The cage inside.

by Sylif Daring Doo

The temple, part one: end of an assassin.

Author's Note:

You may have noticed that I kinda (accidentally) phased Scootaloo and Pinkamena out of the story.

Time to fix that don't you think?

Let's start with Scoots.

Oh and uh, don't jump to conclusions with Storm.

_____*one week later 10:31 AM*_____

Pinkamena walked alongside Scootaloo while they pulled their respective carts. "Is this journey ever going to end?" Scootaloo complained.

"It's an expedition, it takes a while." Pinkamena said.

Scootaloo huffed. "They could at least hurry it up." She replied.

"WE FOUND THE TEMPLE!" Came a voice.

Scootaloo and Pinkamena blinked. "That was either magic....."

".....Or pure coincidence." Pinkamena finished.

Scootaloo heard footsteps nearby and looked behind herself to see Storm, Vinyl and Quartz.

Pinkamena looked at the trio and motioned towards the head of the expedition. "They found it apparently." She said.

Vinyl grinned. "Sweet, about time too." She replied.

Scootaloo nodded and started to walk forward again. "Come on, don't want to get left behind." She said.

Pinkamena silently agreed with this idea and resumed her walk.

Storm took flight and looked around for signs of the temple then zoomed off.

Vinyl sighed and walked alongside Pinkamena. "I don't think we've been introduced." She said.

Pinkamena shrugged. "Can't say we have, my names Pinkamena." She replied.

Vinyl grinned. "Vinyl Scratch." She replied.

Quartz sighed and looked at Scootaloo with curiosity. 'Why is a tiger here?' She wondered.

Scootaloo's eyes widened and looked at Vinyl. "So your Storm's mother?" She asked.

Vinyl nodded. "Yep, although If your going to ask me how he became the person he is now, I don't know." She replied.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Not what I meant, I was going to ask if you did anything out of the ordinary." She said calmly.

Vinyl shrugged. "Does blowing up a secret laboratory, recruitment center and a Cybermen base count?" She asked.

Pinkamena, Quartz and Scootaloo all looked at Vinyl in shock. "You did what?" Quartz asked.

Vinyl sighed. "First off, we had to destroy that laboratory, they attacked us first." She replied.

Scootaloo gulped. "And the recruitment center?" She asked.

"In the way." She said simply.

Vinyl looked at Pinkamena who went to speak. "And don't even ask about the Cybermen." She warned coldly.

"I was going to ask how you two met up." She replied.

Vinyl's expression became grim. "We met in the secret laboratory....as lab rats." She replied.

Quartz scoffed. "Fucking Equestrians." She hissed.

"Why did they make you two lab rats?" Pinkamena asked.

Vinyl rolled her eyes. "They wanted to experiment with a werewolf, so they got Storm, and me....I just got unlucky." She replied.

Scootaloo looked up at the sky and saw something flying towards them. "Guys, we may want to move." She warned.

Vinyl looked up and frowned. "It's headed for Quartz." She said calmly.

Quartz's eyes widened as she narrowly dodged the thing that flew at her.

Scootaloo and Pinkamena unhooked themselves from their carts and looked at what landed.

Quartz' eyes lit up in shock at the sight before her.....it was him

"You!" Quartz shouted as she ignited herself.

Vinyl looked at the figure who apparently was attacking them, an orange Pegasus stallion. "That was fast." She remarked.

Flash Sentry slowly stood up and looked at Quartz. "Always the hothead I see." He stated In a cool manner.

Quartz growled. "Says the man who kidnapped my daughter." She hissed.

Flash slowly advanced towards the burning Pegasus. "Let's just get this over with, I need to be at full strength when I fight the wolf." He replied coldly.

In the blink of an eye Flash disappeared and he soon reappeared behind Quartz and performed a fierce double kick which sent her flying.

Quartz grunted and recovered, she growled and soon a dozen fireballs appeared around her and flew towards Flash.

Flash dodged the first few fireballs and flew away from the rest, when he was hit from behind, he turned around to see the fireballs flying straight for him.

Vinyl and Pinkamena simply watched as the fireballs followed Flash around like bees to a flower.

Flash grumbled. "That's enough of this game." He stated as his eyes flashed orange for a split second.

Quartz watched in horror as her fireballs suddenly disappeared and her fire extinguished itself. "Wha? how?" She asked in disbelief.

Flash flew directly at Quartz while she was distracted only to get stopped by a rock that hit him in the face, he looked around. "Who did that!" He shouted.

Quartz suddenly remembered the fight and flew at Flash at great speed.

Flash refocused and flew at Quartz and the two Pegasi clashed.

Quartz punched Flash in the face but got hit in the stomach which caused her to fall to the ground.

Flash lunged at her and hit Quartz directly in the face, he then proceeded to punch her furiously until another rock stopped him, Flash growled and looked around again.

"Show yourself!"

A moderately sized metal disk jammed itself into the ground not far from Flash, the orange Pegasus examined it and noticed a very familiar pentagram pattern on it.

"Oh no...."

A brief flash of light and soon an earth pony mare with metal hoof blades stood in front of the disk with a grin on her face. "Miss me fuckers?" She asked mockingly.

Flash kicked Quartz away and faced the mare. "I thought you died." He said.

Warp grinned. "You know, so did I, until I remembered something..... your an idiot." She stated.

Flash gave her a cold glare and slowly advanced. "You cannot defeat me alone, none of your team could or can." He warned.

Warp chuckled. "Who said I was alone?" She asked in a disappointed tone.

Flash looked around. "You actually believe that these.....peasants, will help you?" He questioned.

Scootaloo walked around the corner and up to Warp and stood next to her. "I am." She said.

Quartz shakily stood up and walked up to Warp. "If we survive this, we are going to have a talk." She stated.

Warp grinned. "Fine by me." She replied.

Pinkamena moved to join the three but Vinyl stopped her. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Vinyl sighed. "Watch."

Flash looked at Scootaloo. "Ah yes, the freak, I was expecting to have to fight you and the wolf, but this will do just fine." He taunted.

Scootaloo put on a neutral face and got into a battle stance. "Just fight." She said calmly.

Quartz chuckled and ignited herself again. "Agreed." She added.

Warp shook her head. "Since when am I the voice of reason?" She asked.

Flash looked between the three and instantly came up with a plan. 'first, eliminate the tiger, then Quartz, and finally Warp, if the others join in I will adapt.'

Flash took flight and charged at Scootaloo at blinding speed, he performed an uppercut then punched her in the chest.

Scootaloo took a chance and grabbed his hoof and pulled, she threw a punch at his face and did a sweeping kick at his torso.

Flash's eyes glowed blue and a magic shield formed in front of his face blocking the punch, he quickly kicked away from Scootaloo and soon found himself at odds against Quartz once again.

Quartz' flames roared and she threw a punch that released a wave of flames behind it.

Flash recognized the threat and his eyes glowed blue, forming a magic shield in front of Quartz' hoof and then his eyes glowed orange and a magic spear formed and launched at Quartz.

Quartz flared her flames and used them as a shield that absorbed the spear, she then flew back and flung a dozen fireballs.

Flash formed another magic shield and was soon fighting Warp who threw a punch and a roadhouse kick right after, he dodged the punch but was hit by the kick.

Warp watched as the fireballs that Quartz formed barraged Flash in a never ending dance of flame.

Flash's eyes glowed orange and the fireballs disappeared, but before he could charge he was attacked by Scootaloo.

Scootaloo headbutted the Pegasus the threw a punch to his chest.

Flash managed to dodge the punch but was still a bit dazed from the headbutt and so was unprepared for when Scootaloo uppercut him into the air.

Scootaloo decided to end her barrage by shifting to her Pegasus form amd elbowing Flash in the stomach.

Flash plummeted to the ground but before he hit the ground his wings snapped open and he glided down to the ground.

Scootaloo landed nearby in her tiger form.

Flash sighed and his eyes glowed green and, to everyone's horror, Flash's wounds healed quickly.

Quartz fell to the ground and she breathed heavily. "What is he?" She asked herself.

Flash looked at Quartz with a cold glare. "The one who kills you." He replied simply.

Warp laughed obnoxiously. "Don't make me laugh!" She taunted.

Flash looked at her. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Warp grinned. "In case you haven't noticed, we've been kicking your ass!" She stated.

Flash gave shook his head. "Tsk tsk tsk, poor Warp, such arrogance, let me show you what I mean." He offered.

Warp gasped as Flash disappeared and reappeared in front of her, she felt a hoof collide with her face then another in her stomach as she went flying.

Flash then charged Quartz and kicked her far away then he turned to face Scootaloo. "And then there was one." He said calmly.

Scootaloo maintained a neutral expression and got into a battle stance. "Bring it." She taunted.

Flash chuckled and charged at unnatural speed towards Scootaloo, he threw a punch at her chest.

Scootaloo blocked the punch and launched a kick at the Pegasus.

Flash dodged the strike and rammed Scootaloo head first, he quickly recovered and hit Scootaloo with a fierce double kick.

Scootaloo could feel the air leave her lungs as she was launched into the ground.

Flash flew back to where he was before and looked around, he stood in a triangle made of the three opponents he fought. "Time to finish this." He said as he moved towards Warp.

Pinkamena screamed angrily and rushed out to face Flash.

Flash stopped moving as Pinkamena stood between him and Warp. "I advise you to leave this matter alone." He warned.

Pinkamena gave Flash an angry stare as she stood defiantly in his path. "No way." She countered.

Vinyl bit her tongue and walked towards Pinkamena. "No avoiding it now I suppose." She grumbled.

Flash watched as the unicorn walked up to Pinkamena and stand next to her. "As you wish." He said before charging at great speeds against Pinkamena.

Pinkamena predicted a punch that was thrown at her side then threw a punch at Flash's shoulder.

Vinyl's horn lit up and she charged a spell as the two fought.

Flash blocked the next punch and his eyes glowed orange, a magic spear formed and launched itself and Pinkamena only to be blocked by a magical barrier that Vinyl conjured, Flash adapted and headbutted Pinkamena then rammed her head on.

Pinkamena was launched away by the attack, she shakily got up.

Flash continued his assault by conjuring a few magic spears and throwing them at Vinyl who made a magic barrier that blocked them.

Vinyl fired a volley of magical blasts at Flash only to find him missing. "Where did he....."

She was unable to complete her sentence when Flash uppercut her then rammed her into the ground.

Vinyl growled as she quickly got back up much to Flash's surprise, a black mist soon formed around her and her eyes glowed bright red.

Flash was completely caught off guard as the unicorn charged him at a speed equal to his own and proceeded to beat him down.

Vinyl released a large burst of shadow energy into her hoof and threw it all at Flash with a single punch causing a large cloud of dust to form.

Flash wheezed as he was hit, he grumbled and his eyes glowed green and his wounds started to heal themselves.

Vinyl stood up and limped away towards Pinkamena, unaware that Flash was already standing up.

Pinkamena looked over at Vinyl and her eyes widened, Vinyl was confused until she looked around and saw that Flash was now standing back up.

Flash looked at Vinyl and in the blink of an eye, slammed her into the ground, he then looked at Pinkamena and did the same to her. "Stay down." He ordered.

Pinkamena and Vinyl could only watch as Flash moved towards the helpless Warp.

Flash walked up to Warp who looked him straight in the eye. "Piss off!" She snapped.

In response, Flash took Warp's left hoof blade and strapped it to himself. "Any last words?" He asked.

Warp looked over at the unconscious Quartz and smiled. "I never got the chance to tell her that I love her.....sucks to be me." She said sadly.

Flash put the hoof blade above Warp's throat and sighed. "I shall do what must be done." He said quietly.

Warp smiled as she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

"NOOOOO!" Came a familiar voice, Warp's eyes shot open and she looked to see what the source was.

Flash stopped his hoof right before the blade reached Warp's throat, he stood up and turned around to see someone he did not recognize.

"Who are you?" He asked coldly.

Standing fifty feet away from Flash was a Pegasus colt with a dull gray coat and a mane that went from white to black, the colt had eyes that were a discolored blood red, forest green, black and white all at the same time.

The worst part of it all, this colt looked pissed off and Flash had a moment of realization. "Wait now, I remember you, Storm, the werewolf" He said calmly.

Storm had a look of death on his face as he glared at Flash. "You have two seconds to leave." He warned.

Flash shook his head. "No actually, you see this works out perfectly for me." He replied.

Storm sighed. "Two seconds up." He said before disappearing.

Flash looked around and noticed that Scootaloo and Vinyl were now next to Pinkamena, the next thing he knew he was punched with unimaginable force which sent him flying.

Storm reappeared when he moved Warp and Quartz to the others. "If I were you, i would let me handle this." He said to Warp.

Warp chuckled. "Sounds good to me." She said.

Storm watched as Flash stood up shakily. "Your time is up.....assassin." He stated calmly.

Flash stood up and his eyes glowed green faintly, he then charged Storm at max speed with the intent to kill.

Storm stood motionless as Flash charged him, he chuckled and soon a ring of black flame enveloped a large area around him, then a black fireball flung itself in a random direction.

Flash gasped as the fireball hit him right in the chest, he screamed in agony and his eyes glowed blue, but to his horror the flame did not dissipate.

Storm smirked and he stomped his hoof on the ground sending a wave of white snow, the snow enveloped Flash and he began resisting.

Flash struggled against the snow as the black flames burned him alive, in a last ditch effort to save himself, his eyes glowed blue faintly and he teleported a short distance.

Storm sighed and drew Demise from its sheath, he closed his eyes and searched for Flash, to his amusement he found Flash trying to fly away, he grinned and threw Demise at Flash.

Flash flew towards a nearby tree line to escape when he felt a great pain through his spine, he began plummeting to the ground because of the pain.

Storm walked over to where Flash was falling and a small wave of white snow flew towards Flash and forced his to the ground.

When Flash crashed on the ground, Storm watched as the snow formed around Demise and pulled it out of Flash's spine.

Flash screamed as Demise was removed from him and he was forced to flip over, he looked at Storm in horror. "What are you!?"

Storm said nothing as he took Demise from the snow and walked towards Flash. "I'm the person that kills you." He replied simply.

Flash's eyes widened as Storm plunged Demise deep into his heart, he gasped out in pain.

Storm pulled Demise out and closed his eyes. "May your soul find peace." He whispered.

Warp over at Storm and chuckled. "That freak dead yet?" She asked.

Storm looked at Warp and nodded, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes he his." He replied.

Warp grinned. "Looks like it." She said.

Storm opened his eyes to reveal them as forest green, he flew over to Warp and the others.

Warp groaned in pain as Storm landed nearby. "Hey Storm, got any of those miracle remedies?" She asked hopefully.

Storm shook his head and kneeled down to Warp. "Don't have any left, but the good news is that you don't need it." He replied calmly.

Warp sighed in relief. "That's good news."

Storm nodded and moved on to the others. "Maybe next time.....you could NOT disappear?" He suggested.

Warp chuckled. "Yea, sounds good." She replied.

Storm examined Pinkamena's wounds and sighed. "Alright, she'll be fine in some time." He murmured.

Warp slowly stood up and limped over to Quartz. "Might as well help out." She whispered.

______*the next day, Lightbark forest, 11:21 AM*______

Storm laid back on a hill with his eyes closed, he was busy contemplating his next move.

'I've already killed the assassin.....now what?' He pondered.

A set of footsteps came from behind Storm and he smirked. "I was wondering when you would come talk to me." He said without opening his eyes.

"We need to talk Wolf boy." Vinyl said.

Storm sighed and patted the ground next to him. "What about?" He asked.

Vinyl sat down and looked at the sky. "Where did you go?" She asked.

Storm opened his eyes and looked at Vinyl. "I was at the temple when I got this feeling in my gut telling me to go back, glad to see that I was right to do so." He replied.

Vinyl sighed and laid back on the grass. "I haven't seen Quartz or Warp anywhere, any ideas?" She asked.

Storm shook his head and chuckled. "I got a few, but it ain't my place to say." He replied.

Vinyl went silent and the two remained like that, simply staring at the clouds.

Not long after, footsteps came from behind them and Storm chuckled. "How did it go?" He asked.

"Went well.....I guess." Warp replied.

Vinyl looked at Warp. "You got a thing against me too, or are we neutral?" She asked sarcastically.

Warp chuckled. "Neutral, you haven't screwed me over so that's a plus." She replied while sitting down.

Storm looked at Warp. "Is she pissed?" He asked.

Warp nodded. "Yea, but I don't blame her." She replied.

Vinyl grinned. "Nothing worse then a woman scorned." She added.

Warp laughed. "Tell me about it." She said.

Storm rolled his eyes and looked at the sky. "So Warp, what are you going to do now?" He asked.

Warp shrugged. "Who knows? maybe I'll settle down, I hear Ponyville is a peaceful place this year." She said.

Storm smirked. "Alright but I hope you can handle extreme boredom." He warned.

"I've had my fill of excitement for the rest of my life, I can handle boredom." Warp replied.

Vinyl looked at Storm. "Hey Storm, when we get to Manehatten, I have something for you." She said.

Storm look at her with curiosity. "What is it?" He asked calmly.

Vinyl grinned. "An upgrade for your launcher....assuming you didn't get rid of it." She replied.

Storm mimicked the gesture and chuckled. "That'll be interesting." He remarked.

Warp sighed and leaned back on the ground. "Look at us, talking about the future, we sound like old people." She said jokingly.

Storm laughed. "I hope not, I plan on being dead before THAT ever happens." He said sarcastically.

The three laughed quietly as they watched the clouds, time slowly drifting by all the while.