"Spike, you had better get your scaly kiester down here and explain to me exactly what happened to my mint-condition copy of The Astronomicon!"

*

"I mean it, Sweetie Belle. Those fabrics were meant for a very important project, and you matched them to the entirely wrong color, to boot!"

*

"Twilight Sparkle. You are in very big trouble, young filly."

The Prompt: I'm going to count to three...

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 day after the prompt. Good luck!

3080615 Well, Here's mine.

Legacy Prompt #3: Personal Time

The sound of a thousand party favours being blown thundered through the air, and confetti and streamers floated down from seemingly out of nowhere, landing on Twilight and covering the floor.

“Hi Twilight!” said Pinkie Pie, “how do you like my new party cannon?” Twilight looked up from her book, staring at the contraption that had somehow been parked in the centre of the library without her notice. It was at least twice the size of the old party cannon, not that size actually meant anything whenever Pinkie Pie got involved.

“It’s great, Pinkie. Have you shown it to anypony else?”

“Oh yeah! Dashie’s seen it, Applejack’s seen it...” as Pinkie continued to list off the ponies who had seen her new weapon of mass entertainment, Twilight lifted a hoof to her chest and breathed.

‘It’s okay,’ thought Twilight, ‘she’s just excited about it. She didn’t mean to disturb you, Twilight.’ Thought she had made great strides since coming to Ponyville, Twilight was still rather introverted, and most of her friends had come to accept this in some fashion or another. As such, Twilight occasionally let her friends know that sometimes she simply wanted days where she could sit in the library and read, or do research, or whatever she felt like, with particular emphasis on being alone. Today had been one such day, and she had informed everyone close to her that she would rather not be visited today. To make up for it, she had also promised to spend the entirety of the next day outside of the library.

“...and I’ve shown it to Time Turner, and then Roseluck, and then I thought ‘You know, everypony in Ponyville has seen the Party Cannon Mark 2 except Twilight, and so here we are!” finished Pinkie Pie, leaning over the immense cannon, and giving it a hug. However, Pinkie’s body pressed up against the firing button on the massive cannon.

For the second time in under ten minutes, the thunder of a thousand noisemakers rumbled through the library, and more streamers, confetti and even some balloons decorated the floor, and Pinkie had the sense to look apologetic. A section of streamer-covered floor rose up, and started glowing.

“One,” Twilight said, from under the veritable blanket of streamers. Pinkie, though she was scatter-brained, was not entirely incapable of taking a hint. She grabbed the cannon, and bolted for the door.

“Two,” said Twilight, the glow around the mass of streamers intensifying. Pinkie Pie found that her previous bribe of a cupcake to the laws of physics in order to get the cannon inside the library had evidently worn off, and with Twilight’s eyes fixed upon her, couldn’t repeat the performance. Thus, Pinkie abandoned the cannon, slipped out the door and bolted.

“Three,” finished Twilight, a smile in her voice as the glow settled back down to a more normal level as she levitated the mass of streamers off herself. Twilight deposited them on the floor, and then she simply settled back down with her book.

3086422 Oops, I must have missed this when it got posted! Sorry!

Ah, Pinkie. When will you learn that interrupting Twilight's reading time will only end in unhappiness for all? Twilight knows the trick to the 'count to three' threat; if you do it right, you don't need to actually follow it up with anything.

Thanks for submitting!