Ember lead Flurry Heart through the icy chill of the Crystal Empire mountains. The snow was moving fast and felt like icicle shards against Flurry's face. She put an arm out to block some of it but her arm quickly grew tired. She had cast a body warmth spell that was helping to stave of the cold but the icy snow was still cold and almost painful against her face. "How close are we to the cave you were talking about earlier?!" She called out over the roar of the wind.

Ember stopped and turned, "We are actually here." She pointed ahead and despite the thick snow, Flurry could just make out the small entrance of a cave surrounded by snow.

Ember entered while Flurry struggled the rest of the way. She lit up her horn as she entered. Once inside, the cave curved immediately that led Flurry and Ember to a large open chamber. A large blue glowing crystal formation hung on the ceiling, casting faint light over the area. Stalagmites doted the area. Ember sat down near the entrance and set down her bag. "Alright, I brought a ton of sticks with us. Lets get a fire going. Then we can begin."

Ember reached into her bag and produced a large handful of thick large sticks. "Damn these magical bags are awesome. They may weigh a ton but I can store so much stuff in here!"

She then carefully laid them out into a pile in the shape of a triangle. After laying down a sufficient amount, she flew on the pile a bit of fire breath. The blaze was soon dancing on the walls.

Flurry set down her bag and joined Ember next to the fire. "So, what is our first lesson?"

Ember got up and removed her cloak, setting it down next to her bag. It had been slightly frozen due to the cold. Ember did her best to set it up so that the fire would hopefully melt off some of the ice and snow. "Actually, our first lesson is more like a test."

"Huh?"

"As in, I need to know a few more things about you in order to cover what needs to be covered."

Flurry Heart shrugged, "Oh alright. What do you want to know about me?"

Ember shook her head, "No, not like that. I want you to come at me with everything you got. I need to assess where your strength lies when you fight. In other words, I want a one on one duel with you."

Flurry put her hands up, "Are you crazy? I'm not gonna fight you. You are my teacher... Not to mention a Dragon Lord with years of experience. Experience that can be used to kick my ass worst that that mountain dragon did."

Ember chuckled, "Its true, in a normal fight I would probably win but this is important. I need you to fight me as if I was attacking you like that mountain Dragon did."

Flurry Heart looked unsure. "I got wrecked by a Dragon during my last attempt. Humiliated even. I don't know if I am ready to try again so soon."

Ember let out a sigh, "Alright, lets make a game out of it. All you have to do is subdue me for 10 seconds. If you win, I'll show you this hot spring that I know of nearby. We can spend all day relaxing. That sound fair?"

Flurry Heart raised an eyebrow. "Alright... Fine. But what happens if I lose?"

"Then... You owe me a big favor. The Crystal Empire is home to several caves, creatures and gems. There is a special gem that can be found around here. Its tasty and bursting with flavor. A rare treat if you will. Its called The Beacon. If I win, you have to retrieve it for me."

Flurry Heart took off her coat and set it to the side. "Doesn't sound too hard... Alright, you're on."

"Good, go over to the other side of the cave. I'm coming at you in 30 seconds so you better be ready."

Flurry nodded and quickly made her way over. She stopped a good several hooves away and stood in a fighting stance, arms raised, ready for anything. In her mind, a strategy began to form. Alright, Ember is much smaller than that Dragon I fought. I might be able to employ more tricks than I did last time. Dad taught me blasting and shielding spells so I can use those to my advantage here. I just have to knock her off her feet. Then use the shield spell to hold her...

"Ready? GO!"

Flurry Heart flinched as her train of thought came to an end. Ember charged at her, fist raised, ready to strike.

The young alicorn quickly cast a strength and speed spell on herself. Ember got closer, and with enough force to push the air around her, she tried to swing at Flurry Hearts stomach. Flurry Heart used her speed to dodge then counter attacked with a punch, catching Ember's face and sending her spinning in the air. Flurry took advantage of this and charged at her. She landed a punch to Ember's mid section, sending Ember flying across the cave.

She slammed hard against the wall. Dirt rained down as Ember appeared stunned for a moment. Flurry unfurled her wings and took off, charging up a shield spell, ready to hold Ember where so was. Ember waited until Flurry was close enough before erupting a fireball from her mouth. Flurry Heart put of the shield early to stop it. The fire ball hit her defense and left a cloud of smoke in its wake. Flurry advanced despite her vision being blocked but only find a blank wall.

Flurry Heart hesitated, trying to find Ember. She didn't have to look hard as Ember came from the left, spin kicking Flurry, her foot landing against Flurry's stomach.

Flurry let out a gasp as she went flying into a nearby stalagmite. The rock cracked on impact. Flurry gritted her teeth, and saw Ember was running towards her. She got up and hovered, attempting to kick upwards at Ember with her hoof. She aimed for Ember's jaw. Ember dodged right and caught the hoof. She then twisted and pulled. Turning around and launching Flurry at another stalagmite.

Flurry Heart caught the side of it and bounced off. She turned end over end until coming to a stop in the middle of the cave. Flurry Heart slowly got to her hooves. She was covered in dirt but seemed to be mostly unharmed. Her shirt was torn around her shoulder and she was missing a chuck of her right cargo pants just below the knee.

Ember took a second to catch her breath, slowly circling Flurry. Her pants were torn and her coat was singed. She looked like she was getting ready for another attack.

Flurry Heart concentrated on her horn. It began to glow a soft yellow. She put her hands up and then held them out forward, her palms open. Ember stopped her advance, wondering what Flurry had in mind.

Flurry's horn began to shoot sparks from it. Her breathing was starting to quicken as sweat began to pour down her face. More sparks shot out. "Alright Ember," She said as she struggling against the flow of magic building in her horn, "Lets see you try this!"

Flurry gritted her teeth then opened her mouth and cried out with everything she had, "AHHHHH!"

The young alicorn released her pent up energy as a large beam shot forth.

*BAVROOOM*

It was massive, easily as big as she was. Ember crossed her arms over her body as the blast of magic completely engulfed her. The blast continued and crashed against the wall behind her. Dirt rained from the ceiling. The magical energy beam continued for a few seconds longer before dissipating. Flurry Heart fell to her knees. She was out of breath and out of energy. She glanced up, trying to see through the cloud of dirt surrounding her. There was no noise, no movement. The only thing she could hear was her own breathing for a solid minute. Eventually it did clear and what she saw made her jaw hit the ground.

Ember stood there. Her arms still crossed out in front of her in defense. She blinked, and glanced down. Not a scratch on her but her clothes had been completely evaporated. Her breasts jiggled slightly as she examined herself. After making sure she was alright, she glanced back at Flurry, "Huh... Did not see that coming. Had that been a lesser dragon, they might have been knocked unconscious. Certainly knocked the wind out of me."

She casually walked over, her breasts twitching with each step. Had she not been out of breath, Flurry would have enjoyed the view. Ember stopped when she reached Flurry. She grabbed her shirt from the front just bellow the neck and lifted her up so that they were at eye level. "Alright Flurry, time to go over what you did wrong. But first..." Ember began to count down from 10. Flurry, completely exhausted after the attack, could only watch in defeat as her number reached zero. No sooner had Ember reached zero did her shirt give out, tearing from Embers grasp and causing Flurry to slink back to the floor.

"Well, this feels familiar." She mumbled. "Half naked and my face in the dirt after getting wrecked by a Dragon. Can't get more two days ago than this."

Ember chuckled and knelt down next to her, "Yes but unlike that time. I can tell you what you did wrong and hopefully, you can actually learn from it."

Flurry turned over, resting on her back with her wings splayed out. Her breasts were now free from the broken shirt with only the left sleeve and part of the left side being the only thing still attached. She glanced up at Ember, "Alright, what have you got?"

Ember stood up and gestured around her. "Alright, first of all, strategy is not something you do during a fight. That comes before. I noticed you took too long trying to come up with something and while it did give you a brief advantage, it made you too focused on it. Instead of looking for a weakness, you charged forward with your own dumb plan that really would have only worked on a creature with a low intelligence."

Ember stopped and pointed at her mid section. "That counter attack was good though. I'm a bit rusty but you still managed to land a good hit. Matching magic with strength is a good combo. But remember to not rely on it too much."

Ember walked over and pointed to the cracked stalagmite. "After your strategy ended, most would fall back. Maybe try to find some cover among the stalagmites. Sometimes, acting on instinct when it comes to fighting can work. Sometimes instinct will even win out. However, after failing at your strategy, you tried to kick me which left you completely open. You seemed to do it only because you thought it might work. Changing up how you fight on the fly can work in certain circumstances but not against another level headed fighter."

Ember pointed at the cargo pants area that was missing on Flurry Heart, "I was able to get a good grip on you right there. You were completely open, something you shouldn't allow when you are in a fight."

Ember walked over to the large hole in the wall. "Then we come to your big bang attack. Very powerful and in the right circumstances, could prove useful. But clearly takes too long to charge. Best to hide and charge up your attack if you need to use it. The only reason I stood there was because I was testing to see what it could do. I could have easily dodged it or put you down before you could have ever used it."

Ember walked back over and sat next to Flurry Heart cross legged. She reached out and gripped her claws around Flurry's horn. Flurry let out a small gasp at the touch, her legs crossed as her body tensed up. Ember cocked her head slightly, "But with this powerful weapon comes its own problems. You clearly were out of breath after using it and it wasn't due to our fight. Using this spell seems to drain your energy to the point you are wide open for any kind of punishment. This attack should only be used as a last resort or before making a quick escape."

She let go causing Flurry Heart to go limp. "Guess this thing is ultra sensitive, huh? Better keep that in mind as well."

Ember got back up, bent over and carefully put her claws underneath Flurry, lifting her up bridal style. She walked back to the fire, careful not to trip on Flurry's wings. She opened her bag with her foot, reached in and grabbed a sleeping bag between her toes. She then laid it out and set Flurry onto it. "Alright, first day and not to shabby. I know what I need to work with in the fighting department, now we just need to cover something else."

Flurry, who was on the edge of passing out tried to ask what it was but Ember continued, "You owe me a gemstone and it just so happens that it is going to be tied to your second lesson. Learning how to adapt to a different environment. We will be doing this both with and without your magic. So try to really rest up because I am really going to work you out tomorrow."

Ember walked over and started to look through her bag. "Oh and... I hope you brought a swimsuit... Oh that's right, we packed your bags. Well... Hope you're a good swimmer."

Author's Note

I thought it was going to be weeks before I got around to this but I have been coming by a good amount of free time lately and my inspiration pool just keeps pumping more stuff out. So hope you enjoy this series because I have many ideas for it. Also, don't be afraid to voice your own ideas as well. I will gladly take suggestions. (Just so long as they aren't too over the top.)