Candy Love

Steve was letting his curiosity for freedom as he looked around the house whilst Bon Bon was making a spare room for him. When she came back, she was showing a sheepish expression.

"Umm Steve." she said, feeling a little shy, "I'm afraid I don't have a spare room to share, but I do have an empty space in my bedroom as mine's bigger than Lyra's since I'm the mare of the house who pays most of the bills."

"I see." he replied, "Well that's okay, I could find a hotel to sleep at, there should be one around here."

"That's not what I meant, I'm offering you to share a part of my bedroom where you can at least have a bed to sleep on with a roof over your head."

"Oh I understand now-wait what?!"

"What I mean is...would you like to share my king-size bed with me is what I'm asking?"

Steve was a little unsure about it, he only just got into this world and now he was being offered to sleep with her but in an innocent and friendly way.

"Of course, but I would like to think about it until I know for sure."

Bon Bon plucked up a bit and smiled again.

"Alright, in the meantime, you should go and explore Ponyville, I won't stop you."

"I think that would be good for me." he paused as he got out of the chair and began walking to the front door, "Okay, I'll be back later."

"Okay Steve, you take care, now."

He nodded and opened the door, he then left the house and began exploring the village. Things seemed to be peaceful and quiet for him as he walked around, but not before long, other ponies began to take notice. Some of them gasped and one ran for cover, others weren't so dramatic, a couple of them just ignored him and went on thier own businesses. But shortly, he was about to get a big surprise as he past Sugarcube Corner.

"WHEE! Oh my gosh! It's the gorilla!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced in front of him.

"What the...!" Steve said before he got cut off.

"I'm Pinkie Pie and I wanna welcome you to our Ponyville with a super duper welcome party!"

"I...figured..." he began rubbing his head. "Anyways, I'm not a gorilla, I'm a human."

"Oooh, a human?" she jumped happily before stopping, "Uh what's a human?"

Steve pondered for a moment and thought of an idea.

"It's the obsession that Lyra has dreamt of seeing until today."

"Oh I get it now, you're the human that Lyra has dreamt about?"

"Well not exactly, just a human. I'm not really the human."

"Well either way, I want you to have the best welcoming party ever with a song!"

Pinkie then bounced around him and was about to sing when Steve cut her off.

"Umm, I don't need a song to be welcomed here. Lyra pretty much did that for me already, minus the singing."

"Awww..."

"But I will most certainly visit Sugarcube Corner."

"Then don't stand there like a dummy, go on in!"

Steve sighed as he wondered why being called a dummy was a compliment before he let that slide and walked into the sweet store.

"Why hello there and welcome to-" Cupcake greeted before she interrupted herself when she saw Steve. "-argh! A monster!"

"No no no!" Pinkie replied, "This is umm...errr."

"I'm Steve and I'm not a monster." he moaned.

"Awww, turn that frown upside down." she said as she demonstrated turning her head the wrong way. "Here, have a cupcake."

She picked on from the counter and showed it to him.

"Umm, alright."

Steve then took a cupcake from Pinkie and began eating it, noticing there was red jam in the middle.

"Hmm, very tasty...well worth it."

"Why thank you." Cupcake replied.

"It's on the house since Pinkie greeted you." Carrot Cake added as he walked past with the cake twins.

"Well if it's okay with you Pinkie, I wish to explore the rest of Ponyville." Steve said as he looked at Pinkie who was eating a cupcake herself.

"Okie dokie lokie, I'll see you around!" she replied happily.

Steve left the sweet store and resumed his exploring. He walked past the elegant home known as Carousel Boutique but since fashion was not his style, he had no such interest, but then again, it wouldn't be hygienic for him to wear the same clothes everyday. Perhaps it would be wise for him to straighten the issue out right now then leave it to the last minute as he used to do a lot of times in the human world.

He gulped as if he was swallowing his pride and knocked on the door before opening it and walking into the fashion store.

"Hello, is anyone...I mean anypony here?" he called out.

"Oooh, a new customer." Rarity replied from another room, "Wait right there dear, I won't be long."

Rarity trotted to the main area till she saw Steve.

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped, "Who or what are you?"

"The human that Lyra found and I have a name too." he replied.

"Human? Lyra? Sorry darling but I don't pay attention to pointless gossip...unless it's to do with fashion."

"Yeah, about that-"

"And speaking of fashion, look at what you're wearing, so amateur."

Steve felt slightly offended by Rarity's critique.

"Wait, are you insulting my choice of clothing?" he exclaimed.

"Why of course, I was just sharing my thoughts like any other fashion pony would do." she boasted, "Now stop standing there, looking like a twit and get on with what you wanted to see me for."

Steve was severely tempted to slander Rarity for all she's worth, but that would do him no favours at all. Then he thought what the heck, he'll say his piece.

"You know, I was wondering if you could do me a favor by having some clothes designed for human sizes like me." he then began to turn around. "But since you can't talk to me properly without offending me and without even knowing me at all, I'll just leave and go somewhere else to find clothes."

"Oh come on now. Don't take it personally, I have my standards, but I try to put it aside with good intentions."

"That's not how you were earlier." he muttered.

"What was that?"

"I said that you're telling all those things but you don't even know my name."

"Oh right, where are my manners?" she then felt sheepish, "I am Rarity, Ponyville's fashion expert at your service."

Steve showed a slight smile.

"That's better...I'm Steve, nothing more."

He then shook his hand with Rarity's hoof.

"Now about my clothes, I don't have a specific fashion type or statement." he explained, "As long as the clothes are in my size and comfy to wear, nothing else matters."

"I see...well, I will need to make a few measurements before I can start work."

Steve knew what she meant as he would have to take off his clothes in order for Rarity to get the measurements right.

"Okay...but I must keep my pants on."

"Of course, I have no desire to see whatever it is you have down there."

"Excuse me?!"

"Now let's get on with the measurements, time is money, dear."

Steve sighed and soon Rarity to began to take his measurements. After a while, was able to get an idea for his clothes sizes and wrote them down on a blank paper.

"Alright, now it's going to take a few days, but you should have your newly designed clothes by then." she said as Steve put his clothes back on.

"Cool, I'll make sure to stay clean at all times, but I must be going now."

"Please do, see you next time Steve."

Steve left the boutique and breathed a sigh of relief as he was away from the stench of the perfume. He had then reached the end of Ponyville and walked along a bridge to find a cottage by the lake. Upon walking closer, he could hear a singing voice that caught his attention.

"Hello? Who is that singing?" he called out as he approached the house.

Fluttershy appeared, she stood in front of him and looked up.

"Oh um...hello there." she greeted in her shy way, "I've never seen an animal like you before."

"Why yeah, I'm Steve and I'm a human, not an animal." he replied.

"Oh I understand. I'm Fluttershy, nice to meet you."

"I'm glad you're taking this well, you don't seem to be afraid of me like a few other ponies I saw earlier."

"Well once you've taken care of every animal lifeform in Equestria for as long as I have, it doesn't surprise me."

Steve perked up.

"Wait, do you mean that there have been humans before me?"

Fluttershy looked back and blinked a few times.

"Oh uh...sorry for interrupting, continue." he replied embarrassingly.

"Oh no, that's all I had to say."

"Oh"

"So umm...I guess you have to go?"

"Yeah, I have yet to see the rest of Ponyville since I arrived here earlier today."

"Oh, well okay then...maybe I'll see you again soon."

"Maybe, see you next time."

Steve then waved and Fluttershy waved back before she went back in her cottage. Steve began walking onto a long footpath that left the town before he found himself approaching the apple farm. He could almost smell the scent of the red apples and was tempted to take a few when no pony was looking. When he arrived at the entrance and onto the farm, he then heard a cowboy catchphrase as Applejack walked towards him with her eyes closed.

"Well howdy there. We sure like makin' some new friends." she greeted. "Ah'm Applejack."

"Hi there, I'm Steve and I'm a human." he replied before he placed his hands on his mouth as if he wasn't meant to say that.

Applejack opened her eyes and gasped.

"Well ah'll be...never seen anypony like ya before."

"That's because I'm not a pony, I said I was a human." he complained.

"Ah know what ya said, don't get ya feathers in a twist, sugarcube."

"Feathers in a...no wait, I wanna move on from that now." he paused for a second, "I came here cause I was curious about these apples you seem to grow here."

"Why of course, everypony in Equestria loves our apples." she boasted proudly.

"Do you have any evidence?"

"Just ask our loyal customers, especially Rainbow Dash who loves our apple cider."

Suddenly, they heard a whoosh zoom by before they noticed that it was indeed Rainbow who appeared from nowhere and landed beside Applejack.

"Did somepony say apple cider?!" she asked excitedly, "Have you got a barrel full of cider already?"

"Not now Rainbow." Applejack replied, trying to calm her down. "Ah'm busy talking to mah new friend 'ere."

She pointed at Steve who showed a smile at Rainbow.

"Woah, Applejack! Have you lost your barn or something, what kind of a pony is that?"

"He's not a pony, this is Steve and he is a human." Applejack corrected. "He may look nothin' ah've seen before, but the least ya can do is try to be civil with him."

"Right...anyway, have you got the apple cider or not?"

"No, not for another three weeks at the very least."

"Um if I may say something please?" Steve asked, "Can I get going now, I don't wanna stand here and look like a twit as Rarity put it to me earlier."

"Oh, ya met Rarity earlier, did ya? Well in any case, why not take one of these delicious apples, on the house."

She then picked up an apple from a basket and gave it to Steve.

"Thanks Applejack, I'll see you both again."

"Okay sugarcube, see ya again."

Steve then left the farm whilst Rainbow tapped Applejack on the shoulder and suggested imitating Rarity's voice to each other for fits and giggles. When Steve walked backed to Ponyville, he was thinking of going back to Bon Bon's house until he saw the tree-shaped castle with a library logo on it. He then knocked on the door and opened it to find himself surrounded by huge shelves filled with books.

"Well...somepony like his or her reading a little too much." he commented.

"Yeah, that's Twilight Sparkle for you." a voice replied.

Steve then looked to see Spike was busy sweeping on the stairs.

"Well if it isn't the one and only Spike."

He stopped sweeping and then looked at Steve, before the pupils in his eyes shrank in seconds.

"ARGH!" he yelled, "TWILIGHT! THERE'S A MONSTER AND IT'S WALKING ON TWO LEGS!"

Twilight heard the scream which caught her attention from the latest book she was reading.

"Ugh, Spike!" Twilight replied as she began walking from her bedroom, "You know there's no such thing as-"

She cut herself off when she saw Steve whilst Spike ran away, trying to find cover.

"Hi there, Twilight is it?" Steve asked cautiously, "I'm Steve and I'm a human."

Twilight gasped and began to show a big smile, then from out of nowhere, she jumped towards him and knocked him down as he fell on his back.

"Ow!" he said as he felt a bit of pain, "What was that for?"

"I can't believe it! I thought Lyra was kidding, but she was right all along. A human lives on Equestria after all! Oh I must learn how to study humans, I could learn so much from you!"

"Uh yeah, that's not going to happen I'm afraid...now would you please get off me before I break something else?"

"Oops...sorry."

Twilight then got off him and Steve got back up, trying to make his back feel better.

"Right, so you're the one responsible for teaching Lyra about multiple universes and giving Bon Bon all kinds of grief?" he asked.

"Of course, I excel in all kinds of studying, especially astronomy." she replied proudly.

"That's...great."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No I was just showing my lack of interest in that subject."

"Hmm for a human, you seem to have a strange behaviour."

"Yeah well everypony will have to get used to it." Steve declared, "Anyways, I should go back to where I'm staying."

"Oh okay...in the meantime, I shall be writing a letter to the Princess about this new encounter."

"Umm, sure whatever...see you around."

Twilight didn't reply as she was already writing down on a piece of paper with her quill.

Steve left the library and walked back to Bon Bon's home. Finally he could get some rest for his feet as he walked in and got himself comfy on the sofa. He was just in time too as he could smell food cooking in the kitchen.

"Oh hi Steve, how was your day?" Bon Bon asked.

"It was really eventful to say the least." he replied.

"Well you can tell me about it another time, dinner will be ready shortly."

"Cool."

Just then, the front door opened and in came Lyra with her harp.

"Hey Bon Bon and Steve, I'm back!" she called.

"Oh hey Lyra, you're just in time." Bon Bon replied from the kitchen.

"Sweet, I'm so hungry after my performance earlier in the filly school play."

"Oh yeah, how did it go?" Steve asked as he sat up.

"Went terrific, apart from the moment where the Cutie Mark Crusaders nearly tripped up on thier costumes and landing beside us."

"Dinner's ready, you two!" Bon Bon called.

Steve and Lyra nodded as they made thier way to the kitchen to find the food waiting for them.

Dinner turned out to be an impressive one for Steve who was now full up and no longer had his hidden stomach growls roaring quietly. Lyra and Bon Bon began to wash the dishes whilst Steve cleared up the table. He kept looking at Bon Bon whenever he could, he was beginning to come around to the idea that maybe if he wanted to, he could ask her out on a date to see where it goes, even though Lyra was the one who found him and saved him.

But would Lyra be jealous or upset about it, was Steve willing to take the risk? Only he could answer that, but he decided it was best to wait until later to make his first move.