Applejack took a deep breath, and lifted a shaking hoof up to the crystal blue door. Come on, you can do it! The farm mare gulped, and tried in vain to still her drumming heart. Why was this so hard?

The warm coated mare's hoof shook slightly, and she brought it back down on the steps with a  frustrated thud. She adjusted her stetson hat atop her honey colored hair, that spilled out from underneath it, and sighed: a tired and heavy sound.

Applejack's hoof rose up again, and this time the pony nodded her head in defiance.

Twilight will surely understand! She  would never take my feelings lightly!

With those thoughts parading relentlessly around in Applejack's mind, she finally knocked on the double doors. There was a moment of silence in which Applejack could hear every pound of her anxious pulse, despite the mundane noises outside of her. She bit her lip.

The pause was soon broken by the sound of a voice calling out, and the clops of hoof steps from the stairs inside. "I'm coming, hold on!" Twilight, or rather, the Princess answered, presumably stumbling down the staircase. The alicorn made a huffing sound and flung open the door to reveal the farm mare.

"Oh, hey there, Applejack," she said, leaning against the wall in a casual manner, but Applejack could see the bags under her lavender eyes.

Twilight adjusted a fluffy, purple scarf around her neck with her cutie mark etched into the fabric, and smiled tiredly. "It's pretty chilly out, isn't it? I was up all night studying for a paper to the princess, and just decided to throw this thing on. Nice, huh?" She stared past Applejack at the autumn foliage, and the amber leaves scattered across her yard.

When her friend didn't respond, Twilight snapped back to attention, and winced. Small clouds of air billowed around the farm mare's muzzle. "Oh, gosh, Applejack-I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? Please, come in!" She stumbled back and motioned for Applejack to follow, who gave a begrudging smile.

"Thank ya kindly, Twilight, but it's fine."

Twilight giggled, and shut the door behind her, turning to the mare. "Now let's get some nice hot tea and-" she broke off when she noticed Applejack's expression, a mix of worry and sadness. Twilight's face softened, and she leaned forward.

"What's wrong? Are-Are you okay? You seem upset. This is a problem, right? I need to help, Applejack! Please tell me what's wrong!" Her hooves were fluttering everywhere, and her eyes were wide in panic. Applejack grinned, and placed a hoof on her fluffy chest. "Woah, girl, gettin' a little flustered now?"

Twilight blushed, and nodded. "I'm sorry," she took a deep breath,"I didn't mean to be overbearing or anything-I just didn't get much sleep and...." she trailed off with a lopsided grin.

That's adorkable, right there. Applejack crinkled her emerald eyes at her friend in amusement.

"How 'bout the tea first, sugarcube? Ah could always use something to....calm mah nerves." Anything to stall. A small bead a sweat dripped down her cheek.

The lavender mare's eyes lit up, and she staggered to the kitchen area. "Yes! Tea! Tea cures just about anything, Celestia has always said!"

Twilight trotted to the stove, where she began to brew a fresh batch of tea. Soon, the whole room was filled with the relaxing and fragrant scent of chamomile tea, its steam rising up and warming the farm mare considerably.

Applejack sunk her haunches into the soft chair besides her, and allowed herself to fall back against the pillow in a sense of calm. She will understand.

When the Princess returned, Applejack had fallen into a stupor, staring through half-lidded eyes at the wall.

"Okay, Applejack, here you go," she said, levitating the steaming mug to the mare's hooves with ease. Applejack grasped it between her forelegs, and took a gentle sip after blowing on it. After a moment of silence, the alicorn settled down on the couch opposite her, and placed a smile on her soft face.

"Talk to me."

Oh boy.

Applejack placed her warm mug down on the small table besides her, and sat a bit straighter in her position. "Twilight," she began uneasily. How to say this?

"How does it feel....ta be an alicorn?"

Twilight flinched, and her bright eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in confusement. "To be a Princess?" she whispered. Applejack shook her head vigorously, and tilted her worn hat back on head, before removing it all together.

"Nah, Twi, Ah mean alicorn. Ta' fancy tiny race with the power of wings an' a horn for their lives. What does it feel like?"

The Princess clutched her own wings by her side self consciously, and glanced up at her horn. "It feels....nice," she said simply, a wisp of a voice. Twilight sighed. "It feels like, power, I guess." Applejack glanced up in her eyes. "It's nice," Twilight repeated, again.

But then Twilight shook herself like a dog, and grimaced. "Applejack, why-why are you asking me these things?" her voice cracked slightly.

Applejack folded her arms over each other, her lips set into a thin line. "Twi, ya have these....power, these abilities to do almost anything ya want."

The alicorn's mouth gaped open, but she didn't say anything. "Rainbow, that gal can go ta anyplace she she wants, and heck, she's the fastest flier in Equestria, in mah opinion. She can soar around to her heart's content, feeling the wind whip back her mane, and the freedom of the open skies. Rainbow....she's free."

"Fluttershy, bless her sweet soul, she's the kindest thing I've ever met-she cares for the animals like there's no tomorrow. She may not be the quickest flier out there, but she can go up, visit 'er childhood friend in the clouds, soar like a graceful butterfly."

Rarity, ya know she's got an eye for fashion, she can sew any dress faster than a rattle snake in a pool 'o water. Her magic-levitation,to be precise, I think she hides how much talent she's got. But whenever you see that brilliant blue glow, ya know Rarity's whippin' up some fancy design."

"That pink friend of ours, let me tell ya, she's an interesting little thing. Got the laughter of a thousand hyenas, and could make me giggle for days on end. She's eccentric, an amazin' ball 'o fun, and Ah will never quite understand how she works. She got a magic all of her own, jumping here an' there, pulling things out of thin air, making the gloomiest of ponies burst out in song. Pinkie Pie's somethin' alright. She's perfectly content."

"And ya, Twilight? Do Ah even need to explain? You've got it all, the wings to visit the rainbows and purple thunderstorms. The strongest horn to do all that ya need, see into the most amazin' aspect of life and understand it all. Ya even got Celestia to see it!"

"But...what am Ah? I have no magic, no talent, nothing. Ah'm just a plain old earth pony, anypony can see that. A boring old farmer, that is shocked to even be ya friend."

Applejack's throat had become increasingly dry during her speech, and she grabbed the now lukewarm tea and swallowed a couple gulps.

"........"

She looked up from her drink and saw Twilight staring silently at her. The farm mare flushed darkly, and she wiped her upper lip quickly. Why did I do this?

Shaking, Applejack shifted in her chair, and gripped the cup tightly.

"Have you really been feeling this, all this time?"

Applejack nodded mutely.

Twilight brushed her indigo bangs from her eyes, and groaned quietly to herself. "Celestia, help me, I knew this day would come."

Applejack's heart skipped a beat, and the ears that had been pressed against her head raised. "Come again?" she whispered in her country drawl.

Twilight stood up, and then sat back down. She shot a glance at the windows, before shuttering them with a burst of her magic. Twilight licked her lips nervously. "It's -kinda confidential, from the princess to me. But Applejack, do you really want to know?"

I'm not sure what, but if it'll help... Applejack nodded, slowly.

"Okay..." Twilight exhaled. "Applejack, first of all, you're not "plain and boring". You're one of my best friends for a reason, because you sweet, dependable, and kind, and most definitely honest. You run one of the best farms in Equestria! And you're an element of harmony, for ponies sake? Can't you cut yourself some slack?"

Applejack blushed modestly at the complements, but then her ears fell back. I dont deserve it.

"But why can't Ah have-Ah mean-why is this-" she cut herself off from the lump in her throat. "Why can't Ah have magic too?" There, she had said it. Twilight must think me such a fool, acting like a little foal begging for more cookies. But she did have power, maybe one that could change a certain earth pony..

To Applejack's horror, she felt the beginning of tears on her cheek. For so long I.....

The farm mare found herself suddenly embraced by two small lavender arms, and a warm face nuzzled into her chest. Applejack looked down at Twilight, who pulled away rather bashfully, her eyes a bit wet.

"No, Applejack. Don't say those things, don't act like that! You'll-you'll make me cry!" The alicorn rubbed her eyes, and returned to her seat. She cleared her throat, and leaned forward."Please, just listen."

Applejack stayed silent.

"A long, long time ago, back when Celestia was ruling by herself, as Luna was in the moon, things were.....different. Celestia tried to make them see other wise at first, but the ponies of the land, they had gotten it into their heads that-that earth ponies were of a lower class."

Applejack sucked in a breath.

"They believed that earth ponies had no power, and were only there to work the fields of their betters."

Applejack's eyes began to water, and she sunk further back into the pillow.

"But, you know what? They were all wrong. Earth ponies are just as important as unicorns or pegasi."

She reached out a hoof to Applejack.

"They have magic, too." Twilight's last words were hushed.

Applejack felt her heart race, and she sat up in anticipation. What-what did she say?

"Why didn't Celestia, Ah mean, why don't earth ponies lik' me know?" Applejack rasped.

"Because-" Twilight rubbed her chin in anxiety. "Oh, gosh," she mumbled under her breath. "Princess Celestia knew that earth ponies had a special magic inside of them, because she could recognize a spark in their soul, just like she did for me when I was accepted as her student. She saw this, but Celestia, and the whole of her kingdom had become accepted to the division of races, and their abilities. True, racism like that has ended, but there was still a belief that never passed as the generations continued to grow."

"The reason she held this still was because their spark was so weak, too little to compare to the others. The ponies wanted to stick to what they knew, and not change it after the years of separation. But the most important aspect was how incredibly difficult it was to unlock it. Very much so, Applejack. It would take many tiresome years for a regular earth pony to gain the strength to test their skills. And Celestia didn't feel her kingdom could handle such an outrageous change."

"But I think Celestia was wrong. She was wrong to hold back such a thing from their land, all because of some silly belief. Imagine how much Equestria could benefit from such a skill, held secret for a millennium, hmm?"

Applejack hardly registered that Twilight had finished speaking because the only think that was going through her mind was; I could do magic the whole time?

"Ah have magic?" she rasped.

Twilight nodded, her anxious, secretive look replaced by that of glee.

"Ah have magic?!" Applejack shrieked again, it rolling off her tongue like a foreign word. She clamped a hoof over her mouth, and looked to Twilight, who giggled. Then the alicorn's face grew solemn.

"Celestia, I admire her so, but sometimes her judgements can be so ........biased, Applejack," a breath. "Your spark is much stronger than all the other earth ponies'. The Princess, she sensed it when she first met you Applejack, but hid it."

"You have true potential," Twilight said finally, a hint of excitement lacing her words.

Applejack almost felt like fainting, but she regained herself quick enough to ask another question.

"What can Ah do?!" she squeaked.

Twilight grinned. "Oh, you can do so much with the earth, the mind, the world!  There's too much to explain right now! You have so much to learn! It's time the world saw a real magical earth pony!"

The farm mare pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Can-can ya teach me?" Applejack gripped the edge of her seat. It was all happening so fast!

Twilight shook her head. "I can't. But I know who can. After hearing about your side of the story, I'm sure Princess Luna would love to take you under her wing."

Next Chapter: Secrets and Lies Estimated time remaining: 12 Minutes