Blueberry POV

When we arrived at the Pie Rocks Farm the sun was already going down. Zitrus made the suggestion that we could sleep in the farmhouse. This would give us a roof over our heads with plenty of room.

The rock farm itself was well… a field full of rocks. It looked rather dull. I wondered how ponies could even have made bottlecaps here (or whatever currency they used before the big war 200 years ago). In the middle of this field was a small house next to a silo and something that once was a windmill. But time made it fall apart.

There was also this giant round rock that had an egg shape. No idea what that was for.

The door of the house was broken. Zitrus suggested this place must have been looted at least once. Which only made sense, as it was a house in the middle of a rock field, making it stand out. The rest of the building was still in good shape. Perfect for spending the night.

When we entered, the last daylight had vanished. So, while it was dark inside, you could still see your surroundings. I was walking close behind Zitrus while we went into the kitchen of the house. It sure looked looted in here. All cabinets were open and empty inside. Nothing left to take.

So, we were leaving the kitchen and went into something I guessed was the living room once. Same picture here. Only the things too heavy to carry still remained. That included a big table with many chairs laying around. Zitrus looked at me with an expression saying, “no surprises here”.

And that was already the whole ground floor. So, we headed for the stairs which should lead upwards. I was still right behind Zitrus.

Suddenly, there was a soft clicking sound and before I could finish blinking, I was thrown back by an explosion in front of me. It went all so fast that I was not even aware of the explosion until I got knocked back, flying through the room.

I hit the hard ground and lied there completely stunned. I was not aware of anything. Was I hurt? What just happened? Am I in danger? The only thing I was able to make out was the ringing in my ears and the blurred vision which made it impossible to see anything.

A scream snapped me back to reality. I lifted my head and spotted Zitrus sitting not far away from me. He had multiple bruises, and his right front leg was definitely broken. That much even I could see, since I don’t think legs are supposed to bend away from joints… But at least he still had all his legs. Oh yeah, and his life…

“AAAAAAH! FUUUUUCK!” Zitrus screamed in pain.

I looked at the direction where the explosion had been. In the floor was a hole now. The explosion must not have been big, which likely explained why we were still alive. I looked at myself to see if I got any serious injuries. I spotted an wound on my shoulder. Most likely due to a flying splinter from the wooden floor. It was not something to be concerned about. Most likely, it would heal on its own after some days. And the adrenaline rush in my blood didn’t even let me feel it.

I wanted to stand up to go to Zitrus but I heard voices coming from upstairs. It sounded like the voice of a stallion.

“Who’s there?” From his voice you could tell that he was in combat mode. Ready to battle should the need arise. But he didn’t come down the stairs for now. The staircase itself was built with a curve in between so you could not see anything happening on the floor above.

While I was frozen in place when I encountered that eel, this time, knowing a fight could soon start, my mind was racing. Maybe it was because I had experienced similar situations while still part of the unity, or maybe because the eel taught me how to handle sticky situations. I went for the go-to for blue ones in these situations, and turned myself invisible.

Now it is important to mention that being invisible does not mean you are gone. You are still in the exact same place. It IS a huge advantage to be invisible, but others can still notice where you are when they, for example, hear you; see the magic you cast (except for the invisible spell itself, of course); or they just accidentally walk into you.

Zitrus himself also heard the voice and quickly pulled himself together. He looked around but of course couldn’t see me. He searched in his saddlebag.

Just a normal pony who doesn’t want trouble”, He said while taking out his pistol.

“A normal pony makes noises when it enters places like these. How can we be sure you didn’t plan this ambush?”, the voice from upstairs spoke.

We? I thought. That means there’s at least two of them upstairs.

Zitrus, in the meantime, clasped the gun in his mouth and pointed it at the stairwell. “Ponies can be silent even without having bad intentions” he muttered.

For a moment there was no response. But you could hear whispers upstairs. Then there was the sound of metal, as a can was thrown down the stairs.

Zitrus and I feared the worst and backed off. But instead of blowing up it made a high-pitched hissing sound and thick smoke came out of it. The smoke filled the whole room pretty quick and soon I could not even see the stairs any more. But being able to turn invisible also trains you indirectly for such situations and I instead shifted my attention to my ears.

I ignored the sound of the smoke bomb and the breathing of Zitrus. There were steps from two ponies coming downstairs. I was close enough to Zitrus to see his face, even through the smoke. And he was scared. He knew too that they were coming. I knew that if I don’t do anything now, he might get into more trouble than he already was. I quickly expanded my spell and made him invisible too.

Being invisible is not to be taken lightly. You can still not see anypony who is also invisible. We alicorns had a big advantage here since we were all in the unity. And even now, it was easy for me to tell where Zitrus was, since I had cast the spell on him. But he still couldn’t see or know where I was. But the most challenging part in being unseeable is also that you cannot see your own body. Even a simple task like standing up is confusing, at least, if you’re not used to it yet. I was personally used to it, of course, after casting the spell more often than I could count. Zitrus was not.

But before he could freak out, I was already at his side. Of course, still invisible. I just hoped he would recognise me by my voice and then put two and two together.

“Quiet Zitrus! I cast my invisibility spell on both of us. They cannot see us, but they’re still going to be able to hear us. So keep it down!”, I whispered to him.

Right after I finished my whisper, a stallion came out of the smoke. He was a unicorn and had a light green coat and yellow mane. In his magic aura he was levitating a small machine gun. He was scanning through the fog for every threat. Ready to shoot. But deep in his eyes you could see his barely concealed fear.

The hissing sound of the smoke bomb stopped. I suppose it was empty now. Me and Zitrus in the meantime shifted towards the wall so he would not accidentally stumble into us. Then another pony came into view. It was also a unicorn but this time a smaller mare. She had a pink coat and a short yellow mane. In her telekinesis were two daggers. Most likely she was a hit and run fighter. She looked braver than the stallion but even she didn’t seem to like the situation.

They gave each other a nod and then split up. She was going into the kitchen and he, the living room.

Both me and Zitrus didn’t move right away. The smoke started to fade.

“What now?” I whispered to Zitrus. Quiet enough that the other two wouldn't hear us.

“Let’s try to get out of here. I should be able to walk on three legs”, was his response.

We both stood up and started the walk towards the door, right then the stallion and mare came back.

“Nothing”, he said and lowered his weapon.

“Retreated most likely”, she said, also calming herself down. Then she inspected the hole in the floor where the explosion went off. “Good thing that we set up this trap under the plank before we went to sleep. This bomb sure did its job.”

They were both standing right next to me and Zitrus. We tried to sneak past them but could only move slowly to not make any noises.

The green coated stallion looked at the door. “I will still take guard for the night now. In case they come back.”

She gave him a compassionate look and then cuddles next to him. “Just call when you need help, understood?”, she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He himself also said something to her but I was already outside of the building at that point, not able to hear anything more. Zitrus was right behind me.

It was a dark night outside, but I still held the invisibility spell up, just in case.

“Alright, let’s move. We should get some space between us and this building”, Zitrus said and started walking. As good as he may be on only three legs… I still went next to him and gave him a shoulder as support. He accepted without saying anything, but I could feel how his body lost some tension.

With that we walked together into the night.

Author's Note

A big thank here for another very good friend of mine who gave also a look over the chapter.

And of course, thank you all for reading. Any positive and negative reviews are welcome. Negatives help me to make the story better and positives are like food for every author. (If I can count myself as one.)