CHAPTER NINE
Fruition - Part Two
Cheerilee stood rooted to the spot as the timberwolf approached, while I stood in front of her defensively. I narrowed my eyes and glared at the wolf, trying to show it that I would not be intimidated. It responded by snarling at me and continuing its advance, mindful of the fact that it had us cornered — thanks to the many trees which surrounded us.
"If we get out of this alive..." I snarled. "I am going to fucking kill Time Turner. I should have known not to so easily put my trust in somepony who hated me as much as he did!"
The timberwolf stopped a few metres away and licked its lips. It knew that if it wanted to eat me, it would have to kill me first. It also knew that I had no intention of going down without a fight. With nothing to gain from trying to psych me out, it leapt at me with a blood-curdling howl.
Having braced myself, I was able to withstand the force of the wolf landing on me. It snarled and snapped at me, while I held it as far away from me as I could with my hands around its muzzle. I hissed in pain as a couple of bites found a mark, leaving small holes in my hands and arms. Cheerilee stood nearby, frozen with terror, as she watched me do battle with the crazed wolf.
"Cheerilee!" I shouted. "Save yourself! Get out of here!"
"N-no!" She stammered. "I'm not leaving you!"
The wolf dug the claws of its hind legs into my legs, taking me by surprise and bringing me to my knees. With my balance thrown off the creature was able to bring me to the ground with relative ease, whereupon it started biting me relentlessly. I kicked it as hard as I could, which only served to infuriate it further. Cheerilee lay on the ground and covered her ears, attempting to block out my screams of pain and anger.
I felt the wolf getting off me, it having decided that I was no longer a threat. It glared at Cheerilee and started advancing, savouring the panic written all over her face. She looked around for an escape route before her gaze fell upon where I lay in the grass, trying in vain to stand up.
The wolf growled and quickened its pace, confident that this 'meal' would provide little to no resistance. Cheerilee sighed and bowed her head, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she prepared to accept her fate.
"Cheerilee!" A voice rang out. She looked up — just as Time Turner leapt out of the tree line and tackled the wolf, sending them both sprawling onto the grass in a heap. "If you want to harm her, you're going to have to go through me first!"
"Turner, what are you doing?!" Cheerilee screamed. "You're going to get yourself hurt!"
Turner kicked the wolf in the head, which drew a snarl of pain from it. It retaliated by clamping its jaws around his leg. Driven by pain, Turner began striking the wolf with his free hoof. He was screaming in fury as he rained down blow after blow on the creatures skull, which eventually splintered, sending pieces of wood scattering in all directions. The wolf went limp, a final guttural cry escaping its lips.
Panting, Turner stood up and limped over to Cheerilee. He gently laid a forehoof on her shoulder and came over to where I lay on the ground. He helped me to sit up, and I glared at him.
"I know what you're thinking." He said. "But I can tell you right now that I didn't intend for any of this to happen. I meant everything I said to you at the schoolhouse, Geo, and I wanted this to be a perfect night for you both." He looked at his injured leg and let out a hollow laugh. "Though it looks as if I'll need to arrange something else to make up for this now."
"You saved us." I coughed. "If anything, I need to do something for you in order to say thanks."
Cheerilee approached Turner's side and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered, before throwing her forelegs around my neck and hugging me tightly. As I returned the hug, Time Turner sat and watched with a genuine smile on his face.
"You two are so perfect together." He said. "I see that now. There was a time when I was willing to break you up, but somepony in town managed to sense my jealousy and made me see sense. She may be seen as a bit of an oddity, but that Lyra sure knows how to give out sagely advice when it's needed."
We all chuckled at that, before something caught my eye. I could make out a pair of yellow eyes in the trees. Before I could shout a warning another, much bigger, timberwolf had leapt out at us... and grabbed Time Turner by the neck. The enraged wolf tossed him around like a dog with a chew toy and threw him aside.
"Turner!" I yelled. "Oh, shit... this must be momma timberwolf."
The matriarch sniffed the remains of the other wolf before looking skywards and unleashing a furious howl. Its eyes burned with anger and it was salivating intently, the fresh taste of Turner's blood no doubt lingering on its tongue.
She advanced no further than a few feet before a bolt of magic suddenly flew past her head. Shouting filled the air, followed by the sound of hoofbeats and the clanking of armour. Knowing she had lost the matriarch growled one last time and then retreated as the clearing filled with guards, all of whom watched her leave with stern expressions, their weapons held steady. A couple of unicorn doctors, one of whom I recognised as Haywick, tended to the unconscious Time Turner while another approached Cheerilee and I.
"We got a message from the Apple family saying that a solitary timberwolf had passed through their farm." He explained. "Since the beasts usually travel in packs, we felt that it was a cause for concern. Finding you was easy, because we could hear the commotion from a good distance away... not to mention the fact that we could smell the damn things breath as well."
"It's a good thing you got here when you did." I said, looking towards Time Turner. "Is he going to be okay?"
"I'm not sure." The guard replied. "We will get you both to the hospital and then the doctors will do their thing."
I nodded and allowed the guard to help me to my feet. I rested my hand atop Cheerilee's head to steady myself and began the slow walk back into town, my eyes never leaving the stretcher being carried in front of me — or the stallion who lay on it.
***
After getting to the hospital Turner was whisked away to an operating theatre for emergency surgery, while I was taken to a treatment room and wrapped up like a fish supper. I was allowed to leave nearly an hour later, whereupon Cheerilee dragged me to the Intensive Care Unit.
Time Turner was still unconscious, but the slow rising and falling of his chest indicated signs of life within. Cheerilee and I sat next on a couple of chairs near his bed, and she took one of his forehooves in hers, stroking it gently.
"He saved our lives." She sniffled. "He wanted to prove that he had put his jealousy behind him... but I don't think he wanted this."
"Nopony wanted this to happen." I replied, running my fingers through her mane. "But it has happened, and I will always be grateful to him for what he has done for us."
"As will I." Cheerilee said, leaning forward and gently kissing Turner's cheek. "As will I."
As she spoke, Turner's eyes flickered open. He glanced down to see Cheerilee holding his hoof and slowly moved his other one over to pat her. She gasped in shock and drew away.
"I didn't know you cared." He chuckled weakly.
"I do care!" Cheerilee said, alarmed. "We both do! Don't we, Geo?"
"Damn right we do." I replied. "You saved our lives, man. If you hadn't have arrived when you did, who knows what would have happened to the two of us?"
"It doesn't matter now." Turner said. "What's done is done."
"You're right." I smiled. "We need to stop fretting about the past and instead focus on the future."
"And your future..." Turner coughed. "Your future is with each other. And I will respect that. Besides... I think Lyra likes me."
He chuckled at this, a small grin appearing on his face, before he coughed again — much more forcefully than before. He rolled onto his side, bringing up a large amount of blood. Cheerilee gasped and covered her mouth while I shouted as loud as I could for a doctor. Within seconds we were being ushered out of the ICU, allowing Haywick and his team to work on Turner. As the doors swung closed behind us, Cheerilee and I simply held each other close – neither of us wanting to move – while we listened to the shouting of the doctors and the suffering of our saviour.
***
An unknown length of time passed, after which Cheerilee and I found ourselves being shaken awake by Doctor Haywick. We looked at the sombre expression on his face and he shook his head. No words needed to be said, this single gesture telling us everything that we needed to know.
Time Turner was dead.