“I’ve got my eye on you.”
"我盯着你呢。"
The halls of Stable 99 smelled different than I remembered: an antiseptic tang lurked in the corners, under the beds, and in the closets. Still, it sounded alive again, alive and hopeful. The new residents had swept in with the vigor that only hope could bring. Broken lights were being replaced, filth-spattered walls were being scrubbed. Damaged systems found themselves repaired or swapped out. You almost couldn’t see the bloodstains anymore.
马厩99的大厅闻起来和我记忆中的不一样:一种消毒剂的味道潜伏在角落、床下和壁橱里。尽管如此，它听起来仍然充满活力，充满希望。新来的居民带着只有希望才能带来的活力闯了进来。破碎的灯被更换，溅满污垢的墙壁被擦洗干净。损坏的系统发现自己得到了修复或更换。你几乎看不到血迹了。
To the migrants from 96, there were few major differences between life sealed away in a tower and life sealed away underground. Even the ‘recycling’ wasn’t that severe an adaptation, as they’d mostly adopted 99’s mantra regarding food. The most significant and important change was no longer being under pegasus guard. Whenever they wanted, they could walk out the front door, past the Steel Rangers, and into the fresh and open air and rain. If they wished, they could leave, though none had yet to venture farther than Megamart. Still, a few dozen square feet of open air, a few feeble attempts at a garden inside a stockade the Steel Rangers had erected... these were precious things.
对于96岁以后的移民来说，封闭在塔里的生活和封闭在地下的生活之间没有什么大的区别。即使是"回收利用"也没有那么严重，因为他们大多采用了99关于食物的口头禅。最重要和最重要的变化不再是在飞马座的看守下。只要他们愿意，他们随时都可以走出前门，穿过钢管游骑兵，走进新鲜、开放的空气和雨中。如果他们愿意，他们可以离开，尽管还没有人敢走得比麦加玛特更远。尽管如此，几十平方英尺的露天空地，几次在钢铁骑兵建立的栅栏内的花园里无力的尝试......这些都是珍贵的东西。
From the window of the Overmare’s office, Knight Crumpets looked down at the Atrium and at all the ponies talking and laughing in it. “Hard to believe that, a few months ago, all that was empty and we were contemplating leaving this place for good. Now it’s almost like being back in Trottingham. I don’t think my armor’s worked so well since we left,” she said as she wiggled an armored hoof. The crispy-yellow-brown-coated mare’s reflection in the window betrayed her smile. “Any word from back west?” she asked as she regarded the new Head of Security of Stable 99.
透过奥弗马尔办公室的窗户，骑士松饼俯视着中庭，看着里面所有的小马在说笑。"很难相信，几个月前，这里空无一人，我们打算永远离开这个地方。现在就像回到了Trottingham。我觉得自从我们离开后，我的盔甲就没这么好使过,"她边说边扭动着一只盔甲状的蹄子。窗外那匹黄褐色酥脆的母马的倒影暴露了她的微笑。"西部有什么消息吗?"她一边问，一边注视着新上任的99号稳定安全主管。
Paladin Sugar Apple Bombs Stronghoof consulted several papers on the large
圣骑士糖苹果炸弹Stronghoof咨询了几大论文
desk, huffing through his thick blond mustache. “Stable 26 can’t send us anything this month either. While the factions have put their differences aside for the moment, they’re still mopping up splinters of Red Eye’s forces all over the countryside.”
坐在办公桌前，吹着他浓密的金色胡子。"稳定的26号这个月也不能给我们发送任何东西。虽然各派暂时搁置了分歧，但他们仍在全国各地清理红眼部队的碎片。"
“They do understand that we’ve got a couple of armies around us, right?” Crumpets asked as she walked slowly towards him to regard the maps also on the desk. A map of the Hoof was marked with hundreds of little red and green X’s.
"他们知道我们周围有几支军队，对吧?"小圆饼问道，她慢慢走向他，看着桌上的地图。霍夫的地图上标有数百个红色和绿色的小x。
“Armies that are doing precious little,” he said as he narrowed his blue gaze. He levitated another paper. “Legions of zebra standing around doing nothing and a group of pony cultists that take in, feed, and arm refugees aren’t as dangerous a threat as the splinters of Red Eye’s forces.”
他眯起蓝色的眼睛，说道:"军队几乎毫无作为。"。他把另一篇论文悬浮起来。"站在那里无所事事的斑马军团和一群接纳、喂养和武装难民的小马信徒并不像红眼部队的碎片那样危险。"
Crumpets sighed. “So the Elders still don’t think Hoofington is a high priority?”
松脆饼叹了口气。"所以长老们还是不认为Hoofington是一个优先考虑的地方?"
“Certainly high, but not worth the cost just yet. The order sees little benefit in diverting resources out here when there is so much to be settled in the west.” His baby blue magic levitated a scroll from the rest of the papers. “This one is suggesting we pursue an alliance with the Harbingers, given their access to technology around the valley.”
"当然很高，但还不值得付出这么大的代价。在西部有这么多资源需要开发的时候，这个秩序看不到把资源转移到这里有什么好处。"他那浅蓝色的魔力使卷轴从其余的报纸中飘浮起来。"鉴于先驱者能够在山谷周围获得技术，这份报告建议我们与他们结成联盟。"
“The Harbingers?” Crumpets curled her lip as if she smelled something foul. “They were Blackjack’s enemies.”
"先驱者?"松饼卷曲着嘴唇，好像闻到了什么难闻的味道。"他们是Blackjack的敌人。"
“But not ours,” he muttered. “Blackjack’s been dead for a quarter of a year. Stable 26 recommends accepting that reality and working out an arrangement. Neutrality, at the very least.”
"但不是我们的,"他喃喃自语。"Blackjack已经死了四分之一年了。《稳定26》建议接受现实，做出安排。至少要保持中立。"
“You can’t tell me you’re bloody considering it,” she said in shock.
"你不能告诉我你他妈的在考虑这件事,"她震惊地说。
He closed his eyes, folded his mighty forehooves on the desk, and blew out a breath, making his mustache flutter. “They have superior numbers, but our position is secure. Besides, I don’t like the smell of them. Their ‘unity for all’ stinks of benefit for somepony over everypony else, like that business with the Goddess.” He tossed the message back on the desk. “Still, if they do try something against us, we may not be able to do more than seal the stable.”
他闭上眼睛，把强有力的前蹄放在桌子上，深深地吸了一口气，胡子也随之飘动起来。"他们人数众多，但我们的地位很稳固。而且，我不喜欢它们的味道。他们'为所有人而团结'的做法，散发着某种小马胜过其他小马的臭味，就像与女神的交易一样。"他把信扔回了桌子上。"尽管如此，如果他们真的想对付我们，我们除了封锁马厩之外可能什么也做不了。"
“Well, at least we’re freshly supplied, and I’ve gotten used to eating food made
"嗯，至少我们是新鲜供应的，而且我已经习惯了吃自制的食物
from my own recycled poo,” Crumpets said with false cheer. “I will miss that vegetable garden, though.”
从我自己的再生便便中提炼出来的。"。"不过，我会想念那个菜园的。"
The speaker buzzed, and Farsight’s voice said, in low tones, “Paladin Stronghoof? She’s back.”
说话的人发出嗡嗡声，法赛特的声音低沉地说:"游侠斯特朗霍夫？她回来了。"
Planting a hoof on the desktop, he sprang over in a single leap and raced to the door with Crumpets close behind him. The sight of a massive white unicorn in half a ton of articulated steel barreling ahead was enough to get everypony out of their way. The one power-armored soldier who didn’t found himself scooped up, moved deftly aside, and set down in one elegant pirouette that didn’t even break Stronghoof’s stride. In less than a minute he was up the tunnel and outside in the constant Hoofington rain.
他把一只蹄子放在桌面上，一跃而起，带着紧跟在身后的松脆饼冲向门口。看到前方半吨重的铰接式钢制高速路上有一头巨大的白色独角兽，足以让每匹小马都闪开。这个身穿强力装甲的士兵没有发现自己被铲起来，灵巧地挪到一边，以一种优雅的脚尖旋转落地，甚至没有打断斯特朗霍夫的步伐。在不到一分钟的时间里，他走进了隧道，走到了外面，那里一直下着Hoofington的雨。
Beside the stockade, the gardens were protected from the downpour by cobbled-together covers. The plants might not have been the most robust, but they were the only stable foodstuff for those immigrants who hadn’t learned to ‘not think about it’. At the gate was another covered area for traders and their brahmin to get out of the downpour. Thunder rumbled in the skies as lightning snapped to the southeast.
在栅栏旁边，用鹅卵石铺成的被子保护着花园免受倾盆大雨的侵袭。这些植物可能不是最健壮的，但对于那些还没有学会"不去想它"的移民来说，它们是唯一稳定的食物。在门口是另一个有盖的区域，商人和他们的婆罗门可以躲避倾盆大雨。东南方向的闪电在空中隆隆作响，雷声隆隆。
At the gate, surrounded by a rain-shield bubble, stood Farsight with two other Steel Rangers. Her ears swiveled towards him as they approached. “That was quick,” she said as her blank eyes stared out into the deluge. “She’s back again,” the blind unicorn said with a small frown. “I heard the sound of her arrival five minutes ago.”
在大门口，被一个防雨罩包围着，法塞特和另外两个钢铁骑兵站在那里。当他们走近时，她的耳朵向他转过来。"太快了,"她说，眼睛呆滞，凝视着洪水。"她又回来了,"瞎独角兽皱着眉头说。"我五分钟前就听到她到达的声音了。"
“You heard her arrive, Overmare?” Crumpets asked incredulously.
"你听见她来了吗，欧弗雷?"松脆饼不可思议地问。
“Her magic has a very distinct sound,” the unicorn replied primly. “She’s perhaps a hundred yards to the south. I haven’t heard her move or leave yet.”
"她的魔法声音很清晰,"独角兽一本正经地回答。"她大概在南边一百码的地方。我还没有听到她搬家或离开的消息。"
“We must-- I must--” Stronghoof trembled with emotion.
"我们必须——我必须——"斯特罗霍夫激动得浑身发抖。
“Why don’t Knight Crumpets and I go down and talk to her together so she doesn’t flee again?” the blind unicorn said as she reached out with a muddy hoof, pawed the air, and eventually patted his shoulder. “If she’s come back three times, there must be a reason.”
"为什么奈特小圆饼和我不一起下去和她谈谈，这样她就不会再逃跑了?"瞎独角兽一边说，一边伸出一只浑浊的蹄子，用爪子刨着空气，最后拍了拍它的肩膀。"如果她回来过三次，一定是有原因的。"
He sniffed and nodded. “Yes. Yes, that would be... best.” Brilliant forked
他嗅了嗅，点了点头。"是的。是的，那将是......最好的。"聪明的叉子
lightning danced across the sky, followed by the snap of thunder a second later.
闪电划过天空，接着是一秒钟后的雷声。
Crumpets scooped her helmet off her backside with a hoof and set it on her head. With practiced ease, the hoses were connected, and her visor flashed to life, bringing up the familiar red and yellow E.F.S. display. She flexed to make sure all the controls were responsive. Two semiautomatic hunting shotguns with two hundred rounds of ammo should take care of any nasty surprises. “Ready,” she said through her respirator.
松脆饼用蹄子把她的头盔从背上铲下来，放在她的头上。经过练习，软管被连接起来，她的面罩闪现出生命，带来熟悉的红色和黄色e.f.s显示器。她弯曲身体以确保所有的控制器都有反应。两把带有200发子弹的半自动猎枪应该能应付任何可怕的意外情况。"准备好了,"她通过呼吸器说。
Together, they walked out into the soggy, dead forest, following the trail Deus had once torn in his pursuit of EC-1101. Now, Crumpets took care to push thorny underbrush aside as they walked down. Every step Farsight took, her PipBuck let out a click. “You can navigate with that out here, Overmare? In all this rain?” Crumpets asked, her voice low as if aware that this might be a touchy subject.
他们一起走进湿漉漉、死气沉沉的森林，沿着天王在追捕EC-1101时留下的痕迹前行。现在，松脆饼在走下来的时候小心翼翼地把荆棘丛推到一边。Farsight走的每一步，她的PipBuck都会发出咔嗒一声。"你可以在这里用它导航吗，奥弗梅尔？在这么大的雨里?"松脆饼问道，她的声音很低，似乎意识到这可能是一个敏感的话题。
“Well enough not to walk into any trees,” she said simply.
"好得不能再走进任何树林了,"她简单地说。
Crumpets considered the few red and yellow bars in her E.F.S. before saying in low tones, “You don’t have to do this yourself, Overmare.”
松脆饼仔细考虑了一下她的e.f.s里的几个红黄条，然后低声说:"你不必亲自动手，奥弗梅尔。"
For a moment, Farsight stopped, then said quietly, “Yes I do.” Then she smiled in Crumpets’s direction. “I don’t mind. Indeed, I’m glad to find a way to help Stronghoof. If he’d been a different kind of stallion, things could have been made very difficult for us. To be honest, I quite like a chance to be outside. If I didn’t have obligations to my stable, I might try travelling a bit further afield,” she said sincerely.
有那么一会儿，法塞特停了下来，平静地说:"是的，我愿意。"然后她朝着松脆饼的方向微笑。"我不介意。事实上，我很高兴能找到帮助斯特朗霍夫的方法。如果他是一匹与众不同的种马，事情可能会变得非常困难。说实话，我很喜欢户外活动的机会。如果我对我的马厩没有义务，我可能会去更远的地方旅行,"她诚恳地说。
“The Wasteland is a difficult place for anypony, let alone…” Crumpets trailed off.
"对于任何小马来说，荒地都是一个艰难的地方，更不用说......"松脆饼的声音慢了下来。
“Let alone one who can’t see?” she asked in an amused tone, and Crumpets made a small affirmative note. “I suppose I could have my eyesight restored at the Collegiate. Chicanery took a pair of cyber eyes for me… but I’d never use something like those.” She closed her eyes a moment, lips pressed together, then went on, “I find that my perspective allows me a greater understanding than I had when I possessed vision. And I don’t mind the company or assistance of sighted ponies such as yourself.” Her ears twitched. “More rain is coming soon.”
"更不用说一个看不见的人了?"她用一种愉快的口气问道，松脆饼做了一个小小的肯定的注释。"我想我可以在大学里恢复视力。Chicanery为我配备了一双网络眼睛......但我从未使用过这样的东西。"她闭上眼睛一会儿，嘴唇紧闭着，然后继续说,"我发现我的视角让我比我拥有视觉时有了更大的理解力。我也不介意有像你这样有远见的小马陪伴或帮助。"她的耳朵抽搐了一下。"很快就会下更多的雨。"
“It’s rained for nearly three months, non-stop,” Crumpets said with a sigh. “I
"雨下了将近三个月，一直没停过,"Crumpets叹了口气说。"我
wish I knew why this ‘Lightbringer’ can’t give us a break,” she said as she looked up, rain pattering off her visor.
真希望我知道为什么这个'光明使者'不能让我们喘口气,"她抬起头，雨水哗啦哗啦地从面罩上落下。
“Never be allowed to step into the rain without written permission and an armed escort, and I think you’ll find it quite tolerable,” Farsight replied. “The explosion may have caused some permanent damage to the S.P.P. towers in Hoofington. Or perhaps whatever is interfering with broadcast transmissions is to blame.
法塞特回答说:"没有书面许可和武装护卫，决不允许踏入雨中，我想你会觉得还可以忍受。"。"这次爆炸可能对Hoofington的s.p.p塔楼造成了一些永久性的破坏。或者也许干扰广播传输的任何东西都是罪魁祸首。
Hoofington has always had problems with rain and lightning storms, even before the war.”
胡芬顿总是遇到暴雨和闪电的问题，甚至在战争之前也是如此。"
“Well, when it rains for ninety days in a row, I think enough is enough. And all that lightning… it wasn’t flashing like that before the Tower blew up.” As if on cue, the skies were illuminated with a brilliant greenish-white bolt snaking along the skies, followed by another massive crack. “Freaky.”
"好吧，连续下九十天的雨，我觉得受够了。还有那些闪电......在塔楼爆炸之前不是那样闪的。"仿佛就在此时，一道闪亮的白绿色闪电照亮了天空，接着又是一道巨大的裂缝。"怪异。"
They continued along in silence as the rain hissed around them. Then Farsight waved with her hoof for Crumpets to move back and took a few steps forward. “Hello. You can come out. We won’t hurt you,” the blind mare said.
雨水在他们周围嘶嘶作响，他们默默地继续前进。然后，法赛特用蹄子挥了挥手，让松脆饼往后移动，然后向前走了几步。"你好。你可以出来了。我们不会伤害你的,"瞎母马说。
“I really hope that the same can be said for you,” Crumpets murmured inside her helmet as the yellow bar wiggled.
"我真的希望你也可以这么说,"当黄色条子扭动起来的时候，松饼在头盔里喃喃地说。
Then the tangled brush parted, and a waterlogged alicorn stepped forward. Her dark purple mane and tail, knotted and tangled by briars, hung about her neck and haunches like decaying rope. Black rags clung to her thin frame as scared eyes stared at one of the ponies and then the other. Her breathing was harsh and ragged as she looked back over her shoulder, as if expecting somepony to be there. Through the sodden tatters that might have once been a dress, a candle could be seen upon her flank.
这时，纠结的灌木丛分开了，一只浸满水的橡子走上前来。她那深紫色的鬃毛和尾巴，被荆棘打结纠结，像腐烂的绳子一样挂在脖子和腰上。瘦弱的身躯上粘着黑色的破布，一双吓人的眼睛先盯着一匹小马，然后盯着另一匹。当她回头看时，她的呼吸粗糙而刺耳，好像在期待有一匹小马在那里。透过曾经可能是一件衣服的湿漉漉的衣服，可以看到她的侧腹有一支蜡烛。
“It’s her, isn’t it?” Farsight murmured softly.
"是她，对吧?"法塞特轻轻地喃喃地说。
“Mhmmm,” Crumpets returned, just as quietly.
"嗯,"松脆饼回答，同样平静。
“I… I…” the alicorn swallowed hard. “I’m not supposed to be here,” she whispered.
"我.....。.我。。」阿利康狠狠地吞下了。"我不应该在这里,"她低声说。
“Oh, no. The last two times you were here, the Steel Rangers didn’t mean to startle you,” Farsight said in her calm voice. “Your name is Lacunae, yes?”
"哦，不。前两次你在这里的时候，钢铁骑兵并不想吓到你,"法塞特用她平静的声音说。"你的名字是拉库奈，对吗?"
She swung her head back and forth forcefully. “No! No… I’m not her. She was me, but I wasn’t her,” she stammered, rubbing her face with her drenched wings. “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m… I’m supposed to be in a bad place. Because I did bad things. But… but now I’m not. I’m here.”
她有力地前后摇晃着脑袋。"不！不...我不是她。她是我，但我不是她,"她结结巴巴地说，用湿透的翅膀擦着脸。"我不应该在这里。我...我应该在一个很糟糕的地方。因为我做了坏事。但是...但是现在不是了。我在这里。"
“This doesn’t count as a bad place?” Crumpets muttered.
"这不算是个糟糕的地方吗?"松脆饼咕哝着。
The pale unicorn gave her a sharp kick in the shin with uncanny accuracy while saying in that gentle voice, “What is your name?”
苍白的独角兽不可思议地准确地一脚踢在她的小腿上，同时用温柔的声音问道:"你叫什么名字?"
She froze, her purple eyes haunted a moment, and then she whispered, barely above the rain, “Psalm. My name is Psalm.”
她愣住了，紫色的眼睛在脑海里徘徊了一会儿，然后在雨点之上低声说道:"诗篇。我的名字是诗篇。"
“That’s a nice name, Psalm,” Farsight replied in that calm, understanding voice. “Well, it’s very wet, and you look like you could use a meal and a chance to dry out. And I know that Paladin Stronghoof would like to--”
"诗篇，这名字真好听,"法塞特用平静、理解的声音回答。"嗯，天气非常潮湿，你看起来需要一顿饭和一个机会把身体弄干。我知道圣骑士stronghof想要——"
“No!” she blurted again, then bit her lip and shrank back. “I… No. Please. I want to see him… but I don’t deserve to see him… but I… I…” She sat in the mud and bowed her head. “He’ll think I’m her. And I want to be her. I can remember… remember everything! Remember him dancing with her. Remember her friends. I… want what she had. But I’m not her!”
"不!"她又脱口而出，然后咬住嘴唇，缩了回去。"我.....。.没有。求你了。我想见他......但我不配见他......但我.....。.我。。」她坐在泥地里低着头。"他会以为我是她。我想成为她。我记得...记得所有的事情！记得他和她跳舞。记住她的朋友。我。.想要她拥有的东西。但我不是她!"
“Somepony’s a bit barmy in the belfry,” Crumpets said, and then shifted aside to avoid another kick to the shin.
"有些小马在钟楼里有点疯疯癫癫的,"Crumpets说，然后挪到一边，以免再被踢到小腿。
That earned a stern glare in her general direction before calm reason returned. “Okay, Psalm. It’s okay. Come with us. We’ll get you cleaned up, dried off, and fed, and when you’re ready, you can talk to him. Or I can tell him for you after you explain things better to me. All right?”
在她恢复平静的理智之前，这招致了她大致方向的严厉批评。"好的，诗篇。没关系。跟我们走。我们会把你弄干净，弄干，喂饱，等你准备好了，你可以和他谈谈。或者我可以在你向我解释清楚之后替你告诉他。好吗?"
“I... we... I...” she stammered, then bowed her head. “Very well… but…” the alicorn paused, chewed on her lower lip as she glanced towards the Core, then asked, “But… can you tell me what happened to Blackjack?”
"我.....。.我们...我..。。」她结结巴巴地说，然后低下了头。"很好......但是......"阿里克停顿了一下，咬着下嘴唇，她朝核心区瞥了一眼，然后问道,"但是......你能告诉我黑杰克发生了什么事吗?"
“You mean Security?” Crumpets blurted, getting another kick. Biting her tongue, she let the unicorn answer.
"你是说保安?"松脆饼脱口而出，得到了另一种刺激。她咬着舌头，让独角兽回答。
Farsight said solemnly, “I’m sorry, but she’s dead, Psalm. She died in the megaspell.”
法塞特严肃地说:"对不起，她已经死了，诗篇。她死在巨石柱里。"
“Dead?” She pressed her wings to her temples and shook her head rapidly. “No no no. She… I… we… if she’d been there, then we wouldn’t have let her die. She… I…”
"死了?"她把翅膀贴在太阳穴上，快速地摇了摇头。""不，不，不。她...我..。.我们...如果她在那里，我们就不会让她死。她...我..。。」
“Look out, Overmare,” Crumpets warned as Psalm stood suddenly, but the alicorn steadied.
"小心，Overmare,"Crumpets警告说，因为诗篇突然站了起来，但是alicorn稳住了。
“No! No. We’re fine. I… we…” she shook her head again, then regained her strength. “Blackjack is not dead,” Psalm said as she looked towards the Core.
"不！没有。我们很好。我。."我们..."她又摇了摇头，然后恢复了力量。"黑杰克没有死,"诗篇说，她看着核心。
“I’m afraid that she is. She was right there when the spell went off. Nopony’s been able to get her PipBuck tag. I’m afraid that she’s gone,” Farsight replied. “It would have been instantaneous.”
"恐怕是的。咒语开始的时候她就在那里。Nopony已经拿到了她的PipBuck标签。恐怕她已经走了,"法塞特回答。"那会是瞬间的事。"
“No. I mean, I don’t believe she’s dead,” Psalm said, her voice now returning to calm. “We need her… just like Princess Luna.”
"没有。我的意思是，我不相信她已经死了,"诗篇说，她的声音现在恢复了平静。"我们需要她......就像卢娜公主一样。"
“Well… I can’t argue it’d be nice if either was here, but even if Blackjack did somehow survive the spell, she’d be in the Core,” Crumpets said quietly. “Nopony can survive in there. Not for three months. And if she had, she’d find some way to tell us she’s alive.”
"嗯......我不能说如果她们中的任何一个在这里就好了，但是即使Blackjack在这个咒语中幸存了下来，她也会在核心中,"Crumpets平静地说。"没有小马能在那里生存。三个月内不会。如果她找到了，她会想办法告诉我们她还活着。"
Psalm didn’t reply. She just stared in the direction of the distant green glow. “She’s alive. I have faith in her. We still need her; she won’t die until we do. She can’t. Not like Macintosh. Not like Luna.”
诗篇没有回答。她只是盯着远处发出绿光的方向。"她还活着。我对她有信心。我们仍然需要她，除非我们找到她，否则她不会死。她不能。不像麦金塔电脑。不像卢娜。"
Crumpets shook her head. “I’ll go tell Stronghoof and the others to back off. Give her some space till she’s cleaned up.” Crumpets returned up the muddy hill as Farsight and Psalm followed behind. “Damn it, Security. Why’d you have to die?”
圆饼摇了摇头。"我要去告诉斯特朗霍夫和其他人退后。给她点空间，等她清理干净再说。"松饼回到泥泞的小山上，法塞特和诗篇紧随其后。"该死，保安。你为什么一定要死?"
* * *
* * *
The black canyons of the city glistened with the film of rain that slicked their surfaces, transforming them into mirrors reflecting nothing. The empty streets, cracked and broken, from nowhere to nowhere, snaked around the monoliths that plunged from the sky to the deepest depths of the earth like ebony arrows. No wind could stir the garbage that lay in saturated mats where errant currents had deposited them, two centuries after being cast away. None would. There was no rot or decay for the heaps. If it could not be washed away, it would linger.
这座城市的黑色峡谷闪烁着雨水的光芒，雨水在它们的表面形成光泽，把它们变成镜子，什么也反射不出来。空荡荡的街道，不知从哪里来，到处都是裂缝和破碎，蜿蜒在从天而降到地球最深处的巨石周围，就像乌木的箭一样。在被抛弃两个世纪之后，没有任何风能够搅动那些堆积在饱和垫子上的垃圾，而这些垫子正是错误的洋流沉积下来的。没有人会。这些堆没有腐烂或腐烂。如果不能被冲走，它还会逗留。
Forever.
永远。
* * *
* * *
“The natives are getting restless, what with Security being gone,” Splendid said as he admired his newly acquired PipBuck. He’d needed a whole new ensemble to match. “Pity blue is in such short supply,” he muttered as he stood with Grace in what had once been their father’s collection. It had now been transformed into a manager’s office, with graphs on the walls showing outputs, a checklist of things to be accomplished long term and short term, and a highly intricate chart on the wall showing names and different colored arrows denoting their relationship. Blocks of ponies were marked ‘manage’, ‘support’, and ‘purge’.
"保安都走了，当地人都坐立不安起来了,"斯普兰迪一边欣赏着他新买的皮布克一边说。他需要一套全新的套装来搭配。"可怜的蓝色太少了,"他和格蕾丝站在他们父亲曾经收藏的东西里喃喃自语。现在它已经变成了一个经理的办公室，墙上的图表显示了产出，一个需要完成的长期和短期任务的清单，墙上一个非常复杂的图表显示了名字和不同颜色的箭头表示他们之间的关系。大块的小马被标记为'管理','支持','清除'。
“Which natives are those, Brother?” Grace said as she regarded several papers with a critical eye. From outside, a deep growl of thunder penetrated even the sturdy walls of the country club. “The whiny, the annoyed, or the lazy?”
"那些是什么土人，兄弟?"格雷斯一边说，一边用批评的眼光看着几份文件。从外面传来一阵隆隆的雷声，甚至穿透了乡村俱乐部坚固的墙壁。"爱发牢骚的，烦躁的，还是懒惰的?"
“The whiny ones,” he answered with a sniff. “The Carrots are getting wistful, saying that perhaps they should have backed Charm’s little coup three months ago. All this ‘paying the serfs’ business seems to be so plebian. And expecting the nobles to actually do something for their share of the dividends is outrageous. That’s the point of being aristocracy: you get your cake for free.” He chuckled. “Fortunately, most of the rest of the aristocracy is just happy that we’ve more than tripled our profits, even if most of the increase isn’t going to them.”
"那些爱发牢骚的家伙,"他嗤之以鼻地回答。"胡萝卜越来越多愁善感，他们说，也许三个月前他们就应该支持Charm的小妙招。所有这些"付钱给农奴"的事情看起来都是那么普通。期望贵族们为他们的分红做点什么是令人无法容忍的。这就是成为贵族的要点:你可以免费得到你的蛋糕。"他咯咯地笑了。"幸运的是，其他大多数贵族都很高兴，因为我们的利润增长了两倍多，尽管增长的大部分并没有流向他们。"
“The Lightbringer might have begun clearing out the skies, but that doesn’t mean most ponies in the Wasteland have seed stock, fertilizer, or agricultural skills,” she said with a little smile. “I think that, with a little more work, we’ll have a nice partnership with the Children of the Cathedral. We’ll have to if we want to keep things going long term. Still, given that the Tower falling has tripled our local market, we’re barely able to meet demand now.”
"光明使者可能已经开始清扫天空，但这并不意味着大多数荒地上的小马都有种子、肥料或者农业技能,"她微笑着说。"我认为，再多做一点工作，我们就能与大教堂的孩子们建立良好的伙伴关系。如果我们想让事情长期下去，我们就必须这么做。尽管如此，鉴于大厦倒塌使我们的本地市场增长了两倍，我们现在几乎无法满足需求。"
“True. I think it’s the fact that you relegated all of us to ‘workers’ that tangles the nobles’ mane. Wealthy ponies don’t work for their wealth. They are wealth. That’s why they’re better than workers,” Splendid chuckled.
"没错。我认为是你们把我们都归类为工人的事实把贵族们的头发缠在了一起。有钱的小马驹不会为了他们的财富而工作。他们是财富。这就是为什么他们比工人好,"斯普兰迪轻声笑道。
“The pegasi would never have tolerated the old system, and without them we’d never have been able to expand beyond the Hoof,” she said matter-of-factly. “All those profits are because we can sell directly to New Appleloosa and Manehattan
"飞马座永远不会容忍旧系统，如果没有它们，我们永远无法超越霍夫,"她实事求是地说。"所有这些利润都是因为我们可以直接销售给Newapplloosa和Manehattan
in a tenth the usual time. Asking the Carrots to get their hooves dirty twice a week is hardly serfdom.”
只用了平时的十分之一。每周两次要胡萝卜弄脏它们的蹄子算不上什么农奴制。"
“Be that as it may, you might want to get them out of here. Their attitude is catching,” Splendid said calmly. When Grace arched a brow at him, he amended, “I don’t mean kill or even exile. Perhaps they could work as liaisons with Tenpony. Just get them away from the other bluebloods who think ‘Good King Security’ is gone for good.”
"不管怎样，你最好把他们弄出去。"他们的态度很吸引人,"斯普兰迪平静地说。当格蕾丝对他皱起眉头时，他改口说:"我不是说杀了他，甚至放逐他。也许他们可以作为联络人与Tenpony。只要让他们远离那些认为'良好的国王安全'已经永远消失的其他贵族。"
Grace sighed and set the papers back on the desk. “Any sign of Charm? Anywhere?”
格蕾丝叹了口气，把文件放回桌子上。"有魅力的迹象吗？任何地方?"
He balked, then sighed as well and shook his head. “Not since she left with that Harbinger Steel Rain. If she was still with them, she’d have publicized it. We’d never hear the end about how Security robbed her of her right to rule.”
他犹豫了一下，也叹了口气，摇了摇头。"自从她和那个先驱钢铁雨离开后就没有了。如果她还和他们在一起，她就会公开这件事。我们永远听不到安全局是如何剥夺她的统治权的。"
“Insufferable as she was, she was still our sister.” Grace leaned back in her father’s chair. She was starting to fit it quite well. “Speaking of the Harbingers, are they still harassing workers?”
"尽管她令人难以忍受，但她仍然是我们的妹妹。"格蕾丝向后靠在父亲的椅子上。她开始适应它了。"说到先驱者，他们还在骚扰工人吗?"
“Trying to. That ‘equality for all’ line might have caught on if you hadn’t made your changes,” he admitted, his smile rueful. “Given they don’t buy from us, though, they haven’t caught many with their ‘Hoofington Rises’ stuff. Making the aristocrats do actual work helped immensely on that front. When ponies saw even the regent hauling crops, it definitely made an impact on them.”
"我正在努力。如果你没有做出改变,'人人平等'的说法可能会流行起来,"他承认道，脸上带着悔恨的微笑。"不过，考虑到他们不从我们这里买东西，他们没有用'HoofingtonRises'抓到多少人。让贵族们做实际的工作在这方面起了很大的作用。当小马看到摄政王连庄稼都要拖的时候，肯定对它们产生了影响。"
“On me, as well. I don’t think my hooves or back have ever been so sore,” she said with a smile of her own. “I have no idea how they do it. None at all. And that was only an hour.”
""我也是。我想我的蹄子和背从来没有这么酸过,"她说，脸上带着自己的微笑。"我不知道他们是怎么做到的。完全没有。而这仅仅是一个小时。"
He fell silent a moment. “I wouldn’t have done it. I would have slapped a bomb collar on any pony that objected and made them work, complaining or not. I would have hired more foreponies and guards.” He shook his head. “I wonder if that’s why Security chose you rather than me.”
他沉默了一会儿。"我不会这么做的。我会给任何反对的小马戴上炸弹项圈，让它们工作，不管它们有没有抱怨。我会雇佣更多的管理员和警卫。"他摇了摇头。"我想知道这是不是保安选择你而不是我的原因。"
Grace leaned forward and folded her hooves under her chin. “You are a better pony than you think, Splendid. If you had supported Charm instead of me when she broke free, I wouldn’t be here right now. You are far more effective as my right hoof than sitting in this seat. And I think you’re happier, too.”
格雷斯向前倾了倾身子，把蹄子放在下巴下面。"你是一匹比你想象中要好的小马，太好了。如果她挣脱的时候你支持的是Charm而不是我，我现在就不会在这里了。你作为我的右蹄比坐在这个位子上有效得多。我觉得你也更开心了。"
He snorted. “Happier? Maybe. I suppose I might be. It’s just galling to know that I was the wrong pony for the job.” Then he laughed, rolling his eyes a little. “Well, it could be worse. She could have chosen Charm. I think she would have settled her disagreements with a whim or a dart board. All of Father’s memory orbs and recordings… all that knowledge and those secrets. All those things Blackjack wanted to know. I fully expected her to take them. Ah well… no regrets on that score.”
他哼了一声。""快乐吗？也许吧。我想是的。知道自己不适合这份工作，真让人难过。"然后他笑了，眼珠转了一下。"好吧，还有更糟的呢。她本可以选择魅力。我认为她会一时兴起或用飞镖板来解决她的分歧。所有的父亲的记忆球和录音...所有的知识和那些秘密。所有那些Blackjack想知道的事情。我完全希望她能接受。好吧......这一点我不后悔。"
Grace’s lips curled in a sympathetic smile. “But other regrets? Perhaps with Glory?”
格雷斯的嘴唇微微一笑，表示同情。"但是其他的遗憾呢？也许是因为晨辉?"
“Perhaps,” he murmured.
"也许吧,"他喃喃地说。
“Is there no hope?” she asked, folding her hooves on the desk with a sympathetic smile.
"没有希望了吗?"她问道，面带同情的微笑，把蹄子叠在桌子上。
His smile turned more pained. “I have been firmly, soundly, and resoundingly rejected. My only options are to accept such or become onerous.” He waved his hoof in the air, as if trying to coax thoughts from the ether. “I… admit… my initial attraction was… shall we say… superficial? Conjugal relations with a Ministry Mare was a far too tempting prospect to not pursue. But now that I know her and have seen the work she’s done…” he sighed and slumped. “If only things were different. It’s hard to hear you were simply a combination of magical transformation, hormones, and idle curiosity.”
他的笑容变得更加痛苦了。"我遭到了坚决、彻底和响亮的拒绝。我唯一的选择就是要么接受，要么变得麻烦。"他在空中挥动着他的蹄子，好像在试图引起人们对以太的思考。"我.....。.承认吧...我最初的吸引力是...怎么说呢...肤浅？与牧师母马的婚姻关系是一个非常诱人的前景，不能不去追求。但是现在我认识了她，也看到了她所做的工作......"他叹了口气，垂头丧气。"要是情况有所不同就好了。很难听出你只是神奇的转变、荷尔蒙和无所事事的好奇心的结合体。"
“Ah, Splendid. The first mare that slipped your stable,” she said with a shake of her head and sympathetic smile.
"啊，太好了。第一匹从你马厩里溜走的母马,"她摇摇头，面带同情的微笑说。
“The first I’ve cared about. Ah well. And what of you, Grace? When are you going to select a stallion? The speculation is going mad,” he chuckled.
"我关心的第一件事。好吧。那你呢Grace？你打算什么时候挑选一匹种马？这种猜测正在变得疯狂,"他轻声笑道。
“Who has the time for such things?” she said as she waved her hooves at the office. “Getting the Society to do something productive for a change barely gives me a moment for sleeping, eating, or bathing!”
"谁有时间做这种事?"她边说边在办公室里挥舞着她的蹄子。"让协会做一些有意义的事情，我几乎没有时间睡觉、吃饭或洗澡!"
“I can attest to the last,” he said, wrinkling his nose, and got a faceful of papers for it.
"我可以证明这是最后一次,"他皱着鼻子说，脸上堆满了相关的文件。
* * *
* * *
Apartments for rent. Cheap. Subsidized housing. First three months free. The signs hung loosely outside the doors. Lies. Somepony always paid. They boasted names like The Citadel, Fortress Gardens, Stable Tower, and Guardian Grove. Safest living in all of Equestria. Come tour our fortified living spaces. Have a fortress of your very own! Their lobbies held pamphlets depicting balefire bombs bouncing off shields as if they were rubber balls and boasting of security measures to screen out dangerous infiltrators. More lies. The cameras watched impassively through silent spiderlike eyes set in the corners of rooms. Thousands. Millions. More than an army of ponies could actually monitor.
出租公寓。便宜。社会福利住房。头三个月免费。牌子松松地挂在门外。谎言。有些人总是付钱的。他们自称为城堡、要塞花园、马厩塔和守护林。全Equestria最安全的生活。来参观我们强化的生活空间吧。拥有属于你自己的堡垒！他们的游说团体拿着一些小册子，这些小册子描述了爆炸弹从盾牌上弹开，就好像它们是橡皮球一样，并吹嘘安全措施可以屏蔽危险的渗透者。更多的谎言。摄像机通过房间角落里像蜘蛛一样安静的眼睛无动于衷地观察着。成千上万。数百万。不只是一群小马可以监视。
The apartments were clean. Safe. Nigh impregnable. One could walk through the furnished dwellings, with magic screens to simulate windows. Indeed, to simulate any beautiful view one could desire. It was all false. The scarlet-stained floors were proof of that. The little drains hidden everywhere were proof of that. Nowhere was safe. A lie was the only security in this place.
公寓很干净。安全。几乎坚不可摧的。人们可以穿过配有家具的住宅，用魔法屏风来模拟窗户。事实上，模拟任何美丽的景色都是人们所期望的。这一切都是假的。鲜红色的地板就是证明。到处隐藏的小沟渠就是证明。没有一个地方是安全的。谎言是这个地方唯一的保障。
* * *
* * *
The Hoofington Arena’s dome roared with a dozen battles. Fights set along the green rectangle between pegasus and earth pony, earth pony and zebra, zebra and unicorn, unicorn and pegasus were met with roars, cheers, stomping, boos, and catcalls. Even a few griffins and minotaurs, a half-dozen hellhounds, a trio of green alicorns, and a ‘buffalo’ could be seen in bouts and matches for the new top ten. Anyone strong and tough enough could compete. The massive hole blasted in the dome had been patched with any square of canvas, corrugated sheet metal, or hide that could block the incessant rain outside. A hundred yards down the field and it would have wiped out the skyboxes, and Big Daddy too.
胡芬顿竞技场的圆顶上响起了十几场战斗。绿色矩形的战斗场景设置在飞马和地球小马之间，地球小马和斑马之间，斑马和独角兽之间，独角兽和飞马之间，会遇到咆哮，欢呼，跺脚，嘘声和嘘声。甚至一些狮鹫和人身牛头怪、半打地狱犬、三只绿色的橡子和一头"水牛"也可以出现在新的前十名的比赛中。任何足够强壮和坚强的人都可以参加比赛。穹顶上那个巨大的洞是用任何一块方形的帆布、皱巴巴的金属板或者可以挡住外面持续不断的雨水的遮盖物拼凑起来的。一百码以外的地方，它会把天空盒子和大老爹都夷为平地。
“Ya know, normally Burners don’t get to compete,” Candlewick shouted at his opponent as he trotted quickly on his hooves around a specially built area with solid walls around the edge, not taking his eye off his opponent. With each step, the bright orange metal hooves let out a click and left a little smear of molten glass behind. “Not much point when a little yellow ends the fight for them, and half the audience. So I gotta say, I am really looking forward to this!”
"你知道，通常燃烧者是不会参加比赛的,"蜡烛芯对着他的对手喊道，他用蹄子快速地绕着一个特别建造的区域跑，周围是坚固的围墙，没有把眼睛从对手身上移开。每走一步，亮橙色的金属蹄子就会发出咔嗒声，留下一点熔化的玻璃渣。"当一点点黄色结束了为他们和一半观众的战斗时，就没有多少意义了。所以我不得不说，我真的很期待这一刻!"
In reply, the scarlet teenaged dragon roared and sent a torrent of yellow fire across the arena at the scarred stallion. The earth pony leapt forward and rolled, the blaze roiling over his bright red firefighter’s coat but failing to catch it alight. As the dragon ran out of breath, Candlewick rolled up and kicked himself into
作为回应，猩红色的少年龙咆哮着，向那匹伤痕累累的种马喷射出一股黄色的火焰，穿过竞技场。大地上的小马跳了起来，翻滚着，火焰在他鲜红的消防员外套上翻滚着，但没有点着。当龙喘不过气来的时候，烛芯卷起身来，一脚踢了进去
the air, slamming all four power hooves against the dragon’s chest. There was a fwooom as four blasts of flame burst from the hooves and into the dragon’s scales. Candlewick kicked off and rolled in the opposite direction as the dragon roared and swiped with his claws.
空气，用四只蹄子猛击龙的胸膛。四道火焰从马蹄中迸发出来，进入了龙的鳞甲。烛芯一脚踢开，朝相反的方向滚去，这时巨龙咆哮着，用它的爪子猛击。
For all his effort, all there was to show for it were four black horseshoe prints on the dragon’s chest. The dragon’s lips curled in a wide, fanged grin. “Dragons are fireproof, dude. What else you got? Because I got plenty!” With a hissing roar he sprang on the scarred red earth pony; Candlewick gave ground, backing up and not daring to take his eyes off the enemy.
尽管他付出了巨大的努力，但所有的成果只是在龙的胸前留下了四个黑色马蹄印。龙的嘴唇咧开，露出宽大的、带毒牙的笑容。"龙是防火的，伙计。你还有什么？因为我有很多!"他发出嘶嘶的吼声，跳上那匹满是疤痕的红色小马;烛芯后退着，不敢把视线从敌人身上移开。
The dragon might have been young, but there was no doubt which one evolution favored. The crowd around the arena jeered and placed bets on how long it would take for the dragon to make the Burner cry uncle, or even if Candlewick would get out at all. One of the few who wasn’t jeering was a lavender unicorn watching with concern. That caught his eye for a fraction of a second, and the distraction earned him three talons across the face. As his blood flowed, the Burner grinned. “Thanks. I think you made me handsomer.”
龙可能很年轻，但是毫无疑问哪一种进化更喜欢它。竞技场周围的人群开始嘲笑，并下注赌龙要花多长时间才能让燃烧者大叫"叔叔"，甚至赌烛芯能不能逃出来。少数几个没有受到嘲笑的人之一是一只淡紫色的独角兽关切地看着。这吸引了他几分之一秒的注意力，分散他的注意力为他赢得了三个爪子在脸上。当他的血液流动时，燃烧者咧嘴一笑。"谢谢。我觉得你让我更漂亮了。"
“Huh?” The teenaged dragon blinked. In that moment, Candlewick slipped into S.A.T.S., toggled four perfectly-aimed blows, and executed the spell. He reared up and slammed his hooves against the dragon’s face with an explosion accompanying every kick. Dragons, even their eyeballs, might have been fireproof, but they could still be stunned by kinetic energy to the head. The dragon staggered back, dropping his defense as he clutched his face.
"啊?"那条十几岁的龙眨了眨眼。就在那一刻，烛芯溜进了S.A.T.S.，经过四次完美的瞄准击打，施展了咒语。他猛地站起来，用蹄子猛踢龙的脸，每踢一脚都伴随着爆炸声。龙，甚至它们的眼球，可能是防火的，但是它们仍然可以被击中头部的动能所震惊。这条龙蹒跚地后退，一边抓着自己的脸，一边放弃了防守。
Candlewick rolled forward between the dragon’s legs, landing on his back and looking up at his target. With a grin, all four hooves began to thrash at the dragon’s crotch, each hit punctuated by a blast of fire from his hooves. A few second later, he slowed, the dragon gazing down at the scarred stallion with a scornful curl of his lips. “Dude. They’re internal, and you’re not my type.”
烛芯在龙的两腿之间向前滚动，仰面着地，抬头看着他的目标。四只蹄子都咧嘴一笑，开始猛踢这条龙的胯部，每一下都不时被它蹄子里发出的一阵火焰点燃。几秒钟后，他放慢了脚步，龙用轻蔑的卷曲嘴唇低头凝视着这匹伤痕累累的种马。"伙计。它们是内在的，你不是我喜欢的类型。"
“Oh, shit,” Candlewick muttered. Huh. That usually worked...
"哦，该死,"烛芯咕哝着。哈。这招通常管用..。
The dragon’s head came down, his pointed maw snapping closed on Candlewick's left forehoof. The fangs clenched on the reinforced PipBuck casing and the top of the blazing power hoof, yanking Candlewick off the ground. The dragon’s claws reached up, raking his back and haunches. The firepony’s coat tore easily, as did the hide beneath. “Get away from him!” the lavender mare
龙的头垂了下来，它那尖尖的胃在烛芯的左前蹄上啪啪作响。尖牙紧紧抓住加固过的皮布克外壳和炽热的马蹄的顶部，把烛芯从地上拽了下来。龙的爪子伸了出来，耙着他的后背和臀部。那件火红的外套很容易撕裂，下面的皮毛也一样。"离他远点!"淡紫色的母马
shouted, making him grin.
他笑着喊道。
Candlewick ducked his head under the shredded coat and pulled out by the stem something bright, shiny, and shaped like an apple. He twisted his PipBuck, prying the dragon’s jaws open enough to press the apple between his fangs. “Say ahhh,” Candlewick growled as the metal ground against enamel. The stem came off, and the superheated power hoof in the dragon’s mouth exploded, knocking his teeth open enough for Candlewick to shove the grenade into the jaws. “Are you fireproof inside?” Candlewick asked as he slammed the dragon’s mouth closed, curling his forelegs around the muzzle and clenching it tight. His hindlegs kicked at the dragon’s throat, forcing a lump down.
烛芯低下头，躲在被撕成碎片的外套下面，从外套的茎部拉出一些明亮、闪亮、形状像苹果的东西。他扭动着他的小巴克，撬开龙的嘴，用尖牙咬住苹果。"说啊,"烛芯低声咆哮着，金属打在搪瓷上。龙嘴里过热的动力蹄子爆炸了，把他的牙齿打开，让烛芯把手榴弹塞进嘴里。"里面防火吗?"烛芯一边问，一边紧闭着龙的嘴，前腿卷在嘴边，紧紧地攥紧了。他的后腿踢向那条龙的喉咙，使它哽咽了起来。
The detonation of the grenade made the dragon swell immensely, throwing Candlewick aside as a moment later the insides of the dragon exploded out of both ends. As the corpse collapsed like a deflated balloon, Candlewick landed in a heap in the middle of the arena. Slowly, his body burning from the dragon’s claws, he rose to his hooves and faced the scoreboard.
手榴弹的爆炸让这条龙膨胀了起来，把蜡烛芯扔到一边，过了一会儿，这条龙的内脏都爆炸了。当尸体像泄气的气球一样倒在地上时，烛芯掉在竞技场中央的一堆东西里。慢慢地，他的身体被龙爪燃烧着，他站起来，面对着记分板。
“I’d say that counts as a victory,” Big Daddy said from his seat beneath the board. “Congratulations, Candlewick. Welcome to the Reapers. You look like you could use a new firecoat. I’d take it from him,” the old earth pony said as he gestured to the remains of the dragon. “I’m sure Hammersmith could make something fine for you.”
"我认为这算是一场胜利,"大老爹坐在董事会下面的座位上说。"恭喜你，Candlewick。欢迎加入收割者。你看起来需要一个新的闪光灯。我会从他那里拿走的。"老土马边说边指着龙的残骸。"我相信哈默史密斯能为你做出不错的东西。"
“Thanks,” he croaked, trembling but trying to remain upright.
"谢谢,"他低声说，浑身颤抖，但还是尽力站着。
“Come see me upstairs when you get patched up,” the old pony said as he trotted off the dais. The observers settled bets, but the lavender unicorn clambered down the ladder lowered into the ring and trotted over quickly; a few other ponies started to scramble after her, all of them heavily scarred or maimed.
"等你把伤口包扎好了，到楼上来找我吧,"老矮种马一边说，一边小跑着走下讲台。观察者们安排好了赌注，但是薰衣草色的独角兽爬下了降到圈里的梯子，快步小跑过来;其他几匹小马开始跟在她后面，它们全都伤痕累累或残废了。
“I can’t believe you fought him at close range,” she muttered under her breath as her horn glowed. Instantly his pain abated and the gouges began to heal. “You should have kept him at a distance.”
"我不敢相信你近距离和他打架,"她低声咕哝着，她的喇叭在发光。他的疼痛立刻减轻了，伤口也开始愈合。"你应该和他保持距离。"
“No could do, Razzle Dazzle,” he said with a grimace. “I only got to pick two weapons. Didn’t have any guns that could penetrate. Flamer wouldn’t have worked, either. Fireproof. Had to get him reckless enough to open his mouth but keep it open long enough to shove the grenade down his throat. Like what that Lightbringer filly did.” He considered the PipBuck. “She convinced me it was a
"不行，耀眼骗子,"他做了个鬼脸说。"我只需要选择两种武器。没有任何枪能穿透。弗拉梅尔也不会成功。防火。必须让他足够鲁莽地张开嘴，但保持足够长的时间，把手榴弹推进他的喉咙。就像那个光明使者小母马一样。"他考虑了一下PipBuck。"她说服了我
good idea to pick up one from that stable place. Got it for a crate of grenades. Glad I got the reinforced housing.” As she healed him, he suddenly grinned. “Don’t heal ‘em all the way. Chicks dig scars.”
在那个稳定的地方买一个是个好主意。买了一箱手榴弹。很高兴我得到了加固的房屋。"当她治好他的时候，他突然咧嘴笑了。"不要一直治愈他们。女人喜欢伤疤。"
She flushed and turned away. “We do not. Otherwise, he’d get all the mares,” she said with a smirk as she glanced at the other scarred ponies approaching.
她脸红了，转过身去。"我们没有。否则，他会得到所有的母马。"她边说边傻笑着瞥了一眼正在靠近的其他伤痕累累的小马驹。
“Toaster does get all the mares. Most of ‘em, anyway,” Candlewick replied.
"烤面包机能得到所有的母马。大部分，不管怎么说,"烛芯回答。
“That was awesome, little bro!” a large, scarred orange pony called out. Every inch of him appeared to have been badly burned at some point, and if it weren’t for his eyes, he might be mistaken for a huge ghoul. He was covered head to toe in armor made of the flattened appliances that were his namesake. His cutie mark depicted the angriest toaster in all the Wasteland, with flames consuming a hapless slice of bread. “Did I fucking tell you those superheated power hooves would fucking do it? Did I fucking tell you or what, little bro?”
"太棒了，小兄弟!"一匹大大的，疤痕累累的橙色小马大叫。他身上的每一寸都曾被严重烧伤过，如果不是因为他的眼睛，他可能会被误认为是一个巨大的食尸鬼。他从头到脚都穿着用与他同名的扁平电器制成的盔甲。他的可爱标记描绘了整个荒原上最愤怒的烤面包机，火焰吞噬了一片倒霉的面包。"我他妈的有没有告诉过你，那些超高温的动力蹄子可以做到？我他妈的告诉你了吗，小兄弟?"
“It was the grenade that killed him,” Dazzle pointed out with a scowl.
"是手榴弹杀死了他,"戴泽皱着眉头指出。
“Who asked you, Flash fuck?” he asked with a leer. “Go run off with the other girls. Play with fire and you’ll lose that pretty face.” Candlewick averted his eyes as Dazzle’s eyes blazed with her own rage. “What do you even care? Get out of here.”
"谁问你了，闪电侠?"他斜眼问道。"和其他女孩子一起走吧。玩火，你就会失去那张漂亮的脸蛋。"蜡烛芯转移了他的目光，戴泽的眼睛里闪烁着她自己的愤怒。"关你什么事？滚出去。"
“Oh yeah. He’s a charmer,” Dazzle replied dryly before trotting away.
"哦，是的。他是个很有魅力的人,"戴泽干巴巴地回答，然后小跑着离开。
“Damn it, Toast!” Candlewick protested.
"该死，吐司!"烛芯抗议道。
The large orange stallion snorted and rolled his eyes. “She’s a pretty face, Wick. They ain’t interested in burned things. Everypony knows that.” Candlewick stared after Dazzle as she climbed up out of the ring and caught her glancing back at him before disappearing out of sight. Toaster gestured at the hooves. “Weren’t they awesome though? Okay, not against a dragon, maybe, but you could melt through tank armor with superheated power hooves like those! Fuck! Not hot enough, though! I should strap balefire eggs to each one! Find some way to make a balefire power hoof. Fuck yeah!”
那匹橙色的大种马喷着鼻息，翻着白眼。"她是一张漂亮的脸蛋，威克。他们对烧焦的东西不感兴趣。每个人都知道这一点。"蜡烛芯盯着炫目后，她爬出戒指，抓住她回头看他，然后消失在视线之外。烤面包机对着蹄子做手势。"他们不是很棒吗？好吧，也许不是对抗一条龙，但是你可以用那样的超高温动力蹄子融化坦克装甲！操！不过还不够热！我应该把蛋捆在每一个上面！找到一些方法，使balefire动力蹄。太他妈爽了!"
“Sure. Sounds like a great way to commit suicide,” Candlewick replied dryly.
"当然。听起来是个自杀的好办法,"烛芯干巴巴地回答。
If Toaster took offense, he didn’t show it as he laughed and went on how
如果烤面包机生气了，他笑的时候不会表现出来，而是继续说下去
glorious superheated balefire power hooves would be. One of the other scarred gangers trotted up and patted Candlewick on the back. “Congratulations on making Reaper, Candle.”
壮观的超高温火力马蹄。另一个伤痕累累的分身小跑过来拍拍Candlewick的背。"祝贺你制造了收割者，Candle"
“Just don’t forget that you were a motherfucking Burner first, bro,” Toaster reminded with a scowl. “I don’t know why you bothered, though. Being a Reaper’s no big thing. Just an excuse for Big Daddy to snag our most badass fighters. He tried to make me one, but I told him to smoke it.”
"只是别忘了你他妈的一开始就是个燃烧者，兄弟,"吐司机皱着眉头提醒道。"不过，我不知道你为什么要烦恼。收魂者没什么大不了的。只是一个借口，让老爹抓住我们最厉害的战士。他想给我做一个，但我叫他抽烟。"
“I thought you begged him to not break your other leg,” a scarred mare asked in bafflement.
"我以为你求他不要打断你的另一条腿,"一匹伤痕累累的母马困惑地问道。
Toaster’s eyes bulged as his jaw worked. “Well… That… That was only because I didn’t want to go superbalefire on his ass and beat him with a busted leg. ‘Cause that would have just been sad! So I was going to tell him to smoke it! ‘Cause… Yeah!”
烤面包机的眼睛睁得大大的，因为他的下巴在动。"嗯......那......那只是因为我不想用超级火力打他的屁股，用一条受伤的腿打他。""因为那样就太可悲了！所以我打算让他抽烟！"因为......是的!"
Candlewick shook his head, hefted the dragon’s limp tail in his mouth, and started for the ladder out. When he’d climbed onto the platform around the ring, he looked across the Arena. Even with all the refugees from above and beyond the Hoof, it still was only a quarter full. An echo of a time when tens of thousands of ponies came here to compete. These days, Big Daddy would take any who were tough enough.
蜡烛芯摇了摇头，嘴里衔着龙软绵绵的尾巴，向梯子走去。当他爬上赛场周围的平台时，他看了看竞技场的另一边。即使所有的难民来自霍夫以上和以外，它仍然只有四分之一满。这是成千上万匹小马来到这里参加比赛的回声。这些天，老爹会接受任何足够强硬的人。
The scarred stallion’s eyes were drawn to the spectral banner of the Flash Fillies. It was hard to make out against all the new gangs and bands that had popped up in the last few months. A half dozen were old Red Eye forces. ‘Hatchlings of Stern’, ‘Cybers’, and the ever-original ‘Red Eyes’. A dozen pegasus ‘wings’ were in attendance. The ‘Grimfang’ hellhounds had every pony around them nervous. A knot of zebras calling themselves ‘Achu’ were talking with ‘Doombunny Deathbringers’, zebras from some place called Glyphmark.
伤痕累累的种马的眼睛被闪电小雌马的幽灵旗帜吸引住了。在过去的几个月里涌现出来的所有新的帮派和团伙很难理解。六个是老红眼部队。"斯特恩的孵化","柏树"，和永远原始的"红眼睛"。一打飞马的"翅膀"出席了会议。"格里姆芳"地狱犬让每匹小马紧张地围在他们身边。一群自称"阿丘"的斑马正在和"末日兔死亡使者"聊天，这些斑马来自一个叫雕文的地方。
“Congratulations,” a doleful voice said in his ear. The dark blue pegasus Storm Front stepped up beside him and nodded towards all the new banners. The Halfheart ganger gave a small smile. “Starting to get crowded, isn’t it?”
"祝贺你,"一个忧郁的声音在他耳边说。深蓝色的飞马"风暴阵线"走到他身边，对着所有的新旗帜点了点头。半颗心的管理员微微一笑。"人越来越多了，不是吗?"
“Yeah. I’m surprised it hasn’t been bloodier, though. So many new faces trying to claim turf, you’d think there’d be a lot more blood spilled.”
"是的。不过，我很惊讶它没有变得更血腥。如此多的新面孔试图占领领地，你会认为会有更多的人流血。"
“Lots of these people don’t want turf. They just want respect and recognition and
"很多人不想要地盘。他们只想得到尊重和认可
the chance to make a name for themselves,” Storm Front said. “Besides, the old gangs are still growing. You got, what, thirty new members?”
有机会让自己出名,"斯托姆·弗朗特说。"此外，老帮派还在壮大。你有多少，三十个新会员?"
“Closer to fifty. All scarred from the fighting,” Candlewick replied, his eyes finding a spot of lavender across the Arena. Then he blinked, realized that what he’d said might have been confidential, and hastily rasped, “But you didn’t hear that from me.”
"接近五十。"都是打斗留下的伤疤,"烛芯回答，他的眼睛在竞技场对面发现了一块淡紫色的斑点。然后他眨了眨眼睛，意识到他所说的可能是机密，于是急忙尖叫起来,"但你不是从我这里听到的。"
“Of course not,” Storm Front said with a wry smile. “We’re sharing territory at the moment. A few new gangs setting up and keeping watch. They keep out of our manes, and we don’t put a bullet through their heads.”
"当然不是,"斯托姆·弗朗特苦笑着说。"我们目前正在分享领土。一些新的犯罪团伙建立起来并进行监视。他们远离我们的鬃毛，我们也不会朝他们的脑袋开枪。"
“What about the Harbingers?” Burner asked with a frown.
"先驱者怎么办?"燃烧者皱着眉头问。
“No. Not with them. They don’t share anything. You join them. Period,” Storm Front said. “I know the new mare in charge of the Flash Fillies is ready to start dusting them. What about Toaster?”
"没有。不是和他们一起。他们不分享任何东西。你加入他们。就这样,"StormFront说。"我知道负责闪光小雌马的新母马已经准备好给它们喷灰了。烤面包机怎么样?"
“That’s been his standing order for four months now,” Candlewick confirmed.
"这是他四个月来的固定订单,"烛芯证实。
“We need to get organized. Set aside the old grudges. There’s way too many Harbingers these days, and they’re getting way too pushy for us. Think Toaster would support an alliance?” Storm Front asked as they walked along.
"我们需要组织起来。抛开过去的怨恨。现在有太多的"先驱者"了，他们对我们来说太过强势了。你觉得烤面包机会支持一个联盟吗?"他们一边走一边问道。
“With the Flashers, Halfhearts, and Highlanders? No way,” Candlewick snorted. But his eyes lingered on the lavender mare underneath the rainbow-burst banner of the Flash Fillies. “And you can’t tell me your boss feels any differently. We coexist because of Big Daddy and the Reapers. We don’t work together.”
"和闪电侠、哈夫哈特和高地人一起？"不可能,"烛芯哼了一声。但是他的目光仍然停留在闪电小雌马旗下那匹淡紫色的母马身上。"你不能告诉我，你的老板有什么不同的想法。我们共存是因为老爹和收割者。我们不一起工作。"
“For now,” Storm Front said as he trotted away. “Bad thing about the Hoof, though, is that often it doesn’t give you a choice.” Candlewick scowled after the dark blue pegasus before turning and limping up towards the box seats.
"目前是这样,"斯托姆·弗朗特一边小跑一边说。"不过，霍夫的坏处在于，它常常让你别无选择。"烛芯在深蓝色的飞马座后面愁眉苦脸，然后转身一瘸一拐地走向包厢座位。
* * *
* * *
The mighty monoliths showed their own wounds, great gaping holes from which spewed their metallic innards. Entrails of conduit and twisted plumbing dangled through holes punched through the ebony walls and spilled out across the roads in tangled intestinal masses. Girders protruded like compound fractures where the towers had broken like brittle bones, and as crippled soldiers they lay against
强大的巨石显示出它们自己的伤口，巨大的裂口从中喷出它们的金属内脏。管道的内脏和扭曲的管道穿过穿透乌木墙壁的洞，在道路上散开，形成纠结的肠团。大梁像复合断裂一样突出，塔楼像脆弱的骨头一样断裂，它们像残废的士兵一样躺在上面
their fellows. Some of the injuries were from the passage of time, others from fresh blasts torn recently throughout the city, and still others appeared as if rent by an army of vandals.
他们的同伴。一些伤口是时间流逝造成的，还有一些是最近在城市各处发生的爆炸造成的，还有一些看起来像是被一群破坏分子所破坏。
In many places, the wiring and cables were strung like visceral garlands between the towers. Raw electrical lines arced and crackled when charge built up, sending snaps and sparks to compete with the lightning in the heavens above. The metallic tangles swayed in the winds that moved through the higher regions, whistling softly in the silence of the city.
在很多地方，电线和电缆就像是塔楼之间的花环。当电荷累积时，粗糙的电线呈弧形并发出噼啪声，发出的照片和火花与天空中的闪电相竞争。金属的缠结在风中摇摆，风吹过高地，在城市的寂静中轻轻地吹着口哨。
Many of the injuries ran deep. They plunged through the cores of the towers, paths ripped and cut through the original structures and strung with silver cables. Walls breached. Floors collapsed. Ceilings missing. Equipment relocated with little point or purpose for its placement. Shafts laid out and connected to motors relocated from elsewhere in the building. The mad vandals’ redistribution violated all sense and reason, placing traffic poles in the heights of skyscrapers and dangling elevator cabling from one rooftop to the foundation of its neighbor. And everywhere was the glint of silver wire.
许多伤口都很深。他们穿过塔楼的核心，小路撕开并切断了原来的结构，并串上了银色的电缆。城墙被攻破。地板塌了。天花板不见了。重新安置的设备没有什么用处或目的。布置好并连接到从建筑物其他地方搬迁过来的发动机的竖井。疯狂破坏者的重新分配违背了所有的道理和理性，他们在摩天大楼的高处安放交通杆，从一个屋顶悬挂电梯电缆到邻居的地基。到处都是闪闪发光的银线。
* * *
* * *
Chapel had a drainage problem. The recent construction had ripped open the ground, and with soaked earth and constant rain, the heavy runoff now threatened to erode all their hard work. “More rocks over there! If we don’t get this water under control, we’ll end up in the river!” Scotch Tape shouted up at the pegasi as her duct-tape-repaired rainslicker flapped in the wind. They flew in a train from further up the hill, carrying whatever rocks they could in their hooves to pile up in a retaining wall above the town. “Bebop! Rocksteady! Fortify that bit there and that one there!” she ordered, pointing imperiously at where the wall sagged and threatened to collapse.
查普尔有排水问题。最近的建设已经撕开了地面，伴随着浸透的泥土和持续的雨水，大量的径流现在威胁着侵蚀他们所有的辛勤工作。"那边有更多的石头！如果我们不能控制住水流，我们就会掉进河里!"当她的胶带修好的雨衣在风中飞舞时，苏格兰胶带冲着飞马座大喊大叫。他们乘坐火车从更远的山上飞过来，用蹄子搬运任何能搬的石头，堆在城镇上方的挡土墙上。"比波普！洛克斯代迪！加强那里的防守和那里的防守!"她命令道，专横地指着墙倒塌的地方，威胁要倒塌。
“We’re Steel Rangers, not Steel Ditchdiggers!” one of the two power-armored ponies shouted, but they rammed their shoulders against the barricade and pushed the leaning stones back up.
"我们是钢铁骑兵，不是钢铁挖沟工!"两匹披着重甲的小马中的一匹叫了起来，但是它们的肩膀撞在了路障上，把倾斜的石头推了回去。
“If your grenade machine guns can blow up rain, go for it. Otherwise, push!” Scotch Tape shouted against the thunder. Suddenly, a blinding bolt shot down straight at the pair, only to turn ninety degrees and strike a twelve foot tall spire of golden metal. Nevertheless, the blast of thunder knocked most ponies back.
"如果你的手榴弹机关枪能把雨吹起来，那就去吧。否则，就用力推!"透明胶带对着雷声大喊。突然，一道炫目的闪电直直地射向他们俩，转了九十度，击中了一个十二英尺高的金属尖顶。不过，雷声把大多数小马都打回来了。
Most, but not Scotch. She waved her hoof at the device. “The magic lightning rod is working fine, ponies. Finish up that wall!”
大多数，但不是苏格兰威士忌。她对着那个装置挥动着蹄子。"小马，这个神奇的避雷针工作得很好。把那堵墙修好!"
They fell into their work, bracing the stones with branches and scavenged boards. Deus rumbled down the road dragging a ton of debris, walls, and rusty pieces of wagon. He stopped above the town and his engine gunned. “Get that shoring material in place, unicorns. Pegasi, don’t stop the rocks,” Scotch Tape ordered.
他们开始工作，用树枝和捡来的木板支撑着石头。天王拖着一吨的瓦砾、墙壁和生锈的马车碎片在路上隆隆地走着。他在城镇上空停了下来，发动机熄火了。"独角兽们，把支撑材料准备好。飞马座，别停在岩石上,"苏格兰磁带命令道。
Young and old, earth pony and unicorn, pegasus and zebra, everypony pitched in to complete the wall. Soon the water sluiced at an angle around the town rather than straight through the middle of it. Scotch Tape watched the progress of the water, noted the flow in the gullies, and finally relaxed. “Okay. Good job, everypony. Get inside and warm up. Deus, Rocksteady, Bebop, thanks for the power. Nopony go to sleep, though. If the rain picks up more, we might have to resort to sandbagging.” The olive filly looked aside and muttered, “Not that I have a clue where we’ll get the bags. Or the sand, for that matter.”
年轻的和年老的，地球上的小马和独角兽，飞马和斑马，每一匹小马都参与其中来完成这堵墙。很快，河水以一定的角度流入城镇，而不是直接穿过城镇中心。透明胶带观察着水流的进程，注意到沟渠中的水流，最后放松下来。"好吧。干得好，各位。进屋暖和暖和。上帝，洛克斯代迪，比波普，谢谢你们的力量。然而，小马并没有睡着。如果雨势继续加大，我们可能不得不采取沙袋清理的办法。"橄榄小姑娘向一边看了看，喃喃自语道:"倒不是我不知道我们到哪里去拿袋子。或者是沙子。"
Chapel was more than just a half-dozen buildings now. It was starting to resemble a real town. With building materials scavenged from the manor and elsewhere, two dozen new houses had sprung up. The post office had been converted into a formal store and the fillies and colts moved into longhouses. Children still outnumbered grownups by almost three-to-one, though, many of them coming from outside the Hoof, lured by stories of a safe place where there was plenty of candy and Sparkle-Cola.
教堂现在已经不仅仅是六座建筑了。它开始变得像一个真正的城镇。随着从庄园和其他地方搜集到的建筑材料，20多座新房子拔地而起。邮局已经变成了一家正式的商店，小雌马和小马也搬进了长屋。尽管如此，儿童人数仍然比成年人多出近三倍，其中许多人来自霍夫以外的地方，他们被一个安全的地方的故事所吸引，那里有大量的糖果和闪亮可乐。
At the south end of town, the church that had given so many solace was almost completely repaired; even the windows were almost finished. Majina was in the process of replacing them with new mosaics of colored glass melted in place with the help of a blow torch and two recently orphaned pegasi; the zebra filly alternated between helping toughen them up and distracting them with something to do. There'd been a lot of new young ponies coming into Chapel these days, many of them pegasi.
在城镇的南端，曾经给予过许多安慰的教堂几乎已经完全修复，连窗户也几乎完工。马吉纳正在用新的彩色玻璃马赛克取代它们，这些玻璃在一个喷灯和两个刚成为孤儿的飞马座的帮助下熔化了。这些天有很多新的小马进入教堂，其中很多是飞马座的。
Even with the pressing need to manage the rainwater, efforts to that end weren’t the only thing going on today. In a gazebo sat a dozen colts and fillies and one blue stallion. He lifted his black, wide-brimmed hat and shook it once, and out came a round landmine. “Okay. This is your standard Solaris-brand landmine. They made tens of millions of these during the war. They are cheap, plentiful,
即使迫切需要管理雨水，为此付出的努力也不是今天唯一的事情。凉亭里坐着十几匹小马、小雌马和一匹蓝色种马。他举起他那黑色的宽边帽子，摇了一下，一颗圆形的地雷就钻了出来。"好吧。这是标准的"索拉里斯"牌地雷。他们在战争期间制造了数千万个这样的东西。它们又便宜又丰富
and all over the Wasteland,” P-21 said as he held it up. “It possesses a pressure sensor trigger. It also has a two-meter motion talisman and a two-second delay before detonation. That two seconds is the difference between keeping your hooves and losing them.”
遍布整个荒地,"P-21一边举着它一边说。"它拥有一个压力传感器触发器。它还有一个两米长的运动护身符和一个两秒钟的延迟爆炸时间。这两秒钟就是保住蹄子和失去蹄子的区别。"
“Boring,” a lilac unicorn filly drawled as she sat upon a thin pillow. “Who cares about landmines? You just toss a rock at them or levitate them away.”
"无聊,"一只淡紫色的独角兽小雌马慢吞吞地说，她坐在一个薄薄的枕头上。"谁在乎地雷？你只需要向他们扔一块石头，或者把他们悬浮起来。"
“Really?” P-21 asked with a small smile. “Then what are you going to do about the deadmare-switched landmine I put under the pillow you’re sitting on, Razorblade?” The filly’s eyes popped wide. “It should be active now.”
"真的吗?"P-21面带微笑问道。"那你打算怎么处理我放在你坐的枕头下面的死马开关的地雷，刀锋战士?"小母马的眼睛睁得大大的。"它现在应该处于活跃状态。"
“I… you… you’re bluffing!” the filly spluttered as P-21 smiled. “You’re insane! What kind of teacher are you?”
"我.....。.你...你在虚张声势!"当P-21微笑时，小母马语无伦次地说。"你疯了！你是什么样的老师?"
“One who put a landmine under your butt,” P-21 replied casually. “So, how are you going to disarm it? Do you have the time to get off the pillow, move it, and levitate the mine away? Can you move fast enough to get out of the three-meter blast radius? Oh, I know some ponies who could, but are you one of them?” As the rest of the class started to lean away, he added, “She’s not the only one. I’d think really hard before running.”
"一个在你屁股下放了一颗地雷的人,"P-21漫不经心地回答。""那么，你打算怎么解除它呢？你有时间离开枕头，移动它，把地雷悬浮起来吗？你能跑得足够快以逃离三米的爆炸半径吗？哦，我知道有些小马可以，但你是其中之一吗?"当班上其他人开始向后倾斜时，他补充说:"她不是唯一的一个。我会在跑步之前好好想想。"
He held up his demonstration mine. “The Solaris-brand mine has several flaws. First is the two second warning, accompanied by a beeping.” He tapped the tab in the middle, making the mine’s talisman glow bright amber. “Secondly, when armed, the mine can be seen if you’re sharp-eyed enough. Be aware that sometimes sneaky bastards like to hide them under trash, empty cans, or pillows. But the third flaw of the Solaris mine is that it is easily disarmed if you can press the tab again before it fires.”
他举起他的示范地雷。"Solaris-brandmine有几个缺陷。第一个是第二次警告，伴随着哔哔声。"他轻轻地敲了敲中间的标签，让矿井里的护身符发出明亮的琥珀色光芒。"其次，如果你有武器，如果你眼睛够尖的话，就能看到地雷。要知道，有时鬼鬼祟祟的混蛋喜欢把它们藏在垃圾桶、空罐子或枕头下面。但Solaris矿井的第三个缺陷是，如果你能在它触发之前再次按下选项卡，它很容易被解除武装。"
“But… but how can we push the mine button if we’re sitting on it?” Razorblade wailed.
"但是......但是如果我们坐在地雷上，我们怎么能按下地雷按钮呢?"刀锋战士号啕大哭。
“That would be part of the lesson,” he said as he stood and carefully backed out of the gazebo. “Oh. And since I didn’t want us to be at this all day, there’s one more thing. Each mine is on a timer. You have ten, fifteen minutes tops. Good luck,” he said as he walked around to where Scotch Tape watched.
"这就是教训的一部分,"他一边站着，一边小心翼翼地退出凉亭。"哦。既然我不想我们一整天都这样，还有一件事。每个地雷都有计时器。你最多有十到十五分钟。祝你好运,"他边说边走向ScotchTape的观众席。
“Those aren’t real landmines, are they?” Scotch Tape asked softly, knitting her brows.
"那些地雷不是真的吧?"透明胶带轻轻地问道，皱着眉头。
“Absolutely,” he replied, keeping his voice low. “With real detonators, real talismans, real disarm tabs, real timers... and something special in place of most of the charge, courtesy of Sekashi.” Chuckling, he looked up the hill. “The wall done?”
"当然,"他回答，压低了声音。"有真正的雷管，真正的护身符，真正的缴械标签，真正的定时器......还有一些特别的东西来代替大部分的炸药，这些都是谢卡什提供的。"他咯咯地笑着，抬头看着山上。"墙修好了吗?"
“For now. If this rain gets worse, we may have to do something a little more radical,” she said as she pushed her wet mane out of her face. “There’s plenty of things I can think of we could build for drainage once the rain stops. But it hasn’t. I’m just glad we haven’t had a mudslide yet.”
"就目前而言。如果雨下得更大，我们可能不得不采取一些更激进的措施,"她一边说，一边把湿漉漉的头发从脸上推开。"我可以想到很多事情，一旦雨停，我们可以修建排水系统。但事实并非如此。我很高兴我们还没有发生泥石流。"
But P-21 wasn’t listening. Instead, his eyes were locked on where two colts not in the class were comparing treasures they’d scavenged recently, most specifically four needles of Med-X. Scotch Tape put a hoof on his shoulder, and he flinched away. “Hey, you two. Put that stuff away or take it in to Charity.”
但是P-21没有听进去。相反，他的目光锁定在两只不在班上的小马身上，比较它们最近捡到的宝贝，特别是四根Med-X针头。透明胶带把蹄子放在他的肩膀上，他退缩了。"嘿，你们两个。把那些东西收起来，或者捐给慈善机构。"
The boys looked at each other, then scowled at her. “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not the boss of me.”
男孩子们互相看了看，然后皱着眉头看着她。"你不能对我指手画脚。你不是我的老板。"
Scotch Tape’s eyes narrowed in a shooty glare. “No, but I do need two ponies to watch that retaining wall all night long in the rain next to a magical lightning rod. You two want to do it?”
透明胶带的眼睛因炫目的目光而眯起来。"不，但我确实需要两匹小马，在雨中整夜守护着挡土墙，旁边有一根魔法避雷针。你们两个想做吗?"
Apparently deciding that moving off was better than challenging Scotch, they packed up the salvage and quickly trotted off. P-21 let out the breath he’d held, and Scotch Tape regarded him in concern. “Sorry,” he muttered.
显然，他们认为搬家比挑战苏格兰威士忌要好，于是收拾好打捞的东西，迅速匆匆离开。P-21放出了他曾经屏住的呼吸，苏格兰胶带关切地看着他。"对不起,"他喃喃自语。
She smiled, glanced around for anypony who might be watching, and then nuzzled his nose. This time, he didn’t flinch away.
她微笑着，环顾四周，寻找任何可能在看着他的小马，然后用鼻子蹭了蹭他的鼻子。这一次，他没有退缩。
The class was getting more and more agitated as they sat there, trying to figure out how to disarm a mine. Suddenly, the lilac Razorblade shout, “Ah! Did it just beep?! I heard a beep! I--” She shifted too far and the pillow went BEEP BEEP BE-- Then there was a whoomp sound and a small cloud of white powder enveloped the unicorn. “AHHH! I’m dying! You killed me!” wailed the filly as she lay on her back, then blinked and pointed a hoof at P-21. “Ha! I knew you were bluff…” then she froze, her muzzle starting to twitch. “Itchy!” she screeched as she started to scratch herself furiously with her hooves.
当他们坐在那里，试图弄清楚如何解除地雷时，学生们变得越来越焦躁不安。突然，丁香色的剃须刀片喊道:"啊！它刚刚响了吗?！我听到了哔的一声！我——"她移动得太远了，枕头发出哔哔哔哔的声音——然后传来一阵嗖嗖的声音，一小团白色粉末笼罩着那只独角兽。"啊！我要死了！你杀了我!"小母马仰面躺着，嚎啕大哭，然后眨眨眼，用蹄子指着P-21。"哈！我知道你在虚张声势......"然后她僵住了，嘴开始抽搐。"痒!"她尖叫着，开始用蹄子疯狂地挠自己。
The expressions on the other students’ faces changed to a mix of relief, amusement, and then worry as they realized that they might be next to scratch
其他学生脸上的表情变成了轻松、娱乐和担心，因为他们意识到自己可能是下一个被抓的人
themselves like mad. Then one of the colts looked at the filly beside him and grinned. “I got it! You lean way over and I’ll hit the tab for you!”
像疯了一样。然后其中一只小马看着他旁边的小母马，咧嘴笑了。"我拿到了！你靠过去一点，我帮你付账!"
She stared. “No way! I not going to end up like her!” The filly pointed a hoof at Razor, who was dragging her butt across the gazebo floor.
她盯着我。"不可能！我可不想像她那样死去!"小母马用蹄子指着剃刀，剃刀正拖着她的屁股穿过凉亭的地板。
“You have to trust me!” he pleaded.
"你必须相信我!"他恳求道。
She bit her lip, grabbed the side of her pillow, and tilted over. BEEP! BEEP! BE- went the mine, but the russet earth pony slapped the tab with a hoof, silencing the mine. “Now you do mine,” he said as he started leaning over as well. She hesitated, but as soon as it started beeping, she jumped forward and disarmed it as well. The filly appeared shocked not only that he’d done it but that she had returned the favor. All at once, she let out a nervous laugh that he joined, and they moved to help others with their mines.
她咬了咬嘴唇，抓住枕头的一边，然后倾斜过去。哔！哔！矿井响了，但是赤褐色的小马蹄子拍了一下矿井，使矿井静了下来。"现在轮到你做我的了,"他说，同时也开始俯下身子。她犹豫了一下，但是当它开始哔哔响的时候，她也跳了出来，解除了它的警报。小母马看起来很震惊，不仅是因为他这么做了，还因为她回报了他。突然，她紧张地大笑起来，他也加入了进来，他们开始帮助其他人挖地雷。
Of course not all took that route. One trusted the wrong colt to help her and got dusted when he laughed rather than disarming the mine. P-21 murmured something to her and she immediately dashed out into the rain. A unicorn tried to lift the pillow and disarm it with his magic before it went off, and failed. One filly, when her mine was disarmed, trotted away and left her partner stuck before others helped her. But a pegasus managed to backflip off his pillow and fly clear before his mine went off, and one zebra filly was smart and clever enough to shift till she had one hoof pressing down on the pillow, move her body, and then knock the pillow aside and disarm hers. Finally, only the colt who had laughed at his partner was left. “Come on. Someone help me out here? Anypony?”
当然不是所有人都走这条路线。有一个人相信错误的小马会帮助她，但当它笑而不是拆除地雷时，灰尘就会落下来。P-21轻轻地对她说了些什么，她立刻冲进了雨中。一只独角兽试图用魔法解除枕头，但失败了。一匹小母马，当她的雷被解除武装，小跑走了，离开了她的合作伙伴卡住前，其他人帮助她。但是一匹飞马在他的地雷爆炸之前设法从枕头上后空翻飞了出去，一匹斑马小母马聪明而聪明地移动着，直到她的一只蹄子压在了枕头上，移动着她的身体，然后把枕头撞到一边，解除了她的武装。最后，只有那匹曾经嘲笑过他的同伴的小马被留了下来。"来吧。有人能帮帮我吗？任意小马?"
All he got were smug stares and smiles. Then the pillow beeped as the timer went off, and he disappeared in a cloud of white. He then spent a minute scratching furiously while the rest of the class got a laugh.
他得到的只是得意的目光和微笑。计时器响起时，枕头发出嘟嘟的响声，他消失在一片白云中。然后他花了一分钟疯狂地挠痒痒，而其他同学都笑了起来。
“Mud neutralizes the itching powder,” P-21 said as he trotted back into the middle. In a dash, Razorblade was out the gazebo and rolling in the mud, along with all the others who had failed the test. “Everypony back here. Then we’ll quit for the day.” When everypony returned, including the muck-dripping Razorblade, he regarded them all coolly. “What was the lesson?”
"泥浆可以中和痒痒粉,"P-21一边小跑一边说。在一次冲刺中，Razorblade走出露台，和其他所有没有通过测试的人一起在泥地里打滚。"这里的每一匹小马。那我们今天就不干了。"每当小马回来的时候，包括那把沾满污泥的剃须刀，他都冷静地看着它们。"教训是什么?"
“Our teacher is a psychotic, evil, sneaky, no-good fucking jerk!” snapped Razorblade.
"我们的老师是一个精神病，邪恶，狡猾，他妈的不好的混蛋!"剃刀片啪地一声。
He bowed his head to her with a smile. “Anypony else?” he asked as he surveyed the colts and fillies.
他微笑着向她低下头。"还有其他人吗?"他边问边观察小马和小雌马。
The two that had helped each other glanced at each other. “Well… we couldn’t do it on our own. We needed to help each other.”
两个互相帮助的人相互看了一眼。"嗯......我们自己做不到。我们需要互相帮助。"
“Speak for yourself,” the pegasus said smugly as he crossed his hooves over his chest.
"说说你自己吧,"飞马沾沾自喜地说，一边把蹄子交叉在胸前。
“You flew clear of the itching powder,” P-21 said. “If that had been a real mine, you might not have gotten clear. Or maybe you could usually fly, but your wing was broken when you found the mine? What if there was more than one mine?” The smug colt’s smile became a little more uncertain. “In this world, there’s only so much you can do on your own. I’m not much good in a fight, but I can crack a terminal with a little hard work and effort. When we rely on other people and let them help us, we take away a lot of that risk.”
"你飞离了痒痒粉,"P-21说。"如果那是一个真正的矿井，你可能不会清楚。或者也许你可以经常飞翔，但是当你发现矿井的时候你的翅膀已经折断了？如果矿井不止一个呢?"自鸣得意的小马的微笑变得有点不确定了。"在这个世界上，你自己能做的只有这么多。我不太擅长打架，但只要一点点努力和努力，我就能打破终端。当我们依赖他人，让他们帮助我们时，我们就消除了很多风险。"
“Long as we trust the right ponies!” the filly who’d gotten sprayed snapped, glaring at the muddy colt. More glares were directed at the filly who’d abandoned her partner once her mine was disarmed.
"只要我们信任合适的小马!"那匹被喷了药的小母马，怒视着那匹泥泞的小马。更多的目光直指那匹小母马，她在矿井被拆除后就抛弃了她的伴侣。
“Also important. And once everypony saw Baling Wire play his trick on Trumpet here, what happened to him?” P-21 asked.
"也很重要。当每个小马看到巴林铁丝在这里玩弄小号的把戏时，他怎么了?"P-21要求。
The muddy colt sighed, “Nopony would help me.”
泥泞的小马叹了口气,"小马会帮我的。"
“Exactly. And I wonder if Lash will get helped out the next time she’s in trouble,” he said, every eye on the purple filly who’d abandoned the other. The smug filly suddenly appeared far less certain. “Trust is a precious commodity. Earn it. Cultivate it. Value it. Don’t throw it away simply because you think it’s funny or your own hide matters more to you. Because, eventually, you’ll end up all alone and then, sooner or later, the Wasteland will get you. If you’re lucky, it’ll just kill you.”
"没错。我不知道莱什下次遇到麻烦的时候会不会得到帮助,"他说，每一只眼睛都盯着那只抛弃了另一只的紫色小母马。自鸣得意的小母马突然显得不那么确定了。"信任是一种珍贵的商品。赢得它。培养它。重视它。不要仅仅因为你认为它很有趣或者你自己的隐藏对你来说更重要就把它扔掉。因为，最终，你会孤独终老，然后，迟早，荒原会抓住你。如果你幸运的话，它只会杀了你。"
Then he regarded Razorblade. “You were absolutely right that landmines aren’t a real threat if you’re ready for them. A little simple telekinesis, and they become a joke.” She blinked, seemingly surprised. “What will kill you is the unexpected.” He held up a mine. “I could rig this for a five minute delay once ‘disarmed’.
然后他看了看刀锋战士。"如果你准备好了，地雷就不是真正的威胁，这一点你是绝对正确的。一点点简单的心灵遥感，它们就成了笑话。"她眨了眨眼睛，似乎很惊讶。"意想不到的事情会杀死你。"他挖了一个地雷。"一旦'解除武装'，我可以让它延迟5分钟。
You’d put it in your saddlebag and think yourself so clever. Heck, you might put a dozen in your bags before the first one goes off. The unexpected will always,
你把它放在你的鞍囊里，自以为很聪明。见鬼，在第一个炸弹爆炸之前，你可能会在你的包里放一打炸弹。意想不到的事情总会发生,
always, be what kills you. My friend once lost her face because someone put a landmine in a first aid box. If we hadn’t been there, she’d have died in those tunnels. If we hadn’t had Hydra, she’d still be blind.”
永远，成为杀死你的人。我的朋友曾经因为有人在急救箱里放了一颗地雷而丢了脸。要不是我们在那儿，她早就死在隧道里了。如果我们没有海德拉，她还是瞎的。"
Some of the fillies and colts seemed confused, but others nodded. Even Razorblade appeared to regard P-21 a little more thoughtfully. P-21 set the mine down. “Tomorrow, we’ll work on assessing and analyzing threats. I’ll rig a few special mines, and we’ll see how you handle working on them. You can work with a partner, or on your own. Your choice. Lash, you’re cleaning up. Wash the powder off in the rain. Dismissed.”
一些小雌马和小马看起来很困惑，但是其他的点点头。就连剃刀刀锋也似乎对P-21有了更深思熟虑的看法。P-21把地雷放下。"明天，我们将着手评估和分析威胁。我会装几个特殊的地雷，然后看看你怎么处理它们。你可以和搭档一起工作，也可以独自工作。你的选择。莱什，你在打扫卫生。把粉末在雨中洗掉。解散。"
The young ponies started to disperse, except for the purple Lash; she seemed to be weighing things in her mind and then, reluctantly, she started to collect the pillows and mines.
小马儿们开始散开了，除了紫色的鞭子;她似乎在心里权衡着什么，然后，她不情愿地开始收集枕头和地雷。
“That was awesome, Daddy,” Scotch said.
"太棒了，爸爸,"苏格兰人说。
“Thanks,” he replied, clearly thankful for her praise.
"谢谢,"他回答，明显地感谢她的赞美。
“I still can’t believe how Razorblade talks to you, though.” Scotch Tape frowned.
"不过，我还是不敢相信Razorblade是怎么跟你说话的。"透明胶带皱起了眉头。
“She’s a raider kid. I don’t expect her to talk nice. I do expect her to do what I say. If she doesn’t, she doesn’t have to come back. None of them do,” he said with a little shrug.
"她是个袭击者的孩子。我不指望她说好话。我的确希望她按我说的做。如果她没有，她就不必回来了。没有一个是这样的,"他耸了耸肩说。
“But of course they do, because you’re super awesome.” He smiled and flushed, and Scotch Tape picked up a mine. “Say, you don’t think I could borrow a few of these, do you?” she asked as she glanced slyly over at the post office.
"但他们当然会这么做，因为你超级棒。"他微笑着，脸红了，透明胶带开始挖矿。"喂，你不认为我可以借一些这种东西吗?"她狡猾地扫了一眼邮局，问道。
“Scotch, what did I just say about trust?” he asked with a sigh.
"苏格兰威士忌，我刚才是怎么说信任的?"他叹了口气问道。
She laughed and grinned. “Oh, come on, Daddy. When you know a pony well enough, you can do a few pranks in good clean fun. Besides,” she added with a sly smile, “it’s not as if those kids needed mud to get the powder off.” She narrowed her eyes at the post office. “And I really want to repay her for charging me fifty caps for a bag of dirt.”
她笑了，咧嘴笑了。"哦，来吧，爸爸。当你足够了解一匹小马，你可以做一些恶作剧在良好的清洁乐趣。此外,"她带着狡黠的微笑补充说,"这些孩子并不需要用泥巴把粉擦掉。"她在邮局眯起眼睛。"我真的很想报答她，因为她用五十顶帽子换了一袋土。"
“You bought her mystery pies,” P-21 said.
"你给她买了神秘的馅饼,"P-21说。
“Yeah, but I didn’t know they were mud pies!” she growled, huffing in the direction of the post office.
"是的，但我不知道它们是泥饼!"她咆哮着，气喘吁吁地朝邮局走去。
“Buyer beware,” he said.
"买家要当心,"他说。
“Ugh… maturity sucks. I can see why Rampage and Blackjack avoided it like the plague.” Scotch Tape slumped a little, pouting up at her father before changing the subject. “Have you heard about what Glory’s trying to do?”
"呃......成熟真糟糕。我明白为什么狂暴和黑杰克像躲瘟疫一样躲着它了。"苏格兰胶带有点沮丧，在转移话题之前对父亲撅起了嘴。"你听说过晨辉想做什么吗?"
“Mhmmm,” he murmured.
"嗯,"他喃喃地说。
“Do you really think she’s alive? Her PipBuck tag is gone,” Scotch said skeptically. “I mean, I want her to be. And Boo. But…” She shook her head. “I just don’t see it. If she were, we’d know about it by now.”
"你真的认为她还活着吗？她的PipBuck标签不见了,"苏格兰人怀疑地说。"我的意思是，我希望她是。还有Boo。但是......"她摇了摇头。"我就是不明白。如果是的话，我们现在应该知道了。"
He sighed and closed his eyes. “I think that we owe it to her, and Glory, to try.”
他叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"我认为我们应该为她和晨辉去尝试。"
“Rampage went, too. It’s been a whole month, Daddy!” She reached in and hugged his leg. “Daddy, I miss Blackjack terribly, but that place is just bad.”
"暴跳如雷。整整一个月了，爸爸!"她伸手抱住他的腿。"爸爸，我非常想念黑杰克，但是那个地方实在是太糟糕了。"
“Do you want to leave the Hoof?” he asked calmly. She balked and shook her head slowly, fearfully. “Then if Glory finds what she’s looking for, she’ll be able to go in.”
"你想离开霍夫吗?"他平静地问道。她畏缩不前，害怕地慢慢摇了摇头。"如果晨辉找到了她要找的东西，她就可以进去了。"
Scotch Tape looked at him. “And you?” He just nodded. “If she succeeds… are you going?”
苏格兰胶布望着他。"你呢?"他只是点点头。"如果她成功了......你会去吗?"
He tugged his hat over his face a little bit more. “What you’re really asking is if she’ll be okay with you coming with us.”
他把帽子往脸上拉了一下。"你真正想问的是，她是否同意你和我们一起去。"
“Yeah,” Scotch Tape said, kicking the ground with her hoof and dropping her eyes.
"是的,"苏格兰磁带说，用她的蹄子踢地面，垂下她的眼睛。
“I have no clue if she will or not,” P-21 said quietly. “I don’t know much about magic or radiation or anything like that. But if she is, then that choice is up to you.”
"我不知道她是否愿意,"P-21平静地说。"我对魔法、辐射或类似的东西知之甚少。但如果她是，那么这个选择就取决于你。"
“You don’t want me to go,” Scotch Tape said with a sigh.
"你不会想让我去的,"苏格兰磁带叹了口气说。
“You know I don’t. A little part of me is terrified at the thought of you…
"你知道我不知道。一想到你我就有点害怕。
dying…” He faced away from her. “But you’ve earned the right to decide for yourself what you’re going to do. I’ll do my best to look out for you, and I know you’ll do your best to look after me.”
快死了......"他转过脸去。"但你已经赢得了自己决定要做什么的权利。我会尽力照顾你，我知道你也会尽力照顾我。"
She rushed up to him and gave him a tight hug around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy.”
她冲向他，紧紧地搂住他的脖子。"谢谢你，爸爸。"
“Still,” he said, patting her back, “If you are going to come, you might think of attending some of my classes. A little bit of learning about how to deal with the unexpected never hurts.”
"不过,"他拍拍她的背说,"如果你要来，你可以考虑参加我的一些课程。学习一点如何处理意外的事情是无害的。"
“Dad,” she said flatly as she pulled away. “I’ve travelled with Blackjack. I don’t need lessons in dealing with the unexpected.”
"爸爸,"她一边抽身，一边平静地说。"我和Blackjack一起旅行过。我不需要学习如何应对突发事件。"
“If you say so,” he said, leaning in and giving her a little nuzzle before walking around her. “I’m going to head back up to the house. See you there.” And with that, he trotted out into the rain.
"如果你这么说的话,"他说，弯下身子，用鼻子蹭了蹭她，然后绕过她。"我要回家了。到时候见。"说完，他跑进了雨中。
Scotch Tape sighed and gazed towards the Core. Lightning snapped and cracked along the green-lit towers. It was as if the heavens themselves were at war with the buildings. “Come on, Blackjack. You’ve come back to life before…” Sighing, she started away from the gazebo.
透明胶带叹了口气，凝视着核心。闪电在灯火通明的塔楼上劈啪作响，劈啪作响。这就好像天堂本身与建筑物处于战争状态。"来吧，黑杰克。你以前复活过......"她叹了口气，离开了露台。
BEEP! BEEP! BE-- Pwumff!
哔！哔！是----呸！
“Daddy!” went a scream of outrage throughout the settlement of Chapel.
"爸爸!"整个教堂的居民都发出了愤怒的尖叫声。
* * *
* * *
This had once been a city of ponies. It was easy to forget that. Easy to be crushed by the weight of those soaring black and green towers. Ponies had lived here. It could be seen in the detritus that remained. The clothes lying in heaps and tangled along the sidewalks. The shops displaying the finest fashions of Canterlot. Even signs for sales. Quarter off. Half off. Faint music still lingered where a radio played softly to an empty apartment; automated warnings endlessly, mindlessly, soullessly repeated for ponies to come to the shelter of the Core as soon as possible. Meals, dried, desiccated, and fossilized on the plates, rested on the tables of diners.
这里曾经是一座小马之城。人们很容易忘记这一点。很容易被那些高耸的黑色和绿色塔楼的重量压垮。小马曾在这里生活过。它可以在残留的碎屑中看到。衣服堆成一堆，在人行道上乱成一团。展示坎特罗最好时装的商店。甚至是销售的招牌。四分之一折扣。半价。微弱的音乐仍然徘徊在一个空荡荡的公寓的收音机轻轻播放;自动警告无休止地，无意识地，深情地重复小马来到庇护的核心尽快。食物，干燥，干燥，石化在盘子上，休息在桌子上的食客。
Ponies tried to live here, in this place of steel and glass. If one relaxed just
小马试图生活在这里，在这个钢铁和玻璃的地方。如果一个人放松下来
enough, so that the damage and decay blurred away, the promise began to emerge like old stains in a fabric. The terminals on every countertop, the PipBucks and their broadcasters scattered throughout the city. Robots, long ago bereft of power, lay like overgrown and forlorn toys waiting for their master to return. And even though so much of the city was devoted to technology, nature also had a place. Public parks, roadside trees, interior arboretums, and even magical home gardens abounded, their contents all dead but perfectly preserved in the grip of Enervation.
足够了，以至于损坏和腐烂变得模糊不清，承诺开始像织物上的旧污渍一样浮现。每个台面上的终端，PipBucks和他们的广播员散布在整个城市。机器人，在很久以前就失去了动力，像杂草丛生、被遗弃的玩具一样躺在那里，等待它们的主人回来。尽管这个城市有如此多的地方都用于科技，大自然也有一席之地。公园、路边的树木、室内的植物园，甚至还有神奇的家庭花园，到处都是，里面的东西都死了，但却完好地保存在能量的掌控之下。
Once, this had been a place inhabited by ponies. If not of them, then at least for them. The playgrounds of schools in the towers, the still galleries of art, the solemn libraries... all for the people who were to live here. And for a time, it had been good. For a time. But the foundation was unsound, the roots rotten. Nothing founded on a lie can last forever.
从前，这里住着小马。如果不是他们中的一个，至少对他们来说是这样。塔楼里的学校操场，静止的艺术画廊，庄严的图书馆......所有这些都是为住在这里的人准备的。有那么一段时间，一切都很好。有一段时间。但基础不牢固，根基腐烂。任何建立在谎言上的东西都不可能永远存在。
* * *
* * *
Raptors were vessels of energy, of humming engines, blowing vents, vibrating plates, and the subtle press of winds on the hull. This Raptor felt more like a tomb. Its halls were dark, illuminated only by failing emergency lighting and a lone PipBuck lamp. Its air was like a held breath and filled with an ineffable weight. The armor plates were peeled away to reveal the conduits and plumbing beneath. The mare sighed softly in the gloom as she surveyed the damage. Then she continued through to the lit chamber at the end of the hall.
猛禽是能量的载体，嗡嗡作响的发动机，喷气口，振动板，以及船体上微妙的风压。这只猛禽更像是一座坟墓。大厅里一片漆黑，只有失灵的应急照明灯和一盏孤零零的小型巴克灯照亮着。它的空气像一个屏住呼吸，充满了不可言喻的重量。装甲板被剥离，露出了下面的导管和管道。母马在黑暗中看着损坏的地方，轻轻地叹了口气。然后她继续走到大厅尽头那间明亮的房间。
Storm Chaser’s office. Her meticulous lists and files were scattered across the floor. A lone lamp glowed upon the corner desk. The old gray mare at the desk looked a lot older and grayer. Her usual crisp bun had stray strands escaping it.
风暴追逐者的办公室。她一丝不苟的清单和文件散落在地板上。一盏孤零零的灯在角落的书桌上闪闪发光。桌子上那匹灰色的老母马看上去老了许多，脸色也苍白了许多。她的面包通常是卷曲的，但有几缕头发散了出来。
On the desk before her sat an open bottle of wine. “Permission to enter, ma’am?” Twister asked from the doorway.
她面前的桌子上放着一瓶开着的葡萄酒。"请求进入，女士?"托斯特站在门口问道。
“You don’t need to call me ma’am. I’m not a general of the Enclave anymore,” she said with a slight slurring of her speech. “Not just because I was relieved of command, you understand, but also because it just so happens that there isn’t an Enclave anymore.”
"你不必叫我夫人。我不再是昂科雷的将军了,"她说话有点含糊不清。"你知道，这不仅仅是因为我被解除了指挥权，还因为这里碰巧不再有昂科雷了。"
“It’s official?” Twister asked.
"这是正式的?"图斯特问道。
“It’s official that Ironfeather took the last functional Thunderhead and a dozen loyal ships and departed for parts unknown.” She rocked a little and gestured
"据官方消息，铁羽乘坐最后一艘功能齐全的雷锋号和十几艘忠诚的船只离开，前往未知的目的地。"她轻轻地摇了摇，做了个手势
with her hoof. “Some say north. Some say south. All say he’s long gone.” She carefully poured herself another glass. “So, between the loss of that, the absolute debacle out west, and the damage Neighvarro’s facilities suffered, plus the fact we can’t control the skies any more, and the little point that Shadowbolt Tower is gone… I’d say it is official that we, the Enclave, are really and truly… fucked.” She took a drink and swallowed, smacking her lips. “That’s a technical term down here, by the way.”
用她的蹄子。"有人说是北方。有人说是南方。大家都说他早就走了。"她小心翼翼地又给自己倒了一杯。"所以，在失去它、西部彻底崩溃、邻瓦罗的设施遭到破坏、再加上我们不能再控制天空、暗影螺栓塔消失的小点之间......我得说，我们昂科雷真的真的......完蛋了，这是官方说法。"她喝了一口，咽了口唾沫，咂了咂嘴。"顺便说一句，这是一个技术术语。"
“I believe I was the one who told you so, ma’am,” Twister said as she sat down opposite the general. The tipsy mare leaned forward and pushed the bottle towards her. Lifting it with her hoof, Twister took a drink of something that could only loosely be called ‘wine’. “That stuff is awful.”
"我想是我告诉你的，女士,"特维斯特在将军对面坐下时说。那匹喝醉的母马向前倾了倾身子，把瓶子推向她。托斯特用蹄子把马蹄抬起来，喝了一口酒，这种酒只能勉强称为"葡萄酒"。"那些东西太可怕了。"
“All our stuff is awful. Haven’t you read the Lightbringer’s story?” she asked as she swirled the glass with one hoof while the other lifted a thick printout. Her wing put glasses on as she stared down at the paper. “We are, and I’m paraphrasing here, the soulless monsters that attack helpless surfacer settlements and disintegrate little foals that she collects in soda bottles while destroying ancient cities of Equestria’s roots, all the while conspiring with giant blue alicorn goddesses that want to assimilate all of ponykind. Not only that, but we are the fartwinds that for the last two centuries have made the surface a mess, but rather than letting us make up for our mistakes, she is going to do it for us. Because we, apparently, can’t be trusted to do so.” She tossed the papers aside. “And THAT is how history is going to remember the Grand Pegasus Enclave. Because that is what the victors have written.”
"我们所有的东西都很糟糕。你没看过光明使者的故事吗?"她边问边用一只蹄子转动玻璃杯，另一只蹄子举起一块厚厚的打印纸。她的翅膀戴上眼镜，低头看着报纸。"我们是没有灵魂的怪物，它们攻击无助的地面定居点，破坏她收集在苏打水瓶里的小马驹，同时摧毁Equestria的古老城市，与此同时，它们还与希望吸收所有矮种马的蓝色巨角女神密谋。不仅如此，在过去的两个世纪里，我们是把地表弄得一团糟的兄弟姐妹，她不会让我们弥补自己的错误，而是要为我们弥补。因为显然，我们不能信任自己会这么做。"她把文件扔在一边。"这就是历史将如何记住大帕伽索斯飞地。因为胜利者就是这么写的。"
“Not exactly the most glowing account, I’ll admit, but to be fair some of our soldiers did attack peaceful surface settlements, disintegrate little foals, destroy ancient cities, and conspire with the Goddess,” Twister replied, getting a scowl from Storm Chaser.
"我承认，这不是最光彩的描述，但公平地说，我们的一些士兵确实袭击了和平的地面定居点，分解了小马驹，摧毁了古老的城市，并与女神密谋,"托斯特回答道。
“Nuance!” the gray mare hissed. “Where’s the nuance? Does she hold the specific councilors who authorized Cauterize responsible? No. Does she acknowledge the captains that refused orders? Barely. Does she tell how Colonel Bright went to a firing squad rather than remain silent about the unnecessary razing of Canterlot? No! Did she capture Autumn Leaf so he could be tried for crimes against equinity? No!” She slammed her hoof on the table before her. “I knew hundreds of soldiers in the Enclave who were good, loyal, and true! Yes, we had problems that needed addressing, that is abundantly clear, but we were
"细微差别!"灰色的母马发出嘶嘶声。"细微差别在哪里？她是否认为授权柯泰利兹的具体议员有责任？没有。她承认拒绝命令的舰长吗？勉强吧。她有没有告诉你布莱特上校是如何被枪决的，而不是对不必要的摧毁坎特洛特镇的行动保持沉默？不！她抓住了秋叶，这样他就可以因为违反平等的罪行而受审了吗？不!"她猛地把蹄子踩在面前的桌子上。"我认识昂科雷的数百名士兵，他们都是善良、忠诚、真诚的！是的，我们有需要解决的问题，这一点非常清楚，但我们确实有
not all war criminals!” she shouted, pointing her hoof at Twister, but then she wilted. “Some of us gave our lives for what we believed in. They deserve more respect than this.”
不是所有的战犯!"她喊道，用蹄子指着缇斯特，但随后她就萎缩了。"我们中的一些人为了我们的信仰献出了生命。他们理应得到比这更多的尊重。"
Twister sighed and took another swig of the bitter wine before asking, “Any word from our own settlements? What are they doing?”
托斯特叹了口气，又喝了一大口苦酒，然后问道:"我们自己的定居点有什么消息吗？他们在干什么?"
“Anything, everything, and nothing. Most settlements are independent now and on their own. With Thunderhead and Neighvarro destroyed, no center remains. Most are doing whatever they need to in order to survive. Those that were barely holding on are evacuating. Larger settlements are trying to set up relations with the surface, but since we’re the evilest bastard in the sky, there hasn’t been much luck. I’m more hopeful out here. Thunderhead may have been lost, but we’re making strong ties with the surface groups.” She sighed and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. “I’m hoping… praying… that we can get goods to settlements that need them quickly.” She closed her eyes. “Last word from your home was that it was evacuating to Las Pegasus.”
"什么都行，什么都行，什么都行。大多数定居点现在都是独立的。随着雷头和邻居被摧毁，没有中心仍然存在。为了生存，大多数人正在做他们需要做的任何事情。那些勉强坚持的人正在撤离。更大的定居点正试图建立与地面的关系，但因为我们是天空中最邪恶的混蛋，没有太多的运气。我对此更有信心。Thunderhead可能已经消失，但我们正在与地表团体建立强有力的联系。"她叹了口气，向后靠在椅子上，盯着天花板。"我希望......祈祷......我们能够尽快把需要的货物运到定居点。"她闭上了眼睛。"从你家传来的最后消息是，它正在疏散到LasPegasus。"
Twister sighed. “I have an aunt and uncle there. They should be safe. Doesn’t help it’s even further west, though.” She regarded the PipBuck on her leg. “I got this for the trip from one of those stable ponies in exchange for a beam pistol. P-21 and his daughter configured it for me and everything. Used some sort of stable programming.” She gave a little shrug.
图斯特叹了口气。"我在那里有一对舅舅和舅妈。他们应该是安全的。不过，更远的西边也没什么帮助。"她看了看腿上的皮伯克。"这是我从一匹马厩里买来的，用来交换一把平射手枪。P-21和他的女儿为我和其他事情设置了它。使用了某种稳定的编程。"她微微耸了耸肩。
“Well, you went a bit more native than most. We need ponies like you,” Storm Chaser said as she swirled her glass, considering the pale blue contents.
"好吧，你比大多数人都更像当地人。我们需要像你这样的小马,"风暴追逐者一边说着，一边转动着杯子，想着杯子里淡蓝色的东西。
Twister watched her for a moment, her ears flattening, then looked around. “The Castellanus is quiet. Where are the repair teams?”
图斯特看了她一会儿，她的耳朵变得扁平，然后环顾四周。"卡斯特兰纳斯很安静。维修队在哪里?"
She clenched her eyes closed a moment. “I sent them over to the Sleet.”
她紧闭双眼，闭了一会儿。"我把它们送到雨夹雪那儿去了。"
“Then when will the Castellanus fight again?” Twister asked with a frown.
"那么卡斯特兰纳斯什么时候再战?"特维斯特皱着眉头问。
“It won’t.” Twister just stared in stunned silence as the old gray mare took another drink. “We did an assessment. Our flow control talismans are shot. The Sleet’s are intact. Our weapon systems are either destroyed or so in need of repair and calibration that they may as well be. The Sleet’s are intact. We have three hull breaches. They have one.” She looked at the silent walls as tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to acknowledge them as she continued, “It
"不会的。"当老灰色母马又喝了一口水时，图斯特只是目瞪口呆地静静地看着。"我们做了评估。我们的流量控制护身符被击中了。雨夹雪是完整的。我们的武器系统要么被摧毁，要么需要修理和校准。雨夹雪是完整的。我们有三个船体缺口。他们有一个。"她看着寂静的墙壁，泪水涌了出来，但她拒绝承认，继续说道:"它
would be… sentimental to divide our limited capacity for repair between two damaged ships instead of giving everything necessary to one.” She reached over and snagged the bottle, pouring herself another glass. “So I felt that drinking something irredeemably horrible and alcoholic was in order.”
将我们有限的修复能力，分给两艘受损的船只，而不是给予其中一艘必要的一切"她伸手抓住瓶子，又给自己倒了一杯。"所以我觉得应该喝一些无可救药的可怕酒精饮料。"
“‘Skywine’… yeah. That’s an acquired taste, for sure. We used to use it as solvent on greasy stains.” Twister shivered, her lavender wings fluffing a little. Then she tapped her chin with a lone pinion. “That leaves us with the Sleet, the Cyclone, and the Rampage,” Twister said thoughtfully.
"'Skywine'......是的。毫无疑问，这是后天养成的嗜好。我们过去常用它作为油渍的溶剂。"龙卷风颤抖着，她的薰衣草翅膀微微抖动起来。然后她用一个孤零零的小齿拍打着下巴。"现在只剩下雨夹雪、飓风和狂暴了,"龙卷风若有所思地说。
Storm Chaser growled, “How she got the crew’s support, that I’ll never know. Where she found all that red paint, I’ll never know.”
"风暴追逐者"咆哮道,"我永远也不会知道她是如何得到船员们的支持的。我永远不会知道她是在哪里找到那些红色油漆的。"
“Be glad it is paint,” Twister retorted, and the gray mare snorted derisively. “And, after their last captain, I think a maniac surfacer was a nice relief. Too bad she didn’t stick around. I think that when Rampage realized there weren’t any sky pirates to do battle with, and the crew weren’t going to crash the ship into the S.P.P. hub to check its invulnerability, she moved on to other things. Like finding some sign of Blackjack.”
"庆幸它是油漆吧,"龙卷风反驳道，灰色的母马哼着鼻子嘲笑道。"而且，在他们上一任船长之后，我认为一个狂躁的潜水员是一个很好的安慰。可惜她没有留下来。我想，当狂暴意识到没有空中海盗可以与之战斗，船员们也不打算把船撞进s.p.p中心来检查它的刀枪不入时，她就转向了其他事情。就像发现了黑杰克的踪迹。"
“She’s gone. We saw that megaspell… I never imagined that kind of power before.” She shivered and then frowned. “I knew what she had. I’d even seen videos of the damned things. But to imagine it could suck up everything in a three mile radius, including Shadowbolt Tower? How could she survive that?”
"她走了。我们看到了megaspell......我以前从未想象过这种力量。"她颤抖了一下，然后皱起了眉头。"我知道她得了什么病。我甚至看过那些该死的东西的视频。但是想象一下它可以吞噬三英里范围内的一切，包括暗影螺栓塔？她怎么能活下来呢?"
“Mmmm… it’s doubtful, but if any mare could, it’s Blackjack.” She smiled. “Anyway, with the Rampage patrolling the borders, we haven’t seen a feather of the Blizzard or Sirocco. I’m sure when Rampage gets back, they’ll hunt down the others. Did you know she stuffed a mattress with Crosswind’s feathers before kicking him out over some pond? It was the first time I heard a crew cheer in weeks.”
"嗯......很难说，但是如果有母马可以的话，那就是Blackjack了。"她笑了。"无论如何，由于暴怒在边境巡逻，我们没有看到暴风雪或热风的羽毛。我敢肯定当狂暴回来的时候，他们会追杀其他人的。你知道她在把克罗斯温的羽毛塞进床垫里，然后把他踢到池塘里去吗？这是几周来我第一次听到船员们的欢呼声。"
“The one ship utterly untouched in the battle, and it’s devoted to that striped maniac...” She sighed again and stared at the wall. “A petty, sentimental part of me wanted to rip out all her control talismans… but that would have been a waste.”
"这艘船在战斗中完全没有受到影响，而且它是为那个有条纹的疯子准备的......"她又叹了口气，盯着墙壁。"我心胸狭窄，多愁善感，想要撕掉她所有能控制的护身符......但那就是浪费。"
“And with no flow control talismans, the ship will never fly,” Twister said grimly.
"如果没有流量控制护身符，这艘船就永远飞不起来,"托斯特冷酷地说。
She laughed bitterly. “Oh, she’d fly. Her reactor and main turbines are fine. You just wouldn’t be able to slow down, and steering would be pretty minimal. Perhaps for three minutes at top speed before the engines exploded.”
她苦笑起来。"哦，她会飞的。她的反应堆和主涡轮机都很好。你就是不能减速，而且转向也会非常小。在引擎爆炸之前，以最快的速度也许能坚持三分钟。"
“I’m sorry to hear that,” a mare’s boiled voice said from the doorway. Twister turned and spotted the pale grayish-blue hide of Rainbow Dash. Her faded rainbow mane, infamous throughout history, was now only so many patchy clumps. The pegasus wore a Mare Do Well costume of simple cloth, and at the moment she had the cowl down and the hat back around her neck. “Sounds like it’d be a wild couple of minutes, though.”
"听到这个消息我很难过,"一个母马的声音在门口说。龙卷风转过身来，发现了那层浅灰蓝色的彩虹皮。她褪色的彩虹鬃毛，在历史上声名狼藉，现在只有这么多零散的斑块。飞马穿着一套简单布料的母马服装，那时她把头罩摘下来，帽子戴在脖子后面。"不过，听起来这几分钟会很疯狂。"
“Get out,” Storm Chaser snapped in disgust, reaching out, snagging the bottle with her wings, and holding it protectively to her chest. “I have no desire to share my wine with a two-century-old traitor.” Then she blinked and peered into the bottle, upended it, and collected the trickle in her mouth. “Actually, I have no wine to share.”
"出去,"风暴追逐者厌恶地厉声说，伸出手，用她的翅膀抓住瓶子，保护性地把它握在胸前。"我不想和一个两百年前的叛徒分享我的酒。"然后她眨了眨眼睛，凝视着瓶子，把瓶子倒过来，把涓涓细流收进嘴里。"实际上，我没有酒可以分享。"
“That’s all right,” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled an identical bottle from under her cloak. “I brought my own.”
"没关系,"彩虹·达什边说边从斗篷下拿出一个一模一样的瓶子。"我自己带了。"
“Where’s the fancy outfit?” Twister asked.
"你的华丽服装在哪里?"图斯特问道。
Rainbow sighed. “Seemed a little out of place for a friendly drink. Besides, Monkeywrench is still trying to get it fixed after I took it barreling through three cruise missiles.”
彩虹叹了口气。"喝杯友好的饮料似乎有点不合时宜。除此之外，Monkeywrench在我用三枚巡航导弹把它打穿之后还在试图修理它。"
Storm Chaser seemed to weigh the insult of such dishonorable company with the promise of more inebriant and finally gestured to the seat beside Twister. “Well then, go ahead. You must want to celebrate your victory.” She loaded as much contempt on the word as possible. “You must be thrilled.”
风暴追逐者似乎权衡了这种不光彩的同伴的侮辱和更醉人的承诺，最后指了指Twister旁边的座位。""那么，请便吧。你一定想庆祝你的胜利。"她尽可能地蔑视这个词。"你一定很激动。"
“Am I glad the Enclave is gone? Hell, yeah,” Rainbow Dash bit the tab screwed into the cork and pulled it free with a pop. The captain set a second glass, chipped at the rim, next to hers. “Am I glad for all the suffering and trouble it took? No.” She sighed as she started to pour. “I wanted the pegasi to help the surface. I didn’t want good ponies to suffer.” She filled both glasses and then passed the bottle to Twister.
""我很高兴飞地消失了吗？见鬼，是的,"彩虹·达什咬了一口瓶盖，拧进软木塞，砰的一声把它拔了出来。船长在她旁边放了第二只杯子，杯沿破了口。""我为所有的痛苦和烦恼感到高兴吗？没有。"她叹了口气，开始倒酒。"我想让飞马座帮助浮出水面。我不想让好马受苦。"她把两个杯子都倒满，然后把瓶子递给了Twister。
“Life is suffering,” Twister said. “It’s how you know you’re still breathing, and what moves you to keep flying even when your feathers are going to fall off.”
"生活就是痛苦,"托斯特说。"这就是你如何知道自己还在呼吸，以及是什么让你在羽毛即将脱落的时候仍然保持飞翔的动力。"
Storm Chaser sighed, eyeing Rainbow Dash with clear distaste. “Well, you at least acknowledge some of us were good. Some of us were… very good,” she said as she looked over at a photograph of herself and a pink pegasus stallion.
风暴追逐者叹了口气，带着明显的厌恶眼神看着彩虹冲刺。"好吧，至少你承认我们中有些人是好人。我们中的一些人......非常优秀,"她一边说，一边看着自己和一匹粉红色的飞马的照片。
“Were you two close?” Rainbow Dash asked.
"你们俩关系好吗?"彩虹·达什问。
The gray mare smiled sadly, seeming to contemplate a catty remark, but then said primly, “Always professional. He never let it go past that. Still… in another life… if I’d been somepony else, or he’d been somepony else…” she sighed and shook her head. “What might have been?”
那匹灰色的母马伤心地笑了笑，似乎在考虑一句恶毒的话，然后一本正经地说:"总是很专业。他从不让这件事过去。不过......在另一个世界......如果我是一匹小马，或者他是另一匹小马......"她叹了口气，摇了摇头。"可能会发生什么?"
Rainbow took a sip. “Life as a ghoul is nothing but what might have been. There’s plenty of years that are fuzzy… but your mistakes? You see them as clear as day. If I’d gone straight to the S.P.P. instead of helping Pinkie Pie… if I hadn’t taken Pumpkin with me… if I hadn’t supported a stupid war in the first place…” She shook her head. “You meet some ghouls, and they’re just stuck back then. Not mindless, not feral… just… stuck. Now I have to wonder what I’m going to do next.”
彩虹喝了一口。"食尸鬼的生活不过是可能发生的事情。有很多年是模糊的...但是你的错误？你看得一清二楚。如果我当时直接去了s.p.p，而不是去帮助PinkiePie...如果我当时没有带上Pumpkin...如果我当初没有支持一场愚蠢的战争..."她摇了摇头。"你遇到了一些食尸鬼，他们只是被困在当时。没有盲目，没有野性...只是...卡住了。现在我不得不想知道我下一步要做什么。"
“You don’t have plans?” Twister asked.
"你没有计划吗?"图斯特问道。
“Well, joining the Wonderbolts would be a bit awkward at this point,” she said with a dry chuckle. “I’m glad they’re helping out west, but that’d be too weird. And playing Mare Do Well… well… there’s plenty of mares, stallions, zebras, and griffins doing well without a mask. I’m thinking of just giving the suit to Monkey Wrench. I’ve touched base with Spike… wasn’t that rough… and even said a few words with the Lightbringer. We both agreed that the history books will say I died. Why correct them? So now… I dunno.”
"好吧，在这一点上加入神奇闪电可能有点尴尬,"她干巴巴地笑着说。"我很高兴他们在帮助西部，但那太奇怪了。和扮演母马做得好...嗯...有很多母马，种马，斑马，和格里芬做得很好没有面具。我在考虑把这套衣服送给猴子扳手。我已经和斯派克接触过了......没有那么粗暴......甚至和光明使者说了几句话。我们都同意历史书上会说我死了。为什么要纠正他们？所以现在......我不知道。"
“We still need skilled ponies out here,” Twister said. “Especially at the Skyport.”
"我们这里仍然需要技术熟练的小马,"托斯特说。"特别是在飞机场。"
“Yeah. I think I’ll stick around till whatever is going on with the Core is resolved.” She took a long drink and then pondered the glass. “I wonder if this skywine is still as horrible as I remember. Everything tastes like boot leather,” she said, getting a small smile from the gray mare. “Speaking of the Core, did you two know that that city is an impossibility?” she pointed with her wing.
"是的。我想我会一直呆在这里，直到核心的问题得到解决。"她喝了一大口，然后沉思着杯子。"我想知道这种天空之酒是否还和我记忆中一样糟糕。每样东西尝起来都像皮靴,"她说，灰色的母马露出一丝微笑。"说到核心，你们两个知道那个城市是不可能存在的吗?"她用翅膀指了指。
“Impossible how?” Twister asked.
"怎么不可能?"图斯特问道。
“Twilight and Applejack noticed it. The numbers don’t add up. In order to build
"暮光和苹果白兰地注意到了它。这些数字加起来不对。为了建造
the Core as fast as they did, in just three years, it would have taken all the war materials for five years and double all the ponypower of the entire country. All while we were at war,” she said with a smile.
核心的速度和他们一样快，在短短三年内，它将花费所有的战争物资五年时间，使整个国家的马力翻一番。我们一直在打仗,"她微笑着说。
“I’m sure somepony just messed up the audits. After all, the Core is there,” Storm Chaser said wearily, gesturing with her hoof vaguely to the side.
"我肯定是有人搞砸了审计工作。毕竟，核心就在那里,"斯托姆·查瑟疲倦地说，同时用她的蹄子模糊地指了指旁边。
“That’s what Luna said. After all, in the early years there were tons of mistakes made between the ministries. That’s why the O.I.A. was needed. Everypony said there were just accounting errors and paperwork lost. Managers were supposed to be improvising on material and labor safety. Workers like the diamond dogs were supposed to dig even more efficiently.”
"卢娜就是这么说的。毕竟，在最初的几年里，政府部门之间犯了很多错误。这就是需要o.i.a.的原因。每个小马都说只是会计错误和文书工作丢失。管理人员应该在材料和劳动安全方面有所改进。像钻石狗这样的工人应该挖得更有效率。"
Rainbow Dash grinned and leaned in. “What nopony realized was that sometimes workers would come back in the morning and find all the work completely finished. Tunnels that were started got finished way sooner than planned. Some people figured the towers went up so fast that they were hollow, but every single one of them was filled with stuff. Look at Shadowbolt Tower. I don’t care how awesome Scootaloo was, nopony could have built that in twenty years, let alone five. Nopony is sure exactly where everything is or what it’s supposed to be. It just is.”
彩虹·达什咧嘴一笑，靠了过来。"小马意识到的是，有时候工人们早上回来，发现所有的工作都完全完成了。开工的隧道比计划提前完工了。有些人认为塔楼建得太快了，以至于它们是空心的，但是每一个塔楼都装满了东西。看看影螺塔。我不在乎史酷塔罗有多棒，没有一匹小马能在二十年内建成，更不用说五年了。Nopony很清楚每样东西的确切位置或者它应该是什么。事实就是如此。"
“So the Core is… what, alive?” Twister said with a skeptical, and slightly worried, smile.
"所以核心是......什么，活的?"托斯特带着怀疑的，略带忧虑的微笑说。
“Nooo pony knows,” Rainbow Dash replied dramatically before rolling her eyes. “What I do know is that, in all of two centuries, I’ve never seen it like this. Something’s happened in there.” She then regarded the general. “So, what’s your plan, Stormy?”
"不，小马知道,"彩虹·达什在翻白眼之前戏剧性地回答道。"我只知道，两个世纪以来，我从未见过这样的景象。那里发生了一些事情。"然后她看了看将军。"那么，你的计划是什么，史东蜜?"
The general snorted, wine spraying her muzzle. “Don’t call me that! I’m almost fifty. That’s forty years too old to be called that.”
将军哼了一声，酒气四溢。"别那样叫我！我快五十岁了。40岁太老了，不能这么叫。"
“Well, I’m almost five times older than you, Stormy. So the question remains:
"嗯，我几乎比你大五倍，史东蜜。因此，问题依然存在:
what are you going to do?”
你要做什么?"
Storm Chaser sighed and swirled the glass. “If my captain were here, he’d ask for permission to speak freely, then ask me what the hell am I thinking sitting here in a dead ship when there’s work to be done.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I just never dreamed I’d see the fall of the Enclave in my lifetime.”
追风者叹了口气，把玻璃杯打了个漩。"如果我的船长在这里，他会请求我允许他畅所欲言，然后问我，当有工作要做的时候，坐在一艘死船上，我到底在想什么?"她闭上眼睛，叹了口气。"在我有生之年，我从未想过会看到昂科雷的衰落。"
“None of us did,” Twister said solemnly.
"我们都没有,"特维斯特严肃地说。
“Hey, I doubted I’d see it in three lifetimes,” Rainbow said with a half smile. Her ragged featherduster wings scooped up the bottle, and she refilled the glasses. “What should we drink to?” she asked, returning the bottle to Twister.
"嘿，我怀疑我三辈子都看不到它,"彩虹半带微笑地说。她用破烂的羽毛掸子把瓶子舀了起来，又倒了一杯。"我们应该为什么干杯?"她问道，把瓶子还给了Twister。
“To the pegasi! May they fly in clear skies from now on,” Twister offered.
"献给飞马座！希望从现在开始它们能在晴朗的天空中飞翔。"。
The gray officer stared into the glass. “To the fallen,” Storm Chaser said, more subdued. “May their sacrifices be remembered, and honored.”
那个灰头发的军官盯着镜子。"献给那些倒下的人,"风暴追逐者说，声音变得柔和多了。愿他们的牺牲被人记念，被人尊敬
Rainbow Dash mirrored the general, her own eyes distant. “To friends. May they always be reunited.”
彩虹仪表一般，她的眼睛遥远。"敬朋友们。愿他们永远团聚。"
In the dim confines of the ship, three glasses clinked together.
在船上昏暗的空间里，三只杯子碰在了一起。
* * *
* * *
There was only one direction in this city: down. Every drop of water reinforced this fact. It flowed endlessly from the firmament, raced down the cracked black walls, spurted out of downspouts, sprayed off molding, and crashed down stairs. Cold waterfalls cascaded down elevator shafts, and rivers flowed out lobby doors. The streets served as canals for the rain, until it disappeared down cracks in the asphalt, swirled down storm drains, and poured into the subways with the perpetual noise of a great inhalation. The current never ended. Downward. Downward. Down.
这个城市只有一个方向:下去。每一滴水都强化了这个事实。它无穷无尽地从天空中流淌出来，沿着破裂的黑色墙壁奔跑而下，从落水管喷射出来，从装饰线上喷射而出，然后摔下楼梯。冰冷的瀑布从电梯井中倾泻而下，河水从大厅的门流出。街道就像是雨水的运河，直到雨水从沥青路面的裂缝中消失，旋转着流进排水沟，然后以永恒的巨大吸气声涌入地铁。水流永不停息。向下。向下。下来。
Escape was impossible. The curving streets only led inward, and even the most concerted effort to leave would be stopped the moment one reached the grim walls rising story after story around the entire city, a monolithic barrier to keep the Wasteland out and the captive within. The street signs at intersections never pointed in a direction leading away from the city; the maps in the travelers’ kiosks ended at that wall, as if there were no Equestria beyond it.
逃跑是不可能的。弯曲的街道只通向内部，即使是最协调一致的离开努力也会在一个人到达围绕整个城市的一个又一个阴森的高墙时停止，一个巨大的屏障阻止荒原和囚禁在里面。十字路口的街道指示牌从未指向远离城市的方向，旅行者报摊上的地图就在那堵墙旁边结束，仿佛那里没有Equestria。
The Wasteland was a cool monster, patient, accepting an escape today with the easy knowledge that tomorrow, or someday, it would claim you. Not this place. It hungered. And every drop of rain drew all within it in that inevitable and inexorable direction. Down.
荒原是一个很酷的怪物，耐心地接受了今天的逃离，带着轻松的知识，明天，或者某一天，它会要求你。不是这个地方。它饥肠辘辘。每一滴雨都把所有的东西吸引到那个不可避免和不可阻挡的方向上。下来。
* * *
* * *
The hissing rain punctuated by rumbles of thunder would make most see no need for stealth, sure that they could not be heard by those in the camp at the gate of a magical waste dump. The red and yellow bars of the E.F.S. might make one confident that they were the hunter in the forest as they picked out the armed and armored Brood standing watch. A mistcloak in addition to the rest might make one feel as if they were completely safe from harm as they observed filthy zebras and ponies rolling orange and yellow barrels into wagons. Still, Lancer showed remarkable restraint when the tip of a spear touched the hollow beneath his ear and a voice said, in soft, accented Pony, “I could kill you now, traitor. I should kill you now.”
雷鸣声夹杂着嘶嘶作响的雨声，使得大多数人认为没有必要偷偷摸摸，因为他们确信在魔法垃圾场门口的营地里的人听不到他们的声音。红色和黄色条纹的e.f.s可能会让人确信他们就是森林里的猎人，因为他们看到了全副武装的布鲁德夫妇在站岗。当他们看到肮脏的斑马和小马把橙色和黄色的桶装进四轮马车时，除了其他的迷你斗篷外，还有一件迷你斗篷可能会让人觉得他们完全不会受到伤害。尽管如此，当长矛的尖端碰到他耳朵下面的凹陷处时，兰瑟还是表现出了非凡的克制力，一个声音柔和而带口音的小马驹说:"我现在就可以杀了你，叛徒。我现在就该杀了你。"
“But you haven’t, Adama,” Lancer replied, equally quiet. “Nor have you raised alarm.” He chanced a look behind him at a strong zebra mare with a long, hooked spear in her hooves. Her stripes were particularly wavy, and her rump seemed to show some kind of sea creature.
"但是你没有，阿达玛,"兰瑟同样安静地回答。"你也没有拉响警报。"他随意地看了一眼身后一匹强壮的斑马，马蹄上插着一支钩状的长矛。它身上的条纹特别波浪状，臀部似乎显示出某种海洋生物。
“How did you hear me?” he asked.
"你是怎么听到我说话的?"他问道。
“The Atori can track a shark ten feet under a breaking sea,” she said smugly. “Also, your pony device makes a faint whine when wet.”
她洋洋得意地说:"阿托利人可以在波涛汹涌的海面下十英尺的地方追踪鲨鱼。"。"而且，你的小马装置在潮湿的时候会发出微弱的呜呜声。"
“I was afraid you might hear it. Still, it has great uses in navigation,” he replied.
"我怕你会听见。不过，它在导航方面还是有很大用处的。"。
She huffed. “You are exiled, Lancer,” she said, narrowing her aquamarine eyes. “What are you doing here?”
她生气了。"你被放逐了，兰瑟,"她眯起碧绿色的眼睛说。"你在这儿干什么?"
“Perhaps I wished to see you again?” he countered.
"也许我希望再见到你?"他反驳道。
Immediately she glowered at him. “That relationship ended with your exile. I should kill you.”
她立刻怒视着他。"那段关系在你被放逐后就结束了。我应该杀了你。"
“You keep saying that,” he countered. “You know something is amiss, Adama.”
"你一直这么说,"他反驳道。"你知道出事了，阿达玛。"
“Everything is amiss. This city is cursed, remember? We are cursed for being here and you are doubly cursed,” she said sourly.
"一切都不对劲。这座城市被诅咒了，记得吗？我们被诅咒在这里，你们被双重诅咒,"她酸溜溜地说。
“That reminds me of a very funny story,” a mare said as she stepped out of the rain with a length of bamboo across her shoulders. Adama inhaled deeply but was not quick enough. With a spray of rain, the staff whirled and smacked her in the throat, then snapped up and knocked the spear away from Lancer, and finally
"这让我想起了一个非常有趣的故事,"一匹母马说，她走出了雨中，一段竹子跨过她的肩膀。阿达玛深深地吸了一口气，但动作还不够快。随着一阵雨水的飞溅，杆子旋转起来，打在她的喉咙上，然后啪的一声，把长矛从枪骑兵手中打掉，最后
whacked her legs out from under her. She went down in the mud, an opportune blast of thunder covering the noise of her thrashing. Then the staff was thrust at her face, and she froze, wheezing and coughing as she stared at the end of the stick. “Please don’t make me kill you before I tell it.”
把她的腿从下面打了出来。她倒在泥地里，一阵适时的雷声掩盖了她抽打的声音。然后工作人员把棍子顶在她的脸上，当她盯着棍子的末端时，她僵住了，气喘吁吁，咳嗽不止。"在我说之前，请不要让我杀了你。"
“You are not the only one not alone,” Adama said, then looked to the side where two zebra stallions stood, swaying slowly in the rain. Together, they collapsed in a heap, a dozen tufted needles sticking out of their backs. A little zebra filly sitting on a stump behind them smiled and waved a blowgun at the muddy mare. “Betsuwana,” Adama muttered. Her eyes returned to Lancer. “What do you want?”
"你不是唯一一个不孤单的人,"阿达玛说，然后看了看旁边站着的两匹斑马，在雨中缓缓摇摆。他们一起倒在地上，背上插着十几根针。一匹斑马小雌马坐在他们身后的树桩上，微笑着向泥泞的母马挥舞着吹箭筒。"贝祖瓦纳,"阿达玛喃喃自语。她的目光又回到了枪骑兵身上。"你想要什么?"
“Two things. First, I want to know what my father is up to. Why are you here? Why are you making our people work as slaves?”
"两件事。首先，我想知道我父亲在做什么。你为什么在这里？你们为什么让我们的人民做奴隶呢?"
“I will not answer your questions, traitor. The Atori are loyal to our oaths to the last Caesar.” From above, a skywagon slowly descended towards the trio and their prisoner, pulled by a waterlogged teal ghoul. Her wings resembled drenched feather dusters, and Adama balked a little at the ghoul pegasus’s appearance.
"我不会回答你的问题，叛徒。阿托里人忠于我们对最后一个凯撒的誓言。"从上面，一辆空中马车缓缓下降到三人和他们的囚犯，由一个浸满水的青色食尸鬼拉着。她的翅膀就像湿透的鸡毛掸子，阿达玛对食尸鬼飞马的外表有些犹豫。
“I want to go home. I want to take care of the children. There is far too much lightning to fly safely. Master Vanity told me to take care of the children,” she rasped in a daze.
"我想回家。我想照顾孩子们。闪电太多，无法安全飞行。瓦妮特少爷让我照顾孩子们,"她茫然地大声说。
The tiny zebra sprang across the ground and landed on the wagon. “You’re taking care of me, Miss Harpica,” she piped, patting the ghoul’s drenched mane.
小斑马跳过地面，落在马车上。"你在照顾我，哈皮卡小姐,"她尖叫着，拍着那浑身湿透的食尸鬼的鬃毛。
The ghoul gave a shaky smile. “Yes. I am. We should go home before you catch your death of cold.”
食尸鬼颤抖地笑了一下。"是的。是的。我们应该在你感冒之前回家。"
“That reminds me of another stor--” Sekashi began.
"这让我想起了另一个故事——"Sekashi开始说道。
“Enough!” Adama hissed, looking from one to the next in bafflement. “I am no traitor. Take your lies and begone.”
"够了!"阿达玛发出嘶嘶的声音，困惑地从一个看到另一个。"我不是叛徒。收起你的谎言，滚吧。"
“I am not going to get to tell my story, am I?” Sekashi said with a sigh as she stepped up beside Lancer and extended her pole. “Some zebras have no time for lore.” As Adama picked herself carefully out of the mud, her eyes went from one to the next, then glanced back at the camp.
"我不能讲述我的故事了，是吗?"Sekashi叹了口气说，她走到Lancer旁边，伸出她的杆子。"有些斑马没时间听传说。"当阿达玛小心翼翼地从泥地里站起来的时候，她的眼睛从一个转到另一个，然后回头看了看营地。
“I will not betra--” Adama began as she wiped away the mud, and then the filly appeared perched on the end of the outstretched staff, balanced on the tips of her hooves and straining towards the strong mare with bright green eyes and a warm smile. “Uh... hello?”
"我不会——"阿达玛一边擦着泥土，一边开始说话。这时小姑娘出现了，坐在伸直的杆子末端，平衡着蹄尖，用力朝着那匹强壮的母马，她有着明亮的绿眼睛，脸上挂着温暖的微笑。"呃......喂?"
“Hello!” she piped. “I’m Majina.”
"你好!"她吹笛子。"我是马吉娜。"
Nopony seemed to move for a second, save Sekashi’s growing smile. Then Adama said slowly, “Yes... well... you should go and...”
小马似乎动了一下，除了Sekashi越来越灿烂的笑容。然后阿达玛慢慢地说:"是的......好吧......你应该去......"
Majina, though, was more interested in Adama’s dropped spear and gestured down at the massive polearm. “Wow! That’s a really big spear! What do you hunt with that? Super enormous mega kubwa radroaches?”
不过马吉娜对阿达玛扔下的长矛更感兴趣，她向下指了指那个巨大的长柄武器。"哇！那真是一支很大的矛！你用那个打什么猎？超级巨大的库布瓦河流?"
“It’s called a harpoon,” Adama muttered grumpily as she looked down at it. “My tribe, the Atori, use them to hunt sharks and--” she glanced back to the now empty end of the staff, “--squid?”
"这叫鱼叉,"阿达玛低头看着它，不耐烦地咕哝着。"我的部落，Atori，用它们来猎杀鲨鱼——"她回头看了看现在已经空了的杆子一端,"——乌贼?"
Majina appeared on her back. “What’s a shark? And a squid? And an Atori?”
马吉纳出现在她的背上。"什么是鲨鱼？还有鱿鱼？还有阿托里?"
Lancer reached out and pulled her off Adama’s back and set her on his. “Majina, she needs to answer our questions first.”
兰瑟伸出手，把她从阿达玛的背上拉了下来，放在他的背上。"马吉娜，她得先回答我们的问题。"
“My questions were important too,” she said with a sulk, crossing her forelegs before her as she scowled at him.
"我的问题也很重要,"她生气地说，双腿交叉在胸前，怒视着他。
Adama looked from the young filly to Lancer, then back at the camp. “They are from a place called Glyphmark. Your father named them traitors, no better than ponies,” Adama said carefully. “We are collecting this... poison. I know not why.”
阿达玛看了看小母马，又看了看枪骑兵，然后回到了营地。"它们来自一个叫做雕文的地方。你父亲说他们是卖国贼，跟小马差不多,"阿达玛小心翼翼地说。"我们正在收集这种......毒药。我不知道为什么。"
“Ah. That reminds me. It is funny, is it not?” Sekashi said. “First he names me traitor. Then my daughter. Others that fled with us. All who wish not to join his Remnant. So many traitors.” She peered at Adama, then blinked. “Why, you are not laughing? Do you not find it funny? One wonders when he shall say you are a traitor. Or the stones. Or the sky. How many times must one name another ‘traitor’ before one thinks their idea of loyalty and treason quite odd?”
"啊。这倒提醒了我。这很有趣，不是吗?"Sekashi说。"他先是说我是叛徒。然后是我的女儿。其他跟我们一起逃走的人。所有不想加入他的残余的人。这么多叛徒。"她凝视着阿达玛，然后眨了眨眼睛。"为什么，你不笑吗？你不觉得好笑吗？有人想知道他什么时候会说你是叛徒。或者石头。或者是天空。有多少次，一个人要给另一个'叛徒'起名字，他才会觉得自己的忠诚和叛国的想法很奇怪?"
“He is Legate. It is our duty...” Adama began, averting her eyes.
"他是莱盖特。这是我们的责任......"阿达玛开始说，转移了她的目光。
“It is your duty to collect magical waste? To put our people in harm’s way?” Lancer asked sharply. “From Glyphmark or anywhere else, none of our people should be treated so. It is an insult to all our tribes. You said yourself that we should not be here. The Atori should be on your islands. I thought I knew why he brought us here, but now I know nothing. He has love for naught but the Brood.”
"收集魔法垃圾是你的职责吗？让我们的人民受到伤害?"兰瑟尖锐地问道。"从铭文或其他任何地方，我们的人民都不应该受到这样的对待。这是对我们所有部落的侮辱。你自己说我们不应该在这里。阿托利人应该在你们的岛上。我以为我知道他为什么带我们来这里，但现在我什么都不知道了。他的爱除了布伦特河以外一无所有。"
“I... I have concerns,” Adama admitted hesitantly. “So many do. When the Brood of Coyotl appeared, they were powerful but few and easily commanded. Now they are so many. Ten for every one of us. And more every day! They follow their own strange orders, and we are left to gather weapons for them, to fight and collect whatever he bids as if we were dogs. And if they come to us from Equestrian settlements, travelers are enslaved immediately. Our people!”
"我.....。.我有些担心,"阿达玛犹豫地承认。"很多人都这么做。当考约特族出现时，他们虽然强大，但人数不多，而且容易控制。现在他们是如此之多。我们每人十个。而且一天比一天多！他们按照自己奇怪的命令行事，而我们则被留下来为他们收集武器，像狗一样战斗和收集他要求的任何东西。如果他们从骑马定居点来到我们这里，旅行者马上就会被奴役。我们的人民!"
Lancer sighed. “Is anyzebra going to do anything about it, Adama?”
兰瑟叹了口气。"阿达玛，有没有斑马能对它做点什么?"
“Are you?” she snapped back. “You are exiled. Betrayed. Cursed!”
"是吗?"她反击了一下。"你被流放了。被出卖了。诅咒!"
“I am,” he answered. “We will free those prisoners, and Harpica will fly us all to safety.”
"是的,"他回答。"我们将释放这些囚犯，哈皮卡将带我们所有人飞往安全地带。"
“I’m not much of a flier. Much better as a nanny. I’d very much like to return to doing that. Teaching young ponies their alphabet. Mathematics. Scales.”
"我不是一个飞行员。当保姆好多了。我很想回去继续做这件事。教小马学习字母表。数学。鳞片。"
“Oooh! She’s been teaching me to sing!” Majina piped, bouncing up on the wagon, and took a deep breath.
"哦！她一直教我唱歌!"马吉娜吹起笛子，跳上马车，深深地吸了一口气。
Sekashi silenced her, pressing a hoof to her lips. “Quietly, my heart. I do not wish to test your darts against the Brood just yet.” Undaunted, Majina began to dance on the wagon, lips moving silently.
Sekashi让她安静下来，用蹄子压住她的嘴唇。"静静地，我的心。我现在还不想拿你的飞镖对付魔龙军团。"马吉娜大无畏地开始在马车上跳舞，嘴唇默默地动着。
Adama watched in bafflement. “You’re all mad.”
阿达玛困惑地看着。"你们都疯了。"
“There’s a surplus of that in this place,” Lancer replied. “Is anyzebra in the Remnant brave enough to stand up to my father?”
"这个地方还有很多呢,"兰瑟回答。"例外人里有勇气反抗我父亲吗?"
She looked away, tapping her hooves against the shaft of the harpoon. “Perhaps. Maybe. Afterwards. Once the city is broken. Once the Maiden returns... if she returns... like the Legate assures us she will. But there are the Harbingers to consider. Hundreds of well-armed, well-fed, well-organized ponies. They camp
她转过头去，用蹄子敲着鱼叉的柄。"也许吧。也许吧。之后。一旦城市瓦解。一旦少女回来......如果她回来......就像使节向我们保证的那样。但是还有一些先驱者需要考虑。数以百计的装备精良，喂养良好，组织良好的小马。他们露营
near ours and wait. Watching. Waiting for the moment to attack! Till they are dealt with, we cannot withdraw. Not when we are so close to destroying this foul place.”
在我们附近等着。看着。等待攻击的时机！在他们被处理之前，我们不能撤退。尤其是在我们就要摧毁这个肮脏的地方的时候。"
“And as their numbers swell, so too does the number of Brood,” Lancer countered.
"随着它们数量的增加，孵卵的数量也会增加,"兰瑟反驳道。
The mare squirmed uncomfortably. “If I could, I would take Pokey and leave this place. I long to hear the sea waves on rocky shores again. Tracking sharks along the reefs and shoals. This rain... this neverending storm... it is not right. But if I were to try and flee…”
母马不舒服地蠕动着。"如果可以，我会带着波基离开这个地方。我渴望再次听到岩石海岸上的海浪声。沿着珊瑚礁和浅滩跟踪鲨鱼。这场雨...这场永不停息的风暴...是不对的。但如果我试图逃跑......"
Lancer touched his scarred face. “I know.”
兰瑟摸了摸他那张伤痕累累的脸。"我知道。"
“You named your spear Pokey?” Majina asked curiously, four sets of eyes falling upon the filly. Adama flushed and hugged the harpoon closer to herself as Majina grinned and waved her blowgun. “This is Mr. Sleepytime. He puts folks to sleep.”
"你给你的长矛起名叫Pokey?"马吉纳好奇地问道，四双眼睛落在小母马身上。阿达玛脸红了，紧紧抱住了鱼叉，马吉娜咧嘴一笑，挥舞着吹箭筒。"这是睡眠时间先生。他让人们入睡。"
Adama relaxed a little and smiled some. “You seem... happier... being cursed, Impalii,” she said as she examined the three.
阿达玛放松了一下，笑了笑。"你似乎......更快乐......被诅咒了，不可救药,"她一边说，一边审视着这三个人。
“Sometimes, once you know you are properly damned, there is great relief,” Lancer replied with a tired smile. “As my mother said. Sometimes there is a great question over who is cursed, and who is not.”
"有时候，一旦你知道你被诅咒了，就会有很大的解脱,"兰瑟带着疲惫的微笑回答。"正如我母亲所说的。有时候，谁被诅咒了，谁没有被诅咒，这是个很大的问题。"
“Wait!” Majina looked from Lancer to Adama. “Who’s Impalii?”
"等等!"马吉娜把目光从兰瑟转向阿达玛。"谁是不可能?"
“That is his name,” Sekashi said. “Lancer was his father’s nickname.”
"那是他的名字,"Sekashi说。"Lancer是他父亲的昵称。"
“So... Lancer... Pokey... Impalii... Adama...” Majina said, tapping her chin before her emerald eyes popped wide. “Wait. Did you two have a thing?”
"那么......枪骑兵......普基......黑暗骑士......阿达玛......"马吉娜说，在她翠绿色的眼睛睁得大大的前面轻拍着下巴。"等等。你们俩有一腿吗?"
Lancer and Adama both flushed as Majina grinned. “It’s not like I was on missions all the time,” Lancer said defensively.
兰瑟和阿达玛脸都红了，马吉娜咧嘴笑了。"我又不是一直在执行任务,"兰瑟辩解道。
“You weren’t?” Adama countered, and suddenly she stepped closer, hooking a leg behind his neck and pulling him closer. “I was very sad when you were exiled.” Then she pressed her lips to his firmly, and he went even redder. Harpica covered Majina’s face with a wing, but the young zebra pulled the bedraggled
"你没有吗?"阿达玛反驳，突然她走近了一步，用一条腿钩住他的脖子，把他拉得更近。"你被流放的时候，我很难过。"然后她把嘴唇紧紧地贴在他的嘴唇上，他的脸变得更红了。哈皮卡用翅膀遮住了马吉娜的脸，但是年轻的斑马把马吉娜拖得满身是泥
pinions apart and peeked through.
羽翼分开，从里面窥视。
When the pair parted lips, the filly could contain herself no longer. “Adama and Impalii sitting in a tree! K- I- S- S-” Majina began to sing. Suddenly, a shout rang out from the camp. The red bars were moving quite rapidly. “Oopsie,” she covered her mouth.
当他们张开嘴的时候，小母马再也控制不住自己了。"阿达玛和黑暗骑士坐在树上！"k-i-s-s-"马吉娜开始唱起来。突然，营地里传来一声喊叫。红条移动得很快。"哎呀,"她捂住嘴。
Lancer seemed half glad for the attack, pulling away and focusing on the camp and the guards who raced towards them, shouting. “I will not ask you to betray yourself, Adama. My sister will put you to sleep,” Lancer said sharply as he raised his rifle.
兰瑟似乎对这次进攻有点高兴，他把注意力集中在营地和冲向他们的卫兵身上，喊着。"我不会要求你背叛你自己，阿达玛。我妹妹会让你睡着的,"兰瑟一边举起步枪，一边厉声说道。
“No. As you said,” she hefted the harpoon. “It is time for action.”
"没有。就像你说的,"她举起了鱼叉。"现在是采取行动的时候了。"
“Get ready to fly the prisoners to safety, Harpica,” Lancer ordered as he took a bead on an approaching Brood. “Adama, if we survive this, my mother has...
"准备好把俘虏们送到安全的地方，哈皮卡,"兰瑟命令道，他瞄准了一颗正在靠近的布伦特河。"阿达玛，如果我们能活下来，我母亲.....。
theories... about the Legate. You should hear.” He said it with immense disgust, feeling his guts clench. “Kill none but the Brood, if you can help it,” he told Adama, then turned to the other two. “Majina. Mother. Get into the camp and get the prisoners out.”
理论...关于特使的。你应该听听。"他说这话时带着极大的厌恶，感觉到自己的肠子紧紧地攥在一起。他告诉阿达玛:"如果你能帮忙的话，只杀布鲁德一家。"然后他转向另外两个。"马吉娜。妈妈。进入战俘营，把俘虏救出来。"
Majina nodded, but then frowned at her mother. “But what about your story, Mamma?” Her lips exaggerated each word.
马吉纳点点头，但随后又对她母亲皱起了眉头。"妈妈，你的故事怎么样了?"她的嘴唇夸张地说出每一个字。
“Patience, love. There is a time to tell stories, and there is a time to live them,” Sekashi replied. As gunfire roared out in the woods, the clouds snapped and crackled above.
"耐心点，亲爱的。有讲故事的时间，也有活故事的时间,"Sekashi回答。当枪声在树林中呼啸而出时，云层突然断裂，在上空噼啪作响。
* * *
* * *
This was a city of artifice. Of artifact. Remains of the ponies who’d once lived here were strewn everywhere. If the water could not dissolve it or sweep it away, it persisted. Sodden clothes lay in piles in the streets, like an immense collection of dirty laundry. Eyeglasses gleamed as rain sheeted off their lenses. False teeth grinned at the stark towers. Horseshoes slowly bled rust into the gutters and drains. Toys and dolls sat forlornly for children who would never play with them again.
这是一个充满诡计的城市。艺术品。曾经住在这里的小马的遗骸散落得到处都是。如果水不能把它溶解或冲走，它就会继续存在下去。湿透的衣服成堆地堆放在街上，就像一大堆脏衣服。眼镜在雨水的冲刷下闪闪发光。假牙对着史塔克大楼咧嘴一笑。马蹄铁慢慢地将铁锈渗入排水沟和排水沟。玩具和洋娃娃孤零零地放在那里，供那些再也不会玩它们的孩子们玩耍。
So much and so little at the same time. Entertainment tapes sitting on racks of a rental store. Precious jewelry resting on sodden velvet pillows. Bars of gold and
这么多，同时又这么少。放在出租商店货架上的娱乐录音带。天鹅绒枕头上放着珍贵的珠宝。金条和金条
sacks of bits quietly reposing in sepulchral vaults. Shelf after shelf of books and magazines, never to be read. The plenty and precious of an age rendered into inert matter by abandonment.
一袋袋的碎片静静地躺在坟墓里。一书架接着一书架的书籍和杂志，永远不要读。一个时代的丰富和宝贵被遗弃而变成了惰性物质。
Even the bits of the Wasteland that had intruded here had been quickly touched by the feeling of stasis. Pieces of shelters, broken skywagons, the heaps of raider and scavenger clothes... all were equal in the place. Even the massive airship, wedged vertically between two skyscrapers with its nose suspended mere feet from the cracked asphalt, seemed as if it'd plunged here centuries rather than months ago. The slow trickle of red dripping from its ports and breaches was the only evidence to the contrary.
甚至那些曾经侵入这里的荒原也很快被停滞的感觉所触动。掩体的碎片，破损的空中马车，成堆的掠夺者和拾荒者的衣服...所有的东西在这个地方都是平等的。甚至这艘巨大的飞艇，垂直地挤在两座摩天大楼之间，机头悬挂在距离破裂的沥青路面只有几英尺的地方，看起来就像是几个世纪前从这里坠落而不是几个月前。从港口和缺口滴下的红色细流是唯一的相反证据。
* * *
* * *
“None of this makes any sense,” Glory muttered as she stared at the printout showing peaks and valleys in a spectrum of colors. Most crept along the bottom half inch of the graph. One peak, however, rose above all others to the very top of the graph. “Even with the Arcanospectrograph, we still aren’t any closer to understanding what Enervation actually is.” She sighed, stretched out her left wing to hook the silver ring lying on the scientific apparatus, and peered at it as if trying to unlock its secrets by eye alone. “We know the field is either generated or magnified by these, but we don’t know how. We know the field is damaging to living tissue, but we don’t know why. And Blackjack was resistant to the effects, but we aren’t sure of the cause.” Grunting, she rubbed her face with a hoof. “This is maddening.”
"这一切都说不通,"晨辉一边低声说，一边盯着打印出来的图纸，上面显示着色谱中的高峰和低谷。大多数沿着曲线图的下半英寸爬行。然而，有一个峰值高于其他所有峰值，位于图表的顶部。"即使有了阿卡诺摄谱仪，我们仍然没有进一步了解到底什么是能量聚集。"她叹了口气，伸出左翼去钩住放在科学仪器上的银戒指，盯着它看，好像只有用眼睛才能解开它的秘密。"我们知道磁场要么是由这些粒子产生的，要么是由这些粒子放大的，但我们不知道它们是如何产生的。我们知道这个领域正在破坏活体组织，但我们不知道为什么。黑杰克能抵抗这种影响，但我们不能确定原因。"她咕哝着，用蹄子摩擦着脸。"这简直令人发狂。"
“Speak for yourself,” the normally cynical and surly Triage replied as she gawked at other printouts. The pair were in an old lab in the Collegiate; the room had been cleaned out and loaded with fresh equipment and terminals. Several silver rings hung from pegs on the wall, and there were cages filled with bloatsprites in the corner. “That thing is amazing. Graphing magic is so cool.” She shuffled the papers around for a moment, then looked at Glory. “Why would pegasi study magic, though?”
"说说你自己吧,"这位通常愤世嫉俗、态度粗暴的伤检分类医生回答道，同时呆呆地看着其他打印出来的文件。这两个人在学院的一个旧实验室里，房间已经被清理干净，装满了新的设备和终端。墙上的挂钩上挂着几个银戒指，角落里还有装满浮肿怪的笼子。"这东西太神奇了。绘图魔法太酷了。"她在纸上翻了一会儿，然后看着晨辉。"但是，为什么飞马座的人要研究魔法呢?"
“Mostly weapons research, depressingly enough. Thunderhead did have a large civilian science research base, though. Plus we had unicorns in the tower to help, so why not?”
"主要是武器研究，令人沮丧的是。不过，Thunderhead确实有一个大型的民用科学研究基地。而且我们有独角兽在塔里帮忙，为什么不呢?"
“When you said that your scientists needed a place to relocate, I didn’t expect
"当你说你们的科学家需要一个地方重新安置时，我没有想到
you’d take over two whole buildings… but with equipment like this, I’m not too fussed. Makes this place feel like a real college again,” Triage said as she squinted. “So what’s this mean again?”
你可以接管两座大楼......但是有了这样的设备，我就不会大惊小怪了。让这个地方再次感觉像一个真正的大学,"伤检员斜着眼睛说。"那么这又意味着什么呢?"
Glory set aside the paper she was examining and trotted over to where Triage was examining a printout of the her own magical capabilities. “Each of those high points is a spell you can cast and its corresponding characteristics. Ten peaks. Not bad at all, considering that the average for most unicorns is six.” She looked at the apparatus. “This Arcanospectrograph is rated at a million specific magical wavelengths. Most magical effects we simply don’t know, but we have almost ten thousand spell effects charted. This one,” she said, pointing at a smaller peak, “is the telekinesis constant. We use it for calibration.”
晨辉把她正在检查的文件放在一边，小跑着来到分诊所，检查打印出来的她自己的魔法能力。"这些高潮中的每一个都是你可以施展的法术及其相应的特征。10座山峰。考虑到大多数独角兽的平均值是6个，这一点也不坏。"她看了看仪器。"这台阿卡诺摄谱仪被定义为一百万个特定的魔法波长。大多数魔法效果我们根本不知道，但是我们有几乎一万个法术效果图。"这个,"她指着一个较小的峰说,"是心灵遥感常数。"。我们用它来进行校准。"
“And that’s my healing spell. There’s my scalpel spell. And there’s my anesthesia spell. Huh,” Triage murmured. It was odd to see more than grim practicality in her eyes. It suited her. “So much potential magic,” she said as she gestured at the tiny squiggles at the bottom of the page. “I wonder if any unicorn’s learned them all?”
"这就是我的治愈咒。这就是我的解剖术。这就是我的麻醉咒。"哈,"伤员分类小组低声说。在她眼中看到的不仅仅是冷酷的实用主义，这很奇怪。这很适合她。"这么多潜在的魔法,"她一边说，一边指着书页底部的小字。"不知道有没有独角兽把它们都学会了?"
“Well, most arcane spell effects aren’t unicorn magic. Dragonfire. Balefire. Cockatrice petrification. Pegasus weather manipulation. There’s plenty of magic outside unicorn spells.” She looked at the first graph and stabbed at the huge peak with a wing. “And that one bar is Enervation.”
"嗯，大多数奥术效果都不是独角兽魔法。龙火。Balefire.鸡尾酒石化。飞马座天气操纵。除了独角兽咒语，还有很多魔法。"她看了看第一张图表，用一只翅膀戳了一下巨大的山峰。"唯一的障碍就是衰弱。"
“So why is it so much bigger than all the rest?” Triage asked.
"那么，为什么它比其它所有国家都大得多呢?"分诊问道。
“Because, relative to all other known natural forms of background magic, Enervation is much higher energy. It's more ‘powerful’, relatively speaking, of course,” she added quickly. “All magical fields are incredibly weak until something focuses that energy. Like the silver rings, a dragon breathing fire, or a unicorn casting a spell. Without that focus, ambient magical fields tend to cancel each other out. With some exceptions,” she added with a frown, looking at one graph that seemed completely random peaks. “Like Flux, taint, magical radiation, and such.”
"因为，相对于所有其他已知的自然形式的背景魔法，衰弱是更高的能量。当然，相对而言，它更'强大',"她迅速补充道。"所有的魔法场都非常微弱，除非有什么东西聚集了这种能量。像银戒指，一条喷火的龙，或者一只独角兽施法。如果没有这个焦点，周围的魔法场就会互相抵消。除了一些例外,"她皱着眉头补充道，看着一张看起来完全是随机峰值的图表。就像弗拉克斯，污点，神奇的辐射，等等
“We always thought that Enervation was just a form of radiation,” Triage said.
我们一直认为能量疗法只是一种辐射疗法。
“No. After seeing this, I’m certain it’s not.” She trotted over to two other pictures. In these graphs were more of the random spikings. “Flux and radiation are completely chaotic. The spikes are more intense, but they’re also more noisy.
"没有。看到这个之后，我肯定不是这样的。"她小跑着走向另外两张照片。在这些图中，更多的是随机放电。"通量和辐射是完全混沌的。峰值更强烈，但也更嘈杂。
It’s like being in a room with millions of tiny crazy unicorns casting spells at random. Enervation is more like… like… one incredibly powerful spell being cast from very very far away. So when it’s focused...” Glory trailed off.
这就像是在一个房间里，有成千上万个疯狂的小独角兽在随机施法。衰弱更像是...像是...一个非常非常强大的法术从非常非常远的地方施放出来。所以当它聚焦的时候......"晨辉慢慢消失了。
“You start dying,” Triage finished for her, glancing at several jars of goop next to empty bloatsprite cages. “I never really understood Enervation’s pathology. It just hits everything all at once. If you’re wounded, the wounds exacerbate, but even uninjured tissue is affected. Metabolism slows. Protein and cell walls break down. Organ failure. Death. Then liquefaction. As if dying wasn’t enough for this spell. And it squashes healing magic too. Even potions aren’t immune.”
"你开始死了,"伤检分类法为她结束了，瞥了一眼旁边空空的浮游生物笼子里的几罐粘稠物质。"我从来没有真正理解过Enervation的病态。它只是一下子击中了所有的东西。如果你受伤了，伤口会恶化，但是即使是没有受伤的组织也会受到影响。新陈代谢变慢。蛋白质和细胞壁分解。器官衰竭。死亡。然后是液化。好像死亡对这个咒语来说还不够。它也粉碎了治愈魔法。即使是魔药也不能幸免。"
“But why? Is it some kind of general ‘death spell’? Why does it drive ghouls feral, then? And why doesn’t it affect Blackjack?” Glory scowled at the printouts.
""但是为什么呢？是某种普通的"死亡咒语"吗？那它为什么要把食尸鬼驱逐出境呢？为什么它不影响黑杰克呢?"晨辉怒视着打印出来的文件。
Triage regarded her thoughtfully a moment. “You really want to crack this, don’t you? To find Blackjack?”
分诊医生若有所思地看了她一会儿。"你真的想破解这个，是吗？去找黑杰克?"
Glory closed her eyes a moment. “Partly. A large part. A part of me also wants to help Father; for some reason, he’s a walking low-level Enervation field that’s keeping his body from healing. But I want to help in general, too. Thousands suffer, and if it’s true that these silver rings are found all over Equestria, there could be settlements that are sickened by Enervation and don’t have a clue because the effects are so insidious.”
晨辉把她的眼睛闭了一会儿。"部分原因。很大一部分。我的一部分也想帮助父亲，出于某种原因，他是一个活动的低能量场，阻止他的身体康复。但是我也想帮助大家。如果这些银戒指真的遍布整个Equestria，那么可能会有一些定居点因为缺乏能量而感到恶心，因为它们的影响非常隐蔽。"
Triage considered the graphs. “You really think Blackjack’s alive?”
分类法考虑了图表。"你真的认为Blackjack还活着?"
“She’s cheated death more times than I can count. I have to believe she can pull it off again,” Glory said, then shook her head. “I have to check for myself. If there’s no sign of her… I’ll… I’ll accept it. But we aren’t going to simply stop searching just because she’s gone. Rampage went in a month ago. For all we know, she found something.”
"她死里逃生的次数我都数不清了。我必须相信她能再次成功,"晨辉说，然后摇了摇头。"我得自己检查一下。如果没有她的消息...我...我会接受的。但是我们不会仅仅因为她走了就停止寻找。狂暴一个月前就来了。就我们所知，她发现了一些东西。"
“Or she found something that could actually kill her,” Triage offered, frowning at the graphs once more. “Maybe we can work out why Blackjack’s immune. We asked Professor Zodiac and Deus and the cyberpony survivors, and all of them are sickened by Enervation, as are the sand dogs. So why was she special? Was it something in her design? Something she did? Something she was exposed to? For all we know, it’s that damned megaspell program she carries with her.”
"或者她发现了什么东西可以杀死她,"伤检分类法提出，再一次皱着眉头看着图表。"也许我们可以找出为什么Blackjack对此免疫。我们询问了十二宫杀手教授、上帝和赛博马的幸存者，他们都因为缺乏能量而感到恶心，沙狗也是如此。那她为什么特别呢？这是她设计的吗？她做了什么？她接触过的东西？就我们所知，是她随身携带的那个该死的megaspell程序。"
“Or a combination of two or more of those,” called a mare from the door. The stunning blond-maned pegasus drew Glory’s eyes. Accompanied by Moonshadow pushing Sky Striker in a wheelchair, Doctor Morningstar had taken steps to reduce her hotness with thick glasses, a lab coat, and messy tousled mane. It did absolutely nothing to detract from her hotness. “We have to take care to eliminate all extraneous variables to draw a useful conclusion.” The bandaged stallion was taking great pains to keep his eyes off Morningstar’s rump, and the doctor looked back at her own butt. “Fascinating. Even covered, it continues to draw attention.”
"或者两个或两个以上的组合,"门外的一匹母马叫道。这位金发碧眼的惊艳飞马吸引了晨辉的目光。在月影推着轮椅的天空前锋的陪伴下，莫宁斯塔医生戴着厚厚的眼镜，穿着实验室工作服，头发蓬乱，采取了一些措施来减少她的性感。这丝毫没有减损她的性感。"我们必须注意排除所有无关的变量，以得出有用的结论。"这匹缠着绷带的种马煞费苦心地把视线从晨星的臀部上移开，医生回头看了看自己的臀部。"太神奇了。即使被报道，它仍然吸引着人们的注意。"
“Doctor,” Glory said in pained tones.
"医生,"晨辉痛苦地说。
“I’m sorry, my dear, but when I said it’d be wonderful to be as sexy as I am smart, I never anticipated how distracting it would be. Why, I was lucky to even make it out of the bathroom!” the doctor said in injured tones.
"我很抱歉，亲爱的，但是当我说既性感又聪明的时候，我从来没有想到这会让人分心。为什么，我能从浴室里出来就已经很幸运了!"医生用受伤的语气说。
“I can take off that sexy with a belt sander,” Glory muttered under her breath.
"我可以用砂带磨光机去掉那种性感,"晨辉低声咕哝着。
Triage murmured, smiling around her cigarette, “Careful. You’re sounding like a Wastelander.”
分诊医生在她的香烟周围低声说,"小心点。你听起来像个废物。"
“Careful? You’re not gay,” she muttered.
"小心？你不是同性恋,"她喃喃自语。
The others assembled around the machine. “Where do you need me?” her father asked.
其他人聚集在机器周围。"你需要我做什么?"她父亲问道。
“Just put your hoof on the reader,” Glory replied as Moonshadow studied the printouts. He groaned as he leaned forward, placing the indicated part on the machine. Rainbow light began to bathe the end of his limb, Glory scowling at the doctor still entranced by the wiggling of her own butt. “How are the refugees doing?”
"只要把你的蹄子放在读者身上,"晨辉回答道，月影仔细研究了一下打印稿。他一边向前倾着身子，一边呻吟着，把指示的那部分放在机器上。彩虹光开始沐浴他的四肢末端，晨辉对医生皱着眉头，医生仍然被她扭动的屁股迷住了。"难民们怎么样了?"
“Oh, they’re fine,” the doctor said absently. “Your father’s name was enough to get some order established, and though we’re spread out, most families are still united. If we could get the weather under control, we could start getting some serious repair work done on Thunderhead.” She tapped her lips with a wing. “If I were to get a degree in geology, would I become even more attractive? Perhaps spontaneously generating a glittery aura with just a mane flip...” Morningstar tossed her mane, then looked expectantly at her reflection.
"哦，他们很好,"医生心不在焉地说。"你父亲的名字足以建立一些秩序，虽然我们分散开来，但大多数家庭仍然团结在一起。如果天气能得到控制，我们就可以开始对Thunderhead进行一些严肃的修复工作。"她用翅膀拍了拍嘴唇。"如果我拿到地质学学位，我会变得更有吸引力吗？也许自然而然地产生了一种光彩夺目的光环，鬃毛随风飘扬......"晨星甩动着鬃毛，期待地看着自己的倒影。
“Doctor Morningstar, I know how disorienting transformations like that are, but please focus,” Glory objected.
"晨星医生，我知道那样的转变是多么令人迷惑，但是请集中注意力,"Glory反对道。
“Of course. Of course. For science,” she said absently with another mane toss.
"当然。当然。为了科学,"她又甩了甩头发，心不在焉地说。
“I’ve seen this before,” Moonshadow replied with a frown as she looked at the Enervation graph.
"我以前见过这种情况,"月影看着衰弱指数图表皱着眉头回答。
“You couldn’t have. This is the first time we’ve scanned the ring with the Arcanospectrascope,” Glory said absently.
"不可能。这是我们第一次用神秘光谱仪扫描这枚戒指,"晨辉心不在焉地说。
Moonshadow glared flatly at her. “And I’m telling you that I’ve seen this wavelength before.”
月影直勾勾地瞪着她。"我告诉你，我以前见过这种波长。"
“When?” Morningstar asked.
"什么时候?"晨星公司问道。
“Observing a section of space about five months ago. It was the wavelength that stood out. Most stars don’t produce magic in this band. Blue. Yellow. Red. Even purple and pink. But there aren’t very many stars that produce a green wavelength of magic.” She tapped the paper. “Four hundred and thirteen point six six two nanosparkles. Way off for most stars.”
"大约五个月前观察了一段空间。它的波长最引人注目。大多数明星在这个乐队里不会产生魔法。蓝色。黄色。红色。甚至紫色和粉红色。但能产生绿色波长魔力的恒星并不多。"她敲了敲报纸。"四百一十三块六毛六块两个纳米火花。对于大多数明星来说，还差得远呢。"
“Enervation from space?” Glory said in bafflement.
"来自太空的衰弱?"格洛里困惑地说。
“Way off in space.” She returned her eyes to the chart. “Adjusting for the light/magic speed differential constant, the source was in the ballpark of eight hundred million light-years away.”
"太远了。"她又看了看那张图表。"根据光速/魔法速度差异常数进行调整，光源大约在8亿光年之外。"
“Huh?” Triage blinked, then pointed to her horn. “Hey, I’m the unicorn here. You eggheads aren’t allowed to know more about magic than me. That’s just… wrong!”
"啊?"分诊医生眨了眨眼，然后指着她的号角。"嘿，我是这里的独角兽。你们这些书呆子不可能比我更懂魔法。这简直是......错误的!"
Moonshadow gave a slightly sheepish smile. “Sorry. This is just our field. Light travels about ten percent faster than magic. As far as we’re concerned, the two are simultaneous, but if a spell effect is big enough or the distance far enough, the difference can be measured. It’s really only something of interest to astronomers… or megaspell researchers,” Moonshadow replied. “Pity we weren’t around eighty million years ago. It must have been a heck of a light show. From the magical radiation hitting us now, it must have been something pretty spectacular.”
月影露出一丝羞怯的微笑。"对不起。这只是我们的领域。光的传播速度比魔术快10%。在我们看来，这两者是同时发生的，但是如果一个法术效果足够大或者距离足够远，差异就可以测量出来。这真的只是天文学家...或者megaspell研究人员感兴趣的东西,"Moonshadow回答。"可惜我们在八千万年前还不存在。那一定是一场精彩的灯光秀。现在我们受到了神奇的辐射，那一定是相当壮观的东西。"
“Are we in any danger?” Triage scowled with worry.
"我们有危险吗?"分诊医生愁容满面。
“Relax. The field strength is lower than a dead unicorn’s horn. It’s probably been hitting Equestria for centuries now.” Moonshadow sighed. “A pity I didn’t get on it sooner. There’s an academic paper in there on astromagical phenomenon. Maybe two.”
"放松。磁场强度比死去的独角兽的角还低。它可能已经侵袭Equestria几个世纪了。"月影叹了口气。"可惜我没有早点上车。里面有一篇关于天文魔法现象的学术论文。也许两个。"
“Publish or perish,” Morningstar agreed with a somber nod. “Isn’t that how it always goes?”
"要么发布，要么毁灭,"晨星公司严肃地点头表示同意。"事情不都是这样的吗?"
“Enervation from space,” Glory muttered, her purple eyes narrowing in thought. “Moony. You said the light arrived eighty million years ago?”
"来自太空的疲惫,"晨辉喃喃自语，她紫色的眼睛眯起来想。"月亮。你说光是八千万年前到达的?"
“About that. Give or take half a million years. I’d need a full lab and about a month to verify beyond that,” her sister answered. “We’d need to find fossilized tree rings, see when they absorbed this wavelength of light. As of now it’s just a hypothesis.”
"关于那个。差不多50万年。我需要一个完整的实验室，还需要一个月的时间来验证。"。"我们需要找到树木的年轮化石，看它们何时吸收了这种波长的光。到目前为止，这只是一个假设。"
Glory waved her hoof impatiently. “Could something else have arrived eighty million years ago too?” Glory asked, looking soberly from one pony to the next.
晨辉不耐烦地挥动着她的蹄子。"还有什么东西在八千万年前也出现过吗?"格洛里问道，从一匹小马到另一匹小马都严肃地看着。
“You mean little gray ponies with antennae?” Triage wore an expression stuck between nervous and mocking. “Space ponies?”
"你是说那些长着触角的灰色小马?"分诊医生的表情介于紧张和嘲笑之间。"太空小马?"
“Statistically, there must be life out there,” Morningstar said casually. “Of course, considering the vast distances of space, the odds of it travelling to us are staggeringly small. Any sign of visitation and such would be of immense scientific and cultural significan--”
"从统计学上讲，那里肯定有生命存在,"晨星(Morningstar)漫不经心地说。"当然，考虑到太空的巨大距离，它到达我们这里的几率小得惊人。任何来访的迹象都具有重大的科学和文化意义——"
“They’ve been here,” Sky Striker rasped, cutting the mare off.
"他们已经在这里,"天空前锋雷厉风行，切断了母马。
“I beg pardon?” Morningstar blinked in bafflement.
"你说什么?"晨星困惑地眨了眨眼。
“Extraterrestrial technology has been recovered on Equestria,” the bandaged pony said as the scanner finally beeped and began to print its graph.
当扫描仪终于发出哔哔声并开始打印其图表时，裹着绷带的小马驹说:"小马国恢复了外星技术。"。
Morningstar gave a sick little laugh, “You’re joking.” When Sky Striker didn’t reply, her smile melted away. “You’re not joking…” She started to sputter, “But, why? The scientific opportunity! The experimentation and observation and--” Her eyes hardened behind her glasses. “It had military applications, didn’t it?”
晨星发出一阵恶心的笑声,"你在开玩笑吧。"天空前锋没有回答，她的笑容消失了。"你不是在开玩笑吧......"她开始语无伦次地说,"但是，为什么呢？科学的机会！实验和观察，还有——"她的眼睛在眼镜后面变得僵硬了。"它有军事用途，不是吗?"
“In spades,” Sky Striker answered. “The military has always made sure it retrieved any technology from the stars. I wasn’t a part of the interception teams, but I was considered for several months. Finally was turned down after the dragon attack; too high-profile for their operations.” He dropped his eyes. “It was all top secret,” he added, as if that might justify what he had done.
"毫无疑问,"天空打击者回答。"军方一直确保从星球上获取任何技术。我不是拦截小组的一员，但是我被考虑了几个月。最后在龙的攻击下被拒绝了，因为他们太高调了。"他垂下了眼睛。"这都是最高机密,"他补充说，似乎这可以证明他所做的一切是正确的。
“You know, there are times I am grateful some surfacers smashed the little scheme you had going on,” Morningstar glowered.
"你知道，有时候我很感激一些表面活动家打破了你的小阴谋,"莫宁斯塔怒目而视。
“Don’t tell me you never worked on something top secret, Morningstar. Your sonic control research was a little too specific to hellhounds,” Sky Striker retorted. “You never would have kept your funding as it was if you hadn’t done something for the ponies with the guns.”
"不要告诉我你从来没有做过什么绝密的事情，晨星公司。你的声波控制研究对地狱犬来说有点太具体了,"天空攻击者反驳道。"如果你没有用枪支为小马做点什么的话，你永远不会保持现在的资金状态。"
“Okay!” Triage shouted as she levitated Sky Striker’s report off the machine. “Trying to solve Enervation, remember? Political axes to grind don’t help that.” She looked from Sky Striker to Morningstar to Glory, and one by one they averted their angry glares and nodded. Triage examined the graph. “Guess what?”
"好吧!"分诊大声喊道，同时她把天空之星的报告从机器上悬浮起来。"试图解决衰弱问题，记得吗？政治轴心对此毫无帮助。"她看着天空之星、晨星、晨辉，他们一个接一个地避开愤怒的目光，点了点头。分诊检查了图表。"你猜怎么着?"
“Four Thirteen point six six two?” Glory asked. Triage gave a grim nod. “That confirms why your healing is retarded, Daddy, but not why Enervation is focused on you. Or why it’s doing what it’s doing.” She glared at the graph as if it had personally insulted her, then rubbed her chin. “It’s like there’s a silver ring inside you, but Mother didn’t have the time to implant one. Unless…” Her eyes widened. “Blood sample! I need a blood sample and a microscope!”
"413.662?"晨辉问道。分诊医生严肃地点了点头。"这证实了为什么你的治疗迟缓，爸爸，但不是为什么衰弱专注于你。或者它为什么这么做。"她瞪着那张图表，好像它是在侮辱她，然后摩挲着下巴。"就好像你体内有一枚银戒指，但是妈妈没有时间给你植入一枚。除非......"她的眼睛睁大了。"血样！我需要一份血样和一台显微镜!"
She immediately started searching through equipment on the tables. Morningstar and her sister watched impassively for a moment, then Morningstar told Moonshadow, “This place has an observatory. It might have some records on file of that stellar phenomenon you mentioned, to see if it was any different a few hundred years ago, or some other useful equipment gathering dust. Honestly, considering how much got thrown into back rooms, I wouldn’t be surprised. I’d give my virginity for a precision picosparkle wavelength analyzer or a multiphase magic inducer.”
她立刻开始在桌子上的设备中搜寻。晨星和她的姐姐面无表情地看了一会儿，然后晨星告诉Moonshadow,"这个地方有一个天文台。它可能有一些关于你提到的恒星现象的文件记录，看看它在几百年前是否有什么不同，或者其他一些有用的收集尘埃的设备。老实说，考虑到有多少钱被扔进了密室，我不会感到惊讶。我愿意用我的贞操换一个精密的皮微闪波长分析仪或一个多相魔法诱导器。"
“Haven’t you already lost that since becoming a mare?” Moonshadow asked as they trotted to the door. “Like, a dozen times over?”
"自从变成母马以后，你不是已经失去了吗?"月影小跑到门口问道。"大概有十几次了吧?"
“Virginity is all in the mind,” Morningstar replied glibly. “Besides, I’ve been a
"童贞全在头脑中,"晨星油嘴滑舌地回答。"而且，我已经是一个
father and a grandfather. I’m quite thrilled for the chance to be a mother too.”
父亲和祖父。我也很高兴有机会成为一个母亲。"
When the pair had left, Triage let out a breath and rubbed her temples. “I don’t think I’ll be able to handle him… her… that pony much longer,” she muttered.
当这对夫妇离开后，分诊医生深吸了一口气，摸了摸她的太阳穴。"我想我应付不了他......她......那匹小马,"她喃喃自语道。
“How do you think I feel?” Sky Striker rasped. “If I couldn’t plead being on death’s door, she’d be trying to get at my ‘pedigree’.”
"你觉得我是什么感觉?"天空前锋锉。"如果我不能辩称自己快死了，她就会试图得到我的'血统'。"
“Having him as my grad school advisor was bad enough. I have a mother,” Glory said flatly, then sighed. “If it makes it easier, think of the doctor as having intellectual incontinence. Everything in her head dribbles out, no matter what kind of a mess it makes. It’s not personal,” Glory said as she took a drop of blood from a vial and put it on a slide. As she carefully worked the knobs, she asked, “Have there been any new problems here, Triage?”
"让他做我的研究生导师已经够糟糕的了。"我有一个母亲,"晨辉直截了当地说，然后叹了口气。"如果这样可以让治疗变得容易一些，那就把医生想象成智力上的失禁。她脑子里的一切都在慢慢地流出来，不管它会造成什么样的混乱。这不是针对个人的,"晨辉一边说着，一边从一个小瓶里取出一滴血，放在一张载玻片上。她一边小心地操作旋钮，一边问道:"这里有什么新问题吗，分诊医生?"
“You mean having a thousand pegasi crashing our facilities?” Triage asked, then took a pull on the cigarette. “There’re still a lot of angry feelings, but the fact is, you folks are real scientists. Most of us were self-taught, tutored by Zodiac, or Steel Ranger rejects. I didn’t even know what an ‘Arcanospectrum’ was till today.” She twitched the cigarette pinched limply between her lips. “You fixed up our turrets and worked out the bugs in the implants, and we’re getting money off them. I’m grateful. Still, there’re plenty of folks who feel like the Thunderhead invaded.”
"你是说让一千飞马毁掉我们的设施?"分诊医生问道，然后抽了一口烟。"仍然有很多愤怒的情绪，但事实是，你们是真正的科学家。我们中的大多数人都是自学成才，接受黄道带或钢铁骑兵的指导。直到今天我才知道'奥秘光谱'是什么。"她扭动着夹在嘴唇间的香烟。"你们修好了我们的炮塔，解决了植入物中的漏洞，我们从中赚了钱。我很感激。尽管如此，还是有很多人觉得雷锋队被入侵了。"
“Sorry,” Glory said, ears folding back a little as she looked away from microscope eyepiece and to the gray unicorn. “I know you didn’t want this…”
"对不起,"格洛里说，眼睛离开显微镜目镜，看着那只灰色的独角兽，耳朵稍微向后折了一点。"我知道你不想这样......"
“Want? Who gets what they want?” Triage snorted. “I wanted a stallion and a filly right about now. I got a colt who took off at the first syllable of ‘pregnant’ and a dead child six months later. Nopony gets what they want. You get what you get. If you’re smart, you make it what you want.”
"想要什么？谁能得到他们想要的?"分诊医生哼了一声。"我现在就想要一匹种马和一匹小母马。我得到了一匹小马，它一听到"怀孕"的第一个音节就跑开了，六个月后，它的孩子死了。没有小马能得到他们想要的。你得到什么就得到什么。如果你够聪明，你就能做出你想要的东西。"
“I didn’t know,” Glory said.
"我不知道,"晨辉说。
Triage waved the cigarette irritably in the air with her hoof. “No reason you should. And I’m not fishing for sympathy. Just do what you need to do.”
分诊医生恼怒地用蹄子在空中挥舞着香烟。""没有理由。我不是在博取同情。只要做你需要做的就行了。"
Glory returned her eyes to the microscope, focusing back and forth till the red blobs turned into flat pancakes mixed in with an occasional whitish blob. Then she inhaled sharply as she spotted the silvery sparkle and zoomed in even more.
晨辉再次把目光投向显微镜，来回聚焦，直到那些红色的斑点变成了平坦的煎饼，夹杂着一些白色的斑点。然后她深深地吸了口气，发现了银色的火花，然后放大了更多。
“Sweet Celestia.” The red blobs filled her view, and scattered across them were tiny silver rings. “That’s why you can’t heal, Daddy. You have Enervation rings inside you.”
"甜蜜的天堂。"红色的斑点充满了她的视野，在它们上面散布着小小的银戒指。"这就是你无法治愈的原因，爸爸。你体内有一种衰弱的感觉。"
“I do? How is that possible?” he asked.
""是吗？这怎么可能呢?"他问道。
“When she injured you, her wings must have shed millions of these into your wounds. They’re all over your cells,” Glory said with a frown. Glory moved aside, letting Triage take the eyepiece.
"当她伤害你的时候，她的翅膀一定在你的伤口上留下了数以百万计的伤痕。你的牢房里到处都是,"格洛里皱着眉头说。晨辉移到一边，让分流采取目镜。
“Son of a bitch. Look at all of them,” the doctor muttered.
"狗娘养的。看看他们所有人,"医生喃喃地说。
“And I don’t have a clue how to stop them,” Glory muttered. “They aren’t affected by magnetism or radiation. Electrical fields just make them stronger!” She glared at the large silver ring on the table. “And if there’s a magical solution, I don’t know it. I can work theory. I can’t cast spells.”
"我不知道怎样才能阻止他们,"晨辉喃喃自语。"它们不受磁场或辐射的影响。电场只会让它们变得更强!"她怒视着桌上的大银戒指。"如果有什么神奇的解决办法，我也不知道。我可以理论工作。我不会施咒。"
Triage levitated her magical graphs to herself again and stared at it. “What if I cast this spell?” she asked, tapping the Enervation spike.
分诊医生又把她的魔法图表悬浮起来给自己看。"如果我施放这个咒语呢?"她问道，轻轻敲打着能量流的尖峰。
“You think you can? Would that do anything? It’s creating that wave,” Glory objected. When Triage looked at her flatly, the pegasus relented. “Okay. Okay. If you think you can, go for it.”
"你认为你可以吗？那有用吗？它正在创造这种浪潮,"晨辉反对道。当分诊医生直截了当地看着她时，飞马们松了口气。"好吧。好吧。如果你认为你能做到，那就去做吧。"
“I’ll step out of the room, if you don’t mind. If I have those rings inside me, I’d rather not be around when you’re experimenting with that kind of magic,” Sky Striker said archly.
"如果你不介意的话，我要出去了。如果我体内有那些戒指，我宁愿在你体验那种魔法的时候不在你身边,"天空射手俏皮地说。
“Oh. Sorry, Daddy,” Glory said and at once moved behind him and pushed his wheelchair out the door. In the next room, six pegasi and two unicorns were working with dozens of small round metallic implants.
"哦。"对不起，爸爸,"晨辉说，立刻走到他身后，推着他的轮椅出了门。在隔壁的房间里，六只飞马座和两只独角兽正在做几十个小圆形金属植入物。
Sky Striker cleared his throat. “How’s your new wing? Still sore?”
天空前锋清了清嗓子。"你的新翼怎么样？还疼吗?"
Glory turned and examined at her left wing where once there’d been just a stump. “A little. I haven’t been able to fly yet.” Glory sighed and rolled her eyes. “I wonder if the doctor grew it knowing I’d give him more slack? Some days I’m just not sure with him. Her... Ugh, this is worse than being Rainbow Dash!”
晨辉转过身来，审视着她的左翼，那里曾经只有一个树桩。"有一点。我还没能飞起来。"晨辉叹了口气，转了转眼珠。"我不知道医生是否知道我会给他更多的空间？有时候我对他就是不确定。她...啊，这比彩虹冲刺还糟糕!"
Sky Striker chuckled as the bandaged stallion sat back. “Give it time. I’m sure
当缠着绷带的种马靠在椅背上时，天空前锋轻声笑了起来。"给点时间。我确定
you’ll get a handle on it,” he said, then stared out the rain-streaked window. “About Blackjack…”
"你会处理好的,"他说，然后盯着窗外雨痕累累的窗户。"关于黑杰克......"
“She’s alive,” Glory said firmly.
"她还活着,"晨辉坚定地说。
“You might have to reassess that, eventually,” he said calmly, reaching out to pat her back.
"你最终可能需要重新评估一下,"他平静地说，伸出手去拍拍她的背。
“Eventually isn’t now. Blackjack is alive. She has to be,” Glory said with the same firmness. “If she hasn’t contacted us, it’s because she’s in trouble. The sooner we figure out Enervation, the sooner we can go help her.”
"最终不是现在。黑杰克还活着。她必须是,"晨辉用同样坚定的语气说。"如果她没有联系我们，那是因为她有麻烦了。我们越早发现"无力感"，就能越早去帮助她。"
He let out a long sigh. “And at what point do you conclude that she didn’t escape the implosion, Glory? You can’t find evidence if it’s been crushed by a megaspell.” Glory didn’t answer, and he sighed again. “I’m not saying that you should give up hope now, but you’re a rational pony. When do you draw the line?”
他长长地叹了口气。"在什么情况下，你认为她没有逃脱内爆，晨辉？如果它是被巨型建筑压碎的，你就找不到证据。"晨辉没有回答，他又叹了口气。"我不是说你现在应该放弃希望，但你是一匹理性的小马。你什么时候才能划清界限?"
Glory was quiet for several seconds, as if she was searching for that answer. “If we go into the Core and can’t find her, then I’ll accept that she’s gone. Not before then,” Glory said, then gave him a gentle hug. “Don’t worry. I won’t go till we’re sure it’s safe.”
晨辉安静了几秒钟，好像她在寻找答案。"如果我们进入地核找不到她，那么我会接受她已经离开的事实。晨辉说，然后给了他一个温柔的拥抱。"别担心。在确定安全之前我是不会去的。"
“Sometimes I doubt if there is such a thing anymore,” he replied, then fluttered his wings, pushing his chair away from Glory and towards the far exit. “Go take care of your work. I know you’ll find your answer sooner or later. I need to contact Dusk at the Skyport and make sure everything there is alright.” Glory watched him slowly wheel out of sight, then sighed herself.
"有时候我怀疑是否还有这样的东西,"他回答，然后扇动他的翅膀，把他的椅子从晨辉推向远处的出口。"去做你的工作吧。我知道你迟早会找到答案的。我需要联系空中港口的黄昏，确保那里一切正常。"晨辉看着他慢慢地驶出视线，然后自己叹了口气。
The sigh was cut short by an explosion in the lab; Glory jumped and dashed inside. Triage lay on the floor; the worktable that had held the silver ring had split in two, and from it rose a delicate silver spire. The form seemed to balance perfectly upon a point, and as it rose up, branches curled off it in oddly mathematical patterns. “What did you do?” Glory asked the shocked Triage.
实验室的一声爆炸打断了她的叹息;晨辉跳了起来，冲进了实验室。诊疗室在地板上，放银戒指的工作台一分为二，从上面升起一个精致的银尖顶。这个形体似乎在某一点上达到了完美的平衡，当它升起时，分支以一种奇怪的数学模式卷起。"你做了什么?"格洛里问震惊的伤员分类法。
“I just cast magic at it. I was thinking about… other things… and when I heard that note, I just let my horn do… something,” Triage mumbled in shock. “I… I don’t know how. I’ve never cast a spell like that before.”
"我只是对它施了魔法。我在想......其他的事情......当我听到那个音符的时候，我只是让我的号角做......一些事情,"伤检员震惊地咕哝着。"我.....。.我不知道该怎么做。我以前从来没有施过这样的咒语。"
Glory stared at it for almost a minute. “Can you do it again?” Glory asked.
晨辉盯着它看了将近一分钟。"你能再来一次吗?"晨辉问道。
“Of course. Because one explosion’s never enough,” Triage mumbled as she stared at the silvery spire. Then she closed her eyes, and her horn glowed. Nothing happened. She peeked at the tree, and her horn glowed again. Nothing.
"当然。因为一次爆炸永远不够,"伤员分类小组一边盯着银色的塔尖喃喃自语。然后她闭上了眼睛，她的角闪闪发光。什么都没发生。她偷看了一眼那棵树，她的角又亮了起来。没什么。
“You said you were thinking about other things. What...” Glory started, then caught Triage’s glare. “Oh...”
"你说你在想别的事情。什么......"格洛里开始了，然后抓住了分类法的目光。"哦......"
“It’s not the kind of thing you get away from. You wouldn’t understand,” Triage muttered, looking away.
"这不是你能逃避的事情。"你不会明白的,"伤员分类法咕哝着，眼睛移开了。
“I might a little. Would you... please… think about what you were thinking about before?” Glory requested delicately. Triage glowered at her but closed her eyes and lit her horn. Glory’s ears twitched. “I… I can hear it!” Vivid green boils of magic bubbled along Triage’s horn, exploding in bursts of green and purple.
"我可能会有一点。你能不能......请......想想你之前在想什么?"晨辉要求微妙。分诊医生怒视着她，但她闭上了眼睛，点燃了喇叭。晨辉的耳朵抽动着。"我.....。.我能听见!"鲜艳的绿色魔法沸腾沿着分类法的角，爆炸在绿色和紫色的阵阵。
Suddenly the silver ‘tree’ sucked back into itself, reforming into a tiny hexagon. A second later it morphed into a cylinder the size of Glory’s hoof. Then it collapsed into a bird’s nest of silver wire. Triage sniffed as tears ran down her cheek, and her horn stopped shining, the greenish-purple blisters of magic fading away. “Okay. That’s enough.”
突然，那棵银色的"树"又吸回去了，变成了一个小小的六边形。一秒钟之后，它变成了一个像晨辉蹄子那么大的圆柱体。然后它倒塌成一个银丝鸟巢。泪水顺着她的脸颊流下，分诊医生嗅了嗅，她的角停止了闪光，魔法留下的紫绿色的水泡消失了。"好吧。够了。"
“I’m sorry,” Glory said, trying to touch the unicorn, but she pulled away as the nest melted into a ball a hoof across. Glory sighed, then picked it up carefully between her hooves. “The mass feels the same! And it’s not heated in the slightest. I wonder if this is some kind of static fluid instead of a solid?”
"对不起,"格洛里说，试图触摸独角兽，但她拉开了，因为巢穴融化成了一个蹄子跨过的球。晨辉叹了口气，小心翼翼地用蹄子夹起来。"质量感觉是一样的！而且一点也没有加热。我想知道这是不是某种静止的流体而不是固体?"
“An excellent question. We might find the answer with this,” the doctor said from the doorway. A strange piece of equipment was perched on her rump, with tiny dishes waving back and forth and talismans beeping on the side. “A sub-micronic wavelength amplifier. Still in its M.A.S. wrapping!” The pale, blond pegasus danced on her hooves. “Ooooh, I love this place! I would have come years ago if I’d known!”
"问得好。我们也许可以从中找到答案,"医生在门口说。一件奇怪的设备放在她的臀部上，微小的盘子来回摆动，旁边还有护身符的哔哔声。"亚微米波长放大器。还在它的m.a.s包装里!"苍白的，金黄色的飞马在她的蹄子上跳舞。"哦，我喜欢这个地方！如果我早知道的话，我几年前就来了!"
Moonshadow caught the equipment as it almost bounced off Morningstar’s rump. “Careful. For all we know, this is the last one of these anywhere. What do you want it for?”
月影号捕捉到了这些设备，它们几乎从晨星的尾部弹开。"小心点。据我们所知，这是最后一个了。你要它干什么?"
“I have a theory.” Morningstar grinned as Moonshadow set the equipment on an intact counter. “A way to explain how Enervation does what it does while being only a single wavelength.”
"我有一个理论。"当Moonshadow把设备放在一个完整的柜台上时，晨星露齿而笑。"这是一种解释衰弱作用的方法，当它只是一个单一的波长时。"
“Twilight Sparkle’s dissertation on magical subharmonics?” Glory asked archly.
"紫悦关于神奇分谐波的论文?"晨辉狡猾地问道。
Morningstar’s smile immediately soured into a pout. “I did give you back your wing. The least you could do is let me pretend that I came up with the idea.”
晨星的微笑立刻变成了撅嘴。"我把你的翅膀还给你了。你至少应该让我假装这是我想出来的主意。"
“Plagiarism is a terrible thing. You taught me that,” Glory countered.
"剽窃是一件可怕的事情。这是你教我的,"晨辉反驳道。
Morningstar huffed. “Fine. Twilight Sparkle’s theory, then. At least give me credit for remembering it.” She cleared her throat again. “Twilight theorized that within individual wavelengths of magic there were infinitely small subharmonics at work carrying more specific information. It’s what would allow your magic to heal an injury, rather than give the patient localized cancer. These subharmonics are at work at a subconscious level. You don’t think about repairing every damaged cell, do you? You simply heal the injury.”
晨星愤怒了。"好吧。那就是紫悦的理论了。至少相信我记住了吧。"她又清了清嗓子。"《暮光之城》的理论是，在单个波长的魔法中，有无限小的分谐波在起作用，携带着更具体的信息。它可以让你的魔法治愈一个伤口，而不是给病人局部的癌症。这些次谐波是在潜意识水平上运作的。你不会想着修复每一个受损的细胞吧？你只需要治愈伤口。"
“So you think Enervation has subharmonics?” Glory asked, rubbing her chin.
"所以你认为衰弱有分谐波?"晨辉抚摸着她的下巴问道。
“If Twilight’s theory holds true, sure. Otherwise, magic just wouldn’t work. Why else would a cockatrice’s gaze turn a viewer to stone, but not if they avert their eyes? And why not turn grass and trees to stone as well? Or how does a teleportation spell know to teleport your saddlebags but not the dirt you’re standing on?” Morningstar asked with a grin and toss of her mane. “I love being smart.”
"如果暮光之城的理论是正确的，那是肯定的。否则，魔法就不起作用了。要不然为什么一只鹦鹉的凝视会把观众变成石头，但如果它们转移视线就不会这样？为什么不把草和树也变成石头呢？或者一个瞬间移动法术怎么知道能瞬间移动你的鞍囊而不是你脚下的泥土呢?"晨星咧嘴笑着，甩了甩鬃毛问道。"我喜欢聪明。"
“I don’t think the Killing Joke realized just how much you’d enjoy it,” Glory growled before looking at Triage and holding up the silver orb. “Would you mind?”
"我认为杀戮笑话并没有意识到你有多么喜欢它,"格洛里咆哮着，然后看了看伤员分类法，举起了银色的球体。"你介意吗?"
Triage sighed and took it again as Morningstar fiddled with the knobs. “Okay. I just... I don’t like this stuff. When I hear that scream, it feels like...” she shook her head. “It’s like when I lost my... I can’t stop it. Makes me think that if I just had a regeneration implant, he might have made it,” she said with a glance over her shoulder, back towards the lab.
伤检分类法叹了口气，重新接受了这个观点，因为晨星公司在摆弄着这些把手。"好吧。我只是...我不喜欢这东西。当我听到那声尖叫时，感觉就像......"她摇了摇头。"就像我失去了我的......我无法阻止。这让我觉得，如果我植入了再生植入物，他可能已经做到了。"她回头看了一眼实验室，说道。
“Just once more. If we can map the subharmonics, that might be the key,” Glory assured her.
""再来一次。如果我们能绘制出分谐波，那可能就是关键。"晨辉向她保证。
Triage sighed, and her horn started to glow. A minute later, the green glow began to form and bubble on her spire. Morningstar's obnoxious grin melted, and she shivered and fluffed her feathers as she focused on the machine. Glory
分诊医生叹了口气，她的角开始发光。一分钟后，绿色的光芒开始形成，在她的尖顶上形成泡沫。晨星令人讨厌的笑容消失了，当她专注于这台机器的时候，她颤抖着，抖动着羽毛。晨辉
swallowed repeatedly. The orb shivered and shifted in Triage’s hooves, becoming a pyramid, a metallic eyeball, a syringe, and a gear. Then the tough, cynical mare let out a sob and backed away as the silver blob tumbled to the ground. “That’s it. I’m done. Grow your own horns if you want to fuck with that stuff any more.”
反复吞咽。球体颤抖着，在伤员分类法的蹄子里移动着，变成了一个金字塔，一个金属眼球，一个注射器和一个装备。接着，那匹坚强、愤世嫉俗的母马发出一声呜咽，随着银团滚落到地上，它就往后退了。"就是这样。我受够了。如果你还想继续搞那些东西的话，就自己长大吧。"
“It’s fine! It’s fine,” Glory said, glancing down at a statuette of a seven-month-old pony fetus. She kicked it out of sight under the ruins of the workbench. Every mare there, even Doctor Morningstar, seemed aware of how not fine it was. Glory turned to Morningstar and Moonshadow at the device. “Well?”
"没关系！没关系,"晨辉说着，低头看了看一个七个月大的小马驹的小雕像。她把它从工作台的废墟下踢了出去。那里的每一匹母马，甚至晨星医生，似乎都意识到这有多么不好。在这个设备上，Glory转向了Morningstar和Moonshadow。"怎么样?"
“This is...” Morningstar began, then faltered. Her eyes shifted over to the covered statuette, and she swallowed again. “Yes. There are subharmonics here. Incredibly complex subharmonics. I’ve never...” She glanced again. “I am too a good pony,” she muttered softly to herself. “This Enervation has to be one of the most complex spells in history. Look.” She passed to Glory a printout much like the former graphs.
"这是......"晨星开始了，然后犹豫了一下。她的眼睛转向那个被盖住的小雕像，然后又吞了下去。"是的。这里有分谐波。非常复杂的次谐波。我从来没有......"她又瞥了一眼。"我真是一匹好马,"她轻声自言自语道。"这是历史上最复杂的法术之一。看。"她把一张很像以前的图表打印出来的东西交给了晨辉。
Glory stared at the printout, the spikes and the valleys. Then she checked another. And another. “Why aren’t these constant? See? Here? And here? And here?” she said as she tapped certain lines where the peaks rose and fell.
晨辉盯着打印出来的东西，那些尖刺和山谷。然后她又检查了另一个。再来一杯。"为什么这些不是固定的？看到了吗？这里？这里呢？这里呢?"她一边说，一边敲击着山峰起伏的线条。
“The equipment is working. Might be a calibration thing?” Moonshadow asked.
"设备正在工作。可能是一个校准的东西?"月影问道。
“No. It’s like...” she blinked and stared at the covered lump of silver metal. “It’s a carrier wave. It’s not just spell effects. This is carrying information!” She carefully lifted the boards and fished out the lump. “If we hooked this up to a terminal, analyzed the broadcast... it might be an enemy transmission. Or perhaps it’s trying to control something? Or maybe all those different forms the metal took could have some sort of technical pattern! We could use this to our advantage. Think of the possibilities!” Glory gushed.
"没有。就像......"她眨了眨眼睛，盯着那块覆盖着银色金属。"这是一种载波。这不仅仅是法术效果。这是携带信息!"她小心翼翼地掀起木板，掏出那个肿块。"如果我们把它连接到终端，分析广播......它可能是敌人的信号传输。或者它试图控制什么？或者所有这些不同形式的金属可能有某种技术模式！我们可以利用这一点。想想各种可能性吧!"晨辉喷涌而出。
Moonshadow said dryly, “I thought you were all about finding Blackjack?”
月影侠干巴巴地说:"我以为你们都在找黑杰克呢?"
Glory grew still. Slowly, she stared down at the silver image of a dead, unborn pony. She glanced over at the stricken Triage and the solemn Morningstar and Moonshadow. Then she firmly set it aside and pushed it away. Moonshadow trotted over and covered it with a cloth.
晨辉依然在增长。慢慢地，她低头看着那个未出生的小马死去的银色影像。她扫了一眼急诊室，庄严的晨星号和月影号。然后她坚定地把它放在一边，把它推开。月影小跑过去，用一块布盖住了它。
“Thanks,” Triage muttered, and Moonshadow nodded.
"谢谢,"特里亚奇喃喃自语，月影点点头。
“So. We have the spell effect’s subharmonics. How do we overcome it?” Glory asked in brisk tones, eager to move on.
"所以。我们有法术效果的分谐波。我们如何克服它?"晨辉轻快地问道，急切地想继续前进。
“I have no idea. This is where theory gets a little fuzzy when it comes to application,” Morningstar admitted. “...If we got our hooves on every single working transmitter in the Wasteland, brought all of them here to the Hoof, and cranked them up to maximum, we might be able to drown out the Enervation enough to resist its effects.” She began counting on her pinions, “We’ll need a few thousand workers, money to pay them all, air support, security... a working survey of the entire Wasteland...”
"我不知道。这就是理论在应用时有点模糊的地方。"晨星公司承认。"......如果我们把我们的蹄子放在荒地上每一个可以工作的发射器上，把它们都带到霍夫这里，并把它们调到最大，我们也许能够淹没能量，抵抗它的影响。"她开始依靠自己的羽翼,"我们需要几千名工人，钱来支付他们的工资，空中支援，安全......对整个荒地进行一次工作调查......"
“I think that counts as a plan B,” Moonshadow said dryly.
"我认为这可以算作b计划,"Moonshadow冷淡地说。
“What about counter magic?” Triage offered.
"那反魔法呢?"提供分流。
“Habazahuh?” Morningstar blinked. “What’s that?”
"哈巴扎哈?"晨星眨了眨眼。"那是什么?"
Triage sighed. “Something some ponies can do when they know the same spell and they know the other pony knows it. Part of the reason most unicorns don’t gush over what magic spells they know.” She blinked at the blank faces. “None of you know this? It’s pretty basic magic.”
分诊医生叹了口气。"当一些小马知道同样的咒语，并且知道另一匹小马也知道的时候，它们可以做一些事情。大多数独角兽之所以不会滔滔不绝地谈论它们所知道的魔法，部分原因就在于此。"她对面无表情的人眨了眨眼。"你们都不知道这件事吗？这是非常基本的魔法。"
“Most unicorns didn’t get published in scientific journals in the Enclave,” Glory said. Triage glanced from one to the next, as if verifying that they needed her input.
"大多数独角兽都没有在科学期刊上发表过文章,"晨辉说。伤检分类法从一个看到另一个，好像在确认他们需要她的意见。
“Well, say you’re a unicorn who’s going to cast a healing spell to heal yourself, and I know how to cast it, and I know that you’re going to cast it. Well... it’s hard to explain. It’s like... casting backward or... inside-out or cross-eyed. But if I cast my counterspell at the same time you cast your spell, then there’s a great big flash, we both get knocked on our butts, and no other magic goes off. Great way to get a migraine, by the way,” she added, levitating out another cigarette and lighting it up.
"好吧，假设你是一只独角兽，要施一个治疗咒来治愈你自己，我知道如何施咒，我也知道你要施咒。这很难解释。就像是...向后投掷或者...由内而外或者斜视。但是如果我在你施咒的同时施放我的反咒语，那么就会有一个巨大的闪光，我们都会被打得屁滚尿流，没有其他的魔法会消失。顺便说一句，这是得偏头痛的好办法。"她又抽了一支烟，点燃了它。
“Interesting. That’s a principle that’s sound in communication jamming as well,” Morningstar said thoughtfully. “But how would we find the precise opposite microfrequencies to counter such a complicated--”
"有意思。这个原则在通信干扰中也是合理的,"晨星若有所思地说。"但是我们怎么才能找到精确相反的微频率来对抗如此复杂的——"
Moonshadow took the printout from the scanner, turned the paper over vertically so the white backside faced up, and began to fill in the microfrequency peaks to
Moonshadow从扫描仪中取出打印输出，将纸垂直翻转，使白色背面朝上，并开始填充微频峰值到
the base of the page. Morningstar’s jaw dropped as, in a minute, she scribbled out the reverse of the Enervation signal. “Easy,” she said as she held it up.
这页的底部。莫宁斯塔惊得目瞪口呆，一分钟之内，她潦草地写下了Enervation信号的背面。"慢慢来,"她举起手说。
“My word... Well... I...” Morningstar blustered. She adjusted her thick classes with a wing. “Well, it’ll certainly get us in the right weather system. Some fine tuning will be in order, of course; it’s quite a complex blend. And it will certainly take a while to train a unicorn to cast so precise a spell...” But Moonshadow didn’t seem to be listening, just staring at what she’d drawn. “What,” Morningstar said, noticing Moonshadow’s distraction. “Don’t tell me you’ve seen that pattern before too?”
"我的天......嗯......我.....。。」晨星公司咆哮道。她用一只翅膀来调整她那厚厚的课。"好吧，这肯定会给我们带来合适的天气系统。当然，需要进行一些微调;这是一个相当复杂的混合体。训练一只独角兽来施展如此精确的咒语当然还需要一段时间......"但月影似乎没有在听，只是盯着她画的东西。"什么,"晨星注意到Moonshadow的干扰后说。"别告诉我你以前也见过这种图案?"
Moonshadow tapped her muzzle with a hoof, then slowly smiled. “You know what? I think I have...”
月影用蹄敲了敲她的鼻口，然后慢慢地笑了。"你知道吗？我想我已经......"
* * *
* * *
Fluid. It dripped. Trickled. Splashed. Swirled. Gurgled. Sloshed. Flowed. It moved swiftly, slowly, and not at all. It eschewed straight lines, biting into them whenever it could. When collected, it sat still with contained mass, waiting for the moment to burst free. When in motion, it powered through the city in gouts and torrents.
流体。它滴了下来。慢慢地。溅。旋转。咯咯笑。喝醉了。流动。它移动得很快，很慢，一点也不快。它避开直线，一有机会就咬它们。当它被收集起来的时候，它静静地呆在那里，等待着自由爆发的时刻。在运动中，它在城市中穿行，形成山口和山洪。
It was not the sole source of movement in the city, though. Through the streets whirled storms of black and silver. The murmuring buzz resonated in the same key as that horrible note that suffused everything in this place. The whirlwinds swept around the city in a gale, ripping apart anything that caught their attention before proceeding on. Like water, they were constantly in motion, those tiny black and silver dots. When still, they formed inky shimmery mats that could explode into a fury of motion.
然而，这并不是这个城市唯一的运动来源。街道上旋转着黑色和银色的风暴。低语的嗡嗡声和弥漫在这个地方的恐怖音符在同一个调子上产生共鸣。旋风刮得城市到处都是，只要是引起他们注意的东西都被刮得粉碎。像水一样，它们不断地运动着，那些小小的黑色和银色的点。静止的时候，它们形成了闪闪发光的黑色席子，可以在剧烈运动中爆发出来。
But they were not simple hazards. They moved with purpose. In their wake, a fresh cable would stretch from one building to another. A support beam would be chewed through. A hole shored up. Their ultimate design might be inexplicable, but there was a design. A will at work in this dead and empty city...
但它们不是简单的危险。他们有目的地移动。在他们醒来之后，一条新的电缆将从一座建筑延伸到另一座建筑。一根支撑梁将被咬穿。一个洞支起来了。他们的最终设计可能无法解释，但是有一个设计。在这个死气沉沉、空荡荡的城市里，一份遗嘱正在起作用.....。
* * *
* * *
The tunnel echoed faintly beneath his hooves as he strode along next to hissing conduits in the wan light. He marched with slow, steady steps and smiled amiably. He didn’t even glance at the sentry robots he passed, each one watching
在苍白的灯光下，他大步走在发出嘶嘶声的管道旁，隧道在他的蹄子下隐隐地回响着。他迈着缓慢而稳健的步子走着，亲切地微笑着。他甚至没有看一眼他经过的岗哨机器人，每一个都在看着
his progress with cold, mechanical eyes. A white plastic disk pendant bounced against his chest with every step. Despite his smile, his facial muscles twitched with barely restrained anger as he approached a hatch next to a huge door. Two alcoves held a pair of Ultra-Sentinels flanking the portal.
他冷酷机械的眼神。一个白色的塑料盘状吊坠每走一步都反弹在他的胸前。尽管他面带微笑，但当他走近一扇大门旁边的舱口时，他的面部肌肉抽搐着，几乎无法抑制愤怒。两个凹室里有一对超级哨兵在入口侧翼。
“What is it?” a synthetic mare hissed through a speaker in the door.
"这是什么?"一匹合成母马通过门上的喇叭发出嘶嘶声。
“I need a little chat, oh promised one,” Steel Rain said casually, his words curling with a faint sneer.
"我需要一个小小的聊天，哦，答应了一个,"钢铁雨漫不经心地说，他的话卷曲与淡淡的冷笑。
“Leave. Don’t return till you are called for,” the voice snapped.
"离开。有人叫你再回来,"那声音厉声说。
“Okay then,” he said with the smallest of shrugs. “I can just chat with these robots. No way your Goddess will hear, right?”
"那好吧,"他耸了耸肩说。"我可以和这些机器人聊天。你的女神不会听见的，对吧?"
There was a pause, and the door hissed open. Inside was a large pod surrounded by two coaxial rings, each studded with a half-dozen mechanical arms. They whirled and spun around the object suspended in the pod: a partially-disassembled mare. Her glowing green eyes focused on the stallion with a killing glare. “What do you want, Steel? I’m in the middle of some delicate upgrades.” Her four legs were connected only by wires, and her hips were a full foot removed from her barrel, the gap strung by metallic cables and vertebrae. One wing remained connected to her shoulder while the other was detached and being worked on by tiny talismans on the arms’ metal manipulators.
停顿了一下，门嘶嘶地打开了。里面是一个巨大的吊舱，周围环绕着两个同轴环，每个吊舱上镶嵌着六个机械臂。他们旋转着围绕着吊舱中的一个物体旋转:一个部分分解的母马。她那双发光的绿眼睛用致命的光芒盯着那匹种马。"你想要什么，斯蒂尔？我正在进行一些微妙的升级。"她的四条腿只用电线连接，她的臀部与身体完全分离，由金属电缆和脊椎骨组成的空隙。一只翅膀仍然连接在她的肩膀上，而另一只翅膀是分开的，正在由手臂上的金属操纵器上的小护身符工作。
“Oh, I know,” he said casually as the door slid shut behind him and he trotted around to the control terminals. “Got to love automation, don’t ya? Just push a button and off it goes.”
"哦，我知道,"他漫不经心地说，门在他身后关上了，他小跑着来到控制终端。"你一定很喜欢自动化，不是吗？只要按下一个按钮，它就会启动。"
“What are you doing?” Dawn asked, her green eyes widening in shock.
"你在干什么?"道恩震惊地睁大了她绿色的眼睛问道。
“Pausing the process,” he said, tapping a button. A second later the arms froze, leaving her dangling from the restraints around her chest, throat, and hips. Then he calmly walked over, and, as Dawn watched in shock, smashed the cameras in the corners of the room. “Now then. It’s just you and me. We need to talk about some things.”
"暂停这个过程,"他一边说，一边按下了按钮。一秒钟之后，手臂僵住了，留下她在束缚她的胸部，喉咙和臀部周围晃来晃去。然后他平静地走了过去，当道恩震惊地看着时，他砸碎了房间角落里的摄像机。"那么，现在。只有你和我。我们需要谈一些事情。"
Dawn thrashed against the restraints. “Turn the machine back on immediately! How dare you?” But Steel Rain just smiled calmly at her. “Do it!” He didn’t move. “Do it or you’re dead!” He didn’t move or say a word. His silence and
黎明猛烈地撞击着束缚带。"马上把机器打开！你怎么敢这样?"但钢铁雨只是冷静地对她微笑。"动手吧!"他没有动。"照我说的做，不然你就死定了!"他一动不动，一句话也没说。他的沉默
inaction induced such rage that she started to shake, making the restraints jingle.
无所作为引起了她的愤怒，她开始摇晃，把束缚带弄得叮当作响。
“Actually, I’m not,” he said as he touched a scar on his chest, “Confirming my theory that you don’t have my kill command. Cognitum does.” He slowly approached her. “So I’d like a little talk about you, me, and your Goddess. You see, I’ve noticed some… inconsistencies in our organization. ‘Kill Blackjack.’ ‘Capture Blackjack.’ ‘Leave Blackjack alone.’ It’s been galling me for quite a while now. For instance, if Blackjack is so vital, you should allow me to take some Harbingers and search for her, but instead we’ve been sitting on our asses gathering numbers and training with no mention of what we are gathering and training for.”
"事实上，我没有,"他一边抚摸着胸前的伤疤一边说,"这证实了我的理论，你没有得到我的杀人命令。认知才是。"他慢慢地走近她。"所以我想谈谈你，我，还有你的女神。你看，我注意到了我们组织中的一些矛盾。杀死黑杰克抓住黑杰克离Blackjack远点这件事已经困扰我好一阵子了。例如，如果黑杰克如此重要，你应该允许我带一些先驱者去寻找她，但是我们一直坐在那里收集数据和训练，没有提到我们正在收集和训练什么。"
“My Goddess has countless eyes searching--”
"我的女神有无数的眼睛在寻找——"
“No. She has countless robots searching,” Steel Rain countered as he started pacing back and forth in front of her. “Robot processors miss things. Empty food tins. Missing gemstones. Turds in the corner. A trail of drained Wild Pegasus bottles. Signs that she hasn’t been crushed to a layer of atoms in the megaspell. It wouldn’t take more than a dozen of us wearing these,” he said as he lifted the talisman around his neck with a forehoof, “to find something. But that’s not the only thing that’s nagged me.” He pressed his lips together a moment in a scowl before asking, “Why did you tell me spark grenades don’t work on cyberponies?”
"没有。她有无数的机器人在搜索,"SteelRain反驳道，他开始在她面前来回踱步。"机器人处理器会漏掉一些东西。空的食品罐头。丢失的宝石。角落里的粪便。一串放干了的野飞马酒瓶。这些迹象表明她还没有被压成巨大的外壳里的一层原子。他一边说，一边用前蹄把这个护身符挂在脖子上,"我们穿上这个不会超过十二个人，就能找到什么东西。"。但这并不是唯一让我烦恼的事情。"他皱着眉头抿了抿嘴，然后问道:"你为什么告诉我火花手榴弹对网络小马不起作用?"
“Let me go!” she screamed, jerking against the restraints.
"放开我!"她尖叫着，挣扎着挣脱束缚。
He slapped her hard across the face with a hoof. She gaped at him as he took a deep breath and smiled. “Oh, I’ve wanted to do that for months.” Then his eyes locked on hers. “When we started hunting her, you told me that cyberponies had natural EM damping. So I focused on armor piercing weaponry. Only now, I discover, from a pegasus of all ponies, that spark weapons are incredibly effective on cyberponies. My men could have brought her in immediately with that information.”
他用蹄子狠狠地扇了她一耳光。她目瞪口呆地看着他，他深深地吸了一口气，笑了。"哦，我几个月前就想这么做了。"然后他的眼睛紧紧盯着她。"当我们开始追捕她的时候，你告诉我网络小马有天然的电磁阻尼。所以我把重点放在穿甲武器上。直到现在，我才发现，从一匹匹小马驹身上发出的火花武器，对网络小马来说是非常有效的。我的手下本可以立即把她带回来，告诉她这个消息。"
“Perhaps I made a mistake,” Dawn muttered.
"也许我犯了个错误,"道恩喃喃自语道。
He laughed. “You? Forgive me, but, you? The champion of all things cyberization? The mare who technically isn’t even that anymore? You made a mistake about a cyberpony’s fundamental vulnerability? You?” He gave a sardonic smirk and shook his head briefly with short, quick movements. “I don’t
他笑了。""你呢？原谅我，但是，你呢？网络化的捍卫者？那匹技术上已经不再是母马的母马？你犯了一个赛博马的基本弱点的错误？你呢?"他冷笑了一下，短暂地、快速地摇了摇头。"我不知道
think so.”
我想是的。"
“You are dead meat,” she spat. “What you think doesn’t matter. Turn the machine back on!”
"你死定了,"她吐了口唾沫。"你怎么想并不重要。把机器打开!"
But he just smiled wider. “And then there were all the changes to our orders. After the setback by Black Pony Mountain, we should have pursued Blackjack. We could have taken her before she arrived at Meatlocker, while she was there, in the tunnels outside Hightower, or certainly while she recovered. Instead, Cognitum called us off. She wanted you to talk to Blackjack and get her to give up EC-1101. Why? Why should it have mattered if we took it in Meatlocker or Blackjack gave it up willingly?” He narrowed his eyes as he stared into hers. “We were so close after that attack at Black Pony Mountain. A sniper for the alicorn, a flamer for the bat freak and to blind Rampage, a spark grenade for Blackjack. Done. So why would Cognitum call us off?”
但他只是笑得更大了。"然后，我们的订单又发生了变化。在经历了黑马山的挫折之后，我们应该追求黑杰克。我们本可以在她到达Meatlocker之前就把她带走，在她还在那里的时候，在海托华外面的隧道里，当然也可以在她康复的时候。相反，Cognitum把我们叫走了。她想让你和Blackjack谈谈，让她放弃EC-1101。为什么？如果我们是在Meatlocker拿到的，或者Blackjack是自愿放弃的，那又有什么关系呢?"他眯起眼睛盯着她的眼睛。"在黑马山的那次袭击之后，我们离目标非常近。一个狙击手为独角兽，一个火焰为蝙蝠怪物和致盲狂暴，一个火花榴弹为黑杰克。完成。那么，科涅塔姆为什么要叫停我们呢?"
“Who are you to question a Goddess?” Dawn demanded.
"你凭什么质疑女神?"黎明问道。
“It’s always fun to question the psychology of a supposed higher power,” he chuckled. “And in this case, it led me to three disturbing possibilities. First, that your ‘Goddess’,” he said, twitching his forehooves in the air, “is completely insane and irrational. That would explain a lot.”
"质疑所谓的更高权力的心理总是很有趣的,"他笑着说。"在这种情况下，它让我想到了三种令人不安的可能性。首先，你的'女神',"他说着，前蹄在空中颤动着,"完全是疯狂和不理智的。这可以解释很多问题。"
“You dare--” she began, only to be silenced by another hoof across the face.
"你敢——"她开口说道，却被另一只蹄子踢到脸上而哑口无言。
“Don’t interrupt with villainous cliché. It’s rude,” he said primly. “Yes, I dare question. I dared wonder if your Cognitum was bugfuck crazy. I still think it’s a likely contender, but now I’m not sure it’s the primary one,” he said as she glared at him. “There’s possibility number two: that Cognitum is incompetent. I’m not sure which of those two is worse. I mean, that fiasco with Deus at the manor and your little spat with the dear hubby was such a tactical clusterfuck that it was almost painful. Of course, by that point, I didn’t have much choice in the matter.” He tapped his chest with a hoof. “Your suggestion, as I recall.”
"不要用恶毒的陈词滥调打断我。这是不礼貌的,"他拘谨地说。""是的，我敢问。我不知道你的认知是不是疯了。我仍然认为它是一个可能的竞争者，但是现在我不确定它是不是第一个,"他说着，她怒视着他。"还有第二种可能性:认知力是无能的。我不确定哪个更糟糕。我的意思是，天王在庄园的那次失败，还有你和亲爱的丈夫之间的小小争吵是如此的一场战术性的混乱，这几乎是痛苦的。当然，在那个时候，我在这个问题上没有太多选择。"他用蹄敲打自己的胸膛。"我记得是你的建议。"
“I see I was right. The second my Goddess sees what you are doing to her most faithful and devoted servant, I’ll have her activate it. On the slowest setting.”
"看来我是对的。一旦我的女神看到你对她最忠诚的仆人所做的一切，我就会让她激活它。以最慢的速度。"
“‘Your Goddess’? You speak about her like she’s a pet.” She instantly went silent, and he smiled, patting her head. “Like I said, questioning psychology is fun.” He started to pace again. “Anyway, an incompetent Goddess would explain
"'你的女神'？你说她的时候好像她是个宠物似的。"她立刻安静下来，他微笑着拍着她的头。"就像我说的，质疑心理学很有趣。"他又开始踱步了。"无论如何，一个无能的女神会解释
a lot, but either she’s a Goddess utterly unable to learn from her own mistakes, or there are Goddesses that are just really stupid. Personally, though, I doubted that. Even an idiot learns when bashing her head into a wall is useless, and that would explain the changes in tactics… except that they were idiotic changes. But what really convinced me that she wasn’t incompetent was when we learned that BJ was at the Gala with the Society. You said that Cognitum ordered a full raid en masse, but we were out of position for that. More importantly, none of our other assets were brought up… assets that Cognitum controls directly.”
很多，但要么她是一个完全不能从自己的错误中吸取教训的女神，要么有些女神实在是太愚蠢了。但就我个人而言，我对此表示怀疑。即使是一个白痴也知道用头撞墙是没有用的，这可以解释战术上的变化......除了那些变化是愚蠢的变化。但真正让我确信她不是无能的，是当我们得知BJ和学会一起参加了慈善晚会。你说科涅图姆下令集体进行一次全面突袭，但是我们没有这样做。更重要的是，我们没有提到任何其它资产......这些资产都是由认知力直接控制的。"
“Let me out!” she screamed as she thrashed in the restraints, several of them groaning in protest.
"放我出去!"她尖叫着挣脱束缚，其中几个呻吟着抗议。
“In good time,” he said calmly. “Because that brings us to option three. One that explains how your Goddess has made an absolute mockery of things with conflicting orders, mission creep, and boneheaded decisions.” He paused as he stared into her robotic restraints. “It’s not Cognitum giving all the orders, is it? It’s you.”
"在适当的时候,"他平静地说。"因为这让我们想到了第三种选择。一个解释你的女神如何用冲突的命令、任务蠕变和愚蠢的决定对事物进行绝对的嘲弄。"他凝视着她那机器人般的束缚，停了下来。""不是认知觉在发号施令吧？就是你。"
Dawn froze, staring at him. “Me? You think I’m Cognitum?” A desperate smile crossed her face, and she laughed. “You foal!”
道恩愣住了，盯着他。"我？你认为我有认知力吗?"她脸上掠过一丝绝望的微笑，笑了起来。"你这小马驹!"
Another hard smack. “Please. No more clichés. Let’s keep this serious.” He cleared his throat. “Now, I know you’re not Cognitum. If you had control over Ultra-Sentinels and even occasional control over the Core defenses, things would be an even greater mess. No. I am sure there is a Cognitum in the Core. And you are her chosen one, right? Most faithful. Most devoted. Most specialest.” He patted her other cheek with his hoof, making her lunge once more, then went on, “You’re the odd pony out in the chain of command. So option three… you’ve been intentionally distorting Cognitum’s orders.”
又是一记重拳。"求你了。不再陈词滥调。让我们认真对待这件事。"他清了清嗓子。"现在，我知道你不认识我了。如果你能控制超级哨兵，甚至偶尔控制核心防御系统，事情会变得更糟。没有。我确信在核心中有一种认知。你是她选中的人，对吗？最忠实的。最忠诚的。最特别的。"他用蹄子拍了拍她的另一边脸颊，让她再次挺身而出，然后继续说,"你是指挥链中的一匹奇怪的小马。所以第三种选择......你故意歪曲了认知力的命令。"
And now Dawn grew still as she stared at him in shock. Her mechanical eyes were pinpricks. “You’re wrong…” she whispered. “I serve my Goddess. I serve her faithfully.”
现在，当道恩震惊地盯着他时，她变得一动不动。她那双机械的眼睛像针刺一样锐利。"你错了......"她低声说。"我侍奉我的女神。我忠诚地为她服务。"
“Right.” You could slip on all the sarcasm on that one word. “Do you think that you’re the first officer to ‘creatively interpret’ a superior’s orders? It happens all the time. Happened during the war. Happens now.” He touched his chest. “I creatively interpreted the Steel Rangers’ mandate to secure technology for the order. Might have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for Blackjack.
"对。"你可以在那一个词上加上所有的讽刺。"你认为你是第一个'创造性地解释'上级命令的军官吗？这种事经常发生。发生在战争期间。现在就开始。"他摸摸自己的胸口。"我创造性地诠释了钢铁游骑兵的使命，即为订单获取技术。如果不是因为黑杰克，我可能也会侥幸逃脱。
Technically, I could argue I’m doing the same now. After all, if I can bring Cognitum into the Steel Rangers, I’ll be unstoppable.” He waved his hoof through the air as if dispelling a bad odor. “But enough about me. This is about you. You you you you you,” he repeated as he tapped a hoof against her chest. “What I really want to know is… why?”
从技术上讲，我可以说我现在也在做同样的事情。毕竟，如果我能把Cognitum带进钢铁游骑兵队，我将是不可阻挡的。"他在空中挥动着蹄子，好像驱散了一股难闻的气味。"不过我的事就到此为止吧。这是关于你的。"你，你，你，你，你,"他重复着，一边用蹄子敲打着她的胸膛。"我真正想知道的是......为什么?"
“You’re wrong! You’re vile! You’re dead!” she yelled at him. Her attached wing thrashed repeatedly against the metal holding it.
"你错了！你真卑鄙！你死定了!"她对他大喊大叫。她连接的翅膀反复地撞击着支撑着翅膀的金属。
“You can tell me, or you can tell your Goddess,” he said with a smile, silencing her. “It’s just you and me in here, Dawn,” he added with a little wink. Her rage gave way to uncertainty. “I want two things… the bomb out of my chest, and enough power to crush the world beneath my hoof. I have no desire to take over the High Priestess position.” Dawn froze as she stared at him. “So why, Dawn?”
"你可以告诉我，也可以告诉你的女神,"他微笑着说，让她安静下来。"这里只有你和我，道恩,"他眨了眨眼补充道。她的愤怒让位于不确定性。"我想要两样东西......从我的胸膛里取出炸弹，还有足够的力量粉碎我脚下的世界。我不想接管女祭司(塔罗牌)的位置。"黎明凝视着他，愣住了。"那为什么呢，道恩?"
“I have to be superior to Blackjack. I have to beat her. She needs to be ended so that Cognitum will love me again and choose me!” she shouted.
"我必须比黑杰克更优秀。我必须打败她。她需要被终结，这样认知力才会再次爱我，选择我!"她喊道。
“For what?” Now Steel Rain stopped smiling.
"为什么?"现在钢铁雨停止了微笑。
“My Goddess needs to choose a pony for a precious honor. It was supposed to be me. It should be me! If Sanguine had gotten EC-1101 for me at the outset, it would have been me. But Cognitum waits and considers all her plans carefully. Blackjack doesn’t know, but Cognitum has followed her progress for some time now. She’s watched everything she does.”
"我的女神需要选择一匹小马作为珍贵的荣誉。那应该是我。应该是我！如果桑吉尼一开始就帮我搞到EC-1101，那就是我了。但是科涅塔姆认真地等待和考虑她的所有计划。黑杰克不知道，但是Cognitum已经跟踪她一段时间了。她所做的一切都被监视着。"
“For EC-1101?” Steel Rain asked with a frown.
"EC-1101?"钢铁雨皱着眉头问道。
“No! She… she…” Dawn grit her teeth. “She cares about what happens to Blackjack! Don’t you understand? She’s intervened twice to save her life. The Goddess has never done that for me! I’m her most devoted servant! I’m her most faithful.” She shook her head forcefully, making the restraints creak. Two of them squealed, and something in the rings pinged sharply as Dawn yelled, “But always it’s Blackjack, Blackjack, Blackjack! What is she doing? What is she going to do next? How strong is she? How admired? How feared? Always always always Blackjack!”
"不！她...她..."道恩咬紧牙关。"她关心黑杰克会发生什么！你还不明白吗？她已经两次介入挽救了她的生命。女神从来没有为我这么做过！我是她最忠实的仆人！我是她最忠实的朋友。"她强有力地摇了摇头，把绑着她的东西弄得咯吱咯吱作响。其中两个人尖叫起来，当道恩喊道:"但总是黑杰克，黑杰克，黑杰克！她在干什么？她接下来要做什么？她有多强壮？有多受人尊敬？有多害怕？永远都是黑杰克!"
“So that’s why the orders haven’t changed? She’s searching for signs of Blackjack,” Steel Rain mused.
"这就是订单没有变化的原因？她正在寻找黑杰克的踪迹,"钢铁雨沉思着。
“She thinks she needs Blackjack for her plans, not just EC-1101. That’s why I need to find her myself. I have to be the one to stop her. To give my Goddess the key to her freedom. She doesn’t understand that Blackjack is undeserving. That she is unworthy. I sacrificed everything for my Goddess! And I will prove to her that she should choose me!”
"她认为她的计划需要黑杰克，而不仅仅是EC-1101。所以我要自己去找她。我必须是那个阻止她的人。给我的女神她自由的钥匙。她不明白黑杰克是不值得的。她毫无价值。我为我的女神牺牲了一切！我要向她证明，她应该选择我!"
Steel Rain shook his head. “Wow. You are one bugfuck crazy mare,” he said with a condescending pat on the head.
钢铁雨摇摇头。"哇。你是一个他妈的疯狂的母马,"他说，以一种居高临下的轻拍在头上。
Dawn smiled at him now, and the air filled with the ping of snapping metal. Steel Rain stared into her eyes as a numbness asserted itself from mid-leg to hoof and a strange distant discomfort across his neck and face. Half the world was a strange blur, his mouth and nose filling with the taste and smell of copper. Then he swallowed, and like a zipper, his face spilled apart in a line of agony and blood. His outstretched leg came neatly apart, and he fell back with a gurgling scream. Dawn sneered down at him, her remaining glowing wing outstretched and streaked with blood as links of sheared restraint jingled off the concrete around her.
黎明向他微笑了一下，空气中充满了金属的噼啪声。钢铁雨凝视着她的眼睛，一种从腿中部到蹄子的麻木感油然而生，脖子和脸上一种奇怪的远处的不适感。半个世界是一个奇怪的模糊，他的嘴和鼻子充满了铜的味道和气味。然后他咽了一口唾沫，像拉链一样，他的脸裂开了，留下了一条痛苦和鲜血。他伸出的腿整齐地分开了，随着一声咯咯的叫声倒了下去。道恩向他冷笑了一下，她剩下的发光的翅膀展开了，上面布满了血迹，被剪断的束缚带在她周围的水泥地上叮当作响。
“And you are a traitor and a corpse,” she said calmly. He tried to scream again, but merely choked, falling back as blood pumped and spurted. He fell on his back, his remaining forelimb pinching off the bloody stump. Blood dripped over the PipBuck as he kicked away from her with his hind legs. Then Dawn’s wing snapped and shot a feather into the terminal. Green lightning crackled, and then the rings hummed. “There… remote access…” And the machine came to life. Cables retracted, limbs attached, and hexagonal hide was regenerated over all. With a hiss, the restraints dropped free and she lowered to the floor.
"你是一个叛徒，一具尸体,"她平静地说。他试图再次尖叫，但仅仅是窒息，随着血的涌出和喷射，他向后倒去。他仰面朝天倒在地上，剩下的前肢掐断了血淋淋的残肢。当它用后腿踢开她的时候，鲜血滴落在皮普巴克身上。然后，朵儿的翅膀折断了，向航站楼里射出一根羽毛。绿色的闪电劈啪作响，环状物嗡嗡作响。"那里...远程访问..."然后机器就复活了。电缆收回，四肢连接，六角形皮肤再生的所有。伴随着一声嘶嘶，束缚带松开了，她降到了地板上。
She kicked aside his still-twitching limb as she approached. “Flesh. Pain. Weakness. End pain, and we can make this world paradise.” She raised her bladed wings. “But you won’t see it.”
当她走近时，她把他仍在抽搐的肢体踢到一边。"肉体。痛苦。软弱。结束痛苦，我们就能让这个世界变成天堂。"她举起双刃翅膀。"但你不会看到它。"
Then the large door rolled up, and spotlights bathed the entire room in white. Dawn stared into the light as Steel’s remaining eye squinted. “My… my Goddess.”
然后大门卷了起来，聚光灯把整个房间笼罩在白色中。当斯蒂尔剩下的眼睛眯起来的时候，黎明凝视着阳光。"我的...我的女神。"
A sharpened steel rod flashed from the door and slammed into Dawn’s chest, flinging her through the air and into the concrete wall where she hung liked a pinned steel butterfly. More spikes flew through her body, her stomach, her
一根锋利的铁棒从门口一闪而过，狠狠地砸在道恩的胸口上，把她抛出去，扔到水泥墙上，她像一只被钉住的钢蝴蝶一样悬挂在墙上。更多的尖刺刺穿了她的身体，她的胃，她的身体
outstretched wings, her hooves. Finally, she went limp, her metallic body sparking and oozing glowing green fluids. “You have betrayed me,” a mare said calmly in the blinding glare of the Ultra-Sentinel’s lamps.
张开翅膀，展开蹄子。最后，她变得软弱无力，她金属般的身体冒着火花，渗出发光的绿色液体。"你背叛了我,"一匹母马在极端哨兵的灯光耀眼的目光中平静地说。
“No… I… Whatever he told you…” Dawn stammered.
"不......我.....。.无论他告诉你什么......"道恩结结巴巴地说。
“It was your own words that betrayed you, Dawn,” Cognitum said quietly.
"是你自己的话出卖了你，道恩,"科涅图姆平静地说。
Steel Rain trembled and shook as he gave the PipBuck a weak wave. “Blackjack’s trick. Remember?” He lurched, and hot blood sprayed out his split mouth. “Dying here…”
钢铁雨颤抖着摇晃着，微弱地挥了挥皮布尔。"黑杰克的把戏。还记得吗?"他踉踉跄跄，裂开的嘴里喷出滚烫的血液。"死在这里......"
“No! I am your most faithful! I am your truest servant, Mistress!” Dawn screamed. A spike shot through her throat, silencing her.
"不！我是你最忠实的人！我是您最忠实的仆人，夫人!"道恩尖叫起来。一根尖刺穿过她的喉咙，让她安静了下来。
“Enough. We shall see if you can yet be redeemed,” the icy mare’s voice said calmly. A silhouette slowly approached Steel Rain. “You should be rewarded.”
"够了。我们要看看你是否还能被救赎,"冰冷的母马的声音平静地说。一个人影慢慢地走近钢铁雨。"你应该得到奖励。"
“Not dying… good start…” he gasped. “No augmentation, either…”
"不死......好的开始......"他喘着气说。"也没有增加......"
“No?” the silhouette said coolly, in amused tones. “Very well. I’ll see if I can’t compensate you in other ways. I anticipate things will progress much more smoothly now…” Then she paused. “Wait. There’s another tapped into your PipBuck.”
"不是吗?"轮廓冷静地说，语调幽默。"很好。我看看是否能用其他方法补偿你。我预计现在事情会进展得更加顺利......"然后她停顿了一下。"等等。还有一个人接入了你的PipBuck。"
“Another?”
"再来一杯?"
“Yes,” the mare purred. “Someone has tapped into your sensory data feed. Backtracking it in three… two… on--”
"是的,"母马咕噜咕噜地说。"有人侵入了你的感官数据源。倒回去，三......二......开......"
* * *
* * *
This was a city of many things, but it had an aberration, an intrusion. Like any living organism, maimed or not, it sought to expel this infection whenever encountered. In one apartment, the ripped-away wall had been replaced with a veil of pouring rain and the beige carpet was stained with the previous inhabitants, two large, two small. Two figures sat hidden in the back corner, huddled beneath a blanket to keep out the damp and cold, one black and the other white.
这是一个拥有许多东西的城市，但它有一种偏差，一种入侵。像任何生物体，残废或没有，它寻求驱逐这种感染时，遇到。在一间公寓里，被撕裂的墙被倾盆大雨所取代，米色的地毯上沾满了以前的居民，两个大的，两个小的。有两个人躲在后面的角落里，蜷缩在一条毯子下面，一个是黑的，一个是白的，以防潮湿和寒冷。
I reached up, pulled off the Perceptitron, and magically yanked the wires from my PipBuck. “Boo. Wake up,” I said, nudging the sleeping blank beside me.
我伸手从Perceptitron上拔下电线，神奇地从我的PipBuck上拔下电线。"嘘。"醒醒,"我说，轻轻地推了推身边熟睡的空白。
“Sweepie,” Boo protested, turning over on her side and pulling the blanket more tightly around herself. “Go ta bed, Bwackjack,” she grumbled, swinging a hoof in my direction.
"亲爱的,"布抗议道，翻过身来，把毯子拉得更紧了。"去睡觉吧，怪人,"她嘟囔着，挥动着一只蹄子朝我走来。
I levitated her, blanket and all, onto my back, spreading my wings a little to keep her in as I bundled up all the salvage we’d gathered, particularly the gems. Especially the gems. I was fortunate enough that there’d been a jewelry store right outside where the Hurricane had almost crushed us to goo. If it hadn’t been for Boo’s freaky luck, I was sure I would have been dead. I immediately popped a super sweet diamond in my mouth, sucking hard for the burst of magical energy in case I needed to fly.
我把她、毯子和所有的东西都悬浮在我的背上，展开我的翅膀，把我们收集到的所有东西，特别是宝石，包裹起来，把她留在里面。尤其是那些宝石。我很幸运，就在飓风差点把我们压成肉酱的地方，外面有一家珠宝店。如果不是阿布的怪运气，我肯定我已经死了。我立刻把一颗超级甜的钻石塞进嘴里，用力吸吮着，以防万一我需要飞翔时释放出魔力。
Reaching the door, I threw it wide just as Boo sat up on my back, her ears twitching. I froze. Twitching ears were better than E.F.S. in this place, as all I saw were countless red bars in every direction. Slowly, I lifted Penance and put my eye to the scope, peeking through the door. I saw a flash of white, red, and steel.
到了门口，我把它扔得很宽，就在布坐在我的背上，她的耳朵在抽搐的时候。我愣住了。在这个地方，抽动的耳朵比e.f.s.要好，因为我看到的每个方向都有数不清的红条。慢慢地，我举起苦修，把眼睛放在望远镜上，透过门偷看。我看到一道白色、红色和钢铁的光闪过。
Then the door exploded inwards as Rampage blasted through it and leapt right at my chest. With a resounding clang that could likely be heard for blocks, she impacted with me, and promptly fell prone at my hooves as I took a step or two back. “Hey, Blackjack,” Rampage muttered in a daze, grinning up at me. “I knew you were alive!”
然后门在里面爆炸，横冲直撞地穿过门，跳到我的胸口。当我向后退一两步的时候，她和我一起撞击地面，发出了一声响亮的铿锵声，好像几个街区都能听到。"嘿，黑杰克,"狂暴发呆地喃喃自语，冲着我咧嘴笑着。"我就知道你还活着!"
Footnote: Maximum Level Reached.
脚注:已达到的最高水平。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
 
(Author’s notes: Whew. On to the last arc. Tried something new here. We’ll come back to this twice more. I don’t know how many chapters it will be. As usual, the chapter grew larger than I originally planned. It was going to start out just Scotch, Glory, and Dawn and then go from there, but it mutated on me. Honestly, at this rate, there’s a lot more in the air than I
(作者的笔记:。直到最后一道弧线。在这里尝试一些新的东西。我们以后再来讨论这个问题。我不知道会有多少章。和往常一样，这一章的篇幅比我原先计划的要大。一开始只有苏格兰威士忌，晨辉和黎明，然后就从那里开始了，但是后来我突然变了。老实说，按照这个速度，空气中的污染物比我多得多
thought. I don’t know who will live or die before we get to the end of this thing. I do thank the critical work of my editors, who spend incredible amounts of time trying to get every sentence right... and talking me out of using Paladin Mustang, Hawkeye, and Havok... sniff...
思想。我不知道在我们结束这件事之前谁会生谁会死。我真的要感谢我的编辑们的批判性工作，他们花费了大量的时间试图把每一句话都写对...并说服我不要使用圣骑士Mustang，霍凯和Havok..。
So I’d like to thank them, and to the people who have stuck with the story long enough to get through to this final push. I really hope it’s been worthwhile. I have a few more twists in store and then everything should get sorted out in short order. Maybe. I hope... I really want to move on to new projects before 2015!
所以我要感谢他们，感谢那些坚持了这个故事足够长的时间来完成这最后一搏的人们。我真的希望这是值得的。我还有一些曲折的商店，然后一切都应该得到整理，在短期内。也许吧。我希望......我真的想在2015年之前进入新的项目！
Also, a few people have asked about work. Yes, I am subbing. Unfortunately, I won’t get paid till next wednesday, so bits right now are extra precious. Subbing is very unstable work, as I have no idea day to day if I’ll work or not. I have to work 20 days a month, which is almost every day, to meet bills. I really hope folks can continue to help. If not, I understand. Donations can be sent to David13ushey@gmail.com through paypal. Thank you.
此外，还有一些人询问有关工作的问题。是的，我在代课。不幸的是，我要到下周三才能拿到工资，所以现在的比特是特别珍贵的。代班是一项非常不稳定的工作，因为我每天都不知道自己是否会工作。我必须一个月工作20天，几乎每天都要工作，来支付账单。我真的希望大家能继续帮忙。如果没有，我理解。捐款可以通过paypal发送到david13ushey@gmail.com。谢谢你。
Thanks to Kkat for creating FoE. Also, thanks to the many other writers out there trying to continue this thing. Horizons is wrapping up. So is MN7 and potentially heroes. I hope that many of you will give new fics a try, like Treasure Hunting or Merchants of Hope. I’ve been glad to help continue FoE, but we’ll need many more stories to keep us going past season five!
感谢Kkat创造了地球之友。同时，感谢其他许多作家试图继续这件事。地平线快要结束了。还有MN7和潜在的英雄。我希望你们中的许多人能够尝试一下新的小说，比如《寻宝记》和《希望商人》。我很高兴能够继续帮助FoE，但是我们需要更多的故事来让我们度过第五季！
Hinds: If we’re recommending other FoE stories, I’d like to particularly mention All That Remains (which has a thread on Cloudsville) and Wasteland Bouquet. Hm, The Hooves of Fate and The Daily Unlife have somewhat interesting concepts, also, and The Ditzy Doo Chronicles recently returned from nearly a year of hiatus. That’s probably enough for now, but there’s a lot of good fic, FoE and non, out there.
如果我们要推荐其他地球之友的故事，我想特别提及剩下的一切(在Cloudsville有一个帖子)和WastelandBouquet。嗯，《命运之蹄》和《非生活日报》也有一些有趣的概念，而《迪兹·杜编年史》最近从中断了近一年的地方回来了。现在这些可能已经足够了，但是还有很多好的科学、敌人和非科学的东西。