Clarity follows Hay as he turns to lead the way, already planning her route to home that would take her through what might be the busiest places for ponies near her age at this time of day.  High point of the market would be ending in a few minutes...Museum?  There's one on the way...probably parks would be a bit crowded, but a lot of ponies went there with their significant others, not to find a new one.  Probably a few she could make uncomfortable there, though...might be worth it.  She probably gets a bit too much of a kick out of seeing Star stumble.  Not always so elegant, I see... she thinks, filing it away in her memory of things to cheer her up that really shouldn't.

The clang of the other machine brings her out of her reverie.  Was that machine spewing smoke a few minutes ago?  She didn't think so...and what's with the sounds that metal bird is making?  "Biggie, what's the mat-"  She nearly jumps out of her dress when the cork pops a good one onto it.  "Hey!" she shouts, whirling around, looking for...
There's nopony there.  Where did...there's just all the machines that have been there since she got there...but for whatever reason, the room feels much more...hostile than it did before.  This is nonsense.  Enough that she's seriously considering just leaving.  She'd already heard that he wouldn't be able to help her with the birthday present.  After a few seconds of surveying the metal surrounding them, she gives a snort, all traces of ladyhood gone as she walks a bit farther from the others, belligerently daring whatever's making her so uneasy to make her day worse.

Clarity fiddles with her skirt while listening to Hay's response.  A bigger thing?  Why would it need to be a part?  It seems like a standalone idea to her.  And really, what more could you want than something that could talk for you?  That itself is a pretty tall order, and tacking on mor-

She snaps back to attention when Hay looks at Star again.  And away.  Blushing.  Her eyes flick between the two of them a few times.  Thinking back along their interaction today, she realizes that it wasn't the first time that he did that.  Once, twice...this was...the third?  Fourth?  Whatever the number is, it's at least three times more than he did so for her.  Granted she had rarely gotten that close, but Star seemed to be inflicting the dreaded Red Face of Doom without thinking.  It doesn't even look like she's noticing.  Though who can tell with her?  But it's something she's seen often enough, and taken care to notice the signs when they appear.

She'd waited too long.  He's taken.

Unless Star wasn't interested back.  But whatever the Pegasus's thoughts on the matter, Hay wasn't interested in Clarity.  Well...back to the drawing board.  No sense letting them see how disappointed she is, though.  Then she'd have to let them know why or deflect any questions they might have as to her sudden mood drop, and rule four of courting etiquette (for her) is never let on that you're disappointed to see somepony go.  That would let them know they have advantage, and there's no way...

...A few words filter in.  "...in time...try and remove..."  Clarity's attention returns to the conversation as Star begins speaking.  Thought Theater?  That sounds...intriguing.  What would that do?  Either way, it sounds like...a no.  Or a probably not.  Either way, it looks like she'll have to keep looking for a present for Clair.  At least now she doesn't have to pretend not to be disappointed.  "Eh...I figured it was a long shot," she says, ears drooping.  "I mean, if anypony could, I figured it would be you, but...I guess some things are just fantasy."  She stands and dusts her skirt.  Maybe she'd find a nice pair of swim trunks for him...since he never swims anyway...

Haywire's technospeak flies right over Clarity's head, almost making a whooshing noise with how she missed its meaning and almost it entirely, focused instead on what she imagined it might turn out to be.  Party poppers that big would just be a recipe for disaster...what a delightful thought.  She'd store that in the back of her mind for later.  There are a few ponies she could stand to have a little more..."pop" in their lives...

The machine's outburst goes largely unnoticed by Clarity, just assuming that it was just something that machine is supposed to do from time to time.  The mechanical bird got her attention, though, when it tweets its greeting at her.  She grins and gives it a little wave.  "Hey, Bibble, how are you?"  Oddly coincidental that the extra noise from the not-oven stopped when it landed...

Oh well.  She shrugs and turns back to Hay.  "Yeah, he's my twin brother.  The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?" she asks playfully, making herself look as small as she could and trying to adopt his unfocused eyes, with little success.  Whatever, she thinks as she straightens back out with a flip of her mane.  "After your little...conversation, he's half-convinced you're more than a little touched in the head."  A bit of a smirk plays onto her face.  She wouldn't be too surprised herself, given the way he keeps a machine around that simply spits fire every once in a while.  "Regardless of whether that's true or not, I'm coming mostly for him.

"You see, it's...well, it's getting close to our birthday.  Birthdays mean parties, and parties mean presents, and..."  She sighs and blushes, rubbing at her right forehoof with her left, turning her eyes slightly.  It feels so strange to admit her shortcomings.  "I...don't have such a great track record with getting them for him.  I mean, last year I got him a paintbrush, which would have been fine if he used brushes, but he only ever paints with his hooves, and he still holds it while he's painting, and he likes everything I get him, but I want his present to be really special, and..."  She cuts her speeding train of thought off and clears her throat.  Enough rambling.  Get to the point.

"A-anyway.  I'm sure you thought it a little weird-"  Haywire finding things weird?  Bad choice of words.  "You noticed that he didn't talk.  That wasn't a choice, he just..."  Even after all these years, talking about Clair's...uniqueness...is uncomfortable for her.  Should she really be talking about this in front of Star?  Her gaze flicks over in the other mare's direction for a moment.  Well, she's already said enough that it could probably be inferred, and if she asks to have her leave or let her talk to Hay in private, that would just be confirming things.  "...can't.  Which is fine, most of the time, because, well, he doesn't get out much, but there can't always be somepony with him that he knows, and not everypony knows Morse, and...Could you maybe make something that could...let him talk?"

Clarity smiles and bats her eyes as the door swings open, ready to give the green pony behind it her jocular greeting again.  It sure was funny, wasn't it?  Except that the pony behind the door isn't the one she was expecting.  Indeed, looking at the level where she expected to see those orange goggles, she was instead treated a smooth white neck.  That can't be right.  Clarity's smile transfers from her eyes to just her mouth as she begins to take a step back to inspect this newcom-

No, she doesn't want to appear rude.  After all, she's already been invited in.  So instead she meets the (rather tall) mare's eyes and gives her a nod.  "Mirror.  Clarity Mirror, Miss Star.  Delighted to make your acquaintance, I'm sure," she intones as she walks in, head held high.  What is this mare doing here?  Is she some kind of new staff here?  This place didn't really seem to Clarity like the kind of place that would need, get, or be able to retain employees for any length of time, but from the way she'd been welcomed she doesn't really think Star's a casual visitor at the moment, either.  Either way, Hay isn't immediately visible, so maybe she knows where he is.

"Would you happen to know where Haywire is, Miss Star?" she asks while feigning interest in some gizmo or other that looked like two elementary school art projects had slain each other trying to kill the other one.  And any other number of gadgets, all while sneaking glances at the tall mare in a way she hopes isn't too obvious.  "There is something I would like to discuss with him, if he is so inclined."  The first thing to strike her is Star's coloring.  Pure white coat, with three-hue mane and tail that go so well together it looks practically planned.

Once she's gotten past what caught her attention first, she has to become slightly more obvious about it to discern Star's figure.  First off, she's tall.  So tall.  And she looks even taller because of how slender she is.  Combined with her coloring, she puts Clarity in mind of some kind of fancy dessert.  All in all, a rather elegant package.  She hasn't even seen her wings unfolded yet.  All in all...she finds her eyes furrowing.  This can't be right.  She came to Haywire's workshop.  The little green pony who's always covered in oil and gives the impression he doesn't know what a comb is.
And she feels like she isn't the most beautiful pony in the room.

This...this is ridiculous!  Why, she'd even considered coming here for the express purpose of feeling more beautiful by comparison!  And sure, Hay was fun and zany and all, but Star!  Right there in the same place is somepony so slender and delicate that she finds herself wishing she'd worn something more elaborate to help conceal her little pudge that she's doing her best to hide now, and tall enough that she's unconsciously straining for every last inch of height she can muster.
But the worst part?  It looks like Star isn't even trying.  At the moment she greeted her at the door, her smile was so genuine, so relaxed that even the idea of keeping her appearance as elegant as it is seems like something that would probably be alien to her.  Meanwhile Clarity, though certainly no pushover herself in terms of attractiveness, feels like she'd have to come up with an outfit specifically designed to outclass her if she even wanted to compete.

Still.  She shouldn't jump to any conclusions.  The most important detail she can think of to keep calm?  The fact that there's no protuberance coming from Star's head.  A horn would practically clinch her negative impression of Star.  In fact, without it, maybe she could turn her opinion positive.  The most elegant Unicorns Clarity has met have been nigh-unapproachable.  It's like they think they own the place or something.  But Pegasi?  Sure, most of them around here were pretentious and conceited, but that seemed mostly to be a symptom of living around the haughty Unicorns and they are (in her experience) actually easier to befriend than usual.

So, she should probably stop giving her the evil eye.  Clarity corrects her composure with a couple deep breaths and a slight jangle of her coin purse.  She had come here for a reason, after all.  "And I must say, I find your coiffure to be most pleasing to the eye.  Tell me, are your colors natural or a rather impressive artifice?"

"My hoof?  Oh, it's fine.  That burn stuff you had worked pretty well.  It doesn't hurt anymore," she says, giving a stamp to the ground for emphasis then rubbing it on her other leg.  "Okay, maybe not quite all the way, but it's better.  As long as I don't run or anything it should be fine.  Thanks again for your help with that, by the way," she says, batting her eyes at him again.

It turns into blinking when he mentions Barlorrin.  Barlorrin?  Oh, right, the bear.  She's still holding it.  "Oh, uh...sure!  I'd love to have him join me!" she says, clutching the bear protectively.  "Thanks for that, too.  It's gonna be fun, huh, Barry?"  She gives the bear a nuzzle, then pops him into the saddlebag.  "I'll come see you again, Hay.  Maybe then you can send me to space, since that party pooper blacksmith didn't want to go.  Seriously, who wouldn't?"  She lifts the bags and sets them on her back, then walks by Haywire, giving him a hug as she does.  "Later, cutie."

As she passes the snow, she stops.  "Okay, this is too good an opportunity to pass up."  She takes her bags off and scoops snow into the one that doesn't hold the bear, grinning.  "If I go fast enough, somepony's getting a snowball fight without any ammunition.  G'bye!"  And then she slings them back on her back and dashes out the door.

Clarity peers with interest past her inventor-shield as the blacksmith negates the gout of flames with a glow of his horn.  Well, control of fire would be pretty useful for a blacksmith.  Not to mention this looks like a prime time for a little bit of teasing.  "Whoah, control of fire?  That's...hot.". She giggles while stepping back out from behind Haywire.  "Or not hot, in this case.  Still.  Can you make fire, too, or...

Wait.  What's that sound?  It's...it doesn't sound friendly.  All of a sudden she's put in mind of a den of a wild beast or the like.  "Haywire, is...is it safe?"  She steps closer to him, getting quite close to him for a reason other than flirtatiousness, secretly glad to have the security of the bear still in her hooves.  He lives here, right?  Staying near him should keep her safe.

She let's out a little shriek when the snow bursts from the egg, clutching Hay and the bear to herself in surprise before she let's out a relieved laugh.  For some reason she was expecting something a little more...malign than snow from the feeling she was getting from the ambient sounds.  "You okay in there, not-so-hot-anymore stuff?" she asks with a playful flip of her mane, stepping forward to dig him out.

Hm.  Her efforts don't even seem to faze him.  Is he playing hard to get?  That's so cute.  Not sure how well it'll work, though.  She'll see how far he's able to play that card...
She extends the bear on her hoof while Haywire spreads the ointment on her other hoof.  "Hm...a name, name name...How about...Barlorrin the Brave?  He lives in the madpony's workshop of terror, watched over by Bribble the Baleful Clockwork Bird with naught to defend himself but his bear claws *giggle* and determination to survive!  And now he must rescue the inventor's newest captive, the beautiful yellow pony who needs only true love's kiss to be freed!"  She winks at the inventor as he finishes with her hoof.

"Thanks.  You really are good at that.  Such gentle, skilled hooves."  She leans towards him and draws the bear back against herself, half-lidding her eyes.  "I wonder how..."
She's interrupted and stopped from finishing that thought by the arrival of-
Oh.  Wow.  He's so big.  So strong-looking.  Could probably pick her up with one hoof.  Wouldn't mind giving that a try, actually...
...But no.  Now that she's had a chance to take a better look, he's got to be at least 10 years her senior.  Still, a mare can dream, right?  "Well, hello there, big colt," she says.  "Well, aren't you a strong one.  What do you do for a living, bench press buildings?  Don't answer that.  I'm sure you do.  Well," she continues, rising to her hooves and gesturing with her recently-treated one to gesture to Haywire, "you happen to be looking upon the illustrious proprietor of Tech Tock, where your silly limitations mean nothing to the onward gallop of progress!"