Damned Are the Guilty

The group moved under the cover of the Everfree Forest. "Due to this forest having a magical nature of its own, it's highly unlikely that Tirek would be able to sense us coming through it," Twilight explained to Frank as she and the other Ambassadors moved through the darkness of the forest, with Spike riding on the princesses back. "Celestia and Luna will be circling Ponyville in hopes to distract Tirek's henchmen if any of them are watching us. Hopefully we can catch him off guard. Once we've started fighting, the two will join us."

"And if we can't then we're all dead," Punisher replied as he vaulted over a fallen tree and kept up the run. Despite each of the ponies being incredibly fit, all of them were surprised that Frank was out running all of them. "Got to say, this reminds me a bit of my time back in the service. Almost makes me feel human again."

Then Punisher flashed a smile that sent chills down the ponies spines and in that moment they wondered if he had been all there even with his family. A few minutes later Punisher held up a fist and slid to a stop, getting the group to stop as well. He then slowly walked forward, coming to a stop in a small clearing. Punisher narrowed his eyes before making a motion with his hand for the group to go around. When they started to argue he pointed the rifle at them with murderous eyes. That got them moving.

"There was a trap set in the clearing," Punisher told the ponies once they were far enough away.

"How did you notice it?" Spike asked.

"Ground was disturbed. And since grass hadn't grown over it yet, it was new. Course, some monster might have upturned it, but I'm not taking chances," Punisher replied.

The group moved through the forest without much talk. Each of them knew that they had the upper hoof in this fight. Tirek wasn't at his full power and they had the element of surprise. Still, each of them knew that he couldn't be underestimated. The last time they had underestimated a foe it had almost cost them their world.

"We should be coming up on the castle soon," Twilight informed the group once they reached a part of the forest that seemed to get even darker. "We'll need to be on guard. Not only from Tirek and his forces, but also for any monsters that might be lurking here. The last thing we need is a pointless fight drawing Tirek's attention."

"So keep the chatter to a minimum. If his ears are half as good as mine, then he'll hear your annoying voice from miles away," Punisher said with a growl as he lead the group into the darkness.

"Remind me again why we are bringing him with us?" Rainbow whispered to Twilight.

"Because he's the only one that can get close to Tirek without being affected by the medal. Also...I didn't want to let him out of my sight. Who knows what he might do," Twilight muttered in reply with a nasty stare. "So everypony stay quiet. Don't blow this."

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, with none of the group being much for conversation. A few times Spike or one of the others had tried to ask Punisher a question about his past, but he would silence them instantly with a glare filled with ice. So when the run down castle at the edge of the Everfree Forest came into view, the group was visibly relieved despite knowing what was inside.

"I'm not walking across that," Punisher told the ponies when they spied a rickety bridge dangling over a large chasm. None of them seemed happy that the bridge was the only way across. "Can't you use your magic to get us across?"

"I could, but there's a chance my alicorn magic might alert Tirek," Twilight pondered as she placed a hoof under her chin. Rainbow Dash then let out a loud sigh before she grabbed hold of Applejack and Rarity, zipping the both of them across the chasm. She placed them down before flying back over to grab Pinkie. Fluttershy and Twilight caught on and flew across as well, leaving Punisher alone.

"Grab on," Rainbow Dash said once she flew back over, extending a hoof to Punisher. For a long minute he stared at her hoof before grabbing hold of it with a grip like iron. Rainbow Dash began to fly the two across, but at a much slower pace. "So let me ask you this," she said in a whisper to Punisher, nothing but seething rage in her voice. "If I dropped you here, what would you do?"

"Die, most likely," Punisher replied in a tone that was devoid of any emotion. Rainbow Dash seemed to ponder that idea, but if she was going to act on it Punisher would never know as they reached the other side a moment later. She let go of him and he landed boots first in front of the castle, glaring up at the ancient structure with narrowed eyes.

"Alright team, let's head inside and stop Tirek," Twilight said to the group as she started to walk in, but Punisher grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back.

"Go in through the front. How did you last as long as you did?" Punisher asked her. Twilight tried to say something in response, but Punisher walked past her and grabbed hold of a handhold on the side of the castle. "We go in through the top. Gain the high ground and see what we can find out about Tirek. Maybe we can take him out without him never seeing us."

The group figured that it was pointless to argue, so they went with his idea. After making sure Spike was secure, Twilight flew up with AJ holding onto her hooves. Rainbow flew up Rarity and Fluttershy barely managed to pull up Pinkie. With their ability to fly the passed Punisher and waited at the top of the castle for him to catch up. Once he pulled himself up with them he walked over to one of the shattered windows, peeking inside.

"I see...one centaur, laying on the ground," he whispered to the group, narrowing his eyes. "Other than that, I can't make out much else. We need to move in. Each of you take a separate window and move silently."

Without waiting for a response Punisher moved into the window, avoiding the shattered glass as he slid onto one of the beams that hung far above the room below. Of the side he spied the fliers slip inside, while those stuck on the ground took longer to get in. But they weren't his biggest concern. What was below him grabbed hold of his full attention.

Centaur's were everywhere. Dozens of them lay on the ground, no life in their eyes and only weak groans telling Punisher that they weren't dead. But he couldn't figure out what had happened to them. From the way their eyes seemed dull and lifeless...along with the weak positions.

"What do you think happened?" Twilight asked in a whisper as she flew over with Spike still on her back. Castle thought it over for a moment, trying to remember if he had ever come across a situation like this before in his career as a killer.

"Their eyes...and the way they seem devoid of life...it's almost like the ponies in-" Realization kicked in and Punisher hurled himself out of the window he had come in. A moment later six spheres of magic wrapped themselves around Twilight and her friends, getting them all to yelp with surprise as they were pulled from their hiding places and into the long hallway below them.

"What's going on?!" Applejack yelled as she bucked the sphere, only to find it wouldn't budge. All of the other Ambassadors tried to break free as well, but the spheres were too strong. The spheres then began to move, floating through the castle and up one of the long towers. When the spheres came to a stop the ponies all narrowed their eyes at where they had been brought to.

A massive centaur stood in front of a large, stain glass window, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at the image of the two princesses of the sun and moon that had been infused into the image. He then turned to face his guest, revealing a large smile complimented with a white beard.

"Tirek," Twilight said with venom in her voice, getting Tirek's smile to widen.

"Ah, Princess Twilight. So nice of you to join me. And I see that you brought all of your little friends as well," Tirek said as he extended his arms to the other Ambassadors, all of who gave him the same look of loathing. "It's always pleasing when a plan comes together."

"A plan...this was a trap, wasn't it?" Twilight asked and her answer was another smile from the centaur. "That's why you sent your lackey to attack me. So that we'd capture them and be lured out here."

"To be fair, I wouldn't have minded if he killed you or took your magic, but yes, that was the plan. And you fell for it gloriously," Tirek smiled before turning to look back at the image of the princesses. "I admit, I was concerned about my return. I feared that I would barely be back for ten minutes before the six of you were upon me once more. But how lucky that there was another madman running around the land at the exact time I came back."

"You mean the Punisher?" Pinkie asked.

"Punisher. That is a fitting name. What became of him?"

"We threw him in prison and melted the key to his cell," Rainbow spat.

"Pity. Perhaps when I'm done with you I'll find him and thank him. From the other side of the bars, of course," Tirek said with a laugh before he turned to face the ponies once more. "Confused as to how I became so powerful so quickly? Simple. The last time I came to the world, I made a mistake in making a spectacle of myself, drawing too much attention to myself. That made it easy for you to find me."

"You didn't really try to hide," Fluttershy muttered.

"So this time I had my minions gather enough magic to return me to my natural strength, so that when I returned I was ready to fight. And then I drained the magic from them," Tirek said with a wicked smile. "With their power added onto the power of all those that they drained, I feel stronger than I have since the last time we fought. And this time, I have a weapon that will nullify your pony magic. But I'm sure you already knew about that."

"Yer little buddy told us. Said ya had an amulet or something that could make this a fair fight," Applejack added. Tirek snickered as he pulled out a small medal that had an image of the sun and moon carved into it.

"Yes, this little beauty will negate your powers to a point that will allow me to deal with you like foals," Tirek laughed as he started to move forward with the medal extended. "So my victory is certain. And to think, all it took to bring down the greatest champions of Equestria was a human that killed and a small trinket."

"You know, it's funny that you should mention the human," Spike said with a smile, one that stopped Tirek in his tracks. Tirek raised an eyebrow before a blast of crystal shattered the medal in a single shot. Tirek's eyes went wide as he stared down at where his ace in the hole had been a moment ago, before he looked up to see Punisher in the rafters with a weapon pressed against his shoulder.

"What in the...?" Tirek asked before Punisher fired six more shots, freeing each of the trapped ponies. They fell to the ground and activated their rainbow powers the moment they landed, getting Tirek to roar with fury as he was blinded by their light. When he could see again he found himself staring down the very powers that had bested him previously, only this time there was a dragon and human with them.

"Why?" Tirek asked Punisher, who gaze was like a black hole amongst so many bright colors. "I was told that you fought against the ponies. That you hated them."

"I did and I do. But they offered me something I couldn't pass up," Punisher said as he lifted the rifle and aimed it right between Tirek's eyes. "Another shot at you."

Then Punisher fired.