And the Luna Goes to-- · 6:28am Mar 10th, 2014
horizon for "Thou Goddess."
And while several stories trod very closely upon its heels, if I had a 2nd place prize to give out, it would go to "Luna's Landing" by thescentedllamaofdoom.
So PM a mailing address to me, horizon, and I'll start looking around for a box and some packing peanuts.
At this point, let me insert in here a link back to Nocturnes: Tales of the Night Princess itself, and then we can move on.
If anyone's interested in my rationale, it mostly has to do with a verb I've been using for years when it comes to fiction and comics and TV shows and movies: "grab." I'm looking for something with a story that will grab me, will wrap itself around my brain and my heart and engage me, preferably in multiple ways. Because over the years, I've plodded through altogether too many holey plots full of such nondescript heroes that I find myself nodding off at their lackadaisical deeds and read altogether too many paragraphs so over-spiced with adjectives and adverbs that I could barely keep from sneezing as I plowed onward, ever onward.
It's one of the reasons, to be honest, that I vacillated for a couple months about holding this contest. What if I got a buncha stuff that I couldn't manage to read without gagging?
Fortunately, that didn't happen at all, and I was overwhelmed with how fine the eight entries were. Especially when it started dawning on me that I was gonna hafta pick one so I could send Luna to its author.
In the best Twilight Sparkle fashion, therefore, I began making lists. Each story grabbed me in multiple ways, so I needed multiple lists, but on each list, "Thou Goddess" and "Luna's Landing" were more often than not at or near the top. The placings had a cumulative weight, and by Friday, those two stories had edged to the front of the pack by dint of having flipped more of my internal switches than the others.
Of course, with this many high-quality stories, the final decision can't be anything other than subjective, but several factors pulled me at last to "Thou Goddess." The poetry, yes--though that final sonnet has a rhyme scheme like nothing I've ever seen before, a hybrid of the English and Italian styles that I think we'll hafta call the Equestrian sonnet from now on--but two smaller details more than that: the pitch-perfect season one Twilight Sparkle who shows up for a couple scenes, and the description of Luna when Scansion lays eyes on her walking along the palace corridor beside special guest star Dotted Line. Oh, how that paragraph made my little heart go pitty-pat....
So that's where things end up. Thank you all for the stories, both these here and the ones I hope to see from you in the future.
Mike
And the crowd went wild
*Applause* *Whoops* *Other things crowds do when something cool happens* A much deserved winner.
What!? I, uh... did not expect that
Too stunned to write anything coherent. Will try again when my brain switches back on. Umm... Thank you.
Yeah, I can't get it out of my head and I've reread it five times since it was posted.
This is pretty reasonable.
You certainly aren't just saying it. I too was blown away by how many of the entries were grade A++
Congrats to all, and to horizon particularly! Thanks again for running this thing.
Can't say I am remotely surprised, seeing as how that story is one of the finest bits of literature on the entire fecking site.
You're welcome! Thank you for the contest, and for drawing out stories like Thou Goddess so that the rest of us could read them, too.
WHOO GO HORIZON :D
Wooo! Well done Horizon, you magnificent poetic bastard.
Yay! Well deserved!
Congratulations!
1913391 1913560 1913690 1914261 et.al.:
Let me tell you, all you other authors made me earn this statue. I've been judging the Everfree Northwest writing competition this week as well, and with no slight intended on its 75+ heartfelt and surprisingly clever entries, I can say that there's not a single "Nocturnes" entry I wouldn't have ranked up there with the EFNW finalists. Augie attracted a remarkable caliber of competitor.
Personally, the high ranking of the dark-horse Luna's Landing doesn't surprise me; I know exactly what Augie means about its grabbiness. I was reading through its first scene and the self-assured dry wit of Luna's blame-game exchange hit me between the eyes. I beheld her, regal, softly radiant as of old, and I fell in love with her all over again. It was like that all the way through. There were some masterfully written stories in the comp, but this, this, was the one that made me understand what people were feeling about my own story when the word-of-mouth campaigns started.
Luna's Landing would have been my own top pick were it not for the roughness of its editing; but even strictly as submitted, I'd have run it a close second to Chris' Wyrmlysan. I'd like to note that I've already offered the Llama a thorough copy-editing pass through his story with my decade of professional experience — this story will shine once the surface flaws are tumbled out.
Anyway, I can promise that the statue will have a place of honor in my home, far above and beyond being a trophy to display —
— what, really? I'm sorry, it's hard to time these —
— *wrestles for microphone* Just a few more seconds —
I, uh, I'd like to thank the Academy, and my dam, and Luna Herself. I'll post those author's notes and annotati—
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Oh my, I appear to be late in my congratulatories!
So... Congratulations! 
Congratulations to horizon
And a well done to everypony else.
It was a really fine spread of stories. Congrats to every one of you, especially horizon, and thank you.
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And so:
We all lived happily ever after.
Until next time?
Mike
1918028
Indeed!
1918028
Indeed!
Indeed!
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I'd say:
That's one thing we all agree on.
Mike