“Twenty stalks? Bean or celery?”
"二十根秸秆？豆子还是芹菜?"
The life of a caravaner must be one not that different from that of a security mare: long periods of boredom, tedious but preferred, punctuated by moments of intense excitement that you’d really rather didn’t happen. They probably had experienced eyes used to picking out all sorts of threats and had seen more in their travels than I could imagine. Nevertheless, I had a hunch that the image of me tearing down the road straight at them was something of an alarming situation. They shouted and brandished guns in hasty warning before I leapt and sailed right over one of their pack brahmin.
商队旅行者的生活必须和安全的母马的生活没有什么不同:长时间的无聊，单调乏味，但是更好，不时被强烈的兴奋时刻打断，你真的不想发生。他们可能经历过各种各样的威胁，在他们的旅途中看到了比我想象的更多的东西。尽管如此，我还是有一种预感，那就是我沿着马路直冲向他们，这是一种令人担忧的情况。他们又喊又叫，挥舞着枪来急促地警告我，然后我就跳下去，直接驶过了他们族群中的一个婆罗门。
“Whoa,” muttered one head.
"哇,"一个脑袋咕哝着。
“Dude,” agreed the other.
"伙计,"另一个说。
I landed, slid to a halt, and spotted the one who was in charge. At least, I thought he was in charge. He had the hat of a pony in charge. I darted right up to him as he backed away into the side of the brahmin. I grinned nice and friendly and friendly and nice. “Hi! Are you the pony in charge, ‘cause I need to buy some gems. Yes sirree, any and all gems you have on your person. And cans of Cram! Yes sir, I crave me some Cram. Come on, you are a trader, right? I need to trade. I need to trade right now now now!”
我降落，滑行停止，并发现谁是负责人。至少，我认为他是负责人。他戴着一顶小马的帽子。当他退到婆罗门的身边时，我冲向他。我露齿而笑，友好，友好，友好。"嗨！你是负责的小马吗?因为我需要买一些宝石。是的，先生，你身上所有的珠宝。还有填鸭式的罐头！是的，先生，我渴望一些补习。拜托，你是个交易员，对吧？我需要交换。我现在就要交易!"
“Get off me you mule-brained idjit!” the pony in the fancy ‘I’m in charge’ hat said as he shoved me away. The blue earth pony stallion snorted, “What is wrong with you, racing up like that? You’re lucky we didn’t plug you full of holes!” I’d reached the interchange between the Manehattan Highway and the Sunset Highway, standing on the overpass. To the west, I could barely make out a lot of black dots.
"放开我，你这个蠢驴!"那匹戴着"我说了算"帽子的小马一边说一边把我推开。蓝色大地上的种马哼了一声:"你怎么回事，跑得这么快？你该庆幸我们没把你打得满身是洞!"我站在立交桥上，到达曼哈顿高速公路和日落高速公路之间的交汇处。在西边，我几乎辨认不出许多黑点。
That was funny! Very funny, and I laughed to show just how funny it was. “Holes? Holes! Ha ha ha!” I laughed as I turned to the side to show where a few lucky armor piercing AM rounds had caught me since I’d started my run. He gaped at the punctures punching straight through my metal hindlegs. I hadn’t realized there’d been almost twenty Seekers set to raid the hospital until I’d darted through their lines. Now I had twenty unhappy and very-well-armed ponies after me. “Oh I’m so holey, I’m the saint of the Wasteland. You bet. Now!” I bucked two suits of combat armor off the bundle on my back. “I will trade you these for every last gemstone, can of Cram, and bit of scrap metal you have there, my good sir.”
真有意思！非常有趣，我笑了，以显示它是多么有趣。"洞？洞！哈哈哈!"我笑了，因为我转向一边，以显示几个幸运的穿甲弹上午抓住了我，因为我已经开始我的运行。他目瞪口呆地看着刺穿我金属后腿的伤口。直到我冲过他们的防线，我才意识到差不多有二十个搜索者准备突袭医院。现在我后面跟着二十匹不开心的、全副武装的小马。"哦，我是多孔的，我是荒原的圣徒。当然。现在!"我从背上的包裹上扣下两套战斗装甲。"我愿意用这些交换你那里所有的宝石、罐子和一点废金属，我的好先生。"
He looked at me warily and took a step back. Come on, the joke wasn’t that bad!
他警惕地看着我，后退了一步。拜托，这个笑话没那么糟糕！
“Whoa, Boss, that is some good surplus gear,” one of the ponies said as she trotted up.
"哇，老板，这是一些很好的多余的装备,"一匹小马说，她小跑起来。
“Cram. Gems. Scrap metal. Chop chop,” I said, smacking one hoof against the other. Then I grinned. “Oh, and you might want to hurry. I know I do! I got a whole mob of very-well-armed ponies after me.”
"死记硬背。宝石。废金属。"剁碎,"我说，一边用一只蹄子拍另一只蹄子。然后我咧嘴笑了。"哦，你最好快点。我知道我有！一大群全副武装的小马都在追我。"
It didn’t take long after that for me to clean him out of a dozen hunks of scrap metal, a small collection of mismatched gemstones, and eight cans of Cram. He also threw in a heap of caps that didn’t begin to cover the value of those two suits, but that didn’t matter. I chowed down on the metal and the cans right in front of them, and the whole caravan started talking about how it’d be smart to get moving south towards Megamart… immediately.
没过多久，我就把他从十几块废金属、一小堆乱七八糟的宝石和八罐Cram中清理出来。他还扔进了一堆帽子，这些帽子还不足以覆盖这两套西装的价值，但这并不重要。我吃掉了他们面前的金属罐和易拉罐，整个商队开始讨论立即向南走向超级市场是多么明智的选择。
“If we run into a… ah… mob… anytime soon, I’ll be sure to send them towards Withers. Maybe the Boneyard ghouls can eat them,” the blue stallion said as he packed away the armor. Certainly a major score for him. Then he saw me frantically ingesting the can without even eating the contents first, and from the worried look on his face, I was fairly sure he wasn’t going to be telling anypony about this meeting, period. Who’d believe him?
"如果我们遇到一个。.啊......暴民......不久的将来，我一定会把他们送到威瑟斯那里。也许骷髅场的食尸鬼可以吃掉它们,"蓝色种马一边打包装甲一边说。对他来说肯定是一个重要的分数。然后他看到我疯狂地吞下罐头，甚至没有先吃里面的东西，从他脸上忧虑的表情来看，我相当肯定他不会告诉任何小马关于这次会议的事情，就这样。谁会相信他？
I chewed up the metal and meat stuff all at once and popped in a ruby for good measure as I turned and trotted away, leaving the stunned caravan pony to process what he’d just seen. Now that I’d led the Harbingers well away from the medical center, I could take it a little easier. They’d have to find out which way I went from the overpass, so I cantered to the east at a fair clip rather than an all-
我一下子把金属和肉嚼碎了，顺便插进一颗红宝石，然后转身小跑走了，留下那匹惊慌失措的小马队去处理他刚才看到的东西。既然我已经把先知们远远地带离了医疗中心，我就可以轻松一点了。他们必须知道我从天桥上往哪个方向走，所以我骑着自行车朝东边跑去，速度很快，而不是全速前进
out gallop, worrying less about the ponies behind me and more about what might be in front of me.
跑得飞快，少担心身后的小马，多担心眼前的一切。
Case in point, a painted warning on the side of a wagon that read ‘Danger: Raiders’ as I approached a recharging station. Yet there wasn’t a single red bar to be seen. Two zebras in ragged shawls picking through a garbage can looked up nervously at me as I trotted by. I smiled at them, but they quickly trotted out of sight behind the building. Hmmm… zebras are strange. What’s wrong with a friendly grin?
举个例子，当我接近一个充电站的时候，一辆马车边上画着警告，上面写着"危险:袭击者"。然而，没有一个红色的酒吧可以看到。当我小跑经过时，两只披着破破烂烂披肩的斑马正在翻垃圾桶，紧张地抬头看着我。我朝他们笑了笑，但他们很快就跑到了大楼后面，消失得无影无踪。嗯......斑马很奇怪。友好的微笑有什么不好？
I knew from the maps of Hoofington I’d seen that the Sunset Highway went from the Princess Bridge in the far south all the way around the city to the Zenith Bridge in the north and then turned into the Sunrise Highway all the way around the city till it met the Princess Bridge again. All I had to do was stay on the highway and it would take me right past most of the industrial ruins of Progress and around to Paradise and Hightower. Easy, peasy, Neighponesey!
我从Hoofington的地图上看到，日落公路从遥远的南方的公主桥出发，一直绕过城市，到达北方的ZenithBridge，然后转入环绕城市的日出公路，直到再次遇到公主桥。我所要做的就是继续沿着高速公路行驶，它会带我经过大部分的工业废墟，然后绕到天堂和海托华。别激动，小菜一碟，邻居！
That made me laugh. It was silly and stupid, but it still made me giggle. Since I’d left the MASEBS, I’d felt a nervous energy pushing me along and lifting me up. Oddly, I felt good. Really really good. I wasn’t tired. I had my face back! Honestly, this was almost as good as being back in Tenpony. “Did you see the look on their faces, Ram…” Ugh… that killed some of my buzz. I was alone, and unlike in Hippocratic, I knew they weren’t someplace nearby. My friends were going to rest and recover while I was running around because… I couldn’t.
这让我觉得好笑。这是愚蠢和愚蠢的，但它仍然让我傻笑。自从我离开了MASEBS，我感到一种紧张的能量推着我前进，把我举了起来。奇怪的是，我感觉很好。非常非常好。我不累。我的脸回来了！老实说，这几乎和回到Tenpony一样好。"你看到他们脸上的表情了吗，拉姆......"呃......这让我有点郁闷。我是一个人，不像希波克拉底，我知道他们不在附近的某个地方。当我到处跑的时候，我的朋友们正在休息和恢复，因为......我不能。
I couldn’t slow down and stop, or my demons would get me.
我不能慢下来停下来，否则我的心魔会抓住我。
* * *
* * *
The highway was approaching the Zenith Bridge, the glorious white arch that ran from bluff to bluff over the Hoofington River looking quite breathtaking as I drew closer. The encampment that the Reapers had set up on this side was now abandoned, the craters and blasted holes a testament to the war with the Steel Rangers. I could still smell the faint tang of cordite. Slowly, I made my way along the stone span, which had clearly been molded with unicorn magic; the whole thing was virtually seamless.
高速公路正在接近ZenithBridge，当我越来越近时，从悬崖到胡芬顿河上的断崖的壮丽的白色拱门看起来相当惊人。"收割者"在这一侧设立的营地现在已经废弃，那些弹坑和炮眼证明了他们与"钢铁骑兵"的战争。我仍然能闻到淡淡的煤烟味。慢慢地，我沿着石跨前进，很明显，这是用独角兽魔法铸造的，整个过程几乎是无缝的。
At the apex of the arc, on a pillar between the lanes, was a statue of Celestia and Luna done in white and black marble. I’d missed it from below. They rose on their rear hooves facing the Core, with Celestia holding a sun and Luna lifting a
在弧线的顶点，在小巷之间的一根柱子上，是一尊用黑白两色大理石雕刻的天堂和月神的雕像。我从下面错过了。他们面向地核用后蹄站立起来，塞莱斯蒂亚举着一个太阳，卢娜举着一个
moon. Their magnificence was slightly marred by bullet craters and the crude graffiti covering the base; clearly some ponies weren’t fans of the Princesses. The rain let up to a drizzle, even as the thunder continued to growl every few minutes. And then I noticed something.
月亮。他们的宏伟略有损于子弹坑和覆盖在底部的粗糙涂鸦;显然，一些小马并不是公主的粉丝。尽管雷声每隔几分钟就会继续咆哮，但雨还是下了起来，变成了毛毛雨。然后我注意到了一些事情。
“What the…” I blinked as I looked to the north, then clambered onto the pedestal that Celestia and Luna occupied for a better view. Where once there’d been a twisted forest surrounding a building, there was now a massive crescent arc where the entire cliffside had slid into the river (though some trees still did line the upper edge of the great bite in the rock). It had created a great wall of rocks and debris, and muddy water roared over it in spectacular rapids. I hoped Thrush, wherever she was, would be able to get past it. The sides of the slide were peppered with barrels, the tractor things, and specks of blue. Here and there, I thought I could see remains of the Hippocratic building itself, but, by and large, nothing was left of the reinforced structure but rubble. “Did I do that?”
"什么......"我向北方望去，眨了眨眼，然后爬上塞莱斯蒂亚和卢娜占据的基座，以便看得更清楚。曾经有一片扭曲的森林环绕着一座建筑，现在有一个巨大的新月形弧形，整个悬崖边都滑进了河里(尽管有些树木仍然在岩石上方被咬了一口)。它形成了一道由岩石和碎片构成的高墙，浑浊的河水在壮观的急流中咆哮而过。我希望思拉什，无论她在哪里，都能够克服这个困难。滑梯的两侧撒满了木桶，拖拉机之类的东西，还有一些蓝色的斑点。我以为到处都能看到希波克拉底建筑本身的遗迹，但总的来说，加固后的建筑除了碎石什么都没有留下。"是我干的吗?"
I had… and beyond, I could see the bow of the Celestia poking from the water. The Ironmare Naval Base was a scorched ruin; the Reapers hadn’t held back in administering a punishment befitting the crime. I’d been responsible for that, too. And over there, past the refineries and industrial buildings, I could see the Flash Industries building where I’d almost lost Glory. I’d done that as well. I stood and looked to the southwest towards the Arena, but where before there’d been a smooth dome, the eggshell was now cracked, one end crumbled in on itself. Still, if, as I assumed, the Celestia’s gun had done that, it was amazing that the building was still standing at all. I could barely make out Riverside and Fallen Arch, other places I’d been and changed forever...
我看到了......在那之外，我可以看到天堂之弓从水中伸出来。铁海海军基地是一片烧焦的废墟;收割者们并没有按照他们犯下的罪行进行惩罚。这也是我的责任。在那边，经过炼油厂和工业建筑，我可以看到闪电工业大厦，在那里我几乎失去了晨辉。我也这么做过。我站在那里，朝西南方向望去，看着竞技场，但是之前还有一个光滑的圆顶的地方，现在蛋壳裂开了，蛋壳的一端塌了下来。然而，如果，正如我假设的那样，天堂的枪已经做到了这一点，那么令人惊讶的是，这座建筑仍然屹立不倒。我几乎辨认不出《河边》和《倒下的拱门》，还有其他我去过并永远改变了的地方。
“Do you get it now?” Dealer muttered, and I jumped… or rather fell… off the pedestal and landed on my head.
"你现在明白了吗?"庄家喃喃自语道，我跳了起来，或者说从基座上摔了下来，头朝下摔在地上。
“Get what? That lots of shit blows up around me?” I said as I sat up, rubbing my horn. He sat on the stone railing; normally, I’d be worried, but I doubted that a hallucination-or-whatever was in much danger of falling. I pulled out a minty emerald and tossed it in my mouth, enjoying the tingle of energy. “Figured that out a long, long time ago,” I murmured.
"得到什么？我周围有很多东西爆炸了?"我边说边坐起来，摩擦着喇叭。他坐在石头栏杆上;通常情况下，我会担心，但我怀疑幻觉或什么东西有掉下来的危险。我从嘴里掏出一块薄荷味的翡翠，把它扔进嘴里，享受着能量的刺痛。"很久很久以前我就知道了,"我喃喃地说。
“No. That you’re responsible for all this,” he replied over the gusty wind and hiss of rain on the bridge.
"没有。"这一切都是你造成的,"他回答说，声音盖过了刮风和雨打在桥上的嘶嘶声。
I folded my forehooves on the rail next to him, looking out at the Core. I could see the floating platform of Flotsam down there. “It’s your job to officially rain on my parade, isn’t it? I feel remotely good for two seconds, and then bam… here you are with something cryptic to say just to make me feel bad.” From the pattering from the skies, he was getting some help with that. I sighed and looked down at the foamy brown water below. “I know it’s my fault.”
我把前蹄放在他旁边的栏杆上，看着外面的核心。我可以看到漂浮在那里的漂浮平台。"你的工作就是正式扫我的兴，不是吗？我感觉好了两秒钟，然后突然......你说了一些神秘的话，只是为了让我感觉不好。"从天空的滴答声中，他得到了一些帮助。我叹了口气，低头看着下面起泡的褐色海水。"我知道这是我的错。"
“I didn’t say that it was your fault. I said that you’re responsible for it,” he said as he looked out at the rain pouring down into the black city. I was high enough that I could see over the wall to the empty geometric streets and the broken-off towers leaning but not quite falling. “Fault implies blame. I know that in the case of many of these things you had no choice, but you’re still responsible for them happening.”
"我没有说这是你的错。我说你应该为此负责,"他一边说，一边望着外面倾泻而下的大雨，看着这座黑色的城市。我站得很高，可以看到墙那边空荡荡的几何形街道和倒塌的塔楼，它们虽然倾斜但并没有完全倒塌。"过错意味着责备。我知道，在许多这类事情上，你别无选择，但你仍然要为它们的发生负责。"
“Really? So you’re not pointing out my screw ups?” I asked. He snorted softly and shook his head.
"真的吗？所以你不是在指责我的错误?"我问道。他轻轻地哼了一声，摇了摇头。
“Responsibility isn’t ‘not screwing up’. It’s answering for the consequences of the actions you commit. Accepting the punishment for them.” He flipped through the cards and drew one showing LittlePip gunning down three pinned ponies. “Is she responsible?”
"责任不是'不搞砸'。它是对你所做行为的后果的回应。接受惩罚。"他翻了翻牌，抽出一张，上面显示小皮正在射倒三匹小马。"她有责任吗?"
“LittlePip? Of course she is! She’s… I mean…” I frowned. “She’s a good pony!”
"小匹普？她当然是！她......我是说......"我皱起了眉头。"她是一匹好马!"
“No doubt you feel that way, but is she responsible? Ultimately, who does she answer to? Who punishes her for her misdeeds?” He snorted and tossed the card into the void. “How about her?” he asked, showing me Homage. “Who does she answer to when her comments inspire some stable mare to throw herself into a meat grinder?” The gray unicorn’s card went tumbling away. “How about P-21?” he asked as he showed me a card of my friend. “Who does he answer to?”
""毫无疑问，你是这么想的，但是她有责任吗？归根结底，她应该向谁负责？谁能为她的罪行惩罚她?"他哼了一声，把卡片扔进了空地里。"她怎么样?"他问道，向我表示敬意。"当她的评论激励一些稳定的母马把自己扔进绞肉机时，她会回答谁呢?"灰色独角兽的卡片掉了下来。"P-21怎么样?"他一边问，一边给我看我朋友的名片。"他听命于谁?"
“Me,” I replied firmly. “P-21 answered to me when his problem became too much for him to deal with. Homage must answer to somepony in Tenpony or the Twilight Society. And if Homage is right and LittlePip has gone completely nuts, somepony will put her down or stop her. Her friends… I’ll do it myself if I have to… and I’m still around.” That was easy to say, though. Just words… “Really. How generous of you. And here I thought you weren’t an executioner,” he said, showing the image of the Harbinger in the gravel pit with half her face blown off. Then it went swirling down as well. “And what about you,
"我,"我坚定地回答。"当他的问题变得难以处理时，P-21向我回答了问题。必须向Tenpony的小马致敬或向暮光协会致敬。如果效忠是正确的，小匹普已经完全疯了，一些小马会把她放倒或者阻止她。她的朋友们......如果有必要，我会亲自动手......而且我还在这里。"不过，说起来容易。只是说说而已..."真的。你真大方。我还以为你不是刽子手呢,"他一边说，一边展示着"先驱者"被炸掉半边脸的照片。然后它也开始旋转下降。"那你呢
Blackjack?” he asked as he drew a card and showed me myself. “Who do you answer to?”
黑杰克?"他一边问，一边抽出一张卡片给我看。"你向谁汇报?"
“You?” I guessed.
"你?"我猜的。
He snorted. “I’m nopony. You don’t answer to me.” He sighed and tapped the deck against the rail. “The Ministry Mares didn’t understand either. Some ponies once told me that, years and years before the war, Pinkie had to babysit two young foals. She said that she was ready to handle the responsibility… but she didn’t understand that it was more than making sure that the kids were fed and their diapers were changed. She ended up working things out, but had she failed, she’d have had to answer to the parents.” He turned and looked up at the statue of Luna. “Tell me, Blackjack, who did the Ministry Mares answer to?”
他哼了一声。"我不是小马。你不用对我负责。"他叹了口气，轻轻地把甲板靠在栏杆上。"马尔斯部长也不明白。一些矮种马曾经告诉我，在战争爆发前的许多年里，平奇不得不照顾两只小马驹。她说她已经准备好承担这个责任了......但是她不明白这不仅仅是确保孩子们有饭吃，有尿布换。她最终解决了一些问题，但如果她失败了，她就不得不向父母汇报。"他转过身来，抬头看着卢娜的雕像。"告诉我，黑杰克，魔法部的母马对谁负责?"
“Luna, of course,” I said, but I frowned. Something about that felt… lacking.
"卢娜，当然,"我说，但我皱起了眉头。有些东西让我觉得...缺乏。
“Really? You’ve dug through the O.I.A.’s dirty laundry. You know what was going on, and trust me, there was even more happening that wasn’t secret. So where was Luna saying ‘Sorry, time out, not doing that’? When did the Princess put on the brakes? Alicorns. Megaspells. Cyberponies. Not one call from Luna trying to rein them in before the bombs dropped. That means that either she was the most sheltered and incompetent ruler in history, or that everything that the ministries and O.I.A. did was with her official approval.”
"真的吗？你已经挖掘出了o.i.a.的秘密。你知道发生了什么，相信我，还有更多不是秘密的事情发生。那么卢娜在说什么'对不起，暂停，不要这样'呢？公主什么时候刹车的？Alicorns.女名女子名。网络小马。在炸弹投下之前，没有一个卢娜打来的电话试图控制他们。这意味着，要么她是历史上最受保护、最无能的统治者，要么政府部门和o.i.a.所做的一切都得到了她的官方批准。"
Except for Gardens of Equestria and Project Horizons. Two things that Luna hadn’t approved. Twilight Sparkle and Goldenblood pulling something that Luna hadn’t okayed. I thought back to Fairheart’s files. “Luna must have had a good reason. She was the ruler of Equestria!”
除了马术花园和天际工程。卢娜没有批准的两件事。紫悦和金血王拉着露娜没有同意的东西。我想起了费尔哈特的档案。"卢娜一定有她的理由。她是小马国的统治者!"
“Really. Well then, Blackjack, who did Luna have to answer to?” he asked as he looked at me, and I just stared at him. “In the end, we all have to be held responsible,” he continued, looked up at the statue.
"真的。那么，黑杰克，卢娜必须向谁报告?"他看着我问道，我只是盯着他看。"最终，我们都必须承担责任,"他继续说道，抬头看着雕像。
“Hate to break this to you,” I said, “but Luna and Celestia are dead. Goldenblood might be dead. The Ministry Mares are all gone. Everypony you want to hold responsible was punished two centuries ago. They’re dead and gone. Everything is.” But he looked at me for a long moment, then simply turned and looked out at the valley and the black towers of the Core.
"我不想告诉你,"我说,"但是露娜和塞莱斯蒂亚已经死了。金血王可能已经死了。部里的母马都走了。你想要追究责任的每匹小马都在两个世纪前受到了惩罚。他们已经死了。一切都是如此。"但是他看了我很长时间，然后只是转过身，看着山谷和黑色的核心塔。
“Not everything, Blackjack. The corpse remains. And if it remains, it can be held
"不是所有的，黑杰克。尸体还在。如果它仍然存在，它可以被持有
responsible,” he said.
"负责任"他说。
“You want to hold Luna’s corpse responsible?” I asked with a shaky, uncertain smile. “Sure. Go ahead. Blame a pile of bones, if you want.”
"你想让卢娜的尸体负责?"我问道，脸上带着颤抖而不确定的微笑。"当然。继续。如果你愿意的话，可以责怪一堆骨头。"
“Not just Luna or Celestia,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.
"不仅仅是露娜和塞莱斯蒂亚,"他用低沉而危险的声音说。
“Then who?” I blinked, but he just stared out into the rain with hard, hard eyes as his hooves shuffled the cards before him.
"那是谁?"我眨了眨眼睛，但他只是用坚硬的眼睛凝视着外面的雨，他的蹄子在他面前洗牌。
At that very moment, I became preoccupied by the bite of a bullet into the armor plate of my rump. I looked right towards the … ohhh, wasn’t that a whole lot of red? Wow, they must have run their hooves off to catch up with me! From the few I could see through the rain and the wan light, these were not happy ponies. I grinned. “Sorry to run, but some ponies who are trying to kill me have just arrived!”
就在那一刻，我全神贯注地被一颗子弹咬进我臀部的装甲板。我看着右边的...哦，那不是一大堆红色吗？哇，他们一定是拼命跑才追上我的！从我能透过雨水和苍白的阳光看到的少数几匹小马来看，它们并不是快乐的小马。我咧嘴一笑。"对不起，我要跑了，但是一些想要杀我的小马刚刚到了!"
Oh. Red bars on the east side of the bridge, too. Even being crazy and stupid, I wasn’t about to try something like jumping. So there was only one thing to do: out came Duty and Sacrifice, and down the east slope raced me. A half dozen or so Harbingers were in the empty Steel Ranger encampment and were just starting to move out onto the highway. “Coming through!” I cried out in glee over the rain, not caring whether they could hear me or not.
哦。桥的东侧也有红色的栏杆。即使是疯狂和愚蠢，我也不会去尝试像跳这样的事情。所以只有一件事可以做:责任和牺牲出来了，顺着东边的斜坡跑下来。半打左右的先驱者在空荡荡的SteelRanger营地，刚刚开始上高速公路。"借过!"我在雨中欢快地大叫，根本不在乎他们是否能听到我。
Unfortunately, they had other ideas and started bringing their guns out. I spotted an earth pony stallion swinging an anti-machine rifle on his battle saddle towards me as they yelled and tried to get pointed in my direction. I dove onto my side, sliding on the water-covered asphalt with my metal legs folded in front of me, and crashed into him with a snapping of bone. As he screamed, I twisted and rolled on my back and threw my forelegs wide to brace myself. My rear legs pistoned into his gut as he started to collapse, turning his cries into a cut off squeak. I shoved him to the side to curl up fetally as I rolled to my hooves.
不幸的是，他们有了其他的想法，开始拿出他们的枪。我发现一匹地球上的种马在他的战斗马鞍上挥舞着一把反机器步枪朝我冲过来，他们大叫着并试图指向我的方向。我俯冲到身边，双腿折叠在身前，在铺满水的沥青路面上滑行，骨头啪地一声撞到了他身上。当他尖叫的时候，我扭转身体，仰面翻滚，前腿张开以支撑自己。当他开始倒下的时候，我的后腿直挺挺地戳进他的肚子里，把他的哭声变成了一声尖叫。我把他推到一边，卷起来，卷到我的蹄子上。
The others opened up, shooting wildly. They might have the guns, but the five millimeter rounds had to pass through my armor and my synthetic parts to hit something vital. I wasn’t about to make that easy for them, and I slammed into the nearest, who sprayed wildly as she turned towards me, and hooked my hooves on the chattering carbine attached to her battle saddle. Heaving, I pivoted her around till she was pointed in the direction I needed. She had her teeth locked on the bit as she glared at me over her shoulder and sprayed down her
其他人开了枪，疯狂地射击。他们可能有枪，但是五毫米的子弹必须穿过我的盔甲和合成部件才能击中重要的东西。我可不想让他们轻易得逞，于是我猛地撞上了最近的一辆卡宾枪，当她转向我时，这辆卡宾枪疯狂地向我喷射，把我的蹄子钩在了她战斗马鞍上颤动的卡宾枪上。我转动着她，直到她被指向我所需要的方向。她紧紧咬住钻头，从肩膀上瞪着我，然后向下喷洒
fellow Harbingers with her gunfire; I don’t think she realized that she should stop shooting when her guns were pointed at her allies... friends... heck, did Harbingers even like each other? They might have had nice armor, but they had far less-resilient vitals beneath it. After a few hits, most went down wailing and crying and curling up like the kicked stallion.
我不认为她意识到她应该停止射击时，她的枪指着她的盟友...朋友...见鬼，先驱者甚至喜欢对方？他们可能拥有漂亮的盔甲，但是他们的重要器官恢复能力要差得多。打了几下之后，大多数人倒下了，嚎啕大哭，蜷缩成一团，就像一匹被踢的种马。
“Give up the key to the Core!” she screeched, “Or I’ll pluck it from your fucking corpse.”
"放弃核心的钥匙!"她尖叫着,"不然我就从你的尸体上拔下来。"
“Damn, and here I was hoping I could convince you to leave me be though my goody good goodness,” I said as I shoved her away. Don’t turn. Don’t… but she was turning. It’d take her two seconds to wheel around. Two seconds to begin to shoot me if I just stood there. “Fuck,” I muttered and jumped into S.A.T.S. Two shots… triggered… and Duty and Sacrifice blasted right through the chest plate of her armor. She flopped down into the rain, rapidly cooling meat.
"该死，我还希望我能说服你离开我，尽管我是个伪善的好人,"我一边说一边把她推开。不要转身。不要......但是她正在转身。她只需要两秒钟就能转过来。如果我只是站在那里，两秒钟就开始向我开枪。"妈的,"我喃喃自语，跳进了s.a.t.s。两枪......打响了......责任和牺牲正好打穿了她的胸甲。她扑通一声跌进雨中，肉迅速凉了下来。
“I don’t want to kill you idiots!” I yelled at the still-alive ponies lying and groaning on the bridge as the thunder growled overhead. “Leave me alone and stay out of my way!” I doubted that they’d listen... but maybe one would. Maybe that would be a pony I wouldn’t leave dead on the bloody road. As the rest of the small army swarmed over the crest of the bridge, I turned, holstered my guns, and tore off down the road as fast as my hooves could carry me.
"我不想杀你们这些白痴!"我对着桥上躺着的那些还活着的小马大喊大叫，雷声在头顶轰隆隆地响着。"离我远点，别挡我的路!"我怀疑他们是否会听......但也许有一个会。也许那会是一匹小马我不会让它死在血腥的路上。当其余的小部队蜂拥过桥梁的顶部时，我转过身，装上枪套，以我的马蹄所能承受的最快速度沿着公路疾驰而去。
* * *
* * *
I made it about three miles before I had to stop and take cover, choosing some kind of large, two- or three-story industrial building that had all the aesthetics of a cinder block; a row of busted-out windows near the roof ran the length of the north wall and elevated pipes of all sorts spread out from it to adjacent buildings, but beyond that it was bare, water-streaked concrete. Breaking in was as easy as walking through the broken doors of the tiny, gutted office space. Inside, it was all rusting pipes and corroded vats. Lots of hunks of derelict machinery and potential little hideyholes everywhere I looked. Still, no red bars that I could see yet. This looked as good a place as any to seek shelter.
我走了大约三英里后，不得不停下来找个地方躲起来，选了一栋两三层的大型工业建筑，看上去就像一座煤渣砌块;屋顶附近有一排破损的窗户，延伸到北墙的长度，各种各样的高架管道从北墙延伸到邻近的建筑物，但再往外，就是光秃秃的、布满水纹的混凝土建筑。破门而入就像走进那间破旧的小办公室一样简单。里面全是生锈的管道和被腐蚀的大桶。到处都是废弃的机器和隐蔽的小洞。尽管如此，我还是看不到任何红色条纹。这看起来是一个寻求庇护的好地方。
Regeneration and synthetics might mean that I didn’t have to rest for hours on end, but I did need a breather to let my holes close up. I sat in the rusty vault and chowed down on scrap metal and Cram. Rain poured through from the countless pipes and the holes in the roof, but there was more than just water swirling
再生和人工合成可能意味着我不需要连续休息几个小时，但是我确实需要一个喘息的机会让我的洞闭上。我坐在锈迹斑斑的金库里，狼吞虎咽地吃着废金属，然后开始临时抱佛脚。雨水从无数的管道和屋顶上的洞里倾泻而出，但是不仅仅是水在打旋
around; drums of chemicals were piled where they had fallen, their contents leaking out and mixing with the rain on the floor. An acrid rotten-egg smell tainted the air.
一桶桶的化学品堆放在它们掉落的地方，它们的内容物泄漏出来，与地板上的雨水混合在一起。一股刺鼻的臭鸡蛋气味污染了空气。
I heard the sounds of shuffling and movement on the far side of the building. Red bars, but only four. If they were Harbingers, then maybe I could get some info from them. Find this ‘Prophet’ and learn just what they served and how could I thrash it. I thought of what Sanguine had told me, some defense computer going crazy in the Core. That didn’t quite fit, though. I couldn’t see a computer, no matter how advanced, inspiring a cult to hunt me down. Everything pointed to a pony behind this. I had my bottlecaps on Goldenblood.
我听到建筑物另一边传来的拖曳和移动的声音。红条，但只有四条。如果他们是先驱者，也许我可以从他们那里得到一些信息。找到这个"先知"，了解他们为什么服务，以及我如何打击它。我想起了桑吉尼告诉我的，一些防御计算机在核心中发疯了。然而，这并不完全合适。我看不到一台电脑，不管它有多么先进，激发了一个邪教追捕我。所有的证据都指向一匹小马。我把我的瓶子放在金色血液上。
Time for an interrogation. Blackjack has ways of making you talk… Of course, mostly they involved me crying and begging, but still… ways. I moved deeper inside, towards the unsuspecting red bars.
审讯时间到了。黑杰克有很多方法让你说话...当然，大部分都是我哭着求他们，但还是有很多方法。我朝里面更深的地方走去，朝着毫无戒备的红色栅栏走去。
The sound of splashing water covered my approach nicely, and, since I wasn’t in much of a hurry at the moment, I munched on a can of Cram as I slowly worked my way around the rust-streaked pipes. As I got closer, I began to make out voices over the hiss and the gurgle of the rain. “Fuckin’ Reapers are finished, boyo. They’re down to, what, fifteen fighters tops? Ain’t seen none o’ the top ten save Brutus in days. Rampage, Psycho, Deus, Gorgie… they’re all gone.”
溅水的声音很好地掩盖了我的方法，而且，因为我此刻不是很着急，我一边吃着一罐补习班，一边慢慢地沿着锈迹斑斑的管道工作。当我走近的时候，我开始从嘶嘶声和雨滴的咯咯声中听出一些声音。"该死的收割者完蛋了，孩子。他们最多只剩下十五个战士？好几天没看到前十名的球员救布鲁图斯了。狂暴，疯子，上帝，戈吉......他们都走了。"
Not Harbingers but gangers. I moved a little closer as a mare muttered, “Yeah, but Brutus counts for five ponies and Big Daddy ten. You can’t turn your back on ‘em till they’re in the ground.”
不是预兆，而是分身。我走近了一点，一匹母马咕哝着,"是的，但是布鲁图斯数着五匹小马和十匹老爹。你不能对他们置之不理，除非他们入土为安。"
“Big Daddy ain’t all that,” drawled a mare.
"大爸爸不是那样的,"母马慢吞吞地说。
“Besides, Big Daddy says Security’s now one of the top ten, Candle. You want to fuck with that mare?” the first mare asked. “She’s one pony cyclone. Crazier than Fluttershy. She trashed our headquarters and stomped Diamond Flash good. Dropped a fucking floor on her.” That wasn’t quite how I remembered it. Still…
"除此之外，老爹说保安现在是前十名之一，Candle。你想上那匹母马吗?"第一匹母马问道。"她是一匹旋风小马。比蝴蝶还疯狂。她摧毁了我们的总部，狠狠地踩了钻石闪光。把地板砸到她身上了。"这和我记忆中的不太一样。不过..。
The first stallion snickered, “Oh, I’ll believe that when I see it for my own eyes, girl. Security turned him down flat the first time, and I hear that she had her own beef with the Reapers. The Halfhearts are ready to walk, and I think the Burners should too. Highlanders got the right idea. We should take care of our own. Fuck Big Daddy.”
第一匹种马窃笑着说:"哦，等我亲眼看到了，我就会相信的，姑娘。保安第一次直接拒绝了他，我听说她和收割者也有过节。半心合唱团已经准备好了，我认为燃烧者也应该这样做。高地人的想法是对的。我们应该照顾好自己。去他妈的老爹。"
I sat down, the cold water splashing around my hooves. I didn’t like the idea of ponies that glorified killing and fighting, but the Hoof with Big Daddy was better than the Hoof without him. “I’m pretty sure you’re not his type,” I said as I stepped around the corner. If this went wrong, I’d be in for trouble. Actually, that sort of described my whole day... and quite possibly my entire life. Despite everything, I found myself laughing.
我坐了下来，冰冷的水溅到了我的蹄子上。我不喜欢那种美化杀戮和战斗的小马，但是有老爹的蹄子比没有他的蹄子好。"我敢肯定你不是他喜欢的类型,"我走过街角时说。如果出了差错，我就有麻烦了。事实上，这几乎描述了我的一整天......甚至可能是我的整个人生。尽管发生了这一切，我还是笑了。
The four turned at once, and for a moment I was certain that I was about to get my flanks toasted off by the battle-saddle-mounted flamer the ghoul pony in red barding reading ‘Hoofington Fire Dept.’ was sporting. The lavender Flash Filly unicorn levitated a beam rifle at me as she backed away warily. The third was a green earth pony stallion with a yellow mane and using a sniper rifle that had a weird gold charm of a stylized broken heart hanging from the butt by a chain. He immediately braced the gun on a rusty pipe and sighted me with it, then frowned and hesitated. It saved him from S.A.T.S. Only the blue mare in dirty coveralls didn’t jump to her hooves, staying sprawled on her side on an upraised block of filthy concrete.
四个人立刻转过身来，有那么一会儿，我确信我的侧腹部马上就要被装在战马鞍上的火焰枪烤焦了。淡紫色的闪光小雌独角兽小心翼翼地后退着，把一支射线步枪悬浮在我身上。第三个是一匹地球上的绿色种马，有着黄色的鬃毛，使用的狙击步枪有着一种诡异的金色魅力，一颗破碎的心被一条链子挂在屁股上。他立刻用枪支撑住生锈的管子，瞄准我，然后皱了皱眉，犹豫了一下。只有那匹穿着肮脏工作服的蓝色母马没有跳到她的蹄子上，趴在一块肮脏的混凝土上。
“Somepony’s about to be dust!” the purple unicorn said with a grin. Then she took a second look at me, and the look on her face slowly faded as I gave them a grin of my own, the grin of a pony on the cusp of a bloody killing spree. Right now, that look was easy for me. “What the fuck are you smiling at?”
"有些小马马上就要变成尘土了!"紫色的独角兽笑着说。然后她又看了我一眼，当我给他们一个我自己的笑容时，她脸上的表情慢慢消失了，那是一匹小马在血腥屠杀的尖端上的笑容。现在，这个表情对我来说很容易。"你他妈的在笑什么?"
The ghoul with the flamer leaned over and stared at the filly that Lacunae had painted on my flank. “She’s got a Crusader’s mark… and that tiny horn… oh shit…” I stared right at the ghoul, and a target appeared right between his eyes. He blinked. Funny, his eyes weren’t cloudy. I’d never seen a ghoul with eyes like that. “It’s Security. Oh, we are so boned!”
那个拿着火把的食尸鬼俯下身来，盯着拉库奈画在我身侧的那匹小母马。"她有一个十字军战士的标记......和那个小角......哦，该死......"我盯着食尸鬼，一个目标出现在他的眼睛之间。他眨了眨眼睛。有趣的是，他的眼睛一点也不模糊。我从没见过有这样的眼睛的食尸鬼。"这是安全问题。哦，我们死定了!"
“Tiny horn?” I said in acidic tones as I looked at him, then around at the others. The three stared at me nervously. “Since you know me, why don’t you introduce yourselves?”
"小角?"我看着他，用酸性的语气说道，然后又看了看周围的其他人。三个人紧张地盯着我。"既然你们认识我，为什么不自我介绍一下呢?"
“Erm… I’m Candlewick, with the Burner Boys,” the pony with the flamer said as he nodded to the weapon on his side. “These are Dazzle and Busted Heart.”
"嗯......我是蜡烛芯，和燃烧者男孩们在一起,"拿着火把的小马边点头边说。"这些是炫目和破碎的心。"
“Flash Fillies and Halfhearts?” I guessed.
"闪电小雌马和半心?"我猜的。
Busted Heart nodded and said in a low, somber voice, “May your tears always fall clear.” Ohhhkay. I really didn’t know what their deal was. I mean, ‘Burner
"破碎的心"点点头，用低沉的声音说:"愿你的眼泪永远清澈。"Ohhhkay.我真的不知道他们是怎么回事。我的意思是,'一次性手机
Boys’ was pretty self-explanatory. Flash Fillies made sense when you saw the beam weapons. But ‘Halfhearts’?
男孩子的问题不言自明。当你看到光束武器时，闪光小雌马就有意义了。但是《哈夫哈特》呢？
The lavender unicorn with some sort of glitter in her pink mane looked at the remaining pony. “And she’s Bluebelle…” Something about the looks the three shared made me wonder.
那只淡紫色的独角兽在她粉红色的鬃毛上带着某种闪闪发光的东西，看着剩下的那匹小马。"她是蓝色美人......"这三个人的相貌让我感到好奇。
The reclining sky-blue earth pony slowly rocked up, then grinned as she trotted towards me with lazy strides. The three watched her approach and backed away with smirks of anticipation.
天蓝色的大地小马斜倚着身子，慢慢地摇晃着身子，然后咧着嘴笑着，迈着懒洋洋的步子朝我跑来。三个人看着她走近，满怀期待地笑着退开了。
“Ya know, my momma’s tits are bigger than that there bump on yer noggin,” she drawled as her darker eyes looked at me in scorn. The other three were looking from her to me, clearly unsure of which of us to back. I thought of trying to appeal to the other three, finding some way to convince her to back down without killing her. I didn’t see much promise in that, though. Worse, if they were seeing me as a Reaper and I failed to impress… well… I doubted I’d enjoy ‘immunity’ from the gangs.
"你知道吗，我妈妈的乳头比你头上的肿块还要大,"她慢吞吞地说，深色的眼睛嘲笑地看着我。其他三个人正从她身边看着我，显然不知道该支持谁。我想试着向其他三个人求助，想办法说服她让步而不是杀了她。尽管如此，我并没有看到多少希望。更糟糕的是，如果他们把我看成一个收割者，而我没有给他们留下深刻的印象......嗯......我怀疑我是否享受着免受黑帮的侵扰。
I had one group trying to kill me. I really didn’t need four others against me, too.
有一群人想杀我。我真的不需要其他四个人来反对我。
“You’re a Highlander, right?” I asked. The stallion with the rifle in his hooves whistled a strange little twangy tune with a smirk. The mare just gave him a look, and his little tune became more wandering as he looked away quickly.
"你是高地人，对吧?"我问道。那匹蹄子里插着步枪的种马用口哨吹了一曲奇怪的斜音调，还带着一丝得意的笑容。母马只是看了他一眼，他的小调子变得更加漫不经心，因为他看别处很快。
“Ayup,” she replied. She was one hell of an earth pony. Dirty, but not gaunt or filthy. I doubted her mane had ever been acquainted with soap before. Her cutie mark was a cute cluster of three tiny blue flowers; I hadn’t seen any like them before. Her eyes looked over my gear and barding, lingering on the weapons strapped across my back. Then she spat right in my face. “Pussy,” she said as her eyes narrowed.
"阿尤普,"她回答。她是一匹地狱般的矮种马。肮脏，但不憔悴或肮脏。我怀疑她以前是否认识肥皂。她的可爱标记是三朵小蓝花组成的可爱花簇，我以前从未见过这样的花簇。她的眼睛扫视着我的装备和帐篷，徘徊在我背上绑着的武器上。然后她朝我脸上吐了一口唾沫。"猫咪,"她眯起眼睛说。
Okay. This wasn’t going to go well. I wiped the spit off my cheek. “Hi, Bluebelle. I just want you to know… I have no wish to fight you,” I said, and with those words lost every last bit of respect possible. She rolled her eyes, snorted, and started to turn away.
好吧。这可不是什么好事。我擦去脸上的唾沫。"嗨，布鲁贝尔。我只是想让你知道......我不想和你打架,"我说，随着这些话，我失去了所有可能的尊重。她转了转眼睛，喷了一下鼻息，然后开始转身离开。
And then I smashed my metal foreleg upside her head. I’d envisioned a simple physical chastisement followed by hauling her in line and the other three with her. That involved my sucker punch knocking the fight out of her. I didn’t knock
然后我的金属前腿撞到了她的头上。我想象着一个简单的身体上的惩罚，然后拉着她排队，其他三个跟着她。我那一拳把她打得落花流水。我没敲门
the fight out of her. In fact, I did so little knocking that I might as well have patted her dirty mane.
从她身上挣脱出来。事实上，我几乎没有敲她的门，我甚至可以拍拍她脏兮兮的鬃毛。
She looked me right in the eyes and smiled. Oh nelly, time for a ride!
她看着我的眼睛，微笑着。哦，天哪，该骑马了！
The mare wrapped her forelegs around my neck and powered forward with a shriek of glee shouting, “Let’s wrassle!” She might as well have been playing “Let’s snap Blackjack in half” as she forced me back, trying to overbear me.
母马用她的前腿缠住我的脖子，高兴地尖叫着向前走,"我们去摔跤吧!"她强迫我回去，试图压倒我，就好像在玩"让我们把黑杰克掰成两半"一样。
Damn, she was strong. Rampage strong! And so I wrapped my forelegs around her neck and up we went on our hind legs and she crushed and twisted against me.
该死，她太强壮了。横冲直撞！所以我用我的前腿缠住她的脖子，然后我们用后腿爬上去，然后她又挤压又扭曲地靠在我身上。
I felt my joints grind and whirr as they struggled to keep me upright. The foul water splashed and surged around my hooves. Our bodies slammed into a thick rusty pipe and it boomed like a gong. The fact was that she was stronger than me, even with my mechanical limbs. It was like wrestling Daisy back in security training; the mare would just use her size and strength to crush me to the mat, then bash my skull in. There was one other disadvantage, too: Bluebelle was a biter! She snapped at my neck, trying to grab my ear as we danced about on our hind legs.
我感觉到我的关节在挣扎着让我保持直立的时候发出一阵阵的旋转声。肮脏的水在我的蹄子上飞溅起来。我们的身体撞在一根生锈的粗管子上，发出隆隆的响声。事实是她比我强壮，即使我有机械的四肢。这就像是在安全训练中和黛西摔跤一样，那匹母马会用她的体型和力量把我压倒在垫子上，然后把我的头骨打碎。还有一个缺点:蓝色美女喜欢咬人！当我们用后腿跳舞时，她抓住我的脖子，试图抓住我的耳朵。
She might be stronger, but I had one trick she didn’t. I popped out my fingers and grabbed her mane as tight as I could. She squealed, but jerked around even more as she struggled to knock me off my hooves. I just had to wait for… there! She lunged to one side, and instead of fighting her power I pivoted along with her and twisted my hooves around her neck. It didn’t take much, and she overbalanced and flipped onto her back, thrashing in the filthy water. I completed the turn to the side and came down on top of her, straddling her belly as her legs kicked wildly into the air.
她可能更强壮，但我有一招她没有。我伸出手指，尽可能紧地抓住她的鬃毛。她尖叫着，但在挣扎着要把我从蹄子上踢下来的时候，她的手更加地晃动着。我只需要等待...在那里！她冲向一边，我没有反抗她的力量，而是跟着她旋转，把我的蹄子绕在她的脖子上。没过多久，她就失去了平衡，翻了个身，在肮脏的水里翻来覆去。我完成了向侧面的转弯，骑到她身上，跨坐在她的肚子上，她的腿疯狂地踢向空中。
I got my forelegs inside hers as I sat atop her and clamped down my fingers on her skull, forcing it beneath the water. She fought wildly, but I kept my head low and made sure she couldn’t clip it with her forehooves as she bucked underneath me. She found one finger and bit hard on it, but she didn’t have metal softening talismans built into her mouth like I did.
我把前腿伸进她的前腿，坐在她身上，用手指夹住她的头骨，把它压进水里。她拼命反抗，但我低着头，确保当她从我身下跃起时，不会用前蹄夹住我的头。她发现了一个手指并且用力咬了一下，但是她没有像我一样在嘴里装上软化金属的护身符。
For a second there I was almost sure I’d won, and then her body gave a tremendous heave beneath me and knocked me off balance. In moments she’d kicked herself to her hooves, and I did the same. She spat and coughed as she
有那么一瞬间，我几乎可以肯定我赢了，然后她的身体在我身下猛地一推，让我失去了平衡。不一会儿，她就会踢自己的蹄子，我也是这样。她一边吐痰一边咳嗽
wiped her wet mane out of her eyes. I’d hoped maybe this would have been enough. I was damned mistaken.
把她湿漉漉的头发从眼睛里抹掉。我希望这样就足够了。我他妈的弄错了。
“I’m gonna scrap you!” she shouted as she charged towards me again. Oddly, I was laughing as she charged. It was so nice not to have somepony after me for my damned PipBuck. Just a mare out to kick my ass because it was there for the kicking!
"我要打死你!"她一边喊一边向我冲过来。奇怪的是，当她冲锋的时候我笑了。因为我那该死的皮伯克，没有小马跟着我真是太好了。只是一匹要踢我屁股的母马，因为它就在那里踢我的屁股！
As she closed in, I jumped right into S.A.T.S. and plotted four blows. The second her face was in range, I pounded it with all my strength. An instant later, I struck again. And again. Again. And while one sucker punch hadn’t made much of an impression, four perfect shots to her face brought Bluebelle up short. I didn’t waste the opportunity, standing like a zebra and continued to power blows to her face. Now she finally raised her hooves, warding me off, and gave ground.
当她靠近的时候，我跳进了s.a.t.s计划了四次冲击。她的脸一进入射程，我就用全身的力气把它敲碎了。过了一会儿，我又打了一下。再来一次。再来一次。虽然一记重拳并没有给她留下什么深刻印象，但是对她脸上的四记完美的击打使蓝色美女落空了。我没有浪费这个机会，像一只斑马一样站着，继续用力打她的脸。现在她终于抬起了她的蹄子，挡开了我，让开了。
Or was she? As I reared again, she suddenly lunged and hugged my upright torso in her forehooves. And now I was being lifted completely off my hooves as she hefted me up and arched backwards. I yelled in alarm as she smashed me into the ground; at least the damage wasn’t too severe: I landed right on my head.
或者她真的是？当我再次站起来的时候，她突然扑向我，用前蹄拥抱了我直立的躯干。现在我完全脱离了我的蹄子，她把我举起来，向后拱起。我惊恐地大叫起来，她把我摔在地上;至少伤害不是很严重:我头部着地。
For several seconds I lay there as my E.F.S. let me know that I was a complete idiot. She lay there as well, gasping for air. Then I couldn’t help it… I started to laugh again. Brain damage or fatigue, it didn’t seem to matter. And seconds later, she joined me. The other three gangers looked nervously at each other as we lay in the dirty water, unsure if they should join in or not.
有那么几秒钟，我躺在那里，好像我的e.f.s让我知道我是个彻头彻尾的白痴。她也躺在那里，呼吸着新鲜空气。然后我忍不住......我又开始大笑起来。大脑损伤或者疲劳，这些似乎都不重要。几秒钟后，她加入了我。当我们躺在肮脏的水里时，其他三个分身紧张地看着彼此，不确定他们是否应该加入进来。
“I don’t wanna fight you… good one, Security,” she said as she sat up. “Ya got me with that one.” My head was tumbling like a punted top.
"我不想和你打架......干得好，保安,"她坐起身来说。"你用那个打动了我。"我的头像平底船的船头一样倾斜着。
“I mean it. I don’t want to fight you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.” Oooh, but from the ringing in my ears and the way things kept moving when I looked at them, I’d definitely prefer to not fight her again soon. That body slam had really rung my bell! Cool sloshy water felt good on throbbing headachy head.
"我是认真的。我不想和你打架，但这并不意味着我不能。"哦，但是从我耳朵里的嗡嗡声和当我看着它们的时候东西不停移动的方式来看，我绝对不希望很快再和她打架。那个猛烈的身体撞击真的敲响了我的钟！凉爽舒适的水对头痛的悸动感觉很好。
She harrumphed. “I guess I can respect that.” She sat up. Me, I was going to lie here a bit and collect my thoughts and wait for the world to stop jiggling. “So yer saying you’re a Reaper? That it ain’t just a lot o’ hot air from Big Daddy?”
她哼了一声。"我想我可以尊重这一点。"她坐了起来。我，我要在这里躺一会儿，整理一下思绪，等待世界停止抖动。"你是说你是个收魂者？这不仅仅是大老爹的吹牛?"
“I might not like fighting ponies, but I’d rather ponies worked together to help
"我可能不喜欢打架的小马，但我宁愿小马一起帮忙
each other. Having the Reapers is better than everypony out for themselves,” I said honestly as l risked sitting up, and then lay back down again. Yup, this sloshy nasty water was just dandy to lie in.
彼此。"收割者比其他人都要好,"我冒着坐起来的危险诚实地说，然后又躺了下来。是的，这污秽肮脏的水躺在里面真是舒服极了。
“Same old story we’ve been hearin’ fer ever,” Bluebelle snorted. “But ‘work with us’ means ‘do what we want ya to do’. All we want is to be left to ourselves and our own.”
"我们从来没有听过这么老的故事,"布鲁贝尔哼了一声。"但'和我们一起工作'的意思是'做我们想让你做的事'。我们想要的只是留给自己和我们自己。"
I slowly sat up, my head aching terribly. “I know the feeling.” Bluebelle scowled at me, but I raised a hoof. “No. Really. I do. Stable 99 did a lot of bad things, but even after all I’ve been through, there’s a little part of me that wishes we’d just been left on our own. Solved our own problems and not had Deus come in and start the whole mess. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? Even if you want to be left alone, you can’t guarantee that everypony else is going to respect that.” I might not have liked that little part of me, but I couldn’t deny that it was there.
我慢慢地坐起来，头疼得厉害。"我知道那种感觉。"蓝色的美人皱着眉头看着我，但我抬起了一只蹄子。"没有。真的。我知道。稳定的99确实做了很多坏事，但是即使在我经历了这么多之后，我内心的一部分还是希望我们能够独立生活。解决了我们自己的问题，而没有上帝介入，并开始了整个混乱。但这就是问题所在，不是吗？即使你想一个人呆着，你也不能保证每个人都会尊重这一点。"我可能不喜欢我的那一小部分，但我不能否认它就在那里。
The blue mare looked surprised. Clearly, she hadn’t been expecting me to agree with her. “Yup. So when a feller like Big Daddy comes along saying we gotta follow his rules, t’aint exactly a new tune. He might be the first, last, and only stallion ta go hoof to hoof with Momma, but that still don’t mean we like following anypony.”
那匹蓝色的母马看起来很惊讶。显然，她没想到我会同意她的观点。"是的。所以当一个像老爹这样的家伙走过来说我们必须遵守他的规则时，这并不算是一首新曲子。他可能是第一个，也可能是最后一个，也可能是唯一一匹和妈妈一起走路的种马，但这并不意味着我们喜欢跟随任何小马。"
“I can understand that,” I said as I closed my eyes. “Well, I don’t know what else I can say. These Harbinger ponies, though… if they get their hooves on the Core and ‘save’ the Wasteland, do you think they’ll leave you alone?”
"我能理解,"我闭上眼睛说。""好吧，我不知道还能说什么。但是，这些"先驱者"的小马......如果它们的蹄子踏上了地核,'拯救'了荒原，你认为它们会放过你吗?"
“Why wouldn’t they? We don’t want nothing to do with the Core,” she said with a snort. “They got one of them there priests out saying that, so long as we give them yer head, they’ll leave us be.”
""为什么不呢？我们不想和Core扯上任何关系,"她哼了一声说。"他们让一个牧师出来说，只要我们把头给他们，他们就会放过我们。"
Ah. Great. More ponies after my head! “And do you really believe that? Do you think that if they actually do get into the Core, they’ll just ignore you forever?”
啊。太好了。我的头后面还有更多的小马！""你真的相信吗？你认为如果他们真的进入了核心区，他们会永远无视你吗?"
She just frowned, then snorted with a shake of her head, “It don’t matter what I think. Matters what Momma thinks.” She looked at me speculatively, then shook the water off her coat. Rubbing her nose, she finally said, “Tell you wut. You think these Harbingers ain’t no good, tell her yerself.”
她只是皱了皱眉，然后哼了一声，摇了摇头,"我怎么想不重要。重要的是妈妈怎么想。"她疑惑地看着我，然后抖掉外套上的水。她揉了揉鼻子，最后说:"告诉你。你认为这些预言家不好，你自己去告诉她吧。"
“Me?” I blinked. “How?”
"我?"我眨了眨眼。"怎么做?"
Bluebelle gave a casual shrug. “Momma don’t come down into the valley often, but with the war and all, she’s hangin’ round Bullfrog Springs. You trot northeast of here and you’ll find it by the river. Bein’ a Reaper, they probably let you in. Jus’ tell ‘em yer there ta share a drink with Momma.”
布鲁贝尔随意地耸了耸肩。"妈妈不常到山谷里来，但是由于战争和其他原因，她一直在BullfrogSprings附近徘徊。你朝东北方向小跑，就会在河边找到它。作为一个收魂者，他们可能会让你进去。告诉他们你要和妈妈一起喝一杯。"
I looked past them at the other three. “What about the Burner Boys, Halfhearts, and Flashers?”
我越过他们看了看另外三个人。"《燃烧者男孩》(BurnerBoys)、《哈佛之心》(Halfhearts)和《闪光者》(Flashers)怎么样?"
The ghoul pulled out a cigar, bit off the tip, flipped it into the air, and caught it in his teeth, swiveling the cigar to the edge of his mouth. A jerk of his head sent a ball of fire rolling up over our heads and nearly got him shot for the show. He took a puff and, then said casually, “If Big Daddy still has fighters like you… well, I guess it can’t hurt to stick with the gnarly old bastard.” The Halfheart stallion nodded his agreement.
食尸鬼拿出一支雪茄，咬掉烟头，把它抛向空中，用牙齿咬住，把雪茄转到嘴边。他的头猛地一晃，一团火球从我们头顶滚了过来，差点让他为了看节目挨枪子儿。他吸了一口烟，然后漫不经心地说:"如果大老爹还有像你这样的拳手......那么，我想跟着这个粗糙的老混蛋也没什么坏处。"哈夫哈特种马点头表示同意。
“Thanks,” I said as I finally pulled myself to my hooves, water pouring out of my combat armor. I gave a careful shake; oh, ow. Bad movement with a skull fracture. “Oh, I feel like Deus skullfucked me with his guns.”
"谢谢,"我说，我终于把自己拉到我的蹄子上，水从我的战斗装甲上倾泻出来。我小心地摇了一下;噢，噢。头骨骨折，运动不良。"哦，我感觉上帝用他的枪欺骗了我。"
Candlewick chuckled and put his hoof on my rump. “Heh, somepony should’a told him your other end is more fun.” A shock ran up my spine from the simple contact, my nerves thrumming like a charged wire.
烛芯咯咯地笑着，把他的蹄子踩在我的屁股上。"嘿，应该有人告诉他你的另一端更有趣。"一个简单的接触使我的脊椎受到了刺激，我的神经像充了电的电线一样震动。
For one moment, I had limbs of flesh and blood. I had a heart that thundered in my ears. Lungs that gasped for breath as my throat was choked. My nethers strained and burned and ached from the force of what had occurred just a week ago. It took every ounce of restraint left in me not to kill Candlewick right there. “Don’t...” I said in a voice so strained it thrummed. Even when he did remove his hoof, I was still there on the Seahorse. Still hurting. A little souvenir I’d carry forever.
有那么一瞬间，我有了血肉之躯。我的心在我的耳边轰鸣。我的喉咙哽住了，喘不过气来。我的下面因为一周前发生的事情而紧张、焦灼和疼痛。我尽了最大的努力才没有当场杀死烛芯。"不要......"我用一种非常紧张的声音说。即使他把蹄子弄掉了，我还在锡霍斯上。还在受伤。一个我会永远带在身上的小纪念品。
“Aw, come on, Security. Let me light your fire! You got a swee--” And then he patted my butt again. That was as far as he got before I whirled and leaped upon him, powering him back into the wall. My fingers came out as I hissed in rage, one hand forcing his flamer up and the other crushing his throat. The flamethrower sprayed a plume of fire thirty feet up the side of the wall, the orange licking around the pipes overhead and making the metal hiss with steam. His red eyes bulged as he struggled for breath.
"噢，得了吧，保安。让我点燃你的火焰！然后他又拍了拍我的屁股。在我转身扑向他，使劲把他推回到墙上之前，他已经走到了这里。我愤怒地嘶嘶作响，伸出了手指，一只手用力举起火焰筒，另一只手掐住了他的喉咙。火焰喷射器喷射出一缕三十英尺高的火焰，橙色的火焰舔舐着头顶的管道，使金属发出蒸汽般的嘶嘶声。当他挣扎着呼吸时，他的红眼睛鼓了起来。
Kill him or he’s going to do it again. Kill him or he’ll hurt you. Crush him and
杀了他，否则他还会这么做。杀了他，否则他会伤害你。碾碎他
you can crush the pain. My brain hummed like a high-tension wire as I stared into his scarred and mottled face. I ignored Fluttershy and her plea. I could be kind when I thought I was going to die. Right now, my kindness was tapped out.
你可以消除痛苦。当我盯着他满是伤疤和斑驳的脸庞时，我的大脑像高压电线一样嗡嗡作响。我没有理会Fluttershy和她的请求。当我以为自己要死了的时候，我可以表现得很友善。现在，我的善良已经荡然无存了。
But I had plenty of rage. I was going to rip his head clean off! The green stallion and the unicorn mare were trying to pull my metallic hands off his throat. I looked at Dazzle, jumped into S.A.T.S., and targeted three magic bullets. Then I felt a sensation like an icepick through my skull as the spell fizzled badly. I felt the sickening crunch all over again. “I won’t let you fuck me again... I won’t...” I hissed at her, even though it made no sense. Her eyes widened in shock.
但我有足够的愤怒。我要把他的头拧下来！绿色的种马和独角兽母马试图把我的金属手从它的喉咙上拉开。我看了看Dazzle，跳进了S.A.T.S.，瞄准了三颗魔弹。然后我感到一种感觉，就像冰锥穿过我的头骨，这个咒语失败得很厉害。我又一次感觉到令人作呕的嘎吱声。"我不会再让你操我了......我不会......"我对她嘶嘶地说，尽管这毫无意义。她震惊地睁大了眼睛。
Then the mare said softly into my ear, “He’s not one of the ones that ploughed you.”
然后那匹母马轻轻地对着我的耳朵说:"他不是那些耕过你的人之一。"
I looked over my shoulder at Dazzle as she struggled to pull my robofingers away and saw the shared look of pain in her eyes. I was about to kill a pony who, while he might be bad, certainly hadn’t done what had hurt me so much. A part of me didn’t care. A part of me wanted him dead. He’d touched me back there. He’d made me remember it! Made me feel it again! I should rip off his undead head and…
当她挣扎着把我的机器手指拉开的时候，我回头看了看Dazzle，在她的眼睛里看到了同样的痛苦。我正要杀死一匹小马，它虽然可能是坏的，但肯定没有做什么伤害我这么深的事。一部分的我并不在乎。一部分的我希望他死。他在后面碰了我一下。他让我想起来了！让我再次感受到它！我应该扯下他的不死族头..。
…wait. Ghouls didn’t choke, right?
等等。食尸鬼不会噎着吧？
I released his throat, and he coughed and struggled for breath. The flamer cut off and I released it as well, the wall and ceiling above us still burning from the sticky flamer fuel. My fingers were blackened, the tips glowing cherry red. I hadn’t even noticed… for once, I didn’t feel anything at all. As I backed away, he collapsed in a heap and just concentrated on breathing. He wasn’t a ghoul… just a pony who’d somehow been burned badly enough to look like one. I dropped back onto all fours, my hoof hissing as it was quenched in the water.
我松开他的喉咙，他开始咳嗽，挣扎着呼吸。火焰喷射器被切断了，我也松开了它，我们上面的墙壁和天花板还在燃烧着粘糊糊的火焰喷射器燃料。我的手指变黑了，指尖发出樱桃般的红光。我甚至没有注意到...这一次，我什么感觉都没有。当我往后退时，他瘫倒在地，只能集中精力呼吸。他不是食尸鬼...只是一匹被严重烧伤的小马，看起来像个食尸鬼。我四肢着地倒在地上，蹄子在水里淬火时发出嘶嘶声。
I turned and looked at Dazzle. I felt ashamed and dirty. Like I really had killed him rather than simply attacked him. Worse, a part of me still growled to finish him off. It wasn’t like the Dealer; this was inside me. Something I couldn’t escape.
我转过身，看着戴泽。我感到羞愧和肮脏。好像我真的杀了他，而不是简单地攻击他。更糟糕的是，我内心的一部分还在咆哮着要结果了他。这不像《庄家》，这是我的内心世界。一些我无法逃避的事。
Something that was getting stronger and harder to control.
一些越来越难以控制的事情。
“You okay, Candlewick?” I asked as he sprawled there.
"你没事吧，烛芯?"他四肢伸开躺在那里，我问道。
“Oh, fine,” he rasped. “Just… breathing. That’s quite a fine thing. I get it now… no touchie.”
"哦，好吧,"他粗声粗气地说。"只是......呼吸。这真是件好事。我现在明白了......不碰别人。"
“Yeah. No touchie,” Dazzle agreed.
"是的。不许碰,"戴泽同意了。
Busted Heart wasn’t watching, though. He looked out at the dark maze of dripping pipes and rusting vats and barrels and said firmly, “You hear that?”
但是，《破碎的心》没有注意到。他望着黑暗的水管、生锈的大桶和桶，坚定地说:"你听到了吗?"
I looked around. I didn’t hear it, but I could definitely see it: red bars. I supposed a flamer going off and lighting up the inside of a building would attract some attention.
我环顾四周。我没有听到，但我可以肯定地看到它:红色的条纹。我猜想一个点火器点亮建筑物的内部会引起一些注意。
“Crap. Seekers.” I couldn’t make an accurate count as the bars kept moving but I assumed it was ‘a lot’. “Does this place have a back door? They’re only after me. If I run, they shouldn’t--”
"糟糕。搜寻者。"我无法精确计数，因为条形图一直在移动，但我认为它是'很多'。"这个地方有后门吗？他们只是冲我来的。如果我逃跑，他们不应该——"
“Run?” Bluebelle looked at me like I’d said a dirty word. “Yer jokin’, right? And here I was just startin’ ta get bored.”
"跑?"布鲁贝尔看着我，好像我说了脏话似的。"你在开玩笑，对吧？我开始觉得无聊了。"
I looked at the four of them, then at the red bars. The many, many red bars. “You’re sure?”
我看了看他们四个，然后又看了看红条。许许多多的红条。"你确定?"
Candlewick clicked something on the flamer several times. Then there was a soft ‘pwuuuu’ as a tiny blue flame reignited over the muzzle. He picked up his soggy cigar and sighed before he tossed it over his shoulder. “Well, my cigar’s toast, so I need to smoke something.” Then he grinned. “Besides, these assholes are trotting all over our turf like they own it!”
烛芯用火把点了几下。然后，一个微小的蓝色火焰在枪口上重新点燃，发出柔和的"噗呜呜呜"声。他拿起湿乎乎的雪茄，叹了口气，然后把它从肩上扔了过去。"好吧，我的雪茄已经烤焦了，所以我需要抽点烟。"然后他咧嘴一笑。"此外，这些混蛋在我们的地盘上跑来跑去，好像这是他们的地盘似的!"
The lavender mare nodded her agreement. “We’ll show these Harbingers that they got to show the gangs proper respect.”
淡紫色的母马点头表示同意。"我们要让这些先知们知道，他们必须对黑帮表现出应有的尊重。"
Busted Heart simply shrugged. “Alive or dead, no difference to me.”
破碎的心只是耸耸肩。"活着还是死了，对我来说没什么区别。"
“Well it is to me,” I replied. “Don’t kill them if they run.” Once again, I got that ‘Blackjack is saying crazy things’ look. “I mean it. If they run, let them.” Please, please run.
"对我来说是的,"我回答。"如果他们逃跑，不要杀死他们。"再一次，我感觉到'Blackjack在说疯话'。"我是认真的。如果他们跑了，就让他们跑吧。"求你了，快跑。
There was the bang of a door opening. “She’s got to be in here somewhere. Find her!” snapped a stallion.
砰的一声，一扇门开了。"她一定在这里的某个地方。找到她!"拍了一匹种马。
I nodded towards the catwalks above, and Dazzle and Busted Heart immediately made their way to the stairs up. Being that this was a factory of some kind, there were, of course, catwalks. Having those two up there would be some decent precision support. That left me, Candlewick, and Bluebelle down below. There were all sorts of entrances to the building; we couldn’t bottleneck them into any one. I didn’t even know the layout of the place.
我朝楼上的过道点了点头，眩目和爆裂的心立刻向楼上走去。因为这里是某种工厂，所以当然有猫道。有这两个人在上面会有一些不错的精确支持。只剩下我，Candlewick和布鲁贝尔在下面。这座建筑物有各种各样的入口，我们不能堵住它们进入任何一个。我甚至不知道这个地方的布局。
This was going to be up close and messy. I drew the sword, taking a moment to marvel at its edge. Even after all this time, it still wasn’t weakened or damaged in the slightest. Then I drew Vigilance and loaded it with armor piercing rounds. Up above, I spotted Busted Heart taking a position behind some drums.
这将是近距离的和混乱的。我拔出剑，花了一会儿时间对它的锋利感到惊奇。即使经过这么长时间，它仍然丝毫没有被削弱或损坏。然后我提请警惕，并装满了穿甲弹。在上面，我看到"破碎的心"在一些鼓后面找了个位置。
And then I spotted our enemy. They weren’t fighters; they looked like Flank refugees given guns and shoved through the door. Some fucker had given them all brand new nine millimeter pistols and not the slightest bit of armor.
然后我发现了我们的敌人。他们不是战斗机，他们看起来就像是给了枪的弗兰克难民，然后被推进了大门。一些混蛋给了他们全新的9毫米口径手枪而没有给他们一点装甲。
I looked at Candlewick between the pipes. “Hold your fire,” I shouted over the drizzle, then stepped out. I had no idea which red bars were real threats and which were these wretched and weak things. I jumped up onto a pipe where they could see me and looked down at them all as I brandished my sword and pistol. “I don’t want to fight you,” I said calmly.
我看着水管间的烛芯。"别开枪,"我在毛毛细雨中大喊，然后走了出去。我不知道哪些红条是真正的威胁，哪些是可怜而脆弱的东西。我跳上一根管子，他们可以看到我，我挥舞着我的剑和手枪，低头看着他们。"我不想和你打架,"我平静地说。
“We… we have to kill you. We have to… or we won’t get into the city,” a unicorn said, then peeked over her shoulder. “And… I don’t think they’ll let us out of here alive if you are.”
"我们...我们必须杀了你。我们必须......否则我们进不了城,"一只独角兽说，然后从她的肩膀上偷看了一眼。"而且......如果你还活着，我想他们不会让我们活着离开这里的。"
“Sucks to be you,” Candlewick said with a grin from behind me.
"你真倒霉,"烛芯从我身后咧嘴笑着说。
“Throw down your weapons and find a way out of the other side of the building.” I tried to do all I could to will them to give up. The dirty brown unicorn mare met my gaze and tossed her gun away. A few seconds later, the rest did as well. Instantly, a whole knot of bars went from red to blue. And funny, why were there a whole lot of red bars behind a section of solid wall? As the fodder ran back behind us, I pointed at the wall and ducked behind some pipes.
"放下武器，从大楼的另一边出去。"我尽我所能劝说他们放弃。那只肮脏的棕色独角兽母马迎着我的目光，扔掉了她的枪。几秒钟之后，其他人也同样如此。很快，一整捆的铁条从红色变成了蓝色。有趣的是，为什么在一段实心墙后面有许多红色的栅栏？当饲料跑回我们身后，我指着墙，躲在一些管子后面。
The explosion blew out a ten foot hole in the wall, and before the dust settled, a half dozen ponies in combat armor stormed through. Unlike before, these ponies seemed to know what they were doing as they rushed in intent on blowing my head off.
爆炸在墙上炸出了一个10英尺的洞，在尘埃落定之前，六匹穿着战斗装甲的小马猛冲而过。不像以前，这些小马似乎知道他们在做什么，因为他们冲进来意图炸掉我的头。
Then a column of burning flamer fuel gave them something else to worry about. I’d never really heard a pony scream quite like that as they scattered and some tried to put themselves out in the water covering the floor. The chemicals floating on top ignited in eerie pools of blue and green flame. I didn’t hesitate to fire now; a bullet was a greater mercy than burning to death. Busted Heart seemed to be of the same sentiment. One managed to get clear only for Bluebelle to applebuck her back into the blazing flame.
然后一柱燃烧的火焰燃料给了他们其他的担心。我从来没有真正听到过小马那样的尖叫声，因为它们四散开来，有些试图跳到覆盖着地面的水里。漂浮在上面的化学物质在蓝色和绿色的火焰形成的怪异池塘中着火了。我毫不犹豫地开了枪，一颗子弹比烧死还要仁慈。"破碎的心"似乎也有同样的感情。其中一个成功脱险，只有蓝色美女把她推回燃烧的火焰中。
If they wanted my head, they’d need to work for it.
如果他们想要我的人头，他们需要付出努力。
From multiple entrances came shots as they penetrated the interior of the building in pairs and trios. Now they were moving from cover to cover, firing bursts with their assault carbines. Clearly these ponies had a lot more experience fighting, and we backed off into the pipes and vats, the tangled web of machinery and metal forcing them to break up. I charged around a corner and slashed the face of a stallion with the blade while placing three S.A.T.S.-guided armor piercing rounds through another mare’s helmet. Then the blade arched and stabbed deep into his chest, and I thought I could almost feel it hum as he died and slid off the tip.
从多个入口处传来枪声，枪声成双成对地穿过建筑物内部。现在他们从一个掩体移动到另一个掩体，用卡宾枪扫射。很明显，这些小马比我们有更多的战斗经验，我们退回到管道和大桶里，缠绕在一起的机器和金属网迫使它们分开。我冲过一个拐角，用刀片划破了一匹种马的脸，同时在另一匹母马的头盔上放置了三枚s.t.s制导的穿甲弹。然后刀刃拱起，深深刺入他的胸膛，我想我几乎可以感觉到它的嗡嗡声，他死了，从刀尖滑落。
The sticky flamer fuel didn’t care about obstructions. Candlewick kept them from meeting up and working together as he sent fire licking around the pipes. Even with all the water sloshing around our hooves, he set lakes of burning flames licking around the legs of our opponents.
粘稠的火焰燃料不在乎障碍物。烛芯一边舔着水管周围的火焰，一边阻止他们见面并一起工作。尽管水在我们的蹄子上滚来滚去，他还是在我们对手的腿上点燃了火焰。
A round bit into my back, slamming me face down in the muck, and I heard a mare shout out “Bullseye!” Fortunately, there was a ceramic plate there that absorbed most of the force, shattering in the process, and she hadn’t thought to load armor piercing rounds. Still, the impact sent an electric tingle throughout my body and smacked me into the pipes in front of me. Last time I’d gotten shot there, it hadn’t worked out nearly so well. I looked back over my shoulder at the earth pony mare with the AM rifle on her saddle, who blinked, realized that I wasn’t quite dead, and prepared to rectify that. Then a crimson beam touched her head and a fiery red reaction converted her into a heap of soggy ashes.
一颗子弹打在我的背上，把我的脸狠狠地摔在淤泥里，我听到一匹母马大叫"靶心!"幸运的是，有一个陶瓷板吸收了大部分的力量，在这个过程中粉碎，她没有想到装载穿甲弹。尽管如此，撞击还是让我全身发出一阵电流的刺痛，并且撞到了我面前的管子上。上次我在那里中枪，效果不是很好。我回头看了看那匹坐在马鞍上骑着AM步枪的土地上的马，她眨了眨眼，意识到我还没有完全死去，准备纠正这个错误。接着，一道深红色的光束照到了她的头上，一股火红的反应把她变成了一堆湿漉漉的灰烬。
“Dusted!” whooped the lavender mare, getting several blasts of gunfire sprayed wildly up at her for her trouble. She scrambled away along the catwalks as fast as she could. I took several precious seconds to give my body a chance to regenerate and recover a bit from that shock to my spine. Whooo, that had been
"灰尘!"她惊呼着那匹淡紫色的母马，几声枪响疯狂地向她射击，以报复她的麻烦。她沿着过道以最快的速度爬走了。我花了宝贵的几秒钟让我的身体有机会再生，从那次对我脊椎的电击中恢复一点。哇哦，那已经是
too close!
太近了！
While their attention was on her, I popped around the corner, carefully sighted, and sent two rounds into the throat of a stallion trying to strafe Dazzle. And as we fought, I began to feel it. We were five very different ponies. I really didn’t think we even liked each other that well, and we all had dramatically different styles of combat. But despite all that, we were truly working together. Our enemy was vastly better armed than us and had the numbers, but their imposed uniformity wasn’t enough.
当他们的注意力都集中在她身上的时候，我突然转过街角，仔细地瞄准，朝一匹试图用猛烈扫射使人眼花缭乱的种马的喉咙开了两枪。当我们吵架的时候，我开始感觉到了。我们是五匹完全不同的小马。我真的认为我们甚至没有那么喜欢对方，我们都有戏剧性的不同风格的战斗。尽管如此，我们还是真正地在一起工作。我们的敌人装备比我们好得多，人数也比我们多，但是他们强加的统一性是不够的。
We had harmony... and they didn’t.
我们有和谐...但他们没有。
They fell back through the building’s entrances, and I made my way to Candlewick. The reek of flamer fuel rose up from him as he pulled a tank from his saddlebag. “Reload me,” he said as he jerked his bit and sent the old tank off into the water.
他们从大楼的入口掉了下来，我就去了Candlewick。当他从鞍囊中拉出一个油箱时，喷火器燃料的臭气从他身上冒了出来。"给我装填弹药,"他一边说，一边猛拉他的弹头，把那辆旧坦克扔进了水里。
I slapped the new one home in the flamer, and there was a hiss and gurgle. “How are you doing?”
我拍了拍新房子，发出嘶嘶声和咯咯声。"你好吗?"
“Making barbeque,” he replied with a grin as he adjusted a knob on the weapon. “These little ponies might have lots of bang bangs, but they can’t beat a solid fwoosh.” His scarred hide stretched as he grinned.
"做烤肉,"他一边调整武器上的旋钮，一边咧嘴笑着回答。"这些小马可能有很多爆炸刘海，但它们不能击败一个坚实的嗖嗖声。"他咧嘴一笑，满是伤疤的皮肤绷得紧紧的。
“How’d it happen?” I asked as I gestured at him. He looked around a moment, then at me in slight confusion.
"怎么会这样?"我指着他问道。他环顾四周一会儿，然后略带困惑地看着我。
“You want to ask this now?” He seemed a little incredulous. Hey, we weren’t getting shot at just this second, and I hated waiting. He shrugged. “Not all that much to it. Lived in a little settlement out near a place called Appleloosa. Got hit by raiders. We holed up in the farmhouse. They burned us out. Pa tried to charge ‘em and Ma shoved me out the back window. Then she and the rest of my brothers got cooked.” He shook his head sadly before looking at the nearest door.
"你想现在问这个吗?"他似乎有点怀疑。嘿，我们不会在这一刻中枪的，我讨厌等待。他耸耸肩。""没有那么多。住在一个叫Appleloosa的地方附近的一个小定居点。被突袭机击中了。我们躲在农舍里。他们把我们烧光了。爸爸想冲向他们，妈妈把我从后窗推了出去。然后她和我其他的兄弟都被烤熟了。"他伤心地摇了摇头，然后看着最近的那扇门。
“So how’d you hook up with the Burner Boys?” I asked as I watched the red bars outside. I imagined them talking about how they would go after me next. Most of the blue bars had disappeared; I really hoped that they’d managed to get clear.
"那么你是怎么和燃烧者男孩勾搭上的?"我看着外面的红色栅栏问道。我想象着他们接下来会怎样对付我。大部分的蓝色条纹都消失了，我真的希望他们已经设法清除了。
“Natural fit,” he said as he spurted a few little arcs of burning flamer fuel. “I look like a half-cooked ghoul. Every Burner Boy does… even the girls.” He caught my shocked look and grinned again. “What? We ain’t the Halfhearts. We accept any pony that’s maimed, burned, or just butt-ass ugly and looking to give back some hurt. That’s what burns inside us. Doesn’t hurt we got whole tankers of flamer fuel in the refineries around here. So that’s our thing.”
"天生适合,"他一边说，一边喷射出燃烧着火焰的燃料。"我看起来像个半熟的食尸鬼。每个燃烧者男孩都这么做......甚至女孩也是。"他看到我震惊的表情，又咧嘴笑了。"什么？我们不是哈夫哈特。我们接受任何残废的小马，烧伤的小马，或只是屁股丑陋的小马，并希望回报一些伤害。这就是我们内心燃烧的东西。没什么大不了的，我们的炼油厂里有整整一罐子的火焰燃料。所以这就是我们的风格。"
“Yeah… still amazes me, though, that you use a flamer after what happened to you. I guess you must love fire a little to use it like that,” I said as I looked at the burning puddles bobbing on the water.
"是啊......不过，我还是很惊讶，在你发生了那样的事情之后，你竟然用火焰枪。我想你一定是喜欢火，才会那样使用它,"我看着水面上滚动着的水坑说。
He scowled at me. “Love it? I fucking hate fire. Scares the piss out of me,” he said as he adjusted the knob. “But if I can face it with this, what the fuck is left in the Wasteland that could possibly bother me?” I really couldn’t answer that. Besides, the red bars were moving again, only what were they doing? Zigzagging back and forth and going… higher… “They’re going to come in from up above.” I scrambled for the stairs to the catwalks. Bad as those AM rifles were down here, I didn’t want to imagine them firing down and pinning us. I made my way up the catwalk and saw Busted Heart and Dazzle looking down. “The roof!” I yelled, pointing at a half dozen red bars. Instantly the pair turned their sniper and beam rifles to where I indicated.
他怒视着我。"喜欢吗？我恨死火了。"吓死我了,"他一边调整门把手，一边说道。"但是如果我可以面对这一切，在荒原上还有什么东西可能会困扰我?"我真的无法回答这个问题。而且，红条又开始动了，只是他们在干什么？弯弯曲曲地前后移动......越来越高......"他们会从上面进来。"我争先恐后地爬上楼梯，走到人行道。虽然那些AM步枪放在这里很糟糕，但我不想想象他们开枪压制我们的样子。我走上t型台，看到"爆裂的心"和"炫目"在往下看。"屋顶!"我大声喊道，指着半打红条。两人立刻把他们的狙击步枪对准了我指示的地方。
A second later, there was another cluster of explosions that filled the air with smoke and dust as four holes in the roof were breached. Then the red bars dropped down. Vigilance and the sword went away, and I pulled out Duty and Sacrifice. There wasn’t nearly enough cover for my liking as snipers with AM rifles opened fire; at the moment they were firing blind, but the smoke was clearing fast from the rain pouring in. If these ponies ever got their hooves on some PipBucks, then I’d really be scared.
一秒钟之后，另一连串的爆炸使空气中充满了烟尘，屋顶上的四个洞被炸开了。然后红色的条纹就消失了。警惕和剑走了，我拿出了责任和牺牲。当狙击手拿着AM步枪开火的时候，没有足够的掩护让我满意;当时他们正在盲目射击，但是浓烟从倾盆大雨中迅速散去。如果这些小马的蹄子踩到了小鹿，我真的会害怕的。
The sniper rifle ‘pfft’ed repeatedly, barely audible over the crack of the beam rifle. I fired in unison at the red bars and was rewarded by the sight of a pony in combat armor tumbling down into the pipes below. More were coming in from down there; I could only hope that Candlewick and Bluebelle were up to taking them out.
狙击步枪"噗"的一声响个不停，从射击步枪的射击声中几乎听不见。我一齐朝红酒吧开了一枪，回报我的是看到一匹穿着战斗盔甲的小马摔倒在下面的水管里。还有更多的人从下面进来，我只希望烛芯和布卢贝尔能把他们救出来。
When the smoke cleared enough, I saw the unicorns turning their rifles towards
当硝烟散尽后，我看见独角兽们把步枪对准了
us and unloading with heavy fire. I ducked behind a barrel, a bullet punching clean through and peppering me with fragments as the waterlogged container sent up fountains of liquid. Then I leaned out to the side, slipped into S.A.T.S., and put four bullets into the chest of one of the rifle ponies.
我们和卸载重型火力。我躲在一个枪管后面，一颗子弹穿过我的身体，在这个浸满水的容器喷出大量液体的同时，子弹的碎片不断地向我袭来。然后我向侧面探出身子，溜进了s.a.t.s，向其中一匹来复枪小马的胸口开了四枪。
To my amazement, Busted Heart hadn’t tried to duck behind cover. He was biting the mouthgrip of the rifle casually, resting it on his foreleg as he leaned against the barrel. The fifty caliber bullets buzzed past us, but he simply sighted down his scope and with a soft ‘pfft’ dropped one of the unicorns. “Are you crazy?” I shouted at him.
让我惊讶的是,"破碎的心"并没有试图躲在掩体后面。他随意地咬着步枪的握把，靠在枪管上，把它放在前腿上。五十口径的子弹从我们身边呼啸而过，但他只是低下瞄准镜，轻轻地"噗"一声，扔下了一只独角兽。"你疯了吗?"我对他大喊大叫。
“They’re using anti-machine rifles. They’re designed to shoot at dragons and war robots, not ponies. They’re not even using their scopes,” he said in obvious contempt. “They have no discipline. Just big guns.”
"他们用的是反机枪。它们被设计用来射击龙和战争机器人，而不是小马。他们甚至没有使用望远镜。"。"他们没有纪律。都是些大人物。"
“What if one of them gets… I don’t know… lucky?” I asked as another round blasted the top off the drum I hid behind and drenched me.
"如果他们中的一个......我不知道......走运了怎么办?"我问道，另一轮炸掉了鼓的顶部，我躲在后面，浑身湿透。
He didn’t move in the slightest as he sighted again and calmly fired another shot. “Then they kill me, and I’ve lost nothing. If I kill them, they lose everything.”
当他再次看见时，他一动不动，平静地又开了一枪。"然后他们杀了我，我什么也没有失去。如果我杀了他们，他们就会失去一切。"
I popped up and, using S.A.T.S., put four more of the massive bullets into one of the unicorns. “Except that if they kill you, you’re dead!”
我跳了起来，利用s.a.t.s，向其中一只独角兽又开了四枪。"除非他们杀了你，你就死定了!"
He didn’t blink or look away. “In the fullness of time, we are all dead.” A bullet glanced off my helmet, sending me staggering sideways for a moment; okay, Blackjack! Maybe this really wasn’t a good time to find out about the Halfhearts!
他没有眨眼，也没有移开视线。"时机成熟时，我们都死了。"一颗子弹擦过我的头盔，让我摇摇晃晃地侧着身子走了一会儿;好吧，黑杰克！也许现在真的不是了解半心半心合唱团的好时机！
I stared at Dazzle, but the unicorn simply shrugged. Apparently, this wasn’t all that unusual, however incomprehensible it might be. The three of us focused our fire on the remaining unicorns with their heavy rifles. Smaller caliber bullets sparked and chewed around my hooves, fired from below, but a brutal minute later, the fighting was done. We’d killed the ones that had dropped down, and the ones below had pulled back again. Damn, how many were there? According to my E.F.S., the answer was ‘lots’. The Harbingers had no lack of recruits. They could just keep throwing ponies at me till one of them got lucky.
我盯着Dazzle，但独角兽只是耸耸肩。显然，这并不是所有的不寻常，无论它可能是多么难以理解。我们三个人用他们的重步枪把火力集中在剩下的独角兽身上。从下面发射的小口径子弹在我的蹄子周围点燃并咀嚼，但是一分钟后，残酷的战斗结束了。我们杀死了那些掉下来的，下面那些又回来了。该死，一共有多少个？根据我的e.f.s，答案是很多。先驱者并不缺少新兵。他们可以一直向我扔小马，直到其中一个走运。
I pressed my head against the cool metal rail, letting a stream of water patter down on my skull. It felt nice. My head was aching and I felt… wrong. Not pain
我把头靠在凉爽的金属栏杆上，让一股水流拍打着我的头骨。感觉很好。我的头很疼，我觉得......不对劲。不是痛苦
so much as something else. I felt a hoof on my shoulder, and I looked up at Glory… no. Not Glory. I blinked my eyes and looked at the lavender unicorn. “Hey, you okay?”
而不是别的什么。我感觉到一只蹄子在我的肩膀上，我抬头看着晨辉...不。不是晨辉。我眨了眨眼睛，看着淡紫色的独角兽。"嘿，你还好吗?"
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” It was a lie, and she knew it, but she nodded and wiped her wet pink mane out of her eyes. I frowned up at her. “How’d you know… I mean… what happened to me?”
"是的。是的，我很好。"这是一个谎言，她知道这一点，但她点点头，把她的湿粉红色鬃毛从她的眼睛。我对她皱起了眉头。"你怎么知道......我是说......我怎么了?"
“Been there. Done that,” she replied as she ejected the spent battery and tossed it away. “Most Flashers have… or something like that.”
"去过那里。就这么办,"她一边回答，一边把用完的电池弹出，扔了出去。"大多数闪光者都有......或者类似的东西。"
“Really?” I asked as I shook the spent brass from Duty and Sacrifice.
"真的吗?"我边问边摇晃着《使命与牺牲》中用过的铜管。
“Oh sure. Ploughed hard or beaten, or both. It happens. If they don’t want it to happen again, they join the Flashers,” she said as she slipped a fresh power source into the beam rifle and closed the breech. “My own father ploughed me, then sold me.” She gave a little mirthless smile. “I was originally from Fallen Arch.”
"哦，当然。重重地犁过或打过，或两者兼而有之。这种事时有发生。如果他们不希望这种事再次发生，他们就会加入闪电者,"她一边说着，一边把一个新的电源插入光束步枪，关上了后膛。"我自己的父亲耕种我，然后卖掉我。"她露出一丝不快的微笑。"我来自堕落拱门。"
“You… oh…” I remembered the look on the mare’s face before she’d blown into pieces before my eyes.
"你......哦......"我想起了那匹母马在我眼前被炸成碎片之前的表情。
“Yeah. I heard you finally took it out. A lot of Flashers were glad you did. We’d been planning a stomp sometime after the war settled down, but you beat us to it,” she said, giving a little half smile. “And before you start apologizing, don’t; I wish that my mom and sister had gotten out of there… but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that finally… finally… somepony stopped it. I might wish we got the chance ourselves, but it’s better this way. And I know my mom and little sister are happier for it.”
"是的。我听说你终于把它拿出来了。很多飞侠都很高兴你这么做。战争结束后的某个时候，我们一直在计划跺脚，但是你们抢先了一步,"她说，露出一丝微笑。"在你开始道歉之前，不要道歉;我希望我的妈妈和姐姐已经离开了那里......但那并不重要。重要的是终于...终于...有人阻止了它。我也许希望我们自己也有这样的机会，但这样更好。我知道我的妈妈和小妹妹为此感到很高兴。"
“But… what about the whole ‘you keeping male slaves for breeding’? How is that any different?” I asked with a little frown, and she snorted.
"但是......'你们留男性奴隶是为了繁衍后代'这种说法怎么样？这有什么不同吗?"我皱着眉头问道，她哼了一声。
“Why do people keep spreading those stupid sex slave stories? Honestly!” Dazzle huffed. “We don’t. We keep a few males around that we know won’t hurt us. A few others we take for a fling and let them go. A few years back we had a stomp with the Long Saddles. Absorbed most of their mares, and, as a joke, enslaved their stallions for a few weeks.”
"为什么人们总是散布那些愚蠢的性奴故事？老实说!"让人眼花缭乱。"我们没有。我们身边有一些我们知道不会伤害我们的雄性。还有一些人我们只是随便玩玩，然后就放他们走了。几年前，我们在长马鞍上踢了一脚。吸收了大部分母马，开个玩笑，奴役了它们的种马几个星期。"
“And then gelded some of them afterwards.” Busted Heart kept his eyes on the
"然后把其中一些阉割了。"破碎的心保持着他的眼睛在
holes in the roof, but Dazzle flushed. “Sold the rest to the Society.”
屋顶上有洞，但是"闪亮"冲走了。"把剩下的卖给协会。"
“Yeah, well, some of them deserved it. Anyway, we got rid of most of the males. Lot of them joined the Burners, and there’s been bad blood ever since.” Dazzle looked at the Halfheart. “Anyway, I wouldn’t say Flashers would never ride a stallion, but we don’t plough ‘em like they did us. We’re the best chance for a mare on her own.” True, Turnip hadn’t exactly been a bloody and bruised mess when we’d saved him... but the rest of what I’d seen and heard at Flash Industries made me think that Dazzle’s description might be a bit more rosy than the truth.
"是的，他们中的一些人活该。不管怎样，我们把大部分的雄性都赶走了。他们中的许多人加入了燃烧者的行列，从那以后，他们之间就产生了仇恨。"戴泽看着哈夫哈特。"无论如何，我不会说闪电侠永远不会骑种马，但我们不会像他们那样耕种它们。我们是母马独自生活的最好机会。"的确，当我们救了Turnip的时候，他并没有血淋淋的伤痕累累......但是我在闪光工业看到和听到的其他事情让我觉得Dazzle的描述可能比事实更加乐观。
I thought of Roses and Thorn. Would she have eventually sought solace with the Flashers? I liked to imagine her turning over a new life in Chapel, but could she have made it a home? Or would she have reverted to slaving soon as I left her behind? Or become a slave herself again? As horrible as what happened to the mare and her child had been, I couldn’t imagine a whole lot of other options for her.
我想到了玫瑰和荆棘。她最终会从闪光者那里寻求安慰吗？我喜欢想象她在教堂开始新的生活，但是她能把它变成一个家吗？或者她会在我离开她之后很快恢复奴隶生活吗？或者自己再次成为一个奴隶？尽管母马和她的孩子的遭遇非常可怕，我还是无法想象她还有其他的选择。
I saw Dazzle looking at me curiously. “I got ploughed when I was in a bad way. After blowing up the Celestia… I was trying to protect a filly from my stable from getting hurt too. So I kept them on me. And they were more than happy to. My friends got back before they were able to kill me off, but… it was bad. Really bad.”
我看到闪亮好奇地看着我。"我在情况不好的时候被赶出了家门。炸毁了天堂之后......我试图保护一匹小母马免受我马厩的伤害。所以我一直带在身上。他们非常乐意。我的朋友们还没来得及杀了我就回来了但是...情况很糟糕。非常糟糕。"
“Damn,” she murmured, shaking her head. “Well, I never would have thought Security went through things like that. Guess it can happen to any mare at the wrong time and place.” ‘It can happen to anypony,’ I wanted to say. Then she snorted. “I still can’t believe you dropped a building on Diamond Flash, though.”
"该死,"她低声说，摇着头。"嗯，我从来没有想到保安会经历这样的事情。我想，在错误的时间和地点，任何一匹母马都可能发生这种事。""这可能发生在任何小马身上,"我想说。然后她哼了一声。"不过，我还是不敢相信，你居然用钻石闪光灯砸了一栋楼。"
“I didn’t. Something took over and used the beams in her room and… well… sliced the floor to pieces. I just happened to be there,” I said with a sheepish little smile. “Actually, she got vaporized before the floor even fell.”
"我没有。有什么东西占据了她的房间，用了她房间的横梁，然后......嗯......把地板切成了碎片。我只是碰巧在那里,"我带着羞怯的微笑说。"事实上，她在地板掉下来之前就被蒸发了。"
“Seriously? I’m going to have to smack Strobe upside her head. She told me she watched you drop it on her. Liar.” She snorted and stood. “Well, with all the fighting going on, we evacuated to the wings. Warehouse and offices were just fine so we moved there. Coulda been a lot worse.” She snickered softly. “And you glued Lightstick’s hooves to the floor. Priceless!” I joined her laughter.
"真的吗？我要打烂她的脑袋。她告诉我她看着你把它扔给她。骗子。"她哼了一声，站了起来。"好吧，随着战斗的继续，我们撤退到侧翼。仓库和办公室都很好，所以我们搬到了那里。情况可能会更糟。"她轻轻地窃笑着。"你还把Lightstick的蹄子粘在地板上。无价之宝!"我加入了她的笑声。
Two weeks ago, the Fillies had been trying to kill me. Now she was laughing
两个星期前，小雌马一直想杀了我。现在她笑了
about the time I attacked her base. It seemed a touch surreal. Would I someday be laughing like this with some member of the Harbingers or the Enclave? I didn’t know if that was something for me to look forward to or not.
那次我袭击了她的基地。这似乎有点超现实主义。有一天，我会像这样和先驱者或者昂科雷的成员一起大笑吗？我不知道这是否值得我期待。
“Funny as this is, shouldn’t we be keeping an eye out for their next attack?” Busted Heart asked. Dazzle gave a sour little frown that the taciturn stallion ignored. My E.F.S., however, didn’t see them massing anywhere. They were all spread out around us in a half circle.
"尽管这很有趣，但我们难道不应该密切关注他们的下一次袭击吗?"破碎的心问道。Dazzle皱了一下眉头，沉默寡言的种马没有理睬他。然而，我的e.f.s没有看到它们聚集在任何地方。他们在我们周围围成一个半圆。
We needed an actual view outside. I looked at the holes that the Harbingers had blown in the roof. “Want a boost up there so you can see what you can see?” He gave a single nod.
我们需要一个实际的外部视野。我看着"先驱者"在屋顶上炸出的洞。"想不想在上面加点油，这样你就能看到你能看到的东西了?"他点了点头。
I stood beneath the hole and let him clamber onto my back. He jumped and hooked his hooves on the edge of the hole. Then I lifted him up, standing on my hind legs as I pushed him out onto the roof. I jumped and grabbed the edge with my fingers and, kicking and swaying, clambered up next to him. I tried levitating one of the AM rifles, but my magic flickered and died, the weapon falling to the refinery floor. I still wasn’t completely recovered. The rain beat down on both of us, but he didn’t say a word of complaint as he crept towards the edge.
我站在洞口下面，让他爬到我的背上。他跳起来，用蹄子钩住洞口。然后我把它举起来，用后腿站立，把它推到屋顶上。我跳起来，用手指抓住边缘，又踢又摇，爬到他身边。我试着让一支AM步枪悬浮起来，但是我的魔法忽闪忽灭，武器掉到了炼油厂的地板上。我还没有完全康复。雨打在我们两个身上，但当他爬到悬崖边时，他没有说一句抱怨的话。
They were just standing out in the rain, waiting. For what? There were twenty or thirty down there; more than enough for a good push. Maybe they were out of ideas? Waiting for reinforcements? Pegasi? Oh, that was a nice thought, and I found myself scanning the skies. Nothing but rain and flickers of lightning in the heavy clouds.
他们只是站在雨中，等待着。为什么？下面有二十三十个人，足够我们好好推一把了。也许他们已经没有办法了？等待增援？飞马座？哦，这个想法不错，我发现自己正在扫描天空。只有雨水和闪电在浓云中闪烁。
“So… what’s your story? I mean, I’ve heard of the Halfhearts, but I don’t…” I started, then caught his hard look he gave me before returning to looking through his scope. “Don’t want to talk about it, huh?”
"那么......你的故事是什么？我的意思是，我听说过哈夫哈特，但是我不......"我开始说，然后看到他给我的严厉表情，然后回到他的瞄准镜里。"不想谈这个，是吧?"
“Why do you?” he asked as he scanned the small pairs and trios of Harbingers. “Why do you care? You’re not a ganger. You’re a meddler. And since you’ve arrived, you’ve been nothing but trouble.”
"为什么?"他一边问，一边扫视着那些"预兆者"的小对小三。"你为什么关心这个？你不是分身。你是个爱管闲事的人。自从你来了以后，你除了麻烦什么都不是。"
Well, I couldn’t argue with that. My ears drooped a little. “‘Cause… I don’t know… I never heard about it from the gangs themselves. I never knew anypony in a gang before. Not till I met Dusty Trails. I mean, the whole ‘trying to kill me’ thing was bad, but when I got to know them… well… things were better.”
这点我无法反驳。我的耳朵有点低垂。"因为......我不知道......我从来没有从黑帮那里听说过这件事。我以前从来不认识帮派里的小马。直到我遇见了DustyTrails。我的意思是，整个'试图杀死我'的事情是糟糕的，但是当我开始了解他们的时候......嗯......情况好多了。"
He sighed softly, then said low and steadily, “Fine. Here is all you need to know. Every Halfheart has lost somepony they loved. A wife. A mother. A sister. Every one of us. And so we stay together to make sure we’re not consumed by that pain before it’s time. Because every Halfhearter wants to be reunited with the pony they lost. That’s my gang in a nutshell. And no, you don’t need to know who I lost. That’s private. We don’t share it. Happy? Understand now?” he asked without taking his eyes off the scope. Wow… an entire gang of P-21s… or at least what P-21 would have become without Scotch Tape.
他轻轻地叹了口气，然后低声而坚定地说:"很好。以下是你需要知道的一切。每个半心人都失去了他们喜欢的小马。妻子。一位母亲。一个妹妹。我们每一个人。所以我们呆在一起，确保我们不会在时间到来之前被痛苦吞噬。因为每个Halfhearter都想和他们失去的小马团聚。简而言之，这就是我的帮派。不你不需要知道我失去了谁。那是隐私。我们不分享它。高兴吗？现在明白了吗?"他问道，眼睛没有离开显微镜。哇...一整帮P-21...或者至少P-21没有透明胶带会变成什么样子。
“I guess so,” I said as I looked to the north. I could see why they hadn’t surrounded the building yet; the east and south sides were a tangle of rusted pipe and fallen reinforcement. “I just… do you really want to die that badly?” I asked as I picked my way to the edge. There were a few more options for escape; the pipes running from the roof to the next building over; but that narrow walk had no cover from snipers.
"我想是的,"我说，同时向北望去。我明白他们为什么还没有包围这座建筑了，东面和南面是一团乱糟糟的生锈的管道和倒塌的钢筋。"我只是......你真的那么想死吗?"我边走边问。还有一些其他的逃生选择;从屋顶到另一个建筑的管道;但是狭窄的人行道上没有狙击手的掩护。
He let out a soft hiss of annoyance, but then muttered, “More than you can possibly imagine.” Then he looked at me and relaxed his eyes a little bit. “But… if I just checked out, it would break her heart, too.” The moment passed, and his teal eyes hardened again as he peered through his scope. I suspected that that was all I was ever going to get from him.
他发出了一声恼怒的轻微嘶嘶声，然后喃喃自语道:"比你能想象的还要多。"然后他看着我，放松了一下他的眼睛。"但是......如果我退房，她也会伤心的。"这一刻过去了，当他透过望远镜凝视时，他的蓝绿色的眼睛又变得呆滞起来。我怀疑这就是我能从他那里得到的一切。
Burner Boys taking in the ugly and disfigured? Flash Fillies as a refuge for mares who’d been victims? Halfhearters dealing with the pain of loss to stave off suicide? Things had been so much simpler when they’d all just been Bad Ponies. But they weren’t bad. And they weren’t good, either. They were just trying to get by in the deadliest city in the Wasteland. I could respect that.
一次性手机男孩收留丑陋和毁容的人？闪电雌马作为母马的避难所谁是受害者？为了避免自杀，半心人在处理失去的痛苦？当他们都还是坏小马的时候，事情就简单多了。但是他们并不坏。他们也不是什么好人。他们只是在废墟中最致命的城市里勉强度日。我可以尊重这一点。
My magic’s strength wasn’t sufficient to swing Taurus’s rifle around, so I copied his style and braced it with my forelegs and shoulder as I slowly panned across the Harbingers amassed outside. Not a lot of talking… just a whole lot of waiting. For a moment, I rested the crosshairs on the head of an unaware mare. I could kill her right now; take out one of my enemies. I shuddered and pointed the gun away. No, I’d never be a sniper.
我的魔法力量不足以让金牛座的步枪转来转去，所以我模仿他的风格，用我的前腿和肩膀支撑着它，慢慢地摇晃着外面聚集的"预言者"。没有太多的交谈...只有一大堆的等待。有那么一会儿，我把十字准星放在一匹不知情的母马的头上。我现在就可以杀了她干掉我的一个敌人。我打了个寒战，把枪指向一边。不，我永远不会成为狙击手。
“See anything?” I asked, feeling a momentary vertigo that made me lurch.
"看见什么了吗?"我问道，瞬间感到一阵眩晕，使我踉跄了一下。
“There’s something up on the road,” he said with a frown. “What is that?”
"路上有什么东西,"他皱着眉头说。"那是什么?"
I peered through the hunting rifle’s scope… Yeah, there was some kind of dark
我透过猎枪的瞄准镜看了看...是的，那里有点黑
shape up there that wasn’t there before. It was hard to make out through the rain but… it moved.
振作起来，以前没有的。在雨中很难辨认，但是......它动了。
I felt cold pour down my spine. I’d seen a shape that big move like that. Over the hiss of the rain, I heard the low mechanical growl.
我感到一阵寒意从我的脊背上倾泻而下。我见过这么大的动作。在雨水的嘶嘶声中，我听到了低沉的机械咆哮声。
The tank was with the Harbingers.
坦克和先驱者号在一起。
* * *
* * *
Busted Heart and I dropped back into the large refinery building, landing on the catwalks. “Out. We need to get out! Right now!” I yelled as I dropped onto the walkway. “Candlewick! Where’s the back door?”
我和BustedHeart回到炼油厂大楼，降落在人行道上。"出去。我们得出去！就是现在!"我一边大叫一边掉到人行道上。"烛芯！后门在哪里?"
“Huh? Why? What’s going on? Are they coming again?” the scarred stallion asked.
"啊？为什么？怎么回事？他们还会再来吗?"伤痕累累的种马问道。
“They’ve got a tank!” I yelled as I ran for the stairs nearest him and Bluebelle.
"他们有一辆坦克!"我边喊边跑向离他和Bluebelle最近的楼梯。
“A tank of what?” he asked back.
"一罐什么?"他问道。
“Not a tank of something. A tank!” I yelled down at him.
"不是一箱什么东西。一辆坦克!"我朝他大喊大叫。
Then there was a half second whine and a wave of air knocked me on my face as smoke, mist, dust, and steel filled the air. The impact, or something, must have set something off in my PipBuck, because suddenly I couldn’t hear a thing. A second blast nearly threw me from the catwalk as I yelled for everypony to get out, the tongue of metal swaying ominously. I smacked the leg containing my PipBuck against the walkway to try and fix my hearing.
接着是半秒钟的哀嚎声，一阵空气打在我的脸上，烟雾、灰尘和钢铁充满了空气。我的PipBuck一定是被什么东西撞到了，因为我突然什么都听不见了。第二次爆炸几乎把我从t台上扔下来，我大声呼喊着让每一匹小马下来，金属的舌头不祥地摆动着。我把装着皮布克的腿撞到人行道上，试图恢复我的听力。
Instead, it started playing music. Low soft contrabass filled my hearing as the building was blown apart around me and the four ponies that had fought on my behalf. Shells ripped through the north wall trailing dust and smoke, plugging through the pipes and blasting them in expanding balls of fire, steam, and steel. The catwalk gave way over my head as the north wall began to come down completely in blinding smoke and dust and rain. The chemicals that remained in the vats became creeping pools of fire that spread every which way.
相反，它开始播放音乐。低沉柔和的低音提琴充满了我的听觉，因为我周围的建筑物被炸得粉碎，还有那四匹为我而战的小马。炮弹穿过北面的墙壁，随着灰尘和烟雾，穿过管道，爆破它们，形成火球、蒸汽球和钢球。随着北墙开始在刺眼的烟尘和雨水中完全倒塌，t型台在我头顶上让路了。留在大桶里的化学物质变成了蔓延的火池，向四面八方蔓延。
I was dumped face down in the water, bouncing as the catwalk tumbled down atop me. I struggled to stand, looking back over my shoulder as pieces of the
我脸朝下被扔进了水里，在t台上跌倒在我身上的时候被弹了起来。我挣扎着站起来，回过头来看我的肩膀
building were annihilated bite by explosive bite, the shrapnel flying through the clouds of smoke and dust drawing lines that lingered in the air. I got to my hooves screaming… something. Names, I hoped. My E.F.S. was full of red and precious little blue.
建筑物被炸弹击中而湮灭，弹片穿过烟尘云层，在空中划出一条条线。我的蹄子在尖叫...什么东西。名字，我希望。我的e.f.s充满了红色和珍贵的小蓝色。
Lines of gunfire filled the air, drawing back and forth as the tank dropped what was left of the ceiling on top of us. Apparently they were simply going to blast me to pieces and fish my PipBuck out of the rubble. Again I was blown off my hooves, flopping end over end before I came to rest in a crater. Water pooled about my throat as I stared up into the gray Hoofington sky. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. I could only listen to the contrabass’s soft, mournful melody as hell exploded around me.
空气中弥漫着一排排的枪炮声，坦克把我们头顶上残留的天花板掉了下来，我们来来回回。显然，他们只是想把我炸成碎片，然后把我的PipBuck从瓦砾堆里捞出来。我的蹄子又一次被炸飞了，在我来到火山口休息之前，它一头接一头地倒在地上。当我凝视着Hoofington灰色的天空时，水漫到了我的喉咙。我无法思考。动弹不得。我只能听着低音提琴柔和悲伤的旋律，仿佛地狱在我周围爆发。
A pony in dark green combat armor climbed up to the lip of the hole I was in. I couldn’t tell if it was mare or stallion. I could see the water dripping slowly from the barrels of the assault rifles on their battle saddle. Saw the flare of light reflecting off the watery sheen. Saw the jaw tightening on the bit in their mouth.
一匹穿着深绿色战斗盔甲的小马爬上了我所在洞口的边缘。我分不清那是母马还是种马。我可以看到水从他们的战斗马鞍上的突击步枪枪管里缓缓滴下。看到闪耀的光芒反射出水的光泽。看到他们嘴里咬紧牙关的下巴。
Saw a blue mare tackle him from the side and knock him back. Bluebelle looked down at me, her lips moving silently as she glared down at me.
看见一匹蓝色的母马从侧面抓住他，把他撞倒在地。布鲁贝尔低头看着我，她的嘴唇默默地动着，她凝视着我。
Then I saw a spray of red erupt out the side of her chest as a bullet punched clean through. Her eyes went wide as she fell to her knees, and a second spray went out. A third. The pony she’d pushed aside slowly twisted around towards her.
然后我看到一颗子弹穿过她的胸膛，一股红色的水花从她的一侧喷了出来。她的眼睛睁得大大的，双膝跪地，又喷出了第二朵水花。第三个。她推开的那匹小马慢慢地向她扭过来。
There was one more explosion: me. I lunged out of the water, my sword slipping smoothly into my magic’s grip as it speared up through the armored collar of the pony’s combat barding and emerged out the far side. I twisted the blade around completely and took their head off. I don’t know what I was screaming now. All I could hear was Octavia’s music, a piece from her peace concert, if I remembered correctly. I scrambled up the muck and rubble to the lip where Bluebelle lay dying, bleeding out bright streamers of red. Her bar hadn’t disappeared. Not yet.
还有一个爆炸:我。我冲出水面，我的剑顺利地插入我魔法般的剑柄，刺穿了小马驹战斗装甲的衣领，出现在远处。我扭动着刀刃，把他们的头拧了下来。我不知道我现在在喊什么。我能听到的只有奥克塔维亚的音乐，如果我没记错的话，是她和平音乐会上的一首曲子。我爬上淤泥和碎石，来到布鲁贝尔奄奄一息的地方，鲜红的流血不止。她的酒吧并没有消失。还没有。
But there were three ponies approaching through the smoke, dust, and rain aiming to change that. I leapt upon the closest before she could react. Her assault rifles chattered away to either side as I grabbed her battle saddle bridle with my thumbs and stared right into her horrified red eyes. Then I stamped Vigilance to
但是有三匹小马穿过烟尘和雨水向我们走来，想要改变这一切。在她反应过来之前，我就想到了最近的办法。当我用拇指抓住她的马鞍缰绳时，她的突击步枪在我身边喋喋不休，我直视着她惊恐的红眼睛。然后我盖上了警戒的印章
the side of her skull and blew her brains out.
然后把她的脑袋打开花。
She didn’t even completely fall as I whirled toward the next. The unicorn was bringing an AM rifle to bear, but at this point I wasn’t thinking that far anymore. I charged straight at the unicorn as she tried to use her remaining seconds to kill me. But I lifted a glob of muck and threw it in her face as she fired. I felt a warm wet sensation in my side, and turned to look at the third trying to pump every bullet into me. There was no pain as he emptied his magazines into my barding. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and saw the look of horror etched on his face.
她甚至没有完全倒下，而我转向下一个。这只独角兽正带着一把AM来福枪，但是这时我已经不再想那么远了。我径直冲向独角兽号，她试图用剩下的时间杀了我。但我举起一团肥料，在她开枪的时候扔到她脸上。我感到身体有一种温暖潮湿的感觉，然后转过头来看第三颗子弹，试图把每一颗子弹都打进我的身体。当他把他的杂志全都倒进我的书包里时，一点也不痛苦。我溜进S.A.T.S.，看到他脸上的恐惧表情。
Three shots, executed. I watched as that look of horror was transformed into ground meat. I couldn’t hear anything but the music; could only feel water and blood and rage. I turned back to the unicorn as she tore her helmet off and I could see her crimson gaze. I charged towards her as she brought the AM rifle tip up. Busted Heart had been right: this wasn’t a weapon for fighting ponies. It was slow and heavy.
三枪毙命。我看着那恐怖的表情变成了碎肉。除了音乐，我什么也听不见;只能感觉到水、血和愤怒。我转向独角兽，看到她摘下头盔，我能看到她深红色的凝视。我冲向她，她举起了AM步枪。破碎的心是正确的:这不是战斗小马的武器。它缓慢而沉重。
And right now I moved at the speed of death.
现在我以死亡的速度前进。
Her lips moved soundlessly as I closed the distance. She wasn’t going to be able to bring the weapon up in time… it didn’t even look like she was trying. The sword glittered in front of me as I charged. She raised her hooves, her eyes wide. Then I plunged the sword straight into her chest up to the hilt. My forelegs grabbed her, ready for a second stab. And a third if I needed.
当我拉近距离时，她的嘴唇无声地动了动。她不可能及时拿出武器......看起来她根本没有在尝试。我冲锋时，剑在我面前闪闪发光。她抬起蹄子，睁大了眼睛。然后我把剑直直插入她的胸膛，直到剑柄。我的前腿抓住了她，准备再刺一刀。如果我需要的话还有三分之一。
My ears crackled, and the music disappeared. I could hear the groan of steel and the chatter of bullets and the fwooosh of a flamer somewhere. “I give up…” the unicorn murmured in my ear. I turned to her, watching the blood flowing out her mouth. I could feel the blade humming in my magical grasp as I slowly pulled it free. I could hear a screaming, distant and constant and unmistakable as I looked down at the bloody blade and saw glowing white wisps of mist slipping off the metal.
我的耳朵噼啪作响，音乐也消失了。我可以听到钢铁的呻吟声，子弹的声音，还有某个地方火焰喷射的声音。"我放弃......"独角兽在我耳边低语。我转向她，看着血从她的嘴里流出来。我可以感觉到刀片在我的魔法把握中嗡嗡作响，因为我慢慢地把它拉开。当我低头看着血淋淋的刀刃时，我可以听到一声尖叫，远处传来，持续不断，准确无误。我看到发光的白色薄雾从金属上滑落。
Just like the starmetal rod.
就像星铁棒一样。
I stared at it a moment, listening to its tiny little metallic hum. It seemed to be asking me, wasn’t I happy? Hadn’t this been what I wanted?
我盯着它看了一会儿，听着它微弱的金属般的嗡嗡声。它似乎在问我，我是不是很快乐？这不正是我想要的吗？
I dropped it into the muddy water, the little unicorn on the hilt barely poking up above the surface. That was then… this is ten seconds later...
我把它扔进了泥水里，剑柄上的小独角兽刚刚露出水面。那是...这是10秒钟之后..。
“Damn. You really are a Reaper,” I heard Bluebelle cough, trying to lift herself to her hooves. I ducked under her foreleg and supported her as we hobbled to the corner. “You could have killed all four of us if you’d wanted to, couldn’t you?”
"该死。"你真是一个收割者,"我听到蓝色美人咳嗽，试图抬起她的蹄子。我们一瘸一拐地走到拐角处，我弯下腰，扶着她的前腿。"如果你想的话，你可以把我们四个都杀了，不是吗?"
“I have no wish to fight you,” I replied. She was bleeding out her mouth as well, and I dug into her saddlebags. I found some healing potions, but they were clear as piss and just as useful. My own I’d handed over to Glory back in the hospital; after all, only Rampage and I had regeneration talismans. Why hadn’t I tried to get Lacunae to teach me that healing spell? Why hadn’t I even bothered to try?
"我不想和你打架,"我回答。她的嘴也在流血，我挖开了她的鞍囊。我找到了一些治疗药剂，但它们非常清楚，而且一样有用。在医院里，我把自己交给了晨辉;毕竟，只有狂暴和我有再生护身符。为什么我没有试着让Lacunae教我治疗咒语？为什么我都懒得去尝试呢？
“Glad for that, now,” she coughed, looking at my rifle, and then her lip curled in a half smile.
"很高兴，现在,"她咳嗽着，看着我的步枪，然后她的嘴唇微笑着。
Then Dazzle staggered through the mud and muck. “Candlewick’s trying to find a way out. The back doors are all covered in rubble.” Her lilac eyes widened at the holes in Bluebelle.
然后，在泥浆和淤泥中闪耀着光芒。"烛芯正在想办法出去。后门都被瓦砾覆盖了。"她的紫丁香色的眼睛睁大了，望着Bluebelle的那些窟窿。
“Can you help her?” I asked, and Dazzle balked a moment. “Can you help her, Dazzle?” I yelled.
"你能帮帮她吗?"我问道，Dazzle犹豫了片刻。"你能帮帮她吗，炫男?"我喊道。
“Yeah. Sure,” she said as she dug in her bags for a dark purple healing potion, floating it to Bluebelle. The mare drank eagerly, and the bleeding cut off immediately. She pulled out a second and offered it to me, but I shook my head.
"是的。当然,"她一边说着，一边从袋子里掏出一种深紫色的治疗药水，漂到了Bluebelle。母马急切地喝了下去，流血的马上就止住了。她抽出一秒钟递给我，但我摇了摇头。
“Healing magic doesn’t work so well on me. I’ll be fine with time.” Indeed, my own bleeding had already stopped. We hefted her to her hooves as Candlewick came out of the smoke and haze. A fresh cigar was smoking at the corner of his mouth. “Tell me there’s a way out of here,” I said to him as I looked around the remains of the building.
"治愈魔法对我来说效果不是很好。随着时间的推移我会好起来的。"事实上，我自己的血已经止住了。当蜡烛芯从烟雾中走出来时，我们把它举起来放在它的蹄子上。一支新雪茄正在他的嘴角冒烟。"告诉我，这里有出去的路,"我环顾四周，对他说。
He looked grim as he pointed up with his hoof. The pipes that had stretched over to the adjoining building now angled down into this one. One tank shell, even some strafing, and we’d be toast. There was no cover up there. I could hear the war machine’s engine revving, the deep, ominous noise now much closer. There were more red bars coming towards the largest gap in the building. “We need time. Can you block that with fire?”
他抬起蹄子，神情严肃。过去一直延伸到邻近建筑物的管道现在弯弯曲曲地延伸到这一个。一个坦克炮弹，甚至一些扫射，我们就完了。那里没有任何掩护。我能听到战争机器发动机的声音，那种深沉的不祥的噪音现在离我更近了。有更多的红条朝着建筑物中最大的缺口走来。"我们需要时间。你能用火把它挡住吗?"
He looked thoughtfully at the gap. “Yup.” Then he ejected the tank of flamer fuel. I pulled out a fresh cylinder of the potent fuel and started to load it when he shook his head. “Nope. Pull them all out.” I frowned as I did and watched as he
他若有所思地看着缺口。"是的。"然后他把装着火焰喷射器燃料的油箱喷了出来。我拿出一个装满烈性燃料的新汽缸，当他摇头的时候，我开始加载它。"没有。把他们都拉出来。"我皱了皱眉头，看着他
handed them to Bluebelle. “Give ‘em a toss.” And then he turned to me. “Shoot ‘em with an armor piercer.” I just frowned, but then nodded. The blue mare tossed them with that unerring accuracy that P-21 had demonstrated, and I blasted one with the AP round. Instantly it started to hiss and spurt rainbow fuel wildly. We repeated it three more times before Candlewick nodded. “Light her up,” he said to Dazzle as the first Harbingers picked their way into the building.
交给了Bluebelle。"给他们一个折腾。"然后他转向我。"用盔甲穿刺者射击他们"我只是皱了皱眉，然后点了点头。那匹蓝色的母马以P-21所展示的准确无误的投掷了它们，我用AP子弹击中了一匹。瞬间，它开始嘶嘶作响，喷射出五彩缤纷的燃料。我们又重复了三遍，直到烛芯点点头。"点亮她,"第一批预兆者进入大楼时，他对戴泽说。
The unicorn shot the rainbow slick with her beam rifle. Instantly there was a great ‘Fwooosh!’ as it ignited and created a brilliant wall of flame; already there were a few painful screams of Harbingers caught in the fire. “Ooooh…” I cooed, unable to help myself. Pretty... Then I ducked as the tank and the Harbingers outside began to strafe through the flames with bullets. I just hoped for a few minutes without shells.
独角兽用她的步枪射出了彩虹般的光滑。立刻就有了一个很棒的'fwoosh!'当火点燃并形成一堵明亮的火焰墙时，已经听到了"先驱者"在大火中痛苦的尖叫声。"哦......"我咕哝着，忍不住。漂亮......然后我俯下身子，外面的坦克和先驱者开始用子弹扫射火焰。我只是希望有几分钟没有贝壳。
“We got around three minutes till that burns down. Maybe less. And we got another big problem…” He started away towards the base of the ramp. Dazzle helped Bluebelle make her way along the unsteady ground. I hung back a moment and looked at the sword poking out of the water. Slowly, I lifted it and stared at the weapon. The water, mud, and blood dripped slowly off as the rain pattered down on it. I stared at the flames dancing along the edge and still imagined that faint scream coming off the metal.
"我们还有三分钟左右就烧完了。也许更少。我们遇到了另一个大问题......"他开始朝坡道底部走去。戴泽帮助蓝色美人在不稳定的地面上前进。我往后退了一会儿，看着从水里伸出来的剑。慢慢地，我举起它，盯着那件武器。雨点劈里啪啦地落下来，水、泥和血都慢慢地滴下来。我盯着边缘跳动的火焰，仍然想象着金属发出的微弱的尖叫声。
At least, I hoped it was my imagination.
至少，我希望那是我的想象。
I put it away; I’d have to deal with it later. I followed the others up to the fallen pipes that had once carried fluids into and/or out of the smashed building. There were some kind of metal mesh plates on top of them, a walkway for inspecting the pipes. Only wide enough for one pony at a time. That was definitely a problem…
我把它收起来，以后再处理。我跟着其他人走到倒下的管道旁，这些管道曾经把液体带进或者带出被砸坏的建筑物。上面有一些金属网板，是用来检查管道的走道。一次只能容纳一匹小马。这绝对是个问题..。
But, I quickly realized as I saw the green Busted Heart, it wasn’t the biggest problem. He reclined amidst a pile of wreckage, eyes closed and lips pressed together in pain as a ton of pipes and metal crushed his hind legs. I scrambled over and started trying to pull the rubble around his limbs away; it was wedged tightly. “Come on! Help me!”
但是，我很快意识到，当我看到绿色的破碎的心脏，这不是最大的问题。他斜躺在一堆残骸中，双眼紧闭，痛苦地闭上双唇，一吨重的水管和金属压碎了他的后腿。我爬过去，开始试图把他四肢周围的碎石拉走;碎石被紧紧地卡住了。"来吧！救救我!"
The rest looked at me with a mix of amazement as I struggled to free him.
当我挣扎着想把他放出来的时候，其余的人都用一种混合着惊奇的眼光看着我。
“Get going,” Busted Heart said over the crackle of flame and the popping of bullets against the rock. That engine was getting louder. The others hesitated, but
"快走,"爆裂的心隔着火焰的噼啪声和子弹打在岩石上的爆裂声说。引擎的声音越来越大。其他人犹豫了，但是
he glared at them. “Go. Now!” Candlewick and Bluebelle started up the pipes.
他瞪着他们。"去吧。现在!"烛芯和布鲁贝尔启动了水管。
“Need a flash?” Dazzle asked, lifting her beam rifle. The green pony looked thoughtful, and I rounded on her.
"需要闪光灯吗?"戴泽问道，举起了她的步枪。那匹绿色的小马显得若有所思，于是我把它围了起来。
“We are not killing him! We’re saving him! Security saves ponies!” I shouted at her. “I’m not leaving another pony trapped!” I could see Dusty Trails all over again! I shoved against the pipes and scraped at the rocks around his legs with my fingers. Neither moved.
"我们不会杀他的！我们在救他！保安会救小马!"我对她大喊大叫。"我不会再让另一匹小马被困住了!"我可以再次看到满是灰尘的小径！我用力推着水管，用手指在他腿上的石头上擦来擦去。两人都没动。
“Security… he’s dusted,” was all Dazzle said. They knew it. I knew it. The difference was that they could accept it. The lavender mare started up with the rest.
"保安...他被清理了,"戴泽只是说。他们知道这一点。我就知道。不同的是，他们可以接受。那匹淡紫色的母马和其他的马一起跳了起来。
I scrabbled at the rock as he looked at me with the smallest smile on his face. “Gamble.” I blinked and looked at him in confusion. “That was her name. Gamble. She was a lot like you. We grew up together. Wandered the Wasteland searching for adventure.” He sighed. “We were in a mine… lots of ghouls… really unstable. There was a cave in… she was pinned…”
他看着我的时候，脸上露出了最微弱的微笑。"赌博。"我眨了眨眼，困惑地看着他。"那是她的名字。赌博。她很像你。我们一起长大。漫游荒原寻找冒险。"他叹了口气。"我们在一个矿井里......有很多食尸鬼......非常不稳定。有一个山洞......她被压住了......"
I shook my head and shoved again against the mass of fallen pipes. Was it my imagination, or did it shift? Maybe a little? A hair? “I’m not leaving you to die!”
我摇摇头，又对着一大堆掉下来的水管猛推。是我的想象，还是它改变了？也许有一点？一根头发？"我不会让你死的!"
“And that’s exactly what I told her,” he said softly as he stretched out his forehoof and hooked the strap on his sniper rifle, pulling it towards him. The grinding became even louder. Something dark began to move through the flames. “And so I’m going to tell you what she told me. You’re going to go. You’re going to live. Because I want you to.”
"我就是这么告诉她的,"他一边轻声说，一边伸出前蹄，钩住狙击步枪的带子，把它拉向自己。摩擦声越来越大。有什么黑暗的东西开始在火焰中移动。""所以我要把她告诉我的告诉你。你得走了。你会活下来的。因为我希望你这么做。"
I beat against the metal with my hooves before I looked down at him and saw the happy look on his face. “I want to save you,” I muttered as the end of the tank breached through the flames.
我用蹄子敲打着金属，然后低头看着他，看到他脸上幸福的表情。"我想救你,"我咕哝着，坦克的末端被火焰吞噬了。
“Sometimes you can’t. Sometimes there’s nothing left to save. And sometimes, the pony you need to save is yourself.” He sighted at the tank with the sniper rifle, bracing it against the metal pinning his limbs. “She bought me time to escape the ghouls. Gave me a chance.” He chuckled. “Now I’m gonna give it to you. Take care, Security.”
"有时候你做不到。有时候没有什么值得拯救的。有时候，你需要拯救的是你自己。"他用狙击步枪瞄准了坦克，把它支在钉住四肢的金属上。"她为我争取了逃离食尸鬼的时间。给了我一个机会。"他咯咯地笑了。"现在我要把它给你。保重，保安。"
I jumped on the ramp and looked back at him. “My name is Blackjack.”
我跳上斜坡，回头看着他。"我叫Blackjack。"
He nodded once. “Lemongrass.”
他点了点头。柠檬草
Then I was scampering up the ramp as fast as my hooves could carry me as the tank rolled the rest of the way into the blasted-out refinery. It was as I remembered: a huge trapezoid of steel with a swept-back turret pointing twin heavy cannon barrels. Two smaller machine guns were mounted in smaller turrets at the front, with socketed cameras above them like spider eyes. The black and white zebra stripes seemed to dance in the flames as it ignored the bonfire. A spotlight on the turret snapped to life and began to sweep along the ruins as little cameras whirred in their tiny sockets. The machineguns started to elevate up towards me.
然后我以我的蹄子能承受的最快速度奔上斜坡，这时坦克滚进了被炸毁的炼油厂。我记得那是一座巨大的梯形钢结构建筑，后掠式炮塔指向一对重炮管。两挺较小的机关枪安装在前方较小的炮塔上，上方安装着像蜘蛛眼一样的摄像机。黑白相间的斑马条纹似乎在火焰中跳舞，因为它忽略了篝火。灯塔上的聚光灯突然亮了起来，随着小照相机插座的旋转，它们开始沿着废墟扫过。机枪开始向我挺起来。
Then there was a sharp crack, and the spotlight went dark. The engine revved and roared with frustration as the machine fired wildly. The chattering streams of death found the fallen pipes and began to blast along them as the cameras oriented upon me. Then there was another sharp crack, and one of the cameras exploded in a shower of sparks. It reversed the movement of the autoguns and strafed them back along the row of pipes. I was halfway up when I balked and looked back. The green pony had disappeared in a shower of dust.
然后是一个尖锐的裂缝，聚光灯变暗了。当机器疯狂地开火时，引擎发动起来，伴随着沮丧的咆哮。颤抖的死亡之流找到了倒下的管道，并开始沿着它们爆炸，因为摄像机正对着我。然后又是一个尖锐的裂缝，其中一个摄像头爆炸了，产生了一阵火花。它扭转了自动步枪的移动方向，沿着一排排管道向后扫射。我正走到一半的时候，突然停了下来，回头看了看。那匹绿色的小马在一阵尘土中消失了。
“No…” I murmured, and then I paid for my hesitation. The tank pointed its remaining cameras at me and turned all its weapons up at me, including its two massive main cannons.
"不......"我低声说，然后为我的犹豫付出了代价。坦克用剩下的摄像机对着我，把所有的武器都对着我，包括两门巨大的主炮。
Then there was another loud crack, and another of the socketed cameras exploded. The tank fired low, the shells detonating beneath me. The entire ramp lunged up and then collapsed. I popped out my fingers and grabbed the mesh to keep from falling. I was now climbing more than walking as I kicked and pulled my way up, looking back at Lemongrass. His left forehoof was a bloody mess, blood darkening his yellow mane and hiding his left eye as he kept his discipline and focus on the tank.
然后又是一声巨响，另一个插着眼镜的摄像机也爆炸了。坦克低低地开火，炮弹在我脚下爆炸。整个斜坡一跃而起，然后倒塌了。我伸出手指，抓住网眼，以免掉下来。我现在更多的是爬山而不是走路，我一边踢一边往上爬，回头看着柠檬草。他的左前蹄血迹斑斑，鲜血染黑了他的黄鬃毛，左眼隐藏起来，他保持着纪律，专注于坦克。
Another burst raked him, and I clung to the grate. The tank growled, and when the dust cleared I saw the sniper rifle was lying to the side, bent and shredded. I looked and saw his green eye meeting mine. Then I saw him look up at one of the unicorns’ AM rifles, dangling by its strap from a twisted bit of steel catwalk. He smiled and then tossed a rock up with his free hoof. It knocked the AM rifle free, and it fell right into his outstretched hoof. The barrel thunked down against the pipes and he braced it, biting hard on the mouthgrip and sighting down the
又一阵爆炸把他掀翻在地，我紧紧抓住壁炉架。坦克咆哮着，当灰尘散去后，我看到那把狙击步枪躺在一边，弯曲着，被撕成了碎片。我看见他绿色的眼睛和我的眼睛相遇。然后我看到他抬头看着一支独角兽的AM步枪，它的皮带在一条扭曲的钢制t台上晃来晃去。他笑了笑，然后用空着的蹄子把一块石头扔了上去。它把AM步枪打飞了，正好落在他四肢伸开的蹄子上。枪管在管子上发出雷鸣般的响声，他紧紧地支撑着枪管，咬住了枪托，顺着枪管往下看
scope.
范围。
He and the tank fired as one, and two new flowers of fire bloomed. The base of the right cannon exploded out in a fan of fire and metal. The tank engine squealed as half its turret was peeled open and gushed flame. The massive mechanical monster peeled back through the wall, and I saw a few red bars wink out as it tore into the open. Slowly, finally, I reached where the pipes bridged the gap to the next factory over, then looked back.
他和坦克一起开火，两朵新的火花开放了。右边的大炮底部在一个火焰和金属的风扇中爆炸了。坦克发动机吱吱作响，半个炮塔被打开，喷出火焰。巨大的机械怪兽穿过墙壁向后退去，我看见几根红色的栅栏在它撕开墙壁的时候闪闪发光。慢慢地，最后，我到达了管道桥接到下一个工厂的地方，然后回头看了看。
Nothing remained but a gold broken-heart charm flickering in the fire’s fading glow.
什么也没有留下，只有一个金色的破碎的心的魅力，在火的逐渐消失的辉光中闪烁。
* * *
* * *
Given the havoc wreaked by the tank on the Seekers, it was no surprise we were able to get clear. Finally, we picked our way back down to ground level and started to go our separate ways. Candlewick would tell the Burners what had happened and that the Harbingers weren’t to be trusted. He’d also pass Lemongrass’s final act along to the Halfhearts. Something as epic as that needed to be remembered, and I’d buck anypony who said that Security had done it alone. Even if the tank would repair itself eventually, that was still an amazing shot. Dazzle would do the same for the Flash Fillies. I’d go with Bluebelle back to Bullfrog Springs. Even with the two healing potions, she still hadn’t recovered from those shots.
考虑到坦克对搜索者造成的巨大破坏，我们能够逃脱也就不足为奇了。最后，我们选择了回到地面的路，开始分道扬镳。蜡烛芯会告诉燃烧者发生了什么，告诉他们先驱者不值得信任。他还把柠檬香草的最后一幕传给了哈夫哈特。像这样史诗般的事情需要被记住，我会反对任何说安全部门独自完成任务的人。即使坦克最终会自我修复，这仍然是一个惊人的镜头。Dazzle对闪光小雌马也有同样的效果。我会和布鲁贝尔一起回BullfrogSprings。即使用了两种治疗药剂，她仍然没有从那些注射中恢复过来。
Still, there was a little hesitation. For a while, we’d fought together. Maybe not as friends, but at least as comrades. It was hard to let that go. I wanted to return to Chapel and be with Glory and the others again. Let them help me… but I couldn’t. I still felt that frantic panic scratching inside my skull like a radroach struggling to escape. The idea of stopping, of slowing down, still terrified me.
尽管如此，还是有一点犹豫。有一段时间，我们一起战斗。也许不是作为朋友，但至少是作为同志。很难忘记这一切。我想回到教堂，再次与晨辉和其他人在一起。让他们帮助我......但是我不能。我仍然能感觉到那种疯狂的恐慌在我的头骨内部肆虐，就像一只雨燕在挣扎着想要逃脱。停下来，慢下来的想法仍然让我感到害怕。
“Hope you come by the Flashers again. No dropping buildings on ponies, though. That’s like, totally dust,” Dazzle told me with crooked smile. She moved close, then murmured softly, “Don’t get ploughed.”
"希望你再次来到闪光者。不过，不要把建筑物倒在小马上。那就像，完全是灰尘,"闪亮带着歪歪扭扭的微笑告诉我。她走近一些，然后轻声地说,"别被犁了。"
“I won’t,” I promised, and then surprised her with a hug. Apparently, gangers weren’t big on impulsive sentimentality. She patted my back awkwardly and then backed away and started southeast, trotting towards the Flash Industries building. Candlewick lit another cigar, gave me a salute with his hoof, and headed further into the tangle of industrial buildings to the southwest. I took one
"我不会的,"我答应了她，然后给了她一个惊喜的拥抱。显然，分身们不太喜欢冲动的多愁善感。她笨拙地拍了拍我的后背，然后退开，朝东南方向跑去，朝着闪电侠工业大楼跑去。烛芯点燃了另一支雪茄，用他的蹄子向我敬礼，然后继续向西南方向混乱的工业建筑走去。我拿了一个
last look towards the smoke rising to the west, the thick black-and-gray column cutting through the clouds as it rose.
最后一眼向西方升起的烟雾，浓密的黑灰色的烟柱穿过云层。
I could still imagine that faint starmetal scream and see twisted pony faces in the distant rising smoke. I might have survived, but the Hoof had killed dozens more. In the end, dead was still dead, and I had done some of its work. I might not have been to blame, but I was still responsible.
我仍然可以想象那微弱的红蜘蛛的尖叫声，在远处升起的烟雾中看到扭曲的小马脸。我本来可以活下来，但霍夫杀死了更多的人。最后，死亡仍然是死亡，我已经完成了一些工作。我也许不该受到责备，但我还是有责任的。
“Come on. Let’s go. T’aint far ta Yellow River,” Bluebelle said as she started off to the northeast.
"来吧。我们走。"不是很远的黄河,"布鲁贝尔说，她开始向东北方向。
“Yellow River?” I asked, my ears perking.
"黄河?"我问道，耳朵都竖起来了。
“Yeah. Runs out of the highlands,” she replied as she looked to the north and pointed with her hoof. We were right at the lip of the Hoofington valley, and to the northeast the land became less gray and more green and brown. There were mists and watery patches here and there like melted glass. There were also more craters glowing dimly with radiation and more scattered little half-sunken remains of suburbs. Cutting through it was a ribbon of muddy yellow water flowing out of the east. “The Mire. Trust me. Nasty place.”
"是的。她一边回答，一边看着北方，并用蹄子指了指。我们正好在Hoofington山谷的边缘，在东北方向，土地变得不那么灰暗，而是更多的绿色和棕色。到处都是薄雾和水渍，就像融化的玻璃。还有更多的陨石坑，闪烁着微弱的辐射光芒，还有更多零散的半凹半凸的郊区遗迹。一条浑黄色的水带从东边流过，穿过它。"泥潭。相信我。肮脏的地方。"
“Geee… nasty places around Hoofington. Who’da thunk it?” I sighed as we trotted forward. “And what particular flavor of nasty does this place have?”
"哎呀...Hoofington周围的肮脏地方。谁会想到呢?"我们小跑着向前，我叹了口气。"这个地方有什么特别的肮脏东西?"
“Cannibals,” she replied evenly. “Ponies and zebra alike. Scum that looks at anything with four hooves as a meal trotting around. Hydras and hoppers and giant leeches, too. Radiation and taint and worse… the Quickening.”
"食人族,"她平静地回答。"小马和斑马都一样。四蹄的浮渣看着任何有四只蹄子的东西就像一顿饭一样跑来跑去。还有水蛇、跳蚤和巨型水蛭。辐射，污染，甚至更糟......还有活力。"
Of course. Something worse. Wouldn’t be the Wasteland without something worse. “Quickening?”
当然。更糟糕的事。如果没有更糟糕的事情，这里就不是荒原了。"快活?"
“Some sort of zebra curse or talisman or… something. Went off during a battle a week before the bombs fell. Turned the ground to soup. There’s no solid land in that bog, and you can be trotting along thinking you’re on firm ground when suddenly you’ll be sucked down and turned into a radigator snack.” She rubbed her nose. “Lotta meat and the like besides. We hunt the edges every now and then.”
某种斑马咒语或者护身符什么的。在炸弹落下前一周的一次战斗中爆炸。把地面变成了汤。沼泽地里没有固定的土地，你可以一路小跑，以为自己已经踏上了坚实的土地，但突然之间，你就会被吸进去，变成一块散热器零食。"她揉揉鼻子。"除此之外还有很多肉之类的东西。我们时不时地在边缘搜寻。"
I looked out to the east at the mountains and noticed something immediately… they weren’t eroded like the ones to the west. There would be a flat topped ridge,
我望向东方的群山，立刻注意到了一些东西......它们不像西面的那些被侵蚀了。会有一个平顶山脊,
then a flat valley, then a flat topped ridge, and then a valley, all very regular. As green as the Mire was, the highlands looked a lot more yellowed and bare. To the east of us was a large prewar building of some kind; a three-story horseshoe-shaped structure that looked like a hotel or something. It also looked intact and walled.
然后是平坦的山谷，然后是平坦的山脊，然后是山谷，非常规则。沼泽地虽然是绿色的，但高地看起来更加黄色和光秃秃的。在我们的东面是某种战前的大建筑;一个三层马蹄形的结构，看起来像一个旅馆或什么的。它看起来也完好无损，四周围着围墙。
And then there was the mountain.
然后就是那座山。
Funny, you’d think a pony would notice a great, big, black plug of stone. The rock seemed glossy and polished despite its rough edges and loomed up a mile separate from the ridges that formed Hoofington’s eastern edge. Yet as much as it stood out, I had trouble focusing on any one part. My eyes weren’t working too good anyway, though. The radroach was skittering around even more and I was seeing… something… moving in the corners of my vision. Shadows, but in the growing twilight, there really weren’t many shadows to cast.
有趣的是，你会认为一匹小马会注意到一块巨大的黑色石头。尽管岩石边缘粗糙，但它看起来光滑、光亮，与形成胡芬顿东部边缘的山脊相距一英里。然而，尽管它很突出，我还是很难专注于任何一个部分。不过我的眼睛反正也不怎么好使。雨伞越飞越远，我看到......有什么东西......在我视线的角落里移动。影子，但是在渐渐变大的暮色中，确实没有太多的影子可以投射。
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing at the large building. “It looks important.”
"那是什么?"我指着那座大楼问道。"这看起来很重要。"
“Eh, don’t rightly know. Some sort of hospital used by the M.o.P. before the Fluttershy clinic was finished,” she said with a dismissive snort. “Lotta robots, and ponies what go in don’t come back out. So we stay out.” Hmmmm, perhaps a hospital where they were making diseases to infect zebras? A hospital Lighthooves might have picked over? I added it to the bazillion places I needed to visit before I died. Again...
""嗯，不知道。在Fluttershy诊所建成之前，这里曾经是某种医院,"她轻蔑地哼了一声。"许多机器人和小马进去后就再也出不来了。所以我们就待在外面。"嗯，也许是一家医院，在那里他们制造疾病来感染斑马？一家医院的轻型火车可能会选中？我把它添加到我死前要去的无数个地方。再说一次..。
“What about that?” I asked, pointing at the huge black mountain behind the hospital.
"这个怎么样?"我指着医院后面那座巨大的黑山问道。
“What about what?” She blinked in confusion. I rolled my eyes and pointed at the sheer-sided crag again. She just shrugged. “That there is Black Pony Mountain,” she said. “Not much else in this corner of the city. Y’all know ‘bout Iron--”
"关于什么?"她困惑地眨了眨眼。我翻了翻眼睛，又指了指陡峭的峭壁。她只是耸耸肩。"那里有黑马驹山,"她说。"这个城市的这个角落里没有什么别的东西了。你们都知道铁的事——"
“Wait...” I interrupted her. “What about Black Pony Mountain?” She looked at me blankly, and I pressed, “A mountain like that… it’s got to have something going for it?” A swampy, soupy bog had some kind of zebra curse on it. The hospital had the ominous ‘never leave’ thing. There wasn’t a prominent landmark in the whole damned city that didn’t have some kind of scary, intimidating, or tragic backstory!
"等等......"我打断了她。"黑马驹山怎么样?"她茫然地看着我，我继续问道:"像那样的一座山......它一定有什么值得去做的事情吧?"一个沼泽地，泥泞的沼泽地，上面有斑马的诅咒。医院有种不祥的'永不离开'的感觉。在整个该死的城市里，没有一个突出的地标没有一些可怕的，吓人的，或悲惨的背景故事！
“It’s big. It’s black. It’s a mountain. And somepony threw ‘pony’ in the name. That’s about it,” she replied flatly, then scratched her head. “A long time ago there used to be a big magic bear or something living in a cave there. I think somepony banished it, though. Or claimed to… I dunno. Some nasty critter lives somewhere around it, though. Best just to stay away.” She gave a dismissive shrug, and I glanced back at it. As exceptional as it looked, I really couldn’t see much else interesting about it. Just a great big black slug of rock.
"它很大。是黑色的。那是座山。还有一匹小马在名字里加上了"小马"。就是这样,"她直截了当地回答，然后挠了挠头。"很久以前，有一只大魔熊或者什么东西住在那里的一个山洞里。不过我觉得有人把它赶走了。或者声称...我不知道。不过，有些讨厌的动物就住在这附近。最好还是离远点。"她轻蔑地耸了耸肩，我回头看了一眼。尽管它看起来很特别，但我真的看不出它还有什么有趣的地方。只有一大块黑色的石头。
“It’s never just a rock with you, is it?” P-21 said behind me.
"对你来说，它永远不只是一块石头，是吗?"P-21在我后面说。
Wait, P-21? I whirled, starting to smile. How had he gotten here? Was he really over the Med-X? Maybe the Goddess had magicked…
等等P-21？我转过身，开始微笑。他是怎么到这儿来的？他真的忘记了医疗x吗？也许是女神施了魔法..。
Nothing. I stared at the empty yellow grass behind me.
没什么。我盯着身后空荡荡的黄草。
“Are you okay?” Bluebelle asked.
"你还好吗?"布鲁贝尔问道。
I looked a moment longer, hoping that he’d pop out of thin air. That Glory would swoop out of nowhere and be gray and glorious. That Rampage would he here with a snide comment, or Scotch would say something that made Glory stammer so cutely. I wanted to see that kindly gaze in Lacunae’s eyes as she watched silently from the edges. But there was nothing but the soft rustle of grass.
我又看了一会儿，希望他能从稀薄的空气中蹦出来。那晨辉不知从何而来，灰暗而辉煌。他会在这里用一句挖苦的话来评论暴怒，或者苏格兰人会说一些让晨辉结巴得可爱的话。我想看到拉库奈从边缘默默地注视着我的时候，眼睛里那种慈祥的凝视。但除了草的沙沙声，什么也没有。
“Yeah. Sure,” I lied, before putting mountain and voice out of my head. The radroach was getting sneaky as it crept around inside my skull. Still, I just had to hold it together. To try and take my mind off the scratchy feeling in my head, I asked, “So, why do all the mountains to the east look a bit off?”
"是的。当然,"我撒了个谎，然后把大山和声音从我的头脑中赶走。雨伞在我脑袋里鬼鬼祟祟地爬来爬去。尽管如此，我还是要坚持下去。为了让自己不去想头脑中那种发痒的感觉，我问道:"那么，为什么东边的山看起来都有点不对劲呢?"
“Coal minin’,” she replied simply.
"开采煤矿,"她简单地回答。
Wait. What? “I thought Equestria didn’t have any coal!”
等等。什么？"我以为小马国没有煤了!"
“You sure are some funny colors o’ stupid,” Bluebelle replied with a snort. “Of course Equestria had some coal. Little bit. Enough to run old trains and the like. What kind of idjit invents a coal-fired power plant when the coal’s half way around the world? Be like inventing a chocolate milk rain bottling plant when there ain’t no chocolate milk rain.” I looked at the blue pony. She might be crude, but she sure wasn’t stupid.
"你的颜色真是太傻了,"布鲁贝尔哼了一声回答道。"当然，小马国有一些煤炭。一点点。足够开旧火车之类的了。什么样的白痴才会发明一个煤炭发电厂，而煤却在半个地球之外？就像在没有巧克力牛奶雨的时候发明了巧克力牛奶雨装瓶厂一样。"我看着那匹蓝色的小马。她也许很粗鲁，但她绝对不傻。
“So Equestria did have some natural coal deposits?” I asked, and she nodded.
"这么说，小马国的确有一些天然煤矿?"我问道，她点了点头。
“Yup. And ponies thought it was grand to light up all them great big cities, like magic for all pony folk. ‘Course there were a mite bit o’ confusion on the best way to do that. Hoofington had their dams ta run their power plants, but rivers don’t run everywhere in Equestria. So they built a few coal plants. Then a few more… and pretty soon their little old mines were just played out. So they came out east to the highlands.”
"是的。小马们认为把所有的大城市照亮是一件了不起的事情，就像所有小马们的魔法一样。当然，在这个最佳方法上有一点困惑。胡芬顿让他们的水坝运行他们的发电厂，但是在Equestria河流并不是到处都是。所以他们建了一些煤电厂。然后又多了几个......很快他们的小旧矿坑就被挖光了。所以他们来到了东部的高地。"
I frowned. “You mean the highlands weren’t a part of Equestria?”
我皱起了眉头。"你是说高地不是小马国的一部分?"
She let out a snort of disgust. “Might have been on some fancy maps in Canterlot, but we’ve never been a part o’ the kingdom. When ponies came over from distant shores to settle Equestria, some earth ponies bucked Puddinhead’s idea and landed here instead. This was our land. No horns nor feathers. And fer centuries, that suited the Princess just fine. We had our mountains and valleys and didn’t raise too much trouble. But… we had coal.”
她厌恶地哼了一声。"在Canterlot的地图上可能有，但我们从来没有进入过王国。当小马从遥远的海岸来到Equestria定居时，一些土地上的小马反抗了普丁黑德的想法，来到了这里。这是我们的土地。没有角也没有羽毛。而且几个世纪以来，这正好适合公主。我们有我们的山和山谷，并没有引起太多的麻烦。但是......我们有煤。"
“So when the coal mines in Equestria got played out, they came to the Highlands?” I asked.
"所以，当Equestria的煤矿开采完毕后，他们就来到了苏格兰高地?"我问道。
“‘Course! T’aint no reason to deal with faraway stripes when we were here. And they came with all kinds o’ talk ‘bout the Highlanders workin’ together with the city ponies. Told us they’d give us modern towns and fancy shops and make us all respectable pony folk. Guess that talk turned enough heads, because we let them. Only we found out that the kind of mining they planned wasn’t what we imagined. They blasted the tops of the mountains and dumped them into the valleys. Tossed tailings from the mines into the rivers. And they took the coal and built more power plants.”
"当然！当我们在这里的时候，没有理由去处理遥远的条纹。他们带着各种各样关于高地人和城里的小马一起工作的谈话来到这里。告诉我们他们会给我们现代化的城镇和高档商店，让我们都成为受人尊敬的矮种马。我猜这个话题已经吸引了很多人的注意，因为是我们让他们这么做的。只是我们发现他们计划的采矿方式和我们想象的不一样。他们炸毁山顶，把它们倾倒在山谷里。把矿井里的尾矿扔进河里。他们拿走了煤，建造了更多的发电厂。"
“And your people let it happen?” I asked, aghast.
"是你们的人让这种事发生的?"我惊讶地问道。
“Fer a time. And when we tried ta stop it, they dug out that map, told us we were subjects, pulled out fancy lawyerin’ words and contracts folks signed with some mighty fine print, and kicked us off our own land. Celestia gave us food so we didn’t starve or freeze, but that just made us feel like bums in our own homes. ‘Course, in ten years, even the highlands were played out. They ran out of mountain tops to scrape off, and while there were still seams deep down, twasn’t nearly enough to sate their hunger fer coal. More power. More electricity to light them big fancy cities. Not one word of usin’ less. Just more more more. ‘Progress’, they called it.” She sighed and shook her head. “Eventually they
"有一段时间了。当我们试图阻止的时候，他们挖出了那张地图，告诉我们我们是臣民，拿出了华丽的律师和合同，还有一些强大的附加条款，把我们赶出了自己的土地。塞莱斯蒂亚给了我们食物，这样我们就不会挨饿或冻僵，但这只会让我们觉得自己在家里像个流浪汉。当然，在10年里，连高地都玩完了。他们冲出山顶去刮煤，尽管深处仍有煤层，但远远不足以填饱他们的肚子。更多的力量。更多的电力照亮他们的大城市。一个字都没少用。只是更多。他们称之为'进步'。"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"最终，他们
traded with the zebras. Them stripes have so much coal it’s ridiculous. And they gobbled it up right and left. But… then the zebras cut off Equestria.”
和斑马做交易。那些条纹上有那么多的煤，真是可笑。然后他们四处狼吞虎咽。但是......然后斑马切断了小马国的交通。"
“And it was war,” I concluded as we hopped over a swollen drainage ditch cutting across the hillside. I always thought the idea of an entire nationwide power system rising on a distant resource was hard to believe. It hadn’t been the lack of coal that was the problem but the rampant addiction to comforts and excess in distant cities. The problem had built… and grown… until only trade with the zebras could supply the demand. When that broke down… “War fer us started long before the stripes.” She spat to the side. “Didn’t have a chance to win, but we fought. Made ourselves a royal pain to tha power companies... Blew up tracks. Stole equipment. When the ministries started, some of us went to the Hoof for work and jobs. Better than getting ‘charity’ from Canterlot that only kept us from starving.” She rolled her eyes. “‘Course, stripes weren’t any better during the war. They promised us all kinds of things to get us to help ‘em out. Some folks did… damned fools. But stripes killed us no different than ponies did. When the bombs fell, it was the best damned day ever for the Highlands.”
"那是一场战争,"我们一边跳过一条横穿山坡的排水沟，一边得出结论。我一直认为，整个全国性的电力系统建立在遥远的资源上的想法是难以置信的。问题不在于煤的缺乏，而在于远方城市对舒适生活的无节制的依赖和过度消费。问题越来越严重......越来越严重......直到只有与斑马进行贸易才能满足需求。当那个坏掉的时候......"我们的战争早在条纹之前就开始了。"她朝旁边啐了一口唾沫。"我们没有机会赢，但我们战斗了。让我们自己成为电力公司的眼中钉...炸毁轨道。偷窃设备。当这些部门开始运作时，我们中的一些人去霍夫工作和找工作。总比从Canterlot那里得到'施舍'只能让我们免于挨饿要好。"她翻了翻白眼。"当然，条纹在战争期间也好不到哪里去。他们答应给我们各种各样的东西让我们帮助他们。有些人这么做了...该死的傻瓜。但是条纹杀死我们和小马没什么两样。当炸弹落下时，那是苏格兰高地有史以来最美好的一天。"
I didn’t want to argue the cost. Really, I’d always thought of the war as being between the zebras and Equestria. I’d never imagined other parties getting ground up in the fighting. “So how have you survived since?”
我不想争论成本问题。真的，我一直认为这场战争是斑马和Equestria之间的战争。我从来没有想象过其他政党会在战斗中受挫。"那么，从那以后你是怎么活下来的?"
“Like we did before the war. ‘Course, the highlands ain’t the same. We got whole lakes o’ black water bunched up in choked valleys, and most of the rest up there is yellow with sulfur and lead. The ridges are flat, chewed stone nothin’ll grow on. We live in the shantytowns left behind and keep to ourselves. We’ve had enough o’ being a part of Equestria,” she said flatly.
"就像战前一样。当然高地不一样。我们看到整个湖泊黑色的水汇集在拥挤的山谷里，剩下的大部分都是黄色的，含有硫磺和铅。山脊平坦，咬过的石头上什么也长不出来。我们住在留下来的棚户区里，不与人来往。作为Equestria的一部分，我们已经受够了。"。
As we walked along down the slope, I looked at her. “So why were you in the Hoof?” The question made her look sour.
当我们沿着斜坡向下走的时候，我看着她。"那你为什么在霍夫?"这个问题使她显得很不高兴。
“Checkin’ in on mah brother. He’d been a Reaper once, but I figger he’s dead now,” she said matter-of-factly.
"看看我的兄弟。他曾经是一个收割者，但我猜他现在已经死了,"她实事求是地说。
“How do you know?”
"你怎么知道?"
“On account y’all are carryin’ his gun,” she said as she pointed at the hunting rifle across my back. “Dozer loved that rifle… ‘course, he loved anything that’d
"因为你们都带着他的枪,"她指着我背后的猎枪说。"道瑟很喜欢那把步枪......当然，他喜欢任何东西
go boom. We used ta sit up on the ridge, and he’d toss dynamite or pick off hellhounds as they snuck outta the mines. Ornery critters,” she said with a sigh. “So I reckon if yeh got it, either y’all killed him or somepony else did.” Oddly, there wasn’t any anger in her eyes. Just a sadness, as if she’d expected to find he’d come to such an end.
爆炸。我们常常坐在山脊上，他会扔炸药或者干掉溜出矿井的地狱犬。"她叹了口气说。"所以我想，如果你们得了这个病，不是你们杀了他，就是别人杀了他。"奇怪的是，她的眼睛里没有一丝愤怒。只是一种悲伤，好像她预料到他会走到这一步。
“Deus. He was a Reaper that was hunting me. Taurus died protecting me and two unicorns he was with,” I said, glossing over the fact he was after my head and PipBuck himself. “He got blown up, though… Deus I mean.”
"上帝。他是一个追杀我的收割者。金牛座是为了保护我和他身边的两只独角兽而死的。"我一边说，一边掩饰着他是冲着我的头和皮伯克本人来的。"不过他被炸飞了......我是说上帝。"
“Darn. Woulda liked to take his head back ta Momma. Oh well… Dozer always was interested in trouble. Hellhounds or something else.” She shook her head. “Dealin’ with the Hoof is bad. Dealin’ with anypony other than kin is bad. You can trust kin. Can’t trust nopony else.”
"该死。我真想把头仰向妈妈。哦，好吧...道瑟总是对麻烦感兴趣。地狱犬之类的。"她摇了摇头。"和霍夫做生意很糟糕。和亲戚以外的人打交道是不好的。你可以相信亲戚。不能相信别的小马。"
“You can trust some ponies,” I countered, “and you don’t always have to do things on your own.”
"你可以相信一些小马,"我反驳道,"而且你不必总是一个人做事。"
“No?” She arched her brow, looking surprised. “Why’re you out here all on yer lonesome then?”
"不是吗?"她皱起眉头，看上去很惊讶。"那你为什么一个人在这里?"
That brought me up short. “You don’t understand. My friends… they needed a break. And I…” I started to pace. “I just couldn’t. I can’t stop and rest like that. I have to keep going.”
这让我有点措手不及。"你不明白。我的朋友们...他们需要休息。我。。」我开始踱步。"我就是做不到。我不能就这样停下来休息。我必须继续前进。"
“So ya ran to deal with it on yer own. Ain’t criticizing. It’s what all us Highlanders want ta do,” Bluebelle replied.
"所以你自己跑去处理这件事。不是批评。这就是我们高地人想要做的,"布鲁贝尔回答。
But… I wanted to add… I wasn’t exactly doing so good on my own…
但是......我想补充一点......我一个人做得不是很好.....。
Ahead we were approaching a… something. At first glance, I wondered if it was some sort of base… but it didn’t look quite right. There was a great rectangle of rusty, double-walled chain link fence topped with razor wire around the perimeter. There were towers every hundred feet with automated turrets on the top. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be moving around. Inside the rectangle was a squat concrete block building beside the front gate; the other structures inside the fence were all identical rusty buildings that looked like giant metal drums lying on their sides, half-buried in the ground. Each was surrounded by a second barbed wire fence. There were eight rows of twenty-five or so each. Further north, I could see more of the rusty rectangle facilities; most were
前面我们正在接近一个。.什么东西。乍一看，我怀疑这是不是某种基础......但它看起来不太正确。有一个生锈的长方形双层链条围栏，四周围着铁丝网。每一百英尺就有一座塔，塔顶有自动化的塔楼。值得庆幸的是，它们似乎都没有移动。长方形里面是前门旁边的一座低矮的混凝土砌块建筑;围墙里面的其他建筑都是一模一样的生锈建筑，看上去像巨大的金属鼓，半埋在地下。每个人都被第二道带刺的铁丝网围起来。一共有八行，每行二十五个左右。再往北，我可以看到更多锈迹斑斑的矩形设施，大部分都是
obscured and sunken into the Mire.
陷入泥潭。
‘Yellow River Detainment Camp’, read the concrete slab outside front gate.
"黄河扣留营"，前门外的混凝土板上写着。
But the thing that was most interesting to me was a battle going on that had absolutely nothing to do with me. On the west side of the camp were a half dozen Enclave ponies in black power armor raking beams and disintegration bolts across the cover of a dozen zebras inside the fence on the east side of the camp. Bluebelle just sat down, cocking her head. “Well, piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining. First time I ever saw something like this.”
但最让我感兴趣的是一场与我毫无关系的战争。在营地的西侧，有六匹穿着黑色力量盔甲的昂科雷小马，它们在营地东侧的栅栏内用耙子耙着横梁和瓦解螺栓，掠过十几匹斑马的皮毛。布鲁贝尔只是坐了下来，点点头。"好吧，尿在我的腿上，告诉我下雨了。这是我第一次看到这样的东西。"
“I’ve seen worse. No manticores this time,” I said as I thought back to the battle outside the fire station. I lifted Taurus’s hunting rifle and viewed the spectacle. The zebras had snipers who moved like ghosts between the ruined metal arcs, but the pegasi had superior firepower. I didn’t see either side gaining an advantage anytime soon. I looked at the large concrete block building. There was a pegasus corpse outside the front door and next to it three heaps of pink glowing residue. I spotted something large and black beside the slain pony: a metal case that had ‘Warning: High Explosive’ printed on the side.
"我见过更糟糕的。这次没有多余的人,"我回想起消防站外的战斗时说。我举起金牛座的猎枪，看了一眼眼前的景象。斑马的狙击手像幽灵一样在废弃的金属弧之间移动，而飞马座拥有更强大的火力。我认为任何一方都不会很快获得优势。我看着那座巨大的混凝土砌块建筑。前门外有一具飞马的尸体，旁边有三堆粉红色的发光残渣。我在被杀的小马旁边发现了一个黑色的大东西:一个金属盒子，旁边印着'警告:高爆'字样。
“Well, best give ‘em a wide berth and let ‘em shoot it out,” Bluebelle said as she rose.
"好吧，最好对他们敬而远之，让他们自生自灭吧,"布卢贝尔站起身来说。
“I need to get in there,” I said with a frown as I looked down at the building below me.
"我需要进去,"我低头看着楼下，皱着眉头说。
“I reckon I smacked your noggin harder than I thought. Whatever for?” she asked with a baffled look.
""我想我把你的脑袋打得比我想象的还狠。为什么?"她带着困惑的表情问。
“If the Enclave want to blow that building up, it’s because there’s something there worth hiding. If the Zebras want to blow that building up, it’s because there’s something worth hiding. Either way I want to know what it is. What is this place, anyway?” I asked as I looked at all the rusted huts. They all looked identical, as if they’d been made in a factory or something.
"如果昂科雷想要炸毁那座建筑，那是因为那里有值得隐藏的东西。如果斑马想要炸掉那个建筑，那是因为那里有值得隐藏的东西。不管怎样，我想知道它是什么。这到底是什么地方?"我边问边看着那些生锈的小屋。它们看起来都一模一样，好像是在工厂或什么地方制造的。
“Some place they stuck all the zebra prisoners of war. Put explodin’ collars on ‘em. Nothing worth dyin’ over, though. Camp’s been picked over solid.” She frowned at me. “Yer dead set certain on going in there, aren’tcha?”
"有些地方他们把所有的斑马战俘都关起来了。给他们戴上爆炸的项圈。不过没什么值得为之死去的。坎普已经被彻底淘汰了。"她对我皱起眉头。"你一定要进去，是不是?"
“Enclave doesn’t blow up something worthless,” I said with a smile, feeling my
"昂科雷不会炸掉一些毫无价值的东西,"我笑着说，感受着我的
mane itch. “I want to take a peek inside there and find out what.”
鬃毛瘙痒。"我想看看里面，看看里面有什么。"
“Well, count me out. Ain’t got no nevermind fer turkeys or stripes, and Momma’d spit her bit if I got turned ta a heap of pink goop,” she said firmly as she looked past the camp towards the river. “Bullfrog Springs ain’t far now. Should be all right by myself.”
""好吧，别把我算进去。我才不管什么火鸡或条纹呢，要是我变成一堆粉红色的黏糊糊的东西，妈妈就会把她的那一口吐出来,"她坚定地说着，眼睛越过营地望向河边。"BullfrogSprings已经不远了。我一个人应该没问题。"
I looked at the tough mare with the deceptively gentle cutie mark of delicate blue flowers. “Listen, Bluebelle. I know you just met me. I know that I’m an outsider and you’ve got nothing but shit for working with outsiders. But please talk to your mother about the Harbingers. They won’t leave you alone. I don’t think they can leave ponies alone. They’ve got a need to suck everyone in.” I wished I could explain that hum, the feeling of pulling everypony in together. Alien mind control, supernatural mass possession, or just social manipulation, I couldn’t tell which anymore. “There’s nothing good in the Core. Don’t let your mother be tempted by what they offer her.”
我看着那匹坚强的母马，它身上似乎有一个温柔的印记，上面有精致的蓝色花朵。"听着，布鲁贝尔。我知道你才刚认识我。我知道我是一个局外人，你和局外人一起工作除了狗屎什么都没有。但是请和你妈妈谈谈先驱者的事。他们不会放过你的。我认为他们不会放过小马的。他们需要把所有人都吸引进来。"我希望我能解释那种嗡嗡声，那种把所有小马都拉进来的感觉。外星人的精神控制，超自然的大规模占有，或只是社会操纵，我不能再分辨了。"核心没有什么好东西。不要让你的母亲被他们提供的东西所诱惑。"
She frowned, looking at me skeptically. But then I passed the hunting rifle to her, and her eyes widened in shock. “Yer… You don’t owe me Dozer’s gun. Y’all had it fair, I reckon.”
她皱起眉头，怀疑地看着我。但是当我把猎枪递给她时，她的眼睛因为震惊而睁大了。"你...你不欠我道瑟的枪。我想，你们都是公平的。"
“Maybe. But he was your family. You should have something of his. That gun was never really mine anyway. I never even knew its name,” I said as I looked down at the camp. “I was just carrying it a while till it could get home.”
"也许吧。但他是你的家人。你应该有他的一些东西。反正那把枪也不是我的。我甚至不知道它的名字,"我低头看着营地说。"我只是带着它一会儿，等它回家。"
I’d touched her. Maybe she’d convince her mother and maybe not, but hopefully I’d convinced her. If it gave her family some peace and comfort, how could I not give it up? She put the rifle on top of her saddlebags, along her body. “Welp… after that, guess I might as well get my big blue butt in there.” When I blinked in confusion, she just chuckled. “Between patching me up after getting shot and giving me Dozer’s gun, I owe you enough to help you get out of there alive.”
我碰了她一下。也许她会说服她妈妈，也许不会，但希望我能说服她。如果这能给她的家庭带来一些平静和安慰，我怎么能不放弃呢？她把步枪放在她的鞍囊上，沿着她的身体。"嗯......在那之后，我想我还是把我的大蓝屁股放进去吧。"当我困惑地眨眼时，她只是咯咯地笑了起来。"在我中枪后帮我包扎伤口和把道瑟的枪给我之间，我欠你足够的人情来帮你活着离开那里。"
“You don’t have to come with me. Honestly, I’m probably going to get shot by one side or the other. Maybe both, actually.” Only a mare with a radroach scuttling around in her skull would smile when saying that. And I really, really didn’t want her to die like Lemongrass had.
"你不必跟我来。老实说，我可能会被这边或那边射中。实际上，两者都有可能。"只有一匹头盖骨里插着一只野马的母马才会笑着说这句话。我真的，真的不想让她像柠檬草那样死去。
“Nothing doing. I’m comin’.”
"什么也不做。我来了。"
“But--”
"但是——"
“I done did make up mah mind, Blackjack.”
"我已经下定决心了，Blackjack。"
I slumped in defeat. “Okay, but be careful. Don’t get killed. And remember, you volunteered,” I said, and she grinned like I’d made a joke. I didn’t return it.
我失败了。"好的，但要小心。不要被杀。记住，你是自愿的。"我说，她咧嘴笑着，好像我在开玩笑。我没有还。
I was sick to death of getting ponies killed.
我受够了让小马被宰杀。
* * *
* * *
Getting to the camp was easier than I expected it to be. There wasn’t much cover besides the grass, not even a drainage ditch to skulk along, so I’d expected to start catching zebra bullets and Enclave incineration beams pretty quickly. However, we were able to trot all the way up to the rusty gate without either side taking a shot at us. I supposed the growing darkness and pouring rain had something to do with that, and the fact that they were both busy with each other. Someone had cut a hole in the gate’s chain link, but I suspected that this was recent. Most of the rest of the fences were still intact despite all the rain, though everything metal was almost a uniform reddish color, and everything else except the hut by the entrance was mud-colored.
到达营地比我想象的要容易。除了草地没有什么遮盖物，甚至没有一条排水沟可以躲避，所以我希望能够很快地捕捉到斑马条纹和飞地焚化梁。然而，我们能够一路小跑到锈迹斑斑的大门，两边都没有向我们开枪。我猜想，日益增长的黑暗和倾盆大雨与此有关，而且事实上，他们都忙于与对方。有人在大门的链条上凿了个洞，但我怀疑这是最近才发生的。尽管下着大雨，其余的栅栏大部分仍然完好无损，尽管所有的金属几乎都是统一的淡红色，除了入口处的小屋以外，其余的都是泥色。
Everything else except the bones.
除了骨头，其他的都没了。
They lay everywhere. In heaps and piles and stacks around the half-drum buildings. There were curved ribs and knobby leg bones and chunky vertebrae, though very few skulls. Bones hung on the razor wire surrounding the buildings. Others looked like they’d been perforated by the turrets for trying to escape. Somepony, maybe the prisoners, had painted strange masks and skull-like glyphs on the doors and walls of the buildings with the sticky yellow dirt that lay everywhere. Strips of hide dangled from the razor wire. I felt an ache growing in my chest; Enervation was stronger than usual here.
它们到处都是。在半圆形建筑物的周围堆积成山。有弯曲的肋骨、多节的腿骨和粗壮的椎骨，但头骨很少。骨头挂在建筑物周围的铁丝网上。其他人看起来像是试图逃跑时被炮塔打穿了。一些小马，也许是那些囚犯，在建筑物的门和墙上画了奇怪的面具和骷髅般的象形文字，到处都是粘糊糊的黄色泥土。带刺的铁丝网上吊着一条条的兽皮。我感到胸口越来越疼痛，这里比平时更加衰弱。
A bullet pinged off a metal rail nearby, not aimed at us, but there was no telling when one side or the other would stop shooting each other long enough to notice us and change that. We had to get inside quick before some zebra or pegasus decided that a pair of suicidal ponies was a nice bonus target. The explosive package had a strap that I bit and used to tug it onto my back; there was no way I was going to leave a big old bomb lying around for somepony to use while I was inside. Suddenly, I was dancing back as both sides decided that that was foul play!
一颗子弹从附近的金属轨道上发射出来，并没有瞄准我们，但是不知道什么时候一方或另一方会停止射击，足够长的时间来注意到我们并改变这一点。在一些斑马或者飞马认为一对自杀的小马是个不错的额外目标之前，我们必须快点进去。爆炸装置上有一根皮带，我用来咬它，然后把它拉到我的背上;我不可能在里面的时候把一个大的旧炸弹留给某个小马来使用。突然，当双方都认为这是犯规的时候，我也跟着跳了起来！
Bluebelle tried to open the double metal doors leading into the large concrete block structure. They were locked, of course. Then she braced her forelegs and blasted them with four potent kicks that buckled the metal around her rear hooves and showered us both with flakes of rust knocked off the door. Earth pony kicks were damned scary sometimes! On the fifth, there was a ping, and the doors swung inside. “Highlander lockpickin’!” she said as she rolled back into the confines of the room. I scampered inside as another bullet pinged off my helmet.
布鲁贝尔试图打开通往大型混凝土砌块结构的双重金属门。当然，它们是锁着的。然后她把前腿支撑起来，用四种有力的踢腿猛踢它们，使它后蹄周围的金属变形，把门上的铁屑溅了我们一身。地球小马踢有时候非常吓人！在第五层，传来一声砰的一声，门被推了进去。"高地人开锁了!"她回到房间的时候说。我蹦蹦跳跳地跑进去，另一颗子弹从我的头盔上弹了下来。
Why was everything targeting my poor head today? Stop rattling up the radroach, people!
为什么今天所有的事情都针对我可怜的脑袋？伙计们，别把花束弄得哗啦哗啦的！
The door banged shut behind us, and at once the speakers crackled and began playing strange, soothing music. The emergency lighting flickered to life, creating tiny pools of light between the regions of shadow. An immense sign hanging from the roof read ‘Processing’ next to a zebra glyph. There were large signs in zebra-writing mounted next to Pony translations. White plastic crates lay scattered around the room, many of them smashed or kicked into the corner. ‘Place all your possessions in a white tote,’ read one sign. ‘Proceed down the hall single file,’ read another. There was a large door, but it was heavily reinforced. It didn’t even have a lock, instead having some sort of fancy card reader thing mounted on the wall next to it. No way we’d be picking that, even with Highlander lockpicking skills!
门在我们身后砰地一声关上了，扬声器突然劈啪作响，开始播放奇怪的、舒缓的音乐。紧急照明开始闪烁，在阴影区域之间形成了一个个小小的光池。屋顶上悬挂着一个巨大的标志，上面写着"加工"，旁边有一个斑马纹。在小马翻译的旁边，有用斑马纹写的大标语。白色的塑料板条箱散落在房间的各个角落，其中许多被砸碎或踢到了角落里。"把你所有的东西都放在一个白色的手提袋里,"一个牌子上写道。另一条写道:"沿着大厅纵队前进。"。那里有一扇大门，但是经过了重重的加固。它甚至连锁都没有，而是在旁边的墙上装了一个奇特的读卡器。我们不可能挑这个，即使是高地人开锁的技术！
We moved down the hall; it was only wide enough to go single file. I came to a pair of white doors. There was a hiss and squeal as they popped open, revealing a second pair of doors in a space just big enough for a single pony. I stepped in, and a little voice said something in Zebra, then crackled, “Please state your name, unit number, tribe, and zebra registration number.”
我们沿着大厅向下走，大厅的宽度只够排成一列纵队。我来到一对白色的门前。当他们突然打开的时候，传来一阵嘶嘶声和尖叫声，在一个只能容下一匹小马的空间里发现了第二扇门。我走进去，一个小声音用Zebra说了些什么，然后噼里啪啦地说:"请说出你的姓名、单位编号、部落和斑马登记号码。"
“Uh… Blackjack. Sixty-Nine. Stable 99. One two three four five six seven eight nine ten,” I said sarcastically. I looked at the signs, but these were written entirely in Zebra. It asked me to repeat myself, and I did. Being a stable pony, claustrophobia wasn’t one of my issues, but I had to admit being stuck in this closet-like space was unnerving.
"呃...黑杰克。六十九。稳定99。一二三四五六七八九十,"我讽刺地说。我看了看这些标志，但这些完全是用Zebra写的。它让我重复自己的话，我照做了。作为一只马厩里的小马，幽闭恐惧症并不是我的问题之一，但我不得不承认，被困在这个像壁橱一样的空间里让我感到不安。
“I’m sorry. We do not have that unit number or tribe on file. Please remain still and we will take you to Special Processing,” the voice said. I didn’t know if it was the bugs in my skull or a pink pony shouting a warning, but I ducked down
"对不起。我们没有这个单位号码或部落的文件。请不要动，我们会带你去特别加工处。"。我不知道是我脑袋里的虫子还是一匹粉红色的小马在大声警告，但我还是低下了头
as a metallic claw dropped from the ceiling and tried to put a collar around my neck. “Please remain still,” the calm synthetic voice said, then repeated it in Zebra. It gave me a zap from little metal studs in the walls that would have staggered most ponies. I twisted around as the claw dropped and lifted a foreleg. The collar was wrapped around it and clicked closed.
一只金属爪子从天花板上掉下来，想把项圈套在我脖子上。"请不要动,"那个平静的合成声音说，然后用斑马语重复了一遍。墙上的小金属钉子会让大多数小马交错而行，这让我受到了猛烈的撞击。我扭动着身子，那只爪子掉了下来，抬起了一只前腿。领子围着它，咔嗒一声合上了。
Then everything went white.
然后一切都变白了。
I blinked several times as vertigo rattled the radroach and sent it scurrying while I faceplanted onto a heap of corpses. These were bodies that varied from rotten bones and hide to a pegasus that was fairly freshly preserved, minus his head. I appeared to be in a room almost perfectly cubical. Above me was some kind of talisman; teleportation? I looked around at a very sturdy door and a cracked window. ‘Special Processing’, I supposed.
我眨了几下眼睛，因为眩晕使得栅栏格格作响，当我脸朝下趴在一堆尸体上时，栅栏吓得乱窜。这些尸体有的是腐烂的骨头，有的是皮，有的是刚刚保存完好的飞马，只是少了一个脑袋。我似乎是在一个几乎完美立方体的房间里。在我上面是某种护身符，心灵传输？我环顾四周，看到一扇非常坚固的门和一扇破碎的窗户。特殊处理，我猜。
Was it a really bad sign that standing in a room filled a third full with bodies really wasn’t freaking me out like I thought it should?
站在一个挤满了三分之一人的房间里，我并没有像我想象的那样被吓到，这真的是一个坏兆头吗？
Most of the corpses either wore collars and had bullet holes in the temple or back of the head or were missing necks and head entirely. The bodies looked...
大多数尸体要么戴着项圈，太阳穴或后脑勺上有弹孔，要么完全没有脖子和头部。尸体看起来..。
chewed. Most of them were ponies, one or two zebras; scavengers, from the looks of it. The concrete walls were pitted and chewed with bullet holes. Somepony had written on the walls, in depressingly familiar black paint, ‘No way out’ and ‘Save me, Luna.’ More disturbingly, somepony had mutilated the bodies and made a little hut, big enough for one pony to get inside, from assorted body parts. I had a disturbing hunch that some of these carcasses were plagued.
咀嚼。大多数都是小马，一两匹斑马，看起来像是食腐动物。混凝土墙上布满了坑坑洼洼的弹孔。有匹小马在墙上用令人沮丧的熟悉的黑色油漆写着"没有出路"和"救救我，卢娜"更令人不安的是，一匹小马把尸体肢解成了一个小棚屋，大得足以让一匹小马钻进去，里面装满了各种各样的尸体。我有一种令人不安的预感，有些尸体被污染了。
I checked the sturdy door, but it didn’t even have a doorknob, let alone a lock. Three solid kicks on the window simply shook it. The glass had some kind of wire mesh inside. “Well… this doesn’t look good.”
我检查了那扇坚固的门，但它连门把手都没有，更不用说锁了。三脚踢在窗户上，只是简单地摇了摇。玻璃里面有某种金属丝网。"嗯......情况看起来不妙。"
Moments later, there was a flash and Bluebelle appeared above me, landing on me with a crash. “Oooh… that was right unpleasant…” Bluebelle groaned. She climbed off me; I had to admit, this was not going quite as I’d planned. Granted, I hadn’t planned anything in particular, but this was sure not something I’d expected. I looked back at Bluebelle, at the explosive bomb collar around her neck. There was a bright red light on the front of it. “It got me, didn’t it?” she asked, reaching up with a hoof to nudge the deadly ring.
过了一会儿，有一道闪光，蓝色美女出现在我的上方，轰隆一声落在我身上。"哦......真是不愉快......"蓝色美女呻吟道。她从我身上爬了下来;我不得不承认，事情并不像我计划的那样。当然，我并没有计划什么特别的事情，但这肯定不是我所期待的。我回头看了看Bluebelle脖子上的炸弹项圈。前面有一盏明亮的红灯。"它抓住我了，不是吗?"她问道，一边用蹄子轻推那只致命的戒指。
“Yup. Don’t mess with it. These things go off quick and nasty,” I said as I shook
"是的。别把它弄乱了。这些东西爆炸得又快又凶,"我颤抖着说
the one around my foreleg off. Bluebelle at least had the decency to lose her lunch at the contents we stood upon. I sighed, looking at our prison. Given the Enclave pegasus in here, the battle might get resolved and we’d still be trapped. I went through the dead pegasus’s pockets and found a key card… not that it did a whole lot of good down here. He also had something that looked like a cheap PipBuck on his hoof. Some sort of primitive computer, at any rate. I transferred the files to my Delta. A beam pistol and expended cartridges; from the burn marks on the door, he’d tried to blast his way out.
我前腿周围的那个。布鲁贝尔至少还懂得丢掉午餐，因为她看到了我们所看到的东西。我叹了口气，看着我们的监狱。考虑到飞地飞马号在这里，战斗可能会结束，我们仍然会被困在这里。我翻遍了死去的飞马的口袋，找到了一张钥匙卡...倒不是说它在这里做了什么好事。他还有一个看起来像便宜的PipBuck的蹄子。至少是某种原始的计算机。我把文件转移到了我的三角洲部队。一把光柱般的手枪和几发子弹;从门上烧焦的痕迹来看，他试图炸开一条路出去。
“Right. So… got a plan, or do we start kicking like crazy?” she asked as she looked at the solid glass. It might have been cracked, but from the number of bullet pits in it, I doubted we could blast or shoot our way through.
"对。所以......我们有计划了，还是我们开始疯狂地踢球?"她一边问，一边看着那块实心玻璃。它可能已经裂开了，但是从子弹坑的数量来看，我怀疑我们是否能够炸开或者射穿它。
“Sounds like the usual plan, huh Blackjack?” Rampage said from the corner. I didn’t look.
"听起来像平常的计划，是吧，Blackjack?"狂暴在角落里说。我没看。
“Can’t shoot. Can’t kick.” I looked at the explosive box we’d taken from outside. Maybe if I was P-21, I might risk cracking it open. We might not have a choice, though… But I still really didn’t like the idea of futzing with a great big box of boom. I frowned and tossed the explosive collar in my hoof… then caught Bluebelle’s uneasy look as her eyes followed the rising and falling band of explosives. “Oh, don’t worry. The bombs don’t go off every which way. They blast inward.” Not exactly reassuring, but then I’d seen the effect firsthand.
"不会开枪。踢不动。"我看了看我们从外面拿来的炸药箱。也许如果我是P-21，我可能会冒险打开它。我们可能没有选择，虽然......但是我仍然不喜欢用一个巨大的音响来混淆视听。我皱了皱眉头，把爆炸性的项圈扔进了我的蹄子里......然后捕捉到了布卢贝尔不安的眼神，她的眼睛紧盯着炸药的上升和下降。"哦，别担心。炸弹不会到处爆炸。它们向内爆炸。"这可不是什么让人放心的事情，但是我亲眼看到了这一切的影响。
They blast inward. I frowned and twisted the collar a little with my magic. The collars had metal plates held together with springs to allow the whole thing to flex. One side of each plate was covered with half an inch of plastic explosive. A wire ran from one clasp to the other along one side. Break the connection, and boom. I frowned as I slowly levitated it to the glass, and then with my hooves carefully pushed. The outer edge expanded. The inner edge compressed. I kept a careful eye on that wire. A little more… a little more… I bit my lip.
它们向内爆炸。我用我的魔法皱了皱眉头，扭了一下衣领。衣领有金属板与弹簧连接在一起，使整个东西可以弯曲。每个盘子的一边覆盖着半英寸厚的塑胶炸弹。一根电线从一个钩子沿着一边跑到另一个钩子上。断开连接，然后爆炸。我皱起眉头，慢慢地把它悬浮到玻璃上，然后用蹄子小心地推它。外边缘扩大了。内边被压缩。我密切注视着那根电线。再...再...再...我咬着嘴唇。
There. It was flat against the glass. My magic lifted a bottle of Wonderglue from my bags and set about adhering the bomb collar in place. Finally, I carefully tied a string to the wire. “Here we go,” I said as we took cover in the corners. Bluebelle covered her ears and ducked her head as I gave the wire a yank.
好了。它平贴在玻璃上。我的魔法从我的包里拿出一瓶神奇胶水，把炸弹项圈粘在上面。最后，我小心地在铁丝上系了一根绳子。"我们走吧,"我说，我们躲在角落里。当我猛拉电线时，布鲁贝尔捂住了耳朵，低下了头。
If I’d had normal ears they’d be popping and ringing. As it was, the metal plates blew out and ricocheted around the confines of the room. Bluebelle yipped as
如果我有一对正常的耳朵，它们就会响个不停。事实上，这些金属板被吹掉了，在房间里弹来弹去。蓝色美人轻声说
one of the springs lodged itself in her shoulder. The smoke obscured everything as I carefully extracted it. I remembered how hours under Hoofington had made Glory’s wing drop right off. I hoped the Enervation here was weaker, but given most of the bodies were preserved rather than rotten, I didn’t have much hope.
其中一个弹簧卡在了她的肩膀上。当我小心翼翼地把烟抽出来时，一切都变得模糊起来。我记得在胡芬顿的指挥下的几个小时是如何让晨辉的翅膀直接掉下来的。我希望这里的能量更弱一些，但是考虑到大多数尸体是保存着的而不是腐烂的，我没有太多的希望。
...especially since the glass was still intact.
尤其是玻璃还是完好无损的。
“Damn it!” I screamed, then proceeded to smash my hooves against the scorched window. “I’ve survived Deus! I’ve survived Sanguine! I’ve beaten ridiculously tenacious killer robots! Handled whole flocks of manticores! I’ve had boats dropped on me! I am not going to be killed by a piece of fucking glass!” I screamed as I hammered my hooves against it. Bluebelle joined me, beating the reinforced ballistic glass with her hooves.
"该死!"我尖叫起来，然后用我的蹄子敲打着烧焦的窗户。"我活下来了，上帝！我活下来了！我打败了顽强的机器人杀手！处理所有的人群！有人把船扔在我身上！我不会被一块该死的玻璃杀死的!"当我用蹄子猛敲它时，我尖叫起来。布鲁贝尔加入了我的行列，用她的蹄子敲打着强化防弹玻璃。
Finally… we busted out a small hole the size of my muzzle. Bluebelle panted, and I just looked at my power reserves being tapped low. I suckled on a ruby and glared. Right now, if the professor had given me some kind of killer beam eyes and didn’t tell me, it’d be the perfect time for them to pop out.
最后...我们挖出了一个和我口吻差不多大的小洞。蓝色美女气喘吁吁，我只是看着我的电源储备被轻轻地敲击着。我吮吸着一颗红宝石，瞪着眼睛。现在，如果教授给了我某种致命的大眼睛，却没有告诉我，这将是它们跳出来的最佳时机。
Then I blinked and spat the half-dissolved gem into my hoof. I looked at the metal wire mesh and the splintered glass and then down at the little red oblong. “Hey… is glass a gem?”
然后我眨了眨眼睛，把那块半溶化的宝石吐进了我的蹄子里。我看了看金属丝网和破碎的玻璃，然后低头看了看那个小小的红色长方形。"嘿......玻璃是宝石吗?"
“Uh… I don’t think so,” she said skeptically. She wasn’t looking too good. That injury and the exertion were taking a lot out of her. I remembered the sporting goods store; we’d activated the emergency power when we came inside. As strong as the Enervation was, it was only going to get stronger unless I found that stupid ring and disabled it.
"呃......我不这么认为,"她怀疑地说。她看起来不太好。那次受伤和努力消耗了她很多精力。我想起了体育用品商店;我们进来的时候启动了应急电源。如果我不找到那个愚蠢的戒指并且让它失效的话，它只会变得越来越强大。
I munched down on the remains of the ruby and a sapphire. “Let’s find out.” I stood on my hind legs and carefully moved my mouth to the hole. “Come on…” I said as the glass cut my cheeks and ground on my teeth. I normally had to get my mouth closed a certain amount before it would activate.
我咀嚼着残留的红宝石和蓝宝石。"让我们拭目以待。"我用后腿站立，小心翼翼地把嘴移向洞口。"来吧......"我说，玻璃划破了我的脸颊和牙齿。我通常要闭上一定量的嘴才能让它活动起来。
Or else it wouldn’t work on glass and we were completely screwed.
否则它就不能在玻璃上工作，我们就完全完蛋了。
Suddenly, the glass slipped around my mouth and compressed. I got to the internal mesh and there was a momentary pause before that too softened and I was able to chew and swallow. There was some kind of plastic film inside the glass that didn’t agree with my ‘stomach’ at all. The glass itself was flavorless
突然，玻璃杯滑落到我的嘴边，压扁了。我到了内部网格，有一个短暂的停顿之前，太软了，我可以咀嚼和吞咽。玻璃杯里有某种塑料薄膜，和我的"胃"完全不搭调。玻璃杯本身无味
mush, but at least the wire mesh gave it a little carroty hint. Still, my systems were having a hard time of it. I tried spiting the next mouthful out, but the half-liquefied glass hardened on my lips and hung like glasscicles off my chin. It’d work, though... it’d just take time.
粘糊糊的，但至少铁丝网给了它一点黑色的暗示。尽管如此，我的系统还是经历了一段艰难的时期。我试着把下一口吐出来，但那半块液化的玻璃硬在我的嘴唇上，像玻璃一样从我的下巴上垂下来。虽然会成功...只是需要时间。
To pass it, I played some of the audio files from the pegasus’s knockoff PipBuck. “Surveyor Team #5. Audiofile of Swiftwing. We’ve found this camp of some sort. Looks like it housed prisoners of war, poor bastards. Not sure we’ll find anything useful left in the camp, but the processing center looks more promising. Just need to get into the interior secure areas. Everything has card readers. Guess they didn’t want to risk conventional locks around stripes.”
为了通过它，我播放了一些来自飞马公司的山寨PipBuck的音频文件。"测量师队伍#5。快速的声音。我们发现了这个营地。看起来这里关着战俘，可怜的混蛋。不知道我们能不能在营地里找到什么有用的东西，但是处理中心看起来更有前途。只需要进入内部安全区域。每样东西都有读卡器。我猜他们不想冒险用传统的条纹头发。"
I gnawed away, Bluebelle pointedly keeping her eyes on the ceiling as I did so, and I mentally toggled the next. “…Swiftwing. Rain Squall found a card that’ll work on the front door on a skeleton on the roof; only pony remains we found. Pegasus. Dunno if she was a Dashite or just got killed by the prisoners before she could get away. Somepony shot her in the head. Anyway, the processing center’s been looted as well. We came across a dirt pony that was completely psychotic. She was eating herself. Bit Rain Squall. We made sure to save the body, just in case.”
我咬着牙，布卢贝尔的眼睛一直盯着天花板，我在心里转动着下一个。"......迅速。雨飑找到了一张卡片，可以用在屋顶上的一具骷髅的前门上;我们找到的只有小马的尸体。飞马座。不知道她是达什人还是在逃跑前被囚犯杀了。有个小马朝她头部开了一枪。不管怎样，加工中心也被洗劫一空了。我们遇到了一匹肮脏的小马，它完全是个神经病。她在吃自己。小雨狂风。我们确保了尸体的安全，以防万一。"
“Dirt pony, huh?” Bluebelle snorted. “So much for all their talk of help.” I couldn’t answer as I ate another mouthful. My ‘stomach’ wasn’t feeling so great. I suspected it hadn’t been designed to digest inch-thick reinforced ballistic glass.
"脏兮兮的小马哈?"布鲁贝尔哼了一声。"他们所谓的帮助就到此为止了。"我又吃了一口，无法回答。我的胃不太舒服。我怀疑它不是用来消化一英寸厚的强化防弹玻璃的。
I returned my attention to the next entry. “…wing. Bad news. It was some sort of infection. We found two more in the morgue who were trying to get into the lockers. Good news. Rain Squall doesn’t seem infected herself. We’ve notified Enclave intelligence. They’re sending somepony to investigate. I’m going to check back through the processing area while we wait. Maybe we’ll find something useful.”
我把注意力转回到下一个条目上。"...翅膀。坏消息。这是某种感染。我们在停尸房发现了另外两个试图打开储物柜的人。好消息。暴风雨似乎没有感染她自己。我们已经通知了飞地情报局。他们要派一匹小马去调查。在我们等待的时候，我要检查一下加工区。也许我们会发现一些有用的东西。"
I stopped there. I knew the rest of the entries would probably involve audio entries of Swiftwing getting trapped in the room and left to starve before yanking off his collar. I had enough issues without having to hear that. Besides, I’d chewed a big enough hole that, with some liberal stomping and shoving, we could squeeze though! The room on the far side was sparse: a metal table bolted to the floor… and a turret that dropped out of the ceiling with a hiss and began to spray us with bullets!
我停在那里。我知道剩下的入口可能包括Swiftwing被困在房间里，在扯掉衣领之前饿死的录音。我已经有够多的问题了。此外，我已经咬了一个足够大的洞，再加上一些自由的跺脚和推搡，我们可以挤过去！远处的房间是稀疏的:一张金属桌子固定在地板上......还有一个炮塔从天花板上嘶嘶地掉下来，向我们喷射子弹！
“Unauthorized presence without collar. Please return to processing area immediately!” the voice crackled over the chatter of the turret as Bluebelle dashed across the floor. There was only one turret and two of us, and I kept myself in the open and made myself its target. I raised my hooves to protect my face as the bullets battered me against the splintered ballistic glass. I levitated out Vigilance and jumped into S.A.T.S. to target four shots. Only two hit. The turret sparked but still chewed rounds into me.
"未经授权擅自出现。请立即返回加工区!"炮塔上的嘈杂声中夹杂着蓝美人穿过地板的声音。我们只有一个炮塔和两个人，我把自己暴露在空旷的地方，使自己成为它的目标。子弹击打着我，击碎了玻璃，我抬起蹄子保护自己的脸。我悬浮出警戒系统，跳入s.a.t.s，瞄准四个目标。只有两个人中弹。炮塔冒着火花，但仍然向我射来几发子弹。
The Highlander slipped under the table and then rolled to her hooves. She dashed at the wall, leapt up, and kicked herself away. She wrapped her hooves around the chattering barrels, biting down on the frame. The turret’s motors ground and whined as her weight pulled the stream of gunfire off me. I aimed carefully and put two more rounds into the firing mechanism. Finally it sparked and died. I groaned and flopped on my back.
高地人滑到桌子下面，然后滚到她的蹄子下面。她冲向墙壁，跳起来，一脚把自己踢开了。她用蹄子绕着吱吱作响的木桶，咬住木框。炮塔的马达转动着，当它的重量把炮火从我身上拉开时发出呜呜的声音。我小心地瞄准，又向发射装置发射了两发子弹。最后，它点燃了火花，熄灭了。我呻吟着，一屁股坐在地上。
Bluebelle approached with a frown. “What?” I asked. She didn’t have any right to frown at me. She volunteered!
蓝美人皱着眉头走了过来。"什么?"我问道。她没有权利对我皱眉头。她自告奋勇！
“Do y’all like getting shot up?” she asked as she pointed at the holes that had penetrated my armor. I just stared at her as she pointed at the hole in the window. “You coulda hopped through there again, or you coulda taken cover under that there table. Instead, you hung out here and just ate rounds!”
"你们都喜欢挨枪子吗?"她一边问，一边指着穿透我盔甲的洞。当她指着窗户上的洞时，我只是盯着她看。"你可以再跳过去，或者躲到那张桌子底下。相反，你却在这里闲逛，只是在这里吃饭!"
I rose to my hooves. “Look. I’m a cyberpony. Long as I’m not dead and have some gems, scrap metal, and food, I’ll regenerate.” I looked at the dings in my legs. “Honestly, this isn’t really that bad. I get hurt all the time.”
我猛地站起来。"你看。我是一匹赛博马。只要我还活着，还有一些宝石、废金属和食物，我就会重生。"我看着我腿上的叮当声。"说实话，这并没有那么糟糕。我总是受伤。"
“Me too, but I do my best to avoid it.” She looked me in the eye. “So do ya like it or something? ‘Cause I can’t figger why anypony’d go through that.”
"我也是，但我尽量避免。"她看着我的眼睛。"你喜欢吗？"因为我不明白为什么会有小马经历这种事。"
Did I? I did tend to get shot up a lot. And cut… and smashed… I bit my lip as I felt some other very disturbing sensations crawling around beneath the ache in my body. Being injured should be a bad thing. Especially the kinds of injuries I dealt with. Instead, I felt... odd. “I… I… um… I…” I felt myself going bright red as I sat and lifted my forehooves and held them an inch apart. “Maybe just a tiny bit?” I said with a sheepish grin.
是吗？我确实经常被打针。我咬着我的嘴唇，因为我感觉到一些其他的非常令人不安的感觉在我身体的疼痛之下爬行。受伤应该是件坏事。尤其是我处理过的那些伤病。相反，我觉得...很奇怪。"我.....。.我。.呃...我..。。」当我坐下来，抬起前蹄，把它们分开一英寸时，我感到自己的脸涨得通红。"也许只有一点点?"我羞怯地笑着说。
She groaned and shook her head. “You’re nuttier than barrel of acorns…”
她呻吟着摇了摇头。"你比一桶橡子还疯狂......"
“She has no idea, does she?” Scotch Tape said in my ear, a flash of olive in the
"她不知道，是吗?"透明胶带在我耳边说，橄榄在我耳边闪过
corner of my vision.
我视线的一角。
“No… No she doesn’t,” I murmured as I trotted to the door. And neither did I.
"不......不，她没有,"我小跑到门口时喃喃地说。我也没有。
* * *
* * *
The first floor of the processing center was well tossed, papers scattered underhoof. Lots of bodies, too, signs of ponies who tried to use the structure as shelter. As we searched the desks for something useful, we came across a dozen corpses, some desiccated and others fresh. Many showed signs of having been cut or chewed. Spilled blood filled the dim space with its coppery tang. There were red bars, but I couldn’t tell if they were above or below or hiding right out of sight.
加工中心的一楼被翻得乱七八糟，文件到处都是。还有很多尸体，有小马试图把这个建筑当作避难所的迹象。当我们在桌子上寻找有用的东西时，我们发现了十几具尸体，有些是干尸，有些是新鲜的。许多表现出被切割或咀嚼的迹象。流出的血把昏暗的空间充满了紫铜色的味道。那里有红色的栅栏，但是我不知道它们是在上面还是在下面，还是藏在视线之外。
I’dve been happy if they just stopped appearing and disappearing, though.
不过，如果它们不再出现和消失，我会很高兴。
My head felt like it was moving, like my brain had mutated into a pulsating bag of mush. The radroach had laid eggs inside my skull, and now the eggs were squirming. I could see flickers in the corners of my eyes, the vaguest shimmers of zebra stealth cloaks. Then I’d look directly at them and they’d be gone. Twice I flung as much garbage and debris as I could manage at where I’d seen the faint movement, only to discover it was empty.
我的头好像在动，好像我的大脑突变成了一袋子乱七八糟的东西。雨獭在我的头骨里产了卵，现在这些卵正在蠕动。我可以看到我的眼角闪烁，斑马隐形斗篷闪烁着最模糊的微光。然后我直视他们，他们就不见了。有两次，我尽可能多地把垃圾和碎片扔到我看到微弱运动的地方，结果发现那里是空的。
My behavior was drawing more and more concerned looks from Bluebelle as we moved through the offices. I could hear my friends talking more and more, but their words became harder and harder to understand. I could hear fear and alarm in their voices. Shouts of distress and calls for help... I knew it was in my head, but… but what if it wasn’t? What if it Lacunae had done some kind of magic to me? What if the Harbingers were attacking my friends? I’d been so sure, so arrogant and cocky and sure, that they’d come after me!
当我们穿过办公室时，我的行为引起了Bluebelle越来越多的关注。我可以听到我的朋友们越来越多地说话，但他们的话却越来越难以理解。我能从他们的声音中听到恐惧和惊慌。呼喊着痛苦和求救......我知道它在我的脑海里，但是......但是如果它不是呢？如果那个空隙对我施了某种魔法怎么办？如果先驱者袭击了我的朋友怎么办？我是如此的自信，如此的傲慢，自大和自信，以至于他们会来追杀我！
There wasn’t anything worthwhile in here. We made our way up to the second floor. Here there were a few larger offices and a conference room. We passed by a door marked ‘Emergency Exit’. Funny, where were those back in Hippocratic Research? I heard more voices, but this time Bluebelle’s ears perked too. “Hey. Do you hear that?” I really didn’t want to mention that I’d been hearing things for a while now.
这里没有什么有价值的东西。我们爬上了二楼。这里有几间较大的办公室和一间会议室。我们经过一扇标有"紧急出口"的门。有趣的是，希波克拉底研究院的那些研究在哪里？我听到了更多的声音，但这次蓝色美人的耳朵也竖起来了。"嘿。你听到了吗?"我真的不想提起我已经听到一些事情有一段时间了。
We found the source in the office next door: a still-flickering terminal that had been hacked, but not logged out, and was playing recorded audio files. The
我们在隔壁的办公室找到了信号源:一个仍在闪烁的终端被黑了，但没有注销，正在播放录制的音频文件。这个
speaker was a deep-voiced, mournful-sounding stallion. I looked around the office and spotted a slashed painting in the corner; a bile-yellow pegasus smirked out of the canvas.
演讲者是一匹声音低沉，听起来悲伤的种马。我环顾了一下办公室，发现角落里有一幅被划破的油画，画布上一个胆黄色的天马正得意地笑着。
“Yellow River Detainment Camp to Ministry of Peace. Camps B, C, and D are one hundred and forty percent over containment. Camp A is a hundred and sixty percent over. I’ve got stripes sleeping on the floors here. We need more food and medicine or we’re going to be looking at a major epidemic. I’ve got some stripes that have started eating each other. The only tribe that behaves itself are those creepy Starkatteri, and every other tribe is trying to murder them. We’ve got to get the population down before something explodes.”
"黄河拘留营致和平部。集中营b，c和d超过了容器的140%。营地a超过160%。我有条纹睡在这里的地板上。我们需要更多的食物和药物，否则我们将面临一场大规模的流行病。我身上的条纹已经开始自相残杀了。唯一能够表现自己的部落是那些令人毛骨悚然的Starkatteri部落，而其他部落则试图谋杀他们。我们必须在出现爆炸之前让人口减少。"
There was a click, and the next one played automatically.
一声咔嗒，下一声自动播放。
“Hey, Shifty. The Ministry of Peace is giving me three hundred more units of healing potions and two thousand pounds of basic food stock. Should turn a mighty profit, huh? Now that Goldenblood’s gone, all those surprise inspections and little impromptu investigations are a thing of the past. Morale couldn’t find their own asshole with a case of diarrhea these days. I got to get me more stripes in the camps. Heck, we’ll put the striped bastards on the roofs if we got to. Oh! And I might have found my retirement: some stripe was ‘accidentally’ shipped here. Rumor is she’s got some kind of super talisman inside her. Experimental. If you can move it, I’ll cut you in for an extra three percent.”
"嘿，西福弟。和平部又给了我三百多单位的治疗药水和两千磅的基本食物储备。应该能赚大钱吧？现在金血王走了，所有那些突击检查和即兴调查都成了过去。这些天来，士气因为腹泻而找不到自己的屁眼。我得在集中营里多加点条纹。见鬼，如果有必要的话，我们会把那些带条纹的混蛋放在屋顶上。哦！我可能已经找到了我的退休生活:一些条纹是"意外"运到这里的。有传言说她体内有某种超级护身符。实验性的。如果你能卖出去，我再给你百分之三的分成。"
I glanced at the canvas. It really could use some more slashes… and maybe being burned.
我瞥了一眼画布。它确实需要更多的斜线......也许还会被烧掉。
“Colonel Cupcake, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Yes, there have been zebras sent to my camp rather to their family in Zebratown. I understand you are upset. We’re merely examining things, and then we’ll release them to their family. I’ll have you know we’ve got a major outbreak of some kind of disease here at Yellow River; I’ve got stripes eating each other. I have to make sure there’s no chance of infection. I’ve had to dismiss all my non-pegasus staff to prevent it spreading. We’ll keep her in the morgue till it can be safely released.” A moment later there was a muttered, “I couldn’t give two shits, Colonel. Where the fuck is it?”
"纸杯蛋糕上校我不知道你在说什么。是的，斑马被送到我的营地，而不是他们在Zebratown的家里。我知道你很难过。我们只是在检查一些东西，然后把它们交给他们的家人。我要让你知道，我们在黄河这里发生了某种疾病的大规模爆发，我们已经互相攻击了。我必须确保没有感染的可能。我不得不解雇所有非飞马公司的员工以防止病毒扩散。我们会把她留在停尸房，直到尸体被安全地放出来。"过了一会儿，有人低声说:"我才不在乎呢，上校。它到底在哪儿?"
“Fucker,” I growled, feeling shooty and getting a look from Bluebelle. “If he didn’t want to do the job, he should have quit. Whoever was in charge of this
"混蛋,"我咆哮着，觉得自己被枪击了，从Bluebelle看了一眼。"如果他不想做这份工作，他就应该辞职。不管是谁负责这件事
place was the one who deserved to be locked up.” I tried to ignore the squirming corners of the room. My ‘stomach’ was really not happy with all the glass I’d put in it. “Nobody deserved this.”
那个地方才是该被关起来的"我尽量不去理会房间里那些扭动的角落。我的"胃"对我放进去的那些玻璃杯真的很不满意。"没有人应该得到这样的待遇。"
The next recording that played was an automated message in a strange robotic voice. “EMERGENCY MEMORANDUM: ALL PEGASI ARE TO ABANDON ALL GROUND POSITIONS IMMEDIATELY AND RETURN TO THUNDERHEAD. DROP EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING! COME HOME NOW! LUNA IS DEAD. EQUESTRIA IS FINISHED.”
接下来播放的是一段自动录音，声音是一种奇怪的机器人声音。紧急备忘录:所有派格西飞船必须立即离开所有地面阵地，返回雷头。放下你正在做的一切！现在回家吧！卢娜死了。Equestria完蛋了。"
“Fucking turkeys,” Bluebelle muttered and spat to the side. I sat down, closing my eyes and trying to ignore the pulsating sensation in my head.
"该死的火鸡,"布鲁贝尔喃喃自语，朝一边吐了口唾沫。我坐了下来，闭上眼睛，尽量不去理会脑子里那种悸动的感觉。
“They didn’t all go,” I said as I closed my eyes. “I know at least three that stayed down here when everything went to hell. Two of them became ghouls, one died trying to help surface ponies. And Rainbow Dash wanted to help, too.” Maybe she lived. Maybe she died. I wondered if I’d ever know for sure.
"它们并没有全部消失,"我闭上眼睛说。"我知道至少有三个人在一切都完蛋的时候还呆在这里。其中两个变成了食尸鬼，一个在帮助浮出水面的小马时死了。彩虹·达什也想帮忙。"也许她还活着。也许她死了。我不知道自己是否能确定。
I used my magic to tap the keys and played the last recording. I looked over at the corner, seeing something move. I brought out Vigilance, tapping it against my knee as I slumped against the wall. The papers on the floor were moving back and forth the longer I stared at them. They seemed to be arranging themselves into the shapes of dead zebras.
我用魔法敲击琴键，播放了最后一段录音。我看了看角落，看到有什么东西在动。我拿出了警戒牌，当我靠在墙上时，用它在膝盖上敲打着。我盯着地板上的文件看得越久，它们就来回移动。他们似乎把自己摆成了斑马尸体的形状。
Finally, the terminal started playing two voices, they were distant, as if they’d been recorded by accident.
终于，终端开始播放两个声音，它们都很遥远，好像是不小心录下来的。
“Director Mephitis, what are you doing?” asked a mare.
"梅菲蒂斯局长，你在干什么?"一匹母马问。
“What does it look like I’m doing, Cirrus? Getting the fuck out of here!”
"我看起来像在干什么，卷云？滚出去!"
“You can’t just leave! There are over five thousand prisoners out there!” Cirrus protested.
"你不能就这么走了！外面有五千多个俘虏!"卷云抗议道。
“Fuck the prisoners. Fuck every last striped one of them. If they’d just let me shoot them like I asked, then there wouldn’t BE a prisoner problem. Now get the hell out of my way! We only have a few hours to get back to Thunderhead!”
"去他妈的囚犯。他妈的每一个条纹他们。如果他们按照我的要求让我射杀他们，那么就不会有囚犯问题了。现在给我滚开！我们只有几个小时的时间赶回雷头!"
“You are not going to just leave them!” Then there was a pause. “Is that money? You’re taking bags of money with you?” There was a sound of bags being
"你不能就这样离开他们!"然后是一个停顿。"那是钱吗？你带着一袋袋的钱?"传来一阵袋子的声音
cinched tightly down
紧紧地绑在一起
“Of course, you idiot. I’m not going home to be broke! This is my retirement. The savages are eating each other already. They can take care of it. There were reports of rioting in every prison across Equestria. Hightower’s in lockdown. Shattered Hoof let their prisoners free! Not me. Fuck no. Let them rot.”
"当然，你这个白痴。我可不想回家破产！这是我的退休生活。那些野蛮人已经在互相残杀了。他们会处理好的。据报道，Equestria各地的监狱都发生了骚乱。海托华被关起来了。粉碎的蹄子释放了他们的囚犯！不是我。当然不是。让他们腐烂吧。"
“Just open the gate, deactivate the collars, and turn off the autoguns. Give them a chance!” the mare protested, then said a moment later in a firmer voice, “If you don’t, I promise that everypony in Thunderhead will know you left thousands to die! Not even zebras deserve this!”
"只要打开大门，解除项圈，关掉自动手枪。给他们一个机会!"母马抗议道，过了一会儿，她用更坚定的声音说:"如果你不这么做，我保证，在Thunderhead的每一匹小马都会知道你让成千上万的人去送死!"！甚至连斑马都不配得到这样的待遇!"
There was a pause and the stallion sighed. “Fine. You care so much? Set a timer to shut everything down. You can use my terminal.”
停顿了一下，那匹种马叹了口气。"好吧。你这么在乎？设置一个计时器来关闭一切。你可以用我的终端。"
“Thank you, Director. I’ll get it set up right awa--”
"谢谢你，局长。我马上把它安排好——"
There was a gunshot. There came the stomping of hooves. I rose and stared at the terminal.
有一声枪响。马蹄的跺脚声传来。我站起来，凝视着航站楼。
A few seconds later, a stallion said, “What the… Director? What happened?”
几秒钟后，一匹种马说:"这是什么......导演？发生了什么事?"
“Suicide. Just couldn’t take it anymore, Gusty,” the director said quickly. “Let’s hurry. She set a timer to release the prisoners. They’ll have to look after themselves, but at least they’ll have a chan--”
"自杀。我再也受不了了，Gusty,"导演急忙说。"我们快点吧。她设置了一个计时器来释放囚犯。他们得自己照顾自己，但至少他们有一个......"
“You--” I reared up and brought my forelegs down on the monitor as I screamed, “Fucker!” I tried to hit it so hard that it would somehow magically travel back through space and time and make his head explode like the glass monitor did. Even detonating all those collars would have been more merciful than what I’d just heard. I stared at the sparking terminal, then opened my PipBuck. I was glad to see I could still extract the audio files. Then, after I did so, I stomped the terminal into electric scrap and threw the mess at the obnoxious portrait.
"你——"我抬起前腿，放在显示器上，尖叫着,"操!"我试图用力击打它，以至于它能神奇地穿越时空回到过去，让他的头像玻璃监视器一样爆炸。就算把那些项圈全部引爆也比我刚才听到的要仁慈得多。我盯着闪着火花的终端机，然后打开我的PipBuck。我很高兴看到我仍然可以提取音频文件。然后，在我这样做之后，我把终端踩成电子废料，扔向那令人讨厌的画像。
“They just… he just left them to starve?” Bluebelle asked, the tough Highlander looking sick.
"他们就这样......他就这样让他们挨饿?"蓝精灵问道，坚强的高地人看起来很虚弱。
“Why? Why the fuck did the good ponies have to die and fuckers like him live?!” I screamed, seething as I followed it up with kicking the desk over. Then I wanted to knock over the file cabinets. Light the whole floor on fire! No, I
"为什么？为什么好马要死，而像他这样的混蛋还活着?!"我尖叫起来，随即把桌子踢翻在地。然后我想打翻文件柜。点燃整个地板！不，我
wanted to blow the whole camp to the moon. The city! The entire fucking Wasteland! I wanted it all destroyed! “It’s not fair! It’s not fucking right!” I was sounding like a petulant filly, but at the moment I didn’t care. I was just so damned angry, and sick, and tired. I fired Vigilance over and over again at a crawling corner as the Highlander shrank back.
想把整个营地炸上天。城市！整个该死的荒原！我要毁了这一切！"这不公平！这他妈的不对!"我听起来像一个任性的小母马，但此刻我并不在乎。我只是非常生气、恶心、疲惫。当高地人往后退缩时，我一次又一次地在一个爬行的角落点燃了警戒。
Then the shadows screamed as a bullet hit something far more fleshy.
接着，一颗子弹击中了更多的肉体，阴影尖叫起来。
The corner unfurled into a striped shape in a shimmering cloak that threw something shaped like some kind of egg at us. My magic caught it, and since I didn’t have a clue what it might do, I tossed it into the far corner by the door. Three seconds later it exploded, and white sticky webbing went everywhere. Bluebelle pounced upon the zebra, who screamed as she curled up, raising her hooves defensively.
墙角展开成条纹状，披着闪闪发光的斗篷，向我们扔来一个鸡蛋形状的东西。我的魔法抓住了它，因为我不知道它会做什么，所以我把它扔到了门边的角落里。三秒钟后，它爆炸了，白色的粘性织带到处都是。布鲁贝尔猛扑向斑马，斑马蜷缩起来，尖叫着，抬起它的蹄子防御。
“Bluebelle!” I yelled as she reared up.
"蓝色美人!"她直立起来时，我大叫起来。
“She was spyin’ on us!” the Highlander shouted.
"她在监视我们!"高地人喊道。
“I would have too!” I said as I moved in close. She looked a little younger than me. Her eyes were a soft gold, and they were wide open in terror. Her mane was braided into a black-and-white-striped ponytail; how ironic. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I said as I lowered my voice. “Do you understand me?” I glanced at her flank where her stripes seemed to make an image of two crossed wrenches. Or bones, but at the moment I was being optimistic. I stared, and her bar went from blue to red to blue again, but I had no idea if that was her hostility or my eyes.
"我也会的!"我一边说，一边靠近她。她看起来比我小一点。她的眼睛是柔和的金黄色，因为恐惧而睁得大大的。她的鬃毛编成黑白条纹的马尾辫，真讽刺。"我不想伤害你,"我压低声音说。"你听明白了吗?"我瞥了一眼她的侧腹，那里的条纹看起来像是两只交叉的扳手。或者骨头，但那时候我还是很乐观的。我盯着她，她的酒吧又从蓝色变成红色再变成蓝色，但我不知道这是她的敌意还是我的眼睛。
She nodded, then said in slow, trembling words, "Please don't kill me. I am a technician. Not a hunter, not a fighter." If she was acting, she deserved an award; the mare had wet herself in fear. Even Bluebelle seemed disinclined to fight anyone who would do that. The bullet had just grazed her hindquarters, a superficial injury, but still, every injury was serious with enough Enervation.
她点点头，然后慢慢地颤抖着说:"请不要杀我。我是一名技术员。不是猎人，不是战士。"如果她是在演戏，那她应该得奖;那匹母马吓得尿裤子了。即使是蓝色美人似乎也不愿与任何愿意这么做的人打架。子弹只是擦伤了她的后腿，这是一个表面伤，但是每一个伤口都很严重，已经有足够的能量。
I looked over at the smashed terminal. “You hacked the terminal, didn’t you?” She stared and nodded slowly. “And you heard what happened here?” Now there was a little bit of anger. “Sorry about that.” And that anger was replaced by confusion. “For what happened here… to your people. They should have been let go and given a chance.”
我看着那个被砸坏的终端机。"你黑进了航站楼，是吗?"她盯着我，慢慢地点着头。"你听说这里发生的事了吗?"现在有一点点愤怒。"很抱歉。"这种愤怒被混乱所取代。"为这里发生的一切......为你的人民。他们应该放手，给他们一个机会。"
“Y’all realize they woulda gone right through the highlands ta get back to their
"你们都知道他们会直接穿过高地回到他们的老家
own country, right?” Bluebelle asked me with a snort that made the mare flinch.
自己的国家，对吗?"布鲁贝尔用使母马畏缩的鼻息声问我。
Now the zebra looked baffled. “You are the Star Maiden…” she said as she took a few hesitant steps back till her rump met the wall.
现在斑马看起来很困惑。"你是星少女......"她说着，犹豫着往后退了几步，直到她的臀部碰到了墙。
“Star what?” I blinked in my own confusion.
"星星什么?"我在困惑中眨了眨眼。
“The Star Maiden of the fallen city. The one who brings death, chaos, and destruction,” she said with a gulp. “The reaper of the lost land.”
"堕落城市的星女。那个带来死亡、混乱和毁灭的人,"她一口气说道。"失落土地的收割者。"
“Death? Chaos? Destruction? Sounds like a Reaper to me,” Bluebelle chuckled.
"死亡？混乱？毁灭？听起来像是死神,"布鲁贝尔轻声笑道。
I gave her a sour look before I examined the zebra. She wore some sort of webbing under that cloak, not even the slightest bit of armor to guard her. The only weapon I saw was a dagger on her forehoof. She was definitely outgunned by both of us. I gave a wan smile. “I don’t mean to hurt anyone if I can help it. I’m Blackjack. What’s your name?”
在我检查斑马之前，我酸溜溜地看了她一眼。她在斗篷下面穿着某种织带，甚至没有一丁点的盔甲来保护她。我唯一看到的武器是她前蹄上的一把匕首。我们俩的火力绝对比不上她。我露出苍白的微笑。"我无意伤害任何人，如果我可以帮助的话。我是黑杰克。你叫什么名字?"
She looked from me to Bluebelle and back again. “Xanthe,” she said as she slowly moved onto her hooves. “Please… Kill me quickly…”
她把目光从我身上转向蓝色美人，又转回来。"桑特,"她一边说，一边慢慢挪动她的蹄子。"求求你......快点杀了我......"
I looked at Bluebelle, the scowling mare certainly looking so inclined. Then I looked back at Xanthe in confusion. “Um… why would I kill you?” For some reason, that set her on a fresh crying jag as she bowed her head. “Wait! Hold on. What’s the matter?” She sniffed and frowned, rubbing her eyes with a hoof before she frowned at me.
我看了看Bluebelle，那匹愁眉苦脸的母马显然是那么有意思。然后我困惑地回头看着Xanthe。"嗯......我为什么要杀你?"出于某种原因，当她低下头的时候，她又开始哭了。"等等！等等。怎么了?"她闻了闻，皱了皱眉，用蹄子揉了揉眼睛，然后又皱了皱眉头。
“Please… do not toy with me. Whatever curse you are to bestow, please do so quickly,” she said as she rubbed the tears from her eyes. “I… I do no fear your worst, Star Maiden!” Her face might have looked momentarily fierce save for her eyes, but her shaking knees definitely betrayed her.
"请......不要玩弄我。无论你要施加什么样的诅咒，请快一点,"她边说边擦去眼泪。"我.....。.我才不怕你呢，星姑娘!"除了她的眼睛，她的脸可能暂时看起来很凶猛，但是她颤抖的膝盖显然暴露了她。
I just stared at her for a long moment and then sighed, slowly shaking my head.
我只是盯着她看了很长时间，然后叹了口气，慢慢地摇了摇头。
“I don’t have time for this,” I said as I turned and started for the door.
"我没有时间做这个,"我转身向门口走去时说。
“What?” The zebra asked in confusion. “What kind of curse is this?”
"什么?"斑马困惑地问。"这是什么样的诅咒?"
“The ‘I got better things to do’ kind,” I replied as I stepped out into the hallway. Nothing much up here. That left down below. I made sure I had the explosive crate nice and secure across my back. “I have no idea who this Star Maiden is or
"'我有更好的事情要做'那种,"我一边走到走廊里，一边回答。这里没什么。就在下面。我确保我背上的炸药箱是安全可靠的。"我不知道这个星少女是谁
why you seem to think I am her.” I expected that to be it, but then she started following us!
为什么你好像觉得我就是她。"我以为会是这样，但是她开始跟踪我们！
“The Star Maiden is she who is born from the cursed soil of the damned city. She will be flesh and steel, touched by the stars and chosen as their champion. Where she travels, chaos and strife will follow,” Xanthe said as she trotted in our wake. Why, I couldn’t imagine. “It is she who shall bear evil from the ground, usher in the final days of the world, snuff out the sun forever and call down the moon.
"星少女是出生在被诅咒的城市这片被诅咒的土地上的人。她将是有血有肉的钢铁，被众星所感动，被选为他们的冠军。她走到哪里，哪里就会有混乱和冲突,"赞斯一边在我们身后小跑一边说。为什么，我无法想象。撒下11:11那女人必担当地上的灾祸、引进世界末日、永远灭绝太阳、召月亮下来。
She shall summon storms, unleash plague, command unholy fire, destroy all in her path and all who follow in her wake. Female shall desire female, male shall desire male, and unholy coupling between the species will commence where she travels.”
她会召唤风暴，释放瘟疫，命令邪恶之火，摧毁一切挡在她前进道路上的人和一切跟随她的人。女性将渴望女性，男性将渴望男性，而物种之间的邪恶结合将在她旅行的地方开始。"
“Damn…” Bluebelle snickered and leered at the zebra. “I’m getting moist right now just hearing all this.” Xanthe gasped as she cringed away and I looked back to see her eyes wide and popping.
"该死......"布鲁贝尔窃笑着向斑马抛媚眼。"光是听到这些，我就浑身湿透了。"赞西气喘吁吁地走开了，我回头一看，她的眼睛睁得大大的，瞪得大大的。
“Right. So why are you following us again?” I asked as I started down the stairs.
"对。那你为什么又跟着我们?"我一边走下楼梯一边问道。
She blinked, then worked her mouth, and then shrank back, pointing a hoof at me. “You… you have cursed me! Your foul star magics have ensorcelled me!” I looked back… and my hoof slipped and I rolled down to land on my back in the first floor offices. My glass-filled gut gave an unpleasant lurch as I glared up at the golden-eyed zebra.
她眨了眨眼睛，然后张开嘴，然后往后退缩，用蹄子指着我。"你......你诅咒了我！你那肮脏的星术使我着迷了!"我回头一看......我的蹄子滑了一下，然后我躺在一楼的办公室里。当我瞪大眼睛看着金色眼睛的斑马时，我那装满玻璃杯的肚子不愉快地晃了一下。
“There? See?” I snapped as I looked at her from the floor. “Would the dreaded Star Maiden fall on her ass?”
""在那儿？看到了吗?"当我从地板上看着她时，我厉声说道。"那个可怕的星少女会摔倒在地吗?"
It saved me from getting my skull crushed. The zebra came out of the shadows like a ghost with a wild kick plunging down at my face. Lying on my back, I was able to get my hooves up in time to block it. “No. Do not fight her. We are all doomed! She has cursed us all!” Xanthe wailed from the stairs, then started jabbering in Zebra.
它让我免于头骨碎裂。斑马像幽灵一样从阴影中走出来，猛地一脚踢在我的脸上。我仰面躺着，马蹄及时抬起来挡住了它。"没有。不要反抗她。我们都死定了！她诅咒了我们所有人!"桑丝在楼梯上嚎啕大哭，然后开始喋喋不休地说斑马。
The zebra fighting me, however, wasn’t inclined to listen as she backflipped away. I rose to my hooves, drawing and bringing up my sword as the mare charged. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and locked in two attacks, and they still missed. She sidestepped the first swipe, ducked the second, and then did another backflip that smacked me in the face with both her rear hooves. She knocked me standing upright as I staggered back against the wall.
然而，那只正在和我搏斗的斑马不愿意听她的后空翻。我站起身来，拔出剑来，母马向我冲了过去。我潜入S.A.T.S.锁定了两次攻击，但他们仍然没有击中。她回避了第一击，躲开了第二击，然后又做了一个后空翻，用她的后蹄猛击了我的脸。当我踉踉跄跄地靠在墙上时，她撞倒了我。
She said something brief in Zebra that I supposed was ‘you die now’, but it might have been ‘eat cream cheese’ for all I knew. Then she rammed both her forehooves into my gut.
她用斑马语简短地说了一句我以为是'你死定了'的话，但就我所知，那可能是'吃奶油干酪'。然后她用前蹄撞我的肚子。
Now, I have no idea just how stomach-like my stomach was, but when you’ve overeaten, getting kicked like that is no good at all. I gripped her shoulders with my fingers and felt everything working in reverse. There was nothing I could do as I puked liquefied glass and metal in her face. The clear fluid solidified seconds after it left my throat, freezing to her horrified face in a mask. She fell back, flopping and flailing wildly as I spat aside gobs of glass, struggling to keep upright. That blow had done some major damage to my internals, and every bit of watery glass was brought up.
现在，我不知道我的胃有多像，但是当你吃得太多的时候，像那样被踢一点也不好。我用手指抓住她的肩膀，感觉一切都在逆向运转。当我把液化的玻璃和金属吐在她脸上的时候，我什么也做不了。清澈的液体离开我的喉咙几秒钟后就凝固了，戴着面具的她吓坏了的脸冻僵了。她向后倒去，扑通扑通地乱扑腾着，而我则把玻璃球往一边吐，挣扎着站起来。那一击对我的内部构件造成了一些重大损伤，每一块水玻璃都浮了出来。
Xanthe stared at me, her eyes even wider if it were possible. Even Bluebelle was starting to look more uneasy about this. Beatdowns with metal hooves were one thing, but clearly vomiting liquid glass was a whole realm of fucked-upness that only cyberponies could obtain. I wanted to try and break the dying zebra’s mouth and nose free, but at the moment I was dealing with some internal damage.
桑丝盯着我，如果可能的话，她的眼睛会睁得更大。甚至连蓝美人也开始对此感到不安了。用金属蹄子殴打是一回事，但显然呕吐液体玻璃是一个操蛋的整个王国，只有赛伯马可以获得。我想试着把这只垂死的斑马的嘴和鼻子打断，但是当时我正在处理一些内部损伤。
When I could finally move, the zebra’s body had gone limp. I sighed and tried to pull off her stealth cloak, but to my amazement, it dissolved in my hooves! The blue gemstone clasp immediately cracked and went dark. No fair sabotaging the loot! I gave the nervous zebra a glare, and she gulped.
当我终于能动的时候，斑马的身体已经变得软弱无力。我叹了口气，试图脱下她的隐形斗篷，但令我惊讶的是，它溶解在我的蹄！蓝色宝石搭扣立即破裂，变得暗淡无光。破坏战利品是不公平的！我瞪了那只紧张的斑马一眼，她咽了一口气。
“Mistcloaks are woven of shadow spider silk and disappear like morning dew in summer if taken from their owner,” she said as she hugged her own to her form. I wondered why she didn’t just go invisible and leave. Really, I wasn’t inclined to stop her! I searched the dead zebra, found some sort of dried gourd, and peeked inside. Something milky purple and healing-potion-looking.
她一边说，一边紧紧抱住自己的身体。"密斯特克洛克是用影子蜘蛛丝织成的，如果从它们的主人那里拿走，就像夏天的晨露一样消失。"。我想知道她为什么不隐身离开。真的，我没打算阻止她！我在死去的斑马身上搜寻，发现了一些干葫芦，然后朝里面看了看。乳白色的紫色，看起来像治疗药水。
“Here. Both of you drink this before the Enervation makes those injuries worse,” I said as I passed the gourd to them.
"这儿。你们两个都喝了这个，免得受伤加重。"我边说边把葫芦递给他们。
“You wish me whole and healthy to suffer ever more, do you not, Maiden?” Xanthe said as she took it and drank it reluctantly before giving it to Bluebelle who, seeing the graze heal, lost her reluctance to drink for her injured shoulder.
"你希望我健康完整地再受一次苦，是不是，姑娘?"桑丝一边说着，一边不情愿地喝了下去，然后把它给了布鲁贝尔。布鲁贝尔看到擦伤已经痊愈，肩膀受伤了，也不再勉强喝水了。
“I wish you’d go back to your own people,” I retorted, feeling my insides pulling themselves back into place after that blow.
"我希望你回到你自己的人民中去,"我反驳道，感觉到我的内心在被打击之后又回到了原来的位置。
She gave a sad, twisty little smile. “And carry your curse to them? They would
她露出悲伤、扭曲的微笑。""把你的诅咒带给他们？他们会的
kill me at once. And I would not take it to them in the first place. You have doomed me, Star Maiden, and you may doom the entire world, but I will not do your work for you.”
马上杀了我。我一开始就不会把它交给他们。你害死了我，星姑娘，你也许会害死整个世界，但我不会替你干活的。"
“I’m about to doom you with a buck upside your head,” I said as I looked around. The terminal recordings had talked about a morgue. That would be the next place I would check before getting the heck out of here. “What are you zebras doing here in the first place?” I asked as I fired a round into a corner where I’d thought something had moved.
"我要用你头上的一头雄鹿来判你的死刑,"我边说边环顾四周。最后的录音里提到了停尸房。那将是我离开这里之前要检查的下一个地方。"你们斑马在这里干什么?"我向一个我以为有东西移动过的角落开了一枪，问道。
“I can’t tell you that! You’re the Maiden!” she gasped, and I groaned as we moved through the ground floor processing offices looking for a door or stairs down. “The champion of the stars! The bringer of all things evil! With your left hoof you will bring down the fires of the sun, and with your right you will call down the moon!” Xanthe said all in a rush, gasping for a breath at the end. Then she looked at me and continued, “Even if you will destroy the world, you can still be stopped. The last Maiden was. Three times!”
"我不能告诉你！你是少女!"当我们穿过一楼的办公室寻找下面的门或楼梯时，她喘着粗气，我呻吟着。"星星的冠军！邪恶的使者！你的左蹄必使日头的火熄灭，你的右蹄必使月亮降下赞斯匆匆忙忙地说着，最后气喘吁吁地说。然后她看着我，继续说:"即使你要毁灭这个世界，你仍然可以被阻止。最后一个少女是。三次!"
“The last Maiden?” I asked with a smirk over my shoulder. “Who was that? Doesn’t sound like she was very good at her job.”
"最后的少女?"我回头傻笑着问道。""那是谁？听起来她不太擅长自己的工作。"
“No. It was your ‘Princess Luna’,” Xanthe replied. That brought me up short. Slowly, I turned and looked back at her. I must have been giving her quite the shooty look… or maybe it was the ‘Maiden of the Stars’ look for her.
"没有。是你的'卢娜公主',"桑丝回答。这让我有点措手不及。慢慢地，我转过身，回头看着她。我一定是给了她相当的扫视的眼神...或者也许这是'星中少女'的眼神。
“Excuse me? Could you elaborate on that, please?” I asked as I turned and stood before the shrinking zebra. She quivered and began to whimper.
"你说什么？你能详细说明一下吗?"我一边问，一边转身站在那只正在缩水的斑马面前。她颤抖着，开始呜咽起来。
“You knew her as Nightmare Moon,” said a familiar voice from the shadows. My mane went all kinds of squirmy as I saw the shadows unwind and expose the zebra from the mine and the museum. Lancer looked at me along the barrel of his gun with his hard, cold eyes. But I just looked right back at him. If he was going to take the shot, then he would have taken it without all the drama. “It was here, in this doomed city, that Nightmare Moon stopped the sun from rising. And it was here, on the ashes of this burned town, that your Princess Luna declared she would take the throne her sister surrendered and lead Equestria to victory.”
"你以前叫她梦魇月亮,"一个熟悉的声音从阴影中传来。我的鬃毛发生了各种各样的蠕动，因为我看到阴影展开，暴露了斑马从矿井和博物馆。枪骑兵用他冷酷的眼睛沿着枪管看着我。但我只是回头看了看他。如果他要开枪的话，那么他会毫不夸张地开枪。"就是在这里，在这个注定要灭亡的城市里，梦魇之月阻止了太阳的升起。就是在这里，在这座被烧毁的城镇的灰烬上，你们的卢娜公主宣布她将夺取她姐姐投降的王位，并带领小马国取得胜利。"
“So why are you still talking and not blowing my head off?” I asked Lancer as I saw the shadowy depths of the office squirming and creeping. Red bars drifted back and forth in my vision.
"那你为什么还在说话，而不把我的头轰掉?"当我看到办公室阴暗的深处蠕动蔓延时，我问兰瑟。在我的视野里，红色的条纹来回飘荡。
“The honor of your death falls to the Legate himself. He yearns to smash your unnatural body with his own hooves,” Lancer said as he stood, keeping his rifle aimed right at my head. “When he does so, this ground shall be razed and all within slaughtered like the vermin you are.” I stared into his eyes. Cold and hard and certain.
"你的死亡的晨辉落在了使节自己身上。他渴望用自己的蹄子打碎你不自然的身体,"兰瑟站着说，用步枪瞄准着我的头。"当他这样做的时候，这片土地将被夷为平地，所有的人将被屠杀，就像你们这些害虫一样。"我盯着他的眼睛。又冷又硬又确定。
“Right,” I said, “well, since he’s not here, and you’re not going to steal his kill, maybe you can take Xanthe here off my hooves and let me get on my way. I want to find out what the Enclave are up to.” I smirked. “Don’t worry. I didn’t curse her. Unicorn magic doesn’t work like that.” At least, according to the primer it didn’t.
"好吧,"我说,"既然他不在这里，你也不会偷走他的猎物，也许你可以把赞斯从我的蹄子上拿下来，让我走。我想知道昂科雷在搞什么名堂。"我得意地笑了。"别担心。我没有诅咒她。独角兽的魔法不是这样的。"至少，根据初级读本，它没有。
He turned his rifle on Xanthe. I barely got in front of her to catch the bullet with my side. It bit deep, knocking me back against Bluebelle and the zebra, who shrank back with a little shriek. I turned Vigilance on him, but he was already moving. When I jumped into S.A.T.S., he continued to move… everything moved in a slow smear across my vision. I lurched, and by the time I was out of S.A.T.S. he’d vanished. I knew better than to think he was gone, though.
他把步枪对准赞斯。我勉强挡在她前面用我的身体接住子弹。它有点深，把我撞倒在蓝美人和斑马身上，斑马向后退去，发出一声尖叫。我把警惕对准了他，但他已经开始行动了。当我跳进S.A.T.S.的时候，他继续移动......所有的东西都在我的视野中慢慢地移动。我蹒跚而行，等我从s.a.t.s出来的时候，他已经消失了。不过我知道他不会死的。
“You don’t realize it, Security, but you have cursed her,” he said from the shadows... but his voice sounded odd to me. “You have cursed her with kindness. You have infected her with your mercy. And like everything that you touch, she will be destroyed.”
"你没有意识到，保安，但是你诅咒了她,"他在暗处说......但是他的声音听起来很奇怪。""你用仁慈诅咒了她。你的仁慈感染了她。就像你碰过的所有东西一样，她也会被毁灭。"
“You bloody… murdering… bastard!” I shouted into the shadows. I saw the darkness moving, forming eyes and mouths on the dim and dingy walls. I fired Vigilance again and again into every shadowy corner. My horn threw a storm of papers and rubbish around me, looking to see it bounce off some invisible assailant. When I ran out of bullets, I drew my sword, swinging wildly as I raced around. “You won’t hurt her! You won’t!” Shadowy ponies parted with each slice, reforming… laughing at my futile efforts. Darkness spattered my vision as I attacked things that weren’t there.
"你这个该死的...杀人犯...混蛋!"我对着阴影喊道。我看见黑暗在移动，在昏暗肮脏的墙上形成了眼睛和嘴巴。我一遍又一遍地向每一个阴暗的角落开火。我的号角把一大堆纸和垃圾扔到我周围，希望能看到它们从一个看不见的攻击者身上弹开。当我的子弹用完了，我拔出我的剑，疯狂地摆动，我跑来跑去。"你不会伤害她的！你不会的!"阴暗的小马分开了每一片，重新组合......嘲笑我徒劳的努力。当我攻击不存在的东西时，黑暗笼罩着我的视线。
I was grasping at shadows.
我抓住了影子。
Bluebelle and Xanthe both stared at me in alarm and horror. “What?” I shouted, exasperated as I swished the sword in the air and spattered blood across both of them.
布鲁贝尔和赞丝都惊恐地盯着我。"什么?"我怒气冲冲地喊道，挥舞着剑，血溅到了他们两个身上。
Wait…?
等等...？
Slowly I looked at the blood on the hilt of my sword. Felt the blood that was dripping down my face. I looked down at the decapitated zebra in front of me. Saw another torn open along her side. A sniper lay there with her face a concave hole. Another was dying from three meaty chunks taken out of his chest. I’d killed them and I hadn’t even realized it. Hadn’t even realized that they were there. Wounds from more than just Lancer’s round throbbed and burned, yet I hadn’t felt them. The pain was so familiar I hadn’t even recognized it. I staggered and grabbed a kicked-over desk. When had I kicked it over? Had I, or had somepony else?
我慢慢地看着剑柄上的血迹。感觉到血从我的脸上滴下来。我低头看着面前那个被斩首的斑马。看见另一个沿着她的身体被撕开。一个狙击手躺在那里，脸上有一个凹陷的洞。另一个则是死于从胸腔里取出的三块肉。我杀了他们，但我没有意识到这一点。甚至没有意识到他们在那里。不仅仅是枪骑兵身上的伤口在跳动和灼烧，我还没有感觉到。疼痛如此熟悉，我甚至都没有意识到。我摇摇晃晃地抓起一张被踢翻的桌子。我什么时候把它踢翻的？是我，还是别的什么人？
I shook as I dropped the sword. In Xanthe’s eyes, I was evil incarnate. And Bluebelle stared at me as if realizing just how deadly I could be when so inclined. I wasn’t the mare she’d dropped on her head back in the refinery. My chest ached terribly, like there was a fire digging into whatever now passed for a heart. “Don’t look at me like that…” I asked in a low rush. They kept staring. If it had been my friends looking at me that way, I don’t know what I would have done. “Don’t look at me!” I screamed at them.
当我放下剑的时候，我颤抖着。在桑特看来，我是邪恶的化身。布鲁贝尔盯着我，仿佛意识到了一旦有这样的倾向，我会变得多么致命。我不再是那匹她在炼油厂时摔在头上的母马了。我的胸口疼得厉害，就像有一团火在不知从哪里冒出一颗心脏似的。"不要那样看着我......"我急促地问道。他们一直盯着我看。如果是我的朋友那样看着我，我不知道我会怎么做。"别看我!"我朝他们大喊大叫。
I liked it better when I was missing half my face. It was easier than missing half my sanity.
我更喜欢我失去半边脸的时候。这比失去一半的理智要容易得多。
* * *
* * *
Finally, I found the morgue. It was, predictably, located in the vicinity of ‘Medical’, which was marked in great big signs written in two different languages. Like everything else, it had been tossed long ago, but it had a sink. I look the opportunity to wash the blood off my face. It didn’t seem to come off though, no matter how much I scrubbed. Then I noticed the mirror; there was a nick below my horn that kept bleeding. It was taking its sweet time healing, but with all the Enervation in the room… “So. Why are you here?” I asked Xanthe as I dabbed at the wound with a roll of dirty gauze; I’d probably make Glory scream in frustration if she saw me, but the blood was getting annoying. She stared at her hooves and said the ‘m name’. “I just took a bullet for you! Tell me!” I snapped.
最后，我找到了停尸房。不出所料，它坐落在医疗区附近，医疗区用两种不同的语言书写着巨大的标志。像其他东西一样，它很久以前就被扔掉了，但是它有一个水槽。我期待着洗去脸上鲜血的机会。不过，不管我怎么擦，它看起来还是没有脱落。然后我注意到了镜子，在我的角下面有一个不断流血的缺口。它正在慢慢康复，但屋子里充满了能量......"所以。你为什么在这里?"当我用一卷肮脏的纱布轻轻擦拭伤口时，我问赞斯;如果晨辉看到我，我可能会让她沮丧地尖叫，但是血液变得越来越烦人。她盯着自己的蹄子，说着'm名字'。"我刚刚为你挡了一颗子弹！告诉我!"我厉声说道。
She jumped and lay flat on the ground. “There was a mighty warrior during the war who could not be felled. A magical artifact preserved her on the battlefield. Somehow she was laid low in a battle in the badlands outside the city. Her body
她跳起来，平躺在地上。"战争期间有一个强大的战士，他不能被击倒。一件魔法制品使她在战场上保存了下来。不知怎么的，她在城外荒地的一场战斗中牺牲了。她的身体
was brought here. We learned from a ghoul who had been alive back then that the talisman had never been removed from the body. So we came here to get it for Legate Vitiosus.”
被带到这里。我们从一个当时还活着的食尸鬼那里得知，这个护身符从未从尸体上拿走过。所以我们来这里是为维蒂奥苏斯大使买的。"
“Shifty?” I asked, and she looked nervously confused. “Was that the ghoul’s name?”
"诡计多端?"我问道，她看起来很紧张，很困惑。"那是盗尸者的名字吗?"
The nervous confusion became nervous sadness as she nodded. “I believe so. He bemoaned many opportunities missed,” she said as she swallowed hard and looked around. “We arrived but found those pegasi here. We did not know why, only that they had explosives. We could not risk the artifact getting destroyed.”
当她点头时，紧张的困惑变成了紧张的悲伤。""我想是的。他为错过了许多机会而感到惋惜,"她一边说，一边艰难地咽了口唾沫，环顾四周。"我们来到这里，却发现了那些飞马座。我们不知道为什么，只知道他们有炸药。我们不能冒着艺术品被毁掉的危险。"
“Right. Because talking things out and working out an agreement suiting both sides is a stupid idea.” I sighed and stepped away from the sink, a few rads hotter, and looked at the door to the morgue.
"对。因为谈判解决问题，达成一个双方都满意的协议，是一个愚蠢的想法。"我叹了口气，走出水槽，看着太平间的门。
“So if this magic thingy was so powerful, how’d this warrior o’ yours get killed?” Bluebelle asked.
"那么，如果这个魔法物体如此强大，你的这个战士是怎么被杀死的?"布鲁贝尔问道。
“No zebra knows,” Xanthe replied quietly as she looked around the medical room at the smashed cabinets and slashed Ministry of Peace pictures. Hunks of meat, preserved by Enervation, were scattered everywhere, lying dry and dark on the gurneys and floor. Bloody bonesaws and scalpels showed the butchery that had taken place here. “No bullet could slay her. She would fall, and then rise again.”
"没有斑马知道,"赞西一边平静地回答，一边环顾医疗室里被砸碎的橱柜和被砍伤的和平部图片。大块大块的肉，由Enervation保存，散落各处，躺在干燥和黑暗的轮床和地板上。血淋淋的尸骨和手术刀显示了这里发生的屠杀。"没有一颗子弹能杀死她。她会跌倒，然后又爬起来。"
“Sounds like somepony I know,” Bluebelle said as she looked over at me. “Seriously. He just shot you and you treated it like it was nothing!”
"听起来像是我认识的一匹小马,"布鲁贝尔看着我说。"说真的。他刚刚开枪打了你，你却视而不见!"
“Regeneration talisman, synthetic organs, and artificial legs...” I muttered as I sucked on my last ruby; when had gems become comfort food? “He’d have to shoot me more than just once to kill me. He might get me with a headshot, though,” I said as I put my helmet back on. He said this Legate wanted to kill me, sure, but I wasn’t going to count on him not taking the honor himself.
"再生护身符、合成器官和人造腿......"我一边吮吸着最后一颗红宝石，一边喃喃自语道;宝石什么时候变成了舒适的食物？"要杀我，他必须不止一次地向我开枪。不过，他可能会给我来个爆头,"我一边说，一边把头盔戴上。他说这个使者当然想杀了我，但是我不能指望他自己不会得到这个荣誉。
I couldn’t trust my E.F.S. anymore. There could have been two red bars or twenty in the morgue. They kept shifting around on me. Bluebelle had taken the opportunity to grab a battered hoofball helmet left in the Special Processing area; Lancer’s promise to spare me didn’t extend to anypony with me. I looked at the collar around her throat and then at Xanthe. I wasn’t exactly sure where she fell
我再也不能相信我的e.f.s了。太平间里可能有二十根红条。他们不停地在我身上转来转去。布鲁贝尔抓住机会抓住特别处理区留下的一个破旧的蹄球头盔;兰瑟答应饶恕我的承诺并没有延伸到我身边的任何小马。我看了看她脖子上的项圈，然后又看了看Xanthe。我不确定她是从哪儿摔下来的
on the smart pony scale.
就像小马一样聪明。
“Can you do something about her collar?” I asked, trying to ignore the noises that didn’t fit. I kept hearing what I imagined to be a dozen exploding collars going off at once. I think bomb collars were my number one most hated device in the Hoof.
"你能把她的项圈弄一下吗?"我问道，尽量不去理会那些不合适的噪音。我不断听到我想象中的十几个爆炸项圈同时爆炸的声音。我认为炸弹项圈是我最讨厌的霍夫设备。
“What?” Bluebelle said as she pointed at Xanthe. “I’m not going to let a filthy stripe touch it! Find me some pony who can do the job! I don’t need no help from her!”
"什么?"布卢贝尔指着Xanthe说。"我不会让一条脏条纹碰它的！给我找个能干这活的小马！我不需要她的帮助!"
Xanthe shrank back. “I will not. You may have cursed me, but I owe nothing to ponykind!”
桑丝缩了回去。"我不会的。你可以诅咒我，但我不欠马种什么!"
In a flash, I whirled on both of them. “You!” I snapped at Bluebelle, grabbing her shoulders. She suddenly looked like she expected to get a faceful of liquid glass. “The only pony here who isn’t disintegrating folks is me! Do you want me to try and get that collar off you? Do you?” She quickly shook her head, and I rounded on Xanthe. She gave an eep and curled up in horror. “And you! Didn’t you just tell me that you can’t go home now that you’re cursed? That means you are stuck here! THAT means that you should put whatever skills you have to use helping ponies and generating good will. Because your alternative is to join the Harbingers, and they really piss me off!”
一瞬间，我转向他们两个。"你!"我抓住Bluebelle的肩膀，朝她猛拍了一下。她突然看起来好像她期望得到一脸的液体玻璃。"这里唯一没有崩溃的小马就是我！你想让我试着把你的项圈拿下来吗？是吗?"她很快地摇了摇头，我对赞斯大发雷霆。她惊恐地蜷缩了起来。"还有你！你刚才不是说你被诅咒了不能回家吗？这意味着你被困在这里了！这意味着你应该把你所有的技能用来帮助小马和产生良好的意愿。因为你的选择就是加入"先驱者"，他们真的把我惹毛了!"
She backed up and started shaking terribly. Ugh… she’d just been cursed by the most evilest thing her people knew… me… and cut off from said people on pain of death… and here I was shouting at her! I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the distant screaming of my friends. They weren’t here. It was just me being crazy. Don’t take it out on her. “Look. This sucks for both of you. Neither of you asked to be put in this mess… and that’s all that happens around me. I can run into a total stranger and completely fuck their life up just by standing there. But I can’t do this all on my own anymore. If you two can help each other… please… help.”
她往后退了退，开始抖得厉害。呃......她刚刚被她的人民所知道的最邪恶的东西所诅咒......我......并且被切断了与所说的人的联系，痛苦的死亡......而我在这里对她大喊大叫！我闭上眼睛，尽量不去理会远处朋友们的尖叫。他们不在这里。只是我疯了。别拿她出气。"你看。这对你们俩来说都很糟糕。你们都没有要求被置于这种混乱之中......这就是我身边发生的一切。我只要站在那里，就能碰到一个完全陌生的人，把他们的生活搞得一团糟。但是我不能再一个人做这些了。如果你们两个能互相帮助......请......帮忙。"
I sighed. That was all I could hope for. Then I peeked and saw Bluebelle grudgingly tilt her head to let the zebra examine it. “Just… don’t blow my damned head off,” the blue mare said as she clenched her eyes closed.
我叹了口气。这就是我所希望的。然后我偷看了一眼，看到蓝色美女不情愿地歪着头让斑马仔细检查。"只是......不要打爆我该死的头,"蓝色母马说，她紧闭着眼睛。
Xanthe examined the collar as I checked the door. Locked, but I had a card.
当我检查门的时候，赞斯检查了项圈。锁上了，但我有一张卡。
Carefully I opened it and peeked down the short hallway on the other side.
我小心翼翼地打开它，顺着另一边短短的走廊往下看。
Funny… everywhere else was completely disgusting, but the room beyond looked clean. “I… I don’t think…” she stammered as she pulled her hooves away.
有趣的是......其他地方都很恶心，但是远处的房间看起来很干净。"我.....。."我不认为......"她结结巴巴地说，同时拉开她的蹄子。
“If you’re not sure, it’s okay. Better that than not trying,” I said as I looked back through the crack into the morgue. There were gurneys set up like workstations, and along one wall were dozens of steel doors like those in 99’s tiny morgue. I always thought they looked like little refrigerators. The flickering lights had been replaced by steadier illumination, and I could see some terminals on a gurney.
"如果你不确定，也没关系。总比不试要好,"我一边说，一边透过缝隙回头望向停尸房。那里有像工作站一样的轮床，沿着一面墙有几十个像99号小停尸房那样的钢制门。我一直认为它们看起来像小冰箱。闪烁的灯光已经被更稳定的照明所取代，我可以看到轮床上的一些终端。
I slowly started through the short hallway. “Okay, I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t want to fight you,” I called out as I moved forward, not sure what was my E.F.S. giving me warnings and what was all in my head. I couldn’t believe the morgue would be empty, and after my tirade and the fights above, I doubted that they were ignorant of us being here.
我慢慢地穿过短短的走廊。"好吧，我知道这听起来很疯狂，但我不想和你打架,"我向前走的时候喊道，不知道我的e.f.s给了我什么警告，还有我脑子里在想什么。我简直不敢相信太平间是空的，在我的长篇大论和上面的争吵之后，我怀疑他们是否不知道我们在这里。
“In a pig’s eye,” a stallion muttered in return.
"在猪的眼睛里,"一匹种马咕哝着回答。
“She ain’t red,” said a mare, weakly.
"她不红,"一匹母马虚弱地说。
“Identify yourself!” drawled a familiar-sounding voice.
"表明身份!"一个熟悉的声音慢吞吞地说。
“Twister?” I asked, then peeked around the corner at three power-armored pegasi. They’d made an impromptu barricade that would have lasted all of three seconds against a concentrated attack. “What are you doing here?” I asked the Neighvarro pegasus I’d met and ridden from Spike’s cave.
"龙卷风?"我问道，然后从角落里窥视着三个动力装甲飞马。他们设置了一个临时路障，可以持续整整三秒钟，抵御集中攻击。"你在这儿干什么?"我问过我在斯派克的洞穴里遇到并骑过的邻居飞马。
She popped off her helmet, her lavender coat reminding me of Dazzle. More purplish-blue but no glitter in Twister’s mane, though. “Blackjack… is that…” She took in my appearance in one long horrified look. “What in tarnation happened to you, girl? T’aint no decent reason fer any mare anywhere ta have that much iron in their body!”
她脱下了头盔，淡紫色的外套让我想起了"耀眼"。更多的紫蓝色，但没有闪烁在托斯特的鬃毛，虽然。"黑杰克......那是......"她长时间惊恐地看着我。""你到底怎么了，姑娘？任何地方的母马体内都有那么多的铁，这是没有道理的!"
“Hoofington happened,” I replied with a wan smile. “I saw the shooting. Wanted to see what’s up.”
"胡芬顿发生了,"我回答，脸上带着苍白的微笑。"我看到了枪击。想知道怎么回事。"
The stallion with the missiles growled, “You think we’re stupid ‘nuff ta think yer stupid ‘nuff ta just trot down here ‘cause yer curious? Ain’t nopony that dumb anywhere!”
那匹带着导弹的种马咆哮着,"你以为我们愚蠢到只会因为好奇就跑到这里来?"？哪儿也没有那么笨的小马!"
“Y’all don’t know Blackjack, Boomer.” The lavender pegasus looked at Bluebelle and Xanthe with a mix of suspicion and distaste. “What y’all doin’ with that stripe? She looks like one o’ them that pinned us in here!”
"你们都不知道黑杰克，布玛儿。"淡紫色的飞马带着怀疑和厌恶的神情望着Bluebelle和赞西。"你们把那条带子怎么了？她看起来就像是把我们困在这里的那些人中的一个!"
“She met me and her life got ruined as a result,” I said as I stepped a little between Twister and Xanthe. Boomer and Sunset--at least, I thought that was her name--looked at each other immediately. “Oh… I suspect you can relate?” The zebra gave me a look that seemed to say ‘see?’.
"她遇见了我，结果她的生活就毁了,"我说着，在Twister和Xanthe之间走了一小步。布玛儿和日落----至少我以为那是她的名字----立刻对视了一眼。"哦......我想你能理解?"斑马看了我一眼，好像在说"看到了吗?".
Twister finally relaxed. She didn’t look good at all; rather wan and sickly, in fact. I suspected it had to be the Enervation leeching away their life. “I reckon we can. Command didn’t take kindly to us abandonin’ our posts. They were lookin’ ta make an example o’ all three o’ us. I nearly ended up assigned to the wrong side of a firin’ squad. But then I told ‘em what you told me, that Operative Lighthooves made a plague. That got the leadership mighty curious. Turns out we’ve got records of a disease like that.”
龙卷风终于放松了。她看上去一点也不好看，实际上有点憔悴和虚弱。我怀疑这一定是能量吸走了他们的生命。"我想我们可以。指挥官不喜欢我们放弃我们的岗位。他们想杀鸡儆猴。我差点被分配到火力小队的错误一方。但后来我告诉他们你告诉我的，特工莱特霍夫斯制造了一场瘟疫。这引起了领导层的强烈好奇。事实证明，我们有类似这种疾病的记录。"
“Director Mephitis?” I asked.
"梅菲蒂斯主任?"我问道。
“Mhmmm. One of the oldest medical families in the Enclave wrote about it.” I grit my teeth, wishing I could have castrated him with sheer rage. After what he did to Cirrus in that recording... I tried to tone down the shooty look. Sunset and Boomer didn’t know me as well as she did, and she barely knew me at that. As I relaxed, everyone seemed to calm down a bit. “Since the three of us were contaminated, we were sent with a surface team to try and find out just what Thunderhead’s been up to.”
"嗯.....。一个昂科雷最古老的医疗家族写过这样的文章。"我咬紧牙关，真希望我当时可以大发雷霆把他阉了。在他在录音里对西瑞斯做了那些事之后......我试着淡化那种扫兴的表情。日落和布玛儿并不像她那样了解我，那时她几乎不了解我。当我放松下来的时候，每个人似乎都冷静了一点。"由于我们三人都被污染了，我们被派遣了一个地面小组，试图找出Thunderhead到底在做什么。"
“Isn’t that against the treaty Neighvarro has with Thunderhead?” I asked with a frown.
"这不是违反了邻居与雷霆头的条约吗?"我皱着眉头问。
“Very,” Sunset said as she struggled with her helmet. After a bit she finally popped the seal, revealing a rust-colored mare with an orange-and-yellow-striped mane. “Officially, we never came back. We’re deserters until we complete our mission.” She looked at the other two and then at me. “Doubt them Dunderheads would believe it for a second, but it’ll be a handy excuse fer why we’re down here.”
"非常,"日落一边说，一边挣扎着拿起她的头盔。过了一会儿，她终于打开了封条，露出了一匹棕褐色的母马，鬃毛是橙黄相间的条纹。"按照官方说法，我们再也没有回来。在完成任务之前，我们都是逃兵。"她看了看另外两个，然后又看了看我。"我怀疑那些笨蛋会相信这一点，但这是我们来这里的一个很好的借口。"
“I see. And did you find something?” I asked as I looked at the terminals.
"我明白了。你找到什么了吗?"我看着终端机问道。
Twister nodded. “We did. They found the plague preserved in the bodies in the
图斯特点点头。"我们做到了。他们发现这种瘟疫保存在
freezer,” she said as she gestured to the shiny metal doors. “Apparently it’s a zebra disease that makes them eat the flesh of the dead.”
"冰箱,"她指着那扇闪亮的金属门说。"很明显，这是一种让他们吃死人肉的斑马病。"
Xanthe’s eyes popped wide. “Blood hunger plague is here?!” She immediately started to wipe her hooves. “I… this place… we must all leave it!”
赞斯的眼睛睁得大大的。"血饿瘟疫来了?!"她立刻开始擦她的蹄子。"我.....。.这个地方...我们必须离开它!"
“Relax.” It’s only a disease that drives you slowly insane till you eat other ponies’ legs. “What do you know about it?” I asked the zebra.
"放松。"它只是一种让你慢慢发疯的疾病，直到你吃掉其他小马的腿。"你知道什么?"我问斑马。
“A horrible disease that breaks out during terrible famines. When there is no food, a zebra becomes desperate enough to eat their own kind! Then the hunger takes effect. When they are killed, the starving eat their flesh and are infected themselves. No amount of cooking can kill the disease.” And nor could stable digesters.
"在可怕的饥荒中爆发的一种可怕的疾病。当没有食物的时候，斑马会绝望地吃掉自己的同类！然后饥饿开始起作用。当他们被杀死时，饥饿的人会吃掉他们的肉并感染他们自己。再多的烹饪也不能杀死这种疾病。"而且稳定的消化器也不能。
“Is… is there a cure?” Could I have done something to save my home? As messed up as it had been…
"有...有治愈的方法吗?"我能做点什么来拯救我的家吗？尽管一团糟..。
But Xanthe just shook her head. “In my home, any village afflicted with the plague would be quarantined and burned. The disease is not like others. It must be ingested. Only in the stomach does it start to spread. But if some of the disease gets on your hoof and transferred to your meal, you can infect yourself or others. One strip of contaminated flesh in a cookpot, and an entire village can be lost.” I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. Perhaps I should have done it differently, but knowing that I hadn’t messed up… that there wasn’t a simple cure like brahmin milk or something… was a great relief to me.
但赞丝只是摇了摇头。"在我家，任何一个染上瘟疫的村庄都会被隔离起来烧掉。这种疾病与其他疾病不同。一定是摄入的。只有在胃部才会开始扩散。但是，如果一些疾病进入你的蹄子并转移到你的食物中，你可能会感染你自己或其他人。在一个烹饪锅里放一块被污染的肉，整个村庄就会消失。"我感到肩上的重担消失了。也许我应该用不同的方式去做，但是知道我没有搞砸...没有像婆罗门牛奶或其他什么东西那样简单的治愈方法...对我来说是一种巨大的解脱。
“Since it’s a zebra disease anyway, why doesn’t it affect pegasi?” I asked, and immediately Twister and Sunset looked at each other uneasily. Great, now what?
"既然这是一种斑马病，为什么它不影响飞马座?"我问道，Twister和Sunset立刻不安地看着对方。很好，现在怎么办？
Sunset frowned. “Pegasi are ponies the most different from zebra. The disease has a harder time getting established in us. But…” She trotted over to one of the metal doors in the wall. I joined her as she carefully opened the door with her hoof. There was a long metal table. Carefully, the rust colored mare tugged the table out.
日落皱起了眉头。"飞马座是与斑马最不同的小马。这种疾病很难在我们身上扎根。但是......"她小跑着来到墙上的一扇金属门前。当她用蹄子小心翼翼地开门时，我加入了她的行列。有一张长长的金属桌子。那匹铁锈色的母马小心翼翼地把桌子拖了出来。
There were four dead pegasi on it. All of them had the chewed appearance of a raider making a meal of their limbs. “These are all Neighvarro ponies who’ve gone missing in the last two weeks. Maybe deserters like us… maybe not.” Two weeks was long enough for the disease to run its course. Even more disturbing,
飞马座上有四个死人。所有这些人看上去都像一架掠夺者在吞噬他们的四肢。"这些都是过去两周失踪的邻居小马。也许像我们这样的逃兵......也许不是。"两个星期的时间足以让这种疾病发展下去。更令人不安的是
the ponies had been carved. Great chunks of flesh had been removed, not wildly, but with care. Only their heads were more or less untouched, though their lips were chewed off in permanent rictus grins.
小马是被雕刻过的。大块大块的肉被小心翼翼地切除了，不是疯狂地切除。只有他们的头或多或少没有被碰过，虽然他们的嘴唇永远咧着嘴笑着被咬掉了。
“Those pegasi outside aren’t with you, are they?” I asked with a sinking sensation.
"外面那些飞马不是跟你在一起的吧?"我带着沉重的心情问道。
“There are pegasi outside? Fighting the zebra?” Twister asked, looking worried as she glanced at the other two.
"外面有飞马座吗？与斑马搏斗?"托斯特问道，看起来很担心，她瞥了另外两个人一眼。
I lifted the crate of explosives with my magic. “They had this.”
我用魔法举起了那箱炸药。"他们有这个。"
“Whoa!” Boomer rushed over to the long black box and flipped it open with far more eagerness than I would have. Inside were a number of containers filled with strange colored fluids and tubes. “Aw yeah! A four part liquid rainbow explosive with lightning detonation system. Spicy!” The stallion chuckled. “Set this sucker off and get ready for some hella rough weather!”
"哇!"布玛儿冲向那个长长的黑盒子，急切地把它翻开，比我想象的要快得多。里面是一些装满奇怪颜色的液体和管子的容器。"啊，是的！一种带有雷电起爆系统的液体彩虹炸药。辣!"种马咯咯地笑了起来。"把这玩意儿启动，准备迎接恶劣的天气吧!"
“Y’all know about explosives?” Bluebelle asked at once.
"你们都知道炸药吗?"布鲁贝尔立刻问道。
He pulled off his helmet, revealing a bald brown stallion who was surprisingly handsome. He had a prominent chin and wide, easy grin. “Well, yeah. Why else do you think they call me ‘Boomer’?” He wagged his bushy black eyebrows at the uneasy mare.
他脱下头盔，露出一匹秃顶的棕色种马，帅得出奇。他有一个突出的下巴和宽大，随和的笑容。"嗯，是的。不然他们为什么叫我'布玛儿'?"他对那头不安的母马摇了摇浓密的黑眉毛。
“Chili night back at flight school,” Sunset said at once with a roll of her eyes.
"回到飞行学校的辣椒之夜,"夕阳立刻翻了翻白眼说。
“Cleared out the barracks for days,” Twister added solemnly. “Was mandated by command to never feed him beans, or it’d be a crime against pegasus kind.”
"营房被清空了好几天,"特维斯特严肃地补充道。"奉命从不给他吃豆子，否则就是对飞马品种的犯罪。"
“On par with a sonic rainboom,” Sunset finished. “From his hindquarters.”
"就像音爆一样,"日落结束了。"从他的后腿"
“All right! Shut it already,” he muttered, ears folding down. He snorted as he trotted away from the box and peered at Bluebelle’s collar. Then he reached out, did something with his hooves, and a second later yanked it off. Everypony jumped and Bluebelle gave a shriek. He lifted the collar with a hoof. “Piece a junk.” He tossed it into the corner.
"好吧！"已经关上了,"他咕哝着，耳朵垂了下来。他哼着鼻子小跑着离开盒子，盯着布卢贝尔的领子。然后他伸出手，用他的蹄子做了些什么，一秒钟后猛地把它扯了下来。每个小马跳起来，蓝色美女尖叫起来。他用蹄子掀起衣领。"零碎的垃圾。"他把它扔到角落里。
“Are you… you could… I…” Bluebelle stammered a moment, pointing a hoof at Boomer.
"你...你能...我..。。」布鲁贝尔结结巴巴地说了一会儿，用蹄子指了指布默。
“Wut?” he asked with a frown. Suddenly she lunged, grabbed his neck in her hooves, and with a heave flipped him over on to his back, power armor and all. She pressed her lips to his in a long, hard kiss that made his hooves kick helplessly in the air. Then, just as swiftly as she grabbed him, she turned him so he was upright once more with a dreamy look on his face. A moment later, his wings stuck straight out on both sides.
"怎么了?"他皱着眉头问道。突然，她一跃而起，用蹄子抓住了它的脖子，猛地一举把它翻到了背上，还有动力盔甲等等。她把嘴唇紧贴在他的嘴唇上，给了他一个又长又硬的吻，使他的蹄子无助地踢向空中。然后，就在她迅速抓住他的时候，她把他翻了过来，让他又站了起来，脸上带着梦幻般的神情。过了一会儿，他的翅膀从两边伸了出来。
“Thanks,” she replied with a smile as he went red as a cherry.
"谢谢,"当他脸红得像樱桃一样时，她笑着回答。
“Our little boy’s all grown up,” Twister said with a smile to Sunset.
"我们的小男孩已经长大了,"特维斯特对着日落微笑着说。
However, it was Xanthe that caught my eye. She was staring at a clipboard next to a different refrigerator door. “Are you okay?” I asked with a little smile.
然而，正是赞西吸引了我的眼球。她正盯着另一个冰箱门旁边的一个写字板。"你还好吗?"我微笑着问道。
“It’s her,” Xanthe said quietly. “The warrior…”
"是她,"赞斯平静地说。"战士......"
I looked at the door and then at the clipboard. Only one thing caught my eye.
我看了看门，然后又看了看剪贴板。只有一件事吸引了我的眼球。
The name: Shujaa.
名字:Shujaa。
Shit. The talisman he was after was inside one of my best friends. I looked at the clipboard.
该死。他想要的护身符在我一个最好的朋友身上。我看了看剪贴板。
Field Report: subject (identified as Proditor Shujaa) was found at conflict site 99-1238-J. While no injuries were apparent on the body, subject was deceased. Sergeant Twist, the only survivor of the reconnaissance team, was hysterical and had to be sedated for transportation to FMC for treatment. O.I.A. Image liaison Glass has requested the body and any and all objects on or within the body to be turned over to the O.I.A. for transfer to the Ministry of Image. Said transfer is being delayed by order of Camp Director Mephitis. Colonel Cupcake has formally requested all remains to be sent to Miramare Air Station for funeral services.
现场报告:在99-1238-J冲突地点发现目标(确认为ProditorShujaa)。尸体上没有明显的伤痕，目标已经死亡。特威斯特中士是侦察队的唯一幸存者，他歇斯底里，不得不用镇静剂把他送到FMC接受治疗。图像联络处格拉斯要求将尸体和身体上或身体内的任何物体移交给图像部。由于营长梅菲蒂斯的命令，上述转移被推迟。卡帕特上校已经正式要求将所有遗体送往米拉马雷机场进行葬礼服务。
There were maps and pictures attached that made little sense to me. I looked at the door. It was just a look. What could it hurt? I opened it and pulled out the little sliding table…
附带的地图和图片对我来说毫无意义。我看了看门。那只是一个表情。这有什么坏处呢？我打开它，拉出小滑动桌.....。
What was on the table was not a zebra. Not the mare I had seen in a grainy black and white photograph. It was merely so many pieces of zebra heaped around bones. They’d smashed and torn her to pieces; some ghoul had come along and taken some of the remains. Never was I gladder that Rampage was not here to
桌子上的不是斑马。不是我在黑白照片上看到的那匹母马。只不过是一堆堆的斑马骨头罢了。他们把她打得粉碎，把她撕成碎片;一些食尸鬼走了进来，带走了一些残骸。我从来没有因为没有狂暴而高兴过
see this; never was I happier to have a really big bomb to give Shujaa the send-off she deserved.
看到这个，我从来没有更高兴有一个真正的大炸弹给Shujaa送行她应得的。
“Looks like you wasted your time coming here,” I said hoarsely to the horrified, sick-looking zebra.
"看来你来这里是在浪费时间,"我用嘶哑的声音对这只惊恐的、看起来病怏怏的斑马说。
“Everything’s been a waste of time,” Rampage said behind the doors. My chest ached terribly as I sat on the floor.
"一切都是在浪费时间,"拉皮在门后说。我坐在地板上，胸部疼得厉害。
“Set your bomb, Boomer,” I said loudly, closing my eyes. “Set if for five minutes. Let Lancer see Shujaa for himself. There is no talisman… so let us go.” Was it my imagination, or was that faintest shimmer the zebra himself? I itched to stab the air as it stepped closer. I stared at the distortion. “Going to shoot us in the back now?”
"布玛儿，把炸弹放好,"我闭上眼睛，大声说道。"设置if为5分钟。让兰瑟自己去见舒贾。没有护身符......所以让我们走吧。"是我的想象，还是斑马身上最微弱的微光？当空气越来越近的时候，我浑身发痒，想要刺穿它。我盯着失真的画面。"现在要从背后向我们开枪吗?"
There was no reply. I wasn’t even sure he’d been there at all. I could hear the voices of the dead screaming distantly. My friends were among them. I could hear thousands of zebras wailing as they starved and gnashed their teeth, some giving in to hunger, some lunging ahead to be cut down by the turrets, and some blowing their own heads off with their collars. It didn’t matter if it was in my head or not. I rose to my hooves and there was nothing but hate in me. Boomer pushed some buttons, and the rainbow fluids began to swirl together and spark magically as a timer counted down.
没有回音。我甚至不确定他是否在那里。我能听到远处死者的尖叫声。我的朋友也在其中。我能听到成千上万的斑马在哭泣，他们饿得咬牙切齿，有些向饥饿屈服，有些猛扑过来被塔楼砍下，有些用项圈把自己的头轰掉。它是不是在我的脑子里并不重要。我猛地站了起来，心里除了恨还是恨。布默按了几个按钮，彩虹色的液体开始混合在一起，魔术般地在计时器倒计时时迸发出火花。
Slowly I made my way to the door back into medical, then up the stairs. Behind me I could hear the soft hoofsteps of the living and the dead. We were leaving. Celestia help anypony who got in my way. I stepped into the night rain; the lightning blasted overhead and the thunder rolled through my blood as if the elements themselves had finally seen this blight, this sin… and roared against it.
我慢慢地走向医务室的大门，然后上了楼梯。在我身后，我能听到生者和死者柔和的蹄声。我们要走了。天国帮助任何挡我道的小马。我步入夜雨中，头顶上的电闪雷鸣，雷声滚过我的血液，仿佛大自然本身终于看到了这种枯萎，这种罪恶......并对它咆哮。
“Get down, on the ground n--” bellowed the pegasus in the sleeker, fancier-looking Thunderhead armor. Five of them, four on the ground and one in the air. Only five? Then I was on him, racing the short distance separating us as if I were in S.A.T.S. and I grabbed the respirator tubes running to his muzzle. My twisting hands flipped him over as he started firing wildly. The sword flashed in the lightning, glistening in the light. It entered his crotch, and moved till it reached his throat in one terrific slash. Then I heaved him, his bloody viscera erupting from the split armor over the face of the second pegasus.
"趴下，趴在地上——"穿着更时髦、更漂亮的雷霆头盔甲的飞马吼道。五个，四个在地面，一个在空中。只有五个？然后我骑在他身上，在我们之间的短距离内赛跑，就好像我在S.A.T.S.一样，我抓住了通向他口鼻的呼吸器管子。当他开始疯狂射击时，我扭动的双手把他翻了过来。剑在闪电中闪烁，在光线中闪闪发光。它进入了他的胯部，一直移动到他的喉咙，狠狠地砍了一刀。然后我把他举起来，他血淋淋的内脏从第二匹飞马脸上裂开的盔甲中喷出。
I saw light. Felt heat. Moved. My hooves raced towards the source of those
我看到了光明。感受热量。感动。我的蹄子冲向那些东西的源头
crimson beams. So hot. Very hot. I imagined myself bursting into flame. Exploding from all the rage and hate inside me. I imagined every one of these Enclave to be the camp director. I was screaming something; the words didn’t matter anymore as I closed the distance like I’d taken a hit of Flash. Out came Duty and Sacrifice. Four shots in slow motion chewed through the fancy visor. The fifth shot blew a red fountain of chunks as his beam rifles went dark.
深红色的光束。太性感了。非常热。我想象着自己燃烧起来。从我内心的愤怒和仇恨中爆发出来。我想象着这里的每一个人都是集中营的主管。我在尖叫着什么;当我像吸了一口闪光灯一样拉近距离的时候，那些话已经不重要了。出现了责任和牺牲。四个慢动作的镜头咬穿了花哨的遮阳板。第五声枪响时，他的来复枪射出了一个红色的大块喷泉。
One of the pegasi took to the air. I leapt up, my mechanical fingers grabbing that scorpion tail as we lifted higher and higher into the flashing sky. This was Lighthooves, the sneaky son of a mule who had seen this atrocity and not destroyed it. Who had used it. Who had killed other pegasi just to make his disease work on his own kind. Glory had once mentioned how tough pegasi wings were…
其中一个飞马座飞向空中。我跳了起来，我的机械手指抓住了蝎子的尾巴，我们越举越高，飞向闪烁的天空。这就是lightthoves，一头骡子的鬼鬼祟祟的儿子，他看到了这种暴行，但没有摧毁它。谁用过它。他杀死了其他的飞马座只是为了让他的疾病在他自己的同类身上起作用。晨辉曾经提到飞马座的翅膀是多么坚硬..。
My sword was tougher.
我的剑更结实。
I stabbed it through the armor covering, and the mare inside screamed. With all the strength I could manage in my horn, I ripped the blade down completely through her wing, and we tumbled together end over end. The airborne pegasus was close… too close. Perhaps he didn’t notice her falling wing. Perhaps he was just unlucky. He blasted me with glowing, disintegrating energy, the magic eating into my armor. If I’d been flesh and blood, perhaps I would have died then, transformed into glowing slop.
我刺穿了它的盔甲，里面的母马尖叫起来。我用尽了我的角所有的力气，把刀片从她的翅膀上完全扯了下来，我们一起翻了个跟头。空降飞马号接近了...太近了。也许他没有注意到她掉下来的翅膀。也许他只是运气不好。他用灼热、分解的能量攻击我，魔法侵蚀着我的盔甲。如果我是血肉之躯，也许那时我就已经死了，变成了发光的垃圾。
I wasn’t flesh and blood. I was hatred and pain in pony shape.
我不是血肉之躯。我是小马形状的仇恨和痛苦。
I leapt the distance and wrapped my forehooves around his neck. He flipped almost completely upside-down, his energy cannons blasting. This close, I could almost imagine I could see his eye through his visor. I had no idea how far up we were. I could hear shouting, but then, I could hear screaming, too. Could hear thunder. Could hear everything except my own heart. Within, I was silent. My fingers gripped his helmet as he shook and shot wildly. My other hoof beat at his face again and again with all the force I could muster. There was a crack, a pop, and then the left side of the visor popped free. I stared into a wide green eye, saw two pinpricks of red reflected in it.
我跳过去，用前蹄勒住他的脖子。他几乎完全颠倒过来，他的能量炮轰鸣着。这么近的距离，我几乎可以想象我可以透过他的面罩看到他的眼睛。我不知道我们到了多高的地方。我能听到喊叫声，但接着，我也能听到尖叫声。可以听到雷声。除了我自己的心，什么都能听见。在里面，我沉默了。我的手指紧紧抓住他的头盔，他发抖，疯狂地射击。我的另一只蹄子用我所能集中的全部力量一遍又一遍地敲打着他的脸。有一条裂缝，一声爆裂，然后遮阳板的左侧弹了出来。我凝视着一只绿色的大眼睛，看到里面反射出两个小红点。
My horn managed three magical bullets before it burned out. The pegasus’s wings went limp, and we tumbled down into the rain and darkness. The bones broke my fall, snapping and scattering as they parted beneath me to deposit me
我的号角在燃尽前发出了三颗魔法子弹。飞马的翅膀软弱无力，我们跌落在雨中和黑暗中。这些骨头折断了我的身体，在我下面分开，把我推下去的时候，它们断断续续地散开了
on the muddy ground. I should have stayed down. I should have.
在泥泞的土地上。我应该蹲下来的。我应该这么做的。
I wasn’t done yet. I ignored the flashing lights, the warnings that I was crippled and needed to stay down. I pulled myself to my hooves, walked towards a one-winged pegasus that was trying to turn me to ash even as I approached. I might not have had a working horn, but I had fingers. And I had bones. The mare moved so slowly. Too slowly. I plucked one of the scattered bones, a rib, by the look of it, and sprang upon her. Rover was right… fingers were better. Fingers of one hoof seized her armor, her beam rifle flashing past me by inches. I could feel the warmth of the magic on my hide. Fingers of my other hoof drove the broken end of the rib through the hole of the severed wing. It didn’t kill her. That was okay. I had another.
我还没说完呢。我忽略了那些闪烁的灯光，忽略了那些警告说我是瘸子，需要蹲下的警告。我竭尽全力，走向一匹只有一只翅膀的飞马，就在我接近它的时候，它还想把我变成灰烬。我可能没有能用的号角，但我有手指。我还有骨头。母马移动得很慢。太慢了。我扯下一根散落的骨头，一根肋骨，看上去像是一根肋骨，扑向她。罗孚是对的...手指更好。一只蹄子的手指抓住她的盔甲，她的步枪从我身边几英寸地闪过。我能感觉到魔法的温暖在我的皮肤上。我另一只蹄子的手指把断掉的肋骨的一端穿过断掉的翅膀的洞。它没有杀死她。没关系。我还有一个。
And another. And another.
再来一杯。再来一杯。
When she stopped firing, I rose and looked at the others through the rain. The last pegasus had gotten clear of the corpse I’d thrown in her face. She saw me running at her. Took to the air… Flying for her life.
当她停止射击时，我站起身，透过雨水看着其他人。最后一匹飞马已经摆脱了我扔在她脸上的尸体。她看见我向她跑去。飞向天空...为了她的生命而飞翔。
She almost made it. My hands grabbed her stinger tail, and we were aloft. She looked down at me and flew by one of the towers with its rusty turret still pointing guns at the building below. I supposed she intended to scrape me off.
她差点就成功了。我的手抓住了她的尾巴，我们就在空中了。她低头看着我，飞过一座塔楼，塔楼上锈迹斑斑的炮塔还在用枪指着下面的建筑。我猜想她是想把我赶走。
Nopony was scraping me anywhere. My body slammed into the rusty tower, but I had no lungs to crush or puncture and no heart to falter. My rear legs gripped the rusty rails and my fingers locked down on the tail. Suddenly the pegasus went from accelerating forward to a dead stop, snapping like a rubber band. Then she was going backwards once more as I heaved and kicked off the tower. We flipped end over end as we fell, her wings struggling for purchase with my massive weight attached. We landed square on a curved roof and smashed through the rusty metal plating.
没有矮种马在哪里刮我。我的身体撞上了生锈的塔楼，但我没有肺可以挤压或刺穿，也没有心脏可以颤抖。我的后腿紧紧抓住锈迹斑斑的栏杆，手指紧紧抓住尾巴。突然，飞马号从加速前进变成了急停，像橡皮筋一样折断了。然后她又往后退了一步，我用力把她踢出了塔楼。我们倒下的时候翻了个底朝天，她的翅膀在我巨大的重量下挣扎着想要买下它。我们降落在一个弯曲的屋顶上，撞穿了生锈的金属板。
Inside, bunk beds stacked five high shattered beneath us. Bones, hide, and rags snapped and tore as dust filled the air. The pegasus pulled herself to her hooves, turning to face me as I rose and started forward. Had she run, had she fled, she might have gotten away in those seconds.
里面的双层床在我们下面高达五英尺，已经支离破碎。空气中弥漫着灰尘，骨头、兽皮和破布都断裂撕裂了。飞马竭尽全力，在我起身向前时转过身来面对着我。如果她跑了，如果她逃跑了，她可能在那几秒钟内就跑掉了。
Not anymore.
现在不是了。
The gatling beam guns flashed, each shot seemed to take a minute as I charged.
加特林机枪的光束闪烁着，在我冲锋的时候，每一发子弹似乎都要花费一分钟。
My body was in agony. So what? I was always in agony. Life was agony. I knew exactly how Deus must have felt when he was dropped on those zebras. Hurt. Violated. Angry. Nothing would stop him. Nothing would stop me now. I tackled her neck and drove her into the stack of bunk beds behind her. The structure collapsed upon us, yet I still didn’t stop. My rear legs tore up the ground as I pushed forward. I wanted her to break, wanted my body to fail. Wanted this whole world to shatter.
我的身体非常痛苦。那又怎样？我总是很痛苦。生活是痛苦的。我很清楚地知道当天王被扔到那些斑马身上时他的感受。受伤。被侵犯。愤怒。没有什么能阻止他。现在没有什么能阻止我了。我扭住她的脖子，把她推到她身后的一堆上下铺上。建筑倒塌在我们身上，但我仍然没有停下来。当我向前推进时，我的后腿撕裂了地面。我希望她崩溃，希望我的身体垮掉。想让整个世界粉碎。
I wanted to kill in the worst way possible.
我想用最糟糕的方式杀人。
We moved through the avalanching wood and bone and finally ran out of building. The thin metal wall ripped through with a shriek and dumped us back in the mud. Her fancy gatling weapons were nothing against my rage; as I smashed her into a tangle of razor wire, both her weapons finally sparked and popped and went dark as she reclined against it. Her wings beat frantically.
我们穿过雪崩般的木头和骨头，终于跑出了大楼。那堵薄薄的金属墙发出一声尖叫，把我们扔回了泥地里。她那奇特的加特林机关枪并不能抵挡我的怒火;当我把她撞进一堆乱七八糟的铁丝网时，她的两把武器终于发出火花，砰地一声爆炸，然后她靠在那上面，变成了黑暗。她的翅膀疯狂地拍打着。
She wasn’t going anywhere.
她哪儿也不去。
I stood before her like a zebra and began to beat and pound and rip at her armor. My hooves could repair themselves. So could her armor, if I gave her the time. I wasn’t about to do that. I beat and smashed her visor till it popped open. Wide purple eyes stared as she raised her forelegs defensively. I simply smashed and tore into them along with her face. Finally I gripped her helmet with my fingers and began to pull. My motors hummed, sparked, and smoked. My skin stretched and strained as if I were going to tear myself in two.
我像一只斑马一样站在她面前，开始不停地捶打撕扯她的盔甲。我的蹄子可以自我修复。如果我给她时间，她的盔甲也可以。我没打算那么做。我打碎了她的面罩，直到它弹开。紫色的大眼睛瞪得大大的，她抬起前腿防御地看着。我只是把它们连同她的脸一起撕碎了。最后，我用手指抓住她的头盔，开始拉。我的马达嗡嗡作响，发出火花，然后开始抽烟。我的皮肤绷得紧紧的，好像要把自己撕成两半似的。
Maybe I was. Maybe I wanted to.
也许是吧。也许我想这么做。
Then there was a scream of metal as I ripped her faceplate off. I held her head with one hand and drew back my hoof to smash her face out the back of her skull.
然后，当我扯下她的面板时，传来一声金属的尖叫。我用一只手托着她的头，把蹄子往后拉，把她的脸从后脑勺上敲了下去。
Then the lightning flashed, and I saw Glory’s face. Not Rainbow Dash’s… Glory. Purple mane peeked out. The lightning flashed again; I looked at the red dripping out of her mouth and nostrils. Her lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear a thing. Just thunder and screams. My friends and the others were running at me. I saw the pain in her eyes… darker than the pony I remembered…
然后电闪雷鸣，我看见了晨辉的脸。不是彩虹冲刺的...晨辉。紫色的鬃毛露了出来。电闪雷鸣，我看见红色的东西从她的嘴和鼻孔里滴下来。她的嘴唇在动，但我什么也听不见。只有雷声和尖叫声。我的朋友和其他人向我跑来。我看到她眼中的痛苦...比我记忆中的小马还要黑暗..。
Not Glory… Dusk.
不是晨辉......是黄昏。
I was about to kill Glory’s sister.
我差点杀了晨辉的妹妹。
I looked at the three Neighvarro pegasi. The beating I’d given them was nothing compared to what I’d meted out this night. I wondered what horrors or ghost stories they had in the Enclave about ponies like me. Xanthe stared at me in mute horror. The Maiden of the Stars. Even the Highlander, her blue eyes wary… even scared… stared at me with one word on her face.
我看着那三个飞马骑士。我给他们的打击和我今晚给他们的打击相比根本不算什么。我想知道在昂科雷，像我这样的小马有什么恐怖或者鬼故事。赞斯惊恐地盯着我。星星的少女。即使是苏格兰高地人，她的蓝眼睛很警惕......甚至有些害怕......用一个词在她的脸上盯着我。
Reaper.
死神。
I threw back my head and screamed out all the hate and pain and rage inside me. I had to or I’d kill her. Kill everyone. I felt the bugs in my head chewing their way free. I wanted Lancer to hear me in the night. I wanted Lighthooves to hear me wherever he hid. I wanted whatever pony or machine that guided the Harbingers to know that at this moment I would tear down the towers of the Core itself with my bare hooves to destroy them. And as if in agreement, the concrete block of the processing center erupted in a fountain of rainbow flame and a deafening blast that rolled through the camp. I imagined that I was the pony possessed by Shujaa and let the Wasteland hear her rage one final time.
我把头往后一仰，尖叫着说出我内心所有的仇恨、痛苦和愤怒。我必须这么做，否则我会杀了她。杀光所有人。我感觉到脑袋里的虫子在自由地咀嚼着。我想让兰瑟在夜里听到我的声音。无论他藏在哪里，我都希望他能听到我的声音。我希望任何引导"先知"们的小马或机器知道，此时此刻，我将用我光秃秃的蹄子撕毁核心区的塔楼来摧毁它们。仿佛达成了协议，加工中心的混凝土砌块喷出了彩虹般的火焰，震耳欲聋的爆炸声席卷了整个营地。我想象着自己是那匹被Shujaa附身的小马，让荒原听到她最后一次的愤怒。
Then the moment passed, and like that burning ball of rainbow fire, my fury was spent. Literally. My eyes darkened and my limbs stilled. I became as inert as the bones around me.
然后那一刻过去了，就像那燃烧着的彩虹之火球，我的愤怒消失了。真的。我的眼睛暗了下来，四肢僵硬。我变得像我周围的骨头一样迟钝。
>Primary power systems exhausted. Emergency power supplies engaged.
一次电力系统耗尽。启动应急电源。
All I could do was feel. Feel my burned hide. Feel the cold water pour down.
我能做的只有感觉。感受我被灼伤的皮肤。感觉冷水倾泻而下。
Feel Dusk tremble beneath me.
感觉黄昏在我脚下颤抖。
A hoof touched my shoulder. I tried to speak, but my jaws couldn’t move. Then I felt a gem pressed into my mouth, a minty emerald. There was a faint hum, then my eyes flickered to life. I looked at the unconscious Dusk beneath me. At Bluebelle beside me. “Thanks,” I said. No rasp. No fatigue. Even blasted, battered, and beaten, my body just needed recharging.
一只蹄子碰到了我的肩膀。我试着说话，但我的下巴动不了。然后我感到有一颗宝石压在我的嘴里，一颗薄荷色的翡翠。有微弱的嗡嗡声，然后我的眼睛闪烁着生命。我看着身下不省人事的黄昏。在我身边的Bluebelle。"谢谢,"我说。没有锉刀。没有疲劳。尽管我的身体饱受摧残和打击，但我的身体还是需要充电。
Carefully I stepped away, shook out several gems, and ate them, followed by cans of Cram. I kept my eyes down. “Help her...” was all I said, and the three pegasi helped the battered Dusk. No one came to help me; could I blame them?
我小心翼翼地走开，抖出几颗宝石，吃了下去，后面跟着几罐补充剂。我低下了眼睛。"救救她......"我只是说了这么一句话，三只飞马帮助了饱受摧残的黄昏号。没有人来帮助我，我能责怪他们吗？
Thousands of zebras watched me. They may have been ghosts and bones and
成千上万的斑马看着我。他们可能是鬼魂和骨头
shadows, but I could see them staring.
但我能看见他们在凝视。
I looked at the wary Bluebelle. “You’ll talk to your mother?” I asked calmly, barely audible over the rain. She nodded. I suspected she’d do everything she could to keep the Highlanders from helping the Harbingers track me down. I nodded and sheathed the sword. My armor and bags were half burned through, but right now all I needed to do was be able to keep walking.
我看着机警的蓝色美人。"你会和你妈妈谈谈吗?"我平静地问，在雨声中几乎听不见。她点点头。我怀疑她会尽一切可能阻止高地人帮助先驱者追踪我。我点点头，收起剑。我的盔甲和包已经烧毁了一半，但是现在我需要做的就是能够继续走下去。
I walked to Xanthe and looked at her. She curled up, shaking in the mud. She’d said I’d cursed her. I hadn’t meant to. I hadn’t meant to ruin her life simply by saving her life. But now I had to take care of her.
我走向赞斯，看着她。她蜷缩着身子，在泥泞中颤抖。她说我诅咒了她。我不是故意的。我不想仅仅因为救了她的命就毁了她的生活。但现在我不得不照顾她。
I was responsible.
我有责任。
“Get Dusk back to the Rainbow Dash Skyport,” I said low and evenly to the Enclave trio. “If you can’t, get her to the Collegiate. Tell Triage to help her. Take Xanthe with you.” My eyes moved to the terrified zebra. “Xanthe... talk to Sagittarius and Triage. You’re a good, smart zebra... you can have a life there. Understand?” She didn’t reply. I couldn’t blame her. I ate another gem, waiting for her to nod or voice some kind of acknowledgement. Finally, she gave a little jerk of her head.
"把黄昏带回彩虹机场,"我低声平静地对飞地三人组说。"如果你做不到，就把她送到学院去。告诉分诊医生去帮她。带上赞斯。"我的目光转向那只受惊的斑马。"Xanthe...和射手座谈谈。你是一只聪明的好斑马...你可以在那里生活。明白吗?"她没有回答。我不能责怪她。我又吃了一块宝石，等着她点头或表示某种认可。最后，她的头微微抽动了一下。
I left them, picking the dropped revolvers from the mud on my way. Thousands of eyes watched me. Even the dead were silent as I passed into the thunder and night. At the gate, I paused. I turned and stared up at one of the sentry towers. It was as if a force drew my eyes upwards. There, atop the spire, was the sixth Enclave pony, lit by the flickering flames of the burning processing center rubble. I knew him. It could only be him.
我离开了他们，在路上捡起从泥里掉下来的左轮手枪。成千上万的眼睛注视着我。当我走进雷声和黑夜时，连死人也沉默了。在大门口，我停了下来。我转过身，凝视着其中一座岗哨塔。仿佛有一股力量把我的眼睛向上吸引。在塔尖上，是第六匹昂科雷小马，被燃烧着的加工中心瓦砾闪烁的火焰照亮了。我认识他。只可能是他。
Come down here, I thought at him. Come down here and let me finish with you what I started with Dusk.
下来吧，我想着他。下来这里，让我和你结束我开始与黄昏。
Soon, I imagined his reply. Soon. And then, with that, the armored pegasus launched himself into the dark sky. Alone, I turned as well, walking out into black rain.
不久，我想象着他的回答。很快。就这样，装甲飞马飞向了黑暗的天空。独自一人，我也转身，走进了黑色的雨中。
 
Footnote: Level 9 Reached.
脚注:达到第9级。
New Perk added: Terrifying Presence: Can intimidate foes through dialogue;
新帕金斯补充说:可怕的存在:可以通过对话恐吓敌人;
closing dialogue results in the foe fleeing for 5 seconds.
结束对话导致敌人逃跑5秒钟。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: Hugs and thanks all around to Kkat, Hinds, Bronode, and Snipehamster for being awesome people, helping create FoE:PH, and working their collective tails off on getting this halfway worth reading...
(作者的笔记:拥抱并感谢Kkat、Hinds、Bronode和Snipehamster，感谢他们是令人敬畏的人，帮助创造了FoE:PH，并努力让这篇文章值得一读.....。
then working their manes off making the other half worth reading. This chapter and the next are the result of the reply I got from my question. I can sum it up as “Just write the damn thing, Somber, and we’ll get to the ending when we get there!” Anyway, thank you also to everypony that’s gives me the feedback to keep this going. If anypony would like to help out the author with tips, as aways they can be sent via paypal to David13ushey@gmail.com. Thank you for reading through this ridiculously long story.)
然后努力工作，让另一半值得一读。这一章和下一章是我从我的问题得到的答复的结果。我可以这样总结:"把这该死的东西写下来，Somber，当我们到达那里的时候，我们会看到结局的!"无论如何，还要感谢每一位给予我反馈，让我继续这样做的人。如果有任何小马愿意帮助作者的提示，作为总结，他们可以通过paypal发送到david13ushey@gmail.com。谢谢你通读这个荒谬的长故事
(New Note: Also, I have a patreon. All bits help.)
(新注:此外，我有一个。所有的部分都有帮助。)