Bagpiperix in the Crystal Empire
The streets were bustling with activity as ponies trotted this way and that, heading to stores to run a few errands, some on their way to work, while others were simply out and about to enjoy the weather. Despite the newspaper’s assurances that this was a warm week, the air was still brisk and slightly chilly, though that was to be expected when the crystal empire lay so far north in Equestria. Most ponies glittered in the sun’s light as they went about their business, though a couple were conspicuous in their lack of luster.
Octavia shielded her eyes from the bright light as she and Vinyl walked down the streets, tugging a cart behind them full of various electronic musical equipment, as well as a large cello. “Goodness, I forgot just how bright it can get here,” Octavia commented. Vinyl gave a small smirk, adjusting her shades on her muzzle.
“I told ya’ I’d bring an extra pair for you, but you said they looked gaudy,” She quipped as she trotted alongside her friend. Octavia simply rolled her eyes as they turned down the street towards the small home they were renting for the time being.
“Just because they serve a function doesn’t mean they still look good. Plenty of other glasses would have worked just as well. Besides, considering how pink everything is already, I’m surprised you can still see through the tint.”
Indeed, everything was cast in a light pink glow, and at the comment Vinyl’s head tracked upwards towards the large magical dome encircling the city. “Yeah, what’s with the shield, again? Was it about that dragon attacks at Canterlot?”
"Yes, I suppose it must be," Octavia said, a little uncertainly. "I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure of all the details myself, I was as out of town as you were, but from the news-"
"Of course we were, we were on the same train ride," Vinyl interrupted.
"Yes, that," Octavia sighed slightly. "As I was saying, the news has just mentioned a dragon attack and quarantine. Something about how the dragon is highly dangerous, but nothing about how Canterlot is doing."
"Yeah, but you just know Twilight Sparkle and her girls have got it sorted," Vinyl laughed. "Ponyville ponies are just that tough, right?"
"I wouldn't put it quite that way," Octavia said. "But yes, I assume that it'll be sorted out in a day or two."
She smiled a little sadly. "I only wish I'd brought more music to practice with. The Crystal Empire style's quite different, after all..."
"Not a problem for me," Vinyl replied. "I brought most of my records!"
"Just don't play them too loudly," Octavia requested. "Or if you do, let me know when before you start..."
“I thought that was the whole point of getting a house instead of a hotel!” Vinyl complained, receiving a small sigh from Octavia.
“Exactly, and we both know just how loudly you like to play,” She responded. Vinyl flashed her teeth, too proud of that fact to bother denying it.
They continued through the streets, and were soon stepping up to the house in question. Vinyl’s horn glowed softly as she levitated the keys up to open the door, and they quickly got to unloading. As they were in the process of doing so, however, Octavia let out a whine.
“Oh no, don’t tell me I lost the music book I brought too!” She said, frantically digging through the assorted equipment as Vinyl stepped back outside. She opened a case of records in a vain hope her book had found its way inside. “I know I remember loading on the cart… it must have fallen off on our way here.” She hopped out of the cart, leaving Vinyl attempting to lug a subwoofer inside by herself. “Sorry, Vinyl, I’ll be back soon!” She called over her shoulder as she hurried down the smooth streets.
Vinyl smirked, already setting up her record deck. "That mare is way too highly strung... heh, I made a funny."
Octavia trotted briskly down the shining streets – which, she realized, sort of were Shining streets, since Shining Armor was the Prince Consort or the Emperor-by-marriage or whatever the term was.
Shaking her head – both at the woolgathering and at realizing she'd probably fail a Crystal Empire Civics class – she retraced her steps along the route back to the station.
There didn't seem to be any sign of her dropped book, and Octavia wondered if that meant it had been lost for good. Deciding to keep looking – just in case – she tried taking a different route back to their lodgings, though she was sure of the route they'd taken the first time.
Her new route took her right up against the walls of the dome for a stretch, and she stared for a moment at a large book of music – pages open, but seemingly undamaged – lying up against the wall.
"Did the wind blow this here?" she asked, picking it up. "This doesn't seem quite the right size to be mine, but..."
Octavia looked down at the music in the book. The piece was certainly not one that she recognized despite her bringing along one of the first professional collections she’d ever owned. Not to mention the music looked far too simple and… for lack of a better term bouncy to be something like Moozart or Beethoofen. She closed the book and turned it over in her hooves, only for her expression to become even more bemused at the sight of the cover.
Several plaid, piped objects, not terribly dissimilar to bagpipes, sat on a staff as if they were notes... though the number on the page was too few to form any proper rhythm or song. It looked to simply convey the fact it was a music book, as if someone couldn’t tell from the text running above the image. “Practice for Perfection: Bagpiapers. Basic to advanced techniques.”
Octavia’s raised an eyebrow. She wondered who this book belonged to, she’d never heard of bagpipes being used beyond a few cities, and certainly no musicians famous enough to be travelling and giving performances with them this far away. Not to mention the horrible misprinting of ‘bagpipers’ on the cover. Still, she paused, accidents did happen, and flipping through the book did give her the impression that the book appeared to contain all the helpful techniques for a beginner to learn. She looked around, still wondering if she could spot the pony this belonged to, but it looked as if nopony but her had been in the area all day.
She balanced the book carefully on her back as she began to retrace her steps back home. If anything, keeping the book at her house would be safer for it than out in the open if the weather ever turned foul. Perhaps she could bring it to an instrument shop later as well to find its proper owner.
Dinner was a relatively simple affair, with Octavia discovering Vinyl had crashed out on the sofa – but everything had been unpacked first, so Octavia smiled and made a meal for the two of them. It wasn't exactly fine cuisine, but it was something they both liked, and she put Vinyl's plate under a cover and put a note on her nose to inform her of it.
That done, Octavia disappeared into her room to see if she could tell anything more from the book. The end section even seemed to include a how-to-make guide for a bagpipe – though the misprinting did seem to be consistent through the entire book, oddly – but Octavia skipped that, deciding to just see how the music sounded if she actually played it on an instrument.
Checking that the door was shut, and glad of the soundproofing, Octavia began to play. It was every bit as bouncy as she'd first thought, and it did bring a bit of a smile to her muzzle – but while it was jaunty and a pleasure to play, it just didn't sound right.
Turning a few pages, Octavia tried that one instead. It was much the same, almost like a variation, but that wasn't a problem – and she could see a few somewhat more advanced techniques at play.
But, again, it didn't feel like a fit for the cello. Which was just... odd.
Octavia flipped once more through the book, moving towards the back. Perhaps the songs just sounded off because of their simplicity. They had fairly long breaks between phrases to allow a beginner to catch their breath and prepare for the next phrase, but Octavia’s expertise, combined with the simple fact she wasn’t playing a wind instrument, made the songs seem almost stilted and awkward despite their bouncy nature. She landed upon a rather difficult looking piece, allowing herself a bit of time to look it over before lifting her bow back up again. She took a few breaths before beginning to play, slowly at first to get the feel and the first notes correct before picking up speed.
This song was far more enjoyable to play than the others, even when its complexity caused Octavia to miss a few sharps or get momentarily off beat. Her smile widened as she found herself swaying a little in time to the music as her bow travelled across the strings of her cello. And yet, even as she drew to a close (with a small chuckle as she completely failed to remember the key signature and gave the last note a painfully out-of-tune tone), she still found it lacking. She looked at her cello and gave a soft sigh as her smile faded. As much as she loved her instrument, it was obvious that it was not built to play this kind of music.
Her ear twitched as she heard Vinyl beginning to move around the house, and she figured she could give some time to chat instead. Maybe Vinyl had found her music among the other things, she’d much prefer to play some music that worked on her own instrument.
The next day found Octavia at a music shop, waiting outside for it to open.
"Well, it's this or nothing..." she said to herself.
No sign of the cello music, but overnight she'd found herself just thinking about the notes she'd played for herself. Even through the clearly-imperfect medium of her cello, they'd had a real vigor to them, a bounce, a swing...
...which was why she was waiting outside a music shop, with the book in her bag.
The door clicked open, making her jump slightly, and she walked in as the shopkeeper opened the door.
"What brings you here so early?" he asked, his coat glittering in the light like everypony from the Crystal Empire.
"Well... I found this book," Octavia explained, taking it out and putting it on the counter. "Do you recognize it?"
"Goodness," the stallion said, inspecting it. "No, I don't believe I've seen a book like this... you seem to be from out of town. Is it a common one out there?"
"Not really, no," Octavia replied, feeling a little uncomfortable giving the real explanation – that it had just been lying on the ground. "I was wondering if you'd be able to help me, though – the back of the book explains how to make a set of bagpipes. I was hoping you'd be able to help, because I've tried the music on my own cello and it just doesn't seem to work."
"Well, I can do you a good deal on a book of cello music," the stallion told her, leafing through the book. "What an odd misprint... yes, I think I should be able to make this. It'll be... hm, well, I'll throw in the cello book for free..."
He named a figure, and Octavia paused a moment before nodding. Nice and reasonable – it looked like she'd come to the right place.
Octavia pulled out the appropriate number of bits and handed them over as the owner exchanged them for her book of cello music. “This should be done some time tomorrow, assuming my business stays as calm as it has been, at least,” he joked. Octavia thanked him and turned to head back home, music book tucked safely into her bag. She found herself strangely disappointed at needing to leave the book at the shop, but she quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. While fun, she really should be practicing her own music over some she only just found. Her recital might be a couple weeks away, but she needed to make sure she stayed in peak performance condition. She’d hate to disappoint the ponies planning to attend.
Pushing the door open, she was met with the heavy beat of Vinyl’s music, the unicorn banging her head in time with it as she fiddled with the workings of her keyboard. She looked up as Octavia entered and turned down the music slightly to allow her to shout over it. “You find the owner of that book, then?”
“Uh… no, but I did get some more cello music. It should have some of the songs from my old one,” She said, trying to divert the conversation away from the bagpipe music. Vinyl would never let her hear the end of it if she discovered she was actually going to try to learn such a silly instrument. Vinyl gave a wide grin and returned to her work, allowing Octavia to continue back to her practice room.
While not completely gone, the sound of Vinyl’s bass was at least dampened enough to allow Octavia to practice in relative peace as she set her new book down on her music stand.
After perhaps half an hour, Octavia felt ready to sigh.
There were definitely some of her old favourites in here. And there were some of the new pieces she was trying to learn, as well, and even a couple she'd never heard of but was eager to learn... but.
But.
That was the big word here, the big but.
She didn't find any of it interesting any more.
Oh, they were still sort of enjoyable, sort of good, but they didn't have the same attraction – and without that, it was hard to keep herself going. She kept going from one piece to another, hunting that spark she remembered – but to no avail.
What she really wanted was something full of life. Something bouncy, something which got her going and filled her with energy, and this cello music wasn't it.
She couldn't wait to get her bagpiaper made so she could-
Octavia blinked, realizing why she was feeling so down. She wasn't playing the new music! That had to be it!
Sighing out loud this time, she tried to remember some of the bits she'd been doing before. She got it right a few times, but every time she was starting to feel it she hit a wrong note, or misremembered something, and the cello's discordance made her lose it all again.
Octavia furrowed her brow, her frustration becoming visible as she tried to get back into the groove of the music. It didn’t seem to matter how simple the tune she was trying to play was, however, she would always slip at some point, leaving her annoyed and disappointed she wasn’t able to properly play. She finally gave another sigh of frustration, putting her cello back in its case as she rested the bow beside it. Clearly what she was doing wasn’t working, and trying to keep it up wasn’t going to end well. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back as she tried to remember the songs again.
A small smile crossed her face as her hoof tapped to the beat, her head filling with the simple, fun tunes she had played yesterday. She hummed them softly, imagining herself trying to squeeze the song out of a large set of bagpipes. The absurd image only made her chuckle as she continued to hum, only to jump a moment later as she heard the door behind her open.
“Hey, you finished practicing already? Usually I gotta drag you out!” Vinyl joked as she stepped into the room. Octavia found herself blushing a little, looking down at the cello she had barely played today.
“I… uh… s-suppose I am.”
"Well, hay, it's your choice," Vinyl said. "Just remember that next time it's my choice to do something!"
"I'll do no such thing," Octavia replied. "More to the point, you'll take no such liberties!"
"Can't blame me for trying," Vinyl chuckled, so quickly she had to have had it ready before Octavia even finished speaking. "Well, whatever, it's lunch now. You want to cook, you want me to cook, or should we go out for a meal or something?"
"Let's go out," Octavia decided. "I don't know what kind of food places they have around here, and it'd be good to have a look. In fact, we could make it a cultural thing – get to know the area in general, see if there are any museums open..."
"Ugh, museums... you're trying to make me cultured again, aren't you?" Vinyl demanded.
"It'll work eventually," Octavia riposted. "Maybe we'll find a museum of sunglasses and rock or something..."
"Not likely," Vinyl snorted. "Not here... but sure, let's see what there is."
Octavia smiled, glad Vinyl had decided to go along with her idea.
It would also while away the time before she could get the book back, of course.
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. The pair found lunch at a relatively upscale looking restaurant, despite Vinyl’s protesting, and spent the afternoon wandering through town, with Octavia suggesting they visit the Crystal Empire Historical Society, while Vinyl insisted that the local club, Crystal Clear, was a much cooler, more interesting, and frankly, not-dumb choice. All through the day, however, Octavia couldn’t help but find her mind constantly drifting back to the book and its catchy tunes. How fun they were to play, and how much better they would sound when she finally managed to get her hooves on some bagpipes. She just hoped the soundproofing in the house was as good as advertised…
The bell above the music shop’s door jingled softly as Octavia stepped inside the next morning, her heart beating a bit faster than normal in anticipation. There was a call from the back of the shop, “Be there in a minute!”, prompting Octavia to wander over to a collection of records to busy herself. Maybe she could pick up a gift for Vinyl here anyway.
Octavia had picked out two records by the time the shopkeeper pony came along. One of them was a fairly nice-sounding mellow piece of classical music, and the other was exactly the kind of pulsing beats that Vinyl favoured.
Plotting absently to swap the two records in their sleeves before giving them to her friend – just as a prank, of course – Octavia looked up as the shopstallion brought out the music book – and her new instrument.
She had to do a double-take at the odd sight, now she was seeing it in reality.
It was a kind of big bag in patterned plaid, with several pipes coming out of it, just as she'd expected. But the size was larger than she'd been picturing, and it also seemed to really draw her eye... as it moved, the plaid patterns made it a little hard to track whether it was moving and in what way.
It emitted a faint aaarp sound as the stallion put it on the counter. "Right, there you are," he said. "Bit of an odd instrument if you ask me, but the customer knows what they want. Anything else while you're here?"
"Ah – yes, these two records," Octavia replied, putting them down for him to process.
As he did, she prodded the new bagpiaper with a hoof. It was unusual, but she couldn't wait to give it a good parp.
The shopkeeper rung her up, and Octavia had to pull her eyes away from the instrument to count out her bits. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was this excited, but she supposed it had been a while since she’d tried out an instrument other than her cello. It was likely just normal giddiness that had gotten to her.
She slipped her new records into her saddlebags along with the music book, only to pause as she looked at the bagpiaper. It was awfully big, she wondered if it would even fit in her bag to begin with. And despite her eagerness to play, the thought of trotting through town with such an odd thing in full view of everypony made her a bit… nervous, to say the least. The vibrant reds and purples certainly didn’t help.
She flipped open the satchel on her bags, carefully lifting the instrument up and setting it inside. The fabric bulged to accommodate the bagpiaper, another wheeze filling the air as the instrument was squeezed snugly. The pipes stuck out at odd angles, but Octavia knew there would have been no way to fit those inside to begin with. Doing her best to secure the satchel, she was left with a rather stuffed saddlebag, the instrument pressing lightly into her side as the pipes rested against her back. Well, it was better than nothing, she supposed. She thanked the owner and turned about, trying to keep a normal pace as she trotted home, her anticipation growing by the minute.
Fortunately for Octavia, Vinyl barely glanced up when she came in. Octavia was torn for a moment between giving her the records and just getting her purchase to the practice room.
The second option won out, and she released the bagpiaper from her saddlebags with a sigh of relief as soon as the door was closed. Then she put a chair in front of the door, just in case, because the whole combination of circumstances was giving her a kind of excited-embarrassed-ashamed feeling...
She couldn't really explain it, even to herself, so she watched as the bagpiaper wheezed slightly – inflating back to full size – then opened the book to the back to see how she was supposed to play it.
"Okay, huh..." she muttered, squinting slightly. "So I have to sit on it? That's odd, but I suppose there are instruments which require odd postures to play..."
She looked at her own cello, which for an Earth Pony required bipedalism, and chuckled a little before taking her seat with a faint prrp of air whistling through the pipes.
Her face turned a bright red at both the feeling of the bag of air pressed snugly into her, and at the thought of what she would look like if Vinyl were to walk in on her. She looked over her shoulder to make extra sure the door was, in fact, locked.
She looked back to the book, adjusting the height of the music stand to her new lower position, to continue with her lesson. She was surprised to see the instrument didn’t require any traditional blowing like any bagpipe she’d seen before. Not to mention the near complete lack of holes to cover with her hooves to alter the notes. How in Equestria was she supposed to play this? Her hooves wrapped around one of the pipes, trying to find a good place to rest them as she searched for coverings. Her hooves slipped over a few holes, which gave her a bit of a relief. Surely, she should be able to get some kind of sound out… whatever kind of sound that might be.
She flipped the page to see an image of a rather cartoony dragon sitting atop a bagpiaper, quite similar to how Octavia was positioned at the moment. The cartoon diagram showed the dragon lifting himself up ever so slightly, only to sit back down on the instrument as notes could be seen flowing out of one of the pipes. Octavia, more than a little confused, but eager all the same, carefully lifted herself up, and with a soft hiss of air, the bagpiaper could be heard swelling just a bit larger beneath her. She dropped down, her weight forcing the air out as a harmonious paaaarp filled the room.
Octavia’s face went red again as she froze, wondering if Vinyl had heard the sound. Nothing could be heard from beyond the door, however, and Octavia gave the bagpiaper another test, fiddling with the pipe in her hooves. A higher parp could be heard as she landed again, an embarrassed smile finding its way on to Octavia’s muzzle. She leaned forward, the instrument squeaking a little beneath her as she flipped back to the front of the book to look at the tunes to help her learn the basics.
Before very long, Octavia had at least enough down to slowly play a tune, and she got to doing that – lifting herself up and sitting down again in time with the beat she was going for, slow for now, and playing the notes in an ascending scale.
It felt very silly, and she was blushing all the way through, but at the same time it felt... oddly pleasant. Unlike her cello, which was never really comfortable no matter how long she spent practicing, the bagpiaper was soft enough (and fun enough to use) that she could see herself doing it for quite a long time without having any untoward aches or pains.
More importantly, however, the sound produced by the instrument was just... wonderful.
It was like nothing she'd ever heard before – oh, it was certainly the right notes, sounding out more and more quickly and smoothly as she got used to the instrument – but the embarrassing paaaarp sound she'd initially blushed about was one she now realized hid a whole world of richness. There were subtle harmonics, there were minor notes, and it seemed like every piece of music in the book must have been designed specifically to make full use of them.
The cheerful plaid-coloured dragon – some kind of mascot? - was, now she looked, on every page. Usually giving a helpful hint, or doing something silly to add a splash of colour to the songsheet, and it gave Octavia a smile as she started the second beginner's piece of the silly, energetic music.
The tune was one of the songs she had tried before on her cello, and while the general theme and feeling it had attempted to convey could be seen then, it didn’t hold a candle to what Octavia was hearing now. She found her grin widening as she bounced on the bagpiaper, the plaid pattern distending and folding in on itself in reaction to her weight. She giggled, her hooves moving along the pipe a bit to produce the correct notes, never seeming to miss a single one. She might have been surprised at her skill with this new instrument, but she was having far too much fun for a thought like that to bother crossing her mind. She pointed the pipe inwards a bit, letting the paaarp wash over her, blowing her mane about as she excitedly bounced again and again.
It was almost a disappointment as she reached the end of the song, the final note resonating in the air. She wished it could have gone on just a bit longer, it had been so much fun to play! Octavia just shook her head, chastising herself for being so silly. She could always play the song again, silly! But there were so many other pieces to try out first! She turned the page, preparing to play another song when a knock at the door made her jump and fall to the ground.
“You alright in there, Tavi? You’ve been in there almost all day!” Vinyl could be heard from the other side of the door. The knob jiggled, but the chair kept it from opening. “Hey, what gives?”
Octavia jumped up, hurrying over to sit on the chair to make sure Vinyl couldn’t enter. “N-no, I’m fine! Just… getting back into things, I think I was having an off day yesterday! I’ll be out in a minute!” She responded, a bit more panic in her voice than she had wanted.
Vinyl gave the vocal equivalent of a shrug before trotting off, leaving Octavia to slump in her chair and let out a sigh. Her eyes tracked across the floor back to the bagpiaper, and her blush returned. Goodness… had it always been that puffy?
Octavia tried to think back, remembering how big the instrument was when she'd picked it up.
It had definitely been at least a little smaller... but how much smaller? Had it grown just as a natural result of being used as an instrument, now that it was being used for the first time?
It was a little hard to remember when it had gotten bigger and puffier, not least because Octavia's mind had been on the music rather than the size of the instrument, and she shook her head before deciding to just put it in a corner and not worry about it. She slid it across the room, a few little paarps coming from the pipes, then frowned for a moment and put a sheet over the top. It would at least attract less attention than the plaid.
Taking the chair away from the door, she headed out to have... wait, had she really played for so long she'd missed lunch? Dinner, then, and she was suddenly starving.
She needed more energy to bounce up and down on her bagpiaper next session, after all...
Octavia headed out into the kitchen where DJ was pulling a pizza out of the oven with her magic. “Sheesh, I know you can get lost in your music, Tavi, but this is probably a new record for you.” She joked, slicing up the pizza as Octavia sat down at the table. “What were you practicing, anyway? I can’t really hear you outside the room.”
Octavia’s mind raced for an answer, only for it to land on a perfectly reasonable one a moment later. “Oh, I, uh, just picked up some new music at the shop when I went to drop off that book I found.” She responded, trying not to let her nerves get the better of her. It wasn’t really that weird to like playing such a puffy, plaid instrument, was it? Vinyl was just not cultured enough to appreciate it if she were to find out. “Speaking of which, I picked you up a new record, you really ought to give it a listen.” She said with a smile as Vinyl slid a plate in front of her.
Vinyl grinned, looking over her shoulder. “Ooh, so you think you’ve got good taste in dance music now, do you? Maybe we should spend some time at the club, give you a taste of some real stuff.” She smirked, sitting beside Octavia. The earth pony just rolled her eyes as she bit into the food.
“Don’t make me regret getting this for you, Vinyl. Think of it as a vacation gift.” She said.
“I thought those don’t count if you come on the vacation too?” Vinyl retorted, still grinning.
Octavia chuckled as she ate, relaxing after a long day of practice…
Going out. Eating. Sleeping. Talking.
They were all still important, but Octavia couldn't help but find her practicing with her new instrument... more important.
She'd kind of rushed through the rest of the day, and the night, and breakfast, just to go back to playing her bagpiaper.
Intellectually, she knew she was just in the first flush of playing a new instrument, that it would wear off eventually... but she didn't really let that bother her, and the first thing she did after blocking the door was to make sure she was on the right page of the music book.
The second thing she did was to move her bagpiaper back into place and get on, and start playing away – producing sweet paarps which just made her stress all melt away.
It was easy to fall into a rhythm, and once she did she barely missed a note – finding the bagpiaper intuitive and easy and just a joy to use. The energy of the notes flowed through her, making her fizz with energy, and the plaid dragon on the page seemed to be bouncing along with her – but that had to just be her imagination.
Right?
Octavia eagerly flipped to the next page of the book, taking a moment to read through the first few bars of the piece before starting to play. The plaid pattern of her bagpiaper bent and folded under her weight, her bouncing seeming to get just a bit higher as she continued through the song. She grinned widely as she played along, giving the thing a squeeze to elicit a paarp in time with the tune as she played. The piece seemed to be building to something, and while other songs had certainly done this too, none seemed to be building as much as this one did!
Louder and higher the notes climbed, Octavia not even thinking about how loud she was getting as she bounced and played and even hummed along to the tune. Her hooves moved across the pipes, though as her practicing continued, she felt like she needed to use the pipes less and less. She had gotten so used to the proper ways to shift her balance atop the strange instrument that even the notes seemed to be the right ones!
Louder and higher, louder and higher, the song built to a grand climax, Octavia practically jumping into the air before she landed on her rump with a loud paaaarrp!, sinking into the plaid material as she let out a sigh. She flopped back as she rested for a bit, a big dopey grin on her face from her own personal performance. She meant to roll forward and off of the instrument to get a better reach at her music, when all she managed to do was slip sideways, the plaid material seemingly caught around her rump.
Octavia blinked several times, examining the result, and wondered how that had come about. She lifted one hind leg, then the other, and confirmed that there was definitely some kind of firm or semi-firm strap on each leg – hugging them tightly to her flanks, and keeping the instrument tightly in place.
Confused, she flipped to the end, and noticed to her surprise that the design for the Bagpiaper did include those straps – labelled as a way to ensure that the player didn't slip off during a long performance. She could have sworn they weren't there, but they manifestly were in the book and they were equally clearly on her sides.
Doing an experimental bounce, a par-aaarp tune sounded, and a grin spread across her muzzle. She didn't really need to worry about this, did she?
Paaaarp! No she didn't! She could just concentrate on playing, now she didn't need to worry about the little details!
Octavia just hummed to herself as she flipped back to the song she had just finished, giving her bagpiaper another experimental squish. The straps were at least awfully comfy, looking more like the material had folded around her and secured itself to her front. The shape reminded her of… something, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on what. Besides, she still had plenty of practicing to do, so she didn’t mind at all!
Landing once again on her rump, she began to play, and the wave of music washed over her. She wiggled her rear about as she performed, bouncing in place, blushing a little at the feeling of that cushion of air between her legs. Her tail swished back and forth, Octavia hardly even registering that it too was now wrapped up in the puffy plaid material. She was having far too much fun to worry about such nonsense~
That is, until she heard another knock at the door and Vinyl call out. “Tavi, dinner! Don’t make me come in there and get you!”
Octavia’s face went a little pale as she looked down at her bagpiaper. How exactly was she supposed to take this off…?
A few seconds of examination, and nothing came to her attention. She blushed, looking closer, the thought of being found out making her suddenly embarrassed about the whole situation.
Ah, it looked like there were sort of tapes there! So she could take one off... like this!
"Tavi, I'm coming in!" Vinyl called, over the sound of an easy-reuse fastener coming undone, and before Octavia could get the second one off as well her friend came in through the door.
Octavia stared at Vinyl, frozen, and Vinyl's head slowly tilted to one side.
"...that's really odd," Vinyl said, her voice absent the usual playfulness. "What the heck?"
"Uh, that is..." Octavia began. "It's – it's an instrument! I got it recently, thought I'd branch out a bit. It has pipes, see?"
She shifted her weight a little to produce a tune. "Like that!"
Vinyl nodded slowly. "Yeah, that... does seem to be an instrument to me."
The unicorn took a few steps back, out of the door. "Tell you what, you come get dinner when you're ready, and we'll forget about this. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Octavia agreed, blushing, and took the other strap off with a few more paarp notes resounding from the pipes.
Octavia slipped down from the bagpiaper, trying not to think about how she must have looked sitting on such a large ball of puffy plaid. She nudged it a little, about to move it back to the corner, when it let out another paarp, causing her to blush. Vinyl had seen it already, it really wasn’t worth trying to put back now… She instead turned around and shut the door behind her, hoping that Vinyl was willing to forget about this little incident as much as she was.
As embarrassed as she was, though, Octavia couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed too. She had been practicing so much, she was sure she had sounded lovely! If Vinyl had only heard what she had been playing, she surely would have understood…
She shook her head, trying to get the nagging thoughts out. No, no, Vinyl was right, it was an odd instrument, to put it lightly. And there was certainly no way to really explain why Octavia was feeling so elated with it. She sat down as Vinyl passed over her meal, mulling things over. Perhaps all she needed was a little break to go back to her cello. At least Vinyl wouldn’t joke about that. Well, no more than she already did.
Despite her very specific thought about going back to the cello as she sat down to dinner, Octavia wasn't thinking about her cello as she ate. She was instead thinking about the regrettable necessity of giving up her bagpiaper, and how much time practicing with it she could schedule over the next week.
From starting with one session a week, Octavia gradually altered her prospective schedule – after all, just one session a week wasn't enough to stay in practice, so two was better, but then again two in a row would leave a gap of five days without it while two apart would mean she didn't really get in the groove. So she rethought to two days on and two days off... or maybe three days on and two off... but the most important thing, of course, was that her first day really hadn't counted, so she deserved another day tomorrow. Or at least, she deserved an afternoon tomorrow, especially if she spent the morning playing her cello.
She nodded to herself, glad to have managed to reschedule things, and not at all aware of how totally contradictory her new plan was with what she'd been thinking earlier.
It just seemed logical.
The next morning, Octavia pulled her cello out of its case, dusting the bow off after a few days without use. It was a late start, 11:30, but she said she would practice her cello this morning, so that was what she was going to do. She looked around for the classical music book she had purchased, sure that she had left it in here. Her eyes passed over the bagpiaper sitting in the corner, its pipes resting against the wall as it looked partially deflated from yesterday. Octavia’s eyes wandered downward, spotting the book underneath the instrument. How it got there was beyond her, but she simply trotted over to retrieve it. She pressed her hooves into the plaid fabric, feeling them sink into it as it wheezed. She leaned a little further into the fabric, trying to push it aside enough to retrieve the book.
The bagpiaper let out a few more paarps as it puffed, Octavia pressing herself into it. Her face turned a little red as she nudged the book out of the way, freeing it from under the instrument, but finding herself unable to pull herself away. She let out a soft sigh as she leaned into the puffy garment, finding its cushiness irresistible. She gave it a small squeeze and giggled at its paarps, imagining what it would be like if it were even larger. The material sprang back, pushing her away a bit as it regained its shape. Octavia shook her head, her face still a little blushy as she looked back at it. Goodness, but she was excited to get back to playing. But… she really ought to practice more of her cello… She whined as she looked over her shoulder at the other instrument. As much as she had loved to play it in the past it seemed so… boring compared to her new one!
Fidgeting a little, Octavia took her position at the stand – ready to play. She had everything she needed for a nice, long session – including her lunch, which she'd made earlier – and she was going to do cello practice! That was exactly what she'd said she'd do, so she'd do it.
Placing the bow on the strings, she drew it to the left, then the right. Four notes sounded out, one after another, and she put the cello back down – suppressing a shudder at the really very dull-sounding notes – before going back to get strapped onto (into?) the bagpiaper. After all, she hadn't said how much practice she'd do that morning, and that had been quite enough really...
Octavia couldn't really remember doing up the fasteners last time, but she must have done – and she had a bit of careful work to manage it this time, feeling the snug fabric pressing comfortingly against her legs and squeezing her tightly. Each movement was rewarded with a lovely wheeze, and she blushed slightly before continnuing.
Once done, Octavia bounced her way to the middle of the room – sighing in happiness as the instrument produced a wonderful sequence of enjoyable paarps full of life and vigor. Now, what was the next lesson in the book?
For some reason, Octavia's excitement was so great she didn't notice her cello book had slid off the stand – ending up underneath her bagpiaper, repeatedly squeezed and crushed by the snug plaid fabric.
Octavia turned to the next song, grinning as she saw the little cartoon dragon mascot doodled next to it. The dragon looked like it was taking a deep breath as it squeezed its plaid belly, with the words “Sustained Notes” written across the top of the page beside it. Octavia nodded as she read the short instructional blurb. It made sense to learn how to play for quite a long time, all the songs she’d been playing so far had rather short notes in comparison. This kind of song needed her to slow her bouncing down a bit, to sink into the bagpiaper instead of flop into it. Octavia grinned as she settled herself into her instrument, starting to play through the song.
Each bounce and note seemed to fill the bagpiaper up with a bit more air than it had before, Octavia’s legs spreading slowly wider, her cello smothered even further and more air acting as a comfortable pillow between her butt and the floor. She’d need quite a lot of air for this note, so she bounced a bit higher, trying to fill her bagpiaper up as much as she could. She had only a few more bars before the final note, and her bagpiaper was already large enough that it nearly reached the tip of her hooves! She bounced and bounced, before she came to the last note, slowing her bouncing down as much as she could. She wiggled her rear, trying to slowly lower herself and roll back onto her bagpiaper so her weight would push the air out as the plaid folded around her.
The note was probably the longest she'd ever played, sounding on and on and echoing in the practice room – building up a resonance, so her bagpiaper and her ears and her mind all resonated in the same paaaaaaaaaarp which went on and on and on.
It seemed as though there'd never been any other sound, or perhaps as though this sound would never end, a continuous resonant paaaaaarp that would always echo – faintly, but still there – for the rest of her life.
That was such an odd thought, but it sounded so right at the same time, and Octavia bounced up and down a little to add a bit of a resonance to the paaaaaarp before it finally reached the end of the note.
Octavia had sunk most of the way to the floor, and she didn't really wonder how that was at all possible – especially when to be like this there had to be a lot more fabric than she'd seen on it when it started, no matter how much inflation had taken place. But she didn't especially care about that, so she just began bouncing up and down to pump the bagpiaper up again for her next piece – feeling proud as the cartoon dragon sketch congratulated anyone with the skill to make it all the way to the end!
Octavia rolled forward, her cello book's pages fluttering slightly from the shifting weight as she looked to see the next lesson. Dynamics? That certainly didn’t seem like something she reallyreally needed to practice since she’d played music for so long…
But an unexpectedly loud paarp from her bagpiaper as she shifted made her blush and consider she probably should look through it, just to be sure. Octavia’s eyes scanned the page as she read the instructions and watched the small dragon cartoon give mini demonstrations how to properly perform her plaid parpy posterior. She might have wondered why there didn’t seem to be any dynamics below a mezzo forte, but considering how enjoyable she found this music to be, she figured the louder the better anyway. After all, everypony should be able to hear these lovely songs, shouldn’t they?
She bounced in place, squeezing the bagpiaper between her legs as her tail struggled to swish back and forth when it was wrapped up in so much puffiness. Octavia reached behind her, giving her rear a squeeze to elicit an especially loud paaarp!, which made her giggle and blush brightly once again. As she played, she noticed a rather odd marking not too much further down the page.
Pffp?
What kind of a dynamic was that? It looked almost more like a suggestion for what kind of sound should come out of her bagpiaper than the volume of it!
Octavia puzzled over the dynamics examples for a little longer, then decided she probably had a fairly good understanding of what the book wanted her to do. She bounced a few times, a little more strongly each time than the last, then really went for it.
Each instruction meant a specific kind of bagpiaper butt bounce, and oddly enough it became clear quite quickly that the amount of air left by any one bounce didn't actually influence how she needed to bounce for the next one. It was much simpler than her other instrument in that regard, and she soon fell into the habit of just bouncing away according to the dynamic instructions and letting everything else more-or-less take care of itself.
After one particularly silly cartoon involving the mascot dragon bouncing along the bars of music, Octavia began to imagine herself bouncing along like that – alone, or behind him, or ahead of him, doing each instruction as she reached it. It seemed to make most sense when she imagined bouncing behind him, letting him lead the way so all she had to do was bounce where he bounced, play what he played and watch his rump carefully for any tricks of the trade.
Octavia started to become so lost in her daydream she didn’t even notice she wasn’t reading the music anymore. The songs just seemed to come to her as she played and imagined that puffy dragon bouncing along to show her how to become the best at bouncing on her bagpiaper! She squeezed the instrument again, loving the way the plaid pattern folded around every indent and squish. The songs flowed through the air, notes almost seeming to whirl around her, to toss her mane about as she wiggled her rump left and right.
The bagpiaper was starting to approach absurdly big as she played. Her hind legs no longer reached the floor as she bounced, and the bulge was creeping up her belly approaching her lower chest. Octavia didn’t mind in the slightest, though. It just meant she had more of that lovely puffiness to surround her as she played and paarped and bounced in place. Perhaps she should give Vinyl a second chance. When she sees just how much Octavia enjoys playing her puffy instrument, she’d be more than willing to learn with her! And then she could teach her all kinds of bouncy puffy tricks too! How to puff up your bagpiaper just right until it’s creaking as it plays, how that paarp resonates all around, echoing and filling your mind all day with thoughts of plaid cushiness.
And, as chance would have it, Octavia was so lost in her playing, she was giving Vinyl quite the performance already as the unicorn trotted in to see what was taking her friend so long….
Bagpiperix in the Crystal Empire
"Hey, Octy, how come you're so..."
Vinyl Scratch's speech slowed, as she beheld what was in the room. Octavia still hadn't noticed, and she listened and watched for several seconds before her curiosity got too much for her.
"...Tavi?" Vinyl asked, head tilted. "The heck?"
Octavia turned, bouncing three times so she was facing the door – any embarrassment she might have felt about being seen bounding up and down on her bagpiaper like this more than washed away by the excitement about being able to show her friend the joys of her new musical style! "Oh, hey, Vinyl! How's my playing? I think I'm getting pretty good!"
"That's just... not what I was expecting at all," Vinyl admitted, watching as Octavia's... instrument?... squished out as her weight landed on it before springing back again. "How long has this been going on?"
Octavia shrugged, producing a loud paaarp as she hit the ground, and Vinyl's worry grew.
"I think we need to get somepony to sort this out," she said, taking a step back. "Some kind of magical expert, or psychiatrist, or something-"
As she moved towards the door, Octavia decided the best thing to do was to prevent Vinyl leaving any way she could.
“Vinyl, come on, you haven’t even heard the best songs!” Octavia said, rolling forward to stand up. It was quite the feat, with bagpiaper so swollen only the tips of her hind hooves could reach the floor to help carry her forward as her hips swayed in wide arcs, tail swishing across the plaid material slowly. “Give it a chance, I promise you’ll like it! It’s much more fun than that boring old classical stuff I use to play!” She pleaded.
Vinyl’s wasn’t dissuaded. In fact, at Octavia’s mention of “boring” classical music, she only started to worry more. “Nope, we gotta get this taken care of now! You just get back to practicing, you won’t even notice I left!” She said, trying to get Octavia to stop her advances. She stepped out of the room, but Octavia wasn’t about to let her leave so easily. Waddling forward, Octavia was paused only for a moment as her thick bagpiaper squeezed into the doorframe with a Paarp before she popped through.
With several creaky, parpy ‘boings’, Octavia bounced after Vinyl, somehow easily managing to catch up and pin the DJ beneath her rear. She wobbled in place as she tried to keep her balance while Vinyl pressed helplessly up into the plaid material squeezing down upon her.
"You just need to be reasonable about it!" Octavia explained, bouncing up and down a little, with every movement or compression of the bagpiaper producing softer, squeakier versions of the notes from before. "It's just a new instrument! And you've been telling me I should pick up a new kind of music for years!"
"Yeah, but... not like this!" Vinyl replied, still trying to wiggle out from under the cushy plaid bulk. She only managed to produce a sequence of staccato parps, blushing slightly at the silly sound. "And why aren't you getting off me?"
"I want to make sure we've talked all this out!" Octavia said firmly. "You were going to run off and get someone, and that would just be weird!"
"This is what's weird," Vinyl mumbled.
"Is it?" Octavia asked, still bouncing up and down absently, producing a series of parps and paaaaarps which hung in the air. "It's still an instrument! I had to stand silly when I used the cello, anyway, and you know as well as me what it's like when you really get into a new instrument, right?"
Vinyl had to think hard before replying – the music was oddly catchy, and she kept thinking about it instead.
Vinyl shook her head to try and clear it before shifting her gaze back up to Octavia. “Yeah, but… you’re waaaay too into this, Tavi! There’s being excited for a new instrument and then there’s” Vinyl’s complaints were cut off as a particularly large bounce from Octavia caused her bagpiaper to swell outwards, squishing into Vinyl’s muzzle before she rebounded, the cloth deflating just enough to allow the trapped unicorn to speak again.
“Oh, nonsense! What’s a little harm in playing a new instrument? I’ll get back to my Cello eventually, it’s not like I have anything important coming up anyway!” She said, closing her eyes and bouncing happily again, leaning left and right to produce a series of chords.
Vinyl watched Octavia grin widely as she bounced, looking so content and pleased with herself atop her new instrument. If it really was that much fun, maybe…
“But, Tavi, what about your recital this weekend? You’ve been practicing months for that!” Vinyl interjected, trying to think of something to snap Octavia out of her fascination with her new garment-instrument.
Octavia’s bouncings halted for a moment as her eyes went wide. Oh goodness, Vinyl was right! She had a recital in three days! And she hadn’t touched her cello in at least a week! “Oh dear… oh my…” Octavia absentmindedly massaged her bagpiaper, producing simple tunes as she shifted nervously about. “I do have that coming up don’t I? And all those ponies would hate for it to be canceled…”
Vinyl let out a soft sigh of relief at Octavia’s worry. Maybe she’d at least ditch this weird instrument for a few days of panic practicing. “See? Now, mmpphh, come on, let’s get you out of this and back to your cello, alright?” She said, trying in vain to roll Octavia off of her.
“Oh, yes, Vinyl, you’re so right! I need to practice extra hard to make sure I’m ready! I just hope nopony minds a bit of a change in the program.” Octavia said as she rocked back and forth.
“A… change in the program?” Vinyl asked, no longer comforted.
Octavia nodded nervously as she bounced a few times. “Of course! With how little I’ve touched my cello, I don’t have a choice but to perform with my bagpiaper, don’t I?”
Vinyl gaped for a moment, then shut her muzzle with a snap. "That's... not what I meant at all!" she protested. "I meant-"
The bagpiaper squished down again, interrupting her, and she felt the material resonate as an extra-loud paaaaarp pumped through the pipes in four-part harmony.
What had she been worried about again?
It took Vinyl a moment to remember, but then she shook her head. "W-wait, that's not – it's a cello recital, not a bagpiaper blowout!"
Octavia sniggered. "I like that! Bagpiaper blowout..."
More paarps resonated though the house, floor, walls, ceiling, and through Vinyl as well. Each note seemed to jar her perceptions, and the loudest ones made hash out of her ability to concentrate on the topic at hoof.
"...don't see why anyone should complain, really," Octavia was saying. "I mean, do you think it's terrible music?"
She punctuated the question with a five-part sequence of oom-pa-paarps, and Vinyl felt dazed for a moment before shaking her head a bit reluctantly. "I... well, I don't think it's terrible, no..."
The next note felt like a reward for her grudging admission, thrilling through her and making her feel pleasantly dizzy. It was sort of like being drunk, in an odd way...
“Indeed, it’s a much more enjoyable style I’d say!” Octavia said proudly as she gave her bagpiaper another squeeze. It’s just so much fun to bounce along to the music! Why, it even goes wub wub wub like your dances!” Octavia added, giggling. She bounced on her bagpiaper, each time she lifted into the air and landed with a wobbly, parpy wub making Vinyl’s already cloudy mind even more confused.
“Heh… yeah, I suppose it does…” Vinyl said, blushing at the feeling of Octavia’s bagpiaper smothering her with each bounce. Another happy tune emanated from the instrument, and Vinyl was starting to see just what Octavia saw in her new songs. “B-but… I don’t know, this still seems…” Vinyl couldn’t quite find the word she was looking for. The instrument was… something. But what that something was, Vinyl couldn’t quite say.
Octavia just hummed to herself as she played, using the pipes as leverage to increase her ability to rock back and forth. “Absurd? Odd? Silly? That’s half the fun of it, Vinyl! I bet the moment you try them out, you’ll be having just as much fun as I am!” She looked down over the mass of her swollen plaid padding at her stuck friend. “What do you say? I’m sure we can get the music shop owner to get you a pair to practice with tomorrow!”
Vinyl stared back up at Octavia. Despite her earlier misgivings, the prospect of playing the bagpiaper did sound… fun. Especially with a good friend like Tavi. And if she didn’t like it, she could just return them, right?”
Vinyl gave a slow nod, finding herself smiling back up at Octavia. “Y-yeah… that sounds like a great idea!”
Octavia let out an uncharacteristic squeal of excitement, bouncing up off of Vinyl to allow her to get to her hooves. “Ooh, I’m sure you’ll love them! Come on, let’s hurry up and get you yours right now!”
Vinyl stammered, still blushing as Octavia tugged her to the door. “W-w-wait! With you still in-?”
They were out the door before Vinyl could finish her thought.
The capital of the Crystal Empire was lit by glowing crystal streetlamps, which shone down crystal streets and reflected off crystal buildings.
It was late enough that the crystal streetlamps were the main source of illumination, aside from the faint glow of the (not crystal) shield dome over the entire Empire, and Vinyl looked nervously around in case someone else was watching.
Octavia had stopped bouncing along on her bagpiaper, but was instead waddling along with the swollen instrument strapped around her hips and reaching nearly to the floor. Every sway produced a paarp which seemed as loud as thunder to Vinyl's tense ears, and she kept wanting to ask Octavia to try and be quiet – or at least keep to the alleyways or something, in case someone came along.
Yet, whenever she was about to say it, she stopped and decided against it. The paaarp was quite pleasant, really, and seemed almost reassuring in an odd way – and Octavia's steady, quick-but-not-hurried trot gave it a definite beat which soothed away the sharp edges of Vinyl's embarrassment and alarm.
Once she saw somepony trotting past, on an errand of their own, and flushed as she tried not to do anything that might attract attention.
It would be so parp
It would parp
Well maybe it wouldn't parp be too bad parp
Vinyl shook her head, confused. What had she been thinking again?
Octavia took a few more steps forward as Vinyl paused, only to stop and look over her shoulder. “Come on, Vinyl, it’s this way!” She said, still leaning left and right on her hooves to keep the beat of the music her waddling had produced. Vinyl nodded, following after Octavia. She must have just forgotten the way, that was all. Considering it was Octavia who knew where this place was anyway, it just made sense she should lead. Vinyl’s eyes drifted to Octavia’s swaying padding, watching it swish back and forth with each step, unable to stop herself from grinning at this silly sight as her hooves started to trot in step with the music too.
She had become so enamored by Octavia’s rump that she almost collided with it when the earth pony had come to a stop outside the music shop’s door. She was staring in through the window, trying to make out the shape of anypony inside. She gave a few taps on the glass, and the head of the owner popped out from a back room. He trotted up to the door, pushing it open. “You’re here awful late, I was just about to close up. Everything alright?” He asked. His eyes drifted from Vinyl to Octavia, to the swollen plaid padding around her rear. “Hehe, I see you’re taking to your new instrument… in a way.” He chuckled a little awkwardly.
“Oh, yes, it’s been an absolute joy to play! It’s why I’m here, really. I’m so sorry to bother you so late, but would you mind making a second set for my friend here?” Octavia asked, indicating Vinyl. Vinyl waved hello, not sure what to say to explain why she was interested in a set of plaid flank bagpipes herself.
The owner looked a little confused, and was about to say it was far too late for him to take such an odd request when Octavia squeezed her hind legs together, leaning forward just a bit. “Please? I know this is an inconvenience, but I’m sure you can understand our excitement!”
The paarp from her padding made the owner’s eyes droop a little, only for him to rub them and look her up and down. “I… suppose it isn’t all that odd of a request. I’ll have them done first thing tomorrow.” He said. Octavia grinned widely bouncing on her hooves with several puffy paarps of appreciation.
“Oh, thank you! Vinyl, we’re going to have so much fun practicing tomorrow!”
After several hours of fitful sleep – alternately kept awake by worry and lulled by the gentle wheezing parps of bagpiapers in the next room over – Vinyl was ready for her first practice session with her plump new instrument, which Octavia had picked up for her while she was having breakfast.
Vinyl really didn't want to ask about exactly how that had happened, but here she was...
"So, uh... is this on right?" she asked.
"Well, it's not really tight enough, but that's because you've not used it enough," Octavia replied, turning the pages of her music book to the start. "Okay, so you're going to want to do... this."
She sat down hard on her bagpiaper, producing a harmonious wheeze.
"How?" Vinyl asked. "I don't get how half the holes work..."
"Just sit down, the notes can come later," Octavia told her.
Still dubious, Vinyl duly sat down hard, and her eyes widened at the result.
It actually did sound pretty good! Not great, mind, but pretty good, and the feeling of making her own parping tune gave her a happy little smile for a moment.
If she had to learn an instrument, instead of remixing stuff, this was probably a pretty good one based on that...
Octavia looked to be equally pleased at Vinyl’s first sound, giving her bagpiaper a soft poke as she leaned forward on her own. “That was wonderful, Vinyl! Now, try rocking around a bit, like this…” Octavia dutifully demonstrated by bouncing about, her bagpiaper letting out several more wheezes and whines.
Vinyl nodded and tried to replicate Octavia’s movements, her own bagpiaper’s wheezes a little quieter and not quite as crisp as Octavia’s, but just as bouncy and full of energy. Her bagpiaper puffed and squeaked beneath her as she played, Octavia eagerly flipping to the next few pages in her practice book to move to the next lesson… and the next… and the next!
Vinyl was picking up the instrument even faster than Octavia had, and that only made the two of them even more excited! They played and bounced and rocked about on their bagpiapers as they blew out. Vinyl let out a laugh as she bounced up into the air, landing with a loud paaaaaarp! “Heeheehee, this is awesome, Tavi! Why’d you keep it such a secret?”
That was a good question, actually... why had she tried to keep this hidden?
Octavia frowned for a moment, wondering at her own motivation, then shrugged it off. "I guess I just hadn't decided the best way to introduce it!"
She bounced again, blowing a long sequence of notes, and both of them accepted her answer as being the most sensible explanation.
As she did, she noticed that her bounces were getting more floaty as the air quantity in the bagpiaper increased – Vinyl's was growing too, and indeed it looked like it was nearly too big to actually take off, but Octavia's one was getting so big she might have had trouble fitting through doors had it not been for the way it would clearly squish in.
She turned the pages of the book, one after another, and each one taught her and Vinyl new tricks of the trade – new and sophisticated ways to perform their musical magic, including several pages on using two bagpiapers together! The notes that could be created by squishing one bagpiaper into the other had a whole new burst of energy, and Octavia wondered why she hadn't noticed such interesting tricks early on.
If she had, she might have recruited Vinyl earlier just to try them out!
Octavia rolled forward, trying to stand up only for her hooves to wiggle about and fail to reach anything except the bulge of her bagpiaper as the front sank down into the ground. “Oh dear, perhaps I over puffed it.” She said a little softly, before giggling to herself. As if there was such a thing as overpuffed~“Vinyl, would you mind?” She asked, turning her head and pointing to the book. Vinyl looked eagerly on as she continue to rock back and forth to produce the constant droning of their bagpiapers. She grinned widely and bounced over behind Octavia before rolling onto her own hooves. She bent over, wiggling her rear left and right as if she was putting on a show before she bounced back, her puffy rump sinking into Octavia’s plaid bagpiaper. There was a loud harmonious Paarrraaaarp! before Octavia’s padding rebounded, sending Vinyl flying and skipping on her butt with a descending parp, parp, parp.
The two laughed at the absurd sound, Octavia bouncing her hips up and down to keep the tune going as the cushion of air around her hips hugged her gently. She suddenly let out a gasp as a wonderfully musically silly idea popped into her head. “Vinyl, do it again!” She said eagerly. Vinyl was more than happy to do so, waddling back, wiggling her hips and bouncing backwards. As she sank into Octavia’s padding, however, Octavia flicked her rear upwards as best as she could, sending Vinyl bouncing up to land on the crest of her bagpiaper. The unicorn bounced up and down on her own bagpiaper as they played, each Paarp extra bouncy and cheery sounding with each impact as their bagpiapers squished together.
Both bagpiaper-padded ponies lost track of time in a big way as they made their music, driving one another to learn faster and faster as they blazed their way through the rest of the book. They parped and played in musical combinations neither of them had considered before, musicians though they were, and by the time they stopped their bagpiapers filled most of the room and it had gone dark outside.
"Phew!" Octavia said, bouncing up and down a little on her bagpiaper – the notes helping her think, helping her stay on-task. "That was great – say, Vinyl, you know that recital I've got?"
Vinyl nodded, the movement setting her own bagpiaper bouncing up and down again. "I sure do! Are you going to be playing your bagpiaper?"
"That's right!" Octavia agreed. "And I was thinking I should do something else too – I should invite you along to join in! I bet that would be a great dual performance!"
"Sounds great!" Vinyl agreed, entranced with the idea of playing her new instrument before a crowd... then looked down at the air-filled bulk. "But, uh... we might have trouble getting there..."
Octavia pondered that, then checked the back of the book for tips. There was a section on how to deflate a bagpiaper if it absolutely needed to be done, and she followed the instructions exactly – bouncing up and down a few times before bringing her weight down in a long singing paaaaaaaarp which went on and on, echoing around the room with greater and greater intensity. Especially as Vinyl joined in, copying Octavia, and by the time they were done their bagpiapers were only a little puffy and their minds were full of plaid notes bouncing around and around.
Ponies trotted through the lobby of the Crystal Empire’s concert hall, the diamond encrusted ceiling glittering in the lights as the ushers directed ponies to their seats. They were all talking amongst each other, each just as excited to see what this new player was going to perform. It wasn’t long before the lights were dimming and the few stragglers hurried to reach their spots.
A hush fell over the audience as the curtains began to rise to reveal two ponies standing side by side… each wearing a thick diaper like garment around their hips in plaid colors to match their coats and manes. The silence stayed for only a moment before a bit of confused muttering broke out among the patrons. Wasn’t there supposed to only be one player? Nevermind that, what in Equestria are they wearing? And where are their instruments? Wasn’t this a recital?
The muttering grew a little louder before an odd sound cut them all off. A very odd sound. Something rather like a…
Paaarp!~
Octavia and Vinyl had sat down on their bagpiapers, each posing and smiling as they began to slowly bounce, their bagpiapers creating a tune that started to fill the room.
"Preposterous," one of the stallions in the audience declared. "This is vulgar and uncouth."
He rose to leave, just as Octavia bounced twice in quick succession – creating a parr-arrrp sound which echoed through the excellent accoustics of the concert hall.
The stallion hesitated, and Vinyl swung her bagpiaper against Octavia's – producing a harmonic parparp, one which made him blink a little before sitting quite firmly back down.
He felt a little dizzy... probably just from standing up so quickly. It wouldn't be a big problem...
Both ponies' bagpipe diapers swelled as they played, quickly expanding back to a more instrumentally useful size, and the notes swelled as well. Despite the parp-producing properties of the poof the ponies played, harmonies and melodies developed which lent nuance and sophistication to the piece.
Despite his earlier protestations, the stallion began to nod his head in time – it was unusual, perhaps, but there did seem to be merit in this odd performance. And it wasn't as though he'd heard of every instrument out there, after all...
Octavia and Vinyl bounced in place, the piece picking up speed as their playing became more energetic and playful. Octavia bounced enough to lift her rump into the air, the bagpiaper producing a double pa-parp when she landed and her weight came fully down onto her instrument. She grinned and closed her eyes as she leaned left and right, Vinyl squeezing the rump of her bagpiaper to fill the room with an extra loud note. The two got to their hooves, turning and pushing their bagpiapers together, only for them to balloon outwards and send them bouncing away from each other. The pair rebounded back to the center of the stage with several parps, each one making their plaid puffy pampers blimp up further.
Vinyl rolled forward, her hooves pressing down into the front of Octavia’s bagpiaper, only to roll back and allow Octavia to do the same to her.
As they bounced and played, they were oblivious to something else swelling out that wasn’t just their bagpiapers, though it was obvious to the entire audience. Plaid material began to stretch and creak up over their tails, wrapping it up and swelling larger, becoming long, noodly, and distinctly draconic. At the tip a pipe pushed out of the bundled fabric, which was starting to play along with the other pipes on the instrument, adding even more strange complexity to the song.
The draconic-pipe tails danced as the air hissed though them, waving about and playing music like an inverse charmed snake, and several of the ponies in the audience began to sway back and forth a little in reaction. Others just listened, the strange transformation drawing nothing more than frowns and a few confused mutters.
Every press, pump, parp and breath of air swelled the music, and it swelled the bagpiapers as well – though by now they were more than merely diapers in shape, as their swelling continued to cause them to change form. Both performing ponies' hind legs vanished into the soft embrace of the colour-coordinated plaid, vanishing from view, and the patterned material spread up as well towards the shoulders of their forelegs.
While unaware consciously of the change, both Octavia and Vinyl adjusted their style to suit – taking advantage of the new parts, the new tail-shape in particular, and bounced around more to get around. It was almost a dance, as Octavia moved in four-four time and Vinyl in something more esoteric, and their melodies combined to transfix their enraptured audience and send plaid parps pulsing through the ponies patronising the performance.
Octavia flopped forward onto her tail, catching it between her inflating plaid rump and the floor. Her side of the song muffled to allow Vinyl to stand out, though the trapped air caused her own butt to swell even larger and faster. Vinyl took advantage, standing upon her tail as if it was her own, balancing in the air as her front hooves rubbed and squeezed and pressed down on her growing belly. She squeezed her hind legs together as best as she could, but with them swallowed completely, all she could do was wiggle them about. Despite this, the music followed her movements, trilling and wobbling about almost as much as Octavia’s growing rear.
Vinyl suddenly let her tail drop out from under her, her rear falling to the floor to pierce the music with a large bass drum like Boom! And with that puff the plaid material swelled over her forelegs, leaving them in something like a set of overswollen plaid pajamas. Octavia’s bagpiaper was just as big and bouncy, the audience applauding as the two managed to twist their tails together and bounce their rumps up and down, as if skipping rope with them.
Bigger
Bwoomp!
Bouncier
Bwoomp!
Creakier
Bwoomp!
Blimpier!
Bwoomp!
The two bounced and played, their song crescendoing as they started to become engulfed by their former puffy instruments.
One of the mares in the audience hall, Noteworthy Notes, blinked slowly.
She was trying to remember what she'd been thinking. There had to be something – she was a music critic, after all, and so she should have a critique of this musical performance – but whenever she tried to form a reasoned opinion of the music it just evaporated.
The music was good, certainly – bouncy and full of energy, it had a strong beat and she could listen to it for a very long time. But 'good' wasn't much of a review... and she was sure she should be thinking something about the way the performing ponies now had little more than their heads sticking out of their instruments, playing notes out of the tubes along their spines to complement the rest of the performance.
But... how did that work, exactly? Wouldn't they have been playing the same instruments for the whole performance?
Neither Octavia nor Vinyl had noticed Noteworthy Notes' confusion, though if they had they wouldn't have cared. The ongoing expansion and transformation of their bagpiapers into bagpiaper-suits was just too enjoyable – too obvious, too wonderful – to object to, and it seemed like nothing more nor less than how things should be. After all, weren't they doing so wonderfully well at bringing their music to the whole audience?
The new appendages and additions to their instruments felt natural, obvious, and the way to use them felt just the same – like flexing a limb more than playing an instrument.
Octavia rocked back and forth on her rump, squeezing the plaid material between her plushly coated hind legs as her forelegs hugged herself to produce even more loud paaarps. Meanwhile Vinyl was doing her best to show off by bouncing on her tail, balancing on one foreleg and managing to blow so much air out of her pipes she lifted herself into the air before falling back to earth and deflating into herself somewhat.
The show was so mesmerizing even the ushers weren’t able to focus on their duties – instead transfixed by the bloating, bouncing, puffy, plaid posteriors in front of them. And it was slowly becoming more and more difficult to tell the things bouncing around on stage were ponies at all! Hoods puffed out of the material, closing over each of the performers’ heads. And even more absurd (if that was possible in this show!), the hoods looked quite a bit like the maws of dragons. The song was growing louder and faster, clearly building to its climactic finale. The two bounced higher, and higher, their heads practically hitting the ceiling until they both flopped forward, landing so their bellies squished their tails into the stage, a wave of music washing out over the audience as the jaws of their hoods closed, and the two looked to simply be a pair of bagpipe dragons with overblown plaid bodies.
Now distinguished mainly not by cutie marks, coat or mane but by plaid colour and pattern, Octavia and Vinyl paused – the music seeming to hesitate, as if it were gathering in a breath.
Both bagpipe dragons began to bounce again, higher and higher, but the tension in the music remained – until it went silent for a single second, as both bounced so high they brushed the ceiling.
Then they landed, and the harmonious notes of parp and paaarp echoed through the room. Building, resonating, making the whole building tremble and fill with harmonics and counterpoints and endless permutations of music which caught the listeners and whirled them away in a captivating chorus.
As the ponies in the audience listened – too enraptured to applaud, even if the music had come to an end instead of building and building and building – something else began to take shape, as well. A bubble of plaid, blowing out of the tip of Vinyl's tuneful tail.
Octavia's tail swung to join it, a bubble forming on her own tail as well, and then the bubbles came into contact – merging together into a single bubble with two sources, which pulsed with the beat of the music and took on a red-and-purple plaid pattern as it grew faster and faster.
The bubble swelled, pressing into the sides of Octavia and Vinyl, who both leaned into it as they pressed down on their bellies to make more air rush out of their tails and into the swelling bubble. Limbs began to form, made of the same tough wood as the pipes now protruding from the top. A long snake-like tail whipped out, playfully huffing and blowing music into the performing dragon’s faces. The dragons giggled and looked a bit drunk off of the song, tails twisting about with excitement as the bubble grew even larger than them! It swelled, and swelled, and swelled, pushing them apart towards the edges of the stage as it filled more and more space.
There was a particularly loud paaaarp! as the two were pushed off, landing atop a few of the members in the front row and squishing them beneath their soft, creaky forms. The bubble wobbled, limbs squeezing itself as its tail knocked against the back of the set, when the head of the creature finally revealed itself, popping up out of its bouncy body to look down at the adoring crowd. Bagpiperix grinned widely, doing his best to stand and pose dramatically.
“Hello, Crystal Empire! I hope you’re all ready for the biggest show you’ve ever seen!”
