“Never fear, girls. We have each other!”
"别害怕，姑娘们。我们拥有彼此!"
Glory is alive.
晨辉是活生生的。
Glory is alive!
晨辉是活着的！
Of course she was alive. It was the engineering or the F.A.D.E. shields or whatever! She was alive! She hadn’t given up on me back when I’d been stuck in the Core. I hadn’t given up on her. I’d find her, and then we’d… something. Either we’d patch things up, or… even if we didn’t, I’d set her and Tenebra up for a long life of love and happiness! It’d take a little effort: a glass of wine. Maybe some romantic music. Maybe I should spike the wine with some whiskey, just to make sure it’d get done! Then she’d be alive and happy, and I’d be alive and happy, and then she could hold me while I broke down and let everything that had happened on the moon out.
她当然还活着。是工程或者f.a.d.e防护罩什么的！她还活着！当我被困在核心区的时候，她并没有放弃我。我没有放弃她。我会找到她然后我们...做点什么。要么我们重归于好，要么......即使我们没有，我也会让她和Tenebra过上充满爱和幸福的漫长生活！这需要一点努力:一杯酒。也许来点浪漫的音乐。也许我应该在葡萄酒里加点威士忌，以确保它能完成！然后她就会活着并且快乐，我也会活着并且快乐，然后她可以在我崩溃的时候抱着我，让月球上发生的一切都过去。
And…
还有..。
And why was everything shaking so much?
为什么所有东西都晃得那么厉害？
The connection was broken by the intense rattling of the rocket. The windows were awash with flame, and I felt a pressure crushing me to my seat. “What’s going on?” I yelled in panic, looking around for Scotch Tape, my head difficult to turn.
火箭发出的剧烈的咔嗒声打断了这种联系。窗户被火焰淹没，我感到一股压力把我压到了座位上。"怎么回事?"我惊慌失措地大叫，四处寻找着透明胶带，我的头难以转动。
“We’re reentering! That’s what!” she said from where she’d wedged herself between the pilots’ couches, struggling to lift her hooves as she manipulated the computer keeping us all alive. She was only able to squeeze in because of her small size, and it still looked painful, her head resting awkwardly on a part of the computer. “We’re aerobraking!” I just gaped at this strange earth pony talk
"我们又回来了！就是这样!"她说她把自己挤在飞行员的沙发之间，在操纵电脑让我们活命的同时，挣扎着抬起她的蹄子。她只能挤进来，因为她太小了，看起来还是很疼，她的头笨拙地靠在电脑的一个部分上。"我们在做空气刹车!"我只是目瞪口呆地听着这个奇怪的关于地球的小马的谈话
coming out of her mouth. She rolled her eyes. “We’re hitting the air of Equus to help slow us down!”
从她嘴里说出来。她翻了翻白眼。"我们打空气中的马，以帮助减缓我们的速度!"
“Air?” I goggled at her. Really, just being sent to the moon by magic was so much easier!
"空气?"我瞪大眼睛看着她。真的，被魔法送上月球简直太容易了！
“We’re travelling at speeds with more numbers than any sane being should be travelling,” Scotch Tape shouted, barely audible over the roaring, rattling, and banging. “I don’t know how it’s holding together! We’re going to be back on the ground in a few minutes. Though in how many pieces...” she trailed off as she started to tap the terminal again, eyes narrowed in concentration.
"我们正以任何正常人都无法比拟的速度旅行着,"苏格兰胶带大声喊道，在咆哮声、咔嗒声和砰砰声中几乎听不见。"我不知道它是怎么粘在一起的！几分钟后我们就要返回地面了。当她再次开始敲击终端的时候，她的声音慢了下来，眼睛聚精会神地眯了起来。
“What are you doing? I thought this thing was supposed to take us back to the space center?!” I asked. An alarm sounded, and I yelped, “What’s that?” I was pretty sure that panic in my voice was Princess Luna. I could handle smashing into the ground at insane speeds...
"你在干什么？我还以为这东西会把我们带回太空中心呢?!"我问道。警报响了，我大叫:"那是什么?"我非常确定我声音中的恐慌是卢娜公主。我可以以疯狂的速度砸向地面。
“It was taking us back to the space center,” she said as tapped the controls. “This damned thing was programmed to land the rocket right where it took off from, but now that would have the engines shut down in midair above a radioactive crater!” The rocket gave a particularly strong shake. “Should have thought of that earlier,” she chided herself.
"它把我们带回了航天中心,"她一边说一边轻轻地敲打着控制器。"这个该死的东西被设定在火箭起飞的地方着陆，但是现在发动机会在半空中关闭在一个放射性弹坑上面!"火箭发出特别强烈的震动。"早该想到这一点,"她责备自己。
“It’s okay,” I said weakly. “You were… distracted.”
"没关系,"我虚弱地说。"你当时...心烦意乱。"
“I’m trying to get it to set us down outside the crater, but it’s not cooperating! And if I deviate too much, we’ll crash or burn up in the atmosphere!” Something else started beeping at her, and she swore loudly.
"我试图让它把我们降落在火山口外面，但它不配合！如果我偏离的太多，我们就会在大气层中坠毁或燃烧!"有别的东西开始向她发出哔哔声，她大声咒骂起来。
I glanced over to see how Bastard was doing. He'd strapped himself in next to a window filled with glowing red-pink flame. He lay on his back, hooves folded behind his head, eyes hidden behind his glasses as he calmly smoked a cigarette. The only hint of stress was a bead of sweat running down his temple. “Is there anything I can do?” I asked Scotch as the rocket bounced and rattled underneath me.
我看了看淘气包怎么样了。他把自己绑在一扇充满红粉色火焰的窗户旁边。他仰面躺着，双蹄折叠在脑后，眼睛隐藏在眼镜后面，平静地抽着烟。唯一的压力是汗珠顺着太阳穴流下来。"有什么我能做的吗?"我问苏格兰威士忌，火箭在我身下弹了起来，嘎嘎作响。
“N– Wait! Can you levitate my hooves and keep me steady? This is hard enough without feeling like I’m on my second Sparkle-Cola binge of the day.” I lifted her up, and for the longest minute ever we simply barreled down into the atmosphere. A tiny part of me was at once impressed and slightly irked that this
"等等！你能让我的蹄子悬浮起来，让我保持稳定吗？这已经够难受了，感觉自己已经是一天中第二次狂饮可口可乐了。"我把它举起来，在最长的一分钟里，我们只是简单地向大气层高速飞行。我内心的一小部分立刻对此印象深刻，并感到有点厌烦
earth pony contraption was accomplishing something that once had taken legendary magic to accomplish. Really, there were just some things gadgetry shouldn’t be allowed to do!
地球小马精巧装置正在完成一件，曾经需要传奇魔法才能完成的事情。真的，有些小玩意是不允许做的！
Finally, the roaring slackened to the noise of the engines, the shaking became a more steady vibration, and the pressure let up and left me feeling only a little bit heavier than usual. Scotch let out a relieved breath. “Okay. We’re through. We’re in a stable powered descent, and I convinced the computer to set us down a safe distance from the crater. We should be there in a minute or so,” Scotch Tape said with a smile and nod, patting the device. Then she glanced at me. “You seem happy,” she said just a little bit accusingly, her eyes narrowing a touch.
最后，由于发动机的噪音，轰鸣声减弱了，震动变得更加稳定，压力减小了，我感觉比平时只重了一点点。苏格兰威士忌松了一口气。"好吧。我们结束了。我们正处于稳定的动力下降中，我说服计算机将我们降落在离火山口一段安全距离的地方。我们大概一分钟左右就到。"scottape微笑着点了点头，拍了拍手机。然后她瞥了我一眼。"你看起来很高兴,"她略带责备地说，眼睛眯了一下。
“I saw something that might be good. The Legate got beaten. He’s not dead… I think… but they broke loose the control box.” I bit my lip. “Oh. And you were right. Glory’s alive.” I saw her eyes widen and added, “Sorry.” If I could, I would have saved them both. Would have brought Rampage with us. Would have done it all right when the fate of the world hadn’t hung in the balance.
"我看到了一些可能是好东西。使节被打了。他没有死......我想......但他们把控制盒弄松了。"我咬了嘴唇。"哦。你是对的。晨辉还活着。"我看到她睁大了眼睛，补充道:"对不起。"如果可以的话，我会把他们两个都救下来。会把狂暴带到我们身边。如果世界的命运没有悬而未决的话，我会做得很好的。
Her eyes hardened a little, but she smiled. “Sorry for what? I’m glad she’s okay.” Her jaw clenched and worked silently as she focused on extricating herself from between the pilots’ couches. “You don’t have to apologize just because Daddy...
她的眼神有点僵硬，但还是笑了。"对不起什么？我很高兴她没事。"她咬紧牙关，默默地工作着，专注于从飞行员的沙发之间解救自己。"你不必仅仅因为爸爸.....。
Dad died. It’s okay.” From her even, low tone, I doubted that. She segued immediately. “They got the Brood control interface away from the Legate?”
爸爸死了。没关系。"从她平静、低沉的声音中，我对此表示怀疑。她立刻接着说。"他们把布鲁德病病房的控制界面从特使那里拿走了?"
I faked a smile. “If we’re lucky, that might turn the Brood off for good.”
我假装微笑。"如果我们幸运的话，这可能会让布鲁德一家永远消失。"
“Oh. Good,” she said. Then she frowned and trotted over to a window with a green glow on the other side. “What’s that?”
"哦。很好,"她说。然后她皱了皱眉头，小跑到另一边发着绿光的窗前。"那是什么?"
The rocket flew over the Core… or what was left of it. The dozens and dozens of towers now jutted out at all angles like an enormous bird’s nest of black stone, silver girders, and blood-red meat. In the heart of it lay the Eater of Souls, a toroidal shape half-invisible in the eye-twisting baleful green aura and sea of swirling, inward-spiraling stars surrounding it. A great island of terrible light in the dark of the night.
火箭飞过了地核...或者说是地核的残骸。几十座塔楼从各个角度突出来，就像一个巨大的鸟巢，由黑色的石头、银色的大梁和血红色的肉组成。在它的中心是灵魂的食者，一个半隐形的环形在扭曲的恶意绿色光环和海洋旋转，向内螺旋的星星围绕它。在黑暗的夜晚，一个巨大的可怕的光之岛。
And it was screaming.
它在尖叫。
“I don’t feel so good,” Scotch Tape said as she fell back from the window, clutching her stomach. Blood immediately started to drip from her nostrils as she
"我感觉不太舒服,"苏格兰胶带说，她从窗口摔了下来，捂着肚子。血立刻从她的鼻孔里滴了出来
coughed and sputtered. Bastard also let out a grunt, shaking as the Enervation washed over all three of us. Scotch Tape gagged, her green hide taking on a sickly, blotchy tone that I knew heralded a bloody death.
咳嗽声，还有嘶哑的声音。淘气包也发出了一声咕哝，浑身颤抖着，我们三个都被淹没了。苏格兰胶带被堵住了嘴，她的绿色皮肤呈现出一种病态的、斑驳的音调，我知道这预示着一场血腥的死亡。
I immediately pulled out the bottle of moonstone dust that I’d collected on the moon and shook some of the powder into Scotch Tape’s mane. Immediately, she stilled, breathing deeply and wiping the blood from her muzzle. Bastard got some next and gave a stiff nod of gratitude. “The Enervation’s back,” I muttered as I looked at that green glow. “Can’t say I missed it.”
我立刻拿出那瓶从月球上收集的月光石粉尘，把一些粉末抖落到透明胶带的鬃毛上。她立刻安静了下来，深深地呼吸着，擦去嘴上的血。接着淘气包拿了一些，僵硬地点了点头表示感谢。看着那绿色的光芒，我喃喃自语地说:"受伤的人回来了。"。"不能说我错过了。"
“Why now?” Bastard asked with a frown, his sallow hide now speckled with growing bruises from his own brush with the deadly field.
"为什么是现在?"淘气包皱着眉头问道，他的面色蜡黄，上面布满了他自己与那致命的磁场擦肩而过留下的瘀伤。
“The Legate needed Celestia One. Everypony melting in the Core wouldn’t have been enough. He needed the Twilight Society to see thousands of ponies being torn to pieces by nightmarish monsters to get them to fire. If Whisper hadn’t sung and rallied the refugees, it would have been thousands. Now that the Eater’s up, it doesn’t have to suppress its Enervation anymore. That’s going to be rough on everypony, especially the wounded,” I said grimly.
使者需要天使一号。每个小马都融化在核心里是不够的。他需要暮光协会看到成千上万的小马被恶梦般的怪物撕成碎片，然后被点燃。如果Whisper没有唱歌和召集难民，那将会有成千上万的难民。现在食者已经起来了，它不再需要压制它的衰弱了。这对每个小马来说都是很艰难的，尤其是受伤的,"我冷冷地说。
“Well,” Scotch said, glancing at a readout. “We’ll be landing--”
"好吧,"苏格兰人说，瞥了一眼读数。"我们将着陆——"
And the rocket exploded.
然后火箭爆炸了。
Well, not exactly exploded. I was an expert on things exploding around me. There was a flash of brilliant green light through the middle of the cabin, and then with a wash of heat and noise the inside of the rocket was a lot more outside. The cabin had been sliced through diagonally, the beam just barely missing Scotch, who was now clinging desperately to what remained of the pilot’s couch she’d been standing by as she and Bastard fell away to the side with the top of the rocket. Next to me, my blank body was picked up by the howling wind and borne towards the edge. With my newly unobstructed view, I saw emerald anti-dragon beams sweeping up at us from the ruined towers of the Core.
也不算是爆炸。我是研究周围事物爆炸的专家。一道耀眼的绿光穿过机舱中央，然后伴随着一阵热浪和噪音，火箭的内部显得更加靠外了。机舱已经被切成斜角，光束几乎失去了苏格兰威士忌，谁现在绝望地抓住了飞行员的沙发，她一直站在旁边，她和淘气包掉到一边与火箭的顶部。在我旁边，我空白的身体被呼啸的风卷起，冲向边缘。在我新近一览无余的视野中，我看到祖母绿色的反龙梁从核心的废弃塔楼上向我们扫射。
I frantically unstrapped myself and, with a beat of my wings, threw myself towards the hole where the rest of the cabin had been, snagging my blank from the air as I passed. I dove over the edge, the intricate clockwork inside my shoulders whirling as I pushed myself towards the starting-to-tumble section of ship, now below me as the rocket’s still-running engines continued to slow it.
我疯狂地解开自己的皮带，拍打着翅膀，扑向机舱其余部分原来所在的洞口，当我经过时，我的空白从空中滑落。我俯冲下去，肩膀里错综复杂的机械装置旋转着，我把自己推向飞船的起始滚落区域，现在就在我的下方，火箭的发动机仍在运转，继续减慢速度。
More green beams lanced out from the towers, almost hitting the nose and me and grazing the rocket.
更多的绿光从塔楼里射出来，几乎击中了我和我的鼻子，擦过了火箭。
I reached the nose, popped open the fingers on my other forehoof, and, with a combination of that and my wings, worked my way into what had been the interior. I swung my blank body around so Scotch could grab on to it, then moved over to where Bastard was already unstrapping himself. As I grabbed him a green beam swept through where Scotch had been. My breath caught in my throat for a moment before I saw her with my blank body on the other side, having kicked clear into open air at the last second.
我伸手摸到鼻子，用另一只前蹄弹开手指，再加上我的翅膀，我进入了原来的内部空间。我转过我空白的身体，苏格兰人可以抓住它，然后移动到淘气包已经解开他自己。当我抓住他的时候，一道绿色的光束扫过苏格兰威士忌曾经呆过的地方。我的呼吸在我的喉咙卡住了一会儿，然后我看到她和我的空白的身体在另一边，在最后一秒明确地踢到空气中。
Holding on tight to Bastard, I gave a powerful flap, and then, finally, we were all holding on to each other. Without me needing to say anything, Bastard spread his legs out wide to slow his descent, Scotch copying him. I wondered if he had experience plummeting towards certain death.
紧紧抓住淘气包，我有力地拍了一下，然后，最后，我们都紧紧地抓住了对方。我不需要说什么，淘气包张开双腿缓慢下降，苏格兰人模仿他。我不知道他是否经历过垂直坠落的死亡。
But we were still being shot at. I only just had time to shove away from them before another beam passed through where we’d just been. I flipped to the side to avoid a second beam, then snapped my wings open to let the air carry me above a third. Then I folded them to dive after my falling friends and… ugh… Damn it. Just because I had the wings, I didn’t have to be a pegasus!
但我们仍然被枪击。在另一束光线穿过我们刚刚经过的地方之前，我刚好有时间离开他们。为了避开第二道光束，我翻到一边，然后猛地打开翅膀，让空气把我带到第三道光束的上方。然后我把它们叠起来跟着我的朋友们一起跳下去然后...该死。就因为我有翅膀，我就不必是飞马！
I teleported underneath Bastard, my blank, and Scotch Tape, slowing them with my magic. “I am really getting tired of this!” Bastard bellowed at me.
我在淘气包、空白胶带和透明胶带下面传送，用我的魔法让他们慢下来。"我真的受够了!"那个混蛋对我吼叫。
“You’ve only been dealing with it for a day, you baby,” I replied, my mane crawling as I imagined one of those beam projectors zeroing in on me. I couldn’t fly them down fast enough. Couldn’t teleport them with me… sweet Sister wasn’t that getting old… “Pull your limbs in and hold on!” I said as I concentrated.
"你才处理了一天，你这个宝贝,"我回答，我的鬃毛爬行，我想象着其中一个射线投影仪瞄准了我。我无法让他们飞得足够快。不能把他们传送到我身边......可爱的妹妹不是已经老了吗......"把你的四肢收起来，坚持住!"我一边说一边集中注意力。
“What? To what?!” Bastard yelled at me. Scotch followed my instructions, though, and a moment later, so did he, the two of them clutching each other and my blank, now streamlined and held up by my spread wings.
"什么？为什么?!"淘气包冲我吼。苏格兰人听从了我的指示，过了一会儿，他也听从了我的指示，他们两个紧紧抓住对方，我的脑袋一片空白，现在呈现出流线型，被我展开的翅膀支撑着。
Then I dropped them.
然后我把它们扔了。
Not far. About two hundred feet. Then I teleported down, caught them, slowed them, and repeated the process. Every time I did, the powerful beam weapons blasted at me, hissing with magical malice. Several times I had to teleport early
不远。大约200英尺。然后我把它们传送下来，抓住它们，减慢它们的速度，然后重复这个过程。每次我这样做，强大的光束武器向我发射，发出带有魔力的嘶嘶声。有好几次我不得不提前传送
and toss my friends to the side, away from a beam cutting through the air where they would have been. After what seemed like far, far too long a time, though, I’d caught them one last time, and when I let them go, it was because they’d hit the ground. With only a little thump.
然后把我的朋友扔到一边，远离一束穿过空气的光束。过了很长很长的一段时间之后，我最后一次抓住了他们，当我放他们走的时候，是因为他们撞到了地面。只是轻轻一击。
Scotch Tape immediately kissed the earth. “Thank you! I’ve never been happier to taste dirt!” Bastard drew a bent cigarette, put it in his lips, and started to light it when the thing snapped in two, dangling by a fiber. From the glare he sent me over the top of his sunglasses as I landed myself and folded my wings, clearly this was my fault.
透明胶带立刻贴到了地面上。"谢谢！我从来没有这么高兴地尝到泥土的味道!"巴斯塔德抽了一根弯曲的香烟，放进嘴里，开始点烟，这时烟被一根纤维晃来晃去，啪的一声一分为二。当我降落并收起我的翅膀时，从他的太阳镜上方发出的刺眼光芒来看，这显然是我的错。
I didn’t care. I gazed up, only a little, at the rocket shining in the moonlight. It was trailing smoke and looked like it was going pretty fast and tilted too far over, but I could still hear the engines. For a moment, I thought that it would be able to land even in its damaged state. Then it passed out of sight behind a low hill, and a second later the distant roar of the engines was replaced by a tremendous, drawn-out crash, then silence. At least it hadn’t exploded… But it looked like any plan to just fly back for Rampage after the Eater was taken care of was going to be a little bit trickier. Well, by magic or earth pony gadgetry, I would get her down from there. Maybe the zebras had moon rockets too? They had missiles, after all.
我不在乎。我抬头凝视着月光下闪闪发光的火箭，只有一点点。它尾部冒着烟，看起来飞得很快，而且倾斜得太厉害，但我还是能听到引擎的声音。有那么一会儿，我还以为它即使在受损的状态下也能着陆。然后，它在一座低矮的山丘后面消失了，一秒钟后，远处引擎的轰鸣声被一声巨大的、持续时间很长的撞击声所取代，接着是一片寂静。至少它还没有爆炸......但是看起来任何计划只是在食者被处理后飞回狂暴是有点棘手。好吧，通过魔法或者地球上的小玩意，我会把她从那里弄下来。也许斑马也有月球火箭？毕竟，他们有导弹。
Bastard flicked the broken cigarette away, shook out a new one, and watched as it fell apart. “It shouldn’t be this fucking hard to have a smoke,” he muttered, checking the others in the battered pack and salvaging a single mangled twig of a smoke before tossing the container aside. “Where the hell are we?” he muttered as he lit up.
淘气包弹掉那支破烟，又抖掉一支，眼睁睁地看着它散架。"抽根烟应该不会这么难吧,"他咕哝着，检查了一下打碎的烟盒里的其他烟，找出一根残缺的树枝，然后把烟盒扔到一边。"我们到底在哪儿?"他一边抽烟一边喃喃自语。
“Scrapyard,” Scotch answered, scrubbing at her ears with a hoof, her mane a wild blue tangle atop her head. “Those piles of scrap metal everywhere are a dead giveaway.”
"废料场,"苏格兰人回答，用蹄子擦拭着她的耳朵，头顶上的鬃毛像一团野生的蓝色纠结。"到处都是成堆的废金属，完全暴露了身份。"
I checked my PipBuck map. Scrapyard wasn’t that far from the Collegiate. If Glory was anywhere, that’s where she’d be. I turned on my broadcaster, checked the channels, and then took a moment to admire the way its design seemed to flow elegantly into the clockwork mechanics of my hoof. When we had a chance, I simply had to ask Snails or somepony what the heck was going on with this alicorn soul thing. This was just too cool and weird, and I really wished I had time to figure it all out. Was that a mainspring? Then I opened up a channel
我查看了我的PipBuck地图。废车场离大学校园并不远。如果晨辉在任何地方，那就是她所在的地方。我打开广播，查看了频道，然后花了一点时间欣赏它的设计，它似乎优雅地流入我的蹄子的发条机构。当我们有机会的时候，我只是简单地问蜗牛或者小马到底是怎么回事这个角斗士的灵魂。这实在是太酷太奇怪了，我真的希望自己有时间把这一切都弄清楚。那是主发条吗？然后我打开了一个频道
to–
到-
Instantly, all three of us fell to the ground, screaming. The peal from my PipBuck made my head throb like it was about to explode, my vision filling with red. I smacked it against the ground repeatedly, and thankfully both the screech and the agony cut off. We all lay there for a moment, breathing hard as the throbbing pressure in our skulls abated a little.
立刻，我们三个都倒在地上，尖叫着。我的皮布克鸡蛋的味道让我的头像要爆炸一样悸动，我的视线充满了红色。我不断地把它砸在地上，谢天谢地，尖叫声和剧痛都消失了。我们都在那里躺了一会儿，呼吸困难，因为我们头骨里跳动的压力减轻了一些。
Bastard summed it up perfectly as he lay on his back, pressing his hooves against his temples: “I hate this place. I fucking hate this fucking place. Give me Fillydelphian slavers. Give me pony-eating monsters in Trottingham. The bosses of Dise. Give me the taint plagues of Applelanta! Just get me the fuck out of here.”
淘气包躺在地上，用蹄子顶着太阳穴，完美地总结道:"我讨厌这个地方。我恨死这鬼地方了。给我菲利德菲亚奴隶贩子。给我讲讲Trottingham吃小马的怪物。迪斯的老板们。把Applelanta的瘟疫给我！快他妈把我弄出去。"
“It’s not that bad,” I said as I tried to push myself upright, failed, and relaxed on the nice, dirty ground. “Once you accept almost everything here wants to kill you, it’s actually quite charming.” I turned to Scotch Tape. “What happened?”
"没那么糟糕,"我一边说着，一边试图把自己推起来，但失败了，放松地躺在又好又脏的地上。"一旦你接受了这里几乎所有想要杀死你的东西，这其实是相当迷人的。"我转向透明胶带。"发生了什么事?"
“I think there was some kind of magical feedback. Your broadcaster amplified it,” she said as she struggled to catch her breath. “Like... whatsitcalled? The place the Lightbringer went.”
"我认为存在某种神奇的反馈。你的播音员放大了它,"她一边说，一边努力喘口气。"比如......叫什么来着？光明使者去过的地方。"
“Canterlot?” I groaned, finally sitting up. “That doesn’t make any sense… unless Pink Cloud and the Eater’s Enervation are somehow connected. Or there’s starmetal in broadcasters. Or–” I froze as I stared down the barrel of a gun. The gun was attached to a cyberzebra who was staring down at me. “Shit,” I muttered.
"Canterlot?"我呻吟着，终于坐了起来。"这没有任何意义......除非粉红云和食者的衰弱有某种联系。或者广播里有星铁。或者——"当我凝视着枪管时，我愣住了。枪上系着一只正低头盯着我的赛博斑马。"该死,"我喃喃自语。
This Brood appeared no different from any others I’d seen, and yet there was one fundamental difference: his bar wasn’t red. “Am I supposed to kill you now?” the zebra muttered thickly, as if he wasn’t used to using his voice.
这个家伙和我见过的其他人没有什么不同，但是有一个根本的区别:他的横杆不是红色的。"我现在应该杀了你吗?"斑马咕哝着，好像不习惯用他的声音。
“Uh. No?” I answered. Bastard silently drew his guns, keeping them hidden under his coat. I motioned a hoof towards him, hoping he’d hold his fire as I slowly moved my face away from the Brood’s gun. He did, and the cyberzebra didn’t even track me, just kept aiming at where I’d been. “Why do you want to?”
"嗯。不是吗?"我回答。淘气包默默地拔出枪，把它们藏在外套下面。我示意一只蹄子朝他走过去，希望他不要开枪，我慢慢地把脸从布鲁德病人的枪旁移开。他照做了，网络斑马甚至没有跟踪我，只是一直瞄准我去过的地方。"你为什么要这么做?"
“I can’t hear it anymore,” the zebra said with a small frown. “Something’s wrong. I know I’m supposed to kill you, but I don’t know when. It’s not answering me.” He backed away and sat down. “I’ll just wait here. Can you tell
"我再也听不见了,"斑马皱着眉头说。"有点不对劲。我知道我应该杀了你，但我不知道什么时候。它没有回答我。"他往后退了退，坐了下来。"我就在这儿等着。你能看出来吗
me when I’m supposed to kill you?” There was almost a plaintive note in his voice.
当我应该杀了你的时候?"他的声音里几乎有一种哀伤的音调。
“...yeah. Sure,” I answered as we lifted ourselves to our hooves. “We’re... just going to go. We’ll come back when it’s time for you to kill us.” I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disturbed by the expression of gratitude the Brood wore.
"...是的。"当然,"我回答说，同时我们全力以赴。"我们......要走了。等你杀了我们的时候，我们再回来。"我不知道布鲁德夫妇所表达的感激究竟是让我松了一口气，还是让我感到不安。
We moved a little bit away. “You have a really bad habit of not killing people pointing guns at your head, you know that?” Bastard said sourly, eying the forlorn Brood. “What if that thing decides now’s the time?”
我们离开了一会儿。"你有一个很坏的习惯，就是不杀用枪指着你头的人，你知道吗?"巴斯塔德生气地说，看着孤独的布鲁德夫妇。"如果那东西决定现在是时候怎么办?"
I shook my head. “I don’t think he can. Lancer broke off the control hooked to the Legate. I think that’s what he was talking about hearing.” Then I blinked and added, jabbing a hoof at him. “And didn’t you have a gun pointed at my head?”
我摇了摇头。"我认为他做不到。兰瑟断开了连在特使号上的控制装置。我想他说的就是这个意思。"然后我眨眨眼又加了一句，用蹄子戳了戳他。"你不是拿枪指着我的头吗?"
“Doesn’t mean it’s not a bad habit,” he retorted, scanning the junk piles. “I’m seeing a lot of red,” he muttered with a frown, checking his own PipBuck. “I doubt all these Brood are as messed up as that one.”
"这并不意味着这不是一个坏习惯,"他反驳道，扫视着堆积如山的垃圾。"我看到很多红色的东西,"他皱着眉头咕哝着，检查着自己的PipBuck。"我怀疑所有这些孩子都像那个一样一团糟。"
“Hey. Relax,” I said with a little smile as I put my blank body between my wings where I could carry it securely. “I was seeing things on the way back. The Brood were being dealt with, no problem. It might have been a nasty fight, but really, they’re not as terrifying as Storm Chaser made them out to be.” I stepped around a junk pile, smiling back at the other two. “I bet things were just…” Scotch Tape stared past me, her hooves clasped over her mouth as her eyes bulged. I turned, my flippant words choking my throat.
"嘿。放松,"我微笑着说，把空白的身体夹在两翼之间，以便安全地携带它。"我在回来的路上看到了一些东西。布鲁德一家正在处理，没有问题。这可能是一场恶战，但实际上，他们并不像风暴追逐者所描述的那样可怕。"我走到一堆垃圾旁边，朝另外两个人笑了笑。"我打赌事情只是......"透明胶带从我身边凝视过去，她的双蹄紧扣在嘴巴上，眼睛鼓起来。我转过身，轻率的话语哽住了我的喉咙。
Bodies.
身体。
So many bodies.
这么多尸体。
They hadn’t been there long enough to bloat up, but the blood had thickened and darkened to a deep maroon color. Stallions. Mares. Foals. There were a few Brood corpses, too, here and there amid the pony bodies strewn among the heaps of junk. Those bodies appeared like soft wax, twisting as they reverted back to the chaotic Flux I’d seen before.
它们在那里的时间还不够长，还没有膨胀起来，但是血液已经变稠变暗，变成了深紫红色。种马。母马。小马驹。还有几具布鲁德病的尸体，散落在垃圾堆中的小马尸体中间。这些尸体看起来像软蜡，扭曲，因为他们恢复到我以前看到的混乱的通量。
I’d seen losses when I was watching the fighting. Big ones, in terms of numbers, importance to the war effort, and just how well I knew them. They hadn’t been
当我观看战斗时，我看到了损失。从数量上来说，大的问题对战争的重要性，以及我对它们的了解程度。他们没有
in vain, though, as much as I hated that they’d happened; where I’d seen fighting and loss, I’d also seen victory. Now it hit me, hard, that the ponies I’d seen fighting were, for the most part, much tougher than the average Wastelander. I should have realized... should have thought that if even they were taking losses… The Brood had cut these poor people down like so much wheat before the reaper’s scythe. “No,” I muttered as I stared at so many bodies. So many! It was just like Littlehorn… walking among the still piles after the pegasi had blown the Pink Cloud away. So many… too many…
尽管我非常痛恨这些事情的发生，但是这一切都是徒劳的;在我看到战斗和失败的地方，我也看到了胜利。现在我猛然意识到，我所见过的打斗中的小马，在大多数情况下，比普通的瓦斯特兰德要强壮得多。我应该意识到......我应该想到，即使他们正在遭受损失......在收割者的大镰刀之前，魔龙军团已经把这些可怜的人像大量的小麦一样砍倒了。"不,"我盯着那么多尸体喃喃自语。这么多！这就像利特尔霍恩一样......在飞马座被粉色云彩吹走后，行走在寂静的石堆之间。这么多...这么多..。
Hard to imagine that, just a few minutes ago, I’d been happier than I had been in days.
很难想象，就在几分钟前，我还比以前更快乐。
“Is anypony alive?” I shouted out, heedless of the risk. There were a few blue bars on my E.F.S. Far fewer than the number of reds, but it seemed like the hostile Brood had moved west. They couldn’t all be malfunctioning Brood, could they? “Somepony? Anybody!” My shouts in the still air echoed back at me.
"anypony还活着吗?"我大声喊道，完全没有考虑到风险。我的e.f.s上有一些蓝色的条纹，比红色的条纹要少得多，但是看起来敌对的布鲁德军已经向西移动了。他们不可能都是出故障的布鲁德病吧？"小马？任何人!"我的叫喊声在寂静的空气中回荡。
I was rewarded by a little cough. I ran towards it, my blank body flopping limply atop me. Bastard and Scotch Tape had to hop to avoid the Brood bodies that were turning into sludgy Flux. I could appreciate their caution. I’d already fired Folly. Who knew that that was doing to my kids? I shoved that in an overflowing box marked ‘Thoughts to Avoid’. Overhead, an emerald line swept out across the countryside, drawing a line of explosions in the distance. Add that to the box as well... I tried to avoid a line of sight to the Core if I could help it. Last thing I needed was a dragon-killing beam in the face.
我得到了一点咳嗽的奖励。我朝它跑去，我空白的身体软绵绵地倒在我身上。私生子和苏格兰胶带不得不跳，以避免一窝身体，正在变成污泥通量。我很欣赏他们的谨慎。我已经炒了弗利。谁知道这对我的孩子们有什么影响？我把它塞进一个满满的盒子里，上面写着要避免的想法。头顶上，一条翠绿色的线掠过乡间，在远处划出一条爆炸线。把这个也加到盒子里......如果可以的话，我尽量避免看到核心区域。我最不需要的就是在脸上来一记屠龙的光柱。
Despite the fact I was not nor would ever be the most graceful pony, I managed to avoid stepping on any of the scattered corpses as I homed in on the blue bar I thought I’d heard the cough from. There, beneath two dead ghouls, something struggled. I carefully lifted them and stared down at a young pink earth pony mare Scotch’s age with a blood-smeared mane and braces attached to little wheels on her hind legs. She opened one pink eye and stared up at me. “Luna?” she asked faintly.
尽管我不是也永远不会是最优雅的小马，但当我骑上蓝色横杆回家时，我设法避免踩到任何一具散落的尸体，我以为我听到了咳嗽声。在那里，两个死亡的食尸鬼下面，有东西在挣扎。我小心翼翼地把它们举起来，低头看着一匹年轻的粉红色土地的苏格兰小马驹，它的后腿上系着带血的鬃毛和支架。她睁开一只粉红色的眼睛盯着我。"露娜?"她微弱地问道。
“Not exactly,” I replied. “Where are you hit, Boing?” I asked, taking her pallid complexion and sweaty brow as a sign of injury aggravated by Enervation. She winced as her eyes moved down towards her side. There was a hole in the leather belt holding the bracing frame to her barrel. It’d been cinched tightly, and
"不完全是,"我回答。"你哪里中弹了，波音?"我问道，把她苍白的脸色和汗津津的眉毛看作是受伤的迹象，因为她的脸色变得苍白。当她的眼睛向下移动到身体一侧时，她皱起了眉头。皮带上有一个洞，把支撑架固定在她的桶上。它被紧紧地绑在一起
that pressure was likely the only thing keeping her from bleeding out. Not that it would save her from Enervation worsening the wound. I'd seen what that could do too often to think otherwise. I quickly whipped out my moonstone and sprinkled a little of the magic dust on her coat. She immediately relaxed a little. “Do we have any healing potions?” I asked Scotch and Bastard. The former shook her head while the latter scanned the junkyard for threats. “I swear. One day I’m going to force somepony to teach me how to magically heal if it kills me.”
压力可能是唯一能防止她失血过多的东西。但这并不能使她免于受到更大的伤害。我已经见识过这种做法的后果，所以不会经常去想其他的办法。我迅速拿出月光石，在她的外套上撒了一点魔法粉末。她立刻放松了一下。"我们有治疗魔药吗?"我问苏格兰威士忌和淘气包。前者摇摇头，而后者扫视垃圾场寻找威胁。"我发誓。总有一天，我要强迫一匹小马教我如何在死后奇迹般地痊愈。"
“Blackjack?” Boing slurred in a daze. “You’re alive? But you… left us.”
"黑杰克?"波音头晕目眩地发出啧啧声。"你还活着？但是你......离开了我们。"
“Yeah, but you know the Hoof: you can't escape it forever,” I said as I lifted her from the ground. There was no way those wheels would roll over this many bodies, so I kept her levitated. After Bastard had used his healing magic to stop her immediate bleeding, I peered to the northwest. “We need to get to the Collegiate.”
"是的，但你知道蹄子:你不能永远逃避它,"我说，我把她从地上举起。那些轮子不可能碾过这么多尸体，所以我让她悬浮在空中。淘气包用他的治疗魔法止住了她的血，我向西北方向看去。"我们需要去大学学院。"
“Indeed!” a filly piped up, and what once had been a Brood corpse lying off to the side rose up and shimmered. The foal-sized robot was visible for just one second before a hologram of a filly Apple Bloom appeared over it. “Sorry for spyin’. Wanted to see if you were Blackjack or ‘mu-hu-ha ha’ Cognidumb.” She chuckled for a few seconds, but none of us shared her mirth. Her laughter trailed off, and she stared at us for a moment, her face frozen, then frowned. “Sorry. I take it you’re all that made it back?”
"没错!"一只小母马尖声叫了起来，原来躺在旁边的一具雏尸站了起来，微微发光。这个小马驹大小的机器人只能看到一秒钟，然后就出现了一个苹果布鲁姆小姑娘的全息图。"抱歉打扰了。想知道你是黑杰克还是'mu-hu-ha'认知哑巴。"她咯咯地笑了几秒钟，但我们谁也没有分享她的欢笑。她的笑声渐渐消失了，她盯着我们看了一会儿，脸上一动不动，然后皱起了眉头。"对不起。我想你就是所有回来的人吧?"
“Yes,” I replied, tensing at once. Before the robopony could press for details, I asked, “What’s between us and the Collegiate?”
"是的,"我回答，立刻紧张起来。在机器人可以追问细节之前，我问道:"我们和学院派之间有什么?"
“Oh, about a thousand or so rabid Brood,” Applebot answered. “The good news is they’ve become really disorganized in the last fifteen minutes or so. Some aren’t shooting at all, while others are killing each other. Of course, since the Core rearranged itself to shoot beam weapons at us and the Enervation’s back, things haven’t been as good as one might hope.”
"哦，大约有一千个疯子,"阿普尔波特回答。"好消息是，在过去的15分钟左右，他们已经变得非常混乱。一些人根本不开枪，而另一些人则在互相残杀。当然，自从核心系统自我重组，向我们发射光束武器，以及"弱化"系统的背部，事情并没有像人们所希望的那样好。"
From above us came a thumping electric shriek, and I started, pointing Vigilance up in time to see the white synthetic mare Sweetie Bot standing atop a nearby scrap pile and launching a volley of bright, Core-green bolts from her horn that curved over the hill in the direction of the University, found their marks among the Brood, and detonated in harsh green flashes that extinguished a hoofful of
从我们上方传来了一声巨大的电子尖叫，我吓了一跳，及时把警惕指向上方，看到一匹白色的合成马甜心机器人站在附近的废料堆上，从它的角上发射出一连串明亮的、芯绿色的螺栓，这些螺栓弯曲着越过山坡，朝着大学的方向，在育雏企鹅群中找到了它们的标记，然后发出刺眼的绿色闪光，熄灭了一声尖叫
red bars each. A fusillade of bullets answered her as she ducked down behind the peak of the pile. “Wow,” she said brightly, “that makes them really mad!” She paused and stared at all of us, then immediately smiled. “Oh! Welcome back! How was the moon? Did you bring a souvenir?”
每个都有红条。一连串的子弹回敬了她，她躲到了那堆子弹的最高处。"哇,"她愉快地说,"这真的让他们很生气!"她停顿了一下，盯着我们所有人，然后立刻笑了。"哦！欢迎回来！月亮怎么样？你带纪念品了吗?"
I was a touch taken aback by her cheerful demeanor, not to mention her firepower, as I watched a whole slew of red bars moving ever more rapidly. “Thanks. It... could have been better. And unless you count a bottle of moonstone, no.”
我被她愉快的举止吓了一跳，更不用说她的火力了，因为我看到一大堆红色的栅栏越来越快地移动着。"谢谢。本来可以更好的。除非你算上一瓶月长石，否则不算。"
Scotch Tape gave Sweetie Bot a slightly uneasy half smile. “Um… nice. Have you always had that artillery in your horn?”
透明胶带给甜心机器人一个略带不安的微笑。"嗯......不错。你的喇叭里一直装着那种大炮吗?"
“What can I say,” Sweetie Bot replied with a carefree shrug. “My little Horsie always loved mares of a... higher caliber.”
"我能说什么呢?"甜心耸耸肩回答。"我的小马一向喜欢母马。.更高的口径"
“...That was terrible,” Scotch replied.
"......太可怕了,"苏格兰人回答。
“Indeed,” Sweetie Bot said, annoyed. “My mandatory praise protocol escaped the purge command when Horse set me free.”
"的确如此,"甜心恼怒地说。"当马儿释放我时，我的强制表扬协议逃脱了清除命令。"
After that, I was glad when Brood came surging around the heaps of scrap. Rather than moving nice and orderly as was usual for them, some ran while others walked. Some took cover while others sprayed bullets. A few didn’t even attack at all, like the first one, and simply watched with uncertain expressions. Sadly, those were outnumbered ten to one by the Brood coming to kill us. “Hate!” a few shouted. “Kill!”
在那之后，当布鲁德夫妇在废料堆周围涌来的时候，我很高兴。他们没有像往常那样整齐有序地移动，一些人跑着，另一些人走着。一些人躲了起来，另一些人则开始扫射。有几个根本没有攻击，就像第一个一样，只是用不确定的表情看着。不幸的是，那些人的数量是魔龙军团杀死我们的人的十倍。"仇恨!"有几个人喊道。"杀!"
Vigilance barked a few times, the heavy bullets knocking the Brood back, but we were outnumbered at least five to one. Bastard’s silenced ten millimeter guns let out a stream of ‘pfft’s as he precisely blasted the faces of the Brood facing us even as he continued to smoke a cigarette. “I normally charge for this,” he grunted as he ejected one spent magazine and slapped another in with his magic. Scotch Tape picked up a dropped rifle, checked its chamber, and then used a fallen pony to brace herself as she fired at the Brood.
警惕狂吠了几声，沉重的子弹击退了布鲁德一家，但是我们至少是寡不敌众的五倍。淘气包的消音十毫米口径的枪发出一连串的噗的声音，因为他精确地炸毁了布伦特一家面向我们的脸，即使他还在继续抽烟。"我通常是收费的,"他咕哝着，弹出一本用完的杂志，然后用他的魔法拍了另一本。苏格兰胶布公司捡起一把掉在地上的步枪，检查了枪膛，然后用一匹掉在地上的小马作为支撑，向布鲁德公园开火。
“Oh. Don’t worry about them,” Applebot said with a smile.
"哦。别担心他们,"Applebot笑着说。
I reloaded, slipping into S.A.T.S. and sending a barrage of white moonbeam-like magic bullets into four Brood. “Why?” I asked, wondering if the two smiling
我重新上了子弹，溜进S.A.T.S.，向四个布鲁德发射了一连串白色月光般的魔法子弹。"为什么?"我问道，不知道这两个人是否在微笑
robots were malfunctioning.
机器人出了故障。
“Because,” Sweetie Bot said merrily, and the massive heap of scrap she was standing on began to shake. Suddenly, an enormous mechanical thing erupted from the side, crushing at least a dozen Brood in the process, then pulled to a halt to set its wheeled legs firmly on the ground and turn its gatling beam gun and grenade machine gun on the mass of Brood, some of which were now hesitating. Somepony had hastily slapped bright orange paint over its formerly-rainbow hull and Wonderglued an enormous purple wig to its ‘head’. “We found a Scootaloo.”
"因为,"甜心机器人高兴地说，她所站的那一大堆废铁开始摇晃起来。突然，一个巨大的机械东西从侧面爆发出来，在这个过程中压碎了至少十几个布鲁德，然后停下来，把它带轮子的腿稳稳地放在地上，把它的加特林机枪和榴弹机枪转向布鲁德的人群，其中一些人现在还在犹豫。一些小马已经匆忙地在它以前的彩虹船体上涂上了鲜艳的橙色油漆，而Wonderglued在它的"头"上粘上了一个巨大的紫色假发。"我们发现了一只史酷塔罗犬。"
“RAINBOW DASH IS AWESOME!” the robot boomed in a scratchy mare’s voice at what must have been a hundred decibels, charging forward, firing both weapons to either side, and simply running down the uncomprehending Brood in front of ‘her’. “TWENTY PERCENT COOLER!”
"彩虹冲刺棒极了!"机器人发出刺耳的母马声音，声音大约有100分贝，向前冲去，向两边都开了枪，只是简单地跑到她面前那群不可理喻的小东西身边。"凉快20%!"
Sweetie Bot screwed up her face. “Technically, a Scootaborg. The Ultra-Sentinel has a nonstandard bottled brain instead of a control talisman. She'd somehow managed to get trapped in the Scootaloo exhibit of a derelict Stable-Tec building, and the original protocols she was implanted with… deteriorated somewhat.” The white mare wore a faintly uneasy smile as she watched the robot laying waste to the Brood before it. “Still, she seems happy.”
甜心机器人扭曲了她的脸。"严格来说，是一辆斯库塔博格(Scootaborg)。超级哨兵有一个非标准的瓶装大脑，而不是一个控制护身符。她不知怎么的被困在了斯库塔卢的一栋废弃的Stable-Tec建筑里，她植入的原始协议......有些退化了。"看着机器人在布鲁德一家面前扫地的时候，白色的母马脸上露出淡淡的不安的微笑。"尽管如此，她看起来还是很开心。"
It was hard to see otherwise as she blasted a swath of destruction that Deus would have been proud of, raining down grenades and beams of flashy death as she raced around the battlefield. “RED RACER IS RADICALEST RACER!” It might not quite be a tank in terms of sheer mayhem, but it was more than sufficient... if a bit gruesome given the mixed corpses crushed under and dragged behind her.
当她在战场上奔跑的时候，很难看到其他的东西，因为她炸毁了一条天王会引以为傲的破坏带，像雨点般落下手榴弹和闪电般的死亡光束。"红色赛车是最激进的赛车!"这可能不完全是一个坦克纯粹的伤害，但它是足够的...如果有一点可怕的混合尸体粉碎，并拖在她身后。
“We need to get to the Collegiate right away,” I said absently. “Touch base with everypony. Figure out… what we’re going to do.” Glory would know. She was alive and smart, and she’d have a plan. I’d make hash out of it, probably, but between the two of us, we’d win. I had my body back. Had Luna’s soul riding shotgun. I could do this!
"我们得马上去学院,"我心不在焉地说。"和每个小马都保持联系。弄清楚......我们要做什么。"晨辉会知道的。她活着而且很聪明，她会有一个计划。我可能会把事情搞得一团糟，但是在我们两个之间，我们会赢的。我的身体回来了。卢娜的灵魂坐在副驾驶座上。我能做到！
“Yes, Dr. Triage needs to see you as soon as possible. I must say, it is pleasing that we didn't have to subdue and disassemble you,” Sweetie Bot said happily. A little too happily for my tastes. I noticed she was peering rather closely at my
"是的，分诊医生要尽快见您。我必须说，我们没有制服你，没有拆解你，这是令人高兴的,"甜心机器人高兴地说。对我来说有点太开心了。我注意到她正相当近地盯着我
PipBuck, and I felt a tingle of apprehension in my mane.
皮伯克和我的鬃毛感到一阵恐惧。
“What?” I asked the robot.
"什么?"我问机器人。
“Oh, nothing. Just, you still have EC-1101 in there, don’t you?” she asked brightly. I gave a wary little nod, and before I knew it, she’d knelt and taken my hoof between hers. I really didn’t want to blast a robot who’d been helping so much, but it took quite a bit of restraint as she stared at my PipBuck in fascination. “I can hear it… It’s still intact! Even after everything you’ve put it through.”
"哦，没什么。只是，你那里还有EC-1101，对吧?"她兴高采烈地问。我小心翼翼地点了点头，还没等我反应过来，她就跪了下来，把我的蹄子夹在她的蹄子中间。我真的不想轰掉一个一直帮助我的机器人，但是当她迷恋地盯着我的PipBuck时，我还是克制了一下。"我能听到它......它仍然完好无损！即使在你经历了这么多之后。"
“It is?” Applebot asked, moving in next to her. Now I was more embarrassed than wary. The robot looked up at me. “You could use this to take over the Tokomare!”
"是吗?"苹果机器人搬到她旁边问道。现在我感到更多的是尴尬而不是谨慎。机器人抬头看着我。"你可以用这个来接管德国佬!"
“I… could?”
"我.....。.可以?"
The robots nodded. “It’s an override and command megaspell, after all. It might be a little dinged up, but with the right connection, you could execute it and make the Tokomare do whatever you wanted!” Applebot said with a grin.
机器人点点头。"毕竟，这是一个覆盖和命令megaspell。它可能有一点缺陷，但只要有正确的连接，你就可以执行它，让Tokomare做任何你想做的事情!"苹果机器人咧嘴笑着说。
“A little dinged up?” Sweetie Bot said with an indignant little huff. “It’s like Horsie’s board of directors threw one of their summer retreats in Las Pegasus. The only thing it’s missing are the hooker programs hanging out in the foyer!” She nailed me with a dirty scowl. “Really, Blackjack, you should take better care of such sublime digital artistry.”
"有点脏了?"甜心机器人气愤地说。"这就像是霍西的董事会在夏天的时候在拉斯帕加索斯举行了一次静修。唯一缺少的就是门厅里挂着的妓女节目!"她愁眉不展地盯着我。"说真的，Blackjack，你应该更好地保护这些卓越的数字艺术品。"
Take control of the Tokomare… That had been Cognitum’s plan, after all. I doubted that she anticipated the Core being used to pull the Eater to the surface. “How?” I asked as I stared at my PipBuck.
控制德国佬......这毕竟是科涅塔姆的计划。我怀疑她是否预料到核心会被用来把食者拉到地面上来。"怎么做?"我盯着我的PipBuck问道。
“Just hook it up to the Tokomare, which will link it to your PipBuck and through your PipBuck to you,” Sweetie Bot explained. “It’d be easy with a broadcaster.”
"只要把它连接到Tokomare，它就会连接到你的PipBuck，然后通过你的PipBuck连接到你,"SweetieBot解释说。"对于一个播音员来说，这很容易。"
“My broadcaster turns my brains to jelly right now,” I countered. Scotch looked like she wanted to quip, but I pre-empted her. “My brains are not, nor ever were, jelly to begin with!” I received flatly skeptical stares from everypony except my blank. “Can I do it without a broadcaster?” I asked hotly.
"我的播音员现在把我的大脑变成了果冻,"我反驳道。苏格兰威士忌看起来像是她想说俏皮话，但我抢先了一步。"我的大脑从来都不是胶状物!"除了我的茫然之外，每一匹马都用怀疑的目光瞪着我。"没有播音员我能做到吗?"我激动地问。
“Sure. Just find one of the I/O ports Horse installed. He’s so clever!” Sweetie
"当然。只需找到安装的i/o端口之一Horse。他太聪明了!"亲爱的
Bot gushed, then worked her mouth as if something bitter had rested on her tongue. She shook her head and continued, “They probably look like terminals. Then you just have to establish a connection and avoid breaking it at all costs while the program uploads and initializes the link.” She tapped her chin. “Horse was an undeniable genius, though. He would definitely have installed some sort of internal defense.”
机器人滔滔不绝地说着，然后用嘴咬着，好像有什么苦涩的东西停在她的舌头上。她摇了摇头，接着说,"它们可能看起来像终端。然后，在程序上传和初始化链接时，你只需建立一个连接，不惜一切代价避免中断它。"她拍了拍下巴。"不过，马是不可否认的天才。他肯定会安装某种内部防御系统。"
“Or,” Scotch Tape offered, “you could just dump EC-1101 into it with no direction at all. That should muck up the works pretty well.” She received scandalized looks from both robots.
"或者,"透明胶带提供,"你可以只是倾倒EC-1101到它没有任何方向。这应该会把工作搞得一团糟。"两个机器人都对她表示反感。
“Or you could just fling your organic filth all over a beautiful work of art!” Sweetie Bot snorted. “That megaspell may be the finest synthesis of magic and logic ever crafted! It is a precious example of shining brilliance among the overflowing ugliness of this world,” she groused, waving a hoof at the surrounding wasteland before turning to stare almost longingly at my PipBuck. “Its perfection is plainly evident, even though I haven’t… interfaced with it... yet.”
"或者你可以把你的有机污秽泼在一件美丽的艺术品上!"甜心机器人哼了一声。"这个megaspell可能是有史以来最好的魔术和逻辑的结合！它是在这个充满丑陋的世界中闪耀光辉的珍贵典范,"她抱怨道，一边朝周围的荒地挥舞着一只蹄子，然后几乎渴望地凝视着我的皮普巴克。"它的完美显而易见，尽管我还没有......接触过它......到目前为止。"
“Fate of the world here,” Scotch Tape replied flatly.
"这里是世界的命运,"透明胶带平淡地回答。
“Well– yes– but–” Sweetie Bot sputtered. “There’s still principle to consider!”
"好吧——是的——但是——"甜心说。"还有原则要考虑!"
“Principle?” Scotch Tape asked dully as I continued to ponder what they’d told me.
"原则?"我继续琢磨着他们告诉我的事情，透明胶带沉闷地问道。
“Principle to preserve something beautiful. Something unique!” Sweetie Bot said with a hoof to her chest.
"保存美好事物的原则。独一无二的东西!"小甜心边说边用蹄子顶着胸口。
“Right. I’ll see twice your ‘principle’ and counter with a ‘fate of the frigging world’,” Scotch Tape countered flatly.
"对。我要两次看到你的'原则'，用'该死的世界命运'来反击,"ScotchTape断然反驳道。
Glory would know what I should do. I really wished I had P-21 to ask. Even Rampage’s crazy advice would be welcome. They could have made the choice clearer. Cognitum had wanted to use the Eater, the Tokomare, to restore Equestria. Unlimited energy. How could I deny that to everypony? But at the same time, there was no doubt that the Eater was evil, corruptive, and insidious. “I’m pretty sure the Tokomare’s alive,” I interjected. “I saw it move. It screamed.”
晨辉会知道我该做什么。我真希望我有P-21可以问。即使是狂暴的疯狂建议也会受到欢迎。他们本可以让选择更加清晰。科涅塔姆想利用食人者Tokomare来恢复小马国。无限的能量。我怎么能拒绝每一匹小马呢？但与此同时，这个食客无疑是邪恶的，腐败的，阴险的。"我很肯定tokomal还活着,"我插话道。"我看到它在动。它尖叫着。"
“Of course,” Sweetie Bot said with a somewhat condescending smile. “It’s sitting on an unstable foundation. As for screaming, the initializing of a magical reactor emits sounds that could be described as screams. Don’t ponify inanimate objects. It’s alien, certainly, but it has never displayed evidence of thought or awareness and certainly doesn’t possess the mechanisms necessary for either of those things. In terms I believe you would use, it is ultimately just a machine.” Scotch Tape gaped at the robot, stretching a hoof at her, then at me, before throwing both over her head and moving over to where Bastard was watching the Ultra-Sentinel fighting the Brood. After all those damned Brood tanks, it was good to see heavy weaponry on our side in action.
"当然可以,"甜心博特带着有点居高临下的微笑说。"它坐落在一个不稳定的基础上。至于尖叫，魔法反应堆的初始化发出的声音可以被描述为尖叫。不要把无生命的物体贬低。毫无疑问，它是外星生物，但它从来没有显示出思想或意识的证据，当然也没有这些东西的必要机制。用我相信你会用的术语来说，它最终只是一台机器。"苏格兰胶带在机器人身上裂开，伸出一只蹄子在她身上，然后在我身上，然后把两个都扔过她的头，走到淘气包正在看Ultra-Sentinel对抗魔龙军团的地方。在所有那些该死的魔龙军团坦克之后，很高兴看到我们身边的重型武器在行动。
Still, what the robots were saying... it was an idea. Take control of the Eater. It would eat Tom, but I could use all that energy to fix things. Besides, Tom had wanted all of us to die. And the cybernetic nightmare we'd seen was just Cognitum's plan; I wouldn't have to do that. I could make things the way they were supposed to be. A strong, safe, secure Equestria. I could erase and undo two hundred years of pain and suffering like it had never–
尽管如此，机器人所说的......只是一个想法。控制食者。它会吃掉汤姆，但我可以用所有的能量来修理东西。此外，汤姆希望我们所有人都死。我们看到的控制论的噩梦只是Cognitum的计划;我不需要这么做。我可以让事情按照预期的方式发展。一个强大、安全、有保障的小马国。我可以抹去和消除两百年的痛苦和折磨，就像它从来没有-
I met the eyes of my blank and stared. Was it just me, or did my copy appear disappointed? The eyes were still vacant. There was no mistaking the thin thread of drool. Still, there was something in the tiny frown she wore, or the slight tilt of her head, as if she was questioning if I was really going down this train of thought. No. There wasn’t a fix. No reset or erase buttons. I couldn’t bring them back. Not anypony. Not P-21. They were gone, and no amount of super powerful alien technology could change that.
我凝视着我茫然的双眼。是只有我这么觉得，还是我的文章看起来很失望？那双眼睛仍然空洞无物。那细细的口水丝丝没有弄错。尽管如此，她微微皱起的眉头，或者微微倾斜的头，似乎在质疑我是否真的在沿着这条思路走下去。没有。根本没有修补。没有重置或擦除按钮。我不能把他们带回来。不是什么小马。非P-21。他们消失了，再多的超级强大的外星技术也无法改变这一点。
I let out a shaky breath. “I need to get to the Collegiate. I need to get there now. I think I need to end this soon.” I stared at the blank and swallowed. “I don’t think being Princess Luna is good for me. I think I’m losing… me.” I turned to the others. “Can all of you get to the Collegiate safely and quickly?”
我发出颤抖的呼吸。"我要去学院大学。我现在就要去那里。我想我需要尽快结束这一切。"我凝视着空白，咽了口唾沫。"我不认为当卢娜公主对我有好处。我想我正在失去......我自己。"我转向其他人。"你们能安全而迅速地到达学院号吗?"
Scotch Tape nodded. “I think so. Thanks to Bastard and that moon dust, Boing should be okay.” She eyed the still stunned filly, who continued to stare at me in worry and awe.
苏格兰胶带点点头。"我想是的。多亏了淘气包和月尘，波音应该没事了。"她盯着那头仍然目瞪口呆的小母马，小母马继续担忧而又敬畏地盯着我。
“Okay,” I said, then paused, meeting the eyes of the pink filly. “I know I did wrong to you. I know you can’t accept my apology, but I will try to do the right thing.” Now Boing frowned more but still didn’t speak. I turned away and motioned for Sweetie Bot to come closer. When we were apart from the others, I
"好吧,"我说，然后停顿了一下，看到了那只粉红色的小母马的眼睛。"我知道我对不起你。我知道你不能接受我的道歉，但我会尽力做正确的事。"现在，波因皱了皱眉头，但还是不说话。我转过身，示意甜心机器人靠近一点。当我们和其他人分开的时候，我
asked in a low voice, “Is it true? Did Glory survive the balefire bomb at the Luna Space Center?”
"这是真的吗？光荣在月球太空中心的爆炸中幸存下来了吗?"
The robot blinked at me a moment, then immediately smiled. “Oh yes! Ghouls and alicorns were dispatched immediately after the bomb went off to find if you’d died horribly or not. They found Glory with some other ghouls and got everyone back to the Collegiate right away. She’s just fine.”
机器人对我眨了眨眼，然后立刻笑了。"哦，是的！炸弹爆炸后，食尸鬼和海角马上被派去查看你是否死得很惨。他们找到了晨辉和其他一些食尸鬼，并把大家立即回到学院。她很好。"
Fine. Glory was alive and fine! “Well, good. That’s… that’s good.” I pulled away from her.
好吧。晨辉是活生生的，美好的！"好吧，很好。这...这很好。"我离开了她。
“Indeed!” the robot said brightly. “She’s unquestionably alive and intact.”
"没错!"机器人明亮地说。"毫无疑问，她还活着，完好无损。"
That was all I needed. I cast my teleportation spell for the Collegiate–
这就是我所需要的。我为学院-号施展了我的瞬间移动魔法
–and nearly had my head cut off by a great big flipping sword! I ducked as the bumper of a skywagon, battered flat and given a wicked, jagged edge whistled overhead. In barely a moment, the earth pony mare biting down on the end looped it around and brought it back in a diagonal slash. “Hold still, you Brood bitch!” the wielder shouted, quite a feat considering she had the hilt of the enormous weapon in her mouth! I started to teleport away, when the blue mare slammed her body into mine and knocked me to the ground.
差点被一把巨大的长剑砍掉脑袋我像一辆大篷车的保险杠一样俯下身去，被撞扁了，头顶上传来一个邪恶的锯齿状边缘的呼啸声不一会儿，那匹地球上的母马就咬住了它的尾巴，把它绕了一圈，然后斜着拉回来"别动，你这个婊子！持剑者喊道，考虑到她嘴里叼着那把巨大的武器，这可真是个壮举我开始瞬移离开，这时那匹蓝色的母马撞上了我的身体，把我撞倒在地
The mare twisted her head, the weapon dropping like a guillotine upon me. “No!” another mare shouted, body slamming the swordspony so the jagged edge bit into the ground next to my head. “That’s Security, Blue Steel!” the earth pony shouted, gesturing down at me. Then she blinked. “At least, I think it is… Blackjack?”
母马扭着头，武器像断头台一样落在我身上。"不!"另一匹母马喊道，身体砰的一声击中了剑尖，这样锯齿状的边缘就咬到了我头旁边的地上。"这就是安全，蓝钢!"地球上的小马大叫着，指着我。然后她眨了眨眼睛。"至少我觉得是......黑杰克?"
“I’m really tired of today,” I said as I lay there, staring at the stars. Was it me, or had a new, bright blue mote been added since last I'd looked? I turned to Bluebelle, the earth pony Highlander. “What are you doing here?”
"我真的厌倦了今天,"我躺在那里，盯着星星说。是我，还是自从我上次看过之后又加了一个新的亮蓝色的斑点？我转向Bluebelle，地球上的矮种马高地人。"你在这儿干什么?"
“Didn’t you tell us we had to help out?” Bluebelle asked back. “Be a part of the Hoof?” The beefy blue mare with the sword just snorted and trotted over to a barricade, heedless of the bullets pinging into her armor, which appeared to be sheets of plate metal hammered around her torso. “That’s my big sis. She ain’t neighborly, like me.” Bluebelle offered me a hoof and helped pull me up. “All our kin are underground, but Big Momma led our fighters here. Those alicorns popped us here, and we’ve been helping with the fight.” I finally had a chance to
"你不是告诉我们要帮忙吗?"布鲁贝尔问道。"成为霍夫的一部分?"那个拿着剑结实的蓝色母马喷着鼻息，小跑到一个路障旁边，丝毫没有注意到子弹打进了她的盔甲，盔甲看起来像是一片金属片，打在她的身体周围。"那是我的大姐姐。她不像我这么友好。"布鲁贝尔给了我一只蹄子，把我拉了上来。"我们所有的亲戚都在地下，但肥妈把我们的战士带到了这里。那些橡子在这里爆了我们的头，我们一直在帮忙打仗。"我终于有机会
see what was going on.
看看是怎么回事。
The University had become the final line. For the first time in two centuries, the place seemed as crowded as a university should be. Ponies were everywhere, most of them wounded and sickly. There were shooters atop the roofs, firing down at the attackers outside. Batponies. Zebras. Gangers. Scholars. In his effort to exterminate all of us, the Legate had caused the entire Hoof to unite in a desperate bid for survival. Whether it was zebras brewing up herbal remedies, Burners tossing firebombs to pegasi and batponies, Flashers strafing with beam weapons, or ponies getting what ammo remained to the fighters, nopony was fighting with each other.
大学成了最后一道防线。两个世纪以来，这个地方第一次像大学一样拥挤。到处都是小马，大多数都受了伤，病怏怏的。屋顶上有枪手，向外面的袭击者开火。蝙蝠战车。斑马。分身。学者们。在他消灭我们所有人的努力中，使者使得整个霍夫为了生存而联合起来。不管是斑马在酝酿草药疗法，还是燃烧者在飞马和蝙蝠战马身上投掷燃烧弹，闪光者用光束武器扫射，还是小马为战士们获取剩余的弹药，小马们正在互相厮杀。
Things might be desperate, but right here, right now, there was no Wasteland.
事情可能是绝望的，但此时此地，没有荒原。
The sky exploded in a flash of baleful green as one of the anti-dragon beams blasted at the settlement. The searing beam of disintegration impacted against a shimmery white shield that flashed up a moment before impact. Sparks arced out in all directions as ponies cried out and shielded their eyes, but in moments the beam died, and the shield disappeared. I gaped at Bluebelle, and she said with a small smile, “One of those F.A.D.E. shield thingies. Arena’s got one too.” Then her smile disappeared. “Uh oh…”
天空爆炸在一个邪恶的绿色闪光作为一个反龙梁在定居点爆炸。灼热的光束的崩解撞击对一个闪烁的白色盾牌闪烁的时刻之前的影响。小马大声叫喊，挡住了它们的眼睛，火花四溅，但不一会儿，光束消失了，盾牌也消失了。我目瞪口呆地看着Bluebelle，她微笑着说:"就是那种f.a.d.e防护罩。竞技场也有一个。"然后她的笑容消失了。"啊哦......"
“What?” I asked with a matching frown, but I soon realized the cause of her distress. I’d once seen a pony big enough to pull a train. This mare wasn’t that gigantic, but she definitely came in second. She could have stared down Big Macintosh, her fetlocks and mane were particularly shaggy, and she wore armor composed of tractor tires and plates of metal chained to her massive frame. She carried a thick chain about her neck with an engine block attached to it. “Oh.”
"什么?"我皱着同样的眉头问道，但我很快就明白了她苦恼的原因。我曾经看到过一匹大得足以拉动火车的小马。这匹母马并不是那么大，但她绝对是第二名。她可以盯着大麦金托什，她的脚趾和鬃毛特别蓬松，她穿着由拖拉机轮胎和金属片组成的盔甲，锁在她巨大的身体上。她脖子上挂着一条粗链子，上面装着一个发动机组。"哦。"
“You!” she bellowed as she stomped right up to me. “You’re that Security, eh?” She lowered her head to look me in the eye. “Where’s that no good stripe-lickin’ husband o’ mine? You tell me which rock he’s hiding under righ’ nao!”
"你!"她一边跺脚一边吼我。"你就是那个保安，对吧?"她低下头看着我的眼睛。"我那没有好脾气的丈夫在哪儿呢？你告诉我他躲在哪块石头下面!"
I just wanted to see Glory. Why wasn’t she on the battlefield with the rest of the pegasi? “I’m sorry… um… Big Momma?”
我只是想看看晨辉。为什么她没有和飞马座的其他成员一起上战场？"对不起......嗯......肥妈?"
“Big? Are you callin’ me fat?” she roared inches from my face, making my wavy mane stand stiffly back from my scalp as if glued in place by her rank breath. “Jus’ cause some o’ us mares don’t have skanky skinny bodies you can twist inna prezel don’t mean we’re fat! I’m big boned! And don’t you forget it!”
"大？你是说我胖吗?"她咆哮着离开我的脸几英寸，使我波浪状的鬃毛硬生生地从我的头皮上竖起来，好像被她的臭气粘住了似的。"就因为我们有些母马没有你可以扭曲的皮包骨的身体，但这并不意味着我们很胖！我骨架大！千万别忘了!"
“No! ‘Big’ as in ‘in charge’! Not fat!” Bluebelle said in a rush. She leaned towards me and murmured, “Momma’s been sensitive about her weight ever since Big Daddy ran off with a no good striped tramp.”
"不！"大"就是"负责"的意思！不胖!"布鲁贝尔匆忙地说。她向我靠过来，喃喃地说:"自从大爸爸和一个不怎么样的条纹流浪汉私奔以后，妈妈一直对自己的体重很敏感。"
“Aye! And I wanna know where he is, righ’ nao! And don’t give me no talk about him being dead!” Big Momma roared.
"赞成！我想知道他在哪里，对吗！别跟我说他死了!"肥妈吼道。
Okay, now I was getting annoyed by this over-amplified peasant. “Madam, I don’t–”
好吧，现在我被这个过分夸大的农民惹恼了。"夫人，我不——"
There was a flash as a unicorn covered with explosives appeared adjacent to all three of us. Before I could enter S.A.T.S., Big Momma smoothly reached out with one hoof, hugged the startled unicorn to her body, and crushed her like a horned bag of twigs. She dropped the body, mashing it with three almost perfunctory stomps of her hoof, never taking her eyes off me. There was a muffled explosion under her hoof as something detonated, and she didn’t even blink.
我们三个身边出现了一只装满炸药的独角兽。在我进入s.a.t.s之前，大嬷嬷一只蹄子顺利地伸出手，抱住了那只受惊的独角兽，像踩碎一包长角的树枝一样碾碎了她。她扔下尸体，马上跺了三下马虎的蹄子，眼睛一刻也没有离开过我。当什么东西爆炸的时候，她的蹄下传来一声闷响，她眼睛都没眨一下。
My annoyance vanished instantly. “I don’t know what to say, but he is dead. I saw it happen.”
我的烦恼立刻消失了。"我不知道该说什么，但他已经死了。我亲眼目睹了这一切。"
Now Big Momma’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I thought you was on a rocket.”
现在，肥妈危险地眯起了眼睛。"我以为你在火箭上呢。"
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, then pointed at my horn. “Magic.” She didn’t move an inch. “I saw it! He drank something that turned him into light, and then he kicked a tank to death! Then he just… disintegrated!”
我张开嘴，又合上嘴，然后指着我的喇叭。"魔法。"她一动不动。"我看见了！他喝了一些让他变得光明的东西，然后他踢死了一辆坦克！然后他就...崩溃了!"
Big Momma snorted, speckling me with goobers. “Disintegratin’. Likely story! More like turned him invisible so he could run off with his striped floozies! Gonna run off to some tropical beach with them striped sluts! Again! Martial arts my blue behind! Well, I’m not buyin’ it!” She lifted her head and bellowed, “You hear me? I’m gonna find ya and show you why nothin’ beats a good earth pony mare, ‘less it is that earth pony mare!” She turned and stalked off towards the fighting, swinging the engine block on its chain and annihilating anything striped that came anywhere near her reach.
肥妈哼了一声，用花生在我身上留下了斑点。"分解素"。可能的故事！更像是让他隐形，这样他就可以和他的条纹妓女私奔了！我要和那些条纹荡妇一起去热带海滩！再来！武术我的蓝屁股！好吧，我可不买账!"她抬起头，吼道:"你听到了吗？我要找到你，让你看看为什么没有什么能比得上一匹好的地球上的母马，除非是那匹地球上的母马!"她转身昂首阔步地朝战场走去，挥舞着链条上的发动机组，消灭任何靠近她身边的带条纹的东西。
“Um…” was all I could say as I watched her go.
看着她离开，我只能说:"嗯......"。
“Yeah. Momma’s got some Clydesdale in her. I feel right sorry for Daddy when
"是的。妈妈有匹克莱兹代尔马。我为爸爸感到难过
she catches up with him,” Bluebelle replied. She pulled a rag out and passed it to me, and I wiped away the foulness she’d speckled me with.
她赶上了他,"布鲁贝尔回答。她拿出一块抹布递给我，我擦去她身上的脏东西。
“He really is dead. I saw it,” I said with a worried little frown.
"他真的死了。我看见了,"我愁眉苦脸地说。
She gave a shrug. “Maybe. But he’s faked his death before. Minced, blown up, incinerated... one time we showed up late to a fight and all anyone would say was that he'd been hit by some sort of alien ray. Left behind a life-size statue made entirely out of Sugar Apple Bombs. Damn thing was delicious.” I gaped at her silently, and she grinned and pushed on, “So yeah, all I'm saying is, if there ain't no corpse, you probably shouldn't be getting your hopes up.”
她耸了耸肩。"也许吧。但他以前伪造过自己的死亡。有一次我们打架打到很晚，所有人都说他被某种外星射线击中了。留下一个真人大小的雕像，完全由糖苹果炸弹制成。这该死的东西真好吃。"我默默地打量着她，她咧嘴一笑，继续说道:"所以，是的，我想说的是，如果没有尸体，你也许不应该抱太大希望。"
“He... faked his death?” I struggled to say.
"他...伪造了自己的死亡?"我挣扎着说。
She nodded with smile. “Any time he wanted to get away from Big Momma, actually. She always takes him back. Gotta wear earplugs when that happens, though. They make the earth move when they’re ruttin’.”
她微笑着点点头。"实际上，每次他想离开肥妈的时候。她总是把他带回来。不过这种情况下还是得戴上耳塞。他们发情的时候会让地动起来。"
I spent a moment trying to... it had to be like humping a cave... Argh, nevermind that. “Look, I need to find Glory. And General Storm Chaser. And Velvet Remedy. But first Glory.” She blinked at me a moment, and I added, feeling a little frazzled, “Gray pegasus who came with me! Survivor taken from the Luna Space Center!”
我花了一点时间试着......这就像在一个山洞里做爱一样......啊，算了。"听着，我需要找到晨辉。还有通用风暴追逐者。和VelvetRemedy。但首先是晨辉。"她对我眨了眨眼睛，我有点疲惫地补充道:"格雷飞马，跟我一起来的！从月球太空中心拍摄的幸存者!"
Bluebelle just shrugged. “No idea. We’re busy fightin’. Reckon she’d be in the hospital or somethin’.” Then Bluebelle leaned over, peering past me. “And… um… you have another problem.”
布鲁贝尔只是耸耸肩。"不知道。我们忙着吵架呢。估计她在医院或什么地方。"然后，蓝色美女俯下身，从我身边凝视过去。"而且......嗯......你还有另一个问题。"
My mane crawled as I felt it. “How many?” I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper.
我感觉到鬃毛在蠕动。"有多少?"我问道，声音降到了耳语。
“All of ‘em,” she answered.
"全部,"她回答。
I turned and saw she was right. Everypony in the University’s quad stared right at me, murmuring. In every eye was something different. Awe. Anger. Fear. Desire. Even sadness. The one thing they all had in common was that they expected something of me, some nameless thing that only I could provide, but neither of us knew what it could be. My mouth instantly dried as I absently wiped away a huge gob of snot hanging from my ear. I knew I should stand proudly before them, like Sister had, but all I wanted to do was run and hide.
我转过身来，看到她是对的。大学校园里的每一匹小马都直勾勾地盯着我，喃喃地说。每只眼睛里都有不同的东西。敬畏。愤怒。恐惧。欲望。甚至是悲伤。他们都有一个共同点，那就是他们对我有所期望，一些只有我才能提供的无名之物，但是我们都不知道那是什么。当我心不在焉地擦去挂在耳朵上的一大坨鼻涕时，我的嘴立刻干了。我知道我应该像姐姐一样骄傲地站在他们面前，但我想做的只是逃跑和躲藏。
When they slept, I’d find ways to help them all one by one. Nopony would be hurt. Nopony would be banished to the moon…
当他们睡着的时候，我会想办法一个一个地帮助他们。小马会受到伤害。小马会被放逐到月亮上。
Unfortunately, I seemed to have been robbed of my ability to speak. Bluebelle took the rag, spat on it, and wiped away some lingering blemish on my cheek. “Well, good luck. I’d rather take on the cybernetic hordes.”
不幸的是，我似乎被剥夺了说话的能力。布鲁贝尔拿起抹布，往上面吐了一口唾沫，然后擦去了我脸上挥之不去的污点。"好吧，祝你好运。我宁愿挑战电脑控制的群体。"
“Take me with you,” I whimpered as she left. Then I lifted my head as proudly as I could. I’d walk just like I had all those months ago at Brimstone’s Fall. Dignity. I walked forward, and despite the crowding, they made way for me to pass. As I did, so many reached out to touch me in passing, not obscenely, but as if to make sure I was real.
"带我一起走吧,"她离开时我呜咽着说。然后我尽可能地骄傲地抬起头。我会像几个月前在硫磺会那样走路。尊严。我向前走去，尽管拥挤不堪，他们还是给我让路让我通过。当我这样做的时候，很多人顺便伸手触摸我，不是很猥亵，而是好像要确认我是真实的。
“Princess,” I heard so many say over and over again. “She’s back. She’s going to save us.”
"公主,"我一遍又一遍地听到很多人这样说。"她回来了。她会救我们的。"
I would. However I could. I would. I wanted to say as much, only one fear silenced me.
我会的。不管怎样，我可以。我会的。我想说的是，只有一种恐惧使我哑口无言。
Could I?
我可以吗？
Inside, it was a little better, with smaller halls and more ponies concerned with the injured than with me. So many injured… The doctors had run out of beds and resorted to placing the wounded on tables, then stacking the tables on top of each other, with sometimes two or three patients to a table. Most had boiled rags for bandages. Unicorns worked alongside zebras to help the wounded however they could, but at this point the best they could do was pass out glasses of watered-down whiskey.
在医院里，情况稍好一些，医院的大厅更小，关心伤员的小马也比我多。那么多人受伤......医生们已经没有床位了，只能把伤员放在桌子上，然后把桌子叠在一起，有时两三个病人一张桌子。大多数人都用破布当绷带。独角兽和斑马一起工作，尽其所能帮助伤员，但此时他们最多只能分发几杯掺水的威士忌。
“So, it’s true,” an acrid voice said behind me. I turned to see a familiar gray and blond unicorn. Triage had never appeared so battered before. She wore a bandage around her head, and her horn had blackened with the telltale signs of magical burnout. The coat she wore was a patina of brown, red, and maroon. Thank goodness, though, for somepony who wasn't staring at me any differently than she had before I'd left! “Glory’s condition–”
"所以，这是真的,"我身后一个辛辣的声音说。我转身看见一只熟悉的灰色金色独角兽。伤检分类法以前从未出现过这种情况。她的头上缠着绷带，她的角被魔法烧毁的痕迹弄黑了。她穿的外套是褐色、红色和栗色的古铜色。不过，谢天谢地，这匹小马没有像我走之前那样盯着我看！"晨辉的状况-"
Suddenly, the hall filled with screaming as ponies started calling for Triage. She clenched her eyes and teeth, the cigarette in the corner of her mouth trembling. “It’s fine,” I said quickly, “just tell me where I can find her!”
突然，大厅里挤满了尖叫的小马，它们开始呼叫分诊。她紧闭着眼睛和牙齿，嘴角的香烟在颤抖。"没关系,"我赶紧说,"只要告诉我在哪儿能找到她就行了!"
She stared at me for a moment, then looked back over her shoulder at where two nurses were trying to keep a stallion’s guts inside him. Was it just me, or were there tears in her eyes? “Fucking Enervation.” She grabbed a passing green unicorn orderly. “You! D.A. V.A.”
她盯着我看了一会儿，然后回过头来看，两个护士正试图把一匹种马的内脏塞进他的身体。是我的错觉，还是她眼里含着泪水？"该死的衰弱"她抓住了一只路过的绿色独角兽护理员。"你！D.a.v.a."
“P.A.,” the unicorn said dryly, in a strange accent. “Short for–”
"p.a.,"独角兽用一种奇怪的口音干巴巴地说。"-"的简称
“Whatever. Take her,” she snapped, jabbing a hoof at me, “to room 301. Top floor. End of the hall. Answer all her questions.” She looked at me with something new in her eyes: worry. “I’ll catch up soon as I have him packed.” Then she rushed away towards the stallion.
"随便啦。"带她去301房间,"她厉声说，用蹄子戳了我一下。顶层。走廊尽头。回答她所有的问题。"她用一种新的眼神看着我:忧虑。"我把他的行李收拾好就去找他。"然后她冲向那匹种马。
P.A. didn’t seem fazed by me or by the chaos going on around us. “This way. The elevator is out of order,” he said in a dull tone. I wasn’t sure if there was something wrong with him, or if it was just… all this. He caught my glance and gave a little sigh. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. I miss elevators.”
P.a.似乎并没有被我或者我们周围的混乱所困扰。"这边走。电梯坏了,"他用沉闷的声音说。我不确定他是不是有什么问题，还是只是...这一切。他瞥了我一眼，轻轻叹了口气。"对不起。真是漫长的一天。我想念电梯。"
I glanced at his battered PipBuck and guessed stable pony. “Tell me about it. I woke up this morning a unicorn, and now look at me,” I said with a small smile he didn’t mirror.
我扫了一眼他那匹破旧的皮布克马，猜是匹稳定的小马。"跟我说说吧。今天早上我醒来的时候还是一只独角兽，现在看看我,"我微笑着说，他没有模仿我。
“Mazel Tov,” he said as we trotted past the second floor. There was less screaming on this level and more soft whimpering and sobbing. We continued on to the third floor. “So, I’m guessing you want to know about the patient’s condition?”
"恭喜你,"当我们小跑经过二楼时，他说。这一层的尖叫声减少了，呜咽和哭泣的声音变得柔和了。我们继续走到三楼。"那么，我猜你想知道病人的情况?"
“Yes. Is she okay?” I asked with a small and now worried smile.
"是的。她还好吗?"我带着一丝担忧的微笑问道。
“She suffered in excess of thirty Grays. She has acute radiation syndrome. Nausea and vomiting. Acute diarrhea. Severe headache and fever. Impaired CNS function. Fatigue. Shock.”
"她遭受了超过三十灰人的痛苦。她患有急性放射综合症。恶心和呕吐。急性腹泻。严重头痛和发烧。中枢神经系统功能受损。疲劳。震惊。"
Okay. I’d been there before. “But you’re giving her Rad-X and RadAway, right?”
好吧。我以前去过那里。"但你会给她用Rad-X和RadAway，对吗?"
“We’ve purged the radiation from her body,” he said neutrally.
"我们已经清除了她体内的辐射,"他中立地说。
A growing sense of unease filled me as we stepped onto the third floor. Everything was silent on this floor, except for the soft sound of weeping. “But she’s going to be okay?” I darted in front of him. “You ran her through your
当我们走上三楼的时候，一种越来越强烈的不安感充斥着我。地板上一片寂静，只有哭泣的声音。"但她会没事的吧?"我冲到他前面。"你把她穿过你的
magic healy machine, right?”
魔法治疗机，对吧?"
We started to walk. He moved as if in a daze. “The patient was given two rounds of intensive medical intervention upon arrival, and a third an hour later. Experimental proposals were rejected in light of so many casualties needing intensive medical intervention.”
我们开始走路。他走起路来好像发呆了一样。"病人到达医院后接受了两轮强化治疗，一小时后接受了第三轮治疗。鉴于如此多的伤亡人员需要强化医疗干预，实验性提案被拒绝。"
We passed a room, and I spotted Velvet Remedy, Calamity, a battered and dinged up cyberpegasus, and a stallion I recognized from the meeting as Lensflare clustered around Windsheer, weeping openly. “Why?” Calamity blubbered as Velvet held him from behind. “Why?”
我们经过一个房间，我看到了VelvetRemedy，灾难，一匹遍体鳞伤的赛博帕伽索斯，还有一匹我在会上认出来的种马，兰斯弗雷姆聚集在Windsheer周围，公开哭泣。"为什么?"当维尔韦从后面抱住他的时候，他大哭起来。"为什么?"
“He got the link set up for line of sight,” the cyberpony, Silver, I think she was, said. “Soon as it comes, she’ll be able to help us herself.”
"他把链接设置成视线范围,"赛博马，西尔弗，我想她岁了，说。"一旦它来了，她就能自己帮助我们了。"
“No. It’s just… why’d he have to die? T’aint right. Pride or Gutshot goin’ out… I could accept that. Why can’t the good ones live?” Calamity said as he turned, crumpled to sit on his haunches, and pressed his cheek to her chest.
"没有。只是...他为什么一定要死？这是不对的。骄傲或者胆怯...我可以接受。为什么好人不能活下去?"卡拉米特转过身来，皱着脸坐在自己的腰上，把脸贴在她的胸前。
“He died like he wanted to. As a Wonderbolt,” his lover said in a shocked murmur.
"他如愿以偿地死去了。他的情人用一种震惊的低语说道。
Velvet spotted me through the door, her eyes widening a moment in surprise, before her lips curled in a sad smile as she shook her head a little. Had she ever lost somepony like this as well? Did she have family? I didn’t really know. As we walked on, I asked P.A., “You couldn’t save him?”
维尔韦特透过门看到了我，她惊讶地睁大了眼睛，嘴角挂着悲伤的微笑，微微摇了摇头。她曾经也失去过像这样的小马吗？她有家人吗？我真的不知道。我们继续走着，我问p.a.:"你救不了他吗?"
“Magic’s not all-powerful. Sometimes a body’s just suffered too much injury and abuse to be saved,” he said plainly as he walked along.
"魔法并非无所不能。有时候，一个人的身体只是遭受了太多的伤害和虐待，无法挽救,"他一边走一边坦率地说。
“But… you saved Glory? Right?” I asked. Down at the end of the hall I could see her family clustered together. “You put her in the magic healy machine three damned times! You saved her…” I froze, and then whispered, “Didn’t you?” He didn’t respond. The lifeless eyes. The dead expression…
"但是......你拯救了晨辉？对吧?"我问道。在大厅的尽头，我可以看到她的家人聚在一起。"你把她放在魔法治疗机里三次！"你救了她......"我愣住了，然后低声问道,"你没有吗?"他没有回应。死气沉沉的眼睛。死亡的表情..。
I left him, breaking into a run down the hall. Time seemed to slow, the sobbing fading away to muffled, underwater noises. The faster I tried to run, the slower I seemed to move. Everything in sight had a particular clarity to it. Like the white pegasus mare Morningstar hugging the golden branch to her chest as she wept openly. The hollow expression on Moonshadow’s face as she held the weeping
我离开了他，在大厅里跑了起来。时间似乎慢了下来，呜咽的声音渐渐消失在低沉的水声中。我试图跑得越快，我似乎移动得越慢。眼前的一切都有一种特别的清晰感。就像那匹白色的飞马，晨星拥抱着胸前的金色树枝，当她哭泣的时候。月影抑制住哭泣时脸上那种空洞的表情
dove-gray pegasus fillies Lambent and Lucent. The dead look on Dusk’s face as she hugged an Enclave helmet to her chest, eyes staring past me. I rushed past them all to the door and pushed it open.
鸽灰色的小雌马兰本特和朗讯。黄昏时分，她把一顶昂科雷头盔抱在胸前，脸上露出死去的表情，眼睛凝视着我。我从他们身边冲过去，把门推开。
Beep…
哔..。
No. No no no no…
没有。不不不不..。
Beep…
哔..。
The dingy little room was barely large enough for the bed, which was far too large for the shriveled occupant that lay on it. Everything was bandaged. Everything. Only the purple strands of mane scattered around the pillow gave any identity to the occupant. An IV stand in the corner held a bottle of purple fluid in which a few crystals of moonstone floated and a second, smaller bottle that held a clear fluid, again with moonstones.
那间昏暗的小房间几乎不够放下那张床，对于躺在上面的干瘪的居住者来说，那张床实在太大了。所有的东西都包扎好了。一切。只有分散在枕头周围的紫色鬃毛给了乘客身份。角落里的一个静脉注射架上放着一瓶紫色液体，其中有一些月长石的晶体漂浮着，还有一个更小的瓶子，里面装着清澈的液体，还是月长石。
Sky Striker, her father, sat beside her. His physical wounds had healed, but he appeared scarred down to his very soul. His plum hide possessed an almost zebra-like appearance with the lines carved in his sides. On the other side of the bed sat a particularly ragged, exhausted Rover who clutched a number of rolls of old, thick paper to his chest. He snapped his head up, sniffing at me a moment, and then rose to his feet. “Sorry. Sorry. Dogs is sorry,” he muttered as he pushed past me and slipped out into the hall.
天空之星，她的父亲，坐在她旁边。他的身体伤口已经愈合了，但是他的灵魂却伤痕累累。他的李子皮几乎像斑马一样，两边还刻着线条。床的另一边坐着一个衣衫褴褛、精疲力竭的流浪者，他的胸口紧紧地抱着几卷厚厚的旧报纸。他猛地抬起头，嗅了一下我，然后站了起来。"对不起。对不起。狗狗们很抱歉,"他一边从我身边挤过，一边喃喃自语，溜进大厅。
I took Rover’s seat across from Sky Striker. “She knew you were coming,” he said. He didn’t raise his eyes, his gaze fixed on his daughter. “Knew you were alive. That you’d be back.” His jaw worked as he shook. “Can you help her? Do some kind of Princess magic stuff?” Rancor made the words hiss.
我坐在"天空之星"对面的罗孚座位上。"她知道你要来,"他说。他没有抬眼，目不转睛地盯着女儿。"知道你还活着。你会回来的。"他颤抖着，下巴绷得紧紧的。"你能帮帮她吗？做一些公主魔术之类的东西?"兰科尔发出嘶嘶声。
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” I whispered. Maybe Luna might. Luna probably had that knowledge, but I didn’t have Luna’s knowledge, just her soul.
"我不知道从哪里开始,"我低声说。也许露娜可以。卢娜可能知道这些，但我不知道卢娜的知识，只知道她的灵魂。
“Figures…” he growled, lifting his eyes at last to glare at me with seething anger. “Goddesses. Magic. What the hell is it worth if it can’t save my girl?” he demanded, surging to his hooves. “You’re supposed to be her friend! Her love! That’s what you were supposed to be! You left her behind!” he roared at me from across the bed. “You left my baby to die!”
"数字......"他咆哮着，最后抬起眼睛怒气冲冲地瞪着我。"女神。魔法。如果连我的女儿都救不了，还有什么意义呢?"他问道，激动地叫了起来。"你应该是她的朋友！她的爱！这才是你应该做的！你把她丢下了!"他隔着床对我吼叫。"你让我的孩子等死!"
“Shhhh, Daddy,” the bandaged form croaked, talking as if she was speaking
"嘘，爸爸,"裹着绷带的人低声说，仿佛她在说话
from a million miles away. “No. I told you. You promised.”
从一百万英里之外。"没有。我告诉过你。你答应过的。"
“I’m not blowing her sky-damned head off!” Sky Striker bellowed at me. “Skies above, how I want to right now! Left my guns outside, just to make sure,” he hissed as he glared at me in malice. “‘Security saves ponies.’ Look! Look at what you’ve done to her!” he shouted, sweeping his arms wide. “You did this to her!” he shouted, tears spilling down his plum cheeks.
"我不会把她那该死的脑袋轰掉的!"天空前锋对我吼道。"天空在上，我多么想现在！为了确保万无一失，我把枪放在外面了。"他满怀恶意地怒视着我，嘶嘶地说。"保安拯救小马"看！看看你都对她做了什么!"他大声喊道，挥动着双臂。"是你这样对她的!"他喊道，泪水顺着他那发霉的脸颊流了下来。
I only felt numb inside. I couldn’t answer. Not when he was right. “I’m sorry,” I muttered, saying what I always said when I had nothing to say. “The Legate–”
我只是觉得内心麻木。我无法回答。如果他是对的就不会。"对不起,"我喃喃自语，说着我无话可说时常说的话。"使节——"
“Oh, sure. He might have fired the missile, but who was it that had her there to begin with? You! She was almost rid of you. She should have been rid of you! Everywhere you go, you ruin and destroy lives. You’re a walking epicenter of death and carnage! How many ponies are you going to kill in the process of trying to save us all?” he barked at me.
"哦，当然。他可能已经发射了导弹，但是是谁把她带到那里的呢？你！她几乎要摆脱你了。她应该摆脱你的！无论你走到哪里，你都在毁灭和摧毁生命。你是一个活生生的死亡和屠杀中心！在试图拯救我们所有人的过程中，你打算杀死多少匹小马?"他冲我叫。
Something broke inside me, exploding out in a fiery wall of rage and angst. “Enough, peasant!” I screamed back, and with all my telekinetic force, I slammed him against the wall. “How dare you speak to me like that! I have done and endured more than you could possibly imagine!” I roared at him.
我内心的某些东西爆发了，在愤怒和焦虑的火墙中爆发出来。"够了，乡巴佬!"我尖叫着回应，用我所有的隔空移物的力量，我把他撞到墙上。"你怎么敢这样对我说话！我所做的和忍受的，比你能想象的还要多!"我对他吼叫。
The door slammed open, and Dusk and Moonshadow rushed in, seeing me pinning their father to the wall. “Drop him,” Dusk said, her whole body tensed. “Now!”
门砰地一声打开了，黄昏和月影冲了进来，看见我把他们的父亲压在墙上。"放开他,"黄昏说，她全身紧张起来。"现在!"
What was I doing? Had I really just called him a peasant? Really? I let him drop and backed away into the corner of the hospital room. Sky Striker landed, trembling, glaring at me. “Meeting you was the worst possible thing that happened to our family,” he muttered before limping over to Dusk, his head bowed, tears forcing themselves down his cheeks as he grimaced and struggled to stay strong. The hollow-eyed mare and Moonshadow escorted him out.
我在做什么？我刚才真的叫他农民了吗？真的吗？我让他倒在地上，后退到病房的角落里。天空前锋着陆了，颤抖着，怒视着我。"遇见你是我们家发生的最糟糕的事情,"他喃喃自语，然后一瘸一拐地走向黄昏。他低着头，泪水顺着脸颊流了下来，他做鬼脸，努力保持坚强。那只眼睛凹陷的母马和月影陪他出去了。
Then we were alone, the room quiet save for the beeping and the labored breathing. “Shh… is okay,” Glory muttered. No. No it wasn’t. This was not okay. Whatever word was the exact opposite of okay… was this.
然后就只剩下我们两个了，房间里除了哔哔声和吃力的呼吸声，一切都很安静。"嘘......没关系,"晨辉喃喃自语。没有。不，不是的。这可不好。不管怎么说都是好的反义词...就是这个。
For fifteen beeps, all I could do was sniff. After thirty, I reached out a hoof and touched her leg, withdrawing it when she groaned. Fifteen more, and I touched her bandaged cheek. No groan.
十五声哔哔，我能做的就是闻一闻。三十之后，我伸出一只蹄子碰了碰她的腿，当她呻吟时，我收回蹄子。再来十五次，我摸了摸她包扎好的脸颊。没有呻吟。
The door opened, and in walked Triage. “Today makes me pine for my fucking residency,” she said sourly as she closed the door. On her back she carried a tray of syringes loaded with a strange white fluid. “Alright. Time to violate my oath,” she said as she carefully took one of the hypodermics in her hooves. She paused and smirked at me. “Did you really just call somepony a peasant?”
门开了，分诊员走了进来。"今天让我他妈的渴望住院医生,"她关上门，酸溜溜地说。她背上背着一盘注射器，里面装满了奇怪的白色液体。"好吧。是时候违背我的誓言了,"她一边说，一边小心翼翼地给蹄子上的皮下注射。她停顿了一下，朝我傻笑。"你刚才真的把一匹小马叫做农民?"
“It just... slipped out...” I said lamely, disarmed by the awkwardness as she prepared the needle. “Wait! What are you doing?” I demanded, and she paused and glared at me flatly. “Is that going to help?”
"只是......脱口而出......"我一瘸一拐地说，在她准备针的时候，我被她的笨拙解除了武装。"等等！你在干什么?"我问道，她停顿了一下，直勾勾地瞪着我。"这会有帮助吗?"
“It’s going to help her talk more coherently, as per her request,” she squeezed out the air of the needle with her lips and then carefully stuck it into the IV intake. “It’s... a zebra... concoction… we’ve been using... with her...” she said around the handle as she manipulated it with her mouth to inject it into the fluid-filled hose. “It’s supposed to stimulate her. Fucking voodoo medicine, but at this point they’re saving more lives than I am.”
"按照她的要求，这将有助于她说话更加连贯,"她用嘴唇挤出针头的空气，然后小心翼翼地将针头插入静脉注射器。"这是......一种......斑马的混合物......我们一直在......和她一起用......"她边说边用嘴操纵着把手，把它注入充满液体的软管。"这应该能刺激她。该死的巫毒医学，但在这一点上，他们拯救了比我更多的生命。"
“Why haven’t you helped her?” I asked as she returned the syringe to the tray.
"你为什么不帮帮她?"她把注射器放回托盘时，我问道。
The expression she wore matched Sky Striker’s, and then she smiled as she narrowed her eyes for a fight. Just then, though, the door banged open. “Triage!” shouted the unicorn stallion who’d escorted me up here. “Come quick! I think she’s going to kill her!”
她脸上的表情和天空冲锋队的一模一样，然后她微笑着眯起眼睛准备战斗。就在这时，门砰地一声打开了。"分诊!"护送我来到这里的独角兽种马大声喊道。"快来！我想她会杀了她的!"
Triage’s eyebrow twitched. “Fill in some of those pronouns so I can know if I should care. I’m dealing with Blackjack at the moment.”
分诊医生的眉毛抽动了一下。"填上一些代词，这样我就知道我是否应该在意。我现在正在和Blackjack打交道。"
“The general and Velvet Remedy,” he answered as I gaped from one to the other.
"普通药和天鹅绒药,"当我从一个地方吃惊地看到另一个地方时，他回答说。
“Well, that’s more interesting than some possible combinations,” Triage answered passing the tray to him. “I’ll be right back, Blackjack. That stuff takes two or three minutes to work,” she said as she trotted out.
"嗯，这比一些可能的组合要有趣得多,"分诊医生把托盘递给他回答。"我马上回来，黑杰克。这些东西需要两三分钟才能起作用,"她一边说一边小跑出去。
“But wait!” I shouted after her, but they were already out the door. “You have to... you have to help her...”
"等等!"我在她后面喊，但他们已经出门了。"你必须...你必须帮助她..."
Again we were left alone. Then Glory started to moan, and I hovered over her in alarm. “It’s okay,” she murmured before I could teleport away and force Triage back at gunpoint. “It just... really hurts... right now,” she continued, her voice growing more coherent. “Go ahead and say it,” she said, and was it just me, or
我们又一次被孤立了。然后晨辉开始呻吟，我惊恐地在她身上盘旋。"没关系,"她喃喃地说，我还没来得及用枪指着她，把她传送走，强迫她回来。"现在......真的很痛......"她接着说，她的声音变得更加连贯。"说吧,"她说，是只有我，还是
did the bandaged corner of her lip curl?
她嘴角的绷带卷起来了吗？
I bit my lip, choked, and finally whispered, “I failed.”
我咬着嘴唇，哽咽着，最后低声说:"我失败了。"
That was it. That was the truth of it. And she was going to die. Everypony one.
就是这样。这就是事实。她就要死了。每匹马都有一匹。
No reply. Then a sigh, “Oh Blackjack,” she murmured after a moment. “No, you didn’t.”
没有回复。过了一会儿，她喃喃地说:"哦，黑杰克。"。"不，你没有。"
“Yes, I did!” I said, tears burning in my eyes as I struggled to speak. “I failed to stop Cognitum when it counted! I failed to save P-21 so he could be a father! I failed to kill Rampage like she wanted. Failed to save Lacunae from going away. I failed to save so many ponies! So many ponies are dead because I didn’t stop the damned launch. Because I didn’t do more or be smarter. I failed to make anything better! I haven’t helped anypony! I can’t save anypony!” I gushed. “I can’t save you! I have an alicorn soul inside me, and I still can’t think of some way to just… just… make all this not be happening!”
"是的，我做到了!"我说，泪水在我的眼睛里燃烧，因为我努力说话。"我没有在关键时刻阻止科涅塔姆！我没能拯救P-21让他成为父亲！我没能如她所愿杀死狂暴。未能挽救缺陷的消失。我救不了那么多小马！那么多小马死了，就因为我没有阻止那该死的发射。因为我没有做更多或更聪明。我什么也做不好！我没有帮助任何小马！我救不了任何小马!"我滔滔不绝地说。"我救不了你！我内心深处有一个角斗士的灵魂，我仍然想不出什么办法......只是......让这一切不再发生!"
“Hush,” she said, and so I did. “I’m the only one allowed to hurt you, remember? So stop beating yourself up, Blackjack.” She took a few deep breaths as the machine beeped on. “I’m sorry P-21 died. I’m sorry you had to leave Rampage behind. I wish I could do more to help than just lie here, dying.” She struggled to keep speaking, and I remained silent as she continued, her sentences broken and strained with pain. “I wanted to help like you did. Doing those things to help others. But helping hurts, especially if the help is needed. It hurts to need help, knowing that without it, you aren’t going to make it. Everything hurts. But that’s life.”
"嘘,"她说，我照做了。"我是唯一可以伤害你的人，记得吗？所以不要再自责了，Blackjack。"机器嗡嗡地响着，她深吸了几口气。"我很遗憾P-21死了。我很抱歉你不得不离开狂暴。我希望我能帮上更多的忙，而不仅仅是躺在这里等死。"她挣扎着要继续说下去，我保持沉默，她的话断断续续，疼痛难忍。"我想像你一样帮忙。做这些事情去帮助别人。但是帮助是痛苦的，尤其是在需要帮助的时候。需要帮助是痛苦的，因为你知道没有帮助，你就不会成功。一切都很痛苦。但这就是生活。"
“Life should be more than just suffering,” I hissed, bitterly, and she gasped and shuddered. “What’s going on!” I asked in alarm, and the beeping rapidly increased as she writhed a little, red patches blooming on her bandages. “I’ll get Triage!”
"生活应该不仅仅是痛苦,"我嘶嘶地说，她倒抽了一口气，打了个寒颤。"怎么回事!"我惊恐地问道，当她在绷带上翻腾出一小块红色的斑块时，哔哔声迅速增强。"我去分诊!"
“No!” Glory said loudly, making me freeze. “Don’t... bother... her... nothing... she... can... do...” Each word was a gasp of pain. Eventually, she relaxed, and the beeping receded. “The potion is countering the painkillers,” she muttered hoarsely. “But its worth it... to talk... to help...”
"不!"晨辉大声说道，让我冻僵了。"不要......打扰......她......什么都不能......她......能......做......"每一句话都是一种喘息的痛苦。最终，她放松了下来，哔哔声也消失了。"药水对止痛药起作用了,"她嘶哑地咕哝着。"但这是值得的......去交谈......去帮助......"
“Sorry,” I replied in utter futility.
"对不起,"我回答说，完全是徒劳。
“It’s okay… I’m glad to talk with you, one more time.” She lay there, breathing for a moment. “Life’s not just suffering. There’s joy, too,” she whispered. “I was happier than I’d ever been, travelling with you. You made me happier. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have died under that floor, alone and too terrified to dare escape. But with you, I made a difference. And that is what you do, Blackjack. You matter. You make other ponies matter. There’s nothing more precious than to matter to another person.”
"没关系......我很高兴再和你谈一次。"她躺在那里，呼吸了片刻。"生活不仅仅是痛苦。还有快乐,"她低声说。"和你一起旅行，我比以往任何时候都快乐。你让我更快乐了。如果不是因为你，我可能已经死在那层地板下了，孤零零的，吓得不敢逃跑。但是和你在一起，我改变了一切。这就是你要做的，Blackjack。你很重要。你让其他小马变得重要。对另一个人来说，没有什么比物质更珍贵了。"
“You shouldn’t be like this,” I stammered. “They should have healed you! They should have done something.”
"你不应该这样,"我结结巴巴地说。"他们应该治好你的！他们应该做点什么。"
“They did,” Triage said behind me, my hackles rising at once. I turned my head, watching her casually enter. “Those two... fuck...” she said as she shook her head, then went on, “Didn’t P.A. tell you we put her in the pod three times?” She closed the door behind her. “That’s two more times than I gave anypony else.”
"是的,"伤员分类法在我身后说，我的怒火立刻升腾起来。我转过头，看着她漫不经心地走进来。"那两个......妈的......"她摇摇头说，然后继续说道,"p.a.没有告诉你我们把她放在分离舱三次吗?"她随手关上了门。"这比我给别人的要多两倍。"
“How am I doing?” Glory whispered.
"我做得怎么样?"晨辉低声说。
“You tell me,” she answered.
"你告诉我,"她回答。
“Pretty lousy. I’m disoriented, with a fever around… I’m guessing… forty?” Glory murmured. “Good thing Blackjack missed the whole vomiting and diarrhea stage, huh?”
"非常糟糕。我失去了方向感，发着高烧......我猜......四十?"晨辉喃喃地说。"还好Blackjack错过了呕吐和腹泻阶段，是吧?"
“Yeah. And the whole necrosis of the epidermis. Abrading the burns. She’d have been just like your old man, screaming about saving you. Like, duh, what do they think we’re doing?” Triage said as she tapped the bottles. “How’s the moon dust?”
"是的。整个表皮坏死。擦伤了烧伤。她会像你老爸一样，大喊着要救你。比如，他们以为我们在做什么?"她轻轻地敲着瓶子说。"月尘怎么样了?"
“Surprisingly addictive. I think I’m hooked,” Glory said, her lip curling. “Oh dear. You should add ‘possible drug addiction’ to my file.”
"令人惊讶的上瘾。"我想我上钩了,"晨辉说，她的嘴唇卷起来。"哦，亲爱的。你应该在我的档案里加上'可能吸毒'。"
“I’ll put it under the severe damage to your peripheral nervous system, your ataxia, and your seizures,” Triage replied, not reaching for the chart. Then she slumped down in the seat Sky Striker had vacated.
"我会严重损害你的周围神经系统，你的共济失调，你的癫痫发作,"分诊医生回答，没有伸手去拿图表。然后她在空出来的座位上瘫倒下来。
“There must be something you can do,” I muttered, horrified at their levity.
"你一定能做些什么,"我喃喃自语，对他们的轻率感到震惊。
Triage glared at me sourly. “Oh, yippee. Let’s have this argument yet again, shall we? No. There isn’t anything I can do that I haven’t done already. I was able to
分诊医生酸溜溜地瞪着我。"哦，太好了。让我们再次讨论这个问题，好吗？没有。我已经做了所有我能做的事情。我做到了
stabilize her, but she’d soaked up about triple the lethal dose of radiation by the time she got here. All the RadAway we pumped into her didn’t do anything for the damage the radiation had already caused.”
让她稳定下来，但她到这里的时候，已经吸收了三倍的致命辐射。我们给她注射的所有雷达导弹对辐射已经造成的损害没有任何作用。"
“A stasis pod…” I muttered, thinking about Sky Striker.
"一个停滞舱......"我喃喃自语，心里想着天空攻击者。
“The ones in the Fluttershy Medical Center are gone. The one left in the megastable was converted into a torture device.” She leaned back and sighed. “If the Twilight Society could help, they’re not saying, and besides, soon as the Enervation came back, all the alicorns screamed and bolted, save one. So there’s no way to do a long distance teleport, even if there were someplace that could help.” She slumped in the chair. “And if you’re counting on ghoulification, sorry. We don’t know why some ponies become ghouls and others don’t. And if you think I’m going to try and induce ghoulification, you can go fuck yourself.”
"Fluttershy医疗中心的那些都不见了。留在超级马厩里的那个被改造成了一个酷刑装置。"她向后靠了靠，叹了口气。"如果暮光协会可以帮忙的话，他们不会说的，而且，一旦"无力支配"回来，所有的海龟们都尖叫着逃跑了，除了一只。所以没有办法进行远距离传送，即使有地方可以提供帮助。"她瘫坐在椅子上。"如果你指望食尸鬼的话，对不起。我们不知道为什么有些小马会变成食尸鬼而有些不会。如果你认为我会试图诱导他们食尸鬼化，那你就去死吧。"
“A healing talisman,” I suggested.
"一个治愈的护身符,"我建议道。
“Done! Took one out of a Brood and put it in after Glory’s first jaunt through the pod,” Triage said brightly. “Problem is that a healing talisman restores a pony to a set ‘Healthy’ medical state, otherwise it’d run constantly, ‘healing’ healthy tissue and probably causing cancer. And I don’t have that state recorded for Glory. The talisman kept her from kicking off, but it can only heal so much, and she’s under huge strain as it is. Her immune system is gone. If we weren’t giving her moonstone for pain management before the Enervation hit, she would have died soon as it came back.” The doctor waved a hoof absently. “Her body’s too extensively damaged for cybernetics even if we had the time and materials, which we don’t; we’d have to stick her brain in a robot at least and likely have to transfer her mind into a computer completely. I won’t do that again,” she stated firmly, glaring into my eyes with the message it wasn’t open for debate. Then she went on, “And as for a blank Glory, like Morningstar wanted, that would require us cloning her limb by limb with that golden twig, sewing it all together, moving her mind or brain, and then having some necropony move her soul around. And apparently Snips was the one who did the cutting, by the way.”
"成交！在晨辉第一次穿过分离舱后，从一个小窝里拿出一个放进去。"问题是，一个具有治疗作用的护身符可以使小马恢复到一个'健康'的医疗状态，否则它会不断地'治愈'健康的组织，并可能导致癌症。"。我没有为荣誉录制这个状态。这个护身符阻止了她的发作，但是它只能治愈这么多，而且她现在承受着巨大的压力。她的免疫系统消失了。如果不是在"能量疗法"之前给她用月光石止痛，她很快就会死掉。"医生心不在焉地挥了挥蹄子。"即使我们有足够的时间和材料，她的身体也受到了严重的损伤，无法进行控制论;我们至少得把她的大脑植入机器人体内，而且可能还得把她的大脑完全植入电脑。我不会再那样做了,"她坚定地说道，眼睛紧盯着我的眼睛，传递着这件事没有商量余地的信息。然后她继续说,"至于一个空白的晨辉，就像晨星所希望的那样，需要我们用那根金枝一根一根地克隆她的肢体，把它们缝合在一起，移动她的思想或大脑，然后让某个死尸来移动她的灵魂。顺便说一句，很明显是小鬼头剪的。"
“So why didn’t you try?” I asked, angrily.
"那你为什么不试试呢?"我愤怒地问道。
“Because I’ve got five hundred other patients to juggle around one healing machine that’s way past its warranty. That’s why,” Triage said, roused by her anger and jabbing her hoof at me. “And if you don’t fucking like it, tough! It’s
"因为我还有500多个病人要处理一台超过保修期的治疗机。这就是为什么,"伤检分类医生说，她被愤怒惊醒，用蹄子戳了我一下。"如果你他妈的不喜欢，那就难办！是的
my job, and I’ve already wasted tons of resources just keeping her alive this long! So go ahead and say I’m killing her or letting her die or whatever else you need to say. People die, and I’m just an ER doc way over her damned head here!” For the first time, the mask slipped, and there were tears in her eyes as well. She had to be just as frustrated as I was. How many others had demanded this of her? ‘Save my loved one, please!’
我的工作，我已经浪费了大量的资源，仅仅是为了让她活这么久！所以继续说，我要杀了她或者让她死，或者其他你想说的话。有人死了，而我只是个急诊医生，比她那该死的脑袋还要高!"第一次，面具滑了下来，她的眼里也含着泪水。她肯定和我一样沮丧。还有多少人要求她这样做？"请救救我的爱人!"
I wanted to be bitter and selfish, but I knew exactly what she felt. “...I’m sorry, Triage,” I said at last, hollowly. “Thank you for your help.” I didn’t mean a word, but it was the thing to say at times like this.
我想变得痛苦和自私，但我完全知道她的感受。"......对不起，分诊医生,"我终于说道，声音低沉。"谢谢你的帮助。"我没有别的意思，但是在这样的时刻，这就是我要说的话。
“No problem,” she answered tiredly, perfunctorily. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t doing anything… dangerous. Also, when you have a chance, come to the third floor nurse’s station. I think the general and Velvet Remedy are going to kill each other over that damned control box. Just so you know,” Triage said with a half smile before checking the IVs. “I wish I had some antibiotics and whole blood, but I guess it wouldn’t buy much more time.”
"没问题,"她回答得很疲倦，敷衍了事。"我只是想确定你没有做什么......危险的事情。还有，如果你有机会，到三楼的护士站来。我想通用公司和天鹅绒补救公司会为了那个该死的控制箱互相残杀。只是让你知道一下,"在检查静脉注射器之前，分诊医生微笑着说。"我希望我有一些抗生素和全血，但我想这不会为我争取更多的时间。"
“How long?” Glory murmured.
"多长时间?"晨辉喃喃地说。
She checked the beeping machine. “You’ve got bradycardia. Blood pressure’s down. Blood oxygen level’s down. Yeah. Not long.” Glory suddenly started jerking and trembling in the bed, and I reached out to hold her as she shuddered in my embrace. “Yeah, that’s not going to help either.” Triage just shook her head. “I think that’s number nineteen or twenty. Damned nursing staff. Really should keep a better record,” she muttered as she rose to her hooves. I resisted the urge to shoot at her as the seizure passed through Glory.
她检查了哔哔机。"你患有心动过缓。血压下降了。血氧含量下降。是的。不会太久。"晨辉突然开始在床上抽搐和颤抖，我伸出手去抱着她，她在我的怀抱里颤抖。"是啊，这也没什么用。"分诊医生只是摇了摇头。"我认为这是第十九或第二十条。该死的护理人员。真的应该保持一个更好的记录,"她一边站起来，一边喃喃自语。当癫痫发作通过Glory时，我抑制住了向她开枪的冲动。
The attack passed in a few seconds. “I need to get going,” Triage said. “My horn might be scorched, but I can still sew a suture.” She turned to Glory. “What do you want me to tell your family?” Glory didn’t answer. She just gasped and trembled in my arms. “Fair enough,” Triage muttered, then stepped out, closing the door behind herself.
攻击在几秒钟内就过去了。"我得走了,"分诊医生说。"我的角可能烧焦了，但我还能缝合。"她转向了晨辉。"你想让我怎么跟你家人说?"晨辉没有回答。她只是在我怀里倒抽一口冷气，浑身发抖。"很公平,"特里亚奇喃喃自语，然后走出来，关上了身后的门。
I held Glory tighter. She cried out in pain, and I immediately pulled away. “No,” she whimpered. “Please, don’t let me go.” I held her, a little more gingerly, afraid of hurting her, but then, I’d always hurt her. Least I could do was give her what she wanted. After a little bit, she stilled, making shallow breaths. “Could you… could you do one of those mindscapes… like you shared with Tom?”
我把晨辉抱得更紧了。她痛得大叫起来，我立刻把她拉开。"不,"她呜咽着说。"求你了，别让我走。"我小心翼翼地抱着她，害怕伤害她，但是，我总是伤害她。至少我能给她她想要的。过了一会儿，她停了下来，做着浅浅的呼吸。"你能不能......你能不能做一个这样的脑景......就像你和汤姆分享的那样?"
How could she know about that? “Maybe,” I said, then touched my horn to her brow. A mind was like a series of pools. All I needed was a pool that connected me to her, and…
她怎么知道的？"也许吧,"我说，然后用我的号角碰了碰她的额头。头脑就像一连串的池塘。我所需要的只是一个连接我和她的游泳池。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
“Oh, now this is better,” Glory said as she sat on a cloud next to me. Just me. No wings. No armor. No alicorn soul. Just me. We looked out at the sun as it lay frozen on the horizon. I sat beside her, legs curled around her waist as I pressed my face to her neck and wept. “Shhh…” she said softly as she rubbed my mane with a beautiful gray wing. “It’s okay.”
"哦，现在好多了,"晨辉坐在我旁边的云端说。只有我。没有翅膀。没有盔甲。没有独角兽的灵魂。只有我。我们望着冰冻在地平线上的太阳。我坐在她身边，双腿蜷缩在她的腰间，我把脸贴在她的脖子上，哭了起来。"嘘......"她用一只漂亮的灰色翅膀抚摸着我的鬃毛，轻声说道。"没关系。"
“It’s not okay! Stop saying that!” I snapped at her, then immediately regretted it.
"这不好！别再说了!"我厉声斥责她，然后立刻后悔了。
“It’s okay to be upset, Blackjack. I’ve been where you are, and I know what you’re feeling. I was lucky enough to be able to bring you back, even if I lost you a little along the way. I know how much it hurts.” She squeezed me tightly about the middle.
"生气是正常的，Blackjack。我也经历过你的处境我知道你的感受。我很幸运能把你带回来，即使我在路上失去了你。我知道这有多痛苦。"她把我紧紧地挤在中间。
“It doesn’t matter. I failed. I failed to stop Horizons from going off. And while I have one way that might save everypony, I’m not sure it will work! I feel like I’m turning into Cognitum, or Luna, or somepony who isn’t me!” I said, then swallowed. “And you’re going to die, and–”
"没关系。我失败了。我没能阻止视野号离开。虽然我有一个方法可以拯救每一匹小马，但我不确定它是否有效！我觉得自己好像变成了Cognitum，Luna，或者一匹不是我的小马!"我说，然后咽了口唾沫。"你就要死了，而且..."
She touched a hoof to my lips. “Shhh. Don’t worry about that. I have something to tell you.” She closed her eyes. “I’ve been thinking about how you can beat the Eater.”
她把蹄子碰到我的嘴唇上。"嘘。别担心。我有事要告诉你。"她闭上了眼睛。"我一直在想你怎样才能打败食者。"
I stared at her. How could she know? “You were there when we were with Tom, weren’t you?” I asked quietly.
我盯着她。她怎么会知道？"我们和汤姆在一起的时候你也在场，是吗?"我平静地问道。
“Moonstone does have wonderful pain management properties. It also seems to have quite a few side effects. Ever since I was put on it, I could see you on the moon and on your way back.” She paused and then frowned at me. “By the way, Scotch Tape and Bastard...” And she smacked me upside the head with her wing.
"月长石确实有很好的止痛功能。它似乎也有相当多的副作用。自从我戴上它，我就能在月亮上看见你，也能在你回来的路上看见你。"她停顿了一下，然后对我皱起了眉头。"顺便说一句，透明胶带和淘气包......"她用翅膀拍了拍我的头。
“Ow! What? What’d I do?” I protested, leaning away from her, but in spite of everything I wore a shaky smile.
"噢！什么？我做了什么?"我抗议着，把身子从她身边移开，但是不管怎样，我的笑容还是摇摇晃晃的。
“What did you... ooooh...” She rubbed her brow and then sighed. “Just because
"你做了什么......噢......"她揉了揉眉毛，然后叹了口气。"只是因为
something was okay in 99 doesn’t mean it’s okay out here. A grown stallion and a filly–”
99年有些事还好，不代表这里也好。一匹成年种马和一匹小母马——"
“Not a filly,” I interrupted her, and that seemed to surprise her. “Not anymore. She’s a young mare now, and if that’s what she wanted to do, then so be it.” I relaxed a little too. “Besides, having done it, I don’t think she’s going to try the Blackjack recovery method again soon.”
"不是小母马,"我打断了她的话，这似乎让她很吃惊。"不再是了。她现在是一匹年轻的母马，如果这是她想做的，那就这样吧。"我也放松了一点。"除此之外，我认为她不会很快再尝试黑杰克的恢复方法。"
Glory just sighed and nuzzled my neck. “We only have this moment together, and I’m criticizing you.” She sniffed wetly. “I’m sorry, Blackjack. I wish things could have been different between us. I wish I could have found some way to make it work.” She sniffed again. “I lied about not loving you. I knew you'd be better off with him. Happier… I thought that if I just stepped aside, things would be better.” She sniffed and shook her head. “I messed everything up.”
晨辉只是叹了口气，用鼻子蹭了蹭我的脖子。"我们只有这一刻在一起，我在批评你。"她湿漉漉地吸着鼻子。"对不起，黑杰克。我希望我们之间能有所不同。我希望我能找到一些方法让它运转起来。"她又闻了闻。"我撒谎说我不爱你。我就知道你跟他在一起会更好。更快乐......我以为，如果我退到一边，情况会好一些。"她抽了抽鼻子，摇了摇头。"我把一切都搞砸了。"
“It’s not your fault,” I assured her. “It was me. I’m the one who messed–” She pressed her wing to my lips, gazing up at me, her purple eyes awash with tears.
"这不是你的错,"我向她保证。"是我。我才是那个捣乱的人——"她把翅膀贴在我的嘴唇上，凝视着我，紫色的眼睛里充满了泪水。
“Let others take some of the blame, for once,” she said as she sniffed once more, and she smiled as water ran along her cheeks. “If I’d been more mature... more patient... more understanding...”
"让别人承担一些责任吧，就这一次,"她一边说，一边又闻了闻鼻子。她微笑着，脸颊上流着水。"如果我能更成熟一些......更有耐心......更善解人意......"
“Shhhh,” I said, and kissed her to cut off the babble of self-recrimination. “I love you, Glory. I always will. Let’s not spend this time stuck on the parts that didn’t work.”
"嘘,"我说，然后吻了吻她，停止了自责的喋喋不休。"我爱你，晨辉。我一直都是。我们不要把时间浪费在那些不起作用的部件上。"
She pulled away to gaze into my eyes, and leaned in, giving me the most wonderful sensation I’d experienced my whole life as our lips met. Fire and silk and wonderful joy and bitter regret all clashed in that moment. I’d have kissed her forever, just like that, if I could. And when we broke away, it was simply so we could look in each other’s eyes.
她转过身来凝视着我的眼睛，靠近我，我们的嘴唇相遇给了我一生中最美妙的感觉。火与丝，美好的喜悦与苦涩的悔恨，在那一刻相互撞击。如果可以的话，我愿意永远吻她，就像那样。当我们分开的时候，只是为了能看着对方的眼睛。
If only... and because this was a dream, ‘if only’ rolled out before us like a fog bank. There were P-21 and I, and there were our children. It was kind of hard to tell if they were boys or girls, but one was an earth pony and the other a unicorn. And there was an older Scotch Tape, watching them, teaching them how to make a BB gun with a switchblade spring, and taking them out to shoot at radroaches with Boo. P-21 and I went to see an older, slightly worn Glory and Tenebra, the former in a lab jacket doing something to make the Wasteland better, the latter holding her with a contented expression like I imagined I wore now. Rampage
如果......因为这是一个梦想,'如果'像雾堤一样在我们面前展开。有P-21和我，还有我们的孩子。很难说他们是男孩还是女孩，但一个是地球上的小马，另一个是独角兽。还有一个旧的透明胶带，看着他们，教他们如何用弹簧弹簧制作一把BB枪，然后带他们出去和Boo一起射击流氓。P-21和我去看一个年纪较大、略显破旧的晨辉和特内布拉，前者穿着实验室夹克，正在做一些让荒原变得更好的事情，后者抱着她，脸上带着满足的表情，就像我现在想象的那样。横冲直撞
trotted in with Glory’s sisters riding on her back while Lacunae stood off, watching it all with a wistful smile.
晨辉的姐妹们骑在她的背上小跑着进来，拉库奈站在一旁，带着渴望的微笑看着这一切。
It was good. A good life. No more... no less... than any of us deserved.
很不错。美好的生活。不比我们任何人多...不比我们少..。
But some ponies didn’t get that, and the image faded to lingering mist. Neither one of us spoke as I struggled to burn that now absent image into my mind forever.
但是一些小马没有得到那个，形象消失成挥之不去的雾气。我们俩都没有说话，我挣扎着想把那个现在已经消失的形象永远烧进我的脑海。
“That's…” Glory said with a smile, wiping away the tears with the back of her fetlock. “That was nice... Thank you,” she murmured. Then she sighed, sniffed, and stared at me with more than the image of a family together in her eyes. “But I need to talk to you. I have a way you can beat the Eater.”
"那是......"晨辉笑着说，用手镯的背擦去眼泪。"太好了......谢谢你,"她喃喃地说。然后她叹了口气，嗅了嗅，盯着我，在她的眼里，不仅仅是一家人在一起的样子。"但是我需要和你谈谈。我有个办法可以打败食人者。"
I leaned towards her, meeting her gaze with my own. She had a plan. Of course she did. Glory flushed a little and turned out to the clouds covering the valley. “I had the idea after I saw the vision Tom gave us.” Punching through the cloud layer, the shimmery fields stretched out to catch Tom. The image froze at that moment, Tom hovering in the midst of the pale white magic. “It has to do with the F.A.D.E. shields. The Eater plans to use them to keep Tom at bay long enough to devour him.”
我靠向她，用我自己的目光与她的目光相遇。她有一个计划。当然了。晨辉微微泛红，变成了覆盖山谷的云彩。"看到汤姆给我们的幻象后，我有了这个想法。"穿过云层，闪闪发光的田野伸展开来抓住汤姆。画面在那一刻僵住了，汤姆在苍白的魔法中间徘徊。"这与f.a.d.e防护罩有关。食人者打算用它们来拖住汤姆，直到把他吃掉为止。"
“But if we drop the shields, Horizons finishes as it was designed to. Everypony dies,” I countered with a little frown.
"但是如果我们关闭护盾，地平线号就会按照设计的那样完成。每匹小马都会死,"我皱着眉头反驳道。
“Yes, but what if we only took down half the shields?” Glory asked with a smug smile.
"是的，但如果我们只拆掉一半的防护罩呢?"晨辉带着得意的微笑问道。
“Huh?” I blinked. “And that won’t just... kill half of us?”
"啊?"我眨了眨眼。"这不会......杀死我们一半的人吧?"
The air between her outstretched hooves shimmered, and a glowing white shape coalesced. It was a thick ring with hundreds of pairs of little rib-like branches sprouting from its inner and outer edges, the inner ones curving clockwise, the outer counterclockwise, and both sets curling up and back down to form two coplanar and coaxial toruses, little knobs and bobs scattered here and there on the main structure at, as far as I could tell, random. “This is the Tokomare.”
她伸出的蹄子之间的空气闪闪发光，一个白色的发光的形状结合在一起。它是一个粗大的圆环，里面和外面的边缘上有数百对小的肋状分支，里面的是顺时针弯曲的，外面的是逆时针方向，两者都上下卷曲形成两个共面的和同轴的环面，就我所知，主要结构上到处散布着小的球状突起和球状突起。"这是德国烟草公司。"
“How?” I gaped at it.
"怎么做?"我目瞪口呆地看着它。
“Rover. He’s had the blueprints on the wall of this workroom for two centuries,”
"罗孚。他在这间工作室的墙上挂了两个世纪的蓝图。"
Glory said as she smiled at the white shape. “The rest of it I got from the vision. There’s quite a bit of guesswork too, but I think I have the most important parts. The geometry of the F.A.D.E. shields.” The ring shrunk, and the nest of buildings appeared around it. With this close view, I could see that dozens of diagonal skyscrapers, conjoined at their bases and pointing out, were supporting the web of wire on which the Eater rested. The six largest supports were actually multiple buildings merged together, and their broken tops glowed bright blue. “The shield generators that defended the city were on the roofs of the skyscrapers in the center of the Core, designed to form a hexagonal pyramid to...” She caught my hapless, loving smile and flushed. “Well, in this arrangement, they’ll form the walls of the chute that will guide Tom straight to the Eater.”
晨辉对着那白色的身影微笑着说。"剩下的部分是我从幻觉中得到的。也有相当多的猜测，但我认为我有最重要的部分。F.a.d.e防护罩的几何形状。"戒指缩小了，周围出现了一个建筑物的巢。通过这个近距离的观察，我可以看到几十座斜对角线的摩天大楼，连接在它们的基座上，指向外面，支撑着Eater赖以生存的钢丝网。六个最大的支撑物实际上是多个建筑物合并在一起，它们的破碎的顶部闪耀着明亮的蓝色。"保护城市的防护罩发电机位于核心区中央的摩天大楼的屋顶上，设计用来形成一个六角锥......"她抓住我那倒霉的、充满爱意的微笑，脸红了。"好吧，按照这样的安排，它们会形成一道围墙，引导汤姆直接找到食人者。"
She pointed a wing at the Tokomare’s thick main ring. Six points on it lit up. “These points are the generators that will form the aperture to hold the stone in place while the Eater feeds.” From those six points, smaller, thinner fields radiated out, forming a cup at the base of the chute with a tiny hole in the middle. “You have to disable those six before Tom hits.”
她用一只翅膀指着德国佬厚厚的主环。上面有六个点亮了。"这些点就是发电机，当食者进食的时候，它们会形成一个孔来固定石头。"从这六个点开始，更小、更薄的磁场向外辐射，在滑槽底部形成一个中间有一个小孔的杯子。"你必须在汤姆发动袭击之前让这六个系统失效。"
“What happens if I do?” I asked as I stared at the diagram.
"如果我这么做了，会发生什么?"我盯着图表问道。
A tiny Tom flew down the chute as the cup disappeared. It hit the Tokomare, and a fountain of light gushed back up the chute like a shotgun blast. Glory slumped against me, nuzzling my chest. “The main F.A.D.E. shields should funnel the majority of the energy off into space. Not all. I imagine what’s left of the Core will be quite molten, if it’s not vaporized completely, but the world should be safe.”
杯子不见了，一个小汤姆从斜槽里飞了下来。它击中了托克马雷，一股光柱像霰弹枪一样从降落伞喷射而出。晨辉靠在我身上，用鼻子蹭我的胸膛。"主要的f.a.d.e防护罩将把大部分能量转移到太空中。并非全部。我想，如果核心没有完全蒸发，剩下的部分将会相当熔化，但世界应该是安全的。"
I stared at the image as it disappeared. The sun was now just a sliver above the horizon. “How am I going to get there? There’re anti-dragon beams blasting anything that moves.”
我盯着消失的影像。太阳现在离地平线只有一点点距离。"我怎么才能到那儿呢？有反龙梁爆破任何移动的东西。"
She gave a wan smile. “Underground. Rover’s group and the cyberdogs seem to have bonded quite well. They mapped out a train route through the red tunnels. They were reinforced enough to survive the shifting of the city. He’s getting a railcar ready. You’ll come up underneath, right in the middle of the Eater.” She closed her eyes. “Charity is already trying to convert our moonstone into shells you can use the destroy the starmetal F.A.D.E. housings.”
她脸上露出苍白的微笑。「地下。罗孚集团和网络狗的关系似乎很好。他们绘制了穿过红色隧道的火车路线图。他们得到了足够的加固，经得起城市的变迁。他正在准备一辆有轨车。你会钻到下面，就在食者的正中间。"她闭上了眼睛。"Charity已经开始尝试将我们的月长石转化为外壳，你可以使用摧毁星级金属f.a.d.e外壳。"
“Where did she get enough moonstone for that?”
"她从哪儿弄来那么多月光石?"
“Goldenblood. Some of his agents stole samples from the Hoofington Museum of Natural History. A plot he put in motion before his execution. There should be enough for half a dozen rounds. Plus what you brought with you to help keep you safe from the Enervation,” she said, smiling up at me.
"金色血统。他的一些手下从胡芬顿自然历史博物馆偷走了样本。他在行刑前策划的阴谋。应该够六发子弹了。还有你带来的东西，可以保护你免受"全神贯注"的伤害。"她微笑着对我说。
I took a shaky breath as all the images disappeared. “That moonstone... amazing stuff.”
所有的画面都消失了，我颤抖着吸了一口气。"那个月长石...太神奇了"
“You have a heart of moonstone,” Glory said as she pressed her cheek against my chest. “How are your babies?”
"你有一颗月光石般的心,"晨辉把脸贴在我的胸膛上说。"你的孩子们怎么样了?"
I sniffed and gave a little choking noise, even though this was a dream. “They’re alive. I need to get them out of me. They’re just not safe with me. I shot Folly. They’ve been exposed to Flux.”
我抽了抽鼻子，发出一点呛人的声音，尽管这只是一个梦。"他们还活着。我得把它们弄出来。他们只是和我在一起不安全。我杀了弗利。他们已经接触到了弗拉克斯。"
She nodded. “And a reinforced uterus isn’t going to be ideal for them much longer. Babies need room to grow.” She closed her eyes. “I talked to Triage. She’ll do the surrogacy spell. Grace has agreed to be the surrogate mother.” I stroked her mane as she glanced up at me. “Hopefully, it will make going against the Eater easier.” I honestly had no idea. My rational thinking was rapidly breaking down.
她点点头。"强化的子宫对他们来说不再是理想的选择。婴儿需要成长的空间。"她闭上了眼睛。"我和分诊部谈过了。她会施代孕咒。格蕾丝同意做代孕妈妈。"当她抬头看我时，我抚摸着她的鬃毛。"希望这会让对付Eater变得容易些。"我真的不知道。我的理性思维很快就崩溃了。
Glory seemed to be aware of this too as the sun slipped below the mountains, the clouds taking on rich red and purple hues. Her voice was soft as a feather brush. “You have to take out the internal F.A.D.E. shields before they go up. Once a F.A.D.E. shield is active, it sucks energy from whatever is hitting it and uses it to sustain the magic. They’re greedy power drains, though...”
晨辉似乎也意识到了这一点，太阳从山下滑落，云彩呈现出浓郁的红色和紫色。她的声音柔和得像一把羽毛刷。"你必须在f.a.d.e防护罩升起前摧毁它。一旦一个f.a.d.e防护罩被激活，它就会从击中它的物体中吸取能量并用它来维持魔法。然而，他们贪婪地消耗着能源......"
“Glory...” I murmured.
"晨辉......"我低声说。
“There’s so much to do. So much that has to go right,” she said as she struggled to lift herself, and couldn’t. I stroked her mane, much as I remembered her stroking mine a lifetime ago back on the ocean. “My family... Dusk... Father… Moonshadow... the twins... the Thunderhead survivors... the Core... You...” She lifted her face to mine, tears coursing down her chin.
"要做的事情太多了。她一边说着，一边挣扎着想把自己抬起来，但是做不到。我抚摸着她的鬃毛，就像我记得她上辈子在海上抚摸我的鬃毛一样。"我的家人......黄昏......父亲......月影......双胞胎......雷头族幸存者......核心......你......"她抬起脸来看着我，泪水顺着下巴流了下来。
I kissed her tears away, my own flowing down my cheeks. “Shhh. I’ll take care of it. Then we’ll be together,” I murmured as I held her tight.
我吻去了她的泪水，我的泪水顺着脸颊流下。"嘘。我会处理的。然后我们就在一起了,"我一边紧紧抱着她，一边低声说道。
But she stiffened in my embrace and pulled away. Her eyes shimmered in pain as she brushed my mane out of mine and said in a thick voice. “You have to live.” I swallowed, not trusting my voice as I held her tightly again, making little mewling noises in the back of my throat. “You have to go into this fight wanting to live, Blackjack.”
但是她在我的拥抱中僵硬起来，挣脱开了。她的眼睛因为疼痛而闪闪发光，她把我的鬃毛从我的鬃毛上拂去，然后用厚重的声音说道。"你必须活下去。"我咽了口唾沫，不相信自己的声音，我又紧紧地抱住她，喉咙里发出轻微的呜咽声。"为了活下去，你必须参加这场战斗，Blackjack。"
I struggled to answer, my throat seizing up as I rubbed her mane, my tears dripping on her neck. “I don’t know if I can,” I gasped between snotty sniffs as the light and colors dwindled away. “Life... it just seems so... worthless!” I clutched her as if my life depended upon it. “How can I live when everyone I love has been taken from me? Over and over. Again and again. It’s just too damn much!”
我挣扎着回答，摩挲着她的鬃毛，喉咙哽咽，泪水滴落在她的脖子上。"我不知道我能不能做到,"当光线和颜色逐渐减弱时，我气喘吁吁地抽着鼻子。"生活......实在是太......没有价值了!"我紧紧地抓住她，好像我的生命就靠她了。"当所有我爱的人都离我而去的时候，我怎么能活下去？一遍又一遍。一次又一次。这实在是太过分了!"
“Shhhh,” she said, her cheek against my chest. “It’ll be okay. Life can be hard, and painful, and lonely... but it can also be... wonderful… if given the chance...” she said, her voice becoming more and more indistinct as the light passed away. “Live, Blackjack. Live... and make it better...”
"嘘,"她说，她的脸颊贴着我的胸膛。"没事的。生活可以是艰难的，痛苦的，孤独的......但也可以是......美好的......如果有机会的话......"她说，随着光线的逝去，她的声音变得越来越模糊。"现场直播，黑杰克。活下去......让生活变得更好......"
The last shreds of light vanished from the sky, till nothing remained. Nothing at all.
最后一丝光线从天空中消失了，直到什么也没有留下。什么都没有。
oooOOOooo
噢噢噢
I held her tightly in my embrace, even though she was gone. My magic killed the alarm sounding from the bedside equipment. Still I held her limp, bandaged form. It didn’t quiver in pain. Her pain was over. She was gone. I don’t know how long it was before I could finally release her. I kissed her bandaged brow and whispered softly, “I love you.” Only then could I bear to pull away from her. Glory was... don’t think about it...
我紧紧地把她抱在怀里，即使她已经走了。我的魔法消除了床边设备发出的警报声。我仍然抱着她那软绵绵、裹着绷带的身体。它并没有因为疼痛而颤抖。她的痛苦结束了。她走了。我不知道过了多久我才最终释放了她。我吻了吻她缠着绷带的额头，轻声说道:"我爱你。"只有这样我才能忍受离开她。晨辉是...别想了..。
Don’t think. Don’t feel. Do what you have to do. Dignity. Poise. Be a Princess. Cool. Stand upright. Don’t slouch. Don’t weep. Chin up. Lip stiff. Remember what your sister told you: when all others have lost their self-control, you must retain yours.
不要思考。不要感觉。做你该做的。尊严。泰然自若。做一个公主。酷。站直。不要无精打采。不要哭泣。振作起来。嘴唇僵硬。记住你姐姐告诉你的话:当其他人都失去了自制力时，你必须保持自制力。
I stepped from the room, and the floor felt odd. I could see the lips of Sky Striker moving, but no sound came from them. I saw tears, but felt nothing. He lunged for me, but his elder two daughters held him back as I walked by. Their screams and cries echoed disjointedly, as if they were underwater as I walked down the hall. See? I was in control. Don’t think... don’t feel. Do what you have to do. I
我走出房间，地板感觉怪怪的。我可以看到天空攻击者的嘴唇在动，但是没有声音从他们那里传来。我看到了眼泪，但什么也感觉不到。他向我扑过来，但我走过时，他的两个大女儿把他拉了回来。他们的尖叫声和哭泣声不断回荡，就好像他们在水下一样，我沿着大厅走着。看到了吗？一切都在我的掌控之中。不要想...不要感觉。做你该做的。一
saw Triage staring at me, her brows knitted together as she gazed over the top of her glasses. Her mouth moving. A question. “Are you okay?”
当她凝视着眼镜上方时，她的眉毛紧锁在一起。她的嘴在动。一个问题。"你还好吗?"
Okay? Of course I was okay. Don’t think about the wailing. Don’t think about that bandaged body lying in the bed. How her last act had been to try and help me, how desperate she’d been to have her life be something else. How monstrous I’d been to let that relationship fail when she’d needed me so much. “Of course.” She didn’t believe me. She was a smart pony. Like Glory. P-21. Even Rampage, in her own way. “You said something about a problem between Storm Chaser and Velvet Remedy?”
好吗？我当然没事。不要想着哭泣。不要去想躺在床上的那个缠着绷带的身体。她最后的举动是如何试图帮助我，她是如何绝望地希望自己的生活变成别的样子。在她如此需要我的时候，我却让这段感情破裂，真是太可怕了。"当然。"她不相信我。她是一匹聪明的小马。喜欢晨辉。P-21.甚至狂暴，以她自己的方式。"你说什么《风暴追逐者》和《天鹅绒补救法》之间的问题?"
“Yeah,” Triage muttered, not taking her eyes off me, as if she expected me to attack her again. How silly. I had no spoon. “Just down the hall. Make sure she doesn’t kill Velvet. I’m going to need her for the procedure.”
"是的,"伤员分类小组喃喃自语，眼睛没有离开我，仿佛她期待我再次攻击她。真傻。我没有勺子。"就在走廊尽头。确保她不会杀了维尔维特。我需要她来做手术。"
As we walked down the hall, Scotch Tape came scrambling up the stairs to the third floor, a broad smile on her face. “Hey, Blackjack! Where’s Glory? I wanted to let her know that after surviving this, she’s not boring anymore!” But I didn’t answer. I didn’t even stop. “Blackjack?” she asked in confusion, and then she whimpered, “Oh, no. No no no...” She wept, and I glanced to see her curled up on the floor in the middle of the hall.
当我们沿着大厅走下去的时候，苏格兰胶布爬上楼梯来到三楼，脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。"嘿，黑杰克！晨辉在哪里？我想让她知道，在经历了这一切之后，她不再无聊了!"但我没有回答。我甚至没有停下来。"黑杰克?"她困惑地问道，然后呜咽着说:"哦，不。不不不......"她哭了，我瞥见她蜷缩在大厅中央的地板上。
We walked past ponies who stared and spoke words I could not hear, begged wishes I could not grant. A few doors down was a nurse’s station where Storm Chaser and Velvet were having a shouting match, the former with two uncomfortable pegasi flanking her and the latter with Calamity and Homage at her sides. Velvet was levitating the Legate’s control box, a chunk of moonstone, and the sword as she yelled. A very nervous-looking Brood flyer watched from the sidelines. Homage noticed me first, and like Triage, her expression became strange. As if she couldn’t believe her eyes. A moment later, the other quarrelers noticed me, and as one they grew silent. “Is something amiss?” I asked properly, keeping my head when all others had lost theirs. Sister, you’d be so proud.
我们走过一群小马，它们盯着我，说着我听不见的话，乞求着我无法实现的愿望。几扇门之外是一个护士站，暴风追逐者和天鹅绒在那里大吵大闹，前者有两个不舒服的飞马在她旁边，后者有灾难和敬意在她身边。维尔韦特一边喊着，一边把特使的控制箱、一块月光石和剑漂浮起来。一个看起来非常紧张的布鲁德病飞行员从旁观看。"敬意"最先注意到了我，就像"伤检分类法"一样，她的表情变得奇怪起来。仿佛她不敢相信自己的眼睛。过了一会儿，其他的争吵者注意到了我，一个争吵者沉默了下来。"有什么不对劲吗?"我适当地问道，在别人都失去理智的时候，我仍然保持冷静。姐姐，你会为我骄傲的。
Storm Chaser, her heated voice reined in to hissing frustration, pointed a wing at Velvet. “She won’t turn over the control system for the Brood. We can shut them all down now, once and for all.”
风暴追逐者用她激烈的声音抑制住沮丧的嘶嘶声，用一只翅膀指向维尔韦。"她不会把控制系统交给布鲁德夫妇。我们现在就可以一劳永逸地把它们全部关闭。"
“You mean kill them! I won’t let you murder thousands of people with the push of a button!” Velvet countered, her horn blazing. “I’ll destroy it before I let you
"你是说杀了他们！我不会让你按下一个按钮就杀死成千上万的人!"维尔韦特反驳道，她的角闪闪发光。"在我允许你之前，我会毁掉它的
do that!”
就这么做!"
“They mean to kill us! They’re weapons. They’re the enemy!” Storm Chaser shouted.
"他们想杀了我们！他们是武器。他们是敌人!"风暴追逐者喊道。
“We’ve come across more and more of them that aren’t fighting us anymore! They’re dazed and confused now that this thing isn’t in that monster’s chest!” Velvet said, shaking the box as she pointed the sword at the pegasus mare.
"我们遇到了越来越多不再与我们作战的敌人！现在这东西不在那个怪物的胸膛里，他们已经意乱情迷(1993年电影)了维拉韦一边摇着盒子，一边用剑指着那匹母马。
“I don’t care! If two hundred of them turn out to be the nicest abominations of forbidden technology and messed up magic the Wasteland’s ever seen, that leaves at least two thousand more that are left pushing us on all sides! They’re regrouping to try and finish us all off!”
"我不在乎！如果其中的200个被证明是荒原所见过的最令人憎恶的被禁止的技术和混乱的魔法，那么至少还有2000多个把我们推向四面八方！他们正在重新部署，试图把我们全部干掉!"
“They just need more time! Others will come to if we give them a chance!” Velvet hissed, sweeping the sword. “You just want to kill them, you bloodthirsty monster!” She gestured at the Brood sitting passively beside them. The flyer flinched at the gesture.
"他们只是需要更多的时间！如果我们给他们一个机会，其他人也会来的!"天鹅绒发出嘶嘶声，挥舞着剑。"你只想杀了他们，你这个嗜血的怪物!"她被动地指着坐在他们旁边的魔龙军团。传单上的人对这个动作退缩了。
First things first. I reached out with my magic and gripped the sword. Velvet blinked, her eyes wide as she stared at the blade and then at me. Her magic gave a few little tugs, before she released it. “I’m... sorry. I don’t know why I got so frustrated.” Then her frown returned.
要事第一。我伸出魔法，紧握着剑。维尔维特眨了眨眼睛，眼睛睁得大大的，她盯着刀片，然后又盯着我。在她释放魔法之前，她的魔法给了我们一些启示。"我......很抱歉。我不知道自己为什么会这么沮丧。"然后她又皱起了眉头。
“But that still doesn't mean I'm going to let–” she began at the same time Storm Chaser shouted, “We’re expended! Even with the reinforcements we’ve gotten, we can’t last another hour! We need–”
"但这并不意味着我会放任——"她开始说道，同时,"追风者"喊道,"我们被消灭了!"！即使我们得到了增援，我们也坚持不了一个小时！我们需要——"
I looked at them. That’s all it took... a look that encapsulated all my expectations that they comport themselves like mature mares and not frantic fillies. I took the box and the little knob of moonstone from Velvet, who released them to me with a worried expression on her face. The ‘broadcaster’ that had been screwed to his heart had been opened up. Inside, everything seemed to be built around what appeared to be a simple starmetal cube slightly larger than a lump of sugar. No instruction manual anywhere I could see. “Can we just tell them to stop fighting?” I asked.
我看着他们。这就是它所需要的...一个外观概括了我所有的期望，它们举止像成熟的母马，而不是疯狂的小雌马。我从维尔韦手里接过盒子和小月光石，她把盒子和小月光石放给我，脸上带着忧虑的表情。那个曾经牢牢地钉在他心上的"播音员"已经被打开了。里面的一切看起来都是围绕着一个看起来比一块方糖大一点的简单的星级金属立方体建造的。我看不到任何说明书。"我们能不能告诉他们不要再打架了?"我问道。
“We don’t have that level of control. I don’t even know how that thing works,” Homage said with a frown. “If we had some days to study it we might be able to do something.”
"我们没有那种程度的控制。我甚至不知道那东西是怎么工作的,""敬意"皱着眉头说。"如果我们有几天时间研究它，我们或许能做点什么。"
“We don’t have days!” Storm Chaser countered. “Those beams have driven off the Rampage and Cyclone. They’re taking cover behind the Canterlot mountains. We’re one shield failure from being annihilated and one hour from being overwhelmed.”
"我们没有时间了!"暴风追逐者反驳道。"那些光束已经驱散了狂暴和飓风。他们躲在坎特罗特山后面。我们是防御失败的屏障，不会被摧毁，也不会在一个小时内被击溃。"
I turned the box over in the air in front of me, then regarded the zebra augmented with cybernetic wings. “Why did you stop fighting?”
我把盒子翻过来放在面前的空中，然后看着斑马，它的翅膀被控制了。"你为什么不打了?"
The Brood looked at each person in the nurse’s station before dropping his eyes. “I don’t know,” he said in that rusty, raspy voice. “I just... I didn’t want to. I couldn’t hear it wanting me to kill. I didn’t know what else to do but fight... and then...” The flyer shook his head. “I felt differently. I shouldn’t be killing... and I shouldn’t have these wings.” He appeared pained. “This body is all wrong... but I don’t know why.”
布鲁德夫妇看了看护士站里的每一个人，然后垂下了眼睛。"我不知道,"他用生锈的、沙哑的声音说。"我只是...我不想这么做。我听不到它要我杀人的声音。除了战斗，我不知道还能做什么......然后......"传单上的人摇了摇头。"我的感觉不一样。我不应该杀人......我也不应该有这些翅膀。"他看起来很痛苦。"这个身体完全不对劲......但我不知道为什么。"
I reached out with a hoof and raised his chin, staring into his augmented, red eyes. So very much like my own. “What are you? Don’t think about it. Just answer. What are you?”
我用蹄子抬起他的下巴，盯着他那双增大了的红眼睛。非常像我自己的。"你是什么？别想了。只要回答。你是什么?"
“An earth pony, ma’am,” he answered and then lowered his eyes. “A... a mare, I think. I keep worrying about my children, but I know I don’t have them.” He trembled and closed his eyes. “This body is all wrong. It just... feels wrong...”
"一匹大地上的小马，夫人,"他回答说，然后垂下了眼睛。"答:。.一匹母马，我想。我一直担心我的孩子们，但我知道我没有他们。"他颤抖着闭上了眼睛。"这个身体完全错了。只是......感觉不对劲......"
I could relate, and reconsidered the box. How had the Legate used it? It hadn’t been wired into his head but into the talisman in his chest. The talisman, I assumed, which contained his soul. “What kind of technology is this damned thing?”
我感同身受，重新考虑了一下这个盒子。使节是如何使用它的？它并没有植入他的大脑，而是植入了他胸前的护身符。我猜想，那个护身符包含着他的灵魂。"这该死的东西是什么技术?"
“It’s not really ‘technology’,” a filly quipped. We all froze, and I turned to see Pythia sitting on a crate across the hall from us, consulting her map of the stars as she dangled a crystal above it. She glanced up at us. Scotch Tape sat beside her, forlorn as a kicked puppy. “What? If you’re gonna hold a meeting somewhere, you might at least make it a place with a door.”
"这不是真正的'技术',"一个小姑娘打趣道。我们都愣住了，我转过身来，看见皮提亚坐在我们对面的一个板条箱上，一边看着她的星星地图，一边在上面悬挂着一块水晶。她抬头看了我们一眼。透明胶带坐在她旁边，像一只被踢的小狗一样孤独。"什么？如果你要在什么地方开会，至少也得找个有门的地方。"
I held up the box. “You know how this works?”
我举起盒子。"你知道这是怎么回事吗?"
“You’re surprised?” she asked with a smug little grin as she folded up the map carefully and tucked it into a worn knapsack, then jumped off the crate and trotted over to us. “I thought you might have a clue, given you’re now Luna. Aren’t you supposed to have all kinds of evil star and soul knowledge?” The
"你很惊讶吗?"她自鸣得意地笑着问道，小心翼翼地折起地图，塞进一个破旧的背包里，然后跳下板条箱，小跑着来到我们面前。"我想你可能知道，因为你现在是露娜了。你不是应该有各种各样的邪恶之星和灵魂知识吗?"这个
impudent zebra filly smirked up at me. “Hello? Is there any Blackjack left in there?”
厚颜无耻的斑马小姑娘朝我傻笑。"喂？里面还有黑杰克吗?"
“I’m Blackjack,” I said with a frown... but why did that sound like a lie?
"我是黑杰克,"我皱着眉头说......但是为什么听起来像个谎言呢？
“Right. Keep telling yourself that,” she said as she hopped up and snagged the box from the air. “Mind, body, and soul. Start swapping them around and things get interesting.” She turned the box over in her hooves, then peered at the block of starmetal at its center. “Wow. Can’t believe he found it. Melchior’s Cube.” She tapped her hoof against it as she pressed it to her ear.
"对。继续告诉你自己吧,"她一边说一边跳起来，从空中把盒子抢了过来。"思想，身体和灵魂。开始交换它们，事情就会变得有趣起来。"她用蹄子把盒子翻过来，然后凝视着盒子中央的星状金属块。"哇。真不敢相信他找到了。梅尔基奥的立方体。"她用蹄子轻轻敲打着它，把它贴在耳边。
“The Legate used that thing to give commands to his soldiers?” Storm Chaser asked. “Like a radio or terminal?”
"使者用那个东西给他的士兵下命令?"风暴追逐者问道。"比如无线电或者终端?"
“It doesn't give commands, exactly,” Pythia replied, then regarded the hapless Brood stallion. “I think the ‘kill kill kill’ impulse was the Legate’s soul. I think this extends a soul out into the Brood like a projector. Without a connection to a soul, the Brood have no sense of self.”
"确切地说，它没有发出命令,"皮提亚回答，然后看了看倒霉的布鲁德种马。"我认为'杀人杀人'的冲动是特使的灵魂。我认为这像放映机一样把灵魂延伸到布鲁德病房。没有灵魂的连接，布伦特一家就没有自我意识。"
“Souls?” The general sounded anguished in her incredulity.
"灵魂?"将军的难以置信听起来很痛苦。
“Yes. Souls,” she said as she pried what was apparently ‘Melchior’s Cube’ out and tossed the box aside carelessly. “There’ve got to be lots of loose souls in the Hoof now that the Eater is exposed. When one of those souls meets a blank, it finds an empty receptacle, and the soul starts to warp the mind within.” Why was everypony suddenly looking at me like that? Pythia went on, ignoring me as she studied the little cube. “The Brood were blanks with combat skills and augmentations implanted, but they had no sense of self. No identity. The Legate used this to project his identity across them.”
"是的。灵魂,"她一边说，一边把看起来像是'梅尔基奥尔魔方'的东西撬了出来，随手把盒子扔到一边。"既然食肉者已经暴露了，那么霍夫一定有很多无拘无束的灵魂。当其中一个灵魂遇到一片空白，它就会找到一个空的容器，然后灵魂就开始扭曲其中的思想。"为什么每个小马突然都那样看着我？皮提亚继续说着，一边研究着那个小方块，一边不理我。"那些魔龙军团虽然拥有战斗技能和增强装备，但是他们没有自我意识。没有身份。使节利用这一点向他们展示了自己的身份。"
“So how do we use it to make them stop trying to kill us?” Storm Chaser asked, clearly uncomfortable with this.
"那么，我们如何利用这一点，让他们不再试图杀害我们?"风暴追逐者问道，显然对此感到不舒服。
“You need a person with a soul that will overwhelm the Legate’s personality,” Pythia explained, lifting the cube. “This nasty thing was how my tribe once attempted to rule an empire. Bit us in the ass. Moron didn’t learn from history.” I tilted my head a little as she licked it and scrunched up her face. “Abadsol’s starmetal. I’ve tasted that tang before.”
"你需要一个有着能够压倒莱盖特个性的灵魂的人,"皮提亚一边解释一边举起魔方。"我的部落曾经试图统治一个帝国，就是这件肮脏的事情。咬了我们的屁股。白痴没有从历史中吸取教训。"我微微倾斜着头，她舔着我的头，皱起了脸。"阿巴索尔的星金属。我以前尝过这种味道。"
“What?” I think three ponies asked at once, including me.
"什么?"我想包括我在内，有三匹小马同时问道。
“Not all starmetal is from the Eater. It’s all nasty stuff, though. Not sure if you noticed, but the word ‘Eater’ doesn’t jibe with ‘projection’.” She reached out and waved her hoof at the sword. I hesitantly passed it to her. “Ooooh. Dominan’s starmetal!” She gave a few swings in her hooves, and I noticed she seemed uncannily skilled with it. “I want to start commanding and killing already.” She set it aside and looked up at all of us. “Starmetal comes in different flavors. Some of it simply drives you crazy. Some of it will make you sick. It can slowly suck out your soul. Some of the stuff even whispers if you listen closely enough.”
"不是所有的星铁都来自Eater。尽管这些都是肮脏的东西。不知道你是否注意到了，但是'食者'这个词和'投射'并不一致。"她伸出手，挥动着她的蹄子。我犹豫地把它递给了她。"噢。多明尼的星铁!"她的蹄子轻轻地摆动了几下，我注意到她似乎熟练得出奇。"我已经想开始指挥和杀戮了。"她把它放在一边，抬头看着我们所有人。"星合金有不同的风格。有些只会让你抓狂。其中一些会让你生病。它可以慢慢地吸出你的灵魂。如果你听得够仔细的话，有些东西甚至会低声说出来。"
“How do you know this?” Velvet asked. “No offense, sweetie, but–”
"你怎么知道的?"维尔韦特问道。"无意冒犯亲爱的但是..."
“I’m Starkatteri. Creepy zebra soul and star shit is kinda our whole deal,” she replied. “And if you call me ‘sweetie’ again, I’ll personally get a dead star to piss on your wedding day.” That definitely cut off all inquiry in that direction.
"我是斯塔卡特里。令人毛骨悚然的斑马灵魂和明星屎是我们的全部交易,"她回答。"如果你再叫我'甜心'，我就亲自在你的婚礼上找一颗死星撒尿。"这肯定切断了那个方向的所有询问。
We shared an awkward moment, and then Triage coughed uncomfortably, mercifully breaking the silence that had settled on the room and giving me the opportunity to ask, “So what do we do?”
我们分享了一个尴尬的时刻，然后Triage不舒服地咳嗽了一声，仁慈地打破了房间里的沉默，给了我机会问:"那么我们该怎么办?"
Velvet Remedy frowned. “We could do nothing and see if other Brood come across souls.”
天鹅绒补救皱起了眉头。"我们什么也不能做，看看其他布鲁德家族是否能遇到灵魂。"
“You could, sure,” Pythia said. “Right now I think the Eater is drawing souls from all across the world. This is its moment of rebirth, after all, and those silver rings are probably pumping out more Enervation everywhere. If you listen, you can hear the screams.” I did not think about that. If I thought about that, I would scream and never, ever, be able to stop. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about Glory’s... Don’t!
"你当然可以,"皮提亚说。"现在我认为食人者正在吸引世界各地的灵魂。毕竟，这是它重生的时刻，而那些银戒指可能正在到处释放更多的能量。如果你听，你可以听到尖叫声。"我没有想到这一点。如果我想到这一点，我会尖叫，永远，永远，无法停止。别想了。不要去想晨辉的......不要！
Pythia continued, relentlessly, “Of course, not all souls are equal, nor nice. I’m sure there’re plenty of raider souls out there. But yeah, sure, you could do that,” she finished with a grin. Then she held up the cube and asked, “So the question is... know anyone with any experience having their soul linked up to a couple thousand perfect killing machines without going completely insane?”
皮提亚无情地继续说:"当然，不是所有的灵魂都是平等的，也不是善良的。我肯定外面有很多袭击者的灵魂。但是，是的，当然，你可以这么做,"她咧嘴笑着说。然后她举起立方体问道:"那么问题是......有没有人有过让自己的灵魂与几千个完美的杀人机器相连而不至于完全失去理智的经历?"
We all shared a look.
我们都看了一眼。
* * *
* * *
The next hour passed like a dream. Maybe it was a dream. Perhaps everything was a dream, only if it was, then everything that had happened would be meaningless. The medics had implanted the soul-control in a pony they thought would stop the fighting. It hadn’t worked as well as we’d hoped. Small surprise. I’d had my babies removed and transferred to Grace. As soon as this mess was over, they’d take her to Tenpony to have any lingering Flux nullified. Grace’s only condition was that the whole thing be kept secret and that I yield my regency over the Society when this was all over. I’d agreed, perfunctorily.
接下来的一个小时像做梦一样过去了。也许那只是个梦。也许一切都是梦，只要是梦，那么发生的一切都将毫无意义。医护人员已经把灵魂控制器植入了一匹他们认为可以停止战斗的小马身上。事情并没有像我们希望的那样顺利。小小的惊喜。我把自己的孩子转移到了格蕾丝身边。一旦这场混乱结束，他们会把她带到Tenpony，让任何拖延的弗拉科斯废除。格蕾丝唯一的条件是，整件事必须保密，当这一切结束后，我要在协会中脱离摄政权。我敷衍了事地同意了。
Then I found a window to stare out of. Nopony approached me, as I wished. My input wasn't necessary for the final preparations being made. I could barely move at all. Homage said somepony was coming to help. Every minute or so, the Eater blasted the University with another beam.
然后我找到一扇窗户向外凝视。正如我所希望的，小马驹向我走来。最后的准备工作并不需要我的参与。我几乎动弹不得。他说有人来帮忙了。大约每过一分钟，食者就用另一道光束轰击这所大学。
All I could do was stare at the nest of ruined skyscrapers cradling that sickly green illumination, knowing I had to defeat a monster within before I lost what little was left of me. Or my mind.
我所能做的就是盯着那些破败的摩天大楼的巢穴，它们支撑着病态的绿色照明，我知道我必须在我失去所剩无几的自己之前打败内心的一个怪物。或者是我的思想。
Live, Glory had begged.
活着，晨辉乞求着。
Life was suffering. Misery. Insanity.
生活是痛苦的。痛苦。精神错乱。
How could I want to live after everything I’d endured?
在经历了这一切之后，我怎么还能活下去呢？
“Not easy, is it?” Pythia quipped. Once, I would have jumped at her unexpected voice as she leaned against the deep windowsill facing me. “Having a soul inside you that’s not yours?”
"不容易，是吗?"皮提亚打趣道。有一次，当她倚靠在深深的窗台上，面对着我时，我会为她出人意料的声音感到欣喜若狂。"你体内有一个不属于你的灵魂?"
I slowly glanced at her. “You too?”
我慢慢地瞥了她一眼。"你也是?"
She flushed, then shrugged. “Long story, but yeah. I can relate.” She hopped up, sat down on the windowsill, and leaned back against the wall. “It’s going to kill you, eventually. Not your body. Your identity. You can only have a soul that’s not yours for so long before it just squishes the mind into a new shape. Most people go crazy. I sure did,” she said, gazing out the window as well, her young face darkened by the shadow of an older zebra mare. “I think this place attracts the old souls. Wants to possess them like a dragon’s hoard.” She glanced at me and smirked. “And you having that soul... well... it’s a doozy.”
她脸红了，然后耸了耸肩。"说来话长，不过是的。我能理解。"她跳了起来，坐在窗台上，靠在墙上。"它最终会要了你的命。不是你的身体。你的身份。你只能拥有一个不属于你的灵魂很长时间，然后它就会把你的思想挤压成一个新的形状。大多数人都会发疯。我当然记得,"她说，同时也凝视着窗外，她年轻的脸被一匹年长的斑马母马的影子染黑了。"我认为这个地方吸引着古老的灵魂。想像龙宝藏一样占有它们。"她瞟了我一眼，得意地笑了。"而你拥有那样的灵魂......嗯......这是一件很了不起的事情。"
“You know about alicorn souls?” I asked.
"你知道角果的灵魂吗?"我问道。
“I know about old souls. They spill over, after a while. Start to affect things differently than normal people’s. Look at that sword of yours,” she said as she gestured to the starmetal sword I’d retained. I frowned, then examined it. The blade once adorned with resplendent unicorns now was decorated in stars and moons in a constellation of the night sky. I gaped at it and then drew Vigilance. The gun’s design hadn’t changed, but the names etched in the metal were now done in elegant script, and similar constellations were etched along the barrel. I gaped at the weapon, at her, and then back at the weapon. “Buh... wha… no...” Damn it, Luna! Stop touching my things! “How?”
"我了解古老的灵魂。过了一会儿，它们溢出来了。开始对事物产生不同于正常人的影响。看看你的那把剑,"她指着我保留的那把星铁剑说。我皱了皱眉，然后检查了一下。刀刃上曾经装饰着灿烂的独角兽，现在装饰着夜空中的星星和月亮。我目瞪口呆，然后提请警惕。枪的设计没有改变，但是金属上蚀刻的名字现在是用优雅的字体写的，枪管上蚀刻着类似的星座。我目瞪口呆地看着武器，看着她，然后又看着武器。"不......不......"该死，露娜！别碰我的东西！"怎么做?"
“Your soul spills over beyond your body, changing it.” She tapped my chest. “In here, you probably have all the same junk you had before. All the components and gadgets and whatever. The soul alters their... being. Set them apart from you for a while, and they’d probably change back.”
"你的灵魂超越了你的身体，改变了它。"她轻轻地拍了拍我的胸口。"在这里，你可能拥有和以前一样的垃圾。所有的组件和小工具等等。灵魂改变了他们的...存在。把它们和你分开一段时间，它们可能就会变回来。"
I swallowed hard. “Can you give me back my soul?” I whispered.
我艰难地咽了口唾沫。"你能把灵魂还给我吗?"我低声说。
She frowned and leaned towards me, crossing her hindlegs and resting her chin on her hoof. “Would you take it back if I could? Even if it meant you’d lose?”
她皱起眉头，向我靠过来，叉起两条后腿，把下巴搁在蹄子上。"如果我可以的话，你会收回吗？即使这意味着你会输?"
I shuddered, looked away toward that horrible nest, and couldn’t answer.
我战栗了一下，转过头去看那个可怕的巢穴，无法回答。
After a minute, Pythia shrugged. “For the best. I’m not a necromancer, and it always takes at least two to do what you want. One to sever, the other to anchor. Three is safer.” She sighed and pulled back. “Necromancer’s a lame gig to begin with. They used to usher souls to the Summerlands, long ago. What I think you’d call the ‘everafter’. Then some zebra decided to get creative with them. Damned idiots,” she muttered, and shook her head. “No one wants to die.” Then she glanced at me and gave a thin, mirthless smile. “Well, almost no one.”
过了一分钟，皮提亚耸了耸肩。"为了大家好。我不是亡灵法师，而且至少要两个人才能做你想做的事。一个用来切断，另一个用来抛锚。三个更安全。"她叹了口气，往后退了退。"死灵法师一开始就是个蹩脚的角色。很久以前，它们曾引导灵魂来到Summerlands。我认为你会称之为"永远"。然后一些斑马决定创造性地对待它们。"该死的白痴,"她咕哝着，摇了摇头。"没有人想死。"然后她瞥了我一眼，给了我一个淡淡的、不快乐的微笑。"嗯，几乎没有人。"
“I don’t want to die,” I said, with all the zeal and conviction of a corpse.
"我不想死,"我说，带着尸体一样的热情和信念。
“Right,” she said as she rolled forward and landed neatly on her hooves on the floor. “Well, sometimes we don’t get what we want. Or what we deserve. If we’re lucky, we get what we need, and then we do the rest ourselves.”
"是的,"她一边说，一边向前翻滚着，整齐地落在地板上。"嗯，有时候我们得不到我们想要的。或者我们应该得到什么。如果我们幸运的话，我们得到了我们需要的，然后我们自己做剩下的事情。"
I watched her go, gave that horrible nest one last, lingering look, and then walked the other way.
我看着她离开，最后看了她一眼那个可怕的巢穴，然后转身走了。
There were the sounds of fighting. Horrible sounds. That soul was taking far too
有打斗的声音。可怕的声音。那个灵魂也走得太远了
long to assert itself on the Brood. Then again, maybe it had been a flawed pony to begin with. Maybe her pacifism made her too timid to draw the Brood away from the fighting. Maybe the evil of the Legate was simply too dark a stain to be overcome. Maybe we’d all been completely wrong, and everything we were doing was utterly futile and pointless. Maybe the reason just didn’t matter anymore.
在布鲁德夫妇面前表明自己的立场。话又说回来，也许它本来就是一匹有缺陷的小马驹。也许她的和平主义使她太胆小，不敢把布鲁德夫妇从战斗中引开。也许特使的邪恶只是因为太过黑暗而无法克服。也许我们都完全错了，我们所做的一切都是徒劳和毫无意义的。也许原因已经不重要了。
The barricade had given way, and ponies were trying to find any cover available as Brood now pressed in from two breaches below and the roof above. The Eater now pelted the shield every few seconds in a display that made my head ache.
街垒已经垮了，布鲁德从下面的两个缺口和上面的屋顶挤进去时，小马们正在想办法找掩护。现在，食人者每隔几秒钟就向盾牌投掷一次，我的头都痛了。
“No,” I said, and a field of moonlight fell like the northern lights between the Brood and the exhausted Wastelanders. I walked forward, Vigilance on my left, Duty and Sacrifice on my right. I advanced, and ponies to either side of me stared in awe as I went to work. I registered other fighters. Psalm, not using a weapon but simply her shield, protected a small knot of ponies, hoof pressed to her bandaged chest and face twisted in anguish. Dazzle sprayed beams of light that seemed golden against the pall of the Core. Tenebra stared at me for a moment with tears in her eyes before returning to battle with her father’s sword. I dimly wondered if Glory and Triage had found a treatment for her epilepsy. Dusk and Calamity struck from the skies, skimming the crackling shield, transferring the pain of their loss to those that had inflicted it.
"不,"我说，一片月光像北极光一样落在育雏湾和筋疲力尽的荒地之间。我向前走去，警惕在我的左边，责任和牺牲在我的右边。我向前走去，当我去上班时，两旁的小马都敬畏地盯着我。我注册了其他战士。诗篇，没有使用武器，只是她的盾牌，保护着一小结的小马，蹄子压在她包扎好的胸口和痛苦扭曲的脸上。耀眼的光芒喷射出金色的光束，照亮了核心的阴霾。特内布拉眼里含着泪水凝视了我一会儿，然后回来与她父亲的剑搏斗。我隐隐约约地在想，晨辉和分诊诊所是否已经找到了治疗她癫痫的方法。黄昏和灾难从天空袭来，掠过噼啪作响的盾牌，把他们失去的痛苦转移到那些造成它的人身上。
There was no thrill in this battle. No joy. Just the certainty that soon it would be over. That I would be with them. I smiled, but even as I watched Brutus and Hammersmith smashing into the front row… even with Scootaborg, Sweetie Bot, and Applebot forming an immobile trio that refused to break… even as Bastard planted perfect headshots with his twin pistols while enjoying a cigarette... even as Whisper tore through a half dozen Brood... even as Homage sprayed with the rainbow beams of Glory’s blaster... it wasn’t enough. The battle sounded like a dim roar growing dimmer by the second. I hardly registered the fighting around me. It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough.
这场战斗毫无激情可言。没有快乐。只是确信这一切很快就会结束。我会和他们在一起。我笑了，但是当我看到布鲁特斯和哈默史密斯冲到第一排的时候...甚至当斯库塔博格、甜心机器人和苹果机器人组成一个固定的三人组，拒绝打破...甚至当淘气包在享受香烟的时候用他的双手枪安置完美的大头照...甚至当Whisper撕裂了六个布鲁德...甚至当Homage喷射着晨辉的彩虹光束...这还不够。战斗的声音听起来就像一声微弱的轰鸣，一秒钟之后变得越来越暗淡。我几乎没有注意到我周围的战斗。这还不够。我还不够。
Still so pessimistic, Luna?
还这么悲观吗，卢娜？
I gasped, and my eyes snapped to the west, where beyond the nest of the Eater, a golden moon rose above the mountains. No. Not a moon! The shimmering sphere rose higher and higher into the sky. It was still enmeshed in the remains of a cloud base, and that was being hauled by a half dozen different Raptors. I
我喘着气，眼睛向西望去，在食者巢穴的那一边，一轮金色的月亮从山上升起。没有。不是月亮！闪闪发光的球体越升越高，直指天空。它仍然沉浸在云层的残留物中，而这些残留物正在被六架猛禽机拖走。一
stared at that beautiful sphere, and tears ran down my face despite the hollowness inside my heart.
凝视着那个美丽的球体，尽管内心空虚，眼泪还是顺着我的脸颊流了下来。
Sister, I thought back. Then I turned to Homage, who also stared west in clear relief. “How?” I asked her.
姐姐，我回想着。然后我转向《致敬》，它也以清晰的浮雕凝视着西方。"怎么做?"我问她。
“Windsheer’s idea. Since we couldn’t cut through the interference, he figured that the S.P.P. hub could control the towers through line of sight.” She grinned and blew a kiss to the orb hanging in the western sky. “Nick of time, LittlePip. Nick of time.”
"Windsheer的想法。由于我们无法切断干扰，他认为s.p.p.枢纽可以通过视线控制双子塔。"她咧嘴一笑，对着悬挂在西方天空的球体飞了一个吻。"时间的缺点，小匹普。尼克的时间。"
Instantly I felt the change in the air. Wetter. Heavier. There were four S.P.P. towers in the valley, and I looked at the nearest one to the south of the Core. White mist was now streaming from the tips of the massive feathers that formed the cap. A warm, wet wind began to blow. “What is she doing?”
我立刻感觉到空气中的变化。女名女子名。更重。山谷里有四座s.p.p塔，我看了看最靠近核心区南部的一座。白色的雾气从形成帽子的巨大羽毛的顶端流了出来。一阵温暖潮湿的风开始刮起来。"她在干什么?"
“Using the S.P.P. against the Brood that are attacking us,” Homage said with a grim smile.
"用s.p.p对付攻击我们的布鲁德一家,"霍瑞带着严肃的笑容说。
Emerald beams began to flash and flare, blasting the orb with their deadly energy. The green glare clashed with the normally ruby shield, engulfing the hub in spectacular explosions of golden yellow light. The beams sparked and danced over the field, sending sheets of lightning spreading out over the surface like ripples in a pond. A second beam joined the first. And a third. Homage’s smile faded a little. “That shield is supposed to be invulnerable, right?” I asked nervously.
绿宝石的光束开始闪烁和闪耀，用它们的致命能量爆破这个球体。绿色的光芒与通常红宝石色的外壳发生了碰撞，金黄色的光芒吞没了轮毂。这些光束在原野上闪烁跳跃，像池塘里的涟漪一样，在水面上发出阵阵闪电。第二根横梁与第一根横梁相连。还有第三个。敬意的微笑褪色了一点。"那个防护罩应该是无懈可击的，对吧?"我紧张地问。
“Yes,” she murmured as her brows knitted together, “but I don’t think they ever tested it like this.”
"是的,"她一边皱眉一边低声说,"但我想他们从来没有这样试过。"
Invulnerable or not, the shields held, and a ring of cloud was thickening and growing around the Core. The valley was feeling a lot more familiar as the band of clouds grew thicker and darker. The beams of the Core suddenly became more frantic and erratic. They swept at the Raptors, which only just managed to dodge. The half dozen vessels clustered together behind the hub and left the beams raking the wrecked superstructure of the base with crackles of emerald lightning.
不管是否坚不可摧，护盾仍然坚持着，一圈云正在增厚并在核心周围生长。随着云带变得越来越厚越来越暗，山谷变得越来越熟悉了。核心的光束突然变得更加狂乱和不规则。他们横扫猛龙队，而猛龙队才刚刚设法躲开。六艘船聚集在轮毂后面，留下的横梁像翡翠般闪电般劈啪作响，把破损的上层建筑倾斜了一下。
The wind pouring off the towers seemed to be whipping the clouds into a counterclockwise spin. “What is she trying to do?” I asked as rain began to
从塔楼上倾泻而下的风似乎把云层吹得逆时针方向旋转。"她想干什么?"我问，因为开始下雨了
speckle down. The band was growing not just thicker but also wider, and whatever it was, the Eater sure didn’t seem to like it. Any beam not facing the S.P.P. hub began to target the mushroom-like towers. The sheer size of the structures allowed them to resist immediate annihilation, but scores of their feathery branches exploded in rains of shrapnel, leaving the towers pouring out smoke as well as mist.
散斑。带子不仅越来越厚，而且越来越宽，不管是什么，Eater肯定不喜欢它。任何不面向s.p.p.枢纽的光束开始瞄准蘑菇状的塔楼。这些建筑物的庞大规模使他们能够抵御立即被歼灭的威胁，但是他们羽毛般的树枝被弹片炸成了碎片，留下了烟雾弥漫的塔楼。
Despite the damage, the storm continued to build, thunder beginning to roll through the dark clouds. “I thought the S.P.P. was just supposed to make weather!” Like rain... and not rain... and stuff...
尽管造成了破坏，暴风雨还在继续，雷声开始在乌云中滚滚而来。"我以为s.p.p.只是用来制造天气的!"就像下雨...而不是下雨...之类的..。
“It does!” Homage shouted over the rising wind and booming thunder. Even the Brood attacking us had halted their advance, now looking up as if the entire concept of weather was alien to them.
"的确如此!"敬意的声音盖过了隆隆的风声和隆隆的雷声。甚至攻击我们的布鲁德病毒也停止了前进，现在抬起头来，好像整个天气概念对他们来说都是陌生的。
“How is weather supposed to be a weapon?” I asked in bafflement.
"天气怎么会是武器呢?"我困惑地问。
“Um, hurricanes? Tornadoes?” I gaped at her, and she shouted in exasperation, “Weren’t you once struck by lightning or something?!”
"嗯，飓风？龙卷风?"我目瞪口呆地看着她，她恼怒地喊道:"你不是曾经有过命中雷霆吗?"
“Oh. Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my head. “I’ve had some things happen since then...”
"哦。是的。"我摸了摸我的后脑勺。"从那以后，我发生了一些事情......"
Then three beams converged on the stem of the S.P.P. tower that rose from the granite knob overlooking the nest, not raking but holding on a single point midway up. After a few long moments, the beams continued out the other side, and as they shut off to reveal the stem blasted through, the top of the tower began to lean. The last remaining supports gave as the tremendous boom of the demolition reached us, and when we heard the great crack of the structure failing, the top was already descending free, deceptively slowly and still trailing cloud from its top, back towards the reservoir. A moment later it hit, raising a burst of white water and sending a wave to wash down the fronts of the dams. Homage swore, but, even with that loss, the remaining three towers continued to pour out a deluge of cloud, now crackling and black. I looked from them to the hub to the Core, wondering if it was hopeless after all, but then I felt my hair begin to stand on end.
然后，三根横梁汇聚在s.p.p塔的塔干上，这个塔从花岗岩的角上升起，俯瞰着鸟巢，不是耙耙，而是在中间的一个点上固定住。过了一会儿，横梁继续从另一边出来，当他们关闭，显示干爆炸通过，塔顶开始倾斜。随着巨大的爆破声传到我们这里，剩下的最后几根支撑柱也支撑不住了，当我们听到建筑物的巨大裂缝正在消失的时候，顶部已经自由地下降了，看起来很慢，仍然拖着云层从顶部回到水库。过了一会儿，它袭来，掀起一阵白浪，冲下水坝的堤岸。向他致敬，但即便如此，剩下的三座塔还是继续倾泻出洪水般的乌云，现在噼啪作响，一片漆黑。我从他们那里向中心看去，想知道这是不是没有希望了，但是我觉得我的头发开始竖起来了。
Weren’t you once struck by lightning or something?!
你不是曾经有过命中雷霆吗！
“Get down!” I shouted out. “Everypony get under cover!”
"趴下!"我大声喊道。"每个小马都躲起来!"
A peculiar bubble of calm, or at least relative calm, formed around the University. Heedless of the danger, though, I flew up to a rooftop and grabbed an old radio aerial, locking my mechanical fingers around it and watching the sight. Clouds screamed around the spires of the Core, catching on the jagged edges of the towers and being torn into great white streamers. The thickening cloud had grown to the point I could just barely see the base of the enormous sphere resting over the mountains. Green beams fired, converging on another of the S.P.P. towers.
大学周围形成了一个特殊的平静气泡，或者至少是相对平静的气泡。然而，我没有注意到危险，飞到一个屋顶上，抓起一个旧的无线电天线，用我的机械手指围住天线，观察着这个景象。云彩围绕着核心的尖顶尖叫着，映在参差不齐的塔楼边缘，被撕成巨大的白色飘带。云层越来越厚，我几乎看不到山顶上那个巨大球体的底部。绿色的光束射出，聚集在另一个s.p.p塔上。
Then the clouds struck back. In one blinding strike from all directions, a thousand bolts of lightning fell as one. The area around us was flooded with explosive noise of such force that they probably heard it in Manehattan, and anypony not already flat on the ground was flattened by the concussion. Some of the brilliant, jagged columns of light struck around me, smiting with uncanny accuracy any Brood still firing and yet forking around our forces and the University buildings themselves. Most lanced in and struck the massive nest of towers, sending electricity crackling down the rearranged girders. The starmetal wires hummed in the wind as the eye of the storm narrowed. Below me, even disciplined defenders, without augmented eyes and ears, cried out in pain. Another blast of lightning fanned out in every direction with its accompanying thunder. And another. The blasts were now seeking out the sources of those emerald beams, clawing at the tower tips like the flashing talons of storm dragons. One green emitter exploded in a shower of sparks. Another. Another!
然后，乌云卷土重来。一道令人目眩的闪电从四面八方袭来，一千道闪电合而为一。我们周围的地区充斥着爆炸性的噪音，这种声音可能在Manehattan也听到过，而且任何没有平躺在地上的小马都被震荡压扁了。一些明亮的、锯齿状的光柱击中了我的周围，以不可思议的准确性击中了任何一个仍在开火的布鲁德家族，并且还在我们的部队和大学建筑周围分叉。大多数人都乘机进入，击中了巨大的塔楼，电流劈啪作响地冲击着重新排列的大梁。暴风眼越来越小，星际金属线在风中嗡嗡作响。在我下面，即使是守纪律的防守者，没有增加眼睛和耳朵，也在痛苦地喊叫。又一道闪电从四面八方散开，伴随着雷声。再来一杯。爆炸现在正在寻找那些翠绿色的光束的来源，像暴风龙闪烁的爪子一样抓着塔尖。一个绿色发射器在一阵火花中爆炸。另一个。又一个！
Then something moved inside the Core. I could not see what. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. All I knew was a profound sense of dread as that green light within grew brighter and brighter again. A shadow lifted into the air, pointed towards the west.
然后有东西在核心内部移动。我不知道是什么。我不确定我是否想这么做。我所知道的只是一种深深的恐惧感，因为内心的绿光又变得越来越明亮。一个影子升到空中，指向西方。
Sister! Look out! I thought with every fiber of my being.
姐姐！小心！我用尽全身每一根神经去思考。
The swirling clouds suddenly took on that hideous, glaring green glow as a beam lanced through them. Such was its brilliance that it could be seen through the swirling murk. This huge, diffuse bar of baleful light struck the S.P.P. hub’s shield, but there were no sparks this time. No, this time there was only screaming. My sister’s screams.
当一束光线穿过云层时，旋转的云层突然发出可怕的、耀眼的绿光。它的光辉如此辉煌，以至于在纷飞的黑暗中都可以看到。这个巨大的弥漫着恶意的光束击中了s.p.p.枢纽的防护罩，但这一次没有火花。不，这次只有尖叫声。我妹妹的尖叫声。
The Eater was trying to devour my sister.
那个食人者想吃掉我的妹妹。
The brilliantly illuminated shield around the hub began to stretch into the shape of an egg. “Get down! Get behind the mountains!” I screamed, my words lost to the howling gale. I opened my PipBuck, got on the MASEBS, and started to scream those two sentences heedless of who could hear me, even as my head felt as if it were about to explode. Again and again I cried out, watching the sphere as the Eater attempted to pry my sister from the device.
轮毂周围被灯光照亮的盾牌开始伸展成一个鸡蛋的形状。"趴下！到山后面去!"我尖叫着，我的话语被狂风淹没了。我打开我的PipBuck，上了MASEBS，开始尖叫那两句话，根本不在乎谁能听到我，即使我的头感觉就像要爆炸了。我一次又一次地喊着，看着食者试图把我妹妹从装置里弄出来。
Mercifully, the sphere pulled away and dipped down again, hauled back by the attendant Raptors far too slowly for my tastes, and disappeared behind the mountains. The storm continued; I supposed that, without line of sight, there was no way to turn it off. The tempest went wild, spitting off funnel-like clouds that lashed at the Core and the surrounding countryside alike. Seeming to ignore the devastation around it, that shadow then turned towards me. Was it a hand? A claw? A mouth? I sat there almost curiously, watching it, like a foal smiling down a gun barrel. That terrible green brilliance began to peak again.
幸运的是，那个球体离开了，再次下沉，被随行的猛禽机拖了回来，速度太慢了，对我来说太慢了，然后消失在山后。暴风雨还在继续，我猜想，没有视线，就没有办法把它关掉。暴风雨肆虐，像漏斗一样的云层猛烈地冲击着核心区和周围的乡村。似乎忽略了它周围的破坏，那个阴影随即转向我。是一只手吗？爪子？一张嘴？我几乎好奇地坐在那里，看着它，像一只小马驹对着枪管微笑。那可怕的绿色光辉开始再次达到顶峰。
And then I was flying, not of my own volition. A pair of immense scaly hands cradled me gently as I was carried into the air by a great winged form. “What are you doing, Blackjack?” Spike roared over the wind as it carried us around the Core. That shadow continued to track us, but the purple dragon with the dashing eye patch stayed ahead of it. “This is starting to become a disturbing habit!”
然后我就飞起来了，不是我自愿的。一双巨大的有鳞的手轻轻地抱着我，我被一个长着翅膀的巨人带到了空中。"你在干什么，黑杰克?"当风带着我们绕着地核呼啸而过的时候。那个影子继续跟踪着我们，但是那条戴着冲劲十足的眼罩的紫色龙一直在前面。"这开始成为一个令人不安的习惯!"
I didn’t move. Had I really... I had. I had, hadn’t I? I hadn’t even thought of it. I stared down as we flew around the Core. The fight was over. LittlePip had ended it. The only Brood left were Brood who weren’t fighting anymore. The ponies below me were getting to their hooves, and that wasn't the only friendly movement, either. The Arena was a thronging mass of life, and there were other pockets of resistance elsewhere, too. In spite of everything the Legate and the Eater had attempted, we still held on. We survived.
我没有动。如果我真的...我有。我做到了，不是吗？我连想都没想过。当我们绕着地核飞行时，我低头看着。战斗结束了。小皮普结束了这一切。布鲁德夫妇只剩下不再打仗的布鲁德夫妇了。我下面的小马正在奔跑，这也不是唯一友好的动作。竞技场里挤满了生命，其他地方也有一些抵抗。尽管使节和食者已经尽了一切努力，我们还是坚持下去了。我们幸存了下来。
Spike landed on the back side of the hill to Star House. Behind us, I could see the reservoir and on the far side of it the smoking ruins of Elysium. The Wasteland had come for the Society, but I could also see lots of movement there as well. The Wasteland hadn’t won. From the Core came an earsplitting scream of frustration, then silence.
斯派克从山的后面降落到星空之家。在我们身后，我可以看到水库，远处是冒着烟的极乐世界的废墟。荒原为社会而来，但我也能看到那里有很多运动。荒原并没有获胜。从核心传来了一声震耳欲聋的沮丧的尖叫，然后是沉默。
“Wow. I think I’d rather storm Neighvarro all over again than hang out here,” Spike said before frowning down at me. “With all the interference, I figured I’d come down myself and make sure you were all right. Then I spotted you just
"哇。"我想我宁愿再次冲击邻居，也不愿在这里闲逛,"斯派克皱着眉头对我说。"受到这么多干扰，我觉得我应该亲自过来看看你是否安好。然后我发现了你
standing on the roof there.” He set me down with a small frown of worry. “Blackjack?”
站在屋顶上"他愁眉苦脸地把我放倒了。"黑杰克?"
I took a few steps. “I don’t know anymore,” I said, not sure if I could be heard over the howling gale.
我走了几步。"我再也不知道了,"我说，不知道是否能在狂风中听到我的声音。
He poked his head up, over the ridge, then jerked it back down again as a beam cut through the air his head had been occupying. While many of the anti-dragon beams had been taken out by LittlePip, one or two were still managing to sputter out an anemic blast or two. “Okay,” Spike said. “Why don’t you go down to Star House? I’m going to lead its attention off, then tell everyone at the Collegiate where you are and that you’re okay. Okay?”
他探出头来，越过山脊，然后又猛地把头往下拉，因为他的头一直占据着一道光束穿过空气。虽然小pip已经拆掉了许多反龙梁，但还是有一两根能发出一两声贫血的爆炸声。"好的,"斯派克说。"你为什么不去星星之家呢？我要引开它的注意力，然后告诉大学里的每个人你在哪里，你很好。好吗?"
I didn’t answer aloud. I could barely nod. He watched me in worry, then turned and swooped off over the huge, dark lake. Once he had some speed, he was back up in the clouds, drawing fire. I watched him go, then turned and made my way through the dark and storm towards... home.
我没有大声回答。我几乎不能点头。他忧心忡忡地看着我，然后转过身，飞过那个漆黑的大湖。一旦他有了一些速度，他就回到云层中，吸引火力。我看着他离开，然后转身穿过黑暗和暴风雨向......家走去。
* * *
* * *
The house hadn’t changed much since the party. There was still such a mess. Leftover food lying strewn from tipped-over bowls. Remains of fruit from the Society that had filled the air with a pungent, sickly sweetness. Half-empty bottles of Sparkle-Cola and whiskey sitting about, flat and tepid. I just had to wait. Just wait. I couldn’t go upstairs. It was as impossible as going to the moon.
自从那次聚会以来，房子没有什么变化。还是一团糟。剩下的食物散落在倒掉的碗里。空气中弥漫着一种辛辣的、令人作呕的甜味。半空的闪亮可乐和威士忌酒瓶子静静地坐在那里，平静而温和。我只能等待。等着瞧。我不能上楼。这就像登月一样不可能。
I just had to wait with the ghosts.
我只能和鬼魂一起等待。
I sat down at the party table in the centermost seat, empty chairs to either side of me. “Empty chairs... empty tables...” I murmured at everything spoiled and scattered around me. The phantom faces and shadows of those I had known and loved watched me from beyond as I sat there, awaiting my turn to join them.
我在聚会桌旁坐下，坐在最中间的座位上，两边各有一把空椅子。"空空的椅子...空空的桌子..."我低声说，周围的一切都被破坏了，散落一地。当我坐在那里等待轮到我加入他们的时候，那些我认识和爱过的人的幽灵般的面孔和影子从远处注视着我。
I could hear Rampage’s raucous laughter as P-21 threatened her with a grenade while Lacunae watched, scandalized, from the front door. I could hear the music as Priest, Melody, and Lacunae played along with me in concert. I could smell the oily acrid aroma of Glory’s cooking. I could feel her and P-21’s hooves against my skin, no matter how much of my body I’d lost. And as I sat there, more and more ghosts of the past filed in. Midnight and Rivets. Scoodle. Forty foals. The Dealer. Dusty Trails and Tumbleweed. Roses and Thorn. Big Daddy
当P-21用手榴弹威胁她时，我能听到狂暴的沙哑的笑声，而拉库尼从前门望着她，惊恐万状。我可以听到牧师、旋律和空隙在音乐会上和我一起演奏的音乐。我可以闻到晨辉烹饪时油腻辛辣的香味。我能感觉到她和P-21的蹄子抵着我的皮肤，不管我失去了多少身体。当我坐在那里的时候，越来越多的过去的幽灵走了进来。午夜和铆钉。史酷德。四十匹小马驹。《商人》。尘土飞扬的小径和风滚草。玫瑰与荆棘。大老爹
and Gorgon and Deus. A group of mares in slave collars. That was the horrible thing about ghosts: you could always fit in more. Goldenblood, rasping away. Twilight and Rainbow Dash staring on in concern. Sekashi. Stygius. Silver Spoon. Even Lighthooves, Dawn, and Steel Rain could snicker from the balcony. I had room for other people’s ghosts as well. Dusk’s Lightning Dancer and Lensflare’s and Calamity’s Windsheer were in attendance.
还有戈耳贡和天王。一群带着奴隶项圈的母马。这就是鬼魂的可怕之处:你总是可以融入更多的东西。金色的血，磨掉了。黄昏和彩虹的冲击在关注中凝视。女名女子名。柱花草属。银汤匙。甚至光剑、黎明和钢铁雨也会在阳台上窃笑。我也有容纳别人鬼魂的空间。《黄昏》的《闪电舞者》和《伦斯弗莱尔》以及《灾难》的《风之薄纱》也出席了会议。
I checked my PipBuck. Only two hours to go. Two hours till my life ended. I swept my eyes across the room, at a loss for what to do with the limited time I had left. Food. I should eat something. I could have a last meal before my two hours were up. I levitated over a bowl, filled it with cereal, and took a bite.
我检查了我的PipBuck。只剩两个小时了。还有两个小时我的生命就结束了。我的眼睛扫过房间，不知道如何利用剩下的有限时间。食物。我得吃点东西。我可以在两个小时结束前吃最后一顿饭。我悬浮在一个碗上，装满了麦片，然后咬了一口。
Your mother tasted like... apples...
你妈妈吃起来像...苹果..。
Tears dripped into the bowl as I swallowed that single, horrible bite. My limbs shook as I sat there, quivering as everything inside me finally threatened to explode. P-21. Glory. Rampage. Lacunae. Again and again, my friends rolled through my mind. Impaled. Irradiated. Forsaken. Sacrificed. Not me. I was the last! I was the fucking last!
当我咽下那一口可怕的口水时，泪水顺着碗滴了下来。我坐在那里，四肢发抖，身体里的一切都有爆炸的危险。P-21.晨辉。横冲直撞。空隙。我的朋友们一次又一次地在我的脑海中闪过。刺穿。辐照。被遗弃的。牺牲。不是我。我是最后一个！我是最后一个！
I threw back my head and screamed, flinging the bowl away. I screamed again, and the ghosts applauded. I screamed and they cheered! This was the price to be paid. Not death. No. Not death. Not release. Not relief. I screamed like I’d never stop screaming. I’d scream forever, past forever, till all the stars died and only the eternal void remained. And I’d scream in that blackness, forever.
我把头往后一仰，尖叫着，把碗扔了出去。我又尖叫起来，鬼魂们也鼓起掌来。我尖叫着，他们欢呼着！这就是要付出的代价。不是死亡。没有。不是死亡。不是释放。不是解脱。我尖叫着，好像我永远不会停止尖叫。我会永远的尖叫，永远的过去，直到所有的星星都死去，只剩下永恒的空虚。我会在黑暗中尖叫，永远。
Then I was held. Not by ghostly hooves of memory but by the warm, caring hooves of the living. They squeezed me as tightly around the middle as they could as somepony else’s tears dropped onto my neck. I slowly turned as the chaos inside me was stilled for one precious, critical moment.
然后我被抱住了。不是通过记忆的幽灵蹄子，而是通过活人温暖、关怀的蹄子。他们把我紧紧地搂在中间，就像别人的眼泪滴在我脖子上一样。我慢慢地转过身，内心的混乱在这珍贵的关键时刻得以平息。
“No, Mama,” Boo said, weeping as she held me as tight as she could.
"不，妈妈,"布哭着说，紧紧地抱着我。
The pain inside me turned to tears, and I wept for them all. Like rain falling on a forest fire of torment, the suffering spilled from me and smothered those flames. For each ghost in that house, even my enemies, I wept. I sobbed and let every last bit of pain and suffering out through those tears. And Boo, a pony who had defied every roll of the dice to escape being one of those ghosts, wept with me. She shared my grief, my loss. A pony who should never have been, yet was, now kept me together. And while a pony can scream until the end of the universe and
我内心的痛苦变成了眼泪，我为他们所有人哭泣。就像雨落在痛苦的森林大火上，痛苦从我身上溢出，扑灭了那些火焰。我为房子里的每一个鬼魂，甚至是我的敌人，哭了。我抽泣着，让每一丝痛苦和折磨透过眼泪流出来。而Boo，一匹小马，为了逃避成为那些鬼魂中的一员，违抗了每一次掷骰子的命运，和我一起哭泣。她分担了我的痛苦，我的损失。一匹本来不该出现的小马，现在却让我振作起来。虽然一匹小马可以尖叫到宇宙的尽头
beyond, nopony could weep forever. Even so, I indulged myself with a good, long cry.
再远的地方，没有小马能永远哭泣。尽管如此，我还是放纵自己大哭了一场。
When I finally pulled myself together, Boo sat next to me, a hoof across my shoulders as I blubbered. She was my confessor, and I told her everything. All my failures. My fears. I didn’t know if she fully understood, and even if she didn't, I doubted it really mattered. All that did matter was that somepony shared everything that I felt. That, somehow, made it real. And even if it didn’t alleviate the pain, it made it all bearable. That which had been crushing me, I could now carry.
当我终于振作起来的时候，Boo坐在我旁边，一只蹄子跨过我的肩膀，我哭了起来。她是我的忏悔神父，我把一切都告诉了她。我所有的失败。我的恐惧。我不知道她是否完全理解，即使她不理解，我也怀疑这真的有关系。真正重要的是那匹小马分享了我的一切感受。不知怎么的，这让它变成了现实。即使这并没有减轻痛苦，这也让一切变得可以忍受。那些曾经压迫着我的东西，我现在可以带走了。
“It’s okay, Mama. It’s okay,” she repeated again and again. Of course, it wasn’t, but that didn’t matter. ‘Okay’ was a prayer you repeated again and again in the hopes that it would become true. When I finally wiped my eyes and nose, I felt more myself than I had since leaving the moon.
"没关系，妈妈。没关系,"她一遍又一遍地重复着。当然，它不是，但那不重要。"好吧"是一个你一遍又一遍重复的祈祷，希望它会变成现实。当我终于擦干眼睛和鼻子的时候，我感觉自己比离开月球以来感觉更好了。
“No, it’s not,” I finally admitted. “But I have to make it okay. I have to do that. Not fix. Not restore. Just... okay. I can be content with that.”
"不，不是的,"我终于承认。"但我必须让它好起来。我必须这么做。不是修复。不是恢复。只是...好吧。我可以满足于此。"
That was when I noticed something new sitting next to her. A thick block of papers tied together with string, with a long, thin, roundish object wrapped in paper on top. I frowned as I levitated it over and unwrapped the object, spotting writing on the wrapper. A note.
就在那时，我注意到坐在她旁边的一些新东西。用绳子系在一起的厚纸块，上面用纸包着一个又长又薄又圆的东西。我皱起眉头，把它悬浮起来，打开包装，看到包装纸上的字迹。一张便条。
Blackjack,
黑杰克
If you’re reading this, I’m either dead or captured. As we discussed, this was the likely outcome for anypony you picked to be in charge in your absence. That it was me, and not a more important pony like Storm Chaser, Big Daddy, or Grace is a benefit to your cause. I left my instructions in advance and will wait for the Legate to take me. If I am still alive, then I fully expect a great amount of embarrassment when you read this.
如果你在读这篇文章，我不是死了就是被抓了。正如我们所讨论的，这可能是任何你选择在你不在的时候负责的小马的结果。那是我，而不是像风暴追逐者、大老爹或者格蕾丝这样更重要的小马驹，对你的事业是有益的。我提前留下了我的指示，会等待使节带我去。如果我还活着，那么当你读到这篇文章时，我会感到非常尴尬。
These papers are a collection of notes that I’ve made, and updated, regarding the formation of various governments and political systems. They were models that Luna, ultimately, rejected. No matter how difficult things are today, I know that you will prevail. When you do, some system of governance will need to be implemented to avoid the mistakes of the past. Regardless of the ultimate fate of the Eater, the Wasteland persists until civilization is imposed upon it. Grace, Finders Keepers, Triage, Persephone, Big Daddy, and Storm Chaser are all
这些文件是我做的笔记的集合，关于各种政府和政治制度的形成，并且进行了更新。这些模型最终都被露娜拒绝了。不管今天的事情有多么困难，我知道你们一定会取得胜利。当您这样做时，将需要实现一些治理系统，以避免过去的错误。不管食者的最终命运如何，荒原一直存在，直到文明强加于它。格蕾丝，发现者所有者，分流，珀尔塞福涅，大爸爸，和风暴追逐者都是
instrumental to this, and I’ve left notes with each to find these papers here.
我给每个人都留了笔记，在这里找到了这些文件。
Should you feel that my input would be a detriment to the future of Equestria, by all means, consign these notes to the flames. I have faith that there are still good ponies in the world, and while the Lunar Commonwealth may seem a good idea to me, epitomizing common unity and individual freedom, the reality is that no idea is perfect. Not even mine.
如果你觉得我的投入会对Equestria的未来造成损害，那么请务必将这些笔记付诸东流。我相信世界上仍然有好的小马，虽然月球联邦对我来说可能是个好主意，象征着共同的团结和个人自由，但现实是没有什么想法是完美的。即使是我的。
Lastly, I wish to apologize for the undue trouble that I caused. I hope that, with these final acts, I will have done better. I know I cannot redeem myself completely, but, as you said, it is the effort of atonement that matters most. I’ve placed assets that I feel will be beneficial to you in the care of others. I only hope there is enough to achieve success. I’ve reports that Glory survived the events at the Luna Space Center. I pray that she recovers and that you might share some happiness together.
最后，我想为我所造成的不必要的麻烦道歉。我希望，通过这些最后的行动，我会做得更好。我知道我不能完全赎罪，但正如你所说，赎罪的努力才是最重要的。我已经把我认为对你有益的资产放在别人的照顾下。我只希望有足够的钱来取得成功。我曾经报道过晨辉在月球太空中心的事件中幸存下来。我祈祷她早日康复，你们可以一起分享快乐。
Ever a servant, ever a friend,
永远是仆人，永远是朋友,
Goldenblood
金色血统
PS: This was entrusted to Fluttershy. I suspect she saw what it was and promptly returned it to the sender. I hope it will be of some use to you.
这是托付给Fluttershy的。我怀疑她看到了是什么，并立即退还给了寄件人。我希望对你有所帮助。
I stared at the letter and then regarded the object it was wrapped around. The black metal case was so familiar. I touched it, and it opened easily for me. Inside, nestled in the black crushed velvet, was a single silver bullet for Folly.
我盯着那封信，然后看了看它包裹着的东西。那个黑色的金属盒子是如此的熟悉。我摸了摸它，它很容易就为我打开了。里面，坐落在黑色粉碎天鹅绒，是一个单一的银子弹的愚蠢。
EC-1101. Shields. Folly. Three smart ponies had given me three different options.
Ec-1101.盾牌。愚蠢。三匹聪明的小马给了我三种不同的选择。
Now there was just the question of which one I would take.
现在只有一个问题，我会选择哪一个。
Assuming, of course, that I didn’t die on the way. Then I frowned and looked at my flank. My cutie mark, stolen by Cognitum, was still there. An ace and a queen of spades. Like the sword and pistol, they’d both been re-etched in a Luna-esque theme: the dark mare herself graced the queen, and the ace was decorated with moons and stars. “Boo, do you think ‘victory’ is a talent?”
当然，前提是我没有死在路上。然后我皱了皱眉，看着我的侧腹。我的可爱的印记，被科涅塔姆偷走了，还在那里。黑桃a和黑桃q。就像剑和手枪一样，他们都被重新蚀刻成了月神风格的主题:黑色的母马被赋予了皇后，王牌上装饰着月亮和星星。"Boo，你认为'胜利'是一种天赋吗?"
“Like, just winning?” she asked, scrunching up her face. When I nodded, she blew a raspberry. “No. That’s dumb. What’s the point in that?”
"就像，只是赢了?"她皱着脸问道。我点头时，她对我吹了一声冷哨。"没有。这太蠢了。这有什么意义呢?"
“In the game blackjack, this is the unbeatable pair. You can’t get any higher. It’s like... like a royal flush of spades. But I’ve been beaten before. Badly,” I said as I turned back to her. “Does it mean... my enemies can't win? I can be defeated. I can even be killed. But nopony can make me stop.” I looked around the house, then drew Vigilance. There, the second name: Tarot. That was some kind of divination thingy, right? What did those cards mean? I hadn’t the foggiest.
"在黑杰克游戏中，这是不可战胜的一对。你不能再高了。就像...黑桃同花顺。但我以前也被打过。非常糟糕,"我转过身对她说。"这是不是意味着......我的敌人赢不了？我可以被打败。我甚至可以被杀死。但是没有什么能让我停下来。"我环顾了一下房子，然后画了警戒画。那里，第二个名字:塔罗牌。那是什么占卜之类的东西，对吧？那些卡片是什么意思？我一点也不清楚。
It didn’t matter, though, because it felt right to me. Everything I’d done. Everything that I’d gone through had delivered me to this point. I’d suffered. I’d lost. But now, perhaps, I could do what I was meant to do.
不过没关系，因为我觉得这样做是对的。我所做的一切。我所经历的一切都让我走到了这一步。我很痛苦。我输了。但是现在，也许，我可以做我想做的事情了。
Alone. I wouldn’t have anypony else die for me.
一个人。我不会让任何人为我而死。
“I need to go, Boo,” I said as I gave her a thankful hug. “I never thought I’d say this, but I have to go and save the world.” I smiled when I said that.
"我得走了，阿布,"我一边说一边给了她一个感激的拥抱。"我从没想过我会这么说，但我必须去拯救世界。"我说这话的时候笑了。
“Okay,” Boo answered, and started for the door. “You’ll tell me all about it when you get back, right, Mama?”
"好的,"布回答，然后向门口走去。"等你回来再告诉我吧，妈妈?"
That was assuming a lot. “Yeah. Sure,” I said as I followed her. I’d walk to the tunnel. I wasn’t in any hurry to meet my inevitable end. “But you should stay here, Boo. Don’t want to get blasted by a beam, right?”
那只是假设罢了。"是的。当然,"我跟着她说。我走向隧道。我并不急于面对我不可避免的结局。"但你应该留在这里，阿布。不想被横梁炸伤，对吧?"
She blew another raspberry. “Lightning blasted the beam thingies. It’s okay. We can go to the tunnel.” She opened the door. “Come on, Blackjack. I’ll walk with you. You’re safe with me, Mama.”
她又吹了一口覆盆子。"闪电把光束炸坏了。没关系。我们可以去隧道。"她打开了门。"来吧，黑杰克。我和你一起走。你和我在一起很安全，妈妈。"
I hesitated at the threshold, looking back at all the ghosts I carried with me. “This is a nice house,” I said as my eyes skipped over the mess. I left the papers right where they needed to be discovered. Better ponies than me would be able to do something with them. And then I stepped out and closed the door behind me, one final time.
我在门口犹豫了一下，回头看着我身上带着的那些鬼魂。"这房子真漂亮,"我说，眼睛直勾勾地跳过那堆乱七八糟的东西。我把文件放在了需要被发现的地方。比我好的小马能用它们做些什么。然后我走出去，最后一次关上了身后的门。
The storm whirled around us, but I felt strangely calm. My earlier despair had suddenly shifted to a slight, inexplicable eagerness, as if my center of mass had just altered. I was apprehensive, yes, for the stakes hadn’t changed in the slightest... but now? Now I was positively keen on getting down there and facing a monster.
暴风雨在我们周围旋转，但我感到出奇的平静。我先前的绝望突然变成了一种轻微的、无法解释的渴望，好像我的重心刚刚改变了。我很担心，是的，因为利害关系没有丝毫改变......但是现在呢？现在我非常想下去面对一个怪物。
Walking down the slope towards Chapel, I looked over the still-smoldering
沿着斜坡向教堂走去，我看到了仍在燃烧的火焰
wreck of the village. In spite of the damage wrought by Deus’s battle, dozens and dozens of ponies were milling about the battlefield. Some were scavenging anything worthwhile while others were finding friends and loved ones. The chapel itself, against all odds, still remained standing. It had become an island of sorts around which pooled most of the ponies who lingered outside now that the beams posed no real threat.
村庄的残骸。尽管天王的战斗造成了破坏，数十匹小马还是在战场上到处乱跑。一些人在寻找有价值的东西，而另一些人则在寻找朋友和爱人。小教堂----再看我一眼教堂----仍然屹立不倒。它已经变成了一个各种各样的岛屿，周围聚集了大多数的小马，现在它们在外面徘徊，因为光束并不构成真正的威胁。
Funny, shouldn’t it be raining? All around us, the rain hissed, but it sheeted off a bubble that surrounded Boo and myself. I stopped, then turned. “Psalm,” I said with a tired smile. I’d wanted to avoid this, but the confrontation was inevitable. Still... I wasn’t really Luna. I couldn’t give her want she wanted.
真有趣，不是应该在下雨吗？在我们周围，雨发出嘶嘶声，但它吐出一个泡泡，包围着布和我。我停下来，然后转过身。"诗篇,"我带着疲倦的微笑说。我本想避免这种情况，但这种对抗是不可避免的。尽管如此，我并不是真正的卢娜。我不能给她想要的东西。
The purple mare stared at me as I stared back. “Goddess,” she whispered. “It’s really you. I saw you during the melee at the Collegiate, but... it’s you.” The purple alicorn wore several fresh bandages around her torso and neck.
当我回头看时，那匹紫色的母马盯着我。"女神,"她低声说。"真的是你。我在学院的混战中见过你，但是......是你。"紫色的角果在她的躯干和脖子上缠着几条新的绷带。
“No. I’m still Blackjack. I’m just... different. I have her inside me,” I replied. Was it just me, or was I able to look her in the eye now? “Are Crumpets and Stronghoof okay?” A tiny nod. I gestured to her chest. “Are you doing okay with... everything?”
"没有。我还是黑杰克。我只是...与众不同。我有她在我里面,"我回答。是我的错觉，还是我现在可以直视她的眼睛？"松饼和饼干还好吗?"微微点头。我指了指她的胸部。"你一切都还好吧?"
“Yes,” she replied, touching the bandages. “It doesn’t feel much different than being in Unity, only they’re like vessels needing to be washed out and refilled.” She regarded me and smiled. “Every now and then, one is filled from an outside source, and I lose the connection, but I really don’t mind. It helps knowing that one day they’ll be free. It’s what Lacunae would have wanted.” She sighed wistfully, looking out into the storm. “Others are just... taken from me, winking out like candles in the dark. They have caused great suffering, and the Wasteland does not so easily forgive.”
"是的,"她一边回答，一边摸着绷带。"感觉和在Unity没什么不同，只是它们像是需要清洗和重新填充的容器。"她看着我，微笑着。"时不时地，一个人会被外界的东西填满，我会失去联系，但我真的不介意。知道总有一天他们会自由是有帮助的。这正是拉库尼希望看到的。"她渴望地叹了口气，望着外面的暴风雨。"其他人只是......从我身边被夺走，在黑暗中像蜡烛一样闪烁着。他们已经造成了巨大的痛苦，而荒原并不是那么容易原谅的。"
If I hadn't guessed what she was here for before, there was no mistaking it now. I sighed and closed my eyes. “I forgive you, Psalm.”
如果我以前没有猜到她来这里是为了什么，现在就不会弄错了。我叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"我原谅你，诗篇。"
“Forgive... me?” She sounded confused.
"原谅......我?"她听起来很困惑。
Now I was baffled as I opened one eye, seeing her frown thoughtfully. I regarded her. “Isn’t that what you were going to ask me? To forgive you for what you did during the war?”
现在我睁开一只眼睛，看到她若有所思地皱着眉头，感到莫名其妙。我注视着她。""那不是你要问我的吗？原谅你在战争期间的所作所为?"
She actually smiled. “No. Not anymore. I... wanted it because I knew it would
她真的笑了。"没有。现在不是了。我。.因为我知道会这样
never come. It let me damn myself. Now, though... I don’t think I need it. Not like I used to.” She seemed so confident. So... so sure. “Although it’s nice to hear, it’s not what I wanted.” She closed her eyes again. “I wanted to say that... I forgive you.”
永远不要来。它让我诅咒自己。现在，虽然...我不认为我需要它。不像以前那样了。"她看起来很自信。那么...那么肯定。"虽然听到这个消息很高兴，但这不是我想要的。"她又闭上了眼睛。"我想说......我原谅你。"
I felt as if I’d been speared through my core, and tried to laugh. “Forgive... what? For what?”
我觉得自己好像被刺穿了心脏，想笑出声来。"原谅......什么？为什么?"
“For the war. For not... saving us all back then. And I know the other Marauders would, too,” she said evenly. “And I wanted to forgive you too, Blackjack. For P-21, and Glory, and Rampage. Because I know what it's like to carry all that guilt.”
"为了战争。谢谢你没有...把我们都救回来。我知道其他掠夺者也会这么做的,"她平静地说。"我也想原谅你，Blackjack。为了P-21，为了晨辉，为了暴怒。因为我知道背负所有罪恶感是什么滋味。"
My breath hissed a moment. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Psalm,” I muttered tensely under my breath. “You have no right to forgive me. I have no right to be forgiven.”
我的呼吸发出嘶嘶声。"你不知道你在说什么，诗篇,"我紧张地低声咕哝着。"你没有权利原谅我。我没有权利得到宽恕。"
“Nevertheless, I forgive you,” she said calmly, with a disturbing serenity that made me growl. Did she really think all my sins could be forgiven… just like that?
"尽管如此，我还是原谅你了,"她平静地说，带着一种令人不安的平静，让我咆哮起来。她真的认为我所有的罪过都可以被原谅吗...就这样？
“Do you have a clue what I’ve done? What you... you... you don’t have any right to forgive all the harm I’ve caused. The lives I’ve ruined!” I turned my back on her.
"你知道我做了什么吗？你...你...你没有任何权利原谅我造成的所有伤害。被我毁掉的生活!"我背弃了她。
“Yes, I do. I remember what Lacunae experienced with you. For a time, your minds were connected. I know how much you hurt inside.” She gently turned me around to face her, gazing into my eyes. “Even if nopony else will... I forgive you.”
"是的，我知道。我记得拉库尼和你一起经历了什么。有一段时间，你们的思想连接在一起。我知道你内心有多痛苦。"她轻轻地把我转过身来，面对着她，凝视着我的眼睛。"即使没有其他人愿意......我也原谅你。"
My heart pounded as I stared at her. “Everything that’s happened... there is no forgiveness! I let them die! All of them!” My voice rose as Boo shrank back. “Don’t you get it? I did it out of pride! I never gave up EC-1101, and it ruined me! Ruined everything. If I’d thrown it into the ocean or something, they’d all still be alive! And Luna was no better!” I roared at her as she gazed at me with that pitying expression. “Don’t you fucking get it? She was after power! She didn’t care about Equestria! She wanted her thousand year rule to show everypony she was no different than Celestia! We deserve every last drop of guilt! We should die a million times for all the suffering we’ve caused!”
看着她，我的心怦怦直跳。"发生的一切......没有宽恕！我让他们死了！他们所有人!"我的声音提高了，阿布缩了回去。"你还不明白吗？我这样做是出于自豪！我从来没有放弃过EC-1101，它毁了我！毁了一切。如果我把它扔到海里或者别的什么地方，它们就都还活着！卢娜也好不到哪儿去!"当她用那种怜悯的表情注视着我的时候，我对她吼叫。"你他妈的还不明白吗？她追求的是权力！她根本不在乎小马国！她希望她的千年法则告诉每一匹小马她和塞莱斯蒂亚没有什么不同！我们罪有应得！我们应该为我们所造成的痛苦死上一百万次!"
“I don’t believe that, and I don’t think you’re being honest or fair right now. Not after what’s happened,” Psalm responded. “Guilt might have pushed you to do better, but I know it’s eating you up inside. You want to pay for what’s happened. You hate yourself.”
"我不相信，我认为你现在既不诚实也不公平。在发生了这些事情之后就不会了,"诗篇回答。"内疚可能会促使你做得更好，但我知道它正在吞噬你的内心。你想为所发生的一切付出代价。你恨你自己。"
“Of course I hate myself! Sky Striker was right,” I snapped at her. “I got Glory killed.”
"我当然恨我自己！"天空攻击者是对的,"我厉声斥责她。"我害死了晨辉。"
“No, Blackjack. You didn’t.” She addressed me patiently. “If you’d forced Glory to return to Thunderhead, you’d be dead, and nopony would have stopped Lighthooves or his biological weapon. The civil war would have happened anyway. Glory loved you, and she tried letting you go, but sometimes we can’t leave the ponies we care about. Even when we say we don’t, we still care. We still love.” I opened my mouth, and she interrupted me, “And the same for P-21, Rampage, and Lacunae. None of them would have wanted you to do this to yourself. They all chose to follow you.”
"不，黑杰克。你没有。"她耐心地和我说话。"如果你强迫晨辉返回雷头城，你早就死了，没有小马会阻止莱特霍夫斯或他的生化武器。无论如何，内战都会爆发。晨辉爱你，她试图让你离开，但有时我们不能离开我们在乎的小马。即使我们说我们不在乎，我们仍然在乎。我们仍然相爱。"我张开嘴，她打断了我的话,"还有P-21，狂暴，和空白。他们都不希望你这样对自己。他们都选择跟随你。"
“I failed them! Failed everyone! You, especially you, cannot forgive that!” But Psalm reached out and embraced me. “Let me go! I don’t have time for this! This pointless... meaningless... gesture...” My throat worked. I could have forced her to release me, but my strength failed. “How? I got so many... so many...
"我辜负了他们！每个人都失败了！你，特别是你，不能原谅这一点!"但是诗篇伸出手来拥抱我。"放开我！我没时间跟你说这些！这个毫无意义的......无意义的......手势......"我的喉咙发出声音。我本可以强迫她放了我，但我的力量消失了。"怎么回事？我有那么多...那么多..。
killed. How can you forgive me? My friends. My people. I should have been better. More careful. More... something!” I said as I started to sob against her. It was a different kind of weeping than before; grief is not the same as contrition. Absolution was not the same as redemption. I could handle paying the price. Telling me there was no price to be paid... that was so much harder to accept.
杀死。你怎么能原谅我？我的朋友们。我的人民。我应该做得更好。更加小心。更多的......东西!"我边说边开始为她哭泣。这是一种与以前不同的哭泣，悲伤和悔恨是不同的。赦免与救赎不是一回事。我可以承受这个代价。告诉我不需要付出任何代价......这是如此难以接受。
“I don’t deserve forgiveness,” I muttered against her neck. She sighed and patted my back.
"我不配得到原谅,"我靠在她的脖子上喃喃自语。她叹了口气，拍了拍我的背。
“Neither did I. But sometimes what we need is more important that what we deserve,” she replied.
"我也不知道。但有时候，我们需要的东西比我们应得的东西更重要。"。
I sighed and pulled away, once again unable to look at her. “I’m sorry. I tried. I really did.”
我叹了口气，挣脱开，再一次无法看着她。"对不起。我试过了。真的。"
“I know. But you can’t be weighed down by regret now,” Psalm answered. “You have a job to do. Regret is an indulgence.”
"我知道。但是你现在不能被悔恨压倒,"诗篇回答说。"你有工作要做。后悔是一种放纵。"
The three of us started down the slope. Chapel had been a mess before, but just
我们三个人顺着斜坡往下走。小礼拜堂以前是一团糟，但只是一团糟
like last time, it hadn’t quite died yet. A few hundred ponies picked through the mess. The Crusaders and Halfhearts who’d remained to defend it watched the others with cool, disdainful eyes. Charity, covered in bandages, kept her clipboard in hoof as she supervised from the stoop of the bullet-ridden church. “Don’t you dare let a single one of these scumsuckers take so much as one more bullet without covering it. They all get a two thousand percent cowardice fee!” she snapped at the supervisors.
就像上次一样，它还没有完全死掉。几百匹小马从乱七八糟的地方捡了起来。十字军战士和哈夫哈特都留下来为它辩护，他们用冷静而轻蔑的眼神看着其他人。在这座弹痕累累的教堂的门廊前，盖着绷带的查瑞提把她的记录板放在蹄子里。"你怎么敢让这些混蛋中的任何一个再挨一枪都不能掩盖事实。他们都得到百分之二千的懦弱费!"她对主管大发雷霆。
“Two thousand percent?” I asked as I approached her.
"2000%?"我走近她时问道。
Charity’s mouth twisted sourly. “So I’ll fudge the numbers later. Right now I’m tired, I’m hurt, and...” Then she paused and really took me in. “Sweet Celestia...” she murmured as she let the clipboard fall to the mud. “You’re... you really are...
慈善的嘴酸溜溜地扭了扭。"所以我稍后会编造数字。现在我累了，我受伤了，而且......"然后她停顿了一下，真的接受了我。"甜蜜的天堂......"她一边低声说着，一边把笔记板扔到了泥地里。"你......你真的.....。
you... wow...” Charity struggled to recover her cool, turning to cough and snap at some stallions poking around the muck. “Two caps for bullets, one for four pieces of brass! I want every round we can reload in case some of those striped bastards survived and still have some fight in them!”
你......哇......"查瑞提努力恢复她的冷静，转过身来咳嗽，对着一些在粪便周围戳来戳去的种马猛咬。"两个子弹盖，一个子弹盖四个铜片！我希望每一发子弹都能重新上膛，以防那些带条纹的混蛋幸存下来，并且还能继续战斗。"
“The Brood are still a problem?” Psalm asked with a frown.
"布伦特一家还是个问题吗?"诗人皱着眉头问道。
Charity nodded into the church, and I followed her inside. I was amazed at all of the baskets and metal crates everywhere, filled with bullets, brass, and guns. I wasn’t sure how to feel about all this in a church, but then, it was the only place out of the rain. Bottlecap and another mare... she looked familiar... aha! Usury! That was it. They were busy organizing the wares. “Not anymore. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they got up to something!” she said savagely. “I mean to be ready. They’re not taking Chapel without a fight!”
查瑞蒂向教堂点点头，我跟着她进了教堂。我惊讶于到处都是篮子和金属板条箱，里面装满了子弹、黄铜和枪支。我不知道在教堂里该作何感想，但那是唯一不会下雨的地方。伯特克普和另一匹母马...她看起来很眼熟...啊哈！高利贷！就是这样。他们正忙着整理货物。"不再是了。但是如果他们有所行动，我也不会感到惊讶!"她野蛮地说。"我的意思是准备好。他们不会不战而降的!"
“I think you’ve fought and won,” I said with a little smile.
"我认为你已经战斗并取得了胜利,"我微笑着说。
“Won?” She trotted to the door and pointed out at the immense nest that jutted out over the river. “Till you take care of whatever the hell that is, I haven’t won anything.” She snorted and then flushed. “Sorry.”
"赢了?"她小跑到门口，指着河面上突出来的巨大鸟巢。"除非你搞定那个该死的东西，否则我什么也没赢。"她哼了一声，然后满脸通红。"对不起。"
I frowned. “Beg pardon?”
我皱起了眉头。"你说什么?"
“I... ugh! You’re a Princess now! Like, wavy mane and everything! I can’t deal with you like this.” She walked over and got a bucket, then walked back, jumped up, and stuck it on my head. “Okay. Better!” she said as I stood there rigidly; it hadn’t been a particularly clean bucket. “Now, Bucketjack... I mean, Blackjack...
"我.....。.啊！你现在是公主了！就像，波浪式的鬃毛和一切！我不能这样和你打交道。"她走过来拿了一个桶，然后又走回来，跳起来，把它放在我的头上。"好吧。更好!"我僵硬地站在那里，她说，这不是一个特别干净的桶。"现在，桶杰克......我是说，黑杰克.....。
I’ll have you know that I’ve been doing an extensive audit of your accounts with Chapel. I’ve calculated out all the fines, fees, interest, annoyance surcharges, various municipal taxes, and assorted favors I’ve extended to you over the course of our association. The amount probably exceeds the gross domestic product of the entire Wasteland!” I started to lift the bucket off my head, and she glowed up at me. I let it fall again.
我要让你知道，我已经对你在查普尔的帐目进行了广泛的审计。我已经算出了在我们的合作过程中我给你的所有罚款、费用、利息、烦恼附加费、各种市政税和各种各样的优惠。数额可能超过整个荒地的国内生产总值!"我正准备把桶从头上提起来，她却对我怒目而视。我又让它掉下来了。
“However,” she said grandly, “I have calculated that this debt can be repaid with one simple service. You simply have to go to the Core and stop... whatever it is that is doing all this. You do that, and we’ll be square.”
"不过,"她盛气凌人地说,"我计算过，这笔债务可以用一项简单的服务来偿还。你只需要进入核心并停止......不管是什么在做这一切。你这么做，我们就扯平了。"
“Square?” I asked with a little half smile.
"广场?"我带着一丝微笑问道。
“Debt paid in full,” Charity said firmly.
"全额偿还债务,"查瑞特坚定地说。
I lifted the end of the bucket to look down at her. “Forever?”
我提起桶的一端，低头看着她。"永远?"
She glowered at me, crossing her hooves. “Don’t push your luck, Blackjack.”
她怒视着我，交叉着她的蹄子。"别得寸进尺，黑杰克。"
I took the bucket off and set it to the side. “I accept your terms,” I said, with full sincerity.
我把桶拿下来，放在一边。"我接受你的条件,"我满怀诚意地说。
Charity’s eyes welled up, and she lunged at me, wrapping her hooves around one of my forelegs and hugging me tightly. I knelt down and hugged back. I knew the power of tears and knew she wouldn’t weep forever. I doubted she'd need a fraction of the time I did. After a few minutes, she went from sobs to hiccups and finally scrubbed her eyes. Bottlecap and Usury were both averting their eyes as she recovered. “If you tell anypony I bawled like a foal...”
慈善的眼睛涌了起来，她扑向我，用她的蹄子包住我的一条前腿，紧紧地拥抱我。我跪下来，拥抱回去。我知道眼泪的力量，也知道她不会永远哭泣。我怀疑她需要的时间只是我的零头。几分钟后，她从抽泣变成了打嗝，最后擦干净了眼睛。博特莱卡和高利贷在她恢复过来的时候都把目光移开了。"如果你告诉任何小马，我像小马驹一样大哭......"
“I know. The debt will be astronomical,” I replied as she furiously wiped her eyes and recomposed herself. Looking at the goods, I gave a sad little smile. “You know, if this last job is going to wipe all my debts clean, I could use some equipment.”
"我知道。债务将会是个天文数字,"我回答道，她愤怒地擦了擦眼睛，重新镇定下来。看着那些商品，我露出了一丝悲伤的微笑。"你知道，如果这最后一项工作能把我的债务一笔勾销，我可以用一些设备。"
She rolled her eyes with a tepid smile of her own. “All the good stuff’s been sent to the tunnel. You can have the pick of it. Whatever you need.” She groaned and covered her face. “Oh Goddesses, it’s happened. I knew it would sooner or later.”
她转了转眼睛，脸上带着自己的微笑。"所有好东西都被送进了隧道。你可以随便挑。无论你需要什么。"她呻吟着，捂住了脸。"哦，女神，已经发生了。我知道这是迟早的事。"
“What?” I asked in worried bafflement.
"什么?"我困惑地问道。
“I've lived up to my dumb name! Ugh!” She thumped her temples with both hooves. “No! I have to focus. It’s a one-time thing. Remember the book. Fifty Ways to Wind up Filthy Rich. I can write it off as a tax credit if taxes ever become a thing again! Right! There should be some leeway there.” She saw me barely suppressing a smile and went bright pink. “Don’t you have a job to do? Honestly! You cut a pony a deal on her debt and she... oooh...” She shoved my chest, trying to push me out the door. “Go!”
"我没有辜负我那愚蠢的名字！啊!"她用两只蹄子捶打自己的太阳穴。"不！我必须集中精力。就这一次。记住这本书。五十种致富方法。如果税收再次成为一种东西，我可以把它作为税收抵免一笔勾销！没错！应该还有一些余地。"她看到我脸上几乎没有笑容，脸色变得通红。"你不是有工作要做吗？老实说！你在她的债务上给了一匹小马一笔交易，然后她......哦......"她推了我的胸口，试图把我推出门外。"走!"
I wasn’t budging an inch. I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Charity’s eyes popped round as I murmured, “Thank you, Charity. You’ve been a good friend. You’ve had what I needed, when I needed it, and always made sure I got it. Even if you do get a little crazy with compound interest.”
我一寸都没动。我俯下身子，吻了吻她的额头。我低声说道:"谢谢你，查瑞蒂。你一直是个好朋友。你有我需要的东西，当我需要的时候，你总是确保我得到它。即使你对复利确实有点疯狂。"
Charity finally deflated. “Nuts. I just figured if I was rich, the Wasteland couldn’t get me. If I held on to what was mine, then I’d be okay.” She sulked a bit, before she frowned back up at me. “Please, come back, Blackjack. You’re super annoying, sometimes... well, always, but I want you around doing the right thing. Okay?”
慈善终于泄气了。"坚果。我只是觉得如果我有钱了，荒原就不会来找我了。如果我坚持拥有属于我的东西，那么我就没事了。"她有点生气，然后又对我皱起了眉头。"求你了，回来吧，Blackjack。你有时候超烦人的......好吧，一直都是，但是我希望你能做正确的事。好吗?"
“I’ll do my best,” I answered, pulling away. Usury made a gagging noise, but Bottlecap smiled at the filly warmly.
"我会尽力的,"我回答，拉开身子。高利贷发出了令人作呕的声音，但博特莱卡却对着这匹小母马温暖地笑了笑。
“Take care, Security,” Bottlecap said with a wave of her hoof.
"保重，保安,"Bottlecap挥动着她的蹄子说。
“Die in a fire,” Usury muttered as I stepped out.
"死于火灾,"高利贷在我走出去的时候喃喃自语。
“I heard that!” Charity snapped.
"我听到了!"查瑞蒂崩溃了。
I guessed I couldn’t win everypony over. I stepped out with Psalm and Boo. The pair were addressing four unarmed Brood who alternated between shouting and weeping as they talked. At the sight of me, they turned and bolted off into the rain. “Are they...” I asked, unsure just what I was going to end the question with.
我猜我不可能赢得每一匹小马的欢心。我带着《诗篇》和《Boo》走了出来。这对夫妇正在对四个手无寸铁的布鲁德夫妇讲话，他们一边讲话一边大喊大叫。一看见我，他们就转身冲进了雨中。"他们......"我问道，只是不确定我要用什么来结束这个问题。
“They are conflicted,” Psalm said as she watched them flee. “Imagine if all you knew was killing, and all you felt was the joy it brought, and then being given the knowledge that such things were wrong, and the weight of shame and guilt such knowledge brings...” She shook her head and smiled sadly at me. “The Legate will always be a part of them, I fear. Diluting it with myself is the only hope I have to give them any peace.” And she touched her bandaged chest with a sigh.
"他们很矛盾,"诗篇说，她看着他们逃跑。"想象一下，如果你所知道的只有杀戮，而你所感受到的只有它带来的快乐，然后被告知这样的事情是错误的，以及这样的知识所带来的羞耻和内疚的重量......"她摇摇头，悲伤地笑着看着我。"我担心，特使将永远是他们的一部分。用我自己的力量冲淡它，是我能给他们带来平静的唯一希望。"她叹了口气，摸了摸包扎好的胸口。
“Blackjack!” Scotch Tape cried out as she splashed through the ruins of Chapel with Bastard close behind her, a soggy cigarette still clenched resolutely in his jaw. “Ugh, what a mess,” she said as she surveyed the scene. Then she glowered up at me, “You left me behind again.”
"黑杰克!"苏格兰胶带在她走过教堂的废墟时大声呼喊，巴斯塔德紧跟在她身后，一支湿漉漉的香烟仍然坚定地咬着下巴。"啊，真是一团糟,"她环顾四周说。然后她怒视着我,"你又把我丢下了。"
“To be fair, I got snatched away by a dragon,” I answered.
"说句公道话，我被一条龙抓走了,"我回答。
She huffed and tapped her PipBuck. “Runners reported that if there are any Brood still wanting to fight, the storm is keeping them down. That LittlePip person must have a PipBuck with an insane range to target only the Brood who are attacking. Like to know how she pulled that one off.” She sighed and coughed. “Not that it matters. There’s Enervation spreading all over the valley. In a few hours, it’s probably going to be uninhabitable.” She frowned as she scrolled down. “Also, before contact was cut off, there were reports of Enervation symptoms all over the Wasteland. New Appleloosa. Tenpony. That Junction place.”
她气喘吁吁地轻轻敲了敲她的皮布克。"跑步者报告说，如果有任何布伦特仍然想要战斗，风暴正在阻止他们。那个矮小的匹普人必须有一个疯狂的射程范围，只瞄准正在攻击的布伦特龙队。想知道她是怎么做到的。"她叹了口气，咳了几声。"这不重要。整个山谷都充满了能量。再过几个小时，这里可能就无法居住了。"她向下滚动时皱起了眉头。"此外，在切断联系之前，整个荒原都有衰弱症状的报告。新appllooosa。Tenpony.那个枢纽站。"
I could imagine hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of silver rings set in ‘pest control’ boxes tacked onto ruins siphoning life and souls to the Eater. “So this really is it,” I said as I stared at the nest.
我可以想象成千上万的银戒指，如果不是上百万的话，被钉在害虫控制盒上，吸取生命和灵魂到食者的废墟上。"原来真的是这样,"我盯着鸟巢说。
“Yup. You get to save the world. Lucky you,” Bastard said dryly as water dripped off the end of his cigarette. “Don’t fuck it up now.”
"是的。你可以拯救世界。"你真走运,"淘气包干巴巴地说，水从烟头滴下来。"现在别搞砸了。"
There wasn’t much to say as we made our way to the tunnel mouth. This was where all of us had descended into the ground for the first time. Where we’d found the megaspell complex. Where Glory had lost her wing. All because they followed me...
当我们走向隧道口的时候，没有什么好说的。这是我们所有人第一次下到地下的地方。在那里我们发现了巨型建筑群。晨辉失去了她的翅膀。都是因为他们跟踪我..。
Psalm reached out and covered me with her wing, giving me a little hug and a gentle smile, as if she knew what I was feeling. For all I knew, she could. “What happened to my blank?” I asked Scotch.
诗篇伸出手，用她的翅膀遮住我，给了我一个小小的拥抱和一个温柔的微笑，仿佛她知道我的感受。就我所知，她可以。"我的空白怎么了?"我问苏格兰威士忌。
“They’re going to keep it safe. It seems chugging a bottle of Flux is going to keep it going for a long time.” She made a face. “That Morningstar pony gave it a whole ‘nother ten liters of the stuff, just to see what would happen.”
"他们会保证它的安全。看来喝一瓶Flux能让它持续很长一段时间。"她做了个鬼脸。"那匹晨星小马又给了它整整10升这种东西，只是想看看会发生什么。"
I tried not to think about where Morningstar had gotten that much Flux. “Try not to let anypony experiment on me, please.” I’d had enough of that. There seemed to be a tent set up with a number of ponies working around it. I spotted the
我试着不去想晨星从哪里得到了那么多通量。"请不要让任何小马在我身上做实验。"我已经受够了。那里似乎搭起了一个帐篷，周围还有许多小马在忙碌。我发现了
telltale gleam of white moonstone in the dark. A railcar was being set up at the mouth of the tunnel. Scotch Tape and Bastard immediately veered off to check on it.
在黑暗中闪烁着白色月光石的光芒。一辆有轨电车正在隧道入口处安装。苏格兰胶带公司和淘气包公司立即转向去查看。
As we approached the tent, Triage emerged. “Flying by dragon is for the birds,” she commented as she consulted a clipboard. “Okay! Here’s what we got for you.” She reached over and picked up a pristine twelve gauge pump action shotgun. “One IF-80. You’ll probably want to name it or something. Eight moonstone slugs with a heavy powder charge for the shield housings. They’ll probably take out the generators inside, but if not, you have your sword for those.” The slugs were, appropriately, in white hulls. She gestured to six moonstone pendants and a dozen brilliant purple potions in Sparkle-Cola bottles. “Six anti-Enervation medallions for whoever is going with you. Twelve extra-strength rejuvenation potions, with moonstone fragments to keep them fresh longer, brewed half an hour ago.”
当我们走近帐篷时，分诊处出现了。她一边查阅笔记板，一边评论道:"飞龙在天，飞鸟在天。"。"好吧！这是我们为你准备的。"她伸手拿起一把质朴的十二口径泵动式。「一个IF-80。你可能想给它起个名字什么的。八枚月光石子弹，带有重型火药，用于防护罩。他们可能会破坏里面的发电机，但如果没有，你可以用剑来对付它们。"这些蛞蝓的外壳是白色的。她指了指6个月光石吊坠和一打Sparkle-Cola瓶子里的亮紫色药水。"六枚抗衰弱奖章给跟你走的人。半小时前酿制的十二种超强抗衰老药水，用月光石碎片保鲜更久。"
“Going with me?” I asked with a frown. My friends were dead and gone. With the exception of Scotch Tape and Boo, who was left who would want to go on a one way trip with me?
"和我一起去吗?"我皱着眉头问。我的朋友都死了。除了ScotchTape和Boo，还有谁愿意和我去单程旅行？
Triage stared like I’d just asked a very stupid question, and gestured inside the tent. “We’ve got a selection of firearms, explosives, energy weapons, and almost anything else you might need, courtesy of the Keepers.” Inside the tent, the elderly yellow stallion regarded me warmly and gave a little bow as he gestured at the cornucopia of mayhem behind him.
分诊医生盯着我，好像我刚刚问了一个非常愚蠢的问题，在帐篷里做了个手势。"我们有各种各样的武器，爆炸物，能量武器，以及几乎任何你可能需要的东西，这些都是'守护者'提供的。"帐篷里，这匹年长的黄色种马热情地打量着我，并向我微微鞠了一躬，同时向身后一片狼藉的人群示意。
“How am I going to know how to get there? The tunnels have to be mangled,” I asked, and then added, “And who’s going with me?”
"我怎么知道怎么去那里？隧道必须被破坏,"我问，然后补充说,"谁和我一起去?"
Again, that look. “Rover provided maps of the red tunnels, which are still mostly operational. Between them, the cyberdogs, Watcher’s spritebots, and Applebot slaving in some Protectaponies as scouts, we’ve been able to map a route that should get you underneath that...” She paused, then just gestured at the Core.
再说一次，这个表情。"罗孚提供了红色隧道的地图，这些隧道目前大部分仍在运营。在他们之间，赛博狗，观察者的喷射机器人，和苹果机器人辛辛苦苦地做侦察员，我们已经能够绘制一条路线，应该可以让你在那之下......"她停顿了一下，然后只是指了指核心。
“You’ve been busy,” I remarked, impressed.
"你一直很忙,"我说，印象深刻。
“End of the world and all that. Amazing how people get off their asses when the shit’s hit the fan and the fan turns out to be powered by a balefire bomb. Plus, a lot of this was put into action by Goldenblood hours ago.” She pointed to a terminal under the tent which had a beam rifle strapped to its top in a makeshift
"世界末日什么的。令人惊讶的是，人们是如何摆脱他们的屁股时，狗屎击中风扇和风扇原来是由一个balebfire炸弹的动力。此外，金血王数小时前就开始实施这些措施了。"她指着帐篷下面的一个终端，帐篷顶上临时搭了一把横梁步枪
frame and pointed up at the mountains, the two wired to spark batteries. “Also, someone wants to talk to you. Just don’t jostle it.”
然后指向山上，两个连在一起，点燃电池。"还有，有人想和你谈谈。只是不要推挤它。"
I frowned at the terminal and then carefully tapped a button. The tip of the beam rifle started to strobe, and then the terminal lit up. The screen flickered a few times, and then a unicorn appeared. A unicorn I hadn’t seen in a long, long time. “Hey,” she rasped weakly. “Sorry for being late to the party.”
我在候机厅皱了皱眉，然后小心地按了一下按钮。光束步枪的顶端开始闪光，然后终端点亮。屏幕闪烁了几下，然后一只独角兽出现了。一只很久很久没见过的独角兽。"嘿,"她气喘吁吁地说。"对不起，我来晚了。"
“LittlePip,” I murmured, then gave a shaky little smile. “How?”
"小匹普,"我喃喃地说，然后露出颤抖的微笑。"怎么做?"
“Line of sight relay on top of the mountain. Only thing that cuts through the interference,” she said with a little wave of her hoof, then coughed. “Hope it stays aligned,” she said through the coughing, then sniffed. “My friends are okay?”
"视线转到山顶上。"唯一能穿透干扰的东西,"她用蹄子轻轻地摇了摇说，然后咳嗽了一声。"希望它能保持一致,"她边咳边说，然后吸了一口气。"我的朋友们没事吧?"
“Calamity lost his brother, but other than that, they’re okay. They’ve saved a lot of lives. You saved a lot of lives,” I said with a smile. “Thank you.”
"卡拉米蒂失去了他的兄弟，但除此之外，他们都很好。他们拯救了很多生命。你救了很多人的命,"我笑着说。"谢谢。"
She gave an embarrassed little smile. “Glad to do it. Going to take forever to get this thing back in place. Also...” She frowned at me. “Luna’s electroshocked nipples, Blackjack, do you have any idea how hard it was to not hit you with lightning? What were you thinking, flying up onto a roof and grabbing a metal pole to get a better view?”
她尴尬地微笑了一下。"很高兴这么做。要把这东西恢复到原来的位置需要很长时间。还有......"她皱着眉头看着我。"卢娜的电击乳头，黑杰克，你知道不被闪电击中有多难吗？你是怎么想的，飞到屋顶上抓一根金属杆来看得更清楚?"
Luna’s... electroshocked... how did she know? “I don’t think I was,” I murmured. “I lost Glory.”
卢娜被电击了，她怎么知道的？"我想我不是,"我喃喃地说。"我失去了晨辉。"
LittlePip’s face showed all of her shock, and then worry. “I’m sorry.”
小皮普的脸上流露出她的震惊和担忧。"对不起。"
“Well, she wasn’t the first. P-21. Rampage. Lacunae...” I said, then grimaced and sniffed.
"好吧，她不是第一个。P-21.横冲直撞。空隙......"我说，然后做了个鬼脸，嗅了嗅。
“I know. I know. Steelhooves... he...” She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “But you have to hold on. See it through to the end. Persevere,” LittlePip said in her squeaky little voice. Somepony cleared their throat next to her, and I felt as if lightning had hit me after all. “Go ahead.”
"我知道。我知道。铁蹄......他......"她嗅了嗅，揉了揉眼睛。"但你必须坚持下去。坚持到底。"要坚持,"小匹普用她尖细的声音说。有个小马在她旁边清了清嗓子，我觉得好像被闪电击中了一样。"去吧。"
“Luna?” Celestia said calmly through the terminal, her digitized face replacing LittlePip’s.
"露娜?"塞莱斯蒂亚平静地通过终端说道，她那数字化的脸代替了小匹普的。
“Sister,” I sobbed at once. “Are you okay?”
"姐姐,"我立刻抽泣起来。"你还好吗?"
“I... will recover… in time... That abomination is an evil beyond any from the darkest reaches of Tartarus,” Celestia said as she gazed at me and smiled through her own tears. “Luna. I am so sorry, Luna. I left you...”
"我.....。.会及时恢复......那个可憎的东西是来自地狱深处的邪恶。"塞莱斯蒂亚凝视着我，透过她自己的泪水微笑着说。"露娜。我很抱歉，卢娜。我离开了你......"
“I made you go, remember? One of us had to survive... for Equestria,” I replied.
"是我让你去的，记得吗？我们中必须有一个人活下来......为了小马国。
“But I didn’t survive.” Celestia closed her eyes, a mask of pain upon her face. “I failed, Luna. I failed Equestria. And I failed you most of all. I made mistakes. Such little... such catastrophically terrible... mistakes. And I forced you to clean them up. Then... I did not believe in you.” She closed her eyes. “I... I have not been a very good sister, Luna.”
"但我没能活下来。"塞莱斯蒂娅闭上了眼睛，痛苦的面具遮住了她的脸。"我失败了，露娜。我辜负了小马国。最让你失望的是我。我犯了错误。如此小的...如此灾难性的可怕的...错误。我强迫你清理干净。那时......我不相信你。"她闭上了眼睛。"我.....。.我不是一个好姐姐，露娜。"
“So you were a little overbearing. That’s the sun for you,” I answered. “I forgive you, Sister. No matter what happened to me... to us... to Equestria... I don’t blame you for any of it. Ultimately, it was my failing. I have to make it right.”
"所以你有点专横。那就是你的太阳,"我回答。"我原谅你，修女。不管我发生了什么，我们发生了什么，小马国发生了什么，我都不怪你。最终，这是我的失败。我必须纠正错误。"
“Oh, Luna. You were always so much stronger than anypony gave you credit for,” Celestia answered. “We’ll be together again, Sister. We’ll make it right.”
"哦，露娜。塞莱斯蒂亚回答说:"你总是比任何一匹小马都要强壮。"。"我们会再在一起的，修女。我们会补救的。"
I shook my head. “I think the time for Princesses is over, Sister. I think... I think we’re going to have to trust them to make Equestria right again without us.”
我摇了摇头。"我想公主时代已经结束了，修女。我认为......我认为，我们只能相信他们，没有我们，他们也能让小马国恢复正常。"
“Leave it to the commoners?” Celestia said with a mock-horrified expression. “Perish the thought!” I laughed, despite my tears. “Maybe you’re right,” Celestia went on. “Maybe our time is over, but I still can’t help watching over them for a time more.”
"把它留给老百姓?"塞莱斯蒂亚带着一种假装震惊的表情说道。"打消这个念头!"我笑了，尽管我流着眼泪。"也许你是对的,"塞莱斯蒂亚接着说。"也许我们的时代已经结束了，但我还是忍不住要多照顾他们一段时间。"
“I love you, Tia,” I murmured.
"我爱你，蒂雅,"我低声说。
“I love you too, Lulu,” she replied, kissing her hoof and reaching out as if touching the screen. I couldn’t resist. I mirrored the action, and on the tap, the screen faded to static. I guess Triage hadn’t been joking about jostling it. Maybe she could fix it. I turned to the medical pony and...
"我也爱你，露露,"她一边回答，一边亲吻着她的蹄子，伸出手来，好像在触摸屏幕。我无法抗拒。我镜像了这个动作，点击一下，屏幕就静止了。我想推推搡搡并不是在开玩笑。也许她能修好它。我转向小马医生..。
She was gaping in shocked horror at Bastard. Bastard’s cigarette had fallen from his slack jaw as he goggled back at Triage. Scotch Tape gave me a baffled look as the pair stared and then, in unison, jabbed a hoof at the other and shouted, “You’re supposed to be dead!” In perfect synchronicity, they gestured to
她吓得目瞪口呆地看着淘气包。淘气包的香烟从他松弛的下巴上掉了下来，他在伤检分类处向后张开眼睛。苏格兰胶带困惑地看了我一眼，这两个人盯着我，然后异口同声地用蹄子戳了戳另一个，喊道:"你们应该死了!"在完美的同步性中，他们指向
themselves. “Me? You’re the one who’s supposed to be dead!” They froze.
他们自己。"我？你才是那个该死的人!"它们僵住了。
My eyes swept from one to the other. The coats were a little off, but they had similarly-colored eyes... horns... builds... faces... “Uh. Do you two know each other?” I asked dully.
我的眼睛扫视了一圈又一圈。外套有点掉了，但是他们的眼睛颜色差不多......角......身材......脸......"嗯。你们俩认识吗?"我无精打采地问。
“I... she...” Bastard sputtered, as Triage spat, “I... he...”
"我.....。."她......"巴斯塔德结结巴巴地说,"我.....。.他..."
Triage recovered first. “This... this murderous reprobate... this gangster...”
伤检分类先恢复了。"这个...这个凶残的恶棍...这个流氓..."
“Hey! I paid for–” Bastard snapped.
"嘿！"我付了钱——"淘气包厉声说。
“Which you never let me forget!” Triage yapped back. “I didn’t ask you to–”
"你永远不会让我忘记的!"分诊医生向后退了几步。"我没让你..."
“Oh, but you didn’t say no to the bits back then, did you?” Bastard interrupted, jabbing his hoof at her.
"哦，但是你当时没有拒绝那些小东西，对吧?"淘气包打断了她的话，用蹄子戳了戳她。
“I told you I was going to pay you back! I had a kid, remember!” And she stopped, and Bastard paused as well. “I thought you were dead, you bastard. You’re supposed to be dead. Everyone was dead and gone and behind me. What happened to you? How can you still be alive?”
"我告诉过你我会还给你的！我有一个孩子，记得吗!"她停了下来，淘气包也停了下来。"我以为你死了，你这个混蛋。你应该已经死了。每个人都死了，离开了，在我身后。你怎么了？你怎么还活着?"
“Zebras,” he said with a shrug. “You?”
"斑马,"他耸耸肩说。"你?"
“M.A.S. experiment,” she answered.
"m.a.s.实验,"她回答。
“Told you working for the M.A.S. was a bad idea,” he countered.
他反驳道:"我早就告诉过你，为国防部工作是个坏主意。"。
“You were working for a criminal! You have no right to...” She stopped, then laughed weakly. “Hell... two hundred years and we’re still fighting,” she muttered.
"你在为一个罪犯工作！你没有权利......"她停了下来，然后虚弱地笑了。"该死......两百年了，我们还在战斗,"她喃喃自语。
“You’re two hundred years old?” I gaped at Bastard. Then at Triage. “Both of you?!”
"你已经两百岁了?"我目瞪口呆地看着淘气包。然后是伤检分类。"你们两个?!"
Triage sighed and rolled her eyes. “We really don’t have time to get into it. Roo–”
分诊医生叹了口气，转了转眼珠。"我们真的没有时间深入讨论。小豆
The gaze over his glasses swore death. “Say it and I go back to being an only child.”
他眼镜上方的凝视发誓说他死了。"说出来，我就会变回独生子女。"
She snorted, rolling her eyes, and amended, “Bastard is my brother.”
她哼了一声，翻了翻白眼，修正道:"淘气包是我哥哥。"
Mollified a bit, he japed, “You’re a bastard too. Or whatever the female version is.”
他开玩笑地说:"你也是个混蛋。或者随便什么女性版本。"
“There is no female version, numbnuts,” she answered with a flat-eyed glower.
"没有女性版本，笨蛋,"她用平视的目光回答。
He shrugged, then looked at me. “Fraternal twins. Mom was an earth pony, dad a pegasus who flew the coop.”
他耸耸肩，然后看着我。"异卵双胞胎。妈妈是一匹地球上的矮种马，爸爸是一匹飞马，飞马逃跑了。"
“Oh Goddesses, Mom!” She grabbed his shoulders. “Please tell me Mom is still dead!” She surveyed the scene in alarm.
"哦，天哪，妈妈!"她抓住他的肩膀。"请告诉我妈妈还是死了!"她惊恐地环视了一下现场。
“I think so,” Bastard answered as he did the same for a few seconds. “Though, knowing this place, I could see her as some ghoul, croaking about how we never call, how we’re both failures...”
"我想是的,"淘气包回答说，他也这样做了几秒钟。"虽然，了解这个地方，我可以把她看作是一个食尸鬼，呱呱叫着说我们怎么从来没有打过电话，我们怎么都是失败者......"
“At least she wasn’t trying to pawn you off on some son of one of her friends. ‘He’s a plumber. He’s a good catch. This one’s a lawyer! Can’t get better than that.’ Yeesh.” She shivered. “And she wouldn’t be a ghoul. She’s just too crotchety to let balefire bombs kill her.”
"至少她不是想把你丢给她朋友的儿子。他是个水管工。他是个不错的对象。这个是律师！没有比这更好的了是的。"她打了个哆嗦。"她也不会成为食尸鬼。她只是太古怪了，不会让爆炸弹杀死她。"
Looked like I wasn’t the only pony with one heck of a story to tell. “I knew there was something special about you,” I said, smirking at him.
看起来我不是唯一一个有很多故事要讲的小马。"我就知道你有什么特别的地方,"我说，冲着他傻笑。
“No. No. No. I am not special. I am just a hitpony who slept in way too long,” he snapped, waving his hooves as if trying to ward off some evil spell of mine.
"没有。没有。没有。我并不特别。"我只是一只沉睡得太久的小马驹,"他厉声说道，挥舞着他的蹄子，好像在试图抵御我的邪恶魔咒。
“You’re just a weirdness magnet, Blackjack,” Triage countered. And when I opened my mouth, she added, “Don’t even bother asking. It doesn’t matter, and you don’t need to know the details.”
"你就是一块古怪的磁铁，Blackjack,"Triage反驳道。当我张开嘴的时候，她补充道:"别问了。这不重要，你不需要知道细节。"
“Awwww...” I, Scotch Tape, and Boo said in unison.
"啊......"我、透明胶带和布异口同声地说。
“Don’t you have a world to save?” Triage snapped at me. “The others are waiting at the tunnel. Go.” She softened a little. “I’ll tell you later, after I’m good and really drunk. Okay?”
"你不是还有一个世界要拯救吗?"伤检分类法对我大发雷霆。"其他人在隧道里等着呢。去吧。"她稍微温和了一点。"等我喝得酩酊大醉之后，我再告诉你。好吗?"
“No, you won’t,” Bastard countered. “Nothing good happens when you blab.” He pointed at the Core. “Don’t you have the world to save or some shit?”
"不，你不会的,"淘气包反驳道。"当你说漏嘴的时候，没有什么好事发生。"他指着核心。"难道你没有世界要拯救吗?"
Oh sure. Throw the end of the world at me... “Fine, but what,” I said as I turned to the tunnel. My voice trailed off faintly as I took in the sight before me, “others...”
当然。把世界末日扔给我......"好吧，但是什么?"我转向隧道说。当我看到面前的景象时，我的声音微弱地变小了,"其他......"
All the others.
所有其他的。
Standing at the mouth of the tunnel was a mob of ponies. I immediately picked out Calamity, Velvet Remedy, Homage, Xenith, and Pyrelight standing together in the middle. Next to them stood the Reapers. Brutus looking oiled and magnificent. Storm Front, Dazzle, and Hammersmith. Whisper and Tenebra were next, and then a half dozen Zodiacs I barely recognized and wished I knew better. Libra, Scorpio, Aries, Leo, Virgo, and... I think that blue unicorn was the new Gemini?
一群小马站在隧道口。我立即挑选了灾难、天鹅绒药、敬意、氙气和发热光站在中间。旁边站着收割者。布鲁特斯看起来油光满面，气势恢宏。暴风雨前锋，Dazzle和哈默史密斯。接下来是耳语和脑波强化器，然后是六个我几乎认不出来的星座，我希望我知道的更多。天秤座、天蝎座、白羊座、狮子座、处女座和......我认为蓝色独角兽是新的双子座？
On the other side of LittlePip’s friends were the Enclave. Twister, Boomer, Dusk, and Sky Striker, all in their power armor, and the cyberpegasus Silver. Then there was Stronghoof, wrapped up in bandages yet still standing strong and sparkly. Crumpets was beside to him with a look of weary determination. Lancer and Adama, Xanthe, Pythia, and Carrion were next, the ghoul griffin having repaired or replaced his armor. Nails, the lone Harbinger. In the back loomed Pain Train the minotaur, Rover, and the hellhound Gnarr. At the end of the row stood Applebot, Sweetie Bot, and Scootaborg.
小匹普的朋友们在小匹普的另一边是昂科雷。龙卷风，布默，黄昏，天空攻击者，都在他们的力量盔甲，以及网络飞马银。然后是斯特朗霍夫，裹着绷带，仍然坚强而耀眼地站着。小圆饼在他身边，脸上带着疲倦而坚定的神情。接下来是Lancer和Adama，Xanthe，Pythia和Carrion，食尸鬼griffin已经修复或更换了他的盔甲。指甲，孤独的先驱者。痛苦列车在后面隐约出现，里面有牛头怪、罗孚和地狱犬纳尔。在最后一排站着Applebot，SweetieBot和Scootaborg。
There were others, too. Ponies I’d never met but who were here because this was the place that needed them. I may have lost my friends, but I was far from on my own. Standing behind me, Psalm extended her weather-blocking spell over the whole assembly, shielding them from the storm. Quite a few seemed glad to be out of the wind and rain.
还有其他人。小马我从来没有见过，但谁在这里，因为这是需要他们的地方。我可能失去了我的朋友，但我远不是一个人。站在我身后，诗篇用她的阻挡天气的咒语覆盖了整个会场，保护他们免受暴风雨的侵袭。不少人似乎很高兴能避开风吹雨打。
“I can’t take all of them,” I murmured.
"我不能把他们都带走,"我喃喃地说。
“You’ve got enough room on the car for six or so,” Scotch Tape replied from my side. “More than that and they’re going to be falling off. You’re going to have to move really fast to avoid the things that are in the tunnels now, so I wouldn’t try to bring in a flock of pegasi either. We only have enough moonstone to protect that many, too.” She looked at the crowd. “Everypony agreed not to argue with your decision.” She trotted over to the middle, Psalm following, then snapped at Bastard, “Hey, get over here! You know you can do it too!”
"你车上的空间足够坐六个人左右,"苏格兰胶带从我这边回答。"超过这个数字，它们就会掉下来。为了避开隧道里的东西，你必须快速移动，所以我也不会尝试引入一群飞马。我们只有足够的月长石来保护那么多人。"她看着人群。"每匹小马都同意不与你的决定争论。"她小跑到中间，然后对淘气包说:"嘿，过来！你知道你也能做到的!"
He stalked over, muttering to himself as he took a seat next to Scotch, wearing
他大步走过来，一边自言自语，一边坐在苏格兰威士忌旁边
the biggest ever ‘do not pick me’ expression on his face. Triage chuckled beside me, and when I glanced at her she replied with a sardonic smirk, “Don’t look at me. There’s no way I’m going down there.”
他脸上最大的"别挑我"的表情。分诊医生在我旁边咯咯地笑着，当我瞥了她一眼时，她冷笑着回答说:"别看我。我绝不下去。"
I stared at her, then at all of them. Just... pick? “I... how can I choose? This... I’m not sure that there’s going to be any coming back from this. I can’t ask you to come with me.”
我盯着她，然后盯着他们所有人。随便选一个？"我.....。.我该如何选择？这...我不确定能不能从这件事中恢复过来。我不能要求你和我一起去。"
“Ask? Pfft!” Whisper rolled her eyes. “As if! We should ask you to come with us!”
""问？噗!"耳语转动着她的眼睛。""好像是！我们应该请你跟我们走一趟!"
“You don’t have to ask us,” Velvet said with a calm smile.
"你不用问我们,"维尔韦特平静地笑着说。
“Ain’t like this is our first rodeo with the future resting on us pullin’ out a win,” Calamity said with a nod, then lowered his head, adding quietly to himself, “Besides, he’d want to be here if he could.”
"这又不是我们第一次参加竞技会，未来就靠我们了,"卡拉米特点点头说，然后低下头，平静地对自己说,"而且，如果可以的话，他也想来这里。"
“My daughter believed in you,” Sky Striker said grimly. “I may not like you. I might actually hate you, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit by and let her death be for nothing! I won't lose any more of my family.”
"我的女儿相信你,"天空前锋冷冷地说。"我可能不喜欢你。我可能真的恨你，但是如果我坐视不管，让她白白死去，我会被诅咒的！我不会再失去我的家人了。"
Pythia peered at her map. “Eh. Future’s all wibbly wobbly right now. Save the world. Doom the world...” She peeked at me and gave an impudent little grin. “If you’re going to kill an eldritch abomination from beyond, I want a front row seat!”
皮提亚凝视着她的地图。"嗯。现在的未来是摇摇欲坠的。拯救世界。毁灭世界......"她偷看了我一眼，厚颜无耻地咧嘴一笑。"如果你要从外面杀死一个可恶的怪物，我要一个前排座位!"
“You don’t understand!” I shouted as I looked from one to the next. “I can’t ask you to pay this price! I can’t have you dying for this! I can’t!” I fell onto my haunches. There was dead silence from the assembly, eyes locked onto me, with expressions ranging from compassion to confusion to disapproval. “Lacunae. Rampage. P-21. Glory... I can’t take losing any more people for this!” I hung my head, wishing Psalm’s field let through the rain to hide my shameful tears.
"你不明白!"我边喊边从一个地方看到另一个地方。"我不能要求你付出这样的代价！我不能让你为此送命！我做不到!"我跌倒在地。大家一片死寂，眼睛紧紧盯着我，表情从同情到困惑再到不满。"空白。横冲直撞。P-21.晨辉......我不能再为此失去更多的人了!"我低下头，希望诗篇的田野能够透过雨水掩盖我可耻的眼泪。
“You’re a fucking moron, Blackjack!”
"你他妈的是个白痴，黑杰克!"
I gasped and lifted my head, staring up into the scornful eyes of Whisper. The mare grabbed me by my collar and hauled me to my hooves. “You think this is all about you? You think I or these other assholes don’t have a price to pay?” She swept a wing at the assembly. “Every single person here is willing to pay whatever fucking price it takes to see tomorrow! Some of us have already paid
我倒吸了一口气，抬起头，凝视着《耳语》中那双充满蔑视的眼睛。那匹母马抓住我的领子，把我拖到蹄子边。"你以为这一切都是为了你吗？你以为我或者其他这些混蛋就不用付出代价吗?"她在大会上扫了一只翅膀。"这里的每一个人都愿意付出任何他妈的代价来看到明天！我们中的一些人已经付出了代价
more than you’ll ever know. Some of us have debts that are way, way overdue! Doesn’t matter. You can stay there crying in the mud, if you want. Sit on your ass. We’ll go ourselves and find some way to pull this shit off!” She took a deep breath. “But... and it pains me to admit this... there might be more ass in there than I can kick personally, so I’ll let you come along. If you can keep up.”
比你知道的还要多。我们中的一些人的债务已经拖欠很久了！没关系。如果你愿意，你可以呆在那儿在泥里哭。坐着别动。我们自己去想办法解决这件事!"她深吸了一口气。"但是......承认这一点让我很痛苦......里面的人可能比我个人能踢的还要多，所以我会让你一起去。如果你能跟上的话。"
I stared at the pegasus, feeling the corners of my mouth pulling into a reluctant smile despite myself. “It might be a one way trip,” I pointed out. “Are you sure?”
我凝视着飞马，感觉自己的嘴角不由自主地挤出一丝勉强的微笑。"这可能是一次单程旅行,"我指出。"你确定吗?"
She narrowed her eyes, her forehooves playing over her abdomen. I was suddenly aware how very still my own belly had gotten since I left the Collegiate. “Fuck one way trips. Life’s a one way trip. Your face is a one way trip. I’m coming back.” She flew over my head, her tail snapping at me, but our eyes met for a moment. She gave a little smirk back at me as she waited to see my next choice.
她眯起眼睛，前蹄划过腹部。我突然意识到自从我离开学院学院后，我的肚子是多么的平静。"去他妈的单程旅行。人生是一条单行道。你的脸是一个单程旅行。我会回来的。"她飞过我的头顶，她的尾巴向我猛咬，但我们的目光相遇了一会儿。当她等着看我的下一个选择的时候，她也对我笑了笑。
Well, that was one. I turned and surveyed the rest. I hadn’t expected to come back from this. Go to the Eater, do... something, win. I’d probably die in the process, but I’d win. Now, I had others coming with me to help me... and I couldn’t just throw their lives away. I needed a carefully calculated, well-thought-out plan of who else to bring with me... and getting them out alive again.
好吧，这就是其中之一。我转过身，打量着其余的人。我没想到会从这里回来。去Eater，做点什么，赢得比赛。我可能会在这个过程中死去，但我会赢。现在，我有其他人和我一起来帮助我...我不能就这样抛弃他们的生活。我需要一个经过精心计算的、经过深思熟虑的计划，来决定还能带谁一起去......并让他们再次活着离开。
I checked the time on my PipBuck.
我查看了我的PipBuck的时间。
Half an hour until armageddon.
还有半小时就是世界末日了。
Crap.
该死。
 
Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: The penultimate chapter. I really wanted this to be the very last one. I really did, but there was just too much to wrap up. I hope that folks can forgive me. The next chapter is the last, and then there should be a brief epilogue. Then there’s a few places we’ll do some little fixes, and then upload to FimFic. Then done! Done done done done done...
(作者注:倒数第二章。我真的希望这是最后一次。我真的这样做了，但是有太多的东西需要包装。我希望大家能原谅我。下一章是最后一章，然后应该有一个简短的结语。然后还有一些地方我们会做一些小的修复，然后上传到FimFic。那就这么定了！结束了结束了结束了结束了..。
For everyone who’s stuck with me through all of this, I want to thank you. It’s been an incredible saga, which has only been possible with your
对于每一个陪伴我度过这一切的人，我要感谢你们。这是一个令人难以置信的传奇故事
reading, the mind numbingly awesome assistance of Hinds, Bro, swicked, and Hearthshine, and the financial support of generous readers. As always, thanks to Kkat for creating FoE. We need to draft her for doing something with Fallout 4 when it comes out! Draft Kkat! Do eet!
阅读，Hinds，Bro，swized，andHearthshine令人头脑麻木的援助，以及慷慨的读者的经济支持。一如既往，感谢Kkat创造了敌人。当《辐射4》上映的时候，我们需要征召她来做些什么！征兵卡特！快点！
To folks that read and critique the story, thank you so much for your feedback. The occasional video reviews have been awesome, and fair. I hope when I start my next big project that I remember everything that I’ve learned. I hope to have the story done before moving up to Oregon and resuming teaching... I so hope it’s done...
对于那些阅读和评论这个故事的人们，非常感谢你们的反馈。偶尔的视频评论很棒，也很公平。我希望当我开始我的下一个大项目时，我能记住我所学到的一切。我希望在搬到俄勒冈州继续教学之前，这个故事已经完成了......我真希望它已经完成了.....。
To people who would like to support Horizons or my future projects, bits can be donated through Paypal to David13ushey@gmail.com or through my (still horrible) patreon account at www.Patreon.com/somber. Special thanks to Spencer, AllisOne, Quotidian, Dust Eagle, Carlis, Mysfit, David, O’neil, Fdot, Michael, James, Chris, Mark, FallenAngel, Kristian, GoFish, Robojan, and special thanks to Allen Medlen.
对于那些希望支持地平线或者我未来项目的人，可以通过Paypal将比特捐赠给david13ushey@gmail.com，或者通过我在www.patreon.com/somber的patreon账户。特别感谢Spencer，allison，Quotidian，DustEagle，Carlis，Mysfit，David，O'neil，Fdot，Michael，James，Chris，Mark，FallenAngel，Kristian，GoFish，Robojan，特别感谢AllenMedlen。
swicked: Reread the scene starting on the lower half of page 29 while listening to this:
重读29页下半部开始的场景，听下面这段:
https://youtu.be/eqqSa9n2ZQk?t=2m15s
It wasn’t in Somber’s head when writing it but it captures the scene so well…
写这本书的时候并不在Somber的脑子里，但是它很好地捕捉了这个场景.....。
Oh, and you’ll never guess what Bastard’s real name is, but trust me, it really is that embarrassing.
哦，你永远猜不到淘气包的真名是什么，但是相信我，真的很尴尬。