Memoria

by Li Cruz

5: Lost Hope

Luna stumbled into Sombra when the staircase moved away from the platform. His back to her as he sat in the light of the full moon. A white small vase reeking of alcohol next to him.

"Moonraiser." He greeted, not bothering to look.

"Sombra." Luna replied flatly.

Indeed of correcting her, he threw back a small saucer of the sweet-smelling drink. Luna cursing her curiosity moved out of the doorway onto the walkway. Sombra's normally red eyes had become green and weary.

"I hated that name." He spoke after a long silence. "Actually, I still do."

Luna kept quiet. The two head stallions of the Coven tended to say more when she didn't interrupt. Her encounter with Uzumaki was still quite fresh on her mind.

"I hated those two - Amore and Rabia." He slammed a hoof onto the walkway. "Umbrum may have been my people but their desire was their downfall. And Amore - that heartless nag of a mare."

Sombre rolled his head and glared with glazed eyes. "If it wasn't for Radiant, I would have died. Amore wouldn't or couldn't care less. Inner good, my plot."

"Radiant? As in Radiant Hope?" Luna froze for a moment.

Sombra looked to the stars. "Yes, the sister of my heart. Every year without fail, she would tend to me during that dreadful holiday. By the Elements, I miss her."

He brushed the walkway with a forearm. "I went mad with anger and grief to learn what I was. The Umbrum made me into this half creature. Radiant was able to talk me out of my desire for revenge against Amore but it was too late."

Sombra's stare grew even further. "Amore called on the Alicorns, Solaris and Hecate. They bonded my powers when they caught me and threw me into a cell, directly under the Crystal Heart."

He swallowed. "Poor Radiant, she did her best to stop them and paid a horrible price for it."

Luna waited as he gave a large pull from his saucer. "The backlash from the spell she used to try to stop the Alicorns and their shield destroyed her mind and her magic. The only mercy they granted me was to see her at the end."

He placed a forearm over his eyes. "I can still see her shattered form and blank eyes."

He paused with a bittersweet smile. "Before she passed, she recognized me. The only comfort I had for a long time."

Luna felt her eyes water but he continued. "I spent a decade, trying to died. By time, Nue and Uzumaki came upon me, I was little better than a puppet for Amore's purposes."

"Nue blackmailed Amore." Sombra's smile was tight. "Just in time as well. That Unicorn came only days after and annex the Crystal Empire. The Alicorns themselves fell quickly under the powers of Order."

"You mean Harmony?"

"Perhaps you could call it that." Sombra shrugged.

"You changed your name." Luna stated.

"And begun healing in honor of my soul sister." Somber Light knocked back another saucer. "That is my story, Moonraiser. I am Somber Hope, the Dark Healer of the Coven. Now and forever."