Mal Acte

It was a cool calm night on the border separating Equestria and the Griffon Territory. Two guards stood place near the gate. Off in the distance they could hear somepony approaching and talking. They stood guard calmly, expecting just another merchant or tourist.

“Yes, I understand. I know what I have to do.” The pony said, getting closer into hearing distance. He said nothing more until he was hoofsteps away from the guards.

He was an unicorn with golden messy hair. He stared at them for a moment through his steel-like red tinted goggles. The guards looked suspiciously at him as most of his cyan fur was covered in what seemed to be armor with small magic aura.

His left hoof had something over it that was open at the bottom. It looked as if magic held together puzzle pieces as it flowed back and forth through the object. On his right hoof was another one of these bands that held a small crystal in it that seemingly glew with power. The entire armor set seemed to glow slightly.

His midsection was girded with a belt with many pockets. The guards didn’t know what was in them, but something wasn’t right about them. Finally breaking the silence, the mysterious armored pony spoke to the guards.

“You know it isn’t nice to stare, correct?” He stated, the guards looked him in the eyes. “Guess not. Anyway, I need to get to Equestria and really don’t have any time to sit and chat. May I go through?” He asked.

“Do you have anything to prove who you are or why you need to go?” One guard asked. The armored pony just sighed.

“No, I don’t sadly. There must be another way I can go in though. Besides you don’t ask most ponies nor griffons this, why me?” He questioned.

“They have passed through multiple times and have been deemed trustworthy without any need for suspicion.” The guard answered. “This is your first time to this gate.”

The unicorn nodded. “Yeah, it sure is.” He agreed. “So, you guys are suspicious of me is what I’m hearing. How do you know that I’m not trustworthy?”

“You don’t have proof on who you are or why you are trying to get inside Equestria.” The other guard spoke up in a firm tone. “Plus almost nopony shows up to the gates like that.” The unicorn looked at himself.

“Oh, I see. You think that if I’m wearing something, I’m suspicious and potentially dangerous. That’s very judgemental.” He commented. The guards began to become annoyed with the unicorn.

“Who are you and why do you wish to enter?” One guard asked, not relenting in his hostility at all.

“I have personal business I must attend to in Equestria and I’m running rather short on time to get it done. That is why I need to get through here as fast as possible.” He answered.

“We still have no proof whether this ‘business’ is good or not. We cannot let you through with that.” The other concluded.

“Ugh… I don’t have time for this.” The unicorn said and began walking forward in between the guards. They stepped in front of him and readied their spears for any forceful attempt to pass. They then noticed the actual facial features of the unicorn. He was not old whatsoever, somewhere in his teens years.

“Halt, you cannot pass.” They announced. He looked at them and smiled.

“Fine.” He walked back and his horn began to glow. Suddenly he aimed his right hoof at one of the guards and a blast of magic fired from the object. It hit the guard and knocked him airbound and into the gate itself. The standing guard glanced at his fallen ally and then back to the attacking pony. The unicorn only looked at the guard, who got into a fighting position.

“This really shouldn’t be necessary. You should’ve just let me go.” He said, staring into the guards eyes. “You can’t handle my power, so please do me, yourself and your friend a favor. Let me pass, nice and easy.”

“I cannot.” The guard stated after aiming his spear towards the pony. He tsked.

“Fine, I’ll have a bit of fun with you at least.” He said getting in a pouncing position and his horn began to glow. The guard’s eyes sharpened on him, ready for anything.

Ace…

“Yeah, Yeah, I know. I just wanna make sure I know how to do this.” He spoke out loud, confusing the guard.

...So be it, just hurry…

“Got it.” He smiled and then with a flash of light, temporary blinding the guard appeared behind the guard. He disarmed the guard with a quick hoof and sent him a few yards back from where he was standing. The guard recovered and took a small step back.

“Now, we fight like real colts. Hoof to hoof. I win, I pass. You win, I don’t pass. Sound fair?” The unicorn offered. The guard wasn’t accepting any terms. Instead he charged at the unicorn. Aiming for his face, the guard swung a quick right hoof towards the unicorn. The unicorn sidestepped him and spun around for a buck. The guard noticed this and rolled away just in time.

The guard quickly regained his hoofing and got ready for another attack. The unicorn smirked. “You are more agile than you look. Too bad it won’t help you this time.” He stated, leaping towards the guard. He drew back his left hoof and the guard began to position himself for another dodge.

The hoof came down only for the guard to move just in time. The unicorn was ready for the counter attack, so when the guard stomped downwards at him; he bounced out of the way. The moment the unicorn landed, he jumped toward the guard again. The guard got ready to suffer the blow.

The unicorn nicked the guard’s face. The guard took this opportunity to stop the fight. He spun around quickly and aimed for the unicorn’s face. There was no time to be gentle. He bucked as hard as he could, yet he felt nothing but air. The unicorn had ducked expertly and now had an opportunity to knock the guard down.

The unicorn took it by ramming himself with as much force as he could pushing off of the ground into the open chest of the guard. The guard felt the air knocked out of him and he flipped over and landed on his back.

Even without air, he tried to stand back up. The unicorn watched as he slowly got on his hooves. “Still fighting, huh? Big mistake, this time you’ll stay down.” He stated jumping at the guard for the final blow. The guard, unable to dodge, was knocked back a few feet and onto his side by the unicorn.

The guard was down with no air in his lungs and now bleeding from his jaw. The unicorn walked towards him. The barely conscious guard could only look at the unicorn, who wore a small smile upon his face.

“You really should have just let me pass.” He said, taking the keys from under the guard’s armor. “Oh well, I’m feeling merciful right now. So when you and your friend wake up, you guys can go report to the higher-ups about me together.” He walked over to the gate and unlocked it for himself. With one more glance toward the guard, he said his final words to him. “Tell them that Corrupt was responsible for this.”

He then threw the keys back towards the guard and walked through the gate, closing the door behind him. He was now in Equestria.

...Ace, are you sure you know what you’re doing?

“I’m positive, my friends. We, together, can now begin what we came here to do.” He reassured the voices he heard.

Do you know where to begin?

“In the first town we come across.” He smiled as he began walking down the long path. I know exactly how this will all work out. My friends, you will not be disappointed. Corrupt thought to himself.