It was a beautiful morning in Equestria. The sun had just begun to rise and so had many of the animals. Little critters came out of their homes and birds went out of their nests to herald the day, chirping happily. Rosalia yawned and stretched as she arose.
"Ah! I had such a great dream last night..." She rubbed her eyes to get all the sleep out and looked around her. To her astonishment; the little wooden filly lay beside her!
"It... It wasn't a dream!" Rosalia laughed. "It... It was real! You are real."
She still couldn't believe her wish had come true. This little wooden filly was now her pride and joy, and she was her dear mother. She quickly crawled out of bed and trotted over to the other side where FIllynocchio was sleeping. She placed her hoof on her shoulder and shook her gently.
"Filly, Fillynocchio, it's time to wake up honey." She spoke softly. The wooden filly stirred and rolled over. She sat up, yawned, and slowly opened her eyes.
"Is...is it morning yet?" She asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"It is dear, time to start our first day as a family," Rosalia replied.
Once Fillynocchio was fully awake, she jumped off the bed and trotted over to her mother. Rosalia placed the yellow cap on her head, and the filly gave her a hug. Twinkle heard them moving around and woke up.
"Ah! Well, good morning you two." He yawned and stretched his pawns.
"How did you sleep, Twinkle?" Rosalia asked. She still couldn't believe her little bunny assistant was now able talk.
"Pretty good, actually." Twinkle replied, putting on his little jacket and hat that Princess Luna had given him. He hopped over to the two ponies. Fillynocchio knelt down and nuzzled his face.
"Well now, how about I make breakfast for all of us?" Rosalia suggested.
"What's breakfast, mommy?" Fillynocchio asked. But before Rosalia could explain, Twinkle stepped in.
"You go Miss Rose; I'll explain to her." Twinkle offered, eager to begin his duty as Fillynocchio's conscience.
Twinkle took Fillynocchio into the living room and started explaining a few things to her while Rosalia made breakfast for everyone. A few minutes later they were all sitting at the kitchen table. Rosalia prepared some carrots, oats, and apple juice for herself and her new daughter. And for Twinkle she prepared some cucumbers and celery sticks.
"Alright everypony and bunny, dig in!" Rosalia chuckled.
"Thank you, Miss Rose," said Twinkle, biting into a slice of cucumber.
"Yes, thank you, mommy," Fillynocchio replied happily.
Rosalia took a seat and started eating her breakfast. As she and the bunny ate their food, Fillynocchio stared at her plate. She still wasn't sure how to eat.
"Fillynocchio, is something wrong dear? you haven't touched your breakfast." Rosalia asked, noticing the food still on the filly's plate.
"How do I get into my belly?" She asked looking at her mom.
"Like this honey," Rosalia picked up a piece carrot and demonstrated how to eat. Fillynocchio picked up a piece of carrot and tried to mimic her mom but couldn't seem to bit down.
"Mommy, it's not working," She said.
Rosalia could see her daughter was still having trouble eating and trotted over to her.
"Hmm, sweetie, open your mouth for mommy," Rosalia asked curiously, rubbing her chin with her hoof. Fillynocchio opened her mouth, and Rosalia looked inside. Now she could see what the problem was. There was no area in her mouth where food could go down and be digested. Rosalia thought since the Princess made her alive she had given her the ability to eat and breath, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
"Oh dear!" Rosalia felt worried.
"What's wrong mommy?" Fillynocchio asked.
"I'm sorry dear, but it seems you can't eat after all." Rosalia frowned sadly. She should've known that Fillynocchio couldn't eat like a normal filly since she was made out of wood. This also meant she couldn't do all things normal ponies could do. She'd have to remember that since she'd probably do other things different in the future.
"Is it because I'm not real?" Fillynocchio asked, frowning in disappointment.
"Yes, dear... But you are alive, and that's all that matters to me." Rosalia smiled, putting her hoof around her. Seeing her mom was happy, Fillynocchio forgot about being sad.
"Ok, mommy," Fillynocchio perked up and hugged her mom. As long as Rosalia was happy, she was happy too.
"Why don't you go play in the living room, while I finish my breakfast?" Rosalia suggested.
"Ok," Fillynocchio hopped out of her chair and trotted into the living room. Rosalia sat down and tried to finish her breakfast, but she still felt guitly.
"Are you okay, Rosalia?" Twinkle bunny asked.
"I should have thought about it before I gave her some food, Twinkle," Rosalia sighed. She was still new to being a mother, and she also had to deal with the fact that her daughter was different. "If I'm going to be a good mother to her, I have to make sure to consider her limitations to make life easier for her."
"Don't upset yourself, Rosalia. I'm sure you'll be a great mother. I'm always here if you need help," Twinkle said, doing his usual salute.
"Thank you, Twinkle, I know I can always count on you, my long-eared friend," Rosalia smiled.
~
After breakfast, Rosalia and Twinkle spent the rest of the morning playing with Fillynocchio and teaching her many things about the world and everything in it. She was very curious about new things and very eager to learn. She was also very energetic. Later in the afternoon there was a knock at the door.
"Hello? Rosie, it's Flora, are you home?"
Rosalia panicked. Flora may be her closest friend but she wasn't sure how she would react to seeing a walking, talking wooden marionette pony.
"Twinkle, take her into my bedroom while I talk with Flora!" She instructed him.
"Gotcha! Come Filly, let's go play in mom's room for a bit," said Twinkle trying to get her to follow him out of sight.
"Alright," Fillynocchio replied following him into the bedroom. Once they were out of sight, Rosalia answered the door.
"Oh! Hello Flora!" She said cheerfully.
"Rosey! We haven't seen you for over a week! What have you been doing all this time?" Flora asked.
"I'm sorry dear, I've been very busy on a very special project I didn't realize how much time had passed, " Rosalia explained, feeling a little guilty.
"Well, why don't you come with me to the café? Violet's already there and you can show us what you've been working on." Flora suggested. Rosalia hesitated.
"I can't! ...I-I mean, it's not quite ready yet. Why don't you go ahead without me, I'll meet you both there in a little while," she said nervously.
"Are you alright dear? you seem nervous," Flora asked curiously. She had known Rosalia for a long time and could always tell if she was hiding something or if something was bothering her.
"I'm fine dear; It's just that I want it to be a surprise. I know you're going to love it, especially little Jezebel," Rosalia with a smiled.
"Well alright, we'll see you at the café dear." And with that Flora trotted away as Rosalia closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief. After her friend had left, Rosalia walked into her bedroom and found her daughter on the bed with the bunny looking at a picture book. When she walked in, the filly jumped off the bed and trotted over to her.
"Who were you talking to, Mommy?" Fillynocchio asked curiously. Rosalia hesitated for a moment. She still wasn't sure what everypony in town would think of her, but she knew she couldn't keep her hidden from the outside world either.
"Fillynocchio dear, would you like to come outside with mommy, I'm going to meet some friends of mine and I think they would really like to meet you." she told her daughter.
"Oh! Yes, yes, yes! I want to go outside and see all the amazing things and meet all the ponies!" Fillynocchio cheered hopping up and down with excitement.
"OK, OK, settle down dear, let's get ready to go," Rosalia went to get her saddle bag and prepared to take her new filly out in the world for the first time.
"Aren't you coming too, Twinkle?" Fillynocchio asked looking back at the little bunny.
"Nah, I think your mom can handle you on her own for a while. Besides, someone's got to stay and look after the house," Twinkle replied.
"Thank you, Twinkle, we'll be back later in the evening," Rosalia told him. She opened the door and led her new filly out into the world.
As they walked through the town on their way to meet Flora and Violet, a few ponies standing around and passing by stared at them in amazement. Rosalia felt a bit nervous. She knew ponies weren't used to see wooden marionette's moving by themselves. Fillynocchio was too distracted by all the new and wonderful sights around her. Her eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement.
"Wow! Look at that! What's that? Ooh, look at that!" She said, looking around, barely able to contain herself. Suddenly she started trotting faster, and before Rosalia could react the filly took off running into the crowd as fast as she could.
"Fillynocchio stop! Come back here!" Rosalia shouted chasing after her, but the wooden filly was so quick she could barely keep up and before she knew it, she had disappeared into the crowd.
"Oh no! Where did she go? Fillynocchiooo!!" Rosalia started to worry, how could she lose her so easily? She trotted into the market square looking everywhere, but she didn't see the wooden filly anywhere. Maybe she should have brought Twinkle along after all.
"Excuse me sir, did you see a little wooden pony run by here?" She asked a passing stallion, but he hadn't seen her. Rosalia trotted on, searching and searching, when suddenly she heard a loud crash. She hurried to the direction she heard the noise from and saw a stall with wooden shelves knocked over and broken dishes everywhere. She trotted up to an orange mare cleaning up the mess and asked her what happened.
"A young foal wearing a yellow hat knocked over by display and took off running!" said the angry mare as she picked up the broke plates.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so terribly sorry ma'am!" Rosalia took off in the direction the mare pointed. Suddenly she heard another crash and this time followed by an angry voice.
"Stop thief! That filly just stole an apple from me!" When she arrived she saw, a fruit stand toppled over with apples, oranges, and pears scattered all over the place.
"Oh no! I'm very sorry sir!" She apologized again, hurrying along, fearing what might happen next. Then, from the corner of her eye she spotted the wooden filly hurrying along with an apple in her mouth slipping past several ponies exiting the market.
"Fillynocchio stop right there!" Rosalia shouted stomping her right hoof. Fillynocchio froze in her tracks, turned around and saw her mother standing just a few feet away.
"You come here this instant!" She demanded stomping her hoof again. The wooden filly trotted over to her and was frightened by the angry look on her face. When Rosalia saw the apple in her mouth, she was very displeased.
"Drop it!" She ordered her as the filly opened her mouth releasing the apple she took. "Just look what at what you've done!" She said pointing to all fallen stands and broken things that she caused
"You are in BIG trouble little filly, when I tell you not to do something I expect you to listen, do you hear me!" She scolded her fiercely.
Fillynocchio felt frightened by her mother's angry.
“I-I'm sorry!" She started crying. Even though she couldn't produce any tears, her wailing was so loud every pony in town could hear her for miles away. Rosalia realized she had been too harsh on her, and put her hooves around her.
"Now, now, please don't cry, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that," she said trying to make her stop crying. After a few minutes, the filly finally started to settle down.
"Listen sweetheart, you mustn't run off like that and you shouldn't take things without asking, do you understand dear?" She spoke softly trying to explain to her filly the consequences of her misbehavior. Fillynocchio felt very ashamed of what she did and making her mother so angry.
"Y-yes mommy, I promise to be good and listen you from now on." She sobbed hugging her mom.
Once they had reached a common ground, Rosalia took Fillynocchio back into the market. She made her return the apple she had stolen and apologize to all the ponies for the trouble she had caused. Rosalia offered to pay for the damage, but when she explained that the filly didn't know any better and she had just become a mom, the ponies decided to let them off just this once. Rosalia was very grateful for the ponies for being so understanding and hoped no more accidents would occur as they continued to their destination.
end of chapter-4