It was a rather quiet sunny day in Veldin as Ratchet, Clank, Hilda, Ben, Ema, and the Mane 6 all sat down in chairs and couches they'd set up for the upcoming "Behind the Hero" interview.

"Hey, guys, remember that commercial we saw for the Personal Hygienator?" Ben asked.

Everyone else shuddered at those memories as they flashed back to it. It had happened only a few weeks after Drek's defeat...


"Do you have a problem with unwanted hair? Is painful itching in your nether regions causing you undue embarrassment? Do you just plain stink? Then you need this, the Gadgetron Personal Hygenator!"

"What's Captain Qwark doing?" Fluttershy asked as Hilda combed her hair.

"Hi, I'm Steve McQwark, and this little baby can take care of any grooming needs that are just too much trouble for you to handle yourself!" Qwark said as he gestured to a device with multiple hygiene care tools. "Allow me to demonstrate."

What followed was a thoroughly unpleasant-looking procedure that Qwark seemed to be half-uncomfortable, half-pleased with. Hilda quickly covered Fluttershy's eyes while Ema did the same for Twilight and Applejack. Pinkie was staring in disturbed fascination while Rarity had upright fainted. Rainbow looked like she wanted to throw up but was trying really hard to look tough while Ratchet, Clank, and Ben recoiled at the sight.

"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!"


"Well, he said it was a Gadgetron Hygienator, but I don't recall the product ever clearing testing" Twilight pointed out after shaking away the bad memories. "So I wrote Mr. Lumos to look into it, and he just got back to me. Apparently, the Hygienator actually is a Gadgetron product, but it was canceled because it was never perfected. In the long run, it was more cost-effective to create separate devices for each hygiene process and sell them individually or as a package deal. Investigations are currently underway regarding Qwark selling discontinued Gadgetron merchandise illegally."

"I, uh...kinda bought one to see if I could pick it apart and see if it could be made into something more useful..." Ben sheepishly admitted. "But you know me, I'm not technologically inclined like you guys."

"Well right now, we need to get to that interview. They came all this way, after all, and we haven't exactly had any real excitement lately." Hilda said.

"Quick, we're rolling!" Rarity excitedly said while making herself look presentable.

"Remember not to go into techno-babble, Twily," Ben said as Twilight nodded.

"Welcome back to Behind the Hero!" the reporter announced. "Tonight's heroes are the wonderful family who recently restored peace and order to our galaxy: Ratchet, Clank, Ben, and Hilda as well as their lovely daughters Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity." The announcer signaled the family that the cameras were now focused on them. "So ladies and gentlemen, tell us about your latest, incredible adventures."

Ratchet chuckled. "Well, as you can imagine, we've been pretty busy. After Drek's defeat, there were parades, press conferences, fancy dress balls..."

"Those made me feel rather nostalgic..." Rarity mused wistfully. "But I'm not sure why..."

"Same here," Twilight added with the rest of the Mane 6 nodding in agreement.

"And the wiener roast at Al's." Clank chimed in.

"He may be a nerd, but Al can sure cook!" Hilda laughed.

"And then...things started to slow down a bit," Ratchet explained in a more relaxed tone of voice.

"There was the grand opening at Groovy Lube," Ema said.

"Yeah! I helped with the party planning!" Pinkie added excitedly.

Ratchet nodded. "Right. I think that was, last week."

"Six months ago." Clank and Twilight corrected at the same time.

"Wow, that long?!" Ben gawked. "Time sure flies when you're having fun, huh?"

Fluttershy shyly spoke up. "Um...my sisters and I also had our seventh birthday recently."

"We're still pretty busy, but in a more, uh, domestic sense," Rainbow said.

"Yesterday, I flushed out my radiator core," Clank said.

Ratchet sighed. "I guess no one needs a hero right now."


*Meanwhile in the distant Bogon Galaxy...*

An elderly rotund humanoid alien man was watching the Behind the Heroes interview with an excited gleam in his eye as he pressed a button to call his secretary.

"Miss Bluebottom, I've found our man!"


The family suddenly found themselves teleported in a flash of light into the hold of a ship as a hologram of the elderly alien man appeared before them.

"Welcome!"

"What the?!" Ratchet exclaimed, nearly falling out of his seat.

"I'm Abercrombie Fizzwidget, founder of the Megacorp company in the Bogon Galaxy."

"Bogon?" Hilda asked. "Isn't that the galaxy right next to Solana?"

"I'm sorry to incapacitate you, but our entire galaxy is in a very precocious situation. I must humbly request your sustenance, on a mission of dire urgitude. A mission of superfluous peril. A mission of unequizzical imperitude."

Pinkie giggled. "He talks funny!"

"Who does this guy think he is, Doc Brown?" Rainbow asked incredulously.

Ratchet grinned. "So, you need us to go on a dangerous mission, in another galaxy?"

"Indubitably. A few days ago, this top secret, biological experiment was stolen from our testing lavatory, by this dupliferous criminal mastermind and I need you to get the experiment back."

Fizzwidget showed a holo-image of a round fuzzy blue creature that made Fluttershy immediately coo at how adorable it was. He then showed a holo-image of the criminal afterward.

"Oooh, I like a lady with a dark sinister style." Hilda chuckled as she admired the criminal's attire.

"How do you know it's a 'She'?" Clank asked.

"I mean, look at the build, it's obvious that's a woman."

Twilight nodded. "Mama's got a point, Uncle Clank."

"We'll do it!" Ben cheered.

"We?" Clank and Ema asked incredulously.

"Crank, Ena, I have precipitated your recalcitrance and made special improvisations for you. We're prepared to give you a job as the head accountants for Megacorp, plus a penthouse suite in lovely Megapolis, and our state-of-the-art robotic masseuse."

Clank's antenna stood up and began blinking rapidly as he saw the rather attractive robot female masseuse as Ema giggled.

"Deal!"

"What about us?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, I don't think Rarity and I can take a job at Megacorp given our already signed exclusivity agreement with Gadgetron." Twilight pointed out.

"We have consolidated such conflagration of intestines, and have a different offense planned for you!" Fizzwidget said. "While Ratchet, Hilda, and Ben are engaged in this mission of superlative importance, you will be staying in Yeedil's cozy relaxation and comfort suite!"

"Sounds like a nice vacation," Rainbow said. "But why can't we join Mama, Daddy, and Pa on their adventure?"

"The criminal seems to be a malodorous expert in gorilla combat, so it would be best to only send aficionados of mature calibration."

"Will we at least be given our own spa treatment as well?" Rarity asked.

"Indeed! Complete with many other consolidating comforts!"

"I hope we can make some new friends as well..." Fluttershy said shyly.

"As for you three, I'll need you in superlatory shape," Fizzwidget told Ratchet, Hilda, and Ben. "While in transit to the Bogon Galaxy, you will undergo heavy training and conditioning including martial arts, heavy weaponry, survival skills, stealth, macramé, ballroom dance, and origami."

"Hopefully I won't have to drop any pounds," Hilda said. "In fact, I could stand to gain some."

Ben chuckled as he pinched a bit of Hilda's fat, making her giggle as she leaned over to smooch him on the cheek in response.

"Can we train too?" Rainbow asked excitedly. "After all, who knows if there might be some bad guys lying in wait on Yeedil!"

"Absotively!" Fizzwidget agreed readily.


Two weeks later, they'd reached the Bogon Galaxy and completed the training. Ratchet was looking over the new green battle suit he had been provided with. Ben and Hilda were wearing similar ones with Ben's being red and Hilda's being white and pink.

"We've used bipolar vector regurgitation to track the thief's location to a flying base in Sector Seven. Infiltribulate the base, and retrieve the experiment." Fizzwidget ordered.

"Sir, ready for launch!" Ratchet replied with a salute.

"Stay safe! We'll be sure to get the folks at Yeedil to prepare a big hero party when you return!" Pinkie smiled.

"Safe journey, everyone! We will meet again soon." Clank said. "This shouldn't take too long."

With that, the three went their separate ways on their various transports.


The Mane 6 arrived at Yeedil, where they were brought to their suite. Before that, they were first brought to a medlab where some workers carefully made sure they did not carry any potential foreign contagions while also taking a few samples of hair, fur, horn shavings, and wing feathers for analysis.

"What was all that about?" Rainbow asked as she bounced on the bed of their suite.

"Just a smattering of nonces, certainly. Just to analyze a few samples is all." Fizzwidget proclaimed. "Now do be sure to enjoy your accumulations, children! And don't worry, if you have any questions or services in need, simply give us a ring."

With that, the Megacorp CEO left the room as the Mane 6 decided to unwind in their current residence for the time being. Twilight then pulled out a small tablet and typed on it before a crackling was heard.

"Hey, Daddy!"

"Twilight, how are you calling?" Ratchet's voice was heard.

"Well, since we can't join you, Papa, and Mama on your adventure, we figured we could at least see how everything is going. I snuck a mini-camera so that we can see all the action from here on Yeedil!"

"Oooh, Fizzwidget might not like that!" Hilda giggled.

Applejack smirked. "Ah, we'll keep it a secret from 'im. Besides, what the old man won't know won't hurt him."

"Word on that. Hope you guys are having fun!" Ben said.

"Oh, we already are!" Rarity smiled. "Good luck, you all!"

What nobody realized was that what seemed like a simple mission in a neighboring galaxy would soon spiral into a whole new adventure...


And so begins the Going Commando arc! I hope you all like the twists and turns this adaptation is going to take from here!

Sorry, this chapter took so long but I was occupied with my other stories and other projects on other sites.