300 Contest Winners! - Fallout Equestria

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Cascadejackal #1 · Apr 5th, 2013 · · ·

Judging is over, my friends!
Now, a few things to note before we get to the results:
#1: Each fic was judged on both story quality and how well it used the theme.
#2: If a fic was part of a longer fic (a prologue, side-chapter etc) then it was judged without reading said fic.
#3: Winners were chosen by both Doomande and myself, after reading every fic and giving them all a fair chance.

With that out of the way, on to the prizes!

1ST
First prize goes to Dry Tinder, by y1fellas.
You recieve a $5 art comission, and seeing your story featured!
(Message Doomande for details.)

2ND
Second prize goes to Hot Mess, by ClickClackTheBrony.
For a sterling performance, your fic will be featured as well!

3RD
Last, but certainly not least, Poking Around by Nyerguds.
You, good sir/madam/other, get the honor of choosing a featured fic!
Not one of your own, of course.

Now, because we appreciate all your entries and all your hard work, I'll be putting up a mini-review of every single fic in the competition!
Even if you didn't enter, have a look anyway. Just because something didn't win, doesn't mean it's no good. There were quite a few gems, and they all deserve some extra attention.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Fallout Equestria: Letter Home by Keanno
Theme: Stand Your Ground
Letter Home uses an unusual style, being the journal of a filly from before the war. This POV, and the character writing it, only gives a small view of the world, but that's not a detriment in this case. Instead, it's a very personal view of events. The "errors" are fairly well done, mimicking the writing abilities of a young filly fairly well.
Personally, I feel that the biggest problem was actually the word limit. With it being so short, we're only given a taste of who Lily Bloom is; a taste that leaves us wanting more.
I'm a sucker for an emotional ending but, as I said before, it's hard to get readers attached to or emotionally invested in a character in under 3k words.
Outside of the competition, without a word limit? I could see Letter Home turning into something wonderful.
The theme suffers from the word limit here as well. With a bit more freedom those final hours, where they're holding onto hope, could have been much more striking.

Fallout Equestria: The (Mis)Adventures of 'Commander Shepard' by Stormcaller
Theme: Why Would You Do That?
At the beginning I had my doubts that this was an FoE fic at all, but I've got to admit... the ending made me chuckle.
About the only negative thing I've got to say is that it could have used some more work on the FoE part, after the long and comparatively thorough Mass (Mare) Effect section.
Sugar Pie and Dusty seem like a pair of troublemakers who get up to this sort of thing regularly, and the theme certainly fits this little adventure pretty well... once you get through the adventure itself, anyway.

Fallout Equestria: One Bad Day by Tutis75
Theme: Why Would You Do That?
"By Celestia's Shining Flanks, what a night..."
One Bad Day is, as far as one-shots go, pretty good. The idea is solid, not to mention interesting and reminiscent of a certain movie.
The only let-down here is the characters. They feel a bit weak, to be honest, but writing good characters in less than 3k words is really hard. Even with that handicap, Sharp Cut and Long Draw have their redeeming scenes.
The story opens with a moment that fits the theme fairly well, but ends with a moment that is a much more interesting use of the theme, as well as being a great example of the loyalty between friends.

FO:E: A Slave Named Rose Water by Cola_Bubble_Gum
Theme: Why Would You Do That?
Well written characters, decent scene setting and promises of more to come.
A Slave Named Rose Water is a great example of a short fic. It does what it has to, gives us good characters and doesn't seem bothered by the word limit. Rose Water herself comes across as a strong character, and I really liked her.
The weak point here is the theme, without a doubt. It doesn't quite seem to fit, which is a shame when there's so much going for it.

Fallout Equestria: Ol' Buddy, Ol' Pal by ThatDarnPony
Theme: Wild Wasteland
I'm not even sure where to start here. Ol' Buddy, Ol' Pal is an odd little story, and is a rare example of a story that, despite being short, seems more complete than some longer fics.
Buddy is a character. Not a bad character, not a good character, a character. He's the wise old monk on the mountain. He's the guy you met that one time at that one party. He's the one goat in the wasteland who just is. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be quite as much story as Buddy.
If that doesn't make sense, go read it for yourself. If you're looking for a bit of Wild Wasteland , you could do a lot worse than Ol' Buddy, Ol' Pal.

Fallout: Equestria - Radigator Hunting by Pallydan
Theme: Stand Your Ground
Radigator Hunting is full of great world-building and scene setting, and the story itself is an enjoyable read. A different take than the usual wasteland, the swamp that the story takes place in is certainly an interesting setting.
The cast is tiny, just two characters and a radigator. Oddly enough, the characters don't feel quite as solid as the world they're in, but they work well enough for the story.
Swamp Shadow's fight to protect her prize fits the theme nicely, as well as being reasonably entertaining.

FOE Wild Wasteland: Hot Mess by ClickClackTheBrony
Theme: Wild Wasteland
Hot Mess is... well, it's hard to take seriously. Which is good in this case.
It doesn't try to reinvent the wasteland or tell some grand story. There's a cave, a not-so-clever pony and plenty of lines that, while not supremely funny, will get at least a few laughs. The story isn't exactly incredible, but it's good enough... even if it does feel like a backdrop for inventive cursing at one or two points.
Of course, it is part of a larger story, so the characters would be more appreciable after reading the main fic.
This fits Wild Wasteland pretty well. What happens is strange and unexpected, even in FoE.

Fallout Equestria: A Painful Lesson by Ghostpony
Theme: Wild Wasteland
You should appreciate what you've got. That's the message I got from this little fic, and it's not exactly hidden beneath rhetoric or flowery words. There's not much scene-setting, and the fairly light character building works with that to give the whole thing a sort of minimalist feel. At the same time, there's enough detail and dialogue to show that it wasn't meant to be so bare.
It tries to be a good fic, it really does, but it feels too much like an introduction chapter than a one-shot, and it really could have used some more editing. The word limit wasn't really kind here, but turned into a longer chapter, with a bit of work and editing? A Painful Lesson could easily be what it tries to.
The theme was Wild Wasteland, and, well... there's certainly some Wasteland, but it isn't exactly Wild.

Fallout Equestria: Death Is Just a Feeling by SpiritofthwWolf
Theme: Stand Your Ground
The highlight here is the action, without a doubt. The fighting is fairly well written and interspersed with enough backstory that we're not left wondering what's going on. Butcher doesn't come across as the stereotypical raider; instead, she seems concerned about her friends, even while full of holes and under the influence of Stampede. One moment, we're looking through the eyes of a raider, a life-long murderer. The next, she shows a softer side. It's a little odd, really.
The ending is as much a switch as we see from Butcher herself. From blood and bullets to a quiet room and a friendly face. It doesn't feel like much was sacrificed for the word limit, but without reading the main fic it does feel like there are some missing pieces.
Despite the flaws and oddities, Death Is Just A Feeling stays true to its theme, only straying at the end.

Fallout Equestria: Dry Tinder by y1fellas
Theme: Why Would You Do That?
A fairly simple and emotional piece, Dry Tinder gives us the end of the war from the view of a single mare. Roseluck is a well-written character, brought to life in only a few thousand words. Her fears and her guilt form the emotional backdrop as much as the black and formless battlefield does the physical one.
While depressing, it's also well done and doesn't feel heavy-handed or excessive. It fits the story and adds to it.
The theme is presented by Roseluck's fight with herself, and her thoughts as she watches the megaspells fly.

Fallout Equestria: P.H.O.E.N.I.X by Cobra of England
Theme: Last Stand
Shining Armor and Cadance aren't the most often-used characters in FoE fics. Snips and Snails even less so. All four of them show up here, but none of them are are particuarly well done.
The entire fic feels like an excuse to write an action scene, introducing a number of elements without developing any of them, skipping over parts that could have been used for depth or scene-setting. Really, it could be called a storyboard for a proper fic.
There's just not enough detail or depth here to really see the theme.

Fallout Equestria: Shady beginnings by Maskinos
Theme: Why Did You Do That?
Shady Beginnings is a good prologue. It sets up Shade's past and shows what she's willing to do to survive. The scene-setting is fairly good as well, and the characters themselves are, for the most part, reasonably well written, despite one or two moments that don't seem to fit.
Unfortunately, Shade isn't an easy character to like. You can feel sorry for her, but liking her properly would take more time than the word limit allowed.
There's a few moments that fit the theme. Shade's decision for revenge instead of fleeing, the slaver offering to let her join them and, finally, that she accepted the offer.

Fallout Equestria: Old World Rock by Ilushia
Theme: Wild Wasteland
Old World Rock combines two of my favorite things: Fallout Equestria and awesome guitar duels. The latter is what makes this fic worth reading. No complex storyline, no emotional turmoil, just Rock And Roll.
Of course, any truly great fic needs a gripping story, and that's about the only thing missing here. Don't read Old World Rock for an amazing story; read it for an amazing encounter.
This fits Wild Wasteland perfectly.

Close Knit Friends by Desrium
Theme: Why Did You Do That?
Close Knit Friends comes across as an excerpt from a longer chapter, or a brief slice-of-life interlude in a full-length story. There's enough here to be interesting, but it feels like there's so much missing that it's kinda disappointing.
The actual writing style is good enough to hold its own, the scene is set fairly well and the characters are certainly interesting, but there isn't much to hold your attention through to the end. I'm sure if you've read the main story, you'd get a lot more out of this, but without that knowledge? The most interesting thing is the pedal-cart.
There's barely anything to tie the theme in, except for a single moment towards the end.

Fallout Equestria: The Daily Unlife: Poking Around by Nyerguds
Theme: Why Did You Do That?
Poking Around is short, odd and actually fairly funny. The characters are presented well enough that you don't feel like you're missing out on too much, but they're also interesting enough that you might want to read the main fic, just to see more of them.
The tickle fight and the little finale at the end were amusing, but they felt tacked on to make the word-count. Not that big a detriment, but they don't quite mesh with the rest of it.
The whole thing is full of moments for the theme.

Msvman

Msvman #2 · Apr 5th, 2013 · · ·

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