PLEASE TO BE INSERTING NOMINATORY SUBSTANCES FOR REVIEW AND POSSIBLE GREATNESS

Because seriously, this story should be a requirement for those who read MLP fanfiction.

The description:

Rarity's exploits in "Sweet and Elite" set in motion a chain of events that will find the unicorn dressmaker taking part in the greatest airship race in the world, the Alicorn's Cup. Excitement will give way to terror, as Rarity soon finds herself the victim of a plot against Equestria, and shipwrecked far from home with her least favorite stallion, the boorish Prince Blueblood. Rarity will learn of treachery in Canterlot and abroad, and will have search for something of substance beneath the prince's obnoxious veneer as she struggles to not only save herself, but her entire nation.

One of the best stories to come out of the entire fandom, quite simply. Excellent characters and characterization, excellent storytelling, a wonderful grasp of humor, adventure, seriousness, and plot. If you have not read this story, you've simply missed one of the greatest that the fandom has to offer. "Flight of the Alicorn" could quite easily be marketed as it's own standalone fantasy work and be a successful product.

Hooray, you're back!

...and apparently all our words are used up four and half times over already. :|

Hmm, let's see, browsing through my favorites for some fun picks... Authored for Adoration is very tempting, but SS is here personally, so just mentioning it should suffice for flattery without making things awkward. I'm not sure I can actually call No Need For Rainbows great, personally, but that's what would make it fun to force you all to form some thoughts on it. (Plus there's something wonderfully hipster about digging up something nonextradinarily popular from over two years ago.) Thanqol is already represented by Yours Truly, so I guess we can add some diversity first before all the weaker stories are gradually culled by his unstoppable might...

All that considered, I'm formally putting forward:

Spatterdashery, by Violet CLM

Unabashed character-driven witty banter comedy featuring cute ponies in abnormal yet healthy romantic relationships!
It is the perfect story.

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The Never-Was and Wouldn't-Be is a very good example of how to tell a story by not telling it. Featuring excellent characterizations of Discord and Twilight and a disturbingly plausible outcome for the events of the show, The Never-Was and Wouldn't-Be tells of the final few hours before Twilight's nebulous "Harmony Project". The wordplay is cutting edge and the end result is both lovingly open and creepy enough to have the reader beg for more. Five stars, four stars, two thumbs up, ten out of ten, five out of five, three bananas.

Five Hundred Little Murders.

It's a beautiful piece.

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Space, um -- Viking is one of the original members of the Cabal. (He has a penchant for posting superlong stuff, too. I say it with love, Viking. )

The hope is that we have stuff we're all capable of reading, but I'm willing to accept that greatness might be detectable in only a sample, too. The general rule is that if you vote on it and only read part of it, please just say how much you did read. (And if someone wants to get all speed-read-y on that thing, be my guest. I'm going to try to for a few chapters myself.)

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Uh, noted.

*sigh*

I'll go be dumb somewhere else for a bit.

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Don't worry Space. If anything, I'm also probably one of the most shadowed members of the Cabal (partially just because I stay super busy). That may change though. I've got some new goals for the year.

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Yeah, I know I blasted the rule to pieces. It was for a good cause though. :twilightwink: I won't do it again, for anything but the best.

Really.

I promise.

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Hey, it's cool! Seriously, I don't think Viking was upset, and I just figured I'd let you know.

That just means we're going to take The Long One and a few really short ones, ideally. I still need to look at the nominations. Today I've just been a mess, and barely even got that teeneh little thread up.

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Excellent title.

Fire and Rain

Because I want to see a popular story get ripped to pieces. I'm half kidding, half serious.

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, a relatively rare ship but one that is still fairly popular among some. Unlike most stories of its kind, this does not deal with Rainbow becoming a substitute Wonderbolt. She's anything but. This alone, I think, is a bonus point to it. That is not to mention that it is wrtitten well, and it certainly is. Ruirik shows a remarkable talent for blending comedy with seriousness, and make one laugh even when the characters are in a hospitable for various reasons. (read and you'll find out).

The canon characters are kept in character, the non-canon ones are given more layers and even their parts are entertaining to read, unlike in some other stories where the side character parts can easily be boring.

I will end this quick with saying that the romance in it is realistic, the conflict, one seen often and another not so often, is used in an interesting manner. I recommend it and would definitely think it counts as a "great" story.

This hasn't officially been closed yet, and I haven't seen a thread saying that it's closed yet, so...

Another fic I think the world of:

It's this not-so-little slice-of-life science thing, in an purpose-created location, with an all-OC cast, and I always end up saying "and that's a good thing". It's brilliantly well-written, and it just has this wonderful show-like quality to it without directly using anything we've seen on the show.

(...Aaand this is ridiculously long compared with what's already been suggested. I'm so sorry.)

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My 'hipster fic of choice' is linked above. I just wish I could better date when I first found it.