FiddleDust Contest: Results! · 9:00pm Aug 29th, 2022
Howdy.
Let’s talk about FiddleDust.
Specifically, the FiddleDust contest. That’s right, after a long wait, it’s finally results time. Let me start with extending a very, very deep thank-you to all the participants for taking the time to write for this contest and I was deeply touched at how many of you invested the time to create your stories! Deciding the final placements for this contest was an absolute adventure and I waffled over the results for well over a week (special shoutout to Lost for being my rubber duck and helping me finalize these decisions).
But the waffles are done now, and with the results in hand, it’s time to finally reveal who won the First(?) Annual FiddleDust Festival.
Honorable Mentions
As with every contest on FimFic, there are so many good entries that unfortunately cannot make a very small podium. While these entries ultimately didn’t place, I want to take the time to thank each and every author for taking the time to write for it.
In no particular order, here are the Honorable Mentions.
Irrelevant, Undome Tinwe.
Irrelevant used an incredibly creating storytelling aspect, taking a romance and stretching it out across an absolutely immense amount of time. The storytelling was succinct and mysterious, with the tragic decisions Fiddlesticks made following her across countless lifespans. Immortality is often a fickle thing, but Irrelevant is able to handle and display it in a wonderfully natural manner, making the romance between Fiddle and Lightning feel like they have actually been destined to be together forever.
Goats of Summer, SparklingTwilight
When I first created the prompt Kids of Summer, I can’t say that I was expecting something like this. But now that I’ve read it, I have to absolutely say that Goats of Summer delivered one of the most creative takes on the prompt in the entire contest. Goats was able to create an intriguing, brilliant world explored from the mind of two fairly-juvenile characters, and watching them (try to) interact with one another was exceptionally hilarious. The story was full of special and unique plot points that flowed so well into each other, with an ending that capitalized on the buildup and story threads that have been woven together over the course of the entire story. It was absolutely memorable and a great read!
Brunch for Two Verses, daOtterGuy
Brunch did something that no other story in this contest did: it shipped FiddleDust, yes, but not in the same manner as the other pieces did. I can’t say much more than that without spoiling the rest of the story, and I do feel that the ending is so incredibly important for this story that I’ll refrain from saying more. The story’s setting however is brilliant and vibrant: the idea of two restaurants with very different themes mashed together is fantastic and well described. The characterizations are also full and rich, and the tragic underpinnings of the final revelation makes them all hit just as hard.
Not Kids Anymore, Snow Quill
It always amuses me that Lightning Dust’s character is so dependent in canon on Rainbow Dash. Not Kids Anymore capitalizes on this dynamic, and spins a more positive interpretation on their dynamic: one that very well could have happened if things shook out a little bit differently over the course of the canon. Lightning has always been a fascinating character to me, and many authors feel that the show did her a little bit dirty with the way the Wonderbolts Academy and Washouts episodes ended. But Not Kids Anymore is an excellent piece that rectifies this somewhat harsh canon characterization and finally lets Lightning Dust reach her full potential as a character.
Bad Jokes and Blind Mares, bahatumay
The author didn't provide a cover art so have this picture instead!
To tell a complete story about how Fiddle and Lightning fell in love is an ambitious endeavor. I mean, it’s something that I wouldn’t even say I’ve done yet! Bad Jokes and Blind Mares is able to weave a complete story from the beginning about how these two beautiful background ponies first met, and on top of that is able to prove why they work as a couple. The start of their friendship is cute and wonderful, and it was so much fun to see them develop further and further along the way while picking each other up and being there for one another when they needed it the most.
The Dangers of Personal Growth, Silent Whisper
I never thought that I would end up adoring a sprinkler. But Dangers of Personal Growth made me do it! I love her. I love her so much. Dangers of Personal Growth was the only sci-fi story that was entered and it capitalized wonderfully. The setting is vast and wonderful to explore, and the little details embedded everywhere are rich and vibrant, all coming together for an absolutely lovely story. Fiddle and Lightning are also wonderfully written here, both in vastly different capacities then they have been in the show but act and feel so natural that nothing at all feels wrong. And Missy! I love Missy.
Capgras, Bicyclette
Of all the stories in this contest, Capgras decided to venture into an unsettling, provocative direction, something that most of the other stories decided not to do. And the decision was well worth it in my opinion: Capgras keeps you guessing until the ending, and even then you’re not really sure if Lightning is right or just slowly going insane. It’s a masterfully done tale about a very real feeling, and not only that, it does so in a universe where Changelings exist! It truly can make the reader anxious and nervous, desperately looking for an answer or some resolution. And to not provide it is such an apt and brilliant way to end the story that nothing else would suffice.
3rd Place: No Passion, wishcometrue.
To me, No Passion had some of the best character development not only in the contest, but out of all FiddleDust stories that I have ever read. Seeing Fiddle in the early stages of the fic genuinely hurt: seeing her slowly slip away into a mundane lifestyle, seeing her left alone by those she loved and being left behind felt all too real to me. I was blown away by the compact nature of the story, and that it was able to flow from scene to scene while still maintaining its emotional momentum. Lightning’s arrival quite literally changed Fiddle’s life, and every moment that the two spend together is wonderful and lovely. I would just love to linger in each scene, to soak it all in and watch as they interact with each other, seeing their personalities play against the other. It’s so so easy to get behind Fiddle here, to cheer for her and hope that she can pull herself out with Lightning’s help. And while it hurts to see her shove Lightning away, the pain is quickly replaced by joy in a brilliant reconciliation scene that really ties the entire thing together. Because she does find her passion at the end, and both herself and Lightning are all the more better for it.
2nd Place: Without Her, What is Left?, Shaslan
It seems a bit odd for a story to be ranked here despite not physically having Fiddlesticks in it, but Without Her more than makes up for it. Simply put, no other story in this contest had an emotional payoff like Without Her had: it's beautiful, it's tragic, and it's so rich and romantic that it left me feeling it for days after. Death isn’t something we like to talk about but the tragic reality is that it will come for all of us eventually. Lightning Dust isn’t an exception to this rule, and neither is Fiddlesticks. While Fiddle isn’t physically here, the author makes us feel her presence through memories and ghosts that cling to Lightning’s mind. We can feel and we can see how much Lightning loved her, and we can only imagine how devastated she must be now that Fiddle is gone. The hints of the outside world keep beckoning, but Lightning is so swept up in her grief that even years later she pushes them away. It’s real and it’s tragic, but by the end of the story Lightning finally realizes that she has to let go. Because Fiddle is gone, even if her memories aren’t. More importantly though Fiddle has left her something important that she’s been neglecting: their daughter, and in turn, their grandson.
1st Place: White Lightning / Black Mud
There’s a specific kind of art to writing background ponies. They have canon designs and a lot of them have a set of appearances to build around: why do they show up here? Why are they friends with the ponies they most often appear with? What are they like, how do they talk? A lot of this is unanswered in the show and left on us to decide. White Lightning / Black Mud handles this characterization task trivially. Fiddlesticks shines here as a rich and vibrant character. She feels real: her insecurities, her doubts, every single little thing about her feels like this is somebody that I know in real life more than it does a pony character. And Lightning! The version of Lightning we see here legitimately feels like the Lightning Dust we see in the show: young, hot-headed and full of herself. But beyond that, this is a Lightning Dust that knows all of this and wants to change it. Lightning has always been a difficult character to handle after the Washouts episode, but this really feels like a natural development for her. What really sells this story for me is that these characters feel so rich and real because they aren’t perfect. But they can try to be a little bit better, with the help of each other. And that is something that I feel is so key to the FiddleDust dynamic.
Once again, I would like to extend a very very sincere thank you to everyone for writing in this contest. I had an absolute blast treating myself to my favorite ship of all time, and it touched me to see so many people invest in a random pairing I came up with almost two years ago! You all are brilliant writers, and I truly hope that all of you will continue to write and read for years and years to come. From the bottom of my heart, thank you and keep it up! It gets better.
damn, mushroompone doin work! :O
glad to see you could inspire such heights of creation :D
5682722
Mushroom is, in my opinion, one of the best writers in this fandom, past or present.
this was great fun, thanks for putting it together Red! honored by my honorable mention, too
5682728
so true
I do so love writing these two. Thank you for giving me another opportunity to do so and congrats to the winners!
Surprised the results have not been cross-posted to the contest folder group (the Rare Pairings group).
That said, Congratulations to the winners!
And thank you, The Red Parade, for the comments!