Back in the Saddle

Back in the Saddle is a tutorial quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Synopsis
After being cleared as stable by Doc Mitchell, he urges the Courier to talk to Goodsprings local ranger Sunny Smiles who can teach them how to fend for themselves in the wasteland and not get shot in the head again.

Walkthrough

 * 1) To complete the quest, the player has to go to the Prospector Saloon and talk to Sunny Smiles. After a brief exchange, she will volunteer to show the player the ropes.
 * 2) The first stage is shooting. Sunny will give some basic pointers on shooting technique and ask the player to shoot three bottles out of the empty ones lines up on the fence. Running out of ammo for the varmint rifle or dropping it to the floor will result in Sunny giving the player 30 more rounds, but only once.
 * 3) The player can choose to accompany Sunny to Goodsprings source to the south, to clear out the geckos or to end the tutorial.
 * 4) At the source, Sunny will demonstrate stealth and the importance of sneaking. Getting the drop on the geckos gives guaranteed criticals. There are three wells to clear. If the player is fast enough, they can manage it before  the Goodsprings settler dies, receiving three bottles of purified water in return and a reputation bonus at Goodsprings. It's possible for Cheyenne to die at this point, resulting in Sunny letting emotions get the better of her, then apologizing for her outburst.
 * 5) The quest ends when the player talks to Sunny afterwards. Alternatively, the player can end it after killing the geckos at the first or third well.

Behind the scenes

 * The title of the quest is a cultural reference to the song "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry and Raymond Otis Whitley.

Bugs

 * The script for the settler's conversation might fail to trigger, causing her to go back to Goodsprings crouched.
 * Sunny's scripting may be broken by random creature attacks. Nudging her towards quest nodes (outside the rear entrance to the saloon, at the gun range etc.) may help the script along.