//------------------------------//
// Rainbow Dash 
// Story: Kerfuffle's Lower Left Limb Kerfuffles 
// by BronyWriter 
//------------------------------//

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."