"I can't do it," McNulty sighed. In his hand slumped a deflated bag with several tubes sticking out. He had failed once again at producing a single sound out of his bagpipe, and he felt the way his bag looked from his mother's disappointment.
"Well. There'll be no haggis for dinner tonight. Even if you could conjure the Lady of the Sheep to bestow her blessing on the table, I'd not give you any. And I shan't until you've earned it!" his mother berated him, then danced her way out to the yard.
McNulty leered her direction as she shut the door. "I'll never conjure the Lady of the Sheep" he whispered, a menacing grin forming on his face. Then he stood up and plucked the moles out of each one of the instrument's holes, freeing the airflow for music to be made. "The Pork of the Dance, however. . ."
McNulty blasted a sinister song from his perfectly functioning bagpipe. He stepped outside amid dark clouds and red that now swirled above the land to his tune. McNulty's mother stopped mid-dance at the noise. Slowly, she peered around and her suspicions were confirmed. Her son was playing the bagpipe. Perfectly. And summoning the Pork of the Dance?
"You deceitful little. . . You disgrace this family! This land! Very well! I shall banish you to the Land of Oinks!"
And Mother McNulty whipped out her own bagpipe and blared a beautiful tune. The tune of the Lady of the Sheep. The darkness faltered above the land, and rays of bright light began to show through. But McNulty rebuffed his mother and blared louder. The two fought back and forth until two streaks descended from the sky.
The Lady of the Sheep and the Pork of the Dance crashed into the ground, and after only a moment's acknowledgement of each other's power, began fighting each other. They each drew power from their own song, and while the Pork of the Dance was clearly a more powerful entity, McNulty was not as experienced as his mother. He faltered at times, and the Pork of the Dance grew frustrated at his conjurer's incompetence.
The fight raged on; molten debris flew out across the land with each clash. The musicians grew tired, but they continued to play. McNulty gave an inspired blow, and the Pork of the Dance lifted the Lady of the Sheep above his head. He launched her high in the sky, then leaped up for an aerial attack. Just as he was about to smash her to the ground, Mother McNulty responded with her own heave, and the Lady of the Sheep suddenly shone with blinding light.
She took her scepter, filled it with bleating power, and struck the Pork of the Dance down to the ground. He plummeted down right into McNulty, and the impact sent the two of them deep into the ground, to the Land of Oinks.
Mother McNulty finished her song with a tune of thanksgiving, releasing the Lady of the Sheep from her summoning. The Lady bowed, then dissipated into the sky. Mother McNulty watched the crack in the ground seal, forever containing the traitorous son in the Land of Oinks. Then she danced mournfully back into the house to rest. Grieve? Maybe one day. But for now, only rest.
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