Stygian, still haunted by his past, looks deep inside himself to find out exactly what led him to become the Pony of Shadows. If friendship really is magic, how is it that his friends couldn't have saved him without Twilight and her friends intervening? How did his inner darkness convince him to turn evil? Was he really so wrong in what he did if there is no light without darkness? This origin story provides all these questions with an answer.

Cover art is an edit of P2P: The Pillars by SambaNeko.

https://www.deviantart.com/sambaneko/art/P2P-The-Pillars-796228634