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// Best laid plans 
// Story: Short stories about ponies and whatnot 
// by shutaro 
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	Cheerilee closed her suitcase. She didn't dare open it again after it had taken half an hour and the help of her roommate to close the darned thing. In fact, she was a bit afraid to look at it, let alone move it, for fear of it bursting open.
Again. 
A few straps around the case should hold it closed until Ponyville. Oh yes! Finally it was time to make her move. Last year had been ... less successful than expected.
There, that was educational science speaking. At least that was going well.
Last year was a fiasco. Ponyville had still been stuck with Winter-Wrap-Up, all her friends at home had still been wrapped up in nest-making or snow-clearing. They had even made her help. They had made her waste her precious spring break on snow and back-breaking work. At least she had been working with McIntosh, but it is kind of hard to start anything romantic when you sweat like a workhorse up to your knees in slush.
Well, McIntosh made it look easy, but he made hauling whole trees look easy.

Shaking herself from a vision of a certain strapping young red stallion, Cheerilee looked at the clock. She had another hour until the train home left, enough time to get to the station, check in her luggage and find her seat. Cheerilee knocked at her roommate's door.
"Daisy Dreams, I'm off, see you next week!"
"Are you sure you don't want to join us in Maremi Beach? We can always make room for one more." The opening door revealed a light purple earth pony, her pink and dark purple mane tied in a ponytail. Several pieces of swimwear were spread out over the room. 
She will have no problems with her luggage, Cheerilee thought, but said,  "You're really going through with this? You know how those PCSFGU snobs treat us Canterlot University lowlifes. I wouldn't trust this Blueblood character as far as I can throw him."
 "I'm sure it will be okay, mom. Now off you go, don't want to miss your train, do you?"

A quick hug later Cheerilee was out the door, down the stairs, out of the dormitory and finally through the gates of Canterlot University, out on the streets of the big city. Even after two years she was still amazed at the sights, sounds and smells of Canterlot, especially now, after the long winter. She let her thoughts drift, to her friend Rarity who aspired to be a fashion designer. A good part of Cheerilee's suitcase was filled with this spring’s hot topic: leg-warmers and neon-bangles, a revival of the eighties, her mother had called them. She already knew Rarity would love those.
Then to Applejack, she hadn't seen her since the poor girl had lost her parents. She ran the whole farm with her brother now and on top of it there was her little baby sister and old Granny Smith. Cheerilee wondered if Applejack would even find the time to talk to her. In her last letter Applejack had been full of praise for the new mayor mare. She had written how they would clean up winter in one day, two days on the outside. The new mayor had been very inspirational about it.

Cheerilee navigated the back streets of the market district she had to cross to get to Canterlot station. The main road was congested as usual but she knew the hidden paths around it, she wasn't a tourist after all. Or at least I'm no longer a tourist, she thought and smiled at the sight of street vendors selling their stuff to unsuspecting ponies from the country. Cheerilee smiled, that was a lesson she had learned on day one: Don't buy from the street.
Hearing the bells of Canterlot Tower she realized that her detour had taken longer than planned and Cheerilee changed from her fast walk to a trot. As she got to the entrance of Canterlot station she was a bit winded, all that studying had obviously taken it's toll on her fitness. But at least she was on time again. Getting her ticket, checking in her suitcase and boarding the train went smoothly.

As she waited for departure Cheerilee remembered another friend she had left in Ponyville. One might even say that she and Pinkie Pie had not been on good terms when she had left for Canterlot. Pinkie Pie, with her great skills in organization and event management wanted to become a baker? That had to be a joke, and not a very good one as Pinkie’s jokes went. So the Cakes had been really nice to her, a second family even, but you couldn't adjust your life on that. A pony had to follow her cutie mark, her true calling. Maybe Cheerilee would talk to Pinkie about that again.
Rarity had written that a few other ponies had come to Ponyville since Cheerilee had left, notably pegasus ponies. She would have to ask her friends to introduce her to these new ponies. Cheerilee wanted to return to Ponyville after her studies, that's why she held on to all her old friends at home very dearly.
And then her thoughts returned to McIntosh. She had to find out if he was still single and then a way to get some alone-time with him. Applejack had not answered any of her questions regarding him, so maybe he was already hitched? That would be terrible.

Cheerilee startled from her ruminations when the train slowed and stopped at Ponyville. “Ah, even the air smelled different at home,” she said aloud and smiled. Pulling her suitcase she stepped from the train backwards, turned around and stopped.

Ten minutes later the station master asked her why she was still out on the platform and if she needed help with her suitcase. In the snow and all.