'How long has it been since I started training here with Bahamut?' Burst Stream thought with a sigh as he laid down on what was assumed to be the ground of the blank, white void known as the Zero Realm. 'Somehow, I get the feeling that my friends need me. All of them probably think I'm dead, too. But what was I supposed to do? Just lay down in that crater after the beating Tirek dealt me and seeing Celestia get thrown into Tartarus? Maybe things would have worked out still if I'd done just that, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do everything within my power to try and stop Tirek. Still. . . it doesn't change the fact I miss everyone so much.'
"Why so glum, Burst Stream?" Bahamut asked as he stood over the Element of Power. "You've been progressing very far in your training. In fact, you taken rather well to your new dragonic attributes. It's probably due to your soul and mine resonating, but the improvement is significant nonetheless. And you've also quickly grasped the new techniques I've been teaching you."
"Yeah, well, it helps that I've got no idea how long I've been in here and that I don't get tired." Burst Stream said as he sat up with his knees close to his chest. "I know you said that I'd get to return home once I was worthy of your power, but I can't help asking HOW I'm supposed to get back home or WHAT I can do to make me worthy of inheriting your power. But most of all, I really miss home."
"And you will return to them." Bahamut answered.
"Yeah, I know that!" Burst snapped in frustration as he stared up at Bahamut. "But when I left in that explosion of magic, everyone probably thought I died when I really haven't! I. . . I just want to go home and let the people I love know that I'm okay. That I haven't left them yet, and that I can come back." Sadness filled Burst's gaze as he looked down at the "ground". "But at the same time, I know how important mastering your power is."
". . . " Bahamut was silent as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "There IS a way for you to return to your friends right now. But, it is not without it's cost."
"What is it?" Burst asked as he sprang to his feet! "Tell me, please."
"I told you that you would be able to return to the world once I deemed you worthy to inherit my power." Bahamut began. "But there is another way for you to return."
"And what's the price for my return?" Burst asked.
"The price is relinquishing the power you've been training to control and develop all this time." Bahamut answered with a firm tone. "You would also lose the dragon abilities and traits that inheriting my power would grant you. My soul would pass on all the same. Then again, doing this would render all the time you have spent here useless. So, Burst Stream, what is your answer?"
Burst Stream had an awed expression on his face as he took in the new information Bahamut had dropped onto him, but the look in his eyes was one of reflection. He could reunite with the people he cared about. Two in particular, Celestia and Nightmare Moon, took up a significant space of his thoughts. If he returned now, he'd get to see them all again! And most of all, he could be a hero again! But when that thought entered his mind, Burst immediately halted his train of thought.
In the beginning he'd only set out to reunite Princess Celestia with the sister she was forced to banish for a thousand years. But things changed when new threats started popping up that the Main 6 alone couldn't handle. So, Burst took up arms and others soon joined him in his fight. As he made friends in the growing Elements of Heroism, Burst found more reasons besides simply protecting others. He had new friends that would back him up in any fight, and he'd gladly give his life for them. He'd almost done that multiple times by now. But by far, the thing he enjoyed most about being a hero was the hope he saw in everyone's eyes whenever he and his friends would fight against evil whenever it rose. If he came back, he could bring that hope back with him!
'But. . . it wasn't just me that gave everyone hope.' Burst Stream realized as he reflected. 'It was never just me that everyone cheered and rooted for. Twilight and the girls. Inferno and the guys. They cheered for ALL of them. Because of them, I realized that I was meant to be a hero. They MADE me into a hero. Even without me, the world still has all of them. I want to be the hope in everyone, but I can't be that if I'm not there. But it was never just me that people put their hopes in! All of my friends are heroes! And that's why I think. . . no, I KNOW I can entrust the hopes of others to them!' And Burst Stream looked up at Bahamut with a smile.
"The answer's simple, Bahamut. . . "