Welcome to this month's contest! Sorry it's a day late, but I didn't really want to post something serious on April Fool's day.

This month's theme is Fairy Tale. Feel free to interpret that however you wish. Want to re-write a classic fairy tale with ponies in it? Go for it. Want to write a ship fic with a fairy tale happily ever after at the end? That's great! Any spin on the theme you can think up is totally okay.

Since this is a short fic contest, your stories should between 1000 and 6000 words long.

Stories must be rated either E or T. (I'd love to do an M-rated contest eventually, but it's too apples-and-oranges to try to judge M rated stories against E or T rated stories.)

Stories must be new for this contest, you cannot simply submit a story you have already published.

The contest deadline is April 22, so you have three weeks to write in.

To enter a story in the contest, simply submit it to the appropriate group folder.

You may enter as many stories as you wish.

The winning story will be featured in our winners folder, and the author will also get a sketch of the subject of their choice, provided by me! (Examples of my artwork can be found over on Deviantart.)

Stories will be judged (by me this time, but eventually other judges may be recruited) based on 5 categories.

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. Time to get writing!

Looks interesting. I'll give it a go.

5886575
You know, the primary issue I can see is that the phrase "Fairy Tale" has so many different interpretations.

So many.

Could you perhaps engage us with a clarity of vision as to which definition of fairy tale you are primarily expecting utilization of?

5886600

Wikipedia and TVTropes cover the basic points between them. The former features a good list of fairy tales and a category folder if you prefer explicit examples, such as "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", "The Frog Prince", "The Little Mermaid", and "Puss in Boots". The latter has a page devoted to tropes often associated with the genre, such as "The Big Bad Wolf", "Damsel in Distress", "Rule of Three", and "Secret Test of Character".

I think the open-endedness is the point of the exercise, but in any case it doesn't strike me as a problematic genre. There's plenty of material to work with, and there are plenty of precedents to identify and use.

5886600
5886636 Yep, it's meant to be very open-ended, to encourage more entries. That's also why the short length requirements.

5886575 As with all the contests on Fimfiction, I'll promote this one in an attempt to get you more contenders.

5887505 Awesome, thank you.

5886575 Can the tale be a writ of an unwritten fairytale? Like... "Briar Rose" which is the little-known oral version of "Sleeping Beauty" or something similar?

5888778 Sure, that's fine. Anything that's related to the theme is fair game.

5886575 Can there be gay cowboys?

5888985 So long as it's E or T rated, you can put in anything you like.

Oooo this sounds like fun! May give it a whirl . If anything, could be a way to de-stress from the pressure of finals *cough* or distract from finals, either way works. *cough*

5886575 Count me in! I'll probably end up writing a Hanzel and Gretel story featuring Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

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5889203 Huzzah!

5886575 It is a shame that I am in my clinical rotation this quarter and that I am already busy judging a contest of my own otherwise I would totally write a story for this.

Perhaps I'll be able to do it next time. I hope everyone does a great job on their stories.

5889230 I hope so too. I'm looking forward to seeing what gets written!

In terms of fairy-tales, are we talking fairy-tale tropes, or actual fairy-tale fables like Cinderella, brother Grimm kind of fairy-tales?

5889969 Either. Both. Maybe even neither if you're feeling super creative.

5886575 I'm in. Expect spooky.

5903514 Awesome!

Ugh... wish I'd noticed this a week and a half ago, this is something that's actually within my power to finish in the deadline... under normal circumstances... but I do have a few ideas. Perhaps I'll make one based on one of my favorite fairy tales, which actually isn't well-known...

5886862 I dunno, at least some of the fairy tales we have date back to times where fairies and magic were believed to exist, yet I suspect such "fairy tales" were still considered fanciful...

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Just a friendly reminder that there's just over one week left to finish and submit your stories! I'll be declaring the contest closed at midnight, Pacific time, on the 22nd.

5905589 Honestly, I completely forgot about this.

5905781 Well, that's why the reminder.

5886575 I am intrigued.

-Ru

So did I forget, and sadly it looks like I won't have time this time, stupid finals...

Had a few ideas, but sadly not enough time to write them out...

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One day left!

5916938 Posted and entered. May the fairest of the fairy tales win!

5916938 Posted mine about an hour before the deadline.

5917125
5918110 Huzzah! I'm quite stoked that this has gotten so many entries. One hour left, but even if no more come in, I'm still pleased.

Well, it's officially over! I'll try to get everything read and judged asap, but certainly by the end of the month.

Next month's contest should be run by MrAllan, I'll be coming back to run another one in June.

I found this group two days ago, and decided to try and write a story in 36 hours- that didn't work. I finally finished the first draft of my story at 2am, so missed this round. But so glad I found it- with a lot of tweaking I may have a real story on my hands

5918731 Good to hear! Hopefully you'll join us for the next one!

5918731 That's pretty great. I'd love to read it when you're ready to post it.

5919893 Sure thing! It might be a little while, and a bit longer than I originally thought for sure, but I'll let you know when/if I ever do publish it

Okay! I have read, awarded vague, nebulous, never actually counted out "points", and arrived at a winner. I have to say it was very difficult. I would have been delighted to award the winning spot to nearly all of these stories. I was afraid I'd have to suffer through at least a few awful entries, but not a one of them was torture to read. They were all amazingly different, as well. I don't think any two of them had exactly the same take on the theme. It was fun seeing what everyone chose to do with it! In the end I did have to pick, though, so the winner is:

A Crow Looked at me, by 5888985 . Please let me know what you'd like me to sketch for you.

Here are the full judging/scoring results:

Snow Fireflies
by destinedjagold

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
I found a couple of teeny tiny errors, but nothing at all that interfered with my reading of the story, so full points on this one.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?
Yep, yep, and yep. This story is not breaking any revolutionary ground, but it hangs together quite well. I could quibble about a few of the word choices, and the dialog could probably be trimmed slightly, things like that, but overall it was definitely an enjoyable read.

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?
There is something that gets called a fairy tale here, and that's probably accurate enough. I'm a bit of a nerd and strictly speaking this is more of a legend than a "true" fairy tale, but that's being seriously pedantic. I very much enjoyed the fact that the in-universe fairy tale was what drove the rest of the story's events.

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?
It has a lot of fun aspects. The interactions between the foals are playful and enjoyable, Fluttershy is sweet, but I do feel it falls a little bit short on being unique. Ghost legends are quite common, so the fairy tale aspect is not something unique, and the cute interactions are what any story featuring the CMC should be shooting for. This hits the "good enough" mark but doesn't go beyond it.

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.
The handling of the shipping stood out to me. It's just obvious enough that the reader can't miss it, but avoids the heavy-handedness that a lot of shipping stories fall into. Very nicely done.

Overall grade: "Good"

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The Mare and the Pea
by Alchemicgree

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
There's a persistent error in punctuation that was driving me bananas. A quoted phrase followed by an attached phrase should use a comma, not a period, and the word following should not be capitalized. "No Auntie, I shall not humor those backward, savage harlots with even a second glance." Snapped the voice of Prince Blueblood. is incorrect, it should be "No Auntie, I shall not humor those backward, savage harlots with even a second glance," snapped the voice of Prince Blueblood. There were a few other little typos and such, but that was the only major error I found.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?
There were a lot of awkward phrases in this one. Nothing *truly* atrocious, but it was a little bit distracting at times. I suggest, when "weird phrasing" is a problem, that the author should read their work aloud. To a friend or just in an empty room, wichever. A lot of these problems will clear right up when you read them and hear how strange they sound out loud. As far as the characters go, Blueblood was pretty spot on. Slightly snobbish and a little stupid. Although apparently not that stupid, since his plan worked? It's a bit unclear, honestly, just what happened. The latter half felt somewhat rushed and lacking in detail. The initial setup of the premise was twice as long as the rest of the story, which was a bit jarring. We don't get to see Rarity asleep on the mattresses. Is she really that delicate? Is she clever enough to lie and say she is? Is the terrible innuendo that popped into my head on reading about hard things in the bed the actual truth and BlueBlood just fell to her sexual wiles? (Probably not, that's probably just me being dirty minded.) This could stand to be expanded quite a bit.

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?
It's a classic fairy tell retelling, so it gets full points for using the theme. I feel this could also be improved on, though, if we know exactly what happens, rather than the events being rushed through so quickly. It's not a completely faithful retelling, since the original didn't have the "contest" aspect; the princess turned up by happenstance, in a storm. So I have no idea if the glossed over events are the same as in the original, or different. An expanded version would answer that question.

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?
It has a few fun moments, but the shortness made it fall a little flat for me. I was looking forward to a possible switch to Rarity's perspective, and what she would make of the mattress tower and her restless night. So yeah, overall the weakest part of this was the short length. I'll stop mentioning that now.

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.
I like Celestia's intervention. "Chessmaster" Celestia is my headcanon, and having her put her hoof in by pushing Rarity to the head of the line feels like a nod in that direction. Also, love the cover art.

Overall grade: "Okay"

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Sharktavia 9: Shark of Inspiration.
by Masterweaver

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
Other than a couple of typos, this was pretty immaculate.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?
I have to say I went into this with low expectations, and it far exceeded them. It was actually a very compelling story, it sucked me right in and I read the whole thing in one go. I even forgot to take notes. Absolutely stellar storytelling.

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?
It falls short a little bit. There's just a hint of "fairy tale" in the mysterious shop, but that's a role playing and modern fantasy thing more than a true fairy tale thing. So it loses a few points for that.

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?
It is very creative! I would not have thought that "Octavia is a shark" could be anything other than "lol random" but it's actually not at all. So very good use of a weird, creative theme to tell a good story.

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.
The evocative dream/shark imagery was a great plus.

Overall grade: "Very good"

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The Gentle Folk
by MonolithiuM

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
It has some odd tense changes. I am not quite enough of a grammarian to pin an exact finger on why they're wrong, but they read strangely. No major errors at all, though.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?
Slightly info-dump-ish at the beginning. The middle section, when she's actually in the woods is very compelling. The ending was startling, but it does have a dark tag, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised.

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?
It uses the theme delightfully, the whole story is sprinkled with bits of actual fairy folklore, which I very much enjoyed.

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?
Creative and unique, definitely. Not so much fun, but "fun" wouldn't suit this sort of story at all, so that's not costing it any points here.

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.
Well, the extra riddle would probably be a bonus for some people, but I have to confess that I'm one of those people who finds puzzles annoying rather than engaging.

Overall grade: "Good"

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Callidus and the Mystery of Magic
by Giginss

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
I didn't find any errors, so A+ here.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?
It does definitely drag the user in. And Discord is recognizable just by his voice, which is a plus.

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?
It's another "technically a legend, not a true fairy tale" but who's being pedantic? Full points here.

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?
I was expecting Prometheus, but this was not so much a "theft" as a "conquest" so it ends up being a very different and much more warlike story. I also found it slightly odd that Sunburst toned down the drowning metaphor but kept the killing the gods in. That just seemed weird. Sunburst and Flurry are a cute little slice of life, and the mythic story is a pretty good tale, so I did still enjoy it overall.

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.
Discord's appearance was a nice little plus. Though I can't help but feel that even when helping he'd probably mess with Sunburst at least a little. Maybe those details didn't make it into the fairy tale that got passed down.

Overall grade: "Good"

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A Crow Looked at Me
by A Grand Wizard

1. Technical writing skill. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
The only actual mistakes were extremely minor and possibly just typos, but I found the use of strike-outs to be extremely distracting. I realize it's meant to emphasize that Celestia is writing this herself, and *some* of the struck out lines give valuable insight into her thought processes, but others are just... there, changing nothing that I could find. But I kept trying to figure out what they were changing, what they meant, even when they may have meant nothing.

2. Basic Storytelling. Are the characters interesting? Does the plot hold together? Is it enjoyable to read?
This definitely sucked me in. I kept wanting it to do more, though. I feel like it went enough beyond merely technically competent that its shortcomings frustrated me more, since there was such potential to be absolutely amazing there. But it just... falls short. There's such a build up, such an investment of emotion, and no payoff. Twilight doesn't get better, Twilight doesn't die that night. Celestia doesn't learn anything, Celestia doesn't fully descend into despair. The story is left unread in our minds, because we never see Celestia read it, yet Celestia tells us that Twilight lives a little longer, so she must have read it the next night as she promised. It feels like *something* should somehow bring it to some kind of conclusion, whether it's the story or something else, and whether it's for good or for ill, but nothing does. Perhaps that's the point, perhaps that's deliberate, and meant to be an expression of how life doesn't deliver neat conclusions. But I can't help but read a story *as* a story and even if they're not neat and tidy, I feel that stories work best with conclusions of some kind.

3. Use of the theme. Does it really use the theme? Does it do so in interesting ways?
Shakespeare didn't write fairy tales, so the conflation of his stories with them is... odd? Given that A Midsummer Night's Dream comes close to being a fairy tale, though, I'll give it credit.

4. Creativity and enjoyment. Is the story interesting, unique, or fun?
Well, "fun" is not the word, but it does invoke emotions in a very effective way. You can absolutely feel what Celestia is feeling, it's extremely poignant. Twilight not being immortal is also a little unique note.

5. Bonus points. A catch all for any good things the story did that don't fit the other categories.
I've already mentioned it, but I feel like it needs even more points for the sheer emotion this invokes.

Overall grade: "Very good, almost amazing" sums it up, I guess.

5921035 Congrats to A Grand Wizard for the win! I did enjoy this contest, and it shows that I have some work to do on my tenses and pacing. I had a blast writing The Gentle Folk, as scary fairies are always fun. Fairy tales come from a dark past, and I just felt that I had to go with some old world nostalgia. The riddle is something I came up with on the spot, and really it just tells you the different Faeries' names and what their roles are. Cheers!

5921035 5922016
Almost forgot to respond to this. I'd like to let everyone know this has been a pretty productive contest with six contestants, and I hope (and assume) every one of us had fun writing our respective fics. Because after all, the main purpose of this club is to have fun and to also give lazy bums like myself an excuse to put something out.

Let's see if we can keep up this level of productivity.

Just for fun (because I know you don't all follow me so won't have seen it on my blog,) here's the prize sketch I ended up doing for A Grand Wizard.

I look forward to June's contest! It'll be another shortfic one. Then I plan on doing a long fic one in August. If you have ideas for contest prompts, be sure to hit up the Call for Feedback thread and leave them there. Otherwise I'll just keep picking story ideas I want to read.