Damned Are the Guilty

"You're story? You're origin story? What, you get bit by a radioactive jerk and became one yourself?" Twilight asked with a smirk, hardly even flinching when Frank gave her a stare as cold as the abyss. "What makes you think that anything you say will get me to change my opinion of you? Not even mind control would get me to change what I know about you."

"Funny how concrete your opinion is before you've heard what I have to say. We'll see how strong your conviction is afterwards," Frank said with a snarl before he tightened his grip on his own hands and stared at the floor for a second, his eyes softening for a moment as he recalled something. Twilight and Luna both noticed the change and shared a glance with each other, neither of them sure what to make of the change.

"I was a soldier. Defended my home, served my country, and even got married and had a family," Frank began, clenching his hands together with enough force to break his own hands, struggling to recall the memories. "Fought in wars, killed people...was nearly killed by other people. But I made it through. And then I finally got to make it back home."

"They were all waiting for me. Maria, Frank Jr...Lisa." Twilight noticed that Frank's voice caught on that name and he lowered his head further so that neither of them could see his eyes. "They were happy to see me. My wife cried. My son cried. My little Lisa was strong though. She didn't cry. She just smiled, like she knew I'd be back. That made me cry and as you've probably guessed, I don't cry. Happy reunion. Years of happiness ahead of us."

"I do not believe I like the tone in your voice," Luna muttered to Frank, noticing that his voice had become very dark as he continued to speak. He glanced at her with a look that would haunt her nightmares. He took a moment to cage the rage once more before he continued.

"I'm going to make this as brief as I can. Recalling memories like this don't do anyone any good. The first few months were great. We were together. We were happy. Then one night we decided to go to an amusement park. My little girl wanted to go so badly, especially since I was back. Sure, why not? Sounded like fun. We played, we had fun and my boy even managed to knock over those rigged bottles. Had a great arm. I was so proud of him. My wife had a picnic all planned out for us. Great night to do so."

Both Luna and Twilight had questions that they wanted to ask, but they were prisoners of the Punisher's story. And from the tone of his voice, they were waiting for the happy tell to go south. Then Frank's eyes turned to slits and his grip tightened, to the point where the two princesses could hear the bones in his hands popping.

"But at the picnic we saw something that we weren't supposed to. Something that I should have seen and stopped. Two gangs were meeting up in the park, for God knows what reason. They talked. Then they shouted. Then they started shooting. I tried to get my family out of there, but the shooting was over quickly. One gang had wiped out the other. Then they turned their gaze to us."

"Why would they do that? You were just a family that was having a picnic," Luna asked, getting Frank to turn his eyes towards her. If it was possible, his eyes seemed to be even blacker than before, like there was no soul behind them.

"We witnessed something that we weren't supposed to. We were witnesses. And they don't leave witnesses," Frank replied, getting both Luna and Twilight to look at Frank with knots forming in their stomachs. "The first shot hit my wife and killed her instantly. She died painlessly. The second shot hit Frank Jr. in the side. I hear him cry out as he goes down. I throw myself over him, trying to keep him safe. But I couldn't. Another shot got him. Nothing I could do. But the fourth shot though...the fourth shot hits my Lisa. In the face."

Frank took a long moment of silence after he said that, having to use all of his fortitude to keep himself from showing any emotion. Twilight and Luna couldn't find the strength to utter a sound, they could only listen as Frank regained his voice. "Time crawled to a halt. I got shot in the side, but at that point I wasn't feeling anymore. I crawled over to my daughter and pulled her into my arms. Her beautiful, smiling face was...gone. She was gone."

"That was it. I was ready to die. I looked up from my girl to see one of them pointing a gun at my face. I didn't try to stop him. I closed my eyes. I heard the gunshot. And that should have been it."

"Wait a moment...you...you were..." Twilight stammered out, but couldn't finish the sentence. Frank looked up at her and slowly lifted his hand, moving his black hair away from his forehead and revealed a small, circular scar that was above his eye.

"But I didn't die. I didn't get to be with my family again. I woke up a few months later, in a lot of pain. But there was a reason I woke up. I didn't realize it at first, but it quickly became clear to me. I couldn't die yet. Not until those that had taken my family from me had paid. Not until every piece of shit, every criminal scum, every supervillain ruler of the world bastard that thinks that they can do what they want had paid. And from that day forth I never stopped making them pay. I never stopped punishing them. The day I realized that I had to make them suffer was the same day I killed my first man. From then on, I've never looked back. I've never stopped. No matter what was thrown at me or what was done to me, I kept on punishing them."

His voice was colder than hell, but he had gripped his hands so tightly that one of his fingers had been dislocated. Frank noticed it after a moment of seething and straightened it out, wincing slightly as he did so. He then gazed up a the two princesses, neither of them knew what to say.

"Now tell me, all knowing princess. Do I sound like a regular, run of the mill killer to you? No. I'm much worse," Punisher whispered before he closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands. "I'm done talking with the both of you for tonight. When you want to talk about Tirek, you know where to find me."

"Oh dear Faust," Twilight whispered to herself as she looked down at the floor, trying to fully comprehend what she had just been told. She didn't want to believe it was true, but when she had looked into Frank's eyes, she could tell he wasn't lying. The pain was far too genuine. Every action, every word and everything he had done since he had arrived made sense to her now. Why he so brutally killed criminals...and why he wouldn't kill her.

"Frank..." Twilight whispered, but he didn't raise his eyes again. Twilight could tell that words wouldn't work on him. She rose from where she had been sitting and walked to the edge of the room, with Luna joining her a moment later. "Dear Faust, Luna. That story. How...how can somepony go through all that? How could the people on his world be so...cruel?"

"According to his story, easily," Luna said in a calmer voice, but Twilight could tell that she too was doing everything in her power to stay strong. "His children...dear Faust, they even killed his children. It is no wonder he is so cold and merciless. After that, it's a miracle that he managed to hold on to his sanity at all."

"The scary thing is, princess..." Twilight began as she looked back to where the Punisher was sitting silently in his cell. The moonlight fell through the window and illuminated the cell with a pale glow, but in turn the brightness of the light made the shadow Frank cast all the more darker. "I don't think he did."

.45

Twilight appeared in the center of her castle in flash of violet light, startling a young dragon that had been laying on the ground and reading comics. Spike waved to Twilight and said something to her, but she was so far gone in her own thoughts that Spike had to practically throw himself in front of her to get her attention.

"Sorry Spike, I was thinking about something," she apologized to the dragon with purple scales and green fins. "It's nothing important though, so you should just go to bed."

"I'd say you're lying to me," Spike replied in a no-nonsense tone. Twilight looked down at Spike, but after a moment she realized she was looking at him in a different light. He wasn't just her assistant or her dragon friend. He was like a son to her, or maybe a little brother. Family. And then Frank's story came back into the forefront of her mind. She then swiftly pulled Spike into a tight hug, surprising the dragon. The surprise change to concern when he realized that Twilight was shaking as she held him. "Twilight? What's wrong?"

"I...I just had a long day, that's all," she said, but she wasn't certain if she was trying to reassure herself or Spike. "I'm just stuck on a dilemma, that's all."

"Well tell me about it. I've done nothing but nap today, so I'm wide awake," Spike said with a supporting smile as he pulled up a pair of chairs for the both of them. Once the both of them sat down, Twilight glanced at her dragon, wondering how to possibly tell him what she had learned.

"I...caught another villain. One that's meaner and scarier than the others," Twilight said, technically speaking the truth. "He's done a lot of terrible things, things that are going to make it hard for me to sleep tonight. But he does all these things because everything he loved was taken from him. So he's acting out of...revenge. And after hearing his story, I don't know what to do with him."

Spike thought about what Twilight told him for a moment, before he smiled at her with an idea in his eyes. "Why not try to help him? The same way you did Starlight and Discord? Both of them were villains at one point and you helped to change them? Heck, Discord didn't even have a tragic backstory and we managed to get him on our side. And maybe with some affection and caring, even this guy can change. Won't know till you try."

"I...I don't know, Spike. After Ratet, I was planning on taking my princess role more seriously," Twilight said as she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, recalling the look in Frank's eyes. "And honestly, I don't think this guy is willing to give me a chance. He might be too far gone. He's...given up."

"He might think that, but if you give up on him then he is gone for good," Spike replied, getting Twilight to give him a curious look. "Come on Twilight, help reform one last villain before you become a full fledged princess. If this guy is as broken as you say he is, then you have to at least try to help him. I know I'd do the same if it were you...after I used your bits to buy those comics I wanted, of course."

Twilight shook her head at the little dragon, wondering how he could be so silly and yet so wise at the same time. "You're right Spike, I have to at least try. And if this is going to be my last villain reformed, then I'll do everything in my power to help him. Thanks, Spike."

"No problem. How about you pay me back by raising my allowance?"

"Not a chance, Spike."