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// Troubles in the Lazy River 
// Story: Odd's Oubliette: Otherwise Obsolete Oddities 
// by Odd_Sarge 
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As soon as you pulled into the parking lot of the water park, you knew something strange was going on.

You locked your car and went through the staff entrance, a bubbling tension in your chest. Something wasn’t wrong, but the air definitely felt aloof. You quietly went through your checklist in prepping the staffroom for the summer day ahead, and as soon as the coffee was off brewing, you sorted out your keychain, grabbed your toolbox and flashlight, and then set off to go inspect the park.

While it certainly wasn’t the biggest water park you’d seen, the family-owned getaway was big enough to garner more than enough attention from the town. The pay was decent, and the job wasn’t all that hard either. There were mostly just slides and pools scattered around the park, but fixing those wasn’t your job, you dealt with electrical wiring, and the arcade machines in the portion of the gift shop. At first, you were put off by seeing an arcade in a water park, but when you realized that it was mostly catering to the owners’ kids’ tastes, it made sense.

On your way to the arcade, you had that peculiar feeling yet again. Your feet had been on autopilot while your mind wandered, but you took control and maneuvered yourself to the pool-zone, but more specifically, the lazy river. It was by the far the biggest attraction in the park after the wave pool, and if your gut feeling told you something was wrong with the lazy river, then business would slow for who knows how long. Utilizing your maintenance keys to open the area early, you slipped through the gate and into the water park itself.

There were four main areas to the river as it wound around the park, and the one by the entrance was closest. You left your tools and flashlight by the gate and went to take a look around. Immediately, you saw the first signs of a break-in; the river donuts were gone. As you looked up and down the lazy river, you then took notice of a second problem; there were animals in the river. As quietly as you could, you hid by one of the bridges over the river and stared at the animals as they passed.

The technicolor creatures, you found, looked an awful lot like tiny horses. ‘Ponies,’ you corrected. Some had wings, others horns, and a smaller majority had neither. The calm and quiet creatures floated idly about the river in their stolen inflatables. You scratched your head and thought of what to do. Shrugging, you walked away from the river and pulled out your phone.

“Yeah, hey Mr. Mitchell.” Your eyes glanced back to the water. “Listen, I know it might sound strange, but there are… ponies in the lazy river.”