“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...”
很久很久以前，在马斯瑞亚这片神奇的土地上
“Brahmin shit!” blurted the green earth pony stallion across the campfire as the pale blue unicorn with the two-toned purple and navy mane finished talking. Ten or so people were crowded around the fire’s warming light. Mostly ponies, but there were a pair of zebras, a griffin, and a helldog too. An alicorn listened in silently, the blue’s eyes soft and wise. The boughs of the Everfree Forest loomed around them, thick and dark and timeless as ever. The old road wasn’t pleasant, the sort of road along which people traveled together for safety, but it was the only path transecting the ancient wood.
"婆罗门狗屎!"营火对面的绿色地球小马脱口而出，淡蓝色独角兽的紫色和藏青色鬃毛交谈完毕。大约有十个人挤在温暖的火光周围。大部分是小马，但也有一对斑马，一只狮鹫和一只地狱犬。一只橡子静静地听着，蓝色的眼睛温柔而睿智。永恒自由森林的树枝在他们周围隐约出现，茂密而黑暗，一如既往地永恒。这条古老的道路并不令人愉快，这是那种人们为了安全而一起行走的道路，但它却是唯一一条横切古老森林的道路。
“Security died?” the youngest of the group, a pegasus foal with a bright orange mane, asked as she rested atop her mother. The unicorn gave a sober nod, and then foal screwed up her face and added, “For good?”
"保安死了?"这群小马驹中最小的一匹，长着亮橙色鬃毛的小马驹，问道，她趴在她妈妈身上。独角兽清醒地点了点头，然后小马驹皱起脸补充道:"永远?"
“No!” the green stallion drawled sarcastically. “Then she came back from the dead a fourth time, and this time she descended deep into the earth to stop some even bigger monster from destroying us all!”
"不!"绿色的种马慢吞吞地说。"然后她第四次起死回生，这一次她下到地下深处，阻止更大的怪物毁灭我们所有人!"
The unicorn scowled at him. “She didn’t come back!” she snapped, and her ears folded a little. “They found her body. Her PipBuck confirmed it. She was gone,” she said as she bowed her head. “They built a tomb in Chapel. You can actually go see her PipBuck if you want.”
独角兽怒视着他。"她没有回来!"她厉声说道，她的耳朵有点收缩。"他们发现了她的尸体。她的PipBuck证实了这一点。她走了,"她低下头说。"他们在教堂里建了一座坟墓。如果你愿意，你可以去看她的PipBuck。"
“With its super dooper megaspell inside! Wooooo!” the stallion went on, waving his hooves in the air at the foal.
"里面还有超级大鸟megaspell！呜呜!"那匹种马继续向小马驹挥舞着蹄子。
A vein on the unicorn’s temple began to twitch. “No. Not with the megaspell inside. EC-1101 was gone.”
独角兽太阳穴上的一条血管开始抽搐。"没有。里面有megaspell的话就不会。Ec-1101不见了。"
“Right. Because it never existed to begin with,” the stallion said smugly as he leaned back. “When will you Commonwealthers accept that this whole Security garbage was just a cooked-up story to one-up the Lightbringer’s?”
"对。因为它从一开始就不存在,"这匹种马自鸣得意地向后靠着说。"你们联邦什么时候才能接受这整个安全问题只是一个捏造出来的故事，比"光明使者"的故事还要好?"
“It wasn’t made up. Homage and Velvet Remedy, as well as dozens of others, confirmed she did exist,” the unicorn said with a scowl. “You Republicans just can’t accept any other settlement can have its own heroes.”
"这不是瞎编的。《敬意》、《天鹅绒补救》以及其他几十本书都证实了她的存在,"独角兽皱着眉头说。"你们共和党人就是不能接受任何其它解决方案都有自己的英雄。"
The stallion snorted with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “Homage said a lotta things, a bunch while on Dash. I’ll accept that there might have been a pony named Blackjack, or Security, or the Maiden, or whatever. I’ll even accept that she might have set off a megaspell or something. But a city of the damned built over an ancient abomination? Going to the moon? The moon!” He scoffed and shook his head. “Sorry, but I don’t buy it.”
那匹种马不屑地挥动蹄子喷了一下鼻息。"在Dash上,'效忠'说了很多东西。我承认可能有一匹叫Blackjack的小马，或者叫Security，或者Maiden，或者其他什么的。我甚至可以接受她可能引发了一场巨大的争论或什么的。但是一个被诅咒的城市建在一个古老的可憎之物上？去月球？月亮!"他嗤之以鼻，摇摇头。"对不起，我不相信。"
“Well, I’ve always been skeptical of the Lightbringer’s accounts,” the foal’s mother, a tangerine mare with a deep blue mane, interjected. “She took on the Enclave, and only one pony she knew died? I had an ancestor with the Enclave military, and their stories are that Neighvarro was betrayed by a Dashite sympathizer.”
"嗯，我一直对光明使者的说法持怀疑态度,"小马驹的母亲插话道，她是一匹有着深蓝色鬃毛的橘色母马。"她骑上了昂科雷，只有一匹她认识的小马死了？我有一个昂科雷军队的祖先，他们说邻里里瓦罗被一个达什特人的同情者出卖了。"
That prompted an eyeroll from the stallion before he returned to glaring at the unicorn. “Right. But aren’t there ponies in the Commonwealth itself that disputed the whole ‘Maiden of the Stars’ thing? That one pegasus... um...
这引起了种马的眼泪，然后他回来怒视着独角兽。"对。但是，难道英联邦本身就没有一匹小马对"星中少女"的说法存在争议吗？那一匹飞马..。
Moonshadow? And even one of your councilors! Yeah! First Citizen Boing said that Security had done almost as much harm as good.” He grinned at the clearly uncomfortable mare. “She said ‘let us not wipe the blood from the hooves of heroes, nor worship them without skeptical consideration.’ She didn’t buy into that whole Security deal.”
月之影？甚至还有你们的一个议员！耶！第一公民Boing说，安全措施带来的危害几乎和好处一样多。"他对着那头明显不舒服的母马咧嘴笑了笑。"她说,'让我们不要抹去英雄们蹄上的鲜血，也不要不加怀疑地崇拜他们。'她根本不相信保安公司那套说辞。"
The unicorn rolled her eyes. “Fine, but there’re plenty of other people who believe that that’s what happened. Psalm witnessed everything right up to the moment she left Blackjack in the Core. And Scotch Tape–”
独角兽转动着她的眼睛。"好吧，但还有很多人相信这就是事实。诗篇见证了一切，直到她离开黑杰克在核心。还有透明胶带。"
“Who disappeared too...” the stallion interrupted.
"谁也消失了......"种马打断了他。
“She witnessed what happened on the moon,” the unicorn pressed on. “And
"她目睹了月球上发生的一切,"独角兽继续说道。"还有
while both admit that Blackjack had her flaws, they confirm her story.” The stallion dismissed that with a haughty sniff.
尽管两人都承认黑杰克有她的缺点，但他们证实了她的说法。"那匹种马傲慢地嗅了一下便不屑一顾。
“What happened to Scotch Tape?” the pegasus foal asked.
"透明胶带怎么了?"飞马驹问道。
* * *
* * *
Chapel was quiet today. No sounds of hammers banging away like so many other places in the Hoof. Scotch Tape picked through the ruins of a basement. “Sorry it took a year for us to get down here for your mom’s things,” she said as she looked over at Majina. The zebra filly quietly poked through the corroded metal boxes. Most were full of mildewed trash, but there were a few here and there that had intact old books and scrolls. Pythia sat nearby, the cloaked Starkatteri reading through the scrolls at random. “We’ll take whatever we can back to the Remnant camp. I’m sure Adama would like them.”
小教堂今天很安静。没有像霍夫其他地方那样的锤子敲击声。在地下室的废墟中采集的透明胶带。"对不起，我们花了一年的时间才到这里来取你妈妈的东西,"她边说边看着Majina。斑马小母马悄悄地戳穿了腐蚀的金属盒子。大部分都是发霉的垃圾，但也有一些这里那里有完整的旧书和卷轴。皮提亚坐在附近，披着斗篷的斯塔卡特里正在随意地阅读卷轴。"我们会带上所有能带回的东西，回到例外人的营地。我相信阿达玛会喜欢的。"
“Yeah. Back to getting scowls and gestures to ward off evil star wickedness. Yay,” Pythia said with a roll of her eyes, receiving a sharp glare from Scotch Tape. The cloaked filly raised her hooves in surrender and returned to perusing old maps.
"是的。回到用皱眉和手势来避开邪恶的星星。耶!"皮提亚转了转眼珠，接受了透明胶带的强烈反光。披着斗篷的小母马举起蹄子投降，然后回去仔细阅读旧地图。
“I don’t want to go back to the camp,” Majina sniffed as she poked halfheartedly through the basement. “Adama liked Impalii. I’m just a reminder that he didn’t make it.”
"我不想回营地去,"马吉娜嗤之以鼻，半心半意地穿过地下室。"阿达玛喜欢黑暗骑士。我只是提醒他，他没能挺过来。"
“And Chapel reminds you of your mom,” Scotch Tape said with a sigh. “I feel the exact same way about 99. And Chapel doesn’t even feel like Chapel anymore. So many new ponies are moving in that it just feels like the Crusaders are fading away. I don’t know where Adagio, Allegro, and Sonata went with Octavia. Charity might still be running the shop, but it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. Nothing’s the same anymore.”
"小礼拜堂让你想起了你的妈妈,"苏格兰磁带叹了口气说。"我对99岁的感觉完全一样。小礼拜堂甚至感觉不再像小礼拜堂。这么多新的小马正在搬进来，它只是感觉像十字军正在消失。我不知道柔板、Allegro和索纳塔和奥克塔维亚去了哪里。也许还是慈善机构在经营这家店铺，但感觉已经不一样了。一切都不一样了。"
“Yeah. Life sucks. Wear a hat,” Pythia replied as she looked at a new scroll. “Where did your mom get all of these, anyway?”
"是的。生活糟透了。"戴顶帽子,"皮提亚一边回答，一边看着一个新的卷轴。"话说回来，你妈妈是从哪儿弄到这些的?"
“She took them from the Legate when we fled,” Majina said, staring forlornly around the room. “Stashed them away and brought them here when she had a chance. She thought they might be important.”
"我们逃走的时候，她从特使那里拿走了它们,"马吉纳说，孤独地环视着房间。"她把它们藏起来，有机会就带到这里来。她认为它们可能很重要。"
“Well, she wasn’t wrong,” Pythia said as her eyes flickered across the page. “A
"好吧，她没有错,"皮提亚说，她的眼睛在纸上闪烁。"a
lot of these are dispatches from Roam. Stars only know how they survived. Someone must have thought they were special.”
很多都是Roam派来的。星星只知道他们是如何生存下来的。肯定有人觉得他们很特别。"
“Aren’t you going to join the other Starkatteri?” Scotch Tape asked.
"你不打算加入另一个星卡特里吗?"透明胶带问道。
“You mean wrinklebutt, meltyface, and ‘bwa ha ha’? Not likely,” Pythia said with a snort. “I wanted to understand a shadow on the future. That shadow was Amadi and the Eater. Those three can go back to plotting... whatever,” she continued with a scowl. Scotch stared at her for a moment, and Pythia glanced up at her. “What? In case you haven’t noticed, no one likes me or my tribe. Not even other Starkatteri.”
"你是说皱纹屁股，黑脸，还有'bwahaha'？不太可能,"皮提亚哼了一声。"我想了解未来的阴影。那个影子就是阿玛迪和食人者。那三个人可以继续密谋......不管怎样,"她皱着眉头继续说道。苏格兰人盯着她看了一会儿，皮提亚抬头看了她一眼。"什么？提醒你一下没人喜欢我和我的部落。即使是其他的星卡特里也不行。"
“Well, you have to do something,” Scotch Tape said.
"好吧，你必须做点什么,"苏格兰胶带说。
“I am. I am reading about reallocation of shamanistic fetishes away from the front at Shattered Hoof Ridge,” she answered, brow furrowing. “What about you? Aren’t you building the future or somesuch?”
"是的。"我正在读关于在粉碎性蹄脊把萨满教的崇拜物从前面移开的新闻,"她皱着眉回答。"你呢？你不是在创造未来吗?"
“Yeah. I offered my plans and designs to Triage. Then she patted me on the head and went to some meeting. With Blackjack gone, I’m just some filly again. I’ll need four or five years before they start taking me seriously. The plans are in for Chapel, but we’re way down on the reconstruction list, and Charity’s only still in charge because Keeper says so. Adults just won’t take orders from kids.”
"是的。我把我的计划和设计提供给分流。然后她拍了拍我的头，去参加一个会议。随着Blackjack的离去，我又变回了小母马。在他们开始认真对待我之前，我需要四五年的时间。小礼拜堂的计划已经完成了，但是我们在重建名单上的位置已经下降了，而且查瑞特还在负责，因为守门员说了算。成年人不会听从孩子的命令。"
“Well, give it a few years and bitch at them for not listening to you when their toilets stop–” And at that moment, Pythia froze. “No.” Majina and Scotch Tape blinked at her as the filly’s eyes widened. “No, I’ve heard of that!” She tossed the scroll aside and started to dig through her saddlebags, pulling out a plastic bag containing a stack of rune-covered three by five cards. Pythia withdrew them and started flipping through. “Where did I hear of that?”
"好吧，再过几年，当他们的厕所停止工作的时候，他们就会因为没有听你的话而对他们发牢骚——"就在那一刻，皮提亚僵住了。"没有。"马吉娜和苏格兰胶带眨着眼睛，小母马的眼睛睁大了。"不，我听说过!"她把纸卷扔到一边，开始从她的鞍囊里掏出一个塑料袋，里面装着一叠覆盖着符文的卡片。皮提亚把它们取出来，开始快速翻阅。"我从哪儿听说的?"
“What? What are you doing?” Majina asked with a little frown, sniffing and wiping her eyes. “What are those?”
"什么？你在干什么?"马吉娜皱着眉头问道，嗅了嗅，擦了擦眼泪。"那些是什么?"
“Notes some Starkatteri zebras have made of some of the nastier things in the world,” she said as she flipped through. “The Eye of the World. I know I’ve heard that phrase before...”
"注意到一些星级卡特里斑马是由世界上一些更肮脏的东西制成的,"她一边说一边翻阅着。"世界之眼"。我知道我以前听过这句话......"
“You keep them on notecards?” Scotch asked with a half smile.
"你把它们放在卡片上?"苏格兰威士忌带着半个微笑问道。
Pythia froze, giving Scotch Tape a flat look. “What should I keep them in? A black ponyhide tome with runes of evil on the cover? ‘Cause I think we tried that once,” she said scornfully before resuming her flipping. Then she found what she was looking for, her eyes scanning the glyphs immaculately penned on the card. “Wha...” She looked at the scroll. “No... but why...” Back to the card. “They wouldn’t...” She read the scroll again.
皮提亚愣住了，给了透明胶带一个平淡的眼神。"我应该把它们放在什么里面？一本黑色的披风，封面上印着符文的大部头？"因为我想我们已经试过一次了,"她轻蔑地说，然后继续翻转。然后她找到了她正在寻找的东西，她的眼睛扫视着卡片上完美的刻字。"什么......"她看着卷轴。"没有...但是为什么..."回到卡片上。"他们不会......"她又读了一遍卷轴。
“What? What is it?” Majina asked with a small frown.
"什么？这是什么?"马吉娜皱着眉头问道。
Pythia immediately put the cards in her bags and stowed them, then started to shove letters and papers in after them. “We need to go. Grab all these papers so I can go over them later, but we need to go. Now!” Pythia said.
皮提亚立即把卡片放进她的袋子里，然后开始把信件和文件塞进去。"我们得走了。把这些文件都带上，我以后再看，但我们得走了。现在!"皮提亚说。
“Go?” Scotch Tape asked with a frown. “Go where?”
"去?"透明胶带皱着眉头问。"去哪儿?"
“The Homeland. I need to see if this order was actually carried out or not,” Pythia replied. “I doubt it was. I mean, I can’t think of any zebra that would actually do it... but I have to make sure.” She rose to her hooves. “Come on. Get them loaded up, and then we need to get going!”
《家园》(TheHomeland)。我需要看看这个命令是否真的执行了,"皮提亚回答说。"我对此表示怀疑。我的意思是，我想不出有哪只斑马真的会这么做......但我必须确保这一点。"她站起身来。"来吧。把他们装上车，然后我们就得出发了!"
“The ‘Homeland’?” Scotch Tape asked, and then her eyes went wide. “You mean the zebra lands?”
"《国土安全》?"透明胶带问道，然后她的眼睛睁得大大的。"你是说斑马的土地?"
“Aren’t you a smart pony! Gold star! Now come on,” Pythia said, gesturing to the papers.
"你真是一匹聪明的小马！金星！来吧,"皮提亚指着那些文件说。
“You want to go all the way to the Homeland?” Majina asked with a little frown.
"你想大老远跑到国土安全部?"马吉娜皱着眉头问道。
“Yeah,” she said, then pointed a hoof at Scotch. “I’ll need you to find somepony with a boat.” Then she pointed at Majina. “And I’ll need you to come with me so that they don’t make stupid warding gestures when I ask important questions.” The two didn’t answer. They just stared at her. “What? Did you two have anything else pressing to do? You don’t want to go to the camp. Nopony will take you seriously. So why not?”
"是的,"她说，然后用蹄子踢了一下苏格兰威士忌。"我需要你找个有船的小马。"然后她指着Majina。"我需要你和我一起去，这样当我问重要问题时，他们就不会做愚蠢的防护动作了。"两个人没有回答。他们只是盯着她看。"什么？你们俩还有什么要紧的事吗？你不会想去营地的。小马不会把你当回事的。为什么不呢?"
Scotch Tape’s mouth worked. “‘Cause... I mean... do you even know how to get to the zebra lands?”
透明胶带的嘴起作用了。"因为......我是说......你知道怎么去斑马地吗?"
“Sure. By boat. After that, I plan to ask for directions.” Pythia started for the stairs and then paused. “Why, do you have something else to do?”
"当然。坐船。之后，我打算问路。"皮提亚向楼梯走去，然后停了下来。"怎么，你还有别的事要做吗?"
The pair looked at each other, and twin tiny smile formed on their faces. They gathered up the rest of the scattered papers and together followed Pythia out of the basement. “You know,” Scotch Tape said, “I think I know a pony with a boat who’d be willing to help us...”
两人互相看着对方，脸上露出两个微笑。他们把剩下的零散的文件收集起来，一起跟着皮提亚走出地下室。"你知道,"苏格兰胶带说,"我想我认识一个有船的小马，他愿意帮助我们......"
* * *
* * *
“She went to the zebra lands,” the zebra stallion told the filly. Then he looked at the green stallion. “Accounts vary as to what actually happened there.”
"她去了斑马的土地,"斑马种马告诉小母马。然后他看着那匹绿色的种马。"关于那里实际发生了什么，说法各不相同。"
“Let me guess: died three times and saved the world?” the stallion said with a grin.
"让我猜猜:死了三次，拯救了世界?"种马咧嘴笑着说。
The striped pair regarded each other and simply shrugged. “It is a long story,” the zebra mare replied with a slightly pained look before addressing the unicorn mare. “But the Commonwealth is not a part of the NCR?”
这对斑纹夫妇互相看了看，只是耸了耸肩。"这是一个很长的故事,"斑马回答有点痛苦的表情之前，解决独角兽母马。"但英联邦不是共和国的一部分?"
“Hah, they wish!” the unicorn mare said, prompting another snort from her stallion counterpart. “The Lunar Commonwealth is an independent city state and a trading partner of the NCR. Our laws and government don’t recognize race. If you’re intelligent, you’re protected by the law. Pony. Zebra. Griffin. Even dragons. And we’re strictly neutral. No expansion out of the Hoof. The Highlanders and the dogs are our respected neighbors.”
"哈，他们希望如此!"独角兽母马说，引起了另一匹种马的鼻息声。"月球联邦是一个独立的城市国家，也是NCR的贸易伙伴。我们的法律和政府不承认种族。如果你聪明，你就会受到法律的保护。小马。斑马。格里芬。甚至是龙。我们是绝对中立的。没有扩张出霍夫。高地人和狗是我们尊敬的邻居。"
“Eh,” the helldog, not quite as monstrous as his ancestors, said with a shrug. “Is okay. Commonwealth ponies are nice, but very proud. Don’t like disagreements. Always think they right.” The canine scratched the underside of its jaw. “Just like NCR, actually.”
"呃,"那只地狱犬耸了耸肩说，它并不像它的祖先那么凶恶。"没关系。英联邦的小马很漂亮，但是很骄傲。不喜欢分歧。总是认为他们是对的。"那只狗挠了挠下巴的下面。"实际上，就像NCR一样。"
“Hey!” the stallion and unicorn said in unison, prompting a laugh from several others, including the pegasi.
"嘿!"这匹种马和独角兽异口同声地说，引起了其他几匹马的笑声，其中包括飞马座。
“The Lunar Commonwealth is nice enough if you’re looking for a place to live, but if you want to be free and get ahead, you just have to go to the NCR,” the griffin rumbled, and the stallion smiled from ear to ear before the griffin continued, “The NCR is way more loosey-goosey with contracts, enforcing the laws, and stuff. You can make all kinds of crazy money with the NCR.” The stallion’s smirk disappeared.
"如果你想找个住的地方，月球联邦是很好的，但是如果你想要自由，想要出人头地，你只需要去NCR,"狮鹫咕噜咕噜地说，这匹种马笑了起来，狮鹫继续说道,"NCR在合同、执法等方面更加宽松。你可以用NCR赚到各种疯狂的钱。"种马的傻笑消失了。
“I’m surprised the two haven’t gone to war,” the zebra mare said casually, and at
"我很惊讶这两个没有去战争,"斑马随意地说，岁
once the unicorn and earth pony both turned sheepish.
曾经独角兽和地球小马都变成了懦夫。
“Eh, we hit some rough patches every now and then,” the unicorn mare said. “Fifty years after the founding, the NCR tried annexing the Commonwealth, but the Lightbringer stepped in. Then a hundred years ago the Commonwealth started talking about forcing a regime change on the NCR. That didn’t go anywhere. And fifty years back the NCR beat the reunification drum again. That actually got to some shooting before sanity kicked back in. Now there’s talk of NCR aggression and ‘pre-emptive defense’. It won’t get far.” She wore a worried frown, though, which the green stallion shared.
"嗯，我们时不时地会碰到一些困难的地方,"独角兽母马说。"建国五十年后，共和国试图兼并英联邦，但是光明使者介入了。然后一百年前，英联邦开始讨论迫使共和国进行政权更迭。没什么结果。五十年前，新加坡共和国再次敲响了统一的号角。事实上，在他恢复理智之前，发生了一些事情。现在又有了NCR侵略和"先发制人防御"的说法。不会走远的。"她愁眉不展，绿色的种马也愁眉不展。
“It better not,” he said. “There’ve already been terrorist attacks in Junction City. And sure enough, those ‘United Equestria’ morons started calling for war before we even figured out who the attackers were.” He jabbed a hoof at the unicorn. “I don’t know who blew up those offices, but I don’t think the Commonwealth would kill ponies just to make a political point.” The unicorn gave a relieved smile to the stallion.
"最好不要,"他说。"枢纽城已经发生了恐怖袭击。果然，在我们还没弄清楚袭击者是谁之前，那些'马术联盟'的白痴就开始发动战争了。"他用蹄子戳了一下独角兽。"我不知道是谁炸毁了这些办公室，但我不认为英联邦会为了表达政治观点而杀死小马。"独角兽给了这匹种马一个宽慰的微笑。
“Who does run the Commonwealth?” the pegasus asked the unicorn. “It’s not a republic, is it?”
"谁来管理英联邦?"珀加索斯向独角兽求婚。"这不是一个共和国，对吧?"
“It’s a parliamentary council. Thirteen seats, six appointed by important organizations, seven elected by the boroughs around the Hoof. They elect a First Citizen, who sets the agenda. Every ten years, the council have to pass a vote of confidence, or they get booted out and a new councilor gets elected or appointed.” The unicorn screwed up her face. “It makes for some interesting negotiations at times...”
"这是一个议会委员会。十三个席位，6个由重要组织任命，7个由霍夫周围的区选举产生。他们选出一个第一公民，由他来制定议程。每十年，委员会必须通过一次信任投票，否则他们就会被踢出局，新的委员会就会被选举或任命。"独角兽扭曲了她的脸。"这有时会带来一些有趣的谈判......"
* * *
* * *
“The Carrots are still wondering why you haven’t used the position of First Citizen to appropriate any tax money for rebuilding and expanding Elysium,” Hoity Toity rasped. “They’re griping about the smaller dividends.” The boiled gray stallion in a slightly threadbare suit was meeting with Grace beneath an arbor overlooking what used to be a mighty reservoir. The canyon left behind was almost as breathtaking with its gray granite knobs and blocks.
"胡萝卜们仍然想知道，为什么你们没有利用第一公民的地位来挪用任何税款，用于重建和扩大极乐世界,"HoityToity愤怒地说。"他们抱怨股息减少。"这匹穿着有点破旧的灰色种马在一个凉亭下面和格蕾丝相遇，凉亭下面曾经是一个巨大的水库。留下的峡谷几乎和它那灰色的花岗岩岩块一样令人惊叹。
The cobalt-maned mare was lying on a bench and reading a scroll. “That’s because the Carrots can’t see an inch past their noses,” she replied without looking up. “By using our own money to rebuild and expand the Society, I can
那只长着钴色鬃毛的母马正躺在长凳上读着卷轴。"那是因为胡萝卜看不到它们鼻子后面的一英寸,"她头也不抬地回答。他说:「我们可以用自己的钱重建和扩充香港社会
lend our share of the tax revenue to elsewhere in the Hoof. That political capital is going to be of much more use in the long run than bottlecaps would in the short run.”
把我们的税收份额借给霍夫的其他地方。从长远来看，这种政治资本将比瓶装水在短期内更有用。"
“And Blackjack would approve of the altruism,” Hoity rumbled.
"Blackjack会赞同这种利他主义的,"豪伊蒂嘟囔着。
Grace sighed, putting the scroll down and gazing north along the canyon. “Indeed. Odd that, even with her gone, we still haven’t reverted back to squabbling, murderous, self-serving tribes.”
格蕾丝叹了口气，放下书卷，沿着峡谷向北望去。"的确。奇怪的是，即使她走了，我们仍然没有回到争吵不休、凶残残忍、自私自利的部落。"
“Near brushes with mutual annihilation do have a way of unifying people. I think the fact that the Society, Collegiate, Reapers, Thunderheaders, batponies, and Finders decided to make it work is keeping it intact more than anything else. The plebeians are content so long as they have food, security, some comfort, and hope,” Hoity replied.
"几乎同归于尽的毛笔交易确实有办法使人民团结起来。我认为事实上，社会，学院，收割者，雷霆头，蝙蝠战队，和芬德斯决定使它的工作是保持完整的比其他任何东西。平民只要有食物、安全、舒适和希望就满足。"豪伊蒂回答。
“Mmm,” Grace answered as she pondered that. “Noblesse oblige,” she murmured. “When the people prosper, the nobility prospers.” She rolled the scroll up with her magic. “Charm!” she called out.
"嗯,"格蕾丝沉思着回答。"贵族的责任,"她喃喃地说。人民富裕，贵族兴旺她用魔法把卷轴卷起来。"魅力!"她大声喊道。
From the far side of the arbor, said mare emerged. She was thin, her mane paler and wispier than it had once been. “Yes?” she asked, as if not sure if she was in trouble or not.
从凉亭的另一边，说母马出现。她瘦了，鬃毛比以前更苍白更明亮了。"什么事?"她问道，好像不知道自己有没有麻烦似的。
“I think it’s time we headed back inside for the day,” Grace said as she carefully shifted herself off the bench and onto a wheeled platform, her hindlegs dangling limply behind her. “Call the children.”
"我想是时候回屋里过一天了,"格蕾丝一边说，一边小心翼翼地从长凳上挪到一个带轮子的平台上，她的后腿软绵绵地在身后晃来晃去。"给孩子们打电话。"
Charm nodded and trotted back to the far side of the arbor. “Baccarat! Bouillotte!”
Charm点点头，小跑回了凉亭的另一边。"百家乐！布洛特!"
Hoity wheeled Grace around the arbor easily, and an earth pony colt and unicorn filly came into view. Their coats had a decidedly pale blue hue, and their manes were striped black and blue. The pair were wrestling in the grass, making a perfect mess of the white coveralls they wore. The colt flipped the filly onto her back and pinned her. “Gotcha!”
高傲的格蕾丝轻松地在凉棚上转了一圈，一匹地球上的小马驹和一匹麒麟小马进入了她的视野。他们的外套是明显的淡蓝色调，鬃毛是黑蓝条纹的。两人在草地上摔跤，把他们穿的白色工作服弄得一团糟。小马驹把小母马翻到她的背上，按住了她。"抓到你了!"
“Oh yeah?” the filly growled, then bit his ear.
"哦，是吗?"小母马咆哮着，然后咬了他的耳朵。
“Ah! No biting! No biting! Momma, she’s biting me!” the colt shouted as he
"啊！不准咬人！不准咬人！妈妈，她在咬我!"柯尔特一边喊着
waved a hoof to his mother.
向他母亲挥着蹄子。
“Bouillotte! Stop chewing on your brother this instant, young filly!” Charm said firmly. She spat out his ear with a glower, then shoved him off. “Baccarat, if you pin your sister, don’t be surprised if you get bitten.”
"布洛特！小姑娘，你现在不要再骂你哥哥了!"查姆坚定地说。她怒气冲冲地把他的耳朵吐了出来，然后把他推开。"百家乐(Baccarat)，如果你击中了你的妹妹，如果你被咬了，不要感到惊讶。"
“Yes, Auntie Charm,” said Baccarat.
"是的，魅力阿姨,"百家乐说。
“Sorry, Auntie,” echoed Bouillotte, but the instant Charm looked away to Grace, she stuck her tongue out at her brother.
"对不起，阿姨,"布洛特回应道，但是这瞬间的魅力转移到了格蕾丝身上，她向她的哥哥伸出了舌头。
“Let’s all go up and have some tea,” Charm said, then paused, looking uncertain. “It is time for tea, right? Or is it breakfast? Dinner?”
"我们都上去喝点茶吧,"查蒙说，然后停顿了一下，看起来很犹豫。"喝茶的时间到了，对吧？或者是早餐？晚餐?"
“Teatime,” Grace replied with a gentle smile, and the younger mare nodded her head, touching her temple a moment. “Are you alright?”
"下午茶时间,"格蕾丝温柔地笑着回答，年轻的母马点了点头，触摸了一下她的太阳穴。"你没事吧?"
“I... it’s just hard to keep track of things. I’ll be fine,” Charm answered with a tired little smile. Then she turned to the children. “Now, let’s get you messy ones up and changed and we can have some tea.”
"我.....。.只是很难记住一些东西。"我会没事的,"魅力带着疲倦的微笑回答。然后她转向孩子们。"现在，我们把你们那些乱七八糟的东西收拾一下，换换衣服，然后我们可以喝点茶。"
The pair nodded and took three steps towards the country club. Bouillotte glanced over at her brother, and then smirked. “Race you!” And then she took off up the hill. With just a grin, Baccarat followed, and in a few seconds the filly wailed out, “Hey! It’s not that much of a race!” Charm followed the pair at a much more languid pace.
两人点点头，向乡村俱乐部走了三步。布洛特瞥了一眼她的哥哥，然后傻笑起来。"看谁先到!"然后她上了山。只是一个微笑，百家乐紧随其后，并在几秒钟的母马哀号出来,"嘿！这算不上什么比赛!"魅力以一种更加懒散的步调跟随着这对夫妇。
“Are you ever going to tell them?” Hoity asked as he pushed her up the hill after them.
"你打算告诉他们吗?"在他们之后，豪伊蒂推着她上了山。
“That they’re not mine? No. Let everyone believe that they’re the illegitimate offspring of Lord Blueberry. He was a good stallion, and his mother loves them. Far safer than anypony else knowing the truth. They’re happier this way,” she said as she looked back at Hoity. “What of you? Are you still able to get your supply of Aqua Cura?”
"他们不是我的孩子？没有。让所有人都相信他们是蓝莓大人的私生子。他是一匹很好的种马，他的母亲很喜欢他们。比其他知道真相的人安全多了。他们这样更快乐,"她回头看着豪伊蒂说。""你呢？你还能买到水可拉吗?"
“For now. It’s only a matter of time until that radiation is purged as well, though. We ghouls are a dwindling lot, I fear,” he said as he wheeled her slowly up the slope. “Yet we must go on into that night sooner or later. I, at least, will go with dignity... although if I do go feral, I hope it will be in Carrot’s bedquarters. That
"就目前而言。不过，核辐射被清除只是时间问题。我担心，我们食尸鬼的数量正在减少。"他一边说，一边把她慢慢推上斜坡。"但是我们迟早要进入那个夜晚。至少，我会有尊严地离开......虽然如果我真的变得野蛮，我希望是在胡萝卜的床上。那个
is a stallion who deserves what little brains he has to be eaten.”
是一匹值得被吃掉的种马"
“I have no doubt,” Grace began to say, but then she paused. On the far side of the canyon, a white pony watched. It was impossible to make out more than that. She looked up at the ghoul, “Hoity, who–”
"我毫不怀疑,"格雷斯开始说，但随后她停顿了一下。在峡谷的另一边，一匹白色的小马在观望。除此之外，别无他法。她抬头看着食尸鬼,"豪伊，谁——"
But when she looked back, the pony was gone.
但是当她回头看的时候，小马已经不见了。
“Yes?” Hoity asked, looking behind them as well. “What is it?”
"什么事?"豪伊蒂问道，同时也看着他们的身后。"这是什么?"
“Nothing? Just a trick of the light, I suppose.”
""没什么？我想，这只是光线的作用。"
* * *
* * *
“It’s not like the system is any better than the NCR’s congress,” the stallion objected.
"这个系统并不比NCR的代表大会好多少,"这匹种马反对道。
“Yes, but most Lunarians can name all the sitting members of the Lunar Council. Can you name all two hundred and ninety-seven representatives in your congress?” the unicorn mare challenged with a smile.
"是的，但是大多数疯子都能说出月球委员会所有现任成员的名字。你能说出你们国会的全部二百九十七名代表的名字吗?"独角母马微笑着向我挑战。
“Eh. It’s still not true democracy,” the pegasus mare replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “When you put power in the hooves of others to use for you, it’s going to be abused.”
"嗯。这仍然不是真正的民主,"飞马马不屑一顾地挥着蹄子回答。"当你把权力放在别人的蹄子上供你使用时，它就会被滥用。"
“Like the Enclave?” the stallion said with a smirk, and the pegasus flushed.
"就像飞地?"那匹种马得意地笑着说，飞马冲了出去。
“The military rule was a failure of sense and reason, not democracy,” she retorted. “We deceived ourselves as a people.”
她反驳道:"军事统治是理智和理性的失败，而不是民主。"。"我们作为一个民族欺骗了自己。"
“Yeah, ponies are good at that,” the griffin said lightly, getting a chuckle from the zebras, helldog, and curiously also the alicorn. “You guys get way too wrapped up in things. Need to relax.”
"是的，小马很擅长这个,"狮鹫轻声说道，得到了斑马、地狱犬和奇怪的小角兽的一阵轻笑。"你们太专注于一些事情了。需要放松一下。"
“I hear employment is up for pegasi,” the alicorn said lightly, regarding the winged pair.
"我听说飞马座找到工作了,"阿里克松轻声说到这对长着翅膀的飞马。
“Yes,” the citrine pegasus explained with a small smile. “They’re bringing the last of the S.P.P. towers down. That thunderstorm that ran amok and ravaged Fillydelphia was the last straw. They just don’t have the parts to keep them
"是的,"黄水晶飞马微笑着解释说。"他们正在摧毁最后一座s.p.p塔。那场疯狂肆虐、摧毁菲利德菲亚的雷暴是最后一根稻草。他们只是没有足够的零件来保存它们
working right after four centuries. They’ll probably take whatever does work and ship it back to Junction City till it burns out too. Regardless, now we’re back in charge of the weather again. It’s a good feeling.”
工作了四个世纪。他们可能会把能用的东西都运回章克申城，直到它也烧光。不管怎样，现在我们又重新掌控天气了。这种感觉很好。"
“Just no blocking out the skies, okay?” the green stallion warned with a frown.
"只是不要挡住天空，好吗?"绿色的种马皱着眉头警告说。
“Two centuries and we still get that thrown in our face,” the mare said with a sigh. “The Enclave is gone. There hasn’t been a working Raptor in almost fifty years. We have only one working cloud factory. More and more, the high end technology fails. I’m glad there’re still some working airships, even if they’re nothing like the Raptors of old.”
"两个世纪以来，我们仍然得到那个扔在我们的脸上,"母马说，与一声叹息。"昂科雷消失了。几乎有50年没有一架能正常工作的猛禽了。我们只有一个工作的云工厂。越来越多的高端技术失败了。我很高兴还有一些飞艇在工作，尽管它们和以前的猛禽战机完全不同。"
“Yeah. Even the Commonwealth is feeling the pinch,” the unicorn admitted. “The griffin invasion and dragon war really took their toll. Even getting quality firearms material is tough.” She drew an old, worn pistol and carefully drew back the slide. When she released it, it didn’t return until she gently smacked it with the pad of her hoof. “When you can’t build a quality high speed lathe or functioning hydraulic press, that’s not good. At least we still have steam engines. We’re not going completely back to rocks and sticks.”
"是的。就连英联邦也感到手头拮据,"独角兽承认。"狮鹫入侵和龙战争确实让他们付出了代价。即使是获得高质量的火器材料也很困难。"她拔出一把破旧的手枪，小心翼翼地把滑环拉回来。当她松开它的时候，它一直没有回来，直到她用蹄垫轻轻拍打它。"当你不能建立一个高质量的高速车床或功能液压机，这是不好的。至少我们还有蒸汽机。我们不会完全回到石头和棍子上。"
The griffin chuckled. “Hey, don’t knock rocks and sticks. These days, more people will carry around a blade than a gun. Ammo’s so rare and expensive that it’s just safer. Besides, my people almost conquered the NCR with just claws and beaks. If it hadn’t been for those alicorns...” he trailed off as he looked flatly at the blue.
狮鹫咯咯地笑了起来。"嘿，不要敲石头和棍子。现在，更多的人会随身携带刀片而不是枪。弹药是如此稀有和昂贵，所以更安全。此外，我的族人几乎用爪子和喙征服了共和国。如果不是因为那些橡子......"他平静地看着蓝色，慢慢地走开了。
“You’re welcome,” she replied calmly.
"不客气,"她平静地回答。
“Well, things might have been different,” he said, and then he rolled his eyes. “Of course, then the radwyrms invaded and kicked everyone’s flank. That was a tough one,” he said, getting nods from everyone there.
"好吧，事情也许会不一样,"他说，然后转了转眼珠。"当然，后来雷德威勒姆斯入侵并踢了每个人的侧翼。这是一个艰难的决定,"他说，那里的每个人都点了点头。
“Yeah. We can all agree that tainted, radioactive dragons are bad,” the green stallion murmured before glaring flatly at the mare. “Of course, if the Commonwealth had joined us sooner, there might have been a lot less damage.”
"是的。我们都同意，被污染的、有放射性的龙是不好的。"绿色的种马在直截了当地瞪着母马之前喃喃地说。"当然，如果英联邦早点加入我们，损失可能会小得多。"
The unicorn rolled her eyes. “I told you, we’re not allowed to do that. The Reapers, Brood, and the Skyguard are defensive forces. Only the Zodiacs can leave the Hoof without special permission, because they’re law enforcement. It wasn’t until we were attacked that we could join in.”
独角兽转动着她的眼睛。"我告诉过你，我们不能这么做。收割者，布鲁德和天空卫队都是防御力量。只有黄道带才能在没有特别许可的情况下离开霍夫，因为他们是执法人员。直到我们受到攻击，我们才能加入进来。"
The stallion snorted skeptically. “Sure. And if you had joined in before that, you could have saved a lot of NCR lives.”
那匹种马怀疑地哼了一声。"当然。如果你在那之前就参与进来，你本可以挽救许多NCR的生命。"
From the back of the collection, a cloaked mare said softly, “It’s not the lives you could have saved that matter. That’s never enough, and you can drive yourself crazy if it’s what you focus on.” They turned, but only her white muzzle poked out into the firelight. “You save as many as you can, when you can. That’s all anypony can do.”
在藏品的后面，一匹披着斗篷的母马轻声地说:"这不是你可以拯救的生命。这是远远不够的，如果你只关注这个，你会把自己逼疯的。"他们转过身来，只有她那白色的嘴伸进了火光里。"当你有能力的时候，尽可能多地存钱。这是任何小马都无法做到的。"
Silence reigned for a few seconds as they looked at each other. The pegasus mare was the one to resume the conversation. “The Brood are real, then?”
他们面面相觑，沉默了几秒钟。那匹骏马是继续谈话的那匹。"那么，魔龙军团是真的了?"
“Oh yeah. They’re the protectors of the Hoof. They just... they’re odd,” the mare admitted. “Some of them act like ponies. Others like zebras. Or griffins. There’re stallions who think they’re mares or mares who think they’re stallions. They’re not exactly crazy, but strange. They handle day to day policing and the like. The Reapers are sent in for big threats, and the Zodiacs for elusive criminals.”
"哦，是的。他们是霍夫的守护者。他们只是...他们很奇怪,"母马承认道。"有些就像小马一样。其他人喜欢斑马。或者狮鹫。有种马谁认为他们是母马或母马谁认为他们是种马。他们并不完全疯狂，但很奇怪。他们负责日常治安之类的事情。收割者是为了巨大的威胁而被送进来的，而十二宫杀手则是为了捉拿难以捉摸的罪犯。"
“Are you a Zodiac?” the pegasus filly asked the unicorn, who immediately flushed. She shifted and pulled back her cloak to show a mark for Taurus. “Whoa.”
"你是十二宫吗?"飞马公主问独角兽，独角兽马上冲了进去。她把斗篷往后拉了拉，露出了金牛座的标记。"哇。"
“I... ah... hope you’re not after one of us,” the griffin squawked, suddenly sweating.
"我.....。."啊...希望你不是在追我们中的一个"狮鹫尖叫着，突然冒汗。
The mare batted her eyes at him. “Not unless you’ve got a bounty back at the Hoof. Do you?” She brushed her cloak back into place. “Anyway, the Brood are just strange. There used to be a doctor studying them, but she went crazy. Too much working around with taint. I don’t know the details...”
那匹母马瞪着他的眼睛。除非你在霍夫拿到赏金。是吗?"她把斗篷拉回原处。"不管怎样，布伦特一家都很奇怪。以前有个医生在研究这些，但是她发疯了。太多的工作与污点。我不知道细节......"
* * *
* * *
A grotesquely swollen Dr. Morningstar, fused with a golden tree, birthed a menagerie of fused creatures as she ranted and raved about her children. Candlewick, Dazzle, and Brutus faced her along with a half dozen others fighting to eliminate the horrific birthing monstrosity.
一个奇怪的肿胀的晨星医生，和一棵金色的树融合在一起，生出了一群融合在一起的生物，她一边咆哮着，一边谈论着她的孩子。烛芯，耀眼，布鲁图斯和其他六个人一起面对着她，试图消灭这个可怕的分娩怪物。
* * *
* * *
“...but I do know that they weren’t pretty,” the mare finished grimly.
"......但我知道它们不漂亮,"母马冷酷地说完。
The zebra stallion regarded the alicorn. “Not many of your kind live in the Hoof, do they?”
这匹种马注视着阿利克松。"你们这种人住在霍夫的不多，是吗?"
“Not without good reason,” the alicorn admitted. “The land has magical and spiritual scars of terrifying intensity. While the Enervation is no more, the land hasn’t truly recovered like elsewhere. It aches. When one goes to the Rainbow Dash Memorial and stands before the twisted wreckage, our kind can almost relive those last moments of the Castellanus’s flight. Which is why I can confirm that some of what Glimmershine said was true,” she said with a nod to the unicorn, who smiled gratefully.
"没有充分的理由是不行的,"阿里康承认。"这片土地上有着令人恐惧的魔法和精神创伤。虽然这片土地已经没有了活力，但它并没有像其他地方一样真正恢复生机。疼死了。当一个人去到彩虹纪念馆，站在扭曲的残骸前，我们这种人几乎可以重温卡斯特兰纳斯飞行的最后时刻。这就是为什么我可以证实格里姆夏恩所说的一些话是真的。"她对那只独角兽点了点头，独角兽感激地笑了笑。
“I heard there’re still alicorns that are all evil? Is that true?” the filly asked the alicorn with all the tactlessness and license of youth.
"我听说现在还有邪恶的海芋呢？这是真的吗?"小母马带着年轻人那种不知所措和放纵的神情问阿利康。
“Some,” the blue responded with a gentle smile. “We are immortal, which is taxing. While ghouls are largely no more, we remain. Losing friends and loved ones is hard on an immortal heart. Constant change is difficult. It’s been two hundred years since I awoke, and I have difficulty keeping things straight sometimes. We also reproduce only with great difficulty, so it is fortunate we are so long-lived. So yes, there are still alicorns who forget the teaching of Mother and Fluttershy. Pity them, for they are truly lost in this world.”
"有一些,"蓝色带着温柔的微笑回答。"我们是不朽的，这是费力的。尽管食尸鬼基本上已经不存在了，但我们依然存在。失去朋友和爱人对于一颗永恒的心来说是很痛苦的。不断的改变是困难的。自从我醒来已经有两百年了，有时候我很难把事情弄清楚。我们的繁殖也非常困难，所以幸运的是我们活得这么长。所以，是的，仍然有一些海龟忘记了母亲和小鸭子的教导。可怜他们吧，因为他们真的迷失在这个世界上了。"
* * *
* * *
The wind blew over the hills from the restored apple orchard at Sweet Apple Acres, carrying a sweet scent of blossoms on the air. So much hard work just for apples, but it meant the world to the earth ponies that had come to work their ‘birthright’. “Apple family. Go fig,” a bat-winged Whisper murmured, watching them caring for the trees off in the distance as she walked along the dusty trail, a troupe of batponies following behind her with a cart. Her band nattered to each other, talking about the concert the night before in Ponyville.
风从甜苹果园修复后的苹果园吹过山头，空气中飘着花香。这么多的辛勤工作只是为了苹果，但它意味着世界的土地上的小马已经来工作他们的"与生俱来的权利"。"苹果家族。"去吧，无花果,"一只蝙蝠翼的耳语喃喃地说，看着他们在远处照料着树木，她沿着尘土飞扬的小径走着，一队蝙蝠马在她身后拉着一辆马车。她的乐队彼此闲聊着，谈论着前一天晚上在Ponyville举行的音乐会。
When turning Ponyville into a ‘Hellhound Sanctuary’ had been a bust, because hellhounds weren’t animals and lived wherever they Goddesses-damned pleased, the NCR’d made a real effort to restore the village. There were even some new additions, like the long, scaled-up dormitories housing dozens of alicorns coming to rediscover themselves and learn to cope with the realities of immortality. Alicorn school.
当把Ponyville变成一个"地狱犬庇护所"时，它已经破产了，因为地狱犬不是动物，他们可以随心所欲地生活在任何地方，NCR为恢复这个村庄付出了真正的努力。甚至还增加了一些新的东西，比如那些长长的、按比例放大的宿舍，里面住着几十个来重新发现自己并学习如何应对长生不老的现实的海龟们。Alicorn学校。
She’d spotted Psalm there, along with Stronghoof. The pair either hadn’t
她在那里看到了圣歌，和斯特朗霍夫在一起。这两个人要么没有
recognized her or hadn’t wanted to interact. There wasn’t much to talk about. ‘Hey, been a long time since Blackjack got killed. How you been?’ ‘Fine, and how have you been holding up since we let Blackjack go die all alone?’ At least Crumpets and Dusk had ended up a couple. Eh, lesbians... go fig...
认出了她，或者不想和她接触。没什么好谈的。自从Blackjack被杀已经很久了。你最近怎么样很好，自从我们让黑杰克一个人死去后，你过得怎么样至少松脆饼和黄昏已经结束一对夫妇。女同性恋...去..。
Still, it’d been nice seeing the purple with her beefcake husband. She didn’t know what they’d done to him to give him tiny wings in addition to his tiny horn, but regardless, he still sparkled and was frigging annoying. Worse, they actually had a kid. How could I hate them now? she thought with a snicker.
尽管如此，看到她那健壮的丈夫穿紫色衣服还是很开心的。她不知道他们对他做了什么，除了他的小角之外，还给了他小小的翅膀，但不管怎样，他仍然闪闪发光，令人讨厌。更糟糕的是，他们还有个孩子。我现在怎么会讨厌他们呢？她窃笑着想。
The road ended at a pair of cottages. There was a horrible mauling taking place next to one. A half dozen ponies were stomping the shit out of one stallion, pegasi dive-bombing his head while unicorns tried to grab him with their magic. She would have joined in, except that the six were all foals and young ponies and their victim was Deadshot Calamity. The stallion had some gray in his beard and streaks in his mane, but he was still fit. Fun as it’d be to kick his flank, she wasn’t here for that. Whisper asked the band to hang back, taking only one guard with her as she continued on.
这条路的尽头是一对小屋。旁边发生了一起可怕的殴打事件。半打的小马正在践踏一匹种马的大便，飞马座俯冲轰炸它的头，而独角兽则试图用它们的魔法抓住它。她本来可以加入进来的，不过那六匹马都是小马驹和小马驹，它们的受害者是死亡射手卡拉米蒂。这匹种马的胡须有些灰白，鬃毛上有些条纹，但它仍然很健康。尽管踢他的侧腹很有趣，但她不是为此而来的。Whisper要求乐队后退，她继续前进时只带了一名警卫。
“Is that you, Whisper?” Velvet called as she walked out onto the porch. A baby in a diaper rode easily on her back.
"是你吗，小声说?"维尔韦特一边走到门廊上一边喊道。一个穿着尿布的婴儿轻松地骑在她的背上。
“Yeah. Sorry it took so long getting here,” she said as she climbed the steps of the cottage, giving the mare a quick hug before tugging at a choker with a bloodwing talisman on it. As it came off, her wings retracted back into her body, leaving only downy stubs behind. “Flying with those just isn’t the same. Like I’m borrowing someone else’s wings.” She gave a little self-deprecating smirk. “Even if bat wings are awesome.”
"是的。很抱歉花了这么长时间才来到这里,"她一边说，一边爬上小屋的台阶，给了母马一个快速的拥抱，然后又拉了一条带有血翼护身符的项链。当它掉下来的时候，她的翅膀缩回到身体里，只留下一些绒毛状的东西。"带着这些东西飞行是不一样的。就好像我借用了别人的翅膀一样。"她自嘲地笑了一下。"即使蝙蝠的翅膀很棒。"
“They still haven’t found replacements?” Velvet said as she trotted out to the other mare.
"他们还没找到替代人选吗?"维尔维特边说边跑向另一匹母马。
“They can’t slap a full cyborg prosthetic on there without reinforcing half the rest of my body, and Morningstar frigging stole Chimera so... no,” Whisper replied, then smirked. “Doesn’t matter. Wings or no wings, I can still kick ass.”
"他们不可能把一个完整的半机器人假肢放在那里而不加固我身体的另一半，而晨星公司这个讨厌的家伙偷走了奇美拉，所以......不,"Whisper回答道，然后傻笑起来。"没关系。不管有没有翅膀，我都能打败他们。"
“Yeah. I heard your concert in Ponyville last night,” Velvet replied, and then her face grew pained. “Actually, I think everypony for twenty miles heard it.”
"是的。我昨晚听了你在Ponyville的演唱会,"维尔维特回答道，然后她的脸开始痛苦起来。"事实上，我想方圆二十英里内的每匹小马都听到了。"
“Hey, you sing the classics, and I sing metal. New music isn’t nice and sweet.
"嘿，你唱经典，我唱金属。新的音乐并不美好和甜蜜。
It’s pumped and angry and doesn’t take shit from anypony,” Whisper said with a grin. Velvet sighed and rolled her eyes, but she still smiled a little.
它很兴奋，很生气，不听任何小马的屁话,"Whisper咧嘴笑着说。天鹅绒叹了口气，翻了个白眼，但还是笑了一下。
“And how are the batponies doing?” Velvet inquired. “I see you brought the band.”
"战士们怎么样了?"维尔韦特问道。"我看到你把乐队带来了。"
“Bodyguards, actually.” Whisper rolled her eyes. “I decided that if they were going to follow me around all the time, they might as well help me rock.” She regarded them with a smile. “They’re a lot like your alicorns, though. Doing better, but gradually.” Whisper’s grin soon faded as her ears folded back, and she glanced over her shoulder at the other cottage. “Does she know I’m coming?”
"其实是保镖。"耳语转动着她的眼睛。"我决定，如果他们要一直跟着我，不妨帮我摇滚起来。"她微笑着看着他们。"不过，它们很像你们的橡子。情况有所好转，但要逐步改善。"耳语者的笑容很快就消失了，她的耳朵向后收拢，她回头看了看另一间小屋。"她知道我要来吗?"
“She knows she’s going to have a very important visitor today,” Velvet answered as Whisper swallowed and rubbed a hoof on her other foreleg nervously. “I can go with you, if you like.”
"她知道她今天将有一个非常重要的访客,"维尔韦特紧张地咽了口唾沫，用另一只前腿蹭了蹭蹄子，回答道。"如果你愿意，我可以和你一起去。"
“No. If I can face the apocalypse, I should be able to do this,” she said as she straightened. A cheer rang out, and Calamity was laid out in the grass, his children pinning him down with glee. “So... seven? Think you’re going to stop there?” she asked Velvet.
"没有。如果我能面对世界末日，我应该能够做到这一点,"她边说边直起身子。一阵欢呼声响起，灾难降临在草地上，他的孩子们高兴地把他按在地上。""那么......七个？你觉得你会就此打住吗?"她问维尔韦特。
“You know, after Pipsqueak, we said she’d be the last. But then things happen, and you think ‘what’s one more?’” Velvet said as she touched her tummy, her golden PipBuck glimmering. The rose crystal songbird in the housing glowed gently when the light hit it just right.
"你知道，在Pipsqueak之后，我们说过她会是最后一个。但是当事情发生了，你就会想'再来一次又怎么样？"维尔韦一边摸着肚子一边说，她的金色皮布克闪闪发光。玫瑰水晶歌鸟在房屋发光温柔时，光击中它恰到好处。
Whisper flushed and rubbed her own slightly swollen belly, glancing back at one of the band with a warm smile. “Yeah. What’s one more?” The PipBuck on the pegasus’s own leg was a shining twin of Velvet’s save for its pink crystal star.
耳语满脸通红，揉着自己稍微隆起的肚子，带着温暖的微笑回头看了看其中一个乐队。"是的。再来一个又怎么样?"飞马自己腿上的皮伯克是维尔韦的一个闪亮的孪生兄弟，它是一颗粉色的水晶星。
Velvet chuckled maternally. “And it doesn’t quite conflict with my singing, since Calamity’s always here patrolling the skies and Homage will babysit.” Velvet smirked at Whisper. “She always protests, and always accepts. I think she’d just adopt Pipsqueak outright if we let her.”
丝绒像母亲一样轻声笑了起来。"这和我的歌声并没有太大的冲突，因为卡拉米特一直在天空巡逻，《致敬》会照顾我。"丝绒对着Whisper傻笑。"她总是抗议，总是接受。我想如果我们允许的话，她会直接收养小矮人的。"
“No way. She’s too smart for that. As an aunt, she gets to play with them, but when they start pooping and crying, she can send them back to Mom,” Whisper said with a grin. Her smile faded, though, and she gazed off at the other cottage, swallowing.
"不可能。她太聪明了，不会那么做的。作为一个阿姨，她可以和他们一起玩耍，但是当他们开始大便和哭泣的时候，她可以把他们送回妈妈那里。"Whisper笑着说。然而，她的微笑消失了，她凝视着另一间小屋，吞咽着。
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? Make introductions?”
"你确定不要我跟你一起去吗？介绍一下?"
“No,” the pegasus replied, and, giving Velvet a small smile, continued, “If we could get Gardens going after all the junk we went through, I should be able to handle this.”
"不,"飞马回答，给了维尔维特一个小小的微笑，继续说道,"如果我们在经历了这么多破事之后，还能让花园公司继续运营，我应该能处理好这件事。"
“True. It’s not like you’re facing a power-mad alicorn,” Velvet said. “Though you’d probably prefer that.”
"没错。这并不是说你面对的是一个疯狂追求权力的阿里康,"维拉韦说。"尽管你可能更喜欢这样。"
“Yeah. Not like I can kick her in the face.” Whisper bit her lip anxiously, then lowered her eyes. “Thanks, though. It’s still so new to me. Family, friends... I can still remember, growing up, Sanguine always telling me how much better I was than everyone else and encouraging me to... show them.” Whisper sighed. “He was all I'd ever had. I couldn’t even imagine a world without him, but he certainly could imagine one without me. So yeah, thanks again for teaching me about friendship and... being less of a cunt.” She gave a nervous smile. “Mean-ness isn’t strength.”
"是的。我又不能踢她的脸。"耳语着急地咬着她的嘴唇，然后低下了眼睛。"还是谢谢你。这对我来说还是很新鲜。家人、朋友......我仍然记得，在我成长的过程中，桑吉总是告诉我，我比其他人要好得多，并鼓励我......向他们展示自己。"轻声叹息。"他是我曾经拥有的一切。我甚至无法想象一个没有他的世界，但他肯定能想象一个没有我的世界。所以，是的，再次感谢你教会我关于友谊和......不要那么混蛋。"她紧张地笑了笑。"刻薄不是力量。"
Velvet gave her a hug. “Thank you for keeping us all together when everything fell apart. If you had given up on us, Apex would have irradiated and tainted the whole Wasteland with Gardens.” There was a yelp next to the house, and they both leaned over to see Calamity pinned to the ground, all six kids on his back. “And for teaching Calamity that sometimes Loyalty is standing up to your friends, no matter how much you love them.”
维尔维特给了她一个拥抱。"谢谢你在一切分崩离析的时候让我们在一起。如果你们放弃了我们，艾派克斯就会用花园来照射和污染整个荒地。"房子旁边传来一声尖叫，他们俩都俯下身来，看到卡拉米蒂被压在地上，六个孩子都躺在他的背上。"并教导灾难，有时忠诚就是勇敢地面对你的朋友，无论你多么爱他们。"
Whisper opened her mouth to reply, then closed it and shook her head. Enough stalling. She bid Velvet farewell, retrieved what she needed from the wagon, the guards standing silently back, and then turned and walked to the second cottage. Tentatively, she knocked on the front door.
低语者张开嘴想回答，然后闭上嘴摇了摇头。拖延时间到此为止。她和维尔维特告别，从马车上取回她需要的东西，守卫们静静地站在后面，然后转身走向第二间小屋。她试探性地敲了敲前门。
No answer. She glanced behind her, knocked again, and frowned. Had something happened? She should break the door down! Get her power hooves! ...Or maybe just check the backyard first? Slowly, she made her way around, almost walking into a shimmering field that had to be an invisible blue alicorn. “Go ahead,” the hidden protector murmured. “You’re clear.”
没有回答。她瞥了一眼身后，又敲了敲门，皱起了眉头。发生什么事了吗？她应该把门撞开！抓住她的动力蹄子！或者先检查一下后院？慢慢地，她绕了一圈，几乎走进了一片波光粼粼的田野，那里一定是一只看不见的蓝色海角。"去吧,"隐藏的保护者低声说。"你安全了。"
Whisper’s snarky reply was lost in her nervousness and a mouthful of scroll case. She walked a little further around the house...
在她的紧张和满嘴的卷轴盒中，低语者尖刻的回答消失了。她绕着房子走了一会儿。
There she was.
她在那儿。
Whether a product of the magic that had transformed her or just good luck, Fluttershy had aged well. A sort of timeless quality seemed to surround her, the silver strands of her mane blowing softly in the breeze coming off the Everfree. Her teal eyes seemed to gaze across centuries as she sat in the grass. At her hooves, a half dozen bunnies dozed. Though she definitely had wrinkles about her eyes, nothing of her appearance suggested infirmity, just old pain painted over with... something? Maybe hope?
不管是魔法的产物还是好运，小萤火虫已经老得很好了。一种永恒的特质似乎围绕着她，银色的鬃毛在从Everfree吹来的微风中轻轻地飘动。她坐在草地上，蓝绿色的眼睛仿佛凝视着几个世纪。看到她的蹄子，六只兔子打瞌睡了。虽然她的眼睛周围肯定有皱纹，但是她的外表并不表明她有缺点，只是旧时的疼痛被什么东西覆盖了？也许是希望？
Whisper spat out the scroll she’d been carrying, her mouth working several times before she finally croaked, “Hi... Mom.”
小声地吐出她一直带着的纸卷，她的嘴工作了好几次，最后终于呱呱地叫了起来,"嗨......妈妈。"
The pegasus turned those sad teal eyes to Whisper, and it was a moment before they focused on her. Comprehension slowly stole over the older mare. “Excuse me?” she queried with a little frown.
飞马把那双忧郁的蓝绿色眼睛转向了Whisper，过了一会儿他们才把注意力集中到她身上。理解慢慢地超过了年长的母马。"你说什么?"她皱着眉头问道。
“Please. I...” Whisper fumbled with a scroll case at her hooves. “Here! Please read this! I... he wrote it... just in case...” She held the scroll case out. After all, if Rainbow Dash had survived as a ghoul, there might have been a chance of seeing Fluttershy again. He was always two steps ahead... sometimes off a cliff, but still, two steps ahead.
"求你了。我。。」低语在她的蹄子上摸索着一个卷轴盒。"这儿！请读一下这个！我。.他写的......以防万一......"她把卷轴盒拿了出来。毕竟，如果彩虹·达什作为食尸鬼幸存下来，也许还有机会再见到小萤火虫。他总是领先我们两步...有时会跌落悬崖，但仍然领先我们两步。
Fluttershy was skeptical, and who could blame her? But she took the scroll case and shook out the piece of paper, unrolling it and fitting a pair of glasses to her muzzle. Her eyes widened, then narrowed, then widened again. Tears shimmered as she sniffed. “Oh, that fool... that poor fool...” she murmured as she hugged the scroll to her chest.
小弗怀疑，谁能责怪她呢？但是她拿起那个卷轴盒，抖开那张纸，拿出一副眼镜戴在嘴上。她的眼睛睁大了，然后眯起来，又睁大了。她吸了一口气，眼泪闪闪发光。"哦，那个傻瓜......那个可怜的傻瓜......"她一边低声说，一边把卷轴抱在胸前。
“It’s true. Trueblood... he saved me. Preserved me.” She left out ‘used me’.
"这是真的。楚布拉德...他救了我。保护了我。"她忽略了'利用我'。
“I... I don’t know what to say,” Fluttershy murmured as she regarded her daughter. “I... I thought I’d lost you. I did lose you...” Fluttershy held herself with her wings. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.”
"我.....。."我不知道该说什么,"小弗特希看着女儿喃喃地说。"我.....。.我以为我失去你了。我确实失去了你......"小蝴蝶用翅膀支撑着自己。"对不起，我不知道该说什么。"
“I... you don’t have to say anything to me. I just... I wanted you to know. And...” Whisper turned and looked behind her, giving a smile she’d only ever given one other pony. “Go ahead.”
"我.....。.你什么都不用跟我说。我只是想让你知道。然后......"Whisper转过身来，看着身后，露出一丝微笑，这是她唯一一次给另一匹小马的微笑。"去吧。"
From behind Whisper emerged a colt. His yellow coat had a dusky, mustard hue.
在Whisper身后出现了一匹小马。他的黄色外套是暗黄色的。
The mane was an uncanny copy of his father’s down to its deep purple color.
鬃毛是他父亲的不可思议的副本，深紫色的颜色。
Bright teal eyes gazed warily up at Fluttershy as his bat wings fidgeted atop his
明亮的蓝绿色眼睛警惕地凝视着Fluttershy，他的蝙蝠翅膀在他的身上不停地摆动
back. “Um... hi. Grandma.”
后面。"嗯......嗨。奶奶。"
Fluttershy’s face screwed up as tears ran down her face. “This is Noctilucent,” Whisper said, unable to stem the flow of her own tears and not sure if she even should. “I call him Nocti.” The colt took a few steps towards Fluttershy.
当泪水顺着脸颊流下来时，小弗特希的脸扭曲了起来。"这是夜光,"Whisper说，无法抑制自己的眼泪，也不知道是否应该这样做。"我叫他诺克提。"小马朝小萤火虫走了几步。
“Hello, Nocti,” Fluttershy whispered, and then they all lost it. It was laughing and crying and hugging, as if two centuries of pain and a life of loss were finally able to be released. Even the hidden alicorn couldn’t stop her tears as she witnessed the long-deferred reunion.
"你好，诺克提,"小蝴蝶低声说，然后他们都失去了它。那是欢笑、哭泣和拥抱，仿佛两个世纪的痛苦和失去的生命终于得以释放。即使是隐藏起来的阿里克也无法抑制自己的眼泪，因为她目睹了这场久拖不决的重逢。
So it could be forgiven if they missed the sight of the distant, pale mare looking on, shedding tears of her own.
所以，如果他们没有看到远处苍白的母马看着，流着自己的眼泪，那也是可以原谅的。
* * *
* * *
“Well, it’s getting late,” the green stallion said. “I’ll take first watch.”
"好了，时候不早了,"绿色的种马说。"我站第一班岗。"
“Second,” the zebra stallion offered.
"第二,"斑马种马提出。
“I’ll take first,” the unicorn mare insisted. At the stallion’s frown, she elaborated, “It takes hours for me to get to sleep anyway when I’m in the Everfree.”
"我先走,"独角兽母马坚持说。当种马皱眉时，她解释说:"我在Everfree的时候，反正要花几个小时才能睡着。"
“Alright,” he murmured, trotting over to his bedroll.
"好吧,"他喃喃地说，小步走向他的铺盖。
After several minutes, everypony had gotten settled in... with the exception of the cloaked pony who had only spoken once before. “Keeping watch with me?” the unicorn asked the mysterious pony.
几分钟后，每匹小马都安顿下来了......除了那匹披着斗篷的小马，它以前只说过一次话。"和我一起看守?"独角兽问神秘的小马。
“Something like that. May I see that gun again?” the mare asked. The unicorn frowned. “I promise, I won’t do anything to damage it.”
"差不多吧。我能再看看那把枪吗?"母马问道。独角兽皱起了眉头。"我保证，我不会做任何破坏它的事。"
The unicorn drew the gun, removed the magazine and chambered round, and levitated it over, where a second field of magic wrapped around the weapon and pulled it into the cloaked unicorn’s hooves. “It’s a twelve point seven millimeter, IF-33.”
独角兽拔出枪，取下弹匣，把弹匣挂在空中，悬浮在空中，第二片魔法场包围着武器，把它拉进了披着斗篷的独角兽的蹄子里。"这是十二.7毫米的IF-33。"
“Mmmm,” the strange mare replied, then pulled out a small box, cracking it open with a waft of gun oil. The gun was easily disassembled, every piece hovering in the air.
"嗯,"陌生的母马回答，然后拉出一个小盒子，打开它与枪油炸开。枪很容易拆卸，每一件都悬浮在空中。
“Wait! What are you doing?” the unicorn hissed, trying to keep her voice low.
"等等！你在干什么?"独角兽发出嘶嘶声，试图压低她的声音。
“I just happen to have a few parts for this model,” the mare said as she replaced the firing pin, spring, trigger, and barrel. Then she oiled it and just as easily reassembled it. Then she turned in over and regarded the handle.
"我只是碰巧有几个部分为这个模型,"母马说，她更换了撞针，弹簧，触发器和枪管。然后她给它上了油，又很容易地把它重新组装起来。然后她翻了个身，看了看把手。
Card Trick. Tarot. Little Poker. Full House. 52 Pick-up. Straight Flush. Aces.
纸牌戏法。塔罗牌。小扑克。满堂红。52皮卡。同花顺。太棒了。
Royal Flush. Bridge. Hearts. Gin Rummy. Go Fish. Blackjack.
皇家同花顺。桥牌。红心。金拉米纸牌戏。去钓鱼。黑杰克。
Then she turned the gun over, and gazed down at the other side.
然后她把枪翻过来，低头凝视着另一边。
Bouillotte. Beauty. Starshine. Astrolabe. Star Sparkle. Prominence. Twilight Shield. Night Watcher. Glimmershine.
Bouillotte.美丽。Starshine.星盘。明星闪耀。日珥。暮光之盾。守夜人。Glimmershine.
The strange pony levitated it back to the suspicious mare. “It’s a nice weapon. Looks like there’s still some room for a few more names though,” she said as Glimmershine examined the gun closely. “I’m sorry about your mother, by the way. She died protecting others when all she wanted to do was study and raise you.”
那匹奇怪的小马把它漂浮回那匹可疑的母马身上。"这是一种不错的武器。不过看起来还有几个名字的空间,"她说，格里姆夏因仔细检查了枪。"顺便说一句，你母亲的事我很遗憾。她只想学习和抚养你，却为了保护别人而死。"
“Who are you?” Glimmershine whispered.
"你是谁?"微光低声说道。
“Nopony important,” the strange pony said as she rose to her hooves. “Take care of yourself. And think about it. It’d be a shame if vigilance ended.” The cloaked mare gestured to the snoring green stallion, and Glimmershine glanced over at him.
"小马不重要,"这匹奇怪的小马说，她站起来，她的蹄子。"照顾好自己。仔细想想。如果警惕性消失，那将是一种耻辱。"披着斗篷的母马向那匹鼾声如雷的绿色种马做了个手势,"闪光"瞥了他一眼。
And when the mare looked back, the cloaked pony was gone.
当母马回头看时，披着斗篷的小马已经不见了。
* * *
* * *
Not far from the campfire, the forest pressed in, but the cloaked pony walked without concern. She’d dealt with far worse places than this and faced far worse threats than the beasts offered. Okay, Killing Joke was still around, but hopefully she’d stay clear of that. The protectors in these woods, probably invisible, either didn’t detect her or recognized her from her earlier visits. This was a sacred place, but she meant it no harm.
离营火不远处，森林挤了进来，但是那匹披着斗篷的小马毫不在意地走着。她处理过比这更糟糕的地方，面对过比野兽更糟糕的威胁。好吧"杀人玩笑"还存在但希望她能远离这件事。这些树林里的保护者可能是隐形的，他们要么没有发现她，要么认出了她之前来过这里。这是一个神圣的地方，但她并无恶意。
The thick trees suddenly thinned out into a large clearing. In the middle of it, rising like a rusty ball bearing in a mossy bed, loomed the enormous sphere of
茂密的树木突然变得稀疏，变成了一块大空地。在它的中央，像一个生锈的滚珠轴承在苔藓的床上升起，隐约出现了巨大的球体
the S.P.P. hub. The cloaked mare approached, passing by five stones. The marble headstones, arranged in a semicircle around the entrance, all displayed in relief the ponies that had once been the Wasteland’s greatest heroes. They were simple, for what statuary could capture what they’d meant to the pony they’d meant most to?
标准普尔中心。披着斗篷的母马走近，经过五块石头。大理石墓碑，围绕入口呈半圆形排列，所有的小马都以浮雕的形式展示，这些小马曾经是大荒地最伟大的英雄。它们很简单，因为什么样的雕像能够捕捉到它们对小马的意义呢？
The mare marched to the front hatch and rapped on it with a hoof. “It’s me,” she said. Nothing. Another, louder bang. “Come on, open up,” she repeated, staring at the door. “Fine, you want to do this the hard way? I’ll do it the hard way.”
母马走到前舱口，用蹄子敲了敲。"是我,"她说。没什么。另一个，更响亮的爆炸声。"来吧，开门,"她重复着，盯着门。"好吧，你想来硬的吗？我要来硬的。"
Then she pulled out a bottle of whiskey, flopped against the door, and started to sing. She sang long and loud and horribly, and the only reason why the defenders didn’t come was that they’d heard the songs before. She sang of friends. Of lovers. Of regret. Of fun. Of sorrow. She also sang very, very badly.
然后她拿出一瓶威士忌，扑通一声撞在门上，开始唱起歌来。她唱歌时间长，声音响亮，声音恐怖，而辩护者没有来的唯一原因就是他们以前听过这些歌。她歌唱朋友。爱人的故事。悔恨。乐趣。悲伤。她唱得也非常非常糟糕。
So, on the nineteenth round of ‘Oh they shoulda just sent the whiskey’, a mare’s voice shouted from above her, “Shut up, Blackjack!”
于是，在第十九轮"哦，他们应该把威士忌送来"的时候，一个母马的声音从她的上方传来,"闭嘴，黑杰克!"
* * *
* * *
The grating buzz of my alarm yanked me away from sleep. I stuck my left foreleg out from under the blankets, away from my head, felt around for the end table next to the bed, found it, and proceeded to whack my ...PipBuckless leg into the tabletop. Hard. “Ow! Shit!” I sat up, hissing and clenching my eyes shut. “Who stuck my PipBuck on my other hoof?” Wait. This battered, junky model wasn’t even mine! “Some prank...” Mom was going to be pissed... ugh... I groaned, flopped back on the mattress, and smacked my lips, tasting the sour gunk in my mouth before rolling onto my back and huffing softly, “Good morning, Blackjack. Welcome to another thrilling day in Stable 99.” I half crawled, half rolled, half fell out of bed and gave myself a vigorous shake. Life in Stable 99 was routine, with any deviation punishable by the security mares. I had half an hour to wash, half an hour to eat, and an hour to report to my duty station. The same as it had been every day since I’d gotten my cutie mark.
我的闹钟发出刺耳的嗡嗡声，把我从睡梦中惊醒。我把我的左前腿从毯子下伸出来，远离我的头部，摸索着床边的茶几，找到了它，然后开始把我的......没有硬币的腿敲到桌面上。用力。"噢！该死!"我坐了起来，闭着眼睛发出嘶嘶的声音。"是谁把我的皮伯克放在另一只蹄子上的?"等等。这个破旧的垃圾模型根本不是我的！"一些恶作剧......"妈妈要生气了......呃......我呻吟着，重重地躺在床垫上，咂咂嘴，品尝着嘴里的酸味，然后趴在我背上，轻轻地喘着气说,"早上好，Blackjack。欢迎来到Stable99的又一个激动人心的日子。"我一半爬着，一半滚着，一半从床上掉下来，剧烈地摇晃着自己。在Stable99的生活是例行公事，任何偏差都会受到保安母马的惩罚。我有半个小时的时间洗澡，半个小时的时间吃饭，还有一个小时的时间去工作地点报到。自从我得了可爱的分数以来，每天都是这样。
Slowly, I shuffled through the copious junk I’d accumulated. Hey, where were the stale food chips and drink bulbs? “Ugh... Mom must have had maintenance clean while I was out. Hope it was a cutie,” I chuckled. Heh. A mare could dream… My horn glowed white as my magic lifted my uniform from one of the heaps. I gave it a test sniff… huh... when was the last time my clothes smelled
慢慢地，我翻着堆积如山的垃圾。嘿，不新鲜的食物薯片和饮料灯泡在哪里？"呃......我不在家的时候，妈妈肯定把房间打扫干净了。希望是个小可爱,"我笑着说。呵呵。一匹母马可以做梦......当我的魔法把我的制服从一堆堆上解下来的时候，我的号角发出白光。我试闻了一下...嗯...我最后一次闻我的衣服是什么时候
dusty? I tossed it back on its pile and sifted around for another. Sniff… sniff… yeah, this’d work.
达斯迪？我把它扔回原来的堆上，然后四处寻找另一个。闻闻...闻闻...对，这个有用。
Trotting down to the showers, I passed the murals designed to inspire camaraderie and cooperation… at least, according to what I’d been constantly taught in classes. ‘We are all in this together’ declared the caption of one picture of an abstract white unicorn hugging dozens of tiny ponies in her hooves. Another showed one lone weeping mare under the caption ‘Never forget’.
我小跑着来到浴室，经过那些旨在激发友情和合作的壁画......至少，根据我在课堂上不断学到的东西。一张抽象的白色独角兽拥抱着几十只小马驹的照片的说明是"我们都在这里"。另一张照片是一匹孤独的哭泣的母马，标题是"永远不要忘记"。
A pair of ponies I didn’t recognize passed me, and they both froze. Their eyes were wide as dinner plates. “Hey, you two! Do you know who took my PipBuck?” I asked crossly, but they turned and ran. Ugh, being the daughter of the head of security never got old...
一对我不认识的小马从我身边经过，它们都僵住了。他们的眼睛睁得像盘子一样大。"嘿，你们两个！你知道是谁拿了我的皮布克吗?"我生气地问，但他们转身就跑。作为保安队长的女儿永远不会变老..。
I trotted into the sector’s communal bathroom, and immediately my ears perked to a familiar giggling. Walking past a stall, I glanced in at two mares simply washing and talking about their upcoming free shift. Huh... why had I expected something different? Still, my reputation must have been obvious, so it was pretty understandable that the pair looked up with some trepidation when they spotted me.
我小跑进隔离区的公共浴室，耳边立刻响起一阵熟悉的咯咯笑声。走过一个马厩时，我瞥了一眼两匹母马，它们正在清洗，谈论着即将到来的自由转变。嗯......为什么我期待着不同的东西？尽管如此，我的名声肯定是显而易见的，所以当他们发现我时，这对搭档带着一些不安抬起头来是可以理解的。
“Look, if you two want to have sex, just make sure that it’s not in public. I’m not going to bust you,” I said to both as I washed.
"听着，如果你们两个想做爱，只要确保不在公共场合。我不会逮捕你们的,"我一边洗澡一边对两个人说。
“Wha...” one gasped.
"哇......"一个人倒抽了一口冷气。
“She’s my sister!” the other responded, glaring at me. “Who are you?”
"她是我妹妹!"另一个回答，瞪着我。"你是谁?"
Buh? How could they not know? And why did that feel... off? “Blackjack. I’m on the security C shift.” That must be it. They were B shifters. “What were you two planning on doing? Going to Metronome’s concert? Heading to Pink Pillow’s orgies?” Not like I’d get invited...
嗯？他们怎么会不知道呢？为什么感觉...不对劲？"黑杰克。我是c班的保安。"一定是这样。他们是变形怪。"你们两个打算干什么？去Metronome的演唱会？要去粉色枕头狂欢吗?"我又不会被邀请..。
But the pair were staring at me like I’d gone mad. Then the first mare said ever so lightly, “I... We were going to Megamart’s reopening, and then to visit the Lakeside market.”
但那两个人盯着我，好像我疯了似的。第一匹母马轻轻地说:"我.....。.我们打算参加超级市场的重新开业仪式，然后参观湖边市场。"
I collapsed completely, smashing my face against the tile and collapsing in the stall. “What was that?” I muttered as I stared at the two, feeling something welling up inside me like an immense tide rolling in.
我完全瘫倒在地，脸撞在地砖上，倒在摊位上。"那是什么?"我盯着他们俩喃喃自语，感觉有什么东西涌上心头，就像巨大的潮水滚滚而来。
“Well, yeah. I mean, the sand dogs have some of the best tech salvage you can get outside of the megastable.” The mares stared at me. “Are you okay?”
"嗯，是的。我的意思是，沙地犬拥有一些你可以在超级马厩之外得到的最好的技术救助。"母马们盯着我。"你还好吗?"
No. I wasn’t okay. I kicked myself to my hooves and raced out of the shower dripping water, feeling agony building inside my head. P-21 should be right down here in this storage room! But the storage room was empty! And Daisy was going to ambush me here! But there was only a mare working a mop. I burst into medical, my breathing going faster and faster as I stared at the doctor within.
没有。我一点都不好。我踢了踢自己的蹄子，冲出了淋浴间，滴着水，感觉痛苦在我的脑袋里累积。P-21应该就在这个储藏室里！但是储藏室是空的！黛西打算在这里伏击我！但是只有一头母马在拖地。我冲进医务室，我的呼吸越来越急促，我凝视着里面的医生。
The pegasus stallion looked at me in concern. “Yes, miss. Can I help you?”
飞马公马关切地看着我。"是的，小姐。有什么事吗?"
I ran without answering. Into the atrium where ponies were having lunch and talking rather than struggling with a cybernetic monster. I drew more than a few glances as I rushed past them, but most of these ponies weren’t ponies who knew me. They were a transplanted stable. Only one caught sight of me and started to scream hysterically. I skipped going to Security or the Overmare’s office and went straight for the door.
我没有回答就跑了。进入中庭，小马们正在那里吃午餐和交谈，而不是与一个控制论怪物搏斗。当我匆匆经过他们的时候，我吸引了不少眼光，但是这些小马大部分都不是认识我的小马。他们是移植的马厩。只有一个人看见了我，歇斯底里地尖叫起来。我跳过去安全或Overmare的办公室，径直走向门口。
The open door.
敞开的大门。
Running faster, I raced past mares and stallions casually strolling into and out of the stable and burst out into the air. Bright sunlight played across the crops spreading out along the hillside. All I could do was run. Glory was supposed to be out there! And Rampage! And Lacunae! But as more thoughts piled on, I sobbed and gasped as I raced faster and faster, trying to catch a life that had left me behind.
跑得更快了，我跑过母马和种马，它们在马厩里来来往往，随意地溜达着，突然在空中爆发出来。明亮的阳光照耀着庄稼，沿着山坡蔓延开来。我唯一能做的就是逃跑。晨辉应该在那里！还有狂暴！还有空隙！但是随着越来越多的想法涌上心头，我哭泣着，喘着气，越跑越快，试图抓住已经落在我后面的生活。
And then I reached a rocky outcrop near the top of the hill, and I stared out at the Hoof below me.
然后我来到了靠近山顶的一块露出地面的岩石上，我凝视着脚下的蹄子。
A pristine blue lake sat in the middle of the valley like the pupil of an opened eye. On the south end, the sheer cliff of the granite knob rose from the azure depths. All around the valley was green, as if trying to make up for lost time.
山谷中央有一个原始的蓝色湖泊，就像一只睁开的眼睛的瞳孔。在南端，花岗岩丘的陡峭峭壁从蔚蓝的深处拔地而起。山谷四周绿意盎然，仿佛在努力弥补失去的时光。
Across the lake, I could make out a thriving community around the University. There! I could see some sort of circus tent next to the shell of Megamart. And there was the bowl of the Arena, the rest of the covered roof now completely removed. Far to the east, Black Pony Mountain was a buzzing hub of activity. Cloud towers rose here and there in the sky like apartment blocks... but nothing covered the lake. No boats sailed its waters. It was cool and aloof, and just a bit
在湖的对面，我可以看到大学周围的一个繁荣的社区。那里！我可以看到一些马戏团帐篷紧挨着Megamart的贝壳。还有竞技场的碗，其余的盖屋顶现在已经完全拆除了。在遥远的东方，黑马山是一个喧闹的活动中心。云塔在天空中像公寓楼一样到处升起......但是没有什么东西覆盖了湖面。没有船只在其水域航行。这种感觉很酷，很冷淡，只是有一点点
ominous.
不祥的。
I shouldn’t have stopped, for at that moment, everything that had happened to me happened once more. Everything, all the way to the last moments following the Eater’s death, struck me in one colossal torrent. There were two options. The first was to go happily mad.
我不应该停下来，因为在那一刻，发生在我身上的一切又一次发生了。所有的一切，一直到食死徒死后的最后一刻，都在一股巨大的激流中打击着我。有两种选择。第一个是愉快地发疯。
I took the second.
我选择了第二个。
I bawled. I wailed. I screamed and blubbered, ground my face into the mud and rocked like a foal.
我大声喊道。我哭喊着。我尖叫着，哭泣着，把脸埋在泥里，像小马驹一样摇晃着。
Crying was vomiting for the soul, and I had so much to bring up.
哭泣是对灵魂的呕吐，我有那么多东西要抚养。
Dark purple wings surrounded me, and I was pulled into an alicorn’s embrace. All I could do was clutch Psalm in desperation, my tears bleeding months of agony and loss. Finally, I found just enough voice to whisper, “I had friends...”
深紫色的翅膀环绕着我，我被拉进了一只角果的怀抱。我所能做的就是在绝望中抓住赞美诗，我的眼泪流淌着几个月的痛苦和失落。最后，我终于找到了足够的声音来低语,"我有朋友......"
* * *
* * *
That’d been a long, long time ago though.
那是很久很久以前的事了。
A magical field grabbed me and levitated me into the air, pulling me easily through the skies to the top of the rusty sphere. The wind pulled back the hood of my cloak, and black and red mane streamed in the air as I was deposited next to the diminutive unicorn mare some ponies still called the Lightbringer. “You could have just teleported in! You didn’t have to butcher that Sweetie Belle song,” LittlePip said as she glowered at me and rubbed her muzzle. “I’m gonna get sick again, I just know it.”
一个神奇的力场抓住了我，把我悬浮在空中，轻而易举地把我拉到生锈的球体的顶端。风把我斗篷的兜帽拉了回来，黑色和红色的鬃毛在空中飘扬，我被安置在一匹小型的独角兽母马旁边，一些小马仍被称为"光明使者"。"你可以瞬移进来的！你不必再唱那首甜心贝儿的歌了,"小皮普一边说着，一边怒视着我，摩挲着她的口鼻。"我又要生病了，我就知道。"
“Yeah, probably,” I replied with a grin, reaching into my saddlebags and pulling out a bottle of orange juice. “Which is why I brought you this,” I said, passing it to her. “Remember, I promised Velvet I’d help rebuild your immune system.
"是的，可能吧,"我咧嘴笑着回答，把手伸进我的鞍袋，拿出一瓶橙汁。"这就是为什么我给你带来了这个,"我说，递给她。"记住，我答应过维尔维特帮助重建你的免疫系统。
That means you taking your vitamins and zinc and getting periodically exposed to germy ponies like me.”
这意味着你要服用维生素和锌，并定期接触像我这样有细菌的小马。"
“But you’re not the one that feels like butt for days afterward,” LittlePip grumbled, but she leaned against me anyway. Like Fluttershy, she had a timelessness about her. Nopony would think she was young once they got past her height, but she didn’t seem old either.
"但是你不是那个在接下来的几天里感觉像个屁股的人,"小皮普抱怨道，但是她还是靠在了我身上。就像小萤火虫一样，她有一种永恒的力量。一旦他们超过了她的身高，小马就会认为她很年轻，但是她看起来也不老。
“That’s why I find other ways to make you feel better,” I murmured, giving her ear a little nibble and earning a squeak. “Even after two centuries.”
"这就是为什么我会找到其他方法让你感觉更好的原因,"我喃喃地说，轻轻地咬了她一下耳朵，发出一声尖叫。"甚至在两个世纪之后。"
“Blackjack!” she protested, going all red.
"黑杰克!"她抗议道，脸都红了。
“Hey, I got a letter from Homage too,” I pointed out, smirking and gazing into her eyes. “‘Take care of LittlePip and make sure she’s happy emotionally, intellectually, and sexually.’” I crinkled my eyes in mirth as she squirmed, like she always squirmed. “And I still haven’t beaten her score.”
"嘿，我也收到了一封'致敬'的信,"我指着她，傻笑着盯着她的眼睛。"'照顾好小皮普，确保她在情感上、智力上和性生活上都快乐。"她扭动着身子，我高兴得眼睛皱了皱，就像她总是扭动着身子一样。"而且我还没有超过她的分数。"
“Later,” LittlePip murmured, flushed, but also not in the mood... now. It was always a dance. I could not, and didn’t want to, replace Homage in her heart. I was a surrogate, and so was she. That we both knew this helped a little. “What do you want, Blackjack? Besides making me sick and sex?” There was warm familiarity beneath that prickliness.
"以后再说吧,"小皮普满脸通红地嘟囔着，但是现在也没心情了。它一直都是一种舞蹈。我不能，也不想，取代她心中的敬意。我是代孕妈妈，她也是。我们都知道这有点帮助。"你想要什么，黑杰克？除了让我生病和做爱之外?"在这种刺耳的表情下，隐藏着一种温暖的熟悉感。
We old ponies needed our friends.
我们这些老马需要朋友。
“I need to call in a favor,” I said.
"我需要你帮个忙,"我说。
“I don’t owe you any favors,” she grumbled.
"我不欠你任何人情,"她嘟囔着。
“Sure you do,” I answered, and she sighed. I didn’t need to bring up who held her together for five years when Homage died. Or Velvet. Or Calamity. Or when Derpy and Lionheart went. Or when Snails removed Celestia from the mechanical hull so she could rejoin her sister. I’d been there. Nursemaid. Companion. Even, on rare days, lover. And as I’d helped her through her following sacrifices, she kept me sane when the darkness got too dark and the mattress too hard to leave.
"你当然知道,"我回答，她叹了口气。我不需要提起是谁在霍梅尼去世后让她在一起生活了五年。或者是天鹅绒。或者是灾难。或者当Derpy和Lionheart。或者蜗牛把天堂从机械舱中移走，这样她就可以回到她姐姐身边。我去过那里。保姆。伙伴。甚至，在极少数的日子里，情人。当我帮助她度过接下来的牺牲时，当黑暗变得太黑暗，床垫变得太硬而无法离开时，她让我保持清醒。
“Okay. Maybe. What do you need, Security?” she asked with a little half smile.
"好吧。也许吧。你需要什么，保安?"她带着一丝微笑问道。
I wasn’t Security. Security had died facing the Eater. I was just a Blackjack groupie... albeit a good one. And after a generation or two, nopony would look at me and think that I’d been that mare in the story. Some days, I didn’t believe it, even when I remembered it all. Remembered it all perfectly...
我不是保安。安全人员在面对食人者的时候牺牲了。我只是一个Blackjack乐队的粉丝...尽管是个不错的粉丝。过了一两代，没有小马会看着我，认为我就是故事里的那匹母马。有些日子，我甚至不相信这一切，甚至当我想起这一切的时候。记得很清楚..。
“Well, if she gets here soon...” I murmured, looking around. “That’s your cue,” I said to empty air.
"好吧，如果她很快到这里......"我低声说，四处张望。"该你了,"我对空气说。
“Ooopsie!” the air said as a shimmer manifested into a purple set of power armor with a wide-brimmed hat and cape. Even after two hundred years, she’d taken great care of Rainbow Dash’s Mare Do Well armor. “Sorry. I wasn’t sure when the dramatic moment would be perfect.”
"哎呀!"空气说，作为一个微光表现成一套紫色的力量盔甲与宽边帽子和披风。即使在两百年后，她还是非常小心地保护着彩虹达什的母马做得很好的盔甲。"对不起。我不确定这个戏剧性的时刻什么时候才是完美的。"
Then she pulled off the hat and helmet, and Boo smiled at me. “Hi, Momma.”
然后她脱下帽子和头盔，Boo朝我微笑。"嗨，妈妈。"
“You!” LittlePip shouted, her horn glowing and seizing the pony... though Boo didn’t quite look like that anymore. She had two little horn nubs and a little snaggle tooth, and her eyes were yellow and red. I didn’t know how long it would take her to become a full draconequus, but she was still Boo. “What are you doing here, you terrorist?!”
"你!"小皮普喊道，她的号角发光，抓住了小马......尽管布已经不再是那个样子了。她有两个小角瘤和一个小牙齿，她的眼睛是黄色和红色的。我不知道需要多长时间她才能成为一个完整的德拉科尼库斯，但她仍然是布。"你在这里干什么，你这个恐怖分子?!"
“Terrorist is such a pejorative,” Boo replied. “I just like giving things a little shake up every now and then.”
"恐怖分子是这样一个贬义,"布回答。"我只是喜欢时不时地给东西一点震动。"
“You led the griffin armada to us! You brought the radwyrms!” LittlePip snarled, her eyes narrowing. “You stole my figurines.”
"是你带领狮鹫舰队来找我们的！你把拉德威尔斯带来了!"小皮普咆哮着，她眯起眼睛。"你偷了我的小雕像。"
Boo spread her hooves, or were they arms, wide. “Yup. Pretty big shake up, huh? Got you out of that bubble for the first time in a century. Oooh, what a merry chase that was.” Boo laughed and then looked smugly down at the pair of us. “Relax, Lightbringer. It all turned out okay in the end. Rarity’s soul was free, and you got your decorations back.”
布张开了她的蹄子，或者说是她的手臂，很宽。"是的。很大的变化，是吧？一个世纪以来第一次把你从泡沫中救了出来。哦，多么愉快的追逐啊。"布笑了，然后自鸣得意地看着我们两个。"放松点，光明使者。最后一切都变得很好。稀有的灵魂得到了自由，你的装饰品也得到了回报。"
“Were you behind those bombings, Boo?” I asked. “In Junction City?”
"你是那些爆炸案的幕后黑手吗?"我问道。"InJunctionCity?"
“Me?” she said, pouting as she pressed her hooves to her chest. When I glared sternly at her, she sighed. “I may have been involved. Tangentially. Parallelogramicly.” She returned my stern look. “The Twilight Society’s up to shenanigans again, and I thought I could rattle their plot by blowing up one of their biggest tools.”
"我?"她说，撅着嘴，用蹄子抵住胸口。当我严厉地瞪着她时，她叹了口气。"我可能参与了。无关紧要。平行四边形。"她回以我严厉的目光。"暮光协会又开始搞恶作剧了，我想我可以通过炸掉他们最大的工具之一来破坏他们的计划。"
“You could have just contacted the authorities,” LittlePip grumbled.
"你可以直接联系当局,"小皮抱怨道。
“Please,” Boo rolled her eyes and smirked at the little unicorn. “They’re much more inclined to investigate after a little boom in the capital than they would be if incriminating evidence landed in their lap. Government offices blow up, and ponies demand answers. There’s a nice little trail of evidence leading up to the Society’s more rotten elements, and I’m shepherding a very devoted stallion
"求你了,"布转了转眼睛，对着小独角兽傻笑。"在首都经历了一番小小的繁荣之后，他们更倾向于进行调查，而不是在有罪证据摆在他们面前的时候。政府办公室爆炸，小马需要答案。有一小串证据指向这个社会更腐败的成分，而我正在引导一匹非常忠诚的种马
towards it.” She grinned from ear to ear. “This’ll be far more fun.”
走向它。"她咧着嘴笑。"这会有趣得多。"
“You’re going to rut him, aren’t you?” I asked with a smile.
"你要让他发情，是不是?"我笑着问。
“You would. And you should see him. All law and order and devoted," Boo purred, rubbing her chest with a hoof. “I’ll open his eyes a little. Bang out some of his misperceptions and illusions. Play with his values. He should be a better pony afterwards.” Then she frowned, rubbing her chin. “Of course, there’s an itsy bitsy chance his investigation will result in Celestia One melting Junction City, but, eh, details!”
"你会的。你应该去看看他。所有的法律和秩序和奉献,"布咕噜咕噜地说，用蹄子摩擦她的胸部。"我要把他的眼睛稍微睁开一点。敲掉他的一些误解和幻想。玩弄他的价值观。他以后应该是一匹更好的小马。"然后她皱起了眉头，揉着下巴。"当然，他的调查很有可能会导致天堂一号融化的结合城，但是，呃，细节!"
LittlePip glared at her, then at me, then back at her again. “You... I... how... ohhhh! I should pop you like a raider!”
小匹普瞪了她一眼，然后又瞪了我一眼，最后又瞪了她一眼。"你......我.....。.怎么...哦！我应该像突袭机一样打死你!"
Boo pulled a bandana from... where did she pull that from?... and wrapped it around her head to cover her eyes. Then she stuck a lit cigarette between her lips. “Very well. You may fire when ready. I mean, he might discover it without my nudges and teasing hints. And if he doesn’t... not like the freedom of the NCR matters much.” She pushed up one side of the blindfold and smirked.
阿布从哪里扯出来的头巾？用它包住她的头，遮住她的眼睛。然后她把一支点燃的香烟塞进嘴里。"很好。准备好了就可以开火。我的意思是，没有我的轻推和戏弄的暗示，他可能会发现。如果他不这么做，那么新加坡共和国的自由就不那么重要了。"她推开眼罩的一边，傻笑起来。
LittlePip released her. “You are a menace!” she hissed.
小皮普放了她。"你是个威胁!"她发出嘶嘶声。
“Ah, but I am an interesting menace, and, ultimately, a force for good,” Boo replied cheerfully.
"啊，但我是一个有趣的威胁，而且，最终，是一个善良的力量,"布愉快地回答。
“If you’re through, do you have it?” I asked her.
"如果你通过了，你有吗?"我问她。
Boo reached into her purple cloak and pulled out a piece of hardware. “One F.A.D.E. generator, courtesy of the NCR.”
布把手伸进她的紫色斗篷，掏出一件硬件。"一台f.a.d.e发电机，由NCR提供。"
“That! You... how did you steal that?!” LittlePip demanded.
"那个！你...你怎么偷的?!"小皮普问道。
“More sexual favors than I care to recount. I’m still sore from it,” Boo said, working her jaw, then leered at LittlePip. “Actually, you know what, I can recount a few of them for you. There was this sweet, virgin secretary mare who–”
"我不知道该怎么形容。我现在还浑身酸痛呢,"布说着，用力地咬着自己的下巴，然后对小匹普抛了个媚眼。"实际上，你知道吗，我可以给你讲几个故事。有一个可爱的，还是处女的秘书——"
LittlePip covered her ears. “Not listening!” That prompted laughter from me, and the mare sent me a glower. “You’re just as bad as she is!”
小皮普捂住了她的耳朵。"不听!"这引起了我的笑声，母马对我怒目而视。"你和她一样坏!"
“We’ll give the generator back when we return,” I told her.
"等我们回来的时候，我们会把发电机还给她的,"我告诉她。
“Return? Return from where?” LittlePip asked, screwing her face up in bafflement.
""回来？从哪里回来?"小皮普疑惑地皱着脸问道。
“You’ll see,” I said, walking back to Boo and giving her a hug. “Please, please be careful. I don’t want to find out you got killed. Or turned to stone. You know, something permanently bad.”
"你会看到的,"我说，走回去给了她一个拥抱。"小心点，小心点。我不想知道你被杀了。或者变成石头。你知道的，永远都是坏事。"
Boo’s eyes shimmered as she hugged me back. “You know me, Momma. I’m always lucky.” Then she stepped back and smirked at LittlePip. “I’m going now! Last chance to pop me like a raider!” she sang as she danced away on her hooftips.
布也回抱了我，她的眼睛闪闪发光。"你知道我的，妈妈。我总是很幸运。"然后她退后一步，对着小匹普傻笑。"我现在就走！最后一次像突袭机一样干掉我的机会!"她边唱边跳。
A glowing field surrounded her and booted her off the sphere, flicking her away with a long cry as she disappeared into the forest. “Worth it!” the mare called out distantly from the bushes.
一片发光的大地环绕着她，把她从球体上踢了出去，她消失在森林里的时候，一声长长的叫喊把她甩了出去。"值得!"母马远远地从灌木丛中叫起来。
“She’s turning into another Discord,” LittlePip said grimly. “One day, she’ll go too far...” The little unicorn then turned to me and asked with far more concern, “What about you? You’re a blank too.”
"她正在变成另一个不和谐,"小皮普冷冷地说。"总有一天，她会走得太远......"小独角兽转过身来，更加关切地问我,"你呢?"？你也是一片空白。"
“Dunno,” I said, twisting and turning to examine myself. “What do you think? See any Discord on my flank?” I smirked as I saw her, rapidly turning red, staring at my butt. For two centuries, I’d kept her sane. We’d screamed at each other. Bawled with each other. Kissed and made love, though never quite been in love, all to keep our minds off the steady, inevitable grind of time.
"我不知道,"我说，转过身来审视着自己。""你认为呢？看到我这边有什么不和吗?"我看到她时得意地笑了起来，脸迅速变红，盯着我的屁股。两个世纪以来，我一直让她保持理智。我们互相大喊大叫。互相大喊大叫。亲吻和做爱，虽然从来没有真正相爱过，所有这一切都是为了让我们的思想远离稳定的，不可避免的磨损的时间。
Because immortality sucked if you had to be immortal alone.
因为如果你必须独自成为永生者，那么永生就是糟糕的。
One day, one of us would go. Probably her... And then...
总有一天，我们中的一个会离开。可能是她...然后..。
Then I’d get to see if the Legate had been right.
然后我就可以去看看特使是不是对的。
But I didn’t want to think of that now, so I shoved it to the back of my mind and contented myself with stroking her cheek with my tail and watching her turn into a whimpering mound of embarrassment and desire. I loved her so much for still being that way even after so many, many years. When you’re suddenly living for centuries, it’s the things that don’t change that become so precious.
但是我现在不想去想这些，所以我把它放在脑后，满足地用尾巴抚摸着她的脸颊，看着她变成一个尴尬和渴望的呜咽堆。即使过了这么多年，我还是那么爱她。当你突然活了几个世纪，那些不会改变的东西变得如此珍贵。
“I don’t think she and I are identical. Discord rode around inside her for a bit, but not me. She’s becoming another draconequus, and she’s not alone. A lot of Brood are changing too. I met a Brood zebra-hippogriff just five years ago,” I said with a smile.
"我不认为她和我是一样的。不和谐的声音在她心里盘旋了一会儿，但我没有。她正在成为另一个德拉科尼库斯，她并不孤单。许多孩子也在改变。就在五年前，我遇到了一只斑马(Broodzebra-hippogriff)。"我笑着说。
“And that doesn’t worry you?” she asked, clearly worried enough for both of us.
"你不担心吗?"她问道，显然为我们俩担心得够多了。
“She was happier as a hippogriff. I think her soul was that of a female griffin. Every Brood that's changed is happy with what they ended up as. Even a few that are becoming like Boo. And sure, some of them might become problems, but I won't worry about that until they actually do,” I said with another smile, leaving out the fact that many Brood were also aging, and I wasn’t. Celestia only knew why... and Celestia wasn’t here anymore.
"她像鹰头马身有翼兽一样快乐。我认为她的灵魂是一个女性狮鹫。每一个有所改变的孩子都为他们最终的结局感到高兴。甚至有一些正在变得像Boo一样。当然，他们中的一些人可能会成为问题，但我不会担心，除非他们真的成为问题,"我笑着说，忽略了许多布鲁德夫妇也在衰老的事实，而我没有。塞莱斯蒂亚只知道为什么......而且塞莱斯蒂亚已经不在了。
Boy, hadn’t that been a shitty day...
天啊，今天真是倒霉透了。
“So... what do you need me and one of the last functioning F.A.D.E. talismans for?” I turned to her, grinning broadly. “Oh no...”
"那么......你要我和最后一个还能用的f.a.d.e.护身符做什么?"我转向她，咧着嘴笑。"哦，不......"
* * *
* * *
“Oh, bollocks,” Crumpets muttered as she clomped around the inside of the church in Chapel. The structure no longer served as a place of reverence, and the center of the interior was taken up by a massive block of white marble. Carved into the surface was the image of Security in repose; they’d gone with a ‘lying on her back clutching a bunch of lilies’ image rather than a ‘cybernetic and humping a shotgun’ one. Moonlight streamed through the stained glass windows showing Celestia, Luna, the Ministry Mares, and Security’s companions. “I hate coming in here at night.”
"哦，胡说八道,"当她在教堂里面走来走去的时候，小圆饼嘟囔着。建筑结构不再是一个敬畏的地方，内部的中心被一块巨大的白色大理石所占据。表面雕刻的是安全休息的形象;他们已经走了一个躺在她的背上抓着一束百合花的形象，而不是一个控制论和驼鸟式的一个。月光透过彩色玻璃窗照耀着天堂、月神、魔法部的母马和保安的同伴。"我讨厌晚上来这里。"
“Hush,” Dusk answered from the balcony above. “There’ve been three break-in attempts this week. Somepony is up to something,” the pegasus murmured.
"嘘,"薄暮站在楼上的阳台上回答。"本周发生了三起非法闯入事件。"某种小马在谋划什么,"飞马小姐低声说。
“Can you believe Boing wants this place torn down?” Crumpets muttered. “Fucking nuts.”
"你能相信吗，波音居然想把这里拆了?"松脆饼咕哝着。"他妈的疯子"
“Yeah, but she’s as nutty as my sister,” Dusk replied tersely. “And you really don’t understand this whole ‘stakeout’ thing, do you?” The earth pony gave a deep sigh of frustration.
"是的，但是她和我妹妹一样疯狂,"黄昏简洁地回答。"你真的不明白这整个'监视'的事情，是吗?"大地上的小马沮丧地深深地叹了一口气。
Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. “You want to bang?” Crumpets asked.
五分钟。10.十五。"你想上床吗?"松饼问道。
“That... really... isn’t part of a stakeout,” Dusk muttered.
"那......真的......不是监视的一部分,"黄昏咕哝着。
“I can’t help it,” Crumpets replied. “Sex helps me not think of how eerie this place is. Besides, haven’t you ever wanted to do it in a graveyard?”
"我情不自禁,"松脆饼回答。"性爱让我不去想这个地方有多诡异。而且，难道你从来没有想过在墓地里做吗?"
“Okay! I’m going to watch outside! You just... stay here,” Dusk said as she swooped down to the front door and stepped outside.
"好吧！我去外面看着！你只要...呆在这里,"黄昏说，她俯冲下来到前门，走出去。
“It was just an idea,” Crumpets muttered, and then there was a flash. She turned to the still-open door, seeing Dusk just standing there. “Everything all...”
"这只是一个想法,"松脆饼嘟囔着，然后就有一道闪光。她转向那扇仍然开着的门，看见黄昏就站在那里。"一切......"
An apple rolled from the doorway to her feet. Steel Ranger armor could handle just about any grenade made... except for this one. Sadly, Steel Ranger armor also wasn’t the swiftest when it came to leaping away from danger. The grenade went off with a sphere of lightning, and instantly, her systems crashed. “Oh fuck me!” she shouted.
一个苹果从门口滚到了她的脚边。钢铁骑兵装甲可以处理几乎任何手榴弹...除了这一个。不幸的是，钢铁骑兵的盔甲在远离危险的时候也不是最快的。手榴弹像闪电一样爆炸了，她的系统瞬间崩溃了。"哦，我操!"她喊道。
Her jaw worked the release knob to the side, chewing on it as she heard something boom outside her armor. It wasn’t her booming, though. All too many awkward moments later, the helmet released and fell free of her head with a loud thud. Crumpets coughed in the unfiltered and now dust-and-smoke-filled air.
她的下巴把释放旋钮拉到一边，当她听到盔甲外面有什么东西砰的一声时，她咬着它。不过，这并不是她的兴旺发达。太多尴尬的时刻过后，头盔松开，砰的一声从她的头上掉了下来。松脆饼在未经过滤的充满灰尘和烟雾的空气中咳嗽。
The tomb had been broken open, and the remains inside were in view... as was the mare who had broken in. Sweetie Bot stood over Blackjack’s broken body levitating her starmetal sword. She brought it down, and a moment later, she lifted the PipBuck with the hoof still attached. “What are you doing?!” Crumpets demanded as she struggled in the confines of her suit.
坟墓已经被打开了，里面的遗骸已经可以看到了......就像那个闯进来的母马一样。甜心机器人站在黑杰克破碎的身体上，悬浮着她的星际宝剑。她把它拿了下来，过了一会儿，她提起了皮普巴克，蹄子还连着。"你在干什么?!"当她挣扎在西装的边缘时，松脆饼问道。
“You don't understand... I had to have it! I have to know!” the robot buzzed, her eyes blazing green, and then she turned and leapt off the slab, running for the door. As she passed by Dusk, she flung the sword away and raced off into the night.
"你不明白......我必须拥有它！我必须知道!"机器人嗡嗡作响，她的眼睛闪着绿光，然后她转身跳下了石板，向门口跑去。当她经过黄昏的时候，她扔掉了剑，跑进了夜色中。
“Mad as a box of fucking frogs,” Crumpets muttered as she slumped inside her armor.
"像一盒该死的青蛙一样疯狂,"松饼女郎一边倒进盔甲里一边喃喃自语。
* * *
* * *
“This is insane! This is insane and you are insane to be doing this insanity!” LittlePip shouted as the battered-together rocket roared beneath us, lifting us higher and higher into the sky. Her magic was one of the few things keeping it together. “Is this thing going to explode?!” she screamed.
"这太疯狂了！这太疯狂了，你疯了才会做这种疯狂的事!"当我们脚下破烂不堪的火箭呼啸着把我们举得越来越高的时候，小皮普喊道。她的魔法是为数不多的能维持这种关系的东西之一。"这东西会爆炸吗?"她尖叫着。
“Probably,” I hollered back at her.
"可能吧,"我对她喊道。
“What?” she shrieked.
"什么?"她尖叫着。
“Look at it this way!” I yelled. “Would you rather die going a million miles an hour into space, or in a rusting bubble?”
"这么看吧!"我喊道。"你是愿意以每小时100万英里的速度死在太空中，还是死在一个生锈的泡沫里?"
Her glare spoke volumes. “I didn’t agree to this! When I got into the rocket, I wasn’t planning on this!”
她的目光充分说明了问题。"我不同意这样做！当我登上火箭的时候，我并没有打算这么做!"
“Story of my life!” I shouted as the blue thinned out more and more and all the stars came out.
"我的人生故事!"当蓝色越来越稀薄，所有的星星都出来了的时候，我喊道。
The moon glowed brilliantly ahead of us.
月亮在我们前面闪耀着灿烂的光芒。
* * *
* * *
“Luna’s milky tits... I can’t believe it. The moon. We’re actually over the moon,” LittlePip breathed, her horn glowing as she propelled us along with her telekinesis. The whole trip had taken us only a few hours once we’d separated from the nose of the rocket. The F.A.D.E. generator was mounted on a platform with a dozen industrial-sized spark batteries I’d spent a decade scrounging and preserving, and an air talisman I’d spent years trying to make work kept us breathing for now. We wore two restored astropony suits, helmets off for the moment. One thing about being effectively immortal: you picked up hobbies quick, or started to plot the death of the world.
"露娜乳白色的乳房......真不敢相信。月亮。我们实际上已经欣喜若狂了,"小皮普低声说道，她用心灵遥感推动着我们前进，她的角闪闪发光。当我们离开火箭头时，整个旅程只花了我们几个小时。这台f.a.d.e发电机安装在一个平台上，平台上有十几个工业用大小的火花电池，我花了十年时间寻找和保存它们，还有一个我花了多年时间试图让工作维持到现在的空气护身符。我们穿着两套复原的太空马服，头盔暂时脱掉。关于实际上永生的一件事是:你很快就有了兴趣爱好，或者开始策划世界的毁灭。
And, of course, I’d brought music, and we each took turns listening to our favorites, Velvet Remedy for her and Whisper for me. As Whisper sang one of her softer tunes, LittlePip muttered, sulking, “I still can’t believe, even after all this, that she was the Element of Magic! She wasn’t even a unicorn. I thought it was that alicorn.”
当然，我还带了音乐，我们每个人轮流听我们最喜欢的，给她的天鹅绒药物和给我的Whisper。当Whisper唱起她的一首轻柔的曲调时，小匹普闷闷不乐地喃喃自语,"即使发生了这一切，我仍然无法相信她是魔法元素!"！她甚至不是独角兽。我还以为是那只独角兽呢。"
“Hey, let’s be fair. You did find Whisper like the others. You just used her to liberate Apex, and since we’re being fair, everypony including her thought she
"嘿，让我们公平一点。你和其他人一样找到了Whisper。你只是利用她来解放Apex，因为我们是公平的，每个小马包括她的想法她
was the second coming of Twilight Sparkle. It’s not your fault she went batfuck crazy when it failed, nearly killed the other Bearers, and almost turned Gardens into an Equestria-wide radiation and taint generator,” I said, getting a flat look in return. “Oh, I lost at ‘liberate Apex’, didn’t I?”
是紫悦的第二次降临。这不是你的错，当它失败的时候，她疯了，差点杀死其他的马夫，并且差点把花园变成一个小马国的辐射和污染发生器,"我说，得到一个平坦的回报。"哦，我在'解放峰会'上输了，不是吗?"
“Spike still hasn’t forgiven me,” she muttered.
"斯派克还没有原谅我,"她喃喃自语道。
“It was two centuries ago,” I said, patting her back. “Have you spoken to him?”
"那是两个世纪以前的事了,"我拍着她的背说。"你跟他说过话吗?"
“He’s... not like he used to be. I think the radwyrm invasion really shook him. He’s not as open towards ponies anymore.”
"他......不像以前了。我认为雷德温的入侵确实震撼了他。他不再对小马那么开放了。"
“Seeing hundreds of radiation-mutated dragons being killed would do that,” I said.
"看到数以百计的辐射变异的龙被杀死，就能做到这一点,"我说。
“I think he’s still not forgiven me for using the S.P.P. like a weapon, either, even if it was the only way to give us a chance. Or the Twilight Society,” she added as she stared down at the white expanse of shimmering crystal. “Is there something about this place that makes you think about the past?”
"我认为他仍然没有原谅我把s.p.p当作武器，即使这是给我们机会的唯一方式。或者是《暮光之城》,"她一边说，一边低头看着这一大片白色的闪闪发光的水晶。"这个地方有什么让你想起过去的东西吗?"
“It’s the moon. I think it’s pensivity and wistfulness incarnate,” I said as I peered down at the immense expanse. “It looks a lot more melted than when I was last here. Those used to be deserts of dust. They look like glass now.”
"这是月亮。我认为这是沉思和渴望的化身,"我说，我凝视着这无边无际的广阔。"它看起来比我上次来的时候融化得多了。那些曾经是尘土的沙漠。它们现在看起来像玻璃一样。"
“Horizons,” LittlePip reminded me.
"地平线,"小匹普提醒我。
“Oh, yeah. I guess I did toast the moon a bit,” I said with a rueful grin. She groaned and covered her face with a hoof. “Okay, LittlePip. Find her.” I stretched out on a cushion taped to the floor.
"哦，是的。我想我确实为月亮干了一杯,"我苦笑着说。她呻吟着，用蹄子遮住了脸。"好的，小匹普。找到她。"我躺在用胶带粘在地板上的垫子上。
“Find... what?” LittlePip goggled at me. “You mean, find her? On the moon? With only a few hours of energy left?”
"找......什么?"小匹普瞪着我。"你的意思是，找到她？在月球上？只剩下几个小时的精力了?"
“Yup,” I replied with a smile.
"是的,"我微笑着回答。
“I... you... I can’t believe you would drag me all the way to the moon for this! I never would have come if I’d known this was what you were planning!” LittlePip huffed.
"我.....。.你...我真不敢相信你为了这个把我拖到月球上！如果我知道这是你的计划，我就不会来了!"小匹普生气了。
“I know,” I answered with a smile. “You have the talent. So... find her,” I said as
"我知道,"我笑着回答。"你很有天赋。所以......找到她,"我说
I folded my hooves behind my head.
我把蹄子叠在脑后。
“I– You– She– That’s not how this works, Blackjack! I don’t even have her tagged! You’re asking me to find one pony-sized object on the face of the moon!” LittlePip protested as she glowered out at the barren expanse... and then paused. “Uh... huh. What is that?” she asked, pointing off to the side.
"我-你-她-事情不是这样的，黑杰克！我甚至没有给她贴标签！你是要我在月亮上找一个小马大小的物体!"当她怒视着这片贫瘠的广阔地带离开时，小匹普提出了抗议......然后停顿了一下。"嗯......嗯。那是什么?"她指着旁边问道。
I leaned over and saw a dark square discoloration in the glassy plateau. “Your special talent at work.” I pointed towards the square. “Onward!”
我弯下身子，看见玻璃般的高原上有一块黑色的正方形斑点。"你在工作中的特殊才能。"我指着广场。"前进!"
Her horn glowed as we changed direction, heading towards the square. “I hate you sometimes. You know that. I know you know that!” she grumbled next to me.
当我们改变方向朝广场走去时，她的号角发出了光芒。"有时候我恨你。你知道的。我知道你知道的!"她在我旁边抱怨。
I leaned over and nibbled on the nape of her neck. As Homage had told me, there was no better way to derail LittlePip. “I... oh... you... don’t do that when I’m angry with you, Blackjack!”
我俯下身去，轻咬着她的脖颈。正如《致敬》杂志告诉我的那样，没有比这更好的办法让小匹普脱轨了。"我.....。.哦......你......别在我生你气的时候这么做，黑杰克!"
Ah, the Gl– the joy of being a switch and the top in a relationship. “Hush. I’ll pay you back when we get home,” I teased against her ear before pulling away, and we put our helmets on.
啊，冰川——在一段关系中作为开关和顶端的快乐。"嘘。我们回家后我会还你的。"我们戴上头盔后，我拉开她的耳朵嘲笑她。
The square was all that remained of the rocket terminal. The metal had mixed with the moonstone to create the grayish blob roughly a kilometer square. Thin fingers of metal and stone peeked up like warped whiskers from the plain. Hollows and voids in the ground shimmered like watchful eye sockets as we passed above them. Parking the platform, we performed a check of the scant remnants. The skeleton of my fallen rocket stuck out on one side, and the tram line was an almost invisible shadow on the surface. There was no sign of the tracks, though; they been erased in the fields of glass.
火箭发射终端只剩下广场了。这种金属和月光石混合在一起，形成了大约一平方公里的灰色斑点。纤细的金属和石头手指像弯曲的胡须一样从平原上探出头来。当我们从地面上经过时，地面上的凹陷和空隙就像警惕的眼窝一样闪闪发光。在平台停车时，我们检查了一下缺少的残余物。我倒下的火箭的骨架突出在一边，有轨电车的线条在地面上几乎看不见。不过，没有留下任何痕迹，它们在玻璃地里消失了。
Getting back on the platform, we followed the line. Like the plains behind me, the mountains had gotten cooked, but they had afforded some protection from Horizons. Here and there, the tram line actually appeared, frozen in gloppiness. Still, that it survived at all gave me a little hope. If the Astrostable survived, maybe they would have found her. Given her a home for these last two centuries. If...
回到站台上，我们跟着队伍走。就像我身后的平原一样，群山也被烤焦了，但它们为地平线提供了一些保护。这里那里，有轨电车线实际上出现了，冻结在泥泞中。尽管如此，它还是存活了下来，给了我一点希望。如果占星家还活着，也许他们已经找到她了。在过去的两个世纪里给了她一个家。如果..。
It hadn’t.
但事实并非如此。
The chasm Tom had fired from was collapsed into a shallow depression of glassy moonstone. At the edge, where the stable had been, a few melted structures peeked out of the glass, but there were holes in them I could see from this distance. Still, we... okay, LittlePip, brought us to the edge of them, and we walked inside the Astrostable. Inside, moon dust hung in the void in translucent veils, its glow showing the remains of the stable around us.
汤姆发射出来的裂缝坍塌成了一个由玻璃般的月光石构成的浅洼地。在马厩的边缘，有一些融化的建筑物从玻璃里探出头来，但是从这么远的距离我可以看到它们上面有洞。不过，我们......好吧，小匹普，把我们带到了他们的边缘，我们走进了天体马厩。在里面，月尘悬挂在半透明的面纱中，它的光芒显示了我们周围马厩的遗迹。
Past the damaged room we first entered were airless tunnels, devoid of life. Just like at home. But I’d destroyed this place, too. Goddesses, I’d left behind such a wake of destruction.
经过我们第一次进入的那个损坏的房间，是一条没有空气的隧道，里面没有生命。就像在家里一样。但我也毁了这个地方。女神们，我留下了这样一个毁灭的痕迹。
No. Stop. No backsliding now. I couldn’t blame myself for this. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. I hadn’t been to blame for this, and while I knew I would feel guilty, because that was simply how I was wired, I wouldn’t beat myself up over this.
没有。别说了。现在不能倒退。我不能为此责怪自己。我闭上眼睛，深深地呼吸。我并没有因此受到责备，虽然我知道我会感到内疚，因为这就是我的兴奋之处，但我不会因此而责备自己。
There was a bump against my helmet, and LittlePip shouted, “Can you hear me?”
我的头盔被撞了一下，小皮普喊道:"你能听见我说话吗?"
I opened my eyes, looking at her in her own glassy helmet, which was barely able to hold her horn. “Yeah!”
我睁开眼睛，看着她戴着自己的玻璃头盔，头盔几乎连她的喇叭都握不住。"耶!"
“Why is that dust just hanging there like that? It shouldn’t do that! And where are all the bodies?” she asked.
"为什么那些灰尘就那样挂在那里？它不应该这么做！那些尸体在哪里?"她问道。
I blinked and looked around the atrium we occupied. She was right. No bodies. And everything seemed so... neat! Like the stable had been cleaned up, and they’d just left. Where had they gone... some sort of mass suicide? I couldn’t see everypony going peacefully to that. I touched helmets again and shouted, “I don’t know!”
我眨了眨眼睛，环顾了一下我们占据的中庭。她是对的。没有尸体。一切看起来都那么...整洁！就像马厩被打扫干净了，他们刚刚离开。他们去哪儿了...某种集体自杀？我不能想象每一匹小马都能平静地走到那一步。我又碰了一下头盔，喊道:"我不知道!"
We looked but didn’t find a single one. Nor was there a mass grave, or some kind of disintegration chamber, or anything. The power was off, not destroyed. With time, eventually, the Astrostable could be used again. Someday...
我们找过了，但一个也没找到。也没有什么乱葬岗，或者什么瓦解室之类的东西。停电了，没有被摧毁。随着时间的推移，天体稳定器最终可以再次使用。总有一天..。
Another helmet bump. “We need to get back!” LittlePip reminded me.
又一个头盔撞击。"我们得回去!"小匹普提醒我。
So we left, without Rampage. My hope dwindled. I’d counted on LittlePip to be able to find her, but it seemed that that just wasn’t going to happen. Damn it... I should have come back sooner, or realized then that to teleport another pony, I
所以我们离开了，没有狂暴。我的希望渺茫了。我曾指望小匹普能找到她，但看起来那是不可能的。该死...我应该早点回来的，或者那时我就意识到要传送另一匹小马
needed a mental hole for that pony to go through.
需要一个精神空间让那匹小马穿过。
If only...
要是..。
We emerged back into the open...
我们回到了开阔的地方。
And a herd of ponies.
还有一群小马。
They didn’t wear suits. They simply stood on the surface of the moon as casually as if they were back on Equus. All of them were various shades of monochrome and metallic, with ghostly manes that blew in a nonexistent wind. I glanced at LittlePip, her face aghast at the eerie sight.
他们不穿西装。他们只是漫不经心地站在月球表面，仿佛又回到了马背上。他们都是各种阴影的单色和金属，鬼魅般的鬃毛吹在一个不存在的风。我瞥了小匹普一眼，她的脸被这可怕的景象吓呆了。
Me, I’d dealt with weirder things than ponies on the moon.
至于我，我处理过比月球上的小马更奇怪的事情。
I walked towards the dozen. “Can you hear me?” I shouted at them, and thought hard at them... you never knew! I was rewarded with a nod. “Can you talk?” The twelve regarded each other, then peered at me. I heard a staticky buzz in my mind, but nothing specific. After a minute, it stopped, and they shook their heads. I sighed, then straightened. “I’m looking for Rampage. Earth pony... like me, but without the knob on her head.” They blinked, and a few squinted their star-filled eyes at me. I used to have eyes like that... hey! “I have a horn! It’s just hard to see!”
我朝那一打走去。"你能听见我吗?"我对他们大喊大叫，并认真思考他们......你永远不会知道！我得到一个点头作为回报。"你会说话吗?"十二个人互相打量了一下，然后凝视着我。我听到脑子里有一种静止的嗡嗡声，但没有什么特别的。一分钟后，它停了下来，他们摇了摇头。我叹了口气，然后直起身子。"我在找狂暴。地球上的小马......和我一样，只是头上没有旋钮。"他们眨了眨眼睛，几个人眯起星光灿烂的眼睛看着我。我以前也有这样的眼睛...嘿！"我有一个号角！只是很难看到!"
They laughed soundlessly, then turned to walk, gesturing for us to follow. Back on the platform, with the F.A.D.E. shield up and air restored, LittlePip asked, “What do you think happened to them?”
他们无声地笑了笑，然后转身走去，示意我们跟上。回到平台上，随着f.a.d.e防护罩的升起和空气的恢复，小匹普问道,"你认为他们发生了什么事?"
“I don’t know. I guess they became... something else? Star ponies? Moon ponies?” I shook my head. “They seem to be friendly, though.”
"我不知道。我猜他们变成了...别的什么东西？明星小马？月亮小马?"我摇了摇头。"不过，他们似乎很友好。"
“Unless they realize you were the one that melted the moon centuries ago,” LittlePip commented.
"除非他们意识到你是几个世纪前融化月亮的人,"小皮普评论道。
“That... I never meant to do that!” I said defensively. “I’m glad it didn’t punch a hole right through the moon... or blow it up completely.” I saw the herd of moon ponies had all stopped and were staring up at the pair of us, starry eyes wide. “Um... sorry! Complete accident! Really!”
"那......我从没想过要那么做!"我防御性地说。"我很高兴它没有在月球上打出一个洞......或者把它完全炸掉。"我看见一群月亮上的小马停了下来，睁大了星星般的眼睛，盯着我们俩。"嗯......对不起！完全是意外！真的!"
They didn’t look very comforted by that, but they sped up quite a bit, pronking
他们看起来并没有因此感到很舒服，但是他们加快了速度
across the glassy plain. Their hooves had to be as hard as diamond to bite into the surface as well as they did. There also wasn’t a horn or wing to be seen. Atrophy? Design? Who knew. I was burning up with questions, but the greatest one I had was about my friend.
穿过平静的平原。它们的蹄子必须像钻石一样坚硬，才能像它们那样咬住表面。也没有角或翅膀可以看到。萎缩？设计？谁知道呢。我被一堆问题弄得焦头烂额，但我最大的问题是关于我的朋友的。
The herd led us to a steep-walled crater with homes built into the sides in glossy, molded rock. I gazed in amazement at fields of... were those plants? Incredibly delicate crystals? They looked like snowflakes growing in the shadow in the depths of the crater. The moon ponies in the town seemed quite taken with us, waving their hooves.
兽群把我们带到一个陡峭的火山口，火山口两侧是光滑的、模制的岩石，里面建有房屋。我惊讶地凝视着田野里的......那些是植物吗？难以置信的精致晶体？它们看起来就像雪花在陨石坑深处的阴影中生长。镇上的月亮小马似乎被我们迷住了，它们挥舞着蹄子。
“You know... nopony is going to believe this back home,” LittlePip took a moment to say as the dozen we’d followed stopped at the mouth of a cave. We put the suits back on and left the platform, walking amid and past the shining ponies and into the cave. Moonstone glowed brightly all around us, singing its strange ethereal melody.
"你知道......没有小马会相信这回家,"小匹普花了一点时间说，因为我们跟随的十几个人停在了一个洞口。我们穿上衣服，离开了站台，穿过那些闪亮的小马，走进了山洞。月亮石在我们周围闪耀着光芒，唱着它那奇特的空灵的旋律。
“Story of my life,” I replied, and we walked towards the back of the cave.
"我的人生故事,"我回答，然后我们朝洞穴的后面走去。
To Rampage.
致暴怒。
Somepony’d made a kind of bedroom for her, with a crystal bed and lamps and a dresser. And there, curled up, her head upon a pillow, was the mare. She looked asleep, covered in a shining layer of dust like a blanket. I turned to LittlePip, but she shook her head.
有个小马给她安排了一间卧室，里面有一张水晶床、几盏台灯和一个梳妆台。那里，蜷缩着，她的头枕在枕头上，是母马。她看上去睡着了，身上盖着一层像毯子一样闪亮的灰尘。我转向小匹普，但她摇了摇头。
So, the talisman had had its limit after all. Her skin had darkened like tanned leather, but I could still see her stripes.
所以，护身符终究还是有它的极限。她的皮肤变黑了，像晒黑了的皮革，但我仍然可以看到她的条纹。
I reached out to brush her mane, and like a house a cards, she collapsed. Everything not bone simply turned to powder. I stared at the pile of dust, trying feebly to think of what could have possibly happened, but my thoughts came up empty as I examined what was left. Everything looked centuries dead except the phoenix talisman, lying in her ribs like a heart of stone. I scooped it up and turned to the exit. The moon ponies watched the cave with a forlorn expression. Could they hear our thoughts? Feel our sadness? Hopefully they weren’t outraged by what we’d done to her. For all we knew, they thought Rampage was the goddess of the moon.
我伸手给她梳鬃毛，她就像一座房子一样倒下了。所有不是骨头的东西都变成了粉末。我盯着那一堆灰尘，无力地想着可能会发生什么，但是当我检查剩下的东西时，我的脑子里一片空白。一切看起来都死了几个世纪，除了凤凰护身符，躺在她的肋骨像一颗石心。我把它铲起来，转向出口。月亮上的小马儿带着绝望的表情注视着洞穴。他们能听到我们的想法吗？感受到我们的悲伤？希望他们不会因为我们对她的所作所为而感到愤怒。据我们所知，他们认为朗格是月亮女神。
We got back on the platform without incident, and, though I would have loved to
我们平安无事地回到了月台上，虽然我很想回去
stay and learn more about the moon ponies, we only had so much time.
留下来多了解一下月亮小马，我们只有这么多时间。
Back on the platform, as we headed up towards Equus, I held the stone in my lap. “Well, I can do one last favor for her,” I said, and I drew my sword. I hadn’t dared take the starmetal off the platform; Pythia had said it was a different type, but I didn’t want to risk dropping it. I tried to wipe the moonstone coating the talisman away, but the damn stuff was sticky. Oh well… I levitated talisman and sword and cleanly cut the former in twain with the latter, the sword giving a brilliant flash of light and crackle of magical energy as it went through. The dead talisman was bisected right down the middle.
回到平台上，当我们朝着马科斯出发时，我把石头放在膝盖上。"好吧，我可以帮她最后一个忙,"我说着拔出了我的剑。我不敢把星金属从平台上拿下来，Pythia说它是另一种类型，但我不想冒险把它弄掉。我试图擦去月光石外面的护身符，但那该死的东西太粘了。哦，好吧......我悬浮起护身符和剑，干净利落地把前者和后者切成两半，剑穿过时发出耀眼的光芒和劈啪作响的魔法能量。死去的护身符正好从中间一分为二。
“I’m sorry, Blackjack,” LittlePip said.
"对不起，黑杰克,"小匹普说。
“Yeah,” I muttered. Then blinked as the magical energy arcing over the halves of the talisman started to glow. Soul motes escaped, but, rather than passing on, they seemed to be swirling and surging around the broken talisman. The dead pink rock started to glow, and we both stared in alarm as a pink mist issued forth. That mist collected into a small filly-sized shape, and with a flash of light, the body of Rampage the filly was formed. The soul motes started to wander away, but three lingered. Then one tiny mote slipped into her body as the other two departed. The talisman went dark, the halves crumbling.
"是的,"我喃喃自语。然后眨了眨眼，魔法的能量弧在一半的护身符开始发光。灵魂尘埃逃脱了，但它们并没有消失，而是在破碎的护身符周围盘旋着。死去的粉色岩石开始发光，我们两个都惊恐地盯着发出的粉色雾气。薄雾聚集成一个小母马大小的形状，伴随着一道闪光，母马的身体形成了狂暴。灵魂的尘埃开始四处游荡，但有三颗还在徘徊。当另外两个人离开的时候，一个微小的尘埃溜进了她的身体。护身符变暗了，一半碎了。
And then, suddenly, Rampage sucked in a deep breath and coughed. A moment later, she opened her eyes. “Mom?” she murmured, and then stared at me. “Blackjack?” Then she looked around wildly. “What... who... how... the rocket...
然后，突然，狂暴深吸了一口气，开始咳嗽。过了一会儿，她睁开了眼睛。"妈妈?"她喃喃自语，然后盯着我。"黑杰克?"然后她疯狂地环顾四周。"什么...谁...怎么...火箭..。
but... I.... you...” The filly blinked at me, then asked, “What the fuck is going on?
但是......我......你......"小母马眨了眨眼睛，然后问我,"这他妈的是怎么回事？
How’d I get here? Last thing I remember was lying down to take a nap, and...”
我怎么会在这里？我记得的最后一件事就是躺下打了个盹，然后......"
I sobbed as I swept her up in my hooves, holding her tight, weeping brokenly. At first she struggled, and then she relaxed, and soon started crying too. “Has it been a while?”
我用蹄子把她抱起来，抽泣着，紧紧地抱着她，断断续续地哭泣。起初她挣扎着，后来她放松了，很快也开始哭了起来。"有一段时间了吗?"
“Yeah...” I sniffed as I held her. “It has been.” LittlePip looked on, envious but silent. I knew she’d have given the world for one of her friends back... and I would have helped her get it.
"是啊......"我一边抱着她一边嗅着。"一直都是。"小匹普眼巴巴地看着，嫉妒却沉默着。我知道她愿意为她的一个朋友付出一切......我会帮助她得到这一切。
The striped filly wiped her eyes and then stared ahead of us, where Equus loomed. The land was greener, the seas bluer, the mountains and deserts more defined. The zebra lands no longer burned with megaspells. “Do you ever regret it?” LittlePip asked softly as the world grew ahead of us. “What you gave up?”
那条纹的小姑娘擦了擦眼睛，然后盯着我们前方，看到了隐约可见的马。土地更绿，海洋更蓝，山脉和沙漠更清晰。斑马的土地不再与巨盾鱼一起燃烧。"你后悔过吗?"当世界在我们面前成长时，小皮普轻声问道。"你放弃了什么?"
I smiled through my tears and lied through my teeth. “Not a bit of it.” That was the only answer I could give. I’d paid the price, and would keep paying it all the many years I had left. Because I could. Because it made things better. Because, as hard as things got, somepony had to.
我透过泪水微笑，透过牙齿撒谎。"一点也不。"这是我唯一能给出的答案。我已经付出了代价，在我剩下的许多年里，我还会继续付出代价。因为我可以。因为这让事情变得更好。因为，尽管事情变得越来越艰难，总有人不得不这么做。
“So, where are we going?” Rampage asked, actually sounding like a filly for the first time ever.
"那么，我们要去哪里?"狂暴问道，听起来第一次像一匹小母马。
I hugged her close and reached over to put a hoof across LittlePip’s shoulders as she guided us back to Equus. “Home,” I answered her. “We’re going home.”
我紧紧地抱住她，在她带我们回到马身边的时候，我把蹄子跨在了小匹普的肩膀上。"家,"我回答她。"我们要回家了。"
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