Chapter 8: Begin Again

Chapter 8: Begin Again

“C'mon, y'all, let's start makin' some memories! On your mark...get set...”

***

“Just like last time, please. Open wide.”

“Ahhhhhh—heheheh—hhhhhh.”

Happy giggled, squinting up at the golden light shimmering before his eyes. He could just make out the equally squinty gaze of the doctor-pony peering into his open muzzle, one of the brown stallion's eyes magnified to comical proportions behind the purple stone suspended in his magical aura.

For the second time in about as many days, Happy and Serenity were back at the clinic.

While the plan had been to talk to Red about the invoice they'd stumbled across first, word had been that the stallion had left for a day trip earlier in the afternoon. One of the neighboring caravans was scheduled to come through with a shipment of cider that he and a few others had decided to go out and sample as part of a “qualified business expense.”

Their griffon companion was flying that way now, leaving the two travel-worn ponies in the practiced hooves of Creek Bend’s foremost medical practitioner and researcher for the time being.

“Ah...I see now...to think this would...without any...”

“What are you seeing, Fleet Hoof?”

Glancing over as he stifled another chuckle, Happy could see Serenity tilt her head, raising an eyebrow at the older unicorn.

Levitating the talisman to the side, Fleet Hoof scribbled into his notepad, flipping the top sheet of paper over and starting on the next.

“Everything and more, Serenity. Everything and more. This talisman was a damned good find. So much to be said about the height of medicine and technology in Equestria before The Great War."

The stallion sighed.

"A shame more ponies today aren’t trained in how to use them. Most idiots that come across them just seem to think they’re shiny purple rocks to be worn like jewelry or stashed away like caps.”

He sighed again, waving away the lament with a hoof.

“That being said...”

Happy blinked as the golden aura in front of him faded, the purple talisman coming to rest on the small table at his side. He could feel a faint pulse of predatory instinct as the small rock settled into place, his open muzzle closing.

He licked his lips.

Shiny.

Fleet Hoof trotted back over to his workstation, placing his notepad onto a stack with several others.

“...although there’s only so many diagnostic tests we can run without the proper facilities, what I have been able to glean here from Jolly—”

Serenity raised a hoof.

“Happy.”

“—right, Cheery, is that he does seem to be under the effect of some sort of magical influence. Not a spell per se, but something that is probably responsible for his current mental and physical state."

Serenity rolled her eyes at the doctor’s misnomer, nodding back toward the gray buck.

“And what does that mean for Happy?”

Casually lifting a hoof behind his head to stretch, Happy leaned toward the table. Taking care to look in the opposite direction, he brought his lips together in an unassuming spit-whistle, trying not to draw the attention of the two ponies standing in front of him.

The doctor-pony wouldn't miss just one little rock, would he?

Fleet Hoof turned back to Serenity, scratching his brow.

“It's...difficult to say for certain. While the exact nature of the influence would be difficult to pin down, I imagine Larry's—”

"Happy’s.”

“—Lucky's current state is likely to persist unless that magic is suppressed. Granted, even with treatment, the effects aren’t likely to disappear completely—the physical ones, especially—but medication might provide an even enough hoofing for his mental state to stabilize...somewhat.”

Happy’s eyes widened as he continued to reeeach for the talisman, the yawning gulf between his hoof and the table appearing to grow as the purple stone reflected from his irises with a sinister shimmer.

One shiny. To rule them all.

He could see small gouts of flame rising from the magma that had appeared beneath the table at his side—distorted laughter echoing over the sound of a booming background orchestra as the buck's lips formed an eccentric grin.

Soon it would be his shiny. Soon the gem would have a new master.

“You think he could get better?”

Fleet hoof shrugged.

“It’s a possibility. Different individuals react to suppression therapy in different ways. For Jiffy—”

“Happy! Hap-py.”

“—right right. For Skippy, we’d have to put something together with the resources on hoof and fine tune the dosage as we went along.”

Serenity sighed.

“How strong of a dose would he need?”

Fleet Hoof raised a hoof toward the examination chair.

“Based on the aura the talisman indicated? At least enough to suppress the magical abilities of your average adult unicorn. Maybe more, depending on how deep the effects on his psyche are.”

I see you.

The superheated air of the chasm around him singeing his coat and mane, Happy’s hoof closed in on the waiting jewel.

Doctor-pony didn’t deserve such a treasure. Doctor-pony wasn’t worthy of such a gem.

Happy was the one that found it. Happy was the one that bled for it.

It was Happy’s shiny. Happy’s sparkly. Happy’s...

...specialish.

“Can you do it?”

Fleet Hoof sighed, rubbing his temple with a hoof.

“I mean, the facilities here in Creek Bend are hardly equipped to develop high potency magical suppressants. With the proper equipment, the process itself isn’t too complex, but with what's available to us this far out in the wastes, it would be impractical to—”

“Can you do it, though?”

Another sigh.

“I suppose it’s possible. It would just be a significant drain of time and caps until we pinned down a suitable formula."

Fleet Hoof shook his head.

"To be honest, I have no idea how the fact that he's an earth pony would affect the medication's viability. Even if we did manage to develop something that works, the ingredients required to maintain the treatment wouldn't come cheap. Is Dopey—”

"His name is Happy, Fleet Hoof. Happy.”

“—right right. Is Happy really an individual we can afford to…”

Fleet Hoof paused for a moment, his voice trailing off before turning back to Serenity.

“Wait a moment. Happy? You said he called himself Happy?”

Serenity replied with a dead stare, her tone flat.

“Yes.”

Fleet Hoof took a step back, bringing a hoof to his lips. His mumblings were difficult to make out as he tapped at his muzzle.

“No...that’s not...it couldn’t be the same…”

Fleet Hoof’s gaze turned to Happy, Serenity’s following a moment later.

A whispered, greedy cackle escaped from the gray buck’s lips, one of his hooves dramatically attempting to restrain the other as he loomed over the edge of his chair. His breathing was heavy, his eyes set on the small tray of medical implements on the side table beside him.

“Happy no-no! Fire it! Toss-throw into hiss water!”

“Heheheh. No-no Happy. Shiny-sparkle is Happy.”

“No-noooooooo!”

Ignoring the buck, Fleet Hoof took a few absent steps toward his workstation. Shifting several stacks of notepads to the side, he started paging through the leather-bound binders resting on the far wall.

Serenity glanced over at Happy as she followed, shaking her head as her magic shimmered to life around the talisman.

“Happy, be good. It was hard enough getting Fleet Hoof to listen as is.”

“...awwwhhh...”

A dull whimper escaped Happy’s lips as the talisman rose from the table and began to levitate away, depositing itself on one of the shelves of Fleet Hoof’s workstation with a light plink.

Fleet Hoof didn’t seem to notice. He continued to page through the entries before him, mumbling a few more words before turning back to the two other ponies in the room.

Serenity raised an eyebrow.

“Find something?”

The stallion shook his head, clearing his throat.

"It's nothing. I just remembered something from...a while ago. Just wanted to make a note of it.”

Serenity arched her eyebrow higher. A moment of silence passed as Fleet Hoof regarded her with an uncomfortable glance, his eyes shifting briefly to Happy before moving back to hers.

Not prodding any further, the mare nodded in Happy’s direction.

“So? Will you do it?”

Fleet hoof paused for a moment, brushing a hoof off on his lab coat before responding.

“Well...since you’ve been so insistent...and since both you and Red won’t seem to leave well enough alone otherwise...”

He coughed again as Serenity narrowed her eyes.

“...treating any health issues that arise in residents or guests of the settlement is technically my duty as the caravan’s medical officer.”

Fleet Hoof’s eyes drifted back to Happy. Ears perking up from his post-talisman pout, the gray buck tilted his head in response. The older stallion held his gaze for a few moments before looking back to Serenity.

“I’ll do what I can to improve his condition. But no guarantees. I’m a doctor. Not a magician.”

Serenity nodded, her frown easing a little.

“Good. That’s enough for me.”

Happy mirrored her nod. Magician-ponies were shifty after all. With their hat-rabbits and card-sticks. He’d only ever seen a picture of a cyan, purple-cloaked one in old posters—stars and swirls glimmering in the air around her—but he could tell they weren’t to be trusted.

Serenity turned her gaze back to Happy, the buck’s heart skipping a beat as she flashed him a warm smile. The suddenness of it had caught him off guard.

“Sound good to you, Happy?”

Rubbing his hooves bashfully, Happy averted his gaze, nodding as his cheeks grew warm.

“...heheheh…good song sound Happy listen think...heheheh…”

Serenity turned back to the doctor.

“Sounds like we have a deal then, Fleet Hoof. I’ll talk to Red and Val and make sure you get compensated for any supplies you need. If it ends up being too expensive—”

She glanced back at Happy again before shifting back.

“—I’ll see about pitching in some of my own caps, too. The talisman is yours to keep, as long as you keep up your end of the bargain.”

Fleet Hoof nodded, his earlier energy diminished somewhat. There was still a glint of interest in his eyes at the prospect of new knowledge, but there was another expression mixed in with it. A hint of hesitance, as if he was in the process of piecing something unpleasant together.

Happy tilted his head, furrowing his brow as the stallion turned toward him. For a moment, their gazes met, the doctor-pony's eyes flaring in a brief look of recognition before he turned away, coughing into his sleeve.

“That...that should be adequate then. I’ll...I’ll see about gathering the requisite materials.”

He turned, stepping away from both Happy and Serenity as he started reorganizing the papers on his workstation. Without looking back, he coughed again, raising a hoof in the air beside him to wave them off.

“That...that will be all for now. I’m very busy so...that will be all.”

Serenity and Happy exchanged a quick glance, mirroring each other with raised eyebrows. A moment later, Serenity shrugged, trotting over and giving his shoulder a gentle nudge.

“Come on, Happy. Let’s go. Victor should be making his way back here with Red soon."

"Liar! Deceiver! Taker of shinies!"

Happy glanced down, watching as a tiny, hunched-over Happy crawled onto his shoulder, thin strands of wet mane falling over its eyes.

"Nasty Serenities! Tricksy-trick Sereneties! Happy needs only..."

The tiny Happy let out a wet cough.

"...the specialish!"

The tiny Happy pointed to the shelf on Fleet Hoof's workstation where the talisman had been left.

Happy stuck out his tongue, making a spitting sound at the tiny gray buck.

Pshh. The shiny? He’d already forgotten about that.

Fwip.

"Yipe!"

Happy flicked his hoof, sending the tiny Happy arcing into the fiery chasm below. An amused smile crossed his muzzle as he shook his head.

Serenity wasn’t a lie-pony. The tiny Happy should have known that. Besides...

Happy glanced back over to meet Serenity’s gaze. Her aquamarine eyes stared back at him with a hint of curiosity, her proximity bringing a warmth to Happy’s cheeks.

Happy already had a specialish. She just wasn’t a shiny purple rock, was all.

***

“Flash Tech? Stripes’ outfit?”

“That’s what it says, Red. Look.”

“Vhat the pony says eez true.”

“Huh. That is Western Traders’ stamp of approval alright…”

Happy glanced at the three ponies standing in the center of the room, Serenity running a hoof over the faded invoice on the table as Red looked on from her side. Victor stood a pace or two back, talons folded in front of him as he leaned against the wall.

“Perhaps he eez expanding heez horizons? Transporting zem somevhere to trade out East?”

Serenity shook her head, braid shifting along her back.

“If that's the case, why bring them here in the first place? Most Flash Tech comes through here from out east. Shipping it west just to ship it back again doesn’t make much sense.”

Red brought a hoof to his chin.

“Mm. That does seem a bit off for Stripes. He’s not one to sit on product in hopes it’ll sell better down the road. Not that patient.”

Happy brought a hoof to his own chin, mimicking the motion. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but from the pensive stares he could see around the room, whatever they were talking about was quite the brain-puzzler.

A little, lab coat wearing, lavender unicorn sighed in the corner of his mind, blowing off a thick layer of dust and cobwebs from a long-unused bookshelf.

Happy nodded to himself.

Happy hard think-think from for Serenity-Red.

The lavender mare twitched as the gray pony's word-thoughts met her ears. Shaking her head, she stepped over to an old bank of rusty, faded computer terminals, begrudgingly tapping a few buttons as the circuits inside hummed to life.

Happy flopped his head to the side.

Stripes-ponies. He’d seen stripes-ponies before. On the alley wall where the ghoul-ponies had growled at him when he found the pink flappy-flap. Maybe the ghoul-ponies had painted stripes on this pony too?

The science-pony gave the terminal closest to her a few whacks.

Happy smooshed his cheek with a hoof.

What else?

Flashes. Sparks. Zaps. He knew what those were too. Sometimes ouchie. Sometimes pretty-pretty. In the wrong hooves, they could be dangerous.

What else?

A light bulb flickered to life above his head, the purple unicorn starting to eye the equipment before her with a wary expression. A coarse grating sound had began to rise up from one of the terminals.

Traders. Hat-ponies. Red and Serenity were traders, too. Trader ponies carried all sorts of things on them. Wrenches. Cram. Vacuum parts. Forks.

Ghoul-ponies. Zaps. Hat-ponies. Forks.

Happy’s eyes widened.

No. It couldn’t be.

The lavender mare in his head took a step back, tearing off one of the curtains behind her and fanning away the smoke that had started to billow from the vibrating terminal.

Happy brought his hooves to his muzzle, irises shrinking down to pinpricks.

No. It had to be. It all made sense now.

He whipped around toward the other three ponies in the room, taking in a massive breath and thrusting his hoof into the air beside him.

"Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmph!

The three other ponies turned in his direction, exchanging a brief glance with one another.

After a moment, Serenity raised a hoof, a faint look of concern on her face as she pointed in his direction.

“Um...Happy?”

The terminal at the lavender unicorn’s hooves burst into flame, a little alarm bell sounding in the background as sprinklers began to spray rusty water over Happy’s brain-space.

“Zappy ghoul-hat-ponies forks wagon-stripes purple!”

The terminal exploded in a plume of smoke, the lavender mare’s hair blasting out behind her into charred, pointed spikes.

Happy rolled back onto his haunches, sliding back into the wall as a wave of utter exhaustion washed over him. He didn’t even have the energy left to wait for the three ponies to thank him.

He waved a hoof in their direction, draping his other across his eyes.

“No thank-thank Happy needs. Sherpa ranger finder-pony Happy job.”

The gray buck sighed. His powers of deduction came at great cost. But if it was for Serenity and the others...

He nodded heroically, as sherpa ranger finder-ponies were want to do.

...he would bear it.

A long silence hung in the air.

“...okay then. Let’s try looking at it another way. What does Stripes have to gain by—”

Happy nodded, his eyes still obscured by his hoof.

Good. He'd leave it to Serenity to explain the finer points of his findings to the other two he-ponies in the room.

He bobbed his head in understanding.

Some ponies just needed a little more help to fully grasp the depths of his deductive genius. There was no shame in that. Not everyone could be a great sherpa-lock pony like him.

The sound of conversation continued for another fifteen minutes, the science-pony in his mind sighing as she swept up pieces of broken glass and charred metal.

Behind closed eyes, Happy offered her a small nod of approval as well.

Perhaps he’d take her on as a pupil someday when he was less busy with important detective work. The fire she'd started with that terminal was quite impressive, after all. She had potential.

“Happy?”

Happy’s ears perked up, his mental fatigue dissipating at the sound of Serenity’s voice moving closer. Glancing out beneath his hoof, he could see her trot in his direction, nodding towards the door. Happy could sense a bit of disappointment in her stance, despite the smile she offered him.

“Hey, Happy. I think we’ve figured out about as much as we’re going to today. Not much we can really do until Stripes decides to make his move.”

Happy closed his eyes, nodding in understanding.

Even if they knew about the forks, the ghoul-hat-ponies were crafty. Without any hard evidence, their wagon-stripes could zap away as they pleased.

He sighed, waving a hoof in the air beside him.

If only they had more purple.

Her glum aura disappearing, Serenity chuckled, shaking her head.

“Okay, mister. I’m not sure what you’re acting so smug about, but let’s get moving. I think we’ve got enough daylight left to show you a thing or two about Creek Bend before it gets late.”

She gave his shoulder a gentle nudge.

“Maybe find a job that keeps your hooves busy so you stay out of trouble?”

Happy blushed at the compliment, letting out a bashful giggle as he covered his muzzle with a hoof.

Serenity was such a smooth talker.

“Hey there Ser, mind if I grab him for a minute before ya go?”

Happy glanced back up to see Red clop over in their direction, flashing them a grin of his own.

Serenity shrugged.

“I guess I’m not in a hurry. Happy?”

Happy blinked, tilting his head in confusion. Red wanted to talk to him?

He tapped his hooves together in front of him, old memories coming to mind.

He wasn’t in trouble—was he?

Glancing to Red, and then back to Serenity, he nodded slowly.

Serenity smiled, giving Happy's head a quick pat.

“Hey. Don't worry. Red doesn't bite. You'll be fine.”

She nodded back to Red with a smile.

“Just don’t keep him too long though, Red. Victor and I were planning on showing him around before it gets dark.”

Red grinned, patting the yellow mare on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, missy, I won’t keep ‘em long.”

Serenity gave another nod, eyes passing over Happy as she turned toward the door.

“Happy, I’ll be out front with Victor when you two are done, okay?”

Happy gave another slow nod. He wasn't sure what he'd done, but he knew how these things usually went.

Serenity waved a hoof toward Red.

“Red.”

“Serenity.”

Across the room, Victor dropped back onto all fours, offering the two stallions a wave of his own as he followed the unicorn out.

“Ponies.”

“Victor.”

Red nodded in return, turning to Happy as the gray buck regarded him with a hesitant glance.

Seeing Happy's expression, the red stallion chuckled, lifting a hoof to the gray buck's shoulder.

Thump, thump.

“Don’t worry there, son. You’re not in trouble. Just wanted to grab your ears for a sec.”

“*Cough cough*”

Happy’s eyes widened, the heavy shoulder-thumps almost pitching him forward onto his muzzle.

Seriously, how did Serenity manage to withstand those so easily?

Steadying himself, the gray buck glanced back up at Red, cocking his head to the side.

He wasn’t in trouble, though?

Red chuckled again.

“Yer an easy read, aren’t ya? I like that, though. Good to see an honest buck wearing his thoughts on his sleeve.”

Red offered Happy one more friendly pat, a sharp crack radiating down the buck’s spine from the impact.

“Take a seat.”

With a heavy wumph, the stallion dropped down on his haunches beside Happy, tapping the floorboards beside him as an indication to do the same.

Wiping the blood from his chin, Happy nodded, head still listing to one side as he regarded the stallion with a curious stare.

This seemed different from the sit-talks his clanmates had had with him in the past. Those usually involved a lot more hoof-smacks and yell-shouts and head-spinnies.

The older stallion sighed, nodding into the air around him.

“I s’pose we haven’t quite had a chance to talk like this, yet, have we, Happy?”

He glanced down at the gray buck.

“Usually I try to find a few minutes to sit down with all the new members of the caravan on their first day, but it seems we got a bit turned around, didn’t we?”

Happy closed his eyes and nodded. It seemed Red had experienced his share of head-spinny sit-talks as well. He sympathized.

The larger stallion shifted, raising a hoof to the room around them.

“Ya see, Creek Bend’s been me and Valentine’s dream for a while now. A place for honest foalks to make an honest livin’.”

The stallion chuckled.

“Well, to be honest, it was Val’s dream first. She was just kind enough to bring an old farmin’ pony like me along for the ride.”

He looked back to Happy.

“Started off with just a few friends of ours. Warehouse. Daffodil. Mabel. A few others who’ve moved onto their own things since.”

Red waved a hoof as he spoke.

“Couple years went by. More ponies came on. Told their friends. Told their families. Gilly came along. Fleet Hoof. Victor and Vera. Ser.”

Happy nodded at the scribbly illustrations that came to mind at each of the stallion’s name-speaks.

A smile broke across Red’s face.

“Didn’t expect things to come together as well as they did, to be honest. I s’pose that just goes to show how many ponies out there are lookin’ for something to be a part of these days. Something a little warmer and close-knit than what the wastes usually have to offer.”

He nodded back toward the door. Happy followed his gaze.

“We take all types here. Anypony willing to put in a hard day’s work and give the ponies around them a fair shake.”

His eyes shifted back to Happy. Not quite sure how to react, the buck offered him an awkward, toothy smile.

Red returned the look with a faint smile of his own. He seemed to pause for a moment, considering his next words.

“To be honest...I won’t say Fleet Hoof was wrong to be a little cautious the other day. Val and I have been traveling for a while now, and we know that the world’s not always such a friendly place.”

The doctor-pony's yell-shouts from the other day sprang into Happy's mind. Serenity's responses as well.

Raiders are bad ponies.

Happy sunk back a couple inches, his ears drooping slightly.

Red’s gaze didn’t waver. While there was still compassion in his voice, there was a sternness there as well. One borne from years of trading and travel amid the harsh realities of the wastes.

“Now I’m not sure about your story, son. From the looks of it, you’ve had things pretty rough. There’s a few foalks here like that. With pasts they’d rather forget or choices they regret.”

Happy sunk a little deeper, his gaze shifting between Red’s eyes and the floor.

He could faintly hear the sounds of echoing voices in the distance.

Screams. Shouting. Sobbing.

Red rested another hoof on his shoulder, drawing the buck’s attention back toward him.

“I hold by what I said, though—Ser’s got an eye for finding decent foalk. She’s a smart cookie. Caravan’s a better place for it. Since she joined up with us, Val’s been teaching her everything she knows about the detailed bits of runnin' things. Negotiations. Trade routes. Caps valuations.”

The stallion smiled, staring off for a moment as a look of pride broke over his face.

“Val and I plan to leave her in charge of things someday. Once we’re ready to settle down from the trader life.”

Happy glanced back up as the stallion’s gaze shifted back to him once more.

“That in mind, if she’s gonna be runnin’ this place someday, she’ll have to make decisions on her own. Who to trade with. Who to hire on.”

Red leaned in a bit, cocking his head to the side. There was a moment’s pause as Happy drew back slightly, the stallion’s voice returning a bit softer than it had been before.

“Make sure ya live up to the faith she’s put in ya, alright?”

Happy closed his eyes, gears once again clicking away in the back of his mind.

Red’s words…

...their meanings…

...it was still hazy, but…

Happy winced.

...the feelings behind them…

...their intent…

Slowly, Happy opened his eyes, regarding the red stallion with a dim nod.

“Happy...do-do...Happy best...”

He squeezed his eyes shut again in concentration.

“...fly-crossers...cupcake eye.”

He nodded. He really meant it, after all.

Red let out a deep laugh, prompting the gray buck to open his eyes. Another heavy thump-thump of the stallion's hoof followed suit, bringing with it another chorus of pops and cracks in Happy’s shoulders.

“Ha-ha—I’m not quite sure what ya meant by that, son, but I can tell ya gave it a lot of thought.”

More pats. More cracks. Happy couldn’t feel his forelegs anymore.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine, though. If an old buck like me can make it this far with a little leg up, I'm sure you'll get the hang of things with Ser and the others there to teach you the ropes.”

The stallion stood up, mussing Happy’s mane with a hoof. Happy could feel his vision blur, his head swimming amidst a parade of pink, googly-eye-glasses-wearing ponies with balloon shaped cutie marks.

Ah. There were the head-spinnies.

Red gave him a nod.

“Now I know you’re new around here, but keep an eye out for her too, will ya? Ser can do just about anything she puts her mind to, but sometimes she takes on a little more than she can handle. Doesn’t always ask for help when she could use it. Bad habit of hers Val and I have been tryin’ to get her to work on.”

He grinned, flashing Happy a wink.

“So feel free to cause a little trouble for her. Help her realize it’s alright to inconvenience other foalks from time to time.”

Happy nodded, the world slowly settling back into place. They’d been talking so long he was starting to forget what the earlier parts of their conversation had been about, but if Red wanted him to watch out for Serenity, he would be the best protector-pony this trady-town had ever seen.

Tongue lolling out the side of his muzzle, he offered Red his firmest salute.

“Clang-armor Happy shopper wall stop!”

“Ha-ha! That’s the spirit!”

The red stallion chuckled again, making his way back over to the table at the center of the room.

“You can head back on out then, son. I won’t keep ya any longer.”

He grinned beneath his trimmed, golden beard.

“I’m sure you’d rather hang tight with Ser than a crusty old pony like me, anyhow.”

Happy bobbed his head. Serenity was the uncrustiest pony he’d ever met. Fluffy even. Bouncy.

Still holding his salute, the gray buck pushed off his haunches, stumbling towards the door in an awkward three-legged gait. He could hear the solemn hymn of armored metal-ponies in the background, a screechy off-pitch recorder carrying the patriotic tune as he left.

For a sit-talk, he’d actually enjoyed himself quite a bit. Red’s shoulder-thumps were still a bit head-spinny, but the lack of yell-shouts had actually made things kind of fun.

Stepping back into the light of afternoon, Happy narrowed his eyes, shifting his salute to shade his brow.

The small circle of wagon houses that made up the settlement stared back at him. He could see the ponies within it going about their day. Living. Working. Talking to each other on the streets.

There was a cerulean buck behind a small wooden stall, flipping over sizzling hay-skewers on a grill. Two mares chatted with each other, sharing a laugh in as they trotted through the square, shopping bags in hoof. An older couple—a brown mare and a gray stallion—sat on an old, faded bench, smiling as they waved at the small gaggle of fillies and colts running by.

The faint fuzziness that Happy had been feeling from time to time returned for a moment, the warmth spreading across his chest.

Creaky Bends seemed like a nice trady-town to call home-home, even if there were a few more rules than he was used to. Some ponies still seemed a little wary of him, but others like Red, and Valentine, and even the sometimes annoying griffon-pony Victor, were very smiley.

Happy's mind drifted back, the squiggly whine of a rewinding cassette tape playing across his mind.

All the gigglies and fuzzies and da-dunk!s he’d felt the last few days—even taking into account some of the scareds and sads and nervouses—it was like a whole new world had opened up to him. A bright world with with wagon wheels, and inventory, and brahmin, and robo-ponies, and settle-houses, and friend-ponies that darted around on his shoulders, wrestled with him in red car-boxes, poked at his tongue with doctor-sticks, and sat down for fun sit-talks with him.

And most of all—

“Happy!”

Happy glanced to his side. His squint fading as his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see Serenity waving at him a few hooves away, Victor standing beside her. He could see a bright smile break across her face, the sunlight catching her shimmering mane and coat, aquamarine eyes glinting in his direction without the faintest hint of hesitance or worry.

“There you are, silly buck. Over here. Victor and I were just trying to figure out a good place for you."

She pointed back over her shoulder.

"Red mentioned your run-in with Warehouse, but I think if we just have you focus on loading wagons once everything's already been packed, there’s a good chance we can—”

Da-dunk.

Happy’s hoof slid down to his chest, the beating of his heart noticeable, even through his barding. He still wasn’t sure what this feeling was, but the way it left him tingling...the way it made him feel…

He glanced back up at the yellow mare who had already started down the street, continuing to chat with the griffon at her side.

Placing his hoof back onto the ground, Happy started after her.

There was a lot he still didn’t understand…but. If it was for her—

He trotted forward, coming up alongside the mare and griffon, a smile breaking over his face.

—he’d do his best to learn.

*****

Level Up!
Perk Achieved!

Fresh Start: Wastelander, thy name is tenacity! Through brains, brawn, or pure dumb luck, you’ve held on long enough to finish the tutorial. Consider this one a freebie. We’ll call it square.

Your starting relationships with all base game factions has been reset to the default. As to how you decide to forge ahead in your new life with that in mind—the choice is yours.