noise."Story Notes: The Final Game of the Season · 11:23am Dec 29th, 2023
Jinglemas is an annual tradition on Fimfiction, where everybody who wants to participate puts their name and what they want in a story into a hat, they all get shuffled around by some mysterious process, and then you get to write a story that the other person wants for Jinglemas.
I got to write a story for Rewan Demontay, who wanted to see Sunset Shimmer and Kerfuffle and he said I think one interesting idea would be an AU in Sunset inadvertently causes/caused Kerfuffle loss of limb and comes/has to come to grips to it. (Spoilered in case you find the blog post before the story.)
Before we begin, I just want to thank AlwaysDressesInStyle for pre-reading right up to the posting time (nearly literally), and Heartshine for consulting on some of the psychological stuff.
I love Sunset's character and Kerfuffle's adorable, however the subject matter was challenging, not the least because I really like being accurate in my stories, and with the framework I envisioned, it'd . . . well, we'll get to that later. First, we need to meet some of the supporting characters (I'm assuming y'all know who Sunset and Kerfuffle are).
Cloudy Kicks has appeared in several of the Equestria Girls movies, including as one of Trixie's singers in the battle of the bands. She bears a striking resemblance to a winning pegasus, hence the fan name.
(episode screencap)
Mystery Mint I know less about. Really, nothing if we're being honest.
(episode screencap)
High Winds is a Wonderbolt in Equestria, and apparently in Equestria Girls-verse, too:
(comic pagecap)
Big Bell is one of the Buckball ponies:
(episode screencap)
I hope y'all know who Rarity is.
Back in high school, I played spirit week men's volleyball (we didn't have a men's team for the rest of the season . . . I'm not sure we had a girl's team, either). My class was good; we had a duo that was great at the net, the perfect set/spike combo. I was a decent server and also the best saver on the team—I'd dive for anything, and more often than not, get it back in bounds.
We had shirts made for our team that said "How does it feel to play for second?" Boasting, yeah . . . but we backed that up with a winning record.
More than could be said for our school's football team.
I did have to read through some of the rules for high school volleyball, and I don't know if I got everything right. There's three games total, two to 21 points and one to fifteen (?) although I'd assume if one team wins both of the first two games, the third isn't played.
While a nice halftime locker room pep talk is a good trope in fiction, in volleyball there isn't a halftime; there's a few minutes between sets and then you go again.
Also in the Michigan high school volleyball rules, girls with prosthetics (or other special equipment) are allowed to play, so long as it's cleared with the association beforehand.
Now we got to talk about healing time. Without getting too into the weeds/too graphic, it's possible for an below-the-knee amputee to be using a prosthetic within eight weeks of the amputation, but that relies on a lot of things going right. From what I researched, it's a lot easier for a younger person (they heal quicker and are more adaptable, as I'm constantly reminded as I get older).
Y'all are welcome to question my choice of Kerfuffle being below-knee (IIRC, several forums that I searched referred to it as a BKA); after all, canon shows her prosthetic extending above her 'knee.'
To which I counter that's not how equine anatomy works at all; a horse's knee joint is just below where the cutie mark sits. That 'knee' joint on Kerfuffle's prosthetic is at her hock, roughly (in a human) one of the ankle bones.
I will reiterate that her timeline to be up and walking with a prosthetic is on the very fast end of things, and quite unlikely given that it was a traumatic injury that caused her to lose one leg.
FWIW, a friend of a former co-worker lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, and after he was out and about again, he said that next Halloween he was going to go as Pirate Billy Mays (he bore a striking resemblance to Billy Mays).
While I can't attest to losing a leg, I can say that one time, due to injury, I was forced to re-learn a skill. I obliterated a finger, and shortly after the surgery to save what they could, my entire left hand was in a boxing glove of gauze. Not a huge problem, I thought, since I'm mostly right-handed. Except, as it would turn out, when it comes to using a fork.
You'd think that would be a skill that would easily transfer across hands, but it isn't. On the plus side, I can now use a fork with either hand.
I'm sure that most of us are familiar with survivor's guilt, and some discussion with Heartshine revealed that it can happen where the cause of the trauma is more nebulous than the cases y'all would likely think of.
There's a lot of things that come at us in life, and I suppose what happens next is what we make of it. They're not always fair things, they're not always deserved things, but they're things that happen, and how we deal with them depends on us.
One thing. You never said who was driving the car or what happened to them. Seems a little early for DUI.
5761289
I'm honestly not sure if that matters, for the sake of the story.
5761314
Well, no, it's not really plot relevant but there could be a sequel. If it was a Central supporter, for instance, the rumor (fact?) that it was done on purpose would spread. Under 18, it's Juvenile Court & a LOT lighter sentence + possibly a sealed record. Trial or sentencing will be fun. Victims are allowed to make a statement.
Could have been a child joyriding.a swiped car.
In addition to possible criminal trial, there could be a civil suit for damages. Pinkie's comment "Havent you been damaged enough?!
5761289
It's never too early for a DUI.
And honestly, after a volleyball game and biking home at night, we might be talking between 9 and 10 pm, which is plenty of time for someone to get drunk and then go out for more beers. Or get stoned out of their minds, or what have you.
Or it could have been something else, maybe a lack of attention for just one critical moment, or a mechanical failure, or maybe Kerfuffle ran a red . . . or maybe nobody was to blame, and she just happened to be in the driver's blind spot.
5761314
It totally doesn't; this is one of those things where the reader can fill in the details if they so choose. I can tell you, as the author, that I have no idea what the cause of the accident was. I could have figured something out, but that's not the point of the story, so I didn't.
5761335
I'll be honest, that's unlikely, and on the chance that I did feel motivated to write a sequel, there's every chance it wouldn't be focused on whatever legal consequences (if any) befell the driver.
Like in Sam and Rose, I've written over half a dozen of those, and since it never matters how Sam came to Equestria, I've never bothered to think about how it might have happened.
5761369
You have enough readers that someone else could write it.
If it is believed that the offender deliberately ran her over, they could get a maximum of 2 years in a Juvenile Detention Facility (assuming < age 18).
I don't see this going down too well at Canterlot High
& hey Estee wrote some pretty funny stories about jury duty.
You're welcome! You make it sound like it was a heroic last minute game-winning save, but I'd already read through the earlier drafts, so giving the final version a once-over with seconds left on the clock was no problem.
5761370
That's true, and if they wanted to I'd legit tell them that I don't know what the exact situation which led to the accident was, and they have my blessing to interpret it as they see fit. I could also tell that that I pondered how things went down after the car hit Kerfuffle, and why she got off with only one leg gone and other, more minor injuries.
I probably could too if I ever got asked to serve, but so far that hasn't happened. Apparently I live my life in a crime-free county, or else I'm in one of those areas where they simply don't send jury summons.
5761371
Well, given what time it was IRL and the fact that we both have jobs I'd say it was a game-winning save
I certainly spent the day at work more zombie than usual; on the plus side, one of my tasks was to solder together lots and lots of wires and that doesn't take much thought to do.
(That catastrophe might be the subject of a future blog post, yay?)
5761374
Was I up later than anticipated? Yes. Was it worth it? Also yes. Editing your Jinglemas fics has become a bit of a tradition, and allows me to contribute to a great annual event in a manner more suited to my talents.
How AlwaysDressesInStyle Saved Jinglemas, coming to the discount rack of fine dollar stores everywhere next December!
5761376
One year I'll have everything ready to go long before the deadline, I swear.
One year.
Hmm, maybe that's a good title for a story published in Jinglemas 2024. I suspect it'll involve Minty who we all know is best Christmas pony.
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Source
The fact that the show brought in Kerfuffle as just a "one-off" silly character is a veritable crime. We've seen other ponies with injuries, but they were usually silent background characters so it doesn't bother me as much.
5761369
Rose: "How did you come to Equestria?"
Sam: "I mixed Froot Loops, Lucky Charms and Trix together. I don't really remember much after that."
5761382
Next time, Gadget. Neeeeeeexxxxt tiiiiiime!
Minty, yeah, that seems legit. Minty's very good at ruining (and saving!) Christmas/Hearth's Warming, so she could probably do a number on Jinglemas too.
Speaking of Minty, looks like she's getting a little help from Snow'el and Silver Glow this year:
64.media.tumblr.com/c156ebc4342f5acaf66c99c5a25a63f3/c7bf2ce4d03a041d-9a/s2048x3072/04c4682786fbb02d3b257b2f8c889b0936dee409.jpg
5761506
They could have done so much more with her and all the other Rainbow Roadtrip ponies, and it's a damn shame they didn't. Not even any toys of them that I know of, which is a marketing department oversight. I'd've bought Kerfuffle and Trout Pony and Pickle and Barley for sure, and when I had four I might as well buy the rest of the village. . . .
I will say that it was nice how they handled both Kerfuffle being handicapped and Vinyl Scratch being mute (probably) by showing it but never actually saying anything about it, which is probably the best way to approach that.
5761566
That legit seems like it might be a way that would work. Imma put those things on my next grocery list and we'll see what happens.
5761573
In the words of a a famous author (can't remember which one): "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they rush past."
Oh, that's amazing. Snow'el looks a lot like Denim Blue, too . . .
You'll notice I had to use that image on my most recently-published blog (it also answers a question in the last PM you sent
)
5761752
Douglas Addams. As he points out, it is okay to eat sapient beings, if it is consensual:
5761506
5761750
I have written a Kerfuffle story myself of how she might've lost her limb, if that may interest. It's a bit hardcore, to warn.
5762042
While I appreciate the warning I can say I am no stranger to some of the more hard-core aspects of the FiM community. I'm partway through an older fanfiction about a shall we say human/pony liason office. The writer behind it would later write a couple of stories about a time in Equestria's past where the ponies had to go to war.
That is to say that unless your story is fullbore grim-dark I'll be happy to take a look.
5762044
It's neither grim nor dark, just minorly graphic, though red tagged for safety. Don't want to straight up link it out of courtesy; the title is "Ironhoof".
5762045
Fair enough.
5761985
I think there's someone in Germany who used that as a legal defense in a cannibalism case.
5762042
I'll give it a go
And if you want, I can give a link to another author's take on it.
5762345
Sure! If you don't mind, I can directly link my story here.
5762350
You certainly can! I don't mind at all; there's always a reader who'd be interested in it!
As for the one that's stuck in my head for years, here you go:
- MLP: FiM
- Slice of Life
Torque Wrench does a favor for Kerfuffle in her hour of need. Not that it means they're friends or anything. Just a little engineering project, don'tcha know.5762359
Awesome sauce.
And here be my mentioned story:
- MLP: FiM
- Drama
- Thriller
In a solo airship adventure gone south, Kerfuffle learns what it means to lose a limb.