“I was gonna say ‘In all of Equestria’, but that might be gilding the lily.”
"我本来想说'整个小马国'，但那可能有点画蛇添足。"
“Psychoshy, Security,” Rampage said as she gestured from the hovering yellow pegasus to me and then back again. “Security, Psychoshy. If you’re going to kill each other, do it in the arena where we can all watch the show.” She stepped between me and the pegasus, dragging her hoofclaws over the concrete. “Understand?” she asked in a lower, more menacing tone.
"心理害羞，安全,"狂暴边说边从盘旋的黄色天马身上指了指我，然后又回来了。"安全，精神病。如果你们要互相残杀，那就在我们都能看到表演的竞技场上做吧。"她走到我和飞马之间，把蹄爪拖过水泥地。"明白吗?"她用一种更低调、更有威胁性的语气问道。
“Sure. She’s not worth my time anyway,” the mare said as she flicked her mane dismissively. “Her blue stallion is much more interesting! See you later, Wahhhpage.” With a snotty little giggle, she flew off through the store.
"当然。她不值得我浪费时间,"母马轻蔑地甩了甩鬃毛说。"她的蓝色种马更有趣！再见，瓦哈佩奇。"她咯咯地流着鼻涕，飞快地穿过商店。
“Wow. I can’t think of a single pony who’s gone from ‘complete stranger’ to ‘pony I need to kick the crap out of’ faster than her,” I groaned as I lifted myself to my hooves. Then I shuddered; my heart was beating… wrong. It hurt like it never had before, and its usual steady, paired beats had been replaced by what felt like some complicated, energetic dance. “I… I just need a second here…” I groaned again as I lowered myself back to the ground, rolled over onto my back, and listened to the irregular thudding in my ears.
"哇。我想不出有哪一匹小马从'完全陌生'变成'我需要把它踢得屁滚尿流'的速度比她还快,"当我抬起我的蹄子时，我呻吟道。然后我颤抖起来;我的心脏在跳动......错了。它以前从未有过的疼痛，它平常稳定的配对节拍已经被一些复杂的、充满活力的舞蹈所取代。"我.....。.我只是需要一点时间......"我又呻吟了一声，把自己放回到地上，翻了个身，听着耳朵里不规则的砰砰声。
“Why is it I keep meeting you when you’re half dead?” Rampage asked, rolling her eyes. She grabbed the collar of my barding in her teeth and started dragging me back to Bonesaw. Hammermare was sitting on a couch, her forelegs twisting as the bent limbs were tugged back into place by his healing potions and Hydra. She didn’t look all that pissed at me. Quite the contrary, actually.
"你都快死了，我为什么还要见你?"狂暴转动着眼珠问道。她用牙齿咬住我的项圈，开始把我拖回波尼索。Hammermare坐在沙发上，弯曲的四肢被他的治疗药剂和九头蛇拖回原处，她的前腿扭曲着。她看起来并不生我的气。事实上，恰恰相反。
“Hey, Mallet,” Rampage said around my collar.
"嘿，马利特,"狂暴围着我的衣领说。
“Rampage,” she said respectfully, flushing a little.
"暴怒,"她恭敬地说，脸红了一下。
“You owe me some caps,” Bonesaw said sourly as Rampage dumped me on the operating table.
"你欠我一些帽子,"邦尼索不高兴地说，因为暴怒把我扔在了手术台上。
My striped friend gave him a level look, and he muttered under his breath as his horn glowed and he started trying to fix the damage the chems and taint had been doing to me. “Don’t worry, you old goat. You’ll get paid.” The old stallion’s grumbling died down a bit, though he still didn’t look happy. Rampage popped a Mint-al into her mouth, chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then spoke. “So… what happened?”
我那有条纹的朋友平静地看了他一眼，他低声咕哝着，他的喇叭在发光，他开始试图修复药品和污点对我造成的损害。"别担心，你这个老色鬼。你会得到报酬的。"那匹老种马的抱怨声稍微平息了一些，尽管它看起来还是不高兴。狂暴把一只薄荷铝放进她的嘴里，若有所思地咀嚼了一会儿，然后开口说话。"那么......发生了什么事?"
“Long story short, went to go kill myself, ran into somepony who talked some sense into me, walked back here,” I said with a half smile.
"长话短说，我去自杀，遇到了一个跟我讲道理的小马，就走回来了。"我半笑半笑地说。
“And we couldn’t have talked some sense into you? Glory was hysterical when we told her.” I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. She sighed. “You’re an idiot, Blackjack. Don’t do that to your friends. Okay?”
""我们就不能劝劝你吗？当我们告诉她的时候，晨辉简直歇斯底里。"我闭上眼睛，咬紧牙关。她叹了口气。"你是个白痴，黑杰克。不要这样对待你的朋友。好吗?"
“Yeah. I won’t. I think I worked all that out of me.” She smiled, looking relieved. I looked around. “Where are Glory and the others?”
"是的。我不会的。我想这些都是我自己想出来的。"她微笑着，看上去如释重负。我环顾四周。"晨辉和其他人在哪里?"
“Glory’s on the roof with Lacunae. Scotch and P-21 are in the office. I made damn sure that the ponies watching them aren’t stupid.” She looked over a few aisles to where Psychoshy was fluttering over a small crowd that seemed quite excited to meet the pretty pegasus psychopath. “Psychoshy wanted them taken as hostages. Since that’d get a lot of ponies killed, I told her you’d be fine coming with us to the Arena to meet Big Daddy Reaper.”
"晨辉在屋顶上和空隙在一起。苏格兰威士忌和P-21在办公室。我非常肯定那些看着它们的小马不是愚蠢的。"她朝几个过道望去，发现精神病害羞正在一小群人面前颤抖，他们似乎很兴奋要见到这位漂亮的精神病患者。"心理害羞想把他们当作人质。因为那样会杀死很多小马，我告诉她你可以和我们一起去竞技场见死神老爹。"
My heartbeat was stabilizing even as the ache in my chest grew. That Hydra had been a bad idea. Knit ribs didn’t help when the rest of me felt like it was falling apart. Rampage arched a brow. “Are you fine with coming with us? Because I really don’t want to call Cuffs over here.”
尽管胸口的疼痛加剧，我的心跳还是稳定了下来。海德拉不是个好主意。当我身体的其他部分感觉要散架的时候，编织的排骨并没有帮上忙。横冲直撞的人皱起了眉头。"你愿意和我们一起去吗？因为我真的不想叫袖口过来。"
To be honest, this was so far out of left field that I didn’t know how exactly I felt about it. “Some explanation would help. What’s going on?”
说实话，这太离谱了，我都不知道自己到底是怎么想的。"一些解释会有帮助。怎么回事?"
Rampage sighed. “You remember when you killed Gorgon? Well, he was one of us. Gorgon the Stonegaze. Not really all that popular. One of Sanguine’s ponies. He left three months ago to help with production at Brimstone’s Fall. Then, two weeks ago, we find out from DJ Pon3 that the mine’s been liberated. A few questions later and we found out it was liberated by a mare who killed Gorgon
狂暴叹了口气。"你还记得你杀死戈耳工的时候吗？他是我们中的一员。石头目光中的蛇发女怪。并不是那么受欢迎。桑吉尼的一匹小马。他三个月前离开了，去Brimstone'sFall帮忙生产。然后，两周前，我们从DJPon3那里得知矿井被解放了。几个问题之后，我们发现它被一匹杀死戈耳贡的母马解放了
all by herself. So Big Daddy sent me to find you.”
独自一人。所以老爹派我来找你。"
“Why me? I’m not interested in joining the Reapers.”
"为什么是我？我对加入收割者不感兴趣。"
“Yeah. I figured as much, but you have to understand that the Reapers survive by being the biggest, baddest gang in the Hoof. If there’s a pony strong enough to kill our own, we want them as a Reaper. If they won’t join, then we come down on them hard. We just can’t let powerful ponies get away to start rival operations.” The striped pony rubbed her nose. “I figured out pretty quickly, though, that you weren’t all that big a threat of becoming a rival. If you’d stayed in Flank, maybe you might have been, in time. But that didn’t work out.”
"是的。我也这么想，但是你必须明白，收割者之所以能存活下来，是因为他们是霍夫地区最大、最凶残的帮派。如果有一匹强壮到足以杀死我们自己的小马，我们希望它是一匹收割者。如果他们不加入，我们就狠狠地打击他们。我们只是不能让强大的小马跑掉，开始竞争对手的业务。"有条纹的矮种马摩擦着她的鼻子。"不过，我很快就发现，你并不构成成为竞争对手的巨大威胁。如果你留在弗兰克，也许你早就死了。但最终没有成功。"
I groaned and closed my eyes. “I still don’t follow. You’re not here to kill me, so...”
我呻吟着，闭上了眼睛。"我还是不明白。你不是来杀我的，所以......"
Rampage sighed again, this time in annoyance. “Great. Well, it’s about history, and I’m not much of a history teacher. You can ask Big Daddy to explain it.”
狂暴又叹息了一声，这次是在烦恼中。"太好了。是关于历史的，我不是一个很好的历史老师。你可以让老爹解释一下。"
“Come on. At least give me the abbreviated version?” I asked, then winced as something inside me squirmed. Oh, I really hoped that it was supposed to do that.
"来吧。至少给我一个简短的版本吧?"我问道，然后有什么东西在我体内蠕动，我皱起了眉头。哦，我真的希望它能做到这一点。
Rampage rolled her eyes. “A while back, there was a group of six ponies that tried to clean up Hoofington. They went from one end of the city to the other, and, believe it or not, Hoofington was even worse back then. Big Daddy was one of them: the biggest, toughest, meanest pony ever to wander the Wasteland... if you listen to his version.”
狂暴转动着她的眼睛。"不久前，有一群六匹小马试图清理胡芬顿。他们从城市的一头跑到另一头，信不信由你，胡芬顿那时更糟糕。大爹就是其中之一:在荒原上游荡的最大、最强壮、最卑鄙的小马......如果你听他的版本的话。"
I winced as I felt… something… inside me move in response to Bonesaw’s magic. “You’re done,” he said as he nudged me off the table. “Next!”
我皱了皱眉，因为我觉得......有什么东西......在我体内移动，作为对Bonesaw魔法的回应。"你完蛋了,"他边说边把我从桌子上推下去。"下一个!"
I slipped off, feeling… ‘better’ wasn’t quite accurate. ‘Intact’ worked. My insides felt like a bowl of giant leeches. I did not want to imagine what they looked like. Maybe they were like rotten loops of guts with… ugh, stupid brain. “What happened to them?”
我滑了下去，感觉......'好多了'并不是很准确。"完整"起作用了。我的内心就像一碗巨大的水蛭。我不想去想象它们的样子。也许他们就像腐烂的肠子，还有...呃，愚蠢的大脑。"他们怎么了?"
“They split up. Not really sure why,” Rampage said, giving me a significant look. Probably because one of them ran off to do something foolish like killing themselves. “After that, Awesome crowned himself King Awesome of Hoofington, Crunchy Carrots went back to Manehattan and came back with a
"他们分手了。我也不知道为什么。"。可能是因为他们中的一个跑去做傻事了，比如自杀。"在那之后，Awesome给自己加冕为Hoofington之王，嘎吱嘎吱的胡萝卜回到Manehattan，带回了一个
whole slew of Steel Rangers, Keeper went his own way to set up the trade routes around the city, and the professor established the Eggheads over at the university.” She rubbed her chin. “There was a sixth, but I dunno what happened to her.”
一大群钢铁骑兵，守护者用他自己的方式建立了城市周围的贸易路线，教授在大学里建立了知识分子。"她揉揉下巴。"还有第六个，但我不知道她怎么了。"
Six friends? Why’d that make my mane all twitchy? Right; that didn’t matter now. I’d stalled long enough. Unless the Reapers or somepony were going to ambush me… I had to do this. “Where’s Glory again?” I said as I stood… well, lurched to my hooves. Goddesses, I was tired. It’d been a hell of a night. Rampage walked towards a metal staircase that led up to the roof and nodded her head at it.
六个朋友？为什么我的鬃毛会颤抖？是的，现在不重要了。我已经拖得够久了。除非收割者或者小马要伏击我...我必须这么做。"晨辉又在哪里?"我站在那里说......好吧，蹒跚着走向我的蹄子。女神啊，我累了。这是一个糟糕的夜晚。狂暴走向通向屋顶的金属楼梯，对着楼梯点了点头。
“Word of advice: she still loves you,” Rampage said softly, then added, “Oh, and word of warning: if Psychoshy or anypony else finds out I’ve been giving relationship advice, I’ll have to kick a lot of ass. Including yours.”
"给你个忠告:她还是爱你的,"雷格温柔地说，然后又补充道,"哦，还有个忠告:如果害羞的精神病或者其他小马发现我一直在给人家提建议，我会狠狠教训他们一顿。"。包括你的。"
“Thanks.” I paused, fighting the urge to yawn as I looked at her. “You’re not mad at me?”
"谢谢。"我停顿了一下，强忍着打哈欠的冲动看着她。"你不生我的气吗?"
She smiled and shook her head. “I know what it’s like to find life unbearable. I’m just glad you found a way to bear it.” She patted my shoulder. “But if you ever do that to your friends again, I’ll consider it a form of suicide and squeeze you in half.” She gave a grin and a wink. “So just keep that in mind next time you plan on leaving a note behind.”
她微笑着摇了摇头。"我知道生活无法忍受是什么滋味。我只是很高兴你找到了承受这一切的方法。"她拍了拍我的肩膀。"但是如果你再这样对待你的朋友，我会认为这是一种自杀，把你压成两半。"她咧嘴一笑，眨了眨眼睛。"所以，下次你打算留下便条时，请记住这一点。"
“Right,” I said with a little nod before making my way up the stairs. Funny, but after riding a dragon and a pegasus, the drop to the floor of Megamart… was still enough to make my insides squirm. Wasn’t I supposed to eventually get used to things like this? I clambered through the hatch to the roof and the rain. A number of metal crates had been converted into shelters for the vendors who worked below.
"是的,"我点了点头，然后走上楼梯。有趣的是，在骑过一条龙和一匹飞马之后，掉到超级艺术博物馆的地板上......还是让我的内心感到不安。难道我不应该最终习惯这样的事情吗？我艰难地爬过舱口，来到屋顶和雨中。一些金属板条箱已改造成供应商在下面工作的掩蔽所。
Lacunae and Glory were with two more Reapers. I couldn’t say they were the best guards, as both mares were locked in a hoofwrestling contest, but at least neither Glory nor Lacunae seemed to be threatened by the two. Glory lay curled up as tightly as when I’d seen her trapped in that stove. What an unbearable shit I am. I didn’t deserve her, and she didn’t deserve this.
空隙和晨辉带着另外两个收割者。我不能说他们是最好的守卫，因为两匹母马都被锁在马蹄摔跤比赛中，但至少两匹母马似乎都没有威胁到晨辉和拉库纳。晨辉紧紧地蜷缩在那里，就像我看见她被困在那个炉子里一样。我真是一坨难以忍受的屎。我配不上她，她也配不上我。
I approached quietly, the two guards barely acknowledging my presence as I walked slowly towards the little gray pegasus. Lacunae’s dark purple eyes
我静静地走近，当我慢慢走向那匹灰色的小飞马时，那两个守卫几乎没有注意到我的存在。深紫色的眼睛
followed me though the Hoofington drizzle, her magic deflecting the cold spray from both of them. “You broke her heart, Blackjack,” was all she whispered in my head as I sat down beside Glory. I reached out and ran my hoof gently along that splendid amethyst mane and down to the graceful curves of her wings.
跟着我穿过胡芬顿的毛毛细雨，她的魔法把冷水从他们两个身上转移开。"你伤了她的心，黑杰克,"当我坐在晨辉身边时，她在我脑海中低语。我伸出手，用我的蹄子轻轻地沿着那华丽的紫水晶般的鬃毛走下去，直到它那优美的翅膀曲线。
“Yeah,” I murmured softly. “‘Cause I’m an idiot.” Looking back, I couldn’t believe what I’d nearly done. To myself, my friends… her.
"是的,"我轻声地说。"因为我是个白痴。"回想起来，我简直不敢相信自己差点做了什么。对我自己，对我的朋友，对她。
She stirred and opened one bloodshot, puffy lavender eye. “Blackjack?” she whispered, looking at me. Fear and hope mixed in one terrible note.
她动了动身子，打开了一只充血的、浮肿的淡紫色眼睛。"黑杰克?"她低声说，看着我。恐惧和希望混杂在一个可怕的音符中。
I took a slow breath. This wasn’t going to be pretty. “I’m sorry.”
我慢慢地吸了一口气。这可不妙。"对不起。"
“Sorry?” she whispered as she slowly rose. Clearly, I was not the only pony who had been up all night. “Sorry?” Her body trembled and her lip quivered, then she hung her head. Purple mane hid her face. “You… I… you come back and…” She lifted her head again and glared at me. “Blackjack, you… you…” I sighed as she flapped her wings hard enough to lift herself off her hooves and then brought both of her forelegs down on my head with a cry of “Idiot!”
"对不起?"她慢慢站起来，低声说道。显然，我不是唯一一个彻夜未眠的小马。"对不起?"她的身体颤抖着，嘴唇颤抖着，然后她低下了头。紫色的鬃毛遮住了她的脸。"你......我.....。.你回来，然后......"她又抬起头，瞪着我。"黑杰克，你......你......"我叹了口气，她用力拍打着翅膀，挣脱了蹄子，然后把两条前腿放在我的头上，喊了一声"白痴!"
Lacunae rose, and the two guards broke off their match to watch the show. The alicorn in the lacy funeral dress looked coldly down at both of them. “Um… we’re supposed to… watch?” Then they flinched and trotted off for the stairs, Lacunae accompanying them, as Glory pummeled every inch of my body she could reach.
空隙站了起来，两个守卫中断了比赛，观看表演。那个穿着带花边的葬礼服装的阿里康冷冷地低头看着他们两个。"嗯......我们应该......看?"然后他们畏缩了一下，小跑着走向楼梯，有个空隙陪伴着他们，晨辉用力地捶打着她能够到的我的每一寸身体。
“You… you fiend! You monster! You creep! You filly seducer! You… you… bad pony!” Glory said as she thumped me over and over again. The magic had left with the alicorn, and the Hoofington drizzle poured down on both of us. “How could you do that to us? How! I’ll… Ohhhh! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!” she chanted over and over again as she kicked at me. I put up only a halfhearted defense.
"你...你这个魔鬼！你这个怪物！你这个讨厌鬼！你这个荡妇！你......你......坏小马!"晨辉一边说，一边一遍又一遍地用力打我。魔法在阿里克那里消失了，胡芬顿的毛毛雨倾泻在我们两个身上。"你怎么能这样对我们？怎么会！我会...哦！白痴！白痴！白痴!"她一边踢我，一边反复吟诵。我只做了半心半意的辩护。
“Ow! Glory! Let me explain!” I begged as she gave me a particularly good clop upside my head.
"噢！晨辉！让我解释一下!"当她在我头上敲了一下特别好的一下时，我恳求道。
“I don’t want your explanations! I’m going to beat every last little drop of stupid out of you so you never ever do that again!” she cried and sobbed. “I… we met with P-21… and he was crying… crying! And you! You were gone, and I was… I had nothing left, Blackjack. No family. No home! No Blackjack! Nothing! Do you understand? Nothing!”
"我不需要你的解释！我要把你打得屁滚尿流，这样你就再也不会这么做了!"她边哭边抽泣。"我.....。.我们见到了P-21...他哭了...哭了！还有你！你走了我...我一无所有Blackjack。没有家人。没有家！不玩黑杰克！没什么！你明白吗？什么都没有!"
“I… didn’t…” I said weakly, not having the slightest clue what to say. What could I say?
"我.....。.没有......"我虚弱地说，一点也不知道该说什么。我能说什么呢？
Then she collapsed atop me, sobbing as she held me tight in her hooves. “I thought I’d lost you… I thought you were dead…” she whispered as she shook. I held her, marveling at the softness of her wings, the silkiness of her mane. She was a gem in the Wasteland.
然后她瘫倒在我身上，用她的蹄子紧紧地抱着我，抽泣着。"我以为我失去你了......我以为你死了......"她颤抖着小声说。我抱着她，惊叹于她翅膀的柔软和鬃毛的柔顺。她是荒原上的一颗宝石。
“You did lose me. I lost me,” I said softly as I nuzzled her ear. “I couldn’t handle it. If Lacunae hadn’t covered for me, I think I would have lost my mind completely.” She sniffled as she looked up at me with her hurting purple eyes; my magic brushed her mane from them. “I killed my stable… I know I had to… I know it wasn’t my fault… but I was the one who pushed the button that gassed foals… my friends… my home. I couldn’t handle it… it killed me. But Lacunae took me away before I died.”
"你确实失去了我。我迷路了,"我轻轻地说着，用鼻子蹭了蹭她的耳朵。"我受不了了。如果没有空隙的掩护，我想我会完全失去理智。"她用伤心的紫色眼睛看着我，抽泣着，我的魔力把她的鬃毛从眼睛上拂去。"我杀了我的马厩......我知道我必须......我知道这不是我的错......但是是我按下了那个用毒气杀死小马驹的按钮......我的朋友......我的家。我受不了了...我快受不了了。但是空隙在我死之前把我带走了。"
“Why didn’t you just tell me? Talk to me?” she asked softly. “I would have helped you. We all would have.”
"你为什么不直接告诉我？跟我谈谈?"她轻声问道。"我会帮你的。我们都会的。"
“I didn’t want help. I was stupid and cowardly. I wanted to escape. I can still smell the gas. Right now, holding you, I can smell that chlorine. I can hear Midnight calling me a murderer.” I closed my eyes, a part of me trapped in 99 forever. “I couldn’t live with it. I couldn’t handle it. I ran to either find something to keep me going... or… or end it.”
"我不需要帮助。我很愚蠢也很懦弱。我想逃跑。我还能闻到煤气味。现在，抱着你，我能闻到氯气的味道。我能听到午夜在叫我杀人犯。"我闭上眼睛，我的一部分永远被困在99年。"我无法忍受。我受不了了。我跑过去，要么找到让我继续下去的东西，要么......要么结束这一切。"
Glory trembled as she looked away. “And… I wasn’t enough.”
当她把目光移开时，晨辉颤抖起来。"而且......我还不够。"
“No.” I turned her face back towards mine as I repeated softly, “No. Glory, you weren’t ‘not enough’. You were too much. Too much good and wonderful that I didn’t deserve. That I still don’t deserve,” I said as I closed my eyes. “I wanted… needed… to punish myself. I couldn’t do that with you with me. I was falling apart and dead inside.” I sighed as I stroked her wet mane. “I should have turned to my friends. Not away from them…”
"没有。"我把她的脸转向我的脸，轻轻地重复道:"不。晨辉，你还不够。你太过分了。太多我不配拥有的美好和美好。我还是不配,"我闭上眼睛说。"我想......需要......惩罚自己。和你在一起我做不到。我崩溃了，内心已经死了。"我抚摸着她湿漉漉的鬃毛，叹了口气。"我应该向我的朋友求助的。而不是远离他们......"
She sniffed as she looked at me, then she finally gave me a small smile. “Idiot…” she said softly, reaching up and tapping the side of my head. “I… don’t know if we can be like we were, Blackjack. I just don’t know. I… you make me happy. But you hurt me, too. I’m going to need some time.”
当她看着我的时候，她吸了一口气，然后终于给了我一个微笑。"白痴......"她轻轻地说，伸手拍了拍我的头。"我.....。.不知道我们还能不能像以前那样Blackjack。我只是不知道。我。.你让我快乐。但你也伤害了我。我需要一些时间。"
“Take as long as you need,” I said as she slowly pulled away, looking down at
"需要多久就多久,"我说，她慢慢地离开，低头看着我
me with an expression equal parts affection and wariness. I slowly rose to my hooves, the cool drizzle welcome for once on my battered flesh. “What do you think about these Reapers?”
我的表情既有爱意又有戒心。我慢慢地站起来，我那被压扁了的肉体终于迎来了一次凉爽的细雨。"你觉得这些收割者怎么样?"
“I expected psychopaths,” Glory said, gathering herself and readily accepting the change in subject. We started back towards the hatch downstairs. “But, aside from that unpleasant yellow mare, they seem much more… together. Horribly aggressive and violent, but… considering what we’ve encountered in the Wasteland so far...” She gave a little shake. “Fortunately, Rampage seems pretty well respected by them.”
"我以为是心理变态狂呢,"晨辉说，她收起自己，很乐意接受这个话题的转变。我们返回到楼下的舱口。"但是，除了那匹讨厌的黄色母马，他们似乎更......在一起。可怕的侵略性和暴力，但是......考虑到我们在荒原所遇到的一切......"她有点颤抖。"幸运的是，他们似乎非常尊重狂暴。"
“Eating a minigun and living will do that,” I replied as I pulled open the hatch and started down. “So. To avoid another massive fight, we’re going to go with them and--” But then my hoof slipped on the wet metal and I rolled and banged the last dozen feet or so to the ground. Glory flew down as I lay there groaning.
"吃一把迷你枪，活着就会这样,"我一边回答，一边拉开舱门，开始下沉。"所以。为了避免另一场大规模的战斗，我们要和他们一起去，然后——"然后我的蹄子在湿漉漉的金属上滑了一下，我滚了一下，把最后十几英尺左右的地方撞到了地上。当我躺在那里呻吟时，晨辉飞了下来。
“Gravity… sucks.” Then I glanced at my forehooves and stared at the slick black oil on them. I looked back at the steps.
"地心引力......糟透了。"然后我瞥了一眼我的前蹄，盯着它们上面的黑色油污。我回头看了看台阶。
“Gravity doesn’t suck. You do,” Psychoshy snickered as she walked past us, snapping her tail at me.
"重力并不糟糕。"是的,"精神病害羞从我们身边走过时，窃笑着，向我甩着尾巴。
“Are you kidding me…” I muttered, staring at her as she walked out of sight. “I fight off a swarm of manticores and Enclave and I now have to put up with adolescent jerk ass school pranks!?”
"你在开玩笑吧......"我咕哝着，盯着她看，她走出了我的视线。"我击退了一大群猛男和昂科雷，现在我还得忍受学校里那些混蛋青少年的恶作剧!"
“Or you could… you know… shoot her,” Glory said as she helped me to my feet.
"或者你可以......你知道......开枪打死她,"格洛里边说边扶我站起来。
“Tempting, but, Gun aside, I think I should talk to Big Daddy first before killing Reapers.”
"很诱人，但是，先把枪放一边，我想我应该在杀死死神之前先和老爹谈谈。"
She smirked. “I didn’t say kill. Just shoot her a few times. She pulls a stupid prank? Shoot her. She acts mean? Shoot her. Think of it as a spanking with bullets.” Our eyes met, my lips twitched, and then we were both laughing as we walked to Bottlecap’s office. We might not be lovers anymore, but at least I knew I still had her as a friend.
她得意地笑了。"我没说杀人。开几枪就行了。她搞了个愚蠢的恶作剧？杀了她。她表现得很刻薄？杀了她。把它想象成子弹打屁股。"我们的目光相遇，我的嘴唇抽搐着，然后我们一起笑着走向博特莱卡的办公室。我们可能不再是情人了，但至少我知道她还是我的朋友。
“So…” she said, “tell me about these Enclave you mentioned?”
"那么......"她说,"跟我说说你提到的那些飞地吧?"
That sent my spirits down again. This was going to be tricky.
这又使我的情绪低落了。这将是棘手的。
"Well… I was up in the mountains, and I can't tell you why, or how."
"嗯......我在山上，我不能告诉你为什么，也不能告诉你怎么回事。"
"Blackjack…" Hearing the disappointment in her voice made me want to tell her the whole story right there, but… I'd promised Spike, who was protecting the best hope for Equestria's future, and I really didn't want to get a dragon mad at me.
"黑杰克......"听到她失望的声音，让我想当场告诉她整个故事，但是......我答应了斯派克，她正在保护着小马国未来的最大希望，我真的不想让一条龙生我的气。
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but it's really important and I made a promise," I said with desperate hope.
"我很抱歉，我真的很抱歉，但这真的很重要，我做出了承诺,"我绝望地说。
Then was an eternity of silence as she considered, and then, "Alright. I'll trust you." Be worthy of it this time, she didn't say.
然后是一段永恒的沉默，她想，然后,"好吧。我相信你。"她没有说:这次你要配得上。
"Thank you. So… anyway, I was climbing back down, when these three pegasi..."
"谢谢。所以......不管怎样，我正往下爬，这时这些飞马座的三个人......"
* * *
* * *
“… so then they flew out again, back west,” I finished as we reached the door to the manager’s office. I was dead on my hooves, but I needed to talk to P-21. And then Lacunae... and Scotch… ugh. Suicide would have been easier…
"......所以他们又飞回了西部,"当我们到达经理办公室的门口时，我说完了这句话。我已经筋疲力尽了，但我需要和P-21通话。然后是空隙...和苏格兰威士忌...呃。自杀会更容易..。
I stomped hard on that thought. Never again.
我狠狠地踩在那个念头上。再也不会了。
Glory, for her part, found Twister's paranoia more amusing than ominous. “A touch overdramatic. We’d have just extradited her back to Neighvarro with a slap on the hoof for violating the no-fly zone.” Hm. Glory might still have faith in the treaty, but after Miramare and Lighthooves, I’d stay on the skeptical side of things.
对晨辉来说，她觉得Twister的偏执更有趣，而不是不祥。"有点过于戏剧化了。如果她违反了禁飞区，我们就会马上把她引渡回Neighvarro。"嗯。晨辉可能仍然对条约有信心，但是在米拉马雷和莱索沃斯之后，我仍然对事情持怀疑态度。
I passed by Cuffs, Mallet, and Smokey, the mare who’d wielded the fire axe just half an hour ago. To my surprise, there was no animosity. Mallet asked about a rematch, and Cuffs asked Glory if she needed some quality chain to keep me from getting away. I flushed as Glory looked at me in consideration of her offer.
我经过了袖口，木槌和烟雾，就是半小时前挥舞着消防斧的母马。令我惊讶的是，他们之间并没有敌意。马莱特询问关于重赛，袖口问晨辉，如果她需要一些质量链，以防止我离开。当晨辉考虑到她的提议看着我时，我的脸涨得通红。
Then Smokey looked over at something. “Look out. It’s Psycho,” the red mare muttered, and all of them watched sullenly as Psychoshy slammed her hooves against a nearby merchant’s counter, apparently haggling to get the price to zero.
然后斯莫基看了看什么东西。"小心。是神经病,"红色的母马咕哝着，所有的人都闷闷不乐地看着精神病害羞把她的蹄子猛撞在附近一个商人的柜台上，显然是在讨价还价要把价钱降到零。
“You don’t like her either?” Glory asked in surprise.
"你也不喜欢她?"晨辉惊讶地问道。
Mallet snickered. “Of course not. She’s a complete cunt.”
马莱特窃笑起来。"当然不是。她是个十足的贱人。"
“And one of Sanguine’s suck ups,” added Cuffs. The turquoise mare looked a little nervous.
"还有一个血统的马屁精,"袖口补充说。那匹绿松石色的母马看起来有点紧张。
At my questioning gaze, Mallet sighed. “Most Reapers work up from our gangs. We work to be the best of the best before trying to join the Reapers. Sanguine, though, he finds ponies and gives them powers. Gorgon. Deus. Anypony associated with that ghoul is fucked up. Everypony knows he’s a horned undead leech.” Psychoshy trotted away from the shaking vendor with a ransom of little treasures. “Psychoshy’s that ghoul’s favorite trick pony. We hate her. And she knows it.”
在我质疑的目光下，马莱叹了口气。"大多数收割者都是从我们的帮派开始工作的。在加入收割者之前，我们要做到最好。然而，乐观的是，他找到了小马并赋予它们力量。蛇发女怪。上帝。和那个食尸鬼有关的任何小马都是混蛋。每个小马都知道他是一只长着角的不死水蛭。"神经病小跑着离开颤抖的小贩，手里拿着小宝贝的赎金。"神经病是食尸鬼最喜欢的恶作剧小马。我们讨厌她。她知道这一点。"
Trick pony… if it was anything like what P-21… that had to be like getting fucked by a jerky stick! Okay… there was a mental image I wanted burned from my mind. “And Rampage?” I asked curiously, though honestly I was more interested in banishing the image of… stop it, you stupid brain!
恶作剧的小马...如果它是什么P-21...那一定是像被一个抽筋的棍子操！好吧...有一个想法我想要从我的脑海中烧掉。"那狂暴呢?"我好奇地问道，尽管老实说，我更感兴趣的是摒弃......别说了，你这个笨蛋！
Mallet gave a wary sort of smile. “She’s cool… weird… super weird… but cool.”
Mallet露出谨慎的微笑。"她很酷......奇怪......超级奇怪......但很酷。"
“Anypony who can survive decapitation automatically gets points with us,” Smokey agreed. “Even if she’s… weird.” So surviving decapitation wasn’t the weird point. Welcome to the Wasteland, where the surreal was cool and the psychological weird.
"任何能够幸免斩首的小马都会自动与我们一起获得分数,"斯莫基表示同意。"即使她很...古怪。"所以斩首幸存并不是奇怪的地方。欢迎来到荒原，这里的超现实主义很酷，心理也很怪异。
“Oh, I’m not so bad once you get to know me,” Rampage said softly in just the precise tone to make even the three Reapers’ manes stand on edge, not to mention mine and Glory’s. She put her hooves around Mallet and Smokey’s necks, pulling them into a headlock that had both strong mares struggling. “Now, why don’t you three help me get our wagon ready?”
"哦，一旦你了解了我，我就不那么坏了,"狂暴温柔地说着，语气恰到好处，甚至让三个收割者的鬃毛都站在了边缘，更不用说我和晨辉的了。她用蹄子勒住了Mallet和斯莫基的脖子，把它们锁在一起，两匹强壮的母马都在挣扎。"现在，你们三个为什么不帮我把马车准备好呢?"
“Sure, Rampage. We’re on it,” Cuffs said quickly as the other two gagged for a few seconds more before they were released and ran for the door.
"当然，狂暴。我们在它,"袖口迅速说，作为其他两个窒息了几秒钟之前，他们被释放，并运行的大门。
“Kids today,” Rampage sighed, and shook her head as she trotted after them.
"今天的孩子们,"狂暴叹了口气，摇着头跟在他们后面小跑。
“Are we sure we want to do this?” Glory asked me, watching them go in concern. “I mean, we might be able to sneak away.”
"我们确定要这么做吗?"晨辉问我，看着他们忧心忡忡地离开。"我是说，我们也许可以偷偷溜走。"
“I don’t want to leave Rampage,” I said softly, dropping my gaze. “I snuck out on my friends once. I’m not going to do it again.” I caught Glory’s smile. I might not be the smartest pony, but I could be taught. A little. Slowly.
"我不想离开狂暴,"我低下目光轻声说道。"我有一次偷偷溜出去见我的朋友。我不会再这么做了。"我捕捉到了晨辉的微笑。我可能不是最聪明的小马，但我可以被教导。一点点。慢慢地。
* * *
* * *
The stench of fecal water hit my nostrils like a hammer as I pushed open the door to Bottlecap’s office. A filly inside gave a garbled war cry accompanied by a furious splashing, and I poked my head inside to see Scotch Tape gripping some kind of crankcase in her jaws as her forehooves turned the pedals at a furious rate, making a cable disappearing into the toilet spin and thrash filthy water. Behind her stood P-21, looking a little lost, as he gripped a plunger in his mouth. The yellow merchant mare watched anxiously from behind both.
当我推开伯特卡普办公室的门时，排泄物的恶臭像锤子一样击中了我的鼻孔。我把头伸进去，看到苏格兰胶带正紧紧地抓着她嘴里的某种曲轴箱，她的前蹄以极快的速度转动着踏板，使一根电缆消失在马桶里，旋转着，拍打着肮脏的水。站在她身后的P-21看起来有点迷茫，因为他抓住了他嘴里的一个活塞。那匹黄色的商人母马焦急地从两人后面看着。
Bottlecap spotted me first and at once smiled with a small look of concern as we walked in. She leaned towards me. “I thought a little job might keep them distracted for a bit...” She looked apprehensively at Scotch Tape as the young mare cranked the levers like mad. “I didn’t expect her to be quite so devoted to… fixing my clog.”
博特莱卡第一个看到了我，我们走进去的时候，博特莱卡马上带着关切的微笑。她向我靠过来。"我以为一点小事就能让他们分心一会儿......"她担心地看着ScotchTape，这时小母马正疯狂地摇动着操纵杆。"我没想到她会如此热衷于......修理我的木屐。"
I caught the change. The turn of a blue ear. The slight widening of his eye followed by a slow sag of his body. His teeth tightening on the handle of the plunger. Eyes that refused to look away from Scotch Tape at work. He was pissed too, and hurt, and I knew that, unlike Glory, he wouldn’t do the sensible thing and beat the stupid out of me. Oh no. He was going to bottle it all up and be in a complete snit till it finally exploded.
我抓住了变化。蓝色耳朵的转动。他的眼睛微微睁大，接着他的身体慢慢下垂。他的牙齿咬紧了活塞的把手。工作时，眼睛不愿离开透明胶带。他也很生气，很受伤，我知道，不像晨辉，他不会做明智的事情，不会把我打得屁滚尿流。哦，不。他打算把它们全部封存起来，直到它们最后爆炸。
Well, not if this security mare had anything to say about it! I trotted right up next to him, smiling as I watched Scotch Tape at work. Then I turned my head and licked him from jaw to ear in one long wet slurp. His blue eyes shot wide, the plunger falling from his shocked mouth as he jumped away. “Damn it, Blackjack!” He scrubbed at my lick with a hoof as he looked at me in shock and embarrassment. “Fine! You’re back! Glad you’re not dead.”
好吧，除非这个保安母马说了什么！我快步走到他身边，微笑着看着工作中的透明胶带。然后我转过头，用湿漉漉的啜食声把他从下巴舔到耳朵。他的蓝眼睛睁得大大的，当他跳开时，活塞从他震惊的嘴里掉了下来。"该死，黑杰克!"他用蹄子蹭着我的舔痕，又震惊又尴尬地看着我。"好吧！你回来了！很高兴你没死。"
“Hey, P-21,” I said as I looked at him sitting his rump down with a sore wince. Bottlecap nudged Glory out the door and followed her, shutting it behind them, and Scotch Tape seemed completely fixated on consulting a magazine on plumbing and repairs. I sat before P-21. “So… you miss me?” I said, giving him a small smile, hoping he’d get the clue that this was when he got to beat the
"嘿，P-21,"我看着他坐在地上痛苦地皱着眉头说。博特凯普把晨辉推出门外，跟在她后面，把门关上了。透明胶带似乎完全沉迷于咨询一本关于管道维修的杂志。我坐在P-21前面。"那么......你想我了?"我说，给了他一个微笑，希望他能知道这是什么时候
everloving snot out of me.
永远爱我的鼻涕。
But he didn’t. I’d hurt him again. Wronged him. “No. I didn’t,” he replied with sincerity before reaching into his bags to pull out my Delta PipBuck and throw it in my face. “Don’t leave your junk with me next time, Blackjack.” And with that he trotted from the room.
但他没有。我会再次伤害他。冤枉了他。"没有。我没有,"他真诚地回答，然后伸手到包里拿出我的DeltaPipBuck扔到我脸上。"下次别再把你的垃圾留给我了，Blackjack。"说完，他小跑着离开了房间。
I took a deep breath. What had I expected? I’d run out on my friends. It wasn’t like I could just come back and everything would be wonderful again. Face it, I’d gotten lucky with Rampage and Glory.
我深吸了一口气。我期待的是什么？我会抛弃我的朋友。我不能就这样回来，然后一切又变得美好起来。面对现实吧，在暴怒和晨辉中我已经很幸运了。
Suddenly, there was a gurgle of water and a flush accompanied by Scotch letting out a whoop of glee. “Hah! Never met a clogged toilet that could stop me for long!” She grinned back at the office, then pushed her goggles back, blinking. “Awww, man. Victory of a lifetime and nopony gets to see it?” Then she looked at me. “Oh, you’re back. Guess you didn’t kill yourself, huh?” Well, neither anger nor tears…
突然，水发出咯咯的声音，伴随着苏格兰威士忌的冲水声，人们欢呼起来。"哈！从来没见过一个堵塞的马桶能让我停下来很长时间!"她在办公室里咧嘴笑了笑，然后把护目镜往后推，眨了眨眼睛。"啊，伙计。一生的胜利却没有一匹小马能看到?"然后她看着我。"哦，你回来了。我猜你没有自杀，对吧?"既不是愤怒也不是眼泪。
“Probably. I might be a ghost though.” She immediately blanched under her grime. “Kidding! I’m kidding. There aren’t ghosts in the Wasteland… I think.” Were there? I’d have to check the survival guide. “So… why are you fixing a toilet?”
"可能吧。不过我可能是个鬼魂。"她的污垢立刻使她脸色发白。"开玩笑！我开玩笑的。荒原上没有鬼......我想。"是吗？我得查查生存指南。"那么......你为什么要修马桶?"
“‘Cause everypony was going crazy with you gone.” More guilt? Yes, please! “Glory wanted to fly off and find you. Rampage wanted everypony to wait here. P-21…” But she just shrugged and shook her head. “So, that Bottlecap mare mentioned that she had a nasty clog and she’d pay to have it fixed.”
"因为你走了，每匹小马都疯狂了"更多的内疚？是的，求你了！"晨辉想飞走找到你。狂暴希望每匹小马都在这里等着。但她只是耸了耸肩，摇了摇头。"所以，Bottlecap母马提到她有一个讨厌的堵塞，她愿意付钱让它修复。"
“Yeah, but how do you know how to fix toilets?”
"是啊，但你怎么知道怎么修厕所呢?"
“Ugh, ‘cause I’ve been doing it my whole life?” she said with a huff as she coiled up the cable on her stained utility harness. “Maintenance mares generally gave me all the muck jobs, and that includes toilets.” She looked at me oddly and asked, “Weren’t you practicing shooting and fighting when you were little?”
"呃,'因为我一辈子都在干这个?"'她一边怒气冲冲地说，一边把带污迹的多用途马具上的缆绳卷起来。"一般来说，保养母马的工作都是由我来做，包括上厕所。"她奇怪地看着我问:"你小时候不是在练习射击和格斗吗?"
“Well…” I hadn’t really thought about it. Wrestling, practicing with batons, training with BB guns, firearms training… and of course lots of bullshit indoctrination lessons about how we had to serve the Overmare without failure or question. “I guess I was.” I watched as she pulled out a rag and wiped her face. “And how are you doing?”
"嗯......"我还真没想过。摔跤，用警棍练习，用BB枪训练，枪械训练......当然还有很多狗屁灌输课程，教我们如何毫无失败和疑问地为Overmare服务。"我想是的。"我看着她拿出一块抹布擦脸。"你怎么样?"
She gave me a wary look I knew well. Then she sighed as she looked away from me and shrugged. “In 99, I was forced to fix pipes and unclog toilets. Out here, I’m fixing pipes and unclogging toilets, and getting shot at by killer robots… using guns… under that big freaky open sky thing.” She shivered and then shook her head. “I dunno how I’m doing. Just… bit by bit, I guess.”
她给了我一个我熟悉的警惕的眼神。然后她叹了口气，把目光从我身上移开，耸了耸肩。"99年，我被迫修理水管和疏通厕所。在这里，我正在修理水管和疏通厕所，被机器人杀手射击......用枪......在那个又大又恐怖的天空下。"她颤抖了一下，然后摇了摇头。"我不知道我怎么样了。只是......一点一点的，我想。"
“You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to. I’m sure, after fixing this, Bottlecap can help you find a job.” Megamart had to be safer than following me around. I was just one long string of disasters.
"如果你不愿意，你可以不跟我们一起去。我相信，在解决了这个问题之后，Bottlecap可以帮助你找到工作。"麦加玛特总比跟着我要安全。我只是一长串灾难中的一个。
She looked worried as she looked back to her tools, making sure they ended up in the right pockets. “Thanks, but… you and P-21… you’re the most normal ponies I know now.” And didn’t that make me cringe a little inside. “I’ll just stick along.”
她看起来很担心，她回头看了看她的工具，确保它们最后都在正确的口袋里。"谢谢，但是......你和P-21......你们是我现在认识的最正常的小马。"这难道不会让我有点害怕吗。"我还是坚持下去吧。"
“All right… but make sure you wash?” I wrinkled my nose.
"好吧......但一定要洗干净?"我皱起了鼻子。
She snorted in scorn. “You spend a few weeks on the surface and get so soft you can’t even handle the smell of honest work. Sad, Blackjack. Really sad,” she said as she passed by me.
她嗤之以鼻。"你在表面上呆了几个星期，变得如此柔软，甚至无法忍受诚实工作的气味。真可悲，黑杰克。真的很难过,"她从我身边经过时说。
“I… you smell of poo water! That’s not soft!” I yelled after her. “I’ve had boats dropped on me. You can’t survive that if you’re soft! Hey!” The door closed behind her and I pouted a little. “I’m not soft…”
"我.....。.你身上一股屎水味！这一点也不软!"我在她后面喊道。"有人把船扔到我身上。如果你软弱的话，你不可能活下来的！嘿!"门在她身后关上了，我有点板着脸。"我不软弱......"
* * *
* * *
An hour later, we were more or less ready to leave. The Reapers had a large covered wagon rigged up and a harness for four. A shield of corrugated metal sheets extended around the front of the wagon to provide some cover. Three ‘normal’ Reapers were on the roof watching for trouble, leaving the rest of us to crawl inside.
一个小时后，我们差不多准备好离开了。收割者有一辆装配好的大篷车和一套四人马具。一个由波纹金属板组成的盾牌延伸到货车的前部以提供一些掩护。三个"普通"收割者在屋顶上看着有什么麻烦，剩下的我们只能匍匐着进去。
Glory took one look at the confines of the trailer and swallowed. “I’ll scout from above.”
晨辉看了一眼拖车的空间，咽了口唾沫。"我会从上面侦察。"
“Aww, don’t want to be inside the tight, narrow, crushing wagon?” Psychoshy snickered, then said with false concern, “Oh, does it feel like it’s getting smaller… and smaller… and smaller?” Her grin widened with each ‘smaller’.
"啊，难道你不想呆在这辆狭窄的破车里吗?""心理害羞"窃笑了一下，然后假装关切地说,"哦，是不是感觉它越来越小了......越来越小了......越来越小了?"她的笑容越来越小。
Glory looked back at her flatly as she hovered. “How is it nopony’s killed you yet? Really?”
当她在空中盘旋时，晨辉平静地回头看着她。"你怎么还没死呢？真的吗?"
Psychoshy grinned as she flew closer. “Think you’ll be the one to pull it off, Dashite?”
当她飞近的时候，心理害羞的人咧嘴笑了。"你觉得你会成功吗，达希特?"
“I’m not a Dashite,” Glory replied, her purple eyes narrowing. Psychoshy snorted as she turned towards the wagon. “And neither are you…” Glory suddenly yipped as the tip of Psychoshy’s tail snapped the end of her muzzle.
"我不是达栅人,"格洛里回答，她紫色的眼睛眯起来。"心理变态"转向马车时哼了一声。"你也不是......"晨辉突然尖叫起来，心理害羞的尾巴尖咬住了她的嘴。
“Hey, Psy,” Rampage said with a small smile. “Your turn?” The simple question made the pegasus hiss through her clenched teeth before she glared at Glory.
"嘿，鸟叔,"狂暴笑着说。"轮到你了?"这个简单的问题让珀加索斯在瞪着格洛瑞之前咬紧牙关发出嘶嘶声。
“Don’t pretend like you can ever know me, turkey.” Psychoshy’s angry gaze promised a murder, and Glory swallowed hard as she backed away a little. Smirking, the yellow pegasus swooped into the trailer.
"别假装你永远都不会了解我，土耳其。"心理害羞的愤怒的目光预示着一场谋杀，晨辉退后了一点，狠狠地咽了口唾沫。得意地笑着，黄色的飞马飞扑进了拖车。
“She’s such a ray of sunshine, isn’t she? Put me through a wood chipper when I first joined the Reapers,” Rampage said as she trotted to the back of the cargo wagon.
"她真是一缕阳光，不是吗？当我第一次加入收割者的时候，给我穿过一个碎木机。"。
“She put you through a wood chipper?” Scotch Tape gawked at Rampage skeptically, then glanced at me for confirmation. I smiled and shrugged.
"她把你扔进了碎木机?"胶带呆呆地看着暴怒，然后看着我确认。我微笑着耸了耸肩。
“Mhmmm. Industrial strength.” She rubbed her chin and then glanced at Scotch Tape. “Oh, it wasn’t so bad. Just a burst of pain and then coming back together. I think reforming on the far side was the most infuriating day of poor Psychoshy’s life.”
"嗯.....。工业实力。"她揉了揉下巴，然后瞥了一眼透明胶带。"哦，没那么糟糕。只是一阵疼痛，然后又一起回来了。我认为，可怜的"心理害羞"一生中最令人恼火的一天，就是在偏远地区进行改革
“Why?” Scotch asked in confusion.
"为什么?"苏格兰人困惑地问。
“‘Cause she said she’d go through it too, so long as I went first,” Rampage said with a decidedly unhealthy grin, “And I can’t wait to see how well she handles it.”
"因为她说她也会经历这一切，只要我先来,"狂暴带着一个明显不健康的笑容说,"我迫不及待地想看看她处理得有多好。"
Okay. This opened up whole new vistas of the fucked-upness that was Reaper life, and I really didn’t want to see more of them. I glanced at P-21 but saw him not paying attention to us. Certainly not to me. I needed to talk him out of this. Find some way to make amends. I needed to… oh, look. There were mattresses inside the trailer. I’d… just… lie down… and talk to… P-21…
好吧。这为死神的生命打开了全新的前景，我真的不想看到更多的死神。我瞥了一眼P-21，发现他没有注意到我们。对我来说当然不是。我得说服他不要这么做。找到弥补的方法。我需要...看。拖车里有床垫。我只要...躺下...和...P-21谈谈..。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
I walked through the yellow-green haze, lungs burning, eyes watering, as the shouts and screams echoed through the metal halls. Every breath burned inside my lungs, but, though froth dripped down my chin, I didn’t fall. My eyes watered, fighting to open. To see where I was going. I had to stop this. The screams and cries echoed and built as I pushed my way along the halls. It was more by feel than anything that I found my way through security.
我穿过黄绿色的烟雾，肺在燃烧，眼睛在流泪，呼喊声和尖叫声在金属大厅里回荡。每一次呼吸都在我的肺里燃烧，但是，尽管泡沫从我的下巴滴下来，我并没有摔倒。我的眼睛湿润了，挣扎着要睁开。看看我要去哪里。我必须阻止这一切。当我沿着大厅推进的时候，尖叫声和哭喊声回荡着。我通过安检的方式更多的是靠感觉。
The Overmare stood at the window, gazing out at the thickening poison with a smug grin on her face. My horn flashed once. Twice. Three times. The world crawled as if it were in S.A.T.S. as her skull exploded. Black and red mane flew in all directions, two glowing eyes turning into luminescent pulp. I struggled to her desk, my hooves working the controls. Slowly, magically, the gas began to clear.
海洋站在窗口，凝视着越来越浓的毒药，脸上挂着得意的笑容。我的号角闪过一次。两次。三次。当她的头骨爆炸时，整个世界就像在S.A.T.S.一样蠕动着。黑色和红色的鬃毛向四面八方飞去，两只发光的眼睛变成了发光的浆。我挣扎着走到她的办公桌前，用蹄子操纵着控制器。慢慢地，奇迹般地，煤气开始变清了。
The Overmare’s office was actually the atrium, and I was surrounded by dozens and dozens of friends, coworkers, and mere acquaintances. They looked at me, stomping their applause as they smiled. As they grinned. As they giggled. As they closed in. I’d saved them! I’d saved them! They fell on me, teeth biting. Rending. Tearing.
Overmare的办公室实际上是中庭，我被一大群朋友、同事和熟人包围着。他们看着我，笑着跺着掌声。他们咧嘴一笑。当他们咯咯笑的时候。当他们靠近的时候。我救了他们！我救了他们！他们咬牙切齿地向我扑来。Rending.撕裂。
I stared up at the round window, looking at the Overmare with her black and red mane, her glowing eyes. I saw the cold contempt on her hard face as her horn glowed. The gas began to slowly hiss into the room.
我凝视着圆形的窗户，用她那黑红相间的鬃毛和发光的眼睛望着Overmare。当她的号角发光时，我看到她冷酷的脸上流露出的蔑视。煤气开始慢慢地嘶嘶地进入房间。
I watched as the yellow gas filled the atrium below. The foals and mares milled about, screaming in pain, fear, and confusion. ‘Murderer’ echoed through the stable; never diminishing, never ending. The gas grew thicker and thicker. The door opened and admitted the security pony. Her horn flashed. Once. Twice. Thrice. My skull exploded.
我看着黄色的气体充满了下面的中庭。小马驹和母马在周围走来走去，痛苦、恐惧和困惑的尖叫着。杀人犯的声音在马厩里回荡，永远不会减弱，永远不会结束。气体越来越浓。门开了，保安小马进来了。她的号角闪闪发光。一次。两次。三次。我的头骨爆炸了。
I walked through the yellow haze…
我穿过黄色的薄雾。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
“You’re a masochist. Do you enjoy this?” the Dealer asked softly as we sat together at one of the atrium tables, the air clear and the stable empty. Quiet. Still. Nothing lived here, because I’d killed them all.
"你是个受虐狂。你喜欢这样吗?"当我们一起坐在中庭的一张桌子旁时，经销商轻声问道，空气清新，马厩里空荡荡的。安静。不过。这里什么都没有，因为我把他们都杀了。
“You tell me. You’re my crazy,” I said quietly as I rested my chin on my crossed hooves. The Dealer looked younger and healthier, the pale stallion looking at me with mature eyes. Where had I seen them before?
"你告诉我。"你是我的疯子,"我一边把下巴放在交叉的蹄子上，一边平静地说。"商人"看上去更年轻、更健康，那匹苍白的种马用成熟的眼神看着我。我以前在哪里见过他们？
“I think that you have a confused self-centeredness with a need to martyr yourself,” the Dealer said calmly as he dealt me five cards. Celestia. Luna. Twilight Sparkle. Goldenblood. Myself. “You think that, if you can just die in some appropriately gruesome fashion, particularly if there’s lots of pain and suffering beforehand, that somehow you’ll save the Wasteland.” He said ‘save’ with a vague smile and a wave of his hoof.
"我认为你有一种混乱的自我中心和殉道的需要,"庄家平静地说，他给了我五张牌。女名女子名。女名女子名。紫悦。金色血统。我自己。"你认为，如果你能以某种适当的可怕方式死去，特别是如果事先有很多痛苦和折磨，那么你就能以某种方式拯救这片荒原。"他含糊地笑了笑，挥了挥他的蹄子，说了句'救命'。
“Makes sense,” I replied, discarding Goldenblood. “Security is supposed to save ponies,” I said firmly, and he smiled as he dealt me a Fluttershy. “I think I got a straight. Or is this a flush?”
"有道理,"我回答，丢弃了金色血统。"保安应该保护小马,"我坚定地说，他微笑着给了我一只萤火虫。"我想我是顺子。或者这是同花顺?"
“Yes,” he replied, and I laughed. “But does it beat mine?” He showed his hand: P-21, Glory, Rampage, Lacunae, and Scotch Tape. Then he reached over, took the card of me grinning like an idiot, and added it to his five. “I think this is a winning set.”
"是的,"他回答，我笑了。"但它能打败我吗?"他展示了他的手:P-21，晨辉，暴怒，空隙，和透明胶带。然后他伸手过去，把我咧嘴笑得像个白痴的那张卡片，加到他的五张卡片上。"我认为这是一个胜利的局面。"
I frowned at them. “I don’t deserve them.”
我对他们皱起了眉头。"我配不上他们。"
“I. I… I… I…” He gave a great sigh. “You must be the most self-centered pony in all the Wasteland, you know that? Not everything is about you, Blackjack.” He lifted the card between his hooves, the picture changing before me. Blackjack grinning like a fool. Blackjack crying. Blackjack looking broken and hollow. Blackjack looking shooty. “Why do you always assume that you’re the beginning and end of everything that matters?”
"我，我.....。.我。.我。。」他长长地叹了一口气。"你一定是整个荒原上最自私的小马，你知道吗？不是所有的事情都和你有关，Blackjack。"他用蹄子夹起那张卡片，照片在我面前变了样。黑杰克像傻瓜一样咧嘴笑。黑杰克在哭。黑杰克看起来破碎而空洞。黑杰克看起来像枪战。"为什么你总是认为你是一切重要事情的开始和结束?"
“I don’t know. I’ve always been that way,” I said softly, looking at the spinning card. Blackjack the foal, crying for attention. Blackjack the filly, getting her friend Daisy beaten by doing what she thought was right. Blackjack the security mare, breaking the rules to cross the Overmare. Blackjack, invisible and sneaking off rather than admitting to her friends that she wanted to die.
"我不知道。我一直都是这样,"我轻轻地说，看着那张旋转的卡片。黑杰克，小马驹，哭着要引起注意。小母马黑杰克，做她认为正确的事，让她的朋友黛西挨打。黑杰克的安全母马，打破规则，越过Overmare。黑杰克，隐身，偷偷溜走，而不是向她的朋友承认她想死。
“Do you really think everything is okay, Blackjack?” the Dealer asked.
"你真的认为一切都没问题吗，Blackjack?"商人问道。
I slammed my hooves on the table. “I know it’s not okay. I should be fixing things right now. I need to apologize to P-21. I have to find out if Rampage is really okay after I ate her heart. Or Lacunae. I need to know how Scotch Tape
我的蹄子砰地一声摔在桌子上。"我知道这不好。我现在应该在修理东西。我要向P-21道歉。在我吃了她的心脏之后，我得去看看狂暴是不是真的没事。或者是空白。我需要知道如何透明胶带
really feels about what I did!”
对自己的所作所为感到内疚!"
“I. I, I, I again,” the Dealer rasped softly as he shook his head. He didn’t take his eyes off me. “Didn’t I just tell you? It’s not about you. Not your needs. Not your wants.”
"我，我，我又来了,"商人轻轻地摇了摇头。他的目光没有离开我。""我刚才不是告诉你了吗？这不是你的问题。不是你的需要。不是你想要的。"
He lifted Glory’s card. “What about her? What does she need? What does she want?”
他举起了晨辉的卡片。"她怎么了？她需要什么？她想要什么?"
I opened my mouth and closed it again. Before 99 I could have answered that. Now… “I don’t know…”
我张开嘴，又闭上了。在99年之前，我可以回答这个问题。现在..."我不知道..."
“Oh… and here I thought you loved her.”
"哦......我还以为你爱她呢。"
“Shut your mouth!” I shouted, rising to my hooves as I pointed at him. “I…” and the rest of my objection died in my throat. Was he right? Was I really that self-centered?
"闭上你的嘴!"我喊道，用我的蹄子指着他。"我.....。。」剩下的反对在我的喉咙里消失了。他说的对吗？我真的那么自私吗？
He just looked at me for a moment, then lifted P-21. “And what about him, hmmm? What is he feeling? What does he want?”
他只是看了我一会儿，然后举起了P-21。"那他呢，嗯？他感觉怎么样？他想要什么?"
“He’s pretty angry at me. He probably wants to shoot my ass,” I muttered.
"他对我非常生气。他可能想射我的屁股,"我喃喃自语。
“I… me… my… It’s not all about you, Blackjack,” he said softly as he collected the cards. “Is that your virtue? Selfishness?”
"我.....。."我......我......不全是为了你，黑杰克,"他一边轻声地说，一边收集卡片。""这就是你的美德吗？自私?"
“I don’t know,” I said as I looked down at my clasped hooves. “I don’t know anything anymore.” Everything had been broken in 99. I’d broken. I used to think my life had been divided into before leaving the stable and after leaving it. Now I knew better. It was divided into before killing 99 and after killing 99.
"我不知道,"我一边说，一边低头看着我紧扣着的蹄子。"我什么都不知道了。"所有的东西在99年都被打碎了。我崩溃了。我过去常常认为我的生活已经分为离开马厩前和离开马厩后。现在我知道了。分为杀死99人之前和杀死99人之后。
“My suggestion? You’d better find out,” he said quietly as the gas started to hiss. “Otherwise, you’ll really wish you’d stayed in here.” He turned, walking through the swirling poison vapors as the screams began once more.
"我的建议？你最好弄清楚,"他平静地说，气体开始发出嘶嘶声。"否则，你真的会希望自己呆在这里。"他转过身，穿过毒气的漩涡，尖叫声再次响起。
“Wait!” I shouted after him as the thick rolls of burning yellow gas rolled between us. I struggled after him, tripping over pony corpses as the wailing increased. I tripped upon a still body and fell to my face. Then another mare fell upon me. And another. And another. And another…
"等等!"当滚滚黄色的煤气在我们之间滚动时，我在他身后喊道。我跟在他后面挣扎着，随着哭声越来越大，我被小马的尸体绊倒了。我绊倒在一具静止的尸体上，跌倒在我的脸上。然后另一匹母马向我扑来。再来一杯。再来一杯。还有另一个..。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
A particularly jarring bump brought me to consciousness and my eyes opened to look into P-21’s face. His gaze lingered in the past, lined in hurt and betrayal. He lay on the mattress next to me. I stretched out a hoof towards him. His distant eyes focused on mine, and for one foolish moment I was certain he’d accept it. Then his eyes hardened, and with a grunt he turned away from me. I held my hoof out, hoping that somehow he’d look back at me. He didn’t.
一个特别刺耳的肿块让我清醒过来，我睁开眼睛看着P-21的脸。他的目光徘徊在过去，带着伤害和背叛。他躺在我旁边的床垫上。我向他伸出一只蹄子。他的目光远远地盯着我，在那愚蠢的一刻，我确信他会接受。然后他的眼睛变得僵硬，咕哝着转过身去。我伸出我的蹄子，希望他能回头看看我。他没有。
You’re the most self-centered pony in the Wasteland, Blackjack. I did what I wanted. I got what I needed.
你是荒原上最自私的小马，黑杰克。我做了我想做的。我得到了我想要的。
All it cost me was a friendship.
我所付出的只是一段友谊。
* * *
* * *
A few hours later, I woke again, this time to the sound of yelling. Not screams, but cheering. It was like being back in Brimstone’s Fall, walking to that train cart. Thankfully, my dreams were fading away. They’d kept drifting among Boneyard, the hospital, and 99. Screw suicide, I just wanted a bullet for my subconscious.
几个小时后，我再次醒来，这次是听到了喊叫声。不是尖叫，而是欢呼。就像回到了硫磺城，走向那辆火车车厢。谢天谢地，我的梦想正在消失。他们继续在坟场、医院和99号公路之间漂流。去他妈的自杀，我只是想给我的潜意识一颗子弹。
“What’s going on?” I asked as I rose to my hooves, a little groggy but no longer exhausted. The wagon was empty and I staggered out, not sure if I should be fumbling for my guns or not… shit, where were my guns? I had my combat armor, but no weapons. A strange yellow light was filling the air and I blinked at the sudden brilliance. Despite myself, I gazed up at clear blue skies. The sight of it made me land firmly on my rump.
"怎么回事?"当我站起来走到马蹄前时，我问道，有点虚弱，但不再疲惫。车上空空如也，我摇摇晃晃地走了出来，不知道我是否应该摸索我的枪...妈的，我的枪在哪里？我有我的战斗盔甲，但没有武器。一道奇怪的黄光充满了空气，我被这突如其来的光辉吓得眨了眨眼。我不由自主地凝视着晴朗的蓝天。一看到它，我的臀部就立刻着地了。
Only then did I note the holes in the sky.
直到那时我才注意到天空中的洞。
What I’d taken for sky was in fact the inside of a large arcing dome that had been enchanted to look like a sky. The large oval space could have easily fit a thousand times the number of ponies that were now inhabiting just one end of it. The field of grass in the middle was carefully fenced off, and I realized that here was another powerful lure for ponies: the promise of steady meals, even if they were only grass. The cushions that once held the rumps of thousands of ponies had been torn up, and platforms and structures had been built along the terraces. Tents and shacks of all sorts were oddly spaced apart from each other. All of them flew flags with strange markings: crossed guns, an axe in a brahmin skull,
我所以为的天空实际上是一个巨大的弧形穹顶的内部，它被施了魔法，看起来像一个天空。这个巨大的椭圆形空间可以容纳现在仅仅居住在其一端的小马数量的一千倍。中间的草地被小心翼翼地用栅栏隔开，我意识到这里还有另一个对小马来说很有吸引力的诱惑:即使它们只是草而已，也能提供稳定的食物。曾经支撑着成千上万小马臀部的垫子已经被撕碎，平台和结构已经沿着梯田建造起来。各种各样的帐篷和棚屋奇怪地彼此分开。他们所有人的旗帜上都有奇怪的标记:交叉的枪，一把插在婆罗门头骨上的斧头,
some kind of paw print.
某种爪印。
The wagon had been parked with some others at one end of the arena. On the far side was a huge scoreboard covered in flickering neon lights that boldly declared ‘Hoofington Sports Arena’ and, beneath that, ‘Home of the Hoofington Reapers’. A cartoon mascot of a skeletal pony wielding a scythe made me imagine shuffling cards.
这辆马车和其他几辆一起停在竞技场的一端。远处是一块巨大的记分牌，上面闪烁着霓虹灯，大胆地写着"Hoofington运动竞技场"，下面写着"HoofingtonReapers之家"。一只骨瘦如柴的小马挥舞着镰刀的卡通吉祥物让我想象洗牌的情景。
A large stage had been built up in the opposite end zone, and atop it was a massive caged dome netted in barbed wire. Beside it were smaller rings fenced in and surrounded by seats. Curiously, I saw that the track that ran the perimeter of the field was still clear of debris. While hoofball might not be played here, they still had a variety of competitions. As I walked towards the end with the scoreboard, I passed by clumps of bandits and gangers hoof wrestling, sparring, drinking, and practicing. I had to admit, the amount of muscle I saw made my horn twitch nervously. These ponies were buff and denoted their allegiance with scarves, tattoos, brands, and other markings.
在对面的终点区已经建起了一个大舞台，舞台的顶上是一个用铁丝网网住的巨大的笼子形圆顶。旁边是较小的圆圈，用围栏围着，四周围着座位。奇怪的是，我看到田野周围的轨道上仍然没有残骸。虽然这里可能不会踢足球，但是他们仍然有各种各样的比赛。当我拿着记分牌走到最后的时候，我经过了一群强盗和帮派分子，他们正在进行摔跤、拳击、喝酒和练习。我不得不承认，我看到的肌肉数量让我的角紧张地抽搐。这些小马身体健壮，用围巾、纹身、品牌和其他标志来表达他们的忠诚。
“Boy, can you sleep,” Mallet said, the caramel-coated unicorn floating her hammer overhead. How she managed that weight for that long baffled me, but the buff unicorn handled the weapon with familiar ease. “Rampage went to go tell Big Daddy that you’d arrived. Your friends are being given a box seat for your stay.”
"孩子，你能睡得着吗?"马利特说，一只涂着焦糖色的独角兽在她头顶的锤子上漂浮着。长久以来，我一直不明白她是如何控制住那个重量的，但是那只浅黄色的独角兽轻而易举地拿起了那把武器。"狂暴去告诉老爹你来了。你的朋友们会给你安排一个包厢。"
“As long as nopony tries something like taking them hostage,” I warned, looking at the knots of ponies in their little camps. “Where are my guns?”
"只要没有小马驹试图把它们当作人质,"我警告说，看着它们小营地里的小马驹。"我的枪呢?"
“Safe with Rampage. No one carries firearms in here. It tends to prevent things from becoming messy,” she said with a grin as she twirled her supersledge. “Melee weapons are exempt, of course.”
"横冲直撞的安全。这里没人携带枪支。这样可以防止事情变得乱七八糟,"她边说边咧嘴笑着，摆弄着自己的超级自信。"近战武器当然是例外。"
Great. And my favorite melee weapon was lying in so many pieces of burnt bone on a mountainside somewhere. I looked sourly at the various ponies warily watching us. “Are all these ponies Reapers?”
太好了。我最喜欢的近战武器就是躺在山腰上那么多块烧焦的骨头上。我不高兴地看着那些小马，小心翼翼地注视着我们。"这些小马都是收割者吗?"
“Mostly just the ones in ponyhide,” she said with a wicked grin, gesturing to her barding.
"基本上只有那些扎着马尾辫的,"她说着，邪恶地笑了笑，指着她的头发。
Ah, yes; that. Now that I could actually focus on it, I couldn’t help but feel more than a little creeped out. “Yeah… about that; you all really wear ponyhide?”
啊，是的，那个。现在我可以集中注意力了，我不禁感到有点害怕。"是啊......关于这个，你们真的都穿马甲吗?"
“Oh, most of us who aren’t the top ten. They're tough enough to wear whatever they like.” She grinned at me almost teasingly. “And there are some cryponies who just wear normal barding.”
"哦，我们大多数人都不是前十名。他们很坚强，可以穿任何他们喜欢的衣服。"她对我咧嘴笑了笑，几乎是开玩笑的。"还有一些爱哭鬼穿着普通的军装。"
“When did this become a good idea?” I asked, looking at her clothes in disgust. “It seems kinda... morbid.”
"这是什么时候变成一个好主意的?"我问，厌恶地看着她的衣服。"这似乎有点...病态。"
She rolled her eyes. Clearly, I was falling rapidly into ‘crypony’ territory. “It’s simple. If you challenge us or try to join and fail miserably, then everypony who sees us wearing you will know the price of weakness,” she said with a smile and a shrug. “Every pony you see in my barding was somepony I had to kill to become a Reaper.”
她翻了翻白眼。很明显，我很快就陷入了"冷血动物"的境地。"这很简单。如果你向我们挑战，或者试图加入，结果惨遭失败，那么每一个看到我们穿着你的小马都会知道软弱的代价,"她微笑着耸耸肩说。"你在我的帐篷里看到的每一匹小马都是我必须杀掉才能变成收割者的小马。"
“Okay. I guess that makes sense... in a grisly kind of way,” I admitted, still feeling a little squeamish. “So, who are all the rest of these ponies?”
"好吧。我想这是有道理的......以一种可怕的方式,"我承认，仍然觉得有点恶心。"那么，剩下的这些小马都是谁?"
“Most of these are thugs, gangers, and tribals,” she said as we trotted towards the scoreboard and the pens. “There’re really only sixty or so Reapers, which still makes us one of the biggest and toughest gangs around. Those are the Flash Fillies out of Progress,” she said, gesturing to two mares with white collars and power shoes. “Over there,” she said, looking at the bonfire burning in the next little encampment, “are the Burner Boys. Nasty rivalry with the Fillies on account Burners are all assholes. There’s the Flotsam Four… the Pecos, or what’s left of them now that Dusty’s taken over...” She gestured to a half dozen or so forlorn looking ponies. They glanced at me and immediately ran into their shack.
"这些人大多是暴徒、分身和部落成员,"当我们跑向记分板和钢笔时，她说。"实际上，收割者只有六十个左右，这仍然使我们成为最大、最难对付的帮派之一。她一边说，一边指着两匹穿着白领和权力鞋的母马。"那边,"她看着隔壁营地燃烧的篝火说,"是燃烧者男孩。恶心的竞争对手都是些混蛋。还有漂流四号......佩科斯河，或者说是现在达斯蒂接管了这里剩下的......"她指了指大约六匹看起来很凄凉的小马。他们瞥了我一眼，立刻跑进了他们的窝棚。
“Looks like they remember me,” I said as I looked at Mallet ruefully.
"看来他们还记得我,"我一边说，一边悲伤地看着马莱特。
“Sounds like you got a good reputation, then,” she said with a smirk. “Most of these are aspirants… what we call wannabes. Supposedly, the toughest of the tough of their respective tribes and gangs.” She snorted in disdain. “Only a few will ever be tough enough to join the Reapers. The rest are just paying tribute to Big Daddy and hangers-on.”
"听起来你的名声不错,"她傻笑着说。"这些人大多是有抱负的人......我们称之为崇拜者。据说是他们各自部落和帮派中最强悍的。"她轻蔑地哼了一声。"只有少数人有能力加入收割者。其他人只是在向"大老爹"(BigDaddy)和"随从"(hanger-on)致敬。"
“Why’s that?”
"为什么?"
“Because nopony wants to get on Big Daddy’s bad side. Even the Society sends ponies with stuff they think he wants, and the Society hates the Reapers. Not much love lost the other way, either,” Mallet said as we headed up the stairs
"因为没有小马想要站在老爸的对立面。即使是协会也会送一些他们认为他们需要的东西给小马，而且协会讨厌死神。另一方面也没有失去多少爱,"当我们上楼时，马莱特说
towards a sign that read ‘Box Seating A-H’. ‘Top Ten Only’ was painted beneath it.
走向一个写着"包厢座位A-H"的标志。它的下面画着"十佳专辑"。
“Top ten?” I asked as we passed the sign.
"前十名?"当我们经过标志牌时，我问道。
“The top ten greatest Reapers in all of Hoofington. Best of the best. Deus was one. So was Gorgon. You killed both, so there’s a lot of contestants eager to fill the gaps in the roster. Oh… and that means fighting you.”
全Hoofington十大收割者。精英中的精英。天王就是其中之一。戈耳贡也是。你两个都杀了，所以有很多参赛者渴望填补名单上的空白。哦......那就意味着要和你战斗。"
“To the death?” I guessed, pressing my lips together. She arched her brow, then gave a shrug.
"至死方休?"我紧闭双唇，猜测着。她拱起眉毛，耸了耸肩。
“Not as often as most ponies think,” she replied. I must have looked surprised, as the mare gave a chuckle and explained, “Fights to the death mean we lose a good fighter either way. Normally it’s just fights to the surrender… though Luna help you if you give up too quick. And accidents happen.” She grinned at me. “I’m pushing for Gorgon’s spot. Not sure who I’ll have to challenge for it, though.”
"不像大多数小马所想的那么频繁,"她回答说。我看上去一定很惊讶，母马咯咯地笑了一声，然后解释说:"战斗到死意味着我们失去了一个优秀的战士。通常它只是战斗到投降...虽然卢娜帮助你，如果你放弃得太快。事故时有发生。"她冲我咧嘴笑了笑。"我正在争取戈耳贡的地盘。不过，我不知道该向谁挑战。"
“What about me?” I asked, hesitating to look at two mares sparring against each other with lengths of pipe. Their stance was definitely too narrow, and they were going to break a tooth if they weren’t careful.
"那我呢?"我问道，犹豫地看着两匹母马用长长的烟斗互相争斗。他们的立场显然太狭隘了，如果不小心的话，他们会把一颗牙齿弄断的。
“That depends on you and Big Daddy. Kill a Reaper and he might let you walk. Kill a top ten? Never happen. Kill two? Never happen twice,” she said with a chuckle.
"这取决于你和老爹。杀死一个死神，他也许会放你走。杀掉前十名？永远不会。杀两个？永远不会发生第二次,"她笑着说。
Upstairs, we entered a wide hall that was marginally less choked with debris than the stands below. There were a number of faded posters in broken frames showing the various teams that’d played at the Arena: the Cloudsdale Skykickers, the Canterlot Cavaliers, the Fillydelphia Fillies, and the Appleloosa Pioneers were just a few of the teams that were intact. The best preserved seemed to be to the Manehattan Maulers, which had been converted into a shrine of hatred. Epithets were written on the wall, floor, and even ceiling for ten feet, but the poster itself was untouched. Directly opposite it was a shrine to the Hoofington Reapers, with chipped plastic trophies filled with bottlecaps, magazines, and pictures of the team. Was it my imagination, or did they look particularly unpleasant?
在楼上，我们进入了一个宽敞的大厅，里面的杂物比楼下的看台要少一些。还有一些已经褪色的海报，破损的画面上显示了在体育馆比赛的各支球队:Cloudsdaleskyickers、Canterlotcavalers、FillydelphiaFillies和appllooosaPioneers只是其中几支完好无损的球队。保存得最好的似乎是曼哈顿的毛勒夫妇，他们已经变成了仇恨的圣地。墙上，地板上，甚至天花板上都写着十英尺长的绰号，但海报本身却丝毫未动。在它的正对面是一个马蹄收割者的圣坛，上面有装满瓶子、杂志和球队照片的碎片塑料奖杯。是我的想象，还是它们看起来特别令人不快？
“I don’t get it. Most of the other posters are torn up a little. Why not them?” I nodded to the Maulers.
"我不明白。大多数其他的海报都被撕掉了一些。为什么不是他们?"我向莫勒夫妇点点头。
She looked at me like it was obvious, and then adopted the ‘stable-ponies-don’t-know-nothin’ expression. “They were the Reapers’ greatest rivals two hundred years ago.”
她看着我，好像很明显似的，然后摆出一副"马厩里的小马什么都不知道"的表情。"两百年前，它们是收割者最大的竞争对手。"
Now I was more confused than ever. Wouldn’t that make the poster more likely to get scribbled on? She looked at the poster of the eighteen ponies in green and white. “You don’t dishonor your greatest rival. You respect them, and look forward to the day when you can kick their ass.” She smirked at me. “You have no idea how hard Big Daddy’s tried to find some Manehattan ponies willing to form a hoofball team. I think he could die happy if he could play them himself.”
现在我比以前更加困惑了。难道这不会让海报更容易被涂鸦吗？她看着绿白相间的十八匹小马的海报。"你不能让你最大的竞争对手蒙羞。你尊重他们，并期待着有一天你可以踢他们的屁股。"她朝我傻笑。"你不知道老爹多么努力地寻找一些愿意组建足球队的Manehattan小马。我想如果他能亲自演奏的话，他会很高兴的。"
We reached a door marked ‘Manager’, and she knocked once before stepping aside. I glanced at the caramel mare and then at the door. I took a deep breath, feeling like I was about to step into the security office for a major chewing out. My horn glowed and opened the door.
我们走到一扇门前，门上写着"经理"，她敲了一下门，然后走到一边。我瞥了一眼焦糖母马，然后在门口。我深深地吸了一口气，感觉自己好像要走进保安办公室，接受严厉的训斥。我的号角发着光，打开了门。
Inside, there was a threadbare couch in front of a projector pointed at a blank stretch of wall. There was a bar in one corner with a gnarled old stallion mixing drinks behind it. Newspaper sports pages showing the old team were plastered to the wall. I noticed that the Manehattan Maulers seemed to have a lot more wins than the home team. Oddly, one spot on the wall was completely devoid of papers.
里面有一张破旧的沙发，放在一台投影仪前面，正对着一段空白的墙壁。一个角落里有个酒吧，后面跟着一匹粗糙的老种马在调酒。显示这支老队伍的报纸体育版被贴在墙上。我注意到曼哈顿马尤勒斯似乎比主队有更多的胜利。奇怪的是，墙上有一个地方完全没有任何文件。
Standing in front of the window was the largest stallion I’d ever laid eyes on, and I’d seen some pretty big ponies. He had to be a hoof higher than Big Macintosh and even more muscled than Deus. His jet black hide was oiled, gleaming in the synthetic sunlight coming through the window, and his fiery red mane was styled in a fierce narrow fan of hair running down his neck. He wore lengths of spiked chain around his neck and forelimbs as he stared out at his domain.
站在窗前的是我见过的最大的种马，我看到了一些非常大的小马。他的蹄子肯定比大麦金塔还要高，而且比上帝还要有肌肉。他乌黑的皮肤被涂上了油，在透过窗户的合成阳光下闪闪发光，他火红的鬃毛被设计成沿着脖子的窄窄的头发扇形。当他凝视着自己的领地时，脖子和前肢上戴着长长的铁钉项链。
“Okay. Just nip this in the bud and move on.” I gave a glance at the old stallion mixing some sort of drink, but, unless he had a gun behind the counter, I didn’t think he’d be a problem. I really hoped he didn’t run for help. The old stallion arched a white brow as he looked at me, his dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. I took a deep breath, put on my shootiest look, and marched right up to the huge stallion. “Hey! Big Daddy!”
"好吧。把它扼杀在萌芽状态，然后继续前进。"我瞥了一眼那匹正在调酒的老种马，但是，除非他在柜台后面有把枪，否则我不认为他是个问题。我真希望他没有跑去求救。这匹老种马抬起白色的眉毛看着我，黑色的太阳镜遮住了他的眼睛。我深深地吸了一口气，装出最害怕的样子，径直走向那匹巨大的种马。"嘿！大老爹!"
He turned, looking at me with a scowl as if questioning who was this mare who
他转过身来，愁眉苦脸地看着我，好像在问这匹母马是谁
dared speak to him in such a tone. “What?”
竟敢用这种口气跟他说话。"什么?"
I pressed forward and thumped my hoof against his chest. Hopefully I could just bowl him over and convince him that I wanted no part in his war. “Look, you. I’m not a Reaper and I’ve got better things to do than beat the crap out of ponies.” His scowl darkened into a glare. I thumped his chest a second time. “I don’t care if I killed Deus and Gorgon. I had to do it, and I needed help anyway. So give the position to somepony who wants to fight in your stupid war. It’s none of Security’s business.” And some last words in time with more beats against his chest... “So leave me out of it!”
我向前迈了一步，用蹄子捶了捶他的胸膛。希望我能把他打翻在地，让他相信我不想参加他的战争。"听着，你。我不是收魂者，我有比把小马打得屁滚尿流更重要的事情要做。"他的怒容变得阴沉而刺眼。我又捶了他的胸一下。"我不在乎是不是我杀了天王和戈耳贡。我必须这么做，而且我需要帮助。所以把这个职位给那些想参加你愚蠢的战争的小马吧。这不关保安的事。"最后几句话随着更多的拍子拍打着他的胸膛......"所以别把我扯进去!"
He stared right back into my eyes, his gaze narrowing. I wondered if he could break me with his stare alone. “What are you talking about?”
他紧盯着我的眼睛，凝视着我。我不知道他是否可以单独用他的凝视打破我。"你在说什么?"
“I… you… um…” I took a half step back and thumped his chest again halfheartedly before giving a sheepish grin. “Ah… hi! You’re not Big Daddy, are you?” I felt myself bending under that glare as I smiled and stroked a hoof over his oiled chest. “Heh… heh… shiny…”
"我.....。.你......嗯......"我退后半步，半心半意地捶了捶他的胸口，然后羞怯地笑了笑。"啊......嗨！你不是老爹吧?"我感到自己在那耀眼的目光下弯着腰，微笑着用蹄子抚摸着他涂了油的胸膛。"嘿...嘿...发光..."
The old stallion behind the bar cackled as he trotted out with three drinks on a tray balanced on his head. “Oh, don’t you worry none, Brutus. Big Daddy’s got some business with this filly,” he said in a gruff yet definitely snarky tone as he grinned at me. “I’m Big Daddy, little missy. Pleasure to meet you. Rutabaga smoothie?” Big Daddy offered as he set the tray down on an end table beside the couch.
吧台后面的那匹老种马咯咯地笑着，头上顶着一个托盘，端着三杯饮料小跑出去。"哦，你不用担心，布鲁图斯。"大老爹和这匹小母马有些生意上的往来,"他一边冲我咧嘴笑，一边用一种粗暴而又绝对尖刻的语气说道。"我是大老爹，小姑娘。很高兴见到你。芜菁甘蓝奶昔?"大爸爸一边把托盘放在沙发旁边的茶几上，一边说道。
Brutus leaned over, wrapped his lips around the edge of one glass, and downed the contents in a single gulp before setting it down. “So you’ll talk to her?”
布鲁图斯弯下腰，用嘴唇裹住一个玻璃杯的边缘，在放下杯子之前一口吞下了里面的东西。"那么你会和她谈谈吗?"
“Oh, I’ll talk to her, Brutus. Don’t you worry about that. And if she don’t get the message, then I’ll talk to her so she does,” the old grayish-white pony said as he pinched a glass between his hooves and slurped up the goopy contents through a large plastic straw.
"哦，我会和她谈谈的，布鲁图斯。你不用担心。如果她没有收到信息，那么我就和她说话，让她收到。"这匹灰白色的老马边说边用蹄子捏了一个玻璃杯，用一根大塑料吸管吸掉了里面粘糊糊的东西。
The huge black stallion simply nodded once, his scowl softening before he glared at me and snorted. Then he marched for the exit. When he’d left, the old stallion chuckled, “Hope you forgive Brutus his manners. He’s having issues with a mare who don’t understand that no means ‘stop-crawling-in-my-bed.’ I swear, sometimes I feel more like a schoolmarm than the head of a gang.”
那匹巨大的黑色种马只是点了一下头，他的怒火渐渐平息了下来，然后瞪着我，哼了一声。然后他朝出口走去。当他离开的时候，老公马咯咯地笑了起来,"希望你能原谅布鲁图斯的态度。他和一头母马有问题，她不明白no意味着"别在我床上爬了"我发誓，有时候我觉得自己更像一个女教师，而不是一个帮派的头目。"
I stared at him. “You’re Big Daddy?” He wasn’t particularly big… fit, certainly. He was covered by stringy, wiry muscles that stood out in stark relief against his scarred hide. A raggedy white beard dangled under his chin. He bobbed his head once. I pointed a hoof at him. “You’re… Big Daddy...”
我盯着他。"你是大老爹?"当然，他并不是特别高大健壮。他身上布满了纤细结实的肌肉，与他伤痕累累的皮肤形成鲜明对比。他的下巴下垂着一把蓬乱的白胡子。他摇了摇头。我用蹄子指着他。"你是......老爹......"
“At your service,” he said with an amused grin.
"乐意为您效劳,"他愉快地笑着说。
“But you’re… old…” I finished lamely.
"但是你......老了......"我一瘸一拐地说。
He blinked and suddenly swayed. “Oh my goodness… you’re right… oh… there goes my knees. Oh… my back… it ain’t what it used to be...” he moaned as he suddenly tottered and began to stagger towards me. “Help me… get me my walker… oh, I’m goin’ the way of old Mr. Abernathy…” he whined as he stretched two staggering hooves towards me. Despite myself I reached out to help steady the swaying stallion.
他眨了眨眼，突然摇晃起来。"哦，我的天......你是对的......哦......我的膝盖掉了。哦......我的背......跟以前不一样了......"他呻吟着，突然踉踉跄跄地向我走来。"帮帮我......把我的助步器拿来......哦，我走的是老艾伯纳西先生的路......"他一边向我伸出两只摇摇晃晃的蹄子，一边呜咽着说。我不由自主地伸手扶住那匹摇摇晃晃的种马。
My offered hoof was seized in a grip of steel and suddenly I knew exactly why that one spot on the far wall was free of papers. With a resounding thud I slammed into the wall and landed in a heap on my stomach. Little Glories flew around my head as the stallion leapt atop me and in one swift grab seized me with his rear hooves, grabbed my left foreleg, and twisted it behind my back. I had no idea how he managed to hold on; the one thing I was definitely sure of was that that leg wasn’t designed to bend that way!
我伸出来的蹄子被抓住了，我突然明白了为什么远处墙上的那个地方没有纸了。砰的一声，我猛地撞在墙上，肚子上一塌糊涂。那匹种马跳到我身上，用它的后蹄抓住了我，抓住了我的左前腿，扭到了我的背后。我不知道他是怎么坚持住的;有一件事我非常肯定，那条腿不是设计成那样弯曲的！
“Who’s your daddy?” he cried out. I couldn’t even see him for a magic bullet spell!
"你爸爸是谁?"他大声喊道。我甚至看不到他的魔法子弹咒语！
There was nothing I could do but howl out, “I don’t know! I think we retired him when I was nine or ten!”
我无能为力，只好大叫:"我不知道！我想我们在我九、十岁的时候就让他退休了吧!"
“Wrong answer!” he shouted, twisting my leg even more. “I’m your daddy! Say it!”
"答错了!"他喊道，把我的腿扭得更扭了。"我是你爸爸！说出来!"
It felt like my leg was about to come off. “You’re my daddy!” I wailed.
我感觉我的腿快要断了。"你是我爸爸!"我哭喊着。
“And your daddy is a young, healthy, handsome son of a mare, ain’t he?” he demanded.
"你爸爸是一匹年轻、健康、英俊的母马的儿子，对吗?"他问道。
“Yes, he is!” I cried out. “And strong! Tough too!”
"是的，他是!"我大声喊道。"而且很强壮！也很难!"
And with that he let go of my leg. “Wow. You figured that out pretty quick.” He got off me and trotted back to his drink.
说完，他放开了我的腿。"哇。你很快就明白了。"他从我身上下来，小跑着回到他的酒吧。
“How’d you do that?” I asked as I rose to my hooves, my shoulder throbbing terribly. It felt like he’d almost popped the joint out of its socket.
"你是怎么做到的?"我一边问，一边站起来，肩膀抽痛得厉害。感觉就像他几乎要把关节从插座里拔出来一样。
He took a long, slow drink of his pulped vegetables, then grinned again. “Pony I once knew said that a good hooftoss was all simply applied leverage. Me, I love applying… leverage.” He nodded to my drink, and, not wanting to be thrown a second time, I levitated it to my mouth and took a sip of the glue-like beverage. To my surprise and relief, I found it quite palatable. A bit like wallpaper paste, really. He nodded in approval, pointing a hoof at me. “That particular recipe I got from a zebra witchdoctor outside Trottingham. Three days’ worth of fiber in one glass. Keeps the pipes rust free and flowing easy.”
他慢慢地喝了一大口果肉蔬菜，然后又咧嘴笑了起来。"我曾经认识的小马说，一个好的马蹄抛都是简单的杠杆作用。而我，我喜欢运用......杠杆作用。"他点了点我的饮料，我不想再被扔第二次，我把它悬浮到我的嘴里，喝了一小口胶状的饮料。令我惊讶和宽慰的是，我发现它相当可口。有点像糊墙纸，真的。他点头表示赞同，用蹄子指着我。"这是我从Trottingham外的一个斑马巫医那里得到的特殊配方。一杯三天的纤维。使管道不生锈，易于流动。"
“Mmm! I hope you’ll share,” I replied as I finished the glass. There was this pulpy tangy goop at the bottom that was pretty bitter but still not bad.
"嗯！我希望你能分享,"我一边喝完杯子，一边回答。底部有一种浓郁的浆状粘稠物，有点苦，但还不错。
“So. If I recall your little outburst with poor Brutus correctly, you’d like to opt out of the Reapers. Might I ask why?” he said as he trotted over to the couch and took a seat. Then he grinned at me and patted the seat next to him.
"所以。如果我没记错的话，你和可怜的布鲁图斯有点小冲突，你想退出收割者。我能问问为什么吗?"他边说边跑到沙发上坐下。然后他对我咧嘴笑了笑，拍了拍他旁边的座位。
With a bit of trepidation, I sat on the other end of the couch. “Well… it’s not really my thing. I don’t want to be a Reaper. I want to help ponies, not beat the everloving snot out of them.” Okay, I could make an exception for Psychoshy, but really, who couldn’t?
我略带惶恐地坐在沙发的另一头。"嗯......这真的不是我的风格。我不想成为收魂者。我想帮助小马，而不是把它们打得鼻青脸肿。"好吧，我可以为心理害羞破个例，但说真的，谁不能呢？
“Then help ponies and don’t beat the everlovin’ snot out of ‘em,” he replied. “Ain’t no hairs off my tail what you do with yourself.”
"那就去帮助小马，不要把它们的爱情之泪打出来,"他回答说。"我的尾巴上没有你自己的毛"
Um, once more Blackjack had landed in not-a-clue land. “Aren’t Reapers always about beating snot and other assorted violence?”
黑杰克又一次降落在毫无线索的地方。"收割者不是经常打鼻涕和其他各种各样的暴力吗?"
“Heh.” He grinned. “Ohh yeah. There’s always a good fight or two with the Reapers. But that ain’t the point. No siree. If you think that’s what the Reapers are for, you need the bigger picture.” He reached into the end table and pulled out a cigar, bit off the tip, then deftly ignited the end with a brass lighter. With the smoking stick hanging out the side of his mouth, he blew a smoke ring in the air above him. “Twenty… thirty or so years back, I and some ponies I knew tried to clean up Hoofington. Oh, it was a mess. Dozens of little tribes butchering the
"嘿。"他咧嘴一笑。"哦，是的。对付死神总是有一两次机会的。但这不是重点。没有先生。如果你认为这就是收割者的目的，那么你需要更大的图景。"他把手伸进茶几，拿出一支雪茄，咬掉烟头，然后用一个黄铜打火机熟练地点燃了烟头。他的嘴边挂着一根烟杆，他在头顶的空中吐出一个烟圈。"二十......三十年前，我和几匹我认识的小马试图清理胡芬顿。真是一团糟。几十个小部落正在屠杀
fuck out of each other. There was one lot that actually thought Hoofington was Princess Celestia’s resting place and sacrificed ponies by throwing them into range of the defense beams.
都他妈的滚蛋。实际上有很多人认为胡芬顿是塞莱斯蒂亚公主的安息之地，他们把小马投入防御波束的射程中作为祭品。
“But the six of us, we made a go of it. One by one, we beat the snot out of all of them. Tried to teach them some common decency. Some equinity. And every tribe had some warlord or champion that always thought they was the baddest badass in all the Wasteland. Till I showed ‘em different.” He gave a throaty chuckle, then looked at me and turned so I could see the horseshoe cutie mark he wore. “You might say fighting’s always been my super special talent.”
"但是我们六个人，我们一起努力了。我们一个接一个地把他们打得鼻涕都流出来。试着教他们一些基本的礼仪。某种程度上。每个部落都有一些军阀或冠军，他们总是认为自己是整个荒原最坏的坏蛋。直到我让他们看到了不同。"他沙哑地笑了一声，然后看着我，转过身来，让我看到他身上的马蹄印。"你可能会说，打架一直是我的超级特长。"
I nodded like it all made perfect sense… “Still not getting it.”
我点点头，好像一切都很合理......"还是不明白。"
“Well, after… Goddesses, was it really five years?” He rubbed his chin, then sighed. “Yup… after five years, guess how much things had improved? I’ll give you a hint.” He took a long pull on the cigar and blew another ring, staring up at the circle before continuing, “Zip. Zilch. Nada. Not a bit. See, we kill the badass tribal champion? Three months later, they’d be replaced by a new champion that was usually bloodier and nastier than the first. Hell, we could wipe out an entire tribe, and they’d be replaced inside a year. We went through tons of ammunition, piles of healing potions, crates of grenades, pallets of missiles, gallons of flamer fuel… and in the end, the Hoof was even worse for all our attempts to do better.
"嗯，在......女神们之后，真的是五年吗?"他揉了揉下巴，然后叹了口气。"是啊......五年过去了，你猜事情改善了多少？我给你个提示。"他长长地吸了一口雪茄，又吹响了一个戒指，眼睛盯着那个圈子，然后继续说:"Zip。一无所获。女名女子名。一点也不。看，我们杀了那个坏蛋部落的冠军？三个月后，他们会被一个通常比第一个更血腥和肮脏的新冠军所取代。我们可以消灭整个部落，一年之内他们就会被替换。我们穿过了成吨的弹药，成堆的治疗药剂，一箱箱的手榴弹，一箱箱的导弹，一加仑的火焰燃料......最后，霍夫号甚至比我们所有的努力还要糟糕。
“See, we simply thought that if we killed the bad, whatever was left over had to be good. Well, turns out that what was left over turned bad pretty quick. Or they’d be killed by something bad that we missed. Finally, after five years, we were sick of it. Sick of each other. We’d stopped trying to do anything worthwhile, fixated on our own plans on how to fix the Hoof.”
"你看，我们只是认为，如果我们消灭了坏人，剩下的就一定是好人。结果剩下的东西很快就变质了。否则他们就会被我们漏掉的坏东西杀死。五年后，我们终于厌倦了这种生活。讨厌对方。我们不再尝试做任何有意义的事情，而是专注于我们自己的修理霍夫的计划。"
He pointed at the pictures on the wall with the cigar perfectly balanced on the end of his hoof. “Me, I took one look at the Hoofington Reapers… at the team… and realized that the only real way to calm the Wasteland down and make the tribes behave and play nice was to have a gang so over-the-top badass that all the other gangs would knock the shit off or risk pissing us off. When being a Reaper became prestigious… then the other gangs calmed down even more. We siphoned off their biggest and baddest champions for ourselves; sure, there was lots of fighting involved, but it was more structured. Less ‘rape, pillage, and burn’ and more ‘let’s prove we’re better than them at the arena.’ If a tribe produced a psychopath, we’d kill ‘em one way or another. And if they had a
他指着墙上的图画，雪茄完美地平稳地放在他的蹄子上。"我，我看了一眼HoofingtonReapers的队伍......然后意识到唯一能让荒原平静下来，让这些部落乖乖听话的真正方法就是组建一个非常牛逼的帮派，以至于所有其他帮派都会把他们打得落花流水，或者冒着把我们惹毛的风险。当死神变得有威望的时候，其他帮派就更加平静了。我们把他们最大、最坏的冠军吸引到我们这里来;当然，这里面有很多战斗，但是更有组织性。少一些"强奸、抢劫、烧杀抢掠"，多一些"让我们证明我们在竞技场上比他们强"如果一个部落产生了一个精神病患者，我们会以这样或那样的方式杀死他们。如果他们有一个
pony that had half a brain and could play along, they did all right.”
只有半个脑子的小马，能配合演奏，他们做得很好"
I had to admit, I was a bit taken aback by that. Still, I found the whole thing a little bit off. “So if I say yes, what do I get?”
我不得不承认，我有点吃惊。尽管如此，我还是觉得整个事情有点不对劲。"那么，如果我说是，我会得到什么?"
He flipped the cigar into the air and caught it between his grinning teeth, rolling it to the corner of his mouth. “Plenty. For starters, there won’t be a gang or thug in the Hoof that’d dare cross you. You could trot one end to the other, and nopony will give you grief. You’ll also find all sorts of ponies are generous to a Reaper. You’ll have room and board here, maybe not as cushy as at Elysium, but comfortable. And you’ll have backup from the biggest and toughest fighters in all the Hoof.”
他把雪茄弹到空中，用咧嘴的牙齿咬住雪茄，把它滚到嘴角。"很多。首先，霍夫的帮派和暴徒都不敢和你作对。你可以从一头小跑到另一头，没有小马会给你带来痛苦。你还会发现各种各样的小马都对死神很慷慨。这里有食宿，也许不像极乐空间那么舒适，但是很舒适。你还可以从霍夫最强壮最顽强的战士那里得到支援。"
“And the catch?” I asked. He considered me for a moment and rolled the cigar to the other corner of his mouth. He stroked his chin as he regarded me through those glasses.
"那么接下来呢?"我问道。他想了我一会儿，把雪茄卷到嘴角。他透过眼镜看着我，抚摸着下巴。
“The catch is you back up your fellow Reapers. That means stomping anypony that crosses us or threatens us. That includes the Steel Rangers, Society, or anypony that does us wrong. It also means proving yourself in the ring every few months. Show that you’re tough enough to take on a challenge or four. I heard how you handled Mallet when she was sent to retrieve you. She’s good, and you took her and her friends. As far as I’m concerned, that shows you got the guts to shine in the Reapers.”
"问题是你要支持你的收割者同伴。这意味着要践踏任何穿过我们或威胁我们的矮种马。这包括钢铁骑兵，社会，或任何对我们不利的小马。这也意味着每隔几个月就要在拳击场上证明自己。表现出你足够坚强，能够接受一到四个挑战。我听说Mallet被派去接你的时候你是怎么对付她的。她很厉害你还带走了她和她的朋友。在我看来，这表明你有胆量在收割者中大放异彩。"
I thought about it. I really didn’t owe the Steel Rangers anything. In fact, I didn’t know much about them or their plots, period. But I also didn’t need to screw them arbitrarily. “And if I say no?”
我想过了。我真的不欠钢铁骑兵任何东西。事实上，我对他们和他们的阴谋知之甚少。但我也不需要武断地去压榨他们。"如果我说不呢?"
He let out a long low sigh. “Well, then you go your way, and I hope you come to your senses and change your mind. But the fact is, Security, you’ve become a bit too high profile around here. It was cute when you were doing Finder errands and the like, but after dealing with those psychopaths in that stable? Somepony is going to want you to sign up with them. And if it’s not the Reapers, then I won’t need a hundred thousand caps to get every ganger, thug, and killer on your tail. Hell, I’d consider it good season training. But I’d hate to think of the waste of time and life it’d be when we got a scrap brewing with the Steel Rangers.”
他长长地低声叹了口气。""好吧，那么你走你的路，我希望你恢复理智，改变主意。但事实是，保安，你在这里太高调了。当你在做《追踪者》之类的事情的时候很可爱，但是在和那个马厩里的精神病人打过交道之后呢？一些小马会希望你与他们签约。如果不是死神，那么我就不需要10万个子弹来对付追踪你的每个人，恶棍和杀手。见鬼，我认为这是很好的赛季训练。但是我不愿意去想象当我们和钢铁游骑兵队发生冲突的时候会是多么的浪费时间和生命。"
I frowned at him. “Why are you two fighting?”
我对他皱起了眉头。"你们两个为什么吵架?"
“Oh there doesn’t have to be much reason, but, you see, we had a ceasefire going since raiders were hitting us, Megamart, and Toll. An agreement in good faith.” He snorted two smoke rings from his nostrils. “Then, a few days back, they launched a surprise attack on the Zenith Bridge. Fired a grenade right at our barricade. We responded, and then they had the balls to claim we broke the agreement.”
"哦，不需要多少理由，但是，你看，自从袭击者袭击我们、Megamart和托尔以来，我们就达成了停火协议。一份真诚的协议。"他从鼻孔里喷出两个烟圈。"几天前，他们对ZenithBridge发动了突然袭击。向我们的路障发射了一枚手榴弹。我们做出了回应，然后他们就有种声称我们违反了协议。"
Oh… dear… “This was four days ago?” He nodded once.
哦...亲爱的..."这是四天前的事了?"他点了点头。
About the time we were passing under the Zenith Bridge on the Seahorse. Shit… “I see. Well, then, I’ll have to think about your offer,” I said as I rose to my hooves again. “One thing though… Sanguine.”
大概是我们在海马号上经过ZenithBridge下面的时候。妈的..."我明白了。"好吧，那么，我得考虑一下你的提议,"我说着，又站起身来。"不过有一件事......乐观。"
He snorted. “What about him?”
他哼了一声。"他怎么了?"
“He works for you?”
"他为你工作?"
“Sanguine works for nopony but himself. He keeps my fighters healthy and makes some of them even tougher,” Big Daddy said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “Got some old world magic from before the bombs.”
"桑吉只为自己工作，不为别人工作。他让我的战士们保持健康，甚至让他们中的一些人变得更加强壮。"。"在炸弹爆炸之前就有了一些古老的魔法。"
“And he creates monsters,” I added.
"他还创造了怪物,"我补充说。
Big Daddy grinned from ear to ear around the cigar. He set it in an ashtray and pushed down his glasses so I could see his glowing amber eyes. “Oh, we’re all monsters here in the Reapers, Security. Best to stay with your own.”
大爸爸拿着雪茄，咧着嘴笑了起来。他把它放在一个烟灰缸里，放下眼镜，这样我就能看到他发光的琥珀色眼睛。"哦，我们都是收割者中的怪物，保安。最好留在自己的世界里。"
* * *
* * *
We’d gathered in Rampage’s quarters, which were a little more cluttered than I expected. A dozen Mint-al tins lay stacked neatly on the desk along with a few candy canes. A bookcase held police procedurals and training manuals. Another corner had three strange wooden masks and a weird curved stone statue that looked like molded rock. She also had a lot of knives displayed on a wall, from rusty metal carvers to heavy mechanical rippers and even elegant single-edged swords. Rampage herself had shrugged out of her armor and lay on the extravagant king-sized bed. Glory was trying to fix a snack in the little corner kitchenette, but I supposed that I’d be the only one with an appetite for it.
我们聚集在狂暴的住处，那里比我想象的要混乱一些。桌子上整整齐齐地堆放着一打薄荷糖罐头，还有一些拐杖糖。一个装有警察程序和训练手册的书架。另一个角落里有三个奇怪的木制面具和一个奇怪的弯曲的石头雕像，看起来像模制的岩石。她还在墙上展示了许多刀具，从生锈的金属雕刻刀到沉重的机械切割刀，甚至还有优雅的单刃剑。狂暴的自己脱下盔甲，躺在铺张的特大号床上。格洛里正在角落里的小厨房里准备小点心，但我想我是唯一一个有胃口的人。
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” she said with a thin smile as I looked around. “You could have Gorgon’s room, but you’d have to deal with having Psychoshy as a neighbor.”
"这不算什么，但这是我的家,"当我环顾四周时，她淡淡地笑着说。"你可以住戈尔工的房间，但是你必须得处理好有精神病作为邻居的事。"
“I’m not sure I’ll be taking him up on that offer,” I replied.
"我不确定我会接受他的提议,"我回答。
Rampage sat up, brushing back her red mane. “Are you sure about that? I mean, really sure? ‘Cause I’d reconsider if I were you.”
狂暴坐了起来，梳理着她那红色的鬃毛。"你确定吗？我是说，真的确定？"因为如果我是你，我会重新考虑的。"
“I heard Big Daddy say his piece,” I replied as I walked to the window and looked down at the practice rings.
"我听到大爸爸说他的曲子,"我一边回答，一边走向窗户，低头看着练习用的戒指。
“Let me ask you something, Blackjack,” she said as she rolled off the bed and trotted in front of me. “We went a long way from Flank to 99. Did you notice us getting attacked by the Blinkerton Boys, the Choppers, or the Halfheart Gang?”
"我问你个问题，黑杰克,"她一边说，一边从床上滚下来，小跑着走到我面前。"我们从弗兰克走了很长一段路到99。你有没有注意到我们遭到了眨眼睛兄弟、直升机或者断心帮的袭击?"
“What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.
"你在说什么?"我困惑地问。
“Right. You never even heard of them. That’s because I was with you, Blackjack. They didn’t mess with you because they didn’t want to mess with me. The Halfheart gang had us in their scopes all over Riverside and could have dropped all of us without a problem. They saw me. They left us alone,” she said as she tapped my chest lightly. “If Big Daddy sends word that you’re free game, it’s going to be a whole lot tougher getting around. Even me being with you won’t be protection anymore.”
"对。你从来没有听说过他们。那是因为我和你在一起，Blackjack。他们没有惹你，因为他们不想惹我。哈夫哈特那伙人在河滨市到处监视我们，本来可以毫不费力地把我们都干掉的。他们看到我了。她轻轻地拍了拍我的胸口说。"如果'大老爹'传话说你是免费游戏，那么要让人们知道你是免费的就难多了。即使我和你在一起也不再是保护了。"
I hadn’t realized it, but it’d been true. We’d trotted across half of Hoofington, and, with the exception of raiders, we’d never crossed another soul. That was a lot of wide open territory for gangs to stake out. “Why not? If you’re a Reaper…”
我没有意识到这一点，但这是真的。我们小跑着穿越了半个Hoofington，除了袭击者，我们从未穿越过任何一个灵魂。对于黑帮来说，这是一片广阔的开放区域。"为什么不呢？如果你是个收魂者......"
“Big Daddy’s call for a stomp down trumps me being a Reaper. Hell, they’ll try their best to kill me too.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “And I’ll be expected to join them.”
"老爹要求我踩死他，胜过我是个收割者。见鬼，他们也会想尽办法杀了我。"她闭了一会儿眼睛。"我会加入他们的行列。"
I felt a cool tingle run through me. “And would you?” Rampage looked at me, then sighed and shrugged.
我感到一阵凉爽的刺痛贯穿全身。"你会吗?"狂暴看着我，叹了口气，耸了耸肩。
“Don’t know. Ask me when they do. I like you, Blackjack… you got me out of that nightmare in 99. I really… really… thought I was screwed.” She gave a
"不知道。当他们这样做的时候问我。我喜欢你，Blackjack...你把我从99年的噩梦中救了出来。我真的...真的...以为我完蛋了。"她给了我一个惊喜
little shudder. “But I don’t know if I’m willing or able to throw this away. Being a Reaper is all I have. They’re the closest thing to a family I know.”
有点不寒而栗。"但我不知道自己是否愿意或能够抛弃这一切。成为一个收魂者是我的全部。他们是我认识的最接近家庭的人。"
“They’re not the only thing you have,” Lacunae said softly in our minds. P-21 gave a snort of sorts, then a sigh, glancing at me and then staring out the window at the simulated sky outside. I really needed a chance to talk with him about my mistakes.
"他们不是你唯一拥有的东西,"拉库纳在我们心里轻声说。P-21先是哼了一声，然后叹了口气，看了我一眼，又盯着窗外模拟的天空。我真的需要一个机会和他谈谈我的错误。
“Maybe there’s something we can do to put us in good standing with Big Daddy but not become a full Reaper?” Glory said as she dumped various foods and drinks into a blender. I’d told her about his smoothie, and she’d been keen to see what she could make blend.
"也许我们可以做些什么，让自己在老爹面前保持良好的形象，而不是成为一个彻头彻尾的收割者?"晨辉边说边把各种食物和饮料倒进搅拌机里。我告诉过她他做的奶昔，她很想知道自己能调出什么来。
Rampage considered that. “Maybe. He only calls for stomps on ponies that cross the Reapers.”
狂暴认为。"也许吧。他只要求践踏穿过收割者的小马。"
“What if we stop this fight with the Steel Rangers?” I asked.
"如果我们停止与钢铁游骑兵的战斗呢?"我问道。
The striped pony looked intrigued. “Why do you want to? If Reapers are fighting Rangers, then Big Daddy probably won’t be able to call a stomp.”
那匹有条纹的小马看起来很感兴趣。"你为什么要这么做？如果收割者正在和游骑兵作战，那么老爹可能就不能叫跺脚了。"
“Because it’s our fault.” I explained how Glory’s grenade had kicked off the conflict. The gray pegasus looked horrified at the news.
"因为这是我们的错。"我解释了晨辉的手榴弹是如何引发冲突的。那匹灰色的飞马听到这个消息吓坏了。
“I did this?” she asked as she fluttered in place, gesturing to herself in shock.
"是我干的?"她在原地颤抖着问道，震惊地指着自己。
Rampage snorted. “Believe me, this fight’s been brewing for years. It was going to happen, and now it’ll keep going until somepony wins. If we back the Reapers, then Big Daddy will owe us big time.” I noted her use of ‘we’ and ‘us’. That made me smile.
横冲直撞的人嗤之以鼻。"相信我，这场争斗已经酝酿多年了。这种事本来就会发生，现在会一直持续下去，直到有人赢得比赛。如果我们支持收割者，那么老爹就欠我们一个大人情。"我注意到她使用了'我们'和'我们'。这让我微笑。
“And if we help the Rangers?” P-21 asked.
"如果我们帮助游骑兵呢?"P-21要求。
“I don’t know,” Rampage said, though she didn’t look all that enthusiastic at the idea. “Probably, they’d give us some of their guns and bullets. I can’t think of more than that.”
"我不知道,"朗格说，尽管她看起来对这个主意并不热情。"也许，他们会给我们一些他们的枪和子弹。我只能想到这么多了。"
Lacunae rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Which power would be best to back in Hoofington?”
空隙若有所思地摩挲着她的下巴。"哪一种力量最适合支持胡芬顿?"
“Well, there’s the Reapers and the Steel Rangers. You’ve got the Society down south. Finders are all over the place. And the Eggheads in the college,” Rampage said.
"嗯，有收割者和钢铁骑兵。南边是协会。到处都是发现者。还有学院里的知识分子。"。
“The Society ponies are all aristocrats?” Lacunae queried.
"社会上的小马都是贵族吗?"空隙问道。
“Yeah. They’re based out of the Elysium resort, a special spa that was made to cater to the Princesses, the Ministry Mares, and the rest of the really elite. They control the food and a lot of the money. Lots of politicking now that King Awesome is getting on in years,” Rampage said with a sniff.
"是的。他们的基地在极乐世界度假村，一个特殊的温泉，是为了迎合公主，部长马里斯，和其他真正的精英。他们控制着食物和很多钱。现在很多政治活动都是因为"超棒之王"已经年高龄了。
“And the Eggheads are interested in learning and technology,” I said, remembering Archie at the clinic. “Can’t the factions get along? Splendid was able to work with Archie.”
"而且书呆子们对学习和技术很感兴趣,"我说，想起了诊所里的阿奇。"派系不能和睦相处吗？斯普兰迪能和阿尔奇一起工作。"
Glory coughed. “Um… Blackjack, I’m not sure you remember, but when we left you looked like you wanted to shoot both of them on general principle. I don’t think they actually wanted to work together.” She poured some pickled eggs and Sparkle-Cola into the blender.
晨辉咳嗽了一声。"嗯......黑杰克，我不确定你是否记得，但是当我们离开的时候，你看起来像是基于一般原则想把他们两个都干掉。我认为他们实际上并不想合作。"她往果汁机里倒了一些腌鸡蛋和可乐。
I didn’t like the Society ponies for using slaves, but I didn’t know enough to really decide. The Eggheads sounded good, but, when I thought how hopeless Archie had been, I wondered if they could actually do anything.
我不喜欢社会使用奴隶的小马，但是我知道的不够多，不能真正做出决定。书呆子们听起来不错，但是，当我想到阿尔奇是多么绝望的时候，我不知道他们是否真的能做些什么。
“There’s also the Enclave to consider,” Glory added.
"还有昂科雷可以考虑,"晨辉补充说。
I rounded on her. “What?! There’s no way I could assist the Enclave, Glory. Lighthooves--“
我对她大发雷霆。"什么?！我没有办法帮助飞地，晨辉。轻舟——"
“Is one rogue operative. The Enclave is the strongest power in Equestria. Perhaps some elements are... misguided, but the rest are still good and might be capable of helping us. If we assisted the Volunteer Corps, perhaps we might be able to persuade them to investigate Lighthooves closely and make him pay for his disease.” Glory looked at the blender, apparently satisfied, and hit the ‘on’ switch.
"是一个流氓特工。昂科雷是Equestria最强大的国家。也许有些元素......被误导了，但其他的仍然是好的，可能能够帮助我们。如果我们协助志愿兵团，也许我们能够说服他们仔细调查光剑，让它为自己的疾病买单。"晨辉看了看搅拌机，显然很满意，然后打开了开关。
“Do we have to pick a side?” Scotch Tape asked. “I mean, can’t we just tell them all ‘sorry, not interested’?” The young olive mare had a point.
"我们非得选边站吗?"透明胶带问道。"我的意思是，我们就不能告诉他们'对不起，不感兴趣'吗?"那匹年轻的橄榄母马说得有道理。
“I don’t think so,” Rampage said, shaking her head. “Big Daddy wasn’t wrong.
"我不这么认为,"朗格摇着头说。"大老爹没有错。
When we stopped all the raiders in 99, I think all the powers realized that Security’s a big deal. We might stall them for a while, but eventually they’ll start assuming we’re not with them.”
当我们在99年阻止了所有的袭击者，我想所有的力量都意识到安全是个大问题。我们可能会拖延他们一段时间，但最终他们会开始认为我们没有和他们在一起。"
I looked at all my friends and then at P-21. He sat quietly beside the window, looking pained. I supposed his knee was hurting him more than usual. “What do you think?”
我看了看我所有的朋友，然后又看了看P-21。他静静地坐在窗边，痛苦地看着。我猜想他的膝盖比平时更疼。"你觉得怎么样?"
He looked at me, eyes narrowing, and said in a low voice, “Do whatever you want, Blackjack. You always do.” I felt like he’d slapped me as he rose and limped to the door.
他眯起眼睛看着我，低声说道:"随便你，黑杰克。"。你总是这样。"我感觉他站起来一瘸一拐地走向门口时打了我一巴掌。
“What was that about?” Scotch Tape asked in confusion. “Are all males so cranky?”
"这是怎么回事?"透明胶带混乱地问。"所有的男人都这么暴躁吗?"
I didn’t know how to explain to her how I’d betrayed our friendship. Glory poured the blender’s contents into some glasses and came to my rescue. “Who wants to try some?” she asked brightly, the glasses balanced on her outstretched wings.
我不知道如何向她解释我是如何背叛了我们的友谊。晨辉把搅拌机里的东西倒进玻璃杯里，救了我。"谁想尝尝?"她明亮地问道，眼镜架在她张开的翅膀上。
I wished I could have tried it. I could have done with a nice frothy smoothie. I trotted to the door. “I need to find P-21.”
我希望我能尝试一下。我本来可以来一杯上好的泡沫奶昔。我小跑向门口。"我需要找到P-21。"
“Oh… well, Rampage? Lacunae?” she said, looking to each. Both quickly broke eye contact. She then gave a smile at the curious, if slightly skeptical, Scotch Tape.
"哦......好吧，暴怒？空白?"她说，看着每个人。两人很快就不再有目光接触。然后，她对着那个好奇的透明胶带微微一笑，虽然有点怀疑。
“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. I’ve had poo water in my mouth,” Scotch said with a snort at the other two as I stepped out. There was a loud gulp and then, a second later, a thud.
"哦，得了吧。没那么糟糕吧。"我嘴里有便便水,"苏格兰人边说边朝另外两个人哼了一声，我走了出去。有一声巨响，然后，一秒钟后，砰的一声。
“Great. You killed her,” Rampage said crossly. I glanced back at the green mare curled up in a fetal position, eyes staring straight ahead.
"太好了。"你杀了她,"朗格生气地说。我回头看了一眼那匹绿色的母马，它蜷缩成像胎儿一样，眼睛直直地盯着前方。
“Momma… is that you?” she whispered in a daze.
"妈妈......是你吗?"她茫然地低声说。
“I didn’t think it was that bad!” Glory said in a rush, shaking the shivering earth pony.
"我没想到那么糟糕!"晨辉匆忙地说着，颤抖着大地上的小马。
I closed the door, catching Lacunae’s thought asking, “Glory, do you ever
我关上门，捕捉到空隙的想法，问道:"晨辉，你曾经
actually taste your own cooking?”
尝尝你自己做的饭?"
* * *
* * *
I looked all over for P-21, but if he didn’t want to be found then I wasn’t going to find him without a PipBuck tag. Still, that didn’t stop me from looking. From the skyboxes down to the rings, I searched high and low for him. Everypony I passed gave me a look like they were sizing me up for a fight, coupled with expressions that varied from fearful to respectful. I couldn’t care less. I had to fix my relationship with P-21 as soon as I…
我到处找P-21，但如果他不想被找到，我就不会找到他，除非他有一个PipBuck标签。不过，这并没有阻止我继续寻找。从天空盒子到戒指，我到处寻找他。我经过的每一匹小马都看着我，好像他们在打量我，还伴随着从害怕到尊重的表情。我一点也不在乎。我必须尽快修复与P-21的关系。.
Sanguine.
血红色。
The seared ghoul looked quite ironic in a business suit that appeared freshly pressed and laundered. It wasn’t even scuffed up or frayed. His eyes swirled with a bizarre pink light I’d only seen on a few glowing ghouls. Pink tendrils of vapor leaked out of holes in his ribs and around his lips. He hummed to himself as he trotted right past me. Then he slowed and stopped. “Well well well…” He turned his head to look back at me. “It’s you.”
这个焦灼的食尸鬼穿着一套刚熨过、洗过的西装，看起来颇具讽刺意味。它甚至没有磨损或磨损。他的眼睛里闪烁着一种奇异的粉红色光芒，我只在几个发光的食尸鬼身上看到过。粉红色的水蒸气卷须从他肋骨和嘴唇周围的洞里漏出来。他从我身边小跑过去，一边哼着小曲。然后他放慢了速度，停了下来。"好吧，好吧，好吧......"他转过头来看着我。"就是你。"
I wanted to drop into S.A.T.S. and plant four magic rounds in his head, but I wanted answers too. “Yeah. I’m like a brass bit. I just keep popping up,” I replied as I turned to face him. A number of ponies were noting our conversation; I wondered just how many would come to the ghoul’s defense if I shot him. “So, what brings you here? Looking for this?” I asked as I shook my PipBuck at him.
我想参加sat考试，在他脑子里装上四个魔法子弹，但我也想知道答案。"是的。我就像个铜管乐器。我只是不停地跳出来,"当我转过身面对他时，我回答道。许多小马注意到了我们的谈话，我想知道如果我开枪打死盗尸者，有多少小马会为他辩护。"那么，什么风把你吹到这儿来了？在找这个吗?"我一边问，一边向他摇着我的皮布克。
“Actually, I was checking on some clients, what with the upcoming war and all. But if you’d give that to me, I could repay you in some augmentation to make you the terror of the Wasteland.”
"实际上，我是在查看一些客户，关于即将到来的战争等等。但是如果你把它给我，我可以给你一些补偿，让你成为荒原的恐怖。"
“Augmentation? Like what you did to Stonewing?” I asked, and I was overjoyed to see the cooked unicorn ghoul floored in shock.
"增强？就像你对斯通温所做的那样?"我问道，看到烹制好的独角兽食尸鬼震惊不已，我欣喜若狂。
“How do you know about that?”
"你怎么知道的?"
“I know all about Project Chimera. Equestria’s little monster making program,” I said softly, my eyes narrowing. “U-21 mentioned it in Flank before he died. Let me guess, you told him that if he got EC-1101, you’d give him powers too?” Again, surprise. “I suppose it’d be an easy offer to give a stallion tormented and
"我对奇美拉计划了如指掌。小马国的小怪物制造计划,"我轻声说，眼睛眯了起来。U-21在死前在弗兰克提到过。让我猜猜，你告诉他，如果他得了EC-1101，你也会给他超能力?"再说一次，惊喜。"我想，要给一匹饱受折磨的种马一个好价钱
abused all his life. Easy power.”
虐待了他一辈子。轻而易举地获得权力。"
“Oh yes. He was quite keen to be crossed with a dragon. As if we would replicate that little monstrosity,” he said with a small shudder. “But he’s dead, you’re here, and you have a PipBuck I want very badly. So let’s deal.”
"哦，是的。他非常渴望与龙交配。仿佛我们要复制那个小怪物似的,"他打了个小颤说。"但是他死了，你在这里，而且你有一笔我非常想要的钱。所以，让我们开始吧。"
“Deal? You think I’d deal with you?” I scoffed. “You’ve made my life a living hell for nearly a month.”
"成交？你以为我会对付你吗?"我嗤之以鼻。"近一个月来，你让我生不如死。"
“And I’ll happily leave you be once I have that file,” he answered with a grin as if it’d all been some sort of poorly-implemented joke. “To be honest, I’d have tried to buy it from you earlier, but Deus was so determined to get it himself.”
"一旦我拿到那份文件，我很乐意离开你,"他咧嘴笑着回答，仿佛这一切都是某种执行不力的玩笑。"老实说，我本来想早点向你买的，但是天王下定决心自己去买。"
“He was in agony,” I replied, my eyes narrowing.
"他很痛苦,"我回答，眼睛眯起来。
Sanguine just smiled and polished his hoof on his vest. “Well, the desperate are so much more tractable. That’s why we thought of the bounty. Then Usury kindly doubled it after your bold declaration. I can’t believe nopony was able to bring you down.”
桑金只是笑了笑，用马甲擦了擦他的蹄子。"好吧，那些绝望的人要温顺得多。这就是为什么我们想到了赏金。然后，在你大胆宣布之后，高利贷善意地加倍了。我真不敢相信没有一匹小马能把你打倒。"
“Not for a lack of trying,” I grumbled.
"不是因为缺乏尝试,"我抱怨道。
“Sanggie!” cried a voice from above.
"桑吉!"一个声音从上面传来。
“Speaking of the desperate…” Sanguine muttered, then smiled widely as Psychoshy swooped down into an embrace. To my disgust, the yellow pegasus kissed the ghoul with a positively nauseating amount of tongue. “Fluttershy, so nice to see you again. How are you, my dear?”
"说到绝望......"桑吉内喃喃自语，然后笑容满面地看着心理害羞俯冲下来拥抱。让我感到恶心的是，黄色的飞马用令人作呕的舌头亲吻了食尸鬼。"小蝴蝶，很高兴再次见到你。你好吗，亲爱的?"
“Sanggie, you promised you’d make me better. I’m supposed to be better,” the yellow pegasus said with a pout.
"桑吉，你答应过会让我好起来的。我应该会好起来的,"黄飞马撅着嘴说。
I gaped at her. “Fluttershy? I thought your name was Psychoshy.”
我目瞪口呆地看着她。"胆小鬼？我还以为你叫心理害羞呢。"
The yellow pegasus gave me an indignant glare. “A horrible nickname perpetuated against the kindest and most wonderful mare in Equestria.” She released Sanguine and frowned as she looked back at him and whined, “We’re going to be in a fight, Sanggie. I need to be better for it. You promised.”
黄色的飞马怒视了我一眼。"这是给Equestria最善良、最美好的母马起的可怕绰号。"她放开桑吉，皱起了眉头，回头看着他，呜呜地说:"桑吉，我们要打起来了。我需要变得更好。你答应过的。"
“In a bit, Butterflanks. This mare has the PipBuck I need,” he said. Psychoshy
"等一下，巴特弗兰克。这匹母马有我需要的皮普巴克,"他说。心理害羞
looked at it sharply and then glared at me.
尖锐地看着它，然后瞪着我。
“You have it? A weak loser like you?” I couldn’t help myself, I held it in her face and gave the device a little shake. She snapped, “Give it to me right now!”
"你拿到了吗？像你这样软弱的失败者?"我控制不住自己，我把它举到她的脸上，轻轻地晃了晃那个装置。她厉声说,"现在就给我!"
I snorted, “As if…”
我哼了一声,"好像......"
She narrowed her eyes. “I challenge!” Suddenly the ponies looking on began to talk to each other in excitement. Somepony instantly started to call out bets. The odds, I noticed, were not in my favor.
她眯起眼睛。"我挑战!"突然，旁观的小马们开始兴奋地互相交谈起来。一些小马马上开始下注。我注意到，这种几率并不对我有利。
“Excuse me? You’re going to have to explain this Reaper stuff to me,” I said dully. Fortunately Mallet appeared from the milling throng, looking flatly at the yellow pegasus.
"你说什么？"你得给我解释一下死神的东西,"我无精打采地说。幸运的是，马莱特从人群中出现了，直勾勾地看着黄色的飞马。
“What’s the challenge?” the caramel mare asked Psychoshy.
"挑战是什么?"焦糖母马问神经病。
“I want that PipBuck,” she said imperiously.
"我要那匹布克,"她傲慢地说。
Mallet turned to me. “Do you accept her challenge?”
马莱特转向我。"你接受她的挑战吗?"
“Wait? Challenge?” I looked at Mallet and sat, thumping my chest with both hooves. “Sta-ble po-nee. I don’t know this Reaper stuff!”
"等等？挑战?"我看了看Mallet，坐了下来，用两只蹄子捶着胸。"我的宝贝。我不知道什么死神!"
“Any Reaper can challenge another pony in the arena,” Mallet explained. “She wants that PipBuck. You can decline and give it to her, or you can accept her challenge and name terms of your own.”
"任何收割者都可以在竞技场上挑战另一匹小马,"马利特解释说。"她想要那匹巴克。你可以拒绝，然后给她，或者你可以接受她的挑战，提出你自己的条件。"
“You mean a Reaper can just… take whatever she wants?” That seemed ridiculously unfair.
"你是说一个死神可以...想拿什么拿什么?"这似乎是荒谬的不公平。
“No, but she can challenge for it. A pony doesn’t have to accept,” Mallet said calmly.
"不，但是她可以为此提出挑战。一匹小马不一定要接受,"马利特平静地说。
I could have just handed it over. It didn’t have EC-1101, and I needed to find P-
我本可以直接交出去的。它没有EC-1101，我需要找到p-
Still, I had to admit I was aching to thump her ass and this might be a shortcut to getting all the answers I needed. “I accept,” I replied. “And if I win, I want answers from him.”
尽管如此，我还是不得不承认我很想揍她一顿，这也许是我得到所有我想要答案的捷径。"我接受,"我回答。"如果我赢了，我想从他那里得到答案。"
“You can’t challenge for something of his. He’s not fighting!” Psychoshy
"你不能挑战他的东西。他没有反抗!"心理害羞
objected crossly.
愤怒地反对。
Sanguine, though, smiled. “I accept. If you are victorious, I’ll answer all your questions.”
然而，乐观的他笑了。"我接受。如果你胜利了，我会回答你所有的问题。"
Mallet said calmly, “A property challenge is to submission. First to yield or be knocked out loses.” She looked up to where Psychoshy tittered in glee, dancing in the air as she hovered. “I’ll set up the match.”
马利特平静地说:"房地产的挑战就是屈服。第一个屈服或者被击倒的人就输了。"她抬起头，心理害羞在那里欢快地傻笑着，在空中盘旋着跳舞。"我来安排比赛。"
In the crowd I saw the Dealer watching me with a grim, stern expression. I could hear the cards purring in my ears.
在人群中，我看到商人带着严肃的表情看着我。我可以听到扑克牌在我耳边咕噜咕噜地响。
* * *
* * *
Word had gotten around at the speed of Dash, and soon it seemed that everypony had clustered around the great steel wire dome. I watched as Big Daddy trotted down next to Brutus to take a special seat overlooking the action. This seemed to be the only thing that made the gangs, with their scarves and strange markings, blend together. Apparently, challenges required us to enter in only our hides. The walls of the dome were festooned with just about every melee and thrown weapon imaginable. Some, like a chainsaw, were padlocked. Also padlocked were marked medical boxes. If we fought well, the audience might throw us a key. If not, we’d be left with the most basic and flimsiest weapons.
消息以达什的速度传开了，很快，似乎每匹小马都聚集在这个巨大的钢丝圆顶周围。我看着老爹小跑着来到Brutus，坐在一个特殊的座位上俯瞰这场比赛。这似乎是唯一的事情，使团伙，与他们的围巾和奇怪的标记，混合在一起。显然，挑战只需要我们进入我们的内心。圆顶的墙上装饰着几乎所有你能想象到的混战和投掷武器。有些，比如电锯，被锁上了。还有挂锁的标记着医疗箱。如果我们打得好，观众可能会扔给我们一把钥匙。如果没有，我们就只剩下最基本和最脆弱的武器了。
“Blackjack, what do you think you’re doing?” Glory asked as my friends got a special seat with the Hammerdown Gang next to Mallet and Cuffs.
"黑杰克，你以为你在干什么?"晨辉问，因为我的朋友得到了一个特殊的座位与哈默唐帮旁边的锤子和袖口。
“Getting some answers I’ve wanted for a long time,” I said, as a pony wearing a scuffed PipBuck from Stable 89 removed Marmalade’s PipBuck from my hoof with her strange tools. I wouldn’t have the advantage of S.A.T.S. in the cage. It would just be me and her, and I was okay with that. I looked around but there was no sight of a little blue pony. “Where’s P-21?”
"得到一些我一直想要的答案,"我说，当时我是一匹小马，穿着一件从Stable89脱下来的磨损的矮种马，用她那奇怪的工具把Marmalade的矮种马从我的蹄子上取下来。关在笼子里我就没有sat的优势了。只有我和她，我对此没什么意见。我环顾四周，没有看到一匹蓝色的小马。"P-21在哪里?"
“You were looking for him. Didn’t you find him?” Glory asked in concern. No, I’d gotten sidetracked... but soon as this fight was done I could have both my answers and my friend. Then we could decide how we’d end this war.
"你在找他。你没有找到他吗?"晨辉关切地问道。不，我转移了注意力......但是一旦这场争吵结束，我就可以得到我的答案和我的朋友。然后我们再决定如何结束这场战争。
The day illusion swapped to one of night; it was spoiled only by the wan light peeking through the holes in the dome. A dozen spotlights illuminated the cage and the gaunt unicorn stallion standing within from all angles. A top hat perched
白天的幻觉变成了夜晚的幻觉，只有透过穹顶的小孔窥视的苍白的光线破坏了白天的幻觉。十几盏聚光灯照亮了笼子和从各个角度站在笼子里面憔悴的独角兽种马。一顶礼帽落在了桌子上
on his lanky black mane, and long elaborate robes draped over his thin frame as a crystal tipped staff hovered beside him. He brought the tip down with a crackle of thunder, and instantly the crowd fell silent. The crystal began to glow as his lips curled.
瘦长的黑鬃毛上披着精致的长袍，细瘦的身躯上披着精致的长袍，一根尖端镶有水晶的棍子在他身边盘旋。他发出雷鸣般的爆裂声，把尖端拉了下来，人群立刻陷入了沉默。当他的嘴唇卷起时，水晶开始发光。
“Listen, all!” he proclaimed as he stood on his rear legs, waving his forehooves overhead. “This is the truth of it. Fighting leads to killing, and killing gets to warring. And that was damn near the death of us all. But look as us now! Busted up, and everyone scared of the taint and radiation. But we’ve learned -- Hoofington learned. Now, when tough ponies get to fighting, it happens here! And it finishes here! Two ponies enter; one pony leaves.”
"大家听着!"他用后腿站着宣布，前蹄在头顶挥舞。"这是事实。战斗导致杀戮，杀戮导致战争。这差点害死了我们所有人。但是看看现在的我们！爆炸了，每个人都害怕污染和辐射。但是我们学到了----胡芬顿学到了。现在，当强悍的小马参加比赛的时候，就发生在这里！它在这里结束！两匹小马进来，一匹小马离开。"
“Um… he knows this isn’t to the death, right?” I muttered with a gulp as the crowd cheered in approval and repeated the line over and over again.
"嗯......他知道这不是生死攸关的事，对吧?"我咕哝了一声，人群欢呼着表示赞同，并一遍又一遍地重复着这句话。
Rampage gave me a mirthless smile. “It’s always to the death Blackjack. Especially when it isn’t. Now hush. It’s bad luck to interrupt Dealgood.”
狂暴给了我一个不愉快的微笑。"总是要玩死黑杰克。特别是当它不是的时候。现在安静。打断Dealgood会带来厄运。"
The pony swished the staff through the air. “Right now, I’ve got two ponies, two mares with a gut full of hate and avarice.” His voice dropped to a lover’s whisper, magnified by the spell as he purred, “Fillies and gentlecolts… Boys and girls… Dyin’ time’s here!”
那匹小马在空中嗖嗖地挥舞着拐杖。"现在，我有两匹小马，两匹怀着仇恨和贪婪的母马。"他的声音降低到情人的耳语，随着他咕噜咕噜的叫声，声音被魔咒放大了,"小母马和绅士们......男孩和女孩们......死亡时间到了!"
He pointed the glowing crystal at me, and a spotlight stabbed down to illuminate me through the mesh door. “From the depths of the stable and into the hard rain she’s walked. She’s meted out bloody justice with every step that she’s taken.
他把发光的水晶指向我，一个聚光灯穿过网状门照亮了我。"她从马厩的深处走进了大雨中。她走的每一步都是在伸张正义。
She’s the hard law of the land, the bloody kick of retribution. She’s… the Security Mare!”
她是这片土地上最严厉的法律，血腥的惩罚。她是......保安母马!"
I opened the door and stepped in only to be greeted by angry mutters and jeers. “Woohoo! Kick her ass, Blackjack!” called Scotch Tape, pumping her hoof in the air.
我打开门走了进去，迎接我的只有愤怒的嘀咕和嘲笑。"呜呼！踢她的屁股，黑杰克!"叫做苏格兰胶带，在空中挥舞着她的蹄子。
“Um... yeah. Yay,” Glory added sheepishly, her eyes full of worry.
"嗯......是的。"耶,"晨辉羞怯地补充道，她的眼睛里充满了忧虑。
“Don’t die,” Lacunae suggested from the back of my mind. Wonderfully helpful advice there!
"不要死,"拉库尼在我的脑海里暗示。非常有帮助的建议！
“And over here, we have your favorite of the Hoofington Reapers. She’s the loveliest in all of Equestria. The softest, gentlest, and nicest way a pony could
"在这里，我们有你最喜欢的马蹄收割机。她是全Equestria最可爱的女孩。这是一匹小马所能做到的最柔软、最温柔、最友好的方式
die! You know her! You love her! She’s… Psychoshy!” he called out grandly as he looked to the top of the dome.
去死吧！你认识她！你爱她！她是个...神经病!"他看着穹顶的顶部，大声喊道。
She flew in from the top of the dome, swooping along the perimeter to the howls of adoration. Ponies with keys waved them at her, screaming for her to splash them with my blood. She landed next to Dealgood and screamed, “You’re going to love me!” Her roar, magnified a thousand times by Dealgood’s crystal, echoed through the stadium.
她从圆顶上飞了进来，沿着圆顶的边缘俯冲下来，听着人们对她的狂热崇拜。拿着钥匙的小马向她挥舞着它们，尖叫着让她用我的血泼它们。她降落在迪尔古德旁边，尖叫着,"你会爱上我的!"她的咆哮被德尔古德的水晶放大了一千倍，在体育场里回荡。
Okay… I could admit it. I was fucked.
好吧...我承认。我完蛋了。
We trotted in front of Dealgood. “Fight’s simple. Get to the weapons. Use them however you can. This is a challenge to submission. Fight as long and hard as you can till your bones break if you must. Tap three times and you’re done. Get knocked out and you’re done. Die… and you’re done,” he said with a greasy grin at me. “Other than that, don’t worry about the rules. There are none.”
我们小跑到Dealgood前面。"战斗很简单。去拿武器。尽你所能使用它们。这是对服从的挑战。如果必须的话，尽你所能的长时间和努力的战斗，直到你的骨头断掉。点击三次，你就完成了。被击倒，你就完了。死了......你就完了,"他带着油腻的笑容对我说。"除此之外，不用担心规则。根本就没有。"
“I’m going to break you for being so mean to Sanguine,” Psychoshy hissed softly at me.
"我要揍扁你，因为你对桑吉那么刻薄,"心理变态对我轻声嘶叫。
“Won’t be the first time,” I countered as we trotted to opposite sides of the dome. A rope was looped around our necks. If I tried to grab a weapon with my magic or she lunged for one, we’d be choked. I looked longingly at a shotgun chained just a few feet from me with a bright red padlock on it. Looking around, the ponies waving the red keys sure didn’t look all that interested in tossing them to me. I saw an old, ratty, sharpened shovel to my left.
"这不是第一次了,"我们小跑到圆顶的两侧时，我反驳道。一根绳子绕在我们的脖子上。如果我试图用魔法抓住一件武器，或者她扑向一件武器，我们就会窒息。我渴望地看着离我几英尺远的一把猎枪，上面锁着一把鲜红色的挂锁。环顾四周，挥舞着红色钥匙的小马看起来并没有那么有兴趣把它们扔给我。我看见左边有一把破旧的削尖的铁锹。
Then I felt hooves on my tail. “Hey…” I started, but then looked back at P-21. His blue eyes were… strange. Bloodshot. Tired. Haunted. He held my tail for only a few seconds, and then released it. Looking at me, he swished his own tail. What was he trying to tell me?
然后我感觉到有蹄子在我的尾巴上。"嘿......"我开始了，但随后又回头看了看P-21。他的蓝眼睛...很奇怪。充血。累了。闹鬼。他只抓住我的尾巴几秒钟，然后就松开了。它看着我，摇着尾巴。他想告诉我什么？
“Good luck, Blackjack,” he said softly. “I hope you get the answers you’re looking for.” With that, he turned and started back into the crowd.
"祝你好运，黑杰克,"他轻声说。"我希望你能得到你想要的答案。"说完，他转身回到人群中。
I turned my back to the fight. Suddenly, the meaninglessness of this fight hit me right between the eyes. I’d forfeit, let him have the PipBuck. I needed--
我背对着战场。突然，这场毫无意义的战斗正中我的要害。我要弃权，把皮布克给他。我需要--
Then the crowd roared as four hooves smashed me against the door with such force I wondered if she’d snapped my back. I shoved back purely on reflex.
四只蹄子如此猛烈地撞在门上，我不禁怀疑她是不是把我的背撞断了。我完全出于条件反射而推了回去。
“Glory! Help P-21!” I tried to yell out over the crowd as I turned to face Psychoshy. I just had to stomp my hoof three times and they’d have the stupid PipBuck. Once. Twice… but before I could smack my hoof a third time the yellow and gold pegasus whirled through the air and smashed my face with her rear legs.
"晨辉！帮助P-21!"当我转身面对心理害羞的人时，我试图对着人群大喊大叫。我只要跺三下蹄子，他们就会得到那愚蠢的PipBuck。一次。两次......但是我还没来得及第三次跺蹄子，那匹金黄相间的飞马就在空中旋转起来，用它的后腿猛击了我的脸。
“Oh, no giving up now,” she taunted.
"哦，现在不要放弃,"她嘲弄地说。
“I need to help my friend! Take the stupid thing,” I said as I stomped my hoof again twice, but once again she slammed into me.
"我需要帮助我的朋友！"拿着这愚蠢的东西,"我一边说，一边又跺了两下蹄子，但是她又一次撞上了我。
“The only way you’re leaving here is if you beat me,” she said as she grinned down at me from above.
"你离开这里的唯一方法就是打败我,"她从上面向我咧嘴笑着说。
My horn flared and seized the rope dangling about her neck in one fury-empowered yank to bring her down, face to face. “It. Is. ON!” If I had to break her head to see to my friend, then that’s what I’d do! Psychoshy brought her hoof up and kicked me upside the head again. My focus faltered just a little bit, and she was able to shove the rope off from around her neck. I wasted no time, grabbing the sharpened shovel and stabbing the jagged edge at her face.
我的喇叭突然响了起来，抓住了挂在她脖子上的绳子，一个愤怒的美国佬把她当面拉了下来。"它。是。开!"如果我不得不打破她的头去看我的朋友，那么这就是我要做的！神经病又用蹄子踢了我的头一下。我的注意力稍微有点不集中，她就能把脖子上的绳子推开。我抓紧时间，抓起削尖的铲子，把锯齿状的边缘刺向她的脸。
No matter how bitchy and obnoxious she was, she was also fast. Faster than me and my shovel. My stabs and swings had her dodging about, but she excelled at dodging. Worse, more than once she’d swooped in and clipped me with a hoof.
不管她是多么的恶毒和讨厌，她也很快。比我和我的铲子还快。我的刺拳和秋千使她不停地躲闪，但她很擅长躲闪。更糟糕的是，她不止一次扑过来，用蹄子夹住了我。
“White Key! White Key for Psychoshy! We looove you!” screamed the Flash Fillies, tossing a key into the air. The yellow pegasus swooped away to catch it before it fell and kissed the mare who’d thrown the key. I wonder if the mare knew where that mouth had been. I looked around for another weapon.
"白钥匙！精神病患者的白钥匙！我们爱你!"闪电小雌马尖叫着，把一把钥匙抛向空中。黄色的天马飞扑过去抓住它，然后掉了下来，吻了那匹扔掉钥匙的母马。我不知道那匹母马是否知道那张嘴的位置。我四处寻找另一件武器。
Something faster. Rusty knives. A rake. A carpenter’s hammer. What I really wanted was the shotgun.
更快的东西。生锈的刀子。耙子。木匠的锤子。我真正想要的是猎枪。
Dealgood trotted atop the cage, announcing in his amplified voice, “Oh, surprise surprise. The Fillies have flung their key into the ring. Well, they’ve always had a warm and electric spot for the beautiful, lovely, kindly mare.” I snorted. In a radhog’s eye.
迪尔古德小跑到笼子顶上，用放大的声音宣布:"哦，惊喜。小姑娘们把钥匙扔进了戒指里。嗯，他们总是为美丽、可爱、善良的母马提供一个温暖、令人兴奋的场所。"我哼了一声。在雷德霍格的眼里。
I stomped my hoof three times, but nopony was paying attention. I nearly screamed in frustration. They wouldn’t let me quit till they had a good fight!
我跺了三次蹄子，但没有一匹小马注意到。我沮丧得几乎尖叫起来。他们不好好打一架是不会让我退出的！
Then I noticed a tan key being held out towards me. Dealgood caught that, of course. “Oh ho ho ho! It looks like the Pecos out of Brimstone’s Fall have decided to throw Security a bone.” Psychoshy had gotten a power hoof from the Fillies. I saw a tan medical kit and raced over, jamming the key into the lock. I popped it open, hoping for something… anything… that could end this fight early!
然后我注意到一把棕褐色的钥匙朝我伸过来。当然，迪尔古德注意到了这一点。"哦，哦，哦，哦！看来佩科斯河已经决定给安全局一点颜色看看了。"精神病从小母马那里得到了一只有力的蹄子。我看见一个黄褐色的急救箱，就跑过去，把钥匙塞进了锁里。我打开它，希望有什么东西......任何东西......可以早点结束这场争吵！
What I got was an earthenware jug.
我得到的是一个陶罐。
“Well now. Looks like the drinks are on the Pecos. Unless I miss my guess, that’s some of Dusty Trails’s own grade A moonshine!” Dealgood chuckled, “Personally, I’d rather have the power hoof, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
"现在好了。看起来饮料在佩科斯河上。除非我猜错了，那是达斯蒂特尔斯自己的a级私酿酒!"迪尔古德轻声笑道:"就我个人而言，我宁愿拥有权力的蹄子，但乞丐不能挑三拣四。"
Psychoshy’s hoof crackled with energy as she gave me that grin I knew and loved. There was only one thing to do with a bottle of alcohol. I pulled the stopper and lifted the bottle to my lips. It was like drinking pure fire. Suddenly, my aches and pains didn’t feel like much at all and now I was grinning too. I thrust the jug overhead and screamed at the top of my lungs, “Yeeeeeehawwww!”
精神病害羞的蹄子活力四射，她给了我那我熟悉和喜爱的微笑。对于一瓶酒只有一个办法。我拉上瓶塞，把瓶子举到嘴边。这就像喝纯粹的火。突然间，我的疼痛感觉一点都不像了，现在我也笑了。我把罐子推过头顶，用最大的声音尖叫着:"耶耶哈哈!"
They wanted a fucking fight. It would be a fucking fight! Psychoshy charged straight at me, her hoof crackling with arcane energies that’d probably blast my face off. I squatted, dropped the bottle into my forehooves, and then threw the heavy jar right into her face with all my strength. Her eyes went wide as the jagged bits of pottery slashed at her hide and the burning alcohol splashed in her eyes. I reared up and brought my hooves down just as she slammed into me, hitting her so hard she bounced.
他们他妈的想打一架。这将是一场该死的战斗！精神病向我直冲过来，她的蹄子迸发出神秘的能量，可能会炸掉我的脸。我蹲下来，把瓶子扔进我的前蹄，然后用尽全力把沉重的瓶子扔到她的脸上。她的眼睛睁得大大的，那些参差不齐的陶器碎片划破了她的皮，燃烧着的酒精溅到了她的眼睛里。就在她猛地撞上我的时候，我站起来，把我的蹄子放下来，狠狠地撞了她一下，她弹了起来。
She sprawled out on her back before me. “Don’t you get ‘tween me and my friend!” I bellowed as I reared again to finish the fight. Then she drew back her hind legs and smashed both of them right up into my reproductive organs. Moonshine or no, I felt that!
她仰卧在我面前。"不要把我和我的朋友搞混了!"为了结束这场比赛，我又用后腿发怒了。然后她收回后腿，两条后腿都撞到了我的生殖器官上。不管有没有私酿烈酒，我都能感觉到！
“Ooooh… and Security gets a hoofjob from her loveliness herself. Doesn’t look like she enjoyed it much,” Dealgood laughed from overhead.
"噢......保安从她的可爱中得到了一份工作。看起来她不怎么喜欢,"迪尔古德在头顶上笑着说。
I forced myself to my hooves, focusing on standing. I lifted the shovel to block her glowing forehoof, but the weapon shattered under the impact. Slowly I limped backwards. My horn snatched up a rake. Shattered. A hubcap. Shattered. Every weapon I grabbed was busted by that crackling power hoof. I tried to fire
我强迫自己用我的蹄子，专注于站立。我举起铲子挡住她发光的前蹄，但是武器在冲击下粉碎了。我慢慢地一瘸一拐地往后退。我的角抓起一把耙子。支离破碎。轮毂罩。支离破碎。我抓到的每一件武器都被那个劈啪作响的马蹄弄坏了。我试着开枪
a magic bullet at her, but without S.A.T.S. every time my horn flashed she’d dodge aside.
但是如果没有sat考试，每次我的喇叭一闪，她就会躲到一边。
“Awww, fuck it,” I shouted and then lunged forward with no weapon at all, catching Psychoshy by surprise. There were rules to fighting, but right now I was chucking them all out the window! I tackled her instead, and though I wasn’t as hefty as an earth pony, I was heavier than her! We rolled in the dirt with me punching, biting, and kicking every inch of her I could. “You wanna fight dirty? Let’s fight!”
"啊，去他妈的,"我喊道，然后没带武器就冲了上去，吓了一跳。打架是有规矩的，但是现在我把它们都扔出了窗外！我反而抓住了她，虽然我没有地球上的小马那么壮，但是我比她重！我们在泥土里打滚，我尽可能地打、咬、踢她的每一寸肌肤。"你想玩阴的吗？让我们战斗吧!"
Close in, her power hoof wasn’t as effective. I was too dumb to guess why and too pissed to care. I bit hard on her ear, chewing like it was Rampage’s heart. With a great heave she threw me off and took to the air again, looking hurt and pissed… and worried. I spat a chunk of her ear… or maybe it was my tooth… to the side as I grinned up at her.
近距离接触，她的力量蹄就没那么有效了。我太笨，猜不出为什么，又太生气，不在乎。我狠狠地咬了她的耳朵，像咬狂暴的心一样。她用力一推，把我甩了下去，又飞到了空中，看上去很受伤，很生气......很担心。我往她耳朵上吐了一口唾沫......或者可能是我的牙齿......掉在一边，对着她咧嘴笑着。
“Pink key! Pink key for Psychoshy!” yelled some ponies that looked familiar. I thought I might have seen them around Flank. Psychoshy flew over to the appropriately labeled box and opened it. A restoration potion and some needles lay there. Aw, why couldn’t I have had that key? I charged across the arena, but she gulped down the potion and jabbed the chem into her leg.
"粉色钥匙！给心理害羞的粉色钥匙!"一些看起来很眼熟的小马大声叫道。我想我可能在弗兰克附近见过他们。变态狂飞到贴了适当标签的盒子前，打开了它。那里有一瓶复原药水和一些针头。为什么我没有那把钥匙？我冲过竞技场，但她吞下了药水，把化学药品戳进了自己的腿。
“Is that Stampede from the Halfheart gang? Why I think it is!” Dealgood crowed in glee. “Let’s get ready to loooooooove!” I stared in horror as Psychoshy’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.
""那是哈夫哈特帮的惊跑吗？为什么我会这么认为!"高兴地欢呼着。"让我们准备开始吧!"我惊恐地盯着"心理害羞"的瞳孔缩小成针刺状。
“LOVE!” she screamed as she slammed her power fist at me with a crackle. “LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!” With each cry she battered at me with no thought or care for defense. I ate one hit, and after that it was all I could do to avoid another. The crowd was chanting along with her, and each time the word was uttered it seemed to push Psychoshy harder and faster. Even with the moonshine, I was definitely feeling run down.
"爱!"她一边尖叫，一边用力拳打我。"爱！爱！爱！爱!"每当我哭的时候，她就用拳头打我，丝毫不想也不关心我的防守。我只吃了一口，之后我只能尽力避免再吃一口。人群跟着她一起吟唱，每当这个词出现的时候，它似乎就把"心理害羞"推得越来越快。尽管有私酿烈酒，我还是觉得精疲力尽。
Then I ducked as she swung her hoof into a metal post, and with sparks and a crackle the power hoof finally died. A united ‘awww’ of disappointment rose from the Flash Fillies. I turned and gave her face an Applejack applebuck, crushing her nose and knocking her back enough to get some space. I needed something and nopony was offering to help me. I looked at my friends, but they had no key to give me. Nothing to help me. Psychoshy was still under the effects
然后，当她把蹄子甩进一根金属柱子时，我低下了头，随着火花和噼啪声，这个动力的蹄子终于死了。从闪电小雌马身上传来一阵失望之情。我转过身，给了她一杯苹果白兰地，捏碎了她的鼻子，把她的背撞了个稀巴烂。我需要一些东西，而且没有小马愿意帮助我。我看着我的朋友们，但是他们没有钥匙给我。没什么可以帮我的。心理害羞仍然受到影响
of Stampede; any second she’d be all over me again like fleas in my tail.
她随时都会像我尾巴上的跳蚤一样缠着我。
P-21… swishing his tail… touching my tail… I lifted my tail and stared at the tiny brass bobby pin.
P-21......摇着尾巴......摸着我的尾巴......我抬起尾巴，盯着那个小小的铜发夹。
Of course he’d cheat to help me. I pulled the pin out and jammed it into a dark blue box, much to the outrage of the crowd. I had only seconds to do it, and I doubted I’d have a chance to force the lock. With a click, the container opened and I saw a rejuvenation potion and a tin of Mint-als. Scooping up both with my magic, I jumped aside in time to avoid the hoof that dented the armored healing kit. What did I have to lose? I chowed down on both.
他当然会作弊来帮助我。我把别针拔出来，塞进一个深蓝色的盒子里，这让人群非常愤怒。我只有几秒钟的时间，我怀疑我是否有机会撬开锁。随着一声咔嗒，容器打开了，我看到了一个恢复青春的药水和一听薄荷-als。我用魔法把它们都铲了起来，及时地跳到一边，以免蹄子撞凹了装甲治疗包。我会失去什么呢？我两个都吃了下去。
As the healing washed through me, I realized I’d committed a major faux pas. Clearly, using a bobby pin was a violation of the spirit of the game and there were a half dozen offering their keys to Psychoshy now. She was in such a Stampede-induced frenzy that she missed them, but that wouldn’t last. I needed something to get them back on my side.
随着伤痛慢慢愈合，我意识到自己犯了一个严重的错误。显然，使用发夹违背了游戏的精神，现在有六个人把钥匙给了Psychoshy。她陷入了惊慌失措的状态，以至于错过了他们，但这种情况不会持续太久。我需要一些东西让他们回到我这边。
And Big Daddy was watching. Suddenly, I realized that it didn’t matter how much I stomped, he was going to keep this fight going. I didn’t just have to win. I had to win like a Reaper. Like one of the top ten. And that meant I’d have to put on a show.
大老爹在看着呢。突然间，我意识到不管我踩了多少脚，他都会继续这场战斗。我不只是想赢。我必须像死神一样赢得比赛。就像前十名中的一个。这就意味着我得上演一出好戏。
“Psychoshy! You’re under arrest for being a spoiled brat, a complete bitch, and for getting on my nerves! I’m taking you down,” I yelled as I pointed my hoof at her. I had to time it perfectly, but, fortunately, it felt like I was as close to S.A.T.S. as I could be without taking Flash. I smashed her face with my hoof each time she charged. “You have the right to remain silent! Use it!”
"精神病！你被捕了，因为你是一个被宠坏的小孩，一个十足的婊子，而且惹恼了我！"我要把你打倒,"我一边用蹄子指着她一边喊道。我不得不完美地计算时间，但是，幸运的是，我感觉自己已经尽可能接近s.a.t.s而不用使用Flash了。每次她一冲过去，我就用蹄子踢她的脸。"你有权保持沉默！使用它!"
That got a chuckle out of some of the crowd. I grinned at them like I was having the time of my life. “Anything you say can and will be used against you to kick your ass!” I was still getting beat on, but there was less and less howling for my blood by the second. “You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you don’t have one, you can speak to my hoof!”
这让一些观众忍俊不禁。我笑着看着他们，好像我正在享受生命中的美好时光。"你所说的任何话都会被用来对付你，踢你的屁股!"我还在挨打，但是第二秒钟，我越来越少地为我的鲜血嚎叫了。"你有权请律师。如果你没有，你可以对我的蹄子说话!"
Now there were laughs as she was the uninteresting savage and I was the show. They weren’t chanting ‘love’ now. “Shut up!” she screamed at me, but I laughed as I backed away. I wanted to get the hay out of there. I wanted a nice cold Sparkle-Cola bottle between my legs; the healing magic had done little for that particular pain. I wanted to find P-21. But to do that, I had to put on a show.
现在她成了无趣的野蛮人，而我成了表演对象，大家都笑了。他们现在没有高喊'爱'。"闭嘴!"她冲着我尖叫，但我退后的时候笑了。我想把干草从那里弄出来。我想在两腿之间放一个漂亮的冰可乐瓶;治疗的魔法对那种特别的疼痛几乎没有什么作用。我想找到P-21。但是为了做到这一点，我不得不上演一出戏。
“Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you, or do I have to beat your ass till you do?” I asked at the top of my lungs.
"你明白我向你宣读的这些权利吗?还是要我把你打得屁滚尿流?"我声嘶力竭地问道。
She darted forward again, but not to kick as I’d anticipated. She bit down on the end of a rope. A rope still around my neck. Oh shit…
她再次冲向前去，但没有像我预料的那样踢腿。她把绳子的一头咬了下来。我的脖子上还挂着一根绳子。哦，该死..。
I started to lift it away just as Psychoshy pulled it taut. It crushed down on my throat, and I gagged as she lifted me up into the air. My hooves scrabbled as she lifted me to a hook set in the roof; maybe put there for this very reason, and wrapped the rope in place. “Looks like we’re going to need another sheriff!” Psychoshy called out, and then she began to beat me as I strangled. “You give up? You give up? Huh, Security? Tap out!” But there was nothing to tap, and I wasn’t sure they’d stop even if there was. It’s always to the death, even when it isn’t.
我开始把它举起来，就在精神病医生把它拉紧的时候。它压在我的喉咙上，当她把我举到空中时，我作呕。她把我吊到屋顶上的钩子上时，我的蹄子吱吱作响;也许就是因为这个原因，我才把绳子放在那里，然后把绳子绑好。"看来我们还需要一个治安官!"变态狂大声叫道，然后她开始在我被勒死的时候打我。"你放弃了？你放弃了？保安？认输吧!"但是没有什么可挖掘的，即使有，我也不确定他们是否会停下来。它总是死亡，即使它不是。
I looked up at that hook as my vision went red, my heart thundering like I’d just taken a dose of Buck. My throat spasmed as my lungs tried to suck in air. “Tap! Tap!” Psychoshy said in glee as she kicked my dangling body.
我抬头看着那个钩子，我的视线变得通红，我的心怦怦直跳，就像我刚刚服用了一剂巴克。我的喉咙痉挛，因为我的肺试图吸入空气。"踢踏！踢踏!"心理害羞一边高兴地说，一边踢着我晃来晃去的身体。
I looked up at the hook, trying to concentrate and focus. My magic bullet was shit on metal targets, but what else could I do? No unicorn was strong enough to levitate themselves! Tears ran down my cheeks as my eyes bulged. The first magic bullet went wide, and Dealgood jumped aside as he was narrowly missed. The second just dispersed off the metal. I tried to push everything out of my mind, focus on that hook and my spell. The one spell my little horn could manage…
我抬头看着钩子，努力集中注意力。我的魔术子弹是在金属靶上拉屎，但是我还能做什么呢？没有一只独角兽强壮到可以让自己漂浮起来！我的眼睛鼓了起来，泪水顺着脸颊流了下来。第一颗魔术子弹射偏了，迪尔古德险些被射偏，跳到了一边。第二个只是分散了金属。我试着把所有的事情从脑子里赶出去，专注于那个钩子和我的咒语。只有一个咒语我的小角可以应付..。
The bolt flashed from my horn and struck the metal. It creaked, and then snapped free with a resounding ping. I plummeted to the ground like a sack of potatoes and stretched out my hoof to tap it once, twice, thrice.
螺栓从我的喇叭上一闪而过，击中了金属。它吱吱作响，然后发出一声巨响，挣脱了束缚。我像一袋土豆一样一头栽到地上，伸出我的蹄子踩了它一下，两下，三下。
In a flash, Lacunae teleported above me and pointed her glowing horn right at Psychoshy. “This fight is over!” she roared telepathically in all our minds. Rampage kicked open the door and Glory swooped in, pulling the knot out enough that Rampage could slice it with her hoofclaws. Nopony seemed keen on arguing with a giant purple unicorn who could shout in their heads.
刹那间，Lacunae传送到我上方，把她发光的喇叭对准了Psychoshy。"战斗结束了!"她的心灵感应在我们心中咆哮。狂暴用脚踢开门，晨辉猛扑进来，把绳结拉出来，狂暴的马蹄爪可以把它撕成碎片。小马驹似乎热衷于和一只可以在他们脑海中大叫的紫色独角兽争论。
My lungs didn’t seem to work right. Glory held my muzzle carefully and took a deep breath. Then she blew into my lungs. I felt my chest inflate and gasped, coughing and hacking.
我的肺似乎不太好使。晨辉小心地握住我的枪口，深深地吸了一口气。然后她吹进了我的肺里。我感到胸部膨胀，喘息，咳嗽和咳嗽。
“Hrmmph! Loser.” Psychoshy fluttered a little unevenly, the Stampede wearing off, to meet the adoration of her fans. I just focused on the adoration of breathing.
"哼！失败者。"心理变态狂为了迎合她的影迷们的崇拜，有点不均匀地抖动着翅膀，蜂拥而至的动作渐渐消失了。我只是专注于对呼吸的崇拜。
Dry hoofstomps drew my attention as Sanguine approached, my PipBuck hovering beside him. “Well, that was an incredibly amusing fight. Still, I have what I want, and with this some very important ponies will be quite happy.”
当桑吉纳走近时，干瘪的蹄蹄声吸引了我的注意力，我的皮伯克在他旁边徘徊。"嗯，那是一场非常有趣的比赛。尽管如此，我还是得到了我想要的，有了它，一些非常重要的小马将会非常快乐。"
“You’re Trueblood, aren’t you?” The well dressed pony gave a wide bow as his cracked lips spread in a grin. “That’s how you know about Project Chimera.” He looked impressed.
"你是楚布拉德，对吗?"那匹穿着考究的小马大鞠了一躬，裂开的嘴唇咧开嘴笑了。"你就是这样知道奇美拉计划的。"他看上去印象深刻。
“Of course,” he replied softly. “I was involved in Project Chimera from the beginning. Goldenblood’s gift to Fluttershy. A project to take her mind off her broken heart. We’d make ponies too tough to kill, adaptable to any environment. It was quite a joy. Truly. Gorgon was the first stable specimen. But, with time, we made others.”
"当然,"他轻声回答。"我从一开始就参与了奇美拉计划。金色血统送给小萤火虫的礼物。一个能让她忘记伤心事的计划。我们会让小马太难杀死，适应任何环境。这真是一种享受。真的。戈耳贡是第一个稳定的标本。但随着时间的推移，我们创造了其他人。"
Then he let out an irritated hiss. “Unfortunately, two years after the assassination attempt, Goldenblood started having… reservations. He cancelled the project, sealed its findings, and put the specimens in suspended animation. I was transferred to projects making insecticide talismans. Me. The master of biological arcane research… killing bugs.” He bristled at the indignity before calming and continuing. “Fortunately, Twilight Sparkle proved infinitely more open to the possibilities of transforming ponies into alicorns.” His eyes turned to Lacunae, his glowing pink eyes swirling with speculation. “I’d love a biological sample.” Clearly, he wasn’t mistaking her for anything but what she was.
然后他发出一声恼怒的嘶嘶声。不幸的是，在企图谋杀之后的两年，Goldenblood开始有所保留。他取消了这个项目，封存了调查结果，并将标本置于假死状态。我被调到制造杀虫剂护身符的项目。我。生物奥术研究大师......杀虫子。"他对这种侮辱感到愤怒，然后平静下来，继续说下去。"幸运的是，紫悦证明了将小马变成橡子的可能性无限大。"他的眼睛转向了裂隙，他那闪着光的粉红色眼睛里充满了猜测。"我想要一份生物样本。"很明显，他没有把她误认为任何东西，只是误认为她是什么。
“Over your dead body,” Lacunae replied coldly.
"除非你死了,"拉库奈冷冷地回答。
“Been there. Done that,” he answered with a chuckle. “Ah well, with EC-1101, I can make a whole lot of ponies happy… especially myself!”
"去过那里。他咯咯地笑着回答。"啊，有了EC-1101，我可以让很多小马都开心......尤其是我自己!"
Now I had my turn. “What are you talking about? I don’t have EC-1101.”
现在轮到我了。"你在说什么？我没有EC-1101。"
He froze. “What?” All his smug amusement melted away.
他愣住了。"什么?"他所有得意洋洋的玩笑都消失了。
“My PipBuck was destroyed when it got struck by lightning,” I rasped softly. His eyes immediately widened and a look of absolute horror washed over his face.
"我的PipBuck被命中雷霆弄坏了,"我轻声地说。他的眼睛立刻睁大了，脸上流露出极度恐惧的表情。
“No. That’s not possible!” he stammered. “If it were, Horizons would have--” But then he shut up. His eyes glared at me balefully and a long, thin plume of pink mist curled out of his muzzle like a tongue. “Oh… sneaky. I didn’t think heroes were allowed to lie.”
"没有。这是不可能的!"他结结巴巴地说。"如果是的话，视野号就会——"然后他就闭嘴了。他的眼睛恶狠狠地瞪着我，嘴上像舌头一样卷出一缕又长又细的粉红色薄雾。"哦...鬼鬼祟祟的。我不认为英雄可以撒谎。"
“I’m not a hero,” I groaned as I rubbed my throat. Rampage handed me my gear and I dug out some watery healing potions from 99. In a few more days, they’d be worthless. “Project Horizons would… what?” I asked as I drank three in rapid succession, healing most of my battered body. I’d definitely keep the bruises around my throat, though.
"我不是英雄,"我揉着喉咙呻吟道。狂暴把我的装备递给我，我从99号里挖出了一些水样的治疗药水。再过几天，它们就一文不值了。"地平线计划会......什么?"我一边问，一边连续喝了三杯，我受伤的身体大部分都得到了治愈。不过，我肯定会把这些瘀伤留在我的喉咙周围。
“Never mind. It must be on some other PipBuck.” His eyes immediately latched on to Scotch Tape’s.
"没关系。肯定在别的PipBuck上。"他的眼睛立刻盯上了透明胶带。
Oh no, no psychoghouls on her! “You’re right,” I said as I dug in my bags for the Delta PipBuck. “It’s right here.” I activated it and brought up the file. To my shock, immense relief bloomed in his face. “Why? What is Project Horizons?”
哦，不，她身上没有神经病！"你说得对,"我一边说，一边在包里翻找德尔塔公司的皮布克。"就在这里。"我激活了它，调出了文件。令我震惊的是，他的脸上浮现出巨大的宽慰。"为什么？什么是"视野计划"?"
“Something dead and gone, along with its creator. That’s all you need to know about Horizons,” he said with dire solemnity. Then he lifted Marmalade’s PipBuck with a little half smile. “Well, I’ll see if there’s anything else interesting on here, Blackjack. Maybe find something else to convince you to hand it over. One way or another.”
"什么东西死了，和它的创造者一起消失了。这就是你需要知道的关于地平线的一切,"他严肃地说。然后，他微微一笑，举起玛玛拉德的皮布克。"好吧，我去看看还有没有什么有趣的东西，Blackjack。也许找点别的东西来说服你把它交出去。无论如何。"
“Not a chance,” I rasped, then coughed. I was going have a hell of a bruise.
"不可能,"我粗声粗气地说，然后咳嗽了一声。我会有一大块淤青。
“Pity. Well then, it was very nice meeting you,” he said politely. “I look forward to when we can do it again.” And, with Marmalade’s PipBuck floating beside him, he trotted to where Psychoshy was recovering.
"真可惜。那么，很高兴见到你,"他礼貌地说。"我期待着我们能再次做到这一点。"然后，玛玛拉德的小巴克漂浮在他的身边，他小跑着来到了精神病害羞正在康复的地方。
“Why didn’t you tap out sooner?” Glory asked me as she rubbed my throat. “You didn’t have to win her stupid fight.”
"你为什么不早点认输?"晨辉摩挲着我的喉咙问道。"你没必要赢得她那愚蠢的比赛。"
“She tried, but sometimes Dealgood’s got lousy vision,” Rampage said with a glare at the gaunt stallion and the two floozies that flanked him. “My bet is Big Daddy kept the fight going.”
"她试过了，但有时候迪尔古德的视力很差,"狂暴怒怒地看着这匹瘦骨嶙峋的种马和包围着他的两个妓女说。"我敢打赌，老爹一定会继续打下去。"
“You’d surely win that bet, Arloste,” Big Daddy said with a chuckle. “I wanted to see for myself just what Security was made of. Good stuff.”
"你肯定会赢的，阿罗斯特,"大爸爸笑着说。"我想亲眼看看安全是由什么组成的。好东西。"
I glared at him hard, but he wasn’t ashamed of what he’d done. I could see it clearly now. If Psychoshy hadn’t challenged me, somepony else would have. It would have been just as deadly, too. He caught my look and pointed a hoof at me. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I needed to know you had the sand, and you did. Even picking a lock mid fight. Ballsy. Then that show you put on for the crowd? Genius.”
我狠狠地瞪了他一眼，但他并不为自己的所作所为感到羞愧。我现在可以清楚地看到它。如果心理害羞没有挑战我，其他人也会这么做。它也会同样致命。他注意到我的目光，用蹄子指了指我。"哦，不要那样看着我。我需要知道你有沙子，你做到了。甚至在打斗中撬锁。有种。那你为观众表演的节目呢？天才。"
I couldn’t tell if I was drunk or not; the Mint-als seemed to be counteracting the effects of the potent moonshine. I sure was pissed, though. “I needed to find my friend. Something’s wrong with him.”
我不知道自己是不是喝醉了;薄荷酒似乎在抵消烈性月光的影响。不过我当时肯定很生气。"我需要找到我的朋友。他有点不对劲。"
“That little blue guy? Didn’t see him,” Big Daddy said with a shrug as he trotted over to congratulate Psychoshy.
"那个蓝色的小家伙？"我没看见他,"大爸爸耸了耸肩说，他小跑过去祝贺神经害羞。
“Where is P-21?” Glory asked in concern. “I saw him at the start of the fight, but now he’s gone. He should be here.”
"P-21在哪里?"晨辉关切地问道。"刚开始的时候我看见他了，但是现在他不见了。他应该在这里。"
“We have to find him,” I muttered, rubbing my aching throat. “Glory can search the stands from above. Lacunae and Scotch can look around the tunnels. Rampage, talk to anypony you can. I’m going to the skyboxes to get my gun.” I’d be damned if I trotted around here without a firearm any more.
"我们必须找到他,"我咕哝着，揉着疼痛的喉咙。"晨辉可以从上面搜索看台。空隙和苏格兰人可以在隧道里四处看看。狂暴，你可以和任何小马说话。我要去空中包厢拿我的枪。"如果我再不带武器在这里跑来跑去，我会被诅咒的。
* * *
* * *
Once I’d gotten my weapons, I was still sorting out the conflicting sensations of inebriation and being Mint-al’d. With the Mint-als, things seemed sharper and clearer, but the alcohol was making my brain feel like it was running in tar. All I knew was that something was wrong with P-21. The way he’d wished me good luck with that look in his eye… something had happened.
一旦我拿到了我的武器，我仍然在排序的矛盾感觉醉酒和被Mint-al。有了薄荷冰淇淋，事情看起来更加清晰，但是酒精让我的大脑感觉像是在焦油中运转。我只知道P-21有些不对劲。他用那种眼神祝我好运的方式...肯定发生了什么事。
Then I saw the little piece of paper sticking out of the barrel of my shotgun. Slowly, I lifted it, my focus making the paper tremble in front of me as my eyes took in the words.
然后我看到我的猎枪枪管里伸出一张小纸片。慢慢地，我举起了它，我的注意力使得纸张在我面前颤抖，因为我的眼睛接收了这些文字。
Can’t handle it any more. I’m sorry. Good luck.
我再也受不了了。对不起。祝你好运。
Dread floored me as I stared at the paper. “You’re the stupidest, most selfish pony in the history of Equestria, Blackjack,” I muttered. I’d assumed that he’d been upset with me. That I’d been the reason he’d looked so hurt and haunted. That I was the cause of his distress, and if I just fixed it then he’d be happy with
当我盯着那张纸时，我害怕极了。"你是Equestria历史上最愚蠢、最自私的小马，Blackjack,"我喃喃自语道。我以为他是生我的气了。是我让他看起来那么伤心，那么纠结。我是他痛苦的原因，如果我能解决这个问题，他会很高兴的
me. “You idiot. You fucking idiot!” I cursed as my mind raced. Panic must have been cooking off most of the alcohol from my brain as I raced into the hall. If he was leaving us… well, then I probably wouldn’t find him. But if he was doing what I’d done… I looked back and forth along the hallway. He’d want someplace to do it alone.
我。"你这个白痴。你他妈的白痴!"我一边咒骂一边思绪飞扬。当我冲进大厅的时候，恐慌把我脑子里的大部分酒精都赶跑了。如果他要离开我们...那我可能就找不到他了。但是如果他在做我所做的事情......我沿着走廊前后看了看。他想找个地方独处。
Goddesses, please, no. Luna, Celestia, somepony… help me!
女神们，拜托，不要。露娜，塞莱斯蒂亚，小马...救救我！
This was what he’d felt. This was what I’d put him through. I’d thought that what I’d done was terrible, cruel, mean, and wrong. I was right. But I hadn’t known… really and truly known… what it was like till I read that horrible piece of paper. I deserved this.
这就是他的感受。这就是我让他经历的。我认为我所做的是可怕的，残忍的，卑鄙的，错误的。我是对的。但是直到我读到那张可怕的纸片，我才知道......真正和真正地知道......那是什么感觉。我活该。
He didn’t.
他没有。
It was like a little pink pony was kicking my head to get me to look down at the door at the end of the hall. There were two skyboxes not being used… that were empty. I raced to the one with Deus’s name on it, but it was still locked tight. I hurried down and tried the door to Gorgon’s room.
就像一匹粉红色的小马在踢我的头，让我低头看大厅尽头的门。有两个没有使用的空盒子...是空的。我跑到上面有天王名字的那个，但它还是锁得很紧。我赶紧下楼，试着打开戈耳贡房间的门。
It opened easily.
它很容易打开。
Gorgon’s room was a disaster area. It more resembled a den than a room, with the walls smashed and kicked. There were dozens of empty syringes lying about and a few filled with rainbow sludge. My PipBuck was clicking softly from the background radiation in the room. The bed was more of a nest than a mattress. The only sign of sanity was a small collection of pictures and a little statue.
戈尔工的房间是个灾区。它与其说是一个房间，倒不如说是一个小房间，墙壁被砸得粉碎，还有人踢来踢去。那里有几十个空的注射器，还有几个装满了彩虹油泥。我的PipBuck从房间里的背景辐射处发出轻轻的咔嗒声。这张床与其说是一张床垫，不如说是一个窝。只有一小堆图片和一个小雕像才能证明他是清醒的。
But no sign of P-21.
但是没有P-21的踪迹。
I almost left then and there to tell my friends what had happened when that pink pony bashed my brain with a super sledge and my eyes saw the door. The bathroom. I scrambled across the room, knocking over a drum of radioactive goo. I couldn’t care less. All that mattered was that I find P-21 in time. That was all that mattered. All that mattered.
我差点就离开了，去告诉我的朋友们发生了什么事，当时那匹粉红色的小马用一辆超级雪橇猛击我的脑袋，我的眼睛看到了门。浴室。我匆忙穿过房间，打翻了一桶放射性粘性物质。我一点也不在乎。重要的是我能及时找到P-21。这才是最重要的。这才是最重要的。
He’d used a wire.
他用了一根电线。
It was wrapped several times around his neck and an exposed pipe in the ceiling. He’d stepped off the sink. His face was the color of Lacunae’s hide as he
他的脖子上缠了好几圈，天花板上还有一根裸露的管子。他从水槽里走了出来。他的脸色就像拉库尼的皮一样
dangled there limply. My scream died in my throat as I got underneath him and heaved. Take a breath! Breathe! Nothing. I stared up at the pipe and the wire. My horn flashed as I fired bullet after bullet into the pipe. Finally, it snapped, and he fell upon me like a doll.
无力地悬挂在那里。我的尖叫声在我的喉咙里消失了，我爬到他身下，喘着粗气。深呼吸！呼吸！没什么。我抬头看着管子和电线。当我一颗颗子弹打进管子里时，我的喇叭闪了一下。最后，它啪的一声，他像个洋娃娃一样扑倒在我身上。
The wire had cut so deeply into his hide that it’d disappeared from sight. My eyes dripped as I pulled it free from around his neck. “P-21…” I whispered as I looked at his glazed eyes. “P-21!” I pressed my lips to his, blowing in his mouth as Glory had into mine minutes ago. His chest rose. “Damn it, P-21! You can’t do this! You were out! You were free!” I breathed again. I thumped his chest, like he was just asleep and all I had to do was wake him up.
电线深深地刺进了他的皮肤，从视线中消失了。当我把它从他的脖子上取下来的时候，我的眼睛在滴水。"P-21......"我看着他呆滞的眼睛低声说道。"P-21!"我把我的嘴唇贴在他的嘴上，对着他的嘴吹气，就像晨辉几分钟前对着我的嘴吹气一样。他的胸膛立起来了。"该死，P-21！你不能这么做！你出局了！你自由了!"我又喘了一口气。我捶了捶他的胸口，好像他刚刚睡着，我要做的就是把他叫醒。
He lay there... so very still...
他躺在那里...一动不动..。
“Damn it, P-21! You have to live! You have to! You can’t let this place kill you! Can’t let me kill you! Damn it!” I sobbed and tried breathing for him again. Again. Again. “P-21! Please! Don’t leave me. Don’t leave us. I’m sorry. Please,” I begged his slack face. “Call me an idiot! Call me stupid! Hate me! Shoot me! Just don’t die!” I begged as my raspy voice burred in my half healed throat. I clutched him, holding him, weeping utterly alone.
"该死，P-21！你必须活下去！你必须这么做！你不能让这个地方杀了你！不能让我杀了你！该死!"我抽泣着，试着再次为他呼吸。再来一次。再来一次。"P-21！求你了！别离开我。不要离开我们。对不起。求你了,"我恳求他那张懒洋洋的脸。"叫我白痴！叫我笨蛋！恨我吧！开枪啊！千万别死!"我的喉咙已经痊愈，嗓音沙哑，喉咙发出刺耳的声音，我恳求着。我抱着他，抱着他，独自哭泣。
“I couldn’t save you…”
"我救不了你......"
The whisper was so faint that I didn’t know if I’d heard it or imagined it. Maybe I’d finally lost my mind. Then I felt him move faintly in my hooves. There were no words. I just wept like I never had before; like I cried for all of 99 as I just held him. “I couldn’t save them… I’m sorry… I couldn’t save you…” he whispered.
耳语是如此微弱，我不知道我是否听到或想象它。也许我最终失去了理智。然后我感觉到它在我的蹄子里微弱地移动。没有言语。我以前从来没有哭过，就像我抱着他哭了整整99年一样。"我救不了他们......对不起......我救不了你......"他低声说。
I hated him. I loved him. The entire spectrum of emotions crashed through me in a storm. I wanted to kill him and yet he was the most precious thing in the Wasteland at the moment. His face was returning to its blue complexion as his throat bled from those lacerations encircling it. I settled on holding him as we wept together. Now I knew. Now I knew what I’d actually done.
我恨他。我爱他。我的整个情绪范围在暴风雨中崩溃了。我想杀了他，但他却是当时荒原上最珍贵的东西。他的脸恢复了蓝色的皮肤，喉咙周围的撕裂伤开始流血。当我们一起哭泣时，我决定抱着他。现在我知道了。现在我知道我到底做了什么。
* * *
* * *
When we’d both stabilized a bit, we sat on the remains of Gorgon’s shredded mattress. He couldn’t look me in the eyes, so I just looked at his hooves. “I couldn’t do anything. When we went back to 99, and we found the males were
当我们都稳定了一点，我们坐在戈耳贡的碎床垫的残骸上。他不敢看我的眼睛，所以我只能看着他的蹄子。"我什么也做不了。当我们回到99年，我们发现雄性
still alive, I was sure that, given the chance, they’d be like me. They’d want to be free. To live their own lives. To be happy. To be ponies. People.
我相信，如果有机会，他们会像我一样。他们想要自由。过他们自己的生活。快乐。成为小马。人们。
“They didn’t. They… they were more comfortable with the abuse that was familiar to them than the possibility of being on their own. It didn’t matter how I cried or argued or begged… they were just waiting for us to leave. Even the new P-20 and U-20…” He hunched over a little and sobbed, “They hated me for being the P-21 who got to live. For cheating. For daring to want to live.” He glanced at me, tears running from his bright and haunted eyes. “They told me that I should have died when it was my time.”
"他们没有。他们...他们更习惯于自己熟悉的虐待，而不是独自生活的可能性。不管我怎么哭，怎么争吵，怎么乞求......他们只是在等着我们离开。甚至新的P-20和U-20......"他微微弯腰抽泣着说,"他们恨我，因为我是那个活下来的P-21。因为作弊。为了敢于活下去。"他瞥了我一眼，泪水从他明亮而忧郁的眼睛里流了出来。"他们告诉我，我应该在该死的时候死去。"
It would be easy to ask how they could feel that way, but after so much conditioning and trauma… “The mares were the same,” I said softly. “They wanted safe and predictable more than freedom. The thought of change was too much for them. The only ponies interested were young ponies like Scotch Tape.”
很容易问他们怎么会有这种感觉，但是经过这么多的训练和创伤......"母马是一样的,"我轻轻地说。"比起自由，他们更想要安全和可预测的。改变的想法对他们来说太多了。唯一感兴趣的小马是像透明胶带这样的小马。"
He sniffed and nodded. “There was one colt who I thought would leave with us… but the older ones cowed him… told him it wasn’t his place to leave.” He gave a terrible noise, half laugh and half sob. “I always thought it was the mares keeping us down. They didn’t have to. We did it to ourselves. We did it.”
他嗅了嗅，点了点头。"有一匹小马，我以为它会跟我们一起离开......但是年长的那些吓到了它......告诉它，它不应该离开。"他发出可怕的声音，一半笑一半啜泣。"我一直以为是母马们让我们失望了。他们没必要这么做。我们自作自受。我们做到了。"
I hugged him, and though he stiffened, he didn’t push me away this time.
我拥抱了他，虽然他变得僵硬，但这次他没有把我推开。
“But worst of all was when I made you kill Stable 99,” he whispered, shaking in my hooves.
"但最糟糕的是，我让你杀了Stable99,"他低声说，我的蹄子在颤抖。
“What?” That was my call…
"什么?"那是我的决定..。
“I knew there was a chance the food supply was contaminated. I guessed it’d been contaminated since the first round of raiders... but I was more concerned about the stallions than about making sure that the stable was safe and secure.” He drew a shaking breath. “You’d just lost your mother and found Glory. And, as you’ve said, you’re not the smart pony. I am. I should have done something. Done more. It’s my fault Stable 99 was contaminated.”
"我知道食品供应有可能受到污染。我猜它在第一轮袭击之后就被污染了......但我更关心的是种马，而不是确保马厩的安全。"他颤抖着吸了一口气。"你刚刚失去了你的母亲，却找到了晨辉。而且，就像你说的，你不是一匹聪明的小马。是的。我应该做点什么的。做得更多。这是我的错Stable99被污染了。"
“No! It’s my...” When was I going to learn? Everything didn’t begin and end with me. He looked at me, and I realized that he felt every bit as much guilt as I had. How had I missed it? Why didn’t I realize how deeply he’d blamed himself?
"不！这是我的..."我什么时候才能学会？一切都不是从我开始到我结束。他看着我，我意识到他和我一样感到内疚。我怎么会错过呢？为什么我没有意识到他有多么自责？
What kind of friend was I?
我是什么样的朋友？
“When you told us we were leaving, I knew you were going to do something about the stable. You had to. I thought, when we were all out, that we’d talk about it. Glory would object. I’d back you up. I was already thinking about how I could collapse the tunnel. Then you threw the PipBuck through.” He shook even more as he sniffed.
"当你告诉我们我们要离开的时候，我就知道你要对马厩做些什么。你必须这么做。我想，等我们都出去了，我们可以谈谈这件事。晨辉会反对的。我会支持你。我已经在考虑如何让隧道坍塌。然后你把皮布克扔了出去。"他闻了闻，抖得更厉害了。
“When we told Lacunae what you’d done, she disappeared and then came back with you a minute later... and you were gasping and dying.” He clenched his eyes closed, “I knew you’d tried to kill yourself. I knew that Lacunae was covering for you. But... I hoped... somehow...” He pressed his face to my chin as we wept. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I wanted to save you... like you saved Scotch and so many others. But I couldn’t... and when I read your note... when I read it...”
"当我们告诉拉库奈你的所作所为时，她消失了，一分钟后又和你一起回来......你气喘吁吁，奄奄一息。"他紧闭双眼,"我就知道你想自杀。我知道Lacunae在包庇你。但是......我希望......不知怎么的......"我们哭泣的时候，他把脸贴在我的下巴上。"对不起，我帮不了你。我想救你...就像你救苏格兰威士忌和其他许多人一样。但我做不到......当我读到你的留言......当我读到它......"
He fell apart again, and I did too a little bit. Now I knew exactly how he felt. I just held him till he quieted. “I wasn’t able to help you... and I was so angry at myself for failing... again and again... and angry at you for not caring... I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t do anything. It hurt so much inside that I’d done that to you and everything I did just made it feel worse.”
他又崩溃了，我也崩溃了一点。现在我完全明白他的感受了。我只是抱着他直到他安静下来。"我无法帮助你......我对自己的失败感到非常愤怒......一次又一次......对你的漠不关心感到愤怒......我无法忍受。我什么也做不了。我的内心如此痛苦，以至于我对你做了那样的事，而我所做的一切只会让事情变得更糟。"
“Shh...” I said softly. “If you’ll forgive me for leaving... I’ll forgive you for the same.”
"嘘......"我轻轻地说。"如果你原谅我离开......我也会原谅你的。"
He didn’t say a word. He just gave the tiniest of nods against me.
他一句话也没说。他对我点了点头。
I wouldn’t tell anypony about this. It was his secret and his shame and his pain to share or keep hidden away, but I would be here for him. I walked a hard road, but I was a fool to think only I felt pain along that trail.
我不会告诉任何小马这件事。这是他的秘密，他的羞耻和他的痛苦去分享或隐藏，但我会在这里为他。我走了一条艰难的道路，但我是一个傻瓜，认为只有我觉得痛苦沿着这条小径。
* * *
* * *
After we’d put most of our tears behind us, he was cognizant enough to realize that I had rainbow goop splattered across my legs. “Blackjack! You need to wash that stuff off!” he said in alarm as I tried to get to my hooves, failed, and staggered against the bed. My head ached and throbbed and I just sat there feeling... drained. A plug had been pulled, and suddenly everything inside my head had been sucked away down the toilet.
在我们把大部分的眼泪都抛在身后之后，他意识到我的腿上溅满了彩虹般的粘液。"黑杰克！你得把那东西洗掉!"他惊恐地说，当我试图去拿我的蹄子时，失败了，摇摇晃晃地靠在床上。我的头又疼又痛，坐在那里感觉...筋疲力尽。一个塞子被拔掉了，突然间我脑子里的一切都被吸进了马桶。
“Huh?” I muttered dully as I looked at the tingly smears on my hide. He pulled out a scrap of bedsheet and began to wipe it off, cleaning where it’d transferred on to him as well. I couldn’t seem to move or think. Some very distant part of me agreed with him that it was bad, but all I did was sit there like a lump.
"啊?"我看着皮肤上刺痛的污迹，闷闷不乐地喃喃自语。他拿出一张床单的碎片，开始擦拭，把沾到他身上的地方也擦干净。我似乎动弹不得，也无法思考。我心里某个很遥远的地方也同意他的说法，认为这很糟糕，但我所做的只是像一个肿块一样坐在那里。
“What’s the matter, Blackjack?” he rasped painfully as he stared into my eyes. I swore I could see little stars in the corners of my vision.
"怎么了，黑杰克?"他盯着我的眼睛，痛苦地尖叫着。我发誓我能在我的视线的角落里看到小星星。
“Just... not feeling good,” I muttered as I rose to my hooves, successfully this time... but where was I supposed to go? I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything. I couldn’t help my friends or myself or anypony. Couldn’t do anything. Useless.
"只是......感觉不太好,"这次我成功地站起来，喃喃自语道......但是我能去哪儿呢？我不能去任何地方或做任何事。我不能帮助我的朋友、我自己或者任何人。什么也做不了。没用。
“What is this stuff?” P-21 asked as he shoved me away from the puddle of sludge.
"这是什么东西?"P-21一边问，一边把我从污泥坑里推开。
“Sanguine made it... made Gorgon...” I muttered stupidly. Because I was stupid. Idiot. Fool. It was like my brain had suddenly transformed into the same rainbow sludge that was spattered over the floor. P-21 was trying to push me even farther from it, but I sat down hard and then slowly walked to the little table.
"桑吉尼做的......做的蛇发女怪......"我愚蠢地喃喃自语。因为我太蠢了。白痴。傻瓜。就好像我的大脑突然变成了同样的彩虹泥，溅落在地板上。P-21试图把我推得更远，但我使劲坐了下来，然后慢慢走向小桌子。
One picture showed Big Macintosh, Applesnack, Jetstream, and Maripony together at a hoofball game, the huge red stallion looking odd out of uniform and the blue mousy mare bedecked with every bit of Reapers paraphernalia she could bear as she peered through her glasses. She had her nose in a copy of ‘Hoofball for Dummies’ and was smiling shyly for the camera. Another of Stonewing with his left wing around a furiously blushing black unicorn mare and his right around a happy looking Jetstream. Twist, Psalm, and Jetstream all on a beach at the Boardwalk while Doof, Applesnack, and Stonewing looked on appreciatively. A ‘Mare’s Life’ article on Jetstream.
其中一张照片展示了大麦金托什、苹果包、Jetstream和马里波尼一起参加一场足球比赛，巨大的红色骏马看起来怪怪的，蓝色耗子般的母马装饰着她透过眼镜看东西时能够忍受的每一件收割器。她把自己的鼻子放在一本"傻瓜足球教程"上，对着镜头害羞地笑着。另一张是斯通温，他的左翼围绕着一匹狂暴的红色独角兽母马，右翼围绕着一辆快乐的喷气式飞机。扭曲，诗篇，和喷气流都在海滩上的木板路，而杜夫，苹果背包，石翼欣赏。一篇关于Jetstream的"母马的生活"文章。
There were medals, too. I didn’t know if they were his or not. I lifted one that was a disk framed with two laurel leaves around the edges, a winged thunderbolt down the middle. There was a faded paper beneath it that read ‘Commendation of Valor for defense of a wounded comrade at Black Pony Mountain’. A purple heart and matching ribbon with a pair of wings. That had to be when he’d saved Jetstream and lost his voice.
还有奖牌。我不知道它们是不是他的。我举起一个圆盘，圆盘的边缘有两片月桂树叶，中间有一道闪电。信封下面有一张褪了色的纸，上面写着"为保护黑马驹山受伤的战友而表彰英勇"。一枚紫心勋章和一对翅膀相配的丝带。那一定是他拯救了Jetstream并失去了声音的时候。
There was only one image of Rainbow Dash.
只有一张彩虹冲刺的照片。
That was the statuette. It rested on a yellow envelope. Gently, I lifted it in my
那是小雕像。它停在一个黄色的信封上。轻轻地，我把它举起来
magic. “It’s just like Spike’s,” I said softly, catching P-21’s confused expression out of the corner of my eye. I looked at the tiny words on the base. ‘Be Awesome’.
魔法。"就像斯派克的一样,"我轻声说，从眼角捕捉到P-21迷惑的表情。我看了看底座上的小字。变得优秀。
“You’re just like her,” P-21 rasped softly. No. Nopony was like Rainbow Dash, but it was nice gesture. It felt as though a little blue pegasus was gathering up all the gloomy clouds of stupid and clearing them from my mind. In ten seconds flat, I felt better.
"你和她一模一样,"P-21轻声地说。没有。小马驹就像彩虹冲刺，但它是一个很好的姿态。感觉就像一个小小的蓝色飞马正在聚集所有的乌云，把它们从我的脑海中清除掉。十秒钟后，我感觉好多了。
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “Stonewing was always a fan of Rainbow Dash. She got him to sign up. He worshipped her. But he missed how much Jetstream loved him.”
"谢谢,"我笑着说。"Stonewing一直是RainbowDash的粉丝。她让他报名了。他崇拜她。但他很想念Jetstream对他的爱。"
“Did he?” P-21 asked as he gestured at the pictures. “She’s in almost all of these.”
"是吗?"P-21指着照片问道。"她几乎参与了所有这些活动。"
I looked at the envelope resting on the table. ‘To ta ponee tha kiled me’ I looked at P-21 and then slid out the letter inside. The writing was sloppy and in block print, but I could barely make it out.
我看了看放在桌上的信封。我看了看P-21，然后把里面的那封信推了出来。字迹潦草，用的是木版印刷，但我几乎看不清楚。
der kiler
杀人犯
thank yu for kiling me. i am sorrie you kiled me. i kno it was hard. i kno i am monsher now. i am not monsher realy but i look liek won. i sorrie. i hope i not hurt yu. i not smart ponee. i had acci- axi- i got shot in my hed and turned into monsher. if you kiled me thank yu. if not stop reding plese.
谢谢你杀了我。对不起，你杀了我。我知道这很难。我知道我现在是monsher了。我不是魔鬼，但我看起来像是赢了。对不起。我希望我没有伤害你。我不聪明，波妮。我中了枪，变成了蒙舍尔。如果你杀了我，谢谢你。如果不停止呼吸的话。
i wat to say i am sorrie. i am sorrie jetstrem. i kno you liek me. i liek yu too. i just want yu safe and hapy. i am sorry big mak- macen- big m. i didnt men to get shot in my hed and make you sad. i am sorrie i not ther to stop yu from geting shot. i kno geting shot is no fun. espe- expe- specshully wen you get kiled. i was turned into a monsher and so i couldnt help yu. i am sorrie evriepony for geting shot and turned into a monsher.
我想说对不起。我很抱歉。我知道你喜欢我。我也喜欢你。我只想让你平安无事。我很抱歉，大麦麦肯，我没有男人在我的心里中枪，让你难过。对不起，我不是来阻止你开枪的。我知道打针没什么意思。当你被杀的时候。我变成了一个僧侣，所以我帮不了你。我很抱歉因为开枪而变成了一个怪物。
so plese dont be sad for kiling me. you did gud. i am hapy now. i am with jetstrem and big m and all my friends now. i dont hurt anymore. and i wont hurt anymore ponees like a monsher. i am not a monsher. i just look liek won.
所以请不要因为杀了我而难过。你做到了。我现在是海皮了。我现在和jetstrem和bigm还有我所有的朋友在一起。我不再受伤了。我不会再像个牧师那样伤害小马了。我不是教徒。我只是看起来像是liek赢了。
i am not a monsher but thank yu for kiling me. plese tak care of ranbow dash.
我不是修道士，但谢谢你杀了我。请注意安全。
she is awsum.
她太可怕了。
gudbye. stonwing.
再见。石头。
My tears smeared the ‘gudbye’. Funny. Seconds ago I felt certain that I’d used up all my tears and now here were a few more. Someday I’d pay Sanguine back. When I did, I’d be sure to give a little bit from Stonewing as well. I slipped the statuette into my pouch. “Come on. Let’s get back to our friends. Let them know we’re okay.” I paused as I looked at him. “Are you okay?”
我的眼泪模糊了"再见"。有意思。几秒钟前，我确信我的眼泪已经用完了，现在又多了几滴。总有一天我会还给桑吉尼的。当我这样做的时候，我肯定也会从Stonewing那里得到一些东西。我把小雕像放进我的袋子里。"来吧。让我们回到我们的朋友身边。让他们知道我们没事。"我看着他，停顿了一下。"你还好吗?"
He opened his mouth once, then closed it again. Slowly he took a breath. “I... I don’t know. I think I am... just a little bit. I still can’t stop thinking about it though. I still remember them telling me that I should have died. Asking when they’d be put back into the breeding queue.”
他张了一下嘴，又闭上了。他慢慢地吸了一口气。"我.....。.我不知道。我想是的...只是有一点。尽管如此，我还是忍不住去想它。我还记得他们告诉我，我应该已经死了。询问他们什么时候会被放回繁殖队列。"
“I still smell chlorine,” I said softly and watched him shudder. I nudged his shoulder. “You can always talk to me about it. No more running away. No more notes.”
"我仍然闻到氯气的味道,"我轻声说，看着他发抖。我轻推了一下他的肩膀。"你可以随时和我谈论这件事。不再逃避。再也没有音符。"
He nodded. “Yeah. No more notes.”
他点点头。"是的。再也没有音符。"
The world was full of pain, but we didn’t have to suffer alone.
这个世界充满了痛苦，但我们不必独自承受。
* * *
* * *
Side by side, we made our way back to Glory and the others. The gray pegasus took one look at the cuts in his neck and the bruises around mine and gave a soft ‘eep’ of comprehension. Our eyes met and I smiled and shook my head. She swallowed, nodded slowly, and used my bandages on his throat. I didn’t know if there was any healing magic left in them, but at least his injuries would be less likely to get infected.
我们肩并肩地回到了晨辉和其他人身边。灰色的飞马看了一眼他脖子上的伤口和我脖子周围的瘀伤，给出了一个温柔的"eep"的理解。我们的目光相遇，我微笑着摇了摇头。她咽了口唾沫，慢慢地点了点头，然后用我的绷带敷在他的喉咙上。我不知道他们是否还有治愈的魔力，但至少他的伤口不太可能被感染。
In fact... I frowned as I looked at that fine field of green grass. At the numerous scars that decorated the Reapers. Everypony healthy. Food growing. Something felt... off. Not wrong, exactly, though.
事实上......当我看着那片美丽的绿草地时，我皱起了眉头。无数的伤疤装饰着收割者。每匹小马都很健康。种植食物。感觉有点...不对劲。不过，确切地说，这并没有错。
This place felt like Chapel.
这个地方感觉像教堂。
That made me wonder something. As Glory wrapped the bandages around P-21’s throat, I trotted up to Lacunae and Scotch Tape. After letting them know that P-21 was okay, I quietly asked Lacunae, “Is this area... um? Different? Special?” She stared at me in shock, and I glanced around before asking even
这让我想起了一些事情。当晨辉用绷带包扎P-21的喉咙时，我小跑着走向拉库尼和透明胶带。在让他们知道P-21没问题之后，我平静地问Lacunae,"这个地区......嗯？与众不同？特别?"她震惊地盯着我，我环顾四周才开口问
more quietly, “Are there no screams here?”
更安静地问:"这里没有尖叫声吗?"
That made her take a step back. “But... how could you know?”
这让她后退了一步。"但是......你怎么会知道?"
“I’m not sure. It’s just that this place is a lot like Chapel, isn’t it? And it doesn’t have the same kind of Enervation, does it?” If it had, the constant fighting and injuries would be slowly wearing them away. That also explained why the Reapers were so much better off here than gangs abroad. It was like ponies in a stable: living away from the Enervation, they became fit and healthy.
"我不确定。只是这个地方很像教堂，不是吗？它没有同样的衰弱，不是吗?"如果是这样的话，持续不断的战斗和伤病就会慢慢地把他们消耗殆尽。这也解释了为什么收割者在这里比在国外的帮派要好得多。它们就像马厩里的小马:远离衰弱，它们变得健康。
“If the screams are quiet here, and everypony is healthy...” I frowned and thumped the side of my head as if trying to shake loose the idea. “Perhaps they’re connected... somehow?”
"如果这里的尖叫声很安静，每匹小马都很健康......"我皱起眉头，重重地拍了拍脑袋，好像试图摆脱这个想法。"也许他们之间......有某种联系?"
Scotch Tape sat on her rump and dug out the Hoofington edition of the Wasteland Survival Guide. “Okay... where did I miss the part about screams? I found Enervation under ‘E’, but there wasn’t nothing about screams.”
苏格兰胶带坐在她的臀部，挖出了胡芬顿版的《荒地生存指南》。"好吧......我哪里错过了有关尖叫的部分？我在'e'下面找到了Enervation，但是没有任何关于尖叫的东西。"
“It’s something I hear in my mind. The wailing and screaming of countless ponies. Here it is almost... quiet.” Now Lacunae seemed to be pondering the relationship as well.
"这是我在脑海中听到的声音。无数小马的哀号和尖叫。这里几乎......很安静。"现在，空白似乎也在考虑这种关系。
Scotch Tape just huffed, crossed her forelegs, and sat down. “I wanna go back to
苏格兰胶带只是气喘吁吁，交叉她的前腿，然后坐下。"我想回到
I don’t care if it’s full of poison and cannibal ponies. Screaming ghosts is where I draw the line.”
我才不管里面是不是有毒的食人小马。尖叫的鬼魂是我的底线。"
“They’re not ghosts,” I said, then frowned and looked at Lacunae. “Are they?” Lacunae simply gave a slow shrug. Of all the time for a shrug, now was not it.
"他们不是鬼,"我说，然后皱起眉头，看着裂隙。"是吗?"空隙只是缓慢地耸了耸肩。在所有耸肩的时候，现在不是时候。
* * *
* * *
“I’m going to pass on your offer, for now,” I told Big Daddy as we met down on the field. I had to admit the act of simply eating grass... not something recycled or cooked or packaged... was definitely weird. Still, it was food... boring bland green food. Gimme Sugar Apple Bombs any day! The PipBuck technician that had removed Marmalade’s PipBuck had put the Delta PipBuck back on my left hoof where it belonged.
"我暂时不接受你的提议,"我们在球场上见面时，我对老爹说。我不得不承认简单地吃草的行为......而不是回收、烹饪或包装的东西......绝对是怪异的。尽管如此，这还是食物...乏味的绿色食品。给我糖苹果炸弹任何一天！拔掉MarmaladePipBuck的PipBuck的PipBuck技术员把DeltaPipBuck放回了我的左蹄。
Big Daddy chewed thoughtfully as he looked at me over the top of his glasses, his eyes glowing. “Well, can’t say I’m happy to hear that. I liked how you well
大爸爸透过眼镜看着我，若有所思地咀嚼着，眼睛里闪着光。"好吧，我不能说我很高兴听到这个。我喜欢你这么好
you handled Sanguine and Psychoshy.”
你搞定了Sanguine和Psychoshy。"
“Not sure we were watching the same fight. She beat me,” I argued.
"我不确定我们看的是不是同一场比赛。她打我,"我争辩道。
“You were distracted. In a fair and focused fight, you’d have beaten her. Heck, with enough training you might beat me... when I’m all old and crotchety,” he added as an afterthought.
"你心烦意乱。在一场公平而集中的战斗中，你会打败她的。真见鬼，经过足够的训练，你可能会打败我......当我变得又老又古怪的时候,"他补充道。
“I’ve got a mystery I’m trying to unravel. Something bad that happened in Hoofington two hundred years ago. Murders. Conspiracy. Secret projects.” I groaned softly as I sat down, looking at the fake sky. Knowing it was a roof stopped my stomach from flopping around. “Why does a not smart pony like me have to be the one to figure all this convoluted stuff out?” I sighed and looked at him. “Have you ever heard of the O.I.A., Goldenblood, EC-1101, or Project Horizons?”
"我想解开一个谜团。两百年前发生在Hoofington的一件坏事。谋杀案。阴谋。秘密项目。"我坐下来，看着那虚假的天空，轻轻地呻吟着。知道这是一个屋顶，我的胃停止了四处扑腾。"为什么像我这样不聪明的小马一定要把这些复杂的东西搞清楚呢?"我叹了口气，看着他。"你听说过o.i.a.、Goldenblood、EC-1101或者ProjectHorizons吗?"
He twirled his beard around his hoof. “Would you stay, join the Reapers, and help us stomp the Rangers if I did?”
他把胡子绕在蹄子上。"如果我愿意，你愿意留下来，加入收割者，帮助我们踩踏流浪者吗?"
I smirked at him. “Maybe. I told you, though: Rangers didn’t attack you. It was us.”
我朝他傻笑。"也许吧。不过我告诉过你:游骑兵没有攻击你。是我们。"
He snorted, “Same difference. Rangers want a fight and we’re gonna give it to ‘em. I look forward to breaking as many of Carrot’s toys as I can till she cries for mercy.”
他哼了一声,"差不多。游骑兵队想要比赛，我们就给他们机会。我期待着打破尽可能多的胡萝卜的玩具，直到她哭着求饶。"
“So no chance for peace?” I asked with a soft frown.
"那么没有和平的机会了?"我皱着眉头问道。
He sighed, looking at me skeptically. “Do you really want it? Steel Rangers aren’t any better than Reapers. In fact, some of them are every bit as bad as Sanguine.” He took a bite and chewed as he stared at me with his own unnatural gaze.
他叹了口气，怀疑地看着我。"你真的想要吗？钢铁骑兵并不比收割者好多少。事实上，他们中的一些人和桑吉一样糟糕。"他咬了一口，咀嚼着，用他那不自然的目光盯着我。
“I want to keep ponies from dying. Too many die for no reason,” I said as I plucked a clump of grass with my horn and looked at it, seeing still foals on a stable floor. I looked at him again. “So... have you ever heard of them?”
"我不想让小马死掉。太多人无缘无故地死去了,"我边说边用我的角拔了一丛草，看着它，眼里还是马厩地上的小马驹。我又看了他一眼。"那么......你听说过他们吗?"
He sat back as I chewed, gazing at me before he took a deep breath and sighed. “Only the O.I.A. and then only a little bit here and there. Compared to the ministries, they seemed like nobodies. Paper pushing bureaucrats. But I can tell
我咀嚼的时候，他靠在椅背上，凝视着我，然后深吸了一口气，叹了口气。"只有o.i.a.，然后只有一点点这里和那里。与政府部门相比，他们显得微不足道。推销纸张的官僚主义。但我看得出来
they matter to you.” He looked in the direction of the Core. “Thirty-five years ago, we came here from Manehattan. Hoofington was just a dot on a pre-war map back then. We didn’t even have access to the broadcast towers here. But when I saw those black towers with the green glow, I knew... I just knew... this was a bad place. Something wrong happened here. Something that could kill us, even today.”
他们对你很重要"他朝核心的方向望去。"35年前，我们从Manehattan来到这里。胡芬顿当时只是战前地图上的一个点。我们甚至无法进入这里的广播塔。但是当我看到那些发出绿光的黑色塔楼时，我就知道......我就知道......这是个糟糕的地方。这里发生了不对劲的事情。有些东西可能会杀了我们，即使在今天。"
I shivered, then asked another question to cover up my discomfort. “Can I ask you something personal?”
我打了个哆嗦，然后又问了一个问题来掩饰我的不适。"我能问你一些私人问题吗?"
“Is it about my age? I think I can make the goalposts from here,” he said dryly.
"和我的年龄差不多吗？"我想我可以从这里做球门柱,"他干巴巴地说。
“No. Your eyes...” He looked surprised, then chuckled.
"没有。你的眼睛......"他看上去很惊讶，然后咯咯地笑了。
“Oh there’s a whole lot of speculation. Lots of ponies think that they’re a product of too much mutation. That I can see in the dark... or that I know the flaws of my enemies... there are some ponies who think that I can even kill with my stare.” He locked gazes with me a moment. I matched him stare for stare. His eyes slowly narrowed. Mine matched his. Then I broke first with a snort, and he chuckled.
"哦，有很多推测。许多小马认为它们是太多突变的产物。我能在黑暗中看见......或者我知道敌人的缺点......有一些小马认为我甚至可以用我的凝视杀死它们。"他紧盯着我看了一会儿。我盯着他看。他的眼睛慢慢地眯起来。我的和他的一样。然后我先哼了一声，他咯咯笑了起来。
He rubbed his glowing eyes. “Truth is, they’re the product of a zebra curse. Back when we were bashing every two bit warlord and champion around the Hoof, we came across an old zebra. Now, most zebras hate the Hoof with a passion that’s nigh on religious. But this nutter, he was looking for something. He’d gotten himself captured by a starving tribe and almost ended up on the menu. I happened to free him.
他揉了揉发光的眼睛。"事实上，它们是斑马诅咒的产物。当我们把霍夫周围的每一个军阀和斗士都打得落花流水的时候，我们遇到了一只老斑马。现在，大多数斑马都以一种近乎宗教的激情憎恨蹄子。但是这个疯子，他在找什么东西。他被一个饥饿的部落抓住了，差点上了菜单。我碰巧救了他。
“He fed me some crock about the Hoof being surrounded by evil spirits and that they were drawn here by a great and terrible wrong. Figured he was talking about the Core. Then he blew some glowing sand in my eyes and said it would give me the sight of the sun. The old kook took off after that.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know exactly what he did... being I don’t have a horn on my noggin... but ever since then, I’ve been able to look at ponies and see them for who they really are. It’s how I know Sanguine’s a crooked snake who’s going to kill me someday. And it’s how I know the Reapers will be good in Brutus’s hooves when he does.”
"他给我讲了一些胡夫被恶灵包围的故事，说他们是被一个可怕的大错误吸引到这里来的。我以为他说的是核心。然后他把一些发光的沙子吹进我的眼睛，说这会让我看到太阳。那个老疯子在那之后离开了。"他深吸了一口气。"我不知道他到底做了什么......因为我头上没有角......但从那时起，我就能够看着小马，看清它们的真面目。所以我才知道桑吉内是条狡猾的蛇，总有一天会杀了我。这就是为什么我知道当布鲁图斯收割的时候，收割者的蹄子会很好用。"
“You know he’s planning on killing you?” I asked in shock. He looked back, clearly disappointed.
"你知道他打算杀了你吗?"我震惊地问道。他回头一看，显然很失望。
“I look like my mind’s going, girl? I could tell he was no good the moment he showed up here with Deus and Gorgon. He’s made of hooks and needles, cutting away pieces of everypony around him. I didn’t need magic eyes to tell that. But if he doesn’t kill me, old age will. ‘Cause I am old,” he said, thumping my chest with a hoof, making me flinch. “And I’m getting older. And I’d rather die from a knife in my back than from some stupid organ of mine failing.”
"我看起来像是精神不正常吗，姑娘？我可以告诉他不好的时刻，他出现在这里与天王和戈耳贡。他是由钩子和针组成的，把周围的每匹马都切成碎片。我不需要用魔眼就能看出来。但如果他不杀我，老年人也会。"因为我老了,"他说，用蹄子捶着我的胸膛，使我退缩。"而且我越来越老了。我宁愿死于背后的刀子，也不愿死于我那愚蠢的器官衰竭。"
I looked at him, pity welling up for the old stallion. It had to be hard to get old in the Wasteland.
我看着他，为这匹老种马感到怜悯。在这片荒原上，想要变老一定很难。
Then he reached out and smacked me upside the head sharply enough to knock me over. The world spun as I clutched my throbbing skull. “What was that for?” I asked. My brain wasn’t quite over the hangovery feelings from the fight earlier.
然后他伸出手，狠狠地拍了拍我的头，把我打翻在地。当我紧紧抓住跳动的头骨时，世界旋转起来。"这是干什么?"我问道。我的大脑并没有完全忘记早些时候那场争吵带给我的感觉。
“Looking at me all sad like,” he said sharply. “Ain’t avoiding the fact. Just don’t like being reminded of it.”
"看着我，满脸愁容,"他厉声说道。"我没有回避这个事实。只是不喜欢被提醒。"
“So... what do you see when you look at me?” I asked with a touch of trepidation.
"那么......当你看着我的时候，你看到了什么?"我略带惶恐地问道。
He stared at me for a long while. My mane began to crawl as I swallowed. I’d just about asked him to forget it when he said softly, “Blood and stars.”
他盯着我看了很长时间。当我吞咽的时候，我的鬃毛开始爬行。我正要求他忘记这件事，他轻轻地说:"鲜血和星星。"
Oh... of course...
哦...当然..。
“Blood of the innocent. Blood of the guilty. Fresh blood. Cold blood. Old blood. You’re standing in a river of the stuff. It’s flowing through you. Gives you strength. It’s also tearing you away and drowning you. And for all the blood that’s soaking you through and through... it’s nothing compared to all the bloodshed you’re going to prevent.” He sighed and shrugged. “I also see stars above you... stars beneath you... stars within you. You’re made of stars. Bloody stars.”
"无辜者的鲜血。罪人之血。新鲜血液。冷血。老血统。你正站在这些东西的河流中。它在你体内流淌。给你力量。它也会把你撕碎，淹没你。所有的鲜血浸透了你的全身......与你将要阻止的流血相比，这根本不算什么。"他叹了口气，耸了耸肩。"我也看到你上面的星星......你下面的星星......你内心的星星。你是由星星组成的。该死的星星。"
“Is there some sort of rule that old ponies are supposed to give cryptic prophecies to fuck with the minds of the young?” I asked sharply. Then I was practicing my flying skills as his hooftoss sent me sailing towards the goalposts. At least I didn’t hit the horizontal bar before landing in a heap. He trotted over and helped me up.
"是不是有什么规则说老马会给年轻人一些神秘的预言去操他们的心灵?"我尖锐地问道。然后我开始练习我的飞行技巧，他的马蹄把我送向球门柱。至少我在落地成堆之前没有碰到单杠。他小跑过来扶我起来。
“Sorry about that. Principle. And nope. I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. But there’s
"对不起。原则。而且没有。我只是随心所欲地称呼他们。但是还有
one thing that cheers me up about seeing all that,” he said with a grin.
"看到这一切，有一件事让我很高兴,"他咧嘴笑着说。
“Really? What’s that?” I asked dryly.
"真的吗？那是什么?"我干巴巴地问。
“I ain’t you,” he said with a chuckle.
"我不是你,"他笑着说。
 
Footnote: Level Up.
脚注:水平上升。
New Perk Added: Nerves of Steel -- You now regenerate AP as if you were
新帕金斯:钢铁神经——你现在可以像原来一样再生AP
Rainbow Dash: 20% faster.
彩虹冲刺:快20%。
Quest Perk Added: Magic Penetration -- Your magic bullet spell ignores 15 DT of armor.
任务额外福利:魔法穿透-你的魔法子弹法术忽略15DT护甲。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
((Huge and unending thanks to Kkat for creating FoE, Hinds and Bronode for spending a ridiculous amount of time making it worth reading, and to all the awesome folk that take the time to read it and give me the feedback I need to keep writing.))
(非常感谢Kkat创造了FoE，Hinds和Bronode，感谢他们花费了大量的时间让这本书值得一读，也感谢所有那些花时间阅读这本书并给我需要继续写作的反馈的人们)