As Cadance was directed through the tunnels, she couldn't help but notice the many smiling faces around her. The tsuki were out in force, watching their procession with a rapt and focused attention. She didn't think they were hostile. They all smiled and waved and all the words they said were nice ones, or mildly confusing ones.
Shining Armor slid in beside her. "Do you think he, you know?"
"I don't know," replied Cadance in an uncertain voice.
Their guide, Toby, came down in front of a room and gestured inside. "Here is where ponies stay." He wasn't sure why so many of them tensed at his words. "If something miss, To--I get... for you." He bobbed his head, proud of his continued work to improve his speech. "Can sleep now, or come with I. I... will... show where food is."
Cadance took the lead, stepping towards Toby on cautious hooves. "Luna spoke well of you, Toby."
Toby lit up, going red. "Is Luna good? I miss her. She is best princess." He seemed to notice what he had just said to another princess. "O-oh!" His ears perked a moment before gravity enforced its will. "You is good princess too, just she is best. See? Um, not be mad?"
Cadance lifted a hoof to one of Toby's chubby cheeks and she smiled. "I find it difficult to be upset at you, Toby." She looked back at the others over her shoulder, many equine faces looking back at her for guidance. "If you're tired, relax here." She set her hoof down and walked to the entrance of the room to have a peek. There were many mattresses laid out in rows. No bed in sight, just mattresses.
Cadance shook her head a little, confused. After all the other effort to impress them, that seemed dreadfully minimalist. "Toby, what do you sleep on?"
Toby sat up, freeing his hands to gesture wildly, trying, futility, to pantomime a cot. "Soft spot, blanket, straw. You are guest, get even softer." He suddenly bounced past Cadance, brushing against her on the way as there just wasn't enough room to avoid it with her standing in the entrance. He landed beside a mattress and raised a hindleg. He thumped it quickly and loudly, making the thing bounce around with the thumpa-thumpa-thump. "See, is soft."
It seemed to strike him suddenly. "Oh!" He flipped open a small box beside the mattress and pulled out a blanket and threw that over the mattress. "Blanket here. Other things, nice things for nice ponies."
Other ponies began to filter in, examining where they would be sleeping and resting. Some claimed their favored mattress and began to examine the box of goodies beside it. One stallion plucked up a little statue from his box. It looked like a tsuki hugging an equally happy pony. "What... is this?"
Toby clapped his furry paw-hands. "Try to make better, add tsuki art. Like? Is show how happy we are."
Shining took the statue with a glowing horn, bringing it closer to examine. "The detail's good," he easily admitted. "You work well with stone."
Toby raised his hands quickly. "No no. Tob--I is--am not art maker. I will tell her you like it, make her happy." He walk-hopped back towards the entrance. "Show where food is, yes? This way."
The procession continued, a little smaller. Some of the ponies had remained in the quarters. Once the main mass had moved past, a doe poked her head in, peering at the smaller collection of ponies. She smiled brightly and bounced in little hops towards a gem earth pony. "Hello," she said as she approached.
The gem pony looked up at the big horned rabbit and gave his best smile. "Oh, um, hello. Are you here for something official? You just missed the princess."
The doe shook her head quickly. "No, I wanted to talk to you." She pointed at him. "What is it like, being all shiny. Is it hard, or soft? Can I touch?" She reached out a pawhand, eager to get to it without permission secured properly yet. "I am soft, and warm. You show me, I show you?"
A pegasus, non-crystal, burst into laughter. "That is too good," cried the mare even as the doe looked at her with confusion. "You have no idea how amazing what you just said was."
The gem stallion rolled up onto his haunches. "Don't mind her. We may look hard, but we are not. G-go ahead, check."
She pounced him with a happy little squeak. She hugged him and petted him and held him tight. "You are right! So soft, and warm, not like you look at all." She stroked along his side with one hand as the other held him up easily. She was a strong tsuki. "I am Shadow Hopper."
The gem stallion went stiff.
"What is wrong?" She pet all the more firmly, hoping to undo whatever magic effect had paralyzed her new friend.
The pegasus took to the air easily and soared over to the two. "You triggered him," she helpfully explained. "Crystal ponies get nervous about shadows."
Shadow blinked softly. "Is name, given by dam. I can't control that."
The gem stallion nervously laughed. "O-of course not! I... I'm sorry. I'm being rude."
Shadow smiled brilliantly. "Is alright, I forgive." She set him down gently back on his mattress. "What is your name?"
"Someone has a new friend," sang out the pegasus with a grin that wouldn't quit.
Toby threw his arms wide. "Here is where we eat. You come when you are hungry, eat."
Another tsuki, a jack, nodded quickly. "Come any time. We make food all time for hungry tsuki. Good for hungry ponies too, we checked." He was wearing a little cap that had the word 'Chef' scrawled on it by a pup that had begun learning the new magic of writing.
Cadance approached one of the tables that had food set out on it. A soft sniff told her that it likely would taste just fine, if curious. They used spices she wasn't used to, perhaps plants, maybe... "What do you cook with? I mean, ingredient-wise?"
The cook hiked a thumb at himself. "We cook with love."
Toby threw a punch at the cook, who met it with his own fist, both were grinning at each other. "That is good one," complimented Toby. "Not expect it."
The cook looked quite proud of himself. "I not make first," he admitted. "Like it. We cook with potatoes, mushrooms, spices, salt, all kind of good thing." He rubbed his belly. "Now you are making me hungry!" He grabbed a carrot that had two tips and crunched into it. "Little snack. I should get back to kitchen."
Cadance nodded softly. They ate like rabbits, and that should not be surprising, or so she decided. Her ponies would not be harmed on that vegetarian diet. "Toby, tell me, what is Sombra's exact role?"
Toby looked a bit puzzled at the question. "Sombra is king."
Cadance pointed at Toby. "What are you?"
Another tsuki that had been collecting plates set them down suddenly and bounded over. "Toby is better king!" he excitedly said.
Toby blinked, confusion growing. "Toby is not king, why say that?"
Cadance looked to the new tsuki curiously. "Tell me how you see it."
The new tsuki, a jack, put a hand on his chest. "Toby understands tsuki. Toby is tsuki. We follow Toby. Toby likes Sombra, say follow Sombra, we do, because Toby said so. Is understand?"
Cadance nodded slowly. "I think I do..." She quirked a little smile. "This is a kingdom of tsuki."
"Yes!" The male bobbed his head, then bounced back over to his abandoned plate, resuming his chore.
Shining Armor shook his head slowly, watching the tsuki move around in their bouncing way. "So is he in charge or not?"
"Yes, and no," decided Cadance out loud. "He is in charge unless he does something the tsuki cannot agree with." She took a small morsel of some kind of pie in her magic and sampled it, letting its savory, if mellow, flavor roll across her tongue. She tasted a nutty, almost-almond, hint to it among the soft mass that melted as she held it in her snout. "Mmm, needs just a touch of butter."
Shining winced. "Is that... safe?"
Cadance waved his worry away. "Were you not listening, dear? The tsuki would not abide the harming of their new friends. If he planned that, it would lead to a quick revolt, and I will give him enough credit to think he knows that."
A gem pony mare slid in closer, as if seeking the protection of Cadance's form. "I know how he deals with revolts!" she hissed, shrinking a little.
Toby waved at an empty table. "Want eat? What talking about?"
Flash Sentry trotted forward towards the indicated table. "If no one else will try, I'll be the first."
Toby clapped with easy joy and bounded off, soon returning with a platter he set on the table, only to leap away to grab another, slowly filling the table with a selection of foods to choose from. Flash watched the options grow, but did not move to select any of it.
This confused Toby when he returned the fifth time. "Why not eat?" Then it hit him. "Oh! Sorry!" He surged away and came back with a plate and a fork and set it down in front of Flash. "Now is ready eat?"
Flash reached out with a wing, easily plucking up the fork as he smiled awkwardly. "I was trying to be polite, um, Toby was it? You shouldn't eat while they're still setting the table."
Toby applied his hand directly to his forehead. "Oh, yes! No, go, eat! You not make I upset, promise."
Cadance sat down beside Flash. "Thank you for your bravery. I will join you."
Shining blushed softly as he rushed to take up her other side, lest he lose the right to sit next to his wife for being a coward. "Y-yea, me too!"
The bubble had been popped. Ponies began to fill up tables, sitting around them. Many tables ended up with both tsuki and ponies, and the two species began to talk and eat together. The tension ebbed measurably as laughter echoed across the cavern.
Toby looked around the room, seeing the ponies and tsuki getting along. "Is good," he said to himself as he turned to leave, only to run into a wall of tsuki fur. "Oh!"
"Yes, oh." Celene smiled at her would-be mate, hugging him suddenly in a pounce, driving him to the ground. She had recovered well from her past injuries, her fur mostly returned, though there were a few lines here and there to remind her of the experience. "When were you going to introduce me?" she demanded.
Toby caught her gladly and hugged her in return before kicking her off. She flew in the air but twisted and came down on her paws in a fit of agility. He nodded at her. "Just showing where sleep, where eat. Nothing big yet."
She shook her head. "You is silly tsuki at time." She stalked past him. "Introduce now please."
Toby moved with her quickly, waving at her with one pawhand, his eyes on Cadance. "This is Celene, my doefriend." Cat calls and cheers erupted from a good portion of the tsuki, calling out their encouragement of the couple.
Cadance lifted her ears, looking between the two tsuki curiously. She could feel love there, naked and awkward. It flowed unevenly, one holding the emotion of passion stronger than the other, while the other returned it with the love of a brother for a sister. She quirked a brow, wondering. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Celene. What is your relation with Toby?"
Celene looked vacant a moment. "What? No relation, other than jackfriend. I doefriend." She leaned forward towards Cadance, her snout hovering over their table, nudging a poor pony out of the way in the process. "Pony have special friend with family?" She sounded curious, if slightly scandalized.