“Hey, you know what this calls for?”
"嘿，你知道这需要什么吗?"
Maybe it was the lingering raw sensation of tearing a healing talisman out of my own body, or perhaps it was simply the aftermath of using a memory spell for the first time – and one thrown together on the spot, at that – but the scene before me really wasn’t adding up. My eyes travelled from the comely dove-gray mare to my sheet-wrapped love. The former sat on the couch with her eyes oddly closed in an expression of amusement while the latter perched atop her stool with her legs and wings clutching her body so tightly that I wondered if she would simply implode. I slowly turned my eyes to Scotch Tape, who was focusing intently on her cup of steaming weed water, and finished my pan by staring at P-21 as he poured another cup and offered it to me, meeting my gaze. The concern in his eyes was unmistakable. My eyes returned to the mature pegasus, and I blinked twice, ignoring the cup. My brain hurt way too much for tea. “Um… sorry. I have brain damage. Say again?”
也许是那种挥之不去的撕裂自己身体的治疗护身符的感觉，也许只是第一次使用记忆咒的后遗症——当场就拼凑起来了——但是我面前的这一幕真的不合情理。我的目光从那匹美丽的鸽灰色的母马转移到我裹着床单的爱人身上。前者坐在沙发上，眼睛奇怪地闭着，一副开心的表情，而后者则坐在凳子上，腿和翅膀紧紧地抓着她的身体，我不知道她会不会崩溃。我慢慢地把眼睛转向ScotchTape，她专注地盯着她那杯冒着热气的杂草水，盯着P-21看完了我的平底锅，他又倒了一杯，递给我，看着我的眼睛。他眼中的关切是显而易见的。我的眼睛又回到了成熟的飞马上，我眨了两下眼睛，对杯子视而不见。我的脑子太疼了，不能喝茶。"嗯......对不起。我有脑损伤。再说一遍?"
“My name is Dawn,” she said amiably as she put her cup down on the table. The mare didn’t wear any barding or carry any equipment. She appeared about the same age as Mom and Rivets had been. Mature, but not quite showing the same wrinkles as the Ministry Mares had. She must have barely been past foalhood when she’d been adventuring with Big Daddy and the others. Her eyes seemed to be closed in merriment. Even when she was looking at us, she didn’t open them past the barest squints, but I didn’t get the impression that she was blind. While her pale gray hide bore the scars of a few slashes and bullet wounds, they were old injuries. Call me an idiot, but I doubted she would try anything just now. “I heard that my daughter Morning Glory is a close friend of yours. I was hoping to see her again. I also wanted to meet her dear friends,” she said as she smiled over her cup pleasantly. “Do you go by ‘Security’ or should I call you Blackjack?”
"我叫道恩,"她把杯子放在桌子上，亲切地说。这匹母马没有穿任何护甲，也没有携带任何装备。她看起来和妈妈和铆钉一样大。成熟，但不完全显示相同的皱纹作为部马雷斯。她一定是刚刚过了小宝宝的时候，就和大爸爸还有其他人一起去冒险了。她的眼睛似乎在欢乐中合上了。即使当她看着我们的时候，她也不会在眯着眼睛看我们的时候睁开眼睛，但是我没有感觉到她是盲人。虽然她浅灰色的皮肤上有几处刀伤和枪伤的疤痕，但都是旧伤。你可以说我是个白痴，但我怀疑她刚才是不是在耍什么花招。"我听说我的女儿牵牛花是你的好朋友。我希望能再见到她。我也想见见她亲爱的朋友,"她对着杯子愉快地微笑着说。"你是叫'保安'还是我该叫你Blackjack?"
“Uh… Blackjack. That’s fine,” I said as I took a seat and shook my head. For some reason, my thoughts were all muddled. “And… ah… Glory,” I murmured, looking at my friends. I glanced at her and saw the tiniest little shake of her head. “Anyone seen Glory? Is she in town?” I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why Glory wouldn’t answer, given her mother was branded with Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark on her flank. Maybe this was another weird Enclave pony thing? Still, if she wanted anonymity, I’d try and play along; if Glory was going to undermine her relationships, who was I to stop her?
"呃...黑杰克。没关系,"我边说边坐下，摇了摇头。由于某种原因，我的思绪一片混乱。"还有......啊......晨辉,"我低声说，看着我的朋友们。我瞥了她一眼，看到她微微地摇了摇头。"有人看见晨辉了吗？她在城里吗?"我这辈子都搞不明白为什么晨辉不回答，因为她母亲的侧腹上烙着彩虹·达什的可爱印记。也许这是另一个关于昂科雷小马的怪异事件？尽管如此，如果她想要匿名，我会试着配合;如果晨辉要破坏她的关系，我有什么资格阻止她呢？
“Yeah. In town. That’s exactly where she is. Uh huh…” I muttered thickly.
"是的。在城里。她就在那儿。"啊哈......"我低声咕哝着。
“Really? How odd I didn’t see her there when I stopped through,” the gray mare said with a note of amusement before taking a sip. “This is quite excellent,” she told P-21. The blue stallion looked about, flushing awkwardly.
"真的吗？奇怪的是，当我停下来的时候，竟然没有看到她。"灰色的母马在喝了一小口之前，带着一种娱乐的口吻说。"这真是太棒了,"她告诉P-21。那匹蓝色的种马朝四周看了看，尴尬地冲了起来。
“Uh… Riverside… Town. Yeah… that town,” I muttered.
"呃...河滨市...镇。是的......那个小镇,"我喃喃自语。
“Right,” P-21 said with a confused look.
"是的,"P-21带着困惑的表情说。
“That’s it,” Scotch agreed. “She’s…” The filly scowled in thought.
"就是这样,"苏格兰人同意了。"她......"小母马皱起了眉头，陷入沉思。
“Getting spare parts!” said P-21 as the filly blurted simultaneously, “Buying healing potions.” The pair looked at each other in shock, and P-21 stammered, “I mean buying healing potions!” just as Scotch Tape spouted, “No, she’s getting spare parts!” Both gulped, and Scotch Tape opened her mouth in time for P-21 to silence her with his hoof pressing to the filly’s muzzle.
"得到备件!"当小姑娘脱口而出的时候，P-21说:"买治疗药水。"两人震惊地看着对方，P-21结结巴巴地说:"我是说买治疗用的药水!"就在苏格兰胶带公司喷出"不，她得到了备用零件!"两人都咽了一口，苏格兰胶带及时地张开了嘴，P-21用蹄子顶住小母马的嘴，让她安静下来。
“I mean, she’s getting spare parts and healing potions,” he said finally. Scotch Tape looked up at him, then nodded quickly with a grin. I glanced at Glory, but only her eyes were visible, locked on the floor beneath her. For some reason, I could taste blood, and my head was really hurting. Wasn’t the healing talisman supposed to take care of that?
"我的意思是，她得到了零件和治疗药水,"他最后说。苏格兰胶带抬头看着他，然后快速地点了点头，咧嘴笑了。我瞥了晨辉一眼，但只能看见她的眼睛，锁在她脚下的地板上。出于某种原因，我能尝到血的味道，而且我的头真的很痛。那个治疗神器不是应该起作用的吗？
“My. I’m so glad she’s such a hard worker,” Dawn said in that odd, cheerful way. “I’d hoped to learn more about her in town before I came here, but they were all so busy with the mess, and I understand there was an accident too?” Her smile disappeared, replaced with a sorrowful expression. “The Wasteland shouldn’t claim lives before their time.” Coming from anypony else, that line would have been pompous, even sanctimonious, but the pegasus practically glowed with sincerity.
"我的。我很高兴她工作这么努力,"道恩用一种古怪而愉快的方式说道。"我希望在来这里之前能在镇上多了解她一些，但是他们都忙着收拾烂摊子，我知道这里也发生了事故?"她的微笑消失了，取而代之的是悲伤的表情。"荒原不应该在他们的时代到来之前夺走生命。"这句话出自其他任何人之口，都会显得自大，甚至伪善，但是飞马号实际上却闪耀着真诚的光芒。
Maybe it was the experimental spell that had given me a throbbing headache or the fact I could feel the knife blade between my ribs, or that for some reason I was tasting blood, but I looked dully at the gray pegasus. “Right. It’s nice meeting you. If you’ll excuse me, I feel like I need to throw up glass. Sorry. Dashie?” I staggered for the stairs, and Glory looked at me in shock, then walked over as if sure that Dawn was going to peer through her rags and spring upon her. I tried to put a hoof on the bottommost step, but somehow it moved out from under me, sending me staggering so I nearly landed on my face.
也许是那个实验性的咒语让我头痛欲裂，也许是因为我能感觉到我肋骨之间的刀刃，也许是因为某种原因我尝到了血的味道，但是我呆呆地看着灰色的飞马。"对。很高兴认识你。如果你不介意的话，我觉得我需要扔掉玻璃杯。对不起。小洋芋?"我摇摇晃晃地走向楼梯，晨辉震惊地看着我，然后走了过去，仿佛确信道恩会从她破烂的衣服里看出来，跳到她身上。我试图把一个蹄子放在最底下的台阶上，但不知怎么它从我身下移开了，让我摇摇晃晃，差点摔到脸上。
“Blackjack, are you alright?” Glory asked in worry, then ducked herself underneath my body and hoisted me onto her back. I didn’t argue. My throbbing headache was getting worse by the second. I saw little drops of blood falling on her disguise as she carried my heavy body up, muttering, “Dumb question, of course you’re not.”
"黑杰克，你没事吧?"晨辉担心地问道，然后她躲到我的身体下面，把我抱到她的背上。我没有反驳。我悸动的头痛一秒比一秒严重。当她抬起我沉重的身体时，我看到小小的血滴落在她的伪装上，喃喃地说:"愚蠢的问题，你当然不是。"
I just groaned, and the last thing I heard downstairs was Glory’s mom saying politely, “What a curious young mare! I think she may look just like Rainbow Dash!” Glory laid me down on my bed, closing the door as we passed, and I felt more blood coming out my nose. I tried to send Lacunae a warning about Dawn and our story about Glory being in Riverside, but for all I knew I told her to kumquat the picklebarrel.
我只是呻吟了一声，楼下我听到的最后一件事就是晨辉的妈妈礼貌地说:"多么好奇的小母马啊！我觉得她可能长得就像彩虹·达什!"晨辉把我放在床上，当我们经过的时候关上了门，我感到更多的血从我的鼻子里流出来。我试着给Lacunae发一个关于Dawn的警告，还有我们关于Glory在河边的故事，但就我所知，我告诉她去拿金橘。
My E.F.S. display was weird, with a dotted line around the head of the diagram mare and her eyes were two x’s. Apparently experimenting with memory magic had some nasty side effects I hadn’t anticipated. There were all kinds of other displays and warnings, but I just translated all that as ‘you broke yourself again, idiot’. I wanted to throw up, but my brain didn’t seem to realize my stomach couldn’t, so all I was left with was a crippling nausea.
我的e.f.s显示器很奇怪，图中母马的头部周围有一条虚线，她的眼睛是两个x。显然，用记忆魔法做实验有一些我没有预料到的讨厌的副作用。还有各种各样的展示和警告，但我只是把它们翻译成'你又把自己弄坏了，白痴'。我想吐，但是我的大脑似乎没有意识到我的胃不能吐，所以我只剩下严重的恶心。
Glory rolled me onto my side and dug around in her saddlebags for a strange little light on a stick. She shone it in my nose and mouth and ears as she examined me. “Tell me there’s a secret cheat mode that kills my sense of pain?” I asked pathetically.
晨辉把我翻到身上，在她的鞍囊里翻来翻去，找一根奇怪的小棍子。她检查我的时候，用它照着我的鼻子、嘴巴和耳朵。"告诉我，有一种秘密的作弊模式可以杀死我的痛苦感?"我可怜巴巴地问。
“I wish. Professor Zodiac didn’t give me an operator’s manual,” she said sympathetically, but continued with a concerned little frown, “I thought you weren’t going to hurt yourself anymore.”
"但愿如此。"十二宫杀手教授没有给我操作手册,"她同情地说，但继续关切地皱着眉头,"我以为你不会再伤害自己了。"
“I promise, when my head is better, you can spank my fanny till it sinks in. My
"我保证，等我的头好些了，你可以打我的屁股，直到我明白为止。我的
head… not my fanny… I…” I groaned, closing my eyes tight. “Memory magic is harder than I thought. I sort of hoped that all I had to do was touch her forehead with my horn and woosh, magic happens!” My exclamation sent a shiver through me. Quiet now, thank you.
头...不是我的屁股...我..。。」我呻吟着，紧闭着眼睛。"记忆魔法比我想象的要难。我有点希望我所要做的就是用我的角触摸她的额头，然后嗖的一声，奇迹就发生了!"我的感叹使我浑身发抖。现在安静，谢谢。
“Don’t you have a book on magic from Tenpony?” Glory asked in confusion.
"你不是有一本关于魔法的书吗?"晨辉困惑地问道。
“Yes. A book on beginner’s magic. For beginners,” I groaned.
"是的。一本关于初学者魔法的书。对于初学者,"我抱怨道。
Glory didn’t give up, though. “Did you even look?” Oh no, she was using the ‘Blackjack is not a smart pony’ voice.
然而，晨辉并没有放弃。"你看了吗?"哦，不，她用的是'Blackjack不是一匹聪明的小马'的声音。
“Um… no?” I muttered as I covered my head.
"嗯...没有?"我一边捂着头，一边咕哝着。
She sighed and lay down next to me. “When you’re better, your fanny is so getting it,” she muttered as she held me gently and stroked my neck. The nosebleed had stopped, and the pain was receding a little. At least, I could pretend it was with her snuggled against me. “Did it work, at least?”
她叹了口气，躺在我旁边。"等你好一点了，你的屁股就会好起来的,"她一边轻轻地抱着我，一边抚摸我的脖子，一边喃喃自语。鼻出血停止了，疼痛也消退了一点。至少，我可以假装她依偎在我身边。"至少起作用了吗?"
“I got into a memory… one of Shujaa’s,” and I retold it. Really, the whole pain thing aside, it seemed pretty senseless. A bunch of defecting enemies gunned down by an overzealous transfer. If I learned somewhere that Trooper Kill-all-zebras was sent by Goldenblood as a part of his master super sneaky scheme, I was going to flip a table or kick a hole in the wall or something!
"我进入了一个记忆...Shujaa的一个,"我重述了它。真的，撇开所有的痛苦不谈，这看起来很没有意义。一群叛逃的敌人被过分热心的转移者枪杀了。如果我在什么地方得知金血王派来杀死所有斑马的骑兵是他主人鬼鬼祟祟计划的一部分，我会翻一张桌子或者在墙上踢个洞什么的！
“So they were robots that looked like zebras?” she asked with a small frown.
"这么说他们是长得像斑马的机器人?"她皱着眉头问道。
“I… don’t think so. I mean, there were robot parts, but even if they were fancy and sleek, they were still metal. These were…” I paused, wanting to be sure. “These were cyber zebras. They had artificial organs and everything. Like me.”
"我.....。.我不这么认为。我的意思是，虽然有机器人的零件，但即使它们是精美和光滑的，它们仍然是金属的。这些是......"我停顿了一下，想确认一下。"这些是网络斑马。他们有人造器官什么的。像我一样。"
Project Steelpony. Had the zebras stolen it? Had Goldenblood actually given it to them? Or had the zebras developed their own line of augmentation research? For all I knew, Steelpony had been stolen from the enemy in the first place. But there’d been too much meat involved for them to simply be robots. Augmented zebras, though... a very unpleasant thought. I’d seen what Lancer could do with a rifle. I didn’t even want to contemplate what he could accomplish with thumbs.
Steelpony项目。是斑马偷的吗？金色血统真的给了他们吗？或者是斑马开发了他们自己的强化研究系列？据我所知，斯蒂尔波尼一开始就是从敌人那里偷来的。但是对于他们来说，肉类太多了，不可能简单地成为机器人。增强斑马，虽然...一个非常不愉快的想法。我见识过枪骑兵如何使用步枪。我甚至不想去想他用大拇指能做什么。
It was too much for a not-smart pony like me. So I turned, slowly… carefully… and faced her. “So. Care to tell me why you’re not telling her who you are? I’d
对于像我这样不聪明的小马来说，这太过分了。所以我转过身，慢慢地...小心翼翼地...面对着她。"所以。能告诉我你为什么不告诉她你是谁吗？我会的
have thought you’d have been hugging and catching up on old times.”
我还以为你们会拥抱叙旧呢
She closed her eyes with a sigh. “I know. And I should. I want to. But when I opened the door, I didn’t think of how much I missed her or that I could finally get answers to questions I’ve had for years. I… I wanted to know why she was here. It felt… contrived. My mother coming out of the Wasteland after all this time looking for me?”
她叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"我知道。我也应该这么做。我想。但是当我打开门的时候，我没有想到我有多么想念她，也没有想到我终于可以得到我多年来一直有的问题的答案。我。.我想知道她为什么会在这里。感觉很做作。我妈妈从荒地里出来找我找了这么久?"
“Contrived? Please. I’ve seen Goldenblood. He’s got contrived covering every inch of him. I don’t think he could fart unless it was part of a greater plot. Your mom is just…” and I paused, frowning. What was it about her? There was something… I stroked her cheek gently. “Ever think that maybe this is just a coincidence? A good coincidence?” Despite the long odds, it had to happen occasionally.
"做作？求你了。我见过金血王。他精心设计，把身上的每一寸都遮住了。我不认为他会放屁，除非这是一个更大的阴谋的一部分。你妈妈只是......"我停顿了一下，皱着眉头。她怎么了？我轻轻地抚摸着她的脸颊。"你有没有想过，这也许只是一个巧合？这是巧合吗?"尽管可能性很小，但这种情况偶尔会发生。
“I did think that,” Glory said shamefully. “And when I did, I wasn’t happy. I felt… angry.” She closed her eyes and scooted a little more against me. “She was just down there smiling. Like… like these years never happened. Like she was on her way home and decided to stop in and check in on me at school. ‘No big deal. See you when you get home. Love you…’.”
"我的确是这么想的,"晨辉惭愧地说。"当我这么做的时候，我并不高兴。我感到......愤怒。"她闭上眼睛，又向我挤了挤。"她就在下面微笑着。就像...就像这些年没发生过一样。就像她在回家的路上，决定顺便来学校看看我。"没什么大不了的。回家见。爱你......'"
I thought about that. “Well, maybe if she knew you were you and what you’ve done since you’ve come down here…”
我想过了。"好吧，如果她知道你是你，知道你来这里之后做了什么......"
“Maybe,” Glory murmured as she glanced at the door and then back at me. “But really… the more I think about it, the harder it is for me to believe she’s here looking for me at all.”
"也许吧,"晨辉低声说，她看了一眼门，然后又看了我一眼。"但实际上......我越想，就越难相信她是来找我的。"
I didn’t know what to say to that. I tried to imagine what it’d have been like for me if Mom left the stable one day, only to return several years later acting as if nothing had changed. I supposed I’d be pretty freaked out too, particularly if I were a magical copy of Twilight Sparkle. I sighed, nuzzling her ears till she eventually smiled. “Well, deal with it tomorrow. We’ll find out why she’s here and find out some way to explain all this to her,” I said, brushing her rainbow mane with my hoof.
我不知道该怎么说。我试着想象如果妈妈有一天离开了马厩，几年后又回来，表现得好像什么都没有发生一样，我会是什么样子。我想我也会被吓坏的，特别是如果我是一个魔法版的紫悦。我叹了口气，用鼻子蹭着她的耳朵，直到她终于笑了。"好吧，明天再处理吧。我们会找出她为什么在这里，并找到一些方法向她解释这一切,"我说，用我的蹄子拂过她彩虹般的鬃毛。
There was a soft knock on the door, and I looked over and tried to use my magic to open it. The jolt to my brain renewed my throbbing headache. “Yes?” I asked.
有人轻轻地敲门，我看了看，想用我的魔法把门打开。我脑子里的震动使我的悸动性头痛又复发了。"什么事?"我问道。
P-21 poked his head in, his voice low. “If you’re done for the night, should I put
P-21探进头来，声音低沉。"如果你今晚不玩了，我是不是应该
our guest in Glory’s room till she gets back?” I looked at Glory, who sighed, then nodded.
我们的客人在晨辉的房间等她回来?"我看着晨辉，她叹了口气，然后点了点头。
“Yeah, go ahead,” I groaned, flopping my head onto the pillow.
"是的，去吧,"我呻吟着，把头扑通一声放在枕头上。
“Right,” he said, his blue eyes turning to Glory. “For what it’s worth, I don’t trust her.” Was it because she was a mare? Glory just looked at her forehooves, as if hoping the answers would appear upon them.
"是的,"他说，蓝色的眼睛转向晨辉。"不管怎样，我不相信她。"是因为她是匹母马吗？晨辉只是看着她的前蹄，仿佛希望答案会出现在他们身上。
He nodded to us and closed the door again. She slipped out of bed and locked us in before returning to my side. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you blasted your brain with that magic. Can’t do anything naughty with Mom listening next door, right?”
他向我们点点头，又关上了门。她溜下床，把我们锁在里面，然后回到我身边。"好吧，我想你用那种魔法攻击你的大脑是件好事。妈妈在隔壁听着，你不能做任何淘气的事情，对吧?"
I just blinked at her in confusion. She groaned and buried her face in her hooves. “Nevermind. Just try and get some sleep.”
我只是困惑地眨了眨眼睛。她呻吟着，把脸埋在蹄子里。"没关系。试着睡一会儿吧。"
That was good advice. I just hoped that whatever was playing on the Psalm Memory Network would help with that…
这是个很好的建议。我只是希望无论在诗篇记忆网络上播放什么，都能帮助我.....。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
The hallway stretched out in one long tunnel punctuated by tiny little bedrooms on one side and cloudy windows on the other. Foals, colts, and fillies all moved around with a hushed tone. Not that laughter was forbidden here, but it was an alien sound in the sullen, gray building. Somepony had tried to cheer up the place with pictures of smiling children, but they were flat, stale images. Nopony who lived here ever smiled like that.
走廊延伸出一条长长的隧道，一边是小小的卧室，另一边是多云的窗户。小马驹、小马驹和小雌马都以一种安静的声音走来走去。这里并不是禁止笑声，但在阴沉的灰色建筑里，这是一种外星人的声音。一些小马试图用微笑的孩子们的照片来让这个地方振奋起来，但是这些照片都是平淡的、陈腐的照片。住在这里的小马从来没有这样笑过。
I knelt down, two small hooves moving a ragged brush, trying to scrub the mud tracked in from the field outside off the faded beige linoleum tiles. It was raining again; that was nothing new. It was always raining, even when it wasn’t. The filmy windows gave the impression of a constant downpour outside in the sunniest of weather.
我跪了下来，两只小蹄子在移动一把破烂的刷子，试图擦洗外面米黄色的漆布地毯上留下的泥土。又下雨了，这不是什么新鲜事。天总是在下雨，即使没有下雨。薄薄的窗户给人的印象是，在阳光最充足的天气里，外面一直下着倾盆大雨。
“Hey Balm,” said a colt as he trotted in, leaving fresh hoofprints across the just-cleaned floor. He wasn’t being unkind. Most fillies and colts weren’t around long enough to learn each other’s names. You didn’t want to stay here long enough to have ponies learn your name. I didn’t reply; he was already heading down to his room, which he shared with two other colts. I silently started
"嘿，香油,"一匹小马一边小跑一边说，刚刚擦干净的地板上还留下了新鲜的蹄印。他不是不友好。大多数小雌马和小马在一起的时间都不够长，不知道彼此的名字。你不想在这里待太久让小马知道你的名字。我没有回答，他已经下楼去他的房间了，他和另外两只小马一起住。我默默地开始了
cleaning the messy hoofprints again.
再次清理脏兮兮的蹄印。
“Let me help with that,” an orange unicorn colt with a shaggy yellow mane said, watching me work. “You’re never going to get this cleaned up, otherwise.” And he took another brush from the bucket and started to scrub beside me. “You need to really assert yourself. Show this mud who’s boss,” he said as he scrubbed back and forth hard. When another earth pony colt stepped in, he pointed his brush at the entrant. “Muddy hooves. Clean them! Now!” The abashed young pony gave his hooves a thorough scraping on the mat before continuing on.
"让我来帮你,"一匹长着浓密黄鬃毛的橙色独角兽小马看着我工作，说道。"否则，你永远也不可能把这里清理干净。"他又从桶里拿了一把刷子，开始在我旁边刷。"你真的需要坚持自己的立场。让这些泥巴看看谁才是老大,"他一边来回用力擦洗，一边说道。当另一匹地球上的小马驹走进来时，他用刷子指着参赛者。"泥泞的蹄子。清理干净！现在!"那匹羞怯的小马在席子上擦了一下蹄子，然后继续往前走。
“Thank you,” I said, barely above a whisper, as we finished the hall together.
"谢谢你,"当我们一起完成大厅时，我轻声说道。
“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a casual grin. “I’m Cheddar. I just got here.” There was a little pain in his eyes, but there was nothing new. We all had sad eyes. “Your name is… Calm? Palm? Buzz Bomb?”
"别担心,"他不经意地笑着说。"我叫切达干酪。我刚到这里。"他的眼睛有点痛，但没有什么新的东西。我们都有一双忧伤的眼睛。"你的名字是......冷静？棕榈树？巴斯炸弹?"
“You… don’t want to know my name,” I murmured as I carried the bucket to the back door and threw the contents out into a puddle.
"你......不想知道我的名字,"我一边提着桶走到后门，一边喃喃自语，把里面的东西扔进了水坑。
“Yes I do,” he contradicted, looking confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”
"是的，我知道,"他反驳道，看起来很困惑。"为什么不呢?"
“If you know my name, it means you’ve been here too long.” I set the bucket and brushes in their little cubby behind the back door. “I’ve been here all my life. Ever since my mom left me here as a foal.”
"如果你知道我的名字，那就意味着你在这里呆得太久了。"我把桶和刷子放在后门后面的小房间里。"我一辈子都在这里。自从我妈妈把我当小马驹丢在这里以后。"
He gave a little frown. “I thought nopony stays here more than a few months.”
他皱了皱眉。"我以为小马不会在这里呆上几个月。"
I twisted my lips into the same mirthless smile I always wore, used to explaining this. “Most ponies don’t. You won’t. I can tell. So there’s no point in knowing my name. In a few weeks, you’ll find a family. So really, there’s no point in knowing it.” I didn’t raise my voice. There was always one every few months who wanted to be friends before they left. “But thank you for asking.” I turned away to go wash up before dinner.
我扭动着嘴唇，重复着我过去常常用来解释这件事的那种不愉快的微笑。"大多数小马都不会。你不会的。我看得出来。所以知道我的名字是没有意义的。几个星期后，你就会找到一个家庭。所以说真的，知道这些是毫无意义的。"我没有提高嗓门。每隔几个月总会有一个人想在离开之前成为朋友。"不过还是谢谢你的关心。"晚饭前我转身去洗手。
He darted in front of me, meeting my eye with his. “I promise you, I’m going to go find out your name. And I’m not leaving till I do.”
他冲到我面前，用他的眼睛迎着我的眼睛。"我向你保证，我要去查出你的名字。不走我是不会走的。"
It was a nice gesture. He hadn’t been the first to say something like it. But really, all friends did was hurt when they left.
这是一个很好的姿态。他不是第一个这么说的人。但实际上，所有的朋友离开时都受到了伤害。
But he didn’t leave; not that there weren’t parents who wanted to adopt him. While pleasant and witty most of the time, Cheddar became the moodiest orphan in the place when prospective parents interviewed him. And when they moved on to another child, the friend emerged again. He got his magic first, then his cutie mark and his talent. He could speak any language after hearing or reading it for a little while. His scroll-and-fountain-pen cutie mark was quite the envy of most of the colts. Still, even with such an amazing talent, he still refused to let himself get adopted.
但是他没有离开，并不是说没有父母想要收养他。大多数时候，切达是一个令人愉快和机智的地方，但是当准父母面试他的时候，他成了这个地方最沉闷的孤儿。当他们转移到另一个孩子身上时，这个朋友又出现了。他先得到了他的魔法，然后是他的可爱标记和他的天赋。他可以说任何一种语言后，听到或读了一小会儿。他那滚动式自来水笔般的可爱标记让大多数小马都羡慕不已。尽管如此，即使拥有如此惊人的天赋，他仍然拒绝让自己被收养。
We’d climb up on the roof on those rare days the skies were clear enough to see the stars. He’d make up wonderful stories about life on those distant points of light. Silly stories that made me laugh, and sad stories that made me feel better about my own situation. And even though I’d told him my name several times, he pretended like he still didn’t know it. Because he wouldn’t leave until he did. That was the promise.
在那些难得的日子里，我们会爬上屋顶，天空晴朗得足以看到星星。他会编造一些关于遥远光点上生命的精彩故事。愚蠢的故事让我开怀大笑，悲伤的故事让我对自己的处境感觉更好。尽管我告诉过他好几次我的名字，他还是装作不知道。因为他不走是不会走的。这就是我的承诺。
And so, I had a friend. And that dingy building was a little less gray and hopeless. As colts and fillies came and went every few weeks, we became their temporary mom and dad. I kissed boo boos to make them better and he taught the fine art of spitballs. Sure, we had to go to the tired adults who actually cooked the food and took care of the adoptions from time to time, but even they were happy for our help. And a dream began to settle in; a dream where we’d eventually become adults ourselves. And we’d leave together when we were sure the orphanage was in good hooves. And he’d travel all around the world deciphering important things, and I’d see a world I could never imagine. A world where gray did not exist.
所以，我有了一个朋友。那个肮脏的建筑没有那么灰暗，没有那么绝望。小马和小雌马每隔几周就来来去去，我们成了他们的临时爸爸妈妈。我亲吻布布，使他们更好，他教罚款艺术的纸团。当然，我们不得不去找那些疲惫不堪的成年人，他们实际上会烹饪食物，时不时地照料收养事宜，但即使是他们也很高兴我们的帮助。一个梦想开始形成，一个我们自己最终成为成年人的梦想。当我们确信孤儿院运转良好的时候，我们就一起离开。他环游世界，解密重要的事情，我看到了一个我从未想象过的世界。一个没有灰色的世界。
It was a pleasant dream.
这是一个愉快的梦。
Then, one day, Cheddar was called from the cafeteria. I didn’t think anything of it, at first. We weren’t having adoption interviews that day. I heard the sounds of muted shouting and rose to my hooves and trotted to the door. I gasped at the sight of two magnificent white pegasus stallions in gleaming golden armor. And I heard my friend inside shouting, “No! No, I won’t go! I won’t!”
然后，有一天，自助餐厅叫切达干酪。一开始我什么也没想。那天我们没有进行领养面试。我听到了低沉的叫喊声，站起来，小跑到门口。看到两匹穿着闪闪发光的金色盔甲的白色飞马，我倒抽了一口冷气。我听到我的朋友在里面大喊:"不！不，我不去！我不会的!"
“Cheddar!” admonished the headmaster. “One does not speak to their Princess like that!”
"切达干酪!"告诫校长。"谁也不能这样对公主说话!"
Princess? I stepped closer, then faltered. Even though the guards didn’t move an
公主？我走近一些，然后摇摇晃晃。即使守卫们没有移动
eye, I could feel them watching me. I simply stayed in the hall.
眼睛，我能感觉到他们在看着我。我只是呆在大厅里。
“It’s quite all right,” came the sweetest, most wonderful voice in all the world. It was a voice from the world of my dreams. “Cheddar, at my school you’ll be able to use your talents not just for yourself, but for all of Equestria. You’ll be able to learn greater kinds of magic and make a fresh start for yourself. You have so much possibility and potential, and the headmaster knows that you could have easily been adopted by now.”
"没关系,"世界上最甜美、最美妙的声音传来。这是来自我梦想世界的声音。"切达干酪，在我的学校，你不仅可以为自己发挥才能，也可以为整个Equestria发挥才能。你将能够学到更多种类的魔法，为自己创造一个全新的开始。你有这么多的可能性和潜力，校长知道你现在很容易就会被收养。"
“It’s… it’s my friend, Princess. Psalm. She’s here too,” he said slowly. “Could she come to your school with me?”
"是...是我的朋友，公主。诗篇。她也在这里,"他慢慢地说。"她能和我一起去你们学校吗?"
“Ah, yes. Psalm,” said the headmaster delicately. “I’m afraid that she wouldn’t be a promising candidate, Your Majesty. You might as well have an earth pony student as her.”
"啊，是的。诗篇,"校长委婉地说。"恐怕她不是一个有前途的候选人，陛下。你还不如找一个像她一样的地球小马学生呢。"
“Don’t talk about her that way!” Cheddar snapped. “She’s… she’s just fine with magic!”
"别这么说她!"切达干酪咬了一口。"她...她对魔法很在行!"
“I understand the bonds of friendship, Cheddar,” Celestia said in a firm, yet compassionate voice. “If she doesn’t have very much magical talent, I don’t think she would be happy there. She’d be surrounded by students of greater skill, and, despite my best efforts, many of them would look down upon her. I--”
"我理解友谊的纽带，切达,"塞莱斯蒂亚用坚定而富有同情心的声音说。"如果她没有太多的魔法天赋，我认为她在那里不会快乐。她周围都是技术高超的学生，尽管我尽了最大的努力，他们中的很多人还是看不起她。我——"
“Well then that’s it,” Cheddar interrupted firmly. “Long as my friend is here, then I’m here too.”
"那就这样吧,"切达干酪坚定地打断道。"只要我的朋友在这里，我也在这里。"
“I’m terribly sorry about this, Your Majesty. Psalm is pleasant enough, but sad. Nopony wants to adopt a filly who never smiles. They think there’s something wrong with her,” the headmaster mumbled. I retreated down the hall as I heard hooves approach the door. “Now, I know the children will be overjoyed to meet you. They should all be in the cafeteria, Your Majesty.”
"我对此非常抱歉，陛下。诗篇是令人愉快的，但也是悲伤的。小马想收养一只从来不笑的小母马。他们认为她有问题,"校长喃喃地说。当我听到蹄子靠近门的声音时，我退到了大厅里。"现在，我知道孩子们见到你会非常高兴的。他们应该都在自助餐厅，陛下。"
I didn’t go into the cafeteria. I heard the inhalation of awe and the cries of glee and even a few who wept for joy at the sight of our wonderful ruler. Instead, I hid. There weren’t many hiding spots in the orphanage, but I’d found them all. Unfortunately, I’d shown them all to Cheddar. Still, there were a few that even he’d hesitate to check. After all, no sane pony would hide on a roof when it’s raining. I even caught sight of the Princess as she left in her glorious golden chariot to a life and places I couldn’t understand. And she’d wanted to take
我没去自助餐厅。我听到敬畏的气息和欢乐的呼喊，甚至还有一些人看到我们伟大的统治者喜极而泣。相反，我躲了起来。孤儿院里没有多少藏东西的地方，但我把它们都找到了。不幸的是，我给他们看的都是切达干酪。尽管如此，还是有一些连他都不敢去查。毕竟，正常的小马不会在下雨的时候躲在屋顶上。我甚至看到公主驾着她那华丽的金色战车离开，去往我无法理解的生活和地方。而且她想要
Cheddar with her…
切达干酪和她..。
“Hey. Shawalm?” called a voice from the roof access hatch, and I clenched my eyes as the rain hissed off the wooden slates. “What are you doing out here? You missed the Princess,” he said in worry as he trotted out. His mane immediately flattened in the steady drizzle as he took a seat beside me. It was starting to get dark…
"嘿。沙瓦尔姆?"屋顶入口处传来一个声音，雨水从木板上嘶嘶作响，我紧闭着眼睛。"你在这儿干什么？"你错过了公主,"他一边小跑一边担心地说。他坐在我旁边，鬃毛立刻在绵绵细雨中变得平坦起来。天开始黑了..。
“No, I didn’t,” I said as I stared at the cool Hoofington rain beading on my hooves. I wanted to hold on to the droplets, so clear and pure, but like everything else they trickled away from me. My voice was every bit as soft as the rain as I continued, “I heard you talking. She wants you to go to her school.”
"不，我没有,"我盯着凉爽的胡芬顿雨珠在我的蹄子上说。我想紧紧抓住那些清澈纯净的水滴，但就像其他东西一样，它们从我身边慢慢流走。当我继续说下去的时候，我的声音就像雨点一样柔和,"我听见你说话了。她想让你去她的学校。"
He sighed. “Yeah. Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She wants to see if I can translate stuff like griffin runes, zebra glyphs, and dragon clawscript. I told her I wasn’t interested.” He nudged my shoulder. “I got to stay till I figure out your name.”
他叹了口气。"是的。天才独角兽学校。她想看看我能不能翻译格里芬符文，斑马符号和龙爪文字。我告诉她我不感兴趣。"他轻轻地推了推我的肩膀。"我得留下来，直到我弄清楚你的名字。"
For one brief second, I felt warm and smiled a little. Just a little. Still, it made what came next all the worse. I closed my eyes and spat out the words that were choking me. “You should go.”
有那么一瞬间，我感到温暖，微微一笑。就一点点。尽管如此，它还是让接下来发生的事情变得更糟。我闭上眼睛，吐出那些让我窒息的话语。"你应该去。"
He started to laugh, but that quickly died. He knew I didn’t make jokes. “Come on. I won’t deny that it was tempting, but I couldn’t just leave you.”
他开始笑，但很快就死了。他知道我不会开玩笑。"来吧。我不否认这很诱人，但我不能就这样离开你。"
“You should have left months ago!” I said sharply, turning my face from him. “You… you could have had a home! After a week. The only reason you’re staying in this horrible place is because of me!”
"你几个月前就该走了!"我严厉地说，把脸从他身上转开。"你......你本来可以有个家的！一个星期后。你留在这个可怕的地方的唯一原因是因为我!"
“Well, yeah!” he said in angry confusion. “I mean, you’re my friend.”
"嗯，是的!"他怒气冲冲地说。"我是说，你是我的朋友。"
“I can’t let you throw your life away for me,” I replied and stood. “I’m not worth you giving up a future where you could be somepony! Everypony here dreams of finding a family again. Everypony. You lost yours. I never had mine. And there’s twenty other colts and fillies who could only dream of having the chance that you’re throwing away! It’s stupid, and you’re stupid for doing it!”
"我不能让你为了我放弃你的生命,"我回答并站起来。"我不值得你放弃一个你可以成为大人物的未来！这里的每个小马都梦想着再次找到一个家庭。每匹小马。你也失去了你的。我从来没有过。还有另外二十只小马和小雌马，它们只能梦想着有机会被你扔掉！这是愚蠢的，你这样做是愚蠢的!"
He stared at me in shock. “But, Psalm, I-- You…” A hurt look rose in his eyes and he asked in a voice I could barely hear over the rain, “Would you go and leave me if she offered it to you?”
他震惊地盯着我。"但是，诗篇，我——你......"他眼中露出伤心的表情，他用雨声遮住了我的耳朵，问道,"如果她把它给你，你会离开我吗?"
I couldn’t look at him as I spat out the lie, “In a heartbeat.” And with that, it felt as if my own heart had stopped.
我不能看着他，我吐出了谎言,"在心跳。"就这样，我感觉自己的心脏好像停止了跳动。
There was no answer but his rapid breathing. Then he said sharply, “Well… I guess I better go pack then!” When I didn’t say what he wanted to hear, he spat out angrily, “Wouldn’t want to miss my golden opportunity, would I?”
没有回答，只有他急促的呼吸。然后他严厉地说:"那么......我想我最好去收拾行李了!"当我没有说他想听的话时，他生气地吐了出来,"我可不想错过我的黄金机会，不是吗?"
“I guess you better!” I shouted back, clenching my eyes shut. If I looked at him… If I looked…
"我想你最好是这样!"我大声回答，紧闭双眼。如果我看他...如果我看他..。
“Fine!” he snapped.
"好吧!"他崩溃了。
“Fine!” I yelled back.
"好吧!"我也吼了回去。
“If I’d known girls were so… so… urrrgh!” He trotted to the hatch and slammed it shut behind him.
"如果我知道女孩是这么......这么......呃!"他小跑到舱口，砰地一声关上了门。
“Goodbye,” I whispered as I turned my face into the rain. Cold rain, and warm.
"再见,"当我把脸转向雨水时，我低声说。寒冷的雨，温暖的。
I don’t know how long I sat there. I was still up there when the golden chariot returned, sans Princess, to take Cheddar away with his small bag of belongings. He looked up at me, but he didn’t wave before he flew away. I felt a chill, but I didn’t much care. I didn’t care about anything at that moment. I’d broken the one thing holding him to this dreadful place. The children would be upset. Mommy would be sad and Daddy would be gone; nothing new to some of them. And I’d stay here and grow up and grow old and try to help every last one of them find a better place to live. And then, I’d die here.
我不知道我在那儿坐了多久。当金色战车回来的时候，我还在那里，没有公主，带着他的小包财物离开了切达干酪。他抬头看着我，但在飞走之前他没有挥手。我感到一阵寒意，但我不在乎。那一刻我什么都不在乎。我打破了把他困在这个可怕的地方的唯一的东西。孩子们会不高兴的。妈妈会伤心，爸爸会离开，对他们中的一些人来说没什么新鲜的。我会留在这里，慢慢长大，慢慢变老，努力帮助他们每一个人找到一个更好的地方生活。然后，我会死在这里。
“Not that it isn’t terribly dramatic, but don’t you know young unicorns should get out of the rain?” a mare asked above me, her voice soft and bright. The rain stopped in a semicircle around me and I looked up at a dark form drifting down to stand before me. Beads of starlight seemed to shimmer in her magically billowing mane and she wore a tiara the color of sky just after the last reds of sunset faded from view. Her majestic wings folded beside her and her horn glowed once. Instantly the water on my coat disappeared. Then she summoned a black wool blanket and draped it around me. I hugged the fabric close. “I was hoping to catch my sister here after I raised the moon, but it looks like she’s still on the move.” Princess Luna gave a small smile. “Now… what’s the matter?”
"不是说这不是很戏剧性，但是你不知道年轻的独角兽应该避雨吗?"一匹母马在我上面问道，她的声音柔和而明亮。雨停了，在我周围形成一个半圆，我抬头看着一个黑影飘下来站在我面前。星光的珠子似乎在她神奇地飘动的鬃毛上闪闪发光，她戴着一顶天空颜色的皇冠，就在夕阳的最后一抹红色从视野中消失之后。她雄伟的翅膀折叠在她身边，她的角发光了一次。我外套上的水立刻消失了。然后她找来一条黑色的羊毛毯，裹在我身上。我紧紧地抱住布料。"我希望在我升起月亮之后能在这里看到我的妹妹，但是看起来她还在移动。"露娜公主微笑了一下。"现在......怎么了?"
I knew I shouldn’t. That it was terribly impolite for me to do so, but I took one
我知道我不该这么做。说我这样做是非常不礼貌的，但我还是拿了一个
last look into her concerned blue eyes and pressed my face to her side and bawled like I never had before. Somewhere in all that blubbering, I got out the story of what had happened to Cheddar and how I’d thrown away my first and only friendship so he could have a chance at Princess Celestia’s school and that now I was going to be stuck at the orphanage alone forever.
最后一眼望着她忧心忡忡的蓝眼睛，把我的脸紧贴在她身边，像我以前从未有过的那样大喊大叫。在哭诉的过程中，我得知了切达的遭遇，以及为了让他有机会进入塞莱斯蒂亚公主的学校，我是如何抛弃了我的第一份也是唯一的友谊，现在我将永远一个人待在孤儿院。
It had to be dreadfully rude to snot up a Princess’s coat, but after I got everything out I was quite a mess, both from grief and the budding cold. “I see. It’s a rare pony who can give up what she wants for another’s happiness. Your friend must be quite special for you to give him that.” She lifted my chin and gave me a comforting smile. “I know that it’s not easy being the sad pony. To feel like you don’t deserve anything good in your life. But you do. Everypony does.”
在公主的外套上流鼻涕是非常粗鲁的，但是当我把所有的东西都拿出来之后，我就变得一团糟，既是因为悲伤，也是因为刚刚开始的感冒。"我明白了。这是一匹罕见的小马，她可以为了别人的幸福而放弃自己想要的东西。你的朋友一定很特别，你才会给他这个。"她托起我的下巴，给了我一个安慰的微笑。"我知道当一匹悲伤的小马并不容易。觉得自己不值得拥有生活中任何美好的东西。但是你知道。每个小马都这样。"
“I don’t…” I muttered softly, looking at her pristine hoof. Not a future. Not a friend. Not even a mother or father…
"我不......"我轻声咕哝着，看着她纯净的蹄子。没有未来。不是朋友。甚至没有父母..。
“You do,” she repeated, firmly. “So here is what I want you to do, Psalm. I want you to hang on. I’m going to see what I can do for you, but it may take some time. Everything’s so busy right now, but I promise that somehow I will give you a way to be with your friend.”
"是的,"她坚定地重复道。"诗篇，我要你这样做。我要你坚持住。我看看我能为你做些什么，但可能需要一些时间。现在一切都很忙，但我保证我会给你一个和朋友在一起的机会。"
“You… you don’t have to…” I whispered, horrified that I’d be such a bother to her. “I’m not worth the trouble.”
"你......你不必......"我低声说，惊恐地想到我会成为她的麻烦。"我不值得你这么麻烦。"
“It’s ponies who think they aren’t who are. I know what it’s like to feel worthless and unloved,” she said as she lifted me with her magic and flew me down to the front gate of the orphanage. “Please, be patient. Have faith. I’ll try and help you soon.”
"是小马认为自己不是真正的小马。我知道觉得自己一文不值、没人爱是什么滋味,"她一边说着，一边用魔法把我抱起来，飞到孤儿院的大门口。"请耐心点。要有信心。我会尽快帮助你的。"
I spent the next week sick in bed. The children started to avoid me; Cheddar had been popular and more than a few of the young ones blamed me, correctly, for his leaving. I washed the hall of muddy hoofprints by myself, and it took me far longer than the old times when it had been just me working the scrub brushes. I had no right to complain, though. I’d brought this on myself. For a short while, I’d hoped something might happen. That a chariot would come and sweep me off to Canterlot. Maybe I’d work in the kitchens; I’d be okay with that. So long as I could tell him I was sorry. The chariot never came, though. Princess Luna was a very important pony; I had to be patient. I had to.
接下来的一个星期，我卧病在床。孩子们开始避开我;切达干酪很受欢迎，不少年轻人责怪我，正确地说，是我让他离开的。我自己清洗了大厅里的泥泞马蹄印，这比以前只有我在刷子上工作的时候花的时间要长得多。不过，我没有权利抱怨。这是我自找的。有那么一小会儿，我希望会有什么事情发生。一辆战车会来把我送到坎特罗特。也许我会在厨房工作，我会接受的。只要我能告诉他我很抱歉。然而，战车从来没有来过。卢娜公主是一匹非常重要的小马，我必须要有耐心。我必须这么做。
Over the next month the orphanage got lonelier and lonelier. The youngest went
接下来的一个月里，孤儿院变得越来越孤独。最小的那个去了
first, then older and older. Soon we were a dozen. Ten. Eight. Four. The mare who cooked for us left. Three. We all ate together with the old stallion headmaster. We didn’t talk. And little by little, things started disappearing into boxes and crates. Then those too disappeared. I washed the halls even though there weren’t any more muddy tracks to clean. Two. One…
先是，然后越来越老。很快我们就有十几个人了。10.八个。四个。为我们做饭的母马离开了。三个。我们都和老校长一起吃饭。我们没有说话。渐渐地，东西开始消失在箱子和板条箱里。然后那些也消失了。我清洗了大厅，尽管没有任何泥泞的痕迹需要清洗。二。一..。
Finally, the orphanage was empty. “There’s a new one,” the headmaster said, “A larger one for children whose families were lost in the war.” He was going to see that I was transferred there. Then he was retiring. He said he’s sure I’ll find a family there. Those are the same words I’ve heard all my life. It’ll be cleaner. Newer. Brighter. I can’t imagine it. This dingy gray building is the world. It’s all I know. I can’t leave it. Perhaps I can stay after the headmaster goes. Clean the floors. Keep it intact for unwanted things…
最后，孤儿院空无一人。"有一个新的,"校长说,"一个更大的，为那些在战争中失去家人的孩子准备的。"他要去看看我是不是被调到那儿去了。然后他就退休了。他说他确信我能在那里找到一个家庭。这些话我听了一辈子了。这样会更干净。更新。更明亮。我无法想象。这个肮脏的灰色建筑就是这个世界。我只知道这些。我不能丢下它。也许校长走后我可以留下来。清洁地板。保持它的完整性，以防不必要的东西.....。
He told me to pack, said he’d return in a few hours to take me to the new orphanage. I am left all alone in the empty building. I walk the scrubbed, faded beige linoleum walkway. I peek into the empty little bedrooms, bunk beds stripped of their mattresses and sheets. There’re a few old toys, broken things, sitting forlorn in the corners. I gather them up in a blanket. I don’t know what I’ll do with them; nopony wants broken toys.
他让我收拾行李，说几个小时后他会回来带我去新的孤儿院。只剩下我一个人在空荡荡的大楼里。我走在擦洗干净、褪色的米黄色油毡走道上。我瞥了一眼空荡荡的小卧室，床上的床垫和床单都被扒光了。有一些旧玩具，破烂的东西，孤零零地坐在角落里。我把它们用毯子裹起来。我不知道该拿它们怎么办，小马不想要坏掉的玩具。
Luna. She’d said she’d help. She’d said to be patient. I imagined I could hear her voice calling me… But I couldn’t be patient any more. I was out of time! I crouched there, eyes clenched shut. “Please…” I whispered. “Please, Princess Luna… Please…” I trembled as I curled up, as if trying to disappear so that when the headmaster returned, I’d be gone. Those three words kept me anchored there; the moment I couldn’t say them anymore was the moment I was finished. They were the single light in the blackness that threatened to consume me. If it took me, I didn’t know what I’d do.
女名女子名。她说过她会帮忙的。她说过要有耐心。我想象着我能听到她的声音在呼唤我......但我再也忍受不了了。我没时间了！我蜷缩在那里，双眼紧闭。"请......"我低声说。"求你了，卢娜公主......求你了......"我颤抖着蜷缩起身子，仿佛要消失，好让校长回来时，我已经走了。这三个词让我停留在那里，我说不出来的那一刻就是我说完的那一刻。它们是黑暗中唯一的光，威胁着要吞噬我。如果它带走了我，我不知道我会做什么。
“Psalm,” came the soft voice above me.
"诗篇,"我头顶上传来柔和的声音。
Slowly I looked up at the beautiful dusky dark shape of the Princess of the Night. My eyes met hers, and I saw the understanding of the pain within me. Her lips slowly turned in a soft smile. “We were calling you, dear.”
慢慢地，我抬起头来，看着夜之公主美丽的黑暗的身影。我的目光与她的目光相遇，我看到了自己内心痛苦的理解。她的嘴唇慢慢地转动，露出温柔的微笑。"我们正给你打电话呢，亲爱的。"
“I… I thought I was imagining…” My feeble words dribbled out before I lowered my gaze.
"我.....。.我以为我是在想象......"在我放低目光之前，我那苍白无力的话语逐渐流出来。
“I told you I’d come back,” Luna said softly as she knelt beside me and stretched
"我告诉过你我会回来的,"卢娜在我身边跪下，伸了个懒腰，轻声说道
her soft wing around to pull me close to her warm body. The dam broke and all at once I was sobbing once more; but I knew this time the Princess wouldn’t be troubled by a weeping filly. “Shh…” she hushed as she nuzzled me. “It’s alright. I’d never leave you in a place like this.” I blinked and looked up into her eyes. “I found someone to take care of you.” At once my ears folded a little but she hugged me closer. “None of that. You’re the last one, Psalm. It’s your turn. You deserve a chance at happiness too.”
她柔软的翅膀把我拉近她温暖的身体。大坝决堤了，我突然又哭了起来，但我知道这一次公主不会被哭泣的小母马所困扰。"嘘......"她用鼻子爱抚我时安静了下来。"没关系。我决不会把你留在这样的地方。"我眨了眨眼睛，抬头看着她的眼睛。"我找到人照顾你了。"我的耳朵立刻缩了一下，但她紧紧地抱住了我。""没有。你是最后一个，诗篇。轮到你了。你也应该得到幸福的机会。"
She looked at the doorway. “Come on in. You’re such a horrible lurker.” There was a shift at the door, and then a handsome young stallion slowly walked into the room. His yellow eyes met mine with a wary look, the eyes of a pony who’d been hurt.
她看着门口。"进来吧。你真是个可怕的潜水者。"门口换班了，然后一匹年轻帅气的种马慢慢地走进了房间。他那双黄色的眼睛小心翼翼地看着我，就像一匹受伤的小马的眼睛。
“Who… who are you?” I asked warily.
"你...你是谁?"我小心翼翼地问。
“My name is Goldenblood,” he replied as he sat next to my bed. He looked up at the Princess. “Luna’s… well…”
"我叫金血王,"他坐在我的床边回答。他抬头看着公主。"卢娜......嗯......"
“I finally convinced him that leading a life of being a lonely intellectual was overrated,” Luna replied, making the young stallion flush. “And he’s agreed to look after you.”
"我终于让他相信，过着孤独的知识分子生活被高估了,"卢娜回答道，这让这匹年轻的种马脸红了。"他同意照顾你。"
“Look after me?” I dropped my gaze. “But… I don’t… I can’t…”
"照顾我?"我低下了目光。"但是...我不...我不能..."
“I know, but you do and you can,” Luna said gently, smiling, but her deep eyes were filled to the brim with sympathy. “Listen, Psalm. I want to tell you something that I’ve never told anypony. A long time ago, I did something really bad, and my sister sent me to the moon. Time is funny there, but I was alone, and I was happy because I thought I deserved to be alone. I hated everything so much that the thought of being around anypony was too much to bear. And when I came back, the first thing I did was lash out at everypony around me, because I was still angry at them… but also, I was scared. It took me a year before I was brave enough to make a public appearance, and it took a brave mare to help teach me to be happy around others. I know there are times when being around others positively hurts, but that’s better than being alone.”
"我知道，但是你知道，你可以的,"卢娜温柔地笑着说，但是她深邃的眼睛里充满了同情。"你听，诗篇。我想告诉你一件我从未告诉过任何人的事。很久以前，我做了一件很糟糕的事，我姐姐把我送上了月球。时间在那里是有趣的，但我是孤独的，我很高兴，因为我认为我应该是孤独的。我非常讨厌所有的事情，一想到要和任何小马呆在一起，我就难以忍受。当我回来的时候，我所做的第一件事就是对我周围的每一匹小马发脾气，因为我还在生他们的气......但同时，我也很害怕。我花了一年的时间才有足够的勇气在公众面前露面，一匹勇敢的母马帮助我教会我在别人身边开心。我知道有时候和别人在一起会伤害到别人，但这总比一个人好。"
“Yes… Princess Luna,” I murmured as I bowed my head. “I’ll… I’ll try…”
"是的......卢娜公主,"我低下头喃喃地说。"我会...我会尽力..."
“Good.” She slowly released me and gave us both a kind smile. “Now, I need to flash over to Fillydelphia and make sure everything’s alright for Celestia’s big
"很好。"她慢慢地放开了我，给了我们两个一个善意的微笑。"现在，我需要闪回到Fillydelphia，确保Celestia的大家伙一切正常
ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow. I can’t believe they’re actually opening a huge factory for making guns and ammunition. Can’t imagine they’ll really need that much.” She looked over at Goldenblood. “You two can take the chariot when you’re ready.”
明天的剪彩仪式。我不敢相信他们真的开了一家大工厂来生产枪支和弹药。无法想象他们真的需要那么多。"她看着Goldenblood。"你们两个准备好了就可以开战车了。"
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Goldenblood said with a nod of his head. The Princess beamed in return, and then her horn flared. In a flash of shadow, she disappeared completely.
"是的，陛下,"金布拉德点了点头说。公主微笑着回答，然后她的号角响了起来。在一瞬间的阴影中，她完全消失了。
“… don’t want to go…” I murmured softly. I prepared for the onslaught of questions about what was wrong with me, how I could want to stay in this horrible place. “I know it’s stupid and this place is dirty and closing but it’s the only place I belong. The only place I deserve to be!”
"......我不想去......"我低声说。我已经准备好面对一连串的问题，比如我到底怎么了，我怎么会想要呆在这个可怕的地方。"我知道这很愚蠢，这个地方又脏又要关门了，但这是我唯一的归属。这是我唯一值得呆的地方!"
He stood silently for a long moment before reaching out with a hoof and patting my shoulder. “I understand. This is your home,” he said, not calling me silly. “But it’s your turn to get adopted, Psalm. You’re the last one here. It’s your turn to go.” For a minute we stood there with me just staring at the beige tiles, and then he sighed. “Nevermind. Take your time. The pegasi can wait.”
他默默地站了很久，然后伸出蹄子拍了拍我的肩膀。"我明白。这是你的家,"他说，并没有说我傻。"但现在轮到你被领养了，诗篇。你是这里最后一个。轮到你了。"我们在那儿站了一会儿，我只是盯着那些米黄色的瓷砖，然后他叹了口气。"没关系。慢慢来。飞马座可以等等。"
It took some time. Time to gather my belongings in the black wool blanket, though there weren’t very many. Time to collect the old toys nopony would ever play with again. Time to look at that grimy gray hallway and its rainy gray windows. “Should I call you… Father?” I asked as we walked towards the exit. The word sounded strained and awkward to my ears.
这需要一些时间。是时候用黑色的羊毛毯子收拾我的东西了，虽然没有多少。是时候收拾那些小马再也不会玩的旧玩具了。是时候看看那肮脏的灰色走廊和下着雨的灰色窗户了。"我该叫你......父亲吗?"当我们走向出口的时候，我问道。这个词在我听来显得紧张而笨拙。
“That sounds… odd. I’m barely old enough to have children of my own, let alone one your age. I think a better word is ‘guardian’, but even that sounds off,” he said with a small smile. “Why don’t you just call me ‘Teacher’? It’s fitting. I just got a job working at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns teaching history.” He looked a little confused as he added, “Princess Luna herself recommended me, but I couldn’t tell you why for the life of me.”
"这听起来......很奇怪。我还不到有自己孩子的年龄，更别说像你这么大的孩子了。我认为更好的词是'监护人'，但即使是这个词听起来也不靠谱,"他微笑着说。"你为什么不叫我'老师'呢？很合适。我刚在Celestia的天才独角兽学校找到一份教历史的工作。"他看上去有点困惑，他补充道:"卢娜公主亲自推荐了我，但我无论如何也不能告诉你原因。"
“Oh,” I said, contemplating a moment before asking. “Do you think I could come to the school with you from time to time? I have… there’s a pony I know who goes there.”
"哦,"我说，在问之前想了一会儿。"你认为我可以经常和你一起去学校吗？我有......我知道有一匹小马去那里。"
Together we stepped out the front door. It was one of those rare moments when the rain had stopped and everything was clean and crisp. A rainbow gleamed in the direction of Canterlot and made the golden chariot sparkle with light. It was
我们一起走出前门。这是一个罕见的时刻，雨已经停了，一切都是干净和清爽的。一道彩虹在Canterlot的方向闪烁，使金色的马车闪闪发光。是的
almost as bright as the candle which appeared on my flank, its lone light the faith against the melancholy that had almost consumed me. For the first time since Cheddar had left, I felt a warmth return to me, and Goldenblood smiled in quiet approval. I looked at my Teacher, giving him a smile I’d only shared with one other as he looked back and said, “Certainly. You can be my assistant…”
几乎像我侧面的蜡烛一样明亮，它孤独地照亮了我的信念，对抗那几乎将我消耗殆尽的忧郁。自从切达奶酪离开后，我第一次感受到了温暖的回归，金血王安静地微笑着表示赞同。我看着我的老师，给了他一个微笑，他回过头来说:"当然。你可以做我的助手......"
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
I woke and stretched, then gave a little pout as my hooves failed to come in contact with a certain beautiful mare with an uncanny resemblance to Rainbow Dash. A quick glance confirmed my suspicion: no Glory. I was also surprised to find that it was midmorning already. I usually never slept in so late, though usually it was because I was always trying to keep moving. I sighed and rolled onto my back.
我醒了过来，伸了个懒腰，然后撅了撅嘴，因为我的蹄子没有碰到一匹长得像彩虹冲刺的漂亮母马。快速的一瞥证实了我的猜测:没有光荣。我也很惊讶地发现已经是上午十点左右了。我通常不会睡到这么晚，虽然通常是因为我总是试图保持运动。我叹了口气，翻了个身。
“How’s Rampage, Lacunae? Did seeing that memory help?” I asked Lacunae telepathically. It wasn’t so much hard as weird. I supposed I thought about Lacunae and hoped she picked it up. Of course, for all I knew, all of Unity could hear me, but, if so, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
"暴怒怎么样了，拉库尼？看到这段记忆有帮助吗?"我用心灵感应的方式问她。与其说是困难，不如说是奇怪。我想我想到了拉库尼，希望她能明白这一点。当然，就我所知，整个Unity都能听到我的声音，但是，如果是这样的话，我也无能为力。
“I do not know for certain. I think so. There is a difference between knowing you occasionally turn into a zebra and knowing that even if she is a part of you, she’s a good part,” my friend replied. “She says she’s going to do a little patrol. Keep an eye out for Harbingers today and think about things.”
""我不能肯定。我想是的。知道你偶尔会变成一只斑马和知道即使她是你的一部分，她也是一个好角色是有区别的。"我的朋友回答。"她说她要去巡逻。今天留意一下"先驱者"，想想事情。"
I sighed and smiled, rubbing my aching horn. “So it wasn’t a waste. That’s good to know.” I frowned a little in thought. “Aren’t I breaking the rules, though? I thought that unicorns were only supposed to have a little magic that corresponds to their talent. But I can do magic bullets and light, and now I’m poking into memory magic.” Though, to be fair, that was like saying I was poking into brain surgery.
我叹了口气，微笑着，揉着疼痛的角。"所以这不是浪费。知道这一点很好。"我想了想，皱了皱眉头。"不过，我不是违反了规定吗？我原以为独角兽只会因为它们的天赋而产生一点魔力。但是我可以使用魔法子弹和光，现在我正在探索记忆魔法。"不过，说句公道话，这就像是说我在戳脑外科手术。
“That is a common myth, and one not entirely inaccurate. Before the war, a unicorn usually only possessed whatever magic they developed in their youth, and such magic was usually focused on their interests and thus usually related to their talent. But a unicorn’s magical potential is not limited by their special talents. Rarity exhibited designer skills but also knew a spell to find gems, as well as teleportation later in life. And if a unicorn’s magic was limited, what point was there in writing down spells or having schools of magic? Think of
"这是一个常见的神话，并非完全不准确。在战争之前，独角兽通常只拥有他们年轻时发展出来的魔法，这种魔法通常集中在他们的兴趣上，因此通常与他们的天赋有关。但是独角兽的魔法潜力并不受它们特殊才能的限制。稀有展示了设计师的技能，但也知道一个咒语，以找到宝石，以及心灵运输以后的生活。如果独角兽的魔法是有限的，那么写下咒语或者建立魔法学校又有什么意义呢？想想
your own stable. Most of the unicorns were trained in magic appropriate to their field, regardless of their cutie marks,” Lacunae explained patiently. “Most unicorns, once they have the spells they want, simply quit studying.”
你自己的马厩。大多数的独角兽都接受过与他们的领域相适应的魔法训练，不管他们的可爱标记是什么。"Lacunae耐心地解释道。"大多数独角兽一旦拥有了自己想要的魔法，就会放弃学习。"
Rarity learning teleportation magic? I had to admit... the idea of being able to teleport on my own nearly had me salivating. Popping out of trouble, appearing behind my enemies... I wondered if the brain damage had somehow made me smarter: I’d actually followed all that. “So a unicorn can increase her magic?”
难得学会瞬间移动魔法？我不得不承认......能够自己瞬移的想法几乎让我流口水。突然摆脱困境，出现在敌人身后......我想知道大脑损伤是否在某种程度上让我变得更聪明:我实际上遵循了这一切。"所以一只独角兽可以增加她的魔法?"
“Yes, through substantial effort, and such growth is not infinite. There are some unicorns who focus all their efforts on one spell to great effect. Others possess a panoply of abilities but never take the time and effort to strengthen them. Only a hoofful… Twilight Sparkle… Clover the Clever… Starswirl the Bearded… devoted their lives to both. Sadly, I don’t see you being capable of matching their talent.”
"是的，通过大量的努力，这种增长不是无限的。有些独角兽把所有的精力都集中在一个法术上，效果非常好。其他人拥有一整套的能力，但从来没有花时间和精力去加强他们。只有胡子......紫悦......聪明的三叶草......星星漩涡......胡子......把他们的一生都奉献给了这两者。遗憾的是，我不认为你有能力与他们匹敌。"
“Yeouch,” I muttered. “Rub it in a little harder?” I pouted, rubbing my poor... compact... horn. I did the best I could with it!
"耶,"我咕哝着说。"再用力一点?"我撅着嘴，揉着我那可怜的...小巧的...喇叭。我已经尽力了！
Lacunae chuckled. “I don’t mean because you lack intelligence. Snips and Snails were hardly geniuses but were able to learn a magic utterly alien to unicornkind. No, I mean that such progress would take time and effort. You’d need to study.
空隙轻声笑了。"我的意思不是因为你缺乏智慧。小剪刀和蜗牛几乎算不上天才，但他们能够学会一种与独角兽完全不同的魔法。不，我的意思是这样的进步需要时间和精力。你需要学习。
You’d have to be methodical about it. You have far too much shooting in your life to be a scholar. And I fear you don’t have a studious temperament.” She paused, as if aware I was giving the ceiling a shooty look. “On the other hoof, you have a reckless willingness to experiment, despite the possible harm to yourself. It may be that magic is a talent in your family.”
你必须有条不紊。作为一个学者，你一生中有太多的事情要做了。恐怕你没有勤奋好学的性格。"她停顿了一下，好像意识到我在朝天花板扫视一眼。"另一方面，你不计后果地愿意进行实验，尽管可能会对自己造成伤害。这可能是因为魔术是你们家的一种天赋。"
Sighing, I let go of the dumb resentment. “Yeah. Mom aced every single security spell in the manual, and then some. But she never had Textbook teaching her,” I muttered, feeling my aggravation swap to my old stable teacher.
我叹了一口气，放下了哑口无言的怨恨。"是的。妈妈通过了手册里的每一个安全咒语，还有一些。但是她从来没有接受过教科书的教育,"我咕哝着，感觉到我的怒火和我以前的老师交换了。
I knew where this was going, naturally. It was looking all the way back at Tenpony and the prediction that I was Twilight Sparkle’s descendant. If that were true, then it would make sense... but it couldn’t be. I’d failed to open the door. So clearly, some other mare had to be my ancestor. Maybe Pinkie Pie; who knew who the pink one had gotten freaky with? Or Rarity. There was a tiny, immature… okay, maybe not so tiny… part of me that liked the idea of being the descendant of the love child of Rarity and Vanity.
我当然知道事情会怎样发展。它看起来像是回到了Tenpony，还有我是紫悦的后代的预言。如果这是真的，那么这就说得通了......但不可能是真的。我没能开门。所以很明显，其他的母马一定是我的祖先。也许是小粉红派，谁知道那个粉红色的家伙和谁搞在一起了？或者稀有。我内心有一点点，不成熟......好吧，也许不是那么小......一部分的我喜欢成为罕有和虚荣的私生子的后代。
“You might find that, once ponies stop shooting at you, you might have a horn for magic. Perhaps. But it’s up to you. Magic takes time and effort, and certainly having resources on how other unicorns do their magic would be helpful too. But to be a serious student takes more than just intelligence. It takes stability. Something you’re lacking in spades.”
"你可能会发现，一旦小马停止向你射击，你可能会有一个魔法角。也许吧。但这取决于你。魔术需要时间和精力，当然，拥有其他独角兽如何施展魔法的资源也会有所帮助。但是要成为一个认真的学生需要的不仅仅是智力。这需要稳定。这正是你所缺乏的。"
I crossed my hooves across my chest and pouted, because it was true. Mentally. Circumstantially. I couldn’t settle down and dedicate a month or two for study to try and see what other spells I could learn. I’d save that for another day when Horizons was solved, EC-1101 was at the bottom of the ocean, and the Harbingers were long gone. “How about Glory and Dawn? Have you seen them?”
我把蹄子交叉在胸前撅着嘴，因为这是真的。精神上。偶然地。我不能安定下来，用一两个月的时间来学习，看看还有什么其他的法术可以学。"地平线"号破解后，EC-1101沉入海底,"先驱者"号早就不见了。"《晨辉与黎明》怎么样？你见过他们吗?"
“Dawn went out early in the morning, leaving a note that she’d return. Glory is downstairs. She purchased some… ingredients… from Charity. Now I fear that she’s experimenting in the kitchen. She really should leave the cooking to P-21. He has quite a hoof for it.” As if reading my mind, and for all I knew she’d done exactly that, she added, “P-21 and Scotch Tape went back to town. Hopefully the Crusaders will listen to her now.”
"黎明一大早就出去了，留下一张便条说她会回来。晨辉在楼下。她从Charity那里...买了一些原料。现在我担心她在厨房里做实验。她真的应该把厨艺交给P-21。他的蹄子很适合这个工作。"就好像读懂了我的心思似的，据我所知，她就是这么做的，她补充说,"P-21和透明胶带又回到了城里。希望十字军现在会听她的。"
“Yeah. Hopefully.” I lay back and paused, then thought, “How are you doing, Lacunae?”
"是的。希望如此。"我躺下来，停顿了一下，然后想,"你好吗，拉库奈?"
“I am the same as I ever was and ever will be. You know that, Blackjack,” Lacunae replied in soft resignation. “I cannot change.”
"我从来没有变过，将来也不会变。"你是知道的，黑杰克,"拉库尼无可奈何地回答。"我不能改变。"
“I don’t believe that, Lacunae. I think you do change,” I said as I smiled. “The more the Goddess crams into you, the more everything inside you gets shuffled about. That’s change, isn’t it?” The startled silence I received more than made up for my earlier indignation. Yes, Blackjack could, on occasion, come up with smart ideas.
"我不相信，拉库尼。我认为你确实改变了,"我笑着说。"女神越是挤进你体内，你体内的一切就越是乱七八糟。这就是变化，不是吗?"我受到的震惊的沉默完全弥补了我早先的愤怒。是的，Blackjack偶尔会想出一些聪明的点子。
“Well… in that case… I suppose I am… good?” Lacunae said warily, as if afraid that the answer would bring a backlash. “You are alive and safe. You are all reasonably healthy. You are more stable, as are Rampage and Glory. Relative to how you were, you are happier. That’s all good, right?”
"嗯......既然这样......我想我......还不错吧?"Lacunae小心翼翼地说，好像担心这个回答会引起强烈反应。"你还活着，很安全。你们都相当健康。你更加稳定，就像狂暴和晨辉一样。相对于过去，你更快乐。这样就好了，对吧?"
“But what about you, Lacunae?” I asked with a small frown. “Are you happy?”
"那你呢，拉库奈?"我皱着眉头问道。"你开心吗?"
“Please, don’t ask me that, Blackjack. If you are happy, I am happy. It is the
"请不要问我这个问题，Blackjack。如果你快乐，我也快乐。它就是
closest to happiness I can come,” she said in that resigned voice, but there was something more.
我能得到的最接近幸福的东西,"她用顺从的声音说，但还有更多的东西。
“What is it, Lacunae? What’s wrong?” I thought, fighting the urge to press hard for answers. It was difficult, because I caught a whiff of emotion. Over our connection I could feel something I’d never imagined would come from my friend.
""怎么了，拉库尼？怎么了?"我想，克制着急于寻求答案的冲动。这很困难，因为我感觉到了一丝情绪。通过我们之间的联系，我可以感受到一些我从未想象过会来自我朋友的东西。
Guilt.
内疚。
“Lacunae?” I asked as I felt her trying to hide it, burying it out of sight.
"缺陷?"我问道，因为我觉得她试图隐藏它，把它埋在视线之外。
“Please, Blackjack. It’s nothing. It may not even matter anymore. You’re doing so much better now. Please, don’t ask,” she begged, and I backed off. I heard a mental sigh of relief. “Thank you, Blackjack,” she said, and then one last thing leaked through, “and I’m sorry.”
"求你了，黑杰克。没什么。这甚至可能不再重要。你现在好多了。求你了，别问了,"她恳求着，我退后了。我听到心里松了一口气。"谢谢你，Blackjack,"她说，然后最后一件事泄露了出来,"我很抱歉。"
Guilt? What was she guilty about? Lacunae had always been supportive and helpful. She’d been a good friend, and I was thankful that the Goddess had never made her do anything that required me to treat her as anything other than a friend. Ah, the Goddess. That must be it. She felt guilty because of the control the Goddess had over me!
内疚？她为什么感到内疚？空白一直是支持和帮助的。她一直是我的好朋友，我很感激女神从来没有要求她做任何事情，让我把她当作朋友以外的任何事情。啊，女神。一定是这样。她感到内疚，因为女神控制了我！
I relaxed immediately. That was simply silly; she didn’t have any control over what the Goddess could and couldn’t do! She wasn’t responsible for me being brainwired to Unity in the first place, either.
我立刻放松了下来。这简直是愚蠢的，她无法控制女神能做什么，不能做什么！首先，她也没有责任让我参与到Unity中来。
Then I heard the mental snicker in my mind and froze, trying to do everything I could to keep her out. It was futile, of course. She had my deepest secrets already, sure, but it was the principle of the thing. I needn’t have bothered, though, as she didn’t seem to be trying to do anything at the moment.
然后我听到我脑子里的窃笑声，我愣住了，想尽一切办法把她挡在外面。当然，这是徒劳的。当然，她已经知道了我内心深处的秘密，但这是原则问题。不过，我不必为此烦恼，因为她此刻似乎并不想做任何事情。
“Oh, you poor deluded little fool,” the Goddess purred in my mind, and I imagined a blue mare holding me from behind and whispering in my ear. “You still haven’t figured it out yet… no surprise. You see, your dearest Lacunae has betrayed you.”
"哦，你这个可怜的迷惑的小傻瓜,"女神在我脑海中咕噜咕噜地说，我想象着一匹蓝色的母马从后面抱着我，在我耳边低语。"你还没弄明白......这不奇怪。你看，你最亲爱的拉库尼背叛了你。"
“Shut up,” I growled, wishing I could mentally punch the silver-maned mare lying in my ear. “Lacunae would never do that. And if she did, it’d be because you made her do it.”
"闭嘴,"我咆哮着，真希望我能在心里狠狠地揍那只躺在我耳朵里的银色母马一拳。"空白绝不会这么做。如果她这么做了，那也是因为你让她这么做的。"
“Oh no,” the Goddess laughed in delight. “Not this time. This was all her. At the time I was rather put out that she’d done it, but now… heh… now I couldn’t be happier with the results!”
"哦，不,"女神高兴地笑了。"这次不行。这都是她的功劳。当时我很生气她这么做了，但是现在......现在我对结果非常高兴!"
“Shut up! You’re lying! That’s all there is to it,” I said as stubbornly as I could.
"闭嘴！你在撒谎！就是这样,"我尽量固执地说。
But that old refrain was growing a bit threadbare.
但是，这种老调重弹已经变得有些陈腐了。
The Goddess persisted, her words oozing into my awareness. I couldn’t plug up my ears to stop her, and mentally chanting ‘LALALA’ was far less effective against her than it had been against me. “She did something to you. Something that’s hurt you more than you could ever realize. Something that’s almost killed you more than once. All for her own selfish gain,” the Goddess purred softly in my ear. “If you really want to know, go into her mind. Find what she’s hiding. Or don’t. Either way, it should be fun.”
女神坚持着，她的话渗入我的意识。我无法塞住耳朵阻止她，心里高喊着"LALALA"对她的效果远不及对我的效果。"她对你做了什么。一些比你意识到的更伤害你的事情。差点害死你的东西不止一次。这一切都是为了她自己的私利,"女神在我耳边轻轻地咕噜着。"如果你真的想知道，进入她的思想。找出她在隐瞒什么。或者不要。不管怎样，这应该很有趣。"
There was no way to silence her, so I settled on ignoring her. My life in 99 had made me an expert at not thinking about things, though that skill had atrophied a bit. And now my own mind was supplying the venom. Had Lacunae done something to my mind now that we were connected, or perhaps something earlier in our relationship? Was there some poisonous strain of truth in the Goddess’s taunts? Was Lacunae’s friendship false? If it hurt me, I’d endure, but what if it was done to my friends as well?
没有办法让她闭嘴，所以我决定无视她。我在99年的生活使我成为了不去想事情的专家，尽管这种技能已经衰退了一点。现在我自己的思想也在提供毒液。既然我们已经连接在一起了，那么空隙是不是对我的思想造成了什么影响呢，或者是在我们的关系更早的时候呢？在女神的嘲弄中是否有某种有毒的真理的曲调？拉库尼的友谊是虚假的吗？如果它伤害了我，我会忍受，但是如果它也伤害了我的朋友呢？
I could ask. I could. But if she denied or refused, what then? Would I force the answer from her? Could I? Could I force the answer from her by violence or guilt or crude memory magic if she refused? I sighed, closed my eyes, and peeked deep down in the bottommost pits of my soul, beneath all decency, all loyalty, all compassion and love… I could. So I would not ask. I’d have to do something else, and then I would close my eyes and hope that, if one of my loyalest and most true friends had done me a wrong, she would somehow tell me. As if she did not, then I prayed to slain goddesses that only I suffered for it.
我可以问。我可以。但是如果她否认或者拒绝，那又怎么样呢？我会强迫她回答吗？我可以吗？如果她拒绝了，我会用暴力、罪恶感或粗糙的记忆魔法强迫她回答吗？我叹了口气，闭上眼睛，深深地窥视着我灵魂的最深处，在所有的体面、所有的忠诚、所有的同情和爱之下......我可以。所以我不会问。我不得不做些别的事情，然后闭上眼睛，希望如果我最忠诚、最真诚的朋友做错了什么，她会以某种方式告诉我。好像她没有，然后我祈祷那些被杀死的女神，只有我才为此受苦。
So, unless the Goddess was going to force something (and I lay there a minute expectantly, crossing my forelegs over my chest as I stared at the roof and waited for her to do just that), I might as well get up and find out what smelled so interesting downstairs. I trotted out and down to the smell of something burning and the sight of Glory hovering over the stove. Boo sat nearby, her head tilted as if trying to process just what was being created in the cast iron pan.
所以，除非女神要强迫我做什么(我躺在那里，充满期待地把前腿交叉在胸前，盯着屋顶，等着她这么做)，我还不如起来，看看楼下有什么东西闻起来这么有趣。我小跑着下楼，闻到了什么东西烧焦的味道，看到了晨辉在炉子上盘旋。布坐在附近，她的头部倾斜，似乎试图处理正在铸铁平底锅创造什么。
The pegasus glanced towards me and suddenly flushed, her disguise on the counter where the sheets were stained with ‘ingredients’. “Oh! Hi, Blackjack. I had an idea and I was thinking of a way to make the perfect food for you,” she said, then slammed her hoof down on the handle of the skillet, flipping something black into the air. Then she grabbed a plate between her hooves and with a swoop deftly caught what looked like an immense black cake. The plate shattered, and the dark discus fell to the floor and rolled like a wheel across to the pale blank. “Oh, shoot, it’s heavier than most pancakes.”
帕伽索斯瞥了我一眼，突然脸红了，她的伪装出现在柜台上，柜台上的床单上沾满了成分。"哦！嗨黑杰克。我有了一个主意，我正在想办法为你做出完美的食物,"她说，然后猛地把蹄子踩在锅柄上，把黑色的东西抛向空中。然后她在蹄间抓起一个盘子，灵巧地扑向一个看起来像巨大的黑色蛋糕的东西。盘子碎了，黑色的铁饼掉到地上，像轮子一样滚到了苍白的空白里。"哎呀，比大多数煎饼都重。"
“Pancakes?” I asked in a daze. Boo took one sniff of the steaming, or smoking, disk, then snorted and recoiled, covering her nose.
"煎饼?"我茫然地问。布吸了一口气，或者说是吸了一口烟，然后喷了一口气，缩了回去，捂住了鼻子。
“Well, that was how I started,” Glory said as I levitated the black disk up. “But then I figured that instead of just flour, which wouldn’t assist your digestion, why not add some grass for fiber? But then I thought that, really, a pancake like that would only be good for your biological aspect, so I added a layer of nails, and then some more grass and batter.” I turned the disk back and forth before me. “Once I’d added them, I figured some crushed gems would also be ideal. And then I was worried that the flavor might not be right, so I crushed up some Sugar Apple Bombs for flavor. Then, just to make sure you got everything you needed, I added a layer of grease to keep your augmentations working smoothly.”
"嗯，我就是这样开始的,"晨辉说，我把黑色的圆盘悬浮起来。"但后来我想到，为什么不添加一些草来提取纤维素，而不是只添加面粉，因为面粉不利于你的消化？但后来我想，真的，那样的煎饼只会对你的生理方面有好处，所以我加了一层钉子，然后再加一些草和面糊。"我把磁盘在我面前来回转动。"一旦我加入了它们，我觉得一些压碎的宝石也会很理想。然后我担心味道可能不对，所以我碾碎了一些糖苹果炸弹来调味。然后，为了确保你得到所需的一切，我添加了一层润滑油，以保证扩展工作顺利进行。"
“I’m not really sure that’s how I’m supposed to be lubed,” I said, watching the inexplicable blush on Glory’s cheeks as I sniffed the black disk. Then I took a crispy, crunchy bite and chewed slowly and thoughtfully. Finally I gulped it all down and looked at the worried pegasus. I paused to consider how best to put this to her. “Well Glory, I don’t know how to say this. You tried for perfection…” I said gravely, then grinned. “And you nailed it!”
"我真的不知道我应该怎么涂油,"我说，看着晨辉的脸颊上无法解释的红晕，我闻了闻黑色的光盘。然后我咬了一口脆脆的，慢慢地，若有所思地嚼着。最后我一口气吞下去，看着那匹忧心忡忡的飞马。我停顿了一下，考虑如何最好地把这件事告诉她。"好吧，晨辉，我不知道该怎么说。你尽力追求完美......"我严肃地说，然后咧嘴一笑。"你做到了!"
I held the disk in my hooves as Glory beamed and Boo sat back in confusion. “This is the most perfect food ever! Cyberpony cakes! It’s got everything I need for my body. And if I ever need to patch my armor, I can just nibble one till it fits!” Glory blinked as I popped out my fingers and swung the nibbled disk. “And feel that heft! I bet I could throw one twenty yards and take off a raider’s head! Heck! I can just bite it into whatever shape I need! With this, I can be armed, armored, and fed all at once!”
我把磁盘放在我的蹄子里，晨辉微笑着，而Boo困惑地坐回去。"这是有史以来最完美的食物！赛博小马蛋糕！这里有我身体所需要的一切。如果我需要修补我的盔甲，我可以咬一口，直到合适为止!"当我伸出手指挥动那被啃过的圆盘时，晨辉眨了眨眼睛。"感受那份重量！我敢打赌，我可以扔出20码远，打掉一架突袭机的头！见鬼！我可以把它咬成我需要的任何形状！有了这个，我可以一下子全副武装，全副武装，吃饱穿暖!"
Glory stared at me, looking a touch unsure as I took another bite. It wasn’t
格洛里盯着我，看起来有点不确定，我又咬了一口。其实不是
something I’d be able to devour all at once. Something like this would take time. But as long as I had a half dozen or so of these, I’d be good for weeks. “Well, I’m glad you like them,” Glory said in a slightly concerned tone.
我可以一下子全部吞下去。像这样的事情需要时间。但是只要我有半打左右这样的东西，我就能坚持几个星期。"嗯，我很高兴你喜欢它们,"晨辉略带忧虑地说。
“I wonder if I can light these on fire?” I mused as I turned it over. “Incendiary cakes of death!” I chortled. Boo simply snorted in dismissal of Glory’s wonderful invention and started nosing around the cupboards.
"不知道我能不能把它们点着?"我一边把它翻过来，一边沉思着。"死亡的燃烧饼!"我哈哈大笑。布简单地哼了一声，拒绝了晨辉的伟大发明，然后开始在橱柜里翻来翻去。
“Okay! I’m happy you’re so thrilled with my armor plate weapon baking,” Glory said with a little flush as she gestured to a small heap of them next to the stove as I munched a little more. Mmm… axle grease and apple… yum! “I’m also glad you’re doing better than last night.” She gave a little frown. “You were talking in your sleep all night.”
"好吧！我很高兴你对我的钢板武器烘焙感到如此兴奋,"晨辉指着炉子旁的一小堆钢板说，同时我又吃了一点。嗯...车轴油和苹果...好吃！"我也很高兴你比昨晚做得更好。"她皱了皱眉。"你整晚都在说梦话。"
I blinked with a worried frown. Maybe she might figure out what the Goddess was doing from my nocturnal mutterings? “What’d I say?”
我愁眉不展地眨着眼睛。也许她能从我夜间的喃喃自语中发现女神在做什么？"我说什么了?"
“I don’t know. It was in Zebra,” Glory said with a worried frown. “I think you should stop experimenting till you know a little more about memory spells. Go to the Collegiate, talk to Triage, and find out how she does it. Or check that book you got in Tenpony.”
"我不知道。那是斑马纹的,"格洛里愁眉苦脸地说。"我认为你应该停止实验，直到你对记忆咒语有了更多的了解。去学院，跟分诊部谈谈，看看她是怎么做的。或者看看你在Tenpony买的那本书。"
I chewed thoughtfully and finally sighed. “Fine.”
我若有所思地咀嚼着，最后叹了口气。"好吧。"
“I know you want to help her, and I do too, but…” she went on before she blinked. “Wait. What was that?”
"我知道你想帮助她，我也是，但是......"她眨眼之前继续说道。"等等。那是什么?"
“I said fine. You’re right. I should know a little more before poking around inside her for more memories,” I said with a simple little shrug of my shoulders. Boo pulled out a Fancy Buck snack cake and started ripping open the wax paper wrapper.
"我说好吧。你说得对。我应该多了解一点，然后才能在她体内寻找更多的记忆。"我耸了耸肩说。布拿出一块花式巴克零食蛋糕，开始撕开蜡纸包装纸。
Glory frowned at me. “Who are you, and what did you do with Blackjack?”
晨辉皱着眉头看着我。"你是谁?你把黑杰克怎么了?"
I tried to maintain my dignity as I looked at her and she back at me. Our relationship was tense, but we both wanted it to work. I didn’t want to live in a world without Glory. And in her eyes I saw endless worry, barely kept in check, that she'd end up living in a world without Blackjack. “You’re not afraid I’ll get in trouble, going out without you?”
我试着保持我的尊严，我看着她，她也看着我。我们的关系是紧张的，但我们都希望它工作。我不想生活在一个没有晨辉的世界。在她的眼里，我看到了无尽的担忧，几乎没有被控制，她最终会生活在一个没有黑杰克的世界里。"你不怕我会有麻烦，自己出去吗?"
She frowned a moment, as if thinking about that. Then she bowed her head. “I know that I put a collar on you, Blackjack, but I can’t keep you within wing’s length all the time. So I am worried... but I also have to trust you, Blackjack, to stay out of real trouble. Okay?” she asked, but as I met her gaze, I saw the warning. If I couldn’t control myself and prevent things like Yellow River from happening... I’d lose her.
她皱了皱眉，好像在想那件事。然后她低下了头。"我知道我给你戴上了项圈，黑杰克，但我不能一直把你关在翅膀的长度之内。所以我很担心......但是我也必须相信你，Blackjack，远离真正的麻烦。好吗?"她问道，但当我看到她的目光时，我看到了警告。如果我不能控制自己，阻止像黄河这样的事情发生......我就会失去她。
Then I was distracted watching the blank tear open the package. “She knows how to open them now?”
然后我分心地看着空白的眼泪打开包裹。"她现在知道怎么打开它们了?"
The cyan pegasus frowned, then relaxed and smiled at the blank-flanked mare. “Yeah. Figured it out a day or two ago. Don’t know if it was Scotch teaching her or if she just picked it up on her own.”
青色的飞马皱了皱眉，然后放松下来，对着侧面空白的母马笑了笑。"是的。一两天前就想明白了。不知道是苏格兰威士忌教她的，还是她自己学的。"
I sat beside Boo and rubbed her ears as she munched down on the cake. Without a soul, you’re nothing but an animal. Could an animal learn to open snack cakes? I supposed so. Still, it was hard to think of a pony like her as having no mind or personality. “Like that, Boo?” I asked, and then levitated the black disk with the chewed edge in front of her. “Want a taste of a cyberpony cake?”
我坐在布旁边，抚摸着她的耳朵，看着她咀嚼着蛋糕。没有灵魂，你只是一只动物。动物能学会打开零食蛋糕吗？我想也是。尽管如此，很难想象像她这样的小马没有思想和个性。"像这样吗，阿布?"我问道，然后在她面前用咀嚼过的边缘把黑色圆盘悬浮起来。"想尝尝赛博马蛋糕吗?"
She looked at it skeptically, stretched out, licked the edge, and suddenly jerked back and snorted. She picked the remains of her cake in her mouth and trotted away, giving the black disk a sharp kick with her rear hoof. Unfortunately, it was perfectly aligned with my face. As I lay there a minute later, I reflected that I’d been correct: the cakes were very effective weapons.
她怀疑地看着它，伸开四肢，舔了舔边缘，突然猛地回过头来，哼了一声。她嘴里叼着剩下的蛋糕，小跑着离开，用后蹄狠狠地踢了一脚黑色的圆盘。不幸的是，它和我的脸完全吻合。一分钟后，当我躺在那里时，我想我是正确的:蛋糕是非常有效的武器。
* * *
* * *
I lay on the bed, flipping through the book on beginner’s magic. I’d promised Glory I’d at least look and see if there was any memory magic listed. I came across a lot of little magic tricks that I’d never thought of before. Some of the magic seemed a lot more than ‘beginner’. I tried to summon a door and ended up giving myself a throbbing horn ache as a tiny flimsy door in a doorframe appeared, slammed shut dramatically, collapsed into a pile of broken toothpicks, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
我躺在床上，翻阅着初学者魔法书。我答应晨辉，至少我会看看，看看是否有任何记忆魔法列表。我遇到了许多我以前从未想到过的小魔术。有些魔术看起来不仅仅是"初学者"。我试图召唤一扇门，结果门框里一扇脆弱的小门突然出现，砰地一声关上，倒在一堆破碎的牙签上，然后消失在一阵烟雾中，我感到一阵刺痛。
Well, it didn’t say ‘practical magic’. Some of the magic, like walking on clouds, I simply couldn’t confirm if I’d done right or not. And one that created wings… well… I got through the first paragraph about cocoons and metamorphosis when my eyes crossed and I thought it best to move on. To my surprise, there was a
好吧，它没有说'实用的魔法'。有些魔法，比如在云端漫步，我简直不能确定我是否做对了。还有一个创造了翅膀......嗯......我读完了关于茧和变形的第一段，当我的眼睛交叉的时候，我觉得最好继续前进。令我惊讶的是
section on ‘mind magic’ talking about making a bridge between two ponies by touching my horn to their brow. Apparently ‘diving in’ was discouraged; the book recommended pulling a memory into myself or pushing a memory into another. Just clumping minds together was apparently asking for trouble.
"精神魔法"一节，讲的是用我的喇叭触碰两匹小马的眉毛，在它们之间架起一座桥梁。显然,"潜入"是不被鼓励的;这本书建议把一段记忆放进自己的脑子里，或者把一段记忆塞进另一段记忆里。只是把头脑聚集在一起显然是自找麻烦。
“What would life be without trouble, though?” I murmured as I levitated the book in front of me.
"不过，没有烦恼的生活会是什么样子呢?"我低声说着，把面前的书悬浮起来。
Then a folded piece of paper fell out of the back of the book, and I blinked in surprise. I set the book aside and lifted it instead. “What’s this? Twilight’s bookmark?” I said with a little half smile as I unfolded it. Instantly, Twilight’s elegant hornwriting met my eyes.
然后一张折起来的纸从书背面掉了出来，我惊讶地眨了眨眼。我把书放在一边，把它拿了起来。"这是什么？暮光之城的书签?"当我打开它的时候，我带着一丝微笑说。瞬间，暮色优雅的角文映入我的眼帘。
Dear Princess Luna, it is with great regret a heavy heart that I must tender my resignation
亲爱的卢娜公主，我怀着沉重的心情提出辞职，非常遗憾
What? I sat up immediately and read that line once more to make sure that my brain damage wasn’t acting up, then read further.
什么？我马上坐起来，再读一遍那一行，确保我的大脑没有受到损伤，然后继续读下去。
Dear Princess Luna, it is with great regret a heavy heart that I must tender my resignation and step down as Ministry Mare of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. Your command decision to execute Goldenblood without trial is a crime insult sad injustice unprecedented in pony history. I am pleased proud of the work that has been committed accomplished by my ministry and everypony working under me and am confident they will be able to serve Equestria admirably, but I cannot remain a part, in good conscience, be a part of this government any longer. I will inform my friends of this decision and hope that your reign is a good ethical better prosperous.
亲爱的卢娜公主，我怀着沉重的心情提出辞呈，辞去奥术科学部的母马职务。你不经审判就处决金血王的命令是对小马史上前所未有的不公正的犯罪侮辱。我很高兴我的部门和每一个在我手下工作的人所完成的工作，我相信他们能够令人钦佩地为Equestria服务，但凭良心讲，我不能再继续成为这个政府的一部分。我会把这个决定通知我的朋友们，并希望你们的统治是一个良好的道德更好的繁荣。
There were other paragraphs saying similar things beneath it, with lines edited or crossed out entirely. Other rough drafts were to Fluttershy and Applejack, telling both that she could not be a part of the ministries any longer and suggesting neither of them should be either. There was a scratched-out section practically begging Fluttershy to talk to Pinkie Pie about stepping down from Ministry of Morale and asking Applejack to try and get Rarity away from Image.
还有一些段落在下面说了类似的内容，其中一些行被编辑或者完全删除了。其他的草稿是写给Fluttershy和Applejack的，告诉他们两个她不能再做牧师了，并建议他们两个都不应该做牧师。有一个被划掉的部分实际上是在乞求Fluttershy和PinkiePie谈关于从士气部辞职并要求苹果白兰地公司尝试从Image公司带走稀有的事情。
I wondered if, if the zebras hadn’t launched their megaspells, Equestria would have simply collapsed in its entirety? Without the Ministry Mares, would the ministries stand? I understood that some of them had been figureheads to varying degrees, but even so, they’d been important symbols of the government.
我想知道，如果不是斑马发起了他们的巨型马车，小马国会不会完全崩溃？如果没有马瑞斯部，政府部门还会存在吗？我知道他们中的一些人在不同程度上是有名无实的领袖，但即便如此，他们仍然是政府的重要象征。
I thought about the legal briefs in the Fluttershy Medical Center. Prosecuting the Ministry Mares for crimes against Equestria? Prosecuting the Princesses for the same? EC-1101, a megaspell that effectively handed over control of the country to a new ruler. Project Partypooper, a conspiracy to eliminate everyone who could possess EC-1101. What would happen if there was no one that EC-1101 could connect with?
我想到了FluttershyMedicalCenter的诉讼摘要。因为侵犯小马国而起诉部里的母马？为了同样的原因起诉公主们？Ec-1101，一个有效地将国家控制权移交给新统治者的巨型建筑。"派对扫兴者"计划，一个消灭所有可能拥有EC-1101的人的阴谋。如果EC-1101无法与任何人连接，会发生什么情况？
If Sanguine had been right... something bad.
如果桑吉恩是对的，那么一定是坏事。
Goldenblood had known. Hell, he was the grand architect of this whole scheme. This plot that had wrapped itself tightly around Equestria and the world. And he’d done something, created something called Horizons to deal with it. But something had gone wrong. Something that even Goldenblood had missed till it was too late to stop it. He’d had Trottenheimer make a weapon of unimaginable power, but had been arrested before he could use it. Executed. Failed. What had he known?
金血王知道。见鬼，他是整个计划的总设计师。这场阴谋紧紧包围着Equestria和全世界。他做了一些事情，创造了一个叫做地平线的东西来处理这个问题。但是有些地方出了问题。一些连金血王都没有注意到的事情，直到来不及阻止。他让特罗滕海默制造了一种威力无法想象的武器，但在他使用它之前就被逮捕了。被处决。失败。他知道些什么？
I flipped open my PipBuck and brought up the megaspell program once again, just staring at the screen. The key to Equestria, Applebot had told me in another life. Something ponies would kill for. Something that made miracles happen. And even after all that I’d been through, I still didn’t feel like I knew any more than when I’d started!
我弹开我的PipBuck，再次打开megaspell程序，只是盯着屏幕。Equestria的钥匙，Applebot在另一个世界告诉我的。小马为之疯狂的东西。让奇迹发生的事情。即使经历了这么多，我仍然觉得自己比刚开始的时候知道的更多！
A small part of me wished that I had pushed the button on that terminal and activated Project Horizons, just so that I’d know what it did.
我的一小部分希望我按下了终端上的按钮，激活了"地平线计划"，这样我就能知道它做了什么。
I frowned at the folded piece of paper. This was pretty incriminating, not the sort of thing you just left around. It’d been stashed in the back cover of the book. I frowned as I thought back to that study and the scrolls within it. Personal. Private. Twilight’s own study.
我对着那张折叠的纸皱起了眉头。这是相当有罪的，不是那种你刚才留下的东西。它被藏在书的封底里。当我回想起书房和里面的卷轴时，我皱起了眉头。个人资料。私人。暮光之城自己的研究。
I clenched my eyes closed. Damn it, I hadn’t been able to open the stupid Tenpony door! And now, more than ever, I had the overwhelming sense that I should have been able to open it!
我紧闭双眼。该死，我连那扇愚蠢的Tenpony大门都打不开！而现在，我比以往任何时候都更有压倒性的感觉，我应该能够打开它！
Something was off, and for the first time, I couldn’t stop myself from seriously wondering if there was some terrible truth behind the Goddess’s snide accusations. Maybe there was something my friends were keeping from me after all...
有些事情不对劲，第一次，我不能阻止自己严肃地思考女神的讽刺指责背后是否隐藏着可怕的真相。也许毕竟我的朋友们有事瞒着我..。
* * *
* * *
“I have to admit, Blackjack, when you asked me for any tips we had on memory magic, I felt a sudden urge to run out to the badlands and play doctor with hellhounds,” Triage muttered, the gray unicorn lighting another cigarette and leaning against the walkway railing as rain drizzled into the muddy university quad. “Now, I got to admit I have a sick curiosity making me wonder just what’s going through your head to make you want to know how to extract memories without giving yourself an aneurysm.”
"我不得不承认，Blackjack，当你问我关于记忆魔法的任何建议时，我突然感到一种冲动，想跑到荒地去和地狱犬玩医生的游戏,"Triage咕哝着，灰色的独角兽点燃了另一支烟，斜靠在人行道的栏杆上，细雨倾泻在泥泞的大学校园里。"现在，我不得不承认，我有一种病态的好奇心，让我想知道是什么在你的头脑中，让你想知道如何提取记忆，而不会让自己得动脉瘤。"
After soaking up radiation for an hour in Blueblood Manor, Lacunae had teleported me over to the Collegiate to find out everything I could about memory magic; after all, they’d been the ones who’d modified Scotch Tape’s memories. I had to bully Triage a little bit with suggestions about ‘learning as I went’ and experimentation... each one seeming to have the effect of giving the mare a migraine. I guessed I would have had the same reaction if somepony told me they were going to try to clear a jammed gun by bashing it with a rock. Some ignorance was simply too intolerable to go uncorrected.
在BluebloodManor吸收了一个小时的辐射之后，Lacunae把我传送到Collegiate学院去寻找关于记忆魔法的一切，毕竟，是他们修改了ScotchTape的记忆。我不得不提出一些"边走边学"的建议和实验......每一个建议似乎都会让母马偏头痛。我猜如果有小马告诉我他们要用石头砸枪来清理卡住的枪，我也会有同样的反应。有些无知是无法忍受的，不能不纠正。
I finished tucking the last of the notes into my saddlebags. “Well, as fun as aneurysms are, I have to admit that it’s easier getting through the day without them,” I said as casually as I could. Triage had once again swatted me about the noggin when I’d explained what I’d done to Rampage. Apparently I should be dead of a burst blood vessel in my brain at this moment; fortunately, Silver Stripe’s augmentations had prevented that. Lacunae stood nearby, quietly watching me. The alicorn had said nothing about teleporting me over to the Collegiate to pick up more notes on memory magic. Glory had warned me that if I trotted one step in the direction of trouble without her, she was going to put me in a harness she was saving for something ‘special’.
我把最后一张纸条塞进我的鞍囊里。"嗯，尽管动脉瘤很有趣，但我不得不承认，没有它们的日子过得更轻松,"我尽可能随意地说。当我解释我对狂暴做了什么的时候，伤检分类组再一次用脑袋打我。很显然，此时此刻我应该已经死于脑血管爆裂;幸运的是，银条纹的增强作用阻止了这一切的发生。空隙就站在附近，静静地看着我。阿里克什么也没说要把我传送到学院学院学习更多关于记忆魔法的笔记。晨辉警告过我，如果我在没有她的情况下朝着麻烦的方向小跑一步，她就会给我套上安全带，这样我就能得到一些特别的东西。
“Well, that’s all I know. If you were doing this to anypony besides Rampage, I wouldn’t have told you. I don’t think that mare can get much worse off,” the gray mare said as she took a long pull on her cigarette and let the smoke blast out her nostrils. “I actually found her once… four or five years back when I was trying to make my way to Flotsam by boat. Saw her tumble right over the Core wall and onto the rocks along shore. Damnedest thing I ever saw. Of course she regenerated, but wasn’t right in the head. Screaming. Babbling about a city of gore and flying steel. Sobbing. Captain blasted her with his gun twice in the noggin. She thanked him afterwards.”
"好吧，我就知道这么多。如果你对除了狂暴之外的任何小马都这么做，我是不会告诉你的。我不认为母马会变得更糟糕,"灰色的母马说，她长时间地拉了一下她的香烟，让烟雾喷出她的鼻孔。"事实上，我曾经找到过她......四五年前，当我试图乘船去漂流岛的时候。看见她正好翻过核心墙，沿着海岸跌落到岩石上。我见过的最糟糕的事情。她当然恢复了记忆，但是头脑不太正常。尖叫。喋喋不休地谈论着一个充满血腥和飞溅的钢铁的城市。哭泣。船长用他的枪在她的头上打了两下。后来她向他道了谢。"
The unicorn jabbed the cigarette at me. “So if you want to go crawling through her head, fine. It’s probably no more hazardous than a taint enema followed by a radioactive suppository, but it’s your ass.” She glanced down at my legs and took another thoughtful drag. “How’re the prof’s parts?”
独角兽用香烟戳我。"所以，如果你想爬过她的头，没问题。这可能不比灌肠后放射性栓剂更危险，但那是你的屁股。"她低头看了看我的腿，又沉思了一下。"教授的角色怎么样?"
“Saved my life more times than I deserve,” I replied, making Triage snort. “Any luck with Steelpony?”
"救我的命比我应得的次数还多,"我回答，使得伤检分类法嗤之以鼻。"找到匹兹堡钢马了吗?"
She twisted her lips sourly, then sighed. “With making full-on augmentations? Nope. We just don’t have the fabrication facilities or engineering expertise for that. But we think we might have better luck producing less invasive talisman implants. Things that might make you a little stronger, faster, more charismatic, or smarter. We’re working on one design that simulates regeneration. Nothing as fast or impressive as your regeneration implants, but still something that’ll encourage cell growth to speed recovery and fight off disease.”
她生气地撅着嘴，叹了口气。"全面扩张？没有。我们只是没有这方面的制造设备或工程技术。但是我们认为我们可能有更好的运气生产侵入性更小的护身符植入物。那些能让你变得更强壮，更快，更有魅力，或者更聪明的事情。我们正在进行一个模拟再生的设计。没有什么比你的再生植入物更快更令人印象深刻，但仍然可以促进细胞生长，加速恢复和抵抗疾病。"
“Really? Healing talismans fight off disease?” I asked with a frown.
"真的吗？治疗护身符能抵御疾病吗?"我皱着眉头问。
“You haven’t gotten sick since you got yours, have you?” she asked with a smirk, and I had to admit that I hadn’t. “Anyway, hopefully we can do some good business with Red Eye’s forces.”
"自从你得病以后，你还没有生过病，是吗?"她傻笑着问道，我不得不承认我没有。"无论如何，希望我们能和红眼的部队做些好生意。"
“Wait? Red Eye? As in the slaving Red Eye? As in the evil organization threatening all of the Wasteland Red Eye? That Red Eye?” I blinked in shock. “You’re not actually doing business with those slaving bastards, are you?”
"等等？红眼？就像那个红眼奴隶一样？是那个威胁到整个荒原的邪恶组织吗？那只红眼睛?"我震惊地眨了眨眼睛。"你不是真的在和那些奴隶混蛋做生意吧?"
Triage looked back at me coolly. “Why yes, I am. Not a lot of options down here in the southeast. We’ve got bad blood with the Society, and the Enclave are competitors. Ghouls over in Meatlocker and Rocket Town don’t need much in the way of healing. So Red Eye is our best source for caps and ammo. We patch them up and manufacture healing potions for them and they keep us supplied with food and salvage we need.” She caught my glower and shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that, Blackjack. If I had alternatives, I’d take them.”
分诊医生冷冷地回头看着我。""是的，我是。在东南部没有多少选择。我们和协会有过节，而昂科雷是竞争对手。Meatlocker和火箭城的食尸鬼不需要太多的治疗。所以红眼是我们最好的弹药来源。我们为他们修补伤口，为他们生产治疗药剂，他们为我们提供我们所需的食物和废品。"她抓住我的怒火，耸了耸肩。"别那样看着我，黑杰克。如果我有别的选择，我会选择它们。"
I sighed; much as I hated it, I didn’t have a right to tell the Collegiate what to do. “What about the Harbingers? Have you had business with them?” If so, this would probably be my last trip here.
我叹了口气，虽然我很讨厌这样，但我没有权利告诉大学生们该做什么。"先驱者怎么办？你和他们有生意往来吗?"如果是这样的话，这可能是我最后一次来这里。
She glowered. “Aside from them poaching members of my staff, no. They’ve got their own sources for everything-- guns, food, potions. And they’ve been getting
她怒目而视。"除了挖走我的员工之外，没有。他们什么都有自己的来源----枪、食物、药水。他们已经得到了
more and more belligerent. For all that pegasus prophet goes on about a grand new future and a glorious new world, the rest of them have a simpler message: join them or else.” Triage gave a mirthless grin. “Even you can figure that one out.”
越来越好战。尽管飞马座的预言家一直在谈论一个宏伟的新未来和一个光荣的新世界，但其他人只有一个更简单的信息:加入他们，否则的话。"分诊医生苦笑了一下。"连你自己都能想出来。"
“The prophet is a pegasus?” I asked with a frown.
"先知是飞马?"我皱着眉头问。
“That’s what I’ve heard. Never met them, though,” Triage said with a smoky snort. “Just their flunkies. Their well-armed flunkies.”
"我也是这么听说的。不过我从来没见过他们。"。"只有他们的走狗。他们全副武装的走狗。"
Triage took one last pull, spat the butt out on the floor, and stomped on it far harder than extinguishing warranted, twisting her hoof to make a point. “They’re not quite at the point of outright hostilities just yet. The Zodiacs are patrolling every day keeping an eye out. It’s just a matter of time before the Harbingers try something bigger than we can handle, and when that happens I’m hoping Red Eye decides to use some of his firepower to help us out.”
分诊医生拉了最后一把，把烟蒂吐在地板上，重重地跺了一脚，比保证要用力得多，扭着她的蹄子来表明立场。"他们目前还没有达到完全敌对的程度。黄道带生物每天都在巡逻，保持警惕。"先驱者"组织迟早会做出超出我们能力范围的行动，当这种情况发生时，我希望红眼决定使用他的火力来帮助我们。"
I finally deflated. “Okay. Okay. I give.” I’d told Bottlecap that I’d do something about Red Eye’s occupation of the Paradise Mall, but unless something drastic happened in the next few days, I didn’t see me pulling it off. “Any other news?”
我终于泄气了。"好吧。好吧。我付出。"我告诉Bottlecap我会对红眼占领天堂购物中心的事情做些什么，但是除非在接下来的几天里发生什么严重的事情，我不认为我会成功。"还有别的消息吗?"
“You mean aside from Hightower disappearing in a flash of boom?” the unicorn said with a dry smirk as she shook out another cigarette. “Something’s going on at the Skyport. Lots more activity there. I don’t know what they’re doing, but they’re up to something.”
"你是说除了海托华在一声巨响中消失之外?"独角兽边抽烟边干笑着说。"飞机场发生了一些事情。那里有更多的活动。我不知道他们在做什么，但他们肯定在谋划什么。"
“Right,” I said slowly, looking in the direction of the Skyport. “Well, I need to check on Glory’s sister anyway... so I can tell Glory if… if everything turned out alright or not.”
"是的,"我慢慢地说，眼睛看着飞机场的方向。"好吧，反正我也要去看看晨辉的姐姐......这样我就可以告诉晨辉，如果......如果一切顺利的话。"
“Right,” Triage said as she tugged her white labcoat closer about herself and turned to reenter the medical school. I turned to where the alicorn stood alone, in the rain. “Think we can just hoof it? It’ll only take an hour or two.”
"是的,"她一边说，一边把白色的实验服拉近身体，转身重新进入医学院。我转向那只独自站在雨中的独角兽。"你觉得我们可以走过去吗？只需要一两个小时。"
“You promised not to get in trouble,” Lacunae reminded me.
"你答应过我不会惹麻烦的,"拉库尼提醒我。
“It’s a walk from here to the Skyport. How much trouble could I possibly get in?” I asked with a small smile.
"从这里步行到空中港口。我能惹上多少麻烦?"我微笑着问道。
* * *
* * *
We trotted along Celestia Boulevard towards the east as the rain hissed around us. “Now those giant frogs. Those didn’t count as trouble, okay?” I said sternly as we walked down the waterlogged road. I took another bite of the cyberpony cake I was levitating beside me. They were even waterproof!
我们沿着CelestiaBoulevard一路小跑，向东边走去，雨水在我们周围嘶嘶作响。"现在那些大青蛙。这些不算麻烦，好吗?"我们沿着被水淹没的路走着，我严厉地说。我又咬了一口漂浮在我身边的小马蛋糕。它们甚至是防水的！
“And that mutated river serpent with two heads?” Lacunae asked softly.
"还有那条变异的双头蛇?"空隙轻声问道。
“We got away, didn’t we?” I objected. “Sure, you had to teleport out of its mouth, but…
"我们逃走了，不是吗?"我反对。"当然，你必须从它嘴里传送出来，但是.....。
“And that squad of Seekers?” the alicorn asked just as quietly.
"那一队搜寻者呢?"阿利康也一样安静地问道。
“What? Only took us five minutes tops to shake them. I don’t see the trouble. There was no trouble, understand?” I said pointedly, flushing as I imagined the sound of the smack of a belt.
"什么？我们最多只用了五分钟就把他们甩掉了。我不觉得有什么问题。没有什么麻烦，明白吗?"我直截了当地说，想象着皮带抽打的声音，脸都红了。
The alicorn sighed. “I don’t understand why you’d say it wasn’t. You like Glory spanking you,” she said flatly.
阿里克松叹了口气。"我不明白你为什么说不是。你喜欢晨辉打你屁股,"她直截了当地说。
My cheeks burned, and I said primly, “I won’t dignify that with a response. Suffice to say, while I like the attention and time I spend with Glory in any form, I don’t want her to worry about me. I want her to be able to trust me to keep myself safe when she’s not around.”
我的脸烧红了，我一本正经地说:"我不屑于回答这个问题。我只想说，虽然我喜欢和晨辉在一起的时间和注意力，但是我不想让她为我担心。我希望她能信任我，在她不在的时候保证自己的安全。"
Lacunae groaned and swayed a little as the scream of Enervation grew particularly acute, but I couldn’t see how or why. A thought niggled at me. There was something... something about a disk? Rings? Something? I could feel it in my brain, but every time I tried to pin down the thought, something else went wrong. “Are you okay?” I asked with a little frown. There was a boutique on one side and an ice cream parlor on the other. Red bars skittered about, but we’d been passing ruins rife with radroaches and hoppers for the last hour.
拉库奈呻吟着，身子微微摇晃着，伴随着一声声嘶力竭的尖叫，但我不知道是怎么回事，也不知道为什么。一个念头对我吹毛求疵。有什么...关于磁盘的什么？戒指？有事吗？我能感觉到它在我的大脑里，但是每次我试图把这个想法固定下来，总是出错。"你还好吗?"我皱着眉头问道。一边是精品店，另一边是冰淇淋店。红色的栅栏在附近游荡，但是在过去的一个小时里，我们经过的废墟上到处都是流浪汉和跳跃者。
“I will be fine. I shall... endure...” she groaned, her wings drooping.
"我会没事的。我会......忍受......"她呻吟着，翅膀耷拉着。
Wait a minute. Those bars were blue...
等一下。那些栏杆是蓝色的..。
I stared at the boutique; there were definitely blue bars in there. A half dozen at least. Maybe some of those red bars were something worse than just vermin. “Go ahead. Find some place where the screaming is lessened. I’m going to go check this out,” I said softly as I glared at the boutique.
我盯着那家精品店，里面绝对有蓝色的酒吧。至少有半打。也许那些红色的栅栏不仅仅是害虫。"去吧。找一个没有尖叫声的地方。"我要去看看这个,"我盯着那家精品店轻声说道。
“You promised that you wouldn’t get in trouble,” Lacunae reminded me. “And you always get in trouble when you’re alone.”
"你答应过我不会惹上麻烦的,"拉库尼提醒我。"当你独自一人的时候，你总会遇到麻烦。"
“I’m not looking for trouble. I just want to check this out,” I said, looking over and seeing her skeptical look. “Really. If it’s trouble, I’ll back out. Promise.”
"我不想找麻烦。"我只是想看看这个,"我说，一边看着她，一边看着她怀疑的表情。"真的。如果有麻烦，我就退出。我保证。"
“I should have brought Glory’s leash,” Lacunae muttered as she took flight and glided silently down the road. Pulling out Vigilance, I moved slowly inside.
"我应该把晨辉的皮带带来的,"拉库奈喃喃自语，她一边逃跑，一边在路上静静地滑行。我拉开警戒，慢慢地走进去。
The boutique was a mess of ruined clothing and ponnequins standing like silent, rusting sentinels. The red bars weren’t zipping around, which meant they probably weren’t radroaches like most of the others. Rain poured through rotten holes in the ceiling and floor, and more than once I felt the floorboards yield alarmingly underhoof. Still, I avoided knocking over any of the tottery ponnequins in their waterlogged garments. I supposed only the Enervation kept them from mildewing away entirely.
精品店里到处都是破旧的衣服，旁边的庞尼琴静静地站着，像生锈的哨兵。这些红色的条子没有拉链，这意味着他们可能不像其他人那样是胡子。雨水从天花板和地板上腐烂的洞里倾泻而出，我不止一次地感到地板出现了令人担忧的缺陷。尽管如此，我还是避免撞倒任何一个穿着浸透水的衣服摇摇晃晃的ponnequins。我猜想，只有全身的能量使他们不至于完全发霉。
I glanced at the register sitting on the counter next to an old radio. The room echoed with the constant tinkle of trickling water falling around me and splashing below. I couldn’t hear anything yet; for all I knew, the blue bars were in the building behind the boutique... or the building behind that. Why couldn’t E.F.S. give distance as well as direction? One scavenging impulse acted on later, though, I discovered that the till still had twenty bits in it and that there was an old safe underneath. I busted out the old bobby pins and screwdriver, and three pins later I cracked it open. An old beam pistol, some gem cartridges for it, and a spark battery. Well, better than noth– “Sign the bloody paper, you mules, and we’ll get you out of here,” a mare snarled from the storeroom at the back of the boutique. Well, it looked like whatever was going on was in the building after all! “Every second you waste, the Enervation’s killing you a little more. Can’t you feel it?” Hello? What is this?
我瞥了一眼放在柜台上的收银台，旁边放着一台旧收音机。房间里回荡着涓涓细流的叮当声，流水在我周围落下，在下面溅起水花。我什么也听不见，就我所知，那些蓝色的酒吧就在精品店后面的建筑物里......或者说在精品店后面的建筑物里。为什么e.f.s不能给出距离和方向呢？不过后来一次食腐冲动使我发现钱柜里还有二十个零头，下面还有一个旧保险箱。我打破了旧的发夹和螺丝刀，三个发夹后，我把它打开了。一把老式光束手枪，一些宝石弹药筒，和一个火花电池。"好吧，总比没有好——"在这该死的文件上签字吧，你们这些骡子，我们会把你们弄出去的。"一匹母马在精品店后面的储藏室里咆哮着。好吧，看起来不管发生了什么，这栋楼里到底发生了什么！"你每浪费一秒钟,"全能"就会让你更加痛苦。你感觉不到吗?"喂？这是什么？
“Just sign. You’ll have a safe new life with the Society,” a stallion said in a more pleasant voice.
"只要签个名。你在社团里会有一个安全的新生活,"一匹种马用更愉快的声音说。
“We don’t want to be slaves!” a mare cried.
"我们不想当奴隶!"一匹母马哭了。
“Serfs. Not slaves,” the stallion said reasonably. “You just have to sign the paper saying that you agree. Then we can all leave this horrible place. I’ll heal you all up, and you’ll be ready to get to work.”
"农奴。不是奴隶,"种马理智地说。"你只要在文件上签字表示同意就行了。然后我们就可以离开这个可怕的地方了。我会治好你们的，你们就可以开始工作了。"
“You sure I can’t fuck ‘em?” a deep male voice asked, making my hackles rise.
"你确定我不能和他们上床?"一个低沉的男声问道，让我毛骨悚然。
“Not unless you want to pay for the damaged goods, Pain Train,” the mare growled. ‘Pain Train’? Really? Did he give himself that name? “Though,” the mare said in a considering tone of voice, “if they don’t sign soon, why the fuck not?”
"除非你想赔偿损坏的货物，痛苦列车,"母马咆哮道。痛苦列车？真的吗？他给自己取了这个名字吗？"不过,"母马用深思熟虑的语气说,"如果他们不马上签字，为什么他妈的不呢?"
“There? You hear that?” The stallion said in conciliatory tones. “Better sign, or we may not be able to control my friend here.” The voices were coming from the back room. Carefully, I peeked through the cracked door into the back and saw two ponies, an earth pony mare in battle saddle and a cleaner, handsome unicorn leaning casually against a heap of gray rags. There were five or six ponies all wearing explosive collars. Oh what I’d give for P-21 to be here... I carefully looked over the mare and unicorn... there. The unicorn had a detonator strapped to some sort of jury-rigged PipBuck.
""在那儿？你听到了吗?"那匹种马用和解的语调说。"最好签字，否则我们可能无法控制我这位朋友。"声音是从后面的房间传来的。我小心翼翼地从后面破裂的门窥视，看到两匹小马，一匹坐在战马鞍上的土地上的母马，一匹干净漂亮的独角兽随意地倚靠在一堆灰色破布上。有五六匹小马都戴着爆炸项圈。哦，如果P-21能在这里，我愿意付出一切......我仔细地看了看那匹母马和独角兽......那里。独角兽号上有一个雷管，绑在一个临时安装的PipBuck上。
The prisoners all looked pretty drawn out, with blood starting to drip from their noses like crimson snot. They had the hungry look of scavengers, maybe new arrivals drawn by the stories. I couldn’t see the third slaver; maybe he was hidden behind the massive heap of rotten gray cloth that blocked part of my view?
囚犯们看上去都很憔悴，鲜血像深红色的鼻涕一样从他们的鼻子里流出来。他们有着拾荒者饥饿的表情，也许是故事吸引的新来者。我看不见第三个奴隶贩子，也许他藏在一大堆烂灰布后面，挡住了我的视线？
I felt my fanny start to tingle as I began to feel like I was about to get in Trouble. I looked at the gray earth pony mare. Two hunting rifles in her saddle. I frowned and tapped my nose. If I killed her, the unicorn might blow the collars. I looked at Vigilance, pressed my lips together, and thought it through. There was no way I was going to simply let them go.
我觉得我的屁股开始刺痛，因为我开始觉得我就要惹上麻烦了。我看着那匹灰色的土地上的小马驹。她的马鞍上有两把猎枪。我皱了皱眉头，轻轻地拍了拍鼻子。如果我杀了她，独角兽可能会打破项圈。我看着警惕，紧闭双唇，仔细考虑了一番。我不可能就这么让他们走了。
Then I looked at the ponnequins and a small smile spread across my face.
然后我看了看那些马蹄莲，脸上露出了一丝微笑。
* * *
* * *
“Come on, ponies. Don’t make this–” The unicorn went silent as a slow laugh rose over the trickling and splashing water. His ears twitched, and the mare turned slowly as well. Again, the creepy laugh echoed through the hollow boutique. “What the fuck?” He scowled as he walked to the cracked-open doors, the mare at his side. “Watch ‘em, Pain Train.”
"来吧，小马。不要这样——"独角兽沉默了，一声缓缓的笑从涓涓细流和飞溅的水面上升起。他的耳朵抽搐着，母马也慢慢地转过身来。又一次，令人毛骨悚然的笑声回荡在空洞的精品店里。"他妈的怎么回事?"他皱着眉头走向开着裂缝的门，那匹母马在他身边。"看着他们，痛苦列车。"
“Burners?” the mare asked as they pushed the door open and walked out onto the spongy floor.
"燃烧者?"母马问道，她们推开门，走到松软的地板上。
“This far south? Forget it,” the unicorn said darkly. “Who’s out there?”
""这么远的南方？算了吧,"独角兽阴沉地说。"谁在外面?"
“...wicked...” an unearthly voice hissed in the drippy confines of the boutique. “I smell wicked, wicked ponies...”
"...邪恶的..."一个神秘的声音在时装店里嘶嘶作响。"我闻到了邪恶的小马..."
“What the hell?” the mare asked in bafflement as the laugh grew higher and higher. “What is that?”
"搞什么鬼?"母马困惑地问，笑声越来越高。"那是什么?"
Suddenly light burst into view as the rag-shrouded pony floated up above them. Baleful white light blazed from within it as its voice crackled and shrieked. “I smell the blood of wicked ponies! I HUNGER!” the eldritch form howled as it slowly advanced through the air.
当那匹裹着破布的小马在他们头顶上飘浮时，突然出现了一道亮光。它的声音劈啪作响，尖叫着，里面闪烁着邪恶的白光。"我闻到了邪恶小马的血腥味！我饿了!"邪魔形体在空中缓慢前进时嚎叫着。
“Fuck!” the stallion screamed as he pulled a revolver from his holster and began to unload rounds into it. The hunting rifles barked again and again, ripping through flapping wet hide. Red beams burst from the specter’s mouth and struck around the pair as the wraith cackled madly and the two ponies scattered.
"操!"那匹种马尖叫着，从枪套里拔出一把左轮手枪，开始往里面装子弹。猎枪一次又一次地吠叫，撕裂了扑动着的湿兽皮。幽灵的嘴里迸发出红色的光芒，在幽灵疯狂地咯咯叫着和两匹小马分散开来的时候，把它们围了起来。
The stallion’s hammer fell on empty chambers as the apparition loomed over him. “What... what do you want?” he screamed as the blazing eyes glared down at him both in the dim, dank room.
种马的锤子落在空空的房间里，幽灵在他身上隐隐出现。"你...你想要什么?"在阴暗潮湿的房间里，他的双眼怒视着他，他尖叫起来。
“I hunger for the blood of wicked slavers who prey on the innocent! I hunger for you!” the specter shrieked.
"我渴望那些掠夺无辜者的邪恶奴隶的鲜血！我渴望你!"幽灵尖叫起来。
“Him! He’s the one you want!” the mare cried as she raced past for the exit, tripping over rusty ponnequins and racing out half draped in filthy cloth.
"他！他就是你要找的人!"母马哭着冲向出口，绊倒了生锈的ponnequins，半身披着肮脏的布跑了出来。
“No! I’m not a slaver!” he gasped as he dropped his gun and his horn magically pressed buttons on the PipBuck. There was a pop and a clatter and the sound of the prisoners within giving shouts of both fear and hope. “There! See?! Free!”
"不！我不是奴隶贩子!"他倒抽了一口冷气，把枪掉在地上，他的号角神奇地按下了PipBuck的按钮。监狱里传来砰的一声和啪的一声，囚犯们发出恐惧和希望的叫声。"那儿！看到没?！自由!"
“Never take another, or I shall slake my hunger upon you! My hunger for blood! Blood! BLOOD!” the specter demanded, its voice rising to an earsplitting shriek.
"不要再吃了，否则我就把我的饥饿消灭在你的身上！我对鲜血的渴望！血！血!"幽灵问道，他的声音发出刺耳的尖叫。
With a scream of terror, the brown unicorn raced after his companion.
伴随着一声恐怖的尖叫，棕色的独角兽追赶着他的同伴。
The specter’s ear-stabbing shriek went on a few seconds more, then abruptly ended, as did the glow of my magic supporting it as I rose from behind the counter. The bullet-riddled ponnequin dropped to the floor before me. I peeked
幽灵刺耳的尖叫声又持续了几秒钟，然后突然停止了，当我从柜台后面站起来的时候，支撑着它的魔力的光芒也突然停止了。那满是弹孔的马铃薯掉在我面前的地板上。我偷看了一眼
in at the old radio, spark battery, and beam pistol, then extracted the last and switched off the first. The feedback at the end had given me a headache. Now that the collars were off, I didn’t have to worry about some slaver ‘liquidating’ his stock as a final ‘fuck you’ to me. A tiny Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash smacked hooves in the back of my mind.
在旧收音机，火花电池，和光束手枪，然后取出最后一个，关闭了第一个。最后的反馈让我头疼。现在项圈都解开了，我不用担心奴隶贩子把他的股票变现成对我的最后一句"操你妈"。一个小小的粉红派和彩虹冲击在我的脑海中回响。
I could still see Clover’s neck exploding in a cloud of red vapors...
我仍然可以看到克洛弗的脖子在一团红色的蒸汽中爆炸..。
I stepped into the back room walking upright, munching nonchalantly on a cake in my hand. See? No trouble...
我走进后面的房间，笔直地走着，若无其事地吃着手中的蛋糕。看到了吗？不麻烦..。
The six were pressed together against the far wall. I looked around the room, but ‘Pain Train’ was nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t see a back door though...
这六个人被挤在一起靠在远处的墙上。我环顾了一下房间，但是疼痛列车已经不见了。但我看不到后门。
where’d he gone? Was he hiding in that heap of filthy rags? Too many errant radroaches in the area to use my E.F.S. to find him... I turned my attention to the prisoners. Two stallions and four mares, all looking like they’d had more than enough Enervation for one day. Funny... the collars were off and their captors had gone, but they were still staring in terror at me. I gave a worried smile. “Hey, don’t worry. They’re gone. The ghost was just me.” I levitated out my sword to cut their bonds.
他去哪儿了？他是不是藏在那堆肮脏的破布里？这个地区有太多的流浪汉，我的e.f.s无法找到他......我把注意力转向了囚犯。两匹种马和四匹母马，看起来它们今天已经喝得够多了。有趣的是......项圈都解开了，抓他们的人也不见了，但他们还是惊恐地盯着我。我露出担忧的微笑。"嘿，别担心。他们走了。那个鬼魂只是我。"我挥舞着我的剑去切断他们的联系。
“Good to know,” the deep voice rumbled right behind me.
"很高兴知道,"我身后低沉的声音隆隆作响。
I turned and discovered that what I’d assumed was a giant heap of rotting clothes was in fact a giant thing of muscle and shaggy gray fur. It had a head like a brahmin, only not quite so deformed, and it stood on two heavy split hooves rather than four mutated ones. Its upper body was so muscled that it looked as though a good push would send it tumbling over. It was standing upright like I was, and its forelegs – arms? – ended in hands. I had a good opportunity to observe these in action as its backhanded swipe sent me flying, augmented legs and all, clear across the room. My magical focus was gone, and the sword and Vigilance disappeared into the debris of the storeroom as I crashed into the wall and landed in a heap of broken ponnequins.
我转过身，发现我原以为是一大堆腐烂的衣服，实际上是一个巨大的东西，肌肉发达，毛茸茸的灰色皮毛。它有一个像婆罗门一样的头，只是没有那么畸形，它站在两只沉重的劈开的蹄子上，而不是四只变异的蹄子上。它的上半身肌肉发达，看起来好像一个好的推力就能把它推倒。它像我一样直立着，它的前肢-手臂？-在手中结束。我有一个很好的机会去观察它们的行动，因为它们的反手一击让我飞起来，增强了我的腿和所有的一切，清楚地穿过房间。我神奇的注意力消失了，剑和警惕消失在储藏室的废墟中，我撞到墙上，落在一堆破损的马蹄莲上。
Pain Train, I assumed. Apt name. The shaggy gray beast dropped into a sprinter’s pose, scraping his hooves across the floor for traction, his breath blasting out his wide nostrils. Duty and Sacrifice were tangled up in the wreckage around me, and my ringing horn probably couldn’t summon a magic BB, let alone a magic bullet. He pointed his brass-tipped horns right at me, and
疼痛列车，我猜。Aptname.这头毛茸茸的灰色野兽摆出短跑运动员的姿势，用蹄子在地板上刮来刮去的摩擦力，呼出的气吹出宽大的鼻孔。责任和牺牲在我周围的残骸中纠缠在一起，我响亮的号角可能连魔法BB都召唤不来，更不用说魔法子弹了。他用黄铜尖的喇叭对着我
with a bovine bellow, charged across the floor.
带着牛的吼叫声，在地板上奔跑。
I used the only weapon I had left. I threw the cyberpony cake as hard as I could straight into his face! The disk struck him right between the eyes, and he let out a roar as he staggered back, clutching his forehead. He blinked twice, some blood dripping down between his eyes, and then picked up the disk with two fingers. “Did you just try and kill me with a... what is this?”
我用了我仅剩的武器。我用尽全力把赛博马蛋糕扔到他脸上！磁盘正好击中他的两眼之间，他发出一声吼叫，手捂着前额摇摇晃晃地退了回去。他眨了两下眼睛，一些血滴落在他的两眼之间，然后用两个手指拿起磁盘。"你刚才是不是想用一个..。.这是什么?"
A much needed distraction! I reached down and pulled out Duty, grasping it in my jaw and taking aim. Pain Train tossed the cake aside and with a swing of his massive fists sent an avalanche of rotten packing crates, rancid cloth, and old dummies cascading upon me. I fired a shot before the world disappeared under sopping blanket.
一个非常需要的消遣！我弯下腰，拉出了责任，抓住它在我的下巴和目标。"痛苦列车"把蛋糕扔到一边，挥舞着他那硕大的拳头，扔出一大堆腐烂的包装箱，腐烂的布料，还有老假人像瀑布一样落在我身上。在这个世界消失在湿漉漉的毯子下之前，我开了一枪。
Okay. Maybe I was in just a tiny bit of trouble. Then I felt the impacts shuddering through the floor, getting weaker. Was he leaving? Did he think I was done? Maybe he was going after the prisoners! Or maybe...
好吧。也许我只是遇到了一点小麻烦。然后我感觉到冲击力在地板上颤动，变得越来越弱。他要走了吗？他认为我完了吗？也许他是冲着囚犯去的！或者..。
Maybe he was just backing up...
也许他只是在倒车..。
“Here comes the pain train!” he bellowed, confirming my suspicions. A rumble in the floorboards began to rapidly build. What could I do? Summon a door for him to crash through? Give him half a mustache?! I struggled to get the anchoring layer of crap off me before I was hit by the pain train. I had to go! Now! Somewhere! Anywhere!
"痛苦列车来了!"他咆哮着，证实了我的怀疑。地板上的隆隆声开始迅速扩大。我能做什么？召唤一扇门让他破门而入？给他半个胡子?！在我被疼痛列车撞到之前，我挣扎着把锚定层的垃圾从我身上拿下来。我得走了！现在！某个地方！任何地方！
And my horn gave a fizzle, then a flash, and everything went white. I flopped limply on my back on top of some junk, my horn coated in a layer of soot. A split second later the gray giant rammed into the wall three feet to my left with an impact that made the whole boutique shudder. He glared down at me with his horns embedded in the wall. “Cheater...” he muttered sullenly.
我的号角嘶嘶作响，然后闪了一下，所有的东西都变成了白色。我四肢无力地躺在一堆破烂上面，我的角上覆盖着一层烟灰。一秒钟后，灰色巨人撞向我左边三英尺的墙壁，撞击力让整个精品店都颤抖起来。他的角嵌在墙里，怒视着我。"骗子......"他闷闷不乐地喃喃自语。
“Don’t look at me! I didn’t even know it was going to happen!” I said as I pushed myself to my hooves. “What the hell are you?” I asked as I looked around for my weapons in all the mess.
"别看我！我甚至不知道会发生这种事!"我一边说，一边用力蹬着自己的蹄子。"你到底是什么东西?"我边问边环顾四周，寻找那堆乱七八糟的武器。
“Pissed,” he said, then smashed his fists against the wall in rapid punches that pulverized the material around his stuck horns. As he wrenched out and stood up, I grabbed the first thing I closed my hand on, anything I could use as a shield. I hefted a rusty ponnequin, but it flew apart after one blow of his fist. I
"生气了,"他说，然后用拳头猛击墙壁，猛击牛角周围的物质。当他挣脱出来站起来的时候，我抓住了我紧握的第一样东西，任何我可以用作盾牌的东西。我举起一个生锈的ponnequin，但是它在他的拳头一击之后就飞散了。一
grabbed the lid off a crate, but his other fist blew it into rotten splinters. I really needed my sword, but I had no clue where it was! The next thing he hit was going to be me at this rate. My fingers closed around something small, round, and heavy, and in desperation I brought it up to block his falling blow.
从箱子上拿下盖子，但他的另一只拳头把它打成了烂木头。我真的很需要我的剑，但是我不知道它在哪里！照这个速度，他接下来撞的就是我了。我的手指紧紧握住一个又小又圆又重的东西，绝望中，我把它拿起来挡住他落下的一击。
The fist connected with the cake, and a horrible crunch filled the air.
拳头和蛋糕连在一起，空气中充满了可怕的嘎吱声。
“Yarrrgh!” roared Pain Train as he reared back, clutching his wrist in agony. From the way one of his fingers was all crooked, I guessed he’d finally found something as tough as he was.
"太棒了!"疼痛列车吼道，他后腿直立，痛苦地抓住他的手腕。从他一根手指弯曲的样子来看，我猜他终于找到了和他一样坚韧的东西。
I didn’t waste any time as I charged, swinging the heavy disk as hard as I could.
我没有浪费任何时间，我充电，摆动沉重的磁盘，我可以尽力。
He snorted, absorbed the blow with the forearm of his injured limb, and then grabbed my wrist with his free hand. A smile crossed his bovine features. My pupils shrank and my ears drooped. “Uh oh.”
他哼了一声，用受伤的胳膊抵住了打击，然后用空着的那只手抓住了我的手腕。他脸上露出一丝迟钝的微笑。我的瞳孔缩小，耳朵耷拉着。"啊哦。"
My only saving grace was that the throw through the wall and into the front of the boutique missed anything structural. I rolled several times, aching as my E.F.S. displayed all kinds of fascinating red marks telling me the injuries I was sustaining. I huffed as I pushed myself to my hooves on the spongy floor. I glanced at the door behind me. I could run. Save myself. Live to fight another day. Leave the six prisoners with this... this thing... to whatever horrible fate awaited them.
我唯一的可取之处就是穿墙而入的时装店漏掉了任何结构性的东西。我翻了好几个身，当我的e.f.s显示出各种迷人的红色标记告诉我我正在持续受伤时，我浑身疼痛。我气喘吁吁地把自己推到松软的地板上。我瞥了一眼身后的门。我可以跑。拯救我自己。活到明天再战斗。把这个留给那六个囚犯...这个东西...让他们面对等待他们的可怕命运吧。
Was I just putting my life at risk to save ponies who were already lost? Pain Train dropped into his crouch again, readying another load of hurt.
我是不是冒着生命危险去拯救那些已经损失的小马？"疼痛火车"再次蹲下，准备再次受伤。
I wiped blood from my nose and pushed myself to my hooves. He slowly grinned, gave another explosive blast from his nostrils, and then raced at me once again. This time I didn’t just wait for the impact. I charged back. He released another roar as he lowered his horns to rip me to pieces.
我擦去鼻子上的血，把自己推到蹄子上。他慢慢地咧嘴一笑，从鼻孔里喷出另一股爆炸性的冲击波，然后再次冲向我。这一次，我不仅仅是在等待冲击。我冲了回去。当他降下他的角把我撕成碎片的时候，他又发出了一声吼叫。
I leapt up, pointing all four of my hooves at a single point as I came down. Not at his head. No, I doubted that even with my mass I could get through that skull. My target was something else: the floor right in front of him. With a wooden crunch, the floor collapsed under me, and I was falling into the basement of the boutique. A second later, Pain Train plunged through as well. My landing was broken by a pile of rotten clothes in boxes that burst in a filthy mass beneath me. He created a giant splash that washed me into the water.
我跳了起来，下来的时候四只蹄子都指着一个点。不是在他的头上。不，我怀疑即使用我的质量我也不能穿过那个头骨。我的目标是别的东西:就在他面前的地板。随着一声木制的嘎吱声，地板在我的脚下坍塌了，我掉进了精品店的地下室。一秒钟后,"疼痛列车"也跳了过去。我的着陆被装在箱子里的一堆腐烂的衣服弄得支离破碎，它们在我下面爆裂成一团肮脏的东西。他制造了一个巨大的水花把我冲进了水里。
Okay. Now what?
好吧。现在怎么办？
Pain Train rose out of the flooded basement, trailing streamers of the foul gray water. I backed away, aching as he advanced. I had to stay on my hind legs, and even then the water sloshed around my chest. It was only waist deep on him. I moved to put a beam between us. He reached out with his hands, ignoring the broken finger, and grabbed the beam. With a pulpy crunch, he ripped it down and broke it in half with a massive flex of his arms.
痛苦列车从被水淹没的地下室出来，拖着污浊的灰色水流。我后退了几步，他走过来时我浑身酸痛。我不得不用后腿站立，即使这样，水还是流到了我的胸口。他身上只有齐腰深。我走过去想在我们之间放一根横梁。他伸出双手，无视断掉的手指，抓住横梁。随着果肉般的嘎吱声，他把它撕成两半，用他巨大的弯曲的手臂。
Oh shit. I dove under the water as he hurled the two halves where I’d been standing a second before. I had to get away from... whatever he was. Get some ground under me. Lead him away from the prisoners and to where Lacunae could offer some assistance. The Enervation scream was even stronger down here; I couldn’t hear the Goddess or my friend. I tried to kick my way free when something seized my back leg.
哦，该死。我跳进水里，他把我刚才站着的那两半扔了出去。我必须离开...不管他是什么。在我下面找点地方。把他带离囚犯，带到缺口可以提供一些帮助的地方。在这里，衰弱的尖叫声更加强烈;我听不到女神和我朋友的声音。我试图踢开我的方式时，有东西抓住了我的后腿。
Look Mom, I’m a pegasus.
听着妈妈，我是飞马。
I flew across the flooded basement, crashing right through another beam and slamming into the far wall. I landed in a heap against the bricks and rusty metal equipment. Overhead, the floor was making all kinds of tortured noises; no surprise, as there was only one more wooden beam intact. Pain Train wasn’t looking too good either, though. The gash between his eyes was bleeding worse than when I’d hit him, and blood dripped from his injured hand. He wasn’t resistant to Enervation like I was, and he seemed to realize that he needed to end this quickly and get the hell out of here.
我飞过被水淹没的地下室，撞穿了另一根横梁，撞到了远处的墙上。我落在一堆砖块和生锈的金属设备上。头上的地板发出各种痛苦的声音，这并不奇怪，因为只剩下一根完好无损的木梁了。疼痛列车看起来也不是很好。他两眼之间的伤口比我打他的时候更严重，血从他受伤的手上滴下来。他不像我一样抗拒衰弱，他似乎意识到他需要尽快结束这一切，离开这个鬼地方。
He dropped into the sprinter pose once more, sent two great splashes behind him as he dragged his submerged hooves through the water, and raced the length of the basement towards me. I had nowhere to run, no weapons to use, and no more magic tricks in my horn.
他又摆了一个短跑的姿势，在他身后猛烈地拍了两下，把淹没在水中的蹄子拖过水面，然后冲向我。我无处可逃，没有武器可用，也没有魔术把戏。
But, despite everything, I still had my cake clenched in my fist.
但是，尽管发生了这一切，我仍然紧握着我的蛋糕。
I rose as high as I could on my rear legs and gripped the cake tightly as he surged forward like a rage-fueled tsunami. I had only one chance at this. My eyes narrowed as I focused on my target, licked my lips... wait for it... Then, twisting my body I let the disk fly straight and true...
我用后腿尽可能地站得高高的，紧紧地抓住蛋糕，而他像一个被愤怒推动的海啸一样向前猛冲。我只有一次机会。我眯起眼睛盯着目标，舔着嘴唇......等待......然后，扭动身体，让圆盘飞直了，真的.....。
Right into the remaining beam.
直接进入剩下的光束。
With a groan and crack the beam bowed where the disk had struck it, held for a heartbeat, and then collapsed just as Pain Train reached it. With a colossal roar, the floor above collapsed upon him. He halted his charge and, with his good fist, blasted a hole right through it. For a second we both stood there, me pressed against the wall, him surrounded by a ring of rubble, panting hard. I wished I could breathe the same; slow and continuous respiration just didn’t suit a fight like this. Still, we gave each other matching manic grins.
随着一声呻吟和劈啪声，横梁弯曲了被磁盘击中的地方，支撑了一阵心跳，然后就在"疼痛列车"到达它时倒塌了。随着一声巨大的吼叫，楼上的地板塌了下来压在他身上。他停止了冲锋，用他那有力的拳头在上面打了一个洞。有那么一瞬间，我们都站在那里，我靠在墙上，他被一圈碎石包围着，气喘吁吁。我希望我也能这样呼吸;缓慢而持续的呼吸不适合这样的战斗。尽管如此，我们还是互相露出了狂躁的笑容。
Then the second floor collapsed on him as well. Then the roof. For several seconds my ears rang as the debris tumbled into the basement. The rubble gave a heave... started to shift... and my jaw dropped as those enormous fists started to push it off. “Oh come on!” I shouted as his head reappeared. What was his deal?
然后二楼也坍塌在他身上。然后是屋顶。碎片滚进地下室时，我的耳朵嗡嗡作响了几秒钟。瓦砾隆隆作响......开始移动......巨大的拳头开始把它推开，我的下巴掉了下来。"哦，得了吧!"当他的头再次出现时，我喊道。他是怎么回事？
Apparently, though, whatever it was, it wasn’t quite enough. He groaned and collapsed with a thud. Slowly, I approached him. After having three floors fall on him, he was still breathing, but even this cow monster was knocked out cold. And with the Enervation down here, he was helpless.
然而，显然，不管是什么，这还不够。他呻吟了一声，砰地一声倒下了。慢慢地，我走近他。摔了三层楼后，他还有呼吸，但连这头牛怪也被打昏了。在这里，他感到很无助。
I reached into the water at the base of the collapsed beam and retrieved my cake. Still as nutritious and delicious as ever, and not even crumbled!
我把手伸进倒塌的房梁底部的水里，取回了我的蛋糕。依然和以前一样营养和美味，甚至没有崩溃！
I started to climb up an angled section of the collapsed floor to reach the storeroom when I looked back. Stupid ideas started to creep into my head. Leaving him here, half buried? Leaving him to rot as Enervation slowly drained the life out of him? It just didn’t seem... right.
当我回头看的时候，我开始沿着倒塌地板的一个角度爬上去，到达储藏室。我脑子里开始冒出一些愚蠢的想法。把他半埋在这里？眼睁睁看着衰弱慢慢耗尽他的生命，任由他腐烂？只是看起来不...对。
There was a tiny yellow pegasus inside me giving me great big teal pleading eyes. I groaned, rubbing my temples. No, Fluttershy. There is ‘be kind’, and then there’s ‘be stupid’. The tiny yellow pegasus gave a little sniff and just stared at me. He’d tried to kill me! Her tiny lip quivered. I clenched my eyes, determined to do what smart ponies did with when they fought big, terrible, half-bull monsters, which was to just go. I could learn... I... She gave the tiniest little whimper.
我的身体里有一个小小的黄色天马，给了我一双大大的蓝绿色恳求的眼睛。我呻吟着，揉着我的太阳穴。不，是小萤火虫。有善良，也有愚蠢。小小的黄色飞马嗅了一下，只是盯着我。他想杀了我！她的小嘴唇颤抖着。我紧闭双眼，下定决心要做聪明的小马在与大的、可怕的、半公牛的怪物搏斗时所做的事情。我可以学...我..。.她轻轻地呜咽了一声。
“Ugh... fine...” I muttered, and was rewarded with a tiny mental hug.
"呃......好吧......"我喃喃自语，结果得到了一个小小的精神拥抱。
There was no way I could move him myself. But maybe... I had an idea, but I didn’t know exactly what or why. It was just a gut feeling... I trotted around the perimeter of the basement, listening to the scream in my head. Finally I reached the rusted metal box. I could barely make out ‘Roseluck Pest Solutions’ on the
我自己没办法移动他。但是也许......我有个想法，但是我不知道具体是什么，为什么。那只是一种直觉......我绕着地下室的四周小跑，听着脑海中的尖叫声。最后我到达了生锈的金属盒子。我几乎不能辨认出罗斯卢克害虫解决方案
case. I busted it open, and there... the green glowing silvery ring. I frowned; how’d I know to look for it? There was something about the rings and...
案件。我把它砸开了，就在那里......绿色发光的银色圆环。我皱了皱眉头，我怎么知道要找它？那些戒指和..。
something. It was like a blanket covered a part of my brain... I had no idea what I was doing or why I thought it would help, but I scrambled up to the front door and threw the shiny metal ring as far as I could down the street.
什么东西。我不知道自己在做什么，也不知道为什么我觉得这样做会有帮助，但我爬到前门，把闪闪发光的金属环扔到街道尽头。
Instantly, the scream dropped to a whisper. I crept along the jagged edge which was all that remained of the first floor, looking down at the creature surrounded by twisted ponnequins and draped in rotten wood and cloth. That would have to do. If he cared to dig himself out, he could do so. I was battered from head to hoof, my horn a lead weight on my brow. I trotted into the back where the scavengers watched me as warily as they had their captors. I found my sword in the remains of the back room, then Vigilance and the matching revolvers. Finally, I cut their bonds. “Follow me east, and we’ll get you--”
尖叫声立刻变成了耳语。我沿着一楼仅存的锯齿状边缘蹑手蹑脚地走着，低头看着这个生物，它被扭曲的ponnequins包围着，身上覆盖着腐烂的木头和布料。这样就行了。如果他想把自己挖出来，他是可以做到的。我从头到脚被打得遍体鳞伤，我的角像铅一样压在我的额头上。我小跑到后面，那些拾荒者小心翼翼地看着我，就像他们看着绑架他们的人一样。我在后面房间的残骸里找到了我的剑，然后是警戒和配套的左轮手枪。最后，我切断了他们的债券。"跟我往东走，我们会带你......"
That was as far as I got before they scarpered. Not a word of thanks, but I couldn’t blame them. I looked at some papers beside the captives. ‘Contract of Servitude’, they were titled. I scanned the documents; apparently signing this piece of paper meant that you were agreeing to spend the rest of your life working for the Society for the ‘betterment of ponykind’. I pursed my lips before tearing the papers in two and tossing them into the basement. I picked my way back to the entrance.
在他们逃跑之前，我只走了这么远。没有一句感谢的话，但我不能责怪他们。我看了看俘虏旁边的一些文件。"劳役合同"，他们被授予了爵位。我浏览了一下这些文件;很明显，在这张纸上签字意味着你同意余生为改善马种协会工作。我抿了抿嘴，然后把报纸撕成两半，扔进了地下室。我选择了回到入口的路。
“So... all I need to do is heal enough and tell Lacunae that it wasn’t any trouble,” I said as I trotted out the front door.
"所以......我需要做的就是足够的治疗，并告诉Lacunae这不是什么麻烦,"我一边说一边小跑着走出前门。
And bumped right into the chest of my purple friend. She slowly narrowed her eyes before taking in the hole in the roof, the missing floors, the flooded basement, and Pain Train half buried in rubble. I gave a sheepish little grin and spread my dinged forehooves wide as her gaze returned to me. “Trouble? What trouble? No trouble here!” My grin strained all levels of credulity before I gasped, “Please don’t tell Glory!”
正好撞到我紫色朋友的胸口。她慢慢地眯起眼睛，然后看到屋顶上的洞，缺失的地板，被淹没的地下室，还有半埋在瓦砾中的痛苦列车。当她的目光回到我身上时，我羞怯地咧嘴笑了一下，张开了我那凹凸不平的前蹄。"麻烦？什么麻烦？这里没有麻烦!"我咧嘴一笑，装出一副轻信的样子，然后大吃一惊:"请不要告诉晨辉!"
Lacunae looked down at me, then slowly smiled.
空隙低头看着我，然后慢慢地笑了。
* * *
* * *
I had many an unpleasant mutter as I followed Lacunae with a rope tied to my collar. It just wasn’t the same as Glory... our differences in size made me feel like Mom was making sure I wasn’t going to run down to maintenance to play
我领子上系着一根绳子，顺着空隙走过去，听到许多讨厌的咕哝声。我们体型上的差异让我觉得妈妈是在确保我不会跑到维修站去玩
games. Worse, she was lecturing me all about fighting the mutant brahmin minothingy and how much trouble I was in for trying to take one on alone. Fortunately, though, she both untied me and quieted down as we drew close to the Skyport.
游戏。更糟糕的是，她一直在教训我如何与变异的婆罗门斗争，以及如果我试图独自对付一个婆罗门，我会有多大的麻烦。幸运的是，当我们靠近飞机场时，她解开了我的绳子，安静了下来。
The Rainbow Dash Skyport was a flurry of activity as we approached the front gates. A small mob of angry scavengers was gathered around them, shouting and hefting up crates of scrap metal as they yelled to be allowed in to trade for food. Three power-armored pegasi kept them at bay with their bristling weapons while a pink pegasus mare in a rain-soaked Volunteer Corps uniform tried to placate the mob.
当我们靠近前门的时候，彩虹飞行跑进来了。一小群愤怒的拾荒者聚集在他们周围，一边大喊大叫，一边举着成箱的废金属，呼喊着让他们进来换取食物。三个身穿强力装甲的飞马座用他们坚硬的武器制服了他们，而一匹身穿雨水浸透的志愿军制服的粉红色飞马试图安抚暴徒。
As we approached the back of the throng, the rearmost ponies spotted us. Their eyes widened as they looked at my SWAT barding and the purple alicorn, and their shouts dwindled as they backed out of our way. Row after row slowly parted. Some glared, some looked on fearfully, but more than a few wore expressions of something like hope. The three power-armored pegasi kept their weapons trained on me as the frazzled pink mare began to say in a perfunctory tone, “I told you! We’re no longer accepting salvage for food and medical servi–” She broke off as her eyes widened in shock. “You!”
当我们走近人群的后面时，最后面的小马发现了我们。他们的眼睛睁得大大的，看着我那笨重的手枪和紫色的橡树果，他们的叫喊声减弱，退出了我们的道路。一排排地慢慢分开。有些人瞪着眼睛，有些人害怕地看着，但不少人带着希望之类的表情。当这匹疲惫不堪的粉红色母马开始敷衍了事地说道:"我告诉过你！我们不再接受抢救食物和医疗服务——"她震惊地睁大了眼睛，中断了话题。"你!"
“Run out of food and medicine in there?” I asked wryly. An angry mutter rippled through the crowd.
"里面没有食物和药品了吗?"我挖苦地问。一声愤怒的抱怨声在人群中传开了。
“No! Of course not. It’s just that the scrap metal trade has been currently suspended and we can’t accept any more salvage at this time,” she gave a nervous glance over her shoulder. “Please, come back later!”
"不！当然不是。只是现在废金属交易已经暂停了，我们现在不能再接受任何打捞物了。"她紧张地回头看了一眼。"求你了，以后再来吧!"
“We’re hungry now!” a stallion roared.
"我们现在饿了!"一匹种马咆哮着。
“Please. I’ve been gathering scrap metal all week for some good healing potions. My children need them!” an earth pony mare wailed. The urge to do something rash nibbled at my mane already.
"求你了。我整个星期都在收集废金属，准备一些好的治疗药水。我的孩子们需要他们!"一匹地球上的小马母马哀号着。想做点什么的冲动已经啃噬了我的鬃毛。
“We can’t accept any more scrap metal at this time. Please understand!” the pink pegasus begged.
"目前我们不能再接受任何废金属了。请理解!"粉红飞马请求。
“Perhaps, instead of trading, you might simply give them some supplies?” Lacunae suggested.
"也许，与其交易，不如直接给他们一些补给?"空白表明。
The pink pegasus gulped. “We don’t want the local population to get dependent on donated food and medicine,” she said lamely.
粉红色的飞马咽了一口气。"我们不希望当地居民依赖捐赠的食物和药品,"她一瘸一拐地说。
“You changed the deal on us!” challenged a stallion so loaded with junk metal that he resembled some strange hybrid of tortoise and pony.
"你改变了我们的交易!"向一匹装满废金属的种马发起挑战，它看起来就像是乌龟和小马的奇怪混合体。
“Look at it this way,” I said to the pink mare, “you can give them a small amount of food and medicine and explain that the deal is temporarily suspended till later, or you can have a mob that gets bigger and bigger with every passing minute.” I looked at the rain pouring off the barrels of the power armor, then back at the mare. “I don’t doubt you’d be able to handle things if they got violent, but not without a doozy of a death toll and a lot of lost goodwill.” I looked the pink mare in the eyes. “You came down here to help ponies. Not to kill them.”
"这样想吧,"我对粉红色的母马说,"你可以给他们少量的食物和药物，然后解释说交易暂停到以后，或者你可以让一群暴徒随着时间的推移越来越大。"我看着大雨倾泻而下的动力装甲桶，然后又回到母马身边。"我并不怀疑，如果事情变得暴力，你是能够处理的，但是如果没有大量的死亡人数和大量失去的善意，你就不能这么做。"我看着粉红色的母马的眼睛。"你是来帮助小马的。而不是杀了他们。"
“No…” she muttered, then sneezed. Finally she sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell them to release some food and supplies. They’ve got more than enough stockpiled to spare some.” She looked at the crowd and then added, “But please spread the word that trading is currently suspended temporarily and that the Volunteer Corps apologizes for this!”
"不......"她喃喃自语，然后打了个喷嚏。最后她叹了口气。"好吧。我会告诉他们释放一些食物和补给。他们的库存已经足够多了。"她看了看人群，然后补充道:"但是请告诉大家，现在暂停交易，志愿者队伍为此道歉!"
That mollified the crowd a bit. I looked at her, waiting till she finished talking to one of the armored pegasi who I assumed had some sort of radio. “Thank you.”
这使人群平静了一点。我看着她，等到她和一个全副武装的飞马说完话，我以为它有某种无线电。"谢谢。"
“I didn’t want to come down here,” the pink mare said in a low voice, sniffing. “It’s cold. And wet. Always wet, even with us trying to keep the rain off us. I think half the VC have caught all kinds of respiratory ailments. I just didn’t want to be one of those ponies who stood by while others came down here. But thanks for helping me with that crowd. I never thought anypony would get worked up over a box of preserved food.”
"我不想下来这里,"粉红色的母马低声说，嗅着。"很冷。湿漉漉的。总是潮湿的，即使我们试图让雨水远离我们。我认为有一半的风投公司已经染上了各种呼吸道疾病。我只是不想成为其他人来到这里时袖手旁观的那种小马驹。但是谢谢你帮我对付那些人。我从没想过有人会为了一盒腌制食品而激动。"
“For a lot of scavengers, a box of preserved food is the difference between life and death,” I pointed out, then smiled. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go in there and have a talk with Lieutenant Wind Whisper.”
"对于许多拾荒者来说，一盒保存食物就是生与死的区别,"我指出，然后笑了。"现在，如果你不介意的话，我要进去和WindWhisper中尉谈谈。"
“You… she… I… You can’t come in! She’s busy. We’re all busy!” she said in a rush.
"你...她...我..。.你不能进来！她很忙。我们都很忙!"她急急忙忙地说。
I stared the pink mare right in the eye, watching her start to shake. “I need to talk to her. If she can come out here, great. I’ll wait. But if not, I need to go in there and find her.”
我直视着那匹粉红色的母马的眼睛，看着她开始颤抖。"我需要和她谈谈。如果她能出来，那就太好了。我等着。但如果没有，我需要进去找到她。"
All three power-armored soldiers pointed their weapons at me again. I passed Lacunae a warning to be ready to shield me as I grinned at them. “Nice armor. Nice guns, too,” I said calmly as I looked at their wingcovers. A telekinetic yank upwards as I passed forward, three shots from Vigilance right into the wingpit, sword out and slicing through the same weak point in the armor of the pegasus on the other side. Pivot around. Jump and grab the third with my fingers and ground him, then maybe finish them off.
三个全副武装的士兵又把枪口对准了我。当我对他们咧嘴一笑的时候，我向他们传递了一个警告，要他们准备好保护我。"盔甲不错。枪也不错,"我看着他们的翼盖，平静地说。当我向前经过的时候，一个心灵遥控的向上猛拉，警惕的三发子弹正好击中了我的翼坑，剑拔弩张，穿透了另一边飞马装甲上同样的薄弱环节。转身。跳起来，用我的手指抓住第三只，把它放在地上，然后也许把它们干掉。
Of course... if I’d actually done that (not that I could, anyway, with my horn burned out), that would have been Trouble...
当然...如果我真的那样做了(不是说我可以，无论如何，我的号角烧坏了)，那就是麻烦了..。
Something sure had the winged ponies nervous, though. It seemed the utter lack of fear I showed of their armament was throwing these Enclave a bit. Maybe the fact that I was working on ways to eliminate them showed on my face. Or maybe there was something else entirely going on. Or maybe it wasn’t me at all and something else had their tail in knots. Or all of the above. Either way, the three seemed to be getting more and more alarmed by the second.
不过，肯定有什么东西让那些长翅膀的小马紧张起来了。看起来我对他们的军备完全没有丝毫畏惧，他们正在向这些飞地投掷一些武器。也许我正在想办法消除它们的事实表现在我的脸上。或者可能完全有别的事情在发生。或者根本不是我，而是别的什么东西把它们的尾巴打了个结。或者以上所有。不管怎样，这三个人似乎越来越担心第二个问题。
Then the gate opened a crack, and a yellow pegasus with a brilliant orange mane stepped out. Lightning Dancer wore her power armor but had her helmet hooked to her shoulder. Her grave citrine eyes met mine. “Let her in.”
然后大门开了一条裂缝，一匹橙黄色鬃毛的飞马从里面走了出来。闪电舞者穿着她的力量盔甲，但她的头盔钩在她的肩膀上。她那严肃的黄水晶般的眼睛与我相遇。"让她进来。"
“But… ma’am, we’re on high security for the visit!” the pink mare protested.
"可是......夫人，我们这次访问戒备森严!"粉红色的母马抗议。
“I know that. Orders from the lieutenant. Let her in.” Everypony immediately stiffened and looked at each other, including me. Lightning Dancer huffed. “Trust me, the sooner we talk to Blackjack, the sooner she leaves.” Lightning Dancer said firmly and then added, “Or maybe you’d like to tell her why you’re questioning orders?”
"我知道。中尉的命令。让她进来。"每个小马马上变得僵硬起来，看着彼此，包括我。闪电舞者怒吼道。"相信我，我们越早和Blackjack谈，她就越早离开。""闪电舞者"坚定地说，然后又补充说,"或者你可以告诉她你为什么质疑命令?"
“You’re going to have to surrender your weapons,” the pink mare said after a second.
过了一会儿，粉红色的母马说:"你们必须交出你们的武器。"。
That wasn’t a problem. Between my fingers and Lacunae’s magic, we should be okay if something went bad. I passed the gear over to Lightning Dancer, and she put them into her armor’s pockets. Once we were through the gate and out of hearing range, the yellow mare hissed in a tense voice, “You’ve got fucking perfect timing, Blackjack. Absolutely perfect.”
那不是问题。用我的手指和Lacunae的魔法，如果事情变糟了，我们应该不会有事。我把装备交给闪电舞者，她把它们放进盔甲的口袋里。一旦我们通过了大门，听不到声音，黄色的母马嘶嘶地发出紧张的声音,"你他妈的来得正是时候，Blackjack。绝对完美。"
“What’s going on?” I asked. The Skyport had been fortified, but I didn’t see
"怎么回事?"我问道。机场已经加固了，但我没有看到
armies of Enclave ready to take over the Wasteland. There were only a few VC running around; the majority of the ponies I saw were in power armor and were working strange machines that were putting out even more cloud.
飞地的军队准备接管荒地。当时只有少数几个风险投资者，我看到的大多数小马都穿着动力盔甲，正在使用一些奇怪的机器，这些机器正在产生更多的云。
“No time. I need to get you out of sight. Then we can talk. Intelligence would molt if they knew I brought you in here,” she muttered as she led us towards a side door of the terminal building.
"没时间了。我得把你藏起来。然后我们再谈。如果情报部门知道我把你带到这里来，他们会掉皮的。"她一边带我们走向候机楼的侧门，一边喃喃自语。
I held her shoulders with my fingers and asked a little more forcefully, “Lightning Dancer, what’s going on?” The level of activity was concerning, but more so was the tension and atmosphere of fear. Everypony whose face I could see showed a level of anxiety even I couldn’t create.
我用手指抓住她的肩膀，用力地问道:"闪电舞者，发生什么事了?"活动的程度令人担忧，但更令人担忧的是紧张和恐惧的气氛。我能看到的每一匹小马都表现出了一种甚至我都无法创造出来的焦虑程度。
She started to answer when her armor beeped. “Oh crap. They’re here. The bastards are early.”
她的盔甲发出嘟嘟声，她开始回答。"哦，糟糕。他们来了。这些混蛋来早了。"
“Who’s--” I started to say, when I heard a deep humming noise approaching. Something big was moving through the foggy air, something I couldn’t even imagine. A powerful downdraft made the fog swirl wildly as something huge and black swept in over our heads and landed. I’d thought the Vertibucks had been impressive, but the sight of this looming black weapon of destruction made them look like flimsy toys. It was as if the tank the Harbingers used had been shrunk down a little and then given the power to fly. Two more buzzed the fields, the rising fog barely hiding them.
"谁——"我开始说，这时我听到一个低沉的嗡嗡声正在靠近。一个巨大的东西在雾蒙蒙的空气中移动，我甚至无法想象。一股强有力的下降气流使得雾气疯狂地旋转着，好像有什么巨大的黑色东西掠过我们的头顶落下来。我一直认为眩晕鹿是令人印象深刻的，但是这个隐约可见的黑色毁灭性武器让它们看起来像是脆弱的玩具。就好像"先驱者"使用的水箱缩小了一点，然后就有了飞行的能力。又有两架飞机掠过田野，上升的雾气几乎没有遮住它们。
But that was nothing compared to what came next. From the skies came a cloud... or at least that was the first impression one received. Then one caught the black plates. The armored bridge. The turrets. It was so impossibly large that the further details were lost to the gloom. I’d thought that the tanks had been impressive, but this? With a weapon like this, what stopped the Enclave from simply outright conquering the wastelands?
但是，与接下来发生的事情相比，这根本不算什么。一朵云从天而降......或者至少这是人们的第一印象。然后一只抓住了黑色的盘子。装甲桥。塔楼。它是如此之大，以至于进一步的细节都消失在黑暗中了。我以为那些坦克令人印象深刻，但是这个？有了这样的武器，是什么阻止了昂科雷直接征服这片荒地？
“What is that?” I said as it descended to hover just above the ground next to the terminal, making the large open space look cramped. “What’s going on?”
"那是什么?"我边说边下降，让它在航站楼旁边的地面上盘旋，让这个大开放空间看起来很拥挤。"怎么回事?"
“A Raptor. The Castellanus,” Lightning Dancer said tensely. “You need to get inside. If they find out that I breached security…”
"一只猛禽。"闪电舞者紧张地说。"你需要进去。如果他们发现我破坏了安全......"
She reached a door, swept a card through a reader, and pulled the door open. The hallway beyond was dark and cramped, with cables snaking along the walls.
她走到一扇门前，从一个读卡器里拿出一张卡片，然后把门拉开。远处的走廊黑暗而拥挤，电缆沿着墙壁蜿蜒而行。
Lightning Dancer pushed us along into a room with a bank of eight terminals showing different parts of the Skyport. From the sight of things, some sort of major meeting was underway. Lightning Dancer blocked the monitors with her body as she turned and faced us. “Now, Blackjack, do you know where Dusk is?”
"闪电舞者"把我们推进了一个房间，里面有一排八个终端，显示着飞机场的不同部分。从目前的情况来看，一些重要的会议正在进行中。闪电舞女转过身来，面对着我们，用身体挡住了监视器。"现在，黑杰克，你知道黄昏在哪里吗?"
I felt a cold frisson run down my spine. “She wasn’t brought here?”
我感到一阵冷颤沿着我的脊背向下蔓延。"她不是被带到这儿来的?"
“Brought here? You mean you know what happened to her?” Lightning Dancer blurted. “What happened? One night almost a week ago she was called out for a patrol and nopony came back! I can’t find any official orders, which means it was an Intelligence operation, but nopony is saying anything!”
""带到这儿来？你是说你知道她发生了什么事?"闪电舞者脱口而出。"发生了什么事？差不多一个星期前的一个晚上，她被叫去巡逻，没有小马回来！我找不到任何官方命令，这意味着这是一次情报行动，但小马什么也没说!"
I sighed. “I encountered zebras and pegasi fighting in the north five days ago. They looked like they were investigating a zebra disease. There were three Neighvarro pegasi there, too. The Thunderhead pegasi were wiped out, but Dusk survived.” I omitted who had done the wiping. Call me a coward, but right now, I needed answers too. To get them, I’d need to answer some of her questions first. “I told the Neighvarro pegasi to bring her here.”
我叹了口气。"五天前，我在北方遇到了斑马和飞马。他们看起来像是在调查一种斑马病。那里还有三个飞马骑士。飞马座的雷头被消灭了，但黄昏幸存了下来。"我省略了擦拭的人。可以说我是个懦夫，但是现在，我也需要答案。要得到它们，我需要先回答她的一些问题。"我告诉飞马邻居把她带到这里来。"
“What?” Lightning Dancer gasped.
"什么?"闪电舞者倒抽一口冷气。
“I wasn’t in any condition to bring her myself. They were. It was that or leave her to the Remnant,” I said in a rush.
"我没有任何条件亲自带她来。是的。"要么这样，要么把她留给例外人,"我匆忙地说。
“Well, they didn’t bring her here,” Lightning Dancer hissed softly through her teeth. “Neighvarro… that explains it,” she muttered darkly, then looked at me. “The Grand Pegasus Enclave said that they had substantive evidence of crimes against the Enclave committed by Thunderhead. Intelligence has been in complete chaos. Half their units abroad have either been arrested or have turned completely. Neighvarro’s got their own intelligence officers who’ve been wreaking havoc against us.”
"好吧，他们没有把她带到这里来,"闪电舞者从牙缝里轻轻地嘶嘶地说。"邻居......这就解释得通了,"她暗自嘀咕着，然后看着我。"飞马王国说，他们有确凿的证据证明雷霆王国对飞马王国犯下了罪行。智力一直处于完全混乱的状态。他们在国外的部队有一半不是被逮捕就是完全叛变了。邻居们有他们自己的情报人员，他们对我们进行了大肆破坏。"
I felt two responses to this news. One was a tiny bit of satisfaction that Lighthooves had finally been caught, and the other a growing, gnawing sensation of dread at what that might mean. While I had no problem with him getting punished for his part in creating a bioweapon, I didn’t have any desire to see Glory’s whole home suffer for it. Until I’d seen that Raptor, the worst I’d imagined was Vertibucks. Now I was imagining enormous cloud machines of steel and vapor swirling through the skies.
我对这个消息有两种反应。一种是一点点的满足感，因为轻舟号终于被抓住了，另一种是一种日益增长的、啃噬着的恐惧感，那可能意味着什么。虽然我不介意他因为制造生化武器而受到惩罚，但我也不希望看到晨辉的整个家庭因此而受到伤害。直到我看到那只猛禽，我想象中最糟糕的就是眩晕鹿了。现在我想象着巨大的钢铁云机器和水汽在天空中盘旋。
“Such power,” the Goddess purred in my mind. “With that, Red Eye wouldn’t last a minute against me.”
"如此强大的力量,"女神在我的脑海中咕噜咕噜地说。"有了这个，红眼睛在我面前一分钟都坚持不了。"
“Shut up,” I thought furiously at her. “You’re a dirty surfacer too, remember? There’s no way they’d work with you.”
"闭嘴,"我愤怒地看着她。"你也是个肮脏的地面工人，记得吗？他们不可能跟你合作。"
“Oh, you’d be surprised how easily the ambitious can put aside a little hatred for more power,” the Goddess chuckled.
"哦，你会惊讶于野心勃勃的人是多么容易把对更多权力的一点仇恨放在一边,"女神笑着说。
I tried to steel my thoughts against her, in part because I feared she might be right, but also because Lightning Dancer was looking at me in bafflement. “Sorry. Brain damage. You were saying?”
我试图用钢铁般的思想来对抗她，一方面是因为我害怕她可能是对的，另一方面也是因为闪电舞者困惑地看着我。"对不起。脑损伤。你刚才说什么?"
“I was saying ‘where is Glory?’ Why isn’t she with you? Did something happen to her too?” the mare said in worry. “Sky Striker is here. He’s been talking about finding her.” She looked sharply at me, “And you, for that matter. Something about bed champions?”
"我在说'晨辉在哪里?'她为什么不和你在一起？她也出了什么事吗?"母马担心地说。"天空攻击者来了。他一直说要找到她。"她尖锐地看着我,"还有你。什么床上冠军?"
Oh, Celestia. That did it. I turned on my broadcaster, opened a channel to wherever, and shouted, “Okay! Attention everypony! Security here! I am a dirty, lecherous, adulterous mule! I cheated on the best mare in the Wasteland and am a bad, bad pony. Happy?!” I blurted, then threw my hooves overhead. Lightning Dancer stared at me in horror as Lacunae covered her face with a wingtip.
哦，塞莱斯蒂娅。就是这样。我打开我的播音员，打开一个频道到任何地方，然后喊道,"好的！大家注意了！保安来了！我是一个肮脏、好色、通奸的骡子！我欺骗了荒原上最好的母马，我是一匹坏坏的小马。高兴了?!"我脱口而出，然后把我的蹄子扔过头顶。闪电舞者惊恐地盯着我，因为裂隙用翼尖遮住了她的脸。
Then I froze as I looked at the screens; every pegasus in power armor was tapping the sides of their heads and looking at one another in confusion. I stared at my broadcaster again. Okay... that wasn’t exactly what I had anticipated.
然后，当我看着屏幕的时候，我愣住了;每一匹穿着强力盔甲的飞马都在敲打着他们的头，迷惑地互相看着。我又盯着我的播音员。好吧...这并不是我所期待的。
Tingly backside feelings again...
又是屁股的刺痛感..。
Lightning Dancer pressed a wingtip to a little earbud in her left ear. “Okay. I’m getting orders to report in now. If they trace that transmission to this building, they’ll tear this place apart looking for you,” she said. After I’d told her that Dusk might be in enemy hooves, I was grateful that she wasn’t just handing me over. “Stay here. This is my post. I should be right back, okay? And please don’t do anything else like what you just did.”
闪电舞者把一个翼尖按在她左耳的一个小耳塞上。"好吧。我接到命令现在就报告。如果他们追踪到这栋建筑，他们会为了找你把这里翻个底朝天。"她说。在我告诉她黄昏可能是敌人的蹄子后，我很感激她没有把我交给我。"呆在这儿。这是我的帖子。我马上回来，好吗？请不要像刚才那样做任何事情。"
She trotted quickly from the dark room, leaving us together. “Wait! My… guns…” And sword, and all the other weapons she’d confiscated at the gates. I harrumphed, took out the cake, and started munching. I looked at the rows of
她快步走出黑暗的房间，把我们留在一起。"等等！我的......枪......"还有剑，还有她在大门口没收的所有其他武器。我哼了一声，拿出蛋糕，开始咀嚼。我看着一排排的
terminals and reached out a hoof, scowling as it passed right through. I looked at the buttons and tried to push with my magic. Surely that would work, right? Not so much. I groaned and batted at the machine with a hoof.
然后伸出一个蹄子，当它经过时皱着眉头。我看着按钮，试图用我的魔法按下去。这肯定行得通，对吧？不太喜欢。我抱怨着，用蹄子敲打着机器。
Then Lacunae reached out and tapped a button with a wingtip. “–do not let one Neighvarro soldier off that ship. This is still the Thunderhead no-flight zone,” one mare told four soldiers in the center terminal monitor. “Find that security breach. Check the hangars!”
然后，拉库奈伸出手，用翼尖轻击了一个按钮。"-不要让一个邻居士兵离开那艘船。这仍然是雷头公司的禁飞区,"一匹母马告诉四名士兵在中央终端显示器。"找到那个安全漏洞。检查机库!"
I looked at the alicorn in surprise, and she smiled back at me. “I am part pegasus, after all.” She tapped more keys with her wingtips, finally bringing up a conference room. There was a long table with six ponies around it, three on either side. Each side had a stallion, a mare, and another stallion.
我惊奇地看着那只橡子，她也对我笑了笑。"毕竟，我是飞马系的一部分。"她用翼尖轻敲了几下键盘，终于找到了一间会议室。有一张长桌子，周围有六匹小马，两边各有三匹。每一边有一匹种马，一匹母马，和另一匹种马。
I recognized Sky Striker by the dashing old buck’s eyepatch. He sat next to two other pegasi in dusky uniforms, a light-coated mare and a darker-coated stallion. From the fancy clothes and severe expressions on their faces, I expected them to be some kind of very important ponies. Opposite them were a matching trio: a darker stallion, almost black, who wore a smile that reached everything but his eyes, a pale older mare with a straight mane who looked far less amiable, and an ancient pegasus stallion in power armor who seemed quite bored with the whole proceeding. I’d hoped for more, but all these monitors were in monochrome.
我从那只精神抖擞的老鹿的眼罩上认出了天空攻击者。他坐在另外两个身穿黑色制服的飞马旁边，一个是浅色的母马，另一个是深色的种马。从他们漂亮的衣服和严肃的表情来看，我以为他们是某种非常重要的小马。在他们对面是一个相配的三人组:一匹深色的种马，几乎是黑色的，脸上挂着除了眼睛以外的所有东西都能看到的微笑;一匹苍白的老母马，鬃毛笔直，看上去不那么和蔼可亲;还有一匹穿着强力盔甲的老飞马，似乎对整个过程感到厌倦。我还希望有更多，但这些显示器都是单色的。
“–you for meeting with us on such short notice. I didn’t expect you to come, Honored Councilor,” the lighter mare said with a thin and slightly baffled smile to the armored elder.
"-你能在这么短的时间内来见我们。"我没想到你会来，尊敬的议员,"那匹轻盈的母马对装甲长老略带困惑地微笑着说。
“Oh, few folks did,” the ancient stallion said with a wheezy cackle. “A chance to go back to the ground. Get mud beneath my hooves again? Couldn’t pass it up.” He gave a toothless grin at Sky Striker. “And once they throw ‘Honored’ in front of your name, you can do just about anything as long as it isn’t important, eh, Striker?”
"哦，很少有人这么做,"这匹老马喘着粗气咯咯地笑着说。"一个重返地面的机会。又把泥弄到我蹄子下面了？不能错过。"他对着天空冲锋队咧嘴一笑，露出无牙的笑容。"一旦他们在你的名字前面加上'荣誉'，你就可以做任何不重要的事情了，是吧，前锋?"
The grim, one-eyed stallion grinned despite himself. “Yeah. Then half want to use you as a figurehead and the other half want you to pop off. Some things never change.”
这匹冷酷的独眼种马不由自主地咧嘴笑了起来。"是的。然后一半的人想把你当作一个傀儡，另一半想让你离开。有些事情永远不会改变。"
The light mare beside the Honored Councilor tried to hide her annoyance as the dark stallion on her other side just chuckled. “With all due respect, this meeting is quite important, Honored Councilor Stargazer,” she said as she glared across
尊敬的议员旁边的轻雌马试图掩饰她的烦恼，她的另一边的黑色种马只是咯咯地笑。"恕我直言，这次会议非常重要，尊敬的议员先生,"她怒视着对方说
the table at her counterpart. “We’ve received reports that Enclave Intelligence is acting outside its jurisdiction.”
和她的同伴坐在一张桌子上。"我们收到报告称，昂科雷情报局在其管辖范围之外采取行动。"
“That is why you’ve arrested over half of my officers, General Storm Chaser?” the dark stallion next to Councilor Stargazer rumbled. “Over a report? A report? Who filed this report? What was their training background? How was it confirmed?”
"这就是为什么你逮捕了我一半以上的军官，风暴追逐者将军?"议员旁边的黑色种马隆隆作响。"为了一份报告？一份报告？谁提交的这份报告？他们的训练背景是什么？它是如何得到确认的?"
“Neighvarro has been working to establish our own intelligence corps… to supplement the efforts of Thunderhead, of course, Director Stratus. Some visionary members of your organization were properly thrilled to assist us,” the dusky stallion next to the general said in calm, congenial tones. He oozed comfort and sincerity. “When we learned that Thunderhead Intelligence was involved in the development of a biological weapon that could be used against the rest of the Enclave, we simply had to act.”
"邻居们一直在努力建立我们自己的英国陆军情报部队......当然是为了补充Thunderhead的努力，Stratus主任。你们组织的一些有远见的成员非常兴奋地帮助我们,"将军旁边的那匹昏暗的骏马平静地、和蔼地说。他流露出一丝安慰和真诚。"当我们得知雷海德情报公司参与研发一种可以用来对付昂科雷其他地区的生物武器时，我们不得不采取行动。"
The director bared his teeth, not bothering to hide his contempt. “I’m sure you did, High General Harbinger. But instead of discussing this outside official channels as usual, you went and detained almost a hundred agents!” The name made my ears stand straight up. There was no way this could be a coincidence! And hadn’t someone mentioned they were led by a pegasus? I racked my brains, trying to remember, but set it aside as I spied on this little meeting. “What was the origin of this report?”
导演露出了牙齿，毫不掩饰他的轻蔑。"我相信你做到了，哈宾格将军。但你们没有像往常一样通过官方渠道讨论这件事，而是去拘留了近百名特工!"这个名字使我的耳朵竖了起来。这绝不可能是巧合！难道没有人提过他们是由飞马带领的吗？我绞尽脑汁，试图回忆起来，但是当我监视这个小会议的时候，我把它放在一边。"这份报告的出处是什么?"
“We were initially alerted by the surfacer terrorist who goes by the name ‘Security’ or ‘The Security Mare’. She encountered one of our patrols and tipped us off to the development of a biological weapon at Miramare Air Station. Naturally, we were concerned by this possibility and investigated. Imagine our surprise when we discovered, buried in the base’s terminals, records of some of the actions of an ‘Operative Lighthooves’. The accounts on the terminals were corroborated by pony remains infested with a prion contagion. The data pointed us to ‘Yellow River’, and once more we sent a team in. We were quite shocked to discover, again with this ‘Security’’s assistance, that there were indeed signs of proof that a biological weapon was being adapted by this operative to infect pegasi,” Harbinger purred with a growing smile. “Tell me, what is Operative ‘Lighthooves’’s real name?”
"我们最初接到地面恐怖分子的警报，他的名字是'安全'或'安全母马'。她遇到了我们的一个巡逻队，向我们透露了米拉马雷空军基地正在研制生物武器的消息。自然，我们对这种可能性感到担忧并进行了调查。想象一下，当我们在基地的终端里发现"特工号"的一些行动记录时，我们有多惊讶。码头上的账户被小马证实了，小马仍然感染了朊病毒。数据把我们指向了黄河，我们又一次派出了一个小组。"我们非常震惊地发现，在'安全'的协助下，确实有证据表明，这名特工正在改编一种生物武器，以感染飞马座,"哈宾格带着越来越强烈的微笑咕哝道。"告诉我，特工的真名是什么?"
“I cannot say at this time,” Stratus muttered, earning a chuckle from Harbinger.
"这个时候我不能说,"斯特拉图斯咕哝着，哈宾格咯咯地笑了起来。
“You’ve been asked for the identity of this operative by the leader of the Enclave Military on behalf of the Grand Pegasus Enclave High Council. That is not a request!” General Chaser snapped.
"飞马飞地军方领导人代表飞马飞地高级委员会向你询问这名特工的身份。这不是请求!"查泽将军厉声说道。
The ancient stallion sighed and rolled his eyes. “Stop being a Tiara, Stormy. Let him answer.” Chaser blinked and flushed, trying to glare an answer out of the Director of Enclave Intelligence.
那匹老种马叹了口气，转了转眼珠。"别再当皇冠了，史东蜜。让他回答吧。"猎人眨眨眼睛，脸红了，试图从飞地情报局局长那里得到一个答复。
“I cannot say at this time because we do not have an Operative Lighthooves assigned,” Stratus replied. “I’ve got two hundred and thirty-two operatives, all memorized. There is no Operative Lighthooves in Enclave Intelligence.”
"我现在不能说，因为我们没有分配一个特工光剑,"斯特拉图斯回答说。"我手下有232个特工，全都熟记于心。在飞地情报部门没有任何有效的打火机。"
“How convenient,” Harbinger purred. Storm Chaser simply snorted. I was skeptical, too. If Lighthooves was behind this on his own… operating rogue…
"真方便,"Harbinger咕噜咕噜地说。风暴追逐者只是哼了一声。我也很怀疑。如果是他自己在背后操纵游荡者。
Stargazer leaned forward. “As for investigating diseases on the surface, we needed to develop inoculations to better protect members volunteering to come down. Despite the Science Channel’s exaggerations, there are real threats of an epidemic.” She gave a little smile. “Besides, even if we were to develop such a weapon, how would we use it? All food and material shipments are rigorously inspected to make sure that we are fulfilling the terms of the treaty. We’d be at greater risk for infecting ourselves.”
观星者向前探了探身子。"至于表面疾病的调查，我们需要开发接种疫苗，以更好地保护自愿下山的成员。尽管科学频道夸大其词，但确实存在传染病的威胁。"她微微一笑。"此外，即使我们发明了这样一种武器，我们又如何使用它呢？所有的食品和原材料运输都经过严格的检查，以确保我们履行了条约的条款。我们感染自己的风险会更大。"
Harbinger twisted his lips bitterly, and Storm Chaser seemed to concede the point.
"先驱"痛苦地咬着嘴唇,"风暴追逐者"似乎也承认了这一点。
“There is also a question about how these--” General Chaser leaned forward and put a glass bottle on the table. I couldn’t see well, but the contents appeared to be some sort of mane clippings. “--ended up in the Fluttershy Medical Center.” Everyone except Harbinger and Storm Chaser stared at the bottle. “Notice the distinct colors.”
"还有一个问题，这些是怎么回事——"查泽将军探过身来，把一个玻璃瓶放在桌子上。我看不清楚，但内容似乎是某种鬃毛剪报。"——最后到了FluttershyMedicalCenter。"除了先驱者和追风者，每个人都盯着酒瓶。"注意不同的颜色。"
Stratus gave a dismissive snort first and the one eyed buck shook his head. “So somepony decided to dye their mane. We get rebellious youths who do that all over the Enclave,” Sky Striker said with a wave of his wing. “Eventually they either grow up or take the brand.”
斯特拉图斯轻蔑地哼了一声，独眼雄鹿摇了摇头。"所以一些小马决定给它们的鬃毛染色。我们的飞地到处都是叛逆的年轻人,"天空前锋挥舞着他的翅膀说。"最终，他们要么长大，要么接受这个品牌。"
“This isn’t dyed. In fact, chemical analysis shows that somepony probably used dye to conceal these colors. They’re a 99.9% match to Dash,” General Chaser said grimly.
"这个没有染色。事实上，化学分析表明有些小马可能用染料来隐藏这些颜色。它们与Dash的匹配率为99.9%。"。
“You were able to breach the field?” Councilor Stargazer finally said in alarm, with hints of fear on her face. Her tone seemed to make High General Harbinger smile even more.
"你能突破防线吗?"看星者议员最后惊慌地说，脸上露出一丝恐惧。她的语气似乎使海将军更加微笑了。
“Not completely. Some sort of interference. But with the pony these came from...” Harbinger trailed off, looking at the scowling director. “So how did you do it? Find her in stasis? The report mentioned stasis pods in the hospital, and evidence of an Intelligence team. Or did you find some means to make a successful clone?”
"不完全是。某种干扰。但是那匹小马却是从......"哈宾格慢吞吞地走开了，看着那个愁眉苦脸的导演。"那么，你是怎么做到的呢？发现她在休眠状态？这份报告提到了医院里的停滞舱，以及情报小组的证据。还是你找到了成功克隆的方法?"
“I have no idea,” the dark stallion replied, glaring at his counterpart. “But if you give me that sample, I’ll put my best minds on it.”
"我不知道,"黑色种马回答，怒视着他的对手。"但如果你给我那个样本，我会尽我最大的努力。"
“Sorry,” Harbinger said apologetically, his wing reaching out for the bottle and pulling it back, tucking it in a pocket in his uniform. “We’ve got our own people looking into it.”
"对不起,"哈宾格带着歉意说，他的翅膀伸出手去拿瓶子，把它塞进制服口袋里。"我们有自己的人在调查。"
The ancient pony sighed and shook his head. “All that is secondary to the activities of Thunderhead allowing prolonged contact with the surface.” He looked across at Stargazer with clear worry. “We’ve been hearing it all across the Enclave, fears that Thunderhead is using trade and its resources to give itself an unacceptable advantage over the rest of the Enclave.”
那匹老马叹了口气，摇了摇头。"所有这些都是次要的，因为雷暴云的活动允许与地表长时间的接触。"他带着明显的担忧望着对面的观星者。"我们在昂科雷全境都听到了这种说法，担心雷海德正在利用贸易及其资源，让自己获得比昂科雷其它地区更多的不可接受的优势。"
“To put it bluntly, we don’t like or trust what you’re doing,” Chaser snapped. “With the materials you’ve gathered, you could be preparing to build your own independent force.”
"坦率地说，我们不喜欢或者不信任你正在做的事情,"Chaser厉声说。"利用你收集的材料，你可以准备建立自己的独立力量。"
“That would be against the treaty,” Stargazer replied calmly, folding her hooves on the table in front of her. “A treaty that Thunderhead has always abided by. And always will.” From the cool disdain on her face, it was obvious that she was leaving it up to the General to show dishonor first.
"那是违反条约的,"占星家平静地回答，把蹄子叠在她面前的桌子上。"这是雷海德始终遵守的条约。而且永远如此。"从她脸上冷酷的轻蔑表情来看，很明显她是要让将军先丢脸。
Sky Striker jumped in. “Of course, if you really are so concerned, you could implement your own trade with the surface. There’s absolutely no lack of settlements and organizations you could do business with.”
天空攻击者跳了进去。"当然，如果你真的这么关心，你可以在表面上进行自己的交易。你绝对不缺少可以与之做生意的定居点和组织。"
“Most of our communities don’t have surpluses to trade,” the ancient stallion said with a sigh and a shrug. “And besides, it is far too risky. You’ve heard reports about this Red Eye and the alicorn monsters that serve him? He’s just the first. If we get entangled in surface affairs again, it will be the same as during the
"我们的大多数社区没有贸易盈余,"这匹古老的种马叹了口气，耸了耸肩说。"而且，这也太冒险了。你听说过红眼睛和为他服务的角果怪物的报道吗？他只是第一个。如果我们再次卷入表面事务，这将是相同的
war.”
战争。"
“Scootaloo thought differently,” Stratus said bitterly. The ancient pegasus’s eyes widened in shock a moment, then drooped. In that moment, he looked every bit as old as his body was.
"史酷塔罗的想法不同,"斯特拉图斯苦涩地说。古老的飞马的眼睛震惊地睁大了一会儿，然后垂了下来。在那一刻，他看起来和他的身体一样老了。
“Director,” Sky Striker rumbled in reproach. The dark stallion snorted and looked away.
"导演,"天空前锋在责备声中咕哝着。那匹黑色的种马哼了一声，把目光移开了。
“This doesn’t have anything to do with bioweapons, Rainbow Dash clones, or the Volunteer Corps,” Stargazer said softly, looking at her hooves on the table. “This is about the future. The Enclave has two dire enemies. One is complacency. The other is entropy. We’ve stripped every available resource we can from every mountaintop in Equestria. Thunderhead didn’t open trade with the surface because we wanted to but because we had to. While the military has all our newest resources, even it can’t keep up maintenance. We can only cannibalize so far before we’re eating our own wings. Some communities are using talismans two centuries old. We have to change if we are to survive.”
"这和生化武器、彩虹冲刺克隆或者志愿兵团没有任何关系,"占星家看着桌子上的蹄子轻声说。"这关系到未来。昂科雷有两个可怕的敌人。一个是自满。另一个是熵。我们已经从Equestria的每个山顶剥夺了所有可用的资源。雷锋没有开放贸易的表面，因为我们想，但因为我们不得不。虽然军队拥有我们所有的最新资源，但即使是军队也无法保持维护。在我们吃掉自己的翅膀之前，我们只能同类相食到目前为止。一些社区正在使用两个世纪以前的护身符。如果我们想生存下去，就必须改变。"
“Perhaps. Perhaps,” wheezed the ancient buck. “But not now, and not like this.”
"也许吧。也许吧,"古老的雄鹿气喘吁吁地说。"但不是现在，也不是这样。"
“I’d also like to correct you,” Harbinger purred. “You left out our greatest enemy: traitors.”
"我也想纠正你,"Harbinger咕噜咕噜地说。"你们漏掉了我们最大的敌人:叛徒。"
“If you’re so concerned about it, conscript your own unicorns,” Stratus countered, then rubbed his chin. “Oh. Wait. I forgot. You can’t. Life on quarried-off mountaintops is hardly conducive to quality talisman production. Guess you shouldn’t have gutted those high elevation stables after all.”
"如果你这么关心这个，那就招募你自己的独角兽吧,"斯特拉图斯反驳道，然后抚摸着他的下巴。"哦。等等。我忘了。你不能。在开采过的山顶上生活几乎不利于优质护身符的生产。我想你根本就不应该把那些高海拔的马厩掏空。"
I didn’t like the way he used the word ‘conscript’. And apparently neither did the old stallion. “Excuse me,” he sighed, rising to his hooves, his power armor clanking as it carried him out. I doubted he could walk or fly without it. His wings were so tiny that they appeared almost absent.
我不喜欢他用"应征入伍"这个词的方式。很显然，那匹老种马也没有。"对不起,"他叹了口气，站起来，他的权力装甲叮当作响，因为它把他。我怀疑没有它他是否能行走或飞行。他的翅膀太小了，几乎没有翅膀。
“That was out of line, Stratus,” Sky Striker retorted, glaring past the mare at him.
"你太过分了，斯特拉图斯,"天空射手回答道，怒视着那匹母马。
“With all due respect, Honored Sky Striker, this is a waste of time,” Stratus said as he looked at the scowling pair. “Thunderhead controls the air defense system for Shadowbolt Tower. Anything bigger than a pony we can target and blow out of the sky before they come within fifty miles. If they destroy the tower,
"恕我直言，尊敬的天空前锋，这纯粹是浪费时间,"斯特拉图斯看着这对愁眉苦脸的搭档说。"雷头控制着太极堡塔的防空系统。任何比小马还大的东西，我们都可以瞄准，在它们来到五十英里以内的地方之前就把它们炸飞。如果他们摧毁了塔楼
somehow, they’ll be losing everything they want to capture.”
不知何故，他们会失去他们想要捕捉的一切"
“Not quite,” Harbinger retorted as he rose to his hooves, smiling confidently, staring daggers into Stratus’s eyes. “There would be quite a bit of satisfaction to be had.”
"不完全是,"哈宾格反驳道，他站起身来，满怀信心地笑着，目光直勾勾地盯着斯特拉图斯的眼睛。"会有相当多的满足感。"
“Enough,” General Chaser said as she rubbed her temples. “This is getting us nowhere.”
"够了,"查泽尔将军一边搓着太阳穴一边说。"这对我们毫无帮助。"
“Agreed,” Stargazer said with a nod. “I vote for calm.”
"同意,"观星者点头说。"我赞成冷静。"
Sky Striker looked at Stratus. The sour dark stallion shrugged. “Very well. I will order a stringent examination of all Intelligence activities within Thunderhead and the Hoofington region. You can send your own observers to verify.” He glared and pointed a wing across at Harbinger. Stratus said ‘observers’ the same way Harbinger had said ‘traitors’. “But I expect the operatives you’ve detained to be released and returned immediately if you expect to see another magic talisman.”
天空之星看着斯特拉图斯。那匹酸溜溜的黑马耸耸肩。"很好。我会下令严格检查雷头及Hoofington地区的所有情报活动。你可以派你自己的观察员去核实。"他瞪着眼睛，把一只翅膀对着Harbinger。斯特拉图斯说"观察者"就像哈宾格说"叛徒"一样。"但如果你还想看到另一个魔法护身符，我希望你拘留的那些特工能被释放并立即返回。"
“Of course,” Harbinger said silkily. Everypony rose to their hooves. “But I do hope you take care, Director. Equestria is a wide land full of possibilities. I promise you, the Enclave will not be dependent on Thunderhead forever. Someday, you may just need our magnanimity and find it missing.”
"当然,"哈宾格温和地说。每一匹小马都站了起来。"但是我真的希望你保重，主任。Equestria是一片充满各种可能性的广阔土地。我向你保证，昂科雷不会永远依赖于雷海德。也许有一天，你需要我们的宽宏大量，却发现它不见了。"
“Thank you. If you will please wait here, we’ll locate the Honored Councilor so you can depart together. Excuse us,” Stratus said, and with that the Thunderhead trio turned and left the meeting room.
"谢谢。请在这里稍等，我们会找到尊敬的议员，这样您就可以一起离开了。对不起,"斯特拉图斯说，说完，雷头三人转身离开了会议室。
I saw them appear in a room on another monitor and start talking. “Can you switch the sound to them?” I asked in annoyance.
我看到他们出现在另一台显示器上的一个房间里，并开始交谈。"你能把声音切换到他们吗?"我不耐烦地问道。
Lacunae didn’t answer. Her eyes were locked on the monitor, wide and staring. “That was a lovely breeze of brown wind,” Harbinger muttered. “Why did we waste our time with this, Stormy?”
空隙没有回答。她的眼睛紧盯着显示器，睁得大大的，目不转睛。"那是一阵可爱的棕色微风,"哈宾格喃喃自语。"我们为什么要在这上面浪费时间，史东蜜?"
“Because the public would look very poorly on the military if we did not make some formal diplomatic gestures of working this out. You know we have to keep Thunderhead’s bad behavior from spreading,” Chaser replied sourly. “And because I, personally, would rather not break the largest and most successful settlement in the sky in the process of reasserting control of the situation.”
"因为如果我们不采取一些正式的外交姿态来解决这个问题，公众对军队的看法会非常糟糕。你知道我们必须阻止雷头的不良行为传播。"。"因为就我个人而言，我不希望在重新掌控局势的过程中，打破这个空中最大、最成功的解决方案。"
“You can’t make a rainstorm without kicking a few clouds,” Harbinger replied callously, then scowled. “You read the report, didn’t you? The Canterlot hub went active. Two hundred years with barely a peep, and now we get a class one alert reporting a breach by surfacer terrorists. For all we know, Thunderhead’s orchestrated this, and who knows what’s next? They could try to get their Rainbow Dash into the S.P.P. Then it’s checkmate for us, Stormy.”
"不踢几朵云是下不了暴雨的,"哈宾格无情地回答，然后皱起了眉头。""你看过报告了，是吗？坎特罗中心开始活跃。两百年来一无所获，现在我们得到一级警报，表面恐怖分子正在入侵。据我们所知，雷霆万钧精心策划了这一切，谁知道接下来会发生什么？他们可以试着让彩虹冲刺进入s.p.p。那我们就死定了，史东蜜。"
General Storm Chaser seemed to consider that for a moment, then replied with a dour scowl, “Our forces are already committed against Red Eye. This alert was just what was needed to convince the more hesitant elements of the council that it’s time to clean house. Red Eye’s special agent ‘LittlePip’ accessed something in there, and we have no evidence that she’s working for Thunderhead too.”
风暴追逐者将军似乎考虑了一会儿，然后阴沉着脸回答说:"我们的部队已经在对付红眼了。这个警报正是说服委员会中那些犹豫不决的人是时候清理门户所需要的。红眼的特工'小匹普'访问了里面的内容，我们没有证据表明她也在为雷霆头工作。"
LittlePip? An agent for who? Was he serious? I thought hard about Arbu and what she’d done. Was it... possible? No. It couldn’t be. Harbinger was wrong...
小匹普？谁的特工？他是认真的吗？我仔细想了想阿尔布和她的所作所为。有可能吗？没有。不可能。Harbinger错了..。
or pulling it out of his ass or... or something! It was like saying the Stable Dweller was working for the Goddess. It just... wasn’t possible. It... it couldn’t be!
或者从他屁股里拉出来，或者...或者别的什么！这就好像说马厩居民在为女神工作一样。只是...不可能。不...不可能！
The Goddess hummed a merry little tune in the back of my mind. I couldn’t shut it out, so I ignored her... and ignored the memory of Triage telling me that the Collegiate was trading with Red Eye too.
女神在我脑海里哼着一支欢快的小曲子。我无法将它拒之门外，所以我忽略了她......并且忽略了分诊的记忆，告诉我大学生也在和红眼交易。
No! Do not think about it, Blackjack, I told myself. Focus on these two. This was the kind of trouble that got whole stables killed. Don’t think about Homage’s pony working for... just don’t. The general continued, “We’ve been drumming up the surface threat for months, anyway. I admit that this new biological weapon is extremely concerning, but we can’t turn all our forces around to tackle Thunderhead now. After we’ve settled accounts on the surface...”
不！别想了，黑杰克，我告诉自己。关注这两点。就是这种麻烦害死了整个马厩。不要想着《向上帝致敬》的小马为......工作，不要想。这位将军继续说道,"无论如何，我们已经在海面上制造威胁好几个月了。我承认这种新的生物武器非常令人担忧，但我们现在不能调动所有的力量来对付雷锋。等我们在地面上算完帐......"
“We may be eating our own foals while Thunderhead rips Neighvarro to vapor,” Harbinger finished grimly. He seemed to acquiesce to her argument, but it clearly galled him. In his eyes I saw a lust for war that approached the insatiable. ‘There would be quite a bit of satisfaction to be had.’
"我们可能正在吃自己的小马驹，而雷头将邻居们撕成碎片,"Harbinger冷酷地说完。他似乎默许了她的论点，但这显然使他恼火。在他的眼睛里，我看到了一种对战争的渴望，这种渴望接近了永不满足的人。"我们会得到相当多的满足感。"
The general sighed. “The council and the public have been told that Red Eye is a more immediate threat, High General. We can stomp him in a week and tie up loose ends, then deal with other any other problems.” General Chaser frowned at the High General’s glowering silence, and continued, perhaps trying to keep his
将军叹了口气。"议会和公众都被告知，红眼是一个更紧迫的威胁，高级将军。我们可以在一周内把他踩个稀巴烂，然后再处理其他问题。"查泽将军对大将军怒目而视的沉默皱起眉头，继续说下去，也许是为了保持他的沉默
mind off of attacking Thunderhead, “Autumn Leaf’s already dispatched Windsheer’s team to gather as much trustworthy information as possible. They’re the best of our new intelligence squads. We still don’t know the full capabilities of these alicorns. They can fly and use unicorn magic, which makes them a greater threat than a potential plague.”
"秋叶已经派遣了风陡路的队伍去收集尽可能多的可靠信息。他们是我们最好的新情报小组。我们仍然不知道这些海洋公司的全部能力。它们会飞，还会使用独角兽魔法，这让它们成为比潜在的瘟疫更大的威胁。"
Something about her words snapped the High General out of his brooding. His slow, easy smile seemed to make Chaser more worried than when he’d been growling about Thunderhead. “A greater threat... or perhaps a greater asset,” Harbinger mused. And then I looked over at Lacunae and saw her growing smile... and then I realized that it wasn’t my friend I was looking at but the Goddess. Her eyes showed a wild glee, like a filly getting everything she wanted on Stable Day.
她的话使大将军突然从沉思中清醒过来。他那缓慢而从容的微笑似乎比他对着雷霆头咆哮时更让Chaser担心。"一个更大的威胁......或者可能是一个更大的资产,"Harbinger若有所思地说。然后我看向拉库尼，看到她越来越灿烂的笑容......然后我意识到我看到的不是我的朋友，而是女神。她的眼睛里流露出狂野的喜悦，就像一匹小母马在马厩日里得到了她想要的一切。
Oh, you’d be surprised how easily the ambitious can put aside a little hatred for more power…
哦，你会惊讶于野心勃勃的人能如此轻易地放下对更多权力的一点仇恨..。
Worse, though, I could hear shouts from down the hall. Doors being slammed open. Somehow, I doubted it was a band of foals on a scavenger hunt. “We’ve got to go,” I said, shaking her. Her leer only widened. I heard Harbinger making some sort of comment about ‘possibilities’, but I wasn’t paying attention. I tried to think at Lacunae, but I felt distinctly cut out of the loop; it looked as if the Goddess was canny enough to disconnect me from whatever Unity was deciding.
更糟糕的是，我能听到楼下大厅传来的喊叫声。门砰的一声打开了。不知怎么的，我怀疑那是一群小马驹在玩寻宝游戏。"我们得走了,"我摇着她说。她的目光越来越远。我听到Harbinger说了一些关于"可能性"的评论，但我没有注意。我试图在Lacunae思考，但我明显感到自己被排除在圈子之外;看起来好像这位女神足够精明，可以把我与Unity决定的任何事情分开。
Which meant that I was about to have company very soon.
这意味着我很快就会有客人了。
No guns. All I had were thumbs, a burned out horn, and Glory’s cakes. “Lacunae! Wake up!” I yelled as hooves thundered right outside the door. “Damn it...”
没有枪。我只有大拇指，一个烧焦的角，和晨辉的蛋糕。"空隙！醒醒吧!"我在门外大喊大叫，马蹄轰隆作响。"该死......"
I was about to get in Trouble...
我就要有麻烦了..。
The door was kicked open, and two power-armored pegasi looked right at me for one stunned second. That was all I needed as I threw Glory’s cake in a flat spin right into the mare’s visor. The visor popped and splintered under the baked projectile’s onslaught, and her two beam rifles fired high. The pony behind her cursed and tried to hover to bring his own beam weapons to bear.
门被踢开了，两个身穿强力盔甲的飞马盯着我看了一秒钟，目瞪口呆。这就是我所需要的，因为我把晨辉的蛋糕在一个平坦的旋转权到母马的遮阳板。遮阳板在炮弹的猛烈攻击下爆裂开来，她的两束来复枪射得很高。她身后的小马受到了诅咒，试图用自己的武器来对付它。
Couldn’t have that...
不能这样..。
I popped out my fingers as I lunged and smashed them against the broken visor. Pegasi were like unicorns: close combat was not their forte. With one hand gripping her helmet and another on her chest, I heaved her up above me and kept her in the line of fire. “Lacunae!” I shouted as I heard the mare scream in terror and many more hooves approach. “We have to get out of here!”
我突然伸出我的手指，狠狠地撞在那个坏掉的遮阳板上。飞马座就像独角兽:近身格斗不是它们的强项。一只手紧握着她的头盔，另一只手紧握着她的胸口，我把她举到我的上方，让她保持在火线中。"空白!"当我听到母马惊恐的叫声和更多的蹄子接近时，我大叫起来。"我们必须离开这里!"
I felt eyelashes and tears against my fingers; a half inch further and she’d be needing an eyepatch. Crimson beams flashed as she fired in a blind panic, scouring the ceiling above me as she struck out with her hooves. The stallion had come up with an alternative measure of trying to push past the mare to get a clear shot at me. If it’d been Steel Ranger armor, I’d have been toast, but the Enclave armor was light enough that I was able to shove her between the doorjambs and block him.
我感觉到眼睫毛和眼泪在我的手指上摩擦;再往前半英寸，她就需要一个眼罩了。她在盲目的恐慌中开枪时发出深红色的光芒，用蹄子冲刷着我头顶的天花板。种马已经想出了一个替代措施，试图推过去的母马得到一个明确的射击我。如果是钢铁骑兵的盔甲，我会被烤熟的，但是昂科雷的盔甲足够轻，我可以把她推到门框之间，挡住他。
I looked down at where Glory’s cake had fallen and then back at Lacunae. Well... it worked for me. I kicked as hard as I could with a rear hoof, and the gnawed black disk flew through the air and struck my friend right in the back of the head. I winced; I’d really been aiming for her rump. Still, it snapped her out of that stare and made her frown at me, rubbing her head with her wing. Harbinger and the general were leaving the monitor anyway; I supposed that the Goddess had seen everything she wanted to see.
我低头看了看晨辉蛋糕掉落的地方，然后回到了Lacunae。这招对我很管用。我用后蹄用尽全力踢，被啃过的黑色圆盘在空中飞舞，正好击中我朋友的后脑勺。我皱了皱眉头;我真的是瞄准了她的臀部。尽管如此，它还是让她不再盯着我看，并且使她皱起眉头，用翅膀摩擦她的头。哈宾格和将军无论如何都要离开显示器;我猜想女神已经看到了她想看到的一切。
Then she noticed that I was wrestling with an Enclave soldier and trying to fend off another, and her eyes popped wide. She wasted no time in racing to my side, her horn flared brighter and brighter. I shoved the mare away just before the room flashed and dissolved around me.
然后她注意到我正在和一个昂科雷士兵扭打，试图挡开另一个，她的眼睛睁得大大的。她没有浪费时间跑到我身边，她的号角闪耀得越来越亮。我把母马推开，就在房间一闪而过，融化在我周围之前。
* * *
* * *
“I can’t believe it!” I stormed as we trotted towards Chapel. Vigilance! Sacrifice and Duty! The magic sword of scary sharpness… all gone! I was disarmed; I was pissed!
"我真不敢相信!"我们小跑着去教堂时，我怒气冲冲。警惕！牺牲和责任！神奇的锋利的宝剑...全都没了！我被解除了武装，我很生气！
“We had no choice. Either your transmission or something else alerted the entire base. You would have killed them trying to escape or, more likely, they you,” Lacunae said reasonably. I was in no mood for reasonable. I wanted to sulk my weapons back into their holsters! I munched on the cake that had fortunately been tangled in the alicorn’s mane. It may have had a few stray hairs stuck to it now, but they didn’t detract from the delicious appley, oily, greasy goodness.
"我们别无选择。要么是你的传送器，要么是其他什么东西警告了整个基地。你会在他们试图逃跑时杀了他们，或者更有可能的是，他们杀了你。"。我没有心情讲道理。我真想把我的武器扔回他们的枪套里！我咀嚼着蛋糕，幸运的是，蛋糕已经缠绕在羊角的鬃毛上。它现在可能有一些零星的毛发粘在上面，但是这些毛发并没有影响到它美味的苹果味、油腻的味道。
Nice as Glory’s treat was, though, it didn’t dull the sting of having my weapons stuck back at the base. Still, sulking about it wouldn’t really help. I couldn’t go back right this second and demand my stuff back, so, instead, I tried to put it behind me and focused on the next, and more troubling, item of annoyance. “So... why’d the Goddess take you over?” She looked at me with a small frown, and I sighed. “I saw it. She was gawking at that pair like it was a dream come true. What was she thinking?” I asked as we walked along. Lacunae had teleported us a short way outside of Chapel; a ‘near miss’ in alicorn teleportation terms. I took out some of my impotent rage on some unsuspecting puddles.
尽管晨辉的款待很不错，但是它并没有减少我的武器卡在基地的刺痛感。尽管如此，生闷气也没什么用。我不能马上回去要回我的东西，所以，相反，我试图把它放在身后，集中在下一个，更麻烦的，烦恼的项目。"那么......为什么女神要接管你?"她皱着眉头看着我，我叹了口气。"我看见了。她呆呆地看着那一对，好像梦想成真了一样。她在想什么?"我边走边问。空隙把我们传送到了离教堂不远的地方;在角兽传送术语中是一次"差点失败"。我把我无力的愤怒发泄在一些毫无防备的水坑上。
“I have no idea. I have no memory of it,” Lacunae murmured. Since we’d teleported away, the Goddess had been annoyingly silent. I could almost feel her smugness in the back of my mind.
"我不知道。我对此一点印象也没有,"拉库尼低声说。自从我们心灵传送走以后，女神一直沉默得令人讨厌。我几乎能在脑海里感觉到她的自命不凡。
“I can’t believe she did it, though,” I said with an emphatic stomp in a puddle.
"我简直不敢相信她做到了,"我在一个水坑里用力跺着脚说。
“She saw an opportunity and she took it,” Lacunae replied casually. “It’s not the first time.”
"她看到了机会，就抓住了,"拉库奈漫不经心地回答。"这不是第一次了。"
“Why aren’t you mad?” I asked in a huff, then looked up at her. “She took you over. Completely. Again!” How could it not bother her? It was... it was like the Seahorse. She was helpless to stop it...
"你为什么不生气?"我生气地问，然后抬头看着她。"她接管了你。完全正确。再来!"这怎么能不困扰她呢？就像...就像海马。她无能为力。
“You make the mistake of thinking that I’m a person to be violated. I’m not. She has the power and took the opportunity. I imagine the Enervation was excruciating for her,” Lacunae replied as she trotted along. “It must have taken a significant part of her focus to achieve it. Despite what you may think, she is not sloppy or careless when she... asserts herself.” She closed her eyes a moment.
"你错误地认为我是一个被侵犯的人。我没有。她有能力并抓住了机会。"我想她一定很痛苦,"拉库奈一边小跑一边回答。"为了实现这一目标，她肯定投入了很大一部分精力。不管你怎么想，当她坚持自己的立场时，她并不粗心大意。"她闭了一会儿眼睛。
I wanted to simultaneously hug and throttle her. Why couldn’t she understand that she was a person to me... a person used by a monster. “But are you… okay?” I asked in worry.
我想同时拥抱她和掐死她。为什么她不能理解她对我来说是一个人...一个被怪物利用的人。"但是你......没事吧?"我担心地问。
“Of course,” she replied, so matter-of-factly that gave me a heavy... well, not heart... blood circulation pump? Damn it, cyberponies needed some idioms of our own. The alicorn frowned a little as she went on, “The sensation of so many minds and wills within me is… overwhelming. So much in me wanting to return to its original owners... With just a little push, I think everything within me may have been returned to Unity.”
"当然可以,"她回答，如此平淡的回答让我感到沉重......嗯，不是心脏......血液循环泵？该死的，网络小马需要一些我们自己的习语。当她继续说下去的时候，阿里克松皱了一下眉头,"这么多思想和意志在我心中的感觉是...无法抗拒的。我非常想回到它最初的主人身边......只要一点点推动，我想我内心的一切都可能回到Unity。"
I stared at her. “You mean you almost died?”
我盯着她。"你是说你差点死了?"
“I was never born in the first place. But I admit that it was close.” She sighed and shook her head. “It was so close…” I couldn’t tell if she’d said it like she was glad or regretful of her survival. I didn’t press. I’d told her I wouldn’t.
"我从来就没有出生过。但我承认，差不多了。"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"太接近了......"我不知道她说这话时是高兴还是遗憾。我没有施压。我告诉她我不会。
“Would that change her? So many memories coming at once?” The thought of a Goddess with humility and compassion thrilled me as much as the thought that it would take my friend away filled me with horror.
""那会改变她吗？这么多回忆一下子涌上心头?"一想到这位女神会带着谦卑和怜悯之心把我的朋友带走，我就不寒而栗。
“Who can say? She winnowed them out once. Perhaps she would do so again,” Lacunae replied with a sigh.
""谁知道呢？她把它们剔除了一次。也许她还会这样做,"拉库奈叹了口气回答道。
“It makes me so angry, what she does to you,” I growled.
"她对你的所作所为让我很生气,"我咆哮道。
“Why?” she asked with a small, sad smile. “I’m not a person. I’m just a collection of memories. Any critical memories intrinsic to my own identity are gone.”
"为什么?"她问道，脸上带着一丝悲伤的微笑。"我不是一个人。我只是一堆回忆。任何与我个人身份相关的重要记忆都消失了。"
“Isn’t there anything left of who you used to be?” I asked as I looked at her powerful purple body.
"你以前的样子难道一点都没有了吗?"我看着她有力的紫色身体问道。
“There’s a smell of who we used to be. All of us have a brain, of course, but it’s as if it’s asleep. Still, there’s a smell of who we once were that simply doesn’t go away on its own. Like daydreams you can’t quite remember,” she said quietly, before looking at me. “That’s for other alicorns, of course. Real alicorns. I’m no more an alicorn than I am a pony.”
"有一种我们曾经是谁的味道。当然，我们每个人都有一个大脑，但它好像是在睡觉。尽管如此，仍然有一种我们曾经是谁的味道，不会自己消失。就像做白日梦一样，你不能完全记住,"她平静地说，然后看着我。"当然，这是为了其他的橡子公司。真正的橡子。我既不是牧羊人，也不是小马驹。"
I looked at her oddly. There was a wistfulness to her voice that hadn’t been there before the Goddess had set up shop. A regret that lingered in her eyes. I’m not one for introspection, but as we walked together, it struck me how alike all my friends were. We struggled so hard to understand our own identities. Glory, P-21, Rampage, Lacunae, even Scotch, all fighting so hard to determine who we were and where we were supposed to be. And I was filled with an overwhelming urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. What luxury! What indulgence! Most ponies in the Wasteland were happy just trying to survive to next week, and here were the six of us staggering through existential crises!
我奇怪地看着她。她的声音里有一种在女神开店之前从未有过的渴望。一种遗憾萦绕在她的眼中。我不是一个喜欢反省的人，但是当我们一起走的时候，我突然意识到我所有的朋友是多么的相似。我们如此努力地去理解自己的身份。荣誉、P-21、暴怒、空白、甚至苏格兰威士忌，所有人都在拼命地想知道我们是谁，我们应该在哪里。我内心充满了一种强烈的冲动，想要嘲笑这一切的荒谬。多么奢华啊！多么放纵！大多数在荒地的小马都很高兴只是试图生存到下个星期，这里是我们六个蹒跚通过存在危机！
Lacunae met my eye, and I guessed she read my thoughts. That did it, and I couldn’t help but actually start laughing; it wasn’t funny really, but it was laugh
空隙映入我的眼帘，我猜她能读懂我的心思。这样做了，我忍不住笑了起来;其实这并不好笑，但确实很好笑
or cry and really... I was sick of crying. To my surprise and delight, she laughed with me. There was something both reassuring and unsettling about hearing it from her.
或者哭，真的...我已经厌倦了哭。令我惊讶和高兴的是，她和我一起笑了起来。从她口中听到这个消息，让人既安心又不安。
You’re a real pony, Lacunae. Just like Rampage. Just like all of us. You’ll see…
你真是匹小马Lacunae。就像狂暴一样。就像我们大家一样。你会看到..。
We must have looked quite a sight to the half dozen fillies and colts manning the machine guns at the entrance to town, the pair of us laughing side by side at the ridiculousness of it all and me lacking all my armament. If so, we weren’t any less a sight than Chapel itself. Scotch Tape stood with her rolls of paper on a stack of beams and planks outside the post office. She waved a hoof, giving directions to not just most of the Crusaders but to the adults as well. The tumbled-down scaffolds and rickety structures were gone, and Scotch Tape was directing three different teams at work. One was out carefully moving mines away from the edge of the cobbled-together wall while another was disassembling it. A third was building some kind of small, long building downhill from the post office.
在城门口操作机关枪的六个小姑娘和小马看来，我们一定是相当壮观的景象，我们两个人并肩笑着看着这一切的荒谬，而我却缺乏所有的武器。如果是这样的话，我们并不比教堂本身少一分光彩。透明胶带和她的卷纸放在邮局外的一堆横梁和木板上。她挥动着一只蹄子，不仅给大多数十字军指路，也给大人指路。倒塌的脚手架和摇摇晃晃的结构都不见了，ScotchTape正在指挥三个不同的小组工作。一个人小心翼翼地把地雷从鹅卵石砌成的墙边移开，另一个人则在拆卸它。第三个是从邮局下山建造一些小的长的建筑。
Charity watched from the post office door with a wistful and envious look on her face; I suppose it had to sting to see everypony working together under an outsider. Then she glanced at me, flushed, and pointedly rolled her eyes before stepping back inside.
从邮局门口看着，脸上露出渴望和嫉妒的表情;我想看到每个人都在一个局外人手下工作一定很痛苦。然后她瞥了我一眼，脸涨得通红，在回到屋里之前，她有意地翻了翻眼睛。
I started towards the post office but heard two voices speaking in low voices. “But are you feeling any better, Rampage?” P-21 said from behind a stack of beams. I froze, then developed a little smirk and carefully peeked around the corner. Hidden between the wood and the stockade wall were my two friends facing one another. The striped filly leaned against the wooden wall with a sigh while P-21 looked on with an expression of mild concern.
我朝邮局走去，听到两个人低声说话。"但是你感觉好点了吗，狂暴?"P-21在一堆横梁后面说。我愣住了，然后露出一丝得意的笑容，小心翼翼地从角落里偷看。我的两个朋友躲在树林和栅栏墙之间，面对面地站着。条纹小母马靠在木墙上叹了口气，而P-21则带着淡淡的忧虑看着。
“I don’t know. Yes. No? Maybe…” the filly sighed softly. “Seeing what Shujaa did makes me feel… different. I don’t know if different counts as better or not. It’s like I actually know something about her… really know… rather than just having vague feelings about her.”
"我不知道。是的。不是吗？也许......"小母马轻轻地叹了口气。"看到Shujaa的所作所为让我感觉......与众不同。我不知道不同是不是更好。就好像我真的了解她......真的了解她......而不是对她有一种模糊的感觉。"
“Blackjack says she’s going to prove you’re a real pony,” P-21 said.
"Blackjack说她要证明你是一匹真正的小马,"P-21说。
“Blackjack’s an idiot. You know that,” Rampage said with a smile and a roll of her pink eyes. “Sometimes I think she’d try to help a corpse take a walk.” I flushed a little, frowning as I listened on their conversation. “I wonder why I
"Blackjack是个白痴。你知道的,"朗格微笑着说，转动着她那粉红色的眼珠。"有时候我觉得她是想帮一具尸体散散步。"听着他们的谈话，我有点脸红，皱着眉头。""我不知道为什么
continue to follow her around. Is there some soul inside me that makes me want to stick near her?” She rubbed her face. “I don’t even know which part of me is thinking right now. The doctor? Shujaa?”
继续跟踪她。是不是我的内心深处有什么灵魂让我想靠近她?"她揉了揉脸。"我甚至不知道自己现在在想什么。那个医生？Shujaa?"
P-21 shook his head, “Try not to think of that right now.” I could have kissed him, friendly like, as he kept her from dwelling on her problem and pressed, “I thought you stayed because you admired her.”
P-21摇了摇头,"现在尽量不要去想那件事。"我本可以亲吻他，友好地亲吻他，就像他不让她思考自己的问题，并追问道:"我以为你留下来是因为你崇拜她。"
Rampage gave a little sigh, then nodded. “I still do. A little. But… it’s not the same, P. I used to think she was good. Now I don’t know if she’s good or just delusional. And she’s trying to help me and you and everypony and… doesn’t she get it? You can’t help some things. Some ponies are just broken. Some ponies aren’t meant to be helped.”
狂暴叹了一口气，然后点了点头。"我现在还是这样。一点点。但是...这不一样p我以前觉得她很棒。现在我不知道她是好人还是只是在妄想。她想帮助我，你，还有每个小马她还不明白吗？有些事情你无能为力。有些小马刚刚断了。有些小马注定得不到帮助。"
P-21 nodded sympathetically. “So do you still want to leave, then?”
P-21同情地点了点头。"那么，你还想离开吗?"
What? I scuffed my hoof as I tried to lean closer to the stack of wood and barely drew back before either of them heard me.
什么？当我试图靠近那堆木头时，我擦伤了我的蹄子，在他们听到我的声音之前，我几乎没有后退。
Rampage didn’t answer right away. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just want everything to end. No more crazy. No more questions. No more wondering who I am. Doesn’t Blackjack get that? Can’t she… can’t she just honor my request? She had Folly. She could have ended me, but she didn’t. I doubt she ever could,” Rampage muttered, and then laughed. “But if I did leave, where would I go? Back to the Reapers? Beating up gangers for sport, taking over once Big Daddy dies? There’s no future there.”
狂暴并没有马上回答。"我不知道。也许吧。我只想结束这一切。不再疯狂。没有问题了。不再想知道我是谁。黑杰克不明白吗？她就不能...就不能尊重我的要求吗？她有愚蠢。她本可以结束我的生命，但她没有。我怀疑她做不到,"狂暴喃喃自语，然后笑了起来。""但是如果我真的离开了，我会去哪里呢？回到死神身边？把打分身作为运动，一旦大老爹死了就接手？那里没有未来。"
“You could stay here,” he suggested.
"你可以留在这里,"他建议道。
“Not with the Angel in me. And she is in me. Even as a filly… when Sonata was crying over Medley, I wanted her to stop. Wanted to stop her. If we’d been alone…” Rampage sighed and sniffed. “No. I can’t stay here. Reapers are a dead end. I don’t know anywhere to go. Maybe I should just go to that well in the manor and throw myself in. Pop some grenades and bury myself. Be done with it. It’s an awfully deep well.”
""没有天使在我身上。她就在我的身体里。甚至当我还是一匹小母马的时候，当索纳塔为混音版哭泣的时候，我也想让她停下来。想阻止她。如果只有我们......"狂暴叹了口气，嗅了嗅。"没有。我不能留在这里。收割者是一条死胡同。我不知道该去哪里。也许我应该去庄园里的那口井，把自己投进去。扔几个手榴弹，把自己埋了。结束它。这口井非常深。"
“Blackjack would dig you out. You know she would,” P-21 said evenly.
"Blackjack会把你挖出来。你知道她会的,"P-21平静地说。
Rampage gave a hiccupping little laugh. “Yeah, she would. Idiot… wonderful idiot…” She sighed softly. “And you? Have you decided what you’re going to
狂暴发出一阵打嗝的小笑声。"是的，她会的。白痴......绝妙的白痴......"她轻轻地叹了口气。""你呢？你决定好要做什么了吗
do?”
做什么?"
“I don’t know. I have to admit, a part of me really wants to stay here. Try to make this father thing work. Try for a little… I don’t know…”
"我不知道。我必须承认，我内心的一部分真的很想留在这里。试着做个好父亲。尝试一下......我不知道......"
“Happiness?”
"幸福?"
P-21 laughed softly. “Yeah, but what would happen to Blackjack without us?”
P-21轻声笑了起来。"是啊，但是没有我们黑杰克怎么办?"
“She’d probably trip, blow up half of the Hoof,” Rampage laughed.
"她可能会绊倒，把蹄子炸掉一半,"狂暴笑着说。
“Start a war between the Harbingers and the Enclave,” P-21 added, “all while feeling horrible about it.”
"在'先驱者'和'飞地'之间发动一场战争,"P-21补充说,"同时感到非常可怕。"
“And wind up pregnant with a mule,” Rampage chuckled. I felt my ears burn along with my cheeks. Okay, that wasn’t likely to happen any time soon! Really, did all my friends talk about me like this when I wasn’t around?
"结果怀上了一头骡子,"狂暴笑着说。我觉得我的耳朵和脸颊都在发烫。好吧，这种事短期内是不可能发生的！真的吗，我不在的时候，我所有的朋友都是这样谈论我的吗？
The pair laughed, and I fought the urge to trot out there. Finally Rampage sighed, “You’re going with her.”
两个人都笑了，我忍住不想小跑出去。最后，狂暴叹了口气,"你要和她一起走。"
“And so are you,” P-21 said in a more solemn voice. “She’s Security, and we’re her friends. That’s why. She’s the mare who tries, and we’re the ponies who catch her when she fails.” He sighed again and then chuckled, “I wonder if Twilight Sparkle’s friends were ever as aggravated with her as we are with her great great great oh so greaty great great granddaughter.”
"你也是,"P-21以更严肃的声音说。"她是保安，我们是她的朋友。这就是原因。她是那匹会尝试的母马，而我们是在她失败时接住她的小马。"他又叹了口气，然后轻声笑了起来,"我想知道紫悦的朋友们是否曾经像我们对待她的曾曾曾曾曾曾曾曾曾曾曾曾孙女那样对待她。"
What? A jolt lanced through me as if I’d be struck by lightning again. I felt numb and prickly all at once.
什么？一阵剧烈的震动穿透了我的身体，仿佛我又回到了命中雷霆。我一下子感到麻木和刺痛。
“I’m pretty sure they must have been. I think Twist would know…” Rampage sighed. “Are you going to tell her soon? About Tenpony?” Tell me what about Tenpony? I’d failed the stupid test, so what were they talking about? I fought the urge to trot out there and shake my so called friends till their hooves rattled.
"我非常肯定，他们一定是。我想特威斯特会知道的......"狂暴叹了口气。""你打算很快告诉她吗？关于天波尼?"告诉我天波尼怎么样了？我没通过那愚蠢的测试，他们在谈论什么？我极力克制着要小跑出去的冲动，摇晃着我那些所谓的朋友，直到他们的蹄子嘎嘎作响。
“Maybe. I promised Homage I would as soon as we thought she could handle it; I have her memory orb and everything. I just don’t know if she’s ready for it. We promised to wait till she was stable.” P-21 let out his breath slowly between his teeth before looking back at her. “Do you think she’ll be better in a few more days? She’s out with Lacunae now. If she comes back without an emotional
"也许吧。我答应了一旦我们认为她可以处理这件事，我就会去处理;我有她的记忆球和一切。我只是不知道她是否准备好了。我们答应等到她病情稳定下来。"P-21在回头看她之前，先用牙齿慢慢地呼出一口气。"你认为她再过几天就会好起来吗？她现在和Lacunae出去了。如果她回来的时候没有感情用事
meltdown… maybe,” the stallion mused, then sighed again. “I don’t even know how to tell her. ‘Hey, Blackjack, we’ve been lying to you since you came back. Hope you don’t mind’?”
"崩溃...也许吧"马若有所思地说，然后又叹了口气。"我甚至不知道该怎么告诉她。嘿Blackjack自从你回来我们就一直在骗你。希望你不介意'?"
“She’s got no right to be upset. Not after modifying Scotch’s memories and telling you she’d lie to me just to make me feel better,” Rampage told him. That balked me a little. I had thought it’d been okay to lie to my friends for their own good, and now my friends had done the same to me. It hurt, but it also stole some of my anger away.
"她没有权利生气。在修改了苏格兰人的记忆并告诉你她会为了让我感觉好一点而对我撒谎之后，就不会了。"。这让我有点犹豫不决。我曾以为为了朋友的利益而对他们撒谎是可以接受的，现在我的朋友们也对我撒了同样的谎。这很伤人，但也让我的愤怒消失了一些。
“I know,” P-21 said solemnly. There was a long pause. “I think she is better now. Better enough that she’s not running off with LittlePip in the tunnels under the tower, anyway. Better than moping on a mattress or racing after whatever damned thing distracts her. She still keeps pushing herself to the breaking point over everything, though. Medley. Hightower. When will she say ‘enough is enough’ and stop?”
"我知道,"P-21严肃地说。沉默了很长时间。"我想她现在好多了。更好的是她不会和小匹普一起跑到塔下的隧道里去。总比坐在床垫上闷闷不乐，或者在什么该死的东西分散她的注意力之后追赶要好。尽管如此，她还是不断地把自己逼到崩溃的边缘。男名男子名。Hightower.她什么时候才会说'够了就是够了'然后停下来呢?"
“Never,” Rampage said. “And you love her for it.”
"永远不会,"兰帕德说。"你因此而爱她。"
“Please. She’s a penis short for me,” he grumbled.
"求你了。对我来说，她的阴茎太短了,"他抱怨道。
“You do,” Rampage teased. I peeked and saw the filly’s sly little smile.
"你有,"狂暴开玩笑地说。我瞥了一眼，看到了小母马狡黠的微笑。
“I love her name,” he muttered. “Not Blackjack. Her real name. I love how she seems like she can do anything… at least till she can’t. I like how she keeps trying to do good, no matter how bad it hurts.” He sighed long and low. “But loving her? You’d have to get me pretty drunk to pull that one off.”
"我喜欢她的名字,"他喃喃自语。"不是黑杰克。她的真名。我喜欢她看起来无所不能的样子...至少直到她不能为止。我喜欢她一直努力做好事，不管有多痛苦。"他又长又低地叹了口气。""但是爱她吗？你得把我灌得酩酊大醉才能成功。"
I heard the pair laugh. It was surprising to hear how easy it sounded when I wasn’t around. Had my friends been sneaking around me since I’d come back as a cyberpony? They must have been. Running off and getting drunk on a gallon and a half of whiskey. Flying back on a herd of alicorns with a strange pony I’d only just met? On one hoof, yeah, it was funny. Glorious even. But on the other… yeah. I could see how badly I’d scared them like that.
我听到他们俩笑了。当我不在身边的时候，听到它听起来那么简单，真是令人惊讶。自从我变成一匹赛博马回来后，我的朋友们是不是一直在我身边鬼鬼祟祟的？他们一定是。跑开了，喝了一加仑半的威士忌喝醉了。骑着一群橡子和一匹刚认识的陌生小马飞回来？一只蹄子，是的，很有趣。甚至是光荣的。但另一方面...是的。我可以看出我把他们吓得多么厉害。
My friends had kept secrets from me to protect me. Rampage had been right; Scotch Tape too. Not knowing sucked. Even if it had been with the best of intentions. I backed away from the stack as they kept talking. My friends were sticking with me, even if they doubted me some, they weren’t going to leave me. Still, it was damned hard to take, even if I could understand the reasons behind
为了保护我，我的朋友们对我隐瞒了一些秘密。暴怒是对的，透明胶带也是。不知道真是糟透了。即使是出于好意。他们一直在说话，我从后面退开了。我的朋友们一直和我在一起，即使他们有些怀疑我，他们也不会离开我。然而，即使我能理解其中的原因，这仍然是非常难以接受的
it.
它。
“You look like you’ve received some bad news,” Dawn said from behind me, looking at me with her odd little squint, as if she never really opened her eyes. The look of merriment was more one of sympathy than mockery, though. “Did your trip go okay?”
"你看起来好像收到了什么坏消息,"道恩从我身后说，用她那古怪的小斜眼看着我，好像她从来没有真正睁开过眼睛。不过，这种欢乐的表情与其说是嘲笑，不如说是同情。"你的旅行顺利吗?"
I held my breath as I debated, then sighed. “It had its ups and downs. Fought a freaky brahmin monster with thumbs. Won. Lost my guns, though.” There weren’t words enough to express how frustrating that was.
我屏住呼吸，辩论着，然后叹了口气。"它有起有落。用拇指打败了一个古怪的婆罗门怪物。赢了。不过我的枪丢了。"没有足够的语言来表达这是多么令人沮丧。
“Ah. I’d wondered. Most folks don’t trot very far without weapons,” the pale mare said with a sigh. She didn’t have any weapons... “Those that do, though, are more interesting than most.” She looked over in the direction of Star House. “So how did my little girl get transformed into Rainbow Dash?”
"啊。我很好奇。大多数人没有武器是不会小跑很远的。"苍白的母马叹息着说。她没有任何武器......"不过，那些有的武器比大多数武器更有趣。"她朝星宫的方向望去。"那么我的小女儿是怎么变成彩虹冲刺的呢?"
I froze, my mouth working soundlessly. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about…”
我愣住了，嘴巴无声地张着。"我.....。.不知道你在说什么..."
“You don’t have to protect her,” she said with a sigh. “I had a feeling when I first saw her, and she was always a terrible liar.” She turned towards Star House. “She still nibbles her mane when she’s nervous. And that cooking... only my daughter cooks like that.”
"你不必保护她,"她叹了口气说。"我第一次见到她的时候就有种感觉，她总是很不会撒谎。"她转向星宫。"她紧张的时候还会轻咬自己的鬃毛。还有那道菜......只有我女儿才能做出那样的菜。"
“Glory ran afoul of some Killing Joke,” I said simply. “It transformed her into a literal Dash.”
"晨辉和某个杀人笑话发生了冲突,"我简单地说。"这把她变成了一个真正的Dash。"
“I see,” Dawn murmured. “Yes, I suppose that would do it. Something to alienate her further from her family and people.” She looked at me with her eyes closed. “I’ve run into it myself once or twice. Insidious weed. The Everfree Forest is just rife with it.”
"我明白了,"道恩低声说。""是的，我想那就可以了。一些使她与家人和人们更加疏远的事情。"她闭着眼睛看着我。"我自己也碰到过一两次。隐性杂草。埃弗里森林里到处都是这种植物。"
I supposed that that might explain the whole weird closed-eyes-seeing thing. “I just hope it doesn’t stop her from... from doing whatever she wants to do.” And now that I thought about it, I wasn’t entirely sure what that was anymore. “She’s terrified that the Enclave will spot her.”
我想这也许可以解释闭着眼睛看东西的怪事。"我只是希望这不会阻止她......做她想做的事情。"现在我想了想，我不再完全确定那是什么了。"她害怕昂科雷会发现她。"
“She’s right to be. If she’s become a complete copy of Rainbow Dash, she may be able to access the S.P.P.,” Dawn said, then glanced at me. “A prewar superweapon. One built so that only a select few ponies could use it. Think...
"她这么做是对的。如果她完全变成了彩虹冲刺的复制品，她也许可以访问s.p.p."道恩说，然后瞥了我一眼。"战前超级武器。一个只有少数几匹小马可以使用的地方。想想..。
mmm... imagine being able to throw tornadoes and hurricanes at your enemies, and you’ll get the right idea. Weather control on an enormous scale.”
嗯...想象一下，能把龙卷风和飓风扔向你的敌人，你就会有正确的想法。大规模的天气控制。"
I thought of the Raptor and shuddered. Until today, I didn’t really understand what ‘enormous’ really meant.
我想到猛禽号，不寒而栗。直到今天，我才真正理解'巨大'到底意味着什么。
Dawn continued with a brighter smile, “I doubt it will keep her from doing what she believes in. She once almost flew down to the surface when she was just a filly, with plans to give her boxed lunch to the first pony she came across. Striker barely caught her before she was zapped by a lightning rod.” She sighed and shook her head. “I can only assume she’s still mad at me for leaving.”
道恩笑容灿烂地接着说:"我怀疑这会妨碍她做她所相信的事情。当她还只是一匹小母马的时候，有一次她几乎要飞到水面上去，打算把盒装午餐送给她遇到的第一匹小马。斯垂克在被避雷针击中之前几乎没有抓住她。"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"我只能假设她还在为我的离开而生气。"
I thought about keeping up the pretense, but hearing P-21 and Rampage talk prompted me to be a little more honest, and I finally let out a sigh. “I’d say she is, a little. Mostly, she’s confused. She’s wondering where you’ve been.” I paused, then asked softly, “Where have you been?”
我本想继续伪装，但是听到P-21和狂暴的谈话促使我更诚实一些，最后我叹了口气。"我得说，她有一点。大多数情况下，她很困惑。她在想你去哪儿了。"我停顿了一下，然后温柔地问道:"你去哪儿了?"
Dawn just smiled and turned her face towards the west. “A little bit of everywhere. Manehattan. Fillydelphia. Stalliongrad. Las Pegasus. I even tried to find what had become of the griffins, dragons, and zebras. I looked everywhere I could for some sign of hope for the world.”
道恩只是微笑着把脸转向西方。"到处都有一点。曼哈顿。女名女子名。Stalliongrad.拉斯帕伽索斯。我甚至试图找出狮鹫、龙和斑马的下落。我到处寻找这个世界的希望。"
“Did you find it?” I asked curiously.
"你找到了吗?"我好奇地问。
“I did,” she said with a nod of her head and a look towards the ponies working. “In the end, we’re all the same. Pony. Griffin. Zebra. Dragon. We let ourselves become divided and separated. That’s what caused the war. It’s what caused the bombs to fall. It’s what perpetuates the misery to this day. Differences as insignificant as where one was born, the stripes on one’s skin, or one’s species. It’s those differences… those separations we create… that cause all the suffering and hardship in the world. Finding peace is no more difficult than overcoming those differences.”
"是的,"她点了点头，看了看正在工作的小马。"最终，我们都是一样的。小马。格里芬。斑马。巨龙。我们让自己分裂和分离。这就是引发战争的原因。这就是炸弹落下的原因。这就是这种痛苦延续至今的原因。一个人出生的地方，一个人皮肤上的条纹，或者一个人的种族，这些差异都是微不足道的。正是这些差异......我们创造的分离......造成了世界上所有的痛苦和苦难。寻求和平并不比克服这些分歧更困难。"
I gave a little smile. “Not sure how that gives you hope, then. Most raiders and gangers are more interested in putting a bullet in you than finding common ground,” I said, not sure if I was indulging her or not. “I’d have more hope in having a bullet of my own, sorry to say.”
我微微一笑。""那么，不知道这怎么会给你希望。大多数入侵者和分身更感兴趣的是给你一枪，而不是找到共同点,"我说，不知道我是否纵容她。"很抱歉，我希望自己也有一颗子弹。"
Her smile turned sad. “At least you’re sorry. Most folks aren’t. Yet, doesn’t that ganger desire the same things as their victims? Happiness? Health? Security?
她的微笑变得悲伤起来。"至少你很抱歉。大多数人都不是。然而，难道这些吸血鬼不和他们的受害者一样渴望同样的东西吗？幸福？健康？安全问题？
Joy? Yes, their expression is terrible, but their desires are all too common.” She looked towards the Core. “If you scrape away all that pain and angst, what they want is what anyone wants: happiness and cooperation.”
乔伊？是的，他们的表情很可怕，但他们的欲望却太普遍了。"她朝核心望去。"如果你消除了所有的痛苦和焦虑，他们想要的就是任何人想要的:幸福和合作。"
I sighed, shaking my head. “Yeah. I guess I can understand that.” I didn’t necessarily believe it, but it was a nice sentiment. “Nice to see Chapel moving ahead,” I commented with a change of subject as we trotted in the direction of Charity’s.
我叹了口气，摇了摇头。"是的。我想我能理解。"我不一定相信它，但它是一个很好的情绪。"很高兴看到小礼拜堂前进,"当我们朝查瑞特的方向小跑时，我改变了话题。
“Oh yes. If people work together, they can accomplish amazing things. Your young filly friend there is quite in her element. They’re putting up that building in almost record time. I must say I’m impressed.” Yet, something about the way she said it was almost sad.
"哦，是的。如果人们一起工作，他们可以完成惊人的事情。你那位年轻的小母马朋友很有一套。他们在几乎创纪录的时间内建成了那座大楼。我必须说，我印象深刻。"然而，她说话的方式有些令人难过。
“Chapel’s had a hard time lately. They were attacked. The church was destroyed, and one of the ponies who ran the settlement died. They’re picking themselves back up again,” I said as I watched Scotch Tape giving directions on the odd, long house they were building. I wanted to ask what it was for, but there was no way to approach her at the moment; the filly was in full manager mode.
"查普尔最近过得很艰难。他们受到了攻击。教堂被摧毁了，管理定居点的一匹小马死了。他们又重新振作起来了。"我一边看着ScotchTape给他们正在建造的古怪而又长的房子指路，一边说道。我想问这是干什么用的，但是现在没有办法接近她，这匹小母马正处于全职经理的状态。
“Just like you, Blackjack,” she said with an amused smile... but again, something was a little off. Despite her carefree, closed-eyes expression, something about her seemed off. Was she feeling guilty about her daughter?
"就像你一样，黑杰克,"她说，脸上带着愉快的微笑......但是，还是有点不对劲。尽管她无忧无虑地闭着眼睛，但她身上有些东西似乎不对劲。她对自己的女儿感到内疚吗？
“Hopefully better than me,” I replied. I sighed, rolled my eyes a little, and changed the subject. “So does Glory know that you know?”
"希望比我好,"我回答。我叹了口气，转了一下眼珠，换了个话题。"那么晨辉知道你知道了吗?"
“I suspect not, and I’m not sure if I should tell her or try to spare her feelings. Talking about it only makes things more awkward.” Her closed eyes turned back up towards Star House high on the hill. “Hopefully tonight. That P-21 fellow said he was going to cook something special.” She gave a little shudder. “Thank the sun for that. Glory always had her father’s skills in the kitchen.”
"我不这么认为，我也不确定我是否应该告诉她，或者尽量不伤害她的感情。谈论这件事只会让事情变得更加尴尬。"她闭上的眼睛转向山上的星宫。"希望是今晚。那个P-21人员说，他要做一道特别的菜。"她打了一个寒颤。"感谢太阳。晨辉的厨艺和她父亲一模一样。"
“What are you talking about?” I asked in bewilderment. “She’s a great cook. I mean, she made this,” I said as I nibbled on the half-chewed cake.
"你在说什么?"我困惑地问。"她是个很棒的厨师。我的意思是，这是她做的。"我一边说着，一边啃着那块咬了一半的蛋糕。
Dawn just looked at me blankly with her odd squint, then smiled and said gaily, “Ah, love.”
道恩只是用她那古怪的斜视眼茫然地看着我，然后微笑着高兴地说:"啊，爱人。"
I huffed, bit off a corner, and chewed thoughtfully. My recent encounter with
我喘了口气，咬下一个角落，若有所思地咀嚼着。我最近遇到的
being ‘protected’ from the truth had left a sour taste in my mouth. “I think you can tell her. Just... be ready for tears. And make sure she can’t throw you into any walls. She’s been through a lot of stress recently... mostly due to me.”
被"保护"不受真相的伤害，给我留下了一种酸涩的味道。"我想你可以告诉她。准备好流泪吧。确保她不会把你扔到墙上。她最近压力很大......主要是因为我。"
“Oh dear. And she doesn’t handle stress well at all,” Dawn mused. “I suppose that explains this?” She reached out with a wing and flicked the ring on my collar, making me blush immediately. “Ahhh. I see. Almost the exact same thing I did with her father.”
"哦，亲爱的。她压力处理得一点也不好,"道恩若有所思地说。"我想这就解释得通了吧?"她伸出一只翅膀，轻轻拍了一下我衣领上的戒指，立刻让我脸红。"啊。我明白了。几乎和我对她父亲做的一模一样。"
This was starting to creep in a somewhat disturbing direction. “You collared your husband?”
这开始向一个有点令人不安的方向发展。"你逮捕了你丈夫?"
“Of course not. That would be silly,” Dawn just laughed as she took to the air. “I married him.”
"当然不是。那就太傻了,"朵儿一边笑一边向空中飞去。"我嫁给了他。"
I watched her fly towards the house and sighed, shaking my head with a smile. Pegasi weren’t quite as strange as zebras and griffins, but they were definitely on the list.
我看着她飞向房子，叹了口气，微笑着摇了摇头。飞马座并不像斑马和狮鹫那样奇怪，但它们绝对在名单上。
An empty tin can bounced off the back of my head. I looked over at the grinning Scotch Tape, who pointed her hoof towards me, then grinned and pointed at the structure they were building. “Hey, Blackjack! Glad you’re back. We need your cyber-fingered funky zebra walking help here.”
一个空罐头从我的后脑勺弹了回来。我看着咧着嘴笑的ScotchTape，她用蹄子指着我，然后咧着嘴笑着指着他们正在建造的建筑。"嘿，黑杰克！很高兴你回来了。我们需要你们这些有着网络手指的时髦斑马来帮忙。"
Well, that was the magic word, right? Help.
这是个神奇的词，对吧？救命。
* * *
* * *
With me playing the role of a jack, lifting and holding the heavy overhead beams in place, the work went even faster than before. The young ponies worked in teams of three and four to carry the materials over. I held things in place. The adults banged them together, Lacunae and my magic helping to hammer the higher places. Once the building was up and enclosed, four large open-topped barrels were placed up high along the back of the building. Pipes had been punched through the bases and sealed with Wonderglue and duct tape; I wondered if that’d actually work in the long term.
由于我扮演了千斤顶的角色，把沉重的架空横梁举起并固定在适当的位置，工作进行得比以前更快了。这些年轻的小马分成三组和四组来运送材料。我把东西放在原位。大人们把它们撞在一起，空隙和我的魔法帮助它们撞向更高的地方。一旦建筑物被封闭起来，四个大的开放式顶桶沿着建筑物的背面高高地放置。管子已经被打穿了底部，用万能胶和胶带封住了;我想知道这是否真的能长期使用。
It wasn’t until I saw what came next that I realized what we were making. Toilets. Five fine porcelain thrones from the manor itself. They were set in place by Scotch Tape herself. Lacunae used her magic to ferry over a barrel filled with
直到我看到接下来发生的事情，我才意识到我们在做什么。厕所。庄园里的五个精美瓷器宝座。它们是由透明胶带自己布置好的。拉库尼用她的魔法从一个装满水的桶上滚了过去
river water and poured to fill each of the opened barrels. Then Scotch Tape shooed us all out.
然后倒进每个打开的桶里。然后苏格兰胶带把我们都赶了出去。
“Go! Git! Out! I gotta test it!” she said as she pushed everypony out.
"走！饭桶！出去！我要测试一下!"她一边说，一边把大家都推出去。
For a moment, everypony just looked at each other in confusion. Then came a sound of passing gas and a tinkle, and looks passed from one pony to the next. Finally a pregnant pause, and then a sound of a flushing toilet filled the air. The assembled ponies let out a cheer as Scotch Tape emerged, blushing faintly.
有那么一会儿，每匹小马都困惑地看着对方。然后传来一阵放屁的声音和叮当声，一匹小马向另一匹小马看去。最后是一个意味深长的停顿，然后是冲水马桶的声音充满了空气。当透明胶带出现时，聚集在一起的小马发出轻微的欢呼声。
The olive filly nodded once with clear relief. “No more ditches.”
橄榄小姑娘轻松地点了一下头。"没有沟渠了。"
Of course, the luxury of having a working toilet was more than most of the assembled ponies could handle, and they quickly availed themselves of the facilities. Scotch Tape just sighed, watching them enter and leave with clear relief. Now the greater challenge: getting the fillies and colts to keep it clean.
当然，拥有一个可以使用的厕所是大多数组装的小马所无法承受的奢侈，而且他们很快就利用了这些设施。透明胶带只是叹了口气，看着他们进进出出，带着明显的解脱。现在更大的挑战是:让小雌马和小马保持干净。
It was then that I noticed something else was new besides the bathroom. When Scotch had emerged, she hadn’t buttoned up the rear flap of her coveralls, and her butt was hanging out a bit. I blinked, then squinted. “Scotch... your flank... I think you got it!”
就在这时，我注意到除了浴室还有一些新的东西。苏格兰威士忌出来的时候，她还没有扣上工作服的后襟，她的屁股露出来了一点。我眨了眨眼，然后眯起眼睛。"苏格兰威士忌......你的侧腹......我想你明白了!"
Her eyes popped wide, but rather than gawk at it like any sane filly would, she clenched her eyes closed and began to whimper. “I don’t wanna see it!” she blurted as she tugged the flap back in place and sat down hard. I gave her a minute; she only lasted fifteen seconds. She stood once again, eyes firmly shut as she groaned, “You look, Blackjack. Please tell me it’s not a toilet.”
她的眼睛睁得大大的，但是她没有像任何一个理智的小姑娘那样呆呆地看着它，而是紧紧地闭上眼睛，开始呜咽起来。"我不想看!"她一边脱口而出，一边用力地把口盖拉回原处，坐了下来。我给了她一分钟，她只坚持了十五秒。她又站了起来，双眼紧闭，呻吟着:"你看，黑杰克。请告诉我这不是厕所。"
I magically tugged her coveralls back and sighed before I patted her head. “It’s not a toilet,” I said as reassuringly as I could.
我奇迹般地把她的工作服拉回来，叹了口气，然后拍了拍她的头。"这不是厕所,"我尽可能安慰地说。
“You’re just saying that, aren’t you! I got a big old white bowl on my butt, don’t I? Or something even worse!” She whimpered and shook her head. “I don’t want to see it! I’ll go find a big old patch of that blue weed and get myself turned into Applejack or something!”
"你只是说说而已，不是吗！我屁股上有一个又大又旧的白色碗，不是吗？或者更糟糕的事情!"她呜咽着摇了摇头。"我不想看！我要去找一大片那种蓝色的大麻，把自己变成苹果白兰地什么的!"
“Scotch Tape, it’s not a toilet. To be honest, I’m not really sure what it is!” I laughed and that prompted her to take a peek.
"透明胶带，这不是厕所。说实话，我真的不知道那是什么!"我笑了，这促使她偷看了一眼。
The filly’s cutie mark was a strange diamond over an unwrapped scroll. The
小母马身上的可爱标记是一颗奇怪的钻石，镶嵌在一个未包装的卷轴上。这个
four-sided diamond was made up of two strange apparati. The bottom one was a ruler which seemed to be bent in the middle at a ninety degree angle. The top was some strange piece of equipment that resembled two sharpened metal sticks joined at the apex by a hinge. On the parchment was some strange abstract design that appeared vaguely structural.
四面钻石是由两个奇怪的幻影组成的。下面那把是一把尺子，中间似乎弯成九十度角。顶端是一些奇怪的设备，就像两根尖端由铰链连接的锋利的金属棍。羊皮纸上有一些奇怪的抽象图案，看上去结构模糊。
“It’s... I... but...” she stammered as she stared at her flank. P-21 appeared from the crowd, slowly walking up with a wistful smile. Scotch Tape looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. “Daddy?” she whimpered.
"这......我.....。.但是..."她盯着自己的侧腹结结巴巴地说。P-21从人群中出现，带着渴望的微笑慢慢走了过来。苏格兰胶带抬头看着他，她的眼里充满了泪水。"爸爸?"她呜咽着说。
“It’s a very nice cutie mark,” he said as he pulled her into an embrace. Immediately, she burst into happy tears as she held him. Some of the other ponies looked on at the spectacle in confusion and with a little envy.
"这是一个非常可爱的标志,"他说，他把她拉入怀抱。当她抱着他的时候，她立刻放声大哭起来。其他一些小马迷惑地看着这一景象，带着一点嫉妒。
I sighed and took a deep breath. “You realize what this calls for, don’t you?”
我叹了口气，深吸了一口气。"你知道这意味着什么，对吧?"
Scotch Tape wiped her eyes. “Huh? What?” Suddenly, a lot of ponies started looking nervous as I grinned from ear to ear.
透明胶带擦干了她的眼睛。"啊？什么?"突然，当我咧着嘴笑的时候，很多小马看起来都很紧张。
* * *
* * *
It wasn’t anything like a Stable 99 cutie mark party. There weren’t any recycled dresses, the food was whatever we could raid from Charity’s stores and a Society merchant Lacunae cornered in Megamart, and the festivities were rape free (thank goodness). The decorations were whatever fancy ribbons we could throw up around Star House. There were so many ponies that those who couldn’t fit in the living room spilled outside. The vast majority of the colts and fillies were both utterly baffled and completely delighted by the festivities. When they got their cutie marks, it was mostly just another day. Who could spare food and energy for a celebration over a cutie mark? So rather than saying this was just for Scotch and her mark, I hastily made up a story of ‘cutie mark day’.
这一点也不像一个99岁的可爱的马克派对。没有任何可回收的衣服，食物是我们可以从Charity的商店和一个被困在Megamart的社会商人Lacunae抢来的，庆祝活动没有强奸(谢天谢地)。那些装饰品就是我们可以在星空之家周围挂上的漂亮丝带。有那么多小马，以至于那些无法挤进起居室的小马都跑到外面去了。绝大多数的小马和小雌马都被庆祝活动完全迷惑和高兴。当她们得到她们可爱的分数的时候，大多数时候只是普通的一天。谁能为了一个可爱的标志而节省食物和能量呢？因此，我没有说这只是为了苏格兰威士忌和她的马克，而是匆忙编造了一个"可爱马克日"的故事。
P-21 was in his element, cooking in the kitchen with the help of Rampage and Lacunae. The striped filly seemed to be lisping a little, her pink eyes slightly sad; Twist was making an appearance and helping out from time to time. Lacunae floated bowls of some sort of improvised punch drink stuff that was mostly Sparkle-Cola onto tables outside the front door and put a brake on any of the festivities that got too wild. The games she and I put up were also odd to most of the ponies; ‘pin the tail on the pony’ wasn’t nearly as interesting as ‘shoot the head off the raider’. Oh well, as long as they were having fun and being careful.
P-21在狂暴和空白的帮助下在厨房里做饭，这是他的拿手好戏。那条纹小母马似乎有点口齿不清，粉红色的眼睛里略带忧伤;特威斯特时不时地露个面，帮帮忙。Lacunae在前门外的桌子上摆放了几碗临时准备的饮料，其中大部分是闪亮可乐(Sparkle-Cola)，这样一来，任何过于狂野的庆祝活动都会受到阻碍。我和她一起玩的游戏对大多数小马来说也很奇怪;'把尾巴钉在小马身上'远没有'把猎人的头打下来'有趣。只要他们玩得开心，小心就行。
Others improvised a band of whatever instruments they could and played despite the Hoofington drizzle.
还有一些人不顾Hoofington的细雨，用他们能弹奏的乐器即兴创作了一支乐队。
I brought down Octavia from my room and showed her to Adagio, Allegro, and Sonata. I tried to explain how she was special, and how they should play with her, take care of her, and not leave her alone. The three young ponies looked at the instrument thoughtfully. Then the blue and magenta Adagio stood firm as the magenta and rose Allegro hopped on his back. Tiny Sonata clambered onto Allegro’s shoulders, and her hooves began to work the neck of the bass. Allegro didn’t use the bow at all! Instead, he happily plucked the strings, and deep twangs joined the rest of the band. I tried not to wince, but oddly the notes that came out were clear and deep.
我把奥克塔维亚从我的房间拿下来，给她看慢板、快板和奏鸣曲。我试着向她解释她是多么特别，他们应该怎样和她一起玩，怎样照顾她，怎样不让她一个人呆着。三匹小马若有所思地看着乐器。当洋红色和玫瑰色的阿莱格罗在他的背上跳跃时，蓝色和洋红色的柔板停住了。微小的奏鸣曲爬上阿莱格罗的肩膀，她的蹄子开始在低音部的颈部运动。阿莱格罗根本没用弓！相反，他高兴地拨动了琴弦，深邃的拨弦声加入了乐队的其他成员。我尽量不退缩，但奇怪的是，出来的音符清晰而深沉。
There was a little bit of regret, too. I’d liked making music. It’d been nice; it’d saved me more than once when I’d been at my absolute worst. And a part of me liked to imagine just what I’d have been like in another time and place where I could have learned music rather than how to patrol and enforce the rules of the Overmare. It was a silly, selfish thought, but I felt it all the same. Still, Octavia should be in the hooves of other ponies to enjoy her music, not kept as a prize in my room for when I was down.
还有一点点遗憾。我喜欢做音乐。这种感觉很好;在我最糟糕的时候，它不止一次地救了我。一部分的我喜欢想象我在另一个时间和地点会是什么样子，在那里我可以学习音乐，而不是如何巡逻和执行Overmare的规则。这是一个愚蠢的、自私的想法，但我还是感觉到了。尽管如此，奥克塔维娅还是应该和其他小马一起享受她的音乐，而不是把它当成我倒下时的奖品放在我的房间里。
And ultimately, I liked giving her to the three who’d lost their friend more than I liked playing her for myself.
最终，我更喜欢把她送给那三个失去朋友的人，而不是自己玩弄她。
Rampage moved like a jackal on the fringes once the cooking was done, her face a constant mask of indecision. Should she go, or would she be safe to participate? Did she even want to play with a bunch of silly foals, or was she a mature mare? Finally, appearances decided the matter. Two green colts shouted something to the equivalent of ‘boogie down’ or maybe ‘booger town’ and started to dance like maniacs beside her. Indecision finally broke, at least for a little bit, as she smiled and joined them in their exuberant dancing. She even smiled like a filly.
烹饪结束后，她像豺狼一样冲到厨房的边缘，脸上一直挂着优柔寡断的面具。她是应该去，还是应该安全地参加？她是想和一群傻乎乎的小马驹一起玩呢，还是一匹成熟的母马？最后，外表决定了这件事。两只绿色的小马对着相当于'boogiedown'或者'boogertown'的东西大喊大叫，然后开始像疯子一样在她身边跳起舞来。犹豫不决终于打破了，至少有那么一会儿，她微笑着加入了他们热情洋溢的舞蹈中。她甚至笑得像匹小母马。
Sweet cupcakes, music, and fun. For a little while, we pushed the Wasteland away and had a little hope and civilization. I looked up on the roof where I could barely make out the still forms of Glory and Dawn, their heads close together as they had their own reunion. I sat on the periphery of it all as I chewed on the edge of my cake, watching them. My friends. My community. My stable.
甜美的纸杯蛋糕，音乐，还有乐趣。有那么一会儿，我们推开了荒原，有了一点希望和文明。我抬头看着屋顶，几乎看不清《光荣》和《黎明》的静止形态，它们的头靠在一起，就像它们重逢了一样。我坐在蛋糕的边缘，咀嚼着蛋糕的边缘，看着它们。我的朋友们。我的社区。我的马厩。
Dealer chuckled softly beside me. “You don’t have to sit out here. You can go and join them.” The white pony looked better than he had before, more rested. Younger, too.
商人在我旁边轻声地笑了起来。"你不必坐在外面。你可以去加入他们。"那匹白色的小马看上去比以前好多了，休息得更好了。也更年轻。
“I don’t deserve to,” I said quietly, taking a pull on a bottle of Wild Pegasus I’d obtained for the celebrations. He gave a deep sigh, and I smiled. “It’s alright. I’m fine like this.” I watched them celebrating, and my smile grew. I couldn’t partake, but I could appreciate. “Are you okay?”
"我不配,"我平静地说，拿出一瓶为庆祝活动准备的野生帕伽索斯。他深深地叹了口气，我笑了。"没关系。我这样挺好的。"我看着他们在庆祝，我的笑容越来越灿烂。我不能分享，但我可以欣赏。"你还好吗?"
He frowned. “Me?”
他皱起了眉头。"我?"
“You’ve been quiet a while. I expected you to put in an appearance at the Skyport. All that talk of responsibility and accountability,” I said, then saw his uncomfortable look. “What’s wrong?”
"你沉默了一会儿。我以为你会出现在Skyport。所有那些关于责任和义务的谈话,"我说，然后看到了他不自在的表情。"怎么了?"
“I’m... scared of her.” He pulled his hat over his face to hide his shame.
"我...很怕她。"他把帽子遮在脸上以掩饰自己的羞愧。
I blinked in shock. “Scared?”
我震惊地眨了眨眼睛。"害怕了?"
“I’m a soul in a box, and EC-1101 is bonded to me. The Goddess manipulates minds and souls connected to her. If she found out about me, she might try to yank out the Megaspell through your connection.”
"我是一个盒子里的灵魂，EC-1101和我绑在一起。女神操纵着与她相连的思想和灵魂。如果她发现了我的事，她可能会试图通过你的关系把梅格斯佩尔拉出来。"
I gaped at him. “Can she do that?”
我目瞪口呆地看着他。"她能做到吗?"
“Do you want to find out?” he retorted. I really didn’t want to find out.
"你想知道吗?"他反驳道。我真的不想知道。
Topic change. “So, apparently my friends have been keeping secrets from me,” I said softly before taking another drink. “To protect me...”
话题转移。"所以，显然我的朋友们一直对我有所隐瞒,"我轻声说，然后又喝了一杯。"为了保护我..."
“Friends do that sometimes. You did that,” he added, and I gave a little grimace. “You can’t have it both ways, Blackjack. Either you’re honest to your friends, or you try to keep things pleasant. Not all that easy to pull off both.”
"朋友有时会这么做。你做到了,"他补充道，我做了个鬼脸。"你不能两者兼得，Blackjack。你要么对朋友诚实，要么努力让事情变得愉快。要同时做到这两点并不那么容易。"
I frowned, closed my eyes, and let go the little bitter sense of resentment that I had no right to hold. I’d tried to give my friends peace of mind. How could I hold their actions against them when they were just trying to give me the same? When I looked at him again, his lips curled in a tiny smile of approval.
我皱起了眉头，闭上了眼睛，放开了那种我无权抱有的怨恨。我试图让我的朋友们安心。当他们只是想给我同样的东西的时候，我怎么能拿他们的行为来反对他们呢？当我再次看着他时，他的嘴唇微笑着表示赞同。
“I know. I know...” I murmured. I sighed softly, smiling just as slightly as he
"我知道。我知道......"我低声说。我轻轻地叹了口气，和他一样微笑着
was. I looked at the celebration and frowned a little, tallying up all the good things... and bad things... that had happened today. My friends were working out their problems. Scotch got her cutie mark. P-21 might actually be happy again, at least a little. Rampage too. I’d saved six ponies without killing anyone. I’d gotten answers without reenacting Yellow River. Saw a Psalm dream that didn’t have me in tears. Glory was finally talking with her mother again after years of separation. I might have actually teleported before my horn went poof. Chapel now had flushing toilets. And yet... there was something off about it all that I couldn’t quite put my hoof on. “Ugh, today’s just been... just been weird.”
曾经。我看着庆祝的场面，皱了皱眉，总结了今天发生的所有好事...和坏事。我的朋友们正在解决他们的问题。苏格兰人得到了她可爱的印记。P-21实际上可能会再次高兴起来，至少是一点点。狂暴也是。我拯救了六匹小马，却没有杀死任何人。我在没有重演黄河的情况下得到了答案。看见诗篇中的一个梦，没有让我流泪。经过多年的分离，晨辉终于和她的母亲再次交谈了。我可能在喇叭没响之前就传送走了。教堂现在有了冲水式厕所。然而......这一切有些不对劲，我不能把我的蹄子踩在上面。"呃，今天真是......太奇怪了。"
He smiled a tired, sad smile. “The word you’re looking for is ‘good’, Blackjack.”
他露出疲倦而悲伤的微笑。"你要找的词是'好'，Blackjack。"
“Good?” I blinked in confusion. “What are you talking about? Blackjack doesn’t have good days. She has days that are bad and less bad and occasionally are punctuated with good events.” I saw his smile and brushed my mane behind my ear. “Okay... theoretically it might be possible... one in a gazillion chance...”
"好吗?"我困惑地眨了眨眼。"你在说什么？黑杰克没有好日子过。她有些日子过得很糟糕，也没那么糟糕，偶尔也会遇到一些好事。"我看到他的微笑，把鬃毛拨到耳朵后面。"好吧......从理论上讲，这是有可能的......几率是千分之一......"
“Trust me, Blackjack. It’s been a good day.”
"相信我，黑杰克。这是美好的一天。"
I watched the celebration, and my smile grew a little more honest. Not the expression I usually wore when I was in the calm between disasters and breakdowns. Sure, I’d lost my guns and sword, and I’d had a reminder of the consequence of good intentions, but I’d also helped my friends and appreciated just what ‘protecting my friends’ really meant. I’d get Vigilance back one way or another. Duty and Sacrifice, too. And the creepy sword of crazy sharpness. And find some way to stop whatever was building between Glory’s home and the rest of the Enclave.
我看着这场庆典，我的笑容变得更加真诚了。这不是我在灾难和崩溃之间的平静时通常的表情。当然，我失去了我的枪和剑，我想起了善意的后果，但我也帮助了我的朋友，并且感激'保护我的朋友'的真正含义。不管怎样，我都要让警戒团回来。责任和牺牲也是如此。还有令人毛骨悚然的疯狂锋利之剑。并且找到一些方法来阻止在晨辉的家和飞地的其他地方之间正在建造的任何东西。
“Yeah,” I said softly as I watched the proceedings. “Yeah, I guess it was.”
"是的,"我看着整个过程，轻声说道。"是的，我想是的。"
And if I could have one good day, I could do anything.
如果我能有一个美好的一天，我可以做任何事。
 
Footnote: Maximum Level Reached.
脚注:已达到的最高水平。
 
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s note: this chapter was an amazing endeavor by Hinds, Bronode, and Snipehamster. Three days to get it all put together. Everything seemed to conspire to prevent it. Colds. Deadlines. But finally we persevered. Sadly there were serious structural flaws that had to be changed in order to give you the best story possible. So, credit all around to all of them for their hard work making this positively almost good!
(作者注:本章由Hinds，Bronode和Snipehamster共同完成。用三天时间把它们拼凑起来。所有的事情似乎都在密谋阻止它。感冒。最后期限。但最终我们还是坚持了下来。遗憾的是，为了给你一个尽可能好的故事，有些严重的结构缺陷不得不改变。所以，对他们所有人的辛勤工作表示感谢，这几乎是一件好事！
On another note. I’d like to dedicate this chapter to a good friend who greeted me when I moved to Fallon and helped me feel welcome. It was nice to actually talk to folks face to face for a change and made me feel not quite so lonely. Sadly, he’s left for a new teaching job on the far side of the world. Hopefully he’ll still be able to read this in China. Matt, thanks for being a good friend in the brief time I knew you. I hope everything works out for you.
另一方面。我想把这一章献给一位好朋友，他在我搬到法伦时向我问好，帮助我感到受欢迎。能和人们面对面地交谈，让我感觉不那么孤独，这种感觉很好。不幸的是，他去了世界的另一端从事新的教学工作。希望他在中国还能读到这篇文章。马特，谢谢你在我认识你的短暂时间里成为我的好朋友。我希望你一切顺利。
Finally, as always, thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout Equestria in the first place. Thank you everypony that leaves feedback. And thank you, everyone, who’s taken the time to read this and stick it out as long as you have. Thank you.)
最后，像往常一样，感谢Kkat首先创造了FalloutEquestria。感谢每一位留下反馈的小马。感谢大家，感谢大家花时间阅读这篇文章，并坚持到底。谢谢。)