reproduced from the original blog post below

Welcome!

Hello friends!

I've been doing some thinking. Wouldn't it be nice if there were more works exploring the ramifications of scientific ideas and technological innovations through stories about pastel-colored magic horses?

Well, that is what this contest is for! Over the next eight weeks, until 2022 January 06, let's write some great science fiction!

Prizes!

Note that all prize amounts will be sent by PayPal. If you are unable to receive money by PayPal, I, Bicyclette, will try my very best to arrange an alternative that works for you, but please be aware that it may not work out.

Thanks to me, Bicycletteme, Bicyclette, and an anonymous donor that I, Bicyclette, personally regard highly, we have a total prize pool of $250$500!

The top threefour winners will gain the following in American Dollars:

• First Place: $80$145
• Second Place: $55$95
• Third Place: $35$65
• Fourth Place: $0$45

Entries will be judged on two metrics: concept execution and characterization. To highlight standouts, we will also give the following prizes:

• Best Concept Execution: $20$35
• Best Characterization: $20$35

In addition, each judge will bestow a Judge Prize of $10$20 on any entry of their choosing.

Judges!

• Bicyclette

  Favorite authors: Peter Watts, Margaret Atwood, Samuel R. Delany, Stephen Baxter, Alice Sheldon
  Author of: The 41-Second Goddess, Timescales, Cosmological, Long-Distance

• Lofty Withers

  Favorite authors: Christopher Anvil, David Weber, Rupi Kaur, Keith Laumer, Greg Bear
  Favorite works: A Pail of Air (Fritz Leiber), The Answer (Fredric Brown), Rescue Party (Arthur C Clarke), The Writing on the Wall (Horse Voice), The Brave Guardsmen of Spidera IV (Pooka)

• Syke Jr

  Favourite authors: Terry Pratchett and Kurt Vonnegut
  Favourite works: Dune (Frank Herbert), Don't Bite the Sun (Tanith Lee), The Knife of Never Letting Go (Patrick Ness), The Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut)
  Author of: Souls and Silicon, The Horizonverse

• Shaslan

  Favourite authors: Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne McCaffrey
  Favourite works: The Word for World is Forest (Ursula le Guin), A Fall of Moondust (Arthur C Clarke), Luna is a Harsh Mistress (Starscribe), The Ship Who Sang (Anne McCaffrey)
  Author of: Patience, Frozen Hope, FiO: Even the Strongest Heart

Please keep in mind that judges are not allowed to preread, edit, or discuss any entries with the author before the contest results are released! In addition, judges are asked to withhold commenting on entries until after the release of contest results.

Rules!

1. All entries must include the Sci-Fi tag.
2. Stories will be judged on both concept execution and characterization.
3. Stories can be rated M, but if so, please contact me, Bicyclette, before submission to make sure it's within what the judges are good with reading.
4. Stories based in Equestria Girls and MLP:ANG (G5) are allowed
5. Stories from a specific fandom multiverse (e.g. Friendship is Optimal) are allowed as long as they can be understood without having read the original. The same spirit applies to AUs, crossovers, sequels, and side stories.
6. OCs are allowed, with the same caveat as above.
7. The deadline is 1900 06/01/2022 UTC-5:00 (7:00PM of January 06, 2022, EST). Stories must be published and completed by this time in order to qualify.
8. There is no minimum wordcount, but the maximum is 20kw. If you feel this is too restrictive, please contact me, Bicyclette, to discuss a possible exception.
9. You may submit as many fics as you want to the contest! However, each person may only win one prize.
10. If you are a new writer and your entry ends up stuck in the moderation queue, please contact me, Bicyclette, to avoid being disqualified for this.
11. Submissions will be collected in the Science Fiction Contest Submissions folder. Feel free to join the group and place it in yourself!
12. If you feel like your idea, despite technically meeting all these rules, might go against what we might reasonably expect from a good-faith entry, or if you have any questions or want to clarify anything, please don't be afraid to discuss it with me, Bicyclette! The last thing we want is for you to spend a lot of time working on an entry and then have it not qualify at the end. We understand there will always be corner cases to consider.
13. For legal and job reasons of myself, any submission under the same account as fics that would be illegal to publish in the nation of Australia (a certain subset of pornographic material) are disqualified. This is the only requirement based on factors outside of the actual submission itself.

That's it!

Good luck!

7599744
So I’ve got a question…what, exactly, do you think is “science fiction”?

Because when I read the contest I’m not gonna lie, a certain Larry Niven quote came to mind: “any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science.”

I guess what I’m asking is I’ve got a potential story idea for the contest, but it kind of turns on the idea that magic in MLP has often been shown to be scientific, with repeatable and falsifiable effects.

So would a story centered on that, and even on conducting scientific experiments on a certain magical artifact, and it’s effects and how it could be used, qualify as “science fiction” given the context of MLP?

7604484
yes! anything that treats the magic of MLP as part of its physics with scientific rules definitely counts. "hard magic systems", as it were

Beg pardon, but how do I add a story to the folder? I can't seem to find a option for it...

7611599
there should be an "Add Story" button on the line above where the stories begin, but this is me on desktop

7612327
I saw that, I have a story called the unknown world and it showed up probably bc it was published My entry is waiting approval

Ok, one last question from me, if they are OCs, but they are made just for the story and I feel are up to the reader to style themselves (besides race, and color and character) is that ok? or do I need art of them?

7612598
OCs are perfectly fine! just treat them as any other character

Alright, thanks!