As we all know, no filly was as determined; as steadfast; as laser-focused on achieving her goals as Cozy Glow. Undeterred by Tartarus, brutal physical and magical assaults, avalanches, and universal contempt, she battled on to fall only to the combined might of all of Equestria.

We can do no better than to emulate her fortitude. Through two years of global pandemic we uplifted her, and in these times of economic uncertainty we will uplift her again. The Cozy Glow group is delighted to present the third annual short story contest!

Guidelines

All stories must:

-Adhere to the site rules

-Be between 2.5k and 15k words in length.

-Contain Cozy Glow as a central character and be classifiable under one of the prompts.

-Be written in English.

-All chapters must be written and published between 23 Jul 2022 12:00 PM EDT and 25 Sep 2022 12:00 PM EDT. No exceptions. Post up to three entries in this folder. Stories may be sequels, but must be able to be read without knowledge of prior works.

-Entrants must be willing to reveal their country of residence (which must have an amazon website) if they win a monetary prize. If a monetary prize is not possible, an alternative prize will be offered.

-“Genre” refers to narrative type of story (e.g. adventure, mystery, etc.); “category” refers to tone (e.g. sad, comedy, dark, etc.).

Otherwise, there are no restrictions on content or maturity level. Stories will be assigned points based on the following:

-Narrative flow and cohesiveness – does it all work together as an organic whole?

-Quality of spelling and grammar – typos and copy/paste errors can ruin the most carefully engineered mood.

-Emotional impact – make the reader feel it.

-Relevance to the MLP universe – is there a connection to the characters, lore, and storyline portrayed in the show?

-Originality – take an old premise and add a new spin, or venture into the unknown.

-Style – speak to the reader in your own unique voice.

-X-factor – how sharp are the teeth?

Prizes

Monetary prize amounts will vary depending on the number of entrants. Winners are guaranteed the following:

1^st place: An amazon gift code worth at least $40, posting with link to story on the Cozy Glow group front page, and brief review.

2^nd place: an amazon gift code worth at least $30, posting with link to story on the Cozy Glow group front page, and brief review.

3^rd place: an amazon gift code worth at least $20, posting with link to story on the Cozy Glow group front page, and brief review.

Runner-up: posting with link to story on the Cozy Glow group front page and brief review.

At 20 entrants, the monetary prizes increase by $15; at 30 entrants, they increase by an additional $15, and so on at each tier of 10 for up to 5 tiers.

Dezmo has also offered to award $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place. Winners must contact them at the time the results are announced regarding disbursement of the additional prizes.

Prompts

Any genre, any category

-Cozy writes a short story!

-Cozy Glow vs. …

-Twilight Sparkle gathers Cozy’s belongings for disposal. One object surprises her.

-Cozy makes an unusual friend.

-Cozy’s got a secret!

-Pipp Petals? What a loser. I can be way more popular than her!

-Luna’s villain support group gets a new member.

Adventure, any category

-As Princess Luna is delivering Cozy to Tartarus, they have an adventure.

-Cozy succeeded in absorbing not only Discord’s magic, but that of Celestia and Luna as well. There’s just one problem …

-There was only one way to fix things: destroy the unification crystal (G5 only).

-The talent contest is coming. How do I win?

Slice of Life, Sad

-That weird foal was being so extra ‘specially nice to her. Rejecting the pathetic loser was going to be just the best!

-Cozy was a straight-A student at the School of Friendship, on her way to becoming an Element of Harmony. Then there came a lesson that set her on a different path.

-Life was great until mom started barking like a dog.

-How can I make them be quiet when they’re already dead?

Grimdark/horror

-They showed her how to harvest the skulls, after she’d finished playing.

-Flurry Heart and Cozy Glow develop a strong friendship that turns into something more.

-Cozy teams up with a villain from a classic MLP grimdark (Director Dash, Pinkamena, etc.).

-All she ever wanted was a mother.

Judges

the dobermans

Anonymous Judge #1

cozy glow

7719978

Cozy Glow Awakens

When she made it to the hive a changeling spotted her, “What are you doing?”
“Why, golly, what do you mean?”
“Why did you cum to the hive in a pony form, inefficiently using your energy?”
“Because I’m a real pony.”
Changeling hissed and charged his horn.
She didn’t react.
“You’re not one of us!”
“Gee, you don’t say…”
 “You’re a pony! Have you cum here to save your friend? Big mistake!”
“Nah, I don’t have any friends.”
“That’s sad and pathetic.”
“Yes, well, things are as they are. So if you would just point me to the hibernation chambers where you keep your food source.”
“Our food doesn’t hibernate. Hibernation implies contemptment and tranquility. The reverse is true on both accounts. We suck out all the love our captives produce. It’s the only magic left in Equestria. We leave nothing but endless nightmares in their minds. They live in eternal torment, devoid of love.”
“That’s quite alright. At least then my nightmares will serve a purpose.”
“Cumming here was a mistake. You’re not welcum here! Scram!”
“Excuse me, mister. Just look at me. I’m a pony. I’m tasty.”
“You suck. You have no love to give. Go where you cummed from. Shoo!”
“I have nowhere to go.”
“That’s your problem, not ours. Now beat it!”
“No.”
“I could kill you where you stand!”
“Why don’t you?”
“You’re too pathetic to kill.”
“Hibernation chamber then?”
“We would gain nothing from you.”
“You’d gain the lack of my annoying presence. That’s something, right?”
“Ugh, fine... Anything to shut you up, pest. Cum, preservation chambers are this way.”

7720001

Cum, preservation chambers

7719978
I have a short story I'm working on that will have Cozy as one of the characters. Each small chapter focuses on one of the three villains. I don't want to be considered for an award if I publish because I came up with the idea in advance, but if I publish in the timeframe could I still link to the contest and add to the folder?

7720263 Cum is a Changelings' dialect for come.

7720264

Sure! If it's just in idea form it's still eligible - otherwise please include some kind of reminder that it was WIP before the contest.