SMASSSSH!
Smashed crates and wooden splinters rained all across the corridor.
Rainbow Dash slid to the side, pressing her body against the tunnel wall as debris scattered around her.
"Blblblblblblblblblbbbb!" Pinkie twitched all over. Overwhelmed with Pinkie Sense, the ghost collapsed entirely, her eyes rolled back.
"Gnnngh!" Twilight Sparkle clutched her skull. Her horn pulsed as she winced in Rainbow's direction. "She's a very powerful magic user!"
P-POWWW! Rainbow winced as an energy blast blew a hole wide in the wall above her. She flinched, frowning through the falling dirt. "Ya think?!"
Fl-Flaaaaaaaaash! Longaze calmly marched down the tunnel, firing stream after stream of mana. "Give yourself up, Rogue!" Flassssh! The unicorn's brown eyes swept the walls and floors, searching for the barest hint of a blue coat. "You don't have any steam clouds to aid you here! No three-legged griffon to bail you out!"
"Hey!" Rainbow stuck her head out from hiding. "I could have kicked your lousy tail just fine back in Red B—"
"Rainbow!" Twilight hollered, her horn flickering.
Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaash! A hot stream of magic burned towards her.
"Crud monkeys!" Rainbow dove for cover, narrowly dodging the blast. BLAMMM! Chunks of soil rained down all across the corridor.
"You have to be more careful than that, darling!" Rarity exclaimed. She looked up, panting. "This place wasn't built to withstand mayhem like this!"
"She came alone!" Fluttershy stammered as dust and debris phased through her. "Maybe there's a way to lose her in this place?"
"Your stay in Braum is over with, Rogue!" Longaze hollered, marching closer. Her hooves crunched over fallen chunks of debris. "Come with me willingly like a good little mare."
"Goddess." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I could write a book." Twilight and Rarity blinked confusedly.
"Trust me. You don't want the Talon to take you instead." Longaze's brow furrowed. "The pony I'm working for only needs you to make a statement. If the Court had their way, they'd make literal mince meat out of you."
"You're the only one trying to mince anything here!" Rainbow hollered. She peeked her head out from hiding. "Just what did you do with Kayman and his buddies, huh?!"
"Who?"
Rainbow frowned. "The ponies Sarda sent to make peace with Steamfall!" Rainbow gnashed her teeth as more dirt and debris fell over her head. "You work for the Consortium, don't you? How the heck else would you know that I was here?!"
"Kayman and his friends are in one piece," Longaze droned, marching closer. "If they hadn't started talking, however, they would have ended up in several."
Fluttershy gasped, clasping a hoof over her muzzle.
"You creepazoid!" Rainbow hissed. "You tortured them for the info, didn't you?"
"Don't concern yourself with the peasants of Braum," Longaze spoke in an emotionless tone. Her horn glowed again. "Right now, you should only concern yourself with holding your own blood."
"Rainbow!" Twilight yelped. "She's about to unleash more magic—"
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Rainbow dove out from hiding as—
FL-FLASH! Two bright bolts of mana overshot her. Rainbow flinched, her hooves grinding to a stop. All of the sudden, she found herself sliding backwards.
"Huh?" Rainbow blinked. "What—whoah!" The pegasus flipped backwards.
Longaze stood firmly in place, tugging Rainbow towards her with glowing telekinesis. "I've wasted too much time and sweat on this stupid chase. You're coming back to headquarters with me."
"Rainbow!" Rarity yelped, phasing through walls and crates. "Do something!"
"I'm..." Rainbow wheezed, spinning in mid-air. "...flailing!"
"Dashie!" Pinkie spontaneously stuck her ghostly head out of the blurring wall beside her. "Kick the bucket!"
"...!" Rainbow spotted a rusted round container between her and Longaze. "Not gonna question that twice!" With a grunt—Clang!—she flung a hoof out and struck the object in question during her flyby.
Fwooosh! The bucket spilled loose its contents—which turned out to be a pile of partially crushed dredge coal. The rocks dissolved as they were swept up into Longaze's telekinetic current.
The unicorn gasped as she saw a fine cloud of toxic dust flying towards her nostrils. Her horn pulsed, and she reversed the manastream completely. Longaze leaned back, wincing. After a few seconds, she inhaled clean air. She squinted to see the material floating just a few bare inches in front of her. With a frown, she parted the dust and marched on through.
A petite blue figure streaked around the nearest corner and bolted off to the side.
"Dammit..." Longaze gnashed her teeth. With a boost of magic—POW!—she gave chase, forming a crater in the walls of the corridor behind her.
Rainbow Dash nervously galloped down the corridor, panting and sweating.
"She's chasing after us!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "And f-fast!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight flew in front of the pegasus, slack-jawed. "If she's the same mysterious mare that you fought at Red Barge, and she works for the Consortium, then that must have been the outside party that Skagra was associated w—"
"Dang it, egghead! Does this look like the time for friggin' thinking?!" Rainbow spun a look to her other side. "Rarity! I need a way out of here!"
"She blocked the only exit from Braum, darling!"
"Then find another one!"
"Uhm..." Rarity nervously pointed forward. "Two spaces down, a left, and then the nearest ramp to the surface!" She gulped. "It'll take you to the cellar of the village tavern!"
"Good enough!" Rainbow scampered faster. "Let's make like Josho's butt and split!"
"But Rainbow!" Rarity gasped. "The Talon will be searching—"
"Let's outrun one peril at a time, okay?!"
"Woooooooooooo-boy!" Pinkie hovered parallel, clutching her tail with all four limbs. "Twitchy-tail times eleven, yo!"
Crkkkkkkk!
Rainbow's twitching eyes shot up.
The tunnel's rooftop ripped apart, showering dust and wooden planks down on the mare.
"When it rains..." Rainbow snarled, then juked left and right, dodging layers of debris by centimeters.
Thud! Th-Thud!
All the while, blasts of mana surged through the streaming curtain of earth, slicing at Rainbow's figure. Fluttershy and Rarity shrieked while Rainbow plowed through a mess of debris and scrambled to make a left turn.
A steely-frowned secretary angrily followed her from a distance, gaining speed, leaving the tunnels behind her in ruins.
What a hipster.
[Seraphimus vs.] Rainbow vs. Longaze?
Alright people, let's place those bets. How many chapters will this fight scene last?
Talon, meet Longaze.
Braum is about to become a smoking ruin...
She's too strong Dash! You have to run!
A lucky critical could kill your Dashie
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
Sidenote: I'mma be at RTX AU for the next 2 days.
well the three titanic feminine badasses are all being drawn to the same place. This should be one hell of a fight.
static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Braum_a8826a_5557353.jpg
6859843 Hmm...put 30 bits on 5 please.
There's no way in hell they're not going to notice all those explosions. Nice subtle entrance, angryblondiehorse.
YA' DON'T FECKIN' SAY!?!?
EXACTLY.
This whole situation is slowly turning into an episode of Black Lagoon.
I'm okay with this.
You just had to make that joke twice ic!
I sense a beautiful running gag.
Why is Longaze serving Chandler if she's so strong compared to his weak plot? Oh, maybe that's the whole point. Skirts wants her to realize that and then join Rainbow Dash on her journey. Right? Hope so.
NEVER underestimate the power of flavourmancy.
6859904 Money is a powerful motivator. Something tells me she has somepony(ies) she's trying to support.
She's watching, she's waiting, and the second opportunity presents itself, she's acting.
Holy Throne, that is one pissed off unicorn!
Longbow is our new potential Roarke.
Longboarke.
If blondicorn blocked the only exit, then how was she supposed to leave with RD in tow?
Also...
...buh?
6859903
6859890
Seraph walks into a forest pass and freezes at the sight of buckets randomly hanging from branches.
6859843
I bet Applejack on 6 chapters.
6859964
Longbow all the way.
6859884 Who does that make Dash?
6859856 She warned them. Welcome to discount Lerris. Dredge dust poisoning for all!
Complete amateurs at information gathering, just like most in fiction. That aside Rainbow made a pretty big mistake, in telling her that she had information about who went to meet her, as Rainbow just revealed that she have a far better intelligence apparatus than her appearance suggests. Now we just hope that Rainbow leads her away from Braum, as I have no doubt that she will likely kill everyone who witnesses what she is doing here. Best bet would probably be to lead her to Seraphimus (who can probably handle her) and then have the two fight it out while she slips away.
One thing that bothers me
Rainbow should have been able to figure this bit out on her own, without the pinkie sense.
Wonderful chapter
Flavor game so strong punching holes in the wall.
Well, if you put it in a bag first, not all that hard.
6860008
As it passed through my head, I pictured Rainbow as Revy, Longaze as Roberta, and Seraphimus as Balalaika. It's not a perfect match, but still... we're looking at three bad-ass broads in one hairy situation.
Well boys and girls, looks like we're about to have a Mexicoltan (if that's a place in this 'verse) standoff.
Yeah, because that clearly isn't going to be making a lot of noise that could probably be felt on the town's surface. Yeesh Longaze, not exactly Miss Subtlety are you? Here's hoping the town still has enough stability to keep standing with its tunnels getting blasted by a mare who literally is firing off shots like she's Megaman on crack.
Commenting on the previous chapter, for a moment, I have to wonder if even Verlax really knows what her own plans are, anymore? When you're that ancient I imagine its possible to lay out plans, then after a few thousand years kind of forget about them. Its actually within the realm of plausibility that Verlax kind of has an idea of what she planned for Dash, but only in vague terms, hence why she can't really talk straight with Dash about anything, because Verlax literally doesn't remember the details of her own plan, only that it requires Dash to keep moving east.
Sheesh. They don't make secretaries like the use to.
Yeah, but I know this guy... he could write twelve.
As far as I understand, Longaze is doing this for the money. But why does she need money? I doubt it is for family since she has been working constantly and hasn't been home in who know how long. If she wanted luxuries she has the wrong job, moving around so much with the Chancellor she can't stay still to enjoy luxuries.... Maybe it is for family - someone frozen like Seraphimus's family or somepony in prison awaiting bail. What exactly could her motivation be?
Good work, Twilight! Now interrupt the fight to let Rainbow Dash know about her battery life and you'll be about as useful a Fi from Zelda Skyward Sword.
Time for the big confrontation! I wonder just how far Sarda's talk with Seraphimus will help Rainbow if things go on too long. If Longaze comes out horn blazing she'll clearly be the bigger threat and might distract the Talon long enough.
6860033
And how would a "professional" gather such information?
Not necessarily, she could have overheard the names of the ponies that were sent while sitting where she was being held. I don't think that line is that big a tip off of 'Rainbow's got the powers, yo!'.
Probably Rainbow's best option here, agreed.
Why would she? She's dodging things in a panic and doesn't have the time to look in every barrel for its contents.
6860086 Yeaaaaah, that certainly makes me not want to be anywhere near the eventual fight. Seph even holds up because of her quasi military force. They aren't a true army but they fight like elites.
6860109 Hell, I can hardly remember stuff for a few minutes!
It won't be long before the Talon is barging down there looking for the source of that noise. That will work in Rainbows favor as well as Longaze's as it will let them get away if that happens. However, I see it being more likely that; as 6860033 suggests, Rainbow is going to lead Longaze into the Talon, which given what they just learned, will have them take in Longaze instead of instantly pursuing Rainbow after the fight. Assuming she gets away of course.
Also note how it was only Twilight and Rarity who were confused by Rainbows "I could write a book." statement, I think at least Pinkie and Fluttershy know. Come on girls you're not that dense you can figure this one out.
How does it feel, being the tail being chased by girls, Rainbow?
Lets just blow up the tunnel system that runs under the ENTIRE village. I can see nothing going wrong.
You know shit's getting real when you're dodging stuff by centimeters in italics.
Dodging stuff by centimetres is being careful if its dust, lucky if its a bullet, and WTF was that if its a 12*4 timber followed by multiple tons of dirt and rock whose passing creates suction that pulls you towards it.
Longaze is so powerful, she typoed the attack. Shes not the enemy Braum needs, shes the enema Braun gets.
Bury her alive! Or dead. That works to.
Is Longaze not going to question why Rainbow is frantically and maniacally talking to herself?
6859843 put five pounds of munster on 6 and a third chappies
6860109
....
yes
6860209 simple, honest greed?
6860896 Don't think Longaze cares, or just defaults to the "crazy maniac" assumption
6860269 I am Soooooooo glad you asked that question.
To answer it let us look at the history of one of the most successful interrogators, one Hanns-Joachim Gottlob Scharff. Scharff worked for those softies known as the Nazis interrogating Allied fighter pilots during WWII. He managed to obtain information from over 90% of those he interrogated. His method could be summed in five parts 1) creating the "we-already-know-everything" illusion; 2) taking a friendly approach; 3) not pressing for information; 4) confirming and disconfirming information; and 5) ignoring important information as it was obtained.
Nowhere in these methods is torture mentioned. In fact torture can be interpreted as pressing for information, which step three explicitly says no to, because it can give someone focus, and make it harder to gain information, and even if you do get any information torture tells you what you want to hear, not the truth. He knew that at the beginning that a captive will be disoriented and would use that to help gain their trust, specifically by being friendly to them. Afterwards he would remain their friend and talk to them about all sorts of things, usually outside the interrogation room. During these talks prisoners would often volunteer information without realizing that they volunteered it.
The methods he used also helped Scharff in the long run. When the Nazis lost WWII instead of being tried for war crimes he was invited to the US to speak about his methods, became an American citizen, and then a Mosaic artist (some of his work includes the mosaics at Cinderella castle in Disney world and the Mosaic ramps at the Epcot center, helped by his daughter in law). Helped in these ventures by the very people that he interrogated.
6859843
12 chapters. I wager two exoskeletons shed from emergent cicada nymphs. On a similar note, I'd say about 4 chapters until the tunnels collapse.
Bow-chicka-wowow
And now I'm sad :(. I really miss the Noble Jury crew :(
6861106
A neat bit of information, thanks for sharing Tim
I can certainly see how that method would be more effective than the 'straight-to-the-tourture' method. However, I can't help but feel that method is more of an over time type of thing to be truly effective. How long did it take Scharff to get in good with the prisoners he interrogated? Longaze doesn't have too much time to get the information nor is she really in a position to pretend she knows all.
6861835 True, it is more time consuming, but the thing is no one prisoner is going to have all the answers, something Scharff knew from the beginning. Instead you need to build the picture from the pieces that you gather, almost exactly like the Mosaics he made later in life. Another thing to remember is what I said earlier, torture tells you what you want to hear, not the truth. It is entirely possible for an individual under duress to be unable to remember their own name. So when torturing them she ran the risk of getting incorrect information, which would delay her for even longer, as she would then have to go back and start all over. About the only real reason to use torture is as a way of getting on a power trip, which Longaze may certainly have been doing.
Instead of torturing them a more effective method of finding that information would be to let them go, after pretending to agree to their terms, and then follow at a distance. Then ambush them when they reveal the location of the hidden tunnel.
6861131
i.imgur.com/B7upkzt.jpg