A Poll for the Next Story, and... GASP! A CONTEST! · 8:40am Jan 24th, 2020

So obviously I'm working on both the next chapters of 'On Swift Wings' and my remaining entries in Dirty Little Secret's Dirty Little Contest (expect two or three more before the deadline) but I'm finding that my attention is being drawn to a pair of potential short follow-ups to some recent successes of mine.

I very much enjoyed writing the Frenemies Trilogy, and a number of humorous and heart-warming scenes have been running through my mind. Hence the idea for 'Scenes from a Life (Post-Villainy),' which would cover moments in the life of that little reformed family in Saddlesburg between the first and second chapters of 'the End of the Beginning.' The chapters wouldn't be very long (2000 words at most) and I would welcome suggestions and requests as the story went on. I'm already fairly deep into a chapter in which Tirek has a conversation with one of Cozy Glow's suitors and I think the concept could be a lot of fun.

Once I finished 'Story's End,' I began to realize that there were some unanswered questions. Specifically; what does Flurry Heart do now? She's been raised her entire life to defeat the Villains, and now that mission's complete. What's next? Hence the idea for 'All the Rest is Darkness.' Boiled down, the story would feature Flurry returning to the Crystal Empire and having conversations with her parents, Starlight Glimmer, and Discord as she prepares to release the stolen magic back to greater Equestria. Whereas 'Story's End' is a big, bombastic action scene, 'All the Rest is Darkness' is a much more somber tale, one that asks if we can simply stop being who we've been raised to be once our purpose is fulfilled. I'm working on the length of the story and the general outline of events. I know the conversations Flurry will have with Shining Armor and Discord, and I have a fairly good idea on how the Starlight conversation will play out.

As you can see, both of these show tremendous potential. My only problem is which one to write first. That's where you lot come in. Here's a poll to tell me what you think.

Speaking of 'Story's End,' I feel the need to address something. There's something that I've been noticing recently that I'll just call "Star Wars Syndrome." It's not new, but 'Story's End' was really the first time I've seen it in one of my stories. A rather large percentage of the comments weren't positive feedback, negative feedback, or discussion of the story at all. A large percentage were people talking about how the story should have played out, how it would have been better if this happened, or that happened. Hey, I'm guilty of doing this too. I wrote a 3000 word treatment on how Batman v. Superman should have played out. But there's a big difference between fantasy-redoing a multi-million dollar film and a piece of My Little Pony fanfiction.

Way, way back in the day, PresentPerfect reviewed 'the Cask of Appletillado.' He dug the general idea of the story, but mentioned that he would have done some things differently. Know what he did? He took the general concept (a ponified take on 'the Cask of Amontillado') and wrote his own take on the story. That's the wonderful thing about fanfiction; so long as you aren't stealing people's words verbatim, you can do whatever you like! 'The Long Con' came about because I thought MagpiePony's evil Starlight Glimmer story was terrible and I thought I could do better. I'm not going to begrudge those of you who make comments like that, but I am going to challenge you;

Write something. Take the concept and outdo me. I welcome it. More written words in this world is always a good thing. Remember; Equestria lives on through our keyboards.

Now, onto to something more fun.

Newer followers may not recall (since the last one was in February 2016) but I used to regularly run contests on this blog. They ranged from trivia to writing challenges, and they were always great fun. Sometimes they even had an effect on my own writing. It was Rubycast who created the idea for Golden Haze and Celestia being lovers, something I quickly added to 'the Changelings Have a King' and has done wonders for both characters.

I think we're long past due for another contest.

We're going trivia again! Eight questions of various difficulty pulled from stories I've published since the last contest in February 2016. The three participants who get the most questions right will get exclusive early access to a very special story I've been tinkering with these past few months. I'll also pre-read one of each winner's stories and offer whatever help and advice that I can.

You can post your answers below or message them to me. Deadline is January 31st, 2020!

1. In the course of her battle against Cozy Glow in 'Story's End,' Flurry Heart paraphrases a quote from a famous 1980s film. What's the quote, and what film is it from?

2. 'The Trouble' is told in first person, and had the style of its ending directly inspired by a specific Stephen King short story (collected in Nightmares and Dreamscapes) that's also told in first person. What story is the ending inspired by?

3. Who was the mare that Bright Eyes spurned Chrystabelle for in 'the Last Temptation of Chrystabelle?'

4. What is the mysterious tome at the center of 'the Abyss Gazes Also' and 'the Thirteenth Hour,' and what is the name of its sinister author?

5. The final line of 'the Thirteenth Hour' is directly lifted from one of H.P. Lovecraft's shortest tales. From which story does it come?

6. 'Field of Screams' was inspired by the scarezone of the same name at Halloween Horror Nights 2004. The zone had a spiritual successor in 2006. What was the name of this second scarezone?

7. Which two members of the Mane 6 did NOT wind up as notches in Big Macintosh's bed-post in 'Kiss Me?'

8. As told in 'From the Archives of Truth,' Grogar is known to history as "the Doom That Came to Tambelon." Which of Lovecraft's short tales inspired this rather grandiose nickname?

There you have it. See you in a week!

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