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// 11 - Fateful Locket 
// Story: Pony Persona 
// by Everace 
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	The darkness of the Everfree Forest, black and foreboding on the way in, now seemed cool and calm to Piv.  It was amazing how a simple change in mood could emphasize the brilliantly colored flowers rather than the brambles they grew upon.  His true memories would be returned to him, and he would never have to reveal that he was anyone other than Pivotal Pledge!  In three days he would get the remedy, feign confusion as it ‘failed,’ and nopony would be the wiser.  Not even the zebra healer herself could read his mind, for all her flashy mystique.  He glanced over his shoulder, but saw that her hut had already been swallowed by the dense greenery of the forest.  “Hey Veil,” he began, turning to her.  “What’s the deal with Zecora, anyway?  Isn’t it strange that she always speaks in rhyme?”
“Hmmm?  Oh, that.”  Veil waved her hoof.  “I hardly notice it anymore to tell the truth.  It’s just a quirk, like any other.  For example, an unreasonable fear of filled pastries!”  She shot him a playfully accusing look.  When all she got in return was the confusion on his face, her ears drooped slightly.  “No?  Hmmm… nevermind.” 
Understanding dawned on him.  It was one of his quirks, the original Pivotal Pledge.  “Well, you never know.  Perhaps once I’ve been properly introduced to one, the sheer terror of an unknown filling will send me running.”  He gave her a reassuring grin, and she smiled back at him after a moment.  Was that hesitation?  Did she suspect him?  He had thought all was lost back in the hut when he’d sampled Zecora’s perfume.  It really had tasted like the best thing he’d had since Veil’s tea, and Piv was starting to have ideas about why that was.  He’d have to have a chat with The Voice about it sometime soon.  To thank it, also.  It was The Voice who had given him the idea to quickly turn the incident into a prank so that it wouldn’t look suspicious.  “Are these all the supplies you needed?”  He asked, changing the subject.
“Almost.”  She nodded.  “I just have to harvest a bit of silver root, which I’m going to scrounge up after I get you home to Ponyville."
That gave him pause.  Veil was taking him back first despite still needing more herbs?  "Are you sure I can't lend a hoof?"
Her smile turned just a bit wry, "Don't tell me you remember what silver root looks like?"
"Ah..."  Piv hadn't thought of that.  "Well I need to start learning again at some point, right?"  To this she merely made a non-committal noise and glanced away.  He recalled the events of the day and a thought struck him, "These silver roots... they are in a dangerous place?"
The look on her face when she turned back told him what he'd already guessed; she was trying to protect him.  "Well..."  She fumbled a moment.  "Not exactly.  There's a good patch on the forest edge.  I'll be fine there."
Piv grinned at her, "You'll be fine?  Is that what we're talking about?"
Her eyes widened before she vented a vexed huff and turned her head back to the trail.  "You're a little too good at reading me for a pony who's lost his memory!"  Veil complained.  She said nothing more, and he didn't press the point immediately.  They walked in awkward silence for a few moments as he gathered his thoughts.  It wasn't hard to see why she'd rather play it safe.
"The thing with the wolves still has you shaken up, right?"  Veil said nothing, but her mouth compressed into a line.  He continued, "I get it.  You protect ponies.  But you know, you don't have to do everything alone.  Maybe, if someponies could learn to help you?"
Her expression finally softened.  "Ah, darn you."  She murmured gently.  When her eyes turned on him, they were filled with an warm intensity he hadn't seen before, one that lightened his step and filled him with energy.  Yes!  This is what we're here for!  Stoke her flame, and drain her dry of every last sweet drop of love!  The Voice rumbled eagerly in Piv's mind, and the confused mix of feelings this proclamation brought must have shown on his face.  Veil blinked and cleared her throat, dispelling the feeling.  "Sorry, I... Yes.  Well."  She seemed to take a moment to visibly collect herself.  "I did say it's not very dangerous, and it would be nice to have an extra pair of hooves."
With that, they were on their way.  Not that they changed direction, as it turned out the field in question was very nearly on the way back to Ponyville.  A brief detour at the edge of the forest brought them to a shady copse with pockets of flowers that swayed lazily in the breeze.  Veil outfitted him with a spare pair of saddlebags from her cart and showed him a silver root plant, which turned out to be a tiny thing with bright red blossoms.  When she dug out the root itself, it was swollen twice the size of the above ground portion of the plant.
Apparently this was typical, as was the decidedly non-silver coloration.  The root was actually a dull orange, and reminded Piv of a smaller and darker version of a carrot.  When he told Veil this, she giggled and responded, "Well you'd best hope this doesn't end up on your salad!  It's used in topical creams, and ingesting it can cause some rather unfortunate digestive problems.  It's called silver root because it was first discovered growing right over top a vein of silver ore."
"Huh!"  He tossed the specimen into his saddlebags.  "Do you suppose we ought to have Rarity give this place a once over?"
Veil shook her head with a chuckle.  "Heh, no such luck.  It turned out to be a coincidence.  Besides which Rarity specializes in finding gemstones rather than metal ores."
They moved on to more general chatter as they rooted around for more of the plants.  Veil seemed quite interested in how he had been getting on in Ponyville over the past few days, and Piv was more than happy to report his very pleasant acclimation.  He asked her if Pinkie really had insisted on making her a leek cake, and Veil acknowledged it with a grin.  Piv was surprised to learn that Veil had actually enjoyed her apology cake, and began to wonder if he shouldn't have at least tried his own.
Some time later Veil called a halt to their foraging, pleased with the saddlebags full of silver root they had gathered.  After they'd piled the bags onto the cart, she leaned against it with a contented sigh.  "I'm glad you talked me into this.  It was a lot of fun!"
He feigned confusion playfully, "What, digging up roots?"  Her response was to toss a sealed pouch of herbs at him, which this time he dutifully allowed to bounce off his nose.  "Heh, yeah.  I'd be happy to do this again anytime."  As he set the pouch back onto the cart, a glint caught his eye.  "Oh!  It's that locket."
Veil gave a start.  "Ah, that's right!  I took it off for fear of damaging it when I ran into those Timberwolves!"  She came up beside him and took the locket from the cart, slipping it over her ears as she donned it once again.  "I can't believe I forgot to put it back on!"
"Partly my fault, I think."  Piv noted as he focused on the locket, curiosity peaked.  "Is it really such an important thing?"  Veil quieted, and a hoof went to the locket now dangling around her neck.  Seeming to make a decision, she simply opened the locket and showed it to him.  Inside was a photograph of an old stallion working in a modest but well kept garden with what was perhaps his granddaughter.  The stallion was a dark blue with a short silver mane, his cutie mark hidden behind a shrub bearing pale yellow fruits.  The young filly had a silver mane also, no cutie mark present on her clearly visible flank.  She was the same light beige color as... "It's you!"  He exclaimed in recognition.
She nodded.  "Me and my grandpa, who raised me.  I... well I don't really want to go into the details, but sufficed to say I had thought that everything like this locket was lost a long time ago."
Piv was astonished.  This was the reason the original Pivotal Pledge had been traveling.  It had all been a quest to find this precious artifact of Veil's past.  A past he realized he still knew little about.  Why had her grandfather raised her instead of her parents, for example?  "I didn't even realize!"  Was all he managed at last.
She smiled sadly at him.  "You must have gone through a lot to get this.  It just hurts that..."  Veil broke off, and snapped the locket shut while shaking her head.  "Nevermind.  Come on, we should get back to town."  She asserted as she hitched the cart to herself.
Piv hesitated, wanting to inquire further.  Yet as he considered the locket and what it must mean, Piv realized that Veil had already opened herself up to him quite a lot.  He shouldn't pry any further.  "Sure thing."  Was all he said in response, falling in at her side.
Veil seemed lost in thought as they headed back home.  Truthfully, Piv had a lot to think about himself.