//------------------------------// // Unexpected Invasion // Story: Magic's Birth: The Sisters' Memories // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// The massive construct threw its arm down, crashing into the ground and throwing up black dust everywhere. Luna and Celestia calmly floated to the sides while Galah watched its movements very closely. "Ain't scared, are ya?" the machine shouted angrily at the prototype. It swung its arm across, crashing into Galah who had its arms raised up. He found himself flung across the field and into the distance. "Didn't hear no crunch or crack." The monster grunted as its engines belched black energy into the sky. "Still, Ah still gots you two ta learn a lesson to!" She swung at Celestia who rose in the air, out of reach. The giant stared at her momentarily before shining its light onto Luna and seeing the same result occur. It kept trying to reach the two, failing every time. "Consarn'd stupid machines! Git down from there! Robots ain't s'posed to fly! Ain't natural!" "Robots are not 'natural'," Celestia chided. "While most of the material we are comprised of comes from the ground, we are still constructs. We were not born." The giant stopped, and its engines sputtered before roaring once more. "That's not what I meant ya gol dern...Yer just makin' fun of me! Think yer better'n me!" "My design is much more efficient than yours," the white machine said. "So is hers," she said as she pointed to her sister. Luna waved 'hello', angering the giant. Its torso flowed a bright orange as its systems went into overdrive. "Maybe ah should put a little more sweat on mah 'brow, then!" It turned around and started rummaging through the hill behind it. " 'Ere we go!" It turned around with two giant boulders in its hands. "This should git you good!" she shouted enthusiastically. "Can't wait ta squish some flyin' geese!" It pulled one arm back, winding up for a throw, and jettisoned it at Celestia. It whistled past the machine, narrowly missing when she dodged downwards. The other went towards Luna who rolled to the side, also narrowly avoiding the boulder, although it did still cause sparks when it touched her right arm. "Would you stop movin' around! S'getting' even more anno--" The exhausts on the back of the machine puttered out, and the robot teetered over. Its legs bent into a crouch, preventing the whole thing from just toppling over. "It shut down," Luna said. She approached it and poked the orange hull with her ring hand. "I believe it is out of energy." Celestia looked it up and down. "Should we find a source of energy to power it with? The maker within could be trapped." Luna shook her head. "Would be more prudent to find a maker and have them solve this issue." The two machines floated backwards when a loud click came from the machine, followed by a copious expelling of steam and gas. A large hatch raised from the center of the torso, exposing the armored center, and the one within. "Stupid blue machines 'n their blue energy. Last too long! S'not fair!" the voice complained. It had a lighter, somewhat feminine tone. Luna approached the open hatch and extended an arm. "Do you need assistance?" she asked. Her arm was slapped away by something metallic. A prosthetic, Luna thought. Instead, she was met with an unexpected occupant: Another robot. "Ah ain't need no blue's gol 'dern 'assistance'," she mocked. The machine jumped and landed hard on the ground, black energy rushing out of her legs. "Get it done with, then. Destroy me. Ah don't care no more." It was a much bulkier machine than the sisters. It was at least the size of the one female maker the two had met in the alleyway. Her body was painted a bright orange with yellow on her fingers, joints, and cheeks. Her whole body was a bulky mess of thick metal plating and black energy. Each hand had five fingers each, all built upon a semi-squarish simulacrum of a hand. Her thick legs ensured a stable balance in most situations, but her knees were inverted. Her face possessed a slight, squarish protrusion in which a fake line of white metal had been installed. The edges were crudely cut, leaving several holes of various sizes from which a dull orange glow seeped. Her eyes were the same. They depended on the motor within her burning bright to showcase bright, orange eyes filled anger and flickering hatred. Her head was adorned with a vertically placed, strange, bicorne-esque 'hat' shape made from pure metal. How it was able to move about with such an unpolished and jagged lump of metal was a mystery to the sisters. "Well? Figure that even a farmin' robot'd be too much to leave by." "This...sounds like Applejack," Twilight mused suspiciously. "She does, doesn't she?" Celestia realized. She looked to her sister. "You think there's something in there that we're missing?" Luna shrugged. "I wonder if the blue energy didn't do something else to our friends, or if it's just mere coincidence. Many ponies over time share the same traits and personalities, and the Apple family is no stranger to this." "They are a stereotype of farmer ponies, after all," Luna teased. Twilight looked 'shocked'. "Well, that's not very nice, Princess Luna. I thought that you would have more tact for a pony in your esteemed position." Luna huffed in response. "Not all of us have time to peruse the local populace for smarmy jokes, Twilight." Twilight burst in to laughter, as did Celestia. "Peruse!" the solar princess repeated. "Still, I recall meeting quite a few Apples before...that, and quite a few of them shared several personality traits with our old friend." She tapped her chin. "This whole story time is starting to rouse questions that my sister and I never bothered to think about because we were too busy reminiscing our past and the fun we had when we became awake." "We don't intend to terminate you," Luna said. She stretched her arm out once again. "We were intending to find robots like you, who share a similar trait of 'awareness'," she explained. The machine displayed suspicion and mistrust. She back away, and metal shutters closed in behind her eyes, creating various different ocular representations. "What's you talkin' 'bout?" she asked. "Y'all were sent by the blue to get rid of us here in the black." "I have a hard time believing such an outcome when ships and makers are still sent here to the black," Celestia said. She floated close-by. "You display similar traits to both us and Galah." There was a pause before the large robot responded. "Who?" "The machine you tossed away in this...other machine?" She glitched. The large machine laughed. "He's gone. Ain't no two, three, 'er five ways 'bout it. 'E's gone!" "He's coming back," Luna said from above. She pointed into the distance. "What?! That's impossible! That was with mah full body!" the machine shouted in disbelief. She ran forward to get a better look. Galah was running through the grass, eventually arriving back in front of a new trio. "Wow!" he shouted. "That was amazing!" He almost immediately noticed the new machine in the group and rushed to her. "Where did you come from?" he asked. The new machine was at a loss for words. She saw the deep dents in the strange, bulky arms of the machine she thought she had destroyed and was met with even more confusion. Those of the blue weren't like this. They weren't sturdy at all. Their robots weren't sturdy at all! At least, that's what she had been told the whole time. Was there something she was missing. Her processes were paused when she heard a bad noise coming from her 'full' body. Luna was peering into the cabin and fumbling about with the entrails. "Hey! You stay outta there!" she shouted angrily. She rushed over and pulled Luna out by her legs. "That's mine! Don't you touch it ever!" She looked at it and wiped several pieces of grass stuck to her chassis after Galah approached her. "Just gotta get mahself fueled up 'n ah'll be squishin' ya right fer!" she stated with a prompt nod. "What is this?" Luna asked. "There ware no seats or controls with which to control this construct." "That's mah body," the machine growled. "Elaborate." The new machine slammed her chest several times with both hands. "That's me," she specified. "Ah'm the core. Easier ta transport 'n fuel up then lettin' mah real self get ta anyplace ah need ta be at." "And you can be transferred to a new body if this one fails and becomes irreparable," Celestia said. "Guess you use plugs 'n such to become connected with it," Galah pondered. The new machine agreed. He remained in silence for several minutes while the sisters stared at the new machine silently, unnerving her more and more with each passing second. "This is a very old model," he said. "They were phased out decades ago. Almost two centuries. Power consumption and management was solved already, and then those problems were improved upon. "He looked to the new machine. "Why are you still in service?" he asked. "Why wouldn't ah be? You jerks from the blue dun kept all yer blue from us. We can't do nothin' without it, so we use the black." Her arms drooped and she looked to the sky, her voice taking a dour tone. "Ah've been told by mah caretakers that all the lands in this world were bright 'n vibrant. They were soothin', 'n creatures of all shapes 'n colors were prancin' about." She frowned. "Although ah don't remember none of that, 'n ah figure this land here is right vibrant and filled with 'nough critters as it is." The orange machine shrugged. "Can't rightly figure what the problem is. S'a good life fer me, 'n mah friend doesn't mind it none either, though she does get in over her head a lot with the critters." "I am perplexed," Celestia butted in. "Were you not threatening us earlier? Why do you confide in us?" The orange machine snorted. "Y'all'd've destroyed me already. Figured ya need me fer somethin' if yer makers haven't destroyed me yet, although how you are behaving like this without them noticing is a mystery." "They don't know," Luna said. "We came here of our own volition. Nothing special was requested of us by our makers." The orange machine narrowed her gaze. "So ya say, but ah ain't gonna trust y'all yet. Ain't never even seen things like you two, but ah have seen you afore," she gestured to Galah. "I'm delighted that someone even still knows of me in the lands of the black energy." He bounced in place. "How exciting! A celebrity in a new land I've never explored before." The machine's arm drooped. "Wh-what in material sublimation? Y'ain't a celebrity!" "Sue sounds like it," Galah said smugly. The orange machine clenched her fists angrily, and the fire within her burned brightly for a moment until Luna poked her shoulder. "What is your designation?" she asked. "Mah what?" The machine rose back up to her full height, towering over everyone. "Ya mean my name?" Luna nodded. "Mine is Luna." She pointed to the white machine. "My sister's name is Celestia." She pointed to the prototype whilst ignoring the orange robot mumbling 'sister' under her non-existent breathe. "And this is Galah. He is the one who led us here." "I concluded that jumping out of the aircraft would be the optimal solution to getting to where we wanted to be," he stated proudly. The orange robot stared at him in disbelief. "Ya what?! Of all the gol' durn stupid things ta--" "I would have preferred that we land in a city and go from there. The concentration of machines there is higher than in a countryside or rural environment," Celestia complained. "Yes, but we found her, didn't we," Galah said. He raised his arms into the air, stretching his long, spindly fingers. The orange robot was ready to heave, but she didn't have the ability to do so. "Fine. Mah name Ia Rahllup, on account of the banged pieces of metal mah caretakers put on mah full body." She looked to it and crossed her arms. "Could've been creative, but nooooo." She readjusted her head and shook it. "If'n yer lookin' fer machines lak me, I figure y'all should come to mah farm, but ah warn ya." She glared at the three as the flames within her intensified. "On it, y'all're in mah territory. The other may be lahk me, but we're dozens of bots there. Even you three wouldn't be able to escape if ya tried somethin' funny ta mah caretakers. Got it?" The three nodded in response. How convenient that they found two Galah thought. For a moment he thought he had almost done something incredibly stupid.