Competition » Story contest: Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? (1/19/22 -- 4/1/22) · 12:19am Jan 20th, 2022
There's a lot of ways we could describe MLP. A passion. A casual interest. The reason why most of us are here and yes, I said most. But ultimately, it's a cartoon. Animation. Still images which change slightly from frame to frame, creating the illusion of movement. And in that, it's one among many. One more example of an art that's been around for over a century. And some of the writers on this site like to take that cartoon and cross it over with other properties.
All I'm doing is giving you a direction. If you want to enter this contest, then you'll have an extensive choice of IPs to cross over with. Extensive, and... if you do it right, if you're trying to win -- maybe just a little... looney.
Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? story contest
This contest is for writers who want to find out what happens when our crew interacts with classic cartoon characters -- but not every character is on the board. Your choices are limited by time and theme.
Da Rules
* Writers wishing to enter the contest must be willing and able to submit a physical mailing address. The prize is a tangible item and must be sent through the postal system. If you can't receive a package, even through a mail drop, don't participate.
* Each writer is limited to one contest entry, which must be labeled in the story's long description with 'For the Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? contest'. This story must then be submitted by the author into the contest folder.
* Any story entered into the contest must be a crossover between MLP and at least one classic cartoon character (and must use the Crossover tag accordingly). Ideally, the interaction between personalities should be a primary focus of the story.
* You are limited in your choice of incoming character(s) in the following ways. Either:
** The animated character must have debuted in a cartoon with a copyright date of no later than 1947.
** The animated character in question appeared, even as a brief cameo, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I'm providing a list of all such appearances for your convenience.
If the character does not qualify for at least one of those criteria, then the character is disallowed and your story will not be accepted as a contest entry.
Example: While the character of Marvin The Martin officially debuted in 1948, he appears in the movie and can be used. For Animaniacs, the history of the Warner Brothers (And Sister!) has them initially showing up in the 30s -- but the actual copyright date is 1993, so they're out. Cuphead may have that Great Depression look to him, but he's a little too young to qualify. And naturally, any toon character who first appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is eligible for use.
You are not limited to Disney or Warner Brothers productions. Want to go Out Of The Inkwell? Not a problem. The Fleischer studios? Go ahead. Leaving the borders of the States to check out some obscure European characters? At your discretion. Just be ready to link into a handy page for anyone who needs to check your references.
* Character depictions must be consistent with their cartoon personalities and animated portrayals of that era. Do the research. Why? Because it's good for the story. Also, it's an excuse to watch some cartoons.
** I am aware that the 1941 Superman releases are eligible here. That means that if you pull out the cape, it had better be the Fleischer incarnation. Fedora included.
* All characters must be themselves. By which I mean that if you try to pull off 'I went to a convention dressed as Porky Pig and met this merchant'? You are out. With prejudice. And if you dress up your OC in a rabbit costume and call him Bugs, we are going to be very unhappy.
* Contest entries must be Complete at the time of submission, and no longer than 12,000 words. If you have the sort of brilliant idea which can easily lead into a six-digit epic, I understand. We just need a story of 12K max to get you entered. You can launch the epic after we're done.
* All stories should work as standalones: the reader should be able to go in with little to no prior knowledge of the setting and characters, learning along the way.
* No Mature stories. All entries must be rated Everyone or Teen.
* The following tags and genres may not be used. Doing so is a disqualification.
Equestria Girls (and characters exclusive to that franchise) You are limited to G4 and G5. At most, you can casually mention that EQG exists.
Human Humanoid toons are fine. Actual human beings are prohibited.
Gore No intestines, please.
Death They're toons, Doc!
Non-Consensual Completely against the spirit of the times and the competition.
Anthology You get one story.
Anon
Self-Insert, Second-Person This is literally not about you.
Anthro Unless you can find an anthro toon from that era. But anthro ponies are out.
Porn Everyone or Teen, remember?
* However, these tags and genres are not an automatic out.
Violence I'm sorry: you expected me to ban good old-fashioned cartoon violence? We're just closing out gore. Violence is fine. Bring out the mallets!
Sex & Fetish With caution, within limits. Let's face it: if Bugs is on the scene, then there's a good chance that someone's gonna crossdress. The classic cartoons frequently had some wink-and-nudge adult humor lurking in the background -- at least, when it wasn't taking center stage. You can't have a sex scene, but you can certainly allow your characters to be a little raunchy. And let's face it: with Jessica Rabbit as an eligible character, outright banning those two tags would be its own sin. So yes, you can use those tags -- very, very carefully. We'll let you know if you crossed the line. Through violence.
Suicide/Self-Harm May be invoked as dark comedy. The cartoons of the era were not shy about letting characters high-dive from tall buildings into a concrete ocean. You can't actually kill anyone, but a comedic "Goodbye, cruel world!" does not get you removed.
Narcotics Similarly, we've caught a few of them drinking. Usually just before the cruel world bit.
Horror, Dark, Drama, Sad, Tragedy Have you seen some of this stuff? Use with caution -- but if you think you can make it work...
Alternate Universe Keep in mind that all stories must work as standalone entries. If you've established a personal pony setting and can make it work within this contest and context alike, then it has to work for a new reader. Using 8,000 words of your limit to explain why your OC is currently Princess Of Industrial Sabotage is going to be an issue.
* Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on April 1st, 2022. Results will be announced on April 22nd.
Never-Asked Questions
Is this real?
'fraid so.
Can I work with another writer?
Sure, but there's only one prize. Also, if you team up with someone, that counts as the single entry for both of you. You can't double-dip through submitting one story by yourself and another with a partner.
Why the copyright cutoff date?
It's the year in which Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is set.
Hey, Estee... um... remember that time when I downvoted your entire story catalog because my mental image of Twilight is taller than the one you described and you had to pay?
Sure do!
How can I expect you to judge my story fairly after that?
That's easy, imaginary person: because I'm not the one doing the judging! I have three roles in this contest: preparation, launch, and mailing out the prize. When it comes to the judging? There's a panel of five, and I'm not on it.
...so who is on the panel?
FanOfMostEverything! Knows every character!
Masterweaver! Completely insane, but in a way which actually helps here!
Dawnbreez! Overthrows governments in their spare time and judging means they have less of it!
Tipper! In a different time zone and can read the night entries!
CCC! Creates a panel with an odd number of judges!
So you're really out of it? My open hostility towards you won't affect my chances?
Once this contest blog goes up, I just host the judge's discussion room in my Discord server. And once we have a winner, I mail the package. That's it. You're safe. And I'm certain that the local authorities will be unable to link your mysterious death to any prize received.
What are the judging criteria?
Quality of story, characterization, skill, possibly faithfulness to the source material and the spirit thereof. And yes, they're going to take points off for bad grammar. Among other things. If you can't be bothered to check over your own work, then the panel isn't going to let you win.
Can I send bribes?
Sure. But only to me. It won't actually accomplish anything or have a single effect on the results, but you do you. And I'll do something with your money.
If someone else takes a toon before my story is published, can I still use that character?
Yes. This isn't one-and-done on character choices. We could get no stories with Daffy, or we might see six.
How am I supposed to get the character into Equestria in twelve thousand words?
And who said you were limited to Equestria? They're toons, Doc!
Princess Celestia and Daisy Duck get together at the studio commissary once a week to talk about work. Luna crashes a Disney Princess meeting, at least for the 1947-on-back crew. Scrooge and Daring Do wind up going after the same artifact. Opal? Black paint in her fur, and here comes a skunk. Duck Season? Rabbit Season? No, Pony Season! Did you know Popeye's been running on earth pony-grown spinach this whole time? Rarity would drop by to meet him, but she's busy repairing Jessica's dress. And remember the pegasi in Fantasia? New colt in town! Oswald vs. Angel Bunny? Let's see how long his luck really holds out. Between Foghorn and Applejack, who's less comprehensible and more Southern? And seriously: you can't find a reason to pair Rainbow and Speedy?
What do you want to do?
Besides, Bugs can always just miss that left turn at Albuquerque.
...did you just throw a bunch of ideas into the open?
And you may feel free to use any of them. But I did hold onto one concept. I can't enter my own contest, but I want to publish a just-for-fun story after it's done.
So what's the prize?
Currently, we just have one.
(There's a very small chance this might change, but it would have to come from outside sponsorship: as such, I'm going to proceed as if this is the only prize available. But if someone wants to sponsor extra prizes, just let me know.)
The person chosen by the judging panel as the winner will receive this:
May the best story win.
And because this is the first time I've had a blog transferred to the front page (with all thanks given to WandererD for the full site notice), let me clarify: hi, I'm Estee, and I'm the one who's launching the site's newest inevitable abomination. I'll also be mailing the prize to the winner -- and outside of hosting the judge's discussion room added to the occasional rules judgment, that is it. Your fate is in the panel's hands.
All I'm gonna do is watch.
Possibly point at the good stuff.
Hoping to laugh.
Hi! I'm one of the judges. I'm gonna just get this out of the way.
Some of the content that's allowed under the rules here is gonna be, shall we say, "Hazardous Material". Because we're allowing anything copyrighted before 1947, we're allowing a lot of stuff that's less than tasteful.
Technically, you are allowed to use this content. However. I, and the other judges, reserve the right to throw out entries that we feel are crossing a line. Use your best judgement.
(Also, jokes about bribes aside, I do have a ko-fi.)
Hello, all. I'm FanOfMostEverything, I'll be helping judge, and Estee is far wiser than I was with my last contest, what with asking for the site post.
Here's looking forward to whatever you have on offer.
Also, if you have any questions, you'll probably be better served by posting them in Estee's blog, where someone who can answer them is more likely to see them.
Funny thing is that while I'm probably not entering, I was just looking at a cartoon character yesterday that would qualify. There was a Walter Lantz character called Snuffy Skunk that was only in 4 cartoons, which were from 1938-1941:
https://walterlantz.fandom.com/wiki/Snuffy_Skunk
static.wikia.nocookie.net/walterlantz/images/4/40/46391DB4-461F-4573-8E60-FDB4640022C9.jpeg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/180?cb=20210114091246
First appearance was with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, so they obviously are available too. Animation looks very much like the style Cuphead was based on...
(I watched Snuffy's Party.)
--Sweetie Belle
"By which I mean that if you try to pull off 'I went to a convention dressed as Porky Pig and met this merchant'? You are out. With prejudice."
Finally! Someone besides me who knows that Displaced are not true Crossovers.
Does sound fun for sure. Might do one.
... is this just an excuse to get somebody to write you a Dover Boys crossover fic? Them's some deep fandom cuts, right there.
Also I am old.
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A Dover Boys crossover fic idea, you say?
I'LL STEAL IT! NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW--
I kid. I'm too busy right now to enter; that's why I offered to judge instead. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time between now and April to read the entries.
I was trying to think of the most obscure toon I could, but the duck and cover turtle wasn't made until 1952. Too bad. He and Tank could have shared a head of lettuce together.
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I seem to recall having this argument a few too many times with my stories when someone put them in the displaced group. That was a weeks worth of a headache.
I would enter, but idk... I have not had a lot of ideas but April is 3 months out. Ah shucks, why not doc?
Unless I'm suddenly overcome with inspiration (it could happen) I'm not entering. But I wanted to say I like the idea! And I wonder if it fits the rules to use the cartoon wasteland from Epic Mickey? A concept too recent for the time period in the rules, but literally designed to be a home of forgotten cartoon characters from that era. Too bad those games weren't great. I'd love to see that world explored more.
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Why would your stories end up in that group? Just a quick look through them doesn't scream anything about the genre. I think.
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I have convened with Estee and FOME. The official ruling is that the setting's okay, but the characters (as they appear in Epic Mickey) are not.
You're still allowed to use Oswald, of course--he was copyrighted well before '47. It's just that you'll be using Oswald as he existed before he got
yeeted into the Shadow Realmsent to the wasteland.Why am I seeing the Mane 6 at a circus with Bugs and Bruno going at each other?
'I can dive ONE THOUSAND feet onto a block of solid cement! On my HEAD yet!'
Ho boy... I'll give it some thought. Like the premise!
...I am tempted to try a fic where Pinkie Pie and Wile E. Coyote team up for a day...
Holy S
it. I've been sitting on a crossover like this for over a year that I've been meaning to write. If there was ever a time for me to knock off some rust...
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There is Cecil the Turtle, from 1941's "Tortoise Beats Hare"...
--Sweetie Belle
Well that would make writing a Bambi crossover just a tad difficult.
I wanna say you could just transplant Bambi before the you-know-what scene, but death is basically an omnipresent force in the mechanics of that world. And yet it's also intensely pastoral.
just had a thought and question, Yen Sid, the Sorcerer from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in Fantasia, would utilizing some of the personality from the Kingdom Hearts be applicable, or would he need to be silent and stern?
Shave and a Haircut...
TWO BITS!
...okay, I'll admit, out of all the contest ideas I thought was coming, "mlp x old toons/any toon cameo in WFRR' wasn't one of them.
If anything, the entries for this could be... interesting.
Hmm there are few... but there are some japanese animation character made before the 1947 cutoff date.
I guess that they are out, right?
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Silent and stern.
It might be more fun to have Pinkie attempting bakery cleanup with the brooms.
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I did say you could leave the States.
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Missed that, sorry ^^;;
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Well, they seemed adamant about Guardian of Equus and The Spartan getting shoved in there at one point till I had words with a mod for their group. Mind you this was years ago.
Tom and Jerry are from 1940, for anyone thinking it!
I have a fic were MLP crossover with the Power Rangers called Power Rangers Knights of war
5629437
Well, that's against the rules, but good try! You can publish that story on your own and I'm sure it'll do well.
Can't wait to see our favorite ponies meet Private Snafu!
Remember, loose lips sink Friendships!
There's something about the wording of the rules that's confusing me somewhat. The rules say that human characters are disallowed; all right, fair enough. However, the suggestions in the description and the comments seems to allow human cartoon characters (say, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Popeye, Snow White, Geppetto, Yen Sid, that lot). How's this work?
For that matter, how'd the ruling interact with characters that look and act human but technically aren't, like the 1941 Superman or the seven dwarves?
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The official ruling is that human-shaped Toons are allowed. 1941 Superman is permitted; so is Yosemite Sam, Granny, Elmer Fudd, et cetera.
That said, you have to work with their pre-1947 iterations. If you use Superman, you have to use 1941 Superman. If you use Granny, you aren't allowed to use Granny from Space Jam 2, no matter how convenient it would be for her to know kung fu.
[Edit] Also, I know that when you say Yen Sid you're probably referring to Sorceror's Apprentice, but just for clarity: No, you're not allowed to use him as he appears in KH2. You have to use him as he appears in Sorceror's Apprentice.
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1947 Superman DOES have slightly different powers & power levels from later versions.
1947 Popeye has most of the subsidiary characters. (ICR if that includes Poopdeck Pappy. Does include the Sea Hag, Wimpy, Bluto, Olive Oyl, & a horde of forgotten others.)
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Sadly, they are the only Hanna Barbera characters that do.
Would Hunky and Spunky be accepted in this contest?
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Debuted in 1938. You're clear.
I had like 5 different ideas at the start of this... Then all of them got brought up as possible examples as I read through the full post, or were disqualified due to publishing date.
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The examples are up for grabs. Sometimes writers bring up buckets from the same river.
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Okay just thought I let you know
My little pony x yoshi 64.media.tumblr.com/626f79a33d1b94f7ca25e77b08341d26/33646e05039faae1-75/s1280x1920/267af21206369218f6b463c2773b85c597a41cce.jpg
I wish I could join, but I am elbows deep in finishing my own crossover with an anime substantially later than 1947. And it does involve the hated EqG. So double strike on me.
Best of luck to everyone, I and I plan on reading as many of the entries as I can! 
<edit - this is why I should use Show Preview before posting - sorry>
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That's good to know.
How about Blackie the Lamb?
Odd that there's an FAQ specific to authors that dislike-bombed you for short Twilight. Does that happen a lot?
For those interested, this is the DVD in question: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Who-Framed-Roger-Rabbit-4K-Blu-ray/298762/
A review of it is here, however: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Who-Framed-Roger-Rabbit-4K-Blu-ray/288676/
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The black outline clashes with the colored outlines.
What about peg-leg Pete?
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*spends 5 seconds Googling "Blackie the Lamb"* 1943, you're clear.
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*spends 5 seconds Googling "Peg-Leg Pete"* That Pete? I guess he actually had a peg-leg back in the Timeless River days... As the antagonist of Steamboat Willie, he's probably the oldest eligible character that most people on this site have heard of (and I was today years old when I found out he's even older than that).
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I didn't even need to Google it because that good ol' boy was my childhood... half a century too late to be eligible for this contest.
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For further information on Superman: the 1941 cartoons are what introduced flight to his powers in the first place when they couldn't find a way to make leaping over tall buildings in a single bound look dignified. Other than that, those three classic lines are the extent of what you're working with; no eye beams for you.
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You're going with Superman, Mxyzptlk (5th dimensional person, pronounced "MIX ul spit lick") dates to 1944 in the comics. Not sure when he was first animated. Like to see him meet Discord or Pinkie.
Elmer Fudd vs Fluttershy's stare.
Woody Woodpecker vs Pinkie in a Goof Off.
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Wikipedia says no joy on the imp. Really though, you can do antics in his vein with just about any classic cartoon character who found their way into a normal series.
Can we use Disney Nick and Cartoon Network charecthers as well?
Sadly, Scrooge McDuck is on the list of characters NOT in Roger Rabbit, and he didn't appear in any animated form until 1967. His first comics appearance barely makes the 1947 deadline.
I considered setting a ponies-as-actors story in Toontown, but couldn't pick a character from the list that clicked. (For one thing, the only equine on the entire list is Horace Horsecollar, and... well, just no.)
In fact, the only idea that's clicked in my head so far involves the Tazmanian Devil, and he's also ineligible, but the scenes are too fun.
So, still thinking about it.
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No.
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Scrooge was my flub. He was supposed to show up in the movie, but wound up on the cutting room floor. (The list of discarded characters is both long and depressing.) But because that's my error alone, I'll allow a McDuck exception.
He does have a time machine, after all.