The guards are scared to say it.

Sunset Shimmer has returned to Canterlot.

And the Princess is furious...

Not in continuity with my other stories. Just something that popped into my head one day.

Spell Nexus (mentioned only) is from Past Sins, by Pen Stroke

This isn't where I belong. I left all this behind years ago, moved on with my life. But a mare from my past brought me back, and now she won't let me go. So I'm stuck here, trying to make the best of it with ponies that don't understand me, don't even like me. But when something moves in the darkness, and when things go wrong in the cold, dead night, they'll turn to me to try to set things right.

Why? Because once a police pony, always a police pony.
~~
This is a spin-off story to 'Why am I Pinkie Pie?!', and will contain spoilers for that story, but it's not necessary to read that story to understand this one.
Cover art by the talented Conicer
Need more Cinnamon Swirl? Merlos the Mad wrote a fanfic of this story!

There is now a side-story: A Hard Day's Nightmare Night

Ditzy Doo hesitates to eat a muffin, and then Twilight and her friends debate ethics. These events are related.

(Inspired by "Do You Want to Go Skateboards?" by Takarashi282, who I felt missed the more obvious crossover point. Both stories based on this youtube thing.)

While strolling around town, Twilight Sparkle accidentally knocks out Derpy's contact lenses, revealing perfectly normal eyes hidden underneath.

So what else could Derpy be faking?

She was tired of being a joke. Tired of being a failure.

Experimental neurosurgery seemed like the best option.

Now, for the first time, she can see the world as it truly is.

On Flurry Heart's twelfth birthday, Cadance tells her daughter she will never die.

Haunted by the loneliness of her young immortality, Flurry Heart finds unexpected solace in the only other pony who could possibly understand her — the filly preserved for eternity within the Gardens of Canterlot.

Flurry could not have forseen that an apparition of that filly would appear before her, and only her.

Something brought them together. Flurry intends to uncover what.

Sunset has done a lot for the humans in this magicless world, and she rightfully deserves a break from all the bullshit. Sadly, some random ancient threat seems to disagree.

You've been the only human in Equestria for some time now. However, it wasn't until this morning that your good friend Twilight suggested you take a peek through the Crystal Mirror. Supposedly, there is another world on the other side of that mirror populated by humans just like you.

She conveniently left out the fact that she herself turns into a human when she passes through it.

In hindsight, you probably should have seen this coming.

Shining has grown old and his time has come. Now on his deathbed, he shares his last moments with his sister.

Audiobook available! Link

Anon is a human that has lived in Ponyville for almost a year now. Despite the shock of suddenly finding himself in a magical horse world, he adapted quickly, and found a stable job to fund his new, odd life.

But now comes the thing every working adult fears: Tax season.

Anon was expecting this, and he's ready. Every paycheck, every bill paid, he kept track of, preparing for this fateful day. Except... he has no idea where to go to fill them out.

Surely Twilight Sparkle would know, right? It's not like this magical horse world was a utopia free from the entire idea of taxation... right?

This story was commissioned by IHateNumbers