//------------------------------// // Cheesy Goodness | Parts 94B - 97 // Story: BuggyCYOA // by Equidaeon //------------------------------// Arriving at the kitchen, you lean against the countertops and look down at Notaulix, who looks back up at you expectantly. "What are we going to make? What's the special dinner?" Notaulix asks you. "I'd like it to stay a surprise right up until the end, but I'll tell you this: It's an old favorite from my homeworld, and it involves cheese." You answer "Wow! You acquired cheese while you were gone, Anon?" Notaulix asks. "Yep. I could hardly believe that you never tried any cheese before, so while I was in Canterlot I found a nice cheese shop. What we're making is the perfect way to introduce you to it, I think." You explain. "This is exciting! How can I help you, Anon?" Notaulix asks with slightly spread wings, displaying his eagerness to help work on dinner. "Mind working on some vegetables again? I have a few things that I need to do; the preparation is a little more involved for this." You ask him in return. "I don't mind at all!" Notaulix happily declares, before surprising you by jumping up into the air, his wings buzzing loudly, followed by landing on the kitchen counter in one smooth motion. The changeling looks proud of himself from his quick ascension to the countertop, before he notices you staring at him wide eyes. "Did... Did I do something wrong?" He asks you as his expression turns into a worried one. "No, you just surprised me there. You must be really feeling better, huh?" You say in response. "Yes, thanks to you." Notaulix says as he relaxes again. "I'm glad. Hold on a moment, let me go get the things for you to chop up." You say as you disappear into the pantry. You reemerge carrying an onion, two peppers, a small jar of olives and a fresh bundle of spinach. Setting the olives and spinach down, you find that Notaulix, who looks at you expectantly, has already brought out the cutting board and knife. Smiling, you walk over and place the onion and peppers next to him. "Just dice these things, please." You say to Notaulix. "Dice... That's cutting them into small cubes, right?" He asks you for clarification. "Yes, that's right." You answer. "Okay Anon. I will do that." Notaulix says. With that, you leave Notaulix to his prep work as you begin your own. After returning to the pantry, you come back with everything else that you need for tonight's dinner. You begin by mixing flour, salt, yeast and a little warm water into a bowl, which you combine until a smooth, slightly sticky ball of dough is formed. The dough ball gets lightly brushed with olive oil, before you cover it with a kitchen towel and set it near the fireplace. Next, you begin heating the oven up, followed by picking up another knife and a grater before bringing it over to the cheese that you bought in Canterlot. Starting with the Pepper Jack, you tear open the waxed bag and remove the two pound block, which you then cut in half. With a one pound block of cheese in hand, you begin grating it. As you do so, you turn your head to look at Notaulix, who is currently sitting on his haunches, horn lightly glowing as he works on dicing the onions and peppers. Eyeing the floating knife held in his magical grasp, you mentally scold yourself because of your potential foolishness. You've been so caught up in caring for your new companion these last few days, that you've ignored the uncomfortable reality that at least according to the ponies, this changeling is an evil, dangerous threat. While Notaulix has been nothing but good, friendly company who you more or less trust, you can't help but wonder what another one of his kind might do with that knife. Especially one that wasn't exiled like him. You know that before too much time passes, you really should set some time aside to carefully read through those books that you borrowed from Twilight. After doing that, perhaps you could speak with Notaulix in an effort to try and discern what the truth is. Taking in a deep breath, you exhale loudly through your nose as you turn your attention back to grating the cheese. Having finished grating the Pepper Jack, you scoop all of it up and place it into a small bowl, which you set aside. Next, you bring out the one pound ball of fresh Mozzarella, which you proceed to slice. Finally, you open up the small jar of olives. Upon removing a few, you carefully slice them up too. With that done, all that's left to do is for Notaulix to finish dicing vegetables, and for the dough to rest a little longer. You walk over to Notaulix, who smiles at you as you approach. "Is this fine, Anon?" He asks you while working on the last pepper. "Looking good there." You respond as you lean on the countertop. "You do a nice job getting everything cut up about the same size." You comment. Notaulix says nothing in response, but his smile slightly increases, along with his wings spreading out ever so slightly, betraying his appreciation of your praise. You watch Notaulix dice the pepper for awhile, until you decide to test the waters with some conversation about his kind. "So... About your, uh... Hive. What does your kind think about the other races?" You ask. "What we think...? What do you mean, Anon?" Notaulix asks you, slightly confused by your question. "I mean, with how you were nervous about coming into contact with ponies before, along with what you told me about the griffons... Are there negative feelings towards the other races?" You clarify. "Oh. We hate those who attack our home, but we don't hate any race specifically. We are just... Cautious of them; those among them who hate us." Notaulix explains. "But why would anyone hate you?" You question. "I... I-I don't know..." Notaulix answers with a frown. "Hmm." You hum as you slowly nod your head a few times. "I'll be right back. Once you finish that pepper we can begin putting our dinner together." You add as you begin walking away. "Okay." You hear Notaulix say behind you. You make a quick stop at the bathroom before returning to the living room. After putting another piece of wood in the fireplace, you check on the covered ball of dough and find it ready to be used. Picking up the bowl, you then walk back over to the kitchen, where Notaulix has finished his prep work and is watching you with his ears perked up. "What is that?" He asks you as you approach. "Just come quick dough." You respond as you set the bowl on the counter and uncover it, revealing the dough ball. "Dough? Like... For making bread?" Notaulix asks while carefully examining it. "Yep, more or less." You answer him as you bring out a rectangular metal baking pan. "Have you had bread before?" You add. "A few times. It's very good... Are we having a special bread for dinner?" Notaulix asks as he watches you arrange the metal pan and all the ingredients out on the countertop. "Not quite. We're making pizza." You reply while removing a little flour from a jar and pouring it on the countertop. "P... Pizza? What's that?" Notaulix questions, watching as you coat your hands in flour before picking up the dough ball. "You'll see." You say while gradually working and stretching the dough until it forms a thin layer on the bottom of the baking pan. After doing that, you open up a small jar of tomato paste before spreading it out as a thin layer on the pizza crust. "So here's the fun part." You begin as you turn your attention to Notaulix. "You just put toppings on this however you want." You continue. "Like this..." You demonstrate as you take the slices of Mozzarella and begin evenly spacing them out over the crust. "Really? And is that a cheese?" Notaulix asks you. "Yes and yes. This is Mozzarella, it's a soft cheese which doesn't have that much flavor by itself, but it melts really nicely." You explain. Once you finish spacing out the Mozzarella slices, you turn and stare at Notaulix, who stares back at you in confusion. "Is something wrong, Anon?" He asks you. "Go ahead and build it up however you want." You say to him while gesturing towards the toppings. "M-Me?! But Anon, I don't know anything about peetzer! What if I do something wrong?" Notaulix exclaims in surprise. You can't help but smile and chuckle at the changeling, who is so worried over something as simple as pizza. "It's 'pizza', and I'm pretty sure It's impossible to mess up. Just take a bit of each and distribute it evenly, until you think there's enough. Save the grated cheese for last." You explain. "Don't worry so much about it; I have confidence in you." You reassure Notaulix as you give his head a few gentle pats. Notaulix stares at you for several seconds as his worries disappear and his smile reappears. "Okay!" He announces as his horn begins to glow. You watch as he begins to pick up small clumps of the toppings with his magic, which then get sprinkled around on top of the pizza. "Is this fine, Anon? There is still onion and pepper left..." Notaulix asks you as he pauses. "Looks great. I was hoping there would be some stuff left over anyway to add to a salad." You respond. "Anyway, now we just take some of this..." You begin as you grab a couple handfuls of the grated Pepper jack. "...and sprinkle it on top." You continue as you do just so. Finally, you grab hold of the baking pan with one hand, followed by momentarily opening the oven door and sliding it inside. "And now we wait. What did you think of helping make your first pizza?" You ask Notaulix. "It's exciting! How long until we get to eat it?" He asks you in return. "About fifteen minutes. So if you want to return to reading your books or something, there's time for that." You say to him. "Okay Anon." Notaulix says before spreading his wings and jumping off the countertop, with his wings buzzing loudly as he makes a quick yet smooth descent to the floor. You watch the changeling as he walks over to the sofa, before climbing up onto it and laying down as he snuggles into his spot. He quickly resumes reading one of his books. Taking a moment to stretch out your muscles, you begin to consider what to do while you wait for the pizza to bake. The first thing you do is grab the bundle of spinach that you set aside earlier and quickly rinse it. Next, you take the washed spinach along with the unused pizza toppings, and combine them together into a large bowl. You then prepare a basic vinaigrette and use it to dress the simple salad, thus completing it. Setting the bowl aside, you lean against the counters once more while you look over at Notaulix reading his book. Having nothing else to do while you wait, you decide to be productive and do a quick clean up of the kitchen. You put things back where they belong, in addition to bringing knives, bowls, and other implements over to the sink to be washed. Finally, you take a damp cloth and wipe down the countertops, leaving them nice and clean. The unmistakable savory aroma of pizza begins to fill the room, making your stomach growl in anticipation as you bring out two plates and glasses. "This dinner smells very good, Anon!" You hear Notaulix call out as the scent wafts over to his location. "It does, doesn't it? Brings back a lot of memories for me." You say in response. "Did you regularly eat this back where you came from, Anon?" Notaulix asks you. "Regularly? No, but I had it often enough. It was a very popular thing to eat, especially since there are practically limitless ways you can make it to suit your own tastes." You answer. "Wow... Are you the only one in Equestria who knows how to make it?" Notaulix questions further. "Hah! No I'm not, thankfully. That would be really sad if pizza didn't exist here prior to my arrival. There's no restaurant here in Ponyville that makes it though. I've only seen one in Canterlot which serves it." You reply. "Oh." Notaulix simply says as he pauses to think about the things you just said. "How much longer until it is ready?" He adds. "About..." You pause to look at the clock. "Six more minutes." You answer. "Okay." Notaulix says before turning his attention back to his book. From your position against the kitchen counters, you ponder deep thoughts while you wait for the pizza to finish baking. Soon enough, that time arrives. Taking an oven mitt, you open the oven door in order to inspect your creation. Inside the oven on the baking pan, you find the pizza to be perfectly done and ready to come out. The cheese is thoroughly melted and starting to brown, and the crust appears to be good as well. The only defect to speak of is a large bubble that formed on one side, though you know that is nothing a quick poke with a knife can't fix. Grabbing the pan with the oven mitt, you pull it out and place it on the stove top in order to begin cooling. It may not be a true traditional pizza in your eyes, being rectangular and baked in a metal pan and all, but you're proud of it nonetheless, and excited to see what Notaulix thinks of it. While you wait for it to cool, you go ahead and dish up the salad into two smaller bowls, each with a fork, before bringing them both over to the small table in front of the sofa and setting them down. "Is it time to eat?" Notaulix excitedly asks you as he looks up from his book. "Almost. Just letting the pizza cool a little before I slice it up." You answer him. "Slice it? Why would you do that?" Notaulix questions. "Because it's easier to serve and eat it that way. It would be hard to share with multiple people if it was one solid piece, wouldn't it?" You explain. "Oh, I see!" Notaulix says with a smile, before setting his book aside in preparation to eat. You fill up two glasses of water and place them on the table, before walking back over to the rectangular pizza. Taking a knife, you cut it up into six squares, which you then place one of on each of your plates. Notaulix watches you in eager anticipation as you walk over to the table, carrying a plate in each hand. "Here it is." You announce as you set the two plates down onto the table, before pulling up a chair and sitting opposite of Notaulix. "Wow... It looks so different now! It's so... I don't know a word for it." Notaulix says as he stares down at his hot slice of pizza. "Well, go ahead and give it a try!" You encourage him. "It's still quite hot, but it should be edible now." You add as you pick up your own plate. You watch as Notaulix uses his magic to bring his plate close, along with grabbing the fork from his bowl of salad, clearly eager to try a new food. "Hey, hold on there." You say to Notaulix. "W-What?" Notaulix stutters as he looks back at you, clearly caught off-guard. "You can eat it however you want, but the way it's intended is like this." You say as you pick up your slice with one of your hands. "That's part of the appeal of pizza. You can just pick it up with your hands and eat it. Or hooves. Or... Magic." You explain. "Oh... Okay!" Notaulix says before putting the fork back in the salad bowl. You watch in suspense as Notaulix brings the plate close to his nose, where he gives the slice of pizza a brief sniff before lifting it up with his magic. Finally, the changeling takes a small experimental bite off of one of the corners, and begins to chew... Suddenly, Notaulix's ears perk straight up, quickly followed by his wings spreading out. "Well?" You ask as a smile creeps onto your face. "Delicious!!" Notaulix declares after swallowing his first bite. "Anon! This...This is...!" He continues before quickly taking another bite, this time a larger one. You can't help but laugh at his reaction before taking a bit of the pizza yourself... Not bad at all. It could be better, but you're still proud of how it turned out for a first attempt. Already almost done with his first slice, Notaulix pauses to speak again. "This is what cheese is like, Anon? It's so... Soft! And stringy! And... And salty! I love this!" He says before continuing to chow down. "I'm glad you like it. There's all different kinds of cheese out there, with different flavors and textures." You say to him. By the time you're halfway through your slice, a very happy looking Notaulix sits on the sofa after finishing his slice. "Want some more? We have three slices each." You ask him. "Yes please! It's so good! I..." Notaulix trails off as he looks down at his empty plate. Suddenly, his expression begins to change as his smile slowly turns into a frown, along with his ears beginning to droop to the sides. "Is something wrong?" You ask, feeling a bit worried. "N-No, I'm fine. Everything is fine, Anon. This food is amazing, and... I... I just..." Notaulix trails off as he begins to fidget around slightly, clearly looking agitated over something. Before you have a chance to question him further, tears suddenly begin to well up in Notaulix's eyes as he clambers off the sofa. "Notaulix, what's wrong? Wha- Hey wait!" You call out after him as the changeling suddenly takes off, his hooves clopping loudly against the wooden floors as he gallops out of the living room. A few seconds later, you hear the sound of a door closing loudly, leaving you sitting in place with pizza in hand, stunned as your mind reels over the sudden turn of events.