The Art of Organised Cheating Part 1

You decide you’re going to travel by train anyway, despite the cost of the trip. You kindly ask Spike to purchase a ticket in advance while you pack. You give him enough bits for a ticket and a few extra for him to do as he pleases.

You decide to pack lightly, bringing only an abacus, a sun dial, a compass, a gyroscope, a retort and burner, a map, 3 textbooks on chemistry, 2 textbooks on astrophysics, 5 small books on geometry, 30 #2 pencils, 10 charcoal pencils, a drafting board with 100 sheets of 11X17 paper, 2 lead holders with 7H lead and 2B lead, a globe, an alchemical unit conversion sheet, 40 vials of assorted elements, a meter stick, a scale, a dial caliper, 31 fiction novels, a dictionary, 12 blank composition notebooks, a ouija board, a spectrometer, an ohmmeter, a laser pointer, a soldering kit, a box of assorted screwdrivers, a Walkmare mp3 player, a list of funny riddles and puns, a box of chocolates from Germany and Fillitalia, a can of coffee beans, your coffee/tea maker along with the tea set, a pair of sunglasses, a crossbow with 8 bolts, a pillow, and your toothbrush.

You use your magic to shrink everything to a manageable size and fit it all in your satchel. You wait for Spike to return when you see somepony at the door. You open it to see that it’s your friends.

“Hiya, Twilight!” Pinkie cheers. “We hear you were going away, so I’d decided to throw a ‘Going Away for a Short While’ party!”

Déjà vu. You think to yourself. Pinkie’s awesome.

You thank Pinkie and the rest of your 5 friends for their company. You decide to unwind before departing on your boring adventure.

The afternoon is enjoyably pleasant. So far, you’ve had a picnic and ate chocolate cake with butter-cream icing and marzipan candies. Applejack brought apple pie for everypony, and that was fantastic. Spike then returned with your ticket and joined the party.

You each conversed about trivial, yet entertaining happenstances in your lives. Fluttershy told a story on how she tricked Angel into thinking he was a cat. Very amusing. Applejack told a funny story on how she was in a battle with an unkindness of ravens. Very funny. Rarity told a story on how she sewed a dress for a princess in a far away country. Very scandalous. And Pinkie told a story on how she had a dream about taking Spike to a forest and then being murdered brutally by you. This creeped you out to hear. Rainbow Dash just laughed along with every pony else, for her time off of work had been uneventful.

You decide you have to go before the sun sets. Spike was smart enough to get a ticket for the 5:00 train. It will be at the station soon. You hug your friends goodbye and depart.

You canter down town and encounter a food stand. Despite the picnic, you do find yourself surprisingly hungry. Perhaps you have a second stomach for lunchtime?

I just ate. I’ll get over it.

Yeah, I should eat.