This story is a sequel to The Runaway Bodyguard

Now includes AU sequel starting with Ch 31: Starlight and the Persistent Princess. Starlight Glimmer's magic is self-taught. To fix the holes in her education, she won entrance to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She has secrets, however, a past she wants to forget, and she knows how to fight very well. Despite her assumed name, certain facts are discovered—fortunately not by Celestia. She really wants to attend the school, and must compromise with ponies who want her as their tool. Sometimes it sucks being popular!

[Ratings are weird. I suspect instant downvoting. PM to discuss.]

The Enforcer and Her Blackmailers is the original story in the Enforcerverse. It was originally a standalone one-shot, and I’ve tried to preserve that feel. (The characters demanded I write more after the fact, including the prequel.) Remastering it added and corrected it with details from the prequel, carrying forward threads written four years subsequently. It is still standalone and can be read that way.

Carrying forward the threads from The Runaway Bodyguard implied a possible fulfillment of Celestia’s plans and Starlight’s education, experience, and uniquely fungible ethics—if I were to allow the one action by Celestia that prevents Starlight from becoming the canon “Our Town” Starlight in the show. I’ve added those chapters and they are clearly marked as an AU ending.

I've added the [Sex] and [Violence] tags. Nothing particularly graphic, but Starlight does talk from her experience, and some fighting has to be described. Starlight tells her story with brutal disregard for what ponies think about her. She is not shy.

Image (c)2016 by Riakoh-Illust, commissioned for this story. (Click source to see final artwork.) Titling by me.

Thank you to Javarod, the pre-reader for this story.

When an inter-dimensional gate opens between Sweet Apple Acres and rural California, Twilight must act quickly before any creature gets hurt—pony, alicorn, or invader.

Events in this story take place before season 9 episode 1 and announcement of the royal retirement. [Teen] for weapons and some intense scenes. This story will consist of many smaller chapters published daily or every other day, and is an exercise in cliffhangers. It is a long novella, and is completely written. If it catches on, I plan to open-source or invite writing in the universe I created.

Her best and only magic teacher, Sunburst, abandoned her when he got his cutie mark and she didn't. Her butler and guardian, Proper Step refused to teach her magic, saying it wasn't "lady-like." Magic is in her blood, so she has no choice but to run away. She learns to fight with hoof and magic, first to save her life when she’s brutally attacked, but later because she is very good at it. She doesn't realize she's being honed to become somepony's sharp tool.

This is Starlight Glimmer’s pre-redemption The Gangs of New York and Anakin Skywalker Star Wars I, The Phantom Menace novel-length origin story.

The cover image is a commission by a very talented artist, Pony-Way. Please visit Pony-Way’s page.

About the warning tags: [Sex] Off screen, rare, unmistakable; [Violence] Street gangs, mafia bosses, prizefighting, becoming a bodyguard (naturally)—blood, occasionally. Please don’t be shocked and give the story a thumbs down because bad things happen to Starlight at a level that can’t be shown in show. Adversity always makes her stronger.

The sequel to this story is The Enforcer and Her Blackmailers. This is an Enforcerverse novel, and you can view that link if you want huge amounts of context.

A big shout-out to my pre-readers: Javarod and DoContra

Crystal Skies was to be married and then wasn’t. Now he’s got blood on his sharp feathers. Forced to move to Baltimare while the incident cools down, he learns stuff about himself he didn't know: who he is, what's love, who he loves, and where friendship begins and ends, amongst other things. He gets involved with gangsters. Intimately. Not as strange as it might seem, considering his fiancée’s Family background.

This is a standalone novella that incidentally takes place in the Enforcerverse. It features Starlight Glimmer in a supporting role as Grimoire, many years before the Our Town incident. Having read The Runaway Bodyguard will provide minor spoilers.

This story was written as an entry for the M/M Shipping Contest 2021.

About warning tags: Unmistakable innuendo, strong allusion, flirting, plumage. Gangsters, blood on feathers, an incidence of Prench cursing, etc...

The main cover art, and the alternate cover in chapter 4, is by Syrupyyy, an amazing artist. The lettering is mine. Visit Syrupyy on twitter at: https://twitter.com/SyrupyyyArt

A super big shout out to my pre-reader Javarod. He made a snide comment in The Runaway Bodyguard on the “Hay is for breakfast” line that intersects both stories (chapter 14 in this work, chapter 51 in that work). That one comment was the genesis of this story. If you like this story (and please, up vote it), be sure to thank him, too!