At long last, the old wizard's eyes took in the splendid sights of the Crystal Empire in all its glory. Unsurprisingly, everything was made of crystal. And despite the empire being situated in the middle of a vast, vacant tundra, it was protected from the harsh blizzards that raged on outside. It was like a lush oasis in the middle of a desert, a place of safety and refuge.
For Starswirl the Bearded, it was a sight unlike anything he had ever beheld before. Even considering all the sights he'd taken in, the empire awed and impressed him. Which meant it was the perfect place for him to take a much needed rest. After all the traveling he'd been doing since his return from limbo, he most certainly needed it.
As the weary wizard trotted along, he paid only scant attention to his surroundings. It seemed the crystal ponies didn't recognize him. That was fine by him, Starswirl was looking for some rest and relaxation. And the fewer ponies that knew about him, the fewer his chances were of being asked for autographs or a demonstration of his powers.
Then, by chance, Starswirl happened to round a corner and came upon a most interesting sight. There was his fellow pillar Mistmane, who currently had none other than little Flurry Heart riding on her back. He remembered that he'd heard of Mistmane becoming quite attached to the young alicorn, becoming almost like a grandmother figure to Flurry. Looking at the scene brought back memories of his time spent tutoring Celestia and Luna when they were not much older than Flurry Heart was now.
Mistmane spotted Starswirl out of the corner of her eyes, and waved to him until he approached her. "Starswirl, what a nice surprise," She greeted in a warm and welcoming tone of voice. "I thought you were busy traveling Equestria."
"I was," Starswirl slowly nodded. "But I figured I could use a rest and a change. I'd been meaning to visit this empire since I first learned of its existence. And now, I think I've found the perfect place to get some much needed rest," He let out a sigh. "It seems my age is finally catching up to me."
Mistmane smiled, putting a hoof around her fellow pillar. "Well, I'm glad to see you again, old friend. In fact, your timing couldn't be better. Flurry Heart's crystaller moved to Ponyville a while back, and I've been tasked with taking over some of his duties. That includes keeping the little one's magical powers in check."
Flurry Heart giggled and clapped her hooves, all the while bouncing up and down on Mistmane's back. She seemed to enjoy being out and about within the empire, instead of being confined to the castle.
"She's the first alicorn to have ever been born in Equestria, correct?" Starswirl inquired. "Celestia and Luna were born elsewhere, and came to Equestria at a later date."
Mistmane slowly nodded. "Indeed. That's what I've been told. And you're just the sort of pony whose help I could use," She lifted Flurry off her back and explained. "You know a thing or two about alicorns from your time tutoring the royal sisters, correct?"
Starswirl sheepishly massaged the back of his neck with a hoof. "Oh, that was a very long time ago. I only really got to teach them the basics before I was called away."
The wrinkly unicorn mare with a curved horn only replied. "You mustn't doubt yourself, Starswirl. You're exactly the kind of pony who can help me give Flurry Heart some much needed magical tutoring. It will only be for a little while. Her parents will come by to relieve us eventually."
The old wizard looked into the eyes of both Mistmane and Flurry. He found himself unable to say no. "What the heck, I'll do it. My rest and relaxation will just have to wait. Besides," He used his magic to pull his young charge close. "It's not every day one gets the privilege of being looked after by a legendary pony such as myself. A pony like Flurry will benefit greatly from my knowledge."
Mistmane's smile deepend, even as she was quick to warn. "Do be careful, Starswirl. Flurry is not your average foal by any means."
Starswirl chuckled. "She can't be any more trouble than what I had to put up with under Celestia and Luna. When those two were fillies, they practically drove me crazy." And so it was arranged.
Starswirl soon followed Mistmane (with Flurry safely in tow) as his fellow pillar led him to some truly beautiful gardens deep within the heart of the empire.
"Ah yes, this will do nicely," Mistmane decided. "Plenty of open space, and nopony but us around in case anything happens."
Starswirl stroked his beard with a hoof. "So, what? Are we to simply lecture her on the basics of magic and spells? I can't imagine she would care much for that. Besides, I've always felt like a hooves on approach works better."
But just seconds after the wizard had spoken this, he noticed that Flurry seemed to be twitching. If he squinted, he swore he could see a few faint sparks pouring out of the tip of her horn.
Flurry shut her eyes as her horn started to glow rather ominously!
"Uh-oh!" Mistmane proclaimed, and hastily lit up her own horn!
"Achoo!" Flurry Heart let out a mighty sneeze, shooting off a rather powerful beam of magic!
Starswirl barely reacted in time as the beam whizzed right past him, striking one of the flowers and incinerating it! "Goodness!" He exclaimed afterward. "I was led to believe from Princess Twilight that these magical outbursts were under control. How can a toddler have that much raw magical power inside of her?"
Mistmane simply sighed in relief. "I've been meaning to get in touch with Sunburst and ask him what spells he used to keep these surges under control. It seems they wore off sooner than he anticipated."
"Well, if we cannot suppress them to a controllable level, then there's only one thing to do!" The old wizard firmly declared as he raised up a hoof. "We must give her an outlet to use up her excess power, and teach her self-control as best we can."
Now it was Mistmane's turn to become worried. "I don't know if that's a wise decision, Starswirl. Flurry is a bit young to be learning such things. She's not even in magic preschool yet."
Starswirl shook his head from side to side. "Nonsense! One is never too young to learn how to use magic properly. And with so much raw power inside of her, it's imperative she learns how to control it sooner rather than later," He flashed a knowing grin and a wink. "Luckily, I know just what to do. I still remember a few things from my previous tutoring experiences." Lighting up his horn, he disappeared in a flash. He returned shortly, holding up several crude wooden circles.
Flurry Heart fluttered over, intrigued by the objects Starswirl had retrieved.
Starswirl smiled as he looked upon his charge. "A little bit of target practice never hurt anypony," And he gave a whistle. "Mistmane, I want you to keep score while I levitate these targets. And make sure Flurry Heart knows not to hit me." He then trotted a ways away, before holding the brightly colored targets aloft in the glow of his horn.
The young heir to the crystal throne was delighted and intrigued by the objects. She didn't even need to be told what to do. She happily let her horn charge up of its own free will, firing off golden beam after golden beam. Not a single target escaped her sight!
Mistmane watched with a mix of intrigue and concern. She hadn't been expecting Flurry to be taught such things for at least another year or so. But it was clear this little alicorn was quite talented for her age. Not even out of diapers yet, and her powers were arguably on par with her fully grown aunts.
When target practice ended, Starswirl clapped his hooves and pulled his young student close, showering her with praise. "Splendid! Simply splendid! I haven't seen a performance like that since the first time I held target practice with Celestia. I suppose I should've expected the grand niece of Celestia to be just as powerful," He found himself unable to keep from tickling the foal. "Oh, this is bringing back so many wonderful memories. It's as if I traveled back in time."
Mistmane couldn't help but smile as she trotted over. "Indeed. Caring for Flurry Heart is enough to make even these old bones feel young again sometimes. She just has that aura about her that brightens up everything and everyone around her."
Flurry just cooed as she wiggled about in delight.
"Well, now I think we should try something a little more advanced," Starswirl proposed. "I've heard that little Flurry here is capable of teleportation and flight."
The unicorn mare with a curved horn hesitantly asked (even though she had a pretty good idea what her fellow pillar was suggesting). "You're not suggesting..."
Nodding his head (and thus causing the bells on his hat to jingle), the old wizard proclaimed. "Indeed I am. I believe she's more than ready. A little bit of long distance teleportation practice should be just the thing to burn off the excess magic stored inside of her."
Mistmane wanted to put her hoof down and say no. But one look at Flurry's face melted any will she might have had to resist. The foal seemed quite excited at the prospect proposed to her. Who was Mistmane to say no? Starswirl surely knew what he was doing. "Oh, very well. But just this once. We don't want her to start making teleportation a habit." She reluctantly agreed.
Starswirl's smile brightened. "Good! Then let us begin! I shall take the lead, and Flurry shall follow. You will stay behind in case anything should happen," Then he cleared his throat, donning his polished instructor tone of voice. "Okay, young one, let's see how you do with a little bit of teleportation practice. Are you ready to learn?"
Little Flurry Heart nodded, cooing in consent.
"Then let us begin. Follow my instructions, and do what I do," Starswirl explained. "Shut your eyes, picture your destination clearly in your mind." And he put words to action as he shut his own eyes, clearly picturing a destination that was a ways away from the garden (but not so far away that Mistmane wouldn't be able to see him or Flurry Heart).
Mistmane watched with concern, horn at the ready for any possible emergency.
Starswirl then opened his eyes as he continued. "Now, light up your horn and let your magic take you to where you wish to go. Make sure your destination is firm, do not second guess yourself." Then, after lighting up his horn, he vanished with a pop. He reappeared on the horizon but a second later.
The foal princess appeared to do the same, up to the point where she disappeared with a pop. But she did not reappear where either Starswirl or Mistmane had been expecting her to reappear.
"Where did she go?!" Mistmane gasped, stricken with a sense of dread!
"She couldn't have gone far," Starswirl concluded. "Let's look for her together." But before either pillar could do so, they heard a faint giggle.
Mistmane, by chance, turned around and happened to see Flurry clinging to her long, flowing mane. The pillar of beauty breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank heavens! I'm glad you thought of my mane as a good place to teleport to, little Flurry."
But Flurry just giggled and lit up her horn again, soon appearing directly in front of Starswirl's face as she clung to his hat and played with the bells!
"Hey, stop that!" Starswirl sternly insisted as he pried the foal loose, setting her down on the ground. "Those bells are very delicate, little one. They are not toys."
Flurry simply lit up her horn once again, this time teleporting onto Mistmane's back as she unfolded her wings fully and started to flap them. She soon began flying all around, back and forth between the two unicorns as if it were all a game.
Starswirl put a hoof to his forehead, groaning. "Oh, this is just too much! It's like she has no off switch."
Mistmane simply lit up her horn, pulling the trouble making foal close and speaking softly to her. "That's quite enough, young Flurry Heart. You've had your fun. But I think that's enough magic practice for one day," She sweetly cooed. "Isn't it time you had your nap?"
"She's not the only one who could use a nap," Starswirl lamented. "I think I'll leave the magical care to you, Mistmane. Flurry Heart is as mischievous as Celestia and Luna were, except ten times worse."
"She's young yet, she'll grow out of it," Mistmane reassured her fellow pillar. "We just need to work more on containing her surges when they do happen. Still, for a first timer, you did quite well. I can see why you were such a sought after tutor in your day, Starswirl."
Starswirl slowly nodded. "Indeed. It would seem I haven't quite lost my touch."
Author's Note
I don't think there's any real context to justify shipping these two, not even for "Pair The Spares" after I did ship fics for Rockhoof and Meadowbrook, and Flash Magnus and Somnambula.
The reason why I titled this fic the way I did is because Starswirl and Mistmane could be said to make up the classic RPG staple of black magic and white magic. After all, Mistmane's beauty involved her restoring it to a desolated land. And sorcery does have its darker implications.
