Is you species mad!? Are all of your town names made of geiriau cyfansawdd or something?” Octavia cut in before I could retort.

“Oh yes, his species is totally mad, did you not get that impression last night?” she asked.

“You’re lucky you’re royalty” I muttered, for about 10 minutes more we talked about this and that, and I gradually began to learn more about our new companion. She’d originally come from the minotaur homelands and had grown up in a community of her own kind before setting out to sea, going from tavern to tavern singing and playing as she travelled from country to country, she’d even picked up more than a few languages as she went, alas one night whilst traveling on the road she’d been ambushed by some bandits, cut to 7 years later and here we were. Eventually the seamstress finished taking measurements and we retired to a lounge room where Vinyl and Autumn were already present, not even 5 minutes later we were all gathered by the fireplace talking about this and that, though the conversation often drifted back to Tarn’s own exploits.

“So wait” Autumn said “How many languages do you know, again?” Tarn thought for a moment, before simply shrugging.

“Try me”

“Uh...Caracolean?” the burnt-orange pegasus asked. Tarn rolled her eyes.

“Oh s'il te plaît, c'était l'une des premières langues que j'ai apprises!” the kobald said, smirking, not a hint of her accent in her words.

“Kvennish” Autumn fired back.

“Åtminstone ge mig en utmaning”

“Okotan”

“Nanbu no arechi o tabi shinagara, watashi no himana jikan ni sore o manandaI” at this Autumn let out a low whistle.

“You’re good” the pegasus said, suddenly Vinyl piped up with a whistle, before blue lettering lit up above her head.

“How ‘bout my mother tongue, Zemlyastali?”

“kak budto ty dolzhen byl sprosit', tovarishch”

“I like her” came Vinyl’s response, before it was suddenly wiped clean and replaced by giant letters which proudly proclaimed “I CALL DIBS ON FIRST BANG!”

“Vinyl!” Octavia practically shrieked, whilst the mute unicorn dissolved into silent, hunched over cackling. Octavia sighed in frustration and rubbed the bridge of her snout with a hoof, before her hoof stopped, hovering inches from the bridge of her snout, then slowly she turned to Tarn and uttered a single word “Changeling”, without missing a beat Tarn replied as requested, though what followed was a string of sounds which at face value was not all that unlike Xhosa, but from a totally unrecognisable language group and with much more clicking, in truth I was left mesmerised, and I may have spaced out for a moment before Octavia’s hoof being waved in front of my face caused my eyes to focus on a sheepish looking Tarn.

“I think you broke him” I heard Octavia say.

“I’ve never heard a language like that” I said, shaking my head to clear my thoughts, before adding sheepishly “It’s actually kinda beautiful”

“Looks like we’ve found his heel command” Autumn snarked “just bark random words at him in changeling”

“Shush you” I said, before turning back to Tarn “Um...can you say something else in changeling?” this caused the others to burst out laughing. For the rest of the day we continued to talk about this and that, even eating lunch and dinner in the room, at some point I got my laptop, feeling it high time to show them something from modern times back on my world, and what better way to start than with that timeless and perfect casepoint of the truest of human nature…

Top Gear.

I’ll state right now that by this point we’d already consumed some alcohol, and possibly partaken in certain smokable plants which may or may not have been of dubious legality back home (but hey, when in Rome…), which made for hilarity as the five of us contributed to the program with a running commentary often at the expense of each other, we also very quickly came to the conclusion that, like the famous trio, now known across dimensions, we could safely say that we to were equally ambitious but rubbish, magical elemental powers or, in Tarn’s case, not. And as the evening drew on I felt, for what seemed like the first time, like I was actually connecting with a group of individuals, and it felt refreshing.

But, as all good things do, the night eventually began to draw to a close, and I took my leave for the night. What I hadn’t been expecting as I got ready to bed down for the night and blow the bedside candle out was to hear a single knock, followed by the door opening and for Tarn to slip in side before closing the door and walking over to the bed.

“Tarn? What’s wrong?” I asked, she seemed to hesitate for a moment,clicking the claws on her index fingers together awkwardly, before answering.

“I was wondering...can I stop with you?” she asked, I’ll admit that the question threw me for a moment.

“Uh...are you sure?” I asked “Wouldn’t you rather stop with Octavia, Vinyl, or Autumn? I mean I doubt you’d want to be spending the night with someone of my gender after what you’ve been through for seven years” she rolled her eyes at this

“You were the one who jumped that griffin” she said, resolutely “you were the one who got me out of that situation, and if there’s one thing I don’t need after all this time, it’s isolation” I mulled it over, feeling a touch uncomfortable about the situation, before sighing in resignation.

“Alright” I said, gesturing for her to climb in then turning over, before adding “but I warn you, I don’t do cuddling”

“Well that’s too bad” I heard her say as she shuffled close, eventually snuggling into my back and settling down, before adding in a much more sleepy tone “‘cause I do” I mentally sighed, rubbing my eyes half in resigned frustration and half in tiredness, before blowing out the candle and settling down to sleep. One thing was for sure, my time on this world just got a whole lot more interesting.