Pony Persona

Chapters

1 - Shifting Shadow
2 - Ponyville
3 - Unkept Secrets
4 - Tears and Toughness
5 - Dreams and Lies
6 - Pinkie's Apology Cake
7 - Veiled Vision
8 - A Meeting With Meta
9 - Everfree Encounter
10 - Zecora's Promise
11 - Fateful Locket
12 - Turbulent Tides
13 - Preparations
14 - From Light to Darkness
15 - Confrontation
16 - Unification
17 - Dire Tidings
18 - Truth
19 - Resolve
20 - Friendship
Bonus - Derpy's Story

1 - Shifting Shadow

She awoke to the stinging discomfort of a bed of rocks, her face cold and half submerged in water. Hunger ached throughout her body, lending urgency to her need to rise despite her weariness. With a soft moan, half blown over the surface of the water she was lying in, she struggled to a sitting position on her haunches. The very first thing she saw from this new vantage was a monster.

With a startled yelp and a burst of adrenaline she leapt to her feet! The monster did the same, leaping back in retreat. Feeling silly, she realized that what she was looking at was just a reflection. Her own reflection, she noted with some misgivings, shown to her in a puddle of water. Was it not odd that she had failed to recognize herself?

She studied the image, quirking a smile as it did the same to her. Four legs looked sturdy and strong, despite oddly shaped but apparently natural holes poking through them here and there. She had a sleek black frame and a slip of a tail. Spreading them from her back, she discovered beautiful and delicate insect wings. Perhaps they were functional as well? She wasn't quite up to trying them out just yet. Her head was crowned with an aggressive looking horn, and featureless blue eyes lit with an eerie white glow. It was this that had startled her initially.

“That's... me?” Her voice croaked roughly, sounding alien in her own ears. Tired of the image, she planted her hoof into the water, dispelling it. Shaking her head, her mind was once again drawn back to the insistent hunger pounding within her. Was there anything to eat around here?

She found herself in a forest. The night sky was visible through the canopy, a bright full moon spreading silver light over the wilderness. The puddle she had been lying in was small and somewhat muddy... perhaps she had crawled to it out of thirst at some point? A nearby tree caught her attention with bright fruits, some hanging off low branches, clearly visible even in the shadows of its leaves. She remembered ponies eating such things when they were hungry. What good luck!

Stepping forward, she raised herself on her hind legs and used both front hooves to pluck a fruit. She took a great big bite out of it, only to find that it tasted like ashes in her mouth. She grimaced, very nearly spitting it out, but her appetite drove her to swallow. Consuming the fruit was but a matter of moments, and after she took another. Still feeling hungry, she took another, and another.

After her sixth fruit she felt a little sick, and noted that her stomach was most certainly full. Why then, WHY did her hunger still pain her so?! Crying out in frustration, she smashed another of the fruits into the tree. The juices running down the trunk looked very much like tears, which she felt like crying herself. Unhappy and unsated, she tried to think of what to do next.

She could not remember any home that she had to go to. She could not remember any friends, or family. She could not remember... anything. Not even her own name. What was she doing here in this forest? Why alone? It suddenly seemed very wrong to her that she should be alone, and the chill of it passed through her being. She needed... somepony. Somepony to help her and to feed her. With this thought in mind, she set off through the forest to find that somepony.

It would have been a pleasant walk, under different circumstances. The air was crisp and cool, the leafy greenery lush and welcoming. The chitter of the woodland animals going about their business made for rather soothing background sounds. She wondered if she had always enjoyed the forest? Perhaps walks like these had been commonplace for her, back when she knew who she was. Or had there ever been a before? What if she had simply come into being lying atop that puddle? A strange thought, but she felt it couldn't be true. She had... fragments. She knew about some things, like the fruits being food. Even if that didn't exactly work out for her.

The woodland peace was broken suddenly by a distant crash and a cry of agony. Alarmed, she raced forward as quickly as her tired body would allow. She tripped on a root, one of many littering the forest floor, and fell forward into a bush with a loud crash.

“Who's there? Help... help me... please!” Came a strained call from somewhere in front of her. Extricating herself from the leafy trap, grumbling a bit at the scrapes picked up during her fall, she moved forward at a more cautious pace.

“I'm coming, just hold on!” Again her own rough voice grated on her ears. She emerged from behind a tree to find a shear cliff face jutting up into the sky. At the bottom just in front of her was a unicorn trapped under a large boulder. He was a sizable stallion, colored beautiful forest green with a black mane and tail. His cutie mark was a silver kite shield with a red heart on the center. His deep grey eyes were clouded with hurt, and a pair of battered saddlebags lay nearby half under a scattering of rocks. “Skies! Did you fall from...?” Her gaze swept up the stony cliff face, noting the terrible height of it.

He didn't respond, and his eyes did not focus on her. She rumbled, “I'm going to get this thing off of you. Try to hang on!” She turned in place and dug her front hooves into the ground, placing her back legs against the rock, and heaved with all her might! The rock gave a bit, but it wasn't enough. In her current condition, there was no way her muscles could move something so large.

Horn. Her own voice seemed to sound in her head. Use your magic! Magic? Yes... yes, magic! Green light flared from her horn as she added magical strength to the push. The combination overcame the weight of the great rock and sent it rolling off to the side, freeing the trapped pony. No, stupid! Use your magic for something useful! She blinked, confused.

A sigh of relief issued forth from the stallion. “S'better... mmm... m'name's Pivotal Pledge. Need you to do something... my bags.”

“What? Listen, you don't look so good. Shouldn't I try to...” She broke off, not actually knowing what to do. Into the silence he repeated one word, “Bags.”

Moving to the beaten saddlebags, she noted something glimmering underneath one of the flaps. “I've found something! It's a locket, I think?”

His head twitched in what may have been intended as a nod. “Take it to Ponyville. Find... Veiled Vision.” With a herculean effort, Pledge raised his head and peered into the trees. Then he grimaced, and let it fall back to the ground with a grunt. “Can't see, but go east. Ponyville... east.” He sighed, content with having delivered his instructions.

“Ponyville, a town? Then I can bring help!” Her brief surge of optimism was cut short, however, when she noted that he had not drawn in another breath after his final sigh. “Oh no...” She put her ear to his side, but heard nothing. He was already gone. “Agh, the first pony I found!” She backed away, tears in her eyes. “This isn't fair!”

She sobbed, and turned in agitated circles. Why was this happening? Surely she didn't deserve this. Quit crying... this is great! She twitched in surprise as something within her spoke again. Now use your horn for what it was meant to do! It seemed to know something she didn't. Tentatively she tried speaking to it inside her head, What do you mean? What should I do?

Bleh... you seriously can't remember even that much? Just walk over to Pivotal Pledge and let me take care of it. Her eyes went back to the fallen pony. What could the voice want with him now that he'd passed? Should she trust it? It seemed to her that hearing voices was a very bad sign. However, with nothing else to guide her, she reluctantly approached.

Looking down at Pivotal Pledge, she felt an instinct welling up inside her. Her horn began to glow, and suddenly a massive shudder ran through her body. Everything shifted. Everything changed. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was done. She shook her head, and a flash of green caught her eye. It turned out to be her own hoof. Her own hoof, which had so recently been black. Looking herself over, she noted her whole body was now forest green, just like Pledge. The holes in her legs were gone, now solid all the way through like his. She had become Pivotal Pledge!

Does this mean I am male now? She asked of the voice, hoping it would answer. It did not disappoint, Do you feel male? She paused and thought on that. Yes. I feel different. Masculine. I think I'm a male now. Then you are male. Be as you feel, always, and don't worry about your physical form.

So just like that, he was male. He didn't think it was better, necessarily, but this change felt like another piece of the puzzle falling into place. It brought him closer to understanding himself, and he had Pivotal Pledge to thank for it. Looking down at the fallen pony he spoke softly and sadly in his new smooth baritone, “I will do what I can to fulfill your last wish. I'll find Veiled Vision and give her your locket.” He dug the saddlebags out from under the rocks and shrugged them on, placing the locket back inside.

It didn't feel right to just leave Pledge here, exposed like this. Looking around for a solution, his eyes went back to the cliff. Yes, that would do the trick. He backed up, then concentrated on a flaw in the rock face. His horn came to life and a faint teal beam shot forth, rather than the green his old form had employed. The beam struck the flaw in the rock face lightly, but his aim was true. It triggered a rock slide that buried the fallen pony. A cairn, to honor and protect him. Good.

Feeling a little better about things, he glanced up at the sky, wondering what direction was east. There was supposed to be a way to tell from the stars, but he had no idea what that was. He'd have to wait for morning, to see where the sun rose. Sleep would be good. A pang hit him, and he recalled his still unsatisfied hunger. There was some food in the saddlebags, but somehow he was certain it would be no more helpful than the fruit had been. With a groan, he moved off to find a more appropriate place to camp out for the rest of the night.

2 - Ponyville

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.

3 - Unkept Secrets

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.”

That 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!”

4 - Tears and Toughness

Everything had happened so fast that Veil hardly had time to think, which wasn't easy to begin with when a big part of your life comes crashing down on top of you. The first thing that came to mind was that she needed to cancel the wedding before anyone found out Piv was back. Most of that she could take care of on the down-low as people visited her lab to get their orders filled, but Rarity and Pinkie in particular needed to be warned before they did something unfortunate.

And so, her brilliant spur of the moment plan to send Piv himself! Rarity was quick on the uptake, so there was no doubt in Veil's mind that she'd figure out what was going on. Pinkie was more of a risk, but it should go all right with Rarity along to smooth things over. That left Veil with plenty of time to... cry. Which she did quite a lot of, starting almost immediately after she'd sent Piv on his merry way. That and prepare orders, which sadly still needed to be completed despite the personal problems that had dropped onto her flank.

Toward mid day she had regained enough control that ponies visiting the lab did not immediately feel the need to ask her what was wrong, then crowd around to comfort her. How embarrassing that had been! Veil made sure each of them left with not only a filled prescription, but also a clear understanding that Pivotal Pledge was not to know about either the wedding or her anguish.

Examining her clipboard, Veil picked out the next customer on her schedule, "Let's see. Next is the anti-itch rash cream for..." the door popped open and in walked a pink-maned yellow pony with butterflies marking her flank. "Fluttershy. Right on time! I've already prepared the cream." Veil patted a nearby jar full of the stuff. "Would you like me to bag it for you?"

"Oh, no thank you. I can put it in my saddlebag." Her voice was gentle and demure. Entirely the opposite of the voice that shouted from outside as the jar was changing hooves,

"Fluttershy! Where'd you go?" The door was swept out of the way as an athletic looking blue pony with a rainbow colored mane named Rainbow Dash burst onto the scene.

"Ah!" Fluttershy gave a startled, yet adorably quiet, cry and fumbled the jar of cream. It flew up into the air and sailed over Veil's head, who gasped and quickly extended a wing to catch it. Bouncing off her plumes, it fell neatly into her outstretched hooves.

"Wow, nice catch, doc!" Rainbow applauded. "What's that? Rash cream?"

"No!" Fluttershy denied quickly.

"Huh? But I can read the label. See? Rash cream."

"W, well that's... um..." The flustered pegasus was going quite pink in the cheeks, her speech devolving into soft murmurs that were too quiet to hear.

Veil took pity on her, "My fault, I got her order mixed up. So sorry for the mistake, Fluttershy."

The yellow pony blinked in confusion, "Mistake?" Then she caught Veil's wink, "Oh yes, a mistake. That's right."

"I'll get you the correct order before you go."

"Thank you so much, doctor." She offered a genuine smile at this rescue.

"Oh come on, it's just Veil to you two!" The medicine pony waved away the formality as she returned the smile. "Now as long as I've got you both here, you need to know that Piv's back in town."

Rainbow's face lit up, "Wow, awesome! Then you're getting married!"

A pang shot through Veil, still painful despite having listened to similar sentiments all day long. She tried to hide it, but Fluttershy immediately picked up on it. "Oh, goodness. Are you all right?"

"Ah... ha ha. Sorry, girls, but the wedding's off." Veil was shooting for nonchalant, but she could tell she wasn't quite pulling it off. Despite that she pressed on and explained the whole situation.

"Oh man, that is SO messed up!" Rainbow exclaimed when she had finished.

Fluttershy put in, "Why not ask Twilight for help? If there's magic behind this, Twilight will definitely know what to do."

The medicine pony nodded, "Good thinking, I'll bring it up with Piv when he gets back. Now remember, spread the word about the wedding, but make sure he doesn't hear about it!"

"Right!" Dash pumped her hoof with enthusiasm. "I'm on it!" She headed for the door, then glanced back. "You coming, Fluttershy?"

"You go on, I'll catch up after I pick up my order."

Rainbow dipped her head in an affirmative before heading out, after which Veil was able to more discretely pass Fluttershy her cream. The soft-spoken pony thanked her once again before following after her friend. More customers came and went, wearing Veil out with the need to explain her living nightmare over and over again to each new face. By the time Piv finally returned she was wearing quite thin indeed.

He approached her almost cautiously, hesitating a moment before speaking, "Hey, Veil. I think we need to talk about something."

Reading his body language, she moved to the window and flipped her 'open' sign to 'closed.' When she turned back all she asked was, "Pinkie?"

He nodded, "Yup. Pinkie."

Veil heaved a sigh and fell back on her haunches. "I'm sorry, Piv. I want to be your friend and help you through this, but I thought if you knew about our plans it would make things... weird, between us." She barked a short, unhappy laugh. "The goddesses know you don't need some total stranger proclaiming her love and whatnot while you're trying to sort out your life."

He seemed surprised, then thoughtful. Appearing to make a decision, he walked over and sat next to her on the floor. "I think it's pretty clear that I'm not the only one having a hard time here. You're trying so hard to consider my feelings, but who is there to consider yours? You don't need to shoulder it all alone."

That one got right past her guard and struck her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, which she quickly buried on his shoulder. "Oh, Piv!" She sobbed quietly, and he put his hoof around her.

A few minutes passed before she pushed away from him and stood up, drying her eyes with the back of one hoof. "Ah, sorry. I think I needed that. I can keep it together now."

"Is that so important?" He asked, standing up himself.

"Yes! It's embarrassing!" She laughed and rounded on him. "You just forget you saw that, and forget anything you heard about a wedding, too!"

He cocked her a grin, "Of course. Forgetting is my specialty, just now."

She puffed an exasperated breath, "Isn't that the truth." Her expression lightened suddenly, "Ah, I just remembered! Fluttershy stopped by with Rainbow Dash, and she suggested we talk to Twilight Sparkle about your memory loss. It's a great idea, really. Twilight knows all sorts of things, thanks to her studies!" She was surprised when his expression suddenly clouded.

"Twilight Sparkle?" His tone was almost... fearful? "N, no. Not yet, anyway." He suddenly seemed very uncomfortable.

"What? Why not?" She peered at him with concern.

He seemed to take a moment to think of his reply, "Well, I just think we should look for medical causes before magical. Perhaps a check-up at the hospital?"

Despite his altogether odd behavior, his response was certainly something she could respect. She made her whole career around conventional medicine, after all. "Well all right then, if that's what you want." Glancing out the window, she noted the deepening colors of the setting sun. "Wow, it actually got pretty late. I think we better call it a day."

"Yeah." He looked out the window also, but made no move to go.

"Well?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Um... where do I live?" He asked a bit sheepishly.

She barked another short laugh, "Come on, I'll walk you home."

5 - Dreams and Lies

The cottage which Veil had led him to before saying her goodbyes for the evening was modestly sized, painted off-white with red trim. Being at the edge of town, it had a rather large yard attached. Neatly mowed, he noted, and wondered who had been taking care of the place. Veil herself, perhaps?

Inside he found that while the little house did not seem very lived in, it did appear to be quite a lot cleaner than he would have expected of a home left alone for who knows how long. There was quite an assortment of athletic gear; unusual for a unicorn. Had the original Pivotal Pledge been some sort of body-builder? The idea did not particularly appeal to him. There was a table, chairs, a cupboard, and a few other essentials.

Piv dropped his saddlebags by the door, taking the few remaining trail rations from them to store in a nearby cupboard. He still had no desire to eat them; he hadn't really gotten hungry again yet. Not only that, he felt rather good. Strong. Better than he ever had since he'd woken up the night before. He decided that being in Ponyville must agree with him.

The cottage had only a single floor, and he found his bedroom in the back. Beside the generously sized window was a neatly made bed, the linens as relatively fresh as everything else he'd found so far. There was a small nightstand beside it with a picture of Piv with Veil, the both of them gazing up in wonder as a sonic rainboom spread across the sky overhead. He looked it over fondly, wondering not for the first time if he was doing the right thing.

Continuing his tour, his eyes fell next upon a full bookcase. It was populated mainly by health and fitness guides, but he also noted a few SciFi novels punctuating the shelves here and there. It seemed he had a lot to learn about his new identity.

He flopped down upon the bed, and glancing out the window he saw that the sky was lit by the sun no longer. It was Luna's grace that now covered the quiet town. Snuggling into the sheets, he started to relax...

Piv found himself floating through a sea of shifting colors, aimless, as thoughts flowed in and out of his mind. Twilight Sparkle. The name had caused The Voice to cry out in fear, but he didn't know why. What was so scary about a pony who's specialty was, apparently, studying? The environment around him shifted in response to this thought, and a section of cobblestone street formed below him. He floated down and landed gently upon the polished stones, noticing now that there were blurry images coming into focus all around him. Ponies, lots of them, all frozen in time. Fighting one another!

Even stranger, there were many copies of the same ponies. He spotted many with apples marking their flanks, another set with rainbow manes. Another was... "Rarity! And this over here is Pinkie Pie!" The both of them had been copied many times, just as the others had been. At the center of everything, within an impressive burst of magic energy caught mid release, was a determined looking unicorn colored deep purple.

"That's Twilight Sparkle." The Voice sounded from his left. He turned to find himself looking into the reflective glass window of a pastry shop, with a familiar monster gazing back at him. "You should avoid her, if you can." The black creature stepped out of the glass, emerging into his reality, causing him to back up in alarm.

"You, you look like me!" He exclaimed finally, remembering himself as he had been the very first night.

His phantom gave him a sardonic smile. "Do I?" She pointed back at the glass, which now showed a reflection of Pivotal Pledge behaving exactly as a reflection should. "Do I really, Piv?" She spat his name in an acid tone, before snorting and turning away. "I suppose I shouldn't be too upset. You've done well so far."

Warily he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

She turned her head to gaze at him steadily over her shoulder, but did not respond. The effect was so unnerving that he eventually looked away. "Follow me." She said at last, "I want to show you something." The creature launched herself into the air with a mighty flap of her insect wings, flying away at high speed. The moment he began to wonder how he should follow her without wings of his own, a staircase appeared in front of him. Upside down. Suspended from nothing.

"All right..." He stood on his hind hooves, reaching up to grasp the bottom step, and suddenly his world inverted. Unprepared for the sudden shift in perspective, he fell 'down' the steps and began tumbling along them up into the sky. Then end of the line turned out to be a cloud, which he flopped onto awkwardly. Somehow the fact that he could stand on it without any trouble did not surprise him, nor did the fact that he was completely unharmed after his fall.

Piv found his phantom self digging at the cloud with her hoof, her expression turning to satisfaction as she found what she was looking for. Her horn glowed green, and a piece of fluff floated up in front of her. "This is for you. It's the only one I've been able to free so far." The puff floated forward, and before he could protest it expanded to engulf him.

She was flying through the skies with her siblings, raging at their inability to understand anything she was talking about. "Don't you get it!? Didn't you feel it!? It's like we've been looking at pictures of food our whole lives without having ever tasted the real thing!" The blank stares from their glowing blue eyes told her how little they followed this.

The nearest made an effort, "We're all hungry after getting thrown out of Canterlot, but don't worry. Queen Chrysalis will find us another source of food."

"No! Agh, you don't understand!" They were happy with their lies, and if she stayed with them lies were all she'd ever have. "Skies! I... I can't take this anymore!" With a desperate cry, she let loose all her pent up feeling. She could feel her body mutating rapidly as she began to fall from the sky, any control she may have had scattered on the winds. Her siblings gasped in alarm, and a few of them dove to catch her, but they were forced back by the flailing limbs of her indefinite form. Falling, falling, falling...

Piv gasped, coming back to his senses upon the cloud with his phantom self watching him. "What was that!?" He asked, alarmed.

"A true memory. More than just a fragment." She told him, her voice dripping satisfaction. "I have them all, though this is the only one I've been able to show you."

He blinked, and sudden excitement set in as he realized what she was saying. "You know my past? Tell me! I want to know who I am!"

Her eyes seemed to take a distant, tired look. "Do you, really?"

"Yes!" He cried in response.

An ironic smile formed on her lips, and she opened her mouth to speak. Soft teal light surrounded her. "Ungh, mmf!" Was all she could manage as the magic pressed upon her. She fought with the restricting force, which a shocked Piv began to realize was coming from his own horn. The light vanished as soon as she stopped struggling against it, perhaps acknowledging her surrender. Her eyes narrowed at him. "No, you don't." She advanced on him, her tone dripping venom. "You don't want anything to do with me. You reject me! You think you know better, but you know nothing!" By the end of this she was speaking in seething hisses, her ghastly visage pressed close to his frightened face.

A cruel smile suddenly slipped over her features. "But you can't live without me." She withdrew, leaving a deep unpleasant laugh ringing in his ears.

6 - Pinkie's Apology Cake

"Gaahh!!!" Piv jolted awake, falling out of bed. He climbed unsteadily to his feet as his blanket floated down to settle gently over his head. He threw it off himself with an annoyed grumble, and rubbed his temples with his hooves. "I suppose it's too much to hope that was just a bad dream?" You're darn right.

He flinched a bit at the prompt response of The Voice. "Great..." With a sigh, he wandered into the main room of his little home. He was a bit peckish after the night of restless sleep, and so fetched the trail rations from the cupboard where he'd stashed them earlier. A single bite made him grimace, and he decided to save the tasteless biscuits for an emergency. Here in town he could surely rustle up something a little tastier at a local shop or stall.

He lit his horn, using the power of his magic to grab his discarded saddlebags and put them on. Now he just had to find a few bits stashed someplace around here, and he would be set. Money... now there was a potential long term problem. The original Pivotal Pledge probably had some sort of work related to fitness, given all the exercise equipment, but that really didn't appeal to the new Piv. What sort of work did he want for himself, he wondered?

A bit of rummaging revealed his stash of coins, tucked out of the way inside a little box, and he transferred a few to his bag. Perhaps he should visit Veil, and invite her to breakfast? He had to admit he felt a strong urge to spend time with her, despite having known her for so short a time. Still contemplating this, he opened his front door "PIV!!!" He fell back as Pinkie burst into his house, raining bits of confetti everywhere. "I'm so, so sorry! Rarity told me everything. I called you a rapscallion when really you're not, and that's just really, really bad! Oh please forgive me, please?"

"Well,"

"Stop!" She plugged his mouth with one of her hooves. "I knew it wouldn't be easy, so I brought backup!" She bounced back out the door and rolled an honest to goodness cannon into his home, positioning it to fire across the threshold of his doorway. "Introducing, the one and only super awesome farm pony, Applejack!" She set off the cannon, and more confetti burst out across the doorway as a new pony made her entrance. Orange, blonde mane, three apples for a cutie mark. Just like one of the ponies from his dream! Or more likely, his memory.

"Land sakes, Pinkie, I don't reckon I need such a fancy entrance." Turning to the somewhat stunned Piv she added, "Pinkie stopped by Sweet Apple Acres and mentioned you were back in town. Mentioned your memory problems, too. I sure was sorry to hear about your troubles, Piv, so I figured on dropping by with a few of our tastiest apple treats to help you along." Reaching behind her, she pulled a small cart into view. It was filled with an assortment apple pies, apple brown betties, apple tarts, and various other tasty looking apple goods. Including apples. "My guess was your cupboards'd need a mite bit of filling."

The party pony agreed, "Right, and I brought something, too!" She turned in place, and when she came back around she was holding an impressive multi-layer chocolate frosted cake with the word 'Sorry!' written in icing on the top. "Tada!"

"How did you...?" Piv broke off in confusion. She wasn't wearing saddlebags, and she certainly hadn't been holding a huge cake when she walked in. "Um, nevermind. It looks great! Actually I was going to go out since I hadn't anything nice for breakfast. Why don't I treat you as thanks?"

Applejack looked fairly horrified by the suggestion. "Nothin' doing! We brought this here food for eating, and that's just what we ought to do with it!" She started laying out a spread on the table, to which Pinkie enthusiastically added her cake. He felt a bit strange getting help from these ponies he had only fractured memories of, but it was pretty clear they weren't going to take no for an answer. Maybe he could pay them back later a bit more subtly.

"In that case," He began as he pulled out a chair, "Thank you very much! I'll see if I have something for us to drink." He did, as luck would have it, though it turned out to be water. He poured everyone a glass, put out some plates he found in a likely drawer, and they set upon the notably apple-based breakfast with gusto. Piv was a bit disappointed by the taste, though he kept that thought to himself since it was clear both Pinkie and Applejack both felt it was some of the finest food they'd ever tasted. Besides which, he had to admit it was significantly better than the bland biscuit he had bitten into earlier that morning.

As they finished up their apple pastries, Pinkie eagerly shifted her cake to the center of the table. "I knew I had to do something special after I said those awful things to you, so I made this apology cake!" She bounced over to a drawer and retrieved a cake knife. Ironically this meant she knew Piv's home better than he did himself, so clearly she had been here before. She sliced off a generous portion of cake for all three ponies and divvied them out. "One taste, and I just know you'll forgive me!" she said before vigorously attacking her own piece.

Piv was about to follow suit when he noticed a strange odor coming from his cake. What was that smell? He glanced over at Applejack as she took a big bite of her piece, and watched her face go instantly to shock, then regret as she continued to chew tenaciously. She swallowed with some effort, then exhaled heavily as though just finishing a strenuous task. The farm pony looked over at Pinkie with a queasy expression and asked, "Just what kind of cake is this?"

Pinkie beamed in response, apparently pleased to have a chance to explain her creation, "Well like I said, I'm apologizing for calling Piv a rapscallion, so this is chocolate frosted scallion cake!"

Applejack's face twisted, "Onion flavored cake?!"

The party pony bobbed her head happily, "Yup!"

AJ pushed back from the table, "Gotta go. Farm stuff." The urgency with which she dashed out the door made Piv very sure he didn't want to try the cake.

"I'm pretty full." He ventured, pushing the plate away from himself.

Pinkie's face fell, "You mean... you don't forgive me?" Her eyes took on a heartbreaking puppy dog quality as she gazed at him soulfully.

"Um..." He desperately tried to decide if it was worth certain intestinal distress to avoid hurting her feelings. His brain and stomach said no, but those eyes said yes! An idea came to him, "Actually, your cake is so wonderful that I forgave you the moment I saw it."

Her expression immediately cleared back into sunny enthusiasm, "Really!?"

"Really, really."

"Woohoo!" She shot forward and wrapped him up in an energetic hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I just have to make one more cake for Veil!"

Piv chuckled, patting her on the back. "Another cake? Is it going to be, um, scallion flavored as well?"

"No, silly!" She released him and bounced backwards. "Veil is getting a 'Sorry I spilled the beans' cake, so the ingredient to use is leek!"

"Ah. Of course." Piv had to admit it made a strange kind of sense. Pinkie sense.

"I better get going." She told him as she fastened a pink helmet to her head (which he was certain she hadn't had with her until this very moment) "Cakes don't bake themselves! Wow, but wouldn't it be great if they could!?" And with that optimistic final thought, she hopped into her party cannon and shot herself out the door. An ultimately confusing action since she returned only a few moments later for the cannon itself, which she then wheeled away while humming happily to herself. Piv watched her go, an empathetic smile playing on his face.

7 - Veiled Vision

Life for Veil got a little awkward over the next several days. After her attempt to keep the cancelled wedding secret fell flat, many ponies were confused about who should know what. Pinkie arrived with a very unique cake as an apology for her part in that, which was actually quite good when you knew to expect savory leek flavor rather than something sweet. Veil sent her off with thanks, admitting that the fault was partly her own for sending Piv over without any warning.

Piv showed up, reporting that the doctor had given him a clean bill of health. Apparently whatever was wrong with his memory wasn't physical. She brought up the possibility of going to see Twilight again, but he got quiet and evasive. Confused by his reluctance, but unwilling to press him during his time of stress, she let it drop.

Speaking of stress, Veil herself wasn't exactly gliding through the experience with perfect ease. She still felt like somepony had clipped her wings, then kicked her in the side for good measure. Piv picked up on it, despite the brave and happy facade she tried to keep in place for him. He seemed to understand that all the effort she put into keeping up the show for him was taking a lot out of her. "I need to sort things out for myself here in Ponyville." he had said, "So I might not be able to hang out much in the near future." She really did want to spend time with him, but was actually very grateful for his perceptiveness. Time to attune to these new circumstances was just what she needed.

Work helped. Making medicines was what she had been born in Equestria to do, and it eased her heart every time she sent somepony home with the remedies they needed. Next on her list for the day was Twilight, dropping by to pick up a sleep aid. Not totally uncommon for the local librarian, as she had occasional bouts of worry stress that kept her awake at night. Veil was surprised, then, when it was Bon Bon who walked through her door instead.

The yellow pony glanced around the lab curiously, perhaps wondering if anything had changed since her last visit. When her eyes finally found Veil, she approached slowly. "Hi!" She paused uncertainly, "Veil?"

"I wasn't expecting you today. It's not an emergency, is it?" An unforeseen order would slow down her production schedule, but she always left some leeway for such things just in case.

Bon Bon smiled, seeming more confident. "No, nothing like that! It's just that I hear Pivotal Pledge is back in town. It's been such a long time since I've seen him I wanted to say hello, and I figured he'd be here with you now that you're married."

The unpleasant feelings of disappointment this called up caused Veil to stifle a disheartened sigh. "No, we aren't married." her brows came together, "Shouldn't you know that by now? I thought it was all over town."

Bon Bon made a sympathetic noise, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Actually I've been out of town for a few days. So if he's not here..." Bon Bon waved her hoof at the lab, "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure if he's there now, but he's living in his old place again." Veil had spent time taking care of the place while he'd been gone, to ensure that his things were in good condition when he returned. She hadn't expected him to actually need to live there again, aside from a few days perhaps.

"Of course. I should have known he'd go back to his... old place." She seemed vaguely dissatisfied by the answer. "Very well, I'll find him there."

As the other pony turned to go, a thought occurred to Veil. "Have you been to see Lyra since you got back? I'm sure she'd worry about you."

Bon Bon paused and glanced back at her. "Lyra?" She blinked, then smiled smoothly. "Yes of course. I'm very eager to mmh, see her." The door opened from outside, drawing her attention, and whatever she saw made her gasp and back up several paces. When Veil finally got a look, she was quite puzzled. It was just Twilight, after all.

The studious unicorn glanced at Bon Bon with concern, "Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Ah, no I'm fine." The yellow pony smoothed her expression into a grin. "You startled me is all, opening the door so suddenly. I'm afraid I was just on my way out, though. Bye Twilight." She slipped out of the building and the door closed behind her.

Twilight furled her brow, her gaze lingering for just a moment upon the closed door, before her expression cleared and she turned to Veil. "Hi, Veil! Doctor Horse let me know that Piv is healthy, physically speaking. Does this mean I can expect a visit from him sometime soon?"

She was obviously eager to help, which added to the discouragement Veil felt when she was forced to shake her head no. "I don't know what it is, but Piv always changes the subject whenever I talk about you. It's like he's scared of something."

The unicorn blinked, her expression baffled. "Scared? Of me?"

"I'm not sure. I'm also not sure I should be putting any pressure on him right now. Maybe this will work itself out once he becomes more comfortable with Ponyville."

"Maybe." Twilight did not sound convinced as she paced the length of the room. "But there are many conditions that only worsen as time goes on. What if our only chance to save his memory is slipping away? We need to at least figure out what's wrong with him."

Veil heaved an unhappy sigh. "Yes. The doctor in me knows you're right. I just..." She shook her head. "I'll talk to him again, I promise." Feeling it was a good time to close the subject, Veil seized on a distraction. "But hey, that's not all you're here for, right? You're scheduled to pick up a sleep aid, and I just so happen to have it prepared!" She retrieved a set of tea bags from a nearby table and presented them to the librarian.

Twilight was struck with sudden enthusiasm, "Oh! A tea for sleeping, I've read about this! Is it Chamomile?"

Veil smiled, happy to have kindled her scholarly interest. "Among other things, yes. Use one bag to make one cup of tea, and drink it a half hour before you'd like to fall asleep."

"Thank you, this is just what I needed!" The two then exchanged more lighthearted banter about Pinkie's most recent antics, after which Twilight thanked her again and took her leave. Veil checked her schedule, noting that she had a stretch of time before anypony else ought to be dropping in to pick up an order. She began gathering the herbs she'd need for her next concoction, and noted that she was running low on a few key ingredients. Enough for now, but she'd have to make a trip down to the Everfree forest very soon.

Veil knew her way around the Everfree forest, and knew how to deal with the dangers that lurked within. This was especially true now that she had become friends with Zecora, and the two had entered into a partnership to keep Ponyville well supplied with medicines. The zebra enjoyed living in her secluded hut, but some ponies were not able to brave the forest even when only Zecora knew how to cure what ailed them. Veil considered it part of her job to make the trip for them, since otherwise they wouldn't get the remedies they needed.

"Tomorrow, then." She murmured to herself. If she was lucky, perhaps her striped friend would even have some ideas about what could be done for Piv. She nodded with satisfaction and swept serenely across the lab.

8 - A Meeting With Meta

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 caused 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.

9 - Everfree Encounter

Piv awoke the next day to his usual morning hunger. It was no small wonder he had been feeling a bit more peckish than usual lately; his encounter with Meta taught him that he fed from the affections of other ponies. It was only reasonable that the more they cared for him, the better and more full he would feel. So! His decision to give space to the pony that cared for him the most was the cause of all his discomfort. He needed to start spending time with Veil again.

Besides which, maybe she'd already had plenty of time to sort things out for herself. Maybe seeing Piv again was just what she needed, too? He wouldn't know unless he saw her. He could always back off again if she still needed space... after just a quick little meal. The thought made him feel guilty, but he was sure there wasn't any real reason for that. After all it was a symbiotic relationship! He got what he needed to live, and she got to keep her friend. The alternative was for him to starve and for her to lose Pivotal Pledge forever.

He arrived at Veil's Lab to find a note upon her door. 'Out to gather ingredients in the Everfree Forest & visit Zecora.' His brows drew together with worry. Living in Ponyville, It hadn't taken long for him to hear a few stories about the Everfree Forest. What he knew so far did not reassure him. Not everypony agreed on the details, but one thing they did all agree on was that it could be a very dangerous place.

He quickened his pace to a brisk trot, taking the road south out of town. The warm and inviting atmosphere of Ponyville gave way to wilder foliage. The last glimpse of civilization he passed was a cozy looking cottage that appeared to be home to quite a large number of animals, and then the forest closed around him. It was very unlike the forest in which he'd first awoken, a place which he'd since learned was called the White Tail Forest. Although morning was not yet half passed, Celestia's sunlight had no home here. The trees grew so thick that not a single ray reached the ground.

A challenging shout broke the silence from somewhere ahead, and Piv's eyes widened as he recognized Veil's voice. His trot broke into a canter, though he was careful to watch his footing lest he stumble like the last time he rushed to somepony's aid. He only prayed that this time he was not too late!

Emerging from behind a tree, he found Veil facing down a pack of large wolf-like beasts made entirely from wood. Her wings were spread wide and she was beating her beige plumes fiercely, yet instead of flying away she simply maintained a hover. It seemed she was defending a small cart she had brought along with her. The wooden wolves regarded her cautiously, tension in their postures, as they rumbled threateningly.

"Veil!" He cried out in alarm.

She turned, surprise clear on her face and in her voice, "Piv?!" It was all the distraction the nearest wolf needed. Seeing her back turned, it leapt at her with a snarl, claws extended! Time slowed, and the moment seemed to pass like cold molasses inching down the trunk of a tree as he watched the creature flow smoothly through the air. He hadn't really known what he would do when he arrived, but the moment her eyes fell on him Piv had felt a surge of energy. Letting instinct guide him, he took that strength and shaped it through his horn.

A brilliant bolt of teal energy lanced out and caught the wolf full in the chest, blasting it apart into sticks and twigs. Its companions snarled in anger and advanced on him, seeming to lose interest in Veil entirely. "Back off!!!" He let loose another bolt, though the approaching wolf saw it coming and dodged neatly to the side. Piv backed up to give himself more room to fire, but they howled excitedly and quickened their approach. They were too many, too close, too fast. He was finished.

"EYAAH!!!" Veil shot in from the side and delivered a terrific shoulder tackle to the leading wolf, knocking him over and pushing him away. She then resumed the posture he'd seen her in when he'd first arrived, hovering off the ground facing the wolves and beating her wings. It was now he noticed she also had cymbals strapped to her hooves. "Go on, get out of here!" She shouted at them, as she started loudly beating the cymbals together.

The wolves seemed to lose their nerve as she flared her wings, shouted, and slammed the cymbals together to create an unholy racket. Piv watched in awe as they cringed, edging away from her ferocious display. Once the first wolf broke and ran, it was all over. The cowardly beasts all turned tail and fled into the forest. Stunned, Piv fell back on his haunches and uttered the one word left in his mind, "Wow."

With the wooden monsters successfully routed, Veil broke off her display and alighted gently on the ground. Her expression was still quite fearsome as she turned on him, "Why would you try to use an attack like that on a timber wolf?!"

He ducked his head, "How was I supposed to know they'd respond like that? Most animals aren't in a rush to get blown apart!"

Veil shook her head, "Getting blown apart doesn't hurt a timber wolf." She pointed a hoof, and he saw that the sticks of the supposedly defeated beast were beginning to reassemble themselves. "Come on. It will just be a bother if we're still here when it pulls itself back together, and the noise I had to make might attract some other unpleasant things." She put her cymbals onto her cart and hitched it to herself before leading the way further into the forest.

Not knowing what else to do, Piv followed her. "I... I'm sorry about that."

She sighed, "Just another thing you can't remember. It's fine, I'm getting used to it." He didn't know what to say to that, so they continued in silence for a few moments. Finally she glanced over at him, "I don't mean to snap at you, it's just... that was really dangerous. You could have been hurt. Why are you even out here, anyway?"

He couldn't help but grin sheepishly as he responded, "I was worried about you. I'd heard what a rough place this is."

Her expression softened into a playful smirk. "Off to save the princess, were you?" Her choice of words made him blush. The princesses were the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria. They didn't need saving, they did the saving!

"Yeah, well." He glanced at her, "That was pretty cool back there, you know. Not many ponies would face down those brutes with nothing but a pair of cymbals."

It was her turn to blush. "It's just part of the job."

"Part of the job?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "For a pharmacist?"

"Haha, yeah! It sure is when so many of the ingredients you need are found right here." She waved a hoof at the deep greenery around them. "Besides, if things had gone just a little differently I might have become a Wonderbolt instead. Stuff like this is right at the top of their job description."

Surprised, his other eyebrow shot up to join the first. "That seems like a very different job! Why would it ever have come down to those two?"

Veil took a moment to gather her thoughts. Her tone was thoughtful, and perhaps nostalgic, when she answered, "Ever since I was young, I've wanted to keep ponies safe. I haven't always had the power to do that, which was very frustrating for me." She took a small detour around a rock in the path before continuing, "When I was trying to figure out what to do with myself, what it came down to was that as a Wonderbolt, I knew there would still be a lot of things I couldn't protect ponies from no matter how hard I fought. You've got to have specialized knowledge to save somepony from a disease. So I became a pharmacist." She gave him a cocky grin, "And I can still kick butt when I need to, even though I'm not a Wonderbolt!"

They both chuckled at that, and continued on amiably toward Zecora's home.

10 - Zecora's Promise

Veil didn't like the idea of taking Piv further into the Everfree forest, since his basic survival knowledge seemed as lost to him as everything else, but Zecora was one of the few who might actually be able to help him. She had originally planned to describe his predicament to the zebra, but being able to present him in person was definitely a better option. Aside from Twilight, whom he so stubbornly avoided, Zecora was the most knowledgeable friend Veil had when it came to magic. Definitely the most knowledgeable when it came to magical healing.

The forest gave no ground when they came upon the home of her zebra friend, for even the house itself was really a hollow tree. She let herself relax a little as she approached the door, knowing that Zecora had ways of keeping her dwelling safe from the otherwise untamed forest. She glanced over at Piv, "Here we are. Ringing any bells?"

He studied the door, then gave her a puzzled look. "I don't see one. Maybe we should just knock?"

"Wha?" She blinked in surprise, but a call sounded from within before she could respond further, "Veiled Vision, do I hear your voice?" The door opened to reveal an exotic looking zebra sporting unique jewelry. "Come inside friend, if that is your choice!" Zecora smiled and beckoned them forward as she moved smoothly over to the large cauldron in the center of her home. Today it was bubbling gently with a clear liquid that gave off a pleasant cinnamony aroma, a wooden spoon left out across the rim. The healer's gaze moved across her guests as they followed her in, Piv closing the door gently behind himself. "I expected you to come for plants, but is there aught else I can grant? Your friend has lost his memory I've heard, and so you've come to see him cured?"

Piv sat by the cauldron, eyes wandering over the colorful masks that decorated her cozy home, "Cured?" He focused on their host. "Do you really think you can restore my memory?" He asked, seeming faintly surprised. Veil was pleased by his apparent interest, and not at all shocked that her zebra friend had already heard about Piv's homecoming. Despite her seclusion, she often seemed to be more well informed than one would expect.

Zecora tilted her head to one side, considering her answer. "Many things can fog the mind. First we must answer, what kind? I must look closer if you'll allow, to see if a cure can be made and how!" She held out her hoof to him.

Piv stepped forward obligingly. "I should warn you, I've already gotten a clean bill of health from Dr. Horse."

To this Zecora simply nodded, "The good doctor knows his art, there are other tests with which we can start." With that, she placed a hoof on his horn and asked him to levitate one of the masks from her wall. Veil watched with interest as Zecora put him through this and many other tests, some of which she recognized, but most of which were still unfamiliar despite much time working alongside her reclusive friend. Some seemed rather silly. At one point Zecora appeared to be tapping Piv's head and listening to the sound it produced. Veil kept herself from chuckling in amusement, knowing even this odd test must have some purpose.

At last Zecora approached Veil, leaving a somewhat bemused Piv in her wake. She spoke in a soft voice meant only for Veil's ears, "I'll ask one question, tell me true. Does Pivotal Pledge seem different to you?"

"Different?" Veil was caught off guard. "I suppose? He has lost his memory, after all." He certainly didn't seem quite so energetic and outgoing as she recalled, but wasn't that to be expected? He was adjusting to a place he knew nothing about, without a single pony he could remember. Zecora shook her head, "It's true that..."

"Wow, this is delicious! What kind of soup is this?" Piv suddenly broke in from across the room, the wooden spoon held between his hooves and a smile on his face as he stood over the cauldron.

Zecora started with shock. "That is not meant for you to consume! It is not food, but instead perfume!"

Piv peered at her doubtfully. "What? That can't be." He looked down into the cauldron again, sniffing it's contents appreciatively. He seemed so very sure that Veil couldn't help but feel curious. She strode forward and took the spoon from Piv. As she dipped the spoon into the cauldron Zecora made a warning sound of protest, but made no move to stop her. Veil took a sip. The sharp bitter flavor smacked against her tongue causing her eyes to bulge before she quickly spit out the foul stuff. "Ugh!!! Piv, what the hay!?"

For just a moment, he seemed really and truly confused. Just a moment. Then he burst out laughing, "Oh! Oh goodness, I can't believe you really tried it! I was sure you'd see right through me!"

She'd been had. "Oh, you rat!" She tossed the spoon at him, which he ducked rather handily, and came up grinning at her. Despite herself, it was great to see him feeling good enough to play like this. In fact it was rather infectious! "Haha, you won't get off so easily!" She tackled him and they went rolling across the rather limited floor space of Zecora's home, laughing together. The zebra cleared her throat pointedly, and a glance told Veil she was not likewise amused. "Ah! Sorry, Zecora. Did we ruin it?"

"There is no cause for alarm, my perfume has taken no harm." Despite her reassuring words, she eyed Piv warily as the pair of them stood back up. "I believe I know how he may be healed. A salve, by which all truths are revealed. It cannot be made with any speed, three days to brew is what I'll need." A salve specifically for diagnosis? Veil had never heard of such a thing.

Piv had a different interpretation, "A salve that will restore my true memories? Amazing! I'm so glad we came to see you!" He held his hoof out to Zecora, smiling. She frowned at it, but did reluctantly give him a hoof-bump. Veil frowned also, wondering what was causing such reticence in her normally easygoing friend. She almost commented, but hesitation lost her the chance as Zecora excused herself to gather the herbs that Veil had come for in the first place.

Anyone could have a bad day, she supposed. With a prospective cure on the horizon it was hard not to focus on all the good that had come from this! So when the two of them set out from Zecora's home, cart laden with healing supplies, their spirits were higher than they had been in days.

Zecora watched them go from her window. She murmured to herself, "I must be very certain to make my claim, for it will surely cause my friend great pain." Her gaze settled on Piv in particular, steel in her eyes and voice as she continued, "If you are a wolf in pony guise, I swear I shall reveal your lies!"

11 - Fateful Locket

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 piqued. "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.

12 - Turbulent Tides

The sun was still fairly high in the sky when they got back to Ponyville; Piv estimated it to be late afternoon. The town was bustling with the usual activity as ponies went about their daily business. Strangely, more than one random pony caught his eye and gave him sly little signals as he and Veil passed. A wink here, a devilish grin there. Was there something he was supposed to be in on?

The answer became apparent when he caught site of Bon Bon passing along another street. Not really Bon Bon of course, but Piv's sister Meta who had replaced her. His sister took one look at him walking alongside Veil, and her lips curved up into a little smile. That was all the acknowledgement she gave her sibling, as the shapeshifter then turned and continued on her way at a leisurely pace. How many of his family had moved in to Ponyville already, he wondered?

"Something on your mind?" Veil spoke up for the first time since they'd left the silver root patch. She followed his gaze. "Oh, that's right! Bon Bon was looking for you just yesterday. Did she manage to find you?"

"Y-yeah." Piv certainly didn't want to explain that one in detail, and quickly began trying to think of a new topic. He was rescued when a new pony called out a greeting and trotted over to meet them. As the distracted Piv focused on the newcomer, he immediately recognized the unicorn Twilight Sparkle from his dream. AAAUUUH~! Piv winced in pain as The Voice screamed within him, pulsing feelings of anger and fear.

"Hi, guys! I... hey, are you all right?" Twilight broke off as she noticed Piv's reaction. Veil's brow scrunched worriedly as she put a hoof across his forehead to take his temperature.

Piv waved away their concerns with a forced little laugh. "Sorry, I'm just tired is all." He grasped for a reason and one came to him. "I think I used up too much energy trying to fight those Timberwolves."

Veil nodded as she took her hoof away, apparently finding his temperature to be normal, but Twilight's reaction was quite different. "Timberwolves?!" Her eyes widened with alarm, but examining the both of them calmed her down again. "Well you don't look hurt. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised if Veil was there with you." Her tone became thoughtful, "Does this mean you've been to see Zecora?"

Veil confirmed this and relayed their earlier adventures in the Everfree Forest. Meanwhile Piv simply did his best to return Twilight's smile, though it wasn't easy. The Voice had quieted, but it was still oozing dread and fury. When Veil had finished, Twilight seemed discouraged. "I suppose that means you don't need me to examine him anymore. Unless you want a second opinion?" Hope colored her voice over the last bit.

Although The Voice did not form anything so coherent as a word, its response within him could be clearly interpreted as a resounding NO. Piv tried for a gentler expression out loud, "Sorry, Twilight. I think Zecora has things well taken care of."

"I see." Her face fell, but only for a moment. Stern determination replaced her chagrin, "No. No, actually I don't see!" She declared fiercely, "Pivotal Pledge, I think you've been avoiding me and I want to know why!"

At a loss, Piv turned to Veil for help. He was disappointed when instead she frowned, "Actually, I'd like to hear your reason for this too." She admitted reluctantly. "It's been nothing but frustrating for me, you know."

His mouth fell open; he had not expected Veil to take Twilight's side. Piv felt his breath come more quickly as he realized the two mares had trapped him with their direct questioning. "I..." Nothing came. What reasonable explanation could he offer without telling them about The Voice? He took a step back and sat in the middle of the dirt street, heavy with the weight of defeat. "...sorry." He lowered his head, having nothing else to say. This was it. So soon after he'd finally had hope of living in Ponyville peacefully, he'd slipped up. It was all going to unravel.

"Oh... oh, hey..." Twilight's voice. Was that concern in her tone? A hoof touched his shoulder, "Piv, I'm sorry." He raised his head and was surprised to find her looking down at him with a gentle smile. "I guess sometimes I forget that for ponies who don't know me very well, my reputation can be a bit... ah..." She blushed, unable to find the right word.

Veil caught on to this line of reasoning, "Twilight Sparkle, who defeated Nightmare Moon, recovered the Elements of Harmony, thwarted Discord, and vanquished a changeling army." She recited throwing a playful glance at the now more deeply blushing unicorn.

"Oh go on! My friends made all those things possible, and that last one wasn't even us! It was Cadence and Shining Armor who expelled the changelings!" For some reason this particular topic made him feel that there was something important, just at the edge of his conscious mind, that he couldn't quite recall. He didn't get time to think it over as Twilight went on, "But it's true I don't always remember that my reputation can be a bit intimidating since I live here with ponies who have known me since I moved to Ponyville."

Veil nodded ruefully, "That hadn't occurred to me either. To me, Twilight has always been Twilight."

Twilight took him by the hoof and helped him back up. "Piv, I don't want you to be nervous around me. Let me show you that I'm just like anypony else."

Still partly stunned by this miraculous turn of events, Piv only barely managed to murmur, "Of course." In response. How is it that they could show him such care and understanding when he had given them no reason to at all? Ah these beautiful, wonderful mares! Whom he was taking advantage of, he realized with a sudden hard pang of guilt. They trusted him, and it hurt to know that even now he was betraying that trust.

"I know!" Twilight's face lit as she struck upon an idea. "How about I host a little get together? Just us and some friendly faces!"

Veil approved this immediately, "Wonderful!" She nudged him, "We could go together."

Piv honestly didn't know what he wanted just then, but disappointing his two enthusiastic benefactors wasn't on the list. He doggedly ignored the seething objections of The Voice and dipped his head in agreement. "Sure. Sounds great."

Back in his now familiar bed, Piv was wary of what sleep might bring him on a night he had so thoroughly displeased The Voice. He had agreed to a pleasant social gathering with a pony he could only describe as its nemesis, now slated to occur the evening of the day after tomorrow, and it had been throbbing with negativity ever since. Even so, the day had been a long one. Fatigue finally overcame him and at last he drifted off.

There was a distant banging sound. Regular, almost rhythmic. He was moving through a darkened corridor towards that banging, listening as it grew louder and louder. A light appeared in front of him, and broadened into a doorway. He walked through to find himself in an upscale pastry shop, though its furnishings had been mussed and in some cases smashed. As he stepped over a crushed cake box, he spotted her across the room banging against the large display window of the shop. Appearing once again in his original dark form, his phantom self, the personification of The Voice.

The solid window opposed her uncaringly as she slammed her front hooves against it once more, and this time he heard her vent a muted cry of anguish. Piv approached cautiously, careful to keep some space between himself and his doppelganger, and looked outside. It was the streets of Canterlot again, frozen at a different point in time during what he assumed was the same fight as last time. His eyes were drawn to what he intuitively knew was the real Twilight Sparkle, currently using her magic to unmask and stun a fake.

"No!" His other self whispered urgently as she struggled against the glass. "You don't know what you're doing to me! STOP IT!" She punctuated this with a shoulder tackle, which succeeded only in throwing her back and to the floor with the rebounded force of the blow. "You'll tear me apart...!"

Concern finally overcame caution; Piv went to her side and helped her up. "Are you all right?" She didn't seem to notice him at first. "Hey!" He took her by the shoulders and shook her firmly. "Snap out of it!"

Finally she focused on him and seemed to come back from wherever she'd been. Her expression became guarded as she surveyed her surroundings. "Ah, yes." She murmured, pushing him back and turning away from the window. "This is your fault, you know." The creature shot him an angry glare.

"I know." Piv agreed apologetically. "So... what is this, exactly?" The phantom merely continued to glare sullenly. Piv's eyes went back to the scene in the street, still paused exactly as it had been. He gasped when he realized that the particular creature being subdued by Twilight was in fact himself. "Changeling." He said suddenly. "Veil mentioned that Twilight beat an army of changelings. That's us, right? It's what we're called?"

No response. He frowned at his other self, thinking hard. "Meta said changelings don't need to hurt ponies to feed from them. Why were we fighting?" As he spoke, her expression lost some of its anger and grew more wary. Still she declined to answer him. "This fight... was it our doing?"

She looked away, but finally broke her silence, "Don't get distracted. You're doing well with Veil. Just focus on winning her love, and everything will fall into place."

This was not what he wanted to hear. "Veil trusts me. Even though I'm lying to her!"

The changeling cocked her head to one side, her expression unsure. "Yes." She said at last. "That will make things easier."

Anger bubbled up inside him. "Can't you understand how wrong that is!?" He demanded, advancing on her.

She met him with cold determination, giving no ground. "That is how things are. Ponies are food. Try to look at them as anything else, and..." her face suddenly split into a sardonic smile as she chuckled at him, "...and THIS happens." She gestured to the both of them.

Piv disagreed. Strongly. "I want you to leave!" He declared. "Get out of my mind!"

Her eyes hardened. "You misunderstand the situation. You already won, and threw me out. This is as far 'out' as I can get." She lowered her head, spitting her next words bitterly, "Good to know you still reject me, though."

He backed off, confounded by this response. It sounded almost as though he had hurt her. A bit ashamed, Piv thought of a distraction, "...that perfume of Zecora's really did taste amazing." She snorted, but said nothing. A brief few steps brought Piv to the back of a display case, where he found an intact muffin. He regarded it as he spoke, "Why is that, exactly? I've also eaten supposedly good food that tastes like ashes."

Perhaps she was bored, or perhaps she had decided to accept his truce. Either way she raised her head and nodded once, "Yes. When you're feeding strongly, things will taste good to you. When you aren't, ashes."

"Is that how it works for changelings?"

"No, just us." She sighed. "We're a little messed up right now, if you hadn't noticed. Without me you can't sense prey properly, so you needed something else. It was the best workaround I could manage, restricted as I am." She turned her flank to him. "Leave me be a while, would you? And try not to set up any more play dates with that one!" She shot a venomous look out the window to where Twilight was still halted in time.

Piv watched her saunter off into the darkness of his mind. If there was one thing he'd learned tonight, it was that Twilight Sparkle was an important part of whatever had happened to him. Yet as he moved to the window and gazed at the memory it presented to him, Piv wondered not for the first time if he really wanted to find out what that was.

13 - Preparations

Piv awoke the next morning feeling more rested than he would have guessed. After his first round with The Voice, he had honestly been expecting something more traumatic. Now he couldn't help but feel that The Voice had gone through things far more traumatic than any spat they'd had in his dreams.

Although he didn't feel much like going out, familiar pangs of hunger reminded him that it was a necessity. Piv vented a sigh of frustration, that all his time spent with Veil the previous day should be so quickly forgotten by his ever present appetite. If all changelings got hungry this fast, they must be a voracious bunch indeed!

Not bothering with saddlebags or bits, Piv headed out for breakfast. Which really just meant walking around and basking in whatever mild love the various ponies of Ponyville had for him. It wasn't very satisfying when compared to his day spent with Veil, but he didn't want to visit her if it meant carrying on with his dishonest persona. This presented a problem. Who could he be if not Piv? He'd been warned that his original form would be repugnant to the ponies, and wouldn't any other form he took be just as dishonest?

It was hours until his hunger finally eased. Glancing up at the sun already past its apex in the sky overhead, Piv realized that it had taken even longer than on similar walks he'd taken only days before. What was wrong? Why should there suddenly be so much less love here in Ponyville? A vague feeling of anxiety fell upon him, and he decided to make his way home.

No sooner had he closed the door of his home behind him, than came a knock. Piv hadn't been expecting visitors, and worried that it might be Veil. When he opened the door he was surprised to find Rarity on his doorstep, and behind her a full rack of clothing. "Good afternoon, Piv! I do hope you aren't terribly busy at the moment?" She batted her eyelashes at him, a move he half suspected was reflex rather than intention.

"Not at all." He stepped out of her way and waved her in. "Can I offer you..." he hesitated, realizing he hadn't much on hoof aside from a half-eaten fast food meal and the leftovers from Applejack's gift, "...some water?" He'd have to do some shopping. He might not need actual food or refreshments, but any guests certainly would.

Rarity pranced jauntily into the room, her horn lighting as she used her magic to draw the rack of clothes in after her. As it rolled past him, Piv saw that the ensembles it contained were meant for stallions. "No, no! It is I who am here to make you an offer!" She turned the rack, arraying it so that the contents were easily visible and accessible to him, while he closed the door. "Twilight invited me to attend the soiree she's holding for you, and after I accepted the first thing that came to my mind was that you simply must have something dashing to wear!"

She presented the outfits behind her with a flourish, then paused to add, "Now to be fair I don't generally work with fashion for stallions, so I'm afraid this small selection is all I have to offer. If only there was a little more time I could custom make something spectacular for you!" She waved this away, though the disappointment was clear on her face. "Well, we shall just have to keep that in mind for next time. For now, I'm sure I can help you put together a fine outfit from the ready-made pieces I've brought with me."

Piv knew from a glance that he didn't have the bits for anything so nice as the chic masculine styles Rarity had brought to show him. "I appreciate the thought, but I haven't actually started working again. I can't really afford..."

"Not another word, not another word!" She cut him off sternly with a sharp toss of her mane. "I absolutely insist you accept one suit from me today. You may consider it a sample of my work." She winked at him. "If you like it, you can drop by my boutique later to buy more!"

He had to admit that made sense from a business standpoint, though he knew it was just an excuse. Regardless, the determination she radiated made him quite sure that he would not escape unclothed. He was about to accept when another knock sounded from the door behind him, this one an energetic rapping on the wood. "Sorry, just a moment."

Piv turned from the fashionista and opened the door for a pony he had thus far seen only in his dreams. Blue with a brilliant rainbow mane, the newcomer gave him a big grin and tossed a hoof around his shoulders affectionately, "Hey, buddy! Long time no see! Sorry I didn't come sooner, but I'm here now to help you get ready for the party tomorrow!"

Rarity's eyes widened in surprise, "Rainbow Dash!" then narrowed in suspicion, "Wait a minute. Just what are you going to help him get ready? You're not thinking of setting up any pranks, are you?"

Pranks didn't seem like the right thing to bring to this type of party, and Piv opened his mouth to say so before Dash cut in, " 'Course not! We're gonna work out!" She continued to beam happily as both ponies stared at her, nonplussed. When she finally noticed their expressions, her own dimmed a bit as she withdrew her hoof from his shoulders. "What? Some good exercise is just what you need to get your energy and confidence up! Come on, Piv, you should know this even if you don't remember it! You used to be an exercise guru!"

"Uh..." That would explain all the athletic gear in his home. He really hoped nopony would find it strange if he chose not to get into that line of work, as it did not appeal to him in the slightest. Assuming he remained as Pivotal Pledge at all, which at this point was not a certainty.

Rarity covered his hesitation, "Really now, Rainbow Dash, who ever heard of such a silly thing? Getting all sweaty and smelly to prepare for a party!"

"You shower after, obviously!" The athlete crossed her hooves in front of her, indignant. "What are you here for, anyway?" She finally noticed the clothes, "Oh, I get it. I'm sure he'll feel much better going to the party in your latest frilly dress!"

Rarity bristled, "For your information there is not a single dress on this rack! It is nothing short of the cutting edge of stallion fashion!"

Piv was about to cut in when a new voice sounded from outside, "Tarnation, what's all this racket?" Applejack poked her head in through the open door, catching the ponies in the room off guard.

Dash was the first to recover, "Applejack, good to see you! I know you'll be able to tell what makes the most sense!" The farm pony entered the room almost cautiously, giving Dash a questioning look that prompted her to continue, "Ok, so what do you think Piv should do to get ready for the party? Spend all his time trying on strange outfits, or do some solid exercise?"

"My outfits are not strange!" Rarity cried, stiffening in outrage.

Applejack moved to the center of the room purposefully, stepping between them. "Now simmer down there, girls. You've both got your own ideas on what's what, and that needs to be respected! Right?" As she stared hard at one, then the other, they settled down and murmured their agreement. Piv, meanwhile, was thanking his lucky stars that she had brought a level head to the situation before it had gotten any more out of hoof.

"Right!" Applejack nodded. "Now it just so happens I think Rainbow's got the right idea. I came over here to suggest a bit of exercise myself, actually."

Rarity huffed her frustration as Dash pumped her hoof enthusiastically into the air. "Yeah! Hear that, Piv? Let's get you started with some free weights!"

His eyes went halfheartedly to a set lying unused, pushed to one of the corners of the room. This wasn't what he had in mind, and he opened his mouth to say so only to have Applejack beat him to the punch, "Now hold your horses there! I was thinking a nice long walk around Sweet Apple Acres. Weights'll leave his muscles too sore for him to enjoy the party tomorrow."

"What?" Dash made a disparaging noise. "This is Pivotal Pledge we're talking about! He used to lead us in work out routines all the time!"

Rarity stepped forward again, "One thing that definitely won't give him sore muscles is picking out a nice outfit, though I guarantee it will give him a stunning new look and the confidence to match it!"

The discussion between them heated once again, and Piv began to wonder if he had any control of his fate after all. He almost jumped out of his skin when a quiet voice suddenly chimed in from directly behind him, "Oh, I'm sorry... are you busy? The door was open, so I just... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." He spun to find a delicate yellow mare with a long pink mane looking up at him demurely. She was certainly the last pony from his dreams.

Glancing back, the beleaguered stallion saw that the other mares were too involved in their own dispute to have noticed the new arrival. He turned back to her, glad to have at least one visitor not determined to dictate to him the best plans for party preparation. "Think nothing of it. What can I do for you, Miss?"

She smiled and raised her head with more confidence, "Fluttershy. You don't know me. That is, even if you could remember you wouldn't really know me. It's just that I'm going to be attending the party, and I heard why Twilight is holding it, and... well, I thought you might like to talk."

He cocked his head to one side, puzzled. "Talk?"

"Yes." She dipped her head once, gracefully. "I know how hard it is to meet new ponies, and especially so when it's somepony who seems so big and important. I thought that if you were having trouble with that, talking about it with somepony who understands might help. You know, to prepare."

"Prepare?" His expression went blank, and his voice dropped to a whisper, "By Celestia... you're one of them!"

The gentle pony looked at him uncertainly. "Them?"

Now besieged on all sides, Piv began to consider desperate measures. After only a moment his expression cleared into a winning smile, "Why, another friend come to help me. We are discussing what to do even now." He waved at the other three, though they took no notice. "Please, join in and we'll all figure out the best way to prepare for the party together!"

"Oh!" She smiled again, apparently pleased to be of service. "Oh yes, of course!" She approached the group and hailed them, Piv urging her on with a fixed grin on his face.

Some time later, the mares still had reached no decision. Rarity shook her head irritably, "We aren't getting anywhere. Let us simply ask Piv what he wants to do, and we'll all abide by that. All right?" As she looked from pony to pony, her friends all offered their reluctant approval of this idea. "Good. Now, Piv, darling, what do you think we should..." She broke off as she scanned the room. The stallion was nowhere to be seen. The door creaked on its hinge, never having been closed.

"Aw, horseradish!" Applejack scuffed the floor with her hoof, while Fluttershy gasped at her use of such a strong epithet. The four of them traded awkward looks for a few moments, not entirely certain what to do now that their host had fled. It was Rainbow Dash who started laughing. A chuckle at first, but it soon evolved into a deep belly laugh that had her sitting on her flank holding her sides. The others joined in, with Rarity and Applejack actually falling against one another in their mirth.

After a time Dash managed to stand back up, still chuckling and wiping tears from her eyes. "Come on, girls. Let's get some dinner. My treat!" This suggestion met with hearty approval from all. The four of them filed out with Rarity's clothes in tow, closing the door behind them.

14 - From Light to Darkness

"So you just left them there in your house?" It was hard to say if she was more astonished or amused, but either way Lyra's breakfast of baked oatcakes had probably gotten cold as she ignored it to give her full attention to Piv's story.

"Yeah... I guess I could have handled that better, considering I have to see them all at the party later today." Piv had been nibbling at his own cakes to keep up the illusion that he needed to eat, but in his present company they were quite bland. Lyra had been quite cheerful about hosting him overnight, but it was clear she only had eyes for the other changeling in the room.

His sister Meta, in the form of Bon Bon, smiled idly at him from her spot across the little dining table. Her breakfast had already been devoured despite the fact that she didn't require food any more than Piv did. "It's great that you felt comfortable enough to come here. We were having a sleep-over anyway, so it turned things into a sort of slumber party! I'm surprised you didn't go to Veil instead, though." She commented, an underlying concern shadowing her eyes despite her nonchalant tone.

"Ah, Veil." Piv looked away. He couldn't go to her while he was still trying to figure out what to do about his identity problem, and he couldn't say anything about that with Lyra in the room. "There's no problem between us, but it would have been too strange to spend the night at her place so soon after all that's happened."

"Oh, for sure!" Lyra nodded her agreement as she finally bit into an oatcake, but frowned as she chewed. "S'cuse me." She rose and took her nearly untouched breakfast back into the kitchen, presumably to reheat it.

With the only genuine pony out of the room, Meta took the opportunity to lean in close for a whisper, "That can't be the real reason. What's going on?"

The wayward changeling felt his shoulders hunch uncomfortably under his sister's scrutiny. He pushed his remaining cake slowly across his plate as he considered his response. "Well, you're here with Lyra. Do you ever feel bad about lying to her?"

His sister just stared at him. "What?"

Piv sighed in frustration, recognizing the same blank look The Voice had given him when he tried to get it to understand how he was feeling about this. "Nevermind, and don't worry. I'll figure it out."

She didn't seem convinced, but didn't press him about it. Instead she changed the subject entirely, "Hey, about this party of Twlight's... can you make sure it runs late?"

"What? Why?"

A smirk appeared on her face and she gave him a knowing wink, "I've got something special planned!"

Lyra returned before he could inquire further, and the conversation turned to news and pleasantries. Before long breakfast was done, and he was on his way out the door as he thanked them again for their hospitality. Something special? He thought, Should be fun!

That evening a reluctant Piv found himself standing outside Veil's home. He'd agreed to go with her, so there was no avoiding this one. Putting his misgivings aside and marshaling his courage, he raised his hoof and knocked.

The door opened to reveal Veil as he'd never seen her before. A charming emerald dress flowed smoothly with the lines of her body, the color providing a startling contrast to the more humble tones of her beige coat. Her silver mane, normally compressed into a business-like bun, had been loosed in lustrous waves that reminded him of moonlight streaming down onto peaceful meadow. His mouth fell open, but his brain had no words. Aside from just one, "Wow."

This earned him a happy grin and a faint blush. "I actually think I overdid it a little, but it's worth it to get a reaction like that!" She giggled at him as an answering smile spread on his face.

"You look amazing." Piv affirmed, then glanced away embarrassed, "It makes me really regret not getting that outfit from Rarity when I had the chance, haha!"

Veil looked him over, "I guess we're not very well matched, and the party was supposed to be casual." She admitted. "Do you want me to take it off?"

"No!" Was his immediate response, followed by a blush that made her laugh.

"Ok, then. Let me see... I think I have a solution." She took him by the hoof and led him into her house. "Some of your things ended up over here at some point, and I hadn't gotten around to getting them back to you." They moved across the lab and turned into a small side room populated by a number of boxes. "I think there were some clothes around here that would be just the... aha!"

Some time later, a newly dressed Piv walked back out into the lab where Veil was waiting for him. He had donned a sharp black suit that matched the color of his ebony mane. His dark blue tie paired with the natural darkness of his coat and mane, giving and overall impression of depth and strength. Veil's eyes roamed over him appreciatively, mouth opening and closing several times before she settled on, "Wow." He chuckled and lent her an elbow, which she took with one hoof, and the pair of them then made their way to the party at the library.

A light drizzle had started by the time they arrived. "I didn't know one was scheduled." Veil commented as she knocked on the door. When it swung open to admit them, it seemed that nopony had actually opened it. Perhaps Twilight magicked it from across the room?

"Down here!" Directly in front of him, holding the door open, was a purple bipedal lizard! Piv hadn't seen him at first because the little fellow was at least a full head shorter than any of the ponies he'd met so far. "Hi! I'm Spike!" He bowed with a flourish. "I'm helping out with the snacks today!"

"Oh!" The stallion lowered his head to get a better look. "You're a servant?"

The lizard frowned, but Twilight stepped up behind him at just that moment, "Helper! Spike here is a baby dragon, and my number one best helper. Right, Spike?"

"Right!" He exclaimed, back in good spirits. "Just you wait! I've got a tray of carrot slices with a dip that's to die for!" He hustled off as Twilight looked fondly after him.

Piv leaned closer to Veil for a whisper, "So... he's a servant?"

"Shhh!"

Twilight turned back to them, "Come on in! Everypony else is here, so you guys complete the party!" Veil seemed happy as they allowed themselves to be ushered into the library, closing the door after them, but Piv noted something that made his stomach flutter uneasily. Every single pony here had been in his memory of the fight in Canterlot! He half expected this realization would cause The Voice to start flying off the handle, but it was oddly silent. "By the way... some of the girls wanted me to apologize for yesterday. I guess they overwhelmed you a bit?"

Veil gave them a questioning look, not having heard the story yet. Piv considered explaining it, then considered responding to Twilight, then picked option three. "Pardon me a moment." He walked away from both of them and hailed the rest of the ponies in the room. "Hi again, everypony. I'm sorry about yesterday." He gave them a lopsided grin. "You all came over to lend me a hoof, and I thanked you by running out on you!"

He turned to Rarity, the only other pony who had dressed for the party. She wore a lightly sequined purple ensemble, cut short to fall over her flank but not drag on the ground, with light blue trim the same color as her currently hidden cutie mark. "Rarity, you prove with your very presence that your fashion sense would have done me good. Things worked out this time, but I arrived at Veil's house wishing very much I had taken up your offer."

Next he turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Whether hard weights or a simple walk, exercise was a good idea too! Even if sometimes I'm too lazy to recognize it, haha!"

Finally he regarded Fluttershy, "Talking things through is..." ...impossible for me, Piv thought. He couldn't really do it honestly, anyway. "...what good friends do, and I'm amazed that you would offer a sympathetic ear to a stranger like me." He hoped nopony had noticed his brief hesitation. Or did he? Wasn't he getting tired of having to adjust his words to fit the fictions that had formed his persona here? Wasn't there one more pony he needed to say something to? He could turn around and tell Veil the truth right here, right now.

"GROUP HUG!!!" Piv was pounced upon from behind by a blur of pink limbs that enclosed around him and squeezed affectionately. The others laughed, and before he knew it Piv was being hugged from all sides. Even Twilight and Veil had joined in. When Spike returned with the carrots and dip he clearly didn't know how to offer them to one big huddle of ponies. "Uh... I guess I'll leave these on the table, then." He remarked, doing just that. There was some chuckling as the formation broke apart, and Pinkie slid off of Piv's back.

It was at that moment the door slammed open, revealing darkness and pouring rain. Apparently the earlier drizzle had quickly worked up to a downpour. A single thunder crack lit the sky, framing a cloaked figure standing ominously in the darkness. It had everypony's full attention as it made it's way into the house, tracking dirty water in as it went, a mysterious jug swinging from a strap around it's neck. One hoof lifted, going to the side of the hood... and then pulling it away to reveal Zecora. Her eyes were determined, her expression stern.

"Zecora!" Twilight barked in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you, but I think we have enough food to go around."

The zebra shook her head. "I did not come all this way, merely to laugh with you and play. Quickly did I make my brew, so that it would be ready sooner..." she locked eyes with Piv, "...for you!"

"Oh, my medicine." Piv sighed in relief, and everypony relaxed now that a simple explanation was tied to this dramatic appearance.

Zecora stepped forward, opening the jug she had brought, "Not quite medicine, as I may have implied..." She chanted as she dipped her hoof into the green salve it contained. She touched the stuff to his forehead, then stood back with a satisfied nod as it started to glow. "...this is for all the ponies to whom you have lied!"

A mild burning spread rapidly from the spot on his forehead, and suddenly his world lurched. He shivered, and after a moment regained his equilibrium. "Yikes..." He stopped as he realized how gravelly and alien his own voice sounded in his ears. Looking down at his hooves, he saw that they were now black rather than deep green. He had been forced back into his original form.

Looking across at the ponies who had only moments before been embracing him, he now saw a mix of shock, horror, and revulsion spread across their faces. Piv felt his ears droop down, and he took a step back from this terrible new reality. Piv? Could he persist in calling himself that? Who was he now?

Twilight stepped forward, horn gleaming threateningly. "A changeling! Be careful, girls!" The unicorn stopped as Veil threw a hoof across her chest, holding her back.

"Let me." Was all Veil said before she passed Twilight and approached him. She stopped only two paces away. Veil said nothing. She only stared at him, though he could see something dangerous stirring in the depths of her eyes.

"I..." He lowered his head. Well, this was his chance. He had to take it. "What I did was wrong. I've come to realize that, but I've been..." he swallowed, then forced out the hard words, "...too cowardly to come clean."

"What have you done with Piv?" Her question and accusation was delivered in a flat deadpan, that unnerved him more than any shouting would have.

"No!" He denied, backing up into the wall. "I didn't do anything to him! Taking his form came to me instinctively! I found him dying, and wasn't able to help, so..."

"LIAR!!!" Now the rage exploded wildly to the surface, and she flared her wings aggressively. "Tell me what you did to him! Tell me where I can save him! Tell me..." She faltered, tears coming to her eyes, "...tell me he's still alive!"

He couldn't tell her any of that. Not truthfully. "I'm sorry." Was all he said instead.

Veil quivered with the intensity of her feelings, and for a moment the changeling was afraid she would strike him. "Go." She hissed at him finally. "Get out of here, you monster!"

He had been warned that the ponies would hate him, once they found out what he was. He had been warned, and looking across the wall of icy glares, he could see that it was true. Stumbling toward the still open door, he began to remove his borrowed suit. He left it on the floor behind him commenting, "I never had any right to wear it." He walked out into the pouring rain, the blackness of the fatal evening closing around him.

His pace quickened, and what ponies were still moving about in the rain dodged to get out of his way. A trot, then a canter, and finally he was galloping full speed. Ponyville fell away behind him as he charged blindly forward, led by instinct alone. Trees began to grow more thickly, and the ground threatened to trip him, but he persisted in his mad dash. What finally caused him to slow was the sudden awareness of a faint green glow somewhere ahead of him.

The changeling gasped for breath, allowing his brain to catch up to him. He was back where it had all started in the White Tail Forest. The baleful light became stronger with every step he took. The source came into view when he emerged from behind a tree. Shock coursed through him as he realized it was Bon Bon, trapped in a gently glimmering green cocoon. Striding forward, aghast, he saw that she was not alone. Behind her were a startling number of other ponies, perhaps half the town, all similarly entrapped. A huge stockpile of... Food. The Voice finished his thought for him. You may have failed, but it seems our brethren have not.

He shook his head slowly, disbelieving. This was what his family had sought. The Voice and Meta both, pushing for this without his knowledge. If he had known... You could have known. You rejected those memories.

Two of his siblings wandering through the nest finally noticed him, and called out to him happily. The lone changeling paid them no mind. If he had remembered, he could have prevented this. He needed to remember. He needed it more than anything else in the world right now.

His breath left him as the weight of knowledge crushed down, and he fell to the ground amidst the sinister cocoons.

15 - Confrontation

Twilight looked on with concern as Zecora did her best to comfort Veil. The pegasus had not moved since the false Piv had made his exit: head down, ears back, slumped on her flank as if all the strength had left her body. Her striped friend simply sat with her, one hoof holding her gently, providing a comforting presence.

Twilight shut the library door with a magical push. A changeling had appeared here, in her town, in her very home! She worried belatedly that it had been a bad idea to just let it go, though honestly she didn't have the means to keep something like that entrapped for any length of time. Perhaps it was enough that her friends were all ok.

Pinkie moved to the door and placed her hoof upon it, "Does anypony else think that changeling looked really sad?"

Rarity nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. Quite peculiar for a changeling, don't you think?"

Twilight frowned, not wanting to hear this sort of talk about the same type of monster that had very nearly taken her brother away from her. As she looked around the room, she wondered if any of the rest of them had been replaced. Would she have noticed? She had been the one to uncover Queen Chrysalis, but that didn't mean another might not fool her. There was one way to find out! "Zecora!" Twilight approached the healer and her wounded friend. "Will that salve of yours reveal any changeling?"

The Zebra nodded, "Changelings, it will show them true." Zecora touched Twilight's cheek and smiled faintly, "It also shows that you are you." Twilight blinked and ran a hoof over the spot Zecora had touched to find she had been dotted with the green stuff. Her striped friend then took the jug from around her neck and handed it over, "A little dab and we can be sure, that our party here is quite secure."

Zecora quickly dipped her hoof as Twilight took the jug, then turned back to Veil sombrely. "Forgive me friend, for what I have done. I never wanted to steal your sun." She offered her salved hoof to the grieving pegasus. Veil turned her head toward the sound of her voice, but it was several moments before her eyes focused on the zebra.

Moving laboriously, Veil raised one hoof of her own and touched it to Zecora's, marking herself with the green goo. "So I'm not a changeling." Her tone was dull and lifeless. "Too bad. I'd love to be somepony else right now." The wounded pharmacist let her hoof fall back to the floor. "That thing said... Piv is..." she broke off as tears began to run slowly down her face.

Applejack came to her other side and touched her shoulder, "Who says it was tellin' the truth? Those villains wouldn't know honesty from a buffalo's behind!" There was no response to this attempt at comfort, the tears continued to fall steadily. Twilight turned away from them both, heaving a disconsolate sigh. With a potential infestation looming, she couldn't afford to spare time for Veil right now no matter how much the poor pony might need it.

"Ok!" She said, taking a dab of salve. "First we make sure everypony here is themselves, then we start with the rest of the town!" Though she tried to project confidence for the sake of her friends, a knot had formed in Twilight's gut. What would she do if one of them had already been taken? First Spike and then each pony in turn stepped forward to receive their marks, and with each good result the knot unwound a bit. Pinkie was the last to be touched; she took the stuff on her hoof and smeared it across both cheeks like war paint. When the marks failed to glow, Twilight let out her breath in a silent prayer of thanks.

Dash paced restlessly, "So this stuff is our secret weapon, right? Then let's get out there and start marking changelings!"

Rarity pursed her lips, "We don't want to cause a panic, darling." The fashionista used magic to remove her dress and fold it neatly. She glanced first over at the table, but frowned at the tray with dip. Instead she sent the outfit upstairs where it came to rest on Twilight's bed. "Why don't we take this to the mayor? She'll know how to keep things under control as we ferret out the scoundrels!"

"Yes!" Twilight nodded decisively. "The mayor needs to know about this danger right away!" That was what needed to happen logically, but... she threw a glance over her shoulder at Veil, feeling guilty that she couldn't stay to help. "Spike." She motioned him over, and when he came near she whispered to him, "I need you to help Zecora take care of Veil. She's hurting right now, and she needs her friends."

The dragon saluted eagerly, "Leave it to me! You just worry about those changelings." With that, Twilight led her party out into the downpour. Spike called to them from the library, "Go get 'em!" He pumped a fist into the air for emphasis before closing the door.

The looming rainclouds imposed an inky blackness, forcing the two unicorns to make magical lights so the group could see where they were going. Purple and light blue radiance melded to give their surroundings a frosty glow that emphasized the chill of the rain. Some few ponies were still braving the streets to go about their business with lanterns or magic lights of their own, being that it was technically late evening rather than night, and they waved as the group passed by.

A short walk later they arrived at Town Hall, but nobody came to the door when they knocked. The door was unlocked, so the ponies entered in the hopes that they would find the mayor working late this evening. A few lights burned lazily overhead, and they heard the faint murmur of voices further into the building. They followed the sound to an open door.

"She won't be able to..." Mayor Mare broke off mid-sentence as Twilight and the gang entered the room. Pale amber with a dignified grey mane, the mayor was seated behind a sturdy oaken office desk. The desk was quite the mess, strewn with papers, an empty cup near her hoof, and a black pebble perhaps being used as a paperweight. To the older mare's left was Cheerilee, the cherry colored school teacher, and to her right a violet pegasus named Cloud Chaser. Bon Bon was standing across the desk from them, looking over her shoulder at the group with a small frown. The mayor greeted them, "Hello Twilight, hello girls. I hope you don't mind coming back tomorrow, this meeting has already run past my normal office hours!"

"I'm afraid it can't wait." Twilight entered and set the jug of salve down upon the mess on the mayor's office desk, her friends following behind her. It was an odd assortment of ponies here in Town Hall. Why should they be meeting this time of day? Suspicious, Twilight decided not to explain herself. Instead she took a dollop of the stuff and touched it to the nearest pony, Bon Bon.

The reaction was instantaneous. The green mark started to glow, and Bon Bon let out a gasp as it suddenly flared. When it subsided, there stood a very startled changeling! Twilight was the first to act, using her magic to freeze the creature in place as the others gathered around her defensively. "This is what we're up against!" She said, pointing an accusing hoof at the struggling changeling. "These things have infiltrated the town, and they want to use us all as a food source! We brought a balm made by Zecora that can uncover them."

"Good heavens!" Twilight heard the mayor say, though her attention was on the changeling. "Then everyone here must be tested! Dip your hooves, please." Keeping her focus on the spell to ensure the monster did not escape, Twilight glanced back in time to see the mayor, Cheerilee, and Cloud Chaser withdrawing their hooves from the jug, a spot of green clearly visible on all three. No glowing, no more flashy revelations. She sighed with relief, pleased they wouldn't have to do this without mayoral support.

Fluttershy stepped up to the desk, careful to keep Twilight between herself and the frozen changeling as she addressed her elected official, "Oh thank goodness. We've come to you because we need your help. We need all of Ponyville to join together!"

Rainbow Dash smirked, "And a little bit because we were gonna take you down if you were already a changeling!"

Nodding thoughtfully, the mayor stood and rounded her desk to get a better look at the insectoid. "If half of what I've heard about these things is true, the whole town is in danger!" She spun to face them, "We need to get the word out to everyone, immediately! Cheerilee," she nodded to the teacher, "you know where I keep my podiums. Bring one out and we'll set it up in the square! Twilight, you bring our prisoner along so we can better demonstrate our point."

Dash frowned as the ponies began filing out of the office, "A public announcement? Won't the changelings get away if they know we know?" Cheerilee split off as she was talking, moving into a small side room. Fluttershy took the salve with her since she was closest to it.

Applejack nodded firmly, "Sure will! And good riddance! This'll chase 'em out without us having to do any chasing!"

They made their way out into the persistent rain. Rarity spoke up, "Agreed! Let them run! We only need the one we've already captured to tell us where any stolen townsponies are being kept."

Cheerilee caught up to the group and planted a sturdy wooden podium prominently in the town square outside town hall. Twilight, changeling in tow, stayed by the mayor's side as the older mare approached the podium and began calling for all ponies to assemble. Keeping her holding spell steady, the studious unicorn also cast a sound amplification spell to let the mayor's voice ring across the whole of their little town. Dash and Applejack ran down streets knocking on doors, making sure everypony who could possibly attend would hear their important announcement.

In a short while nearly all of Ponyville was assembled, and Mayor Mare cleared her throat to signify that she was ready to begin. "My friends! I come before you today with dire news! Before us is a danger that threatens to end everything we have made here!" Gasps of alarm sounded from the crowd as the mayor gestured at Twilight and the changeling she held. She waited for the crowd to quiet before continuing. "Do not be afraid! Together we are strong, and we will overcome this challenge!" This elicited murmurs, and some cries of agreement.

"I have here with me..." She beckoned to Fluttershy, who stepped forward with the salve. "...a means to reveal any changeling hiding here! As such we will strike now, before they have a chance to react!" Many ponies cheered loudly at this, and many pressed forward towards the jug. Fluttershy backed away from the surging crowd meekly, "Now, now, one at a time, please..."

The mayor turned and smiled at Twilight. She then produced the small black pebble that Twilight had noticed on her desk earlier. The unicorn opened her mouth to ask about it, but never had the chance. The mayor spit at her! A large wad of something much stickier than ordinary spit caught up the pebble and splattered against Twilight's horn, sticking it to her.

"What!?" A bewildered Twilight realized she'd lost her spells, loosing the supposedly captured changeling. As she turned to shout a warning to the others, Cheerilee and Cloud Chaser pounced on her, spraying her with more sticky spit and pinning her to the ground. The mayor stepped over and lowered her head to look the captured unicorn in the eyes, "Oh, Twilight... you didn't think I was talking to you ponies, did you?"

Her friends had no time to react as the portion of the crowd that had surged forward fell upon them and ensnared them as well. Ponies cried out in alarm as those they had thought to be friends suddenly turned on them, and the town square erupted into chaos. Twilight glared into the smug face of the false mayor, "How?! The salve should have worked!"

The smile widened into a grin as the pretender presented her hoof, still marked green. There was a blurring, and the mark vanished. Another, and it reappeared. "I'm sure it would have worked wonderfully if we'd actually touched the stuff. We didn't, you see." Twilight growled and gathered her magic to free herself... but nothing happened. It seemed to drain away as quickly as she could summon it. The mayor chuckled and placed a hoof on Twilight's fiercely glowing horn. "Don't strain yourself, dear. That stone is a piece of our mighty Queen's throne! Not even Celestia herself could cast with that pressed against her horn."

"No...!" Twilight struggled against her bonds, but to no effect. She had no choice but to watch helplessly as the changelings threw her beloved home into turmoil.

16 - Unification

The lone changeling fell through the skies at an alarming rate, wings fluttering uselessly in the wind. He was fast approaching the surface of the ocean; colored more black than blue to his panicked perceptions. Pushing through the fear, he strained to move his wings. They did not respond. He tried next to shape a spell to slow himself with magic, but this too proved fruitless. Hysteria gripped him as the surface of the dark waters loomed ever closer, and he began flapping his limbs in wild desperation.

No escape. You wanted to know? You're going to know. His body punched through the churning liquid as though there were nothing there at all, and he continued at breakneck speed. He gasped in shock at the sudden icy chill, and when he didn't choke, discovered that the water was no more difficult to breathe than the air had been.

Some colossal enigmatic creature moved about in the sea with him, too large for him to decipher its entire form. He twisted, trying to get a better view of the beast while falling past different sections of it. When he looked down again, the first thing he registered was an impossibly massive eye. Then the vast abyssal maw of the monstrosity opened before him, widening until it covered the very limits of his perceptions. It surged forward to engulf him, and all became darkness.

All save for a pin prick of light far below in the monster's gut. This grew rapidly and resolved into a now familiar spot in Canterlot. The mad descent slowed when he approached the smooth stone street and he touched down gently. His heartbeat slowed to a normal pace as he scanned the area. "The fight again?" He laughed nervously. "Haven't I seen enough of this?"

Seen, perhaps. Now you will experience. Ponies and changelings sprang into being around him, but unlike his previous experiences they were far from frozen. The battle raged around him as Twilight and her formidable friends took on the changeling swarm! His body moved on its own. He could remember the thrill of combat spiced with the fear that his siblings could be hurt. The lone changeling knew he needed to stop this fight before that happened, and the best way to do that would be to take down the lead pony!

Purple magic flared in the midst of the crowd. He rushed forward, ducking a blast of confetti from his left and bypassing a pair of bucking hooves that came at him from the right. The sorcerous light flashed again, and one of his brethren was thrown straight back at him. He reared up and caught the unfortunate casualty, though the force knocked him onto his back. His sibling fell limp to one side, and a wave of concern washed over him. A quick check revealed that she had simply fainted.

The lone changeling stood and faced his opponent, now clearly visible in front of him. Twilight Sparkle, horn glowing menacingly, stood grim-faced amidst a band of changelings who had taken her form. He followed suit, shifting to copy her image as easily as he walked or breathed. The others kept their distance, for the moment cowed by her show of magical prowess.

He yelled a challenge in her voice and charged! Head down, horn ablaze, he was ready for anything she could throw at him! ...until he wasn't. Twilight focused on the only changeling to charge her, and suddenly a purple glow robbed him of the ability to move. Flaring his magic wildly against the bonds of her spell had no effect; she was simply that much more powerful than him.

With a wave of her hoof, the unicorn flipped him onto his back and stepped over him. Time seemed to slow as her gleaming horn descended upon him. Her magic became the focus of his world, and with it came the awareness of how strangely the patterns of love were moving around Twilight and her friends. Rather than any one pony consuming the love, each stream appeared to be reinforcing the flow of the others! Somehow Twilight was letting love flow out of herself to all her friends, yet still getting everything she needed in return to power magic that completely outclassed his own.

The moment of revelation struck him like a thunderbolt. Of course that also could have been the spell she used on him next. His vision exploded in stars when she touched him, and he felt his body revert back to its original form. Stunned, the only thing he could recall about the rest of the fight was the maniacal howling in his soul that came from knowing his entire life had been a lie.

Awareness came back to him gradually. His blurring vision revealed a smooth glass floor, a strange shifting void of dark purple and blue stretching out above him. The lone changeling stood unsteadily, noting fuzzy white shapes that resolved themselves into more definite forms as his head began to clear.

Surrounding him were eight pony statues crafted from marble. They were intricately detailed, perhaps sculpted with the assistance of posing models. "What is this?" He murmured aloud, turning nervously in place. The stone ponies bore expressions of sadness and anger. As he looked upon them, he couldn't help but feel they were condemning him personally.

He leapt back in shock when the statue in front of him spoke, "Vindication." A surge of energy passed over it, and in its place stood his doppelganger, The Voice. "I've waited and hoped for this. I am unbound! The time has come for you to accept everything that we were and still are. We will become one being again, and these foolish ideas of befriending ponies will cease."

Embarrassed at having been caught off guard, the lone changeling stepped forward and raised his head higher, "Everything I've seen so far tells me I was right! There must be a way to exist without consuming love, if the ponies can do it!"

His double snorted derisively and turned away from him, moving across the glass floor to the nearest statue. It was of a young filly, mane let free in a wild poof down her back. The cutie mark was a pen on paper. "That is the very thought which split us apart in the first place. I knew I would have to show it to you to begin the..." she caressed the marble mane of the statue. "...healing." Her eyes snapped back to him. "Now tell me truly, do you really think those ponies will accept us? Impossible. Not with everything we've already done to hurt them."

"Hurt?! No! I would never..." He trailed off, uncertainly. Veil had definitely been hurt; he had never seen such wild rage before.

The Voice shook her head slowly. "Well. Let us see, shall we?" She touched the marble figure with her stubby horn, and the stone pony came to life! The sculpture approached him, a blissful smile on its face.

"Mom! I'm so glad you're back! We were all so worried when you disappeared."

The memory came to him unbidden, and his body instinctively shifted to the form of the older mare that was this filly's mother. "I didn't mean to worry you, sweetie. I suddenly remembered some important business and had to rush right out to take care of it." He lied, knowing that he had actually been part of the team that had stolen her mother away to be cocooned. It was standard procedure to ensure the real ponies never came back to disrupt the harvest.

"That's ok. Just... leave a note next time, or something!" The statue admonished, then looked embarrassed to have spoken that way to her mother. "You know, for dad." She added quickly.

"Haha, of course!" He held out his hooves, inviting her into an embrace. "I won't forget, next time!"

The filly statue hugged him. "I love you!" The words had merely sated his hunger at the time. Now they were a dagger in his heart. The marble form lost its substance, and sank into his body. As it merged with him he regained all the memories of his time with this girl and her family, feeding off a love that was never meant for him. A tear rolled down the cheek of his stolen form before he cast it off angrily, reverting to his natural shape.

His phantom self watched, a knowing smile playing on her lips. A wave of vibrant green magic passed over them, and the other statues began to move. They all chattered at once as they approached him, all happy to be with the loved one they assumed he was. Each walked right into him, and as he absorbed them he reclaimed all the memories of the past lies he was stained with. Seven ponies. Seven lives stolen away into cocoons. The eighth...

The lone changeling found himself staring into Veil's eyes. She smirked, "Yes, this one too. But you know all about her already." Veil disappeared in a flash of changeling magic, and he was looking at The Voice once again. "You must realize by now that what we've done is unforgivable. We can never coexist with them."

He shook his head as he retreated from her, unwilling to accept what she was telling him. "No! No, there must be a way!"

"Fool!" She hissed as she pursued, matching his pace step for step. "Will you reject the truth, even now? Ignorance cannot wash away our crimes!"

Truth. Something stirred in his mind. His wish to be innocent was part of why he had suppressed this piece of himself, but it was not everything. There was something key he was missing. "If we explained ourselves to them..."

"NO!!!" Her denial was fierce. "They will not love us!" Her voice took on an edge of madness, "They CANNOT love us! Nopony can EVER love us, because...!" She gasped and clutched herself, unable to continue.

"Because..." He stared at her, and the final truth blossomed within him. "Because I don't love myself."

When her eyes met his again, they were filled with tears. "You hated me. I tried so hard." It was disconcerting to see her in such pain, and to know that pain was really his own. "Living that way was all I ever knew, and you hated me for it. You rejected me... sealed me away."

Unable to hold back in the face of such emotion, he embraced what was really a part of himself. "You're right. I have been a fool."

His double hesitated in alarm, "What do you think you're doing?"

"It hurts to know that I was responsible for such horrible things. I can't deny that." She stiffened against him. "Yet hating myself for it won't undo any of what's done. It won't do anything but cause more pain."

She pushed away from him, uncertain. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if we want to walk into the future, we can't be denying the past. No more lies!" He held out his hoof to her. "I won't reject you anymore! I..." He looked at himself, and found the true words he needed to speak. "I don't hate you. We'll find a way forward, together."

His phantom self let out a breath of disbelief, seemingly staggered by the weight of what he'd said. Then she snorted, "How corny." A familiar smirk found its way to her face as she touched her hoof to his. "Good thing you have me around to rein that crap in." Her form lost substance, and she melted into his body.

His mind exploded with the information of an entire lifetime that he had suppressed. The warmth of the hive. The bonds he shared with his family, and his mother the queen. Dangerous scouting missions, and glimpses of pony life. The newly reasserted aspects of himself also brought matters of identity that began to conflict within him. Her. She had always been gender-fluid, trusting her feelings to define the truth of herself. Today she was feminine once again.

She knew herself. She knew her name. She knew what she needed to do.

17 - Dire Tidings

Spike was beginning to grow quite alarmed with the view from the first floor window of the library. There were flashes of light coming from the town square, and not a single one of them was the deep purple of Twilight's magic. He returned to his two charges, wringing his hands worriedly. Veil had been coaxed to sit at the table, where Zecora was sharing carrots and dip with her. The little dragon was pleased that the tray he prepared was being put to good use, even if this wasn't exactly how he had envisioned things while making it.

"Hey guys..." He addressed this more towards Zecora, since Veil wasn't being particularly responsive at the moment, "I think something is wrong. There's a lot of weird activity at the square, and I'm getting a really bad feeling about it!"

The zebra glanced at the window, her mouth compressing as she considered this. When she spoke her voice was grave, "Our strength won't help if our friends can't prevail. What comes next when Twilight should fail?"

The small dragon's eyes went wide. "Twilight... fail?" The mysterious healer turned her gaze on him, and something in her expression seemed to hint that what she'd said had further meaning. Spike thought out loud, "After twilight comes night... or day. The moon, or the sun!"

Zecora smiled and nodded once, "Right you are, my little one. Write Celestia and bring us the sun!"

She watched determination replace the fear on the face of her scaly companion. "Write? Right! That, I know how to do!" He trotted eagerly to the stairs, presumably to fetch writing utensils from the second floor. Zecora felt Veil stir next to her, and was surprised to find that Veil was watching Spike make his way up the steps.

"I'm... Selfish." The pegasus murmured. "Everypony is doing something, but I'm... I have to..."

Zecora placed a restraining hoof on her shoulder. "Nopony can ask more of you today. You mustn't hurt yourself thinking this way."

"No?" Veil's voice was soft. "The only other thought in my head is Piv." Her loose silver mane spilled forward, hiding her face as she turned away. "It's funny. I know that thing must have been lying to me from the very moment it showed up on my doorstep. I know that. Yet, when it told me about Piv..." Her voice broke as her body trembled. She stilled herself with visible effort. "...I believed it."

The scene was fresh in Zecora's mind as well. For all the alien strangeness of the changeling, it had appeared both terrified and earnest. The zebra knew she should not trust appearances, but even she had a difficult time believing that what it had told them in those moments had been a lie. Not knowing what to say, Zecora instead gently brushed the obscuring silver mane out Veil's face and put her hooves around her friend in a gentle embrace.

A loud crash sounded from the upstairs, followed by a cry from Spike. The zebra's head snapped up in alarm as what sounded like a scuffle started to sound through the boards of the ceiling. Veil responded more slowly, yet her malaise seemed to lessen as tension filled her body. Zecora whispered urgently to her friend, "If things have happened as I fear, most certainly the changelings are now here. I'm sorry to say this is not your fight, Celestia must be warned so please take flight!" With that she released Veil and charged up the stairs. Veil rose slowly to her hooves, face darkening as she growled a single word as though it were a curse, "Changelings!"

Upstairs, Zecora found Spike backed into a corner by a trio of the black insectoids. Another still climbing in through the broken window spotted her, "More of 'em? Get the dragon first, he's the one we're here for! Make sure you don't let him anywhere near a pen and paper!" It hopped down to the floor as more followed behind it, and Zecora cursed silently. She'd hoped the changeling infiltrators had not had time to learn about Spike's ability to contact Celestia, but they clearly understood the danger.

Quickly surveying the scene, Zecora saw that although Spike clutched a sheet of paper in his claws, he had indeed been separated from the quill and inkwell laying on Twilight's study desk. As she watched, one of the attackers tried to spray Spike with some kind of sticky spit, but the little dragon saw it coming and shot it down with a puff of green fire. He spotted her and called out, "Zecora, help! They're...!" He was cut off as a second changeling spat at him, forcing him to defend himself with another breath of fire. The zebra thought quickly. She didn't think there was any way to grab Spike and escape with so many changelings pouring into the room, but if she could just get him that ink...

Taking advantage of the changelings' lack of interest in her, Zecora dodged past a pair of new arrivals and dashed over to Twilight's desk. "Hey!" A changeling spotted her taking the ink and quill. "I don't think so, Stripes!" Zecora ducked away as the changeling advanced towards her, careful not to spill the ink, but another moved to cut her off. Grinning, they both shapeshifted to copy her form. "Today is not your lucky day," "You'll not like the game we play!"

They stepped forward... and suddenly their confidence turned to squawks of surprise and dismay as Twilight's bed landed on them face down. Zecora looked up to see Veil standing above them in the bedroom nook. The medicine pony leapt down vindictively onto the overturned bed, the extra weight causing groans of protest from the two changeling Zecoras now trying unsuccessfully to extricate themselves from under the bulk of the bed, entangling bedsheets, and what looked like Rarity's dress. The real Zecora frowned. She hadn't thought her friend would charge in without thinking, but considering what she'd been through the zebra supposed it was too much to ask of any pony to keep a level head. With nopony left to warn Celestia, it became more important than ever that Spike get his message out.

Seeing him still penned in by now four changelings, Veil sprang from the bed and moved to help. The changelings nodded to one another, preparing to spray at him all at once to overcome his fiery defenses. Veil darted in between the two middle bugs and pushed their heads away from the little dragon. Surprised, they sprayed early right into the faces of their companions! The stricken changelings were unable to release their own sprays from their now sealed mouths, and fell to the ground as they clutched at their covered faces in panic. The middle bugs turned their attention to Veil, one of them trying to wrap her up in a tackle, but she caught one of his forelegs and used a shoulder toss to send him crashing into her other assailant.

Another bug approached, but Veil growled and rushed her. The changeling let out a cry of dismay as Veil grabbed her and forced her back against the wall. The normally calm pony spat vitriol, "This is all your fault, you thrice blasted changeling! ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" Veil shook her victim, and the frightened changeling squirmed in her grasp, "Lady, I don't even know you!"

Spike took the opportunity to escape from his little corner, and Zecora called out to him, "Heads up, little pup!" She stuck the quill into the inkwell and slid it across the floor to him. He ducked under a pair of grasping black hooves and snatched up the inkwell, holding it and the paper awkwardly in his left claw as he took the quill in his right. His message better be short and to the point... 'Help'? No, Celestia would arrive and some changeling in pony form would sweetly tell her that there was nothing wrong. Changeling... he started on the first letters of his message, forming ragged but intelligible characters as he was forced to keep dodging attackers.

He saw Zecora move to the window, trying to stem the flow of incoming insects. She struggled with a changeling at the threshold, and another closed in behind her.

CHAN

Veil had been forced into the center of the room, where several changelings had begun to focus on her as the most apparent threat. She was fighting like a pony possessed, but only barely managing to hold them off. Spike himself swerved to avoid a shot of changeling spit.

CHANGEL

Zecora cried out as she caught sprays of sticky spit from both sides. The zebra fell, immobilized by the stuff, and the flow of changelings into the room resumed. He was almost finished when he spotted Twilight rushing up the stairs! "Spike!" She cried, "This way! Hurry!" He let out a cry of relief and rushed to her side. She caught him up in a hug... a bear hug that pinned his arms to his sides. The little dragon looked up into a wicked grin and realized his mistake. He glanced down at the paper,

CHANGELIN

Good enough. Spike drew in a breath and exhaled fire! ...harmlessly into the air as his head was tilted up away from the paper. Another changeling Twilight giggled as she came into his field of view. "Sorry, cutie, not today!" She kissed his nose, and then spat directly into his face, sealing his mouth shut. The fake Twilight that had been holding him now dropped him to the floor and sprayed over the rest of him, pinning him there.

Veil roared with rage when she saw her friends in trouble, and charged toward Spike's captors. The room was filled with changelings now, both in the air and on the ground, and they sprayed their ensnaring spit at her. Too many. She dodged a couple blasts, but a third pinned her wings to her body, and a fourth glued her back legs together. She fell to the ground with a grunt. The changelings closed in on her quickly, and her last desperate swipes were easily avoided as she was wrapped up completely.

One of the changelings shook her head, "Yeesh... what got up this one's backside?"

Another snorted, "I don't know, but I'm not carrying her."

The two fake Twilights chimed in, "We only need the dragon, right?" "Yeah, take the cutie and leave the grump!"

The first changeling frowned, "The dragon is the most important one, but we can't risk any of them getting away. I'll carry her myself. Let's get them all back to the square with the others."

18 - Truth

Meta paced unhappily in the lantern light of the town square as the moon broke through the dissipating clouds. Captured ponies filled the square, bound in changeling goo with a number of her siblings keeping careful watch over them. They had taken Ponyville, but it had been a near thing. The plan had been to quickly and quietly take Twilight and her friends late at night when they were tired from their party. Instead of a nice stealthy and easy replacement, things had devolved into an all-out brawl thanks to that accursed zebra and her green goo! Meta looked up as her second, Mandible, approached. Before he could speak she immediately asked, "Have you found her?"

He sighed and shook his head, "Sorry, Meta. Nopony has seen our lost sister." Mandible could feel her disappointment. He had been there for the interrogation of the troublesome six, and had watched as she grew ever more agitated when not one of them could give her the answers she wanted. They all told the same story: the missing changeling had run off into the night. They didn't know where she went.

Meta turned away from him, hiding her face in the shadows. "We'll find her. We'll send out search parties until we do." Meta had promised to save her this time... why couldn't she keep her promise? She shook herself, throwing off the tears that threatened to spill down her face, and sought calm. Her siblings were still counting on her to lead them. "All right. How many cocoons have come in from our base camp in White Tail Forest so far?"

"None yet." He frowned, "If you ask me, they're being pretty slow about it. I'd have had half of them in town by now! Oh, and speaking of cocoons..." His eyes went to the town hall, where the troublesome six were being stored. "...Twilight and her friends got the royal treatment. The shells are as strong as we can possibly make them." Meta nodded in satisfaction. Unless the ponies had another unicorn just as powerful as that nasty purple nuisance, there would be no way to free the troublesome six until the changelings were good and ready to dissolve those shells themselves using changeling solvent enzymes.

The buzz of wings overhead heralded the arrival of a large group of her siblings. "Rejoice! We've defeated the big bad dragon!" Raucous laughter broke out as over a dozen changelings set down, depositing Big Bad Spike and his accomplices on the ground at Meta's hooves. Her eyes fell upon the silver maned pegasus. It seemed Veil had had a rough night; hints of a torn green dress peeked out where she was not wrapped in changeling goo.

"Veiled Vision." Meta rumbled, "I have some questions for you." The changeling leader almost faltered at the look of utter contempt she received in return, but nevertheless nodded to Mandible. He approached the captured pony and breathed gently across her face, releasing a mist of changeling solvent enzymes onto the goo that held her mouth shut. The sticky stuff melted away rapidly, leaving Veil blinking in surprise. Mandible found himself wishing that surprise had lasted longer, for she then shifted like a striking snake and bit down hard on his nose. More laughter broke out among the changelings as he yelped and pulled away, forehooves moving to cover his smarting snout. Meta silenced them all with a stern glance before she turned her attention back to the pegasus.

"One of our sisters took the form of your friend Pivotal Pledge. I'm told you unmasked her before chasing her away. I want to know where she is now." None of the others had told her anything useful, but Veil had been the primary food source. Surely she must know something! Yet she gave no answer, only glaring in sullen silence. "Nothing to say?" Meta narrowed her eyes. "Tell me what I want to know! If you don't..." The changeling leader was hissing angrily now, "...the rest of your night will be an unending nightmare of wet willies and tickle torture!" Veil still bore a stubborn expression, but cracks of worry were starting to show through. The changeling leader pressed her advantage, trying to appear as menacing as possible, "I WANT. My SISTER!"

"Hey! I know where your sister is!" A new, but familiar voice called from the edge of the square. There, stepping into the lantern light... "She's right here!" And there she stood, a cocky grin on her face. Some astonished shouts and joyous greetings rang out from the changelings present. Stunned for only a moment, Meta lost all interest in Veil as she broke into an exuberant headlong gallop across the square.

Enclosing her lost sister in a fiercely affectionate hug, Meta whispered her name, "Vera!" She squeezed happily, "Oh, Vera! I'm so glad you're all right!"

"Easy, easy!" Vera laughed as she squirmed free of the hug. "I still need to breathe, you know!"

Meta blinked, remembering finally that she needed to maintain her dignity as the leader. "Ahem... yes. It is good that you are accounted for." She said, falling back into a more businesslike tone. Soft snickers in the crowd quieted as she swept a stifling gaze across them. "Mandible will let you know where you can lend a hoof for now." She paused before adding, "I will of course expect a report on your adventure later in private." so that I can laugh and cry and hug you as much as I want!

Vera's grin sobered into a more serious expression. "About that. These ponies are a very rich source of love." She was speaking a bit more loudly than necessary, obviously intending for every changeling in the square to hear.

Meta nodded, wondering where she was going with this, "Yes, exactly. We need to get them back to the main hive quickly."

"Really? But you know..." Vera paced towards the center of the square, "...with every pony we kidnap, we throw away a chance at something much greater than a simple meal."

The changeling boss was frowning now, "What are you talking about? There's nothing more important than a full belly. It's literally life and death!" There were murmurs of agreement from the changelings present. They all knew the harsh reality of hunger.

"Food is important. Love is important! I just think there can be another way." Vera threw open her forelegs in appeal to those around her, "You've all seen what a wonderful thing love can be between ponies! Haven't you ever wanted that... for yourselves?"

Meta shifted uncomfortably, recognizing the same strange and confusing sort of talk that Vera had been espousing before she went mad and fell from the sky. This was something she needed to protect her flock from! "No, Vera. Stop right now. There is no other way, or our Mother Queen would have found it by now!"

"Chrysallis is not all-knowing!" Vera's blunt declaration caused a buzz of anger and even cries of outrage that she should dare say a word against the Mother Queen! "I have seen the ponies share love so that none go wanting! I have seen it!" She let her passionate appeal ring out, "Are we so far below them that we cannot do the same?"

Fear writhed in Meta's heart, though she dared not let it show. She had to stop this, or she would lose her sister to it again! "NO!" She closed in, took Vera by the shoulders and whispered to her urgently, "Enough, Vera! There's too much at stake right now! We have a chance to bring in Twilight Sparkle and her friends! Do you even understand how important that is?!"

"Sister, please." Vera's response was gentle by contrast, "For me, leave the ponies in peace. We can all just fly away from this."

"And just let Twilight GO?!" Meta was incredulous, "Never! I'm sorry, but the answer is no!" Seeing the bitter grimace Vera had adopted, Meta softened her tone, "I can't give up on our victory here, but I can promise we'll talk about ponies later, ok? Privately!"

Vera shook her head sadly. "There is no later. Not for this. I needed to convince you now." Meta's formerly lost sibling locked eyes with her, "Sister... I'm sorry." Vera threw her head back to let out a loud shout, and was answered by a roar of rowdy voices from the darkness outside the square. The battle cry swelled as ponies of all colors and sizes charged onto the scene! Startled changelings fell back before them, or took to the air only to be engaged by pegasus ponies.

Meta backed away from her sister in shock, "Wh... What have you done!?" She demanded, even as the answer came to her. None of the cocoons from White Tail Forest had ever arrived! It was because they had all been set free, fully half the town, and here they were! Vera merely gazed steadily back, no trace of denial on her face.

The unexpected betrayal twisted Meta's face with hurt. She stepped lightly back to avoid a tackle from a stallion before deftly spitting a pair of goo blobs that stuck his hindlegs to the ground. Her changelings were tired, and they had lost the element of surprise, but they had beaten half a town of ponies once already tonight! They could do it again! "Changelings!" She bellowed, "At them! We'll not lose to the likes of these prey!" Her forces seemed to take heart at her rallying cry, and the battle began in earnest. Yes, they could win... as long as...

Meta spun on her heels and charged back toward the town hall, grabbing up the baby dragon Spike along the way. "Mandible! You're in charge here!" Was her last command before she retreated into the large building, slamming the door shut behind her.

Vera stepped forward, breathing solvent enzymes onto the goo that had trapped the hind legs of the stout stallion. The sticky goo melted away, and he thanked her before moving forward to join the fray. She smiled grimly after him, feeling conflicted with the role she must now play acting in direct opposition to all her family who had always looked out for her. After Meta had been so clearly overjoyed to see her... Vera supposed bitterly that she was becoming quite practiced at betraying trust.

Mayor Mare stepped up beside her. "Are you all right?" Concern showed in her eyes as she regarded her unlikely changeling ally, "I understand if you can't fight your siblings. I won't ask you to do any more tonight."

Vera looked back at the kindly older mare, an oasis of reason in the midst of a chaotic battle. "Thank you, but there is more that needs to be done. And... thank you for letting me try it my way, first."

The Mayor nodded, "We owe you that and more, after you set us all free." She moved on by toward the action, trumpeting out to all who could hear, "For Ponyville! Let's show them what we simple town folk can do!" The ponies thundered a spirited response and the melee continued. Vera turned her attention to the town hall, where Meta had fled. She trotted forward with urgency, noting that her siblings seemed to be avoiding her. Apparently they preferred to face down nameless ponies rather than one of their own.

As she approached the town hall, she noticed two bundles of goo left apart from the many others littering the square. She had not planned to stop to rescue any of the ponies similarly entrapped, feeling she had a more critical task in mind, but one of these two was... "Veil!"

The silver haired pegasus glared at her, "You. Why does it have to be you?"

The lone changeling hesitated at the clear hostility, but despite it she let out a long breath of solvent enzymes over Veil. Just as before the gummy changeling spit melted away, and Vera extended a hoof to help her up.

Veil batted it away angrily, standing on her own. "You think this makes things right?" She demanded heatedly before leaping into the air to join the fray, leaving the changeling to cough on her dust.

Vera watched her go unhappily. "Make things right?" She murmured to herself. "Is that what I'm trying to do?" She shook her head and pursued her sister into the enshadowed town hall.

19 - Resolve

The main doors of the town hall had been glued shut from the inside with changeling spit, but this proved little trouble for Vera. The doors were hardly air tight, so a breath of solvent enzymes had them unstuck in short order. Only a few lamps were still burning overhead in the cavernous main room, casting as much shadow as they did light. In the center of the large chamber were exactly six cocoons, their deep green color far more vibrant than was typical. Spike lay bundled at their base, and guarding them all was Meta along with two of their brothers.

Meta was gazing intently at Twilight Sparkle, held dormant in the central cocoon. She spoke without turning, "There should never have been any reason to set anything but a light guard over these cocoons, important though they are. With her trapped within one, the ponies have nothing left that can defeat our strongest shells." Her voice was bitter, "I could never have imagined that one of our own would turn against us."

Vera held her place a dozen paces from her siblings. "I don't regret my actions... but I do regret hurting you."

The changeling leader snorted and pressed her head against the cocoon. "Do you know what is very funny?" She asked as she ran her hoof over the shell, "None of this would have happened without you. You were the one to lead us here, and even if we had known about this place we still wouldn't have attacked without you having come here first. The reason that tipped the balance, the reason I took the risk, the reason we were able to accomplish so much...!" Meta spun, pointing a hoof at her sister, "...was you! I wanted to save you!"

"Maybe you should have asked me what I wanted." Vera had been missing most of her memories at the time, but she certainly would not have sanctioned an attack on Ponyville.

Meta trembled, her eyes widening. "Many said you'd gone mad when you fell from the sky. I spoke out against them, I defended you! I... it looks like I was wrong." She snarled, "Fine! I don't care! I'm still going to save you. Even if I have to save you from yourself!" With that her horn flared, and she fired a ray of energy directly at her sister! Vera was not caught entirely off guard and managed to respond in kind, catching the attack with one of her own. The magical beam attacks of the two sisters clashed midway between them, almost evenly matched. Almost... it became clear that Meta held a slight edge as Vera's magic was pushed slowly back.

Her voice somewhat muted with strain, Vera nonetheless called out, "You don't have to do this! I know you don't want to fight me!"

"I'm fighting for my family!" Meta growled, "What are you fighting for, Vera? What so important that you would turn on us!?"

The formerly lost changeling tried to focus, but no matter how she exerted herself she couldn't seem to turn back Meta's steadily advancing magic ray. "You say bringing down Twilight is important, but it's only important if we're enemies! If we all became friends..."

"HA!" A brief flare pushed back Vera's magic further still, only a meter from her horn now. "Friends with ponies? Do you think they will ever look at you as a friend, after all we changelings have done to them? Even now they only let you join in their doomed little counter attack because they NEED you! They don't want you at all! You can never make things right with them!"

"Even so." Meta was breathing heavily with strain as she struggled to keep the beam from her horn, "Even if I can't make things right. Even if I can never make things right!" Her brow furrowed with determination and she cried out fervently, "That doesn't mean I have to keep making them wrong!!!"

Two things happened at that moment. Meta seemed to falter, the strength of her attack slackening. At the same time Vera felt an unexplained power trickle into her. She pushed on the magic threatening her, forcing it back across the room. Meta had set her eyes on something behind Vera, and whatever she saw there further weakened her resolve, "Even knowing what she is, you would still...?" The beam picked up speed and slammed into the horn of the changeling boss, burning out her power temporarily and stunning her. Meta fell, her guards gasping in alarm and moving quickly to catch her.

Vera's mouth dropped open in astonishment, and she turned to see what could have caused her sibling to waver. There standing in the doorway, silver hair gleaming in light of a nearby lamp, was Veiled Vision. Veil glanced away momentarily when she noticed Vera's regard upon her, appearing both embarrassed and irritated at the same time, before shaking her head and approaching.

As the fierce pegasus came alongside her, Vera noticed that the tiny trickle of power that was still seeping into her was in fact coming from... "...Veil, you..." She broke off as the medicine pony turned a frown upon her, raising an eyebrow that seemed to say, Don't press your luck! Vera smiled back at her before returning her attention to the two guard bugs.

"Meta is beaten." The rebel changeling intoned with as much gravity as she could manage, "Now stand aside!"

The brother on the left had soft blue eyes. He barely hesitated before taking Meta over his shoulder and moving away from the cocoons. The brother on the right had hard, aggressive purple eyes. "Thorax!" He rebuked sharply, "Are you so cowardly that you would surrender without a fight?"

The gentle brother Thorax paused, but did not look back. "I'm sorry, Pharynx... I look at all this and wonder why we can't just be friends? I'll take Meta to safety." He continued on, skirting around the edge of the room and making his way out the door.

"It doesn't matter!" Pharynx rumbled angrily as he watched his brother go, "I'll never stop fighting, even if I'm the very last one!"

Veil narrowed her eyes and asked under her breath so that Pharynx would not hear, "Can you melt those cocoons like you did the spit?"

Vera nodded once, "I can."

"Then do it!" With that, Veil launched herself at the lone remaining guard. She was expecting to drop him without much effort based on her earlier encounters with changelings, but very nearly lost in the first few moments as he dodged handily and spat a clever pattern of three goo globs that she only barely managed to avoid. The pegasus eyed her opponent more warily as she circled him. Pharynx grinned confidently and shifted form into an enormous bear with bat wings. Veil hopped back as he grabbed for her, looking worried now, "Seriously!?"

She ducked away from his reaching claws, but he stuck close and continued to press her. When she leapt into the air he snickered and unfolded his bat wings, "Think you can get away from me like that?" The central room of the town hall was large, but there still wasn't much room for flying. He cornered her quickly. "Looks like you bit off more than you could chew!" Veil just smiled at him. Suddenly realizing where he was, Pharynx spun back toward the cocoons just in time to see Vera breathing on them. "NO!" He started back, but was blindsided from behind by a very feisty flying pony. Veil wrapped her forelegs around his head and covered his eyes with her hooves.

Meanwhile Vera was blowing solvent enzymes onto the cocoons as rapidly as her glands could release them. The shells responded more slowly than ordinary changeling spit, but respond they did as fluid began to slough off where the hardened material was melting away. She redoubled her efforts when she heard Veil call out, "Hurry! I can't hold him!" Finally the cocoons began to collapse, spilling to the floor as a green soup.

Twilight was the first to awaken, blinking in confusion. Her changeling savior had time to notice a small black pebble slide from the unicorn's horn, the glue that held it in place melting away as readily as everything else with solvent still in the air. Not much time, however. When Twilight finally managed to focus, the first thing she did was scream, "Changeling!!!" and blast Vera with a bolt of magic!

Veil, now caught firmly between Pharynx's powerful paws, watched with mild dismay as the Vera was blown halfway across the room, bouncing once before she came to rest on the floor with a groan. "Hey!" Veil exclaimed, "If you're gonna shoot changelings, then get this big ox off of me!" Spinning in mild panic, Twilight was only too happy to oblige. Her first shot came too close to Pharynx for his comfort; he released Veil and shifted into the smaller more agile form of a black furred rabbit. Dropping to the ground, he darted to the door as he easily avoided more wild shots.

Pharynx paused at the threshold, raising himself to the full knee-high height of his bunny form, "Don't think you've won!" He trilled in a high and squeaky voice. "This is just a tactical withdrawal!" With that, and a glower that came off more adorable than menacing in his present fuzzy body, the tiny warrior changeling turned and fled from the town hall.

The rest of the mane six plus Spike started moving again, shaking off liquid green sludge, as Veil touched down next to Vera. "You ok?" She asked almost reluctantly.

"Agh... th... that's the second time... she's blasted me!"

Seeing that the changeling looked more stunned than injured, Veil quirked a sassy grin, "I'll bet you deserved it the first time!" By way of response Vera huffed in exasperation, but then nodded an affirmative.

"What are you doing?!" Twilight came closer, horn glowing ominously. "Why are you being so chummy with that thing? Are you one of them?!"

Rarity came up alongside her, "Don't be absurd, darling. Do you really think a changeling who could take any form would appear in a dress like that?" The fashionista gestured to the tattered ruins of Veil's once elegant attire, and in doing so examined it more closely herself. "Good heavens, that's the Gentle Meadow ensemble I designed for you! Please tell me this is not all that remains of it!" The fashionista was more than agitated to see the state of some of her finest work, almost on the verge of tears.

"Ah..." Veil looked away guiltily. "Actually, as long as we're on the subject... the dress you wore to the party may have ended up sandwiched between a bed and a pair of changelings. I'm... not sure if it made it."

Rarity gasped, "Not my Mysterious Ways Outfit!!!" Overcome, she fainted and fell back onto a conveniently placed blue velvet chaise lounge. Spike poked his head out from behind it, "She keeps two here in town hall, so I just brought the closer one." Rarity made an amazingly fast recovery from her supposed faint, "I don't mean to nitpick darling, but I think the burgundy one really would have done better for this lighting."

"All right, all right!" Twilight seemed flustered, "Veil, I believe you're not a changeling. So what's going on and why are you being friendly with... isn't that the same one who impersonated Piv!?"

The medicine pony let out a harrumph, "I don't know if I would say 'friendly' exactly." She eyed Vera as the changeling rose unsteadily to her hooves. "But it's true this one is not our enemy. It's also true that there's a huge battle going on outside right now between the townsponies and the changelings, so we'd best hop to it!"

"Oh dear..." fretted Fluttershy, and "On it!" declared Rainbow Dash. Following the multi-colored tail of their friend, the group made their way outside where sure enough the conflict was still in full swing. The citizens of Ponyville were holding out fairly well, though they had only managed to free a few of the bound ponies in the town square. Mandible had secured a defensive line around the remaining captives while airborne changelings were dogfighting with pegasi and attempting to hunt down the earthbound pony fighters.

One look at the scene set Twilight's horn blazing. "Now, what I should have done to begin with!" The air crackled with energy as she summoned her strength, "That's ENOUGH!!!" She released an entire barrage of magic missiles into the air, which found a number of targets among the changelings. Those that were not struck found themselves out of the fight regardless as they were forced to dive and catch their stricken comrades. The single action immediately changed the balance of power in the skies, giving the pegasi the upper hand.

A shrill whistle rang out. Vera looked for the source of the sound, and soon enough spotted Meta on a nearby rooftop flanked by the brothers Thorax and Pharynx. The changeling boss looked worn from her recent defeat, but otherwise unharmed. Meta let loose another loud whistle before calling, "Disengage! Disengage and Fall Back!"

Mandible took up her cry, "Let's go! We're done here! Disengage! Fall Back!"

Mayor Mare, leading a group of earth ponies nearby, trumpeted orders of her own, "Let them go! That's enough!"

The opposing forces separated, and the ponies rushed into the town square to begin freeing their captured friends and neighbors. The changelings took to the skies, hovering high above the town. In the dark of night they were difficult to see aside from their eyes, and it gave the appearance that a great many new stars had suddenly crowded in with the usual ones. Only Meta herself did not join them, instead buzzing slowly down to land in front of Vera and the others.

Meta gave an exhausted sigh, "Well that's done, then. We've no chance to win now that SHE is free." She shot a look of dislike at Twilight, which was returned in spades. Turning back to her sister, "You win, Vera. Chrysallis won't be happy, but you win." Another sigh, "Come on, let's go home."

The rebel changeling looked back at her sister for a moment before she started to slowly shake her head. "...I'm staying."

"What?!" Twilight and Meta exclaimed simultaneously before glaring at each other irately.

Vera smiled sadly, "Come on, sister, be real. I just betrayed the entire hive! What kind of life do you think I would be going back to?" Meta opened her mouth to object, but found that she couldn't. It was true. Her sister continued, "So if the ponies will have me?" She shot a questioning glance to Mayor Mare, who nodded a definite yes. "...then I'll stay here, and make a new life for myself."

Twilight broke in, "Now wait just a darn, unf...!" She was cut off as Applejack elbowed her in the ribs, the farm pony shaking her head no at her unicorn friend. The student of friendship did not look happy, but she subsided with no more than a dissatisfied grunt.

Meta looked as close to tears as her sister had ever seen her, "Why? Why can't I save you?"

"You can't save everyone." Vera responded softly. She brightened then, and hugged her sibling, "But thank you for trying!"

Meta laughed quietly, immediately returning the embrace. "You're such a troublemaker!" She accused. "I'm still going to worry about you," She confided as she pulled away, holding on to Vera by the shoulders. "but I get it. I wish you the best." Meta stepped away with great reluctance, "Goodbye, sister." With that, she took to the air and joined the changelings hovering above Ponyville. At her signal, the swarm turned and flew off toward the horizon.

Vera watched them go, watched them vanish into the endless night sky. "Goodbye, my sister." She whispered after them. "Goodbye, my family."

20 - Friendship

"There she is! Get her!" A pony voice sounded the alarm when Vera shifted back into her natural form. Drat! She had been sure nopony would see her! She heard the hoofbeats closing in, and tried to think quickly. Hiding or changing shape again would be futile now that she had been spotted, so that left running! She started moving just in time to outdistance a reaching hoof, disturbing a swing set as she dashed between the swings.

The changeling came up short as more pursuers popped up right in front of her from around the side of a building, "We've got her now! Don't let her get away!" Vera quickly changed her plan when she spotted an unlocked side door. She threw it open, but as she crossed the threshold she was ambushed and tackled from multiple directions! It was all over...

"All right, we totally got you!" An orange filly with a purple mane named Scootaloo slid down from her back and started prancing around delightedly.

Classmates Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle released her also, then gave both each other and Vera hoof bumps. Vera laughed and sat down, tired from the game. "You girls are getting so good at Extreme Changeling Hide-and-Seek Tag!"

The rest of the class began to file into the schoolhouse through the doorway, a strutting pink filly by the name of Diamond Tiara proudly proclaiming, "Of course they never would have had the chance had we not chased you into the trap! You can all thank me for that brilliant plan!"

School Teacher Cheerilee approached and congratulated her class, "You're all getting much better at working together! Now let's all thank our changeling friend for taking the time to be here with us today!" To which the class dutifully responded with a synchronized, "Thank you, Miss Vera!" The fillies and colts began taking their seats now that the game had finished, and Cheerilee drew Vera aside. "It's been wonderful having you here to play with the students, Vera, but shouldn't you be charging if you intend to make your living this way?"

It had been a week since the confrontation with Meta and the rest of her family that night. Extreme Changeling Hide-and-Seek Tag had been Vera's first idea for a job. After all, who else in Ponyville could give players the sort of Hide-and-Seek experience a changeling could? There were rules to keep things fair, limits on how long and how often she could take other forms. Of course the school teacher was right when she pointed out that in order for it to be a job, she would actually have to charge for it, but... "I know, but it just doesn't seem right to be taking money from all these cute little fillies and colts..."

"Now now, don't be silly!" Cheerilee adopted a no-nonsense tone she no doubt used with wayward youngsters, "The school has a budget for this sort of thing. The experience is fun for them, and it's helping them build team skills!" Her eyes twinkled with both merriment and determination, "Besides, I'm happy to employ our newest local hero!"

"Thank you." Vera blushed, and she could tell by the small stream of strength flowing into her that Cheerilee was sincere. She had been one of those Vera rescued from White Tail Forest, though that by no means guaranteed a friendship. Some, like Cheerilee and the Mayor, had reacted as though Vera was a savior. Some had been terribly frightened by the whole experience, and saw her as just another scary changeling. Vera felt the truth was somewhere in the middle. She had done the right thing in the end, but the town wouldn't have needed saving in the first place if not for her. "I'll charge..." She hesitated. "Next time. I'll charge next time."

The teacher gazed at her a moment before acquiescing, "All right. Next time!"

"Goodbye, Ms Cheerilee, and thank you!" Vera waved to the class, "Goodbye everyone! See you again soon!" The foals certainly didn't seem to have any reservations about her, and enthusiastically responded with a cacophony of various farewells that was notably less synchronized than their 'thank you' had been. On her way out the door Vera passed close to the desks of the three who had caught her and overheard a small bit of their conversation spoken between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, "...thought for sure we would get Hide-and-Seek cutie marks for that!" "Back to the drawing board, I guess!"

A short walk from the school house brought Vera into Ponyville proper. She could still feel eyes upon her as she moved down the street. As the town's only changeling, she was still something of a curiosity that couldn't help but draw attention from ponies regardless of whether they liked her or not. Hopefully they'd get used to her presence soon enough. Thankfully she wasn't starving. Her contributions toward saving the town had earned her enough good will to ensure that she was fed, though without a person who truly loved her she was always a bit dissatisfied.

As she pondered her "VERA!!!" Pinkie Pie burst out of a nearby barrel, raining confetti and streamers across the street. "It's totally time for another apology!" Vera wondered shakily if the apology was going to be for the minor heart attack her sudden surprise appearance had caused. She noted that the other ponies walking nearby spared Pinkie only a glance before moving on with smiles on their faces, apparently satisfied that this was normal Pinkie Pie behavior. "Oh, but not from me, nope! This time I'm the backup!" The party pony grinned gleefully, and gestured dramatically to a second barrel placed alongside her own.

Nothing happened. Pinkie blinked and checked inside the barrel. "Huh? Where did she go? Is she further in...?" She poked her head inside, leaning further and further until she finally fell into the second barrel face first. Her plot and hind legs sticking out the top, Pinkie cried in distress, "Vera, I can't find her! Get in here and help me look!"

Twilight came out from behind the corner of a building, looking only a little surprised to find the party pony in her current predicament. "Pinkie, I told you I didn't want to wait inside the barrel!"

"The barrel was perfect, Twilight! PERFECT!" The pink tail stiffened, "OH NO! I missed your entrance! Now who will do your intro?"

With a fond sigh, the librarian lit her horn and wrapped her friend in a gentle purple glow. Pinkie was lifted out of the barrel, righted, and set down on the street. "Now then. Vera..." Twilight hesitated, looking away as she considered her words. "...it has been brought to my attention that perhaps I've not been entirely fair to you."

"She was doing her very best to get you thrown out of town!" Pinkie chimed in enthusiastically.

"Y, yes, those first few days." The student of friendship looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, my friends continued to remind me that you had done a lot for the town."

"Like rescuing a full half of it from White Tail Forest!" The pink pony broke in again with her unflagging cheer.

"That's true..."

"And saving me! And Rarity! Oh, and Spike too!"

"Right, I remember..."

"Oh, and she even saved YOU personally, Twilight!"

"Pinkie..."

"And right after that you blasted her! Right in the face! POW!!!"

"Pinkie!!!" The unicorn wailed, her tone half demand and half plea. The party pony grinned impishly and pantomimed drawing a zipper across her lips, though the mischievous gleam in her eyes made it clear she was unrepentant. Twilight exhaled slowly before continuing, "Well I guess all of that is true. So... I'm sorry."

Vera took a second to respond, as this was definitely not something she would have expected from Twilight. The changeling had been all too aware of the efforts to have her kicked out of Ponyville. As she contemplated the pony before her, Vera suspected that the apology was prompted more by peer pressure than any change of heart. "Twilight... I don't think your feelings about changelings are unreasonable at all. To be honest, I might feel the same way if I were you. I was there at Canterlot. In fact, I was one of the changelings who attacked you!"

The student of friendship twitched in shock and stared at her, "What? Are you serious?"

Vera smiled slightly, finding it a little funny. It had been an important experience for her, but obviously Twilight didn't remember one changeling out of the many she fought that day. "I'm serious. And I was hardly an innocent before that, either. So how about this..." The changeling met Twilight's scrutinizing stare with determination, "...you don't have to apologize, and you don't even have to like me. Just watch me, and I'll show you by my actions who I am now."

The unicorn nodded thoughtfully as she considered this. She approached Vera so that she could speak more quietly, "It's true that in my heart I can't quite accept you. Not yet. My friends have been fooled by a changeling before, when I was the only one to see through her deception." Her face and tone softened, "But everyone deserves to be given a chance. So, I'll be watching." With that, she passed by and continued on her way down the road.

Pinkie tsked, "DRA-MA!" She intoned before hopping into her barrel, tipping it onto its side, and rolling down the street after Twilight. Vera watched them go. She was resolved to continue down this path whether ponies like Twilight accepted her or not, but it eased her heart to think she might yet win over her former adversary. With that she also continued down her literal path, the modestly busy Ponyville street.

In a short while she came to her destination, the former house of Pivotal Pledge. Waiting for her in the front yard was... "Oh, Veil. I wasn't expecting you." The silver haired pegasus was wearing saddlebags, and it did not look like she had been waiting long. "Did I thank you yet for letting me stay here?" Not having any close relatives living nearby, Piv had willed all his belongings to Veil. That she allowed Vera to continue living in his house had taken a tremendous worry from her shoulders, though of course the medicine pony had collected all of Piv's important possessions along with some of her own that had ended up in his house.

The corners of Veil's mouth turned up slightly, "Actually you did... you do it first thing pretty much every time I see you."

The changeling felt her cheeks color, "Ah."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have anything else to do with an empty house. And you did end up fulfilling his final wish..." She touched her locket tenderly, which now seldom left its spot around her neck. Veil's expression suddenly turned sour, "...even if you did do it in the stupidest, most irresponsible, and most hurtful way you possibly could have."

Vera hung her head ruefully, "Sorry..." she let out a dejected breath, "...and I'm sorry there wasn't anything I could do for Piv. I have so many regrets about everything that's happened." Veil was silent for a time, fresh hurt bubbling up on her face. As always she did her best to restrain it, not to let anyone else see, but the loss of a loved one was not a wound that could be so readily concealed.

The day after the battle for Ponyville, Veil had asked to be taken to Piv's final resting place. The forest cairn was still exactly as Vera had left it, untouched by pony or woodland creature. Clearly on the point of losing control of herself, Veil had demanded the changeling leave her alone there, and Vera moved quickly to oblige. The pegasus had returned to Ponyville hours later, and returned to her home immediately without speaking to anypony. The next day Vera learned that arrangements had been made for a headstone to be taken to mark the cairn, which surprised her. She had expected Piv's remains to be brought for a proper burial, but apparently Veil felt he would have approved of being laid to rest where his journey had ended. The funeral was to be held in the forest in a few days.

"I brought something for you." Veil changed the subject, though her voice was still husky. Reaching into her saddlebag, she brought out a jar of green goo. The very same stuff Zecora had created to unmask the changelings, which Vera had been trying to get her hooves on as an added element for Extreme Changeling Hide-and-Seek Tag.

The newest resident of Ponyville made an appreciative sound as she took the jar, "Zecora shut the door in my face when I came to ask for this, and threw things at me from the window until I left!" During the battle Vera had walked right by the zebra without unbinding her, despite the fact that she had been lying less than a meter from Veil. The hermit had made her outrage over this quite clear when Vera had dropped by with the gall to ask her for a favor.

Veil managed a smile, "I know. She told me all about it when I visited her for herbs a few days ago. Told me she nailed you in the flank with a pot."

The changeling winced and rubbed her backside at the memory, "Yeah, one of those solid cast-iron numbers. I can't believe she changed her mind by the time you paid her a call!"

With a shrug, Veil responded, "She may have needed some convincing. I mean seriously, how hard would it have been for you to free her? All you had to do was move your head to one side and breathe on her!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying you convinced her to do it?" A bewildered Vera asked in disbelief, "You spoke on my behalf?"

Veil shifted uncomfortably, "Well, yeah, I guess if you want to put it like that."

The changeling was struck dumb for a few beats. "But why?" She asked finally.

"Why?" Veil chuffed a short laugh, "Well as somepony once said to me, I think it's pretty clear that I'm not the only one having a hard time here." Vera recognized her own words, felt something moving inside her. Her eyes watered, and Veil looked at her with concern, "You ok?" The dam broke. A wail escaped her as the tears burst free and poured forth; Vera threw her forelegs around the reliable pegasus and hugged her tight. "H, Hey!!!" Veil squirmed, her own forelegs held apart, unsure of what to do.

"I'm sorry!" The changeling cried, "I just... I've felt that ponies like Twilight have every right to hate me. Part of me wonders why the whole town doesn't feel that way." She sniffed as the tears continued unabated, watering Veil's chest, "And here you are, you who I've hurt most of all! You gave me a home. You brought me a thoughtful gift, and a kind word, and..." she shook her head, emotion wracking her with sobs, "...and I just... can't... hold it together!"

An astonished Veil made no move to pull away from the weeping changeling. "You don't have to." She spoke gently as her forelegs gradually, gingerly, settled around her new friend to return the embrace. "You don't have to."

The End

Bonus - Derpy's Story

Author's Note

As I was writing the first half of the final confrontation, where the changelings subdue the citizens of Ponyville, I first had the idea to show the stories of many different citizens of Ponyville fighting back against the changelings as best they could. Ultimately I decided this was too large a digression from the actual story, but I did end up writing Derpy's Story! Please enjoy this small cut scene!

Bonus - Derpy's Story

Local mail pony Derpy was standing with Dr. Hooves when the trouble started. The light grey pegasus knew she was considered something of ditz by the other ponies, but that didn't stop her from seeing that something was very wrong here! She backed away from the commotion, blonde mane swishing around her head as she shot the good doctor a questioning look.

"Good heavens!" He exclaimed. "There are so many of them among us already!"

"What are we gonna do, Doc?" It didn't even occur to her to question his identity. She knew him.

"Ah..." His brow furrowed in concentration, but his expression remained troubled. "A message!" He exclaimed at last. "You are a mail pony, so we shall send a message for help! I just need something to write with!" He nodded to himself and began rummaging around in his saddlebags.

"Oh." Derpy puzzled over this for herself, alarm rising in her chest as the tumult grew closer to them both. "Um, maybe this isn't the best place to write it, though..." She glanced around, wondering if she could pull the Doc into a building, anyplace safer than where they were now.

The doctor's face lit up in what she recognized as his 'Eureka!' expression. "Yes, yes, here we are..." He drew forth a pen. "Hmmm... I was sure I had some paper as well..."

Two changelings leapt in front of them, causing Derpy to hop backward into the air with a yelp of surprise. Dr. Hooves looked up briefly, muttered something that may have been 'oh dear', and went back to searching his bags. The bug on the left addressed them, "Hey you two! If you're changelings, take your original form! Now!"

"Uh..." Derpy landed at the doctor's side. "We can't. We're sick!"

"Sick?" The changelings looked at each other and laughed. "Haha, get 'em!" They pounced, but were unexpectedly thrown back by a blast of energy!

Dr. Hooves blew smoke from the barrel of a wicked looking little contraption, a cavalier grin on his lips. "No time for a letter, I suppose?" He shook his head with a sigh. "Do fly away, my dear friend. I shall deal with these rapscallions!"

"Oh, Doc." She floated up into the air and gave him a little salute. He waved to her, changelings already closing in on him thanks to the noise his weapon had made. Derpy turned and picked up speed. She heard the weapon fire only once more, and then it was silent. Her heart sank, but she pumped the emotion she was feeling into her wings. Dr. Hooves and all of Ponyville could be saved if she returned with help in time!

Chancing a glance back over her shoulder, she saw multiple sets of glowing eyes following her in the darkness. "Gotcha!" A pair of hooves closed around her waist suddenly! Barely visible in the inky night, one of them had snuck right up next to her!

"Yeeeek!" She spun and flailed in a panic, fetching the changeling an accidental blow right in the face. He groaned and lost his grip, falling away from her. She saw two of the following pairs of eyes dart down to catch him.

"Careful!" One of those still pursuing her called, "She's using some kind of crazy aerial martial art!"

Derpy quickly straightened out and resumed her flight, knowing that it was very important. But... "Wait, who?" She called back to her pursuers without stopping.

The same changeling blinked at her. "No, I said martial art!"

"I don't know any Marshal Art!"

"Yeah right, we just saw!"

"What? Where?"

"Right here!"

"Well I don't see him!"

"Wh...!? Y... I..." The pair of eyes she was talking to seemed to be falling further behind, glow dimmed by confusion. Sadly, Derpy didn't notice the pair that had flanked her during the discussion. "Now!" Something sticky sprayed across her wings, pinning them to her body. She fell into the waiting hooves of the changelings, who then began towing her back to Ponyville.

Just before they covered her mouth Derpy cried out, "Save me, Marshal Art!"