"So Amber Velvet, what is the preferred resonance of a ruby crystal when infused with raw mana?"
Twilight Sparkle was sitting in the main room of her library, a grand tome of magic levitating in front of her. On the other side of the study table, an orange unicorn filly surrounded by scribbled notes was looking irritated and spent.
"It's... about 35 Hearts? 37?"
"I'm afraid not, sweetie," Twilight answered, eyes still planted on the book, "Rubies are usually tuned to 80 Hearts; you were thinking of raw diamonds there."
Amber snorted in annoyance. "And why should I know this if even you need a book to remember that?"
"Oh?" Twilight actually lifted her gaze for this one, "But I wasn't! I was checking up on the progression of ward magic theory, see?" She said, turning the open book to face Amber, who managed to only glance a full-page image and copious scribbles on the other before the tome returned to Twilight. "Today we can approach the basics of permanent incantations and 3D gridding. We're going to have so much fun!" Twilight clopped her hooves together.
Amber for herself slumped her head on the library table. "No we aren't."
"Huh?"
"I said, no we aren't!" Amber punctuated that by pounding a hoof on wood, "All we do is read books and recite trivia all day! How am I supposed to actually learn real magic this way?"
Twilight took on a compassionate expression. "Sweetie, hard study is at the foundations of every practice of spells beyond the level of-"
Amber gritted her teeth in response. "I know, I know, but I'm sick of it! Two whole weeks and I haven't still cast a single spell! I'm fed up with this routine and with your studies! This isn't something I want to do anymore! You can tell Celestia that I quit, I'll find some other way to learn myself!"
Twilight gaped, stunned, as the filly galloped to the library door and exited the premises with a slam. Had herself ever done this with Celestia? Twilight has always been enraptured by what Celestia had to say, but again, most of the theory Twilight had learnt was self-taught; Twilight thought she could save Amber all the endless wading through books alone by presenting her all this in a academic, rigorous format. What was not to like?
Twilight sighed. No matter her intentions, it looked like she had done something very wrong here with her student. She didn't really know what though, so she figured the best course of option was to ask her.
She reached the outside, where Amber was not too far off, levitating a small rock and looking displeased that his rock was somehow cycling between different colors. Remembering what Celestia did with her, she simply approached her and sit to her side, waiting for Amber to make the first move.
"Sorry Twilight." She finally said, after several minutes, putting down the rock.
Twilight took a deep breath. "Did you... mean those things you said in the library? That you don't-"
Amber sagged, trying to find the right words for a while. "I meant it when I said that I'm not fond of these lessons. It's literally all we do! Can't we get some other real practice in?"
"Well..." Twilight was shifting her hooves uncomfortably. "You see, when I was at your level in magic studies, I can safely say that it WAS all I did because I wasn't near the level required to practice the spells Celestia told me to, and so I studied all day, just to reach it."
Amber pondered a bit on that. "So Celestia just told you from time to time to do some spells? No lessons or study or anything?"
"Well... I admit her lessons were more... metaphorical than what we did so far, and... I guess she did give me freedom, but maybe she did because she knew I'd end up studying them anyway before attempting something rash or dangerous."
Amber threw a coy smile at her mentor. "Or maybe because she only wanted you to forge your own road? To figure it out for yourself? Whatever it was you'd end up doing?"
"You... It is possible it could be that way, yes."
"So why don't you do the same with me, Twilight?" Amber countered, standing to position herself in front of Twilight. "Don't you think that maybe you could have ended up hating books if all Celestia asked you was to read them all day?"
"... I don't think that would have been possible Amber," Twilight merely stated.
Amber groaned and facehoofed. "Right. But that doesn't change that she didn't! She totally just let you with a problem and please Twilight, just please, let me do something interesting for once!"
Twilight looked at least partly convinced, and brought a hoof to her chin. "Well, let's see.... mmmm... Haha!"
Without a further word, she cantered to the library, and returned after some minutes with a torch floating at her side.
"Try and light this torch," she stated, planting it in front of Amber. "Let it burn for five minutes straight."
The filly, for her part, looked surprised, then smug. "Just that? I can do that in a jiffy, watch."
She focused, producing a red glow from her horn, and indeed. with some effort the torch lighted up. "What I said, no problem at a-"
The flame had already dissipated, the embers immediately fading to mere burnt cloth. "What? Is it..."
Twilight grinned. "Yes, the torch is warded with a basic Dissipation Charm. I figured it would make a nice introduction to wards and their workings, provided you are willing to learn their intricacies..."
Amber for her part, seemed to not have listened to a whole lot of that, and was staring intently at the torch, gripping it in her red field, turning it over and over. After several minutes of strained attempts and Twilight's observant patience, a last effort managed to light up the torch and have it stay lit for good.
"That's impressive," Twilight said. "How did you do it?"
Amber was beaming. "Hah, simple! I took the spell and inverted it so that it wouldn't quench the flame anymore!"
Ah, lateral thinking. While admirable, Twilight figured Amber would still have to deal with how to prevent the ward from immolate the torch in the span of about 50 seconds, all the while freezing the air around it.
But it was a start. Twilight smirked: this may turn out better than she expected.