Description:
If you've seen my "Fluttershy Family Tree", you'll notice I listed Kerfuffle from the MLP special Rainbow Roadtrip as a sibling of Zephyr Breeze and Fluttershy.
Here is her story...
Kerfuffle, born as Silver Lining due to the light streak of hair in her mane, was the first child of Mr. & Mrs. Shy. She was much adored, fawned upon, and given all the love a firstborn child should receive.
Unlike her parents, Silver Lining was dangerously curious and outgoing. They constantly had to keep her from the edge of Cloudsdale as she was always peering over the edge to try and catch a glimpse of an earth pony or a unicorn. When her kid sister, Fluttershy, was born, however, Mr. and Mrs. Shy were distracted in tending to her that they turned their backs on their eldest for a minute.
A minute was all it took for Silver Lining to find a weak spot in the clouds, lose her balance, and tumble from the glorious heights of Cloudsdale. Mr. and Mrs. Shy noticed too late that she had fallen and by the time Mr. Shy with his weak flying skills dove after her, he'd lost sight of his child in the heavy clouds.
Silver Lining's fall was cushioned by a large, eerie forest. Unable to fly since her adult feathers hadn't grown in yet, she aimlessly wandered, crying out for her family. Her screams drew unwanted attention. A hungry crag-o-dile found her in his part of the Everfree forest and, seeing an easy meal, he lunged at her. Terrified, Silver Lining ran for her life; but, she wasn't fast enough to evade the gaping jaws of the ravenous monster.
Mr. and Mrs. Shy searched for days for their missing daughter. With no sign of her, they began to lose hope, and that's when Mr. Shy stumbled upon a horrific sight. Remnants of a crag-o-dile attack stained the forest floor red and in the center of it all was a disembodied leg. It had belonged to a foal and it was the same color coat as Silver Lining.
"Why hold onto the past, really?" - Mr. Shy (twenty years later - that little quote from him holds more weight in the light of this alternate universe)
- Mr. and Mrs. Hoofington were taking their typical morning stroll around the outskirts of Hope Hollow. Far away from most other pony towns, they loved their little corner of Equestria that was rarely touched by others. So, when they spotted something on the edge of the Everfree forest, both of them were shocked. It was a foal, exhausted and mauled, missing her back left leg.
"Oh, the poor thing!" Mrs. Hoofington gasped. "Is she still alive?"
Mr. Hoofington bent down to check, though he feared the worst. When he saw her chest slowly rising and falling, he sighed in relief. "She's okay. Though how she survived this, I'll never know. Got herself into quite a kerfuffle, didn't she, dear?"
"Hurry, darling! We need to get her help!"
Little Kerfuffle was most welcomed among the residents of Hope Hollow. Her outgoing nature amused all of them and, when Torque Wrench developed the first prototype of a prosthetic leg, her spirit returned tenfold. She constantly showed it off to everyone, proud of her wound, and Mr. Hoofington found himself growing very attached to the little filly. She was like a daughter to him. Neither he nor his wife were able to have children, so her entering their lives was an answer to prayer.
A campaign was launched to find Kerfuffle's family with posters hung on every tree. Mrs. Hoofington was determined to reunite the lost filly, though Hope Hollow would miss her. Her husband, however, was less enthusiastic. When no one was looking, he removed every poster. No one would take his daughter away from him: not after everything they'd been through together. She was his and no one else's.
Fast forward twenty years to the Mane Six helping Hope Hollow regain its color. Fluttershy never had a chance to interact with Kerfuffle; but, seeing her from a distance confused her. She'd grown up hearing stories of her older sister and how all that was found of her was a leg. Her father was particularly forlorn the night he regaled such a terrifying story. So, seeing the pink-maned pegasus with a missing leg raised more than a few questions.
She and her little brother, Zephyr Breeze, went to Hope Hollow when he had lost yet another job. Kerfuffle was the one who greeted them with a big hug and an ironic observation.
"We could totally be siblings!" she cried out with a laugh. "It's spooky!"
Zephyr smiled at the zany mare while Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. It couldn't be possible... could it?
