Eye of Winter: A Forward and an Introduction · 6:53am Feb 18th, 2015
This story is the fanfiction equivalent of "long time listener, first time caller." I've been a fan of this show since early 2011, but I only joined Fimfiction a couple of weeks ago. I had heard about Fall of Equestria, seen some of the artwork, but I didn't know where it had come from or how far it went. Was the artwork I'd seen just a tag for r34 pictures? Was it from a webcomic or fanfic? Looking for answers brought me here.
I enjoyed the Fall of Equestria stories. I was surprised by how good the writing was from an erotic angle. At first I stuck mainly to the clop groups, but eventually I branched out and started reading Slice of Life, Tragedy, and Comedy stories. When I found the Post-Fall of Equestria group, I had an idea.
I'd been writing fanfics on and off since I was 13. Hundreds of pages worth, most of it lost now. I'd never shown them to anyone. I was incredibly guarded about my writing, and very few of the stories ever reached an ending. I'd had a couple of ideas for MLP stories, but I saw those more as webcomics than prose, and none of them were ready to publish.
This may not have been my first idea, but it was the first story I wanted people to see. It's a hard one for me to pigeonhole. I feel about clopfics the same way I feel about Mane Six fics: I enjoy reading them more than I enjoy writing them. My brain never seems to go fully in that direction. In both cases, the joy I get comes from not knowing what's coming next. Choreographing my own sex scenes, writing my own Twilight adventures, just doesn't seem as exciting to me as reading other writer's work. This may not be true forever, but for the moment I want to tell my own weird little tales. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.
Here are a few things to know about Eye of Winter.
Chapters: I've done my best to write each chapter as a stand-alone story within the general premise. The first and last chapters will hopefully bookend everything that comes in between. I know how the story will end, it's just a matter of connecting the dots. My hope is that the stories can be enjoyed in any order.
Canon: This story exists within the Fall of Equestria universe, however it is not canon. Although it takes place during the reign of the Caribou, it focuses on the idea of their downfall, so it's more of a Post-Fall of Equestria story. I've done my best not to step on any toes regarding existing canon. I want my story to gel as much as possible with the ones that inspired it. If I make any major faux pas, feel free to let me know. I may not change it, but I'll do my best to adapt to it.
Characters: You'll see some familiar faces in these stories, but I wanted to focus on the groups and races that aren't heavily featured in FoE. I wanted to show what was going on from an outside point of view. This also allowed me to be a little more dynamic with some of the characters, rather than being hindered by collars or slavery. It's harder (though not impossible) to have character development when your protagonist is either brainwashed or enslaved, so I stepped outside the sandbox. Maybe that's cheating, but all's fair in pony love and griffin war.
Sex and Violence: Some stories feature sex and violence as they occur naturally. Others exist solely to deliver sex and violence. Both of these are valid. Eye of Winter is the former. I didn't want to write a story set in the Fallverse that was devoid of sexuality, but I wanted it to happen when it happened, rather than being guaranteed from page one.
Finally, I just want to say that if you pick up on any Game of Thrones references, I promise you these were unintentional. I wasn't looking to do a crossover or an homage. I tried to avoid similarities whenever I could, but Dragons exist in both worlds, invaders come from the north in both worlds, and in both worlds it happens to be winter. Eventually I realized the similarities were unavoidable. I suppose it's a testament to George R.R. Martin's storytelling abilities that he managed to hone in on such universal tropes and ruin it for the rest of us fimficers.
Alright, I think that covers it. Before we begin, I want to thank you for reading this introduction, and thank you for giving my story a chance. With any luck, others will follow. For now, welcome to the cold and the dark.
The Eye is open.
Little additional note on this: Teeth and I have decided to work together, and Eye of Winter will now take place in the same universe as my Sacred Order stories. The Sacred Order / Eye of Winter universe now also has a group: Post-Fall of Equestria: Sacred Order.