Once Shrek signs Rumpel's contract, everything changes, and he finds himself in an alternate timeline where no one knows who he is. He's free to live in solitude again, but as much fun as that is at first, Shrek discovers that his swamp is abandoned and that witches now roam the land hunting ogres. They eventually find him, capture him, and take him to meet with Rumpelstiltskin, who's now the king of Far Far Away. Shrek realizes that the carriage he's being transported in is being pulled by Donkey, but his friend doesn't know who he is.
With Rumpel as king, everything is miserable. Shrek confronts him and learns that the trickster erased the day Shrek was born, making it as though he never existed. To make things even worse, when the agreed-upon 24 hours is up, Shrek will be erased from history completely. After escaping the castle, Shrek convinces Donkey that they do know each other, and Donkey helps him find an escape clause in Rumpel's contract. The agreement states that if Shrek is kissed by his true love, everything will go back to normal. Low on time, Shrek and Donkey seek out Fiona.
