An Anon-a-Miss Persona

by Arcanum -Phantasy

Ch.3 Training

Rarity was many, many things. Beautiful, charming, ambitious, and studious just to name a few. Combatant was not one of these things. Imagine the nerves running through her as she sat on her bed, her bed gown replaced by a simple blue blouse, jeans, and gray running shoes found in her room's wardrobe. In the next few minutes, Viper was going to have her fitted for a weapon and trained in the art of combat.

For someone that used self-defense more as a means to stay in shape than anything else, the idea of applying said skills was a nerve-racking one to say the least. A knock on the door made her jump to her feet, her posture ridged as she stared at the door.

"Are ya' ready?" Viper asked from behind the door.

"Y-Yes," she squeaked. "I-I believe so."

"Good," she said with an audible smirk. "Now come on out here and we can get this party started."

Nodding, she stiffly made her way towards the door. Upon opening it, she was greeted by a grinning Viper Lily, her hands on her hips and a high-heeled foot impatiently tapping. The woman gave her attire a quick once-over, her piercing, yet familiar, gaze bringing a blush to the ivory girl's cheeks. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, Viper nodded at her and started to walk away, casually gesturing over her shoulder for Rarity to follow.

With a started blink, she shook herself out of her nerves and tailed the woman.

"I hope ya' know that this won't be a painless process," Viper stated. "You want to be strong enough to hold your own out there as quickly as possible, correct?"

"Yes," Rarity nodded, sporting a determined frown. "My friends and sister are out there. I am ready to do whatever it takes to make sure that they're safe."

She looked over her shoulder at the girl and an excited glint flashed in her eyes.

"Good. Keep that fire, sugar. It'll help ya' get through this."

After taking a trip downstairs and through the lounge area, the two made their way through several more window-lined hallways before stopping in front of a massive pair of golden double-doors.

"This leads to the Grand Ballroom," Viper smirked, pointing a thumb at the doors. "It use to be were my sisters and I played when we were bored, but know, it's going to be were I'm going to knock ya' into shape."

Rarity looked at the doors with trepidation, but her determination refused to back down from the challenge the door represented. Again, images of her loved ones in pain flashed before her eyes, reminding her of what was at stake if she backed down.

Standing tall, she locked eyes with her teacher and with a challenging smirk said three words that brought a small chuckle out of the woman.

"Bring. It. On."

"Oh, you know I will, sugar," she winked.

With a snap of her fingers, the gold doors slowly slid open, a dull groan filling the air as they did. As soon as they were fully open, Viper sauntered in, her hips swaying in a way that brought yet another blush to Rarity's face. Shaking off her host's charms, she ran into the room just as the doors started to close. Now inside, her jaw dropped at the shear spectacle that surrounded her. The Grand Ballroom was as massive as a football stadium and several times more opulent. The floor was a titanic circle of bronze, polished like a brand new penny and carved to show a great vessel fighting against a turbulent sea. The walls were polished platinum featuring nights fighting against fearsome dragons, copper flames eagerly trying to burn away their platinum shields and armor to end their brave attempts. The ceiling was massive gold coin, angels shown drawing blades against foul demons with massive crystal chandeliers positioned between the combatants in a way that made them look as if they were stars exploding around their wings and blades as they filled the room with light.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Viper snickered, pulling Rarity's attention away from her surroundings.

"It's magnificent!" she gushed, stars shining in her eyes as she gave the room yet another once over. "I can't even begin to describe the beauty of this room! Art is too plane a work to describe the majesty of it all!"

"Alright, sugar. Reel yourself back in a bit," she chuckled. "I brought you here for a reason, remember?"

"Oh! Right," Rarity sheepishly chuckled, standing at attention before her teacher.

Rolling her eyes good naturedly, she crossed her arms and said, "Let's start from the top. I'm guessing that you heard a voice just before your Persona appeared, right?"

"Yes," she nodded. "It asked me if I wanted to form a contract with it, which I agreed to. A moment later, a key appeared in my hand and I was able to summon Arachne."

"Makes sense," she shrugged, raising a hand from her chest and summoning a gold key, a card showing a goat's skull enveloped in a pale red aura attached to its ring by a silver chain. "The room keys here are the catalyst needed to summon a Persona. Once you agree to forming a pact with your true-self, you gain your key to your room and let the poor thing out. It's really just that simple."

"The Persona are...tied to the hotel?" Rarity asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"The rooms are tied to the people with the power to summon their Personas. Not the other way around," she corrected, playfully twirling her key on her finger. "That being said, summoning a Persona is just the start of things. Like any other kind of ability, it takes time and practice to get anywhere meaningful with it. Use too much power too suddenly, and you'll put a massive strain on your mind and soul. Something I think you're pretty familiar with, eh, sugar?"

She gave the girl a sultry wink at that, returning the blush she had fought so hard against earlier. Whether it was out of shame or interest, was hard for Rarity to determine at the moment. A brief memory of the last time Sunset looked at her like that flashed through her mind, adding to the heat building on her cheeks.

Why does she have to have the same face as her? she thought, taking a deep breath in a feeble attempt to regain her composure.

"Enough yapping," Viper sighed, raising her key above her head. "The best way to learn how to use your Persona is by using it. So let's get started, sugar."

"R-Right," she stammered, fishing her own key out of her pocket.

"Here goes," Viper smirked. "Ravish her, Lamia!"

With a slight twist of her key, a red pulse of raw power surrounded her and a long serpentine creature faded into existence around her. The creature had the heavy coils of an anaconda, but the scale-covered bust a woman near a similarly feminine humanoid head. Fiery red hair trailed down three feet down its neck, its tone matching the yellows, oranges, and reds that swirled through its scales like a great inferno. The serpent coiled protectively around Viper, its head suspended on a neck five feet longer then its master's as it leered hungrily at Rarity.

Faintly shaken by the serpent, she pointed her own key forward, gave it a small twist, and said, "Descend, Arachne!"

A moment later, Arachne appeared at her left, the spider woman smiling and bowing to her mistress before shifting her attention towards Viper. Rarity staggered a bit, the sudden rush of power from summoning Arachne taking her by surprise before she regained her footing. The brief display brought a small chuckle out of the older woman, a small series of hissing giggles coming out of her Persona.

"Real rush, huh?" she smirked. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Now, let's see what we have to work with."

As she said that, she pointed at Arachne.

"Warm up that spider, Lamia."

Lamia let out a wicked, hissing laugh as her eyes glowed a bright red. A second later, balls of fire appeared around the serpent and rocketed towards the spider woman. On instinct, Rarity pointed a palm at the incoming attack and forced some of the power running through her to obey her. A second later, Arachne imitated her movement and a wall of solid ice blasted into existence, filling the air with a chilling mist as the flames slammed into it.

"Nice reflexes," Viper mused. "Think you can do it again?"

As she said that, Lamia summoned a massive fireball, launching it with a hissing roar like a hellish meteor. A thunderous explosion filled the ballroom as the ice wall blew apart in a fiery explosion. With another projection of will, Arachne jumped in front of her mistress and knocked aside some of the larger chunks of ice. Griping some more of her power, she willed her next attack into Arachne. A second later, the spider woman weaved her magic out into the remains of her improvised defense. The chunks turned into frozen spikes and flew towards Viper in a dense swarm.

Viper smiled at the incoming attack and snapped her fingers. A second later, a wild flaming tornado surrounded her, completely annihilating the incoming spikes.

"Try blocking this, sugar," she cheered, pointing a palm at her with a manic grin spread wide across her face.\

A chain of flaming explosions shot out of the ground, starting in front of Viper and moving in on Rarity. Thinking fast, she willed Arachne to send some of her power into the ground as well. In response, the Persona placed a hand onto the ground. Icicle spikes shot out of the ground, blocking the incoming explosions and showering the room with ice shards.

"Good, good," Viper snickered. "Looks like you've got a bit of talent when it comes to this sort of thing,"

A dangerous glint filled her eyes as she said, "Let's see just how far that talent will take you."

***

"This woman is the devil," Rarity groaned, said demon sauntering merrily in front of her.

After an hour of dodging and blocking fire, her host decided she had suffered enough for the day and it was time for Rarity to choose her weapon. As such, now she found herself being guided towards the hotel's basement armory, the building's cool air doing a poor job at tending to the light burns covering her body.

"You say the sweetest things, sugar," Viper smirked over her shoulder. "Tell ya' what, after we get your weapon sorted out, I'll take ya' someplace real nice. How's that sound?"

"Like you're planning to do things to me only a therapist can help me understand," the teen flatly stated, glaring at her host.

"Please, sugar," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm a devil, not a monster."

Before Rarity could comment on that, the woman stopped in front of a tall wooden door, a rifle and sword carving crossing each other on the door's polished wooden surface.

"Here we are, sugar. Hope ya' like what I have to offer."

As she said that, she winked and threw the door open, revealing a set of stairs leading down to a well lit room below. Humming to herself, Viper let herself through the opening and down the stairs, casually gesturing over her shoulder for the teen to follow. Reluctantly, she obliged, more out of curiosity than obligation as she tailed her host. Just what kind of weapons you one need to slay Shadows when one had the power of Persona at their disposal? Her mind instantly drifted towards alien contraptions, objects of legendary potential that mortals could never hope to craft.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was both impressed and sorely disappointed.

The room was a massive five hundred-by-five hundred foot cube filled with shopping aisles stocked high with various weapons. Blades, guns, cudgels, and everything in between were kept in glass displays in each aisle, ready to be taken into battle by whoever was competent enough to wield them. Rarity took in the sight with wide eyes, Viper watching her with a smirk as she leaned against the stairway and crossed her arms.

A small part of Rarity was grateful that the weapons were at least familiar to her, but a larger part was disappointed that she wouldn't be wielding some ancient eldritch artifact against the High Judge's forces. Choosing not to cry over spilt milk, she moved through the aisles to get a feel for what her options were. While she didn't have a lot of confidence with firearms, the light blades a few aisles away from them managed to hold her interest. Many of the daggers on display were beautifully crafted, but something inside her told her that they were not meant for her. Sabers and short swards held her attention as well, but the same feeling kept her from opening the case to claim them. This continued for a few more minutes, each weapon feeling close, but not quite the right fit for her. Suddenly, a sharp pull drew her towards one weapon in particular, a zing of excitement running through her when her eyes landed upon it.

The weapon in question was a rapier, the long blade a finely crafted lance of steel decorated with small images of roses. Its guard was a cup type, spider web carvings decorating the brass brace complete with a small spider carving at the bace of the blade and knuckle guard. Its handle and sheath were made of black leather and immaculately crafted. Mesmerized by the craftsmanship on display, she opened the case and delicately pulled the weapon from its display. She gasped when her fingers wrapped around its grip, the weapon almost feeling custom made for her. She swung the blade, the weight feeling perfect even in her novice hands. A loving smile spread across her lips, her eyes savoring the shine of her blade, even as she hid its splendor behind its sheath.

When she stepped out of the aisle holding her prize, she was met by Viper's smiling face. The teen's good mood instantly died, sure that the next hour or so was going to be a whole new flavor of pain now that she found her weapon. With a sigh, she held her weapon close to her chest and approached the grinning woman.

"Looks like someone found something nice," she chuckled. "I knew you'd like one of the fancy weapons."

"I suppose this is the part where you drag me off to a room somewhere and make me use this thing until I drop, correct?" she bitterly asked.

"Maybe tomorrow," she shrugged. "I think now's as good a time as any to introduce you to the hotel's Healing Spring."

Rarity let out a relieved sigh at that.

"You did mention something about that earlier," Rarity smiled. "Will this be like a pool or something to that effect?"

"Sort've," Viper snickered. "Just grab whatever swimwear's in your room when we get there. I promise that the second we get to the springs, It'll be out of this world."

***

Rarity was in heaven, a happy hum rolling past her lips as she leaned back in the spring's steaming embrace. When Viper said "spring" Rarity was not aware that she meant hot spring. The Healing Spring was at least five times the size of an olympic swimming pool and just deep enough for a person to lounge in without the fear of drowning. Every now and then, one of Viper's Homunculi would come to the water's edge to refill Rarity's drink, but other than that, no one disturbed her. It was in this rare moment of peace that she was able to finally let her mind wonder.

How did I end up in this strange world? Why do I have a Persona? Is it because of my magic? Who is The Higher Judge and what do they want with me?

"So many questions," she sighed, staring into the mirky waters around her.

"About what?" a now familiar voice asked.

Rarity let out an irate sigh, then turned to tell her host off, only to freeze the second her eyes landed on the woman in question. Viper wore a sinister smile as she sauntered towards the water's edge, a jet black bikini hugging her curves in a way just short of being immodest. The heat from the water and the way the woman never broke eye-contact as she slithered into the water left no way for Rarity to fight off her blush. She took a long pull from her drink, but the cold juice was no match for the wicked charms the woman was sending her way.

"Can you please stop doing that?!" she demanded.

"Doing what?" Viper innocently asked, a small knowing smirk cracking through the illusion.

"That! " she snapped, pointed at the woman. "Being so, alluring and such!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't keep it in your pants," Viper shrugged. "If you've got a problem with how I am, then I don't know what to tell ya,' sugar."

"It's not just how you act," she sighed. "You bear a striking resemblance to...someone I used to know."

"I see," Viper frowned. "Was this someone close?"

Rarity nodded.

"She...used to be a bully. She went to great lengths to tear friendships apart, especially if it made things easier for her to gain something further down the road. Eventually, she turned her life around and she became a very good friend. We...eventually became more than that."

"So a former lover than," she sighed. "And you said she looks a lot like me?"

Rarity nodded.

"I see," she frowned. "I can't make any promises, but I'll at least try to tone it back a bit. No need to put any unnecessary stress on ya' if I'm going to be training you."

"Thank you, darling," she smiled. "That would be most appreciated."

"Yeah, yeah," she chuckled, waving off Rarity's words. "Don't get your hopes up too high. I'm still going to tease the hell out of ya' every now and then."

"I figured as much," Rarity snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway," she frowned. "How'd the two of you break up? Was she a bigger drama queen than you?"

"Hardly," Rarity sighed, slumping her shoulders as she stared down into the waters below. "If anything, Sunset was the more level-headed one. At least, that was what I originally thought."

"What happened?" Viper demanded, a cold edge entering her tone.

Rarity took a deep, bracing, breath as she continued.

"Not long after we became a couple, a blogger called Anon-a-Miss appeared on Mystable. At first, it was a bunch of small rumors. Applejack's nickname, a failed math test, typical drama from an attention-seeking fool with an axe to grind. There were some among us that believed it was Sunset, given her past actions and how sensitive a lot of the information spread was, but we didn't let out suspicions rule us yet. At least, not until after the sleepover at my house."

"What? Did everyone spill their guts that night and all of your secrets ended up on the web?" Viper bitterly asked, briefly looking away to request a drink from one of her Homunculi.

"No," Rarity sighed. "She posted pictures of us onto Anon-a-Miss' profile, each of us wearing rejected outfit designs from my "Shelf of Shame". It was then that we realized that Sunset was Anon-a-Miss and cut her from our circle of friends."

"But that's not the whole story, is it, sugar?" Viper frowned, taking a long pull from an offered glass of wine.

She shook her head, tears starting to roll down her cheeks as the most painful night of her life came back to her.

"A-A few days after we cut her from our group, she came to me in the middle of the night. She tried to convince me that she was not Anon-a-Miss, that she wasn't that person anymore. I...refused to listen to her. I was so hurt, so furious with her. I...said some things I'm less than proud of, just to hurt her the same as she hurt me."

"And that was?" Viper coldly asked.

***

Sunset and Rarity stood just outside her house, the cold winter air biting into them with fridged fangs. Fangs that felt like heaven compared to the cold glare Rarity aimed at her former girlfriend.

"Are you done?" she asked, coldly.

Sunset nodded, a small flicker of hope glowing in her tear-reddened eyes.

"Good," Rarity spat. "I was growing tired of listening to your lies."

"L-Lies?" Sunset stammered. "R-Rarity I-"

Save it, demon," she barked, her words cutting Sunset deeper than any blade. "How long have you been planning this? Did any of it mean anything to you? Did I mean anything to you?!"

"R-Rarity...please listen," Sunset begged, tears rolling down her face.

"No! You listen!" she roared. "Out of all of us, I was the one that needed the most convincing to give you chance. I hated you for everything you did to me, yet I still gave you a chance! When we became a couple, I thought maybe we both had managed to move past that wretched chapter in our lives, but NO! YOU ARE STILL THE DEMON THAT RUINED MY LIFE IN JUNIOR HIGH!!!"

"I'm not that monster anymore!" Sunset cried, closing the gap and reaching for her ex's hands. "Rarity-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME YOU WITCH!" Rarity screamed, slapping Sunset clean across the face.

The girl staggered back, a look of shock clear on her face as she brought a hand to where she had been struck.

"I never want to see you again," Rarity seethed, hands clenched tight and trembling in rage. "In fact, why don't you do the world a favor and drop dead in a ditch somewhere."

She didn't wait for a response as she threw open her front door, and slammed it shut. As she stomped her way towards her room, furious tears slid down her cheeks. By the time she made it to her room, she was outright bawling, her pillow drenched in a hot puddle of tears.

***

A heavy silence filled the air, one feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders while the other looked like she needed something stronger than wine.

"Ouch," Viper cringed, ordering another drink from her servant. "I've heard of ugly breakups, but that was an outright slaughter."

"Yes," Rarity sighed. "I...know that I went too far and that I should've at least listened to her properly, but I was just so....furious with her at the time. A pathetic excuse, I know, but it is the truth."

"Did you try to patch things up?" Viper pressed. "You know, maybe not push her into looking for a nice cliff to jump off of?"

"I did, but every time I got close to her, she would run away from me," she sighed, lost in the swirls of the heated waters around her. "Not that I can blame her. In hind sight, I think I was more of a demon then she ever was."

"No kidding," Viper snipped.

"Agreed," she cringed. "But do you know what the worst part is, darling?"

"What, sugar?" she asked, a hint of venom coloring the end of the question.

With a tired and battered smile, Rarity said something that put just a touch more hope into the older woman's heart.

"Even now, a part of me still thinks that she is innocent."

Comments

[darkman]

Sighs.... I'm sorry but I don't see a happy ending in this fic.
More of a bitter sweet ending.

When Rarity discovers the truth, she going to hate herself so much, maybe more then the CMC and or her sister.
Sunset after all that............. I want them to get back together I really do, but the damage.....

Plus since Sweetie Bell is one of the true guilty party members behind Anon A Miss.
How can she stand to be near Rarity knowing her little sister was one of the ones who destroyed her life.

It would be years before Sunset would even think of being friends with any of them and getting back together....HAAA!

[Iamsorry]

I'm really loving this story
Recently got into persona so its making me gitty
But sadly I doubt sunset will forgive her friends. Like at the very least they would be fellow students and forget about rarity and sunset patching things up.
Assuming sunset can be saved to begin with.

[PearlyDoesStuff]

And yet... the anger of the sun shall scorch all.