//------------------------------// // Calling the Zords // Story: MLP: The Hime-Rangers // by lolnewsPegasus //------------------------------// Applejack found herself in the middle of a forest, with none of the others in sight. She was on her own, and all she had was her yellow Harmony Orb. She stood up slowly, trying to regain her senses. She noticed a dirt road a few ways to her right, and walked towards it. She then looked around to see if there is any sign of civilization, and found no luck. She called out, “Is anyone ‘round here?” No response. She tried again, and heard nothing, except for a low rumbling noise coming from down the road, leading to a thicker part of the forest. “That’s gotta be a live vehicle,” Applejack thought. “And when there’s a live vehicle...” She then ran toward the source. Rarity came to her senses in the mouth of a large cave, with rail tracks and mine carts littered near the entrance. She gripped on her black Harmony Orb, as it glowed a light that provided enough illumination for her path. She noticed that the cave was rich in some sort of crystal matter, something she didn’t quite recognize from her knowledge of crystals and gems. Her Harmony Orb glew a bit brighter as she moved towards where the unknown crystal seemed to originate, following the direction where the crystals are larger. “Unbelievable,” she wondered. “These crystals… it’s as if they’re growing so fast that you could watch them grow!” Pinkie Pie shivered as she walked through the snow storm, her blue Orb in hand. “I have to get to shelter soon,” she said. “Then I could make a fire and heat up my doughnuts! Hee hee!” She then located a cave which she could stay in for a while, any longer and the winds might turn her into a frozen sugary Pinkie-popsicle. She wiped all the snow off of herself, as well as shaking it off. “Brr, that was really cold!” she said. She then prepared a fire after she finished warming herself up. “Heehee, who knew the blue Orb’s light can do that?” she thought. “Okie-dokie-lokie, now let’s get this flat rock on top of the fire, and then...” Fluttershy looked around the mountainside forest that she woke up in, finding feathers of different kinds of birds. “Am I in a nesting ground?” she wondered to herself. As she examined the more unusual feathers, she heard faint singing from a direction she could not tell. She then pulled out her pink Orb. “It’s… glowing?” she thought. As she moved the Orb around, she noticed that the song got louder as she pointed it near the side of the mountain, where the feathers lead. “I don’t recognize that song…” Fluttershy said, walking towards it. “It could be a kind of bird I haven’t seen yet...” Twilight looked in awe at the titanic mecha-like bear looking straight at her as she held the red Harmony Orb in fear. She glanced at the red Orb she held, noticing that it’s glowing. The titanic bear turned its attention to Twilight’s Orb. “This?” the girl nervously asked. “You want to give me something, if I show you this?” She brandished the Orb. The bear growled at a rustling within the nearby forest. Part of the forest was being engulfed in a patch of darkness that was moving closer. “Shadow creeps!” Twilight gasped. The bear put one paw forward. “Understood,” Twilight said, climbing on to the bear’s paw. It let out a large roar, causing a red shockwave that knocked the shadow back. “Thank you…” she said, patting the paw she rode on. Applejack looked on to the sight that she couldn’t believe: a large pack of wolves gathering around an enormous statue of a wolf. “What in tarnation? Are they worshipping the rock?” she wondered. Her Harmony Orb glowed even more, the intense light stinging her hand. She grunted in pain, while tossing her Orb into her other hand. The wolves heard this, and noticed her. However, they didn’t attack. They slowly retreated, giving Applejack a pathway. “Whoa, Nellie.” she said, walking towards the wolf statue. The wolves didn’t move, they let Applejack push forward. However, as soon as she reached reaching distance of the statue dais, the wolves started growling. “Why do you go here?” a rumbling voice demanded. “To find the one bonded to this Harmony Orb.” Applejack answered, lifting the orb up. However, the Orb flew into the dais of the statue, causing the ground to shake. All the wolves suddenly started glowing, and turned into forms of energy that fired directly at the statue. “Dog gone it, I had a bad feeling about this, It’s some sort of trap!” Applejack said, trying to run away. The moment she turned around, her eyes widened in shock. The area she was in, sealed inside a yellow barrier. She gathered momentum to charge at the barrier hoping to break free. Her shoulder hit the barrier, but the barrier absorbed the impact like a cushion. It’s as if she hit a trampoline, because she was propelled back to nearby the statue, landing flat on her back. Feeling sore, she slowly stood up,  only to realize that the giant wolf statue was crumbling apart, revealing a more metallic structure underneath. The wolf head cracked in half to reveal the face of a yellow mecha wolf, looking at Applejack with judgment. “Why do you come here, bearer of this Yellow Orb?” rumbled a disembodied voice. Applejack, thinking it was the wolf who asked, sighed. “To be honest, I actually don’t have an idea why. I don’t know why the Orb chose me, or why it took me to this place...” Another sigh. “But what I do know, is that this Orb’s gonna help me try stop something that would doom the world. Because I feel like I can’t stand aside when an evil invasion’s started to take many places already.” The stone that was covering the mecha wolf crumbled apart, falling off. The mecha wolf bowed its head slightly, and let out a howl. The orb flew back to Applejack, which then materialized on her left arm, a bracer with a device on it, shaped like a wolf’s head which can open its mouth. The mecha wolf barked at Applejack. “Well, alright then,” Applejack said. She took the Orb in her right hand, and opened the mouth of the device. She placed the yellow Orb into the mouth and closed it, the gadget letting out a phrase: “Yellow, Hardened Wood Power!” Her body started to glow, and then a yellow and white suit made of tights materialized on her. A yellow helmet also materialized around her head, having the features of the wolf mecha on it. “Whoa, there. What the heck am I wearing?” she asked herself. The suit also had a grey vest and skirt on, as well as white knee-high boots and white elbow-reaching gloves. “I look forward, to defending the world with you, Yellow Ranger.” said a voice sounding similar to the voice that asked her questions, but without the rumbling feel and the trembling earth. “Yellow Ranger?” Applejack thought. Surprised, she looked around trying to find the source of the voice. “Look at your Morpher,” the voice said. Applejack looked at her bracer that had the wolf head-shaped device on it. “This is my Morpher?” she asked. “You can communicate with us through the Morpher and the Orb. When both are separate, it cannot be done. I am the Timber Wolf Zord, Guardian of the Forests and Trees.” “Trees? It wouldn’t hurt to ask.” wondered the southern belle. “Including apple trees?” “Yes, including apple trees.” he replied. “Apples have indeed fed your family in more ways than one.” “Them apple trees we have make the best apples I’ve had!” Applejack said proudly. “Make ‘em into an apple pie and it’d be deeeelicious!” “Your heart is honest, Applejack.” Wolf Zord mused. “Your honesty will give you strength. Now, go, the Red Ursa will want to see you.” The crystals had led Rarity to a large cavern made almost entirely of the minerals, which housed a large canine mecha with a black color theme, laying down. The mecha dog whimpered at seeing Rarity touch the crystal walls. Her response was delayed at how much she felt marvel over the crystal structure that formed the cave. “You… made these?” she asked. The mecha dog nodded. It noticed the Orb that Rarity held, and then rose up a bit. “You, know this?” the fashionista asked. The dog barked at her. She raised the Orb up, and it flew towards the mecha dog. The dog filled with black rays of energy and let out a howl. The crystalline cave suddenly cracked and broke apart, much to Rarity’s fright. She tried to run away, but was trapped in a black-tinted barrier. She looked up, seeing that the barrier is also protecting her from the cave-in. The barrier suddenly rose, moving the rubble out of its way. It carried Rarity up into the air, and then landed her on top of the canine mecha. Her Harmony Orb flew its way back to her, as something materialize onto her left forearm. The fashionista inserted her black Orb into the device that resembled the canine mecha, and then she glowed. “Black, Earthen Crystal Power!” A suit and helmet materialized onto her, mostly black, with a grey vest and skirt, and white gloves and boots. The helmet had the visage of the dog mech on it. The Morpher’s eyelights started to flash. “Greetings, miss Rarity,” said a feminine voice. “You look good in black.” “You flatter me, dear, but I am currently--” Rarity replied, being cut off when she noticed the suit that she was wearing. “Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed. “This is, just… This is the cutest outfit I’ve seen! You have to tell me your secret, darling! How did you get it on me?” “We can talk anytime, just insert your Harmony Orb into the Morpher, and you can talk to me, the Diamond Dog Zord.” the mecha replied. “But, first things first. I’m sending you to Red...” The party girl shivered as she walked towards the area where her Harmony Orb flew to. “Aww, why did you have to fly away?”  She shouted in frustration. She couldn’t see where she was walking due to the snowstorm, but she kept pushing on. However, she slipped on an icy rock, and slid away. She slid left, right, over, and under things, around and around, until she slowed down, falling onto thick snow. She heard a whinny from behind. She got up slowly, feeling pained from bruises thanks to the fall. When she turned around, she saw a surprising sight. A towering blue mecha resembling the fabled windigoes, cold storm spirits that partly resemble steeds made of snow. The windigo mecha’s eyes glowed, and Pinkie found that a Morpher materialized on her left arm. Her Orb returned and she placed it into the Morpher’s mouth. “Blue, Arctic Gale Power!” A blue suit, coupled with a mostly grey vest and skirt, accented by white gloves and boots, materialized onto her, followed by a blue helmet with resemblance to the large equine mecha. “Cool! This is amazing!” Pinkie said as she jumped up and down in delight. “I feel like I’m on top of the world!” she said as she zipped around. She laughed and laughed until she was taken by surprise. She heard an old but sophisticated male voice from her Morpher. “Your arrival was something that I found exciting and hilarious! I, the Windicorn Zord, will fight  with you, Blue Ranger!” “Blue? I like blue! It’s like the color of the sky! The one thing I see when I bounce up and down!” Pinkie said as she kept zipping around. “Now now, calm yourself.” Windicorn Zord said. “Because I’m sending you to Red Ursa!” “Hello? Is anyone here?” Fluttershy squeaked as she approached the large nest. She saw a large pile of ash, surrounding a large egg seated in the middle. Fluttershy noticed the pink Orb she held glow intensely. The pink orb flew to the ash pile, and ignited the whole nest. She stared in horror as the egg was being engulfed in fire. It glowed bright from the heat, and then hatched in a large shockwave. Out of the flames rose a large avian mecha, with shades of pink resembling waves of fire. The large robot bird sang a song that Fluttershy recognized from previously. “You’re the one singing that song I couldn’t recognize!” Fluttershy gasped. “Amazing!” Suddenly her pink Orb flew back to her, and lodged itself into the mouth of a Morpher Fluttershy knew she never had. “Pink, Restoring Flame Power!” Her surroundings went white, as a pink suit materialized around her body. The suit was followed with a grey vest, white gloves, and white boots. A helmet followed, which resembled the magnificent bird mecha she had encountered. “Oh my goodness…” Fluttershy fidgeted. “This outfit is too much...” “It looks good on you, don’t worry!” said an older feminine voice, which surprised Fluttershy, knocking herself over. “You’re a shy little thing, aren’t you? Let me introduce myself. I’m the Phoenix Zord. You have been chosen to fight as the Pink Ranger, and in good time too… Evil has arrived, and Red Ursa was just alerted to the presence.” Before she could continue, the Phoenix Zord noticed Fluttershy raise her hand. “Um… will we need to go to Red Ursa?” Fluttershy asked the Phoenix Zord, to which the mecha nodded in agreement. The four girls were teleported to the lookout where Red Ursa and Twilight were located in. “Girls! You’re here?” Twilight asked in surprise. “Wait, how can you know--” Applejack asked in confusion, while Rarity interrupted her, deadpanning “Applejack. Our visors aren’t on.” “That’s so cool! Visors on!” Pinkie shouted. Her visor closed shut. “We’re supposed to go to the Red Ursa for something, right?” Fluttershy asked. “Aw, shucks. You’re correct.” Applejack sheepishly replied. “Red Ursa?” Twilight wondered. She turned to the large bear and asked “That’s you?” The bear’s eyes lit up, sending the red Orb to the bookworm. Her left hand lit up, and a Morpher appeared, looking just like the large bear. The red Orb inserted itself into the Morpher, and Twilight suddenly found herself wearing a suit similar to the ones that the other four girls had on. “Red, Mysterious Void Power!” What she didn’t expect, was the sudden spike of power that her suit gave her. “What? What is this? What’s--” “I’ve filled you with power, to send you back to your town!” Red Ursa said through Twilight’s morpher. “Time is of the essence, a powerful evil has arrived to your town! We’ll handle the evils here, now go!” “Understood!” Twilight replied. She pressed onto her Morpher, making it do a biting motion. “Transport to, Pony Grove!” Five pillars of light engulfed the girls, sending them back to Luna’s manor.