//------------------------------// // First Words // Story: Free to a Good Home // by Marshylawl //------------------------------// After waking up to Rainbow Dash breaking the front door after attempting to fly without knowing how to, you have come to the conclusion that you need to get a new house; and that you need to teach her how to fly. You scrape together various bills lying around the house, and check your bank account. It seems that altogether you have about $55,000. I guess spending and not receiving will do that. You sigh quite loudly, knowing that a new job will be necessary to not only buy a new house, but to also fix your car. Rarity trots up and nuzzles your leg as you sit down on the couch, possibly noticing your grief-stricken face. You gently stroke her rather regal violet mane, twirling the curls around your fingers. Without skipping a beat, Applejack gallops at full speed towards Rarity, and knocks her out of place, sending her sliding across the hardwood flooring. Applejack quickly looks up at you with an ear to ear grin on her face; rather devious, waiting for you to give her attention. “Ha, aren’t you a little jealous today?” With that statement, Applejack blushes a little, and looks towards her hooves; making sure to hide her face behind her mane. A frazzled looking Rarity appeared to be contemplating revenge against Applejack, until shrugging it off and trotting away with an obnoxious “Hphm!” -- After a couple of hours searching around the internet for a new job, you appear to have found one that peaks your interest. It’s a stay-at-home job, in which all you need to do is type out data entries for the local Children’s Hospital; which is something you can do within half an hour! I guess all those hours on that computer will now serve a purpose… After signing up, you turn off your monitor and open the door from your study room; until you notice a small violet filly, Twilight Sparkle, looking up at you, holding the ‘How to Teach a Baby to Speak’ book in her mouth. I remember when mom gave me that… She plops it down on your feet, and taps it twice with a hoof; before looking up at you with puppy eyes. “Oh, okay. I will.” You have noticed that since Applejack and Rainbow Dash made a huge mess of the living room after one of their games of let’s chase each other around the house until we break something, they have finally stopped; for the time being. For now they are sleeping on your bed; all the chasing has used up every last bit of their energy. You chuckle at the thought and saunter over to the couch. Hopefully these next few hours will finally prove to me that I can actually teach someone something. Gesturing Twilight to join you on the couch, she gives you a grin and hops up to join you on the couch. Twilight trots over to your side of the couch, and snuggles close to you. You can feel her struggling and shifting around to find a more comfortable position… on your lap. She snuggles a bit closer, and rests her chin on your forearm, before letting out a small huff. “Alright, let’s start here. Can you say... hello? Just like that: He-llo. Come on Twilight! You can do it.” Twilight stares at the word, and then cocks an eyebrow. She looks up at you, confused, then back down to the word. “Come on, you can do it! Repeat after me: Hello, He-llo. You can do it!” She quietly clears her throat, and then, without skipping a beat… “He- hello..?” Your heart stopped. Did… did she just say it? “Hello! Hello?” Twilight said, testing out the word in different pitches. She… she did it! “Yes, yes! You did it!” This is the most proud moment in your entire life. You just not only witnessed one of your daughter’s first words, but taught it to her! Twilight notices your expression, and smiles, jumping up on your lap. “Hello! Hello? HELLO!” “Okay, okay, now try… daddy?” Might as well give it a try… “D-d-“ Please? Oh sweet Celestia please… “D-d-daddy..?” “Yes, yes you did it!” You quickly quiet down again, seeming that you have gotten too loud; your happiness overpowering your volume. This calls for a celebration. Soon enough, the other five of your little fillies enter the room, confused about what was going on. As soon as Fluttershy turned the corner into the living room, Twilight greeted her with a quick ‘Hello!’ which did not sit well with Fluttershy; you have been trying to get her out of your closet since. Twilight trots up to the closet, and knocks on the door once with her hoof, and emits a small “Hello..?” as she wipes away tears; feeling only guilt since scaring her friend. Fluttershy quietly opens the door, just a peak; only to see Twilight with a reassuring smile, gesturing her to come out. Fluttershy steps out, as quiet as a mouse, greeted by a quick nuzzle by Twilight. So she can speak… -- As the sun started to set below the horizon, you saw a brilliant display of maroon casting over the lake behind your house; peacefully glistening over the clear, soothing waters. That lake was the only part of your entire property that held any aesthetic value whatsoever. Selling this house would depend on the customer taking a liking to the lake. Maybe I should take my fillies out skating on the pond during the winter… heck Pinkie’s a pretty good skater according to Winter Wrap Up; just have to keep Twilight away from there. You chuckle at the visual of your little Twilight attempting to skate. Speak of it, where are they? You begin to search around the house, high and low, scanning every nook and cranny of your house to find your little daughters… A wave of panic sets in as you have searched almost everywhere, but your bedroom. “But haven’t I looked there already?” Just to be sure, you go to check again. Slowly opening the door, slow enough for it to creak quite loudly, you step into the dimmed room. You could hear a few muffled giggles coming from your closet. “Well, I guess they aren’t in here… I’ll just be going now.” You stop your feet a few times, and close the door shut. Tiptoeing up to the closet doors, you finally reach out for the handle; wait a few seconds… “Surprise!” You are taken back by the amount of force those six fillies pushed against you with. As if they knew you were still in the room, your little fillies pushed out and knocked you onto the bed when you opened the closet door. Falling back onto the bed, trying to regain composure; only to be knocked right back down by Rainbow Dash flapping her tiny cyan wings as quick as a hummingbird’s, straight for your chest. You lie on the bed, as Pinkie Pie bounced around you, laughing as hard as her lungs could handle. Twilight and Applejack jumped up onto the bed, giggling and prodding your stomach with their hooves; Rarity playfully stomped her little white hooves on your chest. Followed by Fluttershy, who did not have a role in the surprise counter-attack, but shyly jumped up to the bed and nuzzled you, probably thinking they hurt you. You all laughed and laughed, until one by one, your little fillies started to drift off to sleep, one by one; in the bed. You were the last of the group to fall asleep, even beating Pinkie Pie, who was the last your fillies to doze off. You slowly started to rest, until Pinkie Pie startled you, poking you with her brightly pink hoof. Looking around on your bed to see if you woke anypony up, which you didn’t, you look back to Pinkie. She stared up at you with her dazzling baby blue eyes; you wished you could read minds. You give a weak smile, obviously tired out. Without invitation, she takes this as a yes and snuggles up to you; she finally gets into a comfortable position as you lay your arm over her. Pinkie soon falls asleep; the only sounds on the bed were the small, delicate noises of breathing, as all of your fillies are fast asleep. You decide to call it a night, as your legs can no longer move due to a certain cyan filly sleeping on top of them. “Goodnight, my little ponies…” you very lightly whisper, before finally getting some shut-eye. -- After weeks of determination, you have finally taught Twilight the basic necessities of speaking English. She now can respond to you, and also read at a sixth grade level; and after landing that job for the hospital, you can finally hold a proper celebration. You decide to stick with a cake, and some balloons you got from the local store. It has only been a couple of months… you remember all the memories of these past few months, all the happy memories; when you found them on your doorstep, Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s first broken lamp… Twilight’s first words. It was the happiest moment of your life, one of your daughter’s first words. The single moment you have never felt better. You didn’t notice Twilight trot up to you, which caught you completely by surprise. “Hello? Daddy?” Twilight looked up at you with her usual puppy eyes. Damn those puppy eyes. Yes, my little Twilight?” You could catch Twilight blushing a little every time you called her that; the main reason you try to call her that as much as you can. “Cou- could they learn too?” She then pointed a hoof towards your other five fillies, all have puppy eyes mode: activated. Argh not the puppy eyes again; they must know it’s my weakness… “Sure! Why not?” “Th-thanks!” Twilight then gave your leg a quick nuzzle, then returned to her friends, them as well filled with joy. You will still have to help Twilight more with her speaking, as she is having trouble with certain words; and has a usual stutter when she tries to fix her mistakes mid-sentence. On second thought, let’s save the celebration for when they ALL can speak. You then sneakily put the cake in your freezer; saved for a better day. You turn back to Twilight, whom is currently trotting off. “Hey Twilight?” She quickly turns her head back, now looking at you. “Yes?” “Will you help me teach the others?” With that, Twilight started to blush, a rose pink rising from her amethyst cheeks. She looked down, trying to hide her blushing from her father. Slowly but surely, a grin appeared on her face as she looked up towards you. “Of c-course I will, daddy.”