“Well, there's something here about a dragon, the kingdom falling, chaos reigning... Okay, apparently it was all because the prince and princess were so lost in each other's eyes that they couldn't perform their royal duties.”
"嗯，这里有一些关于龙，王国衰落，混乱统治......好吧，很明显，这一切都是因为王子和公主在彼此的眼中如此迷失，以至于他们无法履行他们的皇室职责。"
Once upon a time, there had been a Princess born in a castle. She was a beautiful Princess, for everyone told her so, and the sweetest Princess, for everyone proclaimed it. Of course, they also remarked on what a pity it was that she had killed her mother when she was born… though only when they thought she couldn’t hear. She lived in a palace surrounded by servants who provided for her and her fat, ugly older sister and insipid, vain older brother. She had anything and everything she ever wanted, so long as it was pretty and worthless. And she had a father who loved her more than anything… well, perhaps not more than anything. Not more than his precious little Society, or his legacy, or his collection of baubles and trinkets, but she was somewhere on the list of things he loved. Towards the bottom.
从前，有一位公主出生在一座城堡里。她是一位美丽的公主，因为每个人都这样告诉她，而且是最可爱的公主，因为每个人都这样宣称。当然，他们也谈到，她在母亲出生时就杀死了她，这是多么可惜......尽管只是在他们认为她听不见的时候。她住在一座宫殿里，周围都是仆人，他们供养着她和她那又胖又丑的姐姐，还有乏味又虚荣的哥哥。她拥有她想要的一切，只要是漂亮的，没有价值的。她有一个爱她胜过一切的父亲......好吧，也许不是胜过一切。除了他珍贵的小社会，或者他的遗产，或者他收集的小玩意儿和小饰品，她还是在他喜欢的东西清单上的某个地方。走向底部。
And one day, he said he’d give her a gift: anything she could possibly want. As usual. But because she loved him, she believed him, and so she asked that she should someday rule the Society. Because she was, as she’d always been told, the prettiest and the sweetest and the smartest. And her father had coughed and smiled and patted her head and suggested a new gown or a dolly instead. But she knew she was better than her older siblings, and so she asked again, with all the seriousness she could, to rule the Society. And he’d coughed again and mumbled something like ‘well, we’ll see’ which meant ‘no fucking way in hell’ and sent her on her way.
有一天，他说他会给她一份礼物:任何她可能想要的东西。像往常一样。但是因为她爱他，所以她相信他，所以她要求有一天她应该统治这个协会。因为正如别人一直告诉她的那样，她是最漂亮、最可爱、最聪明的。她的父亲咳嗽着，微笑着拍拍她的头，建议她换一件新的长袍或者一个洋娃娃。但是她知道她比她的哥哥姐姐们要好，所以她又一次严肃地请求管理这个协会。他又咳嗽了一声，咕哝着什么'好吧，我们走着瞧'，意思是'他妈的没门儿'，然后把她打发走了。
And so the Princess was upset and did everything she could to show everyone that her fat older sister was slow and stupid and her vain older brother was perverted and dumb and neither was worth a big pile of brahmin poop. And she
所以公主很不高兴，竭尽所能地向大家展示她那肥胖的姐姐又迟钝又愚蠢，她那虚荣的哥哥变态又愚蠢，两者都不值得一大堆婆罗门的便便。还有她
learned to say what people wanted her to say and do what others wanted her to do, even if it felt icky and made her feel bad, because then they’d be scared she’d tell and she could make them do things she wanted. And she got money because sometimes that worked even better than doing the other stickier ickier things. And so she was all set to get rid of her fat, ugly, stupid, nasty older sister and her dumb brother, and even her father too if he didn’t get his old ass out of her throne.
学会说别人想让她说的话，做别人想让她做的事，即使这让她觉得恶心，让她感觉很糟糕，因为那样他们就会害怕她说出去，她就能让他们做她想做的事。她之所以能拿到钱，是因为有时候这比做其他更棘手的事情更有效。所以她决定摆脱她那又胖又丑又蠢又恶心的姐姐和她那愚蠢的哥哥，甚至还有她的父亲，如果他不把他的老屁股从她的王座上挪开的话。
Then a wandering Barbarian came to her home, and her father was afraid because the Barbarian had killed lots of ponies and could kill lots more. And her father knew that the smart, good, beautiful Princess was going to take her throne sooner or later, and so her father hatched a plot to keep the good Princess from the throne. He gave it to the stupid Barbarian instead, and everyone was so afraid of the Barbarian that the Princess couldn’t take everything over. So when her father died, the Princess snuck in and stole all the special bits of lore the wandering Barbarian desired, and promised money and weapons besides.
然后一个流浪的野蛮人来到她家，她的父亲很害怕，因为野蛮人杀了很多小马，而且还会杀更多。她的父亲知道这位聪明、善良、美丽的公主迟早会继承她的王位，所以她的父亲密谋阻止这位善良的公主继承王位。他把它给了愚蠢的野蛮人，每个人都很害怕野蛮人，所以公主不能接管一切。因此，当她的父亲去世，公主偷偷溜进来，偷走了所有流浪的野蛮人想要的特殊传说，并承诺除此之外金钱和武器。
But the Barbarian was a stupid cunt who ruined everything! Everything! She’d picked the Princess’s fat and ugly sister to rule instead and ruined months and months of planning and plotting and scheming and getting favors and bribing and stockpiling weapons. And so the Princess had taken all of the precious trinkets that the Barbarian coveted and smashed them to bits, but she made sure to take all their secrets just in case the Barbarian changed her mind and stopped being a stupid cunt.
但是那个野蛮人是个把一切都毁了的蠢货！所有的一切！她选择了公主那个又胖又丑的妹妹来统治国家，毁掉了几个月来的计划、谋划、谋划、得到好处、贿赂和囤积武器的日子。于是公主把野蛮人梦寐以求的所有珍贵的小饰品都拿走了，并把它们砸成了碎片，但是她一定要拿走它们所有的秘密，以防野蛮人改变主意，不再做一个傻逼。
Then the Princess met a noble Knight of a powerful order who also desired the secrets the Princess had learned. He served a powerful Sorceress with power greater than that of the Barbarian queen, and if she went with him, the Knight would see her made Queen of her castle. And so she freed the Knight from the cell where the Barbarian had placed him and fled with him to his fortress. And she met the powerful Sorceress and her mechanical weapons of war, and the Princess began to feel like she’d take back all which was rightfully hers.
然后公主遇到了一位有权势的高贵骑士，他也想知道公主所知道的秘密。他服侍了一个强大的女巫，她的力量比野蛮女王还要强大，如果她和他一起去，骑士就会看到她成为她城堡的女王。于是她把骑士从野蛮人关押他的牢房里解救出来，和他一起逃到他的城堡里。她遇到了强大的女巫和她的战争机械武器，公主开始觉得她要夺回她应得的一切。
But the Princess quickly learned the Knight’s order was not like back home. No matter how she stomped her hooves, they ignored her. When she made demands, they laughed at her. When she lifted her tail, they were repulsed. More than once they simply locked her in a cell where she would be out of the way. But then the Sorceress called. She wanted the secrets. The Princess tried to tell her, but there was so very much and it was all so very confusing. ‘But fear not’, the Sorceress
但是公主很快就知道骑士的命令和家里不一样。不管她怎么跺蹄子，他们都不理她。当她提出要求时，他们嘲笑她。当她举起尾巴的时候，他们被拒绝了。不止一次，他们简单地把她锁在一个牢房里，那样她就不会碍事了。但是这时女巫来了电话。她想知道秘密。公主试图告诉她，但有这么多，这一切都是如此令人困惑。但是不要害怕，女巫
promised, she knew how to get the secrets out of the Princess’s head.
她承诺说，她知道如何从公主的脑袋里挖出秘密。
And so she drilled holes in the Princess’s head, put wires in her brain, and sucked all the secrets out, no matter how the Princess cried or screamed that it hurt or begged her to stop. The zaps kept coming. And the Princess was put into a magical bottle where she didn’t have to eat or go to the bathroom, but also couldn’t go anywhere else. And if the Sorceress was in a bad mood because the Barbarian had gotten herself killed in the sky, or because a bad thing called Horizons was going to go off, she’d entertain herself by making the Princess experience all the horrible things that the Princess had once wanted for the Barbarian to suffer… and things the Princess had never imagined before… and things the Princess rather wished she didn’t know.
于是她在公主的头上钻了几个洞，在她的大脑里装上电线，把所有的秘密都吸了出来，不管公主怎么哭，怎么尖叫，怎么痛，怎么求她停下来。接二连三的电击。公主被放进一个神奇的瓶子里，在那里她既不用吃东西，也不用上厕所，也不用去其他地方。如果女巫心情不好是因为野蛮人在空中被杀了，或者是因为一个叫做地平线的坏东西要爆炸了，她就会让公主体验所有公主曾经想让野蛮人遭受的可怕的事情...以及公主以前从未想象过的事情...以及公主宁愿自己不知道的事情。
Then one day, the Barbarian showed up and faced the Sorceress, but the Sorceress was too clever and the Barbarian had been betrayed by the only friend she'd brought with her. The Sorceress took the Barbarian’s body for her own, leaving her trapped inside the Sorceress’s iron throne. Not even the arrival of a mischievous spirit, who whisked away the Sorceress’s Dark Magician and fallen Lady, could save the day. And so the Sorceress had freely cast her spell... only to discover it had been a trick all along. The Sorceress left for the moon to punish the one who played the trick and cast the true spell, leaving her Knight and Vizier behind.
然后有一天，野蛮人出现了，面对着女巫，但是女巫太聪明了，她带来的唯一的朋友背叛了野蛮人。女巫把野蛮人的尸体据为己有，把她困在女巫的铁王座里。即使是带走巫婆的黑暗魔法师和堕落的女士的淘气鬼的到来，也无法挽救这一天。就这样，女巫自由地施放了她的咒语......结果却发现这一直都是一个骗局。女巫离开了月亮惩罚谁发挥的伎俩，并投下了真正的咒语，离开了她的骑士和维齐尔后。
The pair had stood around for several minutes, and the Princess could feel the Barbarian trapped within the machine. The wires connecting her brain to the iron throne were still working, even without the Sorceress to control them. She could feel the Barbarian struggle within, losing the strength of her will with every second. Then the Knight kicked a copy of the Barbarian off the platform, and thanked the Barbarian for saving him long, long ago.
这两个人已经站了好几分钟了，公主可以感觉到野蛮人被困在机器里了。连接她的大脑和铁王座的电线仍在工作，即使没有女巫来控制它们。她能感觉到野蛮人的内心在挣扎，每一秒都在失去意志的力量。然后骑士把一本《野蛮人》踢下平台，感谢野蛮人很久很久以前救了他。
Then he moved far back and fired his cannons straight into the heart of the iron throne. The Barbarian’s scream echoed on and on inside the Princess’s head as the top half of the massive structure was torn apart by the colossal blast. The flaming pieces cascaded down into the murk far below. The shockwave knocked the jars over, and the Princess was rattled as her prison rolled over and smashed into a bank of terminals on the edge of the platform. The filly could barely think as she grabbed the wires with her hooves, desperate to keep them from yanking out of her brain.
然后他向后退了很远，用大炮直射铁王座的中心。野蛮人的尖叫声在公主的脑海中回荡，巨大的爆炸把这座建筑的上半部分撕成了碎片。燃烧的碎片像瀑布一样落入远处的黑暗之中。冲击波把罐子震翻了，公主被吓坏了，她的监狱翻了个个儿，砸到了站台边上的一堆终端上。这匹小母马几乎无法思考，她用蹄子抓住电线，拼命地不让它们从她的大脑中拉出来。
It didn’t help that the Barbarian was still screaming in her mind. The top half of the machine was a flaming mess, but the bottom half and the platform were still intact. The computers smoldered, the blast having sundered the machine without setting it aflame, but it still billowed a thick, oily black smoke that washed across the platform.
那个野蛮人仍然在她的脑海里尖叫，这也没有什么帮助。机器的上半部分是一团火焰，但是下半部分和平台仍然完好无损。电脑闷烧起来，爆炸在没有点火的情况下将机器分解，但仍然滚滚浓浓的黑烟冲刷着整个平台。
“Think she noticed that?” the Knight asked casually as he trotted up before the smashed computer.
"你觉得她注意到了吗?"骑士在被砸烂的电脑前小跑着问道。
The zebra snorted. “I doubt it. She has the tunnel vision of a machine, and in Blackjack’s body she has no clue what is transpiring remotely. Even if she did, by now she is likely reunited with Blackjack’s friends. She can’t come and investigate.” He gave a tiny shrug. “If she asks, tell her Blackjack had started gaining control of her old shell, and remind her that Princess Luna would never be so timid.”
斑马哼了一声。"我对此表示怀疑。她的视野像机器一样狭隘，在黑杰克的身体里，她完全不知道远处发生了什么。即便如此，现在她可能已经和Blackjack的朋友们团聚了。她不能过来调查。"他轻轻地耸了耸肩。"如果她问起，告诉她黑杰克已经开始控制她的老贝壳，并提醒她卢娜公主永远不会这么胆小。"
“Yes, she’s easy to manipulate like that,” the Knight said with a dry chuckle. “You’ll head back and get the Brood ready?”
"是的，她很容易被操纵,"骑士干笑着说。"你要回去把布伦特一家准备好吗?"
“Of course,” the zebra replied. “I’ll have to get my stripes redone, of course. Quite a pain, but I keep a pony for just such an occasion.”
"当然,"斑马回答。"当然，我得把我的条纹重新做一遍。很痛苦，但我养了一匹小马，就是为了这种场合。"
“You zebras and your stripes,” the Knight replied with a laugh, one the Vizier did not share. “Red. Black. What’s it matter?”
"你们这些斑马和你们身上的条纹,"骑士笑着回答，这是宰相没有告诉你们的。"红色。黑色。这有什么关系呢?"
“Unicorn. Pegasus. What’s it matter?” he replied with an edge to his voice. “Accept that there are some aspects to my kind you do not need to understand, and I will accept the same of yours.” The Vizier looked around at the controls. “You’ll be ready to catch the moonstone when it falls?”
"独角兽。飞马座。这有什么关系呢?"他回答时声音很尖锐。"承认我的同类有些方面你不需要理解，我也会接受你的。"大臣环顾了一下控制器。"当月亮石掉下来的时候，你准备好接住它了吗?"
“I don’t plan on being vaporized,” the Knight answered. “You think she’ll be successful altering the trajectory?”
"我不打算被蒸发,"骑士回答。"你觉得她能成功改变轨道吗?"
“She has Blackjack’s talent for victory. I am utterly assured of it. A pity she doesn’t realize Blackjack’s talent is victory, not survival. We will simply destroy her wherever she lands triumphantly rather than at the scene of her staged battle.” The Vizier laughed and shook his head. “I had looked forward to witnessing her face when she was vaporized along with her most ardent supporters, but this will have to do.” The Vizier then regarded the empty terminals. “You’re going to need help making sure all is ready. I could provide–”
"她有黑杰克的胜利天赋。我完全相信。遗憾的是她没有意识到黑杰克的天赋是胜利，而不是生存。我们只会在她胜利着陆的地方摧毁她，而不是在她上演的战斗现场。"大臣笑着摇了摇头。"当她和她最热心的支持者一起蒸发的时候，我很期待看到她的脸，但这也只能这样了。"然后大臣看了看空的终端。"你需要帮助，以确保一切都准备就绪。我可以提供——"
“Please,” the Knight interrupted with a shake of his head. “I trust you as far as dividing the Wasteland between us. I need your Brood. You need the Core. Let’s not complicate matters by providing any more temptations for betrayal than necessary. I’ll find some Harbingers with the necessary technical experience.”
"请,"骑士摇摇头，打断了他的话。"我相信你能把我们之间的荒原分开。我需要你的孩子们。你需要核心。让我们不要为背叛提供过多的诱惑，让事情变得更复杂。我会找到一些具有必要技术经验的先驱者。"
The zebra paused for several seconds, just smiling at the armored pony. “I suppose,” the Vizier conceded. “We should keep perspective. After all, the last thing either of us wants is to serve beneath the hoof of that delusional monstrosity. Once we’ve sorted her out, things should take care of themselves.” He turned, regarding the smoking, sparking heap of the computer. “And at last Blackjack is out of the picture. Discord failed to interfere. All is as it should be.”
斑马停顿了几秒钟，只是对着装甲小马微笑。"我想是吧,"大臣让步道。"我们应该保持洞察力。毕竟，我们最不想做的事情就是为那个妄想的怪物服务。一旦我们解决了她的问题，事情就会自然而然地解决了。"他转过身，看着冒着烟、冒着火花的电脑。"最后，Blackjack出局了。不和未能干预。一切都应该如此。"
“Yes, his pitiful failure was quite extraordinary,” the Knight chuckled. “I hadn’t quite expected him to turn to dust, but--”
"是的，他令人同情的失败是非同寻常的,"骑士轻声笑道。"我没想到他会化为尘土，但是——"
The statement made the zebra freeze. “Discord was here?” the Vizier muttered.
这句话让斑马冻僵了。"不和谐之处在这里?"大臣低声说。
“Yes, for a minute or two, right before you arrived. Stopped me from smashing the metal nag to scrap, made some taunts, and sent her and Cog’s pet skull somewhere. Then he turned to dust and blew away,” the Knight said, now sounding a bit baffled in that helmet. “What’s the matter? Everything happened as you predicted. Well… aside from Cognitum not being able to use EC-1101. I wonder what happened there. Still, nothing else major changed.”
"是的，一两分钟，就在你来之前。阻止我把那匹金属马砸成碎片，嘲弄了她一番，还把她和柯格的宠物头骨送到了某个地方。然后他变成了尘土，被风吹走了。"骑士说，戴着头盔的他听起来有点困惑。"怎么了？一切都如你所料。嗯...除了Cognitum不能使用EC-1101。我想知道那里发生了什么。尽管如此，其它重大变化都没有发生。"
“You don’t know that!” the Vizier hissed. “Discord. Pinkie Pie. Blackjack. You have no idea how dangerous they are. You think killing makes a pony dangerous! Killing is nothing! Knowledge. Interference. Those are dangerous, fool!” He spat the last word so sharply that the Knight took a step back. “If he was here, it was for a reason! Why Dawn? Why Snips?”
"你怎么知道!"大臣嘶嘶地说。"不和。粉红派。黑杰克。你不知道他们有多危险。你认为杀死一匹小马很危险！杀戮算不了什么！知识。干扰。那些东西很危险，傻瓜!"他尖锐地吐出最后一个字，骑士后退了一步。"如果他在这里，一定是有原因的！为什么是道恩？为什么是小鬼头?"
“He was crazy!” the Knight retorted. “Now all three are dead. I don’t know what you’re so upset about. He didn’t even have enough power to save himself.”
"他疯了!"骑士反驳道。"现在这三个人都死了。我不知道你为什么这么生气。他甚至连自救的力量都没有。"
Now the Vizier appeared particularly pissed. “I must triple check everything now. I’ve worked far too hard to let his ilk unravel everything. He did something. Changed something. Meddled in some way.” He trotted towards the elevator. “If I were you, I’d put a few more shells into those remains. Make certain that Blackjack is annihilated! Kill off the rest of Cognitum’s little collection. Send out patrols. Something is amiss, and we must know what it is!” He glared up at the direction she’d gone. “I never would have sent her on her
现在大臣显得特别生气。"我现在必须再三检查一遍。我已经很努力地工作了，不能让他的同类拆散一切。他做了些什么。改变了一些东西。以某种方式插手了。"他小跑着向电梯走去。"如果我是你，我会在那些尸体上多放几颗子弹。确保黑杰克被歼灭！把科涅塔姆剩下的小收藏都杀光。派出巡逻队。有什么不对劲，我们必须知道是什么!"他怒视着她走的方向。"我绝不会让她去的
way if I’d known he’d been here!”
如果我知道他来过这里，我就不会这么做了!"
“Well, it’s too late now. You’ll look oddly suspicious trotting around with her when you’re supposed to be dire enemies. Guess that ‘prophecy’ you made up bit you in the tail,” the Knight said scornfully.
"好吧，现在太晚了。当你被认为是可怕的敌人的时候，你和她在一起会显得古怪而可疑。猜猜你编造的那个'预言'咬了你的尾巴,"骑士轻蔑地说。
“The prophecy is real,” the Vizer muttered.
"预言是真的,"维泽喃喃自语道。
For many seconds, the Knight simply stared at the zebra in flat incredulity. “What?” When the Vizer didn’t answer, sitting there and muttering to himself. “There actually is prophesy crap to worry about?”
骑士盯着斑马看了好几秒钟，简直不敢相信。"什么?"当维泽没有回答的时候，他坐在那里喃喃自语。"真的有什么预言之类的废话要担心吗?"
“The powers I serve know time in ways you mortals fail to understand. What is prophesy to us is simple knowledge to them, yet imparting that knowledge to our incestile minds is challenging. Even I struggle to comprehend every nuance of their guidance,” the Vizer said as he faced the Knight. “The Maiden of the stars will oppose my master, but she will be destroyed. Yet she may also thwart his goals. That can not be allowed. But what is the correct action for me to take? Any action or inaction might be fulfilling that unwanted future. So I act to corrupt the prophecy. I make certain that Princess Luna’s soul is entrusted to a mind utterly incapable of thwarting my master.”
"我所服务的力量以你们凡人无法理解的方式知道时间。对我们来说，预言对他们来说只是简单的知识，然而把这种知识传授给我们乱伦的心灵是具有挑战性的。即使是我也很难理解他们指引的每一个细微差别。"维泽面对骑士说道。"星星少女会反对我的主人，但她会被毁灭。然而，她也可能阻碍他的目标。这是不允许的。但是我应该采取什么样的正确行动呢？任何行动或不行动都可能实现那个不想要的未来。所以我采取行动破坏预言。我确信卢娜公主的灵魂被赋予了一个完全无法阻止我主人的意识。"
“And who’s that?” the Knight asked. “I thought you were in this for yourself.”
"那是谁?"骑士问道。"我还以为你是为了自己。"
The Vizer simply smiled, and a moment later the word trembled. The scream, kept from the Princess by the talisman she wore, deepened. It became a whisper that spoke of horrible things. Truths the Princess did not wish to hear. The Knight backed away, staring at the walls as the silvery ruins glowed a baleful green for several seconds before it faded again. “The greatest being in all the universe, and I am its most faithful champion. Nothing shall stop him, not even death. And you are wise to stay in its, and my, favor.”
维泽只是简单地笑了笑，片刻之后，这个词就颤抖了。公主佩戴的护身符挡住了她的尖叫声，这声音更加尖锐了。它变成了一种说着可怕事情的耳语。公主不想听到的真相。骑士往后退了退，凝视着墙壁，银色的废墟发出恶意的绿光，持续了几秒钟，然后又消失了。"宇宙中最伟大的生物，我是它最忠实的拥护者。没有什么可以阻止他，即使是死亡。你明智的话，就留在它和我的恩惠里吧。"
The Knight did not reply and the Vizer resumed pacing in aggravation as he paced back and forth. “What could he have done? Something… something… some juvenile, puerile prank… with dire repercussions…”
骑士没有回答，维泽继续在他来回踱步的时候加重了他的怒气。"他能做什么呢？一些......一些......一些幼稚、幼稚的恶作剧......带来可怕的后果......"
“What’s the big deal? He’s dead. He turned to dust and blew away. Blackjack’s gone. We’ve won!”
"有什么大不了的？他死了。他化为尘土，被风吹走了。黑杰克不见了。我们赢了!"
The Vizier struggled to maintain his composure, his whole body shaking for a
维兹尔竭力保持镇静，全身颤抖了一下
moment. “You don’t understand just how persistently he’s worked against my goals. How difficult he’s made the execution of my plans.” He paced back and forth, speaking faster and faster. “You can’t imagine how infuriating it is to creep and skulk about because one of his little schemes put the Princesses on high alert and suspicious of everyone else trying to move up. He’s inspired heroes, elevated the Princesses, and legitimized their roles in Equestria. His petrification didn’t help, either. With his absence, any disruption to the social order was noted! It made this so terribly difficult. Had it not been for the war, I never would have had my opportunity! I refuse to let him undo all my hard work! Now, what did he do?”
瞬间。"你不明白他是多么坚持不懈地与我的目标作斗争。他使我的计划执行起来多么困难。"他来回踱步，说得越来越快。"你无法想象偷偷摸摸是多么令人恼火，因为他的一个小计划让公主们处于高度警惕状态，怀疑其他任何想往上爬的人。他鼓舞了英雄们，提升了公主们的地位，并使她们在Equestria的角色合法化。他的石化也无济于事。由于他的缺席，社会秩序受到了任何破坏！这使得这件事变得非常困难。要不是因为战争，我永远不会有这样的机会！我拒绝让他毁掉我所有的努力！现在，他做了什么?"
“Nothing! He appeared, taunted Cognitum a bit, then turned to dust. He seemed to want her to bond with Luna’s soul.” That made the Vizier hiss again in frustration. “What? You said that that wouldn’t matter!” the Knight protested.
"没什么！他出现了，略微嘲弄了一下Cognitum，然后就化为了尘土。他似乎想让她和露娜的灵魂结合在一起。"这使得维兹尔再次失望地发出嘶嘶声。"什么？你说过那不重要!"骑士抗议道。
“Of course not. We planned on killing her, Luna’s soul or not. But Discord thought it mattered. He thought it important! Important enough to die for! If he’s even dead!” The zebra ran towards the elevator. “We must remove the soul immediately!” Then he skidded to a stop, his eyes wide. “Unless that’s what he actually wants us to do… but if he... but I... he... AHHHGH!” The zebra clasped his skull, screaming in frustration, “Damn you, Discord! What have you done?”
"当然不是。我们打算杀了她，不管是不是露娜的灵魂。但不和认为这很重要。他认为这很重要！重要到值得为之献出生命！如果他真的死了!"斑马朝电梯跑去。"我们必须立刻把灵魂带走!"然后他滑行着停了下来，眼睛睁得大大的。"除非他真的希望我们这么做......但如果他......但我.....。.他......啊......!"斑马紧抱着他的头骨，沮丧地尖叫着,"去你的，混乱！你做了什么?"
The Knight took several steps back. “Look, what does it matter? I have the Tokomare, and soon as Cognitum returns, she’s dead. So what’s the–”
骑士后退了几步。"听着，这有什么关系？我拿到了Tokomare，一旦Cognitum回来，她就死了。那么..."
The Vizier was on him in seconds. His hooves hooked around the Knight’s neck, and he gave a colossal heave over his back. The silver-armored stallion crashed down with an impact that made the whole spire vibrate. “The point? The point is that he can change things!” the zebra yelled. “He can see things a step ahead that I can’t. He knows what to do and what not to do! You have no concept what it means to fight that!”
大臣几秒钟之内就盯上了他。他的蹄子钩住了骑士的脖子，在他的背上猛地一推。那匹银甲骏马撞倒在地，整个尖顶都震动了。"重点是什么？关键是他可以改变一切!"斑马大叫。"他能看到我看不到的东西。他知道该做什么，不该做什么！你根本不知道与之抗争意味着什么!"
The Knight didn’t reply beyond a groan as the Vizier rose, his face grim. “I did not want to do this… it was so much better taking advantage of the fears and ambitions of others. Cognitum. Dawn. You. Even Blackjack. Now it seems that I have no choice.”
维齐尔站起身来，脸色阴沉，骑士没有回答，只是呻吟了一声。"我不想这么做......利用他人的恐惧和野心要好得多。认知属。黎明。你。甚至是黑杰克。现在看来，我别无选择。"
He walked to the edge of the platform, sitting and spreading his hooves wide. “Stars of the dark places. Stars of ash. Stars of death. I beseech thee. Tell me the
他走到讲台的边缘，坐着，把蹄子张开。"黑暗之地的星星。灰烬中的星星。死亡之星。我恳求你。告诉我
dance of your circles. How has Discord marred your celestial orbits? Please! I beg thee. Ashur. Dagon. Namtar. Show me…”
跳你圈子里的舞。不和谐是如何破坏了你的天体轨道的？求你了！我求求你。阿舒尔。大光。Namtar.让我看看......"
A blue-white glow surrounded him, cold and clear, and his anger stilled. A frigid shaft of light seemed to drop upon him, and the air around him groaned and crackled. A sickly green glow began to shine out of his chest, pulsing with each beat. “Things have gone awry…” he began, and the groan around him deepened ominously. The beating green light slowed, and a spasm of pain crossed the Vizier’s face. “But all will be set right, greatest and most glorious ones! I beg you… what was the meddler’s last ploy?” The glowing beat slowly resumed, and a tense smile returned to his face. “I see. I understand. And Cognitum?” The shivery light rang as if it were laughing. A look of relief spread on his face. “Thank you. Then I succeeded. She is not the true Maiden, now or ever.”
一道蓝白色的光环绕着他，冰冷而清澈，他的愤怒平息了下来。一束寒冷的光似乎落在他身上，他周围的空气发出呻吟和噼啪声。一道病态的绿光开始从他的胸膛里发出来，随着每一个节拍跳动。"事情出了岔子......"他开始说，周围的呻吟声加深了，不祥。跳动的绿光慢了下来，一阵剧痛掠过维兹尔的脸。"但是一切都会恢复正常的，最伟大和最晨辉的！我求求你......那个爱管闲事的人最后的策略是什么?"发光的心跳慢慢恢复，他的脸上重新露出了紧张的笑容。"我明白了。我明白。那么认知力呢?"颤抖的灯光响了起来，好像在笑。他脸上露出宽慰的神色。"谢谢。然后我成功了。她现在和以后都不是真正的少女了。"
“What are you doing?” the Knight groaned. “What is that light?” It throbbed like veins of green radiance within the Vizier’s hide. “What are you?”
"你在干什么?"骑士呻吟着。"那是什么光?"它像绿色的血管一样在维齐尔的皮肤上跳动着。"你是什么?"
The zebra didn’t answer immediately, and when he did, his voice had a soft, unnatural tone to it. “The light of stars that died long ago, and would not go quietly into the darkness.” The Tokomare began to glow as well, the starmetal shining with the malignant green glare of Enervation. Even the Knight’s armor took on an ethereal illumination. In that light were strange, incoherent things suggestive of faces and tendrils and other terrible shapes hidden within the silvery radiance. “And the two he took?” Now his smile faded. “Interesting… Their time is up soon as well?”
斑马没有立即回答，当他回答的时候，他的声音变得柔和而不自然。星光早已熄灭，不会静静地消失在黑暗中托克马雷也开始发光，这颗星星闪耀着恶毒的绿色耀眼的能量。甚至骑士的盔甲也有了空灵的光辉。在那道光里，隐藏在银色光辉中的是奇怪的、不连贯的东西，让人联想到面孔、卷须和其他可怕的形状。"那他带走的两个呢?"现在他的笑容消失了。"有意思......他们的时间也快到了?"
“Stop. P…please… stop…” the former Steel Ranger muttered weakly, metal hooves clenched against his helmet.
"别说了。P.."请......停下......"这位前钢铁骑兵微弱地咕哝着，铁蹄紧紧地扣在他的头盔上。
“We did not stop for Caesars or Princesses. What makes you think we would stop for you?” The light continued to wash over everything for a few moments longer, the Enervation scream now sounding like the whisper of hundreds of unholy voices. They hinted at ways to break things. Corrupt things. Undo things that should not be undone. Make things that should not be made. Then he nodded. “I see. Blackjack was the only factor then?” Another pause. “And she is no more?” More hissing whispers. “Tell me she is no more...” They rose and fell, and made the zebra frown. “Blackjack is broken…” He muttered the phrase as if tasting it and finding it to his liking. “Good. Then all is accounted for,” he said as he rose to his hooves, his face sublime with confidence as the glow faded.
"我们不会因为凯撒或公主而停下脚步。你凭什么认为我们会为你停车?"光线继续冲刷着一切，又持续了一会儿，那充满能量的尖叫声现在听起来就像成百上千个邪恶的声音的低语。他们暗示了破坏事物的方法。腐败的东西。撤销不该撤销的事情。制造不该制造的东西。然后他点点头。"我明白了。黑杰克是唯一的因素吗?"又是一个停顿。"她不在了吗?"更多嘶嘶的耳语。"告诉我她已经不在了......"他们起起伏伏，让斑马皱起了眉头。"黑杰克坏了......"他喃喃自语，仿佛在品尝它，并发现它对他的喜好。"很好。那么一切都解释清楚了,"他说着站起身来，面带自信的神情，脸上的光彩渐渐褪去。
“What… what was that?” the Knight muttered weakly as he drew himself to his hooves.
"那...那是什么?"骑士挣扎着站起来，有气无力地喃喃自语。
“Things far greater and more glorious than you. They’ve shown me their secret orbits and the drawing of their power. Discord affected something, but it was slight. The tiniest wobble of the outplay of events. A hair’s shift out of alignment, ultimately for naught.” He trotted towards the lift.
""比你伟大得多，比你光荣得多。他们已经向我展示了他们的秘密轨道和他们的力量。不和谐影响了一些东西，但是很轻微。重大事件发生时最微小的抖动。一根头发偏离直线，最终会化为乌有。"他小跑着向电梯走去。
“You serve those… things?” he groaned, still wobbling on his hooves.
"你提供那些......东西?"他呻吟着，蹄子还在摇晃。
“Proudly. Would you would oppose them?” he asked in reply, with a content, blissful smile. “They are more magnificent than Caesar or Princess, and you would do well to be counted as their ally rather than their enemy. I have struggled on their behalf for so very long. When the war came, I finally had my golden opportunity, and I am not going to waste it.”
"骄傲地。你会反对他们吗?"他带着满意而幸福的微笑回答道。"他们比凯撒或公主更加伟大，你最好被当作他们的盟友而不是敌人。我已经为他们奋斗了很长时间。当战争来临时，我终于得到了我的黄金机会，我不会浪费它。"
“So your goal is to turn Equestria into some kind of… of… star worshiping cult?” the Knight sputtered.
"所以你的目标是把小马国变成某种......崇拜明星的邪教?"骑士气急败坏地说。
The serene zebra didn’t answer immediately, then replied calmly, “Something like that.”
安详的斑马没有立即回答，然后平静地回答:"差不多吧。"
“That’s sick. I won’t let you. I can’t believe…” the Knight began. Then the Vizier gave him a look… just a single glance… that silenced him. There was power in that stare, a lingering remnant of the dark entities he consorted with flickered that same baleful green.
"这太恶心了。我不会让你得逞的。我真不敢相信......"骑士开始说。然后大臣给了他一个眼神......只是一个眼神......让他安静下来。那种凝视有一种力量，一种挥之不去的残余的黑暗实体，他交往闪烁着同样的恶意绿色。
“You can’t believe. That is why you will never rule anything, Steel Rain, because you cannot believe in anything greater or more meaningful than yourself. You will either serve forever as Cognitum’s puppet, or you will serve my masters just as I do and revel in the power they grant their most devoted. But you will serve, or you will die. Is that understood?”
"你不能相信。这就是为什么你永远不能统治任何东西，钢铁雨，因为你不能相信任何比你自己更伟大或更有意义的东西。你要么永远做科涅塔姆的傀儡，要么像我一样服侍我的主人，陶醉于他们赋予他们的最忠诚的力量。但是你必须服从，否则你就会死。明白了吗?"
The Knight stood there a moment, cannons pointed right at the zebra. The Vizier waited, a bored smile on his face. Then the Knight turned away, and the zebra gave the tiniest shake of his head. “Good. I need somepony here pushing the buttons when the time is right. Leash your delusions of ambition, or they’ll get you killed.” He hit a button, and the lift began to rise. “I must rectify other small permutations. I will contact you shortly.”
骑士在那儿站了一会儿，大炮正对着斑马。大臣等待着，脸上露出无聊的微笑。然后骑士转过身去，斑马微微摇了摇头。"很好。我需要有人在合适的时候按下按钮。控制你的野心妄想，否则他们会杀了你。"他按下一个按钮，电梯开始上升。"我必须纠正其他一些小的排列。我很快就会联系你的。"
The elevator rose up, and for the longest time the Knight watched it go. Then he sat down, tore off his helmet, and was violently ill over the platform edge. After he puked, he sat a while, muttering to himself. “That striped bastard thinks he can talk to me like that? Me? I’ll show him and his fucking stars who owns this world. I won’t serve anyone. Not him or Cognitum or Dawn or Crunchy Carrots. Me. I’m the one who should be in charge. I won’t be second to anyone. Anyone!”
电梯升了起来，骑士看着它走了很长一段时间。然后他坐了下来，扯下头盔，猛地从站台边缘摔了下来。呕吐后，他坐了一会儿，自言自语。"那个有条纹的混蛋以为他可以这样跟我说话？我？我要让他和他的明星们知道谁才是这个世界的主人。我不会为任何人服务。不是他，不是Cognitum，不是Dawn，也不是脆胡萝卜。我。我才是该负责的人。我不会屈居第二。任何人!"
The Princess drew back from the raging stallion into the safety of the shadows beside the wreckage of the computer. She could not draw far. The wires in her head hurt terribly, and if she pulled on them… well… she wouldn’t live long after that. “I just want to go home. Please. Just let me go home,” she whispered to herself.
公主从愤怒的种马中退回到电脑残骸旁的阴影中。她不能画很远。她头上的电线疼得厉害，如果她拉上电线......那么......她就活不长了。"我只想回家。求你了。"让我回家吧,"她低声对自己说。
“I wish to return home as well,” a synthetic voice murmured. The Princess started, then peeked at a little notch at the base of the processor. A broken and battered pony-shaped object lay there. The Sorceress’s Lady. The Princess knelt down, looking at the pale green light flickering in the mechanical eyes. “I thought I would save the Wasteland. That I would make it all better. I just had to give enough to make it so…”
"我也想回家,"一个虚拟的声音低声说。公主开始了，然后瞄了一眼处理器底部的一个小缺口。一个破损的马形物体躺在那里。女巫的夫人。公主跪下来，看着机械眼中闪烁的淡绿色光芒。"我以为我能拯救荒原。我会让一切变得更好。我只需要付出足够的努力，让它变得如此......"
The Princess’s magic tugged at the broken Lady, pulling her from the hidden notch. Behind her were some faintly glowing bones. The Sorceress’s Dark Magician. The purple glowing aura surrounding them formed a ghostlike image of the rotund pony. The Princess drew the broken machine into her hooves and embraced the cold, hard metal. “My head hurts so much,” the Princess whimpered.
公主的魔法拉着这位受伤的女士，把她从隐藏的缺口中拉了出来。她身后是一些微微发光的骨头。女巫的黑暗魔法师。紫色的光环环绕着他们，形成了一个圆形小马的幽灵般的形象。公主把那台坏掉的机器拉进她的蹄子里，抱着冰冷坚硬的金属。"我的头好痛,"公主呜咽着说。
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you now. I can’t save anyone,” the broken Lady whispered.
"对不起。我现在帮不了你。我救不了任何人,"心碎的女士低声说。
“It’s like when I was shot in the head, only this time it’s lots of little holes and the bullets are still in there,” the Princess said as she hugged the smashed torso and head like a run-over windup toy. Any second the Knight would either follow the Vizier out, leaving them all trapped, or he’d obey the Vizier and find them all cowering.
"就像我头部中弹一样，只不过这次有很多小洞，子弹还在里面,"公主一边说，一边抱着被打碎的躯干和头部，就像一个用发条捆住的玩具。骑士随时都可能跟着大臣出去，把他们都困在里面，或者服从大臣的命令，发现他们都缩成一团。
“You should get back in a jar. The stasis fields should stop your pain,” the Dark Magician said, his bones flashing brighter with every word.
"你应该回到罐子里去。黑暗魔法师说，他的骨头每说一句话都闪烁得更亮。
“I don’t want to get in the fields. It’s like not having my body again. I don’t want to not feel like my body isn’t really there again,” the Princess whimpered, quivering.
"我不想到田里去。就像再也没有我的身体一样。我不想再次感到我的身体不在了。"公主呜咽着，颤抖着。
The broken Lady, however, did not respond for several seconds. “Child, what are you talking about? When were you… shot?”
然而，这位受伤的女士好几秒钟都没有回应。"孩子，你在说什么？你是什么时候...被枪击的?"
“All the time. I’m always getting hurt. My body. My heart. My soul. Always getting hurt. People always shoot me. Even my friends shot me. Glory shot me in the face… but it’s okay. It was an accident,” the Princess muttered weakly.
"一直都是。我总是受到伤害。我的身体。我的心。我的灵魂。总是受伤。人们总是向我开枪。甚至我的朋友也开枪打我。晨辉射中了我的脸......不过没关系。"这是个意外,"公主虚弱地咕哝着。
“What?” the Dark Magician muttered. “Child, do you know what Blackjack told me before I died?”
"什么?"黑魔法师咕哝着。"孩子，你知道我死前Blackjack对我说了什么吗?"
The Princess frowned, opening and closing her mouth slowly, thinking about what she knew about the Barbarian. “She… she swore to get Snails out. And I think she said she was… sorry?”
公主皱起眉头，慢慢地张开嘴巴，闭上嘴巴，想着她对野蛮人的了解。"她......她发誓要把蜗牛弄出来。我记得她说过她......对不起?"
“How can this be?” the Dark Magician asked, his glowing socket motes turning to the smashed Lady.
"这怎么可能?"黑暗魔术师问道，他那发光的插座微粒转向那个被打碎的女士。
The broken stub of a leg reached out and brushed the wires dangling from the Princess’s head, making her wince and draw back. “It must be… it must be the neural taps Cognitum wired. She kept the connection constant. When the computer was destroyed, the link persisted; it must have shoved Blackjack’s memories into the only buffer still connected to it!”
一条断腿伸了出来，拉掉了悬挂在公主头上的电线，使她畏缩不前。"一定是......一定是认知神经系统的连接。她一直保持这种联系。当电脑被破坏时，链接仍然存在;它一定把Blackjack的记忆塞进了唯一一个还连接着它的缓冲区!"
“Can her brain hold the experiences of another pony?” the glowing skull asked in awe.
"她的大脑能承受另一匹小马的经历吗?"发光的骷髅头敬畏地问道。
“She’s young. She and Blackjack both. I can only assume there’s enough space, but… why isn’t she… Blackjack?” the broken Lady asked.
"她还年轻。她和黑杰克都是。我只能假设有足够的空间，但是......为什么她不......玩黑杰克?"破碎的女人问道。
The Dark Magician replied immediately. “Because there’s none of Blackjack’s soul in her. Blackjack’s mind… her memory and personality… they’re just like a character in a story to Charm. Without her soul, they’re just detailed data.” He peered into the Princess’s eyes. “How long can she hold those memories?”
黑暗魔法师立即回答。"因为她身上没有黑杰克的灵魂。黑杰克的头脑...她的记忆力和个性...它们就像《魅力》故事中的一个角色。没有她的灵魂，它们只是详细的数据。"他凝视着公主的眼睛。"她能记住这些记忆多久?"
“I don’t know,” the broken Lady murmured, “But… perhaps long enough to bring Blackjack back… if we can get that body!”
"我不知道,"伤心欲绝的夫人喃喃地说,"但是......也许足够长的时间让黑杰克回来......如果我们能找到那具尸体的话!"
“There you are,” the Knight said evenly as he walked around the corner of the smoldering computer, helmet clipped to his shoulder. The Knight’s kind and gentle face was now harrowed, his eyes sunken with anxiety. “I thought I’d heard voices.”
"你在这儿啊,"骑士一边走过那台闷烧着的电脑，一边平静地说，头盔别在肩膀上。骑士和蔼而温和的脸上现在显得忧心忡忡，他的眼睛因为焦虑而凹陷下去。"我以为我听到了什么声音。"
“Steel Rain. Listen. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to serve Cognitum or the Legate,” the Dark Magician said rapidly.
"钢铁雨。听着。你没必要这么做。你不必服侍公爵或使节,"黑暗魔法师迅速地说。
“Shut up. I’m not planning on serving anypony,” the Knight growled. “I’m going to be the one on top. You’ll see. It doesn’t matter how often I get set back. I’m going to be in charge and no one will stop me.”
"闭嘴。"我不打算为任何小马服务,"骑士咆哮道。"我将是那个在上面的人。你会明白的。不管我多么频繁地遭遇挫折。我要当家，没有人能阻止我。"
“You spoiled bastard,” the broken Lady retorted, “Can’t you think about anypony besides yourself?”
"你这个被宠坏的混蛋,"心碎的女士反驳道,"你就不能想想除了你自己以外的其他人吗?"
“That’s worked wonders for you and Blackjack, hasn’t it?” the Knight replied with a glower. “She’s dead and you’re… about to join her,” he muttered dully.
"这对你和Blackjack来说是个奇迹，不是吗?"骑士怒气冲冲地回答。"她死了，而你......就要和她一起死了,"他无精打采地咕哝着。
“What’s happened to you?” the broken Lady asked.
"你怎么了?"破碎的女人问道。
“Nothing. I’m fine,” he snapped.
"没什么。我很好,"他厉声说。
“He was touched by the song of dead stars,” the Dark Magician replied. “The
"他被死星的歌声感动了,"黑暗魔法师回答。「
Black Book was rife with all kinds of their dark magic. After a while, you just stop caring about how it hollows you out and fills you up with its temptations.”
黑皮书里充斥着他们各种各样的黑魔法。一段时间后，你就不再关心它如何让你空虚，而是让你充满了它的诱惑。"
The Knight sneered at them. “I’ve had it to here with stripe talk about dead stars.” He tapped the collar of his power armor with a hoof. “The Legate’s going to take Cognitum off the board. I’ll take him off the board. Game over. I win. Tokomare’s restored. Core’s restored. I get to reboot civilization. The Steel Reign of King Steel Rain. Sounds catchy, huh?”
骑士对他们嗤之以鼻。"我受够了在这里谈论死去的星星。"他用蹄敲了敲他的强力盔甲的领子。"大使馆将把科涅图姆从董事会除名。我要把他从黑板上拿下来。游戏结束。我赢了。Tokomare餐厅重建。核心恢复了。我要重建文明。钢铁雨王的钢铁统治。听起来很吸引人吧?"
“Sounds stupid,” the Princess whimpered, hugging the broken Lady all the tighter to keep from shaking. “Go away. You won’t be king any more than I’ll be queen. Nopony likes you.”
"听起来很愚蠢,"公主呜咽着，紧紧地抱着这位受伤的女士，以防止身体发抖。"走开。你当不了国王，我当不了王后。小马驹喜欢你。"
The Knight blinked at her. “I like me,” he said in faintly injured tones, his voice regaining a little of his old self.
骑士对她眨眨眼。"我喜欢我自己,"他略带伤感地说，他的声音恢复了一些以前的自己。
“Nopony else, then,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “It doesn’t matter how
"那就不要小马了,"她转了转眼珠说。"用什么方式并不重要
smart or clever or sneaky you are. If nopony believes in you, or likes you, or wants you, they’re not going to follow you. It doesn’t matter how shiny your armor is or how big your guns are. Everypony knows you hate them, and probably think you’ll kill ‘em the second it suits you… ‘cause you will.” She closed her eyes. “I used to be just like you. Then I got wires stuck in my head. Now I’m not so stupid anymore.”
聪明，聪明，鬼鬼祟祟。如果没有人相信你，或者喜欢你，或者想要你，他们不会跟随你。不管你的盔甲有多亮，你的枪有多大。每个小马都知道你讨厌它们，可能认为只要它们适合你，你就会杀了它们......因为你会的。"她闭上了眼睛。"我曾经和你一样。然后我的脑袋里就塞满了电线。现在我不再那么愚蠢了。"
The Knight opened and closed his mouth a moment, then gave a little frown. “Well. I guess there’s just one thing left to do.” He stepped forward, raising a hoof. “Hold still. This’ll be quick.”
骑士张开嘴闭了一会儿，然后皱了皱眉。"好吧。我想只剩下一件事要做了。"他走上前去，抬起一只蹄子。"别动。很快就好。"
“Wait!” the broken Lady implored. “Charm has a copy of Blackjack’s mind. If we get that blank back, we can put her back in!”
"等等!"破碎的女士恳求道。"Charm有黑杰克的想法。如果我们能拿回那张空白票，我们就能把她放回去!"
The Knight froze, staring for a moment, then laughed and backed away. “Oh, you think I want Blackjack back? There are five people in the world I really want dead. You. Cognitum. That striped bastard. The Lightbringer, simply ‘cause I don’t want to deal with ‘heroic weather’ while I’m remaking civilization for my glory. And Blackjack. Blackjack most of all.” His left cannon let out a loud ka-chunk as it loaded a round. “Because if she had just had the decency to die and leave me the Celestia, I would have taken over the Hoof four months ago.” He grinned at the three of them. “Time to end this.”
骑士愣住了，盯着看了一会儿，然后笑了笑，退开了。"哦，你以为我想要回Blackjack？世界上有五个人我真的想要他们的命。你。认知属。那个有条纹的混蛋。光明使者，简单地说'因为我不想在为了我的晨辉而重建文明的时候应付'英雄般的天气'。还有黑杰克。尤其是黑杰克。"他的左大炮在装子弹时发出一声巨响。"因为如果她能体面地死去，把天堂留给我，我四个月前就能接管霍夫了。"他对着他们三个咧嘴笑了笑。"是时候结束了。"
Then a great hissing mass launched itself from out of the shadows behind the three, clearing the filly and diving at the armored stallion. “STAY AWAY FROM MY KIDS!” the Revenant screamed in near feral rage as the maroon ghoul opened his jaws wide, Pink Cloud boiling up his throat. Had the Knight been wearing his helmet, he might have simply opted for a point blank blast and been done with all of them. As it was, he had to backpedal rapidly to avoid having his face melted off, trying to keep the demented Revenant at bay with armored kicks.
接着，一大群嘶嘶作响的马从三人身后的阴影中冲出来，清理了小母马，向那匹装甲种马俯冲过去。"离我的孩子远点!"当栗色食尸鬼张开大嘴，粉红云沸腾着喉咙时，荒野猎人愤怒地尖叫起来。如果骑士当时戴着他的头盔，他可能会选择近距离直射，然后把他们都干掉。事实上，他不得不迅速后退，以免自己的脸被融化，试图用装甲鞋阻止疯狂的荒野猎人。
The two tumbled off the maneframe’s platform, the Revenant springing on top of the Knight. The broken Lady’s eyes turned to the Dark Magician’s sockets. “Can you retrieve Blackjack’s body? Do you have a spell or something… anything… that could pull that blank up here?”
他们俩从帆船的平台上摔了下来，复仇者跳到了骑士的顶上。破碎的女士的眼睛转向黑暗魔术师的眼窝。"你能找回黑杰克的尸体吗？你有没有什么咒语或者其他什么东西......可以把这里的空白拉上来?"
“I… no. The distance is too far for basic telekinesis. And all of my spells affect the soul, not the body.” Then he paused, the glow in his sockets growing. “But
"我.....。.没有。这个距离对于基本的心灵遥感来说太远了。我所有的咒语都会影响灵魂，而不是身体。"然后他停了下来，眼窝里的光芒越来越明亮。"但是
her soul is bonded to her body. If I had enough power, perhaps I could summon her spirit, and the body could come along for the ride.”
她的灵魂与身体紧紧相连。如果我有足够的力量，也许我可以召唤她的灵魂，这样身体就可以跟我一起走了。"
“What kind of power do you need?” the broken Lady asked immediately.
"你需要什么样的权力?"受伤的女士立刻问道。
“A circle of at least six unicorns, Snails, or… or…” His eyes turned this way and that in his skull. Then they stared straight up. “Or that.” The Princess raised her eyes, looking up at one of the golden arms projecting out into the void thirty feet overhead. As she watched, a dozen emerald lightning bolts struck the end, the energy being sucked up along the cables. “That might do it.”
"一圈至少有六只独角兽，蜗牛，或者......或者......"他的眼睛转向这边，转向那边的头骨。然后他们直直地盯着上面。"或者那个。"公主抬起她的眼睛，看着其中一只金色的手臂伸向头上三十英尺的空间。就在她注视着的时候，一打翠绿色的闪电击中了电缆的末端，能量沿着电缆被吸走了。"这样或许就行了。"
“Each of those arms carries one point twenty-one gigasparks, at least. It’d vaporize you,” Dawn said immediately.
"这些武器每个都至少承载着1.21个巨型油气公园。它会把你蒸发掉,"道恩立刻说。
“Not instantly, though. I’m a soul jar, albeit a flawed and improperly prepared one. I should last long enough to get Blackjack back. I might even survive. Wouldn’t that be a laugh?” he said hollowly. “Once we do have the body, though, how do we get Blackjack back inside?”
"不过不是马上。我是一个灵魂罐子，尽管是一个有缺陷且准备不当的罐子。我应该能撑到黑杰克回来。我甚至可能活下来。那不是很好笑吗?"他说hollowly。"不过，一旦我们找到了尸体，我们怎么才能把Blackjack弄回去?"
“I should be able to do it if we can just get our hooves on Cognitum’s neural mapping array. If it still works, that is. I think it landed over there on the side of the platform. I don’t know how we’re going to get you up to that arm and get me the array before Steel Rain or Sanguine kills us.”
"如果我们能把蹄子放到Cognitum的神经映射阵列上，我应该就能做到。如果它仍然有效的话，就是这样。我想它降落在那边的平台上。我不知道我们怎样才能在钢铁雨或血红杀死我们之前把你弄到那只手臂那里，把阵列给我。"
“I’ll do it,” the Princess said. “I’ll get him up there.” She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see the doubt in theirs. “Blackjack did so much for so many. I should be able to do this.”
"我来吧,"公主说。"我把他弄上去。"她闭上眼睛，这样她就不会看到他们的怀疑。"黑杰克为很多人做了这么多。我应该能够做到这一点。"
“I don’t mean to be rude, but you still have wires connecting you to the jar,” the Dark Magician pointed out. But the Princess trotted to where the wires entered the wrecked jar’s rim, bit down on the cables, set her hooves against the housing, and pulled as hard as she could. The harder she strained, the worse her head throbbed and tingled unnaturally. Her stomach lurched as nausea rolled through her. For a second, she was sure her teeth were going to yank right out, but then the wires suddenly jerked as the cover gave way to reveal the clustered circuitry around the jar’s top. She twisted, yanked, and freed a large ring of arcane technology her head wires were directly connected to, then put her head through it like a yoke. The heavy ring scraped along the floor as she trotted to the skull. The Princess deftly tied the skull into a bit of slack in the wires connecting her head and collar. The filly then ran to one of the supports as fast as she could and
"我不想无礼，但你仍然有电线连接你的罐子,"黑暗魔术师指出。但是公主小跑到了电线进入破损的罐子边缘的地方，咬住电缆，用蹄子抵住外壳，然后使尽全力拉。她越用力，她的头就越不自然地颤动和刺痛。她感到恶心，肚子突然一阵痉挛。有那么一瞬间，她以为自己的牙齿会被拔出来，但随着盖子被揭开，电线突然抽动起来，露出了罐子顶部的集群电路。她扭动着，猛拉着，释放了一个她头上的金属丝直接连接的大圆环，然后把她的头像一个轭一样穿过它。当她快步走向头骨时，沉重的戒指刮擦着地板。公主灵巧地把头骨绑在连接她的头和领子的电线上。然后小母马以最快的速度跑向其中一个支撑物
struggled to get up high enough where she could use the crossbracing to wiggle her way up to the golden arm.
挣扎着爬到足够高的地方，这样她就可以用交叉拉条摇摇晃晃地爬到金色的臂膀上。
The Princess fought tears of frustration. She could do this. She needed to do this. She just needed to get up a couple of feet. But the Lady was broken, and there were no others who could–
公主强忍着沮丧的眼泪。她能做到这一点。她必须这么做。她只需要站起来几英尺。但是这位女士已经崩溃了，没有其他人可以-
“Excuse me,” a mare said pleasantly, trotting from around the back of the computer. “I need some medical assistance for Mr. Horse,” the Golem said with a worried frown, glancing over her shoulder at the quivering lump on her back that had once been a pony. “He’s not himself. It has been over one hundred and five million minutes since he told me how amazing he is.” She looked back at all the rest of us. “I’m quite concerned,” she added in complete sincerity.
"对不起,"一匹母马愉快地说，从电脑后面小跑过来。"我需要给霍斯先生找个医生,"魔像皱着眉头忧心忡忡地说，回头看着她背上颤抖的肿块，那曾经是一匹小马。"他不是他自己了。自从他告诉我他有多棒以来，已经过了一亿五百万分钟了。"她回头看了看我们其他人。"我很担心,"她完全真诚地补充说。
The three others stared back for two seconds. Then the broken Lady spoke up. “Yes. Yes! We’re trying to get him medical help. We need your help to get him help.” She gestured at the Princess with a wing stub. “Please, boost her up to the ladder. Then I need you to take me to the front of the maneframe, quickly.”
另外三个人盯着他看了两秒钟。然后那个心碎的女士开口了。"是的。太好了！我们正在给他寻求医疗帮助。我们需要你的帮助，让他得到帮助。"她用一根翅膀的残根向公主做手势。"请把她抬到梯子上去。然后我需要你带我到前面去，快点。"
The Golem tilted her head and blinked cluelessly. “It would be more efficient and effective to contact paramedics and have Mr. Horse taken to a Ministry of Peace medical center. He seems to have lost most of his epidermis.”
魔像歪着头，无助地眨着眼睛。"与护理人员联系并将Horse先生送往和平部医疗中心会更有效率和效果。他似乎失去了大部分的表皮。"
“Just… that’s what we’re trying to do. Please!” the broken Lady begged. “I promise it’ll help Mr. Horse.”
"只是......我们正在努力做到这一点。求你了!"受伤的女士哀求道。"我保证这会帮到马先生的。"
“Oh. Okay then!” the Golem said brightly, sliding Horse gently from her back and setting him down, then casually scooping up the filly. Clinging to her back, the Princess was lifted high enough that she could climb onto the bracing and start to wiggle up to the spire. “Careful,” the robotic mare said brightly.
"哦。那好吧!"魔像明亮地说，轻轻地把马从她的背上滑下来，放下它，然后随意地舀起小母马。紧贴着她的背，公主被举得足够高，她可以爬上支撑和开始摆动起来到塔尖。"小心,"机器母马明亮地说。
“Thanks,” the Princess replied, then started to pick her way up the side of the spire, the lambent pony skull weighing heavily around her neck and the Dark Magician’s radiant bones dangling and rattling against the metal as if still connected by invisible sinews. Below her, she saw the broken Lady and Horse both picked up and carried over towards the front of the machine by the Golem. “Do you think Mr. Horse will be okay?” The feeling of compassion was alien to her, but unlike so very much the Sorceress had taught her, it wasn't altogether unwelcome.
"谢谢,"公主回答道，然后开始沿着塔尖向上爬去，那个发光的小马头骨沉重地围绕在她的脖子上，黑暗魔术师的光芒四射的骨头在金属上晃来晃去，格格作响，仿佛还有隐形的肌腱相连。在她下面，她看见破碎的女士和马都被魔像抬到机器的前面。"你认为马先生会没事吗?"这种同情的感觉对她来说是陌生的，但不像女巫教给她的那么多，这并不是完全不受欢迎的。
“Do not worry about Mr. Horse,” the glowing skull admonished as she climbed. “He probably lost his soul long ago. Worry about yourself.” The edge of the golden ring cut into her neck with each foot she ascended. Off to the side, she could see where the Knight and the Revenant still fought, but both were lost in a pink haze that spread over the floor of the platform. Their movements were just a blur of candy-colored mist, clanging metal, and feral hisses.
"不用担心马先生,"她爬上去时，闪着光芒的骷髅告诫道。"他可能很久以前就失去了灵魂。担心你自己吧。"她每上一只脚，金戒指的边缘就划破她的脖子。在侧面，她可以看到骑士号和亡魂号仍在争斗的地方，但是两艘船都被散布在月台地板上的粉红色迷雾给淹没了。他们的动作只是模糊的糖果色的薄雾，叮当作响的金属和野生的嘶嘶声。
“What about you? Aren’t you worried about yourself?” she asked.
"你呢？你不担心你自己吗?"她问道。
“No,” the bones replied with a papery sigh. “I’m old and I’m tired. I’ve done so much, and too much of it’s been bad for me to ever be able to even attempt to live happily. And… now that I’m back together… I owe Blackjack for what I did to her. Owe a lot for the ponies I’ve hurt. Some things don’t get forgiven.”
"不,"骨头轻轻地叹了口气，回答道。"我又老又累。我已经做了太多，太多的事情对我来说都是坏事，我甚至不能尝试过快乐的生活。而且......现在我们又在一起了......我欠黑杰克我对她做的一切。我受伤的小马欠了很多。有些事情是不会被原谅的。"
“Blackjack feels the same way all the time,” the Princess said. “She can’t forgive herself. But I know she’d forgive you.”
公主说:"黑杰克一直都有同样的感觉。"。"她无法原谅自己。但我知道她会原谅你的。"
“And you as well, child,” he said as she climbed closer to the humming arm. “Ironic. The mare that can’t cut herself a little slack for her mistakes will happily excuse far worse from others.” His voice dropped. “She rescued my friend, and I hurt her for it.”
"你也一样，孩子,"他说着，她爬近了嗡嗡作响的胳膊。"真讽刺。如果母马不能为自己的错误宽容一点，她会很乐意为别人的错误找借口。"他的声音低了下来。"她救了我的朋友，我为此伤害了她。"
The Princess reached the furthest she could. The ring dragged at her neck, threatening to pull her to the wreckage far below. The broken Lady and the Golem were occluded by the spreading pink mist, getting something from the front of the machine. The Princess now looked at the glowing skull and at the thick cables overhead where the arm met the supporting structure. “I can’t get any higher,” she said as she carefully untied the wires from the skull, then looped the slack around her upper foreleg and scanned around.
公主走到了她能走到的最远的地方。戒指拽着她的脖子，威胁要把她拖到下面很远的地方。破碎的女士和假人被蔓延的粉红色雾气阻挡住了，从机器的前面取出了一些东西。公主现在看着发光的颅骨和头顶上手臂与支撑结构相连的粗电缆。"我再也爬不高了,"她一边说，一边小心翼翼地解开颅骨上的金属丝，然后把松弛的金属丝绕在她的大前腿上，扫视周围。
“Wait. There!” the skull said as her gaze passed a large lever underneath the arm. A small sign marked it ‘Breaker’. “Pull that!”
"等等。那里!"头骨说，当她的目光穿过手臂下的一个大杠杆时。一个小牌子上写着"断路器"。"拉那个!"
She moved along the structure to the bar and threw all her weight into it. Fortunately, the lever resisted for only a few seconds before it flipped over. The gold-tipped arm let out a crack as a gap opened between it and its power cables. The lightning stopped crackling. The gap was just big enough for the pony skull to fit.
她沿着结构走到吧台，把全身的重量都压在上面。幸运的是，控制杆只坚持了几秒钟就翻过来了。当它和电缆之间出现一个缺口时，金色的机械臂就会裂开一条缝。闪电停止劈啪作响。这个缺口刚好够小马的头骨穿过去。
“What’s going to happen if I put you in there?” the Princess asked.
"如果我把你关进去，会发生什么?"公主问道。
“So concerned...” the skull muttered, sounding amused, and the Princess flushed. “Well, have you ever put a bit in a fuse box? Something like that. And whether an imperfect soul jar can survive the current, magical discharge, and Enervation… well… let’s find out.” The skull chuckled. “‘Let’s find out.’ If only Snails and I had known how much trouble those three words would cause us.”
"这么关心......"骷髅头咕哝着，听起来很有趣，公主脸红了。""那么，你有没有在保险丝盒里放过一点？差不多吧。一个不完美的灵魂罐能否经受住电流、魔法释放和衰弱......好吧......让我们拭目以待。"头骨咯咯地笑了起来。"'我们来看看吧。'要是蜗牛和我早知道这三个字会给我们带来多大的麻烦就好了。"
The Princess didn’t know what else to do. Only that he was being brave, and that a real princess, not a snotty nasty mean princess, would give him something before he went. So she kissed the top of his skull, then threw him up into the gap. The rest of the glowing bones followed into the breach, and as soon as the skull bridged the gap, a blinding light arced through. “Okay… this stings a bit… ow… Ow! Okay… more than a bit!”
公主不知道还能做什么。只知道他很勇敢，一个真正的公主，而不是一个下贱卑鄙的公主，会在他走之前给他一些东西。于是她吻了吻他的头顶，然后把他扔进了缝隙里。其余的发光的骨头跟着进入缺口，当头盖骨架起缺口时，一道炫目的光弧穿过。"好吧......这有点刺痛......噢......噢！好吧......不止一点!"
An aura of magic burst forth, and a crackling black claw of sorcery arched out of the gap and reached down into the depths far below, sweeping to and fro. The Princess could no longer see the fighting between the Knight and the ghoul at all through the Pink Cloud. “Ow. Ow. Where are you, Blackjack? Ow…” the skull said as crackling sparks of energy rained down from the gap. The skull rattled around in the space like mad, but the Princess didn’t dare get any closer to try and keep it still.
一个魔法的光环突然出现，一只黑色的魔爪从裂缝中拱起，伸入深深的海底，来回扫荡。通过粉红云，公主再也看不到骑士和食尸鬼之间的战斗了。"噢。噢。你在哪儿黑杰克？"噢......"头骨说着，劈啪作响的能量火花从缝隙里落了下来。骷髅头像疯了一样在空中嘎嘎作响，但公主不敢再靠近一步试图让它保持静止。
Suddenly, the hand of black energy withdrew from the depths, pulling with it a white mass, and set the pale, sodden shape on the deck behind the blasted computer. The Princess scrambled down to it as swiftly as she could. “Ow… ow… ow…” the skull repeated as the lightning crackled more and more. “Is she okay?” the Dark Magician asked.
突然，黑色能量之手从深处抽出，带走了一团白色的东西，把那苍白、湿透的形状放在那台该死的电脑后面的甲板上。公主飞快地爬下去。"噢......噢......"当闪电越来越劈啪作响时，头骨重复了一遍。"她还好吗?"黑暗魔法师问道。
The Princess fell the last ten feet, landing hard and almost falling over, but she didn’t bother to fully regain her footing before scrambling over to the waterlogged mare. The plastic-covered moonstone talisman still hung around her neck. She carefully pressed her ear to the white unicorn’s side. She waited a moment. She heard the heavy thud of a heartbeat within. “She’s alive!” the Princess shouted, smiling up at the skull trapped in the electrified gap.
公主从最后十英尺的地方摔了下来，重重地着地，几乎摔倒，但是她没有费心完全站稳脚跟，就爬到了满是水渍的母马身边。塑料覆盖的月光石护身符仍然挂在她的脖子上。她小心翼翼地把耳朵贴在白色独角兽的身边。她等了一会儿。她听到里面有心跳的沉重声音。"她还活着!"公主对困在通了电的缝隙里的骷髅头微笑着喊道。
“Huh? What do you know?” The Dark Magician actually sounded surprised! “It worked! It actually worked! Snails–”
"啊？你知道什么?"黑暗魔术师实际上听起来很惊讶！"成功了！这真的有用！蜗牛
The gap where the skull rested exploded, the metal arm shuddering as it was twisted and sheared away, tumbling end over end into the abyss below. Of the
头骨所在的缝隙爆炸了，金属臂扭曲着、断裂着，翻滚着一头栽进了下面的深渊。的
glowing bones, nothing remained. A second later, the oozing pink body of the Revenant was tossed back up onto the elevated platform the remains of the computer sat upon. Broken pink bones jutted from his limbs as he struggled, most of his torso crushed and mangled. From around the side of the maneframe came the Golem and the battered remains of the Lady.
发光的骨头，什么都没留下。一秒钟之后，电脑的残骸被抛回到高架平台上。当他挣扎的时候，粉红色的断骨从他的四肢上突出来，他的躯干大部分被压碎和撕裂。石人和圣母的残骸从石阵的四周传来。
“Quickly. Set me down,” the Lady said, and the robot dropped her next to the prone form. “Grab that terminal, Sweetie! Bring it over here.”
""快点。把我放下来,"女士说着，机器人把她放在了俯卧姿势旁边。"抓住那个终端，亲爱的！把它拿过来。"
“Mr. Horse isn’t going to like me breaking off pieces of his masterpiece,” the Golem said in worry as she reached over and pulled one of the terminals off the ruined machine.
"马先生不会喜欢我打碎他的杰作的碎片,"魔像担心地说，她伸出手，从毁坏的机器上拉下一个终端。
“Do it,” a choking, mottled voice hissed. Everyone froze at the horrid sight of the skinned stallion lifting his head. Blood dripped down his lips. “You’re trying to transfer an intelligence, right?”
"动手吧,"一个哽咽的、杂色的声音嘶嘶地说。每个人看到那匹剥了皮的种马抬起头时都愣住了。血从他的嘴唇上滴下来。"你是想转移情报，对吧?"
“Y…yes…” the broken Lady said in a low voice. “From a filly’s brain back into a blank copy with her soul.”
"y..是的......"伤心的女士低声说。"从一匹小母马的大脑回到她的灵魂的一个空白副本。"
“Oh. I thought this was going to be hard,” the Skinned Pony muttered. “You’re using the mind array from this, right? Sweetie Bot, pull off the back of the housing. Wire in the array to access terminal AB-02. Wire in the filly to AB-01. If the copy has the soul, it should self-arrange. Just like pouring water through a pipe.”
"哦。我以为这会很艰难,"剥了皮的小马咕哝着。"你用的是这个思维数组，对吧？亲爱的机器人，把外壳拉下来。在数组中连线以访问终端AB-02。电线在小母马的AB-01。如果复制品有灵魂，它应该自我排列。就像往水管里倒水一样。"
“Here all of you are,” the Knight said as he stepped around the ruined machine, his helmet back on his head, his armor pristine, and his guns at the ready. “Cognitum’s little menagerie. What do you think you’re doing?”
"你们都在这儿,"骑士一边说着，一边绕过那台被毁坏的机器，他的头盔戴在头上，他的盔甲完好无损，他的枪也准备好了。"科涅塔姆的小动物园。你以为你在干什么?"
“Well, I’m doing my best not to scream. Fortunately, I’ve had two hundred years of revenge fantasies to help focus me,” the Skinned Pony rasped. “You’d be smart to join our side. Serving that crazy nag isn’t a good idea. She’s a lot like you. Manipulation and backstabbing are her two favorite hobbies. I should know.”
"好吧，我尽量不尖叫。幸运的是，我有两百年的复仇幻想来帮助我集中注意力。"你最好加入我们这边。伺候那匹老马可不是什么好主意。她很像你。操纵和背后中伤是她最喜欢的两个爱好。我应该知道。"
“Fortunately, my compatriot has the means to destroy her with ease. She’ll go to the moon and fix Horizons so it’ll fire where we want it to, and the Core will be restored. Then we kill her on the way back.” The power-armored stallion tapped his nose. “I’ll have to deal with the Legate when it’s over. That fuck is too freaky
"幸运的是，我的同胞有办法轻而易举地消灭她。她会去月球修复地平线，让它在我们想要的地方发射，核心将被修复。然后在回来的路上杀了她。"那匹强壮的种马轻轻地敲着鼻子。"等一切都结束了，我得去对付特使。那家伙太变态了
sneaky to trust, but I’ll have the whole Core at my disposal. I’ll get him, one way or another.”
鬼鬼祟祟的信任，但我会有整个核心在我的支配。我会抓住他的，不管用什么方法。"
“Stay away from my children!” the Revenant hissed, the broken ghoul dragging himself towards the Knight. “I won’t let you hurt them. I won’t!” he spat mindlessly, Pink Cloud oozing out of the holes in his hide.
"离我的孩子远点!"荒野猎人嘶嘶地说，破碎的食尸鬼拖着身体向骑士走去。"我不会让你伤害他们的。我不会的!"他无意识地吐了一口唾沫，粉红云从他的皮洞里渗出来。
“Shut. Up,” the Knight said, then stomped down hard. His hoof crushed the ghoul’s skull like a silver hammer hitting a rotten egg. “I’m sick of all of you. You should be dancing on Blackjack’s corpse along with me.” He twisted his hoof for good measure in the pulpy, rotten mass, grinding it into the metal deck. The body quivered, then went still.
"闭嘴。骑士说，然后重重地踩了下去。他的蹄子踩碎了食尸鬼的头骨，就像一把银锤砸向一只腐烂的鸡蛋。"我讨厌你们所有人。你应该和我一起在黑杰克的尸体上跳舞。"他把自己的蹄子在这块腐烂的泥土里扭了一下，在金属甲板上磨了磨。身体颤抖了一下，然后就静止了。
“You murderer!” the broken Lady cried out at him.
"你这个杀人犯!"伤心欲绝的女士冲他大声喊道。
“Oh, you have no right to talk,” the Knight countered. “It’s time to tie up loose ends.”
"哦，你没有权利说话,"骑士反驳道。"是时候收拾残局了。"
The Golem worked furiously to wire things into the back of the terminal, shielding the Barbarian with her body. “Wait,” the Skinned Pony rasped. “I can help you. I know things.”
魔像疯狂地把东西连接到终端后面，用她的身体保护着野蛮人。"等等,"剥了皮的小马嘶嘶地说。"我可以帮你。我知道一些事情。"
“Oh?” the Knight stopped. “I’m listening.”
"哦?"骑士停了下来。"我在听。"
“There’s a base in the valley. A special stable made for Equestria’s nobility. The Redoubt. I can tell you how to access it.” The Skinned Pony shuddered as his flayed body cracked, dripping more blood. “All I want is a healing potion, restoration talisman, or something.”
"山谷里有一个基地。为小马骑士的高贵而设计的特殊马厩。堡垒。我可以告诉你如何访问它。"剥了皮的小马颤抖着，它剥了皮的身体裂开了，滴下了更多的血。"我想要的只是治疗药水，修复护身符之类的东西。"
“Why would I need that when I have the Core?” the Knight asked with a metallic chuckle.
"既然我有核心，为什么还需要它?"骑士咯咯地笑着问道。
“It never hurts to have contingencies,” the Skinned Pony rasped, quivering, as fresh wounds opened up on him. “I’m bleeding quite profusely, and the agony’s getting rather excessive, so I’d appreciate healing sooner than later.”
"有意外情况总是好的,"这匹被剥皮的矮种马颤抖着，身上的新伤口在他身上揭开。"我流了很多血，而且疼痛越来越剧烈，所以我希望尽快痊愈。"
“Yeah, yeah. Just a second. Need to finish off the… rest…” He trailed off as he looked past the Golem at the Barbarian. “No. No way. She’s more tenacious than a radroach!”
"是的，是的。等一下。需要完成......休息......"他越过石人看着野蛮人，慢吞吞地说道。"没有。不可能。她比牧羊犬还要顽强!"
“Stop!” the broken Lady hissed as the Knight shoved the bloody Skinned Pony aside. “You heard the Legate! He fears Blackjack! Leaving her alive would be your best weapon against him.”
"住手!"当骑士把那匹血淋淋的剥了皮的矮种马推到一边时，这位受伤的女士发出了嘶嘶的声音。"你听到了使节的话！他害怕黑杰克！让她活着是你对付他的最好武器。"
“I have no doubt it would. But I also know that Blackjack isn’t going to let me rule the Core. She’s handled way too much shit. I’d rather face a star-worshiping zebra alone than let that bloody mule loose again.” He lowered his guns at the Barbarian.
""我毫不怀疑。但我也知道黑杰克不会让我统治核心。她处理的事情太多了。我宁愿独自面对一只崇拜明星的斑马，也不愿意让那头该死的骡子再次失控。"他把枪口对准那个野蛮人。
The poor Lady threw her broken body at him. She didn’t get far. One hoof came up, blocking the lunging mare. She collided with it, and the hoof came down, crushing her against the floor. “You’re just as bad as Blackjack is. Take a hint and die!” he shouted as he stomped again and again. The battered and dinged cybermare clanged and crunched as she was smashed to scrap against the floor.
可怜的女士把她破碎的身体扔向他。她没走多远。一只蹄子走了上来，挡住了突出的母马。她和它相撞，蹄子掉了下来，把她压在地板上。"你和Blackjack一样坏。接受暗示去死吧!"他一边大叫一边跺脚。那匹破旧肮脏的赛博母马被摔得粉碎在地板上，发出咔哒咔哒的声音。
The Princess gazed up at the Golem as it finished wiring both sets of cables in. The gem-studded net was spread over the Barbarian’s skull. “There. That should be sufficient,” the robot said brightly. “Once the transfer is complete, we need to get medical attention for Mr. Horse immediately! He’s a very important pony, you know.”
公主凝视着Golem，看着它完成了两组电缆的布线。这张镶满宝石的网布满了野蛮人的头骨。"那儿。这应该足够了,"机器人明快地说。"一旦转移完成，我们需要马先生立即得到医疗救助！他是一匹非常重要的小马，你知道的。"
The Knight started, distracted from his destruction of the Lady. “Oh fuck no!” he shouted, and his cannon roared. He fired hastily and high, though, so much so that the Princess and the Barbarian weren’t even knocked across the deck by the shockwave. The Golem, however, smiled benignly as the blast ripped her synthetic body apart, the sturdy frame ripping in half and sending the remains bouncing over the remaining pair of ponies. The Princess hugged the terminal, keeping the cables plugged into the back of the boxy machine. The front half of the robot landed with a crash, her eyes rolling in her smoking sockets.
骑士吓了一跳，没有注意到他对圣母的毁灭。"哦，他妈的不!"他喊道，他的大炮在咆哮。他匆忙地高高地开了一枪，以至于公主和野蛮人甚至没有被冲击波击中。然而，当爆炸将她的人造身体撕成两半时，魔像温和地微笑着，坚固的骨架被撕成两半，残骸在剩下的两匹小马上弹跳着。公主拥抱着终端，把电缆插在盒状机器的后面。机器人的前半部落地时发出撞击声，她的眼睛在冒烟的眼眶里翻滚。
“No! Sweetie Belle!” the Skinned Pony rasped, reaching a bloody hoof out towards her.
"不！甜心!"剥了皮的小马锉了一下，伸出一只血淋淋的蹄子朝她走来。
“I’m sorry, Mr. Horse. I’m afraid I broke,” she buzzed as she lay there. “Would you like me to execute the transfer?”
"对不起，马先生。她躺在那儿发出嗡嗡声。"需要我来执行转账吗?"
The Princess looked up at the armored pony. He stood on the broken body of the Lady, his cannons swiveling down at the Princess as she hugged the terminal. All she had to do was throw the machine aside and beg him for help. Maybe offer to run the Society for him. Something. Anything to save herself. Because
公主抬头看着那匹装甲小马。他站在这位女士破碎的身体上，他的大炮朝着公主旋转着，公主拥抱着终端。她所要做的就是把机器扔到一边，向他求助。也许可以帮他管理这个协会。一些东西。只要能救她自己什么都行。因为
that’s what she’d always done.
她总是这么做。
What she’d always done had never made her happy before. “Yes!” she cried out. Then she felt it. Everything the Barbarian had gone through and suffered leaving her head like water swirling down a drain. The barbarian’s still body began to twitch and jerk underneath the hood covering her head.
她一直以来的所作所为从来没有让她快乐过。"是的!"她大声喊道。然后她感觉到了。野蛮人所经历的一切让她的头像水一样流进了下水道。那个野蛮人一动不动的身体在遮住头部的头巾下开始抽搐。
“No!” the Knight shouted, then cried out as a starmetal-edged pinion found a gap between two plates in his legs and rammed through. The armored stallion reared up and slammed the somehow still-struggling Lady in a fury. “Just hurry up and die! Die already!” He kept smashing down until there was a wet pulpy noise.
"不!"骑士喊道，然后大叫起来，一个星形金属刃的小齿轮在他腿上的两块金属板之间发现了一个缺口，于是就撞了过去。装甲种马暴跳起来，怒气冲冲地猛击这位不知怎么还在挣扎的女士。"赶快去死吧！去死吧!"他不停地砸，直到发出一种湿漉漉的、粘稠的声音。
“I will... I will... I. Will. Save. Everypony,” the bent metal shell buzzed as it scraped at the silvery armor with the wing. “My beloved. My children. Blackjack. Everypony.” She crackled, keeping the silvery feathers lodged in his leg as he stomped again and again, trying to kick them free.
"我会...我会...我会的。保存。每一匹小马,"弯曲的金属壳嗡嗡地响着，因为它用翅膀刮着银色的盔甲。"我的爱人。我的孩子们。黑杰克。每一匹小马。"她噼啪作响，把银色的羽毛留在了他的腿上，他一次又一次地跺着脚，试图把它们踢开。
“Die! Die! Die! Die!” the Knight screamed in a fury as the Princess felt all those memories and experiences leaving her. The Princess saw the barbarian’s eyes moving under her eyelids through the gaps in the mesh.
"去死吧！去死吧！去死吧！去死吧!"当公主感到所有那些记忆和经历都离她而去时，骑士愤怒地尖叫起来。公主透过网眼的缝隙，看到那个野蛮人的眼睛在她的眼皮下移动。
“Why isn’t she awake yet?” Hissed the skinned stallion. “The neurons are there! Just reactivate the patterns already!”
"她怎么还没醒?"剥了皮的种马嘶嘶地叫着。"神经元在那里！只要重新激活模式就可以了!"
Then the Princess smiled. “Duh. That’s simple.” The horrible looking stallion gaped at her as the Princess reached down and kissed the Barbarian on the cheek. Because she was a Princess, and the kiss of a Princess was magic.
然后公主笑了。"切。这很简单。"当公主弯下腰亲吻野蛮人的脸颊时，那匹看起来很可怕的种马张大了嘴巴看着她。因为她是一个公主，而公主的吻是魔法。
The armored shell fell slack to the plates. “Savvvvve...” the body let out one last wheeze before the illuminated eyes dimmed and the body went slack.
装甲壳松弛地贴在盘子上。"救命......"身体发出最后一声喘息，然后发光的眼睛变得暗淡，身体开始放松。
“You’re not saving shit, you crazy, dumb turkey,” the false knight growled.
假骑士咆哮着说:"你这个疯狂的蠢货，你一点用都没有。"。
Then the terminal let out a beep–
然后终端发出一声哔哔声
* * *
* * *
I lurched as everything came together, the experience like a board across my face. Steel Rain’s actions… Cognitum… Amadi… all of it fell into place inside my head and I grabbed Charm and lunged away as a second shot blasted out a
当所有的东西都聚集在一起的时候，我踉跄了一下，这种经历就像一块木板横在我的脸上。钢铁雨的行为......认知......阿马迪......所有的一切都在我的脑海中浮现，我抓住魅力，冲了出去
chunk of the platform. Chunks of metal debris rained down on us, and I felt the now-unfamiliar sensation of pain as my shoulders were pummeled. Still, it had to be worse for her, with wires dangling out her skull.
平台的一部分。大块的金属碎片像雨点般落在我们身上，我感觉到肩膀被重击时那种现在还不熟悉的疼痛感。不过，对她来说更糟糕的是，电线悬挂在她的头骨上。
“You… no!” Steel Rain shouted as I set her on my back. “What is the deal? You were beaten. What does it take to kill you?”
"你......不!"钢铁雨喊道，我把她放在我的背上。"怎么回事？你被打败了。怎样才能杀死你?"
“Sometimes I wonder that too,” I said, more to myself than to him. I slowly made my way around towards where Horse huddled, bleeding profusely. I took in the crushed forms of Sanguine and Dawn. “So you’re going to betray Cognitum and Amadi both? Is there anypony you won’t stab in the back?”
"有时候我也想知道,"我对自己说，而不是对他说。我慢慢地转过身来，走向霍斯流着血蜷缩成一团的地方。我仿佛看到了桑吉尼和道恩的模样。""那么你打算背叛科格尼塔姆和阿玛迪两个人？有没有你不会在背后捅刀子的小马?"
“Myself,” he answered glibly. “I’m just not that flexible.” He chuckled as he kept his cannons trained on me. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’d just happily let me rule the Core and the Wasteland without any interference, is there?”
"我自己,"他油腔滑调地回答。"我就是没那么灵活。"他一边用大炮瞄准我，一边咯咯地笑着。"我不认为你有任何机会让我不受任何干涉地统治核心和荒原，是吗?"
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’d actually let me live in peace and leave other ponies alone, is there?” I countered as I stared at him, trying to think of how I’d beat him. Nothing was coming to me. I should have been coming up with… something… or even just doing things on impulse. Instead, I felt a cold knot of terror where my victory had been earlier. I didn’t know how I could beat him. I didn’t even know if he could be beaten. I didn’t even have a weapon I could use.
"我想你不会真的让我平静地生活，不去管别的小马吧?"我盯着他反驳道，试图想着我该怎么打败他。我什么都没想到。我本应该想出......一些东西......或者仅仅是一时冲动而做的事情。相反，我感到一种冷酷的恐惧，这种恐惧是我早先获得胜利的地方。我不知道怎样才能打败他。我甚至不知道他是否会被打败。我连武器都没有。
“No. No offense, but after what you did on the Celestia, I have to kill you on general principle now,” he said. His cannons thunked as he loaded a new pair of shells. “Now, hold still and let’s make this–” On ‘this’ he fired, and where I’d been standing exploded. “Clean.”
"没有。无意冒犯，但是鉴于你在天堂的所作所为，我现在必须按照一般原则杀了你。他的大炮在装载新炮弹时发出雷鸣般的响声。"现在，别动，让我们来做这个——"说到"这个"，他开了枪，我站的地方爆炸了。"干净。"
But I wasn’t there. I’d teleported directly behind him, panting hard, feeling the adrenaline surging inside me. Without my steel augmentation, that teleport had been almost… easy. My eyes focused on his guns, and my magic reached out and began to field strip the firing pins from both of them. I might not have been able to hurt him, but I could at least take away his favorite toys.
但是我不在那里。我直接传送到他身后，喘着粗气，感觉到肾上腺素在我体内涌动。没有我的钢铁增强器，传送几乎是......容易的。我的目光聚焦在他的枪上，我的魔法伸出手，开始从他们两人身上剥去撞针。我也许不能伤害他，但我至少可以拿走他最喜欢的玩具。
A metal hoof slammed back at me, and I barely ducked. The glittering, silvery hoof flew over my head, and I backed away with the firing pins floating beside me. He whirled around, and the cannons made a clicking noise. “Looking for these?” I asked with a smile before tossing them out over the edge. “Oopsie.”
一只金属蹄子猛地向我扑来，我几乎没有躲开。闪闪发光的银色蹄子飞过我的头顶，我背对着身旁漂浮的撞针。他转过身来，大炮发出咔嗒一声的响声。"在找这些吗?"我带着微笑问道，然后把他们扔下了悬崖。"哎呀。"
That pissed him off. He charged, and I ran with Charm clutching my head, the plastic medallion bouncing off my chest. I was getting tired and sore; I tried not to enjoy it too much. As much as I’d have liked some barding and as useful as my augments would be right now, I couldn’t help but love every sensation inside me. My heart beating, my stomach growling, my shoulders aching, my ears ringing… each and every one was a reminder that I was alive now.
这让他很生气。他冲了过来，我抱着我的头跑了，塑料大奖章从我的胸口弹了下来。我越来越累，越来越酸痛，我尽量不去过分享受它。虽然我非常想要一些讨价还价，尽管我的预言现在会很有用，但我还是情不自禁地爱上了我身体里的每一种感觉。我的心在跳动，我的胃在咆哮，我的肩膀在痛，我的耳朵在嗡嗡作响......每一个人都在提醒我，我现在还活着。
Unfortunately, among all the sensations I'd regained, there was one I'd lost entirely. Cognitum still had my baby, so that definitely diminished my enjoyment quite a bit.
不幸的是，在我恢复的所有感觉中，有一种我完全失去了。我的孩子还在认知领域，所以我的兴趣大大减少了。
I still wasn’t sure how I was going to beat him with no weapons. I didn’t even have a rock or baton. Still, there was lots of debris. I levitated up a spar of metal and gave an experimental swing. The bar clanged off his helmet, and he didn’t even slow down. In fact, he caught up a little more.
我仍然不知道如何在没有武器的情况下打败他。我甚至没有一块石头或指挥棒。尽管如此，还是有很多残骸。我悬浮起一根金属杆，进行了一次实验性的秋千。铁棍从他的头盔上叮当作响，他甚至没有减速。事实上，他赶上了一点。
If I could get some more space between the two of us, I’d try to get up the elevator… wait… no, Horse needed help. That wouldn’t work. Maybe more talking? But he wanted to kill me a lot; what else was there to chat over? Come on. Think. Usually I’d be at the shooting, stabbing, or stomping part of the fight by now.
如果我能在我们俩之间找到更多的空间，我会试着爬上电梯......等等......不，马儿需要帮助。那是行不通的。或许再多聊聊？但是他很想杀了我，还有什么可以聊的呢？来吧。想想。通常情况下，我现在应该在打架的时候射击，刺伤，或者跺脚。
I teleported again, over to where the bloody trail led to Horse lying bleeding next to the ruined Sweetie Bot. The machine buzzed and crackled softly as he whispered into her ear. He didn’t look like he was going to last much longer without skin. I carefully set Charm down. “We need to get you into one of the stasis jars,” I said as I surveyed the smoking debris. There wasn’t an intact one left, though. And there was no way a healing potion would survive down here in all this Enervation. “Damn it. I wanted to ask you questions. About Horizons. Goldenblood. Cognitum.”
我再次瞬移，到了那个血淋淋的痕迹导致马躺在被毁坏的Sweetie机器人旁流血不止的地方。当他在她耳边低语时，机器嗡嗡作响，发出轻微的噼啪声。没有皮肤，他看起来撑不了多久。我小心翼翼地放下魅力。"我们需要把你放进一个静止的罐子里,"我边说边看着冒烟的残骸。但是没有一个是完整的。在这么大的能量消耗下，治疗药水是不可能存活下来的。"该死。我想问你几个问题。关于Horizons。金色血统。认知。"
He reached out with a bloody hoof for my face, and then felt my forehead. “You’re a hornhead. I don’t suppose you can read memories like a M.o.M. Pink?”
他用一只血淋淋的蹄子抓住我的脸，摸了摸我的额头。"你是个硬头鸟。我不认为你能读懂像m.o.m.粉红色这样的记忆?"
“I… maybe?” I didn’t have time for any kind of finesse, really. “I don’t have a memory orb to hold it in, though.”
"我.....。.也许?"我真的没有时间玩什么花招。"不过，我没有一个记忆球来存放它。"
“So hold it in your brain as best you can. That was all anypony could do. The best they can.” He closed his eyes and gave a shudder. There was so much blood.
"所以尽你所能把它牢牢记在脑子里。这是任何小马都无法做到的。尽力而为。"他闭上眼睛，打了个寒颤。流了那么多血。
So much! “I was so clever. Didn’t realize I was getting played.”
太多了！"我太聪明了。没想到我被耍了。"
“By Goldenblood?” I asked with a frown.
"被金血王?"我皱着眉头问。
He snorted blood. “Yeah, right. That hornhead was just another piece on the board. We all were. All except for… her…” He began to slide over. “Better get your memories. I’m feeling cold.”
他吸了一口血。"是的，没错。那个角头龙只不过是棋盘上的另一块棋子。我们都是。除了......她......"他开始滑倒。"最好找回你的记忆。我觉得冷。"
I looked around for Steel Rain, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. That worried me even more. Leaning in, I pressed my horn to his brow and tried to make the connection. My forays into Rampage’s mind gave me something to expect, but where her memories were layers and layers of water, Horse’s mind was a geometric fractal pattern in which thoughts were arranged almost haphazardly. I had no idea what to grab, so I thought ‘Horizons’ and watched a portion of his brain light up. I grabbed that portion, pulling it into myself as pieces of his mind slowly blacked out one after the next.
我环顾四周寻找钢铁雨，但是我到处都看不到他。这让我更加担心。我靠近他，用我的角抵住他的额头，试图联系上他。我闯入狂暴的大脑给了我一些期待的东西，但是在她的记忆是层层叠叠的水的地方，马的大脑是一个几乎随意排列的几何分形图案。我不知道该拿什么，所以我想到了"地平线"，看着他的一部分大脑亮了起来。我抓住那一部分，把它放进我自己的脑子里，他的大脑慢慢地一片片地变黑。
‘Cognitum!’ I thought furiously. Much more lit up, so I took the brightest sections I could. ‘Goldenblood’, I thought, and grabbed a feeble memory, the only part that wasn’t going dark. I had no idea if I’d retain the memories when the spell ended, or if I’d contaminate myself with Horse. He hadn’t seemed particularly good, but if he could help… “I got it. I’ve got them!” It was all I could say to the dying stallion.
'Cognitum!'我疯狂地想着。灯光更加明亮，所以我选择了最亮的部分。'金色血液'，我想，抓住了一个微弱的记忆，唯一不会变黑的部分。我不知道咒语结束后我是否还能保留这些记忆，也不知道我是否会用马来污染自己。他看起来不是特别好，但如果他能帮忙的话......"我明白了。我抓到他们了!"这是我对这匹垂死的种马所能说的一切。
“Good,” he said, and then pulled his plastic covered pendant off and pushed it into my hooves. “Your best… weapon…” he breathed, then slumped over to the side. I pulled away and watched as his body slumped, liquefying before my eyes. “Damn it… I… wanted…” he gurgled, but whatever he wanted, I’d have to get it from his memories.
"很好,"他说，然后把他那个覆盖着塑料的吊坠拉下来，塞进了我的蹄子里。"你最好的......武器......"他低声说，然后瘫倒在一边。我抽身离开，看着他的身体下垂，在我眼前融化。"该死......我.....。."想......"他咯咯地笑着，但无论他想要什么，我都得从他的记忆中得到。
I’d had quite a few memories in my time from dozens of different ponies. I could remember all the memories I’d had with Charm, and could feel chunks of Horse like huge blocks of ice slowly melting away inside my head and joining the rest of the pool that was Blackjack. Would I stay me, or would having Charm and Horse’s memories change me? I felt sad for some of the things Charm had done; she could have thrived in 99, but she deserved better.
在那段时间里，我对几十匹不同的小马有过不少回忆。我可以回忆起和Charm在一起的所有回忆，可以感觉到大块的马肉就像一块块巨大的冰块在我的脑海里慢慢融化，加入到游泳池的其他部分，那就是Blackjack。我会留下来，还是拥有魅力和马的记忆会改变我？我为Charm所做的一些事情感到悲哀;她本可以在99岁的时候茁壮成长，但是她应该得到更好的。
I glanced over my shoulder at Charm. I knew the filly now, knew her disappointments and her demons. If I’d known what I did now when we’d first met, I wouldn’t have left her alone with Scotch or picked her to rule, but I would
我回头瞥了一眼查姆。我现在认识了这匹小母马，知道了她的失望和心魔。如果我知道我们第一次见面的时候我做了什么，我不会让她单独和苏格兰威士忌在一起，也不会让她统治，但是我会的
have been more compassionate and respectful. She was like the Overmare: hounded by shame, feeling urges no filly should face, and keeping herself together with an overwhelming sense of pride that she didn’t come close to meriting. She would have had a happier life working under Caprice... before I’d come along, that is.
更有同情心，更有礼貌。她就像一匹母马:被羞耻所困扰，感到小母马不应该面对的冲动，带着一种无法抗拒的自豪感保持在一起，这种自豪感是她根本不配拥有的。在我出现之前，她在Caprice手下工作的日子会更加幸福。
It’d take me some time to think about what I’d grabbed from Horse. I could only hope that it didn’t affect me too badly. I examined the medallion. My best weapon? How was it a weapon? It was just a piece of moonstone covered in plastic. How could I use it as a weapon? What was I supposed to do, hit him with it? I would do better teleporting Charm and me to the elevator and getting the hay out of here! “Come on, Charm,” I said as I turned back to the filly.
我需要一些时间来思考我从马身上拿走了什么。我只能希望它没有对我造成太大的影响。我检查了那个徽章。我最好的武器？怎么会是武器？那只是一块覆盖着塑料的月长石。我怎么能把它当作武器呢？那我该怎么做，用它打他？我最好把魅力和我传送到电梯里，把干草从这里弄出去！"来吧，查蒙,"我转身对小母马说。
Then Steel Rain dropped from the wreckage behind me, plummeting like a silvery meteor. I fell back and rolled as his hooves stomped down. Each impact dented the floor plates as I rolled to the side, barely keeping ahead of him. I tried to blast his head with magic bullets, but I might as well have been spitting on him for all the good it did. The magic just deflected off his silver armor. I struck the edge of the maneframe, lying on my back and watching the hoof drop towards my head.
然后钢雨从我身后的残骸中掉了下来，像一颗银色的流星一样坠落下来。他的蹄子重重地踩在我身上，我向后倒去，打了个滚。每次撞击都使我侧身翻滚，几乎无法超过他，地板都凹了下来。我试图用魔法子弹打爆他的头，但我还不如对他吐口水，因为那样做有好处。魔法刚刚偏离了他的银色盔甲。我仰面躺着，看着马蹄落向我的头，触到了马蹄的边缘。
I rolled in towards him; he reacted more quickly than I'd hoped and pinched me between his forehooves, but I summoned my magic and flashed away again before he could squish me. I hopped onto my hooves. “Okay. Time for us to g–” But the words and the plan died in my throat.
我滚向他;他的反应比我希望的要快，用前蹄夹住了我，但是我召唤了我的魔力，在他压扁我之前又闪了一次。我跳上我的马蹄。"好吧。我们是时候......"但是这些话和计划在我的喉咙里死去了。
Steel Rain stood by Charm. One hoof was stomped firmly on the end of the taut wires trailing from her head to the nearby ring, and the other was resting on her head, ready to push it away and either yank the wires out or just outright crush it. “No more fucking around, Blackjack. No more. That striped fuck was right. You’re way too dangerous to be left alive. Now, you’re going to come over here, you’re going to lay down, and you’re going to die, or I’m pulling every plug all at once.”
《钢雨》站在魅力一边。一只蹄子牢牢地踩在拉紧的电线末端，这些电线从她的头部一直延伸到附近的环上，另一只蹄子在她的头上休息，准备把它推开，要么拉出电线，要么直接碾碎它。"别再胡闹了，黑杰克。再也没有了。那个有条纹的混蛋说得对。你活着太危险了。现在，你要过来这里，你要躺下，然后死掉，或者我把所有的插头一起拔掉。"
I stared at him. Could I teleport in and away before he could move his hoof? Would she survive it? “You’re just going to kill her after me,” I challenged.
我盯着他。我能在他移动蹄子之前瞬移进出吗？她能活下来吗？"你只会在我之后杀了她,"我质疑道。
“No. I might kill her after you,” he countered in a voice that made me imagine a shit-eating grin on his face. “Maybe I will. I’m in a real bad mood right now. But
"没有。我可能会在你之后杀了她,"他反驳的声音让我想象他脸上露出吃屎的笑容。"也许我会的。我现在心情很不好。但是
maybe I’ll hold on to her. Maybe use her as a bargaining chip with the Society. There’s got to be more of those jars lying around. You never know. But you know that I will kill her if you don’t come over, and you’ll have another dead filly haunting you.” He laughed and shook his head. “But what’s one more, Blackjack? Think of how many ponies have died to keep you alive. How many more will die if I tell that zebra fuck and Cognitum that Discord farted you back into existence? I know, first things first, Cognitum’s going to pulp your friends. And that zebra? Who knows what kind of freaky star curses he’s got shoved up his ass?”
也许我会留住她。也许可以用她作为和协会谈判的筹码。肯定还有很多这样的罐子。谁知道呢。但是你知道，如果你不过来的话，我会杀了她的，而且你还会遇到另一个死去的小姑娘。"他笑了，摇了摇头。"再来一张又怎么样，黑杰克？想想有多少小马为了让你活着而死去。如果我告诉那个斑马混蛋和认知，不和谐放屁让你重新存在，还会有多少人死去？我知道，当务之急是，科涅塔姆会把你的朋友们打得满地找牙。那匹斑马呢？谁知道他屁股里塞了什么样的怪星诅咒?"
“You bastard,” I muttered, staring at the helpless filly. I couldn’t think of a way to save her. I wracked my brain a thousand times a second, but I couldn’t think of a way to beat him and win without losing her.
"你这个混蛋,"我喃喃自语，盯着那头无助的小母马。我想不出救她的办法。我每秒钟都要绞尽脑汁上千次，但是我想不出一种方法可以在不失去她的情况下打败他并赢得比赛。
“Oh, sure. Insult my parentage, too. That’ll work wonders,” he laughed. He lifted the hoof and hooked the tip of his armor to one of the taut wires. “Maybe I can pluck these one by one? Play a melody in aneurysms. We can take wagers how many it takes before she’s a vegetable. Or maybe you can be Security one last time, trot over here, lay down, and save a pony. That’s your thing, isn’t it? Saving ponies?”
"哦，当然。也侮辱了我的出身。那会创造奇迹的,"他笑着说。他抬起蹄子，把盔甲的尖端钩在一根拉紧的铁丝上。"也许我可以一个一个地拔掉它们？弹动脉瘤的旋律。我们可以打赌她变成植物人之前需要多少钱。或者你可以做最后一次保安，小跑过来，躺下，救一匹小马。这就是你的风格，不是吗？拯救小马?"
Yeah, it was. And he knew it too. I didn’t know what else I could do. No sword. No augments. No guns. I slowly walked closer, wracking my brain for some way to win. Some way to beat him. Some spell. Some trick. Some something…
是的。他也知道这一点。我不知道我还能做什么。没有剑。没有预兆。没有枪。我慢慢地走近，绞尽脑汁想找到赢的办法。想办法打败他。一些咒语。一些小把戏。一些东西..。
But I couldn’t simply let him kill her. Even if she wasn’t a good filly. She was still a filly, a pony, and she deserved saving.
但我不能让他杀了她。即使她不是一匹好母马。她仍然是一匹小母马，一匹小马，她值得被拯救。
Charm smiled through the tears on her cheeks. “You’re a fucking moron, Blackjack. You know that?”
魅力透过她脸颊上的泪水微笑。"你他妈的是个白痴，黑杰克。你知道吗?"
I froze, and Steel Rain looked down at her. “Shut up,” he growled.
我愣住了，钢铁雨低头看着她。"闭嘴,"他咆哮道。
“Or what? You’ll kill me?” Charm said, grinning even more as she wept. “You’re scum. A coward taking a filly hostage to kill a pony better than you.”
""不然呢？你要杀了我?"查姆边哭边咧嘴笑着说。"你这个人渣。一个胆小鬼用一匹小母马做人质，去杀一匹比你好的小马。"
I stared at her. “Stop it, Charm. He’ll kill you.”
我盯着她。"别说了，Charm。他会杀了你。"
“Oh, I know he will. There’s no ‘might’ about it, whatever he says. He’s smart. You should have killed me the second you made Grace Regent, but you fucked it
"哦，我知道他会的。不管他说什么，都没有可能。他很聪明。你一当上格蕾丝·瑞金特就应该杀了我但你搞砸了
up,” she said, laughing.
"起来"她笑着说。
“Shut up!” Steel Rain bellowed again, a note of desperate frustration in his voice.
"闭嘴!"钢铁雨再次咆哮，他的声音中带着绝望的沮丧。
“Fuck you, you stupid fuck!” Charm shouted back at him, laughing some more, tears running down her cheek. “You are fucked. Because Blackjack is still Blackjack. It doesn’t matter what you do to her. She does the right thing. No matter how much it fucking hurts. And she’s been fucking hurt.”
"去你妈的，你这个蠢货!"魅力回应了他，笑了更多，泪水顺着她的脸颊流了下来。"你完蛋了。因为黑杰克仍然是黑杰克。你对她做什么并不重要。她做了正确的事。不管有多痛苦。她他妈的受伤了。"
I gaped at her. “Don’t. Please, Charm…”
我目瞪口呆地看着她。"不要。求你了，Charm......"
She sniffed and smiling bitterly at me. “You’re the only pony who’s ever wanted to save me, Blackjack.”
她抽抽鼻子，苦笑着看着我。"你是唯一一匹想救我的小马，Blackjack。"
“Don’t!” I begged, as Steel Rain looked from her to me.
"不要!"当钢铁雨从她身边望向我时，我恳求道。
“What…” the silver armored pony said as he turned his attention back to his hostage.
"什么......"那匹银色装甲的小马边说边把注意力转回到人质身上。
“Goodbye,” she said, and her legs tensed beneath her. I tried to grab her with my magic, but she was too quick. By the time I'd grasped her, she had already kicked off and was lunging towards me. I could lift her but I couldn't stop her. Too heavy. Too fast.
"再见,"她说，双腿在身下绷得紧紧的。我试图用魔法抓住她，但她动作太快了。当我抓住她的时候，她已经踢开了球，向我扑来。我可以举起她，但我不能阻止她。太重了。太快了。
The wires in her brain snapped taut, flipping her body around in the air a moment before several pulled free with a spray of blood. Tiny, wet gobs of pink, bloody tissue gleamed at the ends of the wires. She slid close enough to me that I lunged at her and pulled her into my hooves with my magic. Her body spasmed wildly with a gagging sound as she seized, her eyes pointing in two different directions. I heard the thunder of Steel Rain approaching as she thrashed.
她大脑里的电线绷得紧紧的，她的身体在空中翻转了一会儿，几根电线随着血液的飞溅挣脱了。电线两端闪烁着细小的、潮湿的粉红色带血的组织。它悄悄靠近我，我扑向它，用魔法把它拉进我的蹄子里。她的身体疯狂地抽搐着，突然发出一阵窒息的声音，她的眼睛指向两个不同的方向。我听到钢铁雨的雷鸣声正在逼近她的身体。
I did the only thing I could think of: I threw Horse’s moonstone medallion at his face as hard as I could. It was a pointless, futile gesture. Charm had made me capable of fleeing now that the wires were pulled, but I could no more leave now than I could save her. The medallion flew true, impacting against his shoulder.
我做了我能想到的唯一一件事:我把马的月长石挂饰用尽全力扔向他的脸。这是一个毫无意义、徒劳无功的举动。现在电线被拔掉了，魅力使我能够逃走，但是我现在不能离开，正如我不能救她一样。那枚徽章飞得很准，撞在他的肩膀上。
The metal armor flashed white, then exploded with enough force to bodily throw him to the side, crashing like an avalanche into the wrecked terminals. The medallion shot off in the opposite direction, but I caught it with my magic. The
金属盔甲闪着白光，然后爆炸产生的力量足以把他摔倒在一边，像雪崩一样撞向毁坏的码头。徽章朝相反的方向飞去，但我用魔法抓住了它。这个
plastic had melted away, leaving a tiny round wafer of moonstone within. Then I turned and took in his silvery armor. No wonder my magic bullets hadn’t even scratched it. “Starmetal? You lined your armor with starmetal?”
塑料融化了，留下了一小块圆形的月光石。然后我转过身去，拿了他的银色盔甲。难怪我的魔法子弹连划痕都没有。"星际金属？你的盔甲上涂了星形金属?"
And I felt myself grin as I threw the sliver of moonstone against him again. It blew out another chunk of armor from his side. Given the armor had only been lined with it, rather than made of the stuff, I wasn’t vaporizing the pony within. I was, however, blowing apart hoof-sized hunks of armor with each impact, striking the moonstone hard against the silver coating. “You murderous son of a mule!” Away went the plate covering his shoulders. “You bloody asshole!” An explosion ripped a strip of cabling and reinforcement from off his neck as he staggered back.
我感到自己再次把月光石的碎片扔向他时露出了笑容。他身上的另一块盔甲也被炸飞了。考虑到盔甲里面只有这种东西，而不是由这种东西制成的，我并没有蒸发里面的小马。然而，我每次撞击都会把蹄子大小的盔甲炸开，狠狠地撞击月长石上的银色涂层。"你这个杀人不眨眼的杂种!"盖在他肩膀上的盘子走了。"你这个混蛋!"当他摇摇晃晃地向后退时，一个爆炸撕裂了他脖子上的一条电缆和增援线。
“Wait! You don’t understand! I was molested as a colt!” Boom went a foreleg strut. “My mom rented me out to raiders!” Boom went a chest plate. “Cognitum made me do it!” The left side of his helmet flew apart in chunks and a wide, terrified eye stared at me. “The Legate used his star magic on me! I swear!” His other forehoof exploded in a cloud of shrapnel. “Damn it, stop!”
"等等！你不明白！我像小马一样被骚扰了!"砰的一声前腿支撑起来。"我妈妈把我租给了突击队!"砰的一声胸板爆炸了。"是认知觉让我这么做的!"他的头盔左侧大块大块地飞散开来，一只吓坏了的大眼睛瞪着我。"使者对我使用了他的星形魔法！我发誓!"他的另一只前蹄被弹片击中爆炸了。"该死，住手!"
“I don’t care! I don’t care if you were brainwashed by your father into becoming a sex slave for Crunchy Carrots who tortured you for failing to conquer the Wasteland. You’re dying right now!” He charged me, knocked me aside, and ran towards the prone Charm as fast as his damaged armor would allow. “Don’t you touch her!” I screamed, teleporting in front of him and throwing the flake of moonstone at him again and again with my magic. “Murdering, betraying, fucking cunt!” I beat him back with every blast. Only the armor was keeping him alive. If he had a single sizable piece of the material inside his armor, I’d turn him to jelly. I really wanted him jelly. Once or twice the pebble struck hide with no effect, and I magically jerked it back before he could snag it in one of the holes.
"我不在乎！我不在乎你是否被你的父亲洗脑，成为一个性奴隶的嘎吱嘎吱胡萝卜谁折磨你未能征服荒原。你现在就要死了!"他向我冲过来，把我撞到一边，然后以他破损的盔甲所能承受的最快速度向俯卧魅咒跑去。"别碰她!"我尖叫着，在他面前瞬移，用我的魔法一次又一次地把月长石薄片扔向他。"谋杀，背叛，他妈的婊子!"我每次爆炸都能把他打回去。只有盔甲让他活了下来。如果他的盔甲里有一块相当大的材料，我会把他变成果冻。我真的很想要他果冻。有一两次，小石子打在皮上，毫无反应，我用魔法把它猛地拉了回来，他还没来得及把它塞进洞里。
The platform wasn’t doing too good either. I was keeping between him and Charm, but a lot of the detonations were making the entire spire tremble and shake. The structure let out a shriek, the platform tilting in the direction of the wrecked maneframe. Still, I couldn’t stop. Not until he was dead. If I managed to take off the rest of his helmet, I was going to put a magic bullet through his face.
这个平台也做得不太好。我一直在他和Charm之间徘徊，但是很多的爆炸声让整个尖塔颤抖不已。这座建筑物发出一声尖叫，平台向遇难船只的方向倾斜。尽管如此，我还是停不下来。直到他死了。如果我设法取下他头盔的其余部分，我就会向他的脸上开一枪。
And he knew it, too. His armor was now a crippling liability; the front half – I hadn’t put much work in further back than his cannons – was a smoking wreck.
他也知道这一点。他的装甲现在成了一个不利条件;前半部分——除了他的大炮之外，我在后半部分并没有做多少工作——成了一个冒烟的废墟。
With the disabled weapons and struggling servomechanisms, he was barely able to keep moving around the edge. I blasted him with a magic bullet, but he raised a hoof in time; all I managed was a bloody hole in his leg. It didn’t matter. I’d get him with the next. Or the next. Each hit knocked him further back and further back. Finally, I hit him with a detonation that nearly knocked him right over the edge.
由于武器失灵，伺服系统又不能正常工作，他几乎无法在边缘活动。我用一颗神奇的子弹打了他，但他及时抬起了一只蹄子，我只是在他的腿上打了一个血淋淋的洞。没关系。我会用下一个打败他。或者下一次。每一次打击都把他打得越来越靠后。最后，我用爆炸物击中了他，差点把他撞翻在地。
Then, the fucker did the one thing I’d hoped he wouldn’t. He raised his bloody hooves in the air and shouted as loud as he could, “I give up!”
然后，那个混蛋做了一件我不希望他做的事。他抬起血淋淋的蹄子，用最大的声音喊道:"我投降!"
“What?” I whispered hoarsely as I froze. He gave me a perfect shot: right through the hole in his helmet, straight at his eye. Even without S.A.T.S., I could hit him.
"什么?"我僵住了，嘶哑地低声说。他给了我一个完美的一击:正好穿过他头盔上的洞，正对着他的眼睛。即使没有sat考试，我也能打中他。
He coughed weakly. “I surrender. I quit. I throw myself on your mercy!” My eye twitched as he pulled off the ruined helmet and grinned at me, his pink features now swelling up. He coughed again, bringing up bloody phlegm. “Arrest me. Lock me up. Take me to trial. I’ll pay for my crimes however you want.”
他咳嗽得很虚弱。"我投降。我不干了。我求你发发慈悲!"我的眼睛抽搐着，因为他脱下那个被毁坏的头盔，冲我咧嘴笑了笑，他粉红色的五官现在肿了起来。他又咳嗽了起来，痰出血了。"逮捕我吧。把我关起来。把我送上法庭。我会为我的罪行付出任何代价。"
“Is this a joke?” I whispered, staring at him. It was a trick. Shoot him now, a smart, sane part of me insisted. Right now. Before he said another word.
"这是在开玩笑吗?"我低声说，盯着他。这是个骗局。现在就杀了他，我的一个聪明理智的部分坚持道。现在。在他说下一句话之前。
“Nope. Not at all,” he said as he collapsed against the rails at the end of the platform. “Name whatever punishment you want that leaves me alive, and I’ll take it. I’ll care for the poor and the sick. I’ll help the elderly. Whatever you want.”
"没有。一点也不,"他一边说，一边倒在月台尽头的栏杆上。"你想要什么样的惩罚让我活着，我就接受什么样的惩罚。我会照顾穷人和病人。我会帮助老年人。你想要什么都行。"
“You lying, betraying shit! Why should I think you’re going to do what you say? The first chance you have, you’ll try and kill me. It’s your fucking nature!” I shouted at him.
"你说谎，背叛狗屎！我凭什么认为你会做你说的事？你一有机会就会杀了我。这是你他妈的天性!"我对他大喊大叫。
He gave me an exhausted, ragged smile, blood dripping from a puffy gash beneath his eye. “Because, deep down, in your heart of hearts… you’re an optimist,” he countered, struggling to breathe as sweat rolled down his pink hide. “You want to save ponies. You always want to give them another chance. Well, I’m telling you that if you give me a chance, I’ll become a better pony.” He shuddered, looking about ready to fall over as he added, “To prove it, there’s a cache of supplies at the top of the elevator. Fresh healing potions just made a few hours ago. Even some Hydra. Might save your filly friend there.” He grinned at me, blood leaking from a shattered tooth. “Come on. Don’t you want me to do
他给了我一个疲惫不堪、粗糙不堪的微笑，眼睛下方一道肿胀的伤口滴着血。"因为，在你内心深处......你是一个乐观主义者,"他反驳道，当汗水从他粉红色的皮肤上滚落下来时，他挣扎着呼吸。"你想拯救小马。你总是想再给他们一次机会。嗯，我告诉你，如果你给我一个机会，我会成为一匹更好的小马。"他打了个寒战，看了看四周，准备摔倒，他补充说:"为了证明这一点，电梯顶上有一个储藏物品的地方。新鲜的治疗药剂几个小时前刚做好。甚至有些许德拉。也许能救你的小母马朋友。"他对我咧嘴笑着，一颗破碎的牙齿在流血。"来吧。难道你不想让我
better?”
好点了吗?"
I did. I stepped up closer to him, and he suddenly looked nervous. I drew so close he stood up on his hind legs, and I rose too. “You’re right. I really do want you to do better.” He gave a nervous little smile. Then I slammed him in the face with my hooves, knocking him back over the edge. He scrambled for purchase and caught a gap in the rails. “But even my optimism has limits.”
是的。我走近他，他突然看起来很紧张。我靠得很近，它用后腿站起来，我也站起来了。"你说得对。我真的希望你能做得更好。"他紧张地微微一笑。然后我用蹄子猛击它的脸，把它撞翻在地。他争先恐后地想买东西，结果抓住了铁轨上的一个缺口。"但即便是我的乐观也有局限性。"
“Blackjack!” he screamed as I turned and trotted towards where Charm lay. The filly was still breathing but didn’t seem responsive. “Blackjack, please!” Steel Rain begged as I carefully levitated her onto my back and started towards the elevator. “You save ponies! That’s your thing! Please!” he begged, but he wasn’t a pony. I wasn’t sure what he was, but it wasn’t a pony. “You’re not an executioner,” he screamed as I stepped onto the elevator.
"黑杰克!"当我转身小跑向魅力所在的地方时，他尖叫起来。小母马还在呼吸，但似乎没有反应。"黑杰克，求你了!"钢铁雨恳求我小心翼翼地把她悬浮在我的背上，然后向电梯走去。"你拯救小马！那是你的事！求你了!"他求我，但他不是小马。我不确定他是什么，但那不是一匹小马。"你不是刽子手,"当我走进电梯时，他尖叫道。
The statement, one I’d said dozens of times before, broke through. If I just let him die, was I still Blackjack? Was I any better than him? Okay. Yes, I was. But still, just leaving him to die? Why didn’t I just shoot him in the head while I was at it?
这个声明，我之前已经说过几十次了，突破了。如果我让他死了，我还是黑杰克吗？我比他好吗？好吧。是的。但还是让他自生自灭？我为什么不干脆一枪爆了他的头？
I sighed, closing my eyes. Everything I’d taken from Horse and Charm told me I was a complete idiot for even thinking it. That I should go back and put a magic bullet through his head. Maybe two or three. That’s what a good, sensible pony would do. Heck. That was what LittlePip did. I wasn’t saving anything worth saving, and I might be sparing a monster worse than the four that had violated me. He wouldn’t change. He would stab me in the back the first chance he could. That was his nature. Heck, he might just be trying to call me back just so he could yank me down with him. There were a half dozen reasons why I should just go, and a half dozen more why I should go back and make sure he was dead. There was only one reason to try and help him…
我叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。我从马与魅力公司那里拿到的所有东西都告诉我，即使我这么想，我也是个彻头彻尾的白痴。我应该回去给他脑袋来一枪。也许两三个。这是一个好的，明智的小马会做的事情。见鬼。这就是小皮普所做的。我没有拯救任何值得拯救的东西，我可能会饶恕一个比侵犯我的四个怪物更糟糕的怪物。他不会改变。他一有机会就会在背后捅我一刀。这是他的天性。见鬼，他可能只是想给我回个电话，这样他就可以把我一起拉下去了。有六个理由说明为什么我应该去，还有六个理由说明为什么我应该回去确认他已经死了。只有一个原因可以帮助他。
But Security saves ponies, damn it.
但是保安会保护小马，该死的。
I returned to the edge of the platform, glaring down at him coldly as he dangled by a twisted hoof. It was certainly broken. He wasn’t going to get far on that. “You are going to be tilling fields for the Society for the rest of your life,” I muttered. His head snapped up, and his tear-streaked face gaped at me. Suddenly, he grinned and started laughing. “Shut up. Right now, I could shoot you for a loud sneeze.” He stopped the shrill laugh but still wept in relief. “Hold
我回到讲台的边缘，冷冷地盯着他，看着他被一只扭曲的蹄子悬挂着。它肯定是坏了。他不会走得太远的。"你下半辈子都要为协会耕地了,"我喃喃自语道。他的头猛地一扬，泪痕累累的脸瞪着我。突然，他咧开嘴笑了起来。"闭嘴。现在，只要你打个响亮的喷嚏，我就可以杀了你。"他停止了刺耳的笑声，但还是如释重负地哭了。"等一下
still and tell me how to take off the rest of that armor.” I didn’t know how damaged it was, but I wasn’t going to try and teleport him with that weight.
然后告诉我怎么脱掉剩下的盔甲"我不知道它损坏得有多严重，但我不打算用那个重量试图传送他。
He walked me through what to push and twist, and soon chunks were falling away. Soon, all that was left was him in some padded, half-shredded garments, a plastic medallion around his neck. From what I could see, my moonstone battering had given him quite a beating. “Now, hold still,” I said, then teleported him up to the rickety platform. “Now,” I said as I glared at him, “you’re going to take us to this cache, and then we’re going to my friends, and you’re going to the Society. You’re too guilty for a quick kill. You can work the rest of your life to feed the Wasteland.”
他告诉我该怎么推，怎么扭，很快大块的肉就掉了下来。很快，他就只剩下一些有衬垫、半碎的衣服，脖子上戴着一个塑料奖章。在我看来，我用月光石击打他，把他打得很惨。"现在，别动,"我说，然后把他传送到摇摇晃晃的站台上。"现在,"我瞪着他说,"你带我们去那个藏宝地，然后我们去找我的朋友，你去协会。你的罪恶感太强了，不可能一下子就杀了他。你可以用你的余生来养活这片荒地。"
“Of course. Of course,” he said, smiling ear to ear. Then he raised his head and looked at me as I stood against the rail, Charm precariously perched on my back. I set her down besides me, never taking my eye off him. There was a thoughtful, almost contemplative expression on his face. For a moment, one could almost believe he was thinking of turning over a new leaf. Starting a new chapter in his life. Wanting to do better. “You’re a good pony, Blackjack.” Despite myself, I smiled with him. Because I knew what he was about to do: his nature.
"当然。当然,"他说，笑得合不拢嘴。然后他抬起头，看着我靠着栏杆站着，魅力摇摇欲坠地坐在我的背上。我把她放在我身边，目不转睛地盯着他。他脸上有一种若有所思的、近乎沉思的表情。有那么一瞬间，人们几乎可以相信他正在考虑翻开新的一页。开始他生命中的新篇章。想要做得更好。"你是匹好马，黑杰克。"我不由自主地对他笑了笑。因为我知道他要做什么:他的本性。
Then he lunged forward, ramming me hard over the edge with a body slam.
然后他猛地向前冲，用身体重击把我重重地撞到边缘上。
But I appeared a few feet away. I wasn’t even angry, precisely. Just... disappointed. He laughed as he faced me. “Sorry, but I just couldn’t help–” then his laughter died as he saw what dangled from my hoof.
但我出现在几英尺之外。准确地说，我甚至没有生气。只是...很失望。他面对着我笑了。"对不起，我就是忍不住——"当他看到我的蹄子悬挂着什么的时候，笑声停止了。
His moonstone medallion.
他的月光石徽章。
The stallion’s eyes bulged as he stretched his hoof towards me. “I’m shrowry! Pleasgh!” His dark bruises began to swell like blackened boils. “Pleagh, Blachjagh!” They burst one by one, rotten black blood soaking into his barding. He started to scream as his crippled forehoof melted away, and he extended the oozing stump towards me. “Shavvve muh!” he burbled as one eye burst, then the other.
那匹种马向我伸着蹄子，眼睛瞪得大大的。"我很害怕！求你了!"他的深色瘀伤开始像烧焦的疖子一样肿起来。"求求你，闪耀者!"他们一个接一个地炸开，腐烂的黑血浸透在他的帐篷里。他开始尖叫，因为他的残废的前蹄融化了，他把渗出来的树桩向我伸过来。"Shavvvemuh!"他一只眼睛爆了，然后另一只眼睛也爆了。
“I did,” I answered quietly, picking up the comatose Charm and setting her on my back. He couldn’t speak after that, and he started to thrash wildly, screaming incoherently. I supposed that, being younger and intact, it’d take longer for Enervation to finish him off. When I got on the elevator, half of him was dripping through the floor. I hit the button up, and watched the quivering, bloody
"是的,"我平静地回答，拿起昏迷咒，把她放在我的背上。他说不出话来，开始疯狂地抽打，语无伦次地尖叫。我猜想，因为他年轻又完好无损，他需要更长的时间才能完全康复。当我进入电梯时，他身体的一半都在往地板上滴水。我按了一下按钮，看着那颤抖的，血腥的
lump till it disappeared through the floor grate.
直到它穿过地板壁炉消失。
Security might save ponies, but some ponies just refuse to be saved.
安全可以拯救小马，但是有些小马拒绝被拯救。
* * *
* * *
The elevator ride took far longer than I was comfortable with. Charm quivered on my back, still breathing but horribly ill. I tried to ignore the blood oozing from the holes bored into her head. It took nearly fifteen minutes before the elevator slowed and came to a halt. The doors opened into a battered, crumbling building that had once been the M.W.T. hub in Hoofington. I searched around the wreckage for the cache that Steel Rain mentioned and found it stashed in an air duct.
坐电梯的时间比我感到舒服的时间长得多。魅力在我的背上颤抖，仍然呼吸，但可怕的病。我试图忽略从钻进她脑袋的洞里渗出来的血。差不多过了十五分钟，电梯才慢下来，停了下来。这些门通向一座破旧不堪、摇摇欲坠的建筑，这里曾经是Hoofington的m.w.t.中心。我在飞机残骸周围寻找SteelRain提到的缓存，发现它藏在一个通风管道里。
To my surprise, I found that the healing potions inside were indeed still a good, solid purple. Levitating the vials, I inspected each one carefully and saw a tiny sliver of moonstone Wonderglued to the vial. Somepony must have worked out that if the medallions protected a pony from Enervation, the moonstone within would protect healing potions too. I carefully trickled one into Charm’s mouth, with the unresponsive filly swallowing reflexively. It didn’t do much for her; I supposed having pieces of brain yanked out was an injury beyond the scope of most healing potions. The hydra made me balk, but it was all I had. I injected her with the nasty sludge, making her shake and convulse. When that gradually subsided, she seemed to be breathing easier, but she still wasn’t conscious.
令我惊讶的是，我发现里面的治疗药水仍然是一个好的，坚实的紫色。把这些小瓶子悬浮起来，我仔细地检查了每一个，发现小瓶上粘着一小片月光石。一些小马肯定已经发现，如果徽章保护小马免受衰弱神经的伤害，那么其内部的月长石也会保护治疗药剂。我小心翼翼地把一只小母马慢慢地送进查蒙的嘴里，这只小母马反射性地吞咽着，没有反应。这对她没有多大帮助;我猜想把大脑的碎片拉出来是一种伤害，超出了大多数治疗药剂的范围。九头蛇让我犹豫不决，但它是我的全部。我给她注射了肮脏的污泥，使她颤抖和痉挛。当这种情况逐渐平息下来时，她的呼吸似乎变得轻松了，但她仍然没有意识。
I moved cautiously but soon realized that, without starmetal-plated armor or my broadcaster, I was a sitting duck for the swarmers. The buzzing machines worked in a frenzy, tearing apart wreckage and garbage and carrying it away to construct more struts, braces, and shafts. Still, I had little doubt that if we got too close, they’d rapidly take us apart too.
我小心翼翼地走着，但很快就意识到，没有镀星金属的盔甲，也没有我的播音员，我就成了那些黑皮肤人的靶子。嗡嗡作响的机器疯狂地工作着，撕开残骸和垃圾，把它们运走，建造更多的支柱、支架和竖井。尽管如此，我毫不怀疑，如果我们靠得太近，他们也会很快把我们分开。
The only thing I had to fall back on was my magic, and I had a destination in mind thanks to the memories I’d taken from Horse. It wasn’t far to the O.I.A. office, and so I picked my way along the alleys and broken streets, picking off a few of the murderous spritebots before they could summon a whole swarm. It would have been so simple just to teleport straight there, but I didn’t want to risk long distance travel. Besides, I’d just gotten my body back... okay, not my body but...
我唯一需要依靠的就是我的魔法，而且我心中有一个目的地，这要感谢我从马身上带走的记忆。这里离o.i.a.办公室不远，所以我沿着小巷和破旧的街道，在它们聚集成群之前干掉了一些凶残的精灵机器人。直接传送到那里本来是很简单的，但我不想冒险进行长途旅行。而且，我刚刚找回了我的身体...好吧，不是我的身体，但是..。
Over the months, I’d lost pieces of myself. My legs. My skin. My face. Now it
几个月过去了，我失去了自己的一部分。我的腿。我的皮肤。我的脸。现在
was as if everything was new and wonderful. My skin shivered against the cold rain. My back ached. I had a heart thudding away in my chest. Even if this body was fake, it felt... it felt. But it was missing one thing. One precious little flutter of life that I wanted... I needed back.
仿佛一切都是崭新而美好的。我的皮肤在寒冷的雨中颤抖。我的背疼。我的心砰砰地在胸口跳动。即使这个身体是假的，它感觉...它感觉。但是它缺少了一样东西。一个珍贵的小小的生命振动，我想要...我需要回来。
O.I.A.‘s office rivaled all the ministry hubs save Shadowbolt Tower. The top had been sheared off completely at an angle, lying in heaps around the main entrance. Fortunately, I was able to struggle my way up to a broken, third floor room. Horse’s memories weren’t like the others I’d viewed. They were floating around in me like a fog, filling me with impressions and a sense of deja vu... and a few errant thoughts of deposing all unicorns that I couldn’t quite shake, so I ignored them instead.
的办公室可以与魔法部的所有中心竞争，除了暗影螺栓塔。顶部已经完全被折断成一个角度，成堆地躺在主要入口的周围。幸运的是，我挣扎着来到了一个破旧的三楼房间。马的记忆和我之前看到的不一样。它们像雾一样飘浮在我的周围，给我一种印象和似曾相识的感觉......还有一些驱逐所有独角兽的错误想法，我无法动摇，所以我忽略了它们。
No security. I followed Horse’s memories to a corner office. ‘Office of Interministry Affairs: Director.’ Odd that the ministry liaisons had been two floors above us, as if Goldenblood had put them above himself. Good thing. If it’d been on the top floor, as Horse planned, it probably would have been lost with the rest of the building. A shimmering pink sheet of magic, just like the one that covered a certain house, blocked the door. I closed my eyes and carefully stepped through. If there was another spritebot trap...
没有保安。我跟着马的记忆来到一间角落办公室。部际事务办公室:主任奇怪的是，牧师的联络处在我们楼上两层，好像金布拉德把他们放在他自己之上。好事。如果它是在顶楼，按照马的计划，它可能已经失去了与建筑的其余部分。一个闪闪发光的粉红色魔法片，就像一个覆盖了某个房子，堵塞了门。我闭上眼睛，小心翼翼地走过去。如果还有一个弹簧机器人陷阱..。
I found myself in a dusty office, no trap. Windows looked out over the Core and down towards Ministry Plaza a few blocks away. My horn throbbed badly, but I didn’t feel like I was burning out. I set Charm down on the musty couch in the corner… even better, it folded out into a bed. That shouldn’t surprise me, considering whose office this was. Delicate statuary decorated the space, showing abstract images of alicorns, pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies done in, silver, gold, copper, and a silvery white metal I suspected was platinum. Surprisingly, there were also carvings of a zebra done in veined black and white marble, a dragon in glittering crystal, and a griffin intricately whittled from warm yellow and tan wood. Paintings on the walls depicted scenes of Equestrian life from before the war, and, shockingly, there were three pictures showing zebra lands.
我发现自己在一个尘土飞扬的办公室里，没有陷阱。从窗户望出去，可以看到几个街区外的魔法部广场。我的号角抖动得很厉害，但我并没有感到筋疲力尽。我把Charm放在角落里发霉的沙发上......更妙的是，它折成了一张床。考虑到这是谁的办公室，这不足为奇。精美的雕像装饰着这个空间，上面有用银、金、铜和一种银白色金属制成的抽象图案，这种金属我怀疑是白金。令人惊讶的是，还有用黑白色大理石纹制成的斑马雕像，用闪闪发光的水晶制成的龙雕像，以及用黄褐色的木头雕成的狮鹫雕像。墙上的油画描绘了战前骑马的生活场景，令人震惊的是，墙上还有三幅展示斑马地的图片。
I moved behind the desk and was further surprised by a number of photographs. The Ministry Mares before they’d become the Ministry Mares. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. Spike. A half dozen pictures of Fluttershy. A school in a valley shaped like a crescent moon. Pumpkin and Pound Cake. Psalm. And a very faded picture of a unicorn mare I didn’t recognize.
我走到桌子后面，看到一些照片，更是感到惊讶。在他们成为部里的母马之前。露娜公主和塞莱斯蒂亚公主。斯派克。六张小萤火虫的照片。新月山谷中的一所学校，形状像一弯新月。南瓜和磅蛋糕。诗篇。还有一张褪色的独角兽母马的照片，我没认出来。
And there, on the top of the desk, was a dusty nameplate that read ‘Goldenblood: Director of the O.I.A.’ Horse’s memories were of Pinkie sealing this place after Goldenblood’s arrest. Pinkie must have been busy, since she had merely sealed the office up for later, without any tricks waiting. I pulled open file cabinets and saw several files missing. Taken by Goldenblood after he’d been removed for striking Twilight or absconded with by Horse when he’d taken over. Horse preferred to operate from Robronco. After all, his office there had been three times the size of Goldenblood’s, with a pool.
桌子上方有一块布满灰尘的铭牌，上面写着'金色血液:o.i.a.的主管'马的记忆是金色血液被捕后小指封闭了这个地方。平奇一定很忙，因为她只是把办公室密封起来以便以后用，没有耍什么花招。我打开文件柜，发现有几个文件不见了。这张照片是金血王因为袭击暮光之城而被驱逐出境，或者是在接管之后被马带走的。马喜欢在Robronco经营。毕竟，他的办公室有金血王办公室的三倍大，还有一个游泳池。
Idly, I flipped through several of the remaining files, taking in the meticulous strokes of the notes and sketches in the margins and corners. One letter written by some politician about forcibly relocating zebras from Zebratown to the Appleloosan desert with the ‘other riff raff’ had the comment ‘Relocate to the Appleloosan desert’ over a drawing of a bound and gagged unicorn stallion being loaded on a train with a tag ‘To: Riff Raffia’ tied to his ear.
我漫不经心地浏览了剩下的几个文件，一丝不苟地记录下笔记的笔划和边缘和角落的草图。一些政治家写了一封信，内容是把斑马从Zebratown强行迁移到苹果卢山沙漠，其中写道:搬迁到苹果卢山沙漠。
Other memos were more serious: ‘I’m sorry, Elder, but Princess Luna can not address the zebra issue at this time. She abhors the abuses suffered by your people, but there is a war on, and she cannot defend your people with one breath and tell others to fight the enemy with the next. Please ignore the rhetoric coming from Image and know that, as difficult as it must be, Princess Luna acknowledges the many contributions the Equestrian zebras have made and the suffering they have endured. Please stop attempting to force a public statement on this matter. It won’t be addressed until after the war.’
其他备忘录则更为严肃:"对不起，长老，但卢娜公主目前无法解决斑马问题。"。她痛恨你的人民所遭受的虐待，但是战争正在进行，她不能一口气保护你的人民，告诉其他人与下一个敌人战斗。请不要理会《图像》杂志的花言巧语，要知道，尽管这很难，但卢娜公主承认马术斑马做出了很多贡献，也承认他们承受了很多痛苦。请停止试图强行就此事发表公开声明。这个问题要到战争结束后才能解决
Beneath it were scribbled notes. ‘Ask her majesty to talk to Rarity about toning down the ‘spies and infiltrators’ commentary. When ponies start talking about mass incarceration for security reasons, it’s time for a time out.’
在它下面是潦草的笔记。让女王陛下和稀少谈谈关于淡化"间谍和渗透者"的评论。当小马们开始谈论出于安全原因的大规模监禁时，是时候暂停了
Yet in other notes, there were instructions to arrange ‘sympathizer’ attacks on members of the Apple family. ‘Prune the rotten branches’ was the phrase used for killing ponies in position of power. Goldenblood had lists of the ponies to be used, promoted, or removed as benefited the war effort. ‘We are the grease that keeps the wheels of the kingdom turning. Slimy, disgusting, and unappreciated, but vital.’
然而，在其他的笔记中，有安排"同情者"攻击苹果家族成员的指示。"修剪掉腐烂的树枝"是用来杀死掌握权力的小马的短语。金血王有一张小马的清单，上面列出了它们在战争中可以使用、推销或移除的地方。我们是维持王国运转的润滑脂。黏糊糊的，恶心的，不被赏识的，但是很重要
So why, then, had he created Horizons? A moonstone/starmetal reaction that would devastate the entire planet? What was the point of it? Why had he suddenly gone renegade? Why had he sabotaged EC-1101 so that, when it found
那么，他为什么要创造地平线呢？一个月光石/星际金属反应会摧毁整个星球？这有什么意义呢？为什么他突然变成了叛徒？为什么他要破坏EC-1101
Luna, it would call her a tyrant and set off the weapon? It made no sense. ‘Why’ was the missing element to all of this making sense. It was easy for ponies like Cognitum to dismiss Goldenblood as crazy. He hadn’t been crazy. Manipulative, murderous, sure. Mad? I just couldn’t see it.
露娜，这就是说她是个暴君并且引爆了武器？这没有任何意义。"为什么"是所有这一切都有意义的缺失元素。对于像Cognitum这样的矮种马来说，把金色血统看作是疯子是很容易的。他没有发疯。控制欲强，杀气腾腾，当然。生气？我就是看不出来。
I reached out to the terminal, and it booted up almost instantly. It seemed slicker than even the color models I'd seen in Blueblood Manor. They must have been the very latest designs. Of course, the contents were so heavily encrypted that I didn’t have a chance of accessing it via hacking. So I just entered in all the passwords I could think of and got rejected again and again. Knowing my luck, it would be something completely random.
我把手伸向终端，它几乎立刻就启动了。它甚至比我在BluebloodManor见过的彩色模型还要光滑。它们一定是最新的设计。当然，内容是如此高度加密，我没有机会通过黑客访问它。所以我只是输入了所有我能想到的密码，然后一次又一次地被拒绝。根据我的运气，这是完全随机的。
Then I looked at the pictures in the frames, particularly the ones of Fluttershy. Carefully, I removed each photograph from its frame. There, on the back of a picture of Fluttershy in a volunteer nurse’s outfit, I saw a tiny note written in Goldenblood’s impeccable writing: ‘The most important things.’
然后我看了相框里的照片，特别是Fluttershy的那些。我小心翼翼地将每张照片从相框中取出。在那里，在一张照片的背面，我看到了一张穿着志愿护士服的照片，上面用Goldenblood无可挑剔的文字写着一张小纸条:"最重要的事情。"
The most important things? To Goldenblood? I’d heard this. I wracked my memory, trying to think it through. Goldenblood had said this to somepony at some point. Not family. Not money. Not power… I stared at the terminal and carefully typed, ‘Loyalty, Love, and Secrets’.
最重要的事情？金色血统？我听说过这个。我绞尽脑汁地回忆。金布拉德曾经对某个小马说过这句话。不是家人。不是钱。不是力量......我凝视着终端，小心翼翼地输入'忠诚，爱和秘密'。
The screen flickered, text scrolled, and then it flickered again. Suddenly, the screen went blank save for one line.
屏幕闪烁，文本滚动，然后又闪烁。突然，屏幕上出现了一行空白。
THERE SHALL BE ONLY ONE PRINCESS. I PLEDGE MY LIFE TO ETERNAL DARKNESS. I SWEAR MY LOYALTY TO THE UNENDING BLACK. ALL HAIL NIGHTMARE MOON. MAY THE NIGHT LAST FOREVER!
只有一位公主。我发誓把我的生命献给永恒的黑暗。我发誓忠于永恒的黑暗。恶梦之月万岁。愿夜晚永远长存！
Buh? I stared at the line, even read it aloud three or four times. It didn’t make any sense to me. What, had Goldenblood been some sort of Nightmare Moon worshiper? It made the current Cognitum with Luna’s soul an even more terrifying possibility. Still, if he’d been evil, why worry about zebras? Or Fluttershy? Or anything that he did before?
嗯？我盯着这行字，甚至大声读了三四遍。这对我来说毫无意义。难道金血王是梦魇之月的崇拜者吗？这使得卢娜的灵魂现在的认知力变得更加可怕。不过，如果他是邪恶的，为什么还要担心斑马呢？还是Fluttershy？或者他以前做过什么？
Then I felt a wind sweep over me and turned to see a black vortex of magic forming. It swirled around in a flat, ebony disk, then stilled. The surface shimmered like a pool of black ink hanging vertically in the air. “Well… this is new…” I muttered. I carefully reached out with a hoof, pressing it to the disk. It
然后我感觉到一阵风从我身上掠过，转过身来看到一个魔法般的黑色漩涡正在形成。它盘旋在一个扁平的乌木盘中，然后静止了。表面闪闪发光，像一滩黑墨水垂直悬挂在空中。"嗯......这是新的......"我喃喃自语道。我小心翼翼地用蹄子伸出手，把它按在盘子上。它
sank in, disappearing to some place cool. The moon? That seemed like some heavy duty magic to me.
沉入水中，消失在某个凉爽的地方。月亮？对我来说，这就像是某种强大的魔法。
I gently levitated the prone Charm onto my back and gathered up the photographs in an envelope just in case. After all, I didn’t have my statuettes any more. Then I closed my eyes and poked my head into the swirling portal. It was like moving through cold oil, the surface coating me as I took one step through, then another. On the far side, I stepped into a stone chamber lit with thousands of tiny star lights that swirled and twinkled overhead. The walls were of blackest marble shot through with veins of amethyst. Cold, imposing black statues loomed over us, their crystalline eyes seeming to follow me as I stepped away from the portal. With a slurping noise, it winked shut behind us.
我轻轻地把俯卧着的护身符悬浮在我的背上，把照片收集在一个信封里，以防万一。毕竟，我再也没有我的小雕像了。然后我闭上眼睛，把头伸进漩涡的入口。就像在冰冷的石油中穿行，表面覆盖着我，我走了一步，又走了一步。在远处，我走进了一个石头房间，房间里点亮着成千上万的小星星，它们在我的头顶上旋转闪烁。墙壁是最黑的大理石，上面布满了紫水晶的纹理。寒冷而壮丽的黑色雕像隐约出现在我们头顶，当我离开传送门时，它们晶莹剔透的眼睛仿佛跟随着我。伴随着咕噜咕噜的声音，它在我们身后闭上了眼睛。
“Oh, that’s not good,” I muttered, then observed my surroundings in more detail. This wasn’t a prison. It appeared to be some sort of castle. There were racks of vaguely familiar armor on stands, wielding archaic weapons that seemed like they’d been forged centuries ago. Dark purple carpets lay on the floor. A faint coat of dust covered everything. I found a set of the dark purple barding and slipped it on, then levitated a spear. Not exactly ideal weapons, but at least I wasn’t naked and unarmed anymore. Carefully, I made my way forward.
"哦，这可不妙,"我喃喃自语，然后更详细地观察了一下周围的环境。这里不是监狱。它看起来像是某种城堡。架子上放着一架架似曾相识的盔甲，挥舞着古老的武器，仿佛是几个世纪前锻造的。深紫色的地毯铺在地板上。一层淡淡的灰尘覆盖了一切。我找到一套深紫色的护甲，把它套上，然后把一支矛悬浮起来。虽然不是理想的武器，但至少我不再赤身裸体，手无寸铁。我小心翼翼地向前走去。
The hall beyond was just like the room behind. Tapestries showing the moon eclipsing the sun were everywhere. Windows depicted a dark alicorn banishing a white alicorn to the sun. Stars and star sapphires decorated every door and wall. In its own way, it reminded me of a far grander, and colder, Star House. I carefully stayed on the carpets so my hooves didn’t click on the ebon floor.
前面的大厅就像后面的房间一样。到处都是挂毯，上面画着月亮遮住了太阳。窗户上画着一只黑色的橡子，把一只白色的橡子放逐到太阳下。星星和星星的蓝宝石装饰着每一扇门和每一面墙。以它自己的方式，它让我想起了一个更宏伟、更冷酷的星空之家。我小心翼翼地留在地毯上，这样我的蹄子就不会碰到黑檀木地板了。
Here and there were signs of modern technology. Cables drawn along the edge of the floor. A room with a dusty broken terminal. An old rifle from the war, so badly maintained that it’d serve better as a club. Compared to the grand architecture, they clearly didn’t belong here. Magical glyphs throbbed powerfully against the walls, illuminating the halls.
到处都有现代科技的迹象。沿着地板边缘拉的电缆。一个满是灰尘的破旧终端的房间。一把战时的旧步枪，保养得如此糟糕，用作棍棒也不错。与宏伟的建筑相比，他们显然不属于这里。神奇的象形文字在墙上猛烈地跳动，照亮了大厅。
Then I heard a distant giggle, and my hackles rose. I whirled, looking around for the source. A second later, a ghostly moan sounded. I whirled again. “Okay. I’ve just about had it. Mad computers. Star curses. A whole lot of ponies helping me and getting killed. Magic portals. Now ghosts. What next?”
这时，我听到远处传来一阵咯咯的笑声，我的怒火升腾了起来。我转过身，环顾四周，寻找源头。过了一会儿，一声幽灵般的呻吟响了起来。我又转过身去。"好吧。我差不多受够了。疯狂的电脑。星星诅咒。一大群小马帮了我却被杀了。神奇的入口。现在是鬼魂。接下来呢?"
The giggle echoed again from the direction of some ascending stairs. Well, being
那咯咯的笑声又从上楼梯的方向传来。好吧，成为
here by myself wasn’t getting me anywhere. I slowly advanced. More groans, moans, and giggles, from more than one person. Definitely not ghosts, or at least I hoped not. The stairs opened on a floor that was much smaller than below. This looked more like the Canterlot Palace I’d seen in memories. The noises were coming from a nearby... bedroom... along with the sound of classical music and a familiar wet noise I hadn’t heard since 99.
我一个人呆在这里没什么用。我慢慢地向前走。不止一个人发出更多的呻吟、呻吟和咯咯的笑声。肯定不是鬼魂，至少我希望不是。楼梯在比楼下小得多的楼层上打开了。这看起来更像是我记忆中的坎特罗宫殿。噪音来自附近的......卧室......伴随着古典音乐的声音和一种熟悉的湿噪音，我从99岁起就再也没有听到过。
I pushed the door open and beheld the glistening, undulating mass of pony flesh that was an orgy. Over two beds, a half dozen mares and a half dozen stallions were vigorously engaging in coital relations. Half of them were batponies like Stygius. The other half were unicorns, pegasi, and an earth pony. I stood in the wash of sweat and semen that rolled out the open door in a sweet, salty pong.
我推开门，看到一大堆波浪起伏的闪闪发光的小马肉，简直就是一场狂欢。超过两个床位，半打的母马和半打的种马正在积极从事性交关系。其中一半是像斯提吉乌斯这样的蝙蝠战马。另一半是独角兽、飞马座和一匹地球上的矮种马。我站在汗水和精液滚出敞开的门口，发出甜甜的、咸咸的臭味。
Okay. That was it. My brain was officially out of order. I couldn’t process this anymore…
好吧。就是这样。我的大脑完全不正常了。我再也受不了了..。
Fortunately, I didn’t have to, as one of the pegasus mares on a bed glanced over and froze. She brushed her golden bangs back and gaped at me for a minute, then shoved the batpony mounting her hard. Pushing him off, Psychos– Whisper flew through the air and landed before me. “Blackjack? It is you! But not metal! How the hell did you get here? What do you think you’re doing? Who is that?” She gestured to Charm with a wing.
幸运的是，我没有必要这么做，因为一匹在床上的母马瞥了我一眼，冻僵了。她把金色的刘海梳回去，目瞪口呆地看了我一会儿，然后猛推那匹蝙蝠马，使劲地骑在她身上。把他推开，疯子般的耳语在空中飞起来，落在我面前。"黑杰克？就是你！但不是金属！你到底是怎么到这儿来的？你以为你在干什么？那是谁?"她用翅膀示意施展魅力。
Stygius rose from where she’d shoved him and flew over. I stared at them both for a long moment, then threw my hooves around her neck, sobbing brokenly.
斯提吉乌斯从她推他的地方站起来，飞了过去。我盯着他们俩看了很长时间，然后把我的蹄子甩在她的脖子上，断断续续地啜泣着。
* * *
* * *
An hour later, after they’d cleaned up and we’d taken Charm to an infirmary and I’d filled Whisper and Stygius in on the many, many things that had happened to me since we’d last seen each other, we walked together through the enormous silent castle. We’d been joined by a batpony mare who didn’t seem to be all that pleased to see me. Tenebra, Stygius’s sister, was a dusky mare with a short, chopped blue mane. A round, topaz talisman marked with concentric rings bounced around her neck as we walked through the massive structure. Thus far we’d only seen a half dozen other batponies since we’d left the orgy above. “So this place is what now?” I asked the lighter fog-gray mare. Apparently Stygius didn’t have a speech talisman handy… or wasn’t trusted with one around the ‘strumpet’.
一个小时后，当他们收拾干净，我们带着Charm去了医务室，我向Whisper和Stygius讲述了自从我们最后一次见面以来发生在我身上的许许多多的事情，我们一起走过巨大的寂静的城堡。一匹马加入了我们的行列，它似乎并不是很高兴见到我。斯蒂吉乌斯的妹妹泰内布拉是一匹灰色的母马，身上有短短的切碎的蓝色鬃毛。当我们穿过这个巨大的建筑物时，一个圆形的黄玉护身符围绕在她的脖子上，上面标有同心圆环。到目前为止，我们只看到了六个其他蝙蝠战马，因为我们离开了上面的狂欢。"那么这个地方现在是什么?"我问那头浅灰色的母马。很显然，斯蒂吉乌斯手边没有一个语言护身符......或者在妓女身边没有一个值得信任的护身符。
“Nightmare Castle,” Tenebra said sourly. “And you aren’t supposed to be here,” she reminded me for the tenth time since we’d left the party. “How did you get here? Nopony is supposed to get here without us!”
"噩梦城堡,"特内布拉酸溜溜地说。"你不应该在这里,"自从我们离开聚会后，她第十次提醒我。"你是怎么到这儿来的？没有我们，小马就应该到这儿来!"
“I told you. I found a terminal in an office that had that quote on it, and it summoned a portal that brought me here. I had no idea that here was here! Where is here?” I asked as we walked through a banquet hall the size of my stable’s atrium. The dishes were still laid out in rows, silver gleaming coolly in the starlight illumination.
"我告诉过你。我在一个办公室找到了一个终端，上面有这句话，它召唤了一个入口，把我带到了这里。我不知道这里有这个！这里是哪里?"当我们穿过一个宴会厅时，我问道。宴会厅的大小和我的马厩的中庭差不多。碟子仍然一排排地摆放着，银光在星光的照耀下冷冷地闪烁着。
“Another... well... okay, I’m not sure where. It’s a place that’s in Equestria in the Hoof, but it’s set slightly to... well...” Whisper glanced over at Stygius, who chirped and shrugged, looking over at his sister.
"另一个......嗯......好吧，我不知道在哪里。这个地方位于Equestria的霍夫，但是它的位置有点......好吧......"斯蒂吉乌斯低声地瞥了一眼。斯蒂吉乌斯叽叽喳喳地说，耸耸肩，看着他的妹妹。
Tenebra rolled her eyes. “We’re in Equestria’s shadow. A place where Nightmare Moon could hide her forces as she prepared to conquer Equestria. When she was banished, most of her forces fled this place. Most. Those who remained maintained this place as best as they could.”
坦内布拉转了转眼珠。"我们处在Equestria的阴影之下。在梦魇之月准备征服小马国的时候，她可以把她的部队藏在这里。当她被放逐的时候，她的大部分军队都逃离了这个地方。大多数。那些留下来的人竭尽全力维护这个地方。"
I nodded up above. “And what was with the sex party up above?” Tenebra and Stygius both flushed, averting their eyes, while Whisper chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong. It was a pretty sweet seven point five on the kinkometer. Reminded me a lot of the afterparty of Daisy’s cute-ceañera.” If I didn’t have my entire life going crazy, I might have joined in. Apparently, though, my arrival had ruffled a lot of wings, and we were going to somepony that I could talk to about my current situation.
我在上面点点头。"上面的性爱派对是怎么回事?"Tenebra和Stygius脸都涨得通红，避开了眼睛，Whisper则咯咯地笑了起来。"不要误会我。这是一个相当可爱的7.5点的转折点。让我想起了黛西的可爱时代。"如果我没有让我的整个生活变得疯狂，我可能也会加入进来。然而，显然，我的到来给我带来了很多麻烦，我们准备去一个我可以谈谈我现在的处境的小马场。
“We’re trying to save the batpony race,” Whisper said with a smile and a shrug. “Their genetic pool is so small that you could spit across it. It took me a month to convince them to bring in some outside blood and get serious about breeding a new generation.” She snickered. “Yes, Blackjack, I’m saving ponies by fucking them! Two of your favorite things in one! All I need is some Wild Pegasus, and I’d out-Blackjack you!” I’m sure she expected to get a rise out of me; when none came, she sulked a bit. “Looks like they’re not the only ones who need a good fucking...”
"我们正在努力挽救这场蝙蝠马竞赛,"Whisper耸耸肩微笑着说。"它们的基因库如此之小，以至于你可以随地吐痰。我花了一个月的时间才说服他们引进一些外部血液，并认真培育新一代。"她窃笑起来。"是的，黑杰克，我正在通过操小马来拯救它们！你最喜欢的两样东西合二为一！我所需要的只是一些野生飞马，而且我会胜过你的黑杰克!"我敢肯定她想惹我生气，可是没有，她就有点生气。"看起来他们不是唯一需要好好做爱的人......"
“Debauched pervert,” Tenebra muttered, blushing bright red.
"堕落的变态,"Tenebra嘟囔着，脸涨得通红。
“Hey, I don’t hear you complaining about not being obligated to fuck your brother anymore! Honestly, I finally find a community I feel comfortable in,
"嘿，我可没听你抱怨没有义务再操你哥哥了！说实话我终于找到了一个让我感觉舒服的社区
where family members regularly fuck each other, and they still act like it's a bad thing. The whole world is insane, I tell ya...” Whisper retorted. Stygius gave a suffering roll of his eyes as I stared. “They’re down to a population of around a hundred batponies here, and they’re getting some significant defects.”
家庭成员经常性交，但他们仍然表现得像是坏事一样。"我告诉你，整个世界都疯了......"密语反驳道。当我盯着他的时候，斯提吉乌斯痛苦地转了一下眼珠。"他们已经减少到大约100个蝙蝠战马的数量，而且他们有一些明显的缺陷。"
Tenebra flushed. “I admit, it is a relief to know that I won’t have to... bed him. Still. All this... sex... well... it just doesn’t seem all that appropriate.” Ah. Thankfully, after Glory, I could better understand her madness. ...About general prudishness. Whisper was still a bit...
特内布拉脸红了。"我承认，知道自己不必......和他上床，让我松了一口气。不过。所有这些......性......嗯......似乎都不太合适。"啊。谢天谢地，在晨辉之后，我能更好地理解她的疯狂。关于一般的假正经。还是有点..。
“Speak for yourself,” said mare replied. “The breeding program’s been a huge hit with most of the younger batponies here. Stygius wasn’t the only one who wanted to get out and sow his oats.” The batstallion grinned at me sheepishly.
"说说你自己吧,"母马回答。"育种计划对这里大多数年轻的蝙蝠来说都是一个巨大的打击。斯提吉乌斯并不是唯一一个想出去播种的人。"蝙蝠战马怯生生地朝我咧嘴一笑。
Whisper shook her head and smirked at me. “Well, hopefully Hades will be able help you out, Blackjack. He’s really isolationist, though. As far as he’s concerned, this is their world and we’re just visiting. So keep that in mind. This is like dealing with a stable. A really, really inbred stable.”
她摇摇头，傻笑着看着我。"好吧，希望哈迪斯能帮助你，黑杰克。不过，他真的是个孤立主义者。在他看来，这是他们的世界，我们只是来看看。所以请记住这一点。这就像处理一个马厩。一个非常非常近亲繁殖的家族。"
We were approaching a pair of glittering black diamond doors that slowly groaned open at our approach. Inside was a throne room of cavernous proportions. I wondered if Nightmare Moon had some insecurity issues when she made this place. You could easily fit the population of most of the Hoof in here. A dozen or so batponies haunted the dais at the far end of the chamber. On closer inspection, there was definitely some genetic damage visible in a few of them. One with mismatched ears, the left larger than the right. One with a small, almost vestigial wing. Another with missized fangs pointing in different directions, standing next to a mare with eyes that did the same thing. Most were normal... ish. Still, I couldn’t help but imagine what these ponies would look like in a generation or two.
我们走近一对闪闪发光的黑色钻石门，它们在我们靠近时缓缓地呻吟着打开。里面是一个巨大的王座室。我想知道噩梦之月来到这里时是否有些不安全的问题。这里可以容纳霍夫人的大部分人口。十几个蝙蝠战马在房间尽头的讲台上出没。仔细观察，在其中的一些细胞中肯定存在一些可见的遗传损伤。耳朵不对称的人，左耳比右耳大。有一个小的，几乎退化的翅膀。另一只有着错误大小的尖牙指向不同的方向，站在一只眼睛也做着同样动作的母马旁边。大部分都是正常的...差不多。尽管如此，我还是忍不住想象在一两代人的时间里，这些小马会是什么样子。
A single throne stood at the far side of the chamber. Seated in it was an impressive piece of pony. The stallion was almost jet black with red, dragon-pupiled eyes and a powerful, athletic frame. He wore intricate ebony armor inlaid with silver scroll work. At his side, hanging on the edge of the throne of jet, was an impressive-looking sword. This was not a pony that I wanted to fight. I cleared my throat, smiled as best I could, and gave what was probably a rather maladroit bow.
房间的另一边有一个王座。里面坐着一匹令人印象深刻的矮种马。这匹种马几乎是乌黑色的，长着一双像龙一样的红眼睛，身体强壮有力。他穿着复杂的黑色盔甲，上面镶嵌着银制的卷轴。在他身边，挂着一把令人印象深刻的宝剑，悬在黑玉宝座的边上。这不是一匹我想要对抗的小马。我清了清嗓子，尽可能地笑了笑，然后给了一个可能相当笨拙的鞠躬。
“Father,” Tenebra said formally. “This is Blackjack. Blackjack, this is our king,
"父亲,"Tenebra正式地说。"这是黑杰克。黑杰克，这是我们的国王
Hades.”
哈迪斯。"
His red eyes narrowed at me, then glanced back at Tenebra. “Who?” His armor or a talisman under it must have had enchantments beyond just making his squeaks and chirps audible; instead of a normal voice or Royal Canterlot Shouting, his speech was deep and thunderous, rolling ominously through the chamber, echoing off the walls, and vibrating through our hooves.
他眯起红眼睛看着我，然后回头看了看Tenebra。"谁?"他的盔甲或者盔甲下面的护身符一定有着魔法，不仅仅是让他的吱吱声和唧唧声听得见;他的演讲不是正常的声音，也不是皇家坎特罗的呐喊，而是深沉而雷鸣般的，不祥地滚过房间，在墙上回响，在我们的蹄子里震动。
The yellow pegasus gaped at him. “Seriously?” He glowered at the four of us. “It’s Blackjack. Security. The badass mare who’s causing all kinds of trouble over in the other world!” Whisper said with a wave of a wing in my direction.
黄色的天马张大了嘴巴看着他。"真的吗?"他怒视着我们四个。"这是黑杰克。保安。在另一个世界制造各种麻烦的坏蛋母马!"低语着，一只翅膀朝我的方向飞来。
He gave a dismissive sweep of his hoof. “The concerns of that world are none of mine. If she’s another of your breeders, set her to work.”
他不屑一顾地扫了一下蹄子。"那个世界的问题与我无关。如果她是你的另一个繁殖者，让她去工作吧。"
Wait? Breeders? I suddenly felt like I was on the other side of Medical in 99.
等等？繁殖者？我突然觉得自己好像是在99年的医疗中心的另一边。
“No!” I said sharply. Not that it wasn’t tempting on a tiny, immature level, but... “I need to get back to my world. I need to find my friends, get my body back, and stop a mare from either destroying the world or conquering it completely!” He gazed down at me dispassionately. “Look. Show me the door, and I won’t bother you again.”
"不!"我厉声说道。并不是说这在一个小小的、不成熟的层面上不具有诱惑力，而是......"我需要回到我的世界。我需要找到我的朋友，找回我的身体，阻止一匹母马毁灭世界或完全征服世界!"他冷静地低头看着我。"你看。给我开门，我就不再打扰你了。"
“No,” he rumbled darkly, perfunctorily.
"不,"他含糊不清、敷衍了事地咕哝着。
Tenebra stepped forward. “Father, please. Blackjack has many–”
坦内布拉走上前来。"爸爸，求你了。黑杰克有很多——"
But he raised a forehoof, silencing her, and turned his eyes to Stygius. “I will not risk our discovery by outsiders.” His voice was solemn and grave. “My son did a great disservice to our kingdom when he left to go looking for a... rut mare. I have only allowed others to be brought here with the understanding that they will restore my kind to our former strength.” His glare made Stygius wilt.
但他抬起前蹄，让她安静下来，把目光转向斯提吉乌斯。"我不会冒险让外界发现我们。"他的声音庄严而严肃。"我儿子离开去寻找一个......，这对我们的王国造成了极大的伤害。.发情母马。我允许其他人被带到这里，只是因为我相信他们会让我的种族恢复以前的力量。"他的目光使冥河畏缩了。
“Oh, Darling. Must you be so grim?” a mare asked, her voice light and airy and lifting the gloom of the place. From a doorway in the side of the room emerged a pale gray batpony in a white dress. Silver earrings glittered in the wan magical light of the chamber.
"哦，亲爱的。你一定要这么严厉吗?"一匹母马问道，她的声音轻快而轻快，驱散了这个地方的阴暗。从房间一侧的门口出现了一匹穿着白色连衣裙的淡灰色蝙蝠马。银色的耳环在房间苍白而神奇的光芒中闪闪发光。
“Mother! You’re up!” Tenebra said, swooping towards her and helping the mare over to a seat.
"妈妈！你起来了!"坦内布拉说，扑向她，帮助母马坐到一个座位上。
“Of course. I heard we had more new visitors from the outside,” she said in a frail but friendly tone.
"当然。我听说外面来了更多的新客人,"她用一种虚弱但友好的语气说。
Stygius held up his blackboard. ‘Persephone. Mom.’ I read it and then smiled, giving another, less awkward, bow to her. “Your Majesty.”
斯蒂吉乌斯举起他的黑板。""珀尔塞福涅。妈妈我读了这封信，然后微笑着，给了另一个人一个不那么尴尬的鞠躬。"陛下。"
“Please forgive my husband; but he takes his royal duties so very seriously,” the pale batmare said as she gazed at the flustered stallion.
"请原谅我的丈夫，但是他对待他的皇室职责是如此的认真,"苍白的母马凝视着这匹慌乱的种马说。
“I will not relent, Persephone,” Hades said, scowling at us. “Do not ask it of me.”
"我不会后悔的，珀尔塞福涅,"哈迪斯怒视着我们说。"不要问我这个。"
“Perish the thought, dear husband. Go on. Be kingly,” she said with a little wave of her hoof as she leaned against Tenebra.
""别想了，亲爱的丈夫。继续。"做国王吧,"她靠在特内布拉上，轻轻地挥动着蹄子说。
Hades coughed, glancing over at her and then back down at me. “As I said. The only outsiders we will admit are for... procreational uses.”
哈迪斯咳嗽了一声，瞥了她一眼，然后又回过头来看我。""我说过了。我们唯一会接纳的外来者是......生育用途。"
“I think quite a few are fond of ‘recreational’ too,” Persephone said, making Tenebra blush.
"我想有不少人也喜欢'娱乐',"珀尔塞福涅说道，让特内布拉感到脸红。
“Mother!” she said in scandalized tones.
"妈妈!"她用震惊的语气说。
“What? If I were in better health, I’d join you. With my darling, of course.” She looked archly at her husband.
"什么？如果我身体好一点，我就和你一起去了。当然是和我亲爱的。"她狡黠地看着她丈夫。
“I like her,” Whisper whispered to me.
"我喜欢她,"小声对我说。
“There is more to life than survival and gravity,” Persephone continued. “These outsiders can teach us much.”
"生命不仅仅是生存和重力,"珀尔塞福涅继续说道。"这些外来者可以教给我们很多东西。"
“They are for breeding, nothing more,” Hades contradicted flatly, fighting his own embarrassment.
"他们只是为了繁衍后代，仅此而已,"哈迪斯直截了当地反驳道，尽力克制自己的窘态。
“My husband can be terribly possessive,” Persephone said with a frown. “It’s one of his less admirable traits.”
"我丈夫的占有欲很强,"珀尔塞福涅皱着眉头说。"这是他不那么令人钦佩的特点之一。"
“Possessive? Are they slaves?” I asked, bristling and wondering if this really was like being on the other side of Medical.
"占有欲强？他们是奴隶吗?"我问道，怒气冲冲，不知道这是不是真的像是在医疗的另一边。
Whisper jumped in immediately. “They were refugees, Blackjack!” she said quickly. “Ponies who lost their homes when Thunderhead fell. Or escaped former slaves. Or scavengers. They have rights.”
密语立刻跳了进来。"他们是难民，黑杰克!"她快速地说。"当雷头摔倒时失去家园的小马。或者是从前逃跑的奴隶。或者食腐动物。他们有权利。"
“We are not barbarians, Blackjack,” Persephone added with a sober nod. “I’d happily accept many more of them.”
"我们不是野蛮人，黑杰克,"珀尔塞福涅冷静地点头补充道。"我很乐意接受更多这样的人。"
“So long as they breed,” the king interjected. “It is my fondest wish that, in a few generations, we will not need outsider blood any longer,” he continued with a distasteful curl of his lip. “Until then, I will bow to genetic realities and do what I must to save my people. But the survival and wellbeing of the world of light is none of my concern!”
"只要它们能繁殖,"国王插嘴道。"我最大的愿望就是，再过几代人，我们就不再需要外来者的鲜血了,"他厌恶地撇了撇嘴继续说道。"在那之前，我将屈从于基因现实，尽我所能拯救我的人民。但是光明世界的生存和幸福与我无关!"
“A weapon is going to go off that might destroy everything in that world! My friends. My loved ones!” I stared around the court. “How can you not care? If the other world is destroyed, what happens to this one?”
"一件武器即将爆炸，可能摧毁那个世界的一切！我的朋友们。我亲爱的人们!"我环视着法庭。"你怎么能不关心呢？如果另一个世界被摧毁了，这个世界会发生什么?"
Slowly, he rose to his hooves, his armor creaking. “Are you saying that this weapon will destroy the entire planet?”
慢慢地，他站起来，他的盔甲吱吱作响。"你是说这种武器会摧毁整个地球?"
I balked a little. “Well, no. From what Trottenheimer said, it sounds like it’s just going to kill everyone!” I put as much scorn into that as I could. “Doesn’t that matter to you?”
我犹豫了一下。""哦，不。根据Trottenheimer的说法，这听起来像是要杀死所有人!"我尽可能地嘲笑他们。"这对你来说不重要吗?"
“No,” he replied as he started to limp towards us; his right hindleg had an odd hitch to it. “The world of shadow is not affected by such things. Balefire bombs. Megaspells. They only affect your kind. Your people. Ours will be kept safe here.” He gestured around at the immense palace. “And eventually, we will return to the world of the light to restore it in our Goddess’s image.”
"不,"他一瘸一拐地向我们走来时回答，他的右后腿有一个奇怪的结。"阴影的世界不会受到这些事情的影响。巴勒火焰炸弹。女名女子名。它们只会影响你的同类。你的人。我们在这里会很安全。"他指了指那座巨大的宫殿。"最终，我们将回到光的世界，以我们女神的形象重塑它。"
“But... but so many will die!” I protested weakly.
"但是......但是有那么多人会死!"我无力地抗议。
He gave another wave of his hoof. “Very well. A few dozen more breeders can be brought over, your friends included. Will that halt your wailing?”
他又挥了一下蹄子。"很好。你可以带几十个繁殖者过来，包括你的朋友。这会使你停止哭泣吗?"
I sputtered as I stared at him. “What about everypony else? There’re thousands, maybe millions, who will die when Horizons goes off. And if Cognitum manages to catch that damned stone, she’ll control weapons that will dominate Equestria for a thousand years or more.”
我瞪着他，结结巴巴地说。"其他的小马怎么办？有成千上万，甚至上百万的人会在视野号离开的时候死去。如果科涅图姆设法抓住那块该死的石头，她就能控制一千年甚至更长时间内支配马术国的武器。"
“Darling, perhaps this is one time we should let her go. It sounds quite serious,” Persephone said quietly.
"亲爱的，也许这次我们应该让她走。听起来很严重,"珀尔塞福涅平静地说。
“I will not make an exception for a mare who should not be here.” He rolled his eyes as he turned and limped back to his throne. “She will dominate your Equestria, not ours,” he said scornfully. “Your world is not our affair. Your problems are not mine.” He gave a dismissive wave of his hoof. “Be gone from my presence. Breed a batpony or three, and perhaps I will send you back.” And he settled back onto his throne and stared silently at me.
"我不会为不该出现在这里的母马破例。"他转过身，一瘸一拐地回到他的宝座前，翻了个白眼。"她将主宰你们的小马国，而不是我们的,"他轻蔑地说。"你的世界不是我们的事。你的问题不是我的。"他不屑地挥了挥他的蹄子。"从我面前消失。养一匹或三匹蝙蝠马，也许我会把你送回去。"他坐回到他的宝座上，默默地看着我。
I stared at him. “You... I... How can you–” I was silenced by a mouthful of yellow feathers.
我盯着他。"你......我.....。.你怎么能——"满嘴黄色的羽毛使我哑口无言。
“Thank you for your time, Your Majesty,” Whisper said, then bowed to him, giving me a sharp glare before we trotted away. I clenched my jaw. There had to be another way out of here. There just had to be!
"谢谢您的时间，陛下,"Whisper说，然后向他鞠了一躬，在我们小跑着离开之前狠狠地瞪了我一眼。我咬紧牙关。肯定还有别的出路。一定要有！
Outside the throne room, I pointed a hoof back the way they came. “What is his deal?! How can he just write off a whole world like that?”
在王座室外面，我朝他们走来的方向指了指马蹄。"他是怎么回事！他怎么能就这样把整个世界一笔勾销呢?"
“Pretty easily,” Whisper replied. “Rulers aren’t always smart, Blackjack. His world is this castle. I don’t think he can even imagine something that isn’t like this place.” Whisper had been right. It was a stable mentality.
"很容易,"Whisper回答。"黑杰克，统治者并不总是聪明的。他的世界就是这座城堡。我认为他甚至无法想象与这个地方不同的东西。"密语是对的。这是一种稳定的心态。
Tenebra and Stygius flew to us. “Mother is talking with him, but I don’t think he’s going to change his mind. At least not soon. He wasn’t fond of the... ah... orgy idea...”
Tenebra和Stygius飞向我们。"妈妈正在和他谈话，但我不认为他会改变主意。至少不会很快。他不喜欢......啊......狂欢的主意......"
“If you know a better way to rapidly spread genetic material through a population, be my guest,” Whisper retorted. “Or a funner way...”
"如果你知道一种更好的方法可以在人群中快速传播遗传物质，那就请便吧,"Whisper反驳道。"或者更有趣的方式......"
Anyway! “Okay. So how do I get back? Do I have to recite a spell or something? Praise Celestia and get the boot? What?” I said with a little scowl. If this place was just a big, fancy stable, then I needed some way to open the big rolling door between me and my friends.
不管怎样！"好吧。那我怎么回去？我必须背诵一个咒语或什么吗？赞美塞莱斯蒂娅，然后被开除？什么?"我皱着眉头说。如果这个地方只是一个又大又漂亮的马厩，那么我需要一些方法来打开我和朋友之间的大门。
Tenebra regarded her sibling. “Stygius’s talent lets him cross just like Father, but only he alone can use it travel from this world to yours. As king, Father controls the portal allowing all passage.”
特内布拉看着她的兄弟姐妹。"斯蒂吉乌斯的天赋让他可以像父亲一样穿越，但只有他自己才能使用它从这个世界到达你的世界。作为国王，父亲控制着允许一切通过的入口。"
“And he really thinks that Horizons won’t destroy this place too?” I snapped.
"他真的认为地平线号不会把这个地方也毁了吗?"我厉声说道。
Whisper shook her head. “I don’t know if he’s aware of it, but he seems convinced that nothing reaches this place. So... I don’t know. I don’t know how many super massive explosions like that there’s been. The balefire bombs and megaspells didn’t touch this place, so... maybe?”
她摇了摇头。"我不知道他是否意识到这一点，但他似乎确信这个地方什么也收不到。所以...我不知道。我不知道有过多少这样的超大规模爆炸。巴勒火焰炸弹和巨型炸弹没有碰到这个地方，所以......也许?"
“But... I... we... he...” I stammered, then sat down hard and pressed my hooves to my head, letting out a scream of frustration. I’d survived Cognitum and gotten out of the Core, but now I was stuck here! In my rage, I teleported away. I just wanted to be out of this place and somewhere... anywhere... else!
"但是......我.....。.我们......他......"我结结巴巴地说，然后用力坐下，用蹄子顶着头，发出一声沮丧的尖叫。我幸存了下来，离开了核心，但是现在我被困在这里了！盛怒之下，我瞬移走了。我只想离开这个地方，到某个地方......任何地方......其他地方！
* * *
* * *
I landed on a pile of scree and loose rocks. The light provided by my horn revealed a few dozen feet of broken, shadowy landscape. There was no moon or sun to light the world, but a faint twilight glow provided just enough illumination to make the darkness of the land vaguely perceptible. Near me were the outlines of a ghostly building amidst spectral trees. I reached out and felt the bark. It didn’t feel like a tree. It was... firm. Neither warm nor cool, neither wet nor dry. I moved slowly through the grove, the rocks not shifting under my hooves. It was utterly bizarre trying to walk over the uneven surface. I couldn’t move so much as a twig or pebble in this shadowy world.
我落在一堆碎石和松动的岩石上。我的号角发出的光透露出几十英尺的破碎阴暗的景色。没有月亮或太阳照亮这个世界，但是一道微弱的曙光提供了足够的照明，使得人们模模糊糊地感觉到这片土地的黑暗。在我附近是幽灵般的建筑物在幽灵般的树木中的轮廓。我伸出手，摸了摸树皮。它感觉不像一棵树。它...很结实。既不温暖也不凉爽，既不潮湿也不干燥。我慢慢地穿过小树林，脚下的岩石没有移动。在崎岖不平的路面上行走，真是奇怪极了。在这个阴暗的世界里，我连一根树枝或一块鹅卵石都动不了。
Then the door to the building opened, and a pony-shaped form emerged. Like everything else around me, she was ghostly and translucent like smoky quartz. A pale white glow in her chest spread light through her. I reached out and touched her wing as she trotted around to the side of the building and sat down. I stared at her face, slowly picking her features out. I stared for a minute, then whispered softly, “Glory?”
然后，大楼的门打开了，一个小马形状的形状出现了。就像我周围的一切一样，她像幽灵一样半透明，就像烟状的石英。她胸膛里发出一道淡白色的光芒，光线透过她的全身。我伸出手，抚摸着她的翅膀，她小跑着来到楼边坐下。我盯着她的脸，慢慢地挑出她的五官。我盯着他看了一分钟，然后轻声问道:"晨辉?"
She didn’t react. I bit one forehoof to keep from crying out as I reached out and touched her cheek with my other. Like everything else here, it was the same hard, immutable surface. “Glory. Oh Glory. I’m here, Glory. I’m finally here.”
她没有反应。当我伸出手，用另一只手抚摸她的脸颊时，我咬了一只前蹄以免哭出来。就像这里的其他东西一样，它也是同样坚硬、不可改变的表面。"晨辉。哦，晨辉。我在这儿，晨辉。我终于来了。"
I watched as tiny, smoky tears crept along her cheeks and fell off her chin. Her lips moved silently as I wept as well. I put my hooves around her neck, holding her as close as I could. I didn’t know if she could feel me, but at the very least I could be here for her.
我看着微小的，冒着烟的泪水顺着她的脸颊流下来，从她的下巴上掉下来。她的嘴唇默默地动着，我也哭了。我用蹄子勒住她的脖子，尽可能靠近她。我不知道她是否能感觉到我，但至少我可以在这里陪着她。
The door to the house opened, and a dark shape emerged. It appeared like an alicorn of black ice. Within, a dark purple shape seemed to strain against its confines. A small mote of light lingered in its belly. I watched as it walked slowly away. Glory moved through me as she pulled away and stepped in front of the alicorn, her lips moving quickly.
房子的门打开了，一个黑影出现了。它看起来就像一个黑色冰块的小角果。里面，一个深紫色的形状似乎在它的限制之下伸展开来。一小束光在它的腹部徘徊。我看着它慢慢地走开。晨辉穿过我的身体，她把身子拉开，走到橡子面前，嘴唇迅速地动了起来。
I slowly approached them, wishing I had Sekashi’s ability to read lips. Clearly, Glory wasn’t happy. P-21 emerged, followed by Rampage. I started at the sight of an ethereal filly inside her, following her movements, along with a whole cluster of motes. Walking slowly, I made my way around the smoky, wraithlike pony shapes of my friends.
我慢慢走近他们，希望自己有Sekashi那样的读唇能力。显然，晨辉并不高兴。P-21出现了，紧随其后的是狂暴。我一看见她体内有一匹飘渺的小雌马，跟着她的动作，还有一簇尘埃，就吓了一跳。我慢慢地走着，绕过那些烟雾缭绕、像幽灵一样的朋友们。
I scowled at myself. “I want my body back, you cunt! I want my baby!”
我皱着眉头看着自己。"我想要回我的身体，你这个婊子！我要我的孩子!"
The dark purple shape turned and looked at me, its head slipping out of the cloudy shell of my body. Step by step it emerged, regarding me with cool teal eyes. “It is not in my power to grant you that, Blackjack.”
那个深紫色的东西转过身来看着我，它的头从我浑浊的躯壳里滑落出来。它一步一步地浮现出来，用清凉的蓝绿色眼睛看着我。"我没有权利给你这个，Blackjack。"
“Princess Luna?” I asked in shock. The motions around me congealed, moving at a crawl, as I stared up at the spectral alicorn. Then my gaze sharpened. “Or are you Nightmare Moon?”
"卢娜公主?"我震惊地问道。当我凝视着这个幽灵角果时，我周围的动作凝固了，像爬行一样移动。然后我的目光锐利了。"或者你是恶梦之月?"
“That is the question, is it not?” she replied coolly. “Princess, or Nightmare?”
"这是个问题，不是吗?"她冷冷地回答。"公主，还是噩梦?"
“Really? I have to deal with riddles now?” I asked flatly. “Which is it?”
"真的吗？我现在还要猜谜语吗?"我直截了当地问。"到底是哪一个?"
“Are you Blackjack, or Security?” Luna countered with her own question. I don’t know if it was her size or the presence of her alicornness, but I balked and swallowed hard.
"你是玩黑杰克，还是保安?"卢娜用自己的问题进行了反驳。我不知道是因为她的体型还是因为她的健康，但我犹豫了一下，艰难地咽了下去。
“I’m Blackjack. Most of the time. I’m only Security when I need to be,” I answered. She smiled slowly. “So... are you saying you’re... both?”
"我是黑杰克。大多数时候。我只在需要的时候保护自己,"我回答。她慢慢地笑了。"那么......你是说你......两者都是?"
“Ponies are not simple things. This is something that I understood better than my sister. Ponies are complex. Twilight often let her desire to please override the wellbeing of others. Applejack lied to herself when she believed her family innately trustworthy. Pinkie Pie laughed long after the joke stopped being funny. My sister believed that ponies were simply, innately, good. That all people were. I understood the nuance of dreams. The subtle differences of thought. You ask if I am Princess Luna, or Nightmare Moon. The answer is yes. The more important
"小马不是简单的东西。这一点我比我姐姐更清楚。小马是复杂的。黄昏经常让她的欲望凌驾于他人的幸福之上。当她相信她的家庭天生值得信赖时，苹果白兰地欺骗了自己。在笑话不再好笑之后，萍琪派笑了很久。我姐姐认为小马天生就是好马。所有的人都是。我理解梦的细微差别。思想上的细微差别。你问我是月神公主还是恶梦月亮。答案是肯定的。更重要的是
question is which was I more... and that, I cannot answer.”
问题是，我更喜欢哪一个......至于那个，我无法回答。"
I considered a moment, then sighed and decided to focus on the present for the moment. “Cognitum stole my body and put you in it. Can’t you... I don’t know... help me take it back?”
我想了一会儿，然后叹了口气，决定把注意力放在当下。"科涅塔姆偷走了我的身体，把你放在里面。你能不能......我不知道......帮我把它拿回来?"
“Why would I fight against myself?”
"我为什么要反抗自己呢?"
“Cognitum’s not you,” I said to her.
"认知力不是你,"我对她说。
“No? She has ambition. Pride. A determination to prove herself. How is that not me?” Luna walked slowly away and lifted her head to the sky. “I was ambivalent when Celestia abdicated. On one hoof, I’d seen what rule had done to her. On the other, I craved acknowledgement and respect. I resented her. A thousand years, and little had changed. I was in her shadow again, the lesser Princess... but I was wiser than I had been. I would not rebel; I’d felt the cold bite and loneliness of a millennium of exile. So when she stepped aside for me, I was terrified and thrilled all at once.” She turned and regarded my frozen body. “Who is to say she cannot be me reborn?”
""不是吗？她很有野心。骄傲。证明自己的决心。那怎么不是我呢?"卢娜慢慢地走开，把头抬向天空。"当塞莱斯蒂娅退位时，我的心情很矛盾。我一只蹄子就看到了规则对她的影响。另一方面，我渴望得到认可和尊重。我恨她。一千年过去了，一切都没有改变。我又回到了她的阴影里，那个不那么重要的公主......但是我比以前聪明多了。我不会反抗;我感受到了一千年流亡生活的寒冷和孤独。所以当她为我让路时，我既害怕又激动。"她转过身来，看着我冻僵的身体。"谁说她不能成为我的重生呢?"
“She is evil!” I snapped. Luna gave a sad smile. “She is! She collected ponies like they were toys. Prizes! She manipulates, deceives, and violates others.”
"她是邪恶的!"我厉声说道。卢娜露出一个悲伤的微笑。""是的！她收集小马就像收集玩具一样。奖品！她操纵、欺骗、侵犯他人。"
“Blackjack, I ordered the deaths of ten million ponies and caused the deaths of sixty million zebras over the course of the war. You’ve seen Nopony’s Land. You haven’t seen the multitude of other battlefields, but I assure you that there were many worse. And if you consider how many lives the megaspells took, the number of corpses at my hooves becomes incalculably higher,” she bowed her head. “No matter how you regard it, I am evil too.”
"黑杰克，我下令杀死一千万匹小马，在战争期间造成六千万匹斑马死亡。你已经看过《小马王国》了。你没有看到其他战场的众多，但我向你保证，还有更糟糕的。如果你考虑到巨人们夺走了多少生命，那么我蹄下的尸体数量将无法计算,"她低下了头。"不管你怎么看，我也是邪恶的。"
I know ponies whose fuck ups have killed millions. I wanted to tell her that she was wrong. That she hadn’t been responsible for all that. But hadn’t I been kicking myself for months for the ponies I had killed? How would I feel if I’d killed millions? I swallowed hard, struggling to find an answer contrary to one condemning her. “It was Fluttershy... she made the first megaspells. The zebras made the balefire bombs. Goldenblood... he... he manipulated you! He was working behind the scenes, doing things.” Luna’s smile looked almost pitying. “And the nobles and those business ponies started the war. And if Celestia hadn’t started it in–”
我认识一些小马，它们的混蛋已经杀死了数百万人。我想告诉她她错了。这一切都不是她造成的。但是我不是为了那些被我杀死的小马而自责了好几个月吗？如果我杀了数百万人，我会有什么感觉？我艰难地咽了口唾沫，努力寻找一个与谴责她相反的答案。"是Fluttershy......她创造了第一个megaspells。斑马制造了这种烟火炸弹。金血王...他...他操纵了你！他在幕后工作，做事情。"卢娜的微笑看起来几乎是怜悯。"贵族和那些生意场上的小马发动了战争。如果塞莱斯蒂亚没有开始的话
“Shhhhh.” She hushed me and reached out with her ghostly purple wings, holding my cheeks. “Do not speak ill of my sister. I beg you. Do not.” She closed her teal eyes. “It is my fault. I knew what Fluttershy was doing, and Goldenblood. I could have ended the war. Surrendered. Worked out a compromise with the Caesar. It would have been difficult for Equestria, but ponies have been through hard times before and triumphed. I refused. I resisted. I used the war for my own ends. The blood is on my hooves.”
"嘘。"她让我安静下来，伸出幽灵般的紫色翅膀，托着我的脸颊。"不要说我姐姐的坏话。我求你了。不要。"她闭上了蓝绿色的眼睛。"这是我的错。我知道Fluttershy在做什么，还有Goldenblood。我本可以结束这场战争。投降。与凯撒达成了妥协。这对Equestria来说是很困难的，但是小马以前也经历过困难时期，并且取得了成功。我拒绝了。我拒绝了。我利用战争达到自己的目的。我的蹄子上都是血。"
“But Goldenblood... the O.I.A...” I stammered weakly, trying to find somepony to blame.
"但是金血...o.i.a.。。」我有气无力地结结巴巴，想找个替罪羊。
She smiled and raised her head. The darkness above us filled with wavy, waxy light. It coalesced into Goldenblood and Princess Luna. “So the ministries will be behind the war effort, out in public,” the spectral – well, more spectral – Luna was saying. “The military will actually fight the war. What am I supposed to do?”
她微笑着抬起头。我们头顶上的黑暗充满了波浪般柔和的光芒。它合并成了Goldenblood和卢娜公主。"所以政府各部将会支持战争的努力，公开地,"鬼魂——嗯，更多的鬼魂——卢娜说。"军队实际上会参战。我该怎么办?"
“Smile and wave to the adoring public,” Goldenblood rasped. “Social events... royal functions... that sort of thing.”
"微笑着向崇拜的公众招手,"金血王怒气冲冲地说。"社交活动......皇室活动......诸如此类。"
Luna frowned down at him. “I refuse to be a puppet of my own bureaucracy,” she said firmly.
卢娜对他皱起了眉头。"我拒绝做自己官僚机构的傀儡,"她坚定地说。
“Princess, this is messy business. It’s best if you aren’t involved directly. Anything you do that is taken badly by your subjects will come back on you. When this war is finished, you’ll clean house. Unleash the courts on the Ministry Mares, replace them with your own loyalists. Push any unsatisfied generals to retire and promote faithful majors to positions of control. The pivot from war to peace will be the mechanism to convert you from puppet to benign monarch for the next thousand years.”
"公主，这是一件棘手的事情。你最好不要直接参与。你所做的任何被你的臣民所误解的事情都会回到你身上。当这场战争结束时，你会清理门户。释放法院对部母马，取代他们与你自己的效忠。推动任何不满意的将军退休，并提升忠诚的主要控制职位。从战争到和平的轴心将是在未来一千年内将你从傀儡转变为仁慈君主的机制。"
“I will not sit idly by, Goldenblood,” Luna retorted. “I won’t let the ministries run amok and simply rubberstamp everything they do with the expectation that, when the time is right, I’ll sweep in and end the war. I have to be involved. I can’t sit on the sidelines giving rousing speeches while my country is at war!”
"我不会坐视不管的，金色血统,"卢娜反驳道。"我不会让政府部门胡作非为，对他们所做的每一件事都吹毛求疵，期望在时机成熟时，我会冲进去，结束战争。我必须参与进来。当我的国家处于战争状态时，我不能坐在一旁发表振奋人心的演讲!"
Goldenblood stared at her, then looked away. “Perhaps there’s a way.”
金色的血液凝视着她，然后看向别处。"也许有办法。"
“What?” Princess Luna asked, leaning in.
"什么?"卢娜公主靠近问道。
“Since we’re concentrating the government functions in the ministries, we’re going to need some way to coordinate between them. A paper pushing bureau. We don’t want the ministries doing it themselves or they will bureaucratize you out of power.” He thought some more. “If we create a very passive, low-key office to conduct affairs outside the normal Ministry operations, we’ll be able to keep tabs on the actions of the ministries and manipulate them. We could expand on that. Infiltrate layers of your own government to know what they’re really doing. Control and influence indirectly.” He paused, wracked by a sudden fit of coughing. “Officially, you’d be a virtual figurehead. Unofficially, you’d be pulling the strings and running the country. When the time is right, we’d end the war, clean house, and put you fully and openly at the top.”
"由于我们将政府职能集中在各部，我们将需要某种方式来协调它们之间的关系。一个推纸局。我们不希望政府各部自己这样做，否则他们会把你们的权力官僚化。"他又想了想。"如果我们建立一个非常被动、低调的办公室，在部门正常运作之外处理事务，我们就能够密切关注部门的行动，并对其进行操纵。我们可以在此基础上进一步发展。渗透你们自己政府的内部，知道他们真正在做什么。间接控制和影响。"突然一阵咳嗽使他停了下来。"按照官方说法，你实际上只是个傀儡。非官方的说法是，你在幕后操纵着这个国家。当时机成熟时，我们会结束战争，清理门户，让你们完全公开地登上顶峰。"
Luna smiled broadly. “Oh, I like that. I really do. And I know just the pony to put in charge of it.” She patted his feverish brow with a wing.
露娜笑得很开心。"哦，我喜欢这个。真的。我知道有一匹小马负责这件事。"她用翅膀拍拍他发烧的额头。
“Princess Luna, I’m going to die. This Pink Cloud is killing me,” Goldenblood said weakly.
"露娜公主，我要死了。这朵粉红色的云要把我折磨死了,"金布拉德虚弱地说。
“Nonsense. I need you, Goldenblood. You and I, together, are going to create an Equestria that will last a thousand years. You can live for that, can’t you? Can you live for me?” Luna asked, her eyes wide, lashes fluttering.
"胡说。我需要你，金色血统。你和我将一起创造一个可以持续一千年的Equestria。你可以为此而活，不是吗？你能为我而活吗?"卢娜问道，她的眼睛睁得大大的，睫毛抖动着。
Goldenblood let out a long, wheezing breath. “As you command, my Princess.”
金色的血液发出长长的喘息声。"遵命，我的公主。"
The image faded, then shifted to a new one. Goldenblood sat behind a desk, a mask covering his muzzle connected to quietly hissing air tanks. Luna stood nearby, levitating a scroll. “This Trueblood certainly has some interesting theories about the application of chaos magic to living systems. He actually thinks he can use it to merge living creatures.”
图像褪色了，然后换成了一个新的。金血王坐在一张桌子后面，他戴着一个面具，连接着静静地嘶嘶作响的氧气罐。卢娜站在附近，把一个卷轴悬浮起来。"关于混沌魔法在生命系统中的应用，这位truebrand肯定有一些有趣的理论。他实际上认为他可以用它来融合生物。"
Goldenblood didn’t look up. “If Twilight Sparkle finds out about that, she’ll resign. You know how she feels about anything related to Discord.”
金色血统没有抬头看。"如果紫悦发现这件事，她会辞职的。你知道她对任何与不和谐有关的事情的看法。"
“Yes, well, you make sure she doesn’t find out. Keep Chimera out of the M.A.S. as much as possible. Fluttershy should be much more amiable to its potential to make injured ponies better,” Luna replied, then continued with a teasing smile, “And it would let you spend more time with her. You keep dreaming about her. Such dreams.”
"是的，好吧，你要确保她不会发现。尽可能让奇美拉远离m.a.s.。Fluttershy应该更加和蔼可亲，因为它有可能让受伤的小马变得更好,"卢娜回答道，然后带着挑逗的微笑继续说道,"而且它会让你有更多的时间和她在一起。你一直梦到她。这样的梦想。"
Goldenblood flushed. “You told me you wouldn’t do that anymore.”
金色的血液涨得通红。"你告诉我你不会再这么做了。"
“Now, Goldenblood, I could hardly avoid such intense dreams and call myself a Princess of the Night, could I?” she said as she trotted over to him. “You might want to pursue it.”
"现在，金色的血液，我几乎不能避免这种强烈的梦境，并称自己为夜晚的公主，是吗?"她边说边跑向他。"你可能想追求它。"
“I’m hideous, and I can barely breathe. There are far better, far more whole ponies for her to spend her time with than I,” Goldenblood said sourly. “Besides, she’s not interested.”
"我很可怕，我几乎不能呼吸。有更好的，更多的整匹小马可以让她花时间比我,"金布拉德酸溜溜地说。"而且，她也不感兴趣。"
Luna just chuckled. “Trust me, she’s interested.” Goldenblood gaped at her from under his mask. Luna smirked as she waved the scroll at him. “Get this Trueblood some funding and see what you can pull together. I think the results of his research should be interesting.”
露娜只是咯咯地笑了。"相信我，她很感兴趣。"金色的血液从他的面具下裂开，凝视着她。卢娜向他挥舞着卷轴，得意地笑了起来。"给这个真命天子一些资金，看看你能做些什么。我认为他的研究结果应该是有趣的。"
The scene faded again, and a whole and healthy Goldenblood rutted vigorously with Fluttershy in a forest clearing. When he finished and they’d collapsed together in the grass, he gazed at her, then frowned. “Princess Luna?”
这一幕又渐渐消失了，在一片森林的空地上，一只健康的金色血液和一只萤火虫一起奋力地在上面留下了痕迹。当他说完，他们一起倒在草地上时，他凝视着她，然后皱起了眉头。"卢娜公主?"
Fluttershy smirked at him, wrinkling up her nose. “Just wanted to pop in a minute. Completely accidental. Really. Though, while I’m here, do you think you can find out more about these ‘megaspells’ that are floating around the M.o.P.? Anything with the word ‘mega’ in it is something I want to know about.”
小弗特希笑着看着他，皱起了鼻子。"我只是想马上过来。完全意外。真的。尽管如此，当我在这里的时候，你认为你可以找到更多关于这些漂浮在m.o.p周围的'megaspells'的信息吗？任何带有'mega'这个词的东西都是我想知道的。"
“Why not just peek into her dreams?” Goldenblood said sourly.
"为什么不偷窥一下她的梦境呢?"金色的血液酸溜溜地说。
“Because when she dreams, she dreams of babies,” Luna said with a roll of her eyes. “And bunnies. And you.”
"因为当她做梦的时候，她会梦到孩子,"卢娜转着眼珠说。"还有兔子。还有你。"
That made him smile a little. “Fine. You could have waited until I woke to ask me that, though, Princess.”
这让他微笑了一下。"好吧。不过，公主，你可以等到我醒来再问我这个问题。"
She pushed his shoulders down and straddled his hips. “Oh? You prefer this?” Her belly swelled more and more as wrinkles appeared in the corners of her eyes. His pristine white hide suddenly became striped with livid pink scars, and he coughed and struggled for breath. She leaned down, kissing him firmly, and the fantasy reasserted itself. She slid him back in with a sigh and a blissful smile. “Enjoy the fantasy, Goldenblood. You deserve it.”
她把他的肩膀往下推，叉开他的臀部。"哦？你喜欢这样吗?"随着眼角出现皱纹，她的肚子越来越大。他原本洁白的皮肤突然变成了带有青灰色的粉红色伤疤的条纹，他咳嗽，挣扎着呼吸。她俯下身子，紧紧地吻着他，那种幻想又重新出现了。她叹了口气，露出幸福的微笑，把他推了回去。"享受幻想吧，金色血液。这是你应得的。"
“Thank you, Princess Luna,” he said a touch sarcastically, his hips moving. Suddenly the image changed again, now looking down at a double bed with a pregnant Fluttershy next to a sleeping Goldenblood. His hips twitched under the
"谢谢你，卢娜公主,"他讽刺地说，他的臀部在动。突然，画面又变了，现在低头看着一张双人床，旁边是一只怀孕的萤火虫，旁边是一只沉睡的金色血液。他的臀部在下面抽搐着
sheets as he murmured in his sleep ‘Princess Luna’. Fluttershy lay next to him, her eyes wide as she stared up, tears running down her cheeks.
他在睡梦中喃喃地说着"露娜公主"。小弗特希躺在他旁边，睁大了眼睛，眼泪顺着脸颊流了下来。
I tore my eyes away for several moments. “No. That wasn’t you. This is some sort of... something.”
有那么一会儿，我的眼睛离开了视线。"没有。那不是你。这是某种...某种东西。"
“I wasn’t a prude like my sister, Blackjack. True, I almost never did such things in the flesh, but dreams are another story. After all, the night is the time for lovers,” Luna replied softly, shame in her eyes. The image reasserted itself in another office. Luna paced back and forth angrily in front of a dour Goldenblood. “I can’t believe she did that. I can’t believe her! Five years. Five years out of the throne, and she pulls something like this! She could have gotten herself killed. Or worse!”
"我不像我姐姐Blackjack那样假正经。的确，我几乎从来没有亲自做过这样的事情，但是梦想就是另一回事了。"毕竟，夜晚是恋人的时间,"卢娜轻声回答，眼中充满了羞愧。这张照片在另一间办公室重新出现。卢娜在一个阴沉的金血怪面前愤怒地来回踱步。"我真不敢相信她会这么做。我真不敢相信她！五年。离开王位五年了她居然做出这种事！她差点害死自己。或者更糟!"
“Possibly much worse,” Goldenblood said quietly. “She won’t try it again. She blames herself for Big Macintosh’s death.” He didn’t look up from the scroll he was reading. “What will you do with Psalm?”
"可能更糟,"金血王平静地说。"她不会再试了。她为大麦金托什的死而自责。"他没有从正在读的卷轴上抬起头来。"你将如何处理诗篇?"
“Psalm...” Luna murmured. “I don’t know if I should give her a medal, a prison cell, or both. For now, keep her on ice in the O.I.A. Don’t let her kill herself, or worse, go to the press. For now, we’ll just play the part of mournful ruler.
"诗篇......"卢娜喃喃地说。"我不知道是该给她一枚奖章，一间牢房，还是两者都给。现在，把她关在o.i.a.不要让她自杀，或者更糟，去找媒体。现在，我们只是扮演一个悲哀的统治者。
Tomorrow, we’ll have Rarity go to town on making Big Macintosh a hero known all across Equestria. How will the ministries respond?”
明天，我们将让稀有进城让大麦金托什成为全Equestria的英雄。政府部门将如何回应?"
“Applejack…” Goldenblood said thoughtfully. “She’ll stay. Pour herself into work. That’s her normal M.O. The others should be neutral. Twilight, though...
"苹果白兰地......"金血王若有所思地说。"她会留下来的。全身心投入工作。这是她正常的作案手法。其他的应该是中立的。虽然是暮光之城..。
she’s taking it almost as bad as Applejack, and I’m not sure why.” He was silent for a moment. “I want to resign.”
她的情绪几乎和苹果白兰地一样糟糕，我不知道为什么。"他沉默了一会儿。"我想辞职。"
Luna’s head snapped up. “What? Goldie, is this a joke?”
露娜的脑袋突然一下子弹了起来。"什么？戈尔迪，你在开玩笑吗?"
He shook his head slowly. “I think it would be best. You can use your Eclipse persona to manage the O.I.A. You don’t need me anymore,” he replied, keeping his eyes down.
他慢慢地摇了摇头。"我认为这是最好的。您可以使用您的Eclipse角色来管理o.i.a.。"你不再需要我了,"他回答，低着眼睛。
“Why?” Luna demanded flatly. “If it’s for more pay, I can easily increase that.”
"为什么?"卢娜直截了当地问道。"如果是为了更高的薪酬，我可以很容易地提高薪酬。"
He sighed, that rusty choking noise. “Luna, when we started this, I expected I’d have been dead for four years by now. I’m not. I’m grateful to you and the doctors for saving my life, but I’m tired of all this. I want to go back to teaching.
他叹了口气，那生锈的令人窒息的声音。"卢娜，我们刚开始的时候，我以为我已经死了四年了。我没有。我很感激你和医生们救了我的命，但是我已经厌倦了这一切。我想回去教书。
Maybe a rock hunting expedition. Something that’s not war and death.”
也许是一次寻找岩石的探险。而不是战争和死亡。"
“And you want to try and fix things with Fluttershy,” Luna retorted. “Don’t deny it. I’ve seen your dreams. Will your resignation resurrect your dead child, Goldenblood?” The question made him flinch as if she’d struck him. Luna sighed and trotted over, putting a hoof on top of his. “I need you to see this through to the end. Trueblood is making breakthroughs that might allow us to stop using ponies altogether. Silver Stripe’s augmentations are already making a difference. The fact is that nopony could do this as well as you can. You’re an artist, and your medium is politics.”
"你还想和小萤火虫解决问题,"卢娜反驳道。"不要否认。我见过你的梦。你的辞职会使你死去的孩子复活吗，金血王?"这个问题使他退缩，好像她打了他似的。卢娜叹了口气，小跑过去，蹄子踩在他的脚上。"我需要你坚持到底。正在取得突破，或许可以让我们完全停止使用小马。银条纹的增强已经在起作用了。事实上，没有一匹小马能像你一样做得这么好。你是个艺术家，你的媒介就是政治。"
“Princess!” He lifted his head in anguish, and she just looked on calmly, arching a brow. Slowly, he crumpled under her teal gaze. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
"公主!"他痛苦地抬起头，而她只是平静地看着，拱起了眉毛。慢慢地，他在她青色的注视下瘫倒了。"我不想再这样下去了。"
She stared on. “Very well. If that’s what you want. We’ll process your retirement.” She turned and stepped away from him. “Of course, we’re going to have to redact your memories for the last five years. You know enough to make you an incalculably valuable asset if you were ever captured. For safety’s sake, we’d have to take everything. There’s no telling what might be of use to the zebras.”
她目不转睛地看着。"很好。如果这是你想要的。我们会处理你的退休事宜。"她转身离开了他。"当然，我们将不得不修改你过去五年的记忆。如果你被抓住了，你知道的足以使你成为一个无价之宝。为了安全起见，我们得带走所有的东西。不知道什么对斑马有用。"
Goldenblood gaped at her. “Everything? But... I...”
金色的血液凝视着她。""一切？但是...我..。。」
“Everything,” Luna replied, her voice softer as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t that be easier, Goldie? No more painful memories of her leaving you? No more dreams of dead, bloody foals? You could go on to whatever life you wish, never knowing what you did. It’s a gift, really.”
"一切,"卢娜回答，她的声音更加柔和，她回头看了他一眼。"那不是更简单吗，戈尔迪？不再有她离开你的痛苦回忆？不再梦见死去的血淋淋的小马驹了？你可以继续你想要的生活，永远不知道你做了什么。这是天赋，真的。"
Goldenblood stared at her. “And when it comes time to clean house?”
金色的血凝视着她。"到了清理门户的时候呢?"
Luna didn’t answer for several seconds, then turned to face him. “Well, I imagine that that won’t be your concern. As you said, I can manage without you now. But some of the Ministry Mares are going to have to answer for the things they’ve done.” The threat was lightly spoken, but it hung in the air like a sword.
卢娜几秒钟没有回答，然后转过身来面对他。"好吧，我想这不是你该关心的。就像你说的，现在没有你我也能应付。但是部里的一些母马将不得不为他们所做的事情负责。"这个威胁说得很轻松，但却像一把剑悬在空中。
“Very well,” Goldenblood said as he averted his eyes. “I’ll stay.”
"很好,"金血王一边说，一边转移视线。"我会留下来。"
“Good,” Luna said as she trotted over, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “I’d rather do this with you than without you.” Then she turned and trotted away, leaving
"很好,"卢娜一边小跑一边说，一边用蹄子踩着他的肩膀。"我宁愿和你一起做这件事，也不愿没有你。"然后她转身小跑着离开了
him sitting alone with a horrified look on his face.
他独自坐着，脸上带着惊恐的表情。
“You made him stay,” I said softly as the image evaporated. The lingering light from her horn cast stark lines in the shadows around us.
"是你让他留下来的,"我轻声说，这时画面消失了。她号角发出的余光在我们周围的阴影中投射出清晰的线条。
“He was valuable and useful to me. Of course I made him stay. I manipulated him into doing what I want. Something my sister would never have done,” she said quietly. “Still, our relationship was never the same after that. He was increasingly... resistant. Effective, ruthless, oh yes... but a wall had gone up between us. He avoided sleep, waiting until he was exhausted and fell into dreamless slumber. He kept secrets from me. I didn’t think he could, but he did,” she said with a slow shake of her head.
"他对我很有价值，也很有用。我当然让他留下了。我操纵他做我想做的事。这是我妹妹永远不会做的事,"她平静地说。"尽管如此，从那以后，我们的关系再也不一样了。他变得越来越...抗拒。有效，无情，哦，是的......但是在我们之间竖起了一堵墙。他不肯睡觉，一直等到筋疲力尽，陷入无梦的沉睡。他对我有所隐瞒。我以为他做不到，但他做到了,"她慢慢地摇了摇头说。
“Horizons. And Gardens of Equestria,” I said evenly.
"地平线。还有骑士花园,"我平静地说。
“Yes...” she murmured. “Gardens concerned me more, honestly. I knew Twilight had the Elements of Harmony, the artifacts that had banished me so long ago. I always worried that, for whatever reason, they might be used again. I couldn’t, of course, ask her for them. I never had the relationship with Twilight that my sister had. If the bombs hadn’t fallen, I don’t know how long I would have waited before arresting her and her friends. I had a list of ponies to purge from the ministries, and all of them were on it. I’d ride the public sentiment following the end of the war over their dead bodies. Everypony would blame them. And Goldenblood. Especially Goldenblood.”
"是的......"她低声说。"说实话，我更关心花园。我知道《暮光之城》里有和谐元素，那些很久以前就把我驱逐出去的艺术品。我总是担心，不管出于什么原因，它们可能会再次被使用。当然，我不能向她要。我从来没有像我姐姐那样和暮光之城有过那样的关系。如果炸弹没有落下，我不知道要等多久才能逮捕她和她的朋友们。我有一张马匹清单要从各部门清除，所有的马匹都在上面。战争结束后，我会利用公众的情绪来控制他们的尸体。每个小马都会责怪他们。还有金色血统。尤其是金血王。"
“Because Goldenblood made something that could destroy Equestria?” I asked.
"因为金血王制造了可以毁灭小马国的东西?"我问道。
“In part, but also because I had to be clear of all the things done via the O.I.A. I believed a pardon for Fluttershy would ensure he died quietly, with no problematic last minute confessions.”
"部分原因是，但也是因为我必须清楚o.i.a.所做的一切，我相信赦免Fluttershy会确保他安静地死去，不会在最后一刻有任何问题地招供。"
“Why did he make Horizons?” I asked, looking above us for answers. “That’s what I don’t understand.”
"他为什么要创造地平线?"我问道，在我们上方寻找答案。"这就是我不明白的地方。"
Luna’s horn glowed. A prison cell formed in the air above us. Goldenblood was chained upright to the back wall. A collar around his neck barely let him breathe, and his forehooves were held above his head. “Why?” Luna asked the chained stallion. “Why did you do this? After all we’ve done together. All we’ve been through... why?”
露娜的号角闪闪发光。我们头顶的空中形成了一个牢房。金色的血被链子直直地拴在后墙上。脖子上的项圈让他几乎无法呼吸，前蹄被举过头顶。"为什么?"卢娜问被拴住的种马。"你为什么要这样做？毕竟我们一起做了这么多。我们所经历的一切......为什么?"
Goldenblood didn’t answer her. He just stared flatly, his yellow eyes steady. “I was used.”
金色血液没有回答她。他只是呆呆地看着，黄色的眼睛凝视着。"我被利用了。"
“By me?” Luna asked flatly. “You knew that when we started this.”
"被我?"卢娜直截了当地问道。"我们刚开始的时候，你就知道这一点。"
“By many people. I let myself be used. I thought it best.” He closed his eyes. “I should have died in Littlehorn. Then none of this would have happened. You would never have ruled as you have. The war would have fizzled out. No ministries. No more nightmare.”
"被很多人。我让自己被利用。我觉得这样最好。"他闭上了眼睛。"我应该死在Littlehorn。那么这一切都不会发生。你不可能像现在这样统治国家。战争本来会以失败告终。没有牧师。不再做噩梦。"
“No Fluttershy,” Luna said coldly.
"别害怕,"卢娜冷冷地说。
He was quiet for almost a minute. “Are you going to execute her along with Twilight and the others?”
他沉默了将近一分钟。"你要把她和《暮光之城》还有其他人一起处死吗?"
“I deeply respect Twilight and her friends. They’ve done good work for me,” Luna countered.
"我非常尊重《暮光之城》和她的朋友们。他们为我做了很好的工作,"卢娜反驳道。
“But you don’t like them. They aren’t your friends,” Goldenblood wheezed. “Not like me.”
"但是你不喜欢他们。他们不是你的朋友。"。"不像我。"
“You? You dare?!” Luna’s eyes flashed as she loomed above him. “You betrayed me! You deceived me. ME! And you dare to call me a friend? I am a royal Princess. I do not need friends!”
""你呢？你敢?!"露娜的眼睛在他的头顶上闪闪发光。"你背叛了我！你骗了我。我！你竟敢叫我朋友？我是一位高贵的公主。我不需要朋友!"
Goldenblood, filthy and exhausted, slowly smiled. “You’re wrong, Luna. You do. We all do.”
金色的血，肮脏而疲惫，慢慢地微笑着。"你错了，露娜。你知道。我们都是。"
“What is Horizons? Gardens I can disassemble without you, but where is the other?” Goldenblood didn’t answer. “Speak! We command it!”
"什么是视野？没有你我也能拆开花园，但另一个在哪儿呢?"金血王没有回答。""说吧！我们命令它!"
He closed his eyes. “No,” he murmured. She gaped at him, and he went on, “Here are my terms. Abdicate in favor of your sister. Let her end this nightmare. Then I’ll tell you everything. Banish me after that, if you want. Execute me, if you want. But leave the throne, Luna.”
他闭上了眼睛。"不,"他喃喃地说。她目瞪口呆地看着他，他接着说:"这是我的条件。让位给你妹妹。让她结束这场噩梦吧。那我就把一切都告诉你。如果你愿意的话，可以在那之后把我赶走。杀了我，如果你想的话。但是请你离开王座，卢娜。"
She glared down at him in disgust. “Keep your secrets, then. Let them hang you,” she said as she turned and walked out of the cell.
她厌恶地怒视着他。"那就保守你的秘密吧。让他们绞死你吧,"她一边说一边转身走出牢房。
“He wanted you to quit?” I asked the luminous alicorn.
"他想让你辞职?"我问发光的小角羊。
“Yes. I cannot comprehend why. For nearly a decade, we had worked together. Built a new Equestria together. Then, suddenly, he wishes all of it torn away. Why?” She shook her head, looking to the side where a massive pink and green dragon blasted Goldenblood with flame. Every bit of him was burned away. Every bit. By dragonfire...
"是的。我不能理解为什么。在将近十年的时间里，我们一起工作。一起建立了一个新的小马国。然后，突然，他希望把这一切都撕掉。为什么?"她摇了摇头，看着一条巨大的粉红色和绿色的龙用火焰喷射着金色的血液。他身上的每一部分都被烧光了。每一点。以火龙之名。
“Wait...” I muttered as I stared at the memory. “You didn’t have him executed, did you?” Luna gaped at me, and I glared at her. “You’re still playing games!”
"等等......"我盯着这段记忆喃喃自语。"你没有处决他，是吗?"卢娜瞪着我，我瞪着她。"你还在玩游戏!"
“He’s dead,” Luna murmured. “Burned to nothing.”
"他死了,"卢娜喃喃地说。"烧成灰烬了。"
“Dragonfire doesn’t always kill, though!” I snapped at her. “LittlePip used Spike’s to travel into the S.P.P. hub! You did the same thing to Goldenblood, didn’t you?”
"不过，龙火并不总是能杀人!"我厉声斥责她。"小皮普利用斯派克进入了s.p.p.中心！你对Goldenblood做了同样的事，不是吗?"
Luna stared at me a moment, then whispered, “Yes.”
卢娜盯着我看了一会儿，然后低声说:"是的。"
“He’s alive,” I said. “The golden son of a mule is actually alive.” Given how many other ponies I’d run into who’d lived through the apocalypse, I couldn’t say I was surprised anymore. “Where is he?”
"他还活着,"我说。"骡子的金子还活着。"考虑到我曾经遇到过多少经历过世界末日的小马驹，我不能再说我感到惊讶了。"他在哪儿?"
She stared at me for the longest moment. Then she whispered softly, “I don’t know.”
她盯着我看了很长时间。然后她轻声说,"我不知道。"
“Stop playing games. Tell me the truth. Where is he?” I insisted.
"别再玩游戏了。告诉我真相。他在哪里?"我坚持。
For a moment, I didn’t think she was going to tell me. I started to turn away, but then she said quietly, “Here. He’s here. In my fortress. My Redoubt.”
有那么一会儿，我还以为她不会告诉我。我开始转过身去，然后她平静地说:"给你。他来了。在我的堡垒里。我的堡垒。"
I felt a cold prickle go up my spine. He was here. And so close. So very close.
我感到一阵冷刺刺进了我的脊椎。他来过这里。如此接近。非常非常接近。
“Thank you,” I answered, not looking back at her.
"谢谢,"我回答，没有回头看她。
“I just wanted to protect my people. I just wanted to do better than Celestia... for once,” Luna begged. I glanced back. The purple soul was slipping back inside the dark shell of my body. If only things were different... if only things had been better...
"我只是想保护我的人民。我只是想做得比塞莱斯蒂亚更好...就这一次,"卢娜恳求道。我回头看了一眼。紫色的灵魂正滑回我黑色的躯壳里。如果一切都不一样...如果一切都更好..。
If only so many things...
要是有那么多事情..。
The time around us thawed, and my body continued walking away. I sat there,
我们周围的时间解冻了，我的身体继续走开。我坐在那里
my eyes clenched shut in this desolate, shadowy world. If Hades had his way, I’d get to see all of them die or enslaved. And there was nothing I could do about it.
我的眼睛紧闭在这个荒凉阴暗的世界里。如果哈迪斯得逞的话，我会亲眼看着他们死去或被奴役。我对此无能为力。
Except find that golden bastard and beat some answers out of him.
除了找到那个混蛋然后从他嘴里打出答案。
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Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: So, another step closer to the end. Thanks so much for following along for so long. While I’m not sure if I’ll get to the end before 70, I do hope I will get it done soon. Thanks to everyone for being fans and sticking with the story as long as you have. Huge thanks to Kkat for creating FoE, and equally huge thanks to Hinds, Bro, swicked, and Heartshine. The school I’m working at decided not to give me a job, so I’ll be moving home in a month. Tips at David13ushey@gmail.com through paypal will be appreciated greatly, given that I’ll be unemployed for 3 months. Yeah. Here’s hoping I get a reply to one of my applications. Sigh. Anyway, hope the story was decent.... and I really need to get a girlfriend... boyfriend... lyra plushie... something! ::hurries off in shame::) (Editor note: Just to be clear, when the wires in Charm’s brain snapped taut, she flipped over her back. ~swicked.)
(作者的笔记:所以，又一个接近终点的步骤。非常感谢你这么长时间的跟随。虽然我不确定我是否能在70岁之前完成，但我确实希望我能尽快完成。感谢所有的粉丝，感谢你们一直坚持这个故事。非常感谢Kkat创造了地球之友，同样非常感谢Hinds，Bro，swiched和Heartshine。我工作的学校决定不给我一份工作，所以我将在一个月后搬回家。通过贝宝在david13ushey@gmail.com上的小贴士将会非常受欢迎，因为我将会失业3个月。是的。希望我的一份申请能得到回复。叹息。无论如何，希望这个故事是正确的..。我真的需要一个女朋友...男朋友...lyraplushie...什么的！编者注:为了弄清楚，当查蒙大脑中的电线突然绷紧时，她翻了个身。~swized.)