//------------------------------//
// Nightmare 
// Story: Comfort Far Away 
// by Spic Ultimo 
//------------------------------//

Fire. It was Everywhere. The sky was dark and smoke and ash filled the air. Everypony was running in the opposite direction I was facing. Taking a closer look, there were many flaming piles of rubble that I’m guessing used to be houses. 

Now I was definitely curious on what was going on. I tried to stop an incoming mare, only to be ignored completely. With a little more determination, I got in the way of a stallion running in my direction, and found he wasn't stopping anytime soon. I braced myself, expecting an impact, but it never came. He had gone right through me, leaving me with an odd, slightly nauseating feeling.

After a moment of recovery, I set out to find out what the hay was going on. The fire around me seemed to be arranged into a trail, leading me in one direction only. Then there was a scream, a scream from an all too familiar voice.

“Star!” I galloped down the road, being directed only by the walls of fire, and the general direction of the scream. After what seemed like hours of galloping, I saw a silhouette of a pony backed up against the wall through the smoke. “Star!” I yelled again, and once I got closer I saw she was battered and bruised with nothing but pure terror in her eyes. They seemed to be fixated on something through the smoke.

Following her line of sight, I began to see the shadow of a pony hovering in the air, slowly making its way in our direction. I soon saw that this pony had wings, but still managed to hover in the air without flapping them. The closer it got, the more I could make out its features. Next I found the pony was a stallion, and his eyes were glowing a blood red, and has an evil grin on his face.

Suddenly, a tendril of what appeared to be dark magic shot through the smoke and swiped up Star from the ground. She began struggling right away, pounding on the tendril, pleading to be let go. Then the pony hovered out of the smoke, and what I could not comprehend what I saw next.

It was me.

I was frozen in shock, not really knowing what to do. He brought Star to his face and stared into her eyes, slowly tightening his grip on her. Once she was about to black out, he dropped her, and she landed hard on her back. The other me then raised his tentacle high ith the air, constantly expanding in size as all I could do was watch. Star gave one last look at the other me, a single tear falling from her face. And then it came down on her.

*****

I gasped when I awoke, covered in a cold sweat and greeted by the sky of approaching dawn. I frantically looked around and noticed I was still half intertwined with Star. I noticed right away that she wasn't battered and bruised. ‘A dream,’ I thought, ‘It was just a dream.’ I gave a sigh of relief and sat up in the cloud, remembering that I didn't go to Sweet Apple Acres. ‘Echo’s never gonna let this go.’ I mentally frowned, expecting a lot of teasing the next time I see him.

I felt Star stir, and realized she was beginning to wake up. She gave a yawn and stretched her legs. “Good morning.” I said, a little louder than intending to, startling her a bit.

“Oh, hey.” she said with a sleepy smile, and a bit of a bedhead.

‘How does one get a bedhead on a cloud?’ I thought, but decided to question it later. “Sleep well?” I asked, hoping to start a conversation with her.

“Like a foal, and you?” She replied, taking this conversation exactly where I didn't want it to go. 

“A little bad dream, but nothing to be worried about.” I lied with a smile, remembering the look of horror on her face. Oh boy, that’s gonna scar me for a while. “Other than that, we’re up just in time for the sunrise.” I said, pointing to the horizon.

Star gave a smile as she walked up and sat next to me on the edge of the cloud. Afterwards, she leaned on my shoulder while I held her hoof in mine. Slowly, the sun came up over the horizon, illuminating the sky and the world under it. I leaned over and gave Star a peck on the forehead, earning a sigh and a little more cuddle.

‘I could get used to this.’ I thought, feeling more at peace than ever before. “I think we should get going. Echo’s probably worried sick about me.” I suggested, not really wanting to go myself.

“Yeah, I gotta get home too.” Star said. She turned over to me and smiled. “I’ll see you later, kay?”

“Sounds good to me.” I replied with a smile, looking into her captivating eyes. She leaned in and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek.

“Later!” She said, diving of the cloud, and flying into the distance.

I looked into the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. “Here we go.” I mumbled aloud, and began gliding towards the direction of the apple farm.

*****

Once the farm was within walking distance, I landed on the dirt road and trotted in the direction of the farm. When Apple Jack’s house was in sight, I noticed she and Echo were waiting for me on the front porch. ‘Oh, boy.’ I thought at the sight of Echo, expecting a barrage of dirty jokes. Or maybe I was just overreacting. With one final push, I continued towards the house, catching the attention of both ponies. Echo, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak.

“So how was it?” He asked while wiggling his eyebrows, getting AJ to snicker lightly. This is going to be a long day...