Luna and Celestia stayed up all night to aid in the repair of the stowaway, but they were also eager to explore the city with their new friends. They had already reacted explosively to the city of the blue from the outside, how would they react when they saw it functioning on the inside? Oh, but the makers didn't like the appearance of either machine. Luna wondered if it would be like those of the gray who had simply grown accustomed to the appearance of the two that their mere presence did nothing. Would it be that way with those of the blue? The more Luna compared her stored information on those of the gray and compared it to those of the blue, the more 'sensitive' they seemed to become.
"Do you think the makers of the blue are more fragile than those of the gray?" Luna blurted out.
The engineer let out a tired yawn and placed his measuring tools down. "Fragile in what way?"
Luna moved her arms about, trying to come up with a proper response. "Well, physically, are makers more fragile? Psychologically, are they more fragile?"
"Oh, becoming philosophical, are we?" The maker leaned against a desk and heaved a loud sigh. "Depends on who you look at and the pool you use to determine averages. Most people of the black are, on average, bulkier than us in the blue, that must is true." He wiped some grime off of his hands with a dirty hand towel. "As for the psychological, that is very hard to tell. Some people are more sensitive than others, then there's a variety of other factors, I suppose, like how each robot's operating system functions differently. You can have a hundred robots of the same make with the same things about them all around, but three of them get a weird glitch in their OS after an update despite the others getting nothing."
The blue machine looked towards the stowaway. "I see. So, there's no true standard?" she asked. The engineer shook his head. Luna looked back in her storage to the images of the skypiercer that had started everything. "But everyone must like something, no? A lot have a passion for the same things. Similar fears. Similar loves?"
"Yes," the engineer grumbled. "That's about as far as I can answer you on this. I'm no psychologist," he mused. "Although that would be very helpful in understanding how your mind is even working," he mumbled to himself while shaking his head. He yawned once again and stretched himself. "The air is getting chilly and I can see the sun starting to rise. I'll turn on this charred thing and get it back online. I've fixed most of the holes and replaced a lot of the cabling, but I'm hardly even close to done with it. Still haven't found a good voice box for it yet," he said while fiddling with the back of the machine.
Its activation was almost immediate. The stowaway slammed hard into the face of the engineer, knocking him over, or, at least, it would have if it weren't for the reflexes of the two sisters jumping to him and shielding his face just in time.
"That was close," Celestia commented.
"Uh, well, thank you for that." He rubbed the back of his head and looked over the newly activated machine. "What kind of robot activates that fast? It's unheard of. Such a bizarre machine," he noted. "Well," he started whilst patting it on the back. "You're free to go for the time being. Explore the city with the giants, the fluffy thing, and the prototype that doesn't pay attention to anything," he told the stowaway.
The group noticed Galah walking around absent-minded, banging into the back of the engineer's colossus and falling to the ground, still 'walking'.
Celestia facepalmed and shook her head in annoyance. Dissonance jumped forward, stared at Galah, then started laughing.
"Comedic timing!" the flamboyant machine laughed loudly. "I'm saving this to my special hard drive!"
"He, uh...he doesn't really care about the well-being of others, does he?" the engineer croaked.
The sisters remained silent. The charred machine was observing its patched body. The new parts were creating a mismatched divide between the burnt metal and the shiny, polished material. It landed on its feet and squatted several times to test its flexibility. Its repairer was expecting it to be as enthusiastic as Rahllup but was shocked to see the stowaway banging its shiny parts against the table and any surface it could find. Luna and Celestia were forced to hold it down to prevent it from harming itself.
"What is wrong with everything you bring to me?" the engineer complained.
"It doesn't seem to like the look of its new plating," Celestia explained as she held the machine in place.
"Then just get some black paint or something!" He massaged his temple. "I'm really tired right now and I need a break. You've been temporarily assigned to me while the paperwork is going through. Go walk through the city with the other weirdos to let me sleep in peace." He chuckled. "Being your own boss means you get to sleep for as long as you want. Ha."
"Do you have a specific time you wish for us to return at?" Luna asked.
The engineer already has his back turned and was going back to his home. He threw his arms up into the air at the question. "As late as possible!" he shouted. Luna overheard him mumbling to himself afterwards, however. "They reacted negatively to those lights in the black? What are they hiding from us here that something runn--" his mumbling was cut off after he closed the door.
"I'll get the others," Luna said to her sister.
She was quick to reactivate the two giants who had gone into sleep mode several hours ago. To her surprise, Dissonance was also an early waker, although in its case it was because it was eager to explore the city of the blue. The colossus was agreeable enough to open the door leading to the engineer's junkyard, letting the group leave without destroying the wall again, but now they were outside.
"So...what do we do now?" Galah asked. "Nothing I know of is still around. All got repurposed or decommissioned." He held his arm up with the palm of his hand and leaned against his free one. "Could've done with that artillery piece," he mused. "That was really fun to watch."
"How about a simple trek around the city, then we can see what passes for entertainment here," Dissonance suggested. "Preferably none of the boomy kind."
The others gradually agreed and turned to the sisters that were now joined by the charred machine.
"We will guide you, then," Luna said. "We at least know what is within, or at least what to expect."
"Lead the way," Rahllup said as she gestured a hand forward.
Being early in the day, not many makers were around. Instead, the usual nightly public of machinery running tirelessly left and right throughout the city populated the streets. Most of the buildings were still slumbering cozily, but there were those here and there that had remained on throughout the night, garnering attention with bright, neon lights and flying images in the sky. Holograms of a sort projected by multiple tiny drones dancing together in the air.
"That image is moving...in the sky," Dissonance said in awe.
"That's amazin'," Rahllup said. "That'd sure help a lot of us at the farm." She tapped her arm. "Could use it to keep those bugs out, then we could just focus on maintaining the fields and keeping them healthy."
"And we wouldn't have to hurt them anymore," Biddy said. She seemed somewhat relieved at such an idea.
"Is it a really expensive luxury that only a few people can afford?" Dissonance asked the three machines of the blue.
Celestia shook her head. "Hmm. These movements are becoming a natural response now," she mused. "These are regular business expenditures. Under the many loans and rentals that can be provided, the business can either pay for those to attract the attention of aerial vehicles or garner attention from a greater distance than just the mostly immediate vicinity."
The three stared at them, dumbfounded.
"Why would they want the attention of the planes," Rahllup asked flatly.
"Not planes, aerial vehicles."
The flame-faced giant exchanged looks with Biddydee. "That's what I just said: Planes."
"Makers of the blue have access to flying vehicles they can utilize," Celestia explained.
Dissonance scoffed. "It's like talking to an encyclopedia for exposition." They stroked the scarf around their neck pensively. "And how do they even move around in a three-d space like that?"
"A screen inside displays paths created by markers. This gives a pseudo two-dimensional road in a three dimensional environment." She started counting off on her fingers, jittering with glee as she did so. "There's buoys on the floors, on the buildings, and through satellites that project the paths, there's paths that allow you to go higher or lower, with signs and rules put in place allowing the change to be seamless, there's-"
"Okay! Okay." Dissonance raised their hands. "I get it," they stated calmly. "Don't start listing everything and how it works or we're going to be stuck here until it's night again, and I'm not interested in staying in such a place d-Ah! What is that?!" the flamboyant machine shouted.
It took a while for her to register the shape, but Luna recognized it almost immediately: It was the flying insect creature from long ago, attacking creatures in the air and draining them of their fluids. Its red-orange wings patterned in flowing waves and curls flapped energetically to keep their owner in the air. The blue machine raised a finger to it, but it drew away from her.
"It's a Red Ratam," Celestia explained. "At least, that's one of the names. It's still being debated on what to call this species of insect."
"And, um, what does it do?" Dissonance's teeth had spun to become a terrified expression of a face looking to the side with shrunk pupils and exposed, clenched teeth.
"They're harmless to us. They feed on the living, not the material we're comprised of," the white machine explained.
"Really now?" Dissonance grabbed their chin and leaned forward, narrowing their gaze on the small insect. "And how do they feed?"
"They catch their prey in the air and drain them of their fluids."
The three machines of the black slowly turned to look at her with as expressive emotions they could: Rahllup's flames had turned into a tiny sputter of sparks, Biddydee was drooped forward loosely, and Dissonance stared at her with their false facial features of stunned horror.
"They even attack animals several times larger than them, but it's dangerous because they can be easily squished," Celestia continued cheerfully. Luna noticed that she seemed to be enjoying teaching the knowledge she held to the three of the black. "Some scholars believe they might have been infected by an energy from the older times, hence their coloration and thirst for blood."
The charred machine was quiet for the most part. It was staying close to Luna, analyzing everything around them. Per the blue machine's calculated theories, it was possible the stowaway didn't know how to interact with its new environment. The material was different, the architecture was vastly altered compared to those of the black, and everything was far more compact. In fact, it was hesitant to even get close to doors and windows despite having done so so easily when the group had first entered the city. It was possible that its new entrails were aiding in its better functioning, or simply that it now felt out of its element since the first bout of exploration was completed.
"Hmm, maybe when the makers are more active you'll be able to enjoy what's around?" Luna said to the charred machine. It stared at her silently. "You'll like it. It's like being in a hive, maybe. You're invisible without hiding!"
Celestia turned to face her. "That doesn't work with robots. You took that from something," she chastised.
"I have to say, princesses, I don't like where this is going," Twilight explained.
"How so?" Luna asked.
"Well, you showed those giant blue discs or orbs -whatever they are- at the start of your story," Twilight started. "Then they appear above the gray for seemingly no reason and are approached like some kind of threat."
Celestia nodded. "It would seem that way,"
"And then there's a ton of the disks expelling a plethora of blue energy all over the city!"
"Right."
The lavender alicorn looked between the two multiple times, her irritation beginning to boil over. "With all due respect, and I respect you very much, I feel like you're lying between your teeth!"
The two princesses tapped their maws in response.
"While I do understand the concern, Twilight, you'll know soon enough why we truly don't know what happened!" Celestia explained.
Luna grumbled and leaned back. "We saw some things before we were buried," she croaked. The lunar princess simulated a tired huff. "Strange things that terrified us to our very cores."
"Our many many cores," Celestia butted in playfully.
Twilight gave her a blank stare. "What?"
"Ignore her," Luna suggested. "To be honest, these next few sequences are hard for us to go through again."
"We...tend to ignore them, and for good reason," Celestia added. "They're not fun to reminisce on."
The lavender alicorn turned to face the resuming story and gulped with dread. "So I was right," Twilight mumbled to herself.