Sad Pony Art Contest With BIG Prizes! [ENDED]

UPDATE 2014-09-15: The contest is over, and the entries are currently being evaluated.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who entered this contest. Thank you, thank you all.

UPDATE 2014-09-12: Apparently some of you have connection issues... for those of you who can't access dA recently, you can send me an email at [REDACTED] containing the picture (or a screenshot containing the picture, if you worry about art theft).
Also, in light of this connection issue, the contest deadline is extended for 2 days (48 hours).

UPDATE 2014-09-12: This will be the last notice before the end of the contest. 23 hours left.
(I guess this notice is a bit too late, but better late than never! There's still time for a decent entry if you want to enter.)

UPDATE 2014-09-05: ONE WEEK LEFT. (I have prepared enough money for prizes, don't worry.)

UPDATE 2014-08-18: I added an FAQ section at the end of this journal.

UPDATE 2014-08-13: It's been 1 month already, and there has been only 1 entry. Please hurry. I worked hard to plan for this contest; I don't want this contest to be an empty one.

UPDATE 2014-07-18: The list of prizes is finalized, and shall remain so unless something drastic happens.

UPDATE 2014-07-12: The contest has started! Please submit your entries! This contest is intended to galvanize the creation of sad pony art, so please, please enter this contest!

- Big prizes!
 - A chance to win premiere membership, or quality pony commissions from fabulous artists like Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody and more!
 - Every entry would receive a free critique! (that is, if you want a critique...)

Sorry for the uncharacteristically bombastic title and even more bombastic blurb, but I'm quite literally screaming my throats croak in order to make this contest as visible as possible.

RULES:
 - No limit to the number of unique submissions one can submit. Don't submit different versions of the same drawing, e.g. versions with/without background, different lighting, etc.
 - The submission must be "new", that is, uploaded after the July 10, two days before the start date of this contest. (In principle, the cut-off time should be the start date, but since dA seem to be not very consistent with recording upload date, I'll move the cut-off forward two days, just to be safe. Oh, and I can't check if you just delete your old submission and reupload it, but please don't. this contest is intended to encourage creation of new sad pony art, so reuploading would completely defeat this purpose.)
 - No limit to the number of prizes one can win. However, to prevent the situation where someone produces a few winning entries that wins all the best prizes, one can only have one entry winning each of the the first, second, or third prizes. So, suppose someone submitted four top-scoring art that individually rank 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th, then instead of winning 2 second prizes and 2 third prizes, they will only win 1 second prize and 1 third prize, and the other 2 pieces would only win excellency prize.
 - Any prize a collaborative piece wins would have to be shared among the collaborators.
 - This contest is lenient in terms of quality, but please at least try to aim for decent quality. Specifically, don't submit a simple recoloring from a base, crude edits, art with blocky color, etc (an example exhibiting all these syndromes is this: derpiboo.ru/558754 ).
The minimum quality I look for is something like these fav.me/d7dru5z fav.me/d5w7m2y fav.me/d6942wd
Try to aim for this quality fav.me/d5k0t21
 - Gore and NSFW is allowed, though senseless gore/NSFW without sadness will not be accepted.
 - I recommend you to stay on the theme, though it is not required. However, if you do make a picture unrelated to the theme, it would face a higher entrance threshold for quality: a quality about the level of this piece fav.me/d5k0t21
 - Picture must be sad. This contest is lenient in terms of quality, but if the picture is not sad, it will be turned down. As always, emotional impact is more effective than technique and polished-ness.
 - After the winners are announced, please contact me for the prize you choose, and I'll pay the prize for you. I'll also send individual notes to those who wouldn't contact me in 3 days. The prize expires in a month.
 - Rules subject to possible change if something too drastic happens, like me losing all my money or something akin to that.

THEME:
"The Six Stages of Loss and Grief"

To summarize, the theme is this:
Six Stages of Loss and Grief. The six stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and indifference. The loss and grief can be as small as a lost ice cream or as great as the destruction of the universe. Draw a picture that portrays any number (at least 1, at most 6) of the stages.
A detailed explanation follows.

First introduced by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying, the "five stages of grief" is a model of the series of emotional stages an individual may go through faced with impending death or death of a loved one. A quick summary of the five stages is presented here for those unfamiliar with this model. People familiar with this can skip to the next empty line.

(A caveat: Kübler-Ross noted that the stages are not meant to be a complete list of all possible emotions that could be felt, nor are they bound to happen in every case, and they can occur in any order, depending on the circumstances.)
Denial - "This is impossible." "The doctors are lying." "This must be some kind of sick joke."
In this stage, the individual attempts to deny the reality of the loss, and blocks it out by developing a preferred false reality. This stage can last indefinitely, as shown in No Time to Say Goodbye, the author recorded of a case where the father of a suicide consitently insist that his son was "far away", even years after the event.
Anger - "This is so unfair!" "What did I do to desire this?" "How could she just abandon me like that?"
In this stage, the individual gets angry with themself, others, God, or other entities. In cases where a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal diease, the doctors are often the target of blame; in cases where a loved one completes a suicide, the suicide is often the target.
Bargaining - "I'll do anything to live a few more years." "Maybe it wouldn't have happened if we had been less distant to her." "If only I didn't get into smoking."
In this stage, the individual is on the verge of acknowledging the reality of loss, but is still making a last attempt at preventing the full acknowledgement with what-ifs and if-onlys, as if bargaining with fate. In less serious cases, people may bargain for a compromise with an actual person. For example "Can we still be friends?" when facing a break-up.
Depression - "This sadness will last forever." "I'll never be happy again." "I'm going to die soon, so why bother doing anything?"
In this stage, the individual fully acknowledge the reality of loss, and life appears meaningless. (As a side note, grief due to external causes is distinguished from Major Depressive Disorder by the criteria that only if the symptoms of grief last longer than three months would it be considered a major depressive disorder.)
Acceptance - "It's all going to be OK." "I should live my life to the fullest, for that's what she would wish for if she was alive." "I can at least face it with dignity and peace."
In this stage, the individual has reached an acceptable interpretation of the loss, and has found "closure" (closure: a desire for a firm answer to a question, and an aversion toward ambiguity). This typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable mindset.

Now that this theory is presented, I may present the theme of the contest: The Six Stages of Loss and Grief
"Loss and grief" is simple enough. The loss can be great or small, from as small as Applebloom accidentally knocking her ice cream to the ground, to Scootaloo drifting away from the other crusaders, to Rainbow Dash losing the ability to fly, to Discord outliving Fluttershy, to as great as Celestia watching helplessly as Equestria burns.
"The six stages" is my modification of the stages of loss. The first five are the same, but I added a sixth stage: indifferrence. Think about it, do you still miss your first friend? Do you even care? If you can meet them on the street today, would you be motivated to do so not merely out of an idle sense of curiosity? As time goes on, all traumas are ground flat by the sandpapers of time. The lost dreams become irrelevant and unfamiliar as one "settles down" and "matures". The one who griefs would stop grieving eventually, as the griever would die one day too. The grave becomes covered with plants and degraded by natural forces. The fallen kingdom becomes fading inscriptions proclaiming "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
"Yeah, so what?" "I guess so, but I don't really remember." "It's been so long, no one cares anymore." "...what?"
And that, is indifference, the most subtle, insidious, and inevitable of all the stages of loss.


Here are some possibilities to get your imagination going:

DJ Pon-3 sleeping alone in a dark, city-noir-like room, surrounded by her trophies, empty bottles and pizza boxes, holding on to the delusion that she was still famous, when in reality she was out of job and facing crippling dept due to previous extravagant lifestyle.

A comic. In the first panel, Twilight Sparkle tearfully holds the hoof of a dying Fluttershy and says "I'll never forget you..." In the second panel, 200 years have passed, and she is ticking off a checklist, saying "Speaking at the ceremony commemorating the Harmony Bearers, check..." with a slightly wistful smile. In the third panel, thousands of years have passed, and she is reading a book "Ancient Equestrian History", saying to herself, "Elements of Harmony... I know I've heard of these before, but where...?" This comic shows Twilights progression from Depression, to Acceptance, to Indifference (or in this case, Obliviousness).

After coming home from hospital after an incapitating accident, Rainbow Dash was destroying her cloud house in anger, "I won't be able to fly anyway! What's the use of a stupid house in the sky?!"

After Fluttershy's death, Angel bunny became remorseful. At first he felt liberated from that annoying pony, but soon he started appreciating, despite his unwilliness to admit, how much he actually missed Fluttershy's care and love. Past memories of his ungrateful and rude treatment of Fluttershy haunted him, and he spends long, silent hours dusting Fluttershy's photos on the shelves.




HOW TO SUBMIT:
Anyway is OK, really. Comment here, on my profile, send me a note, whatever way you prefer to notify me of your submission.
A folder titled "Contest Submissions" is opened in the gallery, where all the entries will be gathered.

DURATION:
2 months. Starting from July 12, ending on September 12, midnight, Pacific Standard Time (in UTC, that is September 13, 8:00 am).

PRIZES:
Note that a piece would only be considered for the first three prizes if it reach the standard of the art in the "featured" folder of this group. More specifically, I'm looking for a quality at least on par as these: fav.me/d6vob2p fav.me/d6ttz9l fav.me/d7np281
If not enough entries meet the standard, some of the prizes would not be won by anyone. For example, if there are only 3 entries worthy of "featured" folder, then one of them would win First Prize, two, Second Prize, and no one would win the Third Prize or the Excellency Prize.
Conversely though, if enough great entries enter this competition, I'll raise the number of winners of the first three prizes, even though it would certainly wreck my savings.

First Prize (one winner):
24 months of deviantArt premiere membership; OR,

A commission from the following list:

Nobody - "creepy pony" style, 1 or 2 characters, colored or grayscale, example: fav.me/d7mb4ox fav.me/d7m45i1

Nobody - 1 or 2 characters, with simple or detailed background, example: fav.me/d7og14w

Nobody - 1 or 2 characters, example: fav.me/d7k2t0a fav.me/d61oox8

If the winner doesn't want the commission, then the prize can be anything with a price less or equal to $40, or I can directly transfer the money with PayPal.

Second Prize (two winners):
12 months of deviantArt premiere membership; OR,

A commission from the following list:

Nobody - "creepy pony" style, 1 character, grayscale, example: fav.me/d7m45i1

Nobody - one pony, full body, with background, example: fav.me/d7lgnhv fav.me/d7gh0kj ; OR, 2 pieces of one pony, full body, without background, example: fav.me/d7lughs fav.me/d7lis6l

Nobody -  Full body lineless painting without background, example: fav.me/d7eyqa6 ; OR, Lineless painting portrait, colored or grayscale, example: fav.me/d77e7mh fav.me/d7hmi3l ; OR, completed drawing with outline and simple background, example: fav.me/d7ap0ml fav.me/d6qxtew .

Nobody - full body, with simple background, example: fav.me/d69mmw3

Nobody - 1 character, colored and shaded, polished, example: fav.me/d5ghx4i
(P.S.: To keep within the budget, the more specific in the commission, the less polished the final piece would be. A general specification "Fluttershy being sad" would get that level of polished-ness, but an OC with lots of specific details would get less polished-ness.)

If the winner doesn't want the commission, then the prize can be anything with a price less or equal to $25, or I can directly transfer the money with PayPal.

Third Prize (four winners):
A commission from the following list:

Nobody - Single character, black and white, traditional drawing, example: fav.me/d5ipp45 fav.me/d59bs0b

Nobody - full body, without background, example: fav.me/d7lughs fav.me/d7lis6l ; OR, 2 pieces of pony portrait, example: fav.me/d7elq1b fav.me/d7eejt5 ; OR, a reference sheet for your OC, example: fav.me/d7lbmj2

Nobody - full body, without background, example: fav.me/d5uhx0a

Nobody - 1 character, sketchy or flat-colored, example: fav.me/d5r49r7 fav.me/d63qdti fav.me/d5xjy2x

If the winner doesn't want the commission, then the prize can be anything with a price less or equal to $15, or I can directly transfer the money with PayPal.

Excellency Prize (all entries that are not good enough to win the previously stated prizes, but good enough to enter the group's "featured" gallery):
Two commissions from the following list:

Nobody - Single character, sketchy, black and white, traditional drawing, example: fav.me/d5e9p0h fav.me/d5pksi9

Nobody - 1 or 2 or 3 ponies, full body, with simple or no background, example: fav.me/d7k6pki fav.me/d78uzlh fav.me/d77t2rs

Nobody - a character with detailed shading on a plain/complex background, example: fav.me/d7mj49y fav.me/d70bc10

Nobody - simple/detailed shadows and background, with 1 or 2 characters, example: fav.me/d7fj1pm fav.me/d7nougc fav.me/d7f4y7l

or 100 deviantArt points;
or 1 commission, and 50 deviantArt points.

Good Enough Prize (all entries that are not good enough to win the previously stated prizes, but good enough to enter the group's gallery):
40 deviantArt points, and and a comment on your profile page expressing my gratitude.

Participation "Prize" (ALL entries): Besides the prizes, all entries may receive a critique from me if you tell me to (I'm glad to critique every entry, but I believe that some prefer to not to be critiqued). The better your work, the more detailed my critique will be. The simplest critique might just be a sentence or two regarding some obvious highlights/shortcomings or giving a picture that I suggest you to refer to, while the very detailed ones would be like these:
My list of references to PotheadSam about hoodie pony and city noir atmosphere
My analysis of kvernikovskiy's style

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Can I enter multiple entries?
A: Yes. There is no limit to the number of unique submissions one can submit. Don't submit different versions of the same drawing, e.g. versions with/without background, different lighting, etc.

Q: Can I draw background pony/my OC/etc?
A: Yes. All ponies Equestrian dragons, griffons, or other Equestrian creatures are all allowed, canon or OC. You can draw Angel mourning Fluttershy, or Gilda's pain over her broken relationship with Rainbow Dash.

Q: Can I draw ___ stages?
A: Yes. Any positive number of, or combination of the stages is allowed. You can draw 1 stage, or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 of the stages in arbitrary combination, or all 6 of them. Drawing 0 stages is not encouraged, nor is drawing 1.5 stages.

Q: Can I draw something other than the theme?
A: Um... I recommend you to stay on the theme, though it is not required. However, if you do make a picture unrelated to the theme, it would face a higher entrance threshold for quality: a quality about the level of this piece fav.me/d5k0t21

Q: What is the required art quality for entering the contest?
A: The minimum quality I look for is something like these fav.me/d7dru5z fav.me/d5w7m2y fav.me/d6942wd And try to aim for this quality fav.me/d5k0t21