The more automated landing system of the gang's new ship made landing on Kerwan much smoother than it had been on Planet Novalis. Once they were safely settled, Ratchet, Ben, Hilda, and the Mane 6 hopped out of the cockpit, Clank following to settle on Ratchet's back.

"Look at you two already working so well together." Hilda giggled.

Pinkie beamed. "I know, right? We could trademark this; 'Ratchet & Clank'!"

Ratchet rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face nonetheless while Clank couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. Walking down the path, the group came to a fork.

"So which way?" Twilight asked.

Ratchet glanced at his map from the Gadgetron uplink.

"Well, we need to find Big Al's shop so we can ask about Captain Qwark..."

"No we don't!" Rainbow shouted, pointing. "There's Captain Qwark over there!"

She took off towards the distant figure. The rest quickly chased after her and when they caught up, they saw that Rainbow was sulking in disappointment in front of an automaton in the likeness of Captain Qwark.

"Welcome to the Captain Qwark Fitness Course! If you're strong enough, fast enough, and clever enough to beat my fitness course, you will receive a reward from my head trainer. Simply make your way to the third island to complete the course. Good luck!" Its voice quieted as it then spoke much faster. "Qwark Enterprises is not responsible for sprains, broken bones, snapped tendons, bruised egos, or accidental death incurred while taking the challenge."

"Wait, what was that last part?" Applejack asked.

"The bigger question is...How are we supposed to get over there?" Ben asked as he looked over to the island in question.

"I believe we need to ascend to the top of the tower on each island to access the zipline to the next one," Clank proposed, pointing out the zipline.

"But we're too young to ride a zipline!" Twilight pointed out.

"Not to mention what the motions will do to my hair!" Rarity added.

"Don't know if that zipline will hold my weight..." Hilda said, rubbing her belly thoughtfully. "Oh well, best to give it a try!"

"Fluttershy, Twilight, and I can fly across but that would feel like cheating," Rainbow said. "Come on, let's do this the right way!"

As they climbed the first tower, they encountered several obstacles that tested their physical abilities. Long jumps over gaps between platforms were nothing to worry about, but Ratchet paused in concern at the first segment he would have to triangle jump upward. The kids' bodies weren't built for such a maneuver, after all.

However, Twilight had a workaround, using her magic to cast a gravity spell she had read about to realign her personal gravitational field to a 90-degree rotation. She did the same for Rarity and Applejack while Rainbow and Fluttershy could simply fly upward.

As for Pinkie, she just somehow ran upward without the need of a gravity spell, giggling all the while as she leaped off and landed at the top flawlessly. Hilda huffed and puffed as her bigger mass made it a bit more challenging, but she managed.

Ratchet and Ben Triangle Jumped up the passage ahead and helped the rest of their kids up since the absence of a curve at the top made that difficult for them.

Reaching the zipline, Hilda slung her Jumbo Wrench to ride the zipline, the Mane 6 all collectively holding onto her. Miraculously, the zipline didn't give in to her weight as Ratchet and Ben followed after them.

The tower on the next island proved even less of a challenge, as the only addition was platforms that moved in and out of the tower in predictable patterns. The slightly longer jumps proved foal's play for the Alicorn and Pegasi of the group, as they could easily fly past the retracting platforms to the other side.

The retracting jump slot, as the Gadgetron uplink informed them they were called, proved a bit more difficult, as Twilight was unable to get a stable gravity spell applied to a moving surface. However, Clank came up with a different solution that worked flawlessly: by bracing Twilight's hands against Ratchet's own, the two of them could walk up the jump slot with ease, and a slight application of Twilight's telekinesis allowed them to crest the top to stable ground.

"Alright, let us try something!" Rarity said as she and Applejack did the same thing, followed by Pinkie bouncing off Hilda's belly like a trampoline. Rainbow and Fluttershy just flew up and Hilda threw Ben upward with surprising strength before scaling up the jump slot herself.

"Man, this is way too easy!" Rainbow boasted.

"Yes, but it's taxing on my magic reserves." Twilight sighed.

"Have you considered perhaps the creation of steps made of focused telekinetic energy?" Clank suggested.

"Like what, a magical staircase?"

"Something like that."

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought as the group approached the last zipline before creating a magenta square made of solid light with her magic, wide enough to fit her and all of her friends on it, or one of the Mane 6 plus Clank and/or Ratchet and Ben...or just wide enough to fit Hilda by herself.

"Hmmm...this might not work out right now but maybe I can figure something out later."

Hilda smiled. "It's okay, Twilight. We'll figure it out after this adventure is over."

At the end of the zip line, they encountered a rather hefty fembot in workout clothes, her 'hair' in pigtails. She was doing jumping jacks until they arrived.

"Listen up you lard balls!" She proclaimed in a thick German accent. "That was the most pathetic display I have ever seen on that obstacle course!"

"Whaddaya mean?" Ratchet demanded.

"We finished the course, ma'am," Clank responded reasonably.

"And who are you calling a lardball?!" Rainbow snapped.

Rainbow got up in the fembot's face as they glared at each other before the latter let out a bellowing laugh.

"Ha! I like your grit, Kleine!" She then turned to Hilda. "And as for you, dear...you did highly better than your lazy boyfriends!"

"Uh..." Ratchet tried to speak up while Ben and Hilda blushed brightly.

"Honestly, bringing in the little ones onto this course!" The fembot huffed. "The poor sweethearts had to pick up all your slack!"

The Mane 6 were all given Swingshot gadgets and pats on the head from the fembot.

"Don't take the lardball part personally. That is just Helga's way of encouraging lazy bums like the grown-ups over there who disgrace my obstacle course. Don't be sad, ja?" She smiled. "But you all were very impressive, Captain Qwark thinks so for sure."

"Oooh! What's this!" Pinkie asked as she looked at the gadgets.

"Swingshots! With it, you can say to and fro like majestic beetles!"

"What about us?" Hilda asked.

"Well, as for the rest of you, I admire the grit and spunk, especially with that belly that is as big as an overcooked marshmallow!" Helga said, poking Hilda's belly. "So, in respect for your perseverance; you also get a Swingshot!"

"And us?" Ratchet asked, gesturing to him and Ben.

"Dat idiot Captain also wants me to give you one, but you disgraced my course today! If you want it, then I will make you pay!"

"Well, that's not very fair, is it?" Rarity pointed out. "We're still only so young and we need our parents to show the ropes."

Helga sighed. "Oh, alright! I guess it isn't such a disgrace if they were working so hard to help you cross."

Ratchet beamed as Helga gave him and Ben Swingshots as well.

"This thing is sweet! I bet Captain Qwark uses stuff like this all the time."

"Ha!" Helga proclaimed. "Real men can swing without silly toys like that!"

"I suddenly feel inadequate..." Ben muttered as Fluttershy patted his leg comfortingly.

"I hope to see you and your little Engels again, mein Mädchen," Helga said, patting Hilda on the shoulder. "If not your lazy boyfriends!"

"Hope to see you again too, Boss!" Hilda smiled, giving a thumbs-up.

With that, Helga hopped into a nearby air taxi and sped off. Ben took a moment to admire his new Swingshot as Twilight giggled.

"Well, I guess it's time to look for Big Al's, after we test these out."

"WHEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie cheered, having already used hers to drag herself through the air.


After getting the hang of their Swingshots, and Hilda being amazed at how it could easily pull her weight, the group continued to make their way through the towering city of Kerwan. While they were occasionally assaulted by rocket-launching Blargian troops, bomb-dropping bots, and the occasional swarm of robo-dogs, they managed to get through with only the occasional bump and scrape, until they reached a long bridge over which an attack chopper hovered.

"Hey, Rarity, think your magic can make a magical shield?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, I never thought to try, Father Dear..." The white unicorn girl hummed before concentrating magic in her horn and creating a diamond-shaped magical barrier in front of her. "Oh my, how marvelous! I mean, the facets are perfectly cut and-"

Rarity yelped as the attack chopper opened fire, causing her to hold the shield out and reflect the bullets. Acting quickly, Hilda took out her recently purchased Blaster and shot the attack chopper out of the sky.

"Thank you, Mother Dear..."

"Anytime, sweetie."

Shortly after, they reached Big Al's robot shack. As they walked inside, Ratchet gasped as he looked around.

"Holy cow! I've died and gone to Nerd Heaven!" He gushed. "Look at this; they have 'My Blaster Runs Hot', 'Fongoid With a Stick', 'Speero the Space Moose'!"

Ben gasped. "No WAY! They even have the Mega-Limited Ultra Edition of 'Intransigence: Fall of Blarg'!"

"That one comes with exclusive content if you preordered through Gadgetron."

Hearing the nerdy voice, everyone turned to see a yellow-furred, hefty fellow in a white lab coat and Captain Qwark t-shirt walk up to behind the counter.

"Hey, you're that robot guy we saw in the commercial!" Rainbow said.

"No, I build robots. I, myself, am not a robot guy, per see." Big Al chuckled awkwardly.

"You must be Big Al, it is nice to meet you," Clank said. "I am Clank, these are Ratchet, Ben, Hilda, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity."

Al gasped. "Did you say Twilight Sparkle?"

"Huh? You've heard of me?" The Alicorn girl asked.

"Are you kidding? Every scientist across the galaxy has heard of you! Hired on to Gadgetron at the age of three and a half, and your name's been on every best-selling product of theirs ever since!" Al proclaimed. "Technical genius of that level doesn't come around every day. Can I have your autograph?"

Sheepishly, Twilight signed her name in the book Al offered her as Clank stepped forward.

"We are hoping you can tell us where we may find Captain Qwark."

"Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since we shot that commercial," Al explained before taking a look at Clank. "Say, do you run on standard XP-18 sisterboards?"

"Version 7.66," Clank added.

"Back at ya!" Al winked. "I may be able to help you out after all. How does a Helipack upgrade sound?"

"Ooooh, upgrade?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"Natch. Since he's a seven-six-six, I could have the little guy flying in no time."

Gently placing Clank on the table, Al got to work. After a few moments and some fascinated note-taking from Twilight, Al was finished as Clank showed off his new upgrade.

"Ratchet, am I cool now?"

Ratchet chuckled. "Yeah. You da man, Clank."

"Wait, how will me and Ben get around with Ratchet flying everywhere?" Hilda asked.

"I may be able to help. If I can get a closer look at your little friends' wingspans..."

Rainbow and Fluttershy offered Al a close look at their wings, which he took notes on before snapping his fingers and nodding his head as he got the basic gist of it.

"I've actually been working on these for a while ever since seeing Twilight in action!" He said. "Thanks to the proper calibrations I've gained from checking your wings...Presto!"

Ben and Hilda were handed backpacks with built-in wings that were strong enough to allow them to boost and glide in the air like Clank's Helipack could. Ben smiled as he gave Al a thumbs-up.

"Here, a little tip for your service."

Paying Al a generous amount of bolts for his help, the group continued on their way. After continuing to trek through the city with their new maneuverability, they eventually reached a sky train. Hopping on, Pinkie gasped as it began to pull out of the station.

"Wow! How is it moving without rails?"

Twilight nodded, just as excited. "I haven't gotten that far in my studies yet!"

"We can read about it when we get home. For now, we should probably go investigate that Infobot up by the engine." Ratchet said.

When they reached the front of the train, and coincidentally, the next station, the Infobot attempted to fly off. However, Rainbow easily caught it with her superior speed. Once it stopped trying to escape, she brought it to the others, and together they watched its message. It contained a recording of a video conference between Chairman Drek and a robot Lieutenant, preparing planet Eudora for 'harvesting'.

"Drek is destroying another planet," Clank pointed out as he miniaturized the Infobot for storage.

"Yeah, but if that's the kind of help he's getting, I don't think we have anything to worry about." Ratchet retorted.

"You should not underestimate Chairman Drek."

"Hey, we're not in any hurry. Besides, what Dad meant was that those guys are way too slow at their jobs for any urgency." Rainbow pointed out. "Besides, we gotta go to Aridia and rescue Skidd McMarx!"

"Oh, do you think if we save him, we can get an autograph?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"I reckon it'd probably do good to help 'em out. After all, they might be able to help us get closer to stopping Drek." Applejack pointed out.

Ben shrugged. "Guess we're off to Planet Aridia."


Now that we've got Kerwan out of the way, it's time to go to Aridia and rescue Skidd!