Ponyville was peaceful and beautiful as usual. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, ponies trotted to and fro, and everything was perfectly fine.

Princess Twilight Sparkle sighed quietly as she looked out over the small town, from a balcony in her crystal castle.

When had everything changed so much?

Twilight had come to Ponyville only a short time ago, by chariot, to stay in Golden Oak Library for a day or two while preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration. It had been just her and Spike, and Twilight could still remember how grumpy she had been about the whole thing.

Within just a few days, she had found a new life here in Ponyville, with her six best friends.

But now what? Golden Oak Library was gone. Ponyville had grown, it seemed, with the fame of the ponies who lived there. Rainbow Dash was a reservist in the Wonderbolts, Rarity had a boutique in Canterlot now, Applejack's money woes were a distant memory, Fluttershy could talk and laugh with strangers, and Pinkie... well, Pinkie Pie was still Pinkie Pie. But she seemed happy and secure that her friends would never leave her now. Discord, of all things, was a friend of Twilight's. Twilight was a Princess! Princess Cadance was her sister-in-law, and was going to have a foal! Twilight lived in a huge, crystal castle that had sprung up out of the ground and was full of magic that even she didn't fully understand!

The changes were bad, they weren't. Not all of them. Most of them were pretty good, actually.

But Twilight sometimes felt like there was nothing to hold on to. Everything around her was always so chaotic and whirling around in a tornado.

She sighed again, and looked downward.

Down on the ground, some distance from Twilight's castle, a small group of ponies caught her eye. The five mares were laughing and chatting as they walked and flew together. Rainbow Dash looked to be shouting proudly as she turned a tight loop in the air of the group, and Pinkie laughed happily. The laughter quickly spread through the group, even Spike, who was riding on Fluttershy's back.

Twilight smiled at the sight, and shook the gloomy thoughts from her head. She most certainly did have something to hold on to in all this. Twilight spread her wings, and took off from the balcony, sailing down to meet her friends.

The Prompt:
Things change
Or
Some things never change

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

Usually, TMP prompts would have a six to eight hour window for submission, but for these Legacy Prompts, there is no submission deadline. Go ahead and post something a year from now if you want. Bear in mind, however, that chance of getting feedback drops off dramatically after about a week. Good luck!

4849275
Untitled (TMPL61) by KwirkyJ

"Enjoy the ice cream, Diva. The doctor and I will be… talking just outside."

Mommy shut the door behind her.

Diva looked down at the bowl. Maybe it had been ice cream before. But of course it wasn't now. Diva couldn't have anything cold. Her throat had to heal.

The doctor had said she was luck to be able to swallow at all. She didn't feel lucky.

Her ears pricked, and the sound of voices drifted in over the music. Not distinct, but perceptibly unhappy to a filly's ears.

Diva glowered at the bowl, as if somehow it was at fault. It wasn't ice cream, it was just cream. She dipped her hoof into it, pulled it out, and laughed that the color was exactly the same as her coat.

Or she would have laughed, if it were possible.

An accident. A little stumble. A trip and a sharp corner was all it took.

"And you call yourself a doctor? What did your magic to do help my daughter? Nothing, that's what!"

Diva shrunk under the covers. She didn't like it when mommy sounded mad.

"A life of singing ahead of her, and you can't do a thing to help her? Useless!"

The doctor had said he'd done what he could, but her larrinks or whatever refused to heal. Said it was as though her own magic was pushing back. That didn't make sense to Diva—she could barely manage sparks, and if there was one thing she wanted it was to talk.

She'd learned last night that she couldn't even sob anymore.

She wanted to tell mommy she didn't want to sing; that she hated the endless lessons and the scowling teachers; that she just wanted mommy to come in and hold her until it was okay again.

The voices hadn't gone away; mommy and the doctor were still talking on the other side.

Diva didn't like being alone.

She rolled over on the bed and shoved the bowl of cream away from her. It slid effortlessly across the table, striking the phonograph stood against it. The record skipped.

Shik.

Diva's ears perked.

She wasn't a fond of whatever was playing. "Moh's Art" or something. But the sound was something new.

She crawled to the edge of the table and shook it. This time the table bumped the phonograph, and it squeaked again.

Such a strange sound…

Diva cast a furtive glance to the door, checking it was still closed, and crawled over the table.

Bump, followed by a sheek as the record continued.

She touched the record, and the music stopped.

A spin, and more sounds came. A kind of low hiss. Pause. Faster, and a shrill squeak, sheeeeek.

She tap-tapped the table, and spun the record again. She liked it.

Tap-bump tap-ta-eeeek.

The door opened and mommy entered, scowling.

"Diva! What are you doing with that phonograph?"

Diva looked down, then back up at her mother.

Shik-sheeek.

"Stop that at once."

Diva twisted her ears. She had to get the pitch just right. Shik-sheeek.

Mommy stomped over. "Diva, I won't ask you again—"

Diva looked at her, desperate, and tried a third time, trying to match her pitch exactly, SHIK-SHEEEk.

Mommy!

Mommy froze.

Diva didn't breathe for a moment. Again she looked at the phonograph, back at mommy.

shuh-shuh-shish-eee.

Mommy's ear twitch was the only thing that moved.

Diva tapped her heart, held out to mommy, and again, shuh-shuh-shish-eee.

"I… Diva?"

One final time, shuh-shuh-shish-eee.

Mommy swept forward, curling Diva up in her forelegs. They nuzzled each other desperately, the message clear.

"Oh, Diva, of course your mommy loves you!"

Author's Note:
Meet Vinyl Scratch. Not the happiest of ways to get started on her real talent, but… if you try, sometimes, you find you get what you need. (That damn earworm of a tune was the backdrop to writing this entire thing, and I think the association is obvious.)

As a meta-note, this prompt was very difficult for me to fit into stand-alone piece that could be written in thirty minutes.

4858393
What a sad explanation for Vinyl's never speaking! Still, it seems she found a voice in something else, and also got away from her mother's obsessive training. This was well written and well put together, nice work. I imagine Vinyl would have a hard time getting others to understand her record-scratching as actual words, but at least by the time the tv show takes place, she seems to have Octavia.

4849275
Legacy Prompt 61: Exchange

“Wait. We’re supposed to do whut?”
At the sound of Applejack’s voice, Spike looked up from the scroll he’d just received, confusion written on his face. “Take hostages.”
Applejack snorted. “So what, you’re sayin’ the princess said we’re the bad guys now?” She snorted again, turning her head to the side as if to spit. “‘Tain’t makin’ any sense. You sure you read that letter right?”
“Let me see,” Twilight said, plucking the scroll from Spike’s hands and floating it in front of herself. “Ah-ha,” she muttered as she looked over it. “Exchange hostages, not take.”
“An’ how is that any better, Twi?”
Twilight looked up into Applejack’s less-than-delighted gaze. “I’m not sure it is, precisely. It’s an old political thing, from before the founding of Equestria. If two feuding nobles couldn’t get along, or kept opposing the Crown, the king would force them to offer hostages, usually their own heirs. That way, they wouldn’t be as likely to do anything rash. It does kind of make sense; if we have control over some of Queen Snow’s changelings, they won’t be as likely to try anything against us.” She looked down, scanning the letter again before resuming. “But Princess Celestia is also insisting that we offer a few of our own as a token of our sincerity.”
“Well that’s just peachy. So we’re s’posed ta let them stuff some’ve ours into some dank cells, while theirs are free ta wander Ponyville messin’ with us as they see fit?” Again, Applejack snorted. “That don’t seem like the brightest of ideas, Sugarcube.” She held up a hoof. “Don’t get me wrong, that mare Bon Bon and her little crew, they ain’t no problem. But they’re part of Ponyville. These newcomers ain’t, leastwise not yet.”
“No,” said Twilight, absently licking her lip as she thought, “it isn’t. I think I may have at least part of a solution to that, though.” She looked up once more, straight into Applejack’s eyes. “I… this is difficult for me, AJ, but…” Applejack watched as Twilight stopped, swallowed, and tried again. “Would, would you… would you please serve as one of our hostages?” Even as Applejack was automatically shaking her head, Twilight continued. “I feel like we need one of us present, and, well, I think you’d be the best one.” Twilight swallowed again, tongue flicking out to moisten her lips. “Fluttershy’d be too scared, Rarity would have a conniption fit over being stuck in a cave, Dash wouldn’t stop fighting the changelings, and who knows what Pinkie Pie would get herself into?”
Applejack stilled her head, forcing herself to think about what Twilight was saying, and slowly, grudgingly, she nodded. “I reckon I can, Sugarcube.”
Tears limned Twilight’s eyes as her soft reply was voiced. “Thank you, Applejack.” She swallowed and continued. "Now, here's what I intend to do..."

The next day, it appeared almost all of Ponyville had gathered in the town square to witness the exchange. Twilight had commandeered a largish part of the square for some kind of mystical design on the ground, and another part had been roped off to keep it empty. With good reason, as it turned out: shortly after the crowd had gathered, rings of flame appeared in that empty space, three of them spilling out between them five changeling bucks, six does, and their queen, Silent Snow, who strode over to Twilight as soon as she appeared. “We have come,” she said, loudly enough that Applejack could hear her. “I don’t know that I like this idea, but I understand your Princess’s concerns. What would you have us do?”
“Just wait for a moment,” Twilight said before stepping toward the podium. “Everyone, thank you for coming. I sent a few of my friends out to speak with you about this yesterday evening, and I’m sure rumors are flying by now, so I’ll try to be quick about it.
“Most of you probably know by now that Princess Celestia has permitted Queen Snow here to locate her own Nest just outside of Ponyville, allowing the Princesses to watch as we and they interact with each other. Those of you who heard yesterday’s news know that the Princess wants us to exchange hostages - that some of us will go to live in the changeling nest, while some of them come to live among us. There are two reasons for this.
“The first reason is to keep us from doing anything rash to each other. As long as either side holds hostages, the other side won’t dare to do anything that could get those hostages hurt. The second reason, which Princess Celestia clarified for me last night, is so that we can see what each other’s lives are like. To that end, I spent the night coming up with a spell that would allow our hostages and theirs to swap places, fully, with each other.” As Twilight finished, she turned toward Applejack, her eyes pleading.
Applejack, for her part, stepped forward, in front of the crowd. “I told ya last evenin’ I’d do this, Twi, even after ya explained yer plan. I ain’t gonna back down on mah word. Jest tell me whatcha need me ta do.”
Gratitude touched Twilight’s eyes as she pointed with her horn. “Step into the circle, AJ, the side with the black chalk.” As Applejack did so, Twilight motioned to the changeling queen. “Your majesty, if you could have one of yours step into the side with the white chalk?”
After the selected changeling doe had stepped into the circle, Twilight stepped forward, taking her own place in a smaller circle just outside the one shared by Applejack and the changeling. Twilight’s horn flared, and the larger circle began to glow, a brilliant white around the changeling and a dim purple around Applejack. As those two lights rose, Applejack began to feel strange. It was as if her legs were stiffening, thickening - she almost felt like they were trying to dig into the soil, as if taking root. And then, with a small motion of Twilight’s head, the two glowing lights started to flow into each other, and the world was lit by a the gray light of a rainy morning.
As that light flooded over Applejack, fire seemed to explode in her veins. Her stiffened legs seemed to melt away, becoming like water, and the rest of her followed suit. A thin keening began behind her eyes, sounding a bit like a mosquito hiding in her ear, and she gritted her teeth against the sensation. Then, in a last flash of brilliant white, it was over, and Applejack stumbled forward as the pressure she hadn’t realized she was fighting let go of her.
The collective gasp from the crowd was quite loud enough for Applejack to hear, and she looked across the circle, to where a young Earth Pony mare stood, staring bemusedly down at her own sandy-brown hide. Applejack risked a glance at herself, noting the presence of orange chitin, and flicked muscles she only half-realized she had to set her new wings briefly in motion.
Applejack was vaguely aware of the crowd growing louder, and of Twilight trying to calm them, but that didn’t seem important. She reached over, tapping the former changeling on her withers. “You okay, hon?”
The mare looked up at her. “I… it… I feel… empty.” She looked into Applejack’s eyes, her own rimmed with panic. “Do all ponies feel this way?”
“Like yer alone up here?” Applejack knocked at the side of her head with her hoof. “Pretty much. Ya’ll’ll get used to it.” She thought for a second. “Don’t have to go it completely alone, though. What’s yer name?”

Time Limit

“N, Nashi,” the former changeling said, stretching the last syllable. “My parents said I was named for some kind of fruit.”
Applejack nodded. “Good. Ya oughta fit right in, then. Now,” she said, “ya see that stallion over there? Red hide, green apple on his rump, expression like somepony done bucked a tree over on top’a him?” When Nashi nodded, Applejack grinned, turned, and let out a shout. “Hey, Mac! Getcher tail over here! I got somepony for ya ta meet!”
The shout tore through the crowd, silencing it as every head turned towards Applejack. Twilight, who’d been frantically arguing, laughed before calling out over the crowd. “I trust that settles any arguments about whether that’s still Applejack over there?”
“Is she really a changeling?” called out a voice, followed by Lyra Heartstrings stumbling out of the crowd. “I’ll go next!”
Applejack tuned out the crowd, stepping out of the circle with Nash and heading for Big Mac as Twilight ushered Lyra into the circle. “Mac,” she said as they drew close to each other, “this’s Nashi. Treat’er like she’s part of the family, wouldja? Way Twilight said her spell works, it’s dang near the truth.”
Mac looked over them, staring for a second at the spot where Applejack’s cutie mark still rested on her before responding. “Will do, Sis.”
Applejack smiled, an expression which instantly vanished a second later as a new thought hit her. ‘That was well done, little one.’
As the foreign thought tore through her head, Applejack’s eyes went wide and her head lifted. Nashi, watching, nodded. “Her majesty just spoke to you, didn’t she?”
‘Zat what that was?” At Nashi’s nod, Applejack gave one of her own. “Guess I’d better go to her, then, huh?”
‘I would appreciate that, Miss Apple. And I could, maybe, give you some assistance in not shouting everything you think for all to hear?’
“Very funny.” Applejack shook her head, then smiled. “Take care, Mac. I’ll see ya around.” With those words and a hug for her brother, Applejack left Mac and Nashi, heading towards the gathered changelings and her new life.

Author's Note: Honestly? You're going to just give me one with 'change' stuck in it? "Right kindly of ya!"

4864266
It occurred to me when I posted the prompt that it might appeal to your typical subject matter. I'm honestly surprised I got so few responses to it in general. Maybe something else is distracting folks lately.

This story was a fun read. Applejack does seem like a reasonable choice for a trade, seeing as how she's important but also more reasonable and reliable than most of the main six. It's good to see her take it in stride, and the reactions of both her and Nashi were well done. I like Lyra hopping up to be next, like it's an honor and not a hostage situation, so to speak. I'd like to think after a little while living in the hive, the prisoners can be exchanged again, and talk about what they've seen. It's an interesting setup for a story!