Forgotten

“Oh, come on... Where is that booth?”

Ponyville’s market square seemed to be packed more densely than usual today. On most weeks, it took Umbra mere minutes to get through or around the crowds and collect everything he needed. Today, there were so many ponies crowding around each vendor that he could only stand and wait for the groups to thin out.

Finally, a break appeared in the wall of ponies. Umbra quickly squeezed through it, nearly tripping over a stray leg in the process. He stumbled up to the booth, setting his bag beside him and pulling out the bits he would need. “Six carrots, please.”

Umbra let his mind wander while his money was taken and the vendor (Carrot Top, was it? He decided he should put some more effort into remembering names) gave him the carrots. He set them carefully in his bag, then magically lifted it back up and made his way to the next stop. It took much longer than usual this time, but now he had all the food he would need for a while, along with more components for practicing new spells.

Time to head home, he thought. But first, a small snack for the road. Bon Bon’s Sweet Shoppe was just down the street, and it was hardly busy at this time of day. Umbra checked his bag once to be sure he didn’t miss anything, then left the market square behind.

Inside the store, he found he was correct. The place was completely empty, aside from Bon Bon behind the counter. She was busy wrapping another batch of candies when Umbra approached her.

“Excuse me,” he said, “I’d like –“

“Oh, sorry!” Bon Bon interrupted. “I didn’t hear you come in. Must be that bell again...” She quickly set the refilled tray of candies back into place. “Alright, what can I get you, sir?”

“Just three of those solid chocolates there, nothing too special. Will two bits be enough?”

“It’s enough to get you one more piece, but if that really is all you want...” Bon Bon brought the chocolates up to the counter. “Here you go. Have a nice day, sir!”

Umbra dropped the candies in his saddlebag. “Now that I have these, I plan to. Thank you, Bon Bon.”

That was strange, he thought as he left the store. Bon Bon knows what I always buy, and calls me by my name. What changed that? It could have been that Bon Bon was distracted, but that was hardly possible since Umbra was the only one in the store at the time. She always knows her customers.

Unwrapping the first of the chocolates, Umbra left the thought alone. He was close enough now to see his house. Finally, he could get back to trying that spell he found. Just another minute to unpack and –

“Outta the way! Move!”

Before he had time to think, Umbra was knocked to the ground. The bag of supplies opened and flew out of reach, his magical hold on it lost. Struggling to get back up, he saw what had crashed into him. A blue scooter lay amid the pile of items and food; beside it was a dazed pegasus filly, rubbing at a sore wing. “Are you alright, Scootaloo?

Inspecting her scooter for damages, Scootaloo set it back upright. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I ran into you, mister. I kinda lost control for a bit.”

It’s happening again. “Mister? Scootaloo, don’t you remember me? The guest speaker at school last week?”

“We didn’t have any guest speakers last week,” Scootaloo answered. “Are you sure you’re okay, mister? I didn’t hit you in the head, did I?”

Now Umbra was worried. One pony forgetting him was strange, but two on the same day? Something was wrong. “No, I’m not hurt. Go back to wherever you were going, but slow down a little, okay?”

“Okay, I will. Thanks, mister!” Taking her scooter back down the road, already at full speed again, the filly rounded a corner and disappeared.

Umbra looked around at the scattered supplies. His horn glowed in a bright white light, which soon covered all of the items as well. In seconds, everything was back in his bag, just as he had it before. What’s going on? he thought, rushing inside and setting the bags down. Ponies suddenly don’t know who I am? There has to be an answer to this somewhere.

“One pony must still know me. Nothing like this has ever happened. It’s like... It’s something straight out of a nightmare. Could that be it? Could I just wake up?”

No, not yet. One more try. If it isn’t a nightmare, then this has to work.

~ ~ ~

Umbra suddenly found himself outside Fluttershy’s cottage. Although he was thinking of coming here, he didn’t remember actually travelling at all. His last memory was standing in his house, and now he was here. This was starting to feel more like a dream every minute. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he knocked on the door and waited.

“W-who’s there?” a weak voice called from inside. The door opened slowly, leaving just enough space for Fluttershy to look through. “Hello? Can I, um... help you with something, sir?”

No. Umbra fell back a step, staring in disbelief. “Not you, too...”

Fluttershy opened the door fully now, coming closer to the unicorn. “Oh my, is something wrong? What happened to you?”

“Y-you... don’t remember me, do you?”

“I’m sorry, but no. I don’t.”

That’s it. Even she doesn’t remember. “I thought... if anypony still knew me, then maybe...” Umbra could hear Fluttershy try to respond, but her voice was fading away. Everything was fading, turning slowly to darkness. Before long, the world had disappeared. Is it over?

A brilliant flash of light flooded him for an instant, then all was dark again.

~ ~ ~

Umbra jumped out of bed, gasping for air. He looked around the room, trying to piece together what just happened. It really was a dream. Everything is back. Right? That dream felt so real, it was hard to tell whether this was just another dream.

That hardly mattered, though. Even if none of it ever truly happened, and it was only a dream, it was already driving him mad. It was frightening to experience once, but it kept growing worse as he thought about it. What if something like this did happen? He moved to the window, magically willing it to fly open. It was probably an hour or two until dawn. Maybe if he could just calm down a bit, he could try–

“May I speak with you for a moment, Umbra?”

That voice... Luna? Umbra turned away from the window. Indeed, Princess Luna was standing in the middle of the room. Her expression looked slightly worried. “Princess, I don’t understand...what are you doing here?”

“You do not know?” Luna paused for a second, looking closely at the unicorn. “Ah, yes... dreams do not come easily to you, so you must not have learned this yet.”

“Learned what?”

“Allow me to explain,” Luna began. “As Princess of the Night, one of my duties is to oversee the dreams of my subjects. Dreams are important: One’s thoughts can sometimes surface in dreams, bringing back old memories and allowing the dreamer to recall something that would have otherwise been lost and forgotten.”

“Forgotten,” Umbra echoed. “That’s exactly the problem. You saw that, Princess?”

“Indeed, I did. I look into the dreams of all my subjects. On occasion, I also come to speak with ponies I see are troubled, as you are, Umbra. This nightmare is not common – a great many involve darkness and some evil creature of myth – but I know it well. Everypony had forgotten who you were. The faces you came across, even those of your closest friends, regarded you as a complete stranger. For a moment, you were alone in the world.”

Umbra had turned back to the window while Luna spoke. He did not take his eyes from the night sky. “Princess... how do you know all of this?”

“The pain you experienced, Umbra, is one I know well. I know the feeling of being alone, and the thought that your friends, all those you know and love, exist only in your memories.”

Luna’s voice dropped slightly with the last few words, catching Umbra’s attention. He finally tore himself away from the window to face her. It was hard to tell with the eerie light Luna gave to the room, but he thought he saw a tear falling. “Princess –“

“Do not worry, Umbra. What you saw tonight was only a dream. When dawn comes and the day begins, you will see that your friends remember you well. Now, farewell.”

Umbra stepped aside as Luna walked to the window. “Oh, I nearly forgot. Umbra, you ought to speak with one friend in particular. It would be best not to keep so much hidden from her.”

 Luna vanished, leaving Umbra alone in the room again. Outside, the sun was beginning to rise.