An Anon-a-Miss Persona

by Arcanum -Phantasy

Ch.2 Viper Lily

A dry groan made it past Rarity's lips, her whole body feeling like it had been tied to lead weights. She barely had enough strength to open her eyes, only managing to open them enough to see swirls of blurry colors far to bright for her weak eyes to bare. At the same time, she felt a soft warmth enveloping her on all sides, as if she were wrapped in a cocoon of warmed silk. A soothing scent graced her senses, a strange mix lavender and vanilla that cleared the fog from her mind and lightened the weight on her muscles. A soft humming lightly pulled her drowsiness away, the voices tone taking her back to happier times. With her strength coming back to her, she opened her eyes yet again, only now, what she saw brought wonder instead of confused pain.

She laid in a massive king-sized bed with cream-colored silk sheets and comforter. It's headboard and frame was made of ornate chocolate brown oak, polished to an immaculate shine. The walls of the room and the rest of the furniture were made of the same material, said room easily ten times bigger than her own back home. A crystal and gold chandelier hung from the ceiling, crystal bulbs shining low to give the room an almost intimate atmosphere. A pair of incense sticks laid in a holder on a small table at the right of her bed, each filling the room with thin trails of scented smoke from their lit ends. To her left, siting with her bare left leg crossed sensually over her skirt-covered right was a woman that could've easily passed for Sunset's mother, her eyes closed and humming a soft lullaby.

She had the same hair color and skin tone as her ex, but was at least ten years her senior. Even so, that was not a mark against the woman in any way. It was obvious that she took great pride in her looks and was not afraid to show the fruits of her labors. Between the tight embrace of her black cocktail dress and the confidence she held in her poise, it was impossible for the young girl to fight back her blush.

The woman abruptly halted her humming, sporting a small smirk as she opened her teal eyes.

"Finally awake, eh?" she asked, her tone teasingly playful. "That's good. I was starting to worry, sugar."

Rarity simply nodded, face red as a rare case of nerves strangled her voice.

The woman chuckled at that and leaned back in her seat.

"What's wrong, cat's got your tongue?" She asked, raising a brow.

Rarity tried to give a response, but when she opened her mouth, she could only force a dry cough to come out.

"Easy sugar," she cooed, getting out of her seat to gently put a hand onto her shoulder. "I was only teasing ya'. You've been stuck in this bed for three days. Of course you can't talk yet."

THREE DAYS!? she thought, eyes widening at the revelation.

Seemingly reading the young girl's mind, the woman nodded and said, "Between your injuries and all of the energy you burned through using your Persona, I'm surprised it didn't take you a week to wake up."

"My...Per...son...a?" Rarity asked, her voice dry as she forced the words past her lips.

The woman blinked in surprise at the display, then regained her playful smirk as she said, "Tough and pretty, you're gonna make someone feel real lucky someday, sugar."

Rarity blushed harder at that.

"But yeah," she continued. "That's the power you tapped into a few days ago. Think of it like calling a part of your soul to fight on your behalf. Everyone has one in one form or another, but only a handful of people have the power to summon their persona into the real world. Those lucky souls get a key from Igor and a room from me."

When the woman mentioned Igor, Rarity's eyes briefly widened.

That wasn't a dream? The man? The garden? All of it was real?

"Where...am I?" she croaked, some of her strength slowly coming back to her.

The woman chuckled, puffing out her chest in pride.

"Why, none other than The Viper Lily Hotel, the safest and best establishment in the whole Abyss!"

"Abyss?" she asked. "Is that what this place is called?"

"Yeah?" she frowned. "You really don't know anything, do ya'?"

She shook her head.

"Figures," the woman sighed. "But before we get into that, let's put some grub in ya'!"

With a snap of her fingers, three cobalt blue male mannequins dressed in red tuxes faded into existence at the foot of Rarity's bed. They each stood at perfect attention with their hands behind their packs and facing forward. Their heads where completely void of any features beyond a slight trace of a chin and forehead.

"Get to the kitchen and put a feast together for our guest," the woman demanded, tone stern as she stared the figures down. "If I see anything less then our finest quality food enter this room, I'll personally feed the fool responsible to the nearest Shadow, am I understood?"

They nodded.

"Good," she smirked. "Now get to it!"

With another nod, the three figures faded away.

"Homunculi," she sighed. "Not much for conversation, but great for keeping a place like this running smoothly. If only their components weren't so hard find."

The women's eyes widened slightly as she turned towards the young girl and said, "I haven't caught your name yet, have I? Sorry about that. What's your name, sugar?"

"Rarity," she croaked.

"A pretty name for a pretty girl," the woman winked. "Suits ya' real well, sugar. Mine's Viper Lily, but you can call me Viper if you want."

***

The week passed in a blur of sleep and fine meals presented by Viper's unnerving servants. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter. Whatever it was she had to do to awaken her Persona, it took a massively heavy toll on her body. On top of feeling drained for the first few days, she was absolutely ravenous, practically inhaling everything the Homunculi put in front of her. When she managed to move past that stage, she was able to regain her table manners and actually appreciate the skill put into the food presented to her.

Eventually, she managed to recover enough to finally leaver her bed.

Dressed in a silver silk bedgown, she lightly staggered towards her room's door and let herself out. She was instantly greeted by a dimly lit hall, the polished oak walls lit by ornate crystal bulbs set into ivy shaped lamps affixed to them near the ceiling. Lining the walls were several doors, each roughly a dozen feet apart from each other. Each door had an odd symbol positioned just below their numbers. A quick examination of her own door revealed an elaborate iron wheel set into the wood just below a golden number ten.

Mesmerized by the craftsmanship on display, she staggered into the hall and softly closed the door behind her. Her feet lightly padded on the polished green marble floor as she made her way down the hall, her eyes constantly wandering as she made her way down the hall. At its end, she came to a massive chamber, a titanic golden domed ceiling hovering over her, covered with silver constellations and another hall on the end opposite of her. A spiraling oak staircase dominated the room's center and tall rectangular windows owned its front, the red light of the full moon beyond painting the scene in its haunting aura.

Still under the pull of her curiosity, she ignored the windows and made her way down the stairs. With a tight grip on the railing, she was able to keep her unsteady legs under her long enough to reach the bottom without falling to her doom. Upon doing so, she found herself in what appeared to be a lounge area of sorts. Ornate lounge chairs straight from period films lined the room, complete with small tables one could rest their glasses or other such pleasures upon standing within easy reach. A record player stood in a corner of the room to the left of a merrily crackling fireplace, the device playing a slow jazz number that set a soothing mood all across the dimly lit setting. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, its crystal bulbs dimmed to just enough to set the mood. In the far back of the room, directly opposite of where Rarity stood, was a fully loaded bar. Viper Lily sat behind the bar, a book laid out before her as she casually took a drag from a cigarette locked into an ivory holder.

Happy to see the woman again, Rarity slowly made her way towards the bar, her strength finally starting to reach its limit. When she slumped into a bar seat, Viper looked up from her book with small smirk.

"Finally strong enough to leave your room, eh sugar?" she snickered.

"Yes," she sighed, wiping some sweat from her brow.

"Not by much though," she frowned, drawing a glass out from under the table. "What's your poison?"

"Just water is fine," she frowned. "I am far too young to imbibe in such riské beverages, thank you very much."

"Oh come on now," Viper chuckled, taking a chilled bottle of water from a nearby mini fridge. "We all have a few guilty pleasures, sugar. You trying to tell me you've never had a sip?"

Rarity looked away , refusing to answer for a long minute as Viper filled her glass.

When the older woman slid the glass in front of her, the young girl still refused to meet her gaze as she mumbled out a "Maybe," just before she took a swig.

Viper chuckled at that, taking a wine glass out from under the bar and setting it onto the table.

"Thought so," she smiled, pouring herself a glass of red wine. "Now that your up and about, I bet you have a few questions for me."

"I do, as a matter of fact," Rarity nodded.

"Then let's have it," she smiled, taking a small casual sip of her drink.

"Well...I suppose a good place to start is, Where am I?"

"I thought I already told you that," Viper frowned, raising a brow.

"Not where, as in the hotel, but where as it, the world, darling," she pressed.

"I see," Viper sighed. "I guess that would make a bit more sense.

Gazing into her glass with a bit of melancholy, she gave her answer.

"We call this place, The Abyss. It's a place the HIgh Judge brings people to to pass judgement upon for wrongs brought upon the innocent. It's thanks to her that the place is the way it is, crawling with Shadows and full of hapless humans struggling to stay out of her grasp."

"We?" Rarity blinked.

Viper nodded, a pained sigh rolling past her lips.

"This world wasn't always as big as it is now. In the beginning, there was just me and my six sisters. All of us lived in this hotel together, laughing at each other's misfortunes and keeping the place intact. When The Abyss expanded outside of the hotel's confines, they were dragged out into it. I...haven't seen them since."

"I....I'm so sorry to hear that," she frowned, placing a hand on one of the woman's own.

Viper gave her a pained smile and said, "Thank ya', sugar. Now, do ya' have any other questions?'

Noting the dodge, Rarity tried to think of something else to ask.

Eventually settling on a topic, she fought past a shiver as she asked, "When I came to this world, I was attacked by a monster. Do you know what that horrid thing was?"

"A Shadow, most likely," Viper sighed, taking a drag from her cigarette. "The Abyss is crawling with them. If I had to be a bit more specific, I'd be willing to bet a Juror class was the one that caught ya'."

"A Juror class? What do you mean by that?" Rarity pressed.

"Put simply," Viper continued. "There are five Shadow Classes. From bottom to top, these are Juror, Witness, Defendant, Prosecutor, and Judge. Most of the Shadows that hunt in The City of Punishment are Juror Class, but Shadows from the higher classes do occasionally appear from time to time."

"I see," Rarity mused. "What can you tell me about the Jurors?"

"There isn't much to tell, sugar," she shrugged. "They may look like humans, but are about as smart as a brick. They don't have any magical abilities, but they do have a set of razor sharp claws. They also like to hunt in packs, which makes the fact that you only ran into one a huge stroke of luck."

"I see," she gulped, not sure if she was going to like the answer to her next question. "How large are these packs usually?"

"Anywhere from five to ten members," she sighed. "It's mostly due to how frail each of them are. A simple stab in the neck is all it takes to put them down in a one-on-one fight."

Her hands trembled at that revelation.

The memories of dealing with one of those foul creatures was almost too much for her to endure, but five or ten? A phantom burn rand down her spine at the memory of the Juror's claw ripping through her flesh, the blood running down her legs as it pooled around her feet. She let out a shuddering breath as she forcefully dragged herself back to the present.

Bracing herself for even more unfriendly truths, she locked eyes with her savior and asked, "What do the Shadows do...if they catch you?"

Viper's eyes turned cold, her face marred by a deep scowl as she answered.

"The how may differ among the classes, but if a Shadow catches ya', it'll beat you within an inch of your life. For whatever reason, the High Judge doesn't want the people brought here dead. That doesn't mean she doesn't want them hurt. If a Shadow catches you outside of a house, it will beat the ever-loving hell out of you and throw you back in. Simple as that."

Instantly, images of her friends suffering such a fate flashed through her mind. Rainbow, battered and bruised to the point of tears. Applejack, bashed nearly into a coma. Pinkie, covered in claw marks from a raving pack of Jurors. Fluttershy weakly crying in a puddle of her own blood. Sweetie laying on the ground in agony as a Juror stood over her.

"I NEED TO HELP THEM!" she screamed, slamming her hands onto the bar as she jumped to her feet.

"Easy sugar," Viper soothed, standing and putting a hand on the frantic girl's shoulder. "You're still recovering. Way I see it, you've still got another week before you can go saving anyone."

"I don't have a week to waste!" she snapped, swatting the hand away. "Right now, my friends and sister are out there facing who-knows-what kind of horrors while I sit here twiddling my thumbs like a fool!"

"I understand where you're coming from, sugar," she frowned. "But look at yourself. You barely have enough energy to stand, and you still haven't regained enough of your spirit power to summon your Persona. If you go out there now, you'll just be another punching bag for the Jurors."

"Th-Then what am I suppose to do?" she demanded, frustrated tears starting to run down her face. "Do nothing while the people I care about suffer?"

Viper stared her down for a long second, smooth jazz and Rarity's sniffling the only sounds that filled the silence between them. Eventually, the hostess let out a defeated sigh and reached for something beneath the bar.

"You couldn't've been this stubborn for her sake too?" she muttered, wrapping her fingers around her prize. "Figures. Foolish humans will be fools for life."

"Excuse me?" Rarity blinked.

"Nothing, sugar, just talking to myself," she snickered, placing a small crystal bottle onto the bar.

It was a tiny thing, no bigger than a shot glass yet perfectly carved into a diamond shape. Corked within was a strange blue, glowing liquid that seemed to swirl in a slow perpetual tide. Rarity stared down at the bottle, mesmerized by the continuously shifting liquid light, before a snap from Viper brought her back to reality.

"Stay with me, sugar," she smirked. "This is a Spirit Essence Vial. A swig from this should restore some of your Spirit Power. Enough to summon your Persona, at least."

A wide smile spread across Rarity's face upon hearing that.

"Thank you so much!" she cheered, reaching for the vial.

Only for it to be slapped aside at the last second by her host.

"Not so fast, sugar," Viper frowned. "I'm not giving you this to go running off and get yourself beaten to a pulp."

"Then, why are you?" she asked, rubbing her poor hand.

A cheshire's grin spread across the woman's face as she said, "If you're so gung-ho on going out to save people, I think you should at least know what the hell you're doing first."

"You...wish to teach me how to fight?" Rarity blinked.

"It is one of the services this place provides," she winked. "Between the Ballroom Arena and the Healing Springs out back, it shouldn't be too hard to get you into fighting shape."

"Excuse me?!" she gawked. "Just what kind of Hotel is this place?!"

"The kind that wants to make sure its guests have everything they need to survive in this crazy world," she snickered. "That reminds me, I should help you choose a weapon from the Basement Armory later. What kind of weapon do you think would be a good fit for yourself? Do you have any preferences?"

"The Hotel has an Armory?!" she balked.

Viper chuckled at the girl's shock, then took a long drag from her cigarette.

"Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun training you, sugar."

Comments

[Hexan Tronic]

Too bad Rarity hasn't put the pieces together yet.

[Venerable Ro]

"Finally awake, eh?"

"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush same as us..."

[PactOfSkyranger]

10942965
Whereas I… have much of the antagonist symbolism figured out.

This isn’t a random god or other diddling about with whatever theme. Of course it isn’t.

This is a god of Justice, conducting a thorough inquisitorial sweep of Canterlot High at Sunset’s behest. One shudders to think what fate awaits the truly guilty in the Abyss…

Ma’at and Themis seem to be likely candidates for the High Judge, if it’s not Sunset herself.

[Iamsorry]

Idk whats happening but I'm liking it

[PearlyDoesStuff]

At the knock of a gavel.