“The war brought misery and death all over the world. I sure hope that something like that never happens again. But from what I've seen, there's not much hope for ponykind.”
"战争给全世界带来了痛苦和死亡。我当然希望这样的事情再也不会发生。但就我所见，矮种马没有多大希望。"
The doors to the Fluttershy Medical Center ER smashed violently inwards, battered aside by a ferocious cyan-rainbow tornado wearing a shooty look all its own. Glory, her hide spattered and streaked with blood, stood in the doorway and bellowed with passion and assertiveness that would have done the original Rainbow Dash proud, “I am assuming control of these medical facilities!”
医疗中心急诊室的门猛烈地向内撞击，被凶猛的青色彩虹龙卷风刮得支离破碎。晨辉，她的藏身之处溅满鲜血，站在门口，充满激情和自信地咆哮着，原来的彩虹冲刺也会为此感到骄傲,"我正在控制这些医疗设施!"
The few ponies standing around the battered ER just stared in speechless confusion at the sight of her backed by Lacunae and four power-armored pegasi. I lay like a heap of ballast across Lacunae’s back, twisting as I tried to alternate my gaze between the emergency room in front of me and the wagons that had hauled the injured all the way from Chapel to the hospital.
站在破旧的急诊室周围的几匹小马，看到她背后站着拉古奈和四个强力装甲飞马，只是一言不发，惊慌失措地盯着她。我像一堆压舱物一样躺在拉库尼的背上，扭动着眼睛，试图在我面前的急诊室和把伤员从教堂一路拖到医院的马车之间转换视线。
“Now wait a minute,” a brown earth pony began to say as he looked at his own balking security and the two beam turrets flanking his half-dozen ponies. “We’re in charge he--”
"现在等一下,"一匹棕色土地上的小马看着自己的安保人员，开始说道。"我们负责，他——"
Two blinding flares of emerald magic streaked through the ER, and the two turrets exploded in a second. Glory hovered over him. “This is not a debate!” she roared down into his face. “Get whatever medically-trained ponies you can out here at once. Doctor. Nurse. Midwife. I don’t care, but move!” Her imperious hoof pointed at the security ponies. “You two. Go grab whatever buckets you can and start boiling water.” Next she pointed at four more ponies who looked on in wary bafflement. “You four! Grab buckets and detergent and scrub these tables as quick as you can. You have two minutes!”
两个炫目的祖母绿魔法闪光划过急诊室，两个炮塔在一秒钟内爆炸了。晨辉在他头上盘旋。"这不是辩论!"她怒吼着冲向他的脸。"马上把所有受过医学训练的小马赶到这里来。医生。护士。助产士。我不在乎，但是让开!"她傲慢的蹄子指着警卫用的小马。"你们两个。拿起你能拿的任何桶子，开始烧水。"接着，她又指了指另外四匹小马，它们在一旁机警地困惑地看着。"你们四个！拿上水桶和洗涤剂，尽快擦洗这些桌子。你还有两分钟!"
All the ponies in the emergency center just gaped at her before she shouted, “Move it!”
急救中心里所有的小马都张口结舌地看着她，然后她大喊:"快走!"
And as if Celestia herself had returned, they moved.
就像塞莱斯蒂亚自己回来了一样，他们移动了。
“Scotch Tape. Get on Blackjack’s PipBuck and contact Megamart. We’ll pay whatever they want from what we stripped off the Harbingers if they can get Bonesaw and every healing potion and chem they’ve got together within ten minutes. Then do the same for the Collegiate, and get them to send Triage.” Scotch Tape lifted my remaining foreleg, removed it so that she could use my PipBuck more easily and wouldn’t damage me further by pulling on the leg, opened the panel, and fiddled with the controls a bit. Glory turned to Lacunae as the filly began to talk. “We’ll send Lightning Dancer and Boomer to Megamart with a cart. Will you have the magic to reach the Collegiate and bring the things back?”
"透明胶带。打开Blackjack的PipBuck，联系Megamart。只要他们能在十分钟内搞到骨擦和所有的治疗药水和化学药品，我们就会从先驱者那里拿到他们想要的任何东西。然后对大学生也这样做，让他们把伤员分类。"苏格兰胶带提起我剩下的前腿，把它取下来，这样她就可以更容易地使用我的PipBuck，而且不会因为拉扯腿而进一步伤害我，打开面板，稍微摆弄一下控制器。当小母马开始说话时，晨辉变成了空白。"我们将派遣闪电舞者和布玛儿乘坐马车前往Megamart。你会有魔法到达大学学院，把东西带回来吗?"
“I will, even if I must imbibe the wastewater in the little fillies’ room,” Lacunae promised solemnly, setting me on a bench where I had a clear view of the ER.
"我会的，即使我必须在小母马的房间里吸收废水,"拉古纳庄严地承诺，把我放在一张能清楚地看到急诊室的长凳上。
“Good. Take my father up to the stasis pods before you go.” Glory then turned to P-21. “Go up to there and make sure that the one we put Scotch in is still working. If not…” She hesitated for an instant, glancing back at the bandage-wrapped form of her father. Her eyes met mine; I gave her as reassuring a smile as I could. It was all I could do at this point. “Try and get it prepped and ready if you can.”
"很好。在你走之前把我父亲带到休眠舱里去。"晨辉随后转向P-21。"上去看看我们放苏格兰威士忌的那个是不是还能用。如果不是......"她犹豫了一会儿，回头看了看她父亲包着绷带的身体。她的目光与我的目光相遇，我尽可能地给了她一个安慰的微笑。这是我此刻唯一能做的。"如果可以的话，尽量做好准备。"
“Should be easier this time,” the blue pony muttered, glancing at Scotch Tape as she talked into the PipBuck. Then he ran off towards the stairs.
"这次应该会容易些,"那匹蓝色小马咕哝着，一边对着音箱说着话，一边瞟了一眼苏格兰胶带。然后他朝楼梯跑去。
Glory’s hoof turned to bear on the few uninjured Crusaders who had accompanied us from Chapel. “You four. Scour this place from top to bottom. Every chem, healing potion, bandage, and bottle of alcohol you can find, bring here or to the operating room on the tenth floor. Understood?”
晨辉的蹄子转向那几个从教堂跟我们来的没有受伤的十字军战士。"你们四个。把这个地方从上到下洗刷一遍。所有你能找到的化学药剂，治疗药剂，绷带和酒精瓶，带到这里或者十楼的手术室。明白吗?"
“Bet I can find more than you!” one shouted, turning the vital scavenger hunt into a game and hiding his fear as he did so.
"我打赌我能找到比你更多的东西!"其中一个喊道，把这场至关重要的寻宝游戏变成了一场游戏，同时也掩饰了自己的恐惧。
The Collegiate and Society ponies that staffed this little outpost staggered out from the side rooms where they’d been sleeping and were instantly drafted and assigned duties. When Archibald, the brown pony in charge, muttered something
在这个小前哨站工作的学院与社团的小马们，从他们睡觉的旁边的房间里蹒跚地走出来，立即被征召入伍并被分配任务。负责的棕色小马阿奇博尔德咕哝着什么
about caps and paying for this, Glory silenced him with a single stare and then pointed at the heaps of markspony carbines and anti-machine rifles we’d taken from the Harbingers. “Are these tools of death payment enough for you to save lives?”
关于帽子和为此付出的代价，晨辉一眼就让他哑口无言，然后指着我们从"先驱者"那里拿来的成堆的马克普尼卡宾枪和反机枪。"这些死亡赔偿工具足以让你拯救生命吗?"
“Um… ah… yes… I suppose,” he muttered.
"嗯......啊......是的......我想是的,"他咕哝着。
“Then move!” Glory bellowed.
"那就动起来!"晨辉在咆哮。
“I’ll just wait over here… and… um… watch…” I muttered from my seat.
"我就在这儿等着......然后......嗯......看着......"我在座位上喃喃自语。
In five minutes, two tables were scrubbed far cleaner than they’d been in centuries, and the first victims were brought in off the wagons. They’d been triaged back in Star House, the most wounded loaded last and taken off the wagons first. A few were probably Harbingers, but that didn’t matter right now. All that did matter was that they were mortally wounded. Glory had a nurse pour a pan full of Wild Pegasus and dumped the medical tools in. I envied the tools a tiny bit.
五分钟之内，两张桌子被擦得比几个世纪以来干净多了，第一个受害者是从马车上搬进来的。他们被送回星宫接受治疗，受伤最重的最后一个上车，最先下车。其中一些可能是先驱者，但现在这无关紧要。重要的是他们受到了致命的伤害。晨辉让一个护士倒了一锅野生飞马，然后把医疗工具倒进去。我有点羡慕这些工具。
Lacunae levitated the still form of Sky Striker through the ER and then flew up to the stasis repository. Glory hesitated for one moment, her face clearly showing a yearning to be at his side.
空隙让静止的天空之锤悬浮在空中，穿过急诊室，然后飞向停滞仓库。晨辉犹豫了一会儿，她的脸上明显流露出渴望在他身边的表情。
Then she started to work.
然后她开始工作。
I hadn’t appreciated her medical skill in a while. Nowadays I just regenerated, used healing potions, or was hurt so badly I was unconscious, and I hadn't watched her save Scotch. I saw her move from one tool to the next with her mouth with a deft finesse that matched Rainbow Dash’s flying skills. She made healing potions and unicorn magic seem like crude tricks, easy and almost lazy solutions, cheats. Given the lack of magic up above, I could now understand how much medicine would rely on cutting and sewing. The only magical assistance she used with each patient was to put the recollector on their heads to anesthetize them.
我有一段时间不欣赏她的医术了。如今，我只是重生，使用治疗药剂，或受伤严重，我是无意识的，我没有看到她保存苏格兰威士忌。我看到她的嘴巴灵巧地从一个工具转移到另一个工具，这与彩虹·达什的飞行技巧相匹配。她让治疗药水和独角兽魔法看起来像是粗糙的把戏，简单的，几乎是懒惰的解决方案，骗子。鉴于上述缺乏魔力，我现在可以理解有多少医学将依赖于切割和缝纫。她对每个病人使用的唯一的魔法帮助就是把回忆者放在他们头上来麻醉他们。
When Bonesaw arrived twenty minutes later, he and an earth pony Collegiate doctor working the ER had gone through and stabilized a half dozen patients. With magic, the old stallion pushed them further towards recovery and away from death’s bony hooves. Yet even magic had its limitations. It could heal wounds, certainly, but what of infection, shock, contaminants left in wounds, and
二十分钟后，当Bonesaw到达的时候，他和一个在急诊室工作的大学生医生已经通过并且稳定了六个病人。凭借着魔法，这匹老种马把他们推向了康复的道路，远离了死神那瘦骨嶙峋的蹄子。然而，即使是魔法也有其局限性。当然，它可以治愈伤口，但是感染、休克、伤口中的污染物、
other complications? With needle, thread, scalpel, and tubes, Glory saved lives without magic.
其他并发症？用针、线、手术刀和管子，没有魔法，光荣拯救了生命。
But not without cost. One mare who’d come to fight with the Crusaders shuddered, gave one long exhalation, and then went silent. Glory simply closed her eyes a moment with the slightest bowing of her head and then washed her hooves in a bucket, rinsed them with whatever alcohol was present, and moved to the next. She refused to give death more than that.
但不是没有代价的。一匹来和十字军战斗的母马打了个寒战，长长地呼了一口气，然后安静了下来。晨辉只是轻轻地低了一下头，闭上了眼睛，然后把她的蹄子放进桶里洗了洗，随便用什么酒冲洗了一下，然后继续前进。她拒绝给予更多的死亡。
And me, I sat back watching it all with a profound sense of frustration. I wanted to will my limbs back in place so I could boil linen for bandages or sterilize the equipment, wipe down the tables or just give comfort to injured children. But all I could do was sit back and watch as ponies better than I worked to save others.
而我，我坐在后面，带着深深的挫败感看着这一切。我想让我的四肢恢复正常，这样我就可以把亚麻布煮成绷带，或者给设备消毒，擦拭桌子，或者只是安慰受伤的孩子。但是我所能做的就是坐在那里，看着小马比我努力拯救其他人要好得多。
It’s not always about me, though…
不过，这并不总是关于我。
When Lacunae returned with Triage and a few others an hour later, the alicorn looking positively drained of magic and her wings dragging on the floor as she walked, the critically ill were stabilized enough for the gray unicorn to take Glory’s place.
一个小时后，当拉库奈带着伤员分类法和其他几个人回来时，阿里康看起来已经没有魔力了，走路的时候她的翅膀拖在地板上，重病已经稳定下来，灰色的独角兽可以取代晨辉的位置。
“Glory,” I said as she washed her hooves, staring at the bloody water.
"晨辉,"我说，她洗她的蹄子，盯着血淋淋的水。
She didn’t answer.
她没有回答。
“Glory,” I said louder from my seat in the corner.
"晨辉,"我在角落里的座位上大声说。
She bit a bottle and carefully trickled the alcohol over her forehooves.
她咬了一口瓶子，小心翼翼地把酒精滴在前蹄上。
“Glory!” I shouted, and she jumped, the bottle falling from her mouth and puddling at her feet. She stared at the fluid spilling away in shock as I tried to meet her eyes and said in softer tones, “Glory. Go to him.”
"晨辉!"我叫喊着，她跳了起来，瓶子从她的嘴里掉了下来，在她的脚边摆弄着。当我试图迎合她的眼睛时，她震惊地盯着溢出的液体，用更柔和的语调说:"晨辉。去找他吧。"
“I… I can’t. If he’s… I…” she stammered, clenching her eyes shut. “I’m needed here.”
"我.....。.我不能。如果他...我..。。」她结结巴巴地说，双眼紧闭。"这里需要我。"
“Glory. Go.” I imagined my mother, all the things we’d left unsaid. “Go to him. Triage is here. She can see to the injured. You’ve done your part. Go on.”
"晨辉。去吧。"我想象着我的母亲，所有我们没有说出口的事情。"到他那儿去。伤检分类到了。她能照料伤者。你已经完成了你的任务。去吧。"
She glanced at me and the mask of her stoicism crumbled as tears welled in the
她瞥了我一眼，她坚忍的面具随着泪水的涌出而崩溃了
corners of her eyes and she grimaced. “Blackjack… I’m scared. What if… how could she… why…?” She bowed her head, and I started to move to hold her before I remembered my missing limbs. “Why did she do that?!” she cried out at me.
然后她做了个鬼脸。"黑杰克......我很害怕。如果......她怎么......为什么......?"她低下了头，我开始移动身体去抱她，直到我想起了我失去的四肢。"她为什么要这么做?!"她冲我大喊大叫。
“I don’t know,” I said in a low, gentle voice. “Maybe Cognitum took her over and attacked him before she changed her mind. Or maybe… maybe she had to do something so she couldn’t return to her old life. One that she wanted but that wouldn’t save the Wasteland. I don’t know. What I do know is your dad is up there. If he’s alive, you’re going to need to talk to him. And if he’s not…” I closed my eyes, remembering the head and the stake. “If not… you need to say goodbye.” I finished in a near whisper.
"我不知道,"我低声温柔地说。"也许在她改变主意之前，科涅塔姆控制了她，攻击了他。或者也许...也许她不得不做些什么，这样她就不能回到过去的生活。一个她想要但不能拯救荒原的地方。我不知道。我只知道你爸爸在上面。如果他还活着，你得和他谈谈。如果他不是......"我闭上眼睛，想起那个头和木桩。"如果没有......你需要说再见。"我轻声地说完。
She looked at me for one more trembling second and then pulled my torso into an embrace, holding me tight. Even if I didn’t have legs, I imagined holding her just as tightly as I sighed and stroked my cheek against her neck. “Thank you,” she whispered back.
她又颤抖地看了我一眼，然后把我的躯干紧紧地抱在怀里。即使我没有腿，我也想象着紧紧地抱着她，就像我叹了口气，用脸颊轻抚她的脖子一样。"谢谢你,"她小声回答。
I sighed and kissed her neck and smiled when she finally pulled back. “Go on. I’m going to wait here. I know sooner or later Rampage will bring Rover.” I sighed, looking at my three stumps and damaged hindleg. “I’m really going to owe him a leg or three.”
我叹了口气，吻了吻她的脖子，当她终于回过神来的时候，我笑了。"继续。我在这儿等着。我知道狂暴迟早会把漫游者带来。"我叹了口气，看着自己的三个残肢和受伤的后腿。"我真的欠他一条腿。"
“All right,” she said, then flew up into the air. “I’ll be back soon.” And with a swoosh of her rainbow mane, she shot down the hall.
"好吧,"她说，然后飞向空中。"我很快就回来。"随着她那彩虹般的鬃毛的飞扬，她冲下了大厅。
Scotch Tape looked over at me from where she hugged my foreleg with my PipBuck within. I wondered what Cognitum would think if she knew that EC-1101 was in the possession of a filly; part of me found it funny, and another decidedly not. “Hear anything interesting?”
透明胶带从我的前腿处看了我一眼，把我的皮布尔抱在怀里。我想知道，如果她知道EC-1101在一匹小母马的手里，她会怎么想;我一方面觉得好笑，另一方面却决然不觉得好笑。"听到什么有趣的事了吗?"
She sighed and looked at the leg. “Lots. There’s a bunch of chatter about one group withdrawing to some place called the Cathedral, another talking about ‘Operation Cauterize’ and something involving Canterlot, and a bunch of jabber that I think is Zebra. But I didn’t pick up anything from the Harbingers. If they’re communicating, they must be using landlines rather than transmitting.” She glanced off to the side and then back at me. “Blackjack… there’s this really freaky pony watching me right now.”
她叹了口气，看着那条腿。"很多。有很多关于一个团体撤退到一个叫做大教堂的地方的谈论，另一个关于'Cauterize行动'和一些关于Canterlot的事情，还有很多我认为是斑马的废话。但是我没有从"先驱者"那里得到任何信息。如果他们在通信，他们一定是使用固定电话，而不是传输。"她向旁边瞥了一眼，然后又回过头来看我。"黑杰克......有一匹怪异的小马正盯着我看。"
“Pale? Wide-brimmed hat? Cards?” I asked with a little smile. She nodded,
"脸色苍白？宽边帽？卡片?"我微笑着问道。她点了点头
glancing away again nervously. “Don’t mind him. He’s Dealer. Lives in my PipBuck. He’s a… friend.”
又紧张地瞥了一眼别处。"别理他。他是毒贩子。住在我的皮伯克。他是个..。.朋友。"
The filly set my leg down and backed away from it before looking back at me. She looked at the device, then looked off to the side, and finally leaned towards me. “Blackjack… I’ve seen him before,” she whispered.
小母马放下我的腿，后退一步，然后回头看着我。她看了看那个装置，然后看了看旁边，最后向我靠过来。"黑杰克......我以前见过他,"她低声说。
I would have sat up a little straighter if… well… limbs. “What do you mean, Scotch?”
我会坐直一点，如果......嗯......四肢。"什么意思，苏格兰威士忌?"
“In a book. There was a paper with a drawing of a pony that looked just like him,” Scotch Tape said before she shrugged off her saddlebags and dug around for a bit, pulling out a copy of the ‘Wasteland’ game book she’d picked up in Silverstar Sporting Supplies. She flipped it open to the back pages where several papers had been shoved in. ‘Character Sheet’ was printed in the upper left corner of each, and below were a bunch of boxes and letters that made no sense. Somepony with some art skills had drawn rather detailed pictures on the backs. One was a pony wearing steam-driven power armor. Another was a unicorn mare holding a talisman like Priest’s cutie mark, her head bowed reverently, while a third depicted a wildly grinning pegasus stallion with a long rifle strapped to his barding.
"在一本书里。有一张纸上画了一匹很像他的小马,"ScotchTape说，然后她耸耸肩，拿出一本在银星体育用品店买的《荒地》游戏书。她把它翻到后面几页，里面有好几份文件。"字符表"打印在每张纸的左上角，下面是一堆毫无意义的盒子和字母。一些有些艺术技巧的小马在背上画了相当详细的图画。其中一个是小马，穿着蒸汽驱动的动力盔甲。另一幅是一匹独角兽母马，手里拿着一个神父般的护身符，她虔诚地低着头，而第三幅则描绘了一匹狂野地咧着嘴笑着的飞马种马，马背上绑着一把长长的步枪。
And there was the Dealer. Same hat. Same gaunt, sallow look with a dead-eyed stare as he flipped glowing cards between his hooves. “Turn it over…” I murmured.
还有《商人》。一样的帽子。他翻动着发光的卡片，脸色同样憔悴，目光呆滞。"把它翻过来......"我低声说。
Name: Smiling Jack. Race: Earth Pony. Profession: Occult Gambler. Hometown:
姓名:微笑的杰克。种族:地球小马。职业:神秘的赌徒。家乡:
Gallows Hill.
绞刑架山。
Player: Echo.
玩家:Echo。
“I see,” I said quietly. It might have been coincidence. There may have been more than one pony with that name. But I wasn’t sure coincidence existed any more.
"我明白了,"我平静地说。这可能只是巧合。可能不止一匹小马有这个名字。但我不确定是否还存在巧合。
Dealer had worked for Goldenblood. A personal assistant. Dealer had also been a Marauder. Everypony in that team had in some way been affected by tragedy and failure. Suddenly the Dealer’s rants about responsibility took on a new light; he’d seen his team drift apart after the death of Big Macintosh. Seen one turn into a criminal, another driven insane, the rest spread apart and broken.
毒贩曾为金血王工作过。私人助理。庄家也曾是掠夺者。那个团队的每一个成员都在某种程度上受到了悲剧和失败的影响。突然之间,"商人"关于责任的咆哮有了新的意义;在大麦金托什机死后，他看到他的团队渐行渐远。看到一个变成了罪犯，另一个被逼疯，剩下的四分五裂，支离破碎。
Doof. Psalm. Twist. Jetstream. Stonewing. Vanity. Applesnack. Big Macintosh.
Doof.诗篇。扭转。Jetstream.石翼。虚荣心。苹果包。大麦金托什。
Echo.
回音。
The team was complete now.
队伍现在已经完成了。
* * *
* * *
“Dog think pony has problem,” Rover said calmly as the old canine cupped his chin and narrowed his filmy eye. “Now what could it be… hmmm…” He sat on a large wooden crate he’d hauled in while Triage readied her surgical equipment.
"狗认为小马有问题,"罗弗平静地说，这只老狗托起下巴，眯起朦胧的眼睛。"那会是什么呢......嗯......"他坐在一个大木箱上，这个木箱是他拉进来的，当时分诊医生正在准备她的手术设备。
“I broke my legs,” I muttered, flushing as I lay there on a table. Now that the injured were more or less taken care of, there was time to deal with stupid mares who tore their legs off trying to rip open tanks with their bare hooves.
"我摔断了腿,"我一边躺在桌子上，一边满脸通红地咕哝着。现在伤者或多或少得到了照顾，有时间处理愚蠢的母马试图用它们光秃秃的蹄子撕开坦克时扯断了腿。
Triage glanced at Rover and then at me. “I dunno,” the gray unicorn said, her lips twitching around her cigarette. “Sprained ankle?”
分诊医生看了看罗孚，又看了看我。"我不知道,"灰色的独角兽说，她的嘴唇在香烟周围抽动着。"扭伤了脚踝?"
“I broke my legs,” I repeated, huffing and rolling my eyes.
"我摔断了腿,"我重复着，气喘吁吁地翻着白眼。
Rover ‘hmmmm’ed as he rubbed his chin. “Dog think Dog may have clue, but Dog is not sure.” He looked at the smirking unicorn. “Is something missing?”
罗孚一边搓着下巴，一边哼了一声。"狗认为狗可能有线索，但狗不确定。"他看着那只正在傻笑的独角兽。"是不是少了什么东西?"
“No. I mean… how could that be?” Triage asked in mock amazement, levitating my severed forelimb and cupping her own chin in imitation of the sand dog. “Isn’t she one of the strongest, toughest cyberponies around?”
"没有。我的意思是......这怎么可能?"分诊医生假装惊讶地问道，把我断掉的前肢悬浮起来，模仿沙狗托起自己的下巴。"难道她不是最强壮、最坚强的网络矮种马之一吗?"
“Dog certainly thought so!” Rover replied sarcastically. “Pony certainly act like it!”
"狗当然这么想!"罗孚讽刺地回答。"小马当然会这么做!"
“I admit it! I broke my legs!” I yelled at the pair, who ignored me.
"我承认！我的腿断了!"我冲他们大喊大叫，他们不理我。
“Maybe it’s not physiological,” Triage offered.
"也许这不是生理上的原因,"伤检分类法提出。
Rover feigned shock. “Pony think problem is in Pony’s brain?”
漫游者假装震惊。"小马认为问题出在小马的脑子里?"
Triage nodded soberly. “I think it very well may be.”
分诊医生严肃地点点头。"我认为这很有可能。"
“Okay! I’m an idiot who broke my legs!” I yelled at the pair. “Happy?”
"好吧！我是个白痴，我的腿断了!"我冲他们大喊大叫。"高兴吗?"
Triage jumped and stared at me, her eyes wide. “Eureka! We have a
分诊医生跳起来，瞪大眼睛盯着我。"找到了！我们有一个
breakthrough!”
突破!"
Rover crossed his arms, bowed his head a little, and nodded once. “Yes. Pony may be onto something,” he said seriously.
罗孚交叉着双臂，低了一下头，点了点头。"是的。小马可能是对的,"他严肃地说。
“But how to fix it? I mean, we can’t make her less of an idiot,” Triage said soberly.
"但是怎么解决呢？我的意思是，我们不能让她变得不那么白痴,"分诊医生冷静地说。
Rover shook his head. “No no. Dog is good, but dog not work miracles.”
罗孚摇了摇头。""不，不。狗是好东西，但是狗不能创造奇迹。"
I glowered at the pair. “I hate you both.” The pair arched their eyebrows coolly, simultaneously, as they looked at me and then at each other, and almost in unison gave each other matching smiles that I didn’t like at all.
我怒视着他们俩。"我恨你们两个。"两人同时冷静地扬起眉毛，看着我，然后又看着对方，几乎一致地给了对方我一点也不喜欢的相称的微笑。
“Dog has answer. If pony insists on doing things that ruins dog’s hard work, dog will simply make her tougher.” He looked at Triage and grinned. “What pony think? Securipony?”
"狗有答案。如果小马坚持做那些会毁了小狗努力工作的事情，小狗只会让她变得更加坚强。"他看了看伤员分类法，咧嘴笑了。"小马怎么想？安全?"
Triage’s horn glowed, and I felt something release beneath my thigh. With a pop, my last leg came off. “I think we should just jump straight to an Ultra-Sentinel. Nip this problem in the bud once and for all,” Triage replied with her own grin.
分诊医生的角闪闪发光，我感觉大腿下面有东西松开了。砰的一声，我的最后一条腿断了。"我认为我们应该直接跳到一个超级哨兵那里。把这个问题一劳永逸地消灭在萌芽状态。"。
I had a vision of myself sporting six legs each as big as my body and wiggled my three working stumps desperately as I struggled to get away. Triage levitated me, and my stumps waved helplessly in the air as I tried to flee. “No! I’ll never get laid again!”
我想象着自己有六条和身体一样大的腿，拼命地扭动着我的三个工作残肢，挣扎着想要离开。救护车将我悬浮起来，我的残肢无助地在空中挥舞着，我试图逃跑。"不！我再也不会有艳遇了!"
Triage set me back in the middle of the table. Finally, she sighed. “All joking aside, we’re serious, Blackjack. You are throwing yourself into fights these legs just weren’t meant to handle. You need some more body reinforcement, too. Your cyber parts are designed for recon and being all sneaky. Face it. You need a combat model that can take the abuse you’re throwing at it.”
分诊把我放回到桌子中间。最后，她叹了口气。"玩笑归玩笑，我们是认真的，Blackjack。你把自己全身心投入到这双腿根本无法处理的战斗中。你也需要更多的身体强化。你的网络部分是为侦察和所有的鬼祟而设计的。面对现实吧。你需要一种战斗模式，能够承受你对它的辱骂。"
“I don’t want to be turned into Deus,” I muttered. “I like having flesh and blood.” And so did he.
"我不想变成上帝,"我喃喃自语道。"我喜欢有血有肉。"他也是。
Triage snorted and rolled her eyes. “Then you better get used to being a cripple. Fact is, you’re thrashing yourself harder than even your repair talismans can keep up with. And you won’t be any use to people if you can’t move.”
分诊医生哼了一声，翻了个白眼。"那你最好习惯做个瘸子。事实上，你正在用力地抽打自己，甚至连你的修复护身符都跟不上。如果你不能移动，你对别人也没有任何用处。"
“Fuck you,” I hissed at her and closed my eyes. I saw the thing that Dawn became. That Deus had been. And I could see myself becoming just another version of Dawn. Was there any pony left in her? “I don’t want to be a machine, Triage. I don’t want…” I began, then slammed the back of my head against the bed as hard as I could. “Fuck!” I could almost imagine my mother looking at me from the everafter.
"去你妈的,"我对她嘶嘶地说，然后闭上了眼睛。我看到了道恩变成的样子。那个天王。我可以看到自己成为另一个版本的黎明。她体内还有小马吗？"我不想成为一台机器，分诊。我不想......"我开始说，然后用尽全力把后脑勺撞在床上。"操!"我几乎可以想象我的母亲从此以后看着我。
It isn’t always about you, Blackjack. I could hear P-21’s soft words in my ears.
这不总是关于你的，Blackjack。我能在耳边听到P-21轻柔的话语。
I’d given my flesh and blood for others before. Now I just had to give a little bit more...
我曾经为他人奉献过我的血肉。现在我只需要再多付出一点..。
Still, where was the line when I’d stop being Blackjack and start being Dawn? Or was it already too late? I fought the tears of frustration. “Sorry,” I muttered.
不过，当我不再是黑杰克，而开始成为黎明时，我的底线在哪里？还是已经太迟了？我强忍着沮丧的泪水。"对不起,"我喃喃自语。
“Don’t be. Near as I can tell, this is par for the course,” Triage replied.
"别这样。据我所知，这是意料之中的事。"。
I closed my eyes. I wasn’t Dawn. I was a better pony than her. I was…
我闭上了眼睛。我不是道恩。我是一匹比她好的小马。我是..。
“What have you got?” I asked quietly.
"你有什么发现?"我平静地问道。
Rover looked back to me. “Pony is fortunate Pony has friends.”
罗孚回头看着我。"小马很幸运，小马有朋友。"
“Professor Zodiac realized a while ago that you might need stronger stuff than what you had,” Triage said, “even if you didn’t want to admit it. She had us looking for whatever Steelpony parts we could.” She sighed and shook her head. “There were plans for cybernetic Steel Rangers and Shadowbolts, but finding the actual augmentations was a bust. It’d take a full engineering lab to make them from scratch.”
"十二宫教授刚才意识到，你可能需要比你现在拥有的更强大的东西,"分流说,"即使你不想承认。她让我们尽可能地去找Steelpony的零件。"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"曾经有过控制论钢铁流浪者和暗影螺栓的计划，但是找到实际的增强是失败的。需要一个完整的工程实验室才能从头做起。"
Now I frowned at her. “So… you don’t have tougher legs?”
现在我对她皱起了眉头。"所以......你没有更强壮的腿吗?"
“Not exactly,” Triage said as her horn lifted a black piece of metal from the crate. I blinked in surprise, and then stared at the rear leg of a piece of Enclave power armor. “You see, we won’t be making them precisely from scratch. We’ll use the remains of Sky Striker’s power armor, the Shadowbolt repair drivers, and your basic legs to make new ones.”
"不完全是,"她的角从箱子里举起一块黑色的金属时说。我惊讶地眨了眨眼，然后盯着一块昂科雷动力盔甲的后腿。"你看，我们不会精确地从零开始制造它们。我们将使用"天空攻击者"的动力盔甲、"暗影闪电"的修理工和你的基本腿来制造新的。"
“You can do that?” I asked in surprise.
"你能做到吗?"我惊讶地问。
The gray unicorn sighed. “I think we can do that. The Shadowbolt design is based on power armor, only much more reinforced. Instead of armoring around a pony, it strengthens throughout the body. We’ll have to fortify your joints and spine, though. One bad fall on your back and you could easily snap it.” She levitated another long piece of black metal. “Fortunately, we’ve got enough pieces of Sky Striker’s armor to do it.” She looked into the box and pursed her lips. “Too bad the wing guards were shredded.”
灰色的独角兽叹息着。"我认为我们可以做到。暗影之箭的设计是基于动力装甲，只是更加强化。不是给小马披上盔甲，而是增强整个身体的力量。不过我们得加强你的关节和脊椎。一个重重的摔在你的背上，你很容易就会摔断它。"她又使一根长长的黑色金属悬浮起来。"幸运的是，我们有足够的'天空前锋'的盔甲碎片来完成这个任务。"她看了看盒子，噘起嘴唇。"真可惜，边卫都被撕成碎片了。"
Not too bad for me. Anything that got me more than twenty feet off the ground was something I didn’t want. Once I worked out teleportation… I sighed and then gave a half smile. “Just try and keep me as much flesh and blood as possible. I don’t want Glory to have to break out a wrench set when we make love.”
对我来说还不错。任何让我离开地面超过二十英尺的东西都是我不想要的。一旦我做出了瞬间移动...我叹了口气，然后给了一个半微笑。"只要尽量让我活得有血有肉。我不希望晨辉在我们做爱的时候打开一把扳手。"
“And that was a mental image I could do without.” Triage shuddered and lifted one of my torn legs with her magic. “We’ll get you put back together. That shoulder is a problem, though. We’re going to have to pop you into a memory orb for a bit while we work on you.”
"这是一个我无法摆脱的精神形象。"分诊医生颤抖着，用她的魔法提起了我一条撕裂的腿。"我们会把你重新组装起来的。不过肩膀是个问题。在我们对你进行治疗的同时，我们将不得不把你放入一个记忆球中一段时间。"
“However,” Rover added, lifting a finger, “there is price for Pony.”
"然而,"罗孚举起手指补充道,"小马是要付出代价的。"
I sighed, knowing there had to be one. “I’ll go to Grimhoof.” I really wanted to chase down Steel Rain and Dawn, but…
我叹了口气，知道肯定有一个。"我要去格里霍夫"我真的很想追钢铁雨和黎明，但是..。
“That’s his requirement. The Collegiate has a separate request,” Triage said with a smile. “Fact is, the Collegiate is dying for a steady food source. The Society has been gouging us for years for basic staples. We got their plantations running and secured the tunnels connecting them with Elysium, and then they kicked us out. But there’s one plantation close to us that never got running due to extreme Enervation, stronger than almost anywhere else. Somehow, you’re immune to Enervation now. Maybe it’s a cyberpony thing. In any case, we want you to go in and see if you can clean it out for us.” My immunity seemed to annoy the gray mare; I supposed she didn’t like mysteries any more than I did.
"这是他的要求。学院有一个单独的请求,"分诊医生微笑着说。"事实上，Collegiate急需一个稳定的食物来源。该协会多年来一直在敲诈我们的基本必需品。我们让他们的种植园运转起来，封锁了连接他们和极乐世界的隧道，然后他们把我们赶了出去。但是在我们附近有一个种植园，由于极度的衰弱，它从来没有跑过，几乎比其他任何地方都要强壮。不知何故，你现在对衰弱免疫了。也许是赛博马的问题。无论如何，我们希望你能进去，看看能不能帮我们清理干净。"我的免疫力似乎惹恼了那头灰色的母马;我猜她和我一样不喜欢神秘事件。
“Why isn’t there any Enervation in the other plantations?” I asked.
"为什么其他种植园没有任何衰弱现象?"我问道。
“No idea. They were all underground Stable-Tec testbeds for stable orchards and gardens, built to pretty similar designs and without full stable shielding. If there was Enervation in the area, it shouldn’t just be hitting one hard and leaving the others almost untouched. The only difference is that that plantation was leased to
"不知道。他们都是稳定的果园和花园的地下Stable-Tec测试床，建立了非常相似的设计，没有完全稳定的屏蔽。如果这个区域有衰弱现象，那么不应该只是一个区域遭受重创，而其他区域几乎毫发无损。唯一的区别是那个种植园被租给了
some other company. Roseluck Agrifarms. We sent in some robots to look around both the surface structures and the plantation itself, but there were turrets that stopped them from getting deep enough to be useful. In the end, we just gave up and walled off the tunnels to it.”
其他公司。RoseluckAgrifarms.我们派遣了一些机器人去考察地表结构和种植园本身，但是有一些炮塔阻止了它们进入足够深的地方，使它们无法发挥作用。最终，我们放弃了，并用墙把隧道围了起来。"
Roseluck Agrifarms. I’d heard that name before.
RoseluckAgrifarms.我以前听过这个名字。
“All right,” I sighed in agreement. “Soon as we’re out of here, we’ll travel there next.” It felt galling, considering the other important things I needed to do, but I supposed finding Steel Rain and Dawn could wait till I’d paid off my debt.
"好吧,"我同意地叹了口气。"我们一离开这里，就马上去那里。"考虑到我还有其他重要的事情要做，这让我觉得很恼火，但我想找到《钢铁雨》和《黎明》可以等到我还清债务再说。
“Good.” Rover nodded. “Is nice having Pony that honors word.”
"很好。"罗孚点点头。"有小马这个荣誉单词真好。"
Triage opened up her saddlebags and pulled out a number of strange talismans and other arcane science equipment. She levitated a memory orb and something particularly pointy. “Hope you’re ready for a long night.”
分诊医生打开她的鞍囊，拿出一些奇怪的护身符和其他神秘的科学仪器。她漂浮起一个记忆球和一些特别尖的东西。"希望你已经准备好度过漫漫长夜。"
I closed my eyes and leaned back. “It’s already been a long night.” She floated the orb over and touched it to my horn…
我闭上眼睛，向后靠着。"已经是漫长的一夜了。"她把球漂过来碰到了我的号角。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
The world refocused into the eyes of a white unicorn mare looking into a mirror. I started a bit at her unusual appearance; her irises were rainbow bands and her mane was a chaotic blending of prismatic colors. An elaborate curl of golden wire looped around her horn to a tiny ruby set in the tip and matched her shimmery dress which was decorated with thousands of tiny gems. A gap showed her cutie mark: a diamond radiating spectra of light. She popped out a tube of lipstick, delicately applied a thin line of red, carefully tamped her lips, and then smiled. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “All right, Diamond Flash. You can do this.”
世界重新聚焦在一只白色独角兽母马对着镜子的眼睛里。我开始注意到她不寻常的外表;她的虹膜是彩虹色的条纹，鬃毛是杂乱的棱镜色混合。她的角上缠绕着一圈精致的金丝，顶端镶着一颗小红宝石，与她闪闪发光的裙子很相配，裙子上装饰着成千上万颗小宝石。一个缺口显示了她的可爱标记:钻石辐射光谱。她突然拿出一管口红，小心翼翼地涂了一道细细的红线，小心翼翼地揉了揉嘴唇，然后笑了。她闭上眼睛，深深地吸了一口气，说:"好吧，钻石闪光。你能做到的。"
She turned with a swish of her shimmery prismatic tail, trotted from the bathroom, and walked into the bedlam of a great gathering of ponies. The cavernous space was awash in lights, music, and noise. Dozens of displays and booths filled the vaulted chamber, and ponies of all kinds, as well as a few beings from other lands, wandered through looking at the varied wonders. Above it all hung a banner magically illuminated to read ‘Equestrian Technology Trade Fair’.
她甩了甩闪闪发光的棱形尾巴，从浴室里小跑出来，走进了一大群小马的混乱之中。洞穴般的空间充满了灯光、音乐和噪音。拱形的房间里摆满了各种各样的展品和展台，各种各样的小马，还有一些来自其他国家的生物，漫步在各种各样的奇观中。最重要的是，它悬挂着一面旗帜，神奇地照亮了上面写着"马术科技交易会"。
Clearly, this was a major convention of some kind. In the distance, on the open floor below the ringing balcony my host was standing on, I spotted Applejack standing beside a green stallion and talking to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie walked with an entourage two floors up. Opposite her, Twilight Sparkle seemed to be critically reviewing the Ministry of Arcane Science’s stall and clearly not finding it to her satisfaction. Two green unicorn mares fussed around with the displays, even with others looking on, clearly trying to execute the purple mare’s exacting directions. Stable-Tec had a massive three-story-tall display of a stable. From the traffic coming and going through the building’s wings, this event clearly went beyond even this massive space.
显然，这是某种主要的惯例。在远处，我看到主人正站在响亮的阳台下的地板上，苹果白兰地站在一匹绿色的种马旁边，正在和彩虹·达什说话。平奇·派带着一个两层楼高的随从走了过来。在她的对面，紫悦似乎正在严格审查奥术科学部的摊位，显然没有找到令她满意的。两只绿色的独角兽母马忙着展示，甚至在其他人的注视下，清楚地试图执行紫色母马的严格方向。Stable-tec有一个巨大的三层楼高的马厩。从来来往往的交通通过建筑的两翼，这一事件显然甚至超越了这个巨大的空间。
Diamond Flash walked casually through the throngs of ponies; every one of them looked as glamorous as herself, or more so. She levitated a glass of champagne and took a nervous sip as she looked over at one display. Flash Industries had something going on that had dozens of ponies oohing and ahhh-ing as energy zapped and flashed. She made her way closer, and well-dressed ponies looked at her, sized her up, and made room for her.
钻石闪光漫不经心地穿过成群结队的小马;它们中的每一匹看起来都像她自己一样迷人，或者更甚。她让一杯香槟漂浮起来，紧张地啜了一口，然后看了一眼展台。闪光工业有一些事情正在进行，有几十匹小马，随着能量的轰鸣和闪烁，不停地嘶嘶作响。她走近一些，一群穿着考究的小马看着她，量了量她的身高，给她腾出了地方。
“Flash Industries, makers of magical energy weapons renowned across Equestria, now revealing the latest and greatest in shield matrix technology!” boomed a speaker as a large diamond rose from one end of a platform. “You all know Flash Industries’s fine products like the AEP-7, with a redesigned focusing crystal pattern, an improved photonic focusing chamber, and selectable beam focus, wavelength, pulse energy, and refire rate! Well, now witness the next generation in energy products from Flash!” A familiar, boxy energy pistol rose on a frame on the other side of the platform.
"闪光工业，魔法能量武器制造商，在Equestria享有盛誉，现在揭示最新和最大的盾矩阵技术!"当一颗大钻石从讲台的一端升起时，喇叭发出隆隆声。"你们都知道FlashIndustries的精品产品，比如AEP-7，它重新设计了聚焦晶体图案，改进了光子聚焦腔，并且可以选择光束聚焦、波长、脉冲能量和再燃速率！好吧，现在看看Flash的下一代能源产品吧!"在平台的另一边，一把我们熟悉的四四方方的能量手枪出现在枪架上。
The diamond began to glow, and a hexagon of glowing panels materialized around it. “Using only the finest Crystal Empire gems, the Flash Arcane Defense Emitter, or F.A.D.E., creates a shield spell impervious to normal weaponry. See for yourself the awesome power of Flash!” The pistol began to fire crimson beams, the blasts striking the rotating panels and making them glow brighter and brighter.
钻石开始发光，周围出现了一个六边形的发光板。"只使用最好的水晶帝国宝石，闪光奥术防御发射器，或f.a.d.e，创造一个不受普通武器影响的盾牌法术。你自己看看闪光灯的威力吧!"手枪开始发射深红色的光束，爆炸冲击着旋转的面板，使它们发出越来越明亮的光芒。
“What’s that? Not enough Flash for you?” A beam rifle rose up beside it. “Let’s see if the F.A.D.E. can handle the cutting edge energy of the AER-12, now with improved platinum gem fittings!” Even brighter crimson beams blasted away along with the pistol, and the shield remained in place. “Oh my! Perhaps we need something even ‘Flashier’? What about the Flash AET-3 Triforce?!”
"那是什么？闪光灯还不够吗?"一支横梁式的步枪在它旁边升起。"让我们看看f.a.d.e是否能够处理AER-12的尖端能源，现在改进了铂金宝石配件!"甚至更明亮的深红色光束也随着手枪一起射了出去，盾牌仍然在原处。"哦，我的天！也许我们需要更华丽的东西？那么FlashAET-3Triforce呢?!"
boomed the speaker, and a third, snub-nosed rifle raised up and began to blast three beams at a time along with the other two weapons. A few ponies in the front backed away from the barrage of red beams striking the magical plates.
扬声器轰隆隆地响了起来，第三支短鼻子步枪举起来，连同另外两支武器，一次射出三道光束。前排的几匹小马后退着，躲开撞击着魔法盘子的红色横梁。
“I know what you’re thinking! How can this be? But you haven’t seen anything yet, folks! Because I know some of you must wonder: what if, somehow, your F.A.D.E. becomes inoperable? Are you doomed?” the speaker blared. “Not at all!” And then the diamond lowered back into the platform while the magical field remained. Red energy flashed and glared off the magical plates, even with the gem gone. “So long as your enemies keep firing, the F.A.D.E. keeps going. Truly a wondrous innovation from Flash Industries!”
"我知道你在想什么！这怎么可能呢？但是你们还没有看到任何东西，伙计们！因为我知道你们中的一些人一定在想:如果你的f.a.d.e不知怎么的不能手术了怎么办？你死定了吗?"演讲者大声说。"一点也不!"然后钻石放回平台，而魔法场依然存在。红色的能量从魔法的盘子里闪烁发光，即使宝石不见了。"只要你的敌人继续开火，f.a.d.e就会继续前进。真是来自闪光工业的惊人创新!"
The weapons stopped firing, and three beautiful mares and one handsome stallion stepped forward from around the platform, handing out pamphlets about exciting products from Flash. Diamond Flash hung back, giving a sigh of relief.
武器停止了射击，三匹漂亮的母马和一匹英俊的种马从平台上走过来，分发有关令人兴奋的Flash产品的小册子。钻石闪光挂在后面，松了一口气。
“Marvelous display,” a voice said from behind her, and she whirled, staring at a handsome yellow earth pony with a gorgeous unicorn at his side.
"精彩的表演,"一个声音从她身后传来，她旋转着，盯着一匹漂亮的黄色地球小马，旁边有一只美丽的独角兽。
“H… Horse! And Sweetie Belle?! I… What an… I mean...” She fought to compose herself and smiled as casually as possible. “I’m delighted you found it impressive.”
"h..小马！那甜心贝儿呢?！我。.多么......我的意思是......"她努力使自己镇静下来，尽可能漫不经心地微笑。"我很高兴你觉得它令人印象深刻。"
He smiled genially as he went on. “Personally, though, I have to question demonstrating one product that renders your others obsolete. It does seem a curious move.”
他继续说着，和蔼地笑了笑。"不过，就我个人而言，我不得不质疑演示一种产品会导致其它产品过时。这的确是一个奇怪的举动。"
She swallowed. “What, I should wait for a competitor to snap up something out of the M.A.S.?” She gave her best dismissive toss of her mane. “When you see the price tag for one F.A.D.E., you’ll know I’ll make a fortune either way.” Then she glanced across the room at Applejack. “Besides, the M.W.T. is urging more emphasis to be put on defensive applications, like power armor.”
她咽了口唾沫。"怎么，我应该等着竞争对手抢购m.a.s的东西吗?"她以最轻蔑的口吻甩了甩鬃毛。"当你看到一瓶f.a.d.e的价格标签时，你就知道无论如何我都会赚大钱。"然后她扫了一眼房间另一头的苹果白兰地。"此外，大规模杀伤性武器正在敦促更加重视防御性应用，比如动力装甲。"
“I’m sure the zebras truly appreciate their defensive capabilities,” Horse said sardonically, with a small roll of his eyes. He looked at the crowds with clear distaste and sighed. “Such a bother, but this is where the well-connected rub flanks and decide what the future will be.” He suddenly looked at her once more and smiled, arching his brow. “And you certainly seem determined to be one of them. Look at you. Lowly M.A.S. researcher to magical weapons dealer. Who would have guessed?”
"我敢肯定斑马真的很欣赏自己的防御能力,"霍斯讽刺地说，并转了转眼珠。他厌恶地看着人群，叹了口气。"这很麻烦，但这正是人脉广泛的障碍所在，决定着未来的走向。"他突然又看了她一眼，微笑着，拱起了眉毛。""而且你似乎决心要成为他们中的一员。看看你。低微的m.a.s.研究员变成了魔法武器商人。谁能想到呢?"
“I… I’m just trying to do what’s best for my company. And for Equestria,” she added, sounding as if she wasn’t sure if Horse was mocking her or not. She glanced at Sweetie Belle, then frowned and looked down at the Stable-Tec display where Sweetie Belle was addressing a collection of ponies. Her eyes went from one to the other, mouth hanging open.
"我.....。.我只是想做对公司最有利的事。还有小马国,"她补充道，听起来好像她不确定马儿是不是在嘲笑她。她瞥了一眼甜心贝尔，然后皱起了眉头，低头看着Stable-Tec的展示，在那里甜心贝尔正在对一群小马说话。她的眼睛从一个转到另一个，嘴巴张开着。
“I do love that look,” Horse said with a chuckle.
"我真的很喜欢这个表情,"马笑着说。
“Is that… is that a robot?” she asked.
"那是...那是个机器人吗?"她问道。
“The latest and finest,” he chuckled. “Sweetie Bot, 2.0,” he said with a wave of his hoof, and the robot actually blushed and lowered her eyes. “She’s not for the show, though. She’s all for me. I just love seeing Stable-Tec squirm at the potential questions.” He gazed down at the distant, real Sweetie Belle with a strange, hard look. “I once asked her to marry me, but she declined. So I made one that wouldn’t. Worked out for the best, I suppose.”
"最新最好的,"他轻声笑着说。"SweetieBot，2.0版,"他挥动着他的蹄子说，这个机器人实际上脸红了，低下了眼睛。"不过，她不适合这个节目。她完全支持我。我很高兴看到Stable-Tec对潜在的问题感到不安。"他用一种奇怪而坚定的眼神凝视着远处真实的甜心贝尔。"我曾向她求过婚，但她拒绝了。所以我做了一个。我想这是最好的办法了。"
“I’ll say,” Diamond Flash said as she looked around. “I… I wonder if the Princesses will show up.”
"我说,"钻石闪光说，她环顾四周。"我.....。.不知道公主们会不会来。"
Horse rolled his eyes. “Oh, I suppose Luna will make an appearance, eventually. Give some boring speech about innovation, how pleased she is at our inventions, remind us to give our all to win the war, and then teleport back to Canterlot. Rah rah rah.” He gave a dismissive yawn. “I’d be far more interested if Celestia poked her horn outside her school… but she has even less inclination to be around weapons like these.” He scanned the crowd and then gave a savage little grin. “Oh look. Her cadaver’s here.”
马儿转了转眼珠。"哦，我想卢娜最终会露面的。发表一些无聊的关于创新的演讲，她对我们的发明是多么的满意，提醒我们全力以赴赢得战争，然后传送回Canterlot。哇，哇，哇。"他不屑地打了个哈欠。"如果塞莱斯蒂娅在学校外面伸出她的号角，我会更感兴趣......但是她更不愿意接触这样的武器。"他扫视了一下人群，然后露出了凶狠的微笑。"哦，看。她的尸体在这里。"
She followed his gaze and looked down at the scarred form of Goldenblood walking around the edges of the room, skirting the crowd. “Who?”
她跟随着他的目光，低头看着那个伤痕累累的金色血液在房间的边缘走来走去，绕过人群。"谁?"
He glanced at her, his expression turning pitying. “Oh, that’s right. You’re not in the know. I really shouldn’t be surprised anymore.” He smirked down at the pony as he made his way towards Stable-Tec’s stable display. “That’s the director of the Office of Interministry Affairs. One Goldenblood.”
他瞥了她一眼，脸上带着怜悯的表情。"哦，对了。你不知道。我真的不应该再感到惊讶。"当他朝Stable-Tec的马厩走去的时候，他对着小马傻笑着。"那是部际事务办公室主任。一个金色血统。"
Diamond glanced down at the disfigured pony who was now standing in a corner away from the crowd gathered around Sweetie Belle. The mare then looked back at him. “So what?”
戴蒙德低头看了看那匹毁容的小马，它现在正站在角落里，远离聚集在甜心贝儿周围的人群。这时母马回头看了他一眼。"那又怎么样?"
Horse threw back his head and laughed. “Oh my. ‘So what?’ That’s so… cute.” He returned to glaring down at the stallion. “When I was interim director of the M.W.T., I discovered all kinds of interesting things about Goldenblood and his little office. Things you wouldn’t begin to believe. It was all right there, if you were smart enough to know where to look.” He caught Diamond’s eye, and his lips curled in amusement. “Applejack isn’t, by the way. She hasn’t a clue about a tenth of what’s done behind her back.” He glanced at the orange mare and her escort with a look that was almost pitying.
马仰起头笑了起来。"哦，我的天。那又怎样这太...可爱了。"他回过头来怒视着那匹种马。"当我担任m.w.t.的临时主管时，我发现了有关金血王和他的小办公室的各种有趣的事情。你不会相信的事情。如果你够聪明，知道该去哪里找的话，一切都会好的。"他引起了戴蒙德的注意，他饶有兴致地撇了撇嘴。"顺便说一句，苹果白兰地不是。她对自己背后所做的事情一无所知。"他瞥了一眼橙色的母马和她的护送者，眼神几乎是怜悯的。
“You… you don’t know anything about what happened to her… her accident, do you?” Diamond asked, her voice dropping. Horse glanced at her and his lips widened even more. I knew ponies that smirked like that… I wanted to buck that smirk right off his face.
"你...你根本不知道她发生了什么事...她的事故，对吧?"戴蒙德问道，她的声音变低了。马儿瞥了她一眼，嘴唇更张开了。我认识那种会傻笑的小马......我真想把他脸上的傻笑给打消。
“Why… of course not. How could you possibly think such a thing?” he said in a voice of faux wounded pride, pressing a hoof to his tuxedo vest. He then looked down at Applejack’s green escort and chuckled. “How terrible that the assassin was killed rather than apprehended. Can you imagine what Morale might have discovered had he been arrested? Why, I imagine whoever did arrange things must have been tickled pink when he was dispatched. Probably sent Applesnack a gift basket.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Such irony…” Was he talking about himself or Goldenblood... ugh... either way, I didn’t like it!
"当然不是。你怎么会这么想呢?"他假装受伤了，骄傲地说，把蹄子贴在他的燕尾服背心上。然后他低头看了看苹果白兰地的绿色护花使者，咯咯地笑了起来。"杀手不是被逮捕，而是被杀，这是多么可怕的事情啊。你能想象士气如果被捕会发现什么吗？我想，不管是谁安排了这一切，他被杀的时候一定乐坏了。可能是送了苹果包一个礼品篮。"他咯咯地笑着，摇了摇头。"真是讽刺......"他说的是他自己还是金血王......呃......不管怎样，我都不喜欢！
The mare licked her lips nervously, averting her eyes from the handsome yellow stallion. Diamond started to move away from Horse. “I should… um… go mingle.”
那匹母马紧张地舔着嘴唇，把目光从那匹漂亮的黄色种马身上移开。戴蒙德开始远离马。"我应该...嗯...去交际一下。"
But Horse reached out and pulled her close to the rail once more. “Ah ah ah. You want to be one of the big ponies, you need to learn how the game is played.” He nodded his head once towards the crowd, and the robot nodded in return and trotted towards them, drawing attention from the pair.
但是马儿伸出手，又一次把她拉到栏杆边上。"啊，啊，啊。如果你想成为一匹大马，你需要了解这个游戏是怎么玩的。"他朝人群点了点头，机器人也点了点头，然后小跑向他们，吸引了他们的注意力。
“It’s Sweetie Belle!” they began to gush, and the robot began to sing in her slightly-off buzzing voice as Horse led Diamond away from the scene.
"是甜心贝儿!"他们开始滔滔不绝，而且机器人开始唱她略微关闭嗡嗡的声音作为马带着钻石离开现场。
“What do you want, Horse?” she asked warily.
"你想要什么，小马?"她小心翼翼地问。
“Oh, what do any of us want? Mares. Money. Mansions…” he said with a dull wave of his hoof, then he smirked at her. “Let me turn the question around. What do you want, Diamond?”
"哦，我们到底想要什么？母马。金钱。"豪宅......"他迟钝地挥了挥蹄子说，然后冲她傻笑。"让我来回答这个问题。你想要什么，戴蒙德?"
She balked a moment. “Well… to do what’s best for my company. And for my daughter. And… for Equestria, of course.”
她犹豫了一会儿。"嗯......为我的公司做最好的打算。还有我的女儿。当然，还有小马国。"
He gave an exaggerated yawn. “Yes. How very dutiful to your stockholders, biology, and nation.” He frowned and darted in front of her. “What is it you want? You really want? What horrible, selfish, ignoble desire purrs inside your heart that drove you to release a magical talisman that makes all your other weapons, perhaps war itself, obsolete?”
他打了一个夸张的哈欠。"是的。对你们的股东、生物学家和国家是多么尽责啊。"他皱起眉头，冲到她面前。"你想要什么？你真的想要？是什么可怕的、自私的、不光彩的欲望在你的心里发出咕噜咕噜的声音，驱使你释放一个魔法护身符，使你所有其他的武器，也许是战争本身，都过时了?"
Diamond stared into his powerful, charismatic brown eyes. “Magic,” she said in a near whisper. “I… I never was very good at it. All I could do was manipulate light… and when that didn’t lead to anything productive, I was… reassigned to lighting the lab. I want to… to make magic. Powerful magic. As powerful as the Princesses or Twilight Sparkle herself!” she said in voice of heated confession.
戴蒙德凝视着他那双充满力量、魅力十足的棕色眼睛。"魔法,"她低声说。"我.....。.我从来都不擅长这个。我所能做的就是操纵光线......当那没有带来任何有用的结果时，我就......被重新分配去照亮实验室。我想...创造奇迹。强大的魔法。就像公主和紫悦一样强大!"她在激烈的忏悔声中说。
A small, triumphant smile crossed his face. “Mmmm… would you like the chance to do so? To make magic on an unimaginable scale?”
他脸上露出一丝得意的微笑。"嗯......你想要这样做的机会吗？制造难以想象规模的魔法?"
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded once. “More than anything.”
她犹豫了一会儿，然后点了点头。"胜过一切。"
Horse chuckled and then tilted his head towards a small door. “Let me show you something.”
马咯咯地笑了，然后把头斜向一扇小门。"我给你看样东西。"
He led her through the small access door and down a service hallway where cameras swept slowly back and forth. He pulled out an odd card with a gemstone reflector on it and held it up as they approached the cameras; there was a beep, and the red lights atop them went dark. He glanced at the incredulous mare and gave a wink. Eventually, they reached a small, nondescript office, and he tucked the strange card away. He walked to a large bookcase. “Ah, an oldie, but a goodie. ‘Principles of Power’…” he reached out with one hoof and pulled out a small book. “And ‘Applications of Technology’,” he said as he tugged out another. There was a faint click, and the bookcase swung out. “The classics never grow old.”
他领着她穿过一个小门，穿过一个服务走廊，那里的摄像头慢慢地来回扫视着。他拿出一张奇怪的卡片，上面有一个宝石反射器，当他们靠近相机时，他把卡片举了起来。他瞥了那匹怀疑的母马一眼，眨了眨眼睛。最后，他们来到一间不起眼的小办公室，他把那张奇怪的卡片塞了起来。他走到一个大书橱前。"啊，一个老人，但是一个好人。'权力的原则'......"他一只蹄子伸出手，拿出一本小书。"还有'技术的应用',"他一边说，一边拉出另一个。随着一声轻微的咔嗒声，书架晃了出来。"经典永远不会变老。"
He pulled another gemmed card from his tuxedo jacket and hung it in front of his mouth as the heavy door behind the books appeared. The symbol of the Ministry of Wartime Technology was emblazoned upon it, but I saw the tiny icon of the O.I.A. in the corner of the door. A red lens popped out of the middle of the door and swept across Horse, Diamond, and the strange card he held up. The door opened with a hiss, and two huge sentries, perhaps the earliest Ultra-
他从晚礼服的夹克里抽出另一张镶有宝石的卡片，挂在嘴前，这时书后面沉重的门出现了。战时技术部的标志被装饰在上面，但是我看到门角上有战时信息处的小标志。一个红色的镜头从门中间弹出来，扫过马、钻石和他举起的那张奇怪的卡片。门开了，发出嘶嘶声，还有两个巨大的哨兵，也许是最早的"奥特拉"
Sentinels, rolled forward from their access.
哨兵从他们的入口向前滚动。
“One A Two C Four D Three I,” Horse said casually as he put the card away. Instantly, both robots turned their guns towards Diamond. She cried out, and he hastily added, “And one consultant.” The robots beeped and returned to their alcoves. “Touchy things at times, aren’t they?”
"一个a两个c四个d三个i,"马漫不经心地说着，把卡片收起来。两个机器人立刻把枪口对准了戴蒙德。她叫了出来，他急忙补充道:"还有一个顾问。"机器人发出嘟嘟声，回到壁龛里。"有时候很敏感，不是吗?"
“What is this place?” she asked nervously. Beyond the two robots were an elevator shaft and a platform lift.
"这是什么地方?"她紧张地问。在这两个机器人之外是一个电梯井和一个平台升降机。
“This is the Ministry of Wartime Technology,” he said as he stepped onto the lift. “Down there… well… that’s the surprise.” He smirked at her. “You can still walk away, Flashie. Go back to making products and attending board meetings and chasing after quarterly benchmarks.”
"这里是战时技术部,"他走上电梯时说。"在那里......好吧......这就是惊喜。"他朝她傻笑。"你还是可以走开的，弗拉什。回去制造产品，参加董事会会议，追求季度目标。"
As someone whose given name could easily be made to end in an ‘-ie’, I knew there was only one response. She turned and stepped onto the platform beside him. The lift gave a lurch and began to drop. Only green lights spaced intermittently gave any illumination as they descended into the earth below.
作为一个名字可以很容易地以"-ie"结尾的人，我知道只有一种回应。她转过身来，走到他旁边的讲台上。电梯突然倾斜了一下，开始下降。只有间隔开的绿灯在它们下降到地面时才发出一点光亮。
Diamond paced nervously back and forth. “Where are we going?” The smooth concrete walls gave way to rough-hewn rock framed with girders.
戴蒙德紧张地来回踱步。"我们要去哪儿?"光滑的混凝土墙让位于粗凿的带有大梁的岩石框架。
“Down,” he replied simply. “There’s a lot of ‘down’ in Hoofington. Even before the original city was razed, it had a rather stunning amount of drains, sewers, and access tunnels. It’s as if the city’s always been trying to draw its inhabitants to explore deeper and deeper into the earth.” He glanced at her and gave a grin. “Nervous?”
"下去,"他简单地回答。"Hoofington有很多'下跌'。甚至在最初的城市被夷为平地之前，它就有数量惊人的排水沟、下水道和通道。这座城市似乎一直在努力吸引居民探索地球越来越深的地方。"他瞥了她一眼，咧嘴一笑。"紧张吗?"
“No,” she said sharply.
"不,"她厉声说。
“Liar,” he replied. “Unicorns always are when it comes to being underground. You love the shiny things… but the rocks? The dirt? The bones? No, you really don’t belong here,” he said as he casually looked over at the wall.
"骗子,"他回答。"当涉及到地下生活时，独角兽们总是如此。你喜欢闪闪发光的东西...但是石头呢？泥土？那些骨头？不，你真的不属于这里,"他一边说，一边漫不经心地看着墙壁。
Diamond stared at him a moment. “Do you… not like unicorns?”
戴蒙德盯着他看了一会。"你...不喜欢独角兽吗?"
He looked at her and arched a brow, then smiled. “Truth be told, I hate every last one of you.” He turned to looked at the passing stone walls again. “It’s jealousy, really. You get to do magic. We can’t. It’s your dream to do incredible magic.
他看着她，皱了皱眉，然后笑了。"说实话，我恨你们每一个人。"他又转过身来，看着路过的石墙。"这是嫉妒，真的。你可以施展魔法。我们不能。做不可思议的魔术是你的梦想。
Well, it’s my dream to someday have technology so advanced that there won’t be a difference between unicorns and anypony else. We’ll all be equal.”
好吧，我的梦想是有一天能拥有如此先进的技术，以至于独角兽和其他矮种马之间不会有什么区别。我们都是平等的。"
“You’re… frightfully candid,” she murmured.
"你真是......太坦率了,"她喃喃地说。
He gave a short laugh. “It’s this place. It brings out the honesty in me.” He turned and pointed to the wall, which now glittered with huge black bands. “As we dug the tunnels to bring building materials into the Core, we came across this strata of obsidian. One of the thickest ever encountered. Odd, because obsidian rarely forms so deep beneath the earth. It’s also a poor foundation for skyscrapers, to be certain, but, enchanted and processed, proved quite useful as a building material. But beneath it, we encountered something even more amazing… a layer of broken and compressed granite.”
他发出一声短促的笑声。"就是这个地方。它激发了我内心的诚实。"他转过身来，指着墙壁，墙上现在闪烁着巨大的黑色条纹。"当我们挖隧道把建筑材料运进岩心时，我们遇到了黑曜石地层。有史以来最厚的一个。很奇怪，因为黑曜石很少在地下这么深的地方形成。毫无疑问，这对于摩天大楼来说也是一个糟糕的地基，但是，施了魔法并经过处理，被证明是一种非常有用的建筑材料。但在它的下面，我们遇到了更令人惊异的东西——一层破碎压缩的花岗岩。"
“My… geology is somewhat lacking…” Diamond confessed.
"我的......地质学有些欠缺......"戴蒙德承认。
Horse chuckled mirthlessly. “That was one thing I liked about Goldie. He could talk rocks all day. I think it’s the only thing I like about him.” He pointed at the gray walls. “The granite formed eons ago, some of the hardest stone in the world. But something had shattered it to pieces. This wasn’t some slow process of erosion but a rapid and traumatic event. Even more shocking, in several places we found pockets with intact zebra ruins, buried beneath an avalanche of debris.”
马儿不高兴地咯咯笑了起来。"这是我喜欢戈尔迪的原因之一。他可以整天谈论石头。我想这是我唯一喜欢他的地方。"他指着灰色的墙壁。"花岗岩形成于很久以前，是世界上最坚硬的石头之一。但是有什么东西把它粉碎了。这不是一个缓慢的侵蚀过程，而是一个迅速的创伤性事件。更令人震惊的是，我们在好几个地方发现了完整的斑马遗迹，被大量的瓦砾掩埋。"
“Zebras? In Equestria?” she asked, baffled.
"斑马？在小马国?"她困惑地问道。
“Please. This was centuries before Equestria. We were being exploited for food by Unicornia and Pegasopolis,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “We came to one of two conclusions. Either there had been some sort of cataclysmic volcanic eruption, or a colossal impact had blasted a mountain of granite apart and the debris had rained down all across the valley. Magma then rose and rapidly cooled, forming the obsidian layer, which was buried beneath sediments.” He reached into his tuxedo and casually drew out a fragment of shiny silver metal. “And then we found this.”
"求你了。这比小马国早了几个世纪。我们被独角兽和飞马座的人当作食物来剥削,"他转着眼珠说。"我们得出了两个结论之一。要么是发生了某种灾难性的火山喷发类型，要么是巨大的撞击将一座花岗岩山脉炸开，碎片雨点般地落到整个山谷。岩浆上升并迅速冷却，形成了被沉积物掩埋的黑曜石层。"他把手伸进礼服里，不经意地掏出一块银光闪闪的金属碎片。"然后我们发现了这个。"
“What is it?” she asked.
"这是什么?"她问道。
“Starmetal. Sky Iron. Meteorite. Or rather, that’s what it appeared to almost everyone. What I discovered was that this metal isn’t simply an element or alloy. It has a peculiar atomic structure capable of manifesting particular macroscopic
"Starmetal.天铁。陨石。或者说，几乎每个人都这么认为。我发现这种金属不仅仅是一种元素或合金。它有一种特殊的原子结构，能够表现出特定的宏观
effects.” He smiled smugly. “And I realized that such a metal had more than simple natural origins. It was technology. Incomprehensible technology to everyone but a very select few. Technology that would allow us to not just end the war with pitiful ease but to also to utterly transform the world. Perhaps the universe.”
效果。"他得意地笑了。"我意识到这种金属不仅有简单的自然起源。是技术。除了极少数人，所有人都无法理解的技术。科技让我们不仅可以轻而易举地结束战争，而且可以彻底改变世界。也许是宇宙。"
Diamond took a half step back from Horse as he chuckled. “Of course, that was just my pet theory.” He looked down, where the green glow was becoming brighter and more steady. “Then we found…” He paused, and suddenly the lift dropped into a colossal, perfectly round void. “…this.”
戴蒙德咯咯地笑着，离马儿后退了半步。"当然，这只是我的个人理论。"他往下看，那里的绿光越来越明亮，越来越稳定。"然后我们发现......"他停顿了一下，突然电梯掉进了一个巨大的、完美的圆形空间里。"...这个"
A few green lights along the lift’s hanging rails were the only source of steady illumination, struggling to light the massive space around us. The green glow was augmented by countless motes of ghostly white light circling in the middle of that great space. Along the periphery of the expanse were long, jagged blades of silver jutting hundreds of feet into the mile-wide cavern. Green crackling energy arcs flickered and danced along the edges like a distant lightning storm. A swarm of tiny humming dots swirled and flickered around the silver spires like a metallic mist.
电梯吊轨上的几盏绿灯是唯一稳定照明的来源，努力照亮我们周围广阔的空间。绿色的光芒被无数幽灵般的白光增强了，这些白光盘旋在这个广阔的空间的中央。沿着广袤区域的边缘，有长长的锯齿状银叶片，向数百英尺宽的洞穴中伸出。绿色噼啪作响的能量弧闪烁着，沿着边缘跳跃着，就像远处的闪电风暴。一大群嗡嗡作响的小点像金属雾一样在银色的尖顶上旋转和闪烁。
“What… how…” she breathed, staring into the space as the lift dropped towards a large bulbous shape suspended in the very center of the chamber, hundreds of feet above the floor.
"什么......怎么......"她呼吸着，凝视着空中，电梯朝着悬浮在房间中心的一个大球形物体下降，这个球形物体离地面有几百英尺高。
“We didn’t make this,” Horse said as he started out at the gargantuan machine surrounding them in all directions. “Something else, somewhere else, using a technology greater than anything we could imagine, did. Applejack’s engineers and Twilight’s researchers call it the ‘Tokomare’. The zebra called it the ‘Eater of Souls’. I call it the future of the equine race.”
"这不是我们造出来的,"霍斯一边说着，一边向四周环绕着他们的庞大机器走去。"在其他地方，其他一些东西，使用了一种超乎我们想象的技术。苹果白兰地的工程师和《暮光之城》的研究人员称之为Tokomare。斑马把它叫做"食魂者"。我称之为马类的未来。"
She blinked and stared at him in shock. “How is this… thing… our future?” The lift came to a stop at a dangling station. A ring of terminals flickered around pieces of equipment, and a half-dozen ponies walked around the devices. A hum filled the air which would have made my mane stand on end if I’d been there myself. Diamond swayed as a familiar lethargy washed through her. “And what… what’s that screaming?”
她眨了眨眼睛，震惊地盯着他。"这个......东西......怎么会是我们的未来?"电梯在一个摇晃的车站停了下来。一圈终端在设备碎片周围闪烁，六匹小马在设备周围走动。空气中充满了嗡嗡声，如果我亲自去的话，我的鬃毛都会竖起来。随着熟悉的麻木不仁的情绪席卷而来，戴蒙德开始摇摆不定。"那...那尖叫声是什么?"
An odd, small yellow mare with strange pointed eyes and a black mane pulled into a bun trotted up and passed her a small plastic canister on a plastic thong.
一匹奇怪的黄色小母马，长着奇怪的尖眼睛，黑色的鬃毛梳成一个发髻，小跑过去，递给她一个塑料丁字裤上的小塑料罐。
“Here. Take this,” she said in an unfamiliar accent. “It’s the only thing that we’ve found that counters the ambient energy.” Diamond put it around her neck, then breathed a sigh of relief. “Doctor Toko, leader of the Tokomare project.”
"这儿。拿着这个,"她用一种不熟悉的口音说。"这是我们发现的唯一能抵消周围能量的东西。"戴蒙德把它挂在她的脖子上，然后松了一口气。"托克博士，托克马雷项目的负责人。"
“You’re from Neighpon?” Diamond Flash asked in shock.
"你是邻里来的?"钻石闪光震惊地问道。
“Indeed,” she said with a smile, then gestured to the other ponies. “This is Bastille, from Fancee.” A stern-looking gray earth pony mare nodded once from her terminal. “Trotski from Stalliongrad.” A blue stallion with an impressive, brushy beard trotted up and kissed her hoof. “Halah from Saddle Arabia,” she said as she gestured to a large, yet surprisingly delicate… pony? “Harmonia from Crystal Empire,” she indicated a white mare who was… sparkling? Okay. Shiny ponies was where I drew the line!
"的确,"她笑着说，然后指了指其他的小马。"这是来自Fancee的巴士底狱。"一匹看起来严肃的灰色地球母马从她的终端点了一下头。"斯大林格勒的Trotski"一匹长着浓密毛茸茸胡子的蓝色种马小跑起来，亲吻着自己的蹄子。"来自阿拉伯马鞍的哈拉,"她一边说，一边指着一匹又大又精致的小马？"来自水晶帝国的和谐,"她指着一匹白色的母马，那匹母马正在......闪闪发光？好吧。闪亮的小马是我的底线！
But that couldn’t prepare me for the last member of the research team. “And this is Amadi,” Toko said as she pointed to the final member, a large and shrouded form.
但这并不能让我对研究小组的最后一个成员有所准备。"这是阿马迪,"托科指着最后一位成员说，那是一个巨大的、遮盖着的形体。
When indicated, he stepped forward and pulled back his hood, uncovering his long striped mane and lined features. He wasn’t just striped, however. His face was covered with intricate tattoos that seemed to emphasize his stripes. Strange glyphs were tattooed upon his hide in sweeping, elaborate tribal marks. His yellow eyes focused upon Diamond, and he gave a small smile, as if finding amusement in something.
当他指出时，他走上前去，拉开他的兜帽，露出他长长的条纹鬃毛和衬里的特征。然而，他不仅仅是条纹的。他的脸上布满了复杂的纹身，似乎突出了他身上的条纹。他的藏身之处有一些奇怪的象形文字，上面有大面积的、精心制作的部落标记。他那双黄色的眼睛盯着戴蒙德，露出一丝微笑，好像在什么东西里找乐子似的。
“A zebra? What… how…” She swallowed, her mouth working silently a moment. “I thought zebras had been… ah…”
"斑马？什么......怎么......"她咽了一口唾沫，嘴巴默默地动了一会儿。"我还以为斑马......啊......"
“There are certain elements within the government which can overlook the current political climate. Besides, my tribe is loathed far more than any pony could be by zebrakind,” he said fluidly with an easy smile. “The chance to be a part of this is more than I could dream,” he said with a wave of his hoof, then looked back at her and gave a little nod of concession to her. “But it is much to take in, I understand.”
"政府内部有一些人可能会忽视当前的政治气候。此外，我的部落比任何一匹小马都更讨厌斑马,"他流畅地说，脸上带着轻松的微笑。"有机会成为其中的一部分，这是我做梦也想不到的,"他挥动着他的蹄子说，然后回头看着她，向她点了点头。"但我明白，这很难接受。"
She swallowed and turned to Horse. “What… why am I here?”
她咽了口唾沫，转向马儿。"什么......我为什么会在这里?"
Toko gestured at the immense metal spines jutting out at them as she said, “The Tokomare is an alien device of unprecedented power and potential. But while some members of this team may have more… outlandish theories about its
东子指着伸出来的巨大的金属尖刺说道:"东康马雷是一个拥有前所未有的力量和潜力的外星设备。但是，尽管这个团队的一些成员可能有更多......奇怪的理论关于它的
potential…” Toko glanced at Amadi who chuckled with a rueful bow of his head. “Our goal is simple: unlimited electricity for the entire world.”
托科瞥了阿马迪一眼，阿马迪苦笑着低下了头。"我们的目标很简单:为全世界提供无限的电力。"
“An end to all wars,” Amadi said with a nod. “With this device, the resource struggle will end, and both pony and zebrakind will have peace. All people will. Stars willing, of course.” Maybe it was just me, but there was something about the way he said that which made me wish my spine could crawl.
"结束所有的战争,"阿马迪点头说。"有了这个装置，资源之争就会结束，小马和斑马种都会得到和平。所有人都会。当然，明星们是愿意的。"也许只有我这么觉得，但是他说话的方式让我希望我的脊椎能够爬起来。
“Yes, using an unimaginably advanced source of technology to illuminate our lightbulbs. How… thrilling…” Horse said in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
"是的，利用一种无法想象的先进技术来照亮我们的灯泡。多么......令人兴奋......"马儿用一种充满讽刺的声音说道。
Diamond looked from one to the next. “I don’t understand. What can I do?”
戴蒙德看了一个又一个。"我不明白。我能做什么?"
“I think it’ll just be easier to show her,” Toko said as she trotted to a control panel and began to push buttons. Everyone started donning green-lensed goggles that hung around their necks, and Amadi passed a set to Diamond. Instantly everything was awash in emerald hues. “Harmonia?” Toko asked as the other smart ponies went to work. The shimmery mare began to manipulate intricately carved crystal rods in another panel. “The Uvula is positioned right in the middle of the void. Any closer, and the radiation and discharge would be… hazardous.”
"我觉得给她看会更容易些,"托科一边说，一边小跑到控制面板前，开始按按钮。每个人都开始戴上挂在脖子上的绿色护目镜，阿马迪把一套护目镜递给了戴蒙德。瞬间，一切都染上了翡翠色。"哈耳摩尼亚?"当其他聪明的小马开始工作时，托科问道。闪闪发光的母马开始在另一块嵌板上操纵复杂雕刻的水晶棒。"悬雍垂正好位于虚空的中央。再靠近一点，辐射和排放就会......危险。"
Four long crystals slid out of the dangling platform towards the sparking wall. Above us, four long metal arms that had rested along the lift rails slowly swung down and stuck far out into the void. Bright golden wands glimmered at the tips. “Extra duty magic lightning rods?” Diamond asked with a small smile.
四个长长的水晶从悬挂着的平台滑向闪着火花的墙壁。在我们头顶上，四个长长的金属扶手沿着电梯扶手慢慢地摆动着，伸进了空旷的地方。明亮的金色魔杖在顶端闪闪发光。"额外的神奇避雷针?"戴蒙德微笑着问道。
“Flash Industries’s finest,” Horse chuckled as he worked on his controls. Instantly, the distant dark motes swept like a dust storm towards the platform. Tiny metal orbs fluttered in a swarm around the platform, then swooped into large drums along the elevator above, making them hum like massive beehives. “Mechasprites. Something that never was converted for market use… but very useful in hazardous environments like this.” When the last flying machine returned to the canister, he waved at Toko. “Ready here.”
"闪电工业最好的,"马笑着说，他在他的控制工作。瞬间，远处黑色的尘埃像沙尘暴一样向平台掠去。微小的金属球在平台周围成群地飞舞，然后沿着上面的电梯俯冲到大鼓里，使它们像巨大的蜂巢一样嗡嗡作响。"meechasprites.一些从来没有转化为市场使用的东西......但在这样的危险环境中非常有用。"当最后一架飞行器返回到滤毒罐时，他向托克挥手。"准备好了。"
“Ve are at full extension,” Trotski said from his terminal. “Shall ve go for a hundredth?”
"Ve处于全面扩张状态,"Trotski在他的终端说。"我们去百分之一好吗?"
“Sure. Give the system a workout,” Harmonia said.
"当然。让这个系统得到锻炼,"哈耳摩尼亚说。
Amadi bowed his head. “Ashur. Dagon. Namtar. Spare us your wrath and grant
阿马迪低下了头。"阿舒尔。大光。Namtar.请饶恕我们的愤怒和恩赐
the daring a fraction of your power.”
胆量只是你力量的一小部分
“Shall we pray to the Boogiebuck and the Headless Horse while we’re at it?” Horse drawled with a roll of his eyes.
"我们是否应该在祈祷时向布吉巴克和无头马祈祷呢?"马转着眼珠慢吞吞地说。
The zebra scowled. “Perhaps when your people suffer terribly from a power beyond your imaginings, you will have a greater respect for them.”
斑马皱起了眉头。"也许当你的人民遭受一种超出你想象的力量的可怕折磨时，你会更加尊重他们。"
The yellow stallion rolled his eyes once again. “And I’m sure when it comes, it will be a miracle for the ages. Shall we?”
那匹黄色的种马又转了转眼珠。"我相信，当这一天到来的时候，这将是一个历史性的奇迹。可以吗?"
“Only a hundredth,” Toko warned. “Ear protection now.” Everypony present quickly donned strange crystal-studded earmuffs.
"只有百分之一,"托克警告说。"现在可以戴耳罩了。"每个在场的小马很快戴上了奇怪的水晶耳罩。
The hum began to fill the air as the four crystal wands began to resonate. The spires filled the air with an ominous counterpoint to the strange sound. “Tuning in to the frequency,” Harmonia shouted, the shiny mare barely audible as she turned a knob with her hooves. The swirling motes of light began to whirl around the dangling platform energetically. “Any second now. Be ready,” she said as the humming crystals hit a sweet note.
当四根水晶魔杖开始共鸣时，嗡嗡声开始弥漫在空气中。尖塔在空气中弥漫着一种与这种奇怪的声音相对应的不祥的气氛。"调到频率,"哈耳摩尼亚喊道，她用蹄子转动旋钮，几乎听不见那匹闪亮的母马的声音。旋转的微光开始精力充沛地绕着悬挂着的平台旋转。""随时都可能。准备好,"她说着，嗡嗡作响的水晶发出甜美的声音。
The flickering green lightning along the silver protrusions disappeared. Then the crystal’s note was drowned out by a single, brutal tone blasted from every direction that made Diamond scream and fall to the platform. Thunder boomed all around her, and she looked up to see dozens of streamers of lightning ripping through the space and striking the spires. The lightning ran like water along thick cables stretched along the sides of the metal supporting the platform. The storm lasted a few seconds, then disappeared. Diamond coughed at the acrid reek left in the air.
沿着银突起闪烁的绿色闪电消失了。然后水晶的音符被从四面八方爆发出来的单一而残酷的音调所淹没，这使得戴蒙德尖叫着掉到了台子上。雷声在她周围隆隆作响，她抬头一看，几十道闪电划破了空间，击中了塔尖。闪电像水一样沿着支撑平台的金属两侧的粗电缆奔跑。风暴持续了几秒钟，然后消失了。戴蒙德对着空气中残留的刺鼻气味咳嗽了一声。
She looked up at the four lightning rods; then gaped at their absence. Four drooping, half-slagged spurs sat in their place. Horse whooped, “Look at that. All the outputs are maxed. Again!”
她抬头看了看那四根避雷针，然后目瞪口呆地看着它们不见了。四个下垂的、半结渣的马刺坐在他们的位置。马儿大叫:"看那儿。所有的输出都达到了最大值。再来!"
Diamond’s trembling hooves pulled off the earmuffs. “I’ve never seen that happen to any of our heavy duty lightning rods. That was a hundredth of full power?”
戴蒙德颤抖的蹄子扯掉了耳罩。"我从未见过这种情况发生在我们的重型避雷针上。那是全力的百分之一吗?"
Toko smiled at her. “No. If our math is correct, it is one hundredth of one percent of the power the Tokomare is capable of.”
托克对她笑了笑。"没有。如果我们的计算是正确的，那么它的功率是Tokomare的百分之一。"
Sweet Celestia. “Sweet Celestia,” Diamond murmured. “How?”
甜甜的天青石。"甜蜜的天堂,"戴蒙德低声说。"怎么做?"
“We’re not certain. The Tokomare seems to… react… to a singular frequency. But as you can see, we need something capable of shielding and channeling the power. And Flash Industries is the forerunner with your F.A.D.E. and other research projects with energy manipulation,” Toko said as she pulled her goggles up. “With your shields, we can not only tame the Tokomare, we can channel its power all across Equestria. Perhaps, all across the world.”
"我们还不确定。德国佬似乎对一个单一的频率做出了反应。但是正如你所看到的，我们需要一些能够屏蔽和引导能量的东西。闪光工业公司是你们的f.a.d.e和其他能源操纵研究项目的先驱,"托克一边说一边摘下护目镜。"有了你们的护盾，我们不仅可以驯服Tokomare，还可以把它的力量输送到整个Equestria。也许，全世界都是如此。"
I thought back to the megaspell chambers beneath the city; if there was any way the energy I’d seen could have been channeled to them, then suddenly the zebra’s zeal for destroying the Core made a lot more sense. Terrifying sense. If the ponies living above knew the glowing bullseye they lived on, then they were bona-fide crazy people. One and all.
我回想起城市下面巨大的房间;如果我所看到的能量有任何方式可以引导到他们身上，那么突然间斑马毁灭核心的热情就变得有意义多了。可怕的感觉。如果住在上面的小马知道它们赖以生存的发光的牛眼，那么它们就是真正的疯子。所有人。
“Power like that… it would take dozens, perhaps hundreds… thousands… of F.A.D.E. units. And the mechanisms to control them and…” She closed her mouth, staring at the distant silvery prongs and their flickering lightning.
"那样的能量......需要几十个，也许几百个......几千个......f.a.d.e.单位。还有控制它们的机械装置......"她闭上嘴，凝视着远处银色的尖头和它们闪烁的闪电。
Horse walked towards her. “So. What do you say? Want to do magic on a scale that will make Twilight Sparkle green with envy?”
马儿朝她走过来。"所以。你怎么说？想要大规模施展魔法，让紫悦眼红吗?"
Diamond Flash looked from one to the next, and then her eyes returned to Horse. Then she smiled. “I’ll get started tonight.”
钻石闪光从一个看到另一个，然后她的眼睛回到马。然后她笑了。"我今晚就开始。"
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
When the memory ended, I reeled there on the table. It didn’t help that my whole spine felt… stiff, and my shoulders and hips ached. So, that was the Eater of Souls: either a monster from beyond the stars or a ridiculously powerful machine. Either way, it was beneath the Core, waiting. What could it do? What, if anything, did it have to do with Horizons? Oh, who was I kidding? Something like that had to be involved with something!
记忆结束后，我在桌子上打了个趔趄。我的整个脊椎都感到僵硬，肩膀和臀部疼痛，这些都无济于事。所以，那就是灵魂的食人者:要么是来自星际之外的怪物，要么是一个可笑而强大的机器。不管怎样，它就在地核下面，等待着。它能做什么？如果有的话，这和地平线有什么关系？哦，我骗谁呢？这样的事情一定和什么有关！
Or did it… I reflected on something else: no Goldenblood. It was hard to imagine any conspiracy in Equestria without that scarred bastard involved, but I supposed that, statistically, there had to be some plots he wasn’t involved in. Maybe he was and had simply been absent. Or perhaps Goldenblood had conducted this one from behind the scenes too and… I groaned and rubbed my face with a cold black hoof. “Why so many damned secrets?”
还是......我想到了别的东西:没有金色血统。很难想象如果没有那个伤疤累累的混蛋参与，Equestria会有什么阴谋，但我猜想，从统计学上来说，肯定有一些阴谋他没有参与。也许他是，只是缺席了。或者也许金布拉德也是在幕后指挥这次行动的......我呻吟着，用一只冰冷的黑蹄子蹭了蹭脸。"为什么有这么多该死的秘密?"
“Because it’s the Hoof,” Triage said as she took the orb and returned it to her bag. “So… the Tokomare. What do you think?” she asked as she trotted back to the table with a freshly-smoking cigarette between her lips. “You saw the Tokomare. Horse’s marvelous mechanical monstrosity.”
"因为那是霍夫,"伤病分类医生一边说，一边接过球体，放回包里。"那么......Tokomare。你怎么看?"她边问边小跑回到桌边，嘴里叼着一支刚刚吸过的香烟。"你看到了德国佬。马奇妙的机械怪物。"
I sighed and looked at her, feeling the urge to be honest, and spat, “I think it’s more proof that virtually nothing that was made during the war was worth a damn. It’s like Dawn’s belief that all they need is one thing, just one, and everything will be perfect. And Diamond Flash was just sucked right in, too! No doubts. No ‘wait a minute, what if this thing eats us?’ or ‘maybe dangerous life-sucking radiation means we shouldn’t play with it!’ or anything. Did Equestria have a terminal outbreak of stupid?”
我叹了口气，看着她，感受到诚实的冲动，然后吐了口唾沫,"我认为这更能证明，战争期间生产的东西几乎一文不值。这就像道恩的信念，他们所需要的只是一件东西，只是一个，一切都将是完美的。钻石闪光刚刚吸入，太！毫无疑问。不，等一下，如果这东西吃了我们怎么办或者"也许危险的吸收生命的辐射，意味着我们不应该玩它!"或者别的什么。难道是小马国彻底爆发了愚蠢吗?"
Rover laughed as he attached my leg in the new socket in my repaired shoulder. “In a way, Pony. Ask ghoul. Everypony just raced forward as fast as they could. Pony is herd animals by nature. But moreover, think of Equestria before pony’s war.”
罗孚笑了，他把我的腿固定在我修复好的肩膀上的新插座上。"在某种程度上，小马。问问食尸鬼吧。每匹小马都以最快的速度向前冲。小马天生是群居动物。但更重要的是，想想小马战争之前的Equestria。"
Triage manipulated a probe in my opposite shoulder. “There were threats, certainly, but all they needed was for somepony -- notably Twilight Sparkle and her friends, but others, too -- to do the one thing needed to fix everything.” She gave me a little smirk. “You’re not the only unicorn who’s studied memory orbs. Before the war, they’d just use the Elements of Harmony and make everything better. Return a crystal heart to a pedestal and King Sombra is banished. Just do X, and Y is gone or fixed. Simple.”
分诊操纵着我对面肩膀上的一个探针。"的确存在威胁，但他们所需要的只是让某些小马----尤其是紫悦和她的朋友，但其他人也一样----去做一件需要解决所有问题的事情。"她给了我一个傻笑。"你不是唯一研究过记忆球的独角兽。在战争之前，他们只是使用和谐元素，让一切变得更好。把一颗水晶心放回基座，阴影国王就会被放逐。只要做x，y就会消失或修复。很简单。"
Rover sighed as he lifted my last foreleg and began to attach it to the shoulder socket. There were a number of clicking sounds and a warm, tingly feeling radiating from the connection. “Pony never realize that occasionally X’s leads to more Y’s… Z’s… and letters of alphabet Pony never imagined.” He could say ‘alphabet’ but not ‘ponies’?
罗孚叹了口气，抬起我最后一条前腿，开始把它固定在肩膀的插座上。有一些滴答的声音和一个温暖的，刺痛的感觉从连接辐射。"小马从来没有意识到，偶尔的x的导致更多的y的...z的...和字母的小马从来没有想象过。"他会说"字母表"，但不会说"小马"？
He reached over to a tray, lifted my black collar up with two fingers, and strapped it around my neck with a wordless smirk of delighted amusement. I felt myself blush profusely as he snugged it down against my hide. “Thanks,” I muttered in embarrassment. He didn’t say a single word, and Triage looked at me, the metal ring at my throat, and then back at me with a sardonic arch of her brow. “What?” I snapped defensively.
他伸手到一个托盘前，用两根手指把我的黑领子举起来，用皮带勒住我的脖子，带着一种无言的得意的傻笑。他把它贴在我的皮上，我觉得我自己都脸红了。"谢谢,"我尴尬地咕哝着。他一句话也没说，伤检分类医生看着我，金属环挂在我的喉咙上，然后回过头来看着我，眉头上露出嘲讽的弧度。"什么?"我用防御的口吻说。
“I didn’t say anything,” Triage replied as Rover cackled.
"我什么也没说,"分诊医生回答，罗孚咯咯笑了起来。
I sighed as I looked at all the blood and scraps of metal scattered around the table. My E.F.S. showed a slightly different layout: still blue, but there was definitely a wing motif on the top, bottom, and upper corners of the E.F.S. display. “Can I get up?” I groaned, wondering just how bad the damage was.
看着桌子上散落的血迹和金属碎片，我叹了口气。我的e.f.s显示了一个稍微不同的布局:仍然是蓝色的，但是在e.f.s显示器的顶部、底部和上角都有一个翅膀图案。"我能起来吗?"我呻吟着，想知道损坏到底有多严重。
“Yes, but be careful,” Triage warned. I slipped off the table feeling decidedly… heavier. These legs weren’t as light and quick as my others. “I think it all worked out okay. If the rest of his power armor were intact, we could probably have armored your whole body.”
"是的，但要小心,"伤检分类法警告说。我从桌子上滑下来，感觉非常...沉重。这双腿没有我的那双轻快。"我认为一切都进展顺利。如果他的其他能量装甲完好无损，我们可能已经装甲了你的整个身体。"
“Thanks. This is good enough,” I said as I stretched and held out a hoof. Instead of white, it had the shiny blue-black metal of Enclave power armor. I tried to pop out my fingers, but there was nothing there but metal hooves. “No thumbs?”
"谢谢。这已经够好了,"我边说边伸出一只蹄子。它不是白色，而是闪亮的蓝黑色金属昂科雷动力盔甲。我试着伸出我的手指，但除了金属蹄子什么也没有。"没有拇指?"
“Pony have thumbs,” he said as he rapped the end of my forehoof. “Dog not know why pony not able to use. Talisman should make work,” Rover said, scowling at the end of my forelimbs as if the digits were insulting him with their absence. I looked along my limb to the shoulder and stared at the larger, heavier plate there. I looked back at my hips, but aside from two fresh red scars, the black metal ended at mid-thigh and continued at my haunch. “Pony thought you’d want to keep pony butt pictures.” Triage snorted and took an extra long drag on her cigarette as she avoided my eyes.
"小马有拇指,"他说，他敲打着我的前蹄末端。"狗不知道小马为什么不能用。护身符应该能起作用,"罗孚说，怒视着我的前肢，好像这些数字的缺失是对他的侮辱。我看着我的肢体，直到肩膀，盯着那块更大、更重的金属板。我回头看了看自己的臀部，除了两道新鲜的红色伤疤，这块黑色金属从大腿中部一直延伸到臀部。"小马以为你想留着小马屁股的照片。"分诊医生哼了一声，避开了我的目光，特别长时间地吸着烟。
“Yeah, well, there wasn’t enough armor to fully reinforce your hips externally, so I put some internally and called it good.” Suddenly the mare yawned and shook her head. “And with that, I’m going to bed. Somepony else can clean up. Make sure you eat some metal and gems soon and frequently. Your repair systems are going to be working overtime for a while.”
"是啊，因为没有足够的盔甲从外部完全加固你的臀部，所以我在内部放了一些，称之为不错。"突然，母马打了个呵欠，摇了摇头。"说完这些，我要去睡觉了。其他人可以清理。一定要经常吃一些金属和宝石。你们的维修系统将在一段时间内超时工作。"
I nodded, pulled out one of Glory’s cyberpony cakes, and began to eat. It definitely hit the spot with its appley-oily-metally goodness, but I still wanted to find a mirror. I wanted to see what Glory would see when she looked at me; did I still look like Blackjack, or was I something else?
我点点头，拿出一个晨辉的塞伯马蛋糕，开始吃起来。它确实用它的苹果味-油性-精华击中了要害，但我还是想找到一面镜子。我想看看晨辉看着我的时候会看到什么;我看起来还像黑杰克吗，或者我是别的什么？
“What is that Pony is eating?” Rover asked as he sniffed curiously.
"那匹小马在吃什么?"罗孚一边问，一边好奇地吸着鼻子。
“Oh. Glory made these for me.” I levitated up a few. “Everything a cyberpony needs.”
"哦。晨辉为我做了这些。"我漂浮起来了一些。"赛博小马需要的一切。"
He picked one up and sniffed it, then took a bite. His eye popped wide as he chewed, then slowly swallowed. “Is full of gems!” He gobbled up the rest before I could blink.
他捡起一只，闻了闻，然后咬了一口。他一边咀嚼，一边睁大了眼睛，然后慢慢吞咽下去。"装满了宝石!"我还没来得及眨眼，他就狼吞虎咽地吃完了剩下的。
Finally! Someone with good taste!
终于！有品味的人！
* * *
* * *
There was a large mirror in a recovery room down the hall, and I summoned up my courage and a light spell. “Not Dawn. Not Deus,” I murmured before I took a good look in the mirror.
走廊尽头的恢复室里有一面大镜子，我鼓起勇气，念了一个轻咒语。"不是道恩。"不是上帝,"我在照镜子之前低声说。
Okay. It wasn’t… as bad as I’d expected. I looked like I’d put on half a suit of Enclave power armor and had neglected to put on the rest. Aside from my legs, there was a large shield-shaped piece of metal across my chest that connected to my shoulders. An articulated ridge of black metal followed my spine down to my tail. My sides were still bare; on one hoof, a tactical vulnerability, and on the other a wonderful reminder that I was at least partially flesh and blood. The ridge narrowed when it got to my mane and became two thinner strips, with my mane in the middle, running to just behind my ears.
好吧。没有我想象的那么糟糕。我看起来就像穿了一半的昂科雷能量盔甲，却忘了穿其他的。除了我的腿，我的胸部还有一块很大的盾形金属连接着我的肩膀。我的脊骨一直延伸到尾巴。我的两侧仍然光秃秃的，一只蹄子是战术上的弱点，而另一只蹄子则奇妙地提醒我，我至少有一部分是有血有肉的。当它到达我的鬃毛时，山脊变窄了，变成了两条较细的条纹，我的鬃毛在中间，一直延伸到耳朵后面。
“Blackjack?” Glory said from behind me, and I froze. Slowly, I turned to face her. Her rose eyes followed the metal along my back to my flanks and then down to my legs before looking me in the eyes. She looked absolutely exhausted. Then she gave a little half smile. “Wow.”
"黑杰克?"晨辉从我身后传来，我愣住了。慢慢地，我转身面对她。她那双玫瑰色的眼睛顺着我的背部一直看到我的侧腹，然后一直看到我的腿，最后看着我的眼睛。她看起来筋疲力尽。然后她微微一笑。"哇。"
“Triage and Rover were tired of me breaking myself. So… upgrades. Fun!” I bit my lip as I rubbed my forehoof against my leg. “It’s not too bad… is it?”
"伤检分类和罗孚已经厌倦了我的自我折磨。所以...升级。有趣!"我用前蹄蹭了蹭腿，咬了咬嘴唇。"还不算太糟......是吧?"
She smiled and flew to me. “Not as bad as I was afraid it might be,” she said as she nuzzled my wonderfully flesh and blood neck. Our kiss was a delightful reminder of what it meant to be a mare.
她微笑着飞向我。"没有我担心的那么糟糕,"她一边用鼻子蹭着我美妙的肉和血脖子一边说。我们的吻令人愉快地提醒我们母马的意义。
“I was afraid…” I started, but she pressed a wing to my lips.
"我很害怕......"我吓了一跳，但她把一只翅膀贴在我的嘴唇上。
“You’re not Deus and you’re not Mother,” she said quietly.
"你不是上帝，也不是母亲,"她平静地说。
“How’s your father?” I asked in worry.
"你父亲怎么样了?"我担心地问。
“Stable,” she replied. “Lightning Dancer has contacted the Enclave. I… don’t
"稳定,"她回答。"闪电舞者已经联系了昂科雷。我。.不要
know if there’s any help for him up in Thunderhead, though. Whatever Mother did to him… well… I don’t think there’s any way to undo it. It’s like his body has forgotten how to heal itself.” She sighed and rubbed her face. “I think about those kids and leaving him there... at least Lightning Dancer will stay with him. If I know Intelligence, they won’t abandon him either. Still... it’s hard.”
不知道在Thunderhead有没有什么能帮到他的。不管母亲对他做了什么......好吧......我认为没有任何方法可以挽回。就好像他的身体忘记了如何治愈自己。"她叹了口气，揉了揉脸。"我想着那些孩子，把他留在那里......至少闪电舞者会和他在一起。就我对情报局的了解，他们也不会抛弃他。尽管如此......这还是很难。"
“Maybe someday the Collegiate can make him a cyberpony, too… maybe...” I trailed off lamely. I could tell she didn’t care for that thought at all as her eyes dropped. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked as I lifted her face with my hoof and looked into her eyes.
"也许有一天大学生也可以给他做一匹赛博马......也许......"我一瘸一拐地说。我看得出来，当她垂下眼睛的时候，她根本不在乎那个想法。"你不会有事吧?"我用蹄子抬起她的脸，看着她的眼睛问道。
“I’m with you, Blackjack. There’s no safer place to be,” she murmured softly as she held me tight and then gave an arch little smile. “Now, let me check how Triage’s improvements work. Give you a full physical?” The line was so bad that it took every bit of my self-control not to snort.
"我支持你，黑杰克。没有比这里更安全的地方了,"她轻声地说，紧紧地抱住我，然后露出一丝微笑。"现在，让我来检查一下伤检分类系统的改进工作。给你做个全身检查?"这句话太难听了，我费了好大劲才忍住不喷鼻息。
“Well, okay,” I said with a little smirk. “But it’s been a long time since I played doctor.” Then I yipped as her tail snapped upside my rump. “Sorry,” I said as her tail hooked in my collar and tugged me towards the bed.
"好吧，好吧,"我带着一丝得意的笑容说。"但我已经很久没有扮演医生了。"然后我尖叫着，因为她的尾巴在我的臀部上方猛烈地折断了。"对不起,"我说，她的尾巴钩在我的领子里，把我拖到床上。
* * *
* * *
On that long-unused mattress, we both reminded each other that, as bad as things could get, there was still bliss to be found in each other. It might not have seemed like the best time for intimacy, my body still repairing itself and she half exhausted, but when we finished and lay on the bed with our limbs tangled together, I couldn’t help but feel sublime satisfaction.
在那张久未使用过的床垫上，我们彼此提醒对方，尽管情况很糟糕，但我们仍然可以在对方身上找到幸福。这似乎不是亲密接触的最佳时机----我的身体还在自我修复，而她已经筋疲力尽了----但是当我们结束工作，躺在床上，四肢纠结在一起时，我禁不住感到极大的满足。
* * *
* * *
Chapel, forlorn and lost, seemed somehow smaller and lonelier in the rain with so many Crusaders inside the buildings or at the hospital. Yet, even after the fight, some colts and fillies remained in the watchtower and kept an eye on the hills around the village. They observed with interest as the wagon, levitated by Lacunae, set down in the middle of the square and I, P-21, Scotch Tape, Charity, and two or three less injured children climbed out. Glory and the Neighvarro Enclave flew after us; I wasn’t going to leave them with her back at the hospital. Call me paranoid, but the three had been giving Glory furtive looks every time she passed.
教堂，孤独而迷茫，在雨中显得更小，更孤独，因为有那么多的十字军战士在教堂里或者在医院里。然而，即使在战斗结束后，一些小马和小雌马仍然留在了瞭望塔里，监视着村庄周围的山丘。他们饶有兴趣地注视着那辆被拉古奈悬浮在空中的马车停在广场中央，我、P-21、透明胶带、查瑞蒂和两三个受伤的孩子从车上爬了出来。晨辉和邻里飞地在我们后面飞，我不打算把他们留在医院里。你可以说我多疑，但是每次她经过的时候，这三个人都会偷偷地看着晨辉。
“We gotta get them Harbringers,” Scotch Tape muttered sleepily as P-21 tugged her across his back. Rampage stalked out of the shadows beside the post office, and a second later the purple-scaled Precious emerged as well. Her slitted green eyes stared at my new black metal additions with equanimity, one freak to another.
"我们得抓住他们,"苏格兰磁带睡意朦胧地咕哝着，P-21拉着她的背。狂暴从邮局旁边的阴影中走了出来，一秒钟后，紫色鳞片的珍珠也出现了。她那双细长的绿眼睛镇定自若地盯着我的新黑色金属饰品，一个接一个。
“You can get the Harbingers after a few more hours of sleep,” P-21 said, then put his floppy hat on Scotch’s head. Glory gave a yawn and stretched, her blue wingtips trembling. She gave me a tired smile and nuzzled my chin one more time before staggering off with him. Twister watched her go, looked at me, and muttered something about catching some sleep as she and her comrades skulked off in the opposite direction.
"你可以在多睡几个小时后得到先驱者,"P-21说，然后把他的软帽子放在苏格兰人的头上。晨辉打了个哈欠，伸了个懒腰，蓝色的翼梢颤抖着。她给了我一个疲倦的微笑，又用鼻子蹭了蹭我的下巴，然后蹒跚地走开了。图斯特看着她离开，看着我，咕哝着说要睡一会儿，而她和她的战友们却躲在相反的方向。
“Any trouble?” I asked Rampage and the dragonfilly. My vision was showing warnings about low power; apparently my new augmentations needed more energy than the old ones, or my healing and repair talismans were working overtime.
"有麻烦吗?"我问狂暴和那只小龙。我的视力显示出对低能量的警告;显然我的新增强装置比旧的需要更多的能量，或者我的治疗和修复护身符正在加班工作。
“A few scavengers tried to snatch some gear the Harbingers left behind. We ran them off,” Rampage said as she gestured up at the manor. “No sign of the Harbingers, though. Or the tank.”
"一些拾荒者试图抢夺"先驱者"留下的一些装备。我们把他们赶走了,"朗格指着庄园说。"不过，没有预兆的迹象。或者坦克。"
“You’d think a tank would be easier to find,” Charity muttered. “Still, I’ll be glad if it never shows up again.”
"你还以为找辆坦克容易呢,"查瑞蒂咕哝道。"不过，如果它再也不会出现，我会很高兴的。"
“I need some more gems,” I muttered, trying to refrain from rubbing my sore neck. It wasn’t muscles that ached. My eyes turned towards Star House; did I have any gems left? I needed one of Glory’s cyberpony cakes… if only Rover hadn’t scarfed them all.
"我需要更多的宝石,"我咕哝着，努力克制自己不去揉我酸痛的脖子。不是肌肉疼痛。我的目光转向星宫，我还有什么宝石吗？我需要一个晨辉的赛博马蛋糕......如果不是罗孚狼吞虎咽的话。
“I’ve got some gems,” Charity said as she limped towards the post office.
"我找到了一些宝石,"查瑞蒂一瘸一拐地走向邮局时说。
Apparently shrapnel wounds made the filly a little more generous.
显然弹片造成的伤口让这匹小母马变得更慷慨了。
“You mean my gems?” Precious hissed as she narrowed her eyes, but she balked when Charity, despite her bandages, whirled on the scaled pony with a furious glare. The dragonfilly shrank back and quickly amended, “I mean… the gems I sleep on?”
"你是说我的宝石?"普莉舍丝眯起眼睛，发出嘶嘶的声音，但当查瑞丝不顾身上的绷带，怒目而视地旋转在那匹小马身上时，普莉舍丝犹豫了。那只小龙向后缩了一下，很快地回答道:"我是说......我睡觉的宝石?"
“You can spare a few,” the filly grumbled. “Besides, it never hurts to keep Blackjack in a little bit of debt to us just in case we need her to fight another
"你可以分给我几只,"小母马嘟囔着。"此外，让黑杰克欠我们一点债，以防我们需要她和另一个人打架，也没什么坏处
tank.” The hybrid glowered at me defensively, then walked back into the post office.
坦克。"那个混血儿防御性地瞪了我一眼，然后走回邮局。
“Another tank?” I asked with a snort. “Do you think I’ll ever have to do something like that again?”
"又一辆坦克?"我哼了一声问道。"你觉得我还会再做那样的事吗?"
Charity stopped at the door and looked back at me. “Given how your life goes, Blackjack, it’ll probably be three tanks. Flying ones.” I groaned, knowing that she was right. I followed her into the post office and was taken aback by the lack of weapons inside the shop. Where’d Charity stash the rest of the stuff they’d looted off the Harbingers? They couldn’t have brought it all to the hospital, not while taking the wounded. She limped to the back of the building and moved between the crates. “Come on down to the stable.”
查瑞蒂在门口停了下来，回头看着我。"考虑到你的生活状况，Blackjack，很可能是三辆坦克。会飞的。"我呻吟着，知道她是对的。我跟着她进了邮局，商店里没有武器，这使我大吃一惊。慈善机构把他们从"先驱者"抢来的东西都藏哪了？他们不可能把所有的东西都带到医院，尤其是在运送伤员的时候。她一瘸一拐地走到大楼后面，在板条箱之间来回走动。"到马厩里来吧。"
Wait. Stable? I frowned and squeezed my way between the boxes and bureaus that held the majority of the village’s property and towards the back where there were, I now saw, stairs leading down. “No way…” I breathed as I looked at steel walls and telltale conduits that made my mane tingle. “It can’t be.”
等等。稳定吗？我皱了皱眉头，挤在占据村子大部分财产的包厢和办公室之间，朝后面走去，我现在看到了通往下面的楼梯。"不可能......"我一边喘着粗气，一边看着钢墙和泄露秘密的导管，它们让我的鬃毛发麻。"不可能。"
I trotted down after the pair, my black metal hooves clanking far more loudly than my white ones had, and stopped short at the sight of the huge round door set in a concrete wall. ‘94’ was printed in faded white letters. “You have a stable down here!”
我小跑着跟在他们后面，我的黑色金属蹄子发出的叮当声比我的白色蹄子发出的声音大得多，一看到混凝土墙上那扇巨大的圆门，我就停了下来。"94"是用褪色的白色字母印刷的。"你在这儿有个马厩!"
“Right. Which is why we live on the surface where we can get shelled,” Charity said flatly as she trotted over to the control panel beside the door. A moment later the lights above the door began to flash as a klaxon sounded. With a screech and grind, the door slowly rolled open.
"对。这就是为什么我们住在地面上，我们可以得到炮击,"慈善直截了当地说，她小跑到控制面板旁边的门。过了一会儿，随着喇叭的响声，门上的灯开始闪烁起来。伴随着刺耳的声音和磨擦声，门慢慢地打开了。
“Welcome to Stable 94. The smallest stable in the Wasteland,” Charity said as she stepped through the door. Peeking inside, I immediately saw she was right. This wasn’t a stable entry like in 99. The walls seemed even thicker than usual and opened up into a large space that was maybe twenty feet high, forty feet wide, and sixty feet deep. There weren’t any offshoots or other hallways in here. The entire stable was just this one, singular room. Everywhere I turned there were boxes of valuable salvage ranging from trinkets to weapons to ammo to bottlecaps. I recognized quite a few fancy dresses from the manor and several plastic barrels full of bottlecaps, bits, and other wealth.
"欢迎来到Stable94。这是荒地里最小的马厩,"查瑞蒂一边走进门一边说。我朝里面看了一眼，立刻发现她是对的。这不像99年那样是一个稳定的条目。墙壁看起来比平时更厚，开辟出一个大空间，大概有二十英尺高，四十英尺宽，六十英尺深。这里没有任何分支或其他走廊。整个马厩就是这一间，独一无二的房间。无论我走到哪里，都能看到一箱箱珍贵的废品，从小装饰品到武器到弹药再到瓶子。我认出了庄园里的一些漂亮衣服，还有几桶装满瓶子、钻头和其他财富的塑料桶。
I used to joke that Charity would own every cap in the Wasteland, but to actually
我曾经开玩笑说慈善会拥有荒地的每一顶帽子，但是实际上
see it…
看看..。
Charity limped over to a bed in the corner of the chamber, a desk with a terminal next to it. Nearby sat a heap of gemstones. Precious climbed atop the pile and began to sullenly flick rubies towards me. “You can have these. I don’t like the flavor,” she said sulkily as she curled up on the heap.
一瘸一拐地走到房间角落里的一张床前，那张桌子旁边有一个终端。旁边坐着一堆宝石。普莱舍丝爬上那堆红宝石，郁郁不乐地向我弹来弹去。"你可以拥有这些。我不喜欢那种味道,"她蜷缩在那堆东西上，闷闷不乐地说。
I levitated a dozen into my saddlebags, then lifted one to my mouth and started to suck on it, frowning at the yellow filly. When my systems had a bit more charge, I looked around at all the stuff and then back at Charity, arching a brow. She bristled a little, “What?”
我把一打漂浮到我的鞍囊里，然后举起一只放到嘴里，开始吮吸它，皱着眉头看着那匹黄色的小母马。当我的系统有一点更充电，我看看周围的所有东西，然后回到慈善，拱眉毛。她有点生气,"什么?"
“Nothing. I just didn’t have any clue you were this… loaded,” I said as I looked at the treasures. “It makes me wonder why you fought at all, instead of just holing up in here.”
"没什么。我根本不知道你有这么多钱,"我一边说一边看着那些宝藏。"这让我想知道你为什么要打架，而不是躲在这里。"
“Maybe because we’re not stupid?” she retorted scornfully. “Maybe we know that all somepony would have to do is sit up there and starve us out if they really wanted us dead. Or maybe it’s because I really don’t want the adults up there to have a clue just how much stuff there is down here for them to snag. Or maybe, after seeing Priest die and being shot in the gut, I wanted to show the Wasteland that we’re a bunch of kids that shouldn’t be fucked with. Or all of the above,” she said grimly.
"也许是因为我们不傻?"她轻蔑地反驳道。"也许我们知道，如果他们真的想要我们死，那么他们只需要坐在那里饿死我们就行了。或者也许是因为我真的不想让上面的成年人知道下面有多少东西等着他们去抢。又或者，在看到Priest死了，肚子中了一枪之后，我想让这片荒地知道，我们是一群不该被欺负的孩子。或者以上所有的,"她冷冷地说。
I sat and raised a hoof. “Okay. Fair enough. But what is this place? Is this a stable or not?”
我坐了下来，抬起一只蹄子。"好吧。有道理。但这是什么地方？这是不是马厩?"
Charity gestured to the terminal beside her bed. “I think it was supposed to be, but there was something going on with Stable-Tec. You can read it yourself.”
小慈指了指床边的候机厅。"我认为应该是这样的，但Stable-Tec出了点问题。你可以自己看。"
I trotted over, hit a few keys, and was glad to see that there weren’t any annoying passwords. Most of the terminal was meaningless gobbledygook, but there was a series of logs that piqued my interest.
我小跑过去，按了几个键，很高兴看到没有任何烦人的密码。终端的大部分内容都是毫无意义的官样文章，但是有一系列的日志引起了我的兴趣。
>S, we’ve run interference with Image and Morale again. Please try to be a little more circumspect, if you can. The story is that the “material” for Stable 24 is for a satirical, ironic, postmodern performance piece. P&P are keeping PP occupied with infiltrators in Manehattan; hopefully, she won’t get a twitchy tail on you again. Give my love to AB. -E.
S，我们又干扰了形象和士气。如果可以的话，请尽量小心一点。故事是这样的:《Stable24》的"素材"是一部讽刺、讽刺、后现代的表演作品。在Manehattan，p&p公司一直在和渗透者打交道，希望她不会再次紧跟在你身后。代我向AB问好。ーe。
>P.S. Try and remember identification protocols, S. It’s that whole plausible deniability thing that keeps PP off our butts. Thanks.
试着记住身份识别协议，s就是这种似是而非的否认的东西让PP远离我们的屁股。谢谢。
Stable 24? I wasn’t familiar with it. It looked like it was ‘Fun with Code Words’ time again. Given that it was Stable-Tec, I guessed S for Scootaloo and AB for Apple Bloom. PP simply had to be Pinkie Pie. I couldn’t guess who the others were.
稳定24小时？我对它不熟悉。看起来好像又是"密码语言的乐趣"时间了。考虑到它是Stable-Tec，我猜s代表Scootaloo，AB代表AppleBloom。Pp只需要成为PinkiePie。我猜不出其他人是谁。
>GB, what the hay is going on there? I agreed to let your office scrap one stable. One. Now you’re taking materials from other projects. AB might not have a clue about how to read a spreadsheet, but I had to talk her out of doing a hooves-on inspection of 90. Our deal was you cover our flank, I look the other way from time to time. If you start snagging entire stables, though, ponies are going to notice. -S.
大不列颠，那里到底发生了什么？我同意让你的办公室废弃一个马厩。一个。现在你从其他项目中获取材料。Ab可能对如何读电子表格一无所知，但我不得不说服她不要再做一次"马蹄式"检查。我们的交易是你掩护我们的侧翼，我时不时地睁一只眼闭一只眼。不过，如果你开始拦截整个马厩，小马会注意到的。-s.
Those two letters made me bare my teeth, the hiss of my breath drawing both the fillies’ glances. Of course he’d be involved. He was fucking involved with everything! Now I thought back to the gutted stable in the south; no wonder it had been incomplete! The materials had been used for something else. Horizons? Redoubt? Maybe… Gardens too? Where else had Goldenblood gotten a Crusader Maneframe for Twilight without anypony else knowing about it?
那两封信使我露出了牙齿，我呼出的嘶嘶声吸引了小姑娘们的目光。他当然会参与。他他妈的什么事都有份！现在我回想起南方那个被掏空了的马厩，难怪它不完整！这些材料被用于其他用途。地平线？堡垒？也许...还有花园？还有什么地方能让金血王在《暮光之城》中得到一个十字军战士的角色而不让其他人知道呢？
>S, I don’t know precisely what you’re doing with your stables, and frankly, I don’t care. L was not keen on allowing Stables in the first place, as they suggest Equestria will lose the war. I do know that if what you’re doing became public knowledge, Stable-Tec would be finished. I also know that no corporation in Equestria has the resources that Stable-Tec does. Nepotism can be quite useful. What are two or three stables lost when you get to keep the rest? Be practical. - GB.
S，我不知道你在你的马厩里做什么，坦白说，我不在乎。我一开始就不想让马厩参赛，因为他们认为小马国会输掉这场战争。我知道如果你所做的事情公之于众，Stable-Tec就完了。我也知道在Equestria没有一家公司拥有Stable-Tec拥有的资源。裙带关系可能很有用。当你得到保留其余的时候，两个或三个马厩丢失了什么？实际一点。-GB.
“Of course,” I muttered as I read the next and then shook my head. Blackmail and sneaky tricks followed him around like a fart. How could Luna, whom I assumed was ‘L’, have ever trusted him? There were a few more that seemed largely inconsequential.
"当然,"我一边读下一本，一边喃喃自语，然后摇了摇头。勒索和鬼鬼祟祟的把戏像屁一样跟着他。卢娜，我以为她是l，怎么会信任他呢？还有一些似乎基本上无关紧要。
>AB, hey Bloom. I was digging through some of the MWT’s Stable-Tec files and lookie what I found. Mind transfer to a computer? Sexy, Bloom. Really sexy. You’ve been holding out. I saw what you have cooking at 29, 33, and 94. Hope you don’t mind if I snag the designs, ROFL. This has got some real possibilities
嘿，布鲁姆。我挖掘了一些MWT的Stable-Tec文件，看看我发现了什么。把思想转移到电脑上？性感，布鲁姆。真的很性感。你一直在隐瞒。我在29岁，33岁和94岁的时候就看到你在做什么菜了。希望你不介意我把设计抢走，ROFL。这有一些真正的可能性
if we can reverse it. Play around a bit. -H.
如果我们能逆转的话。玩一会儿。-h.
>P.S. You should check out my Sweetie Bot.
附:。你应该看看我的甜心机器人。
Horse and mind transfer? I frowned as I thought back to the Tokomare; an immense machine of terrifying potential, and Horse had his hooves on some sort of technology that could connect a mind into it? Why did that feel SO wrong on so many damned levels?
马和思想的转移？我皱起了眉头，回想起德国佬，这是一台巨大的潜力可怕的机器，马儿用他的蹄子踩着某种可以连接思想的技术？为什么这种感觉在这么多该死的层面上都是错误的？
>H, I heard all about the “Crusader” you tried to make. Look forward to reading about your lobotomy when you fail to upload yourself into it. -AB
我听说了你试图制作的"十字军战士"。期待阅读关于你的前脑叶白质切除术时，你没有上传自己到它。-抗体
>P.S. SB hopes you get tetanus.
附注:SB希望你得破伤风。
There were a few dozen other correspondences in the terminal, none of which made much sense to me. Then I found the last one.
终端里还有几十封其他的通信，对我来说没有一封是有意义的。然后我找到了最后一个。
> Your Majesty, what is Project Horizons?
陛下，什么是地平线计划？
“That’s what I’d like to know!” I shouted at the terminal, and then covered my face in my hooves. Dawn had given me a snippet, but she’d told me more about Cognitum than she had about the project that was always tantalizingly out of reach.
"这就是我想知道的!"我对着航站大喊，然后用蹄子捂住脸。道恩给了我一个片段，但是她告诉我更多关于Cognitum的事情，而不是关于那个总是令人着迷的遥不可及的项目。
The terminal beeped. I blinked and stared at the blank screen and a single, flashing cursor. Then an audio file began to play. “So what is the energy output of the moonstone/starmetal reaction, Doctor Trottenheimer?” rasped a familiar voice that made my mane creep.
终端发出嘟嘟声。我眨了眨眼睛，盯着空白的屏幕和一个闪烁的光标。然后一个音频文件开始播放。"那么，特罗滕海默博士，月亮石/星际金属反应的能量输出是多少呢?"刺耳的声音让我毛骨悚然。
“I could do the math for you, but it’s a ridiculously large number, Goldie. At an optimal ratio of 1000 to 1, you’re looking at an extreme arcanokinetic reaction. Even using it at a less efficient and more manageable 1 to 1 ratio, it’s pretty energetic. So much so that no reactor or generator could contain it. You’d need to bottle the blast inside some sort of magic field… and even then, it would be tricky. Sorry, but I don’t see this becoming an energy alternative for coal in our lifetime. Or any lifetime,” a calm and intelligent voice replied. Then there was a pause, and he asked, “Are you okay? When was the last time you slept?”
"我可以帮你算算，但这个数字大得离谱，戈尔迪。在一个1000比1的最佳比例，你正在寻找一个极端的秘密动力反应。即使使用效率较低和更易于管理的1:1比例，它也是相当有活力的。以至于没有任何反应堆或发电机能够容纳它。你需要把冲击波封装在某种魔法场中......即使那样，也会很棘手。对不起，但我不认为这会成为我们有生之年煤炭的替代能源。或者任何一辈子,"一个平静而睿智的声音回答道。然后是一个停顿，他问:"你还好吗?"？你上次睡觉是什么时候?"
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” Goldenblood muttered.
"等我死了我再睡,"金色血液咕哝着。
“Oh, so tomorrow, then? Given how you look…” There was a pause where I could only imagine a glower, then Trottenheimer suggested, “Maybe you should stop working with that starmetal. We still don’t know if it has toxic side effects or not. It definitely has some bad vibes coming off it.” When Trottenheimer said that, Goldenblood gave a wrenching laugh. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Trottenheimer asked again, sounding even more concerned.
""哦，那么明天？考虑到你的样子......"停顿了一下，我只能想象一个怒目圆睁的样子，然后特罗滕海默建议道,"也许你应该停止和那个星金属打交道。我们仍然不知道它是否有毒副作用。它肯定有一些不好的共鸣。"当特罗滕海默说这句话时，金血王发出了一声痛苦的笑声。"你确定你没事吗?"特罗滕海默再次问道，听起来更加担心。
“It’s nothing. Just… bad vibes. It’s funny.” He coughed and hacked a bit longer before asking, “Weapon applications?” Trottenheimer let out a long sigh. “You knew it was coming. Applications?”
"没什么。只是...不好的感觉。这很有趣。"他咳嗽了一阵，又砍了一会儿，然后问道:"武器应用?"特罗滕海默长长地叹了口气。"你知道它会来的。申请?"
“Practically nil. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’d blow up just fantastically! But the collateral damage would be… excessive. If you used a hundred kilograms of starmetal with one kilogram of moonstone, you’d wipe the Core off the face of Equestria. A thousand kilos of that starmetal and you’d take out Canterlot as well. Megaspells are plenty destructive enough and easier to control.” Trottenheimer chuckled. “Good thing we only brought back two or three kilograms of moon rocks, huh?” Then there was another pause. “Goldenblood?”
"几乎没有。别误会。它会爆炸得难以置信！但是这个间接伤害(电影)太过分了。如果你用一百公斤的星级金属和一公斤的月长石，你会把Equestria的地核擦掉。一千公斤的那种星金属，你也可以干掉Canterlot。巨型细胞具有足够的破坏性，而且更容易控制。"特罗滕海默咯咯地笑了。"幸好我们只带回了两三公斤的月球岩石，对吧?"然后又是一个停顿。"金色血统?"
Goldenblood rasped, “And if we used, say, ten thousand tonnes… what then?”
金色血液粗声粗气地说,"如果我们用了，比如说，一万吨......那又怎么样呢?"
“Oh, are we going for morbid speculation? Well with that much starmetal we’d probably lose everything from here to Manehattan. There’d be pieces of the capital raining down in Roam.”
"哦，我们是在进行病态的推测吗？有了那么多星金属我们可能会失去从这里到Manehattan的一切。首都的碎片会像雨点般落在罗姆。"
Goldenblood didn’t answer for a moment, then he said in a hiss, “I meant ten thousand tonnes of moonstone. At optimal ratio.”
金血王一时没有回答，接着他嘶嘶地说:"我是说一万吨月光石。达到最佳比例。"
“Ten… ten thousand t…? Goldie… I don’t think there’d be anything left of Equestria with a reaction that big. Or the zebra lands for that matter,” Trottenheimer muttered in shock. “I… the planet would still be here. We’d probably keep the atmosphere and oceans too, but I doubt there’d be much for survivors beyond that! It’d be equivalent to a geologic event. Dust clouds for years afterwards. Worldwide forest fires. I can’t even imagine the arcane aftereffects of that much energy being released. It would be a weapon with no sane application. Besides, where would you get that much moonstone? Unless you’re planning on making a couple hundred trips to the moon, you’d never get that much together.”
"一万...一万吨。.？戈尔迪...我不认为会有任何东西留在Equestria的反应这么大。或者说，斑马的土地就是为了这个,"特罗滕海默震惊地咕哝着。"我.....。.地球应该还在这里。我们可能也会保留大气和海洋，但我怀疑除此之外还会有更多的幸存者！这相当于一个地质事件。多年之后，尘土如云。全球森林火灾。我甚至无法想象那么多能量被释放后产生的神秘后果。它将成为一种没有理智用途的武器。再说，你从哪儿弄来那么多月光石？除非你计划去月球旅行几百次，否则你们永远不可能在一起那么久。"
“Of course. Of course. It was just… a thought,” Goldenblood muttered.
"当然。当然。"这只是......一个想法,"金色血液咕哝着。
“Don’t have those thoughts. It scares me when you have thoughts like that,” Trottenheimer said, then sighed. “You know what? You need to get out of the lab more. You might know your metals, but trust me, the less you work with starmetal, the better. Stuff gives me the heebie-jeebies! Give me megaspells any day.” Trottenheimer laughed, though it was a little strained.
"不要有那些想法。当你有这样的想法时，我会感到害怕,"特罗滕海默说，然后叹了口气。"你知道吗？你需要多走出实验室。你可能知道你的金属，但相信我，你与星金属工作越少，越好。这些东西让我神经过敏！任何时候都可以给我巨无霸。"特罗滕海默笑了，虽然有点紧张。
There was silence for another moment, and then Goldenblood rasped, “You’re a good pony, Trots.”
沉默了一会儿，金色的血液沙沙作响,"你是一匹好马，小马驹。"
“No I’m not. I make spells that can kill thousands… hundreds of thousands… indiscriminately. But do you know what’s sad? We don’t know how many have died in this war. When we add up pony losses, zebra losses, third party and neutral casualties… it’s already in the millions. You’ve seen No Pony’s Land around the edges of Hoofington. This war will bleed us dry. If the threat of the megaspells we’re designing for Starfall can staunch that flow, it’ll be worth it.”
"不，我不是。我制造的咒语可以杀死成千上万的人，成千上万的人，不分青红皂白。但是你知道什么是悲伤吗？我们不知道有多少人在这场战争中丧生。当我们加上小马的损失，斑马的损失，第三方和中立的伤亡...它已经在数百万。你已经在Hoofington边缘看过《无马之地》了。这场战争会榨干我们的血汗。如果我们为斯塔福尔设计的巨型防御系统的威胁能够阻止这种趋势，那就值得了。"
“And if they’re used and kill everyone?” Goldenblood asked in a harsh whisper.
"如果它们被用来杀死所有人呢?"金布拉德用刺耳的耳语问道。
Trottenheimer was silent for a moment and then said in a voice of resignation, “Well, it’s one way to end a war.”
特罗滕海默沉默了一会儿，然后以一种无可奈何的声音说:"好吧，这是结束战争的一种方式。"
The recording ended, and the two young ponies stared at me. “What the heck was that, Blackjack? I never heard that recording before,” Charity said as she gaped at the terminal.
录音结束了，两只小马盯着我。"那是什么鬼东西，Blackjack？我以前从来没有听过这段录音,"查瑞特在候机厅里目瞪口呆地说。
I just sat there, numb. Moonstone and starmetal make catastrophic explosions; I’d seen that myself, but I’d never imagined just how big they could be. More than any megaspell or balefire bomb. If he had enough of both, he could destroy all of Equestria. All of the world. I felt numb as I contemplated it; did Horizons have something to do with… with that? If I’d been capable of hyperventilating, I’d have passed out right about now. Because I had no difficulty imagining that Goldenblood could. That he might. But did he?
我只是坐在那里，麻木不仁。月长石和星铁发生了灾难性的爆炸;我亲眼见过，但我从未想象过它们会有这么大。比任何一个巨型的火焰炸弹都要多。如果他有足够的两者，他可以摧毁整个Equestria。全世界。当我想到它的时候，我感到麻木了;地平线和那个有什么关系吗？如果我有能力呼吸急促的话，我现在已经昏过去了。因为我不费吹灰之力就能想象出金色血液。他可能会。但是他做到了吗？
Where would you get that much moonstone?
你从哪儿弄到那么多月光石？
I stood and carefully looked around the corners of the room. There. My eyes landed on a camera in a corner. I stared into its lens, a tiny red light beside the optics, as it focused on me. Who was on the other side of that camera? Cognitum? Horse? Dawn? Who was playing these games with me?
我站在那里，仔细地环顾着房间的角落。好了。我的眼睛落在一个角落里的照相机上。我凝视着它的镜头，光学器件旁边的一个微小的红光，它聚焦在我身上。摄像机的另一边是谁？白兰地？马？道恩？谁在和我玩这些游戏？
“Was there any kind of arcane science equipment in here?” I asked as I stared at the camera.
"这里有什么神秘的科学仪器吗?"我盯着相机问道。
“No. It’s always been empty,” Charity replied as she stared at me in confusion, like she’d never seen me before. “There used to be cables and things sticking out of the floor though. Maybe something got taken out a long time ago?”
"没有。一直都是空的。"她困惑地盯着我，好像从来没见过我。"不过，地板上曾经有电缆和东西伸出来。也许很久以前有什么东西被拿走了?"
Something involving a way to copy a mind into a machine. “Thanks, Charity. I’m glad you showed me this.”
把思想复制到机器中的方法。"谢谢，查瑞蒂。我很高兴你给我看了这个。"
Charity flushed. “Thanks. Just don’t talk about it, please. We’re a target enough because folks think we’re weak. I don’t want them to know just how much salvage we’ve collected over the years, especially from the manor.” I’d had a huge bounty placed on my head; I knew exactly what she was talking about.
小慈脸红了。"谢谢。请不要再提这件事了。我们之所以成为众矢之的，就是因为人们认为我们软弱。我不想让他们知道我们这些年来收集了多少废品，特别是从庄园里收集的废品。"我的头被悬赏了一大笔钱，我完全知道她在说什么。
Then Rampage shouted down the stairs, “Enemy spotted! It’s back! The tank is back.”
然后狂暴冲下楼梯喊道:"发现敌人！它回来了！坦克回来了。"
“Deus,” I muttered, and the raced for the door. Had he reverted and decided to wipe Chapel off the face of Equestria, or was he here for some other purpose? I ran into Rampage at the top, the striped filly stepping aside as I made a beeline towards the exit. “What’s he doing, Rampage?” I wasn’t hearing explosions; that had to be a good sign. Right?
"上帝,"我喃喃自语，然后他朝门口跑去。他是回过头来决定把查普尔从Equestria的脸上抹去，还是他来这里另有目的？我在山顶遇到了狂暴，当我径直走向出口时，那条纹小母马闪到了一边。"他在干什么，暴跳如雷?"我没有听到爆炸声，这肯定是个好兆头。对吧？
“It’s not rampaging yet, Lieutenant. Hostile was spotted to the northwest, half a klick away,” she said as she followed me. “No sign of other hostiles, yet, but they’ve got to be out there. Enemy wouldn’t leave armor unsupported. Do you want me to recon and see if I can find them, Vanity?”
"它还没有发疯，中尉。敌人在半公里外的西北方向被发现,"她边说边跟着我。"还没有其他敌人的踪迹，但他们一定在外面。敌人不会让装甲没有支撑。你要我侦察一下，看看能不能找到他们吗，瓦妮特?"
Wait. What?
等等。什么？
I paused and looked back at her and the furious look in her eyes. On her flank, the two candy canes forming a heart were foremost in the slew that was her cutie mark. I swallowed. Twist could disappear at any moment; just noticing she was in the body of an older filly might do it. She seemed to think I was Vanity. Maybe… “One moment, Sergeant. Are you mentally clear and focused on combat?” I’d have to be quick and careful; I had two highly unstable Marauders to deal with.
我停顿了一下，回头看了看她，她眼中流露出愤怒的神情。在她的侧翼，两个糖果拐杖形成了一个心脏是最重要的转身，这是她的可爱的标志。我咽了口唾沫。特威斯特随时都可能消失，只要注意到她在一只老母马的身体里就可以做到。她似乎认为我是虚荣。也许..."等一下，中士。你头脑清醒，专注于战斗吗?"我必须迅速而小心，我要对付两个极不稳定的掠夺者。
She hissed in her anger. “Damn it Vanity! I’m fine. I don’t need your freaky
她愤怒地发出嘶嘶声。"该死的虚荣心！我没事。我不需要你的怪癖
unicorn magic messing with my head. I’m not Jetstream. I can deal with it.” Her entire face twitched with aggravation; I might not have been a morale officer, but even I could tell she was close to snapping.
独角兽魔法把我搞糊涂了。我不是Jetstream。我能应付。"她的整个脸都因为愤怒而抽搐起来;我可能不是一个士气指挥官，但是即使是我也能看出她快要抓狂了。
I considered her coolly. “I’m not sure I can take that risk, Twist. Let me put them in a memory orb for you. You can hold on to it till after the battle. I won’t take it.” Please don’t notice that I was half metal or a mare or that my mane was the wrong color. “Please don’t make me bench you this battle for psych…”
我冷静地看着她。"我不确定自己能否承担这种风险，特威斯特。让我把它们放在一个记忆球里。你可以坚持到战斗结束。我不要了。"请不要注意，我是半金属或母马或我的鬃毛是错误的颜色。"请不要让我为了心理战而让你坐冷板凳......"
“I told you I’m over what that bastard did to me! Peppermint and I…” she snapped, then grit her teeth as she stared into my eyes. ‘See me as Vanity. I am your friend. I want to help,’ I thought as I returned her gaze. Twist’s jaw trembled as it clenched and a tear ran down her cheek. Then she spat, “Fine. Just be quick about it. And I want it back after we deal with that tank. I am not turning into Jetstream!”
"我告诉过你，我对那个混蛋对我做的事已经没有感觉了！薄荷和我。。」她咬了一口，然后咬紧牙关，盯着我的眼睛。""把我看作是虚荣。我是你的朋友。我想帮忙，当我回头看她时，我想。特威斯特的下巴颤抖着，咬紧牙关，一滴眼泪顺着她的脸颊流了下来。然后她吐了口唾沫,"好吧。动作快点。等我们搞定那辆坦克之后我要拿回来。我才不要变成飞天侠!"
No arguments there. I pulled an empty memory orb from my saddlebags and touched my horn to her brow. According to Triage’s notes, the trick to gathering a memory was not to dive right into the middle of it, like I had with Shujaa. Rather, it was like collecting a cloud of flickering images. The more bright and clear a memory was, the more important or traumatic it was to the viewer. I imagined hooves of magic wafting the cloud into a tighter bunch. I saw vague images of Shujaa, Twist, and Rampage all swirling together.
没有争论。我从鞍囊里抽出一个空荡荡的记忆球，用我的号角碰了碰她的额头。根据伤检分类法的记录，收集记忆的诀窍是不要像我对Shujaa那样直接跳入其中。相反，这就像是在收集一团闪烁的图像。一段记忆越是清晰明了，对观众来说就越重要或者越具有创伤性。我想象着魔法的蹄子将云朵吹得更紧。我看到一些模糊的影像，有舒贾、扭曲和狂暴，它们一起旋转。
What to get? I couldn’t copy it all. There’d been a name that Shujaa’d mentioned, though. “Peppermint…” I muttered, and watched as a portion of her mind bloomed with images.
买什么？我无法全部复制下来。不过，Shujaa提到过一个名字。"胡椒薄荷......"我喃喃自语，看着她的一部分脑海里开满了画面。
“What about… Vanity?” she muttered weakly. “Wait… you’re not…”
"那么...虚荣心呢?"她有气无力地咕哝着。"等等...你不是..."
I saw her mind become erratic and, with as much skill as I could muster, I gathered up that glowing section and pulled them from the others. I didn’t have time to look through. From how bright and sharp the flickering images were, I could only guess they were important to Twist. Hopefully they’d be important to Rampage, too.
我看到她的思维变得飘忽不定，我尽我所能，把那个发光的部分收集起来，把它们从其他部分中分离出来。我没有时间仔细看。从闪烁的图像的亮度和锐度来看，我只能猜测它们对Twist来说很重要。希望他们对狂暴也很重要。
The glowing cloud emerged from Rampage’s forehead like a… um… like a little glowing cloud coming out of somepony’s forehead. I lifted a blank memory orb with my magic and touched the cloud to it. With a small flash, the nimbus disappeared into the orb.
发光的云彩从狂暴的前额冒出来，像一个。.呃...就像某人额头上冒出的一朵小云。我用我的魔法举起一个空白的记忆球，触碰了它。一道小小的闪光，光轮消失在光球中。
Rampage swayed, then shook her head. “Blackjack? What’s going on?”
狂暴摇晃着，然后摇了摇头。"黑杰克？怎么回事?"
“The tank’s back,” I replied as I held up the orb. “And I think I’ve got something for you to see later. Something that’ll help.”
"坦克回来了,"我一边回答，一边举起了球体。"我想我有东西要给你看。一些有用的东西。"
“Something…” She blinked at the orb, and her pink eyes shifted back to me. “Are you sure? I mean… knowing about Shujaa was cool, but…”
"什么东西......"她眨了眨眼睛，粉红色的眼睛转向我。""你确定吗？我是说...知道Shujaa的事很酷，但是..."
“It’s from Twist,” I said with a small smile. The name gave the filly a haunted look. She’d been the last to receive the phoenix talisman; I could understand her feelings.
"这是《扭扭舞》里的,"我微笑着说。这个名字给了这匹小母马一个不安的表情。她是最后一个收到凤凰护身符的人，我能理解她的感受。
“You… why don’t you… you look at it?” she stammered and swallowed, shaking her head. “I mean… then you can be sure.”
"你......为什么不......你自己看看?"她吞吞吐吐，摇着头。"我的意思是......那么你就可以肯定了。"
I stared at her and then glanced at the orb. “Okay. After the tank, then.”
我盯着她，然后瞥了一眼那个球体。"好吧。那就在坦克之后吧。"
Outside, the sallow glow of day was lightening the usual Hoofington gloom. I must have been reading messages longer than I thought. I popped another spicy ruby in my mouth and trotted quickly to the stockade, peering through a gap. The ponies who hours ago had been fighting the Harbingers now looked to me. Some stared at my new augmentations. Others saw the truth. The Harbingers attacked because of me. Sanguine attacked because of me. The tank was here because of me. There wasn’t anyplace I could call home where somepony wouldn’t try and take me out.
外面，白天灰黄的光线照亮了通常胡芬顿的黑暗。我看信息的时间肯定比我想象的要长。我又往嘴里塞了一颗辛辣的红宝石，迅速跑向木寨，从一个缺口窥视着。几个小时前还在和"先驱者"战斗的小马现在看着我。有些人注视着我的新增强。其他人看到了真相。"先驱者"因为我而进攻。桑吉因为我而攻击我。坦克在这里是因为我。没有一个我称之为家的地方不会有小马尝试带我出去。
So this is how Arloste felt: a home that doesn’t want you because of the risk you pose but that would feel too guilty if it asked you to leave.
所以这就是Arloste的感受:一个因为你所带来的风险而不想要你的家，但是如果它要求你离开，它会感到非常内疚。
P-21 emerged from out of nowhere, making me jump. My blue friend had my sword in his teeth and several saddlebags strapped around his neck. Spitting it out, he peered at the tank and gave a triumphant little smile. “Good. This time we’re ready.”
P-21不知从哪儿冒出来，把我吓了一跳。我的蓝色朋友把我的剑插在他的牙齿上，脖子上挂着几个鞍囊。他吐了出来，凝视着坦克，露出胜利的微笑。"很好。这次我们准备好了。"
“We are?” I blinked as I looked at the tank. I took the weapon, though, and felt a little comfort. I just wished I had something that could pierce its armor that was less… melee-dependent.
"是吗?"我一边眨眼一边看着那辆坦克。不过，我还是拿起了武器，感到一丝安慰。我只是希望我有什么东西可以刺穿它的盔甲，而不是依赖近战。
“When we didn’t destroy that thing, I took the liberty of making these satchel charges from the Harbingers’ explosives,” he said, holding up one bag and
"当我们没有摧毁那个东西的时候，我自作主张地用先驱者的炸药制作了这些背包炸药,"他说，手里拿着一个袋子
opening it to reveal a cone of beaten metal. Then he turned so I could see a tube of Wonderglue duct-taped to the side. “Press hard. Glue adheres the blast side to the armor. Radio detonated. Shaped charge should breach better and hopefully take out the tank’s repair talisman. Or its brain.” I stared at him for a moment, and he frowned in worry. “What?”
打开它，露出一个圆锥形的金属。然后他转过身来，让我看到旁边粘着一根Wonderglue管子。"使劲压。胶水附着在装甲的防爆面上。无线电引爆了。聚能装药应该能更好地破坏坦克，并有希望破坏坦克的修理护身符。或者是它的大脑。"我盯着他看了一会儿，他忧心忡忡地皱起眉头。"什么?"
“I am so glad that you’re on my side,” I replied with a smile, making him scowl… and blush… as he muttered about me being an idiot. So, now we could do something in case things went bad. I closed my eyes and concentrated. The chaos in Unity had subsided; it was now almost ominously quiet. I didn’t want to try and think something at Lacunae. Right now, the last thing I wanted was for the Goddess to distract me from dealing with Deus. “Where’re Lacunae and Scotch?”
"我很高兴你站在我这边,"我微笑着回答，让他皱起眉头......脸红了......他咕哝着说我是个白痴。所以，现在我们可以做点什么，以防事情变糟。我闭上眼睛，全神贯注。团结镇的混乱已经平息，现在几乎是不祥的平静。我不想去想那些关于空隙的事情。现在，我最不希望的就是女神分散我对付上帝的注意力。"拉库尼和苏格兰威士忌在哪儿?"
“Scotch is minding Boo. She tore the place apart while we were gone,” he said with an arch of his brow. “Lacunae’s with Glory.”
"苏格兰威士忌在照顾波。我们不在的时候，她把这地方翻了个底朝天,"他扬起眉毛说。"晨辉的空隙"
I sighed, trying to think of what to do. “I should have left some more cakes out for her.”
我叹了口气，想着该怎么办。"我应该多给她留些蛋糕的。"
“We did. She wasn’t looking for cake. She was looking for you,” he said.
"我们做到了。她不是在找蛋糕。她在找你,"他说。
Okay. Guilt was what I didn’t need right now. Especially when the tank began to move across the slope, around the village and towards the road between it and the bridge. “Okay. When you think you can, get those charges on it. Don’t blow them unless it fires.”
好吧。我现在不需要内疚。特别是当坦克开始穿过斜坡，绕过村庄，朝着它和桥之间的道路移动的时候。"好吧。当你认为你可以的时候，就把这些费用记在账上。除非引爆，否则不要引爆。"
“I can use the drainage ditch for cover if it gets on the road. What are you going to do?” he asked.
"如果它上了路，我可以用排水沟做掩护。你打算怎么办?"他问道。
I rose to my hooves. “I’m going to go talk to him.” He groaned and covered his face with his black, floppy hat. “I gave him a chance to be a better pony. Now I need to find out if he took it or not.”
我猛地站起来。"我要去和他谈谈。"他呻吟着，用他那顶松软的黑帽子遮住了脸。"我给了他一个机会，让他成为一匹更好的小马。现在我需要知道他到底有没有拿。"
“That’s not it,” Rampage said, then smirked at P-21. “Fifty caps. Pay up.”
"不是这样的,"朗格说，然后对着P-21傻笑起来。"五十个帽子。付钱吧。"
“You can collect from Blackjack,” he replied sourly.
"你可以从Blackjack那里收钱,"他酸溜溜地回答。
I looked at the pair for a moment with pursed lips. “I’m so glad that my friends are betting on my idiocy,” I muttered sourly as I started towards the northeast,
我撅着嘴看了他们一会儿。"我很高兴我的朋友们把赌注押在我的白痴身上,"我一边朝东北方向开始，一边嘟囔着,
trotting down towards the bridge.
向桥下小跑。
“Oh, that’s nothing. You should see the betting pool for how long it’s going to take for you to ruin your shiny black legs. I think half the ponies you know are in on it,” Rampage said. “I gave you sixteen hours…”
"哦，那没什么。你应该看到多长时间的投注池，它将需要你毁了你闪亮的黑色腿。我想你认识的一半的小马都参与了这件事。"。"我给了你16个小时......"
“I am not going to ruin these legs. I don’t think Rover has many more ‘fixing stupid pony who always breaks her legs’ in him,” I grumbled as we stepped out the gate together. P-21 was already gone.
"我不会毁了这双腿的。我不认为罗孚还有更多的'修理愚蠢的小马，谁总是打断她的腿'在他身上,"当我们一起走出大门时，我抱怨道。P-21已经走了。
“Triage bet it would only take you eight,” Rampage snickered.
"分诊医生打赌只需要八个人,"狂暴窃笑着说。
“Well, Triage smokes too much,” I countered with a scowl. “Don’t we have a tank to deal with right now?”
"嗯，伤检员抽的烟太多了,"我皱着眉头反驳道。"我们现在不是有辆坦克要对付吗?"
“Somepony is touchy,” Rampage observed.
"某马很敏感,"狂暴观察到。
“Somepony is dealing with a tank run by the brain of your old pal, Deus,” I snapped. “Somepony has a right to be touchy.”
"Somepony正在处理一个坦克运行的老朋友，天王的大脑,"我厉声说。"Somepony有权过于敏感。"
“Deus?!” she gasped as she looked up at me, and then pointed at the tank with her little hoof. “You’re telling me… that… Deus’s brain is in there?” I sighed and nodded, and the filly burst into a peal of laughter. “Oh, Sweet Celestia, that is just perfect!”
"上帝?!"她一边喘着气一边抬头看着我，然后用小蹄子指着水箱。"你是说......天王的大脑在里面?"我叹了口气，点了点头，小母马突然大笑起来。"哦，亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚，这真是太完美了!"
Deus had crossed the ditch with ease, and now the massive tank began rolling up the road towards me. “Rampage, stop helping Triage win that bet,” I said as the road shook under my black hooves. Looking at those two cannons, I could only gulp and manage a weak smile. Then I spotted a black hat moving quickly and quietly along the ditch beside me, creeping as low as possible. That gave me a little confidence as the huge machine came to a stop twenty feet away. At least none of his weapons were pointed right at me. Okay. Time for diplomacy. “Hello, Doof.”
天王轻而易举地越过了沟渠，现在那辆巨大的坦克开始沿着道路向我驶来。"横冲直撞，停止帮助伤检分类法赢得赌注,"我说，我的黑色马蹄震动了道路。看着那两门大炮，我只能咽下一口气，勉强露出一丝微笑。然后我发现一顶黑色的帽子沿着我身边的水沟快速而安静地移动着，尽可能地低下去。当这个巨大的机器在二十英尺外停下来的时候，这给了我一点信心。至少他的武器都没有对准我。好吧。外交时间到了。"你好，杜夫。"
“Doof?” Rampage looked at me with a frown and pointed a hoof at the tank. “I thought you said this was Deus?” She frowned, as if focusing on something. I watched as the two candy canes appeared, but didn’t manifest fully. Her eyes flickered, and I imagined Twist peeking at me from the depths of Rampage.
"傻瓜?"狂暴皱着眉头看着我，用蹄子指着坦克。"你不是说这是上帝吗?"她皱起了眉头，好像在看什么东西。我看着两个拐杖糖出现，但没有完全显现出来。她的眼睛闪烁着，我想象着斯特威斯特从暴怒的深处偷看着我。
“Doof was Deus. And now he’s Doof again,” I said, looking up at the tank with a
"杜夫就是上帝。现在他又是个傻瓜,"我说，抬头看着那辆坦克，手里拿着一把枪
hopeful smile. “Right? The good marauder Doof? The pony who wants to be a better pony?”
充满希望的微笑。"对吧？好掠夺者杜夫？那匹想成为更好的小马的小马?"
The turret whirred low as the cannons swung back and forth twice. Oh… I really hoped that P-21 was fast with those satchel bombs. “Oh, let me guess,” Rampage said as she hopped onto my back and tapped the black plates that ran along my spine. “You’re here for a rematch? You should watch yourself. Blackjack has all these fancy upgrades. You really shouldn’t fight her for… um… another eight hours. Right. That should put you in the perfect window for a rematch.”
炮塔在大炮前后摆动时发出低沉的旋转声。哦...我真希望P-21能用那些背包炸弹跑得快点。"哦，让我猜猜,"她跳上我的背，拍了拍我脊椎上的黑板说。"你是来重赛的吗？你应该小心点。黑杰克有所有这些华丽的升级。你真的不应该再和她争吵八个小时。对。这样你就有机会重赛了。"
“Rampage! Stop trying to win that bet!” I said, bucking her off and onto the road beside me. The tank let out a rumble, and a camera focused on the older filly. “Yeah, Deus. That’s Rampage.” I frowned. “Haven’t you ever seen her like this?”
"横冲直撞！不要再试图赢得那个赌注了!"我一边说，一边把她推开，推到我旁边的路上。坦克隆隆地响了起来，一架照相机聚焦在那匹老母马身上。"是的，上帝。这就是狂暴。"我皱起了眉头。"你没见过她这个样子吗?"
Deus swung his turret back and forth again. Rampage snorted. “We don’t exactly allow magical disintegration weapons in cage fights. Ruins the suspense, and the damn Flash Fillies would be impossible to live with.” Rampage stood and faced Deus again. “Big Daddy is going to squirt when he hears about this. He’s always going on about having the biggest, baddest fighters in the Hoof. Not even Brutus can compete with you now!” The engine gave a little rumble. I hoped that was a good sign.
天王一次又一次地来回转动他的炮塔。横冲直撞的人嗤之以鼻。"我们不允许在笼斗中使用魔法分解武器。破坏了悬念，那该死的闪电小雌马就不可能和她们一起生活了。"狂暴站起来，再次面对上帝。"大老爹听到这个消息一定会大发雷霆的。他总是说他拥有霍夫最强大，最坏的战士。现在连布鲁图斯都比不上你了!"发动机发出轻微的隆隆声。我希望这是个好兆头。
“So… you’re not here to fight me again?” I asked. The turrets rose and fell once. “Yes, you are or yes you aren’t?” The tank let out another deep rumble as I raised my hooves defensively. “Okay. I’ll take that as a no!” The cameras focused on me, and I looked at my black armored limbs. I gave him a wan smile. “Yeah. Blackjack, new and improved. And a little less me.”
"那么......你不是来这儿再跟我打一架的?"我问道。炮塔升起又落下。"是的，你是还是不是?"当我抬起我的蹄子防御时，坦克又发出了一阵隆隆声。"好吧。我就当你说没有了!"摄像机聚焦在我身上，我看着我黑色盔甲般的四肢。我给了他一个苍白的微笑。"是的。黑杰克，新的和改进的。少一点我的味道。"
The engine let out a low growl. Rampage stepped forwards again, and I cringed inwardly as she said, “You’re being awfully quiet. Don’t you have a single ‘CUNT’ for me? Come on, that tank has to be wired with loudspeakers or something.” Deus let out a deeper growl of his engine and shook his turret. “No you aren’t, or no, you’ve suddenly embraced a whole new appreciation of femininity?”
发动机发出低沉的咆哮声。狂暴又向前走了一步，她说:"你安静得可怕。难道你没有一个"CUNT"给我吗？拜托，那个水箱肯定装了扬声器什么的。"上帝发出更大的引擎声，震动了炮塔。"不，你不是，或者不是，你突然拥抱了一种全新的对女性特质的欣赏?"
I took several steps away from her to the side, and spotted P-21 peeking at me from behind the tank. He smiled, gave a little nod, and disappeared behind it completely. “Rampage, I’m not going to blame Deus for shooting you. Stop
我从她身边走了几步，发现P-21正在坦克后面偷看我。他微笑了一下，点了点头，然后就完全不见了。"狂暴，我不会责怪上帝向你开枪。别说了
being like Brass.” The engine growled once more, but softer. Slowly, I moved in front of him again. “Is it because you can’t talk? Did they do something to you?”
像布拉斯一样。"发动机再次隆隆作响，但声音变小了。慢慢地，我又走到他面前。"是因为你不能说话吗？他们对你做了什么吗?"
The cannons rose and fell once. Rampage whistled long and low, “I guess that’s Dawn’s equivalent to washing a pony’s mouth out with soap.” The engine growled again, lower and more ominous.
大炮升起又落下。横冲直撞长而低沉地吹着口哨,"我想那就相当于用肥皂洗一匹小马的嘴巴。"引擎又开始轰鸣，越来越低，越来越不吉利。
“So you’re not here to fight me… what are you here for?” I asked as I looked up at the vehicle. He didn’t growl his engine or shake his turret or anything. “Are you here to help me?” No answer. “Help Chapel?” Again, no answer. “Revenge on Dawn?” No answer. “Go back to the Reapers?”
"所以你不是来跟我打架的......你来这里干什么?"我抬头看着那辆车，问道。他没有咆哮他的发动机或震动他的炮塔或任何东西。"你是来帮我的吗?"没有回答。"帮助查普尔?"又一次，没有回答。"向黎明报仇?"没有回答。"回到死神身边?"
Suddenly Rampage fell back laughing. She laughed so hard her hooves kicked into the air. “Rampage? What’s gotten into you?”
突然暴跳如雷，哈哈大笑。她大笑得连蹄子都踢到空中去了。"横冲直撞？你到底怎么了?"
She laughed so hard she was crying. “Oh! Oh! It’s just too much!” She wiped her eyes with a hoof as she looked up at the tank. “Is it that you suddenly don’t have a clue what to do with your life and the only thing you can think of is to follow Blackjack in the hope that she’ll help you make some sense of the incredibly fucked up circumstances you now find yourself in?”
她笑得太厉害了，哭了起来。"哦！哦！这太过分了!"她抬头看着坦克，用蹄子擦了擦眼睛。"是不是你突然对自己的生活毫无头绪，唯一能想到的就是跟随Blackjack，希望她能帮助你理解你现在所处的糟糕境地?"
Deus rumbled his engines in an idle tone, and then gave a tiny rise and fall of his cannons.
天王懒洋洋地轰鸣着他的发动机，然后他的大炮微微地上下起伏。
“What?!” I blurted out. Rampage laughed even harder at that. “Wait! Why?!”
"什么?!"我脱口而出。狂暴对此笑得更厉害了。"等等！为什么?!"
“Because that’s what you do when you’ve been beaten by Blackjack, duh!” Rampage said as she sat up. “If she doesn’t kill you then she makes you re-examine your entire life and you follow her along until you find something that makes sense! And because it’s a whole lot easier than trying to kill you a second time. I mean, look at the list. You’ve got me. Sanguine at the end there. Psychoshy. Now Deus. I bet Gorgon would have, too, if it weren’t for that whole rock crushing to pulp thing.”
"因为当你被Blackjack打败的时候，你就是这么做的，废话!"狂暴的女人坐起来说。"如果她没有杀了你，那么她会让你重新审视你的整个人生，然后你跟着她，直到你找到一些有意义的东西！因为这比第二次杀你容易多了。我是说，看看这个名单。你抓到我了。乐观在那里结束。心理害羞。现在，上帝。我敢打赌，如果不是那次把岩石压成肉酱的事件，戈耳工也会这么做。"
I sat back on my haunches, eyes wide as I tried to process this particular line of crazy. “But… that’s… that’s insane!”
我背靠着椅背，眼睛睁得大大的，试图理清这一系列疯狂的事情。"但是......这......这太疯狂了!"
“Blackjack, have you looked around lately? What’s sane?” Rampage asked as she stopped laughing, smiling up at me. “I’m an immortal amalgamation of souls. You’re a cyberpony. Deus is a tank! One of your best friends is an alicorn
"黑杰克，你最近有没有到处看看？什么是正常的?"她停止了大笑，冲我微笑着问道。"我是灵魂不朽的融合体。你是一匹赛博马。上帝是一辆坦克！你最好的朋友之一是一只独角兽
and your lover looks like Rainbow Dash. The only friend you have even close to anything approaching normal is P-21.”
你的爱人看起来像彩虹冲刺。你唯一接近正常的朋友是P-21。"
P-21 stepped out from behind Deus, tossing a detonator to me. “I’m just waiting with baited breath to turn into a ghoul,” he said flatly as he stepped beside me and looked up at the tank. Its engine roared. P-21 pushed his hat back and glared up at Deus. “Stop. You’ve got four bombs glued to your chassis. I’m not nearly as mechanically smart as my little girl, but I am pretty sure that they’ll rip your engine right off.” The engine noise dropped substantially, and P-21 went on, “They’re also on timers, so even if you kill us, they’ll go off.” The engine rumbled again, and he pointed a blue hoof up at the tank. “Stop.” The engine slacked off. “I’m not like Blackjack. I don’t trust somepony who chased us all across the Wasteland to not swap back to being a complete monster. The only way I’ll tolerate you being anywhere around us is if we have a way to turn you into scrap if you decide to swap back to Dawn’s side or just kill us for the laughs. Got it?”
P-21从Deus身后走出来，扔给我一个引爆器。"我只是屏住呼吸，等着变成食尸鬼,"他一边走到我身边，一边平静地说，抬头看着坦克。它的引擎轰鸣着。P-21把帽子往后一推，怒视着天王。"别说了。你的底盘上粘了四个炸弹。我的机械智能远不及我的小女儿，但我敢肯定，他们会把你的引擎扯下来。"发动机的噪音大幅下降，P-21继续说,"他们也是定时的，所以即使你杀了我们，他们也会爆炸。"引擎再次隆隆作响，他用一只蓝色的蹄子指着坦克。"停下来。"发动机熄火了。"我不像黑杰克。我不相信一匹满大荒地追赶我们的小马不会变成一个彻头彻尾的怪物。我能容忍你在我们身边的唯一办法就是，如果你决定回到道恩身边，或者为了取笑我们而杀了我们，我们有办法把你变成废物。懂了吗?"
For a very tense moment, I was sure we were all going to explode in a fiery ball. Rampage stared at him in amazement, and even I was a little taken aback. P-21 didn’t flinch away from the machine. Then Deus raised and lowered his turrets once. “Good. Then open your hatch, because if I were Steel Rain, I’d have some kind of bomb strapped to your brain set to go off the instant I knew you’d gone rogue.” I blinked in surprise. Why hadn’t I thought of that, given that was exactly what Dawn had done to Steel Rain?
在一个非常紧张的时刻，我确信我们都将在一个火球爆炸。狂暴目瞪口呆地看着他，连我都有点吃惊。P-21没有退缩。然后，上帝升起又降下他的炮塔一次。"很好。那就打开你的舱门，因为如果我是钢铁雨，我就会在你的脑袋上绑上某种炸弹，一旦我知道你叛变了，它就会立刻爆炸。"我惊讶地眨了眨眼。为什么我没有想到这一点，因为这正是道恩对钢铁雨所做的事情？
The hatch on the turret opened, and P-21 started climbing up. Rampage stepped next to me and murmured in amazement, “When the hell did his testicles drop?”
炮塔上的舱门打开了，P-21开始往上爬。狂暴走到我身边，惊讶地喃喃自语,"他的睾丸什么时候掉下来的?"
“Hush,” I replied, unable to stop smiling. I tried to jump up beside him, but my legs were slower and heavier than I was used to. Instead, I scraped and flailed my way up the side of the tank, nearly falling off twice. I really missed my fingers! It seemed Shadowbolt augmentations didn’t understand the concept of ‘climb’. There were errors flashing: ‘Device not found’. I reached the top, and one camera turned to look right up my hind end. Yup. Deus all right. The engine made a strange coughing noise… was it just me or was he laughing?
"嘘,"我回答，笑得停不下来。我试着在他旁边跳起来，但是我的腿比以前更慢更重了。相反，我勉强地爬上坦克的一侧，差点摔下来两次。我真的很想念我的手指！似乎暗影闪电的增强并不理解攀登的概念。有错误闪烁:"设备未找到"。我爬到了顶端，一架照相机转过头来正对着我的后端。是的。上帝没事。引擎发出一种奇怪的咳嗽声......是只有我还是他在笑？
I got to the hatch, looking down into that cramped space. “Do you even know what you’re looking for?” I asked as I saw a blue butt poking out from underneath some equipment.
我走到舱口，向下看着那狭窄的空间。"你知道自己在找什么吗?"我问，因为我看到一个蓝色的屁股从一些设备下面伸出来。
“Nope. But I’m not looking for it. I’m sniffing for it. Definitely smelling some plastic explosive in here,” he said. I looked at the armored brain resting in faintly green fluid inside the glass jar. “In fact, if I were you, I’d get out of sight. If a Harbinger spots you sitting up there, it won’t be a hard call to set off whatever I’m sniffing down here.” Then his hooves flipped over. “Aha! There you are. Wired to… well… something. Hmmm.” His hooves went limp. “Is that the radio? Aha! There!”
"没有。但我不是在找它。我正在闻呢。这里肯定有塑胶炸弹的味道。我看着玻璃瓶里那个装甲状的大脑，它栖息在淡绿色的液体中。"事实上，如果我是你，我就会躲起来。如果"预兆"发现你坐在那里，不管我在这里嗅到什么，都不难引爆。"然后他的蹄子翻了过来。"啊哈！你在这啊。连线到......嗯......某种东西。嗯。"他的蹄子发软。"那是收音机吗？啊哈！那里!"
“You found it?” I asked with a grin.
"你找到了?"我咧嘴笑着问。
“I found one. I doubt it’s the only one,” he replied. “You really need to get out of sight, though, Blackjack. At least till I’m sure he won’t blow when somepony else pushes a button.”
"我找到了一个。我怀疑这是唯一的一个,"他回答。"不过，你真的需要离开人们的视线，Blackjack。至少在我确定别人按下按钮的时候他不会爆炸之前是这样。"
“Right.” I looked over at Rampage. “I guess you and me should--” I was interrupted by the turret swinging back and forth. “Huh… okay…well, I guess I’ll go.” Hopping down was much easier than scrambling up. Apparently the legs didn’t have problems with falling like they did with climbing. I trotted away, looking back over my shoulder at Rampage and the cameras all oriented on the filly. Deus was interested in Rampage?
"对。"我看了看狂暴。"我想你和我应该——"我被来回转动的炮塔打断了。"嗯......好吧......好吧，我想我该走了。"跳下来比爬上去容易多了。显然，这些腿并没有像攀爬时那样出现下坠的问题。我小跑着离开，回头看着狂暴，镜头都对准了那匹小母马。天王对狂暴很感兴趣？
“Okay. It’s official. The Wasteland is stark raving mad,” I said flatly as I trotted up the grassy slope towards Star House. I whirled around and looked, waiting for the Dealer or the Goddess to make an appearance, but neither did. “Well… that’s vaguely disappointing…” I muttered as I continued up to the house. It was still battered from the party. Had that really been just hours ago? It felt like months.
"好吧。这是正式的。荒原是彻头彻尾的疯狂,"我一边平静地说，一边沿着长满草的斜坡向星空之家跑去。我环顾四周，等待商人或女神出现，但是他们都没有出现。"嗯......这有点让人失望......"我喃喃自语，继续向房子走去。它仍然受到党的破坏。这真的是几个小时前的事吗？感觉像是几个月。
Inside, I spotted Scotch Tape lying on her side with Boo, snoring up a storm. The inside was even more thrashed than we’d left it. Then Boo popped her head up from behind Scotch Tape. She looked right at me, but rather than charge, she crept over the sleeping filly and looked at me with her pale eyes. She looked… wary. Even scared as she shied left and right. “Hey hey hey… Boo. It’s all right. It’s me.”
在里面，我看到ScotchTape和Boo躺在一起，鼾声如雷。里面比我们离开时还要乱。接着，布从透明胶带后面探出头来。她直直地看着我，但是她并没有冲过来，而是蹑手蹑脚地爬过睡着的小姑娘，用她苍白的眼睛看着我。她看起来...很警惕。甚至在她左右颤抖的时候也感到害怕。"嘿嘿嘿..."。没关系。是我。"
But she didn’t look reassured. If anything, she seemed more worried, ears hanging and eyes downcast. What was the matter? Was she sick? Injured? Was there something wrong with her cloned body? No… nothing I could see. Then I looked into the worry in her eyes. It wasn’t her… it was me. But what had I done... no. I sighed and closed my eyes. Damn it…
但是她看起来并不安心。如果说有什么不同的话，那就是她看起来更加焦虑，耳朵垂着，眼睛低垂着。怎么了？她生病了吗？受伤了？她的克隆身体有什么问题吗？没有...我什么都没看到。然后我看着她眼中的忧虑。不是她...是我。但是我做了什么...没有。我叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。该死..。
“I haven’t been treating you very good since Hippocratic, have I, Boo?” I’d left her to go gallivanting across the Hoof, then come back only to leave her behind again. I really was a self-centered nag, wasn’t I? Gently, I reached out and stroked her white mane. It was growing a bit long, partially concealing her white eyes behind milky bangs. I pulled her closer and held her, rubbing her spine. I could still nuzzle her as well as I ever could.
"自从希波克拉底医生之后，我对你就不怎么好了，是不是，布?"我离开了她，让她在霍夫街上闲逛，然后回来，却又把她留在了后面。我真是个以自我为中心的唠叨鬼，不是吗？我轻轻地伸出手，抚摸着她白色的鬃毛。她的头发长得有点长，在乳白色的刘海后面部分地遮住了她白色的眼睛。我把她拉近一些，抱着她，抚摸着她的脊椎。我仍然可以尽可能地用鼻子爱抚她。
Boo relaxed a little bit and nuzzled me in return. “I’ll try not to leave you behind again, if I can help it. Okay?” It was a risk; I couldn’t see her surviving a place like Hightower... but leaving her behind just meant a different kind of hurt. “Just try not to let yourself get hurt. Okay?”
布放松了一点，用鼻子回应了我。"如果可以的话，我会尽量不再把你丢下的。好吗?"这是一种冒险;我无法想象她在海托华这样的地方生存下来......但是把她留在身后意味着另一种伤害。"尽量不要让自己受伤。好吗?"
I didn’t know if she understood what I was asking of her. I could only hold her and hope that I wasn’t going to get her killed with my kindness. Of course, something bad would happen; the steel that was consuming my body one upgrade at a time was testament to that. But I could hope. I could hope…
我不知道她是否明白我对她的要求。我只能抱着她，希望我的善良不会害死她。当然，会有不好的事情发生，一次升级一次消耗我身体的钢铁就是最好的证明。但我可以希望。我希望..。
She rested her head on my side and huffed softly. As carefully as I could, I stroked her mane with my hoof. It’d been a while since I slept. Maybe just a short nap…
她把头靠在我身边，轻轻地喘了口气。我尽可能小心地用蹄子抚摸着她的鬃毛。我已经很久没有睡觉了。也许只是小睡一会儿..。
* * *
* * *
I trudged through the green snow along the chunks of obsidian talus at the base of Black Pony Mountain. The Hoofington basin was quiet. No rain nor falling snow marred the clear air. As far as the eye could see, green drifts of snow blanketed the land. You could almost imagine that it was a calm Hearth’s Warming Eve day.
在黑马驹山脚下，我沿着黑曜石堆艰难地行走在绿色的雪地上。胡芬顿盆地很安静。没有下雨，也没有下雪，这清新的空气被破坏了。一眼望去，绿色的积雪覆盖着大地。你几乎可以想象这是一个平静的壁炉城暖和的夜晚。
Then I passed frozen earth pony corpses in the snow and was reminded that this was anything but. Nothing useful on any of them. I had worked my way through half of my radiation supplies. The goods I’d pilfered from the hospital were running low, and I needed to find more. Hoofington Memorial was south of me; I could take what I needed from there.
然后我经过雪地里冻僵的小马尸体，我想起了这绝对不是什么。没有任何有用的信息。我已经用尽了一半的辐射补给。我从医院偷来的东西越来越少了，我需要找到更多。胡芬顿纪念馆在我的南边，我可以从那里拿到我需要的东西。
But right now, I needed to check in. The only problem was that the EBS had fallen almost as silent as the snow. There were a few desperate sobs from the west, somepony in the Manehattan M.A.S. hub trying futilely to get some kind of organization effort going. The military channels had fared even worse. There was machine chatter, but it wasn’t anything I could access. Every channel was
但是现在，我需要报到。唯一的问题是EBS几乎和雪一样无声无息。有几个西方人绝望地啜泣着，一些ManehattanM.A.S.中心的小马试图徒劳地让某种组织努力运转起来。军事渠道的情况甚至更糟。里面有机器的声音，但是我什么都听不到。每个频道都是
either destroyed, locked down, or useless. Since I couldn’t do so remotely, I only had one choice: report in person.
要么被摧毁，要么被封锁，要么就没用了。由于我不能远程报告，我只有一个选择:亲自报告。
I continued to pick my way up the talus. The radiation clicked slowly away, my black riot armor providing slight protection as I ascended towards the eastern side of the mountain. It’d been only a few weeks since the bombs fell. But I still had my duty to perform. I still had to earn my forgiveness.
我继续沿着距骨向上爬。辐射慢慢地消失了，我的黑色防暴装甲在我向山的东侧爬升时提供了轻微的保护。炸弹落下才几个星期。但是我仍然有我的责任去履行。我仍然需要赢得我的原谅。
Finally, I pulled my way up onto a flat shelf of land between the obsidian crag and the eastern mountains. The shelf was littered with a dozen sky carriages, some of them large passenger affairs and others small, expensive personal craft. Some had landed perpendicularly atop other carriages because the space was so limited.
最后，我终于来到了黑曜石峭壁和东部山脉之间的一块平坦的陆地上。架子上散落着十几辆空中马车，有些是大型客运马车，有些是小型昂贵的私人飞机。有些是垂直落在其他车厢上的，因为空间太小了。
And there were a lot of bodies. Pegasi still dangled from their harnesses, some killed by radiation and others killed by bullets. Earth pony laborers lay in heaps. A smattering of unicorns in fancy outfits clustered together in whatever shelter they could find. Bodies… bodies… bodies. So damn many. I walked along as silent as death towards the sheer eastern wall. Once there’d been a cave here, a cave that had been home to a colossal beast in older, peaceful times. Today there was no cave, just a solid wall of black obsidian.
还有很多尸体。飞马座仍悬挂在它们的护具上，有些死于辐射，有些死于子弹。地球上的矮种马工人成堆地躺着。零星几只穿着华丽服装的独角兽聚集在他们能找到的任何庇护所里。尸体...尸体...尸体。太多了。我一声不响地向陡峭的东墙走去。这里曾经有一个山洞，这个山洞在更古老、平静的时代曾经是一个巨大的野兽的家园。今天这里没有洞穴，只有一堵黑曜石砌成的坚实的墙。
I approached, hoofstep by hoofstep. A sense of dread filled me, and I hesitated. A few more, and again I froze. I looked to the left and right, looked at the perfect semicircle of bodies that had stood here and slowly died of radiation. I couldn’t take another step forward; something refused to let me. If he were here… he’d open it. He’d need me. He’d use me.
我一步一步地走近。一种恐惧感充斥着我，我犹豫了一下。再多说几句，我又愣住了。我看了看左边和右边，看了看那个完美的半圆形的尸体，这些尸体就站在这里，慢慢地死于辐射。我不能再往前走一步了，有什么东西阻止了我。如果他在这儿...他会打开的。他需要我。他会利用我。
And he was on the list.
他也在名单上。
Then someone had the ill judgment to shoot at me. Worse, they missed.
然后有人做出了错误的判断，向我开枪。更糟糕的是，他们失手了。
I came around, both SMGs rising up as my eyes picked out where the shooter might have come from. It wasn’t really all that hard. The emaciated red earth pony mare swayed in the doorway of one of the wagons. As her eyes rested on me, she immediately smiled in relief. “Oh, Operative Psalm. About time somepony useful came along.” She turned and trotted back inside the skywagon, and I followed. The once expensive skywagon was now a squatter’s shack.
我转过身来，两颗冲锋枪都竖起来了，我的眼睛看清了枪手可能来自哪里。其实也没那么难。瘦弱的红土马驹在一辆马车的门口摇摆着。当她的目光落在我身上时，她立刻松了一口气，笑了。"哦，有效的诗篇。早晚会有一些有用的东西出现。"她转身小跑着回到车里，我跟在后面。曾经昂贵的空中旅行车现在成了棚户区。
“Do you have any RadAway or Rad-X, Operative?” the red earth pony wheezed
"特工，你们有RadAway或Rad-X吗?"红地球小马喘息着
as she trotted over to a tiny cache of supplies in the corner. She turned, more of her mane falling out as she moved. But I didn’t respond, simply looking at her. She pointed a glittery red hoof at me. “I asked you a question, soldier!”
当她跑到角落里的一个小储藏室时。她转过身，随着她的移动，更多的鬃毛掉落下来。但我没有回答，只是看着她。她用一只闪亮的红蹄子指着我。"我在问你问题，士兵!"
I nodded once, and she grinned. There were missing teeth in her smile, and her gums were bleeding. Another day or two and she’d be gone. I looked around and spotted a black earth pony mare lying in a heap with a bloody knife embedded in her neck. Another one of my old bosses, Onyx. “Good. Good.” Garnet tossed the revolver on the bed, blood smearing the mouthgrip. “Damn Redoubt is sealed. Can you fucking believe it? Somepony got here before us… all of us… and locked it up tight!” She rubbed her face, beads of sweat on her brow. “I just knew that eventually somepony who could get inside would come along.”
我点了点头，她咧嘴笑了。她的笑容里缺了几颗牙齿，牙龈在流血。再过一两天她就走了。我环顾四周，发现一匹黑色的土地母马躺在一堆血腥的刀子嵌在她的脖子上。我的另一个老板，奥尼克斯。"很好。很好。"石榴石把左轮手枪扔在床上，嘴柄上沾满了血迹。"该死的堡垒被封死了。你能相信吗？有个小马在我们之前到了这里......我们所有人......把它锁得严严实实的!"她揉着脸，额头上满是汗珠。"我就知道最终会有能进去的小马出现。"
“Is Luna in there?” I asked in a low, tense voice.
"卢娜在里面吗?"我用低沉而紧张的声音问道。
“Luna?” Garnet cackled. “Luna’s a corpse in Canterlot. Celestia too! All of Equestria is dead. Fuck Luna,” the red mare said as she slumped. “I was supposed to be a part of the new order. Richer than fucking Filthy himself.” She looked over at a brown stallion in the snow. “Fucker wouldn’t shut up about his kid. Can you believe that? We’re all fucking dying, and he wanted to run off to the far side of the country to get her.”
"露娜?"石榴石咯咯笑起来。"卢娜在Canterlot是具尸体。还有塞莱斯蒂亚！整个Equestria都死了。去他妈的卢娜,"红色的母马边说边垂头丧气。"我本应成为新秩序的一部分。比他自己还有钱。"她看着雪地里的一匹棕色种马。"那混蛋一直念叨着他的孩子。你能相信吗？我们他妈的都快死了，他想跑到乡下去接她。"
“We have confirmed deaths for all the Partypooper targets?” I asked in strained reasonableness, and Garnet gave a bloody grimace.
"我们已经确认所有派对扫兴者目标的死亡人数了吗?"我勉强通情达理地问道，加内特做了一个血淋淋的鬼脸。
“Cloudsdale is vaporized, and that was the last place Dash was spotted. I think we got her. Maripony was balefired too, but it’s still standing. Anypony’s guess if Twilight survived.” If it was standing, she had. “Rarity and Fluttershy are corpses in Canterlot. You killed Pinkie.” She rubbed her chin a moment. “Applejack might have made it to Stable Two in Ponyville…” She stared at the bloody spittle on the chipped, glittery hoof. “I need that fucking RadAway, Operative,” she said, a touch weakly.
"克劳斯代尔人间蒸发了，那是达什最后出现的地方。我想我们找到她了。马里波尼也被解雇了，但它仍然屹立不倒。如果《暮光之城》幸存下来，Anypony的猜测。"如果它是站着的，那么她就是站着的。"稀有和萤火虫是Canterlot的尸体。你杀了平奇。"她揉了揉下巴。"苹果白兰地可能已经到达了Ponyville的马厩2号......"她盯着那沾满血迹的、有缺口的、闪闪发光的蹄子。"我需要那个该死的雷达，特工,"她微弱地说。
I ignored her request. “Where is the director?” I asked slowly. Keep calm, just like when shooting. I had to stay calm and centered. I had to… “Who the fuck do you think is in there?” She glowered at me, pointing at the wall with a chipped ruby hoof. “He buttoned it up tight. He’s got everything in there. The whole facility to himself. Probably his fucking robot, too.” Then she grinned her ghastly, bloody grin. “But now that you’re here, you can get in there!
我无视她的要求。"导演在哪里?"我慢慢地问。保持冷静，就像拍摄时一样。我必须保持冷静和集中精神。我不得不..."你他妈以为里面是谁?"她怒视着我，用红宝石裂口的蹄子指着墙。"他把扣子扣紧了。里面什么都有。整个设施都是他自己的。也可能是他的机器人。"然后她咧嘴笑了，露出她那可怕的、该死的笑容。"不过既然你来了，你就可以进去了！
You can get me inside! Right? You have a code… or password… or something… That’s all I want.” She panted in desperation as I just looked at her, and she asked in exasperation, “What? Do you want money?” She kicked open a suitcase, scooped up two great big hooffuls of bits and held them up to me. “I’ve got money… there was so much damn money we scammed off those aristocrat jackasses. Kingpin paid a mint to get in too. CEOs and other business leaders… fuckers all came here actually thinking they’d get in.” Her bloodshot eyes twitched as she grinned hopefully, then her grin sagged… along with her forelegs. Gold coins bounced and tinkled around her hooves. She rubbed her face with her hoof, muttering to herself. “I thought we’d get in…”
你可以带我进去！对吧？你有一个密码...或者密码...或者其他什么...这就是我想要的。"我只是看着她，她气喘吁吁地说:"什么？你想要钱吗?"她踢开一个手提箱，抓起两个大桶，把它们举到我面前。"我有钱......我们从那些贵族混蛋手里骗了那么多钱。黑街太保也花了一大笔钱进去。首席执行官和其他商业领袖......所有来这里的混蛋都以为自己能进去。"当她满怀希望地笑着时，充血的眼睛抽搐了一下，然后她的笑容随着前腿一起下垂了。金币弹来弹去，叮叮当当地响在她的蹄子上。她用蹄子蹭脸，喃喃自语。"我以为我们会进去......"
“You’re sure that Horse is inside?”
"你确定马儿在里面?"
She narrowed her feverish eyes. “No! I’m not fucking sure, but unless Sapphire told Rainbow Dash or Emerald told Twilight, he’s the only pony with the authority to access the Redoubt!” She coughed and retched, bringing up bile over her glittery red hooves. “Now pass me some Rad-X, Operative.”
她眯起发烧的眼睛。"不！我他妈的不确定，但除非蓝宝石告诉彩虹冲刺或翡翠告诉暮光，他是唯一有权进入堡垒的小马!"她咳嗽着，干呕着，用胆汁浇在她闪闪发光的红色马蹄上。"现在给我一些红外线x，特工。"
“No,” I replied, turning to go.
"不,"我回答，转身要走。
“What?” Garnet gasped.
"什么?"石榴石倒抽了一口冷气。
“I still need to finish the mission. Luna gave the order. I must carry it out,” I said simply. “I’ll need all my radiological supplies to do so.”
"我还需要完成任务。卢娜下的命令。我必须执行它,"我简单地说。"我需要我所有的放射性物质才能做到这一点。"
“Give it to me or I’ll take it off your corpse!” I stopped and just looked at her as she trembled, then swept up the gun in her mouth and fired again. And again. And again. The thirty-two caliber rounds thumped against my barding but didn’t penetrate. Then the revolver started to click. She shook, pink tears running down her cheek as the gun slipped from her mouth, taking two more teeth with it. “Please… help me.”
"把它给我，不然我就把它从你的尸体上拿下来!"我停下来，看着她颤抖的样子，然后把枪扫进她的嘴里，又开了一枪。再来一次。再来一次。三十二口径的子弹重重地打在我的头上，但没有穿透我的身体。然后左轮手枪开始发出咔嗒声。当枪从她嘴里滑落时，她颤抖着，粉红色的泪水顺着脸颊流下，又带走了两颗牙齿。"请......帮帮我。"
“Helping you doesn’t earn me forgiveness. I will serve Luna and earn forgiveness, and her last order was to carry out Partypooper. I can confirm two kills. I suppose I’ll have to confirm the rest,” I said, readying myself for the long walk to Maripony. Then I’d have to use every Stable-Tec access code I had to clear out that Ponyville stable… difficult, but doable.
"帮助你并不能换来我的原谅。我会为卢娜服务并且得到原谅，她最后的命令是执行派对扫兴者。我可以确认两起谋杀。我想我得确认一下剩下的部分。"我说着，准备好了去Maripony的长途跋涉。然后我必须使用所有Stable-Tec访问代码，清除Ponyville稳定...困难，但可行。
“You stupid cunt! Luna didn’t give that order! I did! And you killed for me! You stupid damn bitch!” she cackled as she pointed her hoof at me.
"你这个蠢货！不是卢娜下的命令！是我！你为我杀人！你这个愚蠢的婊子!"她用蹄子指着我，咯咯笑了起来。
I stared at her. “Liar. Only Luna could give that order,” I said weakly. “Only Luna would…”
我盯着她。"骗子。只有露娜才能下那个命令,"我虚弱地说。"只有露娜会......"
“You unbelievable dumb shit!” Garnet roared with laughter. “Did it ever occur to you that there were fucks who benefitted from everyone dying?” She pointed a hoof at me. “Goldenblood had it set from the start. When the war ended, you… me… Trueblood… we’d all be brought up on fucking war crimes! War crimes! Fuck! That!” She swung her emaciated hooves wide as she grinned ghoulishly. “Soon as Horse found out, I knew I wasn’t going to let that fucking happen. So I gave the order. Right when we were certain clusterfuck apocalypse was going to hit. We sent out hit squads to kill every last person even vaguely connected to the O.I.A. or its projects. Nopony would know about the Redoubt! We’d live like fucking gods!”
"你这个难以置信的蠢货!"石榴石哈哈大笑。"你有没有想过，有些混蛋从每个人的死亡中获益?"她用蹄子指着我。"金血王从一开始就设定好了。当战争结束的时候，你......我......特鲁布拉德......我们都会被他妈的战争罪带大！战争罪行！操！那个!"她鬼鬼祟祟地笑着，挥动着瘦弱的蹄子。"马儿一发现，我就知道我不会让这种事情发生。所以我下了命令。就在我们确信世界末日即将来临的时候。我们派出了杀手小队去杀掉每一个和国际战略行动组织或其项目有关的人。没有小马会知道堡垒的事！我们会像他妈的上帝一样生活!"
“I see,” I murmured. I bowed my head and clasped my hooves. “Forgive me Luna, for I have taken the life of another.” But the words gave no comfort. No absolution of my sins. I was damned, and not even Luna could save me.
"我明白了,"我低声说。我低下头，紧握着我的蹄子。"原谅我，卢娜，因为我夺走了另一个人的生命。"但是这些话并没有带来安慰。无法赦免我的罪。我被诅咒了，连卢娜也救不了我。
“You’ll never be forgiven! I know who you killed.” I lifted one of the SMGs at her cackling, bloody maw. She grinned her bloody smile, ready to eat a bullet. “Come on, finish me! Finish me you killing fuck!” she screamed as she threw her hooves wide. “You’ve killed fucking thousands one by one for your fucking Goddess! Kill me!”
"你永远不会被原谅！我知道你杀了谁。"我对着她咯咯叫的血盆大口举起了一个手榴弹。她咧开嘴露出血淋淋的微笑，准备吃子弹。"来吧，杀了我吧！杀了我吧，你这个杀人狂!"她一边尖叫，一边把蹄子甩得很大。"你为了你的女神一个接一个的杀了成千上万的人！杀了我吧!"
But I didn’t. Instead my magic reached out and took the knife that’d been stuck in Onyx. Her grin disappeared as I flicked the blood off it and tucked it in my belt. Then I turned and stepped out into the snow. “You should have saved one of those bullets for yourself.”
但我没有。相反，我的魔法伸出手，拿走了插在奥尼克斯身上的刀。她的笑容消失了，我把血从上面弹开，塞进皮带里。然后我转过身，走到雪地里。"你应该给自己留一颗子弹。"
Garnet hobbled to the entrance after me. “No. Come back here! Kill me, you cunt! You whore! Murderer! We killed everypony! Kill me!” She screamed after me. I never looked back as I heard her bloody choking sob, “Please… kill me too…”
石榴石一瘸一拐地跟着我走到入口处。"没有。回来！杀了我，你这个婊子！你这个婊子！凶手！我们杀了所有的小马！杀了我吧!"她在我后面尖叫。我再也没有回头，我听到她那该死的哽咽的啜泣,"请......也杀了我吧......"
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
I woke, my PipBuck’s chronometer telling my two hours had passed. Boo snuggled against me, snoozing as well. I smiled and nuzzled her mane; she smelled like cherry filling. Then I glanced up at Glory, watching me with an odd look on her face as she sat before me. My cheeks reddened, and I swallowed,
我醒了过来，我的皮伯克计时器告诉我两个小时已经过去了。布依偎着我，也在打盹。我微笑着用鼻子蹭了蹭她的鬃毛，她闻起来像樱桃馅。然后我抬头看了看晨辉，看着我，她坐在我面前，脸上露出一种奇怪的表情。我的脸涨红了，我咽了口唾沫,
looking aside. “I didn’t do anything...” I muttered. How long had she been watching me sleep? Was she ticked I’d slept here rather than going up to her?
旁观。"我什么也没做......"我喃喃自语道。她看着我睡觉有多久了？她是不是觉得我宁愿睡在这里也不愿意去找她？
“I know you didn’t,” she said as she moved up to my other side and curled up against me with a sigh. “The question is... would you like to?” She wasn’t asking as if she planned on throwing me into more walls, but there were still little alarms going off in my head. As if sensing my trepidation, Glory smiled a little. “I’m not going to be mad. I just wanted to know if you’d like to or not.”
"我知道你没有,"她边说边走到我的另一边，蜷缩在我身边，叹了口气。"问题是......你愿意吗?"她并没有问我，好像她打算把我扔进更多的墙里，但是我的脑子里还是有一些小小的警报。晨辉似乎感觉到了我的不安，微微一笑。"我不会生气的。我只是想知道你愿不愿意。"
I glanced at the snoozing blank, then back at her. “Um, no? At least, not unless she suddenly told me she wanted to do something like that with me. And you were okay with it. I mean, if you’re asking me on a purely physical level then... but I... um...” I trailed off as she sighed. “Sorry.”
我看了一眼打盹的空白，然后回头看她。"嗯，不是吗？至少，除非她突然告诉我她想和我做类似的事情。而你对此并不介意。我的意思是，如果你问我纯粹的身体层面...但我..。.嗯......"她叹了口气，我慢了下来。"对不起。"
“It’s something you can’t really help, Blackjack. You are who you are,” she replied as she leaned against me. “I’m understanding that a little more now. I guess the question is... am I okay with it? And I really don’t know.”
"这是你帮不上忙的，Blackjack。你就是你,"她靠在我身上回答。"我现在明白了一点。我想问题是...我能接受吗？我真的不知道。"
“You seemed really okay earlier,” I muttered with a rueful smile. “Biter,” I added, and watched her blush and smile.
"你刚才看起来真的很好,"我带着悔恨的微笑喃喃自语。"咬人的家伙,"我补充道，看着她脸红和微笑。
“That was relief sex, Blackjack. I claim temporary insanity,” she muttered, then sighed. “I don’t want to be left out of your life, because then I’ll have nothing. But staying with you is hard. It’s not your fault. You just... have stuff happen to you. But it’s still hard. And it hurts.” She closed her eyes and lay against me.
"那是安慰性爱，Blackjack。"我声称是暂时精神错乱,"她喃喃自语，然后叹了口气。"我不想从你的生活中消失，因为那样我将一无所有。但是和你在一起很难。这不是你的错。你只是...有些事发生在你身上。但这仍然很难。这很伤人。"她闭上眼睛，靠在我身上。
“Just don’t... don’t leave me out. Whatever happens, don’t leave me out or leave me behind. Please...”
"不要......不要把我漏掉。无论发生什么，不要把我遗漏或者丢下我。求你了......"
“I won’t,” I murmured and kissed her closed eyes, drawing a smile and sigh from her lips. She nuzzled me and drifted off to sleep. With a blanket of mares... maybe the dreams would be better...
"我不会的,"我喃喃地说着，吻了吻她闭上的眼睛，从她的唇边抽出一丝微笑，叹了口气。她用鼻子蹭了蹭我，然后渐渐睡着了。如果有一大群母马...也许梦想会更好..。
Then I noticed that she wasn’t the only pony who’d been watching me. There, opposite me, sat the Dealer. His eyes trailed over my sleeping companions, and then he looked at me with an expression of quiet envy. “Echo...” I murmured, and his lips curled into a sour sort of smile.
然后我注意到她不是唯一一个一直盯着我的小马。在那里，庄家坐在我对面。他的目光落在我睡着的同伴身上，然后带着一种无声的嫉妒的表情看着我。"回声......"我喃喃地说，他的嘴唇皱成一个酸涩的微笑。
“So. Figured it out, did you?” he rasped softly. “Supposed you would sooner or later.”
"所以。你想明白了，是吗?"他轻声地说。"你早晚会知道的。"
“Scotch Tape did. Or, rather, she figured out Smiling Jack.” I looked at his gaunt figure as his eyes widened in surprise.
"是透明胶带干的。或者，更确切地说，她发现了微笑的杰克。"我看着他憔悴的身影，惊讶地瞪大了眼睛。
“Did she? Huh.” He chuckled and gave a sheepish little smile as he rubbed the back of his head. “Always loved that character. Once mesmerized a dozen zombie buffalo to perform ballet in tutus. Good game, that one.”
""是吗？哈。"他咯咯地笑着，揉着后脑勺，露出一丝羞怯的微笑。"我一直很喜欢这个角色。有一次，一群僵尸水牛穿着芭蕾舞短裙表演芭蕾舞。那个球打得不错。"
“Why didn’t you tell me about Echo sooner?” I asked as I looked up at him. His smile disappeared instantly.
"你为什么不早点告诉我Echo的事?"我抬头看着他，问道。他的微笑立刻消失了。
“What was there to tell? I was the unwanted product of an egotistical jerk and a mother who didn’t want to be reminded of her past mistakes,” he said grimly as he looked away. “I entered the military because there was no other place for me. There never was. I was the pony who wasn’t there.”
""有什么好说的？我是一个自私自利的混蛋和一个不想被提起过去错误的母亲不想要的产物。"我参军是因为没有其他地方适合我。从来就没有。我是一匹不在场的小马。"
“But you saw--” I began, but then he snapped and threw his hat to the ground.
"但是你看到了——"我开始说，但是接着他啪地一声把帽子扔到了地上。
“Of course I saw!” he snapped, and then laughed bitterly. “I was the pony who saw it all. The good times... the bad times... I called them in. Recorded them down. I saw Big Macintosh die. I called in the medics who took Stonewing away. Watched Jetstream lose it on the battlefield. Saw Doof become a criminal. Vanity eaten up by regret. Twist turn into an emotionally scarred husk. Applesnack consumed by bitterness. Psalm by sin. I watched it all... and I did nothing to stop it!” He spat as he started to pace back and forth.
"我当然看见了!"他厉声说道，然后大笑起来。"我是一匹看到了一切的小马。美好的时光......糟糕的时光......我把他们叫来。把它们记录下来。我亲眼目睹了大麦金托什的死亡。我叫了医护人员把斯通温带走了。看着Jetstream在战场上失去它。索杜夫成了罪犯。虚荣心被悔恨吞噬。扭曲变成一个情感伤痕累累的躯壳。苹果被苦味吞噬。罪恶的诗篇。我看到了一切......我没有做任何事来阻止它!"他来回踱步时吐了一口唾沫。
“I was the witness. The one who knew where the bodies were being buried but who never blew the whistle. The one who overheard all the dirty secrets but was too gutless to bring them to light. The one who knew my friends’ pain but was too cowardly to raise a hoof to help!” As I watched, the sallow white stallion transformed into a buttery yellow one with brown hair in short and shaggy profusion around his shoulders. “Why in Equestria would I want to tell you about Echo? The pony who did nothing while he watched the world explode around him?”
"我是目击者。那个知道尸体埋在哪里但从不告密的人。她无意中听到了所有的肮脏的秘密，但是没有胆量把它们公之于众。那个知道我朋友的痛苦却胆小到连蹄子都抬不起来帮忙的人!"我注视着，这匹灰黄色的白色种马变成了一匹黄油色的种马，肩上披着浓密的棕色短发。"在Equestria，我为什么要告诉你Echo的事？那个什么都不做却眼睁睁看着世界在他周围爆炸的小马?"
He scooped up his hat and put it back on, reverting back to the Dealer, his lips in a harsh frown. “Smiling Jack was the bitterest, angriest, nastiest pony in the Wasteland, and he was a thousand times better than Echo ever was.”
他把帽子舀起来戴上，又回到庄家面前，严厉地皱着眉头。"微笑的杰克是荒原上最苦、最愤怒、最讨厌的小马，他比艾可强一千倍。"
I stared at him quietly for an instant. “What happened to all of you?” I murmured.
我静静地盯着他看了一会儿。"你们都怎么了?"我低声说。
He turned away, and for a moment I was certain he was going to leave again. But then he whispered, “Stars...”
他转过身去，有那么一会儿，我确信他又要走了。然后他低声说:"星星......"
“Excuse me?”
"你说什么?"
“It’s stupid. It’s just... something I’ve thought about.” He looked back at me over his shoulder. “It was right after training. We’d finished basic and it was Nightmare Night and everypony was in a mood to celebrate. Twist wanted to go to a carnival being held right where Chapel is today. Before the graveyard was there. Bit by bit, we all agreed. Psalm took me along because she took pity on me.”
"这太愚蠢了。这只是......我一直在考虑的事情。"他回头看着我。"就在训练结束后。我们已经完成了基本的训练，这是噩梦之夜，每个小马都有一种庆祝的心情。特威斯特想去参加一个嘉年华，就在今天小教堂所在的地方。在墓地到来之前。一点一点地，我们都同意了。诗篇带着我，因为她可怜我。"
He sighed and shook his head with a sad little smile. “That was a good night. I actually felt like I had friends for the first time ever. There were games and rides and kids running around and... it just felt like the war wasn’t happening. Everyone was having a wonderful time...” He shook his head again as he lowered it. “Then Twist saw that damned fortune teller...”
他叹了口气，微微一笑，摇了摇头。"那是一个美好的夜晚。我真的觉得我有生以来第一次有了朋友。有游戏，有游乐设施，有孩子们跑来跑去......就好像战争没有发生一样。大家都玩得很开心......"他一边低下头，一边又摇了摇头。"然后特威斯特看到那个该死的算命先生......"
“Fortune teller?” I asked with a frown.
"算命先生?"我皱着眉头问。
“An old zebra had a tent. Strange old guy. Had tattoos all over his face. His tent had bizarre, leering masks and creepy herbs and specimens in bottles. The kind of zebra that would have been snapped up by the M.o.M. had he been around a few years later. Maybe he was. Asked us if we wanted to know our fate.” He snorted and shook his head. “Of course... we did.”
"一只老斑马有一顶帐篷。奇怪的老家伙。脸上全是纹身。他的帐篷里有奇怪的、斜视的面具、令人毛骨悚然的草药和瓶子里的标本。这种斑马如果在几年后出现的话，肯定会被m.o.m抢购一空。也许他是。问我们是否想知道自己的命运。"他哼了一声，摇了摇头。"当然......我们做到了。"
He sighed and looked mournfully at me. “He said we’d all die ignoble deaths on the muddy battlefield within a year.”
他叹了口气，悲哀地看着我。"他说，我们都会在一年之内，不光彩地死在泥泞的战场上。"
I winced. “Ouch.”
我皱了皱眉。"哎哟。"
“Needless to say, none of us liked that. But then the old codger asked us if we wanted to change our fate. He said there was a way for all of us to be heroes. The greatest heroes in the whole war, so long as we were true to each other. So long as we never... ever... broke fellowship with each other.” He hissed slowly through his teeth. “What can I say? Friendship... fame... heroism...”
"不用说，我们都不喜欢这样。然后那个怪老头问我们是否想改变我们的命运。他说有一种方法可以让我们成为英雄。整个战争中最伟大的英雄，只要我们彼此忠诚。只要我们永远......永远......不会破坏彼此的友谊。"他的牙齿慢慢地发出嘶嘶声。""我能说什么呢？友谊...名誉...英雄气概..."
“The catch?” I asked with a sympathetic smile.
"条件是什么?"我带着同情的微笑问道。
He shook his head and looked at me. “The first to break the fellowship would
他摇摇头，看着我。"第一个打破这个团契的人
die... and they would receive the most merciful death at that. The rest of us would wish we’d been the first to break, if we were not true to each other.”
去死吧...他们会因此得到最仁慈的死。如果我们对彼此不真诚，其他人会希望我们是第一个打破的。"
“And you accepted.” How could they not?
"你接受了。"他们怎么能不这么做呢？
“We did. Partly out of pride and partly out of a wish to laugh at the zebra’s predictions. But then he got out this book. This... this horrible, black book. And suddenly it wasn’t so funny. He called on the stars to change our fates, and curse us if one was false to the others. There was a hum and... green spiraling things...
"我们做到了。一部分是出于自豪，一部分是出于嘲笑斑马的预言。但后来他拿出了这本书。这个...这个可怕的黑名单。突然之间就不那么好笑了。他呼唤星星来改变我们的命运，如果一个人对其他人不忠，他就诅咒我们。有一种嗡嗡的...绿色螺旋状的东西..。
things an earth pony can’t really explain.” He shook his head. “When the light show ended, the zebra was gone. The tent was completely bare save for a few empty crates.”
地球上的小马无法解释的事情"他摇了摇头。"灯光秀结束时，斑马不见了。帐篷里空空如也，只有几个空板条箱。"
He sighed once more and then gave a little smile. “What was funny was... it worked. The next day, we were all assigned to a special combined task force. Experimental... three pony kinds working as a special squad. And it was...
他又叹了一口气，然后微微一笑。"有趣的是......它起作用了。第二天，我们都被分配到一个特殊的联合特遣部队。实验性的...三种小马可以组成一个特别小队。而且是..。
amazing,” he finished with a wistful look. “We were amazing. We... we did things that nopony thought was possible. Things we didn’t think possible. And there was fame and glory. Most of us never talked about that night, but I thought about it. We were going to be friends. Loyal and true forever and ever...
"不可思议"他用渴望的眼神结束了这一切。"我们太棒了。我们...我们做了一些小马认为不可能的事情。我们认为不可能的事情。还有名望和晨辉。我们大多数人从来没有谈论过那个晚上，但是我想过。我们会成为朋友的。永远忠诚，永远真诚。
“Then Stonewing fell in battle and we wondered... oh never out loud... but there were looks. Questions. Had he been untrue? Had he broken the fellowship?” He sighed as he dropped his head. “We didn’t know that he was being held in a hospital in critical condition. Some paperwork error. And then...” He raised his eyes to mine. “Then Big Macintosh said he’d had enough. He said he’d met a mare and it was time to settle down. He’d figured he’d done his share for Equestria, and didn’t believe in zebra curses. He wanted to raise a family. Said family was the most important thing of all. He’d stay for one last critical mission... protecting Princess Celestia at a peace summit. He figured that once the meeting was done, there wouldn’t be need for Marauders.”
"然后石翼在战斗中倒下了，我们想知道......哦，从来没有大声说出来......但有看法。问题。难道他不忠实吗？难道他违背了友谊吗?"他低下头叹了口气。"我们不知道他被关在一家医院，情况危急。一些文书工作上的错误。然后......"他抬起眼睛看着我。"然后大麦金托什说他受够了。他说他遇到了一匹母马，是时候安顿下来了。他认为自己已经为小马国尽了自己的责任，不相信斑马咒语。他想组建一个家庭。家庭是最重要的。他会留下来完成最后一个关键任务，在和平峰会上保护塞莱斯蒂娅公主。他想，一旦会议结束，就不需要劫掠者了。"
“Then he died,” I said quietly.
"然后他就死了,"我平静地说。
“Oh, not just a death!” Dealer snapped, “A hero’s death. Princess Luna turned it into a rallying cry... another escalation in the war. A sign we had to fight harder - do better -- to defeat our foes. The next day, Psalm disappears. A few weeks later Doof rapes Twist. A month later Applesnack gets reassigned to babysit zebras. A few months after that, Jetstream snaps. Then Vanity walks away. Twist
"哦，不仅仅是死亡!"庄家厉声说道:"英雄之死。卢娜公主把它变成了战斗口号......战争的又一次升级。这是我们必须更加努力——做得更好——打败敌人的信号。第二天，诗篇就消失了。几个星期后，杜夫强奸扭曲。一个月后，苹果包被重新分配去照顾斑马。几个月后，Jetstream崩溃了。然后，虚荣离开了。扭转
takes the enemy as her lover. And me... I was left all alone. Picked up by Goldenblood out of... I don’t know... pity, I suppose.”
把敌人当作情人。而我...我孤零零的一个人。被金血王从......我不知道......可怜吧，我想。"
I thought of that moment out on Star Point. Before I’d found out about Gardens and taint and... everything. Had my fate been changed there? Had I been supposed to die with a bullet through my head beside Marigold’s bones? Cursed to become the thing I was now? It was a chilling thought.
我想起了在星点街上的那一刻。在我发现花园和污点之前。我的命运在那里改变了吗？我是不是应该死在玛丽戈尔德的尸骨旁边，头部中弹而死？被诅咒成为我现在的样子？这是一个令人毛骨悚然的想法。
“I’m sorry. I just... don’t know what to say. Stars and zebra curses... Sekashi said the stars were powerful, fickle, and dangerous. But I don’t know if they can actually do things like that,” I muttered, looking at the stars on the beams overhead.
"对不起。我只是...不知道说什么好。星星和斑马咒骂......Sekashi说星星是强大的，变化无常的，危险的。但是我不知道他们是否真的能做这样的事情,"我看着头顶光束上的星星喃喃自语。
“I can’t imagine they do. Every colt and filly wished on stars back when you could see them. I did,” he said softly, hanging his head a little. He looked so glum that I wished I could give him a hug.
"我无法想象他们会这么做。每一匹小马和小母马都对着星星许愿，当你看到它们的时候。是的,"他轻轻地说，低了一下头。他看起来闷闷不乐，我真希望能给他一个拥抱。
Instead, I did the next best thing. “So... tell me more about the adventures of Smiling Jack.” A small smile curled in the corner of his mouth.
相反，我做了次好的事情。"那么......再给我讲讲微笑杰克的冒险故事吧。"他的嘴角露出一丝微笑。
* * *
* * *
After an hour of Dealer regaling me with stories about hunting down bank robbers across the desert, dealing with spirit-summoning shamans, being forced to dress in drag to infiltrate a monastery, fighting hordes of zombies, and something called an ‘epic botch’ that apparently turned Jack into a ‘kumquat’, Dealer returned to wherever he went when he wasn’t feeling chatty.
"毒贩"花了一个小时跟我讲了很多故事，比如穿越沙漠追捕银行劫匪，对付召魂巫师，被迫穿着女装潜入修道院，与成群的僵尸战斗，还有一些"大笨蛋"，显然把杰克变成了"金橘"。
I’d have to go soon and check up on P-21 and Deus. There was just something that was bothering me as I lay here nice and quiet. It was too quiet. Particularly in my head. I hadn’t heard a peep since the riot inside the Goddess ended. The stillness was unsettling... and unnerving. Was the Goddess just silently watching in the back of my mind, or was she away plotting something?
我得马上去看看P-21和上帝。当我安静地躺在这里的时候，有些事情困扰着我。太安静了。尤其是在我的脑子里。自从女神内部的骚乱结束后，我就再也没有听到过一点声音。这种寂静令人不安......也令人不安。女神只是在我的脑海里默默地看着，还是她在谋划什么？
So far, I’d only listened to Unity and talked at Lacunae. I’d never actually tried to go into the hive consciousness. Part of it was that I didn’t know how, but another wondered what would happen if I did try and push that connection. Would I be sucked in forever? Could the Goddess control my body while I was in there? Was it even possible?
到目前为止，我只听取了尤尼蒂的意见，并在拉库尼进行了演讲。我从来没有真正尝试过进入蜂群意识。一部分原因是我不知道怎么做，但另一部分原因是我想知道如果我试图推动这种联系会发生什么。我会永远陷入其中吗？当我在里面的时候，女神能控制我的身体吗？这有可能吗？
Aw hell... it wasn’t the first time I’d ever done something completely clueless and heedless of the risks...
噢，见鬼......这不是我第一次做一件完全毫无头绪、不顾风险的事了.....。
I thought about the memory magic I’d done with Rampage and what I’d read in Triage’s books. I wasn’t a smart pony, but I wasn’t as stupid as I used to be. Memory spells shared memories, and the Goddess was like a massive memory orb filled with countless recollections and souls. She was just able to control where those memories went. If I thought about the Goddess as a collection of memories, maybe I could go into it the same way as I entered Rampage’s thoughts.
我想到了我在狂暴中施展的记忆魔法，以及我在伤检分类法的书中读到的内容。我不是一匹聪明的小马，但我也不像以前那么笨了。记忆法术共享的记忆，女神就像一个巨大的记忆球，充满了无数的回忆和灵魂。她只是能够控制那些记忆的去向。如果我认为女神是记忆的集合，也许我可以像进入狂暴的思想一样进入它。
I visualized that part in the back of my mind where I talked to Lacunae and the Goddess spoke to me as a pool of water filled with countless glowing clouds of memory. Instead of trying to pull them to me, I pushed myself into that pool, just as I had with Shujaa. Slowly the world around me faded to black as I struggled deeper and deeper into that pool. Swimming was a pretty alien concept to me, so I settled with sinking. Sinking I could handle.
我在脑海中想象着我和拉库纳说话的那一幕，女神对我说话的那一幕就像一池水，充满了无数闪烁的记忆云。我没有试图把他们拉到我身边，而是把自己推进了那个游泳池，就像我对Shujaa做的那样。慢慢地，随着我越来越深地陷入那个池塘，我周围的世界变得越来越黑暗。游泳对我来说是个很陌生的概念，所以我决定沉下去。我可以处理下沉。
Then I heard it... the faintest whispers in the dark. First one or two. Then a small crowd. Then a steady stream of barely audible comments. ‘She has it. She is out. She is coming. Coming soon. She is bringing it. Bringing it to us. The book. She has the book.’ I didn’t know who ‘she’ was. More chilling were the comments after that. ‘We must kill her. No, we must reward her. One of us. One of us!’
然后我听到了...黑暗中最微弱的低语。第一个或第二个。然后是一小群人。然后是一连串几乎听不见的评论。""在她那儿。她出去了。她来了。马上就来。她带来了。把它带给我们。那本书。书在她手上我不知道她是谁。更令人不寒而栗的是之后的评论。""我们必须杀了她。不，我们必须奖励她。我们中的一个。我们中的一个
I tried not to pay attention to whispers. I needed to find the big ego in charge of them all. Mentally, I sank deeper. My body was left behind; an unnerving sensation. It was exactly how I’d felt after escaping Hightower. A feeling of... letting go.
我尽量不去注意那些窃窃私语。我需要找到控制他们所有人的自我意识。精神上，我陷得更深了。我的身体被抛在后面，一种令人不安的感觉。这正是我逃离海托华后的感觉。一种...放手的感觉。
Then I heard the voice and saw the distant blue glow. I moved towards it; for some reason I imagined myself as a white unicorn with a striped mane... and no metal. At least here I could be normal. That blue glow coalesced into the Goddess, an immense blue unicorn from the waist up surrounded by a ring of faint glowing pony shapes. Her hips devolved into a glowing amoeboid mass stretching out around her like tendrils into the cloud, and her lumpy blue hide seemed to undulate and move in strange ways. I stared at the sight of two green unicorn heads poking from her shoulders, looking on. By the side of the Goddess’s head floated a translucent, membranous balloon connected by a meaty filament to the Goddess’s temple.
然后我听到了那个声音，看到了远处的蓝色光芒。我朝它走去，不知为什么，我把自己想象成一只有条纹鬃毛的白色独角兽......没有金属。至少在这里我是正常的。蓝色的光辉汇聚成女神，一只巨大的蓝色独角兽从腰部以上围绕着一圈微弱发光的小马形状。她的臀部变成一团发光的变形虫状物体，像卷须一样伸向云层，她那粗糙的蓝色皮肤似乎在起伏，以奇怪的方式移动。我看到两个绿色的独角兽头从她的肩膀上探出来，看着她。女神的头部侧面浮着一个半透明的膜状气球，气球由一根肉质的细丝连接到女神的庙宇上。
And trapped within was a very familiar purple mare’s head.
被困在里面的是一个熟悉的紫色母马的头。
In front of the Goddess were hundreds of windows, like terminal screens. In them, I could see images all across Equestria. Most of them were scenes of the Wasteland. One was looking down upon a village of zebras, and I thought that one of them looked a bit like Xenith... of course, they all looked kinda similar. Then I spotted Calamity! There was no missing that hat. It was like P-21’s, and there just couldn’t be another pegasus with one like it in the Wasteland.
在女神的前面有数百个窗户，就像终端屏幕。在这些照片中，我可以看到整个Equestria的景象。其中大部分是荒原的景象。其中一只正在俯视一个斑马村庄，我觉得其中一只看起来有点像塞尼斯......当然，它们看起来都有点像。然后我发现了灾难！那顶帽子不见了。就像P-21一样，不可能再有一匹飞马在荒原上有一匹这样的了。
The windows in the center swelled in size; perhaps window size was the equivalent to how much attention she was giving something? If so, what she was looking at was... as best as I could see... a floating city-fortress hovering over the clouds. From a dozen eyes, I saw a wing of alicorns fly through the dark clouds around the massive structure of war. “Such power...” the Goddess purred.
中间的窗户膨胀得很大;也许窗户的大小相当于她对什么东西的关注程度？如果是这样的话，她看到的是......我所能看到的最好的景象......一座漂浮的城堡在云层上空盘旋。从十几只眼睛里，我看到一只苍蝇的翅膀穿过战争巨大建筑周围的乌云。"多么强大的力量......"女神咕哝着。
“Thunderhead class mobile siege platform,” said the mare’s head in her right shoulder.
"雷头级移动攻城平台,"母马的头在她的右肩说。
“The Glorious Dawn,” intoned the other.
"光荣的黎明,"另一个说道。
The view swooped in and suddenly jerked as the alicorns teleported into a docking bay. One by one, the crew pegasi were magically neutralized and dragged into the corner. The green mare heads closed their eyes and said in unison, “We have the location of his quarters.”
风景突然俯冲下来，当这些橡树果远程移动进入一个对接舱时，它们突然猛地一动。飞马座的船员一个接一个地被神奇地驯服，并被拖到角落里。绿色的母马闭上了眼睛，异口同声地说:"我们知道他住处的位置了。"
The Goddess nodded. “Watch the others and make sure they are not discovered.” She turned her gaze to glance at the purple head inside its balloon and then returned her eyes to the windows. “Take us there.”
女神点点头。"注意其他人，确保他们不会被发现。"她把目光转向那个气球里紫色的脑袋，然后把目光转向窗户。"带我们去那里。"
“Are we certain he is amenable?” one of the green mares asked.
"我们确定他会听话吗?"一匹绿色的母马问。
“Of course he will be!” the Goddess snapped. “He desires magic. We desire power. What better match could there possibly be? With his machines of war we shall bring Red Eye to heel and save all of ponykind from the Wasteland.”
"他当然会!"女神厉声说。"他渴望魔法。我们渴望权力。还有什么比这更好的呢？用他的战争机器，我们将让红眼臣服，从荒原拯救所有的矮种马。"
“So long as he does not turn that power upon us,” the other green mare warned.
"只要他不把力量转移到我们身上,"另一匹绿色的母马警告说。
“Yes, we shall take precautions. Soon the Black Book will be ours, and we will make the required changes to perpetuate ourselves,” the Goddess said testily.
"是的，我们应该采取预防措施。很快，黑皮书就是我们的了，我们将做出必要的改变，使我们自己永存。"女神烦躁地说。
“Trixie...” murmured the purple head weakly. “Please...”
"特里克茜......"紫色的脑袋虚弱地咕哝着。"请......"
“Silence,” the Goddess boomed as she glared at the balloon. “You tried it your way. You failed. I acknowledged when you were right about me. Why can you not accept that this is the way it must be? Why must you perpetually insist on ‘another way’? After 200 years of trying, only force has been proved to work.
"安静,"女神用低沉的声音瞪着气球。"你用你的方法试过了。你失败了。我承认你对我的看法是正确的。你为什么不能接受事情必须这样发展？为什么你必须永远坚持"另一种方式"？经过200年的努力，只有武力被证明是有效的。
What kind of scientist continues to use a flawed method?" The Goddess stared at the windows as the purple head hung in shame. “No more missionaries, Twilight. No more trying to work with ponies like Red Eye. We must control the situation, not let it control us.” She glared at the windows a moment. “Go.”
什么样的科学家会继续使用有缺陷的方法?"女神盯着窗外，紫色的头羞愧地垂下来。"没有更多的传教士了，暮光。再也不用和红眼这样的小马一起工作了。我们必须控制局势，而不是让它控制我们。"她盯着窗户看了一会儿。"去吧。"
Half the windows flickered as they jumped into a sumptuously decorated office. The walls were festooned with weapons, pegasus uniforms, flags, and maps. The dusky pegasus I’d seen before at the Rainbow Dash Skyport now sat behind a desk, scowling at a chart. Two guards stood by with bored looks on their faces.
当他们跳进一间装修豪华的办公室时，一半的窗户闪烁不定。墙上装饰着武器、飞马的制服、旗帜和地图。我以前在彩虹飞机场见过的昏暗的飞马现在坐在桌子后面，愁眉苦脸地看着一张图表。两个守卫站在一旁，脸上带着无聊的表情。
Those bored looks turned to astonishment as magic bolts slammed into them and dropped them in heaps on the floor. Harbinger drew a strange, ominous-looking beam pistol as he crouched behind the desk. There was something familiar about it, but I wasn’t precisely sure where I’d seen it before. “PEACE!” The Goddess thundered. “THE GODDESS HAS NOT COME TO DO BATTLE! YOUR SOLDIERS ARE MERELY STUNNED, NOT SLAIN!” Slowly, Harbinger rose up from behind the desk as one window slowly advanced upon him. “THE
那些无聊的表情变成了惊讶，因为神奇的螺栓砸进了他们，把他们成堆地扔在了地板上。哈宾格蹲在桌子后面，拔出一把奇怪的、看起来不祥的射线手枪。有一些熟悉的东西，但我不确定我以前在哪里见过它。"和平!"女神雷鸣般地喊道。"女神不是来打仗的！你的士兵只是被打晕了，而不是被杀死了!"随着一扇窗户慢慢地向他走来，哈宾格慢慢地从桌子后面站了起来。「
GODDESS HAS COME TO PARLEY WITH THE GRAND PEGASUS ENCLAVE!”
女神来到帕伽索斯飞地谈判了!"
After a moment, he dropped the pistol on the desktop. “Brown wind... it’s true,” he said as he slowly rose to his hooves. “You really do exist.” He narrowed his eyes a bit. “I expected an assassination attempt from Red Eye’s alicorns before now. He has to suspect we’re moving against him.”
过了一会儿，他把手枪掉在了桌面上。"棕色的风......是真的,"他一边慢慢地站起来，一边说。"你真的存在。"他眯起眼睛。"以前我还以为红眼酒吧会有企图谋杀呢。他不得不怀疑我们在对付他。"
“INDEED, BUT THE GODDESS DOES NOT SERVE RED EYE. HE HAS ABUSED THE GODDESS’S TRUST, AND SO WE SEEK A NEW PARTNER. A BETTER PARTNER. AND WHO BETTER TO RULE THIS NEW WORLD WITH THE GODDESS OF EQUESTRIA THAN THE LORDS OF THE SKY?” Her words were perfectly chosen, drawing a smile from the gray stallion.
"的确如此，但是女神并不侍奉红眼。他辜负了女神的信任所以我们需要一个新搭档。更好的合作伙伴。还有谁能比天上的主人更适合和小马女神一起统治这个新世界呢?"她的话说得恰到好处，那匹灰色的种马露出了微笑。
“You’re proposing some kind of alliance?” he asked slowly, as if disbelieving even the idea of it.
"你提议结盟吗?"他慢慢地问道，好像连想都不敢相信似的。
“THE GODDESS IS. YOUR PEOPLE REQUIRE MAGIC? THE GODDESS HAS MORE MAGICAL POWER THAN ANY EQUINE WHO HAS EVER LIVED! WITH YOUR FORCES, YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR RIGHTEOUS BATTLE AGAINST THE WICKED RED EYE. BUT THAT IS NOT ALL!
"女神是。你的族人需要魔法？这位女神比任何马都有魔力！用你的力量，你将与邪恶的红眼进行正义的战斗。但这还不是全部！
THE GODDESS KNOWS OF YOUR STRUGGLE WITH THUNDERHEAD! HOW THEY WITHHOLD THEIR OWN SOURCES OF MAGIC WHILE YOU GROW EVER WEAKER! HOW THEY PURSUE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS TO USE AGAINST THEIR OWN PEOPLE! THEIR EVIL IS INTOLERABLE EVEN TO THE GODDESS! ONCE RED EYE IS CHASTISED, THE GODDESS WILL AID IN YOU DELIVERING A PUNISHMENT BEFITTING SUCH TREACHERY!”
女神知道你和雷暴头的斗争！当你变得越来越虚弱的时候，他们是如何保留他们自己的魔法来源的！他们如何追求生物武器来对付他们自己的人民！他们的罪恶连女神都无法容忍！一旦红眼受到惩罚，女神就会帮助你施以惩罚来惩罚你的背叛!"
Okay. This was rapidly approaching a level of nightmare even I was having trouble handling.
好吧。这很快接近一个噩梦的水平，即使我有麻烦处理。
“Well. That’s an interesting proposition. Very interesting. But you know that saying about things that are too good to be true,” he said with a glare. “What is the catch?”
"好吧。这是一个有趣的提议。非常有趣。但是你知道，说那些好得不真实的事情,"他瞪着眼睛说。"有什么问题吗?"
“NO CATCH. NO TRICKS. TOGETHER WE SHALL BRING PEACE AND ORDER TO EQUESTRIA. YOU WISH THE SKIES? KEEP THEM WITH THE GODDESS’S BLESSING. THE GODDESS’S CHILDREN SHALL RULE BELOW AND BRING SALVATION TO ALL PONIES TRAPPED IN THE WASTELAND. THE GODDESS SHALL PROVIDE YOUR ENCLAVE THE MEANS TO CONTROL NOT JUST THE SKIES OF EQUESTRIA, BUT OF THE ENTIRE WORLD! AND IN RETURN, ALL THE WORLD SHALL BE UNITED AND SAVED.” But that was a lie, and I knew it. Zebras, griffins, and ghouls couldn’t be turned into alicorns. But looking into the office, I could see the naked appeal in Harbinger’s eyes.
"没有捕捉。不要耍花招。我们将一起给EQUESTRIA带来和平与秩序。你希望天空？带着女神的祝福保存它们。女神的孩子将统治地下，并将救恩带给所有被困在荒原的小马。女神将提供你的飞地不仅控制EQUESTRIA的天空，而且控制整个世界！作为回报，全世界将团结起来，得到拯救。"但那是个谎言，我知道。斑马、狮鹫和食尸鬼不能变成桤木。但是透过办公室，我可以看到Harbinger眼中赤裸裸的吸引力。
Still, he wasn’t entirely sold. “How do I know this isn’t a trick? Perhaps an attempt to get me out in the open?”
尽管如此，他并没有完全被说服。"我怎么知道这不是个骗局？也许是想把我弄出去?"
“LOOK UPON YOUR NEUTRALIZED GUARDS! HAD THE GODDESS WISHED YOU DEAD, YOU WOULD BE SO! OUR OFFER IS MADE IN GOOD FAITH, HARBINGER. THE GODDESS SEEKS YOUR ASSISTANCE, NOT YOUR DEMISE.” He clearly seemed to be considering it.
"看看你们被制服的守卫！如果女神希望你死，你就死定了！我们的报价是真诚的，先驱者。女神寻求的是你的帮助，而不是你的死亡。"很明显，他似乎正在考虑这件事。
Finally, his lips twisted sourly. “It’s not exclusively up to me. The council will
最后，他的嘴唇绷得紧紧的。"这不完全取决于我。委员会会的
want to debate.” He said the word like it was a curse.
想要辩论"他说这个词的时候就像是一个诅咒。
The Goddess chuckled. “YOU KNOW THE VALUE OF SPECTACLE BETTER THAN MOST, HIGH GENERAL! THERE WILL BE NO NEED OF DEBATE WHEN YOU ARRIVE WITH A WING OF THE GODDESS’S CHILDREN WITH YOU. YOUR PEOPLE SHALL FALL IN LINE AND EXCUSE YOUR AUDACITY WHEN ALL THE GODDESS’S GIFTS ARE PRESENTED. NEW TALISMANS. FRESH MATERIALS TO MAKE NEW WEAPONS OF WAR! THE STRENGTH OF YOUR PEOPLE RESTORED! COME TO THE HOME OF THE GODDESS. BRING YOUR CAMERAS SO THAT ALL CAN SEE THE GLORY OF THE GODDESS! THUS SHALL OUR ALLIANCE BE MADE FACT FOR ALL TO SEE!”
女神轻声笑了起来。"大将军，你比大多数人都更清楚眼镜的价值！当你带着女神的孩子的翅膀和你一起到达时，就没有必要争论了。当所有女神的礼物被呈现时，你们的人民将排成一列，原谅你们的厚颜无耻。新护身符。制造新型战争武器的新材料！你们人民的力量恢复了！来到女神的家。带上你的相机，让所有人都能看到女神的晨辉！这样我们的联盟就会成为所有人都能看到的事实!"
Harbinger glared at her, but his eyes danced with the potential hope. “He desires,” whispered the two heads.
哈宾格瞪了她一眼，但他的眼睛里闪烁着潜在的希望。"他想要,"两个脑袋低声说。
“Of course he does,” chuckled the Goddess. “We’re speaking the same language. Power.”
"他当然知道,"女神笑着说。"我们说的是同一种语言。力量。"
Harbinger finally said with a little smile, “I’ll reflect on your generous offer, Goddess.”
最后，哈宾格微笑着说:"女神，我会考虑你慷慨的提议的。"
“He shall accept!” the green left head said.
"他会接受的!"绿色的左脑袋说。
“He only needs to get his plots together,” the right green head murmured. “Then he shall come!”
"他只需要把他的阴谋集中起来,"绿色的右脑喃喃地说。"那么他会来的!"
“OF COURSE, HIGH GENERAL. THE GODDESS LOOKS FORWARD TO OUR ALLIANCE! TOGETHER WE SHALL BRING PEACE AND ORDER. BUT WE URGE HASTE IN YOUR DECISION, LEST THE GODDESS BE FORCED TO ACT WITHOUT YOU.”
"当然，将军阁下。女神期待着我们的联盟！我们将携手带来和平与秩序。但我们要求你尽快做出决定，以免女神在没有你的情况下被迫采取行动。"
“Of course,” he said with a little smile.
"当然,"他微笑着说。
“Return,” the Goddess said with a cackle, and the windows aboard the siege platform disappeared and were replaced by images of clouds.
"回来,"女神咯咯地笑着说，围城平台上的窗户消失了，取而代之的是云彩的影像。
Okay, I had to do... something! I had to tell somepony! I needed to...
好吧我总得做点什么吧！我必须告诉一些小马！我需要..。
Twilight Sparkle was looking at me.
紫悦看着我。
The old mare’s head seemed so terribly tired and sad as she looked on. Yet even as I looked, the corner of her mouth turned in the saddest smile. Then she mouthed a word within that diaphanous balloon. ‘Run.’
当老母马看着的时候，她的头看起来是那么的疲惫和悲伤。然而，就在我看着她的时候，她的嘴角却露出了最悲伤的微笑。然后她在透明的气球里说了一个字。快跑
“What...” the Goddess began, and then the immense blue form turned around to face me. Then I understood what all those lumps were and why they moved so oddly. It was a body made of eyeless pony faces, a thing that could have been birthed in Horizon Labs. Her periwinkle eyes widened as they looked down at me, then narrowed in an enraged glare. “YOU!”
"什么......"女神开口了，然后那巨大的蓝色身体转过身来面对我。然后我明白了那些肿块是什么，为什么它们移动得那么奇怪。那是一具没有眼睛的小马脸组成的尸体，这东西可能是在地平线实验室出生的。她那双长春花般的眼睛低头看着我时睁大了，然后愤怒地眯起眼睛瞪着我。"你!"
Shitshitshitohshitohshi--
屎屎屎屎屎屎屎屎——兼论中国传统文化的内涵
Out. Awaken. Leave. Vacate! I struggled to pull myself out of this void and back to myself. Maybe if I got into myself, I could warn someone! Spike! I could tell him! He’d warn Homage! He could tell everypony! The Enclave and Goddess...
出去。醒来吧。走吧。让开！我挣扎着把自己从这种空虚中拉出来，回到自己身边。也许如果我进入我自己，我可以警告某人！斯派克！我可以告诉他！他会警告敬意！他可以告诉每一个小马！飞地和女神..。
together?! It had to be stopped. I felt myself pulling out, but too slowly. Far too slowly!
一起?！它必须被阻止。我感觉自己在抽身，但速度太慢了。太慢了！
Her immense hooves reached out and caught me. “Sneaky, sneaky, Blackjack. I look forward to having you fully within Unity. And that day shall come soon. Very soon.” Her lips curled wider as her eyes narrowed. “In the meantime... let me repay some of the annoyance your lineage has caused me!”
她那巨大的蹄子伸出来抓住了我。"鬼鬼祟祟，鬼鬼祟祟，玩黑杰克。我期待着你们完全加入统一。那一天很快就会到来。很快。"她眯起眼睛，嘴唇微微张开。"与此同时......让我报答一下你的血统给我带来的烦恼吧!"
She pulled me towards her gargantuan maw, filled with countless babbling pony heads and an infinite number of teeth...
她拉着我走向她那巨大的肚子，肚子里装满了无数个喋喋不休的小马头和无数颗牙齿.....。
* * *
* * *
I jerked, disturbing both Glory and Boo as I clutched my pounding skull. “What is it, Blackjack?” Glory asked in concern. “What’s wrong?”
我猛地一扭，紧紧抓住自己砰砰作响的头骨，这让晨辉和布都感到不安。"怎么了，黑杰克?"晨辉关切地问道。"怎么了?"
Something was wrong. There was something... Something I needed to tell somepony...
有点不对劲。有些事...有些事我需要告诉一些人..。
“I don’t know... just a headache...” I muttered as I lay back. We were going to have to leave soon. I had debts to pay, and sticking around here was just an invitation for the Harbingers to attack again.
"我不知道......只是有点头痛......"我一边躺着一边喃喃自语。我们很快就要离开了。我有债要还，留在这里只是为了让"先驱者"再次发动进攻。
I just wished I knew what the Goddess found so damned funny...
我只是希望我知道女神发现了什么如此有趣..。
Footnote: Maximum Level Reached.
脚注:已达到的最高水平。
Quest perk achieved: Shadowbolt armor Mk I. You’ve received the reinforcing base for Shadowbolt cybernetics. +3 DT.
完成任务特技:影螺栓盔甲一你已经得到了影螺栓控制论的增援基地。+3DT.
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: I really want to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. School, pneumonia, and writing difficulties made getting this chapter done a nightmare. This is the third form of the chapter. I hope it’s okay. The chapter ended up being a recovery chapter. Sorry. I’m getting formulaic I guess. Anyway, thank you for your patience in waiting for the chapter. I hope it was worthwhile.
(作者的笔记:我真的想为本章的迟到道歉。学校、肺炎和写作困难使得这一章的完成成为一场噩梦。这是本章的第三种形式。希望你不介意。这一章最终成为了复苏的一章。对不起。我想我越来越公式化了。无论如何，谢谢你耐心等待这一章。我希望这是值得的。
I want to thank everypony for reading as far as they have. It’s my dream to finish PH this year. I want to thank the endless support and help, given by Hinds, Bronode, and Snipehamster to making this worth reading. Trust me, my rough drafts are painful. Special thanks to Kkat for creating FoE, as always. And I’d like to thank every pony who’s generously supported PH. There were quite a few donations this month and sadly I didn’t get a chance to thank everyone personally.
我要感谢每一位小马，感谢它们一直以来的阅读。今年完成PH值是我的梦想。我要感谢海因兹、Bronode和Snipehamster给予我的无尽支持和帮助，使这篇文章值得一读。相信我，我的草稿是痛苦的。特别感谢Kkat一如既往地创造了敌人。我要感谢每一个慷慨支持博士学位的小马。这个月有相当多的捐赠，可惜我没有机会亲自感谢每一个人。
Thanks to people’s generosity, I’ll be attending Unicon in Las Vegas in February. Hope to see folks there! Just look for the grossest attendee... that should be me!)
感谢人们的慷慨，我将参加二月份在拉斯维加斯举行的Unicon大会。希望能在那里看到人们！只要找到最恶心的出席者...那就是我!)