My story, "Fairlight", has had a very mixed reception. At the time of this post, 50/50 thumbs up and down. There are a few comments though not many, which is not that helpful with finding out why some people don't like it and if theres anything i could change. The first three chapters of the fic are violent and dark, so it's rated for these of course. Afterwards, the story really gets going. I have had a couple of people proof read it and they said they enjoyed it, but they did comment on the upsettling nature of the first few chapters. I feel these are important for setting the scene but i know that a lot of readers will just take one look and bail out, without going any further.

Any advice would be most welcome !

Bluespectre

Well, just from a cursory glance, you have too many tags attached to the story. Namely, if this is a crossover, you likely don't need alternate universe, unless this Equestria is different from the show from the start. Other than that, tragedy, romance and adventure don't really mesh all that well: I'd suggest dropping tragedy and AU.

Remember, the tags are meant for the main purpose of the story. Is it mostly a comedy? Comedy tag. A comedic adventure? Comedy and adventure tag. Is it a comedic adventure with one or two serious chapters that have little else to do with the rest of the story? Still a comedic adventure, with perhaps "dark" added in, but not much else, really. You can't call a story "dark" if, out of, say, 25 chapters, only 2 are actually "dark".

Also, for getting your story noticed, add it to groups that fit the description. For instance, add it to a crossover group or something similar. Add character tags for the story, even if it's main character/s are OCs. Just put in the "OC" tag, and then add it to a "OC'S Unite" group or something. Hell, add it to the Shameless Self-Promotion Group. They take everything.