The first stop on Piv's itinerary was Rarity's Fashion Boutique. Veil had a dress commissioned just for this party, which would now no longer be needed. She had been vague on why exactly the party was being canceled, murmuring something about unexpected work loads. Apparently Veil and somepony named Zecora supplied the majority of the medicines in town, even to the local hospital.
The Boutique, a small tower clad in soft pastel colors, appeared to be open. Inside he found quite a selection of lovely dresses and gowns, all in markedly diverse styles. He was admiring a flowing piece made from fine silks when he spotted the proprietor. White, purple mane and tail, triple gemstone cutie mark. This must certainly be Rarity, just as described by Veil. She was holding a number of pin needles with her light blue magic, fussing over what appeared to be a work in progress and murmuring to herself softly in a charmingly genteel accent.
“No no, this needs to be a slip-stitch. Now if I just raise this a bit, I can show...” She stopped suddenly, poking the needles into the fabric and raising her head. “Ah! I thought I heard somepony come in. Welcome to my boutique, sir. How can I...?” Rarity broke off as she approached him, taking a better look at her potential customer. “Why if it isn't Pivotal Pledge! Good heavens, I haven't seen you in ages! Wherever have you been, darling?”
Darling? Could this be his marefriend? He eyed her nervously, wondering if Veil would have alerted him if that were the case. “Haven't a clue, Miss Rarity. I can't remember a thing past last night, you see.”
Her face immediately shifted to concerned dismay, “WHAT!? Oh my stars, how awful! Of course in that case I am quite honored that you are here; my outfits must have been the only thing you could recall!”
Piv grinned and shook his head in the negative, deciding that she probably wasn't his marefriend if she would sooner assume he'd remembered her outfits rather than herself. “Actually I'm here for Veil. She tells me she commissioned a dress for an upcoming party, but needs to cancel the order since the party itself is being canceled.”
Rarity's eyes narrowed, and she appeared to be thinking. “Did you say the dress was for a party? She used that word?”
“Well, yes.” Something about her response seemed suspicious to him. “Is something the matter?”
“What? No, nothing's the matter, exactly. It's just that the dress is already complete.” Her look seemed to go a bit distant. “Good thing you stopped by, though. I might have delivered it if I'd heard you were back in town, and wouldn't that have been a silly mess!”
This line of reasoning lost him. “I'm sorry? Why would that be a mess? Shouldn't I take her the dress now if it's already complete?”
Rarity blinked, and seemed to come back from some internal train of thought. “Oh, no no no. She'll want me to hang on to it for her, trust me.” She winked at him. “Call it a Lady's intuition.”
Piv wasn't sure why that would be, but since Rarity seemed to be very sure, he nodded agreement anyway. “All right, then. What does she owe you for the work?”
The fashionista tut-tuted and proclaimed, “The short answer is not a thing, darling. If she insists, you may tell her that I will accept payment only once she finds another occasion on which to wear the dress.”
“That's very kind of you, Miss Rarity.”
“Think nothing of it, and do give my best to Veil!”
He gave her a smile, but did not turn to go. “Actually, next I'm off to see Pinkie Pie.”
Rarity gave a start, “Not Pinkie!” She cleared her throat primly, “That is to say, why don't you let me come along and lend a hoof with her? She can be rather excitable, you know, and I need to visit the market in any case.”
Piv peered at her with ever growing suspicion. “How odd! That's just what Veil suggested. She told me you would know how best to talk to her.”
Rarity waved this away, “Well of course she did! Great minds think alike, and all that.” Her horn lit, and a pair of spiffy pink saddlebags floated over to settle across her back. “Let's be off, shall we?”
A quick trip across town brought them to the market, and a little confectionery called Sugarcube Corner. However before they reached the door, Rarity stopped in her tracks and gasped aloud. “Goodness, those are the imported tiger's eye gems I've been waiting on!” She exclaimed, pointing a hoof at a nearby market stall. “There's nothing like them anywhere around Ponyville! I simply must buy a few before they run out!”
Piv supposed such things must be quite important to her work, “Go ahead, I'll wait here for you.” He said with a supportive gesture of his own hoof.
She caught his eye and took a serious tone of voice, “Remember, you mustn't talk to Pinkie without me.”
“I won't. Go on!” This being all the encouragement she needed, Rarity trotted happily over to the stall and began bargaining with the shop keeper.
As he watched her go, he was disturbed to find that he felt like he recognized her from somewhere. Of course since he was not in fact the original Pivotal Pledge, that could only mean that he'd known her as his 'real' self. He wondered, could she help him learn more about his past if he asked her about it?
Of course that would mean admitting both to her and to Veil that he was somepony else, and the voice in his head had been very clear that would be a bad idea. Most especially now that he had already misled Veil about his identity; she surely would not be pleased to learn the truth. It seemed he could have only one identity. Did he push forward as Pivotal Pledge, or throw it all away to regain a past he wasn't even sure he wanted?
Somepony tackled him from behind, sending him tumbling to the ground in a flurry of pink hair. “Omigosh, omigosh, OMIGOSH!!! Piv, you're back! I'm so excited!!!” He'd been ambushed by the very pony he'd come looking for, who was now prancing energetically around him in circles. “That means we get to throw the party tomorrow! Oh, I have so many fun things to prepare! Cake, confetti, balloons,” She froze suddenly, taking in a huge dramatic gasp. “Unless you actually got here yesterday, which means it has to be today! In which case I'm so super late! I'll get everything together right away!”
“Wait!” He caught her by the tail as she made to dash off, causing her to come up short and flop comically on the ground. “Wait, Pinkie, you don't have to do any of that!”
“Well of course I do, silly.” She yanked her tail back from him without seeming much bothered and stood up. “I made a special Pinkie promise to you and Veil that I'd have everything ready the day after you got back.” Her eyes lit up, “Oh, but now I remembered why I came over here in the first place! I thought you were a new pony in town, so I grabbed a couple cupcakes for a new friend! Of course you're already my friend, but you can still have the cupcakes!” And just as advertised, she presented him with two pink cupcakes covered in sprinkles.
“Um...” Ignoring the treats for the moment, he glanced back toward Rarity. Unfortunately she was still engrossed in her negotiations for the gems. He wanted to wait for her, but he couldn't let Pinkie go knowing she was going to start setting up the party the moment she was out of sight. “What I mean is that there's not going to be a party.”
The took a moment to sink in, during which the party pony was uncharacteristically quiet. This was followed by an explosive, “WHAT!?” She looked a bit wild, and he backed up a pace. “What do you MEAN there's not going to be a party?!” She advanced on him, cupcakes framing her blazing eyes. “You made a promise to Veil, mister! Now you're just going to break it like a, like a promise breaker?! You... rapscallion, you!” She paused briefly as another train of thought derailed her, “You know I actually love scallions. They're great in any salad, but then people complain I have onion breath. Do you suppose that's why it's bad to be called a rapscallion?”
He would have liked to get a word in, but she immediately continued with, “Don't you try to distract me with talk of onions, Mr. Rapscallion! I'm so mad! Oh, I'm so mad! I'm so mad I... I'm only going to give you one cupcake!” And with that she thrust only a single treat at him, her expression dead serious.
“Um...” What exactly did one say when accepting a cupcake under such unusual conditions? “Thanks?” He took the treat gingerly from her hoof.
“You're on thin ice, mister!” She berated him, “I'm keeping my eyes on you!” This seemed like her cue to storm off, but it also seemed she took her last words quite seriously. She ended up moon-walking backwards on two hooves, glaring at him, until she slid out of sight behind a wall.
“Wow...” Piv flopped down into a sitting position on his flanks, stunned by the whole encounter.
“Where did you get that cupcake?” Rarity's tone was sharp as she came up beside him from behind.
“Sorry. I'm afraid she found me.” He had no doubt that the fashionista knew who 'she' was. He took a moment to think, and everything started to click into place. “Rarity... that dress you made for Veil. It's a wedding dress, isn't it?”
She gazed at him unhappily for a long while before saying anything. Finally she sighed, “Oh, Pinkie.” and more apologetically, “I hope you're not cross with me for keeping secrets.”
The irony of this was so funny to him that he quirked a little grin despite himself. “It's OK. That secret wasn't yours to tell.”
Engaged. Pivotal Pledge had been engaged, to be married the day after he got back! The locket was no doubt some kind of wedding gift. What kind of mess had he gotten himself into? What kind of mess was he making of Veil's life? Desperately he thought to himself, Voice! What should I do? Yet the voice was silent on this matter.
“Well.” He said after a moment. “I suppose I had better talk to Veil!”