Deep Cover

by GaPJaxie

Rating: everyone
Tags: Applejack, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Original Character
Length: 6001

Deep Cover isn't Applejack -- but she does play her on TV.

Deep Cover isn't Applejack -- but she does play her on TV.

Published 2015-01-12 01:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-12 01:10:02 UTC

Chapter 1

Star Power sat in Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom, upon Twilight Sparkle’s bed, reading one of Twilight Sparkle’s books. Any fan of the show would have recognized the room. Though it appeared in few episodes, the tree library bedroom had a tendency to stick in the minds of viewers, with its distinctive two-story construction, shelves full of mixed books, sun-and-hearts motif, and numerous windows. Star Power herself liked the design very much, finding it surprisingly creative for a foals’ show.

Of course, there were a few things a fan of the show would not recognize. For instance, instead of looking out over the scenic streets of Ponyville, the windows looked out onto a dark blue screen. The plants were plastic. The telescope in the foreground was just the bottom half of a telescope—the front half had been sawed off to make more room for the camera in shots where Star Power used the eyepiece. The passageway below the bed did not lead to the first floor of Twilight Sparkle’s library, but instead to a blank plasterboard wall. And of course, the entire “fourth wall” opposite the bed was missing, replaced with a dark studio. The set lights were on, but the overhead studio lights were off, leaving the set brightly illuminated while the room sunk into a shadowy relief. Inactive cameras cast long shadows on the concrete floor, scattered around the blank teleprompter screen.

Much of the room was fabricated this way, though not all of the props were fake. It was sometimes cheaper to simply buy an item than to make a realistic mockup, and so a hoofful of the items on set were what they appeared to be. The drawers and closet were real and were even full of clothes, though the clothes didn’t fit Star Power and were never used. The heart-studded mirror above the dresser was real, if a bit awkwardly placed, and the collection of board games up on the shelf was only mostly product placement. Most relevantly to Star Power, the books were real books and the bed was a real bed—though the mattress was hard as a rock and lacked sheets, having only a blue coverlet.

Star Power, however, paid little mind to how uncomfortable the bed was, wholly absorbed in her book. Its cover depicted a shadowy mare, or perhaps simply the outline of a mare, sitting back on a dais and clad in fine robes and jewelry. She had the horn of a unicorn, the wings of a pegasus, and a powerful wide-hooved build, all somehow distinctive even while the details of her face and figure remained murky. Below her in silver lettering was inscribed: “The Princess, by Nickerlo Mareiavelli.”

Chapter XIII

OF AUXILIARY, MIXED, AND NATIVE TROOPS

Auxiliary forces, which are the other kind of useless forces, are when one calls on a potentate to come and aid one with his troops, as was done in recent times by Trade Block, who seeing the wretched failure of his mercenary forces, in his Farrier enterprise, had recourse to auxiliaries, and arranged with Vortex, Queen of Paso Fino, that she should help him with her armies.

These forces may be good in themselves, but they are always dangerous for those who borrow them, for if they lose you are defeated, and if they conquer you remain their prisoner. And although ancient history is full of examples of this, I will not depart from the example of Magister Trade Block VI, which is still fresh. Nothing could be less prudent than the course he adopted; for, wishing to take Farrier, he put himself entirely into the power of a foreigner.

But by good fortune there arose a third cause which prevented him reaping the effects of his bad choice; for when his auxiliaries were beaten at Hanoverian, the unicorns of Saddle Arabia rose up and drove back the victors, against all expectation of himself or others, so that he was not taken prisoner by the enemy which had fled...

And so it went. Star Power turned the pages slowly and occasionally flipped back to review earlier passages, taking her time as she went. Her eyes were narrow and intent, but her mouth was turned down into a frown, her ears and tail low against her. She remained that way for some time, until her focus was interrupted by the distant bang of an opening door. The overhead lights came on, fluorescent tubes clicking loudly as they flickered to life one at a time and illuminated the room below. Star Power squinted at the sudden brightness, turning her head towards the source of the noise.

“Well, how-dy, Star! Is that you?” called a pony across the way. “What are you doin’ here so late?” She was an orange earth pony, with a classically stocky frame, bright green eyes, a few freckles, and a Stetson hat perched atop her head. Her mane and tail were a golden blonde and full enough to make other mares green with envy, but loose ends and the occasional knot made it clear she ignored them. Her cutie mark was a classical steel shield, decorated with a black crown and a pair of silvery insect wings studded with holes.

“Oh. Hey, Deep Cover,” Star Power answered, looking up from her book. She waited until Deep Cover was closer before she continued, “Not much. Reading. My parents pick me up in an hour.”

“Pick you up? What, ain’ your legs workin’?” Deep Cover asked, weaving her way between two cameras to step onto the set. Star Power held her forehooves tighter together and looked down at the bed, but Deep Cover spoke again before she could answer. “Nah, I’m just joshin’ ya. I’m waiting for my family too. Ma is vistin’ this week and wants to go downtown, so it’s easier to meet up here.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Star Power said. Her ears rotated slightly to the side as her expression remained flat. After a moment, she added, “Your family still lives out in Fillydelphia, right?”

“Eyup. Mom and Dad both work and can’t really get away, so I’m all on my lonesome out here.” Deep Cover stopped on the lower level, one hoof resting on the steps that led up to the second-story loft. “Say, you didn’t happen to snag one of them oat bars they had around here earlier, did you? I’m cravin’ those things somethin’ fierce.”

“Uh, no.” Star Power paused for a long moment. “Sorry.”

“Ain’ no need to apologize on my account,” Deep Cover said, offering a small smile and tilting her ears to the side. “Were you lookin’ for some company, or should I leave you be?”

“Company would be nice, actually,” Star Power said, sliding her bookmark into the book and shutting it. “This book isn’t as good as I thought it would be.”

“Yeah? What is it?” Deep Cover asked. She turned to walk up the short stairwell to the landing above, her horseshoes making a distinctive hollow thump on the fake wood.

“It’s The Princess. It’s supposed to be the classical book on, like, harsh reality and stuff?” Star Power’s horn glowed, and the book floated back to its place on the shelf. “Like is it better to be loved or feared, or why all rulers are jerks. I’d heard it was this awesome philosophy book, but so far, it’s just a bunch of practical advice about building fortresses and hiring mercenaries and stuff.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear y’ain’t enjoyin’ it.” Deep Cover said, standing beside the bed. Star Power did not scoot over to make room. “I know you said your parents were makin’ you go to college. Thinkin’ of becomin’ a philosopher?”

“Maybe.” Star Power gently tapped her forehooves together, her gaze going off to the shelf. After a moment, she said, “Do you want to, like, play a game or something?”

“Uh, I guess,” Deep Cover turned to the shelf, following Star Power’s gaze, then walked up to the board game stack and started sorting through it. “Huh. I never knew these were real. I always assumed they just took any old board and—hey!” Her ears perked up. “They have Go. I love Go!” She craned her neck up and took the board in her teeth, pulling it out along with two bags of pieces. “It’s been a dog’s age since I’ve gotten to play,” she said, her voice muffled by the wood.

“I don’t know how to play Go,” Star Power said, scooting over when Deep Cover poked her side with the board.

Deep Cover crawled onto the bed beside Star Power, laying the board between them and dropping the bags of pieces on top of it. “That’s okay,” she said. “It’s real simple. You're gonna love it.”

“I thought it was a weird Neighponese game?” Star Power asked, drawing her head back and tucking in her tail. She watched as Deep Cover dumped out two piles of tokens: one white and one black.

“It’s Cheju, not Neighponese. Played all around the world these days though.” Deep Cover gestured down at the board, which showed a nineteen-space grid of lines with a little depression at each intersection. “The basic rules are simple. I’ll be black, you be white. We take turns puttin’ tokens on the board, in those little bumpy parts there. Any token that’s connected to an empty spot is ‘free’. If one token in a group is free, they’re all free. But if you run out of spots—nowhere to go like—the group is captured, and I take your tokens. So the game’s like a lasso, trying to close around the other mare’s pieces. Whoever controls—‘encircles’ is the fancy term—the most spots at the end of the game wins. With me so far?”

Star Power’s eyes were wide and uncertain, but she nodded anyway. Deep Cover continued, then repeated the instructions in a variety of ways, and showed Star Power several examples on the board. Star Power nodded again, saying she understood. When the time came for the game to begin, Deep Cover lowered her head like a fishing crane to pick up one of her black tokens, and with an equally precise motion deposited it near Star Power’s side of the board.

“Um...” Star Power hesitated, glancing at Deep Cover’s piece and then to her edge of the board. After a moment, she lit up he horn, levitating a piece and placing it near the center. They played thus for several more turns. At first, each scattered their tokens over the board as though at random, but by the fifth turn, Deep Cover’s pieces were starting to follow Star Power’s pieces, appearing adjacent to them and dogging her about the board.

“Uh,” Star Power said as she considered her next move. Hesitantly, she laid one of her white tokens next to one of the black set. “So, Applejack plays Cheju board games?”

Deep Cover narrowed her eyes at Star Power, her jaw pulled slightly to one side. Star Power pulled back slightly, and Deep Cover picked up her next token. She placed it adjacent to the one Star Power had just laid, a tangle forming in that corner of the board. “Deep Cover plays Cheju board games,” she said, twitching her tail for emphasis. “Y’all are aware that method actin’ and split personality disorder ain’t the same thing, right?”

“Oh, yes. I mean, uh...” Star Power looked down at the board. Hurriedly, took her turn, hardly even bothering to look at what she was doing. Deep Cover countered equally quickly. “You’re just so devoted to staying in character, so it was kind of surprising. I mean, it’s an intellectual game, isn’t it?”

“Oh, so you’re not sayin’ I’m crazy, you're sayin’ that honest, hardworkin’ farm ponies are stupid. Am I hearin’ that right?” Deep Cover learned forward a few degrees, and Star Power fell back a corresponding amount, her ears folding as her tail tucked in around her haunches.

“No! That’s not what I meant at all. I just opened my mouth without thinking and um... it came out wrong, and...” Star Power looked down at the board. “See, this is why you freak me out.”

“I ‘freak you out’?” Deep Cover asked, emphasizing Star Power’s words with a lightening of her tone and a breathiness to her speach.

“Yes! Because first you’re all ‘Deep Cover plays Go, not Applejack’ but then you get offended that I said something bad about farm ponies when I know you grew up in Fillydelphia and your mom’s an accountant.” Star Power’s gaze sank down and to the left, leaving her staring at the star-and-moon patterned comforter that covered the bed. “It’s kind of schizophrenic.”

“Or maybe I lived with a farm family for a month to practice for the role, and they were really sweet, and I’m mad you insulted them?” Deep Cover never raised her voice, but she added a kick behind her words just the same, and her slow and forceful intonations made her thick accent particularly noticeable.

Star Power worked her jaw, but no sound came out, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said, pulling towards the edge of the bed. “Maybe I should just go.”

“No, wait.” Deep Cover raised a hoof, a gentle touch stopping Star Power’s exit. “Hold up there, sugarcube. Maybe I was a little unkind in hearin’ what you said there. I know you don’t mean any harm. But next time, try thinkin’ a little more before you speak.” Deep Cover leaned her head around to catch Star Power’s eyes. “You’re kinda famous, Star. If you’d said that on TV and somepony in the audience heard earth ponies instead of farm ponies?” She lifted a hoof, indicating Star Power’s horn.

“Right, yeah, no. I totally get it. Thanks.” Star Power didn’t look back to the board or to Deep Cover, her eyes still on the bedsheets and her body still turned to leave. “I guess I did stick my hoof in it there.”

“You kiddin’? You got that dainty unicorn hoof of yours wedged so far into your mouth you're gonna need braces all over again.” Deep Cover cracked a smile, and a smaller smile appeared on Star Power’s face in kind. “But I ain’t mad—not really anyway. So hows about I accept your apology and we play a nice game?”

“Um, sure.” Star Power smiled a little brighter, and her tail worked its way out from under her haunches. She turned back to the board, and to Deep Cover, and lifted her head. “Sorry,” she said, before considering the board in detail. She took her time as she thought about her next move, and several times lifted her token only to return it to the pile.

“Need help?” Deep Cover offered.

“I’ve about to lose this... bit, down here, aren’t I?” Star Power asked, gesturing at the tangle in the corner of the board.

“Nope. Y’all lost that bit a few turns ago, just took you till now to notice.” Deep Cover’s tone was teasing, but her voice was soft, and Star Power nodded.

“What can I do?”

“Down there? Nothin’. But there’s over three hundred spots on this board, and that mess is only goin’ to give me six of them. Call it a good learnin’ experience, think about what happened, and move on,” Deep Cover said. Star Power took the advice, and after several more seconds, placed her next token on the far side of the board. The next five turns passed in a similar fashion, as Deep Cover captured Star Power’s pieces in the first corner, while Star carefully prepared a formation of tokens on the opposite side of the board.

“So, why method acting?” Star Power asked during the lull as Deep Cover considered her turn.

“Well, part of it’s practical. I ain’t so good at changing character on a dime like you or First Take, particularly with the accent,” Deep Cover said, considering the formation of tokens that Star Power had erected. “Part of it’s where my talents lie. I didn’t get a changelin’ coat of arms on my flank because of my deep and abidin’ love of accountin’.” She gestured back at her flank. “But mostly? I enjoy it. It’s fun to get into a character’s head.” Carefully, she took her turn.

“Oh yeah! That’s great. I love getting into a role. Feeling what the character feels,” Star Power said, her tone picking up. She turned to the board, and the game continued. “Particularly the really powerful moments—like Twilight’s speeches.”

“I can tell. Ain’ real hard to guess what part of actin’ makes you happy when you’re tryin’ not to smile on camera.” Deep Cover gave a small smile and shook her head. “But that’s not quite what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” Star Power asked, tilting her ears forward as she looked across the board.

Deep Cover didn’t answer right away. “Feelin’s...” She bit her lip and let out a breath. “Feelin’s ain’t really what a character is about. They change, you know? Shift around. Somethin’ as little as forcin’ yourself to smile can make you feel happy, and if you’ll pardon me for being a mite cynical, even the best feelin’s are just your brain takin’ a swim in some all-natural drugs.”

“What, like, pot?” Star Power asked.

“Like dopamine,” Deep Cover said. Star Power blushed, and Deep Cover grinned. “It’s okay. I just don’t think feelin’s are the best way to understand a character. They’re important, sure—heck, a ton of the Method is all about feelin’s—but it ain’t the core of the issue. Like with you when I walked up. Sure, you were bored, but is ‘bored’ really the only reason you let me come up and hang out?”

“I guess not,” Star Power agreed. She carefully thought about her next move, and then picked up her piece. “So what is the core of the issue then?”

“Power,” Deep Cover answered.

“Power?” Star Power paused halfway through putting a piece on the board, her eyebrows faintly raised. Deep Cover nodded. “So I let you play board games with me... what?” She finished placing her token. “Out of fear you’d squish me?”

“Outta fear I’d make you feel bad.” Deep Cover nodded. “No, really. Think about it for a second. Shut your eyes.” Star Power turned her head slightly and gave Deep Cover a narrow look, but after a moment she complied, shutting her eyes. “Okay, now picture it. You’re up here readin’, I walk in, ask you if you want some company. Now tell me no.”

“Uh...” Star Power scrunched up her muzzle. “Sorry, Deep Cover.” She delivered a rather wooden performance. “I was actually kind of into my book.”

“Oh...” Deep Cover answered. She reached up and scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “Sure, sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb you. You uh... you happen to know if Barnstormer is still around? Or Butter Up?”

“No, um... they’re gone.” Star Power opened her eyes and reached up a hoof to rub the side of her muzzle, her tail flicking from side to side.

“Oh. Alright. I’ll uh... be headin’ back to my trailer then.” Deep Cover swallowed. “And hey, tomorrow, if you’re not still busy studyin’ or whatever, you should join us. We were gonna get lunch, me and her, and... well she’s just a sweet mare, and you two squabblin’ really hurt—”

“Okay I get it,” Star Power blurted out, the words coming quick and sharp. Deep Cover snapped her mouth shut immediately. “Yeah, you have the power to make me feel bad. Don’t do it again.”

“Sorry, sugarcube,” Deep Cover said slowly. “I didn’t mean to... well. I guess it’s my turn to apologize.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t say anything wrong. That just got to me a little.” Star Power’s words were quick, and a bit clipped, and Deep Cover only nodded in response. They played out several turns of the game in silence, with pieces moving quickly to the board.

Nearly ten turns later, Star Power spoke again, “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Well... not to put too fine a point on it, darlin’, but all I did was wheedle a bit so y’all’d feel bad for me. I’d bet bits to wooden nickels that you’ve done that at least once in your life.” Deep Cover’s voice was firm, but without reproach, and she sat forward a bit. “Everypony has.”

“Yeah, when I was a kid and I really wanted something, maybe!” Star Power snorted, her gaze fixed firmly on the board. “I wasn’t thinking ‘Let’s see how I can make somepony feel bad.’”

“That’s kinda my point.” The conversation entered a lull as Deep Cover considered her turn at length. The mess in the opposite corner was spreading across the board in opposing lines of white and black, with Deep Cover’s staggered formations standing opposed to Star Power’s neat white lines. She spent nearly a full thirty second considering her turn in silence, and it was only when she had placed her piece that she spoke again.

“Nopony thinks about it—‘less they’re a sociopath I guess. When you were little and did that, you weren’t tryin’ to hurt your parents, you just wanted your toy or whatever. And when they gave in to your other requests, they weren’t thinkin’ ‘I better do this or she’ll make me feel bad.’ But just like some part of you knew what you were doin’, some part of them knew you could.”

Deep Cover gestured down at the board, and then up at her hat, tipping the Stetson. “It’s like how in the game, I don’t have to put a piece somewhere for you to know I could, and that changes your strategy. Or with Applejack. Sure, she ain’t thinkin’ ‘I need to be nice to my family because they got a grip on my heart tighter’n a badger’s teeth.’ She’s thinkin’ she needs to be nice to her family because she loves them. But there’s a part of her that’s doin’ that math, and it influences her more than she’ll ever know or admit.”

“That’s how you see Applejack?” Star Power leaned back from the board. “Some... what? Rube? Just trying to avoid her family leaving her?”

“No. No. It’s like...” Deep Cover swirled her hoof in the air. “Like the Switchgrass family. They’re the farmponies who helped me get all ready for the role? Let me make a fool of myself for a month more like. I ain’ never done an honest day’s work in my life before that, and after feelin’ what it’s like, I aim never to do one from this point forward.” She smiled, but Star Power didn’t smile back.

“Anyway,” Deep Cover continued after a small silence. “Point is, they were nice ponies. They were carryin’ two haybales at a time when I could barely lift one; I got in the way all the time; I threw out the clutch on the tractor; I dropped things, spilled things, you name it. Never once did they raise their voices to me, except once when I was negligent instead of just wrong. As long as I was tryin’ to learn, they were eager to help me. I still write to ’em today. But—and this is a big but—they had a lot of sheep workin’ on that farm.”

“So?” Star Power asked, though her voice was quieter, and she hesitated. “A lot of sheep work on farms. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Not in theory, no. But when they’re getting paid a percentage of their own wool? A low percentage?” Deep Cover’s tail lashed. “There was plenty on that farm that made me want to go, ‘Hoo, girl. Y’all do know the Confederacy lost the war, right?’”

“Is that why you throw a hissy fit every time we do one of those sheep or cow herding scenes?” Star Power asked, earning a sharp glare in response.

“Sayin’ that I ain’t gonna have my name and face plastered on that horsehockey ain’t a hissy fit.” She growled the words out, and Star Power’s ears folded back at once. “That scene with... what was her name? Moorellia? The cow, whatever. It was bad enough as we shot it, even with her sellin’ her milk. If we’d done the version where she’s just givin’ it to Applejack?”

“I didn’t think of it that way,” Star Power said quickly, tapping her forehooves together.

Deep Cover’s expression softened. “I know. It’s okay. I wasn’t accusin’ you of anythin’. That’s kind of the point, actually.” Deep Cover lowered her neck to catch Star Power’s eyes, and she gradually raised her head. Star’s ears rose as well, until the two were level again. “The Switchgrasses... well, shucks. I can get to the point. They were really nice, really understandin’, and racist as all get out. Not because they were evil, but just because that was how they were raised and they didn’t think about it too much. It don’t undo all the nice things they did for me. Do you follow?”

“Uh... I think so.” Star Power paused. “So, like, Applejack is a rube who is secretly afraid of her family leaving her, but she’s also a really nice, dependable pony? So it’s not all bad?”

“Good and bad is the wrong way to think about it. Your turn, by the way.” Deep Cover gestured at the board, the conversation lapsing into silence as Star Power considered her turn. With fresh eyes, she saw that her position was not as strong as she might have hoped. Her long lines and box formations were disrupted at multiple points by Deep Cover’s staggered arrangements, but whenever she considered placing one of her white tokens among the black, she realized it would be quickly trapped.

“So I’m trying to form a circle, right?” Star Power asked. “Or a box. So I can capture territory?”

“You’re tryin’ to win the game,” Deep Cover replied. “Lines—and boxes by extension—can be a good way to do that because they connect pieces, and connectin’ pieces can make them harder to capture. But if you see one of your lines gettin’ disrupted? Don’t think about how you fix the line. Think about how you win the game. Might be that the line ain’t servin’ its purpose.”

Star Power nodded, her horn shimmering as her token weaved indecisively over the board. Finally, she placed it. “There. So, good and bad isn’t how you think about it?”

“Right. I mean sure, some ponies are sadists or get off on seein’ others hurt or whatnot, and I guess you could call that bad if you want. But ponies like that...” Deep Cover sharply flicked her tail. “They ain’t the rule. With the Switchgrasses, the only difference between me and the sheep was that if I got lonely and sad, that made them hurt, but if the sheep got upset, that didn’t. That means that I had power over them—or a little anyways—and that the sheep didn’t. That’s the core of it. Everythin’ else followed from that.”

“And that isn’t bad?” Star Power asked. “Them not caring if somepony, er, somesheep else gets hurt?”

“Depends. How many beggars did you pass on the way to work today?” Deep Cover asked, quirking a small smile as she did. Star Power lifted a hoof to her mouth, a blush coming to her cheeks as her ears tilted back. “See what I mean? No, don’t feel bad.” She lifted a hoof. “I don’t give money to beggars neither. But the point is hearin’ them plead didn’t make you feel a thing, but I bet if I walked in sayin’ I’d lost my bags and needed six bits for the bus, you’d feel at least a little guilty if you said no.”

“But that’s different,” Star Power replied, a little insistent. “If I gave you six bits, it would be a one-time thing. The ponies on the street will be there every day.”

“Sure, there’s reasons some ponies got power over you and some don’t.” Deep Cover nodded. “Sometimes even good reasons. Like, basic example, you’d feel a lot worse watchin’ an innocent pony get roughed up than watchin’ a criminal get hauled off to jail. But at the instinctual level, like—the fundamental level? Reason don’t enter into it. Reason ain’t what drives ponies.”

“I think that might be the most cynical thing I’ve ever heard,” said Star Power, momentarily refocusing her eyes on the board. It was getting crowded, and they’d gone a long time without any captures as increasingly complex patterns and lines wove across the table. “And completely wrong besides. What about positive emotions? What about love?”

“Mutually assured destruction,” Deep Cover replied. “Sure, you can hurt your spouse somethin’ deep, but they can hurt you too. So neither of you ever will, which is safe, and safe feels good. So, love feels good.”

“No, that’s the most cynical thing I’ve ever heard.” Star Power giggled. “Wait, so according to you, love is MADness?”

“Y’all are the one that said it, not me.” Deep Cover shrugged, though a small smile appeared on her face as well.

“A ridiculous sentiment, even?” Star laughed again. “Wow, changelings really are your spirit animal.”

“I suppose so,” Deep Cover said. She didn’t elaborate, taking her turn as Star giggled. But before she could speak again, Star Power reached out to touch her foreleg.

“No,” Star said. She paused a moment to suppress her laughter, forcing a more serious expression on to her face. “No, I’m sorry for laughing. It does seem a little crazy to me, but I’m not laughing at you, I’m curious. So is that how you see method acting? Understanding how your character sees power deep down?” Deep Cover nodded. “So how does Applejack see it then?”

“Her family would be the startin’ point,” Deep Cover said, pausing to lay her piece on the board. “They got her fixed two ways from Sunday. See, Twilight and etcetera, they’re friends sure, and yeah it would hurt if they went off their own way, but with family it’s more than that. They ain’t just ponies she cares about and spends a lotta time with. So much of who she is is tied up with how the Apple family stays together. So much that she just about ripped out her heart and put it in their hooves, so you best believe she feels every twitch of their legs and every groove in their horseshoes.”

“I’m not sure I see that.” Star Power bit her lip, then spoke again. “I mean, I think if she was always worrying about her family, she’d be a lot more controlling or possessive.”

“Didn’t say she was always worryin’,” Deep Cover said. “Your parents got a heck of a lot of power over you—and mine over me, point in fact—but we don’t spend all day and night worryin’ what they think of us.”

“No, that uh... that would be a little crazy,” Star Power agreed. “But, okay. What about Twilight then? How does Applejack feel about her?”

“It ain’t about feelin’s, remember.” Deep Cover twitched an ear, glancing off into the room before returning her gaze to Star Power. “But complicated. Twilight’s got some power over her, sure, but more than that, Twilight’s drawin’ her out into this bigger world. Used to be nothin’ outside her farm and family could do her a lick of harm, but now? Now she’s gotta care about Celestia and Equestria and the Crystal Empire and Discord and who knows what else. Leaves her mighty vulnerable.” Deep Cover took a turn. “That’s why she goes outta her way to be nice to Twilight. Finds excuses to engage with her and such.”

“If hanging out with her new friends makes her so vulnerable, why doesn’t she cut them off?” Star Power asked. “I mean, go back to her farm.”

“Because on the farm, her family has her. It’s the good and the bad, see,” she explained, laying her token. “When a few ponies got all the power over you, sure, maybe you can ride it clean—but if they decide to hurt you bad, you’re gonna feel it. When that same power’s split up between a lot of ponies? One of them will hurt you, sure as sure, but you’ll survive. Same with AJ. Twilight gives her that freedom, so she can’t get encircled. Sure, sometimes her family will show up in her life. She ain’ never gonna be able to change that. But now her position’s stronger.”

“I thought you just said her position was more vulnerable?” Star Power asked.

“It’s both,” Deep Cover insisted. “It doesn’t have those nice, straight lines. It’s not gonna be a clean win. She can’t box up her whole board in one go. So she’s vulnerable. A ragged line—that’s gonna lose places. But it’s also gonna win the game.” Deep Cover took her turn. “Speakin’ of.”

Star Power looked down at the board. She squinted. “I haven’t lost.”

Deep Cover twitched her tail and smiled. “I’m pretty sure you have.”

The next five turns passed quickly. The next twenty after that passed slowly, as Star Power considered every move at length. Her placements became slow and erratic, while Deep Cover’s were quick and precise. The lines that earlier had seemed ragged suddenly solidified into eyes that prevented capture, and encircling formations that swept white tokens from the board. Star moved to seal off a few of her own arrangements, but she could recognize a crushing defeat when she saw it, and soon lifted her hoof to her temples.

“Pass,” she finally called. “And game. You know there’s such a thing as going easy on a beginner.”

“I prefer it my way,” Deep Cover said with a quick and neat cadence, sliding from the bed and giving a long stretch of her back legs. “But, if y’all’d like the chance to give me my just desserts, I could be persuaded to see my way to a rematch. Maybe make it a regular thing?”

“Oh, uh... yeah!” Star Power nodded. “Uh, maybe now?”

“I’d love to, but I should get back on out. I don’t want to miss my family if they’re early—waitin’ don’t help Ma’s mood none.” Deep Cover slid the tokens off the board, but before she could sort them, Star Power’s unicorn magic made them all float. The tokens zipped back into their bags, returning to the shelf along with the board. “I had a lotta fun though, Star. Thanks for listenin’ to me yap about actin’.”

“Oh, sure thing. Good luck with your family.” Star watched as Deep Cover trotted back into the studio, but before she left, Star rose from the bed. “Cover. Hold on.” Deep Cover stopped, looking back over her shoulder. “After all this—okay, I’m sorry if this is rude, but, like, can I hear you say something without the accent? Please?”

Deep Cover mulled over the request for a moment, flicking her tail to and fro. Then she spoke, “Look, Twilight, let’s be honest here,” she answered, in a perfect imitation of Rainbow Dash’s voice. “I’ve got like, this whole thing going? And it is way too awesome to blow, so, not happening.” Deep Cover grinned, resuming her march to the door.

“Cover! You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Catch you later, Twi!” shouted ‘Rainbow Dash’ as Deep Cover pushed her way out of the studio doors and they slammed shut behind her.

Star Power snorted, lashed her tail, and only gradually returned to the bed. She did not pick the book up right away, but instead twisted and turned. She looked through the shelves without picking anything up, and then pulled the Go board over to angrily stare at it.

Finally, after ten fitful minutes, she managed to calm down enough to focus on her words again, and resumed her reading.

Author's Note

Continued in the sequel, Butter Up.