“Here it is: the greatest city in the sky!”
"就是这里:天空中最伟大的城市!"
There were pictures in books of what civilization once looked like. They ranged from the well-lit glass and steel towers of Manehattan to the elegant and classical buildings of Canterlot to the cozy, rural surroundings of Ponyville. There’d even been a picture of Cloudsdale; I remembered it as being rather white and boring-looking on the page, but now, staring at Thunderhead, I appreciated it a little better.
书中有描绘文明曾经面貌的图画。从灯火通明的Manehattan玻璃和钢铁塔，到优雅古典的Canterlot建筑，再到温馨的Ponyville乡村环境。甚至还有一张克劳斯代尔的照片，我记得那张照片是白色的，看起来很无聊，但是现在，我盯着Thunderhead，感觉好多了。
The city was built on the inside of a massive, hollow horizontal torus of cloud, like an empty wagon tire lying on its side. I saw, as the Fleur edged up into the city from below, that the bottom lip of the tire extended in towards the center farther than the top, creating a sunlit ledge that supported actual living parks! Well, if they could figure out how to make crops grow in clouds, why not grass and flowers? Large, impressive buildings were built into the thick circumferential wall of the torus, and these were decorated with Corinthian columns, friezes of pegasi and griffins in combat, and grand statues that appeared to be marble. Along the ceiling of the hollow tube, hanging down like icicles, were hundreds of plain, cloud-hewn apartments where, from what Glory told me, the poorer folk lived. Equidistant around the city were six immense buildings that ran like pillars from the lip of the upper rim to the border of the park ring below; these, according to Glory, were the houses of Thunderhead’s government.
这座城市建立在一个巨大的、中空的水平云环的内部，就像一个空的旅行车轮胎躺在它的一边。我看到，当Fleur从下面慢慢进入城市时，轮胎的底部边缘向中心延伸，比顶部更远，创造了一个阳光充足的平台，支撑着真正的公园！那么，如果他们能够找到让农作物在云中生长的方法，为什么不用草和花呢？巨大的，令人印象深刻的建筑被建造在厚厚的环形墙上，这些建筑装饰着科林斯式的圆柱，战斗中的飞马和狮鹫的横带，以及看起来像是大理石的宏伟雕像。沿着中空管道的天花板，像冰柱一样垂下来，是数以百计的平原，云凿公寓，晨辉告诉我，在那里，穷人居住。城市周围有六座巨大的建筑，从上边缘延伸到下边的公园环形边界，像柱子一样排列着;根据晨辉的说法，这些是雷头政府的房子。
I’d been worried about how we were going to sneak into the city. I’d been imagining the ‘city’ as a place like Tenpony, or even the Society. A building, a cluster of buildings, or even a stable were what had crossed my mind. Places with big, guarded doors where everything going in and out was looked at carefully and judged. Here, there were so many ponies coming and going that
我一直在担心我们如何偷偷溜进城里。我一直把'城市'想象成一个像Tenpony一样的地方，甚至是学会。一座建筑物，一群建筑物，甚至一个马厩浮现在我的脑海里。那些有大大的、有守卫的门的地方，所有进出的东西都被仔细地检查和判断。这里，来来往往的小马太多了
entering had been as simple as moving up over the top rim. There were flights of power-armored ponies flying around, but they seemed occupied with something else. The only interference we had was when a gray pegasus pony with a stubbly chin flew over, inspected the ‘cloud’, and told Boomer to “Get that good, heavy cloud to the work site pronto.”
进入就像从顶部边缘往上移动一样简单。一群群穿着重型装甲的小马在周围飞来飞去，但它们似乎被别的事情占据了。我们遇到的唯一干扰是，一匹下巴胡子拉碴的灰色飞马飞过来，检查了"云"，并告诉布玛儿"赶紧把那朵厚厚的云送到工地去。"
And then he flew on, because there were other ponies doing similar things.
然后他继续飞行，因为还有其他小马也在做类似的事情。
This was how the world was supposed to be. How it once was. Ponies working, living, laughing. It was like a soap bubble that had persisted for two hundred years, protected by its mighty tower and advantages over its neighbors. There weren’t ponies scrabbling for their next meal, worried about monsters, or just trying to keep from being robbed, raped, or ripped in two.
这就是世界应该是的样子。曾经的样子。小马工作，生活，笑。它就像一个持续了两百年的肥皂泡，被它强大的高塔和相对于邻居的优势所保护。没有小马在为它们的下一顿饭而挣扎，没有担心怪物，也没有试图阻止被抢劫、强奸或撕成两半。
Once we were inside the ring, Glory’d directed us towards the far side of the city. At first, I couldn’t tell one part from another, but now I could see that different sections of the city had some subtly different decorations in the form of colored motifs. The busiest was red, which she said was the business and entertainment sector. We were headed to the blue section, right in the middle, which seemed to have the largest and fanciest homes with the fewest ponies hanging about. As we reached the wall she’d pointed us to, she quickly flew out, nipped over to a control panel, and tapped a few keys. A side of the wall swung up, revealing an immense garage, perhaps more of a hangar, even, with an impressive gold-and-silver-surfaced sky carriage supported by hooks in the ceiling. Though we scraped off most of the storm cloud getting through the door, Twister, Boomer, and Glory were able to tie the Fleur to the same supports.
我们一进入拳击场，晨辉就把我们带到了城市的另一边。一开始，我无法区分城市的不同部分，但是现在我可以看到城市的不同区域有一些以彩色图案形式的微妙不同的装饰。最繁忙的是红色，她说这是商业和娱乐部门。我们朝正中间的蓝色区域走去，那里似乎有最大最豪华的房子，周围挂着最少的小马。当我们到达她指给我们看的那堵墙时，她飞快地跑了出来，跑到一个控制面板前，敲了几下键盘。墙的一边竖了起来，露出一个巨大的车库，也许更像是一个飞机库，甚至还有一个令人印象深刻的金银浮出水面的天空马车，由天花板上的挂钩支撑着。虽然我们刮掉了穿过门口的大部分风暴云，但龙卷风、婴儿潮和晨辉还是把芙蓉绑在了同样的支架上。
“Wow. I can’t believe we’re really up in the sky!” Scotch Tape said, jumping eagerly over the rail.
"哇。真不敢相信我们真的飞上了天空!"透明胶带说，急切地跳过栏杆。
“Wait!” Glory shouted, but too late. Scotch Tape’s glee turned into a shriek of terror as she plunged straight through the floor. I reached out with my magic just before her tail disappeared from view and grabbed. The filly emerged slowly, hanging upside down as she hugged herself and trembled. My horn strained; had she been full-grown, I wouldn’t have caught her. When Glory picked her out of the air and deposited her on the Fleur, Scotch rushed to P-21 and hugged him tight.
"等等!"晨辉呼喊着，但为时已晚。透明胶带的欢乐变成了一声恐怖的尖叫，她径直穿过地板。就在它的尾巴从视野中消失之前，我用魔法伸出手抓住了它。这匹小母马慢慢地出现了，头朝下倒挂着，紧紧地抱着自己，浑身发抖。我的角绷得紧紧的，要是她已经长大了，我就抓不住她了。当晨辉把她从空中抱起，放在Fleur上时，苏格兰人冲向P-21，紧紧地抱住了他。
“Don’t get off the boat. Not getting off the boat,” Scotch Tape murmured over
"不要下船。不要下船,"苏格兰胶带低声说
and over again as I let out a sigh of relief.
一次又一次，我松了一口气。
P-21 held her as she dealt with that minor breakdown. “This might make walking around a little difficult.”
P-21在她处理轻微的精神崩溃时抱着她。"这可能会让走路变得有点困难。"
I frowned and levitated out Twilight’s magic primer. Now I was glad that it wasn’t just useless magical exercises for foals. “She has a spell here that she says will let non-pegasi walk on clouds.” I read the details… it didn’t seem all that difficult. Definitely nothing I would have tried a month ago, but... “Who am I going to try it on, though?”
我皱起眉头，浮出了《暮光之城》的魔法入门。现在我很高兴，这不仅仅是对小马驹无用的魔法练习。"她在这里写了一个咒语，她说可以让非飞马座在云上行走。"我读了细节...看起来并不是那么困难。一个月前我绝对不会试穿这件衣服，但是......"不过，我要穿在谁身上呢?"
“Eh. What’s the worst you can do to me?” Rampage asked as she trotted in front of me.
"嗯。你能对我做的最坏的事情是什么?"她在我面前小跑着问道。
I screwed up my face and concentrated. Imagine happy, fluffy clouds on the ends of her legs. Happy, fluffy clouds… I felt the magic discharge. “Huh… you don’t look any different. Maybe Boomer can bring in some of that thundercloud we scraped off and--”
我皱起眉头，全神贯注。想象一下幸福的，蓬松的云彩在她的腿的末端。快乐，蓬松的云朵......我感觉到了神奇的放电。"嗯......你看起来没什么不同。也许布玛儿可以带点我们刮掉的雷雨云来——"
“Banzai!” Rampage shouted as she jumped off the far side of the ship. Her cry trailed away to silence as all of us stared in shock.
"万岁!"当她从船的另一边跳下时，狂暴的叫喊着。她的哭声渐渐变成了沉默，我们都震惊地盯着她。
“Oh Celestia,” I muttered as I slowly walked to where she’d jumped. First Lacunae and now Rampage… “I… I should have known better. I thought I cast it right!” Falling... and falling... and sure, she wouldn’t die, but who knew what we were over this second? We were near the Core! She could find herself impaled on a ruin, or--
"哦，塞莱斯蒂亚,"我一边慢慢走向她跳下的地方，一边喃喃自语。先是空白，现在又横冲直撞.....。.我早该知道的。我还以为我投对了呢!"坠落......和坠落......当然，她不会死，但谁知道我们在这一秒是什么？我们就在核心附近！她会发现自己被钉在废墟上，或者--
Then a striped pony launched herself over the rail and landed atop me. “You did. I was just messing with you,” she said smugly as she lay atop me, then frowned and tapped my metal reinforcements. “Whoa, how do you and Glory get your sexings on? Don’t these chafe?”
然后一匹有条纹的小马从栏杆上腾空而起，落在我身上。"是的。我只是逗你玩儿呢,"她一边躺在我身上一边沾沾自喜地说，然后皱了皱眉头，敲了敲我的金属援军。"哇，你和晨辉是怎么做爱的？这些擦伤了吗?"
“A bit, but so long as I’m on top, it’s not too bad,” Glory replied as I worked to re-establish my ability to speak.
"有一点，但只要我在上面，就不会太糟糕,"晨辉回答说，我正在努力重建我的说话能力。
“Rampage! I’ll kill you!” I yelled as I tried to punch her.
"横冲直撞！我要杀了你!"我一边大叫一边试图打她。
“Promises, promises,” she drawled as she almost casually pinned my metallic legs under her hoofclaws. She looked over at the traumatized Scotch Tape, then
"承诺，承诺,"她慢吞吞地说，几乎是随意地把我的金属腿夹在她的蹄爪下。然后她看了看受伤的透明胶带
down at me, and I saw a shadow in her eyes. But then she grinned as she fought it back. “Hey Scotch. Watch this.” She opened her mouth and let a giant dollop of saliva roll along her tongue.
我看到了她眼中的阴影。但是当她还击的时候，她咧嘴笑了。"嘿，苏格兰威士忌。看看这个。"她张开嘴，让一大团唾液顺着舌头滚动。
“No! No no no! Don’t you dare, Rampage!” I shouted as I tried to heave her off. “Do not drool on me, Rampage! I’m warning you!” I glanced at Glory desperately, but apparently the ickiness of earth pony saliva wasn’t worth her coming to my rescue.
"不！不，不，不！你敢横冲直撞!"我边喊边想把她推开。"不要对我流口水，暴怒！我警告你!"我绝望地瞥了一眼晨辉，但显然地球小马唾液的急促不值得她来救我。
Rampage sucked the glob back in, grinned down at me, and snorted loudly before letting a wad of something awful slowly begin to drop towards my face, swinging and wriggling like some vile pendulum. “Rampage, what are you, a filly?” Glory asked in disgust. Rampage froze, a glob of slime dangling from her lips as she looked at Glory, and then she sucked it back into her mouth. “That’s better,” Glory said with the air of a foalsitter. “Honestly…” Rampage smirked.
狂暴把那团东西吸了回来，冲着我咧嘴一笑，大声地哼了一声，然后让一团可怕的东西慢慢地朝我脸上掉下来，像邪恶的钟摆一样摆来摆去。"横冲直撞，你是什么，小母马吗?"晨辉厌恶地问道。狂暴僵住了，一团粘液从她的嘴唇上垂下来，她看着晨辉，然后她把它吸回了嘴里。"这样好多了,"晨辉说，神情像个小马驹。"老实说......"狂暴得意地笑着。
Then, like a steel-plated jungle cat, she launched herself at Glory, pinning the pegasus on her back. “What are you doing? Get off!” The phlegm glob appeared once more. “No! No no nononoNO!” she pled helplessly as the Reaper let the mucus swing lower and lower. “Blackjack! Help!” I glanced over at Scotch, who was beating back her recent trauma with amusement. Then Glory’s shriek reached glass-breaking levels as the spit bomb landed. “Rampage!”
然后，她像一只钢铁镀金的丛林猫科动物一样，向晨辉起飞，把飞马系压在了她的背上。"你在干什么？滚开!"痰团再次出现。"不！不，不，不!"当收割者把粘液摆得越来越低时，她无助地哭了起来。"黑杰克！救命!"我瞥了一眼苏格兰人，她正饶有兴致地回忆着她最近所受的创伤。然后，随着唾沫弹落地，晨辉的尖叫声达到了破碎玻璃的程度。"横冲直撞!"
We all… save for Glory… broke into laughter. “Relax, Glory,” Rampage smirked. “Scotch is laughing now. So chill.”
我们都......为了晨辉......爆发出笑声。"放松，晨辉,"狂暴得意地笑着。"苏格兰人现在笑了。太扫兴了。"
“I’m back in grade school again,” Glory said in exasperation as she sat up, but she was mollified a bit by the sight of the laughing olive filly. Her continued attempts to wipe the spittle away just smeared it into her coat, though. “Oh, gross! Is this mucus? This is mucus! Rampage!”
"我又回到小学了,"晨辉坐起来，恼怒地说，但是看到那个笑着的橄榄小姑娘，她的情绪有点平静了。不过，她继续试图擦去唾沫，结果只是把唾沫抹到了她的外套上。"哦，真恶心！这是粘液吗？这是粘液！狂暴!"
“What is going on?” a young mare said from the garage doorway. Her coat was a darker gray than Glory’s and her mane a deep indigo. I was reminded of a pegasus Homage, except a pair of glasses lay before her lighter, blue, and currently very wide eyes. “What… how… who are all of you?”
"这是怎么回事?"一匹年轻的母马在车库门口说。她的上衣比格洛里的深灰色，鬃毛深靛青色。我想起了飞马座的"致敬"，只不过她眼前放着一副眼镜，颜色浅蓝，眼睛睁得很大。"什么......怎么......你们都是什么人?"
“Moonshadow?” Glory said as she stared at the uneasy mare. Then she swooshed in and hugged the mare every bit as fiercely as Rampage pouncing. “Moony!”
"月之影?"格洛里盯着那匹不安的母马说。然后她飞快地冲进来，像疯狂扑扑一样狠狠地拥抱了那匹母马。"月亮!"
Moonshadow struggled to push Glory away. “Rainbow Dash?” Her lip curled, clearly uncomfortable with the gooey embrace. “Who… what…” Her eyes turned to the Fleur, then to all of us. “What’s going on?”
月影奋力将晨辉推开。"彩虹冲刺?"她的嘴唇微微翘起，显然不喜欢这种甜蜜的拥抱。"谁......什么......"她的目光转向Fleur，然后转向我们所有人。"怎么回事?"
“It’s me! Morning Glory! I’m home!” she said with a grin. But it quickly faded as Moonshadow pushed her away. “Moonshadow?”
"是我！牵牛花！我回来了!"她笑着说。但是当月影推开她的时候，它很快就消失了。"月之影?"
The mare shook her head slowly, “…no. You can’t be--”
母马慢慢地摇了摇头,"......不。你不能——"
“It’s Morning Glory, Moon,” Dusk said loudly as she stumbled onto the deck and faltered to the rail. She glanced at me, her lips pursed, and then she awkwardly fluttered down to the floor of the garage. Her bandages had been removed, revealing the swollen, livid injuries to her head. I hadn’t remembered exactly what I’d done to her… apparently it had involved ripping her helmet open and nearly crushing her skull. The swelling had gone down, but skull fractures took longer to heal without magic.
"这是牵牛花，月亮,"黄昏大声说，她跌跌撞撞地走到甲板上，摇摇晃晃地走到栏杆边。她瞥了我一眼，嘴唇撅了起来，然后笨拙地拍打着翅膀落到了车库的地板上。她的绷带已经拆除，露出了肿胀的、青灰色的头部伤口。我不记得我到底对她做了什么......很明显我把她的头盔扯开了，差点砸碎她的头骨。肿胀已经消失，但是头骨骨折需要更长的时间才能在没有魔法的情况下愈合。
“Dusk? What happened to you?” Moonshadow asked as she rushed to swaying pegasus’s side. Feeling awkward, I got to casting the cloudwalking spell on myself and the others. “And… Rainbow Dash?”
"黄昏？你怎么了?"月影一边问，一边冲向摇曳的飞马座。感到尴尬，我不得不对自己和其他人施展云游的魔咒。"还有......彩虹冲刺?"
“Got hurt down below,” she replied. “But yeah, that’s Glory. Come on. I’ll explain everything.” Then she rolled her eyes a little. “Actually, I’ll just hit the important parts. I can’t begin to explain everything. But let’s go inside.”
"在下面受伤了,"她回答。"但是，是的，这就是晨辉。来吧。我会解释一切的。"然后她转了转眼珠。"实际上，我只是碰到了重要的部分。我无法解释一切。但我们还是进去吧。"
Moonshadow looked from Dusk to Glory and back again. Glory grinned sheepishly and added, “And I’d really like to wash my face. Really…”
月影从黄昏看到晨辉，再看回来。晨辉羞怯地笑着补充说:"我真的很想洗洗脸。真的......"
But Moonshadow wasn’t smiling. The dark gray mare’s blue eyes turned and regarded the rest of us coolly. “I see. Very well. Welcome to the Striker estate.” Frowning, she led us all inside. A cool welcome indeed.
但是月影并没有笑。那匹深灰色母马的蓝眼睛转过来，冷静地看着我们其余的人。"我明白了。很好。欢迎来到斯垂克庄园。"她皱着眉头，把我们都领了进去。的确是一个很酷的欢迎。
* * *
* * *
I don’t know what I expected Morning Glory’s home to be like, but I certainly hadn’t imagined a palace in the skies. The soaring great room rose up for three stories with balconies reaching out like clamshells from between Corinthian columns. Rainbow-paned windows cast a polychromatic light across the floor, which was engraved with a relief of trees, clouds, and birds. As Thunderhead rotated, the light played slowly across the surface, the shards of color
我不知道我期望牵牛花的家会是什么样子，但是我肯定没有想象过天空中有一座宫殿。高耸入云的大房间有三层楼高，阳台像蛤壳一样从科林斯柱子之间伸出来。彩虹装饰的窗户在地板上投射出多彩的光线，地板上雕刻着树木、云彩和鸟儿的浮雕。随着Thunderhead的旋转，光线缓慢地穿过表面，颜色的碎片
illuminating one spot and then another so that what was a blue bird one minute would be a blue lake ten minutes later.
照亮了一个点，然后又照亮了另一个点，这样一分钟前还是蓝色的鸟，十分钟后就变成了蓝色的湖。
Scotch Tape stared at the architecture around her with literal jawdropping awe, her fear of falling miles to the ground forgotten. She raced back to the Fleur for some scrap paper and charcoal and immediately began sketching what she saw and writing notes. I observed a few particularities as well: no stairs. Thank goodness there were toilets on the ground floor.
苏格兰磁带盯着她周围的建筑，带着一种令人瞠目结舌的敬畏，她害怕从几英里外掉到地上，却忘记了这一点。她跑回百合花那里拿了一些碎纸和木炭，立刻开始素描她所看到的东西，并写下笔记。我也注意到一些特殊情况:没有楼梯。谢天谢地一楼有厕所。
There were also not a lot of people for an estate almost half the size of my stable. Four pegasi, two mares and two stallions dressed in formal black attire, were apparently paid to keep the place neat and tidy. They stood by, clearly unsure of what to do but ready to act if Moonshadow, Dusk, or Glory needed them. I noticed a great deal of wrinkling noses, and I felt embarrassed for bringing the stink of the Wasteland into this vast and amazing structure. Then I put it out of my mind, as I had bigger things to worry about.
也没有很多人来买一个几乎有我马厩一半大的房子。"四匹飞马"、两匹母马和两匹身着黑色礼服的种马显然是被雇来保持这个地方的整洁的。他们站在一旁，显然不知道该做什么，但准备采取行动，如果月影，黄昏，或光荣需要他们。我注意到有许多皱起的鼻子，我感到很尴尬，因为我把荒原的臭味带进了这个巨大而令人惊叹的建筑。然后我把它从脑海中抹去，因为我还有更重要的事情要操心。
We’d moved into a library where enchanted, vaporous shelves held books old even before the war began. A tapestry of some kind hung from the ceiling to the floor, showing generation upon generation of ponies stretching back centuries. I’d never realized that Glory’s family, through her father, went back even further than my own through Twilight. Two identical young dove-gray fillies with pink manes listened to Glory and Dusk with matching expressions of awe. Her siblings, Lambent and Lucent. Moonshadow listened to every single word with focus, asking few questions and simply taking it all in. From the firm frown on her lips, she wasn’t happy with any of it. When we got to the part about the Enclave and Lighthooves, Dusk suggested that Lambent and Lucent show Scotch Tape the rest of the house while the butler brought her an aspirin.
我们搬进了一个图书馆，那里的书架充满了魔力，散发着蒸汽，里面的书甚至在战争开始之前就已经陈旧了。一块挂毯从天花板一直挂到地板，上面一代又一代的小马可以追溯到几个世纪以前。我从来没有意识到晨辉的家庭，通过她的父亲，比我自己的家庭在《暮光之城》中走得更远。两只长得一模一样的带着粉色鬃毛的鸽灰色小雌马，带着同样敬畏的表情聆听着《晨辉》和《黄昏》。她的兄弟姐妹，Lambent和Lucent。月影仔细地听着每一个字，几乎没有问什么问题，只是全神贯注地听着。从她紧皱的双唇来看，她对这一切都不满意。当我们谈到昂科雷和Lighthooves时，《黄昏》建议兰本特和朗讯播放透明胶带，管家给她拿来一片阿司匹林。
The three went out, along with a maid to supervise, while we were left with a table of stale desserts and oddities. The water was lightly flavored with lemon. Boo seemed somewhat disappointed with the bland sugar cookies provided.
他们三个和一个女仆一起出去了，留给我们的是一桌陈腐的甜点和各种稀奇古怪的东西。水里加了点柠檬的味道。布似乎对提供的平淡无奇的糖饼干有些失望。
Then we told Moonshadow about the plague and the upcoming attack. She took it all stoically, even more so than I thought possible given her sister’s appearance and company. Her blue eyes closed thoughtfully, and I gave Rampage a stern glare before she could start making snoring noises. A minute later, Moonshadow opened her eyes again, and she did not look happy. “I need to speak to my sisters alone.” Then her gaze switched to me before she added, “You can stay. You
然后我们把瘟疫和即将到来的攻击告诉了月影。她坚忍地接受了这一切，考虑到她姐姐的外表和陪伴，她的坚忍甚至超出了我的想象。她蓝色的眼睛若有所思地闭上了，在她开始打鼾之前，我狠狠地瞪了她一眼。一分钟后，月影又睁开了眼睛，她看上去并不高兴。"我要和我的姐妹们单独谈谈。"然后她的目光转向我，又加了一句:"你可以留下来。你
seem to be in the middle of all this.”
似乎被卷入了这一切"
“What? What are we supposed to do?” Rampage asked as she panned from Moonshadow to Glory. “Come on! If you’re going to fight, I want to see the action. Don’t just leave me with the play by play!”
"什么？我们该怎么办?"当她从月之影摇身一变成为晨辉的时候，暴怒问道。"来吧！如果你要打架，我想看你打架。不要只是让我一个人玩游戏!"
“Rampage,” I said with a shake of my head.
"横冲直撞,"我摇摇头说。
She started to whine again, but Moonshadow told one of the servants, “Show her to the media room. If you insist on watching drama,” she then said to Rampage, “I suggest viewing By Dawn’s Early Light. Quite a tearjerker.”
她又开始哭了起来，但是月影对其中一个仆人说:"带她去媒体室。如果你坚持看戏剧,"她接着对狂暴说,"我建议你看《黎明的晨光》。真是催人泪下。"
“Aw, yeah,” Boomer nodded. “I love the scene where Captain Silverwing gets shot and has to lie on the mountaintop while his squad pulls back!” He adopted a gruff tone and said, “‘Fight another day, boys. Fight for me. Fight for us. But do it tomorrow. Me, I got a dance to keep.’ And they go and then the griffins start to swoop in on him and…” he trailed off as he realized that we were all staring at him. “What?! It’s a heartbreaker of a scene. ‘Specially when it cuts back to his special pony back home…”
"哦，是的,"布玛儿点点头。"我喜欢看到银翼上尉中枪躺在山顶上，而他的队伍却在撤退!"他用粗暴的语气说:"改日再战吧，孩子们。为我而战。为我们而战。但是明天就去做。我，我还有一支舞要跳然后他们走了，然后狮鹫开始向他扑来......"当他意识到我们都在盯着他时，他慢慢地走开了。"什么?！这是一个令人心碎的场景。"特别是当它回到家乡的时候......"
Rampage looked at him blankly, then smiled. “Well, you sold me. I’m game.” Then she turned to the butler pony and said grandly, “To the boob tube, Jeeves!”
狂暴面无表情地看着他，然后笑了。"好吧，你把我说服了。我愿意加入。"然后她转向那匹小马管家，郑重其事地说:"去看电视吧，吉福斯!"
“My name is Droplets, ma’am,” he replied stiffly. “This way.” Together, she and Boomer left.
"我的名字是飞沫，夫人,"他生硬地回答。"这边走。"她和布玛儿一起离开了。
P-21 turned to Twister and frowned a moment. “Maybe you and I can talk till they’re done. I’d like to know more about Neighvarro. It might help me understand what all the fighting is over.”
P-21转向龙卷风，皱了皱眉头。"也许我们可以谈谈，直到他们谈完。我想多了解一下邻居。这可能有助于我理解战争结束的原因。"
“Skybright?” Glory said to one of the maids. “Why don’t you show them to the kitchens and make them something to eat?”
"天空光明?"晨辉对一个女仆说。"你为什么不带他们去厨房给他们做点吃的呢?"
The sky blue mare nodded and trotted to the door, smiling as she opened it for the pair. “This way, please.”
天蓝色的母马点点头，小跑到门口，微笑着为他们打开门。"请这边走。"
I looked over at Boo, the blank blinking confusedly now that ponies were leaving. Or maybe she was just struggling to chew on one of the stale white disks they called ‘cookies’. “Go with them, Boo. They might have Fancy Buck Cakes.” I don’t know if she understood me, but she perked up a little, tossed the
我看着阿布，那个空白的眼睛迷惑地眨着，因为小马正在离开。又或者她只是在努力咀嚼一块他们称之为"饼干"的陈旧的白色圆盘。"和他们一起去吧，波。他们可能有花式巴克蛋糕。"我不知道她是否明白我的意思，但她振作了一点，扔了一下
half-eaten cookie back on the plate, and trotted out after them, seeming quite pleased. Such a bizarre mare…
把吃了一半的饼干放回盘子里，然后小跑着跟在他们后面，看起来很高兴。真是个怪胎。
When it was down to four of us and the one remaining servant, Moonshadow frowned as she regarded Glory, myself, and Dusk. “So. You’ve been through a great deal. What is it you plan to do next?” Moonshadow asked archly as she sat on a fluffy white couch. “Get yourselves arrested and hope that they take a bunch of surfacers seriously enough to give you an audience with Councilor Stargazer? Or were you planning on having the public show of us being exiled en masse for breaking quarantine be enough for some sort of public appeal?”
当只剩下我们四个和剩下的一个仆人的时候，月影皱起了眉头，她看着光荣、我和黄昏。"所以。你经历了很多。你下一步打算做什么?"月影坐在一张松软的白沙发上，狡黠地问道。"把你们自己抓起来，希望他们把一群地面人当回事，让你们去见见观星家议员？还是你打算公开展示我们因为违反隔离规定而被集体流放，这足以引起某种公众的关注?"
“Well, that is one way to contact the authorities,” Glory said, a touch confused and defensive.
"好吧，这是联系当局的一种方式,"晨辉说，他感到困惑和防御。
“Um, I don’t think you understand,” I said to Moonshadow with a concerned frown. “Neighvarro is coming for the Tower. If they have to shoot their way in to secure the place, they will. I think you have to look at the bigger picture.”
"嗯，我想你没明白,"我皱着眉头忧心忡忡地对月影说。"邻居来抢塔楼了。如果他们不得不杀出一条路来保护这个地方，他们会的。我认为，你必须着眼于更大的局面。"
Moonshadow wheeled on me with undisguised contempt. “Excuse me. This isn’t your house, your home, your place, or your business. Do not tell me what I should be looking at.”
月影毫不掩饰地蔑视着我。"对不起。这不是你的房子，你的家，你的地方，或者你的生意。不要告诉我应该看什么。"
Morning Glory bristled. “Do not address her like that, Moonshadow! Blackjack is my marefriend.”
牵牛花竖了起来。"不要这样对她说话，月影！黑杰克是我最好的朋友。"
“Congratulations,” Moonshadow retorted, full of scorn, “you discovered fornication.” She rose and turned away to gaze out the window. “Maybe next you might discover familial obligation.”
"恭喜你,"月影充满轻蔑地回答说,"你发现了通奸。"她站起身来，转过身去凝视窗外。"也许接下来你会发现家庭责任。"
“What’s gotten into you, Moony?” Glory asked, clearly at a loss.
"你怎么了，穆尼?"晨辉问道，显然不知所措。
The gray mare smacked her hoof on the table beside her, making the china rattle. “Becoming the head of a household when Father and two of my siblings disappeared ‘got into me’,” she said without turning. “Something I don’t expect either of you two to understand.”
灰色的母马用蹄子拍打她旁边的桌子，弄得瓷器哗啦哗啦地响。"当父亲和我的两个兄弟姐妹消失后，我成了一家之主,"她没有转身说道。"有些事情我不指望你们两个能理解。"
“Hey,” Dusk groaned, scowling as she started to rise. Then she touched the side of her head and leaned back in her loveseat, but she continued, “Don’t talk to me about family.”
"嘿,"黄昏呻吟着，皱着眉头，她开始站起来。然后她摸了摸头的侧面，向后靠在她的双人沙发上，但是她继续说,"不要和我谈论家庭。"
“Oh?” Moonshadow whirled, glaring at her. “You ran off to join the military the first chance you could get. I understood that. Following in Father’s hoofsteps and all that entails. But did you ever think about who would head this family when you just left to do your security training? There was an attempt to bring scandal on us by saying that Glory had gone Dashite!” Her hard blue eyes turned to Glory. “And so you did. More Dashite than I’d thought possible.”
"哦?"月影旋转着，怒视着她。"你一有机会就跑去参军。我能理解。跟随父亲的脚步和所有的一切。但是当你刚刚离开去做安全培训的时候，你有没有想过谁来领导这个家庭？有人企图说晨辉已经离开了大栅栏，给我们带来丑闻!"她那双坚硬的蓝眼睛变成了晨辉。"你也是这么做的。比我想象的还要多。"
“I had no choice in that!” Glory began as she launched herself from my side and hovered in the air, pointing a hoof at Moonshadow. “Lighthooves branded me, and magic weeds transformed me into this. I never asked for this trouble!”
"我别无选择!"晨辉开始了，她从我身边起飞，在空中盘旋，蹄子指向Moonshadow。"灯塔给我烙上了烙印，魔法杂草把我变成了这样。我从来没有要求过这种麻烦!"
But Moonshadow, faster than I expected, launched herself into the air and poked her hoof hard into Glory’s chest. “Oh, but you did! You had every choice in it, Morning Glory! You could have stayed up here. You could have married or dated anypony you wanted, or none at all. You could have continued your studies. You’d have been a doctor in a year if you’d stayed. But no. You had to pine for Mother and continue her hopeless crusade of helping the surface. You even got Father to endorse the Volunteer Corps! Well, where are Mother and Father now? A mechanical abomination and trapped in some surface stasis pod!”
但是月影，比我想象的还要快，飞到了空中，用蹄子狠狠地戳了一下晨辉的胸口。"哦，但是你做到了！你有很多选择，牵牛花！你可以留在这里。你可以和任何你想要的小马结婚或者约会，或者什么都不要。你本可以继续你的学业。如果你留下来，一年之内你就能成为一名医生了。但是没有。你不得不渴望母亲，继续她那毫无希望的救援行动。你甚至让父亲支持志愿兵团！那么，爸爸妈妈现在在哪里？一个机械炸弹，被困在某个表面停滞舱里!"
Glory backed away, looking as if Moonshadow had just bucked her upside the head. “Moonshadow, how can you say that?”
晨辉向后退去，看起来好像月影刚刚从她的头上摔了下来。"月影，你怎么能这么说呢?"
“How…” She gritted her teeth and hissed in frustration. “Have you even thought about Lambent and Lucent, Glory? Or me? Or anypony else?” She pointed a hoof damningly at Glory. “If it were just your life, oh well. I’d be sympathetic. But your sojourn to the surface hasn’t just affected you, Glory. Have you realized that?” She gestured at Dusk. “She kept us from exile when it was released that you were dead. I admit, I cried when I heard. But you’re not dead. You’re here. And you’re Rainbow Dash! Are you trying to get us all arrested and exiled?”
"怎么......"她咬紧牙关，沮丧地嘶嘶作响。"你有没有想过Lambent和Lucent，Glory？还是我？或者其他的小马?"她用蹄子诅咒地指着晨辉。"如果这只是你的生活，哦，好吧。我会表示同情的。但是你在地面上的逗留不仅仅影响了你，晨辉。你意识到了吗?"她指了指黄昏。"当你死了的消息被释放时，她让我们免于流亡。我承认，当我听到这个消息时，我哭了。但你没死。你来了。你是彩虹小飞！你是想让我们都被逮捕和流放吗?"
“There’s more at stake than our family,” Dusk pointed out grimly.
"还有比我们家族更危险的事情,"黄昏严肃地指出。
“I realize that,” Moonshadow retorted. “But unlike the two of you, I am not prepared to sacrifice myself and my youngest siblings as if we’re nothing!”
"我知道,"月影回答道。"但我不像你们两个，我不准备牺牲我自己和我最小的兄弟姐妹，好像我们什么都不是!"
“And when the Enclave comes here and starts shooting, what then?” Glory snapped.
"当昂科雷来到这里开始射击，然后呢?"晨辉结束了。
“There’s lots of folks in Neighvarro who won’t shy away from civilian casualties. Heck, some of them think that the whole population of Thunderhead are traitors,” I pointed out.
"Neighvarro有很多人不会回避平民伤亡。见鬼，他们中的一些人认为雷头帮的所有人都是叛徒。"我指出。
“Then we sit tight, surrender at an opportune moment, and demonstrate our loyalty.” I gaped at her in shock. She met my incredulity with sincerity. “The Grand Pegasus Enclave is the legal, elected authority of our people. Yes, the system has severe problems, but that doesn’t excuse criminality. If there are elements defying the law, then the Enclave is right to step in and stop them! They’re criminals. If Thunderhead won’t stop them, then the Enclave as a whole should,” Moonshadow countered.
"那么我们就坐在这里，在适当的时候投降，以示我们的忠诚。"我震惊地目瞪口呆地看着她。她真诚地接受了我的怀疑。"大帕伽索斯飞地是我们人民合法选举的权威。是的，这个制度存在严重的问题，但这不能成为犯罪的借口。如果有违反法律的分子，那么昂科雷就有权介入并阻止他们！他们是罪犯。如果雷头公司不能阻止他们，那么飞地公司作为一个整体就应该阻止他们。
“Right,” I said as I stood. “Glory, get a rope. If she’s not going to help us, then she’s going to be a liability.”
"是的,"我站起来说。"晨辉，拿根绳子来。如果她不帮我们，那她就是个累赘。"
Moonshadow stared at me in disgust. “Brilliant. And what are you going to tell my employers at the university tomorrow? I have never taken a sick day in my life. And what of our servants’ families? What are you going to tell them?” Then she asked, cool and contemptuous, “Or are you just going to kill us?” I sighed. This was going to be a lot more difficult than I expected.
月影厌恶地盯着我。"太棒了。你明天打算怎么跟我在大学的雇主说？我这辈子从来没请过病假。那我们仆人的家人怎么办？你打算告诉他们什么?"然后她冷静而轻蔑地问道:"还是你要杀了我们?"我叹了口气。这比我想象的要困难得多。
Glory sighed as well, slumping, clearly defeated, “Moonshadow, if you’re not going to help us--”
晨辉也叹了口气，衰退着，显然被打败了,"月影，如果你不打算帮助我们——"
“Oh skies above, of course I’m going to help!” she said in eye rolling exasperation.
"天啊，我当然会帮忙!"她翻着白眼说道。
There was a round of absolutely baffled expressions on everypony’s face. “You are?” I asked in befuddlement.
每个小马的脸上都有一种绝对困惑的表情。"是吗?"我迷惑地问。
“You think I’m going to stuff my head into a cloud and let you go about whatever foalish scheme you come up with and finish this family off? No,” Moonshadow stated firmly. “I refuse to let you, your… friends… Mother, Father, or anypony else ruin Lambent’s, Lucent’s, or my life!” She flew up and once more poked Glory in the chest. “But don’t think that I’m happy with you bringing this on us, Glory.”
"你以为我会把自己的脑袋塞进云里，让你想出任何愚蠢的计划，然后结束这个家庭吗？"不,"月影子坚定地说。"我拒绝让你，你的......朋友们......母亲，父亲，或者任何其他人毁掉兰本特，朗讯，或者我的生活!"她飞了起来，又一次戳了晨辉的胸口。"但是，不要以为我会因为你给我们带来的麻烦而高兴，晨辉。"
Glory took a deep breath. “Help me with this and I’ll leave and never darken your skies again,” she said, clearly fighting the tears.
晨辉深深地吸了一口气。"帮我这个忙，我就会离开，再也不会让你的天空变暗,"她说，显然是在忍着眼泪。
“Oh for the love of clear skies, no!” Moonshadow said, throwing her forehooves over her head in outrage. Then she seized Morning Glory by the shoulders. “You’re family! This is your home. Just start thinking about how what you do is going to affect the rest of us for a change. Otherwise, you’re just like Mother.” She sighed and landed, then pressed her wingtips to her temples. “Ugh, I’m getting a migraine. Jamboree, I need an aspirin.” Rather than trotting over fifteen feet to the bottle on the table, she waited for the butler to fish out two tablets with his wingtips and deliver them to her. Once they were ingested, she sighed again. “Now, it’s late, and I have work to finish up, dinner to eat, and calls to make,” Moonshadow said crossly. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?” she asked as she looked from one of us to the next.
"哦，看在上帝的份上，不行!"月影说，愤怒地把前蹄抛过头顶。然后她抓住了牵牛花的肩膀。"你们是一家人！这是你的家。只要开始思考你所做的事情将如何影响我们其他人的改变。否则，你就像妈妈一样。"她叹了口气，着陆了，然后把翼梢贴在太阳穴上。"呃，我有点偏头痛。狂欢节，我需要一片阿司匹林。"她没有跑过十五英尺，走到桌上的药瓶前，而是等着管家用翼梢把两片药掏出来递给她。一旦吃下去，她又叹了口气。"现在已经很晚了，我还有工作要做，晚饭要吃，还有电话要打,"月影生气地说。"你还有什么要告诉我的吗?"她看着我们中的一个问道。
“No,” Morning Glory said, looking away.
"不,"牵牛花说，转过头去。
“Fine. Give me until tomorrow morning to get things taken care of, and then we’ll see what we can do for you and your friends. Ah, and I’ll have to find out if the Feathers will take Lambent and Lucent if things go bad.”
"好吧。给我到明天早上把事情处理好，然后我们看看我们能为你和你的朋友做些什么。啊，如果情况变糟的话，我得弄清楚羽毛公司是否会接受Lambent和Lucent。"
“Ugh, the Feathers?” Dusk groaned. “They’re so stodgy.”
"啊，羽毛?"黄昏呻吟着。"它们太乏味了。"
“And they’re the least likely to be lined up against a wall and shot. They’re well-connected here and in Neighvarro. And they like me. Just because you didn’t want to marry their son is no excuse,” Moonshadow said primly. I just had to introduce her to Grace if she ever went to the surface. They’d get along smashingly!
"而且他们最不可能被排成一排靠墙开枪打死。他们在这里和Neighvarro都有很好的人脉。他们也喜欢我。不能因为你不想嫁给他们的儿子就找借口,"月影一本正经地说。如果格蕾丝浮出水面的话，我只好把她介绍给她。他们相处得很好！
“Gay,” Dusk complained flatly.
"快乐,"黄昏直截了当地抱怨道。
Moonshadow snorted. “Oh, as if that’s any reason to call off a perfectly good arranged marriage,” she said with a roll of her eyes, but she finally smiled. Then she turned to her servant and said archly, “I trust your discretion?”
月之影哼了一声。"哦，好像这就是取消一个完美的包办婚姻的理由似的,"她转着眼珠说，但最后还是笑了。她转身对仆人狡猾地说:"我相信你的判断力吗?"
He bowed his head. “Yes, ma’am. I shall be sure to get it from the others as well.”
他低下了头。"是的，夫人。我一定也会从别人那里得到的。"
“Good,” Moonshadow said as she pushed her black-framed glasses back up her muzzle. “Now, I need to get these reports finished. Particularly given that we might be at war any day now and I’d hate to have incomplete assignments hanging over my head. Excuse me.” And with that she rose and exited the library, the servant following in her wake.
"很好,"月影一边说，一边把她的黑框眼镜往上推。"现在，我需要完成这些报告。特别是考虑到我们现在随时都可能处于战争状态，我讨厌有未完成的任务悬在我的头上。对不起。"说完，她起身离开了图书馆，仆人跟在她身后。
“Ten Raptors are coming here to seize the tower, and she’s worrying about paperwork?” I asked in bafflement.
"十架猛禽战机要来占领塔楼，而她却在担心文书工作?"我困惑地问。
Dusk shook her head, then winced. Glory sighed. “She’s always been the responsible one. I… I didn’t know how angry she was with me, though. I thought she liked me.”
黄昏摇摇头，然后退缩。晨辉叹了口气。"她一直是个负责任的人。我。.但我不知道她对我有多生气。我以为她喜欢我。"
“She does, Glory,” Dusk said with a smile. “She’s just cranky. Moonshadow is a perfectionist, if you hadn’t noticed. Smart, sure, but organized too. I used to amuse myself for hours nudging her picture frames off level and then watching her drive herself crazy. Or sharpening one pencil a little more than the rest.”
"是的，晨辉,"黄昏微笑着说。"她只是有点暴躁。月之影是个完美主义者，如果你没有注意到的话。很聪明，当然，但也很有条理。我过去常常花好几个小时自娱自乐，把她的相框轻轻推下水平，然后看着她把自己逼疯。或者比其他人多削一点铅笔。"
“That annoys me too,” Glory said with a frown. “Well, it did. After the Wasteland...”
"这也让我很恼火,"晨辉皱着眉头说。"好吧，是这样的。在荒原之后......"
“Yeah. But Moonshadow I could see trying to organize the empty cans in order of rustiness or something,” Dusk said with a tired smile.
"是的。但是我看得出月影正在努力把空罐子整理得沙沙作响。"黄昏带着疲倦的微笑说道。
“I can’t believe she yelled at me, though. I didn’t think Moonshadow could yell,” Glory said ruefully.
"不过，我不敢相信她居然对我大喊大叫。我没想到月影会大喊大叫,"格洛里悲伤地说。
“You never rifled through her desk. Could have been worse. At least she didn’t try and kill you,” Dusk said quietly. “Sorry about that, by the way.” She rubbed her head and winced. “Stupid skull fractures.”
"你从没翻过她的桌子。本来会更糟的。至少她没有试图杀死你,"黄昏平静地说。"顺便说一句，我很抱歉。"她揉了揉头，皱了皱眉。"愚蠢的头骨骨折"
“Healing potion didn’t help?” Glory asked with a concerned frown.
"治疗药水没用吗?"晨辉皱着眉关切地问。
“Helped a lot. Spending a week or two locked to a gurney and being questioned half the time didn’t. Hopefully my brain will get the memo and stop hurting.”
"帮了很大的忙。花一两个星期的时间被关在轮床上，一半的时间被审问并不能解决问题。希望我的大脑能记住这个消息，停止痛苦。"
“It’s nerves in the bone and muscle or meninges. Brain tissue doesn’t have…” Glory trailed off in the face of the flat look from her sister. “Right. Sorry it hurts.”
"它是骨骼、肌肉或脑膜中的神经。脑组织没有......"面对她姐姐那平淡的表情，晨辉渐渐消失了。"对。对不起，很疼。"
Twister and Boomer came back in. “So, what is the plan for meeting with the councilor?” Twister asked Glory. “I mean, y’all got some sort of family connection or something. Right?”
图斯特和布玛儿回来了。"那么，会见议员的计划是什么?"问晨辉。"我的意思是，你们都有某种家庭联系什么的。对吧?"
“Actually,” Glory rubbed the back of her head. “I was expecting Thunderhead Security to knock on the door five minutes after we arrived. I didn’t think we’d
"事实上,"晨辉摸了摸她的后脑勺。"我本以为我们到达五分钟后，霹雳头保安公司会来敲门。我以为我们不会
actually make it all the way here.” We all stared at her with expressions of shock. “What?” she said defensively to me. “You’d disappeared to Maripony, so I just figured I’d do what you’d do and make it up as we go along.”
一路走到这里"我们都震惊地盯着她看。"什么?"她用辩护的口吻对我说。"你消失在Maripony，所以我想我会做你会做的事，然后在我们一起走的时候弥补一下。"
“Glory,” I said plaintively. “My ideas are terrible! They’ve always been terrible. Why in Equestria would you do that?”
"晨辉,"我悲伤地说。"我的主意糟透了！他们一直都很可怕。在Equestria，你为什么要这么做?"
“I’m sorry, alright!?” she burst at me. “I’m not a leader! I don’t have… whatever it is that you have that lets you do things. I just figured we’d get up here and, one way or another, we’d get in contact with the councilor. Maybe she’d find a bunch of surfacers interesting enough to chat with.” She bowed her head and crumpled before my eyes, hugging herself with her wings. “I know stuff, Blackjack, but I can’t do stuff. Not like you can.” Finally, she averted her eyes. “You have no idea how jealous I am of you for it.”
"对不起，好吗?"她朝我冲过来。"我不是领导！我没有...不管你有什么能让你做事的东西。我只是觉得我们应该上来，无论如何，我们应该和议员取得联系。也许她会发现一群地面人有趣到可以和他们聊天。"她低下头，蜷缩在我的眼前，用翅膀紧紧地抱着自己。"我知道一些事情，Blackjack，但是我不能做一些事情。不像你能做到的。"最后，她转移了目光。"你不知道我有多嫉妒你。"
Dusk sighed. “Let Moonshadow mull over it, Glory. Not only is she smart, but she hasn’t been gone for two months. And the very important ponies like her better.”
黄昏叹了口气。"让月影仔细考虑一下吧，晨辉。她不仅聪明，而且已经两个月没出去了。而且那些非常重要的小马更喜欢她。"
“What’s your plan?” I asked Dusk. She regarded me coolly. After Yellow River, I doubted we’d be friends anytime soon.
"你的计划是什么?"我问黄昏。她冷静地看着我。在黄河之后，我怀疑我们不会很快成为朋友。
“Once my head stops throbbing, I’m going back down to check on Lightning Dancer and Father. I think we’ll need both of them here. I need Dancer, and I’m pretty sure Thunderhead is going to need Father. Then we’ll see,” she replied. “Have to be able to fly for thirty seconds without vertigo sending the world onto the dizzitron first.” She stood and winced. “I’m going to go lie down. You two should probably do the same. Nopony is going to see the councilor after hours, and it’s late.”
"一旦我的头不再抽动，我就回去看看闪电舞者和父亲。我想我们这里需要他们两个。我需要丹瑟，我肯定霹雳头也需要父亲。那我们就拭目以待吧,"她回答。"必须能够在没有眩晕的情况下飞行三十秒，让世界首先进入眼花缭乱的状态。"她站起来，畏缩了一下。"我去躺一会儿。你们也应该这么做。小马驹下班后要去见议员，天已经晚了。"
“Hmmm! I got it! We sneak in under the cover of darkness and talk to the councilor in her bedroom!” I suggested, grinning ear to ear.
"嗯！我拿到了！我们趁着夜色偷偷溜进去，在议员的卧室里和她谈话!"我咧着嘴笑着建议道。
“Blackjack, Enclave councilors have round the clock security,” Dusk said in tones that implied she thought everypony should know this. “And Stargazer’s husband fought with Father during the dragon attack years back. One shot, one alarm, and things go bad very quickly.”
"黑杰克，昂科雷市议员已经24小时保安,"黄昏说的语气暗示她认为每匹小马都应该知道这一点。"几年前，观星者的丈夫在龙的攻击中与父亲并肩作战。一声枪响，一声警报，事情很快就会变糟。"
“Maybe… there’s a secret passage? Or do you have a photograph of her bedroom? I can teleport in! Maybe?” I looked from one to the next, then
"也许......有一条秘密通道？或者你有她卧室的照片吗？我可以瞬移进去！也许?"然后，我从一个看到另一个
groaned. “Ugh, I really don’t want to put myself in a position to get arrested just to talk to them about their illegal bioweapons!”
呻吟。"呃，我真的不想让自己陷入被捕的境地，仅仅是为了和他们谈论他们的非法生物武器!"
“Leave it to Moonshadow,” Glory said with a sigh. “She’s smarter than I am.” That said a lot.
"把它留给月影吧,"格洛里叹了口气说。"她比我聪明。"这说明了很多问题。
“Yeah, but she doesn’t have your heart,” Dusk said with a small smile. “Or my guts. She’d never go to the surface. She likes a nice, predictable life. No wonder she’s pissed. Who could have predicted us?”
"是的，但是她没有你的心。"黄昏带着一丝微笑说。"或者是我的勇气。她永远不会浮出水面。她喜欢美好的，可预测的生活。难怪她会生气。谁能预测到我们?"
I gave her a hug and a nuzzle. Moonshadow might be smart, but I didn’t quite trust her. Still, for Glory, I could give it a try…
我给了她一个拥抱和一个爱抚。Moonshadow也许很聪明，但我不太相信她。不过，为了晨辉，我可以试一试.....。
* * *
* * *
Nothing much happened that evening. Rampage broke out bawling while we were in the kitchen with P-21 and Twister. Apparently the movie had been all Boomer said and more. Scotch Tape was speculating how much of the manor she could copy with surface material. Boo was quite put out at the lack of fine snack cake cuisine in the household.
那天晚上没发生什么事。当我们和P-21和Twister在厨房里的时候，狂暴爆发了。很显然，这部电影就是布玛儿说的那样，甚至更多。透明胶带推测她能用表面材料复制多少庄园。布对家里缺少精致的蛋糕料理感到十分恼火。
That night, all of us except Twister and Boomer slept on the Fleur. Twilight’s book said that the spell would last for three days, but I wasn’t as good at magic as she was. There was no way I was going to get to sleep with the thought of plunging down through the clouds without warning, so we cleaned up the beds for the night. Glory and I spooned together, me stroking her wings gently till she drifted off.
那天晚上，除了龙卷风和布玛儿，我们都睡在花儿上。暮光之城的书上说这个咒语会持续三天，但是我不像她那样擅长魔法。一想到没有任何征兆就从云层中跌落下来，我就睡不着了，所以我们整理了床铺，准备过夜。格洛里和我一起拥抱，我轻轻地抚摸着她的翅膀，直到她渐渐离去。
It took me a while to follow her. I never thought I’d miss being tired. I knew, abstractly, that I needed sleep. I just didn’t feel like I did. I breathed in the clean smell of her mane… purple or rainbow-striped, she still smelled like my Glory… and let my brain gradually shut down as the Fleur quietly creaked around us.
我花了好一会儿才跟上她。我从没想过我会怀念疲惫的日子。我抽象地知道，我需要睡眠。我只是觉得我没有。我呼吸着她鬃毛的清新气味......紫色或彩虹条纹，她仍然闻起来像我的晨辉......当芙蓉悄悄地在我们周围吱吱作响时，我的大脑逐渐停止了工作。
What was waiting for me? Nightmares? Memories of Lacunae’s passing? Worse? I guess I would see…
等待着我的是什么？做恶梦？对空白处逝去的记忆？更糟？我想我会看到..。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
“Blackjack! Hurry up! You’re going to be late!” Mom called from the living room, up the stairs, where I struggled with my golden armor. The dang buckles
"黑杰克！快点！你要迟到了!"妈妈从起居室呼唤我，上了楼梯，在那里我挣扎着穿上我的金色盔甲。该死的扣子
were stuck, again! I finally just teleported right out of it and into the shower.
又卡住了！我终于把自己瞬移出来，进入了浴室。
Hah! Take that, buckles, I thought as I turned on the shower.
哈！接招吧，巴克尔斯，我一边打开淋浴器一边想。
Oh. Wait. The armor was still on me. Curse you, buckles! Curse you.
哦。等等。盔甲还在我身上。诅咒你，巴克莱斯！诅咒你。
I dumped the saturated armor on my bed, gave myself the briskest rubdown in history, and would worry about it later. I raced down the stairs so fast that I barked my shin where the stairs took a corner. I raced past the living room, where my little sister Boo waited impatiently in her soft pink dress. “You’re not dressing up? You should dress up. Mom, make her dress up!”
我把饱和的盔甲扔在床上，给自己一个历史上最轻快的红宝石，以后再担心这个。我飞快地跑下楼梯，以至于楼梯拐角处的小腿都擦破了。我跑过起居室，我的小妹妹波穿着她柔软的粉红色连衣裙不耐烦地等着我。"你不打扮一下吗？你应该打扮一下。妈妈，帮她打扮一下!"
“Ugh! We don’t have time,” I groaned. “He’s not going to care if I’m not all frou-froued up!”
"啊！我们没有时间了,"我呻吟着。"他才不会在乎我是不是兴奋过度呢!"
Mom looked at me and smiled. “Blackjack. Go dress up.”
妈妈看着我笑了。"黑杰克。去换衣服吧。"
Defeated. I returned upstairs, selected a red dress, and wiggled into it. “There! I’m dressed!”
失败。我回到楼上，挑了一件红色的连衣裙，摇晃着穿进去。"那儿！我穿好衣服了!"
“Brush your mane too,” Boo insisted.
"把你的鬃毛也梳一下,"布坚持说。
“Mom!”
"妈妈!"
“Brush your mane. You still have plenty of time.” I sulked spectacularly as Boo took a brush and ran it through my mane and tail a few times.
"梳理你的鬃毛。你还有很多时间。"当Boo拿着刷子在我的鬃毛和尾巴上刷了几下时，我非常生气。
“There. Now can we go?” I asked. A royal guard wasn’t supposed to look all prissy. We were supposed to be tough and loyal and never give up! We saved ponies.
"那儿。现在我们可以走了吗?"我问道。一个皇家卫队不应该看起来那么拘谨。我们应该坚强，忠诚，永不放弃！我们拯救了小马。
“Makeu--” Boo began to say, but I levitated a pillow off the sofa and bapped her head with it. “Moooom! Blackjack is using magic to pick on me again!”
"马库——"阿布开始说，但我把一个枕头从沙发上悬浮起来，用它拍了拍她的头。"妈呀！黑杰克又在用魔法捉弄我了!"
“Boo, she doesn’t need makeup. Blackjack, don’t use magic on your sister.” Mom was used to negotiating between us. We finally headed off towards the door. “Have fun.”
"嘘，她不需要化妆。黑杰克，不要对你妹妹使用魔法。"妈妈已经习惯了我们之间的谈判。我们终于朝门口走去。"玩得开心。"
“Yes, Mom,” we said in unison as we stepped outside into the warm afternoon light.
"是的，妈妈,"当我们步入室外温暖的午后阳光中时，我们异口同声地说。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
The creak woke me. It wasn’t like most of the noises on the Fleur. Those were soft, repetitive, soothing things. This was one, singular, groan of a plank on the side of the bed that I was facing. One eye opened, and I stared at the empty air above Glory. Nothing. Go back to sleep, Blackjack. Six sleepy ponies in my head all agreed. It was far too early for this.
吱吱声把我吵醒了。这不像芙蓉号上的大多数噪音。这些都是柔和的，重复的，舒缓的东西。这是我面对的床边一块木板发出的唯一的呻吟声。一只眼睛睁开了，我凝视着格洛里上空的空气。没什么。继续睡吧黑杰克。我脑子里的六只昏昏欲睡的小马都同意了。现在谈这个还为时过早。
But something had made that board creak. I stared at nothing while Glory slept like a log beside me. Then, not making a sound, I drew my sword from its scabbard. It floated slowly over Glory, illuminating her features. I waved it slowly through the air along that side of the bed. Then the air on the other side of the bed gave the slightest of shimmers. A pony with a StealthBuck was standing right next to Glory…
但是有什么东西让那块木板吱吱作响。当晨辉在我身边睡得像根木头时，我什么也没看见。然后，我一声不响地从剑鞘里拔出了我的剑。它缓缓地飘过格洛里，照亮了她的容貌。我沿着床的那一边慢慢地在空中挥舞着它。然后床的另一边的空气发出一丝微光。一匹有着隐形巴克的小马正站在晨辉旁边。
I tensed, ready to strike.
我紧张起来，准备出击。
Then the shimmer disappeared entirely as they moved away from me and the bed. Were they just backing away to fire from out of range? The door opened with the slightest of rasps all on its own, and, as quietly as I could, I slipped out of bed. Something was very amiss here. Thankfully, Glory’s snores covered the creaks of my own hooffalls. I looked out into the hallway, checked in one direction, then the other. A tin can rocked slowly back and forth by the stairs leading to the deck.
然后当他们离开我和床的时候，微光完全消失了。他们只是后退到射程之外开火吗？门被轻微的刺痛声打开了，我尽可能安静地溜下了床。这里出了很大的问题。谢天谢地，晨辉的呼噜声盖过了我自己袜子的吱吱声。我朝外面的走廊看了看，检查了一个方向，然后是另一个方向。一个锡罐在通往甲板的楼梯上慢慢地前后晃动。
Step by step, I walked out into the open. If this was an assassination attempt, they could have dusted me a half dozen times before now. I swapped from glowing sword to glowing revolvers. “I know you’re here,” I said quietly as I turned around slowly on deck. “I also know you probably could have killed us down there before I woke up. Or in the hall. Or now. But you haven’t yet. So I’m guessing you’re here for some other reason.” Still nothing. Had they gone? All I could hear was the sound of wind outside the city.
我一步一步地走到空旷的地方。如果这是一个企图谋杀，他们以前可能已经给我掸了半打灰尘了。我从会发光的剑换成了会发光的左轮手枪。"我知道你在这里,"我在甲板上慢慢转过身来，平静地说。"我还知道，在我醒来之前，你可能已经在那里杀了我们。或者在大厅里。或者现在。但你还没有。所以我猜你来这里是有别的原因的。"还是一无所获。他们走了吗？我只能听到城外的风声。
Then the air flashed and the pony showed themselves at the prow of the Fleur. I’d seen Enclave power armor before, but I’d never seen power armor like this. It wasn’t the clunkier Neighvarro style of armor nor the smoother lines of Thunderhead, and instead of a uniform black, it was mostly purple. It had a black cape and a wide-brimmed hat, of all things! The eye slits glowed pale blue as a breeze made the cape flow dramatically behind. All in all I gave it a 9.
接着，空气一阵闪光，那匹小马就出现在芙蓉号的船头。我以前见过飞地的强力盔甲，但是我从来没有见过这样的强力盔甲。它既不是笨重的马里瓦罗式的盔甲，也不是更光滑的线条雷霆头，而是一个统一的黑色，它主要是紫色。它有一件黑色的斗篷，还有一顶宽边帽子！眼睛的裂缝发出淡蓝色的光芒，微风使海角戏剧性地在后面流动。总而言之，我给了9分。
“You need to leave,” the pony said in a low, synthetic voice that raised my hackles. Make that 9.5.
"你得走了,"小马用一种低沉的、人造的声音说，这声音激怒了我。9.5.
I gestured to the airship. “It’s my boat. You’re the one trespassing.” I didn’t see any guns on the armor, so I lowered mine. “What’s your name, friend?”
我指了指飞艇。"这是我的船。你才是擅闯民宅的人。"我没看到装甲上有枪，所以我把我的放低了。"你叫什么名字，朋友?"
“Nopony you need to know,” they replied. “You’re not LittlePip, are you?”
"你需要知道的不是小马,"他们回答。"你不是小匹普吧?"
“No. I’m Security. Blackjack, to my friends.” I saw the mare start at my name. “You’ve heard of me. Sorry. I promise I’m not here to blow anything up.”
"没有。我是保安。黑杰克，敬我的朋友们。"我看见母马听到我的名字就惊叫起来。"你听说过我。对不起。我保证我不是来炸东西的。"
“Blackjack…” she narrowed her eyes a little. “You need to leave.”
"黑杰克......"她眯起眼睛。"你必须离开。"
“Afraid we just arrived. And it wasn’t an easy trip,” I added as I approached.
"恐怕我们才刚到。这不是一次轻松的旅行,"我走近时补充道。
“Congratulations on getting here. Now go home.”
"恭喜你来到这里。现在回家吧。"
I sighed, shaking my head. “So soon? But I really wanted to look around and see the sights. And we need to meet with Chancellor Stargazer and deal with Lighthooves,” I answered. I suspected that this wasn’t him. He wouldn’t bother with disguises. “Who are you?”
我叹了口气，摇了摇头。""这么快？但是我真的很想四处看看，看看风景。我们需要和观星者总理会面，并且处理好光剑问题,"我回答。我怀疑这不是他。他不会费心去伪装。"你是谁?"
“The pony dealing with the situation. Leave,” the dark pegasus replied. Stallion? Mare? Well, it was hard to tell with power armor and robo-voice. “You’re not one of the bad ponies, but I can’t let you stay if you’re going to do what she said you would.”
"这匹小马正在处理这种情况。离开,"黑暗的飞马回答。种马？母马？好吧，这是很难告诉与力量盔甲和机器人的声音。"你不是那种坏小马，但如果你要做她说你会做的事，我不能让你留下来。"
She? She who? Dawn? “Crazy thought here. You could work with me?” I said with a grin, gesturing at them with outstretched hooves and then back at myself. “Help me out, oh mysterious one?” The pony didn’t answer. “Come on. Who are you with? Thunderhead? Neighvarro? General Storm Chaser? Lighthooves? What?”
她？她是谁？道恩？"疯狂的想法。你能和我一起工作吗?"我咧嘴笑着说，用伸出的蹄子指着他们，然后又指着自己。"帮帮我，神秘的家伙?"小马没有回答。"来吧。你和谁在一起？霹雳头？邻居？风暴追逐者将军？轻型火车？什么?"
They approached me. “I’m the one telling you to get out of here. I don’t know if she was right about you or not, but I can’t risk you throwing everything off. You’re trotting on stage, thinking you know the steps to this dance. You don’t. Trust me. Go home. Lighthooves and the Enclave are being handled.” They turned away.
他们来找我。"是我叫你离开这里的。我不知道她对你的看法是否正确，但我不能冒险让你放弃一切。你在舞台上小跑，认为你知道这个舞蹈的步骤。你不知道。相信我。回家吧。轻型客机和昂科雷(Enclave)正在被处理。"他们转过身去。
Well, somepony got an A in their ‘be cryptic as possible’ class. “We can’t do
好吧，有些小马在"尽可能神秘"课上得了a。"我们不能这么做
that. I came up here to help Thunderhead. To help the Enclave too.”
那个。我来这里是为了帮助霹雳头。也是为了帮助飞地。"
The pony stopped. “I can appreciate the irony, and the sentiment. I also appreciate how asinine your position is. However, you should leave. Thunderhead law enforcement will be occupied tomorrow, so you should just pad your ship again and go home. You have your own problems to worry about.”
小马停了下来。"我能理解其中的讽刺和多愁善感。我也理解你的立场是多么愚蠢。不过，你应该离开。雷锋执法部门明天就会被占领，所以你应该再次垫上你的船回家。你有自己的问题要担心。"
“Thunderhead is Glory’s home. And I can’t just leave when everything is about to go wrong. I love her,” I finished. There. I said it. Now they had to help me!
"雷头是晨辉的家。我不能在一切都要出问题的时候离开。我爱她,"我说完。好了。我说了。现在他们不得不帮助我！
The mysterious black and purple pony stopped. “Well. That’s admirable.” Then they looked back at me. “Go home. I’m told you’re supposed to do big things down there. Like the other one. If you don’t leave, I’ll have to tip off security, and you’ll be spending your time out of the way till this is over.” And with that, they disappeared in a purple flash.
那匹神秘的黑紫色小马停了下来。"好吧。这令人钦佩。"然后他们回头看着我。"回家吧。我听说你应该在那里做大事。就像另一个一样。如果你不离开，我就不得不警告警卫，而你就得在这里消磨时间，直到这一切结束。"就这样，他们在紫色的闪光中消失了。
* * *
* * *
“I’m telling you, I saw her! A power-armored pony with a cape and a hat!” I said as we sat around the fancy dining table. Breakfast… well… I didn’t want to offend, but I’d had better down on the surface. Sky food was a mix of bland with bland and a side of bland. No Sugar Apple Bombs or Fancy Buck snack cakes. I’d gone over my meeting in the middle of the night, but I was facing far more skepticism than I’d expected. “And they had a StealthBuck and they could teleport and…” there was a soft snicker from Dusk. “What? I saw them! And they told me like a dozen times to leave.”
"我告诉你，我看见她了！一匹披着斗篷、戴着帽子的强悍的小马!"我们围坐在豪华的餐桌旁，我说。早餐......嗯......我不想冒犯，但我最好还是在地面上吃。天空食品是乏味与乏味的混合体，也有乏味的一面。没有糖苹果炸弹或花式巴克零食蛋糕。我在半夜里复习了我的会议，但是我面对的怀疑比我预想的要多得多。"他们有一只隐形雄鹿，他们可以瞬间移动......"《黄昏》里有一个柔和的窃笑。"什么？我看见他们了！他们十几次叫我离开。"
“Sure you did,” Dusk said with a grin. “The Mysterious Mare Do Well. Who hasn’t?”
"当然了,"黄昏笑着说。"神秘的母马做得很好。谁没有呢?"
“That’s an urban myth, Blackjack,” Glory said absently as she went over some papers and drawings that Moonshadow had drafted. “The Mysterious Mare Do Well’s been seen for almost two centuries now just about everywhere.”
"那是个都市神话，黑杰克,"晨辉一边看着月影起草的一些文件和图纸，一边心不在焉地说。"两个世纪以来，神秘的母马几乎无处不在。"
“Originally the mare was a wealthy transvestite recluse named Spruce Mane. He dressed up as the Mysterious Mare Do Well and flew around Thunderhead trying to arrest criminals… until the Enclave got sick of it and locked him up. A few years later he tried it again with ‘Batmare’,” Moonshadow said matter-of-factly. For some reason, a tiny blue pegasus in my mind rolled over laughing at the other five.
"最初这匹母马是一个富有的异装癖隐士，名叫云杉鬃毛。他打扮成神秘的母马，飞来飞去试图逮捕罪犯......直到昂科雷厌倦了这一切，把他关了起来。几年后，他又用《白驹过隙》试了一次,"月影实事求是地说。出于某种原因，我脑海中浮现出一个小小的蓝色天马在嘲笑另外五个人。
“We’ve had Mare Do Well sightings in Neighvarro, Las Pegasus, over Baltimare,” Twister counted off her pinions. Then she grinned at Boomer. “Remember Councilor Whatshername? The one that wanted to send the entire fleet after Mare Do Well for sneaking into her bed? And it turned out to be her marefriend doing some kinky play.”
"我们在Neighvarro，拉斯帕伽索斯，巴蒂马尔上空都看到过玛丽。"图斯特数着她的翅膀。然后她对着布玛儿咧嘴一笑。"还记得那个叫什么的参议员吗？就是那个想把整个舰队都派去追MareDoWell偷偷溜进她床上的那个？结果是她的一个女朋友在演一出变态的戏剧。"
“But I… she…” I sputtered. “She was here! I mean… I had no idea who Mare Do Well was before this morning. I didn’t imagine her.”
"但是我.....。.她......"我气急败坏地说。"她在这儿！我是说...今天早上之前我根本不知道MareDoWell是谁。我没有想象过她。"
“Well, you do have a tendency to see things no one else did. And you were a part of the Goddess. Who knows what might have been left over in your head,” Rampage said as she carved her pancakes with her hoofclaws. “Folks down below see her too. Every now and then when there’s a fight with some slavers or raiders and your ass is toast… bam! She appears. Some say she soars by and kicks the heads clean off of her enemies. Others say she uses a gun. Or magic. But then she’s gone…” She smirked at me. “Very… mysterious. Wooooo…”
"嗯，你确实有一种倾向，看到别人没有看到的东西。你是女神的一部分。谁知道你的脑袋里还剩下些什么,"狂暴一边用蹄爪切煎饼一边说。"下面的人也看见她了。有时候当你和奴隶贩子或者袭击者打架的时候，你的屁股就会被烤焦...砰！她出现了。有人说她飞过去，把敌人的脑袋踢得一干二净。还有人说她用枪。或者魔法。然后她就走了......"她冲我傻笑。"非常......神秘。呜呜......"
“But I wasn’t fighting. And why was she in my room watching me? If she wanted to take me out, she could have done it just then. I’m sure of it. And why tell me to leave? If she’s with Storm Chaser she should help me. And if she’s with Lighthooves she should stop me. I’m not seeing a third side here,” I grumbled.
"但是我没有反抗。为什么她会在我房间里看着我？如果她想约我出去，她当时就能做到。我很确定。为什么让我离开？如果她和风暴追逐者在一起，她应该帮我。如果她和光剑在一起，她应该阻止我。我没有看到第三方,"我抱怨道。
“Well, I believe you,” P-21 said thoughtfully.
"好吧，我相信你,"P-21若有所思地说。
“Thank you!” I said loudly and with great satisfaction.
"谢谢!"我大声而满意地说。
Then he went on, “But it doesn’t change anything. We can’t trust them, and we’re still at a loss for how to contact the councilor without ending up dead or in jail.”
然后他继续说,"但这改变不了什么。我们不能相信他们，我们仍然不知道如何与议员取得联系而不致死亡或入狱。"
I looked over at Moonshadow, and the indigo-maned pony pushed her glasses up her muzzle with a wing. “Well, I think that I might have a solution. If we had a few days, I could make an appointment and get in to see her. Politicians always make time for campaign contributors, eventually. But there might be an even faster way.” She looked over at Glory. “Dr. Morningstar is the councilor’s secretary of science. If we talk to him, he might be able to get us in to see her today.”
我看了看Moonshadow，那匹戴着靛青色鬃毛的小马用翅膀把她的眼镜向上推了推。"嗯，我想我可能有一个解决办法。如果我们有几天时间，我可以约个时间去看她。最终，政客们总是会为竞选捐款人腾出时间。但可能还有一种更快的方法。"她看着晨辉。"莫宁斯塔博士是议员的科学秘书。如果我们和他谈谈，他也许能让我们今天去见她。"
“He is?” Glory blinked in surprise. “He has more letters after his name than
"是吗?"格洛里惊讶地眨着眼睛。"他的名字后面有更多的字母
anypony I know, but I didn’t know he worked with the councilor too.”
我知道，但我不知道他也和议员一起工作。"
“It’s not something he brings up. You know how much he hates politics,” Moonshadow said with a shrug. “He’s been in bliss researching and cataloging the surface samples. I see him fairly regularly, and you were one of his favorite students.”
"这不是他提出来的问题。你知道他有多讨厌政治,"月影耸耸肩说。"他一直在研究和整理地表样本。我经常见到他，你是他最喜欢的学生之一。"
“I don’t know. He might not be happy to see me,” Glory said, chewing her lip. “Or he might be too happy to see me.”
"我不知道。他见到我可能不高兴,"晨辉咬着嘴唇说。"或者他见到我可能太高兴了。"
“Why not?” Scotch Tape asked from where she was smearing around her Bland Flakes.
"为什么不呢?"透明胶带问她是从哪里弄到的淡味薄片。
“Various reasons...” Glory hesitated a bit before answering. “He didn’t want me to go to the surface. Said that it wasn’t safe. He preferred to stay in the lab and have other ponies bring samples to him for study. I wanted to go out in the field and save the surface with Enclave science and technology. We didn’t part on the best of terms.”
"各种各样的原因......"格洛里犹豫了一下才回答。"他不想让我去地面。说那里不安全。他宁愿呆在实验室里，让其他小马把样本带给他研究。我想到野外去，用昂科雷的科学和技术拯救地表。我们没有在最好的条件下分手。"
“Well, plan B is trying to sneak in. Plan C is getting arrested trying to sneak in,” I replied. I wasn’t opting for plan D, which was letting General Chaser clean it up herself.
"好吧，b计划是试图偷偷溜进去。计划c是试图偷偷溜进去而被逮捕,"我回答。我没有选择d计划，那就是让Chaser将军自己清理。
Glory finally sighed and nodded. “Alright.”
晨辉最后叹了口气，点了点头。"好吧。"
“Good. So… how are we going to get there?” I asked. I looked around at the hapless and thoughtful expressions as we tried to think of how to get one cyberpony, three earth ponies, two Neighvarro pegasi, and one Rainbow Dash across Thunderhead.
"很好。那么......我们怎么才能到达那里呢?"我问道。我环顾四周，看着那些倒霉而又深思熟虑的表情，想着怎样才能让一匹赛博马、三匹地球马、两匹邻居罗飞马和一匹彩虹飞奔穿过雷霆之头。
But Moonshadow only smiled.
但是月影只是笑了笑。
* * *
* * *
The city of Thunderhead rumbled around us with the life of fifty thousand ponies. Glory told me the city itself offered about eight square miles of living space within the torus, and I wondered how there could be any room left for the dozens of shops, restaurants, and other attractions. We passed theatres and a music hall, and I just wanted to stand there and soak it all in. Small, economical parks were tucked in between colonnades and boulevards; I again could only
雷头城在我们周围隆隆作响，有五万匹小马的生命。晨辉告诉我，这个城市本身在环面上就有大约8平方英里的生活空间，我不知道还有什么空间可以容纳这么多的商店、餐馆和其他景点。我们经过剧院和音乐厅，我只想站在那里沉浸其中。小而经济的公园隐藏在柱廊和林荫大道之间;我又只能
imagine how they’d managed to get grass to grow on clouds.
想象一下他们是如何让草长在云上的。
And almost all of it was made of clouds. Clouds! Cloud clothing and cloud furniture and cloud buildings and cloud theatres. What I took for glass and ceramics were, in fact, rainbows. The idea of it, taking something so beautiful and putting it to practical use, blew me away. What metal was in the city was largely out of sight in the form of electrical wires. Even the plumbing was made of congealed rainbow the consistency of plastic or rubber. Despite it being the middle of the day there were lights of all colors flashing and advertising and informing. Scotch Tape asked where they got the power, and Twister had amusedly reminded her that the sky was where they kept all the lightning.
几乎所有的东西都是由云组成的。乌云！云服装、云家具、云建筑和云剧院。我所认为的玻璃和陶瓷实际上是彩虹。将如此美丽的东西用于实际应用的想法让我惊叹不已。城市里的金属大部分是以电线的形式看不见的。甚至连管道都是由凝固的彩虹制成的，稠密的塑料或橡胶。尽管现在是中午，各种颜色的灯光在闪烁，广告和告知。苏格兰胶带公司询问他们从哪里得到的电力，图斯特愉快地提醒她，天空是他们存放所有闪电的地方。
A lightning-powered city! Made of clouds. And rainbows!
一个闪电城市！云做的。还有彩虹！
But it was the ponies that really made it special. Ponies talking, eating, laughing, and strolling along. The only ones I saw who were armed were a half-dozen police ponies who nodded respectfully to us as we walked past. I saw foals. Old ponies. Mares and stallions… and none of them were killing each other over bottlecaps and a half-full box of two-century-old cereal. Even Twister and Boomer seemed surprised by all the ponies living inside this wonderful bubble.
但真正让它与众不同的是小马。小马说话，吃饭，笑，散步。我唯一看到的武装是六只警察小马，当我们走过时，它们恭敬地向我们点头致意。我看到了小马驹。老马。母马和种马...而且他们没有一个互相杀死对方瓶装和半满箱的两个世纪的谷物。甚至托斯特和布玛儿似乎也对生活在这个美妙泡沫中的小马感到惊讶。
We had a few hours to kill till we could meet with Doctor Morningstar, so the six of us simply did whatever seemed interesting. We nipped into a coffee shop where we listened to three stallions and two mares recite their poetry. We browsed a shop full of clothes that only Grace and perhaps Velvet could properly appreciate. Finally, I begged Rampage to give us an hour in a concert hall, where I listened to actual ponies playing music while she alternated between grumbling under her breath and giving a professional critique. It wasn’t a full orchestra or anything, but it was civilization. It was how the world was supposed to be.
在见到莫宁斯塔医生之前，我们有几个小时可以消磨，所以我们六个人只是做了一些看起来有趣的事情。我们走进一家咖啡店，听了三匹种马和两匹母马背诵它们的诗。我们浏览了一家商店，里面全是只有格蕾丝和维尔维特才能欣赏的衣服。最后，我请求狂暴在音乐厅里给我们一个小时，在那里我听着真正的小马在演奏音乐，而她一会儿低声发牢骚，一会儿给我专业的评论。这不是一个完整的管弦乐队或任何东西，但它是文明。这就是世界应该是的样子。
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. We were deciding where to go for lunch when a skeezy tan pegasus in a large coat walked up to us. “Hey. Hey. Want some B’s?”
当然，它并不完美。我们正在决定去哪里吃午饭，这时一匹穿着大衣的黄褐色斑马朝我们走来。"嘿。嘿。想要一些b吗?"
“Some what?” Scotch asked in confusion.
"一些什么?"苏格兰人困惑地问。
The pegasus grimaced. “Come on. Some B’s! I got a fresh batch. Blue. Straw. Boys. Rasp. I got it all,” all he said, and then he spread the coat wide to reveal dozens of small baggies filled with roundish colorful objects. “Straight from the surface! Best shit you ever tasted!”
飞马皱起了眉头。"来吧。一些b！我有一批新鲜的。蓝色。稻草。男孩们。女名女子名。他说，然后他把外套摊开，露出几十个小袋子，里面装满了五颜六色的圆形物品。"直接从地面上来的！这是你吃过的最好吃的东西!"
Ah, civilization…
啊文明..。
“Everypony keeps staring at us,” P-21 muttered as we ate at a bizarre noodle café. A huge screen over the counter flashed advertisements for feather straighteners before going to some game involving two teams of flyers trying to maneuver an ovoid cloud through a ring. Trying to follow their moves gave me a migraine. The café was crowded and noisy enough that we could talk without being heard, but empty enough that there wasn’t much risk of somepony running into me. The meals seemed to be noodles and apples, noodles and potato, noodles and beans… I gnawed on a cyberpony cake.
"每一匹小马都盯着我们看,"当我们在一家奇怪的面馆吃面时，P-21咕哝着。柜台上一个巨大的屏幕上闪烁着羽毛矫直器的广告，然后两队飞行员试图通过一个圆环操纵一片卵形云。试图跟踪他们的行动让我偏头痛。咖啡馆里挤满了人，吵吵嚷嚷，我们可以在不被听到的情况下聊天，但是空荡荡的咖啡馆里不会有小马撞到我的危险。饭菜似乎是面条和苹果，面条和土豆，面条和豆子......我啃着一个赛博马蛋糕。
“‘Cause you’re a handsome hunk of stallion,” Rampage said with a smirk, then slurped a noodle in one long suck. Or it could have been the fact her body was white but her mouth stained with purple.
"因为你是一匹英俊的种马,"斯皮格傻笑着说，然后吸了一口面条。也有可能是因为她的身体是白色的，但她的嘴唇却染上了紫色。
“Stop it,” P-21 growled as he frowned at the crowds around us. “Is it my horn? Is it on straight?”
"住手,"P-21咆哮着，对着我们周围的人群皱起眉头。""是我的号角吗？是笔直的吗?"
“It’s fine. Wonderglue never wears off. You’ll wish it did when it comes time to take it off,” I assured him in low tones. I didn’t think the pegasi around us would hear a patch of empty air talking, but why take risks? The horns came courtesy of a ‘Pretty Princess Alicorn’ play kit. Scrape off the sparkles and the blue horn matched almost perfectly. There’d been a green one for Scotch Tape and white ones for Rampage and Boo. Hopefully nopony noticed that their magical glow was all the same color as I manipulated things around them from under Lancer’s cloak.
"没关系。神奇胶水永远不会消失。等到要脱下来的时候，你会希望它脱下来的,"我低声向他保证。我不认为我们周围的飞马座会听到一片空空的空气在说话，但为什么要冒险呢？这些号角来自"漂亮的阿里克公主"游戏套件。刮掉那些闪光点，蓝色的角几乎完美地搭配在一起。有一个绿色的是透明胶带，还有一个是白色的是狂暴和嘘声。幸运的是，当我从兰瑟的斗篷下操纵它们周围的东西时，没有小马注意到它们发出的神奇光芒是一样的颜色。
“She’s right, Daddy. You look good as a unicorn,” Scotch assured him, then blinked and hastily amended, “I mean, you’re a good-looking unicorn. Yup! Real good.” She appeared a little young for an Enclave adjunct in her purple Enclave coveralls. Flustered, she glanced at her fork and cleared her throat in annoyance. I made with the magic, twirling the utensil in the bowl and popping it in her mouth with a little more vigor than warranted.
"她说得对，爸爸。你看起来就像独角兽一样美,"苏格兰人向他保证，然后眨了眨眼睛，匆匆修正道,"我的意思是，你是一头漂亮的独角兽。是的！非常好。"对于一个穿着紫色昂科雷工作服的助手来说，她显得有点年轻。她慌乱地看了一眼叉子，清了清嗓子。我施了魔法，旋转碗里的器具，用比保证更大的精力把它放进她的嘴里。
“I’m surprised nopony’s stopped us or anything,” P-21 said with a frown. “Our plans don’t go this well.”
P-21皱着眉头说:"我很惊讶没有小马阻止我们。"。"我们的计划没有这么顺利。"
“Of course it’s going to work. It’s not my plan,” I reminded him.
"当然会起作用。这不是我的计划,"我提醒他。
He glanced in my direction, then snorted. “Your plans aren’t so bad.” Did he
他朝我的方向看了一眼，然后哼了一声。"你的计划没那么糟糕。"他有没有
forget the last month?
忘了上个月的事吗？
“Well, you are being escorted by three ponies in power armor,” Boomer said. “Might be that’s keeping them back. Though I have to admit that I prefer our old armor. It was a bit more… buckish.”
"嗯，你正由三匹穿着强力盔甲的小马护送,"布玛儿说。"可能是因为这个，他们才不敢来。虽然我不得不承认我更喜欢我们的旧盔甲。它有点......浮华。"
“It’s still your old armor. Blackjack just altered it to match Dusk’s. That’s all,” Twister said casually. I’d spent nearly an hour casting and recasting and tweaking Grace’s alteration spell. I felt like I had an army of Rampages kicking my skull trying to get the magic to work. I’d only seen it once, and Twilight’s primer had more on turning apples to oranges than making Neighvarro power armor match Thunderhead armor. Still, I’d managed to make their pair look less like the former and more like the latter. “I don’t mind the smoother lines, personally. You do a good job with magicky stuff.”
"这还是你的旧盔甲。黑杰克只是改变了它，以配合黄昏的。仅此而已,"图斯特漫不经心地说。我花了将近一个小时的时间来制作、重新制作和调整格蕾丝的改变咒。我感觉就像有一支兰帕吉斯的军队在踢我的头盖骨，试图让魔法发挥作用。我只看过一次，而且《暮光之城》的雷霆战士更擅长把苹果变成橘子，而不是制作邻里骑士强力盔甲配雷霆战甲。尽管如此，我还是设法让他们的一对看起来不像前者，而更像后者。"就我个人而言，我并不介意线条更光滑。你在魔法方面做得很好。"
“It’s genetic,” P-21 said warmly. Two compliments in two minutes? Was he feeling well? Then he turned to Dusk, who seemed to be on the mend after a day out of Enclave custody. “So ponies are intimidated by the armor?”
"这是遗传的,"P-21热情地说。两分钟内说了两句恭维话？他感觉还好吗？然后他转向黄昏，他似乎在离开昂科雷监禁一天后恢复了健康。"这么说小马被盔甲吓到了?"
“Partly,” Dusk said in low tones, “but mostly, it’s that you’re what everypony expects to see. Unicorns here to do a job, with a standard military escort. I’ve done it five times myself. Babysitting detail. The unicorns gape and stare, like you are. I know what the paperwork looks like and the lingo and most of the security ponies by name.” Her smile faded and she frowned at the crowd. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised none of them have stopped us.”
"在一定程度上,"黄昏低声说,"但更重要的是，你是每个小马期望看到的。独角兽在这里做一项工作，由标准的军队护送。我自己也做过五次。照顾小孩的细节。独角兽们目瞪口呆，就像你一样。我知道书面文件是什么样子，也知道行话，还知道大多数安保马的名字。"她的微笑消失了，对着人群皱起了眉头。"说实话，我有点惊讶，他们没有一个人阻止我们。"
“My visitor last night said they wouldn’t,” I muttered. That got a fresh round of skepticism.
"我的客人昨晚说他们不会,"我咕哝着说。这引起了新一轮的怀疑。
Dusk sighed and shook her head. “Well, I’m still technically MIA, so I can’t call in and verify.”
黄昏叹了口气，摇了摇头。"严格来说，我仍然失踪，所以我不能打电话确认。"
“You should go to the hospital,” Moonshadow said in concern.
"你应该去医院看看,"月影忧心忡忡地说。
Dusk scowled at her. “I’ve been locked in a med bay for more than a week. And the second I trot into a hospital, a whole lot of ponies are going to have a whole lot of questions for me to answer,” Dusk said sharply, then groaned and rubbed her temples. “I want to get back down there and see Father and Dancer before I spend a month in debriefing and medical treatments.” Then she glanced over at her other sibling. “What’s the matter with you, Glory? You keep fidgeting.”
黄昏对她怒目而视。"我被关在医务室一个多星期了。当我快步走进医院的时候，一大群小马将会有一大堆问题要我回答,"黄昏尖锐地说，然后呻吟着摩擦着她的太阳穴。"在我花一个月的时间听取汇报和接受治疗之前，我想回去看看《父亲与舞者》。"然后她瞥了一眼她的另一个兄弟姐妹。"你怎么了，晨辉？你总是坐立不安。"
We all looked over at the third suit of power armor. All anypony could see was a blue muzzle and wings. Everything else was enmeshed in steel. “I gotta go,” Glory muttered.
我们都看了看第三套动力盔甲。所有的小马都只能看到蓝色的鼻口和翅膀。其他所有东西都用钢铁包裹起来。"我得走了,"晨辉咕哝着。
“Go where?” I asked with a frown. But at the question, three mouths suddenly grinned. “What?” I asked in bafflement as I looked from Dusk, to Boomer, to Twister.
"去哪儿?"我皱着眉头问。但是听到这个问题，三张嘴突然笑了起来。"什么?"我困惑地问，因为我看着从黄昏，到布玛儿，到龙卷风。
“Oh, first time’s so precious,” Boomer chuckled.
"哦，第一次是如此珍贵,"布玛儿轻声笑道。
“Shut up. How do I… I mean…” Glory stammered. “This is an emergency! How do I…”
"闭嘴。我怎么..。.我的意思是......"晨辉结结巴巴地说。"这是紧急情况！我怎么..。。」
“You just do,” Twister replied a little sympathetically.
"你就做吧,"图斯特有点同情地回答。
Boomer was silent for a moment, then he sighed, “Like that.” Scotch Tape went bright red and covered her mouth with her hooves as she giggled, her eyes bulging.
布玛儿沉默了一会儿，然后叹了口气,"就这样。"苏格兰胶带变成了鲜红色，当她咯咯笑的时候，她的嘴被马蹄盖住了，眼睛凸出来了。
“Wait… what?” I asked in confusion.
"等等......什么?"我困惑地问。
“I can’t go here! I… that’s disgusting!” I blinked at her and looked at her bowl of noodles. Sure, they were a little bland but... why was a purple unicorn covering her face with her hoof?
"我不能到这儿来！我。.真恶心!"我眨了眨眼睛，看着她那碗面条。当然，它们有点淡而无味，但是......为什么一只紫色的独角兽用蹄子挡住了她的脸？
Rampage gave an ‘oooooh’ of comprehension. “Power armor handles that?”
狂暴给人一种"呜呜"的理解。"强力盔甲能解决这个问题?"
“Oh yeah,” Dusk said with a nod. “Unless you really piss off your mechanic. Trust me. You only fly with those talismans disabled once.”
"哦，是的,"黄昏点头说。"除非你真的惹恼了你的机械师。相信我。你只能在那些护身符失效的情况下飞一次。"
“I always wondered how they went,” Rampage mused.
"我一直想知道他们怎么样了,"狂暴沉思着。
Then I made the connection and blurted, “Oh! You have to go take a dump?”
然后我建立了联系，脱口而出,"哦！你要去拉屎吗?"
A half dozen conversations stopped as every table around stared, wondering which of us had made such an uncivil comment in a civilized setting. Even though I was hidden beneath the invisibility cloak, I still felt my cheeks burning as I sunk down between P-21 and Glory’s chairs.
当周围的桌子都盯着我们的时候，六个人的谈话停了下来，他们想知道我们中谁在文明的环境里说了这么不文明的话。尽管我躲在隐形装置下面，我还是感觉自己在P-21和晨辉的椅子之间的脸颊在燃烧。
Glory gave one of her long suffering ‘Blackjack’ sighs. “I will… be right back,”
晨辉在她长期忍受的黑杰克中叹了一口气。"我...马上回来"
Glory said as she turned and trotted away, walking a little too stiffly for it to be just her unfamiliarity with the armor.
格洛里边说边转身小跑着离开，走起路来有点僵硬，这不可能只是因为她对盔甲不熟悉。
As conversations around us returned to normal, I struggled for something else to talk about. “Hey, Twister. Hoarfrost and Afterburner? Are they… well… typical Enclave captains?”
随着我们周围的谈话恢复正常，我努力想找些别的话题谈谈。"嘿，扭扭乐。白霜和加力燃烧室？他们是......呃......典型的飞地舰长吗?"
Twister blinked and frowned. “Well. You generally get three kinds. The first are poor folk looking to get an updraft in life. Like me. My home, Brokenwing, has only two hundred ponies in it. We’re dead last on the requisition priority list. The only way we get anything is if we sign up and serve. It gets us training and money to send back home.”
托斯特眨了眨眼，皱了皱眉。"好吧。一般有三种。第一类是希望在生活中获得上升气流的穷人。像我一样。我的家，破晓，里面只有两百匹小马。我们在优先领用名单上排在最后。我们得到任何东西的唯一方法就是我们报名并且服务。它让我们得到了培训和寄回家的钱。"
Boomer spoke up. “Then you get ponies like me. We’re believers. We serve because we want to. It’s a good gig as long as you don’t mind being told what to do, and the Enclave needs fighters. Besides, mares love a pony in power armor,” he said with a grin at the table beside him. The mares giggled and played coy. “Lot of us are military family. I serve. My dad served. My grandfather served. Grandmother too.”
布玛儿大声说。"那你就可以得到像我这样的小马了。我们是信徒。我们服务是因为我们想要。只要你不介意别人告诉你该做什么，这是一个很好的机会，而昂科雷需要战斗机。此外，母马喜欢穿着强力盔甲的小马,"他对着旁边的桌子咧嘴笑着说。母马咯咯地笑着，装出一副害羞的样子。"我们很多人都是军人家庭。我发球。我爸爸当过兵。我的祖父在那里服役。奶奶也是。"
Twister then frowned. “But then you get families that are... well... special. They’re connected. They get the best equipment. They fly up the promotion ladder. They land all kinds of cushy jobs as administrators that don’t do anything besides sit in their office an hour and then go to meetings in the officers’ club. A few are all right, but I can count them on my hooves. The worst, though, want command. And they get it, too, not because they know what they’re doing but because they know the right ponies. And once they have command, they want to use it. They’ll take a Raptor out and blast a griffin nest because they can. They love ordering the military around like it’s their personal toy.”
然后扭扭乐皱起了眉头。"但接着你会看到一些......嗯......特别的家庭。他们是有联系的。他们有最好的设备。他们在晋升的阶梯上飞奔。他们做着各种轻松的管理工作，除了坐在办公室里一个小时，然后去军官俱乐部开会之外，什么也不做。有几个还不错，但我可以用蹄子数数。不过，最糟糕的是想要命令。他们也明白这一点，不是因为他们知道自己在做什么，而是因为他们知道正确的小马。一旦他们有了命令，他们就想使用它。他们会把一只猛禽弄出来炸掉一个狮身鹰首兽的巢，因为他们有这个能力。他们喜欢命令军队，就像那是他们的私人玩具一样。"
“Chaser wasn’t like that,” I pointed out.
"追逐者不是那样的人,"我指出。
“No. If they were all that way, the GPE would have fallen apart years ago.” Twister paused in consideration, then went on. “General Chaser’s one of the commanders with actual combat experience. There’s a few like her, all older ponies. Ponies who knew better two generations ago. Lots of them were pushed out when Harbinger skipped over and was appointed High General, the first High General with no live combat experience. Most commanders get a yearly war game, which boils down to bragging rights. But General Chaser’s fought
"没有。如果它们都是那样的话，GPE几年前就会崩溃。"特维斯特停下来考虑，然后继续说下去。"Chaser将军是有实战经验的指挥官之一。有几匹像她一样的，都是老马。两代以前知道得更多的小马。他们中的很多人都被赶了出来，当Harbinger跳过去，被任命为高级将领，第一个没有实战经验的高级将领。大多数指挥官每年都会举行一次战争游戏，这可以归结为吹嘘的资本。但是Chaser将军参加了战斗
Talon assault squads and driven off dragon incursions. She was front and center during the windigo incursion in the north thirty years ago,” Twister said with a smirk. “You might not realize it, but bumping into you has made us practically combat vets. If we live through this and the shit doesn’t hit the fan, we might even be bumped up ourselves.”
鹰爪突击队和驱赶龙的入侵。三十年前，在北方的恶魔入侵中，她是最重要的人物。"图斯特笑着说。"你可能没有意识到，但是碰到你让我们实际上成为了战斗兽医。如果我们经历了这一切，没有遇到麻烦，我们甚至可能会被提升到自己的位置。"
Boomer chuckled, “I’ll finally make Sarge. And Momma said it’d never happen.”
布玛儿咯咯地笑了起来,"我终于可以让萨奇。妈妈说这永远不会发生。"
“I didn’t know that. I thought that all Enclave soldiers were well experienced,” I said quietly.
"我不知道。我以为所有的昂科雷士兵都经验丰富,"我平静地说。
“Well-drilled. But drills only take you so far. Then you run into a unicorn in a restricted area and you try to detain her and she thumps all three of you and rides you off into the Wasteland,” Twister said with a frown. “Thank goodness we were able to gloss over the details of that.”
"训练有素。但是训练只能让你走到这一步。然后你在一个限制区域撞上了一只独角兽，你试图阻止她，但是她重击了你们三个，骑着你们进入了荒原,"图斯特皱着眉头说。"谢天谢地，我们能够掩盖这些细节。"
“Fact is, Enclave’s in trouble. Most ponies know it, but we just don’t think about it. Live fer today and don’t think about what’s goin’ on. Hell, I was like that before bumping into you. But nopony’s doing anything about it till now. With Thunderhead bucking the system and Maripony--” Boomer began, but then the screen lit up just as one of the stallions kicked the cloudball straight at the ring like a bullet.
"事实是，昂科雷有麻烦了。大多数小马都知道这一点，但我们只是不去想它。活在当下，不要去想发生了什么。见鬼，在遇到你之前我就是这样的。但到现在为止还没有人对此采取任何措施。随着霹雳头弓背系统和马里波尼——"布默开始了，但随后屏幕亮了起来，正当其中一匹种马像子弹一样直踢云球的环。
The game was interrupted by a special bulletin, and the café erupted in boos and gripes. Still, the volume was more than sufficient to hear over the outcry. A somber gray stallion held paper in his fetlocks as he stared soberly into the camera. “This is TNN with a breaking report. We have just confirmed that the explosion on the edge of the Everfree No Fly Zone was in fact a balefire detonation device. The military has stated that the weapon was an obsolete citykiller equivalent to the device that destroyed Cloudsdale two centuries ago. While there are no civilian casualties, Enclave military has yet to confirm or deny rumors that several Raptors were critically damaged in the explosion.”
比赛因一则特别公告而中断，咖啡馆里爆发出一阵嘘声和抱怨。尽管如此，这本书还是足以压倒抗议的声音。一匹灰色的种马带着球状物，严肃地盯着镜头。"这是TNN的突发报告。我们刚刚确认，在埃弗里禁飞区边缘发生的爆炸事件实际上是一个爆炸装置。军方表示，这种武器是一种过时的城市杀手，相当于两个世纪前摧毁克劳斯代尔的装置。虽然没有平民伤亡，但昂科雷军方尚未证实或否认有关几架猛禽机在爆炸中严重受损的传言。"
The screen cut to green pegasus mare in an Enclave uniform. “This is our official statement of events. The Enclave discovered the presence of a zebra balefire weapon being stored at a prewar facility and deemed it a critical threat to Enclave civilians. In the course of disarming the device, it detonated. Minor radiation spikes were detected in the settlements of High Cloud, New Pegasus,
屏幕切换到穿着昂科雷制服的绿色飞马。"这是我们对事件的官方声明。昂科雷发现在一个战前设施存放着一件斑马纹火武器，认为这对昂科雷平民构成严重威胁。在拆除炸弹的过程中，它引爆了。在新帕伽索斯的高云定居点检测到轻微的辐射峰值
and Hightown. No civilian casualties reported. If you suspect you have been exposed to balefire radiation, please report to an Enclave medical facility.”
还有海镇。没有平民伤亡报告。如果你怀疑你已经暴露在火灾辐射中，请向昂科雷医疗机构报告。"
“Here it comes,” Dusk said with a roll of her eyes, “the reminder.”
"它来了,"黄昏转了转眼睛说,"提醒。"
The green mare droned on, with pictures popping up in the corners of the screen. “The Enclave military believes this should be a lesson to all citizens of the GPE that the surface, even after two hundred years, remains exceptionally hazardous and beyond our ability to return to for the foreseeable future. While we doubt there are other weapons such as this, the possibility persists of catastrophic damage from the surface. Biological, chemical, and radiological hazards abound, as well as barbarity and lawlessness.” The pictures showed ominous black and white images of two raiders standing over a corpse, an emaciated pony foaming at the mouth, a brahmin, and a hellhound crouched and ready to pounce. “We encourage everypony to keep to the skies, safe in our Enclave. Thank you.” Dusk said the last line verbatim under her breath, perfectly in chorus with the green mare.
绿色的母马嗡嗡地叫着，屏幕的角落里突然出现了一些图片。"昂科雷军方认为，这应该是全球空军所有公民的一个教训，即使在200年后，地面仍然极其危险，在可预见的未来我们无法返回。虽然我们怀疑是否还有其他类似的武器，但是表面灾难性破坏的可能性依然存在。生物、化学和放射性危害比比皆是，野蛮和无法无天也比比皆是。"照片上是两个袭击者站在一具尸体旁，一匹瘦弱的矮种马口吐白沫，一个婆罗门和一只地狱犬蹲伏着准备突袭的不祥的黑白影像。"我们鼓励每一匹小马都飞上天空，安全地呆在我们的飞地里。谢谢。"黄昏说的最后一行逐字下她的呼吸，完美的合唱与绿色的母马。
Most of the ponies in the café who had been listening returned to their conversations or watching the hoofball match, but a few looked concerned or angry. I noticed there’d been no mention of alicorns, Raptors lost, casualties, Red Eye, or LittlePip. I supposed that the Enclave would have liked to cover it up entirely, but when a balefire bomb went off, some ponies were likely to notice.
咖啡馆里大多数一直在听他们谈话或观看足球比赛的小马都回来了，但也有一些看起来很担心或者很生气。我注意到没有提到海角，猛禽的损失，伤亡，红眼，或者小匹普。我以为昂科雷会把它完全掩盖起来，但是当一枚火焰弹爆炸的时候，一些小马可能会注意到。
Then a pink mare approached our table. “Excuse me. I… I was just wondering… my husband was on the Wind Cutter. He said he’d contact me a week ago, but I haven’t heard from him. Do you know…” the mare trailed off as she gazed in equal hope and nervousness at Twister.
然后一匹粉红色的母马走近我们的桌子。"对不起。我。.我只是想知道...我丈夫在风切割机上。他说他一周前会联系我，但我一直没有他的消息。你知道吗......"母马慢慢地走开了，她既满怀希望又紧张地盯着缇斯特。
Twister looked at Boomer a moment, then back at the mare. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t say.”
托斯特看了布玛儿一眼，然后又回到母马身边。"对不起，夫人。我不能说。"
“Oh… I… I’m sorry. I just thought...” She sniffed and averted her head. “Excuse me.”
"哦...我..。.对不起。我只是想......"她吸了一口气，转过头去。"对不起。"
When she’d left the café, I said, “That was one that was lost at Maripony, wasn’t it?”
当她离开咖啡馆的时候，我说:"那是在Maripony丢失的，不是吗?"
“Yeah. It was,” Twister said, her lips in a firm frown. “I had some friends on that
"是的。是的,"特维斯特说，她的嘴唇紧皱着。"我在那方面有一些朋友
ship too. Good ponies.” She sighed and shook her head. “Damned Stable Dweller.”
还有船。好马。"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"该死的马厩居民。"
“LittlePip didn’t know,” I said immediately, getting some more looks. Hopefully the patrons would think ventriloquism was a unicorn trait. “If she had, I know she would’ve done something different.” Actually, I didn’t know. Maybe LittlePip would have found another way. But she’d killed hundreds, maybe thousands, of hellhounds with that bomb… maybe she would have blown it anyway.
"小皮普不知道,"我马上说，接着又看了看。希望顾客们会认为腹语术是独角兽的特征。"如果她这么做了，我知道她会做出不同的选择。"事实上，我不知道。也许小皮普会找到另一种方法。但是她已经用那个炸弹杀死了成百上千的地狱猎犬......也许她无论如何都会引爆它。
Twister sighed. “I’m not saying she did. But that’s hard to swallow, stacked up against friends I’ll never see again.”
图斯特叹了口气。"我不是说她做了什么。但这很难让人接受，因为我再也见不到朋友了。"
Glory trotted back to the table. “We’ve got to go.”
晨辉小跑回到桌旁。"我们得走了。"
Dusk sighed, “For the love of clear skies, just go. The armor takes care of it. Trust me.”
黄昏叹息道:"为了爱清澈的天空，走吧。盔甲可以解决问题。相信我。"
“Not that!” Glory hissed. “I overheard the waiter putting a call in to security.”
"不是那个!"晨辉嘶嘶作响。"我无意中听到侍者给保安打了电话。"
“Not all at once!” I said as we all started to rise in unison. “P-21, Scotch, Twister, you go first and meet us back at that park with the rainbow waterfall thingy. Rampage, Boomer, you go next. Take your time. Glory, Boo, Dusk, and I will head out last. Give us five minutes. Moonshadow, go pay the bill,” I rattled off at once.
"不是一下子全部!"当我们开始一起站起来时，我说。"P-21，苏格兰威士忌，龙卷风，你们先去那个有彩虹瀑布的公园和我们会合。狂暴，布玛儿，你下一个。慢慢来。晨辉，嘘，黄昏，我将最后出发。给我们五分钟。"月光之影，去付账吧,"我立刻飞快地说了出来。
“Why me?” Moonshadow frowned.
"为什么是我?"月影皱起了眉头。
“Because of all of us you’re the only pony not a fugitive, from an enemy faction, or from the surface,” I replied as softly and seriously as I could manage. “And if anypony asks, you can blame it all on Dusk.”
"因为我们所有人，你是唯一一匹不是逃犯的小马，不是来自敌方派系，也不是来自地面的,"我尽量温柔而严肃地回答。"如果有人问起，你可以把一切都归咎于《黄昏》。"
“Gee, thanks,” Dusk said dryly as P-21 and Scotch Tape followed Twister towards the door while Moonshadow trotted to the counter to pay the bill.
"哎呀，谢谢。"薄暮干巴巴地说着，P-21和苏格兰胶带跟着扭扭乐走向门口，月影小跑到柜台付账。
“Hey, I’d take the blame, but I don’t think Thunderhead knows about me yet,” I replied.
"嘿，我愿意承担责任，但我觉得雷头还不知道我的存在,"我回答。
“I’d say they do,” Glory said in a faint voice as she stared up at the television screen.
"我想是的,"晨辉盯着电视屏幕，用微弱的声音说。
A flashy, bold animation done in brilliant colors was starting, and I froze in bewilderment as I stared at an animated copy of myself blasting away raiders… or were they mutants… with a shotgun and a maniacal grin. Next to me was an annoyed-looking LittlePip. A cocky Calamity flew overhead while P-21, far more sulkily handsome than ever, blasted a whole battalion of feral ghouls with a missile launcher, then coolly blew his bangs out of his face. And where’d he get that bandana? A vapid Homage and gray-coated Glory hung in the background. Most incomprehensible of all was a strange pink filly with a toy gun that somehow brought down beams of light from the skies. Rampage seemed cast as a villain, wearing bladed armor and grinning psychotically. The animation ended with the bold title of ‘Wastelander!’ and that it was coming next month to the ‘Fantasy Channel’.
一个华而不实、大胆的彩色动画开始了，当我盯着一个我自己的动画拷贝炸开突袭机的时候，我困惑地呆住了......或者他们是变种人......带着猎枪和疯狂的笑容。在我旁边的是一个恼怒的小匹普。一个狂妄自大的灾难从他头顶飞过，而比以往任何时候都英俊得多的P-21，用导弹发射器炸毁了一整营凶猛的食尸鬼，然后冷静地把他的刘海从脸上吹走。他从哪儿弄来的手帕？背景中悬挂着一幅无趣的致敬和灰色涂层的晨辉。最不可思议的是一匹奇怪的粉红色小母马，手里拿着一把玩具枪，不知怎么地，它从天空中发出了一道道光束。狂暴似乎被塑造成一个恶棍，穿着锋利的盔甲，疯狂地咧着嘴笑。动画以大胆的标题"Wastelander!"结束这部电影将于下个月在奇幻频道播出。
“They made me into a cartoon,” I muttered in a daze. “They… who… how… buh…” I sat down hard. I had nothing… My life had officially become entertainment.
"他们把我变成了卡通人物,"我茫然地喃喃自语。"他们......他们......怎么......啊......"我狠狠地坐下。我一无所有......我的生活正式变成了娱乐。
Unfortunately, I was so entranced by the surrealism of seeing a cartoon of myself that I missed the waitress walking behind me with two trays of food on her extended wings. Being invisible, it was easy to forgive her for walking right into me and dumping a half dozen bowls of steaming noodles all over me.
不幸的是，当我看到自己的卡通形象时，我被这种超现实主义所深深吸引，以至于我错过了在我身后走过的女服务员，她展开的翅膀上有两盘食物。由于她是隐形的，所以很容易原谅她径直走进我的身体，把半打热气腾腾的面条倒在我身上。
Really, I’d been hurt by worse, but I made a sudden discovery: zebra stealth cloaks don’t work when soaked in broth and coated in wiggly noodles. The waitress gaped at me, every bit as stunned as I’d been a second ago. She took in my metallic limbs and plates fused to my hide and had a completely rational reaction to a cybermare appearing out of thin air: she screamed at the top of her lungs as she backed away as rapidly as possible.
真的，我曾经受过更严重的伤害，但是我突然发现:斑马隐形斗篷泡在肉汤里，涂在扭曲的面条上是不起作用的。女服务员目瞪口呆地看着我，像我一秒钟前一样目瞪口呆。她接过我的金属四肢和粘在我皮肤上的钢板，对一只凭空出现的赛伯母马有着完全理性的反应:她尽可能快地后退，同时大声尖叫。
And then everything went mad.
然后一切都疯了。
The crowd tried rushing out at the same time that blue uniformed pegasi were trying to get in. I looked at Glory and Boomer. “Get out of here. I’ll find you later.” I held up my foreleg with my PipBuck.
人群试图冲出去的时候，身穿蓝色制服的飞马正试图进去。我看着晨辉和布玛儿。"滚出去。我以后再来找你。"我用皮布克举起我的前腿。
“Right!” Rampage said as she glanced at the scrum at the door, then at the wall. “Mmm. That wall doesn’t look all that structural.”
"没错!"狂暴说着，她瞥了一眼门口的守卫，然后又瞥了一眼墙。"嗯。那堵墙看起来没那么结构化。"
“Got it,” Boomer said as he pointed his beam rifle at it. The tips glowed bright red as the weapons let out a hum of charging up. “But it might tak--”
"明白了,"布默一边说，一边用他的步枪瞄准它。枪尖发出明亮的红光，发出一阵充电的嗡嗡声。"但它可能会——"
Rampage charged across the floor and slammed her hooves into the wall again and again in a fury that tore the wall to pieces. The white surface disintegrated into fog, and she trotted back to Boo and casually hefted her onto her back. “What? They’re clouds,” she said scornfully, then trotted out again.
狂暴横冲直撞的冲过地板，一次又一次用蹄子猛撞墙壁，把墙壁撕成了碎片。白色的表面分解成雾，她小跑回到阿布身边，随意地把她举到背上。"什么？它们是云,"她轻蔑地说，然后又跑了出去。
“Wallop my withers. Are all earth pony mares like that?” Boomer asked, then shook his head hard. “Nevermind. See you later,” he said as he trotted out. I saw Dusk and Moonshadow by the exit, the latter making a good enough show of panic that they didn’t notice the former ducking her head in pain.
"重击我的肩膀。地球上所有的母马都是这样的吗?"布玛儿问，然后使劲摇了摇头。"没关系。一会儿见,"他边说边小跑着走了出去。我在出口处看到了《黄昏》和《月影》，后者做了一个足够好的恐慌表演，他们没有注意到前者正在痛苦地低下头。
That just left… “I’m not leaving without you,” Glory said firmly.
"没有你我是不会走的,"晨辉坚定地说。
“Yes, you are,” I contradicted. From the laying-back of her ears, I knew I was in some pretty big trouble. “Glory, they just freaked out because they saw a cyber unicorn. How will they react when they realize there’s a Rainbow Dash in Thunderhead?” I grabbed her and kissed her firmly on the lips to forestall any argument. I could hear very authoritative shouts outside. Why did it feel like Mare Do Well’s 24 hour leniency was suddenly a lot shorter? “Don’t worry about me.”
"是的，你是,"我反驳道。从她的耳朵向后倾斜，我知道我有大麻烦了。"晨辉，他们只是吓坏了，因为他们看到了网络独角兽。当他们意识到在Thunderhead有一个彩虹冲刺时，他们会作何反应?"我抓住她，紧紧地吻在她的嘴唇上，以防止任何争吵。我可以听到外面非常权威的叫喊声。为什么感觉好像MareDoWell的24小时宽大处理突然缩短了很多？"别担心我。"
“Worry about you? I’m worried about Thunderhead! Bad things happen when you’re on your own, Blackjack!” she said as she smiled, then hugged me. “I am worried about you.”
""担心你吗？我很担心霹雳头！你一个人的时候就会发生不好的事情，Blackjack!"她笑着说，然后拥抱了我。"我很担心你。"
“Hey!” I said as I levitated off the cloak and wrung it out in the vain hope that that would fix it. “Things were way too quiet anyway. You go meet up with the others and talk to Doctor Whatshisname. I’ll keep everyone busy.”
"嘿!"我一边说，一边把斗篷悬浮起来拧干，徒劳地希望能修好它。"反正一切都太平静了。你去和其他人碰头，和那个叫什么来着的医生谈谈。我会让大家忙起来的。"
“Try not to blow up my home by accident. Please,” Glory said before giving me one last parting hug and rushing out the hole Rampage had ripped open. I put my guns away. These were security ponies, just like back in Stable 99. I wasn’t going to shoot them... but I was going to make them earn their noodles today.
"别不小心把我家炸了。"求你了,"晨辉说，然后给了我最后一个拥抱，冲出了暴怒撕开的那个洞。我把枪收起来了。这些是安全小马，就像回到Stable99。我本来不打算开枪打他们......但我今天打算让他们自食其力。
I burst out the front door and beheld the one skywagon and the half dozen officers around it. They stared at me. I grinned at them… and then things rapidly went downhill from there as I pounced into the midst of them like a cybernetically-augmented jungle cat. I ducked my head under a mare who was yelling something about me surrendering right before I rolled her across my back and launched her up into the air with a buck of my rump. She smashed into an airborne blue stallion, and they both went tumbling to the ground in a heap of
我冲出前门，看见一辆空中马车和周围六个军官。他们盯着我。我冲他们咧嘴笑了笑......然后事情就像一只增强了控制能力的丛林猫一样，从那里开始迅速走下坡路。我把头低到一匹母马下面，它正在叫喊着要我投降，然后我把它翻过我的背，用我的一头雄鹿把它抛向空中。她撞上了一匹空中飞来的蓝色种马，两个人一起翻滚到地上
clouds.
云。
“Catch me if you can!” I yelled as I raced in a direction away from my friends. I’d have to hide someplace till I got the cloak working again. I didn’t dare lead them towards Glory’s home or the university… so I travelled in the general direction of ‘away’! Only Glory could have been more conspicuous than an augmented unicorn. I raced along the street, yelling, “Clear the way! Excuse me! Coming through! Madmare on the loose!”
"抓住我，如果你能!"我一边朝远离朋友的方向跑，一边大喊。我得找个地方躲起来，直到我把斗篷修好。我不敢带他们去晨辉的家或者大学......所以我朝着'离开'的方向前进！只有晨辉能比增强版的独角兽更引人注目。我沿着街道奔跑，大喊:"让开！不好意思！借过！马德梅逃跑了!"
I raced through a sidewalk café, lifting tables, chairs, and pegasi above me and dropping them down as I rushed past. Of course, that didn’t do much for ponies who could fly, but still. It was attention on me. I dove into a shop and tore out the other side trailing a half-dozen garments. Really, polka dots? Those had to have gone out of style two centuries ago.
我跑过一家人行道上的咖啡馆，抬起桌子、椅子和飞马座，在我匆忙经过时把它们扔下来。当然，这对会飞的小马来说没什么用，但是仍然可以。这是对我的关注。我跳进一家商店，扯下另一边拖着的半打衣服。真的吗圆点花纹？那些在两个世纪前就已经过时了。
“Halt right there!” a burly red stallion shouted as he landed right in my path. Unfortunately for him, he may have been larger than me, but he was nowhere near as dense; I ploughed right over him like a train through a fog bank. “Or… continue. That’s good too,” he groaned behind me.
"站住!"一匹结实的红色种马在我面前大叫。对他来说，不幸的是，他可能比我大，但是他远没有那么密集;我像一列火车穿过雾堤一样在他身上艰难前行。"或者......继续。那也不错,"他在我身后抱怨道。
“Sorry!” I bellowed back at him as I jumped over a table and the startled ponies eating lunch. Oh yes, it seemed like I had quite shaken things up. A half-dozen police dived at me from every corner. I could have killed one, made a hole, and evaded… but if I was going to start down that road, I doubted I’d kill just one.
"对不起!"当我跳过一张桌子和吃午饭的受惊的小马时，我对着他吼叫。哦，是的，看起来我把事情搞得一团糟。六个警察从四面八方向我扑来。我本可以杀死一只，挖一个洞，然后逃之夭夭......但是如果我要沿着那条路开始的话，我怀疑我只会杀死一只。
“We got you!” a mare shouted as I closed my eyes and concentrated. Come on horn, you can do… apparently it couldn’t, as the six ponies piled on me from every side. I focused. Pushed as I was driven to the ground under the mound of ponies. I think more were piling on top of them! Even a cyberpony has her limits.
"我们抓到你了!"当我闭上眼睛集中注意力时，一匹母马大叫起来。来吧，号角，你可以做到......显然不行，因为六匹小马从四面八方向我挤来挤去。我集中注意力。我被推倒在小马堆下面的地上。我认为更多的是堆积在他们之上！即使是一匹赛博马也有它的极限。
Then a flash as I made fifty feet. I staggered back and forth, double vision dancing in my sight. I looked back at the very un-thrilled faces of the Enclave security. From the black on my horn, no, I wasn’t going to be teleporting again soon. I hoped I had enough resiliency to keep my telekinesis. From the grim expressions on the law enforcement ponies’ faces, I was going to need it.
然后一道闪光，我走了五十英尺。我摇摇晃晃地走来走去，重影在我眼前翩翩起舞。我回头看了看昂科雷安全部队中那些非常平静的面孔。从我喇叭上的黑色信号来看，不，我不会很快再次传送。我希望我有足够的弹性来保持我的心灵遥感。从执法部门的小马脸上的严肃表情来看，我需要它。
Unfortunately, things were getting crowded. There were a lot of civilians along this street. I spotted a skywagon lifting off and rushed to it, leaping into the back. Again, small inconvenience to ponies who could fly, but it was getting me away
不幸的是，事情变得拥挤了。这条街上有许多平民。我发现一辆空中马车正在起飞，我冲向它，跳到它的后面。再说一次，对于会飞的小马来说有点不方便，但是它让我离开了
from where I might accidentally maim somepony. The mare pulling it looked back at me, her eyes wide and not quite believing what was on her wagon. “Give me a lift?” I asked with a grin, gesturing upwards with a hoof.
我可能会不小心弄伤一些小马。拉着它的母马回头看着我，她的眼睛睁得大大的，不太相信她的马车上发生了什么。"能载我一程吗?"我咧嘴笑着问道，用一只蹄子向上做着手势。
She screamed and rolled upside down, dumping myself and half the wares in the wagon onto the streets below. I grabbed an unrolling bolt of brilliant red cloth in my teeth, forehooves, and magic, and the fabric suddenly went taut and slowed my decent. I soared over the crowds, many of whom were gaping and whooping in amazement. The blue uniformed security ponies, however, had had quite enough. They flew over the top of my improvised parachute, hooked it, and lifted. The cloth jerked me up, and I hung there until they set me down in a plaza of some sort. They’d gotten beam guns, too… that wasn’t good. They might not kill me with those, but it was way too crowded to risk bystanders.
她尖叫着，头朝下地滚动着，把我和货车里的一半货物都扔到了下面的街道上。我用牙齿、前蹄和魔法抓住了一块展开的闪亮的红布，布料突然绷紧了，减慢了我的速度。我飞过人群，其中许多人目瞪口呆，惊讶地叫喊着。然而，穿着蓝色制服的保安小马已经受够了。它们从我临时制作的降落伞顶部飞过，钩住它，然后升起。那块布把我拉了起来，我一直吊在那里，直到他们把我放在某个广场上。他们还得到了光束枪...这可不妙。他们可能不会用那些东西杀死我，但是那里太拥挤了，不能让旁观者冒险。
“I give up!” I said as I dropped to the clouds. “You got me. I surrender.” When my horn was rested up, I’d teleport out of custody, meet up with Glory, and…
"我放弃!"我一边说，一边飞向云端。"你抓到我了。我投降。"当我的号角停下来的时候，我会传送出去，和晨辉会合，然后..。
Then the crowd erupted in cheers, and a white stallion with a silver mane and a spectrum burst for a cutie mark pushed his way forward. His eyes were hidden by opaque black glasses. “That was magnificent! Exactly how BJ would do it, Babe.” He put a hoof around my shoulder and waved to the crowd. “But you weren’t supposed to start the publicity stunts until next week!” I noticed he had a fancy-looking PipBuck on the waving hoof.
然后人群爆发出欢呼声，一匹有着银色鬃毛和光谱的白色种马冲向前去寻找一个可爱的马克。他的眼睛被不透明的黑眼镜遮住了。"真是太棒了！Bj到底会怎么做，宝贝。"他用蹄子搂住我的肩膀，向人群挥手。"但是你不应该在下周之前就开始做宣传噱头!"我注意到他的蹄子上有一只漂亮的小鸟。
“Huh?” the security ponies around me said, too baffled to notice that I said the same thing as well. One covered her face. “Don’t tell me that this is another one of your damned publicity stunts, Chicanery.”
"啊?"我周围的保安说，太困惑，以至于没有注意到我也说了同样的话。其中一个盖住了她的脸。"别告诉我这又是你那该死的宣传噱头，奇卡纳里。"
“Hey hey hey! I’d say this was a good stunt. A damned good stunt. Maybe a little premature. Gonna be hard to top it before the release.” He turned to the crowd, who were now quite amused by my madcap charge through town. “You want to see the same or better? Tune in to ‘Wastelander!’ next month! Guaranteed to blow your mind!” He gripped me a little firmer around the shoulders and whispered, “Wave to your audience, Blackjack.” I gave a sickly little smile and waved.
"嘿，嘿，嘿！我得说这是一个很好的噱头。这绝对是个好把戏。也许有点太早了。在发行之前很难超越它。"他转向人群，他们现在被我疯狂的穿过城镇逗乐了。"你想看同样的还是更好的？收听《荒废者》下个月！保证让你大吃一惊!"他紧紧地抓住我的肩膀，低声说:"向你的听众挥手，黑杰克。"我微微一笑，挥了挥手。
“Damn it,” the mare who spoke earlier swore under her breath. “You’re lucky this was just a spectacle, Chicanery. If one pony reports so much as a bent feather or a bruised hoof from this, I’m going to fine you so hard you’ll never
"该死,"早些时候说话的母马低声咒骂道。"你很幸运，这只是一个奇观，奇卡纳里。如果有一匹小马因此报告哪怕是一片弯曲的羽毛或者一个瘀伤的蹄子，我就会狠狠地罚你，你永远也不会
work in this town again!” She turned to the others. “Come on. False alarm.” She lifted off and pointed one last time at the white pegasus. “This is going to be reported, though! Don’t think it isn’t!”
再在这个镇上工作!"她转向其他人。"来吧。虚惊一场。"她飞走了，最后一次指着那匹白色的飞马。"不过，这件事一定会被报道的！不要以为它不是!"
“Report away, as long as you watch!” he replied gaily, then turned to me. “Come on. Let’s get my actress out of sight, Babe! That was stupendous!”
"报告吧，只要你看着!"他愉快地回答，然后转向我。"来吧。让我们把我的女演员从视线中移开，宝贝！太了不起了!"
I went along as far as getting out of sight of the officers before I just looked at him flatly. “Who are you?”
我一直走到看不见那些军官的地方，然后就直截了当地看着他。"你是谁?"
* * *
* * *
Spectrum Studios had been a movie production house before the war and had seen no reason to stop when the world ended. The office was filled with canisters of film, slides, and dozens of movie posters. Many of the most carefully preserved were from before the war. “Good thing we’re in Thunderhead. Neighvarro would have destroyed them. They don’t even like admitting that there is a ground unless it’s to remind us that we’ll die if we get within sniffing distance,” he said as he took off his glasses and trotted over to a sofa, flopping down and grinning at me. “Wow. Blackjack. I mean… wow. I don’t know what to say.”
二战前，Spectrum工作室一直是一家电影制作公司，当世界末日来临时，它没有理由停下来。办公室里放满了胶卷、幻灯片和几十张电影海报。许多保存最完好的都是战前的。"还好我们在雷锋山。邻居们会把它们毁掉的。他们甚至不愿承认地面的存在，除非是为了提醒我们，如果我们在嗅觉范围内，我们就会死去。"他一边说，一边摘下眼镜，小跑到沙发上，扑通一声倒在地上，对我咧嘴笑。"哇。黑杰克。我是说...哇。我不知道该说什么。"
“You can say how you know things about me?” I replied, happy that he’d gotten me out of trouble but really wanting answers.
"你可以说你是怎么知道我的事情的?"我回答道，很高兴他帮我解决了麻烦，但是我真的很想知道答案。
“Right! Good question, that.” He rose to his hooves. “I’ve been a huge fan of the ground. I mean… I’d never go there myself. I’d last all of five minutes down there. Look at me. Glory’s tougher than I am,” he said with that dazzling smile. “Would you like something to drink? Snacks? I got berries.”
"对！问得好。"他站起身来。"我一直是这片土地的超级粉丝。我是说...我自己绝对不会去那里。我在那里只能坚持五分钟。看着我。晨辉比我坚强,"他带着灿烂的微笑说。"你想喝点什么吗？零食？我有浆果。"
I’d ignore the saliva responding to that statement. “I’d like to know how a pegasus who never goes to the surface knows about me. You called me by my name, not Security.” And he’d mentioned Glory.
我会忽略唾液对这种说法的反应。"我想知道一个从未到过地面的飞马是怎么知道我的。你叫的是我的名字，不是保安。"他提到了晨辉。
He sighed and then ran his hoof though his elegant mane. “Well. I suppose I owe you that much. I mean, I’m planning to release a whole Life of the Lightbringer in a year or two.” He lifted his hoof and tapped the PipBuck. “It’s because of these.”
他叹了口气，然后用蹄子走过他那飘逸的鬃毛。"好吧。我想这是我欠你的。我的意思是，我计划在一两年内发行一部《光明使者的一生》。"他抬起蹄子，轻轻地敲了敲铜管。"就是因为这些。"
“Come again?” I frowned.
"再说一遍?"我皱起了眉头。
“PipBucks are wonders of technology. Storage and processing aside, they’re constantly taking in and putting out signals. That’s how they work. Say you pick up some junk… well, the PipBuck might not know what it is, so it asks another terminal. And if that one doesn’t know, then it’ll ask another and another. And in almost an instant, it’ll identify that thing. Then it might average out trading prices to tell you, in general, how much it’s worth! Astonishing!” he said with an eager grin.
"PipBucks是科技的奇迹。除了存储和处理之外，它们还不断地接收和发出信号。这就是他们的工作方式。假设你捡到一些垃圾......好吧，PipBuck可能不知道它是什么，所以它询问另一个终端。如果那个人不知道，那么它会一个接一个地问。几乎在一瞬间，它就能识别出那个东西。然后它可能平均交易价格告诉你，一般来说，它的价值多少！太惊人了!"他迫不及待地笑着说。
“Where’d you get yours?” I asked, nodding at his navy blue broadcaster. It made his smile waver a little, but a second later the grin returned.
"你从哪儿弄来的?"我问道，对着他那深蓝色的播音员点了点头。这让他的笑容有点动摇，但是过了一会儿，笑容又回来了。
“Heirloom. But it’s not what made me able to follow your adventures,” he said as he stood, trotted to a wall, and lifted down a poster to reveal a safe. When he opened it, he pushed the stuff inside to the sides and then pushed a button in the back. The wall behind me gave a click, and he closed the safe and trotted to another poster... and behind that was a hidden panel. “I know, you might think me paranoid, but when you see this…” He pushed the panel in and slid it into the wall. Then, carefully cradling it with his wings, he withdrew and presented to me a silver helmet. It had all kinds of lightbulbs, talismans, and wires coming off it. “This is the Perceptitron.”
"传家宝。但这并不是让我能够追随你的冒险之旅的原因。"他站起来，小跑到一面墙边，拉下一张海报，露出一个保险箱。当他打开它时，他把里面的东西推到两边，然后按了后面的一个按钮。我身后的墙发出一声咔嗒声，他关上保险箱，跑向另一张海报...后面是一块隐藏的面板。"我知道，你可能认为我多疑，但是当你看到这个......"他把面板推进去，把它推到墙上。然后，他小心翼翼地用翅膀托着头盔，退了下来，递给我一顶银色的头盔。里面有各种各样的灯泡、护身符和电线。"这是感知器。"
“Your own invention?” I asked with an awkward smile. It was the most ridiculous looking gadget I’d ever seen. It had a little fan whirling at the temple!
"你自己的发明?"我尴尬地笑着问道。这是我见过的最可笑的小玩意儿。它有一个小风扇在寺庙里旋转！
“Hardly! This was developed by Stable-Tec and the Ministry of Awesome for use in the S.P.P.” He turned it so I could see the winged thunderbolt on the front. “I think this was a prototype. I found it in a lab in the Tower when I was a kid. Took me years to get it to work right.”
""没有！这是Stable-Tec和Awesome部门开发的，用于s.p.p。"他转动它，让我能看到前面有翼的雷电。"我认为这是一个原型。我小时候在伦敦塔的一个实验室里发现的。我花了好几年才让它正常工作。"
“And how does it work?” I asked as I pointed a hoof at it.
"它是怎么工作的?"我一边问一边用蹄子指着它。
“It allows the wearer to spy on the experiences of a pony wearing a PipBuck,” he said grandly. “Wicked, huh?”
"佩戴者可以通过它窥探穿着PipBuck的小马的体验,"他盛气凌人地说。"太棒了，是吧?"
“It… what?” I asked, somewhat stunned and a little baffled. And he’d been using it to spy on me?
"它......什么?"我问道，有点吃惊，也有点困惑。他一直在用它来监视我？
“Well, there’re limits. They have to be in range of the MASEBS towers, and cracking the encryption takes forever. Some PipBucks have only vision and others give me nasty feedback. I’ve only been able to do it with a dozen or so
"好吧，这是有限度的。他们必须在MASEBS信号塔的范围内，破解密码需要很长时间。一些PipBucks只有远见，而其他人给我的反馈很糟糕。我只有十几个人能做到这一点
ponies. But when DJ Pon3 started talking about all of you heroes down there, I had to see for myself.” He was so enthusiastic that I didn’t know if I should be impressed or beating him soundly about the head and shoulders. Maybe both. “It took me four days to access the Stable Dweller. Three days for yours.”
小马。但当DJPon3开始谈论你们所有的英雄时，我不得不亲眼看看。"他是如此热情，我不知道我是否应该留下深刻印象或击败他的头部和肩膀。也许两者都有。"我花了四天时间才接触到马厩居民。你的三天。"
“And what have you seen?” I asked archly.
"你看到了什么?"我狡黠地问道。
He caught my tone and coughed awkwardly as he looked down at the helmet, “Only bits and pieces. It’s only good for fifteen or twenty minutes before it starts overheating. But I saw you in Hightower fighting that ghoul. And when you faced those Harbingers at the sandpit. And a few other things. Nothing intimate… intentionally. I have some standards,” he said with a slightly nervous smile and got himself out of a thumping.
他听出了我的语气，低头看着头盔，尴尬地咳嗽了一声,"只有一点点。只需要十五到二十分钟，它就会开始过热。但我看见你在海托华和那个食尸鬼打架。当你在沙坑里面对那些预兆的时候。还有其他一些事情。没有什么亲密的...故意的。我有自己的标准,"他略带紧张地笑着说，让自己摆脱了重击。
“Intentionally?” I asked, arching a brow and watching him sweat.
"故意的?"我问道，皱了皱眉头，看着他汗流浃背。
“Well… I just happened to jump in while the Stable Dweller was with a pony named Homage? Wow… just… wow…” he said with a sheepish grin. “But nothing I’d ever put in film! Probably. Most likely.”
"嗯......我只是碰巧在马厩住户和一匹名叫'效忠'的小马在一起的时候插了一脚？"哇......真是......哇......"他羞怯地笑着说。"但是我从来没有把什么东西放进电影里！可能吧。很有可能。"
“Uh-huh,” I replied dryly as I surveyed the studio. “And you used this Perceptitron thing to look at the Wasteland?”
"啊哈,"我打量着录音室，干巴巴地回答。"你用这个感知器来观察荒原?"
“For the last two or three years,” he nodded and walked to the studio window. “For a while, I was completely baffled. Every report the Enclave gave us was either a gross exaggeration or blatant turd rain. But when I realized that they were lies, I couldn’t exactly call them on it. If they found my Perceptitron, then they’d take it and destroy it. And me with it.” Then he gestured to the studio. “But I could use what I saw to make films about the Wasteland.”
"在过去的两三年里,"他点点头，走到工作室的窗前。"有一段时间，我完全被难住了。昂科雷给我们的每一份报告要么是严重夸大，要么是明目张胆的大便。但是当我意识到这些都是谎言的时候，我就不能确切的告诉他们了。如果他们找到了我的感知器，他们就会拿走并毁掉它。我也是。"然后他指了指画室。"但是我可以用我看到的东西来拍一部关于荒原的电影。"
“Come again?” I asked with a frown. “Wouldn’t they ban those too?”
"再说一遍?"我皱着眉头问。"难道他们不会也禁止这些吗?"
“If they were documentaries, sure. Faster than you can say ‘redaction’, Babe.” He grinned even more. “But all my films are ‘fiction’, and so long as I show lots of horrible raider ponies and brown on the surface, the Enclave doesn’t mind. A few might question how I get so accurate, but I’m seen every day up here, so they can’t accuse me of breaking quarantine.” He wore a smile ear to ear at his own cleverness. “But I can show more than just horribleness. I can show struggle. I can show heroism that’s not out of a propaganda piece. I can give them a taste of what’s down there.” He polished his hoof on his chest. “Doesn’t
"如果是纪录片的话，当然可以。比你说'编辑'还快，宝贝。"他笑得更厉害了。"但是我所有的电影都是'虚构的'，只要我表现出许多可怕的小马和棕色的表面，昂科雷就不会介意。有些人可能会质疑我为什么能做到如此精确，但我每天都在这里，所以他们不能指控我违反了隔离规定。"他对自己的聪明才智笑得合不拢嘴。"但我可以展示的不仅仅是可怕。我可以表现出挣扎。我可以展示不是出自宣传片的英雄主义。我可以让他们尝尝那里的滋味。"他用蹄子蹭胸部。""没有
hurt that my films have made me a lot of money, too.”
我的电影也让我赚了很多钱"
For some reason, I found myself scowling at him. Something about his eagerness and smugness rubbed me the wrong way. “A taste? Which? How about my friend getting his face melted off by a ghoul? Or my other friend sacrificing her existence so her kind might have a chance? Or my love’s mother almost killing her father right before her eyes?” I caught his flinch. “Oh, you saw that one, did you? Did you see the aftermath where she tried desperately to save his life, or was that not fun?”
出于某种原因，我发现自己对他怒目而视。他的急切和沾沾自喜使我感到不舒服。"尝一口？哪个？我朋友的脸被食尸鬼给融化了怎么样？还是我的另一个朋友牺牲了自己的生命，好让她的同类有机会？还是我爱人的母亲差点当着她的面杀了她的父亲?"我抓住了他的退缩。"哦，你看到那个了，是吗？你有没有看到她拼命挽救他生命的后果，或者这不好玩?"
He held up his hooves. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like life down there is fun.” His grin was gone, and he lowered the glasses to look at me in the eye. “It’s just that life up here is… it’s like everypony is asleep! It’s the same pro-war yet isolationist stories every day, every year. It’s not living. You live more down below in one day than some ponies their entire lives up here.”
他举起他的蹄子。"对不起。我不是故意让人觉得那里的生活很有趣。"他的笑容消失了，他放下眼镜，看着我的眼睛。"只是这里的生活......就像每匹小马都睡着了！每一天，每一年，都是同样的支持战争却又孤立主义的故事。这不是生活。你一天住在下面的时间比一些小马一辈子住在上面的时间还长。"
“Chicanery, be glad it’s boring. Because if the Wasteland ever made it up here, you’d wish for boring. You’d crave boring,” I said as I stared at the device, then at him. “You know about Glory?”
"骗人的把戏，还好它很无聊。因为如果荒原曾经在这里，你会希望无聊。你肯定渴望无聊,"我盯着这个设备说，然后又盯着他。"你知道晨辉吗?"
He gave a wary smile. “Oh yeah. The Rainbow Dash thing? Far out. But too far out, I can’t use it. Nopony would believe it.”
他谨慎地笑了笑。"哦，是的。彩虹冲刺什么的？太棒了。但是太远了，我不能用它。小马不会相信的。"
“Can I use your machine thing to make sure she’s okay?” I asked with a frown.
"我能用你的机器确认她没事吗?"我皱着眉头问。
He licked his lips, frowning in thought. “If you got her PBT, we can try, Babe.” ‘PBT’, I realized, was ‘PipBuck Tag’. He put the heavy helmet on top of my head and started attaching wires to a cloud terminal. As he worked, he went on and on about this S.P.P., a massive weather control device. I’d heard snippets before, but to hear about a system that let one pony control all the weather across the Wasteland was a bit overwhelming. Chicanery talked eagerly and enthusiastically about it, seeing it from the perspective of a young stallion in love with stories.
他舔着嘴唇，皱着眉头沉思着。"如果你给她用了PBT我们可以试试宝贝"我意识到，PBT是PipBuckTag。他把沉重的头盔戴在我的头上，开始把电线接到云端。他一边工作，一边不停地谈论着这个s.p.p，一个巨大的天气控制装置。我以前听过一些片段，但是听说一个系统可以让一匹小马控制整个荒地的天气，这有点让人难以接受。Chicanery热切而热情地谈论它，从一个爱上故事的年轻种马的角度来看待它。
Me? I’d seen what secret super-projects could do. I added dealing with the S.P.P. somewhere on my list of things to do before the world ended. “Why would Rainbow Dash want it, though?”
我？我见识过秘密超级项目的威力。我在世界末日之前要做的事情清单上的某个地方增加了处理s.p.p的内容。"不过，彩虹·达什(RainbowDash)为什么会想要它?"
“Well, Stable-Tec had the machinery to put a pony’s mind in a machine. Wicked cool, huh Babe?” I thought of Horse’s knockoff and merely grunted. “Well, RD
"好吧，Stable-Tec公司拥有将小马的思想植入机器的装置。酷毙了，是吧，宝贝?"我想到了马儿的山寨货，只是咕哝了一声。"好吧，RD
wasn’t interested in that. So she got some stasis thingy and made an interface for the S.P.P. She was supposed to be able to see all across the country and control the weather though it. This works the same way, but it accesses the sensory info going in and out of a PipBuck.”
我对这个不感兴趣。所以她弄了些静止的东西为s.p.p做了个界面。她应该能够看到全国各地，控制天气。这个方法也是一样的，但它可以访问PipBuck进出的感官信息。"
He knew me, so I assumed it worked. “I just want to check on her,” I said as sent the tag info to the terminal.
他认识我，所以我以为这招管用。"我只是想检查一下她,"我说，并把标签信息发送到了终端。
“Sure Babe. Hold on. It’s going to be a crazy ride.” There were a few beeps, and the world swirled away.
"当然，宝贝。等等。这将是一段疯狂的旅程。"只听到几声哔哔声，整个世界就旋转着消失了。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
This wasn’t a wild ride. I’d done this before; a whole lot before. It was the same sensation I had in the dozens of memory orbs I’d been in. The difference was, instead of being from years or centuries ago, this was live. It also wasn’t a perfect experience: the colors were all shifted a little towards the red, and there was a persistent feedback noise in my left ear.
这不是一次疯狂的旅行。我以前也这么做过，很多次了。这种感觉和我在几十个记忆球中的感觉一样。不同之处在于，这是现场直播，而不是几年前或几个世纪前的。这也不是一个完美的体验:所有的颜色都有一点偏向红色，并且在我的左耳有一个持续的反馈噪音。
It was also the first time I appreciated what it meant to be Rainbow Dash in her prime. This body practically thrummed with strength. I wanted to fly, and I wasn’t even a pegasus. The power armor she wore moved like a second mechanical skin that I felt very familiar with as well. Glory was in some kind of official-looking building; the walls were that particular pale beige that spoke of serious ponies in serious suits having serious meetings and nodding seriously at the choice of a serious paint color and the serious number of forms needed to implement it.
这也是我第一次意识到，在她的全盛时期，彩虹冲刺意味着什么。这个身体实际上充满了力量。我想要飞行，而我甚至不是一匹飞马。她穿着的动力盔甲像第二层机械皮肤一样移动，我也感到非常熟悉。晨辉在于某种官方样式的建筑;墙壁是那种特别的浅褐色，说的是身着正式服装的严肃的小马，正在进行严肃的会议，严肃地点头表示对严肃的油漆颜色的选择，以及实施它所需要的严肃的形式。
“I’m telling you, that alert shouldn’t have been called off. Blackjack running like mad should have brought in a wing of Intelligence ponies at least,” Dusk said irritably as she limped along. “If it had been a publicity stunt, they should have hauled in Chicanery by his balls and taken them as a fine.”
"我告诉你，那个警报不应该取消。黑杰克拼命地跑，至少应该带来一群智能小马,"黄昏一瘸一拐地走着，恼怒地说。"如果这是一个宣传噱头，他们应该抓住他的蛋蛋，把它们当作罚款处理。"
“Chicanery does this all the time,” Moonshadow said calmly from in front of us. “You remember that griffin he dressed up as Gilda for ‘The Last Stand of Rainbow Dash’? Nearly caused a panic, but you have to admit that he sold tickets. Him getting a tower unicorn to pull off a pony from his next series isn’t unthinkable.”
"骗子总是这样,"月影镇静地站在我们面前说。"你还记得他在《最后一战彩虹冲刺》中扮成吉尔达的那个狮鹫吗？差点引起恐慌，但你不得不承认他是卖票的。他在下一部电视剧中用一只塔上的独角兽拉出一匹小马，这并非不可想象。"
“He’d be a star in Neighvarro for his own execution,” Twister said from
"如果他自己被处决的话，他会成为Neighvarro的明星。"
somewhere behind Glory. “I think there’s a standing warrant for his arrest.”
晨辉之后的某处。"我认为他的逮捕令是有效的。"
“Well, this isn’t Neighvarro,” Moonshadow said sourly. “We actually have rights in Thunderhead.”
"好吧，这不是什么邻居,"月影酸溜溜地说。"我们实际上在Thunderhead拥有权利。"
“I just hope Blackjack is okay,” Glory said.
"我只是希望Blackjack没事,"晨辉说。
They walked into a reception area where a green stallion with large wire-framed glasses greeted them with an eager smile. “Sweet, Professor Moony! Did the college finally spring for some unicorns to fix those talismans?”
他们走进一个接待区，那里有一匹戴着大金属框眼镜的绿色种马热情地微笑着迎接他们。"亲爱的，穆尼教授！学校终于出钱请独角兽来修护身符了吗?"
“Something like that,” Moonshadow said with a glance at Glory. “Could you find out if Doctor Morningstar can speak with me a moment, Beryl? It’s urgent.”
"差不多吧,"月影望了一眼晨辉，说道。"贝丽尔，你能不能问一下莫宁斯塔医生能不能和我谈谈？这事很紧急。"
“About the signal?” he said as he picked up a phone.
"关于信号?"他一边说一边拿起电话。
“No. But it’s really important,” Moonshadow said as she walked through a door and into a room with a dozen terminals scattered around strange equipment. Some of it looked vaguely familiar; I thought I’d seen things like it in Professor Zodiac’s planetarium. The machines all hummed quietly and made strange beeps. Two stallions on the far side of the room waved at their entry before returning to their work.
"没有。但这真的很重要,"Moonshadow一边说，一边穿过一扇门，走进一个房间，里面有十几个终端，分散在各种奇怪的设备周围。其中一些看起来有点眼熟，我想我在十二宫教授的天文馆里见过类似的东西。所有的机器都安静地嗡嗡作响，发出奇怪的哔哔声。房间另一边的两匹种马挥手示意他们进去，然后继续工作。
Glory looked back at Rampage, P-21, and Scotch Tape as the blue stallion said, “What signal?”
晨辉回头看着狂暴，P-21，和透明胶带，蓝色种马说,"什么信号?"
“The hundred-thousand bit question,” she said with a sigh. “It’s something the Tower picked up a few weeks ago, being transmitted from space.” Rampage and Scotch Tape immediately perked up, but Moonshadow went on, “Don’t get your hopes up for ponies with antennae. There’s lots of defunct equipment up there. Even some really big weapon satellites are still in orbit.”
"十万个无关紧要的问题,"她叹了口气说。"这是伦敦塔几周前从太空发回的信号。"暴怒和透明胶带立刻振作起来，但是月影继续说道:"不要对长着触角的小马抱太大希望。那里有很多废弃的设备。甚至一些真正的大型武器卫星仍在轨道上运行。"
“Of course there are,” Rampage drawled sarcastically. “They ran out of places on the surface to put guns, so why not put more of them in space?”
"当然有了,"暴怒讽刺地慢吞吞地说。"他们已经没有地方放枪了，那么为什么不把更多的枪放到太空中呢?"
“Relax. There were only a few put up there, and only one of them has ever fired. It would take a genius to figure that one out,” Moonshadow said, then added, “Besides, what makes you think all of them are ours?” The three earth ponies looked quite uneasy at that little tidbit, as was I, but Moonshadow continued as if it were no matter at all for an astronomer, “This signal, though, wasn’t some old
"放松。那里只有几个人，而且只有一个人开过枪。"只有天才才能弄明白这一点,"月影说，然后又加了一句,"而且，你凭什么认为它们都是我们的呢?"三匹地球小马看着那一点点小花絮显得很不安，我也是，但是月影继续着，好像对一个天文学家来说根本不重要似的,"尽管这个信号不是什么古老的东西
communication lodged in a buffer and finally kicked out. This was a machine message seeking something called EC-1101.” The gray mare sighed and shook her head. “Unfortunately, after a month of analysis, we still don’t have a clue what this EC-1101 thing is.”
通讯卡在缓冲器里，最后被踢出去了。这是一条寻找EC-1101的机器信息。"灰色的母马叹了口气，摇了摇头。"不幸的是，经过一个月的分析，我们仍然不知道EC-1101是什么东西。"
“Blackjack’s PipBuck program?” Glory asked, and Moonshadow froze.
"Blackjack的PipBuck程序?"晨辉问道，月影僵住了。
“You know what it is?” Moonshadow asked archly. When Glory nodded, Moonshadow rubbed her temples. “Four weeks of driving ourselves nuts trying to figure it out, and you just know.” She took a seat and picked up a clipboard with her wings. “Out with it.” And she picked up a pencil in her mouth.
"你知道这是什么吗?"月影狡黠地问道。当晨辉点点头，月影摩挲着她的太阳穴。"我们花了四个星期的时间试图弄明白这个问题，你就是知道。"她找了个座位，拿起一个带翅膀的剪贴板。"说出来吧。"她嘴里叼起一支铅笔。
“Well, I don’t know exactly, but according to Blackjack it’s a special program that Luna put out when the bombs fell. It basically passes leadership of Equestria to whoever has the program. It’s a megaspell of some kind and you can use it to take over any system that’s been locked down,” Glory said, and Moonshadow wrote it all down.
"嗯，我不知道确切的时间，但是根据Blackjack的说法，这是一个特殊的程序，是Luna在炸弹落下时推出的。它基本上把Equestria的领导权交给了拥有这个项目的人。这是一个巨大的外壳，你可以用它来接管任何被封锁的系统,"晨辉说，然后月影把它全部记录下来。
“Interesting,” Moonshadow said with a frown when she’d finished and set the board aside. “Near as I can tell, there’s at least five people trying to send a signal back to space to talk to it. Even a communication or spy satellite would be a huge asset today.”
"有意思,"当她说完并把黑板放在一边时，月影皱着眉头说。"据我所知，至少有五个人试图发送信号回太空与它对话。如今，即使是通讯卫星或间谍卫星也将是一笔巨大的资产。"
“Five?” P-21 said with the exact same worry I felt.
"五个?"P-21说的话和我的担心完全一样。
“We’ve been trying to talk to it,” she said as she gestured to the equipment with a wing. “We’ve been using our transmitter, but it’s ignoring us. I picked up the Enclave’s Starwatcher transmitter on Pinnacle Peak, so Neighvarro’s trying to chat with it as well.”
"我们一直在试图和它交谈,"她一边说，一边用翅膀指了指设备。"我们一直在使用我们的发射器，但它忽略了我们。我在尖塔峰接收到了昂科雷的观星者发射器，所以邻居也试图和它聊天。"
“I thought they scrapped that,” Dusk said to Twister and Boomer.
"我以为他们取消了,"黄昏对Twister和Boomer说。
“Heck if I know. PP is a red zone. We’re not allowed in,” Boomer said, then grinned at Scotch and Rampage. “They’re always looking for unidentified flying objects.”
"要是我知道就好了。Pp是一个红色区域。我们不能进去,"布默说，然后冲着苏格兰威士忌和狂暴咧嘴一笑。"他们总是在寻找不明飞行物。"
“The last three are… strange. Two are coming from the Core, but one of them is gigasparks stronger. I almost couldn’t pick out the second signal. The stronger signal, though, is a doozy.” She stretched over with a wing and tapped a terminal. “Where is it…” she muttered under her breath.
"最后三个......很奇怪。两个来自核心，但其中一个是更强大的巨型公园。我几乎分辨不出第二个信号。不过，更强的信号非常明显。"她伸出一只翅膀，拍打着一个终端。"在哪儿......"她低声咕哝着。
Then the scream began, only instead of hearing it inside my head I was hearing it with my ears. One long, continuous garbled screaming noise. Even though the volume wasn’t loud, it still unnerved everypony. Moonshadow grinned. “Pretty creepy, huh? It’s machine speak. I can’t even pick through a hundredth of the junk to find out what it’s actually saying.” Moonshadow killed it, but I could remember it.
然后尖叫开始了，只是我没有听到它在我的脑袋里，而是用我的耳朵听到了它。一个长长的，连续的混乱的尖叫声。尽管音量不是很大，但还是让每个小马都感到不安。月影咧嘴一笑。"挺吓人的，是吧？这是机器语言。我甚至无法从百分之一的垃圾中找出它到底在说什么。"月影杀死了它，但我记得它。
I’d heard it before. I heard it all the time down in the tunnels. The scream of Enervation. That it was a signal too was even more unnerving. It was like speech that melted flesh.
我以前听说过。我在隧道里经常听到这种声音。衰弱的尖叫。这也是一个信号，更令人不安。就像融化了肉体的言语。
“What about the last one?” Scotch Tape asked. “That’s only four.”
"最后一个呢?"透明胶带问道。"只有四个。"
“Last one?” Moonshadow blinked at the filly in confusion, then her eyes widened. “Right. I always seem to forget about that signal. It’s coming from Black Pony Mountain.” She announced it, and immediately I felt a strange indifference fall over me. It wasn’t important. That was just a boring chunk of black rock. Nothing special about it at all. And clearly everypony agreed.
"最后一个?"月影困惑地眨了眨眼睛，然后睁大了眼睛。"对。我似乎总是忘记那个信号。它来自黑马山。"她宣布了这个消息，我立刻感到一种奇怪的冷漠感袭上心头。这不重要。那只是一块无聊的黑色岩石。没什么特别的。很明显每个人都同意。
The door opened, and Beryl poked his head in. “Professor? Doctor Morningstar says he’ll be between test strings in an hour. That’s your best chance to talk to him.”
门开了，贝丽尔探进头来。"教授？莫宁斯塔医生说他一个小时后会进行测试。这是你和他谈话的最好机会。"
I wanted to listen more, but the feedback whine was growing unbearable. “Hey, Chicanery. Unplug me from this, will you?” I said aloud; at least I hope I did. “Chicanery?” I hoped I wasn’t going to have to do a manual override and break the damned thing. Then the world swirled away once more.
我想多听一些，但是反馈的抱怨声越来越让人无法忍受。"嘿，骗子。把我的插头拔掉，好吗?"我大声地说，至少我希望是这样。"诈骗?"我希望我不用手动操作就能破解这个该死的东西。然后世界又一次旋转着消失了。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
I let out a sigh of relief as I returned to my own body. “Thanks. That was… interesting.” I pushed the helmet off my head and turned to the terminal.
当我回到自己的身体时，我松了一口气。"谢谢。那真是......有意思。"我把头盔从头上推开，转向航站楼。
“Oh, it’s just starting to get interesting,” a stallion said, a stallion who shouldn’t be here. He smiled his kind, polite smile. The same smile he’d worn when he’d ordered Glory’s cutie mark burned off.
"哦，这只是开始变得有趣,"一匹种马说，一匹不应该在这里的种马。他微笑着，脸上带着亲切、礼貌的微笑。同样的笑容，他已经穿了当他下令晨辉的可爱的标志烧掉。
Lighthooves.
轻舟。
“I saved Glory’s life,” Lighthooves said in a rush moments before I slipped into
"我救了晨辉的命,"莱特霍夫斯匆忙地说，然后我就溜进去了
S.A.T.S. It had the effect of tossing a wrench into delicate, whirring machinery. I hissed like ruptured steam pipe as I looked at him; he wore some fancy new white power armor. Something about it seemed… familiar. I couldn’t see any weapons, and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Four magical bullets to the head and my job here would be made so much simpler. All I had to do was kill an unarmed pony. I tried to dig deep down, find my inner Rampage, and take his head off. Ten seconds later, he still had his head. The armored stallion relaxed noticeably. “Glad to see you still honor a debt.”
S.a.t.s.它的效果是把一把扳手扔进精密的旋转的机器里。我看着他，像蒸汽管破裂一样发出嘶嘶声;他穿着新式的白色动力盔甲。有些东西看起来...很熟悉。我看不到任何武器，他也没戴头盔。四颗神奇的子弹击中头部，我在这里的工作就简单多了。我所要做的就是杀死一匹手无寸铁的小马。我试图深入挖掘，找到我内心的狂暴，把他的头砍下来。十秒钟后，他的头还在。那匹披着盔甲的种马明显地放松了。"很高兴看到你还在还债。"
“Leger?” Chicanery said from the door. “Oh. You’re here. I thought I heard your voice.” The white pegasus looked from Lighthooves to myself and arched a brow. “You two know each other?”
"莱杰?"奇卡纳里在门口说。"哦。你来了。我想我听到了你的声音。"那匹白色的飞马从Lighthooves向我望去，眉毛弯了弯。"你们俩认识?"
“Indeed we do, Cannery,” Lighthooves said as he trotted over to a cupboard and opened it with a metal-covered wing, fished around with two pinions, and extracted a bottle. “Here. I think Blackjack will be needing this. I think her headache is only just beginning.”
"的确如此，罐头工厂,"莱特霍夫斯一边说着，一边小跑到一个橱柜前，用一只金属覆盖的翅膀打开了橱柜，用两只小齿轮在里面捕鱼，然后取出了一个瓶子。"这儿。我想黑杰克会需要这个的。我认为她的头痛才刚刚开始。"
“You know him?” I demanded of Chicanery. “Do you know what kind of a monster he is?”
"你认识他?"我要求奇卡纳里。"你知道他是什么样的怪物吗?"
That took some of the amusement off the director’s lips. “Well, I didn’t have much choice in the matter. He’s my brother,” Chicanery said with an amused smile, then turned to Lighthooves. “Nice armor. What brings you from the Tower, Leger?”
这使导演的话里少了几分乐趣。""好吧，在这件事上我没有太多的选择。他是我的兄弟,"奇卡纳里笑着说，然后转向Lighthooves。"盔甲不错。什么风把你从伦敦塔吹来了，莱杰?"
“Wait!” I snapped, interrupting him. “Brother? Leger?”
"等等!"我厉声说道，打断了他。""兄弟？莱杰?"
“It’s short for ‘Legerdemain’. A fancy griffin term for ‘sleight of hoof. Or claw, as the case may be.” He chuckled and opened the bottle for me before setting on the desk beside the Perceptitron. “You don’t think I took my code name for the illumination of my feet, did you?”
"这是'骗术'的简称。一个奇特的狮身鹰首兽术语，用来形容马蹄的花招。或者像情况那样用爪子抓。"他轻声笑了笑，为我打开了瓶子，然后坐在感知器旁边的桌子上。"你不会以为我用我的代号是为了让我的脚发光吧?"
“Brothers?” I asked, frowning from one to the other and really wishing Glory was here. “I didn’t think ponies who didn’t exist had family.”
"兄弟?"我问，皱着眉头从一个到另一个，真的希望晨辉在这里。"我不认为不存在的小马也有家庭。"
Lighthooves laughed, “Oh, please. Any good intelligence agency has operatives off the books. The good ones don’t get caught and the bad ones never had anything to do with the intelligence agency in the first place.” He smirked at me. “For the most part, I’ve never had to deal with witnesses. Your group is the only
轻舟笑着说:"哦，拜托。任何一个好的情报机构都有秘密特工。好人不会被抓，坏人从一开始就和情报机构没有任何关系。"他朝我傻笑。"大多数情况下，我从来不需要和目击者打交道。你的团队是唯一一个
exception I’ve made.” He turned to Chicanery. “I came because of a bizarre report I heard that you were using a unicorn look-alike for Security. When I heard it, I simply had to check for myself.”
我破例了。"他转向诈骗。"我来是因为一个奇怪的报告，我听说你用一个长得像独角兽的人做安保。当我听到这个消息时，我不得不亲自检查一下。"
“When I saw her tearing through the market, I knew she was the real deal,” Chicanery said with a grin. “I was right.”
"当我看到她穿过市场时，我知道她是个货真价实的人,"奇卡纳里咧嘴笑着说。"我是对的。"
“Indeed you were,” Lighthooves replied with a calm smile. “And I think that Blackjack might be just the thing I need for the coming conflict with Neighvarro.”
"的确如此,"莱特霍夫斯平静地笑着回答。"我认为黑杰克正是我与邻居即将发生冲突时所需要的东西。"
“Wait!” I waved my hooves at him. “Stop right there! You think I’m going to work for you?”
"等等!"我向他挥舞着我的蹄子。"站住！你以为我会为你工作吗?"
“Why not?” Lighthooves replied, having the gall to appear surprised at my rejection.
"为什么不呢?"轻舟回答，厚颜无耻地对我的拒绝表现出惊讶。
“Because you’re the bad guy!” I shouted, exasperated that I couldn’t just kill him. “You made Glory a Dashite, almost got her sister to kill her, and you’ve got all the parts you need for a biological attack that could kill thousands!”
"因为你是坏人!"我愤怒地喊道，因为我不能就这么杀了他。"你把晨辉变成了一个达什人，差点让她的妹妹杀了她，而且你已经得到了一场可以杀死成千上万人的生化袭击所需要的所有部件!"
“I apologize. When we first met, I honestly didn’t expect you or your friends to be as effective as you were. My actions with Glory were to stymie the Volunteer Corps. That failed. When you destroyed the Celestia… well… your potential increased exponentially.” He leaned towards me. “I saw you at Yellow River. I know what you’re capable of.”
"我道歉。当我们第一次见面的时候，我真的没有想到你和你的朋友会像你一样有效率。我和晨辉的行动是为了阻挠志愿兵团。但是失败了。当你摧毁了天堂......好吧......你的潜能呈指数增长。"他向我靠过来。"我在黄河上见过你。我知道你的能力。"
I growled at him. “You were the one that flew away.” He nodded once. I turned to Chicanery. “Do you know what he’s done?”
我朝他咆哮。"你是那个飞走的人。"他点了点头。我转向了诈骗。"你知道他做了什么吗?"
“Babe, I don’t want to know and he doesn’t tell me,” Chicanery said with a firm shake of his head. “Leger has always done what needed to be done. I don’t know what his history with you is, but I know it’s for a good cause.” But the white stallion looked worried as he looked at his brother, as if searching for confirmation.
"宝贝，我不想知道，他也不告诉我,"奇卡纳里坚定地摇着头说。"莱杰总是做需要做的事情。我不知道他和你有什么过节，但我知道这是有原因的。"但是那匹白色的种马看着他的兄弟，似乎在寻求确认。
“All I’ve done is to try to prevent an attack on our home,” he said calmly. “My methods you might not agree with, but I think that you should agree with my aims. Thunderhead must take over leadership of the Enclave.”
"我所做的一切都是为了防止我们家受到袭击,"他平静地说。"我的方法你可能不同意，但我认为你应该同意我的目的。雷锋必须接管昂科雷的领导权。"
“The Enclave is coming to break your wings and shove those missiles up your ass. I saw what they’re bringing against you,” I warned.
"飞地要来折断你们的翅膀，把那些导弹推进你们的屁股。我看到他们拿什么来对付你,"我警告他们。
“They’ll fail. The zebra missiles are more than capable of evading their patchy, ill-maintained tracking systems. One demonstration should make that abundantly clear,” Lighthooves said confidently. “The missiles will be a deterrent, not a weapon. They’ll make the Enclave back off, and time will make certain that they fail. Thunderhead will make new weapons with the resources of the Hoof, and as their Raptors fall to pieces, we’ll take our place leading both the Grand Pegasus Enclave and the surface.”
"他们会失败的。斑马式导弹能够避开零散、维护不良的跟踪系统。一次演示就足以说明这一点。"。"导弹将是一种威慑，而不是武器。他们会让昂科雷后退，时间会证明他们失败了。"雷头"将利用霍夫的资源制造新的武器，当他们的猛禽战机分崩离析时，我们将取代我们的位置，领导大飞马飞地和地面。"
“And if they do attack anyway?” I asked sharply.
"如果他们真的进攻了呢?"我尖锐地问道。
“Shadowbolt Tower has defensive weapons,” Lighthooves replied, but his smug smile vanished.
"暗影螺栓塔有防御性武器,"莱特霍夫斯回答道，但他那得意的微笑消失了。
“But you’re not certain they can deal with what’s coming, are you?” I asked, then looked at Chicanery. “When the Enclave and Thunderhead had your first conflict, how many Raptors did they send?”
"但你不确定他们能应付即将发生的事情，对吗?"我问，然后看着奇卡纳里。"当昂科雷和雷头发生第一次冲突时，他们派了多少猛禽?"
“Four,” Chicanery replied.
"四个,"奇卡纳里回答。
“They’re sending ten,” I replied.
"他们派来了十个人,"我回答。
“Ten?!” gaped Chicanery, before turning to a grim-faced Lighthooves. “Leger, that’s almost a quarter of the entire fleet!”
"十个?!"在变成一只面无表情的光剑之前，他张大了嘴巴。"莱杰，那几乎是整个舰队的四分之一!"
“We have other weapons,” Lighthooves replied, his smile returning. “We fought four Raptors to a standstill last time they came. They won’t risk it.”
"我们还有其他武器。"。"上次我们打了四架猛禽直到他们停下来。他们不会冒这个险。"
“Have you met Captains Afterburner and Hoarfrost?” I asked, “Trust me, they’ll risk it. It won’t matter how shiny and new your power armor is. They want to risk it. Harbinger was going to attack you anyway despite your weapon.”
"你见过加力队长和霍尔弗罗斯特队长吗?"我问:"相信我，他们会冒这个险的。不管你的能量盔甲多么闪亮和新颖。他们想冒这个险。"先驱者"无论如何都会攻击你，不管你有没有武器。"
Chicanery took off his glasses, his red eyes pleading with his brother. “Leger!”
奇卡纳里摘下眼镜，红红的眼睛恳求着他的兄弟。"莱杰!"
“Quiet,” Lighthooves replied as he turned away. “The situation is being managed.”
"安静,"莱特霍夫斯转身回答道。"形势正在得到控制。"
“By who?” I asked as I trotted back in front of him. He glared at me, and I
"被谁?"我边问边小跑回到他面前。他怒视着我，而我
pressed the question. “Who’s calling the shots here? Is it you? Somepony above you?” I asked with a frown. “This all feels… off. The whole plan feels like it either wasn’t thought through, or somepony is mucking with things. This bioweapon deterrent isn’t the real deal, is it?”
问了这个问题。"这里谁说了算？是你吗？有比你高的人吗?"我皱着眉头问。"这一切都感觉......不对劲。整个计划让人感觉要么是没有经过深思熟虑，要么就是有人在捣乱。这种生化武器威慑力量不是真的，对吧?"
“You don’t know what’s going on, Blackjack,” he muttered, turning away again.
"你不知道发生了什么事，黑杰克,"他咕哝着，又转过身去。
“Story of my life!” I said, levitating him up and turning him around to face me again. “So why don’t you tell me?”
"我的人生故事!"我说，把他扶起来，转过身来再次面对我。"那你为什么不告诉我呢?"
“Why don’t you tell me too, Leger? It’ll make for a great story,” Chicanery said with concern. “We grew up in the Tower. It was our home. So if there’s something going on there, I want to know too.”
"你为什么不也告诉我呢，莱杰？这将是一个很棒的故事,"奇卡纳里关切地说。"我们在伦敦塔长大。那是我们的家。因此，如果那里发生了什么事，我也想知道。"
“Blackjack, if I tell you, will you promise… on your life… on Glory’s life… to help us in the fight with Neighvarro?” he asked.
"黑杰克，如果我告诉你，你会答应......以你的生命......以晨辉的生命......帮助我们与邻居打架吗?"他问道。
“Will you give up all your biological weapons?” I countered.
"你会放弃你所有的生物武器吗?"我反驳道。
“No. I can’t,” he said with a fatalistic smile.
"没有。我不能,"他带着宿命的微笑说。
“Then you know I can’t,” I replied.
"那么你知道我不能,"我回答。
“Legerdemain, what’s going on?” Chicanery said in a horrified tone. “Tell me!” Lighthooves still didn’t answer. “Damn it, stop trying to be the smug pony in the room and tell me what you’re planning to do!”
"戏法大师，怎么回事?"奇卡纳里惊恐地说。"告诉我!"轻舟号仍然没有回答。"该死的，别在房间里装自鸣得意的小马了，告诉我你打算怎么做!"
Lighthooves whirled on him. “You like stories? Once upon a time, there was a pony who loved his home very much. But his home was threatened by idiots who were jealous of their plenty. And for years they’ve threatened, insulted, and derided that pony’s home and everypony living there. And that pony decided he would do anything to stop them. But the idiots only respond to threats and force, so he would create a threat. A real one.”
轻舟旋转在他身上。"你喜欢听故事吗？从前，有一匹小马非常喜欢它的家。但是他的家受到了那些嫉妒他们财富的白痴的威胁。多年来，他们一直威胁、侮辱、嘲笑那匹小马的家和住在那里的每一匹小马。那匹小马决定不惜一切代价阻止他们。但是这些白痴只对威胁和武力做出反应，所以他会制造威胁。一个真的。"
“But... Leger... that’s crazy,” Chicanery replied.
"但是......莱杰......这太疯狂了,"奇卡纳里回答。
“No. It’s sane. It’s the only thing they respond to. The Enclave leadership knows that they don’t have the resources to control the populace, fight Thunderhead, and deal with an outbreak of a deadly pandemic. They’ll negotiate,” he said grimly. “And they’ll ask for the pony responsible.”
"没有。这是理智的。这是他们唯一的反应。昂科雷的领导层知道他们没有足够的资源来控制民众，对抗雷暴，并应对一场致命的大流行病的爆发。他们会谈判的,"他冷冷地说。"他们会要求负责的小马。"
“You,” I said. “You’re setting yourself up as a villain to take a fall for Thunderhead.”
"你,"我说。"你把自己塑造成一个恶棍，让自己为雷霆万钧背黑锅。"
“But I am not an idiot. If the Enclave has the audacity, the stupidity, to attack my home, then I have made certain that they will suffer for it,” he replied grimly. “I will see a dozen of them eating and tearing each other apart for every one of my people they harm. And that is why I can’t give the weapons over to you.”
"但我不是白痴。如果昂科雷有胆量和愚蠢地攻击我的家园，那么我肯定他们会为此付出代价,"他冷酷地回答。"我会看到他们中的十几个为了伤害我的每一个人而互相残杀。这就是为什么我不能把武器交给你。"
Right. I needed to pull the plug on this nightmare right away. Either Councilor Stargazer or that Director Stratus would need to rein him in. Somepony couldn’t have had all the facts here, or else they were even crazier than Lighthooves. “Does the councilor know about this plan?”
对。我需要马上结束这场噩梦。要么是观星家议员，要么是斯特拉图斯局长需要约束他。一些小马不可能在这里有所有的事实，否则他们甚至比光剑更疯狂。"议员知道这个计划吗?"
He sniffed. “The councilor would wet herself if she heard of it. She’ll be informed by certain important ponies when the Enclave arrives.” I thought the councilor needed to know about it well before then. Like right now. The urgency of getting in touch with her was definitely growing greater by the second.
他吸了一口气。"要是议员听到这件事，她会吓得尿裤子的。当昂科雷到来的时候，一些重要的小马会通知她的。"我想议员应该在那之前就知道这件事。就像现在。随着时间的推移，与她取得联系的迫切性越来越大。
“But ten Raptors,” Chicanery breathed. “That’s a scary amount of firepower, Leger.”
"但是十只猛禽,"奇卡纳里低声说。"这是一个可怕的火力，莱杰。"
“We will manage it. Blackjack herself gave us the weapons we need,” he replied. Wait, what?
"我们会处理好的。黑杰克自己给了我们需要的武器,"他回答。等等，什么？
“What weapons?” I asked with a scowl. But he gave that insufferably smug smile. I grabbed him with my magic and hefted him up, slamming him against the wall of the office. “What weapons!”
"什么武器?"我皱着眉头问道。但他露出了那令人难以忍受的自鸣得意的微笑。我用魔法抓住他，把他举起来，狠狠地把他摔在办公室的墙上。"什么武器!"
Then he reminded me that his hindlegs were metal and my pelvis, while slightly reinforced, still had plenty of nerve endings. The impact of his leg sent me down and curled up fetally on the ground. He stomped hard on my prone body, smashing me into the cloud layer. I lifted my head to blow his damned face off, like I should have when I first saw him, but got a faceful of steel hoof that made all kinds of stars erupt in my sight. “Stop it, Leger! You’re going to kill her!”
然后他提醒我，他的后腿是金属的，而我的骨盆虽然略有加固，但仍有大量的神经末梢。他腿的冲力使我跌倒在地，整个人蜷缩在地上。他重重地踩在我俯卧的身体上，把我砸到云层里。我抬起头想把他那该死的脸轰下来，就像我第一次见到他时应该做的那样，但却得到了一个铁蹄的脸，在我的视线里，各种各样的星星都爆发了。"住手，莱杰！你会杀了她的!"
“Yes, that’s the general idea,” he said as he stomped my skull once again. “She’s far too dangerous to be left as an unknown.” I blocked another kick with my forehooves, but my E.F.S. was sending all kinds of warnings that my head really couldn’t take more of this damage. Lighthooves hovered over me though, his hooves falling with sharp, nearly surgical blows. If I covered my face, he
"是的，大概就是这么回事,"他一边说，一边又跺了跺我的脑袋。"她太危险了，不能被当成无名小卒。"我用前蹄挡住了另一脚，但是我的e.f.s发出了各种各样的警告，我的头真的受不了这样的伤害了。尽管如此，轻型飞机还是在我头顶盘旋，它的蹄子像外科手术一样锐利地落下。如果我遮住我的脸
smashed my stomach. If I curled up, he smashed my spine. If I looked at him to get a magic bullet off, he beat in my skull. And he was fast! I’d never fought him before, and I was learning that he moved like a dancer. Each motion was cool, clean, and efficient.
打碎了我的肚子。如果我蜷缩起来，他就会打断我的脊椎。如果我看着他想取出一颗神奇的子弹，他就会打我的头。他跑得很快！我以前从来没有和他打过架，我知道他的动作像个舞蹈演员。每个动作都很酷、干净、高效。
Calmly and deliberately, he was beating me to death.
他冷静而故意地把我打死。
“Stop it!” Chicanery shouted as he tried to tackle his brother, but Lighthooves struck him neatly in the side and sent his brother to the ground, coughing and gagging for breath.
"住手!"齐卡纳里一边喊着，一边试图抓住他的兄弟，但是莱特霍夫斯巧妙地击中了他的侧身，把他的兄弟打倒在地，咳嗽着，喘不过气来。
I used the break and levitated out my dueling pistols and fired blindly, but he darted to the side and kicked me with his rear hooves, sending me rolling across the floor of the office. “Contrary to what you might think, Brother, the real world doesn’t align itself neatly into heroes and villains,” he said as he pulled out a beam pistol with his tail. “Some of us must perform the necessary evils in order to make sure that good prevails,” he said calmly, not taking his eyes off me as I struggled to focus enough to strike back. Given that I was seeing two of him swirling in my vision, that wasn’t a good sign. “Goodbye, Blackjack. A pity we couldn’t work together.” Then he tossed the beam gun into the air, caught it with his mouth, and pointed it right at my head.
我利用休息时间，用我的决斗用的手枪飞起来，乱开枪，但是他飞奔到一边，用他的后蹄踢我，让我在办公室的地板上滚来滚去。"与你的想法相反，兄弟，现实世界并没有整齐地排列成英雄与恶棍,"他一边说，一边用尾巴拔出一把横梁式手枪。"我们中的一些人必须做出必要的邪恶行为，以确保正义得到伸张,"他平静地说。当我努力集中注意力进行反击时，他的目光没有离开我。考虑到我在幻象中看到了他的两个形象，这可不是什么好兆头。"再见，黑杰克。很遗憾我们不能一起工作。"然后他把平衡枪抛向空中，用嘴接住，正对着我的头。
And I couldn’t cast a spell to save my life...
我无法施展咒语来拯救我的生命。
But I could end one.
但是我可以结束一个。
With a thought, a basic counterspell targeting myself, I scattered the magic that allowed me to walk on clouds and gravity took me. My last sight of Lighthooves was his eyes widening in shock and a flash of crimson before I disappeared into the white fluffiness. A second later I tumbled through the room beneath his office. And the room after that, missing a mare by feet. I barely heard her shout before I passed through the floor. I focused all my energy on restoring my cloudwalking spell. Clouds were fluffy, right? And the magic wouldn’t magically trap me between floors like Mini stuck in a wall.
通过一个想法，一个基本的反咒，我驱散了让我在云上行走的魔法，重力吸引了我。我最后一次看到轻舟，是他震惊地睁大眼睛，眼睛里闪过一抹深红，然后我消失在白色的蓬松中。过了一会儿，我跌跌撞撞地穿过他办公室下面的房间。接下来的房间，少了一匹母马。在我穿过地板之前，我几乎没有听到她的喊声。我把所有的精力都集中在恢复我的云游魔咒上。云朵是蓬松的，对吧？魔法不会像迷你卡在墙里那样把我困在地板之间。
Right?
对吧？
A tiny purple unicorn and blue pegasus in my head looked at each other and simply shrugged.
一只紫色的小独角兽和一匹蓝色的飞马在我的头上互相看着对方，只是耸耸肩。
Now I really wanted to start screaming as I passed out the floor and into a reception area where a half dozen pegasi gaped at me in horror and confusion. I really, really wanted to get this spell off. I wasn’t the best at magic, but I was Twilight’s descendant and I’d really shown a lot of improvement in casting, hadn’t I? It was just a cloudwalking spell! Just imagine happy clouds on your hooves! Happy clouds! I clenched my eyes closed, trying to push out the magic! I could do this! I could--
现在我真的想开始尖叫，当我穿过地板，进入一个接待区，在那里半打的飞马在恐惧和混乱中瞪着我。我真的，真的很想解除这个咒语。我在魔法方面不是最好的，但是我是《暮光之城》的后代，我在铸造方面确实有了很大的进步，不是吗？那只不过是个云游魔咒罢了！想象一下你马蹄上的幸福云彩吧！快乐的云朵！我紧闭双眼，试图施展魔法！我能做到！我可以
My horn gave an anemic little spark as I whooshed through the floor.
当我在地板上呼啸而过时，我的号角发出了微弱的火花。
“Damn it!” I shouted as I fell out the bottom of the building and into open air. I saw the building that had housed Chicanery’s studio hanging like icicles above me, and growing rapidly smaller. Now, I was too scared to scream, or maybe I was screaming and I just couldn’t hear it over the wind rushing in my ears. I tumbled end over end, seeing the buildings far below coming closer and closer.
"该死!"我一边喊着，一边从建筑物的底部掉了下去，掉到了户外。我看到奇卡纳里的工作室就像冰柱一样挂在我头顶上，而且正在迅速变小。现在，我害怕得不敢尖叫，或者也许是我在尖叫，我只是听不到风吹进我的耳朵。我翻了个底朝天，看到楼下的建筑越来越近。
And presuming I didn’t hit metal in the floors of those buildings, I doubted the ground would be all that accommodating! There wasn’t anything I could do. I wasn’t imagining happy clouds. I was imagining cyberpony painted across the wasteland a mile down.
假设我没有击中那些建筑物的地板的金属，我怀疑地面将是所有的通融！我无能为力。我不是在想象幸福的云彩。我想象着一英里外的荒地上画着赛博矮马。
“We got you!” a mare shouted. “Stop swinging your hooves! Go limp!”
"我们抓到你了!"一匹母马大叫。"别摆动你的蹄子！放松点!"
I forced my eyes open to see four pegasi flying around me. It took all my effort to do so. I had to trust they were here to help. If they wanted me dead, they could have simply let me fall. One by one, they took my hooves in their own and arrested my tumble and then slowed my decent. As we approached the bottom of Thunderhead, I glanced up; I couldn’t even tell which of the hanging buildings had been Chicanery’s studio.
我强迫自己睁开眼睛，看到飞马座的四个人围着我飞。我费尽全力才做到这一点。我不得不相信他们是来帮忙的。如果他们想要我死，他们可以让我掉下去。他们一个接一个地把我的蹄子拿走，阻止了我的跌倒，然后放慢了我的脚步。当我们接近Thunderhead的底部时，我抬头看了一眼;我甚至分不清哪些悬挂的建筑是Chicanery的工作室。
As we approached an open plaza, I said, “Wait! I need a second to cast my cloudwalking spell.” For once, I was glad my body was mechanical. I’d likely be hyperventilating if it were all flesh and bone. It took me several tries to get it right, but the pegasi were patiently supporting me till the clouds were able to.
当我们走近一个露天广场时，我说:"等等！我需要一点时间来释放我的云游魔咒。"这一次，我很高兴我的身体是机械的。如果全是肉和骨头的话，我可能会呼吸急促。我试了好几次才做对，但飞马座的人耐心地支持着我，直到云层能够做到这一点。
“That was a rough fall,” the mare who’d grabbed me said calmly as she supported my left while I tried to get the spell going again. “Are you okay?”
"刚才摔得不轻,"那匹抓住我的母马平静地说，她扶着我的左边，我试着让咒语重新开始。"你还好吗?"
I pushed a hoof down and the cloud finally, obediently, supported my weight. “I am much more okay than I would have been in a minute or two,” I said to them.
我把蹄子踩了下去，云终于乖乖地支撑住了我的体重。我对他们说:"我比一两分钟内要好得多。"。
“Thanks for catching me.”
"谢谢你接住我。"
“No problem. It’s what ponies do, right?” she replied, with such open honesty that I couldn’t help myself. I hugged her. This was how the world was supposed to be... and it was nice to see it as normal for a change.
"没问题。小马就是这样的，对吧?"她坦率地回答，我情不自禁。我拥抱了她。这就是这个世界应该是的样子...看到它变得正常真好。
“Ugh, you sure you’re okay?” she asked in clear concern. She was now taking in my horn and my cybernetic legs. “Are you an actress?”
"呃，你确定你没事吗?"她非常担心地问道。她现在正在吸收我的号角和我的电子腿。"你是演员吗?"
“I... yes. Yes I am,” I said simply. The truth was simply too far off to believe.
"我.....。.是的。是的，我是,"我简单地说。真相太离谱了，简直难以置信。
“Oh,” she looked at my legs. “That’s an amazing costume. Those legs look like they’re really made out of metal.”
"哦,"她看着我的腿。"这是一套很棒的服装。这些腿看起来真的是金属做的。"
I gave a sheepish laugh. “Yeah. Really amazing costume. Took me forever to get into it, and sometimes I feel like I’ll never get it off again. But I need to get to the university. Can you take me there?” Plus, I really didn’t want Lighthooves to follow me down and continue the fight. Not even the Legate had hit me so precisely or quickly.
我羞怯地笑了笑。"是的。非常棒的服装。我花了很长时间才进入状态，有时候我觉得我再也不能摆脱它了。但我得去大学。你能带我去那儿吗?"另外，我真的不想让光剑跟着我下去继续战斗。即使是使节也没有如此精确和迅速地打击过我。
She looked at the other three and then back to me. “You’re sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
她看了看另外三个，然后又看了看我。"你确定你不想去医院?"
“I’m sure. The sooner we get to the university, the better,” I said as I glanced up, feeling like any second a white-armored pony could swoop down and finish me. What was the weapon he’d mentioned? Had he found Folly? That might be good for one Raptor. Or was it something else? Ugh, head trauma did not help with the thinkiness!
"我确定。我们越早到大学越好,"我抬起头说，感觉好像随时会有一匹披着白盔甲的小马从天而降，把我干掉。他提到的武器是什么？他找到弗利了吗？这对一架猛禽来说可能是个好消息。还是别的什么原因？额，头部创伤对这种想法没有任何帮助！
I still had my sword, the cloak, Vigilance, and a markspony carbine in my saddlebags, but I didn’t know where Duty and Sacrifice had fallen to. Were they still up in Chicanery’s office, resting on a floor or rooftop somewhere, or lying far below in the wasteland? I also had Penance packed up in its case in my magical saddlebags. I’m sure Lancer would have had it out and sent a bullet straight through Lighthooves, but that wasn’t my style.
我的剑、斗篷、警惕和马克斯伯尼卡宾枪还在我的鞍囊里，但是我不知道责任和牺牲在哪里。他们是否还在奇卡纳里的办公室里，在某个地方的楼层或屋顶上休息，或者躺在荒地的下面很远的地方？我还把苦修装进了我的魔法马鞍袋里。我敢肯定兰瑟会把它取出来，然后用子弹直接穿过光剑，但那不是我的风格。
Next time I saw Lighthooves, though, I was definitely going to shoot first. Maybe a little maiming would slow him down? Ugh. I needed to discover a middle ground fighting style between good-natured punching bag and Reaper psycho.
不过，下一次我看到光剑的时候，我肯定会先开枪。也许一点小小的伤害就能让他慢下来？呃。我需要在善良的出气筒和死神之间找到一种折中的战斗方式。
* * *
* * *
Skyshine, the mare that helped me get to the university, seemed to know something was amiss. While I drew stares, Skyshine intercepted them with an explanation of me being an actress... but I suspected that she had other ideas. “So, are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? Or the police? Or check in with the Tower?” the teal mare with a gray-and-aquamarine-striped mane asked for the sixth time. “‘Cause I had a friend and her coltfriend got pretty rough on her. I’m just saying there’s nothing wrong with going to the authorities if you need help and--”
帮助我进入大学的母马Skyshine似乎知道有些不对劲。当我盯着他们看的时候，Skyshine拦住了他们，解释说我是一个演员......但是我怀疑她有其他的想法。"那么，你确定你不想去医院吗？还是警察？还是向伦敦塔报到?"灰色和海蓝色条纹鬃毛的蓝色母马问了第六次。"因为我有个朋友，她的朋友对她很粗暴。我只是说，如果你需要帮助，向当局求助并没有什么错——"
“I’m fine,” I groaned as we approached one of the six large central pillar buildings.
"我很好,"当我们接近中央六座大型柱式建筑中的一座时，我呻吟着。
She rolled her eyes. “I know! I know you’re fine. It’s just she said she was fine too. But I mean when he hits you once you know he’s going to do it again and--”
她翻了翻白眼。"我知道！我知道你没事。只是她也说她很好。但是我的意思是，当他打你的时候，你知道他还会再打你，而且——"
I stopped, took her by the shoulders, and stared right into her blue eyes. “Skyshine... I’m not an actress. I’m a surfacer who’s come up here in order to stop a battle between Thunderhead and the rest of the Enclave. This isn’t a costume. I’m a cybernetically augmented unicorn. I was beaten to a pulp by a secret agent who possesses a biological weapon that could kill tens of thousands. Okay? I was not beaten by my coltfriend. I’m gay, anyway. All right? That is what is going on.” A little inaccurate, but I’d had a rough day.
我停下来，抓住她的肩膀，盯着她的蓝眼睛。"Skyshine......我不是演员。我是一个地面人，为了阻止雷头和飞地其他部分之间的战斗而来到这里。这不是戏服。我是一只控制增强的独角兽。我被一个拥有可以杀死成千上万人的生化武器的秘密特工打成了肉酱。好吗？我没有被我的朋友打败。不管怎样，我是同性恋。好吗？这就是正在发生的事情。"有点不准确，但我今天过得很糟糕。
She blinked at me, then tapped her hooves. “Really?”
她对我眨了眨眼，然后轻轻拍了拍她的蹄子。"真的吗?"
“Yes. Really,” I said with a sigh of relief and waited for the freak out or the accusations of me being crazy.
"是的。"真的,"我如释重负地叹了口气，然后等待着那个反常的举动或者对我疯狂的指责。
“So... your marefriend beat you up? Because most mares I know would find some other way to get at their very special somepony.” I just stared at her. Really? Did she really just go there? Then she brightened. “Unless you are into that, which I am totally okay with. I once had a colt who liked me to bite his flanks, and while it was weird, I mean, the things we do for love, right?” she asked me with a wide grin. I felt an eyelid twitch.
"这么说......你的女朋友打了你？因为我认识的大多数母马都会想其他办法来得到它们特别的小马驹。"我只是盯着她。真的吗？她真的去了那里吗？然后她高兴起来。"除非你喜欢这个，我完全同意。我曾经有一只小马，它喜欢我咬它的侧腹，虽然这很奇怪，但我的意思是，我们做的事情都是为了爱，对吧?"她笑着问我。我感到眼皮抽动了一下。
I stared at her a second and then turned on my hoof and trotted for the door. “Take care of yourself, Blacksnack! And tell her to take it easy next time. Or get help!” she yelled after me.
我盯着她看了一会儿，然后转身朝门口跑去。"照顾好自己，小黑人！告诉她下次放轻松。或者寻求帮助!"她在我后面大叫。
Thank you for saving my life, but... sheesh.
谢谢你救了我的命，但是..。
Inside, four uniformed pegasus stallions stared at me. Lies, the truth, and everything in between all rolled up in a huge ball inside me and I sat down hard. “Look. Call Professor Moonshadow and let her know that Blackjack is here for her meeting with Doctor Morningstar. I’ll take a seat.” And I trotted over to a couch and sat down with a huff. At this point, I was seriously considering Glory’s ‘get arrested and questioned’ plan. It seemed better than my plan that wasn’t my plan. The four watched me and made a call, talking in low voices.
里面，四匹穿制服的飞马盯着我。谎言，真相，以及所有的一切都卷成了一个巨大的球，在我体内，我坐了下来。"你看。打电话给Moonshadow教授，告诉她Blackjack在这里等着她和Morningstar医生见面。我先坐下。"我小跑到一张沙发上，怒气冲冲地坐了下来。在这一点上，我认真考虑了晨辉的'被逮捕和审问'的计划。这似乎比我的计划要好，那不是我的计划。四个人看着我，打了个电话，低声说话。
I sighed, imagining one enormous train roaring down a track, a second enormous train racing down the same track in the other direction, and a tiny Security and her friends in the middle when the two trains collided and went splat. All I could hope was that the councilor could throw a switch and prevent the two from ramming into each other at full speed. And perhaps most annoying of all was how each train wanted me to be on its side.
我叹了口气，想象着一辆巨大的火车在轨道上呼啸而过，第二辆巨大的火车在相反方向的同一轨道上疾驰而过，当两辆火车相撞时，一个小小的保安和她的朋友们在中间。我所能期望的就是议员能够按下开关，阻止他们两个全速撞在一起。也许最令人恼火的是，每辆火车都希望我站在它的一边。
“Blackjack?” Moonshadow said from down the hall. I sighed and slipped off the chair, walking past the four and imparting on them a little of the surreality that was my day. The indigo-maned mare looked at me in concern as I walked to her and the elevator. “Are you okay?”
"黑杰克?"月影在大厅里说。我叹了口气，从椅子上滑下来，走过那四个人，给他们讲了一点我今天的超现实生活。当我走向她和电梯的时候，那匹带着靛青色鬃毛的母马关切地看着我。"你还好吗?"
“That is the wrong question to ask Blackjack,” I said as I walked past her and into the elevator. “Blackjack doesn’t understand the word ‘okay’ anymore.” My third person talking was making her face grow even more worried, so I went on, “I’m okay. I was just given a reminder that there’s a whole world of messed up stuff coming and I’m in the middle of it.”
"问Blackjack这个问题问错了,"我边说边从她身边走过，走进电梯。"Blackjack再也听不懂'好'这个词了。"我的第三人称说话让她的脸色变得更加焦虑，所以我继续说,"我没事。我只是得到了一个提醒，那就是整个世界都在乱七八糟的事情发生，而我正身处其中。"
“I can imagine,” she said with a small smile.
"我可以想象,"她微笑着说。
Could she? “About that signal you’re getting. From up there?” I saw the sympathetic smile replaced by sheer bafflement. “Yeah. That’s how my life’s been lately. Anyway, you say you’re getting a signal. And it’s asking for EC-1101? Does it mention the words ‘Horizons’ or ‘Project Horizons?’”
她可以吗？"关于你收到的那个信号。从上面?"我看到同情的微笑被完全的困惑所取代。"是的。这就是我最近的生活。不管怎样，你说你收到信号了。它要求的是EC-1101？它有没有提到"地平线"或"项目地平线"？"'
Now Moonshadow looked positively spooked. “But... how could you know that?”
现在，月影侠看起来是被吓坏了。"但是......你怎么知道的?"
“Magic,” I replied, which didn’t put her at ease at all as she pushed a button. “You talked about weapon satellites. Could this signal asking for EC-1101 be
"魔法,"我回答，但是当她按下按钮的时候，我一点也没有让她放松下来。"你们谈到了武器卫星。请求EC-1101的这个信号
one?”
一个?"
“How... but... I...” she stammered as the elevator started to rise. “I suppose it could. We don’t have an exact count of everything up there. The official record is far less than what we’ve counted by eye.”
"怎么......但......我.....。。」电梯开始上升时她结结巴巴地说。"我想是的。我们没有那里所有东西的确切数字。官方记录远远低于我们目前所看到的。"
“How big are these weapon satellites?” I asked with a small frown. “How powerful?”
"这些武器卫星有多大?"我皱着眉头问道。"有多强大?"
The smart pony question settled her a little. “Well, there’s no official record of how many or how powerful. That’s all been lost. Neighvarro claims they’re all either defunct, failures, scrap, or under their control depending on which pony you ask, but we did record one firing a while ago. The beams were ten terasparks each. That’s strong enough to cut through a Raptor, or a dragon. Ruffled quite a few feathers.”
这个精明的小马问题使她稍微安静了一些。"嗯，没有官方记录显示有多少人或者有多大权力。这一切都已经失去了。邻居们声称他们要么死了，要么失败了，要么废弃了，要么在他们的控制之下，这取决于你问哪匹小马，但我们记录了一个射击前一段时间。每根横梁分别有十个横梁。它的强度足以穿透猛禽或者龙。惹恼了不少人。"
I grunted, scowling. “That doesn’t seem big enough,” I muttered.
我咕哝着，皱着眉头。"看起来还不够大,"我喃喃自语。
“Not big enough?” She seemed disturbed. “Bigger than that falls into the balefire bomb or megaspell range. I suppose there could be something like that in orbit, but I’d like to think we’d spot something big enough to do that.” I supposed that that made sense. The megaspell chambers beneath Hoofington had been huge.
"不够大吗?"她看起来很不安。"比这个数字更大的落入了balebire炸弹或megaspell范围。我认为在轨道上可能会有类似的东西，但我认为我们会发现足够大的东西来做到这一点。"我想这是有道理的。Hoofington地下的巨型房间非常巨大。
The doors pinged and opened. ‘Arcane Biotechnology’ was written in bright pink on one of the sterile white walls. “Come on. Doctor Morningstar is waiting.”
门砰地一声打开了。在一面无菌的白色墙壁上，用明亮的粉红色写着'ArcaneBiotechnology'。"来吧。莫宁斯塔医生在等你。"
I walked along, gazing into windows and expecting to see... things. Monsters in cages or strange bubbling chemicals. Instead, the rooms behind appeared more like Moonshadow’s lab: lots of terminals and lab equipment. I guessed only secret projects were allowed to actually look cool.
我向前走着，凝视着窗户，期待着能看到......一些东西。笼子里的怪物或者奇怪的冒泡的化学物质。相反，后面的房间看起来更像是Moonshadow的实验室:很多终端和实验室设备。我猜只有秘密项目才允许看起来很酷。
The doors opened for us, and we walke--
大门为我们打开，我们走着--
Blue tendrils of Killing Joke lunged at my face! Out came Vigilance and up went S.A.T.S. before I realized that the slithering blue vines had slammed up against a clear glass barrier. A large glass jar full of Joke sat in the middle of a lab that was far closer to what I’d been expecting. In one pen was a snarling wooden canine.
蓝色的死亡笑话卷须扑向我的脸！在我意识到滑动的蓝色葡萄藤已经撞上了透明的玻璃屏障之前，我的警惕性和s.a.t.s都已经出来了。一个装满笑话的大玻璃罐放在一个实验室的中央，这个实验室离我的预期非常接近。在一个围栏里有一只咆哮的木制犬齿。
A brahmin sat indolently in a pen, one head chewing while the other one spoke with a researcher in a while labcoat. The most disturbing specimen was a green
一个婆罗门懒洋洋地坐在钢笔里，一个头在咀嚼，而另一个则在和一个穿着白大褂的研究人员交谈。最令人不安的标本是一只绿色的
sac... thing... that was spitting black sludge against the glass.
气囊...那东西...在玻璃上喷出黑色的污泥。
“Blackjack,” Glory said from the corner of the room. I looked around for the others, but only Glory was present. Given that she’d removed her helmet, I’d missed that revelation. The pony she stood with wasn’t quite what I’d have expected of a doctor. In my experience, most doctors wore glasses, were generally anal retentive, and didn’t last long outside of a lab.
"黑杰克,"格洛里在房间的角落里说。我环顾四周，寻找其他人，但只有晨辉在场。因为她摘下了头盔，我错过了这个启示。她和一匹小马站在一起，这可不是我对医生的期望。根据我的经验，大多数医生都戴眼镜，通常很容易肛交，而且在实验室之外坚持不了多久。
Doctor Morningstar looked rather like he wasn’t all there. He was yellow with a wild white mane and tail which, having not decided on a particular direction to grow, grew in every direction all at once. This was exacerbated by an equally tangled beard which seemed just as animated on his face as the Killing Joke in the bottle. His thick glasses magnified to the point where it looked like he was staring at me through two pools of water.
莫宁斯塔医生看起来精神不太好。他是黄色的，有着野生的白色鬃毛和尾巴，由于没有决定特定的生长方向，突然向四面八方生长。更糟糕的是，他的胡须同样纠结，脸上的表情就像瓶子里的杀人笑话一样栩栩如生。他的厚眼镜放大到看起来像是透过两个水池盯着我。
“Doctor. This...” Glory began as I approached.
"医生。这......"晨辉在我靠近时开始了。
“At tat tat tat!” he said rapidly as he started to circle me. “Do not disturb my observations! It is very important not to form a biased impression of the subject!” He walked around me several times as Glory sighed impatiently, tapping a hoof. “Unicorn. Mare. Interesting. Showing signs of dermal trauma and restoration hinting at magical regeneration. Cybernetically augmented with a clear focus towards combat capability. Eyes and limbs are completely replaced. The rest of the body shows signs of thorough reinforcement. Hmmm.” He stopped scratched his chin. “Hmmm... are you...” he leaned in, lifted his glasses, and blinked his owllike eyes. “...Security?”
"那个那个!"他迅速地说，开始围着我转。"不要打扰我的观察！重要的是不要对主题形成偏见的印象!"他绕着我走了好几圈，晨辉不耐烦地叹了口气，踢了踢蹄子。"独角兽。母马。有意思。表现出皮肤创伤和修复的迹象暗示着神奇的再生。在控制上加强，明确注重战斗能力。眼睛和四肢都被完全替换了。身体的其余部分显示出彻底强化的迹象。嗯。"他停止挠自己的下巴。"嗯......你......"他靠过来，举起眼镜，眨了眨猫头鹰一样的眼睛。"......保安?"
“...Yes?” I replied slowly, not quite sure after his examination, like he might have found something that suggested I wasn’t.
"什么事?"我慢慢地回答，在他检查之后，我不是很确定，好像他可能发现了一些暗示我不是的东西。
“Yes, you match the advertisement perfectly!” the doctor crowed. “‘Wastelanders!’ And that LittlePip! Ooooh, she can fix my toaster any day.” He then blinked. “No. Really. She can. Darn thing has been broken forever!”
"是的，你完全符合广告!"医生欢呼道。"'Wastelanders!'还有那个小皮普！哦，她随时都能修好我的烤面包机。"然后他眨了眨眼睛。"没有。真的。她可以。该死的东西已经永远坏了!"
“Doctor,” Glory sighed, covering her face. “That’s not why we’re--”
"医生,"晨辉叹了口气，遮住了脸。"那不是我们为什么——"
“You must forgive Morning Glory. Always in a rush,” he said as he trotted towards the jar holding the Killing Joke. “And look what it’s done. Turned her into Rainbow Dash. Tsk tsk tsk. If she would have stayed in the lab she never would have turned into Rainbow Dash. Likely exposure to the Killing Joke
"你一定要原谅牵牛花。总是匆匆忙忙的,"他一边说，一边小跑着朝那个装着杀人笑话的罐子跑去。"看看它做了什么。把她变成了彩虹冲刺。啧啧。如果她呆在实验室里，她永远不会变成彩虹冲刺。很可能接触到杀人笑话
would have given her an egg for a head. Yes? Egg head?” He laughed at his own joke and shook his head. “But she is always hurrying. Hurrying to change the world. Hurrying to get results. Science must be patient.”
会给她一个鸡蛋当头。什么事？蛋头?"他对自己的笑话大笑，摇了摇头。"但是她总是匆匆忙忙的。急于改变世界。急于得到结果。科学必须有耐心。"
With my augmented hearing, I heard Glory grumble, “I’ll patient you upside your head, you patronizing old fuddy-duddy.”
随着我听力的增强，我听到晨辉抱怨道:"我要让你脑袋开花，你这个老古董。"
“I saw you observing several of the specimens we’ve collected from the surface. Fascinating samples. Truly fascinating. The potential of this arcane plant in particular is amazing.” He trotted over to a table and with a wing lifted a vial filled with rainbow liquid. “For instance, the fluids we’ve extracted could be used in a variety of treatments, and perhaps even aid in the manufacturing of arcane goods!”
"我看到你观察了我们从地表收集的几个标本。引人入胜的样本。真的很迷人。这种神秘植物的潜力尤其惊人。"他小跑着来到一张桌子前，举起一个装满彩虹液体的小瓶。"例如，我们提取的液体可以用于各种治疗，甚至可能有助于制造奥术用品!"
I’d seen it before. It was Flux, the sort of thing that turned a pony’s bones to jelly. “Unless it can turn me back to normal, you should toss it out the nearest window. Over the ocean,” Glory growled, then frowned. “Actually, you should probably burn it. Who knows where that stuff can thrive?”
我以前见过。这就是弗拉科斯，那种能把小马的骨头变成果冻的东西。"除非它能让我恢复正常，否则你应该把它扔出最近的窗户。越过海洋,"格洛里咆哮着，然后皱起了眉头。"实际上，你应该把它烧了。谁知道这些东西会在哪里茁壮成长?"
“Ack, Glory. You sound like Neighvarro!” He tisked again. “How can we use it? Destroy it if we can’t. Phoewy! Do you know what we might do with this?”
"啊，晨辉。你听起来像邻居!"他又发作了。"我们如何使用它？如果我们做不到，就摧毁它。哎呀！你知道我们可以用这个做什么吗?"
“Turn you into a Thunderhead Rumblers’s cheerfilly?” Glory suggested.
"把你变成一个雷头酒鬼的啦啦队员?"晨辉建议。
“Oh, that would be fascinating!” the doctor said immediately, grinning in his brushy beard, making Glory groan once more. “But no. We could use it to replicate spells normally cast by unicorns. Perhaps even spell effects by other creatures. This substance is infinitely flexible.” And he eyed Glory a moment before adding smugly, “And our dealing with it has led us to explore ways of ending its effects.”
"哦，那一定很吸引人!"医生立刻咧着他毛茸茸的胡子笑着说，这让晨辉再一次呻吟起来。""但是不行。我们可以用它来复制独角兽正常施放的法术。也许还有其他生物的法术效果。这种物质具有无限的柔韧性。"他看了一会儿《晨辉》，然后自鸣得意地补充道:"我们对它的处理让我们探索了结束它影响的方法。"
“You mean a cure?” Glory asked, clearly stunned.
"你是说治愈?"晨辉问道，显然是惊呆了。
“Indeed.” He trotted through a door and into a second lab room. This had fewer specimens and more lab equipment. There were also quite a few books on tables and stands. Many appeared quite old. “When we encountered that particular plant, I recalled a book I’d studied when I was a disobedient, angry graduate student chafing under my superior’s brilliance.” He grinned at Glory once more, and she growled at him again. He looked at the shelves and selected a green book. “Here! ‘Supernaturals’.”
"的确。"他小跑着穿过一扇门，来到第二间实验室。这里有更少的标本和更多的实验室设备。桌上和看台上也有不少书。许多看起来相当古老。"当我们遇到这种特殊的植物时，我想起了一本书，当时我还是一个不听话、愤怒的研究生，对上司的才华感到恼火。"他又对晨辉笑了笑，她又对他咆哮起来。他看了看书架，选了一本绿色的书。"这儿！'超自然生物'。"
“Is it a magic book?” I asked eagerly.
"这是一本魔法书吗?"我急切地问道。
“Unicorns. You think everything is associated with magic,” he snorted scornfully. I began to understand Glory’s annoyance. He flipped open the book. “No! ‘Natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply super.’ Natural! Not magic. And there is a plant in here with strange metamorphic properties that I believe may be related to the Killing Joke called ‘poison joke’. Perhaps exposure to radiation triggered a mutation. Perhaps zebra shamans intentionally changed the plant. Who can say?” Then he looked at Glory and grinned. “But...”
"独角兽。你认为一切都与魔法有关,"他轻蔑地哼了一声。我开始理解晨辉的烦恼。他弹开了那本书。"不！"天然疗法和万能药，简直是超级的。"自然！不是魔法。这里还有一种具有奇怪变质特性的植物，我认为它可能与"杀人笑话"有关，叫做"毒药笑话"。也许是辐射引发了基因突变。也许斑马萨满有意改变了植物。谁知道呢?"然后他看着晨辉，咧嘴笑了。"但是......"
Glory sighed and said as if by rote, “But if the cure worked on the weaker version, then it may work on the stronger version.”
晨辉叹了口气，好像是死记硬背地说:"但是如果治疗对较弱的版本有效，那么对较强的版本也许有效。"
He patted her on the head. “Good grad student.”
他拍了拍她的头。"优秀的研究生。"
I stepped between them before Glory could snap his hoof off. After all, she needed that cure. “And you have all the things for this cure?”
我走在他们中间，格洛里还没来得及把蹄子踩断。毕竟，她需要治疗。"你有治疗这种疾病的所有药物吗?"
“I do,” he said, then nodded primly, walked over to a counter, and lifted a beaker with his wings. “I was wishing to try this out. I was going to use a researcher who was exposed to the Killing Joke and became sexually irresistible, but he has told me that so long as he is not mobbed he is not opposed to the effects.”
"我愿意,"他说，然后一本正经地点了点头，走到柜台前，用翅膀举起了一个烧杯。"我想试试这个。我本来打算找一个研究人员，他接触过杀戮笑话(KillingJoke)，变得对性无法抗拒，但他告诉我，只要他不被围攻，他就不反对这种效果。"
Glory frowned and then gasped. “Wait. It wasn’t Breakwind, was it?” The doctor nodded once and Glory giggled and blushed, covering her mouth.
晨辉皱了皱眉，然后倒抽了一口冷气。"等等。不会是《逆风》吧?"医生点了点头，格洛里咯咯地笑了起来，脸红了，捂住了嘴。
“What? I’m missing the joke?” I asked as I looked at her.
"什么？我错过了这个笑话?"我看着她问道。
“He was... shall we say... overweight and homely?” Moonshadow said calmly. “He also used to say a phrase when things went wrong... which they often did. What was it, again?”
"他是......我们可以说......超重而且平凡?"月影镇静地说。"他还习惯于在事情出错时说一句话......事实上他们经常这样做。是什么来着?"
“What? ‘Fuck me?’” I suggested. Moonshadow rolled her eyes and Glory fought her laughter. Okay. I could see Killing Joke pulling that one. “And now he’s sexually irresistible to everypony?”
"什么？"操我？"我建议道。月影翻了翻眼睛，晨辉忍住了笑声。好吧。我觉得《杀人笑话》也是这么说的。"现在他对每个小马都有无法抗拒的性感魅力?"
The doctor sighed, “Not my first encounter with a stallion, but he was such a baby about it. Hardly scientific at all. If he’d simply relaxed...” The doctor tisked and shook his head. “Well, he’s in quarantine now and much more satisfied with his nurses.” I felt a shooty impulse... but it wasn’t like the doctor had planned it.
医生叹了口气说:"这不是我第一次遇到种马，但它还是个孩子。一点也不科学。如果他只是放松一下......"医生摇了摇头。"嗯，他现在被隔离了，对他的护士更满意了。"我感觉到一种射击的冲动......但这并不是医生所计划的。
He passed the beaker to Glory. “Now, what do you say?” He grinned once more.
他把烧杯递给晨辉。"现在，你说什么?"他又咧嘴笑了。
She bristled a moment, then sighed. “I will keep a log of all my experiences, follow protocol, and keep consistent data points so that my work can be replicated later,” she said in the slow drawl of a student repeating a rote.
她激动了一下，然后叹了口气。"我会记录我所有的经历，遵守规则，保持一致的数据点，这样我的工作以后就可以重复,"她用一个学生重复的慢吞吞的声音说。
The doctor began to lecture her on how the contents of that beaker were supposed to be topically applied, but I wasn’t paying attention. A sample in the back had caught my attention. It was a strange golden tree, not very large at all. The leafless growth sat in the back corner, but I’d seen it before. “Where did you get this?” I asked.
医生开始教训她烧杯里的东西应该如何局部使用，但我没有注意。后面的一个样品引起了我的注意。那是一棵奇怪的金树，一点也不大。光秃秃的枝条长在后面的角落里，但我以前见过。"你从哪儿弄到这个的?"我问道。
“I did not get it. It is a biomagical construct of some kind, retrieved from the surface. I haven’t had much time to study it. The blue one is far more exciting!” I wasn’t really listening though as I trotted out and retrieved the vial of Flux. Walking to the tree, I saw that it was really a cutting; a broken-off limb planted in some dirt to help it grow. When I floated the vial over to the tree and let one drop of the rainbow substance fall on its bark, the entire limb quivered. The yellow bark took on a brighter glow, and the tree seemed to sprout new roots to dig into the soil. The doctor approached. “Fascinating,” he breathed.
"我不明白。这是一种从表面回收的某种生物学构造。我没有太多时间去研究它。蓝色的那个更令人兴奋!"我并没有真的在听，虽然我小跑出来，取回小瓶的弗拉科斯。走向那棵树，我看到它实际上是一个切口，一个断掉的树枝种在一些泥土里，以帮助它生长。当我把小瓶子放到树上，让一滴彩虹色的物质落在树皮上时，整个树枝都在颤抖。黄色的树皮发出更加明亮的光芒，树似乎长出了新的根来向土壤里挖掘。医生走过来。"太神奇了,"他低声说。
I pulled out my sword and pricked my shoulder. Then I flicked the drop of blood on to the bark, where it instantly was sucked inside. A few more drops of Flux, and I saw the telltale swell of a bulb at the end of one of the drooping limbs. The milky sack didn’t get much larger than a hoof before it quivered and split open...
我拔出剑刺伤了肩膀。然后我把那滴血弹到树皮上，它立刻就被吸进去了。还有几滴弗拉克斯，我看见一个下垂的枝干末端有一个灯泡在膨胀。这个乳白色的袋子在抖动和裂开之前没有变得比一个蹄子大多少..。
dropping out something spherical and white. I caught it. An eye with a bright red iris looked back at me.
放出一些球形白色的东西。我接住了。一只有着鲜红色虹膜的眼睛回头看着我。
My eye.
我的眼睛。
“Extraordinary,” the doctor breathed. He put his hooves around me and hugged me to him. “My dear, you may have opened up entire new fields of science! This is a breakthrough on par with the wing to thrust ratio!”
"太不可思议了,"医生低声说。他用蹄子围住我，把我抱在怀里。"亲爱的，你可能开辟了整个科学的新领域！这是一个与机翼推力比相当的突破!"
“Thank you,” I replied evenly, then glanced at Glory, who was staring in awe. From the expression on her face, she was clearly torn by recent events. “Now, perhaps you could help me?”
"谢谢你,"我平静地回答，然后看了一眼格洛里，谁是敬畏地盯着。从她脸上的表情来看，她显然被最近发生的事情所折磨。"现在，也许你可以帮助我?"
“Anything!” he replied. “Those two were jabbering on about some political thing. I really wasn’t paying too much attention. What was it you needed?” Both
"什么都行!"他回答道。"那两个人在谈论一些政治问题。我真的没有太在意。你需要什么?"两者都有
Glory and Moonshadow bristled at the infuriating stallion.
晨辉和月影对这匹愤怒的种马怒不可遏。
“I need to meet with Councilor Stargazer. Urgently. It’s an emergency,” I said in slow tones.
"我需要会见议员Stargazer。很紧急。这是紧急情况,"我慢慢地说。
“Yes, yes, yes. Very well. I’ll get to it. Eventually,” he said as he looked at the limb of the Project Chimera replicating tree with longing.
"是的，是的，是的。很好。我会处理的。最终,"他一边说，一边满怀渴望地看着"奇美拉计划"复制树木的边缘。
I levitated him up and turned him to face me. “Now. Please,” I added.
我把他悬浮起来，让他面向我。"现在。请吧,"我补充道。
Who said I couldn’t be diplomatic?
谁说我不能有外交手腕了？
* * *
* * *
The doctor had put in the message and I hadn’t let him go until he’d gotten a reply confirming she’d meet with me as soon as possible at Glory’s. Only then did I let him go back to toying with things best left unpoked or prodded. Still, he had a point. Perhaps Killing Joke could be used for something good. Maybe the Blank tree would lead to new breakthroughs that would help ponies. It was nice to imagine science producing helpful things rather than monsters and weapons of war.
医生已经把信息放进去了，我没有让他走，直到他得到一个回复，确认她会尽快和我在晨辉见面。直到那时，我才让他继续玩那些最好不要戳或戳的东西。尽管如此，他的话还是有道理的。也许杀人笑话可以用来做些好事。也许这棵空白树会带来新的突破，帮助小马。很高兴能够想象科学产生有用的东西，而不是怪物和战争武器。
We returned to Glory’s residence. The cloak might not have been working, but the simple cloth hid my augments well enough that I was just another unicorn in the middle of our group. The ponies of Thunderhead went on about their lives in blissful happiness. They talked and ate and played and enjoyed so many things that I was both in awe and saddened. I remembered the party we’d thrown for Scotch Tape when she’d gotten her cutie mark. Or the concert I’d played in with Priest, Medley, and Lacunae in Star House what felt like ages ago. Just a few miles down, life was so fleeting and precious that any joy was treasured. These ponies took it for granted.
我们回到晨辉的住处。这件斗篷可能不起作用，但是这件简单的衣服把我的肚子遮得很好，我只不过是我们中间的另一只独角兽。霹雳头的小马继续过着幸福快乐的生活。他们聊天，吃饭，玩耍，享受这么多的东西，我既敬畏又悲伤。我还记得我们为透明胶带举办的聚会，那时她得了个可爱的印记。或者是很久以前我和Priest，Medley，和Lacunae一起在星宫演出的音乐会。就在几英里之外，生命如此短暂和珍贵，任何快乐都是珍贵的。这些小马认为这是理所当然的。
And yet, why shouldn’t they? They’d escaped the carnage of the last days. They had their plenty through their tower. Why shouldn’t life be good for somepony in this world? They’d even, perhaps grudgingly, acknowledged that their plenty should be used to help others. They weren’t bad ponies; I knew that Lighthooves had to be an exception rather than a rule. They were just privileged and sheltered.
然而，他们为什么不能呢？他们逃过了最后几天的大屠杀。他们有足够的钱通过他们的塔。在这个世界上，为什么有些小马的生活不应该是美好的呢？他们甚至，也许是不情愿地，承认他们的财富应该用来帮助别人。他们不是坏小马;我知道光剑是一个例外，而不是一个规则。他们只是享有特权，受到庇护。
Back at Glory’s house, they ate a meal that was marginally better than the others;
回到晨辉的家，他们吃了一顿比其他人稍微好一点的饭;
I had a cyberpony cake. Boomer, Scotch Tape, Lambent, and Lucent all played some kind of electronic game involving shooting ponies for fun. Scotch Tape just gave me an almost pitying look when I peeked in. P-21 and Twister talked in serious tones about what the Enclave would do when they arrived. Glory took a bubble bath in the name of science.
我吃了一个赛博马蛋糕。Boomer、ScotchTape、Lambent和Lucent都玩过射杀小马取乐的电子游戏。当我偷看的时候，透明胶带给了我一个近乎怜悯的眼神。P-21和Twister严肃地谈到飞地抵达后将采取的行动。晨辉以科学的名义洗了个泡泡浴。
Me, I wasn’t feeling like having fun. I found a window that faced out from the outer wall of the Thunderhead torus at the setting sun. The clouds were arranged in rings around the Tower, rising from that dark eye in the middle. If that was natural, I’d eat my horn. I could almost make out the flickering green glow, despite the brilliant red and gold painting the skies as the sun set. Boo curled up with me. She’d been quite happy when her horn’d been removed. On the way back, I’d gotten her some ‘raspberries’ by taking them off the dealer -- who’d he report me to? -- and her white muzzle was smeared with purple as she dozed on a cushion beside me.
至于我，我不想找乐子。在落日的余晖中，我发现了一扇面朝外的窗户。云彩在塔的周围排成环状，从塔中央的黑眼睛上升起来。如果那是自然的，我会吃掉我的角。我几乎可以辨认出那闪烁的绿光，尽管太阳落山时天空呈现出明亮的红色和金色。布和我蜷缩在一起。当她的角被拔掉时，她非常高兴。在回来的路上，我从经销商那里拿了一些树莓给她----他要向谁举报我？——当她在我旁边的垫子上打盹的时候，她那白色的鼻子上沾满了紫色的东西。
One benefit of synthetic eyes was that I could stare out at the sun all I wanted. It moved around the planet without its goddess. Maybe it always had. Maybe it always would. It would be easy to simply dismiss the question and stop asking. Before leaving 99, I wouldn’t have even thought of it. I would have simply accepted things and that I couldn’t change them.
人造眼睛的一个好处就是我可以随心所欲地盯着太阳。它在没有女神的情况下绕行星球。也许一直都是这样。也许永远都是这样。人们很容易对这个问题置之不理，不再追问。在离开99号公路之前，我甚至都没有想过这个问题。我会简单地接受一些事情，但我不能改变它们。
“Can I change this?” I asked nopony in particular.
"我能改变这一点吗?"我特别问了小马。
“I think so,” rasped a familiar voice. I turned to the side around and spotted the Dealer there, also staring at the sun. I supposed that being a mental-projected-soul-image-spell-thing gave similar sun-staring abilities. The Dealer seemed tired, but he smiled. “I missed that sight,” he said as he looked at me. “Spending centuries in a computer as a spell makes you miss the little things.”
"我想是的,"一个熟悉的声音刺耳地说。我转过身来，发现了那个商人，他也在盯着太阳。我猜想，作为一个精神投射灵魂形象符咒的东西，也有类似的凝视太阳的能力。"商人"看上去很累，但他笑了。"我想念那种情景,"他看着我说。"像施咒一样在电脑上花费几个世纪，会让你错过一些小事情。"
“How are you doing?” I asked as I sat up a little bit.
"你好吗?"我坐了起来，问道。
His smile faded. “Just tired. Souls can get that way, I suppose.” He closed his eyes. “So, are you doubting yourself again?”
他的笑容消失了。"只是累了。我想，灵魂也可以这样做。"他闭上了眼睛。"那么，你又在怀疑自己了?"
“No,” I said, then smiled a little. “Okay. A little bit. It’s just... between Lighthooves and the Enclave... I don’t know. It feels like just before the Celestia, you know? Trying to stop a war. Only this fight is so much bigger. The stakes are so much higher.”
"不,"我说，然后微笑了一下。"好吧。一点点。只是...在Lighthooves和昂科雷之间...我不知道。感觉就像是在塞莱斯蒂亚之前，你知道吗？试图阻止一场战争。只不过这场战斗要大得多。风险要高得多。"
His grim lips curled slightly as he tugged down his hat. “So that’s it. Folks are doomed. Game over. Might as well pack up.”
他拉下帽子时，冷峻的嘴唇微微翘了起来。"就是这样。人们注定要失败。游戏结束。还不如收拾行李走人。"
“No,” I said with a snort, and he lifted his head to meet my gaze with a smile. “Just because it’s impossible doesn’t mean that I can’t do it. I just have to find a way.”
"不,"我哼了一声说，他微笑着抬起头来迎接我的目光。"不可能并不意味着我做不到。我只是需要找到一种方法。"
“And you will. I believe in you, Blackjack. You’re like your great great grandfather. Big Macintosh never let anything stop him if he thought it was the right thing to do,” he said, but then his smile faded a touch.
"你会的。我相信你Blackjack。你就像你的曾曾祖父。大麦金托什从不让任何事情阻止他，如果他认为这是正确的事情,"他说，然后他的微笑淡化了触摸。
“Even though it got him killed?” I asked, and he nodded. I sighed and looked at the red orb sliding slowly below the horizon. “I guess we’ll see if we have that in common. I will stop Lighthooves. And I will save Thunderhead. Somehow.”
"即使这会害死他?"我问道，他点了点头。我叹了口气，看着红色的球体慢慢地滑向地平线。"我想我们会看到我们在这一点上是否有共同点。我会阻止他们的。我会拯救雷霆万钧。不知怎么的。"
He nodded, and we sat together, Boo snoozing on my thigh, watching as the golden light dwindled away.
他点点头，我们坐在一起，Boo在我的大腿上打盹，看着金色的光逐渐消失。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
“Honestly, Blackjack, you take forever,” Boo said as she trotted beside me. I answered with assorted slobbering noises as I masticated a wad of assorted greenery I’d snatched out of the kitchen. “And you eat like a pig!” she added. Finishing chewing, I replied in the most sublime way I could: swallowing and belching loudly. She flinched back and waved a hoof in front of her face. “Ewwww!”
"老实说，黑杰克，你永远不会回来,"布说，她在我身边小跑。我一边嚼着从厨房里抓出来的各种各样的绿色植物，一边用各种流口水的声音回答。"而且你吃得像头猪!"她补充道。咀嚼完毕，我用最庄严的方式回答:大声地吞咽和打嗝。她往后退了退，在脸前挥动了一下蹄子。"呃!"
“It’s a tough world out there, little sis,” I said with a grin. “Full of belches, farts, and other unspeakable things. Maybe someday, when you can handle it, I’ll tell you were little ponies come from.”
"外面的世界很残酷，小妹妹,"我咧嘴笑着说。"充满了打嗝、放屁和其他不可言说的东西。也许有一天，当你可以处理它的时候，我会告诉你小马是从哪里来的。"
“I know that!” Boo said as her cheeks blushed furiously. “Not all of us slept through health class.”
"我知道!"布说着，脸颊涨得通红。"不是所有人都在健康课上睡觉。"
“Oh. I know you know,” I said, my smile stretching even more. “But there’s health class, and then there’s what’s really involved.” I watched her go from pink to scarlet and gave her a hug, laughing. “Honestly, Boo, there’s worse ponies than me.”
"哦。我知道你知道,"我说，我的笑容更加灿烂了。"但这里有健康课程，然后才是真正涉及的内容。"我看着她从粉红色变成猩红色，笑着给了她一个拥抱。"老实说，布，还有比我更糟糕的小马呢。"
“Death from above!” roared a mare, landing on my back and driving me into the
"从天而降的死亡!"一匹母马咆哮着，落在我的背上，把我赶进了
ground. Rampage laughed, wrestling me into a hooflock. “A royal guard getting ambushed? Celestia would be very disappointed!”
地面。狂暴大笑，把我摔进马蹄里。"一个皇家卫队遭到伏击？塞莱斯蒂亚会很失望的!"
“Uncle! Uncle!” I cried, slapping a hoof against the ground as the striped mare bent my body farther than it ever should go.
"叔叔！叔叔!"当那匹有斑纹的母马把我的身体弯得超过它应该走的距离时，我哭了，它的蹄子拍打着地面。
“I’m not yer uncle!” Rampage roared from atop my back.
"我不是你的叔叔!"暴怒从我背上咆哮而来。
“Hey, Coach,” Boo said with a smile.
"嘿，教练,"布笑着说。
“Hey Boo-ger,” Rampage replied as she sat on my back and twisted my hind leg between hers. “Is BJ here giving you trouble?”
"嗨，笨蛋,"狂暴回答说，她坐在我的背上，把我的后腿扭到她的腿中间。"BJ在这儿给你添麻烦了吗?"
“I didn’t mean nothin’ by it! I swear!” I wailed.
"我没有别的意思！我发誓!"我哭喊着。
“Well, she was,” Boo said with an arch smile. “But I think she’s learned her lesson.”
"嗯，她是的,"布带着一个拱形的微笑说。"但我认为她已经吸取了教训。"
“See? And you said I’d never be a good teacher,” Rampage said as she released me. I wasn’t exactly certain being a coach was the same thing as being a teacher, but there was no doubt she loved working with little kids.
""看见了吗？你还说我永远不会成为一个好老师。"。我并不确定当教练和当老师是一回事，但毫无疑问，她喜欢和小孩子一起工作。
“Are you this rough with your students?” I asked with a huff, getting up and making sure she hadn’t broken anything.
"你对学生这么粗鲁吗?"我怒气冲冲地问道，站起身来，确保她没有摔坏任何东西。
“Well, that’s the thing, Blackjack,” she said as she put a hoof around my neck and pulled me close. “See, I’m exactly as rough with them as I need to be... and I know their weak spots.” Then, with no hesitation, she stuck her tongue in my ear.
"嗯，这就是问题所在，Blackjack,"她一边说，一边用蹄子绕住我的脖子，把我拉近。"你看，我对他们就像我需要的那样粗暴......我知道他们的弱点。"然后，她毫不犹豫地把舌头伸进了我的耳朵。
“Gyaaaahhh!” I flailed back once more, felled by a lick. “Honestly, Rampage, that’s gross!”
"呀呀呀呀!"我又一次被一舔打倒在地。"老实说，狂暴，太恶心了!"
“Do the words ‘Pot’ and ‘Kettle’ mean anything to you, Blackjack?” Boo said with a smile and a roll of her eyes. Together, we shared a good laugh.
"'壶'和'水壶'这两个词对你来说有什么意义吗，黑杰克?"布笑着说，转了转眼珠。我们一起大笑起来。
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
A movement on the bed woke me. Not a Glory movement; she always slept like a rock. She’d given herself the bath treatment and had checked herself like
我被床上的动静惊醒了。不是什么光荣运动，她总是睡得像块石头。她给自己洗了个澡，检查了一下自己
clockwork for the change to end. Personally, I didn’t think that something called Killing Joke would be reversed by a bubble bath, but I’d been wrong before. The Fleur was silent, not even creaking tonight. I felt the movement on the bottom of the bed and saw Boo’s pale, almost luminous eyes looking back at me. Her ears folded back as she trembled.
结束这种变化的时钟。就我个人而言，我不认为一个叫做杀人笑话的东西会被一个泡泡浴所颠覆，但是我以前错了。芙蓉沉默了，今晚甚至没有吱吱作响。我感觉到床底有动静，看到Boo苍白、几乎发光的眼睛回头看着我。她颤抖着，耳朵向后竖着。
Boo scared... I pulled Vigilance from its holster and my sword from its sheath, then reached over and shook Glory. “Hey. I think something’s wrong.”
布吓坏了......我把警惕从枪套里拔出来，把剑从剑鞘里拔出来，然后伸过手去，摇晃着晨辉。"嘿。我觉得有点不对劲。"
She didn’t wake. I could see her breathing, but unless this was a side effect not mentioned in the book, this was bad. I rose to my feet and carefully walked to the next cabin. P-21 and Scotch Tape slept soundly. Too soundly. They didn’t wake when I knocked or when I shook them.
她没有醒过来。我可以看到她的呼吸，但除非这是书中没有提到的副作用，否则情况很糟糕。我站了起来，小心翼翼地走向隔壁的小屋。P-21和透明胶带睡得很香。太健康了。当我敲门或者摇他们的时候，他们都没有醒过来。
I went to the next room. “Rampage? Rampage!” The striped mare gave an extra loud snore, muttered, and then rolled over. I glanced at the scared Boo and carefully walked from the ship into the manor. The beautiful mosaics were cold and washed out, the colors seeming to bleed together in an incoherent mass. I knocked on Twister’s door, then Boomer’s. In a chair was one of the servants. All asleep.
我去了隔壁房间。"横冲直撞？狂暴!"那匹有斑纹的母马打了一个特别响的呼噜，咕哝了一声，然后翻了个身。我瞥了一眼吓坏了的布，小心翼翼地从船上走进庄园。那些美丽的马赛克看起来冷冰冰的，褪色了，颜色似乎混合在一起，杂乱无章。我敲了Twister的门然后又敲了Boomer的。椅子上坐着一个仆人。都睡着了。
A laugh, distant and haunting, sounded in my ears. I couldn’t tell the direction, though. I couldn’t see anything...
一阵遥远而萦绕在我耳边的笑声。但是我不知道方向。我什么都看不见..。
Then I smelled blood. After Roseluck farms, I’d never mistake that coppery reek.
然后我闻到了血腥味。在罗塞卢克农场之后，我再也不会错过那种铜臭味了。
I switched on my E.F.S. immediately and saw a single red bar. I didn’t have to go there to find the source of the sanguine scent, though. Lying in the foyer were two still bodies, one propping the door open. Outside were two more bodies, these decapitated. The blood was pooling around them, running down the fine marble steps. More blood smeared along the wall and floor, as if something had been dragged. I walked to the slain ponies. All well-dressed and armed. Only one had her beam pistol out of its holster, the weapon split in two. Their blood-soaked clothes looked professional and formerly clean. I searched them and found an I.D.
我立刻打开电视，看到一个红色的条子。不过，我并不需要去那里寻找这种血红色气味的来源。门厅里躺着两具尸体，其中一具用手撑着门，一动不动。外面还有两具尸体，都被斩首了。血液在他们周围汇集，顺着精致的大理石台阶流下来。更多的血沿着墙壁和地板涂抹，好像有什么东西被拖动过。我走向被杀死的小马。全都穿戴整齐，全副武装。只有一个人把手枪从枪套里拔了出来，武器一分为二。他们血淋淋的衣服看起来很专业，以前也很干净。我搜查了他们，发现了一张身份证。
‘Frost Feather, Councilor Security.’
霜羽议员，安全部门
No. We weren’t meeting with the councilor till the morning. Why would she
没有。我们明天早上才会见议员。为什么
send ponies here in the middle of the night? I looked at the trail of blood leading further into the house, towards that red bar, and pressed my lips together. Step by step, I followed the gore. It led straight to the library. How had I not heard these ponies being killed? Not a yell for help? A single scream?
大半夜的把小马送到这里？我看着血迹进一步延伸到屋子里，朝着那根红棒，把嘴唇紧紧地贴在一起。我一步一步地跟着血迹走。它直接通向图书馆。我怎么没听说这些小马被杀了？没有大声呼救？一声尖叫？
I stopped at the door and glanced at Boo again. The silence all around me was deafening... no. Not silent. Not completely...
我在门口停了下来，又瞥了一眼布。我周围的沉默是震耳欲聋的...不。不是沉默。不完全是..。
I could hear faint screams from within. A scream I hadn’t heard in person since I’d come to the clouds. “Stay here, Boo,” I said... or I meant to say. My lips moved, but not a sound emerged. I blinked and knocked my hoof into the wall. Silence.
我能听到里面传来微弱的尖叫声。自从我来到云端以后，我再也没有亲耳听到过这样的尖叫声。"呆在这儿，阿布,"我说......或者我是想说。我的嘴唇动了动，但是没有发出一点声音。我眨了眨眼，蹄子撞到了墙上。沉默。
The door to the library wasn’t completely closed. Another security pony, quartered, kept it from closing. Carefully, I pushed the door open. Instantly, a pony sized mass came hurling straight at me. I raised the sword and my hooves to deflect it, but the throw did little but splatter me. Gross, but I’d had worse.
图书馆的门没有完全关上。另一匹安全的小马，驻扎起来，不让它关门。我小心翼翼地推开门。立刻，一个小马般大小的物体向我猛扑过来。我举起剑，用蹄子挡开了它，但那一剑只是把我打飞了。真恶心，但我还有过更糟的。
I raised my gaze up in the direction the heaved body had come from. There, on the desk, sitting oddly upright, was a pegasus washed in slaughter. The scream in my head matched the green glow coming from her eyes as she stared with a mad grin on her face. “Welcome to my house, Blackjack,” Dawn said calmly, “Can I get you a drink?” Cradled in her lap was the severed head of the mare that I’d hoped against hope would be able to stop this train wreck. Blood-soaked but still recognizable as the mare Lacunae and I had seen in that meeting. Councilor Stargazer.
我抬起头，朝着那个起伏的身体所来的方向看去。在桌子上，有一匹被屠宰过的飞马，奇怪地直立着坐在那里。我脑海中的尖叫声与她眼中的绿光相吻合，她盯着我，脸上带着疯狂的笑容。"欢迎来我家，黑杰克,"道恩平静地说,"要喝点什么吗?"她腿上抱着一头被切下来的母马的头，我本来希望它能够阻止这场火车事故。虽然血迹斑斑，但还是能认出我和我在那次会议上看到的那匹马。观星家议员。
The Wasteland had come to Thunderhead.
荒原已经来到了雷雨之源。
 
Footnote: Maximum Level Reached.
脚注:已达到的最高水平。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: Well, I’m glad I could get this out before heading down to Vegas for good. I really want to thank folks for their help right now. I was really stressing out with all the expenses of getting moved and set up. Akhmetov, Donovan, Janne, Stepan, Ryan, Chris, and Martin; thank you.
(作者的笔记:好吧，我很高兴能在去拉斯维加斯之前把这件事说出来。我现在真的要感谢大家的帮助。搬家和布置的所有费用真的让我压力很大。艾哈迈托夫、多诺万、詹妮、斯蒂潘、瑞安、克里斯和马丁;谢谢。
Your help really got me out of a jam. I appreciate every last bit I get. Till I get a teaching job, I’m subbing. One missed day is bad.
你的帮助真的使我摆脱了困境。我很感激我所得到的每一点。在我找到一份教书的工作之前，我只能代课。错过一天是不好的。
Something that’s been suggested to me is to write a story in serial similar to what I’ve been doing in Horizons. Apparently that’s becoming more of a thing and I could publish it on Amazon. We’ll see. I need to get Horizons finished. I hope that Thunderhead will post the link be finished in 1-2 chapters, the core in 2-3, and the story in 5. Then done... hard to imagine. But if I do get an original work going, I’ll be sure to let folks know. It won’t have ponies, but it will be all my IP.
有人建议我写一个连载故事，就像我在《地平线》里做的那样。显然，这已经越来越成为一件事，我可以把它发表在亚马逊上。我们走着瞧。我需要完成视野号的工作。我希望Thunderhead将在1-2章中完成链接，核心在2-3章，故事在5章。然后就完成了......难以想象。但是如果我真的得到了一个原创作品，我一定会让人们知道的。它不会有小马，但它将是我所有的IP地址。
Anyway, huge thanks to Hinds and Bro for helping me fix this up to make it decent to read. Trust me. If it weren’t for them... well... it’d be ugly. I hope next chapter will have Hidden too. Thanks to Kkat, as always, for creating FoE. I hope that she gets to read chapter 34 and 35 and get a laugh out of it. And last but certainly not least, thank you everyone for reading, giving me the feedback and encouragement to keep going, and the generous tips to deal with all the real life crap thrown at me recently.
无论如何，非常感谢Hinds和Bro帮助我修复这个，使它读起来像样。相信我。如果不是因为他们......嗯......事情会变得很糟糕。我希望下一章也会有隐藏。感谢Kkat一如既往地创造了敌人。我希望她能读到第34章和第35章，并从中得到乐趣。最后，但当然不是最不重要的，感谢大家的阅读，给我的反馈和鼓励，以继续下去，和慷慨的建议，以处理所有的现实生活中扔给我的废物。
Thanks.)
谢谢。)