The Phoenix and the Dark Prince

Sunset was nervous at first when her mother suggested that she and Skipting go to the mall to hang out—and possibly get Skipting some "normal" clothes, an offer he accepted with slight hesitation—but now that they were actually in the mall, her nerves began to fade away.

The young Prince now wore a black hooded leather duster coat, a black pair of jeans with a belt that bore a silver buckle in the shape of a raven, his Dragovanese leather boots, and a black t-shirt. He still wore his special cloak over his coat, the enchanted item having changed shape so that it reached down to his lower thigh, rather than to his ankles. The cloak was draped over his left shoulder, leaving the right side of the cloak hanging.

Before they left, Celestia had requested that Skipting leave his weapons at the house. As an assassin—and a stubborn one, at that—Skipting had insisted he at least bring three of the Five Nightmares and the Kingusureiyā, along with his firearms.

The Night's Embrace was strapped to his right thigh, while the Twilight Blade and the Kingusureiyā had been turned into their hidden forms. The Twilight Blade had taken the form of a silver plate on his right shoulder, so that when it was transformed back to its weapon form, the hilt would be facing upwards for Skipting to unsheathe it. The Kingusureiyā had taken the form of a silver pocket watch on his left hip, so that upon being transformed back into its weapon form, the blade and sheath would be positioned in an Iaido sage to. His silver mask was hanging from a small loop inside of the coat he wore, and his hood was pulled down to reveal his face.

The two were walking towards the food court when Sunset heard a familiar voice.

"What do you think you're doing here, Anon-A-Miss?" the raspy voice of Rainbow Dash said.

Sunset turned around to face her former friends.

"I'm just here with my cousin to get him some new clothes and to hang out with him," she responded.

Rainbow scoffed.
"Who would want to be friends with you?"

The comment stung for Sunset, but she couldn't let her weakness show.

Skipting also turned to face the girls, his expression stone and unmoving. Rainbow noticed his staring.

"What are you looking at? You got a problem with us?!" she snapped.

In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between himself and the five girls, startling them. His right hand clamped down onto the athlete's wrist, preventing her from striking him.

"Why, yes, I do have a problem with you five. You abandoned your friend on the smallest shred of so-called 'evidence' just because you blinded yourselves with delusions that she had gone back to her old ways."

Pinkie Pie, the girl with the vibrant pink poofy hair and hyper personality, shook a little bit in different areas of her body. Her friends noticed this and became concerned.

"Girls, I think we should leave them alone right now. I've got a bad feeling about this…" she said, fear evident in her voice.

They all looked back at Skipting, who was still gripping Rainbow’s wrist. His expression was still dead calm. His eyes seemed to glow with some sort of mystic energy. Then they realized that they were glowing.

"That's Equestrian magic! How can someone else have Equestrian magic?!" Applejack gasped.

"Because, Miss Apple, I, like Sunset, am from Equestria. I am the son of Princess Nightmare Moon, goddess and Diarch of the Night—sister of Princess Celestia Anor, Sunset’s mother—and Queen Chrysalis, Sacred Mother of the Changeling Swarm. Both of my parents are extremely powerful and talented mages, Mother Nightmare especially, being a goddess. As such, my mage abilities are extremely powerful."

He released Rainbow's wrist, the girl almost collapsing to the floor. When she looked at her wrist, she saw that a mark had been burned into her skin. It was of a raven hovering over a lightning bolt.

"The mark on your wrist is the Curse of the Harrowed. It will remind you of your betrayal of Sunset Shimmer," he said.

He turned away from the Rainbooms and walked away with Sunset.

The pair soon found themselves being approached by a group of girls. Skipting stood in front of Sunset protectively, his right hand ready to draw his dagger, but his charge gently gripped his wrist and moved it away.

"It's alright, Skipting. I know these girls. They're friends of mine. Actual friends, not fake ones like the Rainbooms," she assured.

He stepped aside to allow the five girls to embrace Sunset.

"How are you, dear?" the first girl, who had charcoal hair and magenta eyes, greeted warmly.

"I'm definitely better than I was yesterday," Sunset replied.

"Who is your companion?" the girl asked.

"Girls, this is my cousin, Prince Skipting Lunam of Equestria. He was sent here by his mother, Princess Nightmare Moon, to protect me and uncover the identity of Anon-A-Miss," she introduced.

The girls each introduced themselves. The charcoal-haired girl was British cellist Octavia Melody, the daughter of renowned classical musicians Connor and Arianna Melody.

The girl with wild neon blue hair was Vincenza “Vinyl” Scratch, Octavia's girlfriend, and part-time DJ.

The third girl, who had dark blue hair, was Sweetie Drops, also known as “Bon Bon.” She owned a candy shop with her mother.

The girl next to her, who had yellow eyes and dyed mint green hair, was her girlfriend Lyra Heartstrings, a skilled player of the lyre, and avid fan of fantasy games, such as Dungeons & Dragons.

The final girl, who had blonde hair and yellow eyes, was named Ditzy Doo, although some people called her "Derpy" due to her glass eye, which was something that seriously irritated her.

Skipting shook each girl's hand, placing a soft kiss upon their hands.

"It is a pleasure to meet such good friends of Sunset's," he said.

"The pleasure is all ours, Your Highness," Octavia said.

He smiled.

"Please, call me, 'Skipting'. I would prefer that the close friends of my charge feel comfortable around me. I wish for us all to see each other as equals, none of us more important than the others," he requested.

"Okay… Skipting," the British cellist agreed.

The seven sat down at a nearby table. Skipting adjusted his wrist-mounted contraptions, each bearing an eight-inch retractable blade, a small folding crossbow that could fire various types of small bolts, a rope launcher, and a retractable chain blade. He also made sure to adjust his holsters that were attached to his belt, making sure they were hidden by his coat.

"So, Skipting, what do you do as a Royal?" Octavia asked.

"As the son of the ruler of Equestria and the Sacred Mother of the Changeling Swarm, it is my duty to meet with foreign leaders in their respective countries, meet with visiting representatives and leaders, and serve the Crown. I am the Lunar Army's most skilled soldier. I also work as an assassin for both the Crown and, occasionally, for foreign leaders. My skills as an assassin are of legendary proportions. The very mention of any of my titles strikes fear into the hearts of my prey and enemies, and commonly leads to the target or enemy surrendering. But most of the time, it causes the enemy or target to attack me out of fear."

Out of habit, he drew the Night's Embrace, the silver blade gleaming in the light, and began to twirl it in his hand with incredible speed. The girls at the table looked on with interest and amazement.

After about thirty seconds, Skipting stopped his hand's movement, the Night's Embrace catching in his hand in an icepick grip, before he flipped and tossed the dagger into the air. It spun three times in its rise and fall as the young Prince caught it by the blade. He then proceeded to repeatedly and quickly toss, flip, and catch it with astounding speed and precision, his hand catching the weapon without hesitation or pause.

After he had tossed and caught the Night's Embrace more times than the girls could keep track of—seventy-three times exactly, was his calculation—he sheathed the dagger and rested his hands on the table.

"Wow," Octavia finally said. "Just by witnessing the speed and precision with which you twirled. tossed and caught your dagger, I already have at least some idea of your clearly incredible skill. Vinyl does that with her knife occasionally, as does Gilda."

"Thank you, Octavia. It brings me pleasure to know that someone is appreciative of my skill outside of my work as an assassin. Many do not truly appreciate my skills merely as a person, only appreciating my skills in terms of being an assassin," Skipting said with a small smile.

"I noticed you also have a set of revolvers alongside your wrist-mounted blades and crossbows. Why is that?" Lyra asked.

"Well, Lyra, although our homeland is still in the era of the Medieval Age, our people have advanced to the point of being at pace with your Industrial Revolution, in terms of technology. We have primarily technologically advanced in regards to tools of warfare and combat, having made firearms as modern as the beginning of your 20th Century. In terms of firearms, we have flintlock weapons such as muskets, pistols, and blunderbusses, as well as more advanced weapons such as single-action revolvers—both cap-and-ball and cartridge-fed—breech-loading pistols, rifles, and shotguns, lever-action rifles and shotguns, and even a few semi-automatic handguns.

"While many of my fellow guards and soldiers have been equipped with and trained to use firearms such as flintlock rifles and pistols and lever-action and breech-loading rifles, I myself use firearms, but I prefer to use revolvers, specifically single-action cartridge-fed models, as well as a custom lever-action rifle and shotgun," he added.

"How many revolvers do you carry on your person?" Ditzy asked.

"Six. One on each hip in a cavalry draw position, one on each hip in a quick draw position, and two on the back of my belt with the grips facing opposite of each other. The quick draw position allows me to draw and fire one of my revolvers, or draw, fire, and fan the hammer before switching to the other. The cavalry draw allows me to comfortably wear the two while on horseback, and the ones on the back of my belt allow me to hide them underneath my cloak—or coat, in my case as of right now—which in turn allows me to surprise my enemies by drawing two extra revolvers when I have already fired four, the act surprising them because many of my enemies who I have used my revolvers against aren't used to dealing with people who carry more than two pistols or firearms," he listed, lifting his coat away from his body to allow the girls to see his firearms.

He then showed them his lever-action rifle and shotgun, which were fed like many other lever-action rifle and shotgun models and modern shotguns. The rifle had a longer cartridge tube for more ammunition and a custom mechanism for increased firing rate, as well as a custom stock for managing recoil while firing from the shoulder. It was also much larger than common variants used by the Guard, as due to his larger stature, he required a larger firearm, but he also needed a much larger cartridge for taking down much tougher opponents and beasts. The shotgun had its stock removed for one-handed use, a custom firing mechanism and longer cartridge tube like its counterpart, and a modified lever loop for one-handed reloading and cocking.

"So you can flip-cock your shotgun like Arnold Schwarzenegger does in Terminator 2: Judgement Day?" Bon Bon asked.

When Skipting said that he had no idea what she was talking about, she showed him a clip from the famous film of Arnold Schwarzenneger, the former bodybuilder who played the titular Terminator, reloading a Winchester Model 1887 lever-action shotgun by flip-cocking it while riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

"The prop shotgun used in the film had to be heavily modified with an artificially lengthened lever loop in order for flip-cocking to be possible and safe," she explained.

"The sheer amount of force necessary to pull it off is enough to literally break bones, as the human body simply can't handle the strain. In the director's commentary for Terminator 2, it was mentioned that Arnold Schwarzenegger once accidentally picked up the wrong shotgun on set and tried to twirl it around like he'd done hundreds of times before. Schwarzenegger, who stood at six-foot-two, and weighed more than a small car in his prime, nearly broke every bone in his hand attempting it. In fact, part of the reason that scene I showed you was included in the film in the first place was to show that the Terminator is far stronger than an average man.

Skipting's eyes widened as she spoke.

"That's incredible," he said. "Countless people back home have foolishly attempted to flip-cock a lever-action rifle or shotgun, which almost always led to a visit to the hospital. To learn that someone else had the idea of modifying the lever loop to allow flip-cocking is astounding. Back home, I am one of the few people who own a lever-action rifle and/or shotgun with such a modification."

The small group talked with each other for a while, minutes seeming to pass in mere moments as Skipting regaled his newfound friends with tales of his adventures and stories of his life, while they in turn told him about their world and informed him further of the situation at their school.

Finally, the girls all decided as one to have the young Prince hang out with them so that they could further get to know each other. Skipting accepted their request.

When Ditzy awkwardly asked him about his parentage, he briefly explained how his mothers had birthed him. Needless to say, the girls were quite flustered upon hearing it. When asked if he had pictures of his parents, Skipting nodded and pulled out his golden locket.

On the left side of the locket's interior was a picture of a woman with a slightly dark complexion. Her brilliant phthalo blue and grayish persian blue hair was long and wavy, cascading down her shoulders like a beautiful silk-like river. Her moderate cyan eyes had slitted, cat-like pupils, and shone with wisdom, authority, and warmth. She wore a beautiful midnight blue dress with a star pattern dress that hugged her goddess-like frame, emphasizing her curves and toned muscles, and contrasting nicely with her black skin.

The right side, meanwhile, held a picture of a woman with skin as black as the darkness, requiring her to be in front of a light grey background so that her ebony complexion would not hide her. Her dark cerulean hair cascaded down her shoulders as well, although it also draped in front of her shoulders and face. Her moderate harlequin eyes had dark grayish opal pupils that were slitted like a cat's as well. They shone with authority and wisdom, and carried a sense of lust in them that was matched by their caring and warm expression. She also wore a dress that hugged her figure, the garment being dark arctic blue and moderate green.

And with both women was who could only be Skipting himself. In both pictures, he wore his signature cloak and armor, his hood down to show his face.

The girls were quite fascinated by the Prince’s interesting skin tone, the left half of his body being a pale tan, while the right half was ebony. Even more interesting was that the right half of his body was actually covered in a hard carapace like an insect, as were all changelings, yet it went smoothly with the Equestrian side of his body.

The Twilight Blade hung from his back. His eyes bore a calm, calculating expression that was accompanied by a feeling of warmth and caring like his parents.

"The woman in the left picture is my mother, Princess Nightmare Moon. And the woman in the right picture is my other mother, Queen Chrysalis," he said, pointing to each picture.

"What is your heritage, out of curiosity? I noticed you have a bit of an accent," Octavia asked.

“Mother Nightmare is of Equestrian lineage, while Mother Chrysalis is of Norse lineage. As such, when I was born, my parents decided to name me in their natives tongues, with the translations of both parts of my name having relation to both of them. My first name, Skipting, is Icelandic for 'Shifting'. This is because Changelings have the power to change form, allowing them to disguise themself for various reasons, change their shape and form for entertainment, roleplay, or for fun, or to change various parts of their body, such as what I explained to you earlier regarding the circumstances of my conceivement. My last name, Lunam, is Latin for 'Moon', as Mother Nightmare is the goddess of the night and moon, and as such, she has the power to enter people's dreams and protect them from nightmares.

"As you noticed, Octavia, due to my heritage, I speak with a light Icelandic accent. Thanks to my skills in multilingualism, I am capable of both suppressing my own accent when I choose to or if I deem it necessary, and perfectly replicating and using other accents with ease, again when I choose to or if I deem it necessary," he continued.

As Skipting spoke, the girls all nodded.

"Yes." Octavia nodded. "I was wondering what accent you have."

"Hey, Shimmer. The fuck do you think you're doing hanging out with those girls? You trying to get shit from them to post?" a rough voice said.

Skipting looked to the source of the voice, and saw a man who appeared to be in his late teens, with dyed white hair in a military buzz cut. He was well built, with a powerful athletic frame. He was accompanied by three other males. Two of them were built like the one who had spoken, but the other was far larger than all three of them.

The fourth of the small group was tall, approximately five-foot-ten, towering over his companions and the seated girls. His muscles were large, reminding Skipting of the Minotaurs in Gryphonia. His blonde hair was also in a military buzz cut.

"We were just talking with Sunset and her cousin. I do not know why you four and others choose to delude yourselves with these false truths of Sunset being Anon-A-Miss, but we do not appreciate it," Octavia said sternly, acting serious and authoritative while still remaining polite and professional.

"They ain't lies, Melody. Sunset Shimmer is behind Anon-A-Miss. It's obvious!" the first male said.

"Just leave us and Sunset alone, Thunderlane. Don't you jerks have something better to do, like going to the gym, or something?" Lyra said.

"We have something to do, and that involves making Anon-A-Miss stop posting," Thunderlane growled.

His hand moved to his pocket and pulled out a small knife, which he opened and pointed threateningly at Sunset.

"I'd recommend you girls get lost. This could get messy," he warned, looking at the girls.

He looked over at Skipting, who had been sitting silently the whole time, and wasn't even looking at them.

"And your little friend there, too," he added.

The girls all stood up and backed away, while Sunset stepped towards the four males. Her expression was empty.

"These girls have nothing to do with this. You don't need to threaten them. They know not to try anything," she said, looking straight at Thunderlane.

He grinned.

"Looks like you just made my job a whole lot easier," he said.

He began to thrust the knife forwards. Sunset winced and braced herself for the strike, knowing that resisting and trying to run would only make things worse.

The sharp clash and scraping of metal against metal caused her to open her eyes.

Skipting stood between the two, his body in a fighting stance. The Night's Embrace was gripped tightly in his right hand, its slightly curved blade raised in the air in a defensive position.

Thunderlane looked bewilderingly between where Skipting had been sitting and where he was now. By looking between the two positions and doing some quick mental calculations that he often did for sports to figure out strategies, he realized that there was a good seven feet of distance between Skipting and the table.

"H-How?! How did you get from there to here?!" he exclaimed.

He was shocked. Not even the best athletes he knew, including himself, couldn't possibly travel seven feet in the blink of an eye like Skipting had just seemed to do. Not even Rainbow Dash, the fastest person he knew, couldn't pull off something like that!

Skipting just stared down at Thunderlane, his seven-foot-one body looming over the five-foot-seven athlete. His cold, calculating eyes stared into Thunderlane's.

"Sunset Shimmer has already gone through more than enough torment and suffering. She does not need people like you threatening to harm her," he said.

Thunderlane backed up and moved to strike, but his knife was knocked out of his hands with an interception from the Night's Embrace. He went to pick it up, but was knocked away with a swift kick.

His three companions snapped out of their shock and went to draw their own weapons. All three were stopped in their tracks when they fell to the floor unconscious, small darts sticking out of their necks. Skipting moved towards the final aggressor, who looked at him with fear in his eyes.

Thunderlane couldn't believe what he had just seen. This stranger had not only performed an impossible movement to intercept his attempt to attack Sunset, but he had also disarmed him with ease, and had knocked all three of his friends out at once without even looking at them to aim!

Clearly, this strange man was highly skilled. He was probably some sort of martial artist or soldier, or maybe even a mercenary!

Skipting picked him up by the collar of his shirt, lifting him to eye level.

"W-What… What the hell are you?! You some kind of mercenary or martial artist or some shit?!" Thunderlane exclaimed fearfully.

"You are wrong, my athletic fellow. I am no mercenary. I am an assassin," Skipting said. "Where I come from, the mere mention of my name or any of my titles strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies. That, and even my mere presence, is more than enough to make many of my enemies surrender."

"Please! Just let me go! I'll leave Sunset alone, I swear! I won't try to hurt her again!" he pleaded.

The assassin chuckled darkly.

"You are only saying these things to spare your own life and those of your friends. I can tell when I am being lied to, and when someone is saying something to get what they want or to get out of something. I will have you know that I despise such cowardice."

He threw Thunderlane away, continuing to stare him down.

"You will leave this place with your friends. You will obey whatever orders I give you, no matter what they are," he instructed. "And you will leave Sunset Shimmer and her friends and family alone. You will remember these words, and you will abide by them. If you disobey my orders, go against what I have said for you to do, resist me, or betray me in any form, I will kill you without remorse nor hesitation. Do you understand?"

Thunderlane nodded frantically.

With a nod from the young Prince, he got to his feet and went over to his unconscious friends, who were beginning to stir. Once they were fully awake, he briefly explained to them that they needed to leave the area and leave Sunset and her friends alone, including the threat that they would be killed if they didn't listen.

As they walked away, he turned back to Skipting and gave a nod of understanding, which Skipting returned.

"What just happened?" Ditzy said, confused.

"Thunderlane and I came to an understanding and agreement. From now on, he and his friends will work for me. They will leave Sunset and you girls alone, and will follow my orders, in exchange for their lives," he answered.

He turned to the rest of the girls.

"Those four are just the start of what I have planned."