The Arts of Friendship: Life in Color

by ColdCutChaos

Rating: teen
Tags: Human, Sad, Main 6, Romance, Original Character, Rainbow Dash, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 7737

Damien thought that he had lost everyone. However, Fate gave him a clean slate to make his mark Somewhere else.

Damien Angel Nelson was an up-and-coming street artist. He went through his life through illusion with his little brother, avoiding authorities, anti-graffiti activists, and their mother all across the nation. Then in one day, it was all taken from him. He went home to hide his failure, but while he slept, a a surge of magical energy sent him and his apartment right in Equestria. With a clean slate and some new toys, Damien has two choices: Try and find a way home, or thrive in this new world untouched by the Can. Rated T for mild language and violence.

Published 2013-10-01 15:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-30 21:59:51 UTC

Intro: Start Campaign

Chapter 1: Start Campaign

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don't come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they're having a piss.”

Damien Angel Nelson was a man of the arts. No, not those fine arts like classical music and the Mona Lisa. That was reserved for the aristocratic pricks in the office that loved to piss on everyone. He was into the street arts: the unknowingly sophisticated tags of Banksy, the smooth sounds of Grandmaster Flash, and the elusive movements of Underground dance crews that brought the man peace and aspiration during his struggles as a kid in the Bronx. The only ones who supported this crazy dream were his deceased father, Marcus Nelson, and his little brother, Mike. Everyone else, especially his mother simply spat on the poor kid's dream. Perhaps that is why, at age 13, the mulatto child took his 6-year-old brother to be tried in the art. It was that time that the two had soon become the biggest street artists in the nation: DAN and Ghost. However, that soon ended.

Damien, now 20 years old, returned home to the Bronx after a long bus ride home. It was done. He took a picture from his pocket and examined it. My last piece. Time for retirement. The young bearded man approached the building and unlocked it with the key in his pocket. Ascending the stairs, he thought about the events that had transpired. His friends. His little brother. His love... All gone so soon. "I guess maybe I should disappear," he muttered as he took his second key and unlocked his apartment door. Everything was still where it was. Art hung from the walls, CD's placed on a shelf next to the street artist's turntable, and the kitchen was empty, with not a speck of food. Deciding to sleep in his clothes, he trudged into the door and plopped on the mattress. As the sound of distant thunder rumbled, Damien looked outside, to see a thunderstorm rolling in. Music to my ears... he thought as he closed his eyes. One last thought passed through his mind as he drifted into sleep. Funny... Storms don't usually have green lightening...

~~~

A large crashing noise shook Damien from his sleep. He opened his eyes only to see pitch black darkness. He turned his head to the window. More darkness. "Great," he muttered, "City wide power outage..." Then the man got a thought. Power's out... This could be my chance... I could do something new! Start over! He got up and fumbled through the darkness until a leathery strap gripped into his hand. Tossing the bag around his shoulder, Damien reached a gloved a hand in and pulled out a torch. Turning it on, a large, bright beam of light illuminated the room. He ran out the door and promptly tripped on something, causing him to land face first into the dirt. Wait... Dirt?!? Damien looked down and, sure enough, he was lying on a dirt path. Damien turn the flashlight back to the door to find a box lying on its side. Hesitantly, he got up and opened it, revealing three items: a jet black digital watch that appeared to be dead, a spray paint can with no labels except for a tribal D,and a scroll held together by a grey string. First, Damien grabbed the scroll and unraveled it, reading quietly,

Dear DAN,
Congratulations on being the first street artist in Equestria! It is truly an honor. And your still human, even better! As a double prize, I'm going to give you two gifts. The first is a personal invention of mine. It's called the Map Watch. It both keeps time and creates a map of your surroundings. Plus, it tells when other creatures are around. Hostile creatures will be red, non-hostiles, green, and those with a job for you, well, they are the blue ones. The map grows the more you explore, so go nuts!! Literally, if you want!! Second, is the Technicolor Can Mk %i%. This can is unlimited and can go into any color you please. Just whisper the color into the nozzle, and BABOOM!! Different color!!! Have Fun!!
-D
P.S. The residents here have been untouched by the street arts, save for DJing. Try and make a good impression. ;)
P.P.S If your wondering how I found you before you woke up, you fell from the sky.

Again, the note was signed with a tribal D. Damien's mind was swimming with info. Equestria? Map Watch? Unlimited paint? Eventually he picked up the watch and put it on, causing the screen to glow neon green and display a green dot in the middle . "Whoa... Guess he wasn't kidding..." Turning to the can, Damien picked it up and turned back to the path, using the torch to illuminate the path into the town. Spotting it in the distance brought the thought, Whoa, small town. What, do Hobbits live here? Damien stealthily walked passed a cottage covered in foliage until he reached the town. Reveling in its small stature, he soon stumbled across what appeared to be a tall building that looked as if it was a giant closed gazebo of sorts. Checking the watch confirmed Damien's suspicions, which generated into a deviant smile. "Town Hall..." He muttered as he pulled a square stencil and the Technicolor Mk %i% muttering into it, "Shock Red," as the newly inspired street artist got to work on the town hall. He slowly painted square after square as if creating a mosaic until the message of his arrival had been brought to life. By the time he completed his tag, rushing to his new home in the forest, the sun had started to crack as the denizens would soon awake to a new concept that could change their lives...

~~~

Twilight Sparkle sat on the train as it quickly chugged down the countryside as she an her friends came down from the Crystal Empire back to Ponyville. She sighed, the thoughts of Flash Sentry still in her mind.

"Twilight!!"

"Ahh!!" Twilight suddenly met eyes with a pair of magentas belonging to Rainbow Dash, causing her to freak out and fall on her back. The cyan pegasus floated above the purple alicorn, a sultry smile on her face. "Still thinking 'bout that guard?"

"Ugh, Rainbow!!" Twilight blushed as she turned away. "Cut it out!!"

"Aw shucks, Twi," Appleack said, nudging Twilight's shoulder playfully, "There's no shame in havin' feelins' fer somepony. We all do at one point." Twilight giggled and looked down, "Okay, you're right..."

"Hey, Twi!" Pinkie bounced over to her alicorn friend, chirping, "How come you didn't use your chariot to get here?"

Thinking for a moment, Twiight said, "Well, I thought that it would be a good memory... You know, Since we always have our best times on the train-." Suddenly, the train came to a screeching halt, sending everypony, save for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, flying into the train car wall. "Except... For that..."

The Mane Six exited the train in a slight daze to observe the incident that had just occured. What was present to them were several ponies running in front of the tracks. Twilight, with a feeling of worry, stopped a passing pony and said, "Excuse me, sir, what's going on?" The pony, covered in sweat and panting, sputtered,

"P... Princess... Town Hall... S... Super important..." before running back towards town hall. Turning to her friends, who all donned concerned looks, nodded and rushed into town with the crowd. When they entered, they saw a large crowd surrounding the hall. "Off! Um... Excuse me!!" Twilight had said as she moved and shimmied her way through the crowd. When they reached the spot in which the crowd grew thickest, she gasped. Painted across the door where the words: Level 2 Press Start to Begin Campaign. The letters themselves were painted as if they were made from small red squares and on the bottom was a name. "DAN..." She looked at everyponyand shouted, "Does anypony know a DAN?!?!?"

"I do!!!"

Stepping out of the crowd which had suddenly gone silent was a chestnut brown unicorn. His eyes were sunken in with crows feet, his Cutie Mark had been that of a scroll, and his mane and tail was different shades of grey (Ha.). "Discord," Twilight said as she gave him an upset look. Pointing at the work with her hoof, she exclaimed, "Are you responsible for vandalizing Ponyville property?"

"Who me?" He made an over exaggerated gesture as if he had actually been offended. "Of couse not! I would never commit such an attrocity on such a building deserving of respect!!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Your acting is improving."

"Thank you, I've been practicing."

"So... Are you in any involvement with this?" Discord shrugged. "Perhaps... And if I am?" "Then we are sending you back to your stone prison." Discord groaned, admitting defeat. "Fine, Princess Sparkle, you win. I'll help you find the culprit, but I'll only help you my way." Chuckling his horn began to glow, saying in his soothing charming and yet bone-chlling voice,

"To find the artist born from rags, you must fist play a game: A game of Tags.

In that instance, a book fell upon Twilight's head as the ponyfied draconequuis walked and faded away into the crown. The others, struggling to push through the rowd made it, helping Twilight up.

"Well, Twi," Applejack said as she lifted her friend onto her hooves, "What's the book for?"

Twilight lifted the cover to he rface and read slowly, "Street Art: A History on a Long Forgotten Art..."

Chapter 2: Discovery

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.- Samuel Smiles

Chapter 2- Discovery

“Twilight, not to be a burden upon you, but are you sure this is a sound idea?” Rarity said as she levitated a brush from a bucket of purple paint.

“Positive. According to Discord’s book, these…” She stops to look into a page, “... Throwups are very important pieces. They have other forms such as tags, but those aren’t as important. Plus the…” She stops to look into the book, “Knight hasn’t left one yet.”

Rarity looked back at her, slightly indignified, “I’d hardly believe someone who would defile such an important building as a ‘knight’...”

Twilight showed her the book. “According to the book, a knight is someone who is well respected in the graffiti community, but isn’t necessarily fully respected, or a ‘king’.”

“Are there queens in the status?”

Twilight paused and took back the book looking through it. “... Actually there are. According to the book, there was a tribe of creatures that had participated in many forms of arts. One of the rituals for some was to paint on a building to claim it as their own. Each was unique to themselves and looked different depending on how the person desired.”

“My…” Rarity looked stunned at the information. “So do you believe that these creatures are here in Ponyville?”

“Doubtful…” Twilight showed her friend the book once again. “According to legend, the creatures vanished from the world 10,000 years ago, with very little trace of where they had gone. It’s possible that this is just a pony who found the information and decided to imitate the work.”

Rarity examined the images of creatures walking on two legs hunched as if animals. “... Twilight, I’ve seen these creatures before.”

Twilight looked very shocked, “Y-You have?!?”

“W-Well…” she stuttered, “Not actually, but there is a mare who does research on the creatures. She calls them… Humans.”

Twilight’s eyes suddenly sparked. “Human… Oh no… Oh no oh no oh no!”

“Twilight, what’s the matter?”

“Rarity, remember how I told you that you wouldn’t believe what the other world was like? That’s because when I wandered through the portal, I was no longer a pony. No one was!! We walked upright, on two hooves, or… Feet as they called it, had appendages on their front hooves or… Hands, which they called fingers, and they looked nothing like us and yet very similar to us, and I think one of them wandered in here!!”

Rarity’s jaw suddenly dropped. “A… A human… here?...”

“Well, most likely not human, the portal shifts the form to pony, but his mind is very much human!! We need to get him and send him back!!”

“I-I don’t understand!! How did you not realize that these creatures in the book were the humans referenced??”

“They didn’t mention it! Plus the book distorts the images so I couldn’t properly see that!!” Twilight looked all over the book saying, “Who even wrote the book, anyway?” She stopped as she opened the back of the book and noticed a signature. Her face twisted into a look of complete anger. “Obviously…”

“T-Twilight?...” Rarity slowly approached her friend and immediately ducked as the book was flung passed her and landed on the ground.

“DISCORD!!!!” Twilight yelled as she panted, steam coming out of her ears. She soon slumped on the ground, her hooves on her head. “How can things have gone so wrong?...”

Rarity, noticing how distressed Twilight was, picked up the book with her magic, blew the dust off of the book, and approached her, saying, “Twilight…” She looked up. “Just because the fool has decided to toss in another prank at us, doesn’t mean we can’t resolve it. We’ve been through worse, and we will always come through.”

Twilight looked at Rarity, whose face was locked in a very serious look, and smiled slightly, picking herself up, saying, “You’re right, Rarity. I shouldn’t be freaking out like this. It’s just…” She sighed looking up. “I’m a princess now… I have so much work to keep together, and I have to protect these people… I just don’t know if I can handle it all.”

“Nonsense!!” Rarity huffed, catching Twilight by surprise. “You are more than just a princess!! You are a scholar, a worker of not just the people, but the mind, itself. Plus…” She gave a smile of both confidence and sincerity, “You are a great mare with friends that will stay by your side until the very end!!”

Twilight smiled, a tear being shed as she hugged Rarity. “Thank you, Rarity… I am glad that I have you guys…” She released her friend as she noticed the sun began to set. Wiping her tear, saying, “Let’s finish this up. It’s almost night.”

~~~

Night had finally struck as the Mane Six gathered around the painting with a group of other ponies lead by a light tan unicorn with a brown mane and a camera Cutie Mark, the six mares complimenting on Rarity’s work.

“Style?” asked Rainbow Dash as she read the purple cursive writing.

“Ooo, I get it,” exclaimed Pinkie, “‘Cause you’re super stylish!”

“Precisely, Pinkie,” Rarity said, “It is also in a sense, a way of outdoing this… DAN at his so-called game.”

“We’ll, hogtie that lil vandalizin’ snake in the grass!” Applejack said as she smirked.

“Yeah!” Dash followed in.

“I love games!” Pinkie giggled, “This is like a biiiig game of Hide-and-seek except at night, when it’s all scaaaary!”

Fluttershy cringed when Pinkie said that and turned to Twilight, saying, “Um… T-Twilight? Are you sure that my animals will be okay while we do this?”

“Of course, Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she smiled, “I took the liberty of bringing forcefields up at your cottage, but kept the other buildings exposed. If DAN sees that there is nowhere to tag, then he’ll leave, but we need to find him and send him home. Him leaving means we need to do this another night.” Twilight pulled out a map and opened it up, revealing the entirety of Ponyville. “Applejack and Pinkie Pie, you two cover the northern area, schoolhouse, the marketplace with Rainbow Dash covering the skies.”

“You betcha, Twi!!”

"Consider it done!”

“Aw yeah!! Late night scouting mission!”

“Rarity and Fluttershy,” Twilight, continued, “You two will be handling the southern area as well as Sweet Apple Acres, with Fluttershy on the skies and entrance to the Everfree Forest.”

“You can count on us, Twilight!”

“We won’t let you down.”

“Big Mac, you will cover Sweet Apple Acres.” Big Mac nodded. “Now, for… What is your name again?”

“Snap Shot, ma’am. Quickest cameraman in Equestria.”

“Thank you again, Snap Shot for assisting in this. Are you sure anyone of your camera crew doesn’t wish to back out?”

“You kiddin’?” Snap Shot replied in a thick Manehatten accent, “Of course not! With the amount o’ bits they’re promised, plus the added scoop on this vandal? Shoot, they’re ecstatic!”

Twilight nodded. “Good. We’re scattering your group throughout the town to try and get a picture of him. We’re going to have at least one at every group. One at Sweet Apple Acres, one in the school house, two in the marketplace, one by the Carousel Boutique, one by the library, and two by the entrance of the Everfree Forest.”

Snap Shot nodded giving a smirk, saying “Can do, Princess.” He turned to the group saying, “C’mon, you heard her!! Quick Flash, the farm! Photo Shop, the Boutique! Timed Picture, go with Ambient Light to the marketpalce and try not to trip and screw up the shot!! Dark Room, school house, and make sure your flash is on, bub! Electric Flash, library!! Hot Shoe, you’re with me!” The group then scattered to their assigned locations, the green stallion called Timed Picture tripping before running alongside Ambient Light.

Twilight watched the group separate and turned to the group, saying, “I also took the liberty of finding a spell to allow us to stay awake for the night.”

Her horn then began to glow, an orb of light coming out and over the six before bursting into sparkles. Pinkie began to jump up and down, saying, “Alright! I’m not tired at all!”

“There’s a shocker…” Rainbow Dash snickered as she flew up, “What about the photographers? Shouldn’t they get some of this, too?

“I talked to Snap Shot prior. I had already placed the spell on them.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and brought up a hoof, shouting, “So, are we ready to find this guy or what?!?”

“Yeah!” The group cheered as they split into different directions, unaware of the hidden figure that slipped into the shadows as if it had never been there…

~~~

Applejack stopped and looked around. She swore she heard movement just now. As she looked behind her she noticed something that made her jump. A strange glowing object had been placed a distance behind her. As the farmpony approached it, she noticed that its features. It was small, looking like it was made from tape and lights. She also noticed that it had other colors, a couple red lights on top and a couple green lights on the bottom along with the middle clear lights. Hesitantly, Applejack tapped it with her hoof and it fell over harmlessly. She picked it up carefully and observed it. “What kinda creation is this?...” She muttered to herself. Thinking she should find one of the others, the mare bit the end with her teeth and ran around looking for one of the others. Soon enough, near the schoolhouse, she had found Pinkie looking around, jumping in and out of various shubbery and trees.

“Pinkie!!” She yelled as she waved the strange glowing object in her mouth. Pinkie immediately caught notice of Applejack and hopped over to her. “Oh hi, Applejack!! Nice Throwie you have there!!”

AJ put down the lit-up object and looked at her friend curiously. “Throwie? Pinkie, what in Celestia’s name is a throwie?”

“It was in Twilight’s book! It’s an LED Throwie, like a way to mark stuff without the paint! You just need to glue it down and tada!”

“Glue it?” Applejack looked at the bottom of the Throwie. “Pinkie, there was no glue on this one.”

“There wasn’t? Then why would it be there-? Ow!” Suddenly Pinkie lifted her front hoof and then felt her eye twitch. “Oh no… Not that combo…” Pinkie then burst out running towards the marketplace.

“Pinkie!” Applejack yelled, “Where are ya going?!?”

Pinkie stopped and turned around. “Something bad is going to happen at Sugarcube Corner!!” Suddenly filled with alarm, Applejack ran with Pinkie to Sugarcube Corner, but couldn’t keep up with Pinkie in full panic mode.

~~~

Pinkie arrived to Sugarcube Corner to the sound of hissing. She saw a dim figure moving throughout the building, holding a can and sheet of paper of some sort. Looking around, she also noticed two figures. Looking closer she saw it was the unmoving bodies of Timed Picture and Ambient Light. Now mad, she began to run towards the figure and slammed into him hard, making it drop to the ground. She knocked the can out of the way and stamped both hooves onto its appendages, rendering them useless until the figure barely slipped out of Pinkie’s grip and pulled out another stick like object. It quickly passed by his face before she felt a strange spongy material rub against her face and she was met with a very strong, odd scent. She suddenly began to feel very dizzy and was soon pushed off as the figure ran across the town, disappearing into the darkness. She struggled to get up, still disoriented from the scent that was continuously filling her skull. At that moment, Applejack ran into the scene and stopped looking at the Timed Picture and Ambient Light. She walked slowly to them and placed her ear against Timed’s chest. She then did the same with Ambient and muttered, “well… Ya’ll are breathin’...” She heard a grunt and turned to see Pinkie struggling to get up. She ran to the pink mare and helped her up.

“Pinkie, are ya’ll okay?”

“I-I’m fine, Applejack... Just a teensy bit dizzy...”

Rainbow Dash flew down from the Northeast, saying, “Pinkie!” She helped up her friend asking, “Pinkie, are you okay?”

“I’m fine Dashie…” Pinkie said in a slight daze. “Just a bit woozy…”

Dash sighed and smiled nervously. “Heh… You almost got me there… What is that on your muzzle, anyways?” she asked pointing at the black streak across Pinkie’s muzzle.

Applejack sniffed the spot and quickly turned away, saying, “Hoo-wee! That there’s some strange smellin’ stuff.” She looked at Dash. “Ah reckon it’s how DAN got away.”

Dash looked over at the unconscious bodies of the two camera ponies.

“Those two’ll be just fine. Ah reckon DAN must’ve knocked ‘em out.”

“This thing… Just… Wow…”

“Girls!!”

The three looked and saw Twilight, a hoof around a crying Rarity and Fluttershy hovering over.

“Aw don’t tell me DAN got ya’ll too!!”

“I-I-It was horrible!! He got my boutique!!” Rarity cried dramatically on Twilight’s shoulder.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Rarity, DAN got Sugarcube Corner AND Pinkie!”

Rarity stopped crying and looked, “Pinkie?!?” She looked at her pink friend and saw a black streak across her muzzle. “My word, Pinkie! Are you all right?!?”

“She’s fine,” Applejack replied, “She just gotta little marker. Ah think. Ah never seen marker that strong before.”

Twilight, looking slightly distressed and more in deep thought, muttered, “His new throwup was of a silhouette of a creature holding a knife. Kind of like it was defending itself. That has to be him, then. And these…” She looked at the tags on the walls of Sugarcube Corner. It was several pixelated figures of a bite-sized hooded creature jumping across the walls. The last one near the top appeared to be unfinished.

“Ah swear, these paintin’s are gettin’ stranger and stranger by the second…” Applejack muttered.

“PRINCESS!!”

Twilight turned to see Snap Shot running with Hot Shoe, whose left I was swollen and black. “I got it! Princess, that palooka got past us, but when he was tusslin’ with Hot Shoe here, I got a pic of the guy.” He then showed her a picture of Hot Shoe being punched by a tall, hooded figure. The picture was in amazing resolution, showing the details of the clothing and even a patch of dark broen between the black gloved hand and the hoodie.

Rarity looked at the picture. “That fits the silhouette at my boutique to a tee!”

Twilight then proceededto get into deep thought, saying, “We need a new strategy…I could get Celestia’s guards, but this DAN is apparently able to elude us even with a large group. We need to corner him. somehow…”

“Twilight…”

Everyone turned to Pinkie who had a smile of seriousness and the “I have an idea” look on her face.

“I know how we’re going to do this…”

“How Pinkie?”

“Pinkie Pie style.”

~~~

“I’m not dreaming…” Damien muttered as he began to pack his bag. “I’m really in a place full of talking ponies…” Damien woke up realizing his so-called “nightmare” was real. He had landed in a place full of talking mini-horses. “How?... Just… Where am I?” Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he made a mental note to be careful today. Leaving his apartment, Damien looked up at the moon, his only other light source besides his torch, and then observed around and snuck his way through the forest. Seeing the edge of the forest, the Afro-Mexican decided to turn left, walking along the edge of the forest until he stopped at a large red barn. He looked as the Map Watch lit up, with words appearing on the screen saying: “Discovered: Sweet Apple Acres.” Sweet Apple Acres, huh? With a barn that big, I can definitely get a good piece in… Damien quickly glided through the shadows, stopping between trees at every opportune moment. Eventually, he made it to the barn. He gripped the Technicolor Can and whispered, “Black Matte…” And began to work out the outline of his piece. A half an hour paced, and the outline was complete, a brain being struck by four bolts of lightning. However, before he could command the next color, a light shone on him followed by a booming, “Intruder!!” Damien instinctively covered his face from the light and peeked to see the source of the light. It was one of the small horses, one with a horn on its head, with the horn being the source of the light. It was pure white and doned golden armor, as if it had been a part of a military force. This is bad! He thought, Gotta bounce!! He turned tail and ran towards the trees, only to be stopped by another golden armored horse. Thinking on his feet, he turned and ran straight into town. I might be able to lose them there! He pushed himself to run faster, as if for his life, which for all he knew, he could be. Suddenly, his mind flashed.

~~~

Damien ran throught the streets, his whole crew hopping a fence to get free and his little brother on his back. He tossed his Lil J over and hopped the fence, motioning towards a white male, about 19 years of age, sporting a trademark dark hoodie and beanie, out- of-breath and very far behind. The man stopped and dropped on a knee.

“Marcus, cmon!!”

“I can’t do it, man!!”

“The heat’s gainin’ on us, man!! Don’t wimp out!!”

Several policemen were heading straight for Marcus, who just looked up in a cold sweat and smiled sadly.

“It’s too late for me, dude… Paint on brotha…”

“MARCUS!!”

~~~

Damien snapped back to reality. He was still in hot pursuit and saw he nearly lost them. He turned a corner and hid within an unlit shop. He waited for the guards to pass. Hearing hoofsteps pass by, Damien sighed and prepared to step outside, only for the lights to go on, dazing the street artist as he heard one word!

FLASH!

“Surprise!!!”

~~~

Quick Note from theAuthor

Thank you all for your patience. I apologize for taking so long, I had a lot of work to do these past few weeks. Do not expect a chapter to be finished this quickly, though, because like many others, I am extremely busy. Again, thank you for your patience. ColdCutChaos, out.

Chapter 3: When in Rome...

I'm not trying to keep up or adapt. I'm allowing myself to grow, evolve and create new music. -LL Cool J

Chapter 3: When in Rome...

Flash!!

“Surprise!!”

“Ahh!!!”

Damien covered his eyes as the flash sent him into temporary presbyopia, the room filling with a bright blurriness. He had heard murmuring throughout the area and tried to focus his eyes again to see who was there. As he began to refocus, he noticed a pair of blue orbs hovering in front of his face. Suddenly, shades of pink surrounded the orbs, and, as his eyes began to focalize, he realized he was staring into a pair of bright blue eyes.

“What the-!!”

He tripped back and hit something solid. Looking back, he came face to face with the same guards from last time blocking his only exit. Only, they didn’t seem as determined to actually capture him now as to stop him from leaving. He slowly backed away and turned back to the pink pony, who again, was too close for comfort in his personal space. She opened her mouth and said, “Hello Mr. Human Man I’m Pinkie and I threw this party just for you I didn’t know if you remember me I’m the pony who knocked you off Sugarcube Corner that’s the building we’re in now anyways I just wanted to say I forgive you for kicking me and I hope you enjoy your stay in Ponyville and-!”

“Woah woah woah, hold up here!!” Everything went deadly silent.

"First off, I gotta couple questions, so don’t be going ahead and tellin’ me things I do or don’t already know! First off, who’s in charge of this lil’ party?”

Pinkie just giggled, “Well, me of course!!”

“So you’re in charge?”

“Well, of the party, yes!”

“What about the guards?”

“Oh, those aren’t my guards! I don’t have any guards! Well, except for some knee guards for hoofball, but those don’t really cmph!!” Damien placed his hand over Pinkie’s mouth and met her eyes with a cold, calculating stare.

“Then who’s in charge of them?”

“Me.”

Damien looked up and saw from the crowd emerge a small horse very different from the rest. While Damien noticed that some of these ponies (which he overheard one of them call another in the whole of the murmuring) had either a horn, wings, or neither, this purple pony had both. He recognized her voice as the one giving the orders last night. He moved Pinkie out of the way slowly and walked towards the pony, who looked at Damien muttering, “By Celestia… You’re… You really are fully human…”

Damien looked slightly confused, but quickly shook his head and asked, “Look, would you mind telling those guards to move their asses out of the way so I can go home?”

The purple mare shook her head and pulled out a scroll. “Before I do, I have several questions I need to ask you.” She slowly unrolled the scroll and cleared her throat. “First off, are you familiar of someone by the name Sunshine Shimmer?”

Damien shook his head, “No. Look, I don’t know what kinda voodoo you put on me, but I want to go back home. Now!!” He raised his voice to a degree that shook the building slightly, causing everything to be silent, save for a distant crying that Damien recognized as a baby’s cry. He held his head in anger and said quietly, “Look, if you really wanna know more about me, then you gotta show me a little respect.”

“Respect?” the mare said, slightly taken aback, “Sir, I don’t know your full traditions, but here, painting over official government buildings is illegal and considered vandalizing property!”

“Good!” Damien said as he lifted his arms up, as if to challenge her, “‘Cause that tells me all about this place! Unappreciative of the struggle of a person who just lost everything and’s got nothin’ but the one thing- the ONE thing!!- that made him stand out in a crowd and show a single fight against corruption!!”

“Corruption?” she asked, slightly afraid. “I-I don’t understand…”

“Of course you don’t understand! You’re not smart enough to open your damn eyes and see what we saw!!”

“Hey!!”

Again, before Damien could react, a pair of magenta met his dark brown ones as another pony, this one cyan with wings and a rainbow colored mane, hovered above his face, with a few other ponies approaching behind.

This is bad, he thought, I’m outmatched and I have no idea how strong these ponies are. I might be screwed this time.

“Did you hear me?!?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you ‘Huh?’ me! You heard what I said!! Don’t ever talk about my friends like that! You’re a gutless criminal ‘cause you can’t face anything! You just trick people to try and get what you want!!” This single sentence was enough to make Damien snap. In one fluid motion, he sent an open palm right to her chest, causing her to fly back and hit the wall. He heard hoofsteps from behind him, and quickly dodge rolled out of the way, picking up a plate and slinging it like a frisbee right into the face of one of the guards, causing him to fall back into the other. Good, an opportunity. By the time the guards got up, Damien had vanished out the door and disappeared out of the town.

~~~

The Next Day

“Scootaloo, are ya sure we should be doin’ this?”

“Positive, Apple Bloom! You saw that guy! He was an animal! He’s bound to get us our Cutie Marks!!”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders wandered towards the entrance of the Everfree Forest. It had been the following afternoon since Damien was discovered and since then, his name had been slandered by the Ponyville Express. While Scootaloo would normally be mad at anyone who hurt Rainbow Dash, this creature was bound to help the girls get their Cutie Marks in Creature Hunting. Sweetie Belle, extremely hesitant at first, decided to accompany with her fellow Crusaders. It wasn’t because she was “honor bound,” like Scootaloo said earlier. It was because She wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to them. Not like what almost happened last time…

“Alright, c’mon girls! Let’s get moving!”

The three smiled and yelled in unison, “Cutie Mark Crusader Creature Hunting!! Yay!!” They ran into the forest, the darkness quickly filling their vision. They continued to wander. Eventually, as Scootaloo walked trying to keep her footing without tripping over anything, she noticed part of the ground was… Flatter. Looking down, she made out in the dark a large print in the grass. “Look girls, a print!! It must belong to that monster!!”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “I don’t really think he’s a monster. He’s just a bit misunderstood.”

“Sweetie Belle, he messed up Ponyville, hates Celestia, and hurt Rainbow Dash! What classifies to you as a monster?”

“Ah gotta agree with Scoots, Sweetie. He can’t just just wander inta Ponyville just paintin’ all over buildin’s like that. It’s wrong.”

Sweetie Belle looked at the two, a look of dejection clearly visible on her face and then said, “You’ll see. He won’t be that bad,” as she followed the footprints, her friends looking at her with a look of worry. As they followed the prints, a sound was becoming louder and easier to hear in the forest. It sounded familiar. Almost like… “Music.”

“Ya’ll hear it too?” Applebloom asked asked as she looked in the direction the music was going.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said as she bobbed her head slightly to the music, “Sounds pretty good.” The three followed the music to the source, which turned out to be a brick building which sounded like it was vibrating. Scootaloo turned to Applebloom, asking, “Did you bring the net?” She nodded and pulled a large net usually used for catching large beasts. “Perfect.” Turning to the door of the building, she took a deep breath and reached a hoof out, tapping the door. It slowly creaked open, letting a large amount of the music out. The three covered the hooves as the wandered into the houses.

“It’s too loud in here!!”

“What?!?” yelled Scootaloo.

“Ah said, it’s too loud in-” *click* The music suddenly stopped and silence fell onto them. “Here…”

“Um…” Scootaloo stuttered as the three backed up. “M-Maybe… Maybe we should go now.” As they turned around, however, they were met with a tall shadowy creature lurking over them while holding a strange and extremely scary pipe-like device in its hand.

“U-Uh…” Scootaloo stuttered, “S-Sorry, Mr. Monster… We were just leaving…” The three tried to leave, but the large dark-skinned creature quickly stopped them with a quickly placed foot.

“Who sent you?” the creature asked.

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” he said in a terrifying and almost threatening tone, “Who sent you.”

“N-No one, sir…” Applebloom said, shrinking back.

“Bull, you’re here with a net, it’s obvious that you’re here to capture me.” His eyes scanned the three up and down. “And it’s obvious that they’re bastards if they send children to do it.”

Scootaloo looked at the beast and stood up straight. “Hey! We’re big fillies, and we can handle anything!!”

The creature made a smirk and pulled the device away from them. “Heh. Cocky lil ones, ain’t ya?”

Scootaloo began to let out steam and marched up to the bipedal creature and said with a very demanding tone, “Hey!! You got some nerve comin’ into Equestria, painting over our town, and hurting Rainbow Dash like that!”

“R-Rainbow,”Applebloom tried to intervene, “Ah think ya better stop…”

“You came through this place and left a lot of questions unanswered, and by Celestia, you’re going to answer them!!”

The beast placed a hand on its chin and began to think. “Hmm…” A’ight.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo took a step back, bewildered.

“I said, a’ight. Imma answer your questions. On one condition.”

“W-What’s that?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Answer me this question.” He leaned in to the three’s faces and asked, “Why did you follow me into the forest and enter my house with a net?”

The three looked down at the floor, their faces presented with a look of guilt. Sweetie Belle sighed and looked to the monster’s eyes with teary eyes, saying “We were planning on capturing you and bringing you back to Ponyville!!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom shouted.

“But it’s only because we’re really desperate on getting our Cutie Marks and we thought that if we brought you back, we would get them!!” Sweetie Belle dropped to the ground in a fit of tears, “Oh Celestia, please don’t hurt us!!”

The creature only tilted his head in confusion, “Cutie Mark? What the hell is that?”

“What, a Cutie Mark?” Scootaloo stepped in, “It’s a mark that appears on your flank when you’ve discovered your one true talent. You creatures never heard of it?”

The creature shook his head, “Naw man, back home, we don’t have things like that. To us, there’s no such thing as one true talent.”

Applebloom, feeling more at ease, decided to step in, “Ya’ll mean ya don’t have a way to tell what your special talent is?”

“Naw, ‘cause a real talent, to most of us, is shown by action, not symbols.” The three looked at each other in confusion. Actions, not symbols? they thought in unison, What the hay does that mean? “Well, you’ve answered my question, now it’s my turn.” He turned tail and sat on a sofa that rested in what appeared to be the creatures living room. “My name is Damien Angel Nelson. I’m a human, which apparently none of you pony folk are familiar with, I was born in a place called New York, in a part of town called the Bronx. I’m a street artist, meaning I make murals and paintings over the whole of the city in any spot possible.”

"Ain’t that wrong, though?” Applebloom added as the three sat in front of him, and Damien just shrugged it off, saying “To some, yeah, but that’s ‘cause they think we’re tryin’ to mess up the city with meaningless paint. In reality…” He leaned into the attentive fillies, waving a hand over their faces, whispering, “We spread secret meanings and magic throughout our paintings.”

“Woah…” Scootaloo’s eyes glittered in wonder of the story.

“My meanings…” He continued as he leaned back into the couch, “Was to fight a threat that had made my people homeless, broke, and hateful.”

Scootaloo got up and jumped, “What was it? What was it??”

Damien smirked and got up. “That… Is a story for another day. But I do got somethin’ better.”

The three tilted their heads.

“Imma help ya get your Cutie Marks.”

The three suddenly brightened up and looked at Damien. “R-Really?!?” Damien nodded and the three jumped and hugged him. “Thank you!!”

Damien, shocked at first, just rolled his eyes and smiled as he hugged them back. “First, you have to promise me that you won’t question my judgement as a leader and a teacher from this point on.”

The three got off Damien and saluted as they shouted in unison, “Promise!!”

“Good,” he smiled and turned to a stack of papers and a pen. “Hey, quick question, were those six ponies that stood their ground against me important?”

“Buck yeah, they are!!” Scootaloo said, “They’re the Elements of Harmony! Theres Applejack, Element of Honesty, Pinkie, Element of Laughter, Rarity, Element of Generosity, Fluttershy, Element of Kindness, Twilight, Element of Magic, and the best of all…” she yelled as she jumped into the air, “The Element of Loyalty, RAINBOW DASH!!”

Damien rubbed his ears as she yelled. The filly obviously has lungs, he thought. “Stay right here, I’m going to have some stuff for you.” Damien turned and grabbed the paper and pen and went to the kitchen. About a half an hour later, he came back with six folded piece of paper. “Take these to the Elements, but don’t let them see you do it. Wouldn’t want to get ya in trouble.” The four shared a laugh as Damien shouted playfully, “Now, get outta here, all of ya!!” The three nodded and ranout the door, yelling, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MESSENGERS, YAY!!!” DAmien simply smiled and looked down, thinking, Heh… I guess I got some new students, huh Mark?

~~~

Later that Day

Rainbow Dash yawned as she awoke from her nap. She rubbed her stomach. Nothing was broken, but she definitely wouldn’t judge that creature again, if it ever showed it’s ugly mug around here ever again. She looked down from her cloud, and noticed something unusual. Lying in the middle of the field was a folded piece of paper. She flew down and grabbed it, unfolding it. As she was about to read it, she heard the distant sound of, “Rainbow!!” She turned her head and saw, in the distance, her friends. She knew something was off when she saw in each of their mouths the same type of paper. “Girls, what’s going on?” She asked as they made it to her.

Twilight placed the paper down and was the first to speak. “It’s DAN.”

“What did he do?? Did he hurt somepony?” Rainbow began to get riled up. “I swear if he did…”

“Calm down, Dash.” Applejack interrupted, placing a hand on her friend to calm her down. “It ain’t bad. Apparently, the varment wants to make amends.”

“What?!?” Rainbow shouted. She turned away and read the letter. Afterwards, she turned to the rest, saying, “This is crazy!! we can’t trust this guy! He’s so unpredictable! You saw how fast he was!! This could be a trick!!”

“We know, Dash,” Twilight said, turning towards the Everfree Forest. “We understand how bad this situation might be. Which is I’m keeping supervision on him at all costs. We could all be wrong about this human. He could be a misguided soul who just needs some direction.” She turned back to her friends, continuing, “But we know better than to assume something as such. What do you say, girls? Should we give him a chance?”

Applejack nodded. “I think we should give the feller a chance.”

“I second that,” Rarity added

Fluttershy stepped forward, “Me too.”

“You bet I’m in!!” Pinkie jumped up, cheering.

“Well, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight looked at the rainbow-maned mare who grumbled, “Rgh… Fine, I’ll give him a chance. But no funny business!!”

Twilight nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control.”

While the five talked about the subject of DAN, Twilight looked at the setting sun, thinking, I won’t misjudge you, Damien. Not like I did Sunshine Shimmer…

~~~

Dear Elements of Harmony,

First off, before you ask how I know you, it's cause I got little helpers know. Now, I know we aren't on the best of terms, and for good reason. I wrecked your friend, Rainbow Dash, and to her, I'm truly sorry. I was just defending myself. My first instinct, when I met you, was to interrogate you and not trust a word you say, cause that's how I was raised. But seeing- hell, feeling- all the peace this place had, I could tell this place ain't like mine. So, I want to help better this community. Try and make it even brighter than it was. I never seen real friendship like what you guys have in a long time. I respect that. I plan on stopping by later tomorrow for a bit of discussion on settling in. Then you guys might be able to send me back home. I'd really appreciate it.

With feelings of cool,
Damien Angel Nelson
DAN

End Notes

Phew, this took a while. I apologize for anyone waiting for this chapter, I guess I just got a case of Writer's Block, it was hard on how to word this. Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! Try not to die on Black Friday!! ColdCutChaos signing out!!