Marshmallow Dreams

by Halira

Chapter 88: Barrel Ride

Here I was, standing in line for the privilege of being tossed in a barrel and sent over a waterfall, and not just any waterfall, but the most massive waterfall in Equestria.

Standing in front of me were Roger and Sunflower. Standing behind me were Jean and the other Roger. The two griffins didn't seem to agree with their daughter's assessment that they were too old—in fact, I think they were doing this to prove the point. I wasn't sure how old they actually were, but they had to be in at least their fifties. They had two adult pony kids, two adult human kids, and four grandkids—three of whom were teenagers. Still, they seemed to be in good shape.

Sunflower was being quiet, for the most part. On and off, she mumbled to herself. My best guess was she was trying to psych herself up for what she had committed to do. I couldn't blame her. This had to be terrifying for her. It was like I would feel if I was put in a room full of cookies and then found out there was only skim milk to drink. I shivered just thinking about it. I was going to support her. It may have been peer pressure that got me included in this, but doing it as well would help Sunflower go through with it. I didn't want her to embarrass herself by chickening out at the last minute.

Roger was being shy again and not talking. The griffins also weren't saying much. That left it to me to be the conversation starter.

"Have you guys met Wild Growth's parents?" I asked. "They've got a little chick who does sleight of talon tricks."

Jean grinned and chuckled as we advanced a place in line. "So, our little nest egg managed to get a bit off you too, eh?"

Roger the griffin held his head high. "I showed him that trick; then he played it on every pony in Ponyville till they got wise to him. He had a field day with the Crystal Empire ponies, and he is right back at it again with the people on the ship. I wish I was small and cute so I could get away with that."

"You're big and cute," Jean said, then gave him a quick beak nibble on his neck feathers. It was weird watching her do it. I didn't have much experience with griffins, so I hadn't seen their methods of affection till now. They were very—birdlike. I mean, pegasi will help preen each other sometimes, but this wasn't any form of grooming. It was an inhuman and inequine behavior, and knowing that Jean had been a human and pony before just made it all the weirder. I wondered if this was the way humans felt when they first observed how ponies behaved?

Actually, a pony or human might do something like that, just not as a public display of affection. They'd do it in private, right before things escalated further. I should know; Miss Seapony had shown me lots of examples.

I decided not to let it bother me. They were griffins; they were going to do griffiny things. "Jean and Roger, meet my friends, Sunflower and...um...Roger. Having two Rogers is going to get real confusing real fast."

Roger the griffin nodded his head. "I don't use it much, but you can use my griffin name if you wish, Gino. That should make things easier."

Roger stuck a hoof out to Gino, and Gino balled up his talon and gave it a bump. "Why the name Gino?" Roger asked.

Gino shrugged. "Griffins like names that begin with G. I just went with Gino because I'm married to Jean. We're a pair. I normally only use the name around other griffins."

"And I can just go with a G spelling of my name if they ask," Jean added in. "They were kinda funky about it because that isn't their proper G sound. It is considered almost scandalous for a griffin not to have a G name, but when I showed them how it is done in English, they were satisfied. Griffins in the Griffin Empire have some odd customs sometimes, but we adapted well enough. We only spent about a year there before moving to Ponyville."

Sunflower's ears perked. "Why'd you move away from the other griffins? Don't you want to be with your own kind?"

"Oh, several reasons," Jean replied. "We wanted to farm, but the land out there was very rocky and not very conducive to farming. We also had longer waits out there getting mail back and forth between Earth and us, which got frustrating. Most of all, most of the other griffins weren't that friendly."

"Really?" Sunflower asked, pouting.

Jean waved a wing as we all advanced another few places in line. "Oh, there were some exceptions who were nice, but most were grouchy, and a lot of them were only friendly because they knew we were related to Wild and that she is rich. We decided to move to Ponyville to have nicer neighbors. Some of the nicer griffins we met pass through town on and off and usually stop in to see us, and they will normally spend a night with us rather than in a hotel—there are about six semi-regulars. Gilda came by just last week, and Gabby visits several times a month. One of our friends actually has a daughter attending school in Skytree. You have probably seen her since I am sure griffins stick out in Skytree."

Sunflower smiled and hopped. "You mean Greta? Yeah, she's mine and Rebecca's RA. She can be a little grumpy, but she's not mean. I think she's fair."

Greta had insulted our roommates and us to our faces on more than one occasion and regularly made disparaging remarks about ponies. She did it in passing and didn't seem that personal about it, but I wouldn't say she was nice by any measure. She was fair; I could agree with that. She never went and started accusing you of breaking rules you didn't break. When you were guilty of a minor infraction, she typically gave you only a warning and an opportunity to fix it before you got in trouble.

"I didn't know there were griffins that we're interested in farming," Roger said.

Gino frowned. "There's a few, but you're right; most aren't. However, plants have always been my passion. Where do you think Wild picked it up? Our son, José, ended up going to my alma mater and works in the forestry service now. He is doing exciting work, trying to measure the impact of magic on Earth's ecosystems. The skytrees themselves are the most obvious examples of plants that have taken on magic properties, but there have been other isolated cases. I'm hoping he and I can sit down and have a long talk about his research, at least as much as he can say that isn't classified."

Jean giggled. "My big bird and his plants. Once he starts going, it is hard to get him to stop. We're a team on the farm. He handles the crops, and I handle the livestock—pigs, and chickens, although we both do some fishing too."

"I understand chickens for eggs, but what do you do with pigs?" I asked in confusion.

Jean and Gino looked at one another as if asking the other to explain; then, Jean turned back towards me. "Well… they will eat up most of our garbage. Pigs will eat anything you give them. They also help us search for truffles, and a few times a year, we...uh… do something that can be a little unsavory for ponies. We use the chickens for that thing too."

I felt a little ill and was sorry I asked, but Sunflower and Roger didn't seem fazed. "Oh, don't worry! Back in my little town, we raise livestock for trade with humans, and we know what happens to it. We raise cattle, pigs, chickens, and we even train horses."

Jean raised an eyebrow at her as we all advanced another spot in line. "Train horses? For riding?"

"Yep!" Sunflower said with a quick nod of her head. "A bunch of the earth ponies ride them regularly and sometimes use them for pulling carts. I tried it once or twice—the riding, but there isn't much reason for me to ride a horse when I have wings."

"Ponies ride horses," Jean repeated as if she was unsure if she heard things right.

"Sure, what else would we do with them?" Sunflower asked, now seeming to catch that something was not coming across clearly.

"Why would a pony ride a horse?" Jean asked, still seeming befuddled.

"Well, they go much faster than earth ponies can go, so if they want to cover a lot of distance fast, a horse is great," Sunflower explained. "Cars might be better, but I don't think anyone in our town owns one."

"Okay...learn something new every day," Jean said slowly, and we advanced another place in line. "I hope it is profitable."

Maybe griffins did think of money more than ponies.

A group of ponies that had been standing in front of Sunflower broke out of line and left.

"Next five in line, please come forward and start getting your safety equipment on. The group ahead of you lost their nerve," a unicorn that was clearly part of the attraction staff announced.

This was it. It was either chicken out or go through with it. My gut was telling me to turn tail and run, but I would follow Sunflower's example. Sunflower had stiffened up in fear and was practically a statue. All signs pointed to me not needing to do this.

"If you aren't up for this, no one will blame you," I reassured her. "Phobia can talk about facing fears all she wants, but remember, she spends most of her time hiding out in her house, and me, of all ponies, gave her a panic attack. Even Dreamwardens get scared."

Although it seemed an impossible feat, Sunflower somehow seemed to stiffen more for a moment.

"I'm going to do this," Sunflower said firmly. "This isn't about Phobia Remedy; this is about me and me not living in fear. If you don't want to do this, I understand. I know you came just because of me. You being here does help, but you don't need to feel obligated for my sake. I'll do this no matter what."

The staff were getting impatient. "All you ponies need to make up your minds quickly. You're holding up the line!"

Do you ever notice that when people say you're not obligated to do something, you feel even more obligated? How does that work?

I spread my wings wide. "You're right. I'm here for you, and if you are doing this, then so am I. I have lots of experience tumbling through the air uncontrollably."

The same thing that bothered Sunflower about this was the same thing that bothered me. I think it was something instinctual in pegasi that when we felt themselves falling, we wanted to flap our wings, and if we were crammed in a barrel, we couldn't do that. It wasn't claustrophobia in my case; it was feeling helpless while falling. I might have been helpless most of the time I fell, but at least I could react to It.

We all stepped forward, and the staff started suiting us up. It seemed pretty standard gear, a life jacket, a helmet, and little floaties on each of our legs—nothing fancy. After getting my gear on, I got a closer look at how the operation worked. A person was put into a barrel and rolled into the river; they went over the falls where a unicorn used magic to force the barrels onto a giant belt that carried them back up top. Judging by the pony who was getting out of a barrel, the barrels were not watertight.

A worker gestured from Sunflower to an open barrel. "Come over here, ma'am, and we will get you in. Trust us; it is perfectly safe."

Sunflower gulped but took one shaking step at a time towards the barrel. It was laid on its side for easy entry.

"You need to enter the barrel tail first," the unicorn on duty informed her. "The lid goes on the side with your head."

She nodded, and turned her body around, and began slowly inching back into the barrel. She only stopped creeping back when her rear touched the bottom of the barrel.

The unicorn levitated the lid into view. "You can close your eyes if it helps you; it is going to be dark anyway. I'm going to seal this lid now. Just to warn you, water will get into the barrel. There is no need to panic about it. We will have you out of the water long before it can get to a dangerous level. Please, when you hit the water at the bottom of the falls, try to keep as still as possible. That will make it easier for our crew to get you out of the water and back up here quickly if the barrel is not shaking. Do you understand?"

"Eeeeeee," Sunflower breathed out.

The unicorn rolled his eyes. "How about you nod to tell me you understand."

Sunflower gave a stiff nod. I felt sorry for her as I thought I saw tears starting to well up in her eyes.

The unicorn gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's going to be okay. Just close your eyes and think of happy things. Take a few deep breaths, and focus on something that makes you laugh. This will be over before you know it, and you can amaze your family and friends by telling them how brave you were today."

He waited till her eyes closed before putting the lid on. There was a tiny squeak from inside as the latches went into place. The stallion didn't give her much time to think before he shoved the barrel down a ramp, where it quickly splashed into the river and drifted towards the falls.

I held my breath as I watched the barrel getting closer and closer to the falls. I couldn't hear over the water to tell if Sunflower was panicking inside it, but I didn't see any sign of it jostling. Its speed rapidly increased as it got nearer and nearer to the waterfall, and the next thing I knew, it went over.

"Next up, get in your barrel! Tail first!" the unicorn announced as he rolled a new barrel into place.

As Roger did as instructed, I looked down at the bottom of the falls. Sunflower's barrel had hit the water hard and temporarily submerged, but it was back to the surface now. It suddenly lit up with a unicorn's magic and was guided to the belt.

"And down you go!" the unicorn shouted as he shoved Roger's barrel down the ramp.

Aww, crap. I was next.

The unicorn eyed me, and I gulped. There was no barrel to get into yet. I must be waiting on Sunflower's to return. Well, at least I would get to see how she held up.

"I need you to get on a scale for a weight check," the unicorn informed me as he pointed to a scale off in the corner of the platform.

Wait, what? There was a weight limit? Was my jiggly figure going to get me out of this?

I walked over to the scale and stood on it. It indicated a figure, but I had no idea what that figure meant. Equestrians didn't use the same measuring scales as us. I could read it, but that told me nothing.

The unicorn observed the weight. "Hmmm, wooden barrel won't work with you. You're heavy enough to bust it if you hit the sides too hard."

I hopped off the scale. "Aww, too bad. I was looking forward to—"

"We'll have to use Ole'Reliable instead."

What?!

He lit his horn, and a new barrel rolled forward, this one made entirely out of metal!

"That's metal!" I blurted out. "That will sink even faster!"

He walked over to the barrel and undid the lid, then banged on the side. "Don't worry; it's enchanted, so there will be no sinking."

It wasn't fair.

The belt with the barrels had just brought up Sunflower's barrel, and a pair of staff were unloading it.

"Wait!" I shouted. "I want to make sure my friend is okay before I go."

They opened up the barrel to reveal the waterlogged form of Sunflower. She was shivering and crouched down as low as she could go with her hooves over her eyes. Her mane was a soaking wet mess that hung over her face.

"Come on out; it's over," one of the staff who had fished her out instructed.

I hurried over to her. "Sunflower, are you oka—"

She bolted out of the barrel and took the sky. "I'm good! Need air! Need air! Need air!"

It didn't take long for her to be out of sight.

That didn't seem okay.

I turned and looked at the unicorn with a barrel. "Hey… sorry, but I think my friend needs me. I'm going to skip out."

With that, I took to the air and chased after Sunflower.

"Hey! What about our gear!"

Comments

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Yep!" Sunflower said with a quick nod of her head. "A bunch of the earth ponies ride them regularly and sometimes use them for pulling carts. I tried it once or twice—the riding, but there isn't much reason for me to ride a horse when I have wings."

That sounds... Awkward. Though not as much so as...
https://www.deviantart.com/angerelic/art/Giddy-up-364185289

"Well, they go much faster than earth ponies can go, so if they want to cover a lot of distance fast, a horse is great," Sunflower explained. "Cars might be better, but I don't think anyone in our town owns one."

Hey, fair enough.

[Halira]

10952775
It is established in this AU that ponies can't process meat from vertebrates which include fish. The most complex life they can eat other than plants is insects and arachnids.

[Chrome Masquerade]

10953060
Okay. Withdrawn.

[badninja]

So Sunflower has ridden a horse like a human. Reminds me of a story where a pony did just that when they where visiting Earth. The owners of the stable thought it was a joke at first. Poor Rebecca she keeps catching heck for her weight. I wonder if all her friends will force her to watch what she eats a bit more.

[harts fire]

aww poo i wanted to see the splash when Rebecca's barrel hit the water.