Hrmph. I can't say I like these ones as much as, say, happy-fluffy-fluff-fluff stories (it's a technical term). But apparently people like sad stuff and write an awful lot of it.

Dunno why. I have real life to make me sad. I don't need fanfiction to do that for me.

Anyway! Spotlight threads are threads where you can show off one story and explain exactly why it's really, really cool. It can be your story. It can be someone else's. All I ask is you don't link to mature rated stuff, because rulez.

So without further ado, lets see how many

stories you guys can cough up.

Since I don't actually have a sad/tragedy story of my own, I guess it's up to me to promote some other bloke's sad stuff, eh?

It's not exactly a tear-jerker. However, it does have the sad tag. So that's sad enough for me.

It's not even a story, really. It's more of a character piece that shows the Mane Cast talk and contemplate the fact that, what with all their adventures, they might not end up living for very long. Some of them don't mind, some of them accept it, some of them are afraid of the prospect... It all feels pretty natural and, I think, everyone is in character.

Also: AppleDash. Glorious, sweet AppleDash. It's no wonder this one made my favourites, actually. It's not even sexy AppleDash. No, this one is far better.

It's cuddly AppleDash. The best kind.

But honestly, it's still a very nice piece that's short, doesn't eat up much time, and is still nice and enjoyable. I'd recommend it.

Most of my 100+ favorites are comedies, but I'd certainly recommend Only the Good Die Young for a uniquely emotional premise.

4702577 I remember reviewing that one for TGB. Biker told me to drop everything and read it. It's on my favourites list, actually.

4702243 I've been told by at least a few readers that my story made them cry, but it's not really a sad story by any means.

Not so for The Only Day, a time-loop story by naturalbornderpy which is told, interestingly, not from the affected pony's point of view, but from Applejack's. AJ hires a new helper around the farm and keeps a log of what happens on her first day. And then does so again and again and again, oblivious to the loop and thus to why this new mare is so distressed. It made my list of faves for a reason, and at under 5k words, really manages to hit you with the feels in short order.

4702243
I'm not arrogant enough to spotlight my own work, so I will suggest the following:

Ghost of a Rose by Noble Thought
The overall tone of this is less sad and more bittersweet, but it's still a brilliant and moving piece. The sad part is spoilered for those who have not read it (seriously, go read it), but Noble did a fantastic job with Mirror. She's simultaneously Pinkie Pie and her own character, and the confusion and the doubt she feels over being a mere copy is incredibly well-done. I could not recommend this enough.

I haven't got a sad/tragedy story either, but I don't mind dredging up an old story from my favourites that I think is worth a look.

A Lot to Think About by chronicLurker is one-scene AU story in which Celestia reflects on the Canterlot Wedding. There's a plethora of 'Wedding Aftermath' style stories, but I like this one the most. It doesn't go overboard with its emotions, and it doesn't need to be a word longer to get its point across that the wedding we saw could have taken a turn for the worse. It's from 2012, so not sure how much coverage it's been given since then.

4703276

Spotlight threads are threads where you can show off one story and explain exactly why it's really, really cool.

threads where you can show off one story and

one story

one

I'm going to have to ask you to pick between which of those you like best, 'cause otherwise people will end up dumping their whole favourites list in here.

4703376
Ah. Missed that part.

Edited to fit the rules.

4703403 No probs. I'm usually a bit more obvious, but since I essentially just end up repeating myself, sometimes I'm a bit less clear.

(especially if I'm late)

4702243

I have real life to make me sad. I don't need fanfiction to do that for me.

In my case, I tend to keep my sad feelings regarding real life bottled up, but there have been a few things in the fictional realm (in various media) that have made me open up a little bit and shed a few tears...

Simply Rarity is one such example of a story that made me feel so emotional. I don't really want to spoil too much, so I'll just say this: After Rarity, the Element of Generosity, gets upset when Applejack and Rainbow Dash nettle her for giving Twilight Sparkle a "chintzy" gift on Twililight's birthday, Twilight goes to find out what's wrong. Rarity then shares some of her past so Twilight can understand what she views as generosity.

p.s. It should probably be noted that this story was apparently written back around Season One.

4703498 I read that one for the Goodfic Bin, actually. It was a brief period where I was reviewing normal submissions, since the numbers got too high.

I rejected it. That story really, really rubbed me the wrong way. It's not even badly written. It's just I don't think I've ever seen a story try so hard to get me to tear up by crafting the ultimate sob-story with quite that much gusto.

4703543
Sorry for taking so long to reply here, but now that I've managed to get a little bit of computer access and actually check my favorites list a little more closely (for some reason, searching bookshelves doesn't work properly on mobile for me, but searching in other places, such as someone's story list, seems to work fine), Simply Rarity really is the only story I have in my Favorites bookshelf with both the [Sad] and [Tragedy] tags that I would personally consider spotlighting here...

4703972 That's fine. What another man spotlights in the privacy of his own comments is his own business.

But damn, I wouldn't have.

"Hey! Hap! You feelin' sad today?"

"Uh, no."

"Rarity's family lose all their money!"

"Uh, okay. That kinda sad, I guess."

"Also her father kills himself! Are you crying yet?!"

"Do we know anything about the dad? Was he a nice guy? I mean, Rarity wasn't shown to care much or be really affected..."

"They now have no friends! C'mon, that's gotta be worth a tear."

"We don't know their friends! Rarity was never shown to like them! She just got a angry after they left!"

"Her mother abandons her and her sister! Cry, you sunuvabitch!"

"But we didn't know anything about her mother! It's not sad if a total stranger to me dies! At best I'm sympathetic! It's like watching a news report!"

"They are now starving!"

"This is getting tiresome."

"Rarity's sister is now deaaaad!"

"Oh, that character that did nothing, said nothing, and that I was in no way attached to?"

"... you're a heartless bastard, you know that?"

"And you never got me invested in anything."

The story did all these things, any one of which on their own could have made for a sad story, but I didn't know anything about Rarity's dad, her mother, her sister, and the whole while, Rarity rarely wanted anything. I think there was one bit where she actually made a point of not wanting to lose her sister, but everything else she only ever missed after the fact. Things were just happening to her without getting me invested, and as a result it felt like it was getting me to cry just because I felt obligated to. I felt so manipulated the whole while, and I hate feeling manipulated.

But... it seems I'm in the minority when it comes to Simply Rarity. Kind of why I'm using the spoiler things, really. Odds are, people are going to enjoy it. Might as well not spoil it for them.

4702243 I checked through my 'worth reading' bookshelf and the few stories I had there tagged as 'sad' (Simply Rarity's actually one of them, but I definitely see where you're coming from with your complaint).

It's actually the latest story I put in there which is the one that sticks out.

Pascoite's 'If Memory Serves' made me sad - not the teary sad, which stories very rarely manage, but the kind of sad where I sigh and pull a face and then get thoughtful. That's what I look for with the sad tag, on those few occasions where I think I can stomach it, and this one delivered.

Why did it manage that? To me, it felt very much something that could happen in real life, to me or people I know, in the future. I think Pascoite's real life familiarity with the subject of Alzheimer's/mental deterioration really came through in the writing, so it actually got to me.

4711459 Wow. It's like nobody here writes sad.

I think that's the real tragedy, here. Something must be done!

4711471 Maybe it should be one of the prompts in the distant future.

I actually have written one sad story. I kinda didn't want to spotlight it because I don't have any feedback on whether anyone else thinks it's sad, and I thought Pascoite's was sadder anyway, heh.

4711479 I'd have still spotlighted mine.

I don't really like using 'tag-prompts', since it restricts people to, well, that tag. What I rather prefer is keeping the whole subject matter up in the air, but how it's approached can be different for each person.

Incentive should definitely be offered for sad stories here, though. Like, one per tear jerked, or something.

4711492 I'm working up to being able to advocate my own work like that

This week's prompts are kinda suited to the sad approach, I suppose. Could add the moustache incentive to them. I guess the problem is in what you'd be rewarding - tears? Sighs? General gloominess for the next half an hour that can be directly linked to your fic? (Actually, knowing I had that kind of effect on a reader would probably give me a great feeling which I'd then feel bad about!)

4711552 Sad is an odd thing.

Sad for me comes from a character I empathise with not getting what they want. It's something Simply Rarity completely lacked. All it had was Rarity losing things, without ever wanting them. But seeing them want things and go through struggles that I don't necessarily have, or have gone through or whatever is like dipping yourself in ice-cold water. You feel cold for a minute, but when you come out and sit next to a fire, you're reminded how warm feels. And that's quite nice. It's hurting yourself so you feel better later.

At least for me.

4712149 You have a point. Sad done well can definitely be cathartic.

I hadn't personally thought about Simply Rarity from that perspective. The part of it that elevated the story for me - and it's unique (ha ha) for me in this - was the single line der dary, unique. That style of misspelling from a character who doesn't know better, either because they are young or not very academic, reminds me very much of Flowers for Algernon, which is by far saddest fiction I've ever read.

Regardless, our discussion has inspired me to give a sad approach a go with this week's character prompt. Guess we'll see how it turns out!

4712212 I look forwards to it. I may try it myself. If I do, we can compare notes.

4712229 Well then, I hope you do try it!

Fleet.

Fleetfoot. Wonderbolt.
She's broken more speed records than any other pony alive. Saying that she's the fastest pony in Equestria isn't hyperbole; it's a fact, and everypony knows it.
Don't they...?

One of my first stories on this site, and honestly, the reason I joined in the first place. I had what I thought was a cool idea for a tragedy, and I really wanted to write it. I still have to finish it... but as the dates show, I've been meaning to finish it for a while. Part of why I'm hesitating with it is because I'm nervous about doing somethign wrong and ruining the whole story, so... uh... yeah. Thought I'd post it here, and maybe see if anyone else likes it, or if you have any feedback for me to avoid just that.

4712236 Bleh. I did try writing sad for the Applejack one, but unfortunately with everything that happened this week I simply didn't have time. (Judging + week one of uni). I'll still read your thing, though, even if I fail at deadlines.

4741340 No problem! Life gets busy, I understand that!