Darkness surrounded a room filled to the brim with evil, with no hope of pure light ever reaching this place. Alas, there was light, but it was artificial with an aura darker than night. The light allowed a certain Unicorn to view something huddled together in fetal position in a tank filled with water. Although it was naked, no one could actually see anything naughty, so this story was still rated PG, much the the relief of the author. Looking into the tank, the Unicorn smiled.

"My, my, what a beautiful thing you've become..." he chuckled. The thing he was talking about was a female humanoid in shape, with long white hair tipped golden at the ends. Sharp, black wings sprouted from her back, signalling the pure darkness residing in her heart. This was none other than the droplet of darkness her found a bit ago.

"Sir! Your report!" a fellow scientist came up to him and gave him some papers with his own magic "You'll be quite pleased with the results."

"Experiment 04223 is in perfect health" the Unicorn read off the paper "Minor quirks detected, but nothing unrepairable within 24 hours. Hmm... This is good. Thank you for this, Light Streak."

"Of course, sir" Light Streak nodded before going back to his own business, leaving the Unicorn to continue staring at his creation

"I suppose you'll need a name now, won't you?" he wondered to himself "I'm not good at names, so why not something simple, yet unique. Something like..."

He read the tank number and smiled a bit. To him, tank #04223 looked like a name if you turned it the right way. After a bit more though, he finally decided to go with..."

"Anne..." he chuckled "I like that... Very well then, Anne. It's a pleasure to meet you. I just hope you aren't disgustingly rude. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you will be..."

(Music Stop)

XXXXXX

With a small yawn, a little crystfairy hopped out of her bed and slowly flew downstairs, stretching her arms in the process. It had been an entire week since she and Fluttershy sat down and spoke of her dark past, and by then she had healed both mentally and physically. She didn't know if it was because of the crystal heart or if she's just been here too long, but Airy had begun really enjoying life in Fluttershy's cottage.

"Good morning, Airy" the timid Pegasus smiled at her as she cooked them some breakfast "The food is almost ready. I'm making some eggs. Would you like anything else?"

"Hmm?" the fairy perked up, still half asleep "O-Oh, sure! Could I have some milk?"

"Of course" Fluttershy nodded "Anything else?"

"A certain white rabbit to stop staring at me..." Airy deadpanned as she glared at Angel, who was in turn glaring at her.

"Oh Airy, I'm sure he just likes you" the mare giggled a bit "Now, breakfast is on the table. Go and wash up, okay?"

"Sure thing" Airy nodded before heading off to the washroom. As soon as she left, Fluttershy motioned her pet bunny to come over to her. She lightly petted him on his head before going back to setting the table. Suddenly, a hasty knock was heard at her door. Curiously, she went over to it and opened it up. To her surprise, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all there with worried looks on their faces.

"Hello girls" the mare smiled "What are you-"

(Music Stop)

"No time to explain, Fluttershy!" Scootaloo interrupted her "You're the only one who can help!"

"Oh my goodness!" the timid mare gasped "Is somepony hurt? Did something happen?"

"Well, I'm not sure if it's somepony..." Sweetie Belle shrugged "...but certainly something needs your help!"

"Nurse Redheart usually does this kinda stuff" Apple Bloom stated "But we were thinkin' 'at yer better at animals than her, and we weren't sure if what er who we found was an animal er a person!"

"Did you bring it here?" Fluttershy asked.

"N-No, we didn't..." Sweetie lowered her head "I guess we were just so scared that we forgot to bring him..."

"In that case, we gotta get going!" Scootaloo pointed out.

"Hmm? What's this all about?" Airy floated next to Fluttershy.

"Someone or something was found by the girls" the timid mare explained the situation.

"Oh, have they now?" the crystfairy looked at the three skeptically "And would this thing have anything to do with the prank you pulled on me a few days ago?"

"Girls, what did you do?" the Pegasus sighed.

"Um... Nothing..." Apple Bloom lied "But 'at's beside the point! The point is 'at 'ere's somethin' injured out 'ere, an' if we dun do somethin' 'bout it, it'll probably die!"

"Out of curiosity, girls," Fluttershy began "just what did this animal look like?"

"Well..." Sweetie recalled "I remember it having a tan head, curly white hair, and black scales all over its body. It kept moaning and saying stuff like 'Edea, I'm sorry...' and stuff!"

Airy went still. She knew exactly who this was who the girls found. How could she forget the man that nearly foiled Ouroboros's plan? In the long run, she was glad he could hold his own for at least a little while and delay it. But how exactly did he get into this world, and why did he appear so late? Didn't he die before she did?

"They tell the truth" she nodded "We have to go and help him now! Besides, I think I owe him something."

"Airy, you know about him?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, but unfortunately, he didn't like me too much" she explained "Just bring me to him, okay!"

"Airy, be nice, okay?" Fluttershy reminded her.

"Oh, right... sorry..."

XXXXXX

Fluttershy and Airy followed the girls in a somewhat lighter area of the Everfree Forest. That wasn't saying much though, as the lighting was still atrocious. Nonetheless, the group pressed onwards to where the cutie mark crusaders thought they saw someone injured. It wasn't long before Fluttershy's body began to tremble a bit.

"G-Girls, I'm not sure if-"

"It'll be fine, Fluttershy! Nothing to be afraid of in here" Scootaloo nodded, remembering her camping trip with a certain role model of hers "Besides, that guy needs help!"

"I'm just afraid of what he'll do after he comes to" Airy sighed "Remember; he doesn't like me all that much."

"So stay outta sight" Apple Bloom suggested "Ifin yer right 'bout him not likin' ya, maybe it'd be a good idea ta stay away fer a bit."

"You're... You're right" the fairy nodded "But he'll find out about me eventually... And when he does, heavens knows what he'll do then... He could hurt you, or destroy the town, anything really!"

"He s-sound... dangerous..." the timid Pegasus muttered softly the last part of her sentence.

"Look, over there!" Sweetie Belle pointed over at a black thing lying on the ground with a red sword dug in next to it "That's the guy!"

(Music Stop)

The five rushed over to the creature that was exactly how the girls described it; curly white hair with black scales over its body. Only, it weren't scales at all. In fact, it was armour coating the poor thing from top to bottom, telling the party that he was part of some sort of military. Fluttershy checked his face, which had multiple scars and bruises on it.

"Thank goodness..." she sighed in relief "He's still alive, but I'm not how long he'll last in this place. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how he already survived this long already what with the monsters and the cold weather."

"Well, he has this sword" Sweetie Belle picked up the sword with her magic "Maybe he protected himself with it?"

"Or he's too stubborn to die..." Airy sighed "Either way, we have to help him!"

"Right" Scootaloo nodded before attempting to pick him up by herself. She was soon joined by Sweetie and Apple Bloom moments later, picking the creature up and bringing him back to the cottage. As they walked back, Fluttershy asked her once-patient an obvious question she wished she asked earlier.

"Airy, however did you know of him?"

"Him?" the crystfairy questioned "Well, it all goes back to the story I told you. But this was during the final worlds I had to connect. While I wasn't there to witness it myself, this man jumped on board our ship and tried to stop the heroes of light from aiding me. In the end, I'm glad he tried, but it was all in vain."

"May I ask what his name is?"

"His name?" Airy asked "His name is..."

(Music Stop)

XXXXXX

"Alternis Dim" the creature said "But you may call me Alternis."

As soon as the girls brought the creature back to Fluttershy's cottage, they immediately laid him down onto the green sofa in the living room, where the timid owner of the abode got to work immediately. She took off his armour, revealing a white shirt and black shorts, and bandaged up the small wounds on his body. She finally fed him some liquified herbs and flowed them down his throat. After a few more hours, he began to come to, signalling Airy to fly off before he met with his saviors.

"Very nice to meet you, Alternis" Fluttershy smiled "My name is Fluttershy, and this is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo."

"We saved ya from the Everfree Forest!" Apple Bloom jumped up and down in glee "But, how in the world did ya git 'ere anyway?"

"I walked" the white haired man answered simply.

"Through the whole forest?!" Scootaloo gasped "You know that place is full of dangerous animals, right?"

"They were not too difficult to slay" Alternis shrugged before looking around the room "Speaking of slaying, wherever did my sword go? That sword is beyond important to me."

"Oh, sorry about that..." Fluttershy carefully picked up the red bladed sword with her wings "I didn't want the girls to be hurt or scared by your, um, very sharp blade so I, um, hid it away."

"Understandable" the man nodded "By the way, have you seen a blonde girl with a red battle dress around here?"

"Sorry, no..." the timid mare shook her head in shame.

"Damn..." he sighed "Edea, where could you have gone?"

"This is so cool!" Sweetie Belle grinned "Twilight's going to be so happy to see you! To us, you're a totally new species! She'll freak out just how she did with Air-" she quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

(Music Stop)

"...what did you say?" Alternis's voice began to shake.

"Um... nothing!" the white Unicorn filly nervously chuckled.

"Is... Is Airy... No, it cannot be..." the man clutched his head with his hands as his whole body began to tremble "I failed to defeat her, but could not even Edea stop her?! Is Edea... Is she... no... NO!" He picked up his sword and hopped out of bed, rushing outside to where he finally shouted into the sky "GRAAAAAA!!!"

"Alternis!" Fluttershy shouted "Oh no... Airy, please come down quick!"

"What, what is it?!" the crystfairy flew down as fast as possible and saw the enraged man outside the cottage "That isn't good... If Alternis gets to town, I'm not sure what will become of it or its inhabitants."

Just as Airy finished her sentence, Alternis charged right for Ponyville to unleash his anger. The group gasped in horror, but their hopes shone once again as Discord appeared before them.

"Greetings one and all" he bowed before looking at the armed figure running for Ponyville slashing anything in his way "Fluttershy, who in Equestria is that? And why exactly is he in a blood-rage?"

"No time to explain!" Airy butted in "We have to stop him or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Discord, don't make this hard for us!" the fairy steamed "Just use your magic to stop him!"

"Oh, very well..." the spirit of chaos sighed before snapping a hand and picking Alternis up from the distance, cracking a smile. His smile soon faded into a look of horror as the man escaped his magic with ease.

"Im-Impossible!" he stayed shocked for a while longer "How is he able to break free from my magic?"

"If even Discord can't hold him down, what will?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We'll have to do it ourselves..." Airy sighed "Let's just hope he doesn't kill anyone before we get there."

"Girls, please stay here and wait, okay?" Fluttershy calmly asked the cutie mark crusaders, to which they all let out a collective sigh of disappointment "And Discord, try and look after them, okay?"

"Of course, my dear" the spirit of chaos nodded.

XXXXXX

Airy and Fluttershy finally made it to Ponyville, where fortunately everyone had evacuated from the area. Alternis was still in his rage, and facing him was none other than Twilight Sparkle, the nerdy mare Airy met a week ago. They stared each other down with glares that she swore could kill before the little fairy finally revealed herself.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried "Alternis, don't do this!"

"You!" he scowled at her "You have caused too much pain for Edea! I will kill you and finally put an end to all this!"

"You have it all wrong!" the crystfairy shouted again "I've been reformed! No power flows through my veins, Ouroboros is dead, and-"

"SILENCE!!" the man yelled, pointing his sword at Airy "I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH OF YOUR LIES!!"

"Alternis, was it?" Twilight brought his attention back onto her "I don't know who you think you are or what you want, but you can't go around harming others! It's not right!"

"That wretched beast!" he pointed at Airy "She killed THOUSANDS!! Yet you take her side?! She is deceiving you, all of you!"

(Music Stop)

"While yes, she was a bit bitter when we first met her," the princess sighed, making the crystfairy roll her eyes "she has visited me many times since then, and she has improved greatly. Just because some of the things she's done in the past weren't good, that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a second chance."

"You horses... You forgive too easily..." Alternis's rage began building up inside him again before he exploded in fury "You helped her, therefore you are responsible for Edea's death!"

"W-What?!" everyone said in collaboration. The blonde man didn't listen though. Instead he withdrew his red blade and pointed it right at Twilight.

"I am Alternis Dim" he said in pure anger "Dark Knight of the Eternian Council of Six. You have been found guilty in aiding a fiend and a murderer, and for that, I will destroy you!"

"I don't want to do this, Alternis!" the lavender mare argued, but was inevitably stopped as the man charged forward, slashing his sword at her. Quickly, she put up a magical barrier around herself, but Alternis kept cutting away until he eventually broke it and lightly scraped the mare's chest in her attempt to dodge.

"You are weak!" he shouted "But I suppose the guilty always are!"

"Fine, you want to play by your rules?" Twilight asked before summoning an iron sword and gripping it with her magic "It's been a while since I've done this, but either way, you won't get past me!"

"GRAAAAA!!" Alternis jumped up into the air and brought his sword down upon the princess, to which she thankfully blocked it. They began clashing swords, Twilight defending and Alternis constantly attacking. However, the man did something she wasn't expecting.

"Default!" he shouted. His sword blocked all attacks for a few seconds, and no matter how hard the lavender mare tried to break his defenses, she simply couldn't. She became exhausted from all the swinging around of her sword and eventually collapsed.

"Brave!" Alternis shouted again, but instead of guarding, a quick red light appeared around him before he charged right at Twilight with full force. Fortunately, the mare had just enough energy left to cast a magic shield around her again and block the attack.

"Why?" he growled "Why do you persist in fighting for that creature?! She is deceiving you, don't you understand?!"

"No" Twilight shook her head before getting back up after a rest "What I don't understand is why you want to fight me. I get it that Airy did some pretty bad things in the past, but what did-"

"If she is here, she must have killed Edea!" Alternis yelled "Edea was my friend, my sister... my love... And that beast cast her aside like some pile of trash! She was more than that!"

"But Alternis, Edea-" Airy tried to explain before getting interrupted.

"Don't say her name!" he yelled, looking right at the crystfairy "You have no idea how-"

(Music Stop)

Alternis's eyes shrunk before he hit the ground with a thud, completely unconscious. Behind him was Twilight who had whacked him on his head with the hilt of her sword. She dropped the blade and lay down to take a breather.

"Twilight, you defeated him!" Airy smiled "And you didn't even have to resort to killing him!"

"Killing him?!" the princess was shocked by the fairy's choice of words, but shrugged it off anyway "A-Anyway, what do you think we should do with him?"

"I-If it's okay with you, Twilight" Fluttershy spoke up "But, um, maybe it would be a good idea to, um, put him in your dungeon for now?"

"Probably a good idea..." the lavender mare nodded "Okay, you three. I'll take care of our friend here and bring him in for questioning. You should head back and relax for a bit, okay?"

"Okay" Airy nodded before slowly flying back to Fluttershy's cottage "Oh, and give Alternis a chance, okay? The only reason he lashed out like that was because of his love for Edea. He's not that bad once you get to know him. Stale, but not that bad."

"Will do" Twilight chuckled a bit before picking the man and his sword up off the ground with her magic and bringing them to her castle.

"Oh, please wait for me, Airy!" Fluttershy trotted over to the crystfairy as they both laughed their way back home. However, they never noticed the strange figure watching them from the roof of one of the houses.

"So that is the origin of our experiment, eh?" he chuckled "I think my master will be very pleased..."

Author's Notes:

Woo! Another chapter for the archives! Sorry for the lateness, but to make it up to you, "That Person's Name Is.../He of the Name" is in this chapter. Don't know what that is? Only the best boss theme I've ever heard in my life! Well, normal boss theme anyway.

Have any questions, ideas or concerns? Please comment down below and we can talk it out. Thank you!

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow, and until then, I'll see you guys later!