Wow, am I glad that's over. The Great, the Powerful, and the Bulletproof has been easily the most troublesome story in the BPH franchise for me to release.
This story started out as an early chapter in what was going to be the long-form sequel of Bulletproof Heart, at least until I made the decision to write the content as short stories. One of the things unique about BPH 2 was that I wanted each chapter to be its own standalone story that built upon what prior stories had established. Sunset at Little Longhorn, for example, was originally the first chapter of the book, although I expanded it significantly in the short story version.
The chapter this story is based off was an exception. It was never written to be a standalone story, and if I tried to release it a such it wouldn't have worked. There was no significant conflict or theme or lesson learned. It was a filler chapter, no more. Recognizing this, I concluded that the only option would be to rewrite the chapter from scratch, something I didn't have to do for Sunset at Little Longhorn. This proved a frustrating process, and I ended up restarting the story from scratch at least five times because I'd end up unhappy with how things were going. Characters were created and discarded, plot points added and removed, themes conceived and ignored. Eventually I realized that all my wishy-washiness was helping nobody, so I decided that this would be the final version and to heck with whatever weaknesses it might have.
The original version focused strictly on Rarity meeting with Trixie and getting her weapons and Element examined. Lyra was still there, but her presence wasn't any larger then than it is now. The Nightshade Armor was also still brought up. While I worked it as best I could, the chapter was still a bit of an info dump. That being said, this content was some of the most important in the intended sequel, because the things revealed here would have recurring consequences big and small for Rarity down the line. Trixie herself, while largely in the background, would also be a major player in future events. Every last one of the reveals, both subtle and blatant, have been retained in this version, because if I manage to get that far with these shorts then they will be important.
On the other hand, everything involving Scootaloo, Blow Dry, Vapor Trail and Big Mac are new to this version. I needed a bona fide conflict to make the story a story. All of the things that we learn about them here were already established in my canon, but I hadn't meant to bring them out until much later. I chose to bring them forward now because I didn't have a solid plan for doing so in the future anyway, and they made for a nice adventurous side-element from the main purpose of the story. The little adventure also gave Trixie a chance to show that she's not all talk, something I hadn't managed to do in the original version.
I do have plans to eventually bring the CMC together, but we won't be seeing Scootaloo again for a while as this series's MO is a sort of 'guest of the week' format. They also won't be the CMC as we traditionally know them for a wide variety of reasons. That being said, I've often entertained the idea of writing a non-canon joke story in which Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle capture Rarity in an effort to get their cutie marks in bounty hunting. Don't know if I'll ever do it, but oh, does it sound fun.
I've released two BPH fics in a row, so it's time for me to get something unrelated out. When I do return to Sunburnt Equestria however, I already know exactly what story it will be. It'll have another previously unseen guest character and the return of a character I'm sure everyone's forgotten about by now. Best of all, it's chapter was written to be its own story, so it shouldn't take me two years to adapt it as a standalone release this time (I hope). In the meantime, feel free to visit the The Unrestricted Bulletproof Heart Q&A blog to ask me anything whatsoever about the BPH universe. Just beware that I do mean anything, so spoilers are a very real risk.