A few words, if i may. This takes place during a time jump, the first five year leap forwards. So this is something that happens within The Chase, but not something that happens 'on screen.' As such, it is a side story, but I have no interest in trying to post it and wait for it to pass moderation and all the other headaches.

I do hope you enjoy it.

“You’ve been waiting for a while, there is no need to be in a hurry now,” Bucky said to Harper in a voice that sounded as though he would start chuckling at any moment. He watched as Harper stared wide eyed at the many musical instruments and then glanced at Lyra, Harper’s mother.

Lyra, her vision blurry with tears of happiness, saw Bucky looking at her. Bucky, his mane now with more silver mixed in with the black, had a huge grin upon his face. “That’s right Harper, take your time. There is no need to pick something out right away. Try different instruments and see if any of them speak to you.”

Moving sideways, Bucky brushed up against Lyra and he pressed his cheek against hers. “I can’t believe she’s three already.”

“I can believe the little screwball is a musical prodigy,” Lyra replied, glad to have Bucky next to her. She watched as Harper roamed around the empty store, looking at all of the different stringed instruments.

“Remember Harper, anything you want… it doesn’t have to be a harp like your mother plays… find something that makes you happy,” Bucky said to Harper.

“Yes, Mama, I know,” Harper replied.

“She’s so good at the harp though,” Lyra whispered to Bucky, “she can do such amazing things already.”

“Lyra, honey, she can do amazing things with all kinds of instruments, including Belisama’s autoharp, but her cutie mark hasn’t appeared yet. That should tell you something. If she was meant to play a harp, don’t you think her mark would have showed up by now?” Bucky felt Lyra brushing against him as she left to follow Harper through the store.

“Your right, of course, but I do wish I had a fellow harpist to play with me.” Lyra paused to look at a strange instrument called a veena, according to the little cardboard sign next to it. It sort of looked as though it was made out of an enormous gourd.

The shop wasn’t as large as some other shops, but it had quite a selection, having stringed instruments from all over the world. At one point, the shop had been quite fancy, but it was now living in faded glory. The swanky purple and red carpet had faded to flat purple and a dull pinkish red. A murky looking green lava lamp that had seen better days bubbled on the counter next to the register. It had been turned on and off far too many times and the fluid had gone cloudy. Against one wall was a collection of amplifiers and most of them looked a bit dusty. Ponyville did not have a large market for electric guitars or amplifiers. Most ponies and griffons prefered a softer sounding music.

The old stallion behind the counter was reading a newspaper, and Bucky wasn’t sure if he had even noticed them. He moved forwards, watching as Harper moved past a nice selection of harps and zithers, not even giving them a second glance.

Harper came to a halt in front of a collection of guitars. Bucky heard the rumple of a newspaper as Harper lifted one of the acoustic guitars in her telekinesis and levitated it down to herself so she could look at it. Glancing over his shoulder, Bucky could see the old pony was watching Harper now, a curious look in his eye.

“She won’t drop anything,” Bucky said to reassure the old stallion, “her telekinesis is pretty good. She plays a lot of musical instruments and her telekinesis is very well developed for her age.”

“I ain’t worried about that,” the old stallion replied.

“Oh?” Bucky’s eyes narrowed and he felt a twinge of worry. “If I might ask, what concerns you?”

“She’s picked up the wrong instrument. It’s all wrong for her.” The old stallion put down his newspaper and then moving at a speed hobbled by old age, he began to make his way out from behind the counter.

As the stallion came out, Bucky noticed the old unicorn’s cutie mark—a guitar with a question mark next to it. The old unicorn’s words became a lot clearer, Bucky realised. Of course he would know, it was probably his talent.

“The name is Slack Styles… now, let’s have a look at you, little Miss.” The old unicorn wobbled over to where Harper was plucking the acoustic guitar, a scowl of pain upon his face as he moved. He pulled out a pair of glasses from his quilted vest, put them on, and then looked down at Harper through his bifocals. “Does that feel right to you, Miss?”

Harper shook her head no, looking mystified and a little bit bewildered.

“That’s because you are a bass player.” Slack Styles peered down at the foal, squinting, trying to study her, watching as she plucked the strings of the guitar. He took a step backwards, looked around, peered at a few guitars, and then looked back down at Harper. “You’re a bass player, a bit eccentric, and you like excitement. You’re a born troublemaker, aren’t you?”

“How did you know?” Harper asked as she stared upwards with her mouth hanging open.

“”Well, your mother is a harpist,” Slack replied, gesturing at Lyra, “and let me tell you, those are always trouble.” The old stallion smiled down at Harper as Lyra started laughing. He looked around and spotted a five string acoustic bass. He lifted it in his telekinesis and presented it to Harper. “My talent isn’t quite what it used to be. Now it only gives me a general idea, so try this and tell me how it makes you feel.”

Harper and Slack exchanged guitars and Bucky watched with keen interest. The salespony wasn’t trying to just make a sale, he was trying to find the perfect match for Harper. His ears perked as Harper began plucking out a tune.

“Feels wrong,” Harper said, looking puzzled. “Feels all wrong. Needs more strings, like a harp.” The foal paused, reached up with her foreleg, and tried to smooth back her frizzy bright orange mane. “Needs something else… but I don’t know what.”

“Hmm.” Slack looked around his shop, his eyes narrowed and his expression thoughtful. “More strings, like a harp…” The old stallion teetered off, lifting the bass from Harper’s grasp and placing it back upon its rack.

Lyra moved close to Harper and sat down. Harper was having quite a moment, her bright purple eyes were wide, her nostrils were flaring, and it was clear that the little filly was excited, maybe even overwhelmed. There was something in the air, Lyra could feel it, some magic. She looked over at Bucky and saw that he was staring at both her and Harper.

Slack Styles returned a moment later, carrying a strange looking guitar. Harper’s eyes lit up when she saw it and she bounced in place as Slack drew nearer. The old stallion held the weird looking guitar aloft in his telekinesis and then lowered it down so Harper could see it. Slack smiled when Harper took the strange guitar from him.

“That’s a twelve string bass… electric. Has a lot of strings, like a harp. It’s an odd duck, not many musicians play these.” Slack watched as Harper plucked away, the strings making tinky sounds as she tried to coax music out of the strange twelve stringed instrument.

“Sounds and feels wrong,” Harper said as she continued to pluck.

“Well, it’s electric, it needs an amplifier and some juice—”

“Juice?” Harper asked, a bolt of static electricity coursing through her mane and travelling up one ear.

“And an amplifier,” the old stallion replied as he hobbled over to the wall covered in amplifiers. He picked up an electric guitar along the way and when he reached the amplifiers, he plugged in a cord to the guitar.

Sitting down on the floor, holding the guitar in his telekinesis, he began to strum. A warm, delightful, fuzzy sound came out from the amplifiers as Slack Styles played the guitar. It was a sad, yet somehow happy sound, thick with distortion and buzz. Bucky liked it right away.

Harper, nodding her head, had a profound moment of understanding. The many stringed bass needed juice and sound. She had lots of juice, she had more of that than she knew what to do with, and now she just needed sound. She felt something happening as she powered up, a bright purple glow surrounded both her and the twelve string bass. Something in the guitar hummed and Harper felt something welling up from deep within her. The air around her crackled as Harper formed a telekinetic wedge that she used to pluck a stringed instrument. She touched the wedge to the strings…

Bucky wasn’t sure if he had been slapped by sound or a physical force. Something roared within his ears, causing his vision to blur and fuzz over. The universe, as he knew it, ceased to exist and became something else. Time seemed to slow and he felt something vibrating all of his internal organs. He felt like a can of paint in a paint shaker at the hardware store.

The whole world around him throbbed. His eyes felt as though they were going to pop out of his sockets at any moment. He had the strange sensation of hearing sound through his teeth. Something struck him, a physical sensation, it was like being blasted by the wind. His talons clenched, clawing at the floor, but it was too late. He was blown backwards by the terrific force that had slammed into him. A buzzing squeal filled his ears and Bucky was certain that his eyeballs, both of them, his real eye and the Eye of Odin were going to explode.

“Sorry,” Harper said, her words falling on deaf ears. She powered down her guitar. The music store was in shambles. Both of her mothers had fallen over; Bucky lay on his back, now near the front door, and Lyra lay on her belly, now near the back wall. Harper could see that Slack Styles was rubbing his ears, first his left and then his right with one raised hoof.

It took several minutes for the others to recover and Harper sat there feeling a little guilty. Once again, she had been a teensy weensy bit too enthusiastic when doing something and everything around her had exploded, as it almost always did. She heard Bucky groaning and felt bad.

Rubbing his head, Bucky rolled over onto his stomach, his guts and tender places aching with pain, got his legs beneath him, and then stood, wobbling around on legs that had all of the strength of boiled noodles. A lot of things had hit him in life, many things had hurt him, but whatever that was, it was a doozy.

“Harpy sorry.” Harper shrank down, trying to look as small and pathetic as possible. Adults couldn’t stay angry if she looked pathetic hard enough. She worried that it would be time to go home now, home without buying a new instrument to play. Harper sighed, this sort of thing happened far too often.

“I think my hearing aid exploded,” Slack shouted, still rubbing his ears. “That was amazing! You have your own amplification spell! I never did manage that!”

His vision still blurred, Bucky could only hear the faintest whisper coming from Slack, but the old pony seemed excited. Bucky’s ears were filled with the sounds of ringing bells and strange sounding chimes that echoed inside of his head.

Harper looked up at her mother, Lyra, and sniffled a bit as Lyra pulled her close. Harper hammed it up, trying to appear as sorry as possible, and even allowed a few tears to fall. Even if they were forced tears, she meant them. She was sorry. She felt Lyra hugging her and then she felt a soft touch on her hip. Squirming, she wiggled around as she felt Lyra tapping her. Harper looked down, her eyes narrowing, trying to see. She felt funny, now that she thought about it, something had happened. Much to her shock and surprise, she had something new on her hips. A guitar, but not just any guitar, it was the coolest guitar ever. Behind the guitar was a big blue lightning bolt and the body of the guitar had purple flames all around it. Sure enough, it had twelve strings on it too. Harper almost began to hyperventilate because she was so happy-cited.

“We’ve found the right guitar,” Slack said, his voice still very, very loud. “Might you be interested in some earplugs? We sell a wide variety here. I have a feeling that you are going to need them.”

“What?” Bucky asked, rubbing his ear. “I’ve never heard of deer slugs.”

“We’ll take it,” Lyra said to Slack, hoping that he could hear her. Lyra wasn’t certain if she could hear herself. Sitting on the floor, she pulled Harper closer, feeling happy, content, and joyful. Harper had found what made her special, and Lyra was pleased. Harper was her daughter in every way that mattered and Lyra was very, very relieved that Harper’s talent was music. The green unicorn felt as though she had somehow passed a part of herself along to Harper, and it made Lyra feel good.

Tugging on his own ears with his talons, first one side then the other, Bucky’s face contorted as he tried to the get the ringing inside of his head to go away. “I think I know how to get Sentinel out of bed in the mornings…” He blinked a few times and noticed that Lyra was pointing at Harper’s cute little backside. He gaped at what little he saw, knowing that she had just found her cutie mark, but he was unable to see it clearly. He then groaned, feeling afraid. Almost all that he had drawn to him were dangerous, and Harper, also drawn to him, was no different. Weaponised music. Something inside of his head squealed, it was like hearing microphone feedback between his ears.

“I’ll throw in a free case with the bass,” Slack said.

“No, I don’t want to run my face in a race.” Bucky shook his head and his vision fuzzed over again, causing him to lose focus entirely.

“Also, if I may, there is a unicorn I know of with a powerful amplification spell of her own, you might wish to contact her for a few lessons.” Slack, now recovered, more or less, began putting things back in order all around him.

“Oh?” Lyra let go of Harper and began to help clean up.

“Yeah, her name is Vinyl Scratch and she’s an amazing musician in her own right. I think she can help your daughter control her newfound gift,” Slack replied. As he lifted up a fallen mandolin, he smiled at Harper.

“Am I in trouble?” Harper looked at her mother, then other mother, and then up at the old stallion.

“No, Harper, you are not in trouble.” Lyra gave Harper a reassuring pat and then pointed at the twelve string bass. “Pick up your guitar now, and make sure that you take good care of it.”

“What are you talking about, Lyra, Harper didn’t just blow a bubble.” Bucky shook his head and blinked, looking more confused an ever.

Harper, feeling happy, smiled, then giggled. This was a momentous day, a day she would always remember. She lifted her new guitar, hugged it to her, rubbing her cheek against the neck, and couldn’t wait to play it some more. She had found her cutie mark and it was every bit as magical as everypony kept telling her it would be. She looked up when she heard the sound of her Mama Mama’s voice and she watched as Bucky stumbled around.

“Harper, help Mama find her hearing, she seems to have lost it.”

That was cute. Also gives hints about what Harper might get up to in the future.

So...much...cutenesss...also...

Of course one of Bucky's foals would weaponize music.

Oh dear?!!!!! Kudz why must you weaponize all of bucky's foals!!!!!!!! Where's the normal one we were promised soooo many chapters ago!!!!!!! Also i can live with weaponized music i tend to do that myself around the house :)))) *hears mother coming down the hall and puts headphones on quickly before plugging in bass speakers and loading up bass cannon on youtube*

As always a great joy to read and add to the lore.

Harpy is best ZAP!

4904399 and she's learning from Vinyl, WEAPONISED WUBS

Harper and Vinyl then went on to develop the Bass Cannon Mk. II.

Awesome!

I have some concern about this, well not about the story, its a nice chapter/short , but the way its presented. Its sounds a big event in the life of Harper, yet most of the people wont know it since its hidden in the forum of this group (i mean in this the casual readers). Time jump supposed to happen when nothing happen in that period of time, so it can be skipped freely, but here, we might lose some vital information about the story.

4905319

I can't record every event that happens. That is not realistic, not in the slightest. But what I can do is offer a few side stories here and there.

During the five year jump, foals will be born. Stuff will happen. Life will go on and the story will progress. Life must move forwards.

Does this make Bucky a Def Leppard?

Viiiiiiiinnyyyyylllll Scraaaaaatch!! Yes!! One of my fav background pon3s

4904183

Harper's all about that bass, and soon the bass cannon. :3

This takes place during a time jump, the first five year leap forwards.

“I can’t believe she’s three already.”

Confused. Directions unclear. Time warp and aging functions must have malfunctioned in my ship.

Why suddenly I imagine Harper as a rock star with her family