Chapter 9
The next morning
The citizens of Ponyville awoke and started going bout their daily routines. Slowly, they became more and more aware at a huge building that had appeared in the night at the edge of the Everfree forest.
Slowly they began to congregate at the edge of the town and stared at the building.
"Ok, What is all the Hubbub about?" A cyan Pony asked as she pushed her way to the front and saw the huge building.
"Rainbow, what are you doing-wow." twilight said as she walked up next to rainbow dash with the rest of their friends and saw the building for the first time.
"Spike? Can you-"
"Already drafted and sent the letter to her highness." Spike asked as he suddenly belched out a letter and Twilight grabbed it in her magic and read it.
A flash of a teleportation spell went off next to them a moment later and Celestia and Luna with a small contingent of solar guards stood next to them.
"we came as soon as we could, now what's this about a building apear-.. oh my." Celestia asked before noticing the building.
"By my Moon! It cant be!" Luna said excitedly before tuning to the others who looked at her questioningly.
She slowly walked up to the front of the building and looked up at the hanging sign:
The Cat and the Moon
Pub, Inn, & Station
OPEN
The others walked up next to her before she turned to them, "Come, this is not dangerous, follow me I want to show you something glorious," and approached the door.
Walking in they saw that their were several customers inside the bar already, some of which they recognized, ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, and others who they didn't, and all the waiters and waitresses along with the musicians looked the same as the pony behind the counter.
"GOOD EVENING GENTLEMEN!" Luna yelled into the bar, shocking her sister and the other six at her outburst.
"Hey look! If it ain't the moon!" a diamond dog shouted from his table.
"Who's the fairest of them all?!" Luna cried out.
"THE MOON! THE MOON!" all the servers and several of the customers shouted, while the bar tender disappeared behind the bar.
"And Who's the Merriest of them all?" was shouted out just behind the cry, before a cat jumped onto the counter and the barkeeper stood back up, but was noticeably shorter, having to stand on a stool to reach his original height.
"THE CAT! THE CAT!" the group yelled out before the cat pulled out a blue fiddle and bow and began to play.
Playing a few notes, the cat began singing softly.
”There's an inn of old renown, where they brew a beer so brown.”
He jumped down the counter and began taking steps towards Luna, playing all the while. The crowd cheered and whooped in excitement for what was about to go down.
“Moon came rolling down the hill, one hevensday night to drink her fill.”
Luna took a few steps closer to the cat and began singing as well, backed by a few of the guests and staff.
“On a three-stringed fiddle there, played the Ostler's Cat so fair. The horned cow that night was seen, to dance a jig upon the green.” They sang as a diamond dog and pony stood up from their tables and danced.
Standing towards each other, Luna and the cat sang together, and Luna bowed to the cat as the Cat did the same time and began dancing.
“Called by the fiddle to the
middle of the muddle where the
Cow with a caper sent the
Small dog squealing.
Moon in a fuddle went to
Huddle by the griddle but she
slipped in a puddle and the
World went reeling.”
Several more customers stood up and joined the song as they sang,
“Downsides went up- Hey!
Outsides went wide
As the fiddle
Played a twiddle
And the moon slept till Sterrenday
Upsides went west- hey!
Broadsides went boom.
With a twiddle on the fiddle
In the middle by the griddle
And the Moon slept till Sterrenday.”
Putting even more effort into his playing, the cat jumped onto one of the tables and played to his heart’s content.
The cat then pointed to one of the tables for them to continue the song.
“Dish from off the dresser pranced,
Found a spoon and gaily danced.” Sang Griffon who sat at the table.
“Horses neighed and champed their bits
For the bloodshot moon had lost her wits.” It came from a Pegasus who clapped his hooves as he sang.
“Well, cow jumped over, Dog barked wild,” an old diamond dog sang and put his paws under his head, while blinking flirtingly.
“Moon lay prone and sweetly smiled.”
The griffon seated at the table pointed to the smiling bartender. “Ostler cried,” to which the man cried, "Play faster Cat!” as he pointed to the Fiddler cat.
“Because we all want to dance like that." The whole table sang together.
The crowd all began singing and dancing.
“Gambol and totter till you're
hotter than a hatter and you
Spin all akimbo
Like a windmill flailing
Whirl with a clatter till you
Scatter every cotter and the
Strings start a-pinging as the
World goes sailing.”
As they sang, they slowly came to the floor in the center of the room.
“Downsides go up- hey!" as several of the patrons jumped on the seats sending several of the staff up to swing from the chandelier.
"Outsides go wide.
With a twiddle on the fiddle
In the middle by the griddle
And the Moon slept till Sterrenday.
Upsides go west- hey!
Broadsides go boom.
With a batter and a clatter
You can shatter every platter
But the Moon slept till Sterrenday.”
Standing in two rows, the lunar princess and the fiddle player took position in between, facing each other. And thus began the greatest sing-off that Equestria had ever seen.
“Fi-fo-fiddle-diddle,” it came from the Fiddler’s side.
“Fi-fo-fiddle-diddle,” Luna’s side repeated.
“Hey-yey-yey-yey-oh-ho.”
“Hey-yey-yey-yey-oh-ho.”
“Hey-hey-din-gen-do.”
“Hey-hey-din-gen-do.”
“Hoo-rye-and-hott-a-cott-a ho.”
“Hoo-rye-and-hott-a-cott-a ho ho.”
“Hott-a-cott-a-hotta-ko.”
“Hott-a-cott-a-ko-cotta-ko-ho.”
“Fi-fo-fiddle-diddle-hi-ho.”
“Fi-fo-fiddle-diddle-hi-ho.”
“Ho fiddlee-ding-galli-do.”
“Ho fiddlee-ding-galli-do.”
“Hoo-rye-hoo-rye oops-oops- ay!”
“Hoo-rye-hoo-rye oops-oops- ay!”
“Hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-mi-fo-fo!”
“Hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-mi-fo-fo!”
“Hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-hotta-cotta-mi-fo-fo!” Both sides babbled.
The entire room broke into cheers and dance as they came out from the lines, everyone began to sing in chorus as more people were flung up and over the chandelier into the balconies as people landed on the benches.
“Downsides go up- hey!
Outsides go wide.
With a twiddle on the fiddle
In the middle by the griddle
And the Moon slept till Sterrenday.
Upsides go west- hey!
Broadsides go boom.
With a batter and a clatter
You can shatter every platter
But the Moon slept till Sterrenday.”
People laughed at the silliness and gave a last few cat-calls towards Luna before heading back to their seats and drinks. Luna winked at the cat-callers and hugged the Fiddler briefly.
"Welcome back Lu'!" the cat replied as he turned in Archy in pony form, and gave Luna a bear hug that lifted her off her feet.
"Good to be back, Dim'." Luna replied happily with a giggle as Archy set her back down to the floor.
"We missed you, y'a know," Archy replied with a smile, "And everyone missed their favorite station master and co-pub owner."
Archy pulled out a blue station master's hat labeled: Lunar Stationand put it atop her head and several of the customers hooted and hollered in approval. While Luna looked on and smiled.
"Lu', Who is this?" Celestia asked once she had snapped out of her shock of her sister.
"This, sister is the founder of the Exile Empire, Archenhail Dimiraki Exile. He invented a locomotive that can travel to space and found me on the moon after I had regained my sanity." she replied as she chuckled a little at twilight and her friends still shocked faces.
"What do you mean by regained your sanity?" Celestia quizzed them.
"We found that as long as Luna stayed on her moon Nightmare Moon had no control over her and was dormant, but as soon as she left Nightmare awakened. To remedy her loneliness of staying up there alone I made a station and bar up on the moon, This very one in fact, and put her in charge of it." Archy explained as he gestured for them to sit at a table.
"Once all my employees and citizens found out about it, it became the most popular place on the railroad." Archy continued to explained as everyone sat down at the table.
"When Lu' left suddenly, everyone was disappointed and the place lost the happiness that was in it and I had to shut it down due to no-one going up any more."
"So then why did you move it here After all this time," Twilight asked with confusion after she got over her shock.
"Because, I over head some ponies about the fact that they can't store food for long periods of time and thanks to a mountain range in my lands I have an abundance of ice and can transport it here to make refrigerators to sell to the ponies. I had also planed to open my lands, goods, services, and attractions to the ponies after hiding from them for all this time." Archy explained before turning to Luna with a smile,
"So Lu'; will y'a take back the station?"
"I want to so much," she replied to him with a smile before turning sad, "But alas, I can't. I have to help Co-rule with my sister."
"Lu'! why don't you do the trick i showed you all that time ago to help you with paper work. That way you can do both!" Archy exclaimed to her.
"Pardon me I forgot all about that spell." She said as she looked away in embarrassment.
"Excuse me young pony, but where is your empire?" Celestia asked as she remembered that detail.
"Your sitting in it, or, rather on top of it. as the three little foals who I dropped off at Sweet apple acres will attest to, it is hidden deep underground and is very vast in size. practically where ever you ponies have a big major city, deep beneath or in Cloudsdale's case, high above it is one of mine. i even have cities under the Griffon kingdom and the badlands." Archy replied to her question while Twilight choked on her drink of water she had gotten just moments before, when she heard about the size.
"And what are your opinion of us above you?" Celestia quizzed him suspiciously.
"Tia! be nice! he would never harm us," Luna defended him as did the reply from several of the customers.
"Lu, she has a right to be nervous when a force so large has escaped notice for so long," Archy said calmly to Luna before tuning to Celestia, "as for my place, my empire will be neutral towards you and all other nations unless they provoke us."
"And if you were provoked?"
"May Tartarus have mercy on them, I do not make idle risk, or needlessly risk my citizens lives. I will gladly lay down my life if it means they are safe." he replied gravely to her.
"I see." Celestia replied evenly, slightly startled by his comment and tone.
"Bah!, away with the doom and gloom already!" Luna replied before standing up and heading for the door.
"Oh, and Luna, I need to speak with you for a moment." Archy replied as he ushered everyone away.
"Yes?" she asked as she walked over to him.
"Do you mind helping me with something?" he asked with a smile.