Gadget tapped away as she finished up consolidating the last of the information she had spent the last couple of weeks gathering on heroes. Most of the profiles had been closed up into various folders, yet six of them were still active along with a newspaper clipping below each. Glancing up, her eyes passed over the articles one by one as she moved them into their own folder.
“Filly Second. Pinkie Pie. History unknown, yet owns her own party supply and custom cake shop. Information from the other timeline has allowed me to pinpoint the general area of her home which still appears to be there but is in an area listed to have Amish-like tendencies so no information really comes from it. On sister confirmed to exist with Maud Pie, who is also the superhero Rock.” With a look at the stone-looking mare wearing a purple bandana and smock she moves to the next.
“Mistress Mare-velous. Apple Jack. Almost her entire family was killed in the Appleoosa Massacre. Remaining members include Braeburn, still, in the town working with nearby buffalo, Granny Smith, owner of the largest orchard supplying the city and multiple businesses, Big Macintosh, acting as Captain Equestria, and her sister Apple Bloom, heavily injured but to an unknown extent, along with a couple of other distant relations that weren't at the scene.” An image of the red stallion wearing a simple black mask, wielding a round shield painted with the Equestrian Flag, and a one-eyed filly slid by her eyes.
“Masked Matterhorn. Twilight Sparkle. Owner of one of the largest tech firms in the country. Parents lost in a freak airship accident that was suspiciously short on information. Elder brother is married to Empress Cadance, the duo also known as Gleaming Shield and Love Beat.” The picture of the mare duo in matching blue and pink sailor uniform slid by.
“Saddle Rager. Fluttershy. Parents appear to have been lost in the same accident previously mentioned, but no information on if she has other family. Has some connection to Discord who as her first appearance was related to his early release and defeat. He now goes around as the hero Captain Good Guy.” She giggled lightly at the picture of the draconequus in his red tights.
“Radiance. Rarity Belle. Parents dead in the same manner as others. Owner of one of the top ten fashion boutiques in the city. Sister Sweetie Belle is under her care, as well as the guardian of Scootaloo who was an orphan with no information beyond that. Further inquiries reveal the filly's potential family members to have disappeared a few years ago.” Two more pictures went into the folders as her eyes settled on the last one.
“Zapp. Rainbow Dash, maybe? Family also lost to the airship accident, while also being involved in a major accident herself. Information lists her as completely paralyzed from the neck down.” The mouse leaned back as she paused and left the newspaper clipping up on the screen, pondering the huge discrepancy. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't hear the warning tone signaling that someone had used the teleporter to get into the Rescue Rangers' base of operations.
“Hey boss, I got the car out front if you are ready and... Whoa, why are you looking up a newspaper article about Dash?” Gadget looked away from the computer screen to see Gilda standing in the doorway behind her. Realizing that it was almost time for the event she finished sorting the document away and started shutting down her computer.
“Just trying to solve a few mysteries between this timeline and the one I knew. There have been too many similarities between what I know and what is actually happening, which makes some of the drastic differences seem suspicious. She was never supposed to have this happen to her, in fact, she was supposed to eventually be a part of the Wonderbolts of that time.” Gilda winced when she heard the name before she looked back at the darkened computer screen sadly.
“Yeah, she used to always brag about being fast enough to join them when she got old enough to join. But then that explosion happened at the weather factory she was working at and ruined everything she had worked for up until then. I tried to cheer her up, even found her a lightning bolt medallion for her, but it was never enough. She still just drove everyone away from her as she wasted away in her home on the edge of the city. I haven't seen her for a couple of years now.” The mouse paused at the bottom of the stairs leading into her pony suit before looking over her shoulder at the griffon. Bringing a hand up to her chin she looked up thoughtfully.
“Huh, that would explain how she got that then. But if so, then...” She shook her head before she climbed her way up and took a seat in the control center of her pony disguise. As the chest compartment closed up Gilda finally registered what she said.
“Wait, is there something special about that thing? Is Dash going to be all right?” The earth pony started stretching out in various ways as Gadget started testing the controls to get a feel of them again. Once she was ready the head turned to look over to the griffin once more as the mouse's voice came from the pony.
“Possibly? It is something that I have to look into but that can wait for now. Now, you said the car is out front, did you manage to pack everything that I asked for?” The griffin frowns at her boss but decides to table the issue for now.
“Yeah, here's the communicator gem that you asked for, the rest of it is back in the car.” Gilda held up an oddly shaped earring before walking forward and adding it to the fake pony. It fit perfectly as it was designed specifically for the puppet, and went from the tip of the ear down the side to the base. While there was still testing being done, the model being a custom job used a sapphire on the top, ruby on the bottom, and a topaz in the center, all connected by mithril wire. The communicator was one of the many designs she had introduced to her company's research and design departments since her return. Many of them, like the communicator, were improvements on currently available technology, magical or otherwise, and this one was an improvement on unicorn-based messaging and the clunky radios currently in use.
“Great, this will be a perfect test of how well it works in a public environment. Did you also remember to let it slip that I was going to this event around the office?” Gilda nodded as the two walked deeper into the base.
“Yeah, but why did you want me to do that? You know we still haven't cleared out all the trash left there by those traitors trying to take over the company. I'm sure there are a few spies still on the payroll.” The puppet pony just nods as they arrive at the lowest floor of the tree, and the building portal that she and Spike had found there. It was a surprise to them when they first returned from their trip to the mouse's company to find themselves within the Rescue Ranger Headquarters. The part of the tree they found it in was not one that had been there before Gadget had been frozen in time, yet there was no indication of anypony having entered the place in all that time. It almost looked like the tree had grown around the portal after being placed atop the building, yet the portal was built in a place for it to grow to without any other connection to it. Gadget had her suspicions as to who had planned out the placement of it, yet she had no proof of it and no access to the building plans either to try and confirm it.
“It's actually rather simple, it's because I wanted them to know. Many of those that are under investigation have been trying to locate me and the locations I frequent. Some of them have been getting a bit reckless about it and I am hoping that this will draw a few of them out. Though they would have to be crazy to attack with Celestia there, but I don't think there are many that truly understand what she can do nowadays.” With a flash, the pony disappeared through the portal leaving Gilda to stare after her with her beak wide open. After a moment she shook her head, wondering just what her boss was thinking before following her through. Nothing was said as the two made their way out to the limo, the griffin deep in thought about what her boss was doing. Soon they were on their way with the windows darkened so that Gadget could wait with the puppet's chest cavity open as she had found it to get a tad stuffy inside of it over long periods.
“So boss, why were you looking up all those heroes anyways? It's not like you have a chance against any of them or the villains that they face.” Gadget looked up to the mirror on the front and into the griffon's eyes as she glanced back at her.
“If only that would be true, but history tells me otherwise. In the past, I have had to deal with some powerful figures, and I doubt that will change, especially with all the money under my name now. And, well... How much do you know much about the power ranking system in use right now?” Gilda thought for a moment and, while she had heard about it, had to admit she didn't know too much about it and shook her head.
“Well to put it simply, it ranks everyone depending on the amount of damage they could conceivably cause before they are stopped, on a scale from Z to A. The average pony is rated at around a Z, and a griffon would be a Y. In fact all the way up to a Q rating would involve any creature without powers, or Talents as I've read of them being called. It's not exact though as law enforcement would involve most of those upper levels, but a rare few with Talents do surpass it. Beyond that is where heroes and villains start to appear, as well as a few of the exceptional beings that I've had to face in the past, even though I had a team with me most of that time.” Gilda cocked her head to the side a bit before bringing her focus back onto the road.
“So where would you fit on that scale then if it was around back then?” The mouse looked thoughtful for a moment before she shrugged.
“I'm not sure, but with the best gear I had, I would maybe reach P alone, and M with the rest of my team. For comparison, the Power Ponies are classified as a D-rank team, but individually are about an M. Granted with them it is more because they actually defeated a world-class threat and not because of their actual abilities. Granted there was no information on anything being at an A-rank, universal threat; B-rank, galactic threat; or C-rank, multi-planetary threat yet. That is also where things get complicated with the rankings as they take into account your actions for it, so you could be rated higher than you deserve because of a fluke or other factor. Such as someone having the power of rubber facing a god of lightning.” Gilda's jaw dropped but quickly recovered as she jerked the wheel around as the vehicle started going out of control in her frozen state. Once she regained it her eyes went back up to the mirror to look at her boss.
“Wait, you think you could have taken on one of the Power Ponies with your group? One of the members of one of the top hero teams in the world?” Gadget looks thoughtful for a moment before she nods.
“While it wouldn't be easy, I am pretty sure we could have just managed it with the proper preparations. Starswirl was easily on their level, and we managed to stop his plans countless times, and that was without the technology available now. I'm pretty sure you've heard some of the stories about what your ancestor saw or helped with.” Gilda thought back a moment before she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, but half of them sounded made up just to make him look better. I mean, helping fight off an alien invasion?” Gadget raised one of her hands a moment before she applied it to her face, shaking it.
“You mean he never outgrew his habit of enhancing his stories to make himself look better? I mean the only aliens that we dealt with was the time he was abducted by them. Building a rocket during that time was difficult, but I barely managed it. Not having actual fuel and having to cobble together an assortment of enchanted gems was the hard part.” The griffon just stared at her for a moment before her mind drifted back to what she had already seen and had to concede that it just might have been possible if it was her. It also helped that she had seen the designs for the toy rockets and how they had been used as the basis of the real ones used in modern times.
“Back to your original question though, it's not just the major villains and heroes that I'm looking into. I'm also looking into reports and rumours of other things with Talents. Take the hero Rock, she has a sidekick that is an actual rock, yet it seems to have a life of its own. The worrying thing is that there are little to no studies on incidents like that happening and there are only rumours of animals having Talents as well. Just mice alone outnumber those living in Maretropolis by anywhere from ten to a hundred mice for each citizen. Imagine if Talents were as widespread in them as well? Discounting minor ones or those that aren't dangerous, the heroes of the city could be drastically outnumbered. That hasn't happened though but I don't have the information as to why.” Gilda shivered as thoughts of super-powered rodents swarming through the city ran through her mind. It was enough to keep her occupied as they left the city and entered the wooded area surrounding the Canterhorn Mountain and the area owned by the school controlled by the alicorn of the sun.
Gazing out the window Gadget marveled at the differences between the timeline she knew and the current one. Not having Canterlot in the same form had allowed the Whitetail Woods to expand and with the former princess owning the area it had not been harvested for wood as it had in the other time. On the flip side, the Everfree Forest was maybe half the size while being even more dangerous as there was less territory for the creatures that inhabited it, making excursions into the towns and cities around it being much more frequent as well. Yet with the prevalence of heroes, super and not, the increased danger was rather negligible. She had to wonder how much else had changed as she had only casually looked at maps, and they were much more detailed than the ones from what she knew.
“Oh, pluck me, not her again. Um, boss? You should probably suit up. We may have a problem up ahead.” Gadget quirked an eyebrow before she scrambled up to the top of the doll's head to look out ahead of the slowing vehicle. Ahead she saw a gate across the road marking the private section of the estate, along with a large number of animals outside of it. Her gaze quickly settled on a butter-yellow colored figure before she darted down into her doll and closed it up as she took control of it. Flexing the limbs of the oversized toy, she looked around before reaching for a small purse that had been left in the vehicle with the doll and started digging through it as the limo came to a halt in front of the gathered crowd of animals.
The pink-maned mare was obviously the leader of the group, holding the largest of the signs stating 'Animal Rights are Pony Rights.' Most of the other signs had slogans along the same vein, many of which had the mouse shaking her head. Glancing over at Gilda she noticed that the griffon was rather agitated with the protest group blocking the vehicle. The pony, who the mouse easily identified as Fluttershy though a bit less timid, advanced on the vehicle with a frown on her face. It deepened when she noticed who was driving it when the window was rolled down.
“You! How dare you! Do you know what your company has been doing?! When I-” Gadget decided to interrupt the tirade as she could see Gilda getting ready to explode back on the mare and wanted to stay on her good side, especially as she seemed to be bulging a little.
“Ah, Ms. Fluttershy. How fortunate that I was able to meet you so soon.” The mare calmed down at hearing the new voice and looked to the back window as it rolled down revealing the blonde-maned pony. Gilda was about to object as the pegasus moved to that window but was stopped by a raised hoof and shake of Gadget's head.
“W-who are you? Why is that griffon driving you up here to Celestia's party?” Gadget had to wonder how many others this mare had bothered already. She didn't have time to consider this with the mare waiting so slowly drew out a pair of cards from her purse and held it out to her.
“Gadget. Gadget Hackwrench and owner of Hackwrench industries. I'd like to apologize to you for the problems my company has caused before I decided to take back control. As we are currently busy right now, let me just give you these.” Fluttershy cautiously reached in and took the two items before looking them over. One was mostly blank and just had a number on it while the other was a card with her picture on it.
“The first is a number that will directly connect you to Gilda here and if she can't help you with whatever your problem is she can then get you in contact with me. As for the other, it is your access pass to allow you into any part of my company so you can check on the state of the animals involved in it. I've also reinstated all policies that the former board had ended as well as begun looking into any others that may be needed. If you have any suggestions while you are there you can let me know, just know that they have to be within reason so nothing like mini-mansions for all the animal volunteers. Also, this isn't a job offer, I know that you've rejected plenty of those, just think of it as bringing in a reliable third-party consultant.” Fluttershy's mouth dropped open at the name or the mare she was speaking to, not expecting to meet one of the most unknown figures of Maretropolis, and it only widened as she was basically given everything she could have asked for without even needing to do so. She was so shocked that she didn't even try to stop the vehicle from leaving and just waved her animals out of the way as it started to drive forward.
“Bwahaha! Did you see the look on her face!? I don't think I've ever seen that dweeb so confused. It's well worth having to deal with her on a regular basis just to have seen that!” Gilda continued to laugh while Gadget just shook her head to herself inside of the suit.
“Didn't you go to school with her when you were younger? I would have thought you would have been friends with her because of your mutual friendship with Rainbow Dash.” The question caused the laughter to cut off and silence reigned for a few minutes. Eventually the griffon let out a sigh as the school mansion came into view.
“Not really. I mean, we knew each other because of Rainbow but we really never talked much. She was way too shy back then, and it pains me to admit that I wasn't much better. Rainbow, she just had a way about her where she just barged into your life and became part of it no matter what you wanted. When she isolated herself none of those around her really kept up with each other and just ended up splitting apart. I don't even know what half of them are doing now and I only know a little about little miss activist back there as she had been bothering me about the company's actions for years. Funnily enough, one of the charities she raises money for that isn't animal-related is for helping treat those suffering from paralyzing injuries. Shows how good of a friend I was if she is still trying to help out while I just abandoned her.” Gadget considered trying to console the griffon but knew that it would probably hurt her pride even more after what she admitted. As the vehicle pulled up to the entrance of the mansion she reached deep for one final thought.
“You may have left her then, but there is still always time to make up with her. You'll have plenty of time to think about that tonight waiting for me. Unless you want to come inside with me.” Gilda shuddered at the thought of having to hang around at a fancy party, especially with some of the creatures she knew were going to be there.
“No thanks, I'll be just fine out here. Besides, you'll need some backup if what you are expecting to happen does so.” With a nod, Gadget slowly exits the vehicle while a greeter mare unicorn approaches her. As they near she holds out her invitation which is soon grabbed up in the mare's magic. Upon reading it, her eyes widen as she sees the name before darting up again to the mouse-in-earth-pony-body, executes a hasty bow, and quickly rushes into the building behind her. The mouse could only shake her head in amusement.
“Well, here we go.”