Violet set off at an easy trot, headed into town. She felt refreshed from a good sleep after the previous day’s hike. She and Tigerbright had retraced their steps up to Tower Peak along the trail that the chakat had been working on establishing. They had paused at the top for a picnic lunch during which they got to watch a shuttlecraft landing at the spaceport from an unusual vantage point. After they had packed up, they elected to take another way back down to the settlement.

The unicorn soon discovered why the north route was not one of the chakat’s regular hiking trails. A series of ravines that were challenging to traverse lay across the most direct path. Tigerbright had yet to discover an optimal way of bypassing them, so the duo had to work their way around through dense foliage at times. It was difficult but she loved it. A well-maintained trail was great for traveling far in a short time to take you to highlights along the way, but working your way through virgin territory lets you discover hidden wonders and sights previously unseen by anyone before. The effort required was next to nothing for her and the chakat too. Despite her friend’s greater size, hir feline form seemed to weave its way past obstacles smoother and more easily than the pony.

They emerged from the forest at the edge of an area under development. From there, it was an easy trot into town. This route brought them past Violet’s apartment complex, so she invited Tigerbright in for a cup of tea. She divested herself of all the hiking gear before boiling the kettle and bringing out some cookies that she had bought on Fifthday. Hilariously, they discovered how cramped a one-pony apartment was when a chakat was a guest. Tigerbright ended up lying on the floor causing Violet to threaten to adopt her friend as a throw rug. Ultimately, Violet occupied the single chair. Still, the unicorn couldn’t complain about the far-from-luxurious conditions of her free accommodations.

The two discussed what they would do with the remainder of the day. Because Tigerbright had to go into the office the next morning, shi needed to get to bed early. “We chakats need more sleep than you ponies do, although I’m guessing you’re pretty tired too after today’s exercise.”

Violet had agreed. “I’ve also worked up quite an appetite,” she added.

“Tell you what – why don’t you freshen up while I go home and do the same. Come by my place when you’re ready and we’ll go into town to the Silver Saddle.”

“What’s that?”

“The best restaurant in town. Well, the only real restaurant in the colony so far. Give this place a few more years and there will probably be others. But it’s good for a more upscale meal than anywhere else on this island. Anyway, we can have dinner there – my treat.”

“You don’t have to spend your bits on me, but I appreciate it.”

The chakat snorted. “I get paid a lot for my job, but I don’t have much to spend it on. My home and utilities are all covered by the Chakonan government. I rarely have the need or chance to spend much, so I’ve just been stashing it away for the future. I sure don’t mind using some of it to have a nice dinner with a friend.”

It certainly had been a very nice dinner. Violet didn’t know why a chef of such high caliber was here in this colony town, but she very much appreciated every course from soup to dessert. Afterward, they walked casually back home, parting ways near the mare’s apartment. That time, the chakat initiated the hug before they bade each other goodnight. The fine meal and the day’s exertion had quickly made the unicorn drowsy. After setting an alarm, she had climbed into bed and was quickly asleep.

And now, Violet breathed in the crisp Firstday morning air as she headed for the bakery. Aside from her saddlebags, she was wearing a dark green vest today, only the second time she had worn any clothes since arriving at New Horizon. The blouse that she had worn to dinner the previous night had been the first. She turned the corner onto the main street where the bakery was located. The mare speculated that it was convenient to all the people coming from the residential area into town for work, and indeed, the shop was fairly crowded with customers seeking baked goods and coffee before proceeding to their jobs. To Violet’s surprise, Tigerbright was among them.

“Good morning,” she greeted the chakat.

Tigerbright turned, hir eyebrows rising in surprise. “Good morning to you too. You’re up early, aren’t you?”

“Yep. I’m going into the office to check-in for my new job.”

The chakat noted the blue stylized globe symbol on the pony’s clothing. “Well, that explains the vest, but why today? You arrived on Fourthday, so that means you still have three free days before you have to report in.”

“I came here to start a new career, not a vacation. I reckon these past few days that I have been spending with you were what I needed to be ready and raring to go.”

“Fair enough,” Tigerbright replied before stepping up to place hir order.

Violet was next, ordering a large café latte and a chocolate strudel. After the chakat received hir coffee and bag of baked goods, shi waited for the unicorn and they left together.

“The shop must do great business,” the mare commented as she headed off in the direction of her office.

“Oh, yeah,” Tigerbright replied, falling into step beside her. “It’s always busy at this time every day.”

“Every day? Even weekends?”

“You haven’t been here long enough to know that the working week is flexible on Chakona. Government jobs like mine, for example, go with five days’ work starting on Firstday plus a three-day weekend. You were lucky to meet me on Sixthday, the first of my days off. Other businesses operate differently. Manufacturers very often use a four plus four week. They have two shifts of workers who spend four days on the job then four days off while the other shift takes over. That way, operations can continue without interruption, barring public holidays. Same for shops which carry enough staff to open every day. Self-employed persons can set their own days. It’s a very convenient system.”

“What happens though if someone urgently needs some government service on your weekend?”

Tigerbright grimaced. “That’s the one major drawback of my job. If the situation demands it, then I’m effectively available eight days a week. That’s one reason why I’ve never been allowed to go off by myself for more than a day’s outing.”

Violet nodded thoughtfully. “I see. But if you were with someone else, say with me, then you’d have someone looking out for you in an emergency, so you’d be allowed to camp overnight?”

“Exactly.”

The mare laughed. “I see your cunning plan now. You’ve been buttering me up so that you can use me as an excuse to go camping!”

Tigerbright chuckled. “I’m so sprung! My subtle plan has been uncovered. Now I have to look for another sucker.”

“Nah. I’ve already been sucked in. We’ll talk about it again when I know exactly what I am assigned to do on which days.”

“I’d love that.”

Violet stopped outside a building with a sign declaring – ‘DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT’. “Well, this is where I have to report in. Wait – don’t you work at the office at the spaceport?”

“Yep.”

“Then, why have you been walking with me? Surely you’re not going to jog all the way to the spaceport?”

“Hardly. I’ll catch a PTV from here.”

“PTV?”

“Personal Transport Vehicle. I normally hail one at the bakery. I just wanted to chat with you until we got to your office.”

“Oh, I see. Thanks. I guess I’ll be seeing you sometime again soon.”

Tigerbright’s expression turned serious. “You’re welcome to drop by my place anytime, Violet. I mean it.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.” The unicorn then gave the chakat a quick hug before turning and heading inside.

There was a pegasus stallion sitting behind the reception desk. He immediately noticed the globe symbol on Violet’s vest before giving the mare a polite smile. “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“My name is Violet Woods. I’m here to report in for orientation for my new job.”

The stallion frowned and consulted the screen beside him. After a few moments, comprehension lit his face. “I see. You’re our new geologist. You weren’t due to report in until Fourthday, you know?”

“Yes, I know, but I’m ready to begin now if that’s not a problem?”

“Let me contact the department head.” He picked up the intercom and pushed a button. A moment later he spoke up. “There’s a mare named Violet Woods here reporting in early for her job as our new geologist. What do you want me to do?” He listened for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I’ll let her know.” Putting the intercom down, he turned his attention back to Violet. “Shady Glen will be out in a few minutes. Please take a seat while you wait.”

“Thank you.” The unicorn stepped away from the desk and made herself comfortable on a bench seat on the opposite wall.

Twelve minutes later, a brown-coated earth pony with a dark green mane and tail emerged from a nearby hallway. The middle-aged mare smiled upon seeing the waiting unicorn. She walked over and held up a hoof. “Violet Woods? I’m Shady Glen, Director of Geological Services. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Glad to be here, Director,” Violet replied, clopping her hoof with Shady Glen’s.

“While we weren’t expecting you for three more days, there shouldn’t be a problem getting you started. Of course, we need to get the paperwork out of the way first. Follow me to my office and we’ll get that started.”

Violet was given some forms to sign after the director confirmed the details of the unicorn’s employment and she formally accepted them. Then she was passed onto a zebra-morph assistant named Maria Causeway who introduced her to all the others in the department who were currently in the office. Then she had to sit through an orientation video. By the time it was finished, Violet’s official badge was ready, plus one other device.

The assistant held up a small dish holding a pill-shaped gadget the size of a grain of rice. “This is an ID implant that has been encoded with your details. With it, you can be automatically allowed access to any place you are authorized to enter. That includes both official and private usage such as to your home or PTV. However, it is completely optional as some ponies don’t like having devices implanted in their leg.”

The unicorn recalled seeing Tigerbright unlocking hir door merely by holding hir wrist to a sensor. “That sounds convenient and it doesn’t bother me.”

“Good. Our medical attendant has been trained in the implantation of these devices and we can get this done right away.”

The attendant was Doctor Hyrex, the violet changeling she had met earlier during the introductions. He gave her a welcoming smile. “I thought I would be seeing you again soon. We can get this done quickly. Sit on that chair and put your preferred foreleg up on the desk.”

Violet did as instructed, placing her left foreleg up. Hyrex levitated over a device into which he inserted the ID implant that the assistant passed to him. “Do you mind if I trim a small patch of your coat? It will make the job faster and easier.”

“Go ahead,” she replied.

He trimmed a postage-stamp-sized area just above the pastern joint which he then swabbed with a strong antiseptic.

“The next step will sting a bit. I could administer a local anesthetic if you prefer, but it isn’t too bad. Some ponies hate the feeling of numbness though.”

Violet chuckled. “I’ve probably done worse to myself on every field trip.”

“Oh dear,” said Maria Causeway. “Our newest employee is a trotting disaster area. An accident or three just waiting to happen. Our poor insurers will have a heart attack.”

If Violet hadn’t recognized the twinkle in the assistant’s eye, her smirk would have given her teasing away. The unicorn mare stuck out her tongue playfully then turned back to Hyrex. “Skip the anesthetic.”

“Very well. Please hold completely still while I perform the actual insertion.” He positioned the device then pushed a button.

Violet felt a sharp sting but managed to refrain from pulling her leg away. Hyrex lifted the device leaving nothing to show besides the trimmed hair.

“Excellent. The insertion has been successfully performed and the incision is completely sealed. You are good to go.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Violet said, careful to project strong gratitude to the changeling.

Hyrex smiled in pleasure at the tasty emotion. “You’re welcome, Ms. Woods.”

“What now?” Violet asked the assistant.

“Director Glen should have your initial assignment ready by now. You’ve been assigned an office for your use whenever you’re not in the field and you can go over it there.”

Violet was a little surprised to be getting her own office already, but when they got there, she understood why. It had a large range of equipment related to her job installed inside. It was clear that they needed her services badly enough to ensure that she had everything that she required to do her job thoroughly. This was going to be way better than the shared facilities back at her previous job. The catch was that she would have to do it all herself, but at least there would not be any delays waiting for her place in the job queue to come up.

However, the unicorn would not be using any of those today. Instead, the Director had left several folders on her desk with much more on computer files. The assistant helped her login for the first time before leaving the mare to her work. Violet spent all day poring over the aerial surveys, remote analyses, local surveying, and much more, pausing only for a lunch break. Her new colleagues pointed her to a sandwich shop that they liked, and Violet returned to her desk with a foot-long fish (tasted like tuna) and salad sub.

By the end of the workday, the mare knew she would have to spend the rest of the week in the office due to the great backlog, not to mention the training courses. She got the impression that there was much relief that she had begun her job early and her new co-workers appreciated that. At least, her empathic impressions had been overwhelmingly positive. It was good to know that she had started on a high note.

Violet bade everyone goodnight and trotted back to her apartment, filled with the satisfaction of a day of interesting work done. She dropped off her saddlebags and removed her vest before considering what she was going to do for dinner. There was always the cafeteria, but her thoughts inevitably turned to Tigerbright. She shrugged. “Well, she did say to visit anytime.”

Violet approached the chakat’s home from the beach side. Before she even got to the door, Tigerbright’s voice came from inside.

“Come on in!”

Smiling at her friend’s eager tone, the mare opened the screen door and stepped inside. She spotted Tigerbright at the kitchen bench, preparing food, protected by an apron that had ‘HUG THE COOK’ written on it.

The chakat looked up from hir work, smiled, and said, “Dinner will be in fifteen minutes.”

“How did you know I would be coming?” Violet asked.

“I didn’t, but I thought you might and hoped you would.”

“You’re going to spoil me.”

“Good. I haven’t had someone to spoil in ages. There’s only one catch.”

Violet raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s that?”

“My kitchen rules,” Tigerbright replied, pointing to the words on hir apron.

The mare grinned and gave the chakat the requested hug. “Best rules ever!”

# # # # # # #

Author's Note

Happy New Year! Have another chapter. While I'm on holiday, I have time to pump out more frequent updates.

Art by Foxenawolf. (Hyrex modified by me.)

Here's a zoom in on the map to the New Horizon settlement area: