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// 8 - A Meeting With Meta 
// Story: Pony Persona 
// by Everace 
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	At around that time, Piv was sitting in a local fast food place called the Hay Burger wondering to himself why he had ever come up with the plan to leave Veil to herself for a while.  It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but after a couple days he was really starting to miss her company.  Odd, he thought, since he hadn't even known her a week.
He was starting to notice other odd things about himself, too.  Most perplexing was that he didn't seem to need to eat.  Whether he stopped for food, or just wandered around talking to ponies all day long made no difference in how hungry he felt.  It made him wonder why he was here at all, eating these hay burgers he knew he didn't really need to spend money on.  Sympathetic motions, perhaps, to calm his steadily growing discomfort at being parted from Veil.  Staying home was the only thing that really caused his tummy to rumble, so he made sure to get out every day.
"Can I pay for your meal, friend?"  At the sound of a familiar voice, Piv raised his head to find Bon Bon smiling across the table at him.  He had not seen her since that day on the road.  Hadn't she told him that they weren't really close?
"It's fast food.  You pay before you eat."  A concept he himself hadn't been entirely familiar with, which had cause a bit of confusion the first time he tried to eat here.
Bon Bon seemed surprised, but then let that smooth smile slip back over her face.  "Joking!  It's just as well.  Why don't you take it with you so we can walk and talk?"  Piv looked down at his food, wanting an excuse to say no.  Something about her felt off to him, but unfortunately he really didn't have any other plans at the moment.  "Come on!"  She cajoled, sensing his reluctance.  "It wasn't all that easy to track you down, you know!"
Finally he nodded to her.  "All right then.  For a little while."  He got a to-go bag from the front counter and packed up his totally unnecessary meal, then followed his dubious friend out into the street.  "What is it you want, exactly?"
She flashed him a toothy grin, "Do siblings need an excuse to talk?"
A strange thing to say.  From what he had gathered, the original Piv had been an only child.  He frowned at her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Her expression grew more closed as her eyes wandered over the ponies they were passing in the street.  After a moment she pulled him into a dark side alley, glancing around to be sure nopony could see them.  "It means this!"  Her face wavered and resolved itself into an image of the black monster he himself had been upon awakening.  
He gasped in fright, backing up a pace, before noting that it was not quite the same face.  There were subtle differences, perhaps unnoticeable to one who did not know what to look for.  "What... you're like me!"
She huffed in frustration.  "Well of course I am, you bloody twit!  How could you not recognize me the moment I found you?"  Her face blurred and resumed the Bon Bon disguise.  "We were worried about you, suddenly yelling like a stuck ox and falling out of the sky like that.  Most thought you'd gone mad!"  A sly grin spread over her stolen features.  "I knew better, though.  You've lead us to a wonderful place, full of love to consume!"
As his surprise faded, so did his fear.  This creature knew him from before!  "That's good, I suppose, but I didn't really mean to.  I can't remember anything past waking up in a forest a few days ago.  Wait... consume?"  He broke of in confusion.  "How does one consume love, exactly?"
She blinked at him.  "You should know.  You've were doing it to the ponies back in that restaurant and out in the street, though not very much.  I suppose none of them are your primary food source."
A sudden misgiving took hold of him.  "It doesn't hurt them, does it?"
Her face went blank, and she appeared to be thinking.  "Not at all."  She said finally.  "Not at all.  Listen, though.  Ponies have never liked any of us, understand?  We can't let them know what we are.  It's important!"
He could sense the urgency in her tone.  "I suppose so."  His own Voice had told him the same thing, after all.
"Good.  More of us will be visiting, so that we can live in such a nice place just like you do.  Just act normal, like you would with any other pony.  Do that, and we'll all live happily ever after."  The smooth smile returned, like oil greasing her words.
Something occurred to him then,  "What happens when the real Bon Bon comes back?"
She laughed quietly, "What happens when the real Pivotal Pledge comes back?"
Cold gripped his heart.  "Are you saying Bon Bon is...!?"
The creature quickly stifled her gaiety, "No, No.  She's just fine."  She tried to sound reassuring.  "It's just that she won't be returning to Ponyville."  Seeing his frown, she placed a hoof on his shoulder.  "Trust me!  We're siblings after all!"
That much may have been true.  "I have one real memory, from before.  You were in it.  You tried to catch me as I fell."
Her smile transformed to one of genuine warmth.  "That's right!  Sorry I didn't do a better job of it, but one of your hooves caught me on the side of the head."  She patted his shoulder, "That's not going to happen again!  This time I'm going to save you, little sister."
Piv couldn't help but return that smile, now that he saw real substance behind it.  "My sister..."  He mused.  "What is your name?"
Her tone became almost shy.  "It's Meta!"  She dropped her hoof and took a step back.  "We shouldn't be breaking character for so long.  Risky, you know."  She began to trot away, but glanced over her shoulder as she went.  "Just leave it all to us!"
As he watched her go, Piv was very certain that she had his best interests in her heart.  That was what mattered, right?  Surely that was reason enough to keep her secret.  Especially if, like she said, the ponies of Ponyville would not be hurt.  He shook his head and returned to the road, wondering not for the first time if he was making the right choices.