Wake up Tia. We need to have a talk.

Celestia’s eyes snapped open, looking around for where the voice came from.

I’m not there just yet. I just wanted to make sure you were awake so we could talk.

She groaned as she sat up. It hurt noticeably less this time, and she was glad for that. The door creaked open, as something in a suit walked in.

“Nice to see you again, albeit the last time you saw me I didn’t have a specific form.” It said, removing the hat atop its head. He quickly moved over to the chair Prophet had sat in, which creaked as he set down.

“Seed?” She asked, turning her head slightly so she wouldn’t have to stare at the blank face.

“Indeed. I decided a physical form was necessary.” He said, placing his hat on his lap.

“Exactly why are you here? I already told Prophet, and I’m pretty sure they’ve already found me guilty.” She said, a tear falling down her face.

“I made a deal with him. You’re going to play a game, and the outcome will dictate your punishment.” Seed replied, fiddling with some pockets in his suit. After a few seconds he pulled out an envelope.

“What kind of game exactly?” She asked, suddenly interested in a way to save her life.

“It’s a game that should be quite fun to play.” He said, opening the envelope. He pulled a small paper out of it, slowly unfolding.

“I have a very small amount of patience right now.” Celestia said, her hair starting to whip as her anger grew.

“Oh, there’s absolutely nothing on the paper.” Seed said, turning it around to her. “I just brought this to antagonize you.”

The paper burst into flames as Celestia’s temper flared.

“Temper temper. You don’t make this very fun. The game is one you might have played before, called ‘Find the Spy’.” Seed said, wiping the ash on his suit. “One of the beings in this castle, excluding Prophet and his Tribunal, have been given an object of great importance. The game is for you to figure out what it is, and find it.” Seed said. He leaned back into the chair, making it creak again.

“Am I allowed to ask questions to help me figure out what it is?” Celestia asked, ideas to track it down already running through her head.

“Yes, you are. But you were limited to only five questions, which would make it four now.”

This surprised Celestia, since she sure wasn’t expecting a fair game. “Are there any other rules I need to be aware of before I play?”

“Three more, and yes. First of all, you aren’t allowed to read anyone or anything’s mind to figure it out. Everyone here has already been told what you are looking for, and specifically told that they can’t help you find it. Having them give you any hints is a violation of this rule and results in you losing right then and there. Second, you only have two sunrises and nightfalls to find it.”

“That is ridiculous, this castle is gigantic and it would take longer than that to search through a fifth of the rooms.” She cried, her voice halfway between despair and rage.

Seed raised his hand in response, making her go quiet. “That is the point of the questions, to make it easier for you to track it down. Third, you can’t run away. Admittedly you wouldn’t get very far, but if you try to leave the castle grounds it’ll be seen as you forfeiting the game. Finally, you can’t just take the object without permission. Other than that, you are granted free reign to find and retrieve the object however you see fit.”

Celestia thought hard over her next question. “What questions can’t you answer about this game?”

“Two more, and a good pick. I can’t answer what the object is, where to find it, or what your punishments will be afterwards.”

“That’s it? I thought you’d be more limited.”

“One more, and yes. I made the game, so I get to pick the majority of its rules.” He responded. His voice carried with it a sick joy, like he was already enjoying it.

“Who is the object important to?” She asked, figuring that the person would keep the object close to them.

“And there’s the million bit question. The answer to that is very complex. The object is important to everyone involved, for one reason or another.” He said, watching Celestia’s shoulders drop in despair. “However, leaving the answer at only that would be excessively cruel. I’ll give you one name that this object is especially important to.”

“Thank you.” Celestia said, moving to stand. She groaned slightly as she got to her hooves, the rush of blood from her head making her a little dizzy.

“Don’t thank me just yet. I haven’t told you the name yet.” Seed said, standing up as well. He placed his hat back on his head and walked over to the door.

“Aren’t you going to tell me?” Celestia asked, stumbling for a few steps to follow after him.

“Of course I am. The name is Twilight Sparkle.” Seed said, opening the door and leaving the room. “A few of the players in this game know what will happen to you should certain endings be met, and might choose to influence the game in their favor. You’ll have to be careful, to make sure you don’t play into their plans.”

She slowly made her way to the door, putting her weight against the doorframe and looking out into the hall. She saw no trace that anypony had walked here, not even a disturbance in the dust on the ground.

“That is very creepy.” She commented to herself. She put much of her weight against the wall, using her arm to support her as she moved.

Tick tock. The sun has set, and the moon will rise. Our game starts upon tomorrow’s dawn, so spend your time now thinking hard.

“Are you sure it was such a good idea to agree to his game?” Kronos asked, looking across at Prophet.

“Are you questioning that because of what he is, or because of what he suggested?” Prophet asked back, taking a sip from his drink.

“Both. Either way, should she succeed or fail we win, but there is so much at stake between the two.”

“I have no problems agreeing to his game, because of exactly who he is. In the time I’ve known him, everything he does is for a reason. That reason usually doesn’t become evident for years or even decades after the fact, but he has reasons. He plays people better than any of us could ever try to.” Prophet stated simply.

“Why do you afford him so much ambiguity?” Gaia asked. She looked up from the reports she was sorting through.

“Why not? He is far older than any of us, and he knows how people will react.”

“But these aren’t people. They call themselves ponies.” Kronos said.

“But he has had time to learn.”

And learn I did. It is rather easy when you have unfettered access to a large number of minds and thoughts. I’ve figured out patterns of action for the important individuals, and how to push them down specific paths.

“There you are. Has she accepted the game?” Prophet asked.

Of course. It is the only chance she has available, so she’ll take it.

“And which outcome are you hoping for?”

I don’t like spoilers Prophet. Least of all when I know the outcome beforehand.

“Are you so sure of yourself that you’ll put so much at risk on the chance that-” Gaia started.

Yes, I am. If Prophet did not have faith in my choices then he would not have agreed to the game in the first place. It is a win-win situation for us.

“If you have problems with how I work, perhaps you wish to challenge my right to be in charge?” Prophet asked, turning to Gaia. She started sweating as he moved closer.

“It’s just... I mean I... I’m sorry sir” Gaia said, dropping to the ground in front of him. “Forgive my insolence.”

“You do a good job Gaia. But we all know you don’t have what it takes to challenge me. Keep that in mind next time.”

Celestia was thinking the clues through that Seed had given her. The only thing that would come to mind was Twilight’s Element, and she couldn’t just force her to hand it over either.

She hobbled along, almost everypony in the castle giving her a wide berth. One of the maids had been nice enough to bring her a crutch though. It took her awhile to get to the room, but she had made her way up to the tower all alone. She steadied herself as she opened the door.

“Hello Princess, do you need something?” Twilight asked, looking up from her book.

“I accepted the game, and was told the object I’m hunting is important to you. I was going to ask if you could return your Element, since I have to ask for it.” Celestia said, using her magic to levitate a pillow under her before she sat down.

“I know the rules Princess.” Twilight said.

“So you’ll hand it over willingly?” Celestia asked.

“Unfortunately, I can’t. However, you can win it from me. We need to have a talk, and I want to play a game with you at the same time. If you’re winning or have won by the end of our talk, I’ll hand over my element. If not, you have to try another way.” Twilight said, her horn lighting up.

“What kind of game do you mean Twilight?” Celestia asked, worry in her voice.

“A game a friend of mine introduced me to. We play chess, but with multiple boards and a few extra rules. I’ll even make it easy for you, if you win on just one of the boards I’ll give you my element.” Twilight said, as three chess boards floated over as well as a table.

“And what did you want to talk about then?” Celestia asked, her eyes roaming over the boards as the pieces set themselves up.

“Plenty of things.” Twilight said, moving a pawn on the middle board. “And we have plenty of time to talk.”

Author's Note

This one took awhile. I know where I want to go with it, but now I'm having trouble putting the journey into words.

Anyways, I'll have all of next week to myself so I'll probably get a chapter or two out.