“Of course, Darling!” Rarity said with a smile. “I'll have your order done as soon as possible.”

I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. “No hurries, I won't need it until I go back to Canterlot at the earliest anyway,” before I scraped my hoof on the floor, “And... well...”

“Don't worry, I can keep a secret!” Rarity said with a grin before she winked. “You would be shocked over some of the things I created for whom. Not that I would ever tell.”

I eyed the glamorous white unicorn, “...Well, now 'I' am curious.”

“Too bad, Darling. It would be highly unprofessional of me,” she answered and flicked her mane with a smile.

“Well, that is a good thing. I really don't want the papers to get news of this. Wouldn't really bother me, but I don't want to make things more difficult for Luna,” I admitted.

“I'm sure Princess Luna will adore it. It should fit her perfectly and I know just the colors to use.”

“Thank you, Rarity,” I said as we moved towards the door and her magic reached out to open it for me.

“You are so welcome, Lord Page.”

I waved to her as I left. Of course, I wasn't overly worried about the papers finding out, it wasn't anything too outrageous. But it involved a lot of silk and wasn't anything Luna would wear in public so I would much rather keep it all quiet.

I really hoped that she would like it.

“Got everything, sir?” Amber asked as she fell in next to me from where she had been waiting outside.

“I think so,” I agreed and looked at my guard. “Any ideas on where to go now?”

Amber looked around and shook her head, “Not really, sir. Perhaps simply following the road and seeing where it goes?”

“As good an idea as any other.”

It lunchtime yet for a couple of hours anyway and a long walk sounded rather nice. I shifted my wings slightly under the illusion, wishing I could stretch them properly, but I simply was not good enough to hide them if I spread them. Still, a good walk would get the worst of the stiffness out of my muscles and I would bet we could duck into the Everfree Forest for a quick glide or something later.

Or simply put a illusion over myself again to look like a pegasus, I'd likely go with that one.

“So, what do you think of Ponyville, Amber?” I asked the changeling as we walked.

She tilted her head, fluttering her wings slightly, “It's nice, sir. But I'm not certain the inhabitants are comfortable around me. A lot of them stare, more than in Canterlot.”

“Not many changelings here, not as many as in Canterlot at least,” I said and frowned to myself. “Maybe that's something that needs to change. Get ponies used to seeing changelings, both in your semi-disguises and in your natural forms.”

If they were ever to be accepted as just another pony, ponies needed to get used to them. Ironically enough, our main problem was that there weren’t enough changelings to go around and most were gathered around the hive so they could have regular contact with other changelings and more importantly... their Queen or Princess. They needed that contact to feel good which meant they couldn't spread out much.

With some exceptions like my guard here, I would bet the majority of changelings away from Canterlot were the ones harvesting love in the Crystal Empire.

“Howdy!”

We paused and glanced back at the orange earth pony approaching from behind, pulling a wooden cart at an easy trot and a smile.

“Hello. Uhm...” Damn it, I knew her name! “Applejack, right?”

“Got it in one!” she agreed with a smile. “Lord Page,” she said with a nod and a tip of her hat. “I heard you and Sunset Shimmer were staying with Twilight.”

I nodded. “Twilight was kind enough to help me practice my magic,” I confirmed and then paused. “Oh, my apologies. This is my bodyguard and assistant, Amber. Princess Skitter assigned her to me because... well, she thinks I'll forget to eat or something. Amber, this is Applejack of the Apple-family.”

Amber bowed slightly and Applejack nodded. “Pleased to meet you,” she said, giving the changeling a bit of a wary look but not commenting otherwise. “So where are you off too?”

I shrugged. “Just taking a walk,” I said and walked along next to her. "Twilight and Sunset are still out from their astronomy expedition last night. They likely stayed up all night and then fell asleep, so I have a day off to just take in the sights.”

“Doubt that will take all day in Ponyville. Pretty much what you see is what you get.”

“I like Ponyville,” I admitted. “It somehow feels more real than Canterlot.”

Maybe that was because I grew up in the countryside, it just felt more like home, despite the very different architecture style than back on Earth. Ponyville looked like something from a fantasy story. Which was a kind of funny thing to think when you could do magic.

“Lived here all my life. There is no better place in all of Equestria.”

“Not going to argue with you.” I sighed and looked up at the tree we passed by starting to get close to the 'Sweet Apple Acres' sign. “If Luna didn't need to be in Canterlot, I think I would look to move to Ponyville.”

Some distance from those nobles would be really nice. I really understood why Twilight strongly resisted any suggestion from that direction that she should move to Canterlot. Yes, her friends were here, but I suspect the general court stuff had a non-zero effect on the decision.