Kerfuffle's Lower Left Limb Kerfuffles

Chapters

Twilight
Rainbow Dash
Fluttershy
Applejack
Pinkie Pie
Rarity
Hope Hollow

Twilight

Twilight Sparkle sighed happily as she watched the ponies of Hope Hollow celebrate their first Rainbow Festival in years. Everything had come together better than she had hoped. The Festival was in full swing, the town had its colors back, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, everypony looked happy. She nodded in contentment and looked to her friends who were standing around her.

"I'm so glad that this all worked out," Twilight said with a smile. "It's so amazing to see a whole town come together in love and friendship." Twilight shot a knowing glance in the direction of the newly engaged Mayor Sunny Skies and Petunia Petals, who were chatting with Kerfuffle. "Especially love, in this instance."

"Oh, I quite agree, darling," Rarity said as a group of foals ran by them, laughing about something or other. "And to see ponies start using their special talents and abilities to help the town certainly doesn't hurt matters."

"Fer sure," Applejack replied with a nod. "'Specially Torque Wrench. That gal has talent like Ah ain't never seen before."

"And Mister and Missus Hoofington baking those awesome, wonderful, tasty, delicious pies!" Pinkie chimed in before tossing a piece of said pie that had seemingly come out of nowhere into the air and swallowing it all in one gulp. She "mmmed" in contentment and rubbed her belly. "Apricot. Yummy."

Rainbow scoffed in amusement before looking in the distance where Barley and Pickle Barrel were performing a few basic tricks. "Yeah, it's pretty awesome, alright. Those two have some talent. Wouldn't surprise me if they actually became Wonderbolts!" She chuckled and buffed her hoof on her chest. "With a little help and guidance from yours truly."

"In any case, they all seem really happy." Fluttershy's smile somehow produced a cute little squeak as a trio of butterfly's flitted past the group. "I can't wait to come back next year."

"Oh, me neither," Rarity said as the group stopped in the middle of the town square to pony-watch. "I'm certain that Kerfuffle will have come up with several wonderful designs." Rarity perked up a bit. "Oh, that reminds me: I simply must get her address. I'd love to keep up a correspondence with her."

"Well, I'm heading over to talk to the mayor before we go anyway," Twilight said with a shrug. "I can get Kerfuffle's address while I'm over there."

"Well, that sounds like a plan then," Rarity said with a smile. "In the meantime, I suppose that it would be silly for all six of us to just stay together through the whole festival. I for one suggest that we all go and explore!"

The other five all nodded and the group went its separate ways. Twilight kept her course and walked up to where Mayor Sunny, Petunia and Kerfuffle were all talking. They seemed as happy as the rest of them, and as Twilight approached, the all began laughing at some joke that one of them had told.

"Hello, everypony!" Twilight said as she approached. "It looks like you're all having a good time."

"Oh, the best!" Sunny Skies replied. "I don't think we've ever had a Rainbow Festival as good as this one! You and your friends have really done a wonderful job. We couldn't have done it without you!"

Petunia smirked at Sunny and nudged him on the side. "Oh, well you were the one who proposed, silly. I think that might have a lot to do with why this one is the best."

Kerfuffle giggled and stomped her hoof on the ground. "Oh yah. That was pretty neat, Mister Mayor, sir. That and I got ta meet Rarity!" Kerfuffle let out a happy squeal and flapped her wings. "The Rarity!"

"Well she was happy to meet you too, Kerfuffle," Twilight said. "On that note, actually, Rarity was hoping that she could get your address? She wants to keep in touch."

Kerfuffle's eyes and smile widened and she let out another happy squeak. Her wings flapped hard enough that she actually levitated a few hooves. "Oh. My. Goodness! The Rarity wants ta talk ta me?" She giggled and landed. "Oh yah! Let me get that address for ya, then!"

"We'll leave the two of you to it," Sunny Skies chimed in. If you don't mind, me and my..." He blushed and leaned in closer to Petunia. "Bride-to-be are going to see more of the festival."

"Oh, I don't mind at all," Twilight said, levitating a quill and a piece of scratch paper out of the small, thin saddlebag at her side while Petunia and Kerfuffle giggled. "I'll catch up with the two of you later."

As the two walked away, Kerfuffle took the quill and paper to quickly scratch out her address. When she was finished, Twilight took them back in her magic and placed them back in her saddlebag.

"Oh, by the way, I never properly thanked you for these!" Twilight said, flapping her wings to show off the wing covers that Kerfuffle had made for her. "They're absolutely beautiful, and really comfortable, too!"

"Oh, pshhh, it's nothin' ta write home about." Despite that, Twilight couldn't help but notice the small blush on Kerfuffle's cheeks. "Glad ya like them and all. I've been waitin' fer the opportunity ta actually show them off and now..." Kerfuffle grinned and motioned to Twilight. "Here ya are!"

"Well, I think they're beautiful, Kerfuffle, and my friends and I can't wait to see what you come up with next year."

Kerfuffle let out another happy squeak and fluttered her wings again. This time, Twilight couldn't help but glance at her left hind leg. The lower half was missing, replaced by a wood and metal prosthetic. She only glanced for a brief moment, but when she looked back up, Kerfuffle had a knowing smile on her face.

"You can ask, ya know."

Now it was Twilight's turn to blush. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"It's alright." Kerfuffle snorted. "Ya don't think ponies don't notice? I know ponies get curious with somethin' like that."

"Right, but I didn't want to be... you know..." Twilight scraped at the ground with her hoof. "Rude, or anything like that."

"Oh, pshhh, it ain't rude at all," Kerfuffle said with a wave of her hoof. "Everypony notices it at some point. So... would ya like ta know what happened?"

"Oh..." Twilight flinched back. "I mean... if you're--"

"It's fine," Kerfuffle replied. "It happened a long time ago. I barely even notice the leg is gone some days. Anyways, it all started when I was a scientist for the Canterlot Royal Institution of Technology, Science, and Magic."

Twilight gasped and her eyes widened. "Wh-what?! The Canterlot... That's the most prestigious scientific department in Equestria!"

"Oh, you betcha! Good ta know you've heard of them. Now, it was back when we were trying to research a cure for a disease..."

* * * *

Kerfuffle placed the beaker down on the table and fired up the Bunson burner. She patted her mane to make sure that it was still in its tight bun before adjusting her safely goggles.

"Alright. Test number two-seven-one." She glanced around at the half-dozen other ponies in the room. "You all ready?"

"Yes, Head Researcher Kerfuffle," said a nervous looking young stallion holding a clipboard and pen in his magic. "Everything appears to be in order."

"Good. Now hopefully this doesn't blow up too badly. We're on the right track." Kerfuffle uncorked a vial and brought it closer to the one she had just placed on the table. She gave the Bunsen burner one last check to make sure that it wouldn't go out in the middle of the process before tipping the second vial into the first one. Before even a single drop could be poured, she heard one of the other researchers gasp.

"Head Researcher Kerfuffle, you're about to mix an acid and a base!" She gulped. "Y-you know what happens when you do that, right?"

"Oh yah, sure as I'm standin' here I do! I'm just hopin' that the fire is gonna cancel all of that out, but I gotta mix 'em in before they go on the fire or things are gonna get real nasty in here. So..." The other researchers slowly started to back away as Kerfuffle poured several drops of one vial into the other. The yellow liquid in the first vial instantly turned green as the second liquid was added. Everypony else took another step back.

"Alright, now we just gotta add it to the fire here, and..." Kerfuffle frowned. "Oh for goodness sakes. Where did I put my tongs?" Kerfuffle turned around to the table behind her and perked up when she saw them sitting there. "Oh, silly me. Some days I'd forget my own head if it wasn't on my shoulders. Now--"

"Head Researcher Kerfuffle! Look out!"

Before Kerfuffle could even begin to turn around, a massive explosion rocked the room, sending her flying into the opposite wall. Instantly it felt as if she was on fire, and she screamed in pain as she fully tried to think through what had just happened.

"Head Researcher Kerfuffle, are you okay? Are you... oh my Celestia!"

* * * *

"So yah, silly me." Kerfuffle shrugged and reached out a hoof to close Twilight's mouth. "Anyways, they got most of me all fixed up except the leg here. That was too badly damaged ta do anything with."

"W-wow. I mean, I just..."

"Yah, it wasn't the greatest day ever. Moved past it now. At least I didn't die, right?"

"I mean... yeah, but..." Twilight frowned. "You don't get an explosion if you mix an acid and a base. They neutralize each other."

"Oh, you betcha they do!" Kerfuffle replied. "It's just that I can't say exactly what we were doin'. Can't even tell ya the disease we were tryin' ta cure."

"Why the secrecy?" Twilight asked, cocking her head.

"Oh, enough about silly me," Kerfuffle said with a wave of her hoof. "If ya don't mind, I'm gonna get some apricot pie before it all runs out!"

With that, Kerfuffle turned and walked away in the direction of the food stands, leaving Twilight standing there watching her go.

"Canterlot Royal Institution of Technology, Science, and Magic." Twilight shook her head and began walking away. "Head researcher, too. You never know with some ponies..."

Author's Note

No joke, I saw Rainbow Roadtrip twice and, somehow, I never noticed that she only had three legs. It was when I was playing the MLP Gameloft app and an ad came on for her that I went "hey... wait a minute!" I checked and, sure enough, three legs. It was at that point where I said to myself "Man, now I really want that story!"

And then I realized I could write it. So here we are.

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow nodded with pride as she watched Barley and Pickle fly around. The two of them had really come into their own in the short amount of time that she had been teaching them. They had spunk, talent, and a good work ethic. Rainbow really did believe that they could become Wonderbolts someday if they kept it up. She looked forward to seeing what they'd be like next year.

She'd think about that later, though. For now, she needed to get some pie before the stand ran out. Or Pinkie ate it all. Either way, she'd get no pie, and she'd heard nothing but good about it. She turned around in the direction of the pie stand, sparing one last glance at the flying twins.

Unfortunately, that meant she didn't see where she was going, and she was knocked back when she collided with something solid.

"Oh my goodness. Are ya alright? I didn't hurt ya, did I?"

Rainbow let out a small groan, but shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry about that." She opened her eyes and looked up to see Kerfuffle smiling back down at her. "Oh, hey. I didn't hurt you either, did I?"

"No, not at all. You didn't run inta me very hard. Besides..." Kerfuffle shook her back left leg. "I got a bit of an advantage here, what with some of the stuff in my leg and all."

"Yeah, I guess that would be helpful if you had some magical stuff in it," Rainbow said, taking Kerfuffle's offered hoof to stand up. "What happened there, anyway?"

Kerfuffle's smile widened.

* * * *

"Dammit, K! I told you not to go at him like that!"

Kerfuffle groaned as she laid on the stretcher the medical team were carrying her into the locker room on. She tossed her helmet to the side and began working on her pads, trying not to look at the mangled mess her left hind leg had become.

"Well, I stopped him before he got the first, didn't I? Come on, Ronnie, how was I supposed ta know that three other players were gonna get involved?"

"Well, your season is definitely done, K," Ronnie said. The griffin took another glance at the leg and flinched back. "Hopefully not your career."

Kerfuffle frowned. "What? My career ain't over, Ronnie. This is just a little scratch. I was hopin' you'd be able ta put it in a splint or somethin' so that I could get back out there."

Ronnie's eyes widened and he began sputtering. "Get... get back out there?! Come on, K, you know you can't do that! Even if I splinted it, and that wouldn't work, you could do more damage to it, and then you'd be in real trouble. No, if I had to guess, this is going to take a while for you to recover from. Surgeries, physical therapy... seriously, I'd be surprised if your career didn't end."

Kerfuffle grumbled and crossed her forelegs. "Ronnie, there's only two games left in the season. We still gotta clinch a playoff spot, and this is a division rival! I'm the best safety in the EHL. Come on, if we win we can clinch! My team needs me, dontcha know."

"Yes, yes, I know all of that, but your team needs you to be healthy more," Ronnie said with a wave of his claw. "Seriously, K, we need to get you to the hospital."

Kerfuffle scowled. Maybe Ronnie was right. Maybe she couldn't play for a while. She sighed and was just about to tell Ronnie that she'd given in when something caught her eye. She hadn't noticed before that the locker room was under construction. With that construction came tools. Including...

"No, I've got an idea," Kerfuffle said, a conspiratorial smile crossing her face. "I know how ta get me back on the field."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How is that?"

"That's how." Kerfuffle pointed to an electric saw. "We just hack off the leg, fix it up to stop bleeding, whip somethin' up to get me a leg for the game, and there ya go!"

Ronnie gasped and put his talons up to his mouth. "K... K that's the worst idea I've ever heard! You can't just go hacking off your leg!"

"Sure I can," Kerfuffle said, sitting up with a grin. "Saves me a lot of bits on physical therapy and surgeries and stuff, too. My recovery goes quicker, and I can get right back on the field. Win win!"

"No, lose lose." Ronnie said, pushing Kerfuffle back down. "If you really want that, we can discuss that at the hospital. For now--"

Ronnie was so caught up in his shock that he was completely unprepared for the sucker punch. Unfortunately for him, Kerfuffle's reputation as the hardest hitting safety in the Equestrian Hoofball League was well deserved, and he flew back into the wall. The other two medics didn't have a chance. It wasn't more than a few moments before Kerfuffle had knocked them out and started crawling in the direction of the electric saw.

* * * *

"So yah, Ronnie was a bit miffed at me and all that. Can't say I blame him, but I got ta finish the game!"

"I... uh..." Rainbow blinked and shook her head. "Wow. That's... for a hoofball game..." She looked back up at Kerfuffle. "Did you at least win?"

"Oh ya! Sure did!" Kerfuffle said happily. "Clinched the division and all that. Didn't win the championship, but at least I got ta play the rest of the season." Kerfuffle's smile shifted to a more embarrassed one. "Got in a lot of trouble, though. My career was over after that season." She let out a happy sigh and lifted up the leg in question. "Used my money from hoofball ta get a real good new leg. I do miss the game, though. When I was at the top of my game, I was the best!"

"Whoa," Rainbow Dash said, an awed smile crossing her face. "That's so awesome! Did you win any championships?"

"Mhm! Four of 'em. My favorite part was the hittin', though." Kerfuffle let out another happy sigh and got a faraway look. "Loved the hittin'. There was this one fullback who kept runnin' over people and stuff. The Niponian Nightmare, they called him." Kerfuffle giggled and shook her head. "I hit him hard enough that it was like he was runnin' into a brick wall."

"Oh yeah, I remember that hit!" Rainbow Dash said, her ears perking up. "He was just running and then the safety went blam and that was it!" Rainbow grinned and fluttered her wings. "I didn't know that was you!"

"Oh, sure was. Fun times. Lots of fun times. Anyhoo." Kerfuffle motioned in the direction of her shop. "Gotta get a few things done. I'll talk to ya later, okay?"

"Oh, yeah for sure! We definitely gotta talk some more!" Rainbow held out a hoof which Kerfuffle bumped. "Hit me up sometime." Rainbow winked. "No pun intended, of course."

Fluttershy

Fluttershy hummed to herself as she followed a few butterflies around the festival. She had to admit that the butterflies and salmon actually being added to the festival like they were supposed to be were her favorite parts. Not that she wasn't happy to see everypony around her having a wonderful time. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Everything was going perfectly.

When she opened them again, she saw Rarity's new friend Kerfuffle standing by the side of the road, watching the butterflies fly past her. When she spotted Fluttershy, she waved at her. Fluttershy waved back and walked up to her.

"Hello, Kerfuffle." Fluttershy turned to the butterflies. "Aren't they wonderful?"

"You betcha!" Kerfuffle responded. "Used ta be one of my favorite parts of the Rainbow Festival. Real beautiful, and all that."

"I completely agree," Fluttershy said. "It's nice to see nature like this." Fluttershy giggled behind her hoof. "And not just because it's my cutie mark. I love all animals."

"Oh, me too!" Kerfuffle said, perking up. "I'd do anything ta save nature, and all that." Kerfuffle motioned to her leg. "Have sometimes, too."

Fluttershy frowned and tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well..."

* * * *

Kerfuffle screwed the lid of her canteen back on before putting it back in its proper pocket on her saddlebag. Content that she was sufficiently hydrated for the moment, she continued walking through the forest. Part of her was thankful that she didn't need her machete to cut through branches and vines. While it was fun hacking with it while exploring exotic locales, a simple walk was nice every now and again.

As she continued to walk, her ears perked up at a new sound. One that was uncommon during her explorations. It sounded like... squeaking. Frowning, she swiveled her ears in the direction of the noise. It seemed to be coming from her direct left. She turned and began walking toward the noise. Maybe whatever it was needed help, or, if she was lucky, was a completely new species that she could discover!

Unfortunately, it was the former.

After a few minutes of following the noise, she came to a clearing and saw a pair of cute, young bunnies huddling close together in the middle of the clearing. They didn't look much older than babies. They were looking around wildly as though anything could come through the trees at any moment. Kerfuffle slowly waked up to them.

"Uh, hey you guys." She flinched when the bunnies squeaked again and tried scooting away. Kerfuffle noticed that one of them had a damaged paw. "Oh, no, no! I'm a friend! I'm here ta help you two." Kerfuffle took off her saddlebag and began searching through them for some bandages. "Just gonna get ya fixed up, and then we can see about findin' something for you two ta eat."

Before Kerfuffle could finish finding the bandages, she heard a noise behind her that made her heart stop. Growling. She slowly looked up from her saddlebag to see a trio of timberwolves emerging from the treeline. Based on each of them licking their lips, Kerfuffle could tell that they thought they'd just found their next meal. She gulped and backed up to shield the bunnies.

"Go on, ya losers!" She shook her hoof at them. "Get! Get! You can't have these bunnies!"

The one in the middle let out a noise that almost sounded like a laugh. Kerfuffle reached for her saddlebag to get the machete, but her eyes widened when she hit nothing but air. She'd left it a few hooves in front of her when she went to protect the bunnies. At the rate the timberwolves were approaching, she only had time to grab the saddlebag or the bunnies.

Before she could think through her choice, the lead timberwolf charged. Kerfuffle squeaked and on instinct, grabbed the bunnies and tried flying away. Before she could get much air, she screamed in pain when she felt jaws clamp down on her left hind leg. She twisted to see the lead timberwolf holding onto her leg in its mouth while the other two quickly approached. Kerfuffle snapped her right leg out, catching the wolf in the eye. It howled in pain and let go. Kerfuffle used her precious seconds before the other two were upon her to fly higher, holding on tightly to the squealing bunnies. One of the wolves leaped into the air and snapped, barely missing Kerfuffle's other hind leg.

Realizing that she didn't have the ability to get her machete for a fight, Kerfuffle turned tail and began flying in the direction of the forest's edge as quickly as she could with a mangled leg and two squealing bunnies. She chanced a glance down and saw the wolves chasing her. The blood pouring from her leg, which was also jutting out at an odd angle, was giving them both a trail to her and the drive to finish the job. She groaned as she started to feel a little woozy.

Just a little farther. There was a town by the forest that could help.

She groaned in pain and tried adjusting her grip on the bunnies so that the wouldn't slip out. She could see the town in the distance, but the blood loss wasn't helping matters, nor was the sound of the timberwolves' growling and snarling.

"Help!" she called out, hoping that somepony in the town would hear her and come to her rescue. "Help me!"

Her eyes widened when she saw a few ponies coming out of their homes and looking in her direction. The began running to the edge of the forest just as the blood loss was starting to become too much. Kerfuffle groaned and began losing altitude as it became harder and harder to flap her wings. She could hear the timberwolves behind her. If she hit the ground before she got to the ground, she was toast. She tried tapping into what strength she had left as the town grew closer and--

* * * *

Fluttershy whimpered and continued shaking. "I don't wanna know! I don't wanna know!"

Kerfuffle frowned and tilted her head. "Well I'm here talkin' to ya, aren't I? Made it just fine, except for the leg."

Fluttershy whimpered again. "B-but what about the bunnies? Are they okay?"

Kerfuffle scoffed and waved her hoof. "Oh, you betcha. Made it just in time. Found 'em good homes, even. They're happy as clams, as far as I know."

Fluttershy sniffled and slowly emerged from her mane. "So everything turned out okay?"

"Oh yah! Sure did!" Kerfuffle said with a nod. "Got a cool new leg, even. Doesn't hurt or anything. So yah. Everything turned out a-okay."

Applejack

Applejack smiled at the sight of the newly repaired hot air balloon. Thanks to Torque Wrench's skill, it looked even better than before. She'd have to ask her for a few tips before they left, if she managed to run into her. She doubtlessly knew some tricks that could help her a lot on the farm.

Her ear flicked at the sound of somepony behind her, and she turned to see Kerfuffle walking up to her with a bag on her back. Applejack smiled and tipped her had.

"Howdy there, Kerfuffle. You enjoyin' the Rainbow Festival?"

Kerfuffle giggled and nodded. "Oh yah, you betcha! I just wanted ta drop off a few things for Rarity before you took off in case I couldn't find her before ya all left." She shifted the bag off of her back and tossed it into the hot air balloon. "Hope that won't be too heavy for ya."

"Shouldn't be," Applejack said. "Unless you're givin' her your brick collection. Torque Wrench did a real good job on this."

"Yah, she's the best!" Kerfuffle said. "She's even done a little work on my leg every now and again."

"Yeah, it looks pretty good," Applejack replied, looking down at the leg in question. "So, uh..."

"What happened?" Applejack blushed and nodded. "Oh, it's quite the story. It shows why you should always be prepared..."

* * * *

Kerfuffle adjusted her saddlebag as she continued walking through the jagged terrain of the Death Desert. She made sure to watch her step, as one wrong move could have her falling through one of the crevices for a very long time. Still, she had to do it. She wasn't here to die. She was here to live, and only a small hoofful of ponies could say that they'd successfully traversed the Death Desert. Her friends back home would be so jealous when she came back successful. None of them had dared come with her.

Kerfuffle stopped for a moment to take a quick drink from the canteen strapped to her side. She only took a few gulps before screwing the cap back on. If she drank too much, she'd run out fast, and being without water in the Death Desert was a death sentence. She could have just flown over it, but that would be cheating. No, she had to do this by hoof.

She put her hoof back down once she'd placed her canteen back by her side. Just as she did, the ground beneath her gave way, and she fell through the earth with a cry of surprise. She instantly hit her head on a rock, disorienting her enough that she didn't have the wherewithal to spread her wings and fly out of her predicament. She flailed around, hoping that she could find something to slow her fall. Her hoof hit a rock, but the force of her fall caused it to come free the moment she put any pressure on it.

The fall felt to her like it lasted for minutes, but in reality, it was only a few seconds before she hit the ground. She could only try to register her situation for a mere second before her left leg exploded in pain. It was enough to knock her out of her dizziness. She sat up and squeaked when she saw the rock she had jarred loose had landed right on her leg.

Not good.

She groaned and did her best to scrunch forward. She put her right hoof on the rock and began pushing it as hard as she could. It didn't budge an inch. Her eye twitched as the reality of the situation sunk in.

"Oh dear."

* * * *

The day turned into night, which turned into day again. No amount of pushing had moved the rock in the slightest. The stone ground underneath her leg meant that she couldn't dig under it, even if she was at an angle to do so. The best she could do was sit up enough to touch just below her knee, and even that was a bit of a stretch. She grimaced at the slow realization that the leg had stopped hurting hours ago. Not good. If she could just get out from under the rock then she could just fly to civilization. Kerfuffle groaned and tapped at the ground around the rock with her hind leg. Maybe, just maybe, there was a spot where the ground was softer. She didn't need to get through much. Just enough to slide her doubtlessly mangled leg through.

Just one spot.

* * * *

Day turned into night and into day once again. Nothing had happened. No progress had been made, and Kerfuffle was starting to run out of water. If she completely ran out, she wouldn't have anything left for her fly back to civilization. She groaned and thunked her head against the ground.

Nopony was coming to save her.

Nopony even knew that she was there.

She was starting to run out of options, though it wasn't as if she had many to begin with. Painful hunger had long since set in, and the water wouldn't last much longer. The more she thought about it, the less she could actually deny the only remaining solution. She took a deep breath and opened up one of the flaps on her saddlebag. Inside was a simple pocketknife. She stared at the knife, then at her leg, then back to the knife.

There was only one choice.

* * * *

"Won't bore ya with the details after that," Kerfuffle said with a wave of her hoof. "Made it out okay, though."

"Holy Celestia," Applejack whispered. "Wow. Ah can't even imagine what that must have been like."

Kerfuffle shrugged. "Like I said: I won't bore ya with the details. I'm much better about when I go out into the wilderness now, though." Kerfuffle giggled and waved her hoof again. "Anyhoo, ya should be all set with everything. Let me know how the trip back goes and if ya like the stuff I've made ya."

"Oh, uh, thanks, Kerfuffle," Applejack said, forcing a smile on her face. "Ah'm sure everything is great."

Pinkie Pie

Pinkie hummed to herself as she proinked through the Rainbow Festival. Even beyond the awesome, super amazing food, it made her happy to see everypony having fun. A festival was just another type of party, after all, and nopony knew parties like Pinkie Pie. With an idea of what the Festival was like, she would have to work on plan for next year to make it even bigger and better! As she scanned the crowd, ideas had already started forming in her head.

The landing on her latest bounce brought her standing right next to Kerfuffle. The two exchanged a smile and a wave.

"Hey there, Kerfuffle!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down in place. "You having fun?"

"Oh, I'm having a total blast, dontcha know." Kerfuffle sighed in contentment and looked out into the crowd. "Been a long time since I've seen everypony this happy."

"Well, I love making ponies happy!" Pinkie landed and wiggled her flank. "It's part of my cutie mark! I especially love to par-tay!"

"Oh, I used tah be quite the party animal back in the day." Kerfuffle giggled and motioned to her leg. "Sometimes too much, if ya get what I'm sayin'."

Pinkie frowned and tilted her head as she stared at Kerfuffle's fake leg. "What do you mean?"

"Well..."

* * * *

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"

Kerfuffle finished draining the tankard of beer and slammed it down on the table to rambunctious applause. She giggled and wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof.

"That's five! Beat that, ya loser!"

The stallion at the other end of the table smirked and, with some effort, shakily picked his own mug up. "Y...yer goin' down, girl. Sh-shooow do *hic* down!"

"If yer talkin, ya ain't drinkin'!" Kerfuffle said with a smug smile. "Whatsa matter? Lightweight?"

"Ah, screw you," the stallion growled. "I can drink... you... under..."

Before the stallion could say anything else, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed on the floor. Everypony in the room broke out into loud cheers as Kerfuffle raked in a smile pile of bits. She scooped them into a small saddlebag sitting by her. She went to stand up, but her legs wobbled out from under her. She put a hoof on the table to prevent herself from collapsing completely, allowing her to ease out of the chair.

"Oh, that was easy," she said, stretching out her wings. "Anypony else wanna go?"

"You've already had eight, K," one of the mares around her said. "Don't try to beat a third pony."

"Pshhh. What do you know?" Kerfuffle wobbled where she stood. "The room ain't... spinnin' that much. All I gotta do is fly it off a bit, then I'm good ta go again."

"Uh, K, I don't think that's such a good idea!" one of the stallions said. "You shouldn't fly while drunk."

"I ain't drunk, though!" Kerfuffle said, spreading her wings and taking to the air. "Watch, I'll do a lap around the room ta prove it to all of ya that--"

Drunk as she was, she was completely incapable of flying in even a straight line. She put too much effort into one powerful flap of her wings, and shot forward before she could stop herself. She smashed straight into a china cabinet and crashed on the ground. Before anypony could help her up, they heard a groaning noise as the china cabinet slowly started to fall forward. It wasn't more than half a second before gravity kicked in, and it began falling faster than anypony could catch it. Kerfuffle only had time for two words.

"Oh dear."

* * * *

"So yah, that's why I always practice safe partyin' now." She shook her missing leg. "Not worth it, ya know?"

"Oh yeah, totally!" Pinkie said with a vigorous nod of her head. "Parties like that can be fun sometimes, but being drunk is never a good idea!"

"For sure. Learned that one the hard way, but if nothin' else, ponies can learn from my mistakes, ya know?"

"Definitely! I've made mistakes like that too, but never anything that led to that!"

Kerfuffle shrugged. "Guess I was just as unlucky as I was stupid. I don't drink at all now. Sometimes ya gotta learn things the hard way."

Rarity

Rarity checked her bag one last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything before strapping it to her side and walking out of the hotel. In truth, she was rather looking forward to seeing the back of the place, at least for this year. She was certain that by the time she returned for the next Rainbow Festival, it would be back in proper condition, as would the spa she had been so looking forward to.

She would definitely need a trip to the one in Ponyville after all of this.

She reached the lobby and stopped for a few moments to put some bits into a tip jar before walking out in the direction of the Rainbow Festival. She had to meet up with her friends before they six of them left Hope Hollow for the year.

"Rarity! Oh, Rarity! Over here!"

Rarity turned in the direction of the voice and smiled when she saw Kerfuffle walking up to her.

"Oh, marvelous timing, my dear," Rarity said, walking up to Kerfuffle to exchange a hug. "I was actually hoping to run into you before I left. I wanted to get your address so that we can stay in contact."

"Oh, I already gave that ta Princess Twilight. Wanted ta make sure you had it in case I didn't run into ya before you left."

"Well, I certainly appreciate the effort, but I wouldn't have left without saying goodbye to one of my new friends."

Kerfuffle blushed and waved her hoof with an embarrassed giggle. "Oh, yah, that's a great honor to hear you sayin' that. I can't thank ya enough for helping me this weekend. I would have never gotten the opportunity ta show off my designs if it weren't for you helpin' out."

"Well I couldn't let talent like yours go to waste," Rarity said, putting her hoof on Kerfuffle's shoulder. "I cannot wait to see what you come up with next. Maybe you could even improve on one of my designs."

Kerfuffle squeaked and her blush deepened. "Oh, no. Nooooo, I could never do that. They're perfect already."

"Nonsense, darling," Rarity insisted. "Even if some of them are, I cannot create perfection every time, and the perspective of another talented pony such as yourself could really benefit my designs."

"Ohhhh stop it. Yer gonna make all of the blood rush to my head," Kerfuffle giggled. "That means a lot comin' from you. Maybe someday I could even move past clothes and design other things." She shook her fake leg. "It'd be real nice ta do somethin' cool with this."

"Yes, I didn't want to bring that up, but, uh, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little noticeable." Rarity's smile returned and she put her hoof on Kerfuffle's shoulders. "I think it's perfectly lovely as it is. You've done a wonderful job with it."

Kerfuffle giggled again and waved her hoof. "Oh no. I'm not the one who made it. I'm not that good. I had somepony else make it for me. Government pension paid for it, and all that."

"Government pension?" Rarity said, raising her eyebrow. "I didn't know you worked for the government."

Kerfuffle perked up. "Oh yah, for sure! Not too long, though, but long enough to get a pension."

"Interesting. I never would have guessed. What did you do exactly?"

"Well..."

* * * *

Kerfuffle sat down at a table in an unassuming small cafe. She quickly glanced around to make sure that nopony was watching before turning to the stallion sitting on the other side.

"So, do you have it?" Kerfuffle asked in a perfect Canterlotian accent. "Have you found the time to obtain the ingredients?"

The stallion nodded at the code words. "Yes. They're fresh."

A slight tension in Kerfuffle's shoulders eased at the response words. She had worried for a brief moment that she had gotten the wrong table. The stallion reached into his coat pocket and produced a small envelope which he slid over to her. She instantly grabbed it and shoved it into one of her coat pockets. It would have been wiser to wait a while and order something so as to deflect suspicion, but time was likely of the essence. She tipped her hat to the stallion and stood up from the table.

She pushed the door to the cafe open and walked out into the Canterlot night, rain drizzling around her. She tightened her coat around her and found a back alleyway where she could read the contents of her pickup in peace. Once she was sure she was alone, she slid the envelope out of her pocket and tore it open.

The Docks. Building Four. Eight guards. Hostage safe.

Kerfuffle let out a deep breath and slid the envelope and note back into her pocket. If the hostage was safe, she likely wouldn't be for long. If her intel was correct and the mob had her, they'd likely load her onto the next ship that docked, which would take her to Celestia knew where. There was no time to lose.

Kerfuffle took her coat and hat off and slid them into an enchanted saddlebag with an undetectable extension spell cast on it. She spread her wings and took off in the direction of the docks. Thankfully, they weren't far. She made the flight in less than twenty minutes.

As she approached the docks, she landed on top of a bushy tree that perfectly overlooked the docks. She saw four buildings in front of her. She grimaced as she realized she wasn't sure which building was building four. The one to her right, or the one to her left? It was hard to tell from here. She took a pair of binoculars out of her bag and began scanning the docks. It was the building on her far left where she noticed it: a single armed guard walking around. Bingo. She smirked and put the binoculars back in her bag before jumping off of the tree and gliding behind one of the shipping containers. Once there, she opened up her bag once more and took out a dock worker's outfit. After putting it on, she took a pack of cigarettes out and lit one up before walking out to join the fray.

As she walked, she allowed herself a small smile. Most of going undetected in an area was acting like you were supposed to be there. She ducked and weaved her way through the workers in the direction of Building Four without so much as a second glance.

"OY!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around to see a portly stallion walking toward her, a glare on his face. She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Da Tartarus do ya want?" she said, slipping into a lower-Manehattan accent. "I'm tryin' ta work here!"

"Ya ain't gonna take another step until ya put that cig out!" the stallion who Kerfuffle guessed was the forepony growled. "You wanna light up, ya do it on yer own time!"

Kerfuffle rolled her eyes again before using her wing to take the cigarette out of her mouth.

"Oh, for Celestia's sake..." She glanced at his name tag so quickly that it didn't even seem like she paused. "Hard Hat. Ease up a bit, will ya? I didn't have time for my smoke break. Got a lot ta do!"

"Well, you can take one later," Hard Hat growled. "Put that one out before ya cause some big accident, and get back ta work!"

Kerfuffle glared at him, but dropped the cigarette from between her feathers and stomped on it to put it out. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Hard Hat said through gritted teeth. "Now get back to it before I write you up."

Kerfuffle turned and walked away, but not before an unheard barb. "I should write you up for not showering," she muttered to herself.

In any case, she had more work to do. She pushed the interaction with the forepony aside and made it to Building Four. There were dock ponies passing it, but every door seemed to be shut tight, with two armed guards in front of the main door. Kerfuffle walked past the building and turned slightly in the direction of a nearby container. As she grew closer, she saw the guard who she had seen above patrolling pass her by. If he was the only one doing a perimeter check, this would be easy. She put on a little speed and found a crate behind the building to dive behind. She quickly slid her dock pony uniform off and put it in her bag, replacing it with a dark blue jumpsuit. Black would just make her stand out in the shadows. With practiced ease, she slipped it on.

She waited for a few minutes for the patrolling guard to pass her by once more. It wouldn't do for him to see her in the middle of breaking in. Once she was sure he had passed her, she took to the air in the direction of one of the windows. She tried it and found that it was locked. She couldn't be lucky all of the time, but there was no harm in trying, and she had other ways around it. She took a glass cutter out of her bag and cut a circle out of the window. With that done, she reached through it and unlatched it, allowing her so creep in.

She found herself on the catwalks above the main room of the warehouse. True to her intel, five guards patrolled around, with two guarding a particular crate that Kerfuffle was certain held the hostage. Just as she was trying to figure out what to do, she heard a ship's horn. Her time was running out. If she was quick, she could do this quietly. She took a blowgun out of her bag along with a pack of sleeping darts. With speed and perfect accuracy, each of the five guards fell to the floor, completely unconscious. Kerfuffle grinned and glided down to the shipping container.

She pulled open the door and found a twenty-something mare inside. She had been tied to a chair and gagged. Her eyes widened when she saw Kerfuffle approaching.

"Don't worry. I'm here with the EIS. I'm here to get you out." Kerfuffle untied the gag, then took a knife out of her bag and quickly began cutting the ropes off.

"No!" the mare hissed. "It's too dangerous for you! Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without you." The last of the ropes fell away, allowing Kerfuffle to put the knife back in her bag. "Can ya walk?"

"I don't know," the mare whispered. "What if they see us?"

"It's only three of 'em now, but if yer that worried..." Kerfuffle motioned to herself. "Climb on my back."

"Well..." The mare gulped. "If you say so."

The mare climbed on, and, with some adjustments for the added weight, Kerfuffle took off. The window she had entered through was large enough that she could fit both of them through it. She glanced down once to ensure that the perimeter guard wasn't close, then flew away.

As they got farther and farther away from the docks, the pressure in Kerfuffle's chest slowly faded away, until she was certain they were safe. Once she reached the streets of Canterlot, she landed, allowing the mare to slide off. She beckoned the mare to follow her, and led her to a nearby apartment building.

"We'll be safe here until the guard can come get ya," Kerfuffle said. She stepped aside to let the mare go into the safe apartment before walking in herself and locking the door behind her. She let out a deep breath and collapsed onto the chair.

"Bet we've both had a hard day," she said.

The mare groaned and nodded, walking up to Kerfuffle. "Certainly. The worst one I've had in quite a while, I daresay. It's enough to make a lady want to stay in bed for the rest of the week."

"I hear that." Kerfuffle stood up and stretched, relishing the popping in her wings. "No rest for the wicked, though."

"I certainly agree with that."

Before Kerfuffle could respond, she saw the glint of a knife in the corner of her eye. She yipped and jumped back just as the mare swung the knife. The tip of the knife clipped her left hind leg, but didn't leave more than a little scratch.

"What are you doing?!"

"My job, same as you," the mare said with a shrug. She grinned and twirled the knife in her magic. "I told you to leave and that it was too dangerous for you. We all have our roles to play in this situation."

"You were never a hostage, were you?" Kerfuffle growled, backing away from the mare.

"Oh, I was at one point, but I understand where they're coming from." She chuckled and brandished the knife. "Once you are taken care of, I will be generously rewarded."

"You'll never..." Kerfuffle swayed on her hooves and stumbled back. She felt dizzy all of a sudden.

"Feeling weak, are we?" the mare said with a smug smile. "This knife is coated in a rather nasty poison. A small scratch was all I needed. You have no hope of getting the antidote in time."

"Ya sure about that?" Kerfuffle groaned. Unbeknownst to the mare, she slipped a gem off of her bag and crushed it. "I'm pretty hard ta take down."

"No doubt. If you hadn't fallen for our little trap, I don't know how we would have gotten you." The mare's grin turned nasty as Kerfuffle bumped up against the back wall. "What do you think? Should I let the poison take you, or would you like me to make it quick?"

Kerfuffle chuckled and slid down to the floor, the poison rendering her unable to stand. "I'd like to see you get your plot kicked, actually."

The mare frowned, but before she could say anything else, the door was bucked open and the window shattered as special agents poured into the room. The mare gasped and tried to swing at one of them with her knife, but a quick spell knocked it from her grasp.

"No! No! You will not stop me!" The mare let out a mad giggle. "In fact, you can't!" She pointed at Kerfuffle. "She's already dead, and soon her body will realize it."

"Take her away," the lead stallion growled, motioning to the door. "We'll deal with her later.

Two unicorns lit their horns, one wrapping a band of magic around the mare's horn, and the other lifting her in the air. The mare struggled and shouted as they dragged her away. Kerfuffle flopped onto the ground as the mare's shouts faded away. She didn't have the strength to sit up anymore.

"Oh yeah, that's not good," the lead stallion said, kneeling next to her. "Looks like Death Head Moth's poison."

"Hooray," Kerfuffle groaned. "Any other fun observations?"

"Hm." The lead stallion poked at the leg, causing Kerfuffle to hiss in pain. "It's already starting to rot. We're going to have to do a little surgery to save you."

Kerfuffle weakly lifted her head. "What kind of surgery?"

* * * *

"This kind, as it turned out," Kerfuffle said, shaking her back leg. "Took me a few weeks ta recover, but I pulled through. Not my best day."

"I can imagine not!" Rarity said. "I can't imagine what it must have been like to be betrayed by a mare you worked so hard to rescue."

"Oh, she just had a little brainwashin'," Kerfuffle replied with a wave of her hoof. "Nothin' we didn't fix. Got the ponies responsible for it, too. Not too bad. That and the government got me a new leg and all, so everything turned out a-okay!"

"Well, I certainly hope that it isn't bothering you," Rarity said. "Still, being a secret agent! It's like one of my Shadow Spade novels!"

"Oh yah, those are a lot of fun!" Kerfuffle smirked and rolled her eyes. "Not always all that accurate though, are they?"

"Well you would know better than I," Rarity admitted.

"Guess so. In any case..." Kerfuffle motioned in the direction of the Rainbow Festival. "I don't wanna keep ya from your friends. I'll definitely talk to ya later. Gotta get some stuff from my shop."

"Oh, yes, of course." Rarity chuckled and gave Kerfuffle a knowing smile. "I'd love to hear more about your escapades."

"Oh for sure! Only what's declassified, though," Kerfuffle said with a wink.

Author's Note

Sometimes former spies do go into fashion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thompson_(designer)

Hope Hollow

Rarity hummed to herself as she made her way through the crowd. If she knew her friends, and she liked to think that she did, they'd likely congregate in the middle of the town square so as to have an easy meeting spot. Sure enough, the other five were already there. They smiled when they saw Rarity approach and waved at her.

"So sorry if I'm late, girls. I ran into Kerfuffle on the way over here and we had the most fascinating discussion!"

"Oh, so did she tell you about how she lost her leg?" Twilight asked.

Rarity grimaced and nodded. "She did. Poor dear. I can't imagine being betrayed by a pony you were working to save."

The smiles on the other five instantly fell, only to be replaced by looks of confusion.

"Uh... what?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, did she not tell you the story?" Rarity replied. "You know, the one about her being a secret agent? She saved a mare she believed to be a hostage, but the mare betrayed her and cut her with a poisoned knife!"

"Poisoned knife?" Rainbow scoffed in disbelief. "Is that, like, code or something? She told me that she had a nasty accident during a hoofball game, and she cut it off to go back to the game!"

"Well that's just silly," Applejack said with a frown. "She told me that she got in an accident while hiking and had ta cut it off to survive."

"So... she didn't save any bunnies from timberwolves?"

"Bunnies?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I thought she got it in a lab accident."

"Maybe she did and she was drunk like in my story!" Pinkie said. She frowned in thought and tapped her jaw. "Wait. She told me that she crashed into a china cabinet that landed on her."

"Ah." Rarity grimaced. "It would appear that we have all been had." She chuckled quietly to herself. "Though maybe she should stop fashion and get into fiction. She has the talent for it."

"Maybe she told somepony the real story," Twilight said. She spotted Sunny Skies in the crowd and waved at him. "Mayor Skies? Can we talk to you for a second?"

"Sure thing, Princess Twilight!" Sunny Skies said, walking over with Petunia. "What do you want to talk about?"

"We were kind of wondering about Kerfuffle's missing leg," Twilight said.

Sunny Skies' smile faded and he flattened his ears. "Yeah. Real shame about that. Must have been a real nasty carriage accident to take her leg."

"Carriage accident? What are you talking about?" Petunia replied. "It was a blood clot when she was a foal. That's what she told me."

"Hmm. Yes, that would make more sense than the story she told me about being captured by a serial killer and needing to saw it off to appreciate life more," Mister Hoofington said.

"She gave you that ghastly story?" Missus Hoofington replied. "She said it was during a crash in the middle of Tour de Prance!"

"She told me that it was a disease that was going to spread if they didn't operate!" another stallion said.

"Well she told me that it was it never actually grew in right, and the prosthetic is just attached to what did develop," a mare chimed in.

"She said my Mommy had to give me permission to hear the story because the monster in it was too scary!" a filly said.

"Wow, so, yeah," Twilight said, shaking her head as the townsponies gathered around them. "So has anypony actually heard any overlap in the stories we brought up that she's told?"

Twilight heard various noises of negative and several shaken heads. She tapped her jaw in thought. "Huh. I guess she really doesn't want ponies knowing."

"Or the real story was told to one of us," Rarity pointed out.

"Not likely," Twilight replied. "I don't see why she'd come up with all of this only to put the truth in there somewhere."

"Maybe ta make it seem less plausible?" Applejack guessed.

"Maybe," Twilight muttered.

Before anypony could say anything else, they were all broken out of their thoughts by the sound of Kerfuffle herself humming and walking into the town square. She stopped in her tracks when she saw everypony looking at her, but her smile didn't falter an inch.

"Hi. Whatcha all talkin' about?"

Author's Note

If I was missing a limb or an eye or something like that, this is exactly what I would do.