“I can't believe we're finally here. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this... The Best Night Ever!”
"我不敢相信我们终于到了这里。有了我们所想象的一切，今晚的现实一定会让这个夜晚成为......最美好的夜晚!"
I’ve never been good with parties. I’d had a few celebrations at 99, but, by and large, parties were things that happened to other ponies. Even after getting outside, I always got a little squirm in my gut from the idea of being in a social situation where I was the center of attention. Cuddling with Glory and talking about ‘psychosexual metamorphic influences’ was more appealing than being in a place where I was expected to actually interact. If it meant I’d be alone with her, I’d happily speculate with Glory all night about whether or not her different body accounted to her being receptive to Splendid’s offers of ‘comfort’ after I’d gone off to sulk.
我从来不擅长参加派对。我在99岁的时候参加过一些庆祝活动，但是，总的来说，派对就像其他小马一样。即使在外出之后，一想到自己处于社交场合，成为众人关注的焦点，我的内心总是有些局促不安。与晨辉拥抱，谈论'性心理变态影响'比在一个我被期望真正互动的地方更有吸引力。如果这意味着我要和她单独在一起，我会整晚和晨辉一起愉快地推测，在我生气之后，她的另一个身体是否能让她接受斯普兰迪的安慰。
Unfortunately, the day was almost over, and the guests were arriving. I had no clue who would be attending, though. While I’d assumed that the Gala was Society only, apparently it was more than simple revelry and excess. It was an opportunity to invite important outsiders and bedazzle them with demonstrations of all that the Society had to offer. I supposed the point was so their guests would return home and sulk all year long that they weren’t as good as the Society.
不幸的是，这一天快要结束了，客人们陆续到来。不过，我不知道谁会出席。虽然我以为春晚只是社交活动，但显然它不仅仅是简单的狂欢和过度。这是一个机会，可以邀请一些重要的局外人，用社会所能提供的一切展示来迷惑他们。我猜他们的目的是为了让他们的客人回到家里，一整年都闷闷不乐地说他们没有协会那么好。
Hoity arrived, looking quite pleased. Glory excused herself, muttering about a bathroom. “It looks as if this is going to be the greatest Gala in generations. Almost everypony invited is attending.” I supposed the Gala was the best social event in the Hoof, and he flourished at social events. “So, Your Majesty, there is just one last tiny detail to cover. Have you selected your regent?”
豪伊特来了，看上去很高兴。晨辉为自己找了个借口，嘟囔着厕所的事。"看起来这将是几代人以来最盛大的庆典。几乎所有被邀请的人都参加了。"我认为春节晚会是霍夫最好的社交活动，他在社交活动中也很活跃。"那么，陛下，还有最后一个小细节需要说明。你选好摄政王了吗?"
“I have,” I replied, and opened my mouth.
"是的,"我回答，然后张开嘴。
He quickly raised his hooves before I could speak, though. “And please don’t
不过，我还没来得及说话，他就迅速抬起了蹄子。"请不要这样做
say me. I won’t do it. I’ll support whoever you select, but I have no desire to put my undead derriere on the throne and my excellent coiffeur in the crosshairs. I am a majordomo par excellence, but many ponies have difficulty taking my advice straight and undiluted.”
说我。我不会这么做的。我会支持你选择的任何人，但我不想把我不死的臀部放在宝座上，把我的发型放在瞄准器上。我是一个出类拔萃的管家，但许多小马驹难以接受我直接而纯粹的建议。"
Hmmm… well… that killed one idea… “Can I make three ponies my regent?” I asked.
嗯......好吧......这扼杀了一个想法......"我能让三匹小马成为我的摄政王吗?"我问道。
“Only if you want two of them dead,” he replied casually. “Triumvirates don’t last long.”
"除非你想要他们中的两个死,"他漫不经心地回答。"三头政治不会持续太久"
And that spiked that idea. “Can I make one regent and have the other two swear an oath to help them out or get kicked out?” I asked in a huff.
于是这个想法就产生了。"我能让一个摄政者，另外两个发誓要帮助他们，否则就会被赶出去吗?"我怒气冲冲地问。
He pondered it a moment. “Yes, I imagine that might work. For a time, at least. Who did you want as your regent?”
他沉思了一会儿。"是的，我想这可能行得通。至少有一段时间是这样。你想让谁当你的摄政王?"
I told him.
我告诉他。
He blinked. “Really? That’s quite… are you certain?”
他眨了眨眼睛。"真的吗？这很......你确定吗?"
“I am. And I expect you to do everything you can to help,” I replied with a smile. “With luck, this will be a turning point for the Society.”
"是的。我希望你能尽你所能帮助我,"我微笑着回答。"幸运的话，这将是该协会的一个转折点。"
“Yes… well… I’ll go make the proper arrangements,” he said and trotted out.
"是的......好吧......我会做出适当的安排,"他说着小跑出去了。
I had to take a quick trip outside to take care of one last bit of work. Deus was parked next to the reservoir, his cannons pointing out over the water. “Hey, how are you doing?” I asked, tapping his armor.
为了完成最后一项工作，我不得不到外面做了一次短途旅行。天王把车停在水库旁边，他的大炮指向水面。"嘿，你好吗?"我问道，轻敲着他的盔甲。
Something in him released a wheezing sigh. “Yeah, I hear that,” I said with a smile. “I need to ask a favor.” The engine emitted a low grumble. “Yeah, I know I’m the last pony you want to do any favors for, but I need your help. We’re going into the sky soon, and there’s no way we can take you with us.” Silence. “I need you to stick around the Society a little while.” He swung his turrets towards me, and his engine snarled, the cannons waving back and forth.
他心里有什么东西发出一声喘息。"是的，我听到了,"我笑着说。"我需要你帮个忙。"发动机发出低沉的嘟囔声。"是的，我知道我是你最不想帮的人，但我需要你的帮助。我们很快就要上天了，我们不可能带你一起去。"沉默。"我需要你在学会多待一会儿。"他把炮塔转向我，发动机熄火了，大炮前后摆动。
I raised my hooves defensively. “Hey, I know you don’t like it. I don’t like them much either. I put the fear of Rampage into them, but I’m afraid that when she and I go, they’re going to resume their old bullshit games. So I want you to stay
我抬起我的蹄子防御。"嘿，我知道你不喜欢。我也不太喜欢他们。我把狂暴的恐惧灌输给他们，但是我担心当她和我离开的时候，他们又会继续他们那些狗屁游戏。所以我希望你留下来
here. If anything deadly happens to the regent and Hoity Toity, I give you full permission to take over and give this place to Big Daddy, the Collegiate, or the Finders; whoever you want. If this place stays sane for a couple weeks, go back to Chapel and keep it safe. Just keep a radio ear open. You can travel faster and safer than almost anypony.”
这里。如果摄政王和傲慢的托提发生了什么致命的事情，我完全允许你接管，把这个地方给大老爹，大学生，或者芬德家，任何你想要的人。如果这个地方能保持清醒几个星期，就回教堂去，保证它的安全。只要保持无线电耳机开着。你可以比几乎所有的小马都走得更快、更安全。"
I think it was the word ‘pony’ that did it. His cannons raised and dropped, and then the turret pointed back over the water. Call me crazy, but the image seemed so… lonely. I tapped his armor again and he swiveled a camera at me. I reached out and hugged his tank tread; it was too wide for my legs to fit around, but it was the thought that counted. “Thanks. I mean it. You’re a better pony than the one I met in 99.”
我认为是'pony'这个词起的作用。他的大炮升起又落下，然后炮塔指向水面。你可以说我疯了，但是这个画面看起来是如此的......孤独。我又拍了拍他的盔甲，他把照相机转过来对着我。我伸出手，拥抱了他的坦克胎面;它太宽了，我的腿无法适应，但是这个想法很重要。"谢谢。我是认真的。你比我在99年遇到的那匹好多了。"
That started his engine rumbling softly.
他的引擎发出轻轻的隆隆声。
One last bit. The Society’s jail was a cinder block-walled storage shed built into the side of a hill. Despite the heavy metal door, I suspected that the occupants inside could have escaped if they wanted to. The power-armored guards outside might have been a bit more of a challenge, though. I stepped through the door and looked over at Lancer sitting quietly in the corner. While I’d wanted him released, Hoity had convinced me that letting a zebra sniper go was simply asking for trouble. I hoped he might get me more of those anti-magic bombs and give me more time away from the Goddess, but apparently they were exceptionally rare, even for zebras. I walked up to the large gray minotaur. “Hey,” I said, noting that he’d yanked the chains right off the walls. There were others I could have asked, but I’d seen what passed for loyalty for most of the Society.
最后一点。该协会的监狱是一个建在山坡上的煤渣砖仓库。尽管有着沉重的金属门，我还是怀疑里面的人如果愿意的话是可以逃走的。不过，外面那些身穿强力装甲的守卫可能更具挑战性。我走进门，望着安静地坐在角落里的兰瑟。当我希望他被释放的时候，豪伊特让我相信放走一个斑马狙击手只是自找麻烦。我希望他能给我更多的那些反魔法炸弹，让我有更多的时间远离女神，但显然他们是异常罕见的，甚至对斑马来说。我走向巨大的灰色弥诺陶洛斯。"嘿,"我说，注意到他已经把墙上的铁链扯下来了。还有其他人我可以问，但我已经看到了什么被称为忠诚的大多数协会。
“You,” his eyes glittered in the dim light.
"你,"他的眼睛在昏暗的灯光下闪闪发光。
“You let Scotch go without a fight, and I appreciate that. I’ve come to make you a deal,” I said as I sat before him. “You’ve been working with the Society for a while, haven’t you?”
"你让苏格兰人不战而退，我很感激。我是来和你做个交易的,"我坐在他面前说。"你已经在这个协会工作一段时间了，是吗?"
“I was in that king’s menagerie for years before they shut it down,” he said with a low growl. “There’s always folks that need muscle, though. I’m guessing that’s why you’re here, too. Ponies only talk if they want something.”
"我在那个国王的动物园里待了好几年，直到他们把它关了,"他低声咆哮着说。"不过，总有人需要肌肉。我猜这也是你来这儿的原因。小马只有在想要什么东西的时候才会说话。"
I took that in. “I do want something. I want you. You seem a decent enough sort. You let Scotch go and knew a stupid plan when you heard one. You’ve also seen
我接受了。"我确实想要点什么。我想要你。你看起来是个不错的人。你让苏格兰人走了，听到一个愚蠢的计划你就知道了。你也看到了
what passes for bodyguards in this place. Mine let a squad of five Harbingers in to kill me. I don’t want to pick a regent only to have them slaughtered because someone makes a deal. I want you to protect my regent.”
这个地方的保镖。我的手下让一队五个先驱者进来杀我。我不想因为有人做了交易就选一个摄政者杀了他们。我要你保护我的摄政王。"
His dark eyes bored into me. “And if I say no?”
他的黑眼睛盯着我看。"如果我说不呢?"
“Then you go home. Or I’ll write you a letter of recommendation for the Reapers, if you want. If they let Gorgon fight, they should let you.” He let out a snort. “Isn’t that what you want?”
"那么你回家吧。或者我会给你写一封推荐信给收割者，如果你愿意的话。如果他们让戈耳贡打仗，他们就应该让你打。"他哼了一声。"这不正是你想要的吗?"
“Ponies…” He slowly rose till his horns scraped the ceiling, and despite myself I took a few steps back. It was silly; I’d faced far worse things than him, but there was something about the sheer presence of him. “Do you think I really care about fighting? My kind were a strong race, removed from your petty war. We had no interest in either side; your war and the things you battled over were trivial. We’re not catcrows like griffins. We were not mercenaries peddling our strength to the highest bidder. We simply wanted to be left alone. And now you come here and assume I’d want to… that I would choose to… continue to be wrapped up in your petty conflicts.”
"小马......"他慢慢地站起来，牛角擦到了天花板，我不由自主地向后退了几步。这是愚蠢的，我曾经面对过比他更糟糕的事情，但是他的存在让我感觉到了什么。"你认为我真的在乎打架吗？我的种族是一个强大的种族，远离你们的小战争。我们对任何一方都没有兴趣;你们的战争和你们为之战斗的事情都是微不足道的。我们不像狮鹫。我们不是向出价最高者兜售力量的雇佣兵。我们只是不想被打扰。现在你来到这里，以为我想......我会选择......继续沉浸在你们那些琐碎的冲突中。"
My, he was much more talky than I recalled. “Alright then. What do you want to do?” The question seemed to surprise him, and he scowled in thought a moment.
天啊，他比我记忆中的要健谈得多。"那好吧。你想做什么?"这个问题似乎使他大吃一惊，他沉思了一会儿，皱起了眉头。
“What I want is respect. What I want is to find another of my own kind. To know whether or not my species is doomed to extinction or not. To learn if my home still exists. Fighting. Politics. Petty squabbles for transitory power.” He turned his head and spat to the side. “None of these matter to me.”
"我想要的是尊重。我想要的是找到另一个我自己的同类。知道我的物种是否注定要灭绝。想知道我的家是否还存在。战斗。政治。为了短暂的权力而争吵。"他转过头，朝旁边啐了一口唾沫。"这些对我来说都不重要。"
I looked up at him and smiled. “You’re right. It is stupid. And that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking since I got here. All this backstabbing and scheming… it’s insane. It’s the exact opposite of what the world needs. So I need someone who can rise above it. I need a person who isn’t going to be bribed. And if you stay, well, word will get around. And if any of your people hear of it, they might seek you out. At the very least, you’d be in a position to hear news of abroad for when you decide to leave.”
我抬头看着他，笑了。"你说得对。这是愚蠢的。这正是我来到这里之后一直在想的。所有这些背后中伤和阴谋诡计...太疯狂了。这与世界所需要的恰恰相反。所以我需要一个能超越它的人。我需要一个不会被收买的人。如果你留下来，消息就会传开。你们中间若有人听见，就可以找你们。至少，当你决定离开的时候，你可以听到国外的消息。"
The minotaur pursed his lips as he looked down at me. “This is a bad place,” he finally said in his low, slow voice. Lancer’s eyes watched me with a silent stare, but thanks to the little pink pony in my head, I caught his minute nod.
牛头怪低头看着我，噘起了嘴唇。"这是个糟糕的地方,"他最后用低沉而缓慢的声音说。兰瑟的眼睛无声地注视着我，但多亏了我头上那匹粉红色的小马驹，我抓住了他微微的点头。
“Oh, I know the Society has a lot of rot to it, but--”
"哦，我知道这个协会有很多问题，但是——"
“Not the Society. Are you so removed from your roots that you can’t feel it?” He snorted, and his muscles flexed powerfully. His fist smashed right through the cinder block wall. Two more punches and he’d pulverized a hole. I started to think that he might have gone easy on me our first battle. From the hole he pulled out wet earth and muddy pebbles. “This land is poisoned. All of this land. It is a poison seeped into the very stones,” he said as he turned them over. He turned the pebbles over and then met my gaze. He seemed to be searching for some comprehension from me, and when it didn’t arrive, he snorted, “Pah. I don’t know why I bother.”
"不是学会。你是不是已经脱离了自己的根，感觉不到它了?"他哼了一声，他的肌肉有力地收缩起来。他的拳头正好打穿了煤渣砖墙。再打两下，他就打出了一个窟窿。我开始想，我们的第一场战斗，他可能会对我手下留情。他从洞里挖出湿润的泥土和泥泞的鹅卵石。"这片土地有毒。所有这些土地。这是一种渗入石头里的毒药,"他一边说，一边把石头翻过来。他把鹅卵石翻过来，然后看着我的眼睛。他似乎想从我这里得到一些理解，但是没有得到，他哼了一声,"啪。我不知道我为什么要这么麻烦。"
“No! Please. Continue,” I said, as I stepped closer. “What do you mean?”
"不！求你了。继续,"我说着，走近了一些。"什么意思?"
He seemed to consider me, working out if I was serious. After a moment, he answered, “This land is poisoned. A sickness seeps away its life. My kind has felt the cries and weeping of the earth for centuries. Since before your war.” He smashed a pebble between his fingers. “They are dead. Lifeless.”
他似乎在考虑我，看我是否是认真的。过了一会儿，他回答说:"这片土地有毒。疾病使它的生命慢慢流逝。几个世纪以来，我们这类人一直感受着大地的哭泣和哭泣。从你们战前就开始了。"他用手指捏碎了一块鹅卵石。"他们死了。毫无生气。"
“The stones are… dead?” I asked in bafflement.
"石头......死了?"我困惑地问。
“Stones contain a life and spirit all their own. Strength beyond mere rock. Some ponies once cultivated the life of stones, encouraging the growth of gems and strong bones of the world. But the very bones of the world here are rotten.” He snorted and flung the dirt away. “I came here as a young bull to discover the source. More the fool, I.”
"石头包含着自己的生命和灵魂。超越岩石的力量。一些小马曾经培育了石头的生命力，促进了世界宝石和坚固骨骼的生长。但是这个世界的骨头都腐烂了。"他哼了一声，把泥土扔掉了。"我作为一头年轻的公牛来到这里寻找源头。我更像个傻瓜。"
I began to scoff, but then stopped. “You’re talking about Enervation. You’re saying that it’s sucking life out of the rocks?” He scowled at my question, then nodded. I frowned, idly rubbing my chest. I remembered… was it a dream or a memory? “A long time ago, something happened to Equestria. A disaster. Do the minotaurs know anything about it?”
我开始嘲笑，但后来停止了。"你说的是衰弱。你是说它正在从岩石中吸取生命?"他对我的问题皱起眉头，然后点了点头。我皱起眉头，无所事事地摩擦着胸口。我记得...那是一个梦还是一段记忆？"很久以前，Equestria发生了一些事情。一场灾难。牛头怪知道这件事吗?"
Now he appeared surprised, but gave a small nod. He lifted a rock. “The stone remembers. Eons and eons ago. A calamity from the skies that fractured the very earth. But how do you know?”
现在他显得很惊讶，但是轻轻地点了点头。他举起一块石头。"石头记得。很久很久以前。一场来自天空的灾难，将整个地球都摧毁了。但你怎么知道?"
“Because we found it,” I said, frowning. “A machine… or… something else. Something powerful. We found it and tried to use it. I think it’s generating the Enervation.”
"因为我们找到了,"我皱着眉头说。"一台机器......或者......别的什么东西。一些强大的东西。我们找到了它并试图使用它。我认为它正在产生能量。"
His harsh glare relaxed a touch. He seemed to be reassessing me. “Never have I heard your kind speak of important things. It has always been war, power, and greed.” His earlier scorn was now giving way to sincere consideration. “Our world is dying. It is more than the radiation. More than the taint. Such poisons eventually fade. This is growing. It chokes the life from the very stone.”
他那刺眼的目光轻轻地触了一下。他似乎在重新评估我。"我从来没有听你这种人说过重要的事情。战争、权力和贪婪一直都存在。"他先前的轻蔑现在变成了真诚的考虑。"我们的世界正在消亡。它不仅仅是辐射。不仅仅是污点。这种毒素最终会消失。这个数字还在增长。它从石头上掐死生命。"
“Can the world be restored?” I asked, remembering layers of stone and trapped bones. The glowing gems above the fossil-bearing layers.
"世界能恢复吗?"我问道，回忆着石头的层层叠叠和被困的骨头。在化石层之上的发光宝石。
He looked troubled. “I… don’t know.” Pain Train knelt and stared into my eyes. “You seek to end this?”
他看起来很不安。"我.....。.不知道"疼痛列车跪下来，盯着我的眼睛。"你想结束这一切吗?"
“I just want to save ponies,” I muttered, at a loss. “That’s what Security does.”
"我只是想拯救小马,"我不知所措地咕哝着。"这就是安全部门的工作。"
“Just ponies?” he asked with a scowl.
"只有小马?"他愁眉苦脸地问。
“No. I mean… not just ponies. I want to save the lives of everyone I can. Griffins. Minotaurs. Zebras. Everyone,” I added and then looked at the pebbles he held and levitated one out of his grasp. “Even little rocks, if they’re alive.” Lancer looked up at me, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
"没有。我是说...不仅仅是小马。我想尽我所能拯救每一个人的生命。狮鹫。牛头怪。斑马。每个人,"我补充道，然后看着他手中的鹅卵石，把一块鹅卵石悬浮起来，让他抓不住。"即使是小石头，如果它们还活着的话。"兰瑟抬头看着我，他的眼睛乌黑而深不可测。
The words made Pain Train actually smile… a little. “Very well. If you can be selfless enough to protect my kind, and little rocks, I will do the same and protect yours. For now,” he replied.
这句话让痛苦列车真的微笑了一下。"很好。如果你能够无私地保护我的同类和小石头，我也会这样做，保护你的同类。现在,"他回答。
* * *
* * *
Since King Awesome’s bedroom was full of holes, Glory and I’d relocated to Grace’s room to get ready. Lacunae, Scotch, Boo, and Rampage had hijacked Splendid’s bathroom, and Hoity had sworn to take care of P-21. I’d never seen so many real flowers before, precious decorations placed all over. I recognized the roses, and I assumed some others were tulips or daffodils from pictures in books, but there were others of such delicate beauty that I had no idea if I was supposed to sniff, look at, or eat. Besides the flowers, her room was decorated with laces and fine soft cotton sheets.
因为国王的卧室布满了洞，晨辉和我搬到了格蕾丝的房间准备。拉库奈、苏格兰人、布和狂暴劫持了辉煌战士的浴室，豪伊蒂发誓要照顾P-21。我以前从未见过这么多真正的花，到处都是珍贵的装饰品。我认出了那些玫瑰，我以为还有一些是郁金香或者书中插图上的水仙花，但是还有一些如此精致美丽的花，我不知道我是否应该闻一闻，看一看，或者吃一吃。除了鲜花，她的房间还用花边和精致柔软的棉床单装饰。
Unfortunately, her tub didn’t have room for two, so after I washed, I dressed while Glory bathed. Standing in front of the vanity, I looked at the collection of makeups, brushes, and ribbons, and just stared at myself. White hide and black steel didn’t really promise a good look. The clothes I was supposed to wear lay
不幸的是，她的浴缸没有两个人的空间，所以我洗完澡后，我穿好衣服，而晨辉洗澡。站在梳妆台前，我看着化妆品、画笔和缎带的收藏，然后盯着自己。白色的皮和黑色的钢并不能保证好看。我应该穿的衣服放在那里
in a heap of purple on the bed. I’d be lucky if I didn’t simply rip the dress Lacunae had picked up… wait. Where did she get these dresses? I’d tried to ask her telepathically, but after that grenade the telepathic link had been rising and falling like a tuning radio. From the shrieks of rage I’d picked up through Unity though, the Goddess was not happy.
躺在一堆紫色的床上。如果我没有简单地撕掉Lacunae捡起来的裙子就算我走运了...等等。她从哪里得到这些衣服的？我试图用心灵感应的方式问她，但是在那之后，心灵感应的链接就像调谐收音机一样起起落落。从我通过尤尼蒂听到的愤怒的尖叫声来看，女神并不高兴。
Just get me through tonight.
帮我度过今晚。
Grace stepped in, already looking positively gorgeous in her silver-threaded blue ballgown. It appeared as if she was dressed in sapphire flame. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”
格蕾丝走了进来，穿着银色螺纹的蓝色舞会礼服，她看上去已经非常漂亮了。看起来她好像穿着蓝宝石色的衣服。"你不准备好吗?"
“I… um…” I waved a hoof a little. “I’m just trying to figure it out.”
"我.....。."嗯......"我挥了挥蹄子。"我只是想弄明白。"
She sighed and shook her head. “I take it there’s not much call for makeup in the Wasteland,” she said as she levitated a brush and began to stroke my mane into line.
她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"我认为在荒原没有多少人需要化妆,"她一边说，一边把一把梳子悬浮起来，开始把我的鬃毛梳成一排。
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever worn it,” I replied a little sheepishly. “I mean, there were other ponies in 99 who did. Made themselves look nice all the time and the like. I was just always on the night shift, so it never really mattered how I looked. And then once in the Wasteland…”
"事实上，这是我第一次穿它,"我有点不好意思地回答。"我的意思是，99年还有其他小马也这么做了。让自己看起来总是那么漂亮。我只是一直在值夜班，所以我的长相并不重要。一旦到了荒原......"
“I see,” she replied. “The Society puts a great deal of stock in appearances. It makes substance an undervalued commodity.” She levitated two more brushes and gave the same attention to the rest of my body. I had to admit that it felt good! “Did my brother do something this afternoon? He’s been acting… smug.”
"我明白了,"她回答。"学会非常看重外表。它使物质成为被低估的商品。"她又漂浮起两把刷子，对我身体的其他部分给予了同样的关注。我不得不承认这种感觉很好！"我弟弟今天下午做了什么事吗？他表现得......自鸣得意。"
“Glory had sex with him.” I had a feeling he’d thought it would give him an ‘in’ with me. I frowned in annoyance, then saw Grace gaping at me in shock and added, “He behaved himself, didn't cross the line.” At least Glory hadn’t said he had. If that changed… But Grace seemed even more disturbed. “By all accounts, he was okay at it.”
"晨辉和他上床了。"我有一种感觉，他认为这会让他对我产生好感。我恼怒地皱起眉头，然后看到格蕾丝震惊地冲我张嘴说,"他表现得很好，没有越界。"至少晨辉没有说他有。如果情况有所改变......但格蕾丝似乎更加不安。"大家都说，他做得还不错。"
“Blackjack,” Glory called from the bathroom in that tone that meant I was doing something Blackjacky.
"Blackjack,"晨辉从浴室里用那种语气喊道，意思是我在做Blackjacky做的事情。
“What?” I asked looking over at her through the door.
"什么?"我隔着门望着她问道。
“Most ponies don’t talk about other ponies having sex with other ponies,” she
"大多数小马不会谈论其他小马与其他小马发生性关系,"她说
said, looking through the door from the tub, folding her blue forelegs under her chin. She spoke exactly like Mom when explaining to me that guns were dangerous.
说着，她从浴缸里透过门，把蓝色的前腿叠在下巴下面。当她向我解释枪是很危险的时候，她的口气和妈妈一模一样。
“They don’t?” I blinked in confusion. “That was at least half the gossip in 99.”
"他们没有吗?"我困惑地眨了眨眼。"这至少是99年流言蜚语的一半。"
“Really? What was the other half?” Grace asked with an amused smile.
"真的吗？另一半是什么?"格蕾丝带着愉快的微笑问道。
“Everything else,” I answered.
"其他的一切,"我回答。
Grace furrowed her brows, then her expression turned a touch baffled. “I’m afraid I don’t get the joke,” she replied.
格蕾丝皱起眉头，然后她的表情变得有点困惑。"恐怕我没听懂这个笑话,"她回答。
I looked from Glory in the tub and back to Grace. “I was making a joke?” Glory covered her face with a hoof as Grace flushed, staring at me.
我从浴缸里的格洛里望向格蕾丝。"我在开玩笑吗?"晨辉用一只蹄子覆盖了她的脸，格蕾丝脸红了，盯着我。
Glory sighed, smiling and shaking her head. “Blackjack…” she began helplessly.
晨辉叹了口气，微笑着摇了摇头。"黑杰克......"她无助地开始说。
“What? We did! There’s not a lot to talk about in a stable, day to day!” I said defensively, spreading my hooves and pleading for understanding as Glory started to laugh.
"什么？是我们！在一个马厩里，日复一日，没有什么好谈的!"我辩护地说，伸出我的蹄子，恳求理解，晨辉开始笑了起来。
Grace seemed to process this thoughtfully, her flush fading as she composed herself easily. “I see. I suppose we can chalk it up to candor,” she said diplomatically. She set down the brush. “Well, he was always the charming one. I suppose he told you how tough your life must be, and how much he admired you?”
格蕾丝似乎深思熟虑地接受了这个事实，她脸上的红晕随着她平静下来而渐渐消失。"我明白了。我想我们可以把这归功于坦率,"她外交辞令地说。她放下刷子。""嗯，他总是那个迷人的人。我想他告诉过你，你的生活一定很艰难，他是多么钦佩你?"
Glory frowned and sat up. “Yeah! How’d…” She slumped in the tub. “Let me guess. He uses that line a lot?”
晨辉皱起了眉头，坐了起来。"是的！怎么......"她倒在浴缸里。"让我猜猜。他经常用这句台词吗?"
Grace gave a small sigh. “To be fair, no. He’s actually quite discriminating. He was likely sincere, too, in his own way,” she said primly as she took up a little brush and began to put some powder on my face. “Splendid is always good at whatever he sets his mind to.”
格蕾丝轻轻地叹了口气。"公平地说，没有。他其实很有鉴赏力。他很可能也是真诚的，以他自己的方式,"她一本正经地说，同时拿起一把小刷子，开始往我脸上抹粉。"无论他决心做什么，灿烂总是好的。"
“He was the first male ever openly interested in me,” Glory said with a frown. “Couldn’t believe it was happening, and by the time I really processed it…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Normally all guys get from me is a constant string of mental ‘no’s. He managed the first ‘maybe’ and
"他是第一个公开对我感兴趣的男人,"晨辉皱着眉头说。"真不敢相信会发生这样的事，等到我真正接受的时候......"她摇了摇头。"我不知道自己是怎么了。通常所有的男人从我这里得到的都是一连串的心理上的不。他成功地完成了第一个"也许"和第二个"也许"
turned it into an ‘okay’.”
把它变成一个'好'。"
“Maybe he used some sort of sex spell on you. Zap. Instant lovings,” I suggested. If that were true, it would really simplify how to handle him. I had experience with that.
"也许他对你施了什么性魔法。Zap.我建议道。如果这是真的，那么处理他的方法就简单多了。我有这方面的经验。
Grace let out a patient little sigh and smiled as she levitated the bundle of purple off the bed. “Doubtful. Splendid simply knows how to talk to mares. A blend of flattery, semi-honest praise, and somewhat sincere admiration is a potent mix. I never had the talent myself, but then, I’m usually fending off the hollow flattery.” She paused and stared at the violet and silver-threaded dress. “Sweet Celestia… this… this is a Rarity!”
格蕾丝耐心地轻轻叹了口气，微笑着把那一捆紫色的东西从床上飘起来。"可疑。辉煌只是知道如何与母马交谈。阿谀奉承，半诚实的赞美，再加上某种程度上的真诚赞美，这三者的组合非常有效。我自己从来没有这种天赋，不过，我通常会避开那些空洞的奉承话。"她停顿了一下，盯着那件紫罗兰色和银色的连衣裙。"甜蜜的天堂......这......这是一个罕见的!"
“Yeah, I imagine dresses are pretty rare in the Wasteland,” I replied.
"是的，我想在荒原上裙子是相当罕见的,"我回答。
“Not ‘rarity’ as in scarce. ‘Rarity’ as in one of Rarity’s own designs.” Grace turned it about. “They were precious even before the war. I think I recognize it from old copies of Image Magazine. This was from Luna’s Nocturne Ensemble five years before she assumed the throne! And this!” She lifted Glory’s dress, the rainbow colors still magically vibrant and the trim still fluffy. “It’s one of her original designs for Rainbow Dash’s very first attendance at the Gala! Ohhh!” She gushed in delight and rubbed her cheek on the fluffy white trim. Then she caught my smirk and immediately flushed. “Aheh… sorry. I have a bit of a thing for pre-war trends.”
"不是稀缺，而是稀缺。'稀有'，就像稀有自己设计的作品一样。"格蕾丝扭转了局势。"它们甚至在战争之前就很珍贵。我想我是从旧的Image杂志上认出来的。这是月神登基前五年创作的夜曲合奏曲！还有这个!"她掀起了晨辉的裙子，彩虹的颜色仍然神奇地充满活力，修剪仍然蓬松。"这是她为彩虹冲刺第一次出席春晚设计的原创作品之一！哦!"她高兴得滔滔不绝，在蓬松洁白的头发上蹭着自己的脸颊。然后她抓住了我的假笑，马上冲了出去。"啊......对不起。我有点喜欢战前的潮流。"
“Like your father,” I noted. I suspected that Lacunae had pulled some favors with Charity. I wondered how much I’d owe for renting priceless dresses. “Well, it’s a shame to put it on me. I’ll probably rip it in three steps.”
"就像你的父亲,"我注意到。我怀疑拉库尼和查瑞蒂勾结过。我想知道租这些价值连城的衣服要花多少钱。"好吧，让我承担这个责任真是太可惜了。我可能会把它分三步撕开。"
“Tch. Not if I have anything to say about it,” Grace said as she placed the dress on me. “This is a crime against fashion, but I think I’ll be able to restore it.” She said as her horn glowed.
"啧。除非我有什么要说的,"格蕾丝边说边把裙子给我穿上。"这是对时尚的犯罪，但我认为我能够恢复它。"她说，她的角发光。
“Wait. What are you…” And I blinked as I felt it shift over my body and become perfectly snug. I blinked and twisted my head, taking a few experimental steps, but the garment didn’t catch and tear on anything. “How’d you do that?” I twisted my head and saw the spine reinforcement melded almost perfectly with the violet fabric.
"等等。你在干什么......"我眨了眨眼，感觉它在我身上移动，变得非常舒适。我眨了眨眼，扭了扭头，试了几步，但是这件衣服并没有粘住任何东西。"你是怎么做到的?"我扭动着头，看到脊柱的加固物和紫罗兰色的布料几乎完全融合在一起。
“Clothing alteration spell. No Society unicorn would be caught dead without
"衣服改变咒语。没有社会的独角兽是不会死的
one.” Only the Society would have a spell like that in the Wasteland. She finished with her brushes and placed the headdress on top. A few bobby pins… so that was what they were for… and she gave a little nod. “There. Now you look impressive, commanding, and beautiful.”
一。"只有协会在荒原才会有这样的咒语。她完成了她的刷子，把头饰放在最上面。几个发夹......这就是它们的用途......她点了点头。"那儿。现在你看起来令人印象深刻，威严而美丽。"
She gently turned me away from the vanity and towards a full body mirror in the corner. “Yeah, right. It’s going to take a lot more than that to make me look…” A mare stood in that mirror that I’d never seen before, wearing a dress of deepest purple with silver threadwork moon motifs on the breast and haunches and stars along the hem. Countless tiny amethysts glittered softly, catching the light to make it appear as if she were wearing a silken swatch of the night. Atop her head rested a purple headdress decorated with a crescent moon surrounded by four silver stars and matching purple feathers. She had glossy black metal limbs, but they so blended with the dark fabric that it was almost impossible to tell where steel ended and silk began. Her unblemished white hide betrayed none of the abuse and hardship its owner had suffered.
她轻轻地把我从虚荣中转向角落里的一面全身镜子。"是的，没错。一匹母马站在那面我从未见过的镜子里，穿着一件深紫色的连衣裙，胸前印着银色丝线的月亮图案，裙摆上还有下巴和星星。无数小小的紫水晶闪烁着柔和的光芒，捕捉着光芒，使它看起来好像她戴着一块夜晚的丝绸样板。在她的头顶上放着一个紫色的头饰，上面装饰着一轮新月，周围环绕着四颗银色的星星和相配的紫色羽毛。她有光滑的黑色金属肢体，但他们与黑色织物的混合是如此之多，以至于几乎不可能分辨出钢的结束和丝绸的开始。她洁白无暇的皮毛丝毫没有显露出主人所遭受的虐待和苦难。
And that mare was me.
那匹母马就是我。
I couldn’t talk as I looked at Grace, tears welling in my eyes. If only Mom could have seen me like this. “Thanks,” I muttered, dropping my eyes.
看着格蕾丝，我说不出话来，泪水涌上了我的眼眶。要是妈妈看到我这样就好了。"谢谢,"我低下眼睛喃喃自语道。
Glory stepped out of the tub and shook herself, then fluttered her wings and walked up to me. “If you say you don’t deserve to look like this, I’m going to thump you,” she said, giving me a wet nuzzle. Grace smiled, levitated over towels, and gave Morning Glory every bit of attention she’d given me. “You’re quite good at this, Grace,” she commented as her rainbow mane was brushed by one floating brush while another took care of her tail.
晨辉从浴缸里走出来，摇了摇身子，然后拍着翅膀向我走来。"如果你说你不配这个样子，我就揍你,"她说着，用湿漉漉的鼻子蹭了我一下。格蕾丝微笑着，悬浮在毛巾上，把她对我的每一点关注都献给了牵牛花。"你很擅长这个，格雷斯,"她评论说，她的彩虹鬃毛被一个漂浮的刷子刷过，而另一个刷子在照顾她的尾巴。
“Since pleasant appearances are so rare in the Wasteland, they are a mark of superiority. The Gala used to be a parody of grotesqueries with everypony pretending that they were magnificent. I always preferred substance over satire, though; I refused to look ghastly and depend on others to be cowed by my father. The game that so many here play is ridiculous in the extreme. So, simply, I raise the bar, and others are required to expend a little effort in turn. I might not be able to demand excellence, but I can model it,” Grace declared grandly.
"因为在大荒地，美好的外表是如此罕见，它们是优越感的标志。这个盛会曾经是一个滑稽的模仿，每个小马都假装自己很了不起。不过，我总是喜欢实实在在的东西，而不喜欢讽刺;我拒绝让自己看起来很可怕，也不指望别人会被我父亲吓倒。这么多人在这里玩的游戏实在是太荒谬了。所以，简单地说，我提高了标准，而其他人则需要依次付出一点努力。我也许不能要求卓越，但我可以模仿它,"格蕾丝盛气凌人地宣布。
Glory winced as her mane was tamed by Grace’s brushes. “It actually reminds me of home.”
格蕾丝的刷子驯服了她的鬃毛，晨辉也随之缩了回去。"它实际上让我想起了家。"
“It does?” I asked in surprise.
"是吗?"我惊讶地问。
“Up above, the Enclave maintains the delusion that the Wasteland ends at the clouds. Things are falling apart from one end of the Enclave to the other, but everypony smiles and insists that everything is okay. Even when there are famines at the drop of a feather and half our cities are empty due to a lack of actual resources to support them, everypony pretends that things are wonderful because we’re not the Wasteland. Thunderhead refused to follow that line. That was why the Volunteer Corps were pushed. To tear away that illusion of superiority.” She gave Grace a warm smile. “I suppose I can fully support your drive for substance.”
"在上面，昂科雷保持着一种错觉，认为荒地在云端结束。从飞地的一端到另一端，一切都在分崩离析，但每匹小马都微笑着坚称一切正常。即使有一点点的饥荒，我们一半的城市由于缺乏实际的资源来支持他们，每个小马都假装事情是美好的，因为我们不是荒原。雷锋公司拒绝遵循这一路线。这就是为什么志愿兵团被推翻的原因。撕掉那种优越感的幻觉。"她给了格雷斯一个温暖的微笑。"我想我可以完全支持你的实质性努力。"
“If the Society is to be better than the Wasteland, we must be better in truth, not just in presumption,” Grace said with a prim bob of her head.
格蕾丝一本正经地摇了摇头说:"如果这个协会要比荒原更好，我们必须在真实方面做得更好，而不仅仅是在推测方面。"。
“Isn’t that a little arrogant?” I asked her with a cock of my brow.
"这是不是有点傲慢?"我用额头上的鸡巴问她。
She looked back and replied coolly, “Not if it’s true. And even if it was, isn’t aristocracy supposed to be arrogant?” I couldn’t think of a counterargument to that.
她回头看了看，冷冷地回答说:"如果是真的就不会。即使是这样，难道贵族不应该是傲慢的吗?"我想不出有什么反驳的理由。
As soon as Glory was finished, the dress’s laurel headdress resting upon her rainbow mane, we stepped out. Somewhere, a band began to play classical music, and I found myself nostalgic for Octavia. Lacunae stood outside Splendid’s room, talking to the closed door. “You look fine!” the alicorn said aloud in exasperation. She wore the dress that Velvet had altered for her larger frame, looking like an echo of a Princess of yesterday in magnificent burgundy and gold. As we approached, she looked at us and gave a start. “Rainbow…” she breathed as she stared at Glory for a moment, then shook her head. “Forgive me,” she said with an apologetic smile. “You three look quite lovely.” Then she looked back at the door and sighed. “Unfortunately, Rampage is having some issues.”
晨辉一完工，裙子上的桂冠头饰披在她那彩虹般的鬃毛上，我们就走了出去。在某个地方，一个乐队开始演奏古典音乐，我发现自己怀念着奥克塔维亚。空隙站在灿烂的房间外面，对着关着的门说话。"你看起来不错!"阿里克朗恼怒地大声说。她穿的裙子是维尔维特为她更大的身材改变的，看起来就像是昨天的公主穿着华丽的勃艮第和金色衣服的回声。当我们走近时，她看着我们，吓了一跳。"彩虹......"她呼吸着，盯着晨辉看了一会儿，然后摇了摇头。"原谅我,"她带着歉意的微笑说。"你们三个看起来很可爱。"然后她回头看着门，叹了口气。"不幸的是，狂暴遇到了一些问题。"
“Not having issues. I’m not coming out,” Rampage’s voice replied, slightly muffled. “There’s no way I’m coming out dressed like this.”
"没有问题。我不会出来的,"狂暴的声音回答，有点压抑。"我不可能穿成这样出来。"
“Come on, how bad could it be?” I asked with a smile. Lacunae shook her head, and I felt a little concerned. I pulled a bobby pin from my mane, carefully worked it in, and popped the lock. Returning the pin to my mane, I pushed the door open. Splendid’s room was decorated with photographs of Ministry Mares,
"得了吧，还能有多糟糕?"我笑着问。拉库尼摇了摇头，我感到有点担心。我从鬃毛上扯下一个发夹，小心翼翼地插进去，打开了锁。把别针还给我的鬃毛，我推开门。辉煌的房间装饰着马尔斯部的照片,
particularly Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Huh, who knew? Boo wore an absolutely adorable pink dress with bows and tiny stitching of cupcakes along the hem and a small round cap decorated like a cake with pink frosting. To her credit, only one tiny spot looked like she’d given it a nibble. “Rampage, where…”
特别是彩虹破折号和苹果白兰地。谁知道呢？布穿了一件绝对可爱的粉色连衣裙，裙摆上有蝴蝶结和小小的蛋糕缝线，还有一顶小圆帽，装饰得像一个粉色糖霜蛋糕。值得赞扬的是，只有一个小点看起来像是被她咬了一口。"横冲直撞，哪里......"
“Don’t look at me!” wailed a voice from the corner. A beautiful striped mare without steel wire in her tail cowered there. Her tangled, curly mane had been straightened and trimmed by what had to be magic. She was wrapped in a lovely white silk dress. It was simple, elegant, and lacked a single barb or spike anywhere. Instead, it was beaded about the waist with strands of pearls and delicate rubies. An ivory manecomb with a heart-shaped fire ruby gleamed in her scarlet mane. “I can’t go out dressed like this! I’d rather go naked than like this!”
"别看我!"角落里传来一个声音。一只尾巴上没有钢丝的美丽的有条纹的母马蜷缩在那里。她纠结的、卷曲的鬃毛已经被什么神奇的东西拉直和修整过了。她穿着一件可爱的白色丝绸连衣裙。它简单、优雅，到处都没有一个倒钩或尖刺。相反，它的腰部镶满了珠子和精致的红宝石。一个象牙色的房间里，一颗心形的火红宝石在她猩红色的鬃毛中闪闪发光。"我不能穿成这样出去！我宁愿光着身子也不要这样!"
“Wha… what’s wrong?” I muttered in shock.
"怎...怎么了?"我震惊地喃喃自语。
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong! Look at this!” Rampage said as she gestured to the outfit. “I wouldn’t have even put it on except she used her cheating alicorn magic to take off what I’d planned to wear!”
"怎么了？怎么了！看看这个!"兰帕德一边说，一边指了指那身行头。"如果不是她用她的骗子魔法脱掉了我计划穿的衣服，我根本不会穿这件衣服!"
“I had to levitate her off her hooves, telekinetically unbuckle her, and scrub her like a filly,” Lacunae said to me out of the corner of her mouth, then said firmly to Rampage, “Spiked armor is what you always wear. This is a special event.”
"我不得不让她悬浮起来，用心灵感应解开她的安全带，像小母马一样给她擦洗,"拉古纳从她的嘴角对我说，然后坚定地对狂暴说,"你总是穿带尖刺的盔甲。这是一个特殊的事件。"
“You look… amazing,” Glory said, her wings fluffing up a little.
"你看起来......太棒了,"晨辉说，她的翅膀有点抖动。
“I look soft,” Rampage muttered, going pink as she hugged herself. “I feel naked like this.”
"我看起来很温柔,"狂暴的女孩一边抱怨一边变成了粉红色。"我感觉像这样一丝不挂。"
“Quite the contrary,” Grace murmured in clear approval.
"恰恰相反,"格蕾丝咕哝着明确地表示赞同。
“You’re fine. I never thought that a Reaper would be scared by wearing a dress,” I said as I touched her shoulder.
"你没事。我从没想过一个死神会因为穿裙子而害怕,"我摸着她的肩膀说。
“Shows how much you know,” Rampage retorted, going redder as she looked away. “I expected black with chains and spikes and skulls…” She looked almost near tears.
"看看你知道多少,"狂暴反驳道，她转过头去，脸色变得更红了。"我以为会是一个戴着锁链、长钉和骷髅头的黑人......"她看上去几乎要哭了。
Glory rubbed her chin, “You know, I’ve heard that, in some cultures, white is the
"你知道，我听说，在一些文化中，白色是
color of death. So really, if you think about it, you are a maiden of death.”
死亡颜色。所以说真的，如果你仔细想想，你就是一个死亡少女。"
I looked at Glory in bafflement, and she snapped my rump with her tail. “Oh, yeah! And the red… um… it looks like blood!”
我困惑地看着格洛里，她用尾巴猛地拍了拍我的屁股。"哦，是的！还有红色的......嗯......看起来像血!"
“Really? You’re not just saying that?” she asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"真的吗？你不是说说而已吧?"她揉着眼睛问道。
“Absolutely,” Grace said with utter sincerity. “If you think about it, those pearls symbolize the... skulls of your defeated enemies. And that mane pin is the heart of your foes that you’ve ripped from their chest.”
"当然可以,"格雷斯满怀诚意地说。"如果你仔细想想，那些珍珠象征着......你被打败的敌人的头骨。那个鬃毛别针是你从敌人胸膛上撕下来的心脏。"
Rampage stared at the white unicorn, then snirked. “You are so full of it. If it symbolizes that, then I should give it to Blackjack. She’s actually eaten my heart.” Well, didn’t that comment get a somewhat disturbed look from my cousin! Rampage, though, appeared somewhat mollified. “Alright. Fine. I’ll wear this stupid, lacy, frou-frou outfit.” She looked to the bathroom door. “Hey! Scotch! You ready?”
狂暴盯着白色的独角兽，然后暴跳如雷。"你真是胡说八道。如果它象征着这一点，那么我应该把它给黑杰克。她真的吃了我的心。"好吧，难道我的表弟没有看到那个评论有点不安的表情吗！然而，暴怒似乎有些平息了。"好吧。好吧。我要穿这件愚蠢的蕾丝装。"她朝浴室的门望去。"嘿！威士忌！准备好了吗?"
“That is not a frou-frou outfit! That is a Rarity,” Grace said with mild reproach.
"那可不是一套衣服！那真是太罕见了,"格雷斯带着温和的责备说。
“So’s mine!” Scotch squealed as she jumped out of the bathroom. It was certainly… something, though nothing I could ever see Rarity creating. It was a one piece vivid pink bodysuit with glaring neon green slashes all across it. Perhaps it might have been tolerable, but Scotch Tape had taken it upon herself to… where did she get her hooves on bright pink makeup!? It was painted jaggedly around her eyes, and she’d styled her blue mane in spikes with some kind of stiff mane gel. “Don’t I look awesome in my Rarity outfit?”
"我的也是!"她从浴室里跳出来时，苏格兰威士忌发出尖叫声。这当然是......某种东西，尽管我从来没有看到过罕见创造的东西。那是一件鲜艳的粉红色紧身衣，上面有耀眼的霓虹绿斜线。也许这还算可以忍受，但是苏格兰胶带把它带到了......她是从哪里得到她那亮粉色化妆品的蹄子的？它被粗糙地画在她的眼睛周围，她把她的蓝色鬃毛设计成一些硬硬的鬃毛凝胶状。"我穿上我的稀有服装是不是看起来很棒?"
“That is not a Rarity,” Grace said delicately. “That is a Sweetie Belle.”
"那并不罕见,"格雷斯小心翼翼地说。"这是一个甜心贝尔。"
“That! I wanna wear something like that! Quick! Someone disintegrate me!” Rampage said with an eager grin. “Do you have one in black?”
"那个！我想穿这样的衣服！快点！有人把我分解了!"狂暴带着热切的笑容说。"你有黑色的吗?"
“Sorry. That was the only filly-sized outfit that Charity possessed,” Lacunae replied. “And she insisted on the makeup.”
"对不起。"那是查瑞特唯一拥有的小母马那么大的衣服,"拉库纳回答。"她坚持要化妆。"
“What? It looks good, doesn’t it?” Scotch Tape asked plaintively.
"什么？看起来不错，不是吗?"透明胶带哀伤地问。
Grace, without missing a beat, replied primly, “Yes. Yes it does.” Then she looked at the rest of us and asked smoothly, “Don’t you all agree?” Her tone
格蕾丝丝丝毫没有停顿，一本正经地回答说:"是的。是的，确实如此。"然后她看着我们其余的人，平静地问道:"你们不都同意吗?"她的语气
implied that, if any of us didn’t, then clearly there was something reprehensible about us, so naturally we all nodded. The olive filly beamed quite happily.
暗示着，如果我们中有人不知道，那么显然我们身上有什么不该受到谴责的地方，所以很自然地我们都点了点头。橄榄小姑娘非常高兴地笑了。
As my friends and I walked along the hall towards the stairs that led to the ballroom, I looked from one to the next. Scotch Tape commented on how Glory’s dress made her at least one fifth cooler. Rampage hung back, looking oddly sweet in her insecurity. Boo just seemed keen on getting to the festivities. Lacunae met my eyes, visions of Galas long ago swimming in hers as the Goddess slowly eroded what little resistance remained between her and us. The void fetish had bought me one last evening, at most.
当我和朋友们沿着大厅走向通往宴会厅的楼梯时，我从一个看到另一个。ScotchTape评论说，晨辉的裙子让她至少冷却了五分之一。狂暴犹豫不决，在她的不安全感中显得格外甜美。布似乎很想参加庆祝活动。空隙映入我的眼帘，加拉斯很久以前就在她的眼中游弋，女神慢慢地侵蚀着她和我们之间仅存的一点抵抗。这种空虚恋物至多给我带来了最后一个晚上。
Maybe I was squandering what little time I had left, but the Goddess had filled my brain with so many blocks and erasures that I was worn down trying to fight her. I wasn’t sure I could physically say the word ‘goddess’ after all she’d done to me. So, I could make sure my friends could take care of everything once I was gone.
也许我正在浪费我仅有的一点时间，但是女神已经在我的脑子里填满了那么多的阻碍和擦除，我已经疲惫不堪地试图与她战斗。在她对我做了那么多之后，我不确定我是否真的能说出"女神"这个词。所以，我可以确保我的朋友可以照顾一切一旦我离开。
That was the least I could do after all the trouble I’d caused them.
在我给他们惹了那么多麻烦之后，这是我唯一能做的了。
We walked to the staircase leading down to the ballroom. Prince Splendid waited at the bottom, and Glory sighed. Then I noticed a stallion in a tux waiting casually beside him. Small, a little thin, but incredibly handsome with an impeccably combed mane. Calm blue eyes looked right into mine, and for a moment the crowd seemed to fade into the background. It was just the two of us as I descended, each step like a timeless eternity until I reached the bottom. Then he reached out, curled his fetlock around my foreleg and lifted it to his lips, pressing his lips to the end. Then he looked into my eyes, his lips curling slightly, and asked casually, “So, was all this a part of the plan?”
我们走向通往舞厅的楼梯。斯普兰迪王子在下面等着，格洛里叹了口气。然后我注意到一匹穿着燕尾服的种马随意地等在他旁边。个子小，有点瘦，但帅得令人难以置信，梳得无可挑剔的鬃毛。平静的蓝眼睛直视着我的眼睛，一瞬间人群似乎消失在背景中。我下去的时候只有我们两个人，每一步都像是永恒的永恒，直到我到达底部。然后他伸出手，把他的脚环绕在我的前腿上，举到嘴唇边，把嘴唇压到最后。然后他看着我的眼睛，嘴唇微微翘起，漫不经心地问道:"那么，这一切都是计划的一部分吗?"
“P-21?” I asked, a little bemused at the sight of him. Hoity Toity stood nearby in an equally magnificent maroon tuxedo. I wondered where he’d acquired such fine garments, but I supposed that, if I were a ghoul like him, my most precious possessions would be such clothes.
"P-21?"我问道，看到他有点困惑。傲慢的Toity穿着同样华丽的栗色晚礼服站在旁边。我不知道他从哪里弄来这么好的衣服，但是我想，如果我像他一样是一个食尸鬼，我最珍贵的财产就是这些衣服了。
“Whoa. You look good, Daddy!” Scotch Tape gushed, rushing down the last few steps to hug him.
"哇。你看起来不错，爸爸!"透明胶带喷涌而出，冲下最后几步去拥抱他。
“He cleaned up rather well,” Splendid said with a warm smile. Then he looked at Glory and said just as warmly, “Morning Glory.” She went even redder as she gave an awkward nod. Then he regarded me. “Your Majesty. Would you permit
"他打扫得相当干净,"斯普兰迪温暖地笑着说。然后他看着晨辉，热情地说:"牵牛花。"她尴尬地点了点头，脸色变得更红了。然后他看着我。"陛下。你能允许我
me to escort you to the Gala?”
我护送你去宴会?"
“I need to speak to Hoity a moment,” I replied, and his face become downcast.
"我需要和豪伊提谈一会儿,"我回答，他的脸变得垂头丧气。
“Ah, of course.” He looked to Glory, trying that same winning smile, but she’d moved to put Lacunae between him and her as they walked to the ballroom. Rampage just gave him a stompy look and walked past while Scotch Tape rushed to P-21’s side to enter with him. Finally, Splendid looked at Boo and hesitated a moment as she blinked cluelessly at him. Finally, he smiled and moved up beside her, “May I?”
"啊，当然。"他看着晨辉，试着用同样迷人的微笑，但是当他们走向舞厅的时候，她把空隙隔在了他和她之间。当苏格兰胶带冲到P-21那边和他一起进去的时候，狂暴只是跺着脚看了他一眼就走了过去。最后，斯普兰迪看着布，犹豫了一会儿，她无所适从地眨着眼睛看着他。最后，他微笑着走到她身边,"我可以吗?"
She looked at me, and I glanced at Grace and gave a little tilt of my head. “Perhaps you can escort us both inside, Brother? Like when we were young?” Grace said as she moved on the other side of Splendid.
她看着我，我瞥了格蕾丝一眼，把头稍稍倾斜了一下。"也许你可以护送我们两个进去，兄弟？就像我们年轻的时候?"格雷斯一边说着，一边向灿烂大道的另一边走去。
He blinked in surprise and then smiled a little before he nodded. “Very well.
他惊讶地眨了眨眼，然后微笑了一下，点了点头。"很好。
Together then.” They followed Rampage to the Ballroom.
那就一起吧。"他们跟着狂暴来到舞厅。
As the trio moved off, I trotted up to Toity. The ghoul grinned. “Nicely played,” he said. “Please tell me it was intentional.”
当他们三人离开时，我小跑着来到了Toity。食尸鬼咧嘴一笑。"干得漂亮,"他说。"请告诉我这是故意的。"
“Was what intentional?” I asked in bafflement. He just sighed and shook his head, as if I were a filly who didn’t understand the rules. “What am I supposed to do at this Gala? When do I make the announcement?” I asked, a touch cross.
"什么是故意的?"我困惑地问。他只是叹了口气，摇了摇头，好像我是一匹不懂规矩的小母马。"我在这个晚会上应该做什么？我什么时候宣布?"我问，一个触摸十字架。
“I’ve talked to the necessary ponies. The guests have all been searched for weapons. I’ll declare that the Gala has begun, and you’ll say a few words. We’ll have a few short introductions, then you are free to mingle. Circulate. Enjoy yourself. Dance, if you are inclined. You’ll likely receive some gifts, all unwrapped, of course. No need to risk a handsomely packaged bomb. In a few hours, I’ll announce your declaration, and you’ll address the crowd. Then you’ll retire. In the morning, you leave in the Fleur, and we’ll deal with the repercussions,” Hoity said with a carefree wave of his hoof, as if they were of no matter.
"我已经和必要的小马谈过了。所有的客人都被搜查过武器。我宣布晚会已经开始了，你来说几句。我们会有一些简短的介绍，然后你就可以自由地交往了。循环。好好享受吧。跳舞吧，如果你愿意的话。你可能会收到一些礼物，当然都是没有包装的。没有必要冒险制造一个包装精美的炸弹。几个小时后，我会宣布你的声明，你会向人群发表演讲。然后你就退休了。明天早上，你离开Fleur，我们再来处理后果。"。
“Sounds good to me,” I replied, wishing I could ask him to add ‘The Goddess Resumes Control’ to the party schedule. Actually, I’d love to just tell anypony at all! I stepped up beside him. “Care to escort me inside?”
"听起来不错,"我回答，希望我能让他在派对时间表上加上'女神恢复控制'。事实上，我很乐意告诉任何小马！我走到他身边。"能护送我进去吗?"
“You’d want to enter with me?” he said, an expression of surprise on his mottled
"你想和我一起进去吗?"他说，斑驳的脸上露出惊讶的表情
face.
脸。
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” I asked in bafflement, smiling as I knitted my brows. He pulled down his glasses, staring at me for a moment. “What?”
"当然。为什么不呢?"我困惑地问道，皱起眉头，面带微笑。他摘下眼镜，盯着我看了一会儿。"什么?"
“Nothing. It’s just an interesting reminder of why King Awesome picked you to select his heir,” he said with a smile as he walked beside me.
"没什么。这只是一个有趣的提醒，告诉我们为什么牛叉王选择你来选择他的继承人,"他微笑着说，一边走在我身边。
Epicure, the lime green colt, stood by the doorway and nodded to both of us. “Fillies and Gentlecolts!” he proclaimed loudly, making a gesture that killed the music. “Presenting Her Royal Majesty of the Society of Equestria, Queen Blackjack, and her escort, Sir Hoity Toity of Canterlot!”
埃皮库尔，那匹石灰绿色的小马驹，站在门口向我们俩点了点头。"小母马和绅士们!"他大声宣布，做了一个手势，音乐停止了。皇家骑士协会的女王陛下，黑杰克女王，以及她的护卫，坎特洛特的贵族托伊提爵士
Then we stepped through the doors, and for a moment I was overwhelmed by the lights shining on me and a thunderous noise that almost had me jumping into S.A.T.S. to determine the target. Then I realized that nopony was shooting at me… no… they were stomping their hooves in applause, cheering, and chanting my name. I froze in place, wanting to turn tail right there and run. There was no way I was going in there with hundreds yelling and calling my name! I would have been happier being shot at.
然后我们穿过门，有那么一会儿，我被照在我身上的灯光和雷鸣般的噪音淹没了，这些噪音几乎让我跳进s.a.t.s去确定目标。然后我意识到那匹小马正在向我射击......不......他们在掌声中跺着他们的蹄子，欢呼着，喊着我的名字。我呆在原地，想掉头就跑。我不可能在成百上千的人喊着我的名字的情况下进去！如果有人朝我开枪我会更高兴。
Hoity, as if reading my mounting panic, hooked his foreleg around mine and kept me from flight. “Just smile, walk to the throne, and wave when you get there,” he said, giving me a forward nudge and starting me walking across the ballroom. The band… correction, the strange robopony DJs from Flank… played a grand tune from two centuries ago, and I stared straight ahead at the throne on the far side of the room. It seemed like it was farther than the moon and that I walked forever as we proceeded through the crowd. Around me had to be the greatest collection of pre-war clothing in the world; most of it wasn't as spectacular as the Raritys we wore, but all of it was formal wear to some degree.
装腔作势，好像读懂了我越来越大的恐慌，用他的前腿勾住我的前腿，使我无法飞起来。"只要微笑，走向王座，当你到达那里的时候挥挥手,"他说，向前轻推了我一下，让我开始穿过舞厅。乐队...更正，奇怪的机器人从弗兰克...演奏了一个宏伟的曲调从两个世纪以前，我直视前方的王座在房间的另一边。看起来它比月亮还要远，当我们穿过人群的时候，我永远地走着。我的周围必须是世界上最大的战前服装收藏，其中大部分没有我们穿的拉里提服装那么引人注目，但所有这些在某种程度上都是正式服装。
I reached the dais on the far side of the room. The crown sat upon a purple pillow beside the gilded throne. I took a seat and looked at the hundreds of eyes all locked on mine. If I’d had a heart, it likely would have stopped then and there. Glory sat beside me and P-21 next to her. They looked at me with eyes brimming with confidence. Hoity moved to the other side of the throne. “Thank you for coming,” he said to the room. “May the Grand Galloping Gala commence!”
我来到了房间另一边的讲台。王冠放在镀金宝座旁的紫色枕头上。我找了个座位坐下，看着数百双紧紧盯着我的眼睛。如果我有一颗心脏，它很可能当场就停止跳动了。晨辉坐在我旁边，P-21坐在她旁边。他们用充满自信的眼神看着我。豪伊特走到王座的另一边。"谢谢你能来,"他对房间里的人说。"愿大马奔腾的盛典开始!"
“What?” I blinked at him a moment then back at the crowd. “Oh.” I smiled and
"什么?"我对他眨了眨眼，然后又回到人群中。"哦。"我笑了笑
struggled to get the words out as he’d told me. Damn it! Why wasn’t the Stable Dweller doing this? She could have just sashayed in and wowed them all with just her sheer awesomeness. “Um… Thanks for coming. Let’s get this party started!”
挣扎着把话说出来，就像他告诉我的那样。该死！为什么马厩居民不这么做？她本可以大摇大摆地走进去，用她那绝对的威严让所有人惊叹不已。"嗯......谢谢你能来。让我们开始狂欢吧!"
The two robot-helmeted ponies I’d met a lifetime ago in Flank began to play music, a strange blend of classical melody and modern beat as they worked the controls. “Now you’ll meet the honored guests,” Hoity said to me. “Shake their hooves, welcome them to the Gala, and graciously accept whatever gifts they give you,” he murmured, then looked at my friends. “You can go. Mingle. Dance if you like.”
我一辈子前在弗兰克遇到的两匹戴着机器人头盔的小马开始演奏音乐，它们在操纵控制器时，古典旋律和现代节奏奇特地融合在一起。"现在你可以见见尊贵的客人了,"豪伊蒂对我说。"摇摇他们的蹄子，欢迎他们来到春晚，并且优雅地接受他们给你的任何礼物,"他喃喃地说，然后看着我的朋友们。"你可以走了。打成一片。想跳就跳吧。"
“I’ll stay with Blackjack,” Glory said, leaning over and giving me a nuzzle. “She gets in trouble on her own.”
"我要留下来玩黑杰克,"格洛里说，弯下身来用鼻子蹭了蹭我。"她自己惹上了麻烦。"
“I wanna dance!” Scotch Tape squealed. “Dance with me, Daddy!” P-21 looked at me with the strangest smile. Happy. Simply happy as he followed her to where the Society ponies were pairing off in the middle of the floor.
"我想跳舞!"透明胶带吱吱作响。"和我跳舞吧，爸爸!"P-21用最奇怪的微笑看着我。快乐。他只是高兴地跟着她来到学会的小马在地板中间成双成对的地方。
Rampage curled her tail around Boo’s neck. “Come on, Boo. Let’s hit the buffet. If we’re lucky, maybe we can find some drunks to mess with.”
狂暴的暴怒把她的尾巴缠在布的脖子上。"来吧，阿布。我们去吃自助餐吧。如果我们幸运的话，也许我们能找到一些醉鬼来捣乱。"
“I’ll keep a close eye on them,” Lacunae said aloud.
"我会密切注意他们的,"拉库尼大声说。
“Lacunae,” I said before she moved away. She looked at me in surprise. “Try and have fun,” I told her. She looked unsure, then gave the smallest of smiles and nodded.
"空白,"我在她离开之前说。她惊奇地看着我。"试着找点乐子,"我告诉她。她看上去不太确定，然后微微一笑，点了点头。
“Blackjack?” Glory asked with a small frown. When I turned to her, she cocked her head. “Are you okay?”
"黑杰克?"晨辉皱着眉头问道。当我转向她时，她歪着头。"你还好吗?"
No. I’m not. I wanted to tell her. My mouth twitched as I fought to say those simple words. Tell her what was happening. Say what the Goddess was doing to me. Let her help. A sensation like a sword stabbed into my brain and twisted, but my body simply froze. I couldn’t speak. If my body hadn’t been synthetic, I would have collapsed. It was only a few seconds, but finally I abandoned my attempt to speak. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Just stressed…” At least I could say that!
没有。我没有。我想告诉她。当我努力说出这些简单的话时，我的嘴巴抽搐了一下。告诉她发生了什么事。告诉我女神对我做了什么。让她帮忙吧。一种感觉就像一把剑刺进我的大脑，扭曲着，但是我的身体只是冻结了。我说不出话来。如果我的身体不是人造的，我早就崩溃了。虽然只有几秒钟，但最终我放弃了说话的尝试。"我很好。我没事。只是有点紧张......"至少我可以这么说！
“Well… okay. Just… try not to mention sex to anypony you meet here, okay?” Glory asked with a worried smile.
"嗯......好吧。只是......尽量不要向你在这里遇到的任何小马提到性，好吗?"晨辉带着担忧的微笑问道。
“I’ll try,” I said sarcastically. What followed next was an exercise in tedium. Epicure made the announcements. All the movers and shakers of the Society. ‘Full share ponies’, Hoity said as if it should matter to me. As they came up, Hoity usually muttered a few suggestions of what to say. First Splendid, then Grace. The Carrots. The Oranges. The Horseshoes. All strange ponies whom I didn’t know and who didn’t know me. Still, I got a brand new riot shotgun, six boxes of specialty ammunition, and some combat barding that I couldn’t wear anymore. Maybe Scotch would grow into it.
"我会试试的,"我讽刺地说。接下来是一个单调乏味的练习。Epicure发表了声明。社会上所有有影响力的人物。'全部股份的小马'，豪伊蒂说，好像这对我来说很重要似的。当他们走过来的时候，豪伊蒂总是喃喃自语地建议他们该说些什么。先是灿烂，然后是优雅。胡萝卜。橙子。马蹄铁。都是些陌生的小马，我不认识，也不认识我。尽管如此，我还是得到了一把全新的防暴猎枪，六箱特种弹药，以及一些我再也不能穿戴的作战装备。也许苏格兰威士忌会适合它。
“Princess Charm,” Epicure said with an uncharacteristic break in his voice.
"魅力公主,"伊壁鸠鲁说，他的声音突然变得不同寻常。
I turned to address the filly... and nearly choked with the effort of containing myself. Her spectacular mane looked like she’d cut it with an air duct fan. Her tail sported only a few dozen tufts here and there. Her pristine white hide had proven to be quite accepting of at least a half dozen different colors of stains. Her horn had been scribbled black with a marker of some sort. Not even the fancy party dress she wore could cover the sheer ridiculousness of her appearance. “So… so glad you could m… make it…” I managed to get out.
我转过身去对那匹小母马说话......为了控制自己的情绪，我几乎哽咽了。她浓密的鬃毛看起来像是被风扇割伤的。它的尾巴到处只露出几十条毛。事实证明，她洁白的皮肤至少可以接受六种不同颜色的污渍。她的号角被某种记号笔潦草地涂成黑色。即使是她穿的化装舞会礼服也掩盖不了她那滑稽可笑的外表。"那么......那么高兴你能.....。."我设法逃了出来。
If looks could kill... She gave a nasty smirk. “Oh, I didn’t want you to miss out on your present, Your Majesty,” she said as she levitated a bag off her back and tossed it to me before trotting off the far side of the dais. I glanced at Hoity, then opened the drawstring. It didn’t sound like a grenade or anything. It clinked when I levitated it, and I peeked in.
如果长相能杀人的话......她恶狠狠地笑了一下。"哦，我不想让您错过您的礼物，陛下,"她一边说，一边从背上提起一个包，扔给我，然后小跑着离开讲台的另一边。我瞥了豪伊蒂一眼，然后拉开拉绳。听起来不像是手榴弹什么的。当我把它悬浮起来的时候，它叮当作响，我偷看了一眼。
“What is it, Blackjack?” Glory asked in concern.
"怎么了，黑杰克?"晨辉关切地问道。
I couldn’t answer. I just felt… tired. I cupped my forehooves and poured a small pile of broken glass into them from the bag. Curved glass. The exact curve of memory orbs. “I guess she found out she wasn’t my pick for regent,” I muttered as I dumped them back into the sack.
我无法回答。我只是觉得...累了。我弯起前蹄，从袋子里倒了一小堆碎玻璃进去。曲面玻璃。记忆球的精确曲线。"我猜她发现她不是我选择的摄政王,"我咕哝着把他们扔回袋子里。
“Do you want me to have her removed from the Gala?” Hoity asked low as the next pony I was to meet fidgeted.
"你想让我把她从宴会上赶走吗?"当下一匹我要见的小马坐立不安时，豪伊特低声问道。
“Maybe order a royal spanking?” Glory suggested. I managed a halfhearted grin… maybe not for her…
"要不要叫人打你的屁股?"晨辉建议。我勉强咧嘴一笑...也许不是为了她..。
“No. I just… no,” I replied with a sigh. Knowing my luck, it was just the beginning. I fully expected tonight to end in some sort of disaster or attack or…
"没有。我只是......不,"我叹了口气回答道。知道我的运气，这只是个开始。我完全预料到今晚会以某种灾难或攻击或..。
something. The Goddess creeping up on me was pretty high on that list. But what could I do? Run? Give myself a brain hemorrhage trying to spit out the phrase ‘Goddess mind control me is gonna!’? Glory had a way back home. With luck, she’d get Thunderhead to listen to her. P-21 and Rampage could back her up if they didn’t.
什么东西。爬到我身上的女神在这个名单上排名很靠前。但是我能做什么呢？跑？给自己一个脑内出血，试图吐出女神的思想控制我是要去？晨辉有回家的路。如果幸运的话，她会让霹雳头听她的。P-21和狂暴可以支持她，如果他们不这样做。
Another four ‘honored patrons’ passed me a bottle of Wild Pegasus, some very nice emeralds, a magic beam pistol, and some overcharged gem cartridges. The latter two I immediately passed to Glory the second the patron turned away. She examined it closely and then grinned. “Wow. Mint condition Shadowbolt sidearm!” She turned the gun on its side and cocked her head. “There’s an inscription. ‘Pew-Pew’? Who names a beam pistol Pew-Pew?”
另外四位尊敬的老主顾递给我一瓶WildPegasus，一些非常漂亮的祖母绿，一把魔法手枪，还有一些过度充值的宝石弹药筒。在赞助人转身离开的那一刻，我立刻把后两个人交给了晨辉。她仔细看了看，然后咧嘴笑了。"哇。完好无损的暗影螺栓手枪!"她把枪翻过来，歪着脑袋。"上面有题字。"啪啪啪"？谁会给一把横梁式手枪起名叫皮尤?"
“With your luck, Rainbow Dash,” I teased, but she didn’t share it.
"祝你好运，彩虹小跑,"我开玩笑说，但她没有分享。
“Ugh. I am so sick of Rainbow Dash,” Glory said, slumping. “I’m sick of her face and her stupid mane and her boy-liking body and ponies calling me Rainbow Dash. I want to just be Glory again. Boring, plain, everyday Glory. This joke has run its course, and it’s not funny anymore.”
"呃。我真是受够了彩虹冲刺,"晨辉一边说，一边滑倒了。"我讨厌她的脸，讨厌她那愚蠢的鬃毛，讨厌她那喜欢男孩的身材，讨厌那些叫我彩虹·达什的小马。我只想再次成为晨辉。无聊，平淡，日常的晨辉。这个笑话已经过时了，再也不好笑了。"
“I’m sorry,” I said, giving her a little nuzzle. “Sometimes I feel like that’s my whole life.”
"对不起,"我说，用鼻子蹭了她一下。"有时候我觉得这就是我的全部生活。"
“You’re not serious, are you Blackjack?” Glory asked as my attention drifted to someone keen on giving me a brightly wrapped box and guards who were finally living up to their name and escorting the pony out. I gave a little shrug, and she sighed and covered her face with a wing. “Celestia give me strength.” Then her wings and hooves seized my shoulders and turned me to face the room. “Look at where you are. You’re Queen of the Society. Nopony is laughing at you. Everypony in this room respects you in one way or another. Sure, you can be a little aggravating at times, but a joke? Never!”
"你不是认真的吧，黑杰克?"晨辉问道，我的注意力转移到了一个人身上，他热衷于给我一个包装得鲜艳的盒子，还有护卫，他们终于不辜负他们的名字，护送小马出去了。我稍微耸了耸肩，她叹了口气，用翅膀遮住了脸。"天赐给我力量。"然后她的翅膀和蹄子抓住我的肩膀，把我转向房间。"看看你现在的处境。你是社会的女王。小马正在嘲笑你。这个房间里的每个小马都以这样或那样的方式尊重你。当然，有时候你可能会有点恼怒，但是一个玩笑？永远不会!"
“But the shooting and the mess ups and the… everything,” I trailed off lamely.
"但是枪击、乱七八糟的事情，还有......所有的一切,"我一瘸一拐地说完。
“That’s life, Blackjack,” she said evenly. “I trusted Lighthooves and Mother when I shouldn’t have. My mistakes nearly got my father killed.” She hung her head. “I was so sure I was inadequate that at first part of me was glad I was turned into Rainbow Dash. That I’d be better for you if I was somepony strong and assertive.”
"这就是生活，黑杰克,"她平静地说。"在我不该相信的时候，我信任了轻舟号和母亲。我的错误差点害死我父亲。"她低下了头。"我是如此确信自己能力不足，以至于起初我很高兴自己变成了彩虹冲刺。如果我是一个强壮和自信的人，我会更适合你。"
“Then what was all that mane dying and stuff?” I asked with a baffled smile.
"那么那些鬃毛染色之类的东西是什么?"我带着困惑的微笑问。
“That was me being an idiot too,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a rueful smile. “You’re not the only pony who can be a hypocrite, Blackjack. Yes, I didn’t want this, but at the same time I did. Just a little. For flying if nothing else. Being grounded was horrible… so part of me was glad to be her. Maybe that was the joke on me.” She sighed and shook her head. “I never deserved any of the things that Morning Glory had. Maybe it’s time I just embraced being Rainbow Dash.”
"我也是个白痴,"她转了转眼珠，苦笑着说。"你不是唯一一个伪君子，黑杰克。是的，我不想这样，但同时我也想这样。就一点点。如果没有别的，那就是飞行。被禁足是可怕的......所以我的一部分很高兴成为她。也许这就是我的笑话。"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"我从来不配拥有《牵牛花》拥有的任何东西。也许是时候接受彩虹冲刺了。"
“Hey,” I turned to face her, staring into her eyes. “You have things that Rainbow Dash never did. You have a father whose life you saved. You have sisters. You have a mother, even if she is a madmare. You are ten times smarter than Rainbow Dash, and a hundred times a better pony than me. Someday this curse… spell… thing will end, and you’ll have the last laugh.” She smiled a little, and for a moment I could see the purple-maned mare as clear as day.
"嘿,"我转过身面对着她，凝视着她的眼睛。"你有彩虹·达什没有的东西。你有一个被你救了一命的父亲。你有姐妹。你有一个母亲，即使她是一匹母马。你比彩虹冲刺聪明十倍，比我好一百倍。总有一天，这个诅咒......咒语......的东西会结束，你会笑到最后。"她微笑了一下，有那么一会儿，我可以清楚地看到那匹紫色鬃毛的母马。
Hoity cleared his throat, and I glanced out to the side at a hundred or so ponies witnessing our tender exchange. Some wore expressions of scandal, others amusement, and more than a few the detached interest of a sporting event. I flushed from ear to augment and waved a metal hoof. “Hi. I think that’s enough gifts. You can just forward them to my room or something. Time to mingle!”
豪伊特清了清嗓子，我向旁边瞥了一眼，大约有一百匹小马正在目睹我们温柔的争吵。有些人带着丑闻的表情，有些人带着娱乐的表情，还有一些人带着体育赛事的超然兴趣。我的耳朵涨红了，挥动着金属蹄子。"嗨。我觉得礼物够多了。你可以把它们转发到我的房间或者其他地方。是时候交际了!"
A ripple of chuckles rolled through the room as I trotted down to the ballroom floor, my friends mixing in with the others. At first, a gaggle of Society ponies closed in, but there was something about me that seemed to keep them at hoof’s distance. Maybe it was the glowing red eyes of death? Grace, Splendid, and Charm had far more ponies lingering near them than I. I was the placeholder, and everypony knew that I was going to leave. That assurance kept me in the position of ‘curiosity’ rather than ‘threat’… of course that wasn’t enough for some of them to stop trying to kill me, but still.
当我小跑到舞厅地板上的时候，我的朋友们和其他人混在一起，一阵咯咯的笑声传遍了整个房间。起初，一群交际会的小马挤了进来，但我身上有些东西似乎让它们与蹄子保持着距离。也许是死神发光的红眼睛？格蕾丝，华丽，魅力有更多的小马在他们身边徘徊，比我还多。我是占位者，每个小马都知道我要离开。这种保证让我处于'好奇'而不是'威胁'的位置......当然，这还不足以让他们中的一些人停止试图杀死我，但仍然如此。
Pain Train kept a watchful eye from the edge of the room. I knew he could cross the ballroom in ten seconds flat; sure it would be over a trail of ponies, but he would still make it to protect his ward. Hoity had his own audience where he reassured everypony in the Society that I had no plans to hang around. That just left everypony in breathless speculation on who would be chosen. Already it seemed clear Charm was disfavored, as only a half dozen or so crowded around her. She’d had five times as many around her at Awesome’s funeral.
疼痛列车从房间的边缘保持警惕的眼睛。我知道他可以在10秒钟内穿过舞厅;当然，他可以穿过一路小马，但他还是会保护他的被监护人。豪伊特有他自己的听众，他向学会里的每一个人保证，我不打算在这里闲逛。这使得每个小马都屏息凝神地猜测谁会被选中。很明显，查蒙是不受欢迎的，因为她周围只有半打左右的人。在Awesome的葬礼上，她身边的人数是她的五倍。
“Well now. From Stable Pony to Queen of the Hoof,” a mare said from the throng, and I turned to the yellow mare Bottlecap. The manager of Megamart looked at my dress and then back at me as she sized up my evident fortunes. “I always knew you were going places. Granted I never expected this, but still.”
"现在好了。从稳定的小马到蹄后,"一匹母马从人群中说，我转向了那匹黄色的母马。Megamart的经理看了看我的裙子，然后又看了看我，估算了一下我明显的财富。"我一直知道你会成功的。虽然我从来没有想到会这样，但还是这样。"
“What brings you to this?” I asked with a grin.
"什么风把你吹到这儿来了?"我咧嘴笑着问。
“Splendid decided that I was worth an invitation,” Bottlecap replied. “Really, I think he’s just trying to set up a supply line for the Fluttershy Medical Center, but his caps are good. Right now we can certainly use them, what with our zebra problems.”
"辉煌决定，我是值得一个邀请,"Bottlecap回答。"实际上，我认为他只是想为FluttershyMedicalCenter建立一条补给线，但他的帽子很不错。现在我们当然可以使用它们，因为我们有斑马问题。"
“Zebra problems? In the northwest? Isn’t that the exact opposite direction from where the Remnant operates?” I asked with a frown.
"斑马问题？在西北部？那不是和例外人的活动方向完全相反吗?"我皱着眉头问。
“I have no idea where they came from, but they’re scaring the shoes off of the caravaners. They’re not threatening. Not hiding. Not doing anything besides setting up camps along the road between Manehattan and Hoofington. But they’re armed twenty times worse than any raider, and they’re watching. It’s been a boon for the arms sales, that’s for sure, but everypony knows that they’re going to do something sooner or later,” Bottlecap said with a frown.
"我不知道它们是从哪里来的，但是它们把旅行车上的鞋子吓坏了。它们没有威胁性。没有躲藏。除了在Manehattan和Hoofington之间的公路上搭建营地，我什么也没做。但是他们的武器比任何袭击者都要厉害二十倍，而且他们正在监视。这对军售来说是个福音，这是肯定的，但是每个小马都知道他们迟早会有所行动,"Bottlecap皱着眉头说。
“You might want to think about reinforcing Megamart,” I said in concern. “Between the Remnant and the Harbingers, something is going to happen soon. Maybe move Gun so it fires out rather than down. You could have some bigger problems than shoplifters soon.” She looked worried, so I followed up with, “Sorry it’s taken me so long to deal with Paradise, too.”
"你也许应该考虑加强超级市场的建设,"我担心地说。"在残余人和先驱者之间，很快就会发生一些事情。也许可以把枪移开，这样它就会开火而不是倒下。你很快就会遇到比商店扒手更严重的问题。"她看起来很担心，所以我接着说:"对不起，我也花了这么长时间才和帕拉迪斯打交道。"
“Oh, that? That was taken care of,” Bottlecap said with a warm smile.
"哦，那个吗？这个问题已经解决了,"博特莱卡带着温暖的微笑说。
“It was? How? By who?” I felt my mane frizzing. Nopony in the Hoof could fix anything besides me, if my experiences were any indication! I immediately began imagining the worst case scen--
"是吗？怎么做？被谁?"我感到我的鬃毛在抖动。霍夫的小马除了我什么也修不好，如果我的经历能说明问题的话！我立刻开始想象最糟糕的情况
“Keeper found four very capable people, and they were able to dislodge Red Eye’s forces. Not so difficult, since most of his forces had already been withdrawn to the Everfree Forest. It was just a matter of sweeping out the dregs,” Bottlecap said, giving a little shiver. “Two of them were ghouls and one a zebra, but they were quite capable. They said they were funding a trip to Shattered Hoof Ridge of all places.”
"守护者找到了四个非常能干的人，他们能够驱逐红眼的部队。这并不困难，因为他的大部分军队已经撤退到埃弗里森林。这只是一个清除渣滓的问题,"Bottlecap说，有点颤抖。"其中两只是食尸鬼，一只是斑马，但它们相当能干。他们说他们出资去所有地方参观粉碎性蹄脊。"
“Xanthe? Snails? Carrion? Silver Spoon?” I asked with an idiot grin.
"桑特？蜗牛？腐尸？银汤匙?"我带着傻笑问道。
“That’s them,” Bottlecap said, then grinned. “Keeper was very put out that you didn’t do it, though.”
"就是他们,"博特莱卡说，然后咧嘴一笑。"不过，管理员非常生气，因为你没有这么做。"
“Yeah, it kinda fell off my radar with everything else going on,” I muttered. Little things like the Harbingers and the Goddess’s takeover really put a crimp in dealing with those little side quests.
"是的，随着其他事情的发生，它有点从我的雷达上消失了,"我喃喃自语。诸如先驱者和女神的接管这样的小事情确实在处理这些小的边缘任务上制造了障碍。
“Oh, he wasn’t upset because of that! Keeper hoped that you’d do it for free, or at least that he wouldn’t have to pay you as much as a pony who can actually barter,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “No offense, Blackjack, but you do way too much without ever charging appropriate rates.”
"哦，他不是因为这个才不高兴的！管理员希望你能免费帮忙，或者至少他不用付给你像小马一样多的钱，因为他真的可以以物易物,"她带着同情的微笑说。"没有冒犯的意思，Blackjack，但是你做的太多了，而且从来没有收取过合适的费用。"
“I thought it was called charity,” Glory said with a cool look at Bottlecap.
"我认为这是所谓的慈善,"晨辉说，一个冷静的看着Bottlecap。
“Charity? Where?” I looked around in horror for a moment, feeling poverty sneaking up on me. Then I forced myself to calm down…
"施舍？在哪里?"我惊恐地环顾了一下四周，感到贫穷悄悄地逼近我。然后我强迫自己冷静下来。
“Right here,” the filly snapped as she stepped up to my side. I nearly jerked away when she pinned me with her glare. “Don’t you dare rip that outfit, Blackjack! One tear. One stain. One speck of dust and I’ll own you. Understood?”
"就在这儿,"小母马一边走到我身边，一边厉声说道。当她用目光盯着我时，我几乎猛地躲开了。"你敢把那套衣服撕烂，黑杰克！一滴眼泪。一个污点。只要有一点灰尘，你就是我的了。明白吗?"
“What are you doing here?!” I gasped. The filly wore a light pink dress trimmed in darker purple with a large white silk flower over her chest and smaller ones decorating the trim. A band of lavender and white flowers encircled her brow.
"你在这儿干什么?!"我倒抽了一口冷气。这匹小母马穿着一件淡粉色的裙子，裙子的边缘镶着深紫色的花边，胸前有一朵大大的白色丝质花朵，饰边上还有一些小一点的花朵。一束淡紫色和白色的花环绕着她的眉毛。
Charity rolled her eyes. “Where do you think half these ponies bought their fancy outfits? Megamart?” The two yellow mares regarded each other coolly, small smiles on their faces. Finally Charity said in a tone of smug import, “Six.”
查瑞蒂翻了翻白眼。"你以为这些小马有一半是在哪儿买的漂亮衣服？超级艺术?"两匹黄色的母马冷静地看着对方，脸上露出了微笑。最后，查瑞特用一种沾沾自喜的口气说:"六个。"
Bottlecap smiled a little smugly in return. “Seven.”
作为回报，博特莱卡有点得意地笑了。"七个。"
That made Charity slump at little before she looked at me. “If I figure in what Blackjack owes me, I should clear seven!”
这使得Charity在看到我之前就一蹶不振了。"如果算上黑杰克欠我的钱，我应该能赚7块!"
Glory looked from one to the other as Bottlecap said, “No IOU’s or outstanding debts. Don’t be sad. Last year you were at four.”
正如Bottlecap所说,"没有欠条或未偿债务。不要难过。去年你只有4岁。"
“Yeah. Between the manor and the gear we scavenged, I should hit seven next year. Maybe eight.” She said with a little swish of her tail and a sneaky look at Bottlecap.
"是的。加上庄园和我们捡来的设备，我明年应该能买到七台。也许8个。"她摇了摇尾巴，鬼鬼祟祟地看了看博特克普，说道。
“Just don’t make the same mistake as Usury. She was at seven too. Now she’s at three. Celestia only knows what Caprice is at.”
"只是不要重蹈Usury的覆辙。她也是七岁。现在她已经三岁了。塞莱斯蒂亚只知道凯普莱斯在做什么。"
That made Charity look a little mournful. “Caprice is at zero,” she said. Bottlecap looked startled. “She died in the battle for the manor. I meant to tell you earlier.”
这使得Charity看起来有点悲伤。"任性是零,"她说。博特莱卡看起来很吃惊。"她在争夺庄园的战斗中牺牲了。我本来想早点告诉你的。"
“Damn,” Bottlecap said with an upset look.
"该死,"博特莱卡不高兴地说。
“These numbers are…?” I asked with a small frown.
"这些数字是......?"我皱着眉头问道。
“Number of digits of personal wealth. The value of all a pony’s property, liquid assets, and facilities. I get to figure in Megamart, Charity her… post office and vault, and the like. Otherwise, we’d be lucky to break a four.” Charity sighed and nodded.
"个人财富的数字。小马的所有财产、流动资产和设备的价值。我在Megamart，慈善机构，邮局，地下室，等等。否则，我们就很幸运地打破了4分。"她叹了口气，点了点头。
“Pardon me, but are you two related?” Glory asked as she looked from one to the other.
"对不起，你们两个是亲戚吗?"晨辉问道，她从一个地方看到另一个地方。
Charity narrowed her eyes, clearly contemplating a stupid questions fee. Bottlecap just smiled sadly. “Probably. Father doesn’t keep track.”
她眯起眼睛，明显是在考虑一个愚蠢的问题。博特莱卡只是悲伤地笑了笑。"可能吧。父亲没有注意到。"
Charity snorted. “Semen’s the only thing he gives out for free, and then not always.” Glory turned profoundly red, glancing aside at Splendid across the hall.
Charity哼了一声。"精液是他唯一免费提供的东西，而且并不总是这样。"晨辉深深地变成了红色，瞥了一眼大厅对面的灿烂。
Bottlecap continued, “Usury, Caprice, and I are the daughters he’s confirmed are his. Charity…”
伯特凯普继续说道:"高利贷、任性和我都是他确认的女儿。慈善......"
“Doesn’t need Keeper’s help, thank you. The Crusaders stand on our own. Adults are nothing but trouble. Case in point,” Charity said with a gesture towards me.
"不需要管理员的帮助，谢谢。十字军战士们依靠我们自己。成年人只会带来麻烦。恰当的例子,"查瑞蒂对我做了个手势说。
Bottlecap sighed and shook her head. “One day you’ll learn about the value of things besides money,” the mare said with a genteel smile. “Blackjack,” she said with an amused nod of her head before she moved off.
博特莱卡叹了口气，摇了摇头。"总有一天你会知道除了钱以外的东西的价值,"母马带着绅士的微笑说。"Blackjack,"她说着，愉快地点了点头，然后离开了。
Charity looked around sharply, then gestured me to come closer. When I balked, she gestured once more, more rapidly. Finally, our faces inches apart, she stared right into my eyes and poked my chest. “One stain… one tear… you’re mine.
慈善严厉地环顾了一下四周，然后示意我走近一点。当我犹豫不决时，她又做了一个手势，速度更快了。最后，我们的脸相距几英寸，她盯着我的眼睛，戳我的胸部。"一个污点...一滴眼泪...你是我的。
Understand?” I blinked in shock before she smirked. “And thanks.” She turned away and headed into the crowd. I straightened up, now acutely observant for any fluids that might splash.
明白吗?"我震惊地眨了眨眼，然后她就傻笑起来。"谢谢。"她转身走向人群。我直起身子，现在敏锐地观察着任何可能溅出来的液体。
Glory had gotten swept away while I’d spoken to Charity, but I noticed somepony else I hadn’t seen in a while. The green unicorn, Sagittarius of the Zodiacs, was in close discussion with Windclop, the ghoul mayor of Meatlocker. “I don’t know what they’re up to. That’s the problem. They have no reason to…” Windclop trailed off as the pegasus ghoul saw me approach. “Blackjack! Good to see you. Hard to imagine it was only last week you left us, and now you’re head of the Society.” He grinned widely. “I… hope you’re not thinking of running for office any time soon.”
当我和Charity说话的时候，晨辉已经一扫而光，但是我注意到了一匹我很久没有见过的小马。绿色的独角兽----黄道带上的人马座----与Meatlocker的食尸鬼市长Windclop进行了密切的讨论。"我不知道他们在干什么。这就是问题所在。他们没有理由......"当飞马盗尸者看到我靠近时，温德克洛普慢慢地走开了。"黑杰克！很高兴见到你。很难想象你上个星期才离开我们，现在你是协会的头头了。"他咧嘴大笑。"我.....。.希望你近期不会考虑竞选公职"
“Politics really isn’t my thing. Way too much annoyance and far too few opportunities to shoot them,” I replied. “How are things at Meatlocker?”
"我对政治真的不感兴趣。太多的烦恼和太少的机会去射击他们,"我回答。"Meatlocker的情况怎么样?"
“Fine! Wonderful. For the most part…” he trailed off a bit, then sighed, his mottled ears drooping. “Truth be told, I’m worried. Even though Hightower was vaporized, the… ooze substance you described is still present in the tunnels and sewers. The... ‘slimeponies’ have also taken to walking out of the crater, and we’ve had to maintain a constant vigil to keep them from straying close. Fortunately, they seem rather mindless, but it’s just a matter of time before they get in.”
"好吧！太好了。在大多数情况下......"他慢了一点，然后叹了口气，斑驳的耳朵垂了下来。"说实话，我很担心。即使海托华已经蒸发，你所描述的渗出物质仍然存在于隧道和下水道中。这些"滑行小马"也开始走出陨石坑，我们不得不保持持续的警戒以防止它们离得太近。幸运的是，他们看起来相当愚蠢，但他们进来只是时间问题。"
“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked with a small frown.
"对不起。我能帮上什么忙吗?"我皱着眉头问道。
“Don’t you have enough on your plate?” Sagittarius asked, the green unicorn twirling his golden goatee.
"你的事还不够多吗?"射手座问道，绿色的独角兽旋转着他的金色山羊胡子。
“Actually, that’s what I was discussing with Sagittarius here. We’re hoping to bring in some professional help to neutralize the ooze. If we can’t, we might have to evacuate the hospital and relocate to Rocket Town at the Luna Space Center. Unfortunately, we have friction with the ghouls who live there,” Windclop said with a sour twist of his lips. “They believe they can use their rockets to fly away to a promised land. Madness, really, but they are my own kind. I’d much rather stay in good old Meatlocker, of course.”
"事实上，这正是我和射手座讨论的。我们希望能找到一些专业人士来中和这些分泌物。如果我们做不到，我们可能不得不撤离医院，搬到月球太空中心的火箭城。不幸的是，我们和住在那里的食尸鬼有摩擦。"。"他们相信，他们可以用火箭飞到应许之地。疯狂，真的，但他们是我的同类。当然，我更愿意留在美好的老Meatlocker。"
I nodded in understanding, then looked at Sagittarius. “I am glad I met you, though. Tell Triage that the Roseluck Agrifarms facility has Enervation fields that nearly killed me. I cleared out a number of defending robots and turrets, but, short of sending in some robots to clear every bit of debris, I don’t see you getting it working soon.”
我点头表示理解，然后看着Sagittarius。"不过，我很高兴遇见了你。告诉分诊中心，罗塞卢克农场的能量场差点要了我的命。我清除了一些防卫机器人和炮塔，但由于没有派出一些机器人清除所有残骸，我认为你不会很快让它工作起来。"
He nodded thoughtfully. “Virgo would be all over that, I think. Thanks. I’ll pass it along right away.”
他若有所思地点点头。"我想，处女座会喜欢这一点的。谢谢。我马上就把它传过去。"
“How are Pisces and Capricorn?” I asked with a grin.
"双鱼和摩羯怎么样?"我咧嘴笑着问。
“They’re well. I think they miss you. You should visit them sometime. We replaced Taurus and Gemini, and Leo retired. He never really recovered after his punting from Rampage,” he said, and frowned. “I’m a little concerned with the new Gemini; I’m not one to trust a pony with severe personality disorders, but she does bring in the bounty. The new Leo’s a griffin. Went by the name Tigerhawk before. Definitely one who’d give Rampage a run for her money. The new Taurus is from Applelanta. Tracker sort. Doesn’t talk much, but he fills the bounties.”
"他们很好。我想他们想你了。你有空应该去看看他们。我们取代了金牛座和双子座，狮子座退休了。在横冲直撞之后，他再也没有真正恢复过来,"他皱着眉头说。"我有点担心新的双子座，我不会相信一匹有严重人格障碍的小马，但她确实带来了丰厚的回报。新狮子座是狮身鹰首兽。以前叫Tigerhawk。绝对是一个可以和狂暴一较高下的人。新的金牛座来自Applelanta。跟踪器分类。他话不多，但是很慷慨。"
“Having much business?” I asked with a coy little smile. My eyes roamed freely over his fit emerald form, his golden goatee, and drifted back towards his... He cleared his throat and snapped my eyes back to his. A sardonic arch of his brow prompted a grin from me. “Right! Business! Have any?”
"有很多生意?"我带着腼腆的微笑问道。我的眼睛自由地扫视着他那翠绿色的身体，他那金色的山羊胡子，然后转向他的......他清了清嗓子，把我的眼睛回到他的身上。他眉宇间露出嘲讽的弧度，我不禁咧嘴笑了起来。"对！商业！有吗?"
“Not so much around the Hoof, but across the greater Wasteland, oh yeah. There’s no shortage of ponies with caps who want somepony else dead. Still, we keep half of us in the Collegiate at all times. Things are feeling tense, and Triage doesn’t want things getting unmanageable.” He paused, then added, “The professor is back. Or her brain, in any case. Mounted it on a hover robot and she’s back to work in the observatory.”
"不是在霍夫周围，而是在更大的荒地，哦，是的。这里不缺少戴帽子的小马，他们想让其他小马死掉。尽管如此，我们仍然把一半的人留在学院里。事情变得紧张起来，伤检分类不希望事情变得难以控制。"他停顿了一下，然后补充道:"教授回来了。或者她的大脑，无论如何。把它安装在一个悬停机器人上后，她就回到天文台工作了。"
“She is?” If I wasn’t the Goddess’s perpetual puppet after tonight, I’d look her up. Probably. Eventually! Ugh, there was so much to do! Still, I made a mental note to track her down. I had questions regarding the cybernetics in the Brood. “I should say hello,” I said.
"是吗?"过了今晚，如果我不是女神永恒的傀儡，我就去找她。可能吧。最终！啊，有那么多事要做！尽管如此，我还是在心里记下了要找到她的行踪。我有关于布鲁德病房的控制论的问题。"我应该打个招呼,"我说。
“I think she’d like that. She seems well-appraised of your travels, despite being a brain in a jar,” Sagittarius said. I bet she is, I thought to myself. She gave me my eyes and ears, after all.
"我想她会喜欢的。她似乎对你的旅行评价很高，尽管她是罐子里的一个大脑,"射手座说。我猜也是，我心想。毕竟她给了我眼睛和耳朵。
I looked over at Windclop and lowered my voice a little. “How’s Boing doing?”
我看了看Windclop，压低了声音。"Boing怎么样了?"
His genteel smile fell and he squirmed a little awkwardly. “She’s… well… I think? I’m no expert on living ponies. Adapting? Coming to terms, I suppose. She works in the market, sorting things. Not… well… ahem…” The brown ghoul gave an apologetic shrug, then looked around awkwardly and spied the buffet. “Oooh! I am starving! I think I’ll go pick up a snack! Excuse me!” And with no further ado he rushed away from the unpleasant conversation topic.
他温文尔雅的笑容落了下来，局促不安地扭动了一下身子。"她是......嗯......我想？我不是养活小马的专家。适应？我想我们达成共识了。她在市场工作，整理东西。那个褐色的食尸鬼抱歉地耸了耸肩，然后尴尬地环顾四周，发现了自助餐。"哦！我快饿死了！我想我要去买点零食了！对不起!"他毫不犹豫地脱离了这个令人不快的话题。
I sighed and looked back at Sagittarius. “Can you do me a favor? Can you ask Triage to send a full medical healing whatchamacallit for a filly? Stick her in that healing can or something. I hurt her badly when I wasn’t well, and I’d like to fix her if I can.” I was ashamed that I’d hadn’t done so sooner, but then, I had been rather distracted. “Tell her to bill the Society Regent.” They could afford it.
我叹了口气，回头看着Sagittarius。"你能帮我个忙吗？你能要求分诊部给一匹小母马送一个完整的医疗治疗用品吗？把她放在那个治疗罐里。我不舒服的时候把她伤得很重，如果可以的话，我想治好她。"我为自己没有早点这么做而感到羞愧，但那时，我已经相当分心了。"告诉她把账单交给摄政协会。"他们负担得起。
“And I’ll remind her not to pad the expenses too much,” he said with a little chuckle and a nod of his head to me. “Take care, Blackjack.”
"我会提醒她不要虚报太多的费用,"他轻笑着向我点了点头。"保重，黑杰克。"
As Sagittarius trotted off, I gave a half smile. That went fairly well! My mane began to crawl, and I looked around. Bomb? Assassin? Something had to go horribly wron--
当射手座小跑着离开时，我微微一笑。进行得相当顺利！我的鬃毛开始爬行，我环顾四周。炸弹？刺客？有些事情不得不变得非常糟糕
I felt someone step up behind me; aha! I whirled, ready to defe-- I was yanked off my hooves like an insolent filly and hauled into the air! I felt my body whirled around as a massive stallion crowed, “Glorious day, Your Majesty!” He held me like a cyberpony doll with one powerful foreleg while the other thrust towards the heavens. “Never would I, Paladin Sugar Apple Bombs Stronghoof, have imagined that such a low and listless young mare would rise to such glorious heights!” He pressed his hoof to his brow beneath his miniscule horn. “It is truly an inspiration to us all!” Luna as my witness, there were sparkles cascading around us.
我感觉有人在我身后走过来，啊哈！我旋转着，准备开枪——我像一匹傲慢无礼的母马一样被猛拉下马蹄，拖到空中！我感觉自己的身体旋转起来，就像一匹巨大的种马在欢呼:"光荣的一天，陛下!"他用一只强有力的前腿抓住我，而另一只则冲向天堂。"我，圣骑士糖苹果炸弹Stronghoof，从来没有想到这样一个低和无精打采的年轻母马会上升到如此辉煌的高度!"他把蹄子压在他的小角下面的额头上。"这对我们所有人来说都是一种激励!"卢娜作为我的证人，我们周围闪耀着光芒。
A mare rapidly trotted up to us. “Paladin Stronghoof! You know you promised not to… do that!” She spoke in the odd accent from Trottingham and had a toasty-yellow-brown coat with a crispy tan mane and tail and a cutie mark of some sort of biscuit with butter atop it.
一匹母马快步向我们跑来。"PaladinStronghoof！你知道你答应过不会......那样做的!"她说话带着一种来自Trottingham的奇怪口音，身上披着一件烤黄褐色的外套，棕褐色的鬃毛和尾巴酥脆可口，外面还有一块可爱的小饼干，上面放着黄油。
I was dropped, and he loomed over her. “Knight Crumpets, it is well known that friendship is magic and magic is strength and strength is the ability to do good in this world! Are you denying the strength of my friendship? Are you?” He
我被摔倒了，他在她身上隐约出现。"众所周知，友谊就是魔法，魔法就是力量，力量就是在这个世界上行善的能力！你是在否认我们友谊的力量吗？是吗?"他
quivered as he flexed his massively muscled forelegs, body pulsating. “Feel the power of my friendship! Feel!” he demanded, his mustache quivering.
他弯曲着他那肌肉发达的前腿，身体颤抖着。"感受我友谊的力量！感觉!"他问道，他的胡子在颤抖。
Crumpets leaned back, her face flushing in complete mortification before she covered it with her hoof. “Oh for pony’s sake…” Then she scowled up at him, twisted, and rammed her hoof upside his head. “Bloody well stop!” Glory’s jaw dropped at the sight of the smaller mare knocking back the massive muscled stallion.
松脆饼往后靠了靠，脸上涨得通红，然后用蹄子把它踩了起来。"哦，看在小马的份上......"然后她对他皱起眉头，扭动着，用她的蹄子顶着他的头。"该死的，住手!"光荣的下巴下降，在较小的母马回击大量肌肉种马的视线。
She was about half his size, but thankfully she seemed to break the spell. At least the sparkles stopped as he sat back and held the side of his head with a hoof. “Ah, so very sorry,” he said with an embarrassed expression.
她的体型只有他的一半，但谢天谢地，她似乎打破了这个魔咒。至少当他靠在椅背上，用蹄子托住头的一侧时，火花停止了。"啊，非常抱歉,"他带着尴尬的表情说。
Crumpets sighed and shook her head before smiling at Glory and me. “Nice to see you again, Your Majesty.” Crumpets was one of the least dressed mares here, clad only in a yellow sundress and matching hat.
松脆饼叹了口气，摇了摇头，然后对着晨辉和我微笑。"很高兴再次见到您，陛下。"松饼是这里穿着最少的母马之一，只穿着一件黄色的背心裙和一顶相配的帽子。
“Likewise,” I said with a happy smile at the two. “Were you two invited?” I asked as I gestured at the pair. I didn’t think the Trottingham Steel Rangers were around long enough to be known by the Society. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
"我也是,"我对他们俩笑着说。"你们两个被邀请了吗?"我一边问，一边打手势示意他们俩。我不认为特罗廷汉姆钢铁骑兵队存在的时间长到足以被协会所熟知。"我没想到会在这里见到你。"
“To be honest, no. We came on completely different business, but since we were here, Princess Grace was generous enough to allow us to attend.” She paused and looked sharply at Stronghoof. “Provided we conduct ourselves with decorum.”
"老实说，没有。我们来这里是为了完全不同的事情，但既然我们来了，格蕾丝王妃就很慷慨地允许我们参加。"她停顿了一下，目光锐利地看着Stronghoof。"只要我们举止得体。"
“Manners and etiquette have been passed down the Stronghoof line for generations, Knight Crumpets. Observe my civilized and principled conduct,” he said grandly as he knelt before me and took my hoof between his. “Queen Blackjack, it is an honor and a privilege to meet you once more.” Then he kissed it regally.
"礼仪和礼仪已经在上流社会世代相传了，骑士圆饼。"遵守我文明而有原则的行为,"他一面在我面前跪下，一面用他的蹄子夹住我的蹄子，一面盛气凌人地说。"Blackjack女王，很荣幸再次见到您。"然后他像皇帝一样亲吻它。
Crumpets knitted her brows. “Better, but you better not start sparkling or throbbing again. And grabbing is right out!” Glory gave a little snirk and hid her smile behind her wing.
松脆饼皱起眉头。"好多了，但你最好不要再开始闪闪发光或者抽搐了。抓取就是正确的!"晨辉轻轻地笑了一下，把笑容藏在翅膀后面。
When my hoof was free, I smiled. “So what are you here for?” It was easier to ask that than to ask about Stable 99. The pair seemed to understand my question, though.
当我的蹄子自由了，我笑了。"那你来这里干什么?"问这个问题比问Stable99要容易得多。不过，这两个人似乎理解我的问题。
Crumpets cleared her throat. “Well, let me be the first to say that your stable is a marvel. Even if some of the recycling systems are a little icky, it is a masterpiece of sustainability. And I thought Stable Two’s orchards were impressive. I think you could put a Stable 99 anywhere and it’d be viable,” Crumpets said with a worried smile. “But I’m afraid that unless we get substantial reinforcement from Trottingham, we might not be able to stay there. It really does need a sizable population to run such a facility. If it wasn’t for the survivors’ help--”
松饼清了清嗓子。"好吧，让我第一个说你的马厩是一个奇迹。即使有些回收系统有点令人讨厌，这也是可持续发展的杰作。我觉得StableTwo的果园令人印象深刻。我认为你可以把稳定的99放在任何地方，它是可行的,"松脆饼面带忧虑的微笑说。"但我担心，除非我们得到Trottingham的大力支持，否则我们可能无法留在那里。经营这样一个设施确实需要相当规模的人口。如果没有幸存者的帮助——"
“Survivors!?” I gasped, grabbing her shoulders. “Who? How? Where?”
"幸存者!?"我喘着气，抓住她的肩膀。"谁？怎么做？在哪里?"
Glory came to her rescue. “Hey, no grabbing ponies, Blackjack!”
晨辉拯救了她。"嘿，不准抓小马，黑杰克!"
“Thirteen!” Crumpets gasped as I released her. “In the maintenance around the reactor. They’d sealed off the lowest levels of the stable when the… first attack… happened and didn’t come out. Seemed they didn’t believe the all clear, so somepony named Rivets told them they could stay till they got bored and wanted out.”
"十三!"松脆饼在我放开她的时候倒抽了一口冷气。"在反应堆周围的维护工作中。当第一次袭击发生而且没有出来的时候，他们已经封锁了最底层的马厩。似乎他们不相信这一切都安全了，所以一个名叫铆钉的小马告诉他们，他们可以留下来，直到他们感到厌烦，想要离开。"
“She never told me!” I said, sitting down hard. “I… I thought Scotch Tape was the only uninfected pony! I…” Then a horrible feeling crept over me. “Do they… do they know how the stable was gassed?”
"她从来没告诉过我!"我说，努力地坐了下来。"我.....。.我还以为透明胶带是唯一没有感染的小马呢！我。。」然后一种可怕的感觉爬上了我的心头。"他们...他们知道马厩是怎么被毒气毒死的吗?"
The pair looked at each other, all smiles gone, and I got my answer. Stronghoof put his hoof on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. In the service of doing what is right, hard choices have to be made. But that does not mean others will understand or forgive those who have to make them.”
他们互相看着对方，脸上没有了笑容，我得到了答案。他总是把他的蹄子放在我的肩上。"对不起。为了做正确的事，我们必须做出艰难的选择。但这并不意味着其他人会理解或原谅那些不得不犯错的人。"
So, they knew what I had done. I hadn’t ever planned on returning, but still… “We’ve a medical specialist in our acolytes for biological work, mostly to identify hazards in ruins we study. He found evidence of your infection in more than twenty of the ponies killed,” Crumpets said respectfully. “It was a full outbreak. If you hadn’t done what you did, I think half the Hoof would be infected. We found other infected ‘survivors’ in other sealed areas, and seeing what they did to themselves… I wouldn’t wish that on anypony.”
所以，他们知道我做了什么。我从来没有打算回去，但是仍然......"我们有一个医学专家在我们的助手生物工作，主要是确定废墟中的危险，我们研究。他在二十匹被杀死的小马身上发现了你被感染的证据。"这是一场全面爆发。如果你没有那么做，我想半个霍夫都会被感染。我们在其他封闭区域发现了其他被感染的'幸存者'，看看他们对自己做了什么......我不希望这种事发生在任何小马身上。"
“And your warning spared us as well,” Stronghoof added. “Had we not been diligent, we would have eaten the same contaminated food. There were some,” and he huffed, his mustache fluttering, “some Rangers who were less than respectful with the slain suggested that we repeat the previous mistake. Their
斯特朗霍夫补充说:"你的警告也让我们幸免于难。"。"如果我们不勤奋，我们就会吃同样的被污染的食物。"还有一些,"他气喘吁吁地说，胡子抖动着,"一些游骑兵对被杀的人不够尊敬，建议我们重复上一个错误。他们的
behavior was corrected.” Good.
行为得到了纠正"很好。
“We purged the entire recycling system and buried the bodies outside the stable. It’s hard and messy work. We’ve been spending most of our time just on cleaning up, which is where the lack of help comes in. We sent message to Trottingham, but with the civil war in the Steel Rangers, we haven’t much hope of reinforcements soon.” She looked around sharply, then lowered her voice. “Officially we’re here for biomass… waste clippings and the like… to reprime the recycling system. We’re also trying to bring back any Rangers that didn’t join Steel Rain.”
"我们清理了整个回收系统，把尸体埋在了马厩外面。这是一项艰巨而又麻烦的工作。我们把大部分时间都花在清理工作上，这就是缺乏帮助的原因。我们向Trottingham发出了信息，但由于钢铁游骑兵的内战，我们很快就没有多少增援的希望。"她尖锐地环顾四周，然后压低了声音。"官方的说法是，我们来这里是为了生物质能......废弃物之类的东西......重新启动回收系统。我们也在努力让那些没有加入钢铁雨的流浪者回来。"
“Can you recruit from outside? I can introduce you to Bottlecap,” I said, pointing a hoof in her general direction.
"你能从外部招聘吗？我可以把你介绍给Bottlecap,"我指着她的马蹄说。
“If only it were so simple,” Stronghoof sighed.
"要是这么简单就好了,"斯特朗霍夫叹了口气。
Crumpets nodded in agreement. “Thanks, but we need more than just willing, working, loyal bodies, which are hard enough to find. We need ponies who are used to living underground and handling cramped living spaces, and are used to the kind of social order you find in stables and the Steel Rangers. We’ve got thirty or so Rangers, twenty acolytes, and thirteen survivors trying to run a stable for five hundred. With two hundred technically trained ponies, we might be able to cover all critical systems.”
松饼点头表示同意。"谢谢，但我们需要的不仅仅是自愿的、工作的、忠诚的身体，这些身体很难找到。我们需要那些习惯于生活在地下和处理拥挤生活空间的小马，并且习惯于你在马厩和钢铁骑兵中发现的那种社会秩序。我们有大约三十名游骑兵，二十名助手，还有十三名幸存者试图管理一个500人的马厩。有了200匹受过技术训练的小马，我们或许能够覆盖所有关键系统。"
“What is your plan if you can’t get 99 going?”
"如果你不能启动99，你的计划是什么?"
“We shut everything down that we can, lock the door, return to Trottingham, and try to get enough ponies to come back and restore it,” Stronghoof declared with a determined set of his eyes. “We won’t abandon it to scavengers. Nor will we cast the survivors to the waste, nor condemn them to die alone in a failed stable.”
"我们关闭了所有我们能关闭的东西，锁上门，返回Trottingham，并试图得到足够的小马回来恢复它,"斯特朗霍夫用坚定的眼神宣布。"我们不会把它丢给拾荒者。我们也不把幸存者丢在荒场，也不让他们孤独地死在破败的马厩里。"
“Thank you. I hope you get what you need,” I said with a small frown, thinking back to what Bottlecap said. “Are there a lot of zebras around the stable?”
"谢谢。我希望你能得到你想要的,"我皱着眉头说，回想着Bottlecap说的话。"马厩周围有很多斑马吗?"
The question seemed to catch her by surprise, and she nodded. “Yes. They haven’t been hostile, though. They keep their distance, and we’re grateful for that.”
这个问题似乎使她感到吃惊，她点点头。"是的。尽管如此，他们并没有敌意。他们保持距离，我们对此心存感激。"
So what were the zebras doing up there? I knew they were operating to the southeast, but my stable was on the far side of the Hoof. How’d they move all
那么斑马在上面干什么呢？我知道他们在东南方向活动，但我的马厩在霍夫河的另一边。他们是怎么把所有的东西
the way up there with nopony seeing? What were they doing? “Well, I’ll see about Hoity getting you some green waste. I doubt he can object to giving away garbage.”
上去的路上没有小马看到吗？他们在做什么？"好吧，我去看看豪伊蒂能不能给你弄点绿色垃圾来。我怀疑他不会反对分发垃圾。"
Stronghoof wasn’t listening, though. He stared across the room, and his eyes shone with tiny stars. Like a stallion possessed, he strode away from us towards Lacunae, who stood beside the buffet. Crumpets, Glory, and I followed him with a touch of concern, though I didn’t think a sparkly gaze was necessarily dangerous. Lacunae’s expression started in bafflement and then shifted rapidly to alarm as Stronghoof knelt before her.
但斯特朗霍夫没有在听。他凝视着房间的另一边，眼睛里闪烁着小星星。他像一匹着了魔的种马，从我们身边大步走向站在餐具旁边的拉库奈。松饼，晨辉，我带着一丝关切跟随着他，虽然我不认为闪烁的目光一定危险。当斯科诺夫跪在她面前时，她的表情开始变得困惑起来，然后迅速变得惊恐起来。
“Dear lady,” he said as he clasped her hoof between his. “Such a vision of loveliness as yourself should not be left alone in such a time. Please, allow me, Sugar Apple Bombs Stronghoof, to escort you in this social affair. Beauty and grace such as yours should not be consigned to the wall.”
"亲爱的女士,"他一边说，一边把她的蹄子夹在他的两腿之间。"在这样一个时刻，像你这样可爱的人不应该被孤立。请允许我，甜心苹果炸弹幻影，在这场社会事件中护送你。像你这样的美貌和优雅不应该被束之高阁。"
Lacunae’s mouth worked silently. She looked at me, and I waved my hoof and tried to think at her to go on, but the mental static still lingered. She looked down at him; despite her alicorn mass, they were very nearly the same size. “G… gallant sir. I am unworthy of your praise. Surely there are others here deserving of your genteel attention.”
空隙的嘴默默地动着。她看着我，我挥动着我的蹄子，努力想让她继续走下去，但是心灵的静电仍然挥之不去。她低头看着他;尽管她的角果堆积如山，它们几乎一样大小。"g..英勇的先生。我不配得到你的赞美。当然，这里还有其他人值得你优雅的关注。"
“Dear lady! You merit yourself far too little! If you are unworthy of kindest attention, then truly Equestria is lost for good. I pray, gift me your company, and I shall consider myself honored more than any stallion ever,” Stronghoof said as he gazed up at her. I swear, it seemed a spotlight shone only on the two.
"亲爱的女士！你的功劳太少了！如果你不值得最善意的关注，那么真正的Equestria就永远失去了。我祈祷，把你的陪伴送给我，我会觉得自己比任何种马都更受尊敬,"斯特朗戈夫凝视着她说。我发誓，聚光灯似乎只照在这两个人身上。
Lacunae looked around as if hoping someone would object. I wondered if she’d teleport away; if she did, I was going to drag her back here! “It should not be. Your order and my kind are terrible foes. It would reflect badly upon you to show such kindness to me.”
空隙环顾四周，似乎希望有人会反对。我不知道她是不是瞬移走了;如果她真的瞬移走了，我就要把她拖回来！"不应该这样。你的命令和我的同类是可怕的敌人。如果你对我这么好，你的名声就不好了。"
“Reflect!” he said with utmost scorn. “The enmity between yours and mine is of no matter here. Not here. I have heard of you, Lady Lacunae, and I know you are apart from your kind. That you show a degree of gentleness and a good demeanor unknown elsewhere. Never would I think ill of you for that, nor would I care for the thoughts of any who would think ill of us for it!” He kissed her hoof, and her purple wings fluffed a little as she blushed. “Please, dearest lady. Allow me this honor, and I shall be forever satisfied.”
"反思!"他极其轻蔑地说。"你我之间的仇恨在这里无关紧要。不是在这里。我听说过你，拉库奈夫人，我知道你和你的同类不一样。你表现出某种程度的温柔，以及其他地方不曾有过的优秀举止。我决不会因为这件事而看不起你，也不会在乎任何人会因为这件事而看不起我们!"他吻了吻她的蹄子，她的紫色翅膀在脸红时微微抖动。""求你了，亲爱的女士。请允许我得到这份荣誉，我将永远感到满足。"
Lacunae looked helplessly at Crumpets, Glory, and me. The brown earth pony waved her hoof. “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m strictly for the mares anyway.” Glory and I glanced at her with simultaneous, identical arched brows, and she flushed. “What?”
陷阱无助地看着松脆饼、晨辉和我。褐色的土地上的小马挥动着蹄子。"哦，别管我。反正我是绝对赞成母马的。"格洛里和我同时用一模一样的拱形眉毛瞥了她一眼，她的脸红了。"什么?"
The majestic alicorn finally sighed and smiled to him, bowing her head and spreading her purple wings wide. “Good sir, I accept.” He stepped up beside her, and side by side the pair marched out to the dance floor.
雄伟的阿里克纳终于叹了口气，向他微笑，低下头，张开紫色的翅膀。"好先生，我接受。"他走到她身边，两人肩并肩地走向舞池。
I’d kept it contained for as long as I could, but I let out a little giggle, prancing on my hooves in decidedly unregal fashion. “Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Oh, nothing could be more perfect! Then I frowned and looked around the ballroom. Something had to go wrong. Something! But what… “You’re Morning Glory, right?” Crumpets asked Glory, and the blue pegasus swapped her amused look at me to a nod at the yellow-brown mare. “I was wondering if we could talk a little. We found some notes on the virus in Blackjack’s bedroom, and I was hoping you might have some advice on making sure the recycler is clean.”
我尽可能长时间地控制着自己的情绪，但还是忍不住咯咯地笑了起来，以一种毫无帝王风范的方式昂首阔步。"是，是，是，是，是!"哦，没有比这更完美的了！然后我皱了皱眉，环顾了一下舞厅。一定有什么地方出了问题。什么东西！但是什么..."你是牵牛花对吧?"松饼问晨辉，蓝色的飞马换掉了她被逗乐的眼神，对着黄褐色的母马点了点头。"我在想我们能不能谈谈。我们在Blackjack的卧室里发现了一些关于病毒的记录，我希望你能给我一些建议，确保回收者是干净的。"
Glory frowned and looked from Crumpets to me. “I… um… I’m not sure this is a good time…”
晨辉皱起了眉头，从松脆饼看向我。"我.....。.嗯......我不知道现在是否合适......"
“Oh, go on. This sounds like something Rainbow Dash couldn’t do,” I said with a warm smile. Glory blinked, then smiled back. I couldn’t resist, grinning and saying in a much lower voice, “And you heard what she said.” She looked at me flatly as I grinned back.
"哦，继续。这听起来像是彩虹·达什做不到的事情,"我温暖地笑着说。晨辉眨了眨眼睛，然后回以微笑。我忍不住咧嘴笑了笑，低声说:"你也听到她说的话了。"当我咧嘴笑时，她平淡地看着我。
“You have some kind of personal vendetta against monogamy, don’t you?” Glory countered.
"你对一夫一妻制有某种个人仇恨，是吗?"晨辉反驳道。
I spread my hooves wide. “Love wants to be free!”
我张开我的蹄子。"爱情想要自由!"
“You’re impossible,” she said with a smile and a shake of her head. Then she turned to Crumpets. “I think we can talk a bit. Let’s get a drink first.”
"你真是不可理喻,"她微笑着摇了摇头说。然后她转向了松脆饼。"我想我们可以谈一谈。我们先去喝一杯吧。"
As the pair walked off talking about decontamination procedures, I gave a broad smile and then lapsed back into my brooding, waiting for something to go horribly wrong.
当他们谈论净化程序的时候，我咧开嘴笑了笑，然后回到我的沉思中，等待着可怕的事情发生。
* * *
* * *
Half an hour later, I was absolutely positive that everything was going too smoothly. The Goddess at bay. Lacunae. Glory getting to talk smart pony stuff! Something had to go bad. It was just the way things worked. I was so paranoid that I lifted the tablecloth of a buffet table, half expecting to find a bomb or something underneath! Dawn swooping in from above. Zebra invasion.
半小时后，我绝对肯定一切都进行得太顺利了。海湾中的女神。空隙。光荣得到谈论聪明的小马的东西！肯定有什么坏事发生了。事情就是这么运作的。我是如此的偏执，以至于我掀起了自助餐桌的桌布，半期望在下面找到一个炸弹或者什么东西！黎明从天而降。斑马入侵。
Nothing. I plucked a sandwich off a tray, checking for poison... or expired mayonnaise. “Blackjack, what are you doing?” Rampage asked behind me as I furiously masticated some excellent daisy sandwiches. Even the food was going perfectly!
没什么。我从托盘上拿起一个三明治，检查是否有毒......或过期的蛋黄酱。"黑杰克，你在干什么?"当我疯狂地咀嚼着一些美味的雏菊三明治时，狂暴在我身后问道。连饭菜都做得很好吃！
“Just wondering when the party is going to blow up,” I said as I turned and faced her… and saw her with five other very tough-looking ponies. It took me a few seconds to recall their names, but there was no way I could mistake the enormous jet black stallion. Looking as if carved from solid onyx, Brutus the Reaper looked down at me with his calm and sure expression. Bluebelle, the Highlander mare, stood beside the scarred stallion Candlewick and the lavender unicorn Dazzler. The only one I didn’t recognize was a teal pegasus stallion with a Dashite brand and a Halfheart pendant. All were dressed in rough and tumble gear and were being viewed with a mixture of revulsion and fascination at the ‘primitives’.
"我只是想知道聚会什么时候会爆发,"我转过身面对着她说......看到她和另外五匹看起来非常强壮的小马在一起。我花了几秒钟才想起它们的名字，但我不可能把这匹巨大的黑色种马弄错。死神布鲁图斯看上去好像是用实心缟玛瑙雕刻而成，他冷静而坚定的表情低头看着我。高地人的蓝色母马站在伤痕累累的种马烛芯和薰衣草独角兽达兹勒旁边。我唯一没有认出来的是一匹蓝绿色的种马，上面有一个Dashite牌子和一个半心吊坠。所有人都穿着粗糙、杂乱的装备，人们对这些"原始人"既厌恶又迷恋。
“You… I… why are you here?” I asked, astonished.
"你......我.....。.你为什么在这里?"我惊讶地问。
“A question I’ve asked all night,” Rampage said with a sigh.
"我整晚都在问这个问题,"朗格叹了口气说。
Dazzler smiled at me. “I think the Society expects us to go back home with stories about how awesome they are. I wouldn’t even be here if they didn’t bribe me with caps and ammo.” She grinned at me. “You’re well dressed for a Reaper, Blackjack, but it seems to be a thing.” She traversed her grin to Rampage, who rolled her eyes.
亮晶晶对我笑了笑。"我认为，协会希望我们回国后讲述他们是多么棒的故事。如果不是他们用子弹和弹药贿赂我，我根本不会在这里。"她冲我咧嘴笑了笑。"对于死神Blackjack来说，你穿得不错，但它似乎是一种东西。"她咧嘴笑了笑，然后看到了狂暴，狂暴转了转眼珠。
“I’d love to see y’all fight in that get up,” Bluebelle said with a chuckle.
"我真想看看你们都穿着这身衣服打架,"布鲁贝尔咯咯笑着说。
“Big Daddy always makes sure some of us attend the Gala. Mostly to bear news about Awesome,” Brutus said in his deep, calm voice. “It’s mostly an evening of tedium. Then we get bored, smash the furniture, and get thrown out. It’s tradition.”
"大老爹总是确保我们中的一些人参加晚会。大部分是为了带来关于"棒极了"的消息，布鲁图斯用他低沉而平静的声音说。"这基本上是一个单调乏味的夜晚。然后我们感到无聊，打碎家具，然后被扔出去。这是传统。"
“Not tonight, it’s not,” Rampage snapped. “This is Blackjack’s party.”
"今晚不行，今晚不行。"。"这是Blackjack的派对。"
“Really?” Brutus said as he looked down at me. I tried to look tough in return, but he just shook his head. “You’re no more Queen of the Society than you are a Reaper of the top ten. Everypony wants to claim a piece of you, Security. But you don’t belong to any of us.”
"真的吗?"布鲁图斯低头看着我说。我努力装出强硬的样子，但他只是摇了摇头。"你既不是社会的女王，也不是排名前十的收割者。每个小马都想要你的一部分，安全。但你不属于我们任何一个人。"
“Deep, Brut. Deep,” Candlewick said with a roll of his eyes.
"深呼吸，伙计。"很深,"烛芯转了转眼珠说。
I could definitely see myself belonging to the powerful black earth pony. At least for a night. See just what kind of power he could unleash on a cybermare who could take it. I hitched my hips a little as he looked down at me, swishing my tail just a bit more.
我可以肯定地看到自己属于强大的黑色地球小马。至少一个晚上。看看他能对一个能够控制它的网络母马释放出什么样的力量。他低头看我的时候，我扭了一下屁股，尾巴摇得更厉害了。
Then a smack to the back of my head nearly sent me on my face. “Cool it, Blackjack. Save that kind of wrestling for when you’re back at the Arena,” Rampage said sourly.
然后我的后脑勺挨了一巴掌，差点打到我的脸上。"冷静点，黑杰克。把那种摔跤留到你回到竞技场的时候吧。"。
“What?!” I said defensively. “I was just looking at him!” And undressing him. And me. And sidling up... and... Rampage was eying me for another smack, and with great effort I pushed those thoughts aside.
"什么?!"我防御性地说。"我只是看着他!"脱掉他的衣服。还有我。然后悄悄靠近......然后......狂暴又盯着我想再打一巴掌，我费了好大劲才把那些想法推到一边。
It seemed like a heck of a coincidence that the ponies I’d met were the ones who were attended the Gala, but given everything else that was going on tonight, I simply rolled with it. I turned to the pegasus. “We haven’t met.”
我遇到的那些小马正是参加春晚的那些人，这似乎是一个见鬼的巧合，但考虑到今晚发生的其他事情，我只是顺其自然。我转向了飞马号。"我们还没见过面。"
“Storm Front,” he replied, taciturnly. He had that nummy flier build, but I could see in his blue eyes that he wasn’t interested in me in the slightest. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard interesting things about Security.”
"暴风雨前线,"他默默地回答。他有着那种麻木的飞行体格，但是从他蓝色的眼睛里我可以看出他对我一点也不感兴趣。"很高兴见到你。我听说过关于安全的一些有趣的事情。"
“You’re a Halfheart?” I asked, and he pressed his lips together and nodded. “I’m sorry.” I wondered who it was he'd lost to gain entry to that wretched bunch.
"你是半颗心?"我问道，他紧闭双唇，点了点头。"对不起。"我不知道为了进入那群可怜的家伙，他失去了谁。
“It’s all right,” he answered. “We were in security operations down here on the surface a year or two ago. She didn’t come back. I requested to stay to look for her. Was denied four times. Told me she was probably dead. Finally went Dashite to find her. Did.”
"没关系,"他回答。"一两年前，我们在这里的地面上执行安全任务。她没有回来。我要求留下来找她。被拒绝了四次。告诉我她可能已经死了。最后大师去找她了。是的。"
“Was she?” Dazzler asked.
"是吗?"达兹勒问道。
“No. Went raider. Found her screwing a young stallion with a gun to his face. Put her down myself,” he said with a small shrug. “I just put down her body. Mare I knew died a year before.”
"没有。突袭机来了。发现她用枪指着一匹年轻种马的脸和他鬼混。"我自己把她放下来,"他轻轻地耸了耸肩说。"我只是放下了她的尸体。我认识的母马一年前就死了。"
Rampage sighed and gave a mirthless smile. “This is why I love Halfhearts. They’re absolutely perfect for the Hoof.”
横冲直撞的人叹了口气，苦笑了一下。"这就是为什么我喜欢哈夫哈特的原因。它们绝对适合蹄子。"
“There is something about this place,” Brutus rumbled. “I’ve fought in the pits of Fillydelphia. Walked the western waste. Battled in the shattered canyons of Manehattan. The Hoof was the only place I’ve been that felt like home the minute I arrived. That welcomes the broken soul and the bleeding heart.” The magnificent hunk of pony shook his head. “Even Big Daddy knows.”
"这个地方很特别,"布鲁图斯咕哝着说。"我在Fillydelphia的竞技场打过仗。走过西部荒原。在Manehattan破碎的峡谷中战斗。霍夫酒店是我来到这里以后唯一一个有家的感觉的地方。这欢迎破碎的灵魂和流血的心。"那匹漂亮的大马摇了摇头。"连大老爹都知道。"
“How is he?” I asked. “Have you recovered from the Celestia’s attack?”
"他怎么样?"我问道。"你从塞莱斯蒂亚的攻击中恢复过来了吗?"
“The shells destroyed half the building. Fortunately, it was the half we did not use. The Arena will survive. We’re recovering. We’ll find the strongest, and we will thrive. As we always have,” he said with a matter of fact shrug. “Big Daddy faced a brief insurrection. Very brief, as it was over ten seconds after he joined the battle.” He gave a little half smile. “There are few chastisements greater than having your face broken by a stallion old enough to be your grandfather.”
"炮弹摧毁了一半的建筑。幸运的是，这是我们没有使用的一半。竞技场会存活下来。我们正在恢复。我们会找到最强壮的，我们会茁壮成长。我们总是这样,"他耸耸肩说。"大老爹面临了一场短暂的起义。非常简短，因为他加入战斗已经超过十秒钟了。"他微微一笑。"没有什么比被一匹老得可以当你爷爷的种马打烂你的脸更痛苦的了。"
Bluebelle snorted. “Still no match for White Lightning. Momma’d give him a run for his money.”
布鲁贝尔哼了一声。"还是不是白色闪电的对手。妈妈会给他一个机会的。"
“And how about the Highlanders?” I asked her with a small frown.
"那高地人呢?"我皱着眉头问她。
She seemed surprised, but the strong baby blue mare answered, “We are as we always are, fighting for our land and our kin. Momma thanks ya for the family gun, though. Gave it to my nephew. Good to keep it in our family.” She looked around the party insolently. “Dunno why Momma sent me. Almost didn’t make it past all the zebras.”
她看起来很惊讶，但是那匹强壮的蓝色母马回答说:"我们一如既往地为我们的土地和亲人而战。不过，妈妈还是要谢谢你的家用枪。给了我侄子。这是我们家的传统。"她傲慢地环顾四周。"不知道妈妈为什么派我来。几乎没能逃过斑马的追捕。"
That made my mane and tail twitch. “Zebras? You’re having problems with zebras?”
这使我的鬃毛和尾巴抽动。"斑马？你和斑马有矛盾?"
“Highlanders always have problems with zebras. Usually we ambush their patrols when they try to pass through the mountains. These zebras though,” she turned and spat. “Came out of nowhere. Dozens. Hundreds, even.”
"高地人总是和斑马有矛盾。当他们试图穿过山区时，我们通常会伏击他们的巡逻队。这些是斑马,"她转过身，吐了口唾沫。"不知从哪儿冒出来的。几十个。甚至有数百人。"
“So these zebra didn’t come through the mountains?” I asked, confirming what she’d told me. She shook her head.
"所以这些斑马不是从山里来的?"我问道，证实了她告诉我的话。她摇了摇头。
“They’re also in the southwest,” Storm Front said quietly. “A dozen groups encamped all along the badlands and throughout No Pony’s Land.” My questions must have been showing on my face, because he added, “The Halfheart territory is in the southwest. I do daily patrols looking for threats.”
"他们也在西南部,"斯托姆·弗朗特平静地说。十几支部队在整个荒地和无马之地扎营我的问题一定是从我脸上流露出来的，因为他补充说:"'半心人'的地盘在西南部。我每天巡逻，寻找威胁。"
“Really? I didn’t know that,” I replied, surprised. I supposed there were plenty of places in the Hoof I hadn’t discovered yet. “And what are the zebras doing?” I suspected the answer, but I couldn’t think of why.
"真的吗？我不知道,"我惊讶地回答。我猜想霍夫有很多地方我还没有发现。"斑马在干什么?"我怀疑这个答案，但我想不出原因。
“Nothing,” he replied, confirming my suspicions. Bluebelle scowled, but nodded as well.
"没什么,"他回答，证实了我的怀疑。布鲁贝尔皱起了眉头，但也点了点头。
“They’re in the north, too. Near the old Ironmare base,” Candlewick replied. “Don’t know how they got there, but they just sit around. They’ll blast you if you get too close, but otherwise they just sit with their striped heads up their asses. Why? What’s the problem?”
"他们也在北方。在老Ironmare基地附近,"烛芯答道。"我不知道他们是怎么到那里的，但是他们只是坐在那里。如果你靠得太近，他们会开枪打你，否则他们只会坐在那里，把他们的条纹脑袋塞进屁股里。为什么？有什么问题吗?"
“And they’re well-armed?” I asked with a frown.
"他们装备精良吗?"我皱着眉头问。
“Assault Carbines. Anti-machine rifles. Miniguns,” Storm Front replied. “Only six to ten or so in each camp.”
"突击卡宾枪。反机械步枪。迷你工厂,"风暴阵线回答。"每个营地只有六到十个人左右。"
I imagined a little purple unicorn in my head writing on a chalkboard. Eight zebras per camp on average times at least twenty camps equaled… a potential huge problem. Zebras from nowhere. Well-armed. Doing nothing. The purple unicorn wrote ‘WHY?’ and circled it. “Why?” I echoed her.
我想象着一只紫色的独角兽在我脑海中的黑板上写着什么。平均每个营地有8匹斑马，至少二十个营地相当于......一个潜在的巨大问题。不知从哪里来的斑马。全副武装。无所事事。紫色的独角兽写着为什么然后圈了出来。"为什么?"我附和着她。
“Maybe the Wasteland is magically repopulating itself with small groups of zebras to kill so we can take their stuff?” Rampage said with a grin.
"也许这片荒地正在奇迹般地重新繁衍出一小群斑马来杀戮，这样我们就可以拿走它们的东西了?"狂暴笑着说。
“Like that would ever happen,” Candlewick snorted.
"好像这种事会发生似的,"烛芯哼了一声。
“Hey, you have no idea! For the last four or five weeks, we’d get armed bands charging out of nowhere to kill us. Scavengers. Or Sanguine’s ponies. Or those damned Harbingers,” Rampage snorted contemptuously. “We’d just be walking along and here they come! Least their gear always paid the bills.”
"嘿，你不知道！在过去的四五个星期里，我们不知道从哪里冒出来的武装团伙要杀死我们。拾荒者。或者桑吉尼的小马。或者那些该死的预兆,"狂暴轻蔑地哼了一声。"我们只是沿着路走，他们就来了！至少他们的装备总能支付账单。"
“What are you thinking, Security?” Brutus asked in his low, deep voice. For a moment, I wondered if he was being sarcastic, but when I looked again I saw he listened in earnest. Even the scarred, boiled-looking Candlewick seemed to be listening to me.
"你在想什么，保安?"布鲁图斯用低沉的声音问道。有那么一会儿，我不知道他是不是在讽刺我，但是当我再看的时候，我看到他认真地听着。即使是那个伤痕累累、面目狰狞的烛芯也似乎在听我说话。
Well, if they really wanted to know... “I don’t care that they’re zebras so much that they’re all around the Hoof. Even if the individual camps aren’t that big, there’s a lot of them. And no one just sits around in the Wasteland admiring the scenery. They’re up to something.”
好吧，如果他们真的想知道..."我不在乎他们是斑马，以至于他们都在蹄子周围。即使每个营地不是很大，但是有很多。没有人只是坐在荒原上欣赏风景。他们在谋划着什么。"
“Might be they have something to do with all the raiders getting hit across the Wasteland,” Brutus said deeply. I cocked my head curiously at him, and he went on, “For the last week now there’s been attacks on raiders. We get stragglers coming this way and joining up with other gangs. Whoever is behind it hits fast and hard and doesn’t leave much in the way of survivors. Stallions. Mares. Young. Any group out on their own gets hit. Most get dusted, others taken. Then gone without a trace.”
布鲁图斯深深地说道:"也许他们和那些横穿大荒地的袭击者有关。"。我抬起头好奇地看着他，他继续说道:"上个星期，突袭机遭到了袭击。我们这里有落伍者来到这里，加入其他帮派。不管是谁在后面，打得又快又狠，没有留下多少幸存者。种马。母马。年轻。任何一个单干的团体都会受到攻击。大部分被扫除了，其他的被带走了。然后消失得无影无踪。"
“That sounds like something zebras might do. They’re scary ambushers. If that’s the case, though, why let the survivors past?” Dazzle asked. “If they were planning on trouble, wouldn’t it make sense to cut us off from all possible sources of reinforcements?” She shook her head. “What do you think we should do?”
"这听起来像是斑马会做的事。他们是可怕的伏击者。不过，如果是这样的话，为什么要让幸存者通过呢?"戴泽问道。"如果他们计划制造麻烦，那么切断我们所有可能的增援来源不是更有意义吗?"她摇了摇头。"你觉得我们该怎么办?"
“What I would do is get ready for something bad. Arm yourselves. Reinforce your numbers from survivors if you have to. But don’t do anything stupid and fight each other,” I said, feeling a certain rightness in my guess. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the zebras were there for some inconceivable zebra reasoning I couldn’t imagine, but I didn’t like it at all.
"我会做的就是为坏事做好准备。武装起来。如果有必要的话，强化你从幸存者那里得到的数据。但是不要做任何愚蠢的事情，并且互相争斗,"我说，我的猜测感到某种正确性。也许我错了。也许斑马是因为一些我无法想象的不可思议的斑马推理而出现在那里的，但我一点也不喜欢它。
For several seconds I thought they might laugh at me or make a sarcastic quip, but the four nodded in agreement. Candlewick said that somepony named Napalm would be tough to convince, but nopony wanted to get stomped by zebras or Security. I tapped Storm Front’s shoulder and nodded to the side. He frowned, but joined me off away from the others. Rampage seemed to think I was flirting.
有那么几秒钟，我以为他们可能会嘲笑我或者讽刺我，但是他们四个点头表示同意。坎德维克说，一些名为凝固汽油弹的小马很难被说服，但是没有小马想被斑马或者安全部门踩死。我拍了拍StormFront的肩膀，点了点头。他皱起了眉头，但和我一起离开了其他人。狂暴似乎认为我在调情。
‘Security operations...’ A little pink pony in my head whispered questions to a purple unicorn. “Were you a part of Enclave Intelligence?” I asked. He frowned
"安保行动......"一匹粉红色的小马在我脑海里对一只紫色的独角兽低语着问题。"你是飞地情报局的人吗?"我问道。他皱起了眉头
at me, seeming to weigh how much of his past life he could discuss, but nodded. “Do you know anything about Lighthooves?”
看着我，似乎在权衡他过去的生活，他可以谈论多少，但点点头。"你知道什么是轻舟吗?"
“You mean he who must not be named?” Storm Front replied with a small smile. “Yeah. I knew him. Smart bastard. Scary conviction. We all love Thunderhead, but I’m pretty sure he wanted to make Thunderhead the Enclave.”
"你是说那个不能透露姓名的人?"斯托姆·弗朗特微笑着回答道。"是的。我认识他。聪明的混蛋。可怕的定罪。我们都喜欢Thunderhead，但我敢肯定他想让Thunderhead成为飞地。"
“Do you know about his biological weapon?” I asked in a low voice.
"你知道他的生化武器吗?"我低声问道。
“I heard rumors about it before I left,” he replied. “Some surface plague he wanted to weaponize and disperse more widely. Neighvarro gave him the okay since it didn’t affect pegasi.”
"在我离开之前，我听到了关于它的传闻,"他回答说。"他想把某种地表瘟疫武器化，扩散得更广。邻居们同意了，因为这对飞马没有影响。"
“It does now,” I said grimly. “Lighthooves created a new strain. He has plans to use it against pegasi loyal to Neighvarro.”
"现在有了,"我冷冷地说。"轻舟号创造了一种新的菌株。他计划用它来对付忠于内瓦罗的飞马。"
Storm Front’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s… that’s insane!” That was my general reaction. “Unless he plans to use it to turn other settlements against Neighvarro. Or keep them out of the fight. Or… no, he can’t be thinking that.”
暴风雨前锋震惊地睁大了眼睛。"这...这太疯狂了!"这是我的总体反应。"除非他打算用它来对付其他定居点的邻居。或者让他们远离战斗。或者......不，他不可能这么想。"
“Let’s just imagine he is and you tell me,” I replied patently.
"让我们假设他是，然后你告诉我,"我公然回答。
“The Enclave is… on paper… a democracy. We elect or mayors and our councilors. Of course, only members of the Enclave can run, but every settlement gets a vote of confidence on the Grand Pegasus Enclave every ten years. It’s a joke, really, because Neighvarro controls the guns and always makes sure that everypony knows that it’s in charge. So really, it’s treated as a vote of loyalty. Fail to vote for Neighvarro and you get cut off.” I recalled somepony telling me how the Enclave staged ‘spectacles’ every so often. “If Neighvarro failed a vote of confidence, leadership would pass to the settlement with the next highest amount of resources. New representatives would have to be appointed. Neighvarro would have to either stand down or be revealed for the thugs they are.”
"昂科雷是......理论上......一个民主国家。我们选举或市长和我们的议员。当然，只有飞地的成员才能参选，但每个定居点每十年都会在飞马大飞地上获得一次信任投票。这真是个笑话，真的，因为邻居们控制着枪支，而且总是确保每个小马都知道他们是老大。所以，真的，这被看作是忠诚的一票。如果不投给邻居，你就会被切断资金来源。"我回忆起一些小马告诉我昂科雷是如何经常上演'眼镜'的。"如果邻居未能通过信任投票，领导权将以次高的资源转给和解方案。必须任命新的代表。邻居们必须要么退出，要么暴露他们的身份。"
“So where do biological weapons come into an election?” I asked, a little baffled.
"那么，生物武器在哪里举行选举呢?"我问道，有点困惑。
“It’s a counter loyalty ploy. Vote for Neighvarro and your crops might get infected.” I was starting to feel shooty, and it must have shown. “I don’t think he’d actually do it,” Storm Front added quickly. “But it’d allow those settlements
"这是一种相反的忠诚策略。投票给邻居，你的庄稼可能会被感染。"我开始觉得自己被枪击了，这一定表现出来了。"我不认为他真的会这么做,"斯托姆·弗朗迅速补充道。"但它会允许那些定居点
to vote in support of Thunderhead without fearing reprisal from Neighvarro.”
投票支持雷霆万钧，而不用担心邻居的报复。"
I think politics made my brains hurt worse than the Goddess. “Doesn’t that sort of undermine and demean this whole democracy thing? ‘Vote for us or we’ll shoot you.’ ‘Vote for us or you’ll eat your children.’?”
我认为政治让我的头脑比女神还痛。"难道这不是对整个民主制度的破坏和贬低吗？'投我们一票，否则我们就开枪'投我们一票，否则你会吃了你的孩子?"
“You talk as if the Enclave has ever had a fair election,” Storm Front replied cynically. “But something you need to realize is that most of the Enclave doesn’t have much love for Neighvarro. They’re thugs, skimming the cream of the crop for themselves and leaving other settlements to struggle. You either have to suck up to them like a tick, or get used to a lot of requests getting turned down. A lot of the settlements would support any contender in the hopes of improving things, even Thunderhead. Thunderhead has it good. The Tower is a bit of an issue, but beyond that, their trade with the surface is bringing stuff the skies need.”
"你说得好像昂科雷曾经有过一次公平的选举,"斯托姆·弗朗特愤世嫉俗地回答。"但你需要意识到的是，昂科雷的大部分居民都不怎么喜欢邻里。他们是暴徒，为自己掠夺精华，留下其他定居点进行斗争。你要么必须对他们百依百顺，要么就得习惯很多被拒绝的请求。许多和解协议将支持任何希望改善局面的竞争者，甚至是Thunderhead。雷锋公司做得很好。伦敦塔是一个小问题，但除此之外，他们与地面的贸易正给天空带来所需要的东西。"
I sighed, feeling the headache grow. “Okay. Point is, I’m not leaving a weapon like that in anypony’s hooves. Even if he doesn’t use it against the rest of the Enclave, the Neighvarro might deploy it against the surface.” He nodded thoughtfully. I loved smart ponies. “Where would he keep a weapon like that?” Please say on the surface!
我叹了口气，感觉头疼加剧了。"好吧。重点是，我不会把那样的武器留在任何马蹄上。即使他不用它来对付昂科雷的其他部分，邻里也可以用它来对付地面。"他若有所思地点点头。我喜欢漂亮的小马。"他会把那样的武器放在哪里?"请在表面上说！
“Shadowbolt Tower,” he said without a moment’s hesitation. “Absolutely. The Neighvarro want to capture the Tower, so they wouldn’t shell it directly. Likely near the top, above the unicorns and below Shadowbolt command.”
"暗影螺栓塔,"他毫不犹豫地说。"当然。邻居们想占领那座塔，所以他们不会直接轰炸它。很可能接近高层，在独角兽之上，在Shadowbolt之下。"
“Right.” I took a deep breath. “How could some ponies break into the tower if they had to?”
"对。"我深吸了一口气。"如果迫不得已，一些小马怎么可能闯进塔楼呢?"
“They can’t. It’s impossi--” he started and then silenced himself.
"他们不能。这是不可能的——"他开始说话，然后安静了下来。
“You were going to say impossible?” I asked, and he gave a little nod. “Has anyone ever gotten in?”
"你是说不可能吗?"我问道，他点了点头。"有人进去过吗?"
“Twice. The first was Contrail. Old ex-Wonderbolt a hundred and fifty years ago. Flew above the top of the tower and landed on the roof… which is quite a feat. Had to bring his own oxygen source, and he still died even after getting inside command. The other was the wife of some war hero. Flew in low over the Core. Craziest thing I ever saw. Aside from the very real chance of getting dusted by the city’s defenses, she was in the Enervation. Somehow she made it to an old maintenance accessway below the living areas and got inside.
"两次。第一个是凝结尾。一百五十年前的前神奇博尔特。飞上了塔顶，落在了屋顶上......这是一个了不起的壮举。他不得不自带氧气来源，即使进入指挥部，他还是死了。另一个是某个战争英雄的妻子。低空飞过核心区。这是我见过的最疯狂的事。除了极有可能被城市的防御工事摧毁之外，她还处于"受损"状态。不知怎么的，她找到了生活区下面一个旧的维修通道，钻了进去。
Damnedest thing I ever saw.”
这是我见过的最糟糕的事情。"
“Blackjack,” Hoity said from behind me. “It’s almost time.”
"黑杰克,"豪伊蒂从我身后说。"时间差不多了。"
“Alright,” I replied, looking back at the others Reapers and gangers. “Remember what I said. Tell your people. Get ready for a fight.” I turned and walked away alongside the glorious-looking ghoul. “I think I’m going to need to talk to Grace, Splendid, and Charm alone for a second beforehand.”
"好的,"我回答，回头看着其他的收割者和分身。"记住我说的话。告诉你的人。准备战斗吧。"我转过身，和这个看起来光彩照人的食尸鬼一起走了。"我想我需要提前和格蕾丝、斯普兰迪和魅力单独谈一会儿。"
“I’ll summon them. Though I’m not sure where Splendid and Charm are off to.”
"我去召唤他们。虽然我不知道辉煌与魅力何去何从。"
“I’m sure you’ll find them.” I looked at him, then around at the party. “Everything else is ready?”
"我相信你会找到他们的。"我看着他，然后在聚会上转了一圈。"其他一切都准备好了吗?"
“It should be a consummately horrendous melodramatic display,” he drawled, then chuckled. “Which means the Society will love it. It’s something that should stick with them for a while.” He tapped my chest lightly. “You are somewhat skilled at this, Your Majesty.”
"这应该是一场极其可怕的闹剧,"他慢吞吞地说，然后咯咯笑起来。"这意味着学会会喜欢它。这种情况应该会持续一段时间。"他轻轻地拍了拍我的胸口。"陛下，您在这方面还是有些技巧的。"
“Skilled? Hoity, people tried to kill me four times today and foalnapped one of my friends!” I said in disbelief.
""熟练吗？天哪，今天有人四次想杀我，还把我的一个朋友给骗了!"我难以置信地说。
“And you survived,” he replied with a grand smile. “Dearest Blackjack, survival is the greatest skill of all in politics. Some might say it’s the only one that truly matters.” He trotted away, leaving me alone with my worries. Rampage and the gangers behaving themselves? No one had tried to kill me yet. Was it truly possible that tonight was going to go off without a hitch? It seemed… inconceivable.
"而且你活下来了,"他带着一个庄严的微笑回答道。"最亲爱的黑杰克，生存是政治中最伟大的技能。有些人可能会说，这是唯一真正重要的东西。"他小跑着离开了，留下我一个人担心。横冲直撞的分身们规规矩矩的吗？还没有人想要杀我。今晚真的有可能一切顺利吗？这似乎...不可思议。
“Your Majesty,” a smooth, familiar stallion’s voice said behind me. “Congratulations.”
"陛下,"一个熟悉的声音从我身后传来。"恭喜你。"
I froze at the sound, and then actually smiled a little. “I knew it,” I muttered as I turned and looked at the kindly purple face of Steel Rain. The stallion was dressed in a tux every bit as fine as Hoity’s; I supposed that, being with the Harbingers, he could get his hooves on anything. “I knew things were going too smoothly.”
听到这个声音，我愣住了，然后真的笑了一下。"我就知道,"当我转过身来，看着钢铁雨亲切的紫色脸庞时，我喃喃自语。这匹种马穿着和豪伊特一样好看的燕尾服;我猜想，和先驱者一家在一起，他什么都能得到。"我知道事情进展得太顺利了。"
He arched a brow and gave me a sardonic smile. “If you’re under the impression that I’m here to cause trouble, you’re quite mistaken,” he said genially. “I am
他挑起眉毛，给了我一个嘲讽的微笑。"如果你认为我是来制造麻烦的，那你就大错特错了,"他温和地说。"是的
here with an invitation from Princess Charm.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and I batted it away. He sighed, “You’re under quite a bit of stress. I understand. Social events like this are quite a hassle.” He reached over to a passing waiter levitating trays of champagne and snagged a glass. “Though I will admit that the Society offers quite a few pleasurable amenities. Almost makes it worth playing their silly games.”
带来了魅力公主的邀请。"他从口袋里掏出一张纸，我把它拍走了。他叹了口气,"你压力太大了。我明白。像这样的社交活动相当麻烦。"他把手伸向一个路过的侍者，这个侍者托起了一盘香槟，还顺手拿了一个玻璃杯。"尽管我承认，协会提供了不少令人愉快的设施。几乎值得玩他们那些愚蠢的游戏了。"
“So, let me guess. As we speak your forces are surrounding this place and if I don’t give you EC-1101 you’ll storm in and kill everypony?” I snapped.
"那么，让我猜猜。就在我们说话的时候，你们的军队已经包围了这个地方，如果我不给你们EC-1101，你们就会冲进来杀掉所有的小马?"我厉声说道。
“My, that would be dramatic, wouldn’t it?” he countered with a smirk that made me want to shoot him right there. “I don’t suppose you’ll be amenable and just surrender it? It’d be such a shame to ruin such an excellent party.” He looked at me as he took a sip and then added, “Lovely dress, by the way.”
"天哪，那就太戏剧化了，不是吗?"他还以一个傻笑反击，让我想当场毙了他。""我想你不会答应，就这样把它交出去吧？破坏这么好的聚会真是太可惜了。"他看着我，喝了一口，然后补充道:"顺便说一句，裙子很漂亮。"
My magic bullet shattered the glass in his hoof and he grimaced as he drew back. A few ponies looked over, but the disturbance hadn’t been noticed. I advanced on him, crushing glass underhoof as I growled, “I will never give you EC-1101. Ever. Stop asking.”
我的神奇子弹打碎了他蹄子里的玻璃，他后退时做了个鬼脸。几匹小马仔细打量了一下，但没有人注意到这场骚乱。我向他走去，用碎玻璃的声音咆哮道:"我永远不会给你EC-1101。永远不会。别再问了。"
“Pity,” he said as he wiped champagne from his sleeve. “Well, you needn’t worry. As delightful a target as the Society is right now, its wall to wall security would make taking it by force unlikely. We’re going with a plan B. And since it doesn’t involve horrible, hideous violence, I am here attending to other business.” He gave a little smirk. “Contrary to what you might believe, not everything the Harbingers do is about you.”
"真可惜,"他边说边从袖子里擦掉香槟。"好吧，你不必担心。作为一个令人愉快的目标，协会现在是，它的墙到墙的安全将使得武力拿走它的可能性。我们正在执行b计划，既然它不涉及可怕的、可怕的暴力行为，我就在这里处理其他事务。"他笑了一下。"与你可能相信的相反，先驱者所做的一切并不都是为了你。"
I actually queued up four shots to his face in S.A.T.S. If I was going to be an executioner, I couldn’t think of a better pony to start with. I just had to execute the command. Just push the button…
实际上我在S.A.T.S.排队等了他四杯。如果我要当刽子手的话，我想不出还有比这更好的了。我只需要执行命令。只要按下按钮..。
Damn it…
该死..。
He snagged another passing glass from a waiter and downed it all in one go. “So what is your business here?” I asked him.
他又从服务员手里抢过一个杯子，一口气全喝光了。"那么，你来这里干什么?"我问他。
“Why, none of yours. But if you must know, there’s a certain person here that we loaned a few of our soldiers to in the assurance that they could bring us your forehooves. I thought it a long shot, but they insisted they could pull it off, and all they asked in return was the crown. Now we need to settle accounts.” He idly
""为什么，不关你的事。但是如果你一定要知道的话，我们借了一些士兵给这里的一个人，以保证他们可以把你的前蹄给我们。我认为希望渺茫，但他们坚持认为自己可以成功，他们只要王冠作为回报。现在我们需要清算账目。"他无所事事
rubbed his chest as he looked aside. “And I saw Sagittarius here. I need to talk to him as well.”
当他向旁边看的时候，摩擦着他的胸膛。"我在这里看到了人马座。我也需要和他谈谈。"
“About getting that kill implant removed?” I asked.
"关于移除那个致命的植入物?"我问道。
His smile disappeared. “Cognitum has been… pressuring me… to get certain improvements. I’ve seen what she did to Dawn. I have no desire to join her. I like power you can take off at the end of the day.” He frowned as he looked away and set the glass on a table beside us, glancing at my cybernetics with a barely hidden shudder. “I’d bet that Dawn’s failures would translate to further trust of me. Sadly, that’s not the case. She wants me more… augmented.”
他的笑容消失了。"认知力一直在给我施加压力，要求我做出某些改进。我看到她对道恩做了什么。我不想加入她的行列。我喜欢你在一天结束的时候可以卸下的权力。"他看向别处，皱起眉头，把杯子放在我们旁边的桌子上，瞥了一眼我的控制论，几乎没有隐藏的颤抖。"我敢打赌，道恩的失败将转化为对我的进一步信任。遗憾的是，事实并非如此。她想让我更...强壮。"
“Well, good luck with that,” I replied. Out of his armor, I was struck again by how positively cute he appeared. Fit body. Athletic. Smart.
"好吧，祝你好运,"我回答。从他的盔甲里，我又一次被他的可爱所震撼。健康的身体。运动员。聪明。
Ack! No! Mortal enemies was where I drew the line! Like Lancer... though I really wished I hadn’t drawn that line and... he seemed to catch me staring and smiled smugly from ear to ear.
啊！不！不共戴天的敌人是我的底线！像兰瑟一样......尽管我真的希望我没有画那条线，而且......他似乎抓住了我的目光，笑得合不拢嘴。
“Indeed. Things would have been much simpler if you’d simply left me the Celestia. But who has time for regrets?” he said with a smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to see a filly about a collection of memory orbs.”
"的确。如果你把天堂留给我，事情就简单多了。但是谁有时间去后悔呢?"他笑着说。"现在，如果你不介意。我需要看一匹小母马关于一系列记忆球的故事。"
It must have been the drink that made him slip. “You mean this collection?” I asked, pulling out the bag of crushed glass and giving it a little jingle. He blinked as he took the bag of smashed orbs and opened it up. For the first time, he looked truly stunned and horrified. “Charm decided to smash it when I didn’t make her regent.”
一定是那种饮料使他滑倒了。"你是说这个系列?"我问道，把装碎玻璃的袋子拿出来，发出叮当的声音。他一边眨着眼睛，一边拿起装着粉碎球体的袋子打开。这是第一次，他看起来真正的震惊和恐惧。"当我没有让Charm当摄政王的时候，她决定粉碎它。"
“That... the technical schematics. The technology! How...” he pursed his lips and silenced himself as he fought for composure. “Tell me you punished her for this... this... insult!”
"那个......技术结构图。技术！怎么......"他噘起嘴唇，努力使自己镇静下来。"告诉我你因为这个...这个...侮辱而惩罚了她!"
“She got to watch her hopes and dreams crushed before her eyes. Does that count?” I replied, marveling at the surreality of commiserating with a pony who had tried to kill me repeatedly. “I never imagined you like this, Steel Rain.”
"她眼睁睁地看着自己的希望和梦想在眼前破灭。这算吗?"我回答道，同情一匹反复试图杀死我的小马，这种超现实的感觉让我感到惊讶。"我从没想到你会这样，钢铁雨。"
“Well, we never did meet outside the battlefield, Blackjack. I’m quite sociable, actually,” he replied with that kind smile. “I just happen to like power, control, and the ability to destroy my enemies instantly with the pull of a trigger. Quite
"嗯，我们从未在战场以外的地方见过面，Blackjack。实际上，我很善于交际。"他带着友好的微笑回答道。"我只是碰巧喜欢权力、控制和一扣扳机就能立即摧毁敌人的能力。没错
unsophisticated, really. Tends to spoil social events, sadly,” he said with a sigh of regret. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go see a filly about respecting the technical achievements of the past.”
很单纯，真的。可悲的是，它往往会破坏社交活动。"他遗憾地叹了口气。"现在，如果你不介意的话，我要去看一匹小母马，向它表示对过去技术成就的尊重。"
“Oh no you don’t,” I replied as I took him by the foreleg.
"哦，不，你不知道,"我一边回答，一边抓住他的前腿。
He smiled at me in clear condescension. “Oh please. Don’t tell me that you’re calling for the headsman. Despite what happened on the bridge, I know you’re not a killer, Blackjack. You’re not somepony to employ killers.” I whistled sharply and some guards appeared almost at once. “What do you think you’re doing?” They started patting him down, but didn’t find any weapons on him. Just a pendant that I confiscated... just because. “Give that back!” he shouted, stretching a hoof towards it.
他对我微笑，显然是一副屈尊俯就的样子。"哦，拜托。别告诉我你在叫刽子手。不管桥上发生了什么，我知道你不是个杀手，Blackjack。你不是雇凶杀人的料。"我急促地吹了一声口哨，几乎立刻出现了一些警卫。"你以为你在干什么?"他们开始搜身，但没有在他身上发现任何武器。只是一个被我没收的吊坠...就因为。"还给我!"他喊道，把一只蹄子朝它伸过去。
“I’ve been reading the ‘Pinkie Pie guide to tyranny’,” I answered him with a grin. “While you’re right that I have no interest in killing you unarmed like this, I also don’t mind locking you up for a few days.” A little purple unicorn in me gave a nod of satisfaction.
"我一直在读《小指派暴政指南》,"我咧嘴笑着回答他。"虽然你是对的，我没有兴趣像这样徒手杀死你，我也不介意把你关上几天。"我心里一只紫色的小独角兽点头表示满意。
Steel Rain did not take it well. He was dragged from the party kicking and shouting about destroying me, the Society, and ‘everypony’. That was more like it, really.
钢铁雨没有采取它很好。他被从派对上拖出来，又踢又叫，说什么要毁了我、社团和"每匹小马"。这才像话，真的。
I’d embarrassed and humiliated a foe. Rampage was behaving herself. Glory was talking smart pony talk. The Harbingers weren’t going to attack and mutilate everypony at the last minute! Lacunae was actually dancing with Stronghoof. It might actually be...
我让一个敌人感到尴尬和羞辱。狂暴行为规矩。格洛里正在谈论精明的小马谈话。"先驱者"不会在最后一刻攻击和毁坏每一匹小马！空隙实际上是与斯特朗霍夫跳舞。可能真的是..。
“No. No, I won’t jinx it,” I said, shaking my head firmly. Something was bound to blow up in my face. Some... something!
"没有。不，我不会带来厄运的,"我说着，坚定地摇了摇头。肯定会有什么东西在我面前爆炸。一些...一些东西！
“That guest has been detained,” Hoity Toity said as he returned with some disdain. “Although I suspect half of his protests were feigned. No real struggle nor attempts at bribery make me suspect that he’s up to something.”
"那位客人已经被拘留了,"HoityToity回来时带着几分轻蔑的口吻说。"尽管我怀疑他的抗议有一半是装出来的。没有真正的斗争，也没有行贿的企图，使我怀疑他有什么阴谋。"
“He probably is,” I replied. “He came right up to me. He must have known I wouldn’t kill him out of hoof. So...” Meh, I was getting that annoying sensation that maybe I hadn’t gotten the better of him. I pulled out the pendant I’d taken off him and turned it over in my magic. It was a simple round, plastic-covered disk on a nylon lanyard. Something about it was familiar, though. I placed it
"他可能是,"我回答。"他径直向我走来。他一定知道我不会马上杀了他。所以......"嗯，我有一种烦人的感觉，也许我还没有打败他。我拿出我从他身上取下来的吊坠，用我的魔法把它翻了过来。这是一个简单的圆形，塑料覆盖的圆盘上的尼龙挂绳。不过有些东西还是很熟悉的。是我放的
around my neck and tucked it out of sight beneath the dress. If he’d been carrying it, it must have been important. I placed it on the endless mental list of shit I needed to do but probably wouldn’t get around to doing.
绕在脖子上，藏在裙子下面。如果他一直带着它，那一定很重要。我把它放在一个无穷无尽的心理清单上，上面写着我需要做但可能没时间去做的事情。
I looked around the Gala. Not exactly what I’d expected for a party, but there wasn’t any blood and gore yet. Boo stood with a dozen fancy ponies around her, and I frowned as I moved closer. If they were bothering her...
我环顾了一下慈善晚会的四周。虽然不是我想象中的派对，但是现场还没有血腥的场面。布站在她身边，身边围着一群漂亮的小马，我走近时皱起了眉头。如果他们在骚扰她..。
“Yes, clearly the political situation with the Twilight Society is one that needs to be addressed first, don’t you think, Lady Boo?” a mare asked, and Boo cocked her head in reply.
"是的，很明显，暮光之城协会的政治形势是首先需要解决的问题，你不这样认为吗，波夫人?"一匹母马问，布昂起头回答。
“Oh, I agree completely! While the Twilight Society should be considered, it’s clear that Red Eye and his army is a far more pressing concern,” a fancy stallion said immediately, and Boo just cocked her head at him instead. “I’m certain that you agree, Miss Boo.”
"哦，我完全同意！尽管暮光协会应该被考虑在内，但很明显，红眼睛和他的军队是一个更为紧迫的问题,"一匹迷人的种马立即说，而Boo只是向他昂起了头。"我相信你会同意的，布小姐。"
Boo seemed far more interested in the hors d’oeuvre cupcake he levitated beside him. She stretched up to take a bite, when another mare reached out and hugged her. “Oh, you are too right, Baroness Boo. We’re stretching ourselves out trying to concern ourselves with problems abroad when we have so many right here!
布似乎对悬浮在他身边的开胃小蛋糕更感兴趣。她伸手想咬一口，这时另一匹母马伸出手拥抱了她。"哦，你说得太对了，布男爵夫人。当我们有这么多的问题在这里的时候，我们正在扩展我们自己试图关注我们自己在国外的问题！
All these refugees streaming into the valley are a ripe opportunity, wouldn’t you say?”
所有这些涌入山谷的难民都是一个成熟的机会，你说呢?"
Boo’s nostrils twitched and she took a deep breath. The fancy ponies leaned in raptly, and then she sneezed right in the mare’s face. For an instant, all were silent. Then a stallion crowed, “Hear hear! We shouldn’t be exploiting these poor folk, Wineglass! Take a page from our new queen. Exploitation might get you ahead in the short term, but we need to look at things from a longer perspective.”
布的鼻孔抽动了一下，她深深地吸了一口气。那些漂亮的小马全神贯注地靠近，然后她对着母马的脸打了个喷嚏。一瞬间，所有人都沉默了。这时，一匹种马叫道:"听着，听着！我们不应该剥削这些可怜的人，Wineglass！向我们的新女王学习。剥削可能会让你在短期内获得成功，但我们需要从更长远的角度看待问题。"
Boo, who had snagged his cupcake while he’d been distracted, gave a beaming smile that set all the others talking and nodding in agreement with her. I couldn’t keep from grinning as we moved past. Fortunately, nopony seemed to want to bother me with their trivial concerns. Instead, they seemed to be focusing on Grace and the other ponies who would really matter once I’d gone.
布在心不在焉的时候抢到了自己的纸杯蛋糕，他笑容满面，引起了其他人的交谈，并点头表示同意。当我们走过时，我忍不住咧嘴笑了起来。幸运的是，似乎没有小马愿意用它们那些琐碎的事情来打扰我。相反，他们似乎把注意力集中在格蕾丝和其他小马身上，一旦我离开，他们才是真正重要的。
“Did you find them?” I asked Hoity.
"你找到他们了吗?"我问豪伊蒂。
“It looks as if Splendid is ready and waiting on the dais,” Hoity said with a sniff. “Sloppy, but I suppose he’s apprehensive. Charm is probably sulking under the
"它看起来好像灿烂已经准备好了，在台上等着,"豪伊蒂闻了闻说。"粗心大意，不过我想他有点担心。魅力可能是生闷气下
buffet table. Grace is engaged with the Oranges. I’ll be hearing about my rude interruption from Tangerine for months.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “The toil of a majordomo is neverending.” And he moved off through the crowd. Majawha?
自助餐台。格蕾丝正忙着看桔子。这几个月我都会听到我被Tangerine粗鲁地打断的消息。"他长长地叹了一口气。"总监的辛劳是永无止境的。"他穿过人群走开了。马甲华？
As I approached the little stage, I saw he wasn’t alone. Glory was there too, and I hesitated. My augmented ears weren’t all that much better than my normal ones, but now I strained to pick up their words.
当我走近那个小舞台时，我看到他并不孤单。晨辉也在那里，我犹豫了一下。我的增强的耳朵并不比我的正常耳朵好多少，但是现在我努力去听他们的话。
“I don’t understand why. You enjoyed it well enough before,” Splendid said in low tones that would not carry far to anypony without microphones for ears. “You can’t deny that.”
"我不明白为什么。你以前玩得很开心,"斯普兰迪低声说道，没有麦克风的话，任何小马都走不远。"你不能否认这一点。"
“I enjoyed it physically, sure,” Glory said as she blushed and looked away. “You treated me well. Better than I thought a stallion ever could. But afterwards... the way I felt.”
"我真的很享受，当然,"晨辉说，她脸红了，转过头去。"你对我很好。比我想象的还要好。但后来......我的感觉。"
“I did not mean to make you feel used,” Splendid said swiftly. “I meant every word...”
"我不是故意让你觉得被利用了,"斯普兰迪敏捷地说。"我说的每一个字都是认真的......"
“Splendid... I know you did, but you don’t know me. You see a young Rainbow Dash. I’m not her. I’m a gray mare with a purple mane and one wing. Who’s gay,” she added, a touch lamely.
"太好了......我知道，但是你不认识我。你看到一个年轻的彩虹冲刺。我不是她。我是一匹有着紫色鬃毛和一只翅膀的灰色母马。谁是同性恋,"她一瘸一拐地补充道。
“I see a mare who is loyal, intelligent, compassionate, and unappreciated for those talents,” Splendid replied, his voice rising. “I love you, Glory, and no matter how you look, I’d want you as my wife.”
"我看见一匹母马，她忠诚、聪明、富有同情心，而且对这些才能不感激,"辉煌的回答，他的声音提高了。"我爱你，晨辉，不管你看起来怎么样，我都希望你成为我的妻子。"
“Hello!” I said as I immediately trotted up onto the dais, right in between the blushing pair, and threw my forelegs around each. “What a party! Did you see that buffet? And that little display with Boo and those Society ponies. Priceless!” Glory was trying to vanish into the floor while Splendid, judging by his color, appeared to be transforming into a male Pinkie Pie. “So! How are you two doing?” I asked with as wide a grin as I could manage.
"你好!"我一边说着，一边立刻小跑着走到讲台上，正好在那对羞答答的小红帽中间，然后伸出我的前腿。"多好的聚会啊！你看到那个自助餐了吗？还有布和那些社会小马的小表演。无价之宝!"格洛里正试图消失在地板上，而斯普兰迪，从他的肤色判断，似乎正在变成一个男性的小指派。"那么！你们两个怎么样?"我尽量咧着嘴笑着问道。
“I’m fine!” Glory squeaked. “Had a wonderful chat about prion infections and cleaning with hydrochloric acid.”
"我很好!"晨辉尖叫着。"我们聊了很多关于朊病毒感染和清洁盐酸的事情。"
“The Oranges were absolutely delightful conversationalists this year,” Splendid went on.
"橘子一家今年绝对是令人愉快的健谈者,"斯普兰迪接着说。
“And we discussed being gay. And... yeah... mares! Woo-hoo!” Glory said in a little cheer.
"我们讨论了成为同性恋的问题。还有...耶...母马！呜呼!"晨辉略带欢呼地说。
“And I must say your friends are quite the interesting addition to this soiree,” he finished.
"而且我必须说，你的朋友们是这次晚会上相当有趣的新成员,"他最后说。
“That’s nice. That’s... really... nice...” I said, keeping the grin on my face. Hoity returned with Grace and Charm. Saved by the ghoul. “Oh good! You’re here! Everypony is here! That’s great. That’s really great. Isn’t that great?” I said as I released the pair.
"那很好。那真是......真是......太好了......"我说着，脸上挂着笑容。傲慢又带着优雅和魅力回来了。被食尸鬼救了。"哦，太好了！你来了！每匹小马都在这里！太好了。真是太好了。这不是很棒吗?"我一边说，一边松开了那一对。
Grace looked on in shock. “Yes... great,” she said guardedly.
格蕾丝震惊地看着。"是的......很好,"她谨慎地说。
“Great...” Charm said in confusion.
"太好了......"查蒙困惑地说。
Somehow all the eyes settled on Glory, whose eyes twitched nervously before she pointed at Charm, gave a straining grin, and said, “I really like your mane!”
不知怎么的，所有的目光都落在了晨辉身上，在她指着晨辉之前，她的眼睛紧张地抽搐着，咧嘴一笑，说:"我真的很喜欢你的鬃毛!"
“Huh?” the filly asked with a scowl.
"啊?"小母马愁眉苦脸地问。
“Oh, uh, bathroom!” And she darted into the air and swooped away, trailing a rainbow-colored afterimage.
"哦，呃，浴室!"然后她飞向空中，飞扑而去，拖着一张彩虹色的残影。
I tried to focus less on what I’d just heard and more on what I needed to say now. “So! I bet you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here together.” Patient silence answered me. “I’m going to choose one of you as my regent. And I want the other two to swear loyalty to them.”
我试着少关注我刚刚听到的，多关注我现在需要说的。"那么！我打赌你们都想知道我为什么把你们叫到这里来。"耐心的沉默回答了我。"我将选择你们中的一个作为我的摄政王。我要另外两个人向他们宣誓效忠。"
“I beg pardon?” Grace asked with a small frown.
"你说什么?"格蕾丝皱着眉头问道。
“You three complement each other really well.” I looked to Grace. “You handle problems with poise and care and worry about what’s right and wrong.” I swapped to Splendid. “You’ve got vision and an idea for the future.” I looked at Charm. “You get things done. Together, you can have a much better life than fighting and squabbling over the throne. And life here is far better than life in the Wasteland. So I want a public oath from the other two pledging their support.”
"你们三个相得益彰。"我看着格蕾丝。"你处理问题时泰然自若，关心和担心什么是对什么是错。"我换到了灿烂。"你对未来有远见和想法。"我看着Charm。"你把事情做好了。团结起来，你们的生活会比争夺王位要好得多。这里的生活比荒原的生活好多了。因此，我希望另外两个人公开宣誓，保证支持我。"
“I see. And the alternative is exile?” Splendid mused.
"我明白了。而另一种选择就是流放?"好极了。
“Pretty much. I want the Society to work better than it has been during my visit.
"差不多吧。我希望学会能比我访问期间做得更好。
Together, you can achieve more than you ever could alone.” I saw a few shifty looks from Charm. “Also, if you think you can kill my pick and take their place, you’re wrong. Besides the bodyguard I arranged and Deus, if they get killed, then I’ll pick somepony from outside the Society to run things. Understand?”
团结起来，你可以取得比单枪匹马更多的成就。"我看到Charm有几个鬼鬼祟祟的表情。"还有，如果你认为你可以取代我的选择，那你就错了。除了我安排的保镖和天王，如果他们被杀了，我会从协会外面挑一些小马来管事。明白吗?"
The three didn’t look all that convinced as I moved to stand in front of the dais. Hoity tapped a wine glass with his hoof several times, and the ring spread out through the party. The music stopped and soon every eye was on us. “I know that King Awesome named me Queen of the Society. And I also know that while I would be honored to accept his gift, I’m going to have to pass it to another to rule in my place. My mission in the Hoof takes precedence over running one group, no matter what wonderful company they may be.” A little yellow pegasus inside me gave a tiny cheer.
当我走到讲台前时，他们三个看起来并不那么确信。豪伊蒂用蹄子敲了几下酒杯，戒指在聚会上传开了。音乐停止了，很快所有的目光都集中在我们身上。"我知道棒极了国王任命我为社会女王。我也知道，虽然我很荣幸能够接受他的礼物，但我将不得不把它交给另一个人来代替我统治。我在霍夫的使命优先于管理一个团队，不管他们是什么样的好伙伴。"我体内的一匹小小的黄色飞马发出了微弱的欢呼声。
I looked at the crown on its pillow beside the throne. Such a heavy gold thing. The front of it was decorated with an alicorn in the middle, flanked by a pegasus and a unicorn. Apparently earth ponies didn’t warrant representation. The rest of the crown was a band of gold studded with rubies. I levitated it before me. “I can’t wear this crown myself, and the burden is too much for one pony to bear.” And it was much too coveted, to boot.
我看着宝座旁边枕头上的王冠。这么重的金子。它的正面中间装饰着一只独角兽，两侧各有一匹飞马和一只独角兽。显然地球上的小马并不值得代理。王冠的其余部分是镶嵌着红宝石的金边。我把它悬浮在我面前。"我自己戴不了这顶王冠，一匹小马承受不了这么大的负担。"而且它太令人垂涎，以至于无法启动。
I nodded to Hoity, he nodded to Epicure, and the green colt lifted my sword carefully in his hooves. I levitated the blade and, with a sweep of glittering silver, sliced the band. A second cut. A third. And the crown glittered in three pieces in the air before me. I lifted the front of the crown. “This piece, I give to my regent, to rule in my place until such time as I see fit to return and mend this crown.” And I looked at the three. Hope danced in all their eyes, even Charm’s, that I would pass it to them.
我向豪伊蒂点点头，他向埃皮库尔点点头，绿色的小马小心翼翼地用蹄子举起了我的剑。我把刀片悬浮起来，一片闪闪发光的银光划破了乐队。第二刀。第三个。王冠在我面前的空中闪闪发光。我抬起王冠的前面。"我把这件东西交给摄政王，让他代替我统治，直到我认为合适的时候回来修补这顶王冠。"然后我看了看这三个。希望在他们所有人的眼睛里跳舞，甚至是魅力的眼睛，希望我会把它传递给他们。
I looked from one to the other, dragging out the moment just a little. Then I knelt and pressed the gold to their foreleg. With my metal hooves, I easily bent the gold to wrap it around like a torc. Finally, I rose. Hoity turned and addressed the crowd, “May I introduce the Regent of the Society: Princess Grace!”
我从一个看到另一个，拖延时间的那一刻只是一点点。然后我跪下，把金子压在他们的前腿上。用我的金属蹄子，我很容易弯曲黄金包裹它像一个扭转。最后，我站了起来。豪伊蒂转过身，向人群发表讲话:"请允许我介绍这个协会的摄政王:格蕾丝公主!"
“No!” Charm screamed at the top of her lungs. “It should be me! Me! I’m the one who deserves it! Give it to me!” She lunged for her sister’s legs, her hooves prying at the gold. Grace, for her part, seemed so bedazzled by events that she didn’t punt her away at once. But then she levitated Charm up and held the filly by the scruff of her neck.
"不!"魅力使她大声尖叫起来。"应该是我！我！我才是罪有应得！把它给我!"她扑向她姐姐的腿，蹄子踢着金子。就格蕾丝而言，她似乎被这些事情弄得眼花缭乱，以至于她没有立刻弃她而去。但是接着她使魅力飘浮起来，抓住小母马的颈背。
“Blackjack has made her choice, and you will respect it, Charm,” Grace countered.
"Blackjack已经做出了她的选择，你会尊重它的，Charm,"Grace反驳道。
“Fuck Blackjack! Fuck you! Fuck him! Fuck all of you!” she shrieked as she thrashed at Grace. “I’m gonna kill all of you, and then you’re going to be sorry! You’ll see!”
"去他妈的黑杰克！去你妈的！去他妈的！操你们所有人!"她一边尖叫一边打格雷斯。"我要杀了你们所有人，然后你们会后悔的！等着瞧吧!"
“Right. I think that’s enough of that!” I said loudly. “Scotch Tape! Rampage!” The pair rushed to the dais, looking at me with nigh salivating grins.
"对。我想这就够了!"我大声地说。"透明胶带！狂暴!"两人冲到讲台上，咧着嘴笑着看着我。
“Yes, Blackjack?” Scotch said eagerly.
"什么事，黑杰克?"苏格兰人急切地说。
“You called?” Rampage asked.
"你打电话了?"狂暴问道。
“Please escort Charm to her room, and teach her to watch her language,” I said as regally as I could.
"请护送查蒙到她的房间，教她注意用词,"我尽量郑重其事地说。
“Fuck yeah!” Rampage grinned at the filly. “Run, little piggy! Run!” Charm screamed as she raced for the door, pursued by the pair.
"太他妈爽了!"狂暴冲着小母马咧嘴一笑。"跑啊，小猪！快跑!"当她冲向门口时，魅力尖叫起来，两人紧追不舍。
“Don’t rip those dresses!” I yelled after them. Then I sighed. “Who named her Charm anyway?”
"别把那些衣服弄坏了!"我在他们后面喊道。然后我叹了口气。"到底是谁给她起的名字?"
“I think she always preferred ‘Princess’, personally,” Hoity said lightly.
"就我个人而言，我认为她一直更喜欢'公主',"豪伊蒂轻描淡写地说。
All eyes then turned to Splendid. Clearly deflated by my choice, he gave a half smile. “We could have saved the Wasteland. Twenty or thirty years... I had it all worked out.”
所有的目光都转向了灿烂。显然我的选择使他泄了气，他露出了半个微笑。"我们本可以拯救荒地。二十、三十年......我都想好了。"
Using bomb collars and slavery… “Somehow, I don’t think any one pony can save the Wasteland,” I replied evenly, with a small smile. I held up the cut band of gold and gems.
使用炸弹项圈和奴隶制..."不知怎么的，我不认为任何一匹小马可以拯救荒地,"我平静地回答，带着一丝微笑。我举起切割过的金带和宝石。
He sighed, and with far more dignity than his younger sibling he addressed the crowd. “I will respect the decision of Queen Blackjack, and I do swear upon my bloodline and ancestry to support her regent loyally and diligently. Never will I raise arms against her, nor foment others to do the same. On my name, Splendid, I do so swear.”
他叹了口气，比起他的弟弟妹妹，他更有尊严地向人群讲话。"我尊重黑杰克女王的决定，我以我的血统和祖先起誓，忠诚勤勉地支持她的摄政王。我永远不会举起武器反对她，也不会煽动其他人也这样做。以我的名义，太好了，我发誓。"
I knelt and bent the gold band against his hoof. That left me with the third piece.
我跪下来，把金带子弯在他的蹄子上。我只剩下第三块了。
Since Charm wasn’t going to take me up on my offer, I looked at the crowd and then cleared my throat. “This piece I shall keep, and if I need ever abdicate my position permanently, it shall be returned so the crown can be made whole again.” The notion that I might give up the position bestowed by Awesome made the crowd go wild.
既然Charm不会接受我的提议，我看了看人群，然后清了清嗓子。"我将保留这件王冠，如果我需要永久退位，它将被归还，这样王冠才能重新完整。"一想到我可能会放弃由Awesome授予的职位，观众们都为之疯狂。
“Go on,” I said, giving Grace a little nudge to the front. “Make a speech.”
"继续,"我说，轻轻推了格蕾丝一下到前面。"发表演讲。"
“I had one planned,” she said lightly, “But... you picked me.” She looked at the gold on her hoof, as if she still couldn’t believe it.
"我有一个计划,"她轻声说,"但是......你选择了我。"她看着自己蹄子上的金子，好像还是不敢相信。
“I want the Society to be better ponies. You’re the best pony for the job. Once you’ve cleaned out the bad apples, then you can start taking over the world,” I said with a look at Splendid.
"我希望学会成为更好的小马。你是最适合这份工作的人选。一旦你清除了坏苹果，你就可以开始接管世界了,"我看着灿烂地说。
“Yes. I suppose that’s a place to start,” she said, before clearing her throat and stepping to the front as I moved back. I’d played my role. Hoity had put the protections she’d need in place, and I’d added a few of my own to make sure she’d have the chance. I wasn’t going to let what happened in Flank happen here. And as Grace addressed the crowd, I felt a little purple unicorn inside me being quite proud of what I’d learned. The only oddity was... why did I want to write to the princess about it?
"是的。我想这是一个开始的地方,"她说，然后清了清嗓子，走到前面，我退了回去。我扮演了我的角色。豪伊蒂已经准备好了她需要的保护措施，我也增加了一些我自己的措施，以确保她有这个机会。我不会让在弗兰克发生的事发生在这里。当格蕾丝向人群发表讲话时，我感觉自己体内有一只紫色的独角兽，对我所学到的东西感到相当自豪。唯一奇怪的是......我为什么要给公主写信呢？
I shifted back and snuck a bite of the crown. Mmmm, sweet mellow gold and spicy ruby. Then I saw Hoity staring at me over the tops of his glasses and I gave a sheepish grin and nodded to the side, off stage. “I need to find Glory.” Pressing the band of gold to him. “Hold on to this for me, okay?”
我转过身，偷偷咬了一口皇冠。嗯，甜美的金黄色和辛辣的红宝石色。然后我看到豪伊特从他的眼镜上方盯着我，我羞怯地笑了笑，点点头走下舞台。"我需要找到晨辉。"把金带压在他身上。"帮我拿着这个，好吗?"
“You don’t want to hold on to it?” he asked in surprise.
"你不想留着它吗?"他惊讶地问道。
“Hoity, I’ll eat it. That gold is delicious. I can taste hints of platinum too. And those spicy rubies... no. Besides, I might get vaporized tomorrow.” I glanced over at Grace addressing the Society about her father and his ideals; it looked like a few members might already be really interested instead of just humoring her. Then I turned my attention back to Hoity. “I need to find Glory. Think I can slip away?”
"傲慢，我要吃了它。那金子真好吃。我也能尝到白金的味道。还有那些香辣的红宝石...不。而且，我可能明天就蒸发了。"我瞥了一眼格蕾丝向协会发表的关于她父亲和他的理想的演讲;看起来好像有几个成员已经真正感兴趣了，而不仅仅是迁就她。然后我把注意力转回到傲慢上。"我需要找到晨辉。你觉得我能溜走吗?"
“I think so. Just be here for the final dances. Make it clear you didn’t proclaim and run,” he said, and offered his hoof. “May I shake your hoof and congratulate you on your marvelous debut? I was certain you were going to run through the
"我想是的。在这里等待最后的舞蹈。说清楚，你没有宣告和运行,"他说，并提出了他的蹄。"我可以摇摇你的蹄子，祝贺你出色的首演吗？我肯定你会跑过去的
halls shooting and screaming ‘Emancipate!’ at the top of your lungs.” I shook my head, trying my best not to blush before heading in the direction that Glory had fled.
霍尔斯一边射击一边大喊"解放!"用最大的声音我摇摇头，尽量不让自己脸红，然后朝晨辉逃走的方向走去。
That led me up stairs and to a balcony overlooking the reservoir. And I slowed as I heard Glory’s voice. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know... is it this body? Is it him? Is it me? What’s wrong with me?”
于是我上了楼，来到一个可以俯瞰水库的阳台。当我听到晨辉的声音时，我放慢了脚步。"我不知道自己是怎么了。我不知道...是这个身体吗？是他吗？是因为我吗？我到底怎么了?"
Then I heard P-21 answer her. “You’ve gone through a lot of changes, Glory. So have we all. Yours are a lot more fundamental than most of ours.”
然后我听到P-21回答她。"你经历了很多变化，晨辉。我们也是。你们的工作比我们大多数工作都要重要得多。"
“I can’t believe he wants to marry me. I can’t believe I actually considered it!” I heard the anguish in her voice and leaned over to see her kneeling here, P-21 holding her lightly. “It’s got to be this body. It has to be! There’s no other reason why I should be attracted to him!”
"我不敢相信他要娶我。我真不敢相信我竟然考虑过这个问题!"我听出了她声音中的痛苦，弯下身子，看见她跪在这里，P-21轻轻地抱着她。"肯定是这具尸体。肯定是这样！没有别的理由可以让我被他吸引!"
“Do you like him?” P-21 asked.
"你喜欢他吗?"P-21要求。
“I... it’s... you...” Glory stammered. “He’s... nice! I thought he would be stuck up and insincere, but he’s not. He’s a genuinely nice stallion. And he wants me to marry him! He says he loves me. And with Blackjack... she says the same thing and I know she means it but...” She sniffed and beat at her head. “I feel like I’m going crazy!”
"我.....。.是...你..."晨辉结结巴巴地说。"他......很好！我以为他会傲慢自大，不真诚，但他不是。他是一匹真正的好种马。他想让我嫁给他！他说他爱我。至于黑杰克......她也说了同样的话，我知道她是认真的，但是......"她抽了抽鼻子，用拳头打自己的头。"我觉得我要疯了!"
“You’re not going crazy, Glory. You’re in a relationship with Blackjack. It’s not unpleasant, but it is a little surreal. It would be easy to simply dismiss her, but you can’t. It’d be better to leave her, but you won’t. And even though it hurts to be around her, you can’t help but want to be there just in case she needs you.” He patted her shoulder gently. “I’m sure your condition isn’t helping.”
"你不会发疯的，晨辉。你和Blackjack在交往。这并不令人不愉快，但有点超现实主义。简单地解雇她是很容易的，但是你不能。最好离开她，但你不会。尽管和她在一起很痛苦，你还是情不自禁地想要陪在她身边，以防她需要你。"他轻轻地拍了拍她的肩膀。"我敢肯定，你的身体状况不会有什么帮助。"
“Ugh... don’t start that. Just because I’m a mare doesn’t mean this is due to hormones,” she snapped. “Mares aren’t weak just because we get this way.”
"呃......别这么说。仅仅因为我是母马并不意味着这是由于荷尔蒙,"她厉声说。"母马不会因为我们这样就软弱。"
“Glory, I’m an expert on mares when you get that way,” he said, closing his eyes. “Yes, I didn’t have any choice in the service I provided, but I know mares, and always it was more than just sex. Duct Tape liked to pretend we were married. Marmalade wanted a friend. Sometimes we didn’t even have sex. Palette wanted body paint. Misty Hooves wanted everyone to hear us so people would stop thinking she was a filly. Gin Rummy would tell me her worries about her daughter. Rivets would rut, then complain about the Overmare to me,
"晨辉啊，当你那样做的时候，我是处理母马的专家,"他闭上眼睛说。"是的，在我提供的服务中我没有任何选择，但是我知道母马，而且总是不仅仅是性。胶带喜欢假装我们已经结婚了。玛玛拉德想要一个朋友。有时候我们甚至没有做爱。调色板需要人体彩绘。米斯蒂·胡夫斯希望每个人都能听到我们，这样人们就不会认为她是一匹小母马了。金拉米会告诉我她担心她的女儿。铆钉会发出车辙然后向我抱怨Overmare
because I’d listen and not report her. Mares need things in this time. So what is it you need?”
因为我会倾听而不是举报她。母马在这个时候需要的东西。那么你需要什么呢?"
“I... I... I... don’t know,” she stammered. “On one hoof... I’m... horny...” she said the word with mortification. “And on another I feel ashamed... and I want to be bold and free like Blackjack and on another I... need to apologize.” She hung her head and shook it. “That’s what I need.”
"我.....。.我。.我。."不知道"她结结巴巴地说。"一只蹄子......我......饥渴......"她苦恼地说道。"另一方面，我感到羞愧......我想像黑杰克那样大胆、自由，另一方面，我.....。.需要道歉"她低下头摇了摇头。"这正是我所需要的。"
“Then do it. Blackjack will understand. You could have an orgy with half the Society and Blackjack would want to know the juicy details. Don’t worry about that.” He then gave a little smile. “Just make sure you can accept the consequences if you do. Pregnancy is the last thing you want right now.”
"那就去做吧。黑杰克会理解的。你可以和半个协会的人狂欢，Blackjack也会想知道有趣的细节。别担心这个。"然后他微微一笑。"只要确保你能接受这样做的后果。现在你最不想要的就是怀孕。"
“Splendid has a contraception spell... said it was a requirement in his position...” She shook her head and groaned. “Why does everything have to be so complicated?”
她摇摇头，呻吟道:"很好，有一个避孕咒语......说这是他这个职位的要求......"。"为什么每件事都要这么复杂?"
I coughed and knocked on the doorjamb before stepping outside. Glory immediately looked away. P-21 sighed and smiled at me before walking past. I trotted up to her side and took a seat. “Well. Interesting night. Things are definitely... nightish.”
我咳嗽了几声，敲了敲门框，然后才走出去。晨辉立刻把目光移开了。P-21在走过之前叹了口气，对我笑了笑。我小跑到她身边坐下。"好吧。有趣的夜晚。事情绝对是......夜猫子。"
“I’m sorry,” Glory said as she looked away.
"对不起,"晨辉说，她把目光移开了。
“For what?” I asked.
"为什么?"我问道。
“Oh, Blackjack, you know what!” she snapped as she turned to face me. But I cocked my head and knit my brows. “Sex!” she erupted. “With Splendid. Ugh... I can’t believe I did it at all.”
"哦，黑杰克，你知道吗!"当她转过身来面对我的时候，她崩溃了。但是我抬起头，皱起眉头。"性!"她爆发了。"用灿烂的。呃......我简直不敢相信我做到了。"
“Do you want to do it again?” I asked politely. She grit her teeth, eyes popping a little, before she turned away. I sighed and looked away. “Glory... we can’t keep doing this. Not if it’s tearing you up this much.”
"你还想再来一次吗?"我礼貌地问道。她咬紧牙关，睁开眼睛，然后转身离开。我叹了口气，转过头去。"晨辉......我们不能再这样下去了。如果它让你这么伤心的话，就不会。"
She looked a little terrified as I gazed out into the rain. “Blackjack...” she whispered.
当我凝视着外面的雨时，她看起来有点害怕。"黑杰克......"她低声说。
“Sex and monogamy are big deals to you. They’re not to me. In fact, the entire monogamy idea is stupid to me,” I said bluntly as I looked at her. “I don’t care with who, how often, or what toys you use to get off with, so long as at the end
"性和一夫一妻制对你来说很重要。对我来说不是。事实上，整个一夫一妻制的想法对我来说都是愚蠢的,"我看着她直截了当地说。"我不在乎你用谁、用多少次或者用什么玩具来摆脱，只要是在最后
of the day you’re in my embrace. As long as we’re first, I don’t care about seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths. Do you understand? I don’t care.” I stressed those three words as hard as I could before I stroked her mane. “But you do.”
你在我怀抱里的那一天。只要我们是第一，我不在乎秒、三、四、五。你明白吗？我不在乎。"在抚摸她的鬃毛之前，我用尽全力强调了这三个字。"但你知道。"
“Blackjack,” she repeated softly.
"黑杰克,"她轻轻地重复道。
“I care that you’re upset. I care that you’re feeling guilt. I care that you’re going through these changes and I can’t help you. I care about what you’re feeling. But I don’t care that you played ‘hide the carrot’ with Splendid.” I closed my eyes. “Maybe it’s time we stopped this relationship. All I ever do is hurt you.”
"我在乎的是你的不安。我在乎你是否感到内疚。我关心的是你正在经历这些变化，我帮不了你。我关心你的感受。但是我不在乎你用Splendid来玩'隐藏胡萝卜'。"我闭上了眼睛。"也许是时候结束这种关系了。我所做的一切都是在伤害你。"
She didn’t answer, and that was the worst response of all. Okay, she could have laughed and called me a loser, but still. I glanced at her and saw her looking at me funny. Then she stared out at the night as well. “Was Stygius nice?”
她没有回答，这是最糟糕的回答。好吧，她可以笑着说我是个失败者，但是。我瞥了她一眼，看到她用滑稽的眼神看着我。然后她也盯着外面的夜色。"斯蒂吉乌斯人好吗?"
“Nice?” I blinked. That’s one way of putting it. “He was a bit of a goofball, but nice... sure. Maybe it was a part of the whole ‘prince’ deal.” I rubbed my chin. “I needed someone nice and safe, and, above all, somepony I didn’t have a relationship with. I used him,” I admitted with a shrug as I looked out into the night. “Not the noblest thing I’ve ever done, but he was pleasant enough about it and even helped me when he could have just taken off. I guess that’s what made it okay for me.” I looked for the expression of outrage on her face but was surprised to see her smiling.
"好吗?"我眨了眨眼。也可以这么说。"他有点神经质，但人很好......当然。也许这是整个'王子'交易的一部分。"我抚摸着下巴。"我需要一个和蔼、安全的人，最重要的是，我需要一个和我没有任何关系的人。我利用了他,"我耸耸肩承认，当我看着窗外的夜晚。"这不是我做过的最高尚的事情，但是他对此很友好，甚至在他可以离开的时候帮助了我。我想这就是为什么我觉得没问题的原因。"我在她脸上寻找愤怒的表情，但惊讶地发现她在微笑。
She walked to the rail and folded her hooves on it as she looked out into the night. “I was just trying to do it without dying of embarrassment. Definitely different... feeling him move. Not at all like with you. And a lot stickier than I expected,” she said as she made a face, then giggled. “You know what’s funny? The whole time, I was comparing him to you. Blackjack does this and Blackjack does that. More than anything... I wanted you to be there with me. I wanted to compare and contrast and enjoy things. And of course I immediately thought I was being perverted.”
她走到栏杆边，把蹄子叠在上面，望着外面的夜色。"我只是不想因为尴尬而死。绝对不一样...感觉他在动。一点也不像你。而且比我想象的要粘得多,"她说着做了个鬼脸，然后咯咯地笑了起来。"你知道有趣的是什么吗？一直以来我都在拿他和你做比较。黑杰克玩这个，黑杰克玩那个。最重要的是...我希望你能和我在一起。我想要比较、对比和享受事物。当然，我立刻觉得自己变态了。"
“Why? What’s wrong with a threeway?” I nickered and nuzzled her ear.
"为什么？三人行有什么不好?"我用鼻子蹭她的耳朵。
She laughed and shook her head. “The fact that you can ask that so easily is what astonishes me.”
她笑了，摇了摇头。"你能如此轻易地问出这样的问题，这一事实让我感到惊讶。"
“Glory, if that’s what’s bothering you, I don’t mind including others.” She groaned and hid her face in her wings. “We could go get Splendid and really see
"晨辉，如果这是你的烦恼，我不介意包括其他人。"她呻吟着，把脸藏在翅膀里。"我们可以去看《灿烂》，真正地看看
how he treats a pair of ladies.” She groaned even louder, and I grinned. “Or Grace? I think Grace would really appreciate it.” Glory let out an even louder groan and waved her hoof, trying to hit me.
他是怎么对待两位女士的"她呻吟得更响了，我咧嘴笑了。""还有格蕾丝？我想格蕾丝会很感激的。"晨辉发出更响亮的呻吟声，挥动着她的蹄子，想要打我。
Finally she sighed and looked at me, then leaned over and pressed her head to my shoulder. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should start imagining less and experimenting more, Blackjack. Trying things with other mares. See what kind of experiences I can have.” Then she looked at me. “You’ll always be there for me if I need you, right?”
最后，她叹了口气，看着我，然后俯下身，把头靠在我的肩膀上。"也许你是对的。也许我应该少想象，多尝试，Blackjack。和其他母马一起尝试。看看我能有什么样的经历。"然后她看着我。"如果我需要你，你会一直在我身边，对吗?"
“Always,” I replied.
"一直都是,"我回答。
She stretched up and kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you, Blackjack,” she said quietly as she walked away.
她伸了个懒腰，在我的脸颊上吻了一下。"谢谢你，黑杰克,"她一边走一边平静地说。
I watched her go, then closed my eyes, sighed, and shook my head. Then P-21 stepped out and looked at me. Just... looked at me with a small smile and a warm look in his eyes. “So... is this part of the plan?”
我看着她离开，然后闭上眼睛，叹了口气，摇了摇头。然后P-21走出来看着我。只是......带着微笑和温暖的眼神看着我。"那么......这是计划的一部分吗?"
“Plan?” I gave a little half smile. “I’m so far off a plan that I’m just totally winging it here. I’m personally waiting for everything to explode. That seems to be how most of my ‘plans’ end.”
"计划?"我微微一笑。"我离计划太远了，完全是临场发挥。我个人正在等待一切爆炸。这似乎就是我大多数'计划'的结局。"
“Well, if that’s what you need,” he said calmly as he offered his foreleg. I took it, but turned my head and pressed it to his neck. He felt... nice.
"好吧，如果你需要的话,"他平静地伸出前腿说。我拿过去，但是转过头，把它压在他的脖子上。他感觉...很好。
“P-21?” I asked quietly.
"P-21?"我平静地问道。
“Hmmm?”
"嗯?"
“Do you still hate me?”
"你还恨我吗?"
“Blackjack, when it comes to you, I haven’t a clue,” he replied with a chuckle. “But no. No, I don’t think so.”
"黑杰克，说到你，我一点头绪都没有,"他笑着回答。""但是不行。不，我不这么认为。"
“Oh,” I said as I gave him a tighter hug. “That’s... nice.”
"哦,"我说，紧紧地拥抱了他。"那真是...太好了。"
He led me out to the ballroom. “Shall we dance?” he asked me with a little smile. At the question, it seemed more eyes than just his were turning towards me. Murmurs were spreading about the queen taking the floor. Lacunae and
他把我带到舞厅。"我们跳舞吧?"他微笑着问我。在这个问题上，似乎有更多的眼睛转向我，而不仅仅是他的。人们纷纷议论女王发言的事情。空隙和
Stronghoof looked over to us. Grace smiled beatifically and nodded her encouragement. Splendid smiled regally.
斯特朗霍夫看着我们。格蕾丝幸福地笑了笑，点点头表示鼓励。灿烂的微笑庄严地。
I looked from him to them and back again. “You... dance?”
我把目光从他身上转向他们，然后又转回来。"你...跳舞吗?"
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he replied, arching a brow with a playful haughtiness. “I’m well-trained in a variety of skills. It’ll be nice to use them because I want to rather than because I’m being threatened with a needle.”
"别这么惊讶,"他回答说，一边眉头扬起，带着顽皮的傲慢。"我在各种技能方面都受过良好的训练。使用它们是因为我想这么做，而不是因为我受到了针头的威胁。"
Oh. Right. I looked over, spotted the bartender beside the buffet, and levitated over the first bottle I could. My trusty horn did not let me down; I gazed upon the amber mana of Wild Pegasus and polished the whole damned bottle off. With liquid courage at war with an artificial liver, I set the empty bottle aside and then smiled at him. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
哦。对。我环顾四周，发现了自助餐旁边的酒保，然后飘到了我能找到的第一瓶酒上。我可靠的号角并没有让我失望;我凝视着野马座的琥珀色法力水晶，把整个该死的瓶子擦干净。我勇敢地用液体和人造肝脏开战，把空瓶子放在一边，然后对他微笑。"好吧。让我们开始吧。"
I don’t know if it was the drink or the company or the music, but he led me to the middle of the dance floor and the music began to play. One two three, one two three, one two three... I began the foalish motions that Grace had drilled into me earlier. I stared into his eyes and the numbers just melted away. He moved, and I moved with him. I was sure that I looked idiotic, but I was Blackjack. What did I have to lose?
我不知道是因为酒还是公司还是音乐，但他把我带到舞池中央，音乐开始响起。一二三，一二三，一二三......我开始了格蕾丝早些时候训练我的小马驹动作。我盯着他的眼睛，那些数字就这样消失了。他搬走了，我也跟着搬走了。我确信我看起来很白痴，但我是黑杰克。我会失去什么呢？
And when one song ended, we moved to another. I did what he did, moved as he moved, and laughed. We twirled around, and I spotted Lacunae and Stronghoof twirling magnificently. And then Grace and a pink stallion were dancing beside us. Glory and Crumpets. And before I knew it, P-21 had been replaced by Glory. Then Glory replaced by Splendid. And I had a few more drinks as the world became a wonderful blur of blue and white.
当一首歌结束时，我们换了另一首。我做了他做的事情，在他移动的时候移动，并且大笑。我们旋转着，我发现了裂隙，强烈地旋转着。然后格蕾丝和一匹粉红色的种马在我们旁边跳舞。晨辉与松饼。在我意识到这一点之前，P-21已经被Glory取代了。然后辉煌取代了辉煌。我又喝了几杯，整个世界变成了一片蓝白相间的奇妙模糊。
I recalled seeing Brutus and Stronghoof locked in a flex-off that seemed to envelop the two in a nimbus of masculine power. Shirts and harnesses were destroyed in the eruption of pectoral might, and it ended with a hoofbump.
我记得当时看到布鲁图和斯特罗霍夫被锁在一起，似乎把他们两人笼罩在一种男性力量的光环之中。胸肌的力量爆发摧毁了衬衫和马具，最后以马蹄声结束。
Scotch Tape hopping up between the two robotic DJs and playing music that was less twirl and more bouncing bass. And everypony danced to it because I did. Rampage beating Stronghoof and Brutus in a hoof wrestle without mussing up her dress. On and on the night continued till finally I laughed and laughed and couldn’t stop.
透明胶带在两个机器人dj之间跳来跳去，播放的音乐不那么旋转，而是更具弹性的低音。每个小马都随着它跳舞，因为我就是这么做的。狂暴的殴打斯特拉戈夫和布鲁图在一个蹄格斗没有搅乱她的衣服。那天晚上，我一直笑个不停，笑个不停。
And I was escorted to a bed, my own or somepony else’s... and there was blue and white... and dresses being removed and then nuzzling and stroking and
然后我被护送到一张床上，我自己的或者别人的小马的床上......床上有蓝色和白色的衣服......衣服被脱掉，然后用鼻子爱抚，抚摸，然后.....
kissing... such wonderful kissing. And there was licking in places that were wonderful to be licked and filling and finally the evening really did end in explosion after explosion after explosion...
亲吻...如此美妙的亲吻。还有一些美妙的地方可以舔，可以填饱肚子，最后这个夜晚真的以一次又一次的爆炸而结束。
Not a bad night at all...
真是个不错的夜晚..。
* * *
* * *
When I woke, the music had ended. It was just past midnight. My liver had broken down the alcohol, but the hangover would linger for a while longer. I was tangled up with another pony, awash in the scent of sweat and sweeter smells. I nuzzled soft and wonderful pony before cracking open my eyes. Mmmm, blue. Glory had come back after all. And from the feel of it behind me... a him. Splendid? Slowly, carefully, I rose. There were empty champagne bottles on the nightstand and nearly drained glasses. I wondered if she’d ever drunk before.
当我醒来时，音乐已经结束了。刚过午夜。我的肝脏已经分解了酒精，但是宿醉还要持续一段时间。我和另一匹小马纠缠在一起，被汗水的气味和甜蜜的气味所淹没。我用鼻子蹭了蹭柔软美丽的小马，然后睁开了眼睛。嗯，蓝色。晨辉终于回来了。从我身后的感觉来看...一个他。好极了？慢慢地，小心地，我站了起来。床头柜上放着空的香槟酒瓶，酒杯里的酒几乎都喝光了。我不知道她以前是否喝醉过。
Then I looked behind me and froze. No. Not Splendid at all. Flushing far more than I ever had after coitus, I pulled myself free from them. P-21’s eyes opened a little, his lips curling in a slightly inebriated smile. “Time to go?” he muttered sluggishly. “Don’t call medical. They’ll think I did a bad job.”
然后我回头看了看，愣住了。没有。一点也不好。在性交之后，我比以往任何时候都更喜欢冲厕所，于是我把自己从那里拉了出来。P-21的眼睛稍微睁开了一点，他的嘴唇上翘着略带醉意的微笑。"该走了?"他慢吞吞地喃喃自语。"不要打电话给医生。他们会认为我做得不好。"
“Shhh...” I muttered gently, leaning down and kissing his brow. “Don’t worry about that. I just need to use the little filly’s room.” He relaxed and closed his eyes, and I stroked his brushy mane before I carefully climbed out of bed. When I was free, I looked down at the pair and felt a twist inside me, but I had no choice now. “Get her home, please,” I whispered in his ear. He gave a little smile and nodded in his sleep. I walked past the detritus of priceless dresses and strewn party paraphernalia, slipped into the bathroom, and closed the door.
"嘘......"我轻轻地咕哝着，弯下身去亲吻他的额头。"别担心。我只是需要用一下小母马的房间。"他放松下来，闭上眼睛，我抚摸着他毛茸茸的鬃毛，然后小心翼翼地爬下床。当我自由的时候，我低头看着这一对，我感到内心有一种扭曲，但是现在我别无选择。"请送她回家,"我在他耳边低声说。他微微一笑，在睡梦中点了点头。我走过那些价值连城的衣服和随处可见的派对用品，溜进浴室，关上了门。
I walked to the sink; oh Luna, I’d sure been taken care of. Too bad I couldn’t remember specifics. I filled the basin and started to wash my face. Then I set the washcloth down, took a deep breath, and looked into the mirror.
我走到水池边;哦，卢娜，我肯定被照顾得很好。可惜我不记得细节了。我把脸盆装满水，开始洗脸。然后我放下毛巾，深吸一口气，看着镜子。
A blue unicorn mare with a silver mane looked back. With a flash, Lacunae appeared in the bathroom beside me. “It’s time,” the Goddess said simply in my mind.
一匹银色鬃毛的蓝色独角兽母马向后望去。刹那间，空隙出现在我旁边的浴室里。"是时候了,"女神在我心里简单地说。
Yes, it was time. The Goddess was linked back with me, and it would take more than a hangover to keep her out. Worse, she wasn’t threatening my friends or giving me anything I could work with. No righteous anger to shake her control.
是的，是时候了。女神与我联系在一起，要把她挡在外面，光是宿醉是不够的。更糟糕的是，她没有威胁我的朋友，也没有给我任何可以利用的东西。没有正义的愤怒来动摇她的控制。
We were in Unity. She willed, whether I liked it or not. Once more or less clean, I dressed in my gear and lifted my sword. Carefully, I cut out my PipBuck. No way my friends could track me without it, and no last minute radio pleas to try and break the Goddess’s control. The Goddess would provide a lesser PipBuck for S.A.T.S. soon. She had PipBuck technicians in Unity to give me the knowledge to install it.
我们在联合。不管我喜不喜欢，她都很固执。一旦或多或少干净，我穿上我的装备，举起我的剑。我小心翼翼地剪下我的皮布克。没有它，我的朋友们是不可能追踪到我的，也不会在最后一刻用无线电请求试图打破女神的控制。女神很快就会为s.a.t.s提供更少的PipBuck。她让Unity的PipBuck技术人员给了我安装它的知识。
“So. Now what?” I asked the mare in the mirror.
"所以。现在怎么办?"我对着镜子问母马。
She firmly locked down on my body and told me. There would be no verbalizing this scream. No fights that could wake my friends. Nothing. Lacunae’s horn glowed, and together we disappeared in a flash.
她紧紧地锁住我的身体，告诉我。这种尖叫是不能用言语表达的。没有吵醒我朋友的争吵。没什么。空隙的角闪闪发光，我们一起消失在一瞬间。
We were on our way to Maripony to kill LittlePip.
我们正要去Maripony杀小pip。
 
Footnote: Maximum Level Reached.
脚注:已达到的最高水平。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: And here is the conclusion to the Society arc. I know a lot of people wanted to see the fall of the Goddess, but really it would have clashed with the tone of the chapter and I really think the Goddess deserves an entire chapter to herself. This is a chapter I wanted to do forever. One good night for Blackjack. I hope that everyone enjoyed it.
(作者的笔记:这里是社会弧的结论。我知道很多人都想看到女神的陨落，但是这真的会与这一章的基调产生冲突，我真的认为女神应该有一整章属于她自己。这是我想永远写下去的一章。黑杰克的一个美好夜晚。我希望大家都喜欢。
I’m hoping to get the Goddess chapter out before I move. There’s no answer on the job front, so I might have to move to Vegas to sub. Therefore, the tip jar is always open for anypony with bits to spare. Also, feedback and critiques are more than welcome at the Cloudsville forum. I want to thank everyone who’s read thus far, Kkat for creating FoE, Bronode and Hinds for editing, and Squeak for being kind enough to stop by and take a peek. I hope it was an enjoyable chapter. Take care.)
我希望能在搬家前把《女神》那一章写完。工作方面没有答案，所以我可能不得不搬到拉斯维加斯去代课。因此，小费罐总是为任何有闲钱的小马敞开着。此外，在Cloudsville论坛上，反馈和批评也非常受欢迎。我想感谢每一个读到这里的人，感谢Kkat创建了FoE，感谢Bronode和Hinds进行了编辑，感谢Squeak好心地停下来看了一眼。我希望这是一个令人愉快的篇章。保重。)