A FEW DAYS LATER

Pure woke up too a knock against the door. He crawled out of his bed, a few knots in his back cracking as he streched out. He walked down the stairs and arrived at the door just in time to hear the knock again. He opened the door, only to be met with strings and confetti in his face. A shout all to familiar came from the pink pony in front of him.

"Pinkie! Now's not the time for a party!" Pure said as he lifted some of the stringers of his face. He blew the confetti on his nose away before he faced the party-pony in front of him.

"Awww! But I think it's the best time for a party! You and Twilight are a couple! This is the best time to party!" The pink party-pony said as she pulled back her party-cannon.

"No, I don't mean that! It's for crying out loud-" Pure quickly looked at the big clock in his living room. "-over 8 A.M. in the morning! Can a pony have some rest?"

"Sure! But I'm still gonna throw a party for you 2!" Pinkie said before she started jumping away, her party-cannon seemingly disappeared into nothing.

"Sure." Pure said before going back inside his house. He closed the door and went back upstairs when suddenly, something in his head told him to look outside.

He went to the first best window and looked around, only to notice Twilight flying away. Where, he did not care though as realisation hit him.

No one is in the castle!

He went back down and out his door, heading to the backyard where he had just stored various tools in a small shed at the back of his house. He looked inside, spotting the tools he needed: A small chisel and hamer and a small brush. He had bought a few in one of the stores in Ponyville.

He took them and put them in his saddlebag before leaving to the castle.

He walked down the path headed for the castle, looking around at the nature. Birds whisteld in the trees, animals ran through the bushes and flowers decorated the edges. Now I feel how Fluttershy must feel when she's with her animal friends He thought to himself as he walked past a junction.

Arriving at the castle, he used a quick heat-spell to see if anypony was inside. He smiled as it showed the castle was empty.

He walked through the door, happy to know that this part is public, and headed straight for the big pair of doors from a few nights.

He opened the doors, the grandour of the maproom even greater if there's light shining inside. He looked up to the ceiling, noticing the roots hanging from the ceiling. From the roots, strings with 'memory bulbs' were hanging, each bulb depiciting something big that happened. He saw one in wich Twilight and the girls were celebrating Winter Wrap-up. He spotted a bulb on the map, depicting the moment he and Twilight kissed. A small blush crossed his face.

He changed his gaze to the bottom of the map, searching for the perfect piece so you wouldn't notice it missing. Finally, after a few good looks he found a piece that, thanks to sight-trickery, you wouldn't notice missing from any angle. He took the tools from his shed out of his saddlebags and started chipping away at the crystal.

Luckely for him, the fact that no pony was in the castle helped, as a loud 'thack' sounded every time he hit the crystal. And this would go on for a long while, as he noticed that the crystal was a bit stronger then thought.

Finally, after chipping away for an hour or two, he got the piece of crystal of and in his saddlebags. He was just about to leave when Twilight flew inside through the doors. I knew I should have closed them Pure thought as he tried to come up with something to say.

"Pure? What are you doing here? You didn't say you were coming over today." Twilight asked as she landed before the unicorn.

"I didn't know you were away, and the door was open, so I thought 'why not let myself in?'. I know you don't really mind. And I had to make an escape from Pinkie Pie." Pure explained, keeping his lie sheltered under truth.

"She wanted to throw a party for the 2 of us?" Twilight said plainly.

"Yep. Had it before?" Pure asked, noticing how casual Twilight acted about this.

"I still have my own parties in the mind, and I once tried to explain her. Don't think about trying, it won't work. Pinkie is just... Pinkie." Twilight said as she thought back about these days.

"Noted! Don't try to explain Pinkie Pie. She really 'predicts' things with something happening to her body?" Pure asked as the book he last read came to mind.

"Yep. How do you know?" Twilight asked, surprised to find Pure aware of this.

"Read it in a book, and I think I saw her once with an umbrella-hat." Pure said as the small sight from his party came to mind.

Twilight and Pure went on like this, talking about Twilight's friends. Untill Twilight thought about something.

"You had any other friends but me?" Twilight asked when she was finished talking about her friends.

"Good friends? Not exactly. I had a few ponies I knew well, but not many actual friends. And I haven't talked to them for a long time, or even seen them. Some left Canterlot and others... Passed away, really." Pure said, his voice lowering as the bad memory came back.

"Lost a friend?" Twilight asked, a bit of concurn on her face.

"Yeah. He was a good stallion, very kind and supportive. He was a unicorn who studied strange anomalies in Magic. He bumped into an anomaly during his work, but it seemed that this anomaly was a bit worse then anticipated." Pure said, his tone going down and his face going sad.

"What happened? I mean, if you want to talk about it of course." Twilight said, a bit curious but very worried and truly, sad too.

"His lab exploded. They brought him away, but it was the day I learned that Magic has limits. They couldn't save him." Pure said, a few tears appearing. He snifed before he looked up to Twilight. He was amazed to see her also letting a tear.

"Tragic. May the next world great him well." Twilight said to calm Pure down. A small smile formed on Pure's face as better memories came to him.

"He was a good stallion, really. I'm sure he's having a blast in the next world." Pure said, if only to rest himself asure. "I'm of to home. I think I still need a moment alone."

Twilight gave an approving nod before letting Pure out. The door closed behind him and he went of to home, a bit of sadness still on his face. Even his recent succes on his mission didn't help improve his mood.

"Rest in Peace, Red Dawn." He muttered, passing a tall tree. The tree's leavesd dried up a bit, it's branches suddenly going down a bit. It seemed like it had turned sad.

Pure jumped up, trying to get over the bar 2 ponies were holding up. He laughed as he almost tripped over the bar. Strings and confetti kept falling down as the party went on. After been surprised by the girls at the castle, he was happy to join them in Pinkie's party. He looked at the banner, a quick blush before going back at the many games. The banner was nicely decorated, the sentence 'Happy-First-True-Love' drawn on it with nice print. Twilight explained that Pinkie's banner would be too big so she instead decided for the words. He had to agree on the 'First-True' part though.

Music was going through the whole castle, filling every room with sound. Ponies were dancing on the temporary dancefloor and DJ PON-3 was busy with the next plate of music.

Twilight was flying around, talking with the various ponies. Pinkie was getting the not-so-dancing ponies on the dancefloor. Applejack was playing a competitive game with Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was trying to be a bit more social and Rarity was having a nice drink with a few stallions.

Pure was busy demonstrating his magical strenght by lifting up a small group of filly's. He had already shown this by lifting a big speaker, but the little ones were begging for him to try it with them. And PON-3 explained that the speakers weren't toys.

He had just put them down (with them complaining of the short lift) when he was approched by Twilight. He noticed that she had tried to avoid the many drinks, but failed to miss out on a few, as she was a bit wobbly on her hooves.

"You seem like you had a few good drinks." Pure said, taking Twilight's confusion in acount.

"Just a few, I swear! Wanna dance? I tried it before, and I learned that I can use a partner. For dancing then." Twilight said, her voice not different (or smelly of alcohol), a small blush as she recovers her last statement.

"I guess..." Pure began, but was suddenly pushed in the back by Pinkie, who secretly had been listening. The stallion bumped into Twilight, recovering his balance fearly quick. Twilight grabbed his hoof, almost draging him along. She didn't have just a 'few' drinks He thought as Twilight kept on pulling him.

The couple moved to the dancefloor, where the guests made some place for the pair as they began to dance. First it was simple, but then it started to pick up pace as the music went faster. Soon, the 2 were in full swing, going from one side to the other, impressing even the most talented dancers. They were laughing as they looked at the surprised faces.

"Danced before?" Twilight asked as they lowered pace, fatigue kicking in.

"I had lessons for 4 years! She was the greatest teacher I ever had! Learned how to help ponies with dance moves. You're pretty good yourself too." Pure complimented. Twilight blushed a bit, but the 2 were starting to get used to being 'together'.

"Now, for the finally-" Twilight started, but was quickly interrupted by Pure.

"I got this! This was something I came up myself!" Pure said, finishing Twilight's sentence. A big grin was on his face.

They came to the end of the dance, the music reaching it's last peak and then...

Pure took Twilight strong by the hoof, swung her around before, at the end of the music, placing a well-timed kiss on her lips. Twilight wasn't even surprised the least, but more overjoyed with the intimate contact.

They moved of the dancefloor after recovering, everypony clapping for their amazing performance. The girls were waiting at one of the tables, big smiles on their faces.

"That was AMAZING, dear! Where did you learn such fine moves? You just HAVE to teach me how to dance like that!" Rarity said, her smile the most enthousiastic.

"Tha' was some great dancin', sugarcube." Applejack commented, her smile the most honest.

"It was pretty good." Rainbow said, trying to stay cool.

"I just loved watching you dance!" Fluttershy said, her normal shy-ness mostly gone thanks to the party. She was not smiling the hardest, as her shy-ness wasn't completly gone though.

"That was the best dance EVER!!" Pinkie practically screamed, her voice going over the music. Her smile was combined with laughter, a glass of punch in her hoof. It's contents almost spilled as she jumped up and down.

"Thanks, girls." Twilight and Pure said together. They quickly shared look, a smile on their faces as they saw how much the other one was enjoying things.

"This party can't go wrong!" Pinkie cheered, unaware how much she tempted fate by saying that.

Lights were flashing about from the castle, almost all of Ponyville inside, having fun. The moon shined above the castle, illuminating the town. The doors of the castle swayed open, revealing a half-tired stallion unicorn walking outside, saying something through the doors in the way of: "I need a moment."

Pure walked through the big streets of Ponyville, looking back at the massive castle behind. He could get used to life here.

If it wasn't for his mission, that is.

He grabbed the saddlebags from their hiding spot, a small bush next to the townsquare. He hid them there after Pinkie asked him to get to the castle, him then still unaware of the surprise inside. He laughed as he thought about the great way Pinkie's parties are, even if he only experienced 2.

He grabbed the crystal piece and a strange pendant from the bags and walked to the open spot of the townsquare, no pony in sight.

He levitated the 2 items before him. He started speaking words in an ancient language, his horn lighting up and runes starting to appear on the ground. The magic around him started to vibrate, leaves being blown of trees and bushes. He was picked up by the magic, levitating above the ground.

"Naturam essendi, da mihi virtutem! Temporis ac loci fines flectere opem! Ostendite mihi praeterita et praesentia tempora!"

The wind started to pick up, blowing the trees so hard that they started to bend. Bushes were flattened and flowers pulled of. Magic surges started to pulse, the runes on the ground forming a cirkle and glowing a dark-green.

"Da mihi virtutem et potestatem super quam! Et huc et vide! Immatura me fac! Quaero magna vitae ut me adiuvet Videam, mihi!!"

Pure his voice sounded above the wind, his tone lowering and getting scarier. Bushes were almost torn from their roots, grass and flower pulled in and turned into balls of magic. The runes appeared around him, flying in cirkles. He took the pendant in his magic, the green tree on the pendant glowing, floating it before him. A magical force unknown took hold, grabbing the pendant in place.

"Nunc vos, quaeso! Ostende mihi factum est in diebus! Dimitte me, alioquin et tu adesto praesens tempus! Me, Pure Leaf, mando vobis, ut arcum! PONAMUS!!" Pure screamed the last few words before taking the crystal and placing it on the ground before him.

The crystal shifted color, changing into a dark-green. Pure was about to speak the last few words when he heard a shout.

"PURE!"

He looked up, only to meet Twilight's worried face. She and the girls stood before him, outside of the runes-cirkle. They each bore a worried face, Pinkie showing a sign of fear.

"What are you doing!" Twilight asked, yelling hard enough to be heard.

"I need to do this, Twilight! I never discovered who killed my mother! I want to, no, need to know!" Pure answered, his voice getting darker and evil. "I'm sorry! My love for you IS real! It just happened that I also needed that extra bit of magic to be able to cast the spell!"

"Why?! Why do you need to know?!" Twilight asked, her face going from worried to confused and scared.

"I just need to know!" Pure said before speaking up the last few words.

"ET TEMPUS IPSUM!!!"

Light beamd from the crystal, creating a sort of window in front of Pure. He focused on the window, trying to get the image he needed.

The window changed, white replaced by darkness.

And then, he succeeded.

There she was, his mother running throught the living room of Pure's birth-house. She fell down, just able to call for help before a knife planted itself in her back. A cloaked pony appeared from the corner of the room, holding several more knives in his/her magic.

The rest was horrific. They watched as the mare was (litteraly) cut to ribbons. After looking at the horrid sight, Pure changed the vision so he could see who was doing this all.

But what he saw was not what he expected. The stallion that killed his mother was no other then his blood-own...

"Father?!"

Pure looked at the sight of his father ready to kill his mother. Anger, rage and sadness build up inside him. His magic started to change, it's normal-so-pleasent pine-green turning into a dark crimson-green.

"Pure! You know who did it! Now stop this crazyness!!" Twilight yelled, trying to get the unicorn's attention.

"NO! I wanted to know who did it so I could take REVENGE!! I WILL GET MY REVENGE!!!" Pure yelled, his voice beaming of rage. Trees around them started to shake, their leaves turning the same color as Pure's dark magic. Grass started to dry out, the life-force drained from it.

"You don't have to do this! Please, LISTEN TO ME!!" Twilight yelled trying to stop Pure. Tears fell down from her cheeks.

"WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?!?! What do you deserve? You're a PRINCESS!! You can have the whole world!! I won't do it for you!! I won't stop for YOU!!!" Pure said in return, his rage and anger at their limit. Trees around them started to dry up, the life-force of everything naturel being drained.

"THEN DO IT FOR OUR FOAL!!!" Twilight finally yelled with the top of her voice.

The magic surges stopped, the spell Pure was using halted. The trees and grass got their color back, the life-force drained returning. He levitated down, his magic aura returning to it's normal pine-green. Dryed-up tears were on his face, a few new ones appearing.

"Our... foal?" Pure asked with great surprise, his voice returing to it's normal tone. He was face to face with Twilight, guilt on his face.

"I found out today. When I left, it was for a test. I was told the news a few hours before the party. I was going to tell you anyways." Twilight said, a bit of disappiontement in her face. They walked closer.

"I'm... Sorry. For everything. I-I know I should have listened to you, but I waited for so long! I think my will to get revenge turned more into an obsession." Pure said, his eyes filled with guilt. The honesty in his words was crystal-clear.

"It's alright. It's not nothing to live with such a big question. She was your mother, and he was your father. It's difficult to understand immediatly." Twilight said, lifting a hoof up to touch Pure on the cheek. "What matters is that, eventually, you listened! That means that you care more about this then about getting revenge!" A little smile was on her face. She gave Pure a quick kiss before walking back a bit.

A sparkle could be seen in Pure's eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said. Twilight gave a kind nod before motioning to the castle. He took the note before following.

He followed behind the girls, taking the pendant and crystal in his magic, along with his saddlebags. The crystal hadn't changed color, residue of the magic Pure used still left. A small voice in his head tried to tell him to re-do the spell, but he quickly canceled it out as he caughed up with the girls.

"When were you originally gonna tell me about it?" Pure asked, trying to get the mood back up.

"I hoped after the party, to keep it a bit private for long enough." Twilight said, who also found that the mood could get a boost.

The duo left, back to the castle were a party was waiting for them. On the spot were the spell was used, there was nothing left but a few runes burned into the ground. Then, a shadow appeared from behind a building, the unknown pony bearing a large smile on it's face. It lauched, reaching the spot. It's horn glowed a crimson-red, the remains of the runes giving a small sample of the magic that surged through them. A small strain of dark-green magic floated up, to be put in a jar by the mysterious pony.

Before he/she left, the pony spoke in a dark voice.

"I will get my revenge, Twilight Sparkle! You just wait!"

Author's Note

Almost at the end! Just the Epilogue left. Keep reading!