Stalliongrad The Visitor From Ponyville [Private]

[RedCedar]

Red perked his ears to Spring Breeze's question after she nudged him, and nodded to the racks of records. "Right over here." he said. "The records are arranged by type of music," he added, pointing a hoof to the larger signs that read things like "Jazz" or "Pop" or "Classical", "and then they're also sorted by the name of the singer, or musician, or group, or sometimes the composer." As if to demonstrate, he flipped through the records for a moment, before coming up with one and showing it to Spring Breeze, then pointing to the front counter where the same album was displayed under a sign that read "Now Playing". "See?"

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' nodded at Red's explanation. It sounded straightforward enough, and it was an answer to where she could start her browsing. Of course, it would have been a lot more useful to her if she actually knew what the different genres referred to. Or had listened to music more than just a few times in her life.

After checking the 'now playing' album, she found herself standing dumbfounded in front of the 'jazz' section, staring at a row of records with names and artists she just didn't recognize. After a moment of fruitless pondering, she realized an obvious solution, and walked over to the counter. She asked the clerk about music for new listeners to jazz, and thought the stallion gave her a bit of a funny look he did point her toward a couple records. She returned to the aisle, but stopped and poked Red again. “Wait. Should I be getting anything here, or should I wait until I get back home?” On the one hoof, it seemed awkward to walk into the store just to not buy anything, but on the other she'd have to carry it around, and likely leave whatever she bought here and defeat the purpose.

[RedCedar]

Red watched as she began looking around the store, then came up to ask another question. "If you're worried about transporting it," he said, "Then it's probably better to get something from a store closer to Ponyville. Records can bend or break if you're not careful with them." He walked around the store a little himself, before adding, "I'm sure any good record store will be happy to show you some new things to listen to, just like they did here." At that, he suddenly got a look on his face as though he'd had a revelation. "Which reminds me, hang on a second." Trotting up to the counter himself, he asked the clerk, "Do you have the new Sapphire Shores album?"

Soon afterwards, with an exchange of some bits, Red had a new record tucked into his saddlebag and was trotting back to Spring Breeze. "There. We can add this to the ones we listen to tonight." he said with a smile.

[DerpRavener]

Red assured 'Spring Breeze' that there's be a place in Ponyville where she could not only find music like she could here, but that she could also get advice on what to listen to. He also cautioned her about the risks of transporting records long distance, before having a realization and picking up a record for himself, suggesting it could be another that they listened to in the evening.

Of course, 'Spring Breeze' no idea who that was so she just nodded. All of her immediate questions were addressed for the moment. Of course, that also meant she had little more to do here. As they moved toward the door, she started to ask about the rest of the afternoon. “So, anything else I should see around here, or should we start making our way home?” While it was a little early to be calling it an evening, 'Spring Breeze' felt like she'd gotten a good view of the city, or at least the parts that were fun to visit. That, and there were something new for her when they retired for the evening.

[RedCedar]

Red nodded as he started walking down the street from the record shop. "We can start heading back, but there's one more stop we'll have to make along the way," he said, smiling. "The food market is fairly close to the bridge back over the river. Just have to pick up a few things for the stuffed mushrooms." It wasn't long afterwards before they were at the start of a street full of vendors' carts, and Red was perusing over them for the last few things he needed for ther recipe, not the least of which were some nice large mushrooms.

[DerpRavener]

Red just had one more thing he'd wanted to get done before they headed back home, swing by the food market for ingredients to make stuffed mushrooms.

'Spring Breeze' paused for a moment mid-stride, before continuing to walk. “Right! We'd been talking about cooking, hadn't we.” She felt a little silly for forgetting about that, as she was arguably the reason why they'd been discussing it earlier. In her defence, cooking was never something she'd much considered before, and she had to a lot of new experiences occupying her mind, but it still bothered her.

As they turned the corner and Red started browsing the various stalls of fruit and vegetables which were revealed to line the street, 'Spring Breeze' said “I'll let you lead on this one. You'd be the expert, of the two of us.” While she didn't like the feeling of being mostly useless, she liked to think she had the good grace to know how and when to get out of the way.

That didn't stop her from wandering around the various stalls and giving their wares the odd sniff, however. She was careful to avoid touching or otherwise damaging the foodstuffs, but otherwise she was passively curious about what sorts of things might be found here.

[RedCedar]

Red went from stall to stall, collecting all the various things needed for dinner that night, as Spring Breeze explored a little herself. Red honed in on the specific ingredients needed, mushrooms included, but there was a huge variety of fruits, vegetables and cheeses available, most from other places in Equestria, among other things available at the individual stalls.

With his saddlebags now full of goodies, he trotted back over to Spring Breeze. "All set," he said. "See anything interesting?"

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' distracted enough in the sights and smells of the market that she didn't notice when Red had found all he needed and starting moving back towards her. She was wandering around, alternately staring at the various goods on offer and getting up close to smell though. Though she attracted a couple odd looks, she saw one or two other ponies giving them a similar treatment, even if those other ponies looked a bit more knowledgeable of what they were looking at.

"All set, see anything interesting?"

'Spring Breeze' jumped a bit at somepony suddenly talking to her, before remember Red. “No,” she replied, before adding “well, yes, but nothing I need, would really know what to do with.” She smiled. “Just taking in the sights, really. And the smells.” She took one last look over at a few of the nearby stalls, containing a mostly roots of some plant though one also had a few fungi she could've sworn she recognized. “If you're set, lets head back home.” She turned and began walking back the way they'd initially come.

[RedCedar]

Red nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said, gesturing with his hoof to one stall where baskets of bundled fresh herbs were being sold. "See that one? When the wind is just right, you can smell that stall all the way down the street!"

Heading back across the river and through the gleaming skyscrapers in the centre of town again, he smiled to Spring Breeze again. "I know I've said it before, but, thanks for coming to visit. I've really enjoyed having you around for little trips like this." he said.

[DerpRavener]

"See that one? When the wind is just right, you can smell that stall all the way down the street!"

'Spring Breeze's eyebrows raised a bit in surprise, though after a moment's reflection she actually thought it was reasonable. “I stopped by that stall earlier and yeah, I'd believe that.” It wasn't a bad smell, but was it pervasive. She remembered that one, even among all the other stalls.

In the end though, that amounted to just a bit of trivia. With Red's (and hers, 'Spring Breeze' had to suppose) errands done, there was little reason for them to stick around, and they started moving back in the direction of Red's place.

"I know I've said it before, but, thanks for coming to visit. I've really enjoyed having you around for little trips like this."

Part of the way through Red spoke up, smiling.

'Spring Breeze' smiled back at him, then shook her head. “No, thank you for letting me stay a few days.” Her smile faded, just a little. “Really. If I'm being honest, basically I came here for selfish reasons.” Her smile broadened again. “I'm glad you get something out of it, but at the end of the day I came here because I wanted to relax a bit. So, thanks.”

[RedCedar]

If Red was at all bothered by the idea that Spring Breeze had come out of, as she put it, selfish reasons, he certainly seemed to shrug it off soon enough. "Well, you did ask, and I did tell you where I lived so you could." he said. "So, maybe I did that for selfish reasons so that you'd come and keep me company for a while?" With a broad smirk on his face showing he really wasn't all that serious, he kept trotting along through the streets towards his home. "It's been a while since I've had mushrooms," he remarked as they got closer. "I'm looking forward to this."

[DerpRavener]

"So, maybe I did that for selfish reasons so that you'd come and keep me company for a while?"

'Spring Breeze' frowned in thought for a moment, mulling it over, before a large grin formed on her face. “I suppose that could be true, couldn't it? Well played.” She didn't entirely buy it mind, but she was certainly willing to accept it. She'd heard thinner excuses, justifying worse ideas.

As they kept walking, Red spoke up again. "It's been a while since I've had mushrooms, "I'm looking forward to this."

'Spring Breeze' chuckled a bit. “Yeah, same here. I could say I haven't had them for a while either, though I doubt we had anything quite like that at home. It'll be a new experience, all right.” Even if it turned out terrible, which she felt was entirely possible, she was excited to give it a try and walked with a slight bounce in her step.

They passed by the last several blocks quickly, arriving in front of the house several minutes later. “Well,” 'Spring Breeze' said, moving to the side to let Red through to the door, “here we are. Home sweet home.”

[Much as I'm enjoying this, I'm getting the sense we're both running out of steam a bit. At least, I know I am. So I was thinking we should end the thread after at most one more in-universe day.]

[RedCedar]

Red wondered, briefly, if Spring Breeze said “Home sweet home.” because she'd heard it used by other ponies or because she was getting used to staying with him. Not that he really minded in either case, he was still very much enjoying the visit. He opened the door to his house and let Spring Breeze past him before shutting it behind them and then trotting to the kitchen, unloading all the ingredients for dinner onto the counter. After laying out the food and retrieving the recipe book from its shelf, he trotted into the living room and put his new record carefully beside the phonograph for later.

Trotting back to the kitchen, he closed the curtains, guessing she'd want to relax now that they were back, and opened up the book. "Okay, so, let's see what this says," he says, reading over the instructions. "It's a good idea to read it through first, so you can be prepared for what you have to do when you have to do it. For some of these recipes, timing's important."

[Yeah, I admit I'm running out of steam, too. Sounds like a good idea.]

[DerpRavener]

"It's a good idea to read it through first, so you can be prepared for what you have to do when you have to do it. For some of these recipes, timing's important."

'Spring Breeze' gave a solemn nod. Even if it was the first time she'd heard it in this context, it was something she understood well. The notions of plans and instructions, and the importance of having them well in mind before beginning, was something she was very familiar with.

She sidled up to Red and began reading over his shoulder. She still intended to leave him in charge, him being the one with any experience in a kitchen, but that didn't mean she couldn't be proactive with her help. After looking over the amounts of ingredients, she started organizing the necessary ingredients into little piles, rummaging through cupboards when she couldn't find something among the ingredients Red had picked up.

'Spring Breeze' looked out the window for a moment, equal parts looking at the window as at the slowly setting sun outside, but in the end she shook her head. She could wait a bit before dropping her disguise, and while they would be working with fire she wanted to make sure she could get the windows open.

[RedCedar]

Red showed Spring Breeze how to measure ingredients, read the measuring spoons and cups, and then let her do it most of the measuring and cutting and mixing so that she could see for herself how it worked and how the end result was supposed to look. After setting her to work spooning the filling into the mushroom caps and setting them on a baking sheet, he trotted over to the stove, carefully opened it, threw another couple pieces of wood onto the fire and then shut it again, stoking the flames with a couple stomps on a bellows afterwards to bring the oven up to a nice temperature after being unused all day.

Stepping up beside Spring Breeze again to see how she was doing, he smiled. "Those look pretty good!" he said, admiring her handiwork. "The oven will be hot enough in a few minutes, then we can put them in and let them cook."

[DerpRavener]

After a minute or two of 'Spring Breeze' gathering ingredients on her own initiative, Red was finally satisfied with his reading of the recipe and started giving her guidance. Soon enough, she was chopping and measuring out ingredients with precision. Or at least, more than she was previously.

Red left her to it for a moment, as he went to get the furnace going. She was happy to let him do so, as while she was interested in new experiences, literally playing with fire was another thing entirely. She was happier letting somepony else handle that end of things. That said, it meant 'Spring Breeze' was left alone with her thoughts for a bit. On reflection, more than anything else she was happy to following instructions again, though she had to keep reminding herself that this was a friend giving her advice rather than a superior giving her orders. Every so often some of her old protocol would slip through.

Soon enough, the food was ready except for the actual cooking part, and through no fault of anypony's the oven wouldn't be ready for a few minutes left. Red commented that they looked good, and 'Spring Breeze' nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think this could work out. Now we just hope the taste lives up to their appearance.”

She was left without anything to do for a moment, before remembering there was one thing in particular she looked forward to about getting back to Red's home. Checking the sun one more time, and finding it most of the way down by now, she began to slowly and methodically close the curtains on the ground level.

When that was done, she dropped her disguise, and sat low on the couch with a contented sigh.

[RedCedar]

Red checked the temperature of the oven until it was just right, then opened the door and slid in the tray of mushrooms, shutting it again quickly. With not much left to do but wait, he went to the ice box, retrieving a pair of bottles, and poured the contents into two mugs, before trotting out to the living room and setting one of the mugs in front of Spring, no, Naj now. "See what you think of this," he said. "It's cider. If nothing else it'll probably help you sleep tonight." he added.

Sitting down beside her, keeping one eye on the clock so as not to overcook dinner and ruin her hard work, he took a sip from his own mug, and then said, "So, I never did get the chance to ask. What was it like growing up in the hive? What were your parents like?" He hoped he wasn't treading on subjects that were still too painful, but curiosity about how she had lived before coming to Equestria was getting the better of him.

[DerpRavener]

"It's cider. If nothing else it'll probably help you sleep tonight."

Red spoke to Naj as he hoofed her a mug.

She lifted the mug to her muzzle and sniffed, getting a whiff of the fruity scent of the drink. She was a little wary of it, seeing how some ponies responded to it around Ponyville, but she trusted Red, and was a little curious what he'd meant by 'help her sleep'. She took a sip. She took a sip, admiring the flavor for a moment though noting it had something of an aftertaste.

"So, I never did get the chance to ask. What was it like growing up in the hive? What were your parents like?"

Naj looked over at Red as he asked the question, letting out a short laugh before shaking her head. “Parents are more of an Equestrian thing. Somepony had to lay my egg I guess, but I never knew them that well.” She lifted a hoof, and preempted a particular comment. “We were cared for, of course. Just by assigned caretakers. They were nice enough, I meant one had to be, for that job. And patient, definitely patient.” She stopped for a moment, remembering one of her younger antics. “But it's pretty rare for a really close connection to form. There were so many of us, and few enough caretakers.

But anyways, growing up in the hive.” She thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I dunno. Not as regimented as later years, certainly. It was...mundane? I mean, you can't expect a lot from a nymph, and while they never lost track of any of us or anything, there were enough that you could get away with a lot. As long as you didn't get in the way of anypony too important.” It didn't feel like an entirely satisfying answer to her. She paused for a second, before continuing. “Hard to say really though, without much of a comparison point. What was your life like growing up?”

[RedCedar]

Red listened intently, wondering just how much of the surprise of her revelations made it to his face. As it turned out, Naj had answered a few more of his unspoken questions. It seemed that as much as undisguised changelings somewhat resembled ponies, their similarity to insects was no coincidence, either. Not when she so casually talked about hatching from an egg.

"What was your life like growing up?” she asked.

Red took a deep breath. "Well, I guess you could call it mundane for me, too." he said. "There was me, my parents, and my sister, who's older than me. She used to play with me and look out for me, but, sometimes tried to think of me as a doll, too, as I recall." he grinned at that last recollection. "My Dad was a sailor, so, he'd sometimes be away for a few weeks at a time, but my Mum was always around. and, my friends and I sometimes got away with a few things, too, if no one was looking." He took a couple sips of his cider, then added, "Let's just say there are still some buildings around that have some rather interesting patterns of moss growing on them. Of course, we couldn't do everything we wanted all the time. We had school to go to. That's where I met most of my friends." He took another sip of cider, and said, "We went to school, we learned, eventually we all ended up with our cutie marks, and then when it was done, we found what we wanted to do with our lives." After that brief introduction to his childhood, he glanced up at the clock again. "Time to get the mushrooms," he said, setting down his mug and trotting into the kitchen again.

[DerpRavener]

Red described his formative years to her, summarizing growing up mostly with his mother and sister as his father was generally out working, and the antics and activities of him and his school friends. Naj listened patiently, occasionally taking a sip of her drink. Much as she would have liked to say it was to let him tell his story uninterrupted, a big part of it was that she really didn't know what a mundane life was. Sure, Red said his was mundane, and she trusted him, but did that mean he was right? Would he he really know?

When Red finished he left to check on the mushrooms, and she took the time to process the information. She'd never really been party to this sort of discussion, but beyond that something struck her. As soon as he got back, she started talking, inadvertently interrupting whatever he might have said. “It's kinda weird, thinking about it. I wouldn't call the histories the same, but there's a certain...” she waved a hoof in the air, as she searched for the words, “-common thread to them. They hit a lot of the same points basic points, in different ways.” She shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe that only makes sense. Everypony starts young. Everypony needs some kind of training. Sooner or later most of us find a purpose. Maybe it's just the first time I've seen it. But it seems kinda weird.”

She took another sip, and then stared at the drink. She didn't think it was affecting her, but those last few comments of hers were a little more rambling than she'd intended.

[RedCedar]

Red carefully slid the mushrooms out of the oven and set them on top, looking them over. They still looked good, and now done to perfection. With a spatula between his teeth, he divided them up onto two plates and then brought them back into the living room.

No sooner had he set down Naj's plate than she had started on her observations about the two of them growing up. As he sat down, he nodded. "I think you're right. In some ways, ponies and changelings are more alike than either side realizes." he took another sip from his own mug. "You've sure shown me that. Now, if we can just get some more of them from either side to be able to see that, things might change for the better."

Nodding to their plates, he said, "Well, I think you've done a good job. They look good, they smell good, only one thing left to try. Just be careful, they're still a bit hot." Gingerly, he leaned down and took a bite of one of the mushrooms, leaning back and chewing with a satisfied look on his face. "Mmmm, oh yeah, those are good." he mumbled.

[DerpRavener]

Red returned with the cooked mushrooms, setting them down for the moment while Naj was speaking. He then replied.

"I think you're right. In some ways, ponies and changelings are more alike than either side realizes. You've sure shown me that. Now, if we can just get some more of them from either side to be able to see that, things might change for the better."

Naj snorted. That made it sound easy. “Yeah, and if we gave you a horn and wings you could control the sun.”

Her thought process was interrupted by catching a whiff of the stuffed mushrooms. It caught her by surprise a little bit. She hadn't thought much of Red's cooking from what she'd seen of it, and she doubted she'd be what made the difference, but these actually smelled pretty good. “Yeah, they look...kinda amazing,” she said as she nodded in response to Red's comments about them, in full agreement. Though she got a little overeager, and had popped one in her mouth before Red had managed to get out his warning. Jumping a little and spitting it out back onto the plate, Naj pressed a hoof to her mouth and muttered. “Hot. Right.”

Realizing she'd have to wait either way, Naj got her previous thoughts back on track. “Where was I...right.” She sighed. “Equestria and the hive. I probably shouldn't be so negative about it, I just...don't even know where to start with that really.” She waved a hoof for emphasis. “I guess I have the audience with Celestia, but in the end that's just for me. And I guess any other exiles, if I run into them.” She pressed her hooves together in front of her face. “Getting the hive itself and Equestria to see eye to eye would be a whole different issue.” She exhaled, then took another sip of cider.

[RedCedar]

Red couldn't help but smirk at her comments. He'd daydreamed himself into a few different roles over the years, but imagining himself as an alicorn princess was never among them. "I'm not sure I could pull off that look." he said with a chuckle.

Listening to her thoughts on how to bring a little more harmony between the hive and Equestria, he nodded a little. "Well, the way I see it, if you see Celestia and you're allowed to stay, that might go a long way to help change how ponies see changelings." He took another sip of his own cider before continuing. "There will be some ponies who won't like the idea, of course, but there will be more like me who would be curious to meet and talk to a changeling. When they do, that might just be the first step to getting changelings accepted by ponies."

Sitting back a bit, he added, "Like I said, though, it might take a change in leadership in the hive before we can see the same thing happen there, but who knows? Maybe if more changelings see they can be kept fed by making friends than by fighting or hiding, they won't want to do either of those any more." He took another sip of cider then set the mug down on the table. "It might take a long time, but it'd be worth it." he said, then leaned down and took another bite of mushroom. "Mmm... these are so good."

[DerpRavener]

Naj nodded as she listened to Red's thoughts on the matter. He had a point. If she was accepted into Equestrian society, even on her own, it might open the way for others which could get a broader diplomacy started. All the same, she doubted it would be that simple. “You're not wrong. That's as good a way as any to kick things off. Still, a lot can go wrong. Too much or too little commitment from either side, and whole thing collapses...” She didn't think it needed saying what would happen if the hive wasn't willing to be genuine, or as Red had touched on if not enough Equestrians got behind the project.

His second point got Naj thinking. “Risk-free food would be a good thing for everypony, though somepony else would have to figure out the specifics. It was never really my area, but I think you're on the right track.” She was also silently glad that Red had a sense of how much time it would take, though she avoided mentioning it. She'd been negative enough for the moment.

Seeing Red take a bite of a mushroom, Naj turned back to hers. Prodding one with a hoof, it was still a little warmer than she'd like, but now cool enough to eat. She picked it up and took a bite.

It was delicious! She leaned back, eyes closed and a smile on her face, happily munching and nodding in agreement with Red's statement.

[RedCedar]

Red smiled as Naj took a bite out of her own handiwork, apparently to her satisfaction. "My compliments to the chef." he said with a smile to her as he continued to nibble on his own dinner.

After chewing down another mushroom cap, he got up, and trotted over to the phonograph. "I did promise you some music tonight," he said as he wound the handle on the record player and then placed his new record on it. "This is one of my favourite singers. She does a lot of the fast and loud stuff I like, although, sometimes softer as well." Gingerly placing the needle on the record, he got back to his seat just as the music began with a fast and catchy pop tune, which he began bobbing his head to a little, in between bites of mushrooms and sips of cider.