"You’re sure you want to do this?" Far Gaze gave Ember a level, sober look. The purple unicorn stallion was always a little serious, but he’d broken out an extra dose of sobriety for this occasion, it seemed.
Ember smiled at him. "I am tired of being cooped up in here all day, every day. The treaty was signed more than five years ago, Far. I’m not going to be attacked in the street for being a changeling, not even a queen."
"That’s not exactly what I’m worried about, my dear," said Far, shaking his head.
"I’ll be fine," insisted Ember, and she picked up her basket in her magic’s greenish glow and headed for the door, with Far still sighing and shaking his head behind her.
Out on the cobblestone streets of Canterlot the sun was shining down brightly on yet another of Celestia’s beautiful days. The mountain air was clean and fresh, even here in the city, and Ember inhaled a lungful of it, eager to clean the still air of her home from her lungs. It felt wonderful. She took to the air, headed for the open-air market held in one of Canterlot’s many lovely public squares.
She landed gracefully near the edge of the crowded market, and as she had expected she got a few stares but no overt hostility. She hummed to herself as she walked through the crowd, cheerfully taking advantage of her great height to make her way directly to her destination. Her first stop was at a stall that sold hand-made bath salts and other fragrant concoctions. Ember gave the mare running it a friendly smile as she regarded the wares. The mare blushed brightly, which was when Ember recognized her as a former customer. Oh dear, this is going to be a bit awkward...
She picked out the things she needed and set them on the counter. She wasn’t actually sure, in this context, if she should pretend everything was normal, or if she should avoid making eye contact with the mare entirely. She settled for the former, smiling and handing over her bits while trying to act as though she and the mare taking them had never done anything that one doesn’t do in public together. She was nearly finished and ready to flee the stall, when the mare suddenly, awkwardly blurted out, "Uhm, thank you for the other day. You know. It was... uhm. Thanks!"
"Oh. Well, you’re quite welcome," said Ember, trying to be gracious. She felt her own cheeks heating and was glad that her chitin didn’t really show a blush. The mare was nearly crimson. Ember gave her an awkward little wave and took off into the air, taking the fastest possible escape.
She landed some distance away and set off on her next errand. She had only gone a few yards when she bumped into a tall stallion with a bell pepper cutie mark. She recognized him instantly. His eyes lit up when he saw her. "Ember! Hey, my wife says to thank you for..." He stopped suddenly and looked around. "Ah. That is. Uhm. She... ah..."
"Er, yes," said Ember. "You’re welcome?"
"Yeah, thanks," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and trying a little too hard to look casual.
Ember gave him a smile and moved on. She had a lot of things to do. But as she approached the next booth she couldn’t help but let out a little groan. She recognized the stallion manning it too. Today was going to be a long, long, awkward day.
Several hours later she stepped inside the door to her home and shut it firmly behind her. Far was sitting at his desk as usual, going over some of their business paperwork. He looked up when she came in, taking in her flustered expression, and no doubt noting how long it had taken her to run a few simple errands. "Rough time?" he said simply.
Ember shot him a glare that was only half-playful. "Okay, I’ll admit you were right. Next time I’ll let you go."
Far only laughed.