//------------------------------//
// A Great and Powerful Nightmare 
// Story: "Is that you, my love?" 
// by Hopefullygoodgrammar 
//------------------------------//

Disclaimer: Do I own Amnesia: Justine and MLP? No, why would you ask that? Did you ask that? Why do you care? Is this a dream? What’s reality anyway? Who’s on first? (Screams and faints)


A Great and Powerful Nightmare



It was nighttime in Appleloosa.


Luna had carefully woven patterns of sparkling stars set with glowing constellations with almost no clouds to mar the view, a cool breeze stirred up the tumbleweeds and blew sand every which way, the residents of Appleloosa had retired for the night and everypony was sound asleep, their heads filled with pleasant dreams.


Everypony, that is, except for one.


On the outskirts of the town was a wagon: it was small enough to fit only one pony comfortably, it had been painted a light yellow with a door in the back, windows on either side and a set of steps attached to the back so that the occupant could get in and out without strain.


Once upon a time it had been a grand-looking wagon that had attracted many a praise and awe-struck stare, but the lack of care, harsh weather and graffiti had turned it into a depressing wreck on wheels: now the yellow paint was almost swallowed by the cruel words and drawings that angry ponies had put there out of vengeance, the wheels were splintered and the door bore many locks to keep the wagon’s occupant safe.


Inside the wagon the Humble and Apologetic, formerly the Great and Powerful, Trixie lay in the throes of a terrible nightmare.


After the events involving the Alicorn Amulet Trixie’s life had gone downhill and fast: she had tried to make amends, she really had, but everypony merely scorned her, they vandalized her wagon, heckled her whenever she tried to put on a show and even threw tomatoes at her, at first she had just shrugged it off, knowing that the road to redemption was a tough one, but then the heckling got more cruel, with ponies shouting things, terrible things, they threw rocks instead of tomatoes and tried to tip her wagon over, she had even been beaten unconscious by a trio of ponies after a show once; after that she thought that her life couldn’t get any worse .


Then the sickness started.


It began small: she would get headaches whenever she tried any magic, she thought that it was just her overexerting herself, so she tried to limit the amount of magic that she used, but the headaches wouldn’t go away and soon they had evolved into splitting migraines coupled with agonizing stomach cramps.


Eventually she had sought medical help, but the doctors had no clue what the issue was and with her meager savings she couldn’t stay for observation, nor could she pay to cover her bills if she did, so she was left to her own devices.


It took a while, but she eventually she realized that she got sick from using ANY magic at all, so, with heavy heart, she gave up her onstage persona and looked for a place to settle down permanently, it was an excruciating task, between the hateful stares, the whispers, the constant rejections and the hunger that gnawed at her insides, but she eventually made it to Appleloosa.


It was a nice place, she supposed, with its friendly ponies and old west theme, but she didn’t settle in the town, she knew that they would find out about her cruel acts and they would shun her, it was foolish to think otherwise, but the place where she had chosen to settle down in was a good place, out of the way and quiet.


The perfect place to die.


She knew that she was going to die, the sickness would claim her or the loneliness would swallow her like some intangible beast, it really didn’t matter to her at this point, as long as she got to have some peace before she died.


But the nightmares wouldn’t grant her request.


The nightmares had started shortly after she had settled, at first they were just compilations of the worst moments of her life, even before the Ursa Minor and Alicorn Amulet incidents, but as time wore on they became gradually more twisted: She would be in the middle of a performance when everypony turned into rotting corpses and attacked her or she would be beaten by Twilight, but instead of being let go the lavender unicorn would kill her instead.  All of it was horrible, but Trixie took some satisfaction of knowing that they were just dreams and that they were all utterly fictional and predictable to boot.


But on this night the dream was something completely different. 



She was standing in a field of tall grass, behind her lay a sprawling forest, to her left lay a valley filled with animal life, to her right lay a large pond teeming with fish and before her lay the city of Neighagra falls, a beautiful vacation spot that she had had the pleasure of performing there a few times…. back when the mere sight of her face didn’t send ponies into a homicidal rage.



Trixie looked around, torn between wondering where the terror was and admiring the scenery.



Then she heard it: the sound of a violin.



Normally she would be soothed by the sounds of a violin, they were her favorite instrument and, had she not possessed a talent for illusions, she knew that she would have gotten her cutie mark in the music industry, but this particular violin music made her uneasy: it was haunting and yet cheery, it chilled her to the bone.



Trixie looked around to see where the sound was coming from, she didn’t have to look far, something was coming towards her, something big.



She heard a flurry of movement near her, she turned to her left and saw that all of the animals in the valley were fleeing, even from her vantage point she could see the looks of sheer terror on their furry faces.



Then she heard a sound like a hurricane, she turned to her right and saw the fish devouring each other as the water of the pond became red with their blood.



Then she heard the worst noise yet: it was the sound of ponies screaming in pain.



Trixie faced forwards and screamed in shock and horror.



Neighagra falls was burning.



The beautiful buildings were wreathed in red flames, black smoke choked the sky, tainting the very air, she could feel the intense heat that radiated from the city and she could smell the newly-forming ash.




Wait….. she could feel and smell? But that was impossible! She was dreaming, wasn’t she?




Trixie heard a new sound join the hellish cacophony, it sounded like scuttling insects, she turned and saw the ground come alive with insects of all breeds, soon the ground was a carpet of chitinous, writhing and multi-legged life.



Trixie opened her mouth to scream again, but a peal of crazed laughter drowned her out, then the insects were upon her, spiders filling her mouth, centipedes swarming her legs and bees clinging to her mane.




Trixie woke up with a scream that could wake the dead.




She frantically pawed at her bedside table until she found her lamp, which she clicked on with great gusto, after searching her self for any bugs and thankfully not finding them she sat in the dim light and caught her breath and tried to collect herself.




“It was all a dream.” she said aloud, repeating the phrase like a mantra until she was calm enough to assess her situation better: she was still malnourished, still sick and, most importantly, still in Appleloosa, all of which was a good indicator that none of it had been real.


Except for the fact that, in the dream, she could still smell and feel things, which was totally and completely impossible, but… maybe there was a rational explanation for-


Something brushed her leg from under the covers.


She whipped them off and let out a single, tiny squeak of horror at what she saw: it was a long, brown centipede. 


Trixie leaped out of her bed and brought a hoof down on the vile creature, crushing its loathsome body into paste, then she cleaned her hoof, threw on her cape and leaped out of her door, immediately she was greeted by the cool breeze on her sweaty fur and the rays of Celestia’s sun just beginning to creep up over the horizon; it was beautiful.


But Trixie had no time for beauty, throwing on her saddle she attached her wagon to herself and set off as quickly as she could.


As she ran she said to herself, “I may not know what the hay is going on, but I bet Twilight Sparkle does.”, she picked up the pace, knowing deep within her heart that if she didn’t get to Ponyville as soon as she could, something bad was going to happen.