Please read all of this, because it is sincere. Sorry if some of you went to bed already, but we've been trying our best to get this to you ASAP. Thank you, Rayray, for taking down all those scores for us.

Firstly, I'd just like to say that I feel very lucky to be a part of this group. It may not be as large as the main TwiDash group, but maybe we'll get there someday. In the meantime, I think we've got some excellent members already, and our family is always growing.

As for the contestants, THANK YOU! No, like seriously, thank you so damn much. I woulda' felt so stupid if I started this contest and no one entered. But, you brave souls did, offering yourselves and your stories to the fiery torment of our ruthless judging.

Wasn't so bad, right?

We even had a contestant submit his first story ever. Timelord, props man. That takes balls.

Final list of contestants in order of submitting:

Minds Eye : Shattered Dreams
Kodeake : Easter Confessions
Noble Thought : Shipping and Mishandling
maxxxxxx : Our Hearts That Summer Morning
Adda le Blue : True Love Never Dies
presentperfect : Fall Down
The DJ Rainbow Dash : Infinite
Timelord358 : A Twidash-y Day

I love you guys, really, and it was a privilege to read your stories. Thank you all.

THIRD

Coming in at third place... drumroll please...

Shattered Dreams by Minds Eye!!

Excellent work.

SECOND Err... wait, a tie?

Funny how things work out, but there was actually a tie for second.

Congratulations on getting second...

True Love Never Dies by Adda le Blue
and
Easter Confessions by Kodeake!!

Both amazing pieces, but how did you two manage to get that close?

AND NOW... THE WIENER!!

FIRST

Infinite by The DJ Rainbow Dash!!!

WHAT AN AMAZING STORY!!

Congrats, man.

Now, before anyone gets teary eyed because they didn't get what they wanted, I'd like to say a few things.

Let me start with that this was our first contest, and (as such) was a learning experience for us. Not everything went perfectly smoothly, some of the judges were hospitalized (literally), and final judging took a bit longer than expected. We'll work on that. Fortunately, for our next contest, we'll have a full staff of six judges. (I hope.)

Next, to the contestants, I think I've said this enough, but you get thanks from me one last time. I honestly never found a single story I didn't like. I was thoroughly impressed with all of them, and made sure to take the time to comment on each one. In fact, the next prompt we do, I think I'm going to write an entry myself. (Take note that I will not be eligible to win any prizes or place in any standings. I merely want to see how I stack against all of you wonderful, talented people.)

If you would like to see your total scores (out of 240 points), please make a request and either myself or Rayray will be more than happy to provide. Note that the scores will be general and won't include that of individual judges (so that you can't hold a personal vendetta against anyone).

The family has spoken!

Go in peace. (As Rayray would have me say) No buttnuggetry!

If you took the time to read the other entries, then kudos to you.

3268031

I too, want to thank everypony for participating! I thoroughly enjoyed the ones that I did read, even if some of them turned me inside out emotionally - it turned out to be an inspirational force. I am sad to say that I could not read all of them before the contest was over. Emotions and life and needing to be happy took precedence, I'm afraid.

Congratulations to you, DJ! I did enjoy the happy turning at the end, even if the concept still leaves me with dread... I'm far, far too emotionally invested in any story I read...

Congratulations to you, Adda and Kodeake! And to you as well, Mind's Eye.

I look forward to honing my skills for the next competition and hope to enter with all of you by my side once more.

3268031
Third, huh? Awesome! I really think you guys got the best story I've written. Thank you all for the reception it's gotten.

I would like my scores, please.

3268031

Woah... I won? Hey I won something! *prints out post, proceeds to shove it in everybody's face that walks by me* Alright, that's enough.

Anyway, I'm honored! Thanks a bunch to all the judges, and to Surry for running this whole shindig. And thanks to everybody else who entered the competition. I plan on reading all the entries in the future if I haven't already, so if I didn't leave a comment on your story, look out for one

3268063

And I apologize for filling you with dread. Didn't mean it, honest!

3268123

I know you didn't. Like I said, I get way, way too emotionally invested in stories that I read. Not just pony stories, but any story. You wrote an amazing story. That it was able to touch me that way is a good thing. As much as I don't like being sad, when I get back out of it, I'm filled with inspiration. It just... takes a while.

3268123
Congrats! You wrote a great one. Infinite memory was a fantastic and original twist on the immortality concept.

3268141 I suggest keeping that in mind when reading half of my stories, a lot of them have sad tags on them.

I find it cool that you can become that invested in them. Makes reading even more enjoyable sometimes.

3268150 It pays off to lay in bed and think because you can't fall asleep. This is how I even thought about the idea.

3268154

I find it cool that you can become that invested in them. Makes reading even more enjoyable sometimes.

On the other hand: Cupcakes. But you are right. Especially with the uplifting and ennobling stories. I'm a part of the Heartwarming group for a good reason. I get my happy ponies there. Also, Merlos the Mad's Mary's a Mare is a bit of a treat every now and then.

I suggest keeping that in mind when reading half of my stories, a lot of them have sad tags on them.

I will keep that in mind when I do. Thank you.

Tie for second place? Not too shabby for something written in a matter of hours between another contest entry and a side project.

All the stories were awesome, and I'm honestly surprised I did was well as I did when compared to the other competitors, who all wrote, quite frankly, amazing stories for everyone to enjoy.

Gah, I never know what to say in these situations, so I'll leave it at that.

3268073 Do you want them here or in a PM?

3268166

On the other hand: Cupcakes.

Cupcakes ruined Rainbow Pie for me.

3268247 3268166 3268158 3268150 Congrats, DJ, and I want you all to know that I thought these were amazing stories, and almost all of them made their way to my favorites, while they all got a like from me. (I'm a little picky with my favorites.) As far as my personal scores go, this was a VERY close race, with 3 of the stories coming within 3 points of a perfect score from me. You're all excellent authors and exceptional people. I hope to actually compete alongside you as a contestant in the next competition, though I'm nowhere near on your level, some of you. I suppose first and foremost, I'll always be an editor, but I can live with that.

Edit: There were so many stories I wanted to win!

3268123
Congratulations man! It was a good fic and I loved it. Also I look forward to the next time you send me a contest entry saying "Hey, Surry's contest is over in three hours, can you edit this before then?" I mean really, three hours? That's all you gave me? At ten at night no less... Well whatever. I didn't sleep that night, but I'm glad I got it done. it was a wonderful fic and I count myself lucky to have been able to help you with it.

Once again, congratulations man!

3268031 would I be able to get my sore please.
also good job everyone, I'm really just glad that I was able to write something.

Whew! That's a relief. :D Infinite was definitely a good story, congrats to DJ for winning and the others for turning the top three into a top four!

Now I can go fix up my dumb story, yay! Also, if there's a second contest, I will definitely be interested, as I have at least a couple more ideas left. :3

Congrats to the winners! I'm sad to say that even though I said I would enter, I didn't get a chance to due to me going out of town, and being sick for a while... The next contest I hope to be apart of for sure

3268031
How did I not see this yesterday?! A tie for second, eh? I'll call that a victory! I'd like to hear my scores, as well as any other comments you have that could help me make the next story even better! Speaking of which I'm very tempted to enter the next group contest, but if I'm needed in the judges' panel then I suppose I can give it a pass.
My top three was pretty close to yours, too: in no particular order, 'Fall Down', 'Shattered Dreams' and 'Infinite'.

3268123
Congratulations, DJRD, and congratulations to everypony! This was quite a contest, wasn't it? I hope the next is as exciting!

3271543 I was wondering why you didn't say anything.

3271543
*bows*

I figured yours would beat mine. It was just better written overall. I thought Infinite would win and getting third was a surprise for me. Fall Down was unique enough to get in there, and Easter Confessions was romantic enough to beat me out. Which it did in the end anyway.

My score was only one point less than what I predicted, so I'm happy.

3271788

3271861
Oh, I don't know. I really liked 'Shattered Dreams'. I don't think I can compare mine to any of the others because I'm both extremely proud and extremely critical of everything I write.

3272167 Mhm.

3271861 Wait you figured I would win? i thought Adda would win actually.

3273078
Like I said, infinite memory was an original twist on immortality. I can only think of one other Immortal Twilight story I enjoyed reading, and I can't even remember the name. She crossed into an alternate universe to visit an old unicorn version of herself on her death bed, if anyone can think of it.

Plus, you hit the featured box. Without clop! I don't think that was an accident.

3273092 you're thinking about What Could Have Been by Doctor Perseus

3273078
Really? But like I said in the comments, the only flaw I spotted in your story was the sudden conclusion and that's not a matter of skill, but of taste! Besides, it's more accessible than mine by far. I'm not surprised in the least that 'Infinite' beat 'True Love'.
Thanks, though.

3273092 I suppose. Then again, I attribute the feature box thing to writing a Twidash story when the majority of my 220 followers followed me for Twidash

3273107 With True Love, it also played right into my favorite type story, so maybe that's why I liked it so much

3273099
I'll have to bookmark that one. I'll have to get around to reading his Doctor Who fics too, but, you know... baby steps.

3273119
What type is that? Sad sappy shipfics? I'm growing fond of them too. I've written one and a half so far and the sequel to 'Miss Sparkle' might go in that direction for a while.
And yours was one of my favorite types: a philosophical debate disguised as a narrative. I do appreciate it when a story makes me think, and think hard, about some of my preconceived beliefs - in this case, memory, aging, and dealing with grief. I think having read this will help me in the near future.

3273156 1000 foot tall baby steps.

3273158
Speaking of which, I really do need to get my reading list of 526 back down to a manageable size... Time to start 'Austraeoh'!

3273156 Yep. I adore sad shipping fics (odd, because in real life I'm a pretty happy person overall).

You know, that is probably the first story I've written which is like a philosophical debate. Probably the one which is closest to being able to elicit deeper thinking is Colorless perhaps.

3273181
That's not odd in the least. I'm sick to death of violence in real life, but I can't get enough of stories with meaningful violence like 'A Puppet to her Fame'! I think that it all boils down to reading being a sort of escapism, a chance to take a breather by dipping into a life unlike your own.
'Colorless' has been on my RL list for waaay too long. Maybe I should rearrange my priorities.

3273186 That's how I like to see it. Writing and reading is like a break from reality for a bit (not that my reality is bad or anything).

Colorless is the story I'm most proud of, so I do recommend it

3273192
I'll try to remember that when I get out of work tomorrow. As usual, I'll let you know what I think as soon as I get around to it!

3273186

I think that it all boils down to reading being a sort of escapism, a chance to take a breather by dipping into a life unlike your own.

That makes a lot of sense. I am the least adventurous person I know. And yet, I can't get enough of adventure stories. I think you hit the nail on the head with that comment.

Back to lurking again. Applejack, Fluttershy, Trixie, and Silver Spoon are calling to me again. Need to finish writing up their histories and get their characterizations done so that I can actually start to put some flesh on these story bones.

3273186
3273192
I'd recommend "Colorless" as well. It's quite short, but the world building is amazing and it's well intertwined with what the story want to convey.

If you like sad stories, it should be read.

Hell; I'm not that big fan of those and even I like it...
~Twi

3273209
Ooh, then I'd better not stop you! I'm looking forward to 'the Wisdom of Dogs' and especially your tetralogy, the Lost Past Quartet.

3273210
3273192
High praise. Besides, out of all of the buzzwords used in publishing these days, 'world-building' is the one that gets me all hot and bothered!
You know what? It's less than four thousand words long. I think I can stay up that much longer.

3273243

I'd like to float some ideas by you later when I actually get them solidified into neatly contained and constrained ideas instead of long, rambling trains of thought.

Huh. I just came to a realization. That's how I've been writing... Good realization to have. Welp. Back to planning. TwiDash, here I come!

3273192
3273210

Worth it. So worth it. I got some extra work done too, so hooray for great stories and for feeling accomplished!

3273327
I'd like that. I'm signing off shortly - I only have five hours left to sleep - but I'll definitely be on tomorrow, hopefully before work and certainly after. If you send me something before then, it'll be my highest priority!

3273437
Told you so.

Also; got to love the irony of the picture posted to represent amazement.
~Twi