Damned Are the Guilty

The sound of hoofsteps approaching got Frank to crack open his eyes. He glanced to his side to see that Twilight had finally come to the place that she had sent him to. That was over three hours ago. Not that he would let her see any annoyance on his face. So as she approached she was received with the same, cold stare that he always gave her.

"You're late," was all Frank said to her, but to his moderate surprise his words got her to smile.

"Actually, I never said what time we'd be meeting up. I just sent you here early so that I knew were you would be for a few hours," Twilight replied before she turned her gaze upon the door next to them, a frown spreading across her face in the process. "You know, you never did tell me how you managed to get out of that cell."

"It was made for magical beings and ponies. Not me," Frank replied curtly. Twilight sighed as her horn began to glow, using her magic to cause the door to glow with the same light as her horn. A low rumble filled the room as the doors slowly began to slide open. As it opened Twilight walked inside, motioning for Frank to follow suit. He did so, only for his eyes to widen a slight amount when he found what the large door was concealing.

"Weapons, huh?" he asked. Dozens of strange and bizarre weapons were hung along the walls of the small room, each of them in a different shape and color. He couldn't begin to guess what some of them were and the only ones he recognized were the ones with blades on them. "Why bring me in here? I thought you didn't trust me."

"I don't. Not entirely," Twilight replied in an honest tone as she glanced at each of the weapons, before nodding her head at a strange tube of crystal that looked almost like a rifle. She picked it up with her hooves and walked over to Frank, holding out the tube to him. "But last night you earned the chance to earn my trust. We're going after Tirek and I want your help in bringing him down."

"Because his weapon cancel out your ponies magic," Frank repeated as he grabbed the tube and examined it. He leaned the weapon against his shoulder and held it like he would a gun, nodding his head when he found that it felt like it had been modified for him. "Also noticed that you were kind enough to remove my collar. Bad idea keeping a dog like me off of his leash."

"If you're going to be the one getting close to Tirek, then the collar would just be destroyed by his medal. Besides, you can't kill him with that," Twilight said. She nodded her head towards the weapon, getting Frank to place the butt of it on the ground. "Tirek's not the only one with a magic neutralizer. That right there is a staff that I've modified to be held like one of your weapons. But instead of firing bullets that kill people, this staff fires a beam of anti-magic that can either knock out or severely hinder a magic user."

"Strong enough to take out Tirek?"

"Doubtful, but it should be enough to stun him or giving him a wicked headache."

"Not sure I like the idea of going up against a foe that can kill me in an instant with a weapon that gives him a headache," Frank murmured.

"Well it's either that or you don't go. I have no issues with throwing you back into that cell and leaving you to rot," Twilight reminded Frank of what his fate could be. "But if I've learned anything about you, it's that you never give up. So if you were given the chance to bring down somepony you hated, you would take that chance."

"You're not afraid that I might kill him during our little scuffle?" Frank asked as he began to practice moving and swinging the tube, trying to figure out his new weapon.

"I doubt you could kill him. Besides, I'm going to be there to make sure that you don't try anything stupid. Your purpose in the mission would be to destroy the medal that he'd be using against us. Most magic absorbing weapons are composed of a weak material that can't take physical hits. That tube is one of them. Be careful when using it or you might break it."

"I'll keep that in mind. But now I have a question for you. Where's that pony that you wanted to take over? Starlight something?" Frank glanced down to see that Twilight's eyes had shrunk, telling him that he had struck something. "Surprised I know? I hear things, Twilight and I'm very good at noticing things around me. Like the letter that you left open on the desk in your room."

"You read that...while fighting the centaur?" Twilight asked with disbelief.

"So what's the reason with you quitting the fight? Too tired of dealing with scum and evil? Or have you finally realized that your methods don't work as well as you thought?"

"Neither, you piece of...I am giving up my position of Ambassador because my princess duties have become far more numerous, meaning that I can't do both them and fight evil while expecting to have a life. So I am leaving the evil fighting to my student. And she has proven herself to be more than worthy of taking my place."

"So you are giving up then. Makes sense. I can see the quit in your eyes."

"Sure you do. Oh yeah, I also dug this out for you," Twilight said before using her magic to teleport something into the air over Frank. He reached out and grabbed hold of it, only to find that it was his bulletproof vest with the white skull painted on the front of it. "You're going to need your body armor in this fight and I figured that you'd want to wear something a little stylish."

"You're mockery needs work," Frank grunted as he slipped the vest over his shoulder, buckling it up and practicing moving in it a few times. He nodded when he found it fit perfectly before he tried to move towards the exit, only for his path to be blocked by Twilight.

"Before you go out there, before I trust you at all, I need you to make a promise," Twilight said in a tone so soft that Frank was barely able to hear her. "I need you to promise me, Pinkie promise me, that you will not kill any of Tirek's forces. You can't kill Tirek, but you've proven you can kill his forces. I need your word."

"You think that even if I make a little promise to you that I'd honor it? They're all dead, Twilight. And you can't change that."

"Then I'm going to lock you up once more and let you sit here while we deal with Tirek," Twilight spat back with a lot more anger in her voice. "Frank, don't you get what I'm trying to do for you?! I'm trying to help you become the hero that you once were, the hero that your kids looked up to! Stopping Tirek, helping us to save our world; this could be the chance for you to finally take a step back towards the person that you used to be, not this punisher of evil that you think you really are!"

Twilight had expected Frank to mock her words or give some reason for why she was wrong about him, but he simply stared down at her with an expression that she couldn't read. Was it pity...or was it something else?

"Why do believe that deep down I'm a broken soul. I've shot at you, knocked you out, attacked your way of life and even mental damaged your friends. And yet you still won't give up on me? Why?"

"Because...you're probably going to be the last broken soul that I help as an ambassador," Twilight replied as her eyes became heavier, revealing to Frank the stress that she had been under for so long. "I don't think I can keep it up anymore. The constant fighting, the trying to change the minds of those that seek to destroy us. Besides, Starlight has credibility as a former villain. A lot of those we stop listen to her more than they do me nowadays. It's time for me to step back."

"So if I can help one last lost soul find peace before I move on to my full time life as a princess...then that would be the best way to go," Twilight finished before giving Frank a smirk. "Not to mention that if I don't help you, nopony in this land will. They all hate you too much."

"So am I supposed to thank you for hating me less?" Frank asked with a dry look. Twilight shrugged in reply before she turned and started to walk away. "Fine. I Pinkie promise that I won't kill any of Tirek's little henchmen."

Twilight's eyes widened to their fullest before she turned around to gaze up at Frank, who was giving her a thin smile. "Since you're willing to trust me, maybe I should give you an actual reason do so. Besides, if I kill any of them I'm going to have to deal with more of your speeches and I can't handle any more of those. But I will hurt them, in ways that they didn't know they could be hurt. We clear?"

"It's...baby steps, Frank. Baby steps," Twilight replied with a large smile spreading on her face, not able to believe what she was hearing. Twin flashes of light went off at the end of the corridor and a moment later Celestia and Luna stood in the castle.

"Twilight. We bring news. We have found Tirek," Luna said to the princess, whose eyes widened once more at the news.

"He is hiding out in the old castle at the edge of Everfree Forest. Seems that he's made it his base for the time being," Celestia continued before giving Frank a look. "Is he on board?"

"I think so."

"Non-lethal?"

"I can only hope."

"Then gather the rest of the supplies you need while we round up your friends. We attack as soon as we are able. Today Tirek falls."