While I write my PaaL fanfic (It's going great by the way, almost done, I swear on me mum.) I thought out a fun question to spur up some discussion in this group. I mean, fifty members and no one makes forum threads? Come on you guys. Prey would be disappointed you're not questioning the reality around you.

The group, It's about PaaL, yes, but primarily it's about our joint love of PaaL AND Ponies. We've got to know each other a bit when commenting in the story or on Discord. So, the group is here not only to discuss the fic, it's here to get to know each other a little bit better.

So, let's get the ball rolling. Your favorite MLP fan story?

Let's do it in two categories. Including PaaL and without PaaL.

I'll start.

1. With PaaL - Not surprising but... PaaL. Whoop, Big surprise. Bravo, original thoughts, ten points to Gryffindor.

2. Without PaaL - Now that's a hard one, a doozy if you would believe. My favorites say I've added 1919 stories. And don't get me started on the ones I haven't favorited. That folder is over 9000. And I only add the stories I fully read. Now, I own multiple hard copies of pony fics. Past Sins, Fallout Equestria, half of Austraeoh for some reason. Yet my answer is... Austraeoh. It's NOT for everybody, it's not the greatest out there, it's not the best written. Yet even after all this time, I can recall the moments from the first book, even after ten years. I won't lie, It just clicks with me and I hope Imploding Colon will finish it someday.

Now you.. Go!

the The Tirek who tolerated me or Anonymous and the friendly fire folk are my two favorites. Neither are complete, and its likely neither ever will, but I liked what they did have

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Okay, I have both in my "ongoing" folder. I'll admit, Anonymous and the friendly fire folk is a lottery. Maybe it will finish, maybe not. As it is with all anon fics.

The Tirek who tolerated me? It had a few months hiatuses before. I think It will pull through if the artist doesn't lose interest.

Well P.A.A.L is my favorite story of all time so with is kind of obvious.

Without, hmm I guess The Power Of Freedom it is one of the best metaphorical page turners I have read

That's a tough question, since I've read some damn good stories over the years. For the sake of this, I scrolled through some of my favorites to see which stories I can even recall now.

I'd have to say that PaaL stands at the top, but it's not insurmountable. My Top three, not including PaaL, would probably be Rosiad (incomplete forever, at this rate), Music Therapy (complete), and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Lord Sassaflash (complete), and that's after a lot of arbitration on my part. There are some stories in my favorites would have been tough contenders if the endings weren't hot garbage, or maybe if I could remember what happens in them, but as is I'd have to stick with those three.

Well.. with PaaL it is easy of course. It is Paal.

Without Paal... kinda hard to decide a favorite. I registered just to comment on Paal and the few I read here were... average at best I think.

Though I am still browsing some stuff.

With PaaL, it's PaaL. No contest.

Without it, Phoenix-born Rising - The Ascension of Sunset Shimmer and Local are probably my favorites. The first is a fantasy story with amazing world-building, and the second is one of the few horror stories that has gotten to me. Neither are finished, and they don't regularly update like Lambs Prey (long may he write), but both are great reads I'd recommend to anyone who likes PaaL.

I'm gonna have to go with Days of Wasp and Spider as a non-PaaL favorite. It's got a nice intricate plot with good worldbuilding and characters, and it's very much unique. I have a soft spot for Sci-Fi and edginess, I suppose.

Favourite: PaaL, obviously.

Non-PaaL favourite: Hm, that's both a hard and easy question. Easy because my top ten are in one bookshelf (crème de la crème), hard because, well, they're ten not one. Bah, I'll just sort the 9 remaining by genre and leave it at that:

Favourite comedy would be Whom the Princesses Would Destroy... (the ponified child of Yes, Minister and Terry Pratchett), with The Changeling of the Guard an extremely close second (what if Chance from Being There was a changeling instead of a gardener, and became a guard instead of a politician?). Will probably become a tie once The Changeling of the Guard is completed.

Favourite sci-fi is a tie between First Contact is Magic (one of the most satisfying first contact stories I've read) and The Mare in the High Castle (one damn good dystopia, and I love dystopias).

Favourite war-story is definitely Equestria: Total War, which is a shame because it was abandoned. Antiquarian's fics deserve an honorary mention here, Memoirs of My War in particular.

Favourite short story (and poem and avant-garde fic I suppose) Blink and Miss It. I hate poetry, I dislike short stories, and I distrust anything that even looks avant-garde, and yet I enjoyed this fic. That alone makes it deserving of a place in my top 10.

The Memoirs of a Royal Guard trilogy would be best slice of life. Quite similar to Changeling of the Guard, but with the focus on slice of life and romance rather than comedy.

And then Fallout: Equestria, as my favourite fallout: equestria story (which has clearly been genre of fim fanfiction for a long time by now).

Non-PaaL: The Fish Bowl
Sadly this story has been deleted but was a hidden jem. The concept was basically West World but in Equestria Girls. Tartarus (the whole prison) was the EQG world and everyone inside was a copy of ponies they just didn't know it, Tartarus was made with these copies to reform its prisoners. The story followed Vinyl Scratch and her discovering she and her world is not real.

Well… the Secret life of Rarity is how I found the entire fandom, and Background Pony is what kept me here. So that’s my answer

PaaL of course for the first category, but without PaaL the question suddenly becomes much harder. With 148 favorited stories I have quite a few options. I guess I’ll just look through it and write down the ones that stick out as being exceptionally good.

The village called respite by Carapace
Without a Hive by Phoenix_Dragon
Starstruck by Vest
The Power of Freedom by Greatazuredragon
The Dresden Fillies series by psychicscubadiver
Past sins by Pen Stroke
The Substitute Demon by Reykan
Divine Entertainment and it’s sequels by Orthoros
Grief is the price we pay by Scyphi
Foal of the Forest and it’s many many sequels by moguera
Gears in the void by Lab
The Tale of Lord Barleycorn by Blue Cultist
Necromancy For Foals by Queen Sanguine Dreams
Project: Sunflower by Hoopy McGee
Background Pony by Shortskirtsandexplosions
The Changeling of the Guard by vdrake77
The Moons Aprentice by Forthwith
Flitter by Nyerguds
The Iron Horse: Everything’s Better With Robots! by The Hat Man
What I’ve become and it’s sequels by Knight Breeze
The Mare Who Once Lived on the Moon by MrNumbers
School of Hard Knocks by Hoopy McGee
Thunder Struck by MerlosTheMad
Fallout: Equestria by Kkat

Here is a small list of my favorites, I highly recommend all of them. And now concludes the tittle of my favorite story. Yes. It is most certainly one story. The question asked for one story and I haves done exactly that. Any who suggest it is not a single story and is in fact many stories will be assasinated.

My first contact with the whole fanfiction scene was with Fallout Equestria: Pink Eyes and its a story that really hits in the feels, and I will always remember it as the one that made me give this place a chance, so this one is just outside the list on its own place. Call it nostalgia, if you will.

With that being said, I'd say first that my top three will be as follows:

1.- Arrow 18 Mission Logs: Lone Ranger
2.- Project: Sunflower
3.- Prey and a Lamb

Honorable mentions are First Pony View, To Love a Pony and ARTICLE 2. These are on the honorable mentions because they are incomplete stories that I still think are a wonderful read.

I am biased towards sci-fi ones as you can imagine by my choices, but I'd sat PaaL just pushed all the right buttons to make itself over my own top three. I personally don't usually enjoy much stories with excessive gore or tension, but honestly PaaL just balanced just in the right way to get a firm grip on my attention.