If all the exclamation points weren't enough, I hope my description will fire you guys up for our first ever contest. Well, sort of... Since we're still so small, I've decided our first contest will be more of a casual exercise than a super competitive one.

So, how's it going to work? Simply put, you will write a story with the given theme in mind. Minimum of 1,000 words and I think I'll cap it at 5,000 words. You will publish your story, then place it in the appropriate folder in Fanfics for Family. Once you have done so, put the link in this thread so we know your story is part of the contest. You will have one month from today (till June 1) to garner as many likes as possible for your story. The story with the most likes at the end of the period will be the winner. Yes, it's not the most fair way to do it, but as I said this is a casual contest. I will be developing a better system for the next one.

Though a casual contest, I want the focus to remain on making a quality work of family fiction. That means actually reading through the story, checking for grammer/spelling mistakes (check out Dragor's thread for prereading), and telling a well crafted, entertaining story. Since this is our first run, I don't think any of us will be expecting perfection. In the words of Black Beauty, "Do your best and leave the rest, and twill all come right some day or night." I couldn't resist . Anywho, the main thing is to have a good time and enjoy writing.

Without further delay, I present our theme for this our first casual contest!

Tell a tale where a pony receives their cutie mark.

Notes: This story can fit into any genre, and can include or feature any OC's you come up with. Your story must be published from today onwards (no previously written stories will be accepted). Remember, have fun, write well, and don't forget our cardinal rule; KEEP EVERYTHING CHILD FRIENDLY!

3243803 I have a story, that fits this competition (foal gets a cutie mark, rated: Everyone) and has not been published yet. However, the story wasn't written for this competition, per se. I'm guessing such story wouldn't count, right?

3311770 Sure you can put it here. We don't exactly have a lot of entries. He he. I'm going to put my story Opportunity in it, but I haven't gotten around to adding it to the folder. I think I'll stretch the deadline out till mid June or so. I'd really like at least 3 entries so its an actual contest.

3312763 Okay, I'll just put the link to it here:
I Ain't Your Sacrifice!

So, this contest works by upvoting system, right? The one comment that gets the most upvotes determines the winning fic?

3314031 That is correct. It seemed the most simple system I could come up with.

3316205 It is published now: I Ain't Your Sacrifice!

Oooh. I'll have to check it out when I get the chance. Alas, I have almost no free time at the moment.

3374780 Don't rush it. I'm not even sure if it fits this group. I mean, yes, it is about a foal getting a cutie mark, but there are other factors at play as well.

3374780 So, who won the contest?

Unfortunately, you were our only entry, so you win by default. It's rather sad . Thanks for entering, and sorry it didn't get as big a competition as we hoped.