Cold. That was all that existed in Sunset's life. Though that wasn't always the case. Until recently her world was warm and bright. But all of that changed when Anon-a-Miss appeared. With just a few posts the blogger took everything away from her. Now the warmth was gone and in its place was cold, emptiness, and pain.
She cringed as her breath exacerbated her bruised ribs. Blood trickled past her lips from her nose as she trudged through the howling winds. The fierce snow storm that tore through the streets around her filled her line of sight with pure white as the cold numbed her wounds. Her arms hung loosely at her sides as she walked, the will to use them to warm her lost along with the feeling she once had in her broken and bleeding fingers. Her tattered and torn winter jacket did little against the frigid winds that bit into her like a thousand starving rats. Feeling started to fade from her tired legs as she marched against the gales, no real destination in mind as she walked through the land of white. Her good eye dimly scanned her surroundings as she walked, the other one swollen shut from her recent fight.
Though calling it a fight was too generous a term. An ambush beating was more appropriate as people she could only briefly identify as her fellow students came out of an alley on the way to her apartment. She didn't even have time to scream before fists and boots were brought down upon her.
Tears started to slide down her cheeks along with her blood as she remembered the pain. The pain that seemed to last for hours before she blacked out. The pain that tore through her when she came to later and tried to stand up. Then the relief that came from the merciless snowstorm that ripped through the town.
Why did this happen? she thought, the strength fading from her knees as she staggered forward. I thought I had made up for what I did. I thought they were my friends.
A horse gasp burst past her lips as her legs finally gave out and she fell to the snow-covered ground. The world started to turn dark as what little strength she had left started to fade away.
Maybe it's better this way. If I died...then...Anon-a-Miss will stop. Not that it really matters anyway. Nobody loves me. Hell...th...ey...all...want me....dead.
"Perhaps," a female voice said.
What remained of Sunset's mind focused on the voice, the world now nothing but a black void without sound or feeling.
"W-Who's there?" she asked, voice thick and horse.
"Who am I? A foolish question. You know who I am."
Sunset sighed, then rolled onto her back as she stared up into the abyss.
"Am I going to hell?"
A harsh laugh filled the void.
"You believe me to be death? Ha! That stingy charlatan wishes he could be me! No Sunset. I am not death and you are not dead. Though I fail to see why you would want to die. There is so much left to do."
"Like what?" she asked hollowly. "I have nothing to live for. No one to fight for. I'm alone. Again."
"Indeed," the voice mused. "You have no one to fight for, but that doesn't mean you have no purpose."
"What purpose?"
"You know pain, suffering, and betrayal. You know the emptiness of the abyss. Let's give that pain to those that have given you such a cruel set of gifts. Do they not deserve it? Does a criminal not deserve punishment? If you are destined to fall into the abyss, why not drag the fools that condemned you to that fate along with you?"
Sunset mulled the voice's words over for a bit, remembering all of the people that lead her to this moment. She remembered the time she spent with her friends. The time spent helping Fluttershy at the animal shelter on the weekends. All of the matches shared between her and Rainbow Dash on the court after school. Every day she helped Applejack tend to the farm when she could spare the time. All of the times Pinkie snuck into her apartment to have a small party for whatever excuse she could think of that day. All of her modeling sessions with Rarity after school and trips to the spa when she could twist Sunset's arm hard enough.
A small spark flashed inside her at the thought of the purple haired woman. Countless other memories ran though her head as she focused on her. Sleepovers at Sunset's apartment that turned into less innocent things over time. Dates at the mall behind her friend's backs. Small moments alone at the park. Their first kiss behind the bleachers just a couple months ago. Then the hateful glares the fashionista sent her with the rest of Sunset's former friends. The hateful words that cut through her like searing hot razors as she fell to her knees in the hall. The tears she shed when the girl she loved left her to rot.
The spark inside her turned into a raging inferno as she dragged herself to her feet, the void seeming to ripple around her in response to her fury.
"Yes," she sneered, her wounds fading as her anger flooded her veins like liquid fire. "Let's do it."
"Excellent!" the voice cheered. "Then let's form our pact. I am thou. Thou art I. A raging flame that scours the soul. A Goddess of Vengeance that cleaves all who stands against the scales of justice. Shout out my name, and let us lead the souls of the guilty to their ultimate punishment!"
Sunset put her hand up above her head and with a voice as soft as silk said, "Come to my side, Alecto."
A door wreathed in black flames formed above Sunset and with a faint creek it opened to admit a being of pure hatred. She was tall, about a head taller then Sunset if she stood beside her and had a thin, toned build. She bore spartan armor with a helmet built in the shape of a crow's head, a pair of glowing red eyes peering out of the helmet's open beak. In on hand she held a flaming sword covered with jagged teeth like a saw while the other held a flaming whip covered with obsidian thorns. From her back were a pair of wings made of knives, each dripping with blood from a recent kill.
Sunset stared at the angel of pain and smiled.
Sunset felt the smile her Persona returned just before it let out a blood curdling scream into the darkness around them. She felt a wave of power rush through her as the world around her started to change. Buildings made of mirrored glass rose out of the darkness like shimmering trees. Streets made of diamond formed on the "ground" between the buildings as a type of border around the structures. A blood red moon formed in the sky, covering the scene with an aura of haunted dread as it's crimson radiance cut through the thick gray clouds that covered the sky. Sunset's smile grew as she stared at the true masterpiece that stood at the heart of the city. A twisted tower, miles high and hundreds of feet wide pierced the heavens like the lance of an eldritch god well past the cloud line into the true oblivion of The Abyss.
Sunset trembled as she struggled to contain her glee at what she created, but it became too much as manic laughter burst past her lips.
"Beautiful!" she cried, bouts of laughter forcing her to fall to her knees.
In time, her laughter faded into light chuckles, the power thrumming through her giving her a high no drug could ever hope to achieve as she stared at The Abyss.
"It's so beautiful. I can't believe I made it."
"Believe it," Alecto said, placing a hand on her mistress's shoulder. "This is the prison your power created. The shape of your vengeance."
"No," Sunset growled as she staggered back to her feet. "This is is the shape of my new purpose."
Sunset smiled as she marveled at the world her new power had created, but a raging fury sat beneath the surface as she thought about what she planned to do.
Brace yourself Anon-a-Miss. I'm coming for you.