A young earth pony filly with a yellow coat and red mane was making her way through Hope’s Hollow. A few ponies were walking around town and barely anypony noticed the smaller filly in the street. She sighed a little as she headed towards the Hoofington’s Bakery.
She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky for a long moment. It was a pretty nice day at least, but somehow it felt like the town was getting colder. She sighed a little and started walking again, nearly running into another filly about her age who stumbled a little.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to…” She started to say when she looked at her again. She was a light blue Pegasus filly with a pink mane. What she noticed quickly was that she had only three legs, her hind leg was replaced with a rough looking wooden hoof.
“Uh, are you okay?” The Pegasus asked, confused.
“Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t be staring…” The Earth Pony said with a shake of her head.
“It’s okay, you’re not the first one,” the Pegasus said softly. “I’m used to it by now.”
The Earth Pony filly flinched a little at that. She hated herself for staring, the filly was clearly not as comfortable with it as she claimed. She looked down at her hooves for a moment as she tried to figure out how to apologize.
“What happened?” She asked softly. “I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“I lost it in an accident when I was younger, it’s not that bad, but this isn’t very easy to walk on,” the Pegasus answered as she glanced back at the leg. “But it’s all my family could afford. Oh, my name is Kerfuffle.”
“Torque Wrench,” Torque replied with a soft smile. “I’m going to the Bakery, would you like to come with me?”
“Sure,” Kerfuffle replied. She smiled a little as the two fillies started to walk together. “Thank you…”
“For what?”
“Not a lot of ponies want to talk to me,” Kerfuffle answered. “Is everyone in this town, so, uh…distant?”
"Yeah, sometimes," Torque replied as she looked back towards the rest of the town for a moment. "It feels like it's been getting worse lately though."
"Yeah, I noticed," Kerfuffle said. "But thank you for at least being willing to talk to me. Do... you want to be friends? It's okay if you don't."
"I'd like that," Torque said with a smile as she hugged the Pegasus a little. Even with how it felt like the town was changing, it was nice to know that she could have some friends. "I'd love to be your friend."
The two fillies smiled together as they started to walk again. Somehow this all felt so right to them. They had felt alone in this town before now, but now somehow it felt right to walk together like this. They talked about their families, home lives, and just life in general. By the time they had reached the bakery, it was almost like they had known each other their entire lives.
"So, you still don't have your cutie mark either, huh?" Kerfuffle asked as they headed into the bakery together.
"Yeah, I've tried a few things but not a lot seems to click, you know?" Torque replied with a shrug. "I've thought about trying some new things. But there's not really a lot of options left, what about you?"
"Uh, yeah I've tried a few things," Kerfuffle replied. "I'm thinking about trying working with clothes next. I know it’s kind of silly, but I've always loved fashion and everything. Maybe I can make it work if I work on something like that."
"Yeah, you never know until you try," Torque agreed. "Maybe I can help you out sometime. I've got a few things I would still like to try, but maybe we can, you know, try and work together on figuring it out?"
"Sure," Kerfuffle said with a smile as they headed into the bakery together.
00000
Torque sighed a little as she headed into the workshop at the back of her house that night. Her parents were out again that night, and she had been here a few times working on things. She tried to build things or fix things, and she was getting pretty good at it, but it felt more like a hobby than anything else.
She started going through some of the objects that had been left there by her father. He had been something of a tinkerer, but he had lost interest in it recently. She thought about the filly she had met that day, Kerfuffle was a nice pony. She hadn't expected to have made a friend while she was out that day, and it was so... nice.
"Hmm..." she said as she dug around in a box and took out an old looking set of servos and equipment. She had almost forgotten about this, an idea was starting to form in her mind as she started to work on getting everything together.
Using the tools that she had found lying around she started to work on getting everything together. It wasn't easy, she attached two pieces of metal to a hinge, oiling it and adjusting it to make sure that it moved properly. She seemed almost like she was going on autopilot as she worked on getting everything just right.
The next part was much harder, she needed just the right things to make sure that it was all ready. She grabbed a face mask and started the welding process as she attached a small knob to the metal. Working on it wasn't easy, but she kept working on it, fitting everything together as she set it on the workbench in front of her.
She yawned a little and closed her eyes. She was exhausted from the work she had done as she laid her head down on the bench and drifted off to sleep.
"Torque, come on sleepyhead, its time to get up," a voice said and she yawned as she looked up to see her mother standing there looking at her. "What have you been working on this time?"
"Just, a little something for a friend," Torque said with a yawn as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She smiled a little as she looked at the metal attachment for a moment. "I think she'll like it."
"Looks kind of like a leg to me," her mom commented as she picked it up and looked at it. "Kind of a strange gift if you ask me."
"She, uh... she needs it," Torque said with a slight blush. "She lost one of her legs and her parents couldn't afford to get here a nice replacement, so..."
"So you thought you'd make her one?" Her mom asked and she nodded. "That's sweet of you, Torque. It's a little rough looking, but if it'll fit her it should work."
"Yeah, I hope so, I just..." Torque said and was surprised when her mom hugged her tight. "You don't think this is weird or anything?"
"I think it's sweet," her mom replied with a smile. "Just promise me you'll invite her over some time, okay? I want to meet this filly."
"I promise," Torque answered and closed her eyes a little. She couldn't wait to see the look on Kerfuffle's face when she saw it.
"Come on, let's get this thing wrapped up, I'm sure she'll appreciate your gift," her mom finished as she helped her daughter up and picked up the mechanical leg as they headed back into the house together.
00000
Torque made her way around town that day looking for Kerfuffle. By lunchtime, she hadn't seen any sign of the blue Pegasus mare. Maybe she was still at home or something. She was about to give up when she finally saw a familiar filly walking out of one of the stores and waved at her.
"Hey, Kerfuffle!" Torque said as she excitedly ran up to her friend with the gift in her bags. "I was hoping to see you."
"Hey Torque," Kerfuffle said with a smile. "Sorry, I've been busy all morning. After we were talking yesterday, I wanted to try my hoof at clothes making again. I made something for you, I know it's not much, but I thought you'd like it."
She reached into her saddlebags and took out a long green ribbon. She smiled as she wrapped it around Torque's head, tying it into a small bow on the front.
"I'm sorry, it's not much, but I thought you'd like it," she said as she blushed a little. "I was thinking about it, and, well it felt perfect to me for you, I mean. I was just... working on things, and it felt so perfect for you like I could imagine you in it perfectly."
"Thank you," Torque said as she looked up at it curiously for a moment. It was nice, she hadn't expected Kerfuffle to give her anything. "Oh, I got you something too!"
"You did?" Kerfuffle asked as Torque went into her bags again for a moment and came out with the wrapped present.
"I made it for you actually, not got it..." she quickly corrected herself. "I thought you might like it, and that it might help you out."
Kerfuffle looked curious as she took the present and started to unwrap it. Her eyes went wide when she got it open and looked at the odd metal that had been given to her. She took a moment to examine it and check on how sturdy and flexible it was. For a moment she was quiet before tears started to stream down her face.
"I'm sorry... I just wanted to help you out..." Torque said softly as she looked down at her hooves. She had screwed this up somehow. She had wanted to help her new friend and now she had made her cry. "I'll just go home..."
"No!" Kerfuffle said as she hugged Torque tightly. The Earth Pony looked surprised for a moment before smiling and hugging her back. "I just... this is the nicest thing anypony has ever done for me. I didn't think you would do something like this."
Torque smiled a little as she patted Kerfuffle gently on the back. The Pegasus' tears of joy fell onto her shoulders as they enjoyed the moment together.
"You're welcome," Torque replied. "I don't know if it'll fit, but it should be better than your old one."
Kerfuffle nodded a little as she took a seat on the ground. Torque took a few moments to figure out how the old wooden prosthetic worked and detached it. She flinched a little at the sight of the stub that had once been the filly's hind leg. Still, she slipped it onto Kerfuffle's stump and secured it nicely.
Kerfuffle got to her hooves and tested it out for a moment. She wobbled a little as she got used to walking on the metal leg that flexed under her weight. She smiled at Torque and gave her a nod.
"It's perfect," she said as she hugged the Earth pony tightly again. Torque hugged her back, and they closed their eyes as they enjoyed the moment for a moment.
Somehow this felt right, the joy of a pony she just helped. The joy she felt having actually helped such a good friend walk better. It just felt, right somehow. Like she wanted to help ponies by doing stuff like this.
"Torque!" Kerfuffle said as Torque opened her eyes and realized there was a glow coming from her backside.
She smiled a little when she looked down and saw a cutie mark form on her flank. It was a simple mark of a wrench and screwdriver as she smiled broadly. It was her's.
"Come on, let's go show everypony," Torque said with a smile as they walked together towards Torque's house.
00000
The years had passed, as the color had faded from Hope's Hollow, life started to fall into a routine. Torque and Kerfuffle still maintained their friendship as best they could, but even they started to feel distant from one another. Torque still helped Kerfuffle as best she could and kept her leg in good repair and replaced it when she grew.
When Twilight Sparkle and her friends came to town, everything had changed. Torque smiled a little as she thought back to that time. It felt like Hope's Hollow had finally become the town that she remembered from her foalhood again. She looked back at what she was working on, a project for the Mayor's upcoming wedding and took a deep breath as she kept working.
"Hey Torque," a voice said from behind her and she turned to see Kerfuffle standing there in the doorway. She smiled a little as she stood there.
With the color gone for so long, Kerfuffle had almost forgotten how much the Pegasus mare sparkled. Her prosthetic leg had been custom made by Torque to reflect the Pegasus mare's love of design and creation. It was exactly what she needed.
"Hey, Kerfuffle," Torque said. "Come in, come in. Can I, uh, help you with something?"
"I think the servos in my leg are acting up again," Kerfuffle said as she limped in. "Do you mind taking a look at them again for me?"
"No problem," Torque replied as Kerfuffle took a seat in a chair next to the workbench. Torque went through a few tools before finding what she needed and heading back to where her friend was seated. "So, what makes you think there's a problem?"
"It's freezing up on me when I try to walk sometimes," Kerfuffle said as Torque started to work on it. "Sorry for bringing this to you. I know you're busy with everything."
"It's fine, I'm almost done with this anyway, and I think the Mayor would understand," Torque said as she kept working. "Yeah, your servos need oiling, this should be easy enough to fix though. How's business going?"
"Great!" Kerfuffle answered excitedly. "It's really been booming ever since I started doing my own thing as well. I'm very excited, maybe I'll make you something next."
Torque chuckled a little at that. She brushed her hoof against the ribbon in her mane, she still had it after all these years, a reminder of their friendship that she couldn't let go of. "I think I'd like that."
"Well, I'll get to work on it when we're done here," Kerfuffle said with a soft smile. Torque kept working, it wasn't that hard to fix really, she had done it dozens of times before. "Hey, uh, Torque?"
"Yeah, Kerfuffle?"
"I was thinking, would you like to maybe join me for dinner tonight?" Kerfuffle asked. "Uh, I mean, I was just thinking that... well. I've been kind of lonely lately, and it would be nice to have a friend over for a bit, you know?”
"Yeah, that sounds nice," Torque said with a soft smile. "What time would you like me to come over?"
"How about around 6:30?" Kerfuffle suggested. "Is that time good for you? I can always wait until later if you'd like."
"No, no, that's fine," Torque said as she finished working on the prosthetic leg. "There you go, good as new. Let me know if there are any more problems, okay?"
"Yeah, I will," Kerfuffle replied and gave her old friend a hug. "I'll see you later, okay? Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome, anything for you," Torque said as she hugged back. They released the hug after a moment and Torque watched as her friend left her shop.
She smiled softly as she went back to work on the item she had been putting together before. Maybe everything wouldn't be so bad anymore. Right now, she just had to work on getting this project done for the Mayor. But as she worked, she couldn't help but think about Kerfuffle. The Pegasus mare's smile filled her thoughts. Right now, all she wanted to do was make sure she kept smiling.
She wanted to be the reason why she smiled, and more than just as a friend.
She shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her mind. Kerfuffle was her friend, but right now she was supposed to be working. She took a deep breath and turned her focus back on the project.
She'd think about Kerfuffle later.
00000
Torque paused a moment as she stopped in front of Kerfuffle's house. She had gotten the project mostly done and was almost time for her to be there, but she hesitated. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but maybe she did feel something for her old friend.
"Come on Torque, you don't want to screw this up..." She muttered to herself. "Not after everything that's happened."
After what had happened with Twilight and her friends restoring the color to town, it almost felt like they had been given a second chance. She knew that she wasn't the only pony who felt that way, she just had to make sure that she didn't blow her's.
She finally took a deep breath and raised her hoof as she knocked on the door. A minute later Kerfuffle answered the door and gave her a smile. "Hey Torque, just in time."
"Yeah, I didn't want to be late," Torque replied and rubbed the back of her head a little. "How'd the rest of your day go? Was there any more problems with your leg?"
"Nope, it worked perfectly," Kerfuffle answered as she let her friend into the house. "I know you're busy with everything, so it really means a lot that you can take the time out of your day like this."
"Hey, anything for my best friend," Torque said with a soft smile as she took a seat on the Pegasus' couch. "How about you? I'm sure you've been busy too."
"Oh yeah, I've been pretty busy," Kerfuffle said. "After I met Rarity she's started to popularize my work. I'm doing everything I can to make sure that everything is ready for sale. I'm kind of nervous actually. I honestly don't know if ponies will really like my stuff."
"Kerfuffle, you've got nothing to worry about," Torque said as she placed her hoof on her friend's withers. "You do really beautiful work. I always thought your clothing was beautiful before, I just, uh... I never really knew how to tell you."
"Well, thank you," Kerfuffle blushed a little. "That really means a lot, Torque. I just wish that I could've seen it before, you know, everything happened."
"Yeah, well you're going to be fine," Torque added and smiled a little. She pointed at her ribbon for a moment. "You always had a good eye for style and colors. It really means a lot to me that you've started to see it more yourself. I'll be there to help you out if you ever need anything."
"That... really means a lot to me," Kerfuffle said with a blush as she looked away from Torque for a moment. "Look, uh, Torque... I wanted to invite you because, umm..."
"Yes?" Torque asked. "Is everything okay?"
"It's nothing, it's silly," Kerfuffle said quickly. "Forget I said anything, I should probably get back to work on dinner."
"Let me see if I can help," Torque offered as they headed into the kitchen together.
Kerfuffle hovered a little as she picked some things up out of one of the top cabinets and landed back on the ground. Torque snuck a look back at the Pegasus for a moment and blushed a little when she realized that she was bent over a little, giving the Earth Pony a nice view of her flanks.
"Hold it together Torque," Torque muttered to herself as she tried not to blush. "She's just a friend, she's just a friend..."
"Are you okay over there?" Kerfuffle asked, which made Torque jump.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Torque said quickly. "So, uh, is there anything you need help with?"
"Well, if you don't mind, you could cut the carrots," Kerfuffle suggested as she pointed at some carrots on the counter. "It really would help if you don't mind. I'm just making some soup really."
"Yeah, sure, I don't mind at all," Torque said as she headed over to the carrots. She picked up a knife and started chopping them up for a moment as she looked down at her hooves, hardly noticing as she was working.
Why couldn't she stop thinking about Kerfuffle? For the longest time, she had only thought of her as a friend. So what was she going to do? Was there any way she could feel something more for the Pegasus than just friendship? She blushed a little, trying to focus on the carrots, but found herself occasionally sneaking looks back at the Pegasus who was humming to herself while she worked on getting the food ready.
She was cute, nice, and she generally was such a good friend and pony. What was she supposed to say to her? She was embarrassed, there was no way she could possibly feel that way for her. Torque had never had much of a love life, nopony ever really seemed to interest her.
What was she about to... "OWW!" She exclaimed as in her inattentiveness she cut her hoof. "Son of a..."
"Hey, are you okay?" Kerfuffle asked as she trotted over to the Earth Pony. She frowned a little as she saw the cut on her hoof. "Ouch, that doesn't look good... let me get you a bandage."
She gave Torque a towel to press against her hoof before she went over to a cabinet and took down a first aid kit. She smiled a little as she trotted over and took out a bandage, wrapping it around Torque's hoof gently.
"Thanks," Torque said softly as she held her hoof out gently and smiled a little at Kerfuffle. "Sorry for nearly giving the soup an extra ingredient."
The two mares exchanged a look for a long moment before laughing a little. Kerfuffle finished tying the bandage on her hoof and gave Torque a nod.
"So, what's got you so distracted tonight anyway?" Kerfuffle asked.
"Oh, I'm just thinking about some... thing," Torque said quickly. She didn't want to admit that she had been thinking about Kerfuffle. She blushed at the very thought of it.
"Yeah, I understand, I've felt the same lately," Kerfuffle agreed. "Something has been kind of distracting me lately, ever since the color was restored really. It feels so silly, like none of it's real anymore. I don't even know how to describe it."
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," Torque said with a sigh. "I'm not really sure what I'm going to do, to be honest. Part of me wants to do something because it's distracting me from my work, but at the same time I'm afraid of what might happen."
"Yeah..." Kerfuffle agreed and smiled a little. "I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Maybe you should just take the risk. There's no real harm in trying."
"Yeah, maybe," Torque said and closed her eyes for a moment. "Kerfuffle, I..."
"Yes?"
"Well, see, you've been a really good friend for a long time," Torque continued. "I know we kind of grew apart with everything that happened. I just, I... uh..."
"Torque, you can tell me anything," Kerfuffle said as she placed her hoof gently on Torque's wither. "You're my friend, and if there's something you want to tell me, go ahead."
"I've been trying to figure this out ever since earlier," Torque said as she blushed as red as her mane, trying not to look at her friend. "I think, I, uh... like you, like, really, really like you."
Kerfuffle paused a moment as she blushed deeply. The two mares sat in silence for a few moments as Torque realized she had just said that out loud. What was Kerfuffle even going to think? Had she screwed this up somehow? She was about to run for it when she felt Kerfuffle pressing against her and kissing her deeply.
Torque felt her face turn hot as they shared their first kiss. She had always been so focused on everything else, she had never expected this to feel so, nice. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss, wrapping her forelegs around her friend gently as she did.
"How long have you known?" Torque asked as they broke the kiss after a moment.
"Since before we lost color," Kerfuffle answered with a soft smile. "I guess I was just always afraid to tell you the truth. I finally got the confidence to tell you tonight, it's why I wanted you to join me. You've been my best friend since that day we met. I want you to be my special somepony."
Torque smiled and hugged the other mare tightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
The two shared a hug as Kerfuffle wrapped her wings around Torque. The two of them stood there together in an embrace, neither of them wanting to release it just yet. They knew that this was the perfect moment for them both, and wanted it to last forever.
“Thank you, Torque,” Kerfuffle said after a long moment.
“For what?”
“For making me a leg all those years ago,” she said with a smile. “It gave me the best gift I could have ever asked for.”
“A working leg?”
“Nope,” Kerfuffle said as she kissed Torque again. “A pony who I can love. More than anything else.”
Torque smiled as the two shared a kiss once more.
Author's Note
Inspired by a conversation with Lady Aceina who suggested this ship and the idea in general to me.
