Memories of a Time Once Forgotten

by David M Coleman

Remembering

Author's Note:

Just something I thought up. Please don't be too harsh on me.

Dylan was a loner, always had been. He didn't really mind, he wasn't the social type. Friends were just people who would leave you in the dust. He preferred a simple life.

It was dusk, about six-thirty to be accurate. Only the sound of a 2.5 liter Subaru boxer engine and the gravel beneath it could be heard as a little Volkswagen van trudged along a dirt road in Yosemite National Park. The sun sat just over the horizon, and the air was a cool 60°F, and there was a slight breeze.

Finally reaching it's destination, the van parked at a small campsite. Aside from a single RV, Dylan was alone. He exited the van, a single 60-watt solar panel tucked under his arm. After setting it on the ground facing the sun, he unwound the cord attached to it before plugging it into a little port behind the rear right window. He grabbed a chair, some whisky and sat down, watching the beautiful sunset. It was strange. He'd been watching sunsets all his life, yet somehow tonight was different. It made him nostalgic, sad even. It was weird.

A warm feeling washed over him, and it was like something invisible had hugged him. He pushed the thought away, ignored it and drank his whisky.

---

Roughly an hour later, the sun had set and Dylan returned to the warm, cozy confines of his home on wheels. It had been a long day on the road, but he could finally settle down for a few more days.

Sleep took him quickly and he began to dream. He saw a small purple figure in the distance, and a wave of sadness came over him. Who was she, and how did he know it was a she? Why did it make him sad? He walked closer, and she turned around. She was a... pony? She had a horn, and a purple mane with a pink stripe running through it.

"How could you?!" She screamed, tears running down her face from her violet eyes.

"I don't know?" He responded. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Ah can't believe you would do somethin’ like that! Ah trusted you!" Another pony appeared next to him. She looked up at him. He saw it in her green eyes. It was the look of betrayal.

"How could you do such a thing?" A yellow one with wings appeared in front of him. Her pink mane hid half of her face, but he could tell she was crying. He looked down, and between them, lie a bunny covered in blood. He couldn't tell what color it originally was, only that it was dead.

"I didn't! I swear!" Dylan cried nervously, tears poured out of his eyes. Who were these ponies, and what were they accusing him of? Was it just the rabbit? He felt there was more. He wasn't who they thought he was. Such creatures didn't even exist on Earth.

"How dare you!" Another unicorn appeared, this one white with a gorgeous purple mane. Her mascara ran down the sides of her bruised face. Her left eye was as purple as a ripe plum and was swollen shut. "How could you hit me! I had thought better of you," she said bitterly.

"I promise, I didn't."

"Why? Why would you make somepony cry?" A pink one appeared. Her mane was flat and hung low.

"I don't know what any of you are-" He was interrupted by the sound of an explosion, and a split second later he was forced to the ground as a blue one with a rough rainbow mane appeared atop him. He was covered in dirt, blood, and bruises yet somehow it didn't hurt. "How dare you hurt my friends you jerk!" She yelled in a broken voice. She was clearly trying to hide it, but he heard pain behind her voice. He saw it in her eyes. That look again. Betrayal.

"I don't know who you are." He coughed out, but his words went unheard.

Suddenly a voice boomed out from the heavens. It was powerful and deafening. "You mustn't forget."

Instantly a rush of images filled with emotions rushed through his mind. Pain, love, sadness, happiness, and finally betrayal. It was as if years' worth of memories had been dumped on him. Who were these ponies? How did they know his name? Why did they speak so kindly to him? Then it hit him. The tears came as he began to remember. These were his friends. The only ones he'd ever had. But what happened? What changed?

In a flash, the memories changed tone. His best friends now looked at him with disappointment, betrayal, and sadness. What did he do? It was like a switch had been flipped. One day they loved him, the next they hated him and wanted him gone. Suddenly purple arcane rings appeared around his wrists before they were bound together. In a flash, he appeared in court. Princess Celestia - whom he'd only met a few times in the past - sat at the head of a courtroom. Two guardsponies stood on each side of him. One word came from the princess's mouth: "Guilty". The room faded to black as a tingling sensation tickled his nostrils. He heard the distant cackle of a doubled voice then black.

---

It was four in the morning when Dylan awoke. Sweat and tears ran down his face. He wouldn't bother trying to fall back asleep, so he reached for his tablet. When Dylan noticed a letter sealed with red wax resting on his tablet, he quickly tore it open and found a single photo inside. He held back tears as he looked at it. Stood in the center was him, an awkward smile planted on his face. Stood around him were his friends. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Even Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were there. They all seemed so happy. He flipped it over to see writing.

Dearest Dylan,
I hope this letter finds you well. If you see this that means Luna was successful in reaching you. I'd just like to apologize. I won't go too much into detail, but I now know it wasn't you who did those horrible things. I'm sorry to say you won't be seeing us ever again. Following your exile I had the Elements cast a powerful spell ensuring nothing from your world would ever cross into our dimension again. Just sending you this letter will be quite painful.
Your friends are aware of your innocence and they love and miss you dearly. I am truly sorry.

With love,
~ Princess Celestia.

Comments

[Skyblazer9]

Very good story, makes me wonder if it was Queen Chrysalis or some pony who framed the human which got him banished from Equestria.

[TheHumanWriter]

GEEZ! The FEELS in this fanfic was intense!

The fanfic felt like an epilogue or a short side-story-sequel-ish to something that was once a big adventure. I hope you would write the story of how Dylan arrived in Equestria and his adventures that led to his “exile” at some point in the future.

All-in-all, this fanfic is superb!

[EverfreePony]

It's a very short story, and I'm sure you could make it even longer and even more heartwrenching. Still, despite the shortness, it's an ejoyable and emotional story, and the letter at the end is something unexpected, but very well done. Your writing flows nicely and is easy to understand, and your grammar and spelling are pretty solid. There are a few things that I've noticed, though know that they are fairly minor. (I'll just spend the majority of this comment going over them, heh.) However, they still shouldn't appear in a story.

In the story's opening, you rely a lot on giving the exact time, temperature, power of a solar panel, and engine specifications. Unless these play a significant role in the story, e.g. if a character looked at a clock and noted the time a few minutes before they heard a gunshot, which may then prove vital in solving some mystery, avoid including these at all costs. The exact numbers--you also shouldn't use numerals as they are way too distracting (there are some exceptions to this though, including years or ammo calibers)--draw too much attention to themselves and away from the story. They also don't add anything, since few can tell how the exact solar panel or the sound of this one engine differ from some generic solar panel or engine. For future reference, better focus on the story rather than on these details. Also, watch out for some unnecessary word repetition ("appeared", most notably).

How did they know his name?

This may be a leftover from some earlier draft or a convoluted dream logic thing, but this sentence made me reread the whole part. None of the Mane Six actually mention his name.

The rest of the issues that I've noticed pertained mostly to punctuation. You use a hyphen (-) where an em dash (—) or a double hyphen (--) should go. This includes both introducing side remarks as well as a character's line being abruptly cut off. Some manuals of style also suggest using an en dash in these cases, but in the context of this site, you won't go wrong with an em dash/double hyphen without spaces flanking it. Furthermore, there were some recurring direct speech issues. However, I won't go into detail on them here, but if you want, I can PM you a short guide on handling these like a pro.

Happy Hearth's Warming!