From a Frozen Mile Away
"Right this way," muttered a stallion in company uniform. He and a few other members of the Consortium led Kayman and two other villagers to the large square opening of a three-story building along the northeast corner of Steamfall. "Our representative would like to speak with you."
Kayman glanced left and right. He squinted at the lines of dormant trains and silent smokestacks beneath falling snow. "Your smog town has quieted down all of the sudden."
"Company ponies are entitled to breaks," said the stallion. "I can't expect a pony like you to know."
"Just this part of Steamfall, though?" Kayman gestured towards the western edge of the complex, still brimming with smoke. "And since when was this area so abandoned?"
"You don't make many visits here. What would you know?"
"And furthermore..." Kayman squinted. "...why the sudden change of heart? Your superiors practically threw Sarda out on his flank hours ago."
The stallion in uniform took a long, fuming breath. His hooves scuffled as he stood before the warehouse entrance. "We are here." His nostrils flared, and yet he managed a calm exhale. "Chandler's secretary will see you now."
"Brye Chandler's secretary?!" Kayman's muzzle grimaced. He exchanged disgusted looks with his two companions. "Is this some kind of joke?! We were told that we'd be talking with somepony important."
"Oh. Believe me. Ms. Longaze is as important as ponies get." The stallion gestured through the square entrance.
Kayman blinked. Fighting a frown, he bravely strolled into the interior. His two fellow villagers from Braum followed him.
It was intensely dark inside. As Kayman's eyes adjusted to the change in light, he found himself staring at a veritable forest of tall, looming steam-tanks. They stood like brass obelisks, attached to one another via thick pipes. Up above, a series of dark metal catwalks loomed. Light filted in dull and gray through wide translucent windows that hugged the ceiling of the massive building.
"... ... ..." Kayman sighed. "This is manticore flop." He looked at his friends. "They're just wasting our time."
"On the contrary..."
Kayman jolted in place. He and his companions looked up.
The tip of Longaze's horn glowed as she stepped to the edge of the catwalk looming above the trio. "...you terribly risk wasting mine." Brown eyes narrowed in the cold snowlight. Her voice echoed off the many-many brass bodies looming between her and the villagers. "Please. I have the assets of a ginormous company to overlook. Let us cut to the case. The Rainbow Rogue—do you truly have her?"
Kayman took a deep breath. "Yes." He nodded. "As my boss, Sarda, claimed during his first visit." He frowned. "But none of your sorry lackeys here bothered to believe him—"
"What was or wasn't said is neither her nor there," Longaze droned. "I've summoned you to this place so we can conduct an exchange like civilized ponies."
"Then why don't you hop down here and let us talk muzzle to muzzle?" Kayman smirked. "Like civilized ponies?"
Longaze merely glowed. The glowing tip of her horn formed angry shadows across her brow.
"Let me guess. Can't stand the smell of 'putrid Braum filth?'" Kayman sighed. "Very well." He shook his head. "I can't conduct an exchange here."
"And why not?"
"Because the Rainbow Rogue is in Braum." Kayman paced closer to the shadow of the catwalk where she stood. "What I am here for is to discuss payment of the bounty so that we may then proceed with the exchange."
"That is hardly fair." Longaze rested her forelimbs on the catwalk's railing. "How do I even know that she's in your possession? You can't possibly have evidence on you."
"I have my word as a loyal defender of Braum. As does Sarda."
"What meaning is that to me?"
"I can't expect you to know," Kayman grumbled. "You... a mare who's obviously sacrificed honor for a corporate facsimile of order."
"We can exchange insults all day, but that's not what I'm being paid for," Longaze said. "The bitterness here in Ivory Prefecture is none of my concern. The Rainbow Rogue is." She leaned back and took a breath. "If the money is so important to you, would you mind telling me why you left the Rogue in Braum?"
"Because we can't trust the Consortium to conduct a fair exchange on your own property."
"Well, that much is quite obvious." Longaze's brow furrowed. "But there must be an even bigger reason, isn't there?"
Kayman's friends bit their lips.
At last, Sarda's right-hoof stallion sighed and said, "The Right Talon of Verlaxion."
Longaze blinked. "The Talon is here?"
"They're in Braum." Kayman pointed in a vaguely southern direction. "And they're scouring every inch of the village. Every structure and turf house."
"I see..." Longaze clenched her jaw tight. "If they find the Rogue—"
"It's obvious that the Consortium wants the Rogue, considering how much you're willing to pay for her." Kayman's eyes narrowed. "And you... are willing to pay for her, yes?"
"We do. But the Talon present a problem."
"I'm glad we can agree about one thing."
"Question..." Longaze paced along the catwalk. "If I know the Talon—then a thorough sweep of a Rohbreddenite village means that they will have cut off all traffic coming and going." She squinted at the stallions below. "Exactly how in Verlaxion's name did you make it out of there?"
"Braum has survived blizzards, famine, and bandit attacks from all sides for centuries," Kayman spoke proudly. "We've grown quite versatile when it comes to surviving in Ivory Prefecture."
"In other words..." Longaze cocked her head to the side. "...you have a tunnel system."
"The Rogue is secured for now," Kayman said. "That's all you need to know."
Longaze merely continued: "And your tunnel system must afford you a way out of the village... where the Talon's eyes cannot see."
"That..." Kayman glared up at her. "...is none of your business."
"My little pony..." Longaze spoke firmly from up high. "I am putting my faith, my time, and my company's bits on the line for this exchange. If we're truly to pass the Rogue from your hooves to mine, then I must know every detail involved in the process. The more we fight and squabble over 'pleasantries,' then the longer this limbo continues, and the more risk there is of the Talon flying off with their prey. In that case, nopony wins... nopony but the Council of Verlaxion, of course. And we both know how much they care about Braum and its numerous issues here in Ivory Prefecture."
Kayman bit his lip. He looked at his companions. They hung their heads.
"Well?" Longaze blinked. "What will it be? We've both come this far. It's not too late to amend things between your village and Steamfall." She inhaled. "I'm certain your leader Sarda would approve of such measures."
Kayman sighed. "... ... ...there's a passage that leads north."
"North?"
"The tunnels beneath Braum stretch beneath every building and turf house. Only the villagers know how to enter or exit. The Talon will never find it—at least not without compromising their respect for domesticate property."
"Is that how you were able to leave and enter Steamfall?"
Kayman said, "The north passage exits into a thicket of dense trees. It is the best place for us to exchange the Rainbow Rogue. If you send a small contingent of Consortium workers there with the bounty's reward, we'll meet with them and relinquish the Rainbow Rogue." Kayman held a hoof over his chest. "You have my promise that she's alive and in one piece. She even still possesses the pendant around her neck as indicated in the posters."
Longaze leaned back, tapping her chin. "I see..."
"So..." Kayman took a step forward. "I have made my show of faith. Now I kindly request a show of yours." His eyes narrowed. "What assurance do I have that you will pay every single bit as indicated by the bounty?"
Longaze cleared her throat. "Here is my assurance, Ivory peasants." Within seconds, her horn glowed with a flash!
Scrkkkkkkkkk! A massive sliding door made of metal closed behind them.
"H-huh?!" Kayman spun around with a gasp. All gray light from the outside world vanished.
THUDDD! The door to the warehouse sealed shut. Kayman's friends rushed up to it, grunting, struggling to force the thing back open. In thick, shadowy blurs, a pair of metal wrenches ricocheted off their skulls. Th-Thackkk! The stallions fell hard to the ground, sputtering, twitching.
Th-Thap! A set of hooves landed behind Kayman.
"...!" Kayman spun around. Upon seeing Longaze, he snarled and unsheathed a dagger from his cloak. "Mrmmmf!" Clenching the weapon in his teeth, he charged her. "You conniving shitstain—"
"Please." All she had to do was wink.
"Grkkkk!" Kayman lurched in place. His muscles quivered as his body was lifted up in expert telekinesis.
"I survived Red Barge," Longaze droned. "Put some thought into your insults." Another eye twitched and—
Fwoooooosh! Kayman was slammed up against the door. Clanggg! "Aaaaugh!" He yelped—but lost all breath when a length of brass pipework was pressed up to his chest. He wheezed and sputtered for breath.
Longaze shuffled up to him. She seethed as she applied telekinetic pressure. "Now... you're going to tell me exactly how to find this 'north passage.'" The air between them lit up from her burning horn. "Or else I'm going to show you what your friends' entrails here taste like."
"Mmmrfff... grkkk..." Kayman writhed under the pipe.
"Yes. It's quite fine." Longaze's eyes glinted in the manalight as she pressed the pipe into him even harder. "Scream if it will help you clear the pipes..."
Outside the warehouse, a line of uniformed stallions stood.
Just then, a loud, pained howl emanated from within the three-story structure. It rattled the windows and shook clumps of snow off the roof's edges... but the sound was swiftly swallowed up by the immensity of Steamfall's scale... and drowned by the looming mountains bordering the facility.
Young workers bit their lips, fidgeted, but continued minding their posts. A stallion in a company uniform cleared his throat, brushed flakes of snow off his shoulders, and continued staring off into the smoggy distance. His eyes twitched to the sound of more and more screams. He didn't move an inch.
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...You should've known better...
Just as I thought, a backstab. Hope Rainbow can get the poor fool out of there.
Throne, that was brutal....
This bitch is stone cold...
...Dash might be awesome, but Longaze certainly lays claim to that as part of a descriptor.
She's awesomely cunning and awesomely ruthless.
To be fair you can't trust them to a fair exchange on any property, but you learned that a touch late, didn't you?
Hoh fuck, Longaze really doesn't mess around.
I guess you really can't trust Longaze.
She is cold as ice. Though I guess that's what you get for assuming that she was being truthful.
Welp, Longaze certainly racked up her stone-cold bitch points.
Shit, Longaze is working her way towards being Shell 3.0: corporate edition. She's already killing off named characters just for info on Rainbow.
*winces* and suddenly im not sure if we want longaze in the rainbow harem...
Just a thought
I've just got to say it again 'GOSH DAMN! Are your fingers ground to numbs from how much tying you've done!? Have the letters vanished from your keyboard?!'
Quick Q: what do you focus on while writing?
Suddenly the Talon doesn't seem so bad in comparison.
holy fuck that happened. of course, if both die then Longaze just screwed herself over.
Longaze is definitely best villain right now, and I think she's a strong contender for best antagonist. Between her and Seraphimus... only time will tell.
6853408 Yeah, she obviously prefers penetration.
Aaaand now I'm glad that there's half a world standing between Longaze and sound stones/manacrystals*. Not that that's stopping her from replicating scenes from Commando.
Verlax's supposed crystal ball doesn't count!
To be fair, we did know Chandler instructed her to not actually pay the bounty.
6853408 Nah, just need to keep her busy and bound. If you know what I mean.
Khayman is the name of a character in Ann Rice's famoous book series The Vampire Chronicles. He's an ancient egyptian priest, and the first turned vampire of the saga.
It's Bard!
Or maybe just some new character that will be important later. I don't know.
Uuuh. Longaze is a bitch. I'm rooting for her bloody death now.
Backstabbers gonna backstab.
Well, what's more terrifying now. A Searonese metal mare, or a Rohbredden unicorn who can beat people to a pulp with a twitch of her eyelid?
They were suspicious... but not suspicious enough.
6854686 yes, but she's merely doing as Chandler has paid her very well to do.
Well, there goes my Rainbow x Longaze
fetishfantasyAnd just like that, all the LongBow shippers scurry off.
I cannot wait until Longaze is beat to a pulp by Rainbow.
Good to see my preferences re: Sera v Long were well founded.
So she's basically Shell, and Rainbow Dash has a crush on her.
This can only end badly.
Welp, add Longaze to the list of characters we want exterminated.
6858971
A terrible waste of an excellent ship name. I guess you have to be pretty twisted to work under Chandler for as long as it seems like she has.
8807434
Honestly, she's far and above Seraphimus for me at this point. People keep comparing Seraphimus to Shell, but honestly she has something he doesn't. Friends, or at least comrades whose advice she listens to. Shell almost always ignored his underlings whenever it didn't suit him.
Dang, she’s ruthless.
Uh, yeah, that isn't ominous.
Kayman, I don't think any of you understand how a negotiation or an exchange works. Especially when going up against a company.
Yuuuup, these fools are screwed.
Good grief, this continent is dark.
Longaze is no love interest. She the closist thing to Shell we ever had. And this time she has the full support of her higher up, unlike Shell.
You were literally spared. Twice, iirc.
Longaze, Longaze, what did you just do?