Twilight gasped as Chip’s disguised body smashed into the storefront window, and fell like a rag-doll to the ground. “Chip!” She rushed up to him glancing horrified that the open wounds caused by the glass.
“Chip? What’s that? His pet name?” Sweet spat, the anger in her voice welling up. “I knew that you two knew each other! You should have seen how eager he was to meet you! I don’t even know why I helped him here!” She began yelling more at herself, hot tears streaming down her face, “Why would I ever think that any colt would really be friends with me!?”
Twilight was taken aback by the sudden outburst, and a little angry at this mare for trying to smash Chip’s face in, but something in the mare’s voice said she needed help. Twilight wasn’t much for speaking when confused, but this was a desperate situation that could get even worse if she didn’t do something, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.
“What do you mean? How do you know him?” She asked.
“How do I know him? What do you think? Do you know what I do for a living?” She threw her face up to Twilight. “I escort! Do you think that I just ran into him and suddenly we’re sharing a room in a hotel?”
Twilight blinked. So they did go to a hotel room and stay the night. But why would Chip even consider-… “Wait, did Chi-er, Redberry ask to- well, ask for you to…?”
Sweet hesitated in her angry tirade at the question. “What? I mean- no… I offered. It’s how I get my clients. Nopony just starts speaking to mares like me on the side of the road unless spoken to. I invited and he… accepted.” When she stopped speaking, she seemed suddenly aware of the crowd that had gathered around the bloody scene. “I- I’ve gotta go," she said, and nervously ran off.
“Wait!” Twilight cried after her, but the mare known as Sweet Strokes had disappeared, leaving Twilight in the middle of the road with Chip, surrounded by broken glass.
Twilight sighed as she returned her attention to Chip. Assessing the situation, she realized that the city guard would be there soon if they weren’t already, and that would mean problems if she and Chip were caught.
She began shaking his shoulders, looking around for any signs of the guard. “Chip. Chip wake up, we have to go!”
* * *
There was a muffled sound. Chip knew that sound, that voice. It was calling him. But why? There wasn’t anything here, nothing going on. Just darkness and muffled noises.
He felt a strange movement, a shifting he would call it. Back and forth it went. He didn’t like it. And it seemed to get worse as the voice that called him got louder and clearer.
Aching pain began to reach his consciousness, making him aware of his body, which he could now feel was slumped on something rough and scratchy. It felt like his home back at the hive.
“Chip,” the voice called out again, this time clear enough that he could understand it. “Dangit, Chip!”
Before he could respond, his body felt like it was turning inside out as it was shoved through a straw. The pain of the strange phenomenon forced his eyes to open and his lungs to desperately suck in a fresh batch of air.
What he saw was a light. It wasn’t very bright though, and it dangled from a wooden surface towards him. A ceiling. Chip shook his head as he tried to sit up.
“No, don’t move.” A purple unicorn whom he’d just remembered whispered.
“Twilight?” He looked at her confused, “What happened?”
“Shhh! We’re at my parents house. Don’t make a sound.”
“What?”
“I said be quiet!”
Confused, Chip just lay his head back down. Where had they been? Why was his face hurting now? There was a mare, he remembered, that one from the hotel… Chip gasped as his memory returned in a flood.
Twilight was suddenly looking Chip over, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Where did Sweet go?”
Chip could feel Twilight’s anxiety transform into annoyance and slight anger. She pointed a hoof at his face. “You’re going to explain to me what happened later. For now, let’s just get you better.”
“But- But I made her angry! I don’t even know what I did! I can’t just leave her mad like that!”
Twilight pushed Chip’s shoulder back down to the floor. “Be quiet! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She ought to be used to it in her line of work anyway.” The words came out less than apathetic towards the mare.
“But what happened?”
“Oh, I dunno! You tell me!” Twilight stopped herself, covered her face with her hooves and let out a exasperated sigh. “Ugh… Chip, just please stop talking while I take care of your injuries. We’ll figure this out later, okay? I promise.”
“Okay.” Chip didn’t want to argue. Twilight was giving off strong scents of stress, annoyance, and worry, and he thought it would be a bad idea to add to that. So he laid down and let Twilight tend to his bruises and cuts.
This is not how he had hoped their meeting would go.
* * *
In an alley, tucked deep in the more questionable parts of Canterlot, sat Sweet Strokes. Her head hung low, turned away from the main road. She didn’t want to be seen like this. She didn’t want to feel like this.
It hurt.
“I was a fool. And I was played like a fool,” she told the darkness. Though, she couldn’t bring herself to admit it, it was true that she had asked for this when she saw the bright eyed stallion wandering the streets. The unicorn was right. She had asked for it.
But how could he do that to her. Why were there ponies like that in the world. Ponies that put on façades, flashing them at all, leaving them destitute in their wake. She had seen a glimmer of hope. A pony that had been concerned with her for once instead of himself. A pony who asked questions, wanted to get to know her, and acted friendly from the moment he saw her to the moment he said those self-condemning words.
She hated it. She hated him. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel that those moments he gave her were genuine, that he was truly a friend to her.
The conflicting thoughts confused her, twisting and pulling at her emotions until she didn’t know what to feel.
What was she thinking? That he would just suddenly think her the best mare he’d ever met? That after only a night they would be closer than someone who had obviously known him for a while? Why were they even pretending not to know each other? It was obvious on the face of it! And if he was so eager to see her, why would he pay to “have fun”, as she had put it? Did he even know what sex was? Did he even know that she was a prostitute? A mare who threw herself at other ponies for money? A mare who had been thrown out, left without a bit to her name, and dragged into the dirtiest pits of Canterlot’s prestigious “business” class?
Sweet released her frustration on an empty juice carton, flinging further down the alley into an indiscernible pile of refuse. “RUAAAGH!” The alley gave a quick echo back. Nothing else responded. Nothing answered her questions.
She sat back down and tried to work out what had happened through tears. “I’ve got to deal with this.”
Her panting began to produce small wafts of steam. It was getting dark.
Nothing made sense to her anymore. Well, not nothing. She knew that her love was foolish, the silly notion of “love at first night”. But she also knew he made her feel good. She felt worth something for the first time in years, only for that to be taken away the moment his marefriend came into view.
But if he was planning on meeting her, if he was so eager to see her, why on earth would he accept an offer to stay the night with another mare? It made no sense! Not unless she meant nothing to him after all, but that obviously wasn’t true!
“Maybe he really is as childishly innocent as I thought he was. Maybe he really has no idea what sex was, or what any of this escorting business is,” she thought allowed. It made sense. It would explain his willingness to “have fun” and his asking her questions. He acted as if it was just a simple sleepover with friends.
“UGH!” Sweet wiped her hooves over her face, trying to grab her frustration through it and throw it the same way she threw the empty carton.
As much as that theory made sense, it just seemed so unlikely. What kind of stallion, that big, that handsome, training for the royal guard had never had a frisky night with some mare?
A droplet of water hit her muzzle. She looked up to see a dark grey cloud engulf the entirety of the sky.
“Well, that’s just great.” Looking down to her bags, she remembered that she had enough money for a good night’s sleep, thanks to the stallion she know wanted to forget.
Sighing, she slipped her bags on and walked to the cheapest hotel. If she was going to use this money, it should at least be used wisely, as much as she would have preferred throwing it all out to forget.
“Beggars can’t be choosers.”
Why there is title on cover art? Why there is female changeling on this art?
4888698
There was always title on cover art And Chip always looked like that
4888705
You have title om the site. And its not Chip its female changeling.
4888714
Well, if you say so
I like it the way it is, and that is how I imagined Chip
4887018 you do know that Indian is actually Italian right
4887316
It is, right? I like how it turned out
I love the new cover photo. My little handsome changeling.
4888851
He is quite a hunky stallion, no? No wonder he gets all dem mares
4888860
Its not male. Its female.
4888864
Pray tell. What defined a female changeling? The hair? If so, you'll be pleased to note that in the story Chip has both a mane and tail.
Not bad at all. I'm usually pretty wary of guest chapters, since they tend to not be up to the same standards as the original story, but that was actually well written. So kudos to Piercing Sight. Ya' dun good.
My only nit pick is that in the last canon chapter, Sweet already told Twilight that nothing happened between them.
4888867
I'll probably use some of the ideas from this alternative chapter - still, I found it a great writing exercise, such a swap. An author can gain perspective about their writing style, how they pay attention to detail and how well they can wove the story to make a logical bee-line of events.
Plus, it is immensely satisfying for me if people actually want to contribute to my 'art' - apart from the great comments from my readers, that is the most craved form of acknowledgement I can possibly receive
4888875
Seems legit. And it is usually interesting to see the angle other people would take in a given situation. The switch in Sweet's emotions from the anger to sadness and self-pity was an interesting touch. I always kind of viewed her as being a bit more.....predatory, than that, but it was an interesting take on her nonetheless.
4888885
Yeah, pretty true With all the characters thus far present in the story, I felt the pony side lacked a predatorial, more firm element. Who knows what kind of role Sweet Strokes might play in the days ahead.
4888889
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to what impact she's going to have on the story.
Up until now, Chip has been the main focus, and it worked really well, since him meeting and learning about ponies was the central point of the story. But now that it's changed into the whole war-prep thing, and Chip doesn't have as many chances to run afoul of pony culture, a character like Sweet who can act as a foil to him in almost every way helps bring out different aspects of his innocence that we haven't seen much of yet.
I can't wait to see what you have in store for them.
4888941
Ooohhh. I see wat u did thar. That stung man
now
4888971
Thanks! (though I did not write it and won't edit it, heehee )
“How do I know him? What do you think? Do you know what I do for a living?” She threw her face up to Twilight. “I escort! Do you think that I just ran into him and suddenly we’re sharing a room in a hotel?”
And then they kissed.
4889151
Without much thought, Twilight dove her lips into Sweet's open mouth.
The pegasus' wings flared open in surprise, letting up slightly as the familiar sensation finally punched through her anger and frustration.
She always had a fancy for mares, although she tried to deny it. There was something unmistakably soft and comforting in the pristine feminine lips, compared to the gruff and wide ones of a stallion.
Twilight melted into the feeling as well. At first she wanted to pull back, try to explain what just happened but... there was no explanation. She felt her pain and simply wanted to lift it. It felt right. Her tongue was soft and shy at first, quickly warming up and playing along with Twilight's
While the two smooched with growing passion, Chip's brain leaked out through a severe crack in his head.
~Fin~
DUDE WE GOT THE FEATURED BOX ASJDBNFGPIASFGOAJSDFNGVIO[ASNO
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
4889235
If you'd pay attention you'd know this story goes up to features with every new chapter posted
I'm really glad people like it
4889267 Really? dang, welp now i feel kinda dumb, i don't often check the featured or even the home page because i have so many stories already in my "to read" folder
4889292
YOU SHOULD FEEL DUMB, YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT MY STORY, YOU'RE JUST IN IT FOR THE FAME
I have a backlog of read laters to wade through as well
4888971
4888978
Go ahead an edit it. Now that I've read it over again, there are small facepalm worthy errors strewn across this thing. Hehe.
Another is "allowed" -> "aloud" ;P
4889151
4889165
Oh good gravy. XD Now that would be a twist. ;) But it would make sense because when Twilight and Chip kissed earlier, Chip was in his female form.
Just confused about the window thing, but otherwise, apart from those who demand that of Shakespear and Hitchcock in everything they read, including till reciepts, a more expected response. Still, Twilight taking Chip home to treat him through panic, instead of the hospital. Is it me or is Ponyville Hospital far larger and better equipped than anything seen in Canterlot, even with the nobles, because of all the disasters? Shouldnt it be at least far more used, even through temporary injury treatment, patchup etc?
4889442
If you remember what happened in ponyville's hospital, Twilight still doesn't want to take that risk, especially if it involves the city guard.
Word would certainly arrive to Celestia, and Shining Armor of the event and the little "break" would most certainly be cut short, and probably not allowed again.
At least these were Twilight's thoughts when I wrote this.
Another excellent chapter. I do so hope that things are cleared up with Sweet Strokes.... even if it means she needs to learn the truth. What can I say? You've really made us readers feel for her, enough to want her to stay around.
I hope Sweetie and Chip and Twi all become permanent friends in the actual story. ^^
Hoes why are you not going w/ the flow?
A great lolcat once said "I is magicks."
New cover art. Much prefer this one over the last one... That one was just a mess IMHO.
Errant K hiding in there.
4893320
My dad made the last one for me when no one else wanted.
4893731
How so?
Heh, i remember starting to read this way back when it just started... somehow it ended up getting lost in the favorites list and somewhat forgotten about. but i finally got a chance to sit down and start from scratch 4 hours and 74 chapters later i cant help but smile and wonder how I forgot about Chip the Changeling. Here's to hoping this story updates fast and more importantly keeps being as fun as it is.
Dang, just a few more views and this chapter will have more than any of my fics.
I've got to find a good story line to write! D:
4893681 I ment no offence to the artist (your dad) but the lack of contrast just makes it hard to discern anything on that picture.
4896150
I guess. Still, gift horse and his teeth and stuff like that
4893724 if it takes that long, then chances are not in its favor.
But who knows *nudge nudge*
Am I allowed to advertise my dramatic reading on here, or will that get my hung?
4900404
As long as it concerns the story at hoof, go ahead
4901113
I did. IT'S MY CHILDHOOD OKAY?
4900477
Well, it is a reading of this fic, so...
Chapter One reading
Didn't she decide not to take Chip's bits?
4901257 Good luck!
It's too bad she got away. She'll never know the truth...