//------------------------------// // Back to Ponyville, No Longer Smelling Like Barbeque // Story: Life is A Test 2: Test Harder (Quite A Bit Harder) // by Brony_of_Brody //------------------------------// Just as the ceiling retracts back to its original stance, you catch Fluttershy, having finally caught up tp you and Graham, before scolding the enormous dinosaur for skipping his appointment. To your rather unsurprised disappointment, she doesn't blame Graham for trying to eat you. Her fault, really. Asked for a really delicious sauce on this occasion. Once Graham has taken his pills/been vaccinated/cured of his irritable bowels, you and Fluttershy make the long trek back through Everfree Forest (making doubly sure to not walk downwind of any hungry manticores). She thanks you for all your hard work, but really, all you want to do at this stage is just head back to the hotel you're staying at, sleep this off, then finally go see what Rainbow Dash wants the next day. Shudder... But Flutters isn't willing to let you go just yet: she actually has the keys to your room, and Princess Celestia has informed Fluttershy that you first need to solve a rather annoying puzzle before she hands it over, thus confirming Celestia as probably the most heartless and vicious ruler of Equestria, forever cemented in your mind. Once you arrive back at her cottage, she explains the rules to you. Basically, you and Fluttershy are going to play tic-tac-toe. You scoff at the prospect of playing such a simple game, but Flutters does mention that the game comes with a few clauses. For starters, you will be blindfolded, and won't be able to see the board or your opponent's moves. You will play by announcing which square you will put your nought, and then Fluttershy will place her cross somewhere, but only she will know. In the event you try to place a nought on an occupied square, you will be told so and must call another square until you reach one that isn't occupied. For Fluttershy to hand over the key, you just need to avoid losing ten times in a row. Fail once, and you sleep outside Fluttershy's cottage in the cold tonight. She'd love to invite you inside, but even she, the ex-holder of the Element of Kindness, has to be cruel to be kind, as Celestia told her before you arrived in Ponyville for your exile. She will, however, allow you to go first in every game. Just as a sporting token of kindness on her part. The thought of sleeping out where you could be eaten by anything (even the plants under your hooves) is a rather unsettling one, so better get those grey cells working, and fast. So how can you earn the key back from Fluttershy?