Thread 47: Stories 16-30

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 >SA
"AJ"
'???'
~~~

This is good.

This, right here? This is good. Getting his mind off of recent events is a good thing. Just gotta be calm, do your princely duties, and the answer to all of this business will come naturally and smoothly.

This is all going to-

'HALT!'

>...Uh.

The guard mare stood firm in front of him, blocking any entrance to the apple princess. Beside her, another one stood at the ready.

'All entrants must be frisked and inspected before being allowed entry!'

>You know who I am.

'No exceptions!'

>Well... I guess in the name of being- WHOA!

'Stay calm sir, this is all necessary to be thorough!'

>Necessary!? Unless I'm smuggling something in my dick, I do not think is necessary to be that in depth!

'NO EXCEPTIONS!'

>...If I find out you're a changeling-

'ALL PONY, SIR!'

>Seriously, this is a little-

'She was right!'

>...

'...I mean, ALL CLEAR! You may now enter.'

>I feel unclean.

'Not my problem, just doing my job!'

Grumbling, he moved past her, and into the office. Funny, he could have sworn he saw her raising a hoof to hoof-bump the one who had been silent this whole time. But he was sure he was seeing that wrong.

>Ordering the guards to molest me is an international incident, I'll have you know.

The princess before him just grunted in response, slamming another paper form into the 'done' pile.

"She really send ya' out here? Didn't know Ah' was dealin' with a tattlin' filly. Ain't sayin' Ah'm surprised, just would'a wanted a word of warning."

>Nobody 'sent' me anywhere. But yes, I was a little curious what happened between you and Chrysalis. She seemed pretty irritated, much more so than usual.

"How can ya' tell?"

>Applejack...

"Ah' didn't tell her nothin' but the truth. She deserved every word, and Ah' ain't sorry Ah' did it. Iffin' the dang bug monster wants a freakin' apology, she can go find it in a gutter somewhere."

He winced, honestly shocked at how harsh she was being.

>Look, I don't know what you said-

"And it ain't none o' yer' business."

He stopped, frowning deeply at the insinuation, but unable to think up a reason to rebuke it. It was true, this wasn't his business. Chrysalis hadn't asked him, it wasn't his job...

"Did ya' handle that thing?"

>...Yes. I handled her requests.

Well, he certainly didn't think she would dip low into a dark growl.

"Figures. Paid fer' it in full, Ah'm bettin'."

>Yeah, I did. Cost a bit too, but-

"It's all yer' fault."

>...What?

She finally looked up to him, eyes narrowed just a bit.

>Ya' wanna know why she ran right ta' you fer' that? Cause everythin' on that list? Yer' fault. Yer' a dang enabler, Shiny. Ya' keep enablin' her ta' act like that, and she ain't never gonna change. Cause ya' know what? She don't have to. Anytime Ah' tell her the truth, she'll jus' run off ta' ya' and you'll take care of it. That list cost a lot? Ah' don't care. It was yer' fault anyway. Ah' ain't apologizin', and iffin she wants more stupid crap or tryin' ta' slip some dumb law in front'a mah face, tell her just ta' go ta' you first, you'll handle it."

Finished, she looked back down at her paperwork, and resumed scribbling.

He sat there in silence for a bit. Did it hurt? Yeah, little bit. Was he offended? Sure, no question there.

Was any of that what he was thinking about, right now?

Not even close.

>...You have no idea what was on that scroll, do you?

"Nope, and Ah' don't care. Go enjoy yer' giant tub o' jello or whatever the cowspit she wasted yer' money on."

>I think you should ask her.

"Ah' ain't gonna. Ya' said ya' handled it, ya' handled it."

>I really think you should.

"Don't care."

Defeated, he sighed, and turned to leave.

>Yep. Need to make another stop.

"What?"

But he did not answer her, already out the door before she could react.

"...Huh."

>OFF! OFF OFF OFF!

'INSPECTION!'

>I WILL BUBBLEBLAST YOU!

'EEP!'

His voice was in 'mission mode', she realized.

Which meant...

"...Ah'm not gonna like this."
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 >Actarius
"JJ"
'Changelings'
~

>Wow, I'm amazed. They didn't set anything on fire.

"That's a little offensive."

>...

"Accurate, but offensive."

>I'm just saying, I'm happy.

"Because they won't steal your stuff anymore?"

>Sure, that too.

"...Okay?"

>No, really, I am glad they get stuff, you know? I feel like you guys got a bum rap.

'HAH! They're just jealous we could totally kick all of their asses!'

>Well, I mean, not ALL of their asses. Lots of good fighters in the guard, you know.

'PFFT! Like who?'

>Well, I mean, I'm no slouch. I can fight pretty decent.

"Oh no."

'OH YEAH!?'

"Acty don't."

>Yeah.

"Uggghhh..."

'WELL THEN, I-, wait, he's in the corner without the stuff, right?'

'Yep.'

'Okay, so, NO LASERS! That would be bad.'

'Agreed.'

>Wait, what-

'CHANGELING BLIIIITZ!'

*Stampede noises*

>HOLY FUCK!

"I will pray for you."

>AHHHHHHH-
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 >Vekir
"Arana"
'Rarity'
~~~

>And that was the third time Vekir escaped the teeth of the Wall-Snapping-Three-Eyed-Slug!

"Wow, Momma would've hated you!"

>Really?

"Yeah, momma hated it when they got away. Once set fire to a whooooole forest just for revenge, and then she got so mad when she saw they were alive she dove right into the forest after them!"

>...Vekir does not know what a 'for rest' thing it, but she knows of the bright hot light maker, and she thinks this is dumb.

"Yeah, momma didn't think that through. She got trapped in the fires, it was awful. But it was really, really funny after that cause then she had ta' call Chitania and she just stomps in and grabs momma by the scruff of her neck and then she's all 'SERIOUSLY!? Why do you... uh, 'bad words' keep setting your 'funny' selves on fire!? Is there some 'favorite' part of this I'm missing? Do you... 'enjoy it a lot'? Does it make you... 'happy'? Why the 'fruit basket' do you 'lovely things' hate your skin or something!? WHAT THE 'Farfignuton' IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

>...Vekir does not think that's what she said.

"Really? That's how I remember it. And I know, I was there, Momma even made sure to use a special mind spell so I'd never forget it!"

'...So she deletes the words, but not the fact she had to be carried out of a burning forest by a giant monster?'

"What was that, miss Rarity?"

>You mumble like the thing under the rock during mating season!

"What thing?"

>Vekir does not know, she is not messing with that. It is creepy.

'Nothing, nothing... just keep giving me more nightmares.'

>As you wish! Vekir also wishes to speak of her melty faced pet!

"Oooo! I had one of those!"

>VEKIR LIKES YOU!

'...Sigh...'
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 >JJ
"Actarius"
'Changelings'
~~~~

>You brought that on yourself, you know.

"Ow..."

>You see? This is why I put 'first aid kits' on the list. You were all like 'Don't you want some more juggle balls?' and I was like 'no, this is what we need'. And here we are.

"Ow..."

>They love hitting things. A lot. Do not test how much they love hitting things because they will pass that test with flying colors every time. Facepunch is how we say hi sometimes.

"Ow..."

>Are you feeling okay?

"...Eh, wasn't that bad."

>...Acty no.

'WHAT DID HE JUST SAY!?'

'YOU HEARD HIM!'

>Nooooo...

'ROUND FOUR MOTHERFUCKERS LETS DO THIS!'

'YEAH!'

'YEAAAAH!'

*Stampede noises*

"..."

>...I'll go get some more slings.

"REGRET! I AM FILLED WITH SO MUCH REGRET!"
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 >42
"18"
~~

When she had received her 'urgent' summons, any who saw her would swear she became a blur. Normally, she would avoid the Empire until she got a better lid on her current... 'minor issues' that she knew Shining Armor would spot with frightening ease because apparently Chrysalis's time with him gave him latent mind-reading powers or something.

Or, at least, that was her best explanation. It was either that or he could smell brainwaves like some mutant blood hound. Either or was a perfectly logical and reasonable deduction, she felt.

But, regardless, threats of Shining Armor's uncanny abilities could not deter her from her task of seeing to her friend and ensuring her safety. With recent events in play, it was more crucial than ever she stayed on top of this.

That said, she still kept the peace of mind not to break down the door.

SLAM!

Minor cracks, at best.

>18! Are you al... right...

This, she realized, was a dumb question.

Her friend, was, in fact, alright. Better than alright, if she felt like underplaying it. In fact, 'alright' felt so painfully insufficient to describe the glowing, practically igniting energy that literally seemed to dance off her in waves, she felt bad her vocabulary just could not match what she could gaze with her own eyes. If she could stand to be in the same room as him for more than a minute, she would have sought the aid of 29 and told him to go crazy. If nothing else, it would have gotten closer.

"Close the dooooor."

She sang, rather than spoke, those words. Wordlessly, the soldier did as commanded, and it was with great horror she realized her friend was inhaling far, far more air than should be necessary.

This was going to hurt.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!"

Called it.

Eventually, the high pitched noise that would have driven Winona to eat her own ears off to put an end to it died down, allowing the Infiltrator to at last unleash a torrent of words. Training as a soldier for her Majesty had ensured that 42 was more than capable of processing a lot of information dolled out very quickly, but even she had to ask politely for her to stop and repeat more than a couple things said.

Sure, that was the reason.

Not that every other word she said was throwing her for all kinds of lops.

But eventually, she dropped it. The end of her story, the final cap to her grand little tale.

"And then she said it was okay!"

Such a shame it wouldn't sink in quite right.

>...I... what?

"She said it was okay! Really! I'm not making it up! She looked him right in the eye and... and she did! I got through to her! I did... I did it..."

Desperate calls within 42's head for her brain to speak up and help her process this went unabated. Surprisingly, the little voice that is ever so happy to chime in literally any other time, regardless of how little she wants it, had grown silent, leaving her with nothing but a blank, empty mind within. With so little backup to process the utter bombshell her best friend had just decided to chuck right into her face, she had to settle for just squeaking out the first thing that came to her mind.

>Are you sure?

Even she, as socially inept as she was, knew this was a profoundly dumb statement to make. To the level of, of course she was sure, if she wasn't sure she wouldn't look like she was ready to explode in a fountain of rainbows.

But, thankfully, 18 indulged her.

"Yes! I asked, Shiny asked, she's just... it's amazing, 42. It's like, like all that stuff was really worth something now. Like, all that toiling with the paperwork repeating day in and day out was all for something more tangible than 'the streets ran better that week', or 'shaved off commute times' or 'we have a marching band now'.

>You have a marching band?

"Our university does!"

>... The Empire has a university?

She playfully rolled her eyes, tossing a wadded up paper right into that helmet.

"Besides the point, punchbug! It... it might really happen now, you know? All those dreams when I was... I mean, okay, I'll never be a Queen who conquers the world with my King by my side with two hundred perfectly behaved kids, but honestly I'm willing to settle for a lifetime of... this, you know? Just this. This feeling... it's plenty."

A torrent of emotions brewed within the fighter, and she did not like that. She was not a feeling sort, not at all. This situation on the whole was not one that she was in any way accustomed to handle.

On the one hoof, she could not be more happy for her friend. A lifetime of dreams and months upon months of work and longing and hoping looked to finally be coming to fruition. At last, she achieved that which she most desired in this world. Happiness, finally, was within her reach.

But a part of her worried for Cadence, and she didn't know why. From the sounds of it, she had seen through 18's eyes, felt the love was pure, and found she as the Princess of such could not stand in its way. A noble, kind gesture if 42 had ever heard it. One that would have in any other case even moved her own hard heart.

But then... it seemed a little too kind and selfless, as degrading as she realized that made the princess sound.

And then there was Shining Armor. How was he reacting to this? How must he feel now? He must be quite torn apart, within.

Still, while she was no where near capable of deducing any of this on her own, she had at the very least the social awareness to save the concerns for another time.

A surprisingly tender hoof was placed over 18's own, and a toothy smile accompanied it.

>I'm happy for you, and I'm glad this is all working out.

A little stilted, even she knew, but it was the best she could manage.

"Thank you. You don't... you don't know what this means to me."

>No... I do.

A curious thought filled her head at that moment.

>Do, uh... do you want to tell Chrysalis, or should I?

She smirked a coy, winning little smirk in response.

"I think we should leave that to Shiny, actually."

>Uh... huh... Well, uh...

Awkwardly, she shifted away, already pointed towards the door.

>Well, thank you for telling me so quickly, and I wish I could stay longer, but I was in the middle of important business when you called, and need to return to it as soon as I can. I'll be back the instant it's done so we can talk some more.

"Oof, I understand that. Sorry to drag you away."

>No no, never an issue, especially not for something like this. I'll be back tonight.

"See you then! I'll have something out for a little 'celebration'!"

>Not too hard, I hope. I do have a job to do.

"..."

That smirk was back.

>Ah, well, all the same I must be off.

"...Hey, 42?"

The words were soft, much more caring.

"You know, about this recent development, I'm sure you-"

>Congratulations again, 18.

The quickly spoken, almost forceful, words cut her off. The changeling at the desk sighed, shaking her head a little wearily.

"I wish you'd just admit-"

Not even another word got out before the door closed, and the soldier had left.

"...Not like I was offering to share. Not like I WANT to share... kind of bothers me thinking about it, actually. In fact, it really-"

She suddenly froze, eyes going wide.

"Am I getting possessive now? Is that... oh, wow, even I know how hypocritical this is. Wow, okay, it's bothering me and I can't stop it. I feel bad. Make it stop... nope!"

She broke into a smile, returning to tearing apart the paperwork before her with a forceful fervor.

"Not getting me down. This is 18's time! And she is going to make it amazing!"

Humming happily, she got right back to work, not a care in the world.

Outside, the soldier resumed quickly heading towards the portal. She had lied when she said she had been pulled away from something important.

She told no lies when she said she needed to get to it, now.

There was someone she needed to see...
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 >SB
"AB"
'SL'
~~

>Can you run this by me again?

"Look, it's real simple. Diamond Tiara got herself a whole lotta fame and fortune and all that from bein' on the A-team, right?"

'Think the fortune thing came from just... her dad, but go on.'

"But now she ain't no more."

>Still following.

"Which means that right now, A-team ain't got no explosive fella's, right?"

'Riiight?'

"So... Cutie Mark Crusader Demolition Experts!"

>...

'So uh, explain the box?'

"It's a bomb!"

'A-and... and the numbers on the top...'

"It's goin' yeah!"

>...meep...

'W-WHY!?'

"Well, duh, we gotta learn how ta' disarm bombs first a'fore we start usin' 'em! Otherwise we might get hurt, ya' know? But how do ya' learn ta' put out a fire? Ya' get one goin' in a safe spot and put it out!"

'Oh, phew. So that's, like, a dummy bomb or something?'

"What? No. Do ya' use dummy fires? No! So it's gotta be a real bomb!"

>...Applebloom, no.

"Now... who wants ta' take the first stab at it? Ah' got the knife right here!"

>...
'...'

"...Well?"

'We're gonna die.'
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 ~~~~

Alone, in her little room hidden from the world, the once unstoppble ball of energy that was the editor of the Hive Gazette looked at that tiny little, worn out, beat down barely functioning typewriter. It haunted her, telling her to get writing, but at the same time she just did not know what to put into words.

Still, she knew she had to.

This might be the end, she knew. For her paper, for her job, for...

Everything.

But she knew she had to do it. Either she takes this one last dive, or she does not deserve the trust of her readers at all. They granted her their gaze, on the promise she would bring them the truth. Well, it was time to uphold her end of the bargain, and what that might cost her was irrelevant. This was her life, or her life wasn't worth keeping anyway.

Wearily, she reached out, and the typewriter began to click.

~To the readers of the Hive Gazette.~
~I come to you all with a confession, one I do not know if you will forgive me for. This, I fear, may be my last issue, it may be the last time you ever see this paper, and I'll leave it to you to decide if that is a good thing or not by the end of this.~

~For, I must confess, I lied to you all. Not a direct lie, nothing as straightforward as a simple misleading article or forged phrase or event, nothing like that. No, my lie to you was far worse than that. My lie was a lie of omission. I did not tell you a lie, I lied by keeping it hidden to my chest. Information you, as my readers, deserved to see, deserved to know, information I was wrong to hold away from you.~

~My reasons are many, I admit. Somewhat uncertainty at the scope of my discovery, somewhat unsure as to the full details of what transpired, but mostly, it was fear. I feared a great many things when I discovered this, and I let it be hidden away because of it.~

*Page 1*

~This picture beside this article is grainy, blurry, slightly out of focus and more than a little muddied, so I will understand if you are unsure what you see, so let me clarify it, and know that every word I tell you at this moment is the truth. As honest as I can be.~

~This is a picture taken of a recording detailing the day Partyland almost fell from the sky. More specifically, it is a picture of security footage from the bottom of that place as it fell from the sky. I realize it may be hard to believe what you are seeing, so I will confirm it for you. Yes. That is Chitania, the giant changeling who stomped cities, destroyed Canterlot, and even now remains at large. She is what is known to the changelings as "The Titan".~

~And yes, you are not seeing this wrong. She is holding it in the air, preventing what would have spelled death for those standing atop it.~

~I will confess to you all another thing. I am unsure how many know this, not that I've hidden it, but I myself am a changeling. My hive is that of Queen Chrysalis herself. This, I confess, is why you are only now seeing this stunning development.~

~Because my readers, I love my Queen. I love that she took me in when she did not have to, has watched out for me, allowed me to travel the world and made sure I still live, even after my craziest of adventures. Before today, I knew I only had to ask to be recharged in my love stores, and if I needed a place to sleep my hive would forever welcome me. Even when I disobeyed and went after Chitania, I was forgiven. This is my family, and she means so much to me.~

~So much to me, that when I saw this footage, I was afraid. I was afraid it was a trap, meant to lure her away so she could be hurt again. Like you, I'm sure, this footage is baffling to me, confusing in its nature. I do not know why she saved those on Partyland, and it makes as little sense to me as you. So I let it consume me, the fear of what it might mean~

~But I was wrong.~

*Page 2 *

~You, not I, should decide what this means to the world. It is my job to find the truth and tell it like it is, and let you, the reader, decide what that means. I hid this away because it might hurt someone I care about, but I hurt her by doing this just as much. I realize now it would appear I did not trust her not to handle it, that I had to protect her from something. And, I realize, I did the same to all of you. This information is confusing, unsettling and nothing like what you would expect. There are no answers as to why that I can give you, and you must decide for it yourselves what this means and what to do with it. I was wrong. You are intelligent, amazing readers who just wants to be treated like you can handle hard truths, we all do. Before, I was all too happy to give it to you, but when it struck me personally I let hypocrisy grow. I was wrong, a hypocrite, a liar. I was a liar not to speak of this, and I am sorry.~

~I do not know if this is the last time you will read this, because I do not know if I deserve to bring you the truth anymore. Your trust meant everything to me, and I betrayed it by hiding this from you. A lie of omission is worse than a lie told straight. At least with the latter, I would have said it to your face.~

~But no more.~

~I do not know if this is the last time I will speak to you, but I do know it's the last time I will ever lie to you, regardless. Never again will I omit or hide, never again will I mislead, never again. I love this world, I want to tell you about every wonderful thing in it.~

~I want to tell you about the gryphon festivals where they set the whole sky on fire. I want to tell you about the buffalo's races they hold every year. I want to tell you that some dragons love to paint, just to wash it all away so none can see. That changelings love to punch each other in the face just to pass the time. That ponies love to sing, and they're pretty darn good at it too. I want to tell you it all.~

*Page 3*

~But I want to tell you that Manehatten has a sewage problem they've been neglecting for decades too. That Trostington turns away applicants if they're not 'pure'. That the safety precautions at the Wonderbolt Academy are, to be blunt, bad. I want to tell you these truths so you can see it for what it is, and know that while there is always something amazing right around the corner, there is also something wrong around another.~

~But I want you to know this so we can fix it, together. So you can see the problem and change it for the better, and make this great big wide world of magic even more magical, even more wonderful. You can do it, I know you can, you just need someone to tell you where it is, and I want to be that someone.~

~Thank you to all of my readers for sticking with me through it all so long. If this is our last time together, then I want you to know every word was magical, and I could not be more happy with my life that it came this far. My one regret, if this is the end, that it had to be on terms so foul. I'm sorry, I can never say that enough.~

~I'm sorry.~

~To the readers of the Hive Gazette, I thank you. If this is the end, it was an end worth living.~

~But if not...~

~If I return, I promise you, with every inch of my heart, I will tell it.~

~From now on and forever more, the Hive Gazette will tell it like it is.~

~Not how they want it to be.~

With one final clack, the typewriter stopped.

And with one final tear that streamed from her face, she handed the last page to her ever trusty assistance, and she nodded.

This, she knew, was the end, in some way no matter what.

And yet...

"Print it."

It felt like a beginning.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC
>AB
"AJ"
~~~

>Hey, sis! Spike let me in the gun club! Ah'm gonna use a rail gun!

"..."

>...AJ?

*BLAM!*

>HOLY APPLE BUCKING FUCK HER HEAD IS GONE! IT'S JUST GONE!... NOBODY IS GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Days later, AJ having her head regenerated

"You are grounded..."

"Fer the rest of mah life."

>Isn't that...

"Oh yes"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC
>Big Mac
"AJ"
~~~

>Hay sis! Spahk said Ah could join tha gun club! He even made me this nifty jetpack!

He flies around the room crashing into objects

>Eeeeeeeyup!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC
>Granny Smith
"AJ"
'???'
~~~

>Well wouldja lookit that, young whippersnapper? That there dragon friend of yers let me join the gun club! Even made a fancy pair of nunchucks, he did.

"Granny, Ah don't think this is a goo-"

BONK

>NOW DIDN'TCHA LERN BETTER THAN TA TALK TO YER ELDERS LIKE THAT?! I'm still as spry as a snake in spring, mm'hmm!

Outside the room, Spike yells

'I'M NOT GONNA STOP UNTIL YOU LET DIAMOND TIARA BACK ON THE A TEAM!'
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 NC
>Spike
"AJ"
'???'
~~

>YOU MONSTER!

"What? 42, 77 and PJ already gave their okay, Ah' just asked."

>THIS IS CRUEL!

'Hey, Lizardo? Is being sexy a weapon? Because if so, I don't want you to feel any more inadequate than you already are, I'm sure you're decent. Mostly.

>WHY!?

"That's fer' no more Dragon Snuggles!"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC

>Spike
"Applejack"
-???-

~~~

>Oh, alright, that's how we're gonna play it?

"Looks like, sugarcube."

>You're not gonna like this AJ. I'm giving you one last chance!

"Ya'll already tried mah family, ya're outta tricks!"

>I warned you!

----

-Wowee, this thing sprays out acid foam? I'm just like momma!-

Arana runs around the office, drenching Applejack's possessions in burning acidic foam

-WHEEEEE! Lookit me mom! Just like you always wanted!-

Applejack stands there, dumbfounded.

>C'mon Arana! Let's go fight some crime! Real nasty criminals with guns and everything! I can't see that going wrong at ALL!

-HAHAHAHAH THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!-

Arana melts a hole in the office wall, she and Spike run through the hole, eager to fight crime.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Spike
"AJ"
'??'
~~

>While I will not admit defeat, I will admit, this one was impressive. Most impressive.

"...Why are ya'll wearin' a barrel?"

>I think we both know why.

'ALL THE SHINY BOOM STICKS BELONG TO VEKIR!'

>The scales off my skin, AJ. Even the scales...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC
>Spike
"AJ"
'??'

~~~

>I didn't want to do this, I really didn't...

"Sug? You ok? A-Ah'm scared!"

The wall explodes inwards, Gwen standing there in a suit power armor made by Twilight, flaming sword clutched in her armored talons

'WHO WANTS SOME?'
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