"Dad! Wake up!"

It's far too early. You don't open your eyes, but you know it's too early.

"Mhhh."

"Come on daddy, its noon already!"

You just grumble and mumble in your pillow.

"Jus' go watch tv or some shit... zzzz"

*Gasps*

"MOOOOOOOM! DAD SAID SHIT!"

SHIT!

Your eyes open wide and you're filled with energy you never thought you had, jumping out of bed and turning to them.

"N-No! No I didn't!"

Your two girls turn to each other, knowing grins on their face. The older one snort, followed by the other's chortling.

"Ppfft hahhahha."

You just stand there, blinking.

"Wha-what am I missing here??"

Buttercup is the one regaining her composure first.

"Hehe~ Mom went out to pick something up and told us to wake you up~"

You sigh, heavily, before dropping your ass down on the bed, rubbing the sleep away from your eyes.

"You fooled me!"

"I did!" She grins.

"You're evil."

"Mom said I took it from you."

"And too smart for your own good."

"She said I took that from her."

"W-well you shouldn't listen to your mother so much!"

"She also said you'd say that~"

You grumble some more and get up.

You've got things to do.

But not before...

The moment your eyes meet, she knows it's already too late.

She still tries to turn and run away, but your arms are much too fast and your legs much too long for her to escape.

"EEEEP~"

A big wet kiss later, you let her go, trotting out of the chamber, wiping it with a big smirk.

You don't need to use force to get Pearl, the girl twin, she just giggles when she looks at you and then jumps at you, giving you one of her own.

"Hurry up daddy, auntie rarara is coming soon!"

"Yeah, just give me a minute..." She nods and follows her big sister's footsteps.

An hour later

*bambamtshhhbamdumdumdumBAM*

Ugh.. Why did she have to pick this?

Why did you buy it, what did you think would happen?

Not a piano, not a guitar, not that beautiful ukulele.

She had to pick the drums.

*Badumtsshh*

You step in front of her open door and get ready to negotiate.

"Melody, I know you love this thing but couldn't you--"

A loud rattling from behind interrupts you.

You blink and step back, looking in the general direction of the hubbub.

What now?!

"Faster! Faster! Hhahahah"

A vehicle. Not unlike a racing cart, comes out of the turn at near terminal velocity.

"Watch out dad!"

You barely have the time to get out of the way, the vehicle driving past you at breakneck speeds, dark smoke in its trail.

Adrenaline starts pumping and you fear, for you, but mostly for your kid.

"ROCKET! Stop this thing right now!"

"I can't! I forgot the brakes!"

The sound of a palm hitting a forehead can be heard throughout the whole castle.

What's going on inside this head of his?!

Why is this kid so stup-

Buttercup is right next to you. Smirking.

"Mom says he takes it fro-"

"You! Zip it!"

And you start running after the death machine.

A floor lower and you're not on its tail anymore, it's much too fast for you.

"Huff.. huff.."

Where the fuck did he get this thing?!

And why is there an engine on it?!

Your heart skips a beat and you gasp when you hear a loud crash, followed by screams.

You can feel all the colors fade from your face and a cold chill run all the way down your back.

That's it, he killed himself!

He finally did it!

You run faster than ever, finally arriving on the scene.

One of the many unused guest rooms, he crashed through the door and ended his course in the huge double-sized bed.

Or what's left of it, the wooden beams' the machine hit have flown all around the room.

It did stop it, but it didn't turn it off, its wheels still turning and screeching against the hard floor.

"Rocket?!"

"Ahhhhh..."

He groans, seemingly in pain.

You don't need much more, the heaviest sigh you ever had leaves your mouth.

He's alive, at least.

You run to his side, nearly stumbling through the debris spread around the room, tears threatening to leave the corner of your eyes.

"Rocket?! A-are you hurt?!"

You take a good look around him, verifying any kind of open wound or limbs missing.

He just groans when you start moving his arms around looking for anything out of place.

"I'm okay dad..."

You can't believe he's okay.

Then you try to get him out, but something stops you.

He wore a seatbelt.

"A belt!"

"Oohhhh-thank god you had a fucking belt!"

"Well duh, I'm not dumb!"

You blink.

You didn't really expect this kind of response.

So you chuckle, nervously.

You're mad, you're really mad at him, but you're also relieved, so so so relieved he's okay, so you chuckle.

He frowns for a second, but joins you, soon enough.

By now you're both laughing like fools, while the engine is still whirring.

"What happened in here?!"

"He did what?!"

She's furious. She's right to be.

"S-Sorry..."

He's crying by now.

Surely more because of his mom's tone than what he just did.

"I leave the house for one hour, and this happens?!"

"D-Do you have any idea what could've happened?!"

He just sniffs the fluids running out of his nose, trying to evade his mother's glare.

You plop a hand on top of his head and ruffle his hairs.

"It's okay, he's okay. That's the important part."

Then her glare switches target.

Woops, engage plan B.

"Buuuut, she's right to be mad at you."

Her frown deepens.

"Aaannndd.. you understand that, right?"

Her eyes finally switch to your kid once again.

He just nod, then wipe his tears and his running nose using the end of his shirt.

"Good, give her a hug now."

You don't need to give him a push, he's already nuzzling his mother's neck when she reaches out for him with a hoof.

She gives you another look.

She's scared, really scared.

You can understand why.

So you simply joins them both for a moment.

"I-Is he okay?"

Your second son, Lucky, is watching from the doorstep, his twin sister's head poking out from behind him.

Twilight turns her head towards them and is the first to respond.

"Yes, yes your brother is fine. He just..."

She frees him from the hug and retreats a bit, to end up face to face with him.

She sighs.

"He just did something really, really dangerous. Something he won't ever do ever again."

He nods quickly before getting pulled back in his mother's hug.

A loud outburst coming from the machine startles everyone.

Puffs of dark smoke leaves its front hood, filling the room with a smell you know.

But it can't be.

So you decides to step towards the dying machine, its wheels slowing down again and again, before they stop completely, the beast's engine following suit, its roar becoming a hum, then stopping altogether.

You climb in front of it and examine the hood.

You open your mouth to ask him how the hell one go about opening it, but a press of a finger and a click later, it opens up.

You take a mouthful of smoke, backing away coughing everything.

That's the smell of gasoline. Or something close to it.

How in all hells did he get this here..?

Once the smoke dissipates, your hands waving around to accelerate the process, your eyes finally have access to the beast's heart.

That's an engine. And it's human in nature.

There are magical thingies here and there, gems seemingly floating in thin air, but everything else is just like a real car.

There's the pistons, a fancy carburetor, a radiator, and...

To be honest, you have no idea, you're not a mechanic and never really tried or wanted to be one.

Seeing the astonished look on your face, your wife joins your side, Rocket joining his siblings in the entrance.

You hear something along the lines of 'That was awesome', but your brain is too busy right now.

"What.. is this thing?"

You shake your head in response.

"I.. I don't really know. I-It's.. an engine. I guess."

"An engine? But he's only 8, there's no way he can have the magical knowledge to make something so advanced!"

"No, no, it's not magical, or at least it's not just magical. Just.. look."

You point towards every parts you can name, designing them as such and explaining their purposes to her, to the best of your abilities.

"There's no arguing it Twilight, this is human in nature."

"M-Maybe he got it somewhere? Maybe he found plans somewhere or-"

"Or maybe he's named rocket for a reason.."

Her eyes go wide.

"B-But, aren't rockets the devices humans used to explore space?!"

You nod.

She gulps, and plops down on the mattress.

You heave a sigh, and sit next to her, your right arm finding her shoulders.

This is a sensitive subject.

Not the first time you tackled it, or rather, tried to tackle it.

Ponies, and now people, living in Equestria don't chose their kids names.

Or rather, they think they do, but everypony knows you don't really 'have a choice'.

One day, while the mare is pregnant, both parents think of a name.

The same one. And that's how ponies are named. It's as simple as that.

Ponies name it fate, and naively thinks that it's just how things are. Because that's how its always been.

You, of course, have an idea of who exactly is pulling the strings.

But that's for another time.

"Isn't it.. dangerous?"

"Very. Space is cold, dark, and, generally speaking, wants you dead."

A breath hitches in her throat, and tears starts accumulating in the corner of her eyes.

Maybe you should've have tried to find another way to say that.

You pull her closer and she nuzzles your neck, searching for comfort.

You need to say something.

"That's why we're here. We need to guide him, to point him in the right direction, to stop him from making mistakes and to teach him what he needs to know to make it less dangerous."

"It'll be fine. He'll be fine. Maybe he'll become the first pony to land on another planet! Imagine how proud you'll be!"

She nod.

"Y-You're right."

Your left hand cups her cheek, your thumb brushing away the tears threatening to flow.

"And.."

"He's always been great at maths. He takes it from you."

Author's Note

I really, really didn't want to give them names, because I don't want this to be just another 'self insert', because I want everyone to be able to 'take anon's place' and do it as smoothly as possible.
But that would obviously interfere with my plans, so...
Yeah.
And I didn't really expect it to become so.. I don't know, heavy? I guess?
Tell me if that's too much story and not enough comedy or.. whatever it is you're here for.

Also, on the part about names.. that's my headcannon, sorry if it rustles jimmies, fight me irl.
Have fun.