All Twilight had to do was finish Starswirl the Bearded's final spell. She didn't have to become undead, seal her soul in the Elements of Harmony, or enlist her friends in an effort to fix everything... but you have to play the hand you're dealt.

Even if it's rotting off.

-

Big ups to Themaskedferret for all her support on this story.

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

This story is a sequel to Stardust

Times are changing for Equestria as Twilight’s return brings with it news of people and cultures from beyond the peaceful world everypony knows. Aid and volunteers are freely offered to help the besieged humans of Earth because every Equestrian knows that’s what good friends do. Unfortunately, making friends can also have the unintended consequence of making enemies.

When the monsters besieging the humans strike at Equestria with a level of brutality not seen in over a thousand years, the cry for help is sent to all the kingdoms of the world. Honored allies step forth to fulfill ancient treaties and oaths. Enemies, old and new, bury their grievances. An alliance never before seen in Equestria will be created to combat the monsters from the void.

And because of these events, a grim but welcome sibling to the XCOM project is born.

(XCOM/FiM Crossover)
(Sequel to Stardust, which I recommend reading before starting this. Fortitude Amicitia and Broken aren't required reading but are supplemental to the storyline)
(Gore tag for blood and violence)
(Alternate Universe tag because of the divergence from canon that Stardust has caused)
(Uses elements of Season 4)
(Coverart produced by the amazing Carnelian!)
(Many thanks to Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Vandenbz and Setokaiva for prereading!)
(As of 03/07/2016, the prereading team consists of Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Noble Cause and Metallusionsismagic!)
(Complete with it's own TVTropes page as part of the Stardust continuity. Could use some updating!)
(Character tags will be added as chapters are added!)
(Featured 5/12/2014! Thanks folks!)
(Possible spoilers in the comments! BEWARE!)

Celestia wants Muffins. Luna just wants her to shut up. Both requires money. She decides to withdraw money from an ATM like all the other ponies. An epic battle to the death ensues. Just another Tuesday in Equestria.

The lost children...

Ten long years have passed since the Book of Darkness Incident. In those ten years, Equestria has come into its own as an allied world with the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Though diplomatic interactions between the two are still rocky, cultural, technological and academic sharing has helped to smooth over the bumpy relations to some degree.

In an attempt to foster better relations between the two worlds, the Bureau has established a special joint training task-force, bringing on some of the brightest and most talented mages in all of Equestria. A group of young humans, ponies, and... others have been selected as candidates for this new, experimental group.

Unfortunately for the humans and ponies of the Resolution Instructional Operations Task Force, things are not all they seem. A new threat is brewing; one that may destroy the fragile peace the Bureau has long sought to maintain... and dredge up secrets of a past long, long forgotten.

Thank you to ArtoftheDerp for serving as my pre-reader.
This fic is set after the events of Magical Pony Lyrical Twilight A's. Familiarity with this fic is essential to understanding this story.
Magical Pony Lyrical Twilight by PurpleProse is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

When the Fourth of July arrives, Celestia prepares for her annual battle against George Washington to prevent the end of Equestria as we know it. But when Twilight interrupts their battle, the Element of Patriotism must join his enemies to save the world, lest it all go up in flames.

Big thanks to the editing help of Titanium Dragon and prereading from Skeeter The Lurker!

Entry into The Most Dangerous Game under the prompts Human in Equestria and a Seventh Element of Harmony.

Cover art found at the powerfully patriotic artist known as SharpWriter.

A few days after the Nightmare Moon Incident, Spike awakens to find Twilight acting a little...odd. Or odder than usual anyway. All of a sudden she's being all motherly, sure of herself in ways she's never been before, and even more outgoing.

But…it’s kind of creepy how she just seems to know everypony’s name, or their habits, and even some stuff nopony else should know.

But she's still good old Twilight...right?

Featured 5/28/2014

Countless adventures in friendship and harmony have brought the mane 6 to princesshood--all except Rainbow Jennifer Dash, who can't seem to figure out how to earn her place in the world. Aging and weak, with just a few years left, will Rainbow ever become a princess, or will her friends outlive her?

In a world ravaged by the living dead, one man has outlasted those with far more strength, speed, and experience. His only advantages are his uncanny luck and peculiar inspiration. This inspiration has never led him astray and even promises a fresh start. All he has to do is build a strange device that follows no earthly science.

While Earth’s story might be over, this cog-jockey’s has just begun.

One day, Rainbow Dash wakes up to discover she is a fully-fledged alicorn. How will she use her great powers? And more importantly, how will she break the news to Twilight?