This story is a sequel to Bulletproof Heart: Sunset at Little Longhorn
She's put it off for seasons, but at last Rarity is following Spike's suggestion and visiting Manehattan. There resides the Arcaenum, where a certain mage of ill repute may be able to help her better understand Coco's gift. But before that, there's the little matter of a filly with a lost sister to clear up.
Why is Trixie so nervous to leave her home? Why won't Scootaloo go to the Manehattan Guard for this? And why does Rarity allow herself to keep getting dragged into these things?
A big thanks to Little Tigress for the commissioned art!
No prereaders this time. It took so long to finish this that I was just ready to release, typos and plot holes be darned! If you see any issues, feel free to PM me about them.
I am very, very interested in the story of this Scootaloo. Particularly since the way she's dressed and the fact that she has a personal guard implies more than a few things about her sister.
This is going to be most interesting.
Heck yeah, more BPH!
Why not? Asparagus is great stuff.
I'm liking this version of Scootaloo so far. Her being under a wealthy family is a change from what I've seen around fics for her in the past, but I also like how precocious she seems to be regarding history and possibly even politicking. Probably comes with being in a family of some prestige.
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That's the direction I'm leaning in as well. Then, there's also that her sister apparently has a history of coming and going more or less as she pleases - although we're not told to where - and the only thing that makes this time different is that it was apparently very sudden, and she didn't tell Scootaloo where or when she was going; she just left. The main reason I'm ruling out Yearling as her sister is that this apparently happened recently, and Yearling has been in the sandbox for more than a year. And is probably still chasing Rainbow Dash.
Also, I'm rather tickled at how flustered Rarity is getting over proper color names. Definitely not out of character, but still funny nonetheless.
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Yeah, I'm currently drawing a blank on who she could be.
First off, nice to see more in the BPH setting. Hope we keep getting more.
Scoots is still precocious in almost any setting you will find her in. So even more fun times.
Why am I getting concerned that Blow isn't talking to a marefriend? And I'm also getting concerned that it looks like he's trying to get some interlopers out before something happens. Hope my trope senses are just being overly sensitive.
Lastly, why is this marked as complete? A misclick somewhere?
Blow Dry is definitely more than he lets on. Something here is fucky.
There's a lot of somethings going on under the surface that several ponies aren't coming clean about. Mostly Trixie and Blow Dry. Really, more Blow Dry in this situation - some of what Trixie was hiding got brought to light already.
...Based on some of the way he's acting, I wonder if someone's holding something over him to get to the family...
Vapor Trail being Scootaloo's sister wasn't what I expected. I wonder what happened to their parents? Guess we'll find out in a bit.
Scoots herself still continues to be precocious and adorable and awesome.
Also, had the feeling it was Big Mac once the apple orchard got mentioned.
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I wish to draw attention this this:
"It’s just her and her ‘sister’..."
Well, this was another interesting little mini adventure. There are definitely some unanswered questions, and Rarity never actually got to show Trixie her Element. I was expecting another shootout to happen at some point. Because, you know, western.
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I can see some people are confused. The story is labelled "complete" because I've finished writing it, but not all chapters are up yet. Two more are incoming. That's what—
—was supposed to convey.
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I was too excited to start reading and totally missed that. 😅
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Ditto.
Well, they all made it through the night, so, could have been worse.
Yikes.
I was preparing to make a comment once the final chapter was up, but this one gave me plenty to talk about. Those tags you have for the story aren't kidding.
I suppose I'll open up with this being my first Bulletproof Heart story. I've had the original on my read list since it was first published but hadn't gotten around to it. I gave this one a shot (heh) because of Trixie. That mare is my gateway drug to stories I normally wouldn't read, so seeing her on the character list gave the kick in the pants to give one of these a try. What a way to start, eh? I'm thinking once this is done I'll go back and give it the read I've been meaning to.
I'm like Scootaloo; I'm in love with this Rarity. Her charm, her wit, her aim, her everything is really entertaining to read. I wasn't sure how a dress maker would work in a gun-slinging western, but by Luna do you make it work. All the more reason to go back and see how this all started. I'm especially curious to know the history behind Rarity's guns. Those names are both badass and adorable!
Trixie may be a one-off for this story, but just the little bit we've seen of her here makes me want to know more. She's got a mysterious edge about her and I'm sure that's just the way she likes it. Brutal how she took out the thugs but it's not like they were giving the group much of a choice. Looking forward to seeing how her part in this plays out.
Scootaloo's also been an interesting read, more so than I was giving her credit for at first. As with the others, I'm curious to see how she turns out.
That's all for now!
Honestly, they're like the average mooks in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise: They all know that Kenshiro can punch them so hard that their heads explode, and they know that everyone else who has ever stepped up against Kenshiro has been punched so hard that their head exploded, but they're the ones who will finally take him down. What a joke!
Because, after all, that's the trouble with jokes: Sometimes, the punchline is funny, and sometimes, the punchline is Trixie Lulamoon.
In any case, now we wait for the return.
Oh Celestia damn it, I hate being right sometimes.
Nice to see some solid defensive tactics employed. And the BPH is still a solid beast in combat. Granted they thought they had the element of surprise, but they should have hoofed it once they realized she was there and ready for them. The possibility of a furious employer is less dangerous than the certainty of her right in front of you.
Yep, I suspected something about Blow Dry was compromised. And boy did we find out quickly.
That did gunfight did seem to get a bit close there towards the end. Thankfully the attackers were just "mook" enough to not get them all the way.
That felt like one of the more darker BPH gunfights I've read. Some of those attackers...really didn't have a good time, to say the least. And then there was the betrayal and sad parting of Blow Dry to follow.
So that's one underlying plot point that's been settled. Now to see what Trixie's story is.
I suspect fuckery is afoot regarding Fleur's death. If she DID think of her as a mother, what motive would she have to murder her? Accidental death I could buy, but, given she already had a headache and looked like she died in suffering, something smells fishy.
So, why did those guys want Scootaloo dead, and who hired them?
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Of course it smells fishy: It's Manehattan.
More seriously though, it doesn't matter even if it's publicly believed that Trixie saw Fleur de Lis as her mother, because the public will believe anything: All it takes is the right words in the wrong ears. Jefferson (or perhaps it was Wilde, I'm no longer certain) was quite correct when he wrote that the man who reads nothing is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
But it almost doesn't matter; Trixie is under house arrest because she's a suspect in a murder, not because there is evidence she is a murderess. And the reason she can be so easily placed under house arrest is because she has no backing from the Cabinet or anyone with influence in the Cabinet. Except now she'll have some backing from the Apples, even if he exact involvement in the mess should be kept secret.
See, that's the way that the Bulletproof Heart makes Equestria a better place: The prevailing conditions prevent ponies (and really, everyone) from improving their lot in the world, and thus from improving the world. The Bulletproof Heart changes the prevailing conditions, however overtly or subtly she may do it. Rarity changed the conditions by putting Trixie into a position where she could get some support from the ruling class. She changed the conditions by removing obstacles holding Sunset Shimmer back. She changed the conditions by showing Pinkie Pie and her unit that they could make an actual difference.
Because that's what generosity truly is: Not giving others what they need, but giving them what they need to move forward.
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That's actually really beautiful. Good job, man.
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They didn't want Scootaloo dead; they wanted Big Mac dead. Scootaloo was a means to get close to Vapor Trail, who was a means to get close to Big Mac.
Mac was the target; anyone else would've just been collateral damage. Who hired them? Doesn't really matter; it could've been anyone of the other ruling families. It might have even been the Bad Apples putting them up to it through money and favors; besides Rarity, Applejack is the biggest danger to them, but they can't rightly do anything about her directly. Getting rid of Mac and weakening the Apples in Manehattan would've made it easier to get rid of AJ, just like it would've made it easier for the other families to consolidate power.
Chaos against Harmony; death against life. That's how it is in this Sunburnt Equestria.
Shit, poor Vapor Trail. And to a lesser extent, poor Trixie. Bad circumstances all around, really.
Anyway, the irony of Trixie not knowing she just examined Luna's work like ten minutes prior to announcing her desire to examine Luna's work is extremely thick, haha.
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Couldn't have said it better myself.
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You're right that specifically who is responsible doesn't matter, but I will go on record as confirming that it was one of the Houses of Manehattan and the Bad Apples had nothing to do with it. In one version of the story, a representative of one of the houses actually approached Rarity with an offer to assassinate Big Mac and/or Applejack. I ultimately got rid of the scene though, mainly because it didn't really add anything necessary to the short.
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At no point has it ever been stated that the Elements are Luna's handiwork. Or Celestia's, for that matter.
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I have my moments, even if they are a rarity.
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I believe that was supposed to be a reference to Silver Lining. I don't recall ever seeing evidence that Luna had anything to do with that, either, but there it is.
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Don't feel too sad about the departure of Blow Dry. When you strip away all the thematic elements, every chapter of the Bulletproof Legacy is a spaghetti western. The civilians may simply walk out of the story once their part is played, but the gunfighters never leave that easily. And without any doubt, Blow Dry is a gunfighter.
Huh, so Fluer was the archmage of Manehattan ....
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Huh. I suppose it could have been. You're right either way.
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Fleur holds an unusual place for my stories as a whole, due largely to a mistake I made while connecting certain timelines in another AU. Simply put, if ever I made a major crossover event amongst all my assorted AUs, she would be at the center of it.
But yes, that was indeed her role in this AU.
Double yikes. Man, this is one grimdark world.
This was a bit of a lore dump, but Trixie makes it entertaining (and funny) enough to let that slide. I do like how she's shown to be a bit bumbly, but still competent. She gets the job done, is what I'm saying.
I like how the Element kinda acted as a mediator between Trixie and Rarity, almost like a therapist sitting between them. It was also funny how the Element put Trixie in a time out as if to say, "Take this time to think about what you have done." Now Rarity has an ally that can make sweet weapon upgrades! Achievement unlocked!
Seeing as how this will continue and my fav gal will be a big part of it down the line, I'm gonna need to start at the beginning and get caught up. Definitely need to do that before a new game comes out that eats up all my free time. Till next time!
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Grimdark? Hardly. Dark, sure, but not grimdark. That being said, it's certainly not the Equestria we all know and love.
Question: when did Rarity meet Spike in this timeline? Is it something that has already been published?
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Indeed, it was a rather important chapter in the first story. Which isn't saying much, since every chapter was important to one degree or another.
Two tiny typos:
nervous tic
Suit yourself.
Other than that, pretty good chapter. Looking forward to seeing what the remaining chapters have in store.
This was quite the chapter. I won't repeat what others have said in more detail.
One typo:
Aside from that, let's see how the story wraps up.
Well, well, well. So, Rarity's guns are enchanted, with Silver Lining in particular capable of shooting enchanted bullets. And I'm guessing that perhaps Trixie will be this universe's Element of Magic?
Observations:
That sentence is odd: there was no mention of Scootaloo's father yet. Perhaps this sentence was a holdover from a previous draft?
I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Typo:
thorough
Anyway, though, this was a good BPH entry, and hopefully you'll find the time to give it the polish it deserves.
Well done, especially for a rough draft.
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Actually, it does, although it's a very specific definition among many.
Thanks for the corrections, I'm just glad you caught so few.
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Are you saying that the meeting is in a chapter in the first BPH story, or are you saying that it was part of a previous draft of this story?
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In the first BPH story. It's out there, you just gotta get to it. Unless you just want to jump straight there, of course.
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I read the story, so perhaps my memory just needs refreshing. In which chapter did Rarity meet Spike?
...Oh.
I know the Sunburnt Equestria is a cruel world sometimes, but man...that's just awful.
I was half expecting Scoots to be hanging around there to hear the whole story. Guess she'll find out in time. Big McIntosh is good soul and Vapor Trail is fortunate to have him.
Well, now we know more about Trixie's story. Good thing she wasn't the perpetrator of anything bad. Bad thing that she's the major suspect of her mentor's murder, though. Hope she finds some way out. At least it seems she'll be a little more at ease after Rarity's supportive talk. Although, her fixation on the Nightshade Armor is a bit concerning and will definitely come up again as a point of contection in the future, I feel.
Speaking of stuff related to Trixie and Rarity, it looks like Rares has truly landed herself a nice magial pair of weaponry. Those enchanted ammo/function properties will definitely change the direction of battle later on if she can get some enchanted ammo. Hopefully Trixie is able to make good on making some for her. The subject of ammo for Ruby Heart is certainly an interesting one. It brings up all sorts of questions if that gun is linked to Siren magics...
Well, even if the bit with Vapor, Mac, and Scoots was added as a vehicle to get those original points delivered, it was still very well done. Sucks that you had such a difficult time getting this all put together.
This was another good addition to the BPH-verse and I look forward to what else is to come.
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You forgot? Forgot? Shame upon thee! Do you even BPH, bro?
It's actually two back-to-back chapters, but you can find the first one here.
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Now that you've finished, I can respond to this:
There's actually an underlying purpose behind Trixie's actions on my part. I'm not sure anyone's picked up on it though.
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Oh, yes. That was one of the topics I absolutely had to have happen in this story for future... events.
That Ruby Heart was a siren weapon was always part of my plan from the first story, but I still don't know if we'll ever actually see any sirens, much less the ones people are actually interested in. That said, if they do show I know exactly where it would be.
Calling it - Blow Dry is actual a spy for either the Apple Gang or one of the other Manehattan Families, and they have Bad Intentions for at least Vapor Trail, probably Big Mac as well.
Great story and I do hope we don't have to wait for more though I do like the idea of the CMC's all together and causing trouble.
Another thrilling installment of this strange, sun-blasted Equestria. Great stuff all around, with plenty of mysteries to look into in the future and more ponies who can attest to the heroics of the Bulletproof Heart. (It's not why she tries to do the right thing, of course, but it doesn't hurt.) Plus, Rarity has a better idea of just what she's packing... though Ruby Heart's magical origin may not play well with her efforts to keep the peace. It depends on just what the sirens did to that thing. And it raises questions of what the state of the ocean-dwelling sapients is these days. At least Equestria has pegasi available to fend off hurricane season...
Plus, that panic attack suggests that Rarity's become emotionally dependent on the Element of Generosity to a concerning degree. That may just come back to bite her.
In any case, eagerly looking forward to future installments and whatever else you make in the meantime.