The cage inside.

by Sylif Daring Doo

Flashback, Old times: Story in the cold..... the plot thickens in the present.

______*Storm and Vinyl's tent*______

".....Your going to kill me." Storm said blankly.

Vinyl's eyes widened. "Why the hell would I do that!" She snapped.

Storm blinked and shook his head. "Do what?" He asked in confusion.

Vinyl gave him a glare. "Don't play dumb, you know what I'm talking about." She deadpanned.

Storm stood up and so did Vinyl. "Mom, what the devil are you babbling about?" He asked.

Vinyl growled and marched over to Storm and stared him down. "Do you think I'm dumb?, you specifically told me, that I was going to kill you!" She said angrily.

Storm sighed. "Mom, use your scanning eyes, and you'll see that I honestly don't know what your talking about." He replied.

Vinyl gave him a glare but did as he said and her eyes switched color, they changed from red to forest green and then to sapphire blue.

Storm repeated his sentence and Vinyl sighed and closed her eyes. "I think you had another one of those weird prophetic moments." She said.

Storm gave her a serious look. "You do remember that we stopped those right?" He replied

Vinyl nodded. "I know, but you still did." She insisted.

Storm rolled his eyes and they changed to forest green. "Great, good to know that you'll end up killing me." He joked.

Vinyl chuckled. "Yea, at least by then we should be able to find a way for that to NOT happen." She said calmly.

Storm sat down and opened the book. "Come on, let's finish the book." He suggested.

Vinyl nodded and sat down next to him and began to read.

The rest of the night continued like this, reading a good book, sharing the occasional laugh, and just plain enjoying the night.

_______*The next day 8:32 AM*_______

Pinkamena walked out of her tent and towards her post, which was a spot near the edge of the company where she would be doing cleanup until somepony else came to take over for a while.

Scootaloo groggily exited the tent and yawned, she soon followed Pinkamena who was making her way to her post.

"Ugh, this is going to be a long day." Scootaloo grumbled.

_____*Storm's tent five minutes later*_____

Storm groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Why me?" He complained in a groggy voice.

A chuckle came from next to him and he opened his eyes to investigate, to no surprise it was Vinyl.

Vinyl was standing above Storm who was currently in a very awkward position. "Come on slowpoke, or we'll be late." She said.

Storm groaned and flipped to face the ground. "Ten more minutes." He replied groggily.

Vinyl gave a mischievous grin and lit her horn and Storm was enveloped In a magenta aura, his head snapped up and he gave off a death glare. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Vinyl smirked and she cast a spell and soon Storm's coat changed into a dull gray and very soon he looked like he was drained.

Storm groaned. "Damnit." He felt Vinyl release the spell and he stood up.

Vinyl backed up and stood at the entrance. "Next time you better think before ignoring a unicorn with the right spells." She suggested.

Storm sighed and examined himself until he realized it wasn't an illusion. "Great.....at least it's only an appearance, going to get hell from Scoots though." He stated calmly.

Vinyl rolled her eyes and left the tent.

Storm let a brief smile cross his face before adopting his usual cold expression.

'She reminds me so much of Sift......those were the days.'

______*Blade Gorge/Stalliongrad streets*______

Storm walked with his fellow teammates through the cold streets of the south side underworld, not the best place to be but they did not care.

The group consisted of five members currently, Storm himself, his partner Sift, his rival Warp, his friend Quartz, and his other friend Partial.

Quartz and Warp we're currently discussing something about chess while Partial stared off into the distance.

Storm looked at Sift with a sad look as she grunted with every step occasionally.

Sift look at Storm and sighed. "For the last time Storm, I'm fine and you don't have to keep staring at me like I'm dead." She said in a rehearsed tone.

Storm bit his lip but did not question his partner. "Well I can't help it, I did almost kill you." He replied calmly.

Sift rolled her eyes. "Yeah, almost, I've told you that twenty times." She countered casually.

Warp and the others noticed this and they each sighed. "What's the problem Huh? the mighty Storm brought down by a little of conflicted emotions?" She teased.

Storm growled and slowly made for his dagger. "Don't test me Warp." He warned.

Partial and Quartz shook their heads and continued walking.

Warp shrugged and walked past Storm who just gave a death glare.

Sift walked in front of Storm's view and just shook her head. "Storm, knock it off." She warned.

Storm just grunted and walked around his partner and followed the group with Sift behind him.

A breeze blew through the air and Storm held his hoof over his eyes to block the wind from blinding him, he had learnt his lesson about that.

As the group silently walked through the cold streets they had received many glares from the occasional passerby and civilian, they were certainly an odd group, it's not everyday that you see one Pegasus mare, one earth pony mare, one earth pony stallion, one Pegasus filly, and one Pegasus colt, all clad in combat armor.

Storm huffed and looked up at the sky as he walked, he activated his scanning eyes and grinned for no apparent reason.

Sift looked at Storm and gave a soft smile, while he wasn't perfect, Storm did have a good heart....once you got past the many layers of sarcasm.

______*Kahn's bar, ten minutes later*_____

Storm laughed as his partner moved the drinks from multiple cups with her magic making many of the patrons confused and shocked.

Sift grinned as she made the liquid go from cup to cup and mug from mug throughout the bar. "This is way too easy." She whispered to Storm.

Warp, Quartz and Partial stifled a laugh as one earth pony stallion fell off his seat while trying to keep the liquid in his cup.

Storm rolled his eyes at his partners antics. "Knock it off Sift." Came a commanding voice.

Sift looked behind herself and saw two familiar stallions. "Good to see you up and about Sift." Said one of the stallions

"Sure does feel good to be out of that infirmary." Sift replied.

Storm chuckled and closed his eyes. "Good to see ya Commander." He said sarcastically.

Crack Shot smirked. "I see your still a prick." He countered.

Storm shook his head and opened his eyes to reveal them in their discolored blood red form.

Crack Shot and Jagged Edge walked over and sat down at the table, Crack Shot looked at Storm and passed him a closed letter.

Storm raised an eyebrow. "What's this?" He asked.

Crack Shot leaned back on his chair and glared at him. "Read it." He ordered.

Storm sighed but opened the letter as he was told and read it.

'Hey Wolf boy, I wanted to let you know that I found what you were looking for, I'll meet you at the place we set up, oh and uh, I have your money.'

Storm crumpled the letter and looked at his commander. "What do you want?" He asked carefully.

Crack Shot leaned in and gave Storm an accusing glare. "Why are you receiving mail from a unicorn?" He asked quietly.

Storm leaned in and had an annoyed look on his face. "I had to make an ally while in that damned city, I wasn't in a posistion to be picky." He lied calmly.

Crack Shot grumbled and stared at Storm. "What are you receiving?" He asked quietly.

Storm grinned. "None of your damn business." He replied in a teasing tone.

Sift nudged Storm's arm and got his attention. "And me?" She asked calmly.

Storm's face fell and he whimpered quietly. "No fair." He replied very quietly.

Sift grinned. "Well?" She asked.

Storm sighed and banged his head on the table getting some confused looks from the other patrons. "If you must know it's very important." He answered in avoidance.

Sift nudged him playfully. "Three clues then one question." She said.

Storm nodded and took a drink from his mug.

Sift put her hoof on her chin and smirked. "Is one item?" She asked.

Storm shook his head.

"Is there a weapon?" She asked.

Storm nodded.

"A book?" She asked uncertainly.

Storm reluctantly nodded.

Sift grinned. "Is it a book on a weapon?" She asked.

Storm smirked and shook his head. "Close." He replied.

Quartz and Partial chuckled. "Kids." Quartz started.

"Always troublesome." Partial finished.

Storm looked at Quartz and put on a blank face. "Speaking of, didn't you once say you had a daughter?" He asked.

Quartz smiled and nodded. "Yep, and I'm proud of it." She replied happily.

Storm resisted the urge to smile but instead put on a curious look. "Oh? care to share?" He asked.

Quartz shrugged. "I don't see why not." She said.

Storm nodded and set his head on the table. "Might as well start with the basic questions, let's start with a name." He said.

Quartz took a drink from her mug and set it down. "Fluttershy." She replied.

Jagged look at Quartz with confusion. "You do realize that your daughter is the Element of kindness right?" He asked.

Quartz sighed. "Sadly.....yes." She admitted.

Storm swallowed the last of his drink and set it aside as he put his head on the table again. "What's she like anyway.....aside from the obvious." He asked.

Quartz sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, as the name suggests, she is very shy, but she has a mischievous side to her as well, she's loyal, brave when she has to be, she had some anger issues for a while but that was to be expected when she hit puberty." She explained while getting a wince from Jagged.

"Tell me about it, when my sister hit puberty she turned into a raging bull, and not the kind that charges at red." Jagged added getting some laughs from his teammates.

Storm rolled his eyes and felt an arm wrap around him. "Your daughter sounds like someone I would like, but I'm curious, why didn't you bring her with you?" He asked curiously.

The table was greeted by murmurs until Quartz spoke up.

"Well the thing is, when I asked her, she was of course confused, but when I explained it to her she told me flat out......no." She replied sadly.

Storm raised an eyebrow. "What was her total reply?" He asked.

Quartz sighed and downed the last of her drink. "She told me that she couldn't go because it would be unfair to her father." She replied simply.

Storm sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's always the father, why couldn't he go with you?" He asked.

"Because he's in the royal guard." She replied with a hint of anger.

Storm chuckled on instinct and looked at Quartz. "And how's that working out for you?" He asked teasingly.

Quartz huffed. "Divorced." She replied happily.

"What did he have to say about you leaving?" Storm asked.

Quartz laughed. "He tried to arrest me." She replied.

Sift looked at Quartz in shock. "Why would he do that?" She asked curiously.

Quartz grinned. "He said that I was a traitor and that I should burn in Tartarus." She replied simply.

Storm stifled a laugh but decided to continue the conversation. "What did you do?" He asked, almost hopefully.

Quartz shrugged. "Nothing actually, apparently Fluttershy was there and actually kicked him." She replied through a stifled laugh.

Storm grinned. "Ouch, and let me guess, you tried to convince Fluttershy to come with you but she was adamant, so you said farewell and came here." He guessed.

Quartz shook her head. "Actually no, she did come with me, but by then she was already the Element of kindness, and sadly a group of unicorns had knocked her out and fled with her." She replied sadly.

Storm blinked. "Want me to kill them?" He asked calmly.

Quartz shook her head and sighed. "No point, I imagine that by now they wiped her memory of me to keep her from following." She replied.

The entire table became silent except when they asked for refills occasionally, at one point Sift had fallen asleep on Storm's shoulder and Partial had dozed off in his seat.

'You know what, Quartz, if I'm ever in that damned land again and I see your daughter, I'll find that out for you, and that's a promise.'

______*end of flashback*______

Storm chuckled at the memory. 'I'm still going to uphold my promise Quartz, you can count on it.'

Storm said a silent prayer and exited the tent to see Vinyl standing right outside. "Hurry up Wolf boy, unless you dont want to get paid." She teased.

"Ha ha ha." Storm laughed sarcastically before walking to his post.

Vinyl fell in next to him with a smirk. "When are you ever going to stop disguising yourself?" She asked in a teasing tone.

Storm gave Vinyl a death glare that went unnoticed. "When I'm not dead inside." He replied simply.

Vinyl rolled her eyes and ruffled Storm's hair. "Yep, your my walking zombie." She teased.

"Gah." He exclaimed.

"So.....when did you start hanging around with unicorns?" Came a familiar voice behind Storm.

Storm sighed and turned around to reveal Quartz standing there. "Not the time Quartz." He stated.

Vinyl looked between the two in confusion. "You know each other?" She asked.

Storm nodded. "Yep, Vinyl meet Quartz, and Quartz, this is Vinyl." He said.

Quartz briefly looked at Vinyl and then at Storm. "What happened to you Storm? you finally get taken down a peg?" She asked while pointing at him.

Storm shook his head. "Nope, goes to show that I'm not immune to magic while asleep." He replied simply.

Vinyl was completely confused right now. "So uh, anyone mind filling me in on what's going on here?" She asked.

Quartz sighed and looked at Vinyl. "I need to speak with Storm, it's business." She replied simply.

Storm sighed and motioned Quartz closer. "You don't have to be so cryptic Quartz, she knows." He said.

Quartz raised an eyebrow at Storm. "Since when do you tell unicorns anything?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "Guess I softened up, but who cares." He replied.

Quartz shook her head and looked at Vinyl who nodded at her. "Fine, but you keep her from talking." She stated.

Storm gave Quartz a questioning glare. "She's right there you know." He warned.

"Do I care?" Quartz asked.

Storm chuckled. "Nope, but enough of this, what do you want?" He asked blankly.

Quartz sighed sadly and looked up at the sky and looked at Storm with a sad expression on her face.

".....Partial is dead." She said with sorrow.

Storm's eyes widened and he growled. "How could this have happened?" He asked angrily.

Quartz bit her lip. "I don't know, but whoever did it left this....." She paused before pulling out an orange crystal in the shape of an emerald with a symbol of an eye on one side.

Storm and Vinyl looked at it with curiosity. "Vinyl, your good with this stuff, why don't you take a look?" He asked.

Vinyl nodded and took the crystal from Quartz and examined it closely. "From what I can tell, it seems like whoever did this has a message for us." She stated.

Quartz raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make any sense, we don't even know how to do that!" She argued.

Vinyl grinned and her horn lit up. "Then it's a good thing I can." She replied.

Storm watches as Vinyl's horn lit up and the eye on the crystal started glowing black.

Vinyl finished her spell and soon the eye on the crystal shot up an image that did not make sense to anyone there.

Storm observed the image carefully, it was that of a cloaked figure that held a crystal in its hoof. "Ah, greetings, Ritual squad, I had hoped that your teammates proved a better challenge then they did but sadly they did not." Taunted the figure.

Quartz growled. "Who are you?" She demanded.

The figure chuckled. "Tsk tsk tsk, Quartz, you should really be more patient, after all, that weakness cost Warp Arka her life, as for who I am, I am I hunter of sorts, changed and warped in such a horrible way that I dare not show my face, but know this, I will kill the Ritual squad, it's inevitable." The figure taunted further.

Storm broke out laughing. "Oh boy, you actually think you can kill me? your insane, you are just a coward who attacks when we are weak, I wonder how you bleed?" He wondered.

The figure then laughed. "You have no idea who you are talking to boy." The figure warned.

Storm shrugged. "I don't care." He replied.

Quartz gasped and backed up. "I.....I know who you are." She said.

The figure faced Quartz. "Oh?" It asked.

Quartz growled. "Flash Sentry, my husband's brother." She said angrily.

Flash Sentry laughed and lowered the hood of his cloak to reveal an orange stallion with a blue mane.

"Long time no see, traitor." Flash growled.

Quartz scoffed. "Says the bastard who took away my daughter." She countered angrily.

Flash Sentry put on a sadistic grin and laughed maniacally. "Oh yes, dear Fluttershy, I haven't seen her in a while, shame that you couldn't be erased from her mind due to her element, but no matter, she cannot leave Equestria even if she wanted." He taunted.

Storm had enough and grabbed the crystal, he then threw it on the ground and smashed it. "Don't listen to him, he just wants to separate us so he can pick us off." He stated.

Quartz let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and looked at Storm. "Now what?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "One thing at a time, for now, I'm going to finish what I started, then we go back to Ponyville and come up with a plan.....until then, Quartz stay close."

Quartz nodded and took a deep breath. "Right, stay calm." She said.

Storm looked at Vinyl and Quartz. "Look, Quartz, for this to work you can't be picky about your ally's, and i need you to understand who your ally's are." He started.

Quartz raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this? i get that I might have to work with unicorns but what else?" She asked.

Storm rolled his eyes. "What I'm saying is...." He paused.

".......Vinyl is my mother."

Author's Note:

Well this chapter is bigger then I expected, at first it was a lot shorter, but then my progress got deleted for some reason.

Also uh.......sorry Flash Sentry fans, but he is now the enemy, and knowing Storm, he will probably kill him.

Pinkie: So when do i come back?

Me: I don't know yet, I'm working on it.

Anyway......uh, now you have a plot......or should I say another plot?

Pinkie: Maybe you should hold off on adding more plot?

Me: Sounds good.

I hope you enjoy this.......confusing and blunt story!