//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: A Tale of Shadows and Chaos 
// by cuddlyluna 
//------------------------------//

Through the darkness of the shadow palace, Algea would be sitting on her throne with the now alicorn Cozy Glow sitting on one of the armrests. The Spirit of Shadows leaned against the other side of the throne appearing amused by Cozy Glow.

"So yeah, that's how I was going to knock Cloudsdale out of the sky. But obviously, I never got that far." Cozy said, revealing plans that never were able to be put into action.

"Soon enough child, you will have the opportunity to implement your ideas into the world." Algea would rise up out of her throne, walking to the center of the room. "Come, allow me to show you something." Cozy Glow would curiously flutter over to where she was. Algea did a hand motion, and from the floor rose a shining ball on a pedestal.

"What you see before you is the Eclipse Sphere. Sacanas and Grogar could only attempt to replicate the power of this artifact. It wields the ability to truly absorb the power and magic of a spirit."

Cozy would suddenly realize something and fly up close to Algea. "Wait, are you saying only that thing there can absorb Discord's magic?"

Algea would caress the sphere with one of her clawed fingers as she responds. "I thought you figured out by now that he only toyed with most of you."

Cozy would lower herself down to the ground to think, looking back up to Algea a bit nervously. "Just how powerful is he?" Algea hesitated before she walked to a large window that revealed the empty void outside the palace. "He struck down the gods all by himself."

Cozy was a bit quiet as Algea casually walked back to her chair. Algea would then point to Cozy to bring up a point. "On another note, I appreciate your loyalty by not attempting to use the artifact on myself. I am the only one who can control it, for future reference."

The little alicorn stuttered a little in response, glancing left and right. The spirit spoke over the fear-induced panic. "Think nothing of your thoughts of betrayal, Cozy Glow. I see much of myself in you, and I would have considered the same thing against a being less intelligent. Now, why don't you go check on the others."

Cozy would wipe away sweat and nod. "Will do!" 

Cozy would begin down the hall and stop by to see Tirek first. She knew Tirek better than the rest, so she opened his door without knocking. "Hey there Tirek! How ya doin' with your magic and stuff restored?"

Tirek would have his room made into a large target range. He was using his natural magic fused with his newly acquired shadow abilities to create devastating blasts at cutouts of ponies. "What do you want Cozy Glow, haven't we talked enough already?"

"Algea told me to go check up on the others, so I thought we could chat a little! After all, it's good for friends to chat every now and then. And you know what they say, friendship is magic!"

"Magic is the power that lies in my hands at this very moment, go bother someone else," Tirek said as he shot a blast out of his hand that incinerated all the targets in front of him.

Cozy decided to leave the grumpy centaur be. She walked out of the room and went to Chrysalis's door. "Hey Chrysy, how's it goin'?" Cozy said as she eased her door open. Chrysalis would be laying on a bed with her head dug into a pillow. She didn't react to Cozy entering the room.

"Oof, I've never seen you like this before. Want me to ask Algea to get you the log?"

She glared at Cozy Glow and stood up on the bed. "I don't need the log!"

"Well, do you need someone to talk to?" Cozy would point at herself with a big innocent smile across her face. Chrysalis would roll her eyes in response and plop her head back into the pillow. Cozy decided to fly over and sit on the bed next to her. "Say, I heard Algea call you a crystal princess, what was that about?"

Chrysalis would make a sigh of annoyance. She would sit upright and look at Cozy Glow. "Promise to leave my room afterward and I'll tell you." The little alicorn nodded her head and leaned in curiously.

"Are you aware of the lost princess Amore, former ruler of the crystal empire?"

"Twilight gave us a whole lesson about her when I was still at the school. She said that Sombra shattered her into crystal pieces."

Chrysalis looked her in the eyes with the most genuine expression she has ever revealed to her. "I... believe that I used to be her."

Cozy would stand up on the bed. "But how? that's impossible, right?"

Chrysalis shrugged and looked away. "Algea likely knows better than I. What I'm sure of is that I'm not like the other changelings. Also, I found a crystal with some umbrum magic in the pond where I was hatched. Only from studying it was able to make the magic nullifying throne."

Cozy would sit back down and rub her chin with her hoof for a moment. "Do you have any of her memories?"

Chrysalis would be looking off out of her window, staring into the dark empty expanse. "I don't know, I've been a changeling for hundreds of years. Memories tend to get fuzzy after a while."

Cozy would sneak up next to her. "Why don't you talk to Sombra about it?"

Chrysalis would glare at her and then form a sarcastic smile. "Sure, why don't I go talk to the heartless shadow king that killed me and then left my existence as the queen of bugs." Chrysalis would scuff and look away again. "His kingdom will be the first I topple when Algea turns us loose."

Cozy would hop off the bed and start on her way. "I'll just jot that down as a maybe. See ya Chrysy." As she went off down the hall, Chrysalis magically shut the door behind her.

She would arrive at Grogar's door and knock twice. "Grogar, wanna catch up?" The light cheery voice asked.

"No." The low pitched voice replied.

"Alright, see ya later!" The alicorn said before going on to the next door. 

Cozy would trot over to Sombra's door. "Hey Sombra, what's up?" She said as she opened up the door to find Sombra sitting down with his head pressed against the wall.

"After all these years, I can finally see more clearly."

The little alicorn was confused. "Uhh, what?"

"Have you ever been too far down the wrong path, beyond the point of no return?"

"Well, I mean-"

"I may not have chosen to be an umbrum, but it was I who agreed to their plans."

".... What are you-"

The shadow king began his tale. "When I was young, there was only one light in my life, Radiant Hope. She was the one pony that decided to have me as a friend. Hope was destined to be something more than she was, while I was destined to become the monster I am now. One day during the crystal faire, the darkness inside of me escaped. Before I fully transformed, Hope contained me. Though she gained fame from her newfound abilities. Out of fear of her abandoning me, I fled to the frozen wastes. Out there in the unforgiving cold, I found my creator. And the creator gave me power. Now that I reflect over it all, sitting alone in a palace of shadow. I regret what I did with the magic given to me. It was not destiny or corruption that was my downfall. It was I that let myself become the monster that I am."

Cozy just stared at him confusingly. She forced a quick smile on her face. "Alright, good talk!" She quickly shut the door behind her and went on down the hall to see Cosmos.

"Hello Cosmos, please don't tell me your life story!" She said as she flapped her way in. Upon examining the room, she would find Eris in there as well.

"I don't understand you, Cosmos." Eris would be saying to the other spirit of chaos. "That creature in the throne room gave us all of our powers back, plus some more abilities, and you aren't the least bit concerned."

Cosmos would be leaning over the edge of a bed bouncing a ball to pass the time. "Going through with whatever her plan is beats being trapped amongst the stars. Honestly, there might be some excitement in it. Shadows and Chaos coming together, Having another spirit to talk to, and Discord finally becoming my husband."

Eris gagged at the thought. "I still have no idea what you see in that freak. Besides, aren't you worried that she will do something drastic to Discord to get him out of the way?"

Cosmos scoffed as she kept her attention on the ball. "She isn't a match for him. The only reason I have any power over Discord is that I worked my way into his little chaotic heart. Something that you aren't very good at, birdie." She said, followed by her looking at Eris with a smirk.

Eris wasn't having any more of her, she marched out of the room towards the throne room. Cozy dodged out of her way and curiously followed after her.

Upon reaching the throne room, she would find Algea upon her throne looking into the Eclipse Sphere. "Are there any concerns, Eris?"

Eris would walk up to her. "What exactly are you, I demand to know!"

Algea would shift her gaze to her. "I am a spirit of chaos, like yourself. What more is there to know?"

"We aren't shadows, and I find it hard to believe a regular spirit of chaos would repower two competitors. You are something else, you have to be."

Algea would wave away the sphere with her magic, making her way down to Eris afterward. "We are formed when Harmony is created. When the spirit was originally conceived, so was Discord. When she was struck down and reborn, you came along. When the pillars replanted the Tree of Harmony, Cosmos had dawned. I am the result of Twilight's students reviving Harmony."

"That still does not explain the shadows, or how you are involved with events of the past if you were created recently," Eris responded with her arms folded.

Algea would turn away from her and begin to her throne once more. "You will understand in time." She would stop in her tracks suddenly, sensing something. Eris seemed to have sensed it as well. The two teleported away to the front of the castle.

"Hey, wait for me!" Cozy said, teleporting after them. When she arrived, she saw a group of heroes unconscious on the floor.

Algea would step forward and loom over them. "Well my friends, it looks like our mission just became much easier."