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// 2 - Ponyville 
// Story: Pony Persona 
// by Everace 
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	The morning light filtered through the trees, golden rays gracing the forest ground.  The hunger was still there, but having a definite plan and the promise of a town raised his spirits.  He trotted almost happily towards Celestia's brilliant light.  It wasn't long before he happened upon a path, which lead to a nice broad road.
The leafy shade of the forest soon gave way to open meadows, sprinkled lightly with blossoming flowers.  The now unobscured sky was vast and blue above, pillowy clouds floating by like ambling sheep.  Distant farms occasionally marked the horizon, and he even noted an impressive apple orchard.  At last, as he passed over the top of a hill, it came into view.  Ponyville!
The streets were just starting to come alive, as ponies got out of bed and started going about their days.  It wasn't long before a pony came down the very same road he was traveling, heading the opposite direction.  She was yellow with a pink and purple mane, her cutie mark shaped like drops of candy. 
The approaching pony gave a start upon noticing him, then called out, “Is that you, Piv?  I didn't think anyone would be on this road so early in the morning.”  Her voice was steady, but she seemed a bit tense.  “Come to think of it, I haven't seen you in a while.  Have you been traveling?”
He greeted her hesitantly as they closed to talking distance, “Oh, hey, um...”
“Bon Bon.”  She quirked her eyebrow at him.  “You get hit in the head or something?  I know we don't hang out that much, but still!”
He ducked his head apologetically.  “Actually, I'm not...”  The idea of explaining his identity snagged on the fact that he didn't actually know who he was.  What exactly was he supposed to tell her?  “Well, it's not important.  I'm looking for Veiled Vision.  Can you point out her house from here?”
She chuffed a short laugh, “You really did get hit in the head!  Yeah, hers is the orange with green trim to the left, there.”  She pointed a hoof.  “I've always thought it looks kind of like a pumpkin.  Seriously, though, I thought you two were close.  How did you forget where she lived?”  Her eyes narrowed.  “Say, how DID you forget where she lived?  Where exactly have you been, Piv?”
She leaned in suspiciously, causing him to back up a nervous step.  “I've been around, you know, here and there.”  Thinking quickly, he seized on a distraction, “Say Bon Bon, where is it you're going so early in the morning?”
She started in surprise at the sudden reversal, “Wha?  Uh, nowhere, nowhere.  Nothing Lyra needs to know about, so you can probably just forget you saw me here.  You're good at forgetting things now, right Piv?”
“Right!”  He affirmed with relief.  He didn't know who this Lyra pony was, but it was fine with him if Bon Bon thought he did.  They nodded warily to one another and moved along in opposite directions.
The colors of Ponyville seemed to fill him right up as he moved along the street.  Ponies of all shapes and colors just coming out for the morning waved to him cheerily, some giving him a friendly “Hi, Piv!” as he passed along.  He waved back, heartened, feeling good enough that for the first time his hunger didn't seem to bother him so much.
He approached the tall orange house, gazing up at it and wondering why a single pony would need so much space.  Perhaps Miss Vision lived with some friends or family?  Now there was a lovely thought!  Never having to wake up all alone, like his past two nights in the forest.  He raised his hoof and knocked politely on the door.
Only a few moments passed before the door opened on a light beige pegasus with her silver mane in a professional looking bun.  She was a bit shorter than him, and her cutie mark was made up of various plants and herbs arranged to look like a half-lidded eye.  There was a berry for the pupil, half covered by a leaf as the eye-lid.  It looked as though she already had quite a start on her day, as she was holding and examining a clip board with some type of paperwork.  Good, then he hadn't dragged her out of bed.
She spoke first, “Yes, can I help you?  Is this about the...”  she broke off as she looked up at him for the first time, her face first appearing startled, then blossoming with unbridled joy.  “Piv!!!”  She shot forward, clipboard sent flying back into the house behind her, and wrapped  him in a surprisingly strong hug.
An 'Oof!' escaped him as the force of her enthusiasm actually pushed him back a step.  He laughed a bit nervously, “Veiled Vision, I presume?”
“Haha, well of course I am!”  She gave him a curious look as she backed up.  “Though you know it's just Veil, to you!  Come in, come in!”  Veil beckoned him eagerly as she retreated into the house, picking up her fallen clip board and placing it on a nearby counter as she did so.  “I want to hear all about your adventures!”
He followed her inside to see an impressive looking lab taking up most of the first floor.  He spotted tables covered with alembics, burners, measuring glasses, and the like.  There was a mortar and pestle left out on one, with a basket next to it.  There were a number of baskets in fact, with some hanging suspended from the ceiling to save space.  They all appeared to be filled with various herbs.
Veil glanced back at him as she passed through a doorway into what looked to be a dining room, “Well, come on!  I can't make you tea in the lab, silly!”  She paused and quirked a smile,  “Actually I could, but I think I'll just use the kitchen instead.”
“Better tools for the job?”  He asked, taking his cue and trotting along after her.
“And less likely that I'll accidentally mix in some henbane.”  She giggled fetchingly as she went about preparing the tea.  “So where have you been all this time?  The only thing you told me about it before you left was that it was really important, and that it would be a surprise.”
“Well...”  Now seemed like the time to explain that he wasn't actually Pivotal Pledge.  She seemed to know him really well, and wasn't it dishonest continuing on as though he was her friend?  “You see, I...”  Don't tell her.  He broke off, startled as the voice sounded in his head for the first time since the previous night.  Don't tell her, or she'll hate you!
“Is something wrong, Piv?”  She peered up at him, concerned.  Gazing back at her, he was torn.  He didn't want to lie to this pony, but the voice seemed to know things that he didn't.  He certainly didn't want her to hate him; her friendly face was the best thing so far in his short one-day memory.
“I lost my memory.  I'm sorry.  I knew I was supposed to come here and find you, but I don't really remember you.”  All of that was true.  He actually had lost his memory, so he hadn't really lied to her.  Right?
Veil's face fell slowly, her eyes closing with hurt.  She took some time to process what she had heard, then spoke, “I knew something was wrong when you didn't hug me back, but I never thought...”  He almost flinched away when she raised her hoof, but all she did was place it on his forehead, taking his temperature.  “How much do you have left?”
“Nothing beyond last night, waking up in some woods to the west of here.  That, your name, and one more thing.”  He reached into his saddlebag and presented the locket to her.  “This.  It seemed important.”
Curious, Veil took her hoof from his forehead and accepted the locket.  She opened it, and whatever it was she saw inside caused her to gasp, eyes going wide.  “This...!  Oh, Piv, this is...!”  She seemed to be struggling with herself for a moment, before her face cleared and she closed the locket.  Veil then solemnly placed it about her neck, a single tear escaping from her eye as she did so.
He wasn't sure how to parse all this so he just asked, “Skies!  What was in that locket?”
She shook her head at him, saying nothing, then turned a slow circle as she took deep breaths.  “OK!”  She exploded suddenly, hopping back around to face him with a big grin on her face.  “I need you to help me out with something, now that you're back.”
“What?”  Her sudden cheeriness caught him off guard, made stranger by his strong feeling that she was deeply unhappy at the moment.
“You see I've got to cancel this party I was going to throw, but there's no way I can reach everyone in time with all the orders I need to finish today.”  She waved vaguely in the direction of her lab.  “If you can lend me a hoof, I'd really appreciate it.  Besides which, meeting some of the ponies you used to know might trigger a memory or two.”  This last sentence was just a bit strained, but she doggedly kept that big smile glued to her face.
He hesitated, thinking hard.  It was still dishonest to act like her old friend, but the alternative was what?  Leaving town, and letting her deal with this alone?  That didn't seem right either.  He also didn't have anywhere to go if he left.  Maybe if he just played along, they would both be better off.  She would get to keep her friend, and he would get an identity.  Did it really matter that it wasn't his?  He could be Pivotal Pledge, and then everyone would be happy.
“Sure.”  Piv said at last, “I can do that.”
“Thanks, Piv!”  she smiled, and started giving him the directions he'd need to find the various ponies she wanted him to talk to about canceling the party.  The tea was soon ready as well, and though Piv remembered his disappointment with the forest fruits, he felt it would be impolite to turn it down.  Surprisingly it tasted quite good, and the hunger that had so tormented him was eased.  He wondered if this was thanks his pony form?
So began Piv's new life in Ponyville.