The Faith of Carrot Top

by Dawn Stripes

Closing Notes

Let's see, how do I possibly go about summing this up?

It's been fun.

Three, nearly four times over the last couple years of Bronydom, I found equines swirling too much in my head to let me write anything else. Thrice I began to pen literature under that dreaded label--'fanfiction' (insert some spooky noises for full effect)--and thrice I threw it away as garbage.
But as Celestia has hopefully taught us, labels will not get you far in life. Eventually, I said to myself, 'Dawn, you'll never get this out of your system until you buckle down and really do it.'
I am so glad that I did. I'd like to thank every single reader who showed their appreciation, which means, perhaps, more to me than you will ever know. I'd also like to give a shout-out to all of my friends on mlpforums--'Dennis', if you're reading this, Rainbow Dash still loves you <3. Last, but not least, my heartfelt appreciation goes to Lauren Faust for everything she has taught me. Taught us.
I'd start thanking my favorite fan-fic authors too, but we'd be here all day.

I'm not going to discuss the story itself here. I have said exactly what I meant to say over the past 70,000 words. In fact, in the comments I've probably already said too much. I am at great risk for becoming one of those authors who hovers obsessively over every single comment made about their story. It's not my job to explain what I've said any more than I already have.
That's your job.

I have ideas for a sort of spiritual sequel to The Faith of Carrot Top, and--who knows?--someday I may write it. But the truth is, I need to take a little hiatus from Equestria. There's a whole universe out there to explore, and I can't let ponies monopolize my imagination all the time, as fun as that may be. So this is farewell, for now. I have one final thank-you to present: to all of bronydom, for the past two years of life, laughter, and friendship. I dedicate this work to all the poor lads who fancy ponies, and I enjoin upon you the truth of love which lives in every heart.

Och! May the Light shine upon you all of your days.

Author's Note:

EDIT: Sequel (actually a prequel) has been written. You can find it here.

Comments

[DominiusTWD]

poor carrot top

[warpd]

The trials of faith. She was chasing after a man that did not belong in that world. Celestia showing up in the end showed that. Still curious on how Lyra's story with her human ended.

Thank you for the fine story. Hope you continue to enjoy the joy of writing. Look forward to your future work.

[Azure Blackstone]

4594968 This times like a thousand. Why did it have to end so sadly?

[Deadinlight]

alt end: day walks in and sees nothing out of the ordinary. goes into the bedroom and sees them talking. he asks whats going on and allie explains that she wanted to make sure he was okay with everything before it happened. So they move into it slowly after he explains how he feels about it.

all of that..but with more flair and enjoyment for everyone.

[DominiusTWD]

4595357

i was rooting for a happy ending for them, ah well. tragedy at its finest

[Azure Blackstone]

4595720 The thing that bugs me is that Day literally just got sat down and told to not break her heart and then he does it anyway. Either he's a complete asshole who threw all his newly-learnt morals to the wind or the author was feeling in a funny mood. It just doesn't sit right with me.

[DominiusTWD]

4595733

well from what i can see day is in his first ever relationship with the first girl he ever dated. so the idea of a herd wasnt bad till he realized that he had to share his first. its better to stop this before it gets too complicated. however day did "cheat" first and so far we can only assume he doesnt acknowledge that fact. so it still makes him a jerk

[Aura Zero]

Great story....really hated the ending tho but thats just me.

Ah'm not a fan of tragedies either...

Meh, happy endings are nice, but endings like this are unexpected.

[nothingtoseehere]

I liked this ending. It seemed... honest, for lack of a better word. All throughout the rest of the story, I felt that Day was relinquishing too much control of his own life to those around him. He started the courtship with Carrot Top because Allie said it was a good thing, he slept with her because he wanted to make her happy. I think that, in the end, it was Rarity's admission that she wanted to be the center of someone's world that finally gave him permission to recognize his own feelings on the matter. Sure, people got hurt, but that's what happens when you try to squeeze blood from a stone.

[Ron Jeremy Pony]

It's review time, and by that I mean a honest review of the entire story, and not just the ending Chapter. So go time...

Working with the assortment of characters I'm going to focus on the main three. Carrot Top, Amadeus, and Allie. The story does a wonderful job of setting a potential, slightly awkward to a modern (being a modern western civilized male of the Human species) man, and it does so without shame. Keeping Carrot Top as the main focus allows her to grow as a character, and we see that even though she hangs onto her beliefs hard throughout the story. Yet, even with her holding onto her beliefs they are constantly called into question, and she relates back to her scriptures in order to deal with those questions.

She does grow, but in a way that's most likely not exactly what she would have wanted to grow in. She doesn't try to manipulate Day, but she does state what she wants, and she even drops being a gentlemare to get it. Something she had once prized herself as being. It causes her to step into the mud and show that she is flawed in someway. In truth, she becomes somewhat like Young Goodman Brown. She sees her faith being questioned, she sees everypony else changing slightly, and perhaps it was the desire to hold onto these traditions (and corrupt them slightly) that lead to the sad ending.

Amadeus also grows throughout the story, but his growth is much quieter than Carrot's. Throughout we see him going along with things simply because he wants to be accepted. When they being to argue about some things in Manhattan is when a few things start to come to a head. His characterization sees a growth here, but he's also still the quiet man he had been. It isn't until he realizes that he truly wants to be the center, the one cherished, that he finally breaks. his confrontation with Carrot and Allie dumps all that he feels in their lap.

Allie... She receives the least amount of characterization among the main three. I actually felt that Lyra developed more in less than Allie did. After all we saw Lyra, who was obviously still obsessed with humans, consider the idea of building a herd with another human male. It's when she realizes that her husband, her mate, her lover, or whatever you want to call him says that he doesn't care about his heritage and she can keep the money. When he is willing to meet her more than half way we see Lyra accept that things will change. She gains understanding that being a human means things will be different, and she accepts that. That builds and speaks highly of the growth of her character. Allie is a bit like Day, but in a slightly more extroverted way.

She goes along with the idea of dating Carrot Top because she feels that this is something that Day wants to do. She had seen him look at the mares back home. She knew that moving to Equestria was partly due to the fact he had a fantasy of being with a mare. She was willing to accept this, and even become part of a herd because she wanted to make him happy.

Her character, while enjoyable, really doesn't change. She's a fun character, but in the end she does things because she feels that Day wants to, and she tries to salvage the relationship between herself, Carrot, and Day because she wants to please Carrot Top. While I enjoyed her character I feel that she could have experienced some more growth. Even if that growth was that she stayed behind when Day left.

Sure, it would have made it a more tragic story. Day would have lost everything, but it would show that Allie, while loving Day, wanted something different than to just do what she felt he wanted to do, or to just please him.

Just my thoughts on it.

Like everyone else though... I would love to see a slice of life based on Lyra's relationship.

Thanks for the view into the world you created.

- LF

[ZAKARI]

I see the complete sign at the bottom and the final chapter is labeled "Closing Notes".

So...it's over? Already? I commend you, dear author. You took the path most authors do not. Instead of making a story that was too long for it's own good, you made one that was short... but oh so sweet.

I have not yet read the final chapter. I have other stories to read at the moment, so I have downloaded it and will read it later. No matter what the last chapter contains, I'm certain it will be amazing.

However, I'm hesitant. I'm both looking forward to this final chapter more than anything...and dreading it with every fiber of my being.

Because I know this is the end...and I do NOT want it to end. I'm fearful of the final words...knowing that such an amazing, un-believable story...has reached its conclusion.

[Lupus]

My only complaint with this story is the ending. Not the fact that he rejected Carrot despite the night they shared together, but that it left me wanting. I don't feel like it's over and am waiting for more, for what I believe will be a real conclusion.

Ah well, up until the end it was a great read, and I hope you continue to write.

[RuqyoHighsong]

I was very upset and disappointed with the ending. I realize that it was honest and realistic, but I was holding out hope that the relationship would work.

Coming away from this, the thing I liked the most was the inclusion of verses from 'The Royal Pony Sisters'. Being both a poet and a reader of scripture, those verses touched me very much. They felt very much like words from the psalmist, David. Because of that, I went back through the chapters and wrote down those verses in my notebook. I would love to see an expansion on them. Might give it a shot myself. Maybe.

[Dawn Stripes]

4970708

They were some of the most difficult passages to write for that reason. I agonized for way too long over the last one; at one point I had a version which was much longer, but realized that this story was better served by keeping it tantalizingly short.

[Dawn Stripes]

5014359

Weird? Sweet Celestia yes. That's why it makes for a good story.

[RuqyoHighsong]

5017526 Ah, well, I guess less is more sometimes. Still, I'm glad you agonized a bit, because they are beautiful and heartwarming. Celestia 57:11 and 37:15 are my favourite ones.

[Shogoki]

I'm sad that I didn't read this sorry before, it was a lovely mixture of world building and romance and culture shock and I'll admit it did leave me wanting more from your view of this world but I actually do think this particular story was nicely wrapped up, and I thank you for that, most romances don't have happy endings for humans even if they often do for ponies and I found this story quite refreshing in that regard.

I really loved your more horse like ponies, it's something I can never get enough of and that very few authors bother even trying to do but you really made the effort to make them seem alien enough to make them not just quadruped humans and I appreciate that.

I didn't really care for the references to other space species and things like that, they felt very out of place and unnecessary but it was no big deal in the end, just something that could have been done without.

At times the flow of the story felt like it stumbled a bit and there were some weird transitions that felt somewhat confusing but nothing that couldn't be solved with a few rounds of editing.

On a last note I absolutely loved all the little touches of pseudo-religious devotion that Carrot Top feels for the Princesses, and the quotes from the Royal Pony Sisters were just lovely and very touching. It all fit very well with the depiction of the world and its inhabitants and it's again something most authors either don't do or do so clumsily but you managed to make it look seem less and effortless.

Again, thanks for the story, I really enjoyed it, I don't know if you have any intention of ever writing here again but if you ever decide to do so I'll be eagerly awaiting to see what you come up with next.

Cheers!

[GrayfoxReloaded]

This fic was beautiful, however, im a little confused about some things regarding the ending:

1-Did Day just leave and never came back ?
2-Allie went with him ?
3- Does Carrot still loves him, after 15 years ?

Oh god, the ending was so hearthbreaking...

Anyways, you are a great author. You deserve more attention and it saddens me that this fic is so underrated.

PS- Sorry for my bad English, im not a bative speaker.

[ArcaneVisions]

Sigh, do not like the ending. Feels like you jus wanted it to be over and it felt rushed. Ahh well.

[HumanSVD]

I'm sorry, but this isn't my cup of tea. I couldn't get past the whole "Let's get that silly notion of monogamy out of the way" part from Carrot Top.

What I also hated was the putting down of humanity from the main male character. He's a weak un-likeable spineless bend over backwards guy who is so constantly worried about what ponies think of the evil humans. Yet, he talks in awe about how they are arming themselves with human technology and has no problem about that nor sees the irony in it. They don't even see the humans as evil regardless of humanities past, so why the fuck is he so putting down of his own people?! It literally has no place in this romance story!

He's also surprised that his fiancé is so accepting of being in a polyamourlike relationship involving of another female. The fact that she apparently has a major lesbian escapade in her hay day makes me wonder why he thought that made her heterosexual monogamous marriage material in the first place. Is this guy THAT much of a retard or incredibly naive?

Then there's Carrot Top who is super pushy for a relationship despite the fact he had the balls (before he lost them at his fiancé sudden "Yeah, I'm cool being with a mare too" moment) to say no. Her intolerance for another relationship style is off putting, yet this guy is supposed to be understanding of their Equestrian style poly romance? I didn't make me want to root for her at all. They only really knew reach other for about what? A few days?

Sorry. It just didn't do it for me. Not saying your story is bad, it just wasn't for me.

[Vitae]

Two words shall be said.

Filthy misanthrope.

That is all.

~Almighty

[Truthseeker]

What was the point of writing this? Nothing was resolved. Nothing at all. It all ends in one big hopeless pile of confusion. I honestly wish I had not wasted the time to read this.

[Time Waster]

Most seemed almost eager to admit, with a wistful smile, that notwithstanding any number of hard facts or long words, ponies were the betters of men.

Lol. Fuck no! I'm out, too much misanthropy for me.