"PINKAMENA! CUSTARD CHEESE! MOVE! LOOK OUT YOU GOTTA MOVE!" Cheese managed to gasp out the words. Pinkie looked up at Cheese who was frantically running at them. She was about to ask what's wrong until she heard a large branch snap from beside her.
"T-T-TIMBERWOLVES" Cheese screamed at the top of his lungs. Two timberwolves snarled as they approached from the side. Their stench quickly filled the air and their wooden bones cracked with every movement they made. Pinkie could vaguely hear the muffled yelling of Cheese; her world however became mute as she felt her daughter clench her rear leg and start shivering in fear. She couldn't think straight, the only time she had faced a timberwolf was with her group of friends. The timberwolves crouched down and snapped their jaws, cornering Pinkie and Li'l Cheese against the forest. Pinkie snapped back into reality and snatched up Li'l Cheese as quickly as possible and threw her on her back.
"NO!" Cheese saw Pinkie attempt to slide away from the Timberwolves towards an odd looking tree. He prayed they would make it but with the way the wolves were about to pounce, he knew that there would be no possible way of them escaping if he didn't do something. Time was running out as one of them began to leap into the air, its jaws wide open to capture and tear apart anything in its way. Cheese couldn't bear the thought of what the timberwolves would do if they managed to get ahold of his wife and daughter. The last thing on his mind were the consequences for what he was about to do once he saw Li'l Cheese scream.
Pinkie cocked her head to the left upon hearing her daughter scream. Much to her shock, a Timberwolf was quickly descending on top of them. She was tempted to fight back but she couldn't risk them getting ahold of Li'l Cheese. The pink mare was out of ideas and hope until she heard Cheese call out their names. Suddenly she felt an unexpectedly strong force ram into her side, sending both her and Li'l Cheese sliding across the muddy outskirts of the forest. She yelped in pain and surprise, but nothing could prepare her for the blood curdling scream that echoed through the valley. Thinking it came from Li'l Cheese, Pinkie turned her head towards the filly, but only saw her looking in the distance with a mortified face. Pinkie quickly snapped her head to the other side and gasped in horror and let out her own scream.
"CHEESE, NO!" Cheese grunted as his vision became white and blurry from the searing pain that coursed through his body. He felt the timberwolf clench down harder on his leg and back, drawing more blood than the initial bite had already done. Cheese began trying to kick the timberwolf in attempt to break free. The wolf hung him upside down and began ripping more of his orange coat and tearing through the flesh. The snapping of his hip and pelvic bone could be heard almost in slow motion before the wolf dropped him. Cheese gasped before he came in contact with the hard earth head and shoulder first. He tried to put most of the weight on his right shoulder to avoid damaging his head. Unfortunately as he hit the ground, he heard and felt an excruciating popping. Rolling over, he cried out in pain and clutched his shoulder with his good arm. One of the timberwolves harshly stepped on Cheese's broken hip, causing him to choke out a few sobs. Its claws dug further into his back while it put more weight onto him. His throat burned as it seemingly closed off and the dirt and blood that got in his mouth didn't help either. Hopefully I bought a little time for them to escape. The other timberwolf started making its way towards Pinkie and Li'l Cheese, who were now standing up again. Seeing as she didn't have a choice, Pinkie painfully set Li'l Cheese off to the side and rushed into the field to fight. However, as soon as she approached the timberwolves, she knew that Cheese was in dire need of medical help, with a last ditch effort she called out to her daughter.
"Li'l Cheese! Go get your cousins! We need help! Hurry!" Pinkie grunted as she used her hind legs to buck the wolf in the jaw. Li'l Cheese gave a shaky nod and started sprinting away from her parents. She glanced back, but at the sight of her father, she quickly turned around and ran faster. Oh how greatly she wished Spike or even another unicorn were around to set the wolves ablaze.
As she watched Li'l Cheese leave, Pinkie quickly turned and ran towards the oddly shaped tree at the edge of the forest. She reached into the rotted knot and grabbed out an emergency party canon. Unlike her blue one, this one was a dark green and supported a more compact look. Quickly filling it up with rocks, she glared at the wolves, trying not to look at the state Cheese was in at the moment.
"Ok listen here you brutes! Imma give you one chance to leave or I start shooting." The timberwolves only snarled at Pinkie's response and both of them started making their way toward her. Ok, this is good, they're not on Cheese anymore. She thought, trying to stay somewhat positive in this situation.
All Cheese wanted to do was give up at the moment, he couldn't tell if his backside was numb or if it was in excruciating pain. His head throbbed and he could taste the bitter blood and dirt mixture in his mouth. He needed to help, he just had to get back up. Tears slid off his face as he tried to lift himself up with his one good arm. Cheese yelped in agony and immediately collapsed upon feeling the fiery pain spread. The timberwolf's leg that pushed down on Cheese made it nearly impossible to breathe; in fact, it was the only thing keeping him awake at the moment. But then, the strangest thing happened, the timberwolf suddenly got off his back. Cheese snapped his eyes open and coughed violently, projecting a concerning amount of blood in the process. A small stream ran from his head into his right eye, making it harder to see. The drowsiness that overtook him was almost too much to bare. He could feel the stickiness that covered his stomach and the ground, Cheese didn't even have to look in order to know that he was losing too much blood. The last thing he saw was Pinkie rushing towards him after she shot rocks into the mouths of the wolves, causing them to crumble as the rocks lodged themselves in their throats. That's my girl. He thought as an almost calm sensation spread throughout his body. Then he was gone.
Pinkie gasped, tears already starting to prick her eyes. She quietly whispered 'no' over and over again as she crouched down next to Cheese. Trembling, she pulled him closer and put her head against his chest, hoping, praying to sweet Celestia, that there was any sign of him making it. Her eyes graced over his bruised and blood ridden body as she listened for anything, it was obvious to see the unnatural position his hind leg took as his hip bent at a sharp angle; his shoulder wasn't any better either as it hung loosely on her lap. Upon hearing nothing, Pinkie quickly backed away and clasped her mouth. Tears started to flow freely and her mane deflated significantly.
"No…..Cheese. Please you gotta say something! W-what about the party pony pack? It's supposed to be Cheese Sandwich, Pinkie Pie, and the Custard Cheese...it c-can't just be Custard Cheese and Pinkie Pie now..." Her voice began to quaver and break as she began to shake him slightly.
"Come on! P-please please please! You're going to be alright, come on. Ch-cheesie ...you can't do this to me! No…..no no no no NO!" Pinkie pulled his head closer and brushed the blood, dirt and hair off his face. The desperation in her voice and movements became more apparent when he didn't respond to her pleas. She began choking out sobs after she started shaking him more harshly than before. Her panic amplified significantly after attempting to open his eyes, only to come face to face with the fact that the life had been drained from him. His normally bright and lively grass green eyes were dulling by the second. Pinkie felt her breath and heart stop for a split second. She didn't say a word of rejection, not a single contradicting outburst; she just cradled him tightly, rocked back and forth, and began sobbing to her heart's content. The amount of pain that tore her from the inside was unbearable, she didn't think it was possible to feel such a harsh stabbing to her heart. Her cries and screams echoed off the valley mountains and back to her. She buried her face in his frizzled mane in order to muffle at least some of the unpleasant noise, but to no prevail.
Li'l Cheese was currently on the back of Applejack, racing next to Big Mac. When she first arrived pounding on the door of the farm, she had hyperventilated and nearly passed out while pointing in the general direction of the incident. Her not being able to explain how dire the situation was, landed her on her cousin's back, sprinting off in that general direction.
"Ya gotta calm down sugarcube," Applejack started in between breaths, "Just take some deep breaths and tell us what happened." Trying to listen to her cousin's advice, Li'l Cheese put a hoof to her stomach and deeply inhaled before shakily managing to speak.
"D-daddy's r-r-really hurt. A t-timberwolf came a-and I don't know what happened! H-he screamed a-a lot. It hurts my head to t-think about b-b-but next thing I know, I'm running t-to find you guys." Applejack winced and turned towards her older brother, also wearing a concerned look. Upon reaching the hill, all movement ceased as the Apple sibling's eyes widened. Silently, Applejack traded off Li'l Cheese to Big Mac, who proceeded to shield her eyes with his forearm. Wasting no time, she rushed over to the crying mare that sat near the forest, sobbing into her lap.
"Pinkie Pie... What exactly happened?" Applejack instantly regret such a dumb question when Pinkie shot her daggers. The daggers however, quickly soften after seeing the kindness presented by her cousin. Pinkie returned to Cheese and began sobbing again before calming herself down enough to speak.
"H-he's gone AJ. I was too late. I should h-have never come here." Pinkie shook like a leaf in between shakey breaths; Applejack sat down next to her and hugged her tightly. Applejack grimaced at the sight of Cheese before taking Pinkie's head and bringing it close to her chest, somehow that made her sob harder but the orange mare knew that the only way to move onto the next task was to let it all out. She lowered and hushed her tone.
"Ah'm so sorry sugarcube. Nopony deserves this, and Ah really wish Ah could take it all away. How long has he...umm." She struggled to find the right words as to not set off another breakdown. Pinkie picked up the clues and answered her unfinished question.
"A-about f-five minutes before you g-guys c-came." The hiccups made her speech almost unintelligible, but Applejack managed. She quickly sat up in realization.
"Only five minutes? We might still have a chance! Big Mac!" She quickly waved him over with Li'l Cheese in tow.
"Quick, y'all gotta get Cheese Sandwich to the hospital! I'll take Li'l Cheese and Pinkie, you just focus on gettin' him there big bro." Big Mac nodded and Applejack grabbed Li'l Cheese and put her stetson on top of her afro. Big Mac hoisted Cheese onto his back and began sprinting off in the direction they originally came. As Applejack looked back and forth between Pinkie and Li'l Cheese, she could see that Li'l Cheese hadn't been able to process fully what had just happened, she knew that eventually she'd break down too, even though in her opinion, Li'l Cheese was too young. But as she reflected on the scenario, she realized that Li'l Cheese wasn't much older than she was when she lost both of her parents. Applejack frowned at the thought and without thinking, embraced Li'l Cheese in a tight hug.
Li'l Cheese didn't know how to react to the whole situation. She didn't even let that many tears escape from her ducts, she had been abnormally quiet and just accepted the hug. Something about that embrace made her tears fall more freely before it was too much to bare and quickly turned into Applejack and began crying quietly. She could feel her older cousin gently stroke her mane and whisper quietly as if to say it were alright.
"D-do you r-really think Daddy'll be ok? Honestly?" Li'l Cheese stuttered. She slightly lifted her head in order to make eye contact. Applejack looked up towards Pinkie, who's tear stained face bore a similar expression to her daughter. She looked back down and sucked on her lips.
"Honestly, Ah dunno sweetheart ...yer Pa looked pretty beat up and while five minutes is a heck of a long time to try and bring somepony back, it's always worth a shot." She quietly spoke, her voice rolled out her mouth a soothing matter, making Li'l Cheese stifle her sobs. Only a miracle could save them now.