Ratchet lay back on the covered metal table he used as a bed as he stared up through his home's newly installed skylight at the stars. He was proud of that skylight; it was the first thing that size he had made with his own hands that functioned exactly as he intended it to. He held his Omniwrench comfortingly across his chest, letting his mind wander over his 10 years of life.
Veldin was a backwater, agro planet in a far corner of the Solana galaxy. It was a hard environment, and it made the people who lived there hard as well. So the new colony had put forth little effort on the orphaned Lombax that had shown up on their doorstep from the stars. No one there had ever seen a Lombax before, and the only one who had been welcoming had been the colony's nursemaid bot, who took care of the colony's young ones while the adults were working to eke out a living from the unwelcoming soil. She hadn't distinguished between the colonists and Ratchet. To her, he had just been another child she was supposed to take care of.
That had come to an end when Thunder Soldiers sent by some pirates had destroyed her. Ratchet wished he could remember her kind face.
After that, the young ones had been on their own while the adults worked. One of the older ones had established his idea of a pecking order by bullying all the others. He tried to force Ratchet into that order by trying to take Ratchet's Omniwrench. That was when Ratchet discovered his tool could also be a weapon when he instinctively brained the young tough. While the other youngsters had taken his side over the tough's when the adults came back, he was still exiled from the colony as 'a danger to the children'.
He had lived off whatever scraps he could scrounge at night after that, and had developed a bit of distaste for the adults of the colony. However, every so often one of the youngsters would sneak him some extra food or a sweet, so he had a fondness for them. Then one night, he found no scraps as he came in at night. One of the children had told him that Horned Toads had raided the farms, and every last scrap had to be preserved against the damaged harvest, so everything was locked up and everyone was on short rations.
The next day, when the Horned Toads had attacked the farms again, Ratchet attacked them. While the toads moved too fast for the colonists to handle themselves, Ratchet's innate cat like grace combined with his newly discovered ability to sense where the toads were in his immediate surroundings allowed him to completely eradicate the invading Horned Toads while avoiding any damage to the crops whatsoever.
After that, Ratchet was considered an asset to the colony. They gave him an old tool shed just outside the colony to sleep in after clearing it out, and each farm took turns bringing him food and other necessities. In exchange, Ratchet protected the farms from any threats.
This arrangement had continued unchanged until three years back, when the Gadgetron vendor had arrived, trying to make a sale. He offered a Bomb Glove as a way to perfectly defend farms against pests, but no one was buying. After all, they had Ratchet. When Horned Toads had attempted to raid the farms again, the vendor had moved to demonstrate the Bomb Glove, only to witness a demonstration of Ratchet.
The vendor had tried to sell Ratchet the Bomb Glove after that, but Ratchet had no bolts to buy with. The vendor apparently took a shine to Ratchet, as he had gifted him a Bomb Glove, a Gadgetron Help Desk uplink, and arranged to get him a Hunter's Guild license.
The Hunter's Guild was a galaxy wide organization that functioned on a simple premise: if there was something anywhere in the galaxy that was dangerous - or just living - somebody somewhere would pay to have it killed. The Hunter's Guild made contact with those who would pay for something to be killed, negotiate a "per head" price, and then post that to all Guild members, with a discount for Guild processing. All Hunters kept their bolt accounts with the Guild, and bought things electronically. Any bolts that were 'found' by the Hunters - from, say, smashing crates - could immediately be transferred to the account electronically using the Guild License, which also acted as a charge card.
With that, Ratchet was starting to make some bolts, and with that he ordered various non-essentials from Gadgetron. At first it was just the usual child-like desires, such as candy, toys, video games and the like. But as his exposure to things beyond Veldin grew, so did his curiosity, and he began to request other things like holo-books and tech pieces he could put together and assemble, where he discovered his talent for assembling unusual things and technology in general.
As he stared up now at his voice-command skylight, he realized just how small Veldin was, and how much there was out there in the galaxy to see. He realized he was growing bored of Veldin. Beyond that, a greater influx of bolts to the colony - and the power generator he had built for them - had allowed them to protect the farms with electrified fences, which succeeded in deterring the Horned Toads from the crops. So Ratchet realized he really had nothing left to do here. Everything had become so...dull.
He tapped the Help Desk uplink. "Welcome to Gadgetron Help Desk," the feminine voice spoke through the uplink. "How can I assist you today?"
"Is it possible to literally die from boredom?" he asked.
There was silence for a moment and the sound of tapping keys. This wasn't the first esoteric question he had asked the Help Desk, after all, and thankfully she always took them seriously. "...while boredom has been hypothesized to possibly contribute to many neurological and biological conditions that can contribute to an unexpected departure from the mortal coil, there is no evidence that boredom itself can cause death. Will there be anything else today, valued customer?"
"Nah, that'll be all for now," Ratchet said, turning off the uplink. He stared up at the stars through the skylight. Seeing a star shooting across the sky, he decided to do as the children of the colony had talked about, and make a wish. "I wish some excitement would find its way into my life," he whispered to the shooting star.
At that exact moment in a massive station in the Polaris galaxy at the exact center of the universe - give or take 50 feet - an elderly Zoni lifted his hand and froze time. He had just detected a massive quantum anomaly, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the one he'd built this station to correct. Oddly enough, there didn't seem to be anything destructive in the nature of this anomaly, but the scale was something to be concerned with...especially as it was focused on the planet Veldin. While some would claim that such a nowhere backwater planet couldn't possibly be of concern in the grand scheme, he knew that he needed to keep an eye on such worlds for specifically that reason. Planets where things were likely to happen often had people that took care of them. Planets that seemed unimportant, on the other hand, were the perfect places for trouble to grow unchecked. He should know: he had plans for Veldin.
"Orvus, sir," Sigmund said, rushing in as soon as he felt the time stop. "is something the matter?"
"Could be," Orvus muttered. "Could be." Commandeering the nearest viewer, he dragged it to focus in on Veldin and observe time on planet Veldin. There, he saw a point of divergence.
Sigmund gasped. "Divergence! That's...that's not good, right?"
"Actually, it's wonderful news," Orvus said with a sigh of relief. "Given the size of the anomaly I detected, the fact that the result is only a divergence is a great relief. Given the size of the anomaly and how tightly focused it is, I was half expecting the result to be planetary annihilation or worse!" He pulled up the details of the divergence. "Let's see what's happened then, shall we?"
While there were all sorts of proper technical terms for what the divergence actually meant and how to interpret it, Orvus' humorous nature meant that the computers were designed to give him humorous short hand. As such, the two sides of the divergence were labeled 'What Would Have Happened' and 'What is Happening Now'. He called up 'What Would Happen'.
This timeline showed that, with Ratchet's wish ungranted, he would come to the conclusion that if he wanted excitement, he would have to seek it out for himself. This would lead to him saving up all of his bolts towards building his own starship. He'd get all the parts...save a Robotic Ignition and Navigation System. That would be where Orvus' son - who wasn't even made yet - would come into play, with a friendship that would eventually reshape the galaxy.
However, the new timeline showed very little information. All it showed was that somehow Ratchet's wish had been granted, and the entire remainder of the screen had only the term "Unfolding".
"Well, that is interesting," Orvus said, rubbing his chin. "It seems we have a flux point in effect."
"A flux point, sir?" Sigmund asked curiously.
Orvus chuckled. "It means things are going to be fun." He called over a comfortable sofa and shifted the data to the large screen as he took a seat. The data resolved itself into images.
"Popcorn, sir?" Sigmund offered, extending the corn popper that was a part of his structure.
"Please," Orvus said. "And have some yourself. This is going to be fun. Ue-he-he-he-he!" Lowering his hand, he let time flow.
Ratchet's eyes widened as he saw the shooting star seem to stop in the sky and begin to glow brighter. "That's weird," he said. "I'm pretty sure shooting stars don't do that..." As he saw the star grow brighter - and bigger - he gulped. "But falling stars do!" he yelped, running out of the shed.
The star crashed through his skylight in a blaze of light. However, the expected explosion never occurred. "Huh?" With that statement of brilliance, Ratchet turned and went back into the shed. The only sign of the falling star was the hole in the roof...and a glowing basket on the bed. He carefully approached.
The basket was small, exactly the size one would expect someone to leave a baby in on a doorstep. In fact, it was the same size as the pod - now non-functional - that Ratchet had arrived on Veldin in. The real surprise was what was in the basket, a creature like nothing Ratchet had ever seen or read about.
The creature lay on its side, half curled up. It had four legs terminating in hooves. It had a feathered wing folded tightly against its side, and a spiraling horn rising from the center of its forehead. Other than that, it was vaguely equine-like, despite being the size of a domesticated housecat. It was also bright purple, with a mark of six stars on its rump, and the mane and tail were dark purple with a pink stripe.
On the basket was an inscription. Despite having no idea what language the inscription was in, Ratchet could read it plain as day: Twilight Sparkle.
Ratchet tilted his head back and forth. "Is this supposed to happen?" he asked, poking the creature.
Her eyes opened, she looked around scared, and started to cry loudly.
Ratchet clutched his sensitive ears. "If this is excitement, I don't want it anymore!" he yelled out.
Deep within the Great Clock, Orvus laughed again. "Be careful what you wish for, my boy."
I believe it's spelled Gadgetron.
It seems we flux point in effect
1. It seems we have a flux point in effect.
... Onwards to chapter 2... Too bad I never played the first Ratchet & Clank I played the rest though. Save for those not on the PS2
The official description of the bomb glove IN Ratchet and Clank is that it was given away one-free-to-each-customer as a way of promoting the effectiveness of Gadgetron weapons.
And now I've tracked enough amazing My Little Dashie-esque crossover stories.
Kudos, Tatsu; kudos...
The Bomb Glove is a free item to first-time customers of Gadgetron. It's like a promotional item; to show the peep the quality of their products, show how much they trust in their said product and to entice the said peep to return to Gadgetron for their needs.
but since this was a few years before the start of the first game, I guess that deal doesn't exist yet.
I am a fan/geek of Ratchet and Clank, and I intend to review the heck out of this story.
I had started to suspect this while I was reading Dash and Rarity's crossovers that you've done (both much better than I'd expected, and I'm tracking them both now), but Twilight's appearance with Ratchet here pretty much seals the suspicion. It would seem that each of them have been regressed from adulthood to little foals. I find myself curious if the six separate continuities are going to converge, and if there is an overarching story...who set it in motion and why? Even if it could just be Discord doing it for laughs.
Yeah, never say the W word, kid.
Ratchet and Clank fimfiction?
Instant like!
what the hay?! twilight in space how did she get there?!?????!
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what W word?
Very interesting *stroke mostach*
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"Wish"
This will be the first crossover I have read where I only know half of the source stuff so I'll say silly things form time to ti e I'm sure
yes! ive been waiting for a story like this forever, being that I am a longtime MLP:FIM fan and I have and have played (and completed) 4 Ratchet and Clank games. thank you!
sorry i just had the clip from that equstria girls movie when she sees hand and then scream......seems like thats what happends when i hear twillight scream now
5780271 same
I really like the background you have for Ratchet. We never really get to told what his life was like on Veldin, so I love seeing fandom theories on what it was like.
It's weird to see a MLP/R&C crossover pop up on the front page of FiMfiction just as I start replaying the first game the other day. I actually had the stray thought of 'I wonder if anyone could actually make a good crossover for mlp with this series' as I was playing.
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Have fun with the remaining 30 chapters. A new one will be up on the 25th.
Heh, first chapter and I already enjoy it, nice!
If ratchet were a pony, BAM, cutie mark!
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Not really. It's a racial trait of Lombaxes.
I just realised that Clank and Orvus have the same laugh
oh now this is interesting, so this starts before the actual games do... hmm... does clank still become an important part of this timeline too, or is that eradicated from this timeline entirely? very intriguing, guess I should keep reading...
Hey, did you know that they are making a Ratchet and Clank movie?
With a pretty cool theme i might add:
Gotta love Owl City, no?
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I was aware of the movie, but unaware that Owl City did a song for it. I find this news update quite awesome.
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Agreed. Favourite PS game with MLP? LIKE
Starting these two sentences the same way looks redundant. Maybe it'd be better as -
Why did I not see this before?!
This is amazing! Consider me hooked!
I'm surprised no one posted this yet..
Orvus be all like:
media.giphy.com/media/rzBUxFJm1EJ20/giphy.gif
I dont know what this fic is crossed over with, though it sounds pretty cool so far, but im guessing Octus' first senario was how the story was supposed to go and that this story is an alternate path.
Well, I'm glad I picked a random Rachet and Clank game cutscenes to watch otherwise I would be lost in the Orvus sections! ...but I will still be lost. Great story, Tat!
So Twilight's the new Clank...that sounds awesome.
7195906 This! This just made my day! And it's not even noon yet!
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It is crossed with a amazing game series called "Ratchet and Clank" and was Insomiac games' shoo in for the game market back in the early 2000s in which they received enough capital gains to work on nearly 10 more games for the universe throughout the course of 15 years and still had enough time to do side-projects such as "Resistance: Fall Of Man" and it's subsequent sequel a year or two later.
Well, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this. Now, I have no idea what a Zoni is, which leads me to the main issue I see thus far - that it takes for granted that the reader is familiar with the Ratchet and Clank world - and more familiarity than I have, apparently, as despite my love of the games I've only witnessed the PS2 titles sans Deadlocked, and part of Tools of Destruction. So the whole scene with Orvus and Sigmund involved a lot of me trying to fill in the blanks.
Nonetheless I like the story thus far, especially Ratchet's past, which is especially impressive given that from what I gather in the comments that's an original creation here.
Suffice to say: interest has been piqued.
7476692 if you watch the 5 min analysis from death battle is basically all you need to know.
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Mhe-he-he-he-he-he.
(Muffled clank laugh noise.)
(Pretty difficult to copy in text form...)
[youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGpO7e9loQ]
Much better.
ALSO IM LOVING THIS THANK YOU AUTHOR
Alright then. I've loved the Ratchet franchise since the beginning and there's no arguing with that like count. The sheer length is a little overwhelming, but I'll give it a shot. The backstory was pretty neat and goes quite a way to explaining Ratchet's character, and I like the rational for how things are different this time around.
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Don't let the sheer number of chapters throw you off. Most are only 1-2k words long.
That's actually one of the reasons why there's so many; Tatsurou tends to write much smaller chapters than most of the other more prolific fimfiction authors.
That, and the fact that there's a lot more ground to cover than most of the other stories he's done. There was ten games to cover.
Time for best pony's story, and it's a long one. Should be fun.
Onto the second story of the PWNY-verse!
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It might seem strange but whenever I see you around you always seem to say what I would think sans would say, honestly I just imagine sans in the underground reading with a tablet he found and fixed.
Well ... time to read this story again ... this time ... with corrections.
Just one in this chapter:
was that, somehow, Ratchet's wish had been granted
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Pretty sure the original way is grammatically correct... but your correction IS a stronger say to say the same thing.
It’s gonna be painful to read this again since this book makes me sad but in a good way.
(I started playing the first game again which brought me back to here)
How many times have I read this? 3 maybe 4 i think it's 4.
This will be my second reread.
Just wish I had popcorn.
Third reread imma go get some popcorn!
Ah, time to reread one of the best stories to ever grace this this site.
Time to do as the comments have requested, popcorn and Fanta acquired...
Commencing virtuous rereading...
...
...
...
now.