Rainleaf: “Calling all Herd Nerds!”
Starleaf: “My sister and I came up with an awesome idea for a contest, and can’t wait to share it with you guys! (This our first attempt at doing a contest…)”
Rainleaf: “Okay, drumroll, please!”
Starleaf: “You should do the drumroll, and I can announce the contest.”
Rainleaf: “I’m older, so I should announce it.”
Starleaf: *Huffs, annoyed* “Fine." *Stomps her hooves rapidly, a little off rhythm. *
Rainleaf: *Clears her throat excitedly* “We, for the first time in Guardian Herd Message Board History (hopefully, we didn’t actually check...), declare a Short Story Showdown!!!”
Starleaf: “Basically, all you have to do is come up with a three-paragraph “legend” concerning one of your OCs (a.k.a Original Character, for all you new Nerds.)”
Rainleaf: “You can’t use a story you have already posted or have come up with. (Sorry!)”
Starleaf: “Also, you have to create a picture to go with it. (Again, it cannot be a picture you have already posted or drawn.)”
Rainleaf: “Together, Starleaf and I came out with an example to show you, which will be shown below.”
Starleaf: “I can’t wait to hear what you guys think!”
Rainleaf: *Nudges her sister.* “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Starleaf: “Nope, I think I covered it all.”
Rainleaf: *Whispers, “The prizes and rules.”*
Starleaf: *Beats her wings up and down, embarrassed.* “Whoops, almost forgot to add that. You need to have a minimum of 250 words and there is no maximum. The picture can be anything from the landscape you imagined there, to the characters in your story. If your story has a human, you even draw them!”
Rainleaf: “Don’t forget to mark on your calendars that this contest ends March 31st.”
Starleaf: “And now… the prizes!”
Rainleaf: “For first place, you have the choice of either a headshot of a human or pegasus, or a full body drawing of a pegasus of your choice. (Just warning you all, Starleaf and I are not the best artists! =) We will try our best, though.)
Starleaf: “For second place, you get your favorite Guardian Herd character drawn as an animal.”
Rainleaf: “And for third place you will get a feather drawing consisting of two colors.”
Starleaf: “So get to it! On your mark…”
Rainleaf: “Get set…”
Together: “Go!”
-Story Example-
Dawn crept upon the asleep pegasi, while rays of sunshine danced on the now awakening herd. Manes of all colors; midnight black, mouse brown, snow white, soft blond, and fiery red swished in the warm, spring breeze. Wings like gems in every color of the rainbow and more flowed softly. For all but two foals, the world was perfect and needn’t ever change.
“Cherryfeather!” Rainbowsprinkle whispered excitedly, while she nuzzled him. “Hurry and wake up! The other foals want to play with us!”
Wriggling with joy, Rainbowsprinkle kept nudging her older twin. Rainbowsprinkle was fine with being left out sometimes, but when she was asked to play, she was all over it.
“No!” Cherryfeather whispered fiercely. “I can’t, I just can’t!” Cherryfeather was so shy that no foals besides Rainbowsprinkle even knew his name. “I’m sorry.”
Sadly, she trotted away her older (by 3 minutes) brother. Though they were inseparable, they could not be more different. She was outgoing, mischievous, funny, and friendly, whereas he was shy, bashful, and smart. While she had her mother’s pattern (Shadepeddle’s) and he had his father’s pattern (Bumblewind’s) their colors differed immensely from their parents.
“Sweetie,” Shadepebble smiled sweetly to her son. “Why didn’t you go with your sister?”
“I don’t want to,” he told her.
“Why not?” Concerned, Shadepebble looked straight into her son’s eyes.
“I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” Doubt filled Cherryfeather’s eyes as he asked his mother a question that had been nagging him. “Mama, would Papa be proud of me?”
Startled by the question, Shadepebble beat her wings softly and quietly answered, “The proudest. And I am too.” Sorrow sang in her heart as Shadepebble thought about her sire-less children. She knew Bumblewind would want Cherryfeather and Rainbowsprinkle to stick together. So, gently, she nudged her colt forward to play with the others.
“Don’t worry, my sweet boy. Someday you and your sibling will lead an adventure on your own.”
-Drawing Example-
(Story created by Starleaf, edited by Rainleaf. Drawing created by Rainleaf, colored by Starleaf.)