Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
“So, does it mean we’re done here?” Hard Knocks turned to walk away, visibly eager to leave his troublesome charge behind.
Carrot Top turned in his direction. “Hey, don’t you want to get paid first?” she called after him. The mention of money did a good job of stopping the stallion in his tracks.
“Ah, right,” he said sheepishly, coming back to her.
Carrot dug through her bags to retrieve a small bag of coins. The unicorn caught it with her magic and started to divide the coins among her companions.
“So, is that all?” she asked the farmpony.
“Well, for me, yes,” Carrot Top stated, closing her bag.
“Maybe Zecora will have something for us to do?” the druid suggested.
The zebra, who had so far been standing in the door, just looking at the four ponies, smiled.
“It just so happens that I do, I’m working on a special brew. I need some herbs and mushrooms rare, of which most grow south-east of here.”
“So, we need to run around the forest and get you some ingredients. This should be easy,” said Hard Knocks.
The mage smacked him with her staff. “How many times do I have to tell you not to say that?”
she growled at him.
The stallion flinched and glowered at his companion. “Shooting Star! Will you stop doing that!?”
The mage snorted angrily. “Will you stop deserving that? South-east from here... that would be near the old palace ruins, wouldn’t it?”
Zecora gave her a reassuring smile. “The herbs grow in the forest near, spirits of old you need not fear.” Just as the unicorn was about to relax, the zebra’s expression got more serious. “Yet all the same you should beware: those sworn to doom make their homes there.”
Shooting Star closed her eyes with an expression of exasperation. “Cultponies? Seriously? Isn’t it like, the third coven in there this year? Somepony should just burn that accursed place to the ground and be done with it.”
Hard Knocks scratched his chin with a hoof. “I don’t think that would help. They would just move elsewhere. If they always choose the Palace of the Sisters as their stronghold, at least we always know where to find them, right?”
“Couldn’t you do it yourself, Zecora?” asked the druid, pointing at the zebra’s elaborate armor. “You should be more than strong enough to defeat them all by yourself and get your ingredients without any danger.”
Zecora gestured with her head towards the inside of her house. “It’s not the challenge of the attack, but the time to get there and back. My shop and cauldron I cannot leave; I need your help, so I believe.”
Shooting Star stared at her in silence. Then she turned to look at her two companions. “What do you think, Frontier?” she asked the druid.
The mare shrugged. “I don’t really like the idea, but then again this is what we came here for, isn’t it? At least with cultponies we can count on some actual loot. What reward are you offering, Zecora? Anything beyond silver?”
The shaman smiled. “Since with my work you’re helping me, I will reward you handsomely. Trinkets of power to you I’ll bequeath, in disappointment you shall not leave.”
***
It took them five more minutes to finish talking. By the time they left, Shooting Star stopping to check if the names of the herbs had all been noted down on the back of her map, Hard Knocks was already healed and free of the bandages covering his face.
As they were leaving, Frontier stopped and turned to look back towards Carrot Top.
“You have a hearthstone to get home, right?”
Carrot Top responded with a surprised smile. It wasn’t everyday that an adventurer would care about her well-being. Most of the time, they wouldn’t spend more time talking to NPCs (an abbreviation that she knew some of them would translate as “Not Powerful or Capable”) than they needed to learn what they were supposed to recover or punch in the face.
Then the more cynical part of Carrot’s brain started working and the mare sighed, shaking her head.
“Yes, no worries. You will not have to escort me back home.”
Satisfied with the answer, the druid followed her companions and soon disappeared among the trees. Finally Carrot Top was left alone with the zebra shaman.
Zecora was the first to speak. “So tell me please, what do you need? Elixirs, salves, perhaps some mead? On every shelf waits something nice, all at a reasonable price.”
“Actually, I’m looking for a supplier. Berry Punch wants to expand her stock with some potions to attract more adventurers.”
Zecora looked at Carrot Top thoughtfully. The farmpony knew this look - the zebra was running calculations in her head. Finally she spoke. “My potions I already sell. Sometimes I auction them as well. If a bulk discount you wish to see, you’ll need to make it pay for me.”
Carrot Top nodded in agreement. Involuntarily, her smile widened. Now, this was the kind of battle she knew how to fight.
***
When the green film of the hearthstone spell retreated from her eyes, Carrot Top found herself back in Berry’s tavern. She had just enough time to realise that she’d gotten back in one piece when her stomach protested violently against the new transportation method. Eyes bulging, Carrot ran past Berry into the back of the inn, doing what she could to keep her mouth shut for a second more.
When she returned to the main room, still a bit green in the face, she found Berry Punch talking to a scruffy earth pony colt who had just delivered a large box of apples.
“So, Fenway, here’s some coin for your goods. We’re the inn here, for rest, trade, and food. Best in town. Wanna sleep? Rooms are upstairs. Got some junk? Hey, I’ll take it. Thirsty? I keep my best cider special for hard-working explorers. Oh, and if you ever wanna cook on your own, use the stove in the middle there for cooking. No campfires at the premises,” said the bartender.
The colt looked at her with a raised brow. “I have lived in Ponyville all my life. I know how inns work...”
“You’d be surprised at what some ponies come up with,” answered Berry while counting the coins to pay him with. “Anyway, if you could also show me your hearthstone, I could attune it to bring you here. Otherwise, it will keep bringing you to Sweet Apple Acres.”
The colt dug through his bags and handed Berry a smooth oval stone with a blue rune across its surface. The barmare held it between her hooves for a moment, until the rune flashed briefly.”There you go, all set.”
“Gee, thanks. So what now?” asked the colt.
“Well, if you look around town, you should find several ponies that need something done. I think the local guard commander was looking for some adventurers to help him safeguard the edge of Everfree forest. Look for yellow exclamation marks. Also, if you don’t have a map already, get one from the guards when you talk to them. It helps a lot,” Berry finished, winking at him.
“Sure! Thanks, miss,” he said, bounding away, his orange tail vanishing through the bar door in mere seconds.
Berry sighed. “Wish they all stayed as chipper as they start out,” she muttered, glancing at Carrot. “Everything is an adventure when they begin, but when you have to run through the prairie around Appleloosa for the third time...” She paused, only now noticing the shade of Carrot’s face. “Teleportation sickness?”
Carrot just gave her a tired nod.
“This is pretty rare, but I have something for it...” Berry dove under the counter and juggled some bottles for a moment before filling a small mug and setting it in front of the farmpony. “Here, this ought to help.” She watched Carrot Top empty the mug before getting down to business. “So what did she say?”
The farmpony sat in silence, taking deep breaths. When she decided she had recovered sufficiently, she finally responded. “She agrees on your prices, as long as we send some adventurers to her to deliver payment in advance and to bring her products to us. She needs some ponies to go to the forest and look for all the ingredients she doesn’t have time pick herself. She is also willing to buy any low-level magical junk you get from powerful heroes visiting town. And she has some rare alcohols you might want to buy too... but you might need to visit her in person to sample those.”
“That sounds interesting,” said Berry Punch. “I will have to look for somepony to escort me to her hut... as soon as I can figure out how to take a day off here. When is Zecora expecting the first courier? And how often can she prepare something?”
“She said she can send us something daily. Except for Tuesday; it’s a raid day, whatever that means,” answered the farmpony. She stifled a yawn with her hoof. “I think I’d better get going. It’s been a tiresome morning and I still have work to do today.”
Just then another pony with a box of apples on his back entered through the door. Berry Punch sighed and nodded at Carrot. “I think that’s all for today. Have a good day, darling.”
Carrot Top went past the colt and out the door, the barmare staring her lecture anew behind her back.
She walked out to the street and turned in the direction of her home. As she walked, she noticed the goblins’ stall out the corner of her eye. She blinked, shaking her head and trying to convince the curious part of her mind that they didn’t exist, that they weren’t worth her time, but after a moment she exhaled, turned her head, and stole a glance at her rivals.
A few tall, dark figures were standing in front of the stall, covered head-to-toe in black. Obviously human adventurers and not particularly powerful ones, Carrot Top had already learned to recognize that much. What did attract her attention, however, was their gear; light armours, barely more than civilian clothes, not very protective but allowing quick movement; the likewise light weapons, mostly curved knives at their hips; various small tools hanging from their belts.
Carrot Top’s blood ran cold. Rogues.
The citizens of Equestria would never consider such a career, if not for the lack of fingers, so essential for many things a rogue was supposed to be able to do, then for moral reasons. Bashing an enemy over head with a flail was one thing, but to make a career out of robbing others or stabbing them when their backs were turned? That was nopony’s idea of adventure.
For Carrot herself, the reason to be prejudiced was much more personal and all too fresh. She still remembered the pain of a curved blade slashing across her face... She stomped her hoof and shook her head to get rid of the haunting image. Forcing herself to take a closer look, she saw the rogues stop by one of the goblins, talking with him while his colleague handled the ordinary customers. The farmpony saw a series of quick exchanges - each of the humans bringing a mysterious parcel and getting a handful of coins in return.
Looks like a delivery... and not from anywhere near. They must have arrived in one of the blimps from Stormwind. What are they up to? thought Carrot Top.
It was a odd situation, one Carrot Top decided to note for later. As soon as the rogues were finished, they glanced around before vanishing into thin air. One of them just barely missed eye contact with Carrot Top—she tensed as she felt a breeze at her side.
“Hey, ma’am!”
Carrot jumped a meter in the air, but thankfully managed to bite her tongue before she yelped, some portion of her brain realizing that the voice was far too high and squeaky to have come from a would-be assassin. She turned her head toward the source and saw three little fillies standing in front of her—Equestria’s earliest aspiring adventurers, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Wanna flyer?” Scootaloo piped up. Not waiting for a response, she shoved a leaflet in Carrot Top’s face. The first thing she saw was the headline—New, Cheap, Fast And Easy Supplier In Ponyville—Never Waste Gold On Out,Dated Taverns Again!
Before replying (or chasing the Crusaders out of the street, another option she was considering), Carrot Top took a moment to pause and inspect the paper. “Uh...” On the front of it was a crude depiction of the Goblin’s stall, along with its smiling, bug-eyed hosts, as well as some messy mouthwriting depicting its relative location in Ponyville. She couldn’t determine whether the caricatures made the goblins look goofy enough not to take seriously, or an entirely new level of terrifying.
“It’s for the bestest supplier in Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle chirped.
Carrot Top looked at her. “Yeah? Uh-huh. How much’re they paying you?”
“Dunno! We just started today. We’re saving up for some more armor,” Apple Bloom said. She nudged Scootaloo. “Speakin’ of... Scoots, I’m gettin’ real hot. Could we take a break?”
The Crusaders each seemed to be adorned in a mock representation of their sibling or idol’s class: Apple Bloom had a thick helmet covering her cranium and the top of her face, large paper-maché shoulder pads and something that was likely to represent chainmail, but on closer inspection turned out to be a thick, grey sweater. Carrot Top sighed; no wonder she was hot.
The poor farm filly clearly had it the worst of the three. Scootaloo was wearing a simple white shirt, mostly covered by her guild tabard, with a cardboard gorget dangling at the front of it. The blurred spot on the gorget seemed to represent the insignia of the pegasi paladin order; by the look of it it must have been redrawn and erased multiple times in the attempt to get it right. For some reason, the costume was completed by a pair of books strapped to the filly’s front legs at the shoulders.
Sweetie Belle was wearing the most simple attire. Her armour consisted of a blue, hooded cloak worn over her tabard, with a pair of cardboard wings pinned to the back of it. Both the wings and the cloak itself had seen some wear, it seemed Sweetie’s costume had already suffered one of the minor disasters that seemed to follow the crusaders wherever they went.
Carrot’s gaze shifted from filly to filly. “So, you are supposed to be a priest... is this a math schoolbook on your shoulder, Scootaloo?”
The pegasus shifted uncomfortably. “Well, we couldn’t get any real holy books and a dictionary was too heavy...”
“I’m a priest, Scoots is a paladin and Applebloom is a warrior,” explained Sweetie Belle. “That makes us a healer, a damage dealer and a tank, a minimum standard adventuring party... that’s what Twilight said,” she finished with a smile.
“You know, girls,” Carrot began, “if you’ve done so much work and... uh... even made your own leaflets... you ought to ask for half of your payment once you’re half done, just to make sure you aren’t being scammed.”
“You think they would do that?” Sweetie asked, wide-eyed.
Carrot bit her lip. She wanted to spew her guts, but she also knew she had to be a good example for the fillies. “Well... I’m not sure. But better safe than sorry—you wouldn’t want to have your armor delayed because you got short-changed, would you?”
“Oh, I can’t wait to show Topaz once it’s done,” Sweetie mused. “I’m going to be the best-looking priest ever!”
“She could help us with the leaflets, actually,” said Scootaloo with a frown. “How come she’s never here when we do stuff?”
“She said she had some day work. That’s why she’s only free after sunset,” answered Applebloom. “Or maybe she’s a vampony,” she added with a giggle. The two other fillies froze and looked at her strangely.
“Let’s give out more papers!” Scootaloo chirped, something that sounded somewhere between a proposal and an order, before romping off, apparently already forgetting Carrot Top’s advice. Sweetie followed her, and Apple Bloom sighed before lagging behind them.
The farmpony shook her head and headed home for lunch.
***
Three days later Carrot Top walked through the streets of Ponyville, enjoying the evening breeze. The town was still bustling with activity, adventurers running around about various business, the shops opened despite the late hour to keep the customers supplied.
Carrot Top, however, was not there on business. This time she was going to visit the inn as a customer, to finally unwind after a week of frantic work.
She scowled as she saw the goblins’ stand still enjoying a queue of customers at this hour. Turning her back on it, she entered the inn. Instantly, her mood improved. The place was full of customers too, but not so full that she couldn’t find a table. What’s more, there was a dwarf standing over the stove, apparently trying to bake a cake. The smell of pastry was a welcome break from the usual “trying to make random monster bits edible” thing that usually took place there.
Walking up to the counter, Carrot waved at Berry Punch. “I’ll have one soft cider,” she said, taking a seat.
Berry gave her a tired smile before turning towards the taps. Soon the farmpony was enjoying a large tankard of golden liquid standing in front of her.
“A busy day, huh?” asked Carrot Top.
Berry nodded, busy with another customer. Once she had a second free, she answered: “Yeah, your ideas helped a lot. And just in time, it seems. Something happened in Canterlot yesterday and now we have adventurers rushing in from all over Equestria. If you can start baking early, I might take two extra trays tomorrow.”
Carrot’s first reaction was to scowl. She quickly suppressed it, smiling at her best customer. This was exactly what she had wanted.
It’s not like I ever get to sleep late anyway. With this rush of customers, I won’t have to worry about the competition for some time at least. I’d better make the most of it while I can.
A sudden, worrying thought occurred to the farmpony. Leaning onto the counter, she asked: “That thing in Canterlot... it isn’t anything serious, is it?”
“An awful mess, actually... can I have some health potions, please? And a drink.” The voice sounded next to Carrot Top. She turned to see a blue pegasus in slightly damaged priestess robes. The mare’s eyes were a bit unfocused and her voice slightly slurred, as if she had got one drink too many.
Berry dove under the counter to retrieve the goods while the newcomer fumbled with her bags, trying to retrieve her money. It took her a moment to get everything done. When she got her drink, a tankard of soft cider, as Carrot had, she emptied it with a single swig. She then shook her head and smiled towards Carrot.
“So, what exactly happened?” asked the farmpony.
The pegasus was clearly waiting for the question. “Well, nopony knows the full story, but something woke up in there, some ancient spirit of chaos or something, very powerful. Turns out he had been turned into a statue in the royal gardens. Can you believe it? Standing there for centuries, just like that? Anyway, when he woke up, everything got flipped upside down. The Elements of Harmony drove him away, but we still have no idea where he went.”
The pegasus shuddered and gasped with pain, then reached for one of the potions he had just bought and drank it. Carrot Top watched in surprise as the priestess’ coat changed color from blue to green. Suddenly she recognised who she was talking to.
“Blossomforth? I didn’t recognise you. What has happened to you?”
Blossomforth looked at the farmpony, then at Berry Punch, finally looking at her own green hoof. “Oh, that? I dunno what it is... I got it while fighting in the gardens and I can’t seem to dispel it. I think I’ll just have to heal through it until it goes away, but my magic is acting up, so I decided to buy some potions.”
“Fighting in the gardens?” asked Berry Punch. “But you said it happened days ago.”
“It did,” answered the priestess. “So, that spirit of chaos thing ran away and the Elements of Harmony went to track it down, so we can get a larger group to fight it... but the royal gardens remain warped. They are now bigger on the inside, with walls becoming floors and weird monsters lurking in. You can’t even fly in, because the switching up and down makes it easy to crash.”
“Shouldn’t Celestia just burn it then? It’s only a garden,” asked Berry Punch. Another hungry customer attracted her attention before she could get an answer. Carrot Top nodded for Blossomforth to continue.
“Well... the thing is...” Blossomforth shuddered again and her coat turned yellow. She waved her hoof to cast a healing spell on herself. “They don’t know what other surprises might be waiting there. With so much magic the garden might never stop burning or blow up or something. So they’ve just set barrier stones around it and are waiting for some... volunteers to clear out the monsters, sho the guard unicorns can get to work on...” she kept waving her hooves, but this time not to cast a spell, but trying to give shape to a word that escaped her “dishentangling it,” she finally finished.
“So, all these adventurers are willing to go in there?” Carrot Top waved her hoof around the inn.
“Well, as long as the prinshesses are paying...” answered Blossomforth. “We went there with Cloudy and some friendsh today. We got to the very middle and there was that huge, lilac pony with a propeller there... something wash... went wrong... I think I fell through a wall and ended up here. But I talked to them and they are alright, sho I shtayedforadrink.”
She tried to reach for another potion, but the bottle slipped out of her hooves and shattered. Her coat turned orange and she swayed slightly. Carrot Top tried to grab her to make sure she wouldn’t fall and was shocked to feel how hot the priestess’ body was.
“Blossomforth, I don’t think this is going to go away. You have a horrible fever. You must see a...”
Her frantic speech was cut short when she felt a wave of heat spreading over her body. Her lungs hurt and she too swayed slightly.
“Carrotop whyyusoblue,” mumbled the pegasus. Carrot Top looked at her own hooves and saw that indeed they were blue now. Turning around she met the gaze of Berry Punch, who was looking at her with a frightened expression, her coat a similar blue color. Around them, half a dozen patrons had just turned purple. One of them, the dwarf who had been working the stove, looked cross-eyed above his own head, then into the space above Carrot’s.
“Lady...” he started “mind telling me what ‘resplendent immolation’ is?”
***
The graveyard was filled with an angry crowd. Ponies walked around, sometimes walking straight through each other when they weren’t paying attention, the whispered non-speech blurring together into a sound that resembled the wind in a brewing storm.
‘No, it persists through death. If you return now, you will just burn up again.’
‘How is it even possible? It shouldn’t be possible to take it into the city.’
‘They say she was accidently thrown out of the...’
‘Mommy, are we dead?’
‘Yes darling, don’t worry, we are waiting for someone to fix this.’
‘What a waste of time, I’d better get compensated for it’
‘Oh stop whining, we are all in the same boat.’
‘I’m so sorry, Berry,” pleaded Blossomforth. ‘I should have realised sooner, but with the fever I wasn’t thinking straight.”
‘And I’m naturally purple, so nopony noticed until I got to blue,’ answered Berry Punch with a scowl. ‘I guess I should be grateful the inn didn’t burn down... what a mess...’
‘What a mess indeed.’
It was Screed. He stomped angrily towards the three mares, his hands balled into fists. ‘I knew some inns can get quite pestilential when the health and safety inspector isn’t looking, but I wasn’t expecting a case of contagions spontaneous combustion! Your low standards have put the entire town in jeopardy!’
If Berry Punch weren’t translucent white at the moment, she would have turned deep fuchsia. ‘How dare you!? It wasn’t my fault! It was brought in by a customer...’
‘So now you will blame your customers for it?’ asked the goblin through gritted teeth. ‘Some host you are.’
Carrot Top noticed the crowd growing silent, more and more ghostly ears turning towards the conversation.
This is bad... if he keeps talking like this, it won’t matter if he makes much sense...
Fortunately, before Screed could say anything else, Blossomforth walked up to him, throwing off her hood to draw attention to herself.
‘It just so happens that it was my fault. I appeared in the inn by accident, but this could be avoided if I had payed more attention. The owner of the establishment is not to blame.’
There was some nodding in the crowd. Screed didn’t seem taken aback. ‘Ah, this is understandable. After all, most hearthstones around here are attuned to the inside of the inn. Any moment someone like you could appear there from thin air. The place being full of people and ponies increases the risk. Luckily, all the services the place offers are available elsewhere, so nobody has to stick there and put himself in danger.’
This got a number of whispers in the crowd. Blossomforth stared at the goblin in shock and anger, Berry Punch and Carrot Top running to her sides, their expressions mirroring hers.
‘Are you serious!?’ growled Berry Punch.
Screed turned to face her, his face contorting with anger. ‘I’m dead! I have been burned alive! I can be as serious as I want! And since everybody here is a victim just like I am...’ he pointed his finger at Blossomforth, ‘and you have admitted to being responsible, I guess it will be ok for everybody to demand a compensation!’
The crowd exploded with voices. Some were shocked, but Carrot Top heard many that approved of the idea. The small free space that had formed around Blossomforth started shrinking rapidly.
Then there was a blast of light that erupted from Ponyville and spread in all directions, washing over the graveyard before dissolving in the distance. Everybody froze for a moment and in the silence, the non-voice of the grave site’s spirit guardian could be heard.
‘The error has been corrected. You are now free to return to your lives.’
As one, the ghostly shapes rushed towards the town. Carrot Top tried to stand in Screed’s way to finish the argument, but the goblin just ran through her. ‘No time to talk! I need to get back to my store!’
This argument seemed to work on Berry too. She rushed towards the inn, fearing of what might happen to it in her absence. Carrot Top and Blossomforth had no choice but to follow suit.
***
It was late at night when Carrot Top finally got back to the farm. She had a headache, her throat hurt from arguing with Berry’s patrons and she still wasn’t sure if she was going to have to get up early or not.
I forgot to ask Berry if she will want that extra tray or not... darn. That something like this had to happen today...
She wanted nothing more than to just get to bed, fall asleep and forget about the whole day. As she approached the farm, however, she noticed that the light was still on in her office.
Who would still be up at this hour?
Silently, the farmpony walked towards the office door. She pushed the knob and walked in. Inside, there was Blueberry, sleeping with her head on the desk. She awoke with a start at the sound of Carrot’s hooves.
“Blueberry, what are you doing here? You should be at home already,” asked Carrot Top. Just as she did, it occurred to her that Blueberry lived in town. Not getting home on time had probably saved her from the whole mess that unfolded.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep here. I was just waiting for you because I need to talk,” said the other mare. As she woke up, her expression got more serious.
Dreading another problem at the end of an already lousy day, Carrot Top asked: “What do you need to talk about?”
Blueberry walked from behind the desk and breathed deeply. “We have some stuff missing from our cellar. I thought I had just misplaced something but I ran an inventory today and we are missing four crates full of carrots. Somepony... or someone has been stealing from us.”
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So, as promised, the story continues
Discord gets free, and it's just another day in Azeroth.
3053254 That it is. Even without the rest of Azeroth, life in Equestria was rarely dull, wasn't it?
Ah, the zecora rhymes! Some people have no problem with writing them. Some people, like me, struggle pretty often!
Cultponies! Continuity!
I love the NPC appreviation. Spot on!
Appleoosa dailies? Damn the rep grind!
But who needs Barrenschat when you have Appleoosachat?
Tuesday raidday mention!
Yep. Yep. Makes sense to me.
And Zebra alcohols? Exotic drinksies? Yes, plz.
Rogues! A lot of folks have told me that I should've had a pony rogue in WoP, but like you, I didn't really think it fit. Either aesthetically or mechanically or, as you note here, culturally. Sort of like there are no draenei rogues (except Mishka).
CMCs!
Out,Dated
- bad comma
Shoulder-books! That's pally armor alright!
Oh, man, those CMCs are heart palpitation worthy.
Topaz? Only free after sunset? Celly!
The drunk slurring. ha.
And Discord, huh? Sounds like a cool server-wide event. A plague of chaos throughout the land!
And the deadpan assessment of being "dead" in WoW. lo-freakin-l. One of my favorite things about it.
Ah, the wipe-fest blame game.
you know what they say:
Roll for blame!
/roll
Ah, they fixed it? Reminds me of Hakkar's plague and spreading it to the auction house and pissing off the GMs back in vanilla!
Still enjoyable! But this needs way more reads than it has. Maybe I should make a blog post or something... try and get some good use out of that site feature.
3057983 Yes, you did read chapter 5 - The first time I sent you the whole first arc. I remember you commenting on the 'campfire inside the inn' thing
And now you reminded me while I liked your fic so much (especially the council fight - it had so much nostalgic feel to it)
I admit I didn't do research on this one. I just wanted to emphasize that she leveled since part 1 without having her wear animal skins.
I did struggle a lot - to the point that getting a writer's block there was written into my outline for the chapter.
Fortunately Nonagon has been very competent help.
Credit to Mindblower
Its people who notice details like that that I really enjoy writing for.
A ridiculously bad comma. The CMC prepared the leaflets themselves.
Well, Royal Gardens are as close to being an instance as we could get in canon, but I thought DIscord deserves more than to be a 5-man boss. So I had him move somewhere else and leave Screwball behind.
Yes, it's a "corrupt blood" joke, as well as a shoutout to one of my favourite webcomics (not at all WoW related)
Resplendant Immolation? Is that a Girl Genius reference I spy, in addition to the WoW plague reference?
Also, massive props for those Zecora rhymes.
3091236 Yes, it is
If you like, search for a fanfic Mare Genius - it is somewhere around here (sadly, it is unfinished - the author moved to another site to work on a Girl Genius/Stargate crossover. But what is there is a very fun read.)
3092588
I've read that one too, and am quite sad that it's dead. Thankfully there are plenty of other fics in the sea, like this one!
I've been meaning to re-read this...
But you know, since I put my sub on hold, I've been almost afraid that enough WoW funnies would have me playing again. I need to resist that impulse, but I was reading this on my iphone today and just kept breaking out into laughs. Still funny. Still good. Especially those damn adorable/impressionable CMCs! lol
Now on to the newer chapters.
Discord, spirit of
chaosglitches.This was brilliant! Great in verse explanation for NPC, wonderful call backs to the CMC's other two founding guild members and the corrupted blood disaster, and put thickening with the Goblins!
Just, amazing!