After her life was turned upside-down by Deathwing burning down Ponyville and Equestria getting flooded with adventurers from all of Azeroth, Carrot Top struggles to save her farm from bankrupcy. Opportunities for extra money are everywhere, but the world now plays by new rules. Can she learn them quickly enough? Or is there a different solution altogether waiting for her?
A tie-in story to Capn-Chryssalid's World of Ponycraft
Crossover with World of Warcraft, obviously.
Picture by ~ymmot392, used with permission
First of all, I'd like to thank Nonagon and Capn_Chryssalid for being my pre-readers.
To everypony else: This is not the first thing I've ever written, but my first story here so, comments are welcome.
EDIT: Especially from whoever disliked. I'd like to know what to improve in my future works.
AGHAKSFHDSKFHASDIHSD I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS STORY TO UPDATE!
*ahem!*
I apologize for that outburst.
Hmm? It was only uploaded last week
I should drop another chapter in a couple of days
I always thought that we aren't actually dying in wow, but just knocked out...
And I don't get why are describing things like levels, classes, quest logs literally the same as they are in the game, but changing other things like summoning mounts so they are more realistic...
2032562 The original World of Ponycraft story also danced between the two. I tried to do it more or less like Capn_Chryssalid did.
If you haven't read World of Ponycraft, do. It's awesome.
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You'll understand better if you read World of Ponycraft.
Why doesn't it surprise me that Diamond Tiara would be at least friendly with a gang of etheral smugglers? Although honestly I'm betting she already has Chief Exalted Officer.
2033156 Well, she is still young. She is associated through her father's business connections mostly.
She keeps trying to sneak and hide. She's obviously meant to be a rogue.
So if it's any untimely death that can be reversed by magic or spirit wardens, does that mean all the fiendish pegasi and the like respawn too?
2035274 Not if it was their destiny to die that day
Also, ponies can't be rogues.
2035819 She could be a forsaken rogue? Silvanis is always hiring.
Best pony Carrot Top starring in a World of Warcraft crossover? I cannot favorite this enough!
Poor, poor Carrot... Not only stumbling out of the nice, safe starting area on a PvP server while still a lowbie and running into the worst-case scenario, but she's introduced to the dreaded escort quest in the worst way possible. Oh, the pain suffered through the old Darkshore-Ashenvale escorts and those darn mechanical chickens!
Hang in there, best pony!
Diamond Tiara...joined the Consortium.
OH GOD.
Flim and Flam got themselves race changed into Goblins...?
I can see that.
Ouch, Carrot Top just got ganked. Hopefully she's bound by the same rules as adventurers and her ghost can just run back to her body!
2035819
Yeah, I think it was in World of Ponycraft that ponies can be any class except Rogues and Hunters. And possibly Death Knights, since, like Pandaria, Equestria wasn't "discovered" until long after the Fall of the Lich King. So what class is Carrot Top? So far we have: Druid (Fluttershy), Mage (Twilight), Paladin (Rainbow Dash), Priest (Rarity), Shaman (Pinkie Pie), Warlock (Trixie), and Warrior (Applejack). I suggest Carrot Top submit to the teachings of the monastery and become a Monk!
2112722 There was a death knight in story, although he was race-changed.
CArrot doesn't have a character class (being able to have levels without having them assigned to a class is another WoP thing. Think Twilight before she was beaten by Trixie - she was a unicorn "wizard", but not a mage yet. She could have picked a warlock at this stage and a warlock she would be.
2112722
Ponies can be DK's, Twilight met with the leader of the Knights of Luna, he was a DK.
Basically replace worgen in WoW with ponies, they were there all along so the LK could have grabbed them at some point really..kind of a retcon but..Pandarians were way out at sea, making their isolation different than behing behind a "wall" (be it magical or physical). Any ponies that got "out" (somewhat happens in the first story's past story arc with Luna) and got killed could have been turned int DKs.
Chapter 6 is nearly ready. It will be uploaded as soon as it gets through the pre-readers.
“Howdy here, customer. What can I do you for?”
missing a t there
2178354 Thank you. Nice avatar btw.
Yay! A vendor story!
Oh crap. Bad twist for Carrot Top. But I'm impressed with these two. Instead of just making two typical sleazybags, they were almost protagonistic in how they dispensed seller's wisdom to Carrot Top. Free professional advice! Even now they aren't trying to screw her over. Of course, they won't give a damn either. You have excellent insight on sales and microeconomics. Does that relate to anything IRL? I hope you'll have CT use her wiles to get out of this, instead of going with the crowd and just beating things up for cash. But really, she does need to figure herself out and pick a class that suits her. Giving up the ability to adequately defend or heal yourself, in the world of Warcraft, is far worse than some missed opportunity.
2209088
Well...
Sorry, the story WILL continue. I'm just a bit tangled with other projects atm, that's all.
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?
Before I get to my thoughts and comments, I'll be honest first. Even though I wrote WoP, back in Cata, I've become steadily disillusioned by WoW. I won't get into the reasons why, but a lot of my love for the game just seemed to be fading. But reading this, I think I felt a bit of what some people said when they read my fic. It brings out and reminds you of the best of the game: the fun, silly, self-referential, goofy and occasionally serious stuff. In that way, if for nothing else (and technically this is a nice fic), I have to give you props. If someone normally mentions WoW to me, now, I think: 'is it raid time? Cause I don't care otherwise.' But this had me smiling and even laughing again, something WoW itself hasn't been able to do in a long time. Ah, but... here are some of my thoughts as I read!
Lyra! Yes, she would be a human! Probably a mage. It is a bit unfortunate that I never really got to explore more the ponies who race changed rather than the other races who turned pony.
Exalted status with Equestria! haha. Nice to think that this faction rep can get you more than just a tabard and a 14 slot bag!
And a mount...
Actually, I remember reading this before. Was it on my iphone or ipad?
Now, with Oondasta and the new world bosses, I guess that's a bit like what those Ursas are. Aka SERVER CRASH INCOMING (if you're on Stormrage anyway)
"why would a bear have treasure?"
The eternal RPG question. Another delightful bit of poking fun, which is much the point of this verse!
Kinky Cloudkicker. Winning Pony - I think that is it, right - has certainly had quite an influence.
As one of those types in the game who maxes out cooking on his main and has basically every recipe (90% of em), another fun thing to explore would've been a new grade of Equestrian cooking. It isn't WoW if you aren't making stacks of food from a campfire, surrounded by other people doing the same.
Damned NPCs flouting class restrictions!
Shining Armor certainly does seem the paladin type - though of course he didn't exist at all when I wrote WoP - especially since bubbling is basically his big trick. I guess you could try and pass him off as a priest, but... dat armor.
Also, lol, at the Bronze Dragons love of preserving historical disasters.
And a certain "filly" sticking up for her "brothers and sisters." haha. I liked that.
Carrot Top doesn't know the half of it.
There's some stupidly expensive food out there! Its good to be a restauranteur in WoW, if your location is well traveled.
Flim and Flam have nothing on goblins.
As long as I get paid.
That's a true goblin for ya.
Oh, draenei dk! And Creed's got it. "Gold! Rep! Items!" That's the holy trinity of WoW players!
I suspect if the Scourge themselves had rep and items to sell, we'd be working for them against the Alliance and Horde, who cared if it ends life as we know it? Also, I want a nerubian mount.
Nice starting scene there.
And a new rep is unlocked.
Flutters! What's the wearing? Sounds a bit like the druid tier out of Molten Core. But then a lot of druid stuff has leaves and antlers and pots and pans.
Fluttershy's personal zoo must be freakin' enormous by now.
Has a challenger appeared?
I'm still grinnin' with this chapter and the previous one, though I'm very certain I read the one before this on a mobile device some time ago. Lucky me, there's more, too! No wait!
Ah, very smart, and insightful!
NPC vendors that repair DO get all the attention. I hadn't much thought of that until now!
Vendor trash! Oh, I love it.
"First, all adventurers expect to sell loot, however ridiculous it is."
Truer words have never been read. And a good NPC's-eye-view of the whole thing, too!
Diamond Tiara. Following in the hoofsteps of her daddy, eh?
All about the retail.
In fact, she's just evil enough to invent WoW's next Walmart chain.
4Hooves - oh man, that name is eerily similar to the first character I made in WoW. Now retired.
This has to be the first time I've ever seen an escort mission from the side of the helpless and hapless escortee. "I thought I saw an herb!" hahaha.
(a brief break, and then to the next part. I have high expectations, but this story has had be chuckling all the time through so far)
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!
Ooh, looking forward to what the girls have planned.
Soooo....seven weeks have passed. Any progress?
3518854 My creative spirit is currently stuck writing a Sombra short story, which, due to being strongly connected to another work yet unpublished, will only be understandable to a total of 4 people (the other story's editing team)
Inspiration is a cruel mistress
I should have it finished in two days or so and then I'm back to this.
And Ixyourmom doesn't even stop to think if it was a trap for his employer.
3811804 video game logic at its finest
Dangit, Carrot Top needs to invest in some better security!
Moonstone wouldn't happen to be one of Luna's ult accounts, would she?
3811852 She is. Note the odd speech patterns and the animals odd defensiveness. Plus in the original story, Celestia and Luna outright said that their alts were the last two signers of the CMC's guild.
3811812 What I can't tell is if these rogues are players or mobs. I mean I thought the names were a dead give away, but they really act more like mindless mobs than player characters. For one, most players would have gladly gone through Carrot Top rather than simply trying to escape by running out the door. Unless these rogues are so dimwitted as to not realize that they can recloak after killing her and getting away scot-free.
Also a good Horde raid group needs to go for the "For the Horde!" achievement at some point.
You know, give Celestia and Luna a taste of the after life. I say this mainly because this is one of the few settings this won't end in tears and feel like an immense downer. Plus the two can spend their downtime on their alts. Not too mention it would be nice to see the Horde actually achieve something after their defeat at the Ursa as well as doing something to actually merit being enemies with the ponies as opposed to being neutral.
That was one of the more annoying parts of the original. Not just because it pits ponies against Horde bronies, (though that is annoying) but because in the original the reason was fucking weaksauce. Join the Alliance! It's awesome! Also you'll be drawing your ponies into a very bloody, very long war, which might end with plenty of your ponies perma-dying. Just FYI.
3814085 Since all the creatures living there are a permanent part of the world, the line between a player and an NPC is really thin. The only indicator is that npcs are able to ignore some of the player rules.
As for behaviour, the premise of the story is that Equestria is both a video game and a real world at the same time. The characters' reactions are defined by the game, to a point, but at the same time they are living people (or ponies) and have personalities too.
The rogue from the previous chapter opted for "stun and run" rather than killing, because ponies are living, thinking creatures - even if you can't be properly punished by law, they will remember if you kill one of them. It's not like in the game, where dying solves all the problems.
On the other hand, this chapter's rogue falls for what seems like an obvious trap... but that's how the game works. Being duped by obvious schemes is part of being a character and they can't help it any more than cult pony guards could help their poor aggro range. It's a part of who they are, but they can usually get even in the next quest chain, so that's ok.
Also, epic battles with the Horde are a part of this world, but don't really fit within the scope of this particular story. Any Horde player capable of threatening Celestia could kill Carrot Top by sneering in her general direction.
3814490 So is that quest for the goblins that the rogues are doing similar to Gamon's original role, as a neutral quest NPC? Because that'd be kinda funny as Gamon was a rogue specific quest mob. And that was a frustrating as hell quest!
3814550 Wait and see... (argh... I know I make you guys waaaaaait )
Sounds like Cloud Kicker's thinking of getting into some ERP.
3818006 Enterprise Resource Planning?
Oddly appropriate
3818025
3816361 The wait is only bad for those without....alternate methods.