It’s what brought them together, united under a common goal of searching out their special talents. Well, after days, weeks, or years of searching, the Cutie Mark Crusaders have done it!

…Now what?

Contest Details:

Rules:
Entries must follow the prompt and feature Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo as a romantic couple. Whether a story starts out with them already together or features them getting together is up to the writer, so long as the story contains the pairing.
Entries must be posted to FimFiction by the contest deadline, and thus must follow FimFiction’s rules, with additional restrictions as follows:
Entries must be a minimum of 3,000 words, no maximum length.
Entries must be complete to be considered for judging (though unfinished stories may be posted before the deadline and updated over time, so long as they are complete by the deadline).
One submission per entrant.
No stories with Rule 63/gender changed characters
Stories entered in the contest must not have been previously submitted to FimFiction.
Judges are not allowed to participate in the contest, or edit/preread entries.
All tags allowed with the following exclusions:
Human
Mature: sex
Mature: gore

Submission Process:
When an entrant posts their submission to the site, reply in this thread (and please tag me in the reply so I get a notification) with a link to the entry. This post will be edited over time to contain links to the entries.

Contest Dates:
Start: November 1st, 2013
First Reminder: December 1st, 2013
Two Week Warning: January 3rd, 2014
End: January 17th, 2014 23:59 EST

Judges:
bats
Echriedz
Incredible Blunderbolt
Skeeter The Lurker

Judging Process:
After the contest close, judges will read the entries and pick their top three. Stories will get three points for first place votes, two for second, and one for third. The story with the most points overall wins.

Prizes:
The winning entry will be placed in a special folder on the group, as well as be featured on the group’s front page.
A $50.00 cash prize in the form of a steam gift or paypal.

Additional Information:
Note on the timeline for entries: The only requirement is that the CMC have their cutie marks at the start of the story. How long ago this happened before the story’s beginning is up to the writer: they could have just gotten them, or it could be years in the future. Additionally, as Alternate Universe tags are allowed, a story could be told with them already having their cutie marks that otherwise takes place during canon events.

The Entries:

My Inspiration by gwg
Perception by DeepShift
When I Hear Her Voice by The Celtic Pony (pending completion)
Sing it Long, Live it Loud by FlutterPal (pending completion)
Memory of a Summer Night by MasterFrasca99
Free Fall is a Free-For-All by Jake R
Destiny by contodaslasganas

Two and a half months? Hmm. I might actually be able to get my ass in gear and finish something for this.

2071384

The big reason behind that decision is so the contest didn't end in prime holiday/finals time, and render finishing up stuff a juggle with RL concerns for a lot of folks.

2071312
So let me get this straight...
There's some contests working right now, one of them (TwiJack) you participate... And now we have another contest more?
Damn you, bats
Maybe I can do something, but is gonna be difficult.

2071312 I guess I could try and give it something of a shot.

~DeepShift

2071401
That's not a bad idea, though I admittedly have a bad record with self-imposed deadlines. Still, I've had a fairly solid idea for a ScootaBelle high school romance gestating in my head for months, so I might be able to do this.

2071312 I would enter but I'm stumped for ideas. It does leave me time to enter after NaNoWriMo finishes, but I want to work on other stuff as well, and they'll be other stuff going on ...
I am in a state of flux about this contest We'll see, boys.

…Now what?

Kisses, of course!

2071312

All tags allowed with the following exclusions:
Human
Mature: sex
Mature: gore

Aw, poo poo.

2071485 there is no sex in scootabelle contest! (None!)

2071432
Nope. I came up with it well before seeing EQG. I wrote a Scootabelle scene for TMP, and the idea grew from there.

2071525
10/10 for observation, dear sir!

Therefore, you are now

2071312 Oh hey, question: Do they have to still be fillies during the story? Or could it be set, say eight or so years after they gained their cutie marks?

2071566

No requirement on how long ago they got their cutie marks; could be minutes, could be years:

Note on the timeline for entries: The only requirement is that the CMC have their cutie marks at the start of the story. How long ago this happened before the story’s beginning is up to the writer: they could have just gotten them, or it could be years in the future. Additionally, as Alternate Universe tags are allowed, a story could be told with them already having their cutie marks that otherwise takes place during canon events.

2071574 Alright, just wanted to be clear. In that case, I may have something! Yay!

Yeah, I think I'm gonna pass on this...
*sees cash prize*
COUNT ME IN!!!

2071777
Like we say here in Spain: Powerful gentleman is Mister Money

I'm in.

2071312 This interests me. Maybe I'll have to give it a shot...

2071574
Can the very beginning of the story be them getting their cutie marks ie: first thousand words or so, or do they have to have them at the very beginning?

2072955

The intent is to have the story not be about them getting their cutie marks, so as long as it's staying true to the spirit of that idea, it should be fine. I can see how there could be a lot of story seeds that, while not being about them getting their cutie marks, would do well to have it happen right at the start to set off the actual story, and that's still fitting with the spirit of the prompt.

If it was in a prologue chapter, I wouldn't even bat an eye, but first chapter should also be fine.

2071312 here's my entry
best of luck to everyone else

wow

2071312 Welp here's mine. Perception

~DeepShift

I think I can make something happen, count me in.

Question: In the entry, do they need to have their cutie marks already? Or can the get them during the story. Like the first chapter, about them obtaining them.

2183340

Someone asked that earlier; here's the rundown for that:

The intent is to have the story not be about them getting their cutie marks, so as long as it's staying true to the spirit of that idea, it should be fine. I can see how there could be a lot of story seeds that, while not being about them getting their cutie marks, would do well to have it happen right at the start to set off the actual story, and that's still fitting with the spirit of the prompt.

If it was in a prologue chapter, I wouldn't even bat an eye, but first chapter should also be fine.

2183368 Ok

I got this.

My story is finished now. Good luck to you all.

2071312 Here's mine! When I Hear Her Voice

Good luck everypony!

2071312 Here's mine! link

2071312 Are we allowed to edit previously uploaded chapters of the story after the contest ends? (E.G. Grammar fixes, puctuation, minor dialogue changes etc.)

~DeepShift

2601558

Sure, but keep in mind that there's no guarantee that a judge hasn't already read a previously unedited chapter.

Though if you want to make more extensive changes than what you listed, we ask for you to wait until after judging, but the things you mentioned aren't an issue.

2608577 Awesome, thanks.

~DeepShift

2071312 I may be skirting the line just a bit close, but my submission is up! Memory of a Summer Night
I hope you enjoy it.

2071312 And here we have it, aside from some minor edits which may occur over the next few days, Perception is complete!

~DeepShift

2071312 I wonder, is it too late to join in on this? If not, here's my entry:

Destiny

Might as well give it a try, though I don't think I'm a strong writer in the Romance department

2071312
If you'll still have me: Lifelong Dreams.

Massive typing incoming.

2071312 So, not to be a bother, as I understand you guys are probably extremely busy, but any plans for when you announce who won and who got second and so on?

2748204
2071312 Indeed, is there a rough estimate as to when we will be informed of a winner?

2071312 I hate to be a pain in the butt, but will we find out the results soon?

2071312 can we at least have an idea of what the issue is so that we may have an understanding of the delay. I don't care if I won or not, more I'm curious as to who won and why it is taking so long to declare a winner.

-GWG-