“Oh, my fortune telling has nothing to do with my Pinkie sense! It’s only good for vague and immediate events. Like that, see? …Where did that even come from?”
"哦，我的算命跟我的小指头没有关系！它只适用于模糊的和即时的事件。就像这样，看到了吗？...这是从哪儿来的?"
“So,” Glory asked from the kitchen as she carefully stowed every bit of food we had left into bags, “is he safe?”
"那么,"晨辉一边小心翼翼地把我们剩下的所有食物装进袋子里，一边从厨房里问道,"他安全吗?"
There was no question who ‘he’ was. Rampage looked up from where she sat as a surly teenager adjusting the straps on her power hooves. “Safe? Deus doesn’t do safe. He does ‘more harm’ and ‘less harm’. ‘Safe’ isn’t applicable to him.” She then started to put on the metal armor, which was still a size or so too large. I supposed having a size-changing body would be extremely annoying. She seemed to have a system of belts and straps to keep it all in place.
毫无疑问他是谁。狂暴的少女坐在那里，正在调整她动力蹄子上的皮带，她抬起头来。"安全吗？上帝不会做安全的事。他造成了更多的伤害和更少的伤害。'安全'并不适用于他。"然后她开始穿上金属盔甲，那仍然是一个尺寸或者太大。我想拥有一个可以改变体型的身体是非常令人讨厌的。她似乎有一个系统的皮带和皮带，以保持所有的地方。
We were rested and getting ready to move out with the sunset. All that was needed was to make sure everything was stored up. Rampage had drawn a crude map showing how to get to Grimhoof, a route essentially heading back south to Flank, then continuing east till the road crossed the Hoofington River above the reservoir. If all went according to plan, the Harbingers would see us go and not bother Chapel any longer.
我们休息好了，准备在日落时出发。所有需要做的就是确保所有的东西都被储存起来。横冲直撞绘制了一张如何到达格里姆霍夫的粗略地图，这条路基本上是向南到弗拉克，然后继续向东，直到水库上方的胡芬顿河。如果一切按计划进行，先驱者们就会看着我们离开，不会再来打扰小教堂了。
P-21 looked at the magazines of bullets he was carefully inventorying and preparing in advance. “Well, he’s less harm to us… unless he wants to commit suicide. I found five explosive devices wired up inside him; one of them was set to go off in less than an hour. Whoever put him in that thing had been pretty methodical about it. First charge would have disabled the case holding his brain and severed his connection to the tank. The second would have scrapped the life support, then the repair talisman, and finally the engine itself.”
P-21看了看他事先仔细清点和准备的子弹库。"嗯，他对我们的伤害较小......除非他想自杀。我在他体内发现了五个爆炸装置，其中一个被设定在一小时内引爆。不管是谁把他放进那个东西里的，他的手法都很有条理。第一项指控会使保护他大脑的箱子失效，并切断他与坦克的联系。第二个会报废生命维持系统，然后是修理护身符，最后是发动机本身。"
Scotch Tape carefully stacked up her own supplies. Tools, duct tape, Wonderglue, scrap metal, plungers, wire, some arcane electronics scrap, and capacitors were all arranged around her in a fan. “How’d the zebras even shrink down a reactor small enough to fit on a tank? I can’t figure that one out,” the filly said, then passed a roll of tape to Boo, who caught it in her mouth and then set it into the bag. How’d Scotch teach her that trick?
透明胶带小心翼翼地把她自己的东西堆起来。工具，管道胶带，Wonderglue，废金属，柱塞，电线，一些神秘的电子废料，电容器都被安排在她周围的风扇里。"斑马怎么会把一个小到可以装在坦克上的反应堆缩小呢？小母马说，然后递给阿布一卷胶带，阿布用嘴接住，放进袋子里。苏格兰人怎么教她的？
“Better question is ‘Where did the Harbingers get a tank in the first place?’” Twister asked as the Neighvarro pegasus checked her power armor. Next to her, Sunset was loading her beam rifles with new cartridges. “All our recon said the surface shouldn’t have anything even close to that kind of firepower.” She gave Glory another of those long, indecisive looks like she was trying to come to a decision.
"更好的问题是,'先驱者'最初是从哪里弄到一辆坦克的？"托斯特在邻居帕伽索斯检查她的能量盔甲时问道。在她旁边，夕阳正在给她的横梁式步枪装填新子弹。"我们所有的侦察人员都说，海面上不应该有任何接近那种火力的武器。"她又给了晨辉一个长时间优柔寡断的表情，好像她正在努力做出决定。
“Maybe it was captured. Maybe they have a working facility making repairs somewhere underground,” Glory hypothesized with a shrug. She held up a cyberpony cake to me. “Want one before I pack them all away?”
"也许它被抓住了。也许他们在地下某个地方有维修设备,"Glory耸耸肩，假设道。她递给我一个赛博马蛋糕。"在我把它们都打包走之前，你想要一个吗?"
“Awww, if you insist,” I chuckled; she tossed it to me, and I caught it with my magic. Lacunae was outside, keeping an eye out for the Harbingers. No sign of them yet, but they were reforming and rearming; we had to get out of here before they made a second attack on me while I was still here. And if they tried to use Chapel as a hostage against me again... well... I think at that point I was entitled to go Yellow River on the Harbingers. Besides, given the defenses Chapel was building up, there’d be the chance of an embarrassing defeat by a bunch of foals.
"啊，如果你坚持的话,"我咯咯地笑着;她把它扔给我，我用魔法抓住了它。空隙在外面，密切注视着先驱者。还没有他们的迹象，但他们正在改革和重新武装;我们必须在他们第二次袭击我之前离开这里，当时我还在这里。如果他们再次利用查普尔作为人质来对付我......那么......我认为在那个时候，我有资格乘坐"港口"号去黄河。此外，考虑到查普尔正在建立的防御体系，也有可能被一群小马驹尴尬地击败。
“Those are going to make you fat, Blackjack,” Scotch Tape opined with a snicker.
"那会让你变胖的，Blackjack,"ScotchTape窃笑着说。
“I’m still getting things repaired. I’m a growing mare,” I said, taking a bite. I chewed happily for a moment, then sighed. “The real question I have is why he’s coming with us in the first place? I don’t think a radio-controlled bomb would stop Deus from killing somepony if he really wanted to.” Rampage snickered, and I looked at her. “Rampage’s ‘Follow Blackjack because she beat you’ theory aside, there has to be a reason. You knew him longest, Rampage. Can you think of any other reason?”
"我还在修理东西。我是一头正在长大的母马,"我咬了一口说。我高兴地嚼了一会儿，然后叹了口气。"我真正的问题是，他当初为什么要跟我们走？我不认为无线电遥控炸弹会阻止Deus杀死一些小马，如果他真的想这么做的话。"暴跳如雷的窃笑着，我看着她。"撇开狂暴的'跟踪黑杰克因为她打败了你'理论不谈，这一定有原因。你认识他的时间最长，狂暴。你还能想到别的理由吗?"
“Deus wasn’t exactly the most social war machine,” Rampage pointed out. “Nopony besides Big Daddy and Brutus ever fought him hoof to hoof. Even
"天王并不是最具社会性的战争机器,"狂暴指出。"小马，除了大爸爸和布鲁图斯，从来没有跟他打过架。甚至
Psychoshy never tried to take him on. Gorgon was the closest thing to a friend he had, and he was a mute monsterpony.” The young mare then stopped and frowned.
精神病从来没有试图对付他。戈耳贡是他最亲近的朋友，他是一匹哑巴怪马。"年轻的母马停了下来，皱起了眉头。
“What?” I asked as I checked the wear on Vigilance. Some parts from some twelve millimeter pistols had done it good, and I’d tried, mostly in vain, to polish it to its original sheen. A markspony carbine would have to do for longer ranges. I’d all but given up on keeping a riot shotgun intact.
"什么?"我一边问，一边检查着"时刻警惕"的磨损情况。一些十二毫米口径手枪的零件已经做得很好了，我试着把它打磨到原来的光泽，但大部分都是徒劳的。在更长的射程内，马克斯伯尼卡宾枪将不得不使用。我几乎放弃了保留一把防暴猎枪的念头。
“Well… it’s stupid,” Rampage said with a flush. “It’s just that… well… I think he was scared of me. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m one scary pony, but you remember Deus. There wasn’t a mare he wouldn’t try and fuck if she looked at him wrong.” After what Brass and Hightower had done to him, I could understand it. Forgive… no… but I could understand. “He barely said two words to me in two years.”
"嗯......这太愚蠢了,"狂暴同花顺地说。"只是......嗯......我觉得他是怕我。不要误会我，我知道我是一个可怕的小马，但你记得天王。没有一匹母马，如果她看他的眼神不对，他就会去干她。"在布拉斯和海托华对他做了那些事之后，我终于明白了。原谅...不...但我能理解。"两年来，他几乎没跟我说过一句话。"
But given how Rampage resembled Twist with her coat and her mane, it wasn’t hard to imagine why. “I wish I could just ask him,” I grunted in annoyance.
但是考虑到狂暴女人的外套和鬃毛与扭扭的相似程度，不难想象其中的原因。"我希望我可以直接问他,"我烦恼地咕哝着。
“There are wires that connect him to a speaker, but he doesn’t talk,” P-21 said with a shrug as he packed his things away in his bag. It never ceased to amaze me how he could hide entire grenades in his brushy mane and tail. Maybe it was kicking the Med-X, but he looked pretty good. Then again, he’d always looked good… not flier-good, but still…
"有电线把他和扬声器连接起来，但他不说话,"P-21边说边把东西收拾进包里。他的鬃毛和尾巴毛茸茸的，他怎么能把整个手榴弹都藏在里面呢。也许是踢到了Med-X，但他看起来还不错。不过话又说回来，他一直看起来不错......不是飞行员——不错，但还是.....。
“He might be suffering from severe aphasia,” Glory said as she tucked the last of the food away and trotted to her battle saddle, deftly slipping on the gatling beam gun’s harness. When she saw my sardonic expression of cluelessness, she elaborated, “It’s a speech impairment due to brain damage. Yes and no may be all he’s capable of expressing.”
"他可能患有严重的失语症,"晨辉边说边收起最后一点食物，小跑到她的战斗马鞍前，熟练地滑倒在加特林机枪的挽具上。当她看到我毫无头绪的讽刺表情时，她解释说:"这是大脑损伤导致的语言障碍。他所能表达的也许只有肯定和否定。"
“Or he’s keeping silent,” P-21 suggested as he shrugged into a bandoleer of 40mm grenades for Persuasion. He glanced around, looking a little agitated, and checked the grenade launcher for the third time.
"或者他在保持沉默,"P-21一边说，一边对着一把40毫米手榴弹的子弹带耸了耸肩。他环顾四周，看上去有点激动，第三次检查了榴弹发射器。
Rampage snickered. “Oh, come on. Deus couldn’t go five minutes without a ‘cunt’.” P-21 looked at her coolly, and the striped mare blinked. “What?”
狂暴的人窃笑起来。"哦，得了吧。天王连五分钟都离不开一个'婊子'。"P-21冷静地看着她，有斑纹的母马眨着眼睛。"什么?"
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use language like that around my daughter,” he said primly. I shared a look with Glory and suppressed a laugh.
"如果你不在我女儿面前说这样的话，我会很感激的,"他拘谨地说。我和晨辉分享了一个眼神，压抑着一个笑声。
“Oh, really? What should I use?” Rampage asked with a grin. “Sugar pot?”
"哦，真的吗？我应该用什么?"狂暴带着微笑问道。"糖罐?"
“Vagina would be the most accurate,” Glory offered.
"阴道应该是最准确的,"晨辉说。
“Hoo-hah,” Twister suggested.
"呼哈,"图斯特建议道。
“Vertical smile?” Sunset said with a grin.
"垂直微笑?"日落咧嘴笑着说。
“I usually just call it my turbine,” Scotch said as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then looked at me, “‘cause it makes me hum.” It seemed perfectly reasonable to me, but P-21’s mane seemed to twang a little like snapped wires. “What?” she asked, and the poor blue stallion looked so flustered that I decided not to chime in with my own personal nickname.
"我通常把它叫做我的涡轮机,"苏格兰女士一边抚摸着下巴，一边若有所思地说，然后看着我,"因为它让我发出嗡嗡声。"对我来说，这似乎是完全合理的，但P-21的鬃毛似乎有点像断了的电线。"什么?"她问道，这匹可怜的蓝色种马看起来如此慌乱，我决定不插嘴说出我自己的昵称。
“Okay. That’s enough talk of... that…” he said with a nervous grin, waving his hooves as if trying to banish the topic.
"好吧。说够了......说够了......"他紧张地咧嘴一笑，挥舞着他的蹄子，似乎想要打消这个念头。
“Oh, come on. Surely you have some little nicknames for your own equipment?” Rampage teased, then shook her head as she looked back at Scotch, then at Glory. “Aren’t the socio-sexual mores of stable ponies fascinating?”
"哦，得了吧。你一定给自己的装备起了一些小绰号吧?"狂暴开玩笑，然后当她回头看着苏格兰威士忌时摇了摇头，然后又看着晨辉。"马厩里的社会性观念不是很吸引人吗?"
She flushed a little, but then replied primly, “Don’t ask me. I spent my grade school being encouraged to prefer fillies. Boys for boys. Mare’s love. All kinds of slogans and stuff to keep us apart when we went into our fertile cycles.”
她脸红了一下，然后一本正经地回答说:"别问我。我小学的时候就被鼓励去喜欢小雌马。男孩为男孩。玛丽的爱。当我们进入生育周期时，各种各样的口号和东西把我们分开。"
Rampage laughed and grinned at Scotch Tape. “Oh, yeah. Wait till you start your cycle. Best and worst time of the year for mares. Then you’ll call it your... I dunno, reactor or something.” Rampage snickered, then sniffed the air. “Smells like one of us is due right now. Knowing our luck, we’ll all kick into cycle at the same time. That’s always fun.” I glanced at Glory blushing furiously and giving a little squirm. Rampage turned and grinned at P-21. “What do you think?”
狂暴大笑着冲着透明胶带咧嘴一笑。"哦，是的。等到你开始你的周期。对于母马来说，一年中最好和最坏的时候。然后你会称它为你的......我不知道，反应堆之类的东西。"狂暴的人窃笑了一声，然后嗅了嗅空气。"看来我们中的一个马上就要生了。知道我们的运气，我们会同时进入循环。这总是很有趣。"我愤怒地瞥了格洛里一眼，稍稍扭动了一下。狂暴转过身，对着P-21咧嘴一笑。"你觉得怎么样?"
P-21 sat there, eyelid twitching before he jammed his hat on his head as his cheeks flared. He turned and marched out, shoving Boomer aside as he muttered darkly. The brown stallion blinked as he looked back over his shoulder. “What’s his problem?”
P-21坐在那里，眼皮抽搐着，然后他把帽子顶在头上，脸颊突然变大。他转身大步走了出去，把布默尔推到一边，他在暗自嘀咕。那匹棕色的种马回头看时眨了眨眼。"他有什么问题?"
“Propriety met reproduction on the battlefield and was promptly bent over and rutted,” Rampage replied. She caught my glare and recoiled, then sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll apologize to His Grumpiness.” Power hooves
"礼节在战场上遇到繁衍后代，马上弯下腰，留下车辙,"狂暴回答道。她看到我的目光后退了一步，然后叹了口气，转了转眼珠。"好吧。我要向他那暴躁的脾气道歉。"动力蹄
clicking, she trotted out after him.
卡嗒一声，她跟在他后面跑了出去。
Boomer took several deep breaths. “Oh, yeah. Thought something smelled good.” He gave a crooked grin. “If any of y’all need that itch scratched, well, I’d be happy to help out. There’s a reason the ladies call me Boomer, after all.” I chuckled, remembering how close I’d come to gelding him. What a waste that would have been…
布玛儿做了几次深呼吸。"哦，是的。我觉得这东西闻起来不错。"他咧嘴一笑。"如果你们需要挠痒痒的话，我很乐意帮忙。毕竟，女士们叫我布玛儿(Boomer)是有原因的。"我咯咯地笑了起来，想起我差点就阉了它。多么浪费啊..。
“Just because a mare’s fertile doesn’t mean she becomes a sex fiend, Boomer.
"母马能生育并不意味着她就是性魔鬼，布玛儿。
Y’all know that,” Twister said.
你们都知道,"图斯特说。
“I reckon not. T’get to ‘sex fiend’ takes a few drinks.” The brown buck grinned, and the mare flushed a little.
""我想没有。说到'性爱狂'，需要喝上几杯。"棕色的雄鹿咧嘴一笑，母马有点发红。
“Y’all better get back out there and keep an eye out for any hostiles, ‘fore I remove the head yer thinkin’ with!” Twister snapped.
"你们最好回到外面去，注意看看有没有敌人，否则我就把你们的脑袋砍下来!"扭扭乐啪的一声。
“Sure. Might need to… nnngh… adjust my armor though,” he said with a laugh before he went back out. Mmm… fliers…
"当然。可能需要......嗯......调整我的盔甲,"他笑着说，然后又出去了。嗯...传单..。
“Stallions,” Twister muttered. Then the lavender mare saw Sunset looking at her curiously and flushed. “It’s not me! I’m at least two weeks from cycling.”
"种马,"龙卷风喃喃自语。这时，淡紫色的母马看见日落好奇地满脸通红地望着她。"不是我！我至少还有两周就要骑自行车了。"
“Is it that bad?” Scotch Tape asked with a little frown.
"有那么糟糕吗?"透明胶带皱着眉头问道。
“Eh.” I gave a little shrug. “You’ll start looking at stallions more and the idea will be on your mind a lot for a week or so. Just make sure you stay around other mares, and we’ll stop you from doing something with some moron just because he’s got a nice body. Make sure you never point your hind end at a stallion if you can help it. Really gives them the idea if they get a good whiff. Give yourself a good rubbing once or twice a day till the itch passes. You’ve got your implant, right?” The filly nodded. “Then you’ve got nothing to worry about if you do mess it up. It’s more an annoyance than anything.”
"嗯。"我耸了耸肩。"你将开始更多地观察种马，这个想法将在你的脑海中盘旋一周左右。只要确保你和其他母马呆在一起，我们就会阻止你和某个笨蛋做一些事情，仅仅因为他有一个漂亮的身体。如果可以的话，千万不要把你的后腿对准一匹种马。如果他们闻到一股香味，就会产生这种想法。每天好好摩擦一两次，直到瘙痒消失。你植入了芯片，对吧?"小母马点点头。"如果你把事情搞砸了，你就没什么好担心的了。这比什么都烦人。"
Scotch Tape looked relieved as she finished passing things to Boo. The last of the supplies were packed away. I kept looking at Glory, and as she completed her own packing I trotted up to her. “So, is it you?” I asked, giving her a little nudge.
透明胶带看起来松了一口气，因为她完成了传递东西给布。最后一批补给品已经打包好了。我一直看着晨辉，当她自己收拾好行李时，我小跑着走向她。"那么，是你吗?"我问道，轻轻推了她一下。
“No!” she said as she blushed furiously, then pressed her lips together.
"不!"她说着，脸涨得通红，然后把嘴唇贴在一起。
“Maybe…” Finally she slumped. “Probably.” She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"也许......"最后她倒下了。"可能吧。"她叹了口气，转了转眼珠。
“Ugh… stupid biology. It’s not like I’m attracted to him in any way, shape, or form. It’s just a dumb little thought that I just can’t quite put out of my mind. It’s not fair I’ve got a piece of anatomy nagging me to be a mommy. This is the worst time possible for me to have a kid!”
"呃......愚蠢的生物学。我对他没有任何吸引力，无论是形状还是外形。这只是一个愚蠢的小想法，我只是不能完全摆脱我的脑海。这不公平，我身上有块解剖学的东西在唠叨我要当妈妈。对我来说，现在是最不适合生孩子的时候!"
I gave her a little nuzzle. “It’s not a bad thing to think of down here. Just roll with it.” She huffed at me, but finally gave in with a roll of her eyes. “That a girl.”
我用鼻子蹭了她一下。"在这里想想也不是什么坏事。就顺其自然吧。"她生气地看着我，但最后还是转了转眼珠，屈服了。"好姑娘。"
“Well, he is pretty nice,” Glory said with a little smile. That’s the spirit. Bisexuality: double your options, double your fun! And Boomer was certainly nice to look at.
"嗯，他人挺好的,"晨辉微笑着说。就是这种精神。双性恋:双倍的选择，双倍的乐趣！布玛儿当然长得不错。
“Now you’re thinking like Blackjack,” I said with a grin. Maybe if she broadened her horizons a bit, I could go along for the ride with her. “I think you’d make a great mom, Glory.” I winced inwardly, hoping that she didn’t take it the wrong way.
"现在你的想法就像黑杰克,"我咧嘴笑着说。也许如果她开阔一下眼界，我可以和她一起去兜风。"我觉得你会是个好妈妈，晨辉。"我心里一阵抽搐，希望她没有误会。
But she didn’t. “Maybe someday… if things were normal and not so crazy… maybe. But it’s probably just the hormones talking,” she said, then looked towards the door with a wistful sort of smile.
但她没有。"也许有一天......如果一切正常而不是那么疯狂......也许吧。但这可能只是荷尔蒙的作用,"她说，然后带着渴望的微笑朝门口望去。
“It wouldn’t hurt you to experiment,” I said with a nudge. I supposed I could terrify the brown stallion into behaving himself.
"试验一下不会伤害你的,"我用肘轻推了一下说。我想我可以把那匹棕色的种马吓得乖乖的。
“Maybe,” she said again with another little sigh. “It might be okay with him. I doubt he’d hurt me.” Her wings pomfed out a little bit as she smiled, then trotted for the door along with everypony else. “There’s just something about earth ponies…” she murmured softly before closing the door behind her.
"也许吧,"她又轻轻地叹了口气说。"他可能不介意。我怀疑他不会伤害我。"她微笑着展开了翅膀，然后和其他小马一起向门口跑去。"地上的小马好像有点什么......"她轻轻地喃喃自语，然后关上了身后的门。
I stopped in my tracks and blinked in shock at the closed door. “Wait. What?”
我停下脚步，震惊地眨着眼睛看着那扇关着的门。"等等。什么?"
* * *
* * *
There weren’t any cheers as we climbed onto Deus, but everyone in Chapel watched us go with an unfamiliar look in their eyes. Maybe it was the sight of the black-and-white-striped tank with ‘MEGA DEUS’ hoofpainted by Scotch and Rampage in red across the front, or perhaps it was the three pegasi in ominous black Enclave power armor flying overhead along with a purple alicorn, but every pony, ghoul, and zebra watched us go with an odd expression
当我们爬上天王的时候，没有听到任何欢呼声，但是教堂里的每个人都用一种陌生的眼神看着我们离开。也许是那辆前面涂着红色苏格兰人和狂暴飞马的黑白条纹"MEGADEUS"蹄子的坦克，也许是那三个身穿黑色飞地动力装甲的不祥之人和一只紫色的阿里克纳在头顶飞行，但是每一匹小马、食尸鬼和斑马都用一种奇怪的表情看着我们
I’d hadn’t ever really seen before. Not fear. Not joy.
我以前从未真正见过。不是恐惧。不是快乐。
As Deus’s treads rumbled along the road through the village, I looked out at all the faces gazing on and gave the smallest smile and little wave back. I must have looked ridiculous; my reinforcements made wearing normal barding impractical, so some of Sky Striker’s plates had been duct taped and Wonderglued to my augmented limbs to cover the gaps. Still, I saw something akin to open awe in Sekashi and Majina as we rolled by their cottage. Harpica, the ghoul maid, gave a bow and spread her dusty wings in a curtsy. Charity looked on, her normally calculating eyes watching me now with something more honest and sincere.
当天王的履带在穿过村庄的路上隆隆作响时，我看着外面所有凝视着的面孔，微微一笑，也微微地挥了挥手。我看起来一定很可笑;我的增援部队穿着普通的护甲是不切实际的，所以一些天空前锋的盘子已经被管道胶带和Wonderglued到我的增强四肢，以弥补差距。尽管如此，当我们经过Sekashi和马吉纳的小屋时，我还是看到了类似于开放式敬畏的东西。食尸鬼侍女哈皮卡鞠了一躬，展开满是灰尘的翅膀行了个屈膝礼。慈善看着，她通常算计的眼睛看着我现在更诚实和真诚的东西。
“Why are they looking at us like that?” I asked as I flushed.
"他们为什么那样看着我们?"我脸红了，问道。
Rampage looked at me. “Are you serious, Blackjack? You don’t know?”
狂暴看着我。"你是认真的吗，黑杰克？你不知道?"
I frowned at her. “Me not knowing is nothing new. They keep staring at us…”
我对她皱起了眉头。"我不知道，这不是什么新鲜事。他们一直盯着我们......"
“Not at us, Blackjack. Not even at Deus,” Rampage replied. “You. They’re staring at you.”
"不是对我们，黑杰克。甚至在上帝面前也不行,"狂暴回答。"你。他们在盯着你看。"
Now I was blushing everywhere that wasn’t metal. “Me? Why me? What did I do?”
现在我脸红了，只要不是金属的东西。"我？为什么是我？我做了什么?"
Glory sighed, smiled, and shook her head. P-21 leveled a sardonic look at me. Even Scotch Tape seemed to get it. Rampage’s grin lost some of its edge as we rolled out of the village, and she just looked at me with admiration and pity. “You gave them hope, Blackjack.”
晨辉叹了口气，笑了笑，摇了摇头。P-21对我摆出一副嘲讽的表情。就连透明胶带似乎也能做到这一点。当我们离开村子的时候，狂暴的笑容失去了一些优势，她只是用钦佩和怜悯的眼神看着我。"你给了他们希望，黑杰克。"
* * *
* * *
The last time I’d travelled between Flank and Chapel, I’d been running like a maniac to try and save Chapel from Sanguine. This time, I was a passenger on a war machine with three power-armored pegasi providing escort. As the evening gloom deepened, I started wishing that the Harbingers would attack. I scanned all around for some red bar which could alleviate this tedium, but there wasn’t anything that could provide a distraction. Not even a radroach or bloatsprite dared to challenge our passage.
上次我在弗兰克和查佩尔之间旅行的时候，我像个疯子一样奔跑，试图从桑吉内手中救出查佩尔。这一次，我是一架战争机器上的乘客，机上有三架动力装甲飞马护送。随着夜色越来越暗，我开始希望"先驱者"会进攻。我四处寻找能够缓解这种单调的红色条，但是没有任何东西能够分散我的注意力。甚至连一只旱獭和一只浮游生物都不敢挑战我们的航道。
“You’re pouting, Blackjack,” P-21 said as he stared out at the gloom.
"你在生气，黑杰克,"P-21盯着黑暗说。
“I am not,” I replied, pouting as I glared at the darkness. “Think they’re out there? The Harbingers?”
"我不是,"我回答，在我怒视着黑暗的时候撅着嘴。"你觉得他们在外面吗？先驱者?"
He shrugged, checking his grenade launcher. “I’m certain of it. They’re watching us. Thinking of ways to separate us from Deus, you from the rest of us. Maybe a lucky shot from those big guns of Steel Rain’s… though they can’t risk destroying EC-1101. Maybe when you go to that plantation. Dawn threw away her family and her life. She hasn’t quit. Quitting leaves her with nothing.”
他耸了耸肩，看了看自己的榴弹发射器。"我很肯定。他们在监视我们。想办法把我们和上帝分开，把你和我们其他人分开。也许是来自钢铁雨的大炮的幸运的一枪...虽然他们不能冒险摧毁EC-1101。也许当你去种植园的时候。道恩抛弃了她的家庭和生活。她没有放弃。辞职让她一无所有。"
I sighed, looked out into the growing gloom, then glanced over at Glory speaking in low tones with Rampage. She met my look with a momentary one of apprehension, then a forced little smile. When I didn’t return it, her expression turned concerned for a moment. Finally, I managed a small half smile. Only then did she finally give me a sincere smile. She might have looked like Rainbow Dash, even had her athleticism, but she was still not far removed from the timid mare I’d discovered beneath that terminal. She didn’t love me, and maybe I didn’t love her. Life was a tempest, and she clung to me as the one and only constant in her life. The collar she’d put on me was a hollow symbol. A lie.
我叹了口气，望着越来越浓的黑暗，然后扫视了一眼晨辉，低声说着暴怒的话。她见到我的目光，心中一阵恐惧，然后露出一丝勉强的微笑。当我没有还给她时，她的表情一下子变得忧虑起来。最后，我勉强挤出一丝微笑。直到这时，她才给了我一个真诚的微笑。她可能看起来像彩虹冲刺，甚至有她的运动能力，但是她仍然离我在终端下面发现的胆小的母马不远。她不爱我，也许我也不爱她。生活是一场暴风雨，她把我当作她生命中唯一永恒的人紧紧地抱在怀里。她给我戴的项圈是一个空洞的象征。一个谎言。
But sometimes a lie was something to live for.
但有时候，谎言是我们活着的理由。
Someday she’d find someone she did love. Someone who didn’t hurt her all the time. Someone better. We might be together for days, months, or even years, but eventually I’d do something to drive her awa--
总有一天她会找到她真正爱的人。一个不会一直伤害她的人。一个更好的人。我们可能会在一起几天，几个月，甚至几年，但是最终我会做一些事情让她离开
Then P-21 smacked the back of my head. “Ow? What did you do that for?” I whined.
然后P-21轰了我的后脑勺。""噢？你这么做是为了什么?"我抱怨道。
“You’re getting that look again,” P-21 said with a smirk as he tugged his hat lower on his face.
"你又露出那种表情了,"P-21一边说着，一边把帽子往下拉了拉。
“What look?” I asked as I rubbed the spot where he’d hit me.
"什么表情?"我摸着他打我的地方问道。
He shook his head. “That look like you’re trying to think and arriving at all the wrong conclusions. Relax, Blackjack. I’m sure that we’ll be attacked sooner or later. Don’t stress yourself till then.”
他摇了摇头。"这看起来像是你在试图思考并得出所有错误的结论。放松点黑杰克。我相信我们迟早会受到攻击。在那之前不要给自己太大压力。"
I huffed and then groaned. “I can’t help it! I get all wiggly when there’s nothing going on!” My metal legs kicked the air before I huffed and lay limply. “I hate being bored.”
我喘了口气，然后呻吟起来。"我忍不住！什么事都没有的时候，我就扭来扭去的!"我的金属腿在空中踢来踢去，然后我气喘吁吁地瘫倒在地。"我讨厌无聊。"
He glanced at me and chuckled. “Don’t you have a memory orb or something you can go into?” he asked with a small roll of his eyes.
他瞥了我一眼，咯咯地笑了。"难道你没有一个记忆球或者什么东西可以进去吗?"他轻轻地转了转眼珠问道。
“I don’t want to be all memory orb’ed if the Harbingers attack,” I said with a sigh as we rolled along.
"如果先驱者进攻，我不想成为所有的记忆球,"我叹息着说，我们一起滚动着。
“Then sleep,” he said with a shrug. “Or whine more quietly,” he added, then spat a grenade into the breech of his weapon and clacked it closed. I looked at him skeptically but then sighed and closed my eyes. Really… how could anyone take a nap… on a… tank…
"那就睡吧,"他耸耸肩说。"或者更安静地发出呜呜声,"他补充道，然后朝枪膛里扔了一颗手榴弹，砰的一声关上了。我怀疑地看着他，然后叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。说真的...怎么会有人在...一个..。.坦克..。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
“This doesn’t look good,” Jetstream muttered, looking about at the rocky valley as the Marauders stepped out of the skywagon. The open area was a mile across, two miles long, and filled with gray boulders and scrubby yellow grass. In the middle were a number of black-and-white-striped figures underneath a white open tent. “They could hide a whole legion in those rocks, and we wouldn’t know it till the firing started.” Two dozen soldier ponies, a dozen pegasi, and a half dozen red-striped zebras moved out from two other skywagons.
"情况看起来不妙,"捷流喃喃自语，看着四周的岩石山谷，掠夺者们正从敞篷车里走出来。空旷的区域有一英里宽，两英里长，到处都是灰色的巨石和灌木丛生的黄草。帐篷中间是一个白色的开放式帐篷，下面是一些黑白条纹的身影。"他们可以在那些岩石里隐藏整个军团，而我们直到开火才知道。"二十多匹小兵马，一打飞马，以及半打红条纹斑马从另外两辆运货马车上下来。
“Ayep,” Big Macintosh said stoically as he chewed on his grass stem. The rest of the Marauders slowly fanned out. Dark thunderclouds overhead boomed and threatened rain. “Orders?” he asked as he looked back at Vanity with a small smile.
"是的,"大麦金托什一边咬着自己的草茎，一边坚忍地说。其余的掠夺者慢慢地散开了。头顶上乌云密布，预示着要下雨。"命令?"他一边问，一边带着一丝微笑回头看着瓦妮特。
The emerald-maned unicorn gave a sheepish curl of his lips in return. It was clear that while Vanity might have the officer’s crest, Big Macintosh was in charge. “Secure the meeting area. The command post will be here at the skywagons. The Third Battalion should be deployed somewhere southeast of us, preventing any large numbers of enemies from moving in. Our real concern is assassination.”
那只戴着翡翠色鬃毛的独角兽回敬了他一个羊似的卷曲的嘴唇。很明显，虽然瓦妮特可能戴着军官的徽章，但是大麦金托什掌管着一切。"保护会议区域。指挥所将在这里的空中马车。第三营应该部署在我们东南方的某个地方，阻止任何大量的敌人进入。我们真正担心的是暗杀。"
“You really think they’d kill Celestia?” Twist asked with a scowl.
"你真的认为他们会杀了塞莱斯蒂亚?"特威斯特皱着眉头问道。
“Yes,” I said softly. “There’s real concern that this is a trap.” That drew some surprised looks, but I flushed and looked away.
"是的,"我轻声说。"人们确实担心这是一个陷阱。"这引起了一些吃惊的目光，但我脸红了，转过头去。
Big Macintosh nodded. “I’ll be in the center with the Princess.” He gestured towards the skies with his hoof. “Jetstream above with the fliers. Twist, move
大麦金托什点点头。"我会和公主站在中间。"他用蹄子指向天空。"Jetstream和飞行员在上面。扭动，移动
into those rocks with the Proditor. Doof, take that high point in case we need suppressive fire pulling back to the wagons. Applesnack, take a dozen and set up a line to the north. Captain’ll take the other squad to the south.” He paused, then looked at me. “Pick your spot for a field of fire.” He looked at Vanity for confirmation.
和Proditor一起钻进那些岩石里。傻瓜，抓住那个高点，以防万一我们需要火力压制拉回马车。苹果包，带一打人去北边排队。上尉会带其他小队到南边去。"他停顿了一下，然后看着我。"选择你的位置作为火场。"他看着瓦妮特确认这一点。
“That sounds good, Sergeant. Carry on,” the unicorn said, then turned to Echo. “Get in touch with the Third as soon as you can. Four squads aren’t going to be nearly enough if this goes bad. I know Celestia ordered no troops, but there’re just too many ways this can go wrong.” The white unicorn glanced at me for a long moment. “Make sure you’ve got a dedicated channel between Psalm and Big Macintosh. If there’s trouble, she’ll be the first to spot it. Everypony move out.”
"听起来不错，中士。继续,"独角兽说，然后转向回声。"尽快和第三组联系。如果情况变糟，四个班远远不够。我知道塞莱斯蒂亚没有命令军队，但是有太多的方法会出错。"白色的独角兽盯着我看了很长时间。"确保在Psalm和BigMacintosh之间有一个专用频道。如果有麻烦，她会第一个发现。每个小马都搬走了。"
I turned and walked to the skywagon for my gear. I was carefully assembling my precision weapon when a stallion said behind me, “Hey there, Becalm. Long time no…” I turned, levitating the sniper rifle as I regarded the orange unicorn carrying saddlebags bulging with scrolls and papers. His yellow eyes focused on the rifle floating beside me, and he finished lamely, “…see?”
我转过身来，走到空中旅行车那里拿我的装备。我正在小心翼翼地组装我的精确武器，这时一匹种马在我身后说:"嘿，小贝。好久不见......"我转过身，把狙击步枪悬浮在空中，看着那只橙色的独角兽背着装满卷轴和文件的鼓鼓囊囊的鞍囊。他黄色的眼睛盯着我身边漂浮的步枪，一瘸一拐地说:"看到了吗?"
“Cheddar?” I murmured. “What… what are you doing here?”
"切达干酪?"我低声说。"你...你在这儿干什么?"
The orange stallion snorted. “We haven’t seen each other for years and that’s all you can say?” he asked, his eyes moving once more over to the gun. “You’ve… changed.”
那匹橙色的种马哼了一声。"我们好几年没见面了，你就只会说这些?"他问，他的眼睛再次移动到枪。"你...变了。"
“We’ve all changed. I’m fighting for Luna now,” I said quietly as I tried to hide the rifle behind my back, a futile gesture given that it was longer than my body. “What are you doing here?”
"我们都变了。我现在是在为卢娜而战,"我平静地说，同时试图把步枪藏在背后，这是一个徒劳的姿势，因为它比我的身体还要长。"你在这儿干什么?"
“I’m here with Celestia’s peace envoys. The Princess believes that my talent with languages will be useful. There’re over twenty different dialects spoken in the Zebra Empire… and… um…” He swallowed, his smile growing more tense. “That’s a really big gun…” he murmured.
"我现在和塞莱斯蒂亚的和平使者在一起。公主相信我的语言天赋是有用的。在斑马帝国里有超过二十种不同的方言......还有......嗯......"他咽了口唾沫，他的笑容变得越来越紧张。"那真是一把大枪......"他喃喃地说。
I sighed and stopped my pointless efforts at concealment. “This is Penance,” I said as I levitated it before us. “Magically augmented and designed by the M.W.T. and M.A.S. for unicorn snipers. It’s a prototype and, given all the fuss it requires, probably won’t be put in production soon. It fires a variety of fifty caliber loads ranging from explosive antipersonnel rounds to armor-penetrating
我叹了口气，停止了毫无意义的隐瞒。"这是忏悔,"我说，我把它悬浮在我们面前。"m.w.t.和m.a.s.为独角兽狙击手，神奇地增强和设计。这是一个原型，考虑到它所需要的所有麻烦，可能不会很快投入生产。它可以发射各种五十口径的子弹，从杀伤人员的爆炸性子弹到穿透装甲的子弹
bullets.” I removed the magazine, showing the jet black bullets within. “These are dragonkiller rounds, in the event of a dragon attack. A… friend… provided them for me.” Said scarred friend was exchanging terse words with Big Macintosh and Vanity at the moment. Though he met my gaze, Goldenblood only frowned. He looked mad… no, not mad. Fearful.
子弹。"我把弹夹拿掉，里面是黑色的子弹。"这些是龙族杀手的子弹，用来对付龙族的攻击。答:。.朋友...为我提供的"这位伤痕累累的朋友此刻正在和大麦金托什和虚荣交换简洁的话语。虽然他遇到了我的目光，金血王只是皱起了眉头。他看起来很生气...不，不是生气。恐惧。
Cheddar stammered at me in horror. “What… how… why in Equestria would you bring something like that to a peace meeting?”
切达惊恐地结结巴巴地看着我。"什么......怎么......在Equestria，你为什么要把这样的东西带到和平会议上?"
“It seemed prudent.” I swallowed as I looked away from my teacher and turned back to my childhood friend. “Don’t you understand what will happen if Celestia is captured? The zebras could use that to force a surrender. Or they could kill her. After all, they wanted Luna to be here rather than Celestia.”
"这看起来很谨慎。"当我把目光从老师身上移开，转向我儿时的朋友时，我咽了口唾沫。"难道你不明白如果塞莱斯蒂亚被抓住会发生什么吗？斑马可以利用这一点迫使他们投降。或者他们可以杀了她。毕竟，他们希望卢娜在这里，而不是塞莱斯蒂亚。"
Cheddar pressed back, “And we asked for the Caesar to come. Instead he’s sent a tribal elder to negotiate for him.”
切达回答说:"我们请凯撒来。相反，他派了一位部落长老为他谈判。"
“A tribal elder?” one of the Proditor asked, looking over with a frown. It took me a minute to recognize a younger Shujaa. “It is Briarthorn, yes?” Cheddar looked away a moment, then nodded. The zebra mare looked contemplative. “I see.
"部落长老?"其中一个牧师皱着眉头问道。我花了一分钟才认出年轻的舒贾。"你是布里亚松，对吗?"切达看了一会儿，然后点点头。那匹斑马母马看起来很沉思。"我明白了。
Elder Thorn is only a few years ‘elder’ to I. She is of the Mendi tribe, who have always objected to the war, much like Ministry Mare Fluttershy. Mendi are as respected as the Ministry of Peace. If it were Elder Earthquaker of the Achu, or Elder Longsight of the Propoli, however, it would be far more promising.”
荆棘长老对我来说只比我大几岁。她属于门迪部落，门迪部落一直反对战争，很像马利弗特希部。门迪像和平部一样受人尊敬。然而，如果是阿丘的埃尔德·大地格，或者是Propoli的埃尔德·朗塞特，那就更有希望了。"
“We have to start somewhere,” he said plaintively, but the Proditor was clearly skeptical. He sighed and covered his face with a hoof as Shujaa continued after Twist. “This is exactly what Celestia was afraid of. You people don’t understand. These ‘security’ arrangements are going to unravel everything before we can even have a chance to talk!” He looked at me, practically begging me to agree. “Don’t you understand? If we don’t show them at least a gesture of trust, we’ll never have a chance.”
"我们必须从某个地方开始,"他哀怨地说，但是制造者显然心存怀疑。他叹了口气，用蹄子挡住了脸，舒嘉继续扭动着身子。"这正是塞莱斯蒂亚所担心的。你们这些人不明白。在我们有机会谈话之前，这些'安全'安排就会拆散一切!"他看着我，几乎是在乞求我同意。""你不明白吗？如果我们至少不向他们表示信任，我们就永远不会有机会。"
A few years ago, I would have agreed with him. I would have taken the risk if it would mean an end to the fighting. But I’d heard the atrocity of Littlehorn. So many students I’d known… if the zebras were capable of that, then they were capable of anything. “Trust them with something less precious than the Princesses. Send Rainbow Dash. She can at least fight if they try anything.”
几年前，我会同意他的观点。如果这意味着战争的结束，我愿意冒这个险。但我听说过Littlehorn的暴行。我认识的那么多学生......如果斑马能做到这一点，那么他们就什么都能做到。"把不如公主们珍贵的东西托付给她们吧。发送彩虹短跑。如果他们有什么企图，她至少可以反抗。"
“Listen to you!” he stammered. “Try anything? What happened to the filly I
"听听你说的!"他结结巴巴地说。""试什么？那匹小母马怎么了
helped wash the floors with?”
帮忙清洗地板吗?"
She killed people. Lots of people. And if I just served Luna loyally and faithfully, everything would be fine. It wouldn’t be for nothing. “You can’t understand.”
她杀了人。很多人。如果我忠诚地服侍露娜，一切都会好起来的。这不是没有意义的。"你不明白。"
His eyes hardened. “No. I guess I can’t. Try not to let the zebras see you with that thing, Psalm. Contrary to what most ponies think, zebras revere their elders as much as we do the Princesses. Even if they’re not from a fighting tribe.”
他的眼神变得僵硬。"没有。我想我不能。尽量不要让斑马看到你拿着那个东西，诗篇。与大多数小马的想法相反，斑马像我们尊敬公主一样尊敬他们的长辈。即使他们不是来自战斗部落。"
He turned on a hoof and trotted away. I knelt, cradling my gun. Everything would be all right in the end. I’d serve Luna, and she’d forgive me. She’d absolve all my sins. Make all the zebras I’d killed worthwhile. “Please, Luna. Please…” I prayed silently.
他转过身，小跑着离开了。我跪下，手里拿着枪。最后一切都会好起来的。我侍奉卢娜，她就会原谅我。她会赦免我所有的罪。让我杀死的所有斑马都值得。"求你了，露娜。求你了......"我默默地祈祷。
“We’ll need the Marauders more than simple prayers,” Goldenblood rasped wetly as he trotted up. “Big Macintosh will be present at the pavilion. We can only hope that things get mired in bickering.” He rubbed his face nervously. “I can’t imagine what Celestia is thinking. This is precisely why ambassadors were invented!”
"我们需要掠夺者，不仅仅是简单的祈祷,"金布拉德一边小跑一边湿漉漉地说。"大麦金托什会出现在展馆里。我们只能希望事情陷入争吵。"他紧张地搓着脸。"我无法想象塞莱斯蒂亚在想什么。这正是大使诞生的原因!"
The scarred and emaciated stallion looked even more frazzled than usual. “Do you really think they’re going to try to kill Celestia?”
这匹伤痕累累、骨瘦如柴的种马看上去比平时更疲惫。"你真的认为他们会试图杀死塞莱斯蒂亚?"
“If they think she’s Luna, yes,” he said as he paced a little back and forth. “Everything is a mess in the backchannels. I don’t know if they think it’s going to be Celestia or Luna. I’ve told them it’s not Luna, but they’ll question it. For all I know, they might think it’s more likely after I warned them.”
"如果他们认为她是卢娜，那么是的,"他边说边来回踱步。"非正式渠道的一切都是一团糟。我不知道他们认为会是塞莱斯蒂亚还是卢娜。我告诉他们那不是露娜，但他们会质疑的。就我所知，他们可能认为，在我警告他们之后，这种情况更有可能发生。"
“Maybe it’s sincere,” I offered, mostly as a token to my childhood friend. “Maybe they want peace.”
"也许是真心的,"我说，主要是作为对我儿时朋友的象征。"也许他们想要和平。"
He snorted skeptically and shrugged as if peace were inconsequential. “Perhaps. I’m more concerned about Celestia forcing this and negotiating personally.” He ran a hoof along his golden mane as he stared at nothing. “Maybe she’s trying to atone for starting the war… this is some elaborate form of suicide. No… unlikely. But perhaps she wants to be captured. Maybe she sees this as a way to force a conclusion to the war.” He rubbed his cheeks. “Or maybe she plans to defect… she’s never approved of the ministries or the expansion of the war effort. Always trying to nudge her way back towards power.” He looked on the
他怀疑地哼了一声，耸了耸肩，好像和平无关紧要似的。"也许吧。我更担心塞莱斯蒂亚会强迫这件事，并亲自进行谈判。"它用蹄子沿着金色的鬃毛奔跑，什么也不看。"也许她是想为发动战争赎罪......这是某种精心策划的自杀形式。不...不太可能。但也许她想被抓住。也许她认为这是一种迫使战争结束的方式。"他揉了揉脸颊。"或者她可能计划叛逃......她从未批准政府部门或扩大战争努力。总是试图推动她重新获得权力。"他看着我的眼睛
verge of a nervous breakdown as he stared with his bloodshot eyes into empty space.
当他用充血的眼睛凝视空间时，几乎要精神崩溃了。
“Have you… talked… to Celestia about it?” I asked, guardedly.
"你和塞莱斯蒂亚谈过这件事了吗?"我谨慎地问道。
He gave a hollow little laugh before breaking into wet coughs. When he finished he gave me a wan grin. “I’m not high on Celestia’s friends list at the moment, or ever again.” He rubbed his face. “We can’t let them take her. It will mean the end of Luna as ruler. Celestia is still frightfully popular.”
他发出一阵空洞的笑声，然后开始咳嗽起来。当他说完时，他给了我一个苍白的笑容。"我现在不在塞莱斯蒂亚的好友名单前列，以后也不会了。"他揉了揉脸。"我们不能让他们带走她。这将意味着卢娜作为统治者的末日。塞莱斯蒂亚仍然非常受欢迎。"
“Don’t worry, Teacher,” I said as I put my hoof on his shoulder. “I won’t. No matter what.”
"别担心，老师,"我边说边把蹄子放在他的肩上。"我不会的。无论如何。"
He gave a sad little smile. “I hardly think it’s fair to call me that. I’ve never taught you much worthwhile. Rocks and gems and metals… hardly the education you deserved.”
他露出悲伤的微笑。"我认为这样称呼我很不公平。我从没教过你什么有价值的东西。石头、宝石和金属......根本不是你应得的教育。"
“You taught me about devotion and conviction,” I said with a sincere smile. “Don’t worry, Teacher. I won’t let them take her.”
"你教会了我奉献和信念,"我真诚地笑着说。"别担心，老师。我不会让他们带走她的。"
He sighed and nodded. “I’ll need to go to the radio wagon. Listen to the backchannels and see if there’s any hint of what they’re planning. I’ve never heard things so chaotic in the Empire since Luna took the throne. There’s no telling what the Caesar is planning. Or the elders. Or the legates…” He gave a wan smile. “Equestria isn’t the only place with shadowy politics. The zebra invented the damned game.” His smile disappeared and he turned, trotting quickly to the radio wagon.
他叹了口气，点了点头。"我需要到广播车那儿去。听听反向渠道，看看他们是否有什么计划。自从卢娜登基以来，我从来没有在帝国里听到过如此混乱的事情。没人知道凯撒在计划什么。或者老年人。或者是使者......"他露出苍白的笑容。"小马国并不是唯一一个政治阴暗的地方。斑马发明了该死的游戏。"他的微笑消失了，他转过身，快步走向广播车。
I kept the gun floating at my side as I moved towards an ideal firing position, a rocky outcrop five hundred yards from the tents. It’d give me a field of fire overlooking the tents and beyond. I climbed up on the rocks and took a position where I could look between the stones. Most snipers worked in pairs of shooters and spotters, but a few unicorns had the talent to levitate a rifle and aim it steadily for hours without straining their eyes or their horn. I unraveled my cloak and spread it over myself and my gun. The magic couldn’t match zebra invisibility, but it did manage to blend in with the surrounding rock enough to make me appear to be just another stone.
当我朝着一个理想的射击位置移动时，我的枪一直漂浮在我的身边，这个位置离帐篷有五百码远，是一块突出的岩石。这样我就有了一片火场，可以俯瞰帐篷和其他地方。我爬上岩石，找到一个可以看到石头之间的位置。大多数狙击手都是成对的狙击手和观察员，但也有少数独角兽有这种能力，它们可以让步枪悬浮起来，连续几个小时稳定地瞄准，而不会使眼睛紧张，也不会拉响喇叭。我解开斗篷，把它盖在我和我的枪上。这种魔法无法匹敌斑马的隐形能力，但它的确设法融入到周围的岩石中，让我看起来像是另一块石头。
One quick radio check with the sergeant, and I was set.
通过无线电对中士进行了一次快速检查，我就准备好了。
It was an hour later that the winged chariot arrived. In that time, I’d used my magic scope to pick out three dozen zebras ranging from sniper pairs to hoof to hoof specialists. Each location was relayed to Echo, who’d pass the information on to the rest of the Marauders.
一个小时后，有翼的战车到了。在那段时间里，我用我的魔法望远镜挑选出了三十多匹斑马，从狙击手到马蹄专家。每个地点都被转发给Echo，他会把信息传递给其他掠夺者。
Then brass horns sounded, heralding the arrival of the Princess on her golden chariot. From the other side of the valley thundered ram’s horns, and a young adult scarlet dragon flew over the mountains, landing and depositing a trio of zebras. The dragon then pumped his wings and took off once more as both peace groups trotted to the tents. I tracked the dragon till it disappeared back behind the horizon.
接着铜号响起，预示着公主驾着她的金色战车的到来。从山谷的另一边传来公羊的角声，一条年轻的成年红龙从山上飞过，降落并摆放了三只斑马。然后龙振翅再次起飞，两个和平组织小跑到帐篷。我追踪着那条龙，直到它消失在地平线后面。
Maybe this would be okay…
也许这样可以..。
From over the radio connection with Big Macintosh, I heard the envoys greet each other with Cheddar interpreting. Sweeping my scope over the valley, I watched as the zebra elder greeted the Princess with clear surprise. Shujaa had been right. The elder wasn’t much older than myself. Still, from the security arrangements, they seemed to value the bead-bedecked zebra mare as more than just a throwaway.
通过与大麦金托什的无线电连接，我听到特使们用切达的口译互相问候。我把望远镜扫过山谷，看着斑马老人带着明显的惊讶迎接公主。舒贾是对的。年长的比我大不了多少。尽管如此，从安保措施来看，他们似乎更看重珠饰斑马，而不仅仅是一次性的。
Over the radio, I could hear Cheddar talking back and forth. To hear Briarthorn speak, the war was becoming ever more burdensome to the Empire. More and more was being asked of the tribes to fight the Maiden of the Stars. Soon it came to the sticking point: Luna’s rule was a non-starter. So long as she remained in power, the Caesar could not entertain the topic of peace. I watched Celestia through my scope, the magical lens peering through the tent at her. I saw the pain and indecision clearly etched on her regal face. I imagined it to be exactly how she’d looked after Littlehorn.
通过收音机，我可以听到切达干酪在说话。听了布里亚托恩的演讲，这场战争对帝国来说变得越来越沉重。越来越多的部落被要求与星中少女战斗。很快就到了关键点:卢娜的统治是不可能实现的。只要她继续掌权，凯撒就不能谈论和平的话题。我通过我的望远镜观察塞莱斯蒂娅，魔法镜头透过帐篷凝视着她。我清楚地看到她那高贵的脸上刻着的痛苦和犹豫不决。我想象着她照顾利特霍恩的样子。
I should have been watching the others. I spotted only a tiny bit of movement in the back of the delegation and a flash of green.
我应该看着其他人的。我只看到代表团后面有一点动静，还有一抹绿色。
From inside the tent came a pop, and suddenly a brilliant green cloud billowed up and filled the space. Everyone began shouting, screaming, and coughing as they struggled and milled about. The tent collapsed, and then, with a flare of magic, Celestia ripped the canvas and let the billowing smoke roll out. She swayed and collapsed as Big Macintosh staggered over her prone form.
从帐篷里传来砰的一声，突然一片翠绿的云层翻腾起来，充满了整个空间。当他们挣扎和旋转的时候，每个人都开始喊叫、尖叫和咳嗽。帐篷坍塌了，然后，天使用魔法撕开了帆布，让滚滚浓烟滚滚而出。当大麦金托什机在她俯卧的身体上蹒跚而行时，她摇摇晃晃地倒下了。
“Cupcake! Code Cupcake!” I shouted over the radio to Echo. “The Princess is
"纸杯蛋糕！纸杯蛋糕代码!"我用收音机对着Echo大声喊。"公主是
down! Code Cupcake!” I immediately started looking for targets in the delegation.
趴下！纸杯蛋糕代码!"我立刻开始在代表团中寻找目标。
Then things went from Cupcake to Roadapples. The ground beside the tent collapsed, and instantly zebras began swarming out of the hole. Many of them sported strange wings and took to the air as soon as they were above ground. I heard the orders coming fast and furious as the pony delegation staggered and flopped back around Big Macintosh, finding a new appreciation for the huge stallion.
然后事情就从纸杯蛋糕变成了Roadapples。帐篷旁边的地面坍塌了，斑马立刻蜂拥而出。它们中的许多长着奇怪的翅膀，一离开地面就飞上了天空。我听到命令来得又快又猛，小马代表团在大麦金托什机周围跌跌撞撞，找到了对这匹巨大种马的新认识。
Yet one didn’t. Cheddar waved his hooves as he jabbered to the zebras who advanced out of the hole in the earth. The zebra envoys were shoved and kicked aside as the newcomers moved in on the fallen Princess. The elder tried to move in beside Cheddar, snapping in rapid-fire zebra. Some of the zebra attackers, with almost contemptuous ease, scooped her up and tossed her onto another zebra’s back, and she was swiftly borne away from the fighting.
但是有一个人没有。切达奶酪挥舞着他的蹄子，对从地洞里走出来的斑马喋喋不休。当新来的动物靠近倒下的公主时，斑马使节被推到一边，被踢到一边。长者试图走到切达的旁边，用急速射击的斑马猛咬。一些攻击斑马的人几乎轻蔑地把她抱起来，扔到另一只斑马的背上，她很快就被带离了战场。
“Get behind me!” Big Macintosh thundered.
"到我后面来!"大麦金塔电脑轰然响起。
“No! Please! Peace! We want peace!” Cheddar shouted as the zebra attackers advanced.
"不！求你了！和平！我们要和平!"当斑马袭击者向前推进时，切达干酪大声喊道。
“Have it,” a stallion replied calmly. The powerful zebra rose and brought his hooves down in one thunderous stomp that exploded my friend’s head like a grape.
"拿去吧,"一匹种马平静地回答。那只强壮的斑马站了起来，一阵雷鸣般的跺脚声把我朋友的头像葡萄一样炸开了。
My round returned the favor a moment later, the enchanted bullet magically punching a hole the diameter of my hoof through his head. I’d fired before his blow fell, but the distance had prevented my friend’s salvation by a half second.
过了一会儿，我的子弹回报了他的好意，魔法般的子弹把我的蹄子直径穿过他的头打了一个洞。我在他的一击落下之前就开火了，但是距离使我朋友的救援耽误了半秒钟。
Forgive me Luna, for I have taken the life of another.
原谅我，卢娜，因为我夺走了另一个人的生命。
Chaos reigned as the zebras engaged the security force on all sides. Big Macintosh, in only his armor, stood between the Princess and her attackers. The zebras were as unarmed as the red earth pony, but they moved with the deadly swiftness and strength of Stampede. Four on one, they flanked and surrounded the stallion who met blow with blow. The zebras, however, had to keep back and moving; they knew I was out here. No doubt a sniper was looking for me this second. I couldn’t count on headshots, but I could punch a hole through any zebra that dared to stop for more than a moment.
由于斑马与四面八方的保安部队交战，现场一片混乱。只穿着盔甲的大麦金托什站在公主和攻击者之间。斑马像赤土小马一样手无寸铁，但他们以惊跑般的致命的敏捷和力量移动着。四对一，他们从侧翼包围了那匹遭到重击的种马。然而，斑马不得不后退并移动，它们知道我在这里。毫无疑问此时此刻有狙击手在找我。我不能指望拍摄头部特写，但我可以在任何一只敢停下来超过一会儿的斑马身上打个洞。
“Where is the Third Battalion?” I heard shouted over my radio. Was it Vanity? “We’re pinned down!” Doof’s minigun maintained a spray of firepower at any zebra that dared to get close to the skywagons. The gray stallion bled from a dozen holes, but he only stopped firing to chug a healing potion and let somepony reload the gun. Overhead, Jetstream and the other fliers worked to keep the bat-winged zebras from spreading out and assuming air superiority. Twist and the Proditor moved through the rocks, taking down the sniper teams as fast as they could.
"第三营在哪里?"我听到收音机里传来喊声。是虚荣心吗？"我们被困住了!"杜夫的迷你机枪对任何敢靠近空中旅行车的斑马保持一种喷射的火力。这匹灰色的种马从十几个洞流血，但他只是停止射击，咕噜咕噜地喝着治疗药水，然后让一匹小马重新装弹。头顶上，喷气流和其他飞行员努力阻止蝙蝠翼斑马扩散并获得空中优势。特威斯特和普罗迪托穿过岩石，以最快的速度干掉了狙击队。
But they were still after the Princess. If they managed to get her, they could flee back to zebra territory if the Third wasn’t in position to stop them as planned. It was a huge window, and there were far more zebras in the valley than our own people.
但是他们仍然在找公主。如果他们设法抓住了她，如果第三个没有按计划阻止他们，他们就可以逃回斑马线。这是一扇巨大的窗户，山谷里的斑马比我们自己的人还要多。
Something heavy landed on my back, hooves trying to grab my head through the cloak. I didn’t dare look away from the red stallion struggling against his attackers. If they hadn’t been trying to capture Celestia, they would have simply gunned him down. If I looked away… I couldn’t look away. My horn pulled my sidearm, pressed it to the batwinged zebra atop me, and started firing. I heard a mare scream, struggling to snap my neck as I maintained focus. Then the hooves around my throat grew weaker as blood soaked my cloak and hide.
一个沉重的东西落在我的背上，蹄子试图从斗篷里抓住我的头。我不敢把目光从那匹正在与攻击者搏斗的红色种马身上移开。如果他们没有试图抓捕塞莱斯蒂亚，他们会直接射杀他。如果我把目光移开......我就无法移开目光。我的角拉起我的侧臂，把它压在我身上的蝙蝠翼斑马身上，开始射击。我听到母马的尖叫，挣扎着扭断我的脖子当我保持专注的时候。然后我喉咙周围的蹄子变得越来越弱，血浸透了我的斗篷和隐藏。
The peace envoys struggled to help Big Macintosh, but they weren’t soldiers. They’d been poisoned, too, and several, like Celestia, were either unconscious or sickened. The best they did was to slow one of the zebras long enough for me to blast out their throat. Too many were kicked and lay where they fell, dead or close enough that it didn’t matter.
和平使者努力帮助大麦金托什，但他们不是士兵。他们也被下毒了，有几个人，比如塞勒斯蒂娅，不是失去了知觉就是生病了。他们最多只能让其中一只斑马慢下来，直到我把它的喉咙炸开。太多的人被踢倒在地，死了或者靠得很近，这些都无关紧要。
I couldn’t let them take Celestia. Please… somepony… anypony… help. All I could do was shoot things. That’s all I could do.
我不能让他们带走塞莱斯蒂亚。求你了...救命...救命啊。我所能做的就是射击。我只能这么做。
Big Macintosh, bleeding and bruised, refused to fall. His coat shiny with blood, standing to protect what were likely broken ribs, one eye matted with blood, he stood on. He would not fall. Could not fall. One of the zebras darted in for a shattering kick, but the stoic pony took the blow and grabbed the hind leg between his hooves. The zebra struggled and flailed, and my round punched through his chest.
大麦金托什机，流着血，擦伤了，拒绝倒下。他的外套因为血而闪闪发光，他站在那里保护着可能断掉的肋骨，一只眼睛上沾满了血，他站在那里。他不会跌倒。不会掉下来。其中一只斑马猛冲过去想踢出致命一踢，但是这匹坚忍的小马受到了打击，用蹄子夹住了后腿。斑马挣扎着挥动着身体，我的子弹穿透了他的胸膛。
The last attacker made a charge on the injured red stallion. As he was beaten by
最后一个袭击者冲向受伤的红色种马。因为他被
a dozen savage blows of horrific strength, I felt an icy certainty that he would fall, Celestia would be taken, the war would be lost, and Luna would be ruined. I couldn’t let that happen. I tried to lead the shot, but the blood of the slain zebra dripped into my eyes and smeared my vision with a single blink. I fired, but my shot went wide. “No,” I whispered in horror, tears dripping as I struggled to adjust my aim before it was too late.
十几次可怕力量的野蛮打击，我感觉到一种冰冷的必然性，他会倒下，塞莱斯蒂亚会被带走，战争会失败，卢娜会被毁灭。我不能让这种事发生。我试着引导镜头，但是被杀死的斑马的血滴进我的眼睛，眨了一下眼睛就弄脏了我的视线。我开了枪，但子弹射偏了。"不,"我惊恐地低声说，眼泪不停地流下来，我努力调整我的目标，以免为时已晚。
Then, despite all his injuries and the debilitating poison, Big Macintosh turned as if to run. The zebra let out a scream of triumph. But Big Macintosh’s body wasn’t set for flight. As the zebra dropped to attack, Macintosh’s hind legs pulled back and unleashed one final immense kick that connected with shattering force. The striped stallion careened away and hit the dirt, lying prone on the ground like a sack of broken bones and meat. Then Big Macintosh collapsed on the grass beside Celestia.
然后，尽管受了这么多伤，身体也中了致命的毒药，大麦金托什还是转过身来，似乎要跑起来。斑马发出一声胜利的尖叫。但是大麦金托什的身体并不适合飞行。当斑马掉下来进行攻击时，麦金托什的后腿向后拉，释放出最后一个巨大的冲击力，这个冲击力与粉碎性的力量相关。那匹身上有条纹的种马摇摇晃晃地跑开了，倒在地上，像一袋断了的骨头和肉。大麦金托什倒在了天堂旁边的草地上。
But he wasn’t done. I could see another two dozen zebras racing towards him from the head of the valley. They were only minutes away. “We need evac for Celestia and Big Macintosh now! Right now!” I cried out as I shoved the zebra corpse off me and struggled to clear my vision.
但他还没说完。我可以看到另外两打斑马从山谷的顶端向他奔来。他们只有几分钟的路程。"我们现在需要撤离塞莱斯蒂亚和大麦金托什！就是现在!"我把那只斑马的尸体从我身上推开，努力清理视线时，我哭了出来。
“We’re pinned down,” Applesnack snapped. “Can’t move two steps without the damned stripes climbing all over us.”
"我们被牵制住了,"阿普莱斯纳克厉声说。"只要走两步台阶，那些该死的条纹就会爬到我们身上。"
“It’s hoof to hoof in these rocks,” shouted Twist, followed by a battle cry.
"在这些岩石里，我们的蹄子对蹄子,"扭扭声喊道，随后是战斗的呐喊声。
“Damned zebras have reinforcements. We should be there in five minutes,” Vanity swore. I looked at the striped attackers racing towards the ruins of the tent. Big Macintosh and the Princess didn’t have five minutes, and from the firearms the zebras brandished, I doubted they’d let Big Macintosh get off another kick even if he was in any state to try. I checked my ammo. Two rounds left. How’d I gone through it all so quickly?
"该死的斑马有援军。瓦妮特发誓说:"我们应该在五分钟内到达那里。"。我看着那些条纹袭击者向帐篷的废墟奔去。大麦金托什和公主连五分钟都没有，从斑马挥舞的武器来看，我怀疑他们是否会让大麦金托什再踢一脚，即使他在任何一个州去尝试。我检查了弹药。还剩两发子弹。我怎么这么快就熬过来了？
“You’ve got to get Celestia out of there, Macintosh,” I said as I slid the magazine into place and pulled back the bolt. “Please! Please, we can’t let them take her.”
"麦金托什，你必须把塞莱斯蒂亚弄出来,"我一边说，一边把杂志放回原位，拉开门闩。"求你了！求你了，我们不能让他们带走她。"
“Anope,” he replied simply as he rose to stand over Celestia once more, and then his rear leg gave out and he slumped beside her, grimacing in pain. “Can’t get myself out of here, let alone the Princess. Just got to delay for Vanity.” I entertained the wild notion of somehow running the five hundred yards and carrying them both to safety… a mad idea.
"阿诺普,"他简单地回答道，这时他再次站起来站在天堂之上，然后他的后腿失去了知觉，瘫倒在她身边，痛苦地做着鬼脸。"我出不去了，更不用说公主了。只是为了《虚荣》耽搁了一下。"我有一个疯狂的念头，想跑过五百码，把他们两个都抬到安全的地方......这是个疯狂的念头。
Madness. There was only one thing to do. “We can’t let them capture her, Big Macintosh.” I slowly moved my aim down till it was pointed at her unconscious royal head.
疯狂。只有一件事可以做。"我们不能让他们抓住她，大麦金托什。"我慢慢地向下移动我的目标，直到它指向她无意识的高贵的脑袋。
Maybe it was the sound of my voice, but with a grunt of pain he rose and turned to face my firing position. “What are you thinking, Psalm?”
也许是我的声音，但伴随着一声痛苦的咕哝，他站起身来，转身面对我的射击姿势。"诗篇，你在想什么?"
“Better Celestia a martyr than a prisoner,” I said in an almost fevered whisper. “If you can’t get her out of there... we’ll have to... to... remove her.” Luna would understand. She’d have to.
"与其做一个囚犯，不如做一个殉道者,"我用近乎狂热的耳语说道。"如果你不能把她从那里弄出来......我们将不得不......把她带走。"露娜会理解的。她必须这么做。
“What?” Macintosh gasped, and at once he stepped between me and the Princess.
"什么?"麦金托什倒抽了一口冷气，立刻走到我和公主之间。
“It’s the only way. They’ll be on you before help arrives,” I said, trying to be as reasonable as I could. His green eyes stared at me, not with anger or rage but with a tired resignation, as if five years of fighting had settled on him all at once. “Move, Big Macintosh. Please!”
"这是唯一的办法。他们会在救援到来之前找到你的,"我说，尽量讲点道理。他绿色的眼睛盯着我，既没有生气也没有愤怒，而是带着疲倦的顺从，好像五年的战斗一下子就结束了。"移动，大麦金托什。求你了!"
“Anope,” he replied, his gaze level. “Our mission is to protect Celestia. Understand?”
"Anope,"他回答，他的目光水平。"我们的任务是保护Celestia。明白吗?"
“They’ll be on you in a minute! They’re going to take her,” I pleaded over the radio. “Please, move!”
"他们马上就会找上你的！他们要带走她,"我通过无线电恳求道。"请让开!"
He smiled. “I reckon if they do, you and the Marauders will get her back. Understand? I ain’t going to move,” he said calmly, steadily, doing what was right. What was right and honorable and true.
他笑了。""我想如果他们找到了，你和掠夺者就会把她找回来。明白吗？"我不会动的,"他平静而坚定地说，做着正确的事情。什么是正义，什么是光荣，什么是真理。
“Please, Sergeant. Please…” I begged, tears running down. They’d overpower Big Macintosh in a few seconds, and there were several with batwing talismans. “Don’t make me shoot you.”
"求你了，警官。求你了......"我恳求着，泪水顺着眼眶流了下来。他们可以在几秒钟内制服大麦金托什机，而且还有几个蝙蝠翼护身符。"别逼我开枪。"
“Anope. I know you won’t, Psalm,” was all he said as he gazed back at me. Slowly, he smiled, trusting me to do what was right. “I know you’re a good pony.” He was the best of us. Honorable. True. A good pony with a noble and caring heart.
"Anope.我知道你不会的，诗篇,"他回头看着我，只说了这么一句话。慢慢地，他微笑着，相信我会做正确的事情。"我知道你是一匹好马。"他是我们中最好的。尊敬的。没错。一匹有着高贵和爱心的好马。
I put a bullet straight through it.
我一枪打穿了它。
He wilted slowly as his face relaxed, fighting every second to protect Celestia. When he crumpled, I had a perfect shot at the alicorn’s head. I could barely aim through my tears. I just had to take two more lives, and then I’d be done. The Princess’s, then my own. There was no living with this. Not this. But at least Luna would still be able to save other, better ponies than myself and maybe, somehow, someday, she might...
当他的脸松弛下来的时候，他慢慢地萎缩了，每一秒都在努力保护着Celestia。当他倒下的时候，我对着阿里康的头开了一枪。我泪流满面，几乎无法瞄准。我只要再杀两个人就完事了。公主的，然后是我自己的。这样的生活是没有意义的。不是这个。但是至少卢娜仍然可以拯救其他比我更好的小马，也许，某天，她可能..。
“Forgive me, Luna, for I have taken the life of another,” I breathed, blinking away tears and staring at Celestia’s head in my crosshairs.
"原谅我，卢娜，因为我已经夺走了另一个人的生命,"我呼吸着，眨着眼泪，盯着瞄准器中塞勒斯蒂亚的头。
Then the skies were split by a ripping boom as a dozen trails of crackling clouds coursed through the air, led by a single rainbow vein. Like streaking missiles, the Shadowbolts broke formation and engaged the zebras with terrifying speed and force. Rainbow Dash herself looped like a rainbow-maned goddess of death and slammed right into the body of zebra racing for Big Macintosh and Princess Celestia. The blast scattered them far and wide as a polychromatic cloud rose from the impact crater.
然后天空被一声巨响撕裂，十几朵云彩在空中飞舞，由一条彩虹的脉络引导。就像飞驰的导弹一样,"暗影螺栓"以惊人的速度和力量脱离了编队，与斑马交战。彩虹冲刺自己像一个彩虹色的死亡女神一样环绕着，猛地撞上了大麦金托什和公主赛车的斑马身体。爆炸使他们四散开来，一团多色的云层从陨石坑中升起。
At that point, the fight was over. The Shadowbolts finally made the zebras give up and retreat with their elder. I just watched from five hundred yards away as the Marauders raced towards the blasted pavilion, hugging Penance to my chest and rocking as I stared. I could barely make out Applesnack through my tears, but I couldn’t miss his howl of pain as he threw away his gun and knelt beside the fallen pony. I heard Twist’s painful sobbing, punctuated with thumps of hooves against unfeeling rocks, Jetstream’s stunned denials, and Doof’s obscenity-laden rant. Echo was murmuring in a stunned voice that Sergeant Big Macintosh was down.
这时，战斗结束了。最后，暗影箭让斑马放弃，和他们的长者一起撤退。我只是在五百码之外看着掠夺者冲向那个该死的亭子，拥抱着我的胸前，在我注视的时候摇晃着。我泪流满面，几乎辨认不出苹果包，但我不能错过他扔掉枪跪在那匹倒下的小马旁痛苦的嚎叫。我听到了特威斯特痛苦的抽泣声，不时被无情的岩石撞击的马蹄声，捷流震惊的否认声，以及杜夫充满淫秽的咆哮声打断。艾可用震惊的声音喃喃地说，大麦金托什中士倒下了。
That was when I promptly leaned over, vomited, and shut out the world and what I’d just done.
就在那时，我迅速俯下身子，呕吐起来，把这个世界和我刚刚做过的事情拒之门外。
The Shadowbolts found me and carried me back to the wagons, where I sat apart and hugged my rifle. Celestia was flown away, pain and sorrow etched into her features. I had doubts she’d ever attempt anything like this again. All anypony could do was weep and rage for the fallen hero who’d courageously placed himself over Celestia’s body to take the bullet. Nopony had yet figured that the direction was all wrong to be a zebra sniper, or that the bullet had been one of mine. Only Goldenblood looked critically at me as I curled up, clutching Penance, praying for some salvation I didn’t deserve.
暗影闪电找到了我，把我带回马车那里，我分开坐着，抱着我的步枪。塞莱斯蒂娅被飞走了，痛苦和悲伤铭刻在她的容貌上。我怀疑她是否还会再做类似的事情。任何矮种马所能做的就是为那个死去的英雄哭泣和愤怒，那个英雄勇敢地趴在塞勒斯蒂亚的身体上来承受子弹。Nopony还没有意识到这个方向对于一个斑马狙击手来说是完全错误的，或者子弹是我的。只有金血王批评地看着我，我蜷缩起来，紧紧抓住忏悔，祈求我不配得到的救赎。
The scarred, exhausted stallion trotted next to me. “What happened?” was all he asked.
那匹伤痕累累、筋疲力尽的种马在我身边小跑。"发生了什么事?"这是他唯一的要求。
“I thought they were going to take her. Luna forgive me… I… I begged him to move…” I whispered. His golden eyes met mine, and I broke, sobbing hysterically. He wrapped his hooves around me, holding me close. One damned pony commiserating with another…
"我以为他们要带走她。卢娜原谅我...我..。.我求他搬走......"我低声说。他金色的眼睛与我相遇，我破口大骂，哭得歇斯底里。他用蹄子围住我，紧紧地抱着我。一匹该死的小马在同情另一匹..。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
I woke to Glory shaking my shoulder and started, looking up into her eyes. “She killed him,” I whispered.
我醒来的时候，晨辉摇了摇我的肩膀，然后惊醒了，抬头看着她的眼睛。"她杀了他,"我低声说。
“What? Killed who?” Glory asked in confusion as I sat up, my body aching.
"什么？杀了谁?"晨辉困惑地问道，我坐了起来，浑身疼痛。
Tanks needed to come with mattresses.
坦克需要带着床垫。
“Big Macintosh. I saw how he died,” I said as I tried to shake it. Such a pivotal moment… had Big Macintosh lived, would Twilight have left the Ministry of Arcane Sciences? Would the world have blown up, or would something else entirely different have happened? I saw the cameras of the tank on me; Twist watched me from the depths of Rampage’s eyes. I could almost feel the Dealer listening in.
"大麦金塔电脑。我看到他是怎么死的,"我一边说，一边试图摇晃它。如此关键的时刻......如果大麦金托什还活着，《暮光之城》会离开奥术科学部吗？世界会爆炸吗，还是会发生其他完全不同的事情？我看到坦克的摄像机对着我;特威斯特从狂暴的眼睛深处看着我。我几乎能感觉到庄家在偷听。
It surprised me when Twister said from above, “Yeah. Killed by a zebra sniper at Shattered Hoof Ridge. Horrible fight. It’s said he leapt in front of the sniper to shield Celestia from his bullets. His funeral was probably the most heavily attended in Equestrian history. If several elements of the Third Battalion hadn’t turned traitor, it never could have happened.” The pegasus looked down at me. “What? A mare can’t have a fancy for military history?”
令我吃惊的是，Twister从上面说,"是的。在粉碎蹄岭被斑马狙击手杀死。可怕的打斗。据说他跳到狙击手前面是为了挡住塞莱斯蒂亚的子弹。他的葬礼可能是马术史上参加人数最多的一次。如果第三营的几个人没有变成叛徒，这一切就不可能发生。"飞马低头看着我。"什么？母马就不能对军事历史有兴趣吗?"
“History… isn’t always what the books say,” I murmured as I looked away, then frowned. Deus revved his engines; was it just me, or did his motor sound... annoyed? I scowled and looked around. “Where the hay are we?”
"历史......并不总是书上说的那样,"我低声说，然后皱起了眉头。上帝发动了他的引擎，是只有我，还是他的引擎发出了......恼怒的声音？我皱起眉头，环顾四周。"我们在哪儿呢?"
“On the edge of the badlands,” Rampage said with a yawn. “You missed Flank. Place is a wreck with Caprice gone. I swear, in five years, they’re going to be nothing more than a gang of drugged out fiends infesting the ruins,” the mare said contemptuously.
"在荒地的边缘,"拉比打着哈欠说。"你错过了弗兰克。随着凯普莱斯的离去，这个地方变得一团糟。我发誓，再过五年，他们只不过是一群嗑了药的瘾君子，在废墟上滋生,"母马轻蔑地说。
Even though it was the middle of the night, my eyes could see well enough to
尽管已经是半夜了，我的眼睛还是能看得很清楚
make out the oddities in the terrain. It looked like somepony had taken an immense pencil and drawn lines back and forth across the land to the south. Walls of crumbling concrete and rusted heaps lay scattered as far as I could see, some with long-abandoned rifles rusting silently away. Many of the lines were muddy ruts and ravines left in the landscape. Rusted artillery pieces lay with their red barrels threatening the skies. And there were bones. Everywhere I looked were bones and skulls sticking out of the earth as if the remains struggled to keep fighting each other. A reek of sulfur hung in the air, and patches of dense mist skulked along the deformations in the crinkled land.
辨认出地形中的怪异之处。它看起来就像一匹小马拿着一支巨大的铅笔，在南方的土地上来回画着线条。在我看来，破碎的混凝土墙和锈迹斑斑的垃圾堆散落一地，有些人还拿着早已被遗弃的步枪，静静地锈迹斑斑。许多线条是泥泞的车辙和山谷留下的景观。锈迹斑斑的火炮与威胁着天空的红色炮管交织在一起。还有骨头。我看到的每个地方都是从地里伸出来的骨头和头骨，就好像这些残骸一直在挣扎着互相争斗。空气中弥漫着硫磺的恶臭，一片片浓雾沿着褶皱的土地上的变形潜伏着。
“It’s a battlefield,” I muttered in stunned disbelief.
"这是一个战场,"我低声咕哝着，难以置信。
“Not a. The. For almost four years. Everything from here to Dawn Bay is a mess of trenches, bunkers, fortifications, and bases,” Twister said in a subdued voice as she hovered above.
""没有。差不多四年了。从这里到黎明湾，到处都是战壕、掩体、防御工事和基地。"。
“Surfacers are idiots,” Boomer commented, punctuated by a yawn.
"表面活性剂是白痴,"布默评论道，不时打个哈欠。
“It was genius,” Twister disagreed. “It’s estimated that almost three million zebras died assaulting Hoofington, while pony casualties were less than two hundred thousand. That’s three million that weren’t attacking Manehattan or Canterlot. Hoofington was such a critical target that they simply couldn’t ignore it.”
"这太天才了,"图斯特不同意这种说法。"据估计，近300万匹斑马在袭击胡芬顿时死亡，而小马的伤亡人数不到20万。这三百万人没有攻击曼哈顿或坎特罗特。胡芬顿是一个非常关键的目标，他们根本无法忽视它。"
But this place was more than just a military target. A cursed city. Nightmare Moon’s city. The Maiden of the Stars’s city. And looking at all the sorrow this place had wrought, who could say that they were wrong? The Tokomare was here, and if the zebras were right, it was something far worse than just a machine. The idea of something so mind-bogglingly powerful staggered me. And if it was just some super power source, what would happen if Cognitum or Dawn got their hooves on EC-1101 and used it to control that kind of energy? Would anything stop them at that point? I’d seen the dormant factories underneath the city and the machines moving on their mechanical trains back and forth.
但这个地方不仅仅是一个军事目标。一座被诅咒的城市。梦魇之城。星城少女。看看这个地方造成的所有悲伤，谁能说他们错了呢？德国佬在这里，如果斑马是对的，那就不仅仅是一台机器了。一想到如此令人难以置信的强大力量，我就不寒而栗。如果它只是某种超级能量源，那么如果Cognitum或者Dawn把他们的蹄子放在EC-1101上，用它来控制那种能量会发生什么呢？有什么能阻止他们吗？我看到城市地下的休眠工厂和机器在他们的机械列车上来回运转。
Sweet Celestia, I hated this place.
亲爱的塞莱斯蒂亚，我讨厌这个地方。
To the northeast I could see a massive lake, so large I that couldn’t see across it. In the growing gloom, I looked at Twister and gave a little frown before asking, “What do you know about Nightmare Moon’s battle with Celestia?” The pegasus
在东北方向，我可以看到一个巨大的湖泊，大到我看不到对面。在日益增长的黑暗中，我看着Twister，皱了皱眉头，然后问道:"关于噩梦之月与天国之战，你知道些什么?"飞马号
stared, nonplussed, and I felt a little apprehensive. “I remember hearing that she fought Celestia here.”
我目瞪口呆，茫然不知所措，感到有点不安。"我记得听说她在这里和塞莱斯蒂亚打过。"
Twister, and everypony else, looked a little surprised by that. “Wow. That’s ancient history. But yes, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, Celestia brought her armies here for a final confrontation with Luna. Accounts differ. The one I like is that Celestia punched through into the valley but was cut off from her main forces. Apparently, everypony expected a duel to the death atop Mt. Hoof, that big granite knot at the south end of the Core. Somehow, Celestia banished her sister to the moon instead and scattered Nightmare Moon’s batpony forces back to her hidden citadel.”
龙卷风，还有其他的小马，看起来都有点吃惊。"哇。那是很久以前的事了。但是，是的，几百年前，塞莱斯蒂亚带着她的军队来到这里与卢娜进行最后的对抗。不同的说法。我喜欢的一个是塞莱斯蒂亚穿过山谷，但被切断了与她的主要力量的联系。显然，每匹小马都期待着在Mt.Hoof山顶上进行一场生死决斗，那是地核南端的一个大花岗岩结。无论如何，天堂将她的妹妹放逐到月亮上，并将噩梦之月的战马部队驱散回她的隐秘城堡。"
“How do you hide a whole castle?” Scotch Tape asked curiously as she perched uneasily atop Deus’s turret. Given that Luna was Princess of the Night, I could only imagine…
"你怎么能把整座城堡都藏起来?"苏格兰胶带好奇地问道，她不安地坐在上帝的炮塔上。既然卢娜是夜之公主，我只能想象..。
“Nopony knows. It’s said that ponies could only find it with the express permission of the Princess or her top generals.” Twister gave a small shrug as she flew beside the tank. “Regardless, it was so long ago that nopony knows how or why things happened back then.”
"没有小马知道。据说小马只有得到公主或她的高级将领的明确许可才能找到它。"托斯特轻轻地耸了耸肩，她飞到坦克旁边。"不管怎样，那是很久以前的事了，没有人知道那时事情是怎么发生的，为什么会发生。"
My thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a bridge spanning a narrow in the reservoir. The sight of the cantilever structure made me look at Deus. “Is that going to hold him?”
我的思绪被横跨水库中一条狭窄桥梁的景象打断了。看到悬臂结构，我不禁看了看上帝。"这个能支撑住他吗?"
Rampage snorted and rolled her eyes. “Blackjack, given all you’ve seen, how can you doubt Equestrian engineering? Even after two hundred years, it’s probably as strong as it’s ever been.”
狂暴的女人哼了一声，翻了个白眼。"黑杰克，鉴于你所看到的一切，你怎么能怀疑马术工程呢？即使过了200年，它仍可能像以往一样强大。"
“When you have four anchors for legs, then you can tell me not to worry,” I said with a scowl as I walked to the front of the tank. When Deus stopped, I hopped off and trotted ahead. “Just let me go a little bit ahead and check for weak spots.”
"当你有四个锚的腿，然后你可以告诉我不要担心,"我说，与怒容，我走到坦克的前面。当天王停下来的时候，我跳下车，一路小跑向前。"让我往前走一点，检查一下薄弱环节。"
Glory landed on one side of me, and P-21 trotted up on the other. For a moment it was almost like when we’d first set off in the Wasteland, even if Glory looked like Rainbow Dash now. Why, we even had Deus following us!
荣誉降落在我的一边，P-21小跑到另一边。有那么一瞬间，就好像我们第一次出发去荒原一样，即使晨辉现在看起来像彩虹冲刺。为什么，我们甚至有上帝跟踪我们！
Rampage turned out to be correct: the bridge was entirely sound and we reached the central span of the structure without incident. Then I spotted a red bar straight ahead of us. Then more. I stopped and drew the markspony carbine with
事实证明，横冲直撞是正确的:大桥完全安然无恙，我们安然无恙地到达了结构的中央跨度。然后我发现我们正前方有一个红色的横杆。然后更多。我停下来，画了一支马克斯伯尼卡宾枪
my magic. P-21 disappeared off to the side almost instantly. Looked like the Harbingers had picked an excellent place for an ambu--
我的魔法。P-21几乎立刻消失在一旁。看起来"先驱者"组织已经选择了一个非常好的地方来做急救
“Lookie here! Two fine ladies wanting to use our bridge,” a stallion called out as a half dozen bandits trotted out from behind the cover of a rusty skywagon lying on its side in the middle of the road. The mustard yellow unicorn wearing patched-up spiked barding gave a cocky grin as he approached, his black mane pulled into something that might vaguely be a style. Then his eyes landed on Glory. “With a Rainbow Dash impersonator. Whatever is the Wasteland coming to?”
"看这儿！两位漂亮的女士想用我们的桥,"一匹种马大声叫道，半打强盗从路中央一辆生锈的空中马车的后面跑了出来。这头涂着芥末黄的独角兽戴着修补过的钉子，走近时咧嘴一笑，他的黑色鬃毛拉成了某种模模糊糊的风格。然后他的目光落在了晨辉上。"用一个彩虹破折号模仿者。荒原会变成什么样子?"
A badly scarred brown earth stallion stepped up next to the unicorn as the first pony twirled his goatee with a hoof. He eyed us both in wary confusion. “Um, Snide? Shouldn’t they have brahmin if they’re traders? I mean, she’s got a beamy gun, and her legs are metal. Maybe we should let them by.”
当第一匹小马用蹄子旋转着它的山羊胡子时，一匹伤痕累累的褐色种马走到了独角兽旁边。他怀着谨慎的困惑注视着我们俩。"嗯，斯奈德？如果他们是商人，不应该有婆罗门吗？我的意思是，她有一把枪，她的腿是金属的。也许我们应该放过他们。"
“Nonsense!” the unicorn said with a toss of his head as he looked at us. “The toll is one hundred caps each. If you two make like good little ladies and don’t raise a fuss, we’ll let you go without trouble.” He smiled broadly. “You have my word.”
"胡说!"独角兽一边看着我们，一边摇着头说。"代价是每人出场100次。如果你们两个像个乖巧的小姐，不要大惊小怪，我们就放你们走，不会有麻烦的。"他笑得很开心。"我向你保证。"
“That means we take all their money, right, Snide?” the scarred brute asked. “After they take it out and stuff?”
"这意味着我们拿走了他们所有的钱，对吗，斯奈德?"伤痕累累的畜生问道。"在他们把它拿出来之后?"
“Oh, do shut up, Numbskull,” the unicorn snapped.
"哦，闭嘴，傻瓜,"独角兽厉声说。
“You’re… just robbers?” I asked slowly as I looked around at the half dozen ponies. “You’re not with the Harbingers?”
"你们...只是强盗?"我看着周围的六匹小马，慢慢地问道。"你不是先驱者的人?"
“My, somepony is slow on the uptake,” Snide snorted, rolling his eyes and getting a chuckle out of his men. “Now, make like good ponies and hand over the caps.”
"我的，有个小马慢吞吞的,"斯奈德哼了一声，转动着眼珠，让他的手下发出一阵轻笑。"现在，像好马一样，把帽子交出来。"
I gave a crooked smile to Glory. With S.A.T.S. we could vaporize the lot of them in a flash. “Um, maybe you should listen to your friend there. Haven’t you heard about a cyberpony trotting around here? Calls herself Security?”
我给了晨辉一个歪歪扭扭的微笑。有了s.a.t.s我们可以在一瞬间把他们全部蒸发掉。"嗯，也许你应该听你那位朋友的话。你没听说过赛博马在这里小跑吗？自称"保安"?"
“Yeah, right. Everypony knows that Security never comes this far south,” Snide said with another snort.
"是的，没错。"每个小马都知道，安全从来没有来到这么远的南方,"斯尼德说与另一个鼻息。
“I don’t know, Snide. I mean, she does got them metal legs.” The big one rubbed his chin with a brass hoof. “I really think we should just let them by.”
"我不知道，斯奈德。我的意思是，她确实有金属腿。"那个大个子用铜蹄摩擦他的下巴。"我真的认为我们应该放过他们。"
“See? That’s where you messed up, Numbskull. You used the word think. The thinking is my job.” He turned back to me and sighed, rolling his eyes once more. “Good help is so very hard to find. Now, where were we?”
""看见了吗？这就是你搞砸的地方，笨蛋。你用了"思考"这个词。思考是我的工作。"他转过身来，叹了口气，再次翻了翻眼睛。"很难找到好的帮手。现在，我们说到哪儿了?"
I sighed and rubbed my face. “Look. I understand that you’re just trying to get by. I do. And if you actually protected travelers as they crossed, I probably wouldn’t mind. But your friend is right. I am Security, and if you try and shake me down, it’s going to go very badly for you.”
我叹了口气，揉了揉脸。"你看。我知道你只是想过日子。我知道。如果你真的在旅行者过境时保护他们，我可能不会介意。但是你的朋友是对的。我是保安，如果你试图敲诈我，你会吃不了兜着走。"
“Please! Do you really think you’re the first mare who’s claimed that? If we let everypony saying she’s Security through here then we might as well just throw in the towel.” He squinted at my legs. “Probably sheet metal. And Security’s legs are white, not black. Or so I heard.”
"求你了！你真的认为你是第一个这么说的母马吗？如果我们让每个人都说她是保安，那我们还不如认输算了。"他眯起眼睛看了看我的腿。"可能是金属片。保安的腿是白色的，不是黑色的。至少我是这么听说的。"
But there was one in the back, a dirty brown stallion with a pair of hoofcuffs on his flank, who seemed to have second thoughts; a terrified, haunted look crossing his face. He didn’t just think I was Security. He knew me.
但是后面有一匹，一匹脏兮兮的棕色种马，侧身上有一副马蹄形的袖口，它似乎在犹豫不决，脸上露出惊恐不安的表情。他不仅认为我是保安。他认识我。
“I dunno Boss. Maybe we should tell her the sob story? You know, the one you told us in case we ever ran into her?” The scarred brute turned to me. “We was all part of a nice and peaceful settlement long ways from here when we was attacked by a lot o’ bad ponies. So now we is here to be good ponies! And we don’t do nothing bad. Ever! Cross me heart and hope to cry and… um… something ‘bout eyes.” He crossed his brass hooves over his chest. I felt a rumble through my hooves.
"我不知道，老板。也许我们应该告诉她这个悲伤的故事？你知道的，就是你告诉我们以防我们碰到她的那个?"那个伤痕累累的畜生转向我。"当我们遭到许多坏小马的袭击时，我们都是远离这里的和平解决方案的一部分。所以，现在我们在这里是好小马！我们不做坏事。永远！在我心上划十字，希望能哭出来，还有......嗯......一双眼睛。"他胸前叉着铜蹄。我感到我的蹄子发出隆隆的响声。
“Oh shut up!” the unicorn snapped, smacking the scarred pony upside his head. “We only tell that story if we’re sure it’s Security! Now get over there and take all their caps, you idiot!”
"哦，闭嘴!"独角兽折断了，把伤痕累累的小马撞到了头上。"我们只有在确定是安全问题的情况下才会讲这个故事！现在过去把他们的帽子都拿走，你这个白痴!"
Then the lot of us were painted by Deus’s headlights. The two cannons and machine gun turrets oriented right towards the band of raiders. Three power-armored pegasi and an alicorn flew above him like an avenging wing of death. Rampage lounged on the hood in her spiked armor, pressing one hoof to the metal just hard enough for the magic talismans to release one small arc of electricity. “We got tired of waiting.”
然后我们中的很多人都被上帝的车前灯给涂上了颜色。两门大炮和机关枪的炮塔正对着突袭机部队。三个全副武装的飞马座和一个独角兽在他头上盘旋，像是死亡的复仇之翼。狂暴穿着尖刺的盔甲懒洋洋地躺在引擎盖上，用一只蹄子踩着金属，刚好让魔法护身符释放出一道小小的电弧。"我们等得不耐烦了。"
Snide gaped at the sight of more death than he’d probably ever seen pointed at him in his life and then stared at me, his pupils constricting to points as he adopted a rictus grin. “Loveliest settlement you ever saw! Most peaceful ponies in all the Wasteland, we were.”
斯奈德一生中从未见过这么多的死亡指向他，他目瞪口呆地看着我，瞳孔收缩到一个点，咧开嘴笑了笑。"你见过的最可爱的居住地！我们是整个荒原上最平静的小马。"
“Skip it,” I replied with a small smile.
"省省吧,"我微笑着回答。
“Quick! Use the failsafe!” Snide shouted as he whirled to run, and was struck in the face by a chunk of metal tossed by P-21.
"快！使用故障保护!"斯奈德一边喊一边转身要跑，结果被P-21投掷的一大块金属击中了脸部。
“Your failsafe was garbage,” the blue pony retorted. “Ten fragmentation grenades and a half dozen bricks of C-4 wouldn’t even dent the underside of this bridge with your layout.”
"你的故障保险是垃圾,"蓝色小马反驳道。"用你的布局，十枚破片榴弹和六块C-4炸药甚至都不能炸毁这座桥的底部。"
“Oh. That’s… good to know…” Snide held the scrap of metal in his hooves and then dropped it as he turned back to me. “Oh fine! You got us! Another scourge of the Wasteland destroyed. Huzzah! Just make it quick.”
"哦。那是......很高兴知道......"斯奈德用蹄子夹住那块金属碎片，然后转向我，把它扔了下来。"哦，好吧！你抓到我们了！另一个灾难的荒原被摧毁。万岁！速战速决。"
I just sighed and covered my face. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t play judge and executioner. I haven’t heard anything about a band of raiders raping and murdering everyone trying to use this bridge. If I search that skywagon, am I going to find a bunch of raped and brutalized ponies?” I asked slowly.
我只是叹了口气，捂住了脸。"与人们的普遍看法相反，我不是法官和刽子手。我从没听说过有一伙袭击者强奸并杀害每一个试图使用这座桥的人。如果我搜索那辆空中马车，我会发现一群被强暴和虐待的小马吗?"我慢慢地问。
“What? No!” Snide said quickly, looking repulsed, and uneasy. “We can go to Flank if we want that! We’re just… trying to get by,” he finished lamely as he spread his hooves.
"什么？不!"斯尼德很快地说，看上去很反感，也很不安。"如果我们想的话，我们可以去弗兰克！我们只是......努力过日子,"他一瘸一拐地说完，同时展开了他的蹄子。
“And I can respect that,” I said in low, reasonable tones. “In fact, if you can keep this bridge safe for travelers, I imagine most wouldn’t mind paying a small fee.” When his gaze turned sly, I added, “Small, reasonable, manageable fee!” He immediately bobbed his head, the relief evident as it spread across his face.
"我可以尊重这一点,"我用低沉、理智的语调说。"事实上，如果你能为旅行者保证这座桥的安全，我想大多数人不会介意支付少量费用。"当他的目光转向我时，我补充道:"小的、合理的、便于管理的费用!"他立刻摇了摇头，脸上露出了明显的宽慰表情。
Glory leaned in. “Are you sure this is okay, Blackjack?”
晨辉靠了过来。"你确定这样可以吗，黑杰克?"
“No,” I replied, trying not to look uncertain. “But I’m not an executioner. I’ve worked with gangers before. I have to give them a chance.” But the brown earth pony stallion was still acting quite skittish, and finally it got on my nerves. I looked right at him and snapped, “Is there a problem?”
"不,"我回答，尽量不让自己显得犹豫不决。"但我不是刽子手。我以前和分身打过交道。我必须给他们一个机会。"但是那匹褐土色的种马仍然表现得很胆小，最后它惹得我心烦意乱。我直视着他，厉声问道:"有什么问题吗?"
He didn’t answer, but P-21 did. “You!” the earth pony shouted as he charged the
他没有回答，但P-21回答了。"你!"地球上的小马在冲向
wastelander. The others watched in astonished bafflement as the blue earth pony slammed the brown stallion against the rails.
废物。其他人惊讶地困惑地看着那匹蓝土色的小马把那匹棕色的种马猛地撞在铁轨上。
“Get off me!” he spluttered in anger, but I saw the fear in his eyes… eyes that were on me.
"放开我!"他气得语无伦次，但我看到了他眼中的恐惧......那双眼睛盯着我。
“He’s from the Seahorse!” P-21 shouted. “He’s one of the stallions you spared!”
"他来自海马!"P-21大声喊道。"他是你放过的种马之一!"
A strange calm stole over me and I felt a wire drawn tight inside me. “I see,” was all I could manage as my horn slowly lifted Vigilance. “Tell me… this pony… has he raped anyone the last few days?”
一种奇怪的平静悄悄地笼罩着我，我感到体内有一根电线拉得很紧。"我明白了,"这是我所能做的一切，我的号角慢慢地提高了警惕。"告诉我......这匹小马......最近几天他强奸过谁吗?"
“Shut up!” the brown earth pony shouted.
"闭嘴!""棕色土地小马"喊道。
“What? Clink?” Snide looked at the brown stallion in bafflement. “What if he did?”
"什么？叮当?"斯奈德困惑地看着那匹棕色的种马。"如果真是这样呢?"
“Because… I gave him his life once when he wronged me.” I was astonished by how calm I felt. Serene, even. “So tell me, has he?”
"因为......有一次他冤枉我，我给了他生命。"我对自己的平静感到惊讶。宁静，甚至。"那么，告诉我，他有吗?"
Snide coughed and looked away. “Well, you see, one can’t be that picky recruiting help and…”
斯尼德咳嗽了一声，转过脸去。"嗯，你看，一个人不能那么挑剔的招聘帮助和......"
“‘Course he did.” The confused, scarred stallion frowned and answered, “That caravaner’s daughter. Remember? Wanted to keep slaves and all.”
"他当然这么做了。"那匹惊慌失措、伤痕累累的种马皱起眉头，回答说:"那是旅行队的女儿。还记得吗？想留下奴隶什么的。"
“Shut up!” Clink screamed as he shoved P-21 away and started to run. My bullet flew with all the accuracy of S.A.T.S., right through the back of his rear right knee, and he collapsed, screaming. I’d screamed like that once, recently. Slowly I advanced with sublime calm. Screaming obscenities, he flopped and writhed, and yet I had no problem blasting another knee cap.
"闭嘴!"克林克尖叫着推开P-21，开始逃跑。我的子弹像S.A.T.S.一样准确地穿过了他的右后膝盖，他瘫倒在地，尖叫着。最近，我也曾经这样尖叫过。我以极其平静的心情缓缓前进。他一边尖叫一边骂骂咧咧地翻来覆去，而我却毫不犹豫地再戴一次膝盖帽。
“Please!” he begged as he tried to shield his face. “You said you weren’t an executioner! Please!” He cried out as I calmly advanced.
"求你了!"他一边央求，一边试图遮住自己的脸。""你说过你不是刽子手！求你了!"当我平静地向前走时，他大叫起来。
Be Kind!
善待他人！
No, Fluttershy. Not this time.
不，是小萤火虫。这次不会了。
Do better!
做得更好！
It’s not for me to do better. It was him. Now I am going to do better…
我不需要做得更好。是他。现在我要做得更好..。
I pointed the gun right at his head as he lay there in a spreading pool of filth. I was fairly certain he’d be crippled for life; perhaps he’d bleed out. But I looked down the barrel and stared right into his eye. I’d given him mercy and he’d squandered it. He’d hurt others. It was every bit my fault. If I’d killed him, he wouldn’t have hurt another pony…
我用枪指着他的头，他正躺在一滩不断扩散的污物中。我相当肯定他会终身残废，也许他会失血过多而死。但我低头看着木桶，直直地盯着他的眼睛。我对他仁慈，他却浪费了。他会伤害别人。这完全是我的错。如果我杀了他他就不会伤害另一匹小马。
All I had to do was become a killer.
我所要做的就是成为一个杀手。
I stared straight into his eye, everyone watching both of us, as I tried to summon up every iota of pain, shame, and humiliation I’d suffered that horrible time. I needed only a few pounds of pressure to kill him. The bullet would tear through his brain like a sledgehammer. Glory watched with a mix of sadness and concern; was she afraid I’d do it, or that I wouldn’t? P-21 just stared with quiet certainty. If I didn’t, he would. All the others left it up to me.
我直直地盯着他的眼睛，每个人都在看着我们两个，我试图唤起那段可怕时光中我所遭受的每一丝痛苦、羞耻和羞辱。我只需要几磅的压力就能杀了他。子弹会像大锤一样穿透他的大脑。晨辉带着悲伤和关切的心情看着我;她是害怕我会这么做，还是害怕我不会？P-21只是安静地肯定地盯着看。如果我不这么做，他会的。其他人都让我来决定。
“Why?” I whispered, whether to him or to myself, I didn’t know. “Why do you have to make it so… fucking… difficult?!” I spat as a tear ran down my cheek. Would the Wasteland not be happy till I’d shed that last little inch? Till I lowered myself into the blood and slaughtered like my enemies? I wasn’t a killer. Wasn’t an executioner. That was it. My last tiny connection between that poor clueless mare who’d left 99 and this half metal monstrosity I was now...
"为什么?"我低声说，不管是对他还是对我自己，我不知道。"你为什么要把事情搞得这么......他妈的......复杂?!"我吐了一口唾沫，泪水顺着我的脸颊流了下来。难道荒原不会快乐，直到我摆脱那最后的一小英寸？直到我将自己降入血中，像敌人一样被屠杀？我不是杀人犯。不是刽子手。就是这样。我最后一次和那个离开99号公路的可怜无知的母马联系，现在是这个半金属的怪物。
“I’m sorry! Please! I’m so sorry…” the stallion groveled.
"对不起！求你了！我很抱歉......"那匹种马卑躬屈膝。
A thread of integrity. It was all I had. Kill this stallion; give him the gift of death. Punish him and prevent him from harming another. And worst of all: I wanted to. I wanted so much that my muscles ached with the need to harm him. To cast away that last little inch of integrity. To do what any mare in all the Wasteland should do; would do at the drop of a hat…
一条完整的线。这是我的全部。杀了这匹种马，给他死亡的礼物。惩罚他，防止他伤害别人。最糟糕的是:我想。我太想要了，以至于我的肌肉因想要伤害他而疼痛。抛弃那最后一点点正直。做任何一个母马在整个荒原应该做的事情;会做在一个帽子的下降..。
But I wasn’t a killer.
但我不是杀人犯。
Maybe the stallion saw it in my eyes, but the fear in him melted away. The corner of his mouth twisted in disbelief that I was weak enough to spare him twice. Even with a glowing pistol pointed right at his face, he knew I couldn’t pull the trigger.
也许种马看到了我的眼睛，但他的恐惧消失了。他的嘴角扭曲着，不相信我会软弱到饶过他两次。即使用一把发光的手枪指着他的脸，他也知道我不能扣动扳机。
The round ripped right between his eyes and sprayed his brains across the
子弹正好从他的两眼之间穿过，在他的脑袋上喷射出来
crumbled asphalt.
碎沥青。
No…
不..。
I stared at his limp body. That… that hadn’t happened. Couldn’t… never… Then I heard the most gentle whisper through my mind.
我盯着他软弱无力的身体。那...那根本没发生。不可能......永远......然后我听到最温柔的耳语穿过我的脑海。
‘Forgive me, Luna, for I have taken the life of another.’
原谅我，卢娜，因为我夺走了另一个人的生命
* * *
* * *
I didn’t talk to anypony for almost an hour after that, walking along behind the tank and lost in my own thoughts. Glory tried talking to me every few minutes before giving up and leaving me alone. Snide had promised everything from his firstborn to his mother not to be next; apparently summary executions were quite persuasive. No wonder they were so common. If I’d just started killing people from the outset, the Hoof would probably be fixed by now.
在那之后的将近一个小时里，我没有和任何小马说话，走在坦克后面，沉浸在自己的思绪里。晨辉每隔几分钟就试着和我说话，然后就放弃了，留下我一个人。斯尼德承诺过他的一切，从他的长子到他的母亲，不会是下一个;显然，即决处决是相当有说服力的。难怪它们如此普遍。如果我从一开始就开始杀人，霍夫现在可能已经修好了。
Unfortunately, my friends didn’t seem to remember that I had augmented hearing. “I’m sure that Blackjack will be fine, Glory. You said that if you ever came across any of those four that you’d kill them too,” Rampage said.
不幸的是，我的朋友们似乎不记得我增强了听力。"我肯定黑杰克没问题，晨辉。你说过，如果你遇到这四个人中的任何一个，你也会杀了他们。"。
“I know what I said, but I didn’t think Blackjack would do it,” Glory retorted. “She’s always been so adamant on not being an executioner.”
"我知道我说了什么，但我没想到Blackjack会这么做,"Glory反驳道。"她一直坚决不让自己成为刽子手。"
“Yeah. Softest heart in the Wasteland,” Rampage drawled. “Look, everypony has to bust their murder cherry eventually. Blackjack finally popped hers. She’ll get over it.”
"是的。最柔软的心在荒原上狂暴。"听着，每匹小马最终都要破案的。黑杰克终于打开了她的。她会克服的。"
I didn’t want to get over it. I didn’t want to do it at all.
我不想忘记这件事。我根本不想做这件事。
“You know something’s wrong with Blackjack though,” Glory said with a glance back at me. “She’s changing. I can see it.”
"不过你知道Blackjack有点不对劲,"晨辉回头看了我一眼说。"她在改变。我看得出来。"
“We’ve all changed. You’re Rainbow Dash now, remember?” Rampage said.
"我们都变了。你现在是彩虹·达什，记得吗?"狂暴说。
“Please don’t remind me. We’re moving so slowly it makes me want to scream,” Glory replied sharply, then sighed. “I don’t know. I worry about her all the time. It’s like there’s something inside her and it’s twisting and turning her about. If only she’d talk to me…”
"请不要提醒我。我们走得太慢了，我都想尖叫了。"晨辉尖锐地回答，然后叹了口气。"我不知道。我一直很担心她。就好像她体内有什么东西在扭曲着她。要是她愿意跟我说话......"
If you only knew, Glory. If I only could…
如果你知道，晨辉。如果我能..。
“It boils down to this: do you trust Blackjack?” P-21 said to the others.
"归根结底就是:你相信黑杰克吗?"P-21对其他人说。
“Pick a day. Sometimes she’s so good she makes me scream. And then she pulls something like this,” Rampage replied. “I know I’m the group bag of crazy, but you have to admit that BJ’s right up there with me.”
"选择一天。有时候她太棒了，让我尖叫。然后她又做了这样的事情。"。"我知道我是一群疯子，但是你必须承认BJ和我一样。"
I waited to hear Glory disagree with her. Her silence contorted inside me.
我等着听晨辉不同意她的意见。她的沉默在我心里扭曲了。
“We just have to be there for her. As simple as that,” P-21 replied. “As much as she’s been there for us.”
"我们只需要陪在她身边。就这么简单,"P-21回答。"就像她一直支持我们一样。"
“It will work out,” Glory said with one last glance back at me and the smallest smile.
"一切都会好起来的,"晨辉回头看了我最后一眼，微笑着说。
She still had hope… even after everything I’d done.
她仍然抱有希望...即使在我做了这一切之后。
“You know better,” the Dealer rasped beside me. I looked at the gaunt, pale stallion with a twinge of annoyance. How easy it was for him, riding along in my PipBuck, when I was the one who pulled the trigger.
"你知道得更清楚,"商人在我旁边刺耳地说。我带着一丝烦恼看着这匹憔悴苍白的种马。当我扣动扳机的时候，他骑着我的皮布克车是多么的轻松。
“What do I know?” I snapped back at him. “That it’s wrong to kill ponies? That I should try and do better? That--” I saw Glory and everyone looking at me oddly and said sarcastically, “I’m just talking to the invisible pony that lives in my PipBuck, folks.” Everypony just pointedly looked away.
"我知道什么?"我厉声回击他。"杀小马是错误的吗？我应该努力做得更好？我看到了晨辉，每个人都奇怪地看着我，讽刺地说,"我只是在和我皮布克里的那匹隐形小马说话，伙计们。"每个小马都转过头去。
“What you should know is to skip this whole cycle of hating yourself and then pitying yourself. It’s really not healthy and it makes you really whiny,” he said as he walked along with a scowl. “If Clink had lived two centuries ago, he would have spent the rest of his life in Hightower, or worse. There was always ‘worse’ towards the end. And I know his victims wouldn’t have shed a tear.”
"你应该知道的是跳过这种憎恨自己，然后怜悯自己的恶性循环。这真的不健康，而且让你真的很爱发牢骚,"他一边皱着眉头一边说。"如果克林克生活在两个世纪以前，他可能会在海托华度过余生，或者更糟。最后总是会有更糟糕的结局。我知道他的受害者不会掉一滴眼泪。"
“I killed him. Or I’ve finally snapped and gone full Crazytown.” He cocked his head. “I have Psalm in my dreams, and now I’m hearing her in my thoughts when I’m awake. So between her, the… nnnghhh… and you, my brain is getting pretty damned crowded at the moment!” Dealer just looked at me with a mix of patience and resignation. “Did you know it was Psalm who shot Big Macintosh? Not a zebra. One of our own! Trying to kill Celestia!” I gave a little scream and smacked my head with a metal hoof. “And now that… that thing… is inside
"我杀了他。或者我终于崩溃了，完全疯了。"他歪着头。"我在梦中听到过诗篇，现在我醒着的时候，我在脑海中听到了她的声音。所以在她，......和你之间，我的大脑现在变得非常拥挤!"庄家只是带着耐心和顺从的神情看着我。"你知道是诗篇杀死了大麦金塔吗？不是斑马。我们自己人！试图杀死塞莱斯蒂亚!"我尖叫了一声，用金属蹄子拍了拍头。"现在......那个东西......在里面
me!” I’d pitied Psalm. Now I was turning into her.
我!"我会同情诗篇。现在我变成了她。
“I knew. I’d heard the transmission,” he said grimly. “But Big Macintosh’s body wasn’t even cold before the report went out. There was no investigation of his death. It wasn’t even a day before Goldenblood disappeared her into the O.I.A.”
"我知道。我听到了传输的声音,"他冷冷地说。"但是在报告发布之前，大麦金托什的身体还没有变冷。没有对他的死亡进行调查。不到一天，Goldenblood就把她带到了o.i.a.。"
“And you didn’t tell anypony?”
"你没有告诉任何人?"
“Who would I tell? Pinkie Pie? Rarity?” He snorted. “Everypony wanted to believe it was a zebra that killed Big Macintosh, so it was. The triumphant hero sacrificing himself for the greater cause while protecting the Princess. I would have been labeled a crackpot conspiracy theorist, or worse, disappeared myself. I sometimes think that Goldenblood took me into the O.I.A. just because I knew. Don’t you understand? History isn’t truth. History is what everypony decides to settle on as what happened. But behind that there are a thousand little causes and twists and permutations in the cracks that shape events. You’re seeing everything I saw. And if you’re feeling disillusioned, then congratulations! You’ve finally stumbled onto the truth.”
""我能告诉谁呢？小手指派？稀有?"他哼了一声。"每个小马都想相信是斑马杀死了大麦金塔，事实也的确如此。凯旋的英雄为了更伟大的事业牺牲自己，同时保护公主。我可能会被贴上疯子阴谋论者的标签，或者更糟的是，我自己也会消失。有时候我觉得Goldenblood把我带进o.i.a.只是因为我知道。你还不明白吗？历史不是真理。历史是每个人都决定要面对的事实。但是，在这一切的背后，还有成千上万的小原因、曲折和排列，这些因素塑造了事件的发展。你看到了我看到的一切。如果你感到幻灭，那么恭喜你！你终于偶然发现了真相。"
“You know what else is the truth? I’m a murderer. I killed him.” I grit my teeth, feeling everything fall apart. “Damn me… I wanted to so badly. I wanted him dead. But I couldn’t… and then…”
""你知道还有什么是真理吗？我是个杀人犯。我杀了他。"我咬紧牙关，感觉一切都崩溃了。"该死的......我太想去了。我想让他死。但我做不到......然后......"
“Then I pulled the trigger,” a solemn voice said inside me. For an instant I was sure that Psalm was now talking to me, but it was the comforting voice of Lacunae. The large purple alicorn landed next to me. “You aren’t the only pony with magic, Blackjack.” She’d been all the way back by the tank; how had she reached that far?
"然后我扣动了扳机,"我心里一个严肃的声音说。有那么一瞬间，我确信诗篇正在对我说话，但那是拉库纳的安慰之声。紫色的大角果落在我旁边。"你不是唯一会魔法的小马，黑杰克。"她一路从坦克那儿回来，怎么跑到那么远的地方？
“You… but… why?” I mentally stammered back at her.
"你......但是......为什么?"我在心里结结巴巴地回答她。
For the longest moment I felt a baffling deluge of emotion pouring off Lacunae. “Do you know what would have happened if you hadn’t killed him? If P-21 or somepony else had been forced to do it for you? You would have become a joke, Blackjack.” Her words were firm and decisive, not at all like I was used to. But behind that was a reek of shame and guilt that I couldn’t ignore.
在很长一段时间里，我感到一股莫名其妙的情感从空隙中倾泻而出。"你知道如果你没有杀了他会发生什么吗？如果P-21或其他人被迫为你做这件事？你会成为一个笑话的，Blackjack。"她的话语坚定而果断，一点也不像我以前习惯的那样。但是在这背后是我无法忽视的羞耻和内疚的恶臭。
“Lacunae... what’s wrong?” I asked. That sense of guilt increased, pungent like ammonia in my mind.
"缺陷......怎么了?"我问道。那种罪恶感越来越强烈，在我的脑海里就像氨水一样刺鼻。
“Nothing’s wrong. I simply did what had to be done,” she said, so cold that I wondered if somehow this was the Goddess. Except the Goddess wouldn’t have been trying to reassure me. “You want to change the Wasteland? Well, unfortunately, fear has a powerful effect on others. If it became known that you were so merciful that you couldn’t kill your own rapist just because he said ‘sorry’, then every raider with half a brain left would wring their hooves and recant their ways only to return to raping and killing as soon as you had disappeared over the horizon. Your friends would have to kill on your behalf, and it doesn’t matter how loving or tough they are; that would poison your relationship with them.”
"没什么问题。我只是做了必须做的事,"她说，冷得我怀疑这是不是女神。只是女神不会试图安慰我。"你想改变这片荒原？不幸的是，恐惧会对其他人产生强大的影响。如果人们知道你是如此仁慈，以至于你不能仅仅因为强奸犯说了对不起就杀了他，那么每一个只剩下半个脑子的袭击者都会绞尽脑汁，放弃他们的方式，只有当你消失在地平线上的时候，他们才会回到强奸和杀戮。你的朋友必须为了你而杀人，不管他们有多么爱你或者多么强硬，这会破坏你和他们的关系。"
Speaking of relationships... “Lacunae...”
说到人际关系..."空白..."
She ignored me, almost in a rush as she thought at me, “So I pulled the trigger. It’s my fault. Understand, Blackjack?”
她忽略了我，几乎是匆忙地看着我,"所以我扣动了扳机。是我的错。明白了吗，黑杰克?"
“Lacunae...”
"空隙......"
“Do you want to be a killer?” Lacunae snapped, half desperate as she looked down at me with an expression of almost frantic need for agreement.
"你想成为一个杀手吗?"她低头看着我，表情几乎疯狂地要求我同意。
That finally provoked a response. “No... I don’t want to be a killer,” I said quietly. “I don’t want to turn into Psalm. I know what I did at Yellow River… what I’m capable of.”
这最终引起了回应。"不......我不想成为一个杀手,"我平静地说。"我不想变成诗篇。我知道我在黄河干了什么......我能干什么。"
The Maiden of the Stars shall bring death and destruction.
星之少女将带来死亡和毁灭。
“It’s not your fault, Blackjack. It’s mine. Put it out of your mind,” Lacunae said solemnly. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep you from being an executioner.”
"这不是你的错，黑杰克。是我的。别再想这件事了,"拉库纳严肃地说。"我会尽我所能不让你成为刽子手。"
Lacunae’s strange behavior almost distracted me from what’d happened, but I couldn’t put it out of my mind. Ever since I’d first dreamed of Psalm, I’d felt myself changing. I wasn’t completely sure who was in charge of me anymore. Was Blackjack at the controls? Psalm? The Goddess? The Dealer? The stars? I felt like I was dancing on strings and had no idea who was pulling them. Even Goldenblood and his damned projects were tugging at me from two centuries in the past. They were woven into my very body.
空隙的奇怪行为几乎分散了我对所发生事情的注意力，但我无法把它从脑海中抹去。自从我第一次梦到诗篇，我就感到自己在改变。我不能完全确定是谁在管理我。黑杰克在控制吗？诗篇？女神？《商人》？星星？我感觉自己像是在弦上跳舞，却不知道是谁在拉动它们。就连金布拉德和他那些该死的项目也从两个世纪以前就开始拖我的后腿。它们被编织在我的身体里。
The problem was that the idea that I wasn’t in control of myself was so wonderfully seductive. All I had to do was simply believe it, and the burden of
问题是，我无法控制自己的想法是如此的诱人。我所要做的就是简单地相信它，相信它的重担
responsibility would be lifted from my shoulders. It was the refuge of every madpony and monster: don’t blame me, I can’t help it. And the most terrifying thought was that it might be true. What if I wasn’t in control? What if any one of those things was manipulating me? Everything I’d ever seen looked manipulated and contrived; how could I be any different? Even now, Lacunae’s assurances felt superficial and false. Maybe she was just lying to try and make me feel better about Clink. Maybe the Goddess was making her lie. How could I trust anything at this point?
责任就会从我的肩膀上解除。它是每一个疯狂的人和怪物的避难所:别怪我，我控制不了它。最可怕的想法是，这可能是真的。如果我不能控制自己呢？如果这些东西中的任何一个在操纵我怎么办？我所见过的一切看起来都是被操纵和做作的;我怎么能有什么不同呢？即使是现在，拉库尼的保证也显得肤浅和虚假。也许她只是在撒谎，试图让我对克林克感觉好一些。也许是女神在撒谎。此时此刻，我怎么能相信任何事情呢？
The Marauders had broken apart. Dawn’s companions had too. Maybe friendship itself was a contrived convenience so we wouldn’t feel so lonely and vulnerable. Were we even friends?
劫掠者已经四分五裂了。道恩的同伴们也是。也许友谊本身是一种人为的便利，这样我们就不会感到如此孤独和脆弱。我们曾经是朋友吗？
I wanted to cut those strings so badly I could scream.
我非常想切断那些绳子，以至于我可以尖叫。
But I knew I couldn’t do it alone… I’d tried that, and I’d gone far too close to full madness than I ever wanted to imagine.
但是我知道我一个人做不到......我已经试过了，而且我已经接近完全疯狂，远远超出了我的想象。
I looked up at those ponies riding on the tank and sighed, then looked at Lacunae. “Can you give me a lift?” The alicorn nodded and carried me up onto the tank turret, where they made room for me. “Hey,” I said as I took a seat between Glory and P-21, putting a hoof around the former’s shoulders and giving her a nuzzle. “Mind if we talk a little about what happened?”
我抬头看着那些骑在坦克上的小马，叹了口气，然后看着空隙。"你能载我一程吗?"独角兽点点头，把我抬到坦克炮塔上，在那里他们为我腾出了空间。"嘿,"我边说边在Glory和P-21之间坐下，用蹄子绕着前者的肩膀，用鼻子蹭了蹭她。"介意我们谈谈发生了什么吗?"
Glory nearly cried as she smiled and nodded. “Sure.”
格洛里微笑着点了点头，差点哭出来。"当然。"
* * *
* * *
Okay, so it was a bit of a mess, but over the next blubbery hour we talked. I told them everything I could that didn’t involve the Goddess or Lacunae’s claim that it was she who’d pulled the trigger. I confessed my fears and frustrations, the idea that maybe I wasn’t in control of myself as much as I should have been. There wasn’t much my friends could do besides listen, but they did. And afterwards, I found that, despite everything, I did feel a little better.
好吧，是有点混乱，但在接下来的几个小时里我们一直在哭。我告诉他们一切我能告诉他们的，只要不牵涉到女神或Lacunae声称是她扣动了扳机。我坦白了我的恐惧和沮丧，我认为也许我不能像我应该的那样控制我自己。除了倾听，我的朋友们也无能为力，但他们做到了。后来，我发现，尽管发生了这一切，我的确感觉好了一点。
We were now further southeast than I had ever been before. The bare dirt was studded with rocks and the detritus of ten years of war. There were the hulls of tanks and skywagons left to rust, crumbling fortifications and blast barriers that leaned this way and that along the road. We drove by the massive remains of what I suspected was a Raptor. A little to the northeast was a building so wide
我们现在比以往任何时候都更靠近东南方向。光秃秃的土地上布满了岩石和十年战争留下的碎石。坦克和空运货车的车身已经锈迹斑斑，防御工事已经破败不堪，沿路还有防爆栅栏。我们开车经过一堆我怀疑是猛禽的残骸。东北方向一点的地方有一座很宽的建筑物
and massive that, at first, I’d thought it was a more angular mountain.
而且很大，一开始我还以为是一座棱角分明的山。
A mystery for another day; we’d reached the turnoff to the base. A bullet-holed sign pointed the way off the main road and to the southeast.
我们已经到达了通往基地的岔道口。一个有子弹孔的标志指出了主干道的方向，指向东南方向。
The wide, low rise the base lay upon was shrouded in mist. Wisps and vapors curled around us as we moved slowly along the road towards the clusters of reinforced buildings. A sulfurous scent tanged the air, and muddy patches of steamy water bubbled and trickled beside the road. The detritus looked almost like a scrapyard, there was so much ruin. A monument to squandered blood and treasure. Then a discolored plaque on a bullet-chipped concrete block came into view: Grimhoof Army Base. Beyond, I could make out the vaguest hints of huge, squatting buildings half hidden by the mist.
基地所在的又宽又矮的高层建筑笼罩在薄雾之中。当我们沿着道路慢慢走向加固建筑群的时候，缕缕缕缕蒸汽围绕着我们。空气中弥漫着一股硫磺的味道，一片片泥泞的蒸汽水冒着泡在路边潺潺流淌。这些碎石看起来就像一个废品堆放场，到处都是废墟。为了纪念挥霍的鲜血和财富而建的纪念碑。随后，一块子弹碎片混凝土砌块上的褪色斑块映入眼帘:格里姆霍夫军事基地。远处，我可以分辨出一些模糊的迹象，那是半掩在薄雾中的高大的、蹲着的建筑。
“Oh, this has bad written all over it,” Rampage said as she hopped off Deus and down to the crumbling gates. Even Deus seemed to be trying to be quieter in the concealing fog. “Is there anything you can do about this?” she asked Glory and the Neighvarro trio.
"哦，这上面写满了坏话,"狂暴跳下天王，来到摇摇欲坠的大门前，说道。甚至天王似乎也在隐蔽的雾中努力安静下来。"你能为此做点什么吗?"她问晨辉和邻居三人组。
“We could, but everything would know we’re here,” Twister said as she looked around, her beam rifles humming softly. “We’d be stealthier without the tank, you know.”
"我们可以，但一切都会知道我们在这里,"图斯特边说边环顾四周，她的光束步枪轻轻地嗡嗡作响。"你知道，没有坦克我们会更隐蔽。"
“Maybe. But I’ve met a hellhound. I definitely want superior firepower if we need it,” I muttered as we reached the twisted and rusted gates. “Why would the Enclave be interested in hellhounds in the first place?” I asked Twister. P-21 took one look at the rusted lock on the gate and gave a shake of his head.
"也许吧。但我遇到了一只地狱之犬。如果我们需要的话，我肯定需要更强大的火力,"当我们到达那扇扭曲生锈的大门时，我喃喃自语道。"为什么昂科雷一开始会对地狱犬感兴趣?"我问Twister。P-21看了一眼门上生锈的锁，摇了摇头。
“I don’t know. Intelligence, that is, Thunderhead, said they’d make ideal and easily controlled shock troops,” Twister said she popped the rusted-over lock easily with her power-armored hooves. “But if we’re maintaining our separation policy, what do we care what’s on the surface? We can’t house hellhounds in clouds. Can’t control or monitor them on the ground. It didn’t make any sense.”
"我不知道。情报部门，也就是说，Thunderhead，说他们是理想的和容易控制的突击部队,"Twister说她用她的强力装甲蹄轻松地撬开了生锈的锁。"但如果我们坚持我们的分离政策，我们为什么要关心表面上的东西呢？我们不能在云中放置地狱犬。在地面上无法控制或监视它们。这毫无意义。"
“Hell. It’d make more sense to back groups of earth pony mercenaries,” Boomer muttered. “Give ‘em weapons, food, and supplies and have ‘em conquer the surface for us.” I thought of Harbinger and his talk with the Goddess, the Goddess providing support and security and the Enclave providing firepower.
"地狱。支持一群地球上的小马雇佣兵会更有意义,"布默咕哝道。"给他们武器、食物和补给，让他们为我们征服地面。"我想起了哈宾格尔和他与女神的谈话，女神提供支持和安全，而飞地提供火力。
“Or you could actually engage the surface peacefully,” Glory snapped at the trio.
"或者你实际上可以平静地使用表面,"晨辉对这三个人厉声说。
“Trade food for materials? Things like that?”
"用食物换材料？诸如此类的事?"
“As thrilling as politics are, aren’t we trying to be quiet?” P-21 asked as he moved forward. Smart pony had a good point.
"尽管政治是令人兴奋的，但我们难道不是在努力保持沉默吗?"P-21向前走时问道。聪明的小马说得有道理。
Deus had a momentary pause at the gates, and then the front of the machine opened up and two mandibles began to pull the gates into the front of the tank. Though I winced at the popping and jingling, it was over in just a few seconds. I guessed that was how the tank recovered metal for its repair talisman. Since nothing came after us immediately, I guessed we’d dodged a bullet.
天王在大门口停了一会儿，然后机器的前部打开了，两个下颚开始把大门拉到坦克的前部。虽然我畏缩的砰砰声和叮当声，它是在几秒钟内结束。我猜这就是坦克回收金属用于修理护身符的原因。既然没有什么东西紧跟着我们，我猜想我们躲过了一劫。
Moving into the base, it was clear that these reinforced buildings had been heavily targeted by the enemy. My radmeter began to tick immediately and spiked whenever we drew close to the hulking structures. Some looked as if they’d been directly targeted by tactical balefire weaponry, the concrete blackened and the reinforcing steel melted and warped. There were larger weapons that had been reduced to distorted figures of rust, their twisted barrels thrust defiantly upwards in the mist.
进入基地，很明显，这些加固建筑物已成为敌人的重大目标。每当我们靠近这些巨大的建筑物时，我的雷达测量仪就开始滴答作响，而且每当我们靠近时，雷达测量仪就会显示出尖锐的信号。有些人看起来像是被战术火力武器直接瞄准，混凝土变黑，钢筋融化变形。还有更大的武器，已经变成扭曲的铁锈形状，它们扭曲的枪管在薄雾中顽强地向上推进。
And there were red bars. Everywhere I turned there was a red bar moving this way or that. Were there Enclave pegasi flying silently in the fog above us? Were hellhounds hiding in the ruined hulks of the structures around us waiting to spring an ambush? The quiet rumble of Deus was the only sound I could make out. Lacunae, Glory, and the Neighvarro trio hovered above us. Rampage and I flanked Deus. P-21 had disappeared into the mist. Scotch Tape and Boo rode on the turret. We had more firepower in one place and time than I’d ever had before.
还有红色的条纹。无论我转向哪里，都会看到一条红色的横杆向这边或那边移动。飞马飞地是否在我们头顶的雾气中静静地飞行？难道地狱犬就藏在我们周围建筑物的废墟中，等待着突袭埋伏？我唯一能听到的声音是上帝发出的安静的隆隆声。空隙、晨辉和邻居三重唱在我们头顶盘旋。狂暴和我站在上帝的两侧。P-21消失在雾中。透明胶带和布骑在炮塔上。我们在一个地方和一个时间拥有比我以前拥有的更多的火力。
So why was my mane going crazy?
那么为什么我的鬃毛会疯狂呢？
Scotch Tape began to struggle with Boo, and the olive filly said as loudly as she dared, “Blackjack? What’s wrong with her? Settle down, Boo!”
透明胶带开始和Boo扭打起来，橄榄小姑娘尽可能大声地说:"黑杰克？她怎么了？安静，嘘!"
But Boo wasn’t settling down. She struggled to get away... away from what, though? Deus was the safest thing around. But I trusted the white pony’s instincts and said, “Let her go.” Scotch looked at me skeptically, then released the blank mare. She immediately scrambled off the tank and backed away from it… and then she suddenly looked down and jumped aside, then jumped yet again. Like there was something wrong with the ground…
但是Boo并没有安定下来。她挣扎着想逃离...逃离什么？天王是最安全的。但我相信了小白马的直觉，说:"放开她。"苏格兰人用怀疑的眼神看着我，然后放开了那匹空白的母马。她立刻爬出坦克，后退离开它......然后她突然向下看，跳到一边，然后又跳了起来。好像地面有什么问题。
Dogs dig…
狗会挖..。
I watched her, then slowly knelt down, turned, and pressed the side of my head to the cool, wet asphalt. For several seconds I felt completely ridiculous. Then I heard it: a deep, hollow scraping noise, followed by another and then another.
我看着她，然后慢慢地跪下，转过身，把头按在凉爽潮湿的柏油路上。有那么几秒钟，我觉得自己完全可笑。然后我听到了它:一个很深的空心刮擦声，接着是一个又一个。
Then there was a pause... followed by the whine of a magical energy weapon being primed right beneath my head.
然后是一个停顿......紧接着一个魔法能量武器的尖叫声就在我的头下方。
I fell back just a second before a crimson beam tore up through the asphalt and into the sky. “They’re below!” was all I got out before the ground exploded and a massive canine monster tore through with one claw while the other brought the largest energy pistol I’d ever seen to bear. I floated out Vigilance and jumped immediately into S.A.T.S., firing five rounds into its snarling brownish-black face. The bullets turned its face into a bloody ruin of meat and bone, but they didn’t kill it; the beast wasn’t even injured enough to retreat! Instead it clawed the air in front of me, claws ripping four furrows in the asphalt as it began to fire wildly. The energy weapon crackled with unstable malice as it unloaded again and again.
几秒钟后，一道深红色的光束划破沥青路冲向天空。"它们在下面!"在地面爆炸之前我只能爬出来，一只巨大的犬怪用一只爪子撕开了我，另一只带来了我见过的最大的能量手枪。我从"时刻警惕"出来，立刻跳进S.A.T.S.，朝它那扭曲的棕黑色脸上开了五枪。子弹把它的脸打得血肉模糊，但是他们没有杀死它;这头野兽甚至没有受伤到可以撤退的地步！相反，它抓住了我面前的空气，爪子撕裂了沥青路上的四道沟壑，开始疯狂地开火。能量武器在一次又一次卸载时发出不稳定的爆裂声。
There were two more pops, and two more hellhounds emerged from the asphalt, bringing even larger magical weapons to bear. The scarlet beams flamed in the air as they tore up at our fliers. The radiation pouring from the holes spiked my PipBuck; I didn’t want to imagine the source. Every one of the hellhounds wore a bizarre chrome helmet that seemed out of place with their crude weaponry and claw-cut and hammered armor.
又是两声枪响，又是两只地狱犬从柏油路上出现，带来了更大的魔法武器。鲜红的光束在空中燃烧，撕扯着我们的飞行器。从那些洞里流出来的辐射刺穿了我的PipBuck;我不想去想象辐射的来源。每一只地狱犬都戴着一个怪异的铬合金头盔，与它们原始的武器、爪形的锤打盔甲显得格格不入。
Overhead, Lacunae carefully sighted down her scope, ignoring the hissing hellhound energy weapons as she sent armor piercing steel through their skulls like a smiting Goddess. There was a desperate edge to her telepathic voice that belied the cold expression on her face. “No more...” she repeated over and over again. One of the emerging hellhounds started to strafe in my direction, and Lacunae actually shouted aloud, “Leave her alone!” before blowing his head apart in a shower of brain and skull.
头顶上，拉库奈小心翼翼地瞄准着她的望远镜，忽略了发出嘶嘶声的地狱犬能量武器，她像击打女神一样用穿甲钢穿过他们的头骨。她的心灵感应的声音里有一种绝望的锋芒，掩盖了她脸上的冷酷表情。"没有了......"她一遍又一遍地重复着。其中一只地狱犬开始朝我的方向扫射，拉库尼大声喊道:"放开她!"然后把他的脑袋炸开花。
Deus gunned his engine, his machine guns swinging forward and spraying the hounds in their holes, but they disappeared almost instantly, as if ready for it. I pressed myself to the ground and fired the entire ten-round clip into the hellhound in front of me before it finally dropped back into the hole. Victory?
天王加大了引擎的油门，他的机关枪向前摆动，把猎犬射进洞里，但猎犬几乎立刻消失了，仿佛已经准备好了。我把自己压在地上，向我面前的地狱犬发射了整整十发子弹，最后它还是掉进了洞里。胜利？
No. Boo, staring wide-eyed at the walls, still appeared as scared as before. “They’re not gone!” I called out as I loaded a fresh magazine filled with armor
没有。布瞪大眼睛盯着墙壁，依然像以前一样害怕。"它们没有消失!"我一边喊着，一边给一个装满盔甲的新弹匣上膛
piercing rounds. Then the wall of the massive building beside the tank gave a crack and detached from the rest of the structure, tipping slowly at first, as the foundation crumbled. P-21 ran up alongside the tank and Scotch Tape jumped onto his back. The filly clung for dear life to him as he beat a hasty retreat. Just behind him, the great slab of wall fell like a descending drawbridge and with a squeal of metal and explosion of dust collapsed onto Deus.
穿孔弹。然后，坦克旁边巨大的建筑物的墙出现了裂缝，与建筑物的其他部分脱离，随着地基的崩塌，最初缓慢地倾斜。P-21跑到坦克旁边，苏格兰胶带跳到他的背上。在他匆匆撤退时，那匹小母马紧紧地抓住他不放。就在他身后，巨大的墙板像下降的吊桥一样倒了下来，伴随着金属的吱吱声和尘土的爆炸声倒在了上帝身上。
I’d have been concerned about P-21 and Scotch Tape, but even with his burden he practically danced around the chunks while I scrambled for safety. The pair disappeared in the cloud of pulverized architecture. Emerging from the gap left by the fallen wall were four more hellhounds. Two dropped to one knee behind a chunk of rubble and sprayed the skies with a hissing, crackling gatling variety of beaminess while the other two lunged for Rampage and me. The heavily-plated hounds dragged their claws along the asphalt, the long edges of their talons filling the air with an ominous scraping as they closed the distance.
我担心的是P-21和透明胶带，但即使他背负着沉重的负担，他也几乎是在跳舞，而我却在拼命寻找安全感。这一对消失在粉碎的建筑物的云中。从倒塌的城墙留下的缺口出来的是另外四个地狱犬。其中两个人单膝跪在一大块碎石后面，发出嘶嘶作响、噼啪作响的声音，脸上洋溢着喜悦之情，而另外两个人则冲向我和拉皮德。那些身披重装的猎犬拖着爪子在柏油路上行走，爪子的长边在空中传来不祥的摩擦声。
Rampage didn’t wait for the hellhounds to close; the adolescent mare roared a challenge of her own and charged. She leaped and smashed all four power hooves against the first hellhound’s face. The energy cells discharged, blasting her away to backflip through the air and land as the hellhound staggered. Rampage wasted no time, charging again right between the hellhound’s legs and running the serrated spine of her armor against something quite tender that tore a howl from the hound. The razor wire woven into her tail caught in the matted crotch of the beast, and with a yank pulled the hellhound to sit on the broken pavement. Rampage then rose and brought down her hooves in a flashing storm of blows to the hellhound’s neck and skull till something cracked inside.
狂暴没有等到地狱犬结束，少女母马咆哮着她自己的挑战并冲锋陷阵。她跳起来，用四只蹄子猛踩第一只地狱犬的脸。当地狱犬蹒跚而行时，能量细胞释放出来，将她抛向空中和陆地。狂暴没有浪费时间，又一次从地狱犬的两腿之间冲了过来，用她盔甲上锯齿状的脊椎抵住一个相当柔软的东西，那东西撕裂了地狱犬的嚎叫。铁丝网缠在她的尾巴上，钩住了那只野兽缠在垫子上的裆部，猛地一拉，地狱犬就坐在破碎的人行道上。然后狂暴的暴徒站了起来，用她的蹄子猛击地狱犬的脖子和头骨，直到有什么东西在里面裂开。
I didn’t have the luxury of her size or pointed edges as I drew my silver sword and swung it in a futile effort to keep the beast attacking me at bay. Even though the edge was sharp enough to cut through the heavy steel plating, I didn’t have the magical strength to push it through on my own. The hellhound leered as I danced back, the razor sharp claws of one hand slashing around as I tried to block the other. Vigilance punched holes in the hellhound, but I wasn’t really doing much in the way of damage. Worse, I suspected from the lack of blood that the creature might be regenerating!
我没有她那么高大的身材，也没有她那么锋利的边缘，我拔出银剑，挥舞着它，徒劳地试图阻止野兽攻击我。即使刀刃锋利到可以切断沉重的钢板，我也没有神奇的力量自己把它推开。当我跳回去时，地狱犬向我抛了个媚眼，当我试图阻止另一只手时，它一只手锋利的爪子在四周划来划去。警惕在地狱之犬身上打了个洞，但我并没有造成太大的伤害。更糟糕的是，由于缺乏血液，我怀疑这个生物可能正在再生！
Not good.
情况不妙。
I swapped to the shotgun as I gave ground, but the buckshot mostly deflected off
我退后一步，换上了猎枪，但是子弹大部分都偏离了方向
my foe. I swapped to the markspony carbine, but the close quarters meant that I was firing wildly at best. I suddenly felt a wall behind me, and the hellhound sprang. Sword and forelimbs stopped claws that could carve through stone. Quickly, I twisted to the side so I could give more ground. “Damn it! I am not breaking these legs!” I swore as the claws carved shallow channels into the black metal with mere glancing blows; Celestia help me if those things landed a direct strike!
我的敌人。我换上了马克斯潘尼卡宾枪，但是近距离意味着我最多只能疯狂射击。我突然感到身后有一堵墙，地狱犬跳了出来。剑和前肢停止了爪子可以雕刻通过石头。很快，我扭向一边，这样我可以让出更多的地面。"该死！我才不要打断你的腿呢!"我发誓，当爪子在黑色金属上划出浅浅的通道时，只需轻轻一击;如果那些东西直接落地，天堂会帮助我的！
The hellhound suddenly lifted its powerful forelegs and flipped me with a crash onto my back. It spread its mighty arms wide and let out a shattering roar of victory.
地狱之犬突然抬起它强有力的前腿，砰的一声把我翻到背上。它张开强有力的双臂，发出震耳欲聋的胜利吼声。
A dull ‘thhmp’ went off in the mist behind me and the hellhound’s yellow, bloodshot eyes widened in shock as it clutched its throat. A second later its torso erupted in two jets of gore spurting up and down as the grenade went off. P-21 trotted out of the shadows with Scotch Tape behind him, looking scared, and shoved me back to my hooves without a word, and I felt myself go red.
我身后的薄雾中响起了一声迟钝的"嗡嗡"声，地狱犬紧紧抓住喉咙，惊恐地睁大了充血的黄色眼睛。一秒钟后，它的躯干爆发出两股血流，随着手榴弹的爆炸向上和向下喷射。P-21从阴影中跑出来，身后贴着苏格兰胶带，看上去很害怕，一言不发地把我推回马蹄，我觉得自己脸都红了。
Right now really wasn’t the time for this…
现在真的不是说这个的时候..。
Glory and the pegasi were keeping the two shooters busy, trading fire back and forth. Deus’s engine roared as his treads clawed at the asphalt, slowly pulling himself out from under the slab. Suddenly, though, a piece of the road next to him gave way with a crash. The hellhounds were trying to undermine the tank before he could pull free! If he got buried… “Deus! Fire!” I shouted. “Get clear!”
晨辉和飞马座让两个射手忙不过来，来回交火。天王的发动机轰鸣着，他的履带在沥青路面上撕扯着，慢慢地把自己从石板下面拉了出来。然而，突然，他旁边的一段路崩塌了。地狱犬试图在他挣脱之前破坏坦克！如果他被埋葬了..."上帝！开火!"我喊道。"让开!"
There was a muffled explosion as the section of wall split into three smoking chunks and flew away from the front of the tank. One arched high and came down on a hellhound more keen on shooting Lacunae than paying attention directly above him. It landed with a resounding crunch. Now freed of the wall, Deus retreated several yards as the road collapsed in a sinkhole just where he had been. Four hellhounds blinked up as they stared at the twin cannons in horrified realization.
一声低沉的爆炸，墙壁被炸成了三个冒着烟的大块，从坦克的前面飞走了。其中一只高高地拱起，朝一只地狱犬下来，它更热衷于射杀拉库尼，而不是专注于头顶上方的猎物。它落地时发出响亮的嘎吱声。现在摆脱了围墙，天王后退了几码，道路就在他刚刚经过的地方塌陷了。四只地狱犬惊恐地盯着这对孪生大炮，眨着眼睛。
Not even hellhound hide was tough enough to withstand that! Still, there were a lot more of them. They clawed their way out of the ground and poured out of the irradiated army buildings, their crude but powerful energy weapons crackling and filling the air with buzzing beams of death. “We need to move!” I yelled.
甚至连地狱犬的皮都不够坚硬，承受不了那样的打击！尽管如此，还是有很多这样的人。他们从地下挖出一条路，从受到辐射的军队建筑中倾泻而出，他们粗糙但威力强大的能量武器劈啪作响，空气中弥漫着死亡的嗡嗡光束。"我们得走了!"我喊道。
Lacunae levitated Scotch up onto her back while coolly taking aim and blasting a hellhound through the skull with her anti-machine rifle.
Lacunae将苏格兰威士忌悬浮在她的背上，同时冷静地瞄准，用她的反机械步枪射穿了一只地狱犬的头骨。
The tank rolled forward and launched up the far side of the crater, then climbed over the crumbled wall. Machine guns chattered as they chewed into the hellhounds trying to climb out of their holes; he led the way, Boo, Rampage, and myself following in his wake. Lacunae and the pegasi rained down fire behind us to deter pursuit. The shielded alicorn seemed to be an irresistible target to the hellhounds. Maybe they had some issue with alicorns I wasn’t aware of?
坦克向前滚动，向火山口的远端发射，然后爬过崩塌的岩壁。当他们咀嚼着地狱犬试图爬出他们的洞穴时，机关枪发出吱吱嘎嘎的声音;他带路，布，狂暴，我跟在他后面。空隙和飞马座在我们身后大量射击，以阻止我们的追击。那只带有护盾的独角兽似乎是地狱犬无法抗拒的目标。也许他们对我不知道的橡子有意见？
“They must be being controlled by the Enclave through those helmets!” Glory shouted from above. “That’s what’s making them attack us!”
"他们必须通过这些头盔被昂科雷控制!"晨辉从天而降。"这就是他们攻击我们的原因!"
“I hate to disagree, but this is fairly typical behavior for their kind,” Lacunae pointed out as her shield flared under the barrage. She then flew to one of the rusted rooftop weapons, teleported above a trio of hellhounds with the lump of metal, and dropped it on the beasts. The hellhounds tried to dive aside, but it managed to crush one beneath its oxidized hulk. Red and green beams from the pegasi swiftly turned his two friends to dust before they could disappear into the earth. There were more coming, though.
"我不想反对，但这是他们这种人的典型行为,"当她的防护罩在弹幕下闪耀时，Lacunae指出。然后她飞到一个锈迹斑斑的屋顶武器上，带着金属块传送到三只地狱犬的头顶上，把它扔给那些野兽。地狱犬试图潜到一边，但它设法在氧化的身躯下粉碎了其中一只。红色和绿色的光线从飞马座迅速变成灰尘之前，他的两个朋友可以消失在地球上。不过还有更多的人要来。
“Move, move, move!” I shouted as I ran.
"走，走，走!"我边跑边喊。
P-21, panting, struggled to keep up. “Always with the running thing,” he muttered. I dodged behind him, ducked my head, and with a lunge I scooped him up onto my back. His forehooves hugged my neck as I raced to catch up with the others. “Okay… this works…” Then he shook his mane, pulled out an apple grenade, tugged the stem, and let it fly behind us and into the ranks of the hellhounds. The shrapnel didn’t kill them, but at least it kept them from blasting us for a few moments.
P-21气喘吁吁地努力跟上。"总是带着跑步的东西,"他喃喃自语。我躲到他身后，低下头，猛地一跃，把他抱起来放在我背上。当我赶上其他人时，他的前蹄紧紧地搂着我的脖子。"好吧......这样就行了......"然后他甩了甩鬃毛，拿出一个苹果手榴弹，拉了拉茎杆，让它飞到我们身后，进入地狱犬的队伍。弹片没有杀死他们，但至少阻止了他们向我们开火。
“Why do all your fights turn into running battles, Blackjack?” Rampage asked. Two hellhounds poked their snouts out from a blown-out door, taking a bead on Boo. Rampage, with swiftness that shocked even me, charged the pair. The armored mare rolled and body slammed them with her spikes, knocking them back. Their crackling, sizzling weapons fired wildly, and the two beasts amazingly dusted each other!
"为什么你所有的战斗都变成了奔跑的战斗，Blackjack?"狂暴问道。两只地狱犬从一扇爆裂的门里探出鼻子，瞄准了布。狂暴，迅速甚至震惊了我，冲两个。披甲的母马打了个滚，身体用她的长钉狠狠地把它们撞了回去。他们噼啪作响、咝咝作响的武器发出狂野的火光，这两只野兽令人惊讶地互相喷洒着灰尘！
Rampage stood and shook the glowing powder off with a baffled look. ”Huh; that’s new.” The bloody mare beamed at the blank pony. “Good job drawing
狂暴站起来，带着困惑的表情抖落了发光的粉末。"哈，这是新的。"那匹血淋淋的母马朝空荡荡的小马微笑。"画得不错
them out, Boo.” Boo just trembled in fear, looking as if she wished nothing more than to be back in Star House with a Fancy Buck Cake.
把他们赶出去，Boo。"布只是害怕得发抖，看起来好像除了拿着一块花式雄鹿蛋糕回到星际之家之外再没有别的愿望了。
“Anyway, as I was saying,” Rampage continued, “don’t get me wrong. This running and fighting is a whole lot of fun, but I’d really appreciate a little variety in the future!”
"无论如何，正如我所说的,"狂暴继续说道,"不要误解我。这种跑步和搏击是非常有趣的，但是我真的希望将来能有一点变化。"
“Sorry to be so predictable!” I jumped and rolled aside as the ground gave way beneath me, blasting the hound with the levitated shotgun as it emerged, not doing much harm but surprising the creature. I might not be as sneaky on these hooves, but it was clear that I could still move as quickly when I needed to. Then I saw Deus driving beneath a footbridge between two of the large buildings and saw the pack of hellhounds perched along the edge. “Look out!”
"对不起，这么容易被预测到!"我跳了起来，滚到一边，脚下的地面塌陷了，出来时我用悬浮的猎枪打那只猎犬，没有造成多大伤害，只是让它吃了一惊。我的蹄子可能不会那么狡猾，但很明显，我仍然可以在需要的时候迅速行动。接着，我看见天王开车穿过两栋大楼之间的一座人行天桥，看见一群地狱犬正沿着桥边栖息。"小心!"
But it was too late. As Deus passed under them, a half-dozen of the armored beasts dropped down and began to rip into his armor with their claws. He tried to strafe them with the machine gun turrets, but the creatures wrecked the turrets with rending rakes from their talons before he was able to do any real damage. “Hold on! We’ll help!” I shouted as I raced to try and pick them off the tank.
但是已经太晚了。当上帝从他们身下经过时，六只身披铠甲的野兽掉了下来，开始用爪子撕裂他的盔甲。他试图用机枪炮塔扫射他们，但这些生物在他造成任何真正伤害之前，用爪子撕裂他们的炮塔。"等一下！我们会帮忙的!"我边跑边喊，试图把他们从坦克上打下来。
Deus had other ideas. He suddenly swerved and, engines roaring, blasted the reinforced wall of a building ahead and charged straight into the hole. A cacophony of screaming metal, roaring engine, and ripping steel filled the air, and a great storm of dust blew out the windows as he passed. From the crashing within, I suspected he was taking the roof down as well. Suddenly there was another concussive blast, and Deus erupted back out onto the street from another newly-made door, his scoured armor free of any clinging hellhounds.
天王有别的想法。他突然转向，引擎轰鸣，炸毁了前方一座建筑物的加固墙壁，径直冲进洞里。空气中充满了刺耳的金属声，轰鸣的引擎声和撕裂的钢铁声，当他经过的时候，一股巨大的尘暴吹出了窗户。由于内部的碰撞，我怀疑他也正在把屋顶拆掉。突然又有一阵震荡的爆炸声，天王从另一扇新造的门里冲了出来回到了大街上，他的盔甲上没有任何附着在身上的地狱犬。
He rolled to a stop, trailing dust and smoke. “Or… that’ll work,” I admitted. Deus’s engine gave a guttering laugh as the rips and tears slowly started to repair themselves. Scotch Tape shuddered and averted her eyes; I could understand why. The rent machine looked like a banged-up skull. Lacunae and the pegasi, having seen that we were free from pursuit at this particular moment, flew down to join us. I glanced back the way we’d come; that was a whole lot of red bars...
他翻滚着停了下来，拖着灰尘和烟雾。"或者......那会有用的,"我承认。当泪水和裂口慢慢开始自我修复时，天王的发动机发出了咯咯的笑声。透明胶带颤抖着，移开了她的眼睛;我能理解为什么。租赁机器看起来像一个破碎的头骨。空隙和飞马座看到我们在这个特殊的时刻摆脱了追捕，便飞下来加入我们。我回头看了看我们来的路，那里有很多红色的栅栏.....。
“We can’t keep running and shooting. Grawnerer or whatever his name was said that the Enclave were controlling them. We need to find out how and stop it. Personally, though, I’m more interested in why the Enclave is here in the first place than the gadget they’re using.” The Neighvarro pegasi gave firm nods of agreement.
"我们不能一直跑啊拍啊。格劳纳尔或者不管他叫什么名字，都说是昂科雷控制了他们。我们需要找出方法并阻止它。不过，就我个人而言，我更感兴趣的是为什么昂科雷会出现在这里，而不是他们使用的小工具。"飞马邻居坚定地点头表示同意。
Scotch Tape staggered down from Lacunae’s back and onto mine. Glory looked at my forehoof critically. “If they’re broadcasting a signal, you should be able to pick it up on your PipBuck, Blackjack. Just try to find a frequency in the P band and…” She met my flat gaze and adjusted. “Look for the strongest channel. It’ll probably be a lot of buzzing and screeching terminal talk.”
透明胶带从Lacunae的背后摇摇晃晃地落到我的背上。格洛里用批判的眼光看着我的前蹄。"如果他们在广播信号，你应该能用你的PipBuckBlackjack接收到。试着在p波段找一个频率，然后......"她碰到了我平坦的目光，调整了一下。"寻找最强的频道。可能会有很多嗡嗡声和尖叫的终端谈话。"
“Thank you,” I said as I looked behind us. “We’re going to have to split up. These hounds really seem to love chasing Deus. He can take them for a run. Sunset, Boomer, and Twister can help keep them away. Lacunae can keep contact between us.” I wouldn’t elaborate on how. “If we stop the broadcast, then hopefully the hellhounds will let us go. If not, then we run and tell Rover to teach his cousins about gratitude.”
"谢谢,"我回头看了看身后，说道。"我们将不得不分头行动。这些猎犬似乎真的很喜欢追赶上帝。他可以带他们去跑步。日落，布玛儿和扭扭乐可以帮助他们远离。空白可以让我们保持联系。"我不会详细说明怎么做到的。"如果我们停止广播，希望地狱犬会放我们走。如果没有，那么我们就跑去告诉罗孚，让他教教他的表兄弟们怎么感恩。"
“Sorry. We’re going to need one flier with you,” Twister said firmly. “We were sent to find out what Thunderhead is up to. I can’t run the risk that you withhold information.”
"对不起。我们需要一张飞机票。"。"我们被派来查明Thunderhead在搞什么鬼。我不能冒你隐瞒信息的风险。"
“Fine. You can--” I started to say when Sunset stepped forward.
"好吧。你可以——"当日落走上前来时，我开始说道。
“I’ll go,” the mare said in a firm tone that allowed no argument. Twister looked a touch surprised at the mare’s assertiveness. Sunset went on, “You’re a better fighter than I am, Sergeant, and you’ll need Boomer’s missiles.” Twister looked at Boomer, who merely shrugged, and then back at the black armored mare.
"我去,"母马坚定地说，没有任何异议。龙卷风看起来有点惊讶于母马的果断。日落接着说:"你的战斗力比我强，中士，你需要布玛儿的导弹。"托斯特看着布玛儿，布玛儿只是耸了耸肩，然后又看了看那匹黑色装甲母马。
“Alright, Sunset. Keep a sharp eye and report back whatever you find,” Twister said before taking to the air again. Deus gunned his engines and roared off back down the road with the two power-armored pegasi and alicorn in flight. We moved off to the side, and a minute later I felt a vibration underhoof. Nobody should be able to dig that fast. Perhaps they were taking existing tunnels and just digging the final stretches on the spot? When I started to move, P-21 reached out and stopped me. A second later I saw the slower red bars. Hellhound flankers moved along, sniffing at the air as they pointed their ponderous, cobbled-together weapons about warily.
"好吧，日落。保持警惕，发现什么就汇报什么,"托斯特在再次起飞前说。天王开足马力，咆哮着驶回路上，飞马座和阿里康身上都装备了动力装甲。我们移到一边，一分钟后，我感到一阵震动。没有人能挖得那么快。也许他们采取现有的隧道，只是在现场挖最后的延伸？当我开始行动时，P-21就伸出手来阻止我。过了一会儿，我看到了较慢的红条。地狱犬侧翼部队向前移动，警惕地指着他们笨重的、拼凑在一起的武器，嗅着空气。
For an instant, I was sure that we were doomed. I started to lift the carbine, but P-21 gave me the softest nudge; I glanced down and watched him give his head a tiny shake. I had to trust the smarter pony. A minute later the hellhounds straightened and took off after Deus as well.
有那么一瞬间，我确信我们注定要失败。我开始举起卡宾枪，但是P-21轻轻地碰了我一下;我低头看着他微微摇了摇头。我不得不相信那匹更聪明的小马。过了一分钟，地狱犬也跟着天王离开了。
“We’re downwind,” P-21 said simply as he slung Persuasion around his neck
"我们在下风处,"P-21一边简单地说，一边把《劝导》挂在脖子上
once more. Boo had relaxed as well; I supposed that that would do.
再一次。布也放松下来了，我想这样就行了。
I frowned as I looked around, but had no idea what I was looking for. A giant Enclave flag? A map with ‘Hellhound Control Center’ clearly marked would be nice. I looked at Glory with a hapless smile. “Ideas?”
我环顾四周，皱起了眉头，但不知道自己在找什么。一面巨大的飞地旗帜？如果地图上有地狱犬控制中心的清晰标记就更好了。我带着不幸的微笑看着晨辉。"想法?"
Glory frowned and flew up a short way, turning this way and that before she landed. “Can I see your broadcaster?” she asked. I thrust out my PipBuck, and she began to fiddle with it. “Wouldn’t use a broadcast band… P band… yeah. There!” A screeching, buzzing noise emanated from my PipBuck, and I immediately turned the volume way down. “That must be it. Now…” She repeated the same process with her own PipBuck, then finally worked on Sunset’s armor. “Now, you stay here, Blackjack, and swing your hoof around till the noise is loudest. I’ll fly a hundred yards north, Sunset can fly a hundred yards south, and we’ll triangulate on the transmission source.”
晨辉皱了皱眉头，向上飞了一小段距离，在着陆前又转了一个又一个弯。"我能看看你们的播音员吗?"她问道。我伸出我的皮普巴克，她开始摆弄它。"不会用广播波段......p波段......是的。那里!"我的PipBuck发出刺耳的嗡嗡声，我立刻把音量调低。"一定是这样。现在......"她用她自己的PipBuck重复了同样的过程，最后开始制作Sunset的盔甲。"现在，你呆在这儿，黑杰克，把你的蹄子转到最大声的地方去。我往北飞一百码，日落号往南飞一百码，然后我们用三角测量法找到信号源。"
Did I mention how much I loved ponies smarter than me?
我有没有说过我有多喜欢比我聪明的小马？
Following her directions, we managed to find a general direction in which the signal was stronger than others. Grimhoof had a completely different layout from Miramare or Ironmare. Dozens of reinforced structures were clustered together between large expanses of open terrain. In the distance, we saw Deus tearing across the Wasteland with a crowd of hellhounds in close pursuit. If it hadn’t been for that, we never would have been able to dash across the breaks in cover. In several places we were literally tiptoeing around radioactive holes dug in the earth. While the misty fog might have given some cover from sight, I didn’t know how well the hellhounds could sniff us out.
按照她的指示，我们设法找到了一个信号比其他信号强的大致方向。格里姆霍夫的布局与米拉马雷和铁马完全不同。几十个加固的建筑物聚集在广阔的开阔地带之间。在远处，我们看到天王撕裂穿过荒地与一群地狱之犬紧紧追赶。如果不是因为那个，我们永远不可能穿过那些裂缝，找到掩护。在一些地方，我们真的是踮着脚尖绕过地上挖出的放射性坑。虽然雾气可能掩盖了我们的视线，但我不知道地狱犬能嗅出我们的踪迹。
“What’s down there?” Scotch Tape asked as we passed by one of the radioactive pits.
"下面是什么?"当我们经过一个有放射性的坑时，透明胶带问道。
“Who knows? Dysfunctional balefire bombs? Magical waste? Leaking Stable-Tec reactors? I don’t want to find out,” I said. Nothing good was underground in Hoofington.
""谁知道呢？功能失调的火焰炸弹？神奇的废物？泄漏的稳定太克反应堆？我不想知道,"我说。在Hoofington没有什么好东西是地下的。
Yet I spotted what I hoped was our destination: a cluster of buildings, one of which had several large dishes pointed up at the sky. While many were streaked with rust, I suspected they still worked. The persistent cloud bank surrounding them was another strong indication of something pegasus-related.
然而，我发现了我希望是我们的目的地:一群建筑物，其中一个有几个大盘子指向天空。虽然很多都锈迹斑斑，但我怀疑它们还能用。它们周围持续存在的云层是另一个与飞马座有关的强烈迹象。
Then there was a whoosh overhead, and two Vertibucks passed above us, stirring the air and exposing us; fortunately, the two vehicles seemed to have bigger things to worry about at the moment as they rushed towards the structure with the large dishes. “Is it just me, or does it feel like something is going on?” I asked as the clouds closed in once more. Carefully, we picked our way forward. All it would take was one perceptive hellhound or one E.F.S., and we’d be given away.
然后头顶上传来一阵呼啸声，两辆Vertibucks从我们头顶经过，搅动着空气，暴露了我们;幸运的是，这两辆车此刻似乎有更大的事情要操心，因为它们拿着大盘子冲向建筑物。"是只有我这么觉得，还是感觉有什么事情正在发生?"云层又一次聚拢来时，我问道。我们小心翼翼地选择了前进的道路。只要有一只敏锐的地狱犬或者一个e.f.s.，我们就会被送走。
Then we found the dead zebras and hellhounds, the bodies only a few days old, scattered across the broken ground; dozens of striped corpses lay among about the dead canines. It’d taken headshots from skilled snipers to drop the beasts.
然后我们发现了斑马和地狱犬的尸体，这些尸体只有几天大，散落在破碎的土地上;几十具有条纹的尸体躺在死犬的周围。为了让野兽掉下来，经验丰富的狙击手向它们的头部开了几枪。
From the ashes strewn about, I could only imagine how many had actually been killed. Still, the presence of the zebras baffled me; what were they doing here? Was this another thing like Yellow River, or something else? It was a hell of a coincidence...
从四处散落的灰烬中，我只能想象到底有多少人被杀害了。尽管如此，斑马的出现还是让我感到困惑:它们在这里干什么？这是另一个像黄河一样的东西，还是别的什么东西？真是太巧了。
“Blackjack...” Glory said as she knelt by a severed zebra head. A hellhound claw had ripped the side of the face clean off... and revealed the metal beneath. Not a zebra... a cyberzebra. I stared in shock as I spotted more in the wreckage.
"黑杰克......"晨辉跪在一个斑马头旁边说。一只地狱犬的爪子撕开了脸的一侧，露出了下面的金属。不是斑马...是赛博斑马。当我在残骸中发现更多的东西时，我震惊地凝视着。
Up ahead there were sounds of gunshots, the zap of energy weapons, and hellhound roars. “What the heck is happening?” Scotch Tape asked, standing on my back and shielding her eyes as if that would allow her to peer through the mist.
前方传来枪声、能量武器的轰击声和地狱犬的咆哮声。"这到底是怎么回事?"透明胶带问道，她站在我的背上，遮住她的眼睛，好像这样她就能透过薄雾窥视一切。
“We need to get higher...” I said, looking around the rooftops. One of the buildings next to the structure with the three large dishes had a wooden scaffold lashed to the side. It creaked beneath my hooves but held my weight. We made it up to the third story. Clearly this rooftop was some kind of camp. There were glyph-marked ammo crates half-concealed underneath canvas sheets. The center of the building had long ago collapsed and lay as a heap on the first floor, leaving the roof as a balcony around a hole.
"我们需要飞得更高......"我说着，环顾四周的屋顶。建筑物旁边有三个大碟子的一个建筑物的一边绑着一个木制的脚手架。它在我的蹄下吱吱作响，但却支撑着我的体重。我们到达了第三层楼。很明显这个屋顶是某种营地。在帆布床单的下面有一些标有字形的弹药箱。这座建筑的中心很久以前就坍塌了，在一楼成了一堆，留下的屋顶就像是围绕着一个洞的阳台。
Boo hung back, looking scared.
布退了回去，看起来很害怕。
I slowly moved to the edge of the building where somepony had left a pair of binoculars. Peering through them at the buildings next door, I spotted two that were surrounded by a barricade of rubble. Hellhounds, looking haggard and exhausted even for clawed monsters, seemed to be battling dozens, perhaps
我慢慢地走到建筑物的边缘，那里有一匹小马落下了一副双筒望远镜。透过他们的眼睛，我看到隔壁的两栋建筑物被一堆瓦砾包围着。地狱犬看起来很憔悴，甚至对于长着爪子的怪物来说也已经筋疲力尽了，他们似乎正在和几十个怪物战斗
hundreds of zebras. The swamp of striped fighters was slowly wearing down the beasts. From atop the buildings, pegasi in black power armor darted out of cover to strafe the striped attackers and then returned to cover before deadly sniper fire could drop them. I saw the two Vertibucks landing on the far side of the dished building.
成百上千的斑马。条纹斗士的沼泽地正在慢慢耗尽这些野兽的力量。身穿黑色动力装甲的飞马从建筑物顶端冲出来，向有条纹的袭击者猛烈扫射，然后在致命的狙击火力将他们击落之前回到掩体中。我看见两只眩晕鸟降落在碟状建筑物的另一边。
Then I was shot in the back.
然后我背部中枪。
The bullet smashed hard against the base of my neck, sparking off the reinforcement along my spine. Funny, something about the gunshot seemed awfully familiar... I whirled to look for the shooter as my friends dove for what little cover there was. What I saw were ghostly blurs in the mist on the far side of the hole. Glory and Sunset immediately started spraying with their energy weapons while Scotch Tape rolled off my back to take cover next to Boo.
子弹猛烈地打在我的脖子底部，沿着我的脊椎发出火花。有趣的是，枪声似乎非常熟悉......我转过身去寻找枪手，而我的朋友们正在寻找那个小小的掩体。我所看到的是洞另一边薄雾中幽灵般的模糊。晨辉和日落立刻开始用他们的能量武器喷射，同时透明胶带从我的背上滚下来，在布旁边找掩护。
I raced around the hole, gritting my teeth as the shots thudded into me, all blows that hurt but none that would down me outright. I fired ahead of me with Vigilance as I closed the gap between me and the nearest assailant. Blood dripped from the flickering air as I dove at the cloaked zebra. My hooves, however, flailed at nothing as my attacker leapt out of reach at the last second. I lay there, sprawled on the ground, and felt two hooves land on my spine and then a rifle press against the back of my skull. The stealth cloak had fallen open, and I magically jerked the rifle barrel to the side, the round biting a deep hole in the crumbled concrete.
我在洞边跑来跑去，当子弹砰的一声击中我的时候，我咬紧牙关，所有的打击都很疼，但是没有一拳能把我打倒。我在自己前面开枪，时刻保持警惕，以缩小自己和最近的攻击者之间的距离。血从闪烁的空气中滴下，我扑向隐形的斑马。然而，当我的攻击者在最后一秒跃出我够不到的地方时，我的蹄子却毫无反应。我躺在那里，四仰八叉地躺在地上，感到两只蹄子落在我的脊椎上，然后一支步枪压在我的后脑勺上。隐形斗篷已经打开，我奇迹般地把枪管猛拉到一边，子弹在混凝土碎片上留下了一个深深的洞。
As I struggled to keep the barrel off my skull, I glanced over at my friends. A grenade reduced two blurs into bloody heaps. Glory and Sunset fired red and green bolts of energy at the attackers. One zebra raced at Boo and Scotch Tape along the edge of the building as if were as wide as a road. Her cloak flew free, revealing a triumphantly grinning mare as she leapt into the air and launched a devastating kick at the white mare. For a moment, I was absolutely certain both were going to die, and then the zebra’s snapping cape suddenly whipped across her face, blinding her and causing her hoofstrike to miss by inches. To the astonishment of both the zebra and myself, her leg punched completely through the crumbly roof. The mare struggled to free herself until Scotch Tape rose above her and bashed her skull with a pipe wrench, knocking her out.
当我挣扎着想把枪管从我的头骨上拿开时，我瞥了一眼我的朋友们。一枚手榴弹把两个模糊不清的东西炸成了血堆。晨辉和日落向袭击者发射了红绿闪电。一只斑马沿着大楼边缘冲向Boo和ScotchTape，好像有一条路那么宽。她的斗篷飞了出来，露出一匹得意洋洋地笑着的母马，她跳到空中，向那匹白色的母马发出了致命的一踢。有那么一瞬间，我完全确定两个人都会死去，然后那只斑马身上披着的斗篷突然划过她的脸，弄瞎了她的眼睛，使她的蹄子几乎偏离了方向。让斑马和我都感到惊讶的是，她的腿完全穿透了易碎的屋顶。这匹母马挣扎着想挣脱，直到苏格兰胶带从她头上升起，用管钳猛击她的头盖骨，把她打晕了。
Okay... I’d take it and ponder sometime I wasn’t fighting for my life.
好吧...有时候我会仔细想想我不是在为我的生命而奋斗。
Knowing my friends weren’t going to die in the next few seconds, I focused on my own attacker. The shooter swore in Zebra and with even more force tore the rifle’s barrel from my magical grasp. I rolled, the shooter jumping once more to avoid falling as I looked up. The barrel filled one eye socket as I stared up into the shocked face of my adversary.
我知道我的朋友们不会在接下来的几秒钟内死去，所以我把注意力集中在我自己的攻击者身上。枪手对着斑仔咒骂，用更大的力气从我魔法般的手中夺过枪管。我翻了个身，当我抬起头的时候，枪手为了避免摔倒又跳了一次。当我抬头凝视着对手那张震惊的脸时，枪管填满了我的一个眼窝。
“You?!” Lancer swore. “How! What oath did I swear to be cursed enough to have you show up now?!”
"你?!"兰瑟发誓说。"怎么回事！我发过什么誓要诅咒你现在出现?!"
“Back off!” Glory shouted as she pointed her gatling beam gun at him, hovering over the hole. Lancer pressed his forehoof to the trigger. A sharp sneeze might blow my head off. “Don’t!”
"退后!"晨辉呼喊，她指出她的加特林机枪对他，盘旋在洞上空。枪骑兵把前蹄压在扳机上。一个尖锐的喷嚏可能会把我的头打下来。"不要!"
“I swear, I should have killed you when we first met in that school,” the stallion muttered as he looked down at me. “We seem to be at an impasse. A parley seems to be in order.”
"我发誓，我们第一次在那所学校见面的时候，我就应该杀了你,"这匹种马低头看着我喃喃自语。"我们似乎陷入了僵局。似乎应该进行谈判。"
“Forget it,” Scotch Tape shouted as she brandished her wrench.
"算了吧,"苏格兰胶带一边挥舞着扳手一边喊道。
“The alternative is I die and take the cursed one with me,” he countered sharply, not taking his blue eyes off mine. We might be able to kill him if the magic disintegrated him faster than he could move... but anything else would likely have him kill me in his death throes.
"否则的话，我就死了，把这个被诅咒的人也带走,"他厉声反驳道，蓝色的眼睛一刻也没有离开我。我们也许能够杀死他，如果魔法分解他的速度比他可以移动...但任何其他可能会让他杀死我在他的死亡阵痛。
“Fine,” I said, looking at the others. “Put your weapons away. Remember Brimstone’s Fall.”
"很好,"我说，看着其他人。"放下你们的武器。记住硫磺会的陨落。"
For an instant I thought he was going to shoot me anyway. Then he pulled the batwing-glyphed rifle from my face and stepped off me. “You have impeccable timing, Maiden.”
有那么一瞬间，我以为他无论如何都会杀了我。然后，他从我的脸上拔下那支带有蝙蝠图案的步枪，从我身上走开了。"你来得正是时候梅登"
“What’s going on here?” I asked as I rose to my hooves, not taking my eyes off the zebra. More were emerging from the lower floors; over a dozen were moving into position below us to make sure that, if the fighting started, we’d be in a tight pinch. Probably his plan. I looked at him. “Maybe we can help?” The question drew shock from everypony except P-21.
"这是怎么回事?"我一边问，一边站起来，盯着斑马看。更多的人从较低的楼层涌出来;十几个人正在向我们下面的位置移动，以确保一旦战斗开始，我们将处于紧要关头。可能是他的计划。我看着他。"也许我们能帮上忙?"这个问题引起了除P-21以外的所有人的震惊。
“No. You’re a tempest in metal and pony flesh. I’ll not--” Lancer began. Then one of the other zebras asked something and it made him grimace. “No. We don’t need their help! We’ll reclaim what is ours without--” Another sharp
"没有。你是一个暴风雨在金属和小马的肉。我不会——"兰瑟开始说。然后其他斑马中的一只问了些什么，这让他做了个鬼脸。"没有。我们不需要他们的帮助！我们要夺回属于我们的东西，不再——"又一个尖锐的问题
question from another zebra stallion, and he snapped back. For several minutes, a trio argued with Lancer. The sniper looked more and more anguished, his mane bristling progressively before he snapped. “Fine!” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We are here to take back something stolen from us. What is your business here?”
来自另一匹种马的问题，他回答了。三个人和兰瑟争论了几分钟。狙击手看上去越来越痛苦，他的鬃毛逐渐竖立起来，然后猛然折断。"好吧!"他揉了揉鼻梁。"我们是来拿回被偷走的东西的。你来这里干什么?"
I glanced at P-21, then said, “We’re here to free the hellhounds from the Enclave control.”
我瞥了一眼P-21，然后说:"我们是来把地狱犬从昂科雷的控制下解放出来的。"
Lancer closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Of course. Only you could want that.” He looked at me once more. “We’ve been struggling to breach their defenses. Every hour they bring in those machines and fly out with more of our property.”
兰瑟闭上眼睛，深深地吸了一口气。"当然。只有你才会想要那样。"他又看了我一眼。"我们一直在努力突破他们的防御。每过一个小时，他们就带着那些机器飞回来，带走我们更多的财产。"
“I saw the cyberzebras,” I said with a nod of my head, and the stallion grimaced.
"我看见了网络斑马,"我点了点头，这匹种马做了个鬼脸。
“Yes, the... Brood of Coyotl. They are formidable...” And from his scowl, not appreciated. “Unfortunately, they are not wearing down the Enclave defenses quickly enough.”
"是的，野狼族。他们令人敬畏......"从他的怒容来看，他并没有得到赏识。"不幸的是，他们没有足够快地摧毁飞地的防御。"
“Any other ways in?”
"还有其他入口吗?"
“There are claw-dug tunnels, but they are suicide. We have an underground passage secured, but we have been unable to breach the armored door or hack the terminal. You cursed my finest tech specialist,” he said sourly, a hoof stroking the trigger of his gun, “so we have been unable to proceed.”
"这里有爪挖的隧道，但他们是在自杀。我们有一条安全的地下通道，但是我们无法打开装甲门或者侵入终端。"你诅咒了我最好的技术专家,"他酸溜溜地说，一只蹄子敲着他的枪的扳机,"所以我们无法继续下去。"
I looked at P-21, and he gave a sure nod. “One last question...” I tilted my head towards the Vertibucks. “What are they taking out of here?”
我看了看P-21，他肯定地点了点头。"最后一个问题......"我把头转向那辆眩晕车。"他们从这里带走了什么?"
“Property. Our property. Taken long ago,” he replied sharply. From the press of his lips, I suspected that that was all I’d get out of him.
"房地产。我们的财产。很久以前拍的,"他厉声回答。从他的嘴唇上，我怀疑这是我能从他那里得到的全部。
“Guess we’ll have to get inside to find out. Once we do...” I trailed off, arching a brow.
"看来我们得进去看看了。一旦我们这样做了......"我慢下来，拱起一个额头。
He took a deep breath. “If you can break the pegasi’s control over the beasts, we will be able to drive them off. I doubt they will fight for the Enclave of their own volition. We will then reclaim what is ours.”
他深吸了一口气。"如果你能破坏飞马座对这些动物的控制，我们就能把它们赶走。我怀疑他们是否会自愿为昂科雷而战。然后，我们将收回属于我们的东西。"
“Fair enough. And you let us out of here,” I added. “Deal?”
"有道理。让我们离开这里,"我补充道。"成交?"
He shuddered. “I should have killed you when we first met. You’ve been nothing but misfortune for me since.” Finally, though, he gave a little nod.
他打了个寒战。"我们第一次见面的时候，我就该杀了你。从那以后，你就一直是我的不幸。"不过，最后他还是点了点头。
“Now, show us to that door...” I said with a grin.
"现在，带我们去那扇门......"我咧嘴笑着说。
* * *
* * *
No wonder the hellhounds carved their own tunnels; this door was made to withstand a balefire blast. ‘Northeast Equestria Satellite Tracking’ was stenciled over the front. Claw swipes had scoured the reinforced steel but not breached it. P-21 worked a terminal set in the wall with a thoughtful methodical demeanor that would have had me climbing the walls in frustration.
难怪地狱犬会开凿自己的地道，这扇门是用来抵挡爆炸的。正面印有"东北马术卫星追踪"字样。用爪子划过加固过的钢筋，但没有破裂。P-21以一种深思熟虑的、有条不紊的方式在一个设在墙上的终端机上工作，这种方式足以让我沮丧地翻墙。
Lancer hadn’t offered to accompany us, and I wouldn’t have let him. Instead, a half-dozen zebras in black combat barding stood silently at the ready. These were the Brood of Coyotl; they didn’t laugh, talk, glare at me, or do much more than follow. Familiar red lights gleamed in their eyes, but that was the only hint that they’d been augmented. Half wore battle saddles with markspony carbines, while the other half wore power hooves; there was something vaguely un-zebralike about their armor and weaponry. They wouldn’t go past this point; they were here to stop any hellhounds on the far side from rushing out.
兰瑟没有提出要跟我们一起去，我也不会让他去的。相反，六只斑马身穿黑色战斗服，静静地站在准备好的地方。这些就是郊野狼族，他们没有笑，没有说话，没有怒视我，也没有做比跟着我更多的事情。他们眼中闪烁着熟悉的红光，但这是他们被增强的唯一线索。其中一半穿着装有马克斯普尼卡宾枪的战斗马鞍，而另一半穿着强有力的马蹄;在他们的盔甲和武器上隐约有点不像斑马的东西。他们不会越过这一点，他们在这里是为了阻止远方的任何地狱犬冲出去。
Oh what joy to be caught in the crossfire.
哦，在交叉火力中被抓住是多么快乐啊。
“Any luck?” I asked P-21.
"找到了吗?"我问了P-21。
“I’m trying to access a super-secure facility. The password is thirteen characters long. It’s not exactly easy to figure out.” He typed some more on the terminal, scowling as if it’d given him a personal insult.
"我正试图进入一个超级安全的设施。密码长度为十三个字符。这不是那么容易弄清楚的。"他在终端上又打了一些，皱着眉头，好像这是对他的人身侮辱。
“Blackjack, what’s wrong with them?” Scotch Tape asked from where she sat with Boo. The filly stared at the armored zebras warily. “They don’t talk. They don’t even move.”
"黑杰克，他们怎么了?"透明胶带问她和Boo坐在哪里。小雌马警惕地盯着斑马的盔甲。"他们不说话。他们甚至都不动。"
“I don’t know,” I admitted. They were used two hundred years ago during the war; I remembered seeing them in Shujaa’s memory. “Maybe they’re just...
"我不知道,"我承认。它们在两百年前的战争中被使用过;我记得在Shujaa的记忆中见过它们。"也许他们只是.....。
really focused?” At the moment, I had way too much on my plate to take on new mysteries.
真的很专注?"此时此刻，我有太多的事情要做，以至于无法接受新的神秘事件。
“That’s way more than just focus,” Glory said with a frown. “I’d love to do a physical exam. Take one to Rover and compare their augmentation to yours. It’d be fascinating to see if there’s any commonality in designs.”
"这可不仅仅是集中注意力那么简单,"晨辉皱着眉头说。"我想做一次体检。拿一个去和罗孚比较一下他们的增强器和你的。看看设计中是否有共同之处会很有意思。"
“Yeah. Lancer’s not going to let that happen,” P-21 said from the terminal, then glanced at me with a frown of concern. “You do know he’s going to betray us?”
"是的。兰瑟不会让这种事情发生的,"P-21在航站楼里说，然后皱着眉关切地看了我一眼。"你知道他会背叛我们吧?"
“He’s shot me multiple times in the back, and I haven’t died yet,” I said calmly. “Must be really frustrating for him. Worse, given that the Remnant thinks I’m the Maiden of the Stars.” Scotch Tape cocked her head in confusion, and I sighed, “Basically... I’m the zebra devil destined to bring chaos and destruction to the world.”
"他在我背后开了好几枪，我还没死呢,"我平静地说。"他一定很沮丧。更糟的是，因为例外人认为我是星星中的少女。"苏格兰胶带在困惑中扬起她的头，我叹息,"基本上...我是斑马恶魔注定要给世界带来混乱和毁灭。"
“Oh.” The filly smirked, but I could see the thought process work through her head as her smile disappeared. “Oh...”
"哦。"小母马得意地笑了，但是当她的微笑消失的时候，我可以看到她脑子里的思考过程。"哦......"
“I’m not the Maiden of anything! I’m not even a maiden! There’s certain criteria a mare has to meet in order to be considered a maiden, and I blew that when I was your age,” I snapped, making Boo shrink back. Sighing, I added in softer tones, “I don’t want to destroy anything, Scotch.”
"我什么也不是！我连处女都算不上！要想成为少女，母马必须达到一定的标准，我在你这个年纪的时候就搞砸了,"我厉声说道，让Boo退缩了。我叹了口气，用柔和的声调补充道:"我不想破坏任何东西，苏格兰威士忌。"
“I didn’t say you did, Blackjack. It’s just... look at all the things you’ve done,” she said with a tap of her hooves. “I know it’s not true...”
"我没说是你干的，Blackjack。只是......看看你都做了些什么,"她用蹄子轻轻敲了敲说。"我知道这不是真的......"
P-21 hit a key, and there was a solid clunk and the sounds of working machinery from the door. “There it is. Constellation,” he said as the door slowly swung open. Its thickness was more than the length of my foreleg. Beyond was a hallway with an icon of four stars on the wall over the acronym N.E.S.T. “Let’s hurry. Now that this door is open, I give Lancer five minutes before he storms through here.”
P-21机器人敲了一下钥匙，门上传来一阵沉闷的撞击声和机器工作的声音。"就是这样。星座,"他说，门慢慢打开了。它的厚度超过了我前腿的长度。远处是一条走廊，墙上挂着一个四星图标，上面的首字母缩写是n.e.s.t."让我们快点。现在这扇门打开了，我给兰瑟五分钟的时间，他就会冲进来。"
As quietly as we could, we moved deeper into the facility. Given the reinforcement all around it, it was clear this place had been designed to withstand megaspells; there also weren’t any signs of looting or pillaging, which made me wonder if anypony had entered here till recently. P-21 and Boo were in the lead, the white mare as cautious as P-21 as she moved forward. Sunset and I, with our metal hooves, hung back.
我们尽可能悄无声息地向工厂深处移动。考虑到周围都是增援部队，很明显这个地方被设计成可以抵挡巨型海浪;也没有任何抢劫或掠夺的迹象，这让我怀疑直到最近是否有小马进入这里。P-21和Boo领先，白色的母马像P-21一样小心翼翼地向前移动。夕阳西下，我用我们的金属蹄子向后退去。
The red bars didn’t give me much encouragement, but three times we evaded hellhound and pegasus patrollers, once by all of us hiding in large empty crates
红酒吧并没有给我多少鼓励，但是有三次我们躲过了地狱犬和飞马座巡逻者，还有一次我们躲在大的空箱子里
scattered along the halls. The fourth encounter, both Glory and Sunset placed exceptionally lucky shots that simultaneously vaporized two hellhound guards before either of them could get a roar off. Scotch Tape swept the dust into a nearby garbage bin. My paranoia began to nibble at me. It shouldn’t be this easy. With E.F.S. and the hellhounds’ senses, we should have run into far more trouble! Was this some sort of setup?
散落在大厅里。第四次遭遇，《晨辉》和《日落》都发射了异常幸运的子弹，在两个地狱犬守卫中的任何一个发出咆哮之前，它们同时蒸发了。透明胶带把灰尘扫进附近的垃圾箱。我的偏执狂开始蚕食我。事情不应该这么简单。凭着e.f.s.和地狱犬的感觉，我们应该遇到更多的麻烦！这是某种陷阱吗？
“Blackjack,” Glory said as she examined one of the many crates with a label: ‘Destination: Shadowbolt Tower. Contents: scrap metal 14/25 #32. *.’ “This is a Volunteer Corps label.”
"黑杰克,"晨辉一边说，一边检查着许多箱子中的一个，上面有一个标签:"目的地:影螺栓塔。"。内容:废金属14/25#32。*"这是志愿兵团的标签。"
“This sure isn’t a Volunteer Corps operation,” I said as I slid the silver sword along the top, cutting through the screws holding the lid in place. We pushed it up and revealed a large, carefully disassembled piece of machinery. “And that isn’t scrap metal.”
"这肯定不是志愿兵团的行动,"我一边说，一边沿着顶部滑动银剑，切开固定盖子的螺丝。我们把它推上去，露出了一台被仔细拆卸过的大机器。"那不是废金属。"
Glory thumped her hoof against the crate, gritting her teeth. “We always wondered why Intelligence stopped blocking the VC program. They’ve been using us to smuggle things to the tower.”
晨辉用蹄子捶打着板条箱，咬紧牙关。"我们一直想知道，为什么情报部门不再屏蔽VC程序。他们一直在利用我们把东西偷运到伦敦塔。"
“I’m sorry,” I said as I stroked her blue wings with a hoof.
"对不起,"我边说边用蹄子抚摸着她的蓝色翅膀。
“I’m not. Come on. Now I have my own payback to give these jerks,” she said as she continued down the hall.
"我没有。来吧。现在我有自己的回报给这些混蛋,"她继续沿着大厅说道。
We soon found the nerve center, emerging on a terminal-lined balcony walkway overlooking a buzzing command center with rows of even more terminals. The N.E.S.T. control room had at least two dozen power-armored pegasi, another two dozen technicians tapping away at terminals or talking over schematics, and... I lost count of the hellhounds. Once again, though, we’d gotten lucky. There was only one power-armored pegasus guarding the balcony. When she trotted close, Sunset and I reached out, grabbed her by her tail, and jerked her through the doorway. One sharp blow later, the guard was unconscious, and we moved out on the balcony.
我们很快就找到了神经中枢，它出现在一条两边都是终端的阳台走道上，俯瞰着一个嗡嗡作响的指挥中心，那里有一排排更多的终端。N.e.s.t.控制室里至少有二十多个动力装甲飞马座，还有二十多个技术人员在终端机上窃听或讨论电路图，还有......我数不清地狱猎犬的数量了。不过，我们又一次走运了。只有一个身穿重甲的飞马守卫着阳台。当她快步走近时，夕阳和我伸出手，抓住她的尾巴，猛拉她穿过门口。一次猛烈的打击之后，警卫失去了知觉，我们从阳台上走了出来。
“Which one do you think is controlling the hellhounds?” I asked as I peeked down at all the terminals.
"你认为是谁在控制地狱犬?"我低头看着所有的终端机，问道。
“None of them. Those are terminals. The maneframe is probably even more reinforced than this place,” Scotch Tape said as she peeked down, rubbing her
"一个也没有。那些是终端。透明胶带可能比这个地方还要坚固,"苏格兰胶带一边说，一边往下看，摩擦着她
chin.
下巴。
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” P-21 whispered to his daughter.
"你和我想的一样吗?"P-21小声对他的女儿说。
“That if we can’t get to the maneframe or the broadcast equipment, we can blow the cables connecting the two?” Scotch replied, surprising the stallion.
"如果我们不能接近地雷或广播设备，我们可以炸掉连接两者的电缆吗?"苏格兰人回答，吓了那匹种马一跳。
“Actually, I was thinking of trying to find this place’s reactor and blowing it up,” he said with a sheepish grin.
"实际上，我在考虑试着找到这个地方的反应堆，然后把它炸掉,"他腼腆地笑着说。
“Overkill, Dad.” The olive filly looked down at the floor. “If I were designing this place, I’d drop the cables through the floor to maneframes below and run the broadcast cabling up an armored central trunk. Which I think is right... there.” She gestured at a long square conduit running along the wall from floor to ceiling, passing right by the edge of the balcony. “The problem is I have no idea how we’d carve our way in without everypony seeing us.”
"太过分了爸爸"橄榄小姑娘低头看着地板。"如果我要设计这个地方，我会把电缆穿过地板放到下面的地板上，然后把广播电缆连接到一个装甲中央干线上。我认为它就在那里。"她指着一条从地板到天花板的长方形管道，正好通过阳台的边缘。"问题是，我不知道我们如何在没有其他人注意的情况下开辟道路。"
Then a klaxon sounded, and at the alarm both hellhounds and Enclave soldiers drained from the room, leaving the techs working more frantically than before. I looked at everypony, feeling that sense of paranoia growing. Nothing ever went this well for me. We moved to the end of the balcony; the conduit was almost the size of a pony. My silver sword floated out, and I pushed with all my might, slowly carving a hole in the half-inch steel. Behind it was some sort of copper mesh. I floated both the cutout and the sword back to me while P-21 prepared some plastic explosives. Then I munched on the metal.
然后一个喇叭响了起来，地狱犬和昂科雷士兵随着警报从房间里抽干了血，技术人员比以前更加疯狂地工作着。我看着每一匹小马，感觉那种偏执的感觉越来越强烈。我从来没有这么顺利过。我们走到了阳台的尽头，那个导管几乎有一匹小马那么大。我的银剑漂了出来，我用尽全力向外推，慢慢地在半英寸厚的钢板上凿了一个洞。在它的后面是某种铜网。当P-21准备一些塑料炸药时，我把联络人和剑都带回来了。然后我用力咀嚼那块金属。
“Blackjack, there’s probably an auxiliary channel. This place has to have redundancy,” Scotch Tape said tersely as she glanced down at the agitated pegasus technicians below. “See if you can find it and cut it.”
"Blackjack，可能有一个辅助通道。这个地方一定要有多余的空间,"ScotchTape简洁地说，她低头瞥了一眼下面焦躁不安的飞马技术人员。"看看你能不能找到并切断它。"
“Right,” I muttered, not having a clue of what it was I was looking for. Maybe a conduit with some sort of label saying ‘Back up cables, please don’t cut’ on it? I moved back along the balcony with Boo following close behind me. Some of the terminals had burned out over time, but others still flashed their obscure data and messages. I wondered just what they meant, but really, all the ‘MASTER - ES-1037C: 73%’ and ‘CBG1 CONNECTION LOST’ meant nothing to me.
"是的,"我喃喃自语，完全不知道我在找什么。也许是某种标签上写着'备用电缆，请不要切断'的导管？我沿着阳台往回走，阿布紧紧跟在我后面。一些终端已经烧毁了一段时间，但其他的仍然闪现他们晦涩的数据和信息。我想知道他们的意思，但真的，所有的"MASTER-ES-1037C:73%"和"CBG1连接丢失"对我来说毫无意义。
>EC-1101 acknowledgement required.
需要EC-1101确认通知书。
I paused and went back to the unassuming terminal with the tiny command up
我停顿了一下，拿着那个小小的命令回到了那个不起眼的终端
near the top of the screen. “No...” I glanced back at Boo, then at the terminal screen. My ‘things are going too smooth’ paranoia tripled. I pressed the enter key, not sure what would happen. The screen flashed, and more text appeared.
在屏幕顶部附近。"没有......"我回头看了一眼Boo，然后看了看终端屏幕。我的"事情进展得太顺利"的偏执狂增加了三倍。我按了回车键，不知道会发生什么。屏幕上出现了更多的文字。
>LNR PLC to NEST. Auth. 331-AJ762-RD997 Luna.
LnrPLC呼叫NEST。奥斯。331-AJ762-RD997Luna.
>EC-1101 activity detected.
检测到EC-1101活性。
LNR PLC acknowledgement request 9,999,881 / 10,000,000.
LnrPLC确认要求9,999,881/10,000,000。
EC-1101 acknowledgement required.
需要EC-1101确认通知书。
Project Horizons protocol pending.
地平线计划正在进行中。
I stared at the screen, but no matter what I typed, the same data scrolled. Dawn had said there was a fuse lit once EC-1101 was out of Stable 99. This ‘LNR PLC’ place was sending requests out to whoever could receive them, not realizing that Equestria had been destroyed. So what happened when it got to ten million? I suspected that whatever the LNR PLC was, that was where Horizons was too.
我盯着屏幕，但无论我输入什么，同样的数据都在滚动。道恩说过，一旦EC-1101离开Stable99，导火索就会点燃。这个"LNRPLC"的地方向任何能收到请求的人发送请求，却没有意识到Equestria已经被摧毁了。那么当它达到一千万的时候发生了什么？我怀疑不管LNRPLC是什么，Horizons也在那里。
Still, another dead end. I had no way of knowing how to acknowledge the request. Did I have to use my broadcaster? Transfer EC-1101 into the terminal? How did I do that? Did the terminal even work? I sighed and looked at Boo. “Another hint. Sometimes I think my life is just a string of hints I don’t qui--” Behind the pale mare was a row of five metal pipes with ‘Aux brdcast’ stenciled on them. “And really freaky coincidences, too...”
不过，又是一条死胡同。我没有办法知道如何答复这个请求。我必须使用我的播音员吗？将EC-1101转入终端？我是怎么做到的？航站楼还能用吗？我叹了口气，看着阿布。"另一个提示。有时候我觉得我的生活只是一连串我不知道的暗示——"苍白的母马后面是一排五根金属管，上面印着'Auxbrdcast'。"还有非常诡异的巧合......"
Boo blinked her pale eyes and cocked her head with a happy smile.
布眨了眨苍白的眼睛，抬起头，露出幸福的微笑。
I made two slices with the sword, cutting five disks out of the pipes and sending wire chaff all over the floor. If I set off an alarm, it couldn’t be heard over the one already sounding. I trotted back to Scotch Tape with a grin. “Cut the backups.”
我用剑切了两片，从管子里切出五张碟片，把金属箔片撒得满地都是。如果我触发了警报，它就不能被已经响起的警报所听到。我咧着嘴笑着小跑回到苏格兰胶带。"切掉备份。"
“You did?” Scotch Tape said in shock, then quickly smiled. “I mean, good job.”
"是吗?"苏格兰胶带震惊地说，然后迅速笑了。"我是说，干得不错。"
“Thanks,” I replied dryly, then looked at P-21. “Bomb ready?” He held up several bricks of explosive taped to a radio detonator. I floated it over and into the hole. There was a soft thud as it fell down a little ways before getting hung
"谢谢,"我干巴巴地回答，然后看了看P-21。"炸弹准备好了吗?"他举起绑在无线电引爆器上的几块炸药。我把它漂过来，放进洞里。在被吊起来之前，它掉了下来，发出了轻轻的砰的一声
up on something. “Okay...” And I accessed my broadcaster. I’d done this once by accident, but this time it should work.
在某个地方。"好吧......"我接通了我的播音员。我曾经不小心做过一次，但这次应该能成功。
“This is Security to all Enclave personnel,” I said calmly. “In five minutes, I’m going to free the hellhounds you’ve enslaved here. You can use that time trying to stop me, or you can clear out.” I paused, almost knowing for certain that he had to be listening. “Lighthooves. You know what I can do. Remember Minty? Get your people out of here.”
我平静地说:"这里是安全部门，所有飞地人员请注意。"。"五分钟后，我要解放你们奴役的地狱犬。你可以利用这段时间来阻止我，或者你可以离开。"我停顿了一下，几乎可以肯定地知道他一定在听。"轻舟号。你知道我能做什么。还记得Minty吗？让你的人离开这里。"
From the shouts below, I guessed that my message had been received. I could only hope that they’d follow my advice. If they didn’t... well, I’d given warning. “Let’s go. Quick,” I said, wanting to get out of here before they found us.
从下面的喊声中，我猜想我的信息已经收到了。我只能希望他们会听从我的建议。如果他们没有...我已经警告过他们了。"我们走吧。"快,"我说，想在他们发现我们之前离开这里。
Given that all those guards and hellhounds had probably headed towards the door we’d entered through, we needed to find another way out. As it was, all I could do was move through the halls as quickly as I could. Fortunately, there weren’t many red bars this way.
考虑到那些守卫和地狱犬可能已经朝我们进入的那扇门走去，我们需要找到另一条出路。事实上，我所能做的就是尽可能快地穿过大厅。幸运的是，这样的红条并不多。
Just a shimmering magic field. The blue wall stretched across the entire hallway we’d started down. I tapped it with a hoof, but it was solid as rock. My eyes checked the walls for a terminal to deactivate it, but there was nothing there except for a stenciling of a rainbow lightning bolt on the wall...
只是一个闪闪发光的魔法场。蓝色的墙一直延伸到我们出发的整个走廊。我用蹄敲了敲它，但它像石头一样坚固。我的眼睛扫视着墙壁，想找一个终端来关闭它，但那里什么也没有，除了墙上一道彩虹闪电的模板。
“Let... let me try,” Glory said as she stepped up to the field and touched it with a wing. The feather passed right through like it was water. She passed right through, and once she was on the far side, the magic field dropped, leaving a ring of deactivated gems. “Wow... it worked. Let’s go.” From her flustered appearance, she clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
"让......让我试试,"晨辉说，她走上前去，用翅膀拍了拍它。羽毛像水一样直接穿过。她直接穿过去了，一旦她到了远处，魔力场就消失了，留下一圈失去活性的宝石。"哇......成功了。我们走吧。"从她慌张的样子来看，她显然不想谈论这件事。
The hallway kept going up and down, and I had no idea if we were above the ground or beneath it when we emerged in an office overlooking a large warehouse space. A large section of the warehouse’s roof had been torn off, revealing the open sky. On the office’s wall I saw a map, pictures of pegasi wearing strange blue and yellow uniforms, photographs of the rainbow-maned flier sitting on a rock with other ponies and grinning while behind them a colossal factory burned. Another showed a burst dam, a third the building of one of the MASEBS towers.
走廊上上下下，我不知道我们是在地上还是地下，当我们走进一间可以俯瞰一个大仓库的办公室时。仓库的一大块屋顶被扯掉了，露出了开阔的天空。在办公室的墙上，我看到了一张地图，飞马座的照片上穿着奇怪的蓝黄相间的制服，彩虹般的飞行员和其他小马坐在一块岩石上，咧着嘴笑着，身后是一座被烧毁的巨大工厂。另一张照片显示了一个溃堤的水坝，第三张照片显示的是MASEBS大厦的其中一座建筑。
“This... this was Rainbow Dash’s office. Or one of them,” Glory breathed as she walked slowly around the space.
"这...这是彩虹·达什的办公室。或者是他们中的一个,"晨辉在太空中慢慢地走着，呼吸着。
“I always thought the Ministry of Awesome was the Ministry of Do Nothing,” Sunset said as she followed Glory.
"我一直以为了不起的事奉就是无为的事奉,"日落一边跟着晨辉一边说。
“Lots of ponies thought so. Rainbow Dash wanted to give that impression,” Glory replied as she looked at the terminal. “Plenty of folks wrote her off as the dumb athlete. But she knew how to organize weather teams and be a leader.”
"很多小马都这么认为。彩虹·达什想要给人那种印象,"晨辉一边回答一边看着航站楼。"很多人认为她是个愚蠢的运动员。但她知道如何组织气象队伍，如何成为领导者。"
“Till she abandoned her people. Besides, we don’t really know that this was Rainbow Dash’s office,” Sunset said as she looked around. “It seems pretty dumpy for a Ministry Mare.” And that was true. There were empty Sparkle-Cola and Buckweiser bottles on the desk and empty potato chip bags in the trash. Definitely not a place a Ministry Mare kept to impress others. This was a working space. I had no difficulty imagining Rainbow Dash in here coming up with new plans and schemes with her confederates.
"直到她抛弃了她的人民。此外，我们也不知道这是不是彩虹·达什的办公室。"。"对于一个牧师母马来说，这看起来太矮了。"这是真的。桌子上有空的闪亮可乐和巴克威瑟牌的瓶子，垃圾桶里有空的薯片袋。肯定不是一个地方，一个牧师母马保留给别人留下深刻印象。这是一个工作空间。我不难想象彩虹冲刺在这里提出新的计划和方案与她的同伙。
But there was one surefire way to know that this was Rainbow Dash’s office. It lay right beside a photograph of six young Ministry Mares in ragged and torn dresses with a dapper young dragon standing beside them, a mouth-scrawled note read ‘Best night ever!’ in the upper corner. It was a small figurine of a purple unicorn smiling brightly back at me, clean despite the dust that covered everything else. I lifted the Twilight figurine and turned it over to read the inscription. ‘Be Smart’.
但是有一个方法可以确定这就是彩虹·达什的办公室。它就放在一张照片的旁边，照片上六个年轻的马里斯穿着破旧的衣服，旁边站着一条衣冠楚楚的小龙，一张潦草的字条上写着"最棒的夜晚!"在上角。那是一个紫色独角兽的小雕像，它明亮地向我微笑着，尽管其他东西都被灰尘覆盖着，但是很干净。我拿起暮光之城的小雕像，翻过来看上面的题字。聪明点。
The pony gang was complete.
小马帮完成了。
“Folks. You might want to look at this,” P-21 said as he looked out the window, down into the warehouse. Holding the figurine, I trotted next to him and looked myself. The cavernous space held racks and racks filled with familiar, long, tapered shapes. Of course, these weren’t ablaze with blue fire.
"伙计们。你也许想看看这个,"P-21一边说着，一边望着窗外的仓库。我拿着小雕像，小跑着走到他身边，看着自己。洞穴状的空间里放着各种各样的货架和货架，上面摆满了我们熟悉的长长的锥形货架。当然，这些不是燃烧着蓝色的火焰。
Missiles. Zebra missiles. Dozens of them. Perhaps hundreds. In the center of the building, a sort of workshop had been set up where the large missiles were being disassembled, packed into the VC crates, and loaded into two Vertibucks.
导弹。斑马导弹。几十个。也许有几百个。在大楼的中央，一个类似工作间的地方，大型导弹被拆解，装进VC箱子里，装进两个眩晕鹿。
Suddenly, it all clicked into place. Lighthooves had his delivery system, targeting talismans to guide them, and plague to load them with. He really did have a weapon to kill thousands, potentially tens of thousands!
突然，一切都明朗起来了。轻型飞机有他的运载系统，以护身符为目标来引导他们，并给他们装载瘟疫。他真的有武器可以杀死成千上万人，甚至可能是成千上万人！
“We’ve got to--” I said as I turned towards Glory and Sunset... and then I froze as I turned to see only empty space beside me. I looked around in confusion, then spotted the door swinging closed on the side of the office. ‘Roof Access’.
"我们必须——"当我转向《晨辉》和《日落》时，我说道......然后当我转身看到身边只有一片空白时，我愣住了。我困惑地环顾四周，然后发现办公室的门关上了。屋顶通道。
Of course a pegasus would have access to the outside from her office. I ran as swiftly as I could for the door and spotted stairs going up through another ring of deactivated shield gems. I scrambled up the stairs and slammed the door open as I emerged onto the roof. Glory lay unconscious at Sunset’s hooves as her glistening stinger pried and ripped the blue mare’s gatling beam gun off her and tossed the wrecked weapon over the edge of the building. The mare looked at me as I emerged, and the stinger at the end of her tail popped off. Sunset plunged her tail stub into a storage compartment on her side and withdrew it with a new tip, this one crackling with arcane lightning. I raced at the pegasus as she crouched to pick up Glory.
飞马当然可以从她的办公室进出外面。我以最快的速度跑向门口，穿过另一圈已经失效的护盾宝石，爬上有斑点的楼梯。我爬上楼梯，出现在屋顶上时砰地一声把门打开。格洛里躺在日落的马蹄下，不省人事，她闪闪发光的刺刺，从她身上扯下蓝色母马的加特林机枪，把毁坏的武器扔到建筑物的边缘。当我出来的时候，母马看着我，尾巴末端的刺突然掉了下来。日落把她的尾巴残根扔进她身边的一个储藏室，然后用一个新的尖头把它取了出来，这个尖头上闪烁着神秘的闪电。我冲向飞马，她蹲下去接晨辉。
“No!” I screamed as I drew my gun and slipped into S.A.T.S., but Glory was now blocking my best targets. Instead, I aimed for Sunset’s wing, triggering the targeting spell as I charged. The shots bit into the armored covering but didn’t ground her. The power-armored pegasus launched herself into the air, carrying my love with her. “No! Glory!” I screamed at the skies, helpless to follow.
"不!"当我拔出枪溜进s.a.t.s时，我尖叫起来，但是晨辉挡住了我最好的目标。相反，我瞄准了日落的翅膀，在我充电的时候触发了瞄准咒语。子弹打中了她的装甲罩，但没有把她打倒在地。那位身穿强力装甲的飞马把自己抛向空中，携带着我对她的爱。"不！晨辉!"我对着天空尖叫，无助地跟着。
Then there was a flash in front of Sunset, and four alicorn hooves slammed into her. She coiled her tail around Glory as they tumbled back to the rooftop. “You shall not pass!” Lacunae thundered, her eyes blazing. Sunset flipped and landed atop the roof, facing me and holding Glory as a shield.
然后在日落前闪过一道光，四只独角兽的蹄子猛地撞上了她。当他们跌落到屋顶时，她把尾巴盘绕在晨辉身上。"你不能过去!"空隙如雷鸣，她的眼睛闪烁着光芒。日落翻转着落在屋顶上，面对着我，把晨辉当作盾牌。
The crackling blade came around, pressed at Glory’s throat. “Get back! I’m taking her with me!” Sunset shouted at me. “If she can get through those shields, she’s Rainbow Dash enough for us! Back! They’ll want her alive, but I’d be happy to rip out her throat and take a tissue sample instead.” Twister and Boomer flew in, and I swapped to my carbine.
劈啪作响的刀刃转过来，压在晨辉的喉咙上。"退后！我要带她一起走!"日落对我大声喊道。"如果她能穿过那些护盾，对我们来说，她就是彩虹冲刺了！退后！他们想让她活着，但我很乐意撕开她的喉咙，取一些组织样本。"托斯特和布玛尔飞了进来，我换上了卡宾枪。
“Sunset! What the hay do you think you’re doing?” Twister shouted as she flew towards us from the north with Boomer close behind. “This wasn’t the plan!”
"日落！你以为你在干什么?"图斯特喊道，她从北方向我们飞来，布玛儿紧随其后。"计划不是这样的!"
“Plan? There was a plan?!” I screamed as I kept my eyes locked on Sunset.
"计划？还有什么计划?!"我尖叫着，眼睛紧紧盯着日落。
“The Thunderheaders have missiles. Cruise missiles! If we can get into the S.P.P., then we can smack them right out of the air!” Sunset shouted. “We have orders to retrieve the Rainbow Dash copy. She can breach barriers, Twister! That’s all the proof we need! Take out that alicorn, and we can get out of here!” But Twister and Boomer weren’t firing just yet. “What are you waiting for?!” Sunset blurted. “We have our orders!”
"霹雳头有导弹。巡航导弹！如果我们能进入spp，那么我们就能把它们从空中打出去!"日落喊道。"我们接到命令要找回彩虹破折号的副本。她能突破障碍，扭扭乐！这就是我们需要的全部证据！干掉那个亚力克，我们就可以离开这里了!"但是图斯特和布玛儿还没有开火。"你还在等什么?!"日落脱口而出。"我们接到命令了!"
“Glory’s told me the Enclave aren’t a bunch of selfish assholes!” I shouted back, wondering if I could take the shot. A three-round armor piercing burst? Maybe.
"晨辉告诉我昂科雷不是一群自私的混蛋!"我也喊了回去，想知道我是否可以开枪。三发子弹穿透盔甲爆炸？也许吧。
“We have our orders!” Sunset yelled.
"我们接到命令了!"日落大声喊道。
“I’ve saved your life, Twister. Remember Yellow River?” I asked as I lined up my shot. Sunset was backing towards the edge of the roof. Behind us, I heard some low hellhound snarls. Clearly our yelling and gunshots were attracting attention.
"我救了你的命，扭扭乐。还记得黄河吗?"我一边排着镜头一边问道。日落后退到屋顶的边缘。在我们身后，我听到一些低沉的地狱犬的咆哮声。很明显我们的喊叫和枪声引起了注意。
“What’s your call, Sergeant?” Boomer asked, looking from Sunset to Lacunae.
"你的任务是什么，中士?"布默问道，眼睛从日落望向空隙。
Twister looked down at Sunset. “Now I know you want to do what’s right, Sunset. I do too. Yes, we have orders. It’s our job to carry them out, but not like this. Let Morning Glory go.” I felt a deep gush of appreciation for the mare for using Glory’s real name.
龙卷风低头看着日落。"现在我知道你想做正确的事，日落。我也是。是的，我们有命令。我们的工作就是执行它们，但不是像这样。让牵牛花走吧。"我深深地感激那匹母马使用了晨辉的真名。
Hellhounds climbed over the far edge of the roof and began to race towards us, their dragging claws shrieking on the metal surface. In a moment it became clear that they were aiming just for me and P-21; apparently pegasi were off their menu while under the helmets’ influence.
地狱犬爬过屋顶远处的边缘，开始向我们冲来，它们拖拽的爪子在金属表面上尖叫。不一会儿，很明显，他们的目标只是我和P-21;显然飞马座不在他们的菜单上，而是在头盔的影响下。
“Traitor!” Sunset screamed as she backed towards the edge.
"叛徒!"夕阳在她后退到边缘时尖叫起来。
“P-21! Fire!” I shouted. P-21’s hoof smacked the detonator in his tail. From the tall building with the dishes came the faint sound of a muffled explosion. The hellhounds stopped short of us, clutching their heads with screams. Then their claws curled in and crushed the helmets with a shrieking of metal. They tore the helmets off.
"P-21！开火!"我喊道。P-21的蹄子把引爆器砸在了尾巴上。从放着盘子的高楼里传来一阵微弱的爆炸声。地狱犬在我们身边突然停了下来，尖叫着捂着他们的头。然后它们的爪子蜷缩起来，发出金属的尖叫声，把头盔压扁了。他们把头盔扯下来。
“No...” Sunset murmured as she released Glory and turned to leap off the building. Two hellhounds who had been about to tear me to pieces instead turned and leapt after her. Their claws sank through her armor, and Sunset screamed as she was borne to the ground, claws ripping her armor and flesh to pieces. Two more hellhounds immediately began blasting into the air, forcing Twister and Boomer and Lacunae to evade their red blasts. Other hellhounds closed in to finish everypony not in power armor off.
"不......"日落喃喃地说着，她放开了晨辉，转身跳下了大楼。两只地狱犬本来想把我撕成碎片，结果却转身跳起来跟在她后面。它们的爪子穿透了她的盔甲，当日落被拖到地上时，她尖叫起来，爪子撕裂了她的盔甲和肉体。另外两个地狱之犬立即冲向空中，迫使Twister、Boomer和Lacunae躲避他们的红色爆炸。其他地狱犬包围了，结束了每一匹没有关闭动力装甲的小马。
“Gnarr sent me!” I yelled as two leapt upon me. One grabbed my throat and pulled back his hand to rip my head off in one swing. “Gnarr sent me to free
"纳尔派我来的!"两个人跳到我身上时，我大叫起来。其中一个抓住我的喉咙，拉回他的手，在一次挥击中撕裂了我的头。"纳尔把我送到自由之地
you!”
你!"
The hand paused. Fierce, cunning eyes stared into mine with a palpable hatred. Then the hand around my neck released. “Leave,” was all the hellhound said. Then, with a howl, the hellhounds left the rooftop. With a whoosh, the Vertibucks lifted out of the hole in the roof and made for the skies. One had a hellhound clinging to its side and struggling to rip its way to the pegasus fliers.
手停了下来。凶狠狡猾的眼睛带着明显的仇恨盯着我。然后我脖子上的手松开了。"离开,"地狱犬只说了这么一句。然后，伴随着一声嚎叫，地狱犬离开了屋顶。伴随着嗖的一声，眩晕鹿从屋顶的洞里升了起来，飞向天空。有一只地狱犬紧贴着它的身体，挣扎着撕开飞马座的飞行器。
I checked to make sure Glory was okay; she was unconscious, but alive. I didn’t look at Twister and Boomer as I said, “You should get out of here too. Tell your superiors that Lighthooves plans on using missiles to deliver his bioweapon.”
我检查了一下晨辉是否还好;她昏迷了，但还活着。我没有像我说的那样看着Twister和Boomer,"你们也应该离开这里。告诉你的上级，lighthoves计划使用导弹运送他的生化武器。"
“Blackjack,” Twister began. “What about Glory?”
"黑杰克,"龙卷风开始了。"晨辉怎么办?"
“That’s up to you,” I said quietly. “Rainbow Dash was Twilight’s loyalest friend. Twilight always knew that Rainbow Dash would do what was right, eventually. I guess it’s up to you to decide who your loyalty is to.” I slipped the Twilight figurine into the saddlebag that held the others.
"这取决于你,"我平静地说。"彩虹·达什是暮光之城最忠诚的朋友。暮光之城一直都知道彩虹·达什最终会做出正确的选择。我想，你应该自己决定对谁忠诚。"我把暮光之城的雕像塞进了装着其他人的马鞍包里。
The two looked at each other and then took off, flying southwest. I could only assume they’d find their way.
两个人互相看了看，然后就飞走了，向西南飞去。我只能假设他们会找到出路。
I cradled Glory as I looked to Lacunae. “Take us out of here.”
我怀抱着晨辉，望着空隙。"带我们离开这里。"
* * *
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, we were reunited with Deus and Rampage and riding the tank away from the base. Rampage had a novel counter to the anesthetic that had incapacitated Glory. The shot of Dash that Rampage administered had Glory awake and practically bouncing on her hooves. “Right! Rematch! Next time I’m going to take them all down! Ten seconds flat!” she said as she punched the air with her hooves, snorting.
十五分钟后，我们和天王、疯狂骑着坦克离开了基地。狂暴有一个新奇的对抗麻醉剂，使晨辉无能为力。达什的镜头，狂暴管理的晨辉醒来，实际上反弹在她的蹄子。"对！重赛！下次我要把他们都干掉！整整十秒!"她一边说，一边用蹄子猛击空气，喷着鼻息。
“I like this Glory. She’s goofy,” Scotch giggled.
"我喜欢这份晨辉。她是个傻瓜,"苏格兰人咯咯地笑。
“Wait till the Dash wears off,” I countered, hoping we wouldn’t have another addiction to worry about when she crashed. I then filled Rampage in on everything that happened while we were gone.
"等到仪表盘的作用消失,"我反驳道，希望在她坠机时，我们不会再有另一种上瘾的担心。然后我把我们不在的时候发生的所有事情都告诉了狂暴。
The striped mare listened to the story of our infiltration, muttering sourly, “Wow.
那匹有斑纹的母马听着我们渗透的故事，酸溜溜地咕哝着:"哇。
You have all the luck. In. Out. Killed a traitor. Freed a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters. I should have gone with you. We’ve just been leading hellhounds around in circles!” Deus rumbled his engine in reply.
你运气真好。在。出去。杀了一个叛徒。解救了一群嗜血的怪物。我应该和你一起去的。我们一直在带着地狱犬兜圈子!"天王轰隆隆地发动引擎回答。
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to make a habit of it. Hope Rover’s happy,” I said as I rubbed my throat. “Hellhounds and sand dogs aren’t even close to each other. I’ll take cyberdogs over radioactive hounds any time.”
"好吧，我不想养成习惯。"希望罗孚很高兴,"我揉着喉咙说。"地狱犬和沙地犬根本不亲近。任何时候我都会选择电子狗，而不是放射性猎犬。"
“Blackjack!” P-21 called out, pointing into the still-lingering mist.
"黑杰克!"P-21大声喊道，指着仍在徘徊的薄雾。
I looked up and spotted the blue bars... lots of blue bars. Dozens. Hundreds maybe. Out of the fog emerged figures walking in perfect unison, covered from head to hoof in black zebra combat armor. Every step was simultaneous and deliberate. A frisson ran through me at the sight of the black-armored horde of zebras; the Brood of Coyotl were a silent, ominous lot. Behind them were regular zebras, the snipers and hoof-fighters I was more familiar with, dressed in a variety of barding and weaponry, some wearing mistcloaks and some garbed in patched-up combat armor. They formed a ring around us.
我抬起头，发现了那些蓝色的条纹......很多蓝色的条纹。几十个。可能有几百个。雾气中出现了身影，步调一致，从头到脚都穿着黑色斑马战斗盔甲。每一步都是同时进行的，是经过深思熟虑的。看到一群穿着黑盔甲的斑马，我浑身颤抖;科约特河谷的居民是一群沉默的、不祥的家伙。在他们身后是普通的斑马，我更熟悉的狙击手和马蹄战士，穿着各种军装和武器，有些穿着斗篷，有些穿着修补过的战斗盔甲。他们在我们周围形成了一个圈。
Glory popped into the air. “Let me at ‘em! I’ll take them all down!” I grabbed her tail with my magic and gave a firm yank to plant her butt back on the tank. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” she protested.
空气中突然弥漫着晨辉的气息。"让我对付他们！我要把他们都干掉!"我用魔法抓住了她的尾巴，猛拉了一下，把她的屁股重新放回了坦克上。"嘿！你以为你在干什么?"她抗议道。
“Hush and let the non-drugged ponies talk,” I said as I looked around for him.
"嘘，让没有服药的小马说话,"我边说边环顾四周寻找他。
“Lancer?” I called out.
"枪骑兵?"我大声喊道。
“Maiden,” he replied as the zebras parted and the silent stallion advanced.
"少女,"他回答说，这时斑马分开了，沉默的种马向前走去。
“Well, is this the point of your sudden yet inevitable betrayal?” I asked dryly, tapping the turret with my hoof with a reassuringly solid clang. “Because while you got an army, I got a tank.”
"好吧，这就是你突然而又不可避免的背叛的原因吗?"我干巴巴地问道，蹄子敲打着塔楼，发出一声响亮的铿锵声。"因为你有军队，我有坦克"
“Maiden, didn’t I tell you that your death wouldn’t be at my hooves? Your demise has been decreed to be carried out by Legate Vitiosus himself. I would not kill you, even if I had the opportunity,” Lancer said with a calm smile as he stood out in front of us. I didn’t point out how willing he’d been to threaten to kill me when he’d had guns pointed at him.
""姑娘，我不是告诉过你，你不会死在我的蹄子上吗？你的死亡已经被命令由维蒂奥苏斯大使本人执行。即使有机会，我也不会杀你,"兰瑟站在我们面前，面带平静的微笑说。我没有指出，当他被枪指着时，他是多么愿意威胁要杀了我。
“So...” I frowned as I watched the black-armored zebras slowly back away as one. They weren’t moving as if to simply let us leave, however. One red bar
"那么......"我皱着眉头看着斑马慢慢地像一只斑马一样后退。然而，他们并不是简单地让我们离开。一根红棒
appeared on my E.F.S. “Oh no...”
出现在我的e.f.s."哦，不..."
A gap appeared ahead of us, and a lone figure slowly advanced through the mist. The zebra stallion moved with a slow gait that conveyed terrible power and grace all at once. His head was concealed by a dragon skull carved with strange glyphs. His powerful body bore innumerable scars across its surface, including a horrible Y-shaped injury across his chest. More carved dragonbone armor formed spikes at his hips and flank, strapped in place, and tattered glyph-marked cloths tied around his fetlocks snapped in the breeze; apart from that, he wore no barding. He carried no weapons that I could see, but for all I knew he could kick through steel.
我们前面出现了一个缺口，一个孤零零的身影在薄雾中慢慢前进。斑马以一种缓慢的步态移动，一下子表现出可怕的力量和优雅。他的头被一个刻有奇怪符号的龙头盖骨遮住了。他强壮的身体表面有无数的伤疤，包括胸部一个可怕的y形伤口。更多雕刻的龙骨盔甲在他的臀部和侧腹处形成钉状物，固定在适当的位置，系在他脚镣上的破烂的带有雕刻字符的衣服在微风中啪啪作响;除此之外，他没有任何抵抗。我能看见他身上没带武器，但据我所知，他可以踢穿钢铁。
Lancer trotted around the edge of the circle of zebras to join the Legate, kneeling beside him. “Legate Vitiosus, may I present for you the Maiden of the Stars, Blackjack.” He then smiled at me and said, “Maiden, be honored. This is the Legate of the fallen Caesar’s will. The stallion that exercises the last Remnant of the Imperial army.”
兰瑟小跑着绕过斑马圈子的边缘，加入特使，跪在他身边。"维蒂奥苏斯大使，请允许我向您介绍星际少女，黑杰克。"然后他微笑着对我说:"少女，荣幸之至。这是堕落的凯撒的遗嘱。这匹种马执行着帝国军队的最后的遗迹。"
“Enough, my Lancer,” the Legate said in a low, deep voice. “This is not the time or place I wished for this battle. I hoped to break the Maiden upon the smoldering, melted remains of their cursed city. You have forced this confrontation prematurely, my Lancer.”
"够了，我的枪骑兵,"使节低沉地说。"这不是我希望这场战斗发生的时间和地点。我希望用他们那座被诅咒的城市的熔化的残骸砸碎这位少女。你逼得太早了，我的枪骑兵。"
Lancer stared as if struck. “F... Legate. It may be early, but she is here! You are here! Let the champion of the stars be felled by your hoof!” He paused, then added, “I know we were unable to retrieve the Talisman of the Eternal Warrior...”
兰瑟目瞪口呆，好像被击中了似的。"f..女名女子名。也许时间还早，但她已经来了！你在这里！让星星的冠军被你的蹄子踢倒吧!"他停顿了一下，然后补充道:"我知道我们无法找回永恒战士的护身符......"
“Indeed. You have failed to do a great many things. You were unable to slay my treacherous mate, you failed to retrieve the bones of the stars, and the talisman escaped you. Now you force this premature confrontation,” the Legate boomed as he stared at me atop Deus. “At times I think your certainty that she is the Maiden is simply a way to cover your own failings.”
"的确。你失败了许多事情。你没能杀死我背信弃义的伙伴，你没能找回星星的骨头，你的护身符逃脱了。"现在你迫使我们进行这场不成熟的对抗,"特使在天王山顶上盯着我发出低沉的声音。"有时候，我认为你确信她是少女，只是为了掩饰你自己的缺点。"
“I’m not,” I replied as I looked down at him. “I don’t have an argument with you, Legate. We simply want to go.”
"我没有,"我低头看着他，回答道。"我跟你没什么好争的，莱盖特。我们只是想去。"
He regarded me for a long moment. “You seek to save the people of this cursed land?” he asked, gesturing towards the Core with a sweep of his hoof.
他注视了我好一会儿。"你想拯救这片被诅咒的土地上的人民吗?"他问道，一边用蹄子扫了一下地核。
“I do,” I replied.
"我知道,"我回答。
“Why?” he asked in return.
"为什么?"他反问道。
“Legate, I beg you. Do not speak with--” Lancer began, but with one baleful look from the Legate he fell silent, chewing on his unspoken words.
"莱盖特，我求你了。"兰瑟开始说话，但使节恶狠狠地看了他一眼，他沉默下来，咀嚼着自己没有说出口的话。
I considered the question, not expecting it. “Because... because I can fight. Because others need me to fight for them. If I have the ability, then I should use it. Security protects ponies.”
我考虑了一下这个问题，没有想到会这样。"因为......因为我可以战斗。因为其他人需要我为他们而战。如果我有这个能力，那么我就应该利用它。安全保护小马。"
“But who are these ponies you protect?” he asked calmly, reasonably. “Murderers. Rapists. Thieves. Slavers. The craven, the callow, and the cruel. You yourself have seen how this place corrupts, twists, and violates all within it. This land attracts the sinful and wicked. Are they deserving of your service? Are they worth your pain?”
"但是你保护的这些小马是谁呢?"他平静而理智地问道。"杀人犯。强奸犯。小偷。奴隶贩子。懦弱的，乳臭未干的，残忍的。你自己也看到了这个地方是如何腐化、扭曲和违背其中的一切的。这片土地吸引罪恶和邪恶的人。他们配得上你的服务吗？他们值得你付出痛苦吗?"
Closing my eyes, I could easily imagine who he was talking about. Clink. Sanguine. The Overmare. Dawn. Even the Reapers, the Flash Fillies, the Burner Boys, the Halfhearts... the Enclave. “Maybe not. I have to admit, there’re a lot of bad ponies in this place,” I replied quietly. I could feel all eyes upon me, and not just those of my friends. I imagined Priest watching me. Roses and Thorn. Dusty Trails. Snips. Lemongrass. Marmalade. Mother... “But even if there are bad people here, there are good ones, too.” I could see Charity and Bottlecap. Rover. Cynical Triage. Keeper. The ghouls of Meatlocker and the fillies of Chapel and the ponies of Riverside and Megamart... And I smiled as I looked down at the Legate. “Maybe it’s not about being good and bad, Legate. Maybe it’s about trying harder to do better, to be better people. And so long as there are people here trying to do that, I’ll give them all the protection I can. Security saves ponies,” I finished simply.
闭上眼睛，我很容易就能想象出他说的是谁。克林克。血红色。海上母马。黎明。即使是收割者，闪电飞鱼，燃烧男孩，半心...飞地。"也许不是。我不得不承认，这个地方有很多坏马,"我平静地回答。我能感觉到所有人的目光都在注视着我，不仅仅是我的朋友们。我想象着牧师在看着我。玫瑰与荆棘。尘土飞扬的小径。小剪刀。柠檬草。女名女子名。母亲..."但即使这里有坏人，也有好人。"我可以看到Charity和Bottlecap。漫游者。愤世嫉俗的分流。管理员。肉食者的食尸鬼，教堂的小姑娘，河边的小马和超级马......我微笑着低头看着莱盖特。"也许这不是好坏的问题，莱盖特。也许是为了更努力地做得更好，成为更好的人。只要这里还有人想这么做，我就会尽我所能保护他们。"安全保障拯救小马,"我简单地说完。
The Legate looked up and me and smiled. “Then we are enemies, whether you are the Maiden or not. It is my solemn duty since I assumed command of the Remnant to execute the Caesar’s final orders and destroy this vile place and all who live here.” He took a few steps forward. “It appears, Maiden, that we are at an impasse. It is unfortunate that I cannot break you when you are at the peak of your destiny.”
特使抬起头来，我笑了。""那么不管你是不是少女，我们都是敌人。这是我庄严的职责，因为我接管例外人的命令，执行凯撒的最后命令，摧毁这个邪恶的地方和所有居住在这里的人。"他向前走了几步。"看来，少女，我们陷入了僵局。很不幸，我不能在你的命运达到顶峰时击垮你。"
“Shucks. Too bad for me, then.” I sighed and sat down on the turret top, frustrated that we couldn’t come to some sort of arrangement that didn’t involve
"哎呀。那对我来说太糟糕了。"我叹了口气，在炮塔上坐了下来，沮丧的是，我们不能达成某种不涉及的安排
fighting. “So. Is this something that’s just between me and you, or can my friends help?”
战斗。"所以。这是你我之间的秘密吗，还是我的朋友们可以帮忙?"
He just smiled, and from around the ring came an ominous clatter of dozens of weapons being readied simultaneously. “Certainly, if you wish my friends to participate also.”
他只是笑了笑，从拳击台周围传来几十件武器同时准备好的不祥的咔嗒声。"当然可以，如果你希望我的朋友也参加的话。"
That wiped the smile from my face. “Um… I got a tank on my side,” I reminded him. Deus revved his engine in agreement.
那抹去了我脸上的笑容。"嗯......我身边有一辆坦克,"我提醒他。上帝同意地发动了引擎。
This fact didn’t seem to perturb the Legate in the slightest. “You do. And perhaps that alone would be enough to win. But you have many friends as well. Loved ones. Children. Can you live with them dying on your behalf? Will you so eagerly slaughter dozens to win?” The calm certainty of his smile chilled me.
这个事实似乎丝毫没有使使节感到不安。"你知道。也许仅凭这一点就足以取得胜利。但是你也有很多朋友。所爱的人。孩子们。你能忍受他们为你而死吗？你会如此热切地屠杀几十人来取胜吗?"他那平静而坚定的微笑使我心寒。
“You’re pretty confident. What if I win?” I countered with a frown.
"你非常自信。如果我赢了呢?"我皱着眉头反驳道。
“Then the Remnant will withdraw until a new Legate is chosen. Perhaps that will not happen for years. Perhaps it will never happen,” he countered with sublime confidence that it would not need to happen at all. “Is it not better this way? Had your Princess, or your predecessor, faced the Caesar in fair combat, the war may never have happened. With one duel, you may end a threat to this wicked place forever.”
"那么残余势力会撤退，直到选出新的使节。也许这种情况几年内都不会发生。也许这永远不会发生,"他以崇高的信心反击，认为这根本不需要发生。"这样不是更好吗？如果你的公主，或你的前任，在公平的战斗中面对凯撒，战争可能永远不会发生。只要一场决斗，你就可以永远结束对这个邪恶地方的威胁。"
Oh, that was tempting. He knew exactly how to push my buttons. I glanced at all my friends and hopped off Deus. “Give us a chance to talk it over?” I asked. The Legate nodded his skull-helmed head while Lancer stared on in shock, his mouth moving in feeble disbelief. We pulled into a tight circle.
真是诱人。他完全知道如何激怒我。我瞥了一眼我所有的朋友，然后离开了天王。"给我们一个机会好好谈谈吗?"我问道。特使点点头，他的头颅头盔，而兰瑟注视着在震惊，他的嘴在无力的怀疑移动。我们紧紧地围成一个圈。
“Don’t even think about it,” P-21 warned me quietly.
"想都别想,"P-21轻声警告我。
“I can take ‘em all on!” Glory said with a snap of her tail.
"我可以打败他们!"晨辉甩了甩尾巴说。
“I’d pay to see that,” Rampage laughed with a nod to Glory. “We need to dose her on Dash more often.”
"我愿意花钱去看看,"狂暴笑着向晨辉点头致意。"我们需要经常给她用Dash。"
“No,” I replied. Rampage arched a brow, and I amended, “No to the Dash. No to fighting all of them. I don’t want to risk all of you against him.”
"没有,"我回答。狂暴的暴怒皱起眉头，我修正道:"不要冲。拒绝与他们所有人战斗。我不想让你们所有人都冒险反对他。"
P-21 rolled his eyes, “And what makes you think we want to risk you against
P-21翻了翻白眼:"你凭什么认为我们愿意让你冒险
him on your own?”
就你一个人?"
“I’m not going to sit by and watch you fight some... some... spooky zebra!” Glory said with a snort.
"我不会坐在一边看着你和一些......一些......幽灵般的斑马搏斗!"晨辉哼了一声说。
“I don’t want to fight him at all,” I said as I glanced over at the Legate. “And oddly, I don’t think he wants to fight me, either. Something about this feels...
"我一点也不想和他打,"我说着瞥了一眼特使。"奇怪的是，我认为他也不想和我打架。这让我觉得..。
wrong. So as soon as Deus and the rest of you are clear, I want Lacunae to find the nearest radiation crater, suck up the rads, and come yank me out if things go bad.” With luck, he’d be just another zebra... but I doubted it.
错。所以只要天王和你们其他人安全了，我要拉库尼找到最近的辐射坑，吸收辐射强度，如果情况不妙就把我拉出来。"如果幸运的话，他只是另一只斑马......但是我怀疑。
“What if we want to fight anyway?” Rampage said with a scowl, and Deus rumbled in agreement. “We don’t have to just walk away ‘cause you say so.”
"如果我们无论如何都要战斗呢?"狂暴皱着眉头说，天王皱着眉头表示同意。"我们不必因为你这么说就一走了之。"
I sighed and closed my eyes. “Rampage, please leave this to me.” Then I smiled to her. “Trust me. If I can beat him here and now, then the Remnant won’t be a problem. He’s right about that. I’d rather not fight another war.”
我叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"横冲直撞，请把这件事交给我。"然后我对她微笑。"相信我。如果我现在能在这里打败他，那么剩下的人就不是问题了。他说得对。我宁愿不再打另一场战争。"
She screwed up her face, grimaced as if she had a bad case of indigestion, and finally slumped. “I don’t like this, Blackjack. This guy... he feels familiar. In a bad way. A part of me just... just... knows him!” she said with a frustrated scowl, then added, “And I know he’s bad fucking news.”
她皱起眉头，做了个鬼脸，好像严重消化不良似的，最后瘫倒在地。"我不喜欢这样，Blackjack。这家伙...感觉很眼熟。在一个坏的方面。一部分的我只是...只是...认识他!"她沮丧地皱着眉头说，然后又补充说,"我知道他是个坏消息。"
I knew what she meant. Something about the way he talked, even the way he moved, nagged at me. I turned back to him. “I want your soldiers to pull back. My friends will do the same. Then we can have your duel... till one of us surrenders or is killed. Agreed?”
我知道她的意思。他说话的方式，甚至他走路的方式，总是让我烦恼。我转向他。"我要你的士兵撤退。我的朋友们也会这么做。然后我们可以进行你的决斗......直到我们中的一个投降或者被杀。同意吗?"
“Your terms are acceptable,” he replied casually. “You may use whatever weapons you have at your disposal.”
"你的条件可以接受,"他漫不经心地回答。"你可以使用任何你可以使用的武器。"
“No, Legate! She must be slain here and now,” Lancer begged as the zebra horde pulled away.
"不，莱盖特！她现在必须在这里被杀死,"当斑马部落离开时，兰瑟央求道。
“Silence,” the Legate countered, not taking his eyes off me. “You forced this confrontation prematurely. Do not say another word to me.” Glory, still muttering about how she could take them all on, gave me a firm hug and a promise that if I started losing, she’d be there in ten seconds flat. With that, the tank rolled further north with my friends, and the striped horde moved off to the east. I spotted a half dozen or so hellhounds watching from the southwest
"安静,"特使反驳道，目不转睛地盯着我。"你过早地强迫了这场对抗。不要再对我说一个字。"晨辉，还在喃喃自语她怎么能把他们都打败，给了我一个坚定的拥抱，并承诺如果我开始输球，她会在10秒钟内赶到。就这样，坦克和我的朋友们一起向北推进，斑纹部落向东行进。我发现有六个左右的地狱犬从西南方向监视着我
through glinting binoculars. Were they going to interfere, or were they placing bets?
通过闪烁的双筒望远镜。他们是打算干预，还是在下注？
I wondered what the odds they were laying on me were.
我不知道他们给我的赔率是多少。
I levitated the starmetal sword and Vigilance before me; the only weapons he might have had were those wind-blown pieces of cloth tied to his legs, and I wasn’t sure how effective those could be. As we began slowly circling each other, the Hoofington rain decided to start right there, hissing on the rock and dripping along my metal and his bone. I just had to beat him. Not even kill him. I could do this. I could! We trotted around each other, feeling as if we were building energy and any momen--
我把那把星形剑和警惕在我面前悬浮起来，他可能拥有的唯一武器就是绑在他腿上的那些被风吹起来的布片，我不知道这些武器能有多大作用。当我们开始慢慢地绕着彼此转圈时，Hoofington的雨决定从那里开始，滴在岩石上嘶嘶作响，顺着我的金属和他的骨头滴落下来。我必须打败他。甚至不杀他。我可以这么做。我可以！我们绕着对方小跑，感觉好像我们在积蓄能量，随时随地——
And like that he turned and darted in with a speed that almost took me by complete surprise. He leapt over my swing in a somersault and smashed his outstretched hooves against my skull, rattling my focus. He landed in front of me and launched into a backwards flip that crashed his hindhooves against my jaw. I fired wildly as I staggered back, but he landed on his back legs and in a half dozen steps arched around to my left, jumped in a spin, and bashed the side of my head again with an outstretched rear hoof. The force of the blow almost put me on my backside as he landed in a crouch and twisted to arrest his momentum in that direction. A second later, he reversed the movement of his upper body, and like a snapping spring rammed his hoof against the opposite side of my head, knocking me flat on my back on the ground.
就这样，他转过身来，以一种几乎让我大吃一惊的速度冲了进去。他翻了一个跟头，从我的秋千上跳了过去，用他那张开的蹄子猛撞我的头骨，把我的注意力弄得乱七八糟。他落在我前面，向后翻了个身，后蹄撞在我的下巴上。我摇摇晃晃地向后退去，猛地开了一枪，但是他的后腿着地，在我左边弓起了六个台阶，转了一圈，又用后蹄猛击我的头部。打击的力量几乎把我的背部，因为他落在一个蹲伏和扭曲，以阻止他的势头在那个方向。一秒钟后，他扭转了上半身的动作，像弹簧一样把他的蹄子撞到我头的另一边，把我的背撞在地上。
All that in ten seconds...
这一切都发生在10秒钟之内..。
My E.F.S. warned me that my head couldn’t take a series of blows like that again, but that was exactly what the Legate was continuing to target. He sprang like Rampage high into the air, flipping and bringing his rear hoof down in a finishing blow aimed at my skull. I brought up my forelegs, and his hoof clanged loudly against them. The sword flashed through the rain to sever the hoof pressed against my forelimbs, but he kicked off my legs before the edge connected. Rolling back upright, mud streaking along my hide, I dropped into S.A.T.S. and queued up five shots.
我的e.f.s警告我，我的头不能再承受一系列这样的打击，但这正是特使继续攻击的目标。他像狂暴一样跳了起来，跳起来，用后蹄向下猛击我的头骨。我抬起我的前腿，他的蹄子大声地撞在上面。剑在雨中闪闪发光，切断了我前肢上的蹄子，但是他在连接剑刃之前踢掉了我的腿。我挺直腰板，泥浆沿着我的隐蔽处飞奔而去，进入了S.A.T.S.，排队等候了5发子弹。
To my amazement, the targeting spell estimated only a forty percent chance of hitting! I triggered the spell anyway, but as soon as I did I could see why the chance was so low. Everything moved at a crawl except for him! Three rounds
令我惊讶的是，目标定位咒语估计只有百分之四十的机会击中！无论如何，我触发了这个咒语，但是一旦我这么做了，我就明白了为什么机会如此之低。除了他，一切都在缓慢地移动！三发子弹
bit into his striped hide, but they were spread out and not near any of the vitals I’d aimed at. The shots didn’t even seem as effective as they should have been, given he wore no barding in those areas. His tough hide just fought the impacts, leaving small bloody holes rather than gaping wounds.
咬进了他的条纹皮，但他们分散开来，没有接近任何我瞄准的要害部位。考虑到他在那些地区没有穿任何防护服，这些射击看起来甚至没有达到应有的效果。他那坚硬的皮肤刚刚抵抗住了冲击，留下的只是血淋淋的小洞而不是张开的伤口。
Not good.
情况不妙。
I rose and lifted my hooves to block further attacks to my head, but the Legate had feinted. Once again on his hind legs, he moved along the left side of my body in a single revolution and slammed both forehooves into my ribs with enough force to drive me back down to my knees. Then he snapped another forward flip that brought his rear hoof slamming right on my spine. Had I not been augmented, he probably would have snapped my back.
我站起来，举起我的蹄子，以阻止进一步攻击我的头部，但特使已虚晃一招。它又一次用后腿在我身体的左侧移动，一次旋转，前蹄撞击我的肋骨，力量足以把我推回膝盖。然后他猛地向前翻了一个筋斗，他的后蹄正好撞到了我的脊椎。如果我没有被增强，他可能会折断我的后背。
“Rampage says if you don’t start moving, it’s over,” Lacunae said tersely in my head. “I can also try to shoot him from here if you can stop his motion.”
"狂暴说，如果你不开始行动，一切都结束了,"拉库纳在我的脑海里简洁地说。"如果你能阻止他的动作，我也可以试着从这里射击他。"
“No. If the zebras see you aiming, it’ll be a bloodbath,” I countered. Rampage’s comment was a fair point, though, and I ignored the throbbing pain and heaved myself into motion, charging him. He was faster than me and had to be as tough as me. I doubted he was as heavy as me, though. Spraying muddy water everywhere, I closed in on him. I knew he’d try and dodge, and he did, jumping to the left. I reached out with my magic to grab his hoof and...
"没有。如果斑马看到你瞄准，那将是一场大屠杀,"我反驳道。然而，狂暴的评论是一个合理的观点，我忽略了悸动的疼痛，强迫自己动起来，冲向他。他比我跑得快，而且必须和我一样强硬。不过我怀疑他和我一样重。把浑水喷得到处都是，我靠近了他。我知道他会试图闪避，他做到了，跳到了左边。我用魔法抓住他的蹄子..。
Nothing! It was like his striped body was coated in an oil that just slipped right out of my magic. He darted in with another forward-flipping kick to my head, as before, but I lunged aside and took the blow on my shoulder. My forehooves reached up and locked around his outstretched rear leg, and then my horn flashed and fired magic bullets into him; like my telekinesis, though, the magic was reduced far below what it should have been. Using the trapped limb as leverage, he twisted around in front of me, drew back his other hoof, and kicked me square in the horn. The stab of pain almost broke my focus, and my planned swing with the sword to sever his trapped leg missed and bit deep into my own right foreleg.
没什么！就好像他有条纹的身体被涂上了一层从我的魔法中滑落的油。和以前一样，他又向我的头部飞踢了一脚，但我突然躲到一边，肩膀挨了一拳。我的前蹄伸了出来，锁住了他伸出的后腿，然后我的角闪了一下，向他发射了魔法子弹;就像我的心灵遥感一样，魔法远远低于它应有的水平。他利用被困的肢体作为杠杆，在我面前扭来扭去，收回他的另一只蹄子，用四角踢了我一脚。疼痛的刺痛几乎打断了我的注意力，我计划的挥剑切断他被困住的腿的动作没有击中，深深地咬进了我自己的右前腿。
As smooth as a greased gun slide, he kicked until I lost my grip, then pulled free. I didn’t stay put and let him simply spin kick me yet again, though, instead backing away and blocking the attack. Perhaps I could wear him down...
他像滑油枪一样滑动，一直踢，直到我失去抓地力，然后挣脱了。我没有呆在原地，而是让他再次旋转踢我，而是后退，挡住了我的进攻。也许我可以说服他..。
Then I saw that the holes I’d punched in his side were closing before my eyes!
然后我看到我在他身上打的洞在我眼前正在闭合！
“Oh come on! You’re ridiculously fast, strong, partially bulletproof, magic resistant, and regenerating?!” I protested, pointing my sword at him. “How?!”
"哦，得了吧！你的速度快得可笑，强壮，部分防弹，抗魔法，还能再生?!"我抗议着，用我的剑指着他。"怎么做?!"
“You are hardly one to complain about unnatural abilities,” he countered, gesturing with a muddy hoof at my synthetic limbs. “You profaned your body with metal and machines to gain your strength, violating your very essence.” He smiled, and Celestia damn me if the bastard didn’t flex his powerful muscles and send half the zebra mares behind the Brood of Coyotl whooping!
"你很难抱怨不自然的能力,"他反驳道，用一只泥泞的蹄子指着我合成的四肢。"你用金属和机器玷污自己的身体以获得力量，侵犯了自己的本质。"他微笑着说，如果这个混蛋没有伸展他强有力的肌肉，没有让一半的斑马母马在考约特村后面欢呼的话，塞莱斯蒂亚就要诅咒我了！
Still, he was giving me an opening and a breather... which was a little baffling, since he was supposed to be finishing me off. As I rose back to my hooves, he continued, “Whereas I have augmented my body with sanctified alchemy and sorcery that only the zebras possess. The fury of the spirits, the might of dragons. The ferocity of griffins. The power of things... beyond your grasp.” He posed like a magnificent striped god before his followers.
尽管如此，他还是给了我一个机会和一个喘息的机会......这有点令人困惑，因为他本应该把我干掉的。当我重新站起来时，他继续说道,"而我已经用神圣的炼金术和只有斑马才有的魔法增强了我的身体。精灵的愤怒，龙的威力。狮鹫的凶猛。事物的力量...超出你的掌控。"他在他的追随者面前摆出一副华丽的有条纹的神的姿势。
If he’d been a little more reckless, I’d have thought him a braggart, but he never took his eyes off me and gave me an opening to knock him out. Either he possessed scary confidence in his abilities, or something was going on here. “Well... great! Good to know. So we’re going to be locked in an eternal struggle here, then?” I countered sarcastically, at the same time thinking frantically to try and figure out what he could be up to.
如果他再鲁莽一点，我会认为他是个吹牛大王，但是他的眼睛从来没有离开过我，给了我一个机会把他打晕。要么是他对自己的能力有着惊人的自信，要么就是这里发生了什么事。"嗯......太好了！很高兴知道。那么，我们将在这里陷入一场永恒的斗争，是吗?"我讽刺地反驳，同时疯狂地思考，试图弄清楚他可能在做什么。
“No. Simply until your power reserves are drained,” he replied casually. “I shall not tire, and my body shall not fail. Yours, however...” He trailed off as his smile widened.
"没有。直到你的能量储备耗尽,"他漫不经心地回答。"我不会疲倦，我的身体也不会衰弱。然而，你的......"他的微笑越来越大，声音也越来越小。
Crap. I queried my available power in my E.F.S.… and the moment my attention moved off him, he was on me. One of his rear legs swung low to the ground in a powerful circle and swept me off my hooves again. My focus snapped, the blade spinning off into the muck around us. Without stopping his spin, his outstretched hoof crashed against my descending skull and spun me away into the mud. I groaned and stayed on my back for a second too long. His circling hoof continued around a third time, changing orientation from horizontal to vertical and crashing down on my chest with such force that even my synthetic lungs had the breath blasted from them.
该死。我询问我的e.f.s.是否有足够的能力......当我的注意力从他身上移开的时候，他就在我身上了。他的一条后腿低垂在地上，有力地转了一圈，又把我的蹄子掀了下来。我的注意力突然转移，刀片旋转着掉进了我们周围的淤泥中。他没有停止旋转，四肢伸展的蹄子撞上了我正在下降的头骨，把我甩进了泥里。我呻吟了一会儿，仰面躺了一会儿。它绕圈的蹄子又转了三圈，方向从水平变成了垂直，猛烈地撞击着我的胸部，连我的合成肺都被冲出来呼吸。
“Pathetic,” he said as I lay there, my chest making disturbing crackles and wheezes as my lungs reinflated. “It is your destiny to be defeated by me, but I
"真可悲,"他说，我躺在那里，我的胸腔在我的肺重新充气时发出令人不安的噼啪声和气喘声。"被我打败是你的宿命，但是我
had hoped for something... grander.”
希望得到一些...更伟大的东西"
“We’re going to come ba--” Lacunae began to say in my mind.
"我们要回来了——"空隙在我心里开始说。
“No!” I shouted, feeling the old, familiar need to win growing within me. I flushed as the Legate cocked a brow and hissed mentally, “Stick to the plan. I can handle this preening son of a mule!”
"不!"我大声喊道，感觉到自己内心深处那种旧的、熟悉的获胜的需要。我的脸涨得通红，因为特使抬起了额头，心里发出嘶嘶声:"按计划行事。"。我可以对付这个自命不凡的混蛋!"
“No? You have nothing more?” The Legate tilted his head with the question, then straightened and broadened his smile a bit. “Oh... are you communicating with your friends? Some internal radio?”
""不是吗？你没有别的了吗?"特使斜着头提出这个问题，然后直起身子，微微一笑。"哦......你是在和你的朋友交流吗？一些内部无线电?"
I spat something that tasted of oil and blood into the mud and glared up at him. You’re stalling again. Why the fuck don’t you finish me off? “Don’t worry about them,” I hissed as I lifted myself back up. “Worry about me!” My horn flared as I drew Vigilance, Sacrifice, and Duty in a surge of desperation, firing wildly at him as I charged.
我吐了一口有油和血味的东西到泥里，怒视着他。你又在拖延时间。你他妈的为什么不干掉我？"别担心他们,"我一边把自己扶起来，一边嘶嘶地说。"担心我吧!"当我在一阵绝望的浪潮中画出警惕、牺牲和责任时，我的号角响了起来，向他疯狂地射击。
The bullets tore into his striped hide, ripping bloody holes as he crouched before me. I just needed a few more shots, a few more good hits. A few more! He sprang backwards with that disturbing zebra grace, though, and flung a glob of muck directly into my face just as I entered S.A.T.S. No! I fired away blindly, blinking and trying to restore my vision.
当他蹲在我面前时，子弹打穿了他的条纹皮肤，打出了血淋淋的洞。我只需要再多拍几张照片，再多拍几张好照片。再来几个！不过，他以斑马那种令人不安的优雅姿态向后跳了起来，在我进入s.a.t.s的时候，他把一团脏东西直接扔到我脸上！我盲目地开枪，眨着眼睛，试图恢复我的视力。
When it cleared... wait, where’d he go?
等风暴过去了...等等他去哪儿了？
“Above you!” shouted Lacunae in my mind as his plunging hoof smashed down between my shoulders, driving me face first into the sludge; my spine let out a crackling of bone and a groaning of metal, and I felt a horrifying moment of my body being consumed by a paralyzing numbness from my neck down. My focus broke, my guns falling out of sight in the muck. “Enough is enough! We’re coming--”
"在你上面!"我的脊椎骨发出噼啪声，金属发出呻吟声，我感到一个可怕的时刻，我的身体被从脖子以下的麻痹所吞噬。我的注意力分散了，我的枪在淤泥中消失了。"够了，够了！我们来了——"
“No!” I groaned as the tingling impact-induced anesthesia abated. The Legate circled me as his unhelmeted followers cheered. Lancer smiled like it was Hearth’s Warming Eve. I’d win. I was a cyberpony killing machine who wasn’t going to be defeated by freaky zebra martial arts. “I’ll beat him!” I croaked.
"不!"随着刺痛感的冲击引起的麻醉减弱，我呻吟起来。特使绕着我转，他那些不戴头盔的追随者们欢呼起来。兰瑟微笑着，就像赫斯的暖夏娃一样。我会赢的。我是一个赛博马杀人机器谁不会打败奇怪的斑马武术。"我要揍他!"我死了。
“Pitiful,” he said in a voice of disappointment that only my mother was allowed to use, but he just kept circling as I struggled to rise. “Why are you not greater?
"真可怜,"他失望地说，只有我妈妈才能用这种语气，但他还是在我挣扎着站起来的时候不停地转圈。""你为什么不更伟大呢？
Your destiny is for so much more. Power. Destruction. Yet you wallow in the muck like a sow. I am half inclined to let you crawl back to your friends until you are a fitting opponent.”
你的命运远不止这些。力量。毁灭。然而你却像母猪一样在淤泥中打滚。我有点倾向于让你爬回到你的朋友身边，直到你成为一个合适的对手。"
Lancer’s grin disappeared like a popped balloon. “Father, no! Finish the Maiden before her friends come and spirit her away!” Oddly, the Legate wasn’t smiling either. If anything, he now seemed frustrated.
兰瑟的笑容消失了，就像一个破裂的气球。"父亲，不！在她的朋友来之前干掉她，把她带走!"奇怪的是，使节也没有微笑。如果说有什么不同的话，那就是他现在看起来很沮丧。
“If you fear such, my Lancer, be prepared to slay her alicorn when she appears, but you will not interfere with destiny,” the Legate snapped, then fixed me with a calculating glare. “Where are your friends? Why do they not come for you?” he murmured; if my ears hadn’t been augmented, I likely would have missed it.
"如果你这么害怕的话，我的长矛手，准备好在她出现的时候杀死她的独角兽吧，但是你不能干涉命运,"特使厉声说道，然后用一种精明的眼神盯着我。"你的朋友们呢？他们为什么不来找你呢?"他喃喃地说，如果我的耳朵没有扩大，我可能会错过它。
“A good question,” Lacunae snapped in my mind. “I may have just enough magic to come back myself and help yo--”
"好问题,"拉库尼在我的脑海里厉声回答。"我可能有足够的魔法回来帮助你——"
“No! You heard him. Lancer and a dozen other zebras will kill you the moment you appear!” I could see Lancer prepared for her arrival. Surely there’d be others as well, hidden out of sight. “I’ll beat him... no matter how he breaks me!” I could take it. I deserved it... I deserved this...
"不！你听到他说的了。你一出现，兰瑟和其他十几只斑马就会杀了你!"我看见兰瑟在为她的到来做准备。肯定还有其他人，隐藏在视线之外。"我要打败他......不管他怎么打败我!"我可以接受。我活该...我活该..。
“Damn it, Blackjack! You’re not Psalm!” Lacunae shouted within my mind.
"该死，黑杰克！你不是圣歌!"空隙在我心中呼喊。
The name struck across my thoughts, stunning me a moment. Psalm... I was acting like Psalm? The Legate just stared through the eye sockets of the dragon, as my eyes met his for a half dozen heartbeats. Annoyance flashed inside his brilliant, scornful yellow gaze. Finally, some line had been crossed. “So be it,” the Legate said.
这个名字突然出现在我的脑海里，使我一下子惊呆了。诗篇...我的行为就像诗篇？使者只是透过龙的眼窝盯着我，我的眼睛和他的眼睛相遇了半打的心跳。他那明亮而轻蔑的黄眼睛里闪现出烦恼。终于，有些界限被跨越了。"那就这样吧,"使节说。
Like a tempest, he fell upon me. His body twisted back and forth, a vortex battering against me with a speed and power I could only defend against by lifting my hooves. I had to win -- it was what I did best -- but I wanted to lose. That sick, insidious seed inside me liked this battering, wanted it. Hightower. Ninety-nine. Chapel. Fluttershy Medical Center. Big Macintosh. The Seahorse.
他像暴风雨一样扑向我。他的身体前后扭动，一股旋涡以我只能抬起蹄子才能抵挡的速度和力量冲击着我。我必须赢----这是我最擅长的----但我想输。我体内那种病态的、阴险的种子喜欢这种打击，想要它。Hightower.九十九。教堂。福特斯医疗中心。大麦金托什。海马。
His grin suddenly widened. While continuing to rain down blows, he said in a tone of false kindliness, “Do not fear for your friends’ safety. Those that surrender will be taken back to our base as slaves. I will take the olive one for my harem as tribu--”
他的笑容突然变大了。他一面继续敲打，一面用假慈悲的口吻说:"不要担心你朋友的安全。那些投降的将作为奴隶被带回我们的基地。我要把橄榄枝作为后宫的三部曲——"
My black, dented limbs snapped up and clenched the Legate’s swinging forehoof between them in a grip so firm it halted his thrashing, whirling barrage. “No,” was all I said as his eyes widened within that skull, his foreleg trying to jerk itself free. Then I pulled him forward and rammed my horn into the left socket of that bony encasement.
我那凹陷的黑手臂突然折断了，紧握着莱盖特摆动的前蹄夹在他们之间，握得很紧，以至于阻止了他猛烈的攻击和旋转的拦河坝。"不,"我只说了这么一句，他的眼睛在那个头骨里睁得大大的，他的前腿试图挣脱。然后我把他向前拉，把我的角撞进那个骨质包装物的左边插孔里。
For the first time in our fight, the Legate truly screamed.
在我们的战斗中，特使第一次真正地尖叫起来。
If I’d possessed Lacunae’s spire, I might have finished him off there and then; as it was, only the vitreous jelly of his eye coated the end of my compact horn. His own supernatural toughness and speed allowed him to jerk back moments before magic bullets erupted from my horn. Blood, bright and arterial, spurted from the impact, and the bone itself cracked and crumbled around that wounded socket. I lacked fingers, so instead I lunged once more and sank my teeth into his neck.
如果我拥有了拉库尼的尖顶，我可能当场就把他干掉了;事实上，只有他眼睛里的玻璃状胶水涂在我的小角末端。他那超自然的韧性和速度让他能够在魔法子弹从我的角里喷射出来之前迅速反弹。血液，明亮而有动脉，从撞击中喷射出来，骨头本身在受伤的牙槽周围裂开碎裂。我没有了手指，所以我又一次扑向他，用牙齿咬住了他的脖子。
My jaws bit down hard enough that I tasted blood; for once, it wasn’t mine. Locked so, my forehooves grabbed his shoulders in a steel embrace. He struggled to pull free, and I twisted to the side, driving him straight into the muck.
我的下巴狠狠地咬下去，尝到了血的味道;这一次，那不是我的。我的前蹄紧紧地锁在他的肩膀上，紧紧地抱住他。他挣扎着想挣脱，我扭向一边，把他直接推进淤泥里。
I heard Lancer shouting something in Zebra. Something edged in fear. He knew.
我听见兰瑟在用斑马语喊什么。在恐惧中逼近的东西。他知道。
He’d seen me like this before.
他以前见过我这样。
I’d win. No matter what.
我会赢的。无论如何。
The Legate’s hooves kicked wildly as I began to pummel everything I could that was striped and moving. He wheezed around the grip I had on his windpipe, trying desperately to free himself. No you don’t. No more fancy zebra kicks. I hauled him back to me through the mud, using my weight, something his augmented flesh lacked, to keep him shoved beneath me. I raked his belly with the dull blunt ends of my hooves, forcing them into his flesh as he struggled and finally ripped his throat free from my mouth.
当我开始用力击打那些条纹和移动的东西时，使节的蹄子疯狂地踢着。他气喘吁吁地抓着我抓住的他的气管，拼命想挣脱出来。不，你不知道。再也没有花俏的斑马鞋了。我用我的体重把他拖到我身边，这是他增强的肌肉所不具备的，我用我的体重把他拖到我身下。我用我钝钝的蹄尖轻轻地敲打它的腹部，在它挣扎的时候，把它的喉咙从我的嘴里扯了出来。
It wasn’t the first flesh I’d eaten.
这不是我吃的第一块肉。
Rising over him, I slammed my forehooves repeatedly into his body. The dragonbone helmet saved his head, but with each kick I felt more bones break. I knew he was striking me as much as I was him, but I simply paid that no mind. I had to end it now! My augmented body was burning through its power reserves just as it had at Yellow River.
我从他身上爬起来，不停地用前蹄猛击他的身体。龙骨头盔保住了他的头，但是每踢一下，我都感觉到更多的骨头断了。我知道他在打我，就像我在打他一样，但我就是不在乎。我必须现在就结束它！我增强的身体正在耗尽它的能量储备，就像它在黄河上一样。
Then I spotted a starmetal hilt poking out of the muck, beckoning. My magic reached out and pulled my blade to me. I smashed him hard, flat on his back beneath me, and my magic raised the sword high. Let’s see if he could regenerate his head!
然后我看到一把星形金属刀柄从淤泥中伸出来，招手。我的魔法伸出手，向我拔出了我的剑。我狠狠地把他打得仰面朝天，用我的魔法把剑举得高高的。让我们看看他的头能不能再生！
Half of my face exploded in pain that cut right through my fury and focus. The right half of my world disappeared into a wild blizzard of colors and shapes as shrieking, staticky feedback shot through my skull. I screamed as a red hot dagger of agony plunged itself through my right eye, my body arching back as my hooves clenched over the wound. The Legate gave a heave beneath me, throwing me off. Any second now he’d finish me off for good. I clenched my eye shut as I writhed.
我的半张脸在痛苦中爆炸，这种痛苦直接穿透了我的愤怒和注意力。我的右半边世界消失在暴风雪般的色彩和形状中，尖叫声、静止的反馈声穿过我的头骨。我尖叫起来，就像一把灼热的匕首刺进我的右眼，我的双蹄紧握在伤口上，身体拱了起来。使节在我下面举起，把我扔了下去。现在他随时都可能杀了我。我扭动着，紧闭着眼睛。
I felt the familiar floating sensation of death surround me, and I finally relaxed.
我感到熟悉的死亡的飘浮感围绕着我，我终于放松了。
Finally... I’d see Mom again...
终于...我又能见到妈妈了..。
* * *
* * *
I hovered somewhere dark, still, and silent. This didn’t feel... familiar. It was like the darkness of Unity, but empty, save for myself. Nowhere to go. Nothing to see. Simply myself.
我在某个黑暗、安静、寂静的地方徘徊。这感觉不太...熟悉。这就像团结的黑暗，但是空虚，除了我自己。无处可去。没什么好看的。只有我自己。
“Hello?” I said, my voice thin and small. Then I spotted someone else, dark and distant. A white nimbus vaguely outlined her. “Hey! Who’s there?” I shouted as I ran towards them, then slowed... then came to a stop as I saw her white mane and black coat and the candle on her flank. “Who...”
"喂?"我说，我的声音又细又小。然后我发现了另一个人，阴暗而遥远。一团白色的光轮廓模糊地勾勒出她的轮廓。"嘿！谁在那儿?"我边喊边向他们跑去，然后减速......然后停了下来，我看到了她的白色鬃毛和黑色外套，还有她身体旁边的蜡烛。"谁......"
Psalm turned, bringing up Penance. The sniper rifle pointed at my right eye, and a blinding flash cut through the darkness. When it faded, the unicorn was gone and I was alone once more. I trembled, unarmed and unsure. “I’d really like to wake up now... or move on... or... something!”
诗篇转过身来，提到了苦修。狙击步枪指着我的右眼，一道刺眼的闪光划破了黑暗。当它消失的时候，独角兽消失了，我又一个人了。我颤抖着，手无寸铁，缺乏信心。"我真想现在就醒过来......或者继续前进......或者......其他什么!"
A faint lilac gleam appeared in the darkness, highlighting an alicorn. “Lacunae!” I shouted as I raced towards her. She’d get me out of this...
一束淡淡的丁香光在黑暗中闪现，照亮了一颗橡树果。"空白!"我冲向她喊道。她会帮我摆脱这一切..。
But it wasn’t Lacunae. Tall, cool, majestic, and beautiful in her royal regalia, Princess Luna turned and looked down at me, tiny stars gleaming in her mane. Her teal eyes held only sadness and pity for me. “P... Princess Luna?”
但那不是缺陷。露娜公主身材高挑，冷峻，威严，身着皇家礼服，美丽动人。她转过身来，低头看着我，微小的星星在她的鬃毛上闪闪发光。她蓝绿色的眼睛里只有对我的悲伤和怜悯。"p..卢娜公主?"
Suddenly she reared up, her purple aura becoming a frigid blue corona as her delicate ceremonial yoke became starmetal barding and her tiara a cruel helmet. Her eyes blazed, fiery and dragon-pupiled. “You little foal! Thinking you can be me!” she roared as she reared up before me in the dark, and then she brought her hooves down upon my head.
突然，她站了起来，她的紫色光环变成了一个寒冷的蓝色冠冕，她那精致的仪式束缚变成了星星铁甲，她的皇冠变成了残酷的头盔。她的眼睛闪着火焰，像龙一样燃烧着。"你这小马驹！以为你可以成为我!"她在黑暗中站在我面前咆哮，然后用蹄子踩在我的头上。
Again, darkness. I curled up, trembling. A distant red glow bloomed, and I watched it tearfully. This one approached slowly, relentlessly, inevitably. The red glow grew like a flamer spreading across that vast void around the dark figure. This time, I turned and ran as fast as my white hooves could carry me. But though her slow step remained constant, the distance between us closed. I could hear the crackle and the screaming behind me as the darkness was consumed by the inferno.
再说一次，黑暗。我蜷缩起来，浑身发抖。远处发出一道红光，我眼泪汪汪地看着它。这一次不可避免地慢慢地、无情地接近了。红色的光芒像火焰一样在黑影周围的巨大空间中蔓延开来。这一次，我转过身，以我白色的蹄子所能承受的最快速度跑着。但是尽管她的脚步一直很慢，我们之间的距离却越来越近。当黑暗被地狱吞噬时，我能听到身后的爆裂声和尖叫声。
“Stay away,” I screamed as I whirled, raising my hooves in horror at the figure.
"别过来,"我一边旋转一边尖叫着，惊恐地抬起我的蹄子看着那个人影。
A white unicorn fused with black steel looked down at me with light flickering in her hard, soulless eyes. A field of strewn bodies spread out behind her as her black and red mane snapped in an ethereal wind. So many dead. Raiders. Foals. Stable ponies. Zebras. Hellhounds. Steel Rangers. An endless field of death punctuated by a rainbow mane, a bloody fedora, a broken purple wing, and an olive filly embracing a mare no longer pristine white. She pressed a gun to my right eye; I stared down the barrel’s spiraling rifling and into her merciless grin simultaneously.
一只融合了黑钢的白色独角兽低头看着我，在她坚硬而没有灵魂的眼睛里闪烁着光芒。她身后散落着一大片尸体，黑色和红色的鬃毛在飘渺的风中啪啪作响。死了那么多人。突袭机。小马驹。稳定的小马。斑马。地狱犬。钢铁骑兵。一望无际的死亡之地，点缀着彩虹般的鬃毛，血淋淋的软呢帽，破碎的紫色翅膀，还有一匹橄榄色的小母马抱着一匹不再洁白的母马。她用枪指着我的右眼，我盯着枪管螺旋式的膛线，同时盯着她无情的笑容。
“Can’t escape the Maiden,” Blackjack said, and my world exploded once more into a white I hoped would never end.
"无法逃脱少女,"Blackjack说，我的世界再次爆炸成一个白色，我希望永远不会结束。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
“Blackjack?” a mare called from somewhere both close and distant. “Blackjack!” One by one, sensations returned. Cold, wet metal on my back. The rumble, accompanied by a faint vibration, of an engine. Pain throbbing through the right side of my face. Sadly, this was all distressingly familiar.
"黑杰克?"一匹母马从近处和远处呼唤。"黑杰克!"一个接一个，感觉又回来了。冰冷潮湿的金属在我的背上。发动机的隆隆声，伴随着微弱的震动。疼痛穿过我的右脸。不幸的是，这一切都令人痛心地熟悉。
“I got shot, didn’t I?” I muttered, looking up into the wide eyes of Glory.
"我中枪了，不是吗?"我喃喃自语，抬头看着晨辉的大眼睛。
“Don’t move,” she said in concern as she looked down at me, chewing her bottom lip in worry.
"别动,"她担心地说，同时低头看着我，担心地咬着下嘴唇。
I sighed and remained still. “What happened with the zebras?”
我叹了口气，一动不动。"斑马怎么了?"
“We don’t know,” P-21 said as he moved on the opposite side of me from Glory. “Lacunae started screaming that we had to get back to you immediately.” The blue stallion looked off in what I could only presume was the direction of the alicorn. “I’ve never heard her scream before. I didn’t know she could.” He looked back down at me soberly. “We barely saw anything of the fight. The fog cut us off. Lacunae was all but jumping in one of those radiation pits trying to get enough magic to get in and blink you out. We arrived just as the zebras were leaving.” He looked off in another direction. “They are gone, though. I checked. They’ve moved back to the base. They left you for dead.”
"我们不知道,"P-21说，他走到我对面的晨辉。"空白处开始尖叫，我们必须马上回到你身边。"那匹蓝色的种马向远处望去，我只能推测那是阿里克松的方向。"我从来没有听到过她的尖叫声。我不知道她可以。"他回头严肃地看着我。"我们几乎什么都没看到。大雾挡住了我们的去路。空隙几乎是跳进一个辐射坑里，试图获得足够的魔法进入并且闪烁你出来。我们到达时，斑马正要离开。"他向另一个方向望去。"不过，他们已经走了。我查过了。他们搬回基地了。他们让你等死。"
Me? The Maiden? The pony devil of the stars? “That... doesn’t make sense...” I muttered weakly.
我？少女？星星上的小恶魔？"这......没道理......"我无力地喃喃自语。
“Zebras...” P-21 said in return with a small shrug.
"斑马......"P-21耸耸肩回答。
“I got a head,” Rampage said. “It’s only got one eye, though.”
"我得到了一个头,"狂暴说。"不过它只有一只眼睛。"
“Head?” I muttered, starting to get alarmed. “Eye?” I began to raise my head, but then P-21 pushed me back down.
"头?"我咕哝着，开始感到害怕。"眼睛?"我开始抬起头，但是P-21把我推倒在地。
“Don’t move. Not unless you want to break out your eyepatch again,” the blue pony said as something wet and fleshy thumped heavily onto the metal beside me. “Lacunae, make sure Scotch and Boo don’t see this, please.”
"别动。"除非你想再戴一次眼罩,"蓝色小马说着，一个湿漉漉的、多肉的东西重重地砸在我旁边的金属上。"Lacunae，别让Scotch和Boo看到这个。"
“What’s going on?” I asked.
"怎么回事?"我问道。
“The bullet went into your right eye, Blackjack. It deflected, and it’s sheer dumb luck that the round exited out under your right ear and not your brain stem,” Glory said in a shaky voice. “Celestia... I want some more Dash...”
"子弹射进了你的右眼，Blackjack。它偏离了方向，而且那颗子弹从你的右耳而不是脑干下穿出来，这完全是运气不好,"晨辉用颤抖的声音说。"天青......我想再来点猛的......"
“Got some right here,” Rampage said brightly. “Chemical confidence in a nice little inhaler.”
"这里有一些,"狂暴的说。"一个漂亮的小吸入器里的化学物质。"
P-21 raised a hoof out in the direction of Rampage’s voice and shook his head.
P-21抬起蹄子朝着狂暴的声音走去，摇了摇头。
Glory took a shaky breath. “No... no, he’s right... put it away. Throw it away. Take it yourself. But don’t give it to me.” She ducked her head out of sight, and I heard some wet noises.
晨辉带着颤抖的气息。"不......不，他是对的......把它收起来。扔掉它。你自己吃吧。但是不要给我。"她低下头不让我看见，我听到了一些湿漉漉的声音。
“Does it hurt? Do you want a memory orb?” P-21 asked me.
"疼吗？你想要一个记忆球吗?"P-21问我。
“No... no... right now... no...” I said as I lay there. I didn’t want to go someplace else. I’d just got back.
"不......不......现在......不......"我躺在那儿说。我不想去别的地方。我刚回来。
“So... what happened, Blackjack?” Rampage asked. “I was getting all kinds of creepy familiar vibes from that bastard.”
"那么...发生了什么事，黑杰克?"狂暴问道。"我从那个混蛋身上感受到了各种令人毛骨悚然的熟悉气氛。"
“I... was winning. I think I was winning. Then someone shot me in the head,” I muttered as I saw Glory’s head moving, her mouth holding a bloody scalpel. “Three guesses who.”
"我.....。.赢了。我觉得我赢了。然后有人朝我脑袋开了一枪。"我看到晨辉的头在动，嘴里拿着一把血淋淋的手术刀，喃喃自语。"猜猜是谁。"
“Lancer,” P-21 said with a scowl. Then he sighed, “I don’t care how forgiving you are, Blackjack, next time I see that bastard I’m putting a live grenade in his saddlebag.”
"枪骑兵,"P-21愁眉苦脸地说。然后他叹了口气,"我不管你有多原谅我，Blackjack，下次我再看到那个混蛋，我就把一枚手榴弹放进他的鞍囊里。"
“Guess you got lucky,” Rampage said casually. “They left you for dead.”
"看来你走运了,"狂暴漫不经心地说。"他们让你等死。"
Luck? No. Not luck. Being forced to face the Legate hadn’t been luck. That fight... him drawing things out... that wasn’t luck. They wouldn’t have left me till I was certainly a corpse.
运气？没有。不是运气。被迫面对特使并不是一件幸事。那场打斗...他把事情说出来...那不是运气。他们不会丢下我，除非我真的变成一具尸体。
“Pull this out, Rampage,” Glory said as the striped pony moved into view. She wiggled her forehooves out of sight. There was a wet, crunchy sort of sucking noise. “Gently! It’s an eye, not armor plate.”
"把这个拉出来，狂暴,"晨辉说，这时那匹条纹小马进入了视野。她扭动前蹄，看不见了。有一种湿漉漉的、嘎吱嘎吱的吸气声。"轻一点！这是一只眼睛，不是盔甲。"
“Hey. I don’t tell you how to stick eyes into skulls. Don’t tell me how to rip them out,” Rampage replied. Finally, there was a pop, and she held up a metal and glass orb with a few streamers of meat and wire dangling from the back. Rampage turned it over in her hoofclaws. “Whoa, freaky.”
"嘿。我不会告诉你怎么把眼睛插进头骨里。"别告诉我怎么把它们拔出来,"狂暴回答道。最后，一声巨响响起，她举起一个金属和玻璃制成的球体，球体后面悬挂着一些肉和金属丝做成的飘带。狂暴用蹄爪把它翻过来。"哇，真变态。"
Glory scowled at the eye and took it from Rampage. “This is... impossible.” She started to do something with the eye out of my sight, and I heard an unpleasant metallic scratching sound.
晨辉怒视着它的眼睛，把它从狂暴中夺了过来。"这是......不可能的。"她开始用我看不见的眼睛做一些事情，我听到一种令人不快的金属刮擦声。
“What is it?” I asked in worry.
"这是什么?"我担心地问。
“I’m not sure. Give me a second to finish cleaning it off,” Glory said tersely.
"我不确定。给我一点时间把它清理干净,"晨辉简洁地说。
“So... are you depressed?” P-21 asked. “Last time you lost a fight, you didn’t
"那么......你抑郁了吗?"P-21要求。"上次你输了一场比赛，你没有
take it so well.”
好好接受吧"
I huffed softly. “I don’t think I lost. That wasn’t a fight. The Legate could have slaughtered me if he’d pressed the attack. But he kept talking and giving me time to recover before beating me down again. It wasn’t a fight...” I turned my head enough to glance over at Lacunae, and thought of the Goddess. “It was a... a show. A performance. Something he was putting on because Lancer forced him to.”
我轻轻地喘了口气。"我不认为我输了。那不是打架。如果特使发动进攻的话，他会杀了我的。但他一直在说话，给我时间恢复，然后再次打我。这不是一场战斗......"我转过头来看了一眼Lacunae，想到了女神。"这是一个.....。.一场表演。一场演出。这是兰瑟逼他穿的。"
“You mean the Legate spared you?” Rampage asked in confusion. “Why?”
"你是说特使放过了你?"暴怒困惑地问道。"为什么?"
I thought and I thought, and the more I thought, the fewer answers I could come up with. Finally, I sighed. “I don’t know...” But it made my mane itchy…
我想了又想，想得越多，得到的答案就越少。最后，我叹了口气。"我不知道......"但它让我的鬃毛发痒.....。
Glory held up the eye. It looked no different than my old one to me. It was even the same color, now that I looked. “Now, if I’m right, this shouldn’t fit, and we’ll need some time to finesse it in enough for her healing and repair talismans to patch it up. Do you need more Med-X?” Glory asked as she looked down at me, holding the shiny metal orb carefully between her hooves.
晨辉支撑着眼睛。对我来说，它看起来和我以前的那个没什么不同。现在看起来还是一样的颜色。"现在，如果我是对的，这个应该不合适，我们需要一些时间来巧妙地处理它，以便她的治疗和修复护身符来修补它。你需要更多的Med-X吗?"晨辉问道，她低头看着我，小心翼翼地用蹄子夹着那个闪闪发光的金属球。
“You gave me Med-X?” I asked, blinking.
"你给了我医用x?"我眨着眼问道。
“Rampage,” Glory said, but I waved her off.
"横冲直撞,"晨辉说，但我挥手让她离开。
“No no, I’m not in pain. I’m just wondering why I need it,” I asked in confusion.
"不，不，我不痛。我只是奇怪为什么我需要它,"我困惑地问道。
P-21 coughed and looked away. “Just stick it in so we don’t have to tell her.
P-21咳嗽了一声，把目光移开。"只要把它插进去，我们就不用告诉她了。
Close your eye, Blackjack.” I did, and felt the pressure over the right socket.
闭上眼睛，黑杰克。"我照做了，感觉到了右侧插座上的压力。
Contrary to Glory’s prediction, it slid home easily within my head.
与晨辉的预测相反，它在我的脑海中轻易地滑回了家。
“It’s a perfect fit... it shouldn’t be a perfect fit,” Glory muttered.
"这是一个完美的合适...它不应该是一个完美的合适,"晨辉喃喃自语。
“What? It’s not like zebra and pony eyes are different sizes,” Rampage drawled. “I should know. I’ve gouged out both before.”
"什么？这不像斑马和小马的眼睛大小不一样,"暴怒慢吞吞地说。"我应该知道的。我以前两个都挖过。"
“It’s not just the size. The muscle anchors. The power connections. The data ports. They’re all identical!” Glory said as she did something to the side of my face.
"不仅仅是规模问题。肌肉固定。电源连接。数据端口。它们都一模一样!"晨辉边说边对我的脸做了些什么。
“So zebras stole the Steelpony technology,” I grumbled. “That’s not a surprise.”
"所以斑马偷走了Steelpony的技术,"我抱怨道。"这并不意外。"
“This isn’t stolen,” Glory replied flatly as I felt her moving the flesh on the right side of my face. I guess that scalpel had been working on me before I woke up. “Even if the design was stolen, they’d be manufactured with different tools and standards in the zebra lands. Everything, even the barcodes on the back of the eye... they’re identical to yours.” She looked down at me. “The Brood of Coyotl aren’t ripping off Project Steelpony. They’re from Project Steelpony. And I’m going to check the rest of this head and see if I can find any more parts.”
"这不是偷来的,"格洛里直截了当地回答，我感觉到她在我脸的右边移动着肉。我猜在我醒来之前，手术刀已经在我身上起作用了。"即使设计是偷来的，他们也会在斑马地用不同的工具和标准制造出来。所有的东西，甚至眼睛后面的条形码......都和你的一模一样。"她低头看着我。"野狼的种群不是在剽窃钢马计划。他们来自Steelpony计划。我要检查一下这个头的其余部分，看看能不能找到更多的零件。"
Right. And I needed to schedule my broadcaster for a conversation with Professor Zodiac...
对。我需要安排我的播音员和十二宫教授的谈话。
* * *
* * *
Once my face was put back together again, Glory was cleaning things up, I was chowing down on a third cyberpony cake, and P-21 was keeping an eye out as we sat together atop Deus. Scotch Tape and Boo had collected my weapons from the battlefield while Rampage scavenged the remaining zebra corpses, leaving me with time to think of my next step.
当我的脸重新合上时，晨辉正在清理东西，我正在享用第三个赛博马蛋糕，当我们一起坐在上帝之上时，P-21正在密切注视着。苏格兰胶带和布从战场上收集了我的武器，而狂暴扫荡剩余的斑马尸体，让我有时间考虑我的下一步。
The only problem was... I wasn’t sure what it should be. I felt strings attached to me... tugging me this way and that, pulled by unknown manipulators. I stroked the mane of the Twilight figurine as I pondered. Did I really have any choice?
唯一的问题是...我不确定它应该是什么。我感觉到自己被附加了一些条件......这样那样地拉着我，被不知名的操纵者拉着。当我沉思的时候，我抚摸着那个暮光雕像的鬃毛。我真的有选择吗？
Fate... how seductive it was. Not my fault... not my responsibility... bad things... good things... you could say it was all fated to be. Had Twilight been fated to end up trapped in a monstrous Goddess? Pinkie Pie fated to become a drug-addicted pariah? Psalm to kill Big Macintosh? Maybe there was some alternate history where the war never happened. Where fate was kinder and gentler than it was today?
命运...多么诱人。不是我的错...不是我的责任...坏事...好事...你可以说这一切都是命中注定的。《暮光之城》是否注定要被困在一个丑陋的女神里？平奇·派注定要成为一个吸毒成瘾的贱民？杀死大麦金塔的圣歌？也许有些架空历史小说从来没有发生过战争。哪里的命运比今天更加仁慈和温和？
I looked down into Twilight’s happy, smiling face. Fate was an easy answer when you looked at the strand of history. All those little causes and effects leading to now. Sometimes miraculous... sometimes monstrous...
我低头看着暮色的笑脸。当你审视历史时，命运是一个简单的答案。所有这些小原因和小影响导致了现在。有时是奇迹...有时是可怕的..。
Was I really the Maiden of the Stars...?
我真的是星星中的少女吗？
“How are you, Blackjack?” P-21 asked. “How are you really?”
"你好吗，黑杰克?"P-21要求。"你到底怎么样?"
I sighed and hugged the figurine to my chest. “Different. Haven’t been in a fight like that in a while. Not since...” Yellow River. Was that really only a few weeks
我叹了口气，把小雕像抱在胸前。"与众不同。很久没有这样打架了。自从..."黄河。那真的只有几个星期吗
ago? He caught my uncomfortable expression, and I looked at my forehooves. “Guess what Mom said was true. There’s always a bigger fishy.”
什么？他看到了我不舒服的表情，我看了看我的前蹄。"猜猜妈妈说的是真的。总有更大的可疑之处。"
“Huh?” he asked with a cock of his head and an amused, if baffled, smile.
"啊?"他问道，头上插着一只公鸡，笑得很开心，虽然有点迷惑。
“Nothing. Just something Mom used to tell me,” I said with a sigh as I kept running my hoof over the figurine’s mane.
"没什么。只是妈妈以前告诉我的一些事情。"我边说边叹气，边用蹄子踩着小雕像的鬃毛。
He sat quietly beside me. “So... what’s all that ‘Maiden’ stuff?”
他静静地坐在我旁边。"那么......'Maiden'是什么东西?"
“Zebra prophecy,” I said with a shrug. “I’m supposed to destroy the world. Just like Luna and Nightmare Moon.” I glanced over at him. “P-21, do you believe in fate?”
"斑马预言,"我耸耸肩说。"我应该毁灭这个世界。就像卢娜和梦魇月亮一样。"我瞥了他一眼。"P-21，你相信命运吗?"
“I believe in you. Does that count?” he countered with a half smile. I gave him a nudge in response, and his smile widened as he looked at Scotch Tape. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I heard that ponies get cutie marks that tell them their destiny. But considering mine was openly controlled, it always seemed pretty much bullshit to me. But then, I’ve never known what my cutie mark was supposed to be...”
"我相信你。这算吗?"他半笑半笑地反驳道。我用肘轻推了他一下作为回应，他看着ScotchTape时笑得更灿烂了。"我不知道。我不这么认为。我听说小马会留下可爱的印记，告诉它们自己的命运。但是考虑到我的公司是被公开控制的，对我来说这似乎总是胡说八道。但是，我从来不知道我的可爱标记应该是什么......"
“What if your destiny is something... bad? What if it’s to kill and hurt people?” I asked.
"如果你的命运是什么......坏事怎么办？如果是为了杀人和伤害别人呢?"我问道。
“Then you ignore it,” he said simply. “Because if you accept what that bastard said about your destiny being ruin and death, then it’d be no different than me accepting the medical mares telling me that my destiny was to be a walking sperm bank who should be dead right now. We decide our own destiny.”
"那你就忽略它,"他简单地说。"因为如果你接受那个混蛋说的你的命运是毁灭和死亡的话，那么这就和我接受医学上的母马告诉我我的命运是成为一个活的精子库，现在就应该死掉没有什么区别。我们决定自己的命运。"
Did I have any choice? Was I just following the strings? Were we all?
我有别的选择吗？我只是在跟着弦走吗？我们都是吗？
I felt I had three different paths in front of me, and whichever one I took was going to decide everything. I could go after Dawn, the Harbingers, and Cognitum and try to end that threat once and for all. Or perhaps try and find out a way to stop the Legate and his army from attacking the Hoof and all my friends within it. Or go to the clouds and try and stop Lighthooves and his biological weapon.
我觉得我面前有三条不同的道路，无论我选择哪条，都将决定一切。我可以去追捕黎明、先驱者和同族人，试图一劳永逸地结束这种威胁。或者试着想办法阻止特使和他的军队攻击霍夫和我所有的朋友。或者去云端阻止光剑和他的生化武器。
Then I glanced down at my hoof and opened up the panel, looking at my PipBuck. For some reason, perhaps fate, perhaps something else, I brought up
然后我低头看了一眼我的蹄子，打开面板，看着我的皮伯克。出于某种原因，也许是命运，也许是别的什么原因，我提出了这个问题
EC-1101 and stared at it. Then I accessed its tantalizing routing information.
Ec-1101并盯着它。然后我访问了它诱人的路由信息。
Next routing location> Shadowbolt Tower.
下一个路由位置影螺栓塔。
“Right,” I said as I looked up at the midnight clouds. “Well then, I guess if I’m going to decide it, I’d better start thinking of some way to get to Shadowbolt Tower.” At his inquisitive look, I smiled. “Lighthooves has a biological weapon that can kill countless pegasi. I need to get up there and stop it... and make sure Thunderhead isn’t destroyed as well.”
"没错,"我抬头看着午夜的云朵说。"那么，我想如果我要决定的话，我最好开始想办法去影螺塔。"看到他好奇的目光，我笑了。"光剑有一种可以杀死无数飞马座的生物武器。我需要上去阻止它......确保雷头不会也被摧毁。"
He looked at the sky and gave a little laugh. “Oh, is that all?” He shook his head. “I don’t suppose you know somepony with a flying machine, do you?” he asked playfully.
他看着天空，笑了笑。"哦，就这些吗?"他摇了摇头。"我想你不知道有会飞的小马吧?"他开玩笑地问。
I sat there a moment, looking down at the figurine and thinking, and then my lips curled in a small smile. “Now that you mention it...”
我在那儿坐了一会儿，低头看着那个小雕像，想了想，然后我的嘴唇微微一笑。"既然你提到了......"
 
Footnote: Maximum Level Reached.
脚注:已达到的最高水平。
Quest perk achieved: My Little Ponies – You have collected one of each of the six Ministry Mares statuettes. Stronger together than they are apart, they have granted you +1 Luck in addition to their normal benefits.
任务额外待遇达到:我的小马驹-你已经收集了六个部里的母马雕像中的每一个。他们在一起比分开的时候更强大，除了他们的正常利益之外，他们还给你+1好运。
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: I know that every chapter I thank my editors, but I really would like everyone to know they worked their tails off getting this chapter out this month. I was almost certain that we’d have to push it back to March... April... May... sigh... so I just want everyone, and them, to know how special they are. Whether you liked the finale or not, I really have to agree with one thing. There is absolutely nothing like true true friends.
(作者的笔记:我知道每一章我都要感谢我的编辑，但是我真的希望每个人都知道他们为了这一章能在这个月出版而拼命工作。我几乎可以肯定，我们必须把它推迟到三月......四月......五月......叹息......所以我只是想让每个人，还有他们，知道他们是多么特别。不管你喜不喜欢大结局，我都同意一件事。没有什么能比得上真正的朋友。
In other news, I know that what happened with Psalm may upset some folks. I apologize, but this is something else that’s been in my head since coming up with the Marauders. I hope it doesn’t cause too many problems.
另一方面，我知道诗篇中发生的事情可能会让一些人感到不安。我很抱歉，但是这是自从劫掠者出现以来我脑子里一直在想的另一件事。我希望这不会造成太多的问题。
Next week I’m going to be at the Las Pegas- er, Vegas convention. Meeting
下周我要去拉斯维加斯的拉斯维加斯会议。会议
the hideous Somber... I hope it’s not too unpleasant for folks. I’d like to thank Devon Wade, Joel Kenny, and Hiddenpony for helping me pay for the trip. Just look for the terrified writer in a social situation.
可怕的阴森...我希望这对大家来说不会太难受。我要感谢德文·韦德、乔尔·肯尼和希登波尼帮助我支付旅行费用。只要在社交场合中寻找那些惊恐的作家就可以了。
Also, I... um... well... just in case you like it... this is something I’m doing with Pantzar... http://requiem-pony.tumblr.com/
还有我。.嗯...好吧...如果你喜欢的话...这是我和Pantzar做的事情..。
Anyway. Thanks to Kkat, as always, for starting this. Thanks to folks who enjoy reading this. Thanks to folks who comment and donate. And thanks for being a part of this community. Just... thank you...)
无论如何。感谢Kkat，像往常一样，开始了这一切。感谢那些喜欢阅读这篇文章的人。感谢那些评论和捐赠的人们。谢谢你成为这个社区的一份子。只是...谢谢你...)
(Oh. And hugs to Tori for Letti.)
哦。并代莱蒂拥抱托丽。)