The Art of Organised Cheating Part 1

You concentrate a small amount of magic on the chalk and levitate it above the guard’s head without him noticing. Colgate notices it and changes her answer.

The rest of this portion of the tests pretty much runs like that. It’s very smooth and very successful. There was only one point where the guard told you all to sit further apart, and that didn’t hinder you at all. You notice that Colgate chose to answer some of her questions incorrectly, which is wise. You’d have followed her example if it wasn’t for the fact that you know everything there is about basic Greek vocabulary.

The next portion of the test, conversation, is where you barely know anything. Colgate, Lyra, and Trixie were all levitating the right rocks for you to see. Each answer was marked accordingly.

The next tests (contemporary usage) were pretty much the same with nothing special happening except for the guard sneezing. ‘Gesundheit’ ‘bless you’ and ‘saluta’ roars around town along with what sounds like the princess saying ‘geítses’ from her castle. That made every one laugh, including the guard who sheepishly said ‘thank you, your highness.’

It’s at this point that you realize that these tests actually feel kinda fun. This is surprising since it feels as if they’re designed to kill a pony. Then, as you notice the floating argillite and mark your answer A, you remember that you’re cheating.

The full gravity of it all starts settling in. Your blood rushes to your face, and you can feel yourself flutter a pulse until your heart is racing. You never cheat. It’s unjust! What will the princess think?!

The best thing for you to do now is to turn yourself in. You’ve already cheated. That way, the princess will still have respect for you, though she will now know how wild you can be. It’s the right thing to do.

You look at Trixie, who gives you a warm smile that reminds you of all your friends. It’s a smile that is radiant, but subtle. You couldn’t help but to smile back awkwardly. You glace over at Lyra whose ear twitches at you. Colgate giggles.

“Eyes on your papers, ladies.” The guard whispers.

You know that if you turn yourself in, your friends will get the punishment too. You can try to take all the blame for them, but that’s easier said than done.

Then again, there is only one question left, and it’s dolomite. You could just mark it and never speak of this again.

‘Let us never speak of this again.’

‘FINE! I’M GUILTY!’