"How do I do that?"
Cricket asked the question of Fluttershy, who had volunteered to assist him in the execution of today's task. He had intended to figure things out himself, but after studying the manual he had purchased today, he realized that, in all honesty, he was completely and utterly out of his depth. The guidebook used units of measurement that he was only vaguely familiar with, and used terms that he had never heard in his life. However, he was determined that today, he would do something that he had never done before. Something that, quite possibly, no commoner changeling like himself had attempted in centuries...
Today, he would cook.
Fluttershy had seemed surprised when he had asked her to assist him, but had seemed... incredibly happy to assist. However, it seemed she had not realized just how little he actually knew about this topic. Her look of confusion at his question spoke volumes about his total ignorance on this topic. He knew it was something so simple, so basic, that it should be obvious. After all, if it wasn't, why wouldn't this "cook book" explain the terms in greater detail?
With a sigh, (Ex)Commander Mole "Seven Tricks" Cricket, youngest changeling to ever gain that title, former military commander of the changeling swarm, famed for his skill in a wide number of fields, and considered by many to be a prodigy, asked, "How do I boil water?"
In any other circumstance, Fluttershy's look of astonishment would have been priceless, but right now, it just served to embarrass Cricket further. After a moment, she seemed to grasp the enormity of the task at hoof, then said, "First, you take that pot over there," she said, pointing at the pot in question, "and fill it half full of water from the sink. You, ah, do know how to use the sink, right?"
Cricket nodded. The first time he had encountered indoor plumbing had been startling, he had to admit, but now the wonder of water shooting out of faucets held no terrors for him. He followed her instructions, then said, "Alright. What's next?"
Fluttershy nodded, then said, "Place the pot on top of the stove," she said, pointing at the appliance in question. He was given to understand that it was a bit on the small side, with only a single "burner" (whatever that was), and a small "oven", but it was sufficient for a single pony, he had been told. When he had done so, she continued, "Now, turn the little knob on the front of the stove until the word 'Medium' is on top." Taking the knob gently in his teeth, he began turning it.
Fwoosh.
The next few minutes were nerve-wracking, and in hindsight would be amongst the most embarrassing in Cricket's life. It took five minutes for Miss Fluttershy to convince him to let them both get out from behind the table he had flipped over and pushed her behind, to shelter the two of them from the Tartarus-spawned fire-spewing machine-monster that he had unwittingly placed in his house. He'd had a difficult time believing, afterwards, that it was supposed to do something like that (Later on, he was told that had been more spectacular than would be considered normal. Apparently, there'd been a build-up in the gas line, and it had resulted in a rather spectacular first run. Fluttershy did confirm, afterwards, that the flames really shouldn't get that close to the ceiling. Even she had been more than a little startled).
Once things were under control, the next step seemed simple enough, impossible as it seemed: watch the pot until bubbles came out of the water. Yeah, right, and how was that supposed to happen? There wasn't any air in the water... was there? And yet, within a short time, that was exactly what happened. Obviously, this was some sort of sorcery. He'd need to ask Twilight Sparkle about this later: she'd know what manner of magic was causing this.
"Now," Fluttershy said, smiling, "You pour the baby carrots into the pot, and let them boil for about fifteen minutes, until they get nice and tender." Cricket nodded, then did so. He felt kind of bad for the parents of these baby carrots, but then, they were vegetables, so they really weren't grade-A parent material in any case. While Fluttershy stated that he really didn't need to watch the stove the entire time, he wasn't going to take any chances. He didn't trust this thing after the stunt it had just pulled...
After that, Fluttershy had him take the pot of carrots (using potholders. Apparently, the pot would be hot) to the sink, then pour the water into a strainer, so there would just be carrots with no water.
She then had him take the pot back over to the stove. Turning the heat to medium-low, he put a half-cup (she explained that it wasn't just any old cup, but the measuring cup. He didn't get the difference, but he'd take her word for it) of butter into the pot, and watched as it melted. Then, he added a half-cup of brown sugar (apparently, there was also "white" sugar, which most folks just called sugar) to the mix, as well as three tablespoons (let's not even go there. Seriously. Teaspoons, tablespoons, and serving spoons would confuse him for weeks to come) of honey, and stirred.
Now came the tricky bit: he had to add the carrots to the mix, and stirred until they were all evenly coated. Once done, they had to cook for another five minutes. And then... they were done. Sweet Baby Carrots.
After it cooled a little, he served two bowls to Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus and Angel Bunny. While Miss Bunny dug in with gusto, Angel seemed hesitant, but after a moment, tried a little bit, then dug in as well. Apparently, it was a success (Angel was notorious for his finicky eating habits).
"Well," Cricket said, "I guess that's not bad for a first try."
Fluttershy giggled (she was so cute when she did that), then said, "Well, we all have to start sometime. Let me know, the next time you plan on cooking: I'll be happy to help."