I rediscovered A Happy New Home about six months after it was originally written. I was so ashamed of how badly it had turned out. I decided to completely rewrite it, even though I never submitted it to the Neopian Times again. So here it is. Same story. Same characters. Totally different way of telling the same tale.
Nicky had everything going for her. She had a great home, great owner, and so many friends at her house. However, something was wrong. Her owner just wasn’t acting the same way. On one fateful day, she found out why, and found herself in the Neopian pound.
“I just don’t understand. How could my owner just abandon me like this?” Nicky complained, over and over again. “I mean, really. Everything was going great, and all of a sudden, this? I’m just a Blue Mynci, so nobody is going to pay attention to me. I hate it here. They don’t feed me anything. The only way I would get out of here is if someone wanted to somehow zap me…”
These thoughts continued to turn over in her head. About a week later, a pet owner came in. Now, from the very beginning, Nicky could tell there was something odd about the owner. She didn’t seem to be like the others that Nicky had listened to. Her name seemed to be Courtney, and she had gotten…a Green Quiggle before? Was that right? No, surely not. Nobody liked the plain pets… But Nicky couldn’t help but get a little excited. Could this be her ticket out of here? She looked at all the other animals, and saw that they were not excited. But she just had to be. This had to be what she had been waiting for…
“…And so, that is my reasoning for wanting a plain pet this time,” said the voice. Nicky looked up, and saw a young-looking girl enter into the room with Dr. Sloth.
“So you’re saying you’re wanting one for the lab ray that you may or may not get?” Sloth inquired.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“And so what happens if you decide against purchasing the ray?”
Courtney sighed. “How many times do I have to go over this? I will love and care for them as much as I do my other pets back at home. I don’t believe in pounding them, I believe in saving them.”
Nicky could hardly believe what she heard. An owner that actually doesn’t believe in pounding pets? She was trying to process this when suddenly…
“Dr. Sloth, this Mynci is adorable and perfect!” squealed Courtney.
“Ah, I see you found Nicky. She’s been in here about a week. She hasn’t been doing much, so I suppose you could take her.”
“And I want to. How much?” Courtney inquired.
Nicky was so happy. She was going home! She was paid for, and out of the pound with her new owner.
“So is it true that you really don’t believe in pounding pets?” Nicky asked.
Courtney looked at Nicky and smiled warmly. “Of course. I hate going in to the pound and seeing all of those poor pets… Oh, let’s go in here and get you something to eat.”
While they were eating, Nicky asked about the kind of pets she was going to be living with.
“Oh, they will just love you!” Courtney said. “You will be living with Intodracola, a Cloud Koi who was given to me by a friend who moved away, “Bea, a Macratite Usul whom I created, and Sue, a Baby Wocky, whom I created and was my first pet. She was originally Blue, but then Boochi got of her, and she’s been Baby ever since.”
The two finished eating and started walking ome. As expected, all the pets loved Nicky, and made her feel right at home. Courtney actually got her lab ray, and started zappy Nicky. Since then, she has been Baby, Red, Spotted, a Red Yurble, Ghost, and Snow. She was also turned to a he, thanks to the ray. Every single time he changed, the other pets always loved him, just as he was, and helped customize him accordingly.
If Nicky was sure of one thing, it was this: Although he liked being a Snow Yurble, he would be glad with whatever he was, and he loved his happy new home.