Living In Canterlot II
Hooves weren’t exactly good tools to work with material, Chip decided. He did his best, folding dress after dress and putting them on shelves, but they were nowhere as flat or unwrinkled as the ones that Cadence tended to. It was the thought that counted, right?
Why was he folding clothes anyway? Aside from the obvious boredom, he owed nothing to the mare…he just had a “why not?” moment of sorts. She was so energetic and friendly towards him it just felt natural, doing something good for her.
In the end he finally managed to populate the wardrobes and not cringe at the results. Looking around, the only stuff that was unsorted were the contents of Cadence’s luggage. Now, Chip knew something about privacy – without it, he wouldn’t be here, waiting for Celestia to find the ponies he saved from doom. Yet he was very curious what the mare brought with her; it would be doing her a favor, and she wouldn’t have to do it when she finally came back. And that could be late at night, as the sun was already beginning to set.
Choking his conscience with fancy and not entirely coherent logic, Chip finally approached a briefcase. He loomed over it for a while, a tiny voice telling him to stop fighting a losing battle to the tides of curiosity. Slowly, a blue hoof pressed against the lid. It wouldn’t budge. More force didn’t help either. Nor did teeth. The wall wasn’t helpful at all as well.
“Seems this is a bigger problem than I thought. It’s jammed,” mumbled Chip, huffing and eying the tattered luggage. It was firmly shut, bearing bite marks on its lid and some scratches along the opening. “She’ll thank me once I unstuck it. If I unstuck it.”
* * *
The changeling got startled when the doors to his room opened without warning, making him slip off the baggage he was jumping on. A brown coated pony with glasses and a white suit barged in, doors closing behind him in a teal glow. The newcomer was a unicorn; behind him floated a small bag. Underneath the steel mind Chip felt irritation and tiredness.
“Hi there, my name is Doctor Hoffenweiser. I was called here to examine a certain colt who passed out. Would that per chance be you?” He nearly slurred out the sentences in one long line without pausing. Chip didn’t like him the moment the colt entered.
“I guess that would indeed be me. But I’m okay now, if not a bit hungry.”
“I was instructed to examine you, so here I am. It’s way past my working hours, so please don’t make this more troublesome than it already is.”
Yeah, the changeling didn’t like him one bit. Especially after the bag the doctor had opened to reveal several strange utensils the stallion didn’t know – a long stick with red liquid in it, something that looked like a…dagger? And some bottles with swirling green liquids.
“Say aaaah.” Said the doctor, squinting.
“What for? Aa-AAAGHRGH” Chip choked and bit at the metal shoved down his throat. There were more subtle ways of killing him, but the doctor didn’t seem to care. He was irritated when the changeling bit the tool and spat it out, fleeing to the corner of the room.
“Oh, what the hay?” he uttered, approaching Chip again. “Just stay still, okay? We’ll get this done in a jiffy and everyone will be happy and go home, like they should an hour ago.”
“You won’t take my life so easily,” hissed Chip, lowering his head. “If this is some kind of cruel test made up by Celestia, know that I shall pass, magic or without!”
Hoffenweiser stopped, cocking his head. He did indeed feel somewhat in a murderous mood, given the love of his life would probably again tell him off for coming home late. She would not believe his this time true story of working overtime by the order of Princess Celestia…
“Listen, uh, just let me do my job, okay? You never been to an examination or what?!”
“Examiwhat?” replied Chip, eying the metallic dagger floating in the air. If he could jump fast enough and grab it in his teeth, the pony’s throat would be an ideal place to leave the weapon in.
“Sweet Celestia, were you raised on a farm or what? Uh, never mind, don’t answer that…” The doctor sighed and gathered his composure enough to continue. “Okay. I can do this. Listen here. This is an examination. I am here to judge how well your body is feeling and what is wrong with you. This thing here is a spatula. I use it to check how your throat looks like, if it has any infections and the likes.”
The metallic object gently floated in front of Chip, who reluctantly sniffed it. It didn’t seem that pointy after all and would take some time and energy to slit a throat with that.
“Next up we have a thermometer. It is used to check your body temperature, which tells me if you have a fever or not. If you do, you are sick, if not, you are healthy. Is that clear so far?” The doctor levitated the device with the red liquid to the changeling’s eye level. There were numbers running along the length of it, in the range of 34-41 of something called degrees Celsius. It looked quite tame, so the blue stallion merely nodded.
“In my bag I still have my stethoscope,” continued the brown pony, showing him something Chip might have took for a rope to strangle somepony with. The doctor put two ends of the thing into his ears and a third loose end towards the changeling. “See? I use this to listen to your heartbeat, your breathing, checking for irregularities. ”
Now that was an interesting thing. Irregularities in a disguise is something Chip had an eye for and he never considered ponies being able to check if his innards are accurately mimicked. He would have to remember that one and make sure to pay extra attention to that. Which brought up the question – was his current disguise good enough?
“Okay,” said Chip into the device.
The doctor jumped back, as if he were struck by lightning and shrug off the stethoscope. He hissed in pain, putting forehooves to his ears and rubbing.
“We won’t be using that I think,” he yelled, despite the changeling being relatively close. “So, can I please continue with the examination and return to my most likely awake and definitely bonkers crazy wife?”
“I guess so,” whispered Chip, still squinting with distrust at the doctor’s bag.
* * *
It wasn’t that bad after all. The doctor was more delicate now, watching out to make no sudden movements and saying a bit louder than it was necessary what he was doing. The spatula went deep into his throat, causing Chip to witness strange contractions in his stomach, but nothing seemed to be wrong otherwise.
The thermometer also went in his mouth and the red liquid inside went all the way to the number 38. The doctor placed a hoof on Chip’s forehead and furrowed an eyebrow, mumbling something about broken cheap equipment.
With only a curt bow and a fast goodbye, Hoffenweiser finally left the room, slamming the door shut. He was a strange pony, and Chip didn’t get to hear if he was alright or not – or rather was his disguise convincing enough.
His thoughts wandered away from that question, quickly returning to the issue of the jammed briefcase. It was mangled and had scratch and hoofmarks all over it, yet remained sealed. Chip was certain there was no other way than magic to open it. Using even more force would eventually wear the material down, but something told him that the container would come in handy in case Cadence wanted to leave. He shrugged and returned to the biggest problem of them all – boredom.
* * *
The growling of his stomach startled Chip, which wasn’t a good sign. Changelings didn’t feel exhausted from lack of nourishment, but they would finally collapse once all reserves were depleted. And the monstrous demanding of food coming from his abdomen was the herald of passing out.
Shyly, he approached the doors and gave them a small knock.
“What?” heard the changeling from the other side. “Want to show us your latest creation?”
The stallion waited through the salvo of laughter before continuing: “I’m sorry to bother, but I’m hungry. Could I perhaps have some grass or something?”
“You go, I was running errands last time,” he heard in reply, complemented by an irritated sigh.
“Umm, hello?” tried again Chip, the monster in his stomach demanding a sacrifice.
“Hold your horses will ya? Darius went for a chef. You must be somepony really important – if it wasn’t for the Princess’ orders, you’d be going to bed on an empty stomach.”
Was he really that special to Lady Celestia? Did that mean that not everypony was treated around here like he was? Now that was interesting to hear. He of course felt grateful that despite being a prisoner (in a way), he was gifted such privileges. And he would thank the royal mare on the very first occasion.
As the changeling started putting words of thanks together in his head, which didn’t work well with the song his stomach growled, the doors to his quarters opened. This time, a chubby looking pony stood in the frame, eying Chip with what looked like joy. Indeed, compared to his last visitor, this one had a lot more cheer in himself. Something like passion.
“Ah, the fine guest of Princess Celestia!” he exclaimed, shaking Chip’s hoof. “My name is Chef Gustav, and I am one of the best cooks in Canterlot! I swear I’m not boasting, everypony who eats meals made by Gustav purrs in delight like little kitty cats!”
Chip was a bit thrown off by this gushing personality of Gustav – he was jovial in every possible way, inviting himself in without warning, pushing the blue colt back.
“So, you share a room with our precious Princess Cadance? Lucky you, lucky you! She is such a gentle and sweet mare! And you would not believe the amount of hay fries that one can consume in a single sitting! I say, where does she put all that?!” he laughed heartily, causing a smile on Chip’s face as well. This character was quite likable, he thought.
“But there I go, babbling about nonsense, when I can clearly hear your stomach playing the song of its people! That is the most dreaded tune for each Chef, let me tell you!” He waved a hoof in front of the changeling, taking on a serious expression. “Aha, but I got just the thing to hush your growling gut. Believe me when I say, I can tell what a pony likes by just looking at them! Really, I do! It’s a gift!” With that, he squinted at Chip, drilling him with his gaze for a moment.
Before the whole situation became uncomfortable, he returned to his cheerful self and smacked his lips.
“I can see that you are not a simple one, Mr. Chip! Nono, your tastes are much more refined than simple dandelion or poppy. This will be a challenge, but not one that the mighty Gustav will back out of!”
“Uh, really, don’t bother yourself too much,” finally managed Chip, lowering his ears. “A simple patch of grass will do. I mean, lots of it, actually.”
The chef frowned and then laughed. “You are too much, my friend! Grass! Ha, that is what ponies without a roof over their heads eat! Really, you almost had me there!” The pony punched him on the shoulder, which was probably a friendly gesture. But it hurt.
“Nono, do not fret! I shall have a delicacy for your palate done in no time! We shall of course begin with an appetizer!”
As Gustav clapped his hooves, the doors opened again, allowing a pony dressed in a tuxedo to enter. The unicorn was levitating a plate with tiny meals, gently displaying them for chip. They smelled nice – each looked like a little sandwich on a stick, composed of some vegetables such as tomatoes or salad along with some things he didn’t recognize. They were quite small and only a dozen, so Chip devoured them before anypony could bat an eyelid.
The Chef gasped, while the other pony just bowed and exited the room.
“My my, you really seem hungry my friend! And your manners do need some refining…but fear not! Gustav will teach you, Gustav will show you!”
At those words, Chip’s ears perked up. It was never too late into the night to learn, especially from such a friendly pony like Gustav. Maybe they could be friends?
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Well, the mood has certainly improved in the story. Is Canterlot a great place or what?
908430
Cadance will be fine physically I think. But she might be a teeny tiny bit mad at Chip, hihi
907893
I'll alter the description of the story so that it says you're editing later, right now it is a great time to go to sleep 
Thanks again for the offer, looking forward to hearing your feedback
908542
I totally imagining a chibi Chip nom'ing on a Cadence's shoulder, like the Giant Cookie Tiny Chibi meme.
good chapter my friend!
BUT WHO WAS SUITCASE???
908584
Wish I could draw that
908964
Thanks!
910024
or some kinky underwear, something special for that somepony she went on a date with 
Who knows? Maybe some dirty toys are inside
Does anyone else imagine Chef Gustav to be French?
1044393 yes
alright, is it Cadence, or Cadance? because you kinda switch back and forth.
Oh, no. Theres gonna be some conflict due to Chip's inability to taste normal food...
Thank Celes it's Gustav and not Chef Ram Sea! O.o
both likable and thought are spelled wrong here(not too sure about likable)
I'm guessing you meant container here?
a few spelling errors this chapter nothing to major
also the scene with the doctor was quite possibly the funniest thing I've read on this site, looking forward to the next chapter
.
Fret, not threat
4839931
Thanks!
Isn't chef Gustav a gryphon?
img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120408061400/mlp/images/7/74/Gustave_S2E24.png
4842776
Chip probably doesn't know what a griffon is.
Biowolfpack likes gustav Biowolfpack wants cookie
i just realized: this is supposed to be happening BEFORE the "Canterlot wedding" episode, so NONE of the other characters have ever heard of Changelings!
Poor Gustav. He won't know his effort's wasted.
Wait, they left him there the entire day with no meals? Did they want him to turn into a rabid monster?!?
Chip is going to be as round as Pinkie after getting into an eating contest with Slimer from Ghostbusters.
Dang it Pinkie! Now you got me breaking the fourth wall!!