Immediately following the events of Appletheosis, Applejack must relearn her place in the world as the new Princess Mara of Equestria. Meanwhile, her family and friends have their own troubles with the changes. Through it all, little Merry May, first in the service of her goddess, tries to hold things together and keep everypony sane and happy.
I won't tell you what to do, (this time) but reading Appletheosis first is highly recommended. The Shadow of the Goddess also provides useful background and will become very relevant in later chapters.
Chapters (7)
At long last! The first chapter arrives! I know that there's a place to put author's notes in the chapter itself, but I'm keeping them in the comments until something convinces me otherwise. As always, your comments motivate me to write my best, you rock!
Insta-fave and thumb up.
Now to read the chapter.
Edit:
Finished reading.
Is Twilight jealous? Seems like it... what with AJ/Mara having to spend the rest of eternity with Celestia...
Do continue.
Third. I'm sure this is going to be good
So Twilight is potentially a little troubled because Applejack gets to spend the rest of eternity with her mentor? I'd be a bit narked too.
Also, Merry May is best knight.
This was a nice surprise, hmmmm.
I hope AJ doesn't seriously want Merry to always speak like her. And tutoring in legal nonsense....fun.
Huzzah!, can't wait to see more of this. As well as get an explanation of why Twilight's acting like a twit this time *grins and rolls eyes*
Why do I see Celestia enchanting that hat so the bronze decorations will not come off period? tis the Season to Troll the new Princess....
Mac was an artillery gunner? Neat, I wonder what rank he eventually had.
1816087 - Indeed, I expect there's more than a little repressed anger over that. That Applejack has become a sister to her Mentor by fluke of fate. Or could just be good old wing-envy.
I expect it's several reasons, one... AJ is hardly Princess material, being uncultured and having a fairly limited viewpoint, intentionally. AJ is happy with her life and never did seem to me like she's willing to really expand her boundries. Now she's a princess so she doesn't have much choice and Twilight recognizes this incompatibility.
Then again, could be Twilight just want's to be an Alicorn herself, I mean... who wouldn't? Lord knows Rarity would jump at the chance.
Alright, let's get to reading...
Poor Twilight is feeling jealous.
First AJ becomes an alicorn instead of her then she finds out that Big Mac may be smarter than her!
Keep the faith Twily! It will get better!
Okay, Twi's reaction to Mac's math ability was interesting. I can't wait to see what you do with that.
Do I smell a TwilightxMac background romance? Or just jealousy?
He knows math, Twilight! And he's a Prince! Hmn, now that I think about it, maybe it's more likely that Rarity would be interested.
Is Twilight...jealous?
YESSSSSSS I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG LOL JK
But I have been looking forward to this
Vecters n' trajecters... hehe.
Hmm... What's up with Twi'?
Poor Twi.
Um, can somepony remind me, did we ever find out WHY Applejack was chosen to be a goddess? If so, I forgot, and I don't have the time to reread the whoe original story.1815938 Maybe you can remind me?
Huzzah, The first chapter finally here!!!
Oh this has made my day,
1816040
Celestia AND Spike.
1816402
How could I forget him... Argh...
Just read this, it's awesome, you rock, I'm gonna play some games now.
Hooray, turban!
Yep, that's the most important and interesting thing about this chapter.
And then Twilight turned herself into an alicorn
1816387 I don't remember anypony making a choice about it, it just seemed sort of like an act of, er, nature.
I don't think Twilight is jealous. I think she's more worried that she may never see her friend as often. Maybe she's even dreading the fact that Applejack will eventually outlive her.
I'm not dismissing the jealousy claim though. Twilight would like to be with Celestia more. However, she probably has seen a lot of the behind-the-scenes action on politics while she was staying at Canterlot Castle. She might not exactly desire the lifestyle of listening to "average" citizens whine about rich-pony problems (assuming that the average citizens are mostly made up of ponies who paid a lot on their political campaigns).
Sequel! Awesome.
I'm already wondering how the Diamond Tiara's going to react to her archrival becoming a for-real princess.
Yesh been waitin fer dis
>> 1816419 Well, Spike will eventually die as well, but he will have a much longer lifespan (probably along the lines of 1000 years tops though).
Green isn't your color, either, Twi.
I suspect Twilight is doubting the capabilities of the new princess. Questioning the wisdom of... whatever the heck made this choice's selection.
gifninja.com/animatedgifs/212050/surprise-its-mlp.gif
I found my third "Applejack is an alicorn" story.
But then again, I love these stories.
Please keep going.
Big Mack and Prince Blueblood need to meet
After should be capitalized.
W00t! It's out! I can't wait for updates...
I want more of Prince Mac!
Twilight shouldn't be so jealous. There's an entire group on this site for Alcorn Twilight fiction. Give someone else a chance at godhood for a change Twi : ajbemused:.
1817224
I actually want to see this too, make it happen Blue Print, Hillarity will ensue.
And as in uffish thought she stood,
The McIntosh with eyes aflame,
Came whiffling through the tulgy wood,
And burbled as he came.
Why hello there, that was fast.
Very good, I get the feeling that Twilight is going to have a meltdown over the immortality thing, if Applejack doesn't first. Is it bad that I really want Twi' and Mac to get together.
This chapter seems a lot technically weaker than the previous story. Comma splices abound, sentence structure is repetitive, and there are a bunch of capitalization errors. I remember the previous story being a lot better. Did some of the prereaders not get back to you?
Two things.. awesome writing as usual... but does any1 else ever consider other long lived creatures making their way into these alicorn fics? I never see undead, other dragons, ego-manics with live forever spells ( http://www.dota2wiki.com/wiki/Invoker )
Hmm... Twi wondering why not her, or possibly wondering what it's going to be like knowing one of her best friends will now live forever? Only time will tell...
Definitely watching this. I wonder what's eating Twilight, thought?
Heh, there's a story idea. "What's Eating Twilight Sparkle?"
Pinkie: "I'm going higher!"
I am such a bastard.
Applejack just went from earth pony to suddenly having more magic than Twilight. Twilight's entire purpose in life just got uprooted. When it was Celestia and Luna, it was fine - they were around long before her. AJ pops into an alicorn one night, around the same age as Twilight, and is more powerful than her even though she knows squat about real spellcasting.
Twi is right to feel weird, she just had her whole world snatched away from her unintentionally. Everything she knows about herself is in question now. "What's the point of being the most magically talented unicorn alive if an earthpony can suddenly turn into a goddess overnight?"
1816176
Quicker, not smarter. He could calculate a problem pretty fast, but that doesn't mean he would be able to do more complex equations and calculations.
1818282 1816040 1816087 1816108 1816163 1816176 1816201 1816265 1816294 1816361 et al.
I think Twi might be jealous - her best friend got picked seemingly at random to ascend into godhood, and she's wondering, "What am I, chopped liver?" She might also be a little nervous about Applejack spending less time with her, or maybe even becoming like those pompous, self-centered jack
es in canterlot. On top of that, what made Applejack ascend is an enigma, and we all know our favorite scholar's perceptions of enigmas... 
It could also be wounded pride hearing Big Mac is "better" at mathematics than she is. Honestly, though, it seems like Applejack's opinion would be biased, and that Twilight wouldn't be that believing without empirical evidence to back up AJ's claims. Sure, Mac balances the financial books of Sweet Apple Acres, but Twi uses advanced mathematics everyday in her spellwork.
1816136
fa la la la la, la la la la. Mess her hat up, make it shiny, fa la la la la, la la la la.
1818291
You bring up a decent point, too. "What's to keep other ponies from spontaneously ascending? Is my purpose in life to have everypony I know constantly passing me by?" For her one true purpose in life to suddenly be shaken, this is going to be very, very difficult for her to deal with.
1816040 I will continue indeed, though Twilight's thoughts are a closed book for the moment.
1816078 Assuredly.
1816087 May I say that 'nark' is one of the best words ever? Also, eeyup. Merry May, La Cheval Sans Peur et Sans Reproche. (Yes, I know that the french is incorrect, but, ponies.)
1816104 Equestrian legal system?
3.bp.blogspot.com/-CnOWqTGqXIY/Tr2k8QFqYoI/AAAAAAAATww/pDh9Qyyqxls/s1600/83255+-+Ace_Attorney+The_Great_And_Powerful_Trixie+Trixie+franziska_von_karma+objection+parody.png
I kid.
1816108 Oh, Twilight, you so silly.
1816136 That's a very reasonable guess. No promises though.
1816153 That's something I need to research a bit more, actually.
1816163 Well, I can promise that it isn't just one thing that's got her down.
1816176
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/072/2/c/hang_in_there_pony_by_tess_27-d4sorvv.png
1816201 It plays a role. What role, I won't say.
1816265 Um, I'm not shipping, not at the moment anyway. *checks* Nope, no romance tag so far. If I was to ship somepony based on this chapter, I would be more likely to say Merrimack. (Best shipping name ever)
1816279 Hah, RariMac amuses me. One's a high-class fashionista trying to hide her country roots, the other is a down to earth farmer who just wants to put in an honest day's work, together, they fight crime! ... Hmmm... I may do a one-shot on that...
1816294 Oooh! The Thick Plottens!
1816320 I KNOW! It took me years of preparation to get this ready for you guys.
1816327 Can you tell that I've taken engineering calculus?
1816361 She's just being a grumpy-pants. You'll see what it is as the story unfolds.
1816387 I left it deliberately mysterious in Appletheosis. It was mentioned that she was 'chosen by Harmony' Harmony plays the role of a sort of guiding spirit or force in my mythology. Kind of like the Roman 'goddess' Ananke. It's not really personified, but more of a general rightness behind nature.
1816400 Wow, that's awesome. If I can make one person happy, I'm happy.
1816402>>1816419 Important to note.
1816464 Maybe, we'll see.
1816480
3.bp.blogspot.com/-77Cw07RYgp8/TZ7F_GVQDrI/AAAAAAAADOM/Wgi3U_y0Nqc/s1600/Trixie_delivers_a_brutal_Shoryuken_to_Twilight-%2528n1302235831361%2529.png
1816560 Um, I hope not... But thanks I guess...
1816643 "No Twilight, you are the goddesses." And then Twilight was an alicorn.
1816658 Pretty much.
1816665 The reasons behind her mood are multifarious.
1816702 Haha, Apple Bloom will tell us all about it when she gets back.
1816760 Well, wait no longer!
1816778 Good point. I've established the lifespan of a princess as unfathomably long. Dragons are still a bit in the air.
1816858 Heh, reference joke!
1816858 It's kinda hard to argue with a non-corporeal, unincarnated metaphysical entity though.
1817167 When I started writing Appletheosis, there weren't really any. It's become kind of a thing all at once.
1817224 Yes they do.
1817320 Fixed.
1817553 I know, right?
1817558 It was always gonna happen.
1817600 That is the best thing I have ever seen.
1817749 I just don't see the TwiMac in this chapter... They were on the opposite side of town.
1817851 Truth is, while I have had a lot of prereaders, I have never had a proofreader. Comma splices, maybe, I wrote this with a head cold. Capitalization, no. You are, to the best of my knowledge, incorrect. I fixed the one legitimate capitalization error long before you read and did a careful scan of the document looking for others. The only place where I might be mistaken is in failing to capitalize 'princess Apple Bloom' which is really a matter of style. Don't go quoting manuals at me. The Queen of England would frown on that. If you have another, unrelated example and would like to discuss it, please send me a PM. I would love to fix it if there is a genuine problem. Thanks!
1817897 Well, I have actually written about an egomaniac with a live-forever spell. See: The Shadow of the Goddess.
1818186 She's got several things on her mind. Not all of which she even realizes bug her.
1818282 What?
1818291 Well said, but that isn't all of it.
1818330 Then again, he can also calculate vecters and trajecters.
1818407 Again, that's not all of it. But also well said.
[Edit:] Once again, Fimfiction strips my ludicrously long comments of emoticons. Grr...
[Edit Edit:] Fixed!
1818437 That role is what I'm excited about. An accurate portrayal of Twilight's character could result in anything from a dogged attempt to see this mathematical skill in action to attempting to pressure Mac into applying those abilities else where. I expect great things from you, sir!
1818407
Given that Twilight's hitching facial features occurred before AJ mentioned Mac's mathematical prowess, I'd say it's less that and more "what am I, chopped daisies?"
1818437
There's a movie called What's Eating Gilbert Grape. It's rather... interesting. Thinking of what's eating Twilight Sparkle made me think of a terrible, horrible crossover. The fact that in my comment I cast Pinkie in the role of the "special" younger brother of the named protagonist means I'm going to Hell.