You can machine quilt on a regular sewing machine. That's what most of us do. You can do it as (1) regular stitching, usually with a walking foot. This is straight lines or gently curving lines. Stitch-in-the-ditch is done this way. (2) Free motion. Feed dogs are usually dropped for this, and you use a darning foot. Quilter moves the quilt as desired while the needle goes up and down.
Long arm machines are different in that the quilt stays static and you move the machine head.
Oh, and it's not a stupid question at all. If you've never seen it done, how would you know? There must be videos on Youtube that demonstrate quilting on a regular machine. It would be helpful to see it in action.