As I take a bite of the pie, immediately I feel a warmth overflowing my tongue with the rich taste of apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, with a light, delicate crust. What surprises me the most is the richness of the filling: the fond slick and rich, yet when I chew, the filling glides across my tongue in a smooth dance of flavor. I swallow, letting the initial morsel slide down my throat, a cleansing warmth spreading throughout my entire body, demanding that I eat more. Before I realize it, I was raking in bite after bite of the pie, finishing the entire pie in less than 30 seconds, a single apple piece covered in syrup was still left on the plate. I lick my lips in satisfaction, letting out a heavy sigh, yet somehow I feel even more hungry than I did before I ate. I gingerly slide the last apple piece over my tongue before snapping at it, finishing the pie. I break out in a warm smile. I find myself sitting at a table across from Griffin.

"Well Captain, It looks like you were right, these are the best apples I've ever tasted." I gesture my thumb at the cart, giving a small snicker. I gingerly lick the fork I was eating of it clean of the remnants of the filling, then start on the second one. Trying to eat more slowly, I end up finishing it even faster than the last one.

"I'm telling you, they're seriously missing out," I hear the captain say after I eat. We get up from our tables to order more. Griffin looks around and spots someone who looks similar to Celt and calls to him.

"Hey you! Bear-thing. If you're looking for food that isn't garbage, the apple cart is over here!" He turns to reply, and I spot the metal right arm, it IS Celt. I thought he hated the snobbish regals of high society.

"I'm not a fucking bear! IM A BUGBEAR! ASSHOLE! Oh wait..." Yes, that is undubitably Celt. I spot Ubi and wave for him to come over here. He slowly jogs towards the apple cart. I turn back to the vender.

"I feel like indulging my sweet tooth, 2 more apple pies please." I slam another 20 bits on the counter, taking her by surprise. She hands me two apple pies, I grab both in each paw. By this time Ubi catches up to me. I place one pie in his paws and scoop up a big piece of pie with my free paw, motioning for him to eat. He looks at me with confusion.

"Eat it...." He cracks open his mouth only slightly, enough for me to shove the piece in his mouth. I looked beside me to find Celt Pondering what to get. I smiled and took another fork, scooped up a morsel of pie and shoved it into Celt's curled up mouth.

"Just eat it already, before it's all gone." Both of their eyes widened in amazement. All he could do was smile. I turn back towards the vendor.

"Your name is Apple Jack, right?" She nodded her head.

"Uh-huh." I place 30 bits on the counter.

"2 apple strussels and another apple pie, please." She rakes in the bits and waves for me to take the treats.

"All the while, Griffin and Celt are busy calling out more orders, quickly overwhelming AppleJack.

"Whoa whoa whoa Hold on! Ah can't keep up that fast, y'all are gonna have ta line up, one at a time so I can get tha orders straight!" All with a wide smile of the business that Griffin, Celt, and I are giving her. I hold the 2 apple strussels in one paw, and the apple pie, along with another fork in the other, handing the apple pie to Ubi. Then I over hear something that made both our eyes widen.

"You know what? Screw it. Here's three thousand. Gimme the whole damn cart. Come on guys, let's eat!"

"Wait what?" He bought the whole cart without batting an eye. Celt objects immediately.

"The whole thing? The hell?! I wanted some more!" Griffin drops a large bag filled to the mouth with bits into AppleJack's hooves and rolls the cart to the courtyard, holding up a fist in victory. He turns back to Celt.

"Moron, it's for ALL of us. Saves time standing in line. Don't worry about it, it's on me." Griffin reassures Celt, somewhat easing his mind. Apple Jack stares at the bag of bits Griffin just gave her.

"But....... all the stuff on there was only worth two thousand......" She stood there, gawking at how he could afford the cart. I walk over to her and explain, both of us following behind the captain. I ate both the apple strussels, the flavor more complex than the pie, with a slight tang at the finish.

"For food such as this, I would have gladly paid triple. After all, that's what it's worth. Besides, he has more money than he knows what to do with at this point, and more coming to him. Just take it and don't ask questions." I give a smile while answering. She seems to understand and puts away the back of gold. We kept walking, Griffin leading the fore with the cart wheeling out to the courtyard. The courtyard had a clearing with cobblestone pavement and some tables. We sat down on a picnic blanket that Apple Jack brings out. Griffin rubs his palms together, licking his lips.

"Aoi, bugbear, Let's EAT!" He grabs an apple tart and shoves it into his beak. Celt's jaw drops.

"You really bought the whole cart......." Griffin looks back at him with a grin.

"What? Something the matter? I'm sharing, what do you care?" Rainbow Dash comes back and sits with us, sitting on my left while Ubi Continues to eat the apple pie, sheading a tear while eating. I guess he found something better than diamonds. I grab 3 fritters from the cart and fold my paws together.

"Itadakimasu. (Let's Eat)" I suddenly hear Knightmare's voice from a distance.

"BUT WHAT ABOUT MEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEEEEE?!" He's held back by what I presumed to be the Changeling Queen, Knightmare almost lunging out of her arms trying to escape her clutches while the Queen lectures him. Something that the Queen said shot down Knightmare's resistance, slumping into a state of defeat and despair. Griffin starts laughing.

"Ha! This is too good! You finally get to Equestria, and you can't eat anything! No Sweet Apple Acres food for you!" His remark makes Knightmare stand up again, this time with a look of anger.

"YOU'RE A FUCKING ASSHOLE, GRIFFIN THE GRIFFIN! A COMPLETE AND UTTER ASSHOLE!" The Changeling Queen lets him go, only to have him buzz up into the air, then sputter into despair again after being reprimanded by the princess, swaying with a drunken stagger. He drops onto the ground, dragging his hooves and his guitar away, following the Princess inside. Griffin grins even wider, flipping up his middle talon at the changeling's back.

"I DON'T CAAAAAARE!" Saying the last part with a raspy cackle. I look back at Ubi, the tears flowing down the side of his muzzle. I give a caring smile.

"Congradulations Ubi, you found a food worth eating that doesn't come from a cave." He just smiled and kept eating. Eol was missing out. I look back at Celt.

"Celt, so glad you could join the party, although I didn't expect you to like high class social occasions." He kept on eating, looking over at me to signal acknowledgement. Griffin gave him a nudge.

"Sooo, Bugbear....."

"My species is bugbear, not my name asshole!" I'll remember not to talk to him while eating...

"Well then, what IS your name?" Griffin looked annoyed at Celt.

"Celt. You're Griffin right? Some kind of big shot?" Rainbow Dash grabs a slice of pie and starts eating it out of her hoof. Apparently she wasn't one for decorum outside of parties. She sat there watching the captain and the bugbear talking.

"How long you been in Equestria?" Griffin asked Celt bluntly. What gave him away?

"I'm here for a reason and did Aoi tell you I was human?" His voice gives way to slurring, he was about to get hit by the effects of alcohol, and by the slurring, it was heavy.

"No, as soon as you said, 'You can dance if you want to' I figured it out. By the way, do you like bananas?" and here it comes...

"No, no no no. You are not making that joke with me, I already got blown outta one building today from dat stupeeeed line." The effects hit hard, but what concerned me was his mention of an explosion. I waved the matter away and continued eating, as Knightmare comes out with a small cup of punch...

"What the hay is with you aliens and yer bananas?" AppleJack alternated looks between Celt and Griffin.

"Internet." Celt, Griffin and Knightmare say synonomously with a deadpanned expression. I gave a light chuckle, knowing had Keith been here, he would have done the same thing. Knightmare starts complaining.

"Fucking hell, finally get to Equestria and apples will kill me." He holds up the glass of punch, "THE ONLY THING I can eat while here....non-alcoholic punch." Just then, Knightmare starts to bring the glass up to his mouth. I replay back to the events of a half hour ago, almost choking on the pie I was eating. I swallow heavily and wave my paw at him to stop.

"IIE (NO!) Someone spiked the punch!" He stops, lurching forward and gives a complaining groan...

"GREAT! Chrysalis says the only thing safe for me to have is the punch....and some fucktard spiked it, so I can only get one cup.... Anymore and it's fatal." He drops the cup onto the grass. I shook my head.

"Remind me to kick the guy's ass later." I say while eating an apple fritter. I look around to see if I could spot any guilt on the face of the potential culprits, mainly Griffin, since he was the only one not drunk. He spotted me looking at him, giving a wide grin.

"For once, I can honestly say it wasn't my fault." He starts laughing, claw on his chest in a carefree manner. It wasn't him, Celt was staring blankly into space. Griffin lowers his claw and leans back, holding up talons in count.

"So, let's see, Aoi, Echo, Celt, Knightmare, Carl (Deceased) and myself. Six humans. Knight can't have any booze or he'll die, and I can't have any or Gilda will kill me. Echo is who knows where, Celt is wasted yet still standing somehow, and Aoi, judging by the way you're wobbling, you've had some too am I right?" He looks at me. I smile and pinch my fingers together, although in reality I've had enough to guarantee me a hangover the next morning. Suddenly the Princess slowly trots outside, her face red and her hooves in an awkward gait. She was drunk as well, this didn't bode well. Apple Jack looked at her in disbelief.

"Princess Celestia...... are you drunk?" I snickered at AppleJack's question. I'll never understand why sometimes people will ask questions with an obvious answer.

"Lord Fester and I have had....." She taps her hooves on the ground to mark and recall how many drinks, "....... a case and a half each of 'The Royal Pink'. It's not hitting hard yet but it has a delayed effect. We're going to have unimaginable hangovers by dawn." Same as I, "Since this is the first time I've ever been able to get a buzz, much less be part of the party instead of greeting everypony, I maaaaaaaaay have gone a little overboard." Her first time? I would be surprised if she even got out of bed at all the next morning. I lay backward on the blanket, eating a cupcake that had a small apple slice on top of it, draining out the conversation, and staring into the painted night sky.

"Vis!" I hear an explosion out of nowhere, I look up to see a tree completely splintered, Celt standing with a proud look on his face. I started to get a little concerned. He got a smug look on his face.

"Heh heh, I made a stallion eat a firebolt once, it wasn't pretty." He still had a smile. Apparently I missed something during the crackdown battle. Griffin grimaced jokingly.

"Are you sure you should be saying that with the Princess right behind you........ swaying drunkenly?" The bugbear looks behind him to see the equally drunk princess. Celt shrugs as if nothing was the matter.

"He was a criminal anyway." Celestia changes her attention from Celt to Griffin and hugs him. Griffin caught by surprise makes a face of discomfort.

"Oh, you weren't lying.... you's soooooooooooo soft......" Celestia nearly falls asleep on Griffin before he jerks out of her arms, making her fall. She starts to get all teary eyed, whimpering.

"Why you do that for? I jus wan cuddles....." I chuckle, then see Celt stumbling backwards, his eyes widening. All those drinks are finally catching up to him.

'How many bottles did they say they had?' I try counting on my digits, until interrupted by Celt's bellowing.

"Everyting ish sho bright! Ish sho beautiful!" Enough to make him higher than a hot air ballon. he starts stumbling towards me, arms extended.

"I want a hug now too, come ere puppy give me a hug..." I stood up, slowly backing away.

"N-n-n-nani o shite iru no? (W-w-what are you doing?)" He kept stumbling towards me until Knightmare came up to him and poked him in the side of the head, freezing him instantly, then slowly tipping him over until he hit the ground in the same pose with outstretched arms, pausing for a few seconds before tilting his head and exclaiming in a wail.

"Why does the ground hate me so?" Just then Griffin grabbed Knightmare by his horn and flung him at the drunken princess, Knightmare impacting with her in a hug. This was all getting too crazy. I fell backwards onto the ground. I look at my paws and find them blurry. I try and refocus my vision by rubbing my eyes, until Ubi catches me completely off guard: he starts scratching me behind the ears. I suddenly felt more relaxed, with a sense of relief over my entire body. Little did I know that I had tipped over and was lying on my side, my legs still crossed. I suddenly jerk back up again due to a familiar voice.

"Speaking of Party, Aoi, Um, do you, I don't know, um, want to dance again?" She was dragging a hoof along the blanket where we were sitting in a nervous manner, Griffin nudges me and winks. I look back at her.

"Sure," I look at Knightmare and Griffin, "Do you two know anything upbeat?" I say with a wink. They get the cue and look at each other.

"I've got the perfect song," Knightmare says with a flourish of his guitar, "but first we need to get Celt and Drunk-lestia to some beds. I don't know the castle layout too well, and I've gotta get set up for the song so," He looks at AppleJack and a few others, "do you wanna take her?" He motions a thumb to the drunken princess. I sigh as Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, one of the Cats from Griffin's crew, and Griffin's dance partner carry the Princess inside, avoiding the crowd. A single thought crosses my mind as I walk with Ubi back inside.

'Heh, it's a shame, Keith, you're missing out on one great party.' I chuckle and dust off my hakama.

We meet up with Eol later inside, him asking us where we've been.

"We've been having the time of our lives." Rainbow Dash finds me again and stands by my side, Eol with a dumbfounded look on his face. I walk with Rainbow Dash to the center of the dance floor, her dress a flowing fiery red behind her. I start making light conversation, waiting for the Captain and Knightmare to finish setting up, and starting to feel the alcohol leaving my system, slowly, drop by drop.

"You know, this is actually the first real party I've been to, in my entire life actually..." Rainbow Dash reacts shockingly to my response.

"Not even one?" I shook my head no.

"Never..." she starts chuckling.

"Well then you might want to stay away from Pinkie Pie, she'll try to make up for lost time..." I chuckle lightly. Back onstage, Griffin taps the microphone to signal the continuation of their performance, arms in the air to greet the crowd.

"Hello Canterlot! How are you all doing tonight? A bit crazy eh?" The crowd falls deathly silent except for a single noble who objects to all that has happened so far, and he's standing right next to me.

"What kind of a party is this? This is supposed to be an event of sophistication! Not........ rough housing!" I wanted to punch him right then and there, clenching my fist tightly.

"Ah, come on, we're just..... 'horsing around'." I deadpan. I didn't find horse puns to be particularly funny....

"What can we say, we Humans are 'All the Buzz'!" my ears perk up as he said it. I glance over and see Rainbow Dash cocking her head to the side. I look back to see Griffin quickly smacking Knightmare on the back of the head.

"I think I just got pun-ished." I shot Knightmare an uneasy glare.

"Dude, they don't know what we are! Way to blow it!" Griffin tries his best to keep it at a whisper, but unfortunately, everyone there with enhanced hearing could hear him loud as a bell, making some shift uneasily. Griffin regains his composure and and clears his throat in the mike. "Sorry folks, just disregard him, he's an idiot." Knightmare rubs the back of the head and flutters off in a heated fit.

"So, since you want something a little classier, I'll start with some swing music. I hope you like jazz. Let's dance!" I take his cue and immediately grab Rainbow Dash by the hooves without warning, glancing only slightly as if to say:

'Hope you can keep up with me.' She meets it with a glance of her own.

'You're on.' She starts adapting to my lead, the steps flowing back with every second, lighting up the dance floor in a symphony of rhythm and dance. The mares and stallions around us slowly back away, stomping their hooves on the ground in time to the beat. She smiles at the fast pace and then we execute riveting moves: a left step shuffle to a quick samba step, to a pause as we grasp each other's shoulders. Then I sweep Rainbow Dash under my legs, flipping over with the momentum, then launching her into the air with an upward fling, leaping closely behind her. We grab each other in midair, twisting in the air and slightly pushing us apart, so that we land a small distance from each other, face to face. We slowly advance towards each other with rhythmic stepping, snapping with each step. I grab her left hoof, twirling her and sashaying to a debonair pose. We lock arms facing the crowd, shouting 'Hey!', then stepping back two paces, ending in a bridge, again the crowd shouts, 'Hey!' then turning around and sauntering a few paces, shouting another 'Hey!' as everyone claps. As the song comes to a riveting close, I wink at her as to give the signal, though with total honesty we were making this up as we went. We finish the dance with flair as I backflip over Rainbow Dashes head, Rainbow Dash grabbing my rear paws and following along, my momentum throwing her into the air in a triple flip, releasing her in a wheel of dazzling aerial flips to a skydiver's freefall, I return to upright position and run to her fall position and slide just in time to catch her just as the song ends. The crowd bursts into applause at our finishing move. Griffin gives a high whistle over the bustling crowd. I look into her eyes and see her blush.

"Wow... that was amazing! Where did you learn to dance like that." I give a wide smile as I stand, letting her down from my arms.

"Well one needs to learn these things as a secret a---"

"Stop there beast!"