A few days passed and Strider slowly fed a tiny bit more of Derpy Hooves. He only fed on enough to keep him alive and help him recover. She didn't weaken one bit each time. Strider guessed she had so much inside her, even if he did a full feed, it wouldn't affect her much.
Derpy decided that Strider was trust worthy and let Dinky into the room he was staying in. Dinky seemed exactly like her mother except she had a pale purple colored fur and she was a unicorn. The only other difference was her eyes were normal instead of what Derpy called "derp eyes." In the few days, he had also managed to gain enough strength to stand and walk.Only around the house though. Today derpy said she was going to cook a batch of muffins and asked if Strider wanted to help. The changeling didn't really have much to do anyway and something to take his mind off the fate of his siblings and the hive.
"Now you pour the flour into the mixing bowl and stir for a tiny bit" Derpy instructed Strider.
Strider was beginning to get the hand of cooking. Even if it was just muffins he enjoyed cooking them.
"So Strider, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Derpy asked
"I do. A lot actually, there was so many of us that sometimes our mother wouldn't notice us."
"Thats a real shame." Derpy replied
"Don't worry about it. I spent most of my time with my sister and raising my younger family." Derpy turned to him when he said sister.
"cool. I always wanted a sister. But I was a only child." Strider felt a tiny bit sorry for Derpy growing up with no brothers or sisters. Then again his siblings could be a real pain sometimes.
"so where do you live Strider?"
Strider nearly got caught out on that Question. There was only three places he knew of in his life and one wasn't exactly a pony friendly place....
" I grew up in Canterlot" Strider finally replied after a long time.
"your from Canterlot!?" Strider wasn't so sure why she seemed so surprised. Then it hit him. The changeling attack on the city.
"yes, is there something wrong?" Hopefully he could act like he didn't know of the events in Canterlot.
"don't you know? There was a attack on Canterlot!" Derpy shouted to Strider. It deafened his ears abit but he could ignore it.
"A attack? When?" She seemed to believe he actually had no idea what she was going on about, luckily.
" A few days ago. A race called the changelings attacked. They're horrible monsters who feed of other ponies love. They look like ponies in their normal form but with bug like features. I think they're horrible" Strider felt a heavy blow when Derpy said this as he himself was a changeling.
"They cant be that bad?" Strider replied in the hopes of making Derpy see his kind as something better.
"They are! They even transform into other ponies just to steal the love! They cant feel anything and don't care whos lives they ruin! They are the worst thing imaginable!"
She was wrong. Changelings could feel. And right now Strider felt guilt and sadness.
"your done mixing now." Derpy then took the bowl off Strider and starting pouring its content into a muffin tray.
"Oh you got abit on your nose."
"Wait no I haven't!" Just as he said this, Derpy put her hoof into the mixing bowl and threw some at Strider. Nailing him right on the nose.
"Oh you have made a big mistake" Strider was standing next to the sink and inside the sink was a sponge filled up with water. He launched it straight at Derpy landing on her left shoulder and sliding onto her back then falling down to the ground but leaving a trail of water across Derpy.
"bring it on!" Derpy took some more mixing and threw it at Strider making a large splodge on his left cheek.
The two ponies continued their fight until Derpy slipped in a puddle of water and landed on top of Strider. The two ponies were laughing and shouting they nearly forgot to put the muffins into the oven.
"That was fun! You like your new hairstyle?" Derpy Said with a huge grin on her face.
Strider picked up a handheld mirror and looked into hit. His hair was sticking out all ways and had mixing all over.
"Oh yea! I nearly forgot!" Derpy stepped next to Strider and punched his right arm. " Thats for making me slip!"
"Ow!" Strider cried. "Easy on the broken arm. Im not all iron pony!"
Derpy giggled at the last remark. "Sorry about that. Maybe you should take a shower, you got it all in your hair!"
Maybe a shower would do good for him. "Sure I guess"
"its upstairs, 2nd door on the left. Don't worry about your cast. Its waterproof."
"Okay thanks Derpy!"
Strider left the room and headed to the stairs. Suddenly, his horn glowed green for a flash of a second and he felt his strength return.
"Thats weird." Strider said to himself, "I didn't even mean to absorb any energy."
He would think about it later as right now, he really wanted to get clean.
When he reached the top of the stairs Dinky stood near the banister watching him. Crap! Did she see him performing magic? It seemed his cover was blown...
" My mother really likes you Strider."
"Really? I wasn't sure if she did." Strider replied. It seems she never saw the magic.
"She does. I've only seen her act like herself with one other person. And that's my dad!"
"Thanks Dinky. I think I'll go have a shower now."
"Ok!" Dinky then walked off back to her bedroom.
Looks like he managed to make the Hooves family like him. He wanted them to like him.