Damned Are the Guilty

"Alright Ratet, let's try this again," Twilight said with a bit of a groan as she rubbed a hoof across her face, trying to keep her cool while the sphinx raged with frustration at her questions. "Say a pony comes up to you asking for help on where a certain place is located. How do you respond?"

"I would flail them with a whip for being so weak! Rely on your own power and find it yourself!" Ratet roared as he flipped the table that they were sitting at and rose to his hind feet, roaring as he lifted the table and threw it at the cell doors. Twilight let out another sigh as Ratet ran around the room while roaring, before she grabbed him with her magic and slammed his butt back into his seat. She gathered up the table once more and placed it before them, giving Ratet a look that made him sit still.

"Ratet, you cannot flail, burn or cast your foes into eternal damnation whenever they ask you for directions," Twilight sternly told Ratet, though the guards outside of the cell could tell that her patience was beginning to wane. "If you want to be a member of Equestrian society, you will have to understand that you cannot use force or violence to get rid of your problems. Eventually, you're going to have to be nice and kind to others."

"So I can't go around unleashing flames upon my foes?" Ratet asked as if he was having trouble understanding her words.

"No."

"I can't decimate their homes and lay waste to their villages?"

"No."

"I'll have to be nice and ask others for help while also being able to help them in return?"

"Yes."

"NEVER!" Ratet roared as he kicked the table across the room and spread his wings, flying around in a frenzy while spewing magical fire from his mouth. Twilight's right eye twitched as she used all of her willpower to keep from hurling the sphinx into the bars of his cell. Despite his cell being small, Ratet was still able to fly around with incredible speeds which knocked over the papers that Twilight had brought with her.

"And we're done," Twilight said as she rose and walked over to the bars, which were opened for her and allowed her to step out. Ratet tried to fly out as well, but the guards slammed the bars into his face and caused the sphinx to crash into the floor.

"Release me from this prison! I have agreed to your terms on learning about friendship! Why do you still keep me in here?!" he roared as he began to gnaw at the bars.

"Until you can learn to act like a regular pony...or a regular being in general, then you'll stay in here where you won't rain hellfire upon the land," Twilight informed the sphinx before she walked off, letting out a sigh as she rubbed a hoof through her mane. "I swear I can't believe how hard it is to get that sphinx to see how violence is not a solution to all your problems. Sometimes you've got to be nice."

"Rough day, princess?" a voice asked, getting Twilight to turn around to see Celestia's royal advisor walking towards her, a grim look upon his face that instantly made Twilight feel tired. "Well, I am afraid that it is about to get worse."

"How could today get any worse?! I've literally just spent an hour with a sphinx that tried to burn his way out of his cell before gnawing a hole in his bed?! How could this get any worse?!" Twilight exclaimed with frustration, but when she realized ponies were staring she regained control of herself. "Go ahead, tell me."

"There are creatures attacking Whinnyapolis," the advisor said with a bitter shake of his head, getting Twilight to groan as she gazed up at the ceiling. "We know not what they are, but they are causing destruction and chaos. They've also, according to our reports, been saying something about the return of the dark lord."

"Which dark lord is it this time?" Twilight asked before she shook her head and regained her regal composure, spreading her wings and causing her body to glow with magic. "Nevertheless, I shall deal with this problem myself. If I need my friends help, I will gather them. But in the mean time, tell the princesses where I have gone if I am not back when they return."

"Very good, princess Twilight."

"Let's just hope that these weirdoes are the worst things that I'll have to deal with today," Twilight said before she vanished in a flash of purple.

.45

With only of the sounds of the train moving along to bother him, Frank quickly found himself drifting off into the realm of dreams. Not that the Punisher actually dreamed, for he only had nightmares, but he still needed to sleep. But even with the rhythmic movements of the train he forced himself to keep his eyes open and alert, just in case he hadn't slipped into the train as stealthily as he had thought.

To make sure that he was still hidden, he flashed a glance towards the window of the door at the other end of his car. Something had been standing there, but the moment Frank looked towards the door it vanished in a moment. Frank debated for a moment if he should make sure they wouldn't bother him, but before he could make a decision the door slid open and a stallion walked in.

Frank sized up the stallion in a moment. He was elderly, based on his facial hair and slow movements, while the pipe on his flank informed Frank that he was either fond of tobacco or he did something else that was related to pipes. The stallion gave Frank a look of interest, while Frank gave him one that should have gotten the old stallion to turn around. But to the mild surprise of Frank, the stallion walked over and sat down across from Frank, stroking his beard as he sized the human up.

Frank watched the stallions eyes observe the human's face for a moment, before glancing down at his body. The stallion raised an eyebrow when he saw what Frank was carrying, but whether or not they knew what they were he didn't say. His eyes then came to a rested on the white, and slightly faded, skull sprayed onto the bulletproof armor that Frank wore.

"No wonder everypony in the other car was so afraid of you. You definitely aren't from around here," the old stallion said to Frank, who gave a dark glare in response. The stallion moved back a bit from the look, but aside from adjusting his moustache he didn't say anything. "Well, you've got quite the look stranger. Care to tell me who you are? Oh, where are my manners? I'm Smoke. Pipe Smoke. Pleasure to meet you."

Frank said nothing in reply and continue to glare at the pony in a way that told him that he wasn't wanted here. Whether or not the old stallion got the message Frank couldn't tell, but he chose to grunt and shift his position slightly. "So not going to give me your name, huh? Or are you simply not much for conversation?"

"What do you want?"

Pipe Smoke shivered from the chill within Frank's tone and for a moment he had to look away from the man in black just to regain his willpower. "Oh nothing much, just saw the ponies in the back making a fuss over something and wanted to see who or what it was. Turns out it was a being that I've never seen before who has the manners of an animal. But my Faust what a glare."

"What. Do you. Want?" Frank asked again in a far colder tone, one that made the stallion back away slightly. "You wouldn't bother me unless you want something. What is it?"

"Just a friendly bit of advice, young fella." The stallion chuckled to himself after calling Frank young. Frank's face remained unchanged, but the car around them got colder. "You don't need a frown like that in this land. We're peaceful folks and somepony like you...carries quite a weight with them. I can tell. I've seen eyes like yours on only a few other beings and all of them ended up being trouble."

"You're back here because they're afraid of me," Frank said in a cold tone, able to see through what the stallion was telling him. Pipe raised his eyebrows in surprise before he sighed and lowered his head, losing himself in thought for a moment. Frank leaned forward and made sure that the pony had to look him in the eyes for a brief moment, before Pipe became fascinated with the ground. "So they sent you back here to talk to me. To see if I was dangerous. That sound about right?"

"They didn't send me back, I came back willingly," Pipe Smoke said in a far more quiet voice. Frank nearly cracked a smile at how all of the pony's friendliness had seemed to vanished, but he kept his face cold. "And yes, it was to see if you were dangerous. You wear a skull on your chest and...I can feel death radiating from you."

"What if I am dangerous? What if an old man just walked back here to his death?" Frank asked as he moved closer to Pipe, who seemed to grow smaller as the Punisher got closer. For a long moment Frank stared at the pony, who did everything he could to avoid the Punisher's gaze. Eventually he let out a sigh and gazed up at Frank, all of the fear gone from his eyes.

"I have lived a long time. Longer than most. So if I had to be the one that died, I wouldn't be opposed to it," Pipe said in a voice that was far stronger than before, getting Frank to slightly raise an eyebrow in confusion in the sudden change of attitude. "But that's not the kind of land this is. Equestria...can heal. Can be a place of second chances. A place you can find a new you."

"Attention passengers, we are approaching Whinnyapolis," a voice said as the train began to slow down, but one look out the window told Frank something was wrong. The sky was black with clouds and he could hear what sounded like screaming from his car. "However, I am sorry to inform you that you will be asked to stay on the train once we arrive. There are reports of magical begins tearing up the city and for your own safety, we ask that you stay inside. Thank you for your cooperation."

Frank smirked as he rose to his feet, removing his shotgun from his back and taking it up in his hands. "Sorry old timer, but it seems like this land needs the old me instead of a new me. Nice talk, though. Always nice to meet new people," Frank grunted before he kicked the door to his train car clean off it's hinges. But when he cast a glance back at Pipe Smoke, he found the train car completely empty. Frank narrowed his eyes in response before he heard another scream. He sprang out of the car and onto the station platform, glaring with cold eyes at the ponies that were running for their lives.

Punisher then began to walk forward, the only being in an entire city walking towards the destruction instead of away from it. And for some reason, it made him feel right at home.