“What I meant is, you should get to know these tribes and decide which ones you like and which you don't!”
"我的意思是，你应该了解这些部落，决定你喜欢哪些部落，不喜欢哪些部落!"
She shot me. You shot me. You shot me in my face… What is it with people shooting me when my guard is down? That’s twice in two days.
她开枪打了我。你开枪打我。你朝我脸上开枪...我放松警惕的时候人们朝我开枪是怎么回事？这是两天内的第二次。
I hung above the abyss for what felt like an eternity, listening to the grinding, grating, shifting stone and tortured girders as they distorted under the stress. Nestled in a forked beam, my PipBuck kept me anchored and secured. Dust had transformed my world to gray as I hung there in that great and empty space. The entire world was empty. My eye watered from the grit, not sorrow. I was so far past sorrow that I wouldn’t have been able to see it with my rifle scope. I was just so much more debris at this point. Not even a pony. Just meat.
我悬在深渊之上，感觉像是永恒，聆听着那些在压力下扭曲变形的摩擦声、格栅声、移动的石头声和折磨人的大梁声。我的PipBuck依偎在一根叉形的横梁上，让我保持着稳定和安全。当我悬挂在那个巨大而空旷的空间里时，尘土把我的世界变成了灰色。整个世界都是空的。我的眼睛是从沙砾中流出来的，而不是悲伤。我的悲伤已经远远超过了我的步枪瞄准镜所能看到的。我只是在这一点上更多的碎片。连一匹小马都没有。只有肉。
The collapsing floors were obscured beneath me by the dust swirling in the air. Would I be forced to see her broken on the immense slabs of collapsed concrete? Impaled on the metal beams and pipes that littered the floor beneath me like shrapnel from some immense bomb? Or was she just gone completely, ground to paste in the press of rubble?
倒塌的地板在我脚下被空气中旋转的尘土掩盖了。我会被迫看着她在巨大的坍塌的混凝土板上支离破碎吗？被金属横梁和管子刺穿，就像某种巨型炸弹的碎片散落在我脚下的地板上？或者她只是完全失去了理智，被压在碎石堆里？
I felt as though Leo’s beam had shot clear through me once more, and this time I didn’t know how I was going to recover. I didn’t even want to recover… but I had to. Somehow. I didn’t have Glory to save me this time…
我觉得好像利奥的光束又一次穿透了我，这一次我不知道怎样才能恢复过来。我甚至不想恢复......但我不得不这么做。不知怎么的。这次我没有晨辉来救我了..。
I told you, I’m sick of being useless all the time. I couldn’t even help Blackjack against Blueblood. He cut me without even looking back, and I just sat there as he gutted her! I nearly got her killed! I can’t do anything.
我告诉过你，我厌倦了一直这么没用。我甚至无法帮助Blackjack对抗Blueblood。他没有回头看我，我只是坐在那里，看着他把她开膛破肚！我差点害死她！我什么都做不了。
You caught me. You caught me again and again. Innocent. Naïve. Good. The
被你发现了。你一次又一次的抓住了我。无辜的。天真。很好。这个
first truly good pony I’d ever known. Who never stopped being good. Who never stopped believing in her people or what they stood for. Even when Lighthooves betrayed her. Even when she was branded. Even when her own sister forced her to adopt that ridiculous pseudonym ‘Fallen Glo--’
我认识的第一匹真正好的小马。他从未停止做好人。她从未停止相信她的人民或他们所代表的东西。即使是在莱特霍夫斯背叛她的时候。即使她被打上了烙印。甚至在她自己的姐姐强迫她使用那个可笑的化名"堕落的格洛"时也是如此
I gasped and choked out a faint sob as I hung there. My chest burned from the dust I’d inhaled. Tears turned to mud on my cheek. Glory had never fallen. Never. I’d staggered between monsterdom and nobility with all the grace of an inebriated mule. She’d been my constant. And when I parted from her, I only wandered, looking for death. When we reunited, I had drive, purpose, and meaning. I had hope.
我倒吸了一口气，发出一声微弱的呜咽。我的胸口因为吸入的灰尘而灼烧。眼泪在我的脸颊上变成了泥巴。晨辉从未消逝。从来没有。我就像一头醉醺醺的骡子一样，在怪物和贵族之间摇摆不定。她一直是我的心肝宝贝。当我离开她的时候，我只是四处游荡，寻找死亡。当我们重聚的时候，我有了动力，目标和意义。我还抱有希望。
Don’t do that. Don’t tear yourself down like that… even if you’re joking. I’m glad I was finally able to do that with you. I don’t want to do it with anypony else.
别这样。不要那样伤害自己...即使你是在开玩笑。我很高兴终于可以和你一起做这件事了。我不想和其他人做这件事。
She’d given me her heart and her trust. Most importantly she’d given me her forgiveness when I’d screwed everything up. It had been a precious gift; one that I’d squandered. I should have told her about the disease. I should have involved her instead of just throwing my PipBuck through the door and gassing everypony… and myself. I should have told her how I hurt. What I was thinking of doing. She’d loved me completely. I’d shut her out.
她给了我她的心和信任。最重要的是，当我把一切都搞砸的时候，她原谅了我。这是一份珍贵的礼物，一份被我挥霍掉的礼物。我应该告诉她这个病的。我应该让她参与进来，而不是把我的皮伯克扔进门去，对每个小马和我自己放毒气。我应该告诉她我有多伤心。我想做的事情。她完全地爱着我。我把她拒之门外。
I’m not a smart pony.
我不是一匹聪明的小马。
“H- hey? You still alive?” came a thin shout from above. Slowly, I turned my head, looking up at the tan and brown stallion. My face was a glass mask; the slightest expression and I was sure it would shatter. He looked down at me from his perch on a narrow ledge. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you down.” Though, from the searching, uncertain look on his face, I guessed that he was reconsidering the offer.
"嘿？你还活着吗?"上面传来一声微弱的呼喊。慢慢地，我转过头，抬头看着那匹棕褐色的种马。我的脸是一个玻璃面具;最轻微的表情，我肯定它会粉碎。他站在狭窄的窗台上，低头看着我。"别担心。我会把你放下来。"虽然，从他脸上的寻找和不确定的表情来看，我猜测他正在重新考虑这个提议。
He hadn’t been worth it. If it’d bring her back, I’d toss him down to the rubble below. EC-1101 hadn’t been worth it. Saving Hoofington wasn’t worth it. Glory was a million times more precious than anything else. He must have caught my look, because he shrank back a little. It was a joke, anyway; he couldn’t help me. He didn’t have a gun.
他不值得你这么做。如果这能让她起死回生，我会把他扔到下面的碎石堆里。Ec-1101不值得。救胡芬顿不值得。光荣比其他任何东西都要珍贵一百万倍。他一定是注意到我的表情了，因为他往后退了一点。不管怎样，这只是个玩笑，他帮不了我。他没有枪。
You were gone, and I was… I had nothing left, Blackjack. No family. No home!
你走了我...我一无所有Blackjack。没有家人。没有家！
No Blackjack! Nothing! Do you understand? Nothing!
不玩黑杰克！没什么！你明白吗？没什么！
Yeah, Glory. I understand. I understand perfectly now. I dangled over the abyss now in complete silence and knew that the Wasteland had finally made everything square.
是的，晨辉。我明白。我现在完全明白了。我现在完全沉默地悬在深渊之上，知道荒原终于把一切都变成了方形。
Then I heard the sound of beating wings and I looked down. My weeping, bloodshot eye widened as my breath halted altogether. Had a miracle happened? Had she… somehow… some way…
然后我听到了拍打翅膀的声音，我低下头。当我的呼吸完全停止时，我那充满血丝的哭泣的眼睛睁大了。奇迹发生了吗？如果她...以某种方式..。
Then I saw the black power armor rise up from the swirling dust below. Like a demon from some hellish otherworld it lifted slowly till it hovered effortlessly before me. Then the helmet retracted, and the crimson features of Lighthooves looked upon me with an expression of faint satisfaction. I looked back. I didn’t feel rage, or hate… I felt relief. It wasn’t suicide if an enemy killed me.
然后我看到黑暗力量盔甲从下面旋转的尘土中升起。就像一个来自地狱般另一个世界的恶魔，它缓慢地升起，直到毫不费力地在我面前盘旋。然后头盔缩了回去，光剑深红色的五官带着微微满意的表情看着我。我回头看了看。我没有感到愤怒，或者憎恨......我感到解脱了。如果敌人杀了我，那不是自杀。
“Hey,” I said weakly as I hung like a doll before him.
"嘿,"我虚弱地说，像个洋娃娃一样挂在他面前。
“You truly are remarkable,” he said softly. I didn’t want his praise. I wanted four blasts from his Novasurge rifles. “Only you, out of all the ponies in the Wasteland, would drop a building on your enemies.”
"你真了不起,"他温柔地说。我不想要他的赞美。我想要他的Novasurge步枪发出四声爆炸声。"只有你，在荒原上所有的小马中，才会在你的敌人身上丢下一座建筑物。"
I didn’t bother to correct him. “I didn’t have a boat,” I rasped softly, coughing from the crud in my throat. Let him ponder what that meant. “So… gonna shoot me? Sting me? Give me a flying lesson?”
我懒得纠正他。"我没有船,"我用喉咙里的脏东西轻轻地咳嗽着。让他思考一下这意味着什么。"那么......要开枪打我吗？蜇我？给我上一堂飞行课?"
“Oh, I would sooner destroy a rainbow window than an artist like yourself,” he replied. “However, since I can’t have you doing something stupid either...” And the stinger tail slipped out and jabbed me in my rump. A lethargy began to overtake me. “Please understand, I hold you in the highest respect.”
"哦，我宁愿毁掉一扇彩虹的窗户，也不愿毁掉像你这样的艺术家,"他回答。"不过，既然我也不能让你做傻事......"刺尾巴溜了出来，戳了我的屁股一下。我开始昏昏欲睡了。"请理解，我对你怀有最高的敬意。"
“I am so going to kill you,” I breathed quietly, almost in a loving whisper. “The second I get my magic back, I’m going to take your wings like you took Glory’s cutie mark. You’d best kill me now, Lighthooves.” I felt myself slipping away into unconsciousness.
"我一定要杀了你,"我轻轻地喘着气，几乎是用充满爱意的耳语。"一旦我找回了我的魔法，我就会夺走你的翅膀，就像你夺走晨辉的可爱标记一样。你们最好现在就杀了我，轻舟。"我感到自己渐渐失去了知觉。
“That would be the most prudent course of action, I agree. However, it’s not part of the deal.” I only hoped that I’d never wake. But of course, I would...
"我同意，这将是最谨慎的做法。然而，这不是交易的一部分。"我只希望我永远不会醒来。但是当然我会..。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
Everything’s big when you’re little, and trying on Mom’s things was a way to
当你还小的时候，所有的东西都是大的，试穿妈妈的东西是一种
prove that I was getting bigger. That someday I’d be all grown up and ready to take on my job as a security mare. I was going to be a pony who saved ponies! So I trotted out of Mom’s room wearing her security barding and a helmet so big that it rattled around my horn like my teacher’s bell. It was all I could do to not trip and f-- whoopsie. One misstep sent me sprawled out in a tangled mess of blue. I blushed furiously as I pushed back the face mask enough to see if Momma had noticed.
证明我变大了。总有一天，我会长大成人，准备好承担我作为一个安全母马的工作。我将成为一匹拯救小马的小马！于是，我小跑出了妈妈的房间，戴着她的安全护栏，头盔大到像老师的铃铛一样在我的喇叭周围嘎嘎作响。我所能做的就是不要绊倒，不要发出呜呜声。一个失误让我四肢伸展地躺在一团乱糟糟的蓝色中。我把面罩往后一推，看妈妈是否注意到了，脸涨得通红。
But Momma was crying. I’d never seen Momma cry before. It wasn’t a thing mommas did. Most grownup ponies never cried because they were grown up and it was silly for a grown pony to cry. “Momma…?” She must have been crying because of what I did. I wasn’t supposed to touch Momma’s work things. Especially not her shiny gun. “I’m sorry, Momma. I didn’t mean to.”
但是妈妈在哭。我以前从没见过妈妈哭。这不是妈妈会做的事情。大多数成年小马从不哭泣，因为它们已经长大了，一匹成年小马哭泣是愚蠢的。"妈妈...?"她一定是因为我的所作所为而哭泣。我不应该碰妈妈的工作用品。尤其是她那把闪闪发光的枪。"对不起，妈妈。我不是故意的。"
She sniffed and looked at me with a small smile, even though she was still crying. “Oh! Oh, Fishy. I’m sorry. No, sweetie, you didn’t do anything wrong.” She spread her lavender forelegs wide and pulled me into a hug. Now she was laughing and crying at the same time, but apparently I wasn’t in trouble. My shame transformed into confusion as she kissed my horn and wept in my mane. “You know Momma’s friend Steam? Well, there was an accident.”
她抽了抽鼻子，带着微笑看着我，尽管她还在哭。"哦！哦，小鱼。对不起。不，亲爱的，你没做错什么。"她把淡紫色的前腿张开，把我抱在怀里。现在她一边哭一边笑，但显然我没有遇到麻烦。当她亲吻我的号角，在我的鬃毛中哭泣时，我的羞愧变成了困惑。"你认识妈妈的朋友斯蒂姆吗？嗯，发生了意外。"
Ooooh, accidents were bad. I knew this because I caused so many of them myself. Steam was always a funny mare who brought me highly illegal and very fun toys made from maintenance supplies. Steam also brought toys she took into Momma’s room when she and Momma made all the oohs and ahhs and ‘yes’ noises doing stuff I wasn’t supposed to know about till I was in filly school.
哦，意外真糟糕。我知道这一点，因为我自己造成了很多这样的事情。蒸汽总是一个有趣的母马谁带给我高度非法和非常有趣的玩具，从维修用品。蒸汽还把玩具带进妈妈的房间，妈妈和妈妈一起发出所有的啧啧声和是的声音，做一些我直到上了母马学校才知道的事情。
“Well, Steam was hurt very badly,” Momma said as she nuzzled my ear.
"嗯，蒸汽伤得很严重,"妈妈说，她用鼻子蹭我的耳朵。
“The medical ponies will make her all better, Momma!” I said, trying to explain the obvious. The medical ponies made everything better, even me when I’d stepped in a radroach trap poking around maintenance where I didn’t belong. But when I said that, she shuddered and held me even tighter. “They can make anything better, Momma.”
"医用小马会让她好起来的，妈妈!"我说，试图解释这些显而易见的事情。医用小马让一切都变得更好了，甚至当我踏进一个栅栏陷阱，在我不属于的地方到处戳来戳去的时候也是如此。但是当我这么说的时候，她颤抖着把我抱得更紧了。"他们什么都能做得更好，妈妈。"
“Not this, sweetheart.” Momma swallowed hard. “She’s dead.”
"不是这个，亲爱的。"妈妈使劲咽了口唾沫。"她死了。"
Dead? Dead. Dead! Dead dead dead dead. Deaded? Deads? It sounded like a stupid word. “What’s that mean?”
死了？死了。死了！死了死了死了。死了？死亡？这听起来像是个愚蠢的词。"那是什么意思?"
“It means that she’s not alive anymore. She’s gone, and we’ll never see her again,” Momma said quietly as she hugged me tightly, looking with her sad pink eyes as she nuzzled me. Now I was starting to cry too. Gone? Gone where? And why? This was stupid! Steam made Momma and me happy! It wasn’t fair that she was gone!
"这意味着她已经死了。她走了，我们再也见不到她了,"妈妈轻声说着，紧紧地拥抱了我，用她那悲伤的粉红色眼睛用鼻子爱抚着我。现在我也开始哭了。走了？去哪儿了？为什么？这太愚蠢了！蒸汽使妈妈和我快乐！她走了，这不公平！
“Well, just… go and bring her back!” There. ‘Nuff said. Momma could do it.
"那么，就......去把她带回来吧!"好了。""没什么。妈妈都能做到。
Momma could do anything.
妈妈可以做任何事。
Except this. “I can’t, Fishy. Nopony can. She’s gone into the everafter to be with the Princesses. So I’ll see her again, someday.” She sniffed. “Until then, I’ll try to be the best pony I can be. So that when we meet again, she’ll be proud of me.” That didn’t make any sense, though. If she was gone forever, how could Momma see her again?
除了这个。"我不能，小鱼儿。没有小马可以。她去世外桃源和公主们在一起了。总有一天我会再见到她的。"她吸了一口气。"在那之前，我会尽力做最好的小马。所以当我们再次见面时，她会为我感到骄傲。"然而，这没有任何意义。如果她永远离开了，妈妈怎么能再见到她呢？
“How, Momma?” I asked in confusion, blinking up at her. She stroked my mane gently as she hesitated, then smiled.
"怎么样，妈妈?"我困惑地问道，冲她眨了眨眼睛。她犹豫的时候温柔地抚摸着我的鬃毛，然后微笑着。
“Everypony dies someday, Fishy.” I held her and heard her heart beating. And then I had the thought. That horrible thought that every foal has sooner or later.
"每匹小马总有一天会死的，小鱼。"我抱着她，听到她的心跳。然后我有了这个想法。每只小马驹迟早都会有这种可怕的想法。
“Even you, Momma?”
"你也是吗，妈妈?"
“Even me, Fishy.” She said it so gently that somehow it hurt even more. Like a dress rehearsal for when the day came. “But as long as we remember how they loved us, they’re never really gone. Okay, Fishy?”
"我也是，小鱼儿。"她说得那么温柔，不知怎么的，伤得更重了。就像是那一天到来时的彩排。"但只要我们记得他们是多么爱我们，他们就永远不会真正离开。好吗，小鱼?"
“Yes, Momma, I’ll remember,” I’d promised. I’d forgotten a week later, till now.
"是的，妈妈，我会记住的,"我答应过。一个星期后我忘记了，直到现在。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
I came to lying on my side on a mattress draped on some ugly, rusty, wrought iron bed frame. When Momma had died, I hadn’t really wept. So much had happened that I’d just been swept up. I’d always known she’d die someday, and as I’d gotten older we’d grown apart. I was the disappointing daughter, she the stern, authoritative mother. Why had we fallen into such stupid roles? What would Momma think of me now? Would she accept that I had no other choice in 99? That to save the stable, I had to destroy the stable? Would I even get to the everafter? I certainly didn’t deserve it.
我侧着身子躺在床垫上，上面盖着一个丑陋的、锈迹斑斑的锻铁床架。妈妈去世的时候，我还没有真正哭过。发生了这么多事情，我只是被卷入其中。我一直知道她总有一天会死去，随着年龄的增长，我们渐行渐远。我是令人失望的女儿，她是严厉的，权威的母亲。为什么我们会陷入如此愚蠢的角色？妈妈现在会怎么想我？她会接受我在99年别无选择吗？为了拯救马厩，我不得不毁掉马厩？我还能回到永恒吗？我当然不配。
And now, I still couldn’t weep for Glory. What would she think of me now, lying here and wallowing in… whatever ponies wallowed in?
而现在，我仍然无法为荣誉而哭泣。她现在会怎么想我，躺在这里，沉溺在......任何小马在沉溺？
I was stripped of barding, braces, weapons, of course; everything except my eyepatch. I was filthy everywhere that hadn’t been covered by my barding. Somepony had fixed up my right foreleg; the joints ached, but nothing too terrible. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going anywhere. There was nowhere to go. No reason. I honestly didn’t even want to kill Lighthooves anymore; it’d be a bonus, but it no longer mattered. I closed my eye, feeling the bandages that’d been wrapped around my injuries. Somepony had patched me up while I was out. The place they’d brought me was just another filthy room somewhere in the Wasteland. It didn’t matter where. No place mattered if she wasn’t there.
我被剥去了护具，背带，武器，当然，除了我的眼罩。我身上到处都是脏东西，没有被我的帐篷盖住。一匹小马把我的右前腿修好了，关节疼痛，但没什么可怕的。没关系。我哪儿也不去。无处可去。没什么。老实说，我甚至不想再杀光剑了;这是一个奖励，但它已经不再重要了。我闭上眼睛，感受着包裹在伤口周围的绷带。我出去的时候有个小伙子给我包扎了一下。他们带我来的地方只是荒原上的另一个肮脏的房间。在哪里不重要。如果她不在那里，什么地方都不重要。
Still alive without her. I supposed Lighthooves was going to question me, maybe torture me, maybe kill me… it didn’t matter. Without Glory, a massive hole had been ripped clean through me; I no longer cared about what they planned to do to me. I missed her so much that my brain tormented me with memory after memory of her...
没有她我还活着。我猜测lightthoves会审问我，也许折磨我，也许杀了我......这都不重要。没有了晨辉，一个巨大的洞被撕开，穿过我的身体;我不再关心他们计划对我做什么。我是如此的想念她，以至于我的大脑一直用对她的记忆折磨着我.....。
I could still smell her sweet, clean scent. Even in the Wasteland, she smelled clean. I could feel the gentle tickle of her feathers on my legs. Her legs hooked around mine. Her nose nuzzling my mane…
我仍然可以闻到她甜美，干净的香味。即使在荒原，她闻起来也很干净。我能感觉到她的羽毛在我腿上轻轻地发痒。她的双腿缠绕在我的腿上。她的鼻子用鼻子蹭我的头发..。
Wait…
等等。
I carefully lifted a hoof and felt the leg curled around my side. I looked at the cloud-gray feathers resting gently along my flank and lower leg. I felt the warmth of breath on my neck, and for the longest time I could hardly breathe. Slowly, I summoned the courage to turn my head and look over my shoulder.
我小心翼翼地抬起一只蹄子，感觉到它的腿蜷缩在我身体的一侧。我看着那些云灰色的羽毛，轻轻地垂在我的侧腹和小腿上。我感觉到脖子上呼吸的温暖，有很长一段时间我几乎不能呼吸。慢慢地，我鼓起勇气转过头，回头看了看。
Glory. Sleeping. Breathing. Warm and soft and wonderful. This was a dream. I was still unconscious. Or crazy… or dead… I slowly turned, and my motion made her stir. I held her in my rubbery hooves and pressed the side of my head to her chest. Her heart beat slow and steady and sure. The greatest sound in the world.
晨辉。睡觉。呼吸。温暖，柔软，美妙。这是一个梦。我仍然处于昏迷状态。或者疯了......或者死了......我慢慢地转过身，我的动作让她动了起来。我用橡胶似的蹄子把她抱起来，把头的一侧压在她的胸口上。她的心跳缓慢而稳定。世界上最美妙的声音。
Her purple eyes opened slowly, meeting mine. She stroked her hoof through my mane. I saw her lips curl into that gentle smile, and then she murmured softly, “Hey.”
她紫色的眼睛慢慢睁开，与我相遇。她用马蹄轻拍我的鬃毛。我看到她的嘴唇卷曲成那种温柔的微笑，然后她轻轻地喃喃地说:"嘿。"
Everything broke in a great tearing sob as I clenched my eye shut and pressed my face to her chest. If this was a dream, I’d never wake. If I were crazy, then I never wanted sanity. If this was the everafter, then it was more than I ever deserved. I couldn’t talk or breathe or think. All I could do was feel and cry and cough and make a complete mess of myself. Finally, I wiped my snotty nose with a hoof and squeaked out my own “Hey.”
当我紧闭双眼，把脸紧贴在她的胸前时，一切都在撕心裂肺的抽泣中爆发了。如果这是一场梦，我永远不会醒来。如果我疯了，那么我永远不想要理智。如果这就是永远，那么这就是我应得的。我不能说话，不能呼吸，不能思考。我所能做的就是感觉，哭泣，咳嗽，把自己弄得一团糟。最后，我用蹄子擦了擦鼻涕，自言自语道:"嘿。"
And then there were two crying, laughing, hugging ponies instead of one.
然后是两只哭着、笑着、拥抱着的小马，而不是一只。
* * *
* * *
It was a while before my brain reset enough to be able to handle things. I was pretty sure I’d feel some significant emotional bruising from the mood whiplash I’d just suffered. My brain was coming up with half-baked plots of putting her in power armor, with one of those force shield thingies, one of Rampage’s regeneration talismans, and the HMS Celestia to keep her safe. Maybe there was a ‘protection’ megaspell? Nah. We could just banish the two of us to the moon and be safe forever and ever. Lacunae could teleport to the moon, right?
过了一段时间，我的大脑才恢复到能够处理事情的状态。我很确定我会因为刚才的情绪波动而感到一些严重的情绪挫伤。我的大脑想出了一个半生不熟的计划，让她穿上力量护甲，用一个力量护盾之类的东西，一个狂暴的再生护身符，还有皇家舰队Celestia来保护她的安全。也许有一个'保护'megaspell？不。我们可以把我们两个放逐到月球上，永远安全。空隙可以传送到月球，对吗？
I wasn’t sure if we were still in Flash Industries or not. Actually, make that ‘not’. From the rotten maps on the walls marked with rain clouds and smiling suns, I gathered we must be in a weather station. I glanced at my PipBuck navigation: ‘Weather Monitoring Station #1’. It made sense; weather stations had been used by pegasi before and had all kinds of transmitters. Since I didn’t have my braces or my gear, there wasn’t much for me to do but wait. He hadn’t even left me with a spoon. That didn’t let me do much besides cuddle next to Glory and try not to think about our immediate peril.
我不确定我们是否还在闪电工业。实际上，应该是'不'。墙上的烂地图上写着雨云和灿烂的太阳，我猜我们一定是在气象站。我扫了一眼我的PipBuck导航栏:'天气监测站#1'。这是有道理的，因为气象站以前被派格西使用过，而且有各种各样的发射器。因为我没有带牙套和装备，除了等待，我没有什么可以做的。他连勺子都没给我留下。除了拥抱晨辉和试着不去想我们眼前的危险之外，我什么也做不了。
That was incredibly easy. Glory was alive! I was dancing with my mental ponies in glee. Even the Dealer had seen fit to grant us some privacy for a bit.
这简直太容易了。晨辉还活着！我兴高采烈地和我的小马跳舞。甚至连商人也觉得应该给我们一些私人空间。
“So… Lighthooves saved you?” I finally asked, once I’d calmed down enough to be able to ask questions rationally. We were prisoners in some grimy building, captives of one of my friend’s greatest enemies and looking forward to an unknown and ugly fate. I still didn’t care. I could have blasted a hole in the wall with my happy feelings alone.
"这么说......是光剑救了你?"一旦我冷静下来，能够理性地提出问题，我终于开口了。我们被囚禁在肮脏的建筑里，被我朋友最大的敌人之一俘虏，期待着一个未知而丑陋的命运。我还是不在乎。我本可以只用我的幸福感在墙上炸一个洞。
“Northstar, actually, one of the pegasi with him. She caught me when I… I fell.” For a pegasus, falling to your death had to be high on the list of ways not to die. She stroked her hoof along my dirty striped mane. I needed a shower… and
"实际上是北极星，他身边的飞马座中的一个。她抓住了我当我..。.我摔倒了。"对于一个飞马来说，坠落致死应该是最重要的避免死亡的方法。她用蹄子轻抚着我肮脏的条纹鬃毛。我需要洗个澡
probably help washing, given my bendy legs. I knew just who to ask. “Lighthooves decided not to kill me, though,” she said, adding after a moment’s hesitation, “And I made a deal with him to stop him from killing you.”
可能是帮我洗衣服，因为我的腿弯曲。我知道该问谁。"不过，莱特霍夫斯决定不杀我,"她犹豫了片刻后说,"我和他达成了协议，不让他杀你。"
“What kind of deal?” I asked with a little frown.
"什么样的交易?"我皱着眉头问道。
“Targeting talismans for your life. The deal was that he save you, patch you up, and let us go, and I’d tell Northstar where to find more targeting talismans in the Wasteland once we were free.” Glory bit her lip as she dropped her gaze. “It was all I could think of.”
"以护身符为你的生命目标。交易是他救你，给你包扎伤口，然后放我们走，我会告诉北极星，一旦我们获得自由，在荒原上哪里可以找到更多的目标护身符。"晨辉在她垂下目光时咬住了嘴唇。"这是我所能想到的一切。"
“It’s fine…” And, honestly, at that moment, I couldn’t care less. I was sure that, eventually, I’d find out what he wanted them for and be all angry about it, but right now I’d have giftwrapped the talismans for him.
"没关系......"说实话，在那一刻，我一点也不在乎。我确信，最终，我会发现他要这些东西的目的，并且对此非常生气，但是现在，我会把这些护身符送给他。
“He’s also going to check your PipBuck for any files or recordings you’ve made of him,” she added as she sat up. “Do you think he’ll honor his part?”
"他还会检查你的PipBuck，看看你有没有给他做过任何文件或录音,"她坐直身子补充道。"你认为他会履行自己的职责吗?"
“I certainly hope so,” the crimson pegasus said from the door. In his black Thunderhead uniform, he certainly cut quite the sinister figure. “I’ve come to the decision that, when it comes to Blackjack, one must proceed with care.”
"我当然希望如此,"深红色的飞马在门口说。他穿着黑色的霹雳头制服，显然是个十足的凶神恶煞。"我已经决定，在玩黑杰克的时候，玩家必须小心行事。"
“You’re a murdering bastard and a monster,” I pointed out, scowling at him as I shifted myself into something like an upright position on the bed. For once, though, I didn’t wonder if I could take his head off now.
"你是一个杀人不眨眼的混蛋，一个怪物,"我指着他，怒视着他，同时把自己调整到床上一个类似直立的姿势。不过，这一次，我并不想知道现在是否可以把他的头砍下来。
“And you fed my subordinate to a raider,” he replied smoothly, making Glory blink in surprise.
"你把我的下属喂给了一架突袭机,"他平静地回答，令晨辉吃惊地眨了眨眼。
I gave a sheepish little smile. "Ah… I'd just discovered their 'laboratory'. I got a bit carried away." Glory looked as if she both wanted to hear more and would rather we never speak of it again.
我不好意思地微微一笑。"啊......我刚刚发现了他们的'实验室'。我有点忘乎所以了。"晨辉看上去好像既想听更多的话，又不想让我们再提起这件事。
“You tend to do that," Lighthooves said dryly. "In any case, let’s not quibble over each other’s degrees of monsterdom. Please believe me when I say that everything I’ve done has been to preserve my home and my people,” he said calmly. I really didn’t want to hear it. Give me my braces and gear. I had a shower for two to arrange. By the Goddesses, I would build a shower for two just for us if I had to. Just watch me.
"你往往会这么做,"莱特霍夫斯冷淡地说。"无论如何，我们不要对彼此的怪异程度吹毛求疵。请相信我，我所做的一切都是为了保护我的家园和我的人民,"他平静地说。我真的不想听。把我的背带和装备给我。我准备了两个人的淋浴。如果有必要的话，我愿意为我们两个人建一个淋浴间。看着我。
“Yeah, I’ve heard it before. You’re trying to protect the Enclave from the surface,” I said with a dismissive wobble of my hoof.
"是的，我以前听说过。你是在试图保护昂科雷不露出水面,"我轻蔑地摇晃着蹄子说。
“No,” he replied evenly. “I’m trying to protect Thunderhead from the Enclave.”
"不,"他平静地回答。"我在努力保护雷头不受飞地的侵害。"
Huh? My confusion must have been particularly evident, and I was glad I wasn’t the only one. Glory was frowning, looking just as baffled as I. He sighed, shaking his head. “I expected Blackjack to be ignorant of our politics, but you should know better, Morning Glory. May I rant a little? I think that, since you’ve seen fit to give me the role of a villain, I’m entitled to give a little explanation?”
什么？我的困惑一定特别明显，我很高兴我不是唯一的一个。晨辉皱着眉头，看起来和我一样困惑。他叹了口气，摇了摇头。"我以为Blackjack会对我们的政治一无所知，但你应该更清楚，牵牛花。我可以抱怨一下吗？我认为，既然你认为给我一个反派角色是合适的，我有权给出一个小小的解释吗?"
I looked at her, and she shrugged in return. Finally, I sighed, snuggled up against her, and spoke. “All right. I could use a good story.”
我看着她，她耸了耸肩作为回应。最后，我叹了口气，依偎着她，说道。"好吧。我需要一个好故事。"
He chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll find it quite dull. Once upon a time there was a great war, and over time the stresses of it pushed the pegasus people away from unicorns and earth ponies. When the bombs fell, the Equestrian Skyguard made the decision to fall back and close the skies. We’d already lost Cloudsdale. With the air full of radioactive dust, we did what we could to save ourselves. And yes, I acknowledge that, in doing so, we abandoned countless ponies, as well as our own Ministry Mare.
他咯咯地笑了。"我相信你会觉得很无聊的。从前有一场伟大的战争，随着时间的推移，压力迫使飞马人远离独角兽和地球小马。当炸弹落下时，马术空中警卫队决定撤退并关闭天空。我们已经失去了克劳斯代尔。由于空气中充满了放射性尘埃，我们尽了最大的努力来拯救自己。是的，我承认，这样做，我们抛弃了无数的小马，还有我们自己的母马部。
“For a time, there was great uncertainty as to what should be done. Food stores were running low. Fear was at an all-time high. Exploration teams that went to the surface reported only death and destruction. Everything was at a tipping point… and then the eclipse happened.”
"有一段时间，人们对应该采取什么措施存在很大的不确定性。食物储备越来越少。恐惧达到了空前的高度。到达地面的探险队只报告了死亡和破坏情况。一切都处于临界点......然后日食发生了。"
“E-what?” I asked with a little frown. The look of fear on Glory’s face made my mane prickle.
"e什么?"我皱着眉头问道。晨辉脸上恐惧的表情使我的鬃毛刺痛。
Glory bit her lip. “It was an event… ten… twenty years after the bombs fell. The sun and the moon… they were in the sky together. And then… then they came together.” I gawked at her in shock. They couldn’t come together. How could they ever come together?! “Pegasi thought that it was some final zebra superweapon. That the moon would burn up, the sun would go out, and the world would end. But apparently, it was only temporary. The moon had moved between the sun and Equestria… but the chaos was terrible.”
晨辉咬住了她的嘴唇。"那是一件大事......炸弹落下十年......二十年后。太阳和月亮...他们一起在天空中。然后...然后他们走到了一起。"我吃惊地呆呆地看着她。他们不能走到一起。他们怎么会走到一起?！"飞马座认为它是斑马系最后的超级武器。月亮将会燃烧，太阳将会熄灭，世界将会毁灭。但显然，这只是暂时的。月亮在太阳和小马国之间移动......但是混乱是可怕的。"
Lighthooves nodded grimly. “In the end, it was the military that restored order. Martial law was declared. Neighvarro and Thunderhead dispatched troops to
莱特霍夫斯冷冷地点了点头。"最终，是军方恢复了秩序。宣布了戒严令。邻居和雷霆骑士派遣部队前往
quell the rioting. And when it was over, the military formed into a unified force that’s persisted to today. The Enclave. The Grand Pegasus Enclave,” he said with a mirthless smile, “and its lie of democracy.”
平息暴乱。战争结束后，军队形成了一支统一的力量，一直延续到今天。昂科雷。"大帕伽索斯飞地,"他苦笑着说,"还有它的民主谎言。"
Glory immediately huffed, rolling her eyes. “Not this garbage again. You sound like some conspiracy theorist. The Enclave’s charter states that its leaders are chosen through civilian elections. There’s no way we’d tolerate its rules and laws otherwise.” Glory sounded disdainful, but I couldn’t help but think that Lighthooves was the kind of guy who’d be in such a conspiracy.
晨辉立刻怒气冲冲，翻着白眼。"不会又是这种垃圾吧。你听起来像个阴谋论者。昂科雷的宪章规定，其领导人是通过平民选举产生的。否则，我们不可能容忍它的规则和法律。"晨辉听起来很轻蔑，但我忍不住认为，莱特霍夫斯就是那种会参与这种阴谋的人。
“Democracy is a tool used by the strong few to convince the weak many that they are strong. But every serious political candidate in the Enclave has ties with the military. Every political decision takes the military’s needs first and foremost. Every political challenger to the military drops out or gets arrested, discredited, or converted. And every twenty or thirty years, the Enclave faces a threat that only the military can resolve.” He chuckled as he looked right at me. “The last was the attack by the dragon Fiendfire against Shadowbolt Tower. What a coincidence that the Enclave had Raptors nearby conducting training drills and that your father’s team was prepared to repel the beast.”
"民主是少数强者用来说服多数弱者相信自己强大的工具。但是昂科雷每一个重要的政治候选人都与军方有联系。每一项政治决策都首先考虑到军队的需要。每一个军队的政治挑战者要么退出，要么被逮捕，要么名誉扫地，要么改变信仰。每隔二十年或三十年，昂科雷就会面临只有军队才能解决的威胁。"他看着我，轻声笑了起来。"最后一次是龙焰对暗影螺栓塔的攻击。多巧啊，昂科雷在附近有猛禽机在进行训练演习，而你父亲的队伍已经准备好击退猛兽了。"
“Are you saying the military knew Fiendfire was going to attack?” Glory said skeptically… but with worry. “That my father…”
"你是说军方知道Fiendfire要进攻?"晨辉怀疑地说......但是很担心。"我父亲......"
“No. I’m saying the military encouraged Fiendfire to attack,” he said with terrible certainty. “An elaborate show to keep the public safe and thankful for the military’s protection. Your father was likely ignorant of the details. Heroism is so difficult to fake and plays so well to the masses. But when he returned with your mother… well… that threw the narrative completely off. Everypony was supposed to be celebrating the triumph of the Enclave and giving their thanks for the military’s protection… not starting to think about helping the surface.”
"没有。我的意思是军方鼓励Fiendfire进攻,"他非常肯定地说。"这是一场精心策划的表演，旨在保证公众的安全，并感谢军方的保护。你父亲可能对细节一无所知。英雄主义是很难伪装的，对大众来说也是如此。但是当他和你母亲一起回来的时候......嗯......故事就完全被打乱了。每个小马都应该庆祝飞地的胜利，感谢军队的保护......而不是开始考虑帮助浮出水面。"
I snorted softly. “Okay. So the Enclave military are a bunch of dungbags. What does this have to do with you?”
我轻轻地哼了一声。"好吧。所以飞地的军队就是一堆垃圾袋。这和你有什么关系?"
“It’s very simple. It’s been thirty years since Fiendfire, and the military is looking for another ‘display’ to justify its existence. Neighvarro has been mobilizing its Raptors and Thunderheads for ‘training drills’. Personnel have been recalled and mobilized. The ‘academic experts’ have been chattering about potential threats. A surface power. Zebra forces. A reorganization of the griffins
"这很简单。火灾已经过去三十年了，军方正在寻找另一种'展示'来证明它的存在。一直在动员其猛禽和雷霆战机进行"训练演习"。人员已经召回和动员。这些"学术专家"一直在喋喋不休地谈论潜在的威胁。一种表面力量。斑马军。狮鹫的重组
or another dragon attack. There’s even been speculation of a threat from the stars.”
或者是另一次龙的袭击。甚至有人猜测来自恒星的威胁。"
“Please. Nopony takes that sort of thing seriously,” Glory said with a dismissive wave of her… stump. The perfunctory gesture made Lighthooves look a bit ill before he recovered his usual level of snot.
"求你了。没有小马把这种事情当回事,"晨辉轻蔑地挥了挥她的......残肢说。这个敷衍的手势使得lighthoves在恢复正常鼻涕水平之前看起来有点不舒服。
“It’s not meant to be taken seriously. It’s meant to get the masses thinking about the possibility of an attack. Because ponies are increasingly questioning the need for the military. Why not allocate more resources to food production?
"这并不意味着要认真对待。这是为了让大众思考袭击的可能性。因为小马越来越质疑军队的必要性。为什么不把更多的资源分配给粮食生产呢？
Establishing new cloud settlements? Or…” He stared right at Glory. “Helping the surface?”
建立新的云解决方案？或者......"他直直地盯着晨辉。"帮助浮出水面?"
Glory flushed and retorted “Well, why not?”
晨辉脸红了，反驳道:"好吧，为什么不呢?"
Lighthooves sighed. “The military has no interest in the surface beyond possible war resources, but when Thunderhead had the audacity to buck the mandate of the Grand Pegasus Enclave and actually allow civilians to go to the surface… it was a slap in the face of Neighvarro. It was virtually a declaration of independence.” He chuckled before continuing. “For the first time ever, the public of Thunderhead violated the cardinal rule of the Enclave and did what they thought was right rather than what was in the military’s best interests.”
轻舟叹了口气。"除了可能的战争资源，军方对地表没有兴趣，但当雷头公司胆敢违抗帕伽索斯飞地的命令，实际上允许平民返回地表时......这是对Neighvarro的一记耳光。这实际上是一场美国独立宣言。"他咯咯地笑了笑，然后继续说。"有史以来第一次，霹雳头的公众违反了昂科雷的基本规则，做了他们认为正确的事，而不是军方的最佳利益。"
Lighthooves looked coolly at Glory. “And, in doing so, gave the military its next target: Thunderhead.”
轻舟冷静地望着晨辉。"这样一来，军方就有了下一个目标:雷霆万钧。"
“What? Are you…” Glory rose to her hooves. “That’s insane! The military would never attack Thunderhead.”
"什么？你是......"晨辉升到她的蹄子。"这太疯狂了！军队永远不会攻击雷霆队。"
“They could, they would, and they would enjoy it.” Lighthooves replied calmly. “Neighvarro has never approved of Thunderhead’s autonomous zone, and in establishing the Volunteer Corps, you have given them every incentive to attack. Word is getting out to other pegasus communities about the metal trading, and they are questioning why they don’t implement similar programs. The moral questions that were so easy to ignore a century ago have resurfaced with terrifying swiftness. You very nearly sparked a revolution with blueberries.”
"他们可以，他们会，而且他们会喜欢这样。"轻舟平静地回答。"邻居们从来没有批准过雷锋城的自治区，在建立志愿兵团的过程中，你们给了他们进攻的动力。关于金属交易的消息传到了飞马系的其他社区，他们质疑为什么他们不实施类似的计划。一个世纪以前很容易被忽视的道德问题又以惊人的速度重新浮现出来。你几乎用蓝莓引发了一场革命。"
“They’d need a pretext…” Glory muttered. “They couldn’t just… just attack us! We’re all Enclave!” She started to shake, but the thought was sinking in.
"他们需要一个借口......"晨辉咕哝着。"他们不能就这样......就这样攻击我们！我们都是飞地!"她开始颤抖，但这个想法渐渐消失了。
While Glory was trying to cope with the implications, Lighthooves looked on with a small expression of satisfaction. “So, what’s your part in all this?” I asked.
当晨辉试图解决这个问题时，莱特霍夫斯带着一丝满意的表情在一旁看着。"那么，你在这一切中扮演了什么角色?"我问道。
He hesitated, then gave a minute shrug. “Mine is simple: to prevent a civil war within the Enclave at any cost,” he replied evenly.
他犹豫了一下，然后耸了耸肩。"我的意思很简单:不惜一切代价防止昂科雷内部爆发内战,"他平静地回答。
The shooty feeling was rising inside me. “So you made a biological weapon to wipe out the surface ponies?” And my stable.
枪声在我心里升起。"所以你制造了一种生物武器来消灭表面的小马?"还有我的马厩。
“No,” he replied firmly, shaking his head. “There are more than enough problems for ground life. The contagion we discovered at Yellow River wasn’t appropriate to our needs. You see, we don’t want to reclaim the surface at this time. If the military could no longer dictate food allocation, if it could no longer manipulate resources, then it would lose more and more control and power. And if we killed off all the primary threats, then there’d be no strong arguments against colonizing the surface. No, my goal was to adapt the disease to make it infect pegasi.”
"不,"他坚定地回答，摇着头。"对于地面生活来说，问题已经够多了。我们在黄河上发现的传染病不适合我们的需要。你看，我们不想在这个时候重新回到地表。如果军方不能再支配粮食分配，如果它不能再操纵资源，那么它将失去越来越多的控制和权力。如果我们消灭了所有的主要威胁，那么就没有强有力的理由反对开拓地表了。不，我的目标是让这种疾病感染飞马座。"
“You wanted a real plague to keep us off the surface,” Glory said softly.
"你想要一场真正的瘟疫，让我们离开地面,"格洛里轻声说。
“Indeed. With the VC ended, the status quo could endure. The military will find or invent some other threat. Maybe that elusive dragon that finally left its lair for the first time in recorded history. And Thunderhead will endure until such time as it can lead the way to re-establishing surface life.”
"的确。随着风险投资的终结，现状可以持续下去。军方会发现或制造其他威胁。也许那条神出鬼没的龙终于在有记载的历史上第一次离开了它的巢穴。雷暴雨将持续下去，直到它能够带领我们重建地表生命。"
It was all I could do to keep a straight face. I did not want Lighthooves thinking about Spike. “You think you should return to the surface?”
我所能做的就是板着脸。我不想让轻骑兵想到斯派克。"你认为你应该返回地面吗?"
He nodded grimly. “I think it’s imperative. The cold truth is that, while we might be surviving cut off from the surface at the moment, it is not a true solution. Entropy itself will one day bring down the S.P.P. towers, and that’s if some outside force doesn’t threaten them first. Food supplies will grow more and more scarce, the military will demand ever more resources from the public, and suffering will spread. Thunderhead is the only Enclave city with the vision and forward thinking to return to the surface and make a new reality.”
他冷冷地点点头。"我认为这是当务之急。冷冰冰的事实是，尽管我们现在可能与地球表面隔绝，但这不是一个真正的解决方案。总有一天，熵本身会让标准普尔指数塔倒塌，前提是外部力量没有先对它们构成威胁。食物供应将变得越来越稀缺，军队将从公众那里需要更多的资源，苦难将会蔓延。雷锋城是唯一一座具有远见和前瞻性思维的城市，回归地面，创造新的现实。"
“But… but then why aren’t you supporting the VC?” Glory asked. “You should be helping us!”
"但是......那你为什么不支持VC呢?"晨辉问道。"你应该帮助我们!"
Lighthooves shook his head, finally snapping in anger. “Haven’t you been listening? The military is looking for a war! We are virtually defenseless! We might have the tower, but in a fight against multiple siege platforms and Raptor flights, we would be overwhelmed! Thunderhead would be placed under martial law and likely a third of the population will be shot for treason, including both our families.” For an instant, through the cracks in his calm facade, I saw what drove Lighthooves: terror. He was scared to death of his own people. Then he took a long, slow breath, the cracks closed, and he was back to ‘normal’. “I would happily… gladly… support the VC’s aims… but only after Neighvarro’s forces are eliminated. We’ve been carefully, systematically, undermining them for years, but unfortunately I doubt that we will be ready within my lifetime.”
轻舟摇了摇头，终于怒不可遏。""你没有听我说吗？军方正在寻找一场战争！我们实际上是毫无防备的！我们可能有塔，但是在对抗多个攻城平台和猛禽战斗机的战斗中，我们将被击溃！雷霆万钧将被置于戒严状态，可能有三分之一的人口会因叛国罪被枪毙，包括我们的家人。"有那么一瞬间，透过他平静的表面上的裂缝，我看到了驱使他前进的光芒:恐惧。他害怕自己的人民。然后他深深地、缓慢地吸了一口气，裂缝闭上了，他恢复了正常。"我很乐意......很乐意......支持VC的目标......但要等到邻瓦罗的军队被消灭之后。多年来，我们一直在小心翼翼、有系统地削弱他们，但不幸的是，我怀疑我们能否在我的有生之年做好准备。"
He gestured abstractly with his wings as he paced. “Ideally, I would have us return to the surface as a military venture. Controlled and organized to prevent as much disturbance as possible. A process backed by a new Thunderhead military after surface threats were eliminated and challenges destroyed and cowed by our superior firepower. And with Hoofington as a base of operations, we could expand slowly and deliberately across Equestria. Monsters like the alicorns and relics like the Steel Rangers would be eliminated, and eventually a New Equestria could be founded. Unicorns from Shadowbolt Tower would repopulate their race. Earth pony survivors would remain, given that they’re as tenacious as radroaches. And the Wasteland will be no more.”
他一边踱步，一边用翅膀抽象地做着手势。"理想情况下，我会让我们以军事冒险的形式返回地面。控制和组织，以防止尽可能多的干扰。地面威胁被消除，挑战被我们强大的火力摧毁和恐吓后，一支新的雷锋军队支持这一进程。有了胡芬顿作为行动基地，我们可以缓慢而谨慎地在Equestria扩张。像铁骑兵这样的怪物和遗迹将被消灭，并最终建立起一个新的马术国。来自暗影螺栓塔的独角兽会重新繁殖他们的种族。地球上的矮种马幸存者会留下来，因为他们像牧羊人一样顽强。荒原也不复存在
“And taint?” I asked, making him blink, but then he gave a dismissive snort.
"还有污点?"我问道，让他眨了眨眼，但随后他轻蔑地哼了一声。
“Any medical or magical maladies will be dealt with in time. I’m certain that we’ll inevitably find a solution.” But somehow, I didn’t see the Elements of Harmony arising from some covert military operation. And in the meantime, how many thousands would he kill? Worse… his comment about Spike becoming a ‘war excuse’. Had those Neighvarro pegasi been watching the cave, trying to find out if Spike would be a suitable target?
"任何医疗或魔法疾病都会得到及时处理。我确信，我们将不可避免地找到解决办法。"但不知为什么，我并没有看到和谐元素产生于某种隐蔽的军事行动。与此同时，他又能杀死多少人呢？更糟糕的是......他说斯派克成了"战争的借口"。那些飞马邻居是不是一直在观察洞穴，试图找出斯派克是不是一个合适的目标？
Did I mention I really didn’t like the Enclave right now?
我有没有说过我现在真的不喜欢昂科雷？
But… did that put Lighthooves and me on the same side, then? At least temporarily? I didn’t like that either... but he’d saved Glory… and me.
但是......这是不是让我和莱特霍夫斯站在了同一边？至少是暂时的？我也不喜欢那样......但是他拯救了晨辉......和我。
“So… now I’ve got to ask: why save us?” I glanced at my love and saw her worry. “I’m pretty sure that you’ve got other ways to get information.” Glory
"所以......现在我不得不问:为什么要救我们?"我瞥了一眼我的爱人，看到了她的忧虑。"我敢肯定，你还有其它获取信息的途径。"晨辉
looked shocked, but I remembered that pen in Miramare. They’d burned her cutie mark off to frame her and brand her a traitor and even manipulated her own sister to kill her. No, Lighthooves and I were not on the same side. We might have a shared enemy, but he was on one side of a line and I was on the other.
看起来很震惊，但我想起了在米拉马雷的那支笔。他们烧掉了她的可爱标记，陷害她，诬陷她为叛徒，甚至操纵她自己的妹妹杀死她。不，我和莱特霍夫斯不是一伙的。我们可能有一个共同的敌人，但是他在一条线的一边，而我在另一边。
The crimson pegasus rubbed his nose with a wing, his eyes half narrowed as he looked at both of us. “Yes, it might seem more prudent to interrogate you, extract your memories, and learn everything you’ve done for the last few weeks. But there are some benefits to simply letting you go,” he replied as he walked to a rotten map of Equestria taped to the wall. “Expedience, for one. We may have years before we must act, but we might have only days. The other reason is simple: you are exceptionally disruptive, Blackjack. With you trotting around, my opposition is far more likely to waste time dealing with you than paying attention to me. Also, there’s the slim chance that you might come to realize that I’m right. A mare of your talents could be a potent asset.”
深红色的天马用翅膀擦着鼻子，眯着眼睛看着我们俩。"是的，审问你、提取你的记忆、了解你过去几个星期所做的一切似乎更为谨慎。但是，简单地放你走也有一些好处,"他一边回答，一边走向贴在墙上的一幅腐烂的Equestria地图。"权宜之计就是其中之一。在我们必须采取行动之前，我们可能有几年的时间，但我们可能只有几天时间。另一个原因很简单:你是极具破坏性的，Blackjack。你到处跑，我的反对者更可能浪费时间和你打交道，而不是注意我。同时，你也有可能意识到我是对的。你的能力可以成为一种强有力的资产。"
Then he paused, his smile widening. “But mostly, I saved the mare you love. And I know that for a pony like you… that’s no small thing.”
然后他停了下来，扩大了笑容。"但最重要的是，我救了你所爱的母马。我知道，对于像你这样的小马来说，这可不是件小事。"
I really wanted to shoot him right now. Really wanted to… but there was just one problem: he was right. About this, at least. He shrugged. “Maybe it’ll backfire. Maybe it’ll blow up in my face. Certainly possible. But Thunderhead Intelligence’s learned that, sometimes, the unexpected is the most effective move of all.” He looked at Glory with a small smile. “In any case, I’ll get what I need, likely with far less bother and fuss than dealing with a snotty gang of Wasteland mares.”
我现在真的很想杀了他。真的很想...但是只有一个问题:他是对的。至少在这个问题上。他耸耸肩。"也许会适得其反。也许它会在我面前爆炸。当然有可能。但是，雷锋情报公司认识到，有时候，意想不到的事情是最有效的行动。"他带着一丝微笑看着格洛里。"无论如何，我会得到我想要的，可能比对付一群下贱的荒原母马要省事得多。"
I sighed, looking at my PipBuck, then at him. Maybe… “The Flash Fillies. You probably picked through most of their headquarters while helping them?”
我叹了口气，看着我的皮布克，然后看着他。也许..."闪电小雌马"。你可能是在帮助他们的时候，把他们的大部分总部都挑出来了吧?"
“For the most part. They kept their stores well guarded from us, though. They never let more than three of us in at any one time,” he replied, looking at me curiously. “Why?”
"大多数情况下。尽管如此，他们还是很好地保护着他们的储备，不让我们进入。他们从来不让超过三个人同时进去,"他回答，好奇地看着我。"为什么?"
“Did you get a chance to poke around their maneframe?” I asked, and Glory gasped.
"你有机会看看他们的手稿吗?"我问道，晨辉倒抽了一口冷气。
He looked coolly from Glory to myself. “Yes, but the data within was encrypted.”
在我看来，他从晨辉中冷静地看着我。"是的，但里面的数据是加密的。"
“Do you have a copy?” Glory asked. Now he was smiling again.
"你有备份吗?"晨辉问道。现在他又笑了。
“Right…” I sighed. “What do you want for it?”
"对......"我叹了口气。"你想要什么?"
“An unencrypted copy might be enlightening--” he began.
"一份未加密的副本可能会有所启发——"他开始说道。
“Do I look like a decrypter? I just need it for trade. What else?” I said flatly, squeezing Glory’s hoof with a leg to keep her from protesting. I couldn’t let him realize the potential of cyber pegasi.
"我看起来像解密者吗？我只是需要它来做交易。还有什么?"我直截了当地说，用一条腿挤压着晨辉的蹄子，防止她抗议。我不能让他意识到"赛博飞马"的潜力。
The crimson stallion rubbed his chin with a wing. “Well, I don’t need you for that…” he mused aloud, then smiled. He looked at Glory long and steadily; it made my mane twitch. “A confession.”
那匹深红色的种马用翅膀摩擦着下巴。"好吧，我不需要你......"他沉思了一会儿，然后笑了。他长久而稳定地看着格洛里，这使我的鬃毛抽动起来。"坦白。"
Glory gaped. “What?”
晨辉张口结舌。"什么?"
“I would like a full confession and formal declaration of leaving Thunderhead and the Enclave,” he replied levelly. “There were some problems with the first version. Little errors that gave rise to questions of its authenticity.” No surprise, given that it was a fake. “I want a sincere confession. One that will remove any doubt as to your allegiance to Thunderhead. Or, rather, the absence thereof.”
"我想要一份完整的坦白，并且正式宣布离开雷头城和飞地,"他平静地回答。"第一个版本存在一些问题。一些小错误引发了对其真实性的质疑。"没什么好惊讶的，因为那是假的。"我要一个真诚的忏悔。一个将消除任何怀疑，你的效忠雷头。或者，更确切地说，是没有这些东西。"
“But it would ruin Father,” Glory said as she held my floppy hoof tighter.
"但这会毁了父亲,"晨辉一边说，一边紧紧地抓住我松软的蹄子。
“And save his life,” Lighthooves countered.
"拯救他的生命,"莱特霍夫斯反驳道。
“What?” I asked, keeping my eye on him.
"什么?"我盯着他问道。
The crimson pegasus began to pace slowly. “Do you really think that the Enclave is going to blissfully allow such a high profile figure as Sky Striker to continue to call for helping the surface? No. They are going to act to silence him. The usual methods have failed to remove, disgrace, or discredit him. In fact, they’ve only reinforced his popularity. That means that the only standby is assassination.”
深红色的飞马开始慢慢地走着。"你真的认为昂科雷会高兴地允许天空前锋这样高调的人物继续呼吁帮助浮出水面吗？没有。他们准备采取行动让他闭嘴。通常的方法未能使他消失、丢脸或败坏他的名声。事实上，他们只是加强了他的声望。这意味着，唯一的备选方案就是暗杀。"
“They wouldn’t,” Glory muttered weakly.
"他们不会的,"格洛里虚弱地咕哝着。
“They already tried this morning,” Lighthooves replied gravely. Glory gasped and leaned forward to ask the obvious. Lighthooves raised a wing to stave off the question. “He was unharmed. He was to give a speech in his old power armor.
"他们今天早上已经试过了,"莱特霍夫斯严肃地回答。格洛里倒吸了一口冷气，身子前倾，想问些显而易见的问题。为了避开这个问题，轻舟举起了一只翅膀。"他没有受伤。他将穿着他的旧盔甲发表演讲。
Somepony had sabotaged its spark generator. He was very fortunate it was discovered, and we are fortunate that it’s being dismissed as an accident. And, of course, the assassination of such a prominent figure would necessitate a response. A trade embargo. Cutting off food surplus shipments. Something. And in response to that… war.” He said it so simply.
一些小马破坏了它的火花发生器。他很幸运，这件事被发现了，我们也很幸运，因为这件事被当作意外而不予理会。当然，暗杀这样一个重要人物也需要一个回应。贸易禁运。切断食物过剩的运输。一些东西。作为对那场战争的回应。"他说得很简单。
War. It made my stomach clench. Was there anything… ever… more stupid and wasteful than war? It’d destroyed the world! You’d think that would have been enough. But here we were, two centuries later, and we still had situations where group A and group B had a problem and couldn’t think of any better way out of it than killing each other!
战争。它使我的胃紧张起来。还有什么比战争更愚蠢和浪费的吗？它摧毁了整个世界！你会觉得这样就足够了。但是，两个世纪后的今天，我们仍然面临着a组和b组遇到问题的情况，他们想不出比互相残杀更好的解决办法了！
As I looked at the crimson pegasus, I had to admit a grudging respect for him. He was still a vile pony, but now that I was facing the prospect of stopping a war myself, I felt a small appreciation for what he was attempting to do. I’d never approve of his means. There were just some things you didn’t do; I knew that now. I’d smell chlorine and hear the scream of ‘murderer’ for the rest of my days. But the goal itself, trying to prevent war? That was respectable.
当我看着深红色的飞马时，我不得不承认我有点不情愿地尊敬他。他仍然是一匹卑鄙的小马，但是现在我自己也面临着停止一场战争的前景，我对他正在尝试做的事情感到一丝欣赏。我决不赞成他的方式。只是有些事情你没有做，我现在知道了。在我的余生里，我会闻到氯的味道，听到'杀人犯'的尖叫声。但是目标本身，试图阻止战争？这是值得尊敬的。
And so I was completely useless when she looked back at me. I smiled. Of course I wanted the Steelpony data; I could actually give it to ponies who needed it. But I couldn’t ask her to resign herself to live here, especially when I wasn’t going to be around much longer.
所以当她回头看我的时候，我一点用都没有。我笑了。当然，我想要Steelpony的数据;我实际上可以给需要它的小马。但是我不能要求她放弃自己在这里的生活，特别是当我不会在这里呆很长时间的时候。
Finally, she took a deep breath. “No,” she said, and his amiable expression hardened a moment. Then he shrugged as if it was no matter. But from the look on her face, she wasn’t done yet. “No, but I will talk with him.”
最后，她深吸了一口气。"不,"她说，他和蔼可亲的表情僵硬了一会儿。然后他耸了耸肩，好像没什么大不了的。但是从她脸上的表情来看，她还没说完呢。"不，但我会和他谈谈的。"
He rubbed his chin, “I see. And you’ll convince him to end the Volunteer Corps?”
他揉了揉下巴,"我明白了。你会说服他结束志愿兵团吗?"
“No. I said I will talk with him,” she replied. “Your fake confession didn’t do anything. A coerced one won’t be much better. So let me talk with him about your concerns. Maybe he’ll change his mind. Maybe not. But it’ll be more likely to succeed than what you’re trying.”
"没有。我说我会和他谈谈的,"她回答。"你的假口供没有起到任何作用。被强迫的人也好不到哪里去。所以让我和他谈谈你的担忧。也许他会改变主意。也许不是。但它比你正在尝试的事情更有可能成功。"
I smiled… okay, grimaced… at him. “Sometimes the unexpected is the most effective.” Ooooh, see what I did, Lighthooves? See? I used your own words against you. Point, Blackjack!
我笑了...好吧，做了个鬼脸...看着他。"有时候，意想不到的事情才是最有效的。"哦，看我做了什么，轻骑兵？看到了吗？我用你自己的话来对付你。得分，黑杰克！
“It’ll take some time to set up a secure channel. I trust the two of you will behave until then?” he asked as he looked at us.
"建立一个安全通道需要一些时间。我相信在那之前你们两个都会乖乖的吧?"他看着我们问道。
“Yeah. Sure,” I replied with a smile. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance we can get a hot shower, is there?”
"是的。当然,"我微笑着回答。"我想我们没有机会洗个热水澡，对吧?"
He curled his lips. “Of course.”
他撇了撇嘴。"当然。"
* * *
* * *
Okay. I might have asked for a hot shower, but I’d settle for a bucket of relatively clean and only mildly radioactive water and a sponge. As I started washing the dust, grime, and tears off my face, I stared at the sponge, trying to think what to do next. She’d have her chat, I’d get my data, we’d leave, she’d tell one of his ponies where to find the targeting talismans. As a show of good faith, they’d brought Glory her gear and my braces. The rest of my stuff, on the other hand, they’d probably drop from a quarter mile up just to make sure they were away before I was locked and loaded.
好吧。我可能会要求洗个热水澡，但我会满足于一桶相对干净的、只有轻度放射性的水和一块海绵。当我开始清洗脸上的灰尘、污垢和泪水时，我盯着海绵，试着想下一步该怎么做。她有她的聊天，我会得到我的数据，我们会离开，她会告诉他的一匹小马在哪里找到目标护身符。为了表示诚意，他们给晨辉带来了她的装备和我的背带。另一方面，我其他的东西，它们可能会从四分之一英里高的地方掉下来，只是为了确保在我上膛之前它们已经离开了。
“Please tell me you’re not trying to think of ways to kill a pony with a sponge,” Glory said in concern as she nuzzled my neck.
"请告诉我，你不是在想用海绵杀死一匹小马的方法,"晨辉一边关切地说，一边用鼻子蹭我的脖子。
“Huh? What? No…” Besides, I’d have to shove it really far down their throat. The bucket, on the other hand… If Glory kicked out the bottom and smashed it flat, I’d have a nice jagged edge. Effective against eyes and-- Glory started kissing along my spine, and thoughts of weaponizing sponges and buckets went flying out of my head. Oh yes… this was nice… this was very nice…
"啊？什么？不......"另外，我得把它塞进他们的喉咙里。另一方面，那个桶......如果晨辉把桶底踢出去，把它砸平，我就会有一个漂亮的锯齿状的边缘。有效地对抗眼睛和----晨辉开始沿着我的脊椎亲吻，把海绵和水桶当武器的想法从我的头上飞出去。哦，是的...这是很好...这是非常好..。
Except…
除了..。
“Glory, I really… I don’t think…” What was the matter with me? We had privacy. I was probably the cleanest I was going to get in a long while. Goddesses knew I needed it after that little ‘adventure’ with Rarity and Vanity. But for some reason, my mind was telling me this was wrong and I should stop it.
"晨辉，我真的......我不认为......"我是怎么了？我们有私人空间。很长一段时间里，我可能是最干净的。女神们知道，在经历了那次与稀有和虚荣的小冒险之后，我需要它。但出于某种原因，我的大脑告诉我这是错误的，我应该停止它。
It was official. I’d gone completely batshit crazy.
这是正式的。我已经彻底疯了。
The gray pegasus rolled me on my back and kissed along my chest before she looked me in the eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry. But I don’t think I can do this.” She
灰色的飞马在看着我的眼睛之前，在我的背上翻滚着，在我的胸前亲吻着。"我...我很抱歉。但我觉得我做不到。"她
just waited and I fidgeted, turning away. “I don’t deserve…” I trailed off lamely, unable to finish.
只是等待，我坐立不安，转身离开。"我不配......"我一瘸一拐地说完，没有说完。
“Oh. I see,” she said calmly, then seemed to think about something. Finally, she looked me in the eye. “Do you trust me?”
"哦。我明白了,"她平静地说，然后似乎在想些什么。最后，她看着我的眼睛。"你相信我吗?"
Huh? “Of course…” I murmured, shocked she even had to ask.
什么？"当然......"我低声说道，她居然还要问我这个问题，真让我吃惊。
“Absolutely and completely?” she pressed as she smiled at me. I nodded, and she dug through her bags a second, withdrew a blindfold, and tied it in place. “Don’t touch it,” she said firmly. O…kay… Then she was off the bed and rifling through her saddlebags. I fought hard not to peek as she returned to the bed. Then she pressed my forelegs over my head through the gaps in the bed and… my ears twitched at the sound of hoofcuffs being locked around my legs.
"完全彻底?"她冲我微笑着按了下去。我点点头，她把包翻了一下，拉开眼罩，把它绑好。"别碰它,"她坚定地说。O..凯...然后她从床上起来，翻她的鞍囊。当她回到床上时，我努力不让自己偷看。然后她通过床的缝隙把我的前腿压在我的头上，我的耳朵在马蹄锁住我的腿的声音中抽搐。
“G…Glory?! What are you doing?” I gasped, and then I felt my rear legs spread quite far apart and cuffed to the hoofrail at the bottom on the bed.
"g..晨辉?！你在干什么?"我倒抽了一口冷气，然后我感觉到我的后腿分开得很开，铐在床底下的马蹄上。
She moved over me and whispered in my ear, “Shhh… trust me.” And a rubber ball was pressed into my mouth and tied in place around my muzzle. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t speak.
她从我身上挪开，在我耳边轻声说:"嘘......相信我。"一个橡皮球被塞进我的嘴里，然后绑在我嘴边的某个地方。我动弹不得。我看不见。不能说话。
But, sweet Celestia save me, I could feel! And what was inflicted upon me was some of the most intense feeling in my entire life. Some sour, rational, sane part of my mind grumped that it was no time for… this! That part was grabbed by the rest of my brain, beaten with rubber hoses, and tossed into that closet in the back of my mind. I crested, wailing into the gag, and she didn’t relent.
但是，甜蜜的塞莱斯蒂亚救了我，我能感觉到！我感受到的是我一生中最强烈的感觉。我脑子里某个尖刻的、理智的、理智的部分抱怨说，现在没有时间......干这个！那一部分被我大脑的其他部分抓住，被橡胶软管击打，然后被扔进我脑海深处的那个壁橱里。我尖叫着冲进了那个塞口的东西里，她没有松口。
Glory had to have been related to Vanity… somehow. She paused only to remove the gag and let me catch my breath before silencing me with a very lovely something else. I returned the favor in desperation, rewarded with noises of her bliss and the feeling that I was a very good pony.
晨辉一定与虚荣有关......某种程度上。她停顿了一下，只是去掉了塞住我嘴的东西，让我喘口气，然后用一种非常可爱的东西让我安静下来。我在绝望中还了这个人情，回报她的是她的幸福和我是一匹非常好的小马驹的感觉。
When we’d finished she’d returned my sight to me, and I was feeling quite confused and exceptionally buttery inside. I wanted to ask where she’d learned to do such things, but the taste of mare had completely overridden my ability to think. Good thing too, because my brain was trying to come up with all kinds of reasons for why what we’d done was wrong and undeserved. I was a bad pony who’d almost got her killed… but that voice was dulled by the fact that Glory had done almost everything. She’d decided it and done it. And so that sour pony
当我们结束时，她把我的视线还给了我，我感到非常困惑，内心格外油腻。我想问她是在哪里学会做这些事情的，但是母马的味道完全压倒了我的思考能力。这也是件好事，因为我的大脑试图想出各种各样的理由来解释为什么我们所做的是错误的，是不应该的。我是一匹差点害死她的坏小马......但是那声音因为晨辉几乎做了所有的事情而变得迟钝。她已经做出了决定。所以那匹酸溜溜的小马
lurked in the back of my mind muttering bad things about me.
潜伏在我脑海深处，念叨着关于我的坏话。
She washed me a second time… and herself… before finally unlocking me from the bed. I had to admit, I was so relaxed that it felt like all the rest of my bones had changed to rubber too. “Wow…” Okay, so at the moment, complex sentences were beyond me.
她又给我洗了一次......还有她自己......最后才把我从床上解开。我不得不承认，我是如此的放松，以至于感觉我的其他骨头也都变成了橡胶。"哇......"好吧，当时，复杂的句子超出了我的能力范围。
“Never done that before?” she said, seeming quite happy herself. I shook my head vigorously back and forth. “Like it?” I nearly strained my neck nodding. She gave a pleased nicker. “I’m so glad I didn’t mess it up, then. Dusk thought you’d like it.”
"以前从没这样做过吗?"她说，看起来她自己也很开心。我用力地前后摇头。"喜欢吗?"我几乎使劲地点头。她愉快地给了一个镍币。"那么，我很高兴我没有把它搞砸。黄昏觉得你会喜欢的。"
Did I mention how much I loved Glory’s eldest sister right then? Really! Lovely mare! “But where did you get… oh. That shop?” She grinned sheepishly, blushing. So adorable! Then I arched a brow. “Did you get anything… else?”
我有没有说过我有多爱晨辉的大姐？真的！可爱的母马！"但是你从哪里得到......哦。那家店?"她羞红了脸，羞怯地笑着。太可爱了！然后我挑起了眉毛。"你还有什么......别的吗?"
“Maybe,” she replied in a playful tone that screamed ‘yes.’ Then she gave a little murr and kissed me softly. “If you’re a good mare, you’ll find out.” Oh, okay. I’d be good. I’d be the goodest bestest nicest mare ever, yes sirree!
"也许吧,"她用一种顽皮的语气回答说,"是的。"然后她轻轻地低语了一声，轻轻地吻了我。"如果你是一匹好母马，你会发现的。"好吧。我会乖乖的。我会成为世界上最好最好的母马，是的，先生！
“Got to say it was unexpected,” I said with a flush as we cuddled together.
"不得不说，这真是出乎意料,"我们依偎在一起时，我满脸通红地说。
Glory seemed quite amused by my embarrassment. “I thought that you’d done tons of stuff like this?”
晨辉似乎觉得我的尴尬很好笑。"我还以为你做过很多这样的事呢?"
“Are you kidding? Mom would have thrown me in detention and spayed me. I got to have nice, predictable, scandal-free sex. It was everypony else who had all the bizarre kinks.” I had to admit I was a little worried. I’d never ever had sex like that before. I was still tingly. It was as if I discovered an entirely new part of myself but was just a little leery about getting to know her better.
"你在开玩笑吗？妈妈会把我关禁闭，然后阉了我。我要享受美好的，可预见的，没有丑闻的性生活。其他的小马都有各种奇怪的怪癖。"我不得不承认我有点担心。我以前从来没有过这样的性生活。我还是很激动。这就好像我发现了自己的一个全新的部分，只是对于更好地了解她有点怀疑。
The one part I couldn’t shake was that I’d liked it. I’d liked it a lot. And from the look on Glory’s face, she had too. I felt that emotional whiplash setting in. A few hours ago, I’d thought she was dead. Now I was left feeling giddy that I’d just been cuffed to a bed. Maybe I should try to cool this down. Get some control. Something. Then I caught her purple eye and saw just how screwed I was. Oh Goddesses…
我唯一无法摆脱的是我喜欢它。我非常喜欢。从晨辉脸上的表情来看，她也是这样。我感觉到那种情绪的剧烈波动。几个小时前，我还以为她死了。现在我感到头晕，因为我刚被铐在床上。也许我该试着冷静下来。获得一些控制权。一些东西。然后我看到了她紫色的眼睛，看到了我是多么的糟糕。哦，女神..。
She was helping me put on my leg braces back on when there was a knock and a midnight blue mare with a starburst cutie mark poked her head in. “We’re ready,
她正在帮我戴上腿上的支架，这时有人敲门，一匹深蓝色的母马突然冒出一个小可爱，把头伸了进去。"我们准备好了
Morning Glory.”
牵牛花。"
Glory nodded. “Thank you, Northstar.” The gray mare helped me to my hooves as we trotted through the weather station. There were eight or nine pegasi working on imported terminals and checking paperwork; most of them gave at least a glance in my direction as we passed.
晨辉点点头。"谢谢你，北极星。"我们小跑着穿过气象站时，灰色的母马扶着我的蹄子。飞马座上有八九个人在操作进口终端和检查文件;当我们经过时，他们中的大多数至少看了一眼我的方向。
On the wall was a black banner of a purple eye in the center of a vaguely shield-shaped dark green cloud with a bright green lightning bolt behind it. Written around the edges was the motto ‘Enclave Intelligence: protecting against threats from below and above, within and without.’ “Threats from above?” I asked with a little smile as we entered a small room with a terminal and camera set up on a table. Lighthooves stood calmly in the corner, out of sight of the camera.
墙上有一面黑色的旗帜，上面有一只紫色的眼睛，位于一朵隐约呈盾状的深绿色云的中央，云的后面有一道亮绿色的闪电。四周写着"飞地情报:保护自己免受来自上下、内外的威胁"的座右铭"来自上面的威胁?"当我们走进一个小房间时，我带着一丝微笑问道，这个小房间的桌子上架着一台终端机和照相机。轻舟静静地站在角落里，远离了摄像机的视线。
“Enclave Intelligence is supposed to be ready for anything,” Northstar said softly. “We’re not the military. We don’t have Raptors and siege platforms. The biggest things we’re allowed are Vertibucks. We’re supposed to be smarter and sneakier than our enemies. We’re supposed to cheat,” she muttered sourly. “Of course, we’d be able to be much more effective if we didn’t have to approve every last op with Neighvarro. Can’t believe they’re restricting our flights over the Everfree and Fillydelphia, now of all times...”
"飞地情报局应该做好一切准备,"北极星轻声说。"我们不是军队。我们没有猛禽和攻城平台。我们允许的最大的东西是Vertibucks。我们应该比我们的敌人更聪明，更狡猾。"我们应该作弊,"她不高兴地咕哝着。"当然，如果我们不必批准与邻居的每一次行动，我们会更有效率。真不敢相信他们竟然限制我们飞越Everfree和Fillydelphia的航班，尤其是现在......"
I looked at her in response. “It sounds almost like the Ministry of Awesome.”
我看着她作为回应。"这听起来几乎就像是棒极了部。"
She suddenly grinned in approval. “I never expected a dirtsider to notice that. If it wouldn’t completely tick off Neighvarro, we’d still use that name. Neighvarro was the base for the Equestrian Skyguard after Cloudsdale was bombed.
她突然咧嘴一笑，表示赞同。"我从没想到会有人注意到这一点。如果它不能完全赶走Neighvarro，我们还是会使用这个名字。在克劳斯代尔遭到轰炸后，马术空中护卫队的基地就是邻里。
Thunderhead and Shadowbolt Tower were the Ministry of Awesome’s headquarters. Oh, sure, everypony thought that the Canterlot office was the main one, even when it was turned into a warehouse. Just as Rainbow Dash planned.” She sighed, looking pensive. “If things had gone a little differently, everypony in the intelligence service would be a Dashite. If Rainbow Dash had just waited…” But she gave a little shake of her head.
Thunderhead和ShadowboltTower是Awesome的总部。哦，当然，每个小马都认为Canterlot的办公室是主要的，即使它已经变成了一个仓库。正如彩虹冲刺计划的那样。"她叹了口气，神情忧郁。"如果事情有所不同，情报部门的每个人都会成为"大栅栏"。如果彩虹·达什只是等待......"但她微微摇了摇头。
“But... but you branded Glory,” I pointed out. “Burned off her cutie mark and… and…”
"但是......但是你打上了晨辉的烙印,"我指出。"烧掉了她可爱的印记..."
“We did what we had to. Would you prefer a war?” she asked bluntly. Point taken.
"我们做了我们必须做的。你愿意打一场战争吗?"她直截了当地问。明白了。
Lighthooves brought his wing up across his lips. “Ladies.”
轻舟的翅膀掠过嘴唇。"女士们。"
The terminal screen flickered for a moment, then coalesced into the image of a middle-aged stallion just approaching elderly status. His coat was a rich plum and his purple mane was shot with gray. I noted, with a touch of concern, he also had an eyepatch covering his left eye and the left side of his face rippled with old scars that hadn’t quite worn away. His gray eye widened in shock and he half rose to his hooves. “Morning?”
终端屏幕闪烁了一会儿，然后合并成一个中年种马的形象，刚刚接近老年人的地位。他的外套是一个丰富的李子和他的紫色鬃毛与灰色。我注意到，带着一丝担忧，他的左眼上还戴着一个眼罩，左脸上布满了还没有完全消失的旧伤疤。他那灰色的眼睛因为震惊而睁大了，双腿微微抬起。"早上好?"
“Hello, Father.” I was surprised at the formal tone she adopted. “I’m glad to see you well.”
"你好，爸爸。"我对她采用的正式语气感到惊讶。"很高兴见到你身体健康。"
He slammed his hoof on the desk. “Pissing rainbows, Morning, don’t give me that! What the hell have you been up to? First a confession that you’ve gone Dashite, then Dusk reporting you’d been killed without verification, and now a report that you…” but he then trailed off as she shifted. She flushed and turned to block the view of her stub. “Where are you? I’ll fly right down there myself and pick you up!”
他的蹄子砰地一声撞在桌子上。"小便彩虹，早上好，别跟我来这套！你到底在干什么？先是承认你去了达希特，然后是黄昏报告说你在没有确认的情况下被杀了，现在又是一个报告说你......"。她满脸通红，转过身去挡住自己的存根。"你在哪儿？我自己飞过去接你!"
“No, Father. I’m fine.”
"不，父亲。我很好。"
“You are missing a wing, Morning! That is the opposite of fine!” he roared. “You are coming home and that is final!”
"你少了一只翅膀，早上好！那是好的反义词!"他吼道。"你必须回家，这是最终决定!"
“No, Father. I’m not,” she countered with her own scowl. “There’re things going on right now…”
"不，父亲。我没有,"她皱着眉头反驳道。"现在正在发生一些事情......"
“I don’t give a thundering fart what things are going on!” he said with another imperious slam of his hoof. “You are coming home right now where it’s safe. Then we can see about getting rid of those scars.”
"我才不管发生了什么事!"他又狠狠地摔了一下蹄子说。"你现在就回家吧，那里很安全。然后我们就可以想办法消除这些伤疤了。"
“You can’t tell me what to do, Father! I’m not a filly anymore!” Glory shouted at him with a very un-Glory like scowl.
"你不能对我指手画脚，父亲！我已经不是小母马了!"晨辉以一种非常不晨辉的怒容向他呼喊。
“You’re just like your mother,” he muttered darkly. “Stop being so stubborn!”
"你和你母亲一模一样,"他阴郁地咕哝着。"别这么固执!"
“I’m doing important things, Father!” she snapped back. “Stop telling me what to do! I am a Dashite, okay? I might love Thunderhead and believe in the Enclave, but my home is down here now! The mare I love is down here!” Oh, what was that burning smell? Ah, it was me blushing.
"我在做重要的事情，神父!"她反击了一下。"别对我指手画脚！我是达什特人，好吗？我可能喜欢霹雳头，相信昂科雷，但我的家现在就在这里！我爱的那匹母马就在下面!"哦，那是什么烧焦的味道？啊，是我脸红了。
He seethed but sat back and slumped a little. “You disappear for a month, and the first thing we do when I see you is scream at each other.” He shook his head with a deep sigh. “I’ve been yelling at security and your sister for weeks now. Ever since that forged confession popped up. Now I get an ‘update’ and it’s you…”
他怒气冲冲地坐了下来，有点垂头丧气。"你消失了一个月，当我看到你时，我们做的第一件事就是互相尖叫。"他深深地叹了口气，摇了摇头。"几个星期以来，我一直在对保安和你妹妹大喊大叫。自从那个伪造的供词出现以后。现在我得到一个'最新消息'，那就是你......"
“I’m sorry, Father. I know you want to keep me safe, but I’m not your little sunrise anymore,” she replied. She glanced over at Lighthooves and then back at the screen. “I’m here with an Operative Lighthooves. He says that things are bad between Neighvarro and Thunderhead. Really bad. And the VC is driving it.” Tell him Lighthooves burned off your cutie marks, Glory. I wanted to shout it, but Northstar looked at me and shook her head slowly. I bit my tongue.
"对不起，神父。我知道你想保证我的安全，但我不再是你的小日出了,"她回答。她扫了一眼Lighthooves，然后又回到屏幕前。"我带着一把特工打火机来的。他表示，Neighvarro和Thunderhead之间的情况很糟糕。非常糟糕。而风险投资正在推动这一趋势。"告诉他，光剑烧掉了你可爱的印记，晨辉。我想喊出来，但是北极星看着我，慢慢地摇了摇头。我咬住了舌头。
“Things have been shaky ever since your mother. This is nothing new. Neighvarro will call us petty names and sulk till a harvest goes bad or a talisman breaks. Then they’ll change their tune. It’s been the same old dance for the last two hundred years.”
"自从你母亲去世后，事情就变得不稳定了。这不是什么新鲜事。邻居们会骂我们直到收成不好或者护身符坏掉。然后他们就会改变态度。过去两百年来，这种舞蹈一直没有变过。"
She glanced at the crimson stallion before looking at the screen again. “He says otherwise. That the military’s looking for a fight… like when Fiendfire attacked. And that Thunderhead might be the next target. He says they might try and kill you, Father.”
她瞥了一眼那匹深红色的种马，然后又看了看屏幕。"他可不这么认为。军方正在寻找一场战斗...就像Fiendfire进攻时那样。而那个Thunderhead可能是下一个目标。他说他们可能会杀了你，父亲。"
He harrumphed. “There’s at least twenty ponies I can think of who’d want me dead. It comes from being a politician.” Glory started to say something, but he coughed and raised his wing. “I won’t hear any more conspiracy nonsense.
他哼了一声。"我能想到的至少有二十匹小马想要我的命。它来自于成为一名政治家。"格洛里开始说些什么，但他咳嗽了一声，举起了翅膀。"我不想再听什么阴谋论的废话了。
Neighvarro needs Thunderhead. They’ll huff and puff and snap their wings, but when the sun sets they’ll be the ones asking us for help.”
邻居需要霹雳头。它们会气喘吁吁地折断翅膀，但当太阳落山时，它们会向我们寻求帮助。"
“What if they’re not, though?” I asked as I stepped up next to Glory. She stared hard at me, her feathers ruffling. Her father glared at me, and I wondered if his remaining eye could disintegrate me through the terminal. “Mister Sky Striker, I grew up in a stable. We were attacked, and afterwards, I thought there was no threat… but in the end, everypony I knew and loved was dead. Is the risk to Thunderhead worth more than scrap metal and blueberries?”
"不过，如果他们不是呢?"当我走近晨辉时，我问道。她紧紧地盯着我，羽毛竖起来了。她父亲瞪着我，我不知道他那只残存的眼睛能不能通过终端把我分解。"天空前锋先生，我在一个马厩里长大。我们被袭击了，之后，我以为没有威胁了......但最终，我认识和喜爱的每一匹小马都死了。比起废金属和蓝莓，Thunderhead面临的风险更大吗?"
He looked at me in such a way that I realized I was in trouble. The exact same expression was on Glory’s face as well. Big trouble. Lighthooves looked as if he were doing all he could not to laugh as he just smiled.
他那样看着我，我意识到我有麻烦了。晨辉的脸上也是一模一样的表情。大麻烦。他只是微笑着，看起来好像在尽力克制自己不笑。
“Morning Glory, who’s this?” His tone was light, but I suspected that his death gaze was merely charging up.
"牵牛花，你是谁?"他的语气很轻松，但我怀疑他死亡般的凝视只是在抬头。
“This is Blackjack,” she said pleasantly enough, but there was an undertone that said that I was in so much trouble right now. “She’s my dear friend,” she said, and I suddenly realized that ‘dear’ could mean ‘idiotic’ from how she said the word.
"这是黑杰克,"她愉快地说，但有一个低音说，我现在有这么多的麻烦。"她是我亲爱的朋友,"她说，我突然意识到'亲爱的'可能意味着'白痴'，从她说这个词。
“I see,” he replied evenly, and muttered, “I’m never getting grandfoals at this rate…” Then his eye hardened on me. “Miss Blackjack, I’ve been guarding and protecting Thunderhead my entire life. Thunderhead needs the VC. We’re just realizing how badly we need metal and materials from the surface. And we’re becoming an example of just how much the surface offers us. In time, the Enclave military and other cities will come around to our way of thinking. The military won’t risk damaging Shadowbolt Tower. They need it.”
"我明白了,"他平静地回答，喃喃自语,"照这样下去，我永远也得不到正马驹了......"然后他的眼睛盯住了我。"Blackjack小姐，我一辈子都在守护着Thunderhead。需要VC。我们刚刚意识到我们是多么需要表面的金属和材料。我们正在成为表面能提供给我们多少的一个例子。随着时间的推移，飞地军事和其他城市将会改变我们的思维方式。军方不会冒险破坏影螺栓塔。他们需要它。"
“But--” I began weakly.
"但是——"我有气无力地开口了。
“I won’t hear any more on this,” he said with finality. “All this talk of war and pegasus turning against pegasus simply undermines us. We are all Enclave. We are all in this together.” Suddenly, I had an overwhelming appreciation for just what Lighthooves was dealing with. It was like Miramare all over again. How do you convince somepony who’s completely made up their mind before their cutie marks are burned off?
"我不想再听这件事了,"他最后说。"所有这些关于战争和帕伽索斯对抗帕伽索斯的言论只会削弱我们。我们都是飞地。我们都在同一条船上。"突然之间，我对光剑正在处理的东西产生了无法抗拒的感激之情。就像米拉马雷的故事又重演了一次。你怎样才能说服那些已经下定决心的小马，在它们可爱的标记被烧掉之前？
“Right,” was all I could mutter.
"对,"我只能咕哝着说。
“Very good.” His gaze pinned me in place as he stared at me, “Now. Miss Blackjack. You care deeply for my daughter?” I swallowed and nodded. “More than anything?” I nodded faster.
"很好。"他凝视着我，目不转睛地盯着我:"现在。黑杰克小姐。你很关心我的女儿吗?"我咽了口唾沫，点了点头。"胜过一切?"我更快地点了点头。
“I’d give my life for her in a heartbeat,” I replied.
"我愿意为她献出我的生命,"我回答。
“And have you screwed it up?” I winced, looking at Glory with a worried frown. He took a deep breath. “I see. Well, if she’s forgiven you, then I suppose there must be some merit to you. I did the same for her mother… but, if the next time I see my daughter, she’s without her other wing, I swear you will be the one to answer for it. Is this understood?”
"你把事情搞砸了吗?"我皱着眉头，忧心忡忡地看着晨辉。他深吸了一口气。"我明白了。好吧，如果她已经原谅你了，那么我想你一定有什么优点。我也对她母亲做了同样的事......但是，如果下次我再见到我的女儿，她失去了她的另一个翅膀，我发誓你将是那个为此负责的人。明白了吗?"
“Yes sir!” I said with a gulp. Maybe put her in the HMS Celestia on the moon…
"是的，先生!"我一口气说道。也许把她放在月球上的皇家海军舰艇塞莱斯蒂亚上..。
that’d keep her safe, right?
能保证她的安全，对吗？
“Very good,” he said before his eyes returned to Glory. “Now, Morning Glory, have you found what you’re looking for?” Glory glanced at me nervously, then at the screen, and then dropped her eyes.
"非常好,"他说，他的眼睛回到了晨辉。"牵牛花，你找到你要找的东西了吗?"晨辉紧张地瞥了我一眼，然后看了看屏幕，然后垂下了眼睛。
“No, Father. Not yet,” she replied before looking back at him. “But I’m still looking.” He just sighed and nodded.
"不，父亲。还没有,"她回答，然后回头看了看他。"但我还在找。"他只是叹了口气，点点头。
“Too bad.”
"太糟糕了。"
“And the twins?”
"那对双胞胎呢?"
“They miss you badly. Lucent got in a terrible fight at school over the recording. Lambent is more quietly upset. She pours herself into her studies. I hope you get to see them again soon.”
"他们非常想念你。朗讯在学校里为了录音大吵了一架。兰本特则更安静地感到沮丧。她全身心地投入学习。我希望你很快能再见到他们。"
“Me too, Father,” she replied with a small smile. “Maybe someday in the future you can bring them down to see the surface.”
"我也是，父亲,"她微笑着回答。"也许将来有一天，你可以把它们放下来看看表面。"
“It’s hard to get over the dirt,” he replied with a small roll of his eyes. Finally he sighed. “It was good talking with you again, Morning.”
"很难从泥土上爬过去,"他回答时轻轻地转了一下眼珠。最后他叹了口气。"很高兴再次与你交谈，早上好。"
“And you, Father.”
"还有你，父亲。"
“Sunshine and rainbows, Morning Glory.”
阳光和彩虹牵牛花
“And clear skies ahead, Father.”
"前方天空晴朗，父亲。"
Wait? Wasn’t she going to tell him about Lighthooves? Or what he did to her? Or the contagion he was working on, or anything?! My jaw dropped as she reached over and turned off the terminal, looking at Lighthooves. “So?”
等等？她不是要告诉他光剑的事吗？或者他对她做了什么？或者他研究的传染病，或者别的什么?！当她伸出手关掉终端，看着Lighthooves时，我的下巴都掉下来了。"那又怎样?"
He looked at her for a long moment as he rubbed his nose with a wing, then nodded to Northstar. This was it! His sudden but inevitable villainous betrayal! The midnight blue mare trotted to the terminal and began typing on the keys before she looked at me. “Well, do you want the files from Flash Industries or not?”
他用翅膀擦了擦鼻子，看了她好一会儿，然后向北极星点了点头。就是这个！他的突然而不可避免的邪恶背叛！午夜的蓝色母马小跑到终端机，开始敲键盘，然后才看着我。"好吧，你到底想不想要Flash工业的文件?"
I felt concussed. “You’re giving them to me? But… but she didn’t convince him
我感到脑震荡。"你要把它们给我？但是...但是她没能说服他
to stop like you wanted!”
就像你想要的那样停下来
“She really isn’t a smart pony, is she?” Lighthooves murmured.
"她真的不是一匹聪明的小马，是吗?"轻舟低吟着。
“Father would never just change his mind like that. It took ten years for us to finally get him to stop singing in the shower,” Glory said softly. “All I agreed to do was talk with him. Hopefully it’ll make Father think about what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. He can get reckless sometimes,” Glory explained as Northstar hooked my PipBuck to the terminal.
"爸爸不会就这样改变主意的。我们花了十年时间才让他在淋浴时停止唱歌,"晨辉轻声说。"我只同意和他谈谈。希望这能让父亲想想他在做什么，为什么要这么做。他有时候会鲁莽行事,"晨辉解释说，此时北星正把我的PipBuck连接到终端。
“But… but half that conversation was a fight and the other half you didn’t say anything!” I gawked as I looked at her. Northstar began typing, and a little message asked me if I wanted to do something with Project Steelpony. I hit accept as I looked at the pair. “I mean…”
"但是......但是一半的谈话是打架，另一半你什么也没说!"我呆呆地看着她。北极星开始打字，一条短信问我是否愿意为Steelpony项目做点什么。当我看着这一对时，我按下了accept键。"我是说......"
The Dealer coughed in my mind; I had no time for him right now. I mentally mashed accept over and over again.
"商人"在我的脑海里咳嗽了一声，我现在没有时间理他。我在心里一遍又一遍地接受。
Glory sighed softly as my PipBuck did… something. There were all these blurred letters and numbers streaming by in the corner of my vision. “Blackjack, I don’t think you realize it, but I fight with everypony in my family. Father. Dusk. Moonshadow. Even the twins.” Glory? Nice, sweet, wonderful Glory? ...Okay, yeah, I guess I could see it.
当我的皮伯克做了什么的时候，格洛里轻轻地叹了口气。所有这些模糊不清的字母和数字在我的视线角落里川流不息。"黑杰克，我想你没有意识到，我和家里的每个人都打架。父亲。黄昏。Moonshadow.连双胞胎也不例外。"晨辉？美好的，甜蜜的，奇妙的晨辉？好吧我想我能看出来。
“But you didn’t say anything about the contagion or talismans or the like!” I protested with a frown.
"但你没有提到传染病或护身符之类的东西!"我皱着眉头表示抗议。
“Of course not. Do you want to give Lighthooves a reason to kill both us and Father?” Glory responded.
"当然不是。你想给轻舟一个杀死我们和父亲的理由吗?"晨辉回应道。
“I would prefer to avoid it,” the crimson stallion said offhandedly. The two sounded like they were bantering about our deaths. They were bantering!
"我宁愿避免它,"深红色的种马马不假思索地说。这两个人听起来像是在拿我们的死开玩笑。他们在开玩笑！
“But I… you… she… we…” I collapsed on my haunches with a clatter. “What the hell is wrong with all you pegasi?! This cloak and dagger stuff… it just isn’t healthy!” All this intrigue was starting to make my head hurt. The flashing and numbers didn’t help much either. What the hay was my PipBuck doing?
"但是我.....。."你......她......我们......"我砰的一声倒在地上。"你们这些飞马到底怎么了?！这种披风的东西...根本就不健康!"所有这些阴谋开始使我头疼。闪光灯和数字也帮不上什么忙。我的皮伯克在干什么？
Suddenly, as abruptly as it began, it ended. About time, too. I checked my PipBuck memory, and… oh, look! Another quarter of nigh-infinite memory
突然，就像开始一样突然，它结束了。也是时候了。我检查了我的PipBuck记忆然后...哦看！又是四分之一的无限记忆
power taken up with ‘Steelpony.acv’. Good. Something for smarter ponies than I. I reached over to the terminal to pull out the cables, then blinked as my hoof passed right through it. “Bwah?!” I gasped as I waved my hoof back and forth through the computer. “Wha… how…?” I stammered as the computer swirled and then seemed to resolidify on the table. “That’s weird! You’re weird!
权力被'Steelpony.acv'占据。很好。比我聪明的小马我伸手到终端拉出电缆，然后眨眨眼，因为我的蹄子通过它。"哇?!"我在电脑前前后摆动着我的蹄子，喘着粗气。"什么...怎么...?"电脑旋转时我结结巴巴地说，然后似乎又重新固定在桌子上。"真奇怪！你真奇怪！
Everything that flies is weird!” I pointed at the computer, my mane bristling. “This is not natural!”
所有飞起来的东西都很奇怪!"我指着电脑，我的鬃毛直竖。"这不正常!"
“Relax, Blackjack. It’s just made out of clouds,” Glory said as she rested her hoof on top of the terminal easily and unplugged it with her mouth.
"放松点，黑杰克。晨辉一边说，一边把蹄子轻松地放在终端上，用嘴巴拔掉了电源插头。
“Clouds?” I blinked and pointed at the screen. “That’s a cloud? Terminals aren’t made out of clouds! Terminals are made out of… whatever non-cloud things they’re made out of!” I started to trot around the room. “Is this made out of clouds? Or this?” I asked as I went and kicked everything that looked remotely pegasus-built… and was shocked to find my hoof passed through most of it. “Ahhh!” I tried to flip away a container with my hoof, but my leg went right through it.
"云?"我眨了眨眼睛，指着屏幕。"那是一朵云吗？终端不是云做的！终端是由......任何非云的东西组成的!"我开始绕着房间小跑起来。"这是云做的吗？还是这个?"我边走边问，踢着所有看起来像是飞马座建造的东西......我震惊地发现我的蹄子穿过了它的大部分。"啊!"我试图用我的蹄子把一个容器翻过来，但是我的腿直接穿过去了。
“She fights monsters, has a building collapse under her, smashes through an interrogation window, tears apart soldiers in a chem-induced fury… and this is what freaks her out? I don’t know if I should be impressed or disappointed,” Lighthooves commented.
"她与怪物战斗，让一座建筑在她脚下坍塌，打破审讯窗户，在化学诱导的愤怒中撕裂士兵......这就是让她害怕的东西？我不知道我应该感到印象深刻还是失望。"。
* * *
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, we were out of there. I had a splitting headache from that download, I really did not want to be around Lighthooves any longer, and almost everything around me was made of clouds! Intangible gear was where I drew the line! Lighthooves seemed exceptionally pleased with himself, which didn’t do me any favors either. Fortunately, Glory and I were escorted out of Weather Monitoring One by Northstar. I’d poked her black carapace armor and was relieved to find it quite solid under my hoof.
15分钟后，我们离开了那里。那次下载让我头疼欲裂，我真的不想再呆在Lighthooves了，我周围的一切都是云做的！无形的装备是我的底线！轻舟似乎对自己格外满意，这也没有给我带来任何好处。幸运的是，晨辉和我被北极星护送出了天气监测一号。我戳了戳她的黑色甲壳盔甲，很欣慰地发现它在我的蹄子下面很结实。
“Quit it,” she’d murmured, but every other minute I’d give it a test poke… you know, just to make sure.
"别这样,"她喃喃地说，但每隔一分钟，我就会试探一下......你知道，只是为了确保万无一失。
“So, ahem, what do you want with off-the-books targeting talismans?” I asked the armored mare with a grin as she handed over the rest of my gear. Northstar looked amused, and Glory just smiled and shook her head. “What?” I asked as I
"那么，嗯哼，你想从那些没有记录在案的护身符中得到什么?"我问那头装甲母马，当她交出我其余的装备时，我咧嘴笑了。北极星看起来很开心，晨辉只是微笑着摇了摇头。"什么?"我问道
floated my barding into place. Glory helped me adjust it.
把我的身份弄清楚了。晨辉帮我调整了一下。
My gray love sighed softly. “You don’t just ask, Blackjack. You talk around it.
我灰色的爱轻轻叹息。"你不能只是问，Blackjack。你围绕着它说话。
Work your way towards the answer. Be subtle.” This from the most literal mare
朝着答案的方向努力。保持低调。"这话出自一匹最真实的母马
I’d ever met?
最好的朋友？
“Of course, you could always join us,” Northstar said casually. “As they say, ‘if you can’t beat ‘em...’”
"当然，你可以随时加入我们,"北极星漫不经心地说。"正如他们所说,'如果你不能打败'他们......"'
I snorted. “As if Lighthooves would ever go for that. As if Glory would go for that!” I laughed as I finally checked my firearms. Then I saw their serious looks and my laughter died off. “I… you… you’re serious?! You’re actually serious!” I stammered and pointed my hoof at her flanks. “He burned off your cutie marks, Glory!”
我哼了一声。"就好像光剑会喜欢那个一样。好像光荣就是为了这个!"当我最终检查我的武器时，我笑了。然后我看到他们严肃的表情，我的笑声渐渐消失了。"我.....。.你...你是认真的?！你真的是认真的!"我结结巴巴地把蹄子指向她的侧腹。"他烧掉了你可爱的印记，晨辉!"
“To prevent a war,” she replied softly as she shivered, dropping her gaze a moment. Then she looked back up at me. “Even if he’s wrong, I can’t fault his intent. I agree his means are wrong, but his end is to protect my home.”
"为了防止战争,"她颤抖着轻声回答，目光落在地上一会儿。然后她抬起头看着我。"即使他错了，我也不能责怪他的意图。我同意他的方法是错误的，但他的目的是保护我的家园。"
Yeah, unless he’s lying! I almost said it, but at the look on her face the retort stuck in my throat. Maybe it was a pegasus thing, or maybe it was a Thunderhead thing, but they didn’t do or take lying well. The feigned confession hadn’t worked and they didn’t lie… exactly.
是啊，除非他在撒谎！我几乎要说出口了，但是看到她脸上的表情，我的喉咙里充满了反驳。也许是飞马系的问题，也许是雷霆队的问题，但是他们不会善于撒谎。伪造的供词没有起作用，他们也没有撒谎......确切地说。
I wasn’t on the same page as Glory and Northstar. Clearly, they appreciated Lighthooves in a way I couldn’t. He was using misdirection against an Enclave military that apparently had superior firepower and a need to use it to justify their existence. Maybe there was something noble about that, but I couldn’t respect a pony who twisted the truth to the point of making it almost unrecognizable to get Dusk to kill Glory or try to smear her father’s name. You just didn’t do some things. And still Glory believed in the Enclave and Thunderhead. Maybe not as callously as Lighthooves; I couldn’t see Glory comparing earth ponies to radroaches, but she was still convinced that her people and her home were the best future for Equestria.
我和《晨辉亚》和《北极星》不是一路人。很明显，他们欣赏光剑的方式是我不能欣赏的。他正在利用误导来对付一支显然拥有优势火力的飞地军队，并且需要利用这支军队来证明他们存在的正当性。也许这里面有些高尚的东西，但是我不能尊重一个扭曲事实的小马，以至于让黄昏杀死晨辉或者试图抹黑她父亲的名字几乎让人认不出来。你只是没有做一些事情。而晨辉仍然相信飞地和雷头。也许不像光剑那样冷酷无情;我看不到晨辉把地球上的小马比作小马，但她仍然相信她的人民和她的家园是小马国最好的未来。
And maybe she was right.
也许她是对的。
But despite that, there was something about Lighthooves, beyond what he’d done, that bothered me. He was a schemer, somepony trying to manipulate the world around him. And after encountering Goldenblood… well, I was suspicious
尽管如此，除了他的所作所为之外，还有一些关于光剑的事情困扰着我。他是个阴谋家，一个试图操纵周围世界的小人物。在遇到金血王之后......我就开始怀疑了
of anypony who tried to get others to do their dirty work for them. I got all the same vibes from Lighthooves as I did from Goldenblood: he was a pony who would get a lot of ponies killed if he thought it was worth it.
那些想让别人替他们干脏活的人。我从Lighthooves得到了和从金血王那里得到的一样的共鸣:他是一匹小马驹，如果他认为值得的话，他会害死很多小马驹。
“The talismans are in the Robronco maintenance center in Flank,” Glory told Northstar. “If you can’t find any there, you might try at Exchange. I sold them to a bluish-white mare with a wrench cutie mark.”
"护身符在弗兰克的罗布朗科维修中心,"晨辉告诉北星。"如果在那里找不到，可以试试Exchange。我把它们卖给了一匹蓝白色母马，上面有一个可爱的扳手印。"
Northstar sighed. “And she’ll probably send me somewhere else. Why is nothing ever easy?”
北极星叹了口气。"她可能会把我送到别的地方去。为什么没有一件事是容易的?"
I chuckled. “‘Cause then it just wouldn’t be any fun.”
我咯咯地笑了。"因为那样就没意思了"
When she was gone I looked at Glory. “What?” she asked a little nervously.
当她离开的时候，我看着晨辉。"什么?"她有点紧张地问。
“Nothing,” I said as I stretched forward to nuzzle her. “Just… I don’t like that we helped him. I know what he told us. I just… I think it’s going to end badly. That’s all.” I’d gotten what I wanted. He’d gotten what he wanted. That was fair, right?
"没什么,"我一边说，一边伸长身子用鼻子蹭她。"只是......我不喜欢我们帮助他。我知道他跟我们说了什么。我只是...我觉得结局会很糟。仅此而已。"我得到了我想要的。他得到了他想要的。这很公平，不是吗？
So why was my mane going so crazy?
那么为什么我的鬃毛会这么疯狂呢？
* * *
* * *
The west side of the river had been dominated by dead forests and residential areas. The northeast was one big industrial ruin. The roads were choked with debris ranging from chunks of buildings to collapsed steel girders, making a maze that has us constantly backtracking and working our way around obstacles. I needed to find someplace to hole up while we tried to reconnect with P-21, Scotch Tape, and Lacunae. I had Scotch’s PipBuck tag and she had mine, so it was inevitable that we’d meet sooner or later. The question was, what would we meet in the meantime?
河的西岸以死去的森林和居民区为主。东北是一个大工业废墟。道路被碎片堵塞，从大块的建筑物到倒塌的钢梁，形成了一个迷宫，让我们不断地回溯，绕过障碍物。我需要找个地方躲起来，然后我们再联系P-21、透明胶带和空白处。我有Scotch的PipBuck标签，她也有我的，所以我们迟早会见面是不可避免的。问题是，在此期间我们会遇到什么？
There wasn’t really anyplace safe to hole up here. Most of the buildings were collapsed, and every now and then my PipBuck let out its clicks to remind us that this was no spot for resting. The problem was that it was starting to get dark. I’d sucked up enough radiation to let me see clearly and had my E.F.S. to warn me about things, but Glory didn’t have either of those advantages.
这里没有任何安全的地方可以躲藏。大多数建筑物都倒塌了，我的PipBuck不时发出滴答声，提醒我们这里不是休息的地方。问题是天开始变黑了。我已经吸收了足够的辐射，让我看得更清楚，并且让我的e.f.s.提醒我注意一些事情，但是晨辉没有这些优点。
“What do you think it was?” I asked as we carefully picked our way down a
"你觉得那是什么?"我问道，我们小心翼翼地沿着一条路走下去
street littered with rusty barrels and pools of rainbow-hued water. “In Diamond’s office, I mean? The thing that cut all the Flashers to pieces and tried to get my PipBuck?” And why had it tried to impersonate Goldenblood, of all ponies?
街上到处都是生锈的桶和彩虹色的水池。"我是说，在戴蒙德的办公室里？那个把所有的闪电侠都切成碎片，然后试图抢走我的皮伯克的东西?"为什么它要冒充金血王子，冒充所有的小马？
“I really don’t know,” she replied as she kicked out at a radroach that’d been looking for a nibble.
"我真的不知道,"她一边回答，一边踢开了一只一直想咬一口的红萝卜。
Well, I... actually, I did know one person who could take over a system like that. I rose to my hooves and flicked my ears. “Listen,” I said as I looked around the dark, drizzly ruins. “Can you hear a tuba? Trombone? Tambourine?”
我..。.事实上，我认识一个人可以接管这样的系统。我站起来，轻轻地弹了弹耳朵。"听着,"我说，同时我看了看周围黑暗，下着毛毛雨的废墟。"你能听到大号的声音吗？长号？铃鼓?"
She looked at me oddly. “Should I?” There was a little worry in her voice; I guess, when it came to a mare as messed up as I, it was valid.
她奇怪地看着我。"我应该吗?"她的声音里有点担心;我猜，当她遇到像我这样一团糟的事情时，她的担心是有道理的。
There it was. Distant music barely audible over the rain. I half-guessed the direction and trotted as fast as I was able through the shell of some factory. For once, luck was in my favor: the music was getting louder. It was that obnoxious ‘ompaa ompaa’ playing that nopony in their right mind could like! Then I spotted the little flying spritebot. It’d clearly seen better days, given it was missing one eye and made a decidedly staticy noise. “Watcher!” I leapt over a mucky storm drain and grabbed the robot with my magic.
就在那儿。远处的音乐在雨中几乎听不见。我猜了一下方向，然后以最快的速度小跑着穿过某个工厂的外壳。这一次，运气对我有利:音乐变得越来越响。正是那个令人讨厌的"欧帕欧帕"在他们正常的头脑中扮演一匹小马驹！然后我发现了那个会飞的小弹簧机器人。考虑到它失去了一只眼睛，而且发出了一种明显的警惕性噪音，它显然已经看到了更好的日子。"守望者!"我跳过一条肮脏的下水道，用我的魔法抓住了机器人。
“Watcher?” Glory asked in confusion as I pulled the spritebot in front of me.
"守望者?"当我把喷气机器人拉到我面前时，晨辉困惑地问道。
“A… a friend. He’s sort of given me help now and then. He can take over computer systems and stuff. He might know.” I grinned as I looked at the robot. “Hey, Watcher! Watcher?” I frowned and gave the robot a vigorous shake. “Watcher!”
"答:。.一个朋友。他偶尔会给我一些帮助。他可以接管电脑系统之类的东西。他可能知道。"看着这个机器人，我咧嘴笑了。"嘿，守望者！观察者?"我皱了皱眉头，狠狠地摇了摇机器人。"守望者!"
“Easy, Blackjack! Don’t break it!” the bot suddenly said in that mechanical voice. “Nice to see you again too, Blackjack.” After a moment, the bot crackled again. “Whoa. What happened to you? Nice eyepatch!” Then the bot turned and faced Glory. “Oh…” Yeah, awkward.
"放松点，黑杰克！别弄坏了!"机器人突然用机械的声音说。"我也很高兴再次见到你，Blackjack。"过了一会儿，机器人又响了起来。"哇。你怎么了？眼罩不错!"然后机器人转身面对晨辉。"哦..."是啊真尴尬。
“Trust me, I’d rather have kept the eye. Listen, I need to ask you a computer-smart-pony question. How do you take over the spritebots? We’ve run into this… this thing. It’s doing the exact same thing… taking over computer systems.”
"相信我，我宁愿留着那只眼睛。听着，我需要问你一个电脑智能小马的问题。如何接管spritebots？我们遇到了这个...这个东西。它正在做同样的事情——接管计算机系统。"
Spike coughed. “Well… you remember the thing in the place?” I glanced at
斯派克咳嗽了一声。"嗯......你还记得那地方的东西吗?"我瞥了一眼
Glory’s confused and faintly annoyed expression, then nodded. “Well, it’s one of the most powerful of its kind ever.” A Crusader Maneframe. A magical and technological wonder. “There were only a few made across Equestria, and only for critical projects.”
晨辉的表情有点困惑和不耐烦，然后点了点头。"嗯，它是同类中最强大的之一。"一个十字军战士。神奇的科技奇迹。"整个Equestria只有少数几家制造商，而且只针对关键项目。"
“So you think that… that thing… might be using one of those?”
"所以你认为......那个东西......可能正在使用其中的一个?"
“Maybe. Or it’s possibly a knockoff. Or maybe somepony in the Wasteland found enough parts to make one. After all, why only make three when you can have nine at triple the price, only the six get to be kept secret for your own sinister ends?”
"也许吧。或者可能是山寨货。或者荒原上的小马找到了足够的零件来制造一个。毕竟，如果你能以三倍的价格得到九个，为什么只能得到三个，只有六个能为你自己的邪恶目的而保密呢?"
“I see.” So if there was a Crusader Maneframe out there, or its equivalent, then somepony was using that to take over systems. Somehow, it had animated an entire factory to try and take EC-1101 by force. Then it had tried to trick me… badly… using Goldenblood’s illusion. Both felt… sloppy. Blunt. Like whoever was behind it really wasn’t putting much thought into it. “Can you think of anyplace around Hoofington that might have a top secret you-know-what?” I asked with a grin.
"我明白了。"所以如果有一个十字军战士，或者类似的东西，那么一些小马就会用它来接管系统。不知何故，它激活了整个工厂试图采取EC-1101强制。然后它试图欺骗我......恶劣地......使用金色血液的幻觉。两个人都觉得...很邋遢。布朗特。好像幕后黑手真的没有花太多心思。"你能想到Hoofington附近哪个地方可能有你知道的最高机密吗?"我咧嘴笑着问。
“If you’d asked anywhere else, then I might have a clue. There might be one hidden in Tenpony, but they’d never confirm it. Robronco wanted one in the last year of the war, but Apple Bloom turned them down. It’s a fair bet the O.I.A. had one somewhere. Maybe one in the M.W.T. hub in Canterlot or Hoofington; again, nothing confirmed. Hoofington was Equestria’s biggest research hub. Even if there wasn’t a you-know-what, there were enough research maneframes that somepony might be able to come close. Sorry. I know Stable-Tec built them, but that’s about all.”
"如果你问别的地方，我可能会有线索。也许有一个藏在Tenpony，但他们永远不会证实。罗布朗科在战争的最后一年想要一个，但苹果布鲁姆拒绝了他们。很有可能o.i.a.在某个地方有一个。也许在Canterlot或胡芬顿的m.w.t.中心有一个，再说一遍，没有任何证据。胡芬顿是小马国最大的研究中心。即使没有一个你知道什么，有足够的研究手册，一些小马可能能够接近。对不起。我知道Stable-Tec制造了它们，但仅此而已。"
“Thanks, Watcher,” I said with a smile. “How are things in the rest of Equestria? I haven’t had time to listen to Ho-- erm… DJ Pon3.” I glanced at Glory with a sheepish grin. From her look I had yet more explaining to do.
"谢谢你，观察者,"我微笑着说。"Equestria其它地区的情况如何？我还没有时间听Ho——呃......DJPon3。"我带着羞怯的笑容瞥了格洛里一眼。从她的表情来看，我还有更多的解释要做。
“Weird. LittlePip was in Fillydelphia a little while ago. Now she’s off to Splendid Valley… and I’m not sure why. Red Eye’s got an army moving around Tenpony. For a while, I’d hoped that the Rangers might do something about it, but they’re all heading to Celestia knows where. Something’s going on and I don’t like it. How are you doing?”
"真奇怪。刚才小匹普在Fillydelphia。现在她要去灿烂山谷了...我不知道为什么。红眼派了一支军队在Tenpony周围巡逻。有一段时间，我希望流浪者队能做点什么，但是他们都去了Celestia，不知道去了哪里。发生了一些事情，我不喜欢这样。你怎么样?"
I sighed. “Okay. I’ve got a few months to live. Taint and cancer.” And that was
我叹了口气。"好吧。我只能活几个月了。污染和癌症。"那就是
all there was to say about that. Then I looked at Glory and gave her a crooked little smile. “Hey. Could you please give me a little privacy? I need to talk about you behind your back.”
我能说的就是这个。然后我看着晨辉，给了她一个歪歪扭扭的微笑。"嘿。你能给我一点私人空间吗？我需要在你背后谈论你。"
Glory looked at me with a sharp frown, pointing her wing at me before sighing and shaking her head. I watched her move to the other end of the factory, looking back frequently. “Blackjack?” Watcher asked.
晨辉尖锐地皱着眉头看着我，用她的翅膀指着我，然后叹了口气，摇了摇头。我看着她走到工厂的另一端，频繁地回头看。"黑杰克?"观察者问道。
I turned my back to Glory so she couldn’t see my face. “I almost lost her, Spike,” I said softly as I looked at the spritebot’s remaining eye. “She was right there in front of me and I… she… she fell. And I couldn’t do… do anything!” I felt myself melting down as I let myself finally face that horrible truth. “One of my enemies saved her to fuck with me… and I’m so happy she’s alive. Goddesses… I’m so happy! But I’m scared shitless it’ll happen again, Spike!” My legs were shaking so badly that I couldn’t hold on to the robot. I took a deep sniff. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t. I want to keep her safe… and happy…”
我背对着晨辉，这样她就看不见我的脸了。"我差点失去她，斯派克,"我看着喷泉机器人剩下的一只眼睛，轻声说道。"她就在我面前，我.....。.她...她摔倒了。我什么都做不了!"当我让自己最终面对这个可怕的事实时，我感到自己完全崩溃了。"我的一个敌人救了她来整我......我很高兴她还活着。女神们......我太高兴了！但我怕这种事再次发生，斯派克!"我的腿抖得厉害，我抓不住机器人。我深吸了一口气。"我不知道该怎么办。我不知道。我想保证她的安全...和幸福..."
The bot was silent for the longest time. I glanced over my shoulder. Glory was shielding her eyes with her wing as she kept an eye on the radroaches scurrying in the ruins around us. Damn things were cluttering up my E.F.S. with red bars. Finally, Spike answered. “I don’t know what to tell you, Blackjack. I really don’t. You can’t send her away; she doesn’t seem like a mare who’d just trot off even if you asked her to. So just do your best to make her happy and keep her as safe as you can. That’s all you can do.”
机器人沉默了很长时间。我回头看了一眼。晨辉用她的翅膀遮住了她的眼睛，她一直注视着在我们周围的废墟中急速流窜的水牛。该死的东西把我的e.f.s弄得乱七八糟。最后，斯派克回答。"我不知道该怎么跟你说，黑杰克。我真不知道。你不能把她送走，她看起来不像一匹即使你要求她也会小跑的母马。所以尽你所能让她开心，让她尽可能的安全。这就是你所能做的。"
“But… what if she dies?” I whimpered, feeling like an absolute foal. I needed some adult to tell me it was going to be okay.
"但是...如果她死了怎么办?"我呜咽着，感觉自己就像一匹小马驹。我需要一个成年人告诉我一切都会好起来的。
“Then… that’s a real bad day. But you have to remember all the good parts. That knowing her is worthwhile. I miss Twilight every single day because I remember how much she meant to me. You have to do the same for Glory for as long as you can.”
"那么......那真是糟糕的一天。但是你必须记住所有好的部分。认识她是值得的。我每天都想念《暮光之城》，因为我记得她对我有多重要。为了晨辉，你必须尽可能长时间地做同样的事。"
I sighed. “Really? I was hoping for some kind of miraculous solution you might have. I’ve got to do something to keep her safe before this taint eats me alive.” I sniffed, but it was impossible to tell if I was crying or not. I just never wanted to feel that way again. “Oh well... hopefully we can at least work things out between the Reapers and the Rangers.” Stupid war… I hated war. I hated the whole concept. Ponies should not know war!
我叹了口气。"真的吗？我希望你能找到奇迹般的解决办法。在这个污点把我活活吞噬之前，我得想办法保证她的安全。"我抽了抽鼻子，但是不知道我是不是哭了。我只是不想再有那种感觉了。"哦，好吧......希望我们至少能解决收割者和突击队之间的问题。"愚蠢的战争...我讨厌战争。我讨厌这整个概念。小马不应该知道战争！
“Rangers?” Was it just me or did the synthetic voice sound alarmed? It was starting to smoke. “You’re going near them?” I gave a little nod. Then it buzzed sharply. “Blackjack! You can’t… make sure… see…” And then the sprite bot gave one last anemic crackle and with a loud pop dropped in front of me. I caught it in my hooves. “Watcher? Watcher!” Somehow the sight of the poor dead spritebot made me want to cry.
"护林员?"是我的错觉还是人工合成的声音听起来有点害怕？它开始冒烟了。"你要接近他们?"我点了点头。然后它突然嗡嗡作响。"黑杰克！你不能......确保......看到......"然后，雪碧机器人发出最后一声贫血的爆裂声，一声巨响落在我面前。我用蹄子夹住了它。"守望者？守望者!"不知为什么，看到这个可怜的死去的弹簧机器人让我想哭。
“Can I come back now?” Glory asked. I put the little bot in my bag with a sniff as I looked back at her. She saw the look on my face and her irritation slipped away. “Talking about what happened?”
"我现在可以回来了吗?"晨辉问道。我回头看着她，嗅了一下，把那个小机器人放进了我的包里。她看到我脸上的表情，她的愤怒消失了。"谈论发生了什么?"
“Yeah,” I replied and wiped my face for any treasonous tears as I trotted towards her. “Well, nothing’s going to stop u--” A spasm of pain shot up my leg and it was all I could do not to scream as I sprawled out on my face in the muck. What in the Goddesses’ names wa--
"是的,"我回答，擦去脸上的泪水，小跑向她。"嗯，什么也阻止不了你——"我的腿突然一阵疼痛，当我四仰八叉地躺在淤泥中时，我忍不住尖叫起来。女神们的名字叫什么
The manticore’s claws snatched inches from my spine as the winging monstrosity landed almost on top of me. With rainbow muck on my cheeks, I stared up at the monster as it crouched beside me. My horn brought Vigilance around and I slipped into S.A.T.S. for three rounds to its body. I didn’t want to wait for a clear shot at its head. The firearm roared above my head and carved great bloody holes in the beast’s side. Hot wet guts and gore spattered out, but it wasn’t dead yet. The beast reared around and half rolled, half flailed away as its fangs chomped inches from my belly. A green beam struck it, and with one deep growl it shuddered and fell in a heap.
蝎尾狮的爪子从我的脊椎上一点点地抓过来，突出的怪物几乎要压到我的身上。我的脸颊上沾满了彩虹般的淤泥，我抬头凝视着蜷缩在我身边的怪物。我的号角引来了警惕，我溜进了s.a.t.s，在它身上打了三个回合。我不想等到它的头部遭到明确的射击。枪声从我头顶呼啸而过，在那只野兽的身体上留下了血淋淋的大洞。热湿的内脏和血块溅了出来，但它还没死。这只野兽四处张牙舞爪，半滚半甩，离我的肚子只有几英寸远。一根绿色的横梁击中了它，随着一声低沉的咆哮，它颤抖着，跌成一堆。
But it’d already given our position away. The manticores were winging in from every direction at once. By the time they were in range for my E.F.S. to pick up, they were diving down on us. In this building’s shell, we were effectively in a great big food bowl. I fought to ignore the throbbing pain. Not now, body. I need you to work!
但这已经暴露了我们的位置。猛犸象立刻从四面八方飞来。当他们进入我的e.f.s探测范围的时候，他们正向我们俯冲。在这个建筑的外壳里，我们实际上是在一个巨大的食物碗里。我努力不去理会悸动的疼痛。现在不行，伙计。我需要你工作！
“We’ve got to get out of here!” I shouted. Twenty to two were NOT odds I liked. I got to my hooves in time for a stinger to catch on one of the ceramic plates over my rump; I blasted the beast in return. Glory sent emerald beams slicing through the air, the glow illuminating the others circling around to make their attacks. I looked in the direction we’d come, but three crouched there behind some cover. The beasts were learning!
"我们必须离开这里!"我喊道。二十分之一的几率是我不喜欢的。我及时赶到马蹄处，一根刺正好刺到我臀部上方的一个陶瓷盘子上，于是我反击了那头野兽。晨辉如同翡翠般闪耀在空中，光芒照亮了周围的人，让他们发起进攻。我朝我们要来的方向看去，但是有三个人蹲在一些掩体后面。这些野兽在学习！
“Hey, Security!” yelled a mare from the darkness above. “I was thinking… why don’t you make this easy, huh? Give up. We’ll make it clean and quick.”
"嘿，保安!"一匹母马从上面的黑暗中叫道。"我在想......你为什么不把事情简单化呢？放弃吧。我们会干净利落地解决这件事。"
I couldn’t help myself. Wiping the grime off my face and ignoring the clicking noise, I laughed at the shadows above. “Oh Goddesses, do you have lousy timing or what! You think you’re going to be able to get me to give up after I just got laid? I can take all you fuckers on!” I floated out Taurus’s rifle. Come on, monstermare. Show me your face before you tell me your sob story and give me a whole new world of guilt!
我情不自禁。我抹去脸上的污垢，不理会那些咔哒声，对着上面的阴影大笑起来。"哦，女神们，你们来得真不是时候！你觉得你能在我刚上完床之后让我放弃吗？我可以把你们这些混蛋都干掉!"我拿出了金牛座的步枪。来吧，怪胎。在你告诉我你的悲伤故事之前，让我看看你的脸，给我一个全新的罪恶世界！
“Funny. So did I,” Cackled the monsterpony somewhere above me. “My pets are very well trained.” Okay… ew!
"有意思。我也是,"我上面某个地方的那匹怪马咯咯地笑着。"我的宠物训练有素。"好吧！
Still, she wasn’t taking the bait. We couldn’t go up. Couldn’t go any other direction. That left... “Glory! The drain! Get in the drain!”
尽管如此，她并没有上钩。我们不能上去。不能往其他方向走。剩下的就是..."晨辉！下水道！到下水道里去!"
“The what?!” she shouted, staring at me in shock. “Are you crazy?”
"什么?!"她大叫着，震惊地盯着我。"你疯了吗?"
“Yes! Now shoot that grate and get down there!” I yelled, wheeling as I saw another manticore making its dive. Two rounds made it veer off, but another swept by and raked me with its claws. I nearly went down. Glory shot the drain cover with her beam rifle but hesitated. Now that we had a route of escape, the monster mare gave a bestial shriek, and the flying creatures began to move in all at once.
"是的！现在射那个栅栏，然后下去!"当我看到另一只蝎尾狮俯冲下来时，我大声喊道。两发子弹让它偏离了方向，但另一发子弹掠过我身边，用它的爪子扒了我一下。我差点就摔倒了。晨辉用她的步枪射穿了下水道盖，但是犹豫了一下。现在我们有了一条逃跑的路线，怪物母马发出了野兽般的尖叫，飞行的生物立刻开始移动。
I holstered Vigilance and ran to where Glory balked on the edge of the hole. “Going down!” I shouted and gave her a shove. She shrieked. Two flew in, mouths stretched wide as I leapt in after her. The beasts collided inches from me as I disappeared into the frothy depths below.
我把警惕装在枪套里，跑到晨辉在洞边止步不前的地方。"下去!"我大叫一声，推了她一把。她尖叫起来。两只飞了进来，嘴巴张得很大，我跳进去追她。当我消失在下面的泡沫深处时，那些野兽在离我几英寸的地方相撞了。
The fall wasn’t that far, but suddenly I realized how much of a bad idea this was! I’d envisioned a nice big sewer we could trot along. What we’d jumped into was a pipe. A pipe almost completely full of very cold and very fast water. It was all I could do to keep my face in the narrow pocket of air at the top of the storm drain. Bits of junk, mud, and rock ground against me as we shot through the earth.
坠落并没有那么远，但是我突然意识到这是一个多么糟糕的主意！我想象着一个可以让我们一路小跑的漂亮的大下水道。我们跳进了一根管子里。一个几乎完全装满了非常冷和非常快的水的管道。我唯一能做的就是把脸埋在下水道顶部狭窄的空气袋里。当我们穿过地面的时候，一些垃圾、泥浆和岩石压在我身上。
I bumped into the thrashing Glory and wrapped my hooves around her. I found her neck and lifted it above the water. She screamed, but it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard! She had to be alive to scream! If we hit a block
我撞到了鞭打着的格洛里，用我的蹄子围住了她。我发现了她的脖子，把它举到水面上。她尖叫着，但这是我听过的最美妙的声音！她必须活着才能尖叫！如果我们撞上一个街区
we were dead. If we hit a pump or something, we were dead. If we ran out of air…
我们已经死了。如果我们撞到水泵或什么东西，我们就死定了。如果我们没有氧气了..。
And just like that, the pocket of air disappeared. We were going down and moving faster! All I could see in that mutated darkness was Glory’s mane. My lungs burned. Any exposed skin flared from where it’d rubbed against the interior of the pipe.
就这样，空气袋消失了。我们在下降，而且移动得更快！在那突变的黑暗中，我只能看到晨辉的鬃毛。我的肺都烧起来了。任何外露的表皮都是从与管道内部摩擦的地方向外扩张的。
And then we were in air again, in the air, falling and tumbling in a great open space. Glory slipped from my grasp as her wing beat instinctively and with futility. We were in a great shaft of tumbling water from a dozen drains. Over and over I flipped in the grip of gravity till I landed with a great frothy crash at the bottom of the shaft. A cascade of water poured down atop me, and I became aware that the water was moving in a circle around the bottom of the shaft. There was a terrible force pulling me downward.
然后我们又回到了空中，在空中，在一个巨大的开阔空间里跌跌撞撞。当她的翅膀本能地、徒劳地扇动时，晨辉从我的手中溜走了。我们身处一个巨大的竖井中，水从十几条下水道倾泻而下。我在地心引力的作用下一次又一次地翻滚着，直到最后在竖井底部发生了巨大的泡沫碰撞。一股水瀑从我身上倾泻而下，我意识到水在竖井底部绕着一个圆圈流动。有一股可怕的力量把我往下拉。
“Glory!” I shouted, looking around as I instinctively flailed my limbs to keep me up. There was so much noise that I could barely hear myself. Then a green light flashed in the darkness from the edge and I saw a rusty stair. She clutched it, breathing hard. Her mouth moved as I swirled around and around. There was that noise, that horrible noise I’d heard in the Fallen Towers. It was deeper, though, and beneath me. And as I spun, I became aware that this water wasn’t flat… it had a depression in the middle. A depression I was slowly sinking into…
"晨辉!"我喊道，环顾四周，本能地挥舞着我的四肢以保持自己站起来。噪音太大了，我几乎听不到自己的声音。然后一盏绿灯在黑暗中闪烁，我看到一个锈迹斑斑的楼梯。她紧紧抓住它，呼吸困难。她的嘴在我转来转去的时候动了动。还有那种噪音，那种我在"倒塌的双子塔"里听到的可怕的噪音。然而，它更深沉，而且在我之下。当我旋转的时候，我意识到水面并不是平的......它的中间有一个凹陷。我正慢慢陷入抑郁..。
Did I mention there wasn’t a swimming pool in 99? Oh, and that I was wearing combat armor? And that I had four surprisingly heavy leg braces on? I swam like I had an orange pony bellowing in my ear to keep moving. Be strong! Be tough! Don’t let this stop me! I couldn’t let this stop me. I could hear grinding below me… and I imagined a pump with great chopping blades to break up the garbage pulled through it.
我说过99年没有游泳池吗？哦，还有我穿着战斗盔甲？而且我还带着四个异常沉重的腿部支架？我游起来就像一匹橙色的小马在我耳边咆哮着要继续前进一样。坚强点！坚强点！别让这个阻止我！我不能让这个阻止我。我可以听到我下面的摩擦声......我想象着一个带有巨大切碎刀片的泵，用来打碎从里面拖出来的垃圾。
I wasn’t making any headway, but I wasn’t getting pulled in further.
我没有取得任何进展，但我没有被拉得更远。
Then I was hit in the face by a wingful of wet feathers. I couldn’t grab, so I bit. She had all four legs gripping the rail as tight as she could as she pulled. The stair was jerking as the force started to pull bits of it free.
然后我的脸被一堆湿漉漉的羽毛打中了。我抓不住，就咬了一口。她的四条腿紧紧地抓住栏杆，尽可能地拉紧。当力量开始把楼梯的一部分拉出来时，楼梯开始剧烈地晃动。
I was going to get us both killed.
我差点害死我们俩。
And just like that, I knew what it meant to be holding on to a limb. Just what had gone through her mind. What I’d do to her if I let go and allowed myself to be pulled into that watery maw. I saw her wide, terrified eyes. Her lips moving. ‘Don’t let go.’
就这样，我知道什么是坚持。只是她脑子里的想法。如果我放手，任由自己被拉进那个水汪汪的无底洞，我会对她做什么。我看见她那双惊恐的大眼睛。她的嘴唇在动。不要放手
I don’t want you to die, Glory. Just like she didn’t want me to die in Flash Industries. But she’d have a whole life before her; I only had a few months. I knew she couldn’t see me in the dark gloom. I wanted to let her know it would be all right. It would be okay. It would.
我不想你死，晨辉。就像她不想让我死在闪电工业一样。但是在她之前她还有一个完整的人生，而我只有几个月的时间。我知道她在黑暗中看不见我。我想让她知道一切都会好的。没关系的。会的。
And then she was firing her beam rifle at the stairs. What was she doing? With a metal shriek an entire section of metal stairs broke free, dropping us both into the churning water. Why, I wanted to ask. But then, I wasn’t a smart pony.
然后她朝楼梯开了一枪。她在干什么？随着一声金属的尖叫，一整段金属楼梯挣脱了，我们俩都掉进了翻腾的水里。为什么，我想问。但是，我不是一匹聪明的小马。
From beneath us came a resounding clang as the rusty lengths were fed into the grinder. There was an ear splitting squeal as something beneath us exploded and the water started to churn furiously. We embraced in the middle of the raging flow as the suction abruptly stopped. Spinning round and round we held each other in the middle of that shaft.
从我们脚下传来一阵响亮的叮当声，一段段锈迹斑斑的铁丝被送进研磨机。我们下面的东西爆炸了，水开始剧烈地翻腾，发出刺耳的尖叫声。我们拥抱在汹涌的水流中，吸力突然停止了。我们一圈又一圈地旋转着，在竖井的中央相互扶持着。
That shaft that was rapidly filling with water!
那个迅速灌满水的竖井！
Up and up and up we were carried as it filled. I could see the domed top. The open pipe. It looked really small… barely enough room for a pony. The noise rose higher and she took a deep breath as she ducked down. With a whoosh I was pushed into the pipe. Up… and up and up and up and the pressure built more and more. I took a breath and held it.
我们被抬得越来越高，越来越高。我可以看见圆顶。打开的管道。它看起来真的很小...几乎不够一匹小马的空间。噪音越来越大，她深深地吸了一口气，然后蹲了下来。嗖的一声，我被推进了管子里。向上，向上，向上，向上，压力越来越大。我深吸了一口气，然后屏住了呼吸。
There was a metallic explosion, and like that I was once more in the air. I tumbled end over end for a moment in the jet of water before I finally slipped off and landed on my back. Glory flopped down next to me, coughing and hacking up water. The end of her rifle had snapped in a sharp L shape. I had no idea how she was supposed to fix it now. I looked up at the gray clouds and did the only thing appropriate at a moment like this.
有一个金属爆炸，像这样，我又一次在空中。我在水中翻滚了一会儿，最后滑了下来，仰面着地。晨辉扑通一声倒在我身边，咳嗽着，水花四溅。她的步枪末端啪地一声变成了一个尖尖的l字形。我不知道她现在该怎么修。我抬头看着灰色的云朵，在这样的时刻做了唯一合适的事情。
I started laughing my fool head off right there in the middle of the pitted street.
我开始在坑坑洼洼的街道中间笑得前仰后合。
And an old stallion chuckled, “Well, damn! Don’t you two know just how to make an entrance!”
一匹老种马咯咯地笑着说:"哎呀，该死！难道你们两个还不知道怎么出场吗?"
* * *
* * *
Contrary to what some may believe, travel by pipe, while fast, is neither comfortable nor safe. In a few minutes, we’d travelled nearly a mile west and popped out right next to a battered but intact fire station. From the second floor I could see a glimpse of the naval base and harbor to the north. Downstairs, next to the rusting fire pump wagons, the old stallion’s brahmin were warming up and taking a load off their powerful frames. A filly was feeding them piles of yellowed grass and thorny bushes--brahmin could apparently eat anything, no matter how radioactive or poisoned--while a sour-looking mare scraped away shovelfuls of their reeking dung.
与一些人可能认为的相反，乘坐管道旅行虽然很快，但既不舒适也不安全。几分钟后，我们向西行驶了将近一英里，就在一个破旧但完好无损的消防站旁边出发了。从二楼我可以瞥见北面的海军基地和港口。楼下，在生锈的消防泵车旁边，老种马的婆罗门正在热身，卸下它们强有力的架子。一匹小母马正在给他们喂一堆堆发黄的草和多刺的灌木——婆罗门显然可以吃任何东西，不管多么具有放射性或中毒——而一匹看起来酸溜溜的母马正在铲除它们散发恶臭的粪便。
The old stallion in charge of the caravan was a wrinkly yellow earth pony stallion with a gray mane. He wore a nice brown canvas coat and a floppy, wide-brimmed hat, and he’d braided his mane, tail, and brushy garlic bulb of a beard and decorated them with shiny pieces of foil. I was rather astonished to see a PipBuck on his right foreleg. His bright, shiny blue eyes sparkled despite his age. Something about the way he grinned made me blush.
领队的那匹老种马是一匹满脸皱纹、黄土色、鬃毛灰白的种马。他穿着一件漂亮的棕色帆布外套，戴着一顶软绵绵的宽边帽，把鬃毛、尾巴和毛茸茸的蒜头状胡子编成辫子，并用闪亮的金属箔片装饰它们。我非常惊讶地看到他的右前腿上有一只小鸟。尽管年事已高，他明亮、闪亮的蓝眼睛仍然闪闪发光。他咧嘴笑的样子使我脸红。
Keeper, as he called himself, had picked us off the street and hauled us to the firehouse as the manticores wheeled around where we’d disappeared a mile or so to the east. His ghoul bodyguards Charon and Cerberus hadn’t said a word as they trotted along in their black combat armor and machinegun-armed battle saddles. Unfriendly, unconcerned, or unable, I didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. Fortunately, with us relaxing in the old fire station’s bunkhouse, Keeper was more than happy to talk enough for three ponies.
守门人，他自称，把我们从街上带走，把我们拖到消防站，猛犸象在我们向东消失了一英里左右的地方转动。他的食尸鬼保镖卡戎和刻耳柏洛斯穿着黑色战斗盔甲和装备机枪的马鞍小跑着，一言不发。不友好，漠不关心，或者无能，我不知道，我不知道如何提出这个话题。幸运的是，随着我们在旧消防局的工棚里休息，管理员非常乐意为三匹小马讲话。
“Never seen the like! Ground rumbling and shaking fit to split in two, and from it issued not just a fountain but two of the greatest beauties as could ever be imagined. I confess I could tell this story to everypony I meet the rest of my days and they’d never believe it!” he said as he slapped his hoof on his knee. I had to admit, I didn’t feel very beautiful. My barding was thrashed and waterlogged, my leg braces were bent, and I was missing a patch of skin along the left side of my face where it’d brushed against the side of the pipe. Glory was even worse off. Her legs and rump looked as if they’d been sanded raw.
"从来没有见过这样的！地面的隆隆声和摇晃声一分为二，从中发出的不仅仅是一个喷泉，而是人们所能想象到的两个最美丽的东西。我承认，我可以把这个故事告诉我以后遇到的每一个小马，它们永远不会相信!"他边说边用蹄子拍打膝盖。我不得不承认，我并不觉得自己很漂亮。我的护栏被打得湿漉漉的，我的腿上的支架弯曲了，我的脸左边擦过管子的地方少了一块皮肤。荣誉甚至更糟糕。她的腿和臀部看起来像是磨过的。
“We’re really glad you carried us out of there, Keeper,” I said. Glory kept her eyes on her beam weapon, the snapped barrel bringing tears to her eyes as she tried to figure out how best to repair it.
"我们真的很高兴你把我们从那里带出来，管理员,"我说。晨辉一直盯着她的光束武器，突然折断的枪管使她热泪盈眶，她试图找出最好的方法来修理它。
“Thank Charon and Cerb. If they hadn’t been willing to carry you, I don’t think my old bones would have gotten far.” He looked over at Glory. “If you’re looking for an AER-10, I’m pretty sure that Megamart would be a good place to start. Bottlecap keeps a pretty nice stock of weapons, even with all her troubles.”
"谢谢卡戎和Cerb。如果他们不愿意背着你，我想我的老骨头也走不远。"他看着晨辉。"如果你正在寻找一架AER-10，我相当肯定，超级市场将是一个很好的起点。尽管有这么多麻烦，但伯特克普仍然拥有一批相当不错的武器。"
“Hmmm?” Glory looked up and blinked. “Oh, well, I might be able to convert it. The emerald’s still intact, but the internals probably wouldn’t fit in a 10’s frame without major modification... And Megamart’s out of our way, anyway.” She looked at him speculatively. “You know about magic weapons?”
"嗯?"晨辉抬起头，眨了眨眼睛。"哦，好吧，我也许可以改变它。祖母绿仍然完好无损，但是如果不进行重大修改，内部结构可能无法装入10的框架......而且，无论如何，超级艺术已经不在我们的视线之内了。"她疑惑地看着他。"你知道魔法武器吗?"
“Oh, I know enough to get me in trouble, but not enough to be dangerous,” he said enigmatically as she flushed. I rubbed my missing eye with a wince at a dull throb in my head and leg. I must have banged myself up pretty good. “How about an AER-20?” he asked with a grin.
"哦，我知道的足以让我惹上麻烦，但还不至于危险,"她脸红了，他神秘地说。我的头和腿隐隐作痛，我用眼镜揉了揉我那失去的眼睛。我一定是把自己撞得不轻。"AER-20怎么样?"他笑着问道。
“But that’s a gatling beam frame!”
"但那是格林机关枪架啊!"
“So? Make it into a gatling beam weapon,” Keeper chuckled. “It just so happens that I have an AER-20 that I swapped at the air station for three or four cartons of boysenberries. Can you imagine that?” he said with a little wink. “Might be worth considering. I can let you have it for… ooh… eighteen hundred?”
""那又怎样？把它做成格林机关枪,"管理员咯咯地笑着说。"碰巧我有一台AER-20，我在飞机场把它换成了三四箱草莓。你能想象吗?"他眨了眨眼睛说。"也许值得考虑。我可以给你......哦......1800美元?"
“Twelve hundred,” she countered at once.
"一千二百,"她立刻反驳道。
He chuckled and then reached into his bag for a little plastic box. He pulled off the lid. “Well, now, that’s a fair offer. I might have to mull that one over a spell.” He deftly shook a little purple berry into his hoof and popped it into his mouth. He chewed with delight, smacking his lips. “Not bad. Not bad.” He lifted the box. “Care to try one?”
他咯咯地笑了起来，然后把手伸进包里，拿出一个小塑料盒。他揭开盖子。"好吧，现在，这是一个公平的提议。我可能得好好考虑一下这个问题。"他灵巧地把一颗紫色的小浆果摇进蹄子里，然后把它塞进嘴里。他高兴地嚼着，咂着嘴唇。"不错。不错。"他举起了箱子。"想试试吗?"
Glory frowned but then held out her hoof. He shook not one, but three into it. She looked skeptical but popped one in. Instantly, her eyes shot wide, and the second one followed the first into her mouth. “Oh, wow...” She groaned with a shiver.
晨辉皱起了眉头，但随即伸出了她的蹄子。他不是摇了一下，而是摇了三下。她看起来很怀疑，但还是插了一句话进来。她的眼睛立刻睁得大大的，第二只眼睛紧跟着第一只进了她的嘴里。"哦，哇......"她颤抖着呻吟着。
“What? What’s it taste like?” I asked, lifting the last one from her hoof with my magic.
"什么？味道怎么样?"我问道，用我的魔法把最后一个从她的蹄子上取下来。
The gray pegasus lunged, snapped the berry out of the air, and munched furiously. “My berry,” she said firmly. “I get the berries. I was the one who was
灰色的飞马猛扑过来，把浆果从空中啪地一声拔出来，拼命地咀嚼着。"我的浆果,"她坚定地说。"我得到了浆果。我才是那个
shoved into a pipe.”
被塞进一根管子里"
“I was saving us from getting chomped by manticores,” I objected.
我反对说:"我是为了避免我们被大象吃掉。"。
“I got shoved into a pipe. I get the berries,” she replied firmly.
"我被塞进了一根管子里。"我去拿浆果,"她坚定地回答。
“Well, if you like ‘em so much…” the stallion said. “How about… eighteen hundred, but I throw in the berries, some scrap electronics, and some gem power cells for the weapon?”
"好吧，如果你这么喜欢他们......"种马说。"1800美元怎么样?不过我要加上一些浆果、一些电子废料和一些宝石电池做武器。"
“Deal. Gimme!” She lunged for the container and he held it out for her to snatch away. Holding it in her mouth, she trotted away and began to munch them one after the other with a blissful look on her face. Suddenly, the earlier comment about them being a controlled substance didn’t seem quite so ridiculous.
"成交。给我!"她扑向集装箱，他伸出来让她抢走。她把它含在嘴里，小跑着离开，脸上洋溢着幸福的表情，开始一个接一个地咀嚼它们。突然之间，早些时候关于它们是管制药物的评论就不那么可笑了。
I counted out the caps and Keeper just chuckled. “She’s lucky. Awesome might sell a dozen cases a year… tops. Fortunately, I got connections with connections. Always nice to find a mare who admires quality food.”
我数了数帽子，守门员只是轻声笑了笑。"她很幸运。可能一年能卖出十几箱...最多了。幸运的是，我有关系网。能找到一匹喜欢高品质食物的母马总是件好事。"
“I guess,” I said as my lovely marefriend made rather post-coital noises as she lay on one of the bunks and devoured the berries one by one. “Got any shotguns?” I asked with a grin.
"我想是吧,"我可爱的女朋友躺在一张床上，一个接一个地吃着浆果，做爱后发出了相当大的噪音。"有猎枪吗?"我咧嘴笑着问。
“I’ve got an IF-80 and an IF-84 Stampede riot gun,” he replied.
"我有一支IF-80和一支IF-84防暴枪,"他回答说。
“Twelve gauge?”
"十二口径?"
“Of course.”
"当然。"
I rubbed my chin. “How about an IF-88?” I tapped my hooves, wondering if it might be possible…
我抚摸着下巴。"IF-88怎么样?"我拍了拍马蹄，想知道是否有可能..。
“The Ironpony?” I nodded vigorously, and he gave a soft sigh. “Sorry, kid. Never put in production.” He shook his head. “It’d be worth its weight in... well, I’m not even sure what if you found one.”
"铁马?"我用力点点头，他轻轻地叹了口气。"对不起，孩子。永远不要投入生产。"他摇了摇头。"它的重量值......好吧，我甚至不确定你是否找到了一个。"
“Pfft. As if I’d ever sell such a piece of beauty,” I said, pining over a gun I’d only seen once. For all I knew, it kicked like an orgasming mule and jammed like a virgin on… oh Goddesses, was I feeling the itch again already? “What are the odds I could get more of those berries?” I asked as I looked at the lovely
"噗。好像我曾经卖过这么漂亮的东西似的,"我说，思念着一把我只见过一次的枪。就我所知，它踢起来像一头性高潮的骡子，像一个处女一样卡在......哦，女神，我又感觉到痒了吗？"我能得到更多这种浆果的几率有多大?"我一边问，一边看着那可爱的
berry fiend.
浆果魔。
“Good luck,” he replied with a chuckle. “Fact is, a few more days and those would have spoiled, so… eh…” He gave a shrug as he took his caps and carefully measured them out in stacks to count them. He looked at me and her, then sighed.
"祝你好运,"他笑着回答。"事实是，再过几天这些东西就变质了，所以......呃......"他耸了耸肩，拿出他的帽子，仔细地把它们一堆一堆地量出来数。他看着我和她，然后叹了口气。
“What?” I asked with a small smile. I’d seen that look before from Mom:
"什么?"我微笑着问道。我以前见过妈妈这样的表情:
vaguely disapproving but with a hint of amusement.
模模糊糊地表示不赞成，但带着一丝乐趣。
“Just mourning on behalf of all of masculine ponykind for the loss of fine femininity as yourself,” he said with a rueful chuckle. “But I know love when I see it. Try not to poach on that sort of thing.”
"我代表所有的男性矮种马哀悼，因为我失去了和你一样的女性气质,"他笑着说。"但是当我看到爱的时候，我就知道它是什么了。不要在这类事情上偷工减料。"
“You mean you… and me…” I sputtered, then flushed at his easy smile. “You just met me!” It was impossible. He was… he was… old! And… old! And… in very good shape for his age.
"你是说你......还有我......"我气急败坏地说，然后冲着他那轻松的笑容脸红了。"你才刚认识我!"这是不可能的。他...他...老了！而且...老了！而且...在他这个年龄来说，身体状况很好。
“Well, I like to think myself adventurously optimistic; if I lose, then I’m out nothing but a few bruises to my ego. And if I’m right…” he gave a shrug and a look that had my ears flaming. “But I can tell you two have been through a bit too much for the usual games.”
"嗯，我喜欢认为自己是一个乐观的冒险者;如果我输了，那么我除了自尊心上的一些伤痕以外什么也没有。如果我是对的......"他耸了耸肩，一个眼神让我的耳朵火冒三丈。"但我可以告诉你们，对于通常的比赛来说，两人经历了太多。"
Glory returned and offered me a small corner of the purple berries, looking a touch ashamed. “You look familiar, Keeper. But I’m fairly sure we’ve never met,” she said as I tried a berry… then, with no further hesitation, dumped every last purple wonder into my mouth and chewed on a pulpy mouthful of orgasmic bliss!
晨辉归来，递给我一小角紫色的浆果，看起来有点惭愧。"你看起来很面熟，管理员。但是我相当肯定我们从来没有见过面,"当我尝试一颗浆果时，她说......然后，没有更多的犹豫，把所有最后的紫色奇迹都倒进我的嘴里，咀嚼着满嘴的高潮极乐！
He chuckled and scratched his onion tuft of a beard. “Oh, I get around a bit.” And then he winked at me!
他咯咯地笑了起来，挠了挠他那一撮洋葱似的胡子。"哦，我经常到处走走。"然后他对我使眼色！
I had to admit, it was true, though. Something about him… a yellow pony… a yellow pony. A merchant pony… Bottlecap… I suddenly blurted, “You’re Bottlecap’s father!” And then I was wiping gobs of purple off my lips. Swallow, Blackjack. Swallow. Then speak. Of course he was her father. He was Finders Keepers, the founder of the Finders! Heck, his name was painted right over Megamart!
我不得不承认，这是真的。关于他的一些事情...一匹黄色的小马...一匹黄色的小马。一匹商业小马...Bottlecap...我突然脱口而出,"你是Bottlecap的父亲!"然后我擦掉了嘴唇上的紫色斑点。燕子，黑杰克。燕子。那就说吧。他当然是她的父亲。他是发现者的守护者，发现者的创始人！见鬼，他的名字就被画在了超级艺术上！
“Guilty as charged,” he chuckled amiably as he lay back on his bed, tapping his
"罪有应得,"他亲切地咯咯笑着，一边躺在床上，轻轻敲着自己的手
hooves together as he pushed back his floppy hat.
一边把他的软帽往后推。
“I didn’t know you were a stable pony,” I said as I looked at his PipBuck. “I didn’t know there were any other stables that… well… survived.”
"我不知道你是一匹稳定的小马,"我看着他的皮伯克说。"我不知道还有其他马厩......呃......幸存了下来。"
“Stable 95 was… well, pretty darn close to here, actually,” he said. He dug into one of his bags, took out a strange brown cigar, bit off the top, and then took out a brass lighter and lit the end with that earth pony deftness I so admired. What they did with their hooves was as magical as what I did with my horn or what pegasi did with their wings. “Pretty funny stable, now that I think about it. Whole place was based on money. Overpony was whatever pony had the most money. Everything was for sale. Everything! You could buy, borrow, rent, lease, exchange, or barter anything and everything you wanted. Sell your kids. Sell yourself. One big endless market of wheeling and dealing. And if you went broke, you got kicked out.”
"稳定的95是...嗯，非常接近这里，实际上,"他说。他掏出一个提包，拿出一支奇怪的棕色雪茄，把上面的烟头咬下来，然后拿出一个黄铜打火机，用那匹我非常敬佩的泥土小马的灵巧点燃了烟头。它们用蹄子做的事情就像我用角做的事情或者飞马座用翅膀做的事情一样神奇。"现在想起来，还是挺有意思的。整个地方都建立在金钱的基础上。"Overpony"就是那种钱最多的小马。所有的东西都可以出售。所有的一切！你可以买，借，租，租，交换，或者交换任何你想要的东西。卖掉你的孩子。推销自己。一个不择手段的大市场。如果你破产了，你就会被开除。"
“And you went broke?” Glory asked.
"你破产了?"晨辉问道。
“Oh, heck no!” He broke out laughing. “Me? Go broke? Why, you are looking at a three time Overpony of Stable 95! Nah. See, some of us were really good at the game. So we changed the rules. Charged what we wanted and kept most of the stable dirt poor. Good for us. Bad for everypony else. Then some poor pony in 95… and this was when I wasn’t Overpony, I must add… figured out that, if they wanted all our comfy things, then all they’d have to do was take them. So they rounded up a dozen of us and tossed us right out the door.” He rubbed his chin. “Might be that charging ponies for air was going a mite too far.”
"哦，当然不是!"他突然大笑起来。"我？破产？为什么，你正在看一个三次超小马的稳定95！不。看，我们中的一些人真的很擅长这个游戏。所以我们改变了规则。收取我们想要的费用，让大部分稳定的穷人继续生活。对我们有好处。对其他小马都不好。然后是95年的一些可怜的小马......我必须补充一句，那时我还不是Overpony......我明白了，如果他们想要我们所有舒适的东西，那么他们所要做的就是带走他们。于是他们围捕了我们十几个人，把我们扔出了门外。"他揉了揉下巴。"可能那些充气的小马跑得有点太远了。"
I glanced over at Glory. Really? You think? I smiled. “So what happened then?”
我扫了一眼晨辉。真的吗？你这么认为？我笑了。"那么后来发生了什么?"
“Well, contrary to popular belief, the Hoof back then was a nasty piece of work. Less Enervation, but more radiation and constant damn rain. First ponies we ran across were slavers, and eight of our group sold the other four.”
"好吧，与人们普遍的看法相反，当时的霍夫是一件令人讨厌的作品。更少的衰弱，但更多的辐射和持续的该死的雨。我们遇到的第一匹小马是奴隶贩子，我们中的8匹卖掉了另外4匹。"
“You sold each other?” Glory gasped.
"你们互相出卖对方?"晨辉倒抽了一口冷气。
“Now, I know it sounds harsh, but we were buying and selling each other in 95 well before all this. Granted, I wasn’t too happy to be one of the ones shoved in a cage, but it saved my life. I learned a lot from the nomads I was living with. Those eight, well, they might have had some guns, but I never did hear from them again. I made myself a useful slave and within two years purchased my
"现在，我知道这听起来很残酷，但在这一切发生之前，我们在95年就已经在互相买卖了。当然，我并不乐意成为被关在笼子里的那些人中的一员，但它救了我的命。我从和我一起生活的游牧民那里学到了很多。那八个人，嗯，他们可能有一些枪，但我再也没有听到他们的消息。我使自己成为一个有用的奴隶，并在两年内购买了我的
freedom from the tribe chief. Got out on my own, hooked up with a ghoul to start our business; I was the handsome face and she was the set of wings that got us from place to place while she was hammering out a guide to the Wasteland.” He groaned and rubbed his hooves. “When I think of her wanting me to sneak into a radigator nest to ‘observe wasteland wildlife’…” He shivered and shook his head. “Eventually, we parted ways… she wanted to sell it for cheap. Me… I fell in with a crazy bunch who’d be my friends.”
从部落首领那里获得自由。我自己出来，和一个食尸鬼在一起开始我们的生意;我是一张漂亮的脸蛋，她是一对翅膀，当她敲打着一本《荒原》的指南时，我们从一个地方到另一个地方。"他呻吟着摩擦着蹄子。"当我想到她想让我溜进一个短吻鳄窝去'观察荒地的野生动物'......"他颤抖着摇了摇头。"最终，我们分道扬镳了......她想低价卖掉它。我......我遇到了一群疯狂的朋友。"
“Big Daddy. The professor. You were one of the companions!” I said eagerly as I rubbed the tender right side of my head.
"大老爹。教授。你是我的同伴之一!"我一边热切地抚摸着我温柔的右脑，一边说道。
“Companions? You make it sound like it was a big thing!” he chuckled. “Nah, we were just friends. I figured they’d be handy to hide behind while everypony was shooting at us. They probably would have been dead a dozen times over if it wasn’t for me. Did you know that the professor wouldn’t loot corpses? Guns, ammo, caps and chems just left behind before I came along! And Big Daddy wouldn’t haggle. Just took whatever price was quoted him!” He sighed, took a long pull on the brown wrap, and let out a long stream of rich gray smoke. “But they were a good bunch in a world full of bad.”
""伙伴？你说得好像这是件大事似的!"他咯咯地笑了。"不，我们只是朋友。我想当每匹小马都在向我们射击时，它们可以很方便地躲在后面。如果不是我，他们可能已经死了很多次了。你知道教授不会抢劫尸体吗？枪，弹药，子弹和药品在我来之前就丢在这里了！而且老爹不会讨价还价。只要报给他的价钱就行了!"他叹了口气，拉了拉棕色的包装纸，吐出一长串浓郁的灰色烟雾。"但在一个充满坏事的世界里，他们是一群好人。"
I groaned as I rubbed my eyepatch. That banged-up feeling wasn’t getting better. In fact, it felt like my sinuses were just… pressurized. Great. Getting sick again… “What were you all like? At the start, I mean?” Glory asked with a smile.
我揉着眼罩，呻吟着。那种受伤的感觉并没有好转。事实上，我感觉我的鼻窦只是...受到了压力。太好了。又生病了......"你们都是什么样的人？我是说，刚开始的时候?"晨辉微笑着问道。
“Oh, well, that’s easy enough. There was me. Big Daddy was about one step away from being a raider… heck, sometimes not even that. He was one tough sucker, drank zebra potions like a fiend. Personally, I thought they also shrunk his taters, but I’m no doctor. Then there was the professor. Tenpony mare, so she was like a stable pony, only worse. Odd duck. Knew the cagiest things, but we didn’t have a clue why at the time. Crunchy Carrots was an acolyte at the time, and boy she loved technology. Me and her used to fight for hours over whether it was okay to sell a beam pistol. Then, of course, there was Awesome. Lord Awesome. Crack shot with whatever firearm he got his hooves on. We roamed all up and down Equestria looking for technology to send back to the Rangers. One day, we came across some nasty slavers with an actual pegasus, and not one from the clouds, neither. Dawn. Shy, quiet, but damned strong. She knew herbs, critters, and the land. But most importantly, she was from Hoofington.”
"哦，好吧，那很简单。那就是我。大老爹离突袭者只有一步之遥...见鬼，有时候甚至不是这样。他是一个强硬的吸盘，喝斑马药水像一个魔鬼。就我个人而言，我认为他的纹身也缩水了，但我不是医生。然后是教授。所以她就像一匹稳定的小马，只是更糟。奇怪的鸭子。知道最狡猾的事情，但我们不知道为什么在当时。嘎吱嘎吱的胡萝卜在当时是一个追随者，男孩她喜欢科技。我和她过去常常为了卖一把平射手枪是否合适而争吵几个小时。然后，当然，还有棒极了。太棒了。不管他用的是什么武器，都是神枪手。我们在Equestria到处游荡，寻找能够送回流浪者队的技术。有一天，我们遇到了一些讨厌的奴隶贩子，他们有一匹真正的飞马，而且也没有一匹来自云层。黎明。害羞，安静，但是非常坚强。她了解草药、动物和土地。但最重要的是，她来自胡芬顿。"
Then he gave a long sigh. “Sometimes, I wish we’d never thought of coming out here. Even FillyDee isn’t as bad as this damned city. But we were young and sure of ourselves and DJ Pon3 made us an offer to re-establish contact with the MASEBS towers out east. So we trotted all the way out here.” He gave a sad smile. “Might be I was a touch nostalgic for old 95.”
然后他长长地叹了口气。"有时候，我真希望我们从来没有想过来这里。即使是菲利迪也没有这个该死的城市那么糟糕。但是我们很年轻，对自己很有信心，DJPon3向我们提出与东部的MASEBS塔重新建立联系。所以我们一路小跑到这里。"他露出悲伤的微笑。"也许是因为我有点怀念老95年。"
DJ Pon3? Homage hadn't looked that old! Then again, she also really hadn't looked like the stallion she sounded like, so… eh, considering everything that was going on, this was pretty low on my list of mysteries.
3？敬意看起来还没有那么老！话又说回来，她也真的不像她听起来像的那匹种马，所以......呃，考虑到发生的一切，这在我的神秘事件列表中排名相当靠后。
Keeper looked out the window towards the green-rimmed towers of the Core. “I reckon Crunchy nearly had a heart attack when she saw that the Core was still standing. Big Daddy was happy to find new ponies to pound on. Awesome was looking forward to being the biggest damn hero in Equestria. The prof was eager to find some steel pony she once knew.” He looked over at Glory. “Funny. Dawn and I were the most worried. Me, because I knew there was such a thing as too good to be true. Her, because she knew the Hoof.”
看守人望着窗外绿边的核心塔。"我估计克朗奇看到核心还站着的时候，差点心脏病发作。大老爹很高兴能找到新的小马驹继续追赶。期待着成为Equestria最大的英雄。教授渴望找到一匹她曾经认识的钢铁小马。"他看着晨辉。"有意思。道恩和我最担心。我，因为我知道有一件事太好了以至于不可能是真的。她，因为她认识霍夫。"
“And so you set out to save it?” I asked, trying to ignore the throbbing headache.
"所以你打算拯救它?"我问道，尽量不去理会剧烈的头痛。
“Save it? Fuck no. I set out to plunder it! And you can’t imagine how much plunder there was in this place. A cornucopia of caps, bullets, bombs, beams… like half the weapons of the war just here for the taking. Saving the Hoof grew up bit by bit. We found Dawn’s tribe slaughtered. We kept coming across more and more ugly sights. 95 was gone… some genius had opened the stable to the outside to ‘trade’ and discovered just now nasty the locals were.” He sighed and shook his head. “Never would have happened with me as Overpony. No siree.”
""拯救它？当然不是。我出发去掠夺它！你无法想象这个地方有多少战利品。帽子、子弹、炸弹、横梁......就像一半的战争武器都在这里等着我们去夺取。拯救霍夫的成长是一点一点的。我们发现Dawn的部落被屠杀了。我们不断地看到越来越丑陋的景象。95不见了......一些天才把马厩打开，让外面的人来"交易"，结果发现刚才当地人很讨厌他叹了口气，摇了摇头。"如果我是奥福波尼，就不会发生这种事。没有先生。"
“So what happened?” Glory asked. He took another long, slow pull off the cigar. “It didn’t happen all at once, mind you. Just… little things. Maybe all the rain got to us. Maybe the fighting just dragged on and on. Crunchy became a big muckety muck in the Rangers from the stuff she discovered. Big Daddy was the nightmare of every raider. The prof kept on finding all this old data from centuries back. And Awesome was Awesome, what can I say? But we weren’t making any progress. Hadn’t breached the Core. Hadn’t really accomplished much. It was like the Hoof was toying with us.” He gave a deep sigh. “And it was.”
"那么发生了什么?"晨辉问道。他又长长地、慢慢地抽了一口雪茄。"提醒你一下，这不是一下子发生的。只是...一些小事。也许所有的雨都冲到我们身上了。也许战斗只是一拖再拖。从她发现的东西来看，克朗奇在游骑兵队里已经成了一大堆臭气熏天的垃圾。大老爹是每个袭击者的噩梦。这位教授不断地寻找几个世纪以前的所有旧数据。而Awesome就是Awesome，我能说什么呢？但是我们没有取得任何进展。没有破坏核心系统。没有什么成就。就好像霍夫在玩弄我们。"他深深地叹了口气。"的确如此。"
“What do you mean?” Glory asked. I fished out a Med-X while they talked and
"什么意思?"晨辉问道。他们谈话的时候，我拿出了一本Med-X
sighed in relief. I’d have Lacunae heal my head when she caught up with us… or when we caught up with her, if my friends hadn’t found us by morning.
松了一口气。当她追上我们的时候，或者当我们追上她的时候，如果我的朋友们早上没有发现我们的话，我会让裂口治好我的头。
“I am the lootingest looter who ever picked a lock, hacked a terminal, or swept clear a store. I am the damnedest best acquirer of goods in the Wasteland. For the last thirty years I’ve been around the Hoof a hundred times, and I can tell you that I can pick up as much gear today as I could when I first got here,” he said grimly.
"我是最抢劫的人，撬过锁，黑过终端，清扫过商店。我是荒原上最好的商品收购者。在过去的三十年里，我已经绕着霍夫转了一百次了，我可以告诉你们，我今天可以尽可能多地拿起我刚到这里时的设备,"他冷冷地说。
“So… that’s a problem?” I said with a frown.
"所以......这是个问题?"我皱着眉头说。
“You ain’t hearing me. I’m just one of hundreds of scavengers. There’s a point where all the good, easy salvage should be stripped away. That ain’t the case in the Hoof though.” He pointed his cigar at a row of lockers. “Let me show you my point. I was in here six weeks back. Cleaned it out. Check in there.”
"你没有听我说。我只是成百上千的拾荒者之一。有一个临界点，所有好的，容易抢救应该剥离。但霍夫的情况并非如此。"他把雪茄对准一排储物柜。"让我来告诉你我的观点。我六周前来过这里。都清理干净了。去那里看看。"
I frowned but rose and went through the lockers one after the next. I took what was inside. “Not much. A dozen caps. Some ten mil ammo. A coffee cup. No big deal,” I said as I returned. He just smiled in a not so happy way. “What? You missed a little garbage. That’s all.”
我皱起了眉头，但还是站了起来，一个接一个地翻了柜子。我拿走了里面的东西。"不多。一打帽子。大概一千万的弹药。一个咖啡杯。没什么大不了的,"我回答道。他只是不那么高兴地笑了笑。"什么？你漏了一点垃圾。仅此而已。"
“Ain’t missed nothing a day of my life,” he replied firmly. “Those lockers were empty when I was last here.”
"我一天都没错过,"他坚定地回答。"我上次来的时候，那些储物柜是空的。"
“So… so somepony stashed some… some caps.” Twelve caps? Pretty lousy stash. And eight bullets? And who would ditch a coffee cup? I looked back at the lockers.
"所以...所以有人藏了一些...一些帽子"十二杯？相当糟糕的存货。那八颗子弹呢？谁会扔掉一个咖啡杯？我回头看了看储物柜。
“I’ve come across ammo containers I’d emptied and tossed aside now miraculously holding more ammo. Never completely full, always with just enough ammo to keep me going. I’ve picked locks on safes only to come across them locked and filled with new plunder. I’ve hacked terminals only to find the passwords changed. Found food where we’d cleaned everything out,” he grumbled as he took another pull. “I know, most folks just assume I’m mistaken. But findin’ things is my special talent.” He pointed at his flank, where a wandering dashed red line ended at an X. “I remember every place I’ve found loot. And I’m telling you, something in this place is fucking with us.”
"我曾经遇到过一些弹药集装箱，我已经把它们全部卸下，扔在一边，现在奇迹般地有了更多的弹药。永远不要完全吃饱，总是有足够的弹药让我继续前进。我撬开保险箱的锁，却发现里面装满了新的战利品。我入侵了终端，却发现密码被更改了。在我们把所有东西都清理干净的地方找到了食物,"他嘟囔着，又拉了一下。"我知道，大多数人只是认为我错了。但发现东西是我的特殊才能。"他指着自己的侧翼，一条漫无目的的红线以一个x结束。"我记得每一个我发现战利品的地方。我告诉你，这个地方有什么东西在干扰我们。"
A few weeks ago, I would have just snorted at the crazy old stallion past his retirement date. Now I was staring at those lockers. If I came back in a few days,
要是在几周前，我只会对这匹已经过了退休年龄的疯狂老马嗤之以鼻。现在我正盯着那些储物柜。如果我过几天回来
would there be a few more caps, some scrap metal, and a pencil? “But why?”
还有一些帽子，一些废金属，和一支铅笔吗？"但为什么呢?"
“Well now… it depends. Professor liked to say that maybe a spirit of discord was floating around putting bottlecaps and trash in places to tease me. The rest didn’t think it was a big deal,” he muttered sourly with a scowl. Then he sighed and shrugged. “But me… I don’t like it one bit. It ain’t a natural market. So I got to thinking… why do ponies come to Hoofington?”
"嗯，现在......要看情况了。教授喜欢说，也许有一种不和谐的精神在四处飘荡，到处放瓶装水和垃圾来戏弄我。其他人都不觉得这有什么大不了的,"他愁眉苦脸地咕哝着。然后他叹了口气，耸了耸肩。"但是我......我一点也不喜欢。这不是一个自然的市场。所以我开始思考......为什么小马会来胡芬顿?"
I’d asked that question a lot. “Salvage is what I hear the most. Ponies come from all over the Wasteland hoping to strike it big.”
这个问题我问过很多次。"打捞是我听到最多的事情。小马从整个大荒地跑来，希望能赢得大奖。"
“And most of ‘em do. They find the damnedest stuff.” He held up the cigar. “Take this, for instance. Found three of ‘em in a burned out store, nice and dry as you please.” He puffed on the end as he looked at me. “But do they get to trot on out of here with it? Does the Society export their food all the way to Tenpony? Does anypony actually ever leave this damned city without a gut full of regret and misery?”
"他们大多数人都这么做。他们找到了最该死的东西。"他举起雪茄。"就拿这个来说。在一家烧毁的商店里找到了三瓶，你喜欢多干就多干。"他看着我，最后喷了一口烟。""但是他们能带着它快步离开这里吗？协会是否一路将食物出口到天波尼？难道真的有哪匹小马离开这座该死的城市时，心里没有一丝遗憾和痛苦吗?"
I stared out the window at the towers. “No. They don’t.”
我凝视着窗外的双子塔。"没有。他们没有。"
“Ponies, zebras, Red Eye, and now Enclave…” he said softly. “We got so many damned ponies living around this city that we’ve got an actual war brewin’. I can’t think of anyplace else in the Wasteland that’s got a big enough population for a war. But we do.” He sighed as he lifted another cigar. “Eventually, it got to my friends as well.”
"小马，斑马，红眼睛，现在是飞地......"他轻声说。"我们有这么多该死的小马住在这个城市，我们有一个真正的战争酝酿'。我想不出在荒原上还有哪个地方有足够多的人口来发动战争。但我们做到了。"他又抽了一支雪茄，叹了口气。"最终，我的朋友们也受到了影响。"
“What happened?” Glory asked.
"发生了什么事?"晨辉问道。
“Dawn,” he muttered, then looked at her. “Found some stallion who’d tumbled from the sky all burned up. Nursed him back to health. Awesome didn’t like that one bit. He’d always been sweet on her. So when the stallion wanted to go home and offered to take Dawn with him...” He blew out a long stream of smoke. “Got ugly. Awesome called her a whore. Big Daddy beat the snot out of him. Carrots said she should go. Prof wanted her to stay. Dawn left in tears.”
"道恩,"他喃喃自语，然后看着她。"发现了一匹从天而降的种马，全都烧焦了。照料他使他恢复健康。牛叉一点也不喜欢。他一直对她很好。所以，当这匹种马想回家，并提出要带着道恩一起走的时候......"他喷出一股长长的烟雾。"情况很糟糕。牛叉说她是妓女。老爹把他打得鼻涕都流出来了。胡萝卜说她应该去。教授希望她留下来。黎明在泪水中离去。"
Glory turned her head away as she sniffed. “Mother.” I felt lightheaded. Of course, it made sense, but I felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. My pounding head wasn’t making thinking any easier.
晨辉一边闻一边转过头去。"妈妈。"我感到头昏眼花。当然，这是有道理的，但我觉得自己像个白痴，因为我没有早点看出来。我的脑袋砰砰作响，思考也变得更加困难。
He nodded slowly. “I figured that might be the case. Same coat. Same eyes. Saw
他慢慢地点了点头。"我想可能是这样。一样的外套。一样的眼睛。锯子
you lying there on the road and it took me back. Whatever happened to that little bird? She always wanted a family safe from the Wasteland. Especially from the Hoof.” His eyes lingered on her missing wing sadly.
你躺在路上，它把我带回来了。那只小鸟怎么了？她一直想要一个远离荒原的家庭。尤其是从霍夫那里。"他的眼睛悲伤地盯着她失去的翅膀。
“She… she got one. For a few years. But she kept saying Thunderhead needed to help the surface,” she shook her head. “She came back years ago. You haven’t seen her?”
"她......她得到了一个。好几年了。但她一直在说，雷头需要帮助浮出水面,"她摇了摇头。"她几年前就回来了。你没见过她吗?"
“Sorry. Pity too. Of us all I think I’m the one she’d meet first. She and I, we were from the Hoof. We understood each other.” He gave a small shrug.
"对不起。也很遗憾。在我们所有人中，我想她会先遇到我。她和我，我们是从霍夫来的。我们互相理解。"他轻轻地耸了耸肩。
I held her as I looked at Keeper. “So, what happened next? Why’d the rest of you break up?”
我抱着她，看着守门人。"那么，接下来发生了什么？你们其他人为什么分手了?"
“Oh, Dawn leaving started the split. After that, we just… pushed apart. Awesome and Daddy wouldn’t speak to each other. Awesome took his groupies and Daddy his thugs. Crunchy went to establish a Ranger base. For a time, it was me and the professor, but eventually she settled down.” He chuckled. “Me, I tried the whole family thing. Over and over again. Bought mares. Wooed mares. Seduced mares. Heck, even had a few seduce me. Had a few kids here and there, but most of them had the sense not to look for me. I’d always start roaming around the Hoof again. Just not a family stallion, I suppose.
"哦，黎明离开开始分裂。在那之后，我们只是...分开了。棒极了和爸爸不说话。牛叉带着他的追随者，爸爸带着他的暴徒。克朗奇去建立了一个游骑兵基地。有一段时间，只有我和教授，但最终她还是安定下来了。"他咯咯地笑了。"我，我尝试了整个家庭的东西。一遍又一遍。买了几匹母马。母马求爱。诱惑的母马。见鬼，甚至还有一些引诱我。到处都有几个孩子，但他们中的大多数都有意识不去找我。我总是又开始在霍夫附近闲逛。我想只是不是一匹家庭种马。
“For a time, I figured we’d make things better on our own. I had a reputation as a fair business stallion… maybe a bit of a loose wag… but folks saw trading as a better alternative to taking. Did all I could to keep trade going. I figured we’d be like the Ministry Mares of old… the five of us would just work until finally the Hoof’s problems were gone. But it didn’t turn out that way. The Society ponies used the Collegiate to make their plantations, then screwed ‘em. The Rangers and the Collegiate fight over scraps of technology. The Reapers and Rangers rip each other apart on general principles. And the Reapers and the Society ponies are in a take and take relationship. Only us Finders have managed to keep ourselves out of it. Till Usury had to go and start slaving.” He sighed at my scowl. “Now she’s scraping up brahmin turds.”
"有一段时间，我认为我们应该靠自己把事情做得更好。我有一个公平的商业种马的名声...也许有一点松散的摇摆...但人们认为交易是一个更好的选择。我竭尽全力让贸易继续下去。我觉得我们就像以前的魔法部母马......我们五个人一直工作，直到霍夫的问题解决。但事实并非如此。学会的小马用学院的马来造他们的种植园，然后把它们搞死了。游骑兵队和大学生队争夺技术残片。收割者和突击者在一般原则上互相撕裂。而收割者和社会小马是在一个采取和采取的关系。只有我们这些发现者才能设法让自己置身事外。直到高利贷不得不离开，开始做奴隶。"他看着我的怒容叹了口气。"现在她正在清理婆罗门的粪便。"
I scowled, then my eye popped open wide as I looked to the door leading downstairs. “That’s Usury?” I clattered to my hooves and lurched. Damn, even with the Med-X, my head was killing me! “I need to talk to her. Ask her about Red Eye! Find out if they’re going to be a threat,” I said as I trotted towards the
我皱着眉头，眼睛睁得大大的，望着通往楼下的门。"这就是高利贷?"我扑通一声踩到马蹄上，踉踉跄跄。该死，即使用了Med-X，我的头还是痛死了！"我需要和她谈谈。问问她红眼的事！看看他们是否会构成威胁。"
door.
门。
“She’s a pretty abrupt thing, ain’t she?” Keeper muttered. I pretended not to hear Glory’s giggle as I headed down the stairs.
"她真是个粗鲁的家伙，不是吗?"管理员喃喃地说。当我走下楼梯时，我假装没有听到晨辉的咯咯笑声。
I made it to the fourth step from the bottom when there was an sudden stabbing pain in the crook of my left foreleg. The limb folded beneath me, and with a groan and clatter I fell down the rest of the stairs. The yellow unicorn filly jumped to her feet as the sour yellow mare with a cutie mark of a red ink bottle sneered in delight. One of the brahmin heads looked at me and muttered, “Nine point one.”
我走到第四步的时候，左前腿的弯处突然一阵刺痛。树枝在我身下折叠起来，伴随着一声呻吟和咔嗒声，我从楼梯的其余部分摔了下来。当红墨水瓶上有一个可爱印记的酸黄色的母马高兴地冷笑时，黄色的麒麟小母马跳了起来。其中一个婆罗门头目看着我喃喃自语道:"九点一。"
The other head looked at its partner and snorted. “You crazy, Bill? She botched the landing. I give her a six and a half.”
另一个头看着它的伙伴，哼了一声。"你疯了吗，比尔？她着陆时表现得很糟糕。我给她6.5分。"
“Are you okay, miss?” The unicorn filly said as I lay there in a heap. I’d landed right on my head. Normally I’d make a joke about that being the hardest part of me, but it flipping hurt! I felt like I’d broken my horn, and actually reached up to touch it to make sure it was in place. My head just ached, despite the Med-X. I covered my face with my hooves,
"你还好吗，小姐?"我躺在那里，独角兽小母马说。我头部着地。通常我会开玩笑说这是我最难的部分，但是这真的很伤人！我感觉自己好像弄坏了喇叭，实际上我伸手去摸它，确保它到位了。尽管服用了Med-X，我的头还是疼。我用蹄子盖住了脸
“Oh… yeah…” I said as I rubbed my face hard. Definitely sick. I pushed my eyepatch off, groaning. Everything felt puffy on that side of my face. I dropped my hooves and smiled at the yellow unicorn. “Good thing I landed on my head, huh?”
"哦......是的......"我一边说，一边用力地揉着脸。绝对病了。我推开眼罩，呻吟着。我那边脸上的一切都显得浮肿。我放下蹄子，对着那只黄色的独角兽微笑。"还好我头着地了，是吧?"
But the filly wasn’t laughing. She was screaming, backing away as fast as her hooves could take her. A few moments later Glory ran down the steps. “What? What is it? I know I’m ugly but…” Except Glory wasn’t laughing. The filly hid behind the brahmin. The brahmin’s heads muttered to each other. “What’s the big deal?” Old Keeper looked even more grave. Then I looked over at Usury… but even she wasn’t smiling.
但是小母马没有笑。她尖叫着，以她的蹄子所能承受的最快速度后退。过了一会儿，晨辉从台阶上跑下来。"什么？这是什么？我知道我很丑，但是......"除了晨辉没有笑。小母马躲在婆罗门后面。婆罗门的头互相低语。"有什么大不了的?"守旧者看上去更加严肃。然后我看了看高利贷......但是就连她也没有笑。
Glory slowly knelt in front of me, and I saw her gulp and turn pale as she looked at the eye socket that had been taken by Enervation and taint. “Blackjack. Does your right eye socket hurt?”
晨辉慢慢地跪在我面前，我看到她一饮而尽，脸色变得苍白，因为她看着那因为衰弱和污秽而失去光泽的眼窝。"黑杰克。你的右眼眶疼吗?"
“Yeah… why?” I gave a little grin. “Am I finally growing that eye tentacle penis?”
"是啊......为什么?"我咧嘴笑了一下。"我终于长出那只眼睛有触手的阴茎了吗?"
Glory wasn’t laughing. I started to reach up towards the right side of my face and she stopped me. She took a deep breath. “We’re going to need a scalpel, forceps, vodka, a spoon, any healing potions you have that are still purple, a fire, and a memory orb. A very long memory orb.”
晨辉不是笑。我开始向右脸靠近，她拦住了我。她深吸了一口气。"我们需要一把手术刀、镊子、伏特加、一把勺子，还有任何紫色的治疗药水、一把火和一个记忆球。一个非常长的记忆球。"
Keeper nodded and turned to the filly. “Little Bit? You have a memory orb for the nice mare, right? Something long and pleasant?”
管理员点点头，转向小母马。"一点点？你有一个记忆球给漂亮的母马，对吗？一些长而愉快的事情?"
The filly nodded, not taking her eyes off me as she backed away to her bags and dug through them with her hoof. Finally, she pulled out a golden memory orb. She passed it to Keeper. It was like she was afraid to get near me!
小母马点点头，没有把眼睛从我身上移开，一边往后退，一边用蹄子挖着袋子。最后，她拿出一个金色的记忆球。她把球传给了守门员。就好像她害怕接近我一样！
“How… how bad…” I muttered as I reached again. I forced myself to blink that eyelid… and felt… oh Sweet Celestia! What was that? “Get it out…” I whimpered as I felt my heart start to beat faster and faster in my chest. “Get it out, please… please get it out…” Glory kept my hooves away from my face. I blinked again and I felt the urge to cut it out myself rising.
"多么......多么糟糕......"当我再次伸出手时，我喃喃自语道。我强迫自己眨了眨眼睛......然后感觉......哦，天哪！那是什么？"把它弄出来......"我呜咽着，感觉自己的心脏在胸腔里跳得越来越快。"请把它弄出来......请把它弄出来......"晨辉让我的蹄子远离我的脸。我再次眨了眨眼睛，我感觉到一种冲动，想要自己站起来把它剪掉。
“I will, Blackjack. I will,” she promised softly as Keeper passed the memory orb to her and then trotted to the brahmin packs. “How long is this orb, sweetie?” Glory asked the filly.
"我会的，黑杰克。我会的,"当守护者把记忆球递给她，然后小跑着送给婆罗门教徒时，她温柔地答道。"这个球体有多长，亲爱的?"晨辉问小母马。
“I dunno…” she muttered, swallowing. “An hour… two…?”
"我不知道......"她咕哝着，吞着口水。"一小时......两小时......?"
“I hope it’ll be long enough,” she muttered as he returned.
"我希望时间足够长,"当他回来时，她喃喃地说。
“About the cost…” Keeper said as he passed her a bottle of Stalliongrad’s Finest.
"关于成本......"守门人边说边递给她一瓶斯托里昂格勒最好的葡萄酒。
“Afterwards,” Glory said firmly. She lifted the bottle to my lips. “Take a good long drink… in case this memory is shorter than we think it is.” I did, feeling the alcohol burn down my throat and settle in my stomach. “Another,” she said firmly. Well, always follow the orders of your medical pony. Gulp. “And one more for luck,” she said with a nervous smile. I closed my eye and took three gulps off the bottle.
"事后,"晨辉坚定地说。她把瓶子举到我的嘴边。"好好喝一杯......以防这段记忆比我们想象的要短。"我做到了，感觉酒精灼烧了我的喉咙，在我的胃里安顿下来。"再来一杯,"她坚定地说。好吧，永远听从你的医务小马的命令。吞咽。"再来一杯，祝你好运,"她紧张地笑着说。我闭上眼睛，从瓶子上喝了三口。
“Spasiba…” I muttered as I touched the golden memory orb with my horn. Wait, what’d I just s--
"Spasiba......"我一边用号角触摸着金色的记忆球，一边喃喃自语。等等，我刚才说什么
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
Okay. Try not to think about what Glory was doing. Focus on a memory orb. A nice… boring memory orb. This was a stallion. Let’s see… horn. In a luxurious skywagon with its own terminal. And… and… his chest hurt. He rasped with every breath as he levitated papers in front of him.
好吧。不要去想晨辉在做什么。关注一个记忆球。一个漂亮的...无聊的记忆球。这是一匹种马。让我看看...喇叭。在一个豪华的有自己的终点站的天行车。还有...还有...他的胸口很疼。当他把纸张悬浮在面前时，他的每一次呼吸都让他烦躁不安。
Sweet Celestia. I knew this stallion.
甜甜的天青石。我认识这匹种马。
Goldenblood lay on his side on some pillows, and there was a head resting on his flank. A head with luxurious silken pink hair, with just a few streaks of near-white near the temple, that spilled over his rear legs. “Are we almost there?” a mare whispered in a timid voice. A pair of beautiful teal eyes dared peek up at him through the hooves clasped tightly over them.
金色的血躺在几个枕头上，有一个头枕在他的腰上。一个有着奢华丝绸般粉红色头发的脑袋，太阳穴附近只有几缕近乎白色的头发散落在他的后腿上。"我们快到了吗?"一匹母马胆怯地低声说话。一双美丽的蓝绿色的眼睛敢于从紧紧地扣在它们上面的蹄子里向上看他。
He murred as he turned, nuzzled her hooves aside, and kissed her gently. I was astonished at how soft her lips were. “We’re an hour away at least,” he said softly. “You could have gotten Twilight to teleport you.”
他一边转身一边喃喃地说，用鼻子蹭着她的蹄子，轻轻地吻着她。我惊讶于她的嘴唇是如此的柔软。"我们至少还有一个小时的路程,"他轻声说。"你可以让暮光之城传送你。"
“I know, but she’s always so busy. I don’t want to be a bother,” she replied in the sweetest little voice I’d ever heard. “I’m glad you came with me, though. Rarity was tied up with ministry business.”
"我知道，但是她总是很忙。我不想给你添麻烦,"她用我听过的最甜美的声音回答道。"不过，我很高兴你和我一起来了。奥尼尔被神职人员的事务缠住了。"
“She’ll be there. I’m hoping to have a little chat with her. You could have asked Pinkie Pie,” he rasped, breaking into a hacking cough. Each breath burned; did it ever heal? Fluttershy held him and passed him a purple healing potion. After he drank it, the coughs subsided a little. “Thank you. As I was saying, she’d have been happy to attend any party. Even at a hospital.”
"她会去的。我想和她聊聊。你本来可以问小粉饼的,"他刺耳地说，突然咳嗽起来。每一次呼吸都在燃烧，它曾经痊愈过吗？小萤火虫抱住他，递给他一剂紫色的治疗药水。他喝了以后，咳嗽稍微平息了一点。"谢谢。正如我所说的，她很乐意参加任何聚会。即使是在医院里。"
“No. I couldn’t. She’s… she’s changed,” Fluttershy said softly as she looked at him. “She’s always so… so frantic. And I know she’s smiling and laughing, but sometimes she scares me.”
"没有。我做不到。她......她变了,"小弗特希看着他，轻声说道。"她总是那么......那么疯狂。我知道她在微笑和大笑，但有时候她吓到我了。"
“Believe me, she worries me too,” he murmured softly. “I never expected her to be so… zealous. She’s rooted out a dozen traitors to the kingdom and had us seize their assets. I would have thought that that was enough. But, if anything, she seems more determined than ever to root out bad ponies.”
"相信我，她也让我担心,"他低声说。"我从没想到她会这么热心。她已经根除了十几个叛国者并让我们没收了他们的财产。我原以为这样就够了。但是，如果说有什么区别的话，那就是她似乎比以往任何时候都更坚定地要铲除那些坏马驹。"
“Applejack says Pinkie ordered a bunch of stuff for her ministry.” Fluttershy bit her lip, her eyes darting away evasively.
"苹果杰克说平奇为她的事工订购了一大堆东西。"小鸭子咬着嘴唇，眼睛闪烁着躲避的目光。
“What is it?” he asked in his raspy burr. When she didn’t talk, he stroked her
"这是什么?"他用刺耳的声音问道。她不说话的时候，他抚摸着她
wings gently. “What’s wrong with Pinkie Pie?” His voice was no firmer, but it had an authoritative tone to it that made me want to sit up straighter.
轻轻拍打翅膀。"小手指派怎么了?"他的声音并不坚定，但却带有一种权威的口气，使我想坐得更直一些。
“Please don’t use the director voice,” Fluttershy said as she closed her eyes.
"请不要用导演的声音,"小红毛闭上眼睛说。
“I’m sorry,” he replied immediately in his softer rasp. “It’s my job, though. I have to keep Luna informed.”
"对不起,"他立刻用他那软绵绵的锉刀答道。"但这是我的工作。我得随时通知卢娜。"
“Please don’t tell her. It was just one time!” Fluttershy said, then clasped her hooves over her mouth. Slowly, she melted as he just looked at her. Finally, she squeaked, “She collapsed at work the other day. She’d been up for days working and working and working. She’s taking this… thing. It’s called Dash. She had little inhalers all over her office. Apparently, she ran out and was trying to make more when she collapsed. Her secretary found her.”
"请不要告诉她。就一次而已!"小弗特希说，然后用蹄子捂住嘴。他只是看着她，她慢慢地融化了。最后，她尖叫着说:"前几天她在工作时晕倒了。她已经连续好几天没睡了，不停地工作。她要带走这个...东西。它叫做Dash。她的办公室里到处都是吸入器。显然，当她倒下的时候，她跑了出去，并且试图挣更多的钱。她的秘书发现了她。"
“Is she all right?” Goldenblood asked as he continued to pet her wings.
"她没事吧?"金血王继续抚摸着她的翅膀问道。
Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. “She’s back at work. She ignored me and her doctors and everything. She was… she laughed at first. But then she gave me a look. An… an angry look. She told me to buzz off and leave her alone.” Fluttershy trembled. “My friend would never say that,” she said as she hugged her middle gently.
小蝴蝶叹了口气，摇了摇头。"她回去工作了。她无视我和她的医生还有一切。她...她一开始笑了。然后她看了我一眼。愤怒的表情。她叫我走开，别烦她。"颤抖着。"我的朋友绝不会这么说,"她一边说，一边轻轻地拥抱着自己的腰部。
“She’s under a lot of stress. You all are. Especially you,” he said as he kissed along her yellow neck. “How are you feeling? Still sick?”
"她压力很大。你们都是。尤其是你,"他一边说，一边顺着她黄色的脖子亲吻。"你感觉怎么样？还病着吗?"
“No. That’s passed,” Fluttershy murmured and gave him a little smile. “You don’t need to worry about me. I know all about babies.”
"没有。"那已经过去了,"小弗特希喃喃地说，给了他一个微笑。"你不必为我担心。我对婴儿了如指掌。"
“You know all about other ponies having them. This is the first time you’re doing it yourself. Remember what Trueblood said and take it easy. Let Redheart and Cheerilee take care of the hospital and school openings after this one,” he replied. “You probably should have had them take care of this one, too...”
"你知道所有其他小马都有它们。这是你第一次自己做。记住特鲁布拉德说的话，放轻松。这次之后，让雷德哈特和切里负责医院和学校的开学事宜。"。"你或许也应该让他们来处理这件事......"
“Well, it is named after me,” she said delicately. She looked at him and gave a little smile. “And what happened to ‘It is absolutely vital to the future of Equestria that you oversee all activities of the Ministry of Peace’, hmm?” She suddenly balked. “I’m sorry. Was that rude of me? I didn’t mean to be rude.”
"嗯，它是以我的名字命名的,"她小心翼翼地说。她看着他，微微一笑。"'你监督和平部的所有活动对Equestria的未来绝对至关重要'这句话怎么样了?"她突然犹豫起来。"对不起。我是不是太粗鲁了？我无意冒犯。"
“By all means, be rude. You can be positively snitty if it makes you feel better,”
"无论如何，要粗鲁。你可以积极地告密，如果这能让你感觉好一点的话。"
he said, then laughed. Then he sighed as he stroked her middle. “I still have to figure out how to break this to everypony. Luna will have to know first. Then Rarity.”
他说，然后笑了。然后他抚摸着她的腰部，叹了口气。"我还得想办法告诉每个人。卢娜必须先知道。然后就是稀缺。"
“Do you think I could tell all my friends together?” she asked in her cute little voice.
"你认为我能一起告诉我所有的朋友吗?"她用可爱的小嗓音问道。
“Maybe. We’ll have to see,” he replied softly.
"也许吧。我们得看看,"他轻声回答。
“I love you,” she murmured, arching her neck to kiss him gently.
"我爱你,"她低声说，拱起她的脖子轻轻地吻他。
“I know…” he replied after the kiss was broken.
"我知道......"他在吻破裂后回答道。
For a moment, I was afraid I was going to have to endure another marathon sex memory, but the pair simply cuddled. Fluttershy wore glasses as she shuffled through papers and he read reports about the Equestrian Space Program. He asked her about her forays into memory modification spells for dealing with emotional traumas. She asked him what names he was thinking of for the baby. “As long as it doesn’t have ‘blood’ in the name,” was his only requirement.
有那么一会儿，我还担心自己要再忍受一次马拉松式的性爱记忆，但这对情侣只是依偎在一起。Fluttershy戴着眼镜，翻阅着报纸，读着有关马术太空计划的报道。他问她是如何尝试记忆修正法术来处理情感创伤的。她问他想给孩子取什么名字。"只要名字里没有'血',"这是他唯一的要求。
As they approached Hoofington, he opened a drawer with his magic. “Here. I planned on giving this to you at the party, but…” And he levitated out a delicate silver butterfly mane clip. She gasped, flushing as he moved it over and pinned her hair out of her face. The rose quartz wings sparkled softly. The detail was such that it almost seemed as if it’d take off flying.
当他们走近胡芬顿时，他用魔法打开了一个抽屉。"这儿。我本来打算在派对上把这个送给你的，但是......"他弄出一个精致的银色蝴蝶鬃毛夹子。她倒吸了一口气，脸涨得通红，他把衣服移过来，把她的头发别在脸上。玫瑰石英的翅膀轻轻地闪闪发光。细节是如此之多，以至于它看起来好像要起飞了。
“It’s lovely! Did you get it from Rarity?” she said as she nudged it with her hoof.
"真可爱！你是从"稀世"那里得到的吗?"她边说边用蹄子推着它。
He hesitated before smiling. “Something like that.” She started to protest about it being too nice, and he silenced her with a kiss. “And I know you know some patient who will love it as well.” She smiled and relaxed, nodding.
他犹豫了一下，然后微笑了。"差不多吧。"她开始抗议这太好了，他用一个吻让她安静下来。"我知道你认识一些病人，他们也会喜欢的。"她微笑着，轻松地点了点头。
Finally, they arrived at the huge concrete building. Fluttershy sighed as she looked out the window of the covered wagon. “It’s so… so…” she murmured, then glanced back at him. “…nice.”
最后，他们来到了这座巨大的混凝土建筑。小弗特希望着车窗外叹了口气。"太......太......"她喃喃地说，然后回头看了他一眼。"...很好"
“It’s hideous. All buildings in Hoofington have to be hideous. It’s in the building code,” he said, then smiled and got one in return. “Just be glad it’s not one of those black monstrosities they’re building in the Core.”
"太可怕了。Hoofington所有的建筑都必须丑陋。这是建筑规范的规定,"他说，然后笑了笑，得到了一个回报。"庆幸的是，这不是他们在核心建造的那些黑色怪物之一。"
“Yes. I really don’t know why Hoofington embraces postmodern minimalist brutalism as its primary architectural style,” she said as the wagon touched down on the roof of the hospital. Post what? What post? Was she talking about the buildings looking like posts? She stood, and I didn’t get an answer. Redheart was standing near the landing pad.
"是的。我真的不知道为什么胡芬顿会把后现代极简主义作为它的主要建筑风格,"当马车降落在医院的屋顶上时，她说。邮寄什么？什么帖子？她是说那些建筑看起来像帖子吗？她站了起来，我没有得到回答。红心站在停机坪附近。
Goldenblood rose and nuzzled Fluttershy softly. “Take care of yourself, mommy.”
金红色的玫瑰花轻轻地用鼻子蹭着萤火虫。"照顾好自己，妈妈。"
She giggled and nearly bounced on her hooves at that word, then flushed profusely and nodded. “I will. You take care of yourself, too. Make sure you keep some medicine with you.” Then she trotted out of the wagon, looked back once to see him before finally disappearing inside.
她咯咯地笑了起来，几乎用蹄子弹了起来，然后脸红了，点了点头。"我会的。你也要照顾好自己。一定要随身带些药。"然后她小跑着走出马车，回头看了他一眼，最后消失在里面。
He sighed and pressed a button. “Robronco HQ, please, ladies,” he said into a speaker. The wagon lifted into the air and started towards the city core. If I’d thought he’d use now to dig up all kinds of secret information, I was disappointed. He settled back, took out a picture of Fluttershy, and just stared at it for almost the entirety of the flight. Finally, the skywagon landed, and his horn packed up several things into his saddlebags before he stepped out. There were four pegasi harnessed to it and four more armed with high-power automatic rifles. “Thank you, ladies,” he said with a respectful nod to the team before trotting towards an elevator.
他叹了口气，按了一个按钮。"女士们，请到Robronco总部来,"他对着喇叭说。马车升到空中，向市中心驶去。如果我认为他会利用现在挖掘出各种各样的秘密信息，那我就大失所望了。他往后靠了靠，拿出一张Fluttershy的照片，几乎整个飞行过程都盯着它。最后，空中马车终于着陆了，他的号角在出门之前把几样东西装进了鞍囊。驾驶它的是四架飞马座，另外四架装备有大功率自动步枪。"谢谢你们，女士们,"他恭敬地向队员们点了点头，然后小跑着走向电梯。
Hoofington was half reconstructed at this point. The ministry hubs were finished save for the midnight blue ministry of awesome that rose twice as tall as the rest. The ugly black buildings had an unsettling uniformity, but they seemed undoubtedly sturdy. Clearly, it would take something substantial to take down this fortress of a city. Too bad balefire bombs counted. A balefire bomb with a blast contained inside a shield that liquefied its occupants…
胡芬顿这时已经重建了一半。除了午夜蓝色的令人敬畏的部门，这个部门的中心已经完工，这个部门的高度是其他部门的两倍。这些丑陋的黑色建筑有着令人不安的一致性，但它们看起来毫无疑问是坚固的。显然，要摧毁这座城市的堡垒需要一些实质性的东西。太糟糕了，巴勒火焰炸弹也算上了。一个带有爆炸装置的防护罩液化了它的居住者的气球炸弹..。
Inside, the building had a very incomplete feel to it. After stepping out of the elevator, we passed by several unfinished rooms with ponies still installing parts and panels. Goldenblood seemed to know his way around well enough, walking through the hallways and intersections without hesitation. He finally entered some sort of engineering workshop; there was heavy equipment everywhere that looked quite out of place in the super-modern city.
在里面，建筑有一种非常不完整的感觉。走出电梯后，我们经过几个未完工的房间，小马还在安装零件和面板。金布拉德似乎对周围的路很熟悉，他毫不犹豫地穿过走廊和十字路口。他终于进入了某种工程车间，那里到处都是重型设备，在这个超级现代化的城市里显得格格不入。
“Director Goldenblood! So nice to finally meet you,” the yellow stallion with the
"金血黄导演！很高兴终于见到你了,"那匹黄色的种马
thin mustache said brightly as he looked up from some piece of machinery.
当他从机器上抬起头的时候，细小的胡子明亮地说。
“Horse,” he replied with a nod of his head. “I would have come sooner, but you seem to have your hooves full.”
"马,"他点了点头回答。"我本来可以早点来的，但是你似乎已经忙得不可开交了。"
“Settling in to our cozy new accommodations courtesy of the Ministry of Wartime Technology and the Hoofington Reconstruction effort,” he replied. Goldenblood looked at several metallic spheres. “Ah… is this that spritebot I’ve read up on?”
他回答说:"我们住进了由战时技术部和胡芬顿重建工程提供的舒适的新住所。"。金色血液观察了几个金属球。"啊......这就是我读过的那个spritebot吗?"
“Actually, we’re almost ready for production on that model,” he said as he covered the balls with a sheet. “These are for something else. Now, what brings the director of the O.I.A. to see me?” he asked with a broad smile.
"实际上，我们已经基本准备好生产这种型号的球了,"他一边说一边用一块布盖住球。"这些是用来干别的事的。那么，是什么风把o.i.a.的主管吹来见我的呢?"他笑容满面地问道。
“This,” he replied, as lifted a flap on his saddlebag and pulled out… a metal rod? It was silvery white, maybe as long as my hoof was wide, and thin as a pencil.
"这个,"他一边回答，一边在鞍囊上轻轻拍了一下，然后拿出......一根金属棒？它是银白色的，也许和我的蹄子一样宽，一样细。
He floated it to the yellow earth pony, who took it in his hooves. “Well now, what’s this?”
他把它漂浮到那匹黄土地上的小马身边，小马用蹄子把它叼走了。"那么，这是什么?"
“You tell me,” Goldenblood said with a thin smile.
"你告诉我,"金布拉德淡淡地笑着说。
“Well, it’s not any alloy of steel I’m familiar with. Not aluminum.” He juggled it from hoof to hoof. “Not Celestium or Big Macintoshium…” he tossed it into his mouth and sucked on it a moment like a metal candy cane. “It doesn’t taste like silver,” he spat it out and caught it right on the end of his nose. “What are you?” he asked the little rod.
"嗯，它不是我所熟悉的任何合金钢。而不是铝。"他把它从蹄子变成蹄子。"不是天青石或大麦金托什......"他把它扔进嘴里，像一根金属棒棒糖一样吮吸了片刻。"它尝起来不像银的,"他把它吐了出来，正好在鼻尖上接住。"你是什么?"他问小罗德。
“We don’t know. We’ve been digging up ore of that metal underneath the city. I’m curious about its properties,” Goldenblood said as he tapped his hoof on the desk.
"我们不知道。我们一直在城市地下挖矿。我对它的特性很好奇,"金血王一边用蹄子敲打桌子一边说。
“This ore wouldn’t happen to be found alongside strange zebra ruins, would it?” he asked with a speculative grin.
"这种矿石不会恰好在奇怪的斑马遗址旁边发现吧?"他带着猜测的笑容问道。
“You’d have to ask Rarity about that,” Goldenblood replied in a tone that was suddenly far cooler.
Horse seemed to get the hint as he looked cross-eyed at the bar balanced on his muzzle. “Well, we can do chemical analysis, magical analysis… but personally, I
马似乎得到了暗示，因为他看起来斗鸡眼酒吧平衡他的口鼻。"嗯，我们可以做化学分析，魔法分析......但就我个人而言，我
like starting with good old fashioned physical analysis,” he said as he trotted to a massive machine that was all hydraulic pistons and gears. He slid the metal into a little gap in the middle and then began to crank wheels to lock it in place. “This will tell us the tensile strength of this baby. Give us an idea of what we’re working with.” He pulled some levers, and there was a hum as a large gauge started to turn. “One kilomac… two kilomacs… three… huh… four?” The needle was now in a yellow bar and steadily climbing. “Five kilomacs!” Horse exclaimed.
就像从老式的物理分析开始,"他一边说，一边小跑到一个巨大的机器前，这个机器全是液压活塞和齿轮。他把金属滑到中间的一个小缝隙里，然后开始用曲柄转动轮子把它固定住。"这将告诉我们这个婴儿的抗张强度。让我们了解一下我们的工作内容。"他拉了几个操纵杆，一个大仪表开始转动时发出嗡嗡声。"1千米......2千米......3......呃......4?"针现在插在一根黄色的杆子上，还在不断地往上爬。"五千米!"马大声叫道。
The needle started into the red, and the machine began to make ominous whining sounds. “There’s no deformation at all…” Goldenblood mused.
针开始变红，机器开始发出不祥的呜呜声。"一点变形都没有......"金血默默地说。
“Gotta shut it down before it blows the safeties,” Horse said as he moved to the side and started to tug on the levers. They didn’t budge. “Hey, what’s wrong with this thing?” Goldenblood didn’t move. He stared right at the silver rod of metal. “Director! Move out of there.”
"必须在它爆炸之前关掉它,"马边说边移到一边，开始拉动操纵杆。他们没有让步。"嘿，这东西怎么了?"金血王一动不动。他凝视着那根银色的金属棒。"导演！离开那里。"
Suddenly, the whole machine shook just as a stallion walked in the door to the lab. The machine gave a resounding bang, and the rod went flying through the air, buzzing an eerie high-pitched song. It seemed to curve midflight, passing right by Goldenblood’s ear as it flew straight into the head of the stallion in the doorway behind Goldenblood. He dropped instantly, falling in that boneless way that signaled a terminal injury.
突然，就在一匹种马走进实验室的大门时，整个机器摇晃起来。机器发出一声响亮的爆炸声，鱼竿在空中飞舞，发出一种诡异的高音调的嗡嗡声。它似乎在飞行中转弯，飞过金色血液的耳朵，直接飞进Goldenblood后面门口的种马头上。他立即倒下了，以那种没有骨头的姿势倒了下去，表明他受到了致命的伤害。
“Calipers!” Horse cried, rushing to the fallen stallion. Then the yellow earth pony screamed, “Medic! Someone get a medic!”
"卡尺!"马儿叫了起来，冲向那匹落下的种马。然后黄土小马尖叫起来,"医护兵！谁去找个医生来!"
Slowly, Goldenblood approached the pair, looking down at an inch of rod protruding from the stallion’s skull. It glowed with his magic as it was slowly pulled free. “Director!” Horse protested at first, but then gaped. Little silvery wisps were rising from the wound and disappearing into the metal rod. “What… how… what is that metal?”
慢慢地，金血王走近他们俩，低头看着种马头骨上突出来的一根棍子。当它慢慢地被拉出来时，它发出了他的魔力。"导演!"马儿起初表示抗议，但随后目瞪口呆。小小的银丝从伤口上升起，消失在金属棒中。"那...那...那是什么金属?"
“That’s what I need to figure out, Mr. Horse,” Goldenblood said softly as he stared at the blood and brains on the tip of the rod, the last wisps disappearing into the silvery metal. “That’s what I need to figure out…”
"这就是我需要弄清楚的，马先生,"金血王一边盯着竿尖上的血迹和脑浆，一边轻声说道，最后一缕缕血迹消失在银色的金属中。"这就是我需要弄清楚的......"
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
Coming out of the memory was like slowly shoving the right side of my face
从记忆中走出来就像是慢慢地推挤我的右脸
into a basin of boiling water. I sprawled on my side in Glory’s hooves in a corner away from the brahmin. It was dark, the fire station lit only by the flickering flames of the wan, shielded campfire. A bandage had been packed around my right eye, and I tried to ignore the bloody scalpel and a coffee cup filled with… with… flesh should not be that color!
倒进一盆沸水里。我趴在晨辉的蹄子里，远离婆罗门的一个角落里。天很黑，消防站只有苍白、遮蔽的篝火的闪烁火焰照亮。我的右眼布满了绷带，我试图忽略血淋淋的手术刀和一个咖啡杯，里面装满了......不应该是那种颜色的肉！
I jerked, choked, and retched as I brought up the contents of my stomach. Which wasn’t really much at this point. It turned out, though, that berries weren’t so good the second time around. I felt Glory’s hooves move to turn my head. “I’d hoped you’d be out longer,” she said as she kept my face down and stroked my mane. “It’s okay. I got the tumor and cauterized the rest of the socket.” Okay, I really didn’t want to know what that meant.
当我提起胃里的东西时，我猛地抽搐、哽咽、干呕。这在当时并不算什么。然而，事实证明，第二次尝试的浆果并没有那么好。我感觉到晨辉的蹄子在转动我的头。"我希望你能在外面待久一点,"她一边说，一边低下我的脸，抚摸着我的鬃毛。"没关系。我切除了肿瘤，烧灼了其余的眼窝。"好吧我真的不想知道那是什么意思。
“Hurts. Bad,” I said, feeling the alcohol barely keeping the burning sensation at bay. I closed my eye and pressed my left cheek into her stomach. “I’d like to nominate this day as the most messed up in Equestrian history.”
"很疼。"糟糕,"我说，感觉酒精几乎没有阻止燃烧的感觉。我闭上眼睛，把左脸贴在她的肚子上。"我想提名今天为马术史上最糟糕的一天。"
“Oh, it’s not all bad,” Glory said with a sniff. “You found something that caused Enervation… stopped a slaving tribe… helped me… went for a ride through Hoofington’s storm drain system...”
"哦，也不全是坏事,"晨辉嗅了一下说。"你发现了什么东西导致了衰弱......阻止了一个奴隶部落......帮助了我......穿过胡芬顿的排水系统......"
I smiled as I nuzzled her. How in Equestria did she keep smelling so good? She was just as muddy and messy as myself. “That’s why I said messed up. There’re just too many highs and lows in this day.” I felt the alcohol slowly win, clouding my thinking. I waited a minute, then smiled. “Six months was pretty optimistic, wasn’t it?”
我微笑着用鼻子爱抚着她。她在Equestria怎么一直这么好闻？她和我一样脏兮兮的。"这就是为什么我说一团糟。今天有太多的高潮和低谷。"我感到酒精慢慢地占了上风，模糊了我的思维。我等了一会儿，然后笑了。"六个月是相当乐观的，不是吗?"
She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. The tears falling on my mane told me enough. She muttered softly, “Maybe if we were in Chapel… or some low radiation… low Enervation… some better place… This damned city is aggravating the cancer.”
她什么也没说。她没必要这么做。我的鬃毛上落下的眼泪告诉了我足够的信息。她轻声咕哝着,"也许如果我们在教堂......或者低辐射......低能量......更好的地方......这个该死的城市正在加重癌症。"
Funny, I’d found Hoofington pretty aggravating too. “Mmm… well, that’s too bad. I’ll just have to end things with the Rangers pretty quickly.”
有趣的是，我也觉得胡芬顿很恼人。"嗯......那太糟糕了。我必须尽快和流浪者队结束这一切。"
“Sanguine…” she began, but I silenced her with a shake of my head.
"乐观......"她开始说，但我摇了摇头，让她安静了下来。
“I don’t want to live as a Gorgon or a manticore-thing. And my life isn’t worth the damage he’ll do to the Wasteland with Chimera,” I said softly.
"我不想过蛇发女怪或狮蝎怪的生活。我的生命不值得他带着奇美拉毁灭荒原,"我轻声说。
“How… how can you say that?” she sobbed softly.
"你...你怎么能这么说?"她轻轻地抽泣着。
“Because it’s true, Glory. I’m not that important. Even if he could give me a brand new body… I still wouldn’t take it.” She hugged me a little tighter, and I sighed. “Listen… when I’m done, I want you to go to the Collegiate. Help Zodiac with Steelpony. You know about medical technological stuff. Or help out in Chapel. They’ll need a good doctor. And somepony needs to make sure P-21 doesn’t get too sour and grumpy. Okay?” She sniffed and nodded and I smiled, remembering, “Oh, first we’ll have to unseal Steelpony somehow…” Lightheaded... getting sleepy now...
"因为这是真的，晨辉。我没那么重要。即使他能给我一个全新的身体......我还是不会接受。"她紧紧地抱了我一下，我叹了口气。"听着......等我做完了，我要你去学院学院。帮助生肖与钢铁小马。你知道医疗技术的东西。或者去教堂帮忙。他们需要一个好医生。有些人需要确保P-21不会变得太酸和脾气暴躁。好吗?"她嗅了嗅，点了点头，我笑了，回想起来,"哦，首先我们得以某种方式打开钢铁小马的封印......"头晕目眩......现在开始昏昏欲睡.....。
She sniffed and nodded. “Let me worry about that. I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you, Blackjack.”
她闻了闻，点了点头。"让我来操心吧。我会处理的。我会照顾你的，黑杰克。"
Somepony taking care of me. I didn’t deserve it... but it certainly felt nice. I smiled as the alcohol, chems, and fatigue overtook me. My mind sank into a deep dark sleep, and for once there weren’t any dreams. A dress rehearsal, I supposed, and better than I could have hoped.
有人在照顾我。我不值得拥有它......但是这种感觉确实很好。我微笑着，酒精，药品和疲劳控制了我。我的思绪陷入了沉沉的睡眠，这一次我没有做任何梦。我想这是一次带妆彩排，而且比我希望的还要好。
* * *
* * *
I felt the firm ring of a gun barrel against my windpipe. Slowly, I opened my eye and looked up into the furious gaze of Usury. The gun was a simple single-barrel twenty gauge, but right now I figured it would do the trick. Tears poured down her cheeks as the gun trembled in her grip. Glory was asleep. So were the brahmin and filly. I had no idea where Keeper or the ghouls were.
我感觉到枪管的结实圆环抵住了我的气管。慢慢地，我睁开眼睛，抬头看着高利贷狂怒的目光。这把枪是一把简单的单管二十口径，但是现在我认为它可以做到这一点。当枪在她的手中颤抖时，泪水顺着她的脸颊流了下来。晨辉睡着了。婆罗门和小母马也是如此。我不知道守门员和食尸鬼在哪里。
Looking up into her eyes, I just couldn’t work up the will to care. I simply stared. This wouldn’t bring back her life. This wouldn’t restore her. It would do little besides end my pain… and then hers, once Glory was finished with her. She’d lost everything, and I was the perfect one to blame, though I doubted she’d be in a position to collect the bounty she’d posted. The sallow, sullen mare just stared back as her lips worked on the mouth grip, and I smiled.
抬头看着她的眼睛，我就是无法产生关心她的意愿。我只是盯着他看。这不会让她起死回生。这不会让她恢复原状。除了结束我的痛苦，这对她没有什么好处......一旦晨辉结束了她的痛苦，她的痛苦也就结束了。她失去了一切，而我是完美的替罪羊，尽管我怀疑她是否有能力领取她张贴的奖金。那匹面色蜡黄、郁郁寡欢的母马回望着我，她的嘴唇紧紧地咬住我的嘴唇，我笑了。
“It won’t really change anything but put me out of my misery a few months early,” I said quietly as I levitated the bottle of vodka over and took a drink, feeling the bite of the gun barrel as I swallowed.
"这不会真的改变任何事情，但会让我提前几个月摆脱痛苦,"我平静地说，同时我把一瓶伏特加悬浮起来，喝了一口，吞咽下去时感觉到枪管的一口。
I’d never seen a mare destroyed before. In that moment, I took away everything from her, even her revenge. She pulled the gun from my throat and trotted away
我以前从没见过母马被摧毁。在那一刻，我夺走了她的一切，甚至是她的复仇。她从我的喉咙里拔出枪，小跑开了
to a filthy corner. A few more weeks of me in misery was the most she could hope for. I wished there was some way I could have helped her. Something I could have given her. At this point, even revenge would have been a gift to a mare who had almost nothing. She was left following her father, cleaning up after his brahmin.
去一个肮脏的角落。再让我痛苦地生活几个星期是她最大的希望。我真希望我能帮到她。一些我可以给她的东西。在这一点上，甚至复仇也可以作为礼物送给一无所有的母马。她被留下来跟随父亲，为他的婆罗门收拾残局。
I suppose I should have hated her. Punished her for what she’d done in Paradise.
我想我应该恨她。惩罚她在天堂的所作所为。
But, honestly, all I could spare right then was pity.
但是，说实话，当时我所能给予的只有怜悯。
* * *
* * *
The next morning, we finished our deals with Keeper. The only charity he gave was in the bedroom, but he seemed to be cutting Glory a little slack. I had a decent drum-fed shotgun. She had her gatling beam gun. Ammo. Chems. Some purple healing potions for any superficial wounds we received over the next few days. A tip I bought from Little Bit that Lacunae might be able to recharge them if she had a healing spell. Useful. Definitely useful.
第二天早上，我们完成了与管理员的交易。他唯一的施舍是在卧室里，但是他似乎对晨辉有点松懈。我有一把像样的鼓喂散弹枪。她有加特林机枪。弹药。中药。在接下来的几天里，我们收到了一些紫色的治疗药水，可以治疗任何表面的伤口。我从LittleBit那里得到一个消息，如果Lacunae有一个治疗咒语，她可能可以给它们充电。有用。绝对有用。
Glory was finalizing things when I spotted something in the corner. The sight of it made my heart beat a little faster as I stared at the black case. “Add this too,” I said as I picked it up with my magic. Keeper looked curious, Glory skeptical. “Where’d you get this?” I asked softly as I turned it over.
晨辉是最后确定的事情时，我发现在角落里的东西。当我盯着那个黑盒子的时候，我的心跳加快了一点。"把这个也加进去,"我一边说，一边用我的魔法捡起它。守门员看起来很好奇，荣誉怀疑。"你从哪儿弄到这个的?"我轻轻地问，把它翻过来。
“A ghoul who said he picked it out of Stable-Tec HQ all the way down in Fillydelphia. I figured it had to be worth something, but in twenty years I’ve never found somepony interested in it. Never could open the damned thing, either,” he said. “Hundred caps and good riddance.” Glory looked at me and paid the pittance. From the weight, it was clear that there was another silver bullet inside.
"一个食尸鬼说他是从Stable-Tec总部一路到Fillydelphia挑的。我觉得它肯定有些价值，但是二十年来我从来没有找到一匹小马对它感兴趣。也打不开那该死的东西,"他说。"一百顶帽子，终于解脱了。"晨辉看着我，付出了微薄的代价。从重量来看，很明显里面还有一颗银弹。
I opened it slowly, licking my lips. Instantly, my PipBuck started clicking from the radiation coming off the shell. As with the others, there was a piece of paper folded up with the bullet. I pulled it free and then closed the shielded case.
我慢慢地打开它，舔着嘴唇。立刻，我的PipBuck开始从外壳的辐射处发出咔哒声。和其他人一样，还有一张用子弹折叠起来的纸。我把它拉了出来，然后关上了屏蔽箱。
‘Sorry, sis. Definitely not my field. I heard Twilight sent hers to Horizon Labs to be cut open. Maybe they know what these things are? Hope things are better soon. PS: You have any idea what’s eatin Scoots? She’s been actin funnier than usual.’ -Apple Bloom.’
""对不起，姐姐。绝对不是我的领域。我听说《暮光之城》把她的孩子送到地平线实验室去切开。也许他们知道这些东西是什么？希望情况尽快好转。附言:你知道吃什么吗？她比平时更搞笑了-苹果布鲁姆
“Interesting. So what kind of gun does a bullet like that go to?” he asked as I
"有意思。那么这样的子弹是用来干什么的呢?"他问我
tucked it away.
藏起来了。
“A big one,” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. Last thing he needed to know about was a megaspell gun... though I had to wonder just how many caps a fully operational Folly would be worth.
"一个大家伙,"我回答，对着他伸出舌头。他需要知道的最后一件事是一把巨型机枪......尽管我不得不想知道一把完全投入使用的蠢枪值多少国家队出场费。
After that, Keeper and his caravan started packing up. I walked up to the old stallion. “Thanks for all your help, Keeper.”
之后，管理员和他的车队开始收拾行李。我走向那匹老种马。"谢谢你的帮助，管理员。"
He chuckled. “If you really want to thank me, I think I can spare a bit of time...” he said with a roguish wink that made me blush. He was old enough to be… still really good to look at. “Otherwise, don’t worry about it. Your mare paid everything up nice and square.” Glory smiled, nodded, and put her wing across my back possessively.
他咯咯地笑了。"如果你真的想感谢我，我想我可以腾出一点时间......"他说话时流氓的眼色使我脸红。他已经够大了，看起来还是那么帅气。"不然的话，不用担心。你的母马把一切都付清了。"晨辉微笑着，点点头，把她的翅膀放在我的背上占有。
“I was just wondering, though… the Reapers and the Rangers… who do you think I should back?”
"我只是想知道，尽管...收割者和流浪者...你认为我应该支持谁?"
His smile disappeared at once, and he sighed. “Neither.”
他的微笑立刻消失了，他叹了口气。"都不是。"
“But--” I began, but he shook his head firmly.
"但是——"我开始说，但是他坚定地摇了摇头。
“Those two are working off thirty years of hate. Yer not going to be able to convince ‘em to stop fightin’. It’s foalish to even try. Best stay clear of the whole mess,” he said flatly as he sat, crossing his forelegs over his chest. “That’s how I’ve always made my way. Don’t take sides.”
"这两个人正在消除三十年来的仇恨。你不可能说服他们停止战斗。哪怕只是尝试一下，都是小菜一碟。最好远离这堆乱七八糟的东西,"他一边坐着一边平静地说，前腿交叉放在胸前。"这就是我一直走的路。不要偏袒任何一方。"
“I can’t,” I replied, shaking my head.
"我不能,"我摇着头回答。
“Well, then I’d keep your barding pulled down over that PipBuck of yours,” he said grimly. “I know Steel Rangers who think it’s their Celestia-given mission to take that off your leg and put it in some damned shrine or something! Crunchy Carrots might be smart enough to not try and take it, but I can’t say the same for the rest of ‘em.”
"好吧，那我就让你把那根皮布克拉下来,"他冷冷地说。"我知道钢铁游骑兵认为这是他们的天赐任务，把你的腿取下来，放在什么该死的神龛之类的地方！脆脆的胡萝卜可能会聪明到不去尝试和接受它，但是我不能说其他的胡萝卜也是如此。"
After that, the caravan moved off to the northwest, heading towards Toll. The early morning was punctuated by gunshots, faint explosions, and the reek of cordite and rocket fuel. Scotch’s PipBuck tag was just south of us, but I wasn’t quite up to walking around the Wasteland just yet. That meant sitting around in the firehouse. Waiting. Well, at least I did have some other things to do. I
之后，商队向西北方向驶去，向托尔方向驶去。凌晨时分，枪声、微弱的爆炸声、木条和火箭燃料的臭气不时响起。苏格兰人的皮布克标签就在我们的南边，但我还没有完全能够在荒原上漫步。那就意味着坐在消防站里。等待。至少我还有别的事情要做。一
munched a box of Carrot Crunch and flipped through my PipBuck to the Steelpony file. “So, how am I supposed to open this thing with EC-1101?”
一边嚼着一盒CarrotCrunch，一边把我的PipBuck翻到Steelpony文件夹。"那么，我该怎么用EC-1101打开这个东西呢?"
Glory moved next to me, snuggling beside me as she looked at the screen. Then she frowned. “You don’t have to. It’s decrypted.”
晨辉紧挨着我，依偎在我身边，看着屏幕。然后她皱起了眉头。"你不必这么做。已经解密了。"
“It’s what?” I stared at the file. “Well… when the heck did that happen?” I shrugged, feeling… actually, a bit uneasy. “So, you’re saying I don’t have to go meet somepony on the other side of the city, struggle with some horrible internal dilemma, or pay a ridiculous price?” Anything being this easy in the Wasteland was just wrong! I half expected my PipBuck to explode or something.
"是什么?"我盯着文件。"嗯......这到底是什么时候发生的?"我耸耸肩，感觉......实际上，有点不自在。"所以，你的意思是，我不必去城市的另一边遇到某个小马驹，不必为某种可怕的内心困境而挣扎，也不必为此付出可笑的代价?"任何在荒原这么容易的事情都是错误的！我还以为我的皮布克会爆炸什么的。
“You sound disappointed,” she said with a smile.
"你听起来很失望,"她笑着说。
“Eh. I’m getting crotchety and cynical in my old age. Give me a year and I’ll be almost as grouchy as P-21,” I said as I flipped through some notes at random.
"嗯。我年纪大了，脾气越来越坏，越来越愤世嫉俗。给我一年时间，我会像P-21一样不高兴。"我一边说着，一边随意翻阅着一些笔记。
“I’d love to see that,” she said softly as she kissed my left cheek. Me too...
"我很想看看,"她轻轻地说着，吻了吻我的左脸颊。我也是。
“Now I just have to trot it all the way back to the Collegiate,” I groaned. “I’ll probably wipe out two settlements, save a baby, destroy a dam, have a mind-blowing revelation, and have my hoof fall off before we get there… what do you think?”
"现在我只能一路小跑回学院了,"我呻吟着。"我可能会摧毁两个定居点，拯救一个婴儿，摧毁一个水坝，得到一个令人兴奋的启示，在我们到达那里之前，我的蹄子掉下来了......你觉得呢?"
“I think you might be able to just broadcast it.” She tapped the black casing. “This is a broadcaster, right?”
"我觉得你可以直接播出去。"她轻轻地敲了敲黑色的外壳。"这是个播音员，对吧?"
“Um… I sort of don’t know how,” I muttered, my ears burning. Off to the side, I spotted the Dealer; was it just me or did he look less decrepit? Or course it just me! He was my crazy after all. He just shook his head, the cards shuffling in his hooves.
"嗯......我有点不知道怎么回事,"我咕哝着，耳朵发烫。在旁边，我看到了商人;是只有我还是他看起来没那么衰老？或者当然只有我！他毕竟是我的疯子。他只是摇摇头，扑克牌在他的蹄子里慢慢移动。
She smiled and shook her head. “I know the basics. First we go to the ‘Broadcaster’ menu, and then we need a network.” I stared as a short list appeared, and even she seemed a little shocked. “Well. ‘Hoofington Civilian Grid’. ‘Hoofington Defense Grid’. ‘Stable-Tec Information Network’. ‘M.O.M. Spritebot Network’. ‘M.A.S. Emergency Broadcast System’.”
她微笑着摇了摇头。"我知道一些基础知识。首先，我们要打开'广播员'菜单，然后我们需要一个网络。"当一个简短的名单出现时，我瞪大了眼睛，甚至连她看起来都有点震惊。"好吧。胡芬顿民用电网。胡芬顿防御网。"Stable-Tec信息网"。'm.o.m.SpritebotNetwork'.'m.a.s.紧急广播系统'。"
“Use the MASEBS,” I said. If it was good enough for Homage, it was good enough for me. Besides, the thought of sending anything that might summon that
"使用MASEBS,"我说。如果它对于《致敬》来说足够好，那么对我来说也足够好。此外，一想到要发送任何可能召唤它的东西
cybermonster thing made me leery.
网络怪物让我很警惕。
She selected it. There was a flash in my vision, scrolling data ending with ‘Access granted’. My PipBuck chirped, and Glory gave a slightly astonished smile. “Wow. It… looks like we can now contact the entire active MASEBS network." From the number of 'node unavailable's on the list that was scrolling up the screen, that wasn't as much as it could have been. Glory deftly selected an option marked ‘Contacted Nodes’.
她选择了它。有一个闪光在我的视野，滚动数据结束与'访问授权'。我的皮伯克叽叽喳喳地叫着，晨辉露出一丝惊讶的微笑。"哇。看来我们现在可以联系到整个活跃的MASEBS网络了。"从滚动屏幕的列表中无法使用的节点的数量来看，这并没有达到它应该达到的程度。晨辉灵巧地选择了一个标记为"联系节点"的选项。
I was surprised at the length of the new list that appeared; it was longer than I'd anticipated. Most of them were mind-boggling streams of number and letters, but a few stood out. Stable 89. Miramare Air Station. Rainbow Dash Skyport Terminal. Chapel Post Office. Hoofington Planetarium. '' stood out as being neither a recognizable name nor a line of gobbledegook. “So I can contact… any of these?”
我对新列表的长度感到惊讶;它比我预期的要长。其中大部分是令人难以置信的数字和字母流，但也有少数脱颖而出。稳定89。米拉马雷空军基地。彩虹短跑机场客运大楼。小教堂邮政局。胡芬顿天文馆"<节点名称不可用>"既不是一个可识别的名称，也不是一行官样文章。"所以我可以联系......这些人中的任何一个?"
“It looks like it.” I selected the Planetarium, and Glory nodded. “Now hit 'Connect'.”
"看起来是这样。"我选择了天文馆，晨辉点了点头。"现在点击'连接'。"
I did and there was a beep. Then another. Again. “Is it supposed to be doing that?”
我听到了，然后哔的一声。然后是另一个。再来一次。"它应该这么做吗?"
“Ask somepony in Intelligence. I’ve just read a book on these things,” she replied.
"问问情报部门的人吧。我刚刚读了一本关于这方面的书,"她回答道。
Suddenly, there was a crackle, and a synthetic mare’s voice said, “Blackjack? How are you contacting me on the MASEBS?”
突然，有一个裂纹，和一个合成母马的声音说:"Blackjack？你如何在MASEBS上与我联系?"
“Ask a pony smarter than me, Professor. I got Steelpony,” I said with a smile. “I’m going to try and send it to you.”
"问一匹比我聪明的小马吧，教授。我买了匹兹堡钢铁小马,"我笑着说。"我会试着把它发给你。"
“You… I… thank you, Blackjack.” The synthetic voice seemed quite speechless.
"你......我.....。.谢谢你，Blackjack。"那合成的声音似乎无言以对。
“Don’t thank me. I have no idea if this will work,” I replied. I selected ‘Send file’ and looked through the list until I found ‘Steelpony.acv’. I selected it and confirmed.
"别谢我。我不知道这是否有用,"我回答。我选择"发送文件"，然后浏览列表，直到找到"Steelpony.acv"。我选择了它并确认了。
My E.F.S. filled my vision with more streaming numbers, and then it stopped. To my alarm, Steelpony.acv was no longer in my PipBuck’s memory! “Um... Professor?”
我的e.f.s用更多的流数字填满了我的视野，然后它停止了。令我惊讶的是，steelpon.acv已经不在我的PipBuck的记忆里了！"嗯......教授?"
“Thank you so much, Blackjack,” she said quietly. “I have it. I have...
"非常感谢你，Blackjack,"她平静地说。"我拿到了。我有..。
everything...” I checked to make sure that I hadn’t sent EC-1101 too.
一切......"我检查了一下，以确保我没有把EC-1101也发出去。
Fortunately... or unfortunately... that was still in my PipBuck.
幸运的是...或者不幸的是...它还在我的PipBuck里。
“Professor,” Glory said, “Now that you have it... are you sure there’s... there’s nothing you can do for Blackjack?” She bit her lip as she looked at me. There was a long pause.
"教授,"晨辉说,"既然你已经拿到了......你确定......你对黑杰克无能为力吗?"她看着我，咬着嘴唇。沉默了很长时间。
“I’m sorry, Glory,” she replied. “If I had a full fabrication facility and staff, yes. We could start making the things Blackjack needs in a few hours and begin installing them tomorrow. But right now, all I have are assorted pieces collected from all across the Wasteland. I even purchased Deus’s remains, but...”
"对不起，晨辉,"她回答。"如果我有一个完整的制造设备和员工，是的。我们可以在几个小时内开始制作Blackjack需要的东西，然后明天开始安装。但是现在，我所有的东西都是从荒原那边收集来的。我甚至买下了Deus的遗体，但是......"
“Don’t worry about it, Professor. Just do something good. Alright?” I asked softly.
"别担心，教授。做点好事。好吗?"我轻声问道。
“Absolutely, Blackjack,” she replied, and then with a click the connection was broken.
"当然，黑杰克,"她回答，然后咔哒一声，连接中断了。
Funny. I felt good. I might be dead in months, weeks, or even hours, but at least I would be able to say that I’d done something... substantial. Something that would really matter.
有意思。我感觉很好。我可能会在几个月，几周，甚至几个小时内死去，但是至少我可以说我做了一些实质性的事情。一些真正重要的事情。
I checked Scotch Tape’s tag. She was just a half block away. “Come on. Let’s go meet our friends.”
“You know, I’m pretty sure this is the point where something goes terribly wrong,” muttered the Dealer and I stopped in my tracks.
"你知道，我敢肯定这就是事情变得非常糟糕的地方,"经销商喃喃自语，我停了下来。
“That’s it.” I whirled on him and narrowed my eye, “I am sick of you and your snotty attitude, mister! I’m happy! My friends are safe. Everything is going sunshine and rainbows so I do not want to hear it! If you can’t say something nice then just get back in my head with all the rest of my doubts because I do not want to hear it!” Okay, Glory looked like she wasn’t sure if she should be confused or amused, but the look of shock on the Dealer’s face had been worth every single word.
"就是这样。"我转过身来，眯起眼睛说:"先生，我讨厌你和你那傲慢的态度！我很快乐！我的朋友们很安全。一切都是阳光和彩虹，所以我不想听到它！如果你不能说些好听的话，那就把我其他的疑虑都记在脑子里，因为我不想听!"好吧，晨辉看起来不确定自己是该感到困惑还是好笑，但是庄家脸上震惊的表情值得她说出每一个字。
My braces chafed, my insides hurt, and I was about to deal with ponies who had some kind of weird technological fetish. But I still felt good. I gave a smile to Glory, who’d mounted the very formidable-looking gatling beam weapon she’d
我的牙套磨损了，我的内脏很疼，我还要对付那些对科技有着某种奇怪癖好的小马驹。但我还是感觉很好。我对格洛里微笑了一下，她已经架好了那把看起来非常可怕的格林机关枪
purchased on her barding. For once, life was good, and things were going my way. I turned slowly to face the a cracked road and a collection of blue bars approaching the crossroads.
在她的帐篷上买的。这一次，生活是美好的，一切都按我的方式发展。我慢慢地转过身来，面对着一条开裂的道路和一堆接近十字路口的蓝色栅栏。
A lot more than just three blue bars...
不仅仅是三条蓝线。
Lacunae stepped around a smashed wagon, her magnificent frame chained and bound. A very familiar collar rested around her throat. The sight of it gave me the curious sensation of my blood both boiling and freezing at the same time.
拉古娜绕着一辆破损的马车走，她那华丽的身躯被铁链拴着捆着。一个非常熟悉的项圈套在她的喉咙上。一看到它，我的血液就有一种既沸腾又冻结的奇怪感觉。
Beside her trotted P-21 and Scotch Tape, equally bound, though at least the filly wasn’t collared. A half dozen Steel Rangers surrounded them. At their lead was the biggest suit of armor I’d ever seen; it looked as if it had been custom built to contain the size of the pony within. Its matte black frame was gilded in golden leaf, and all four hooves ended in glittering hydraulic rams. The enormous Ranger looked down at me and said in a deep, booming voice, “Step aside! We are escorting these prisoners to Ironmare Station.”
在她身旁小跑的P-21和透明胶带，同样捆绑，虽然至少小姑娘没有戴项圈。六个钢铁骑兵包围了他们。在他们的带领下，是我所见过的最大的一套盔甲;它看起来像是为了容纳小马的大小而定制的。它粗糙的黑色框架镀上了一层金色的叶子，四只蹄子的末端都是闪闪发光的液压油缸。巨大的游侠低头看着我，用低沉、洪亮的声音说:"让开！我们要押送这些囚犯去铁马尔车站。"
Ante up.
下注吧。
 
Footnote: Level Up.
脚注:水平上升。
New Perk Added: Eye for Eye -- For each crippled limb you have, you do an additional 10% damage.
新帕金斯补充:以眼还眼——对于每一个残废的肢体，你额外造成10%的伤害。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Authors notes: Huge thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout Equestria and congratulations for finishing it. Also, thanks to the three musketeers for making this worth reading in the first place. Finally, a huge thanks to everypony who leaves comments. They’re what keeps this whole thing going. Lastly, if anypony wants to help support the author, the bit jar is at paypal to David13ushey@gmail.com. Every bit helps. Thanks for reading.)
(作者写道:非常感谢Kkat创造了FalloutEquestria，并祝贺它的完成。同时，也要感谢三个火枪手，让这篇文章值得一读。最后，非常感谢每一位发表评论的小马。正是他们让这一切得以继续。最后，如果任何小马想帮助支持作者，位罐是在贝宝大卫13ushey@gmail.com。每一点都有帮助。谢谢阅读。)