It's finally time for "Equestrian Harmonics"'s very first group contest!
This one's going to be a bit different from the ones you are accustomed to.
For this.. is a fan song-writing contest. That's right! Contestants, rather than ordinary fanfics, will write songs based on prompts provided by the group admins (ThaStrangr, Blue Dragon).
Now for the rules:
1. Entries MUST pertain to one of the provided prompts.
2. If an entry is a parody of an existing song, the original work AND artist must be provided,
3. One entry per user.
4. Stealing another fan's work will NOT be tolerated. If we discover a contestant doing so, he/she will be withdrawn from the contest and permanently banned from the group. <<(My serious face)
5. Entries can be of any existing genre.
6. May be instrumental (must be uploaded and liked back here) or vocal (lyrics may be PM'd to either judge. If put to music, music must be linked and lyrics must be posted.)
7. Dead-line is October 22nd, 2013.

Prompts - Contest 1:
Rainbow Dash's Determination
A Pinkie Party Song (Interpret as you will)
Beasts of Equestria (Manticore, cockatrice, etc.)
Ponyville Business Jingle (Tune advertising one of the many private businesses run out of Ponyville: Carousel Boutique, Sweet Apple Acres, etc.)
Shipping - TwiShy (Each contest, we will offer one ship as a prompt. For our first contest, we chose TwiShy.)

Entries will be judged by myself (ThaStrangr) and Blue Dragon. A song isn't required to be full, but it mus contain at least one verse and one chorus. Lyrics alone will suffice; singing/music isn't necessary.

I think that's about it. We will be checking for feedback on this contest idea. Tell us what you think. If members don't like it, we will revert to ordinary fanfic contests.

Hmm... the idea sounds interesting, but I'd prefer writing a story based on the prompts with the requirement being that a song needs to be included and be a focal part of the story.

1858758
This sounds like a lot of fun! I'll most certainly join!

1858758
How many songs can we enter?

1858779 Ooh, that's an interesting idea!
We might make the rules of future contests flexible so that we can keep things fresh. Your idea is definitely going to be kept on-record!

1858758

Do rap songs count? If so, I'm in! If not, I'm still probably in!

1858816 All right! I'd like as many contestants as we can get. Thanks for starting us off.

1858857

3. One entry per user

Gotta make sure things are kept fair.

1858870 Probably should've mentioned: genre doesn't matter. Write Barbershop if you feel like it!

1858865 Cool to hear

I'll probably do this, songwriting would be an experiment for me.

1858890 I've written a few. It's a lot of fun once you really get into it.
Best of luck.

1858882
So. Many. Ideas!

1858934 Hey, you could always pass your ideas over to other contestants. (JK, save 'em for future contests. We may have similar prompts in the future. )

1858758

Don't forget to put the deadline there, Strangr.

As a sidenote, I'm really excited. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

1858981 There's miss MIA . Yeah, I just edited it. Pretty sure I have everything now.
I know, right? Looking forward to discovering some new talent 'round here!

1859002

Well... I sort of fell asleep after I got home from school.

Everything looks like it's shaping up for the group. Got a banner, havin' the first contest, almost 40 members... I think it's a cool idea to give the entrants the decision to write a story based on the prompt but still include the song lyrics. It'd be a fun read and fun to write, too.

1858758
Can we extend the Pinkie Party song to include other ponies?

1859061 I was stuck at work for an extra two hours.

... Mmmmaaaaybe next time. In fact, I set this contest, you set the next one. Cool?

1859128 It can be a song about a Pinkie Pie party, a song Pinkie sings for a party. You can interpret that prompt however you need to fit your demand.

Can I get a 7th option to the other choices? I.e., a song about one of the princesses or something like that? Also, What are the rules for giving someone else a composition you made to use for the contest? I have an instrumental ready to go, but I can't seem to put lyrics to it myself.

1859206 ... Contestants have already begun, it seems. It may be too late to post a new prompt. I'll consider one, just in case.
Okay, someone else is putting lyrics to a composition you made? As long as this person has your permission, that's perfectly fine.
But whomever posts should credit the other for his/her work. (Make sure this person notes you for the composition in his/her entry. )

1859301 I never officially gave anyone the track yet, lol, but I was just wondering if it was ok to potentially let someone use a composition I made for the competiton. But thanks for answering my question.

1859157

I hope you got paid overtime.

Also, sure! I'd love to host it next!

1859576 Bucking right I did!

Great! Looking forward to seeing your ideas.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Are we using Google Docs to send the entries?

1859734 If that's the case, it will have to be sent to Blue. I... have no idea how G-Docs works. I've never used it.
You could: type your entry in a message to either me or Blue Dragon; post your entry in a blog post and link it here; post your entry in a reply to this post with the title in bold red letters
... basically any way it can get to us and we know who it's from.

1859938 Alright then, I'll just have to figure out how I'm gonna send it then. Thanks!

1859734

If you'd like to use Google Docs, feel free to send me the link and I'll take care of it.

1859938

Google Docs is fairly easy to use. All you need to do is follow a link and it shows you a document. Like this.

1859984 Cool, mon ami. I should have the lyrics sent to you by tomorrow maybe

1860034

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. No need to rush, though, as you have until October 22nd.

1859984 Hm, ya learn something new every day.
Thanks!

1858758
how do we submit a song?

1860326

You may message either me or ThaStrangr the lyrics to your entry directly or give one of us a link to a Google Doc form of your entry. Other ways of submitting are these:

You could: type your entry in a message to either me [ThaStrangr] or Blue Dragon; post your entry in a blog post and link it here; post your entry in a reply to this post with the title in bold red letters
... basically any way it can get to us and we know who it's from.

Hopefully that answers your question.