Rarity Shall Return: AMA · 5:45pm Oct 14th, 2018
So. Bulletproof Heart is over. Or at least, Part I is. I know some people complained about how this only achieved around a thousand views by the time it finished (it’s at 1.2k now) and how it never seemed to be in the feature box, but I happily disagree with the sentiment. Getting a thousand views in these waning years of the show is hard, and the story did hit the feature box a few times. I’m more than just pleased with the results, I’m flattered. The outpouring of appreciation for this story is a delightful thing after spending a year-and-a-half developing it, most of which was spent keeping the subject matter closely guarded save to a select few people.
I absolutely must thank my collection of pre-readers who helped me identify weak points and shore up the strengths. My thanks in particular to SorenPixels, who acted as my confidant and idea springboard from the moment this concept popped into my head. Keep being cool, bro.
Bulletproof Heart has its origins in two places. First, we have the Fallout game series by Bethesda, which of course inspired Fallout: Equestria and its plethora of spinoffs. I suppose I should also thank Kkat for writing the original, as I had never bothered to play a Fallout game before reading his story, and I may never have gotten the idea otherwise. Being an ardent fan of Lil’pip (and later, Blackjack), I can say I was more than a little inspired.
The second source of inspiration is, of course, music. As you all probably know by now, Bulletproof Heart is also the title of a song by My Chemical Romance. Contrary to what I’ve heard some theorizing, I did not get the idea while watching the music video, which in fact I never saw until about a month ago. Rather, and as is typical of me, I got idea from the sounds and general feelings the music by itself brought to mind. MCR has a great understanding of how to make music seem ‘epic’, and if I appreciate anything, it’s that.
Take Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons, which I had just finished reading. Throw in having rediscovered MCR’s powerful musical style. Add in just a little influence from the cover art of the song’s album (Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys). Finally, top it off with a growing appreciation of Fashion Horse that had been building up for at last a year at that point but which was only just being properly recognized. My brain took all these elements, stirred them up in a black iron pot and came up with Bulletproof Heart. And I’ve gotta say, I was in love with the idea from the moment it hit me.
But there were issues. For one, I didn’t want to create another Fallout: Equestria fic. The last thing I want to do is accept fame on the coat tails of Kkat’s fic. I also didn’t want to restrict myself to that version of Equestria; I know I’m good enough to make up my own universe. Besides, any attempt to make Rarity the main character would have been little more than shoehorning. It only made sense to create an entirely new AU from whole cloth. I also had to make sure I wasn’t creating a carbon copy of FO:E, even though I did want a few nods to it and the games. A long planning phase (well, long for me) went into effect, including the writing of a glossary and purchasing a timeline creation software to help me put everything in place chronologically. I wasn’t going into this one half-cocked. There were a few months where I constantly threw ideas at Soren in an effort to see what would work. We got a lot of great concepts. Most of them were abandoned because, let’s face it, I couldn’t do everything.
Then the rough draft was done and I permitted several more months to pass as I gathered a collection of pre-readers to tell me what did and didn’t suck. This was an altogether new experience for me. I’ve allowed others to pre-read some of my shorter stories, and had a couple longer stories go to a person or two as I wrote so they could follow along, but never before had I really devoted myself to the idea of handing off a massive 300k story to a group of people and letting them spend so much time reviewing the material. I was more than a little anxious about the whole concept, as my usual method is “write a chapter, publish, move on”, not “agonize over everything at once before the public is allowed to see it”. And yeah, it took forever.
But I must admit, it was worth it for the final quality. So again, thank you, guys, for volunteering and providing that feedback. You can trust that I’ll be asking for it again when the sequel’s rough draft is done.
And... here we are. A resounding success of a story, if I do say so myself. And since I’m still thoroughly in love with it, I’ve no doubt the sequel will happen. There’s still a lot of ground to cover, worldbuilding to unleash, and villains to fill full of holes. But for now, I think I’ll leave this on an entirely different note. As much as I would love to discuss a range of topics – ideas and where they came from, characters, events, so on – I don’t think it’ll work in a blog format. There’s so much to talk about that this blog could become a story in and of itself. So instead I’m opening the floor to you, my readers, to ask me questions about the story. Past events, future events, characters, it’s all game, although I make no promises that I can answer (I will, obviously, not provide spoilers).
Before that starts, one thing of note: I’ve already had three people mention the possibility of fans writing stories in the world of Bulletproof Heart. I want to say right now that if you feel like doing this, don’t even bother to ask permission. Fanfiction of a fanfiction would be the finest form of flattery ever. I’ve even considered starting a contest with that premise in mind, but have held back because I doubt it would get a lot of contestants (plus the added workload it would put on my already exhausting activities to judge it).
Alright, I’m done. Fire away. Or not. Whatever works for you.
What was your favorite part about writing the story?
What's your favorite part of the worldbuilding you did for the story?
What was your favorite scene to write (or what was the one you were most excited to see posted)?
Nothing to add or ask at the moment. Just wanted to thank you again for an incredible work of fiction. I didn't think I'd ever find one that justified using anthro characters rather than standard ponies or humans.
Do you have a time machine I can use to jump ahead to the publication of the sequel (who’s name you previously mentioned but I can’t remember)?
I’m srsly, you guys. I need my Gunslinger Rarity fix.
4953103
The raw potential. Being of the ambitious sort, I love creating new worlds and seeing the myriad possibilities put in place by any one element, much less connecting all those possibilities into a whole. A close second would be the opportunity to utilize Rarity as the star of her own story, which I’d never had a chance to do before.
After determining what had happened to make the world so hot, determining how the world had changed as a result and, most importantly, the new histories of each of the Mane Six as a result. Just figuring them out was a fun experience.
Easy: the duel with Applejack. There was no single scene in the entire story I more looked forward to, and it was one of the seminal, originating ideas of the entire story. The relationship between these two was always seen by me as one of the major elements of the series as a whole, and that duel was like the kickoff for the entire subtopic (even more so than the drunken night in Hoofington). I don’t know how many times I’ve gone back just to reread that scene.
A close second would be the Fluttershy chapter. I love seeing raw emotions in what I write, and seeing as that one made me cry whilst I was writing it, it promptly became an instant favorite. I recall being disappointed at how little people commented of that particular confession scene.
I suppose a third place is the drunk Rarity scene, if only because I really like how it came out overall. Despite the serious repercussions, it was a fun scene to write, and perhaps the best of all my efforts to write such a scene in previous stories. That would be tied with the final conversation Rarity had with Applejack before the climax, for similar reasons to the Fluttershy one and the added bonus of progress in the relationship.
4953104
You are very welcome yet again! Although I wonder what you saw that specifically makes BPH ‘justified’ in going anthro over human.
4953117
I’ve been trying to come up with one alongside my cousin for a decade now, but so far no luck. Sorry.
Also, the sequel is tentatively titled Bulletproof Heart: Famous Last Words. Or just FLW for short.
4953122
Mostly magic in all its forms. Sure, you could go for various flavors of magical humans, but the divisions of pony tribes can feel artificially imposed without a diegetic connection to Equestria. Also, you'd probably have to associate species to ethnicities to keep details like the egalitarian, species-diverse culture of Mooisville and the Bad Apple Gang's earth pony supremacy working, and that seems like a can of worms best left unopened.
Where's Cadance? She's the only major non-villain player I can think of who never came up.
4953125
Actually, I’ve always intended to modify this series later into an original fiction for publication purposes, so that can of worms will eventually have to be opened. But I’m not too worried about it.
4953130
I’m afraid I can’t answer that one for spoiler reasons. But hey, at least this confirms that an answer exists and will be made known in one of the sequels!
4953135
I wanted to defy the idea that cutie marks are set in stone and ponies will always get the same marks no matter what. I prefer the idea that destiny is fluid; a pony’s ‘special talent’ is based less on what the universe or fate demands it to be and more on their environment, their circumstances, and their personalities. In the case of BPH, the environment and the circumstances have changed drastically, so many ponies will have different cutie marks as a result, even if their base personalities are largely intact. I will point out now, however, that at least two of the Mane Six will not have their marks altered. Whether that comes up in story is in question thanks to the taboo of showing/describing cutie marks in this AU, though.
Since I don’t think it will come up in-story, I will point out that Rarity’s cutie mark has a triple-meaning: a reference to her love of sewing and gems for one, an indication of her talent for accuracy, and lastly (and you all can thank Soren for this idea) that she’s good at creating connections and bringing things together, be it fabric or ponies.
4953140
I figured as much.
I'm glad I was able to help bring this to fruition. It's been a long road Paul, but there are still many more miles to go! We'll enjoy our little rest stop diner, and then it's back to the open roads of Equestria, riding shotgun beside Rares.
To many more chapters and thousands of words more, my friend!
4953123
Sweet title indeed.
Okay, gonna try to think of some questions …
First: A recurring theme is Rarity’s attitude towards casual sexual encounters, particularly her hatred of Applejack for “taking advantage of her”. In their last heart-to-heart at the Oasis, AJ makes it clear Rarity’s shame towards herself over that night is likely not shared by many others, whom AJ says wouldn’t care who she sleeps with, or when, or why. If I may ask, how much of Rarity’s or Applejack’s thinking reflects your own on the matter in real life?
Second: I believe this has been asked before, but I can’t remember, so: Is the Scimitar such common background knowledge in BH’s Equestria that Rarity knows whom Fluttershy is referring to? If so, could you possibly explain it a little here without spoiling anything in the sequel?
If I think of anything else I’ll post it. Thanks again for the splendid story. Your pride is well-earned.
4953154
*Raises a glass of root beer in answer*
4953155
Sexuality has always been a conflicting element in my life. Parents who feel sex is a taboo topic and an act to be shared only with intimate loved ones rather than thrown around like a party favor; an elder and highly respected sister with a tragically low libido who tended to put sexuality in highly negative connotations; myself with an extremely high libido (perhaps compensating for my sister’s lack of one?) and feeling like my thoughts and desires were ‘wrong’; growing up to recognize a culture of sexual freedom that just doesn’t mesh with how I was raised. Over the years I’ve formed my own distinct opinions regarding sex that is a culmination of all these issues. To be specific, I don’t see it as a taboo subject or act, but I do think it should be reserved for people you know and trust rather than that stranger you met an hour ago in a bar. Sexual freedom, but with responsibility.
All that being said, it is important to recognize that my views on sex are not the views of others. There are many different viewpoints to be taken, and my experiences allows me to portray many viewpoints on the subject as a result. For the purpose of Bulletproof Heart, I wanted Rarity to have a pure-minded perspective of sex at the start in order to make the events surrounding her have a more profound impact on her. This was both to provide the drama inherent in the events and to specifically paint Rarity’s relationship with Applejack in a certain way. This is, of course, purely how I wanted her to be in BPH. In other stories I could give her entirely different views on sexuality. In fact my favorite Rarity in stories tends to be the unapologetic flirt (ditto for Adagio).
Applejack’s perspective of sex is more liberal than Rarity’s at this point, but not so much as her statements might suggest. Applejack was making an argument in an effort to help Rarity get over the issue, but not necessarily advocating the kind of behavior she described. Her real point was that, regardless of what she or Rarity thinks of sex, sex itself is a private matter and not anypony else’s business (which is my personal viewpoint). When she stated that ‘nopony cares who she sleeps with’, she meant it in that everyone remembers the famous ponies for their heroic/infamous deeds, not who/how many ponies they were sleeping with. This of course ignores the point that some people are famous because they slept with a myriad of others; it was a flawed argument brought forward in a desperate effort to be helpful.
It should also be noted that while AJ did sleep with Rarity upon their first encounter, it was clarified that that was her first time, and there’s no indication she’s done it with anypony else since then, or even has the desire to. She’s walking a very murky path, and is fully aware of that. And yes, it will come up in the future.
Not at all. The Scimitar is limited to the Oasis and a complete unknown to all who encounter it save Fluttershy, and her only because she is accustomed to it after so many years. Rarity didn’t press the topic because it wasn’t a major concern at the moment and, as time passed, it drifted from her attention (as things tend to do).
As much as I would like to describe the Scimitar and its nature, I’m afraid I’m already planning to do so in the sequel, so I’ll have to abstain for now.
4953175
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Always interesting to see how others feel about this kinda thing and how those feelings formed. I’m about the same way you are – do whatever you want with whomever you want, it’s no-one’s business but yours, but do try to keep your head on straight while you do it. The only time someone’s private life ever becomes relevant is when they try to impose rules on others that they don’t respect in their own lives. Hypocrisy is always fair game.
To be fair, I don’t think that weakens AJ’s point, as it felt to me like she was arguing specifically about people whose sexual exploits aren’t pertinent to their more well-known accomplishments.
And roger on the Scimitar business. Was wondering whether it’s part of the background magical world of BH’s Equestria, the same way that some people might use “the gods”, “the fates”, etc. Will be interesting seeing what it’s actually about.
I've actually waited for you to finish this before I read it. Now I get to read it straight through.
4953223
And now I wish I didn’t do the exact same thing all the time for my review blogs just for the chance to call you a cheater without being labeled a hypocrite.
4953229
Dont worry, I just fav'd it because the first chapter was pretty good.
I have no questions, as this has also been in my RiL pending both completion and my having a bit more time to read it. (I.e., after completing my own long-runner, which should happen sometime in November.) But as a person who’s also sunk inordinate amounts of time into a longfic, please accept my congratulations for making it to the end! It’s exponentially harder to write longfics than shorts!!!
Rest well, and here’s to the future!
4953332
Rest?
Rest.
...
I think I might need a dictionary.
But thanks, it was definitely a trial having to wait so long to release. I look forward to hearing what you think about it! And good luck with your own megaproject. November’s not too far away...
Hm, questions... Ah.
So, I wouldn't be surprised if these will eventually be addressed in the story and thus protected as spoilers now, but a few questions on Cloudsdale, possibly the largest outlier among the city-states:
First, it's regularly moved in this world, we learned, but does it have any territory outside the city itself?
Second, how is its movement handled? Not physically (Though I'm interested in the mechanics of that, too. Does it have engines? Do the pegasi all get out and push? Is the city moved in a caravan of buildings, each separate, or do they link up into a single aerodynamically-shaped mass?), but politically/diplomatically. Any other city state is separated from yours by a long stretch of your territory, then a border, then a long stretch of their territory. Jurisdiction and responsibilities may get fuzzy around the border but are mostly pretty clear, and any military force will have to cross that distance. Cloudsdale can part over your land. How close to your city will you let it come, for fear of secret gun turrets and bomb bays suddenly being revealed among the clouds? If something falls from the city, when does it transfer from control of Cloudsdale to control of whoever has the land under it? Will some towns lobby to have it pass nearby, for trade, or stay away, to avoid farms being shadowed, sewage leaks, etc., or becoming the place the sky-dwellers decided to start their new policy of raiding?
Third, what's the population like? Are there any significant numbers of non-pegasi? Non-flyers? If so, how are they treated? Valuable minority workers who bolster the city's economy and military, or second-class citizens confined to the cramped, crowded magically supported districts? Or valuable minority workers who are still confined to the cramped, crowded magically supported districts for practical reasons alone?
Oh, and four... ish, are there any other notable majorly- or fully-cloud-based settlements, affiliated with Cloudsdale or otherwise?
Sweet. I will be writing a fan-fiction within a fan-fiction and since you already gave me consent this makes it so much better.
I loved that you completed the whole story arc before you began posting. Many stories lost its momentum due to readers having to wait weeks or months for each chapter.
Keep up the good work and I eagerly await the next arc!
Knowing that authors sometimes put a bit of themselves in their work, does Rarity's struggle with self-defense reflect how you feel on the matter?
What the hell has Stormy been doing all these years? How could she have not killed the Bad Apples by this point, hasn't it been like, a decade?
Are we gonna learn any more about Poindexter's grandma? She seemed neat.
The view count on the story page has always been a little weird for multi-chapter stories as it appears to be the views on just the first chapter. Looking at the actual stats page for the story it looks like the total view count is around 12,000 total views which is pretty good.
4953407
Generally speaking, anything sufficiently high-altitude would be considered Cloudsdale's territory. This mostly means clouds, but there are a few mountains high enough to count. While this technically means all of Equestria might be on an official Cloudsdale map, it really only means a handful of pegasi villages and towns scattered across the continent. Ironically, Cloudsdale's reach may be the farthest of all city states but its actual population is about the lowest, on par with Seaddle.
That's a massive can of worms that I haven't bothered to detail yet simply because it's deeper than I need to go for the story's purposes (at least at the moment). Since I do intend for Cloudsdale to show up in the next story, it may well be resolved there. That said, see the above comment about a low population, which comes with the aspect that even if they did use all their might on one city, they're unlikely to be able to hold it without keeping the city right over the target perpetually.
95% pegasi, with the majority of the non-pegasi population living in the mountain villages. While the pegasi do have a 'wings are superior' complex, they treat other races fairly. This is at least partially because they depend upon Earth ponies for their food and, unlike historic Equestria, appreciate the balance between providing decent weather and receiving food in return. The catch is that they can only control the weather reasonably in a handful of locations across the continent (mostly the Eastline and Mooisville), whereas the Earth ponies can grow food in a wider range of areas. Pegasi and unicorns are largely indifferent towards one another.
But generally speaking, pegasi are aloof. They prefer not to even bother going down to the ground save for resources (like food), and there are many who never even bother to leave the clouds. This is why pegasi are so rare in Equestria in general.
Major cloud settlements? No. A few tiny villages here and there, mostly serving as weather support for agricultural communities, but no big cities. And all those little villages, even when mostly autonomous, are considered Cloudsdalian.
4953440
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this, but if I assume it's her guilt for killing Braeburn, then not even remotely. If I have to defend myself and end up killing someone, that's on them for making me do it, not on me for having to.
That might matter if "Bad Apples" was limited strictly to blood relatives of the Apple Family, but it's not. The Bad Apples are more than a rebellious wing of a powerful family, they are an entire criminal organization. Stormy wants them all dead, not just the bloodline, and even she's not skilled enough to take out a major HQ on her own. It's not like she can be everywhere at once, and they hire new people faster than she can kill them. Add to that the fact Blackjack and Velveteen keep their location a mystery at all times now (for obvious reasons) and the location of the actual, primary HQ of the Gang is unknown.
One pony, no matter how skilled, cannot destroy the entire Bad Apple Gang.
That's up in the air at the moment. No guarantees, I'm afraid.
4953445
That 12,000 number is the total number of overall clicks to open all the combined chapters. It doesn't take into account individual people; a single person (including myself) can click on a chapter 500 times and it would all be added to that total. The 1,200 viewcount is how many individual people took a look, ignoring if they look repeatedly. For a 27-chapter story, all you need is around ~440 people to click on each chapter once to hit that 12,000 mark.
To summarize: I have had ~12,000 clicks to the chapters of my story, but the total number of actual people viewing the story is 1,200.
4953473
Ah, thanks!
Having the hard copy is even better than looking at pixels. A very good read, and good to see you at Bronycon.
5292232
Glad to hear it, my friend!