//------------------------------//
// Episode 30: Incomplete Power 
// Story: EoH Evolution: Season 2 
// by Bahamut0 
//------------------------------//

Burst Stream and Twilight Sparkle were staring each other down. Both had their weapons at the ready. "There's no turning back from this." Burst said before rushing at Twilight with his sword! Putting as much force as he could into his charge!

Twilight countered the charge by putting up a shield bubble with her magic! "Sometimes the best offense is a good defense." She quipped as Burst's blade bounced off her shield! "I've been practicing with my Harmony Keeper." Twilight patted her staff. "The ornament gem at the top is a great way to channel my magic through the staff. Meaning my spells get a bit of a boost. And as far as I've tested, my weapon can't be destroyed."

Burst smiled. "Looks like you're becoming a weapon nerd like me. Nice call by raising your shield. However," Burst reached into one of the inner folds of his coat, and pulled out the spell magazine Celestia had given him as a Hearth's Warming present. "Your enemy doesn't need to worry about your defenses if they can punch right through them!" Burst slotted the spell magazine into his blaster! The blue orbs on either side of his blaster turning yellow! Burst aimed at Twilight's shield, and fired a blast of powerful solar magic! 

The force of the blast made Twilight's shield crack! And a second blast shattered it! "Fair point." Twilight said with a nod. "But that means nothing if your target evades your attack!" Twilight evaded each of Burst's shots!

"Oh, I don't have to worry about that." Burst said with a smirk as he reached into his coat, and pulled out the spell magazine Luna had created and slotted it into his other blaster. The orbs turning white this time. "I'm pretty sure I'm gonna hit my mark." Burst aimed his blaster to the sky, and fired away! Each of the shots were white, and seemed to hang in the air. Burst then fired at Twilight!

Twilight rolled out of the way, and giggled. "You know you missed right?" However, the shots that were hovering in the air immediately homed in on Twilight! Each of them hitting her, but none doing too much damage on their own. "I guess they make up for their lack of power in terms of accuracy."

"Yeah. I guess I just wanted to show off my Hearth's Warming presents." Burst said with a joking smile as he ejected the spell magazines from his blasters. "But as cool as they are, I prefer to stick to my default weapons." Burst and Twilight then charged at each other! Their melee weapons clashing! "You've gotten pretty good with your magician staff. But. . ." Burst managed to knock Twilight's staff away! "Let's see how good you are without i-" Burst was cut off when Twilight delivered a punch to his face. "Nice punch Twi." It didn't pack much force, but it connected

Twilight beamed at the praise. "Well, I can't hit as hard as you can, but a solid hit is better than none!" Twilight rolled her head to avoid one of Burst's punches, but was caught off guard when Burst aimed his knee at her stomach! "I don't think so!" Twilight caught Burst's leg with her magic, and used her magic to throw him! Her eyes went wide! "Sorry! I know I'm supposed to be relying on magic less, but I couldn't help it!"

"Easy there Twi!" Burst said as he waved off Twilight's concern. "In a real fight, you need to use any and all skills at your disposal." Burst then dusted himself off, and smiled. "The fact you were able to keep yourself from just whipping out your magic speaks a lot in terms of your improvement. You're less of a glass cannon than when you began, and you're relying less on planning and more on instinct."

Twilight couldn't help but smile. "Well, it sounds like we're done here. Who's up next?" Twilight scanned through the list, and saw that it was Inferno and Rarity's turn to spar. Burst and Twilight headed to the sidelines while Inferno and Rarity squared up. "So how do you like the sparring schedule I made?"

"Pretty good so far." Burst said as he took a sip from his water. "I guess pitting counterparts from my friends against yours is a pretty good way to go about it. Respectively, you and I are the most powerful of our sets of elements."

Twilight nodded. "Inferno and Rarity are our respective best friends. Steel and Rainbow Dash are the ones we can count on to be by our sides. Ty's a big softy and Fluttershy's the sweet one. Pinkie and Akage are the wild cards." Twilight then paused. "Applejack and North are pretty similar too. Both of them go pretty far for the people they care for. You know Burst? I'm surprised we didn't end up a couple since we're counterparts in a way." Twilight blushed at the notion.

"Of course we're not!" Burst exclaimed. "Twilight, we're not a couple for the same reason you and Spike aren't an item. You're more of  a sibling to me rather than a romantic interest. Plus, I got the feeling you get shipped with a LOT of people. Heck, I can even see you and Celestia as a couple!"

Twilight blushed fiercely, and decided to recover with a joke. "Yes. It could've been me." She then pointed dramatically "But you stole my chance! Curse you Burst Stream!" The two shared a laugh, and went back to watching Tyrannus go against Fluttershy. Ty's cannon shot being reflected right back at him thanks to Fluttershy's staff putting up a barrier that protected her. "Looks like Ty activated Fluttershy's trap card."

"Was that a Yu-Gi-Oh reference?" Burst asked. He then shook his head to avoid getting lost in thought about his favorite card game. "Back on topic, I think all of us have gotten stronger. Fluttershy's more assertive from what Ty's told me. Rarity's become an awful lot more considerate since the Nightmarity incident. And I don't think I've ever seen Rainbow Dash apart from Steel ever since Discord's defeat."

Twilight nodded in confirmation. "I think the only ones who have yet to undergo any improvement are Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Then again, I don't know how much they really can improve. Or if they even need to at all. Speaking of improvement, I've noticed that Dark Ice has the tendency to always charge first into a fight. Or switch his priorities when one of his brothers gets attacked based on Shadow's account from your encounter with those mutant changelings"

"You're not the only one who's noticed." Burst said with a sigh. "The guys still have plenty of room for growth. Especially our newest member, Magnet North. Akage's already highly skilled due to his training, so it's no wonder he was able to take out a mutant changeling with no problem. Steel's an avatar now, so he's gotten a huge power boost and can use magic now." Burst Stream then looked to the sky. "But out of all of us? I think I'm the one who has to grow the most."

Twilight was surprised to hear this coming from Burst. "Burst, what are you talking about? You always put your friends and team before yourself. Any time a villain shows up, you're one of the first to put your life on the line so that everyone else can be safe. The changelings were a sudden threat, and the mutant ones nearly pushed you to the edge. But you never gave up when the odds were against you. Not to mention you helped me get rid of an incredibly unhealthy mindset! How could you possibly need to grow any more?"

"Because I'm incomplete Twilight." Burst said calmly as he stood up, and removed his coat and shirt. Displaying the talent crest on his back. "You remember when I said that I was born with my talent crest? Well that wasn't completely true. I was born with most of it. Squint your eyes, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Focus on the center of the white lightning blast."

Twilight did as Burst said, and squinted as she looked at the center of the blast of white lightning. What she saw astounded her. Inside the center, it looked like some mass was trying to gather and make a form! But no matter how hardly it tried, the mass couldn't take the form it wanted. "This. . . this is incredible! I've never heard of an incomplete talent crest before!" Twilight then looked to Burst, and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, not that there's anything wrong with that!"

"Hey. It's no problem." Burst said with a small smile. "To be honest, I don't mind that it's incomplete. Like I said, it means I've only got more room to grow, and I've got endless possibilities. I just hope I'm not another typical 'Chosen One'."

Twilight couldn't help but giggle. "Well, it didn't turn out that well for Anakin."

". . . I have taught you well padawan." Burst said with a laugh.