Talents Gone Wrong

by Starshine_Swirl

Chapter 5

Twilight glanced around in the darkness, but she couldn't make out anything. "Lavender! Where are you?"

"Over here!" Lavender responded from somewhere to Twilight's left. Twilight shuffled uneasily in the direction of her new friend's voice and groped around with her hoof. The lights blazed back on suddenly just as Twilight's hoof connected with Lavender's face.

"SURPRIIISE!!! Pinkie Pie screamed, firing a huge wad of confetti out of her party cannon. Noticing the position Twilight and Lavender had been caught in, she commented, "Twilight, no hitting. That's not very nice." She happily bounced over to the refreshments table, which had apparently been set up while the lights were off.

"Where did all this stuff come from?" Lavender asked incredulously.

Twilight eyed the streamers, confetti, balloons, cupcakes, punch bowl, party guests (probably half of Ponyville), and baby alligator. "Sometimes Pinkie Pie makes sense, but... this isn't one of those times."

Appearing out of nowhere-- hadn't she just been over by the punch bowl?-- Pinkie tapped Lavender on the shoulder. "Hey you! What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Lavender Dazzle," Lavender said.

"Okay," Pinkie said, picking up a nearby megaphone. "Welcome, everypony," she shouted into the microphone, "to the Welcome Lavender... Lavender who?"

"Lavender Dazzle," the brown-haired unicorn repeated, leaning close to the megaphone.

"Welcome to the Welcome Lavender Dazzle to Ponyville Party! To your left is Pin the Tail on the Pony, which will be starting momentarily! I have supplied infinite refreshments, too! Enjoy!" Pinkie announced. Twilight doubted Pinkie knew the meaning of the word "infinite", but whatever floated her boat was fine.

"Hey, Dazzle! Come over here for Pin the Tail on the Pony! You get to be first because you're the guest of honor!" Twilight turned to see Pinkie dragging a shocked Lavender to the pony poster on the wall. Twilight, seeing Lavender's apprehension, started to go talk to Pinkie, but then reconsidered. Last time Pinkie thought her friends didn't like her parties, the results had been pretty bad. She did not want history to repeat.

Pinkie began to explain the game to Lavender. "You take the tail, and you pin it on the pony. It's easy! But not that easy, because you have to wear a blindfold. Ready?" Without waiting for an answer from the shell-shocked pony, she wrapped a black strip of cloth around Lavender's forehead as if she had done it a thousand times. She deftly tied a knot with her hooves (somehow) and stepped back to admire her work. "Perfect!"

"Do I... do I have to wear the blindfold?" Lavender asked in a small voice.

"It's a vital part of the game! Oh, I almost forgot, I have to spin you around a couple times!" Pinkie replied. Lavender opened her mouth to protest, but Pinkie interrupted, "Also a vital part of the game!" She spun the visibly trembling unicorn around three times, then pointed her in the direction of the poster. "Fire away!" she encouraged.

Lavender quickly thrust the tail at the pony, and it landed reasonably close to its spot.

"Good job on your first try! Look how close you were!" Pinkie cheered, removing Lavender's blindfold. Lavender sighed with relief, barely glancing at the tail she had pinned in her desperation to get away. The lilac pony cantered for the refreshments, wiping nervous sweat from her face.

"Lavender?" Twilight asked, trotting over to the table. "Is something wrong?"

"Ohh, no, nooo," Lavender said shakily, pressing her trembling hooves into the floor in an attempt to still them. "Actually, I almost remembered something there, but it slipped away."

"Maybe it was the blindfold," Twilight mused. "If you can, Lavender, I think you should wear a blindfold later to see if it triggers your memories' return."

Lavender considered the challenge. "Okay, I'll do it," she decided her expression unreadable. "Whatever makes me remember is worth it."

***

As the night grew longer, Lavender eased back into the party, joining the games of musical chairs and bobbing for apples, coming out of her shell. Just when she began to fully enjoy herself, though-- introducing herself, unafraid, to other ponies and making jokes with Pinkie Pie-- the party came to an end. Ponies began to filter out the library door, explaining how they needed to go home to their foals or had the morning shift at work tomorrow. Gradually, only the library residents and Pinkie (who was gathering up her party supplies in preparation to go home) were left. Lavender and Twilight retired to their respective bedchambers early, all partied out, and when Pinkie removed the last bag of party supplies, quietly closing the door behind her, there was not one more sound for the rest of the night.

The silence carried on to the next morning, and Twilight wondered why she didn't hear Lavender trotting around when she woke up. When she descended the stairs, there was no pony sleeping there. Twilight searched everywhere, but eventually she was forced to come to a terrible conclusion: she was the only pony in the library.

Lavender was gone.

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Twilight: Oh...No...