Posted on behalf of The Red Parade.
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/989186/announcing-the-fiddledust-contest

On April 16th, 2020, I published a short story called never forever and introduced the pairing of Fiddlesticks and Lightning Dust to the world.

I had just created a new discord account, joined a great community called Quills and Sofas, and had tons of ideas for the future.

After that… Well, a lot happened.

On June 19th, 2020, never forever was inducted into the (now-defunct) Royal Canterlot Library.

Now, let’s fast forward to today, two years after the fact. So much has changed: I’ve met so many great and influential friends, I’ve learned things about myself I never thought I would, and I’ve written hundreds and hundreds of words with many more to come. But one thing through it all hasn’t changed: my love for these two horses.

And so, I think the best way to celebrate…

… Is with a contest.

The First FiddleDust Festival will take place from June 19th 2022 to July 19th 2022. Submissions must be published in this time frame. Time starts at midnight of June 18th and ends at midnight of July 19th, Pacific Time. In other words this contest runs from the start of June 19th to the end of July 19th. If you anticipate your story will be stuck in a moderation queue please let me know.

As it says on the tin, this is a contest about FiddleDust, the romantic pairing of Fiddlesticks and Lightning Dust (if you don’t know who they are, first of all shame on you but second read until the end for help!). Any ship that is not centrally about these two will be disqualified. This means that a story with Fiddlesticks and Lightning in one scene while Applejack and Rainbow dominate the rest, it will not qualify for judging.

Stories should not be any longer than 20k words. Please let me know if you think your entry will go over this limit and we can work something out.

The contest has a theme that all entries should incorporate in some manner. The theme is: Kids of Summer. You may tailor this to your story however you wish.

Stories can be of any genre. Friendshipping is fine. Mature entries should not contain any fetish content: if you have questions ask me first but the answer will probably be ‘no.’ If you submit a pornographic entry please try to keep it tasteful.

Make sure your story is in the group folder located here by the deadline.

Stories will be judged by me on a variety of factors including: overall quality of the story, plot coherence, pacing and flows, and most importantly characterization and dynamics.

First place will receive: $70
Second place will receive: $50
Third place will receive: $20

Money can be sent through PayPal or to a charity we will agree on.

All entries will receive feedback in a comment on me unless otherwise requested.

This contest is structured as a small and fairly intimate affair: I am the only judge and as such the prize pool isn’t particularly dazzling. However, if enough factors change I may edit the rules and guidelines to reflect this. Make sure to keep track of updates!

Is human/r63/EQG/AU ok?

Yes, so long as the characters are easily identified as Fiddlesticks and Lightning Dust.

Does it have to be a romance story?

Stories of any genre are accepted. The two must know each other in some capacity: either friends, mentor/mentee, lovers, etc.

Are mature stories ok?

Fetish fics are not allowed. If you plan to submit porn I only ask you to keep it classy.

Red, how do I write FiddleDust?

Well I’m glad you asked! I’ve compiled a bookshelf of FiddleDust stories on FimFic here for reference if you wish to research (I’ve had a hand in all of these as a warning) and I can highly recommend them!

Ultimately however, you are free to write them however you’d like: you are by no means obligated to use my head-canon or the canon used in any of these stories (although again… they are mostly based on mine).

Think Fiddle has a potty mouth? Lightning is a huge softie? Their relationship is messy and toxic? Go crazy with it!

But, if you still need a starting point, here’s how I picture their relationship (again you do not have to use this):

For Lightning, Fiddle keeps her grounded and honest. She fuels her competitive spirit but is emphatic enough to keep her from flying off the rails. She’s always there to pick Lightning up when she falls and has taught her to learn from her mistakes while also learning to forgive herself.

For Fiddle, Lightning quite literally came into her life like a storm. She is in awe of Lightning’s sheer confidence and bravado, not to mention her charisma. Lightning taught her to live a little bit, and helped heal old wounds left from a fairly rough life. Fiddle is reminded by her that there are things in this world worth living for.

Is the theme good enough in my story?

The answer is likely yes. As long as you can reasonably argue that the theme has been used, you should be fine. The likelihood of me disqualifying someone for not using the theme well enough is incredibly low.

Are polyships fine?

Sure! The story however should focus on Fiddlesticks and Lightning’s relationship.

Red, who is Fiddlesticks?

My god.

The audacity of someone to come around this house and not know who Fiddlesticks is… Frankly, it’s unbelievable.

This is Fiddlesticks. She appears in Apple Family Reunion and is an unvoiced character. She is also referred to in wiki pages as Fiddly Faddly and Fiddly Twang.

I should hope you know who Lightning Dust is.

And that’s it! Hope to get some entries in and I'm very eager to read them!

Good luck!