Damned Are the Guilty

Frank ignored the looks that the ponies were giving him, having grown tired of the constant looks of disgust or hatred that they always wore when he was around. Instead his focused his attention on the centaur that was trapped within a bubble of magic that floated above them, who in turn looked down at the six ambassadors with uncertainty. But he refused to meet Frank's eyes.

Twilight had used her magic to heal the damage done by Spike's fire, but the wound caused by Frank had been too deep to heal with her magic. Another fact that made Twilight's friends glare at him when they had been told what had happened the previous night. The only time the looks of rage had vanished from their faces is when Twilight told them that Frank hadn't killed the centaur and had only knocked them out.

Twilight had also trapped the centaur within an unbreakable sphere of magic, much like the one she had used on Frank. Once her friends had shown up they had all moved into the map room, where the princess rested the sphere above the table. She and her friends sat down at their places at the table, while Frank stood at the head and glared up at the centaur, continuing to ignore the looks he was being given.

"Ah'm sorry that ya had to go through all of that, Twilight," Applejack apologetically said to Twilight and her other friends nodded their condolences to Twilight as well. "That sounds like quite the ordeal. Ah'm sorry that we weren't there to help."

"It's alright, everypony. We were caught completely off-guard by this attack. I'm just grateful nopony was seriously hurt," Twilight replied with an unsure glance at Frank, who didn't meet her eyes. "And I'm also glad to see that I was the only one to be attacked. I'm glad that none of you were harmed."

"Doesn't make sense. Why would Tirek only send one centaur to deal with you?" Frank asked aloud, but he was talking more to himself than any of the ponies in the room. "And why only you? Why not your other colorful friends? He has an army, so he should have been able to pick off the weaker members of your group."

"And who among us would happen to be the weaker members, in your oh so wise opinion?" Rarity asked.

"Well, considering he only considered Twilight the only real threat, I'd have to say all of you."

"Listen here, you little..."

"So why only you?" Frank asked the centaur in the bubble, who flinched as though struck when Frank spoke to them. "Why did Tirek only send one of you to kill Twilight when a large force would have more likely succeeded. Is he just that dumb or is there another reason?"

"It was a right of passage for me! To prove that I'm worthy to stand among Tirek!" the centaur replied with a hint of pride in his voice, but a look from Princess Twilight got rid of it a moment later.

"It almost ended you in a grave. If not for myself and Spike here, you would most likely be there right now," Twilight informed the centaur, never seeing Frank smirk slightly at Twilight's words. The centaur ceased to talk after that, but did keep his eyes on Frank. "So in return for us saving your life, you're going to answer some questions."

"A-and if I refuse?"

"Then I'm going to have all ponies and dragons leave the room, then lock you in," Twilight replied in a cold voice, one that Frank hadn't heard her use in a while. The centaur counted the ponies and Spike, before his eye went wide when he realized who would be left. "That's right. You and him. Make no mistake, I may have saved your life, but you attacked Spike. My family. I would love nothing more than to feed you to Punisher, but as he said, we need you alive. Now talk."

"Okay okay. Tirek is planning an attack on Canterlot in three days time," the centaur admitted, getting the group, aside from Frank, to gasp in shock. "He's also bringing a weapon that will allow him to cancel out any magic weaker than alicorn magic, which will also somewhat protect him from your rainbow powers. Not completely, but enough to battle with the six of you. His twenty or so followers will be with him, making sure that no pony interferes. There, I talked. Now promise you won't leave me alone with that."

Twilight called a huddle and brought her friends in. "This is bad. If what this centaur is saying is true, then we'll be in for the fight of our lives. And if Tirek really has an artifact like that, then we won't be able to count on any support."

"Not to mention that we barely defeated Tirek the last time he showed up," Fluttershy reminded the group, who all nodded to show that they remembered.

"So all we have to do is get to Tirek and destroy is artifact before he gets to us. No big deal," Rainbow Dash said.

"No, it is a big deal. The artifact cancels out any magic aside from Rainbow Power that gets close to it. That would most likely include our natural magic," Twilight reminded the group, who all widened their eyes in shock. "And in that weakened state there is no way we could beat Tirek."

"So what yer saying is we need somepony with no magic whatsoever in them to destroy Tirek's artifact, so the rest of us can bring him down," Applejack told the group, instantly getting her a look from Twilight.

"Don't you say it."

"Do we have a choice?" Applejack replied, glaring into the princesses eyes. "Who would you say is the bigger threat between the two of them?"

"Honestly, I couldn't say."

"Okay, how about this? Which one of them will destroy our friends and family while also taking over our world and enslaving all pony kind?" AJ asked, getting Twilight to scowl in response. "Twilight, this may be one of those situations where we may have to pick the lesser of two evils. Punisher is a nightmare and a killer, but he's not currently out to wipe out our way of life and he hates Tirek as much as us. Enemy of my enemy..."

"He will kill Tirek if he gets the chance. And there is no way that I'm going to let anymore die on my watch," Twilight replied with some fire in her voice while her eyes dared any of her friends to argue with her.

"Well, he didn't kill that one centaur," Spike pointed out, getting Twilight to turn her gaze towards him.

"Spike, he didn't kill them because he wanted information. Punisher even said so himself."

"Yeah, but he could have just tortured him in front of us and then killed him. With the state we were in, we might not have been able to stop him. And he knew that," Spike pointed out, getting Twi to narrow her eyes before she glanced over at Frank, who was staring up at the bubble. "Why let the centaur go? Why let us interrogate him when in the past he never cared about us?"

"I...don't know? Why, you have an idea?"

"He said something about showing me he wasn't as weak as I believed. Back when I talked with him a few days ago." Twilight gave Spike a cold glare after he revealed that to her. "I called him weak and he seemed to take offense to it. Maybe he's a prideful human and can't stand being seen as weak? I don't know, but whatever the reason he didn't kill the centaur. Maybe we can get him to work with us."

Twilight thought about Spike's words for a moment before she broke free of the huddle and walked over to the bubble, using her magic to burst it before levitating the shaking centaur to the ground. "You want to kill him right?" Twilight asked Frank, who gave her a look that she couldn't read. "Well go ahead. He's right here. Do it."

Twilight wasn't going to let it happen, but she figured that if Punisher held a code to kill all criminals that he met, he wouldn't be able to pass up this chance. Yet to her surprise, Frank glanced down at the centaur before his eyes narrowed and he turned away.

"Like I told the kid, I'm not as weak as he thinks. I'm far stronger than any of you would believe."

Twilight had to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Frank decided that he had enough waiting around and started to walk towards the exit of the room, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts so that she could chase after him.

"What was that all about?" Twilight asked Frank before he could push open the door and leave the room. "You would behead one of Tirek's goons in front of me with a smile on your face, but the moment Spike says something to you you stop your murdering? Why?"

"I like Spike. He's to only one of you I can tolerate," Frank replied, though he didn't really answer Twilight's question. He tried to push the doors open once more, but a clamp of purple magic prevented him from doing so.

"The full answer."

"I don't like to hurt children, alright? And if I were to kill that centaur in front of Spike," Frank replied while glancing back at the others, but for a moment Twilight wasn't sure if he was looking at Spike or the centaur. "Well, you can figure out the rest. You're smart, right?"

Twilight's brain was working on overdrive trying to figure out what Frank was saying. He wouldn't kill the centaur because Spike was watching? Was that the reason he didn't try to kill the centaur when she "gave" him the chance to?

'He might believe that he's dead on the inside, that he's a killer whose only purpose is to make all criminals pay, but deep down he still really cares for children. I guess...his father's instincts weren't completely suppressed, as much as he wants them to be,' Twilight thought to herself with a nod of understanding. "Where do you think you're going?"

"After Tirek. You heard the centaur. He's going to be here in three days and I plan to meet him," Frank replied as he glared down at Twilight.

"So you can what, get killed like the last time you fought him?" Twilight mocked with a thin smirk on her face.

"This time will be different."

"Of course it would be. You'd be going in without your weapons, so he'll kill you much faster this time."

"You have something to say? Say it."

"I don't like you, Frank. I don't think I'm ever going to like you," Twilight began, before her face hardened and she seemed to accept something. "But Applejack is right. Tirek is ready for us and our magic. And none of our non-magical allies stand a chance against him. Then there's you. The most ruthless and deadly human that I've ever met. A human with no powers."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not willing to trust you, Frank. Not completely. But if you're willing to hear me out," Twilight said, before a devious smirk crossed her face. "Then I think that I could convince you to help fight with us."