Feather Bangs would be seen showing himself off to any interested mares or write poetry. No pony would expect to see him running inside of a dark dungeon while wearing a purple toga and a golden leaf headband on his head. In one hoof, Feather held a golden lyre that glowed in the tunnel's darkness. His face showed fear as he was being chased by a large sock-like serpent that slithered a small sock-like tongue. Feather Bangs stopped running as he had reached a dead end. He turned to be face to face with the sock serpent as it was ready to attack. Feather quivered from how ferocious it looked despite it being a sock. Luckily for Feather, he came up with a solution. He quickly strummed his lyre and it glowed a blue aura.
"I play Song of Snoozing Sheep!" Feather hollered as he strummed his lyre again to cover the sock serpent with blue aura. The sock serpent screamed as its large tail crashed on top of Feather. The sock serpent moved its tail and it left a small crater from where Feather used to be.
"Ooh! That has got to hurt!" The loud voice said. The sock serpent turned to see that the voice came from Discord who was dressed up as Captain Wuzz. Beside him was Big Mac dressed as Sir McBiggun and Spike dressed as Garbunkle. All three of them were ready for battle.
"Maybe it wasn't such a smart idea to let Fine Tune run away." Spike winced as he saw Feather's broken body.
"Yup," Big Mac agreed as he used his horn to pull out his sword. Discord fired a few arrows that the sock serpent.
"I didn't even know this thing would go after the weakest member of our party!" Discord said in defense. Spike pointed his staff to fire a white beam at the sock serpent, causing the beast to go wild. Big Mac charged and started slicing at the sock serpent while Discord kept firing arrows with his bow. The sock serpent collapses with a loud thud and disappeared. In its place were some drop items such as gold coins and potions. The three heroes cheered for their victory over the sock serpent, only to be interrupted when they heard Feather's moans coming from the small crater.
"Oh right," Discord said with no care. "we got to heal the new guy." All three of the adventurers gathered around the crater to see a badly wounded Feather lying inside of the crater. The guys could tell Feather took some heavy damage judging from his dislocated limps and occasional twitching.
"It's a good thing I know some healing spells." Spike said as he raised his staff and green aura surrounded Feather's body. It took a few seconds for Feather's wounds to disappear and his limbs to relocate. Feather suddenly woke up and felt refreshed.
"Woo! I thought I was a goner if it wasn't for you, Spike!" Feather said as he wiped off some sweat.
"It's Garbunkle!" Spike corrected in an irritable tone.
"Sorry," Feather said while rubbing his neck.
A Few Hours Ago...
Spike, Big Mac, and Discord were inside the map room where they usual play Ogres and Oubliettes. It was another guys' night and Spike looked really excited.
"I can't wait for Shining Armor to come and play Ogres and Oubliettes with us!" Spike said while rocking on his chair. "I especially can't wait to go into the new dungeon I made!" Spike pulled out a graph paper containing a dungeon's layout.
"You certainly can't wait for me to add some surprises into your dungeon." Discord said while filing his claw.
"EXACTLY!" Spike claimed. "This is going to be the best guys' night ev-" Spike was interrupted when he accidentally burped out some flames that turned into a scroll. He picked it up and he noticed that it came from the Crystal Empire based on the Crystal Heart on the wax seal stamp. Spike opened it to read what it says.
Dear Spike,
Unfortunately, Shining Armor caught a bad flu and can't come to your guys' night. Flurry and I are taking good care of him. I'm sorry you waited so long for this evening. I hope you'll find someone else who will play with you guys.
Sincerely,
Cadence
Spike just stared at the letter for who knows how long. Big Mac and Discord looked at the dragon with curiosity from what Spike read. Discord took a peek at the letter.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that Spike." Discord said as he nodded. "We can still play without him."
"B-but, I built this dungeon to be challenging enough for four players!" Spike said. "We would be obliterated if it's just the three of us!" Spike slammed his head on to the table in defeat.
"Discord, can't you use your magic to cure Shining Armor?" Spike asked as he raised his head.
"I could, but not only will he be cured but he might also get an extra hoof or two thanks to my 'chaos' magic." Spike's head slammed on the table for a second time. Discord tapped his chin while he brainstormed for a solution. They couldn't get any of Twilight's friends to play since it's a guys' night and all of the mares were at a sleepover. A lightbulb appeared on top of Discord's head when he came up with an idea.
"I think I might have the answer!" Discord said as he snapped his claw and he reappeared in a tux. Next to Discord was a large lottery ball cage filled with ping pong balls. There was also a mare in a sparkly, red dress who also stood next to the lottery ball cage. A deep voice echoed from the ceiling.
"It's time for...Surprise Fun Time! With your host, Discord!" The sound of cheers came out of nowhere while Discord gave a few bows.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Discord said. "For this game, we will spin this ball cage and find out who is completely available for our guys' night!" Spike and Big Mac looked at each other as they were confused.
"Um, Discord?" Spike said. "What are you doing?"
"Well Spike," Discord replied. "since it would take forever to find anybody who would want to play O&O with us; I will use my chaos powers to find whoever doesn't have plans for tonight and ask if he wants to play with us!" The side mare waved her hooves around the ball cage to show where it is. Spike looked at Big Mac who shrugged despite the weird choice.
"Well," Spike sighed. "as long as we get somebody as the fourth player, sure." Discord cheered as he signaled the mare to grab the ball cage's handle.
"Let's get spinning!" Discord said as the mare began spinning the ball cage for a few seconds until a ping pong ball dropped and rolled on to the bin. Discord picked up the ping pong ball and pulled out a small pair of glasses for reading.
"And the winner is....Feather Bangs?" Discord said in confusion. "Never met that guy." Spike remembered a pony by the name of Feather Bangs. Spike leaned towards Big Mac.
"Isn't he the stallion who tried to get Sugar Belle?" Spike asked.
"Yup," Big Mac replied. "but he and I are cool now."
"Really?" Spike said in surprise.
"Yup," Big Mac replied again. "Sugar Belle told me that Feather could use some more guy friends. Most of the ponies he hangs out with are just swooning mares and silent backup dancers."
"Alright," Spike said. "Hey Discord!"
"Yes?" Discord asked.
"You can bring Feather here." Spike assured. Discord gave a toothy smile.
"Splendid!" Discord said as all of the game show stuff disappeared. "Let's see what kind of pony this Feather fellow is." Discord snapped one claw and Feather instantly appeared. He looked like he was in the middle of a shower judging from his wet coat and manes. Feather also had his eyes closed as he sang while scrubbing his armpits.
"Sugar Sugar Belle! Wha Oh! Why don't you tell me that you feel-" Feather stopped singing when he noticed that he wasn't in his shower anymore. He turned to see Big Mac, a small purple dragon, and a weird-looking creature staring.
"Ah!" Feather let out a high-pitched scream as he covered himself.
"Ooh, sorry about that." Discord said sheepishly. "I didn't know you were in your shower." Discord snapped his claw and Feather was all cleaned up.
"What's going on?!" Feather demanded.
"Congratulations!" Discord said as he shook Feather's hoof. "You have been chosen as our fourth player for Ogres and Ogres and Oubliettes!"
"Wha?" Feather said in confusion. Spike approached Feather.
"We're sorry we brought you here without your permission." Spike offered a handshake.
"I'm Spike, the dragon!" Spike said with a grin.
"I'm Feather Bangs," Feather responded as he shook Spike's hand. At the same time, Discord shook Feather's hoof a second time.
"I'm Discord, if you were wondering!" The draconequus claimed. "And I believe you've already met Big Mac." Discord pointed to the big, red stallion who was waving.
"Hello," Feather replied. "I'm still confused on what is going on."
"You see, Feather." Spike started. "We're looking for another player for our game of Ogres and Oubliettes. Discord used his magic to look for who was available and here you are." Feather still looked confused from what he just processed.
"Ogres and Oubliettes?" Feather said.
"Yeah! It's a role-playing game where you can make up an adventure and we go on it!" Spike showed the O&O box to Feather.
"I'm not sure if that's my kind of game." Feather said with uncertainty.
"I too felt that way when I first played it." Discord placed his paw on Feather's shoulder. "That was until I put a little chaos into it." Discord snapped his claw and the room became the usual role-playing area. Feather was shocked to see the large dices everywhere and the floor was one large graph paper. He was also surprised to see the other guys dressed up as characters from a role-playing game.
"Ta-da!" Discord cheered. "Now we play for realsies!" Feather was still stunned from what he saw. A part of him felt hesitant.
"Do you have anything better to do, Mr. Feather?" Discord asked.
"Alright," Feather said in confidence. "I'll join you!"
"Splendid! Now let's start with making your character." A character sheet and a pencil appeared in front of Discord. "Let's start with your character's name." Feather tapped his chin while thinking.
"I'll go with...Fine Tune." Feather said. Discord raised his brow.
"Fine Tune?" Discord asked.
"It will be my stage name if I ever go big like Sapphire Shores!" Feather answered. Discord didn't replied as he just wrote down the name.
"Ok, now you have to pick which class you want your character to be in." Discord then brought out a long scroll to Feather. "We have a wide variety of character classes such as: warrior, mage, rogue, archer (dibs), monk-"
"Um...something with music?" Feather responded. Discord looked at the class scroll.
"That would be a bard," Discord replied. "they specialize in music-based things."
"Ooh! Do you know what would be perfect?!" Feather said. "Being one of those Romare musicians with the lyres and long robes! I used to read a lot about those guys when I was a colt!" Discord looked at Spike and Big Mac for their opinions on Feather's suggestion.
"We could use the entertainment." Spike said with a shrug. Big Mac nodded in agreement.
"Alright," Discord said as he filled out Feather's character sheet. "Now for the final touch!" Discord snapped his claw and the scroll turned into shining dust. It swarmed around Feather as it also lifted him up in the air until he burst with light. Feather floated back down to the floor with him wearing a long, purple toga. A leaf hairband was on his mane and in his hoof was a golden lyre. Feather looked at himself with surprise of what he had become.
"Whoa! I look so cool!" Feather claimed as he lifted his robe.
"Psst, not as much as an archer!" Discord muttered under his voice. "Anyway, let the adventure begin!" Discord snapped his claw and all of them were inside of a dungeon.
In the Present
Feather followed the rest of his party to whatever the dungeon leads. He was having second doubts of coming with the guys. All Feather ever did throughout this whole adventure was get shot by arrows when some traps were triggered, got swung across a room thanks to a cyclops' massive club, got kidnapped by a plant monster, and much more. He was starting to become a burden to the team instead of an active member of the guys' party. They continued to walk down the hallway until they entered another large room. The room was the size of a colosseum and there were piles of bones everywhere. Just the sight of the bones made Feather squeamish. Discord made some hand signs to tell the guys that he will scout ahead to see if anything happens. The guys nodded as they watched Discord sneaking inside the large room. It took about a few minutes before Discord poked his head out from a bone pile.
"The coast is clear!" Discord announced. The rest of the guys slowly walked into the room until a large door suddenly shut them from the exit. The walls in the room blazed with fire and the bones started to shake. The bones then started to move to the other side of the room and began piling up until it took the form of a very large bull with sharp teeth and fiery eyes. The bone bull roared at the party and began charging at them. The group split up in separate directions to avoid getting hit by the bull's horns. Once they dodged it, Spike lifted his staff to fire multiple blasts at the bone bull. The blasts hit the bull a few times, only for it to roar and began charging towards Spike. A barrage of arrows showered over the bone bull and it got irritated from the amount on arrows on its back. The bull turned to see that the arrow shower came from Discord who blew raspberries when the bull saw him.
"You call yourself a spooky, scary skeleton!? The bone bull roared once again before he charged at Discord. Discord yelped as he made a run for it. He ended up getting flattened by the bone bull and got up looking like a pancake.
"Can somepony get the number on that bull?" Discord groaned before he passed out. The bone bull was blasted again by Spike's magic. Before the bone bull could react, Big Mac landed on top of the bone bull's head so he could stab the bone bull's head with a sword. The bone bull responded by swinging around Big Mac while he hanged on for dear life.
"Hang on McBiggun!" Spike hollered before he fired more magical blasts at the bone bull. It wasn't long before Big Mac's sword flew off along with him as he fell to the ground. The bone bull's tail smacked Spike, making him fly across the room until he skidded across the floor. Spike was left unconscious from the bone bull's tail impact. While this was going on, Feather was hiding behind a large boulder. Tears of fear were flowing out of his eyes from how terrifying the bone bull looked. Talking to mares and loneliness had nothing against what Feather is fearing right now. Feather was startled when a charred Big Mac landed next to him. The poet stallion felt worse as not only he is acting cowardly, he is letting his party members get wrecked by a massive, skeleton bull monster. Feather thought if he really is the last adventurer standing, he as might as well go down from trying. He got up and slowly walked out from the boulder to be face to face with the bone bull. The monster looked at Feather with its flaming eyes that made the stallion almost soil his robe. Feather looked at his lyre and thought of the one thing his character class could do: sing. With one stroke from the lyre, it glowed in a golden aura. After a few more strokes from the lyre, Feather began singing:
The bone bull suddenly lowered itself so it could lay down in front of Feather. Feather approached the bone bull to place a hoof on its head.
"Thank you," Feather said as he nuzzled his head against the bone bull's head. The bone bull dissolved into green dust that was absorbed into Feather. He felt a new kind of power inside of him. When all of the green dust was gone, Feather instantly knew what to do. He stroked his lyre again and a green aura covered all of his party members. Soon, they started to wake up from their slumber.
"Wow! I feel like I just woke up from a great night's sleep!" Discord said as he stretched his body. Big Mac swung his sword around as a sign that he too felt better. Spike turned to see Feather running towards them.
"Thank goodness you're all alright!" Feather said.
"So what happened?" Discord asked. "Last time I checked, I got flattened by a boney bull." Discord noticed that the bone bull was no where in sight.
"Where did it go?" Discord asked.
"Let's just say that I gave the bull a good lullaby before he left." Feather smiled, much to the group's confusion. Spike cleared his throat.
"Well now that was taken care of, we should probably continue with our adventure." Spike said as he gestured to the exit.
"Yep," Big Mac agreed and Discord nodded.
"By the way, Fine Tune." Spike said.
"Yeah?" Feather asked.
"Great job out there." Spike replied. "You're perfect for our bard. Let's go guys! Adventure awaits!" Spike began walking away. Discord gave Feather a thumbs up with his paw while Big Mac gave a wink as a sign of a job well done. As the trio went towards the exit, Feather was left speechless from getting such praises.
'Yeah, I think I got the hang of their guys' night.' Feather thought as he ran to catch up with his party as they continued on with their dungeon adventure.
