//------------------------------//
// You can’t teach an old wolf new tricks 
// Story: Call of the Wild: A Power Rangers Story 
// by TheHardie-Boy 
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Merik was mesmerized by Applejack’s precision strength. The ability to kick a tree and make all o the apples fall out of it without hurting the tree itself was astounding. Regardless, Merik preferred the old fashioned way of picking apples. He didn’t think it was tedious. In fact, he loved manual labor. It made him feel like he had a purpose.

“Ah really gotta thank ya’ for helpin’ out around here, Merik. Between me, Big Macintosh, and Applebloom, the chores can take all day sometimes,” Applejack said.

Merik put down the barrel of cider. “It’s fine. I love helping out in any way I can,” he replied.

“Still though, I wanna invite ya’ over for dinner. My Granny Smith is an amazing cook,” Applejack offered.

“No thanks. I usually have dinner with Princess Shayla,” Merik said kindly.

“Alright, but any time you wanna come over, you’d always be welcome,” Applejack concluded.

Merik went to retrieve another barrel of cider. According to Rainbow Dash, this was supposed to be the best tasting drink in Ponyville. Merik couldn’t help but laugh at the whole situation. After all, he was in an entirely new world, but he felt right at home. It had probably helped that everypony already knew what a Power Ranger was.

Merik put down the barrel as his morpher began to buzz. “Merik, come quick. I my have found the Org Heart,” said Princess Shayla.

Merik went back outside. “Hey, Applejack. Sorry, but I gotta go. The princess thinks she found the Org Heart,” he said.

“That’s great. You go ahead, I can handle things here,” said Applejack.

With that, Merik ascended up to the Animarium. He was greeted by the princess. She was sitting by the pool. Merik looked into the pool and saw what looked like a castle made of crystals. “Where is that?” he asked. 

“I don’t know. I thought we should ask Twilight. She’s been wanting to come up here anyhow,” Shayla responded.

“Alright. I’ll go get her.”


Meanwhile


Twilight was in her study, looking for anything about orgs or the Org Heart. She doubted she’d find anything, but it never hurt to look. She considered asking Princess Celestia if she knew anything, but if she couldn’t find it in her own library, she doubted it would be in Canterlot. 

After a few minutes of searching, there was a bright flashing light. Twilight looked to see Merik, who was bowing to her. “That’s unnecessary,” she said, “you don’t need to bow to me.”

“No problem. If you’re not busy, there’s something that may require your attention on the Animarium,” Merik responded.

Twilight squeed. She had wanted to go to the Animarium ever since it appeared in Equestria. “Of course! I-I mean, I’d be ha-pay to help in any way I can,” she told Merik.

The two of the stepped outside the castle, and Merik spoke into his morpher. “Alright. She’s here. Bring us up.”

A bright light from above surrounded them. Twilight panicked a little at first, but she knew there wasn’t anything to be afraid of. The two of them shot into the air like a couple of bullets, and before Twilight knew it, she was in the middle of what looked like a forest. She looked around and saw a few quaint-looking statues. The Animarium was beautiful up close. She would have to tell her friends about this.

“Hello, princess. I apologize if you’ve been pulled away from anything because of this,” said Princess Shayla.

“I no, it’s fine. I’ve been dying for a chance to come up here. It’s beautiful, but the way. Do you really live here?” Twilight asked.

“Indeed I do. The Animarium has been my home for thousands of years,” Shayla responded.

“That’s amazing. Now, what did you need my help with?” 

“We need you to identify a location in the sacred pool. It may be the location of the Org Heart,” Merik explained.

“Sounds easy enough. Let me see,” Twilight said as she looked into the sacred pool. It glistened beautifully just like everything else on this island. When the glistening had receded, it shown a location that was familiar to her. “I can’t tell if the Org Heart is here, but I can tell you that this is the Crystal Empire, home of Shining Armor and Cadance.”

“Is there anything we really need to know about the Crystal Empire?” Merik asked.

“As long as the ponies there don’t feel threatened, it should be fine. The Org Heart can’t hurt anypony, can it?” Twilight asked.

“On its own, no. It needs an org as a host for its power to be unleashed,” Shayla explained.

“Either way, we need to retrieve it before the generals get to it,” Merik added.

“If you wanted, I could go with you. I know the Crystal Empire like the back of my hoof,” Twilight pleaded.

“Sure. I could use all the help I can get,” said Merik.

“What about the other rangers?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, shouldn’t they be there as well?” Shayla added.

“They should stay here in case trouble arises,” Merik responded.

“Are you sure?” Shayla asked.

“Trust me, we’ll be fine on our own,” Merik assured her.

“If you say so,” Shayla said hesitantly.

Twilight and Merik descended back to the streets of Ponyville and made their way to the train station.

“How come you don’t want any help?” Twilight asked Merik.

“Like I said, they should stay here in case anything happens,” Merik said.

“Are you sure this doesn’t have anything to do with pride?” Twilight said with a slightly concerned tone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Merik said, looking down at her.

Twilight shrunk back a little. “It’s just that, one of the last rangers that were here insisted that he could take care of everything on his own and ended up getting hurt,” she said.

Merik gave Twilight a little more space. “Trust me. This has absolutely nothing to do with pride. I just feel we shouldn’t get our hopes up in case the Org Heart isn’t actually in the Crystal Empire.”

Twilight and Merik finally boarded the train. The ride to the Crystal Empire was silent, save fore the sound of the train itself. Twilight knew Merik wasn’t telling her the entire story. He was hiding something. She took to her usual hobby when things weren’t as desirable as she wished: staring out the window. 

She perked up once the Crystal Empire was finally in view, looking as shiny as ever. She and Merik exited the train, and Merik marveled at the sight. The entire kingdom was made of crystal, even the floor. 

“If the Org Heart is here, we should ask my brother Shining Armor if he’s felt anything like it,” said Twilight.

“Sounds good,” Merik replied. 

The two of them made their way to the castle. Merik heard a few of the ponies whispering about him. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or flattered. Twilight took notice of this. “Don’t mind them. They’re just excited to see another ranger,” she told him.

“It’s still a little weird,” Merik said.

“Anyhow, here’s the Crystal Heart. This is what protects the Crystal Empire from the Frozen North,” Twilight explained as she and Merik got to the castle.

“Why is it called the ‘Frozen North’?” Merik asked.

“It’s a literal term. Freezing winds come in from the North,” Twilight responded, making Merik chuckle.

“Twily! It’s great to see you,” said a stallion with a white coat and blue mane.

“That’s my brother, Shining Armor,” said Twilight.

“Who’s this? Another Power Ranger?” Shining asked.

“Yep. This is Merik, the Lunar Wolf Wild Force Ranger,” Twilight said.

“It’s nice to meet another knight,” said Merik.

“I didn’t know you were a knight, Merik,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, I was Princess Shayla’s personal bodyguard,” said Merik.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you too,” said Shining. “Why exactly are you here though? Is there any danger to be aware of?”

“Not at the moment. We’re looking for something called the Org Heart. It’s brown, round, has vines coming out of it. Have you seen anything like it?” Merik asked.

“Actually, yeah. It appeared a few days ago right next to the Crystal Heart. We didn’t know if it was dangerous, so Sunburst took it with him to figure out what it was. He’s not in any trouble is he?” Shining explained.

“Hopefully not. We haven’t seen any trace of the generals, so I think we beat them to the heart,” said Merik.

“Thanks for the help, Shining. I wish I could stay, but I should really make sure everything’s okay,” Twilight said.

“It’s fine. I can handle this, no problem,” Merik said.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, but be careful please.”

“I’ll be fine,” Merik assured her.

Twilight gave a huff and walked off with her brother. Merik sighed and started the short walk to Sunburst’s house. It wasn’t hard to find, it was basically a library after all. Merik knocked on the door. A unicorn with an orange coat and mane opened the door.

“Oh hello. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting any company today,” Sunburst said.

“It’s fine. You must be Sunburst, right?” Merik asked, just to clarify.

“That’s me. And I assume you’re a Power Ranger?” Sunburst responded.

“That’s correct. Name’s Merik. I’m here about that artifact you found a few days ago. Could I see it?” Merik asked.

“O-Of course, I just have to find it. Come in if you like,” Sunburst responded, walking back into his house. Merik followed and saw that Twilight was right; it was just like a library. Merik looked around for a minute before Sunburst re-emerged with a round, brown artifact. “Here it is. I hope it’s what you’re looking for.”

Merik took a closer look and nodded. “This is it. Thanks for holding onto it for me,” he told Sunburst.

“I was also hoping you could tell me what it is and what it does?” Sunburst added.

“Sure. This is called the Org Heart. It grant invincibility to an org if it gets its claws on it. It’s my and the other rangers’ jobs to keep that from happening,” Merik explained. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll have to be taking this with me.”

“Go ahead. I don’t want to be responsible for some monster becoming invincible,” Sunburst exclaimed.

Merik lifted the Org Heart and started toward the door. He was about to speak into his morpher when he was hit by a sudden blast. “I see you have gone through the trouble of finding the heart for us. I’ll be taking it with me, now,” said a green org.

“Nayzor! You’re never getting the Org Heart,” Merik responded.

“We’ll see about that, Merik...or should I say, Zen Aku,” Nayzor taunted.

“I am not that wolf,” Merik yelled back.

“Doesn’t matter. Either way, I’ll be walking away with that heart,” said Nayzor, firing another beam. 

Merik ducked out of the way and drew his morpher. “Wild Access!” Merik morphed and charged into battle with Nayzor. The two clashed weapons. Nayzor quickly gained the upper hand with his fan by slashing Merik with a wind attack. Merik fired a laser back at Nayzor, but it was blocked with the fan. Merik switched his blaster to blade and used that to attack. It had a longer reach, so Merik was able to hit Nayzor without having to worry about getting hit. Eventually, Merik hit at the right angle and caused Nayzor to drop his fan. Merik capitalized on this by grabbing onto the fan before Nayzor could retrieve it. 

Merik thought that Nayzor would be worried without his fan, but Nayzor just chuckled. Merik attacked him again, but Nayzor’s horn glow, and Merik was surrounded by a green aura. He flew into the wall and hit the ground repeatedly. Merik tried to blast Nayzor, but he just fired a counter attack from his horn. Nayzor then popped with a green light and teleported directly in from of Merik. Merik tried to get away, but Nayzor grabbed onto Merik with the green aura from before. Nayzor was about to finish Merik off, but a lavender blast, similar to the one Nayzor fired, struck Nayzor.

“Let him go!” Twilight yelled running in front of Merik. 

“Twilight, get out of here. Nayzor’s too strong,” Merik told her, but Twilight stood her ground.

“How adorable, a puny alicorn trying to protect a Power Ranger,” Nayzor laughed. He then charged his horn and fired another shot. Twilight raised a shield, and, to her surprise, it was enough to block the attack. She lowered the shield and fired her own shot. Nayzor did the same, but his shield was broken. Nayzor teleported a little closer to Twilight and attacked her from there, but Twilight teleported into the air. Nayzor blasted at her several times, and Twilight avoided them and charged her own attack. She changed her flight path to aim right at Nayzor and fired. Nayzor was sent flying back and hit the ground.

“It seems I’ve underestimated you. I will gain a better control of the new magic and destroy you. But for now, I’m afraid I must be going,” Nayzor said before teleporting away.

Twilight ran up to Merik, who was making sure the Org Heart was still safe. “Are you alright?” Twilight asked.

“I’m fine. It’s just, Nayzor’s never had that kind of power before,” Merik responded.

“Is the Org Heart safe?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. I made sure Nayzor didn’t get a hold of it during the fight. How did you do that, by the way?” Merik said.

“I’ve been working on my combat skills with Starlight ever since the Dino Rangers showed up in Equestria. This is bad though. If Nayzor’s never had those powers on Earth, he could be using Equestrian magic,” said Twilight.

“And if Nayzor has those powers, the other generals might have them too,” Merik added.

“We need to get back and warn the others,” Twilight said.

“Right, let’s get going,” Merik responded.

With that, the two of them made their way to the train station.