Expression of Gratitude and Story Notes · 10:26pm Oct 1st, 2023
I wanted to express my immense appreciation for those who have commented, favorited, upvoted, or spent any amount of their valuable time reading my first story posted to Fimfiction: The Roles We (Are Fated to) Play. With it being my first story posted here, I in no way anticipated it would garner this much attention, let alone reach the feature box for a few days!
It's truly my greatest hope as a writer to create something that generates thoughtful discussion and I have enjoyed reading the range of reception this story has evoked, both praise and critique alike. I appreciate all constructive criticism and always try to harness it as a means of strengthening my future writing endeavors!
For those curious, I will offer some of my perspective as the author on my process creating this piece (very mild spoilers below).
It is a definite challenge to write convincing psychological horror within the framework of MLP. I massively commend authors who write within that genre consistently to great effect (and love reading their work often)! It goes without saying that the show is a vastly different genre and offers little in the way of evidence for how any of its characters may behave when pitted against horrifying or otherwise desperate circumstances.
The Roles We (Are Fated to) Play is a story about desperation. It was an attempt by me to stretch the emotional limits of the central characters, and their relationship to the magical world of Equestria, to the extreme. I aspired to craft a dramatic explanation for one of the most highly critiqued writing choices of the show - Cozy Glow's unsympathetic treatment by the rest of the characters despite being the pony equivalent of a young girl - by exploring a speculative narrative I hadn't seen explored before. I had a wild idea based around a whole lot of intertwined "What if's...?" and enjoyed the creative pursuit of writing it! (Especially since it gave me a much needed break from the consistent demands of my academic writing; if I don't maintain the joy of my personal creative outlets, I will simply shrivel up and pass away). It was an intentional choice on my part for there to be a sense of ambiguity throughout some of the narrative elements to support the story's themes. Questions related to social morality, the impact of isolation, and what it means to have the privilege of forgiveness are all being asked here. None of them have a precise answer.
Therefore, I wanted to express that it is equally valid to have found this story exciting or difficult to believe. I've seen some incredibly robust discussion around ideas present in this story and once again have to express my gratitude for the interest my writing has generated. I always feel so much vicarious enthusiasm seeing ongoing discussion on ideas I too am interested in. Thank you for sharing what this story made you think and feel.
As for any specific questions related to clarification of narrative details, or my authorial intent, you are welcome to bring them here. I hesitate to clarify anything in the comments the story itself, however, as I want it to exist as its own informational medium without interference from me, and don't want to dissuade anyone from their own opinions or insight. I do respect though if anyone has any burning questions or wants to engage in some general storycraft discussion.
In addition, while I initially intended for this story to end with its conclusion, I am not opposed to attempting a sequel! Especially since I have seen a few requests for one. If time and obligations allow for it, I'll see where else I can take this narrative... Otherwise, now that I've made the transition from reader to writer on this platform, I hope to create and share a few other original works some time in the future 
Thank you for reading! ✧
Again, thanks for taking the time to write out such a fascinating story. Sequel or no sequel, I'll be eagerly waiting in the shadows for more of your writings to appear!
I really do hope you expand on your story, it was probably one of the best one-shots I've read here.
yay sequel!|she not Cozy Glow, or Flurry Heart and Cadenza does not get to name her again!| maybe Swamp mom gets that honor?