Baking wasn't easy.

Or really, baking was SUPER easy. But baking the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness wasn't!

Holding the specially-grown, perfectly-tart, green apple by the stem, Pinkie Pie teetered dangerously on the table near the cake. She reached out carefully, slowly... Slowly! Until finally she let the apple go, and it dropped neatly onto the little tuft of frosting.

There!

Pinkie rocked back until she landed on all four hooves again, and the cake was safe from being toppled onto. Her eyes widened at the masterpiece of baking that was now sitting perfectly in front of her.

It had taken the Cakes months to make a cake like this! For Pinkie, well, she had the advantage of most of the planning and design work already being done by the Cakes, a few years ago. It had only taken her...

Okay, it had taken her months, too. Between parties and fun and adventures and all kinds of other exciting things with her friends and all of Ponyville, she hardly had enough time to get all the perfect icing techniques and baking techniques and candy flowers and expensive green apples and all that other stuff together! But finally, finally her very own MMMM was completed!

Pinkie smiled at the cake.

She'd have to put it up for sale later. Surely somepony in Ponyville would spend a ton of bits on something as nice as that!

But... now that was done!

Pinkie rocked back on her hooves, stretching her legs, and then patted her little pet alligator's head.

"Well, Gummy, guess it's time for somethin' new!"

The Prompt: Time for something new!

This is a thirty minute writing prompt, meaning you have thirty minutes to finish your story from the time you start writing. You may take as much time as you wish to think, plan, or outline before you begin, but once the first word is on the page, the timer begins. When you are finished, post your story to this thread, and, in the tradition of the TMP mods of yore, I will read and give it a comment when I can.

Traditionally, TMP prompts would have a six to eight-hour window in which to submit, but for these legacy prompts, there will be no limit after the prompt is up. Go ahead and post something a year from now, if you like. Just bear in mind that I'm less likely to respond with feedback to anything submitted more than a week or so after the prompt. Good luck!

We really need to find some more posters, or get the old ones back. I don't think TMP Legacy is sustainable with three people.

Question... Do you want me to post the whole story in the comments? Or may I link to it once it's been submitted?

5017544

Question... Do you want me to post the whole story in the comments? Or may I link to it once it's been submitted?

Well, typically the stories aren't overly long, given they're written in half an hour. Usually they're posted in the thread. But a link would be fine too, I don't mind, myself.

5014732

Legacy Prompt 71: Unmasking

Cherry Breeze looked up as the chime on her door sounded. The red-maned pegasus mare stepped out of her study, down the hallway, then looked through the peephole. On the other side was a pink, aqua-maned young pegasus mare, looking to be about the same age as Cherry’s own students at Cloudsdale Academy. The mare looked vaguely familiar to Cherry, so she assumed this was in fact one of her students, and she was shaking her head as she opened the door. “I’m sorry,” she said to the young mare, “but my office hours are clearly posted by my office. I don’t appreciate students coming directly to my house.”
The pink mare wilted a bit, then shook her head. “That… that’s not why I’m here,” she said, softly, and at her voice and accent Cherry’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry to bother you, Aunt Cherry,” the young mare continued, “but may I please come in?”
“Of… of course, Rain.” Cherry stepped aside, allowing her niece Rainshadow to enter the foyer, then shut the door.

Ten minutes later, Rainshadow was stretched out on a reclining couch in the den, with Cherry sitting in a padded chair nearby, a coffee table with two mugs of hot tea on it set between them. “I’m assuming this isn’t just a chance visit,” Cherry said. “The last I’d heard, you and your sister had started up a small business somewhere groundside… oh, and you were an earth pony, as well. Is something wrong?”
“Sort of,” Rainshadow said, slowly sipping her tea. “Oh, Lotie’s fine, and business is good… a bit too good, actually. That… that’s part of the reason I’m here.” She took another sip of the tea, more to halt the conversation than for the taste, before speaking again. “May I tell the tale?”
“Of course, dear,” Cherry said, nodding.
In response to that, Rainshadow sighed, then closed her eyes. “Well,” she said, “I think the end is probably the best place to start.”

“I hope you have enjoyed your visit. Please, do come again.”
The purple-maned unicorn stared at Aloe for a second, unseeing, then shook her head as if waking up. “Of course I will, darling,” she said with a smile, “just as I have been all week. Really, you do offer the most relaxing treatments I’ve ever had; I see no reason to give them up.” She smiled again as she picked up the packet of toiletries she’d purchased as she headed out. “I’ll have to recommend you to my friends as well.” With another light grin, the mare walked out the door, humming a little tune.
Aloe, for her part, turned to her sister with a satisfied smile of her own. “There is nothing as wonderful as a gracious customer. Wouldn’t you agree, Lotie?”
Lotus Blossom swallowed, quickly shoving her expression from worried to placating. “Oh, of course.” She coughed, somewhat unconvincingly, then looked back at Aloe. “Sister, do you mind counting down the drawers tonight? I have somepony I need to speak with.”
“Not at all, Lotie!” Aloe stepped over, giving her sister a gesture half pat on the back, half shooing motion. “Go, have fun! I’ll be happy to close up the shop.”
Another worried look mingled briefly with gratefulness as Lotus nodded, then trotted briskly for the doorway to the Spa. Aloe, in turn, simply sat down with the day’s ledger.

Half an hour and several pages later, the bell above the door tinkled, and Aloe looked up. “I’m sorry, we’re…” died on her lips as Lotus stepped inside, quickly followed by their friend Bon Bon. “Oh, Lotie! You should have told me you were bringing a guest over!” Aloe rose to her hooves, slipping out from behind the desk to greet the two. “Will you be staying for supper, Bon Bon?”
The cream mare stared at Aloe for a few seconds. During that time, Aloe saw something slip past behind Bon Bon’s eyes, something that made Aloe’s blood run cold. When Bon Bon finally spoke, it was with a voice filled with authority, the voice of one who simply couldn’t even comprehend the idea of not being obeyed. “We’re going into the middle of the shop,” she said, “away from the windows.”
Aloe stared at Bon Bon, no longer recognizing her friend behind this new personality. “Bon Bon, please, if something is wrong-”
Bon Bon cut her off with a wave of a hoof. “No,” she said, “no more delays.” The cream mare stared into Aloe’s eyes once more, and for a brief second Aloe saw her friend’s gaze behind the steel-like thing she had become. “Please forgive me,” Bon Bon said, softly.
“Forgive you?” Aloe asked, “forgive you f-”

“-or what?” Aloe blinked, then blinked again. Something felt wrong, felt off, and she shook her head, looking around. Somehow, apparently in the blink of an eye, she had moved into the middle of the spa, away from the outside walls. Beyond that, though, her hide felt tense, strangely thick, and she lifted a hoof to rub away the tension from her forehead. As that hoof entered her line of sight, though, she froze, staring at it, for though it was still pink, the hoof wasn’t covered in hide, but in shining chitin.
At the sight, Aloe’s eyes went wide, the exposed wings on her back instinctively buzzing to life, and she spun, staring toward the other two inhabitants of the room. Lotus was looking at her in a mixture of concern and fear, while Bon Bon stared at her with nothing but heavy concentration, a thoughtful grimace splayed between her own now-exposed fangs. As Aloe’s head came up, catching Bon Bon’s gaze, the cream changeling doe stared straight into the pink one’s eyes. “Your name isn’t really Aloe,” Bon Bon said in a near whisper, “is it?”
Fear ran through Aloe. “Bon Bon,” she whispered, “you knew what I was already. Surely my actual name isn’t important?”
“Not the name itself,” Bon Bon said, “but what it marks is. I should have seen it earlier, but I wasn’t looking. ‘Aloe’ was too close a match for Lotus. She’s not the real you, she’s a persona you put together to help Lotus out, probably before you two even came to Ponyville.” Her staring eyes never wavered as she gazed into Aloe’s eyes and, it felt, into her soul. “Tell me I’m wrong,” Bon Bon said at last.
In response, Aloe could only turn her head aside. “No,” she whispered. “You are not. But why…”
“Because something was wrong,” Lotus said. “You were still Aloe, sister, but you had become nothing but Aloe. The sister I remembered had disappeared into somepony who was but a reflection of myself.” It was her turn to gaze to the side as she continued. “The only thing left of my sister was her power, which my reflection was abusing.” She turned back, staring into Aloe’s eyes. “I had wondered at the repeat business we have done this past few weeks, but I saw why this evening, and it sickens me. You compelled that mare, the dressmaker, to return to us; I saw you do so. What is worse, I do not believe you were even aware you were doing it.”
“No,” Bon Bon said, softly. “She wouldn’t have been, any more than she was aware she was starving herself.” She shook her head tiredly before continuing. “You’ve spent the past year being nothing but Aloe the Earth Pony, and in the process you lost yourself in your persona. You became nothing more than Aloe the Earth Pony - which meant you weren’t aware of when you were using your magic - and unlike the real you, ‘Aloe’ doesn’t feed on love… so you never even tried.”

Time Limit

“I… even if you are right, I am myself again now, am I not? So surely I can continue on as…” Aloe trailed off as she saw Bon Bon shaking her head.
“I’m afraid not,” Bon Bon said. “If you try, you’ll just lose yourself again. You need to spend some time as somepony else, preferably someone as little like your Aloe persona as possible.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “In fact, as the senior changeling in Ponyville I’m pulling rank. You are required to spend the next month as somepony else. The less like Aloe she is, the better. In addition, I’m banishing you from Ponyville until at least a month has passed. You’ll just end up fretting yourself into a nervous wreck if you stay here.”
Aloe stared, stunned. “But surely I-”
“No,” Bon Bon said, shaking her head. “Come back in a month, and if I think you’ve recovered we’ll see then.”
Aloe spun to face her sister. “Lotie, surely you-”
“I shall tell everypony that you are on a deserved vacation, and that I hope you shall enjoy it,” Lotus responded. “But I am afraid I must agree with Bon Bon,” she continued. “You are a threat to yourself, as well as to others in Ponyville, as you are.” She stepped over, grasping Aloe in a deep hug, and Aloe drank in her love, feeling both it and Lotus’s determination as she did so. “Fare well, sister.”
“I…” Aloe collapsed in on herself as she realized the two wouldn’t give in. “Fare well yourself, sister mine. I will see you in a month.”

“- and that, basically, is the situation.” Rainshadow turned again, looking straight into her aunt’s eyes. “I’m not allowed to be Aloe for the next month, so I need someplace to stay, and somepony to be, for a few weeks. I was kind of hoping you’d let me stay with you.”
Cherry sighed, then slipped off her seat to come stand next to her niece. “Of course, Rain,” she said, kissing her niece’s forehead. “Your father would have my hide if I didn’t take care of you.” She stepped back, a thoughtful look covering her face. “As to the rest, I’ve been meaning to hire a part-time research assistant. I think I’ve just settled on a young mare named Sandstorm.” Cherry smiled as she reached down to help Rainshadow off the couch. “So how about the two of us sit down over supper and work out exactly what she’s like?”
Rain grinned as she sat up, recognizing her father’s old nickname for her. “Thanks, Aunt Cherry,” she said. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

5014732
TMPL 71 - Bratwurst by KwirkyJ

"A tie?" Rainbow Dash threw her hooves up in the air. "Still?"

Applejack chuckled. "For all your highfalootin' talk, you still ain't pulled ahead none."

"Yeah? Well, it's not like you're gaining any ground, either!"

"Girls, girls, please!" Twilight stepped in between the two. "It's just a picnic."

"And eating sandwiches, I say," Rarity added. "A competition out of eating… And did you have to make it the peanut butter and jelly? You could have gotten something on any one of us!"

"C'mon, Rarity, how could we not? One of us has to be the toughest pony in Ponyville!"

"'Sides, not like a little jelly would show up on you, Rares."

Rarity gasped in exaggerated disgust. "Now, that is just—"

"Girls, please! Can't we just enjoy the afternoon?"

"I don't know about you, Twilight, but I'd enjoy it more if somepony—" Rainbow gave a pointed glance at Applejack "—finally threw in her hat."

Pinkie Pie hmmmmed, a long, multi-tonal endeavor. Everypony turned. "Another contest, you say…"

Sizzler the earth pony gibbered with joy at the trays arrayed on the table. "It has been so long since anypony has asked for these… You have no idea what this means for me, Blinky Hie."

"No problem!"

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, cautiously nosed over and smelled.

"Pinkie… What is this, again?"

"It's your contest!"

"The finest I've ever made!" Sizzler rattled off in the disconcerting combination of overjoyed and distraught.

"And let me tell you, I put some serious out-of-the-box thinking into this one. I went so far out fo the box, I went into the tube!"

"Bratwurst! The finest pork grounds, boiled and seared…. Note the perfect striping along each!"

Applejack took a whiff of her own and shared an uneasy glance with Rainbow Dash. "And what do pigs have to do with any of this? And what's that smell?"

"Ground pork loin stuffed into an intestine—"

"Whoa!" Rainbow recoiled in horror, mimicking Applejack's reaction. "Meat? Is that even legal?"

"Of course it is, silly filly! Griffons and Minotaur have it all the time!"

"W-well, okay, but… What?"

Sizzler's eyes flicked between them to settle on Pinkie Pie. "I… Is this what…?"

"It's quite simple! You two want to know who's the toughest pony in Ponyville! Eating meat proves you're tough, right?"

"I know swine personally," Applejack said with clear distaste.

"They know what they got in for," Sizzler affirmed.

"Well… Okay, but. Okay." She trailed off, uncertain.

Rainbow scrunched her face. "Meat." She turned to Applejack. "If you won't eat one, I guess that proves I'm the toughest, huh?"

Applejack fixed her own determined expression. "Oh, no. I'm not backing down."

Pinkie Pie's smile widened as she bounded around the picnic table. "Great! I got fifty for each of you!"

Sizzler sobbed in ecstasy at the sight.

Author's Note:
I was busy with the writeoff this weekend and my idea factory is still down for maintenance. I don't like this one, but it's something… may have been inspired by the evening menu.

5021626
I like this! The changeling getting so wrapped up in her assumed role that she's unable to even remember that she's not who she's pretending to be. The changeling mind-control stuff in your stories is always slightly creepy, and it comes off as even more so here, when it's almost unintentional, and ponies always seem just a little off afterwords.

It's a neat concept with the mask becoming real, and I enjoyed the read!

5025951
Meat eating! Does anypony truly dare?

I can't quite work out what's up with Sizzler here, but this is a reasonable end point for the toughest pony competition to be sure. Though Rainbow did have a griffon friend once, maybe she's even tried this before! I liked how the competitiveness was annoying some of their less competitive friends, and everypony felt nicely in character here. Nice work!