G'day again! It's that time of week... well, not that we have a specific time... um... whatever. The point is that we have a brand new suggestion thread to put forward our heart-felt recommendations!
With the re-addition of group thread notifications, I'm hoping for quite a few more people suggesting top-quality / controversial / exciting stories for us to peruse.

Remember these rules:
-You may not nominate a story you have written yourself at any time.
-Sensual fiction (i.e., not outright clop) can be suggested in the non-NSFW group, but must follow site rules in discussing it.
-The length cap for normal story discussion is 100,000 words, but longer stories can be discussed in the splinter discussion thread. Stories of different length will have different time limits to read them, as well.
-The reading time allotted is seven days for 50k word stories and under, while stories between 50-100k will be given up to fourteen days.

With that in mind, here we go! And I'll claim first nomination:

Okay, here's an old-ish (10 months) one that really keeps me coming back to re-read again and again:
Royals

Rarity always wanted to be Lady Rarity. Over time, it became more clear it was not meant to be. But she's fine, she's got a successful business in Ponyville, her fashion line showing in Manehattan and she has her friends, even if most of them are moving on with their lives. A prince sweeping her off her hooves was just not meant to be.

So how in Equestria did she end up on a date with the richest pony in town?

Confusion, feelings and wine mix for a potentially explosive, heartwarming (or rending?) evening, along with a pinch of generosity.

Guess I have to nominate a different story this time:

The Monster in the Twilight
[Sad][Adventure][Alternate Universe]

We all know the story of how the Princess’ young student and five friends defeated Nightmare Moon, and brought Princess Luna back to our lands. But what if the tale were false? What if the young Twilight Sparkle on the event of her entrance exam had not been rescued by Princess Celestia, but instead lost her mind among the power of her youthful surge, and had to be sent away, far away before she could destroy all of Canterlot with her newfound power. Now the feral unicorn prowling the Everfree Forest only vaguely remembers her past, slipping away from constant terrifying attempts to capture her.

And she is beginning to remember what true power felt like.

3729324
3729362
Geez, guys, don't take all the good stories!

My nomination is Mayflies, by Cola_Bubble_Gum.

"Do you know what a mayfly is, Twilight?"

It's been six years since Spike met Rarity, and nothing's changed.

Nothing he knows about, anyway.

Princess Celestia Gets Mugged
[Comedy] [Slice of Life]

Princess Celestia, tired of the constant pressure that ruling a nation puts on her, decides to take a day off and let Luna take her responsibilities for a day, something the younger alicorn is more than happy to do. She disguises herself as a pink maned pegasus pony named Sunny Skies and decides to go walking around Canterlot without any supervision. Unfortunately for her, not all parts of Canterlot are as safe as the palace, and she finds herself at the wrong end of a gang of muggers, who decide to kidnap her for a ransom when they see how much money she has on her.

Luna freaks out.

Celestia thinks it's hilarious.

3729533
Not all, only the best.

A worthy contender, I see.

3729324

In the heat of the moment, some ponies have a habit of letting things out. Sometimes they are minor things that most just shrug off and forget about in a matter of milliseconds. Sometimes they are things that, once revealed, shake the very foundation of their existence.
Rarity's latest revelation falls into the latter.

The Warm Diary of Twilight Sparkle
[Tragedy] [Adventure]

But who could realistically steal the diary of a princess?

Twilight froze as a fleeting thought seeded itself in her mind.

"Were wars fought over you...?" she whispered darkly.

When Twilight finds an unusual diary belonging to a pony only known as "Stella", she goes on a fantastic journey to save the souls of those written in its pages from a fate worse than death.

Pure mind-breaking goodness.

3729324 I was going to nominate Project Sunflower... but then I realized it was more than 200,000 words.

So I'll go with this one:
Hard Reset

Twilight isn't having a very good day. An experimental spell blew up in her face, an army of changelings is attacking Canterlot, and she just died. Yet somehow, it looks like it's going to keep going downhill from here.
Given the chance to correct what's gone wrong, Twilight swears she's going to fix all this even if it kills her. Which it will. Frequently.

I'm rather surprised though that nobody has nominated one of your stories yet though Cerulean... though that might change in the future...

3729324

If You Came to Conquer

Nightmare Moon won. She defeated Celestia, broke the Elements, banished the sun. This all happened a very long time ago. So long ago, that she has had plenty of time to change her mind.

Of course, fixing our mistakes is never so simple, and never without consequences. Even with particularly potent help.

I'd like to nominate this one, 3729324

Head in The Clouds
[Adventure]

What is the value of a secret? What knowledge lurks forgotten in Equestria's past?

After chasing a thief from Canterlot to the desert mountains south of Equestria, Twilight and her friends are beset by tragedy. To save her friend, Twilight will have to delve Equestria's greatest secrets, and discover a truth that even she will wish she hadn't learned. When the thief's full plans come to light, will Twilight be able to save Equestria's secrets, her friend, or even herself?

Also, are we going to finally use (or consider using) the poll method of voting I've been suggesting?

3730760
Good suggestion
Honestly, it doesn't really bother me having to manually count. If we had thousands of members to account for, sure. But as it is, it's not overly hard or time-consuming to count the 15-20 votes we get. Besides, I like to see who voted for what. Over time it will give me an idea of what who prefers to read.

3730768
You're right, despite the 173 members, no one really seems to vote. Nice to have some closure on the topic, though.

3730775 Yeah, sorry about that. I really should have said something earlier.

3730786
No prob.

If this 3729788 happens, I'll do a detailed character study of Home Run for it. Because I can.

I'll toss one in too.

Tribulation is the Face of Fashion
Slice of Life

Coco Pommel has been proud to call Manehattan her home. Her career may not be at its height, but all those years of keeping her chin up are finally starting to pay off when her quest to find her better future leads her to open her own boutique, albeit in the less-glamorous part of town.

One day, an old friend happens to wander into her store and present her with a rare opportunity. One that offers rewards that outlast the dreams of any and every burgeoning fashion designer.

Can she pull through and prove her worth, or will she be forced to go back to her roots of being a hapless needle jockey?

3731443
This looks kinda cool...

Might be a bit late with this one, but I'll happily nominate:

Old Friends, Again

and

When the Levee Breaks