"Nnngh... Come on... Come on...!" She gritted her teeth, tugging and tugging on the lid to a garbage container with the full weight of her petite body. "Nnnngh... Why... won't... you... b-budge...?!"
Suddenly, her hooves slipped. She gasped, falling hard on her haunches in the center of the tight alleyway. The hood of the filly's cloak fell free, exposing her green mane and matching eyes. Her vision fogged from the crest of tears, but she dried them with a scowling expression. Frowning up at the obstinate container, she drew the cloak up over her tatooed features.
Then, with a nervous shudder, she glanced both ways down the alley. The place was empty, also still, save for the sounds of a distant Nightshade Industries announcement reverberating off the concrete walls from a distance.
Satisfied that the coast was clear, she stood up and aimed her skull forward. She took several grunting breaths, concentrating with the effort that her sudden task took Nevertheless, she relaxed, and then worming trails of light ran up through the designs etched across her face. The energy culiminated in her horn, allowing her to fire a beam of green glowing energy at the container.
The lid popped off like a lead ball out of a cannon while the air crackled with magic. She gasped with relief and clopped her hooves against the floor with a brief, joyous jig. Then, gasping sharply, as if it was a crime to be that exultant, she cleared her throat and climbed back up to the edge of the container. Digging around inside with a hoof, she fiddled through several heaps of refuse until stumbling upon a paper bag with a restaurant's name etched on the side of it.
"Blue Seat's Dining! Score!" She opened the bag. "Please be a full box of salad! Please be a full box of salad! Please—"
She was hoisted up from behind and suddenly slammed against the back wall of the place.
"Ungh!" she grunted, dangling in a strong hoof.
"Kera... the little filly that thought she could make it on her own..." An adolescent colt snarled in her face. He was joined by two other colts and a filly, just a few winters younger than him, but no less covered in the soot and rags of the lower streets. "Fancy meeting you here. You know what this place is, pipsqueak?!"
"Nnngh... Uhm..." Kera sniffed, then made a face. "Dogbreath Central?" She was slapped hard against the wall again. "Augh!"
The colt spat, "This is Hardhoof territory! We're the only ones around here who know about the dirty secret that lies beneath your robes, kid..." He knocked her hood loose, exposing her tattoos to the dim air of the falling evening. "Which means, so long as your ugly face hangs out around here, you us for protection!"
"That kind of m-makes sense!" Kera sputtered, smirking back at him. "Seeing as how you're the expert on ugly faces..."
He blinked, then raised other hoof to smash her horn in two. "Why, you—"
"Hey, check it!" One filly pulled out a paper container, displaying a box full of half-eaten noodles. "The little scamp scored something!"
"You mean she scored us something!" The colt glared back at the filly in his grasp. "Consider this payment in advanced, runt."
"No way!" she gasped, frowning. "Those are my noodles!"
"The only noodles you should be worried about are the kind I'm gonna be spilling all over the floor!" He dropped her, but continued to shake a threatening hoof. "Get it?! Cuz I'll have busted your skull open!"
The older foals around him chuckled uproariously.
Kera shook her dizziness away and frowned up at him. "Funny. How can you even lay a hoof on me when your mane is on fire?"
"Pfft, just what in the hay are you talking about, Pipsqueak—GAAAAH!" The colt jumped and thrashed in place, feeling a blaze flickering across his scalp.
Kera finished aiming a beam of magic at his skull. As rivulets of glowing energy receded from her face, she stood up and smirked at his flailing figure. "What's the matter?! Not used to being... bright?!"
"Nnnngh—Put me out! Put me out! Put me out!"
"I found something!" A filly grabbed a rusted bedpan out from a garbage container. "Stand still, boss!"
"No, not that—" The colt took the brunt of odorous yellow liquid being doused all over his face. He blinked lethartically through the dripping current of the stuff.
"Whoops..." The filly slumped, her ears folding back.
With flaring nostrils, the colt pointed at the figure of Kera who was already galloping away. "Get that little turd and crush her to bits!"
With a prolonged warcry, all of the foals charged after her.
Panting for breath, Kera dashed around a corner and galloped into the open streets of Blue Nova, billowing cloak and all.
You're right, IC. It is about damn time we got back to Kera.
Jeeze, the children of Blue Nova play rough...
Thank you, Kera.
YEEEEAAAAAH
But hey, Scolon knows what we want. It is about damn time we got back to the OC introduced in CHAPTER ONE THEN NEGLECTED.
2543718 My theory: stratopolis grew far too big as the pegasi from all over the east flocked(ha) to it. Eventually the pegasi lost control of the city and it floated off the edge of the world. Dash will have to make her way from the light side to the dark side by passing through the mythical pegasus city.
2544397
LOL xD
Awkwardness and bad puns. Sounds like me, alright.
magic or not, Kera sure showed his ass up.
Magic tattoos on the face? Hmm, color me intrigued...
Twenty-five four-count jumping jacks, ):(... and then twenty push-ups for making us wait this damn long to see Kera again. Knock 'em out!
Yay more Kera! She's definately the new Element of Laughter.
So wait, xonans use their tatoos to help power their magic? Are they mostly unicorns like the Ledos, or do the tatoos assist non-magic users in some way as well? 1 answer, SO MANY QUESTIONS.
Kera's finally back. Curious about that odorous yellow liquid... on second thought, I don't wanna know.
Heh, way to go Kera! *claps!* Now run for it! Lol, stupid asshole bullies. Hopefully she runs into Belle and Pheonix. Maybe that's what they are there for. The runes are guiding them to where Kera will be.
2544392 It's a whole world of kid gangsters.
Magical tatt's... she's probably Xonan.
awww yea Keras back!
hope she meets up with belle and say she looks funny cause of her shaved head
As soon as I saw the chapter title, I somehow knew that Kera would be back. I'm liking her already. Sassy. And the fact that Xonans apparently use their tattoos in their magic is intriguing. I hope we pass through Xona at some point and get to see more of their culture.
Now, my guess is Kera will bump into Belle during the chase. Oughta be interesting.
2544441
I like this idea.
how the fuck did Xonans get that far in? unless...
*GASP* I sense a plot twist!!!!
About damn time, indeed. I was wondering what had happened to that little filly.
I do wonder how a (presumably) Xonan filly got so far behind Ledomaritan lines. She's far too young to be an infiltrator or spy, but clearly old enough to be recognized as the enemy. She must be a very resourceful filly indeed - a good potential party member, perhaps?
2545352
I'm thinking abduction by Nightshade, personally. The tiny horn nub seems like it might have something to do with them, and knowing about Xonan magic has an obvious strategic benefit.
2545370
Are you seeing Nightshade as a near-independent entity within Ledomare? It's a plausible enough idea, and its existence would point to the kind of fragmentation I've long suspected plagues Ledomaritan politics.
Dang... Someone is a little frisky
Hmmm, the tattoos function as some kind of external ley-line system. I wonder if the tattoos a pony has, and the various pathways possible in their design, amplifies specific types of magic? Would explain why the Xonan's are able to combat the technologically superior Ledomaritans.
2541882
Maybe an armory then? A very special Armory. . .
So I'm thinking the Kerra and Belle/Phoenix story lines are about to converge. And not too long from now I'm guessing we'll be seeing Floydian/Pilate reunite with them as well. So that just leaves Josho/EE to get with Rainbow/Red and the gang and then for them to get over to Blue Nova and then the party will finally be reunited.
Damn iColon how do you keep juggling all these different perspectives? You must have this all written down somewhere to keep track, along with a map of the entire world of this story that you're not sharing with us damnit.
Oh snap, I'd completely forgotten about that spunky Xonan filly.
Dig those swell tattoos.
Meanwhile, in the undercity...
So Kera is the first wind of direct Xonan presence in the series. After 266 chapters, are we ready to depart and travel east again?
Also, why is everyone going on about Kera having a long break? Axan has been playing the lurky lizard since before the dawn of time - or at least since what feels like it. Where was that old trout throughout the entire Searo ark, anyways? Standing by and watching the Spark being nearly extinguished? Lazy reptile is lazy.
2544858 Stinky yellow liquid in a bedpan. Clearly it's lemonade.
Ceterum censeo Searinem delendam esse.
Mmmm. Noodles.
At any rate, Blue Nova sounds like a tough place to live. I wonder if little Kera's going to team up with Belle and Phoenix? I'd be willing to be that Floydien and Pilate will come along soon enough, too. Oh, looking forward to that reunion.
Well, it's pretty obvious that she'll run into Belle and Phoenix somehow.
What I want to know is this: how will Phoenix react? Considering he's been fighting these guys in the goddamn war. Sure, he deserted out of lack of enthusiasm to commit atrocities, but I doubt he has a particularly high opinion of them regardless.
Belle is probably nice enough to ignore the Xonan aspect to focus more on the starving homeless filly part, but you never know. She has lived in Ledomare for quite a long time, and all wartime nations like to give their citizens the impression the enemy is the utmost in all things wanker.
honeytiger was just wondering where kera was...
2547305 Ask and ye shall receive.
I'm interested to see where this leads. I quite like the idea that the group is multi-cultural and cross-borders. Particularly as these people all hate each-other but could end up working together.
Searonese, Ledomaritan, Zebrican, Xonan, Franzingtonian, Crystaline and Equestrian*. That's going to be some great group dynamics right there.
*yes, I made some of those up, and no - I have no idea what Floydien is.
Hey look who it is, the little Filly from the beginning of the story that we've heard nothing about for 60 chapters!
Finally. 65 chapters later, we finally see the little filly that could
survive in Blue Nova.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So Kera's a bit mischievous, I see. I like that we're already getting some of her character. I suspect a meeting with Belle soon...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Hey, look on the bright side, people. At least IC doesn't pull a George R.R. Martin and introduce characters in the first chapter only to mutilate them pages later. We actually get to see them again in the story, even if it is months later.
Also, its been quoted, but it deserves a secondary mention because, pun.
This after she sets his flipping face on fire. Dash and this little squirt are going to get along just fine, I can already tell.
>you us for protection!
wat
2583866 in response to my earlier comment, yep, she's definetely Xonan!
2548205
There's also the fact that there would be interspecies romance, a fillyfooler and a coltcuddler. Plus a filly. That's one heck of a versatile group.
I only realised the significance of this chapter's name after what Novus said. So yeah, I'm glad we're back to Kera, finally.
-SPirit
Kera is my new fave filly OC.
Hm, so Kera's a xonian, huh?
Shame she left without her noodles...
And back to Kera.
So the colt's friend used jarate to put him out, essentially? Well, that'll teach him to mess with a talented young hornhead. Also, definite collision with Belle soon.
Excellent, I've been looking forward to finding out what is up with Kera.
you owe
[side note: I really hate those A-hole punks. I hope they get their comeuppance in the worst ways possible.]
______________________
My new favorite character.
Wow. This kids an idiot.
It'd be a pain just listening to him ramble threateningly
5720340
First the bread. Now noodles? What is this world coming too?
should have been oil in the pan