Contest #3 has now ended, and we have three excellent stories to choose from. They're all great reads, but of these three, only one can win.

The way this works is that you'll vote for your favorite story among those listed below. You cannot vote if you entered in the contest and I urge you to be nice and friendly when it comes to voting. Voting will end on January 25th, after which the winner will be announced and the prompts for Contest #4 will be announced.

Here are the stories you can choose from:
Troubles Over Hot Chocolate

Babs' Last Snow

Night-Freed

Best of luck to everyone who has entered, and I hope you enjoy their stories whether you vote for them or not.

3986063 I vote for Troubles Over Hot Chocolate.

3986063
I vote for Night-Freed.

3986063
At first, when I saw Bab's Last Snow, I thought of voting for it immediately.

But that would not have been fair, now would it? So, now that I've read all three, it comes down to which one I am voting for. But first, allow me to speak:

1. Bab's Last Snow is my personal favorite. I loved how the story is weaved. The creepiness, the mystery. Though I had to have the author clear and explain things to me. When the author did, I was more awed of the story. And I told the author that I wanted to insert Babs and Burnsy into my story. I want to be able to write a dark-fic like this one...

...instead I wrote a fic that have a lot of people thinking that Princess Luna have a thing for 'the baby ponies' (Pip). Dag-nangit...

2. Troubles Over Hot Chocolate reminds me of Ode to Friendship. It's like a short version of Ode to Friendship. Troubles Over Hot Chocolate introduced me to Sprinkle Medley, and immediately, I liked her. It was soooo easy to imagine RD and SM talking in that fic, sipping hot cocoa and the crackling of the fire-place with the cold snow outside. Now that's Equestria!

This story made me feel a small measure of the same exact thing that I felt the first time I became a brony, after seeing a scene in S1E2, when Twi's eyes flashed in realization what the magic of the 6th element was. I used to have that, but things like that...you only realize that you've lost it when...its lost.

3. Night-Freed is probably the most technically polished fic among the three. I read through it, not once bumping into an error (grammar, spelling, etc) that jarred the immersion of the reader. It's a sweet Alternate Universe fic. The first Alternate Universe fic I've read, actually, that I was able to appreciate to the end. It's got a sweet friendship going on, too, a bit like Troubles Over Hot Chocolate.

Now, with that out of the way, I vote for Troubles Over Hot Chocolate. It is made of the same spirit that made me a fan of MLP.

Bab's Last Snow will always will always have a special place in my heart, but that's because I'm into Dark and Slice of Life.

Night-Freed is an interesting alternate take on MLP. Kind of anime-ish, in fact. At least, that's how I imagined it as I was reading it.

3986063

You cannot vote if you entered in the contest.

So where's your vote?

3988740 I'm not casting a vote as I don't want to affect the opinions of anyone who hasn't voted yet or look like I'm playing favorites, given that I'm the user who made the group. I will say that all three stories were great reads in my opinion.

3986063 I vote for Night-Freed.

A reminder that there is only one day left for voting.

Also, to any admins reading this, let me know if you have any ideas for the next contest. I have an idea just in case nobody has any suggestions, but I'll let any admins' ideas have priority over mine for the next contest. Best of luck to everyone who has entered for this contest.

3986063 Troubles over Hot Chocolate

4006136 And I may not be an admin, but here are some ideas for the next contest:

1. Romance. Romance between two characters that need more stories. Since Valentine's Day is coming up, you could have it where ___ has to confess to ___ on (insert pony name of Valentine's Day). It would also have to be everybody, and you can choose whatever two characters listed.

2. Write a one shot about ___ foal that needs more stories interacting with one of the four princesses. This could have a lot of potential, an example being Babs having a nightmare about the CMC telling her that she's no good, Luna coming in to save the day and comfort her. You'd come up the specifics though.

I'll add more as I come up with them. :3

4006157 Thanks for the suggestions. Those are always appreciated.