,

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I stared at the decrepit ceiling above, mold made the ceiling as green as the forest that I had been immersed in for quite a long time. It didn’t bother me though, I gave up on caring years ago. I rolled out of bed falling two feet to the wood below. I stood and stared at the unvarnished wood below me. Like everything else, I gave up on caring not because I didn’t know how to varnish wood but simply because I had no money. I parted the hanging sheets that was my door. looking at the small generator I kept outside under a homemade woven canopy of fallen leaves. It powered the only light bulb of my home and the old TV and VCR which I only used to watch the last recorded episodes of a “cartoon” called “My little Pony Friendship Is Magic” but that's it. The colors calmed me when I felt overwhelmingly alone. I looked around, surveying the area. Birds were chirping and a squirrel came and dropped a nut at my feet, but otherwise nothing. I’m not sure why they thought I was friendly, even though I was, they didn’t know that, Maybe they sensed it.

I let out a heaving sigh and thanked the squirrel, and walked up to the patch of mint just outside of my home. It was a special mint that my father had made back when he to was alive, but now since he’s gone it only makes sense for me to use it. No matter how much of it was used or how cold it got it continued to grow, leaving a beautiful tint of mint to the cold air; I picked some, the minty smell becoming evermore pungent.

I built a fire out of the last bit of flint I had and as the fire roared, crackling from the wood I had fed it. I couldn’t help but remember a story that my mother had read to me as a child. I walked down to the river, It wasn’t a long walk. It was filled with a variety of fish but I never once had I tried to catch them. I never had eaten fish or meat, for fear that I would extinguish a life, just like they had extinguished mine. I put my pot inside the river, bubbles gurgled up from it. I walked back to my home and hold the pot above the fire awaiting for it to boil, and slowly dropped the mint inside.

When it was ready I walked back inside and grabbed an old mug. It was one of the only things I continued to clean. I walked back to the fire and let the boiling liquid fall into the mug and used the rest of it to extinguish the fire. I grabbed the tree nearest my “home” with one hand on the mug and climbed it quickly. I jumped onto the old roof of my “home” not a single drop of the liquid fell. The tin groaned as I landed on it, as it had many times before. I put my hand on the cold metal and sipped the bitter sweet liquid. It was just early enough to catch the sunrise. I felt the rays of warm light warm my brown hair. I looked down at my light brown skin the light reflecting off of it. The rays of light made life return to my grey eye’s making them seem silver, or so I was told. It was one of the two highlights of my day,

for any day.

As the sky began to change color I let out another sigh, It was time for school. I changed to my only other pair of clothes, they smelled deeply of mint and made with I could only presume to be cotton. It was the most boring shade of color, grey. I couldn’t leave without a taking a bath. I returned to the river and went inside, letting the frozen water lick my frozen body and rubbed the pieces of mint that I had picked. I finished letting myself dry in the cold air, before returning home.

I climbed another tree. dropping several of the overly-large leaves. I dropped, rolling on the ground as I hit, covered my home, and departed.

I travelled through the trees running though their green leaves, as If they were paved streets. I passed many animals all staring at me but not giving any look of disappointment. I traveled for about half an hour and I started to see where the trees began to turn grey, A 9 foot fence suddenly materialized before me. The city was supposed to be invisible but I new my way by now, not like it was hard to distinguish from grey to green. The buzzing reminded me of the bees that these people were so afraid of. I looked at the city within, grey. Grey cement, grey cars, grey buildings, and even a cloudy sky. I used one of the trees and jumped onto the other side of the fence. falling a good ten feet before I reached the cement ground of the alley. I rolled and stood up in the alley, and started my boringly grey life....

As I reached the end of the darkened alley I stopped checking for any other people to pass before I exited it. Nothing I walked slowly trying to fit the rest of the cities strides. Several cars passed, I also came to find independent repair bot's that seemed to roam the streets at night, maybe they were hoping on catching me.

This "city" as I came to know it was just varying shades of grey. No colors at all broke all these poor citizens allthough some are "Happy" on the out side they are forced to do so and even than even the most blind person could see that that was so.

I reached a grey electronic billboard showing a hooded man in grey that only slightly contrasted the grey from the looming skyscrapers. It was me, not that anybody knew, since my face was covered by a black hood. The picture changed and now showed the words regulate.

“Hey Mike!” I heard a gruff voice behind me Crap.

“Hey Bastion!” I replied not being indifferent to the husky guy behind me, as I turned around with a fake expression of surprise. He was supposed to be my “friend” but none of these people were. I had lost my friends quite sometime ago. The people like bastion were unaware of the color.

We walked to school together another grey structure that was simply shadowed by the demonic looking sky scrapers.

We walked In

“Ummmmm..... Hi” I saw a girl blush as she walked passed me. I didn’t know why they did this. They always say that I’m “handsome” and “good looking”. I was semi well built and stood awkwardly out at 5” 8’ everybody else was a tad bit shorter than me. I had those boring grey eye’s. I didn’t see it the way almost all the girls seemed to , I gave a mental scoff. I wasn’t anywhere near perfect and I knew it. I didn’t want to fix any of them because trying to be perfect would be in imperfection unto itself

I didn’t reply, I was way to shy to say anything even though deep down to my greying core I was a outgoing guy. This only made her giggle as she continued to flush an even deeper crimson. I kept walking to my grey locker and put in my locker combo 12-65-99 I took out my “Science of Grey” book and started my grey day.

---------------------------------

I felt myself blush as I stared at her, she was so beautiful. Her eyes were blue and gave me hope about a better day. Her hair reminded me of the sunset I loved so much. and she herself was a perfect jewel. It was lunch and I had been staring at her in the quiet cafeteria. Shit

Her eye’s connected with mine and I felt myself flush an even deeper shade of red. She stood up not bothering to wave off her friends, and started towards me. I got up to but I decided to walk outside of the cafeteria when I felt something warm on my shoulder. I turned back and I was face to face with her.

“Mike..” She began almost pleading to me to say. was quick to shake her off. My heart longed for her, but if she were to get involved she would get hurt. That would drive me insanity and I knew it. I walked out giving her one last pleading look that matched hers

“Sorry........ Kema” was all I said, and once again my heart, broke.

--------------------------------

I reached into the deeper recesses of my locker. I made sure that nobody was around and took out a black box. I put in the combination 98-23-24-34-56-34-65-56-01 their was a barely audible click and pulled out one of the crimson hoodies. I put it on making sure the hood covered my face but, as I walked through the grey corridors of the school. I passed a picture of Kema and I as King and queen of the school. my cheeks were more grey in the picture. Why I let out a sigh.

I was intelligent I passed every test, every assignment was easy, for me. The teachers weren't really surprised by it anymore. I was strong enough to play every sport and agile enough for me to go under suspicion. Everybody liked me which explains the king not like it mattered though I had no power here. I continued on my way it was dark not because it was night but clouds above made it that way.

I climbed on the nearest skyscraper feeling the wind on my dangling legs felt good. I propelled myself onto a shorter building and ran across the cold surface.

I was the last color, Red. All of my real friends were gone Orange,Green,Yellow.Blue.Indigo,Violet. The last survivors of the Blotch. A political entity that believes that all things should be regulated. That arrived here the year I was born.

They have been dead for some time now. I saw them get ripped apart from the helicopters guns. killed by explosives. I had heard that Orange got murdered in his sleep. It was my job to keep the memory alive, I took out my remaining paint can and began to run. I ran atop the buildings my sneakers squeaking as they hit some of the polished cement. I dropped onto buildings and burst through windows causing as much havoc as I could as I dragged my brush along the walls and floors. As made the next jump glass covering me as I flew dropping ever more down a level. I saw a helicopter.

I burst through a window, almost every shard cutting into my skin at the exposed parts of my body the lights of the helicopter continued to track my movements as it continued to blast rounds in the places I had just been. I was in an office building and reached another window, I jumped out and into the next building. This was my way of protesting. I passed many people they all tried to stop me not wanting to harm them I simply slit under their legs of ran up the walls to avoid them. I was intelligent and could see movement from a mile away.

My time was up as a ringer began from the sweater. I was running out of time I had five minutes to reach the outskirts of town before the sweater disintegrated. The helicopter was still firing rounds into the buildings and as I hopped from building to building I reached the edge of town where the alley was.

I reached the ground floor slowly slipping off my sweater as I dodged rounds from the approaching helicopter. The helicopter continued to tear at the cement behind me not trying to kill me but hurt me.
A bit of shrapel from the cement pierced my flesh deep im my calf. I tried to run on it but collapsed.

I hit the ground only a few feet away from the alley entrance. The chopper blades began to slow as it hit the ground. The lights turned off and a figure stepped outside. He gave me a wicked smile. Graiden

“So it seems we’ve caught Red” He said in a blank tone. He gave an awkward laugh as if trying to suppress his emotions. He walked closer and I tried to crawl on my back, but it was to late. He stomped his leg on my injured foot. I cried in pain but did not whimper. He walked kto my sweater and tossed it to me

“Put it on!” he demanded, but in midair it disintigrated making only ash fall upon me. He pulled out a small fire arm and aimed it directly for my head

“STOP!” the voice was sweet, No please, stop I cried mentally, It was her......Kema.
he raised his gun to her not hesitating to pull the trigger and fired twice.

The world around us exploded in brilliant hues. My head began to throb making a new pain start. He fell to the ground dropping the gun. the world began to fade...... or at least it looked like it was and I finally blacked out.................

my life had lost meaning for that moment....

As I to lost hope.......

I was lost.......

and

so.....

was she........

my heart had finally succumb to the grey......

bye.....

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Once before he was here and before this city was grey. Thier used to be other places. Just like the city here they were large and had big skyscrapers but they had many different colors. They lived in peace but things started to change.

Some colors didn’t agree and they became corrupted by their beliefs.

Metal eggs fell from the sky and many of the colors were demolished leaving only grey remains. Red was smart enough to send a group of people to an unknown Island and that’s where we are today.

His mom smiled at him before giving him a kiss on his forhead, and she left the room.

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“I need you to get something from the cellar” He handed me a bit of paper and pushed me in the cellar. It was dark and scary but I continued down the stairs following the dim light of the single light bulb. The door shut above I heard some scraping up above and finally it went silent, I began to cry.

“DAD!” I cried but as I walked into the light I opened the piece of paper

HI son

sorry

We have to go, don’t look for us and wait till it goes real quiet before you leave the cellar. Don’t cry we’ll always be with you....... in your heart

the paper was wet with tears.

above me were two loud bangs followed by two thuds and then the sound of something being dragged along the floor.

------------------------------

I opened my eye’s their was no pain in my leg. I was....in the forest? Was it a dream? it didn’t seem to be. Yet nothing could explain this. He stared at the forest

I looked all around. It was dark, but this was a forest and it had color I immediately headed for a tree to climb in it for cover but I found myself unable to feel my fingers to climb it’s oaken sides. Wierd I gave up and walked in the forest. I came accross many animals that hid from me. why? I kept walking blindly in the dark forest when I heard some noise. Something …..Joyous?

I followed the noise it became louder, and louder untill I got to a town. My mouth was agape color. It filled my eye’s with tears as I saw it pink, blue, orange, yellow, cyan, indigo,purple, and many more I could not name.

My mouth began to water unintentionally as my nose caught a wiff of something sweet. And the lights were coming from a tree in the distance. My heart dropped I recongnized this place.

This was

This was

Ponyville.

Authors Note Version 1.1

Noticable changes a little bit more description of the city less "Intrusive transitions"

---------------- <--- In case you didn't know can be interpreted as a dream or memory although those that are not italicized are dreams those who are not are the memories.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv or VVVV means a amount of time has changed