“Curses are artificial, fake magic. It’s conjured with potions and incantations, all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power; they’re just an old pony tale.”
"诅咒是人造的，虚假的魔法。魔法般的魔药和咒语，所有的烟雾和镜子都是为了吓唬人。但诅咒没有真正的力量，它们只是一个古老的故事。"
In the early morning, before the sky outside was switched on for the day (the illusory night apparently being used for matches rather than actual night), I lay in Rampage’s room. The striped mare was snoring heartily, but what had actually woken me was the disturbing sensation of my heart fluttering in my chest. To make matters worse, my head was throbbing with the promises of a migraine.
清晨，在外面的天空还没有亮起之前(虚幻的夜晚显然是用来比赛的，而不是真正的夜晚)，我躺在朗格的房间里。那匹条纹母马正在尽情地打鼾，但是实际上把我吵醒的是我心脏在胸腔里跳动的那种令人不安的感觉。更糟糕的是，我的头因为偏头痛的预兆而悸动。
I lay there on the mattress while the rest of my friends slept around me, my amber eyes fixed on a spot on the wall. The cracked plaster slowly crumbled away, a black mold crawling along the edge, wet, pulpy, and glistening and growing before my eyes. It grew only because I looked at it, but if I looked away it would consume us all. My heart beat faster and faster. Something was inside that rot and fungus. Something was moving. Something was looking back at me. An inexplicable reek of ammonia reached my nostrils.
我躺在床垫上，其他的朋友都围着我睡觉，我琥珀色的眼睛盯着墙上的一个点。裂开的石膏慢慢地剥落，一个黑色的霉菌沿着边缘爬行，湿漉漉的，黏糊糊的，在我眼前闪闪发光，不断生长。它的增长只是因为我看着它，但是如果我把视线移开，它会吞噬我们所有人。我的心跳得越来越快。腐烂和真菌的内部有些东西。有东西在动。有什么东西回头看着我。一股无法解释的氨水味扑鼻而来。
Suddenly, Scotch Tape jerked to her hooves next to me, snapping my gaze off that horrible patch of wall. The young olive mare muttered softly, “Damn it. Not again…” and trotted into Rampage’s bathroom with blankets still wrapped around herself.
突然，透明胶带猛地拉到我旁边的马蹄上，把我的目光从那堵可怕的墙上抽离开来。年轻的橄榄母马轻轻地咕哝着:"该死。又来了......"她小跑进了拉皮特的浴室，身上还裹着毯子。
I looked back at the wall, at the small cracks in the discolored plaster. All was normal. All was as it should be.
我回头看着墙，看着褪色的灰泥上的小裂缝。一切正常。一切都是应该的样子。
Thump thump… thump thump… thump thump thump… thump thump…
砰砰砰...砰砰砰...砰砰砰...砰砰砰..。
* * *
* * *
“You know, it would have been nice if Big Daddy could have thrown me a bone and let us cross the Zenith Bridge,” I muttered as I spread the map of Hoofington in the back of the Wasteland Survival Guide out against the row of bleacher seats in front of me.
"你知道，如果老爹能扔块骨头给我，让我们穿过ZenithBridge，那就太好了,"我一边低声说着，一边在《荒地生存指南》后面摊开Hoofington地图，背对着我前面的一排露天看台座位。
Earlier in the morning, I’d gone to see the Reapers’ medic and swapped our salvage for some more little purple potions. Doctor Contusion, who, in her ponyhide armor covered in cutie marks with a disturbing medical motif, looked if anything more unnerving than the other Reapers, had also confirmed my guess about the low level of Enervation around the arena.
早晨，我去见了收割者的医生，交换了一些紫色的药剂。博士穿着厚重的盔甲，身上满是可爱的印记，带着令人不安的医学主题，看起来比其他收割者更令人不安，也证实了我对竞技场周围低水平的能量供应的猜测。
After that, I’d tried to get a new melee weapon, but, for all the bloody panoply of deadly implements I’d been shown, I hadn’t seen any that really appealed to me. I just didn’t have the horn for giant hammers or swords made from wagon fenders, and I felt wary about using rippers and chainsaws. I wouldn’t grow back my head if I accidentally sliced it off.
在那之后，我试图得到一个新的近战武器，但是，所有血腥的全套致命工具，我已经展示，我没有看到任何真正吸引我。我只是没有用马车挡泥板制成的巨大锤子或剑的号角，对于使用开膛手和电锯，我感到很谨慎。如果我不小心把头切掉了，我的头就不会再长出来了。
“Even if he did,” P-21 said, “the Steel Rangers aren’t letting anypony cross. And, according to DJ Pon3’s latest report,” he continued, pointing at the other crossing north of the Forks, “Toll’s been closed since the fighting started. Unless you have another Seahorse around here, I don’t see how we’re going to get to the far side.”
"即使他这么做了,"P-21说,"钢铁骑兵不会让任何小马过去的。而且，根据DJPon3的最新报告,"他指着福克斯北部的另一个过境点继续说道,"自从战斗开始后，收费站就已经关闭了。除非这附近还有一只海马，否则我不知道我们怎么才能到达那边。"
“Can’t she just fly over, blink back, and teleport us all across?” Scotch Tape asked, pointing at Lacunae.
"她就不能飞过来，眨眨眼，把我们传送过去吗?"透明胶带指着空隙问道。
The alicorn sighed. “Do you have any idea how much energy it takes to teleport a pony such a distance?” The young mare gave her a dry look, and the purple alicorn huffed softly. “The energy needed is the product of the square of the amount of mass to be transported, the square of the distance to be covered, Fireflash's constant, and the inverse of the amount of radiation I've absorbed.”
阿里克松叹了口气。"你知道把一匹小马传送这么远要消耗多少能量吗?"年轻的母马干巴巴地看了她一眼，紫色的果实轻轻地吸了一口气。"所需能量是要运输的质量的平方、要覆盖的距离的平方、萤火虫的常数和我吸收的辐射量的反比。"
I just stared at her for a minute, then said softly, “Lacunae, pretend for a minute that I don’t know anything about alicorns, mathematics, teleportation, or arcane science. Can you teleport us all across the river?”
我只是盯着她看了一分钟，然后温柔地说:"缺口，假装一分钟我对海神号、数学、传送或者神秘的科学一无所知。你能把我们传送过河吗?"
“I could, but only one at a time; that would take all day, and I would be exhausted after each. That would leave us woefully exposed.”
""我可以，但是一次只能吃一个，那要花一整天的时间，每次吃完后我都会筋疲力尽。这会让我们不幸地暴露在风险之下。"
“You teleported the stallions to safety in 99,” Scotch Tape pointed out, “And the
"你在99年把种马传送到了安全的地方,"ScotchTape指出,"而且
guns.”
枪。"
“That was a distance of no more than fifty feet, and afterwards I was so exhausted I could do no magic for almost two whole days.” I looked around, glad to see that nopony was asking why a Goddess would have such limitations. “To teleport across the river, I would need to find a significant landmark and memorize it in detail. It is unlikely that I’d find one near the water on the far side.”
"那段距离不超过五十英尺，后来我筋疲力尽，几乎整整两天都不会变魔术。"我环顾四周，很高兴看到小马驹在问为什么女神会有这样的限制。"要传送过河，我需要找到一个重要的地标，并详细记住它。我不太可能在远处靠近水的地方找到。"
“Could you just fly us across?” I asked hopefully.
"你能带我们飞过去吗?"我满怀希望地问道。
“Perhaps. But some of you are heavy, and it is almost certain that the Steel Rangers would try to shoot us down. Alone, I could handle that, but if I have to focus on carrying somepony else at the same time...” That didn’t sound like a risk we wanted to take.
"也许吧。但是你们中的一些人很重，而且几乎可以肯定的是钢铁游骑兵会试图把我们击落。一个人，我可以应付，但是如果我不得不在同一时间背一匹小马......"这听起来不像是我们想要冒的风险。
“So, we can’t cross on a bridge. Can’t fly over and probably can’t swim across. Can’t teleport all of us without taking a really long time...” I sighed and rubbed my chin. Couldn’t go over. Couldn’t go across. Couldn’t cheat with alicorny magics. That left... “Can we go under the river?”
"所以，我们不能过桥。不能飞过去，可能也不能游过去。不花很长时间就无法传送我们所有人......"我叹了口气，摸了摸下巴。不能过去。过不去。不能用魔法作弊。然后..."我们能从河底下去吗?"
“Under? Are you crazy?” Rampage said as she jumped to her hooves. I smiled softly at her, crossed my forehooves calmly in front of me, and arched a brow in a perfect expression of reasonability. Rampage groaned, pressing her face to her forehooves. “Of course you are…”
""在下面？你疯了吗?"狂暴一边说，一边跳上马蹄。我轻轻地对她微笑，在我面前平静地跨过前蹄，扬起眉毛，以一种理智的完美表情。狂暴呻吟着，脸紧贴着前蹄。"你当然是......"
P-21 muttered, “Welcome to my world.” I smiled at him and felt warmth when he smiled back.
P-21低声说,"欢迎来到我的世界。"我对他微笑，当他回以微笑时，我感到温暖。
“What’s wrong with under?” Glory asked with a small gulp of nervousness.
"低于标准有什么不好?"晨辉带着一丝紧张的口气问道。
“The tunnels of Hoofington,” Scotch Tape read aloud from the Guide as she lay on her belly on an old cushion, her rear legs waving idly in the air, “are particularly deadly. Today they are the home to desperate raiders, feral ghouls, and packs of savage beasts called cyberdogs. Perhaps even more dangerous are the automated defense systems, including magical ward screens and patrolling robots, and pockets of intense radiation and Enervation. Extreme care should be employed, and visits should be brief.
"胡芬顿的隧道,"苏格兰磁带大声朗读的指南，她躺在她的肚子上的旧垫子，她的后腿在空气中无所事事地挥舞,"是特别致命的。今天，它们是绝望的掠夺者、凶残的食尸鬼和一群叫做赛博狗的野兽的家园。也许更危险的是自动防御系统，包括神奇的病房屏幕和巡逻机器人，以及强烈的辐射和能量。应当格外小心，探视时间应当短暂。
“Over a thousand miles of tunnels, subways, and other pieces of underground
"超过一千英里的隧道、地铁和其他地下设施
infrastructure were constructed in Hoofington, and much of it remains intact and unflooded thanks to still active pumps and ventilation systems. Care should be taken to stick to sewage maintenance tunnels and blue line subway tunnels. Enter into green industrial tunnels only in dire circumstances. Red tunnels should be avoided at all costs. These security tunnels were restricted during the war and contain potent defensive systems. Remember: Red and you’re dead.
Hoofington的基础设施已经建成，由于水泵和通风系统仍在运转，大部分仍然完好无损。应该注意坚持使用污水维护隧道和蓝线地铁隧道。只有在可怕的情况下才能进入绿色工业隧道。应不惜一切代价避开红色隧道。这些安全通道在战争期间受到限制，并包含强有力的防御系统。记住:红色你就死定了。
“Ooooh pictures!” She lifted the book up in her mouth, showing us a robotic sand dog-esque monster that appeared more machine than meat. I sure hoped that that was artistic license and not an accurate depiction.
"噢，照片!"她把书放在嘴里，给我们展示了一个沙漠狗形状的机器怪物，它看起来更像是机器而不是肉。我当然希望那是艺术上的放纵，而不是准确的描绘。
“More than a thousand miles?” Glory gasped. “Where did they put them all? The Core is only five miles across at the most! How in Equestria did they dig out that much that fast?”
"一千多英里?"晨辉倒抽了一口冷气。""他们把它们都放在哪儿了？核心最多只有5英里宽！在Equestria，他们怎么能这么快就挖出这么多?"
But I remembered Big Macintosh’s memory of the city during reconstruction. “Tunnels on top of tunnels on top of tunnels,” I said as I rose to my hooves and started pacing. “They dug tunnels to bring building materials under the river. And they buried all the power lines and the like after zebras started attacking with dragons; it was safer. They probably connected all the bases to the city by tunnels too.”
但是我想起了大麦金托什在重建时对这座城市的记忆。"隧道上面的隧道在隧道上面,"我说，我站起来我的蹄子，并开始踱步。"他们挖隧道把建筑材料运到河底。在斑马开始用龙攻击之后，他们埋掉了所有的电线之类的东西，这样更安全。他们可能还通过隧道将所有基地与城市连接起来。"
Hoofington was a fortress, but it was more than just the Core. The Core was like a great big fat bullseye, a challenge to the zebras. But, in reality, the entire valley was a fortress, a death trap for the zebras to attack over and over again. ‘Here is our technology. Here is the city you tried to raze. Come and get us.’ I had to wonder how many thousands of zebras had died besieging and assaulting the city. Tens of thousands? Hundreds? Millions?
胡芬顿是一个堡垒，但它不仅仅是核心。核心就像一个巨大的肥大的牛眼，对斑马来说是一个挑战。但实际上，整个山谷是一个堡垒，是斑马一遍又一遍攻击的死亡陷阱。这就是我们的技术。这就是你试图摧毁的城市。来抓我们吧我不得不想知道有多少成千上万的斑马死于围攻和袭击这座城市。成千上万？几百个？几百万？
I’d seen the bones in Nopony’s Land. That was just one small hill along the western edge of the city. How many were in the badlands south of Flank? Or east, toward the zebra lands? The zebras had come to Hoofington over and over again to die. The city wasn’t a fortress. It was a killing machine.
我在Nopony见过尸骨。那只是城市西部边缘的一座小山。弗拉克南部的荒地有多少人？还是向东，朝着斑马地？斑马一次又一次地来到Hoofington寻死。这座城市并不是一座堡垒。那是个杀人机器。
“So, is there a tunnel from here to the east side of the river?” P-21 asked as he looked over the filly’s shoulder at the guide. We all looked at Rampage, who gave a shrug.
"那么，从这里到河的东边有隧道吗?"P-21一边问，一边越过小母马的肩膀看向导。我们都看着狂暴，他耸了耸肩。
Suddenly, I smiled. “We might not know, but we know somebody who does.”
突然，我笑了。"我们可能不知道，但我们知道有人知道。"
* * *
* * *
“Ponies know nothing. Why do ponies always stick noses where not belong?” Rover grumbled as he picked through the wall of his workshop. We’d been walking all morning to hoof it from the Arena to Riverside. On a map, the two locations were fairly close. In reality, we’d had to snake our way through the rubble-strewn streets and more than once pick our way through fallen buildings. The Halfheart gang was also making our lives difficult now that word was out that Security had turned down Big Daddy’s offer. We’d been dealing with snipers all morning; it’d gotten to the point where Lacunae shed her dress and, together with Glory, swept out the snipers’ nests in the windows of the crumbling apartment buildings.
"小马什么都不懂。为什么小马总是把鼻子粘在不该粘的地方?"罗孚一边在工作间的墙壁上翻找东西，一边嘟囔着。我们走了一上午的路，从竞技场步行到河边。在地图上，这两个地点相当接近。实际上，我们不得不在瓦砾遍布的街道上迂回前进，不止一次地在倒塌的建筑物中找到路。现在安全部门拒绝了老爹的邀请，这让我们的生活变得很困难。我们整个上午都在和狙击手打交道，直到拉库娜脱下她的衣服，连同晨辉一起，扫除了破旧公寓大楼窗户上的狙击手巢穴。
By the time we reached Sunset Station, I was carrying Scotch Tape to give her hooves a rest. P-21 was slowing us down too, but he simply set his lips together and tried to keep up the pace. The sand dogs had nearly attacked us a second time before they caught sight of Lacunae. She was a figure both pony and dog tended to remember, particularly with her minigun hovering ominously over her head. The alicorn had developed a habit of occasionally revving the motor when one of the bionic canines got too close.
当我们到达日落车站的时候，我正带着透明胶带让她的蹄子休息。P-21也拖慢了我们的速度，但他只是咬紧了嘴唇，努力跟上节奏。沙狗在发现裂口之前，差点第二次袭击我们。她是一个小马和小狗都倾向于记住的形象，尤其是当她的小型手枪不祥地在她头上盘旋的时候。当一只仿生犬靠得太近时，这只独角兽就会偶尔转动马达。
“We have to get to the east side of the river. Are there tunnels that will get us there?” I asked. Fifi and Scotch Tape stood nearby, seeming to find each other fascinating but both a little too nervous to talk to each other. All the sand dogs were doing far better with gems powering their mechanical parts. Food came in through Riverside and salvage from the tunnels left. A lot of that equipment was being traded with Brimstone’s Fall and Chapel. Trade was saving the Wasteland.
"我们必须到达河的东岸。有通往那里的隧道吗?"我问道。菲菲和苏格兰录音带站在附近，似乎觉得彼此很迷人，但都有点紧张，不敢和对方说话。所有的沙狗都在用宝石为机械部件提供动力方面做得更好。食物从河边运来，从左边的隧道中打捞出来。很多这样的装备正在和宾斯通瀑布教堂进行交易。贸易拯救了荒地。
“Yes yes yes, pony,” Rover grumbled sourly as he walked over to a pile of papers and pawed through them, muttering. “Tunnels is very dangerous for ponies. Yes. Many dangerous things in the deeps. Ponies should not go in tunnels. Tunnels is dogs’ home.” He dug through pile after pile while I looked at strange arcane plans and blueprints on his wall.
"是的，是的，是的，小马,"罗孚一边走向一堆文件，一边嘟囔着，不高兴地嘟囔着。"隧道对小马来说非常危险。是的。深处有许多危险的东西。小马不应该进入隧道。隧道是狗的家。"当我看着他墙上奇怪的计划和蓝图时，他一堆一堆地翻着。
Luna Dam Power Generator Assembly #4. Fort Pony Annex. Samophlange housing. “Why do you keep these?” I asked, trying to figure out what the Tokomare was supposed to be. Or a section 44 emergency release valve. Or why anyone would want to hang on to diagrams of them.
月球坝发电机组件#4。小马堡附属建筑物。Samophlange住宅。"你为什么留着这些?"我问道，试图弄清楚tokomal是什么。或者44节紧急释放阀。或者为什么有人想要挂起它们的图表。
As Rover continued to dig through the old boxes, I noticed a dusty memory orb sitting in a stained coffee cup marked ‘Aegis Security’. Curious, I shook out the slowly swirling orb. I glanced over at Rover, wondering what good a memory orb would do a sand dog. “Excuse me,” I asked, lifting up the orb. “Do you mind if I look at this?”
当漫游者继续在旧箱子里挖掘时，我注意到一个尘土飞扬的记忆球放在一个标有"宙斯盾安全"的脏咖啡杯里。出于好奇，我摇出了慢慢旋转的球体。我瞥了一眼罗孚，想知道一个记忆球会对一只沙狗有什么好处。"对不起,"我问道，同时举起了球体。"你介意我看看这个吗?"
He snorted in dismissal. “Is pony garbage. Dog uses as nightlight for Fifi. Pony can do with it as pony wishes.”
他哼了一声就被解雇了。"是小马的垃圾。狗用作菲菲的夜灯。小马可以把它当成小马的愿望。"
Leaving him to dig through his papers, I smiled to myself and tapped the orb against my horn. Sometimes, physical contact seemed to be the only way to help the connection along. I felt the shock of connection, and the world swirled away.
留下他去翻阅他的文件，我对自己微笑，然后用圆球敲打我的喇叭。有时候，身体接触似乎是促进这种联系的唯一方式。我感受到了联系的震撼，世界旋转着消失了。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
Okay, not liking this memory. Correction: not liking this body! Something was very wrong here. My legs ached, by back was sore, my hips felt all tottery, and my vision was a mess of blurs. But, despite all that, I could smell the most amazing collection of scents… I wasn’t exactly sure what they all were, but I could smell them. I could also hear voices talking quite clearly. With a groan, my host rose and trotted… well… walked, at least, down a cloudy hall.
好吧我不喜欢这段记忆。更正:不喜欢这个身体！这里一定有什么不对劲。我的双腿酸痛，背部酸痛，臀部摇摇晃晃，视线模糊不清。但是，尽管如此，我还是能闻到最令人惊异的香味......我不确定它们都是什么，但是我能闻到它们。我还能清楚地听到说话的声音。伴随着一声呻吟，我的主人站了起来，小跑着......嗯......走着，至少，穿过了一个多云的大厅。
“…glad that you’re all right, Applejack. An accident like that... it’s terrifying that something like that can strike right out of the blue,” a stallion said in conciliatory tones. The smell of mare, apples, bed linen and stallion filled my nose.
"...很高兴你没事，苹果白兰地。像那样的事故......这样的事情能够突然发生真是太可怕了,"一匹种马用和解的语气说。母马、苹果、床单和种马的香味充满了我的鼻子。
“Well, we’re not completely convinced that it was an accident, Horse.” Applesnack’s low, serious voice perked my curiosity. “Elevators don’t generally fall on their own.”
"嗯，我们还不能完全相信这是一场意外，小马。"苹果奈克低沉而严肃的声音激起了我的好奇心。"电梯通常不会自己掉下来。"
“I… I hadn’t thought of that. I hope that the Ministry of Morale is taking a hard look at that possibility,” Horse said in concerned tones. “Well, in light of that, maybe…” He trailed off, and silence fell for a moment.
"我.....。.我没想到这一点。我希望士气部正在认真考虑这种可能性。"。"好吧，既然这样，也许......"他说完，沉默了一会儿。
“What is it, Horse? I can tell ya got some idea stuck in yer noggin,” Applejack said tiredly. My host rose up, and I smelled her scent of mare, a bed occupied for far too long, and healing bandages. Something reached out to rub my host’s ears… wait? What kind of ears were those? They felt… furry.
"怎么了，小马？我敢说你的脑袋里一定有什么想法,"阿普尔杰克疲惫地说。我的主人站了起来，我闻到了她身上散发的母马的气味，那是一张占用了很长时间的床，还有治疗用的绷带。有什么东西伸手摸我主人的耳朵...等等？那是什么样的耳朵？它们感觉...毛茸茸的。
“There’s been a lot of concern about high profile ponies being at risk from zebra assassins. We’ve been exploring some possibilities. Running a few experiments. We’ve found ways to place an organic brain inside a mechanical robotic body.”
"很多人担心备受瞩目的小马会受到斑马杀手的威胁。我们一直在探索一些可能性。做一些实验。我们已经找到了将有机大脑植入机械机器人身体的方法。"
“I heard about that,” Applejack said sourly. “I can honestly say that that’s one o' the most ghoulish things I’ve ever heard.”
"我听说了,"苹果白兰地酸溜溜地说。"老实说，这是我听过的最残忍的事情之一。"
“Unconventional, perhaps,” Horse admitted, sounding like he wasn’t too happy with the practice either. “We only use convicted ponies from Hightower, and only after removing most of their memories and personality. The brain, preserved in gel, just acts as a processor.”
"也许是非传统的,"马承认，听起来他对这种做法也不是很满意。"我们只使用来自海托华的被定罪的小马，而且是在移除了它们的大部分记忆和个性之后。保存在凝胶中的大脑只起到了处理器的作用。"
“Cut to the chase, Horse. What does all this have to do with Applejack?” Applesnack demanded.
"开门见山吧小马。这一切与苹果白兰地有什么关系?"阿普尔纳克问道。
Horse cleared his throat and said delicately, “Well, you see… we’ve also been developing a canine model. In fact, it’s almost ready for production, given that there’s far more canine brain samples available. We’re just looking for a subject for our production prototype.” An awkward silence ensued.
马清了清嗓子，小心翼翼地说:"嗯，你看......我们也在开发一个犬科动物模型。事实上，它几乎可以投入生产了，因为现在有更多的犬脑样本可用。我们只是在为我们的产品原型寻找主题。"接着是一阵尴尬的沉默。
Finally, Applejack muttered, “Horse. If I could get outta this bed, I’d buck your head clean off your shoulders! I know what you’re thinking!” Applejack swore and groaned. My host whined, licking her leg and tasting lotion.
最后，苹果白兰地喃喃自语道:"马。如果我能从这张床上下来，我会把你的头从你的肩膀上砍下来！我知道你在想什么!"苹果白兰地又是咒骂又是抱怨。我的主人呜呜地叫着，舔着她的腿，品尝着乳液。
“Well, I'm not under doctor's orders to stay in bed...” Applesnack growled.
"好吧，我没有遵照医生的命令呆在床上......"苹果包咆哮道。
Horse spoke quickly. “Please, listen to me. I know you love her, but face facts. Winona is old. She’s an exceptional dog: intelligent, loyal, and well trained. Better than a lot of ponies, honestly. And,” he continued in a calmer tone, “as you said, you think somepony is trying to kill you… and I agree. Let me give Winona a fresh new body. Onyx and Glass are both sure they can preserve both her mind and her personality. And she’ll be able to keep your foals and grandfoals just as safe as you.”
马说得很快。"请听我说。我知道你爱她，但是面对现实吧。薇诺娜老了。她是一只特别的狗:聪明，忠诚，训练有素。说实话，比很多小马好多了。"而且,"他平静地继续说,"就像你说的，你认为有人要杀你......我同意。让我给薇诺娜一个全新的身体。玛瑙和格拉斯都确信他们可以保留她的思想和她的个性。她会像你一样保护你的小马驹和大马驹。"
“Yeah, as if that’ll happen any time soon,” Applejack said in a slightly sharp mutter. Applesnack coughed awkwardly. The mare stroked my host’s ears and rubbed between her aching shoulders. Despite her words, I could tell from her tone that she was... pensive.
"是啊，好像这很快就会发生似的,"苹果杰克用一种略显尖锐的口吻说。苹果黑尴尬地咳嗽起来。母马抚摸着主人的耳朵，在她疼痛的双肩之间摩擦。不管她说什么，我能从她的语气中看出她是......忧郁的。
“Just consider my offer. We’ll be moving on to the security and combat
"考虑一下我的提议吧。我们将进入安全和战斗部分
prototypes one way or another. I just wanted to give you a chance. I know Winona would want to keep you safe.” There was another moment of silence. “Well… I hope you feel better soon.”
不管怎样都是原型。我只是想给你一个机会。我知道薇诺娜想保证你的安全。"又是一阵沉默。"嗯......我希望你快点好起来。"
“Yeah. You too, Mr. Horse,” Applejack muttered in worry. Her ears swiveled as Horse trotted away; a moment later, the door closed.
"是的。你也是，马先生,"苹果白兰地忧心忡忡地咕哝着。她的耳朵旋转着，马儿小跑着离开;过了一会儿，门关上了。
My host gave a worried whine in the back of her throat and nudged Applejack's hoof with her muzzle.
我的主人用喉咙后部发出一声忧虑的哀鸣，用枪口轻推苹果白兰地的蹄子。
“I can’t believe he’d propose something like that while you’re still recovering,” Applesnack muttered darkly.
"我不敢相信他会在你还在恢复中的时候提出这样的建议,"阿普尔斯纳克闷闷不乐地说。
“I didn’t stop being the Ministry Mare just because I fell down an elevator shaft,” Applejack replied. “He means well. Horse is the only one of the lot of ‘em that didn’t look like he was glad I’m laid up. Heck, even Braeburn seemed glad I’d be out for a while.” There was a sigh. “Can ya help Winnie up?”
"我并没有因为从电梯井上摔下来就不再是魔法部的成员,"苹果白兰地回答道。"他是好意。马是他们中唯一一个看起来并不高兴我躺在床上的人。见鬼，甚至布雷伯恩似乎也很高兴我能出去一段时间。"有一声叹息。"你能扶温妮起来吗?"
Applesnack, smelling faintly of sweat and musk and anger, trotted behind Winona and boosted her onto the bed. My canine host gave a happy bark and wiggled up next to the orange mare. Applejack sighed softly, running her hoof through my host’s fur. “You’re a good girl, Winona. Yes you are. You’ve always been my good little helper.”
苹果包闻起来有点汗味、麝香味和愤怒的味道，小跑到维诺娜身后，把她扶到床上。我的狗主人快乐地吠了一声，然后在橙色的母马旁边扭动起来。苹果白兰地轻轻地叹了口气，蹄子穿过主人的皮毛。"你是个好女孩，薇诺娜。是的，你是。你一直是我的好帮手。"
There was silence as Applejack just stroked my old body. “What do you think?” she finally asked.
当苹果白兰地刚刚抚摸我的老身体时，一片寂静。"你觉得怎么样?"她终于开口了。
“I don’t know. I usually leave all this technology stuff to you, Applejack,” the stallion said softly. “I just know that, if we’re right, I don’t want you at risk again. And Horse was right… she is getting old.”
"我不知道。我通常把所有这些技术的东西留给你，苹果白兰地,"种马轻声说。"我只知道，如果我们是对的，我不希望你再次面临风险。马儿说得对......她老了。"
Applejack gave a soft sigh and sniff. “T’aint fair. Angel Bunny don’t seem any older at t’all.”
苹果白兰地轻轻地叹了口气，吸了一口气。"这不公平。天使兔子看起来一点也不老。"
“Yeah, but who knows what chemicals and potions that little monster’s taken?”
"是的，但是谁知道那个小怪物吃了什么化学药品呢?"
“Don’t let Fluttershy hear you say that,” Applejack said with another sniff. “You’re a good girl, Winnie. A good girl, ya hear?”
"别让小蝴蝶听到你这么说,"苹果白兰地又闻了闻说。"你是个好女孩，温妮。一个好女孩，你听到了吗?"
My host lifted her muzzle and licked away salty tears…
我的主人举起她的嘴，舔着咸咸的眼泪..。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“Sand dogs dig. Sand dogs help make,” Rover muttered as he pulled out an old wooden box filled with still more rolls of paper. “Dogs make things that matter.”
"沙狗挖沙子。沙狗有助于制作,"罗孚一边喃喃自语，一边拿出一个旧木箱，里面装满了更多的纸卷。"狗创造了重要的东西。"
“You helped make them?” I asked, curious. The sand dogs didn’t strike me as the most engineering-inclined people. Then again, they had bionic parts, so who was I to judge?
"你帮忙做的?"我好奇地问。沙犬给我的印象并不是最喜欢工程的人。话又说回来，它们有仿生部件，所以我有什么资格评判它们呢？
“Ponies have horns,” he muttered. “Dogs have thumbs.” He wagged the appendage at me for a moment with a grin before pulling out another piece of paper. “Thumbs is better, pony. Ponies think of things to make, but dogs make them. Heavy, sweaty, dangerous work, but we did it.”
"小马有角,"他喃喃自语道。"狗有大拇指。"他朝我摇了摇那个东西，咧着嘴笑了一会儿，然后又拿出了另一张纸。"拇指更好，小马。小马想着做什么，狗却做着。繁重、汗流浃背、危险的工作，但我们做到了。"
I supposed that was true. “Goldenblood really wanted to help you, didn’t he?”
我想那是真的。"金血王真的很想帮你，不是吗?"
Rover growled but then sighed. “Golden Pony want impossible. Want things as they was. Want home as once was. Dogs home and pony home. He try to make dog town new home, but pony city is not dog home. Dogs have only one home.”
罗孚咆哮了一声，然后叹了口气。"黄金小马想要不可能。想要的东西还是原来的样子。像以前一样想回家。狗儿回家，马儿回家。他想把小狗镇变成新家，但小马城不是小狗的家。狗只有一个家。"
“Why is that? Isn’t home wherever you live?” I asked. He snorted in distaste, muttering to himself for a bit as he pulled out a few more papers and then finally seemed to settle on one.
"为什么？你住的地方不就是家吗?"我问道。他厌恶地哼了一声，一边拿出几张纸，一边自言自语了一会儿，然后似乎终于找到了一张。
“Home is home. Dogs have one home. That home is gone. Golden Pony say he fix home if could. Get rid of poison. Make apologies. But he not. Over time, he forgot about us till very end. Even Golden pony used dogs.” He growled faintly in a tone of finality, “Ponies is not nice.”
"家就是家。狗有一个家。那个家已经不在了。金马说，如果可以的话，他会把家修好。去除毒素。道歉。但他没有。随着时间的推移，他忘记了我们，直到最后。就连金色小马也用狗。"他用结束的语气微弱地咆哮道:"小马可不好。"
I felt a bit stung at that. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said, looking down at my hooves.
我觉得有点刺痛。"我很遗憾你有这种感觉,"我说，低头看着我的蹄子。
He pointed a finger at me. “Pony is using dogs now too. Pony wants information from dogs, tunnels only dogs know.” He snorted, a gob of snot dripping from his old gray muzzle for a moment before he wiped it off on the ragged sleeve of his jacket. “But,” he conceded, “Pony is at least nicer about it than most ponies.” He shook out one more paper and grinned. “Ah… yes. This will get ponies across city. Yes. Yes.” He spread out the wrinkled, faded map. “Green line to Factory. Through Factory. Into blue line. Out at big pony school. Safest path.”
他用手指指着我。"小马现在也在用狗。小马想从狗那里得到信息，隧道只有狗知道。"他哼了一声，一团鼻涕从他那老旧的灰色鼻口处滴了一会儿，然后用破旧的夹克袖子擦掉了鼻涕。"但是,"他承认,"小马至少比大多数小马要好。"他又抖出一张纸，咧嘴笑了。"啊......是的。这会让小马穿越整个城市。是的。是的。"他摊开皱巴巴、褪色的地图。"绿线到工厂。通过工厂。变成蓝线。在大小马学校。最安全的道路。"
“Factory?” I blinked at that, shocked. “Down here?” Then again, if there was power, why not? I wondered if, if those factories still worked, it might be possible to use them to make things to help the Wasteland.
"工厂?"我吃惊地眨了眨眼睛。"在这儿?"话又说回来，如果有权力，为什么不呢？我想知道，如果那些工厂还在工作，是否有可能用它们来制造东西来帮助荒地。
Rover nodded absently as he traced a claw along a route on a paper and tapped a square. “Mmm. Many old factories underground. Make gun. Bomb. Magic. Robot. Many many things. Most quiet. Some broken.” He marked the route in chalk and then folded the paper up. “Do not stay long. Radiation and Enervation is strong down below, pony.”
罗孚心不在焉地点了点头，沿着一张纸上的路线画了一只爪子，然后敲了一个方块。"嗯。许多老工厂都在地下。制造枪支。炸弹。魔法。机器人。很多事情。最安静。有些坏了。"他用粉笔在路线上作了记号，然后把纸折起来。"不要逗留太久。下面的辐射和衰弱很强，小马。"
“Thanks, Rover,” I said as I slipped the map into my saddlebags. He looked particularly grouchy about helping me. “If I may ask, do you know what happened in Riverside? DJ Pon3 said the village disappeared and then reappeared?”
"谢谢，罗孚,"我边说边把地图塞进鞍囊里。他看起来对帮助我特别不高兴。"请允许我问一下，你知道在河滨市发生了什么事吗？DjPon3说村子消失了然后又出现了?"
“Hrmph. Day after pony come, dogs go to village with scrap and salvage. Village not trust dogs, dogs not trust ponies. Almost shoot. Then flying monsters come. Half cat, half bat, half scorpion. Dogs dig tunnels and ponies follow.” He twisted his lips as he crossed his arms, waving a warning finger at me. “Fifi ask we save them, so pony not thank dog for it!” he grumbled, refusing to meet my smile.
"哎呀。一天又一天，小马来了，狗带着废品回到村里打捞。村里不信任狗，狗也不信任小马。差一点就开枪了。然后飞行的怪物出现了。半猫半蝙蝠半蝎子。狗挖隧道，小马跟着。"他一边交叉双臂，一边扭动着嘴唇，向我挥舞着一根警告的手指。"菲菲要求我们救他们，所以小马不要为此感谢狗!"他嘟囔着，拒绝面对我的微笑。
That was a more literal example of ‘trade saving the Wasteland’ than I had expected, but it was no less welcome for that. “Well, I’ll have to thank her, then,” I replied. “I owe you, Rover. I hope that someday I can find a way to get you back to your home.” All it would take was finding six ponies that could be friends. How hard could that be? He gave a soft sigh as he waved me away.
这是一个比我预想的更加字面意义上的"贸易拯救荒地"的例子，但是它同样受到欢迎。"那么，我得谢谢她了,"我回答。"我欠你的，罗孚。我希望有一天我能找到办法把你送回家。"只要找到六匹小马就可以成为朋友。这能有多难？他轻轻地叹了口气，挥手让我离开。
As I left, I heard Rover mutter softly to himself, “Just like Golden Pony.”
当我离开的时候，我听到罗孚轻轻地自言自语,"就像金色的小马驹。"
* * *
* * *
Rover’s entrance to the industrial line was near the tracks where the Crusaders had found me. Since I didn’t relish the thought of crawling through more of Riverside’s ruins getting shot at, we were talking an alternative route under the town. This way, we’d hopefully avoid the Halfheart gang’s hit and run potshots.
十字军发现我的地方，就是通往工业线的路虎入口附近。因为我不喜欢爬过更多的河滨市的废墟被枪击的想法，我们正在谈论一个替代路线下的城镇。这样的话，我们就能避开哈夫哈特帮的肇事逃逸了。
Water dripped, trickled, and splashed through countless cracks in the walls and ceiling of the train tunnel. Rusted train cars hunkered on their decaying rails, the bones of countless ponies within. In more than a few places, blackened and wet
水滴滴答答，滴滴答答，从火车隧道的墙壁和天花板上无数的裂缝中飞溅而出。生锈的火车车厢停在腐烂的铁轨上，车厢里有无数小马的骨头。在不少地方，黑色和潮湿
skeletons half hung through warped window frames, terrifying testaments of the occupants’ last moments. Scotch Tape hung close to me, shying away from the remains. More lay along the sides of the tunnels, and when a bone snapped underhoof, the filly jumped nervously. I was more concerned about the steady, low clicking on my PipBuck.
骨架半吊在扭曲的窗框里，可怕的遗嘱，记录着住户最后的时刻。透明胶带贴在我身上，躲避着尸体。还有更多的母马躺在隧道两边，当一根骨头在地下啪地一声折断时，母马紧张地跳了起来。我更关心的是我的PipBuck平稳、低沉的点击声。
“What happened to them all?” Scotch Tape asked as she peeked at bones frozen in postures that made it look like they were still trying to pry open doors of the train car.
"他们都怎么了?"透明胶带问道，她瞥了一眼冻结在一起的骨头，看起来好像他们还在试图撬开火车车厢的门。
“When the balefire bombs exploded, one of them must have breached the train tunnel. The tunnel acted like a chimney, carrying the flames along and burning up everything in its path. Afterwards, I think ponies tried to take shelter in here… and the radiation finished them off,” Glory said solemnly. “The Enervation kept the remains from rotting further.”
"当火焰炸弹爆炸的时候，其中一个一定已经冲破了火车隧道。隧道就像一个烟囱，携带着火焰，燃烧着路上的一切。后来，我认为小马试图在这里避难......辐射结束了他们的生命,"晨辉严肃地说。"这种能量使遗骸免于进一步腐烂。"
“Have I mentioned today how much I love this place?” P-21 said as he clambered over some collapsed ceiling.
"我今天有没有说过我有多喜欢这个地方?"P-21一边爬过坍塌的天花板，一边说道。
“Could be worse,” Rampage said with a chuckle.
"还有更糟的,"兰帕德笑着说。
“I know it could be worse. I expect it to get worse,” P-21 said as he looked ahead at the striped pony. “In fact, things are so pleasant right now that it’s starting to make me feel paranoid.” The seepage splashed around our hooves as we picked our way along the rusted tracks.
"我知道情况可能更糟。我预计情况会变得更糟,"P-21一边说，一边看着前方的那匹条纹小马。"事实上，现在的情况是如此令人愉快，以至于我开始觉得自己有些偏执。"当我们沿着锈迹斑斑的铁轨艰难前行时，渗出的水溅到了我们的蹄子上。
To be honest, I was getting a little paranoid as well. We’d been moving along the tracks for nearly half an hour, and there was no way to keep half a dozen ponies quiet. We should have been drawing all kinds of trouble, but my E.F.S. remained clear.
说实话，我也有点多疑了。我们沿着铁轨走了将近半个小时，没有办法让半打小马保持安静。我们本来会惹上各种各样的麻烦，但我的e.f.s还是清晰可见。
We reached the end of the Luna Line at Museum Station and picked our way up the muddy concrete stairs. This was a cold and heavy rain with fat drops that slammed into us with almost painful impacts. Standing at the subway entrance across from the museum, I looked down at my friends. Everypony was cold and wet. “Let’s get out of the rain for an hour. The loading dock door is open.”
我们到达了博物馆车站月神线的尽头，沿着泥泞的水泥楼梯继续前进。这是一场又冷又大的雨，带着脂肪滴，几乎是痛苦的冲击着我们。站在博物馆对面的地铁入口处，我低头看着我的朋友们。每匹小马都又冷又湿。"让我们避雨一个小时吧。装卸区的门是开着的。"
The last time I was here, I was a bit too drunk to remember exactly how trashed we’d left the building. After two battles, mine and whatever had happened two centuries ago, the museum was definitely looking a bit worse for wear.
上次我在这里的时候，我喝得有点醉，不记得我们离开大楼时是多么的狼狈。经过两次战役，我的战役和两个世纪前发生的任何战役，博物馆显然看起来有点破旧。
Somepony’d gone through and tossed the place for anything of value. Maybe it had been the survivors from the ponies who’d attacked me; I supposed that was payment enough for what I’d done to them.
有个小马跑过来把这地方翻了个底朝天。也许是那些小马的幸存者袭击了我;我想我对他们所做的已经足够了。
The lights were even more shot than I’d remembered. They flickered and flashed sporadically, and speakers slurred incoherent words and phrases like a mob of drunken ghosts. The bodies had been left and were desiccating rather than rotting. Enervation. I supposed that, in time, they’d get so dry that they’d disintegrate rather than rot, leaving only bones and ligaments behind. “Well, at least it’s out of the rain,” Glory said with an attempt at a bright smile.
灯光比我记忆中的更加刺眼。他们闪烁着，偶尔闪烁着，喇叭里含糊不清的词语像一群醉鬼。尸体被丢在那里，正在干燥而不是腐烂。衰弱。我想，假以时日，它们会变得如此干燥，以至于它们会分解而不是腐烂，只留下骨头和韧带。"好吧，至少它没有下雨,"晨辉试图微笑着说。
“Yeah. And a nine point one on the creepometer,” Scotch Tape added. Suddenly, she jumped and pulled out her wrench, gripping it in her jaws as she pointed a hoof through the door to the mineral display. “Ehd Arrs! Ehd arrs!”
"是的。还有一个9.1在蠕虫计上,"ScotchTape补充道。突然，她跳了起来，拔出扳手，用嘴紧紧抓住扳手，把一只蹄子指向门外的矿石陈列柜。"啊！啊!"
I looked, saw the red marks, and heard the telltale scuttle. “Just radroaches. Calm down.” Then there was a long, low rumble of thunder and my mane crawled as the lights went dark, then slowly flickered back to life again. The building didn’t seem to know which ambient music to play, and so two melodies slurred together. “Everypony stay close. Just in case.”
我看了看，看到了那些红色的印记，听到了那泄露秘密的小道消息。"只是胡子。冷静下来。"接着是一阵长长的低沉的雷声，灯光暗下来，我的鬃毛开始蠕动，然后慢慢地又恢复了生机。建筑物似乎不知道播放哪种环境音乐，因此两种旋律混合在一起。"每匹小马都跟紧了。以防万一。"
Somepony had absconded with not just the dragon skeleton’s remaining claws but with its fangs as well! “Well that’s not fair,” I muttered.
有一匹小马不仅带着龙骨骼的剩余爪子潜逃了，还带着它的獠牙！"这不公平,"我喃喃自语。
“That’s right. Only Blackjack has a right to cool and deadly weapons in the Wasteland. Celestia forbid somepony else take them for their own survival,” P-21 said sarcastically as I poked through the bones for even so much as a pinkie toe claw.
"没错。只有黑杰克有权冷却和致命的武器在荒原。塞莱斯蒂亚禁止其他小马为了自己的生存而吃掉它们,"P-21讽刺地说，我戳穿了它们的骨头，哪怕只是一个小脚趾爪。
“Really? How did she get that right?” Glory asked politely as she looked at the bones. She caught our shocked looks, and her ears folded back a little. “I mean, it’s quite convenient for her.”
"真的吗？她是怎么做到的?"晨辉看着那些骨头礼貌地问道。她看到了我们震惊的表情，她的耳朵微微向后倾斜。"我的意思是，这对她来说很方便。"
I smiled, then blinked. “Well… there might just be a cool and deadly weapon here for me after all!” I said as I wrapped my tail around P-21’s neck and tugged him after me. “This way, Snarky McSnarkerson!”
我笑了笑，然后眨了眨眼睛。"好吧......也许这里终究还是有一件对我来说又酷又致命的武器!"我一边说，一边用尾巴缠住P-21的脖子，拉着他跟在我后面。"这边，咆哮的McSnarkerson!"
I let him go and trotted to the sword case I’d been forced to leave earlier. “So, master lockpicker… ready for a challenge? Think you can get this open?” I asked as I tapped the sword case. The blade still sat on its crushed blue velvet.
我让他走了，小跑着走向我早些时候被迫离开的剑盒。"那么，撬锁大师......准备好迎接挑战了吗？你觉得你能打开这个吗?"我一边敲着剑盒一边问道。刀刃仍然停留在压碎的蓝色天鹅绒上。
He looked at the weapon in surprise, then narrowed his eyes at the compact lock.
他惊讶地看着那把武器，然后眯起眼睛看着那把小锁。
“Let’s find out.” He took out his screwdriver and pins.
"让我们拭目以待。"他拿出螺丝刀和别针。
I turned to the others. “In the meantime, let’s see if there’s anything here that was missed. Lacunae, can you watch his back?” The purple alicorn gave an elegant bow of her head, but looked at the sword with an odd expression of unease. Okay, well best put my best hoof forward. “Okay. Scotch Tape, with me,” I said as I looked at the filly with a small smile. She looked back, a little curious and slightly wary. I turned to Glory and Rampage. “Can you two sweep upstairs?”
我转向其他人。"与此同时，让我们看看这里有没有遗漏的东西。空隙，你能帮我看着他吗?"紫色的海角优雅地向她头上鞠了一躬，但是用一种奇怪的不安的表情看着那把剑。好吧，那么最好把我最好的蹄子放在前面。"好吧。透明胶带，和我一起,"我说，同时微笑着看着小母马。她回头看了看，有点好奇，也有点警惕。我转向了晨辉和暴怒。"你们两个能打扫一下楼上吗?"
The gray pegasus nodded. “Sure.”
灰色的飞马点点头。"当然。"
Splitting up in a creepy building might have been a recipe for disaster, but it’d save time. As Rampage and Glory headed upstairs, I went into the ‘Rocks of Equestria’ exhibit. Vigilance floated ahead of me, the twelve millimeter pistol sweeping across anything that looked remotely threatening. Long clear cases stretched in neat rows up and down the long room. The sight of a poster of Twilight Sparkle wearing a mining helmet and holding a rock in her hoof over a caption reading ‘Rocks are cool!’ struck me as incredibly… dorky. Okay, she created Gardens of Equestria, but there was no doubt that she was an egghead through and through.
在一个令人毛骨悚然的建筑里分开可能会导致灾难，但这样可以节省时间。当狂暴与晨辉走向楼上时，我走进了"Equestria的岩石"展览。警惕在我前面浮现，十二毫米口径的手枪扫过任何看起来有点威胁性的东西。长长的透明箱子整齐地排列在长长的房间里上上下下。看到一张紫悦戴着采矿头盔，蹄子里夹着一块石头的海报上写着石头很酷让我觉得难以置信的...傻。好吧，她创造了小马国的花园，但毫无疑问，她是个彻头彻尾的知识分子。
Most of the cases had been ignored. The mineral samples within were just rocks, and one thing the Wasteland had plenty of was rocks. The only display that had been touched was a large display of ‘magic gems’ that glittered in their armored case. I could tell it was armored because it looked like somepony had tried using dynamite to blast it open and still the case was quite intact. I couldn’t even smell the char.
大多数案件都被忽略了。里面的矿物样本只是岩石，而荒地有一样东西很多，那就是岩石。唯一被触摸过的展品是一个装甲盒里闪闪发光的"魔法宝石"的大型展示。我可以告诉它是装甲，因为它看起来像一些小马尝试使用炸药炸开它，但仍然是完整的情况下。我甚至闻不到烧焦的味道。
“So… how are you doing?” I asked errantly as I used a magic bullet to turn a skittering radroach to goo. The filly jumped; I wasn’t sure if it was from the shot or the question.
"那么......你最近怎么样?"当我用一颗神奇的子弹把一只掠过的雨燕变成粘乎乎的东西时，我不礼貌地问道。小母马跳了起来，我不确定是因为那个镜头还是因为那个问题。
She spat her nine millimeter automatic into a leg pocket that served as a holster. “I’m fine,” she said with a hard look around her. “Just… don’t like this place.”
她把9毫米口径的自动手枪吐进一个用作枪套的腿袋里。"我很好,"她用力看了看四周说。"只是...不喜欢这个地方。"
“It’s a lot different from the stable, isn’t it?” I frowned too as I looked at the room with its flickering lights. She gave me a ‘no duh’ look. “There’s a place
"这里和马厩很不一样，不是吗?"当我看着房间里闪烁的灯光时，也皱起了眉头。她给了我一个不明白的表情。"有一个地方
near here. It’s called Chapel. There’s a bunch of ponies your age who live there; they’re called the Crusaders. They’ve lost their families. I’m sure they’d be glad to have you. You know more about machines and the like than any of them.”
在这附近。它叫做教堂。那里住着一群和你年龄相仿的小马，它们被称为十字军。他们失去了家人。我相信他们会很高兴有你的。你比任何人都更了解机器之类的东西。"
She didn’t answer right away. She stared at a pile of rubbish with that hard expression. Then, after a few seconds, she glanced at me. “I’m fine.”
她没有马上回答。她用那种严厉的表情盯着一堆垃圾。几秒钟后，她瞥了我一眼。"我很好。"
“Scotch.” I trotted next to her and put a hoof across her shoulder. “You’re not fine. None of us are. A pony that’s fine would probably run screaming from the room at first sight of what we’ve dealt with.”
"苏格兰威士忌"我小跑到她旁边，用蹄子挡住她的肩膀。"你不好。我们都不是。一匹健康的小马可能会在第一眼看到我们所处理的事情时尖叫着跑出房间。"
She sighed, her olive body drooping a little. “Mom died a month ago. I remember her telling me that she’d help me go over the terminal technician manual when she got home. I was having problems with passing that class.” She looked right at me with the dark blue-green eyes behind her goggles. “She told me that if I just toughed it out, it’d all make sense. I just had to be tough.
她叹了口气，橄榄色的身体微微下垂。"妈妈一个月前去世了。我记得她告诉我，她回家后会帮我看一下终端技术员手册。我在通过那门课程时遇到了问题。"她戴着护目镜，深蓝绿色的眼睛直直地看着我。"她告诉我，如果我坚持下去，一切都会变得有意义。我只需要强硬一点。
“Then I was being told by Rivets that I’d be taking Mom’s place. I didn’t even have a chance to say… to say anything before she was recycled. In the morning, I had a mother. In the evening… I…” Her voice caught and she drew a shaky little breath. “I didn’t.” She sniffed and rubbed her nose, pointing her hoof at me. “Then everypony went crazy and… and then you showed up. And then… then… one morning I woke up with a clogged digester to fix. And in the evening… everypony I knew was dead.” She glared up at me, her lips pressed tightly together. “And you killed them.”
"然后铆钉工告诉我，我将取代妈妈的位置。在她被回收利用之前，我甚至没有机会说什么。第二天早上，我有了一个母亲。晚上...我..。。」她的声音停了下来，吸了一口微微颤抖的气。"我没有。"她用鼻子闻了闻，揉了揉鼻子，用蹄子指着我。"然后每个小马都疯了然后...然后你就出现了。然后......然后......一天早上我醒来，发现有一个消化池堵塞了，需要修理。到了晚上......我认识的小马都死了。"她瞪着我，嘴唇紧紧地贴在一起。"你杀了他们。"
“Scotch, I had to. If I hadn’t…”
"苏格兰威士忌，我必须喝。如果我没有......"
“…we’d all have become crazy raiders too,” the filly said as she closed her eyes and nodded. “I know. I know. But… now I don’t have Mom… or home… or anything. All I have are you and your friends. You’re the last bit of Stable 99 I have. And you left too. And…” her voice trembled again as she clenched her teeth together, “and I am… I don’t want to lose anypony else. I’m going to be tough. I’m…” she pressed her face to my chest and she gave a soft little sob. “I’m not crying,” she said softly amid the tears.
"......我们也都会变成疯狂的掠夺者,"小母马闭上眼睛点点头说。"我知道。我知道。但是...现在我没有妈妈...没有家...什么都没有了。我只有你和你的朋友。你是我最后一个稳定的99。你也离开了。然后......"她咬紧牙关，声音又颤抖起来,"我......我不想再失去任何东西了。"。我要变得强硬起来。我......"她把脸贴在我的胸口，轻轻地抽泣了一声。"我没有哭,"她在泪水中轻声说。
“I know, Scotch.” I said softly as I put a hoof across her shoulders, sitting with her. “I’m sorry.”
"我知道，苏格兰威士忌。"我轻轻地说，同时把一个蹄子放在她的肩膀上，和她坐在一起。"对不起。"
We were all broken. We were all hurting. All of us were playing this game for
我们都崩溃了。我们都很伤心。我们所有人都在玩这个游戏
stakes we didn’t understand. Was this why P-21, Glory, Rampage, Lacunae, and Scotch followed me? Because I pointed in a direction, and any direction, even Hell itself, was better than sitting around and slowly falling apart? Big Daddy had once tried to save Hoofington. Goldenblood had wanted to save Equestria. This was what I was trying to save, just five ponies. I looked across the room at the rows and rows of rocks. Had there really been a time when they mattered more than ending a pointless war?
我们不明白的赌注。难道这就是为什么P-21，晨辉，暴怒，空隙和苏格兰威士忌跟着我？因为我指出了一个方向，任何方向，甚至是地狱本身，都比坐在那里慢慢崩溃要好？大老爹曾经试图拯救胡芬顿。金血王想要拯救小马国。这就是我试图拯救的，只有五匹小马。我望着房间的另一边，看着一排排的岩石。难道他们真的曾经比结束一场毫无意义的战争更重要吗？
Why was that display broken open?
为什么那个陈列柜被打开了？
As I stared across the room, I spotted the only display that had been successfully breached. The explosion hadn’t just destroyed the armored glass, it had blasted out a chunk of the wall. That had taken a lot more than just dynamite! Scotch Tape seemed to sense my attention was elsewhere, and she lifted her goggles, wiped her eyes, and looked at the blasted display as well. “What? What’s wrong?”
当我盯着房间的另一头时，我发现了唯一一个成功突破的显示屏。爆炸不仅摧毁了装甲玻璃，还炸出了一大块墙体。那不仅仅是用炸药！透明胶带似乎感觉到我的注意力在别的地方，她举起护目镜，擦了擦眼睛，也看了看那该死的显示屏。"什么？怎么了?"
“I don’t know…” I said softly, but my heart was thudding and my mane felt like it was trying to stand on end. “Keep your gun out,” I whispered as I walked slowly towards the case. Debris and mud fanned out in front of the display. Broken stars crunched underhoof as I looked at the plaque, which had broken off. I levitated the brass plaque, turning the heavy plate over.
"我不知道......"我轻轻地说，但我的心砰砰直跳，我的鬃毛感觉像是要竖起来。"把枪拿出来,"我低声说，慢慢地走向箱子。碎片和泥浆在显示器前呈扇形散开。当我看着破碎的斑块时，破碎的星星在地下嘎吱作响。我悬浮起铜牌，把沉重的盘子翻过来。
‘Rocks from the sky. Meteorites and meteor fragments recovered from the Hoofington area, Everfree Forest, and across Equestria.’ A glob of wet mud slowly crawled down the front as the spot right between my shoulder blades tingled.
天空中的岩石。在Hoofington地区Everfree森林和Equestria发现的陨石和陨石碎片一团湿漉漉的泥浆慢慢地顺着车头往下爬，我的肩胛骨之间的那块地方感到一阵刺痛。
Wait? Wet mud?
等等？湿泥？
I whirled in time to see the rifle barrel pointing out of empty space from the above end of the display cases behind me. The rifle fired with utter silence. Only plain, dumb luck had the plaque between my face and the rifle. The impact of the bullet with the plaque didn’t make the slightest sound as it indented right in front of my eyes, almost knocking it from my magic’s grip.
我转过身来，看见步枪枪管从我身后展示柜的上端指向空旷的地方。步枪一声不响地射击。在我的脸和步枪之间只有简单的，不会说话的运气有那个牌匾。子弹的冲击与斑块没有作出最轻微的声音，因为它缩进正确在我的眼前，几乎敲击它从我的魔术的握。
I slipped into S.A.T.S., but to my frustration, nothing was targetable by the system. Even the gun was shrouded enough to lower my hit chance to zero. I dropped out of the spell and fired at the faint blur around the barrel as I sprinted towards the shooter. His bullets smashed silently against the plaque, the tiles
我溜进了s.a.t.s，但是让我沮丧的是，没有什么是系统可以攻击的。即使枪被遮盖得很严实，我的命中率也降到了零。我解除了咒语，向枪管周围的模糊物射击，冲向射手。他的子弹静静地击打着牌匾和瓷砖
around me, and my combat barding as I fired back. My gun, to my horror, was just as silent. In fact, I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
在我的周围，我的战斗barding当我回击。令我震惊的是，我的枪也一样安静。事实上，我张开嘴尖叫，但是什么也没有说出来。
Scotch Tape was equally silent as she fired wildly behind me, as evidenced by one shot zinging my rump. Fortunately, the low caliber weapon didn’t penetrate. The shimmer leapt into the air and disappeared. I had only a second to guess, and Vigilance was dry. Sense and reason said to reload and wait for whatever spell was on me to expire. Be awesome, suggested a little blue pegasus in my mind. Screw sense and reason. I leapt and slid on my side under the display cases and finished reloading Vigilance as I emerged on the far side. From thin air that barrel appeared, but now it had to swing down towards me. Vigilance came up as the shooter’s motion opened the cloak enough to see their face.
透明胶带同样沉默，她疯狂地在我身后开枪，一枪打中了我的臀部。幸运的是，小口径武器没有穿透。微光跃入空中，消失了。我只有第二次机会去猜测，警戒组织已经干了。理智和理智告诉我重新装载，等待我身上的咒语过期。在我的脑海里，一个小小的蓝色飞马建议说:太棒了。去他的理智和推理。我跳起来，侧身滑到展示柜下面，出现在远处时，重新装满了"时刻警惕"。那只枪管从稀薄的空气中出现了，但是现在它不得不向我荡下来。随着枪手的动作打开斗篷，可以看到他们的脸，警惕性上升了。
Lancer’s face.
枪骑兵的脸。
His rifle pointed at my horn as he stood on his back legs in that freaky zebra stance. My glowing pistol illuminated the calm, certain expression on his face. Eleven zebras, you striped bastard! It felt like we’d hit S.A.T.S. as we pointed our guns at each other. That moment stretched on as our eyes locked together, our gazes warring as if trying to break the other through sheer will before firing.
他站在后腿上，以斑马怪异的姿势用步枪指着我的喇叭。我那发光的手枪照亮了他脸上的平静和某种表情。十一匹斑马，你这个有条纹的杂种！当我们用枪指着对方的时候，感觉就像是我们袭击了S.A.T.S.。那一刻延伸开来，我们的眼睛紧紧地锁在一起，我们的目光交战着，好像在开火之前试图通过纯粹的意志打破对方。
Scotch Tape was under no such spell. The filly had all the marksmanship of me on moonshine while blindfolded, but the rounds striking the cloak made that barrel twitch ever so slightly off my face. My horn flared, knocking back the bolt of his weapon and ejecting the round. As fast as lightning, he caught the bullet in his teeth and spit it back into the rifle breech. His hoof slammed the bolt home as the rifle moved back towards my face. He was fast. Damned fast. Fast as when he’d shot us at Brimstone’s Fall.
透明胶带就没有这种魔力。这匹小母马在蒙着眼睛的情况下拥有我在私酿烈酒上的所有射击技巧，但是子弹打在斗篷上使我的脸上的枪管微微抽搐。我的喇叭响了，打开了他的枪栓，发射了子弹。他以闪电般的速度，用牙齿咬住了子弹，然后把它吐回到步枪的后膛里。当步枪向我的脸后退时，他的蹄子砰地一声关上门闩。他跑得很快。该死的快。跟他在宾斯通瀑布向我们开枪时一样快。
This time, I was twenty percent faster.
这一次，我快了百分之二十。
I leapt at him as the silent rifle flashed right by my ear. If it hadn’t been magically silenced, I’d likely have been permanently deafened in that ear; as it was, the heat of the shot burned my cheek as I tackled him like a hoofball player. He flipped and twisted in my grip like an eel, and as we landed in a heap on the floor between the cases he jerked out of my grip. Refusing to let him get away, my mouth seized the invisible fabric of his cloak and locked down. Vigilance came around, the pistol flashing in eerie silence as I fired right in front of my face.
当无声的步枪从我耳边掠过时，我朝他扑过去。如果它没有被魔法般的静音，我的耳朵可能已经永久性的变聋了;事实上，当我像一个踢足球的球员一样扑倒他时，枪声的热度灼伤了我的脸颊。他像鳗鱼一样在我的手里翻来覆去，扭来扭去，当我们落在箱子之间的地板上时，他猛地从我的手里挣脱出来。为了不让他跑掉，我的嘴巴抓住了他的隐形斗篷，锁了起来。警惕来了，当我正对着我的脸开枪时，手枪闪烁着令人毛骨悚然的寂静。
Then the cloak shredded as he jumped free once more. The blue gemstone brooch holding the cloak crackled and died. The tattered remains hung around his striped form as he slung the rifle around his shoulders and jumped back from me, tail coiling around the trigger. Suddenly, sound returned in a rush of Scotch Tape shrieking, Rampage bellowing, Glory zapping, Lacunae’s minigun purring, and P-21 yelling “Blackjack, you idiot! Where are you?”
然后斗篷撕成碎片，他又一次自由地跳了起来。那个拿着斗篷的蓝色宝石胸针劈啪作响，死了。当他把步枪挂在肩膀上，从我身边跳回来时，破烂的身体悬挂在他的条纹状身体周围，尾巴绕着扳机。突然，声音回来了，伴随着苏格兰胶带的尖叫声，狂暴的咆哮声，晨辉的轰鸣声，拉库尼的手枪发出咕噜咕噜的声音，还有P-21的叫喊声:"黑杰克，你这个白痴！你在哪里?"
“In here!” I yelled as I kept Lancer moving for the door out into the atrium.
"在这里!"我一边喊着，一边让枪骑兵继续向中庭的门口移动。
“Blackjack!” Scotch Tape yelled as he disappeared around the corner. She pointed at some blocks of gray explosive I’d seen stacked in a party cake in a memory. More ominous, though, was an... egg shaped, pulsating, multicolored glowing something strapped to the pile. I didn’t know what it did, but I assumed it was probably really, really bad.
"黑杰克!"当他消失在拐角处时，苏格兰胶带大声喊道。她指着我记忆中堆在派对蛋糕里的灰色炸药块。不过，更加不祥的是一个......蛋形的，有节奏的，五彩斑斓的东西绑在一堆东西上。我不知道它起了什么作用，但我认为它可能真的，真的很糟糕。
“Can you disarm it?” I asked. She gave me a look that put my question on par with ‘can you levitate it with your earth pony powers?’ “Right! Let’s get out of here!” I shouted as we raced into the atrium and absolute chaos.
"你能解除它吗?"我问道。她看了我一眼，把我的问题等同于"你能用你的地球小马的力量让它飘起来吗?""对！我们离开这里吧!"我们冲进了中庭，一片混乱，我喊道。
“Proditor!” snarled one mare at Rampage as she launched a flying hoofhick that actually dented Rampage’s heavy steel barding.
"Proditor!"一头母马咆哮着发射了一只会飞的马蹄，实际上撞到了狂暴的沉重的钢盔。
“Spurius!” the red-striped pony yelled back, and atop the information counter the two engaged in the most graceful and terrifying display of hoof to hoof combat I’d ever seen. If it hadn’t been so obvious that they were trying to crush each other underhoof, I’d have thought they were dancing. The scariest damn bit of dancing I’d ever seen.
"斯普瑞斯!"那匹红条纹的小马也叫了起来，在询问处的顶上，两个人正在进行我所见过的最优雅、最可怕的徒步搏斗。如果他们不是那么明显地试图用脚踩对方，我会以为他们是在跳舞。这是我见过的最恐怖的舞蹈。
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to enjoy the sight, as a zebra overhead using the balcony for cover opened fire on Scotch Tape and me while her comrade kept sniping at the weaving and beaming Glory. I shielded Scotch as we raced across to where P-21 was loading another grenade into Persuasion.
不幸的是，我没有时间欣赏这一景象，因为头顶上的斑马利用阳台作掩护向我和ScotchTape开火，而她的同伴则不停地嘲笑着编织着的、喜气洋洋的Glory。当我们跑到P-21正在往"劝导"里装手榴弹的地方时，我挡住了苏格兰威士忌。
“We need to get out of here! There’s a bomb in there!” I said as I pointed back at the rocks exhibit. His eyes went round before he fired the grenade towards the two on the second floor. To my shock and amazement, one of the zebras shot the projectile as it dropped towards their cover, making it detonate uncomfortably close to Glory. That was just not fair!
"我们得离开这儿！里面有炸弹!"我指着后面的岩石展览说。在向二楼的两个人发射手榴弹之前，他的眼睛转了一圈。令我震惊和惊讶的是，一只斑马在炮弹落向掩体时向它开了枪，使它在离晨辉很近的地方爆炸了。这不公平！
Unfortunately, all of us getting out the one exit would be particularly difficult
不幸的是，我们所有人都很难从一个出口出去
given that Lacunae was blocking it with her spell shield and minigun. The two zebras pressing were so fast that, by the time the gun started firing, they were already out of the line of fire. She couldn’t strafe without risk to us all, so was having to use her magic arrows to keep the zebra hoof fighters off her. If her magic was anything like mine, though, I doubted that she had an unlimited supply. Worse, her shield was protecting her from the snipers, but zebra hooves seemed quite capable of passing through it.
因为Lacunae用她的法术盾和迷你枪挡住了它。两只斑马挤在一起的速度是如此之快，以至于当枪声响起的时候，它们已经离开了射击线。她不能不给我们所有人带来风险，所以不得不使用她的神奇箭头让斑马蹄战士远离她。如果她的魔法和我的一样，我怀疑她是否有无穷无尽的魔法。更糟糕的是，她的盾牌可以保护她免遭狙击手的袭击，但斑马蹄似乎完全有能力穿过它。
“Unfortunately, they don’t seem keen on letting us out first,” P-21 said dryly. Then he blinked and reached into his pouch, drawing out a weapon that made my heart quiver. The sword was a thing of beauty. Deadly art. As my magic lifted it, I immediately wanted to try it out on those zebra hoof to hoof specialists. Hell, I wanted to go back to the Arena and give Psychoshy a rematch! “Blackjack?” P-21 said as he looked at me in worry.
"不幸的是，他们似乎并不热衷于让我们先出去,"P-21冷淡地说。然后他眨了眨眼睛，把手伸进口袋，掏出一件让我心跳加速的武器。这把剑是一件美丽的东西。致命的艺术。当我的魔法解除它，我立即想尝试它的斑马蹄蹄蹄专家。该死的，我想回到竞技场，给精神病害羞一个重赛！"黑杰克?"P-21一边说，一边忧心忡忡地看着我。
“Nothing. Just a sweet sword,” I grinned. “You go ahead and take care of the bomb. I’ll take care of the rest.”
"没什么。"只是一把可爱的剑,"我咧嘴笑着说。"你去处理炸弹吧。剩下的就交给我吧。"
P-21 stuck his head out and nearly got it blasted for his trouble by the sniper on the balcony. I looked at him and shielded him with my body and barding. “On three. One, two, three!” And together we charged back across the atrium. The zebra rounds were enchanted to electrocute, and when one hit me I nearly fell on my face as my muscles jerked for a few seconds. We reached the stairs, and I used them for some cover while P-21 disappeared into the ‘Rocks of Equestria’ exhibit.
P-21把头探出来，差点被阳台上的狙击手打爆。我看着他，用我的身体和武器保护他。"数到三。一，二，三!"我们一起穿过中庭冲了回来。斑马线被施了电刑，当其中一个击中我的时候，我的肌肉抽搐了几秒钟，差点摔到脸上。我们走到楼梯口，我用它们做掩护，P-21消失在"Equestria的岩石"展览中。
I charged my way up the stairs, readying my sword. The balcony ran in an L, and all I had to do was get around the bend and I’d have a clear shot around their cover.
我冲上楼梯，准备好我的剑。阳台是l形的，我所要做的就是绕过弯道，在他们的掩体周围有一个清晰的镜头。
Then everything went silent.
然后一切都安静了下来。
I dropped to my face and saw a hole blown in the wall ahead of me. Without looking behind me, I rolled to the left. A second hole appeared. I rolled back to the right. A third hole appeared. I jumped to my hooves. A fourth hole appeared right against the second. Awwww, yeah, a little blue pony crowed in my head as I looked over my shoulder with a grin at Lancer. The zebra stared at me as he hung out of a door behind me, left eyelid twitching a little in shock. Then I entered S.A.T.S. and my horn unloaded a rapid fire barrage of magic bullets right
我趴在地上，看见前面的墙上有一个洞。我头也不回地向左边滚去。第二个洞出现了。我回到了右边。第三个洞出现了。我跳了起来。第四个洞正好出现在第二个洞的对面。啊，是的，一匹蓝色的小马在我的头上啼叫，我回头看着兰瑟，咧嘴一笑。那只斑马盯着我，挂在我身后的一扇门外，左眼皮震颤了一下。然后我进入了s.a.t.s，我的喇叭向右边发射了一连串的魔法子弹
in his face.
在他的脸上。
Unfortunately, he was one tough, quick zebra. His face and chest bleeding, he disappeared back around the corner. I charged after him, bellowing silently… it was the thought that counted, damn it!
不幸的是，他是一个强硬的，快速的斑马。他的脸和胸口都在流血，他消失在后面的拐角处。我跟在他后面冲过去，默默地吼着......这个念头才是最重要的，该死的！
Then I froze in the doorway, sweeping the security office before me with my mutated gaze. There was a large terminal over a bank of monitors. I took two steps forward in that silence. There was a light on the floor right in front of me. A light on a small tin. I put a hoof on the disarm button and took another cautious step.
然后我呆呆地站在门口，用我变异的目光扫视着面前的保安办公室。在一排显示器上方有一个很大的终端。我在沉默中向前迈了两步。我前面的地板上有盏灯。小铁罐上的灯。我用蹄子踩了一下缴械按钮，又迈出了谨慎的一步。
Then he shot the mine.
然后他射中了地雷。
The fragmentation mine lifted me off my hooves and dropped me in a heap. My PipBuck gave me all kinds of warnings about how my chest was crippled. Really, given the staggering amount of pain I was in, I found the little crying pony icon rather redundant. I fell to my side and managed to sneak out a slightly Enervated healing potion before I blacked out completely. I couldn’t fall now. I had to press on! I had to find Lancer and cut his striped ass!
碎片地雷把我从蹄子上抬起来，把我摔成一堆。我的PipBuck给了我各种关于我的胸部是如何受伤的警告。真的，考虑到我所经历的巨大痛苦，我发现那个哭泣的小马图标相当多余。我倒在地上，设法在完全昏迷之前偷偷地拿出一瓶有点衰弱的治疗药水。我现在不能跌倒。我必须坚持下去！我必须找到Lancer然后把他的屁股割下来！
Then he shoved me over onto my back and pushed the sniper rifle underneath my chin. Goddesses, zebras standing on their hind legs was a freaky sight! He had his hoof nudged against the trigger as he looked down at me in an expression of extreme frustration. Then he tapped a small bat-shaped talisman on the side of the gun.
然后他把我推倒在我的背上，把狙击枪压在我的下巴下面。女神，斑马用后腿站立是一个奇怪的景象！他低头看着我，极度沮丧地说，他的蹄子顶着扳机。然后他轻轻地敲了敲枪边上一个蝙蝠形状的小护身符。
“How’d you manage to not set off the mine?” he asked softly.
"你是怎么做到不触发地雷的?"他轻声问道。
“I’m a light step,” I muttered, trying to pull my focus together enough to cut his head off.
"我是轻盈的一步,"我咕哝着，试图集中注意力，把他的头砍下来。
He looked just a little impressed. “You must be part zebra.” The impressed look vanished. “Did you remove the bones of the stars?” he asked softly as blood dripped down his face and chest. S.A.T.S. was recharging, and even then, as fast as S.A.T.S. was, he might blow my head off before the first shot and certainly before the second. And if my horn glowed to seize the sword... I needed an opening.
他看起来有点印象深刻。"你一定有斑马的血统。"印象深刻的表情消失了。"你把星星的骨头移走了吗?"他轻声问道，鲜血顺着他的脸和胸口流下来。当时s.a.t.s正在补充能量，即使在那个时候，就像s.a.t.s那样快，他可能会在第一枪之前，当然也会在第二枪之前，打爆我的头。如果我的角发光抓住剑...我需要一个开口。
“The rocks? You’re here for rocks?” I groaned and pointed to one of the
"石头？你是来找石头的?"我呻吟着，指着其中一个
shuttered windows. “Go outside. Plenty of rocks. Enjoy!”
百叶窗。"到外面去。很多石头。好好享受吧!"
He crushed the barrel against my throat, making my breath rasp. Okay, I had enough chest trauma at the moment that I was raspy already. “Where are they? Where are the bones of the stars?”
他把枪管压在我的喉咙上，使我的呼吸变得急促。好吧，我的胸部创伤已经够多了，我已经够烦躁的了。"他们在哪儿？星星的骨头在哪里?"
I coughed, glancing at the door and getting another shove with his gun. “Why do you care? Sekashi said--”
我咳嗽了一声，瞥了一眼门，又用他的枪推了他一下。"你为什么关心这个？Sekashi说——
But the name had a galvanizing effect on the stallion as his eyes bugged out and he spat out something forcefully in Zebra. I didn’t have a clue what he actually said, but I bet it was dirty. “She is dead! They must all be dead!” I bet that’s what you told your boss, bastard.
但是这个名字给这匹种马带来了激动人心的效果，因为它的眼睛瞪得大大的，它用力地往斑仔身上吐了一些东西。我不知道他到底说了什么，但我敢打赌肯定是脏话。"她死了！他们一定都死了!"我打赌你也是这么跟你老板说的，混蛋。
Suddenly, I had a bad feeling. “She is dead. She told me before she died that the stars are not all evil.”
突然，我有一种不祥的预感。"她死了。她临死前告诉我，星星并不都是邪恶的。"
“She was correct. The stars have power for any pony who dares.” He chuckled darkly, obviously relieved to hear of her passing. “Clearly, they work though you. You guided me to my target. And you are here now when we discovered that the bones once lay here.”
"她是对的。明星对任何一匹敢的小马都有力量。"听到她去世的消息，他暗自发笑，显然松了一口气。"很明显，它们在你身上起作用。你引导我找到了目标。当我们发现这些骨头曾经躺在这里的时候，你现在也在这里。"
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said as I glared up at him. “We came here to get out of the rain. That’s all.”
"我不知道你在说什么,"我瞪着他说。"我们来这里是为了避雨。仅此而已。"
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Or loose ends…”
他眯起眼睛。"我不相信巧合。或者一些零碎的事情......"
I saw the shadow and smirked. “Do you believe in Glory?”
我看到了影子，得意地笑了。"你相信晨辉吗?"
An emerald beam struck Lancer in the chest. He fell back, and I pushed the barrel of his gun aside as it fired and blasted a hole six inches from my neck. Instantly, the world was reduced to a single ringing ‘squee’ as my left ear exploded in pain. I flopped in rather unawesome fashion as my magic struggled to grab the sword. Bleeding and burning, Lancer hooked the rifle sling in his hoof, threw the gun over his head, and raced out with Glory blasting at his fleeing backside. One shot struck the terminal, which sparked and sent the monitors flickering.
一道翠绿色的光束击中了枪骑兵的胸膛。他向后倒去，我把他的枪管推到一边，枪开火了，在离我的脖子六英寸的地方炸出了一个洞。当我的左耳在痛苦中爆炸的时候，这个世界瞬间变成了一个单独的铃声。当我的魔法挣扎着抓住剑的时候，我以一种相当不可思议的方式摔倒了。血流不止，浑身发烫，兰瑟用蹄子钩住步枪的弹弓，用枪顶着自己的头，晨辉朝他后背开了一枪，冲了出去。一枪击中了终端，使监视器闪烁不定。
“Please don’t need a Hydra… please don’t need a Hydra…” Glory chanted as she rolled me onto my back and quickly pulled open my armored vest. “It
"请不要一个海德拉...请不要一个海德拉..."晨辉反复喊道，她把我翻到我的背上，并迅速拉开我的装甲背心。"它
doesn’t look like anything penetrated too deep,” she said in relief. “Just some broken ribs and contusions…” Thank goodness for Security’s armor. She started to pass me some piss weak healing potions, carefully working towards stronger and fresher potions. My ear thankfully recovered with enough application of magic. Oh sweet Celestia, did I love healing potions.
"看起来没有什么东西插得太深"她如释重负地说。"只有一些断掉的肋骨和挫伤......"感谢上帝保安的盔甲。她开始递给我一些小便失禁的治疗药水，小心翼翼地研制出更强效、更新鲜的药水。谢天谢地，我的耳朵用了足够多的魔法才恢复过来。哦，甜蜜的天堂，我是否喜欢治疗药剂。
Suddenly, the speakers of the terminal cracked, and a mare said in a panic, “… any Hoofington Guard units, this is Security Chief Cloverleaf at the Hoofington Museum. We’re under attack!” On the monitor, I saw an image of ponies with SMGs and black security armor similar to my own sweeping through the museum. I cringed at the sight of mothers and young gunned down without hesitation. “They overrode the lockdown! They’re using machineguns! They’re killing everypony!” Behind her voice came the rising crackle of automatic fire chattering away. “Please! Send help immediately! This is Security Chief Clover--“
突然，候机楼的扬声器发出爆裂声，一匹母马惊慌地说:"......胡芬顿警卫队，我是胡芬顿博物馆的安全主管克罗弗利夫。我们受到了攻击!"在显示器上，我看到了一幅小马的图像，上面有冲锋枪和黑色安全盔甲，就像我自己在博物馆里扫地一样。看到母亲和年轻人毫不犹豫地被枪杀，我感到害怕。"他们越过了封锁！他们在用机关枪！他们正在杀害每一匹小马!"在她的声音后面是越来越响的自动火炉的噼啪声。"求你了！马上派人来帮忙！我是安全主管克洛弗——"
The door behind her clicked open, and a unicorn wearing unmarked black armor appeared in the doorway. Without hesitation, she raised a glowing zebra ten millimeter SMG and put a burst into the mare’s back. She trotted over the corpse and put a hoof to a little device clipped to her ear. “U-2 to team leader. Security is pacified. I don’t think she got a signal out. No sir. It looks like the jamming worked.” There was a muffled explosion that shook the cameras. “We’re collecting them now, sir. Yes, sir. Five minutes to extraction. Yes sir.”
她身后的门开了，一只穿着黑色无标记盔甲的独角兽出现在门口。她毫不犹豫地举起一只发光的斑马，十毫米口径的冲锋枪射向母马的背部。她小跑过尸体，把蹄子放在夹在耳朵上的一个小装置上。U-2呼叫队长。安全问题得到解决。我觉得她没收到信号。没有，先生。看起来干扰起作用了。"一声闷响的爆炸震动了摄像机。"我们正在收集，先生。是的，先生。五分钟后撤离。是的，先生。"
“Help,” gurgled Cloverleaf, still barely alive after all.
"救命,"立体式咕哝着，毕竟还是奄奄一息。
“Sure.” The unicorn in the black armor looked down and pointed her SMG. There was a brief burst. “There. You’re helped. All of you were dead anyway.” She turned and ran for the door. “Come on, ponies. We’ve got half an hour till showtime! Move it!”
"当然。"穿着黑色盔甲的独角兽低下头，指着她的冲锋枪。有一个短暂的爆发。"那儿。你得到了帮助。反正你们都死了。"她转身向门口跑去。"来吧，小马。离表演时间还有半小时！快走!"
“Show time?” Glory muttered in horror as she stared at the monitor. “They knew. They knew that the bombs were going to fall! How could they know and not tell anypony? How could anypony do that?” I felt a cold horror inside too, but it was mitigated by two hundred years of radioactive barbarism and a half dozen zebra troopers.
"表演时间?"晨辉盯着显示器，惊恐地喃喃自语。"他们知道。他们知道炸弹要落下来了！他们怎么可能知道而不告诉任何人呢？怎么会有小马这么做呢?"我的内心也感到一种冰冷的恐惧，但这种恐惧被二百年来放射性的野蛮行为和半打斑马士兵所缓解。
“I don’t know,” I groaned as I rose to my hooves. “But I know it doesn’t matter now. These zebra must have been after the same rocks, but they’re two centuries
"我不知道,"当我站起来的时候，我呻吟着。"但是我知道现在已经不重要了。这些斑马一定是为了同样的岩石，但它们已经有两个世纪了
too late.” I lifted the sword and looked in the direction Lancer had fled. “I’m going to find that sneaky bastard and cut him apart alphabetically.” Then I glanced at her. The recording had rattled her terribly. I wondered if it was her emphasis on loyalty or the sheer monstrousness of what they’d done. “What would I start with?”
太迟了"我举起剑，看了看枪骑兵逃跑的方向。"我要找到那个鬼鬼祟祟的混蛋，把他按字母顺序分开。"然后我瞥了她一眼。这段录音使她心慌意乱。我不知道这是她对忠诚的强调，还是他们所作所为的纯粹邪恶。"我该从什么开始呢?"
She blinked and then looked at me and swallowed. “Depends on how specific you want to get. You could start with ‘abdomen’ or ‘amygdala’.”
她眨了眨眼睛，然后看着我，咽了口唾沫。"这取决于你想要得到的具体信息。你可以从'腹部'或'扁桃体'开始。"
“Amygdala? That’s that dangly thing in your throat, right?” I asked her with a grin as I closed my slightly perforated armor up.
"杏仁核？就是你喉咙里那个吊着的东西，对吧?"我笑着问她，当时我穿上了轻微穿孔的盔甲。
“No, that’s the uvula. The amygdala’s found…” She stopped herself when she saw my look and flushed. “Right. Joking. Catching on.”
"不，那是小舌头。杏仁核发现......"看到我的表情，她停了下来，满脸通红。"对。开玩笑。明白了。"
“‘Cause you’re a smart pony,” I said as I tapped her head. I stepped to the door he’d disappeared through and stopped short. Wow, that was a lot of mines. Ah well, have horn, will disarm! I smacked the tab on the first mine with my magic and stepped forward to pick it up. Then, without warning the mine exploded in my face! As I fell back, the redundant pony display once again flashed to life and told me my forelegs were severely crippled.
"因为你是一匹聪明的小马,"我拍着她的头说。我走到他消失不见的门口，突然停了下来。哇，好多地雷啊。呵呵，有号角，就会缴械！我用魔法敲了一下第一个地雷的标签，然后走上前去把它捡起来。然后，毫无征兆地，地雷在我面前爆炸了！当我向后倒去时，那匹多余的小马又活过来了，它告诉我，我的前腿严重残废了。
I screamed as I sat, feeling the blood drip down my limbs. “He tampered with the mines! That bastard!” I shouted as I brought out Vigilance and blasted at the mines and anypony that dared poke their head down that hall. Maybe he’d wired them so that they’d detonate when ‘disarmed’; wouldn’t that be a sneaky trick?
我坐着，尖叫着，感觉血从我的四肢上滴下来。"他破坏了地雷！那个混蛋!"我喊道，我带来了警惕和爆炸的地雷和任何小马，敢戳破他们的头下来大厅。也许他给它们装了窃听器，这样当它们'解除武装'时就会引爆;这难道不是一个卑鄙的诡计吗？
“Well, I always wondered why anypony would make a landmine you could disarm just by pressing the button on top…” she remarked as she dug out a fresh healing potion and dribbled it right on my bleeding forelegs to help focus their healing power where needed. I sighed in relief and satisfaction as one mine, then the next, then the next, detonated and filled the hallway with the reek of cordite. What was the point of having a brand new razor sharp sword if you didn’t have a striped bastard to try it out on?
"嗯，我一直想知道为什么每匹小马都会制造一个地雷，你只要按一下上面的按钮就可以解除它的武装......"她一边说，一边从我流血的前腿上挖出一种新的治疗药水，把它滴到我流血的前腿上，以帮助它们在需要的地方。我如释重负，满意地叹了口气，因为一个地雷，然后下一个，然后下一个，爆炸了，走廊充满了臭气。如果你没有一把有条纹的混蛋来试用，那拥有一把全新的剃刀般锋利的剑又有什么意义呢？
“Blackjack!” P-21 bellowed from the museum atrium. I let my breath hiss out through my teeth. I really wanted some zebra to test this sword on. Particularly a zebra who was a murderer and had shot me in the back. Twice. I almost started back down the hall after him when I saw Glory’s worried look and grunted. Fine… hopefully P-21’d handled the bomb and…
"黑杰克!"P-21从博物馆中庭呼啸而过。我让我的呼吸从牙缝里嘶嘶地冒出来。我真的很想让斑马试试这把剑。尤其是一只斑马，它是一个杀人犯，从背后向我开了一枪。两次。当我看到晨辉忧心忡忡的表情和咕哝时，我几乎跟在他后面沿着大厅往回走。很好...希望P-21能搞定炸弹..。
Oh… hello. Another bomb sat right under the terminal. I looked at that sickly-glowing egg, heard my PipBuck clicking, and knew that where there were two, there were definitely more.
哦...你好。另一枚炸弹就在航站楼下面。我看着那个令人作呕的发光的鸡蛋，听到我的PipBuck咔嗒一声，我知道哪里有两个鸡蛋，哪里就肯定有更多。
I ran back to the security office door and looked out. My friends were by the front door, shielded by Lacunae and her bursts of suppressive fire at the balcony snipers. Rampage’s armor looked like it was a dented can of Cram, and she was still fighting brutally against one of the zebra melee specialists. The other one was smeared across the information desk. I had no idea what language they were speaking, but boy did that zebra look pissed!
我跑回安全办公室的门，向外望去。我的朋友们站在前门旁边，由Lacunae和她在阳台上狙击手的阵阵火力压制保护着。狂暴的盔甲看起来就像一个凹陷的填鸭式铁罐，而她还在残忍地与一个斑马肉搏专家搏斗。另一个被涂抹在服务台上。我不知道他们说的是什么语言，但是那只斑马看起来很生气！
Now if only Lancer would make an appearance.
现在只要兰瑟出现就好了。
I ran down and stepped carefully through the shield, my whole body tingling as it passed through the magical barrier. Lacunae’s dress was almost shredded, and her purple hide showed a number of significant injuries. Still, she stood with poise and focus as she fired her weapon in controlled bursts. I doubted she had much ammo left, though.
我跑下来，小心翼翼地穿过盾牌，当它穿过魔法屏障时，我的整个身体都感到刺痛。Lacunae的裙子几乎被撕成了碎片，她的紫色皮肤显示出许多明显的伤痕。尽管如此，她还是镇定而专注地站在那里，有节制地开枪。不过我怀疑她还有多少弹药。
“Tell me you disarmed them!” I shouted as I looked at the zebra attackers.
"告诉我你解除了他们的武装!"我看着那些斑马袭击者，大声喊道。
“Them?” he yelled back over the gunfire, his eyes wide. “I couldn’t! They’re wired to a remote detonator!” My mane did not like this one bit. The zebras weren’t withdrawing, but Lancer was nowhere to be seen. And there were a lot of really bad explosives in this place.
"他们?"他在枪声中大声回应，眼睛睁得大大的。"我做不到！它们连着一个遥控引爆器!"我的鬃毛一点也不喜欢这个。斑马并没有退缩，但兰瑟却不见踪影。这里有很多很糟糕的炸药。
What were the odds Lancer’d sacrifice his own zebras to cover his escape?
枪骑兵牺牲自己的斑马来掩护他逃跑的几率有多大？
“Lacunae! Get us outside. Now!” I shouted.
"空隙！带我们出去。现在!"我喊道。
Her purple eyes widened as she looked down at me. “The shield will drop when I cast the spell, and Rampage will need to be closer.” That meant ending her dancing, twisting duel with her striped opponent.
她低头看着我，紫色的眼睛睁得大大的。"当我施放法术时，护盾会下降，而狂暴需要更近一些。"这意味着结束她与她的条纹对手的扭曲的舞蹈对决。
“I got it. Glory. Scotch. P-21. Keep the snipers’ heads down,” I said as I stepped out the shield, feeling every hair in my mane tingle from the magical charge. I had no time for flashy hoof to hoof combat at the moment. “Sorry Rampage!” I yelled as the bubble dropped and Lacunae’s horn began to glow. Immediately, the zebras rose to fire but ducked out of sight again as our fire sprayed the balcony.
"我明白了。晨辉。威士忌。P-21."让狙击手的头低下来,"我一边说着，一边走出盾牌，感受着魔法冲锋给我的每一根头发都带来的刺痛。此刻我没有时间进行闪亮的蹄蹄搏斗。"对不起，横冲直撞!"泡泡掉下来的时候我喊了起来，拉库奈的号角开始发光。立刻，斑马们起身向我们开火，但当我们的火焰喷射到阳台上时，他们又躲开了。
“Eta?” She glanced at me as I racked the shotgun and blasted at her striped attacker. Rampage caught more than a little friendly fire, but her opponent dropped in a bloody, striped heap. Okay… so not the most honorable thing to do but--
"埃塔?"她看了我一眼，我摇晃着猎枪，对着那个有条纹的袭击者猛烈地扫射。横冲直撞的对手被友军误伤，倒在血淋淋的斑纹堆里。好吧...这不是什么光荣的事情，但是..
“Futuere!” she snarled as she planted her forehooves and swept her rear hooves in an arc that knocked my legs out from under me. I flipped in the air as she halted and blasted me into the air with a double hoof rear kick. Suddenly, I was getting a much better view of the roof before I came back down in Glory’s grasp. Only my armor had kept me from getting disemboweled by Rampage’s hoofclaws.
"未来!"她一边咆哮着，一边用前蹄支撑着身体，后蹄呈弧形摆动，把我的腿从下面撞飞了出去。我在空中翻了个跟头，她停了下来，用双蹄后踢把我甩向空中。突然，在我回到晨辉的手中之前，我对屋顶有了更好的认识。只有我的盔甲使我免于被狂暴的蹄爪开膛破肚。
Glory beat her wings furiously to keep me aloft as I coughed and hacked, “Get us… outside…”
格洛里疯狂地拍打着翅膀把我留在空中，而我则不停地咳嗽和砍着,"把我们弄出去......"
With an electric crackle and a purple flash, we disappeared and reappeared out in the rain next to the subway stairs. I slipped from Glory’s hooves just as a very pissed off Rampage yelled something in Zebra and actually somersaulted into the air to bring her hooves down in a fearsome blow. I dove to the side, rolling across the broken asphalt. I really did not need this right now; Lancer could be setting up an attack, or worse, getting away. I really wanted to check another enemy off my list.
伴随着一阵电闪雷鸣和紫色的闪光，我们消失了，然后在雨中重新出现在地铁楼梯旁。我从晨辉的蹄子上滑了下来，这时一个非常生气的暴怒的斑马大喊着什么，实际上一个筋斗朝空中翻了个跟头，狠狠地把它的蹄子摔了下来。我俯冲到路边，滚过破碎的柏油路。我现在真的不需要这个;枪骑兵可能正在准备攻击，或者更糟，逃跑。我真的很想把另一个敌人从我的名单上划掉。
Unfortunately, Rampage had entered a spinning, kicking, thrashing frenzy against us. “You will not harm her!” she swore in an oddly accented voice. P-21 was raked by her tail; when was I going to force him to wear some barding? Sneakiness be damned!
不幸的是，狂暴已经进入了一个旋转，踢，颠簸对我们狂暴。"你不能伤害她!"她用一种古怪的口音咒骂。P-21被她的尾巴刮伤了，我什么时候才能强迫他穿上军服呢？让鬼鬼祟祟见鬼去吧！
She launched herself, rolling in a ball and bringing her razor spines down at my face. I rolled completely on my back, all four hooves and every bit of magic I had in my horn pushing against her. The tips of her blades nearly perforated me from pelvis to sternum as I shoved her back into the air. I could only watch in amazement as she unrolled, twisted in midair, and landed on all four hooves. “Fuck me…” I muttered.
她把自己弹了起来，滚成一团，把剃须刀的刺放在我的脸上。我完全仰面翻滚，四只蹄子和我号角里的每一点魔力都用在了她身上。当我把她推向空中时，她的刀刃尖几乎刺穿了我的骨盆和胸骨。我只能惊奇地看着她展开身体，在半空中扭曲着，四只蹄子都着地。"操我......"我喃喃自语。
She reared above me and brought her forehooves down in a crushing blow. I lifted my sword horizontally, catching her hoofclaws as she glared down at me with murder in her eyes. I didn’t have Mallet’s magical strength and had to press my forehooves to the flat side of the single-edged blade. She was stronger and
她站在我的上方，前蹄猛地一击，摔了下来。我水平地举起我的剑，抓住她的蹄爪，她瞪着我，眼里充满了杀气。我没有马莱特那样的魔力，只好用前蹄去压平单刃刀片的侧面。她变得更加坚强
heavier, and her head tilted down to point that helmet saber right at my throat.
她的头低下来，用头盔刀抵着我的喉咙。
“Rampage,” I rasped as Glory and Lacunae alike blasted at her thick armor. P-21 and Scotch Tape watched helplessly as my legs slowly bent under her weight. “Sorry about this…”
"暴怒,"当晨辉和空隙一样向她厚厚的盔甲射击时，我粗声粗气地说。P-21和ScotchTape眼睁睁地看着我的双腿在她的重压下慢慢地弯曲。"很抱歉......"
“Eta?” She blinked as I levitated the gun to her chin and stared into her eyes.
"埃塔?"我把枪举到她的下巴上，她眨了眨眼睛，盯着她的眼睛。
“Sweet Celestia!” P-21 swore as Rampage’s body went completely rigid, a cascade of blood, brain, and bone splattering onto my face as she fell. Scotch Tape screamed in horror as she backed away. Glory landed and started to approach when I gave her a warning look. I hoped Rampage would be back, but I didn’t want to take risks. I wiped a leg across my face and pointed Vigilance steadily at Rampage as pink light shone. Even Lacunae seemed at a loss as I waited for her brains to regenerate.
"亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚!"P-21发誓说狂暴的身体完全僵硬，她倒下的时候血液、大脑和骨头喷溅到我的脸上。当她后退时，透明胶带吓得尖叫起来。晨辉降落并开始接近时，我给了她一个警告的眼神。我希望狂暴会回来，但我不想冒险。我用一条腿擦了擦脸，在粉红色的灯光照耀下，警惕地盯着暴怒。在我等待她的大脑再生的时候，甚至连空隙也显得不知所措。
She opened her pink eyes and glared at me as I held the gun less than half an inch from her left eye. “Are you in control?” I asked softly over the hissing rain.
她睁开粉红色的眼睛，怒视着我，我拿着离她左眼不到半英寸的枪。"你能控制自己吗?"我在嘶嘶作响的雨声中轻声问道。
“You had no right to interfere!” she spat, muttering something in Zebra.
"你无权干涉!"她吐了口唾沫，用斑马语咕哝着什么。
I heard the crash and roar of the bombs going off, felt the pressure blast against us, and saw the scintillating light of the fireball flood through the parking lot. Firelight from the burning ruins bathed us both, but I didn’t blink. Neither did she. Not even with chunks of the building raining down around us. Lacunae blocked the largest pieces with her shield as Rampage and I kept our gazes locked. “Getting us away from that gave me the right.”
我听到轰鸣声和炸弹爆炸的轰鸣声，感觉到压力冲击着我们，看到火球闪烁的光芒穿过停车场。火光从燃烧的废墟沐浴着我们两个，但我没有眨眼。她也没有。即使大块的建筑物在我们周围如雨点般落下。空隙用她的盾牌挡住了最大的碎片，我锁住了我们的目光。"让我们远离这一切，给了我权利。"
“You think that because I can heal that I am eager to get shot? You think that because I volunteer to fight against my own, that you can just gun us both down!” she said, hissing in rage. “You ponies… I gave my oath of loyalty! I swore my allegiance to my home! And you shoot me!” She spat in my face. I didn’t blink or wipe it away as I kept the gun steady.
"你认为因为我可以治愈，所以我渴望被射杀吗？你以为我自愿和自己人作战，你就可以把我们两个都干掉吗?"她愤怒地嘶嘶地说。"你们这些小马......我发过忠诚的誓言！我发誓忠于我的家乡！然后你开枪打我!"她往我脸上吐唾沫。我没有眨眼或擦掉它，因为我保持枪的稳定。
This wasn’t Rampage. I wondered what cutie mark was under the armor. Thorns? Tentacles? Something else? “What is your name?” I asked as I moved the gun off her eye a little.
这不是狂暴。我想知道在盔甲下面有什么可爱的标记。荆棘？触手？还有别的吗？"你叫什么名字?"我一边问，一边把枪从她眼前移开了一点。
Confusion entered her eyes as she started to look at us. “Shujaa,” she said as she straightened a little. “Did you miss the red stripes? Are you colorblind?” She
当她开始看着我们的时候，她的眼睛里涌起了疑惑。"Shujaa,"她一边说，一边稍稍直起身子。"你错过红色条纹了吗？你是色盲吗?"她
looked at my barding in suspicion. “You are not with the army.”
怀疑地看着我的帐单。"你不是军人。"
“No, I’m not. I’m sorry,” I said as my mane prickled. “Shujaa… do you know where you are?”
"不，我没有。"对不起,"我说，鬃毛刺刺的。"Shujaa......你知道你在哪儿吗?"
She blinked and looked at the blasted remains of the museum. Then she looked to the east to the green glow around the black towers. “Hoofington, of course. Near Miramare, I think. Were we overrun? Where are my friends?” Confusion and distrust were etched on her face. “Where is Twist?”
她眨了眨眼睛，看着那该死的博物馆残骸。然后她向东望去，看着黑色塔楼周围的绿色光芒。"胡芬顿，当然。我想是在米拉马雷附近。我们被占领了吗？我的朋友在哪里?"困惑和不信任在她脸上留下了痕迹。"特维斯特在哪里?"
“Shujaa. What is the last thing you remember?” I asked softly.
"Shujaa.你记得的最后一件事是什么?"我轻声问道。
She scowled at me. “I owe you no answers!” I racked a fresh round into Vigilance’s chamber without blinking. I wasn’t going to take another chance with a pony capable of smashing any of us to goo. She pressed her lips together, then said slowly, “We were scouting a zebra encampment south of Brimstone’s Fall… We were… ambushed. Wounded. Twist…” She blinked in shock. She froze as she stared into my eyes. “Is this a dream?”
她怒视着我。"我不欠你什么!"我眼睛都不眨一下，打了一发新子弹，进了警戒团的房间。我不想再和一匹能把我们打得稀巴烂的小马一起冒险了。她紧闭双唇，然后慢慢地说:"我们在布里姆斯通瀑布以南侦察一个斑马营地......我们......遭到伏击。受伤。扭动......"她震惊地眨了眨眼。她凝视着我的眼睛，愣住了。"这是一个梦吗?"
“I don’t know,” I replied softly. “What about Twist?”
"我不知道,"我轻声回答。"《扭扭舞》怎么样?"
“No!” she said sharply as she backed away. She looked around in a panic. “Twist! Where is… she… Twist!” She screamed in shock and started to babble in zebra talk. I didn’t know if she was going to attack, cry, or run.
"不!"她一边后退一边厉声说。她惊慌地环顾四周。"扭扭！她......在哪儿......忒斯特!"她吓得尖叫起来，开始用斑马语胡言乱语。我不知道她是要攻击，哭泣，还是逃跑。
I sighed as I lined up the gun, jumped to S.A.T.S., and shot her with three hollowpoints.
我叹了口气，拿起枪，跳到s.a.t.s.，用三个中空点向她开了枪。
“Blackjack!” Glory said in horror as I waited for Rampage’s brains to regenerate. “You don’t do therapy with bullets!” she said sharply, jumping between me and Rampage.
"黑杰克!"当我等待狂暴的大脑再生时，晨辉惊恐地说。"你不能用子弹来治疗!"她厉声说道，跳到我和狂暴之间。
“You do when you’re dealing with a regenerating mare who thinks she’s a crazy zebra,” I replied, watching carefully as I loaded a fresh magazine into the pistol.
"当你对付一头认为自己是疯狂斑马的再生母马时，你就会这么做,"我一边回答，一边仔细观察着，一边往手枪里装了一把新的子弹。
But it didn’t seem to be necessary; Rampage rose and groaned, clutching her head. “Oh, dear Luna, stop the hammering,” she muttered as she blinked up at me in confusion. “Where’d the zebras go? How did we get outside…” Then she looked at the flames leaping out of the gutted remains of the museum and gave a half smile. “And did I do that?”
但是这似乎没有必要;狂暴的怒火上升，呻吟着，抓着她的头。"哦，亲爱的卢娜，别敲了,"她含糊不清地眨着眼睛，喃喃自语道。"斑马去哪儿了？我们是怎么出去的......"然后她看着火焰从博物馆的残骸中跳出来，露出一丝微笑。"我做到了吗?"
I sighed and holstered Vigilance. “Nope. A zebra named Lancer did.”
我叹了口气，把警惕装进了皮套。"没有。一只名叫Lancer的斑马做到了。"
She gave a sour frown and rubbed her temples. “Good. I’d hate to think I caused that and missed it.” She hissed softly and muttered, “Why does my head hurt so bad?”
她皱了皱眉头，揉揉太阳穴。"很好。我不愿意认为这是我造成的，而我错过了。"她轻轻地嘶嘶地说,"为什么我的头这么痛?"
I glanced at the others; their looks ranged from horrified to concerned to shocked to disapproving. “You were out again. I had to shoot you.” I flushed a little. “Repeatedly.”
我瞥了一眼其他人，他们的表情从惊恐到担心，从震惊到反对。"你又出去了。我不得不向你开枪。"我脸红了一下。"重复。"
Her eyes shot wide. “Is Scotch Tape alright?” She immediately looked around, but sighed and slumped a little in relief as she saw the confused young mare.
她的眼睛瞪得大大的。"透明胶带可以吗?"她立刻环顾四周，叹了口气，看到那匹迷惑的年轻母马，松了一口气。
“Rampage, does the name Shujaa mean anything to you?” Rampage shook her head in confusion. “What about Twist?”
"横冲直撞，舒雅这个名字对你有什么意义吗?"狂暴混乱地摇摇头。"《扭扭舞》怎么样?"
“Twist?” Rampage frowned. “I think…” she began, narrowing her eyes as she thought. I watched her eyes as she errantly pulled out a pack of Mint-als and licked one up. Then she sighed. “Sorry. It sounds familiar, but I’m not sure who that is.”
"扭扭舞?"狂暴皱起了眉头。"我想......"她开始说，一边想着，一边眯起眼睛。我看着她的眼睛，她不小心地拿出一包薄荷糖，舔了起来。然后她叹了口气。"对不起。这听起来很耳熟，但我不确定那是谁。"
“Right,” I said as I scanned the night with my E.F.S. No red bars. Nothing.
"是的,"我边说边用我的e.f.s.扫视着这个夜晚，没有红条。没什么。
So why did I feel even worse?
那么，为什么我感觉更糟呢？
* * *
* * *
As much as I wanted to go straight to the Green Line, we had to take a little detour to Chapel first. I was blasted and battered and we were all wet and tired and it was late afternoon. To be honest, I wanted to go to Star House and sleep in an actual bed. My mood was as lousy as the weather. I kept glancing back towards the burning museum, expecting a silent bullet to come out of nowhere.
虽然我很想直接去绿线，但我们不得不先绕道去查普尔。我被炸得精疲力尽，我们全身湿透，疲惫不堪，时间已经是傍晚了。说实话，我想去星空之家，睡在一张真正的床上。我的心情和天气一样糟糕。我不停地回头看着着火的博物馆，期待着一颗无声的子弹不知从哪里冒出来。
The Remnant had wanted those space rocks (Glory had had to explain the concept of ‘shooting stars’ to me… twice) for some reason. I could have screamed in frustration. Why did I have to get hit by every single mystery of the Hoof? The Remnant. Thunderhead. Sanguine. EC-1101. Goldenblood… fucking Goldenblood alone, who seemed like he’d set all this up two centuries ago just to fuck with me!
由于某种原因，例外人想要那些太空岩石(晨辉不得不向我解释"流星"的概念...两次)。我本可以沮丧地尖叫起来。为什么我要被每一个霍夫之谜击中？残余势力。霹雳头。血红色。Ec-1101.金色血统...他妈的金色血统，他好像两个世纪前就设计好了这一切，只是为了和我作对！
“Why does the not smart pony have to figure all this out?” I muttered as we walked through the rain towards Chapel. But I knew the answer: as stupid as I was, I was also tenacious enough to keep plodding along.
"为什么不够聪明的小马必须弄明白这一切?"当我们穿过雨水走向教堂的时候，我喃喃自语。但是我知道答案:尽管我很愚蠢，但是我还是坚持不懈地继续走下去。
When we reached the grassy slope leading down to the town, I was stunned at the sight of the place. The tiny village was expanding in a big way. There were two wagons loaded up with scavenged lumber, metal sheeting, and other building supplies. While the Crusaders were everywhere, there were at least a dozen more fully grown ponies as well. As we approached, a bony shape appeared from the sky, and Harpica landed before us.
当我们到达通往小镇的草坡时，我被这个地方的景色吓了一跳。这个小村庄正在大规模扩张。有两辆马车装满了废弃的木材、金属板和其他建筑用品。虽然到处都是十字军战士，但至少还有十几匹成熟的小马。当我们靠近时，一个瘦骨嶙峋的身影从天而降，哈皮卡在我们面前降落。
“Careful, ma’ams and sir. There’s mines buried around the town now,” the ghoul pegasus rasped.
"小心点，夫人和先生。现在镇上到处都埋着地雷,"食尸鬼飞马粗声粗气地说。
“Gya… ya… ya…!” Scotch Tape stammered as she waved a hoof at the ghoul. “It’s a… a…”
"呀...呀...呀...呀...!"透明胶带结结巴巴地向食尸鬼挥舞着蹄子。"这是一个.....。.A.。」
“Ghoul. Not a zombie,” Glory finished firmly. I supposed I couldn’t blame the olive filly. After all, I didn’t have a clue what ghouls were till I met Harpica and Ditzy Doo. And Silver Spoon…
"食尸鬼。不是僵尸,"格洛里坚定地结束了。我想我不能责怪那个橄榄小姑娘。毕竟，直到我遇到Harpica和DitzyDoo，我才知道食尸鬼是什么。还有银汤匙..。
Harpica led us around the edge of the minefield to the road. An impromptu tower had been erected with a machinegun mounted on a pivot. It took at least three Crusaders in oversized combat helmets to crew the weapon, but it would lay down an effective field of fire… so long as their position wasn’t hit by a missile.
哈皮卡带我们绕过雷区的边缘，来到大路上。一座临时搭建的塔楼上安装了一门机关枪。至少需要三个十字军战士戴着超大号的作战头盔才能配备这种武器，但只要他们的位置没有被导弹击中，这种武器就能形成一个有效的火力区域。
“You’ve been busy,” I commented to the ghoul pegasus mare. Scotch Tape looked ready to climb on top of Rampage at the sight of ghoul foals chatting politely with the more rough and tumble Crusaders.
"你一直很忙,"我对食尸鬼飞马说。苏格兰胶带看起来准备爬上横冲直撞的视线的食尸鬼小马驹与更粗暴和混乱的十字军谈话礼貌。
Harpica nodded. “Indeed. It would seem that Blueblood Manor held items of significant value to the Society. They’ve been most generous in exchange for simple trinkets.” She then looked at me and added, “However, the salvagers have not disturbed Master Vanity.” I smiled, relieved at that.
哈皮卡点点头。"的确。看起来蓝血庄园拥有对社会有重要价值的物品。他们用简单的小玩意儿换来了最慷慨的回报。"然后她看着我补充说:"不过，打捞人员并没有打扰瓦妮特少爷。"我笑了，松了一口气。
“Welcome back,” Priest said as he trotted up the road towards us. “You and your friends are always welcome in Chapel,” he said… to P-21? I think the blue pony was more surprised than I was.
"欢迎回来,"普里斯特一边说一边沿着公路向我们跑来。"教堂永远欢迎你和你的朋友,"他说......对P-21？我想那匹蓝色的小马比我更惊讶。
“Even me?” Rampage asked in worry, looking cute as she fidgeted in her spiked armor. Priest looked at her solemnly for a long moment before he sighed and slowly shook his head. “Right. Sorry. Should have known better.” She dropped her eyes. “I’ll just go wait up at the Star House.”
"甚至是我?"暴怒担心地问道，她在尖刺盔甲上坐立不安，看起来很可爱。牧师严肃地看了她好一会儿，叹了口气，慢慢地摇了摇头。"对。对不起。我早该知道的。"她垂下了眼睛。"我去星空之家等你。"
“I’ll be there soon, Rampage,” I promised. She just gave a sad half smile before she trotted back the way she came. I turned to Priest. “She’s gotten better.”
"我马上就到，狂暴,"我答应他。她只是给了一个悲伤的半微笑之前，她小跑回来的方式。我转向牧师。"她好多了。"
He looked calmly back at me. “Are you willing to take responsibility if she kills another foal?” I winced at that; I wasn’t. Heck, now I knew that she also had a zebra inside her who took poorly to getting shot. Well… honestly, most sane folks did that. He smiled that sad little smile of his before he stepped up to me and pressed his horn to my shoulder. The glow of magic heralded the delicious sensation of healing. I wanted that spell… why couldn’t my horn manage to do more than go bang? Was that too much to ask?
他平静地回头看着我。"如果她再杀一匹小马驹，你愿意承担责任吗?"我对此感到畏惧，但我没有。见鬼，现在我知道她体内还有一只斑马，它在被射中时表现很差。说实话，大多数理智的人都会这么做。他冲我走过来，把他的喇叭按在我的肩上之前，脸上露出了他那悲伤的微笑。魔法的光芒预示着美妙的愈合感。我想要那个咒语...为什么我的号角不能做更多的事情呢？这要求过分吗？
“Are you going straight up to the house as well?” Glory asked as she waited in line for her own healing. We were all battered up; of course only Lacunae looked decent. After all, her horn could even conjure a mending spell for her damaged dress. Stupid big horned alicorns... my horn was plenty good enough. It wasn’t little! It was… compact!
"你也要直接回家吗?"晨辉在排队等待自己的治疗时问道。我们都被打得精疲力尽，当然只有缺口看起来还算体面。毕竟，她的号角甚至可以变戏法修补她受损的连衣裙。愚蠢的大角的橡子...我的号角已经足够好了。它可不小！它是...紧凑的！
“I need to talk to Sekashi,” I said with a little frown. “I think she knows more about the Remnant than she let on.” Lancer certainly knew and cared more about her than he would about any simple zebra.
"我需要和Sekashi谈谈,"我皱着眉头说。"我认为她对例外人的了解比她表面上的要多。"兰瑟当然比任何一匹普通的斑马都更了解她，更关心她。
P-21 looked less curious than Glory. “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll head back to the house. After all, somepony’s going to have to pick the lock and let her back in.”
P-21看起来没有Glory那么好奇。"如果对你来说都一样的话，我就回家了。毕竟，总得有人把锁打开，让她回来。"
Priest smiled at the small blue stallion. “Actually, I was hoping to talk to you after I was finished healing your friends.” That definitely piqued our curiosity, but none more so than P-21 himself. In fact, he looked almost wary of the black unicorn, but he nodded anyway.
牧师对那匹蓝色的小种马笑了笑。"事实上，我希望在我治好你的朋友之后能和你谈谈。"这无疑激起了我们的好奇心，但没有人比P-21本人更好奇了。事实上，他看起来对黑独角兽很警惕，但他还是点了点头。
“Well, then I’ll see you later, P-21,” I said as Priest’s healing spell saved us from using our freshest healing potions. Maybe Sekashi would have a fresh batch. I floated out the key to the cottage and passed it to Glory. “Here, you can let everypony--“
"嗯，那么我会看到你以后，P-21,"我说，因为牧师的治疗咒语使我们免于使用我们最新鲜的治疗药剂。也许Sekashi会有一批新鲜的。我把小屋的钥匙拿出来，递给晨辉。"在这里，你可以让每匹小马——"
“Chaaaarrrrge!” screamed a group of fillies and colts as they raced out of the post office and pony piled upon me. “Crusaders collection agents!” shrieked Medley as she leaped upon my back while Allegro and Adagio seized my forelegs. Sonata gave a much more reserved headbump against my flank. “You owe Charity for six spark batteries and a bottle of Wild Pegasus! Cough ‘em up!” Medley declared as I wailed and collapsed beneath the four, thrusting my PipBuck into the air before I disappeared from sight.
"chaaaarrge!"一群小雌马和小马尖叫着冲出邮局，一群小马骑在我身上。"十字军讨债代理!"当她跳到我的背上时，我尖叫起来，阿莱格罗和柔板抓住了我的前腿。索纳塔用一个更为保守的头撞我的侧腹。"你欠Charity六个火花电池和一瓶野飞马！咳出来!"梅德利说着，我嚎啕大哭，瘫倒在那四个人下面，在我消失之前，把我的皮普巴克推向空中。
* * *
* * *
“And to think, I once recommended her to Spike to be the Element of Generosity,” I said to myself as I limped to the house provided to Sekashi and Majina. Sure, I’d had the seven hundred caps, but sending young colts and fillies to beat the money out of me? Okay, it’d taken Sonata’s big sad eyes look to make me cough up the money, but still. “No cap in the Wasteland is safe from her greedy hooves, the little capmonger!”
"想想看，我曾经推荐她去演慷慨元素,"我一瘸一拐地走向提供给Sekashi和Majina的房子时对自己说。当然，我有七百顶帽子，但是派小马和小雌马来打我的钱呢？好吧，索纳塔那双忧伤的大眼睛让我掏出了钱，但还是。"在荒原上，没有一顶帽子能躲过她那贪婪的蹄子，那个小贩子!"
There was an odd little wooden mask on the door, and I felt my insides squirm softly as I knocked. Majina peeked out the window at me, and a minute later Sekashi opened the door. “Ahh, greetings, Guardian! Come in. Come in. I will prepare something fair to eat.”
门上有一个奇怪的小木制面具，敲门的时候我感觉自己的内心在蠕动。Majina从窗户偷看我，一分钟后Sekashi打开了门。"啊，你好，守护者！进来吧。进来吧。我会准备些好吃的东西。"
“I’d love to have some of that cold medicine too,” I said as I looked at more half-carved masks.
"我也想吃点感冒药,"我一边说，一边看着更多雕刻了一半的口罩。
She looked back in concern. “Oh, is one of your friends ill?”
她关切地回头看。"哦，你的一个朋友病了吗?"
“Nope. But that stuff is pretty tasty,” I said with a grin. “Mix it with Sparkle-Cola and a radscorpion egg and it’s even better.” I could see Sekashi wasn’t exactly 100% with me on my opinion of what makes for a great drink. She moved into the kitchen and began preparing a tray. The deaf zebra handled the knives with skill a unicorn might envy as she chopped the greens for the salad. We sat at the table, and Majina tucked in with gusto. “Where’d you get all this fresh food?”
"没有。但那东西很好吃,"我咧嘴笑着说。"把它和可口可乐和放蝎子蛋混在一起，效果更好。"我可以看出Sekashi并不是百分之百地支持我的观点，即什么样的饮料最适合喝。她走进厨房，开始准备托盘。聋哑的斑马熟练地拿着刀，一只独角兽可能会嫉妒她切蔬菜做沙拉。我们坐在桌旁，马吉纳津津有味地大吃起来。"你从哪儿弄来这么多新鲜的食物?"
“The Society ponies have been quite thrilled with our wares of late. One in particular was overjoyed at the dresses we collected and has compensated us well in food and wealth. The Finders bring in all sorts of other delectable goods with the building materials.” And trade saves the Wasteland.
"最近我们的产品让协会的小马感到非常兴奋。其中一个特别喜欢我们收集的衣服，并在食物和财富上给我们很好的补偿。Finders用建筑材料带来了各种其它美味的商品。"贸易拯救了荒地。
The salad might have tasted fine, but it could do with some RadAway to give it that citrusy zing. “I ran into an old friend of yours a few hours ago. Quiet stallion. Likes to shoot helpless zebras.”
沙拉可能尝起来味道不错，但也可以用一些酸辣酱来增加柑橘味。"几个小时前我碰到了你的一个老朋友。安静的种马。喜欢射杀无助的斑马。"
She touched a puckered scar on her shoulder. “Ah. That one.”
她摸了摸肩膀上一块皱巴巴的伤疤。"啊。那个。"
“Yeah. And,” I said somewhat hesitantly, “after chatting with him, I got to thinking that maybe you weren’t being completely honest with me before.” Her ears folded back as her eyes turned wary. “A zebra like him wouldn’t have spent all that time trying to kill thirteen zebras just because their tribe mocked the Remnant. They’d let the mine break them. Lancer was there to make certain you and the others died.” I stretched out a hoof to touch hers. “In fact, I think Lancer was there to kill you, specifically.”
"是的。"而且,"我有点犹豫地说,"在和他聊过之后，我开始想，也许你以前没有对我完全诚实。"当她的眼睛转向警惕时，她的耳朵向后收起。"像他这样的斑马不会因为十三只斑马的部落嘲笑了剩下的斑马，就花那么多时间去杀它们。他们会让矿坑毁了他们。兰瑟在那里确保你和其他人都死了。"我伸出一只蹄子去碰她。"事实上，我认为Lancer就是来杀你的。"
She closed her eyes and sighed softly. “You are correct. He was not there to kill the others. He was there to kill me.” She opened her sad green eyes and smiled. “There is a funny story I know: once upon a time there was a young zebra who was a member of the Remnant. She trained in the Zenith style of combat, learned her potions and poison, and the art of wind… of infiltration and stealth. She was skilled, and drew the eyes of the leader of the Remnant, Legate Vitiosus. He took her as one of his wives.
她闭上眼睛，轻轻地叹了口气。"你说得对。他不是去杀其他人的。他是来杀我的。"她睁开她忧伤的绿眼睛，微笑着。"我知道一个有趣的故事:从前有一只年轻的斑马，是例外人的一员。她接受了齐尼斯式的战斗训练，学会了魔药和毒药，学会了风的艺术......渗透和潜行。她很有技巧，吸引了残余势力领袖，维蒂奥苏斯大使的目光。他娶她为妻。
“But, one day, she was on a solo mission scouting the lands around the black city when she fell in a storm. She was wounded and lost, and feral ghouls were closing in. Then she spotted through the clouds a single star. She promised anything she could to escape that horrible night, and the star accepted her promise.” She sighed softly and bowed her head. “But it also exacted a horrible price, for in her heart doubt was seeded.”
"但是，有一天，她正在独自执行一项任务，侦察黑城周围的土地时，她在一场暴风雨中摔倒了。她受了伤，迷失了方向，凶残的食尸鬼正向她逼近。然后她透过云层发现了一颗星星。她答应了她可以逃离那个可怕的夜晚的任何事情，这位明星接受了她的承诺。"她轻轻地叹了口气，低下了头。"但这也付出了可怕的代价，因为在她的心里，怀疑是种子。"
“What happened?” I asked when our eyes met again.
"发生了什么事?"当我们的目光再次相遇时，我问道。
“She questioned the need and goals of the Remnant. What was the purpose of fulfilling the wishes of a Caesar two centuries passed? Were the stars truly evil? She used her position to learn lore of the stars, a forbidden subject to all but the most trusted zebras. But, eventually, the zebra became foolish, and the Legate learned of her studies. His rage was… profound.” She looked at the numerous scars on her hide. I knew now that not all of them had been received in the mine.
"她质疑残余势力的需要和目标。两个世纪过去了，实现凯撒的愿望的目的是什么？星星真的是邪恶的吗？她利用自己的职位学习有关星星的知识，这是除了最受信任的斑马以外所有人都不能学的课题。但是，最终，斑马变得愚蠢，特使学到了她的研究。他的愤怒是......深刻的。"她看着自己皮肤上无数的伤疤。我现在知道，并不是所有的人都在矿井里被接纳了。
“She took the knowledge she had learned and with her child she fled her home. His rage redoubled, for a wife to flee her husband was the gravest insult. He
"她带着她学到的知识，带着孩子逃离了家园。他怒不可遏，因为妻子逃离丈夫是最严重的侮辱。他
ordered she not be allowed a moment’s respite until she was captured. His hunters were skilled. Dreadfully so. But none more than his son, trained in the midnight style of combat. The son named for the slaying lance. So keenly, so quietly did he pursue that she found a group of zebras destined to toil in the earth and joined them to escape his bullets. Still, he found her, but in his haste he missed the shot that mattered most. Now dead in the eyes of the Remnant, she sought sanctuary in the shadow of the most dreaded of cities.”
命令她在被抓之前，不能有片刻的休息。他的猎人们技艺高超。非常可怕。但是没有人比他的儿子更适合了，他在午夜的战斗中训练。这个儿子以杀戮之矛命名。他如此敏锐，如此安静地追赶，以至于她发现一群注定要在土地上辛苦劳作的斑马，加入他们以逃避他的子弹。尽管如此，他还是找到了她，但在匆忙中，他错过了最重要的一击。现在死在了残余人的眼中，她在最可怕的城市的阴影中寻求庇护。"
She gave a sad little smile. “Have ever heard something so silly? Such a silly mare for wishing upon the stars.”
她露出悲伤的微笑。""你听说过这么愚蠢的事吗？对着星星许愿的傻母马。"
I rose and walked around the table to hug her. I knew she couldn’t hear, but I whispered anyway, “She sounds pretty courageous to me.”
我站起来，绕着桌子走过去拥抱她。我知道她听不见，但我还是低声说:"她听起来很勇敢。"
When we parted, I asked quietly, “Why do zebras hate Hoofington so much? I mean, I hate all the things that happened here two hundred years ago, but that was ponies messing stuff up. What’s the zebra angle?”
我们分手时，我轻声问道:"为什么斑马这么讨厌胡芬顿?"？我的意思是，我讨厌两百年前发生在这里的所有事情，但那是小马把事情搞得一团糟。斑马线是什么角度?"
She shivered. “To explain that… you must know of the Eater of Souls.”
她打了个哆嗦。"为了解释这一点......你必须知道灵魂食者。"
* * *
* * *
The stars are capricious, fickle, powerful, and mysterious. To some, their interference may be malevolent, but such malevolence is reflected only in our desires and wishes. Others see inspiration and feel the hoof of destiny in their patterns and movements. However, by and large, their actions and motivations are beyond our understanding and knowledge. The wise leave the business of the stars to the stars. The foolish call upon them. The damned demand of them. Such is the nature of such things.
星星是任性的，变化无常的，强大的，神秘的。对一些人来说，他们的干预可能是恶意的，但这种恶意只反映在我们的欲望和愿望。其他人从他们的模式和动作中看到灵感，感受到命运之蹄。然而，总的来说，他们的行为和动机超出了我们的理解和知识。智者把星星的事情留给星星去做。愚蠢地召唤他们。他们那该死的要求。这就是这类事情的本质。
But there are stars who are malevolent. Stars evil and cruel who are cast out from the skies to turn into hard and crushing destruction. When they strike, their destruction is absolute. Their wrath and poison are unimaginable. Their hatred knows no limit and their cruelty possesses no bounds. Cast from on high, they fall with terrible wrath. Such stars are truly the monsters most zebras dread.
但是有些星星是恶毒的。星辰邪恶而残忍，它们被从天上赶走，变成坚硬而毁灭的毁灭。当他们发动攻击时，他们的毁灭是绝对的。他们的愤怒和毒害是难以想象的。他们的仇恨是无限的，他们的残忍是无限的。他们从高处被抛下，怒气冲天。这样的明星确实是最让斑马恐惧的怪物。
Once a great zebra city spread out across this valley. Its towers rose to the heavens and its tunnels plunged into the earth. Its occupants were wise and its armies strong, its markets filled with fields of plenty and its fields green and flowing. Gold and silver and gems decorated all from the highest prince to the
曾经有一个巨大的斑马城横跨这个山谷。它的塔高耸入天，它的隧道深入地下。它的居住者很聪明，它的军队很强大，它的市场充满了肥沃的土地，它的土地绿色和流动。金子、银子和宝石都装饰着，从最高的王子到最高的国王
lowest slave. It was every bit as fine as the ancient zebra capital of Roam.
最低等的奴隶。这里的一切都像古老的斑马之都罗马一样美丽。
But for all its greatness, pride gnawed at its belly. In its desire to surpass all others, the city turned to folly and wickedness. Hearts hardened, minds closed, and its wealth was squandered. Its scholars and sages whispered their vile and poisonous worship to the skies and tainted the heart of a star. And so they attempted a terrible ritual. Ten thousand zebra magi carved the talismans of the city into a glyph stretching for miles in all directions. Rare, potent, and dark reagents were prepared. And in unison, they cast a spell that united their powers… magnified it… and magnified it again.
但是尽管它很伟大，骄傲却在啃噬着它的肚子。为了要超越所有人，这座城市变得愚蠢和邪恶。人心刚硬，思想封闭，财富被挥霍。它的学者和圣人们对天空低语着他们邪恶和有毒的崇拜，玷污了一颗星星的心灵。所以他们尝试了一个可怕的仪式。一万名斑马法师将这座城市的护身符雕刻成一个四面八方绵延数英里的象形文字。制备了稀有、高效和暗试剂。他们一起施放了一个魔咒，使他们的力量联合起来......放大它......并再次放大它。
And they called down a star: The Eater of Souls.
他们召唤了一颗星星:灵魂的食者。
Perhaps they meant to capture it for their own. Perhaps they erred and meant for it to fall upon glorious Roam instead. Perhaps they knew not what their great spell would do, only knowing it would be wondrous and terrible. Regardless, the star fell. It shattered the great city, blackened its foul towers and ancient libraries. Its fires scorched the fertile fields and turned them to ash. The city’s great wealth was buried, its knowledge lost. And so was the dread city lost for all time.
也许他们是想把它占为己有。也许他们犯了错误，故意让它落在光荣的罗马身上。也许他们不知道他们伟大的咒语会做什么，只知道它将是奇妙和可怕的。不管怎样，这颗星星坠落了。它摧毁了这座伟大的城市，把它肮脏的塔楼和古老的图书馆都熏黑了。大火烧焦了肥沃的田地，把它们烧成了灰烬。这座城市的巨大财富被埋葬了，它的知识也丢失了。这座可怕的城市也永远消失了。
* * *
* * *
The candle on the table had burned low by the time she finished, casting flickering orange light over Sekashi’s face. “Or so we thought. When ponies came to this land, we tried to warn them of the star’s evil. We told them that fallen stars only sleep within the earth, not lie there dead, and that which sleeps may dream. They would not listen. And so they built a new city atop the old. And so they repeated the folly of the old.”
当她说完的时候，桌子上的蜡烛已经燃得很低了，在Sekashi的脸上投射出闪烁的橙色光芒。"至少我们是这么认为的。当小马来到这片土地时，我们试图警告它们星星的邪恶。我们告诉他们，坠落的星星只是睡在地球上，而不是死了躺在那里，睡着的星星可能会做梦。他们不听。于是他们在旧城之上建造了一座新城。于是他们又重复了旧时的愚蠢。"
“You really think there’s a fallen star under Hoofington?” I asked softly, feeling a little skeptical.
"你真的认为胡芬顿下面有颗坠落的星星?"我轻声问道，感到有点怀疑。
She smiled. “I know ponies do not think so. Ponies do not believe in curses, hexes, and zebra hocus pocus. They dug and searched, and though they found the bones of the star, they thought them little more than rocks. But dark things are ever associated here; it was here Nightmare Moon rose to challenge Celestia. Here the long night was darkest. Here where the great towers rose and the great battles were fought. And the towers stand still, a headstone to the land that was slain in its war.”
她笑了。"我知道小马不这么认为。小马不相信咒语、巫术和斑马术。他们挖了又挖，虽然找到了星星的骨头，但他们认为只不过是些石头而已。但是黑暗的事物总是和这里联系在一起，这里就是噩梦月升起挑战天堂的地方。在这里，漫漫长夜是最黑暗的。在这里，高塔拔地而起，打响了伟大的战役。城楼静止不动，是在争战中被杀之地的墓碑
“It makes for a good story,” I admitted, “but it’s not proof.” She shrugged helplessly, her smile sad. How do you prove a story from so long ago? “So why would the Remnant be looking for meteorites?”
"这是一个好故事,"我承认,"但这不是证据。"她无可奈何地耸了耸肩，她的微笑带着悲伤。你如何证明一个这么久以前的故事？"那么为什么例外人要寻找陨石呢?"
“Perhaps he simply wished to dispose of them. When we find bones of the stars, we hide them in deep caves, bury them in desolate deserts, or sink them far at sea. It is a great honor for any zebra,” she said matter-of-factly. Still, I’d bet my itchy mane it had to be something else.
""也许他只是想把它们处理掉。当我们发现星星的骨头时，我们把它们藏在深深的洞穴里，把它们埋在荒凉的沙漠里，或者把它们深深地埋在海里。这对任何斑马来说都是极大的荣誉。"她平静地说。不过，我敢打赌我痒痒的鬃毛一定是别的什么东西。
I groaned, burying my face in my forelegs. “Do these stars also produce horribly convoluted plots and mysteries that are supposed to be solved by the most immensely unqualified ponies in the world?” I asked as I looked at her plaintively.
我呻吟着，把脸埋在前腿里。"这些星星是否也制造了可怕的错综复杂的情节和谜团，而这些谜团本应由世界上最不合格的小马来解决呢?"我哀伤地看着她问道。
She reached over the table and patted my head in consolation.
她把手伸过桌子，安慰地拍拍我的头。
* * *
* * *
Walking back to the Star House, I had to admit that I felt a little disturbed at the thought of stars, great and powerful entities, manipulating me and countless others. I simply couldn’t accept that we were all puppets of these terrible beings; it was too overwhelming. Fate was something I simply couldn’t accept. Was I fated to kill 99? To wander the Wasteland with EC-1101 on my leg? Finding a virtue was hard enough; being a plaything of vastly powerful beings was more than I could handle.
回到星宫的路上，我不得不承认，一想到星星、伟大而强大的实体、操纵着我和无数其他人，我就感到有点不安。我简直无法接受我们都是这些可怕生物的傀儡，这太让人难以接受了。命运是我无法接受的。我命中注定要杀死99个人吗？带着EC-1101在荒原上漫步？找到一种美德已经够难的了，成为强大生命的玩物已经超出了我的能力范围。
Sekashi had told me that the Crusaders had left a path through the minefield up to the house, so I headed to the little gate in the makeshift barricade by Chapel’s chapel. All I wanted was to save ponies and help my friends… and find out what Project Horizons was about… deal with Sanguine… and Lighthooves… and Lancer… and now fallen stars too, apparently! It made me want to stick my head in a hole and scream.
Sekashi告诉我十字军已经留下了一条穿过雷区通向房子的小路，所以我朝着教堂旁临时设置的路障的小门走去。我想要的只是拯救小马和帮助我的朋友们...找出地平线计划是关于什么的...处理血统...和光剑...和兰瑟...现在显然还有坠落的星星！这让我想把头伸进洞里尖叫。
Then I heard a suppressed giggle. It wasn’t the giggle itself that caught my attention, though, so much as who it sounded like and the fact that I’d never expected to hear it from him. Carefully, I trotted to the corner of the chapel and peeked around behind it. Yes, P-21 and… oh… my…
然后我听到一阵抑制的咯咯笑声。不过，引起我注意的不是笑声本身，而是笑声听起来像谁，以及我从没想过会从他那里听到这个消息。我小心翼翼地跑到教堂的角落里，向后面窥视。是的P-21还有...哦...我的..。
Priest and P-21 sat together in each other’s hooves, the smaller blue pony resting his head on the black unicorn’s shoulder. It wasn’t just that they were cuddling
牧师和P-21一起坐在对方的蹄子里，小一点的蓝色小马把头靠在黑独角兽的肩膀上。不仅仅是因为他们拥抱在一起
that was shocking, though; it was the smile on my friend’s face. “This is nice…” he murmured. “I haven’t felt like this… happy… in a long time.”
真是太震惊了，是我朋友脸上的笑容。"这太好了......"他喃喃地说。"我已经很长时间......没有这种......幸福的感觉了。"
“You deserve some happiness. All of you do,” Priest said softly.
"你应该得到一些幸福。你们所有人都是,"普里斯特温柔地说。
“I don’t,” P-21 murmured as he reached up to touch his neck. Priest silenced him with a kiss that turned his whole face red. I started to pull away, but what I heard next made me linger.
"我不知道,"P-21一边低声说，一边伸手去摸自己的脖子。牧师用一个吻让他安静下来，这个吻把他整个脸都变红了。我开始抽离，但我接下来听到的声音让我犹豫不决。
“Do not start talking like Blackjack. You both deserve to be happy. It makes me want to thump you both when I hear you talking like you don’t,” Priest said firmly.
"不要开始像黑杰克那样说话。你们都应该得到幸福。当我听到你们说得好像你们不知道一样的时候，我真想狠狠地揍你们两个一顿。"。
P-21 flushed and touched the scar around his throat again. “She saved me. She keeps saving me. Everypony does. Over and over again.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t understand it. I’m not her. I’m no hero trotting around the Wasteland. I don’t even like most other ponies. Sometimes, I feel like I hate everypony in the world. Especially her.” He pressed his face into Priest’s neck. “Especially me.”
P-21脸红了，又摸了摸喉咙周围的伤疤。"她救了我。她一直在救我。每个小马都这么做。一遍又一遍。"他闭上了眼睛。"我不明白。我不是她。我不是在荒原上小跑的英雄。我甚至不喜欢其他大多数小马。有时候，我觉得我讨厌世界上的每一匹小马。尤其是她。"他把脸贴在牧师的脖子上。"尤其是我"
Priest didn’t recoil or pull away but simply held him. “I’m glad she did. I like you, P-21. You’re serious and you’re focused and so determined. And you have a lot of reasons to be angry with the world. I hope that I get to give you the kind of love and attention a pony like you deserves.” He sighed gently. “You have no idea how hard it is to see so many ponies you want to desperately help… but know that they’re just going to finish their pilgrimage and rejoin Celestia.”
牧师没有退缩，也没有推开他，只是简单地抱着他。"我很高兴她这么做了。我喜欢你，P-21。你很认真，很专注，很坚定。你有很多理由对这个世界感到愤怒。我希望我能给你那种像你这样的小马应得的爱和关注。"他轻轻地叹了口气。"你不知道看到这么多你想要拼命帮助的小马有多难......但是你知道它们正在结束他们的朝圣之旅，重新回到塞莱斯蒂亚身边。"
P-21 looked towards the bridge a little longer than I liked, but then he shook his head. “No. I don’t think I’ll do that now.” Then he pulled away and gave the black unicorn a little smile. “So… if you like stallions… why…” He gestured vaguely in the direction of Star House.
P-21比我喜欢的时间稍微长了一点，然后他摇了摇头。"没有。我想我现在不会这么做了。"然后他抽身走开，给了黑独角兽一个小小的微笑。"那么......如果你喜欢种马......为什么......"他含糊地指了指星宫的方向。
“You mean Arloste? I was barely older than a colt and an older, powerful mare took me into her bed. And she was like you… confused and hurt… so there was no way I could tell her no. I won’t say it was forced, but she was the first mare I was ever interested in. And the last.” Okay. That was my cue to go!
""你是说阿洛斯特？我只比一匹小马大一点，一匹年长而强壮的母马把我抱上了她的床。她就像你一样......困惑和受伤......所以我没办法拒绝她。我不会说这是被迫的，但是她是我第一个对她感兴趣的母马。也是最后一个。"好吧。那是暗示我该走了！
“Not even Blackjack?” Or stay! Damn it, P-21. Why’d you have to ask that?
"黑杰克也没有吗?"或者留下来！该死的P-21。你为什么要问这个？
“No. No offense to Blackjack, but I could never be in a relationship with her. She’s far too… self-destructive,” Priest said gently, but with a firmness that
"没有。无意冒犯黑杰克，但我绝不会和她谈恋爱。她太......自我毁灭了,"普里斯特温和地说，但带着一种坚定的态度
made my butt hit the floor. Another kiss, and I started to creep away, face burning in embarrassment. I definitely didn’t want to hear any more. Then… “Do you like Blackjack?”
让我的屁股撞到地板上。接着又是一个吻，我开始偷偷溜走，尴尬得脸都红了。我真的不想再听下去了。然后..."你喜欢黑杰克吗?"
I dashed back as silently as a zebra, poking my head around the corner to peek at the pair again. Okay! Maybe I should hang around a little while longer. Just in case. I bit my left foreleg just to make sure I didn’t speak as my ears twitched. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t…
我像一只斑马一样静静地冲了回去，在角落里探着头再次偷看这一对。好吧！也许我应该再多待一会儿。以防万一。我咬了咬左前腿，只是为了确保自己不会在耳朵抽搐时说话。他做不到。他不会..。
“What’s not to love?” P-21 sighed. Habazawah?! “She saves ponies. She’ll save the entire world if she can. I can’t even make it on my own for ten minutes.” He closed his eyes. “I just wish I didn’t hate her so much.” That made my blood chill till I heard him choke and he curled up a little. “I just wish I understood what I was supposed to feel! I’m used to hate. I hate so damned much. And I feel horrible for hating my friends!” he said as he pressed his face to Priest’s neck. The black pony hugged him gently. “I’m such a bad pony… and she’s... she’s so good it hurts! But she killed him, though… I should hate her! Shouldn’t I? You can’t forgive and love somepony who killed somepony you loved! That’s… messed up…”
"为什么不去爱呢?"P-21叹了口气。哈巴扎瓦?！"她拯救小马。如果可以，她会拯救整个世界。我自己连十分钟都做不到。"他闭上了眼睛。"我只是希望我不要那么恨她。"这使我的血液发冷，直到我听到他窒息，他蜷缩了一点。"我只是希望我能明白我应该有什么感觉！我已经习惯了仇恨。我恨得要命。我讨厌我的朋友，这让我感觉很糟糕!"他一边说，一边把脸贴在牧师的脖子上。那匹黑马温柔地拥抱了他。"我真是一匹坏马......她......她太棒了，简直疼死了！但是她杀了他...我应该恨她！我不应该吗？你不能原谅和爱一个杀了你爱的人的小马！这真是......一团糟......"
Then Priest calmly looked right at me! My eyes popped wide in shock and embarrassment. But he slowly shook his head with a little smile. “The first step towards healing hatred is admitting it. Get it out of your system… don’t let it fill you up until you’re drowning in it. You feel what you feel. You do what you do. And you don’t let fear, shame, and hatred control you.” He stroked P-21’s mane. “I’m sure you can tell her how you feel…”
然后神父冷静地看着我！我的眼睛因为震惊和尴尬而睁得大大的。但是他慢慢地摇了摇头，带着一丝微笑。"治愈仇恨的第一步是承认它。把它从你的系统中清除出去......不要让它充满你，直到你被它淹没。你感受你所感受到的。你做你该做的。你不会让恐惧、羞耻和仇恨控制你。"他抚摸P-21的鬃毛。"我相信你可以告诉她你的感受......"
But P-21 clenched his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t. Not to her. Not till… not till I can look at her without wanting to kill her. Not till I can… without feeling… shame…” he said softly and trembled. “She… she saved my life, and a part of me still wants to kill her...” He cringed as he curled up against Priest. “What is wrong with me?”
但是P-21紧闭双眼，摇摇头。"我不能。对她来说不是。直到...直到我看着她不想杀了她。直到我可以......不感到......羞耻......"他轻轻地颤抖着说。"她......她救了我的命，而我内心的一部分仍然想杀了她......"他蜷缩在牧师身边，畏缩着。"我是怎么了?"
Priest just patted his back. “You’re in the Hoof, P-21.” And that was all that needed to be said. “I’m sure that when you’re ready… she’ll be happy to listen to you,” he said as he looked at me with a firm gaze that demanded I treat P-21 with far more care than I had. Still biting my lip, I nodded. I’d never bring it up… not till he was ready. Priest sighed, stroking his mane as he looked back down at the stallion in his embrace.
牧师只是拍了拍他的背。"你在霍夫，P-21。"这就是所有需要说的。"我敢肯定，当你准备好了......她会很乐意听你说的,"他一边说，一边用坚定的目光看着我，要求我对待P-21要比对待我小心得多。我仍然咬着嘴唇，点了点头。除非他准备好了，否则我是不会提起的。牧师叹了口气，抚摸着鬃毛，低头看着他怀抱中的种马。
P-21 sniffed quietly as he looked up into Priest’s eyes and Priest gazed back. “He told me… he told me that meeting me was the luckiest day of his life.”
P-21静静地吸着鼻子，抬头看着普里斯特的眼睛，普里斯特也回过头来看他。"他告诉我......他告诉我见到我是他一生中最幸运的一天。"
“I know the feeling,” Priest said softly. And once more, their lips met and their eyes closed, Priest’s in kindness and P-21’s in desperation. I was pretty sure that that was my cue to leave. I trotted silently away.
"我知道那种感觉,"普里斯特轻声说。再一次，他们的嘴唇碰到了一起，眼睛闭上了，普里斯特和蔼可亲，P-21绝望了。我很确定那是我离开的暗示。我默默地小跑着离开了。
* * *
* * *
For once, we had a nice night in Star House. Priest had stopped by with P-21, the two nudging rumps more than a few times as they stood close together. Medley brought some purchases for Glory, mostly ammunition. Glory made dinner. Rampage pretended to be poisoned by it. Everypony was laughing. Medley gave Scotch Tape the ‘stable ponies don’t know nothin’ routine when asked about where the bathroom was. Scotch Tape complained bitterly about having to use an outhouse, the filly promising to bring proper sanitation to the Wasteland or die trying. I teased her about having a toilet for a cutie mark, and she looked so embarrassed that she checked immediately. Lacunae quietly watched from the periphery with a sad, lonely little smile.
这一次，我们在星宫度过了一个美好的夜晚。普里斯特带着P-21来过这里，他们两个站得很近，不止几次碰碰屁股。麦德利为晨辉公司买了一些东西，大部分是弹药。晨辉做晚餐。狂暴假装中了毒。每匹小马都在笑。当被问及洗手间在哪里时，Medley给了ScotchTape"马厩里的小马什么都不知道"的例行公事。透明胶带痛苦地抱怨不得不使用户外厕所，这匹小母马承诺要给荒地带来适当的卫生设施，否则就会为此而死。我取笑她有一个可爱的标志马桶，她看起来如此尴尬，她立即检查。空隙静静地从周围看着，带着一丝忧伤，寂寞的微笑。
Until I asked her to do some magic tricks. Suddenly dragged into the middle of our attention, the alicorn couldn’t seem to help herself. The ‘Great and Powerful Lacunae’ summoned a little thundercloud that zapped Rampage’s rump, animated a rope that prompted a bondage joke that had me blushing and Glory grinning, and made little neon illusions of my fight with Psychoshy. I grumbled a little at the crotch shot; my nethers were twinging in reflex.
直到我请她表演魔术。突然引起了我们的注意，阿利康好像控制不住自己。巨大而强大的陷阱召唤了一朵小小的雷云，震动了狂暴的臀部，驱动了一条绳子，这条绳子引发了一个束缚笑话，让我羞红了脸，晨辉咧嘴笑了起来，让我对抗精神病害羞的斗争产生了一点幻觉。我对着胯部的镜头抱怨了一下，我的下体条件反射地颤抖着。
Then somepony suggested I get Octavia’s contrabass and play for them. Lacunae and Scotch had never heard me perform before, and so I pulled it downstairs and stood with the bow. Both Priest and Medley still seemed faintly amused that I’d use an instrument instead of magic; apparently, you just weren’t a real unicorn musician if you didn’t use your horn to play... I really didn’t know what exactly I was playing as I started to drag the black horsehair bow across the strings, but apparently it was good enough to earn stomping applause. Then Priest stood and moved next to me. His horn glowed, and a violin began to play alongside me. I noticed that the magic music was a little tinnier than that produced by the actual instrument.
然后有个小马建议我找奥克塔维亚的低音提琴给他们演奏。空隙和苏格兰威士忌以前从来没有听过我表演，所以我把它拉到楼下，拿着弓站在那里。普里斯特和梅德利似乎仍然觉得我用乐器而不是魔法有点好笑;显然，如果你不用你的号角演奏，你就不是一个真正的独角兽音乐家......当我开始用黑色马毛弓拉弦时，我真的不知道自己在演奏什么，但显然它足以赢得跺脚的掌声。然后普里斯特站了起来，走到我旁边。他的号角发着光，一把小提琴开始在我旁边演奏。我注意到那神奇的音乐比实际的乐器演奏出来的要微弱一些。
Side by side we played, me horrible and him more than making up for my little
我们肩并肩地玩着，我很讨厌他，而不是弥补我的小孩
mistakes. Medley listened before she rose to her hooves and joined us with a second, higher violin noise. She was definitely far more snarky and playful as her music danced and flitted about Priest’s more serious notes. When we ended the song, I looked at Lacunae with a speculative little smirk.
错误。梅德利听着，然后站起来，用第二把更大的小提琴的声音加入我们。当她的音乐在舞蹈，在普里斯特更严肃的音符上跳来跳去的时候，她显然更加尖刻和顽皮。当我们结束这首歌的时候，我带着一丝推测的傻笑看着空隙。
“No no no… We couldn’t. We shouldn’t!” she stammered. “The Goddess… erm… I mean… I don’t play!”
"不，不，不......我们不能。我们不应该这么做!"她结结巴巴地说。"女神......呃......我是说......我不玩!"
“You know the spell, don’t you?” Priest asked calmly. The purple alicorn nodded once. “Well, then, we’d love for you to join us. But you don’t have to.”
"你知道咒语，对吧?"牧师平静地问道。紫玉簪点了点头。""那么，我们希望你能加入我们。但你不必这么做。"
“Don’t worry, Lacunae. You can’t be worse than me,” I said as I rested my cheek on the neck of the instrument, feeling oddly like I was hugging somepony. “So don’t worry if you’re not good.”
"别担心，拉库尼。你不可能比我还差,"我把脸颊贴在乐器的脖子上说，奇怪地感觉自己像是抱着一匹小马。"所以，如果你表现不好，不用担心。"
Slowly, she moved to stand behind the three of us. I levitated one of the books of music over and flipped through. “What should we play?” I asked as I looked at the titles. Then one caught my eye. “Canon D? What about A, B, and C?”
慢慢地，她走到我们三个后面。我把一本音乐书悬浮起来，翻了翻。"我们玩什么呢?"我看着这些标题问道。然后一个吸引了我的眼球。"佳能d？那么a、b和c呢?"
“A fine choice,” Priest said in approval.
"这是个不错的选择,"普里斯特赞许地说。
“Oh, yeah. That’s one of my favorites. Won’t be the same without Sonata’s kazoo, though,” Medley added.
"哦，是的。这是我的最爱之一。但是没有索纳塔的卡祖笛就不一样了。"Medley补充道。
“Yes… We… I know it well,” Lacunae whispered solemnly in our minds.
"是的......我们......我很清楚,"拉库尼在我们的脑海里郑重地低语。
I took a deep breath as I gripped the bow, looking at the music. Slowly the notes began to roll out across the living room. I took some comfort in the easy pacing for my instrument as it rose and fell as casually as breathing. Then Priest began to play in careful, calm, considerate notes, his horn glowing steadily as he closed his eyes, playing by ear. A few seconds later, Medley joined in, her notes prancing after his with little variations that mixed nicely with his steady playing.
我深吸了一口气，紧紧地握住船头，看着音乐。慢慢地，音符开始在起居室里滚动。我的乐器像呼吸一样随意地上下起伏，我在这种轻松的节奏中得到了一些安慰。然后普里斯特开始用细致、平静、体贴的音符演奏起来，当他闭上眼睛，靠耳朵演奏时，他的号角平稳地发着光。几秒钟后，梅德利也加入了进来，她的音符在他的音乐后面欢快地跳跃着，有一些小的变化，与他稳定的演奏很好地融合在一起。
Then Lacunae started to play. She wasn’t good. She wasn’t even decent.
然后，空隙开始演奏。她表现不好。她甚至都不正派。
She was spectacular.
她真是太棒了。
Her violin, sounding deeper and richer than the other two, rolled out beneath Priest and Medley in a sweet, sad melody. With Priest and Medley, we heard music. With me, we heard noise that might have been mistaken for music. What
她的小提琴比另外两把更加深沉，更加丰富，在普里斯特和梅德利的下面以一种甜美、悲伤的旋律展开。在《牧师》和《混音》中，我们听到了音乐。对我来说，我们听到的声音可能被误认为是音乐。什么
rose from Lacunae’s horn was pure soul. As she played, I imagined a little purple alicorn sitting all alone, playing the only instrument that gave her joy.
从裂隙的角中升起的是纯洁的灵魂。当她演奏的时候，我想象着一个紫色的小角果独自坐着，演奏着唯一能给她带来快乐的乐器。
Lacunae had said parts of her were missing. I’d eat my tail if this wasn’t one of those parts. Lacunae, alicorn or not, was a musician. I was sure of it as our four notes blended together into one whole. The contrabass hit the eight notes with regularity, providing the foundation for the other three. Harmony. It might not be Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, or Loyalty, but as sure as the stars in the sky and overhead, it was Magic.
拉库尼曾经说过她身体的一部分不见了。如果这不是其中之一，我会吃掉我的尾巴。不管是不是独角兽，Lacunae都是一位音乐家。当我们的四个音符混合在一起成为一个整体时，我确信这一点。低音提琴有规律地弹奏八个音符，为其他三个音符奠定了基础。和谐。它可能不是诚实、善良、欢笑、慷慨或忠诚，但就像天空和头顶上的星星一样确定，它是神奇的。
* * *
* * *
That night, Star House was full once more. We doubled up the beds since there was so little sleeping space. I’d given Glory a grin, but her face mirrored Midnight’s to an unnerving degree as she trotted to her own room with Medley. Priest and P-21 slipped into the room they’d both claimed. Rampage took her bed with Lacunae in the living room. That left Scotch Tape with me. She didn’t seem very happy with it, but there was nowhere else for her to sleep. There was more than enough room as we settled in for the night.
那天晚上，星空之家再次坐满了人。我们把床叠起来，因为睡觉的地方太少了。我给了晨辉一个微笑，但是当她带着梅德利小跑回自己的房间时，她的脸和午夜一模一样。普里斯特和P-21溜进了他们都声称的房间。在起居室里，拉古娜和朗格睡在一张床上。只剩下透明胶带了。她看起来不是很高兴，但是没有别的地方可以让她睡觉。当我们安顿下来过夜时，房间绰绰有余。
My dreams were normal, full of chlorine and screams, rooms full of foals with a softly singing lullaby, and a hanging friend. I wasn’t sleeping on exhaustion, so every few hours I woke, looked at the sleeping Scotch Tape, and drifted back to sleep. Once, I woke to her crying in her sleep, patting her shoulder softly as she called out for her mommy in her dreams.
我的梦很正常，充满了氯气和尖叫声，房间里满是小马驹，伴随着轻柔的摇篮曲，还有一个悬挂着的朋友。我没有因为精疲力竭而睡着，所以每隔几个小时我就会醒来，看看睡着的透明胶带，然后再次入睡。有一次，我惊醒了她，她正在睡梦中哭泣，我轻轻地拍着她的肩膀，她在梦中呼唤着她的妈妈。
Then I woke to a very unexpected sensation of warmth on my side. I smelled the ammonia smell and jerked almost completely awake. Scotch Tape blinked as I floundered. I breathed more heavily than I had while getting shot at by Lancer, my heart flopping like a giant leech inside my chest.
然后我醒来，一种非常意想不到的温暖的感觉在我身边。我闻到了氨水的味道，几乎完全清醒过来。当我挣扎时，透明胶带闪烁着。当我被枪骑兵射中时，我的呼吸比以前更加沉重，我的心脏像一只巨大的水蛭一样在胸腔里扑腾。
All because Scotch Tape had wet the bed.
都是因为透明胶带把床弄湿了。
The olive mare just wrapped the blankets around herself as she hung her head in shame, doing all she could to not break down completely. I kicked myself for my reaction; I’d dealt with far worse. She didn’t need me freaking out now. Slowly I trotted around the bed to sit next to her. “I’m sorry…” she sniffled. “I guess I’m just a big… dumb… foal…” she muttered as she shook.
橄榄色的母马羞愧地低下头，用毯子裹住自己，竭尽全力不让自己完全崩溃。我为自己的反应感到自责，我曾经处理过更糟糕的事情。她现在不需要我抓狂。我慢慢地绕着床小跑，坐在她旁边。"对不起......"她抽了抽鼻子。"我想我只是一只大......笨......小马驹......"她颤抖着喃喃自语。
I hugged her close. “No. You’re a filly that’s had horrible things happen. That
我紧紧地拥抱着她。"没有。你是一头发生过可怕事情的小母马。那个
doesn’t make you dumb or a baby,” I said, repeating almost word for word what had been said to me. She let out another sob as she broke down, vomiting out all the pain she’d been trying to hide.
不会让你变成哑巴或者婴儿,"我说，几乎一字不差地重复着刚才对我说的话。当她崩溃时，她又发出了一声呜咽，吐出了她一直试图隐藏的所有痛苦。
“I miss her so much! I miss them all so much!” she wailed into my chest as she held me tight in desperation.
"我非常想念她！我太想念他们了!"她在绝望中紧紧抱住我，在我胸口痛哭。
I sniffed softly, my tears slower and more practiced. “I do too. I dream about them every night.”
我轻轻地吸了一口气，我的眼泪慢了下来，而且更加熟练了。"我也是。我每天晚上都梦到他们。"
It took about ten minutes for her to calm down. “I’m sorry. I thought… I thought I could be tough. Not a cry baby. Peeing the bed…” she said in disgust.
她大约花了十分钟才平静下来。"对不起。我以为...我以为我可以很坚强。不是一个爱哭的孩子。在床上撒尿......"她厌恶地说。
“Hey, it could be worse. You could have been me. I wet the bed till I was almost as old as you… only I didn’t have anything bad happen to me. I just couldn’t be bothered to wake up,” I said, exaggerating the facts just a little.
"嘿，还有更糟的呢。你本可以成为我的。我尿床，直到我几乎像你一样老...只是我没有什么不好的事情发生在我身上。我只是懒得起床,"我说，略微夸大了事实。
She laughed despite her tears and I lifted the sheets to wipe her eyes. “Ewww… gross, Blackjack.”
尽管她流着眼泪，她还是笑了，我掀开被单擦了擦她的眼睛。"呃...真恶心，黑杰克。"
“I’m serious. It was so bad Mom requisitioned yellow sheets. Almost had medical check me,” I said with a grin as she laughed.
"我是认真的。妈妈征用黄色床单真是太糟糕了。她笑了，我咧嘴笑着说。
Finally she slipped out of the bed and stripped off the wet blankets. “Thanks,” she said softly.
最后，她从床上滑下来，脱掉了湿毛毯。"谢谢,"她轻声说。
“We’re all damaged, Scotch. All of us. Even Priest. Probably Medley. You don’t have to pretend like you’re the only pony in the world too tough to be messed up,” I said as I bundled them up with my magic. Quietly, we trotted downstairs to where Lacunae was mending the rips and tears in her dress.
"我们都受伤了，苏格兰人。我们所有人。甚至牧师。可能是混合泳。你不必假装自己是这个世界上唯一一匹坚强到不会搞砸的小马,"我一边说着，一边用我的魔法把它们捆在一起。我们悄悄地小跑下楼，来到拉库奈正在缝补她衣服上的裂缝和撕裂处的地方。
She could teleport, shoot magic arrows, shield herself, use a minigun, play beautiful music, and sew… what couldn’t she do? Apparently laundry. We found a bucket in the closet and filled it with some detergent and water, my magic scrubbing and rinsing the sheets clean with water from the pump behind the house. We’d just finished as the others woke up.
她可以传送，射出神奇的箭，保护自己，使用迷你枪，演奏美妙的音乐，缝纫......她不能做什么？显然是洗衣服。我们在壁橱里找到了一个桶，里面装满了洗涤剂和水，我用房子后面的水泵里的水把床单擦洗干净。当其他人醒来的时候，我们刚刚结束。
Glory looked at the sheets in confusion. “Um… isn’t it a little early to be doing the wash?” she asked as I strung them out on some low hanging branches. It’d be a miracle if they ever dried in Hoofington’s weather. Scotch Tape flushed as she
晨辉困惑地看着床单。"呃......现在洗衣服是不是有点早?"我把它们挂在一些低垂的树枝上，她问道。如果它们能在Hoofington的天气里干燥就是个奇迹了。透明胶带随着她的脸红了
looked away; Glory looked at the olive filly questioningly.
晨辉疑惑地看着橄榄色的小姑娘。
I took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say. “I wet the bed!” I blurted. She blinked in shock. “Terrible. Absolutely terrible,” I added, going more and more red as Glory just stared. “I think the mattress might be destroyed.”
我深吸了一口气，试着想说点什么。"我尿床了!"我脱口而出。她震惊地眨了眨眼。"太可怕了。绝对可怕,"我补充道，当晨辉盯着我的时候，我的脸越来越红。"我认为床垫可能被毁坏了。"
“You what?” Medley said from the doorway, her eyes going round with glee. So much for last night earning me some respect or bonding from the chartreuse filly. She raced towards Chapel, laughing. If only I had Taurus’s rifle… I could claim it was an accident. A terrible accident…
"你什么?"梅德利站在门口说，她的眼睛高兴地四处张望。昨晚的表现让我赢得了那个黄绿色的小姑娘的尊敬和爱戴。她笑着冲向查普尔。如果我有金牛座的步枪...我可以声称这是一个意外。一场可怕的意外..。
“You know you shouldn’t drink so much before you go to bed,” Glory said, adding, “and always make sure you go potty before going to sleep if you think it’ll be a problem.” I was pretty sure my hide matched the red in my mane.
"你知道你睡觉前不应该喝那么多酒,"晨辉说，并补充说,"如果你觉得睡觉前上厕所是个问题，那就一定要确保自己睡觉前上厕所。"我非常确定我的皮毛与我鬃毛的红色相匹配。
“What’s going on?” Rampage asked as P-21 and Priest stepped out as well.
"怎么回事?"狂暴问道，P-21和Priest也走了出来。
Oh, sweet Celestia, would it ever end?
哦，亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚，这会结束吗？
* * *
* * *
Priest had agreed to shutter the house and finish the laundry. Of all my friends, he seemed to have guessed the truth, but if he had he’d decided to keep it to himself. Well rested and restocked with food and ammo, we were ready to take on the tunnel. I expected it to be dangerous. I expected it to be dark and creepy.
普里斯特同意关上门，把衣服洗完。在我所有的朋友中，他似乎已经猜到了真相，但是如果他猜到了，他决定不告诉别人。我们休息充分，又补充了食物和弹药，随时准备进攻隧道。我以为会很危险。我以为会很黑很恐怖。
I hadn’t expected it to be huge!
我没想到它会这么大！
The tunnel was wide enough for four tracks to disappear into the earth and high enough that even Glory didn’t appear too claustrophobic. Hanging overhead were immense winches and cables that still remained taut despite the rust and corrosion. An entire freight train loaded with heaps of rusting crates and boxes was still connected to the apparatus, kept from plunging down the steep grade into the earth by what looked like solid rust.
隧道的宽度足以让四条铁轨消失在地面上，高度足以让晨辉看起来不那么幽闭恐怖。头顶上悬挂着巨大的绞车和电缆，尽管锈迹斑斑，但仍然绷得紧紧的。整列货运列车装载着一堆堆生锈的板条箱和箱子，它们仍然连接着这个装置，以防止由于看起来像是铁锈的东西而从陡峭的坡道坠入地面。
“What were those for?” Glory asked as she looked at the cables overhead.
"这些是干什么用的?"晨辉看着头顶上的电缆问道。
“Probably to help the freight trains up and down the grade into the tunnel,” P-21 said as he pointed down into the musty depths. The walls of the tunnel had been
"可能是为了帮助货运列车上下坡进入隧道,"P-21指着发霉的深处说。隧道的墙壁已经
painted a noxious green, and over the entrance were the words ‘Hoofington Industrial Access Tunnel #1’. Beneath that, ‘Restricted Area’ and beneath that: ‘Protected by Aegis Securities’. P-21 pointed at the hulking engine at the end of the train. “That doesn’t look like the steam locomotives in our books.”
入口处画着有毒的绿色，上面写着"胡芬顿工业通道1号"。下面是"限制区"，下面是"宙斯盾证券保护区"。P-21指着火车尾部笨重的发动机。"这看起来不像我们书中的蒸汽机车。"
“It’s not,” Rampage said as she trotted past the immense vehicle. “At the end of the war, almost nothing used coal besides the power plants. This probably used a spark generator to power the train.”
"不是的,"朗格一边说，一边小跑着经过那辆巨大的汽车。"战争结束时，除了发电厂以外，几乎没有用过煤。这可能是用火花发电机为火车提供动力。"
“I wonder how train flats from Brimstone’s made it through here if it’s so dangerous,” I muttered.
"既然这里这么危险，不知道布里斯通的火车公寓是怎么过来的,"我喃喃自语道。
“Oh, that’s simple. Ride down into the tunnel without brakes and throw a few slaves off to feed the ghouls. Works every time, I’ve heard,” Rampage said with a mirthless smirk. “Getting through the tunnels is tons easier when you’ve got some acceptable casualties with you.”
"哦，这很简单。骑车进入隧道没有刹车和抛出几个奴隶喂食食尸鬼。每次都管用，我听说过。"。"当你身边有一些可以接受的伤亡时，通过隧道就容易多了。"
“Bottlecap says that Dusty now just stops at the tunnel and hoofs everything over to Chapel. She’s buried in business now. They don’t even try the tunnels anymore,” Glory added as we slowly trotted down the steep tracks. I wondered why they didn’t use a gentler grade. Great, another addition to the millions of questions I’d likely never the answers to. Maybe Rover knew…
"Bottlecap说达斯迪现在只是在隧道前停下来，然后马蹄把所有的东西都踢到了教堂。她现在埋头做生意。他们甚至不再尝试隧道,"晨辉补充说，我们慢慢地沿着陡峭的轨道小跑。我想知道为什么他们不使用更温和的等级。很好，又一个我可能永远无法回答的问题。也许罗孚知道..。
The subway tunnels had been a mess of broken trains, crackled walls, and collapsed concrete. In comparison, the green line was almost completely intact. The concrete didn’t show the slightest bit of cracking, and even the metal surfaces showed barely any corrosion. There was far less rubbish down here, too. There was the occasional tin can or barrel, but for the most part the trains sat silently connected to taut cables, waiting for the control or command to get them moving again. When the grade flattened out, we moved through an immense green switch yard beneath the earth. A low thrum surrounded us, and I could feel a dry, warm breeze blowing from deeper down.
地铁隧道里到处都是坏掉的火车、裂开的墙壁和坍塌的混凝土。相比之下，绿线几乎完好无损。混凝土没有表现出一丁点的裂缝，甚至金属表面也几乎没有任何腐蚀。这里的垃圾也少得多。这里偶尔会有铁罐或铁桶，但大多数时候，火车都静静地连接着拉紧的电缆，等待控制或命令让它们重新开动。当坡度变平时，我们穿过地下一个巨大的绿色开关院子。一个低低的线头包围着我们，我能感觉到一股干燥温暖的微风从更深的地方吹来。
“It still has power,” Glory marveled. “We could do so much with Hoofington… you know? If the radiation level’s not too high and we could solve the Enervation problem, we could do so much for Equestria.”
"它仍然有力量,"晨辉惊叹道。"我们可以为胡芬顿做很多事情......你知道吗？如果辐射水平不是太高，我们可以解决能源问题，我们可以为Equestria做很多事情。"
“But where does the power come from?” I asked as I looked at the green lights set in the ceiling. Each one cast a wan circle of light spaced along the tracks, but many of them had broken, leaving sickly spots of light amid cloying shadow.
"但这种力量从何而来?"我看着天花板上的绿灯问道。每一道光都投射出一圈苍白的光线，沿着铁轨散开，但其中许多已经破碎，在令人厌烦的阴影中留下病态的光斑。
“The dams,” Rampage replied. “At least, that’s what the Steel Rangers think. If they hadn’t been so fixated on the HMS Celestia, they probably would have set up shop in the dams. Of course, the Eggheads are the only ponies that can actually get the damned power where it needs to go.”
"大坝,"狂暴回答。"至少，钢铁骑兵队是这么想的。如果他们没有如此迷恋皇家海军舰艇塞莱斯蒂亚，他们可能已经在大坝上建立了工厂。当然，只有书呆子才能真正把该死的电力输送到需要的地方。"
“So why don’t they work together?” Scotch Tape asked.
"那么他们为什么不一起工作呢?"透明胶带问道。
“Because that would be sane and sensible,” Rampage replied. “But the Steel Rangers want to control technology. Eggheads want to fiddle around with it. Not a lot of compromise between the two.”
"因为那是理智和明智的,"狂暴回答道。"但钢铁游骑兵想要控制技术。知识分子想要摆弄它。两者之间没有多少妥协。"
I floated out Rover’s map. “So, we need to find the G-3 tunnel,” I said as I looked into the gloom.
我拿出了罗孚的地图。"所以，我们需要找到G-3隧道,"我边说边看着黑暗。
Something flitted through a distant patch of light.
有什么东西掠过远处的一片亮光。
Out came Vigilance and my new sword. Nothing on my E.F.S. Not a sound to be heard, either. After the museum, however, I wasn’t trusting bars. Everyone else had frozen too. “What is it?” Glory asked as she hovered above us.
出来的是警惕和我的新剑。我的e.f.s上什么也没有听到。然而，在博物馆之后，我不再相信酒吧了。其他人也都冻僵了。"这是什么?"晨辉在我们上空盘旋时问道。
Then I heard the soft clicking sound. Faint, rapid, and soft. And all around us. “Something bad…” P-21 muttered as he loaded a grenade. A low and unnatural growl echoed through the cavernous chamber. “Make that really bad.”
然后我听到了轻柔的咔嗒声。微弱的，迅速的，柔软的。还有我们周围的一切。"有不好的事情......"P-21一边往手榴弹里装子弹一边喃喃自语。一阵低沉而不自然的咆哮声在洞穴般的房间里回荡。"把事情搞得很糟。"
Suddenly, the clicking doubled, and with my night vision I saw a faint shimmer charging right at the six of us. “Here they come,” I shouted as I raised Vigilance and fired at the racing blur. The bullets clanged as they struck metal, and there was a magical flash as my target leapt the final distance. I rose, my hooves meeting the mechanical monster as it rammed into me. Claws ripped at my armor and pneumatic jaws hissed as they snapped closed inches from my face. The canine was almost entirely metal save for a gray blob of brain matter in a jar atop its head. I’d heard about robot ponies with brains, but this was a first.
突然，咔哒一声加倍了，在我的夜视镜里，我看到一个微弱的微光正向我们六个人冲来。"他们来了,"我高声喊道，同时提高了警惕，向赛车模糊物开火。子弹打在金属上发出叮当声，当我的目标跃过最后一段距离时，发出了一道魔幻的闪光。我站了起来，我的蹄子碰到了撞向我的机械怪物。爪子撕裂了我的盔甲，气动颚发出嘶嘶声，它们啪地一声合拢，离我的脸只有几英寸。这只狗几乎完全是金属的，除了头顶的罐子里有一团灰色的脑浆。我听说过有大脑的机器小马，但这是第一次。
Then, as I struggled with the first, a second raced forward and bit my hind leg. A jerk and the cyberdog had pulled my leg out from under me! I went down, kicking and screaming, as the mechanical monster on top slowly twisted its head and opened its jaws for my throat. All around me, my friends opened fire as more and more of the cloaked robots appeared and attacked. Green lightning flashed from the robot’s glassy dome, and my vision blurred as the world twisted around me for a moment. It was all I could do to magic its jaws apart.
然后，当我与第一只狼搏斗时，第二只狼向前跑，咬了我的后腿。一个混蛋和赛博狗把我的腿从我身下拽了出来！我又踢又叫地走下去，上面的机械怪物慢慢地扭着头，张开嘴咬住我的喉咙。当越来越多的隐形机器人出现并发动攻击时，我的朋友们在我周围开火。绿色的闪电从机器人的玻璃穹顶上一闪而过，世界在我周围扭曲了一会儿，我的视线也模糊了。我所能做的就是使它的下颚神奇地张开。
Then Scotch Tape jumped on its back, squeezing tight with all four hooves as she beat on the dome with a wench clenched in her jaws. The dome cracked, popped, and finally shattered as she pulverized the gray wad with the end of her wrench. The dog gave a spastic jerk and tumbled off me. I sat up and my horn flashed, three magic bullets shredding the transparent brain casing of the other one.
然后苏格兰胶带跳到它的背上，用四只蹄子紧紧挤压，她用紧咬着的下巴敲打着圆顶。当她用扳手的末端把那团灰色的东西打成粉末时，穹顶破裂、爆裂，最后粉碎。那条狗痉挛性地抽搐了一下，从我身上摔了下来。我坐了起来，我的号角闪了一下，三颗魔法子弹撕碎了另一颗的透明脑壳。
As big a weakness as a targetable brain was, they could have done with a few more. The machines were strong, fast, and worked together. They also had those disorienting brain zaps. When not engaged in combat, a blue talisman in their chests would flare and they’d disappear. Glory and Lacunae fought together side by side, Lacunae strafing the open areas around us and Glory sending emerald beams of death into any shimmers that appeared. I worked with Scotch Tape, more shielding the filly than I liked to admit. I wasn’t going to have another Scoodle on my conscience! Rampage freely engaged three or four of them at a time, ignoring the friendly fire from P-21. After his grenades hit, she mopped up what was left as her own injuries healed.
他们的大脑虽然很容易受到攻击，但他们可以多用几个。这些机器强大、迅速，而且一起工作。他们还有那些让人迷失方向的脑震荡。当不参与战斗时，他们胸前的一个蓝色护身符会闪光，然后他们就会消失。晨辉与空白并肩作战，空白扫射我们周围的空旷地带，晨辉将翡翠般的死亡之光射向任何出现的闪光。我使用透明胶带，比我愿意承认的更多地保护小母马。我的良心再也不会受到另一只史酷德的谴责了！狂暴一次可以随意对付三四个敌人，完全不理会P-21的友军火力。在他的手榴弹袭击之后，她擦干净了自己伤口愈合后留下的地方。
“Why are you… nunngh… grinning like that?” Rampage asked the blue pony.
"你为什么......不......笑成那样?"蓝色的小马问道。
P-21 laughed as he popped open Persuasion and loaded a new grenade. “Oh, this is very therapeutic.”
P-21一边笑，一边打开"劝导"，装上了一枚新的手榴弹。"哦，这非常有益健康。"
Then four of the cyberdogs fell upon Glory and Lacunae. I had no idea if they’d jumped or could run on ceilings. One of them clamped its jaws down on Glory’s wing and began to pull. The jaws worked, chewing and crushing the appendage as she screamed and tumbled. Lacunae teleported ten feet up, leaving the cyberdogs to crash beneath her. The minigun swiveled down and blasted at the fallen canines, eroding them with a pillar of fire and bullets. Then two more glued to the support pillars raked the alicorn with their brain lightning.
随后，四只赛博狗扑向了晨辉和空隙。我不知道它们是会跳还是会在天花板上奔跑。其中一只用它的下颚咬住晨辉的翅膀，开始往下拉。当她尖叫和跌倒时，她的下颚开始工作，咀嚼和压碎附肢。空隙传送到十英尺高的地方，留下电脑狗在她脚下坠毁。迷你机枪向下旋转，对准倒下的犬齿，用火柱和子弹将它们侵蚀。然后另外两个粘在支柱上的人用他们的大脑闪电把这个角耙了一遍。
“Glory!” I shouted as I raced to her, slipping into S.A.T.S. to blow the dome off the cyberdog. It died with its jaws clenched on the wing. “Hold still!”
"晨辉!"我一边冲向她，一边大喊着，溜进sat考场，把赛博狗的脑袋轰掉。它死的时候紧咬着翅膀。"别动!"
She grimaced with pain as she trembled beneath it. “I’m not going anywhere.”
她痛苦地做了个鬼脸，因为她在下面颤抖着。"我哪儿也不去。"
I tried to pry it open with the sword, but it wasn’t moving. “Scotch! I need you!” I called, returning my attention to the fighting. The olive filly raced up with two snapping at her flanks till I split one dome with the sword and blasted my last three rounds into the dome of the other. “Free her, quick!” I said as I shoved the
我试图用剑把它撬开，但它不动。"苏格兰威士忌！我需要你!"我喊道，把注意力转回到战斗上。橄榄小姑娘飞快地跑上来，两颗子弹在她的两侧劈开，直到我用剑劈开了一个圆顶，最后三发子弹射进了另一个圆顶。"放了她，快!"我一边说着，一边推开了那个女人
second one away. It wasn’t quite getting the message that now it was supposed to die!
还有一个。它没有完全明白，现在它应该死了！
As Scotch Tape worked, I saw things weren’t going well. I had no idea how many of these things there were. Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? P-21 was trying to use the heavy barrel of the grenade launcher as a bludgeon, his shoulders bleeding from claw lacerations. The canines were now blasting Lacunae almost continuously with their green zaps and Rampage was all but buried beneath them. Then one of the dogs bit me and ripped at my armor so hard that the saddlebag split and dumped half my possessions across the floor. I shouted and struggled without success.
透明胶带起作用的时候，我发现事情进展得并不顺利。我不知道有多少这样的东西。几十个？几百个？成千上万？P-21试图用榴弹发射器沉重的枪管当棍棒，他的肩膀因撕裂伤而流血不止。犬科动物现在几乎不停地用它们的绿色攻击向空隙发射炮弹，而狂暴几乎被埋在它们下面。然后其中一只狗咬了我一口，撕开了我的盔甲，以至于鞍囊裂开，把我一半的财产都扔在了地板上。我叫喊着，挣扎着，但没有成功。
Then one bit a forehoof. Then one bit a rear hoof. And then I knew exactly how Scoodle felt as they started to pull! We were about to be ripped to pieces by robotic brain dogs. Could it get any worse?
然后咬了一口前蹄。然后一只咬了后蹄。然后我就知道当他们开始拉的时候，史酷德是什么感觉了！我们就要被机器狗撕成碎片了。还有比这更糟的吗？
Did I actually just think that?
我真的这么想了吗？
A mechanical growl cut through the cavernous space, echoed and magnified. Suddenly, the cyberdogs went still. My legs were released as they cautiously backed away. From the gloom approached a massive beast of metal. This was the Deus of cyberdogs. Armor plating covered every inch of its matte black form. Its red eyes glared balefully at the six of us as two shoulder mounted cannons pointed right at me. This wasn’t a cyberdog! This was the size of a bear!
一声机械的咆哮划破了洞穴般的空间，回响着，放大了。突然，网络狗一动不动。当它们小心翼翼地后退时，我的腿松开了。从黑暗中走近一头巨大的金属野兽。这就是赛博狗中的上帝。盔甲覆盖了它的每一寸哑光的黑色形态。它红色的眼睛恶狠狠地盯着我们六个人，两门肩上架着的大炮正对着我。这不是赛博狗！这是一只熊的大小！
It opened jaws big enough to crush my head as it snarled in my face. I swallowed as I stared at grinders inside its throat. Who the hell had designed this thing?
它在我面前咆哮，张开了大得足以压碎我头的大嘴巴。我看着它喉咙里的磨床，咽了口唾沫。到底是谁设计的这玩意儿？
Then it closed its mouth, red eyes staring down at me. Slowly, it turned as if inspecting the battlefield. Its heavy metal claws scraped at the stone as it walked to the fallen Ministry Mare figurines; it stepped right on Rainbow Dash, but the figurine was apparently too awesome to be pulverized by mechanical death beasts.
然后它闭上了嘴，红红的眼睛低头看着我。慢慢地，它转过身来，好像在检查战场。它的沉重的金属爪子在石头上刮来刮去，它正好踩在彩虹冲刺上，但是这个小雕像显然太可怕了，不可能被机械的死亡野兽粉碎。
It stopped and then stretched down to bump its muzzle against the tiny orange form of Applejack. From within the beast came a low little whine. Again and again it nudged the bucking figure before it sat down and raised its head in a long low howl. Looking at the figurine one last time, the giant mechanical beast turned and stalked back the way it had come. One by one, the remaining
它停了下来，然后向下伸展，用它的鼻子碰了碰橙色的苹果白兰地。野兽内部传来一阵低沉的哀鸣声。它一次又一次地推了推那个跳跃的身影，才坐下来，低低地长长地叫了一声，抬起头来。这个巨大的机械怪兽最后一次看着这个雕像，转过身来，朝着它来的方向大步走回去。一个接一个，剩下的
cyberdogs rose and trotted after it on softly clicking claws. Just like that, they disappeared back into the recesses of the tunnel.
赛博狗站起来，小跑着，轻轻地敲击着它的爪子。就这样，他们又消失在隧道的深处。
“What the fuck was that?” Rampage asked as she adjusted her armor.
"那是什么鬼东西?"调整盔甲时，狂暴问道。
“I...” Was that… “I don’t know,” I said as I levitated the little orange figurine, sitting and hugging it as I looked in the direction the security cyberdogs had gone. I found myself imagining that the tiny Applejack was crying, though.
"我.....。。」那是......"我不知道,"我一边说着，一边把那个橙色的小雕像悬浮起来，坐在那里，紧紧地抱着它，看着那些安全的网络狗离开的方向。我发现自己在想象小苹果白兰地正在哭泣。
* * *
* * *
We found the tunnel we needed, moving quickly and quietly along the wide open space. There was no debris blocking our way, which also meant that there was no cover. Twice turrets dropped from the ceiling above to rake the tunnel with flashing pink bolts of disintegration magic. Without cover, we had only moments to destroy them before they destroyed us. And we didn’t always succeed… “Don’t laugh,” Rampage muttered as she trotted beside Scotch Tape, the striped filly cursing under her breath in decidedly unfillylike fashion.
我们找到了我们需要的隧道，沿着宽阔的空地快速而安静地移动着。没有碎片挡住我们的路，这也意味着没有掩体。两座塔楼从天花板上掉下来，用闪烁的粉红色解体魔法扫过隧道。没有掩护，在他们摧毁我们之前，我们只有片刻的时间来摧毁他们。我们并不总是成功......"别笑,"当她在透明胶带旁边小跑时，狂暴喃喃自语，那条纹小母马低声咒骂着，毫不掩饰她的时尚。
“You shielded me,” Scotch Tape said awkwardly, “I’m not going to laugh. I just… I wonder why you’re this old?”
"你挡住了我,"苏格兰胶带尴尬地说,"我不会笑的。我只是......我想知道你为什么这么老?"
“Huh?” Rampage blinked as she looked at the olive filly. “What do you mean?”
"啊?"当她看着那只橄榄小母马时，狂暴眨着眼睛。"什么意思?"
“Well, you look like you’re five or six… right? So why don’t you regenerate as a newborn? Or my age?” Scotch Tape asked. “Why five or six?”
"嗯，你看起来像五六岁......对吧？那么，你为什么不能像新生儿一样再生呢？还是我的年龄?"透明胶带问道。"为什么是五个还是六个?"
Rampage opened her mouth… then closed it with a small frown. “I dunno. I never thought about it,” she said as she cocked her head. “I mean, I’m fifty or sixty years old… but I don’t know why I’d pop back to this specific age every time.” She rubbed her chin. “Now that you mention it… I don’t age up older than twenty or thirty-ish.”
狂暴张开了她的嘴......然后皱着眉头闭上了嘴。"我不知道。我从来没有想过这个问题,"她一边说，一边歪着脑袋。"我的意思是，我已经五十岁了......但我不知道为什么我每次都会回到这个特定的年龄。"她揉揉下巴。"既然你提到了......我的年龄不会超过二十岁。"
And another to the hundred or so mysteries we were dealing with. Right next to ‘what was the source of all this radiation?’ It wasn’t a lot, but it was consistent. Everypony except Lacunae had taken a dose of Rad-X. I supposed that she was benefiting from it… but even she seemed definitely… off. It was almost as if she were in pain.
另一个是我们正在处理的上百个神秘事件。就在"这些辐射的来源是什么"旁边不是很多，但是很稳定。除了Lacunae之外，每匹小马都服用了一剂Rad-X。我认为她从中受益......但即使是她看起来也绝对......不对劲。她好像很痛苦。
“Are you okay?” I asked as I nudged the purple alicorn. She flinched and bit her lip, shaking her head firmly.
"你还好吗?"我用肘轻轻推了一下紫色的果实，问道。她畏缩了一下，咬着嘴唇，坚定地摇着头。
“The screams are… strong. Very strong. I don’t want to stay here,” she said in a whimper in my head. “Please, let us hurry.”
"尖叫声......很强烈。非常强壮。我不想呆在这儿,"她在我脑海里呜咽着说。"拜托，让我们快点吧。"
But we only got a hundred yards further when we came to an immense door that completely sealed off the tunnel. ‘Hoofington Core Access #12-411J.’ “This must go to the Core,” I muttered as I thumped the door. Heavy as concrete. “I don’t suppose you can pick it?” I asked P-21 with a grin. He gave me a look that suggested that that question opened up whole new worlds of how stupid I was if I was serious. I consulted the map. “Okay. Good news, we don’t have to get through the door. Look for Sewer Access 12-99. It should be in that wall.” I pointed to our left.
但是我们只走了一百码就来到了一扇巨大的门前，这扇门完全封住了隧道。"HoofingtonCoreAccess#12-411J""这个必须送到地核去,"我一边敲门一边喃喃自语。像混凝土一样重。"我想你不会摘吧?"我笑着问P-21。他看了我一眼，暗示着这个问题开启了一个全新的世界:如果我是认真的，我是多么愚蠢。我查阅了地图。"好吧。好消息，我们不用进门了。寻找污水渠通道12-99。它应该在那堵墙里。"我指着我们的左边。
Glory had found it. Her wing still wasn’t right, even after taking a healing potion. Of course, the hatch was locked, but P-21 got out his pins and got to work. Two tries later, he had it open. This tunnel was far ranker, the air heavy and wet. Oddly, there wasn’t any mildew or rot down here. I supposed the radiation killed everything. There were also no lights, so I turned on my PipBuck lamp. Scotch Tape did the same. Lacunae’s glowing magic illuminated the rear as we entered the tight tunnels. Everything curved, so I couldn’t see how far we had to go.
晨辉已经找到了。她的翅膀仍然是不正确的，即使服用了治疗药剂。当然，舱门是锁着的，但是P-21拿出他的大头针开始工作。试了两次之后，他把门打开了。这条隧道更加险恶，空气又湿又重。奇怪的是，这里没有发霉或腐烂。我认为辐射杀死了所有的东西。也没有灯光，所以我打开了我的PipBuck灯。透明胶带也是如此。当我们进入狭窄的隧道时，拉库尼发光的魔法照亮了我们的后方。一切都是弯曲的，所以我不知道我们还要走多远。
“Think you can get DJ Pon3 down here?” Rampage asked. “All this quiet is freaking me out.”
"你觉得你能把DJPon3弄到这儿来吗?"狂暴问道。"这么安静让我害怕。"
“Doubt it… but…” I turned on my radio and set it to search for a signal. Static.
"我很怀疑......但是......"我打开收音机，用它搜索信号。静态。
Static. Static.
静态。静态。
Then a mare spoke in a rush, “…is Team Delta. We’re trapped in Adjunct 33-99B. The shields are up. Please lower the shields. We’ve got critical information from Canterlot. The Sun has risen. The Moon has not been freed. The Stars are still in play. I repeat, team leader, the stars are still in play! This is Team Delta. We’re trapped in adjunct…” And the message kept looping over and over again. I looked at Rover’s map but couldn’t find an Adjunct 33-99B anywhere on it.
然后一匹母马匆忙地说:"...是三角洲部队。我们被困在Adjunct33-99B里了。防护罩打开了。请降下防护罩。我们从Canterlot得到重要消息。太阳已经升起。月球还没有被释放。明星们还在比赛中。重复一遍，队长，明星们还在比赛！这里是三角洲小队。我们被困在adjunct......"这个信息一遍又一遍地循环。我看了漫游者的地图，但是在上面找不到一个Adjunct33-99B。
“One of those teams, you think? The ones who knew about the bombs?” Glory asked from behind me.
"你觉得是那种球队吗？那些知道炸弹的人?"晨辉在我身后问道。
“I suppose,” I said, wondering if that broadcasting had been looping for two centuries with a message that had never reached its recipient.
"我想是的,"我说，想知道这种广播是否已经循环播放了两个世纪，其中的信息从未到达接收者那里。
* * *
* * *
“I think we’re lost,” I muttered after half an hour. I turned the map over in front of me and squinted at the faded lines. “I don’t know if we’re supposed be going in this direction or not.”
"我想我们迷路了,"半个小时后我喃喃自语道。我把面前的地图翻过来，眯起眼睛看了看那些褪色的线条。"我不知道我们是否应该朝着这个方向前进。"
“Lost?” P-21 said as he nudged in to my left to look at the map.
"迷路了?"P-21一边说，一边向我左边推了推，让我看看地图。
“No… I think we’re supposed to keep going this way,” Glory said, pointing with her uninjured wingtip as she squeezed in to my right.
"不......我想我们应该继续朝这个方向走,"晨辉指着没有受伤的翼尖说，她挤进了我的右边。
“I thought it was right at that last tunnel,” Rampage said as she squeezed in under me, looking at the map.
"我以为它就在最后那条隧道里,"朗格挤进我身下，看着地图说。
“No, this is the right way. See?” Scotch Tape had wiggled in next to Rampage and was pointing up with her hoof.
"不，这是正确的方法。看到了吗?"胶带在横冲直撞的旁边扭动着，用她的蹄子指着上面。
“But then shouldn’t we already be at that factory thingy?” Rampage asked.
"那我们不是应该已经在那个工厂了吗?"狂暴问道。
“I believe we should,” Lacunae agreed, leaning over my head to look down at the map.
"我认为我们应该这么做,"拉库尼同意了，他俯身在我头上看着地图。
“A little personal space, please!” I shouted. I immediately winced at the echo sounding off through the tunnels, but at least my friends fell back enough to let me breathe. Looking at the map, I poked a little square marked ‘HMF’. “If this is the right way, then this place should be just off to our left. Look for some sign of ‘HMF’, whatever that is.”
"请给我一点私人空间!"我喊道。我立刻对通过隧道传来的回声感到畏惧，但至少我的朋友们后退了一步，让我能够呼吸。看着地图，我戳了一个标有"HMF"的小方块。"如果这条路是对的，那么这个地方应该就在我们的左边。寻找'HMF'的标志，不管那是什么。"
We spread out a little bit, but the further we went, the more certain I was that this wasn’t where we were supposed to be. Why did this tunnel look... burned? A distance past that, we did find a door marked HMF, but, instead of being tightly sealed, the entire thing was twisted in its frame. The burn marks were very prominent here, especially on the wall opposite the door and the floor and ceiling near it. I squeezed through and found a deformed metal-lined passage; the walls of the tube looked like they'd melted slightly and then resolidified. My radiation meter suddenly started to click a lot more urgently. I proceeded down the tunnel cautiously, but it seemed safe. Well, relatively. Nothing down here but drippy-
我们分开了一点，但是我们走得越远，我越肯定这不是我们应该在的地方。为什么这条隧道看起来...烧焦了？再过一段距离，我们确实发现了一扇门，上面写着HMF，但是，这扇门没有被紧紧地密封起来，而是整个东西被扭曲在它的框架里。这里的烧痕非常明显，特别是门对面的墙上，以及门附近的地板和天花板上。我挤过去，发现一条内衬金属的通道变形了，管壁看起来像是稍微熔化了一点，然后又固化了。我的辐射计突然开始发出更急促的咔嗒声。我小心翼翼地走下隧道，但似乎很安全。嗯，相对来说。下面什么都没有，只有点滴
looking metal.
外观金属。
“Come on through,” I said, peeking out. I helped the others squeeze through, and then only Lacunae was left outside. I looked expectantly at her, but she took one look through the gap and flashed through to the far side. I looked at her, the gap, and then at her again; okay, yes, expecting her to squeeze through that was not one of my better ideas.
"进来吧,"我说，探出头来。我帮助其他人挤过去，只有Lacunae留在外面。我期待地看着她，但是她从缝隙里看了一眼，闪到了远处。我看着她，看着缝隙，然后又看着她;好吧，是的，期望她挤过去，这不是我的好主意。
The alicorn immediately took a deep breath and smiled blissfully. “Oh, this is better.”
阿里克松立刻深吸了一口气，幸福地笑了。"哦，这样好多了。"
I took one look at my radiation meter spiking and swallowed. “Yeah. Better.” I shared a look with the rest of my friends and we immediately took another Rad-X.
我看了一眼我的辐射计的尖端，然后吞了下去。"是的。更好。"我和我的其他朋友一起看了一眼，我们立刻又拍了一张Rad-X。
We advanced down the passage and found… it looked like something in another chamber had half blasted, half melted through the tunnel's wall. Twisted debris had been melted into the walls, and the floor was covered with what looked like hardened flows of mixed liquid metal and rock. The tunnel continued a bit farther to a short flight of stairs leading up to a heavy door, but that had melted into its frame. If we wanted to continue, we'd have to go through the hole.
我们沿着通道向前走，发现......它看起来像是另一个房间里的什么东西已经爆炸了一半，熔化了一半，穿过了隧道的墙壁。扭曲的碎片融化在墙上，地板上覆盖着看起来像是坚硬的混合液态金属和岩石的流动。隧道继续向前走了一小段楼梯，通向一扇沉重的门，但那扇门已经融入了它的框架。如果我们想继续，我们就必须穿过这个洞。
The hole looked like something a giant bullet would punch in a metal target, except that whatever had done this had blasted through rock and two layers of metal. On the other side, there was a drop to the ‘floor’, but there was enough congealed molten ruin for us to scramble down. The room was one massive pile of slag. Whatever had happened in here, it had melted every surface into a frozen landscape of dripping metal. Blackened steel stalactites dangled down above us, and we had to take care not to step upon or trip over lumps and spikes extending from the floor like alien and dangerous works of art. In the very center of the mass was a large hunk of cracked, blackened rock; I looked up at the ceiling, but there didn't seem to be anywhere the rock could have fallen from.
这个洞看起来就像是一颗巨大的子弹会击中一个金属靶子，只不过不管是什么东西击穿了岩石和两层金属。在另一边，有一个下降到'地板'，但有足够的凝固熔化废墟，我们爬下来。房间里堆满了一大堆矿渣。不管这里发生了什么，它把每一个表面都融化成了一片滴着金属的冰冻景观。发黑的钟乳石悬挂在我们头顶上，我们必须小心不要踩到或绊倒从地板上伸出来的像外星人和危险的艺术品一样的硬块和尖刺。我抬头看着天花板，但似乎没有任何地方可以让这块石头掉下来。
“What the hell is this place?” I asked as we spread out a little. There were red bars in my vision in all directions, but for all I knew they could be above, below, or through solid rock. Still, I gestured for everypony to have their guns ready.
"这是什么鬼地方?"我们分开一会儿，我问道。我的视野四面八方都有红色的栅栏，但我知道它们可能在上面，下面，或者穿过坚硬的岩石。尽管如此，我还是示意每匹小马准备好他们的枪。
“Someplace bad,” Scotch muttered, drawing her wrench. I couldn’t disagree. There was a runny doorway, sans door, in the side of the room; behind it was a stairway leading up. Fortunately, the stairs had been dug as a tunnel rather than
"某个不好的地方,"苏格兰人喃喃自语，拔出了她的扳手。我不能不同意。房间的一侧有一扇破旧的门，没有门;门后有一条楼梯通向上面。幸运的是，这些楼梯是像隧道一样被挖掘出来的
built in a vertical chamber and were still mostly intact. At the top was a room full of fried terminals and scattered scrap. One wall of the room had what looked like large windows in it, but blast shields had lowered over them... and been melted through. Now the twisted voids looked out on the room we'd just come from. Burned out talismans and crystals were in abundance. Whatever had happened here, it hadn’t been good.
建在一个垂直的房间里，几乎完好无损。在顶部是一个房间充满了油炸终端和零星的废料。房间的一面墙看起来像是大窗户，但是防爆盾牌已经降低了，并且被融化了。现在扭曲的空隙向外看着我们刚从那个房间出来。大量烧毁的护身符和水晶。不管这里发生了什么，都不是什么好事。
There was a door in the wall opposite the windows; on the other side, two identical-looking metal corridors led off at angles. The damage here wasn't as bad; these looked more like the entry tunnel I'd squeezed into than the liquefied blast chamber. At random, we picked left.
在窗户对面的墙上有一扇门，另一边是两条看上去一模一样的金属走廊，两条走廊的角度相同。这里的损坏没有那么严重;这些看起来更像是我挤进的入口隧道，而不是液化爆炸室。我们随机选择了左边。
At the tunnel's midpoint was a melted-shut metal door that was probably the one leading to the tunnel we'd entered through, and at the tunnel's end was an intersection identical to the one we'd found outside the melted chamber. This one’s terminal-filled room was more intact, though, and had a large #5 painted against the far wall beside the observation windows. Sooty ash and burned bones lay everywhere around the observation room, but the chamber beyond the windows wasn’t burned at all. In fact, except for the glass of the windows, everything in the room on the other side, including the large gray rock in the middle, looked as if it was covered in frost!
隧道的中间是一扇融化关闭的金属门，很可能就是通往我们进入的隧道的那扇门。隧道尽头有一个十字路口，与我们在融化的密室外面发现的一模一样。不过，这间客厅里满是客人的房间更加完整，远处的观察窗旁边的墙上画着一个大大的5英镑。观察室周围到处都是煤灰和烧焦的骨头，但窗户外面的房间根本没有被烧毁。事实上，除了窗户的玻璃，房间另一边的所有东西，包括中间那块巨大的灰色岩石，看起来都像是被霜冻覆盖了一样！
“Hey, this one is still active,” P-21 said as he sat before one terminal and started to type. Then he frowned. “Okay. Definitely going to take a while.”
"嘿，这一个仍然是活跃的,"P-21说，他坐在一个终端，并开始打字。然后他皱起了眉头。"好吧。这肯定需要一段时间。"
“Do we have a while?” Scotch Tape asked as she looked at her own PipBuck.
"我们还有时间吗?"苏格兰胶带一边问一边看着自己的PipBuck。
“Let’s look for a way out while he works. Scotch, can you give him a hoof?” I asked from the intersection, peering down the other passageway. She nodded, looking grateful to be staying behind with the blue stallion. We broke into pairs and split up, Rampage and Lacunae continuing in the direction we'd been going while Glory and I started back to investigate the other corridor at the melted room intersection.
"让我们在他工作的时候找一条出路。苏格兰人，你能给他一个蹄子吗?"我从十字路口向下看着另一条通道问道。她点点头，看起来很感激和那匹蓝色的种马呆在一起。我们分成两人一组，分头行动，狂暴和空隙继续朝着我们一直走的方向前进，而晨辉和我开始返回去调查融化的房间交叉口的另一条走廊。
We found a T intersection and, after discovering going straight ahead would take us to another identical junction, turned right instead. Glory looked a bit pained as we walked, that savage bite to her wing still bleeding a little.
我们发现了一个t形交叉路口，在发现向前直行会把我们带到另一个同样的交叉路口后，我们转而向右转。我们走着的时候，晨辉看起来有点痛苦，她翅膀上那野蛮的咬痕还在流血。
“How are you holding up?” I asked softly as we trotted past storerooms filled with knocked over, twisted shelves of scrap electronics, spark batteries, and
"你还撑得住吗?"当我们小跑着穿过仓库时，我轻轻地问道，仓库里堆满了被打翻的、扭曲的架子，里面放着废旧电子产品、火花电池和电池
Wonderglue. Most of them were fire damaged, but here and there were ones that didn't look that bad. I made sure to pocket all the reasonably intact-looking ones for when we got out of here.
神奇胶水。大部分都是被火烧毁的，但有些看起来没那么糟糕。我确保把所有看起来完好无损的都装进口袋，等我们离开这里的时候用。
Glory peered down the hallway before she glanced at her injury with a worried look. “I don’t know. I’ve never hurt my wings before.”
晨辉凝视着走廊，然后用担忧的眼神看着她的伤口。"我不知道。我以前从未伤害过我的翅膀。"
“Never?” I asked in surprise. They looked delicate. Fragile, even.
"从来没有?"我惊讶地问。它们看起来很精致。甚至是脆弱的。
She gave me a crooked little grin. “I know I’m not a flier like Dusk, but trust me. Pegasus wings are tough. Once a pegasus is airborne, well… there’re stories of pegasi during the war flying full speed straight down into zebra formations. That’s why Rainbow Dash was always trying to get pegasi to sign up.” She swallowed as she looked nervously at the bite. “That dog gave me everything it had. If it’d bit my leg like that… or my throat...” She gave a nervous little shake of her head and smiled. “Lucky me, it bit the toughest part of me.”
她给了我一个狡黠的微笑。"我知道我不像黄昏那样是个飞行员，但相信我。飞马座的翅膀很结实。一旦飞马起飞，好吧......在战争期间，飞马座的故事中，飞马全速直落成斑马的队形。这就是为什么RainbowDash总是试图让派格西注册。"她紧张地看着那一口，咽了口唾沫。"那条狗把它所有的东西都给了我。如果它像那样咬我的腿......或者我的喉咙......"她紧张地摇了摇头，笑了。"我很幸运，这是我最艰难的部分。"
“Still,” I said as we continued along the metal hallway, “I’m sorry you keep getting hurt following me.”
"不过,"当我们沿着金属走廊继续走时，我说,"我很抱歉你一直受伤跟着我。"
“Don’t worry. I’m tough,” she said as she looked through a doorway and frowned. “What is that?”
"别担心。我很坚强的,"她说着穿过门口，皱起了眉头。"那是什么?"
It was another mostly-intact monitoring room, this one lit with a strange, sharp arclight glow. Side by side we moved forward, me with my slug-loaded shotgun ready while Glory hovered above with a look of sharp discomfort. The lights weren’t just sharply defined… they were moving. And what a coincidence, the red bars moved with the light. Step by step, I shuffled closer, and…
这是另一个几乎完好无损的监控室，这个房间发出奇怪的弧光。我们肩并肩地向前走着，我带着装有弹头的散弹枪做好了准备，晨辉在上空盘旋着，带着一种极度不舒服的表情。灯光不仅仅是清晰的轮廓，它们还在移动。多么巧合啊，红色的条纹随着灯光移动。我一步一步走近，然后.....。
Was that a unicorn?
那是独角兽吗？
It might have been a unicorn once, but its flesh had melted away and left only the glowing skeleton. Its tattered and burned uniform still hung on its brilliantly glowing bones; a nimbus of glaring white light was emanating from the skeletal remains. They didn’t walk so much as hover silently over the ground as the light flickered around and through them. They looked more like milky crystal than bone. The… thing looked right at me as the green glow within its sockets flared.
它也许曾经是一只独角兽，但是它的肉已经融化了，只剩下发光的骨架。它破烂的烧焦的制服仍然挂在它辉煌的发光的骨头上;一种闪耀的白光从骨骼残骸中散发出来。当光线在他们周围闪烁，穿过他们的时候，他们并没有在地面上静静地徘徊。它们看起来更像乳白色的水晶，而不是骨头。那东西直直地看着我，绿色的光芒在它的插座里闪耀着。
Oh, fuck this. I entered S.A.T.S. and blasted four rounds into its skull. Shining bone and tattered cloth exploded around it. It let out a scream so high it was
去他妈的。我进入了s.a.t.s，朝它的头骨开了四枪。光亮的骨头和破布在它周围爆炸了。它发出一声尖叫，声音如此之高
almost beyond hearing but nearly floored me in pain. The bones flickered and went dark, though, and the skeleton collapsed in a shattered heap.
几乎听不见，却几乎把我打倒在地。然而，骨头忽隐忽现，变得暗淡无光，骨架倒在地上，成了一堆碎片。
Too bad it wasn’t alone.
可惜它不是一个人。
Two more floated into view, and from the horn of the first a line of distortion wavered through the air and swept across the passage. It had absolutely no effect on the walls, my barding, or my flesh.
另外两个浮现在眼前，从第一个的角上，一条扭曲的线在空中摇摆，横扫过道。它对墙壁、我的帐篷和我的肉体都没有任何影响。
It did, however, shatter every bone in my legs as it passed through me. I fell into a screaming heap, tears running down my cheeks as I fired round after round into the floating skeletons. Glory’s emerald beam seemed far less effective than my crude but brutal shotgun slugs. I lunged to the side, feeling the broken shards digging into my flesh as another bone-shattering beam sliced vertically past me. The second one shattered in a shower of bone, and finally our combined shots transformed the third into a heap of glowing ash.
然而，当它穿过我的身体时，却把我腿上的每一根骨头都打碎了。我一轮又一轮地射向那些漂浮的骷髅，眼泪从我的脸颊上滚落下来。晨辉祖母绿色的光束似乎远不如我粗糙但残忍的霰弹枪子弹有效。我冲到一边，感觉到破碎的碎片划进了我的肉体，另一根骨头碎裂的光束垂直地从我身边掠过。第二张照片在一阵骨雨中粉碎，最后我们合成的照片把第三张照片变成了一堆发光的灰烬。
I lay on my side, feeling four crippled limbs sag against the floor. “What was that?” Glory asked as she pulled my barding aside to look at the smooth, uninjured skin and the broken bulges beneath it.
我侧着身子躺着，四肢瘫痪的我瘫倒在地板上。"那是什么?"晨辉问道，她把我的护身符拉到一边，看着我光滑的、未受伤的皮肤和下面破裂的凸起。
“I don’t care, so long as we can kill it,” I groaned as I lay back. I saw the hesitation on her face. “What is it?”
"我不在乎，只要我们能杀死它,"我一边躺着一边呻吟。我看到她脸上的犹豫。"这是什么?"
“I… Our healing potions aren’t much good down here. I don’t think…”
"我.....。.我们的治疗药水在这里不是很好。我不认为......"
“Give me a Hydra,” I replied without hesitation.
"给我一只九头蛇,"我毫不犹豫地回答。
“Blackjack, remember what Rampage said! Enervation plus Hydra equals liquid Blackjack. And there’s the taint in it to consider.”
"黑杰克，记住狂暴说的话！能量加上水螅等于液态黑杰克。这其中还有污点需要考虑。"
“Don’t go Lacunae on me and start quoting fancy math,” I replied with a shaky smile. It felt like all four of my legs were being dipped in fire. “Dead Blackjack here or dead Blackjack when we run into more of those things. You decide. If you have a Hydra, give it to me.”
"别给我添加空白，开始引用那些花哨的数学,"我带着颤抖的微笑回答道。感觉就像我的四条腿都浸在火里。"当我们遇到更多这样的东西时，不是死的黑杰克就是死的黑杰克。你来决定。如果你有九头蛇，就把它给我。"
Glory closed her eyes and fished out the syringe. The gray goop went to work at once, and I did all I could not to cry out as I felt my shattered limbs regenerate. The shards were pulled into place piece by piece and reformed. Oddly, the pain suddenly slackened to a dull ache, and I blinked as I rose to my hooves. Was it
晨辉闭上眼睛，掏出了注射器。灰色的黏糊糊的东西立刻开始工作，我竭尽全力不让自己哭出声来，因为我感觉到我破碎的四肢再生了。这些碎片被一片一片地拉进原位并进行了改造。奇怪的是，疼痛突然减轻到隐隐作痛，我站起来的时候眨了眨眼。是吗
just me, or did I actually feel… good? “Huh. It looks like that did the trick.”
只有我，还是我真的感觉...很好？"哈。看来这招奏效了。"
“It doesn’t hurt?” she asked in confusion, and I shook my head. She didn’t say anything else, but she looked troubled as I walked to one of the large observation windows. There was an odd rainbow glow shining through it.
"不疼吗?"她困惑地问道，我摇了摇头。她什么也没说，但是当我走向一个大的观察窗时，她看起来很不安。有一道奇怪的彩虹光芒穿过它。
The chamber beyond wasn’t melted at all. At the center of it was an immense diamond as large as a pony’s head and shining with a corona of light. Arranged about it in an almost a perfect ring were a dozen unicorn skeletons. Four more trotted around, moving as if checking the equipment along the periphery. I didn’t think that any of it looked functional; it was as if the bones were simply going through the motions.
那边的房间根本没有融化。在它的中心是一颗巨大的钻石，有一匹小马的头那么大，闪耀着光环。围绕着它排列成一个近乎完美的戒指的是一打独角兽的骨架。还有四个小跑着，移动着，好像在检查周围的设备。我不认为它们看起来有任何功能性，就好像这些骨头只是在做运动。
I glanced at Glory and forced a grin. “Let me guess. That’s just a really big gemstone and has nothing to do with all the spooky glowing bones, right?”
我瞥了晨辉一眼，勉强挤出一个笑容。"让我猜猜。那只是一块很大的宝石，和那些令人毛骨悚然的发光骨头没有任何关系，对吧?"
Glory shook her head. “No, I think it’s a direct cause, Blackjack.” I resisted the urge to facehoof. At her next words, I found that very easy. “I think that that’s a megaspell chamber.”
晨辉摇了摇头。"不，我认为这是直接原因，黑杰克。"我抑制住了面对面的冲动。听到她接下来的话，我觉得很容易。"我认为那是一个巨型的房间。"
“A what?” I shouted. Then I clasped my hooves over my mouth, but it looked like the bones down there still hadn’t noticed us. “That’s a megaspell?” What idiot puts megaspells under a city?
"一个什么?"我喊道。然后我用蹄子捂住嘴巴，但是下面的骨头好像还没有注意到我们。"那是一个megaspell?"哪个白痴会把megaspells放在城市下面？
Glory nodded. “I’ve seen diagrams in textbooks. The spell matrix amplifies a spell exponentially with every unicorn that’s channeling the spell. The diamond is sort of like a giant spark battery; it stores the spell until it’s triggered. Or the storage framework destabilizes; they don’t last that long--usually,” she added with a curious and worried look at the chamber below, “--which is why fully staffed bases like this had to be built.” I frowned as I looked closer at the circle; I had seen something like this before… when I was inside Stonewing getting fused with a cockatrice. Over the glare I could barely make out a magical symbol floating inside the huge diamond. “That glyph is a representation of the stored megaspell’s effect.”
晨辉点点头。"我在教科书里见过图表。法术矩阵随着每一个引导法术的独角兽成倍地放大法术。钻石有点像一个巨大的火花电池，它储存着咒语直到它被触发。或者储存框架不稳定;它们不会持续那么长时间——通常如此,"她带着好奇和担忧的眼神看着下面的房间补充说,"这就是为什么必须建造这样的人员配备齐全的基地。"我皱起了眉头，因为我看到了更近的圈子;我以前看到过类似的东西...当我在里面的石翼融合与一只鹦鹉。在耀眼的光线下，我几乎辨认不出巨大钻石里漂浮着一个神奇的符号。"这个符号代表了存储的megaspell的效果。"
“Effect? I thought that they just went ‘boom’,” I said with a little frown.
"影响？我以为他们只是'轰'了一声,"我皱着眉头说。
“Well, there were megaspells that exploded. The very first weaponized megaspells were ignition spells amplified by a million, like lighting a billion candles all at once. But there were tons of other megaspells developed that were
"嗯，有一些巨型细胞爆炸了。第一个武器化的巨细胞是点火咒语，被放大了一百万倍，就像同时点燃了十亿支蜡烛。但是还有成千上万的其他巨型细胞也在发展
a lot more insidious. Like one that was supposed to make every zebra in an entire city want a worthless rock to the point of killing each other. Or one that was supposed to transform everything in its volume of effect to water. I understand that one megaspell actually was supposed to made every zebra affected swap sides and be loyal to Princess Luna.”
更加阴险。就像那种会让整个城市的斑马都想要一块毫无价值的石头，以至于自相残杀的石头。或者一个可以把所有东西的体积转化成水的东西。我知道一个巨盾实际上应该让所有斑马换边，并忠于卢娜公主。"
I shivered at the thought. “Mass mind control… yay.”
一想到这个，我就不寒而栗。"集体精神控制...太棒了"
Glory gave a wan smile. “Better than killing them all, right?” I wasn’t exactly sure about that. Glory looked pensively at the room below for a moment. "This spell shouldn’t have stayed stable for anywhere near this long. I think that when it started to degrade… it probably animated those bones, and they've been restoring it since. It's a feedback loop."
晨辉给了一个苍白的微笑。"总比把他们都杀了好，对吧?"我不是很确定。晨辉沉思地看了下面的房间一会儿。"这个咒语不应该保持这么长时间。我认为当它开始退化的时候......它可能激活了那些骨头，从那以后他们就一直在修复它。这是一个反馈循环。"
“Wow. You know, I think I like the tunnels of Hoofington even more than Hoofington itself. We really should bring everypony down here for tours,” I said as I backed away from the window. Knowing my luck, I’d sneeze and set it off.
"哇。比起胡芬顿，我更喜欢Hoofington的隧道。我们真的应该把每匹小马都带到这里来参观,"我说着从窗口退开。我知道我的运气，我会打喷嚏然后引爆它。
“Don’t be ridiculous, Blackjack. This place is far too hazardous for…” She caught my arched brow and smile. “Ah… right. Could you please warn me when you’re going to be sarcastic?” she asked, hanging her brow and looking a little sheepish.
"别傻了，黑杰克。这个地方太危险了......"她抓住我弓起的眉毛，微笑着。"啊......对。你要讽刺我的时候，能不能提醒我一下?"她问道，皱着眉头，看起来有点不好意思。
“Of course not. That’d ruin the fun!” I said with a chuckle. Then I heard the faintest whirr. For a moment, I thought it was just a fan of some sort working, but then a sharp-eyed pink party pony poked my brain and pointed out a camera no bigger than an apple set in the corner. And as I moved towards the exit, it tracked to follow me.
"当然不是。那就没意思了!"我笑着说。然后我听到了最微弱的呼呼声。有那么一会儿，我以为它只是某种风扇在工作，但随后一只眼尖的粉红色派对小马戳了戳我的脑袋，指着角落里一台苹果大小的照相机。当我走向出口的时候，它跟着我。
Somehow, I doubted that it was Spike…
不知怎么的我怀疑那是斯派克。
* * *
* * *
Over the next half hour, we’d come across three more megaspell chambers, but these were dark and dead. Their diamond cores had transformed into lumps of ugly gray stone. We’d also come across several more unicorn remains trotting about their business. One lot’s horns fired pink disintegration bolts that nearly had me turned into a pile of pink goop. Another, to my infinite chagrin, fired powerful magical bullets at me in a near exact copy of my own signature spell! That just wasn’t fair!
在接下来的半个小时里，我们又遇到了三个巨型的房间，但是这些都是黑暗和死气沉沉的。它们的钻石核变成了丑陋的灰色石块。我们还会看到更多的独角兽遗骸在他们的生意上小跑。一个地方的角发射出粉红色的解体螺栓，差点把我变成一堆粉红色的粘稠物。另一个，让我万分懊恼的是，用一个几乎完全相同的我自己的签名咒语向我发射了强大的魔法子弹！这不公平！
And every camera we passed followed us.
我们经过的每一个摄像头都跟着我们。
There was other fun, too. Protectaponies and turrets happily opened fire the moment they could target us.
还有其他的乐趣。守卫和炮塔一旦瞄准我们就会开火。
I had to admit, getting attacked by a table was a little weird, but Glory had reduced it to emerald dust before it’d rammed into me. Neither of us could figure out how or why it had suddenly come to life.
我不得不承认，被桌子袭击是有点奇怪，但晨辉在撞上我之前已经把它变成了翡翠色的尘土。我们都不知道它是如何或为什么突然活过来的。
Finally, we came to what looked like a large control room of some kind. ‘Ministry of Arcane Sciences Hoofington Megaspell Facility’ was written over a large emblem of a unicorn in profile against a starry sky. It had the same charred look as most of this place: not melted, but definitely not what I’d call intact. A massive monitor covered one wall, the screen blackened and slightly warped but still displaying an image. A… map.
最后，我们来到了一个看起来像是某种大型控制室的地方。"奥术科学部霍芬顿梅格斯佩尔设施"在星空下一个侧面的独角兽大标志上写着。它有着和这个地方大多数地方一样的烧焦的外观:没有融化，但绝对不是我所说的完好无损。一个巨大的监视器覆盖在一面墙上，屏幕变黑了，有点变形，但仍然在显示图像。答:。.地图。
“There! Look. That’s Hoofington,” Glory said as she pointed at a little mote along a river. To the east and south were all kinds of other names but few that I recognized. The entire map was covered in transparent blotches of different colors. Most were green or pink.
"那儿！看。那是胡芬顿,"晨辉指着河边的一小片尘土说。在东部和南部有各种各样的名字，但我认识的很少。整个地图被不同颜色的透明斑点所覆盖。大多数是绿色或粉红色的。
“Who marked up the map?” I asked with a smile as my eyes looked at the names. Canterlot. Manehattan. Fillydelphia. Roam. Slowly, my smile faded and my eyes widened as comprehension dawned.
"谁在地图上做了记号?"当我的眼睛看着这些名字时，我笑着问道。Canterlot.曼哈顿。女名女子名。漫步。慢慢地，我的微笑消失了，我的眼睛随着理解的开始而睁大了。
“Megaspell targets. Balefire strikes,” Glory breathed softly.
"Megaspell的目标是。巴莱菲尔出手了,"晨辉轻轻地喘着气。
Not dozens. Not hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. They crawled over the map like a fungus, peppering more of the world than I could have ever imagined. In that map was reflected the insanity of two races unable to stop themselves from mutual annihilation. In that map were the deaths of tens of millions of ponies, zebra, and other creatures swept up in their conflict.
不是几十个。不是几百个。成千上万。成千上万。他们像真菌一样在地图上爬行，向世界各地传播着我从未想象过的信息。在那张地图中，反映了两个无法阻止自己相互毁灭的种族的疯狂。在这张地图上，数以千万计的小马、斑马和其他生物在冲突中死亡。
What have we done? The little ponies inside me couldn’t answer that.
我们做了什么？我体内的小马驹无法回答这个问题。
“Blackjack! Glory!” Rampage squealed as she charged into the room. A somber-looking Lacunae followed her at a more sedate pace. “We found the way out. It looks like it leads exactly where we’re supposed to go.”
"黑杰克！晨辉!"当她冲进房间时，狂暴的女人尖叫起来。一个脸色阴沉的空隙以一种更平静的步调跟在她后面。"我们找到了出路。看起来它正好指向我们应该去的地方。"
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Let’s get the others.”
我松了一口气。"很好。我们去找其他人吧。"
Then Lacunae said softly inside my mind, “Shouldn’t you do something about all that blood?”
然后Lacunae在我的脑海里轻声地说:"你不应该为那些血做点什么吗?"
“Blood? What…” But my words failed as I looked at my forehooves. The black material between the plates glistened wetly. Bloody hoofprints marked my passage perfectly. Fortunately, Glory was too occupied with Rampage’s tales of fighting skeletons to have noticed. I forced a grin at the purple alicorn. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not bad. Doesn’t hurt at all…”
"血？什么......"但是当我看着我的前蹄时，我的话语失败了。盘子之间的黑色物质闪闪发光。血淋淋的蹄印完美地标记了我的行程。幸运的是，晨辉太沉迷于狂暴的骷髅战士的故事了，以至于没有注意到。我强迫自己对紫色的果实咧嘴一笑。"别担心。还不错。一点都不疼......"
Not at all.
一点也不。
Together we left the control room, the cameras watching us all the while.
我们一起离开了控制室，摄像机一直在监视着我们。
* * *
* * *
Meeting back up with P-21 and Scotch Tape, I transferred what files remained on the terminal to my PipBuck so we could get out of here. We’d already spent far too long underground. As we moved back into the tunnels marked on Rover’s map, I brought up the files.
与P-21和ScotchTape会合后，我把终端上剩下的文件传到我的PipBuck上，这样我们就可以离开这里了。我们已经在地下呆得太久了。当我们回到漫游者地图上标记的隧道时，我打开了那些文件。
Hoofington Megaspell Facility Status
胡芬顿Megaspell设施状况
Matrix 1> Discharged. Target 114.5 N, 13.4 E Gallows Crossing Matrix 2> Discharged. Target 119.1 N, 17.6 E Redstone Train Spur Matrix 3> Discharged. Target 103.9 N, 19.2 E Grayridge Matrix 4> Discharged. Target 140.0 N, 17.8 E Okambo Matrix 5> Discharged. Target 112.1 N, 4.5 E Longrun
矩阵1释放。目标114.5n，13.4e绞刑交叉矩阵2发射。目标119.1n，17.6e红石列车支线矩阵3卸货。目标103.9n，19.2e灰脊矩阵4发射。目标140.0n，17.8eOkamboMatrix5。目标北纬112.1度，东经4.5度
 
 
Matrix 6> EMERGENCY ERROR! EMERGENCY ERROR!
矩阵6紧急错误！紧急错误！
EMERGENCY ERROR!
紧急错误！
Matrix 7> 5% charge remaining. Target not selected.
矩阵75%剩余电量。目标未被选中。
Matrix 8> 100% charge remaining. Target not selected.
矩阵8剩余电量100%。目标未被选中。
I sure hoped that the one Glory and I had found was the 100% one. I dropped to the next file. There was a lot more corruption, but I managed to find a few more
我当然希望我和Glory找到的那个是100%的那个。我翻到下一个文件。还有更多的腐败，但我设法找到了更多
bits of information.
比特信息。
Spell Matrix 5> Details: Refrigeration. ERROR. Data Corrupted.
拼写矩阵5详细信息:制冷。错误。数据损坏。
Spell Matrix 6> Details: Combustion. ERROR. Data Corrupted.
拼写矩阵6详细信息:燃烧。错误。数据损坏。
Spell Matrix 7> Details: Come to Life Spell. ERROR. Data Corrupted.
拼写矩阵7详细信息:复活拼写。错误。数据损坏。
Spell Matrix 8> Details: ERROR. Data Corrupted. ERROR. Data corrupted.
拼写矩阵8详情:错误。数据损坏。错误。数据损坏。
The last bit of useful information was a simple list.
最后一点有用的信息是一个简单的列表。
18.41.99> Hoofington defensive alert issued; auth. Gen Stormbreak.
18.41.99Hoofington发出防御警报。《风暴突变》(GenStormbreak)。
19.05.23> Martial Law issued for Hoofington region; auth. Gen Stormbreak.
19.05.23Hoofington颁布戒严令。《风暴突变》(GenStormbreak)。
19.15.10> Stable-Tec Emergency Broadcast issued: Hoofington region; auth.
19.15.10Stable-Tec紧急广播发布:Hoofington地区。
STec VP Scootaloo.
Stec副总裁斯库塔卢。
19.26.11> Redoubt Priority Evacuation issued; auth. ERROR.
19.26.11发出优先疏散令。错误。
19.45.32> General Emergency Evacuation issued; auth. Gen Stormbreak.
19.45.32发出一般紧急疏散令;。《风暴突变》(GenStormbreak)。
19.50.54> Megaspell Release issued; auth. Princess Luna EC-1010.
19.50.54MegaspellRelease;auth.卢娜公主EC-1010。
19.51.01> Spell Matrix 1: Discharged.
19.51.01拼写矩阵1:释放。
19.53.08> Spell Matrix 2: Discharged.
19.53.08拼写矩阵2:释放。
19.55.19> Spell Matrix 3: Discharged.
19.55.19拼写矩阵3:释放。
19.57.49> Spell Matrix 4: Discharged.
19.57.49拼写矩阵4:释放。
19.59.28> Spell Matrix 5: Discharged.
19.59.28拼写矩阵5:释放。
19.59.35> Hoofington Defense System activated; auth. Gen Stormbreak.
19.59.35HoofingtonDefenseSystemactivated;auth.《风暴突变》(GenStormbreak)。
19.59.59> Emergency shutoff override issued; auth. Gen Stormbreak
19.59.59发出紧急关闭命令。《风暴突变》(GenStormbreak)
ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR
错误错误错误
It looked like trying to raise the shield to save the city while firing off megaspells wasn’t the smartest of moves. I could barely imagine the chaos: trying to give warning, trying to fire back, trying to defend themselves from the falling bombs. And something bad had already been brought here by the zebras. Some weapon that had killed everypony in the city.
看起来试图升起防护罩来拯救这座城市，同时发射巨型炸弹并不是最明智的举动。我几乎无法想象那种混乱:试图发出警告，试图还击，试图保护自己不受落下的炸弹的伤害。斑马已经把不好的东西带到这里来了。某种杀死城里所有小马的武器。
Or Sekashi was right and an abomination from beyond the stars did it...
或者是Sekashi是对的，是一个来自星际的可憎之物干的..。
Great. Now I really loved being down here.
太好了。我真的很喜欢待在这里。
One thing was certain: the longer I was here around Hoofington, the more I wished that the balefire bombs had destroyed everything. This place had so much creepy history that it felt like the city itself was just waiting to finish killing everypony off.
有一件事是肯定的:我在Hoofington逗留的时间越长，我就越希望巴勒火焰炸弹摧毁了一切。这个地方有着如此多的令人毛骨悚然的历史，以至于这个城市本身就像是在等着杀光所有的小马。
* * *
* * *
Yes, that’s definitely what it felt like. All of us, with the exception of Lacunae, were suffering from the radiation. It wasn’t getting stronger, but it wasn’t getting weaker. Slowly and steadily, it poisoned us with every little click of my PipBuck. Lacunae had another problem: her magic was failing her, the screams wearing on her. She could barely lift the minigun and had been forced to balance it between her wings.
是的，这绝对是那种感觉。除了空隙，我们所有人都受到了辐射的伤害。它没有变得更强，但也没有变得更弱。我的PipBuck发出的每一个轻微的咔嗒声都慢慢地、稳步地毒害着我们。空隙还有另一个问题:她的魔法失效了，尖叫声折磨着她。她几乎举不起那把迷你枪，只好用两只翅膀来平衡它。
We’d finally found the subterranean factory; in reality, it felt more like a stable than anything else. There were dozens of small rooms interconnected by conveyor belts. The stillness of the place made me shiver. Rover was right, this place did feel asleep. I knew that Glory was excited by the idea of machines helping the Wasteland, but I didn’t want this factory running. I didn’t know what it made. I didn’t want to know. Every second we were down here, I felt more and more… watched.
我们终于找到了地下工厂;事实上，它比其他任何东西都更像是一个马厩。有几十个小房间通过传送带相互连接。这个地方一片寂静，使我不寒而栗。罗孚是对的，这个地方确实感觉睡着了。我知道晨辉对机器帮助荒地的想法很兴奋，但是我不想让这个工厂运转。我不知道是什么做的。我不想知道。我们在这里的每一秒钟，我都觉得自己越来越...被监视。
Then we reached another large door sealed up tight and I swallowed hard as I looked at the map. It wasn’t marked. Either Rover had forgotten, or… what did it matter. The heavy door needed power to open, regardless. Otherwise it was just a lot of wall. A wall covered with a large Robronco logo.
然后我们来到另一扇大门前，门紧紧地封住了，我看着地图艰难地咽了口唾沫。没有标记。要么是罗孚忘记了，要么......这有什么关系。不管怎样，沉重的门需要电力才能打开。否则就只剩下一堆墙了。一面墙上覆盖着一个巨大的Robronco标志。
All of us looked tired, despite the fact we hadn’t had much of a hard trip in the
我们所有人看起来都很疲惫，尽管事实上我们没有经历多少艰难的旅程
tunnels. We’d passed a few pony corpses, salvaged what we could from them, and continued on our way. The tunnels simply sapped our strength as quickly as the radiation poisoned us. Suddenly, there was a sharp pop, and Glory yelped as the reek of rotten eggs rolled across my nose. She dug out a healing potion. It wasn’t just spoiled, but looked like boiling ink inside the bottle. Quickly, we removed our remaining healing potions; every single one of them had spoiled. Some of them appeared to be turning toxic.
隧道。我们经过了几具小马的尸体，尽可能地从他们身上抢救出一些东西，然后继续赶路。这些隧道消耗我们的体力就像辐射毒害我们一样迅速。突然，一声巨响，晨辉尖叫起来，臭鸡蛋滚过我的鼻子。她找出了一种治疗药剂。它不仅仅是被破坏了，而且看起来像是瓶子里沸腾的墨水。很快，我们取出了剩下的治疗药剂，每一个都变质了。其中一些似乎变成了有毒物质。
Not good.
情况不妙。
“Let’s see if we can find a control room or a button or something that can get this door open,” I said as I rubbed my nose. The too-dry air was starting to make my nose all scratchy.
"让我们看看能不能找到一个控制室或者一个按钮或者其他什么东西来打开这扇门,"我揉着鼻子说。太干燥的空气开始使我的鼻子发痒。
We fanned out in pairs, me with Lacunae. The poor alicorn was in such distress that she finally just dropped the gun. I grunted as I lifted it and slung it across my back. Ugh, how the heck could she fight with a weapon like this? I felt panic nibbling at my spine at the slow creep of death working its way inside me. Every minute, the rad meter crept a little higher. I didn’t think we had enough RadAway to get out of here now. It was like suffocating.
我们成双成对地散开，我和拉库奈一起。可怜的阿利卡恩如此痛苦，以至于她最后把枪扔了。我抱起它，把它挂在背上，哼了一声。她怎么能用这样的武器打架呢？死亡在我体内缓慢蠕动，我感到一阵恐慌，一点一点地啃噬着我的脊椎。每过一分钟，辐射指数就会上升一点。我不认为我们有足够的雷达路，现在离开这里。简直令人窒息。
“And that’s a pretty deep hole,” I muttered as I came to a raw rock wall with a diagonal shaft descending even deeper into the earth. It looked like the factory had been expanding or… or something. Power cables plunged into the earth along a metal stair. I felt an unnerving sensation of being drawn into the hole, despite the fact that the breeze blew out from it. I heard the slow shuffle of cards in my mind. Okay, now I definitely didn’t want to go down there.
"这是一个相当深的洞,"我喃喃自语，因为我来到了一个未加工的岩石墙上，一个对角线的竖井下降到更深的地下。看起来像是工厂在扩建什么的。电缆沿着金属楼梯插入地下。我感到一种被吸进洞里的不安的感觉，尽管事实上微风从洞里吹出来。我听到脑子里慢慢的洗牌声。好吧，现在我绝对不想下去了。
“Blackjack! I think I need you!” P-21 shouted from within the factory.
"黑杰克！我想我需要你!"P-21从工厂内部喊出来。
Lacunae seemed in such a daze that I sighed and nudged her. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” I trotted along with the Dealer following me. “What are you doing here? I don’t have time for crazy. I have enough scary.”
空隙似乎是如此茫然，我叹了口气，轻轻推了她一下。"呆在这儿。我马上回来。"我和庄家一起小跑着跟着我。"你在这儿干什么？我没时间发疯。我已经够吓人的了。"
“Somepony’s looking for you,” he said softly.
"有个小马在找你,"他轻声说。
“Lots of ponies are looking for me,” I said crossly as I looked around for him. “It’s been a running theme these last three weeks. Deus. Sanguine. Now zebras. I’m sure that, any second now, the Zodiacs are going to appear too.” I was so glad that my paranoia was giving me a memo. “If you don’t mind though, I’m in
"很多小马都在找我,"我不高兴地说，同时环顾四周寻找它。"过去三周，这一主题一直在持续。上帝。血红色。现在是斑马。我敢肯定，现在的任何时候，黄道带也会出现。"我很高兴我的偏执给了我一个备忘录。"如果你不介意的话，我加入
a hurry!”
快点!"
It took me a minute to find him in some sort of control room. “I think you might be able to unlock the door.”
我花了一分钟才在某个控制室里找到他。"我想你也许能把门打开。"
“Uh, you’re the one that knows terminals, P-21. Not me,” I said warily, looking at the screen.
"嗯，你是了解终端的人，P-21。不是我,"我小心翼翼地说，看着屏幕。
>EC-1101 Authorization pending.
Ec-11101尚待授权。
“It wants EC-1101?” Did that mean that this factory had something to do with one of the projects?” Or was it something else?
"它想要EC-1101?"这是否意味着这家工厂与其中一个项目有关?"还是别的什么原因？
“I don’t know, but it looks like all the systems are shut down until it receives a signal from EC-1101,” P-21 said as he worked the controls. “That includes the doors.”
"我不知道，但看起来所有的系统都被关闭了，直到收到EC-1101的信号,"P-21一边操作控制器一边说。"包括门在内。"
“Okay. So... how can I do this?” I asked as I lifted the PipBuck.
"好吧。那么......我该怎么做呢?"我一边问，一边举起了皮伯克。
“Go to your broadcaster and see if it can contact a Robronco terminal. I’m hoping that just contacting the locked program will be enough to access the system. Otherwise, we’re just dying in here.”
"去你的广播公司，看看它是否能联系到Robronco终端。我希望只要联系上锁定的程序就能进入系统。否则，我们就会死在这里。"
I accessed my PipBuck and opened the broadcaster function. “Oh, wow… um… that’s a lot of Robronco terminals.” And Hoofington Defense terminals. Hoofington Stable-Tec networks. Then my eyes widened. O.I.A. access node?
我访问了我的PipBuck并打开了广播功能。"哦，哇...嗯...那可是很多Robronco终端啊。"还有胡芬顿国防部的终端。HoofingtonStable-Tec网络。然后我的眼睛睁大了。接入节点？
I glanced at P-21 as he typed on the terminal, trying to do whatever he needed to do to get us out of here. I selected the access node.
我瞥了一眼P-21，他在终端上打字，试图做任何他需要做的事，让我们离开这里。我选择了访问节点。
>EC-1101 Access Required. Proceed? Y/N
Ec-1101需要进入。继续？Y/n
>Y
Y
“You sure you want to do this?” the Dealer asked, the old stallion staring hard at me. I glared at him as I pressed yes once again.
"你确定要这么做吗?""商人"问道，那匹老种马死死地盯着我。我又一次按下是的键时，怒视着他。
EC-1101 suddenly flashed and gobbledygook and strange numbers scrolled past faster than I could see.
Ec-1101突然闪烁起来，令人费解的数字和奇怪的数字以我看不到的速度滚动过去。
Then my PipBuck went black. “Uhhh… P-21?” I tried to hide the rising panic in my voice.
然后我的皮伯克变黑了。"呃......P-21?"我试图用自己的声音掩饰不断加剧的恐慌。
Then the lights went out in the factory. The ventilation fans stopped running. The silence that settled became overwhelming. Then a long, deep unnatural voice crackled through the air. “YOU!” Every monitor in the control room flashed on, each one showing a staring eye. Each one looking at me as that voice crackled through countless speakers echoing throughout the factory. “EC-1101! GIVE IT TO ME!”
然后工厂里的灯熄灭了。通风扇停止运转。沉默变得无法抗拒。接着，一个长长的、低沉的、不自然的声音在空中劈啪作响。"你!"控制室里的每一台显示器都亮了起来，每一台都显示出一只瞪着的眼睛。每个人都看着我，这个声音通过无数的喇叭回响在整个工厂。"EC-1101！给我!"
“What the hell! What the hell is that!?” P-21 shouted as he staggered back. Why was the room turning… green? A green light began to replace the darkness as green electricity crackled along the walls and machinery. The engines began one after the other, but instantly began to scream and smoke. Alarms started to ring out as the monitors showing those staring eyes popped one after the other. The wires within were moving!
"怎么回事！那是什么鬼东西!"P-21一边摇摇晃晃地往回走，一边喊道。为什么房间变成了...绿色？随着绿色电流沿着墙壁和机器噼啪作响，一盏绿灯开始取代黑暗。引擎一个接一个地启动了，但是立刻开始尖叫和冒烟。当显示屏上那些瞪着眼睛的人一个接一个地跳出来时，警报器开始响起。里面的电线在动！
“Running! Running now!” I screamed as I scrambled out with P-21 and Rampage. I had no clue where we were running to. All around us, the machines were going crazy. At first I thought that they were going to start making killer robots, but then I saw that the machines weren’t making anything. They were moving. A housing burst apart as the metallic guts spilled out, rearranging themselves and creeping towards us. Green lightning flickered and danced along the writhing mechanical surfaces as they formed claws and tendrils.
"跑！现在就跑!"我尖叫着，带着P-21和狂暴爬了出来。我不知道我们要去哪里。我们周围的机器都疯了。一开始我以为他们会开始制造杀手机器人，但后来我发现这些机器什么也没做。他们在移动。当金属内脏溢出来的时候，一个外壳破裂了，重新排列，向我们爬来。绿色闪电在扭动的机械表面上闪烁跳跃，形成了爪子和卷须。
“GIVE IT TO ME!” those thousand voices screamed at once.
"把它给我!"成千上万的声音同时在尖叫。
That was a face… the machines were forming a massive pony face! It was slowly pushing out of the machinery as if the gargantuan monster was being birthed from the equipment. Green light blazed from its eyes as it opened its mouth and vomited dozens of electrical cables that crackled and snaked towards us.
那是一张脸......机器正在形成一个巨大的小马脸！它慢慢地从机器中推出，就好像这个庞然大物是从机器中诞生的。当它张开嘴巴，吐出几十条电缆时，绿光从它的眼睛里闪耀出来，电缆噼啪作响，蜿蜒地向我们驶来。
We weren’t getting out the door. The door was becoming a part of… of IT! There was a scream of metal as an entire assembly line lifted like an immense skeletal hoof towards us. I felt cables snaking around my legs. There was nowhere to run. Every part of the factory had become a part of the abomination. My friends screamed and struggled but our weapons were nothing. I didn’t think a missile launcher would help against this thing.
我们不会出门的。门正在成为......IT的一部分！随着一整条装配线像一只巨大的蹄子朝我们抬起来，金属发出了尖叫声。我感觉到电缆在我的腿上蜿蜒。无处可逃。工厂的每一部分都成了令人憎恶的一部分。我的朋友们尖叫着挣扎着，但我们的武器什么也没有。我不认为导弹发射器能对付这东西。
But something else might. I reached into my pouch and withdrew the massive pistol, cracking open the breech. The silver bullet hovered in front of me.
但是其他的东西可能会。我把手伸进口袋，取出那把硕大的手枪，打开后膛。银色子弹在我面前盘旋。
And then the abomination froze. Its green eyes widened in shock. “YOU! YOU DARE USE THAT?!”
然后这个令人憎恶的东西冻结了。它那双绿色的眼睛震惊地睁大了。"你！你竟敢用那个?!"
In reply, I slammed the bullet into Folly and clacked it closed. Instantly, the cables tightened, the lightning coursing along them burning me through my barding. “DIE!” it screamed through a thousand electrical mouths.
作为回应，我把子弹砰地一声打在弗利身上，砰的一声关上了门。刹那间，缆绳绷紧了，闪电沿着它们闪过，灼烧着我的全身。"去死吧!"它通过一千个电子嘴尖叫。
“You first,” I gasped. I glanced at my PipBuck, seeing it active once more. I levitated the pistol and activated S.A.T.S. Once more, strange arcane marks appeared on my E.F.S. as the weapon interfaced with my PipBuck. I waited impatiently in the magical stasis for the words to appear in my vision.
"你先来,"我喘着气说。我瞥了一眼我的PipBuck，发现它又活跃起来了。我把手枪悬浮起来，激活了s.a.t.s。当武器与我的PipBuck接口时，我的e.f.s上又出现了奇怪的神秘符号。我在神奇的静止中不耐烦地等待着这些词出现在我的视线中。
>PipBuck synchronization: complete.
Pipbuck同步:完成。
>Blood pattern analysis: confirmed.
血型分析:确认。
>WARNING: Biomagical pattern contamination at 25%. Please seek immediate medical attention.
警告:25%的生物医学污染。请立即就医。
>Magical field analysis: confirmed.
魔法领域分析:确认。
>WARNING: Esoteric threshold exceeded by 98.9%!
警告:深奥的阈值超过了98.9%！
Authorization confirmed. >Warning! BBP loaded. BGP armed. >Do you wish to fire? Y/N?
授权确认警告！加载BBP。边界导弹准备完毕你想开枪吗？Y/n？
I had no choice.
我别无选择。
>Firing.
解雇。
The magical field spread over all of us, holding us in place and stopping that horrible constriction. The abomination reeled back, raising its forelegs as if it was a pony trying to shield itself.
魔法力场在我们所有人身上蔓延，把我们固定在原地，阻止那可怕的束缚。令人憎恶的东西向后退去，抬起它的前腿，好像是一匹小马在试图保护自己。
The world disappeared in a roar of white light.
世界在白光的轰鸣声中消失了。
* * *
* * *
I choked and gasped, feeling half dead as I sucked in the smoky air. My whole body screamed in protest as I sat up and stared at the collapsed half of the room. Nothing remained but slightly glowing rubble. I had electrical cable wound around half my body, but I was able to carefully disentangle myself as I looked around for my friends.
我哽咽着，喘着粗气，感觉自己半死不活地吸着烟雾缭绕的空气。当我坐起来，盯着倒塌的半个房间时，我的整个身体尖叫着表示抗议。什么也没有留下，只有一些微微发光的碎石。我身体的一半被电线缠绕着，但是当我四处寻找我的朋友时，我能够小心地解开我自己。
Scotch Tape was in a bad way. She’d curled up completely, staring straight ahead with her hooves clamped over her mouth. Glory wasn’t much better, rising on her trembling and shaking hooves. Rampage was more together; at least she wasn’t shaking. P-21 simply looked right at me and asked, “What did you do?”
透明胶带坏了。她完全蜷缩起来，用蹄子夹住嘴巴，目不转睛地盯着前方。晨辉也好不到哪里去，她颤抖着站起来。狂暴的情绪更加激动，至少她没有发抖。P-21直接看着我问:"你做了什么?"
I raised my hoof defensively. “Hey, don’t blame me for summoning that… thing. I just used EC-1101 to access a terminal. I have no idea what that… thing… was…” I looked at the melted rock and tried to take a step. My legs felt like rubber. Not weak… soft. I almost didn’t want to take another step for fear that it’d bend. I was trying to keep myself together. We still had to get out of here…
我抬起我的蹄子防御。"嘿，不要怪我召唤了那个...东西。我刚刚用EC-1101访问了一个终端。我不知道那个......东西......是什么......"我看着融化的岩石，试图往前走一步。我的腿感觉像橡胶一样。不是软弱...是软弱。我几乎不想再往前走一步，因为害怕它会屈服。我努力让自己保持冷静。我们还是得离开这里。
One problem: no doors.
有一个问题:没有门。
“Lacunae?” I shouted, praying that the alicorn could stand. I had no idea how we’d get her out if she couldn’t. Fortunately, the purple alicorn stepped out of the gloom on unsteady legs.
"缺陷?"我大声喊道，祈祷阿里康能站起来。我不知道如果她不能，我们怎么把她弄出来。幸运的是，紫色的橡树果摇摇晃晃地走出了黑暗。
There was a staticy crackle inside my head that made we wince. Then she swallowed, her mouth opened, and she said in a surprisingly high and thready voice, “Impressive.”
我的脑海中有一种抑制性的噼啪声，使我们感到害怕。然后她咽了一口唾沫，张开了嘴，用一种极其细腻的声音说:"令人印象深刻。"
“Thanks. I aim to please,” I said, trying to joke through my panic. “We need to keep going. We need to get… out of here. Now.” At this point, I wished we’d tried to swim across the river. Hell, I’d have happily blasted my way through the Rangers… signed up with Big Daddy.
"谢谢。我的目的是取悦他们,"我说，试图通过我的恐慌来开玩笑。"我们需要继续前进。我们得离开这里。现在。"此时此刻，我真希望我们试着游过那条河。见鬼，我会很高兴地在游骑兵队一路打拼......和老爹签约。
Goddesses, I could feel my bones bending with each step! I drew a desperate gasp to hide my panic as I stretched down to shake Scotch Tape. She only whimpered and curled up tighter. I looked at the others, then said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Lacunae, but I can’t carry her and your gun and ammo.”
女神们，我能感觉到我的骨头每走一步都在弯曲！当我伸手去抖透明胶带的时候，我绝望地喘了一口气来掩饰我的恐慌。她只是呜咽着，蜷缩得更紧了。我看了看其他人，抱歉地说:"对不起，Lacunae，我不能带着她和你的枪还有弹药。"
“It’s only a gun,” the alicorn replied simply. I shrugged the minigun and ammo
"只是一把枪而已,"独角兽简单地回答。我耸耸肩，拿起了迷你枪和弹药
drum aside and carefully laid Scotch Tape across my shoulders. I should have left her with the Crusaders. Why had I let her come with us? I took a step, feeling the give in my bones. Another. Another.
把鼓放到一边，小心翼翼地在肩膀上贴上透明胶带。我应该把她留给十字军战士。我为什么要让她跟我们一起走？我迈出了一步，感觉到骨子里的屈服。另一个。另一个。
“Are you okay?” Glory asked me, her injured wing dangling beside her uselessly. It was a phenomenally silly question. Right now, none of us were okay.
"你还好吗?"晨辉问我，她受伤的翅膀在她身边晃来晃去，毫无用处。这是一个非常愚蠢的问题。现在，我们所有人都不好。
“You betcha,” I said with a grin. “Right as rain! Just a little wobbly-legged.” I forced myself to keep smiling. And step. Step. Step. In the only direction we could.
"当然,"我咧嘴笑着说。"完全正确！只是腿有点不稳。"我强迫自己保持微笑。踏步。第一步。第一步。我们唯一能做的就是。
Down.
下来。
* * *
* * *
Stairs were not high on my list on things I wanted to try right now. I slumped against the guardrail the whole way down. While my legs could support me, they felt as if they might buckle at any wrong step. I did all I could to not drop Scotch Tape. Glory walked with slow, pained noises as her bloody wingtip dragged beside her. P-21 was slumping against Rampage. Lacunae seemed capable only of walking. She moved like a zombie as we continued down. And down. And down.
楼梯并不是我现在最想尝试的事情。我一路跌倒在护栏上。虽然我的双腿可以支撑我，但它们感觉好像走错一步就会弯曲。我竭尽全力不让透明胶带掉下来。格洛里缓慢而痛苦地走着，她血淋淋的翼尖拖在身边。P-21打击暴怒。空隙似乎只能走路。我们继续往下走的时候，她走起路来像个僵尸。然后下来。然后下来。
And I heard the screaming.
我听到了尖叫声。
It wasn’t a scream as if from a pony’s throat. It was almost like the memory of a scream that I couldn’t get out of my head. And this wasn’t a single pony… it undulated and rose and fell and was mixed with hysterical laughter, babbling, crying, and pain. I couldn’t shut it out or shut it up. Scotch Tape whimpered on my back, shaking. She’d broken at the sight of the abomination… what was a little more grievous psychological damage?
这不是小马的喉咙发出的尖叫声。这几乎就像是我无法从脑海中抹去的一声尖叫。这不是一匹小马......它起伏着，上升着，下降着，夹杂着歇斯底里的笑声、牙牙学语、哭泣和痛苦。我不能把它拒之门外，也不能把它拒之门外。透明胶带在我背上抽泣，颤抖着。她一看到这个可恶的东西就崩溃了......还有什么比这更严重的心理伤害呢？
It’d almost be more merciful to let her die down here…
要是让她死在这儿就更好了。
I misstepped and staggered, my legs giving out beneath me as I smashed my face against the guardrail. Stars swirled in my vision as I struggled to catch myself. Fortunately, I hadn’t dropped her. I slowly took a deep breath and stood.
我失足跌跌撞撞，脸撞在护栏上，双腿在身下支离破碎。星星在我的视线中旋转，我挣扎着要抓住自己。幸运的是，我没有抛弃她。我慢慢地深吸了一口气，站了起来。
Then I proceeded to beat the everloving snot out of myself for daring to ever
然后我开始痛打那个一直爱着我的鼻涕虫，因为我敢于这么做
think that. Security saves fucking ponies. And even though I had fucked up… and fucked up… and fucked up… I would die first before I ever killed her in some fucked up gesture of mercy. I could swear I could feel Rampage’s eyes on me, and I was suddenly very glad she was a filly.
想想看。保安会救他妈的小马。即使我搞砸了......搞砸了......搞砸了......我宁愿先死，也不会以一种他妈的仁慈的姿态杀了她。我可以发誓我能感觉到狂暴的眼睛盯着我，我突然很高兴她是一匹小母马。
“Too old” or not, I wouldn’t be leaving her alone with Scotch Tape again.
不管是不是"太老了"，我都不会再让她一个人和透明胶带呆在一起了。
Why were there stars underground? In the wan light of my PipBuck, I saw countless motes of shimmering light below us. Step by step we descended, closer and closer to those lights. Not stars… these were moving.
为什么会有星星在地下？在我的PipBuck苍白的灯光下，我看到了无数微粒在我们下方闪烁。我们一步一步地下降，越来越靠近那些灯光。不是星星...它们在移动。
“What the...” I rasped, then coughed, tasting blood in my mouth as I stared at a wonder ahead of me.
"这是什么......"我尖叫着，然后咳嗽了一声，嘴里还有血味，我盯着眼前的一个奇迹。
The cavern was roughly triangular in shape, perhaps a hundred feet high and longer than I could see. Buildings of ghostly white stood silently in cracked decay. All around us swirled and drifted countless glowing motes of shimmering gold. They floated in and out of the stone at random. A flat plane of dark water reflected the countless floating lights. Knowing my luck, I’d plunge into a hole and drown. Step by step. I walked forward between the smashed and crumbling buildings.
洞穴的形状大致是三角形的，大概有一百英尺高，比我看到的要长。幽灵般的白色建筑静静地伫立在破败中。我们周围环绕着不计其数的闪闪发光的金色微粒。他们随意地在石头里进进出出。一片平坦的深色水面反射出无数的浮光。知道我的运气，我会跳进一个洞里淹死。一步一步来。我在倒塌的建筑物之间往前走。
A tiny mote drifted across my horn.
一个微小的尘埃飘过我的号角。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
The glorious white unicorn looked particularly splendid in her rubber boots and coat as she surveyed the smashed artifacts and statuary with distaste. “Terribly gauche, wouldn’t you say, Goldenblood? The marble is positively chilly. Really. What were they thinking?” she asked as she tossed her magnificent purple mane.
当她厌恶地扫视着这些摔碎的文物和雕像时，那只光彩夺目的白色独角兽穿着橡胶靴和外套，显得格外光彩照人。""非常笨拙，你说呢，金血王？大理石真冷。真的。他们在想什么?"她一边问，一边甩动着华丽的紫色鬃毛。
His chest burned horribly as he gasped for breath. “Likely… that they wouldn’t be… a quarter mile… underground…”
他喘不过气来，胸口烧得很厉害。"很可能......他们不会......在地下......四分之一英里......"
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
I nearly fell on my face as the memory flashed out again. The mote continued on its way. I coughed for breath, feeling blood dripping out my nose. “Memories… they’re memories...” I said as I looked back at my friends.
当记忆再次闪现时，我差点摔倒在地。尘埃继续往前走。我咳嗽得喘不过气来，感觉到鼻子在滴血。"回忆......它们是回忆......"我回头看着我的朋友们说。
It didn’t matter what they were now.
他们现在是什么并不重要。
Lacunae looked as empty as a doll. Rampage looked even more unstable than usual. Her cutie mark shifted so rapidly it simply looked like a smear. P-21 hobbled on three legs. And Glory…
空洞看上去空荡荡的，像个洋娃娃。狂暴看起来比平时更不稳定。她的可爱的疤痕移动得如此之快，简直就像一个污点。P-21三条腿跛行。还有晨辉..。
I stared as the skin holding the wing slowly stretched like taffy and then broke, the wing splashing softly into the water beside her.
我凝视着托着翅膀的皮肤慢慢地像太妃糖一样伸展开来，然后折断，翅膀轻轻地飞进她身边的水里。
I stared at her standing in a daze. She didn’t know. “Glory…” I rasped, blood dripping down my chin. “Your wing…”
我茫然地看着她站在那里。她不知道。"晨辉......"我刺耳地说，血顺着下巴往下滴。"你的翅膀......"
She looked at it lying there beside her. She slowly picked it up and held it in her hooves. “It fell off…” she said with a whimper, like a foal who’s favorite toy had broken. She started to shake, at first with tears… but then she threw back her head, laughing hysterically. “It fell off! It FELL the fuck off!” And with bloody tears she laughed and sobbed at the same time. “We’re going to die! We’re going to die! Please let us fucking die!”
她看着躺在她旁边的那个。她慢慢地把它捡起来，放在她的蹄子里。"它掉下来了......"她呜咽着说，就像小马驹最喜欢的玩具坏了一样。她开始发抖，一开始还流着眼泪......但是后来她把头往后仰，歇斯底里地大笑起来。"它掉下来了！他妈的掉下来了!"她流着血泪，同时又哭又笑。"我们要死了！我们要死了！求求你让我们死吧!"
I turned to face her... a light drifted across my horn.
我转过身面对着她......一道光划过我的喇叭。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“We’re safe! We’re saved! Sweet Celestia! We’re saved!” the earth pony mare I was in sobbed in relief as she hugged her children. Green fields of magic rose up in all directions around the city, and the bombs flashed against them without effect.
"我们安全了！我们得救了！亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚！我们得救了!"当她拥抱她的孩子时，我如释重负地抽泣起来。绿色的魔法场在城市的四面八方升起，炸弹对着他们毫无效果地闪烁。
Then her nose began to bleed. Her foals began to wail. Her sight dissolved in a red slurry as her body collapsed, but the scream went on and on and on…
然后她的鼻子开始流血。她的小马驹开始嚎啕大哭。随着身体的垮塌，她的视线消失在一团红色的泥浆中，但是尖叫声一直持续着。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“We… we are not going to die.” I gasped, coughing and spitting up more blood. I felt like my heart was going to stop at any moment. “Just… keep walking, Glory! There’s a way out. There’s got to be.”
"我们......我们不会死。"我喘着气，咳嗽，吐出更多的血。我觉得我的心脏随时都会停止跳动。"只要......继续走，晨辉！有一条出路。肯定有的。"
“I’m not even a pegasus now! I’m not Enclave. I’m not anything,” she wailed as she broke into bloody tears, hugging her wing to her chest.
"我现在连飞马都不是了！我不是飞地。我什么都不是,"她哭喊着，泪水夺眶而出，把翅膀紧紧地抱在胸前。
I used my magic to pull her mane down and make her look me in the eyes, not daring to try and hold her for fear that I’d drop Scotch Tape. “Listen to me. Listen to me!” I croaked as I stared into her eyes, stopping her sobs for a moment. “Wings don’t make you Glory. The Enclave doesn’t make you Glory! Not giving up… that makes you Glory! Keeping going… makes you Glory! And you have to keep going. We are going to get… out…”
我用我的魔法把她的鬃毛拉下来，让她看着我的眼睛，不敢尝试和抱着她，因为害怕我会掉下透明胶带。"听我说。听我说!"我死死地盯着她的眼睛，好一会儿不让她哭。"翅膀并不能使你获得晨辉。飞地不会让你变得光荣！不放弃......这才是你的晨辉！坚持下去......会让你变得光荣！你必须坚持下去。我们要......出去......"
P-21 just slumped, and I wondered if his leg would drop off as well. “He kissed me… he kissed me…”
P-21摔倒了，我不知道他的腿是否也会掉下来。"他吻了我...他吻了我..."
I shook and suddenly puked a torrent of blood and worse into the water at our hooves.
我颤抖着，突然吐出一股血流，更糟糕的是，我们的蹄子掉进了水里。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“All these artifacts will have to be removed at once,” the unicorn mare said regally as we walked between the broken buildings. “We don’t need any more protesters or resistance on trying to get the new zebra laws implemented.”
"所有这些文物都必须马上被清除,"独角兽母马庄严地说，当我们走在破碎的建筑物之间。"我们不需要更多的抗议者，也不需要任何阻力来推动新的斑马法的实施。"
Goldenblood walked after her, rasping and coughing. “These ruins are proof that the zebras were here first. Something happened to bury these ruins. They should be investigated, Rarity.”
金布拉德跟在她后面走着，又是刺耳又是咳嗽。"这些遗迹证明斑马是最先来到这里的。发生了什么事，埋葬了这些废墟。他们应该受到调查，稀客。"
Rarity simply sniffed disdainfully. “Oh, very well. See that these artifacts are collected, catalogued, and sent to that ghastly building they’re erecting up above. Remember, these artifacts are supposed to be tippy-top secret.”
罕见只是轻蔑地嗤之以鼻。"哦，很好。确保这些人工制品被收集，分类，然后送到他们在上面建立的那个恐怖的建筑里。记住，这些艺术品应该是最高机密。"
Goldenblood smiled thinly. “But of course…”
金色的血液淡淡地笑了笑。"当然......"
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
I drew another shaking breath as I stared at P-21, forcing myself to grin. “You’re going to… you’re going to kiss him again. And… and you’re going to show him your real cutie mark… and… and you’re going to do… do… whatever colts do. And you’re going to be happy. But you have to keep walking. You hear me. Keep. Walking.”
我凝视着P-21，强迫自己咧嘴一笑，又吸了一口气。"你要...你要再吻他一次。然后...然后你要给他看你真正可爱的标记...然后...然后你要做...做...小马做的任何事情。你会很开心的。但你必须继续走下去。你听到了吗。留着吧。走路。"
Rampage collapsed, her body shaking and muttering. The tiny motes seemed to be drawn to her, slipping in and out of her tiny striped body. With each one, her cutie mark flashed… a bird… a bike… two horns… I reached down and bit her
狂暴暴跳如雷，她的身体颤抖着，喃喃自语。小尘埃似乎被她吸引住了，在她那有条纹的小身体里进进出出。每一次，她可爱的标记闪烁...一只鸟...一辆自行车...两个角...我伸手下去咬她
mane and started to drag her further between the ruins.
然后开始把她拖到废墟之间。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“What’s going on?” a pegasus stallion demanded as he stood before a panel of equipment. “What’s happened?”
"怎么回事?"一匹飞马站在一排设备前问道。"发生什么事了?"
“Cloudsdale. Maripony. Manehattan… they’ve been… there’s been an attack, sir,” a mare in an army uniform said in shock.
"Cloudsdale.女名女子名。曼哈顿......他们......发生了一次袭击，先生,"一匹穿着军装的母马震惊地说。
“Raise the shields immediately. Seal the city! I want this city sealed!” the stallion demanded as everypony worked furiously. There was a green flicker.
"立即升起防护罩。封锁这座城市！我要封锁这座城市!"每匹小马都拼命工作，种马要求道。有一个绿色的闪烁。
“There’s not enough power for the shields! We’re only at 10% capacity!”
"护盾没有足够的能量！我们只有10%的容量!"
“Where’s the rest of the power?!” He charged to a terminal, smashing buttons furiously with his hooves. When the picture came up at a smirking green image of a pony, the pegasus roared, “Horse! You bastard! We need those shields, now!”
"剩下的电力在哪里?!"他冲向终端，用蹄子疯狂地砸按钮。当这张照片出现在一匹得意的绿色小马身上时，飞马吼道:"马！你这个混蛋！我们现在就需要那些护盾!"
Horse looked perplexed. “Why? Is something happening, sir?”
马看起来很困惑。"为什么？发生什么事了吗，先生?"
“The zebras…it’s an attack! An all out attack! We need more power.”
"斑马......这是攻击！全面进攻！我们需要更多的能源。"
“Well… the reactor’s on standby. We can increase its output at any time.”
"嗯......反应堆已经准备好了。我们可以随时提高产量。"
“Do it!”
"动手吧!"
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“Momma...” Rampage sobbed, “I want my momma… where’s Momma,” she gasped as I dragged her through the water. She suddenly stiffened and purred, “I’ll help you find your momma…” She spasmed and shook. “You have the right to remain silent…” Then she sobbed once more. “Apple Bloom…”
"妈妈......"狂暴抽泣着,"我要我的妈妈......妈妈在哪里,"我拖着她在水里喘着粗气。她突然变得僵硬起来，咕噜咕噜地说,"我会帮你找到你的妈妈......"她颤抖着说。"你有权保持沉默......"然后她又哭了起来。"苹果花......"
Step. Step. Step. We walked through those broken ruins. Step by step. Broken ruins. Broken ponies. Going on because we had to. A mote slipped through my horn.
第一步。第一步。第一步。我们走过那些破碎的废墟。一步一步来。破碎的废墟。受伤的小马。因为我们不得不这么做。一粒尘埃从我的喇叭里溜了出来。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
Rarity stood facing me, and I knew that rasp. “I know what you have, Rarity. I know where you got it. And I know what it is.” I felt my lips curl in a thin smile. “And I know what you’re doing with it in Hightower.”
稀有面对着我站着，我知道那刺耳的声音。"我知道你有什么，稀有。我知道你从哪儿弄来的。我知道那是什么。"我感到我的嘴唇微微一笑。"我知道你在海托华做什么。"
“You know nothing,” she hissed as they stood together in the garden-atrium of the Fluttershy Clinic. But there was fear in her pretty blue eyes. “Leave me alone, or I’ll destroy you.” She started to step past him, but he blocked her passage with a wheezing laugh.
"你什么都不知道,"当他们一起站在Fluttershy诊所的花园中庭时，她嘶嘶地说。但是在她漂亮的蓝眼睛里有恐惧。"离我远点，否则我会毁了你。"她开始从他身边走过，但他气喘吁吁地大笑，挡住了她的去路。
“Is it starting to talk to you? It is promising you secrets? Offering you ideas?” Goldenblood whispered in that horrible rasp. “I know it didn’t talk to Celestia. I know Celestia gave you the benefit of the doubt that you’d try and destroy it. I don’t think Luna would be so understanding.”
"它开始跟你说话了吗？它承诺给你秘密？给你出主意?"金色的血液在那可怕的锉刀声中低语。"我知道它没有和塞莱斯蒂亚说话。我知道塞莱斯蒂亚对你的怀疑是正确的，你会试图摧毁它。我不认为卢娜会这么理解。"
I didn’t think it possible for a white mare to look paler, but somehow Rarity pulled it off. “You can’t have it.”
我原以为一匹白色的母马看起来不可能更苍白，但是不知怎么的，罕有把它拉下来了。"不能给你。"
“I don’t want it. I don’t need it. I’ve got my own sources. You might have snatched it before I could retrieve it from Zebratown… but it was hardly the only one of its kind,” he said with a sure smile.
"我不想要。我不需要。我有自己的消息来源。你可能在我从Zebratown取回它之前就把它抢走了......但它绝不是唯一的一个,"他面带肯定的微笑说。
Uncertainty was etched in her face. “What… what do you want, then?”
她的脸上充满了不确定性。"那......那你想要什么?"
“Anonymity. I want you to wipe… hide… and bury every story about the O.I.A. You do that… and I will forget about just what you have.”
"匿名。我要你擦掉...藏起来...掩盖所有关于o.i.a.的报道。你这么做......我就会忘记你所拥有的一切。"
“And do you have one?” she asked in return.
"你有吗?"她反问道。
He just smiled. “Of course not. That would be treason. And we’re not treasonous ponies… are we, Rarity?”
他只是笑了笑。"当然不是。那是叛国罪。而且我们也不是叛国的小马驹......对吧，稀有?"
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
Step. Drag. Step. Drag. Step… I stared at them. My friends. I’d led them here. I was responsible. I was to blame. Call it self-centered. It was. Call me a selfish cunt. I am. I got them killed. I cost Glory her wing. I was the one responsible.
第一步。阻力。第一步。阻力。第一步......我盯着他们。我的朋友们。是我带他们来的。我有责任。都是我的错。称之为以自我为中心。是的。你可以说我是个自私的婊子。是的。我害死了他们。我让晨辉失去了她的翅膀。我才是那个该负责的人。
“Is this it?” the Dealer rasped softly in my ear.
"就是这个吗?"商人在我耳边轻轻地说。
I choked my reply, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth.
我哽咽着回答，鲜血从嘴角滴下。
“Is this when the Wasteland breaks you?”
"这就是荒原毁灭你的时刻吗?"
“I… I can’t…” I gasped, feeling lightheaded from all the blood I was losing.
"我.....。.我不能......"我喘着气，失血过多，头晕眼花。
This was it. This was when the Wasteland killed us.
就是这个。这就是荒原杀死我们的时候。
“Take two more steps,” he said softly.
"再往前走两步,"他轻声说。
“I… can’t…” I whispered. “I can’t move… I think my heart stopped…”
"我.....。.不行......"我低声说。"我动不了了......我想我的心跳停止了......"
“Your heart is too strong to quit. Now take two steps!”
"你的心太强大了，不能放弃。现在往前走两步!"
“Why…” I asked I sat in the cold water. “Why the fuck… do you care?” I asked as I shook. “You’re not real!”
"为什么......"我坐在冰冷的水里问。"你他妈关心这个干嘛?"我颤抖着问道。"你不是真的!"
The old stallion smiled at me. “Just because I’m not real doesn’t mean I don’t care. Now. Take two more steps.”
那匹老种马朝我微笑。"我不是真实的，并不意味着我不在乎。现在。再往前走两步。"
Slowly I took one step forward.
慢慢地，我向前走了一步。
Slowly… I took another…
慢慢地...我又吃了一片..。
And saw the elevator sitting right around the corner…
看到电梯就停在拐角处。
* * *
* * *
Together, we climbed onto the steel platform, one by one. Broken. Bleeding. Dying. Alive. I reached over and slapped the talisman, and then my rubbery weak legs gave out and I collapsed next to the limp Scotch Tape. The machine gave a grind. Then, slowly… and faster… and faster… we began to rise.
我们一起爬上了钢制平台，一个接一个。破碎的。流血。死亡。还活着。我伸出手，拍了一下护身符，然后我软弱无力的双腿支撑不住了，瘫倒在软绵绵的透明胶带旁。这台机器出了点毛病。然后，慢慢地......越来越快......越来越快......我们开始上升。
Footnote: Level Up.
脚注:水平上升。
New perk added: Forged in the Hoof -- You’ve sucked up more Enervation than any pony should live through. You suffer 25% less Enervation damage, and your healing items decay half as fast while in your possession.
新的额外津贴:锻造在蹄-你已经吸收了更多的能量比任何小马应该活过。你受到的耗能伤害减少了25%，而且你的治疗物品在你拥有的时候腐烂的速度减少了一半。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Huge thanks to Kkat for creating FoE, and Huge thanks to Hinds and Bronode for making this crap worth reading! And Huge thanks to readers for taking the time and leaving the feedback that keeps me writing.)
(非常感谢Kkat创建了地球之友，也非常感谢Hinds和Bronode制作了这个垃圾！非常感谢读者们抽出时间，给我留下了让我坚持写作的反馈。)