1 I guess somepony expected the Inquisition after all.

The stars were falling. It was a beautiful night for it. It was hay cutting season, so the skies had been dry and empty all week. This prohibited mold and spoilage of the bails, and also made for perfect stargazing weather. This shower was going to be a rare treat. One Yards suspected was designed by the Princess of the Night to help relieve the monotony of the hard work the farmers were currently enduring.

Toffee Chips rolled over in the grass besides Yards McCanter. The tan pegasus rested her head on the light green unicorn's shoulder. Starfall was working a late shift on a night train. She'd be home after the shower was over. The Rhubarbs and Delta the changeling were too tired from the labor of the day to stay up and watch the show the night was providing. That left the two alone, together. It just so happened that the best view could be found on Sweet Apple Acres, where there were few other ponies around.

Slowly the mare rolled closer. She was so excited that Yards could feel her heart beating through her neck. The moon had washed away the color, so he couldn't see her blush. It was handy that she couldn't see his either.

A red arrow streaked across the sky, followed by several wingponies. The couple sighed together.

“Sorry I couldn't make it during the day for your birthday, Toffee.” Yards closed his foreleg around her in a loose hug.

She swallowed. “That's okay. Others have been saying 'Happy Birthday' to me all day. Usually it's all I get. It's just part of having your birthday in the middle of the first harvest season.” She snuggled closer.

“Getting cold?”

“It's the lack of humidity. It lets heat just slip right through. It's kind of nice, considering how hot it was today.”

“Yeah. They say controlling the temperature is the hardest part of controlling the weather.”

“From what I understand, there's a lot of variables that take a lot of labor to control.”

“You could help them.”

She laughed. “I scored so low in weather controlling, I'm lucky they let me fly.”

“So that's why they didn't draft you for these things?”

“Pretty much.” Another small barrage of lights streaked by. “Ooohh! What does your princess make them out of?”

“Ice, carbon, iron, various minerals de- OOOOOHHhhh! Nice one! Depending on what color-” he looked down at his companion to find her muzzle only inches away. His heart thumped in his chest. All he had to do was kiss her and she'd be his. Every ounce of his body told him to do it. Yet, if he did, he'd jeopardize one of the most important experiments he'd ever been involved in, and thus all of Equestria.

But still, hadn't he kissed the other mare, too? Wouldn't this balance the equation? He'd just have to do this in an unromantic manner. He kissed her nose quickly. “Happy Birthday.”

Still she smiled and snuggled closer, into a full cuddle. Watching the meteor shower from the corner of her eye she tried to formulate something delicate. “Are..are-so how's the harvest going?”

“Well, it's cut; now we just have to rake and bail. Then we're going to try to replow and reseed to get some red clover. By the time that's done, the sorghum will be finished, and the next batch of apples will be about ready, so it's going to be a busy month for us.”

She lay there quietly, listening to his racing heart. “Yards, if-if I did something bad, would you forgive me?”

“Yeah. Well, probably. It's nothing like foal touching bad, is it?”

She pulled away. “I don't think so! I-I mean I wouldn't think it's that bad.” She laid her head back down. “Why did you become a Lunari?”

Politics had always been a touchy subject between the two. Toffee's support of the clear legitimacy of Princess Celestia's reign was never in doubt. She never rejected a Lunari supporter out of hand, though she'd never really shown any interest in the competing philosophy.

“Well, kinda this,” he answered after a pause.

“Meteor showers?”

He laughed. “Well, kinda. I was born on a farm. Daylight always meant labor. Even with dad's and my magic, most of the day was spent working on the farm, working on repairs, or working on some family outing or project. It wasn't until the sun set that I was truly free to do the things I wanted to do. The night always represented freedom to me. When I went to college I couldn't afford it without financial aid. Military service was the best way I could find to fund it. Celestia asked me to be one of her sister's body guards and to...help her.”

Toffee thought on it for a minute. “So does that mean, when you followed her on her rebellion, then you were really following Celestia's orders?”

Yards chuckled. “I hadn't thought of it that way, but yeah.” He leaned in close to her ear, whispering softly. “I still get missives from her from time to time.”

“Celestia or Luna?”

“Celestia. She's interested in how the ponies are doing. Luna just shows up in my dreams some times to do much the same thing.”

Toffee scoffed. “Sure, the real princess you adore shows up in your dreams to talk.” She waved her hooves in the air.

“Sometimes.”

She lowered her eyelashes at him. “I've been over while you were asleep. I know what you talk about when you're unconscious. She is pretty, and at least if I'm going to lose you to somepony else, it's a princess.” Her body suddenly got very stiff. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like-”

“Well, it's okay. Here, the shower is almost over, why don't I walk you home?”

She nodded sadly as she got up. “I'm sorry, really.”

“It's okay. You're a great mare, I'm sure-well, you're smart and cute...” His face was ablaze in embarrassment. While they were on the grass her mane had come unbraided and she flipped the long, softly twisting black and white locks out of her face.

They trotted silently from Sweet Apple Acres back to her home at the Golden Oaks Library, each pondering the blunders they'd made talking to the other. Yards stopped at one of the improved displays of the history of the horrible Civil War that had nearly destroyed Equestria two years ago. Toffee had lobbied to get the full picture of Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance, and Princess Luna at the tolerance talk, where Twilight had introduced the Charms all ponies wore now. They protected a pony's mind from being influenced by beings like changelings, but allowed the changelings to still feed off of the willing. Toffee had finally gotten permission to use the full photo and not the one with Princess Luna cropped out.

“Well, thanks for walking me home. Uh, would you, um, like to come inside?”

“Sure, just give me a minute out here, okay?”

Toffee couldn't contain her ecstasy. With a huge grin she bolted to the door and threw it open.

“SURPRISE!” came a chorus of shouts as she flipped on the lights.

She fell back out of the doorway, and screamed slightly. Her rear rammed into Yard's chest. She turned to see him grinning at her.

“You knew?”

The pegasus was nudged into the room by the stallion as she looked around at all her friends. Apple Rhubarb with her daughter Rhubarb Salad, Scootaloo, Cheerilee, Twist, Pumpkin; there were even a few she didn't recognize. It seemed like most of Ponyville was here. A strange unicorn mare walked over to her. Toffee thought she recognized her from some movie a long time ago. The unicorn floated a party hat over and snapped it onto her head.

“Did we get you?”

“Oh, I was totally gotten!”

“I'm glad, I hope you have fun. You've been kinda standoffish since, well, the train and I hope this helps you.”

“Delta?”

The changeling posing as the unicorn arched her eyebrows. “Hmmm?”

“You, you did this?”

“Well, I had some help, but yeah, me and the Rhus and Yards,” she waved at the stallion already over at the snack table, ”we went around town and got everypony's cooperation.”

Toffee's lower lip started to quiver as tears began to build in her eyes.

“Oh hey, it's okay.” The infiltrator hugged her with incredibly long, graceful, white legs around her neck. “We love you, and Starfall should be here really soon.” Her pink and white mane crushed against Toffee's own black and white stripes.

“I'm sorry,” was all she could whisper.

Delta pulled away. “Why?”

Tears were running freely as Yards and the Rhubarbs walked over. He levitated a plate in front of him.

“Y'all want some horse do overs?” He thickened his accent trying to lighten the mood.

“Yards, leave funny things to people who are actually funny.” Delta looked down at Little Rhu, “You say it!” Little Rhu only grinned sleepily.

“Delta, you've got to go!” the librarian started pushing her out the door.

“What?” Annoyance rang in her voice.

“Go. Leave! Pick a more innocuous form. They'll catch you if you keep taking the forms of celebrities.”

Now the changeling was confused. “Who?”

“The Inquisition, they're here.”

Delta's eyes widened in terror. “How?”

“Just go; hide!”

Delta did her best to fake a calm walk to the door. By now other party goers had started to gather around the birthday mare to congratulate her.

Yards and Apple peeled off to a far corner to talk.

“Why did she do that?” The white earth pony mare was confused by her friend's actions.

“I don't know. They've never been close.”

“Yeah, that's why Delta threw her this party, to try and make up for that. You don't think?”

“That she called the Inquisition?”

“Why would she do that?”

“Let's wait until the party's over, then we'll all sit down at the barn and talk this over. I don't want to be stuck in some stupid sitcom mistake.”

The farmer mare nodded at her hired hoof. Yards swore to himself internally. This could jeopardize everything. He took a pull from a punch glass and then headed out to find the shapeshifter.