Twilight took up the ruined battery and set it on its end once more, focusing her magic upon it again.  Just because it couldn't hold a charge didn't mean it was immune to spells, after all.  The battery cell floated up into the air as it became encased in a semi-opaque purple bubble that hovered lazily overhead.  A simple force field would be a good test to work with -- it was strong, stable, and very basic in its structural concept.  More potent force fields like the ones her big brother or Merriweather conjured were far more difficult to figure out though.

"We'll start with this.  Once we flex your magical muscles a bit we'll see if we need to move on to counter-spelling."  Twilight said as she gestured to the floating battery.  "I put more power into this field than you should be able to dispel normally, but using the actual proper spell should do the trick."

- "Okay, so umm..."

Glancing in the book a couple of times, Starcrasher had to make a couple of attempts before she got the actual casting sequence right. It still wasn't much of a spell of course, as this was the first time she was actually trying to cast a spell of that nature some trial and error on a practical basis was to be expected. After a couple of minutes however, she had gained enough confidence in her ability to get the sequence right that she started putting some power into the spell.

It started to form, and she knew from experience that it wouldn't take long to destabilize if it were anything like the regular spells she had been trying to cast. What did surprise her however was that all of a sudden it seemed to grow in power. Perhaps the best way to describe it was a bubble absorbing another to form a bigger bubble. Nevertheless, she was surprised enough that it broke her concentration, making the spell fade, but she was sure Twilight had noticed it as well.

- "Sorry, wasn't really expecting that."

Another look at the paragraph, another casting of the spell, got the sequence right on the second try this time... And much to her surprise, the spell was stable. It was wavering, and she doubted it would have any kind of power, but it didn't seem to scatter like the others did. Almost hesitantly, she had it approach Twilight's force field, but control slipped from her before she could reach it.

- "Third time's the charm i guess..."

The spell formed for a third time, this time much closer to the force field. Slowly, trying not to lose control of the unstable spell, she had it move against Twilight's spell, trying to see what would happen once the two spells touched one another.

As Starcrasher's spell came in contact with the force field, it would smoothly spread across the surface and slightly shift the hue as the colors layered over one another.  Her spell encased the field and, through it, Starcrasher would experience something similar to what she'd felt in the Everfree Forest.  When she'd tried casting magic there, she could feel the spell writhing in her control like it was a living thing trying to break free.  Similarly, she'd find herself able to sense the feel of the force field itself.

"Alright, good so far.  Take your time -- so long as you keep feeding energy to the disenchantment it should stay steady." Twilight coached.  "Feel your way through the spell.  Force Fields are stable magic; they're uniform and rigid.  The shape matters too -- this one is round, so its strongest point is at the origin where the magical energy first manifested.  The weakest point is the spot furthest away from the origin."

The force field had formed from the top down and, by focusing her concentration around the surface, Starcrasher could feel a distinct difference in the magical resonance between those two points.  It was strong all around, but the lower curve of the bubble was notably weaker than the top.  "Disenchantment works by finding the weak link in a spell and severing it.  Sap its energy away and disperse it outward, overpower it and break the spell, destabilize it and cause the whole thing to collapse... or in some cases, you can even channel its power to your own needs and absorb the energy like a sponge."

The spell wavered a little more as Starcrasher felt magical energies she had never experienced up until now. It was the relative novelty of it all that made it hard for her to focus on much aside from feeding magic into her spell. She started trying to feel her way through the spell, noticing the difference between the top and the bottom of the field and trying to find if there were places along its surface that she could try and slip her spell into. Not finding anything though, she continued her search.

She carefully applied a little pressure by feeding more into one side of the spell than into another, allowing her to in some way knead the force field to check how much force she could apply to it before it would break and in doing so find out how much would be expected of her.

Eventually, she felt confident enough to start trying. She focused some magic power into the disenchantment spell again, only this time tried to focus it into one spot at the bottom of the force field, where the spell was thinnest. The only real thing she could think of was the idea of popping a balloon with a needle, so if she'd manage to breach the field her spell could sneak inside and dispel it. She hoped, anyway.

A lot of magic was founded in visualization.  The more imaginative and creative a spellcaster was, the greater variety they could manage with their spells.  It was also a limitation in some cases.  Any Unicorn could lift something with their Telekinesis, but could never hope to use it to levitate themselves; they often visualized their magic as reaching out from their horn and lifting the target, so common sense told them they couldn't possibly lift themselves in the same manner.  Twilight idly smiled at the memory of Pumpkin Cake, who'd yet to have the general concept of physics impressed upon her, flying around with Telekinesis without issue.  It was also similar to how malleable Merriweather was with her force fields, being able to manipulate them into useful shapes rather than just being limited to bubbles and walls like most Unicorns.  To that end, Starcrasher's mental image of a needle to a balloon was just right for her effort.

Force fields were self-sufficient structures, but only so long as they remained unbreached.  The introduction of a foreign element into the structure destabilized the whole thing, be it extra energy or a good, hard whack powerful enough to overwhelm its structural integrity.  As the Unicorn pushed at the weak point she could feel the bubble deforming under the effort and, with a steady increase of magic, finally pierced through.  In the blink of an eye the force field collapsed from the bottom up, splintering away into particles of dispersing energy while the battery cell dropped down to the ground.  Further, Starcrasher's spell vanished along with the bursting bubble -- its energy was eaten up by the collapsing spell form and ended both simultaneously rather than the usual nature of her magic continuing until she stopped applying it.

"That's the way~!"  Twilight chirped approvingly as she wheeled her forelegs in delight.  "How did that feel, Starcrasher?  Did you learn anything?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Fri 14 Sept 2012.

Starcrasher gave a start when the force field disappeared all of a sudden, much like a real bubble would have when pierced by a needle. It actually took her a moment to realize that there had been no anti-magic shockwave, no destabilization of magic in an area around her own. It looked... pretty much like it was supposed to, actually.

- "Yeah, that... i can cast magic. I can cast magic! Woo!"

She wheeled her forelegs along with Twilight, happy that she finally had something her magic was good for. She wasn't there yet of course, not by a long shot, but now that they had figured out what the cause of the problem was she could finally start working to a solution. She'd become the bestest Mage in Equestria!

Though there was still a second part to the question she had yet to answer, her mind was going into Sugar Rush Overdrive as she hopped through the field, squeeing about having finally succeeded to cast magic.

As eager as Twilight was to get back to work and keep the progress rolling, she didn't dare interrupt Starcrasher's celebration of her accomplishment.  She recalled how she felt in her own first scholarly achievements and let her student savor the warmth of success as her efforts paid off.  Of course, the Unicorn herself wasn't unmoved by the situation either.  She'd never really been a teacher before... not in any official sense... and it set a deep satisfaction in her soul to see someone she coached succeed.  It made it a lot easier to understand what drove Cheerilee on every day.

Frankly... I could get used to this.  Twilight mused internally.  She'd mentioned before to Widget about perhaps going into teaching for a career.  Maybe it wasn't so crazy an idea after all?

Having burnt some energy on hopping around, Starcrasher walked up to Twilight again, still sporting a huge grin. It felt absolutely wonderful to finally be able to do what she had been trying to do for decades... Well, maybe not actual decades, but it felt like years anyway. It had been a problem back when she joined the Magic Academy, and had become nigh impossible to overcome after the incident with her horn. Oh, which reminded her.

- "Okay, so now what? How do i err... cast normal stuff?"

"Well, first of all, you need to think of it in a more positive light.  What you've been doing so far wasn't abnormal or wrong; just a bit misunderstood.  Being able to dispel magic is potentially a wonderful talent and has all sorts of beneficial uses." Twilight noted as she hovered the battery cell over again between them.  She flexed her magic once more and encased it in another round force field.

"But other spells will come later.  For now, you need to focus on practicing what you've already learned.  Once you're comfortable with it we can move on to different force field shapes, and then we can start brushing you up on some basic spells.  Telekinesis first, naturally." she said as she floated the bubble on over for Starcrasher to work on.  She'd supply a force field again and again, keeping the filly working at it until she either had figured out her knack for it or simply ran out of energy to keep going without a break first.  Practice made perfect, after all.

Starcrasher started working on the disenchantment spells, still a little erratic and imperfect due to just having learned them a moment ago. Judging by the amount of time she was able to keep this up she showed a great deal of magical fortitude, likely unintentionally trained due to her tendency to simply feed more power into her failing spells. She disenchanted the force field a couple of times, even attempted variations such as forming the disenchantment spell as a needle and throwing it directly at the force field like a dart, though that hadn't been very successful as Twilight was smart enough to keep moving around the weak spot.

She got so carried away with trying to figure out alternate versions that she had failed to keep paying attention to figuring out her knack. Going by the amount of improvisations she was quite skilled, but even though she felt she was enjoying this far too much the very notion of her actually casting spells on her own made her feel too giddy and excited to stop before she ran out of power.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:48, Fri 14 Sept 2012.

While they may have had the goal of studying, the morning ended up full of more playfulness than anything else.  Twilight was content to let Starcrasher take her time and enjoy herself in her practices.  It was important that she have confidence in what she was doing and explore her abilities rather than just run the same drill over and over until she knew it by heart.  That could wait until later.

"Alright, let's take a little break." she said after a good long series of practices with disenchantment.  She didn't want Starcrasher to completely wind down and, even with all the power Twilight herself toted, she needed to take a breather every now and then as well.  She left the most recent force field bubble still floating about lazily overhead while she retrieved a couple of juice bottles from her bag for them to cool down with.  "How're you liking this so far?  Having fun?"

- "Yup, definitely! I feel like i could keep this up all day!"

While true in that Starcrasher felt that she could do it since the spell was relatively small compared to the constant string of empowered light and levitation spells she had been casting in the woods, she was aware that if Twilight actually took her up on that it'd be a toss up on whether she'd be able to last halfway into the afternoon. But, the euphoria she felt drowned out the feeling that she was getting more tired that she would have wanted to admit.

- "So, you really think i'm as good at disenchanting stuff as Twist Horn?"

As she worked on unscrewing the tap from one of the juice bottles, she waited for the answer. There was no sign that she felt let down for having the same ability as a unicorn with the title of 'The Accursed', if anything she felt excited over being compared to a pony important enough to be written about in a book.

"I think you could become so, yes.  You've got a lot of innate talent, Starcrasher.  It's just a shame that you didn't get a chance to explore it while you were at the Academy."  Twilight sighed with a shake of her head.  She'd have to write a lengthy report to the board of education about this... it was absolutely shameful that they'd dismiss Starcrasher out of hoof.  Was Twilight really the only Pony who cared about obscure Unicorn history?!

"Twist Horn is actually a very good role model to have.  She overcame a lot of adversity in her lifetime and is a great example of a self-made Pony." the Unicorn explained as she hovered the book on over to idly flip through it.  "Plus her contributions to the study of magic have been invaluable.  We wouldn't understand magical structures as well as we do today if not for her, and these disenchantment spells you've been reading are the ones she created herself.  The fact of the matter is that nopony is without talent or use -- it may take them a while to find what their purpose is, but we all belong somewhere.  Just like with spell breaking: you need to attack the problem from different angles until you find the one that works."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:39, Mon 17 Sept 2012.

- "Well, it... wasn't as much them not wanting to teach me magic, but i kept disturbing magic lessons up to several classrooms away. So they told me to practice, just way out here."

Starcrasher wasn't quite sure, but interpreted the shake of Twilight's head as something she had done. For all she knew Twilight was a part of the Academy as well and given her expertise at teaching, it wouldn't have been very surprising to find out. Come to think of it, she never actually said she was, had she?

- "Uhh, Twilight? You're working at the Academy too, right? I mean, why else would they send me over here without someone to oversee my lessons? Heh, and besides, you talk just like some of my teachers."

Twilight was actually a bit flattered that she apparently sounded so much like a teacher already.  Perhaps she had found her calling?  A scholastic life did seem to be the best thing for her...

"Actually, I'm a career student myself.  I'm on assignment from Princess Celestia to study the magic of Friendship, though I also have my own fields of study on the side as well.  Being the Librarian for the Ponyville Library is practically a hobby." she explained with a shrug.  It really had just been chance that she ended up being Starcrasher's mentor.  It had have happened on its own eventually, but circumstances had been in the filly's favor that she met Quill, who linked her to Widget, who only just happened to know Twilight directly.

Starcrasher chuckled at the reply as the pieces started falling together.

- "Oh, i think i understand now. If my teachers at the Magic Academy conveniently decided to send me to study at the same place the Academy's patron stationed a career student on a special assignment, you can bet they'd have anticipated our meeting. All of them would have."

The chuckle became a laugh, the laugh almost uncontrollable as she gasped for air in between her laughter. After a couple of minutes, she calmed down again, though she was still sporting a wide grin for having figured it out. She took a deep breath.

- "So, how's your actual assignment coming along?"

Twilight wasn't quite sure of the motives of the teachers at the Academy, but it was good fortune that the two of them met regardless.  She'd have to ask about that later though.  In the meantime she indulged in quiet laughter along with Starcrasher over the idea of their whole meeting being orchestrated.  It wasn't that strange an idea, to be honest... Princess Celestia certainly had a knack for her gambits, after all.  Why would the school board be any different?

"So far so good.  'Friendship' is a pretty broad topic though, and I'm always finding new outlets and experiences through it.  I don't think I'm ever going to really understand it wholly... and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned."  Twilight smiled fondly as she thought back on everything she and her friends had been through.  Even now she was learning new things as she developed different relationships with others.  "I've been expanding my research a bit as of late.  Dating Widget, for instance.  Ah... that's not to say our relationship is just for study -- I do genuinely like him." she quickly added on that disclaimer rather than let Starcrasher get the wrong idea about her sincerity toward Widget.  "Teaching you as well.  The sort of friendship I have with you is a lot different than my other friends, and it's not something I've experienced.  I've never been a mentor before."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:10, Mon 17 Sept 2012.

Starcrasher looked surprised by the admission, and she rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof as she thought on the nature of the relationship between Spike and Twilight.

- "Well umm... Don't you have Spike? You're raising him. I mean, it isn't magic, but you're still teaching him stuff, right?"

As far as she could tell, apprenticeships were also a way of mentoring, and assistants were almost kind of apprentices too since they were usually learning by helping. Spike couldn't cast magic -- at least, she thought dragons couldn't cast magic -- but with her researching Friendship there was bound to be something for Spike to pick up on.

"Well, yes, but it's not quite the same.  Relationships have all sorts of shades to them.  I suppose even if I tutored somepony else it wouldn't be the same as with you.  Besides, the relationship Spike and I have is... ah... complex." Twilight shrugged.  She wasn't quite sure how to describe it.  Spike had been initially raised by Princess Celestia, but Twilight was the one who hatched him.  And now she lived with him and raised him through his youth, and was also his employer... she really didn't know how to classify their relationship.  Mother?  Sibling?  Partner?  "If nothing else, Spike is very precious to me.  That's the best I can describe it."

- "Y'know, the last time a fellow student told me their relationship with somepony was complex, one of the teachers got fired for dating her."

She tilted her head a little as she tried to gauge Twilight's reaction. This romance thing was still quite new to her with all the time she had spent practicing her failing spells, but she didn't seem like the type to date a teacher. Unless Widget was her teacher as well... No, wait, that wouldn't make sense. Would it?

- "...Is Widget a teacher?"

Twilight's reaction was to choke and spit her juice out all over the grass.  Whether it was over the scandal of a teacher and student relationship or the possible insinuation that she and Spike had such a thing going on was anyone's guess.

"No!  Our relationship is not like that at all!" she protested hotly.  When Starcrasher continued with the next question, Twilight had to wonder where her train of thought was taking her.  "Widget?  No, he's not a teacher... at least, not that I know of.  He's an inventor."

- "Well, you called your relationship with Spike 'complex' and Spike isn't a teacher, so i asked if Widget was one. I mean, you can't be dating Spike, right?"

She alternated her look between Twilight and the apple juice that had been sprayed over the grass. When she heard Widget wasn't actually a teacher, she sighed in relief.

- "Ah, that's good to hear. He's a good person, wouldn't want to see him get fired, y'know?"

Twilight ran a hoof over her forehead and mane to try and regain some of her composure.  It seemed as though Starcrasher was confused...

"No, I'm not dating Spike." she confirmed just to be sure that statement was understood.  "Teachers can date, but it's unprofessional for a teacher to be dating one of their students, just the same way it would be for a doctor to date one of their patients, or an employer to date one of their employees.  That lapse in personal conduct was why that instructor got fired." Twilight explained, making the most likely assumption on the matter.

- "Ah, i see. So since Widget isn't an instructor it's fine for him to date a student like yourself, right? Man, and i thought magic could be hard to understand at times."

Starcrasher whistled, trying to straighten up what she had learned. Twilight was dating Widget, that she knew, and Widget was in no trouble at all for dating her. Then there was Spike, who Twilight didn't date because it would be unprofessional. So Spike would be... kinda like Owlowiscious, someone around to help out all the time. Coming to a realization, she groaned, burying her face in her hooves.

- "Ugh, i got so caught up in magic that i totally forgot about Widget and Quill... Your relationship with Spike is the same as theirs, right?"

"It would be fine for Widget and I to date even if he was a teacher, so long as he wasn't my teacher." Twilight explained.  She genuinely wondered how Starcrasher's thought progression flowed and was curious to try and chart it, but thought better of herself for it.  The last time she'd tried such a thing was with Pinkie Pie and that was a practice in futility.

When Starcrasher mentioned Quill, the Unicorn nodded in return.  "Professionally speaking, yes.  Spike is my assistant, just like Quill is Widget's."