Posted on behalf of Estee
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/977097/story-contest-who-crossed-over-my-little-pony-1-19-22-4-1-22

There's a lot of ways we could describe MLP. A passion. A casual interest. The reason why most of us are here and yes, I said most. But ultimately, it's a cartoon. Animation. Still images which change slightly from frame to frame, creating the illusion of movement. And in that, it's one among many. One more example of an art that's been around for over a century. And some of the writers on this site like to take that cartoon and cross it over with other properties.

All I'm doing is giving you a direction. If you want to enter this contest, then you'll have an extensive choice of IPs to cross over with. Extensive, and... if you do it right, if you're trying to win -- maybe just a little... looney.

Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? story contest

This contest is for writers who want to find out what happens when our crew interacts with classic cartoon characters -- but not every character is on the board. Your choices are limited by time and theme.

* Writers wishing to enter the contest must be willing and able to submit a physical mailing address. The prize is a tangible item and must be sent through the postal system. If you can't receive a package, even through a mail drop, don't participate.

* Each writer is limited to one contest entry, which must be labeled in the story's long description with 'For the Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? contest'. This story must then be submitted by the author into the contest folder.

* Any story entered into the contest must be a crossover between MLP and at least one classic cartoon character (and must use the Crossover tag accordingly). Ideally, the interaction between personalities should be a primary focus of the story.

* You are limited in your choice of incoming character(s) in the following ways. Either:
** The animated character must have debuted in a cartoon with a copyright date of no later than 1947.
** The animated character in question appeared, even as a brief cameo, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I'm providing a list of all such appearances for your convenience.

If the character does not qualify for at least one of those criteria, then the character is disallowed and your story will not be accepted as a contest entry.

Example: While the character of Marvin The Martin officially debuted in 1948, he appears in the movie and can be used. For Animaniacs, the history of the Warner Brothers (And Sister!) has them initially showing up in the 30s -- but the actual copyright date is 1993, so they're out. Cuphead may have that Great Depression look to him, but he's a little too young to qualify. And naturally, any toon character who first appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is eligible for use.

You are not limited to Disney or Warner Brothers productions. Want to go Out Of The Inkwell? Not a problem. The Fleischer studios? Go ahead. Leaving the borders of the States to check out some obscure European characters? At your discretion. Just be ready to link into a handy page for anyone who needs to check your references.

* Character depictions must be consistent with their cartoon personalities and animated portrayals of that era. Do the research. Why? Because it's good for the story. Also, it's an excuse to watch some cartoons.

** I am aware that the 1941 Superman releases are eligible here. That means that if you pull out the cape, it had better be the Fleischer incarnation. Fedora included.

* All characters must be themselves. By which I mean that if you try to pull off 'I went to a convention dressed as Porky Pig and met this merchant'? You are out. With prejudice. And if you dress up your OC in a rabbit costume and call him Bugs, we are going to be very unhappy.

* Contest entries must be Complete at the time of submission, and no longer than 12,000 words. If you have the sort of brilliant idea which can easily lead into a six-digit epic, I understand. We just need a story of 12K max to get you entered. You can launch the epic after we're done.

* All stories should work as standalones: the reader should be able to go in with little to no prior knowledge of the setting and characters, learning along the way.

* No Mature stories. All entries must be rated Everyone or Teen.

* The following tags and genres may not be used. Doing so is a disqualification.

Equestria Girls (and characters exclusive to that franchise) You are limited to G4 and G5. At most, you can casually mention that EQG exists.
Human Humanoid toons are fine. Actual human beings are prohibited.
Gore No intestines, please.
Death They're toons, Doc!
Non-Consensual Completely against the spirit of the times and the competition.
Anthology You get one story.
Anon
Self-Insert, Second-Person This is literally not about you.
Anthro Unless you can find an anthro toon from that era. But anthro ponies are out.
Porn Everyone or Teen, remember?

* However, these tags and genres are not an automatic out.

Violence I'm sorry: you expected me to ban good old-fashioned cartoon violence? We're just closing out gore. Violence is fine. Bring out the mallets!
Sex & Fetish With caution, within limits. Let's face it: if Bugs is on the scene, then there's a good chance that someone's gonna crossdress. The classic cartoons frequently had some wink-and-nudge adult humor lurking in the background -- at least, when it wasn't taking center stage. You can't have a sex scene, but you can certainly allow your characters to be a little raunchy. And let's also face it: with Jessica Rabbit as an eligible character, outright banning those two tags would be its own sin. So yes, you can use those tags -- very, very carefully. We'll let you know if you crossed the line. Through violence.
Suicide/Self-Harm May be invoked as dark comedy. The cartoons of the era were not shy about letting characters high-dive from tall buildings into a concrete ocean. You can't actually kill anyone, but a comedic "Goodbye, cruel world!" does not get you removed.
Narcotics Similarly, we've caught a few of them drinking. Usually just before the cruel world bit.
Horror, Dark, Drama, Sad, Tragedy Have you seen some of this stuff? Use with caution -- but if you think you can make it work...
Alternate Universe Keep in mind that all stories must work as standalone entries. If you've established a personal pony setting and can make it work within this contest and context alike, then it has to work for a new reader. Using 8,000 words of your limit to explain why your OC is currently Princess Of Industrial Sabotage is going to be an issue.

* Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on April 1st, 2022. Results will be announced on April 22nd.

Is this real?

'fraid so.

Can I work with another writer?

Sure, but there's only one prize. Also, if you team up with someone, that counts as the single entry for both of you. You can't double-dip through submitting one story by yourself and another with a partner.

Why the copyright cutoff date?

It's the year in which Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is set.

Hey, Estee... um... remember that time when I downvoted your entire story catalog because my mental image of Twilight is taller than the one you described and you had to pay?

Sure do!

How can I expect you to judge my story fairly after that?

That's easy, imaginary person: because I'm not the one doing the judging! I have three roles in this contest: preparation, launch, and mailing out the prize. When it comes to the judging? There's a panel of five, and I'm not on it.

...so who is on the panel?

FanOfMostEverything! Knows every character!
Masterweaver! Completely insane, but in a way which actually helps here!
Dawnbreez! Overthrows governments in their spare time and judging means they have less of it!
Tipper! In a different time zone and can read the night entries!
CCC! Creates a panel with an odd number of judges!

So you're really out of it? My open hostility towards you won't affect my chances?

Once this contest blog goes up, I just host the judge's discussion room in my Discord server. And once we have a winner, I mail the package. That's it. You're safe. And I'm certain that the local authorities will be unable to link your mysterious death to any prize received.

What are the judging criteria?

Quality of story, characterization, skill, possibly faithfulness to the source material and the spirit thereof. And yes, they're going to take points off for bad grammar. Among other things. If you can't be bothered to check over your own work, then the panel isn't going to let you win.

Can I send bribes?

Sure. But only to me. It won't actually accomplish anything or have a single effect on the results, but you do you. And I'll do something with your money.

If someone else takes a toon before my story is published, can I still use that character?

Yes. This isn't one-and-done on character choices. We could get no stories with Daffy, or we might see six.

How am I supposed to get the character into Equestria in twelve thousand words?

And who said you were limited to Equestria? They're toons, Doc!

Princess Celestia and Daisy Duck get together at the studio commissary once a week to talk about work. Luna crashes a Disney Princess meeting, at least for the 1947-on-back crew. Scrooge and Daring Do wind up going after the same artifact. Opal? Black paint in her fur, and here comes a skunk. Duck Season? Rabbit Season? No, Pony Season! Did you know Popeye's been running on earth pony-grown spinach this whole time? Rarity would drop by to meet him, but she's busy repairing Jessica's dress. And remember the pegasi in Fantasia? New colt in town! Oswald vs. Angel Bunny? Let's see how long his luck really holds out. Between Foghorn and Applejack, who's less comprehensible and more Southern? And seriously: you can't find a reason to pair Rainbow and Speedy?

What do you want to do?

Besides, Bugs can always just miss that left turn at Albuquerque.

...did you just throw a bunch of ideas into the open?

And you may feel free to use any of them. But I did hold onto one concept. I can't enter my own contest, but I want to publish a just-for-fun story after it's done.

So what's the prize?

Currently, we just have one.

(There's a very small chance this might change, but it would have to come from outside sponsorship: as such, I'm going to proceed as if this is the only prize available. But if someone wants to sponsor extra prizes, just let me know.)

The person chosen by the judging panel as the winner will receive this:

May the best story win.