Blindsided

Lazuli’s eyes snapped open only a few seconds after blacking out, but that barely gave her enough time to take in what she was looking at. The ground was approaching fast, and the best she could do was to flare out her wings to slow her descent. Luckily the airship seemed to have moved far enough away that she ended up landing in a park, her fall broken somewhat by the trees and bushes. It was still a painful landing, one that didn’t really have a good angle to approach at, but she slowed herself enough that she managed to land on all fours.

Or, in a messy way, she landed on all fours. Each of her hooves hit the ground, but the momentum of gravity carried her head-over-hooves and sent her rolling several feet before she came to rest on her back, staring up at the canopy. Her head jerked to the side as a scorched piece of metal hit the ground a few feet away, crashing through the trees and coming to rest in a ditch. Lazuli picked herself up as quickly as she could, breathing heavily and only then realizing that rain was beginning to fall.

Shaking her head to clear the dizziness, Lazuli tapped at her earpiece to unmute it, coughing a bit and rubbing at her eyes. Her body felt heavy. “Steel?” She rasped, then coughed to clear her throat. “Steel, you there?”

“Laz!” Steel’s response was almost instant. “By the sun, are you okay? Emergency calls are going crazy, scrambling with the signal. What happened?”

“I’m-“ Lazuli briefly disassociated with the world, going completely silent and staring into the distance with her eyes crossed before blinking away her confusion. “I-…yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sound disoriented.”

“No, I’m-…uh, can you…GPS track me, real quick?”

“Uh…sure.” Steel was quiet for a moment, then responded, “You’re on the outskirts of the city. How’d you get there?”

“Long story…” Lazuli wheezed, her chest feeling tight. She reached back, feeling at the back of her suit – it was scorched off completely, so she tugged at it to pull it off of her and take the whole thing off. As she properly remembered what had happened, though, she forced herself to be alert. “Ayize wasn’t at the apartment.”

“I heard everything until you got to the roof. Think something fried your microphone.”

“Yeah, okay, we can talk details later. Clearly she expected us to be there.” Lazuli straightened up, wincing at the dull throbbing in her left foreleg. “And clearly she was trying to distract us from something. That means she’s trying…something, and probably soon. You’ve got an eye on Kiama, right?”

“We received your pictures. Turns out the radio antenna for the microphone in her leg is actually part of her body, so we put her in a radio-silence cell for now.”

“Just make sure she’s safe, and that she doesn’t do anything.” Lazuli said firmly, then shook her whole body off, feeling rain pattering on her back – which admittedly felt good. Her wings still worked, though they were quite achy. “I need to- I need to find her.”

“Laz, you don’t have any leads. Just come back here and we’ll figure out what to do from there. If she’s bold enough to try to blow up a government operative, and smart enough to rig an airship up purely to trap you, she’s definitely not where we’d be able to easily find her.”

“Right…right.” Lazuli put a hoof to her forehead, her ears still slightly ringing. Or at least, she thought they were, until she realized the static sound was coming from her earpiece. “Steel?” She said, but got no response.

Thinking it was broken, Lazuli reached up and took it out of her ear. The antenna seemed to be working, and it wasn’t sparking at all, but the sound told her otherwise. As she put it back in her ear, she tried to speak again. “Steel, can you hear me?” The voice that responded wasn’t Steel’s, but it wasn’t really familiar to her. It sounded synthesized, put through some machine to make it sound different.

“You know…Draconies in Canterlot are the most at risk than any other city in Equestria.” The voice said. “Violence, defamation…murder…” It went on. “It’s gotten better in recent years, hasn’t it? I think a certain Emerald Cutter helped with that…it’s too bad her name’s being dragged through the mud by her offspring.”

Lazuli’s nostrils flared. “Who is this?”

“Though you can’t always expect to keep these events to complete zero.” The voice continued, not listening to Lazuli, or simply not caring. “There’s always going to be a few…creatures, who will be angry. Who might want revenge on them…maybe for ruining something they spent just about their whole life on.”

Lazuli’s slitted pupils shrank. “What are you saying?”

“Another random, senseless act of violence…such a shame, really.” The voice cut off abruptly, and Lazuli was bombarded with Steel’s concerned voice.

“Lazuli? Lazuli! Can you hear me?”

“Steel, who was that?”

“Who was what?” Steel asked, incredulously.

“…I…Steel, send someone to my house. Right now.”

“What?”

“Do it now, Steel!” Lazuli’s wings flared out and she took off, flapping as hard and fast as she possibly could. She cared little about the rain pouring down, or the thunder crackling above. She didn’t even notice as her earpiece, which she had hastily jammed back into her ear, slipped out and dropped to the ground below her. She just needed to get home.

Lazuli realized about halfway through her flight that she had lost her earpiece. She didn’t care about that at the moment, though – she just kept flying, her suit having been folded up in mid-flight and slung over her back. Her breathing was ragged by the time she reached Canterlot, her vision swimming with colours that shouldn’t have been there and spots that didn’t exist as she nearly crashed into the front door of her house. Wheezing and trying to catch her breath – and attracting confused looks from a few onlookers, particularly since she was wet and out of breath despite it being sunny in the city – she fished her keys out of her pocket and threw the door open.

“Cirrus?!” Lazuli yelled, her heart pounding and the adrenaline still coursing through her system.

“Lazuli?” Cirrus’ voice greeted her, putting her mind at ease. She allowed herself to breathe properly.

“Babe, are you okay?” She stepped into the kitchen, still breathing hard and slightly damp from the rain. “Did anyone stop by?”

“Oh, yeah!” Cirrus called back. “A guard did, asked if everything was alright. I told him it’s fine – is something wrong?” As Lazuli turned the corner, though, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Sitting at the kitchen table with a smile as wide as a crocodile’s was a zebra. The zebra looked like Kiama – same mane, same slightly hidden scar, same coat and same missing leg, but even Lazuli in her hopped-up state could see it wasn’t her. The primary indicator was the claws sported from her hoof as she idly traced them along the table.

“Lazuli!” The zebra smiled widely, standing up from her seat with a happy giggle. “I was wondering when you’d get back. Sorry for dropping in so suddenly, they let me go just this morning.”

“No they d- Cirrus, come over here.”

“Hm?” Cirrus, who was standing on her hind legs near the counter and cutting something on the board, turned her head to look at her wife. “Geez, Laz, what happened? You look like you ran ten marathons.”

“Cirrus. Come here.” She said more sternly, her eyes locked on the other mare as she slowly strolled around the kitchen island, her smile still eerily present.

“Lazuli, calm yourself.” Cirrus coughed a little. “I’m chopping raw meat, I can’t hug you right now.”

“Cirrus, I’m telling you to get away from her right now.”

“What?” Cirrus turned around properly, though the kept her slightly wet hooves away from the other surfaces in the room. “Laz, what’s wrong?”

“Lazuli, please, I’m just here for a minute. Do you want me to leave?” ‘Kiama’ tilted her head, as if confused.

“Get out of my house.” Lazuli’s jaw clenched tightly.

“Lazuli!” Cirrus blinked, at first looking appalled, then concerned. “…Wait…what’s the matter, Laz?” She knew better than to not trust her wife, but she couldn’t figure it out.

“I’m sure she’s just a bit tired, Cirrus.” The zebra reached up with her metal hoof, placing it on Cirrus’ shoulder – but purposefully making it so the bottom of her hoof pointed at the side of her head.

Lazuli’s vision narrowed. Sound practically became non-existent except for the subtle click coming from the visitor’s hoof. Her hind legs kicked off the tile ground, her folded up suit flying from her back and her wings stretching out as she lunged towards both mares, her forelegs aimed at the now insanely grinning mare. She saw gears turning, she heard the low laugh of a madmare pulling the trigger without even looking at what she was shooting.

BANG.

Lazuli struck down the zebra, tackling her over the island and knocking her to the ground. The sound of the gun firing was deafening, making Lazuli’s ears ring in the closed quarters while she pinned Ayize down. At first she couldn’t make out a sound, her ears slowly returning to normal before she lifted her tail over Ayize’s chest. “You’re damn lucky I was here, or we’d both have murder on our hooves.” Lazuli growled.

“Ooooh…poor choice of words, Lazuli.” Ayize’s piercing blue eyes glared into Lazuli’s. “You might want to catch her.”

“Wh-“ Lazuli turned her head to the side.

Cirrus stood there, still on her hind legs, tail against the counter to prop herself up. At first Lazuli couldn’t tell a thing was wrong – until she noticed her wife’s blood-shot eyes, wide and staring, but not actually able to see. A gaping hole in the side of her head poured with blood, and as Lazuli’s gaze focused on her, she started to fall forward.

“CIRRUS!” Lazuli yelled, loud enough that it could be heard through the windows left open to let fresh air cool down the house. She let go of Ayize in an instant, her hooves outstretched to catch the falling mare and stop her from hitting the ground. She barely heard the sound of hooves scuffing against the tile floor and the subtle cackling of her adversary, her senses completely blotted out to everything except her wife. “F-fuck, sweet mother of Polaris- Cirrus?!” Lazuli tried to speak to her, as if she thought there would be a response. She could hear her wife sputtering in choked, struggling gasps, and her first instinct was to try and help her by herself – but she didn’t know how. The only thing she could do was scream, frantically throwing open the front door and yelling for someone to help her.

Lazuli was fairly certain she must have blacked out at some point. She had no idea for how long, and she had no idea what the time had been, or what it was now – she didn’t even know how long she had been sitting in this exact same position, staring blankly at the hospital wall, waiting for someone to come and tell her something.

She had fought, at first. She had even bitten one of the security guards’ legs as she was told she couldn’t follow her wife into the operating room. She had cursed, struggled, eventually to the point that she had to be shackled just so she wouldn’t interfere. Now she sat there, staring, and waiting. She couldn’t even fully comprehend what emotion she was feeling, but she knew she wasn’t expressing it.

The only thing she knew for sure was that ponies had come and gone to the point that the emergency room was now populated by ones completely different from when she had arrived. Even many of the staff had switched out for the night shift.

The doors to the emergency room swung open again. Lazuli didn’t even react, until a pony walked up to her from the side, gently trying to get her attention without touching her. She turned her head, weakly, looking up at them with eyes devoid of energy. It was an unfamiliar unicorn stallion, stood over her with a solemn, but very concerned look.

“Lazuli?” He said quietly. “You okay?”

Lazuli’s instinct was to speak, but her actual reaction was just a wheeze. The doctor – or she assumed he was a doctor – winced slightly – tears had stained the Dracony’s cheeks to the point her coat was no longer white underneath her eyes. He kneeled down, but even then it didn’t quite get him to her level while sitting, so he had to lower his head even further. “Miss Cutter, I’ve got…good news.” He said softly. “From her doctor. Do you want to hear it?”

Lazuli was almost completely drained of energy, but the mention of ‘good’ and ‘doctor’ was enough to get her head raised. She managed a small nod.

“The good news is, Cirrus is alive.” He inhaled. “Not…awake, but she’s alive. And she’s…relatively stable.” He glanced around, keeping his voice low so their conversation was at least somewhat private. “But…um…” It was clear from his demeanor that he was trying to be as considerate as possible.. “Lazuli, he said you can go in, but…I should warn you about one thing.”

“Y-“ Lazuli rasped, then realized she had screamed herself hoarse hours before. “Yeah?”

“The uh…damage…is substantial. She’s bandaged, but…just so you know…”

“I…I-I want…” Lazuli’s voice was hardly a whimper. She had barely ever felt this small in her life. “I-I want to see…my wife…”

“I…” The doctor grimaced, then nodded. “Alright. Just uh…follow the nurse.” He gently nodded towards a mare wearing a stark white outfit near the entrance to the hallway. Before Lazuli got up, he also leaned down and unbuckled the restraints that held her legs together, which had to be put on – albeit nearly ten hours prior.

Lazuli staggered upright. She had barely moved a muscle the entire time she had been in the hospital since they restrained her, so now she was struggling to walk properly. The kind, slightly aged unicorn standing near the door waited patiently, even allowing Lazuli to lean on her while she led her down the hall.

The silence was deafening. The quiet din of the emergency room had at least been something. Sick ponies coughing, a foal with a broken leg quietly mumbling to his mother – those had been something to keep Lazuli’s mind at ease, but now, as they entered a hallway with nothing but the occasional beep of a machine and the sound of hooves on linoleum, her thoughts started to overwhelm her.

What if Cirrus was comatose? What if she never woke up? What if she had amnesia and wouldn’t even remember who Lazuli was? What if she just…had days to live? The thoughts ran wild through her head, to the point that she nearly walked right past the door. A gentle tug on her tail stopped her, the nurse quietly motioning to a door beside her.

Lazuli swallowed. She hadn’t eaten or drank anything in hours, either. Her mouth felt obscenely dry, devoid of the moisture required to swallow anything. As the nurse pushed the door open, she slowly stepped forward. It was like she needed to push past a physical barrier just to get through.

The first thing she saw was the bed. She would have run to it if she had the strength, but she didn’t, so she simply shuffled towards it. Beside the bed was a doctor – she could hardly see what he was. A unicorn, she realized, with blue fur and a black mane. As Lazuli entered, his expression almost insulted her – it was pity. She must have looked pathetic.

“You must be Lazuli.” The doctor’s voice was calm, soothing even. “My name is Doctor Silver Star.” He slowly gestured to a stool beside the bed. “Please, have a seat. You’ll…want to hear this.”

Lazuli wordlessly moved over to the bed. She could hardly even hold back the waves of horror and immense heartache when she saw what was lying there – it was Cirrus, surely, but her head was wrapped in bandages from the muzzle up and she was certainly not awake. The heart rate monitor beeped steadily, though, which gave Lazuli hope.

Once she was sitting down, Silver gently seated himself on a rolling stool a few feet away, holding a clipboard in his hooves. The soft click of the door being shut made Lazuli twitch, but she calmed herself.

“Alright…Lazuli.” Silver’s voice was still slow, methodical. Normally Lazuli would have been annoyed by it, but right now…she needed to take it slow. “Clearly you’ve…seen her injuries. And…given your line of work, I’m sure you know the severity of a head injury of this…” He paused, clearing his throat while searching for the right word. “Nature.”

Lazuli rasped a word that couldn’t be heard. She just nodded her head.

“Your wife is…stable. It took quite a while to extract the bullet, and even longer to repair the damage…but…even unicorn magic can only do so much. I know you’ve probably heard that extracting the bullet is not the best thing to do, but we found that it was putting pressure on her frontal lobe and cutting off blood flow to her upper brain. If we had left it, she would have suffered even worse damage.” He flipped the page on his clipboard over, looking down at it for a few moments before turning his head up and adjusting his glasses. “We…don’t know the full extent of what she might have lost. Right now, we can only hope it was minimal – but there’s a…very high chance that she will suffer some form of brain damage.”

Despite knowing that would be the outcome, Lazuli felt like she had been punched in the chest. Her body even jerked.

“Again, we aren’t sure of…what the damage is. But for right now, you need to be prepared for confusion. Possibly even memory loss. She might have even lost her hearing, or parts of her motor skills.”

Lazuli hardly had any liquid left in her body, yet somehow enough of it pooled together to make tears start to fall.

“I understand it’s very difficult.” Silver moved closer, gently placing a hoof on Lazuli’s shoulder. She didn’t have the energy to pull away. “And at the moment, I’m not quite sure when Cirrus will wake up.” He said honestly. “But, Lazuli, I need you to listen to me.”

Lazuli turned her head up to meet his gaze. Her eyes shimmered with moisture, her cheeks glimmering in the pale moonlight with tears rolling down them.

“No matter what happens when she wakes up, the thing that she needs most is you. She needs you to support her. She needs you to care, and to show that you do.”

Lazuli hadn’t realized she was shaking until just then, as she lifted a hoof to wipe away the tears.

“I understand that you can’t speak.” Silver’s voice was even softer now. “Go and drink some water, get some food. I’ll let you back in whenever you like, and we’ll talk more when you’re properly energized.”

Lazuli didn’t want to leave. Every fibre of her being was telling her to stay, not to leave Cirrus’ side at all – but she desperately needed to drink. She allowed the nurse to take her to the cafeteria, where she sat in the farthest corner she could find and silently ate, staring at the far wall while wordlessly eating.