//------------------------------//
// Set Me on Fire 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S6 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

"FLASH FORCE!" The Everfree Forest was illuminated by a brilliant beam of light, followed by loud howls of pain.

"Iron Lance Fury/Grand Impact!" Shards of iron and jagged rocks shot through the air, knocking back a pack of Timberwolves, as the beasts had once again gotten to close to Ponyville.

"Aura Force!" Springer unleashed an aura laser, Lightning zipping around the attack as he slashed a wooden wolf as the beam hit it.

As this happened, Flash dodged a timberwolf's claw before slashing the beast down the middle, the sticks falling around him as a voice cheered, "Alright!" He looked up to see Fire Heart sitting on a branch, cheering at the sight, "That was awesome!" He said before gasping, "Look out!"

Flash spun around to see another timberwolf leaping at him, the defender blocking it with his sword. "Augh!" He groaned as he pushed the wolf back, "Geez....couldn't you have made yourself out of something a little less smelly?! There are mint leaves in this forest, you know!"

"Hold on!" He heard as the timberwolf was suddenly jostled by something landing on it, "Gotcha!" Heart laughed as he grabbed the creature's back, "Now get off!"

"HEART!" Flash yelled, "I told you to stay in the trees!"

"I've got this!" Heart replied as his body ignited, the heat making the timberwolf cry out as began to try and buck Heart off. "Yeehaw!"

The others turned to see this, Iron groaning, "Why did we bring him again?"

"Twilight wouldn't let us borrow Spike," Springer responded as he smacked a wolf away with a Bone Breaker.

"WHOA!" Heart yelped as he was thrown from the wolf, Flash gasping at this before three other wolves suddenly leapt at the defender.

And as Heart hit a tree, his body slid down the pillar of lumber before looking up and seeing a prowling timberwolf walking up to him. A low hiss came from it, Heart seeing the wolf open its mouth as it was about to pounce. The sight made Heart's eyes narrow, flames beginning to swirl around his body.

"Heart!" Grand yelled as he saw this, "DON'T!"

"RAAAH!" Heart roared as he unleashed a stream of fire that struck the timberwolf. But as the flames flew out, the attack also hit a few trees, causing them to ignite upon contact. The fire instantly spread, lighting up the grass and bushes next as the flames began to scare the wood wolves away.

"Heart!" Flash yelled, "You've gotta stop!"

Heart went wide-eyed at this, seeing his fire now going out of control. He closed his eyes, clenching them as he tried to concentrate. "Grr....no!" He yelped, feeling the flames on his body continuing to burn, "I...CAN'T!"

"Hang on!" Flash said as he tried to fly over to him, only to flap back as he felt the heat from the flames. "Shoot..." He then turned to Lightning, "Lake!" Lightning nodded before teleporting away, soon returning with a big ball of water in his magic. The liquid then hitting the colt, it completely drenched him, cutting out his flames, but not fixing the building wildfire.

"What do we do?" Springer asked.

"We need rain," Iron responded, "Lots of it."

"I can't get that many storm clouds at once," Flash told them. "And it'll take too long to get some more pegasi."

"Why don't we let it burn?" Lightning added, "Thin out some of the rest near town. Would help dealing with the timberwolves getting too close."

"MY GIRLFRIEND LIVES NEAR THE FOREST!" Iron barked, making Lightning flinch.

"And Zecora lives in the forest," Flash chimed in, "We can't risk her getting hurt, not to mention the castle of the two sisters and the tree of harmony. We've gotta stop this blaze."

As he said that, Grand spoke up, "We need a vacuum." Flash's eyes grew at the suggestion, only to nod as Grand turned to Lightning. "Get us out of here." Lightning nodded and grabbed all but Flash in his magic, the group vanishing in a flash of light.

"But Flash-"

"Will be fine," Grand assured Heart as they appeared outside the forest.

And as he said that, the knight of friendship's body began to glow, "Armorize!" The light exploded off him, forming the Shining Guardian armor, Flash spreading his wings as the ends opened up to unleash an energy that propelled him upward. He then began to circle the area that was aflame, circling the place as he began to form a tight air seal around it.

From the edge of the forest, everypony watched as a tornado appeared around the smoke. This caught the attention of the ponies in town, all watching as the tornado formed in the flaming forest.

"What's happening?" Twilight asked as she teleported over to the defenders, the rest of the mane seven following, "Where's Flash?" The defenders replied by pointing at the forest, all soon seeing the tornado vanishing along with the smoke and flames.

Above the trees, Flash glided down, his body covered in soot as he landed in front of Twilight, "Fire's out."

"Good," Twilight replied, "You need a bath. But before you take one, where'd the forest fire come from? You went in there to fight timberwolves, not start wildfires." Flash grimaced as his armor vanished, the knight turning to the defenders...and now seeing the cause of the blaze not with them.

"Heart?"





One bath later...

The colt had retreated to the castle and with Springer's help, Flash found him in his room. "Knock, knock." Flash opened the door, poking his head in before seeing Heart curled up in his bed. "Hey bud. You feeling okay?" There was no response, the colt tightening his curl as Flash moved inside, sitting on the bed, "You know, it's a beautiful day. You really wanna waste it cooped up in here?"

Heart let out a sniff, "Just get it over with."

"Huh?"

"You're gonna drop me as your apprentice. Just get it over with."

Flash let out a chuckle, "What are you talking about? I'm not gonna drop you as my apprentice." Heart uncurled himself at this, wide-eyed as he turned to the defender, "You made a mistake Heart. That doesn't mean you deserve to be abandoned as a knight. If that were true, Grand would have dropped me a long time ago. Heck, if anything, it's me that messed up."

"What?"

Flash patted the colt's shoulder, "I promised Faust I'd help you learn to control your fire powers, but we haven't done a thing to help you learn since we returned." He crossed his hooves, "I'll admit, I wanted you to go to school first and make friends. Show you what it means to be a colt and a defender...but I should have done more."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm gonna help you with your fire powers."

"Really?!"

Flash nodded, "Yeah." Flash began rubbing the back of his head, "Now, I know there isn't exactly a manual to your powers, so it'll probably be a process of trial and error. But I promise that we're not gonna stop until you're a master of your powers!"

"YES!" Heart cheered, Flash chuckling as the colt began hopping up and down. That is, till a knock came to the door, "Yeah?"

The door opened to reveal Spike with a scroll in his hands. "This came for you. It's from Princess Celestia."

Flash raised an eyebrow and held out his hoof, taking the scroll before reading, "Huh. Well this complicates things."

"What's up?" Heart asked, Flash grimacing at his next words.





"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE TO LEAVE?!" Heart screamed as he, Soul, Flash, Twilight and Lightning were in the castle's throne room.

"Sorry Heart," Flash help up the scroll. "Lightning and I have been summoned to Canterlot."

"What for?" Soul asked, Twilight now taking the scroll.

"It doesn't say. She just wants them in Canterlot. She'll explain everything there." She furled up the scroll, "The next train to Canterlot's not until this evening."

"Then we've got a few hours to get ready," Lightning responded.

"But...but...but you were supposed to help train me!" Heart cried out, "You promised!"

"Yeah...I know." Flash put his hoof on the colt's shoulder, "I'm sorry Heart, but this is an order from a princess. That's the one thing a Royal Knight can't refuse. Our training will just have to wait until I get back."

"But who knows how long that could be!" Heart whined, "I don't wanna be stuck here since you defenders told me to not do anything because of my accident!" He spun around and began to march out of the room, "This bites!"

Once he was gone, Flash let out a sigh. "This isn't fair for him."

"Well it's not like you can't not go," Lightning added, "He'll just have to suck it up. Its actually a pretty good lesson for him. If he wants to be a knight, he'll have to deal with these kinds of situations all the time."

"Maybe..." Twilight hummed while tapping her chin, "But maybe he doesn't have too. There's nothing stopping him from starting his training while you're not here. If he uses the training room and makes it fire proof, he can train to his heart's content."

"You've got a point," Flash replied with a nod, "But I don't like the idea of him training on his own..."

And as he said that, an imaginary light-bulb appeared above his head.





That evening...

Flash and Lightning were at the station with Twilight, Rarity, Springer, Spike, Scootaloo, Heart and Soul. The whistle of the approaching train caught their attention, Rarity and Twilight stepping up to give their special someponies a kiss. "Good luck darling."

"Try not to get too badly hurt," Twilight added as Scootaloo and Soul gave Flash a hug.

"We'll do our best," Flash replied before turning to his apprentice. "Hey, where's the love?" Heart just glared at him, making Flash chuckle, "Guess it's a good thing you won't miss me too much. Might distract you from your training."

This made Heart go wide-eyed, "Training?!"

"Yup. I found somepony who's willing to help you start. They're gonna do everything they can to help you control your powers, so be sure to listen to them. Understand?" Heart's reply was a hug as the train pulled up.

"I'll listen and train. Promise." He then pulled back. "When you get back, I'll be an expert with my powers!"

"Sounds good," Flash replied, "You start tomorrow as soon as you wake up. You'll meet your trainer in the training room."

With that, Flash and Lightning walked onto the train. Heart smiled as both their heads appeared at a window, only for the colt to gasp, "Wait!" he yelled as the train pulled away, "Who am I training with!?" But the train's whistle blared at this, muting his voice, "Flash...FLASH!"

But he got no answer as Flash pulled his head back inside. As this happened, Heart turned to the others, "I don't suppose you all know who my trainer is?" They shook their heads, "Well that's just great."

Following this, for the remainder of the day Heart wondered who it was going to be. His mind went over the Royal Knights, his brain picturing somepony like Cold, Ruby, Tidal or Heather. He went to bed night anxious to find out, so excited as he barely managed to get to sleep with how excited he was. But no sooner that his eyes were closed, his alarm clock went off.

He leapt out of the bed as before the first ring was completed, the colt zipping up to the training room. "Oh...who could it be? Iron maybe? Or maybe Springer's gonna be the one. Ruby...Cold?" He shivered in excitement as he reached the door, "I can't wait!"

He threw the doors open, only for his smile to vanish. In front of him was Grand Hoof sitting in a chair...fast asleep.

"SERIOUSLY?!" The outcry caused the older pony to wake up, turning to the colt.

"About time." He groaned before stretching his hooves, "I've been waiting for a while. Thought you'd only be a few minutes, but I had time to have a nice dream while waiting for you."

Heart raised an eyebrow at this, "Princess Celestia just raised the sun."

Grand let out a chuckle, "You're just a kid, so I wouldn't expect you to understand...but do yourself a favor and try to wake up early now so that when you're older, it won't be such a shock when you have to wake up for early patrol or whatever else you need to do."

Heart frowned as this as Grand walked over to the control crystal. 'I can't believe this old coot's gonna be teaching me. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since he taught Flash...but he's an earth pony. How's he supposed to help me with my powers?!'

"Why don't you start by launching a blast of fire at me." Grand asked as the training room changed into a walled arena.

"What?!"

"Shoot some fire at me," Grand replied as he turned to face Heart, "If I'm going to help you learn to control your powers, I need to understand them, and there's no better way then in battle."

"Uhh...are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, my attacks can be pretty powerful and I don't wanna hurt you."

"Don't take me too lightly kid. I've been in this game a long time, and you won't be the first fire wielder I've fought."

"But you don't even have your Celestic Gear," Heart added.

Grand started laughing at this, "Yeah, I left it at home to make things a little more even. But if you're really worried about that," he touched the control crystal and a wooden staff appeared in his hooves. "This should be enough."

"A wooden staff? But won't that burn easily? I don't wanna burn you and-"

Grand let out a long heaving sigh, "Good grief kid, I didn't realize you were such a chatterbox." As he said that, his smile disappeared as he began to glare at Heart, "I'M LOSING PATIENCE!" And in that second, Grand was suddenly in front of Heart, thrusting the staff into the colt's chest.

"Augh!" Heart yelped as he was thrown into the wall behind him. Slumping down, he let out a moan, "Okay...that hurt." He then looked up, now seeing Grand charging with the staff raised. Laughter filled the air as Grand swung the staff down, Heart barely managing to jump away. As he did this, flames appeared around his body, "Fine! You wanna play?!" He created a fireball between his hooves, "Get ready to feel the heat! Fire Force!"

The steam of fire shot out, Grand still laughing at the colt. "Ha!" He quickly slid down, ducking under the flames.

"No way!" Heart gasped as Grand reached him, hitting him with the staff again. "Ahh!"

As Heart hit another wall, Grand chuckled as he spun his staff around, "What, you're surprised I was able to do something that basic? I may be old, but that doesn't mean my skills have dulled." And as Heart began to pick himself up, Grand continued, "Against the adversaries I've faced in the past, you're a total novice. If this is all you can do, we've got a long way to go before you're ready to call yourself a Royal Knight."

Heart growled as he then spun around and swung his tail. This unleashed a sweeping stream of fire, making Grand sigh, "Basic." He raised his staff and swung it down, the force sending out a wave of air that cut Heart's flame wave in half. He began to shake his head as he continued, "If this is what Flash is able to create after all this time, then I'm sorely disappointed in his teaching methods."

This made Heart hiss, the colt not noticing his fire beginning to burn brighter. "Take that back!" He yelled as he unleashed a burst of fire from his back hooves, propelling him up to Grand as he threw a blazing punch. But as he did this, Grand easily ducked at this, making Heart fly over him and crash into a wall.

"He might be the Knight of Friendship and a hero of Equestria, but Flash is an amateur when it comes to teaching. What happened in the forest is proof he's not training you properly."

"SHUT UP!" Heart screeched as he charged again, throwing a flurry of punches. But as he tried this, the Great Mountain easily backpedaled as he dodged every attack, not even putting any effort. And as he evaded the fifth one, he swung his staff down on Heart's head. "Augh!" He yelped, his eyes glowing red as he felt this blow. He then jumped back and created a giant fireball. "FIRE FORCE!"

Grand sighed at the sight, shaking his head as fire exploded out of the sphere. He threw the staff upward, pulling a hoof back as it fell down and punched the end of the staff. The blow sent the staff rocket through the flames, slicing through it with ease. Flames split out of the fire orb, the staff then hitting Heart in the chest again.

"GYAH!" He cried as he was knocked back, allowing Grand to run up to him.

"You have power, but no control." He grabbed Heart around the neck, the earth pony lifting the pegasus up. "It's not just your abilities you have no control over, but also your emotions." With that, he threw Heart down, causing the colt to cry out in pain, "That's why I bested you."

Heart let out a groan as he squinted his eyes open, only to see Grand's gaze, feeling like it was piercing his very soul. This seemed to calm him down, but he was letting out loud pants as Grand continued to hold him. 'He's so fast and strong. Even without his Celestic Gear, he completely thrashed me.'

He then saw that Grand didn't have a scratch on him as the defender spoke up, "Listen to me. The way you used your fire power in the war and during your time here shows you're still adjusting to your abilities. You understand its fundamentals," he then tapped Heart on the cheek. "But your admiration for Flash and sense of loyalty to him are shackles on you."

"Shackles?" Heart asked as Grand let him go.

"Flash may be the one teaching you, but that doesn't mean you have to emulate him. You're both pegasi, yes, but the elements you wield are very different. Your fire won't behave the same way as Flash's light, which is something you need to understand if you ever want to master it. If you're not careful, even the weakest flame could do cataclysmic damage. You need to understand that, just as you need to understand that the fighting style you will develop may end up being completely different from Flash's."

A growling sound filled the air next as Grand looked down at Heart's stomach, the defender chuckling, "Clearly, you need something to eat before we go any further." He turned to the door as the room returned to normal, "Just rest here and I'll go get us some grub. And think about what I told you."

And as he left, Heart didn't get up. He just laid there, sighing, "My admiration for Flash...are shackles?" He continued to simply lay there, only for Grand to return with a plate of buttered toast and milk.

He sat down in front of Heart, the colt sitting up and taking the plate. "So..." Grand commented as Heart began to eat, "You've had some time to think it over. Now why do you think you lost to me?"

"You're really strong...and fast." Heart muttered while looking away, "I couldn't keep up."

"Surprised because I'm an earth pony?" Heart nodded back, "I understand. We'll start with why you lost though. You lost because you weren't able to control your fire. All you're able to do is throw it around at hundred percent of the power." Heart nodded again, only for Grand to shake his head, "It's understandable that you would develop this quirk. The city of Faust was made of stone and marble, which doesn't catch fire. You could go all out without having to worry about burning the place down. But here, your power is much more dangerous."

"I know..." Heart whimpered, "That's why I'm trying to learn to control it."

"Well if you wanna do that, you need to deal with the second reason I beat you. Your temper."

"Temper?"

"You got angry very easily, which meant you weren't thinking clearly. You're young, so controlling your emotions isn't easy. But if you don't learn to keep your temper in check, you'll end up causing more harm than good. Especially since your anger is the fuel of your flames."

"Fuel of my flames?"

Grand nodded. "Remind me, how did you get your powers?"

"Soul gave them to me using Faust's power."

"Yes, but she gave you the power by having you absorb the flames of Searing Salix, a nirik. And while watching your adventures there, I saw that Salix's firepower increased whenever he got angry. Since your powers are the same as his, you also grow stronger when you're angry."

"Huh..." Heart looked down at his hooves, "I guess that's right, like when I tricked him to free Flash."

"But that's a double-edged sword. The angrier you get, the stronger you get. But the angrier you get, the less you'll think, meaning it would be harder for you to control your power."

"So what do I do?" Heart asked, "Try and never get angry?"

Grand chuckled at this, "Oh no kiddo, definitely can't do that. Anger is an important emotion, the same as joy or even fear." He shined a small smirk, "Do you remember what Flash told you about fear?"

"That's it's something I should always have," Grand nodded and told him to go on. "He also said I should listen to my fear, but also question it."

"Exactly. Anger might sometimes make us do or say something we wouldn't normally, but it's still necessary. There are times when we have to let ourselves get angry. If we didn't, then Sombra, Discord, Tirek and who knows what else would have invaded Equestria long ago. It's simply a matter of controlling one's anger, and if you can learn to control it, then you can use it to boost your fire without losing control."

"But that doesn't make any sense. How am I supposed to get angry but not let the anger control me? If I let myself get angry, isn't that letting it control me?"

Grand shook his head. "Close your eyes." Heart raised an eyebrow, only to do so. "Now...imagine yourself swimming in the ocean. Imaging you're still close too the shore that your hooves reach the seabed. You're floating there...then a large wave comes your way. That wave...is your anger."

"Oookay..." Heart barely replied.

"There are three things you can do when that wave hits you. The first is to let it wash you away, meaning you let your anger free and have it dictate your actions. The second is to try and fight the wave, meaning you try to bottle your anger up and ignore. But no matter what, you'll reach the point where you can't fight it any more and all the anger will wash you away."

Heart did a long gulp, "What's the third option?"

"The third is to let the wave wash over you. Dig your hooves into the sand and brace yourself. Let the wave of anger hit you, feeling the force of that anger flow through you. And then...let it go. The wave has washed over you, but you remain exactly where you want to be."

"So you're saying I'm supposed to let the anger wash over me?"

Grand did a small nod. "Exactly. Every time you feel like you're getting angry, you need to take a moment to feel that anger and then let it go."

"How?" Grand replied by getting up as Heart finished his breakfast, moving over to the control crystal. In a moment, a table appeared in front of Heart with a deck of cards. "Huh? What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Your first task will be to build a house out of these cards."

"That's it?" Grand nodded again. "Ha! Easy." Heart took the cards and began to position the cards. But as he managed to make two triangles and put the roof on it, the whole thing collapsed. "Ahh!"

"Try again."

Heart began again, only to fail at the same point. As he did this, he felt anger start to surge. Grand's words went through his head at this, making him take a deep breath. And as he began to calm down, he made the first triangle and began to make the second layer-

HONK!

Heart screamed as he flinched from the sudden sound, causing the cards to topple over. He spun around next, seeing Grand holding a gas horn. "Seriously?!"

"Rise above the anger. No matter what, don't let it overtake you."

The colt took a deep breath and turned back to the table, working on the house again while tensing up to prepare for the horn. But Grand remained silent instead, Heart now seeing the defender leaning against a wall with the horn nowhere in sight.

Turning back to the cards, he got a second layer done, only for Grand to press a button on the ground, making the table suddenly jerk back and fourth. The cards toppled over instantly, making Heart yelp, "Hey!" He glared at Grand next, only to take a deep breath.

"Good," Grand responded, "Don't let yourself be overwhelmed. Take all the time you need." Heart took a few more deep breaths, but nodded and tried again. The card tower fell twice after this, Heart constantly calming himself every time. "Keep it up," Grand whispered. "This is only meant to be an intro to your lessons. It doesn't matter if you fail here."

And as Heart was about to complete the house, muttering, "Almost there..." He then held up the final two cards, only for Grand to press another button.

A section of the far wall opened up, Heart looking up to see a cream pie slam splat all over his face. Cream flew everywhere, causing the card house to fall. Heart wiped the cream from his eyes, now seeing the destroyed house. He began to pant, steam beginning to haze off his head. He tried to take a few deep breaths, but it was just too much.

"RAAAAAHHHH!" he roared as the entire room was filled with fire, the colt now unleashing a raging scream that would put Donald Duck to shame. This lasted for a few good seconds before Heart found himself getting blasted by a bunch of foam from Grand, who was carrying a fire extinguisher.

He continued to hose Heart down until he was completely out, stopping for a moment until Heart's head ignited again, making him blast it more. The fire now completely put out, he stared at the still panting Heart. "Better?"

"Not really."

"That was probably a little mean of me, but it was a good first attempt. You see now how difficult controlling one's temper can be, even if it's the single thing you're trying to do. What you just did is something we need to avoid when you're in a public place."

"Yeah...I know." Heart moaned as he shook his body, "I get what you mean."

Grand nodded once more, "Good. Then here's how this is going to go. For the rest of the day, we'll work on you learning to control your anger. Then tomorrow, we'll get started on your actual training. I'm hoping that by the time Flash gets back, you'll be able to at least launch a single burst of fire from your hoof."

Heart nodded as he continued to clean himself off. The day soon continued, slow going as it was filled with Heart going through a variety of anger inducing exercises. They stopped for a quick lunch halfway through the day, Grand telling him about certain meditation techniques he could look into.

Heart had to admit, Grand was a very different teacher to Flash. Flash had simply been showing him the moves and helping him perfect them, but Grand seemed to prefer a more theory based teaching style. This confused the colt, as Flash had told him that his teaching was all physical back in the day. But this wasn't anything like what Flash had been doing with him.

After lunch, they continued on with the exercises. But as they did this, Soul walked into the room a few hours later, "Hello?" They turned to the alicorn filly, "Twilight said dinner's ready. And you're free to join us if you like Grand."

"Sounds good to me." Grand chuckled as they left the room. A few moments later, they were in the dinning room with the castle's residents. Twilight, Spike and possibility Springer had made an entire spread of different foods that they could chose from. And as Grand and Heart sat down and everypony did a quick grace, they started digging in.

"So how's the training going?" Twilight asked as she passed the peas.

"It's only the first day," Grand replied, "Controlling power like this isn't something that can be learned in one or two lessons. It could be years before Heart can call himself a complete master."

"I just wanna be able to use my powers without worrying about hurting ponies," Heart added as he helped himself to some mash.

"I don't think that's something that'll ever go away," Starlight chimed in, "I mean, fire's pretty dangerous. If-"

"I'm careless, even the weakest flame could do cataclysmic damage," Heart sighed. "I've already been told that."

Starlight shrunk back at this, twiddling her hooves, "Oh...right. Sorry."

"Its fine." Heart muttered as he took a sip of his drink.

"Don't worry Heart," Grand assured him. "You're not the only pony that worries about losing control of their powers. Every time I use my Celestic Gear, the thought of causing an earthquake always appears. I just don't let it control me."

"Same here," Spike added, "You're not the only one that uses fire. When I was younger, I was always terrified I'd set something on fire. Guess most dragons don't have that issue since they grow up around rocks and volcanos."

"And it's not just elemental magic," Twilight continued, "Lots of unicorns grow up fearing that they might lose control of their magic. I know after my first magical surge I was worried about turning ponies into plant pots, but Celestia helped me learn to control it."

"Exactly," Grand nodded. "Honestly, learning to control your powers should have been the first thing you learned. Not trying to insult Flash or anything, but he's been doing it all wrong."

"But Flash said he's been teaching me the same way you taught him," Heart responded, "How can it be wrong if it's how you taught him?"

"Simple," Grand replied before taking a spoonful of carrots, "You're not Flash." Heart raised an eyebrow at this, the others staring at Grand as he took another bite, "you're much stronger than him."

This made everypony go wide-eyed, Heart yelping, "Are you kidding?! Have you seen what Flash can do?! How the heck am I stronger if he can create a giant energy alicorn?"

Grand chuckled at this. "Yes, Flash is strong now, but he wasn't always that way. When he was your age, he didn't have any of the amazing abilities he has now. No Sacred Light, no Theta Mode, not even his Celestic Gear. He only got those things after moving to Ponyville a few years ago. But when he was your age, he was no different from any other pegasus his age. Yes, he was skilled enough to grab my attention, but if you were to fight Flash when he was your age, you would have creamed him."

"Really?" Heart asked, turning to Twilight as she nodded back.

"He's right Heart. You're way stronger than Flash was at your age."

Grand spoke up next, "If Flash had access to his Sacred Light when he first became my apprentice, I would have started his training by helping him learn to control that power. Only after I was sure he wouldn't kill anypony with it, then I would have started teaching him what Flash has been teaching you."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, "Grand...if you knew Flash was teaching Heart wrong, why didn't you tell him?"

Grand shook his head. "Flash needs to learn it on his own. Its his first time as a teacher, so he needs to figure out when he fails at teaching and when he succeeds."

"Oh." Twilight took a bite of her dinner, "That makes sense with Flash. He only asks for advice when he knows he needs it."

"I know. He's always been like that." Grand replied, "This is a learning experience for him as much as Heart. I expected him to make mistakes, and if he asked me for help, I would help him. Although, after Heart's little accident in the forest, I had every intention of telling him he needed to help Heart learn control his power, but thankfully he realized it himself."

"Anypony would have realized that Grand." Twilight deadpanned, Soul giggling as Grand just shrugged.

The rest of the dinner was the group discussing Heart's training, Twilight and Starlight giving a few ideas in as well. And once the meal was done, Twilight and Starlight headed off to the library while Springer headed out on patrol. Soul, Ace, Scootaloo and Mira went to play games and Heart was planning on joining them, only for Grand to grab his shoulder.

"We're not done yet Heart. There's one more lesson I wanna complete before the end of the day." Heart raised an eyebrow at this, but followed after Grand.

"Where're we going?" He asked as they climbed some stairs.

"To the balcony," Grand replied as they got to the top, "Here we are."

Heart walked up to the edge of the balcony, the pair staring out at the town. "Why'd you bring me up here?"

"I'll answer that question with one of my own." Grand pointed at the village, "If you shot a stream for fire out, which way would it go?"

"Uhh...straight ahead?"

"Correct," Grand nodded, Heart blinking at him as he saw the smile on the stallion's face. He opened his mouth to ask why he asked this, only for Grand to ask, "And what about...now?"

"Straight ahead."

"Wrong."

"What?" Heart glanced between the town and Grand, "How could it be wrong when you said it was right just a moment ago?"

"That...is the lesson," Grand replied before moving over to a potted plant Twilight kept on the balcony. "What's different between now and when you gave your first answer?" Heart blinked at this as Grand plucked a leaf off the plant, "You'll quickly find the answer is staring you right in the face." As he said that, he dropped the leaf, Heart watching it be pulled into the air.

"The wind..." Heart responded, "It changed."

"Well actually, it picked up," Grand chimed in, "But yes, a strong enough wind can effect the trajectory of any flame, including yours. When unleashing your flame, always pay attention to the wind. If it's to your back, it can be your ally and help boost the power of your flame. But if you're facing the wind, it could be your worst enemy and weaken or even push your attack back at you. And if it's to your sides, you might accidently miss your target and set something or somepony on fire."

Heart groaned as he clutched his head, "I didn't think this would be so complicated."

Grand chuckled and shook his head, "Nothing worth having comes easy. And your powers are definitely worth having. Now you can go off and join the others," Heart nodded and hopped off the balcony, only for Grand to speak up, "But before you go, a bit of homework." Heart turned to him, Grand continuing, "Aside from water and wind, I want you to think of three things that could effect how well you control your attacks by tomorrow. Think you can do that?" Heart did a small nod. "Good. Now off you go." Heart ran off, Grand smirking as he watched him go. "You've got a good one here Flash."





The day completed and turned to night, which quickly passed to the next morning. And as the first specks of sunlight broke over the horizon, Grand was making his way to the castle. The older pony let out a yawn as he headed there, the buzzing of insects filling his ears. He then felt one land on the back of his neck and seemed to bite him. "Ack!" He groaned, swatting it away, only to find it was already gone. "Stupid mosquitoes."

He slowly walked into the castle, making sure to not make too much noise in this early hour. But when he arrived at the training room, he was surprised to find Heart sitting in a chair half asleep. Not expecting the colt to be there, he smiled at the sight before trotting over and covering his nose, causing the pegasus to snort as he woke up. "What the?!"

"Morning," Grand chuckled, "How long have you been here?"

"I...don't know. A while I think."

"Well don't push yourself. You've gotta give your body time to adjust to being an early riser. Wanna hear a tip?"

"Sure."

"Set your alarm clock to five minutes before you usually get up. Keep doing that until your body naturally adjusts, and then set it another five minutes early. Eventually, you'll reach a point where you're waking up early and your body's not totally shocked by it. And try to go to sleep earlier. You need a good night's sleep if you plan on waking up early."

"Got it," Heart replied as he got out of the chair.

"Do you remember your homework?" Heart nodded, "Good. Now, other than water and wind, what over things could make controlling your fire difficult?"

"Sand." Heart responded, "If I'm in a sandstorm, I won't be able to see what I'm shooting at and I could accidently hit something or somepony I don't want too."

"Good. Plus the wind could make it difficult as well, and the sand could take your fire out. You should test that before you find yourself in that situation."

Heart nodded back. "Another one is snow. If I'm in a blizzard I might not be able to see and ice and snow can easily put me out."

"True. Though I did hear from Flash that you did quite well during the snowstorm in the Crystal Empire. And the last one?"

"Um...gas," he slowly said, "If there's gas in the air, I could set the whole place on fire."

Grand raised an eyebrow at this, "I'm guessing Twilight helped you with that one." Heart blushed and looked away, "That's fine. That's what older ponies are there for. But yes, gas is a very dangerous thing to mix with fire. You may one day find yourself in an area which expels natural gas, so be careful if you ever smell something like rotten eggs."

"Got it," Heart replied, "So what's on the board for today? How are we gonna get me to control my fire?"

Grand moved over to the crystal in response, "I've been thinking about that." He manipulated the room to morph back into the fireproof arena, this one showing a bunch of targets on the wall. "First, fire a blast at the central target. Don't bother about power, just shoot."

Heart nodded and ignited his body, thrusting his hooves next, "HYAH!" A long blast of fire exploded out of his hooves, hitting the target as the stream lasted for a few seconds.

"Good. Now, what are you thinking about when you fire?"

"Huh?"

"What thoughts are going through your head when you did that?"

"Well...nothing really. I just point and shoot."

"I was afraid of that." Grand sighed, "That might be why you can't control the flames yet. It's like unicorn magic. You need to give your flames instructions in order to get it to obey you. You require a medium to focus your power so you can adjust it."

"So what do I do?" Heart asked, "What medium should I use?"

"Well, that's really something you decide. It's you who's using the power, so you need a medium you can easily visualize." Heart closed his eyes, crossing his front hooves as he tried to think of something. Grand watched him think, a full minute passing as he then asked, "Well?"

Heart shrugged as he opened his eyes, "I got nothing."

"Oookay," Grand sighed while rubbing his chin, "Let's think about this." He began to pace, only for a bulb to go off in his head, "That could work." He turned back to Heart, "Here's what I want you to visualize. Close your eyes." Heart did so, "Now, I want you to imagine a tap. Any type will do. Bath, sink, garden, take your pick."

"Okay...now what?"

"That tap is your power. Currently, the faucet is always completely open, so the water, or fire in your case, is exploding out at max power. But if you turn the faucet, the power will go down and you'll have more control. Understand what I mean?"

"I guess..."

"Maybe a visual stimulate will help." Grand created a sink with the room, turning its dial as water began blasting out, splashing everywhere. "See? Image this water is actually your fire."

Heart did this, his brain slowly managing to overlap flames with the water. He saw it like it was the other day, all of it out of control as he muttered, "I see it..." The colt began to slowly turn the faucet, the water's pressure dropping as it became a more controlled stream. But as he turned it, the stream turned into a weak trickle, then into rapid drops....only to completely close.

"You get it now?" Grand asked, Heart nodding back. "Good. If you can mentally link the image of the tap to your powers, you'll slowly learn to adjust the output. Eventually, you'll be able to control the intensity of your fire without even thinking."

"Got it...I think."

Grand patted his shoulder. "Now remember, that kind of control won't just happen. It may take years before you can adjust the firepower without effort."

"And that means I've gotta start practicing right now!"

The knight chuckled at this, "Well, we need to actually link your powers to that image first. Turn to the target." Heart spun around as he re-ignited his body. "Now image that tap shooting out the water, and then use your flames."

"Alright..." Heart built up the power as the image appeared in his head. "FIRE!" He unleashed a stream of fire, Heart imaging his hooves were at the tap.

Once it ended, Grand nodded. "Again."

"FIRE!" He unleashed another stream, the same image still there.

"Again."

"FIRE!"

The two ponies continued this for felt like hours, Heart needing to take breaks to re-hydrate every now and then. And as the day passed, they came to a stop for lunch. "Not bad," Grand commented as he put a plate of sandwiches down, "Do you think your brain's mixed using the powers with that mental image?"

"I think so," Heart replied as he bit into the sandwich and drank down an extra cold soda.

"Good. Then once you're done, we'll start working on you trying to power down your attacks. Just remember to visualize the faucet as you unleash your attack, then start turning it. Hopefully, your brain will register this as you wanting to power your attack down."

"Okay...but I get the feeling my brain's not a very fast learner."

"Don't feel bad if you can't do it straight away. We're in uncharted territory, so there's no telling how long it'll be until you gain the control needed." Heart nodded as Grand stood up. "You know, I once heard Celestia tell Twilight something that might be a good thing to remember."

"What?"

Grand shined a small smile, "That the power you wield is a part of you, no different from your leg or your wing. Just as you don't need to think to move your leg, you don't need to force your power to work. Just focus on your goal and the power will come naturally."

"Huh. Okay."

Heart stood up next as Grand pointed at a target. "Alright, let's give it a try. Unleash your flame and imagine the tap."

The colt visualized the image before unleashing a blast of fire, the long stream hitting the target. As it did this, Heart imagined the faucet of the tap slowly turn, picturing the flaming water weakening. But instead of powering down, his fire completely powered off. "Whoa!"

"It's okay. Try it again." Heart nodded and did it again, unleashing the fire while attempting to lower the power again. But as he did this, the flames instantly stopped. "Again." Heart did it a third time, and again the attempt failed.

Grand passed him a drink at this, Heart hydrating himself before trying two more times. And on the sixth attempt, Heart let out a low growl, "Come on! Turn the faucet!" He hissed as the flames exploded out of his hooves at full power. But as he did this, the heat coming off him suddenly decreased as the fire seemed to get less intense. And it remained at that weaker power-level, not going out at all. "I...I did it."

Grand clapped his hooves, "Atta-colt!" But then the flames went out without Heart's command, making the colt groan. That is, till he felt Grand slap his back, "Ah, don't feel bad kiddo! Just remember how that felt and trying again. See if you can keep that level up for as long as possible."

Heart stumbled for a second before nodding, unleashing a burst for fire at one hundred percent, then imagining the tap again. And to his joy, the flames grew weaker before stopping at a certain intensity. "I'm doing it..."

"Good. Now see if you can make it stronger again." Heart took a small breath before imagining the tap, opening it as the heat of the fire began to grow. "That's it. Now lower the power again." Heart did so, the flames slowly simmering. The colt continued this back and forth, weak and strong flames appearing in front of them. And after five minutes had passed, Grand called for him to stop.

"Gyah!" Heart yelped as he fell to his flank, the colt leaning back on his front hooves. "I'm beat."

"Take a break," Grand threw him another drink. "You certainly deserve it. It appears that once you did it once, you were able to do it easier."

"But I still need to focus really hard," Heart mumbled while guzzling down the drink.

"Like I said before. The more you do it, the easier it'll become. This is only your first day and you're already starting to get the hang of it."

"Maybe..." Heart finished half the drink and poured the rest on his head, "But I'm betting it'll be a while before I'm allowed to help out again."

Grand chuckled, "You're more like Flash then you realise. Always wanting to help out, even when you don't need too." Heart smiled at this, "I'll tell you the same thing I told him back then. Don't be in such a rush to grow up and have more responsibilities. Enjoy being a colt for as long as you can."

Heart did a small nod before taking another drink. After this, the two began to train, several hours passing as they kept trying to get Heart's power as low as possible, though he was only able to get a little weaker than before.

"Okay," Grand stated as he pulled out the last drink he had, "I think this should be enough for today. Too much training could have negative effects." Heart nodded, "But before we end it, there's one more think I wanna try."

"What?"

"Instead of starting strong and powering your flames down, I want you to try and unleash a small blast from your hoof."

"A small blast?"

"Just imagine your slowly turning the tap on and off again and see what happens. I'll be ready in case something goes wrong." He moved over to the crystal and summoned a fire extinguisher, Heart raising his hoof at the targets.

The image played through his head several times before he opened his eyes, trying to unleash the flames. But as he did this, an explosion suddenly shot out of the tips of his hooves, knocking him flying back, "WHOA!" he cried as he hit a nearby wall, making Grand flinch at the sight.

"Ouch. You okay kiddo?" He asked, getting a moan from Heart.

"What...what happened?" Heart groaned as he sat up and looked down at his hooves.

"Guess you built up to much power and it blasted all out at once." Grand replied as Heart picked himself up, "That could actually be quite useful. The blast was mainly smoke, meaning you could use it to blind an opponent without actually hurting them. Could come in handy if you every find yourself pinned."

Heart nodded as his brain started formulating his own ideas on how to use it. Specifically, when he was in the air. A smirk appeared on his face as they left the training room.





Over the next few days, Heart and Grand fell into a changing routine. During the morning, Grand would have Heart undergo more anger management training. Every time it would be a different task and a different method of ticking him off, Heart wondering if Grand spent the rest of his day after their training coming up with new ways to make him mad...and make the earth pony laugh. Everyday would have Heart getting his anger getting the best of him, but Grand told him he was making progress.

Then they would stop for lunch, Grand telling him stories about Flash when he was first starting out. After that it was Heart's fire control training.

And by the end of the third day, Heart had managed to get the power of his fire blast down to a thin stream of fire. One he could easily control and position. After a little practice, he managed to unleash a blast without needing to power it down, even managing to hit the target's bullseye.

On day four, Heart learned how to start his fires small. It was strong enough not to cause a flameless explosion, but not so weak that it died out the second it was shot off his hoof. In the end, he managed to create a fireball that he could throw without it exploding in his hooves.

The fifth day had Heart deciding he wanted to try something, trying to use the explosion to help him change direction at high speed. However, while he could change direction with an explosion, the force caused him to lose control every time. At first, he just figured he needed more practice, but Grand suggested he just try upping power of the blast just a little, and try to keep it constant.

Heart did so, finding with a little practice that he could create a highly condensed flame that had some incredible force behind it. He would jump into the air and with all four hooves ignited, he found he was able to move around with incredible dexterity by positioning his hooves.

He was reminded of a comic Rumble had lent him, about an earth pony who wore a suit of armor and used it to fly and fight crime. That way that character flew was very similar, Heart trying to emulate the hero despite not knowing if it was at all scientifically accurate. He still crashed a few times, but by the end of the day, Heart had some control over his projectile flying.

"Nice Heart!" Grand clapped as Heart flew a figure eight through the air, "Looks like you've gotten the hang of it."

"Maybe..." Heart replied by flying down, "But its still really hard. I have to think about only that when I'm using it. I don't know if it'll help during a fight."

"You make a good point. I can't exactly fight you in the air to help you practice. You'll have to have Flash do that for you."

"Like how Soarin did for him?"

Grand nodded, "Yup. Though maybe we can use the room to make an obstacle course..."

"Okay, let's-"

"Hello?" said a voice as the room's door opened, revealing Springer, "Hey you two, you'll never guess what just happened. We just got a letter from Canterlot saying Flash and Lightning have returned."

Heart turned to him first, stars appearing in his eyes, "Flash is coming home?!"

"He'll be back tomorrow after he and Lightning finish giving a report."

Grand chuckled at this before turning to his temporary student, "Well it looks like our time together is coming to an end. I like to think we've made some headway."

"Some?! Are you kidding?! I'm on a whole other level now thanks to you!" Grand laughed at this, thanking Heart for the praise. "Still, I still wish we could have tested how well all my training's sunk in. That way I can tell Flash all about it when he gets back."

Grand let out hum, "Hmm...why don't we do one final test before Flash gets back? You know, to see just how far you've come along."

"Okay. Are we gonna fight again?" Heart asked, slightly gulping at the memory of the beating the older pony had given him before.

"No, not me. I think it's best I act as a judge and see how you react. But you do need somepony to face...though I don't think a simulated villain would work with this."

They then turned to the other occupant in the room, Springer blinking back, "What?"

"You'll do. If you don't mind."

Springer glanced at Heart for a second before replying, "Um...no offense Grand, but are you sure?"

"Why not? As long as you don't go mega, Heart should be able to handle fighting you for a bit."

"But-"

"Please Springer!" Heart cried as he ran up to him and gave his best puppy-dog eyes, Springer backpedaling at the sight.

"You taught Ace that, didn't you?" Heart did a slight nod, making the jakhowl sigh, "Figures....alright Heart, I'll do it. But only if Twilight allows it."

Heart let out a loud cheer and shot off to find the princess, the two following. They soon found Twilight in the middle of a lesson with Soul, who was practicing sightless telepathy. When Heart burst into the room, the surprise caused her to accidently pull every book off the library's shelves, almost crushing them until Twilight put up a shield.

After apologizing, Heart asked for permission for the test. Twilight didn't like it, but agreed as long as Grand promised to stop the match if she told him to. Word soon spread about Heart's fight against Springer, and by the next day, all of the female mane seven along with Spike, Soul, Starlight, the CMC, the jakhowls and Iron had decided to come watch while giving Heart their support.

And as they got started, Grand used the crystal to create a seating area for them that was separated from the rest of the room by a fireproof barrier.

"Just remember," Twilight told him. "The minute I think this has gone too far, I put a stop to it."

"I plan on doing that myself," Grand replied, "This is just a simple test to see how much control Heart has in a real life situation. You and I both know that if he sees something bad happening, he'll try and jump in to stop it. He needs to be ready for when that inevitability happens."

Twilight grumbled at this, going to the seats as Grand walked up to Heart and Springer as they finished stretching. "Alright, are you two ready to begin?"

They both nodded as Springer turned to Heart. "Hope you're ready," he created a Bone Breaker and started twirling it around. "Because I'm not going to be holding back."

"Neither am I!" Heart yelled as his body ignited.

The two got into a battle stance and stared each other down, the audience all on the edge of their seats with Pinkie taking a bite of popcorn that she had pulled out of nowhere.

"Alright then!" Grand moved over to the control crystal and touched it, the room transforming to an illusion of Ponyville, one being a perfect recreation of the town and it's ponies. "This will be your battleground. In this fight, Springer will be acting as the villain. He'll attack you with no disregard for anything around you. Not the town or its population. The same won't be said for you. If you cause any major damage or accidently hit one of the fake ponies, you'll fail this test."

"Huh...okay." Heart cricked his neck at this, 'So I need to be careful with my attacks, just like Flash and the others do in real life.'

"Very well. Then let this battle...BEGIN!" Grand yelled, Springer instantly charging with his Bone Breaker. But before he could make contact, Heart raised his hoof, unleashing a small explosion of fire. The force of the explosion pushed him back, allowing him to escape before spreading his wings.

Grand smirked at the sight. 'Good. He's already showing improvement from his fight against me.'

"Hey!" Soul yelled, "That's cheating! You were supposed to give him a countdown!"

"There are no countdowns in real life," Iron responded, "In a fight, the opponent won't give him time to prepare."

"Not bad," Springer dissolved the Bone Breaker and created an Aura Blast in both paws. "But let's see how well you do against these!" He started throwing the spheres, the colt now sending out small bursts of fire from each hoof. Shifting his legs around, the pegasus used the flames to push himself around, avoiding the orbs.

"Wow..." Rainbow gasped, "Now that's flight control!"

Springer glared at him, only to spin around, "Fine. If you're gonna stay up there..." He pointed to one of the buildings, this one carrying a fake Lyra and Bon Bon staring out the window.

Heart gasped and shot down, as Springer unleashed an Aura Force at the building. He propelled himself in front of the attack before pointing his hooves at the aura laser. "Fire Force!" He unleashed a burst of fire that struck the beam, causing an explosion on impact.

And as this happened, Springer's voice yelled out, "Steel Paw!" The jakhowl leapt out of the smoke, about to swipe at the colt.

"Whoa!" Heart yelped, firing another explosion to push him away from Springer. But as he did this, Springer's body suddenly began to glitch out, only to reappear right in front of the colt. A foot slammed into Heart's face, knocking him back as he screamed, "Augh!"

Everypony flinched at the sight, now seeing Springer chasing the stumbling colt. Heart scrambled to his hooves at this, now seeing Springer about to him again, only to ignite his body. The small burst of flame made Springer come to a stop, summoning an Aura Blast instead.

But as he summoned it, Heart thrust a hoof at the jakhowl. "Hyah!" A fireball came next, Springer quickly shifting his aura orb in front of the fireball.

BOOM!

An explosion came next, the force hitting Springer in the face. Smoke covered the jakhowl, making him cough before summoning another Bone Breaker to swat away the fog. But as he did this, Heart charged through the smoke, his flaming hooves hitting the aura weapon. A burst of flame came next, knocking Springer back.

"Augh!" He yelped, his form skidding back from the blow.

"Go bro!" Soul cheered, "You're doing great!"

"He can't hear you," Twilight responded, "These walls are soundproof."

"Won't stop me from cheering," Soul giggled as the others her age nodded, all continuing to yell out their support.

"Springer's not down yet," Iron added, "He's just warming up, pardon the expression."

As he said this, Springer dusted himself off, showing no real damage had happened to him. Heart glared at him, "Try this!" He yelled while charging at Springer with two burning hooves. But as he did this, Springer pumped his paws together, creating an Aura Guard. The shield instantly blocked the colt's punch, making him yelp, "What?" He then began to throw rapid punches, all failing to even damage the shield, "Come on...come on!"

Springer smirked at this, cricking his neck before snapping his fingers. The action caused the shield to vanish, Heart suddenly finding himself falling before getting hit by a kick to his stomach, "Blaugh!" he cried, the colt flying back into the side of a building, breaking and crashing through it.

Everypony flinched again as Springer turned to Grand, "Does that count as a fail?"

"I'd consider it more as collateral damage. You can't deny stuff like that hasn't." Springer nodded back as the others yelled at Heart to shake it off, everypony seeing the colt pull himself free of the debris. He growled as this, his flames growing as he glared at Springer. But as he did this, Grand whispered, "Don't let that get you kiddo. Stay in control..."

Heart didn't hear this, only to see his fire now turning some of the rubble black. Taking a deep breath, he muttered to himself, "Gotta stay calm..." His flames began to weaken, causing Grand to smile as Heart took to the air, "I'm not done yet!"

Springer then leapt at him, swinging an extending Bone Breaker. But as he did this, Heart's hooves flared, pushing him away from the attack at the last second. The jakhowl landed on a roof next, quickly racing after the colt as Heart began to fly away, hopping roof to roof to follow him.

Heart saw an area up ahead with less housing and grass, flying down to it as Springer caught up to him. The colt turned to him with a smirk, "Now lets have some real fun!"

"Alright." Springer replied as Heart thrust his hooves, fireball flying out of them.

The jakhowl began to smack the flames with his Bone Breaker, "Not bad kid, but how about this?" He then put his bone weapon in a bat stance, smacking one of the fireballs. Heart saw the fireball now going for one of the houses, quickly zipping up to it and catching the flames with his tail. Asborbing the fire, he spun around and swung his tail down. A barrage of fireballs came for the jakhowl, Springer hopping back as the flames hit the dirt. And as he did this, a fireball exploded right in front of him, knocking him back. "Whoa!"

Grand smiled at the sight, the others all cheering as the Royal Knight commented, "He's definitely got more control and he's keeping an eye on his surroundings." He smirked as Springer glanced over at him, the earth pony nodding. "Alright!" he yelled, "It's time for phase two!"

"Phase two?" Fluttershy asked as they watched Grand take out some kind of remote. At the same time, Springer pulled out a pair of ear plugs that he stuffed into his drums.

"What are you-" Heart tried to ask before Grand hit the button, a loud screeching sound to suddenly echo through the room. "AUGH!" He screamed, covering his ears. "What in the name of Celestia?!" And as he yelled this, Springer appeared in and threw a punch into the colt's chest. "Augh!"

"That's not fair!" Soul cried. "That's gonna throw Heart off his game!"

"Exactly," Iron chimed in, "This is meant to be a test. They're adding more and more pressure to see how long he can hold his temper in check."

Heart groaned as he picked himself up, only to see Springer spinning a Bone Breaker in his paws. His hooves ignited as he began to form a fireball, only for Grand to hit the button. "Augh!" He yelped as the noise made him accidently send the fireball upward, the flames exploding before the embers began to rain down on the nearby houses. Heart gasped, about to take flight just as Springer reached him. The jakhowl swung the aura bone at him, Heart ducking under it before slamming his hooves down. A plume of smoke appeared next, making Springer backpedal as Heart took to the air.

He flew over to a roof that an ember had landed on, stomping it out as Springer turned to him with an Aura Blast in paw. "Don't forget about me!"

He fired the orb at the house as Heart spun around, "Fire Force!" He yelled, firing the flames at the sphere before it could hit the house. An explosion came next, blocking Springer's vision as Heart stomped out the rest of the embers. And as the smoke faded, Heart glared at the jakhowl as he leapt off the roof, propelling himself with his flames. But before he could get to Springer, Grand pressed the button, making Heart cry out as he was bombarded by the screeching sound.

Springer smirked as Heart found himself crashing into the dirt, reforming a Bone Breaker at the sight. And as Heart looked up to see a charging Springer, the sound rang out again. Heart tired to put his hooves to his ears, only for Springer's weapon to hit the colt's head before spinning around and thrusting it into his chest.

"AUGH!" He screamed as he was thrown back, slamming into the wall of another building. "Blasted noise..." he groaned as he began to pull himself free, the screeching echoing again at this. "Ahhhh!" He moaned, covering his eyes as his flames began to flare around his body.

"No...I gotta calm down." he whispered, trying to take a deep breath. But before he could, Springer charged at him with an Aura Blast in paw. "Whoa!" Heart yelped as Springer thrust the orb, the blow causing the wall to explode. And as he dodged the blow, the screeching sound hit his ears again, making him flare his flames.

"Stop it..." Heart growled as he put he put his wings' tips into his ears, squinting as he saw Springer split a Bone Breaker in two. The screeching sound kept hitting Heart's ears, scrambling his hooves as Springer swung his weapon at him. Heart started hopping back, his mind trying to focus as the sound kept blaring into his brain.

And as he felt his flames flaring on his back, the screeching noise let out again. "Raaah!" Heart screamed, unplugging his ears and spinning around to try and slam his burning tail into Springer, but he blocked it with a Bone Breaker. Another burst of sound came next, making Heart scream again before feeling Springer kick him. The colt went rolling at this blow, quickly getting back onto his hooves before the noise blared again. "Augh!" He hissed, only to see Springer summoning a white orb in both paws. It was an Aura Force attack, the colt getting ready to dodge it, only for the noise to play again.

"GYAH!" Heart cried as the aura laser hit him a second later, knocking him flying. His form rolled along the ground, not hitting a house this time. But as he tried to get up, the noise blared again. "Aaah! Stop it!" He screeched, his eyes going red as the fire in his blazing mane and tail grew more intense.

"He's gonna blow!" Rainbow yelped.

"Come on Heart," Twilight whispered, turning to Grand, only to notice the remote had vanished from his hooves. His vision was solely focused on Heart, seeing the colt glare at Springer as the jakhowl walked up to him.

"What are you gonna do now, hero?" He asked as he formed an Aura Blast and threw it at another house, destroying part of its wall. "Looks like you fail-"

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Heart screamed as he finally snapped, unleashing the biggest blast of fire he had ever done. It rocketed toward the jakhowl, turning the grass below it to ash. The sight made Springer sigh, his body glitching before suddenly vanishing and reappearing behind the giant fireball.

The flames never touched the jakhowl, Heart now seeing the flames about to hit a new target: A house that was behind Springer.

"NO!" Heart cried as he saw the fire strike the house, causing the whole thing to explode. The sight made him slump over, knowing what this meant. He had failed.

"Test over," Grand commented as he began to put his hoof on the control crystal. But as he did this, he saw Heart was still on fire, the colt unable to put himself out. Grand tapped the crystal, summoning some rain clouds that poured water on the colt.

Heart gasped as his body returned to normal, the colt slumping over as sweat began to drench his body along with the rain. The rain then vanished as the room turned back to normal, Grand and the others walking up to him.

"I'm sorry," he told Grand. "I guess I blew it."

"I think you did quite well for the most part," Grand replied, "You were aware of your surroundings and adjusted your power accordingly. You used what you had available to you to your advantage, and until the end there, you were able to keep a handle on your anger and not lose control."

"But I did lose control."

"I told you that that level of control would take years to master. You've only been doing this for less than a week, and you've shown incredible progress."

"Oh...right. Thanks." Heart replied, trying to show a smile.

"He's right Heart," Twilight added, "If Flash were here, I'm sure he'd be saying the same thing." The others all said the same thing, giving Heart their own praise and support. "Speaking of Flash, his train should be getting in soon. Why don't we all go greet him and Lightning?"

Everypony nodded in agreement and once they had Heart dried off, they headed to the train station.





That night...

With the sun replaced by the moon, the ponies of Ponyville were heading off to dreamland. One of the only ponies that wasn't there was Grand, the knight on the castle balcony while holding a leaf in his hooves before letting it go. As he watched it be whipped into the air, Grand sensed another presence, but didn't move an inch as the pony walked up to him.

"That was quite an adventure you went on," he told his former pupil.

"Yeah...though it seems things weren't exactly boring around here while I was gone." Flash replied, "Thanks for helping Heart out. I can't believe how far he came in just a few days."

"He's a smart kid. With proper instruction, I think he just might be able to learn any skill with ease." He turned to Flash, "But don't think you can keep pawning him off on me. You promised to teach him, and that's an oath you must stick to."

"I know," Flash replied, "Though it's clear I've still got a long way to go before I have your level of teaching skill. I never would have thought of the visualizing idea."

"Eh, that's fine. You and Heart will probably help teach each other. You can teach him how to be a knight and he can teach you to be a teacher...and you'll both grow from this experience."

"Yeah, though it'll be a while before I've got your level of teaching expertise."

"And it took me a while to get that level myself. I was the same way back in the day, but I kept trying until I found something that works." Flash nodded back. "Now come on, I want you to tell me all about your mission. Lightning was a part of it after all. And don't skimp on the details like you did with the others."

"I may have PG'd it so I don't traumatizes the kids," Flash laughed as the two headed back inside. "Well, it started with me and Lightning-"

Ponies learn something every single day, whether it be by somepony teaching them or simply through their experiences in life. And though many ponies can learn the same thing at once, each of them will interpret and use those lessons in their own unique way. They take them in and grow as ponies, helping Equestria grow stronger too.