It's the early morning of April Fool's Day as I write, so if you wish you may disregard everything I say here. If you do that, though, I would suggest that you would be unlikely to win. You'll have to decide for yourself whether or not that's also an April Fool. What is the case is that this month marks the fourth birthday of FF150! 🎂 Anyway, enough fripperies. Let's get right down to business:

Here are the full rules.

Not an actual rules change, but I will suggest that one device ingeniously employed last month -- telescoping many words together to count as one -- though appropriate in the context of its story, might not be so well received by your faithful student judge this time around.

Remember, there is no prize, as such, for this contest -- but if you win, you will be able to choose the prompt for the next contest. You'll also get a mention on the group's front page. This is as close to Horse Famous as you're likely to get in this neck of the woods, so it's clearly a glittering and desirable non-prize. Not being Horse Famous, I mean.

Prompt: "Drama Queen" (selected by last month's winner, TCC56)
Rating: E or T
Word limit: 150
Closing date: Wednesday 21st April 2021, 11:59 pm UK time (world clock)

Please reply to this post with your entry. This makes it easier for me to keep track. Please do not leave feedback until after the closing date.

Entries are now open! Have fun!

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An Expected Reaction

"You should've seen this coming," Starlight pointed out, munching on some popcorn.

"How exactly could we?" Twilight protested. "Did you see this coming?"

"Don't get mad at me. She's the one who made the challenge," Starlight said defensively.

"Me? It was Rainbow who said it!" Rarity protested.

"Hey, how would I know that she would take my words so literally?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Besides, it was Fluttershy who told Discord about it."

The yellow pegasus hid behind her hair. "I just thought it was a funny thing to share."

Discord gave her friend a comforting hug. "And it was, so you can't blame her."

"We blame you!" Applejack shouted.

"Silence!" Trixie shouted with authority from atop her floating throne decorated with Shakespearean skulls and theatre masks. "You all shall bow to me; Trixie The Great and Powerful Lunamoon! Queen of Drama!"

Twilight sighed. "You're right Starlight. I should've seen this coming."

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“Oh, my Nova! It’s happening!? What should I wear!?”

A bolt of pink flashed through the air, sending several nearby drinks splashing to the floor.

“Silverstream! The only thing you’ll be wearing is a straitjacket if you don’t calm down,” Gallus called, catching his own glass before it shattered on the ground.

Wiping punch off the floor, Sandbar grinned, “You guys don’t have to do anything special. Yona and I want to keep things simple for our wedding.”

Smolder sighed with relief as Ocellus nodded her understanding. Before they could do more than echo their congratulations, Silverstream wrapped Sandbar in a rib-cracking hug and squealed, “This is so exciting! Are you moving in together!? Are you having children!? Do you already have children!?”

Ocellus patted her soothingly and giggled, “It’s only been a few days. There’s no way they’ve already had a--”

“Yes.”

…

“WHAT!?”

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Whelp, here’s hoping I did better than last time.

I give you,

Artistic Liberties

“Mwahahaha!!” Laughed Chrysalis as she stood over the defeated forms of Celestia and Luna, “With the love I’ve drained from the ponies of Equestria, I’ve become even more powerful than their Princess’!!”

Grunts of effort drew her attention to Cadance and Shining Armor, rising from the floor.

“You haven’t won, Chrysalis!” Cadence yelled, touching her horn to Shining Armor’s, “Because True Love conquers all!”

With a cry of fear, Chrysalis was hit by a pink orb and sent flying away.

Celestia and Luna stood up and looked at each other before nodding and turning to Cadance, and, with the grace of Princess’, they bowed down to her.

“Truly, you are worthy of the title of Princess, Cadance!” Celestia said, “We both hereby grant you the Crystal Empire to rule!”

“I accept!” Cadance replied.

---

As the audience cheered at the play, Chrysalis’ teeth ground in the shadows.

This makes no sense!

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I was a bit of a Drama King back in the day, it was basically being emo without all the black.

Flurry Heart swings open the door to the dining hall, "WHY WAS I CURSED TO BE A PRINCESS?"

In the room sits Shining Armor, reading the newspaper, and Princess Cadance, reading official documents. Both unresponsive to their daughter's cry.

"It's always, 'Sign my book, Flurry!' or, 'Can we get a picture, Flurry?'" Heart folds her forehooves on the table and buries her face in them, "I just wanna have a day where I'm a regular girl like everypony else, to live and dream like them, but everypony just keeps making me the center of attention!" she whines.

Shining and Cadance show no concern.

"Well no more!" Flurry gallops for the door, "If they won't leave me alone, then I'll leave them! I'm going to stay in my room, FOREVER!!"

Shining turns the newspaper, "To think, as a foal, she cried for attention."

Cadance flips a document, "Not much has changed."

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Don't forget to make your post a reply to the OP so Logan notices it's an entry.

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Thanks!

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I mean, just because it’s a crossover doesn’t mean it’s not allowed to be here, it just means it won’t be in the running for the story of the month. I did that a while back, and just submitted a second fic as well that fell in the guidelines.

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Glad you did! Your story was a fun read.

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*Knock knock*

Sweetie Belle opened the door to see... dog things?

"We seek Miss Rarity!"

Okay, Rarity could handle this. "Just a moment!"

She ran to her sister. "Rarity, there are... some dogs to see you?"

"Stay back. I'll take care of it."

---

"How can I help you?"

"Really? I'm afraid I'm much too busy..."

"Oh, that is lovely..."

"No, Rarity, stand strong. I will not be tempted by baubles. I'm afraid I can't help you. Good day!"

The door slammed shut.

---

"What was that about?"

"Remember when the Diamond Dogs kidnapped me?"

"And now they're back?"

"Well, that was their leaders idea, and it seems he's passed on."

"Yay?"

"Yes, but... Apparently I was the only one they could agree to take orders from."

"They want to make you their queen?"

"I'm not having it, though! I'm a leader in fashion, nothing more!"

*Knock knock knock*

--Sweetie Belle

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Even if it's technically ineligible, at least it's funny.

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"Princess Platinum! Princess Platinum! The blizzard continues, there's snow everywhere!"

Rarity cracked open a bleary eye. If sun had been raised already, it was a near thing. Only snow and presents could get foals up so early.

"Yes, yes, Sweetie," Rarity mumbled, desperate to reunite with the deep slumber so impetuously stolen away.

"Go and play. Be back by three. Try not to burn the snow today."

Does anyone recall Season Two?

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Drama Queen

"Everypony? Is there anycreature here who can't pull their legs up onto their chair?" The hostess looked around. "Great!"

Minutes later, a flood had submerged the room to a depth of three hoofwidths. On a small rowboat with a fake sail and a Jolly Roger pirate flag, two ponies fought with swords.

"Avast ye!"

"I shall never yield!" But a sword pierced the speaker's naval uniform. "Aaa!" The pony fell dramatically into the water. The splash drenched Twilight's hayburger, washing away the pickles.

The winner rowed the boat back into the kitchen.

When the flood drained away, Twilight got up to leave. The hostess stopped her. "What did you think?"

Twilight sighed. "It was...unique."

"I KNOW! I only have one question."

Twilight shook her head.

"What's a good name for a fast casual restaurant where the employees show off their acting talents?"

Without a word, Twilight left.

Author's Note

I don't alwaysoften write feghoots. But when I do, I try to find a way to make them work in 150 characters or less without putting any puns inside the story.

In the United States and at least twenty other countries, there is a very well-known fast food chain named "Dairy Queen." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_Queen#Global_operations)
I like to think this story works ok (if differently) even if you've never heard of that chain.

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(Alternatively, this could be called a hootFeg.)

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Since your story is ineligible, I can reasonably say that I laughed.

For everyone else, and anyone still considering entering...

Just under three days to go!

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I've been out of the running for a while, but for whatever reason, this month's prompt really gelled with me.

This is far from my best work—amongst other things, I'm not even 100% sure it matches the prompt—but it feels nice to be back in the saddle, you know what I mean?

Anyway, without further ado, here's my submission:

"I can tell you're only pretending to care about this," Thorax remarked.

Ember sighed in defeat. "Look, don't get me wrong, Thorax, we dragons do know how to appreciate a good story—" her Feast of Fire gems back home were proof enough of that, she mused— "but all this mushy 'soliloquizing'? Not my thing.

"I mean, if this Hooflet guy's uncle is such a jerk," the Dragon Lord continued, gesturing at the changeling performers on stage, "why can't he just shut up and stab him already‽"

"I don't know, lady, I'm not the Bard!" Hooflet's actor—exasperated by the visitor's vocal deconstruction of his character—abruptly asided.

Taken aback by the sudden obliteration of the fourth wall, the two royals fell into a stunned silence. They'd forgotten the actors were well within earshot.

"...If it makes you feel any better," Thorax eventually murmured, "everyone dies in Act 5."

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I thought I'd enter again on a whim. Not too sure on theme.

Ponyville Stallion Spills Milk, Arrested for Loitering

Ponyville Stallion made a nuisance of himself early this morning while grocery shopping today. Store owner repeatedly asked him to vacate the premises and eventually called authorities to escort him off-site for harassing fellow shoppers and staff alike.

"All it takes is a little drop, and BOOM! Your hoof slips out from under you," Ponyville Stallion would say when approaching his mark. "I found out the hard way. Last night. I chipped my hoof, now it's going to crack if I put any weight on that leg."

Officers attempting to apply first aid noted bruises consistent with Ponyville Stallion losing his balance in the kitchen, but since he was unable to consistently identify which hoof was supposedly injured, no aid was applied.

Ponyville Stallion was released on minimal bail after he started walking normally.

Portrait curated by Shadow_8472 from a random selection at thisponydoesnotexist.net.

Just over one day to go, everyone!

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Nopony had expected Queen Chrysalis to break down and cry.

"It's not fair!" she wailed. "My invasion! My beautiful invasion, foiled again!"

"It's what you deserve!" said Twilight.

"We're hungry!" Chrysalis wailed. "All we wanted was some love!"

Pinkie sniffed. "Aw, I kinda feel bad for her."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Geez, Chrysalis, you don't have to be such a drama queen."

Pinkie squealed. "THAT'S IT!"

"What?"

"Queenie, look, you changelings can change into anypony, right? I mean anypony!"

"Of course!"

"And you're fabulous actors, right?"

"Naturally!"

"Well I know where you can get LOTS of love without bothering ANYPONY!"

"Huh?" said the group in unison.

Six weeks later...

"To boop, or not to boop, that is the question!"

As the stage curtain fell, the crowd erupted with thunderous applause.

The changelings dropped their disguises, basking in the audience's love. Chrysalis turned to her manager and smiled.

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie."

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Chrysalis closed her eyes and morphed into a pale purple unicorn with a stripe in her hair.
The tutor smiled at her. "Good choice, your majesty. The princess's protegée is much admired among ponies, especially after she defeated Nightmare Moon."
Still in her guise, Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Of course. I have been reading those dumb pony newspapers you give me for homework all the time".
The tutor ignored the quip, handing Chrysalis a piece of paper. "It's very important that you imitate the mannerisms as well as the appearance of your disguise. You know it doesn't matter if any other changeling gets caught, but if you die... so does the Hive".
"Such a penchant for drama," the queen groaned. "You seem awfully talented at acting like a pony. Maybe you should be Princess Cadance at that upcoming invasion instead".

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I just hope they're not dead. I can't tell you how many times I thought somebody ditched me when it turns out they were just dead!

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Um... Submissions closed by now, right?

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Submissions aren't officially closed until Loganberry posts they are closed, even if it's past time, so if anypony wants to do a past the last minute submission...

--Sweetie Belle

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My apologies, everyone! A couple of things came up (nothing terrible) and I got distracted for a couple of days. But entries are absolutely, definitely now closed! Thank you very much as ever to everyone who had a go!

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Hmm, not sure about that. I do clearly state the closing date in the initial post, so that's perhaps stretching it. But given there's some confusion this month and given I am at fault, this time I will consider Morning Glory's entry eligible. Fair warning, though: as of next month, everyone should consider the stated deadline to apply in all circumstances unless I explicitly say otherwise.

Anyway... feedback is now open!

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Loved this story! I think it’s the best use of the prompt this month.

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I wonder whether Ember would appreciate how indecisive and self-defeating HamletHooflet is, and have more fun with the story/ies, in Ryan North's To Be or Not To Be: A Choosable-Path Adventure.

Just popping in to say I haven't forgotten! I'll put up the results by the end of tomorrow.

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Results time! Yet again, a month when I really found it hard work to pick between a number of stories.

Hon mensh: Mechawrecker -- I see this is your first go at FF150 (welcome!) and on this showing I hope it isn't your last entry! I like Silverstream a great deal, which doesn't hurt this any, but it's the ending that really sells this to me. Especially the comic timing. The only very minor criticism I might make is that it's a tad wordy in the descriptions. You might have had room for another bit of dialogue otherwise. But still, very amusing stuff.

Winner: Amereep -- With this fic, too, it's the ending that really won the day for me. In this case, though, Cadance's dryness is absolutely perfect. Admittedly it can't be easy being a teenager with the Princess of Love for a mum, but you do get the sense this isn't the first time Flurry has done this. Again, really only one very minor quibble: the punctuation needs some very slight tidying, eg a full stop would be better than a comma in the first line. That didn't detract from the fun, though.

Congratulations, Amereep! As ever, it's now your turn to contribute a prompt for next month's FF150. Please let me know what you'd like for the next contest, which as usual will begin on the 1st.

Thank you all for entering! By all means continue feedbacking (shut up, it's a word) if you like.

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I like to thank, St Edward's Catholic School's Class of '04. I entered your halls as an upbeat 1^st yearer, but wouldn't have known what a Drama King that I could be if it weren't for your derision, torments, and ostracizing. Those were the worst 8 years of my life that I'll always keep close to my nightmares.

But enough talking about Hell, let's get to the prompt.

Near the start of March, my sister decided to do something rather brash... she adopted rabbits. This isn't the first time we had rabbits as we had four prior ones before getting these two females. They act like you would suspect two sisters would act, they clash in personalities in many ways, the usual schtick of cuteness. And upon looking at the months, I noticed that we haven't done a theme off of this yet. So in the name Donkey Kong Country 2's most difficult level, let's have next month be... "Animal Antics".

Now before you say "Fluttershy", consider the possibilities here. The show is called, 'My Little Pony', pretty much any character can fill the spot of an animal. It could be dealing with an animal, it could be acting like an animal, just something that says, "Yeah, they tend to do that." Or perhaps you could think of something more original, it's up to you.

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Thanks for the praise! I'll definitely be looking forward to the next competition.

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Sounds good to me! Plenty of animals in the show, after all. The Mane Six's pets, for a start. Should be a fun one!

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You're very welcome! Just out of curiosity, how did you find this group? I am horribly neglectful in terms of actually, you know, promoting it or anything.

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I think someone else posted it on the promotion beureau. Either that or a blog post.

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I may have promoted it there right at the end of march. And last year. And brought it up a couple times in related threads elsewhere...

--Sweetie Belle

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In that case, thanks for the notice!

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No problem!

I mostly have enough fun with it when I am competing that I figure others will, too, if they know about it, and I think it's a good exercise for improving your writing skills.

I've seen others promote it in places before, too. Amereep and gameexpert, at the least, possibly more...

--Sweetie Belle

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By the way, I loved your story. I think diamond dogs are criminally underrated when it comes to stories.

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Thanks!

And yeah, they don't get used nearly enough. Probably partially because the series forgot about them, and because they could have been better written when they were on screen. (They were reasonably intelligent earlier then kinda got brought down by the plot...)

I remember on this one when trying to get things to fit, I actually deleted my attempts at describing going between the front door and Rarity, and just decided to let scene breaks do the work. Fitting things into 150 words can be tricky. Dialogue can do a lot of work in flashfics, though.

I wound up feeling like it'd be interesting to explore if Rarity did get sucked into becoming their Queen, too, as I could easily see that happening. That's one trouble when writing flashfic, is sometimes it feels like it wants to be expanded out further...

--Sweetie Belle

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Too true. Good luck on the next flash fiction!

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I mostly have enough fun with it when I am competing that I figure others will, too,

And then there's also the quieter folks like myself, who just have enough fun lurking in the shadows 'round these parts and simply reading some or all of these wonderful Flashfic stories.

(I mean, I have participated in a couple of these myself way back when, but my own muse has been otherwise silent since November 2017... )

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It's good to see you're still around, though!