“It's the horrifying story of the messy inconsiderate ghost, who irritated everypony within a hundred miles! OoooooOOOwwwwOOOoo...”
"这是一个令人毛骨悚然的故事，一个凌乱不顾别人感受的鬼魂，惹恼了方圆百里内的每一匹小马！噢噢噢噢噢噢......"
I had to admit, I had no idea what to expect. Something here gave Watcher the ability to go on day after day, year after year. The strength to face a future that seemed determined to get bleaker and darker till everything was lost. I needed that strength. Virtues. Friendships. Even love wasn’t enough. I needed a reason to live.
我不得不承认，我不知道会发生什么。这里的某些东西赋予了守望者日复一日、年复一年地前进的能力。面对一个似乎决心变得越来越黯淡、越来越黑暗的未来的力量，直到失去一切。我需要那种力量。美德。友谊。即使是爱也不够。我需要一个活下去的理由。
Or else I was already dead.
否则我已经死了。
Spike stretched his arms and wings far overhead as we walked. “I don’t think I’ve ever left like that before. You mares must be rubbing off on me,” he said with a rueful chuckle.
我们走的时候，斯派克把胳膊和翅膀伸到头上很远的地方。"我想我以前从来没有这样离开过。你们这些母马一定把我传染了,"他带着悔恨的轻笑说。
I couldn’t help but smile nervously. He was a huge, scaly, fire breathing carnivore. “You seem like you’re in a good mood.”
我不禁紧张地微笑起来。他是一个巨大的，鳞片，喷火的食肉动物。"你看起来心情不错。"
He blinked, then looked at me with the smallest of smiles. “You know… I am. Between you and her and everything, I feel better than I have in decades.”
他眨了眨眼睛，然后微笑着看着我。"你知道......我是。在你和她之间，还有一切之间，我感觉比几十年来都要好。"
“Her? Oh! That mare you were talking about. How’d that go?”
""她？哦！你说的那匹母马。怎么样?"
He snorted, glaring at the burned patch. “Aside from the Enclave making asses of themselves, just fine,” he said with a low, worrying growl. “They’re up to something, though.” Tell me about it.
他哼了一声，怒视着烧焦的补丁。"除了他们自己在自欺欺人以外，一切都好,"他用一种低沉而令人担忧的咆哮声说道。"不过，他们有所图谋。"跟我说说。
I looked around the cave. Now that I was a bit less nervous, I could appreciate how... unexpected it was. The huge pile of gems I’d been next to was only one of several, but that wasn’t surprising in a dragon’s cave. What was surprising were
我环顾了一下山洞。现在我不那么紧张了，我可以理解这是多么的...出乎意料。我旁边的一大堆宝石只是其中之一，但这在龙穴里并不奇怪。令人惊讶的是
the high shelves packed with books that covered most of the walls. We also passed a dragon-sized circular bed which, aside from its size, shape, and being built into the floor, was a perfectly ordinary bed with pillows and blankets. An ordinary-looking terminal stood on a pedestal next to the bed. I looked up and saw a rough, stalactite-strewn ceiling: exactly what you’d expect in a cave. I thought of asking Watcher if all dragon caves were actually like this, but decided that there were more important things to worry about at the moment. “So… you have something to show me?”
高高的书架上堆满了书，几乎占满了整面墙。我们还经过了一张龙大小的圆形床，这张床除了大小、形状和正被安装在地板上之外，是一张非常普通的床，里面有枕头和毯子。一个看起来很普通的终端站在床边的一个基座上。我抬起头，看到一块布满钟乳石的粗糙天花板:这正是你在洞穴中所期待的。我想问看守者是否所有的龙洞都是这样的，但是我觉得现在有更重要的事情要担心。"那么......你有什么要给我看的吗?"
“I do,” he replied in a softer voice, stopping in front of a passage leading deeper into the mountain. “But I need something from you first. Something very important: a promise. You have to keep this from your friends. From everypony you can.”
"我愿意,"他用更柔和的声音回答，在一条通往山里更深处的通道前停了下来。"但是我需要你先给我点东西。一些非常重要的东西:一个承诺。你必须对你的朋友保密。从每一匹小马身上你都可以得到。"
“After what I pulled tonight, I’m not sure I still have any friends,” I muttered, ears drooping. Then I met his green gaze, sighed, and straightened. “I promise. I’ll do everything I can to keep your secrets, Watcher.” He looked at me for a long moment, as if trying to gauge the sincerity of my words, then nodded.
"经过今晚的事情，我不知道我还有没有朋友,"我低着耳朵嘟囔着。然后我遇到了他绿色的目光，叹了口气，直起身子。"我保证。我会尽我所能保守你的秘密，守望者。"他看了我好一会儿，好像在试探我话语的诚意，然后点了点头。
We wound our way further into the cave, as Watcher (or should I call him Spike?) talked in his slow, deep, rumbling voice. “When the ministries were formed, Twilight Sparkle devoted herself to helping Princess Luna win the war. None of us thought that it would be easy, but I think there was a conceit that, now that we were involved, it’d all be wrapped up soon. But the bigger the ministries got, the less Twilight saw of her friends.
我们绕进了洞穴，成了守望者(或者我应该叫他斯派克?)用他缓慢，深沉，低沉的声音说话。"当这些部门成立后，紫悦致力于帮助卢娜公主赢得战争。我们中没有人认为这会很容易，但是我认为有一种自负，认为既然我们都参与进来了，一切很快就会结束。但是这些部门的规模越大，《暮光之城》看到她朋友的机会就越少。
“Did you know that, for years, Twilight lived almost completely alone in Canterlot?” he asked, looking back at me, and I shook my head dumbly. “She had me, of course, but her entire life was studying and thinking and learning new magic. Then Princess Celestia sent her to Ponyville; she met her friends there and stopped the rise of Nightmare Moon. Together, they could do anything. But once they dove into the ministries, they were slowly pulled apart.
"你知道吗，多年来，《暮光之城》几乎完全独自生活在坎特罗特?"他问道，回头看着我，我默默地摇了摇头。"当然，她有我，但她的整个人生都在学习、思考、学习新的魔法。然后塞莱斯蒂娅公主将她送到了Ponyville，她在那里遇到了她的朋友，阻止了噩梦之月的升起。在一起，他们可以做任何事。但是一旦他们进入政府部门，他们就慢慢地分开了。
“It wasn’t like there was some plot to keep them isolated. The war was just so big that, honestly, there was no way for us to be together like we used to. And Twilight, she regressed to how she lived in Canterlot, except that she was desperate for those moments when she could be with her friends. For times where they could pretend like everything was okay. Most folks thought she was happy being in charge of an entire ministry dedicated to arcane sciences.”
"并不是有什么阴谋要把他们孤立起来。战争规模太大了，说实话，我们再也不能像以前那样在一起了。还有《暮光之城》，她又回到了她在Canterlot的生活，除了她渴望那些可以和朋友们在一起的时刻。有时候他们可以假装一切都很好。大多数人认为她很高兴能够负责一个致力于神秘科学的部门。"
He let out a great sigh. “Deep down, I think she hated it more than anypony.”
他长长地叹了一口气。"在内心深处，我认为她比任何人都更讨厌这种生活。"
“I don’t understand how it happened, though. I mean, why didn’t they just quit if they were so unhappy?”
"不过，我不明白这是怎么发生的。我的意思是，如果他们不开心，为什么不干脆辞职呢?"
He stopped and looked down at me again. “How it happened is a bit more complicated. But as for why she didn’t just quit… why don’t you quit being Security?”
他停下来，再次低头看着我。"事情是怎么发生的就有点复杂了。但至于她为什么不辞职......你为什么不辞去保安的工作呢?"
I arched a brow and gave a little smile. “Spike, I was going to blow my brains out fifteen minutes ago.”
我皱了皱眉头，微微一笑。"斯派克，我十五分钟前就想自杀了。"
“That was suicide. I mean, why don’t you quit?” he asked, pointing at the word ‘Security’ on my barding with his huge claw. “Take that armor off. Go back to Chapel. Let everypony know you’re done with wandering the Wasteland and helping out Hoofington. Why don’t you do that? Seems a bit saner than killing yourself.”
"那是自杀。我是说，你为什么不辞职呢?"他问道，用他那只巨大的爪子指着我帐篷上的'安全'两个字。"脱掉盔甲。回教堂去。让每个小马知道你已经结束了在荒原漫步和帮助Hoofington。你为什么不这么做？看起来比自杀更理智。"
The thought hadn’t entered my mind, and I sat down hard. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Just give up the job without giving up life? But the thought of what my friends would say… what DJ Pon3 or Priest or Bottlecap would think...
这个想法没有进入我的脑海，于是我硬坐下来。我怎么没想到呢？只是放弃工作而不放弃生活？但是一想到我的朋友会说什么......DJPon3或者Priest或Bottlecap会怎么想.....。
I swallowed hard at the unpleasant thoughts, and he nodded. “Exactly. It’s easy to die. Not so easy to quit. Once they were the Ministry Mares, they couldn’t stop. They wanted to. I don’t think even Rainbow Dash liked what they’d become. But they couldn’t… not without completely humiliating themselves and letting down Princess Luna.” He looked away with a wistful gaze. “There was a time, about five years after the M.A.S. formed, that I thought she was going to do it. Step down… hand the ministry over to Mosaic and Gestalt. Just walk away to the life she wanted.”
我强忍住这些不愉快的想法，他点点头。"没错。人很容易死。不是那么容易放弃的。一旦他们是部长马瑞斯，他们不能停止。他们想这么做。我不认为彩虹·达什喜欢他们现在的样子。但是他们不能......除非他们完全让自己丢脸，让卢娜公主失望。"他用渴望的目光望着别处。"有一段时间，在m.a.s.成立大约五年后，我认为她会这么做。下台......把魔法部交给马赛克和格式塔。只要走开，去过她想要的生活。"
“So what happened?”
"那么发生了什么?"
“Shattered Hoof Ridge. The assassination attempt on Celestia, I think, broke something in her. After that she became… consumed. Her friends grew further and further apart, especially her and Pinkie Pie. But even I wasn’t around like I should have been.”
"粉碎的霍夫岭。我认为，塞莱斯蒂亚星上的企图谋杀打碎了她的某些东西。在那之后，她变得......消沉。她的朋友们越来越疏远，尤其是她和小指派。但即使是我，也没有像我应该的那样出现在他身边。"
“Then, one day, she showed me this…” he said as we reached the end of the tunnel. The chamber beyond was huge, large enough for Spike to rise to his full
"然后，有一天，她给我看了这个......"当我们走到隧道的尽头时，他说。那边的房间很大，大得足以让斯派克站得满满的
height. I’d never seen so many maneframes.
高度。我从来没有见过这么多的男人。
The six walls of the chamber formed a hexagon lined with gems and arcane machinery. In the center of the room, though, rose a large, elegant stalagmite of technology that made the walls seem like only a step above bare rock. It seemed to breathe silently, as if it were asleep. My eyes were drawn higher and higher up that spire until I was looking out at a black patch of faint stars.
密室的六面墙壁形成了一个镶嵌着宝石和奥术机器的六边形。然而，在房间的中央，出现了一个巨大的，优雅的石笋的技术，使墙壁看起来只有一步以上裸露的岩石。它似乎在无声地呼吸，仿佛睡着了。我的眼睛越看越高，直到我看到了一片昏暗的星星。
Then I promptly fell back with a limp thud. Spike blinked in surprise. “Sorry…” I muttered lamely. “I’m not good with heights…” I rose to my hooves and gave myself a good shake. “What is that?”
然后我马上倒了下去，发出一声无力的砰的一声。斯派克惊讶地眨了眨眼。"对不起......"我一瘸一拐地咕哝着。"我恐高......"我站起来，狠狠地摇了摇自己。"那是什么?"
“This is a Crusader super maneframe,” he said quietly, as if it could hear him. “It’s one of the single greatest arcane machines ever invented, capable of handling both technological data of staggering complexity and employing precision magical effects.” He looked up at it. “She designed it herself, completely secret from the rest of the ministries and even her own people.”
"这是一个十字军超级战士,"他平静地说，好像它能听到他。"它是有史以来发明的最伟大的奥术机器之一，既能处理极其复杂的技术数据，又能运用精确的魔法效果。"他抬头看着它。"这是她自己设计的，对其他部门甚至自己的人完全保密。"
I couldn’t believe that. There was no way one pony, or even one pony and a dragon, could build something like this or keep it secret. The materials and technology… Then I looked at him again. “The O.I.A. did this, didn’t they?”
我简直不敢相信。没有一匹小马，甚至一匹小马和一条龙，可以建造这样的东西，或者保守它的秘密。材料和技术...然后我又看了他一眼。"是o.i.a.干的，对吧?"
He looked shocked. Even a little impressed. “You know about them, huh?” He looked at the supercomputer with a grudging glare and sighed. “Yes. She commissioned it from the O.I.A. Goldenblood got the machines, the equipment, from somewhere. Everything completely off the books. A hundred ponies lived in this cave for two years straight constructing it. Then he had their memories erased.”
他看起来很震惊。甚至有点印象深刻。"你知道他们，对吧?"他不情愿地看着这台超级计算机叹了口气。"是的。她委托o.i.a.Goldenblood从某个地方得到了这些机器和设备。所有的事情都完全没有记录在案。一百匹小马在这个洞穴里住了两年，一直在建造它。然后他抹去了他们的记忆。"
“I don’t understand. Why the big secret? What is it?” I asked, looking at the sleeping machine as if expecting it to wake up and talk to me. Was this what EC-1101 was for?
"我不明白。为什么这么大的秘密？这是什么?"我问，看着睡觉的机器，好像期待它醒来和我说话。难道这就是EC-1101的用途吗？
“This machine is designed to cast a spell, the single greatest and most powerful spell of all time. A megaspell specifically crafted to affect, potentially, all of Equestria.” I looked at the device in awe. “It has the ability to purge the Wasteland of taint, neutralize radioactive contamination, and restore life to the land. It’s called Gardens of Equestria.”
"这台机器被设计用来施放一个咒语，一个有史以来最强大的咒语。一个专门为了潜在地影响整个小马国而设计的巨型赛车。"我敬畏地看着这个装置。"它有能力清除废弃地的污染，中和放射性污染，并恢复土地的生命。它叫做小马园。"
I fell over again. “Oh, is that all?” My head reeled at the possibilities. I could
我又摔倒了。"哦，就这些吗?"我对各种可能性感到头晕目眩。我可以
imagine the Dealer dropping his dusty cards in shock at this!
想象一下庄家在震惊中丢掉了满是灰尘的牌！
He nodded as he gazed at the machinery. “It taps into a source of power greater than even Princess Celestia and Luna: the Elements of Harmony.” He walked along beside me as he pointed at jeweled necklaces sitting on crystalline pedestals surrounding the central machine. “Honesty. Kindness. Laughter. Generosity. Loyalty.” He paused for a moment, his green eyes lingering on the last, which was a strange crown thingy instead of a necklace. “Magic.”
他盯着机器点点头。"它连接的力量甚至比塞莱斯蒂亚公主和露娜还要强大:和谐元素。"他在我旁边走着，指着中央机器周围结晶般的宝石项链。"诚实。善良。笑声。慷慨。忠诚。"他停顿了一会儿，绿色的眼睛盯着最后一个，那是一个奇怪的皇冠，而不是一条项链。"魔法。"
“So… let’s get this show on the road! How do we fire it up?” I asked as I looked at the machine. Maybe there was a button that needed pushing? A bright red one? I reached towards a likely-looking gem but caught Spike’s look. Right, no touchie.
"那么......让我们上路吧！我们怎样才能点燃它?"我看着机器问道。也许有个按钮需要按一下？鲜红色的？我把手伸向一块看起来很像宝石的东西，却看到了斯派克的样子。好吧，不要碰我。
“We can’t,” he said softly, “It won’t work without the Elements of Harmony.”
"我们不能,"他温柔地说,"没有和谐元素，它就不会工作。"
“But… I thought you said that those were the Elements of Harmony?” I said, waving a confused hoof at the necklaces and crown thingy. He looked like he was trying to decide whether to smile or not.
"但是......我记得你说过那些是和谐元素?"我说着，用困惑的蹄子朝着项链和王冠之类的东西挥了挥。他看起来像是在考虑是否要微笑。
“They are, but...” he began after a moment, “I suppose you could say that they are dormant. The physical forms of the Elements of Harmony aren’t enough; for their power to be used, they have to be wielded by ponies who embody the Elements. The Ministry Mares were the bearers, once… but that was a long, long time ago.”
"它们是，但是......"过了一会儿，他开始说,"我想你可以说它们是休眠的。和谐元素的物理形式是不够的;要使用它们的力量，它们必须由具有和谐元素的小马来挥舞。母马部曾经是承担者......但那是很久很久以前的事了。"
There was a pause as we both thought. The only sound was the beeping of the active maneframe wall.
正如我们俩所想的那样，停顿了一下。唯一的声音是墙壁的哔哔声。
“So...” I said, “You’re looking for ponies that fit the bill?”
"那么......"我说,"你在找符合条件的小马吗?"
He nodded solemnly. “For two centuries. Every now and then, I might find one… but then they die, or they lose themselves to the Wasteland, or just never meet any others. I try to encourage the Elements and foster them wherever I can...” Like when he saw P-21 and me helping each other outside the stable. “But I haven’t been able to find enough yet.”
他严肃地点点头。"两个世纪以来。时不时地，我可能会找到一个......但是后来他们死了，或者他们迷失在荒原中，或者只是从来没有遇到过其他人。我努力鼓励元素，并尽我所能地培育它们......"就像他看到P-21和我在马厩外互相帮助一样。"但我还没找到足够的。"
I thought of my friends. Glory… was she still loyal after what I’d pulled? Or was her virtue something else? I doubted Rampage’s laughter would fit. P-21? Lacunae? Would this even work with an alicorn? “I’m sorry, Spike. I really wish
我想起了我的朋友们。晨辉...在我做了那些事之后，她还忠诚吗？或者她的美德是别的什么？我怀疑狂暴的笑声是否合适。P-21？空白？这玩意儿能用来对付阿里克松吗？"对不起，斯派克。我真的希望
I could be one of those six ponies, but I don’t think I’m your mare.” To be honest, I’d be terrified of any megaspell that included me as a component.
我可以成为那六匹小马中的一匹，但我不认为我是你的母马。"说实话，我会害怕任何包括我在内的巨型机器。
He reached down and patted my head; okay, I tried to appreciate the intent, even if it did just remind my body that I was standing next to a dragon. “It’s alright. The fact is that, even after all this time, I doubt I’ve come across more than a dozen ponies that were possibilities. Think of how hard it must be to find honesty in a place like this. Or generosity, when ponies kill each other for what was effectively litter two centuries ago?” He looked at the majestic machine with a sigh, reaching out to touch it lovingly with his claws. “But so long as there are ponies, I still have hope that, someday, I might find the six needed and give Equestria a chance to be reborn.”
他弯下腰拍了拍我的头;好吧，我试着去欣赏它的意图，即使它只是提醒我的身体，我正站在一条龙的旁边。"没关系。事实是，即使过了这么长时间，我也怀疑自己遇到过不止十二匹小马的可能性。想想在这样的地方要找到诚实是多么的困难。或者慷慨，当小马为了两个世纪前实际上还是垃圾的东西互相残杀?"他叹了口气，看着这台宏伟的机器，伸出手用爪子亲切地触摸着它。"但只要还有小马，我仍然希望有一天我能找到这六匹小马，给小马重生的机会。"
It was a long shot. I knew it. So did he. But as I sat there looking at the machine, I gave a little frown. My eyes were drawn to the necklace with the diamond-shaped jewel, and I had a niggling thought. What about Bottlecap? Maybe… though I feared that her trading in weapons might disqualify her. While she was generous, in her own way, she had caused harm as well. Caprice… yeah, right.
这是一个风险很大的尝试。我就知道。他也是。但是当我坐在那里看着机器的时候，我皱了皱眉。我的眼睛被那条镶着钻石的项链吸引住了，我有了一个小小的想法。那Bottlecap呢？也许吧...虽然我担心她的武器交易会让她失去资格。虽然她很慷慨，但她也以自己的方式造成了伤害。任性...是的，没错。
I did know one pony, though… one infuriating… obnoxious… ruthless little pony who had no scruples against trading for every cap she could get her dirty hooves on… but who also went above and beyond in making sure that everypony had what they needed. A pony who somehow found a way to make a daisy sandwich, gave me a box of spark batteries, and sold Glory the barding she’d need so she wouldn’t look like a raider. I groaned, pressing my hooves to my temples, hoping I wouldn’t regret it.
不过，我倒是认识一匹小马......一匹令人生气的......讨厌的......无情的小马驹，它毫无顾忌地交易每一个她可以得到的脏蹄子的帽子......但是它也不遗余力地确保每匹小马驹都有它们需要的东西。一匹小马不知怎么找到了做雏菊三明治的方法，给了我一盒火花电池，然后卖给了晨辉她需要的东西，这样她就不会看起来像一个袭击者。我呻吟着，用蹄子顶着太阳穴，希望不会后悔。
“Is there an age limit on this thing?” I asked with a rueful smile.
"这玩意儿有年龄限制吗?"我苦笑着问道。
* * *
* * *
As we walked back to the main chamber, I felt something settling inside me: a dream of a green Equestria. I knew that Gardens wouldn’t magically make everything perfect; there was still the Enclave and the mysterious Projects to deal with… and the raiders, and the slavers, and the bandits, and the Remnant, and Goddesses-knew-what-else, but an Equestria where the land could grow uncontaminated food and the rivers lacked irradiated water… maybe it could even disrupt the Enervation that sickened countless ponies! The idea… the sheer possibility… was intoxicating.
当我们回到主卧室时，我感到有什么东西在我体内沉淀下来:一个绿色Equestria的梦想。我知道花园不会奇迹般地让一切都变得完美;还有昂科雷和神秘的项目要对付...还有掠夺者，奴隶贩子，土匪，还有例外人，还有女神-知道还有什么，但是一个土地可以种植未受污染的食物，河流缺乏辐射水的Equestria...也许它甚至可以扰乱导致无数小马生病的能量供应！这个想法...纯粹的可能性...令人陶醉。
Sure, the odds were slim. But I’d beaten Gorgon and Deus and had a boat dropped on me. I could take those odds! I looked over at a display case, minuscule compared to the bookshelves that surrounded it, smiling fondly at the set of six figurines inside it. Together, they just looked… whole. Happy. Compared to those six figurines, every memory I’d had of the friends was stained with gray.
当然，这种可能性很小。但是我打败了戈耳贡和天王，有一艘船停在我身上。我可以接受这样的机会！我看着一个陈列柜，和它周围的书架相比微不足道，深情地微笑着看着里面的六个小雕像。在一起，他们只是看起来...完整。快乐。与那六个小雕像相比，我对朋友们的每一段回忆都是灰色的。
I told him about Charity, and my hunch that her virtue might be generosity. The dragon rubbed his spines, a little skeptical but willing to consider the possibility. It was the best I could do.
我告诉他关于慈善的事，我预感她的美德可能是慷慨大方。龙揉了揉他的脊柱，有点怀疑，但愿意考虑的可能性。这是我能做的最好的了。
“It’s hard to believe that all of this was done secretly,” I marveled, but noticed Spike seemed a little put out by the comment.
"很难相信这一切都是秘密进行的,"我感到惊讶，但注意到斯派克似乎有点被这个评论激怒了。
“You’d have to know Goldenblood. Then you wouldn’t be surprised at all,” he muttered darkly, plucking up a ruby. His green eyes narrowed as he squeezed it, crushed it into powder, and tossed the clawful into his mouth.
"你一定认识金血王。"那么你一点也不会感到奇怪,"他暗自嘀咕着，拔出一颗红宝石。他眯起绿色的眼睛，捏着它，把它捏成粉末，然后把那个可怕的东西扔进嘴里。
“Did you know Goldenblood?” I asked, and he nodded with a dour look. I felt curiosity nibbling at my mane. “I see the ministries everywhere I look, but the O.I.A.’s been nearly impossible to nail down.”
"你认识金血王吗?"我问道，他冷冷地点了点头。我感到好奇，一点一点地咬我的鬃毛。"我到处都能看到政府部门，但几乎不可能确定o.i.a.。"
“It was designed that way. Again. You’d have to know Goldenblood.” He licked the rest of the red powder off his fingers, then blinked and looked at my wide grin. He sighed. “Everypony knows about Celestia, Luna, and the Ministry Mares, but nopony knows about Goldenblood because he was always two steps away from everything. He was smart. Not like Twilight Sparkle smart... but he knew things that I couldn’t imagine anypony knowing. He could read Zebra and speak Dragon. He probably knew most of the most influential ponies in Equestria. But above all, he knew politics. And he was the one who knew that what he was doing was wrong and did it anyway.”
"它就是这样设计的。再来一次。你一定认识金血王。"他舔了舔手指上剩下的红色粉末，然后眨了眨眼睛，看着我咧嘴大笑。他叹了口气。"每个小马都知道天堂、月神和魔法部的母马，但小马却不知道黄金血，因为他总是离一切只有两步之遥。他很聪明。不像紫悦那么聪明......但他知道一些我无法想象的事情。他会读斑马语，会说龙语。他可能认识Equestria最有影响力的小马。但最重要的是，他懂得政治。他知道自己的所作所为是错误的，但还是做了。"
“I don’t understand. Why was forming the ministries wrong? Didn’t your friends agree? Princess Luna didn’t force them into it, did she?” I asked, remembering that beautiful, if faintly flirty figure.
"我不明白。为什么组建政府部门是错误的？难道你的朋友们不同意吗？卢娜公主没有强迫他们，对吧?"我问道，想起那个美丽的，有点轻浮的身影。
“If you mean ‘were spears involved’, no,” Spike muttered, then sighed. “I was there when Luna met with my friends, and so was he.” The purple dragon snorted softly. “She explained how Twilight and the others were ponies she respected, ponies who had saved Equestria in the past and now were needed to
"如果你的意思是'有矛在里面'，那就不是,"斯派克咕哝着，然后叹了口气。"卢娜和我朋友见面的时候我在场，他也在。"紫龙轻轻地哼了一声。"她解释说，《暮光之城》和其他马是她尊敬的小马，过去救过小马驹，现在需要它们
help protect Equestria again. How something had to be done to restore confidence after Littlehorn. Then Goldenblood tried to talk us all out of it,” he said sourly.
再次保护小马国。在利特霍恩事件之后，如何才能恢复人们的信心。然后金布拉德试图说服我们所有人不要这样做。
“He what?” I blinked, stupefied.
"他什么?"我眨了眨眼，目瞪口呆。
Spike stretched his arm to the terminal and with shocking deftness accessed a file. “Twilight somehow got her horn on this recording.” The terminal crackled for a moment, then Twilight Sparkle’s voice came out loud and clear.
斯派克把胳膊伸向终端机，以惊人的灵敏度读取了一个文件。"《暮光之城》不知怎么就把她的号角放在了这张唱片上。"航站楼噼里啪啦地响了一会儿，然后紫悦的声音响亮而清晰。
“I don’t know how we’re supposed to help, Your Majesty. This war seems too big for us. For any one pony to be able to affect.”
"我不知道我们该怎么帮您，陛下。这场战争对我们来说似乎太大了。对于任何一匹小马来说都能够影响。"
I knew the rasping gasp that came next. “I know it’s intimidating to consider, Twilight.”
我知道接下来是一声沙哑的喘息。"我知道考虑《暮光之城》有点吓人。"
“We’re not afraid,” snapped a mare, and my eyes were drawn to the figurine of the cyan pegasus.
"我们不害怕,"一匹母马厉声说，我的眼睛被青天马的雕像吸引住了。
“You should be, Rainbow Dash,” Goldenblood said grimly. “We’re not asking you to risk your lives in a fight, or to go on a quest for some treasure. What we are asking you to do is to assume responsibility. You will be given the power not just to act but to direct others to act on your behalf. To work under your direction. To make your vision a reality. This is not the same as working on your own or with your friends. If you fail, the consequences fall not just on your heads, but on thousands… perhaps millions… of lives.
"你应该害怕，彩虹·达什,"金布拉德冷冷地说。"我们不是要你们冒着生命危险去战斗，或者去寻找宝藏。我们要求你做的是承担责任。你将被赋予权力，不仅仅是行动，而是指导其他人代表你行动。在你的指导下工作。让你的愿景成为现实。这和你自己或者和你的朋友一起工作是不一样的。如果你失败了，后果不仅会落在你的头上，而且会影响到成千上万的生命。
“Can you accept that responsibility, Twilight? Or you, Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Fluttershy? Rarity? What about you Pinkie Pie?” he said in a grave voice. “If not, then make your apologies right now, and go.”
"你能接受这个责任吗，暮光？还是你，彩虹小飞侠？苹果白兰地？萤火虫？稀有？你的小手指怎么样?"他用严肃的声音说。"如果没有，那么现在就道歉，然后离开。"
“Goldenblood. This was your idea!” Princess Luna protested.
"金色血统。这是你的主意!"卢娜公主抗议道。
Then there was another wheezing gasp, coughing and wet. It sounded like he was drowning. “Your Majesty. I know you wish to rule, and to see this war to victory. I beg you to reconsider. We have an opportunity to create a new future for Equestria. A new society. No good can come from perpetuating this conflict. Sue for peace. Let the ponies of Equestria find another path. Live a life away from power.”
然后又是一阵喘息、咳嗽和湿漉漉的声音。听起来他好像快淹死了。"陛下。我知道你希望统治，希望看到这场战争的胜利。我请求你再考虑一下。我们有机会为马术国创造新的未来。一个新的社会。让这种冲突持续下去是没有好处的。求和。让Equestria的小马找到另一条路。过一种远离权力的生活。"
Luna sighed. “I can’t. Goldenblood, you know I can’t. They took Littlehorn from me. Please. Help me make this new government a reality.”
卢娜叹了口气。"我不能。金色血统，你知道我不能。他们把利特霍恩从我身边带走了。求你了。帮我把这个新政府变成现实。"
A long pause. A soft, resigned sigh. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
长时间的停顿。一声温柔的，无奈的叹息。"遵命，陛下。"
The recording ended, and Spike turned back to me. “After that, he worked with Twilight and Luna to get everything organized. He talked extensively with each of my friends, working out what powers and ideas they wanted and codifying those into laws. He worked with Rarity on the image that was needed to shore up the ministries. He worked with generals, aristocrats, and bureaucrats to get them to go along.” He gave a snort. “Finally, he had a heart attack. Nearly died. Fluttershy personally nursed him back to health.” He rolled his eyes and gave a soft sigh. “It was funny at the time.”
录音结束了，斯派克转向我。"在那之后，他与《暮光之城》和《月神》合作，让一切井井有条。他和我的每一个朋友都进行了广泛的交谈，弄清楚他们想要什么样的权力和思想，并把它们编成法律。他和罕瑞一起为支持政府部门所需要的形象工作。他与将军、贵族和官僚们一起工作，让他们顺从。"他哼了一声。"最后，他心脏病发作了。差点死掉。弗特西亲自护理他恢复健康。"他翻了翻眼睛，轻轻地叹了口气。"当时很有趣。"
A pony so fixated on something that their heart stopped? Where had I heard that before? Oh, yeah, my own stupid butt nearly dying in the ruins of Flankfurt! “He almost died creating them? But… I thought he was against the ministries?”
一匹小马如此专注于某件事，以至于他们的心跳停止了？我以前在哪里听过这句话？哦，是的，我自己的愚蠢的屁股差点死在Flankfurt的废墟里！"他创造它们的时候差点死掉？但是......我以为他反对政府部门呢?"
He sighed and shook his head. “I know. I know. With one breath, he told us not to do it, but then he put every effort into making the ministries a success. That’s the kind of pony he was. For a time there, I really hated him.” His low growl made me glad I didn’t have any yellow on me.
他叹了口气，摇了摇头。"我知道。我知道。他一口气告诉我们不要这样做，但随后他又竭尽全力使事工成功。他就是那种小马。在那里的一段时间里，我真的很恨他。"他低沉的咆哮声让我庆幸自己身上没有任何黄色。
“You did? Why?”
""是吗？为什么?"
“Because, before he and Luna showed up, I had a good life with my friends. Oh, there was the war, and Celestia’s missions, but they didn’t feel much different from the adventures we’d had before,” he said sourly. “But you know what he told me? He asked me if I hated him. I told him… I was a little cranky at the time, so I won’t repeat the language, but I called him every last name in the book. And he told me that no matter how much I hated him, I was right to, and he’d always hate himself more.” Wow.
"因为在他和露娜出现之前，我和我的朋友们生活得很好。哦，还有战争，还有塞莱斯蒂亚的任务，但他们感觉和我们以前的冒险没什么不同,"他酸溜溜地说。""但是你知道他告诉我什么吗？他问我是否恨他。我告诉他......我当时有点暴躁，所以我不会重复这种语言，但是我把书上的每个姓都叫了出来。他告诉我，不管我有多恨他，我都是对的，他总是更恨他自己。"哇。
“So where did the O.I.A. come in?”
"那么，o.i.a.是从哪里来的?"
“Right from the start, it was pretty clear that there were going to be conflicts. I mean, my friends might have liked each other, but they still fought. You can’t imagine how Rarity and Applejack could carry on. Pinkie Pie wanting giant balloon fortresses floating off the towers of Canterlot with Rarity saying that they were tacky… things like that. Even Twilight could be awfully stubborn if
"从一开始，就很明显存在冲突。我的意思是，我的朋友们可能喜欢对方，但他们仍然争吵不休。你无法想象稀有和苹果白兰地是如何生存下去的。小手指派想要一个巨大的气球堡垒，漂浮在Canterlot的塔楼上，珍贵的说它们是俗气的...诸如此类的东西。即使是《暮光之城》也可能非常顽固，如果
she put her mind to it. So, Goldenblood stepped in and help work things out. There were still fights and arguments, but the O.I.A. kept things running smoothly.”
她下定决心了。于是，金血王介入，帮助解决问题。仍然有争执和争论，但是o.i.a.让事情进展顺利。"
Spike sighed again and shook his head. “I remember that day so well. All my friends sharing ideas. Talking about ways they could help, what they wanted to do. I remember Fluttershy crying when she was told that she’d be able to help thousands of hurt ponies all at once. And all the while, Goldenblood was taking notes and watching and making suggestions.”
斯派克又叹了口气，摇了摇头。"那一天我记得很清楚。我所有的朋友都在分享想法。谈论他们可以提供帮助的方式，他们想做什么。我记得当Fluttershy被告知她可以同时帮助数以千计受伤的小马时，她哭了。自始至终，金血王都在记笔记、观察、提建议。"
The massive dragon climbed out of bed and walked over to one of the shelves. “Sometimes, I think that if there hadn’t been an O.I.A. or a Goldenblood, the ministries wouldn’t have worked out. Or my friends would have quit. Something.” He reached up to a shelf too high for me to see the contents of, and brought down an intricately carved wooden box. “Here. Maybe this will help you understand what I mean.” He opened it to reveal dozens of memory orbs in labeled, velvet-lined niches. He picked out one and then carefully set it on the floor next to me.
巨龙从床上爬起来，走向一个架子。"有时候，我觉得如果没有o.i.a.或者金血王，政府部门就不会成功。否则我的朋友们早就辞职了。一些东西。"他把手伸到一个架子上，高到我看不清里面的东西，然后拿下一个精雕细琢的木盒子。"这儿。也许这会帮助你理解我的意思。"他打开盒子，发现里面放着几十个记忆球，都是贴着标签的、天鹅绒衬里的壁龛。他挑了一个，小心翼翼地把它放在我旁边的地板上。
“I need to check on things anyway. I get… anxious… if I stop paying attention to things going on for too long,” he said as he returned to the bed and started typing at the terminal. I looked at the offered orb and gave a half smile. Well, it’d be rude not to, right?
"无论如何，我需要检查一下。我变得......焦虑......如果我停止注意正在发生的事情太长时间,"他说，他回到床上，开始在终端打字。我看着那个圆球，露出一丝微笑。不这么做是不礼貌的，对吧？
I tapped the orb against my horn. “Come on… probably nothing gruesome in this… come on… come on…” Finally, I felt the tickling connection as my reluctant horn reached out and made contact. The world swirled away around me.
我用圆球敲打我的喇叭。"来吧......可能没什么可怕的......来吧......来吧......"终于，当我不情愿的号角伸出去进行接触时，我感觉到了挠痒痒的联系。世界在我周围旋转着。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
Okay. Mare… wings… pegasus. The place looked like some kind of mansion… no, if I had to describe this place, I’d say ‘palace’. Red and orange mane obscured the right side of my vision. She walked with her head hung, tail dragging, and let out a soft sigh. Still, this body felt good. Healthy. Fit. And for some inexplicable reason, I felt twenty percent cooler just watching this memory.
好吧。母马...翅膀...飞马。这个地方看起来像某种大厦...不，如果要我描述这个地方，我会说'宫殿'。红色和橙色的鬃毛遮挡了我视线的右侧。她垂着头，拖着尾巴走着，发出一声轻轻的叹息。尽管如此，这个身体感觉还是不错的。健康。健康。出于某种莫名其妙的原因，看着这段回忆，我感到百分之二十的凉爽。
“So. Ministry of Awesome?” rasped that horrible, wet and rusty voice behind her. Every feather (and wasn’t that a freaky sensation) ruffled as she froze in place then glanced behind her at the scarred pony with the golden eyes.
"所以。棒极了部?"那个可怕的，湿漉漉的，生锈的声音在她身后响起。她呆住了，然后瞥了一眼身后那匹有着金色眼睛的伤痕累累的小马，每根羽毛都竖了起来。
“Oh, hey Golden,” she said, turning and giving the most insincere grin I’d ever felt… and I was an expert. “I just thought I’d slip out. Stretch my wings. Take some air.” Through the doorway behind Goldenblood, I could see a room with a large table. Twilight Sparkle was talking, gesturing to some diagrams on chalkboards.
"哦，嘿，高登,"她说，转过身来，露出了我从未感受过的虚伪的笑容......而我是个专家。"我只是想溜出去。伸展我的翅膀。呼吸点新鲜空气。"透过金血王后面的门口，我可以看到一个有一张大桌子的房间。紫悦在说话，指着黑板上的一些图表。
“Of course. I imagine a member of the Skyguard doesn’t have many opportunities for flying about and getting some air,” he said in that whispery, rusty voice. He approached, and I felt her take a few more steps back. Goddesses, he’d be so much less freaky if he’d just blink. “What’s the matter, Rainbow Dash?”
"当然。我想，一个空中警卫队的成员没有多少机会飞来飞去，呼吸新鲜空气,"他用那沙哑、生疏的声音说道。他走过来，我感觉到她又后退了几步。女神们，如果他眨一下眼睛，就不会那么怪异了。"怎么了，彩虹小飞?"
She looked at the table and all her friends behind him. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s great. Just great! Why would you think anything’s wrong?” she stammered.
她看着桌子和他身后所有的朋友。"没什么问题。一切都很好。太棒了！你怎么会觉得有什么不对劲呢?"她结结巴巴地说。
“I’ve made an art of furtively skulking out back ways and exiting unnoticed my whole life. It’s rarely done because a pony is feeling particularly bubbly about their circumstances.” He kept up that staring gaze, his scarred face sympathetic. “So, what’s bothering you?”
"我一生都在偷偷摸摸地从后门溜出去，悄无声息地离开，这是一种艺术。很少有人这样做，因为小马对自己的处境特别有信心。"他目不转睛地盯着我，满脸伤疤，表示同情。"那么，你在烦恼什么呢?"
Rainbow Dash looked at him for a long minute, then sighed. “It’s nothing. I just… I’m useless.”
彩虹·达什看了他很长时间，然后叹了口气。"没什么。我只是...我没用。"
“I can see why you think so,” he replied, and she blinked and frowned.
"我知道你为什么这么想了,"他回答，她眨了眨眼，皱了皱眉。
“Gee, thanks,” she said sarcastically, then faltered. “Or, wait… was that a cut? Ugh… can you smile or twitch your tail or something when you’re messing with me?”
"啊，谢谢,"她讽刺地说，然后结结巴巴地说。"或者，等等......那是割伤吗？呃......你跟我开玩笑的时候能不能微笑或者抽动你的尾巴什么的?"
He turned and walked towards a pair of double doors. His horn glowed, pulling them open. “So, Ministry of Awesome. Where your job is to be awesome? Make awesome? Sell only awesome of the highest quality?” he asked with a ghost of a smile.
他转身朝一对双开门走去。他的号角闪闪发光，把它们拉开。"那么，棒极了部。你的工作就是变得出色？让自己变得很棒？只出售高质量的棒极了的产品?"他带着幽灵般的微笑问道。
“It was all I could come up with,” she replied with a grumble. “It’s easy for Twilight. ‘Ministry of Magic’… or ‘Arcane Sciences’… whatever. Magic’s always been her thing. Makes sense for her to coordinate it. Or Fluttershy wanting to run hospitals and stuff. Gee, who saw that one coming?” she said crossly as she rolled her eyes.
"我只能想到这么多了,"她嘟囔着回答。"这对《暮光之城》来说很容易。'魔法部'...或者'奥术科学'...随便什么。魔术一直是她的强项。对她来说协调是有道理的。或者Fluttershy想要经营医院什么的。哎呀，谁能想到这一点呢?"她翻了翻白眼，生气地说。
“But you’re a flier…” Goldenblood rasped softly.
"但你是个飞行员......"金血王轻声地说。
“But I’m a flier…” Then she blinked and narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t do that…” He just smiled a little more broadly as Rainbow Dash walked to the rail and looked out at the night. Canterlot was aglow with lights. Far to the west was the golden glow of Manehattan. She sighed and closed her eyes. “But the only thing I’m really good at is flying. So… what, am I supposed to have a ministry that regulates flying? Holds air shows? That’ll really help Equestria.”
"但我是个飞行员......"然后她眨了眨眼睛，眯起眼睛看着他。"别这样......"当彩虹·达什走到栏杆边，望着夜色时，他只是笑得更开阔了一些。坎特罗特灯火通明。遥远的西方是Manehattan的金色光辉。她叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"但我唯一真正擅长的是飞行。那么...什么，我应该有一个规范飞行的部门吗？举办航空表演？这真是帮了小马国的大忙。"
“You do have other strengths besides flying. Your loyalty goes without saying. You’re brave, if reckless. Tenacious. Beautiful.” Okay, I felt her blush something fierce, but then he said, “But I know you feel inferior to your friends.”
"除了飞行，你还有其它优势。你的忠诚是不言而喻的。你很勇敢，虽然有点鲁莽。顽强。美极了。"好吧，我感觉到她脸红得厉害，然后他说,"但我知道你觉得自己不如你的朋友。"
She snorted. “Yeah, right! What do I have to feel inferior about?” He smiled softly at her, and she muttered, “Right. Don’t answer that…” She took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll be fine. I’ll figure something out. Somehow.” She huffed as she folded her hooves on the marble rail of the balcony. “It’d just a lot easier if I were… well… more like Twilight.”
她哼了一声。"是的，没错！我有什么好自卑的?"他轻轻地对她微笑，她喃喃地说:"对。不要回答......"她深深地吸了一口气。"听着，我会没事的。我会想办法的。不知怎么的。"她一边在阳台的大理石栏杆上叠蹄子，一边气喘吁吁。"如果我是......呃......更像《暮光之城》的话，事情就简单多了。"
“Why, because she’s smart and you’re not?” Rainbow Dash looked at him, her ears drooping. But he simply put a hoof on her shoulder. “You are not stupid. Perhaps you’re not like Twilight or the others, but you are cunning and creative. I’ve seen you fly.” Rainbow looked at him more directly now. “What you really need is a challenge.”
"为什么，因为她聪明，你不聪明?"彩虹看着他，她的耳朵耷拉着。但他只是把一只蹄子放在她的肩膀上。"你不笨。也许你不像《暮光之城》或者其他人，但是你很狡猾，很有创造力。我见过你飞行。"彩虹现在更直接地看着他。"你真正需要的是挑战。"
“Well yeah. That’s part of the reason I joined the Skyguard! But this isn’t a race I have to win or something. I can’t just fly out there and beat up all the zebras with my own hooves…” Then she paused and rubbed her chin, adding, “Maybe.”
"嗯，是的。这也是我加入天空卫队的部分原因！但这不是一场我必须要赢的比赛。我不能就这样飞出去，用我自己的蹄子打所有的斑马......"然后她停下来，抚摸着下巴，补充道,"也许吧。"
“We’re in a contest now. War is a team sport, with deadly and desperate odds. Win, and you live. Lose, and you might die,” he said quietly, then smiled slowly. “But there’s more than one way to win this contest. Say… if you cheat?”
"我们现在是在比赛。战争是一项团队运动，有致命的和绝望的几率。赢了，你就能活命。输了，你可能会死,"他平静地说，然后慢慢地笑了笑。"但赢得这场比赛的方法不止一种。比如说......如果你作弊?"
“Cheat?” Rainbow Dash blinked. “How the hay do you cheat at war? I didn’t know there was a rulebook.”
"作弊?"彩虹·达什眨了眨眼。"你在战争中怎么能作弊呢？我不知道还有规则手册。"
“Most ponies might think that wars are won on the battlefields, and there’s no doubt that battles are critical. But what if an army arrives to the battle hungry because their food supplies were blown up? Or lacking weapons because the shipment was delayed? Or late because their base lost power?” he asked with
"大多数小马可能认为战争是在战场上赢得的，毫无疑问，战斗是关键。但是，如果一支军队饿着肚子来到战场，因为他们的食物供应被炸毁了呢？还是因为运输延误而缺少武器？还是因为他们的基层失去了权力而迟到?"他问道
that steady little smile. “Do you think that might change the battle?”
那坚定的微笑。"你认为这会改变战局吗?"
“Well… sure! That makes sense.” She cocked her head at him. “So… don’t we do that?”
"好吧......当然！这是合理的。"她向他昂起头。"所以......我们不是应该这么做吗?"
He gave a tiny shrug. “Our military is all about winning the battle. They aren’t creative or cunning enough to risk going behind enemy lines and fighting dirty. Sabotage. Infiltration. Spying. These are tools the army just isn’t flexible enough to use efficiently.” He was good. So good that I couldn’t tell if he was playing her up to create that ministry or actually trying to help her.
他轻轻地耸了耸肩。"我们的军队就是要赢得这场战役。他们没有足够的创造力和足够的狡猾去冒险深入敌后进行肮脏的战斗。破坏。渗透。间谍活动。这些都是军队没有足够灵活性来有效使用的工具。"他很棒。太好了，以至于我不知道他是在玩弄她来创造那个牧师职位，还是真的想帮助她。
Rainbow Dash sat hard, running a hoof through her mane. “And you’re saying the Ministry of Awesome could do all that?”
彩虹·达什硬着头皮坐着，蹄子穿过鬃毛。"你是说超棒部能做到这一切?"
“It could do far more, but that would be a start.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide as she stared at him. Why did he look so… so sad? “Princess Luna will need a mare who can get special projects done. Tricky projects. Secret projects that nopony can know about if we’re going to win this war,” he rasped. His golden eyes now stared out at the distant city as his breathing became harsher, punctuated with soft coughs. “As you might know, the best kind of cheating is the kind you do when nopony knows you’re cheating.”
"它可以做得更多，但这只是一个开始。"彩虹·达什瞪大了眼睛看着他。为什么他看起来那么...那么悲伤？"卢娜公主需要一匹能完成特殊任务的母马。棘手的项目。如果我们要赢得这场战争，任何人都不能知道这些秘密项目。他金色的眼睛凝视着远处的城市，呼吸变得越来越刺耳，不时伴有柔和的咳嗽。"正如你可能知道的那样，最好的作弊方式是当没有小马知道你在作弊的时候。"
Rainbow Dash stared hard and pointed a hoof at him. “You mean I shouldn’t tell anypony what I’m doing with my ministry?”
彩虹·达什紧盯着他，用蹄子指着他。"你的意思是我不应该告诉任何小马我在做什么事?"
“Does anypony expect you to do a lot with it? Did any of your friends really act all that surprised when you suggested the ‘Ministry of Awesome?’ If somepony thinks less of you, they’ll underestimate you. They’ll make mistakes, and they’ll give you the freedom you need to act.”
"有没有小马指望你用它做很多事情？你的朋友中有谁真的对你建议的"棒极了部"表现得那么惊讶吗如果有人看不起你，他们就会低估你。他们会犯错误，他们会给你行动的自由。"
“Whoa.” Rainbow Dash blinked, her eyes going wide. “You are scary good, you know that, Goldie?”
"哇。"彩虹·达什眨了眨眼睛，眼睛睁得大大的。"你真是太棒了，知道吗，戈尔迪?"
“Good at everything except breathing,” he said with a self-deprecating smile. Together, they started back towards the conference room. But I thought about what he’d just said. I wondered if all of his deflections weren’t just ways to make others underestimate him.
"除了会呼吸，什么都会,"他带着自嘲的微笑说。他们一起向会议室走去。但我想了想他刚才说的话。我怀疑他所有的偏离不仅仅是让别人低估他的方式。
I imagined a chill when I realized I didn’t know Goldenblood at all. Was he a bastard manipulating everypony around him for his own ends? Was he truly
当我意识到我根本不认识金血王时，我想象着一阵寒意。他是不是一个为了自己的利益操纵周围每一匹马的混蛋？他真的
trying to save Equestria? Was he a good pony or a villain? What had he been thinking when he had ponies turned into monsters with Project Chimera, or made half machine with Project Steelpony? And the other projects: Eternity, Redoubt, Partypooper, Starfall, and Horizons. All created by Goldenblood on some level, all sealed by EC-1101.
试图拯救小马国？他是一匹好马还是一个恶棍？当他用奇美拉项目把小马变成怪物，或者用钢马项目制造半机器的时候，他在想什么？还有其他的项目:永恒、堡垒、派对使者、星落和地平线。全部由金色血液在某种程度上创造，全部由EC-1101密封。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
I came out of it alone. I could only figure that Spike was checking on Gardens, or organizing his books, or… whatever it was reclusive dragons did when they weren’t helping Wasteland ponies in a never-ending search for six virtues. I carefully levitated the orb to the case and slipped it back into the empty nook, closing the lid. There were probably days’ worth of memories here, but, as much as I might have liked to go through all of them, I had to get back to my friends. Then I’d have to hug their hooves and beg then to forgive me. Tears would likely have to be employed.
我是独自走出来的。我只能猜测斯派克是在查看花园，或整理他的书，或者......当他们不帮助荒原小马无休止地寻找六种美德的时候，隐居的龙做了什么。我小心翼翼地把圆球悬浮在空中，把盒子放回空无一物的角落，关上盖子。这里可能有几天的回忆，但是，尽管我很想一一回顾，我还是得回到我的朋友们身边。然后我不得不拥抱他们的蹄子，然后乞求他们原谅我。眼泪可能不得不被使用。
...
...
You know, I really am not good with waiting…
你知道，我真的不擅长等待..。
I started down a little side tunnel, one a bit too small for a dragon unless he really wanted to squeeze. Plenty of room for me, of course. Gardens of Equestria had been a monumental feat of engineering and secrecy. Virtually a miniature stable had been built during its construction and development, though of course, not a true stable. Double bunk beds lay in dusty rows, and I suspected that the workers had slept in shifts.
我开始沿着一条小隧道往下走，这条隧道对于一条龙来说有点太小了，除非它真的很想挤。当然，对我来说有足够的空间。Equestria的花园是工程和保密的里程碑式的壮举。实际上，一个微型马厩是在建设和发展过程中建造的，当然，它并不是一个真正的马厩。双层床铺成一排排布满灰尘，我怀疑工人们是轮班睡觉的。
The normal priority of scavenging went: weapons, armor, medical, food and drink, and something to sleep in. Since I was about as abnormal a mare as you could get, the first place I hit was the kitchen, where I was rewarded with not one but two boxes of Sugar Apple Bombs and some Fancy Buck Cakes. Cherry! And to complete the miracle of the Wasteland, there was a six-pack of Buckweiser in the fridge. I had to admit, I wasn’t precisely the greatest aficionado of fermented hops and barley, but after the last few days I honestly didn’t give a shit. I savored one bottle as I poked around further.
寻找食物通常优先考虑的是:武器、盔甲、医疗、食物和饮料，还有睡觉用的东西。因为我是一匹异常的母马，所以我第一次去的地方是厨房，在那里我得到了不是一盒而是两盒糖苹果炸弹和一些花式巴克蛋糕。樱桃！为了完成《荒原》的奇迹，冰箱里有六瓶装的巴克威瑟啤酒。我不得不承认，我确实不是发酵啤酒花和大麦的狂热爱好者，但是在过去的几天里，我真的不在乎了。当我进一步摸索的时候，我品尝了一瓶酒。
Then I took the liberty of checking the toilet facilities and found myself a porcelain basin of heaven. My insides melted. My knees were weak. I might have been marginally aroused. Ah… hot water. Was there any surer sign of
然后我自作主张地检查了一下厕所设施，发现了一个天堂瓷盆。我的内心融化了。我的膝盖发软。我可能已经被轻微地唤醒了。啊...热水。有没有可靠的迹象表明
civilization then the ability to pour unending amounts of steamy fluid over one’s body?
文明，然后有能力，倾倒无休止的数量，潮湿的液体在一个人的身体？
The spritebot found me lying back in the tub with a bottle floating above me as I hummed a song of inebriation to myself. Two empty bottles joined me on a sea voyage as the little robot looked down at me. “Oh, that’s where you went. I was worried.” Then a pause. “Are you drunk?”
我喝醉了，哼着一首歌，小精灵发现我躺在浴缸里，头顶上飘着一个瓶子。两个空瓶子和我一起出海航行，小机器人低头看着我。"哦，那就是你去的地方。我很担心。"然后是停顿。"你喝醉了吗?"
“No. That is incorrect. I am drinking. More accurately, I am approaching the state of being that is drunk.” I scowled at the half empty bottle. “A journey that is taking me somewhat longer than I anticipated. It’d only take me a quarter bottle of whiskey to get this buzzed.” I raised the bottle to the bot. “I drink to your good health, good sir dragon.”
"没有。这是不正确的。我在喝酒。更准确地说，我正在接近醉酒状态。"我皱着眉头看着半空的瓶子。"这次旅行花费的时间比我预期的要长。我只需要四分之一瓶威士忌就能把这玩意儿弄出嗡嗡声。"我举起酒瓶对着机器人。"为你的健康干杯，龙先生。"
There was no answer for a bit, and then he simply replied, “Blackjack, you are so random.”
有一会儿他没有回答，然后他简单地回答说:"黑杰克，你是如此随机。"
* * *
* * *
After a soak, which did a marvel on my attitude, I stopped and considered myself in a mirror by the sinks.
泡了一次澡，这让我的态度感到惊奇，我停下来，在水池边的一面镜子里审视自己。
Ugh… the last three weeks had done a number on me. I was definitely skinnier than I had been. The shiny scar on my chest was my most obvious souvenir of combat, but it was joined by a satellite of injuries all around it. Between the chemical burns and the shower, I was almost a mottled pink instead of white. And my mane needed a grooming badly. I chuckled ruefully. Going from suicidal to wanting a haircut: that was progress, right?
呃...过去的三个星期让我受够了。我肯定比以前更瘦了。我胸前闪亮的伤疤是我战斗中最明显的纪念品，但是它的周围还有一个伤痕。由于化学灼伤和淋浴，我几乎是一个斑驳的粉红色，而不是白色。我的鬃毛急需梳理。我悲伤地笑了笑。从自杀到想剪头发:这是一个进步，对吗？
“So, going through for supplies?” Spike asked.
"那么，你是在找补给吗?"斯派克问道。
“Yeah. Hope you don’t mind,” I said as I tugged open the box of cereal. “I know that this is all your stuff…”
"是的。希望你不要介意,"我一边说，一边用力打开麦片盒。"我知道这些都是你的东西......"
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not using any of it. Honestly, I forgot that those smaller tunnels were down there.” I personally wondered how Spike had managed not to go stark raving mad all alone. I supposed having guests like me and his mysterious marefriend did him a lot of good.
"别担心。我什么都没用。说实话，我都忘了下面还有那些小隧道。"我个人很好奇，斯派克是怎样设法不让自己一个人完全疯掉的。我想有像我这样的客人和他那位神秘的女朋友对他大有好处。
“So, tell me about your friend,” I asked around a mouthful of Sugar Apple
"那么，跟我说说你的朋友吧,"我满嘴问道
Bombs, wonderful powdery dust all over my muzzle as I floated the box on my left and the beer on my right. I found an arms locker and did a little happy dance at the sight of the ammo containers. It was almost like my birthday!
当我把盒子放在左边，啤酒放在右边的时候，炸弹，美妙的粉末撒满了我的口鼻。我找到了一个武器柜，看到弹药箱我高兴地跳了一小会儿舞。就像我的生日一样！
“Who? Oh! You mean LittlePip and her friends?”
"谁？哦！你是说小皮普和她的朋友们?"
“Yeah,” I said as I looked in one ammo box and gave a little squeal of delight. Despair, my poor shotgun, because somepony had included explosive rounds in this arms locker! I had missed the little orange shells of boom. “What’s she like?”
"是啊,"我边说边看着一个弹药箱，高兴地尖叫了一声。绝望，我可怜的猎枪，因为一些小马在这个武器柜里装了爆炸弹！我错过了爆炸的橙色小炮弹。"她长什么样?"
“Well… ah… it’s kind of hard to describe her. She’s… kinda like you, actually.” That made my ears perk. “Minus the drinking…” he added. I snorted. If she couldn’t handle a little Wild Pegasus... “She struggles every day to make the Wasteland a better place, no matter what.” ...Okay, I could excuse sobriety for that.
"嗯......啊......很难形容她。事实上，她有点像你。"这使我的耳朵振作起来。"除去喝酒......"他补充道。我哼了一声。如果她不能处理一个小野生飞马..."她每天都在努力使荒原成为一个更好的地方，无论如何。"好吧我可以原谅你的清醒。
“She’s like me? Poor dear,” I said with a smile, cleaning out his supply of shotgun shells but leaving the other ammo. Maybe someday this LittlePip or some other pony might need some. I also found a second pump action and a sweet muzzle choke that would help reduce the spread of my buckshot. “And her friends?” I asked as I pulled the two guns apart and started pick out the better parts.
"她和我一样吗？"可怜的孩子,"我笑着说，一边清理着他的猎枪弹壳，一边留下了剩下的弹药。也许有一天这匹小匹普或者其他小马可能需要一些。我还发现了第二个泵动作和甜蜜的枪口扼流圈，这将有助于减少我的散布铅弹。"她的朋友们呢?"我一边问，一边把两把枪拆开，开始挑出更好的部分。
“Well, there’s Velvet Remedy. She’s the closest thing to a real pacifist I’ve ever seen in the Wasteland. Thank goodness she’s got her friends to keep her safe. Then there’s Calamity, a Dashite with a real beef against raiders. I like him, but he’s definitely got a past he’s trying to leave behind. Steelhooves, a Steel Ranger from Manehattan, is their heavy weapons pony. Not really sure about him, but he's much better than the rest of the Rangers," Spike said with an annoyed snort.
"好吧，这里有天鹅绒疗法。她是我在荒原见过的最接近真正和平主义者的人。谢天谢地她有朋友保护她。然后是灾难，一个达什特人与真正的牛肉入侵者。我喜欢他，但他肯定有过去，他正试图摆脱过去。Steelhooves，来自Manehattan的SteelRanger，是他们的重型武器小马。不太确定，但他比其他流浪者队员好多了。"斯派克哼了一声说。
I cocked my head and looked up at the little machine. “You have a problem with the Steel Rangers?”
我抬起头，抬头看着这台小机器。"你对钢铁骑兵有意见吗?"
“Anypony who puts more importance on a suit of power armor or a gatling gun than on a pony needing help isn’t much of a pony in my book. Plus there’s the fact that they feel they’ve got a mandate to possess any and all technology they deem advanced enough.” He noticed my ‘I am not getting the problem’ look and sighed. “What’s the most advanced technology in all of Equestria?”
"在我看来，任何一匹小马如果更看重一套动力盔甲或加特林机枪，而不是一匹需要帮助的小马驹，那就不是一匹好马。此外，他们认为自己受命拥有任何他们认为足够先进的技术。"他注意到我'我没有得到问题'的表情，叹了口气。"整个马术国最先进的技术是什么?"
Oh... shit. “You think... they’d try and take it or something?”
哦...该死。"你认为......他们会试图拿走它还是什么?"
“More like try something and get it damaged when I stop them,” he replied, and I could just imagine a toothy draconic grin.
"更像是尝试一些东西，当我阻止他们的时候，它被损坏了,"他回答，我可以想象一个露齿的严酷的笑容。
I thought about that; I really didn’t know very much about the Steel Rangers.
我想过这个问题;我真的对钢铁游骑兵队了解不多。
Then again, there was so much that I didn’t know very much about.
话又说回来，还有那么多我不太了解的东西。
“So, is that all of her friends?”
"那么，这就是她所有的朋友吗?"
“Her close ones, the ones who travel with her, yes.”
"她最亲近的人，和她一起旅行的人，是的。"
I inspected the shotgun parts in silence for a few moments, but then a thought struck me.
我默默地检查了一会儿猎枪的零件，但是我突然有了一个想法。
“Do you know the Stable Dweller too?” I said with a small grin.
"你也认识马厩里的居民吗?"我微笑着说。
There was a pause. “Um… yeah.”
停顿了一下。"嗯......是的。"
“What’s she like?” I asked as I carefully added the mod. I didn’t want my gun blowing up later because I’d screwed the thing on wrong.
"她长什么样?"我问，因为我小心地添加了国防部。我不希望我的枪后来爆炸，因为我把事情搞错了。
“Well… ah… Blackjack? You mean you don’t know who she is?”
"嗯......啊......黑杰克？你是说你不知道她是谁?"
“Well, no. It’s not like she gets out east a lot,” I said with a small huff of annoyance. “I like to imagine her as some big, tough, take-no-shit kind of mare. Sorta like… did you know Big Macintosh? You knew Applejack, so you must have…” I said as I wandered into a small medical bay. Oooh... spare Buck, magical bandages... and dusty but still beautifully lustrous purple healing potions that would really heal! Goddesses, I hated Enervation. “That. That’s what I imagine she’s like. Big and tough and strong and doesn’t let anything cross her. She probably dual wields miniguns with missile launchers strapped to them.” I brightened as I grinned. “She’s probably got some kind of power armor too. Like magical super heavy plate that blasts lightning from her horn. And flies!” There was a prolonged silence from the little machine. “Spike?” I frowned. From somewhere deep inside the mountain, I thought I heard laughter echoing down the halls.
""哦，不。她又不是经常往东走,"我略带恼怒地说。"我喜欢把她想象成一匹强壮、坚强、不怕麻烦的母马。有点像...你知道大麦金塔吗？"你认识苹果白兰地，所以你一定认识......"我边说边走进一个小医务室。哦......备用的巴克，神奇的绷带......还有布满灰尘但仍然光彩照人的紫色治疗药水，它真的能治愈伤口！女神啊，我讨厌衰弱。"那个。我猜她就是这样的人。高大，坚强，强壮，不让任何事情影响她。她可能双手持着迷你武器，身上绑着导弹发射器。"当我咧嘴笑的时候，我开心起来。"她可能也穿着某种能量盔甲。就像魔法般的超重盘子，从她的角上发出闪电。还有苍蝇!"这台小机器长时间地保持沉默。"斯派克?"我皱起了眉头。在山的深处，我仿佛听到了笑声在大厅里回荡。
* * *
* * *
Well, Spike must have seen something really funny on his monitors, because for the moment I was left alone. Hopefully he’d share the joke. Then, in the corner of the barracks, I saw a small door I’d nearly missed. Well, couldn’t pass up the broom closet, now could I? But this led to a small office and side room rather than more storage.
斯派克一定是在他的显示器上看到了什么有趣的东西，因为当时只有我一个人。希望他能分享这个笑话。然后，在兵营的角落里，我看到了一扇我差点没打中的小门。我不能错过扫帚间，对吧？但是这导致了一个小的办公室和旁边的房间，而不是更多的存储空间。
The room was quite full but very neat. Somehow, it felt like my mom’s room, and I felt like a trespasser inside. Books lined the walls in alphabetized neatness, and there were diagrams and designs of the supercomputer I’d seen earlier. Two beds. Two desks. Two terminals. A safe.
房间里人很多，但很整洁。不知怎么的，这里感觉像是我妈妈的房间，我觉得里面像个闯入者。书籍依字母顺序排列整齐，墙上有我之前见过的超级计算机的图表和设计图。两张床。两张桌子。两个终端机。一个保险箱。
The terminals took one look at my feeble hacking skills and virtually spat in my face in contempt. I had better luck with the safe, though. Inside were a lot of papers, a bag of bits, and a recording device. I played back the recording.
终端用户只看了一眼我微弱的黑客技能，几乎就朝我的脸上吐了一口唾沫，表示轻蔑。不过我在保险箱里的运气比较好。里面有很多文件，一袋碎片和一个录音设备。我回放了录音。
“Is that everyone, Goldenblood?” Twilight Sparkle asked softly.
"所有人都到齐了吗，金血王?"紫悦轻声问道。
“Almost,” he replied. “I’ve modified their memories. They’ll remember working on Stable 93, when a gas leak knocked them all out and the stable had to be evacuated.” He gave a horrid raspy little chuckle. “Close enough to the truth for your ends, I think.”
"差不多,"他回答。"我修改了他们的记忆。他们会记得在93号马厩工作时，煤气泄漏把他们全部击垮，马厩不得不被疏散。"他发出一声可怕的沙哑的轻笑。"我想，足够接近你想要的真相了。"
“I’ll never know how you arranged this with Stable-Tec… or managed to keep it a secret. It’s incredible, Goldenblood.” And then there was a soft sound of a kiss.
"我永远不会知道你是如何安排Stable-Tec的......或者设法保守这个秘密的。太不可思议了，金色血统。"然后有一个轻柔的吻声。
“Twilight. No.” Oh, wasn’t that an awkward silence!
"《暮光之城》。没有。"哦，真是尴尬的沉默！
“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” Twilight stammered.
"我.....。.对不起。我不知道自己怎么了,"暮光结结巴巴地说。
“You’re happy because you finally made something that will save Equestria if the worst happens. I hope it does.” Hope it works, or hope that the worst happens?
"你很高兴，因为如果最坏的情况发生，你终于做出了可以拯救小马国的东西。我希望如此。"希望它起作用，还是希望最坏的事情发生？
Now it was Twilight’s turn to sound skeptical. “You sound like you’ve already given up on winning the war.”
现在轮到《暮光之城》对此表示怀疑了。"听起来你已经放弃了赢得战争的希望。"
“Well, pessimists are always pleasantly surprised,” he replied faintly. “But if you really believed this would end well, you wouldn’t have bothered to create Gardens.”
"嗯，悲观主义者永远是喜欢·一个人,"他模糊地回答道。"但如果你真的相信这会有好结果，你就不会费心去建造花园了。"
“Somehow, the zebras got their hooves on megaspells. I can’t imagine it. Our most critical and highly guarded secret, and they’ve got them now. It’s now just a matter of time before they’re weaponized.” Twilight muttered softly.
"不知怎么的，斑马的蹄子碰到了megaspells。我无法想象。我们最重要的高度机密，现在已经被他们拿到了。现在它们被武器化只是时间问题。"暮色轻轻地咕哝着。
“Yes. But that’s something for Morale to uncover,” he replied, and got a long low hiss of disgust. “Something wrong?”
"是的。但这是士气有待发现的东西,"他回答道，并发出了长长的厌恶的嘶嘶声。"有什么问题吗?"
“Morale… Pinkie. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. What’s gotten into her? The spying? The drugs? The arrests? How did she turn into this?” Twilight muttered softly.
"士气......平奇。我不知道她怎么了。她怎么了？间谍活动？毒品？逮捕？她怎么会变成这样?"暮色轻轻地咕哝着。
There was a momentary pause and then he said quietly, “You, of all your friends, should understand.”
停顿了一会儿，然后他平静地说:"你，你所有的朋友，都应该理解。"
“What?” There was a little shock and anger, but curiosity as well.
"什么?"有一点震惊和愤怒，但也有好奇心。
“You know what it’s like to be in a room filled with hundreds and feel utterly alone. You’re brilliant, Twilight, but you know that there are few who really and truly care for you. You’re respected, certainly, but feared as well. You know how sensitive and perceptive Pinkie Pie is. Do you really think there’s a single pony around her that likes being with her?”
"你知道在一个挤满了成百上千人的房间里感到孤独的滋味。你很聪明，暮光，但是你知道很少有人真正关心你。你当然受人尊敬，但也令人敬畏。你知道小指派是多么敏感和有洞察力。你真的认为她周围有一匹小马喜欢和她在一起吗?"
“Well… I mean… the parties... and drugs… and…” There was a long, drawn out sigh.
"嗯......我的意思是......那些聚会......还有毒品......还有......"他长长地叹了口气。
“You’re feared for your accomplishments. Pinkie Pie is feared for her threat. With a single proofless accusation, she could make almost anypony disappear. The M.o.P. is modifying memories with ever-increasing regularity. How could Pinkie Pie ever be happy knowing she’s surrounded by ponies who fear her? Who hate her?”
"人们担心你的成就。平奇·派对她的威胁感到恐惧。只要一个无条件的指控，她几乎可以让任何一匹小马消失。正在以日益增长的规律性修改记忆。知道自己周围都是怕她的小马驹，鹏奇派怎么会高兴呢？谁恨她?"
“But… she shouldn’t be hated!”
"但是......她不应该被憎恨!"
“Of course she shouldn’t be. And you shouldn’t be feared. Big Macintosh shouldn’t have died. Littlehorn shouldn’t have happened. This whole war shouldn’t have been fought. The mistakes, obvious, one after the next, shouldn’t have happened. But they did.”
"她当然不应该这样。你不应该害怕。大麦金托什机本不该死的。利特尔霍恩不应该发生这样的事。这场战争本来就不该发生。那些错误，显而易见，一个接着一个，本不应该发生。但他们做到了。"
“We can still save Equestria,” Twilight Sparkle said with conviction. “If all else fails, my friends and I will use the Elements and save the kingdom.”
紫悦坚定地说:"我们仍然可以拯救小马国。"。"如果一切都失败了，我和我的朋友们将使用元素来拯救这个王国。"
“I have no doubt.” There was a clinking of glasses and then a sound of them being filled. I looked at an empty bottle of wine and two stained glasses, one broken on the floor. “A toast… to our efforts to save Equestria. One way or another, she’ll be returned to what she should be.”
"我毫不怀疑。"一阵玻璃杯的碰撞声，然后是酒杯被斟满的声音。我看着一个空酒瓶和两个彩色玻璃杯，其中一个碎在地板上。"为我们拯救小马国的努力干杯。无论如何，她会回到她应该成为的样子。"
A sound of drinking, then a sigh. “Well, I guess there’s nothing left but to erase your memories now as well, Goldenblood.”
一阵喝酒的声音，然后是一声叹息。"好吧，我想现在除了抹去你的记忆以外，什么也没有了，金色血液。"
“Ah, yes. I’m afraid we’re going to hit a snag there,” Goldenblood said softly. “I’m sorry Twilight…”
"啊，是的。我担心我们会在那里遇到障碍,"金布拉德轻声说。"对不起，暮光之城......"
“Golden? What are you talking… about…” And then there was a soft thud.
"金色的？你在说什么......"然后传来一声轻轻的砰的一声。
“You are brilliant, Twilight. But sadly you’re not sneaky enough. You won’t be able to keep this secret forever. I will,” he said softly. “If your method fails, mine will succeed.”
"你太聪明了，暮光。但遗憾的是，你还不够狡猾。你不可能永远保守这个秘密。我会的,"他轻声说。"如果你的方法失败了，我的方法就会成功。"
A few minutes later, a much younger sounding Spike asked, “Twilight? Golden? Is everything okay?”
几分钟后，一个年轻得多的斯派克问道:"暮光之城？黄金？一切都还好吗?"
“Just fine, Spike. I’m afraid she’s exhausted, though. I removed the memories of this place just like she planned. I’ll take her back to the M.A.S. hub in Hoofington to recover.” Another pause. “You know what you have to do?”
"很好，斯派克。恐怕她已经筋疲力尽了。我按照她的计划移除了这个地方的记忆。我会把她带回Hoofington的m.a.s.中心恢复。"又是一个停顿。"你知道你该怎么做吗?"
“Yeah. I just don’t like it. Keeping secrets, I mean.”
"是的。我只是不喜欢。我是说保守秘密。"
“You have to keep it from everypony, Spike. Even Twilight. I’m sure she’ll feel upset… like she’s wasted two years of her life and accomplished nothing.”
"你不能让任何人知道，斯派克。甚至是《暮光之城》。我肯定她会感到沮丧......就像她浪费了两年的时间却一事无成。"
“But why do we have to?”
"但我们为什么必须这么做呢?"
“If Princess Luna finds out what we did here, it would be a sign that we think she’ll fail. Planning for disaster means you believe disaster will occur. I’d be exiled, or imprisoned, or imprisoned in exile. Twilight might face even worse. I don’t want that to happen, and I know you don’t either. Besides, if the zebras found out that Gardens was here, then it would be immediately targeted.”
"如果卢娜公主发现我们在这里的所作所为，这将是我们认为她会失败的信号。为灾难做好准备意味着你相信灾难会发生。我会被流放，或者监禁，或者被流放。暮光之城可能面临更糟糕的情况。我不想这样，我知道你也不想。此外，如果斑马发现花园在这里，那么它将立即成为攻击目标。"
“Right. I’ll just tell everyone that I’m ready for a lair of my own. I’m finally flying now… pretty soon, I won’t even be able to fit in the Ponyville library anymore.” He let out a long sigh. “I just wish that you and Twilight had agreed
"对。我会告诉大家我已经准备好自己的老巢了。我现在终于可以飞了......很快，我甚至不能再适应Ponyville的图书馆了。"他长长地叹了口气。"我只是希望你和《暮光之城》能达成一致
to wipe your memories instead of hers.”
抹去你的记忆，而不是她的"
“Yes. But I can keep secrets better than she.”
"是的。但我比她更能保守秘密。"
“I don’t like keeping them from her,” Spike grumbled.
"我不喜欢瞒着她,"斯派克抱怨道。
“I know what you mean. Neither do I.” A long rusty rattling sigh sounded. “I’m drowning in secrets, Spike. One day, all these secrets are going to kill me.”
"我知道你的意思。我也不知道。"听起来是一声生锈的长叹。"我被秘密淹没了，斯派克。总有一天，这些秘密会要了我的命。"
I sat back, looking at the recording in horror as the playback ended. I took a slow, thoughtful sip of my beer. Twilight had sacrificed two years of her life to make Gardens, and she hadn’t even known about it. “How could he?”
回放结束时，我坐回去，惊恐地看着录音。我慢慢地、深思地啜了一口啤酒。暮光之城》牺牲了她生命中的两年来创作《花园》，而她甚至都不知道这部作品。"他怎么能这样?"
“Yeah. That’s the kind of bastard he was,” the spritebot said behind me, making me jump to my hooves and whirl to face him. “One moment he was talking with her about Pinkie Pie, and the next he was drugging her and wiping her memory of the greatest accomplishment in history.”
"是的。他就是那种混蛋,"我身后的喷气机器人说道，让我跳起来，转身面对着他。"前一秒他还在和她谈论平奇·派，下一秒他就给她下药，抹去她对历史上最伟大成就的记忆。"
“What happened to her?” I asked quietly.
"她怎么了?"我平静地问道。
“She became obsessed with winning the war. She got her hooves on another O.I.A. dirty secret and renewed its research. Everything became focused around that. All the rest of us just fell away.”
"她痴迷于赢得这场战争。她发现了另一个o.i.a.的肮脏秘密，并重新进行了研究。所有的事情都围绕着这个展开。我们其余的人都消失了。"
“Why did it sound like you were working with Goldenblood if you were Twilight’s assistant?” I asked, hoping this wasn’t going to be a sore point.
"如果你是《暮光之城》的助理，为什么听起来像是你在和金血王合作?"我问道，希望这不会成为我的痛处。
“It’s complicated,” he said. When wasn’t it? “I worked with Goldenblood on and off over the years. Said I wanted to do my part and all that, but really, I was just spying, trying to find something to use against him.”
"这很复杂,"他说。什么时候不是呢？"这些年来，我断断续续地与金血王合作。说我想尽我的一份力量，但实际上，我只是在监视，试图找到一些东西来对付他。"
“I take it that it didn’t work out like you expected?” I said with a sympathetic smile. I trotted my way back out to the lair as Spike went on.
"我想事情没有像你期望的那样发展吧?"我带着同情的微笑说。当斯派克继续前进时，我小跑着回到了巢穴。
“Goldenblood wasn’t what I expected. You saw the memory and heard that recording. I thought he was a villain who took my friends away. I thought he liked the war.” Spike sighed. He did that a lot, but I supposed that he had plenty of reasons to. “Did you know that, throughout the whole war, the O.I.A. kept back channels with the Zebras trying to negotiate peace? Or that he ran constant interference to protect non-ponies too? He’d work for hours, sometimes days on
"金血王子不是我想象的那样。你看到了记忆，也听到了录音。我认为他是一个抢走我朋友的恶棍。我以为他喜欢战争。"斯派克叹了口气。他经常这样做，但我想他有很多理由这样做。"你知道吗，在整个战争期间，o.i.a.一直与斑马保持着沟通，试图和平谈判？或者他也经常干预保护非小马？他会连续工作几个小时，有时甚至几天
end before he’d collapse. Then he’d crawl back and work some more. He kept saying that he was trying to save Equestria. Not win the war. Not even end the war. It was always to save Equestria.”
在他崩溃之前结束。然后他会爬回来继续工作。他一直说他是在救小马国。不能赢得战争。甚至没有结束战争。它总是为了拯救小马国。"
I thought about that as I joined him in the main chamber again. The spritebot chirped and flew up to a hole near the ceiling. I had to admit, I still didn’t know what Goldenblood was either; if anything, I was even more confused now. Sinister manipulator? Misunderstood genius? A pony who saw the writing on the wall because he’d written it himself? How had what he’d wanted been any different than what Twilight had? Or myself?
当我再次和他一起进入主卧室时，我想到了这一点。小机器人叽叽喳喳地叫着，飞到天花板附近的一个洞里。我不得不承认，我也不知道金血王是什么;如果有什么不同的话，那就是我现在更加困惑了。阴险的操纵者？被误解的天才？一匹小马看到了墙上的字，因为是他自己写的？他想要的东西和《暮光之城》有什么不同？还是我自己？
“The more I hear about Goldenblood, the less I like it,” I said; I saw Spike’s smirk and added, with my own smile, “Not him, so much. But it feels like he was the one who set up the big things.” My magic levitated some square gems and placed them on end. “Luna comes to him for advice and he sets up the ministries. He talks your friends into becoming the Ministry Mares. He works in the O.I.A. behind the scenes. The war gets worse and worse and he starts doing the Projects like Chimera and Steelpony. Then…” I knocked one gem and it fell against the next, which fell against the next, and then whole pile was tumbling over.
"我听到金血王的故事越多，就越不喜欢它,"我说，我看到斯派克的傻笑，就笑着补充说,"不是他，非常喜欢。但感觉好像是他策划了这些大事。"我的魔法悬浮了一些方形宝石，并把它们连接起来。"卢娜来找他寻求建议，于是他成立了部门。他说服你的朋友成为马瑞斯部长。他在o.i.a.的幕后工作。战争变得越来越糟，他开始做像Chimera和Steelpony这样的项目。然后......"我碰到了一块宝石，它掉到了另一块宝石上，又掉到了另一块宝石上，接着整堆宝石都掉了下来。
“Yeah. Now you know how I feel about Goldenblood.”
"是的。现在你知道我对金色血统的看法了吧。"
“So what happened to him in the end? Wasn’t he removed from being director?”
""那么，他最后怎么样了？他不是被免去董事职务了吗?"
“Suspended. Luna found out something she didn’t like. I don’t know what, but it caused a major shakeup. Still, I don’t think even Luna realized just how much power he had at that point. I know that Horse might have been in charge, but the entire O.I.A. still went through Goldenblood and Hoofington. Nopony wanted to touch him. He knew too many secrets. Had too much leverage. Then, finally, he was arrested for treason.”
发言人说:「。露娜发现了她不喜欢的东西。我不知道是什么，但是它引起了一场大混乱。尽管如此，我认为即使是卢纳也没有意识到他在那个时候拥有多大的力量。我知道Horse可能是负责人但整个o.i.a.还是要经过Goldenblood和Hoofington。小马驹想要抚摸他。他知道的秘密太多了。有太多的影响力。最后，他因叛国罪被捕。"
“Treason?” I gasped.
"叛国?"我倒抽了一口冷气。
He nodded gravely. “Nopony knew the details. It didn’t matter, though. The next day, the bombs fell. Canterlot was consumed by the Pink Cloud. Goldenblood probably died in his cell.” He flicked away a diamond with an expression of ‘good riddance’. I frowned up at him. This wasn’t quite what I expected. This wasn’t anger. There was something else to this.
他严肃地点点头。"小马知道细节。不过，这并不重要。第二天，炸弹落了下来。坎特罗特被粉红云吞噬。金色血液可能死在牢房里。"他弹掉了一颗钻石，脸上带着"终于摆脱了"的表情。我对他皱起了眉头。这完全出乎我的意料。这不是愤怒。还有别的原因。
“Spike, why are you really upset with Goldenblood?” He gave me a sharp look, and I was reminded that I was on the wrong side of Spike on the food chain to press questions. “Please. Tell me. I think that Goldenblood might have done something in Hoofington. Something that’s not over.”
"斯派克，你为什么这么生金血王的气?"他用锐利的目光看了我一眼，提醒我，在食物链上，我站在了斯派克错误的一边，没有按问题。"求你了。告诉我。我认为金血王可能在Hoofington做了什么。还没有结束的事情。"
Spike looked at me for a long moment, then let out another sigh. “Dragons aren’t exactly real big on family. Twilight raised me, and I loved her like a mother. She tried to teach me right from wrong. I grew up surrounded by mares, and don’t get me wrong -- they were my dearest friends, too. There was just one little thing missing.”
斯派克看了我好一会儿，又叹了口气。"龙并不是真正的大家庭。暮光抚养着我，我像母亲一样爱着她。她试图教我分辨是非。我是在母马的环绕下长大的，不要误会我的意思，它们也是我最亲密的朋友。只是少了一样小东西。"
I thought of my own upbringing. Funny. Three weeks ago, I never would have thought of it. “No father?”
我想到了我自己的成长经历。有意思。三个星期前，我根本不会想到这个问题。"没有父亲?"
“Yeah. Not a lot of guys in Ponyville were real keen on hanging out with a baby dragon. Oh, there were Big Macintosh and Angel Bunny. Snips and Snails. But yeah. Not a lot of guys.” He sat up and put his elbows on his knees, cupping his chin in his claws. “You know how I said I originally cozied up with the O.I.A. to find some dirt on Goldenblood?” I nodded, and he sighed. “Well, over time, it sort of changed. I’d never really spent a lot of time around a guy like him. I told you how scary smart he was? Well, that didn’t wow me much. Twilight was smarter. But he was also… strong. Determined. Focused. As much as I resented how he created the ministries, he was also the closest thing I ever had to a father.
"是的。在Ponyville，没有多少人真正热衷于和幼龙玩耍。哦，还有大麦金托什和天使兔。剪刀和蜗牛。但是，是的。不是很多人。"他坐了起来，双肘支在膝盖上，用爪子托住下巴。"你知道我最初是怎么说服o.i.a.去发现金血王的丑闻的吗?"我点点头，他叹了口气。"嗯，随着时间的推移，情况有所改变。我从来没有和他这样的人在一起呆过很长时间。我告诉过你他有多聪明吗？这可不怎么让我惊讶。暮光之城更聪明。但他也很...强壮。下定决心。专注。尽管我对他如何创建这些事工非常不满，但他也是我所拥有的最接近父亲的人。
“He told me once that a stallion had to devote himself to an idea and, whatever that idea was, it would shape him for the rest of his life. Like a virtue, it would define you. Build you into the person you are. It didn’t matter if that idea was good or bad, so long as a guy stuck to it at all costs.” The dragon looked back towards the depths of the cavern. “Sometimes, when I get lonely, or frustrated, or just tired of this… I think of that. I think of what it means to be a guy. That I have to remain true to this. And even though I hate him a bit… at the same time, I can’t hate him completely. I’ve tried, but I just can’t do it.”
"他曾经告诉我，一匹种马必须献身于一个想法，不管这个想法是什么，它将塑造他的余生。就像美德一样，它可以定义你。把你塑造成真正的自己。这个想法是好是坏并不重要，只要有人不惜一切代价坚持下去。"龙回头望向洞穴的深处。"有时候，当我感到孤独，沮丧，或者只是厌倦了这些......我就会想起这些。我在想成为一个男人意味着什么。我必须忠于这一点。尽管我有点恨他，但是我不能完全恨他。我试过了，但就是做不到。"
He sighed and shook his head. “The last thing he ever said to me, the night before he was arrested, was how proud he was that I protected the secret. That I kept the vigil. He was proud of me. I don’t know if he was just lying to me or if he meant it, but I still feel it inside.”
他叹了口气，摇了摇头。"在他被捕的前一天晚上，他对我说的最后一句话是，他为我保守了这个秘密而感到多么自豪。我一直在守夜。他以我为荣。我不知道他是在对我撒谎，还是真心的，但我心里还是感觉得到。"
“Well. You should be proud,” I said. ”I think that, through it all, you’ve tried
"好吧。"你应该感到骄傲,"我说我认为，经历了这一切，你已经尝试了
your best to stay true to Twilight and what she tried to do here.” I immediately brightened as I pointed a hoof at him. “In fact, why can’t you be the Element of Loyalty? I’m sure you’d make a great Rainbow Dash!”
你最好忠于《暮光之城》以及她在这里所做的一切。"当我把一只蹄子指向他时，我立刻变得神采奕奕。"事实上，为什么你不能成为忠诚元素呢？我相信你会成为一个伟大的彩虹冲刺!"
He blinked and waved his hands at me. “Oh, no! There’s no way I’m going to try impersonating her again! It didn’t end well the first time and it won’t end well now,” he said firmly, but then chuckled. “But thanks for the thought.”
他眨眨眼睛，向我挥挥手。"哦，不！我绝对不会再冒充她了！第一次没有好结果，现在也不会好结果,"他坚定地说，但随后咯咯地笑了起来。"不过还是谢谢你的好意。"
“No problem. So…” I looked at the mouth of the cave. “I guess I should get back to my friends. I’m going to have to kiss Glory’s hooves bigtime when I see her. And there’ll probably be some groveling involved. Tears.” I sighed, looking around the cave. “I don’t suppose I could hang out here for a few years, could I? Just as an option?”
"没问题。所以......"我看着洞口。"我想我该回去找我的朋友们了。当我看到晨辉的时候，我将不得不亲吻她的大蹄子。而且可能会有一些卑躬屈膝的行为。眼泪。"我叹了口气，环顾了一下山洞。""我想我不能在这儿呆上几年，是吗？只是作为一种选择?"
“Go find your friends, Blackjack. I know they’re worried sick,” he said with a sigh. “I’d fly you, but after leaving once, I’m positive the Enclave is on high alert for me to leave again. I won’t be able to go out for a good long while.”
"去找你的朋友吧，Blackjack。我知道他们担心死了,"他叹了口气说。"我很想带你飞过去，但是离开一次之后，我肯定昂科雷已经处于高度戒备状态，等着我再次离开。我很长一段时间都不能出去了。"
Oh. Great. That just left me on the top of a really high mountain. Fortunately, the inebriation was making me feel a little less ooggly about the prospect than usual. He must have seen my face, because he chuckled. “Don’t worry. There’s a path. I’ve got a few connections with ponies across the Wasteland to bring me food and fresh gems in exchange for info. Just hug the side of the mountain.”
哦。太好了。那只是把我留在了一座很高的山顶上。幸运的是，这种醉酒的感觉使我对前景的预期比平时少了一些。他一定是看到我的脸了，因为他咯咯地笑了。"别担心。有一条路。我有一些联系的小马越过荒地给我带来的食物和新鲜的宝石，以交换信息。只要靠着山的一边就行了。"
“Sure. Right. Sounds like a blast.” I trotted up to him. “Thanks, Spike. For everything. For showing me something better.”
"当然。对。听起来很刺激。"我小跑着向他走去。"谢谢，斯派克。为所有的一切。谢谢你给我看了更好的东西。"
“You’re a good pony, Blackjack,” he said as he stroked my mane with a clawtip. “I know you don’t feel it, or see it, or believe it, but you are.” I hugged his claw tightly, being careful not to cut myself. I’d only had Mom for a family, but now I had an inkling of what it meant to have a big brother, too.
"你是一匹好马，黑杰克,"他一边说，一边用爪子轻抚着我的鬃毛。"我知道你感觉不到，看不到，也不相信，但你确实感觉到了。"我紧紧地抱住他的爪子，小心不要割伤自己。我只有一个家庭的妈妈，但现在我也有了一个大哥哥意味着什么的暗示。
* * *
* * *
‘A trail down’ was something of an exaggeration. At times, the trail was simply a ledge with a cliff rising on one side and a void plunging down the other. Only my inebriation kept my stomach from completely unloading as I picked my way down. I came to a gap in the trail and peeked down. Aw, buck me, was that a river down there? All the way down there?
"追踪"可能有点夸张。有时候，这条小径只是一块突出的岩石，一边是悬崖，另一边是空洞。只有我的醉意使我的胃在我下山的时候没有完全卸下来。我来到小路的一个缺口，往下看了看。噢，我靠，那下面是条河吗？一直走到那里？
From this high, I could see forever. Well, no, not forever, but it sure seemed like it. It felt like I was close enough to the cloud ceiling to reach up and touch it… which, actually, was pretty much the case. Grays and sickly green and browns stained the landscape below like the hide of a rotting corpse.
从这么高的地方，我可以看到永远。不，不是永远，但看起来确实是这样。我感觉自己离云层天花板足够近，可以伸手触摸它......实际上，情况就是这样。灰色、病态的绿色和棕色就像腐烂尸体的皮肤，把下面的景色染成了灰色。
Yet instead of the usual depression creeping in, I remembered that it could be better. Because of Twilight Sparkle. And Spike. LittlePip and the mysterious Stable Dweller.
然而，我没有像往常一样感到沮丧，相反，我记得情况可能会好一些。因为紫悦。还有斯派克。小匹普和神秘的马厩居民。
For the first time in a while, I felt glad to be out here. I just wished I could have had a better look at the stars. Even though the cave was above the Enclave's cloud ceiling, there was a higher layer of thin cloud that not only blocked the moon and the dimmer stars but spread the moonlight out and made even the brighter stars difficult to pick out. Still… the rainbow halo the clouds gave the moon had been one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. If I could've stayed up there forever...
这么长时间以来，我第一次感到很高兴来到这里。我只是希望我可以看得更清楚一点。尽管洞穴位于昂科雷的云顶之上，但是更高的一层薄云不仅阻挡了月亮和暗淡的星星，而且还散发出月光，使得更亮的星星也难以辨认。然而...云彩带给月亮的彩虹光环是我所见过的最美丽的东西之一。如果我能永远待在那里..。
But I still had my friends to meet up with… copious apologies to make… a brain that was slowly breaking down… possibly a really big bounty on my head… old plots that were still doing plot stuff… Enclave plagues… I cast one last look at the path behind me running up into the cloud ceiling, took another long pull off my bottle of Buckweiser, and tried to set my mind firmly ahead.
但是我还有我的朋友们要见面......我要向他们道歉......我的大脑正在慢慢崩溃......可能真的有一大笔赏金要我的人头......那些老谋深算的阴谋仍在继续......飞地瘟疫......我最后一次看了看我身后的小路，它一直延伸到云层的天花板上，我又抽出了一大口巴克威瑟酒，并试图把我的思想牢牢地放在前面。
“First… just got to do this,” I muttered as I looked at the gap. I could imagine a little pony singing in my head that all I needed was a hop, skip and jump. “Right… so… a hop…” Really, it was more of a step. “…a skip…” A second step. “And a…” Don’t look down! So of course I looked down, my eyes widening as I plunged to my death!
"首先......我必须这么做,"我看着缝隙喃喃自语。我可以想象一匹小马在我的脑海里唱歌，我所需要的只是一跳，一跳，一跳。"对......那么......一跳......"说真的，这更像是一个步骤。"...跳过..."第二步。"还有.....。。」别往下看！所以当然我低头看，我的眼睛睁得大大的，因为我跳下去死了！
Or not. My forehooves landed on the far side of the gap. I heard an orange pony groan softly in the back of my mind. Okay, more voices in my head, but, on the other hoof, still a head to have voices in. Not plunging to my death. But now what?
或者不是。我的前蹄落在缝隙的另一边。我听到一匹橙色的小马在我的脑海里轻轻地呻吟。好吧，更多的声音在我的头脑中，但是，在另一个蹄子，仍然有一个头有声音在里面。而不是死亡。但现在怎么办？
Missiles make everything easier.
导弹让一切变得简单。
The rocket streaked from above, and my legs kicked me across the gap as it exploded behind me. The blast knocked me horn over heels and smacked me into the ledge on the far side. I lay there, upside down, as two suits of black Enclave power armor landed on my ledge while a third remained hovering above
火箭从上面飞过，我的腿踢过了缝隙，它在我身后爆炸了。爆炸声把我的喇叭吹翻在地，把我撞到远处的窗台上。我倒着躺在那里，两套黑色昂科雷动力装甲降落在我的窗台上，而第三套装甲还在上面徘徊
us. “Damn it, Boomer! Can’t question her if she’s blown to pieces,” yelled the leader through her helmet.
我们。"该死，布玛儿！如果她被炸成碎片，就不能质疑她,"领导人透过头盔喊道。
“Right. Saves us all the yappin’,” muttered the stallion beside her.
"对。"这样我们就不用大喊大叫了,"她旁边的那匹种马咕哝着。
“Till command asks why we used up a missile!”
"直到指挥官问我们为什么用光了导弹!"
I chuckled as I fell over, then pushed myself upright and sat there against the stone. I looked right at the mare who had more fiddly bits on her armor; I took her as the one in charge. “You’re coming with us. We got questions ‘bout that dragon in thair.” I slowly rose to my hooves, laughing.
我摔倒了，笑了笑，然后把自己挺直，靠着石头坐了下来。我正看着那母马，她的盔甲上有更多的精细部分，我把她当作负责人。"你得跟我们走。我们对空中的那条龙有些疑问。"我慢慢地站起来，大笑起来。
“Uh… why is she laughing?” the stallion beside her asked. “Is she… drunk, Twister?”
"呃......她笑什么?"她旁边的种马问道。"她是不是...喝醉了扭扭乐?"
I levitated out my last bottle of Buckweiser and popped the cap with my magic, tucking it in my pocket as I stared right at the pair. “Yup,” I said as I took a swig off the bottle and pulled out my shotgun. “I think I’m just about there.” The three stiffened, but then I started to eject the shells one after the next and put them in my saddlebags.
我把最后一瓶巴克威瑟酒悬浮起来，用我的魔法打开瓶盖，盯着那两瓶酒，把它塞进口袋。"是的,"我一边说，一边从瓶子上取下一口酒，拿出我的猎枪。"我想我就快到了。"三个都僵硬了，但是我开始一个接一个地弹出炮弹，把它们放进我的鞍囊里。
“Right,” the lead mare said as she watched me unload the weapon. “You drop your guns and come along peacefully and there won’t be no trouble. Just want ta ask ya a few questions.”
"是的,"领头母马看着我卸下武器时说。"你们放下枪，和平地走过来，就不会有麻烦了。只是想问你几个问题。"
“Oh… I don’t really think so,” I said as I stared at them and started loading the orange-banded shells. “You want to know what’s really funny, though. If you’d pulled this… mmm… an hour ago… I probably would have gone along without a fuss.” A normal, smart pony would probably have shot me right now. But I had my shootiest look going, staring at the trio like I was the one who’d ambushed them.
"哦......我真的不这么认为,"我盯着他们说，并开始装载橙带贝壳。"不过，你想知道真正有趣的是什么吗。如果你一个小时前就这么做了，我可能就不会大惊小怪了。"一匹普通聪明的小马可能现在就会向我开枪。但是我看着他们，好像我就是那个伏击他们的人。
“Yer twigged,” the mare muttered, and I laughed even more.
"你笑了,"母马咕哝着，我笑得更厉害了。
“Oooh, just a bit,” I said with a grin.
"哦，就一点点,"我咧嘴笑着说。
“There’s three of us and one of you! And yer not in power armor! And ye’ve only got a shotgun! Stand down, mare. I won’t be askin’ a second time.”
"我们有三个人，你们只有一个！而且你不是穿着强力盔甲！而你只有一把猎枪！退下，小母马。我不会再问第二次了。"
“Maybe if you’ve got six more waiting, I’d be worried,” I said as I racked a
"也许如果你还有六个人在等着，我会担心的,"我边说边绞尽脑汁
round into the chamber. “But right now, I got my gun, my beer, a fire in my belly and a grin on my face, and there’s not a mother fucking pony in the Wasteland who can stop me!”
进入密室。"但是现在，我有我的枪，我的啤酒，我肚子里的火，我脸上的笑容，没有一个他妈的小马妈妈在荒原谁可以阻止我!"
“Right,” she drawled, unimpressed. “Sunset.” The hovering mare’s gatling energy rifles started to spin.
"是的,"她慢吞吞地说，没什么感觉。"日落。"盘旋的母马的加特林能量步枪开始旋转。
But it was already too late for them.
但是对他们来说已经太晚了。
I leapt straight at Twister as I slipped into S.A.T.S. for one special attack and one standard, and as time resumed the beer bottle was flung end over end to smash across Sunset’s visor and coat it in sudsy froth. She reared back, her shots going high and blasting a crater field into the wall behind me as my second attack sent an explosive shell straight into the leader’s face. Her beam rifles flashed over me as smoking rock rained down on all of us. With a final leap, I slid between the pair and fired a third shot; but what I’d intended to be a gut shot on the leader simply blasted her scorpion tail.
当我溜进s.a.t.s进行一次特殊攻击和一次标准攻击时，我直接扑向了Twister。当我的第二次攻击将一枚炸弹直接击中领导人的脸时，她向后仰起身，子弹飞得很高，在我身后的墙上炸出了一个弹坑。当冒烟的岩石像雨点一样落在我们身上时，她的来复枪从我身上掠过。最后一跳的时候，我滑到她们中间，开了第三枪，但是我本来打算对着领头的那只蝎子尾巴开一枪的。
Oh. By the way, did I mention this was taking place on a ledge?
哦。顺便问一下，我有没有提到这是在一个平台上发生的？
My hooves scrabbled on the gravel as my rear end slipped over the edge. Boomer stabbed his tail at me wildly, the sharpened spike sparking off the stone. I stretched out my left hoof, gritting my teeth as the spike smashed hard into the reinforced casing of Marmalade’s PipBuck. The powered armor lifted me right into the air and nearly jerked my leg out of its socket. I blasted the end of his articulated tail, bouncing once and rolling to my feet.
我的蹄子在碎石上蹭来蹭去，因为我的屁股从边上滑了下去。布默用他的尾巴疯狂地向我刺来，锋利的长钉从石头上发出火花。我伸出我的左蹄，咬紧牙关，看着长钉狠狠地撞进Marmalade公司PipBuck的钢筋外壳。动力盔甲把我举到空中，差点把我的腿从它的插座里拽出来。我猛击他铰接式尾巴的末端，弹跳了一下，然后翻滚着站起来。
“Look out,” the leader mare said, blood in her eyes as red beams of magic tried to turn me into barbecued pony as I charged at Boomer. Sunset, her visor cleared, strafed me with rapid-fire disintegration bolts; I’d have to deal with that lickety split.
"小心,"领头的母马说，当我冲向布玛儿时，红色的魔法光束试图把我变成烧烤的小马。日落的时候，她的面罩被清理干净了，用急速射击的瓦解螺栓猛烈地轰击着我;我必须处理好这个飞快的裂口。
You know. I was discovering a new fondness for missiles.
你知道的。我发现自己对导弹有了新的爱好。
I shoved hard against Boomer as I snapped out my dragon claw. There was no doubt the articulated black armor was tough stuff. With the exception of the visors and the extremities, I didn’t really have much that would chew through it without a lot of sustained fire. However, there was one particular part of that armor that was just covered with reinforced rubber and waste collection systems. Tough stuff…
我用力推着布玛儿，猛地拔出我的龙爪。毫无疑问，铰接式黑色盔甲是坚固的材料。除了老虎钳和四肢，我没有多少东西可以在没有持续火力的情况下咬穿它。然而，有一个特殊的部分，装甲刚刚覆盖了加强橡胶和废物收集系统。艰难的事情..。
My claw was tougher.
我的爪子更坚硬了。
I slid in close, using him as cover from the leader, then jabbed the claw hard against his nethers. “You’ll be the third male I’ve gelded if you don’t shoot the flier with a missile right now!”
我靠近他，利用他作为掩护，躲开领队，然后用爪子猛击他的下体。"如果你现在不用导弹打飞机的话，你就是我阉掉的第三个雄性了!"
Boomer froze. “Ah… ah…” I wiggled the tip. “Aw, shit… Ah’m sorry, Sunset!”
布玛儿愣住了。"啊......啊......"我扭动着笔尖。"啊，该死......啊，对不起，日落!"
“What?” the hovering mare asked blankly before he sent a rocket right up into her chest. The missile exploded and sent her arching over the gap to land with a crash on the far side.
"什么?"盘旋的母马茫然地问道，然后向她胸口发射了一枚火箭。导弹爆炸了，把她拱起在缺口上面着陆，在远侧发生了碰撞。
“Boomer, you idjit!” the leader shouted in rage, and there was a blast and her red beam struck my dragon claw squarely. In a flash, the weapon was reduced to sizzling chunks of bone. “Take her down or Ah’ll shoot your jewels m’self!”
"Boomer，你这个白痴!"领队怒吼着，突然一声巨响，她的红色光束正好击中了我的龙爪。在一瞬间，武器变成了吱吱作响的骨头。"把她放下来，不然我就把你的珠宝打掉!"
“Ah’m tryin’!” he shouted as he shoved me away, but I’d swapped back to my shotgun and was blasting at his wing guards and weapons now. The leader had taken to the air; her weapons were far more accurate at range than my shotgun.
"啊，我在努力!"他一边大叫一边把我推开，但我还是换回了我的猎枪，朝他的翼卫和武器开枪。领头的已经腾空而起，她的武器射程远比我的猎枪准。
But not much more than my rifle.
但不比我的步枪多多少。
In S.A.T.S. I targeted her head. Two rounds would probably do it. Be kind… Except… if I killed her, it would probably make even more trouble for Spike. They already had questions for him. I cancelled the two shots and placed one on each of her beam rifles instead. Luck was with me; the armor piercing rounds I’d loaded in the print shop tore right through the delicate magical weapon components.
在s.a.t.s，我瞄准了她的脑袋。两发子弹可能就够了。友善点...除了...如果我杀了她，可能会给斯派克制造更多的麻烦。他们已经有问题要问他了。我取消了这两发子弹，把它们分别放在她的平射步枪上。幸运与我同在;我在打印店里装的穿甲弹直接穿透了精致的魔法武器部件。
Boomer was turning to face me as he loaded another missile, but once more I was running. My barding smoked from the beam impacts, but at least I wasn’t smoking as I jumped on top of him and put two rounds straight through one of his wing guards and into the feathered appendage.
布玛儿在装载另一枚导弹时转过身来面对我，但我又一次跑了起来。我的枪因为受到光束的撞击而冒烟，但至少我没有冒烟，我跳到他身上，朝他的一个翼卫开了两枪，打中了他的羽毛附属物。
That was when the leader swooped in and tackled me. In a second, we were over a very long drop as my legs wrapped around her. “Gotcha!” she laughed. I had to admit, she had very pretty lilac eyes.
就在那时，队长突然出现，扑倒了我。一秒钟之内，我们下降了很长一段距离，我的腿缠住了她。"抓到你了!"她笑了。我不得不承认，她有一双非常漂亮的淡紫色眼睛。
Then I pressed the shotgun against her head.
然后我用猎枪顶着她的头。
“Y’all can’t be that crazy!” she shouted as her eyes went wide. “Y’all die too!”
"你们不会那么疯狂吧!"她眼睛睁得大大的喊道。"你们都得死!"
Yes, and the thought of plummeting hundreds or thousands of feet to a very squishy end sent a very familiar fear screaming in my head. However, at this exact moment, the alcohol and the high I rode took that fear, tied it up, tossed it in the back closet of my mind, and beat it into submission with rubber hoses. “Me? I’ve had cyberponies blast me with artillery! I’ve been shot in the back by zebra snipers and taken an armor piercing round through my skull! I’ve had my face attacked by almost every single pony I call a close and personal friend! I’ve had boats dropped on me! Don’t you tell me what will and won’t kill me!” I shouted in her face as I grinned from ear to ear. “You hear me?”
是的，一想到要从几百或几千英尺的高空坠落到非常湿软的一端，我的脑海里就有一种熟悉的恐惧尖叫起来。然而，就在此时此刻，酒精和兴奋让我感到恐惧，把它绑起来，扔进我脑海中的后壁橱，然后用橡胶软管把它打得服服帖帖。"我？我曾经让赛博小马用大炮轰过我！我被斑马狙击手从背后射杀，还被穿甲弹穿透了我的头骨！我的脸几乎被每一匹我称之为亲密私人朋友的小马攻击过！有人把船扔在我身上！不用你告诉我什么能杀死我，什么不能杀死我!"当我咧着嘴笑的时候，我当着她的面大喊。"你听到了吗?"
“Yer fucking loco!”
"你他妈的疯子!"
I jammed the gun hard into her temple. “Do you fucking hear me!?” I roared even louder, wondering if I could use her like a parachute.
我用枪狠狠地顶着她的太阳穴。"你他妈的听到我说话了吗?"我吼得更大声了，不知道我能不能把她当成降落伞。
She must have seen it in my eyes. “Yes!” she yelled.
她一定是从我的眼睛里看出来的。"是的!"她喊道。
“Then fly your ass east, right now!” I said, and then glanced back at all the nothing underneath me. You know, for being beaten with hoses, that fear was still mighty loud. “And get me on your back, damn it!” Please!
"那就飞到东边去，马上!"我说，然后回头看了看我身下所有的虚无。你知道，因为被软管打了一顿，那种恐惧仍然很强烈。"把我放在你的背上，该死的!"求你了！
* * *
* * *
What took Spike all of two minutes took Twister almost an hour. For the longest time, all she’d give me was her name and a string of numbers, followed by a colorful collection of expletives about my sexual habits, breeding, health, and weight. She only once touched on the subject of my mother, which resulted in the connection of my shotgun butt against her skull and a short fall before she regained enough consciousness to fly.
斯派克花了整整两分钟的时间，而图斯特花了将近一个小时。在很长一段时间里，她给我的只是她的名字和一串数字，然后是关于我的性习惯、教养、健康和体重等各种各样的咒骂。她只提到过一次我母亲的话题，导致我用枪托顶着她的头骨，在她恢复足够的意识飞起来之前，她摔了一跤。
After several dozen assorted questions, I got around to asking, “So messing with the VC isn’t bad enough, and now Thunderhead’s sending ponies to spy on dragons?”
在问了几十个各种各样的问题之后，我开始问:"那么和VC打交道还不够糟糕，现在霹雳头还派小马去监视龙?"
“I ain’t no Dunderhead!” she swore, then cursed herself as we flew low. I might even survive a fall from this low; I’d break every bone in my body, but I might survive.
"我不是笨蛋!"她咒骂，然后在我们飞得很低的时候诅咒自己。我甚至可能从这么低的地方摔下来还能活下来;我可能会摔断我身上的每一根骨头，但我可能会活下来。
“You’re not from Thunderhead?” I said in surprise.
"你不是从雷锋队来的?"我惊讶地说。
“Do I look like I’m one o’ them fancy prancin’ cloudhumpers?” she replied crossly. Honestly, if they weren’t ghouls or Glory… “Thunderheaders are half a feather above surface scum in my book.”
"我看起来像是那些喜欢云驼的人中的一员吗?"她生气地回答。老实说，如果他们不是食尸鬼或者晨辉的话......"在我的书中，雷霆比表面的渣滓高出半根羽毛。"
Really? Wasn’t this interesting... “Well, so glad to meet a better class of Enclave. So where are you from?”
真的吗？这是不是很有趣......"嗯，很高兴遇到一个更好的阶层的飞地。那么，你来自哪里?"
“Won’t mean nothing to ya,” she drawled as she glared back at me.
"这对你来说不算什么,"她慢吞吞地说，同时瞪着我。
“No harm in telling me, then,” I countered as we approached Star Point.
"那么，告诉我也无妨,"我们走近星点时，我反驳道。
“Neighvarro,” she replied after several seconds. “You mind telling me what you and the dragon were yapping about?”
"邻居,"几秒钟后她回答。"你介意告诉我你和那条龙在吵什么吗?"
I thought about it and then shrugged. “He was helping me out with a problem.”
我想了想，然后耸了耸肩。"他在帮我解决一个问题。"
“Problem?”
"有问题吗?"
“Yeah. I got a lot of ponies killed. Hit me hard. He was helping me get through it. He’s nice like that. You really should leave him alone.”
"是的。我害死了很多小马驹。用力打我。他在帮我度过难关。他人很好。你真的应该放过他。"
“Nice?” She snorted. “That dragon torched one of us for trying to take a fugitive into custody. Don’t you tell me how nice he is.”
"好吗?"她哼了一声。"那条龙烧死了我们中的一个，因为我们试图拘留一个逃犯。别跟我说他有多好。"
I laughed. “Wait, you tried to take something from a dragon’s lair?” Even I wasn’t that stupid.
我笑了。"等等你想从龙穴里拿东西?"我也没那么蠢。
She glanced back at me, her lavender ears reddening. “Well, yeah!”
她回头看了我一眼，淡紫色的耳朵变红了。"嗯，是的!"
“Right. Good call. Be glad only one of you got toasted. He probably could have killed all of you,” I pointed out, and she clearly didn’t like it.
"对。说得好。庆幸你们中只有一个被烤焦了。他可能会杀了你们所有人,"我指出，她显然不喜欢这样。
“Ain’t nothing you’d understand,” she muttered.
"你什么都不懂,"她喃喃自语道。
“Maybe not. But I was in security in my stable. So I’m sorry. I know how bad it hurts to lose your own.” And I could still hear that word and smell that smell as if I were still there. I wondered if I always would. Then I adopted a lighter tone. “Still, I got to admit that I am just burning up with curiosity about your problem
"也许不是。但我在我的马厩里很安全。所以我很抱歉。我知道失去自己的孩子有多痛苦。"我仍然能够听到那个词，闻到那种气味，仿佛我还在那里。我想知道我是否会一直这样。然后我采用了较轻的音调。"尽管如此，我还是得承认，我对你的问题非常好奇
with Thunderhead. Because they’ve really got my hate too, and it seems damned stupid for us to fight each other.”
和Thunderhead一起。因为他们也真的有我的仇恨，我们互相争斗看起来真是愚蠢透顶。"
“Yer a surfacer. I ain’t allowed to talk to ya bout nothing,” she muttered stubbornly. “Got to keep our own safe and sound.”
"你是一个表面活动家。我什么话都不能跟你说,"她固执地咕哝着。"要保证我们自己的安全和健康"
“Believe it or not, I understand that better than you know. Security, remember?” I said as she finally touched down on the rock. I slipped off her. “Thunderhead operative Lighthooves created a plague that infected my stable. Turned them all into raiders. I had to put them down myself,” I said softly as I found Vigilance amid the rocks and lifted it.
"信不信由你，我比你知道的更清楚。安全，记得吗?"当她终于着陆在岩石上时，我说。我从她身上滑了下来。"雷霆头特工光剑制造了一场瘟疫，感染了我的马厩。把他们都变成了掠夺者。我不得不亲自把它们放下,"我轻声地说，因为我在岩石中发现了"警戒"，于是把它们拿了起来。
“You… what?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Yer lying!”
"你......什么?"她震惊地睁大了眼睛。"你在撒谎!"
I stared right into her eyes. “Tell me I’m lying again.” And as I stared into her eyes, I thought of Midnight’s scream. I thought of limp foals lying on the atrium floor. I thought of that horrible smell. But, as much as it hurt, I didn’t feel that hollowness inside. She looked away quickly and I took a slow breath, opening a Sparkle-Cola and taking a sip. “Anyway, you should probably get going,” I said as I unslung Taurus’s rifle.
我直直地盯着她的眼睛。"告诉我，我又在撒谎。"当我凝视着她的眼睛，我想起了午夜的尖叫。我想起了躺在中庭地板上的无力的小马驹。我想到了那可怕的气味。但是，尽管这很伤人，我却没有感觉到内心的空虚。她迅速地把目光移开，我缓缓地吸了一口气，打开一瓶闪亮可乐，喝了一小口。"不管怎样，你应该走了,"我一边说，一边解开了金牛座的步枪。
“Why? So you can shoot me in the back?” she asked in alarm, her eyes narrowing.
"为什么？这样你就可以从背后向我开枪了?"她惊恐地问道，眼睛眯起来。
“No. Because I’m seeing red bars. Lots and lots of red bars,” I said with a swallow as I lifted the rifle and looked through the scope. Through the darkness and spitting rain I picked out a leonine form and stinger tail amid the stunted and dead trees. “Manticores.”
"没有。因为我看到红条了。很多很多的红条,"我一边说着一边举起步枪，透过瞄准镜看了看。在黑暗和倾盆大雨中，我在矮小枯死的树木中发现了狮子般的身影和刺尾。"Manticores"
“Manticores?” she said in alarm as she shielded her eyes from the rain. “Damned Hoofintun sky piss…” She spotted them without the scope, backing away in alarm a little. “What are critters like that doing out here?”
"猛男?"她一边说，一边用手遮住眼睛以免被雨淋到。"该死的胡芬顿天尿......"她没有瞄准镜就发现了他们，惊慌地往后退了一点。"这种动物在这里干什么?"
“Following me, I bet,” I muttered. No sign of the monsterpony that controlled them. “Well, take care. Have a good one. You held up your end of the bargain.” I swept the rifle back and forth, looking for a skull to perforate.
"跟着我，我打赌,"我喃喃自语。没有任何控制他们的怪物的踪迹。"好吧，保重。祝你愉快。你履行了你的承诺。"我把步枪前后扫了一遍，想找个头骨穿孔。
“You’re just going to stay here and die alone?” She goggled at me.
"你就打算留在这里孤独地死去吗?"她瞪大眼睛看着我。
“Well, you could stay and I’ll have company. Your armor is trashed and those
""好吧，你可以留下来，我有客人。你的盔甲被毁了
manticores can fly. It’s me they want. Not you,” I muttered as I glanced back at her.
Manticores会飞。他们要抓的是我。不是你,"我回头看了她一眼，喃喃自语。
But she was looking at me funny. Like she wasn’t sure if I were crazy, something else, or both. “Can you buy me time?”
但是她看我的眼神很滑稽。就像她不确定我是疯了还是其他什么，或者两者都有。"你能为我争取时间吗?"
“Possibly. For what?”
"有可能。为什么?"
“Let me get some scrap metal, and my armor will make repairs. I’ll need a few minutes, though,” she said as she opened up a panel on her forehoof similar to a PipBuck.
"我去拿些废金属来，我的盔甲可以修理。不过我还需要几分钟,"她一边说，一边在前蹄上打开了一个类似PipBuck的面板。
Well, any stable in a storm… “Right. I’ll try and leave some for you.”
嗯，暴风雨中的马厩......"是的。我尽量给你留一些。"
She snorted and smirked. “You better.”
她哼了一声，得意地笑了。"最好是这样。"
I ran towards the woods, hovering the rifle to my left and the shotgun to my right. Sure, it looked bad ass, but I doubt anypony would be impressed with my aim. I found a nice picnic bench, rested the hunting rifle on some boxes of junk, and took sight. Two manticores roared and broke free from the group, bounding across the uneven ground as their claws scraped off the stone. S.A.T.S. let me line one of them up perfectly. One, two, three rounds in its skull, and the leonine monster staggered and fell to the side, unmoving.
我跑向树林，左手拿着步枪，右手拿着猎枪。当然，它看起来很糟糕，但我怀疑任何小马会对我的瞄准印象深刻。我找了一张漂亮的野餐长椅，把猎枪放在几箱垃圾上，然后看了看。两只螳螂咆哮着，挣脱了群体，跳跃着穿过凹凸不平的地面，它们的爪子刮掉了石头。让我把其中一个完美地排列起来。头骨中了一、二、三发子弹，狮子怪物摇摇晃晃地倒在一边，一动不动。
One down, a lot to go. I swapped targets and guns, my focus lining up a shot from the hip. The explosive slug fired, but lacking a hard surface refused to detonate; just slammed the monster back and stopped it in its tracks. I wasted four more before the beast went down.
解决了一个，还有很多要做。我交换了目标和枪支，我的注意力从臀部开始排列。爆炸性蛞蝓发射，但缺乏坚硬的表面拒绝引爆，只是猛击怪物回来，并阻止它的轨道。在那头野兽倒下之前，我又杀了四个人。
And the rest were coming. As quickly as I could, I swapped the explosive rounds for buckshot and loaded a magazine of hollowpoints into the rifle. I started backing up, firing with the rifle till they were close enough for a pounce and then swapping to the shotgun. There was no finesse in this, no elegance. Simply firing and moving as quickly as I could and not letting the giant felines pounce. If I’d had a wide open area I’d have been fine.
剩下的就要来了。我以最快的速度把子弹换成了铅弹，给步枪装上了一个弹匣。我开始后退，用步枪射击，直到他们足够近可以猛扑过来，然后换成猎枪。这里面没有技巧，没有优雅。我只是尽可能快地射击和移动，不让这只巨型猫科动物突袭。如果我有一个开阔的区域，我会很好。
My butt hit a rock at the exact moment one pounced. I blasted twice with the shotgun… and the third time I heard the sickening sound of it firing on an empty chamber. Its forelegs sunk two heavy claws into my shoulders and it opened its mouth wide to chomp my head off. My eyes went wide as I stared into its gaping
我的屁股恰好在一个人猛扑过来的时候撞到了一块石头。我用猎枪打了两枪......第三次我听到它朝一个空腔开火的令人作呕的声音。它的前肢陷入两个沉重的爪子到我的肩膀，它张开它的嘴，咬下我的头。我的眼睛睁得大大的，盯着它张开的嘴
mouth.
嘴。
Three magical bullets exploded right down its throat. The monster vomited hot blood over me, and then slumped against me. My horn throbbed with the sudden release of magic. Unfortunately, I was still pinned by the heavy body as I struggled to shake the claws out of my barding. Two more were racing at me. How many rounds were in the rifle? Two?
三颗神奇的子弹从它的喉咙里射了出来。怪物把热血吐在我身上，然后靠在我身上。随着魔法的突然释放，我的号角震动起来。不幸的是，我仍然被沉重的身体所牵制，因为我挣扎着想把爪子从我的帐篷里抖出来。还有两个向我冲过来。步枪里有多少发子弹？两个？
I brought out Vigilance and opened fire. The heavy twelve millimeter rounds bit deep into the massive monsters, enough to hold them at bay for a few precious seconds as I struggled to free myself. The second I ran out…
我打开了警戒系统，开了枪。沉重的十二毫米口径子弹深深地刺进了这些庞然大物的身体，在我挣扎着想要解脱自己的时候，这些子弹足够把它们困在海湾里几秒钟。我跑出去的那一刻..。
Even with Vigilance’s expanded magazine, it went through ten rounds far too quickly. The less injured of the two pounced.
即使有了警惕扩充的弹夹，它还是以极快的速度通过了十发子弹。两人中伤势较轻者猛扑过去。
Shit. I wasn’t going to have a chance to grovel before Glory…
该死。我没有机会在晨辉面前卑躬屈膝..。
Find out what the other Projects were or where EC-1101 was going...
找出其他的项目是什么，或者EC-1101要去哪里..。
Have a chance to find the other elements...
有机会找到其他元素..。
Have really great make up sex with Glory…
有真正伟大的化妆性与晨辉..。
“Fuck that!” I screamed in furious defiance as I smacked the manticore across its face with Vigilance while thrashing my way free of the corpse. It didn’t have to kill the monster, just distract it. A few more seconds.
"去他妈的!"我愤怒地尖叫着，一边用警惕手段拍打蝎尾狮的脸，一边挣脱尸体。它不需要杀死怪物，只是分散它的注意力。再过几秒钟。
I pushed myself free, shoving the body aside as I tried to summon a few more magic bullets. They weren’t nearly as effective as the first volley, but they still blasted holes in the manticore’s hide. Finally, the combination of pistol rounds and magic bullets dropped the beast in a heap.
我把自己推开，把尸体推到一边，试图召集更多的魔法子弹。虽然没有第一枪那么有效，但他们还是在狮身蝎尾兽的兽皮上炸出了几个洞。最后，手枪子弹和魔法子弹的组合把这头野兽打成了一堆。
Unfortunately, there was one more and I had three unloaded weapons and a horn that was shot and three seconds between now and the moment the remaining manticore tore my head off. It leapt at me, claws extended and spittle spraying in a glistening arc as the beast prepared to rend my flesh.
不幸的是，还有一个，我有三个没上膛的武器和一个被射中的号角，从现在到剩下的狮蝎怪把我的头扯下来的三秒钟。它向我扑来，伸出爪子，吐出唾沫，形成一道闪闪发光的弧线，这只野兽准备撕裂我的肉体。
Then crimson beams flashed past me, the light striking it and transforming it into a glowing gray statue that exploded in a cloud of ash. Stepping onto the rock above me, Twister shouted in glee, “Yeeehawww! Bring it, you flyin’ pussies!”
然后深红色的光束从我身边闪过，光线击中了它，把它变成了一个在灰云中爆炸的发光的灰色雕像。站在我头顶的岩石上，图斯特高兴地喊道:"耶！来吧，你们这些飞来飞去的娘们!"
With her momentarily drawing their attention, I reloaded Vigilance and my shotgun. She played the crimson beams at range while I moved in for close and messy work. The remaining manticores scattered and disappeared back into the woods. My strength gave out as the adrenaline faded. “Well, thanks for the assist there.”
由于她一时吸引了他们的注意，我重新给"警惕"和我的猎枪上了子弹。她在一定范围内发出深红色的光束，而我则在进行近距离的凌乱的工作。剩下的曼迪克分散开来，消失在树林里。随着肾上腺素的分泌，我的体力消耗殆尽。"好吧，谢谢你的帮助。"
“T’weren’t nuthin’,” she replied, and my mane crawled at the tone in her voice. “Couldn’t let an intelligence asset get killed.” The hum of two charged beam rifles purred behind me.
"什么都没有,"她回答，我的鬃毛在她的声音中爬行。"不能让情报人员被杀。"我身后传来两支充满电的射线步枪的嗡嗡声。
I let out a long, low sigh. “Why is nothing ever easy?” I said as I lifted Vigilance, turning it over before me. “I help Flank… turns out they were looking to sell me out. I try and help my stable… then I have to kill my stable. I spare you and your friends, and you want to shoot me in the back.”
我长长地、低低地叹了一口气。"为什么没有什么是容易的?"我一边说，一边解除了警戒，把它交给了我。"我帮助弗兰克......结果他们想出卖我。我试着帮助我的马厩......然后我不得不杀了我的马厩。我饶了你和你的朋友，你却想从背后开枪打我。"
“You don’t understand, you idjit. When you made me fly down here you exposed me to sky knows what. My own team might shoot me on sight rather than let me expose ‘em to whatever crawling plagues and diseases are down here. And the Dunderheads would just hang me for a spy. I want to get back, I’ll need something that’ll put me through decon rather than put a bullet through my brain. I got to take you back with me.” I knew that desperate tone. I’d shared it myself on more than one occasion.
"你不明白，你这个白痴。当你让我飞到这里，你把我暴露给天空知道什么。我自己的团队可能会一见到我就开枪，而不是让我让他们暴露在任何爬行瘟疫和疾病之下。那些笨蛋会把我当间谍吊死。我想回去，我需要一些能让我通过减碳的东西，而不是一颗子弹穿过我的脑袋。我得把你带回去。"我知道那种绝望的语气。我不止一次和别人分享这个秘密。
“You won’t get contaminated so long as you don’t eat contaminated ponies or food,” I said matter-of-factly as I stood and holstered my weapons. “The Volunteer Corps seems to operate just fine.” When they’re not sending their own ponies on suicide missions to give peace offerings to raiders.
"只要你不吃被污染的小马或食物，你就不会被污染,"我站在那里，把武器放在枪套里，一本正经地说。"志愿兵团似乎运作得很好。"当他们没有派自己的小马去执行自杀式任务，给袭击者和平祭品的时候。
“What are you doing?” she asked nervously as I started walking away.
"你在干什么?"当我开始走开时，她紧张地问道。
“Going to meet my friends,” I replied.
"去见我的朋友,"我回答。
“You idjit! I’ll blast you!” she blustered, and I turned to face her.
"你这个白痴！我要轰了你!"她咆哮着，我转过身面对着她。
“Mhmmm,” I replied blandly. “And I’m sure they’ll be willing to decon-whatever you when you come back with a bottle of ashes.” That made her mouth work soundlessly before her lilac eyes narrowed.
"嗯,"我平静地回答。"我敢肯定，当你带着一瓶骨灰回来的时候，他们会愿意去除你身上的任何东西。"这使得她的嘴在紫丁香色的眼睛眯起来之前无声地张着。
“Well, if I’m fucked either way…” she began.
"好吧，不管怎样，我都完了......"她开始说。
“You can be stupid and try to kill me for some petty revenge,” I said, staring into her eyes and making her balk. “Or you can come with me, and I’ll introduce you to some ponies who might be able to help you.”
"你可以愚蠢地为了一些小小的报复而杀了我,"我说，盯着她的眼睛，让她犹豫不决。"或者你可以跟我来，我会给你介绍几匹小马，也许它们能帮助你。"
“I… you…” She licked her lips, looking around as if some other option might magically appear. Finally she stomped her hooves hard. “Tarnation, this ain’t fuckin’ fair!”
"我.....。.你......"她舔了舔嘴唇，环顾四周，仿佛奇迹般地出现了其他选择。最后，她用力跺了跺蹄子。"妈的，这他妈的不公平!"
I blinked at her and grinned, spreading my forehooves wide as I laughed, “Welcome to Hoofington!”
我眨了眨眼睛，咧嘴笑了笑，前蹄张开，笑着说:"欢迎来到胡芬顿!"
* * *
* * *
I had to admit, I felt a little bit guilty about Twister’s predicament, but it was her Enclave’s stupid rules and paranoia that had grounded her here. It’d taken about five minutes of weeping, hoofstomps, and shooting manticore corpses before she finally realized that, either way, she was fucked. She could try and go back and get shot for her troubles, stay with me, or kill me and be stuck down here alone and really fucked. I took the time to harvest manticore venom sacs. They were the only part that seemed to have some value.
我不得不承认，我对Twister的困境感到有点内疚，但正是她愚蠢的规则和偏执让她陷入这种境地。花了大约五分钟的时间，她哭泣着，跺着蹄子，射杀着蝎尾狮的尸体，最后她才意识到，不管怎样，她都完蛋了。她可以试着回去，因为她的麻烦而被枪毙，留在我身边，或者杀了我，然后被一个人困在这里，真正的被操。我花时间收集了蝎尾狮的毒液囊。它们似乎是唯一有价值的部分。
Once more I was riding her through the air, keeping an eye out for more of the flying beasts. She alternated between cursing and flying silently. We managed to reach Pony Joe’s before she finally put down for a breather.
我再一次骑着她在空中飞行，留意着更多的飞行野兽。她时而咒骂，时而静静地飞翔。我们设法到达小马乔之前，她终于放下一个喘息。
I swept the inside, but it was still clear and clean. “So. Mind if I ask you something?”
我把里面打扫了一遍，但还是很干净。"所以。介意我问你个问题吗?"
“Shut up. I’m busy bein’ pissed right now,” she drawled.
"闭嘴。我现在正忙着生气呢,"她慢吞吞地说。
“Yeah, I know. But you can be pissed and educational,” I replied softly, stifling a yawn. “You’re not a Thunderhead pegasus… I got that. So… why are you so pissed off at them?”
"是的，我知道。但你可以生气，也可以受教育,"我轻声回答，忍住了一个哈欠。"你不是雷头飞马......我知道。那么......你为什么对他们这么生气呢?"
She looked at the café sullenly before she shrugged. “They think they’re so special… like prancing artistoponies or some shit. Ain’t a pegasus outside Thunderhead that don’t hate them something fierce.” That surprised me. From the way Glory made it sound, the rest of the Enclave should be thankful.
她闷闷不乐地看着咖啡馆，然后耸了耸肩。"他们觉得自己很特别......就像跳跃的人造艺术之类的。除了雷霆头，没有一匹飞马不恨他们的。"这让我很惊讶。从晨辉的说法来看，这个飞地的其他人应该心存感激。
“Look. Enclave is a whole passel of towns trying to do our best to survive. We
"你看。昂科雷是一整片努力生存下去的城镇。我们
do what we got to do to protect our own. Always have. Always will,” she said, and added without bitterness, “Even if we gotta cut off one of our own to do it.” I guess idiotic levels of loyalty weren’t just a Glory thing. “But it ain’t easy. You probably don’t realize it, but clouds ain’t exactly the best place ta grow crops.
做我们该做的，保护我们自己。一直都是。"永远都会的,"她说，没有一丝苦涩地补充道,"即使我们得砍掉自己人的一根手指来做这件事。"我想白痴级别的忠诚不仅仅是晨辉的事情。"但这并不容易。你可能没有意识到这一点，但是云并不是种植庄稼的最佳地点。
One mistake in management or just an unlucky equipment breakdown, and a town can face some hardship pretty quick. But we pull together and help our own.
管理上的一个错误或者只是一个不幸的设备故障，一个小镇可能会很快面临一些困难。但是我们齐心协力，帮助我们自己。
“And Dunderheads don’t help no pony at t’all,” she said grimly.
"而且笨蛋一点也不会帮助小马,"她冷冷地说。
“I don’t really follow.”
"我不太明白。"
She sighed. “When the bombs fell, what we had is what we got. You ever try and get a gun ta work without fail for two centuries? Ain’t happenin’. And gems don’t grow in the sky. But Thunderhead had something none o’ the rest of us did: Shadowbolt Tower.” At my blank look, she sighed, “Dirt ponies don’t know nuthin’…
她叹了口气。"当炸弹落下的时候，我们所拥有的就是我们所拥有的。你有没有试过两个世纪以来一直试图让枪发挥作用？不可能。宝石不会在天空中生长。但是霹雳头有我们其他人没有的东西:暗影闪电塔。"看到我茫然的表情，她叹了口气,"脏兮兮的小马什么都不知道.....。
“Back durin’ the war, Hoofintun was the biggest target in all o’ Equestria. More so then even Canterlot, it seemed. There was something here that really twigged them zebra off. So when Rainbow Dash founded the Shadowbolts, their primary base was here. Shadowbolt Tower. Fuckin’ city was building like crazy, and they took the Awesome hub and just kept building higher and higher. Said they were going to build clear to the moon.”
"战争期间，胡芬顿是马术国最大的攻击目标。看起来，甚至比坎特洛特更是如此。这里有些东西真的把他们赶走了。所以当彩虹·达什建立暗影箭的时候，他们的主要基地就在这里。暗影螺栓塔。他妈的城市在疯狂建设，他们把可怕的枢纽建得越来越高。他们说要建一个通向月球的通道。"
“That… sounds about right,” I muttered, remembering ‘Hoofington Rises’.
"那......听起来差不多,"我咕哝着，想起了《胡芬顿上升》。
“Yeah, well, when the bombs fell, the Tower stood. It was so damn high that the top levels weren’t irradiated. It had all sorts of magical fabrication equipment. Arms stores. Weapons. A fuckin’ treasure trove. But that wasn’t the most important part. Shadowbolt Tower had something nowhere else in the clouds did.”
"是啊，当炸弹落下的时候，伦敦塔屹立不倒。它是如此的高，以至于顶层没有受到辐射。它有各种各样神奇的制造设备。军火库。武器。一个他妈的宝藏。但这还不是最重要的部分。暗影螺栓塔在云层中有其他地方没有的东西。"
I thought for a moment, and then caught her staring at my horn. “Unicorns? Of course! Unicorns.” After all, Minty Fresh had been working with them.
我想了一会儿，然后发现她正盯着我的喇叭。"独角兽？当然！独角兽。"毕竟，薄荷新鲜一直在与他们合作。
“Mhmmm.” She nodded slowly. “The tower’s arcane science and technical staff pretty much all made it to the top of the tower before they died from the radiation. And they’ve been helping Thunderhead ever since. A fertilization talisman burns out? A unicorn can fix it. Need new beam weapons? A unicorn
"嗯......"她慢慢地点了点头。"塔楼里神秘的科学技术人员在死于辐射之前几乎都爬到了塔顶。从那时起，他们就一直在帮助雷霆队。受精护身符烧毁了？一只独角兽可以修好它。需要新的光束武器吗？独角兽
can make it. Clouddamned hornheads keep Thunderhead sitting pretty.”
可以做到。云彩/该死的角头龙让雷头龙保持优雅。"
“But… they’re still a member of the Enclave, right?”
"但是......他们仍然是飞地的一员，对吧?"
“Technically,” she said with such disgust that I doubted it was more than a formality. “To listen to them, they’re the most important member. But the thing is, they don’t just help the rest of us. Heck no. They’ll trade talismans for favors. Extra food for favors. Technical assistance for favors. All them favors add up to a right comfy lifestyle for them and a downright shitty deal for the rest of us.”
"从技术上来说,"她如此厌恶地说，我怀疑这不仅仅是一种形式。"听他们说话，他们是最重要的成员。但问题是，他们不仅仅帮助了我们其他人。当然不是。他们会用护身符来换取好处。额外的食物。帮忙的技术支持。他们喜欢的所有东西加起来，对他们来说就是舒适的生活方式，对我们其他人来说就是一个彻头彻尾的烂交易。"
“So why doesn’t the Enclave do something about them?”
"那么，昂科雷为什么不对此采取行动呢?"
“Tried.” She huffed softly. “Nearly went to war to take the Tower. Don’t know the details at t’all… it was my grandma’s time. Finally, there was an agreement made. Thunderhead disarmed, agreed it wouldn’t have firepower greater than them Vertibuck contraptions. No Raptors or nothing, and they’d provide parts and technical assistance, and Thunderhead got to keep its unicorns and a no fly zone from the rest of the Enclave. They’re the most independent group of featherbrains in the clouds and don’t give a shit about the rest of their own kind.”
"试过了。"她轻轻地喘了口气。"为了夺取伦敦塔差点上了战场。完全不知道细节...那是我奶奶的时间。最后，达成了一项协议。雷头解除了武装，同意它不会有比眩晕巴克更强大的火力装置。没有猛禽，或者什么都没有，他们会提供零件和技术支持，而雷海德必须保持它的独角兽和一个禁飞区从其余的飞地。他们是云端中最独立的羽毛脑组织，不在乎其他同类。"
I recalled just how angry Glory got at the idea of disloyalty. If she felt that way as a Thunderhead pegasus, I could start to imagine just how furious the rest of the Enclave was. “So wait. If Thunderhead disarmed, why not just take it anyway?”
我记得晨辉对不忠的想法是多么生气。如果她觉得自己是雷霆飞马的一员，我可以想象其他人有多愤怒。"那么等一下。如果Thunderhead解除了武装，为什么不直接拿走它呢?"
“There’s this little thing called honor. Look it up,” she said dryly. “But besides the treaty, I don’t know. Times are damned strained right now though. Hell, half of us were watching the dragon and the other half were watching the Dunderheads. Now they’re pulling this volunteer crap, violating some of our most basic rules and laws. All ‘cause they can.” She tapped her hooves on the tabletop. “It ain’t gonna end well.”
"有一种叫做荣誉的小东西。查一查,"她干巴巴地说。""但是除了条约，我不知道。尽管现在形势非常紧张。该死的，我们一半人在看龙，另一半人在看Dunderheads。现在他们又在搞志愿者这一套，违反了我们最基本的规则和法律。这都是因为他们可以。"她用蹄子在桌面上敲敲打打。"不会有好结果的。"
I had to agree with that. “Any chance your folks will come for you?” She looked at me in confusion. “I mean, are they really just going to leave you here?”
我不得不同意这一点。"你父母会来找你吗?"她困惑地看着我。"我的意思是，他们真的要把你留在这里吗?"
She definitely didn’t like thinking of this. “If it was anywhere else, I’d probably be tracked down, extracted, questioned, and hopefully put in decon. And you’d be questioned,” she added, reminding me we weren’t exactly on happy-happy terms. “Unfortunately, I’m a Neighvarro pony in the no-fly zone and now everything’s political. If the Dunderheads got their hooves on me…” She
她肯定不喜欢这么想。"如果是在别的地方，我很可能会被追踪、提取、质疑，并希望被关进去。你会受到质疑,"她补充道，提醒我我们的关系并不是那么愉快。"不幸的是，我是禁飞区里的一匹邻居小马，现在一切都是政治性的。如果那些笨蛋用他们的蹄子踩我......"
suddenly blinked. “Oh, horseapples.”
突然眨眼。"哦，马苹果。"
“What?” I blinked and rose to my hooves. “Can they track you?”
"什么?"我眨了眨眼，然后站起身来。"他们能追踪到你吗?"
“I gotta get this off me. I got to get out of here right now! They’re probably on their way!” Twister shouted as she started to disconnect the seals of her armor.
"我得把这个拿下来。我得马上离开这里！他们可能已经在路上了!"图斯特一边喊着，一边开始拆卸盔甲上的封条。
“Can’t you just deactivate whatever they track you with?” I asked, wondering how the hay anypony was supposed to get in and out of that getup.
"你就不能关掉他们用来追踪你的东西吗?"我问道，不知道干草怎么样才能让小马穿着这身衣服进进出出。
“Maybe. The transponder’s there,” she said as she reached back and opened a panel on her flank. “I honestly didn’t expect to ever find somepony with such skills though. Where’d you learn Enclave power armor maintenance?” she asked as I moved to her side. She blinked as I loaded a round into the shotgun.
"也许吧。雷达收发机在那里,"她一边说，一边把手伸回去，打开了侧面的一个面板。"老实说，我从来没有想到能找到一匹有这样技能的小马。你在哪里学的动力装甲维护?"当我走到她身边时，她问道。当我把子弹装进猎枪时，她眨了眨眼睛。
The blast of buckshot knocked her right off her hooves with a shower of magical sparks, sending her rolling across the aisle. “I didn’t,” I confessed as she lay there groaning. “You okay?”
一阵子弹的爆炸把她的蹄子打掉了，一阵魔法般的火花，把她从过道上打了个滚。"我没有,"我承认，她躺在那里呻吟着。"你还好吗?"
“Dirt ponies… suck…” she groaned.
"脏兮兮的小马......去死吧......"她呻吟着。
“Yeah. Did it work?” I asked as I looked at the smoking arcane devices. It sure smelled disabled.
"是的。成功了吗?"我看着那些冒烟的奥术设备问道。它闻起来肯定是残废了。
“You almost took off my leg, you idjit.” She groaned as she stood and looked back at the wreckage. “Yeah, but we got to move. Thunderhead probably already sent a team the second we left that point. Can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. All this damn dirt’s making me stupid,” she said as she started for the door.
"你差点把我的腿给锯了，你这个白痴。"她站在那里呻吟着，回头看着残骸。"是的，但是我们得走了。在我们离开那一分的时候，雷霆队可能已经派出了一支球队。真不敢相信我没早点想到。所有这些该死的脏东西让我变得愚蠢,"她一边说一边向门口走去。
“What will they do?” I asked, and she gave me a scared look back. “They wouldn’t kill you, would they?”
"他们会怎么做?"我问道，她也惊恐地看了我一眼。"他们不会杀你的，对吧?"
“Dunno. Every Enclave pony ‘recovered’ by Thunderhead ain’t right afterwards. I don’t wanna find out,” she replied nervously as she looked around. Something knocked faintly against the roof; it wasn't much of a noise, but we were both jittery and my mane was itching like crazy.
"不知道。每一匹被Thunderhead收回的飞地小马都是不正确的。我不想知道,"她一边紧张地回答，一边环顾四周。有什么东西轻轻地撞在车顶上，声音不大，但我们都很紧张，我的鬃毛痒得要命。
“Quick, out the back!” I shouted, and we rushed to the back door. I nearly tripped in astonishment; one of the bulbous, armored Vertibucks has hanging directly overhead; it must have bumped the building while coming in. Any
"快，从后门出去!"我喊道，然后我们冲向后门。我几乎惊讶地绊倒了;一只球根状的装甲眩晕鹿直接悬挂在头顶上;它一定是在进来的时候撞到了建筑物。任何
second now, pegasus soldiers would come spilling out the rear hatch. If they didn't decide to just use the autocannons.
第二，珀加索斯的士兵会从后舱口涌出来。如果他们不决定使用自动加农炮。
I sprinted for the trees, jumped the ditch running along the side of the donut shop, and ran into the dead woods as Twister glided almost even with the ground in front of me. We put a few dozen more trees between us and them. Twister paused and canted her head. “They’re broadcasting for me to come out. Says they’re here to extract me.” She spat to the side. “In a pig’s eye.”
我飞快地跑向树林，跳过沿着甜甜圈店旁边的沟渠，跑进死寂的树林，因为龙卷风几乎就在我面前的地面上滑行。我们在我们和他们之间放了几十棵树。托斯特停顿了一下，歪了歪头。"他们在广播让我出来。说他们是来救我的。"她朝旁边啐了一口唾沫。"在猪的眼睛里。"
“Does your armor have an Eyes Forward Sparkle?” I asked, looking up.
"你的盔甲有向前闪耀的眼睛吗?"我抬起头问道。
“Yup.” Great. So an errant glance in our direction would give us away. Now we really had to get moving! “Leastways it does when the visor’s not all shot up,” she added, looking at me sharply.
"是的。"太好了。因此，朝我们这个方向误入歧途的一瞥就会暴露我们的身份。现在我们真的得走了！"至少当遮阳板没有完全打开的时候是这样的,"她补充说，锐利地看着我。
“You were trying to arrest me,” I countered.
"你想逮捕我,"我反驳道。
“You were dealing with that dragon,” she snorted.
"你在和那条龙打交道,"她哼了一声。
I rolled my eyes as I ducked under a branch. “It was just a friendly visit. ‘Hi.
我低头躲在树枝下，翻了翻白眼。"这只是一次友好的拜访。你好。
How are you. Nice gems you have here.’ That’s all,” I said with a smile.
你好吗。你这儿的宝石真漂亮就这样,"我笑着说。
She looked at me sharply. “Oh, yeah. Just bein’ neighborly with yer local dragon?”
她用锐利的目光看着我。"哦，是的。只是为了和你的邻居小龙和睦相处?"
“What, I should be a jerk to something that can eat me?” I countered. “I might be stupid, but I’m not that dumb.” Then a red beam lanced down so close to the front of my nose that I nearly went cross-eyed looking at it. “Not smart enough to shut up and keep running, though!” I shouted as I pulled out Taurus’s rifle and hit S.A.T.S. Three rounds to the head… and I bucked my dumb ass brain for forgetting I had hollowpoints loaded. The rounds shattered off the armor.
"什么，我应该对能吃掉我的东西表现得像个混蛋吗?"我反驳道。"我可能很蠢，但我没那么蠢。"然后，一束红色的光束从我的鼻子前面照下来，我几乎斜着眼睛看着它。"不过还没聪明到闭上嘴继续跑!"我一边喊着，一边掏出金牛座来福枪，朝着s.a.t.s的头部开了三枪......然后我强忍着自己笨笨的脑袋，因为我忘了我装了空尖弹。子弹打碎了盔甲。
Her crimson beams were definitely more effective as the Thunderhead Enclave peeled off out of her line of fire, their armor smoking and crackling from the damage. I loaded the rifle for more armor piercing rounds. “Damn, they’re on us now.” She glanced at me. “Only chance for you is to get out of here.”
当雷头飞地从她的火线上脱离时，她那深红色的光束显然更加有效，他们的盔甲冒着烟，从伤害中噼啪作响。我给步枪上了膛，准备再装几发穿甲弹。"该死，他们追上来了。"她瞥了我一眼。"你唯一的机会就是离开这里。"
“Not happening.”
"不可能。"
She arched a brow skeptically. “Uh… you don’t owe me anything. Quit being so
她怀疑地皱起眉头。"呃......你不欠我什么。不要这样
damn stubborn and git! I’ll fly circles around these buzzards.” Before they shoot you out of the sky, I added for her.
该死的固执和饭桶！我要绕着这些秃鹰飞。"在他们把你从天上打下来之前，我替她加了一句。
“I got you into the mess. If I had just shot you in the head, none of this would have happened,” I said as I tried to track one of the red bars from behind us. More red bars ahead of us. Damn, did a second Vertibuck arrive? Then I glanced over and saw her incredulous look. “Well, you’d be dead and all, but still.”
"是我把你拖下水的。如果我当时朝你脑袋开一枪，这一切都不会发生,"我一边说，一边试图从我们身后追踪其中一个红色栅栏。我们前面还有更多的红色障碍。该死，第二辆眩晕巴克到了吗？然后我瞥了她一眼，看到了她怀疑的神情。"好吧，你可能已经死了，但还是死了。"
“Yer one twigged mare,” she chuckled as she strafed the sky.
"你这匹瘦弱的母马,"她轻声地笑着，在天空中漫步。
Then I frowned. Knot of Enclave behind us… but… I raised the scope in time to see a raggedy pelt, leonine fangs, and a scorpion tail though the trees. “New plan! Back to Pony Joe’s!”
然后我皱起了眉头。但是......我及时调高了瞄准镜，看到了破烂的毛皮，狮子的尖牙，还有穿过树林的蝎子尾巴。"新计划！回小马乔酒吧去!"
“Plan? How you figger that’s a plan?” she asked in bafflement. “That’s not a plan! It’s a direction!”
"计划？你怎么知道这是个计划?"她困惑地问道。"这不是一个计划！这是一个方向!"
I fired the rifle, aiming for the manticore’s flank. It let out a roar that was echoed by the rest of its kin. Meanwhile, I was running straight for the Thunderhead Enclave behind us. “See? Plan!” I laughed as the beasts closed in.
我开了枪，瞄准狮蝎怪的侧翼。它发出一声吼叫，得到了其他同类的回应。与此同时，我直奔身后的雷头飞地。""看见了吗？计划!"那些野兽向我逼近时，我笑了。
The whole pride (or flock… whatever!) of manticores was fast on our heels. Twister stared at me in wild eyed amazement. “You’re plum loco is what you are!” The Thunderhead Enclave seemed to share the sentiment as they stared at us racing past. Then the snarling, stinging beasts were upon them. The animals seemed to take particular aggravation with the Vertibuck, latching on with their claws and scratching at the armor in an attempt to get at the pegasi within.
整个狮群(或者羊群......随便啦!)很快就追上了我们。图斯特瞪大了眼睛，惊讶地盯着我。"你就是个疯子!"雷头飞地似乎也有同样的感受，他们凝视着我们疾驰而过。然后，那些咆哮的、带刺的野兽向他们袭来。这些动物似乎特别讨厌Vertibuck，它们用爪子抓住盔甲，试图抓住里面的飞马。
With both enemies more interested in shooting at each other, we raced south towards Megamart.
由于两个敌人对彼此的射击更感兴趣，我们向南奔向超级市场。
* * *
* * *
“That was insane. Absolutely crazy,” Twister said as we trotted towards the overpass between us and Megamart.
"这太疯狂了。绝对疯狂,"当我们小跑向我们和Megamart之间的天桥时，托斯特说道。
My treacherous body was already giving me a doozy of a headache; oh, alcohol, why must you hurt me so? “It worked, didn’t it?” I asked with a shrug.
我那奸诈的身体已经让我头痛欲裂了;哦，酒精，你为什么要这样伤害我？"成功了，不是吗?"我耸耸肩问道。
“You could of got us shot. Or ate. Or shot while getting ate!” she pointed out
"你差点害死我们。或者吃东西。或者在吃饭的时候被打死!"她指出
crossly.
生气地。
I smiled and shrugged. “Yeah. But I didn’t. Things just sort of work out… or they don’t.” And I do my best to live with the mistakes… The really big and terrible mistakes. My whole body shuddered with the force of my yawn. “Sweet Celestia, I’m tired. I need a few hours’ sleep or a few more bottles of Buckweiser.”
我微笑着耸了耸肩。"是的。但我没有。事情就这样解决了......或者没有。"我尽我最大的努力去面对那些错误...那些真正重大而可怕的错误。我打哈欠的力量使我全身颤抖。"亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚，我累了。我需要几个小时的睡眠，或者再来几瓶巴克威瑟(Buckweiser)。"
“Is this life on the ground?” she asked as she looked at the stunted and gnarled trees.
"这是地上的生命吗?"她一边问，一边看着那些矮小多节的树木。
“This your first time down here?” I asked her.
"这是你第一次来这里吗?"我问她。
She looked a little sheepish and nodded.
她看上去有点不好意思，点了点头。
I sighed and gave a wistful little smile. “Pretty much. The Wasteland breeds trouble like radroaches. And Hoofington breeds them like bloatsprites on a dead pony. Thing is… I’ve also come across things so beautiful they almost hurt. Like the sound of a church full of children singing. Or seeing slaves freed from bondage. That really struck me. Or finding a pony’s personal treasure two hundred years after they died.” I saw her looking at me oddly and smiled a little. “I know, it sounds a little bit corny, but if the Wasteland was nothing but pain and suffering, eventually you’d get numb to it all. It has just enough good to be worth fighting for.”
我叹了口气，露出渴望的微笑。"差不多吧。荒原滋生了流氓般的麻烦。胡芬顿把它们养得像死马身上的浮肿精灵。问题是......我也遇到过如此美丽的事物，它们几乎让我心痛。就像教堂里孩子们唱歌的声音。或者看到奴隶从奴役中解放出来。这真的打动了我。或者在小马死后200年发现它们的私人珍宝。"我看到她奇怪地看着我，微微一笑。"我知道，这听起来有点老土，但如果荒原只是痛苦和折磨，最终你会对这一切麻木。它已经足够好，值得我们为之奋斗。"
And to really make you feel the horrible parts.
让你真正感受到那些可怕的部分。
I yawned again and put on DJ Pon3. Pretty soon, I’d be sleepwalking at this rate. There was a crackle, and suddenly an old stallion cackled around us, making my whole body shiver. “She’s getting awfully big, Mari. Who’s a big pony? Yes she is! Yes she is!”
我又打了个哈欠，换上了DJPon3。很快，我就会以这种速度梦游。一阵噼啪声，突然一匹老马在我们周围咯咯叫起来，让我全身颤抖。"她长得太大了，玛丽。谁是大马驹？是的，她是！是的，她是!"
What the hay? I looked at the PipBuck screen; in my stupor I’d loaded the other audio note from the recorder I’d found on Star Point.
怎么回事？我看了看PipBuck的屏幕;在我昏迷的时候，我把在StarPoint找到的录音机里的另一个音频记录下来。
“Unca Hoss! Hat Unca Hoss! Hat! Pleeeeeze!” a filly squeeled.
"乌卡·霍斯！我的上帝！帽子！求你了!"小母马尖叫着。
The old stallion chuckled softly. “Here you go, Tarot.”
那匹老种马轻轻地笑了。"给你，塔罗牌。"
“Now be careful. That hat’s as old as your uncle Hoss.”
"现在小心点。那顶帽子和你霍斯叔叔的一样古老。"
There was an old chuckle. “An’ nearly as tough, too. Don’t worry none, Mari.” There was a squeal of joy that faded a little as a filly sang, ‘I gots a haa-aat!’ The old stallion asked quietly, “How are you holding together?”
有一个老笑声。"而且几乎同样强硬。不用担心，玛丽。"一阵欢乐的尖叫声渐渐消失了，就像一匹小母马唱的那样,"我有一只兔子!"老公马平静地问:"你是怎么坚持下来的?"
“Day by day, like everypony, I imagine,” Marigold said softly. “I keep waking in the middle of the night thinking that we missed the signal and we’re going to die. I feel as if, any second, something terrible will happen. Everypony is telling us to get into the city. That the spell shields will keep the bombs out… but I can’t leave Star House. Tarot loves it there.”
"我想，日复一日，就像每匹小马一样,"玛丽戈尔德轻声说。"我一直在半夜醒来，想着我们错过了信号，我们就要死了。我觉得好像随时都会有可怕的事情发生。每个小马都在告诉我们进城去。咒语护盾可以阻止炸弹...但我不能离开星宫。塔罗牌喜欢那里。"
“Spell shields?”
"咒语盾牌?"
“Horse installed them. One of his first ‘projects’ as the new director.” She snorted scornfully. “I hope they work, but Horse’s grandstanding isn’t doing anypony any good.”
"是马儿安装的。作为新董事，他的第一批'项目'之一。"她轻蔑地哼了一声。"我希望它们能起作用，但霍斯的哗众取宠对小马没有任何好处。"
“Mmmm… well, give an idjit some power and watch him turn into a mule,” Old Hoss grumbled. “You still working on your book?”
"嗯......好吧，给白痴一点力量，看着他变成一头骡子,"老霍斯嘟囔着。"你还在写书吗?"
“Yes, I picked up this recorder. Army surplus, not pretty, but as least I don’t have to worry about Tarot accidentally breaking it when she plays ‘Star Rangers’. She loves that show…” There was a pause, then a little sniff followed by a sob. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”
"是的，我拿起了这个录音机。陆军剩余，不漂亮，但至少我不用担心塔罗牌在玩星际游侠的时候不小心把它弄坏了。她喜欢那个节目......"她停顿了一下，轻轻地吸了一口气，接着抽泣了一声。"我很好。我很好。"
“This stupid war’s getting in the way of living,” Hoss muttered.
"这场愚蠢的战争妨碍了我们的生活,"霍斯咕哝道。
Fortunately, Tarot hadn’t seemed to notice as she shrieked “Oh noes, it’s a horn eating monster. Eeeee! Momma! It’s eating my horn!” A pause. “Momma… it’s eating my horn.”
幸运的是，塔罗似乎没有注意到她尖叫"哦，不，这是一个吃角怪物。哎呀！妈妈！它在吃我的号角!"停顿一下。"妈妈......它在吃我的号角。"
“Oh? Oh! Ahem…” Marigold cleared her throat. “Evil horn eating monster! Star Ranger Mommy will stop you!” Tarot giggled in glee as Marigold made zapping noises. “Are you okay, Miss Junior Star Ranger?”
"哦？哦！嗯哼......"玛丽戈尔德清了清嗓子。"邪恶的吃角怪物！妈妈会阻止你的!"当玛丽戈尔德发出电击的声音时，塔罗特高兴地咯咯笑了起来。"你没事吧，少年明星护林员小姐?"
“Yes, Star Ranger Mommy!” she said with a giggle. “Common Star Ranger Hat! Let’s explore for cookies!” With a wooshing noise Tarot ran off.
"是的，明星护林员妈妈!"她咯咯地笑着说。"普通的星际游侠帽！让我们一起去寻找饼干吧!"塔罗牌砰的一声跑开了。
“Landsakes. In my day it was ponies versus buffalo. I was always the buffalo…” he mused.
"陆上食品。在我那个年代，是小马和水牛的较量。我一直是头水牛......"他若有所思地说。
“She probably did that just for me. All this fighting… it’s even getting to Tarot a little bit. She doesn’t know why I’m upset, but she knows I am.”
"她这么做可能只是为了我。所有这些争吵...甚至让塔罗牌有点受不了了。她不知道我为什么难过，但她知道我难过。"
“You should see a physician, Marigold,” Old Hoss said softly. “Yer way too young ta be driving yerself crazy like this.” He chuckled and added, “Of course, once ya get to my age everything turns out ta be a case of ‘old’.”
"你应该去看医生，玛丽戈尔德,"老霍斯轻声说。"你这么年轻就这样把自己逼疯了"他咯咯地笑着补充道:"当然，到了我这个年纪，一切都变得'老'了。"
Marigold laughed softly, mirthlessly. “I can’t. You’ve heard the stories of how they’re handling cases of war fatigue. Memory wipes. Drugs. Other spells. I can’t risk anything happening to Tarot. She’s everything to me now.” There was a soft sigh. “Funny, considering she’s not mine.”
玛丽戈尔德轻轻地笑了起来，心情愉快。"我不能。你听说过他们如何处理战争疲劳症的案例。清除记忆。药物。其他咒语。我不能冒塔罗牌出事的风险。她现在是我的一切。"有一声轻轻的叹息。"有趣的是，考虑到她不是我的。"
“You’re her momma. You clean up after her, see she gets fed, and worry about her night and day. If that ain’t a momma, dunno what is.” He hesitated, hemming a little before he asked softly, “Has her first momma…”
"你是她的妈妈。你帮她打扫卫生，喂她吃饭，日夜担心她的安危。如果那不是一个妈妈，我不知道什么是。"他犹豫了一下，轻轻地问道:"她的第一个妈妈......"
“No. I don’t know who she is, and if Fluttershy did what she said she did, I doubt her real momma knows she even is a mother.” Marigold let out a sad sigh. “She’ll never know what a wonderful child she gave up.”
"没有。我不知道她是谁，如果Fluttershy真的像她说的那样做了，我怀疑她真正的妈妈是否知道她是一个母亲。"万寿菊发出一声悲伤的叹息。"她永远不会知道她放弃了一个多么可爱的孩子。"
“Yer a peach, Marigold…”
"你是个桃子，金盏花......"
“Sometimes though… I wonder…”
"尽管有时......我在想......"
“You can’t have regrets, Mari.”
"你不能有遗憾，玛丽。"
“No, not regrets. I just wonder… what would have happened if her mother had kept her? Would I have gone into space again? Would the rocket program have kept going? Would things be different?” Marigold sighed softly. “I didn’t anticipate being a mother. Just being pregnant was scary enough. I thought that… I’d have her and that would be that. I never imagined just how much she means to me.”
"不，不是后悔。我只是想知道...如果她妈妈留下她会怎么样？我还会再次进入太空吗？火箭计划还会继续下去吗？情况会有所不同吗?"玛丽戈尔德轻轻叹了口气。"我没想到自己会成为一个母亲。仅仅是怀孕就已经够吓人的了。我以为...我会拥有她，就是这样。我从来没有想象过她对我有多重要。"
“Heh. Like I used to tell Missus Hoss back in the cave pony days, we love ‘em so much so we don’t put them on a spit and eat ‘em!”
"呵呵。就像我在洞穴小马时代对霍斯太太说的那样，我们非常爱它们，所以我们不会把它们放在烤肉架上吃掉!"
They shared a laugh. Then there was a shrill beeping. “Oh no…” she murmured. “My stable pass is active. But 90 is all the way past Flankfurt! It will take us hours to get there by hoof!”
他们一起笑了起来。然后传来一阵刺耳的哔哔声。"哦，不......"她低声说。"我的稳定传球处于激活状态。但是90已经远远超过了Flankfurt！我们走路到那儿要好几个小时!"
“Now relax, Marigold. It’s probably just a drill,” he said comfortingly. “They’ve been testing the system all month.” But neither of them talked as the pass continued to go off, an annoying little beep that went on and on while Tarot played.
"放松点，玛丽戈尔德。这可能只是一次演习,"他安慰地说。"他们整个月都在测试这个系统。"但是他们都没有说话，因为传球还在继续，一个恼人的小哔哔声在塔罗牌玩的时候一直响个不停。
But it wasn’t a drill. From the direction of the city came the long low wail of a siren. It rose and fell, echoing out over the countryside in a faint, ghostly call. It was a herald of doom as the pass beeped continuously. “Momma... I don’t like this, Momma...” Tarot whimpered in the voice of a child who still had faith in their mother to do anything. Minute after minute crawled by, the dread deepening.
但这不是演习。从城市的方向传来长长的低沉的警报声。它起起伏伏，在乡间回响着一种微弱的幽灵般的叫声。山口一直响个不停，这是厄运的预兆。"妈妈......我不喜欢这样，妈妈......"塔罗用一个孩子的声音呜咽着说，他仍然相信他们的妈妈能做任何事情。时间一分一分地过去，恐惧越来越深。
Then we heard it. From the recording came the sound of an explosion that shook the house to its foundations. Tarot shrieked as things crashed in the background. Then a terrible silence fell. Hoss muttered breathlessly, “Miramare. They hit Miramare.”
然后我们听到了。从录音中传来的爆炸声震动了房子的地基。塔罗牌尖叫的时候，东西坠毁在背景。接着，一阵可怕的寂静降临了。霍斯上气不接下气地咕哝着,"米拉马雷。他们袭击了米拉马雷。"
“Come on, sweetie. We have to go to the stable now… Maybe… maybe the Sunset Highway is still intact…” But there was another explosion. Then another. Another.
"来吧，亲爱的。我们现在必须去马厩......也许......也许日落高速公路还完好无损......"但是又发生了一次爆炸。然后是另一个。另一个。
“Mommy. What are those lights?” Tarot said in worry. “They’re scary!”
"妈妈。那些灯是什么?"塔罗忧心忡忡地说。"他们太可怕了!"
“Come here, Tarot. It’ll be okay.”
"过来，塔罗牌。会没事的。"
Old Hoss rumbled and coughed in his throat. “You have to head for the stable up on the hill. It ain’t the one ya were assigned, but a pass is a pass.”
老霍斯喉咙里咕噜咕噜地咳嗽着。"你得去山上的马厩。这不是分配给你们的，但是通过就是通过。"
“Come with us?”
"跟我们一起去吗?"
“Aw, now, no sense in that, Marigold. You know it. I’m just an old stallion who's stuck around to the end of things. You get that filly where she’ll be safe.”
"哦，现在，没有意义了，玛丽戈尔德。你知道的。我只是一匹坚持到最后的老种马。你把那匹小母马弄到安全的地方去。"
“Unca Hoss! Your hat!” Tarot said in alarm.
"乌卡·霍斯！你的帽子!"塔罗牌惊恐地说。
“Keep it, hun. I don’t need it anymore.”
"留着吧，亲爱的。我不再需要它了。"
“Nuhuh! It’s your hat, Unca Hoss. Your head’ll get cold. No Star Ranger wants a cold!” Tarot said with a sniff. “Please, Unca Hoss. I’ll wear it when I get back.”
"啊哈！这是你的帽子，乌卡·霍斯。你的头会冷的。没有星际游侠想要感冒!"塔罗牌闻了闻说。"求你了，乌卡·霍斯。我回来的时候会穿的。"
Suddenly all three of them began to cry out as if in pain, but all I could hear was a terrible silence. Then there was a distant crack and a great wind that gusted through the leaves of the trees around the farm. Distant cries and wails sounded through the night, growing and falling and building as the survivors ran through that horrible time.
突然，他们三个人开始痛苦地大叫起来，但我所能听到的只是一片可怕的寂静。接着，远处有一条裂缝，一阵大风吹过农场周围的树叶。远处的哭声和哀号声响彻夜空，越来越大，越来越低，越来越大，幸存者们在那段可怕的时间里奔跑。
Old Hoss murmured softly, “Princesses… Hoofington… what… happened…? What was that… screaming…?”
老霍斯轻声地喃喃道:"公主......胡芬顿......发生了什么......？那是什么......尖叫......?"
“A bomb inside the shield. They must have smuggled one inside… oh sweet Celestia…”
"防护罩里面有炸弹。他们一定是走私进去了......哦，亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚......"
“You go, Marigold. Hurry. Just follow all those ponies. You see to your little one.”
"你去吧，玛丽戈尔德。快点。跟着那些小马就行了。你去照顾你的小家伙吧。"
“Thank you.”
"谢谢。"
“No regrets, Marigold. You just do better than those idjits that caused this mess.”
"没有遗憾，玛丽戈尔德。你只是比那些造成这场混乱的傻瓜做得更好罢了。"
“Goodbye,” Marigold whispered. “Come on Tarot. Stay close, honey. We need to get to our new home in the stable.”
"再见,"玛丽戈尔德低声说。"来吧，塔罗牌。跟紧点，亲爱的。我们需要回到马厩里的新家。"
“Bye Unca Hoss! I’ll see you soon.”
"再见，乌卡·霍斯！我们很快会再见面的。"
“Luna protect us, I hope not, sweetie,” Hoss said quietly, and faintly I heard the old stallion murmur, “Guess I’ll see you soon, Smith.”
"卢娜保护我们，我希望不是，亲爱的,"霍斯平静地说，我隐约听到老种马低语,"我想我会很快见到你，史密斯。"
The recording turned to static before it cut out completely.
录音在完全停止之前变成了静电干扰。
That was what it sounded like when worlds ended. One second, you’re playing Star Rangers with your foal, visiting a friend. Then you’re giving your child away to a complete stranger in the knowledge that she’d die otherwise.
当世界末日来临时，听起来就是这个样子。前一秒，你还在和你的小马驹玩星际游侠，去拜访朋友。然后你把你的孩子交给一个完全陌生的人，因为你知道否则她会死。
I felt shivery all over. What were the odds that the bombs would drop on that day, when they were visiting the farm? If they’d been in Star House, they would have gone to the doomed Stable 90. What were the chances they’d run across Card Trick, who’d take her in as her own? What was the chance that I’d have found this recording when I was so desperate to pull the trigger?
我浑身发抖。当他们参观农场的时候，炸弹在那天落下的几率有多大？如果他们在星宫，他们就会去那个注定要失败的90号马厩。他们有多大的可能性会遇到纸牌戏法，谁会把她当作自己的孩子收养？当我不顾一切地扣动扳机的时候，我有多大的机会找到这个录音？
How could I have been that much of a fucking idiot?
我怎么会那么蠢呢？
I’d never kill myself now. I might want to, but I’d never be able to throw away a life that was the product of those extraordinary circumstances. The odds were nothing less than miraculous. And I’d almost thrown it all away. I might have thrown away my friends in that moment of horrible weakness.
我现在绝不会自杀。我也许想这么做，但我永远不会放弃那些特殊情况下的产物。这种可能性简直是奇迹。我差点就把它们都扔掉了。我可能在那个可怕的脆弱时刻抛弃了我的朋友。
Thank you, Marigold. Hoss. Fluttershy.
谢谢你，玛丽戈德。霍斯。Fluttershy.
“I can’t believe that’s what it was like,” Twister drawled, looking down at my PipBuck in astonishment. “I mean, we hear ‘bout the Emergency Broadcast and the Great Recall in school… but hearing those bombs go off… they talked about a scream. What was that?”
"我简直不敢相信事情就是这样的,"图斯特慢吞吞地说，低头惊讶地看着我的皮布克。"我的意思是，我们在学校听说过紧急广播和大回忆......但是听到那些炸弹爆炸......他们谈到了尖叫声。那是什么?"
“I don’t know,” I replied, looking at the lavender Enclave pony. “I didn’t hear anything.”
"我不知道,"我回答，看着那匹淡紫色的昂科雷小马。"我什么也没听到。"
“Hoofington must have been packed when the bombs went off, if folks thought magic shields would keep ‘em safe,” she mused aloud. “But it looks like the only thing that worked was closing the sky.”
"如果人们认为魔法盾牌可以保护他们的安全，那么胡芬顿一定是在炸弹爆炸时被包起来的,"她大声说道。"但看起来，唯一奏效的办法就是关闭天空。"
“Yeah. War’s over now, though. You can open it back up again,” I muttered as more fat drops of rain started to fall.
"是的。战争已经结束了。你可以重新打开它,"我咕哝着，更多的大雨点开始落下。
Her ears drooped a little. “Not an option, sorry to say. We need every bit of cloud we can get for food. Sorry.” She looked out at the dreary landscape. “I never thought it’d look like this, though.”
她的耳朵微微下垂。"很抱歉，这不是一个选择。我们需要我们能得到的每一片云作为食物。对不起。"她望着外面阴沉的风景。"不过，我从没想过会是这个样子。"
I looked at her; this was how pegasi became Dashites. I could see the guilt on her face; she might have thought it necessary, but she didn’t think of it as right.
我看着她，这就是飞马座成为达希斯人的原因。我能看出她脸上的内疚;她也许认为这是必要的，但她不认为这是正确的。
“Can I ask you a question?” She looked back at me coolly but curiously. “Why didn’t you just fly off and leave me back at Star Point?”
"我能问你一个问题吗?"她冷淡而好奇地回头看着我。"你为什么不飞走把我留在星点?"
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. “I’ve been out of basic for two years now,” she said. “You know how much action I’ve seen? Zero. We fly around, do our formations, shoot target practice and play the occasional war game. And we’re told it’s all for our people.” She took a deep breath. “Fact is that was the first fight that felt like the good fight.” She kicked a muddy clod. “Like I said. Dirt’s making me stupid.”
她张开嘴，然后又闭上了。"我已经脱离基础训练两年了,"她说。""你知道我看过多少战斗吗？零。我们飞来飞去，做我们的编队，射击练习和玩偶尔的战争游戏。我们被告知这一切都是为了我们的人民。"她深吸了一口气。"事实上，这是第一次感觉像是一场精彩的比赛。"她踢了一块泥土。"就像我说的。泥土让我变得愚蠢。"
Then the Enclave found us.
然后昂科雷找到了我们。
Fortunately, the bars were amber as one landed in front and the other behind. “Twister! We found you!” called out a mare. I looked at the scorched armor of the mare with the gatling beam rifles and the male I’d nearly cut.
幸运的是，酒吧是琥珀色的，一个落在前面，另一个落在后面。"扭扭乐！我们找到你了!"叫出一匹母马。我看着那头母马身披烧焦的盔甲，手里拿着格林机关枪，还有那头差点被我砍死的公马。
“You…” Twister’s eyes widened in shock. “You came after me?”
"你......"图斯特震惊地睁大了眼睛。"你跟踪我?"
“Well, o’course! Couldn’t leave you in the hooves of this surfacer terrorist,” the stallion growled, his missile launcher pointed right at me. Oh sure, he was brave now that I didn’t have a razor sharp claw to his genitals. “Want me to blast her? Make sure she cooperates.”
""好吧，当然！不能把你留在这个地面恐怖分子的蹄子里,"种马咆哮着，他的导弹发射器正对着我。当然，他现在很勇敢，因为我没有像剃刀一样锋利的爪子抓他的生殖器。"要我轰掉她吗？确保她合作。"
“No Boomer. She got me away from the Dunderheads,” Twister muttered numbly, then shook her head hard. “But what are you three doing? We’re all contaminated now!” Twister pointed out with a glare.
"没有布玛儿。她让我远离了那些笨蛋,"图斯特木讷地咕哝着，然后使劲摇了摇头。""可是你们三个在干什么？我们现在都被污染了!"特维斯特怒目而视地指出。
Sunset shrugged, a weird sight to see in power armor. “Eh. We’ll say we were lookin’ ta kick some Dunderhead tail. Get two weeks detention.”
日落耸耸肩，一个奇怪的景象看到的力量盔甲。"嗯。我们会说我们正在寻找踢一些Dunderhead尾巴。留堂两周。"
Boomer nodded. “Can’t toss ya in a cell if we back you up, right?”
布默点点头。"如果我们支持你，就不能把你扔进牢房，对吧?"
“You two idjits… ugh… I’m gonna be stuck with paperwork for a month for this…” She looked at me. “You’re sure I’d have to eat… you know… to get sick?”
"你们两个白痴......啊......我要为这个文书工作困上一个月......"她看着我。"你确定我得吃东西......你知道......才会生病?"
“Ask your own medics,” I replied with a shrug. “But you should be fine.”
"问问你自己的医护人员,"我耸耸肩回答。"但你应该会没事的。"
“What’s she talkin’ ‘bout?” Boomer asked, keeping that missile on me.
"她在说什么?"布玛儿问道，把导弹一直对着我。
“Nothin’, Boomer. Nothin’.” She looked at me then smiled. “Well. You take care o’ yerself, Blackjack. Got to say this has been a hell of a night.”
"没什么，布玛儿。没什么?"她看着我，然后笑了。"好吧。你自己保重，黑杰克。不得不说今晚真是糟透了。"
From the slightly less dark and gloomy east, I could tell it was nearly morning. “Yeah. For me as well.”
从稍微没那么黑暗和阴暗的东方，我可以看出天快亮了。"是的。我也是。"
* * *
* * *
Megamart’s guards took one look at me and opened the gate, not bothering me for caps as I stepped though. Either I was so damn scary-looking they didn’t want to, or they took pity on a mare who’d been through a rough night. I didn’t care. I had to find my friends now and apologize. Grovel for forgiveness.
麦加玛特的卫兵看了我一眼，打开了大门，当我走过去的时候，他们并没有打扰我戴帽子。要么是我看起来太吓人了，他们不想看，要么是他们同情一匹经历了一个艰难夜晚的母马。我不在乎。我现在不得不去找我的朋友们道歉。乞求宽恕。
Inside, business was oddly quiet. The vendors were moving into their booths, but their eyes slowly followed me nervously. Were my glowing eyes freaking everypony out that badly? I tried to remember where I’d left my glasses. Star Point? They were probably in the ocean by now. Where were Bottlecap and Keystone? I’d expected them coming as soon as I showed up. I headed over to the clinic where the old doctor lay back on his own operating table, snoring loudly.
里面的生意出奇地平静。小贩们正走进他们的摊位，但他们的眼睛慢慢地紧张地跟着我。我发光的眼睛是不是吓坏了所有的小马？我试着想起我把眼镜放在哪里了。星点？他们现在可能已经在海里了。巴特克普和凯斯通在哪里？我本以为我一出现他们就会来。我朝诊所走去，老医生躺在自己的手术台上，打着响亮的鼾声。
“Hey. Hey Bonesaw.” I nudged him hard.
"嘿。嘿Bonesaw。"我用力推了他一下。
He jerked upright and banged his horn against the light that dangled over the table. “Gallstones…” he swore, clenching his eyes shut as he hissed. “Clinic is open when I am! Go away.”
他猛地挺直身子，对着悬挂在桌子上的灯猛地按了一下喇叭。"胆结石......"他咒骂着，嘶嘶地紧闭着眼睛。"诊所在我岁的时候开门！走开。"
“Bonesaw. It’s me. Security?” I asked with an awkward smile.
"Bonesaw.是我。安全?"我尴尬地笑着问道。
He cracked open an eye, then the gap-toothed old unicorn gasped. “You! You’re here. You can’t be here! They’re here for you!”
他打开一只眼睛，然后缝隙牙齿的老独角兽倒吸一口冷气。"你！你来了。你不能来这儿！他们是来找你的!"
I immediately focused my E.F.S. No red bars, yet.
我立刻集中了我的e.f.s.没有红色条纹，还没有。
“Who is? Enclave? Zodiac? Usury? Killer zebra death commandos?” I asked as my eyes swept through the crowds.
""是谁？飞地？十二宫杀手？高利贷？杀手斑马死亡突击队?"当我的眼睛扫过人群时，我问道。
“No… them!” he said as he pointed a hoof.
"不......是他们!"他边说边指着一只蹄子。
From down the aisle approached three ponies in traditional raider attire… No. That was backwards. Every raider I’d ever seen had been trying to copy this look. The confident swagger in the three mares. Tough eyed, tough hided, wearing spikes and chains. Their leather barding had the unmistakable muted hues of being ponyhide. And their weapons were top notch and well cared for. These were ponies who were ready, willing, able, and eager to kick tail and get kicked. Not out of madness, but sheer confidence.
从走廊下面走来三匹穿着传统掠夺者服装的小马......不。这是倒退。我见过的每一架突袭机都试图模仿这种表情。三匹母马自信地昂首阔步。坚强的眼睛，坚强的隐藏，穿着钉子和链子。他们的皮衣上有明显的暗淡色调，像是马皮。他们的武器都是一流的，而且保养得很好。这些小马准备好了，愿意，有能力，并渴望踢尾巴和被踢。不是出于疯狂，而是纯粹的自信。
These were Reapers.
这些是收割者。
It made sense; they couldn’t all be monsterponies like Deus. He’d been a special project, connected to Sanguine through the need for his super painkiller. But I had the clear impression that these three ponies still knew a lot about fighting.
这是有道理的，他们不可能都是像上帝那样的怪物。他曾经是一个特殊的项目，因为需要他的超级止痛药而与Sanguine联系在一起。但是我有一个清晰的印象，那就是这三匹小马仍然知道很多关于打架的事情。
And I was about to get a firsthand lesson in it.
我就要亲身体验一下了。
I glanced up at Gun. The weapon was already turned towards me, as if anticipating I’d fire a shot. “I need a weapon,” I said tensely, not taking my eyes off the three mares. Two of them were earth ponies; one swung a weighted chain lazily in her jaws. The second grinned around the handle of a fire axe, one without even a spot of rust upon it. But the unicorn’s weapon put them all to shame. The mallet had to be nearly as long as her body, with a huge reinforced head of steel, and she floated it without the slightest bit of strain.
我抬头看了一眼冈。武器已经转向我，仿佛在期待我会开枪。"我需要一件武器,"我紧张地说，眼睛没有离开那三匹母马。其中两匹是土地上的小马;其中一匹在嘴里懒洋洋地摇晃着一条加重的链子。第二个人围着一把消防斧的斧柄咧嘴笑着，斧柄上甚至连一点锈迹都没有。但是独角兽的武器让他们自愧不如。木槌必须和她的身体一样长，有一个巨大的钢铁加固的头，她把它漂浮起来，丝毫没有紧张。
A scalpel floated into my line of vision.
一把手术刀漂进了我的视线。
“Thanks,” I said as my magic gripped the tiny blade. I slowly trotted down the aisle towards the three.
"谢谢,"我说，我的魔法抓住小刀片。我慢慢地沿着过道向那三个人跑去。
“You’re Security, right?” the unicorn asked. I was hoping she’d be fiddling with that hammer, or scornful of the tiny blade. She wasn’t. I could tell they took me seriously. No taunts. No insults. They were just as serious about kicking my ass clear to Flank.
"你是保安，对吧?"独角兽问道。我希望她会摆弄那把锤子，或者鄙视那把小刀。她没有。我看得出他们把我当回事了。没有嘲笑。没有侮辱。他们同样认真地想把我踢到弗兰克。
“Yeah,” I said as I wondered if my magic bullets would register as gunshots to Gun.
"是的,"我说，因为我想知道我的魔法子弹是否会记录为枪声。
“You’re coming with us,” the unicorn said as they started to spread out. This was a far cry from what I was used to: no charging in for the first hit or quick kill.
"你跟我们走,"独角兽说，他们开始散开。这和我以前的习惯有很大的不同:第一次打击或者快速杀伤都不需要充电。
Great. “I don’t think so. I just want to find my friends, beg their forgiveness, and sleep for six or seven hours.” I kept looking at Chain and Axe; the earth ponies were moving more and more to flank me as I backed away. Hammermare just stayed right in front of me. “Is this about that stupid bounty? Deus is dead, Usury’s gone… give it up!”
太好了。"我不这么认为。我只想找到我的朋友，乞求他们的原谅，然后睡上六七个小时。"我一直看着链子和斧子，当我后退时，地上的小马越来越多地向我侧面跑来。Hammermare就在我的正前方。"是因为那个愚蠢的赏金吗？天王死了，高利贷也没了......放弃吧!"
“Piss on my horn… she told us you were stupid, but I didn’t expect it was this bad,” Hammermare said as she turned the head of the mallet around in her magical grip. “We do this three ways. You let Cuffs lock you up nice and neat, we beat you unconscious and lock you up anyway, or we kill you. Those are your options.”
"在我的号角上撒尿......她告诉我们你很愚蠢，但是我没有想到事情会这么糟糕,"Hammermare一边说，一边用她那魔法般的手转动木槌的头。"我们有三种方法。你让袖口锁你好看和整洁，我们打你无意识和锁定你无论如何，或者我们杀了你。这些是你的选择。"
“Right…” Well I knew this was coming. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and selected my attacks. I charged forward as my magic stabbed the scalpel right at her face. She
"对......"我就知道会这样。我溜进了s.a.t.s，选择了攻击。当我的魔法把手术刀刺向她的脸时，我冲了上去。她
raised a hoof, the blade drawing blood as it stabbed into her forelimb. I lunged to tackle her, raising my hooves to knock that massive hammer out of the way.
抬起一只蹄子，刀刃刺进她的前肢，抽出血来。我冲过去抓住她，抬起我的蹄子把那个巨大的锤子敲开。
Funny. I really hadn’t expected her horn to be that strong. The floating haft of the hammer didn’t budge an inch; instead, I was halted in place gripping it and staring stupidly down at her. She grinned even wider and the hammer shoved me away, then swung in an upward arc with an ominous hum of magic.
有意思。我真没想到她的号角这么厉害。锤子漂浮的半截身子纹丝不动，我只能呆呆地抓着锤子，呆呆地盯着她。她咧开嘴笑得更大了，锤子把我推开了，然后向上荡了一个弧形，发出一种不祥的嗡嗡声。
My only saving grace was that I got the PipBuck raised in time to prevent my face from getting crushed. That didn’t prevent the blow from knocking me clear off my hooves and bouncing me on the concrete floor once before sliding away. I shook my head, wondering if my leg or head were busted. That blow nearly took off my horn!
我唯一的可取之处就是及时提高了皮普巴克的音量，以免我的脸被压扁。但这并没有阻止那一击把我从蹄子上打下来，把我摔在水泥地上一次，然后滑走了。我摇摇头，想知道我的腿或者头是不是被打断了。那一击几乎把我的号角吹掉了！
Then Cuffs swung her chain around my rear leg, and like that she was racing back towards Hammermare and I was being dragged along behind her. The glowing hammer lifted, the hum growing as a talisman in the head built up energy. I did the only thing I could and rolled to the side, the taut chain cutting underneath Hammermare’s hooves and knocking her down atop me. We rolled as we were dragged along, kicking and biting before she finally fell away.
然后，克伦把链子绕在我的后腿上，像这样，她跑回了Hammermare，我被拖在她后面。发光的锤子举起，嗡嗡声像护身符一样在头脑中生成能量。我做了我唯一能做的事，滚到一边，拉紧链子切割下Hammermare的蹄子，把她推倒在我身上。我们被拖着滚来滚去，又踢又咬，直到她最后倒下。
Cuffs didn’t stop, though, as the chain-draped mare raced towards the end of the aisle. She snapped around the corner, swinging hard and I wailed as I was slammed hard into a stack of scrapped generators. Then she was off again, dragging me back towards the other two. Hammermare raised the powered mallet for another blow, and Fire Axe likewise readied the sharpened spike on the end. “Enough of this!” I shouted as I curled up and sent three magic bullets right at Cuffs’s rump. One caught her square in the flank, and she staggered enough that I was able to hook my forehooves on a heap of scrap. With a jerk, the chain around my rear leg went taut and Cuffs fell to the ground. I did not like that pop in my rear knee nor the pain that radiated from it, though.
袖口并没有停止，虽然，作为链悬挂的母马冲向结束的过道。她猛地转过街角，使劲地荡来荡去，当我被猛地撞上一堆废弃的发电机时，我痛哭起来。然后她又出发了，把我拉回到另外两个人身边。Hammermare举起动力锤准备再次击打，火斧同样在末端准备好锋利的钉子。"够了!"我一边大声喊着，一边蜷缩起身子，向葛夫的臀部发射了三颗神奇的子弹。其中一只正好从侧面夹住了它，它摇摇晃晃地走着，我都能把前蹄钩在一堆废铁上。猛地一拉，我后腿上的链子拉紧了，袖口掉到了地上。我不喜欢膝盖后面的弹跳，也不喜欢它散发出来的疼痛。
I pulled myself to my hooves, watching Hammermare charge. I shook off the chain before it could be yanked again. The bullet spell hadn’t triggered Gun, but seeing how tough these three were, I wasn’t sure it’d be enough to drop them. What I needed was a decent weapon!
我全力以赴，看着Hammermare集团冲锋陷阵。在它再次被猛拉之前，我把链子甩掉了。子弹魔咒并没有触发枪，但是看到这三个人有多么坚强，我不确定是否足以击落他们。我需要的是一件像样的武器！
Fortunately, Fire Axe had one.
幸运的是，火斧有一个。
My horn flashed, trying to twist it out of the Reaper’s mouth. To my shock, she
我的号角闪烁着，试图把它从死神的嘴里拽出来。令我震惊的是
grit her teeth and fought me.
咬紧牙关反抗我。
And that hesitation gave Hammermare the opening she needed. The mallet slammed into my side, and I felt several ribs snap as I once more slid all the way to Bonesaw’s clinic. I opened my mouth and gasped, then coughed a mouthful of blood over the floor. The old stallion stared as he backed away, not getting involved in this fight. I couldn’t blame him.
这种犹豫给了Hammermare所需要的机会。木槌砰地一声砸在我身上，我感到几根肋骨折断了，这时我又一次滑向了Bonesaw的诊所。我张开嘴，喘着气，咳了一口血。这匹老种马退后时瞪着眼睛，没有参与这场战斗。我不能怪他。
But, he did have medical supplies.
但是，他确实有医疗用品。
“Bill me,” was all I choked out before yanking open his cabinet, grabbing an ampule of gray sludge, and injecting it into my side. At once, I felt the disgusting regenerative potion at work as the Hydra mended my ribs and did… whatever other damage it was doing. I chowed down a Buck and injected a Med-X for good measure before slugging down his freshest healing potions. I rose to my hooves and faced the three. My eyes felt like they were glowing like the fires of hell. “Okay! You three are between me and my friends and I am fucking sick of it!” The sensation of my knee being pulled into place made my stomach churn.
"比尔,"我哽咽着说，然后猛地拉开他的柜子，抓起一截灰色淤泥，注射到我的身体里。立刻，我感觉到恶心的再生药水在起作用，因为九头蛇修补了我的肋骨，造成了......任何其他的伤害。我选了一只巴克，在灌下他最新鲜的治疗药剂之前，还注射了一支Med-X。我站起来，面对着那三个人。我的眼睛像地狱的火焰一样闪闪发光。"好吧！你们三个挡在我和我朋友之间，我他妈的受够了!"我的膝盖被拉到位的感觉使我的胃翻腾。
Hammermare looked a little surprised that I still had some fight in me, while Cuffs and Fire Axe backed away a few steps. I charged at the unicorn, who readied herself, hammer held parallel to the ground before her like the first time. I leapt and hooked my forehooves around the handle. As before, it didn’t budge.
Hammermare看起来有点惊讶，我仍然有一些战斗在我，而袖口和消防斧退后了几步。我冲向独角兽，她准备好了自己，锤子像第一次一样与地面平行。我跳了起来，前蹄钩住了把手。和以前一样，它纹丝不动。
Which let me swing my rear legs up and smash both my rear hooves into her face with almost as much force as her mallet. She reared and fell back as I flipped in the air and grabbed the mallet from her faltering magical grip with my own magic. She had just enough presence of mind to lift her hooves and catch the hammer on them rather than her chest, but from the crack, I knew I wasn’t the only pony who’d need Hydra after this fight.
这让我摆动我的后腿和粉碎我的后蹄对她的脸几乎同样多的力量，她的槌。当我在空中翻转时，她站起来，向后倒去，用我自己的魔法从她摇摇欲坠的魔柄上抓住了木槌。但是从裂缝中，我知道我不是唯一一个需要九头蛇帮忙的人。
Fire Axe and Cuffs didn’t abandon Hammermare, though. The red earth pony swung the axe with swift and sure cuts that had me dancing back as I countered with massive blows of the heavy hammer. I wasn’t quite as strong as Hammermare, but at least I was holding my own. Or at least I thought I was when Cuff’s chain whipped around my throat and went taut. The chain yanked me back, making me rear up as I struggled to defend myself against Fire Axe.
消防斧和袖口没有放弃Hammermare，虽然。那匹红土小马迅速而果断地挥动着斧头，我用重锤猛击反击，它的反击让我感到震惊。我没有Hammermare那么强壮，但至少我能坚持住。或者至少当卡夫的链子缠住我的喉咙，拉紧我的时候，我是这么想的。链子把我拉了回来，当我奋力抵抗火斧时，我突然站了起来。
The heavy metal axe head slammed against my gut and blasted the breath from me. Levitating the hammer, I swung wildly behind me. There was a dull thump
沉重的金属斧头重重地砸在我的肚子上，把我的呼吸都吹走了。我把锤子悬浮起来，在身后疯狂地挥舞着。有一声沉闷的撞击声
as I connected with something, and the chain relaxed enough for me to suck a gasp of air. Fire Axe charged in while she still had the opportunity, but I slammed my forehooves hard against her face, knocking her to the floor.
当我连接上什么东西的时候，链条松弛得足以让我吸一口气。消防斧趁她还有机会的时候冲了进去，但我的前蹄狠狠地撞在了她的脸上，把她撞倒在地。
“Hey Security! What’s soaking wet and clueless?” a mare called out above me. I looked up in time to get a bucket of water, bucket included, dumped on my head. “Your face!” she snickered, then hit me so hard that I was knocked bouncing across the floor again.
"嘿，保安！什么是浑身湿透，毫无头绪?"一匹母马在我头顶上呼唤。我及时抬起头去拿一桶水，包括一桶水，倒在我的头上。"你的脸!"她窃笑了一下，然后狠狠地打了我一下，我再次被撞倒在地板上。
I pulled the bucket off and looked up at a yellow pegasus with sweeping golden hair and a decidedly bitchy grin on her face. Arcane devices on each of her hooves sparkled with energy similar to Hammermare’s super sledgehammer. “What the fuck...”
我把桶拉了下来，抬头看着一匹黄色的飞马，一头金色的长发，脸上露出一个决然恶毒的笑容。她的每只蹄子上的奥术装置都闪耀着类似于Hammermare的超级大锤的能量。"他妈的......"
She laughed as her blue eyes looked down at me. “Aww... do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?” Her wings snapped and she slammed the sparkling power shoes against my face with another blast of magical energy. I brought up S.A.T.S. and tried to blast her with magical bullets, but two missed and the remaining two didn’t do enough to take her out completely. Oh Goddesses, did my horn ache right now.
她蓝色的眼睛低头看着我，笑了。"啊......你想让我亲吻它，让一切都好起来吗?"她的翅膀折断了，她用另一股魔法能量把闪闪发光的电动鞋砸在我的脸上。我提到了s.a.t.s，并试图用魔法子弹轰击她，但是两颗没有打中，剩下的两颗也没有完全干掉她。哦，女神，我的角现在疼痛。
Butterflies with razorblade wings... that was a new cutie mark.
带刀片翅膀的蝴蝶...这是一个新的可爱的标志。
Then she was smashing her hooves against me again and again as more Reapers showed up. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” she shrieked with glee. “Don’t you just love me?”
然后她用她的蹄子一次又一次地砸我，因为更多的收割者出现了。"接吻！亲一个！亲一个!"她高兴地尖叫起来。"难道你不爱我吗?"
“Psychoshy!” snapped a familiar voice from the end of the aisle. I groaned as I sat back up again. Rampage slowly approached with a solemn look on her face. “That’s enough.”
"精神病!"过道尽头传来熟悉的声音。我又坐了起来，呻吟着。狂暴的人脸上带着严肃的表情慢慢走近。"够了。"
“She’s weak! She’s useless!” the yellow pegasus said in disgust as she landed beside my friend. “We should just take back her head.”
"她太软弱了！她真没用!"黄色飞马落在我朋友身边时，厌恶地说。"我们应该把她的头拿回来。"
“She’s fine. You just caught her at a bad time,” Rampage said softly as she knelt and looked me in the eye with a sad smile. “Hey, Blackjack. Everyone’s okay. Nervous, but okay. I’m really glad you made it back all right.”
"她很好。"你只是碰到她了，时机不对,"朗格跪下来，带着悲伤的微笑看着我的眼睛，轻声说道。"嘿，黑杰克。大家都没事。有点紧张不过没关系。我真高兴你平安回来了。"
I lay back, my head spinning after Psychoshy’s beating. “Rampage, what’s going on?”
我躺了下来，心理害羞打了我一顿之后，我的头晕目眩。"狂暴，怎么回事?"
She sighed softly. “Bad news. We’re at war, and you’ve been drafted,” she said as she looked down at me. “Welcome to the Reapers, Blackjack.”
她轻轻地叹了口气。"坏消息。我们在打仗，你被征召入伍了,"她低头看着我说。"欢迎加入收割者，黑杰克。"
Footnote: Level Up.
脚注:水平上升。
New perk added: Terrifying presence -- When you’ve got that shooty look going, you can make lesser enemies run in terror and balk greater opponents.
新特长补充:可怕的存在----当你看起来像个枪手的时候，你可以让较小的敌人在恐惧中跑动，阻止更大的敌人。
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
((Huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout Equestria, to Hinds and Bronode for making this worth reading, and to everypony that keeps me slogging through chapter after chapter.))
(非常感谢Kkat创造了Equestria，感谢Hinds和Bronode让这本书值得一读，感谢每一匹小马让我一章接一章地读下去。)