• Nightmare Night 2012: October FanFiction Contest


    Well, it's that time of the year again! Ghosts, goblins, and Starswirl the Bearded costumes abound, and soon the lot of us will be stampeding through the streets, trespassing on the property of complete strangers, and demanding that they deliver sweets and treats lest their house be bombarded with eggs and other dairy products. And what better to do during such a time than to compete in writing spoooooky stories about our favorite ponies to celebrate the season!

    So go on and clickkkkkkkkkkkkkkk–

    DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR SCREEN. I AM CONTROLLING THE VIDEO. IF I WISH TO MAKE IT SCROLL, IT WILL SCROLL. I AM IN CONTROL OF THE BRIGHTNESS. I AM IN CONTROL OF THE CONTRAST.

    SO GO ON AND CLICK AFTER THE BREAK... IF YOU DARE.



    Thanks for helping with that portal, Twi. I appreciate it.


    There comes a time when the forces that bind our universe with the next become feeble and porous. During this time, strange phenomena occur within our reality, phenomena that challenge our perception of time and space. This time is known as October, and the breaching of this rift is known as Halloween.

    It is through such a rift that I have managed to force my way into the offices of Equestria Daily. All communications have been temporarily hijacked while I create this very important announcement for you, the readers of Equestria Daily. An announcement regarding something very close to my heart: the minimal level of high-quality My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic horror fanfiction.

    That's right. I've forced my way through the warped fabric of time and space to hold a fanfiction competition. Don't judge me.

    It shouldn't be long before Calpain figures out what's going on, so let's get to the point. The objective of this competition is simple: to create eerie, spooky Halloween stories based within the pony universe, because there quite simply aren't enough good ones! These stories will then be collected by me, sorted by me, and then judged by you to determine the spookiest story of them all. The rules are simple:

    1. All entries must abide by content standards enforced by Equestria Daily's pre-reader staff. This means no excessive gore and no sexual content. Such entries will be rejected outright. And remember that it isn't gore that makes a story scary. You know what I'm talking about.
    2. All entries must be submitted by 12:00 AM EST on October 24th. No stories will be accepted past this date.
    3. Stories must be written solely for this event. That means no submitting stories you've written in the past!
    4. Stories must be between 2,500 and 10,000 words in length. No more, no less. Stories that do not meet this criteria will be rejected outright.
    5. I cannot stress this enough, but this is not a "comedy horror" competition. We're not aiming to hear about how Pinkie Pie is terrified of broccoli, or about the horrors of Gen 3.5. Don't be that guy. Fics such as these will also be rejected outright.
    6. Your story must be complete. Aim for that one-shot!
    7. Submissions should be in an email sent to nightmarenight2012@gmail.com. Send your email with the title of your story as the subject, and the following information:
      • List of characters
      • Synopsis
      • Your author name, so I know who to scream at praise!
      • A link to your story, be it on FimFiction, GoogleDocs, deviantART, or whatever you use most comfortably
      • (Optional) A link to the image you want to use as your cover art
      • (Optional) Anything other comments you want to add
    8. Remember, any questions or inquiries can also be sent to nightmarenight2012@gmail.com!
    9. EDIT: You may only submit one story!
    And that's it! As you might have noticed, you only have a week, so you'd better get to writing! I truly do hope to see some horror masterpieces popping up, stories that will be passed down through Nightmare Nights as some of the most terrifying tales of pony horror to ever be told! Heck, you might even outdo the terror that is the Headless Horse! Will you write about alien invasions? Robot ponies? Degenerating psychosis? Or maybe ghostly possessions? The choice is yours.

    What sort of prizes shall be distributed? Well, aside from a featured spot in the compilation post that will be going up on Halloween itself, you'll also receive praise from myself and your peers, bragging rights for a year, and a position beside my immortal throne of darkness. Doesn't that sound fun?

    Now if you'll excuse me, I hear quite a bit of shouting coming from the other side of the basement door, so I can only assume that Seth and the other blog ponies have discovered the source of the interference and are attempting to ram their way inside. It would be terribly bothersome should they somehow seal my nether portal.

    I'll go barricade the door and prepare the welcome wagon.

    We'll chat again real soon, Equestria Daily.