Competition » 2024 Wonderbolts Sitewide Contest · 8:48pm March 25th
Art by daOtterGuy!
Are you a brave, fearless, and daring pegasi in search of your next great adventure? Do you think you have what it takes to join the best flight team in all of Equestria? Then the Wonderbolts just might be the group for you.
Hello!
The Quills and Sofas Speedwriting team is proud to present to you, the 2024 Wonderbolts Sitewide Contest!
As the title suggests, this contest is about the Wonderbolts: a group that has its highs and its lows, its heroes and its villains, and its untapped crew of unnamed pegasi. For this contest, we are looking for stories about the Wonderbolts. That means that for your entry to qualify, you must be able to convincingly argue to us that your story is about this group in some manner! More details are discussed below, so let’s get right to it!
THE RULES
Each entry submitted must be about the Wonderbolts: as previously stated, you should be able to present an argument to the judges if asked that your story in some way is about this group. There are obviously several ways to do this, the easiest way being to write a story featuring one of the Wonderbolts (canon or not!), but there are other ways as well! For example, a story about a unicorn whose dream is to be a Wonderbolt would qualify.
- OC’s and “blank slate” background ponies (which I define as a pony with little to no canonical traits) are allowed. Bear in mind we should be able to judge any of these characters as they occur in the story: we will not be reading any other material to get a better understanding of an OC.
- HiE and EQG stories are allowed for this contest. Variations of the Wonderbolts (ie the EQG Wondercolts) will qualify so long as the group equivalent can be easily identifiable.
- Anon stories will not be accepted for this contest.
- Alternate universe stories are allowed as long as Rule One is observed!
- For this contest we will draw a distinction between mature rated stories and pornographic stories. Mature rated stories are allowed provided they are tagged appropriately (for example stories about gore or serious substance abuse). Pornographic entries of any type on the other hand will not be accepted. This includes stories determined by the judges to be fetish fics or kink fics regardless of rating.
- Each author will be able to submit up to two entries with a hard word cap of 25,000 each, or one story 50,000 words long. Each author can only place once. Authors may be able to receive more than one bonus prize, or receive a bonus prize and placement, depending on the judges’ decision. Bonus prizes will be discussed below.
Entries for this contest must be submitted no earlier than the beginning of March 23rd 2024, and no later than April 30th 2024. Any entry submitted after 11:59 PM Pacific Time of the 30th (one minute before May 1st) will be considered disqualified unless previously discussed and approved with the judges. Entries MUST be added to this folder before the deadline to qualify.
- Other participants are more than welcome and actively encouraged to leave thoughtful comments on other entries! Participants are also free to ask each other for editorial comments or feedback or commission each other for art at any stage of their writing.
- Stories should be standalone. Please consult a judge if you would like to include your story in something like an existing anthology. Stories that are a prequel or sequel to existing stories will be judged on their content and their content alone: we will not read associated stories for more context.
- This contest is being run in conjunction with the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Server on Discord (joinable here). Participation in any Quills and Sofas event is NOT mandatory for submission to this contest. Submission to this contest will NOT qualify you for a writer role on the Discord server (see server rules for more details).
THE PRIZES
This contest will feature a unique set of prizes, including several bonus awards (some to be revealed later) and prize pool escalators!
The placing prizes are as follows:
Medal of Distinguished Aeronautics, First Class: First Place, reward of $75
Medal of Distinguished Aeronautics, Second Class: Second Place, reward of $50
Medal of Distinguished Aeronautics, Third Class: Third Place, reward of $25
There will be various bonus prizes, some bearing cash prizes and others only bearing recognition, with some revealed with the results and others in advance. For a full list, please refer to the full rules post.
Additionally, prizes have the capability to escalate, either by additions to the prize pool or the creation of additional awards! Please see below for details. Additional prizes may be created before results are revealed.
QUILLS AND SOFAS
This event was brought to you by the staff of the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Server, a group dedicated to creating stories in a very short amount of time. In conjunction with this event, the server will be running Wonderbolt-themed speedwrites throughout the writing period. This is a great way to start a rough draft, find an idea, and even get early feedback from other writers! The contests are planned to occur as follows:
April 6th: Wonderbolts Speedwrite
April 10th: Spitfire Character Contest
April 17th: Pegasus Contest.
Additional contests may be created depending on staff availability.
Further: for every entry submitted to one of these Quills and Sofas contests, the total allocated prize pool will increase by $3, USD. To count as a submitted entry capable of increasing the prize pool, the author must complete commenting and voting guidelines stipulated within Quills and Sofas speed writing group.
Again, when your story is completed, please add it to the folder found here.
THE JUDGES
This contest will be judged by: Zontan, MushroomPone, Flashgen, and The Red Parade.
Please check the full post regularly as we will update it with clarifications, additional information, and more details while this post will not change. For questions please contact The Red Parade.
COOL! Definitely gonna try this!
Neato.
I should be able to obey this rule, if I choose to enter.
Now I remember Calm Wind doesn't update anymore and that makes me sad. Thank you Wanderer, there goes my smile
I might sit this one out thus far. I mean, sure, I could probably write a SpitDash story with a focus on how their lives and relationship are impacted by at least one of them being in the Wonderbolts. But then that's not exactly a super high focus on the group compared to a member or two. Although perhaps a focus on Lightning Dust could be something, like some kind of redemption arc and getting accepted back in.
But today is the 25th. Shouldn't this could have been posted two days ago?
I'm a bit confused, is porn stories is or not accepted?
5773714
I sent this info to Wanderer last Thursday, he just wasn't able to post it until today!
For the second part I'll refer you to this line in the rules:
I'm kind of hoping to have at least one story about Silverstream trying to be a Wonderbolt.
yay wonderbolts
Nice!
...sorry lightning but another day
Can I submit a story that has nothing to do with the Wonderbolts
This sounds like it'll be fun.
I'd like to add "Spitfire’s Callsign" https://www.fimfiction.net/story/343593/spitfires-callsign to this contest...but it keeps sending "Error in processing your request" messages.
Can you help a pony out here?
Heavyhauler75622
I did get a message back from The Red Parade about "Spitfire’s Callsign" being written back in 2016...and therefore, not qualified...
I'd like it on the record that after four speed reads of the contest rules; I hadn't read ANYTHING limiting the contest to recent stories. No cutoff dates, no nothing...
I would like my story re-considered for entry.
Thank You,
Heavyhauler75622
I thought pegasi was plural? Shouldn't that be pegasus, or Pegasus, or Pegasus pony?
5773842
Hi, Heavyhauler75622! You will note the following statement in Rule 3 above:
In this case, "submitted" meaning "submitted to Fimfiction.net for publication." This is standard for the myriad of sitewide contests that appear here, as well as for thematic writing competitions in general.
The spirit of the contest is not to find the best published piece of Wonderbolts fiction on the site - it is, rather, to (a) challenge people to write something on a theme in a given timeframe, and (b) increase the amount of Wonderbolts-related fiction on the site. As such, including your fiction would be against the spirit of the contest. You are, however, more than welcome to write something new that fits this theme! We would love to read it!
5773846
Then your rule is poorly written, and can be interpreted as I did, since there was no clarification between date submitted to the contest, or date submitted to FIMfiction.
Wanderer D has a story called "Sunset’s Isekai". Perhaps you are familiar with it...
"Sunset’s Isekai" is arguably one of the BEST stories published on FIMfiction, even with an author here such as Estee. The anthology style has allowed otherworldly characters (hence, the Japanese term, "Isekai", meaning exactly that—'other world') to come to and interact with an unusual Sunset Shimmer in her milleu. I recommend it highly, for those that have not read it (up to this point...because it changes with each subsequent chapter!)
You mean to tell me that such an exceptional story would not be accepted because of when its first chapter was published? Is that what you are saying here?
Incredible...simply incredible...
This is your contest. Have at it.
But to ignore quality to encourage more drek is not something I personally would do. The reader invests the most precious thing they have in reading stories...their time, which is finite in their lives, and not something they can just go to the store and buy more of. That is not being respectful to the reader.
(To Wanderer D...without you, I would not have discovered "I was Reincarnated as a Sword". I have enjoyed that story so much, I purchased the DVD of it. It is now in my collection in physical form, and no person or corporation can take it from me on a whim, unlike streaming services. You have my thanks and gratitude for that, and I would very much like to encourage you to continue "Sunset’s Isekai" for as long as you want to create such worthwhile content. And, as an aside...I would like to purchase a "Sunset’s Isekai" pin from you—if you still have any. I'm sure it's been a popular thing for a very long time.)
I am afraid I must remove my story from your contest, and will not submit it further, accepted or not. I felt I had something worthwhile to contribute 'to the cause'. Money is a fleeting and transitory illusion; and I don't write for that. I do it to entertain and satisfy the reader; to give them good value and a fair exchange of their most precious thing–their time.
Good Luck.
5773942 Restrictions on new vs. old content, and dates of publication, is one of the most common elements of a contest like this, and it’s so basic that most people assume it applies automatically whenever a contest starts up. The fact that they spelled it out (plainly) is acknowledging the obvious. A formality, really.
You glossed over it. It’s an easy mistake to make, and mistakes happen, but it’s not their fault. If you still feel like you have something to contribute, then you’re more than welcome to write something new.
(Sunset’s Isekai isn’t a good example either, because regardless of its quality, it has nothing to do with the Wonderbolts. This is like asking why the soufflé you cooked got rejected from a paella cook-off.)
5773946
No wonder I don't bother with 'contests', then...
5773843
Indeed, pegasus is the singular per the original Pegasus of Greek myth. Pegasi is a colloquial plural; pegasuses would be the formally correct plural in English, because English is weird.
For the terminally pedantic, a generic version not based on the proper name Pegasus could be pterippus (singular)/pterippi (plural).
5773947
It's true, working within the restrictions that these contests offer does add a layer of difficulty that is untenable for some folks. :)
5773949
True. It's easy to put up dreck, yeah?
Oh hey, a quick question for the contest runners:
Is it alright for an entry for this contest to be used for one of the other site contests? In example, can a story submitted to the SF site contest also be submitted to this one?
With such a story meeting the criteria of both contests taken as implied, of course. :)
5773951
Yes, that is perfectly acceptable!
5773950
'Dreck' is a pretty great word, I can certainly see why it's your favorite one!
But as for your question, I wouldn't know. I'd have to defer to you expertise there.
5773952
e x c e l l e n t
5773953
Holy shit you killed him x_X
5773953
As you should...
5773942
This is a really weird take. Literally every site contest I've ever seen on here has a start date and an end date, and only allows entries written within those times. Many go further and make you use specific prompts. How could contests like May Pairings, Scifi, Cozy Glow, etc recur year after year if it was just the same stories being submitted every time?
I feel like you're being very unfair to the contest runners, who were quite clear and are trying to encourage what we're all here for -- more pony fanfic in the world.
5773969
I find it odd that everyone just assumes.
I do find it telling how many crawl out of the woodwork to keep harping on this. Almost as if some individuals (surely not the contest gods; oh no, surely not they) are working mightily to cover backsides from being vague about things.
Next victim...
5773979 I’m sorry, did you just blame the fucking Deep State for the backlash you’re getting?
You misread something, and instead of acknowledging your mistake, doubled down in the most pretentious way possible (thank you for explaining what “isekai” meant because everybody but you has cottage cheese for brains) and insulted everybody involved with the contest in the same breath. That’s why you’re getting dogpiled. There’s no conspiracy.
Honest to god, man, it’s not that deep. Just take the L and move on.
hlrrrggglblrrrgl I want to submit my 2011 clopfic masterpiece “Derpy and the Probiotic Pregnancy” to the Scootaloo Sisterhood Contest but I’m being suppressed by Big Pony5773988
Did your Mother drop you as a child?
Frequently?
With a gleeful cackle each time?
I'll hang out and irritate you CONSTANTLY, just to read your reactions go so over the top, one wonders when you’ll finally run out of oxygen.
Oh...taking refuge in profanity is symptomatic of a lack of self-control, education; or in your case, both.
New subject. Let's discuss your dubious origins through a misaligned mating, your probable spiritual destinations, and profound lack of good taste.
Dance, my puppet, and entertain me further...
5774030
Of course, only you could accuse people of suffering from head trauma on account of your fetal alcohol syndrome. Your mom probably drank while pregnant because she saw you in the ultrasound and knew you'd be a lost cause.
(Also this contest looks fun.)
5773969
Ah, this is actually something I'd been wondering about -- if it's not explicitly stated, is the default assumption for the start date typically 'only written after' or 'only published after'? E.g. I have a story that might be a good fit for one of the ongoing site contests (after some editing/expansion), which is not yet posted to FimFic, but the initial draft was written before the contest in question was announced.
5774030 a scathing take-down from the author of Spitfire Burps And Farts And Shits Her Pants, a masterpiece of creative fiction that surely would have won the judges’ hearts
but they refuse to read it 
due to the antichrist
mother of god, man, is this a bit? are you just super committed to the bit?5774034 I think it’s usually down to date of publication, rather than when it was actually penned to paper? It’s usually a good idea to check with the judges if there’s some ambiguity.
5773979
When you were told you were wrong, you had two options:
A) Accept it and move on.
B) Dig deeper.
Why have you chosen B?
Sure, you can ask questions, but Shaslan is right. Why would old fics be accepted if these contests are meant to continue happening? Accepting those old fics would defeat the purpose of any new contest. Why continue choosing B?
Blaming this on some weird conspiracy is also hilarious. This was a site blog post. It shows up on the front page and hits everyone's feed. People, like me, are gonna wander in and check the comments.
Alight guys, I try not to involve myself too much in the contest discussions since most of the questions are really for the organizers, but the argument has gone far enough. Let's drop it and continue with our lives.
5774032
Really?
I'll have to ask her on Friday. We meet every week for lunch.
I expect poor manners, but you have managed fail in an entirely unexpected way. It's like watching SpaceX launches crashing constantly, and thinking of Monty Python's Swamp Castle skit.
I think you should sit this one out.
5774048
I think you are right.
Let's see if the others can manage it.
Truthfully...I will be surprised if they can.
5774034
While I'm waiting for the next one...
For that matter...if I was devious enough (much like ONE author in this particular group), I could have done a quick series of edits, withdrew my previous story, and published it as an entirely new work.
And in doing so, meet every criteria for the contest.
My point, just like yours, was that the submission rules weren't clear. I pointed it out, and was savaged over it; with the general nebulous statement that, "...everyone knows..."
Point of fail. There are individuals that do not know, such as myself.
Now, everyone else has seen the maturity level of SOME of the individuals in charge of this; and will think twice about whether to submit their works or not.
Because IF they act like this in the open—how do they act when no one can see 'how the sausage gets made'?
That is my summation of the case, Your Honor. The Defense rests.
5774034
That's a fair question! I can only speak for myself, of course, but my intention is always that writing begins *after* the contest is announced. That's part of the intention with themes - most writers would have to get pretty lucky to have something already in drafts that fits a contest theme + length requirements.
That's pretty hard to enforce for two reasons: firstly, we only can only judge the age of a draft by the publication date shown on Fimfic; secondly, the nature of predictably recurring contests (such as May Pairings) means that prospective writers can be working on the drafts as long as they wish!
There's a lot of ambiguity. In the end, as long as you are following the written rules, that's all we (as judges) have explicit control over. I hope that helps!
5774057 Again, we're closing this discussion now. If you keep answering previous messages it's being prolonged. So please let it go. And just to clarify since you brought it up, unpublishing a story and republishing as if it were brand new is against site rules, so if anyone is doing that they should be reported.
5774059
5774045
Thanks, that makes sense to me! :)
Alas for the lack of forcing function to finish that particular fic
but I'm looking forward to seeing what else I might be able to come up with (for this contest and others) 
5774062
Well...SO FAR, the others have decided to drop it, so I will do so as well.
No bets if it starts up again, though...
Now...about that pin...
Update, thanks to a donor our first place prize has increased to $100! This is reflected on the full rules post, where we will provide updates!
We're all eager to see what stories everyone will submit!
5774062
Im glad we have moderators like you
Imagine in the early site days this happening!
5774079
I hope to see A LOT of lightning dust or spitfire or other things similar!
I understand the mindset behind most of the rules, but why are anon stories not allowed?
5774127 if I had to venture a guess, because stories with Anon tend to be about Anon, regardless of who Anon is with or the general subject matter. Everyone and everything else is window dressing for the character of Anon.
And Anon is less of a character, with established traits and personality, and more of a vessel for the audience to inhabit.
"Present an argument"?
Interesting wording there.
Seems like there's been ample of that already.
But sure; I've been polite for long enough.
Let's. Get. LOUD.