//------------------------------//
// Intermission 1 - Rare Testing 
// Story: Friendship is SHOWTIME!! 
// by MangaKamen 
//------------------------------//

Without limits, there are no merits.
-	Urataros / Kamen Rider Den-O Rod Form


TTTTTT

Intermission 1

Art by Lux-Nero/FlairNightz Thanks again dood!
Rare Testing

TTTTTTT


A few days had passed since Haru had defeated Gnome and the dragon had begun to live at Twilight’s house, sleeping on the unicorn’s couch in one of the spare rooms. During his short time at the library, Haru was subjected to numerous questions and had to do a few demonstrations with his magic for the unicorn.

Nothing too strenuous, a bit annoying since the questioning and testing often went late into the night. But with peace surrounding the quaint Ponyville, it wasn’t an issue for the magical dragon to sleep till noon almost every day.

Today wasn’t one of those days though. Twilight, with Spike seated on her back, was leading a rather tired Haru through Ponyville. With a yawn, Haru walked a little faster to catch up with the unicorn, “So, tell me again, why did I have to wake up this early?”

“We’re going to have you meet another one of my friend’s today,” Twilight explained with a smile on her face. “Applejack tells me you met Fluttershy, and I’d like you to meet my friend Rarity.”

“Rarity?” Haru questioned as he threw his arms up behind his head. “I’ve got nothing against meeting new ponies, but I thought you wanted me to show you how I made my ring today?”

“I do,” Twilight replied. “But, I figure since we’re going to be working with jewelry, I think it would be the perfect icebreaker for you to meet her.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Haru admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. “So, what’s this Rarity like?”

“Oh, she’s the most beautiful unicorn in all of Equestria,” Spike cooed as his eyes softened slightly, a warm smile growing on his face. “And she’s so regal! She’s so amazing!”

Haru was a little taken back with how Spike was getting all flustered talking about this mare, but smiled slightly. “Oh, does the little Spike have a crush on this Rarity?”

“It’s not a crush!” Spike retorted with his cheeks a bright red. “I’m in love with Miss Rarity!”

“Love, huh?” Haru laughed as he patted Spike on the head a few times. “That’s a strong word little dragon, not something you should use so easily.”

“I’m serious!” Spike retorted as he waved his arms, swatting Haru’s claws off of his head.

Twilight giggled at the two dragons squabbling, “Come on you guys, try to compose yourselves before we reach Carousel Boutique.”

“Alright Twilight,” Spike sighed.

“Not a problem,” Haru muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. 

A few minutes later, the trio was now standing in front of the rather fancy looing building that did fit the name of Carousel Boutique. Haru craned his neck up slightly to take in all of the ornate designs and the height of the building, “Wow, that’s rather… Something.”

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique,” Twilight announced as she used her front hoof to push open the front door to the shop.

Haru watched as the unicorn and her scribe walked into the shop, but the sleeker dragon was a little hesitant from entering. This didn’t go from unnoticed by his two friends, with Twilight poking her head out of the door, “Are you coming Haru?”

The red dragon kicked a random stone near his clawed feet, “Yeah, I’m just bracing myself.”

“Bracing yourself? For what?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know,” Haru sighed as he walked towards the front door. “But I get the feeling something might happen.”

“You’re over exaggerating,” Twilight reassured as she allowed Haru to enter the shop. “I assure you, nothing bad is going to happen.”

Haru had to stop in order to take in everything inside the shop – Mirrors, mannequins, several violet purple curtains, with several jewel and heart symbols embroidered everywhere. The dragon blinked a few times before he rubbed his eyes, ‘This place seems kinda posh. This makes me wonder what the owner’s like.’

“Rarity!” Twilight called out as Spike slid off of her. “We’re here, are you busy?”

“Coming,” A calm and sophisticated voice sang out from the nearby stairs. 

A few moments later trotting down the stairs was the very pony that Haru could guess was Rarity – A white unicorn with a beautifully groomed purple mane that curled slightly, just like her tail. The unicorn trotted down the stairs with a calm smile on her face. “Ah, Twilight, it is so nice to see you this morning.”

The white Unicorn then turned towards Spike and patted the dragon atop of his head, “And good morning to you as well Spikey-Wikey.”

Spike chuckled sheepishly before he fell to the ground with a large, goofy smile on his face.

That’s when Rarity turned towards Haru, and blinked a few times at the red dragon. Haru did the same in return as an awkward silence filled the boutique. ‘Uh, okay, why is the marshmallow pony looking at me weirdly?’

Sensing the tension in the air, Twilight cleared her throat slightly, “Uh, Rarity, this is Haruto Souma, he’s new to Ponyville. And as you can tell, he’s a dragon.”

“Oh my,” Rarity muttered as she turned her attention away from the magical dragon. “Hmm, how do I put this?”

“Huh?” Haru questioned with his head tilted. 

“That jacket,” Rarity said with her hoof brought to her face.

Pulling on his worn out jacket’s sleeve, Haru eyed his jacket, “What about it?”

“Oh, I shouldn’t say any more,” Rarity replied as she waved her hoof a few times. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Souma.”

‘I get the feeling she was going to say something about my jacket,’ Haru thought to himself as he crossed his arms. ‘But I’ll let it go, don’t need to be rude here.’

“So, tell me, Twilight,” Rarity stated, before she turned to her fellow unicorn. “What brings you and your two dragon friends to my boutique this fine morning?”

“Haru’s the actual reason we’re here today,” Twilight replied as she turned towards the slightly annoyed dragon. “He was going to show Spike and I how he makes rings, and I thought that you’d be interested in that. Since you haven’t met him, I thought it would be a perfect chance to introduce you two to each other.”

“Oh my, Mister Souma, you’re a jeweler?” Rarity asked trotting a little closer towards the dragon. “I suppose that would make sense with that rather charming little buckle you’re wearing. It does make a testament of crafting skills to whoever made it.”

“Uh, thanks,” Haru replied as he rubbed the back of his head. “But I wouldn’t call myself a jeweler, I just collect the materials and refine them.”

“Is that how you made that awesome suit of yours?” Spike asked. “Cause that has a lot of jewels in it, right?”

“An ‘awesome suit’?” Rarity questioned before she trotted up to Haru. “Mister Souma, may I ask to see this ‘awesome suit’ of yours?”

“I don’t really see a reason to transform,” Haru replied as he inched back slightly. “It’s not something that I should really use for leisure.”

“Oh, but I must insist!” Rarity said as a caring smile appeared on her face. “My little Spikey-Wikey knows his jewels, and if they’re on this suit of yours, they must be of high quality! Please?”

The mystical dragon was a little conflicted and lifted his hands up slightly. “Well, I don’t think I should…”

“Haru, you don’t have qualms about using your other spells,” Twilight pointed out with a roll of her eyes. “You used that connect spell to get doughnuts without getting off the couch just yesterday.”

“Spells?” Rarity questioned.

“That’s different,” Haru retorted, wagging one of his claws at Twilight. “That was an emergency, I hadn’t had doughnuts in twenty-four hours. I needed that powdery sugary goodness!”

“Haru,” Twilight said, her eyes narrowed down at the dragon. 

“Alright, alright,” Haru sighed as he waved his hands a few times. Then reaching into his jacket, Haru pulled out the bright red ring and fitted it on one of his left claws. “But just a basic transformation, you’re lucky I carry these with me all the… Hey!”

Before Haru could even finish putting the ring on his claw, his left claw was covered with a bright blue aura and pulled him closer towards Rarity. “Oh my! Such an exquisite ruby! It’s so finely cut and the metal is so finely crafted! You must tell me where you found a stone of this caliber!”

“This one was given to me by someone,” Haru answered as he gently pulled his hand back, making the aura disappear from claws. “Now, if you excuse me, I need some space.”

Taking a few steps from the two ponies and fellow dragon, Haru placed his right claw over his belt buckle. “DRIVER ON – PLEASE!”

Haru’s belt buckle immediately flashed brightly before it transformed into its bulkier form. With a quick flick of the hand emblem on the belt, Haru lifted his left claw up. “Sha ba do be Touch Henshin! Sha ba do be Touch Henshin!”

With a loud sigh, Haru slipped his left hand in front of his glowing belt, “Henshin.”

“FLAME – PLEASE!”

Throwing his left arm to the side, Haru called forth the fiery red runic circle. Rarity’s eyes widened as she watched the circle engulf the dragon’s body. When the circle was finished, Wizard stood before the two mares and dragon, the large rubies on his suit and mask. Haru crossed his arms and sighed loudly as he waved his left hand through the air, “It’s showtime… yay.”

“You don’t sound too excited like you usually do,” Spike pointed out as he walked up to his masked dragon friend.

“Of course I’m not excited,” Wizard sighed back as he shook his helmeted head. “I usually don this armor when I’m about to save somepony or fight a Phantom, showing off like this isn’t my style. When I’m in action, that’s when I show off.”

“I must say!” Rarity exclaimed as she galloped up to Wizard, and circled him. “Such fine materials! Such a unique and bold design! The chain of rings on the side add a bit of beauty too! The way it seems to just scream high culture! I’ve never seen such a bold outfit before!”

Wizard tilted his head, “Well, thanks I guess. Glad you like it.”

“Mister Souma, I must know how you came across this sort of outfit!” Rarity continued on as she observed the bracelet that was clamped around Wizard’s tail. “And these jewels as well!”

“This suit is a physical manifestation of my magic,” Haru explained, his spirits lifting up slightly. “By using this ring, I can filter the magic and it’ll produce this suit. Depending on the ring, my raw magic can change, same thing with the suit.”

“You mean this suit can change?” Rarity inquired as she looked slyly at Wizard. “Do tell.”

“These are rubies,” Haru explained, motioning to the jewels on his chest and helmet. “The other forms turn these into sapphires, topazes, or emeralds.”

“I see!” Rarity exclaimed. “Mister Souma, if I may be so bold, would you mind allowing me to copy the design of your suit? It’s simply magnificent and so fancy! Why, I can already imagine a beautiful dress based off this!”

Now this was something that made Wizard chuckle as he scratched the side of his mask, “If you like this, I can even make this outfit be appropriate for formal occasions.”

“You can?” Twilight asked. 

With slight chuckle, Wizard fitted a new ring on his right hand and immediately waved in front of his belt. “DRESS UP – PLEASE!”

A larger runic circle appeared in front of Wizard and as he stepped through it, both he and the circle spun around until the circle was absorbed into the suit. When Wizard stopped spinning, there was an obvious change to his outfit – Atop of his head was a pure white top hat with a black band around the base, a large glittering bowtie around his neck, his black pants were replaced with white dress pants with white dress shoes at the bottom, and in his right hand was a long white cane topped off with a ruby that he spun around before he clacked it against the floor. 

Tipping his hat slightly, Wizard bowed towards the trio before him, “Ta-da! Fancy, no?”

“Uh, how’s that supposed to help you?” Twilight asked.

Wizard merely spun around to allow his coattails to flutter in the air, “Well, this is more for civilian mode – And as you’ll see, sometimes the rings I make often have some really weird results. 

“This is one is a good example but the Smell Ring I used also worked. Besides, you never know what can be useful in the real world.”

“So, this is what your magic perceives to be fancy?” Spike asked as he took the cane from Wizard’s hand, smelling the ruby atop of it. 

“In a word, yes,” Wizard answered as he ran a claw along the rim of his hat. “So Miss Rarity, does this fit your fancy?”

“The oversized bow is a little gaudy,” Rarity stated bluntly.

Wizard froze slightly, unaware that Spike had just taken a bite out of the ruby on the cane. “Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying, the rest of the outfit looks amazing,” Rarity stated as she used her magic to pull at the large bowtie at Wizard’s neck. “But this is just offsetting. It completely clashes with the classy nature of the suit! And something so well designed and crafted shouldn’t have that mark on it!”

If his eyes were visible, Wizard would’ve rolled them.


TTTTTT


After allowing Rarity to sketch the details of his suit (minus bowtie), Haru had dispelled his suit. The two mares and two dragons were circled around a table in Carousel Boutique, on the table were a number of the rings that Haru had stashed away in his jacket, including all four of the larger Style rings (that Haru had dubbed). Although, those four rings weren’t on the table for too long, all four of them were lifted up by Rarity’s magic so she could observe them closer.

“I must know how you craft these rings, Mister Souma,” Rarity exclaimed as the flame style floated down in front of her eyes. “Although, I must admit, I’m a little disappointed that you don’t have any in purple.”

“I don’t get to pick the colors,” Haru explained as he picked up a few of the rings off of the table. “And I don’t get to pick what the rings can do. It’s usually a shot in the dark, and so far, I like to think I’ve been kind of lucky with them.”

The rings floated back down into Haru’s claws before he pocketed them.

Twilight cleared her throat, “So, how exactly do you make the rings?”

Haru smirked as he lifted a ring up on his right hand and brought it to his belt buckle, “One second and I shall show you.”

“CONNECT – PLEASE!”

A smaller runic circle appeared in the middle of the table, and Haru reached into it. A few seconds passed before Haru pulled out a small woven sack with the circle popping out of existence.

“Oh my, that’s a rather handy spell,” Rarity stated with a smile. “It could help with me sending my orders to my customers or getting materials faster! Mister Souma, would you be willing to help me with that?”

“As long as I know the exact location,” Haru stated as he began to open the sack. “It shouldn’t be a problem, even living beings can go through the Connect spell, so maybe later we can discuss business.”

“Excellent!” Rarity crooned as she clapped her hooves a few times.

Twilight sighed as Haru finally opened the woven sack, revealing about six different jagged stones that bounced about the table. “What are these? They don’t look like jewels.”

“These are magic stones,” Haru explained as he picked one up in his claws. “While they’re not as pretty as jewels, they have unique properties to them – They contain essence of magic, and like jewels, they can be found almost all over Equestria.”

“How do they taste?” Spike asked as he reached for one of the magic stones…

… Only to have his hand slapped by Twilight’s hoof. “Spike!”

“Nah, it’s alright Twilight,” Haru stated as he flicked one of the six magic stones towards Spike. The small dragon caught the stone and licked his chops. “These are only a handful that I’ve found around Ponyville, and I can always find more anyway.”

Spike tossed the magic stone up into the air before it landed in his mouth and he bit down. The young dragon chewed a few times before his eyes widened and he spat out the chewed up bits from his mouth. “BLEH!”

“Spike!? What’s wrong?!” Twilight asked as she galloped to her scribe’s side. “Did you choke or something?!”

“N-No! That magic stone,” Spike sputtered as he stuck out his tongue and used his claws to scrap off the remains of the magic stone. “TASTED AWFUL! It was like that one time you tried to make chocolate mouse without your magic!”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Twilight sighed as she rolled her eyes. 

Haru shrugged his shoulders with a nervous grin on his face, “Sorry about that Spike, I didn’t expect it to taste bad. I never had the need to eat these things.”

“It’s okay,” Spike groaned, a little down trotted. “Let’s just call us even for me taking a bite out of Garuda.”

“You did what to Garuda?” Haru asked with a raised brow.

“Uh, so Haru!” Twilight interrupted. “How do you turn these into rings?”

For a moment, Haru just leered at Twilight and Spike, but kept his tongue still as he reached into his jacket and pulled out another ring. Holding it between his fingers, Haru showed the ring to the unicorns and fellow dragon, revealing that carved in the ring was a dragon symbol that had a ring held between its wings. “This is the Ring Ring. And I realize that’s a redundant name, it’s just what my buckle says what it is.”

To prove his point, Haru slipped the ring on and held his right claw over his buckler, “RING – NOW!”

Haru quickly held his hand over the remaining five magical stones, with a runic circle appearing over them. But instead of the red runes that usually appeared with Haru’s spells, the circle was a bright white with slightly different markings on it than, almost making it more regal and superior than the usual runic circle.

The stones flashed a bright golden light before they popped, revealing five silver rings with the orange jewels now expertly cut with symbols on them. Haru rubbed the bridge of his nose with a smile on his face, “Ta-da! And with that, five new rings and five new spells!”

“Tell me something Mister Souma,” Rarity poked one of the rings with her hoof. “Does that ring work on regular jewels? It would save me a lot of money to have customized jewelry for my own personal collection of accessories.”

“I suppose I could try it out, I don’t see the harm,” Haru answered blinking at the ring on his claw. 

Rarity squealed as her eyes brightened, “You are simply divine, darling!”

Chuckling sheepishly, Haru rubbed the back of his head. He was about to say something back, when he felt an icy chill run down his spine making him shake slightly. ‘I sense a killer intent!’

Moving his eyes, Haru realized that Spike was glaring at him, and normally the younger dragon was calm and collected. But the look that Haru was getting was enough to scar anyone if they looked too long at it. 

Haru coughed loudly as he lifted up one of the rings, “SO! Who wants to try one of these new spells out?! Hehe…”

“You mean others can use this sort of magic that you can do?” Rarity questioned as she used her own magic to levitate one of the rings from the table. “So, I can use that Ring Ring of yours?”

“Well, I gotta be around to activate the magic,” Haru explained as he removed the Ring Ring and pocketed it. “But whoever wears the ring gets the effects of the spell. So, if you had the Dress Up Ring, you’d be in a very fancy outfit that my magic would deem appropriate.”

“Haru, before that, I have to ask you a question,” Twilight interrupted.

This garnered the others’ attentions towards the inquisitive unicorn, “I noticed something with that Ring Ring. Normally when you use your spells, I usually hear the word ‘please’, but for that one, I heard the word ‘now’. What does that mean?”

Haru pulled out the ring once more and admired it for a few seconds, “… This ring was a gift from my master.”

It didn’t take long for that fact to sink into Twilight’s mind, “A master? You have a master?”

“Well, kind of,” Haru replied as he tossed the Ring Ring back into his jacket and quickly lifted up another ring from the table. “But hey, enough about that, let’s get back to these rings!”

Twilight frowned, but didn’t say anything. In the last few days that she was able to talk to Haru, she had learned a few things about him. Other than just his magical prowess, he had a talent for baking (as evidenced of how he was able to make fresh baked goods), and one little tick he had was that he wasn’t really interested in talking about certain subjects. 

One such example was how he discovered how to use magic, he always changed the subject when that came up.

And not wanting to have the dragon run off again, Twilight decided to let him decide when the appropriate time was that he’d tell them this stuff.

“So, who wants to try one of these lovely rings first?” Haru asked as he looked at Rarity, Twilight and Spike. 

Before anypony could say a word, Spike scooped up one of the rings – A ring that had a dragon flexing its wings with a flame atop of its head. “I’ll give it a go, I hope that’s okay with you Haru.”

‘I guess I owe the little guy a little bit,’ Haru thought to himself as he stood up. “Alright Spike, all you have to do is hold your hand in front of my belt.”

Spike casually did so, and the belt buckle lit up brightly.

“EXCITE – PLEASE!”

As the light from the belt disappeared, Spike lowered his arm. After a few seconds, the small dragon sighed loudly, “Haru, I think that this ring might be a…”

It was then a powerful red aura rushed over Spike’s body and the strangest thing happened to the baby dragon. At first, the purple dragon’s body began to become sleeker and he grew taller, rivaling the height of Haru. Then, just as Spike was about to say something, his muscles bulged out, his chin defined and even his spines looked sleeker. 

Haru’s and the two mares’ jaws just dropped at the suddenly matured Spike.

The now muscular dragon lifted up his claws and blinked a few times, “WHOA! THIS FEELS… AWESOME! WHAT DO YOU THINK RARITY!? IS THIS MACHO OR WHAT?!”

Even his voice sounded more mature, and managed to send his three friends flying from the table with just his excited shouting. “Whoops, sorry!”

Luckily, Twilight and Rarity had landed on something soft and didn’t get hurt at all. 

Unfortunately, they landed on Haru, who was bent at an irregular shape at the moment. “Ow… Spike, being so big and all, you think you could straighten out my spine?”

“Sure!”

Five minutes later, Spike was back to his normal self with the ring safely tucked into Haru’s jacket. The red dragon winced as he sat back down on the floor, “Well, that one looks like it’s promising for what I do.”

“I’m just glad that my Spikey-Wikey’s back to his cute little self,” Rarity stated as she patted Spike on the head gently with one of her hooves.

The young dragon smiled brightly as the blush returned to his cheeks. 

“Okay, anyone else wanna volunteer?” Haru asked.

“I don’t know Mister Souma,” Rarity mused with a worried look on her face. “I’d rather not risk my shop or Spikey-Wikey again.”

“I’m sure the rest of the rings aren’t that dangerous, Rarity,” Twilight chuckled sheepishly as she used her magic to pick on up. “Look at this one, its got a picture of Haru’s suit on it with musical notes on it. I’ll even prove that this ring isn’t dangerous. I’m sure this ring isn’t dangerous at all, right Haru?”

Haru honestly didn’t know, but he nodded. 

Twilight smiled nervously as she lifted up one of her front hoofs and had the ring slide on it, the ring actually resizing to fit her leg. Slightly hesitant, Twilight lifted the same hoof to Haru’s belt buckle, making the magical charm glow brightly. 

“DANCE – PLEASE!”

“Did that thing just say dance?” Twilight asked before a purple aura began to overtake her entire body.

A bright purple light flashed in Twilight’s eyes before she leapt off of the ground and onto the floor a few feet away from the table. She stood up on her hind legs before she began to dance around the floor, falling to her side to allow one of her left front legs to support her weight.

With a single push, she flipped back on her hind hooves and spun around in place before she slipped to her back to continue her spin. When her spin ended, the purple mare got to all four of her hooves and pushed her hind legs up into the air. Twilight lifted up one of her front hooves and bounced a few times before she leapt backwards. The lavender mare continued her dancing, flipping and spinning through the boutique.

When the aura around Twilight was beginning to die down, she stood on her hind legs and threw her right front hoof into the air and shouted, “Kotae wa kiitenai!” 

Haru just raised a brow while Rarity and Spike applauded the rather fancy, yet totally out-of-character, hip hop dancing that was just performed of their friend. “Twilight, dear, I had no idea you were so limber.”

“N-Neither did I!” Twilight admitted as she slumped to the ground, completely tired. “And… What was that?! It was like I was possessed by something!”

“I honestly have no clue,” Haru replied as he walked over to Twilight, offering a clawed hand to help her up. “Other than for a party, I can’t see the practical application for that ring. Still, it looked very fun to watch.”

“Yeah, fun,” Twilight sighed as she was helped to her hooves.

“So, three rings left,” Haru replied looking back at the table. “I guess I’ll try them out myself. I wouldn’t want anyone to get…”

“Actually, I would like to try one,” Rarity announced as she used her magic to make one of the fly up in front of her. “Mister Souma, if you could be so kind.” 

Haru looked at Twilight, and the two just shrugged each other.

With her ring selected and snuggly around her hoof, Rarity trotted over to Haru and lifted up the ring towards his belt buckle. “PERFUME – PLEASE!”

“Perfume?” Haru, Twilight and Spike questioned as a lovely purple aura flowed over the white unicorn’s body.

That’s when a lovely fragrance filled the air, Haru’s licked his chops, while Twilight seemed to be reinvigorated by the scent. Spike still seemed to be swooned, but he sighed a lot more often, “My lovely Rarity, you smell like the greatest of fire rubies.”

“Rubies?” Haru questioned with a raised brow. “What are you smelling? I can smell fresh out of the oven powdered sugar doughnuts, I haven’t had fresh doughnuts that smelled like that since I was in Canterlot.”

“Hmm, I think this perfume ring creates an aroma that is different for everypony,” Twilight observed with a smile on her face. “I, myself, can clearly smell the scent of fresh ink on a new manuscript, with a dash of lilac.”

“I’m starting to fall in love with your magic, Mr. Souma,” Rarity admitted as she took a whiff of her own new magical scent. “Would you be so kind as to allow me to use this ring for the Gala?”

“Gala?” Haru questioned with his head tilted slightly. With a snap of his claws, Haru smiled sheepishly. “OH! You mean the Grand Galloping Gala, yeah sure, I don’t mind.”

“You know about the Grand Galloping Gala. Mr. Souma?” Rarity asked. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Haru retorted as he rubbed chin. “It is one of the greatest events in all of Equestria for anypony. Hosted by Princess Celestia in Canterlot every year, it is filled with nobles, amazing treats and classical music.”

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d know about that,” Twilight admitted. “Aside from Spike, I didn’t think dragons were interested in Pony Culture. Then again, I’ve only known two dragons, and they’re both in the room.”

“We’re probably just both special cases,” Haru suggested as he walked up to the table and picked up one of the remaining two rings. “Well, I guess it’s my turn then. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky too.”

“Does testing the rings usually end up with bad results?” Twilight mused.

“Sometimes at first,” Haru answered as he fitted a ring onto his claw. “But trust me on this, after I see the ring in action, I can usually work the bugs out of it. Now, let’s see what this one can do.”

Haru floated his hand in front of the hand emblem, and the buckler called out, “SMALL – PLEASE!”

Before anypony could say anything, three runic circles appeared around the dragon’s body. The circles then began to shrink down in size, with Haru shrinking down at the same time with the rings. When the runic circles disappeared, Haru was barely over two inches tall. Twilight had to crouch slightly to look at Haru, “Wow, you know, you actually look pretty cute at that size.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?!” Haru questioned in a voice that was a lot higher than normal. 

Spike just laughed a few times at his now ‘smaller’ dragon counterpart, “HAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MAN! SAY SOMETHING ELSE!”

Haru just rolled his eyes when he saw a shadow lurking underneath the table, “Huh? What is that foul beast?”

Slowly inching out from the table was a rather large (to Haru’s current form) Persian cat with a purple ribbon atop her head and an opal-studded collar. The cat slowly lurked towards the shrunken dragon, making Haru step backwards slightly. 

Rarity huffed as she leered at the smaller dragon, “How rude! That is no beast! That is my lovely Opalescence. She is a pristine Persian, one whom I love and groom all the time.”

“And I can see that she’s well groomed,” Haru admitted as he was lifted up by his tail, Opalescence lifting him up with her mouth. “But, I’m more concerned with the fact that she’s trying to EAT me!”

“Opal! No!” Rarity yelped as her horn glowed brightly, the same aura appearing around Haru. “You’ll spoil your dinner!”

Haru popped out of the Persian cat’s mouth and floated through the air, the dragon rolled his eyes. “Yes, Celestia Forbid that I cause your poor little kitten indigestion.”

After Haru had returned to his normal size, the dragon was pocketing the rings into his jacket, “Well, thanks for helping me test these rings, it’s been a pleasure to meet you Miss Rarity, and…”

“Wait!” Spike announced as he reached over the table. “There’s still one more ring left!”

Haru sighed as Spike held up the ring for all to see, the ring itself was different from the others and had silver covering most of the jewel, save for two parts that looked similar to a pair of eyes. The silver itself was shaped rather weird, a soft triangular shape with a pair of wing-like protrusions on its side. Over the ‘eyes’ atop of the ring were two large antennae that looked almost like narrowed eyebrows. 

“Yeah, with the way this batch has been going, I’m not too sure about this one,” Haru explained as he took the ring from Spike. “I’ve never had a ring like this one before, and frankly, I’m a little scared of what this one can do.”

“It hasn’t been that bad of an experience,” Twilight said.

“You weren’t almost eaten,” Haru retorted with a flat look. “You got to boogie, Spike became a macho dragon, and Miss Rarity found herself a cost-effective way to save perfume. So, if I’m being a bit blunt here, I’m not going to test this one cause I don’t want anypony to get hurt.”

“Then Mr. Souma, we could test it outside?” Rarity suggested. “That way my shop will be spared of any damage, and there would be more room to dodge any collateral damage.”

“Come on Haru, aren’t you a little curious about the ring?” Twilight questioned.

“The ring does look real cool,” Spike chimed in.

Haru just sighed as he donned the ring.


TTTTTT


A few moments later, the small group was outside Carousel Boutique, with Haru standing a few yards away from the two unicorns and smaller dragon. Haru looked at the weird ring and squinted slightly, ‘Now that I get a closer look at this thing – It kinda reminds me something I saw when I was just starting to get used to my magic.

‘That was almost as weird as the week before. Almost.’

“You ready Haru?” Twilight called out.

Haru shook his head, before he gave a thumb claw up. Taking a deep breath, Haru hesitantly waved his hand in front of his belt buckle. For a second nothing happened, but that’s when the belt glowed a bright white. “FOURZE - Uchū kitā!”

“What the Tartarus?” Haru questioned as large white runic circle appeared overhead. But, besides the color, there was something different – The center of the runic circle was replaced with a flat version of the ring that Haru just used, and around the symbol were several numbers (one through forty). 

The circle sparked before a single blur fell from the circle and crashed next to Haru, creating a large amount of dust to fly up from the ground near the surprised dragon. 

Twilight and the others watched as Haru investigated the figure. 

The blur was actually a rather trim and tall brown earth pony colt, with a short black mane that was gelled into the style known as a pompadour. The colt himself was dressed in a black, school uniform jacket with a chain around his neck that had a dog tag attached to it. The pony himself was rather strange with his choice of hair style and clothing, but Haru noticed that there was an odd symbol for his cutie mark – It looked to be a  sky blue ‘40’ with several white, blue and teal stars around it. 

‘Kinda looks Twilight’s symbol, only different in color and the forty,’ Haru thought to himself as he knelt down to the colt’s side, shaking the knocked out colt’s body slightly. “Hey, are you alive?”

The odd colt stirred before he shook his head, leering at Haru before he jumped to his hooves, “Oi! What just happened!? One minute I’m in class, next thing I know there’s this bright light and…”

The colt just stopped and looked at Haru, a more intrigued look on his face. “Hey, do I know you?”

Haru looked at the colt with a tilted head. “Hmm, I dunno. Your face I don’t recognize, but the voice does ring a bell.”

The colt puffed out his chest, rapped his hoof against his chest a few times before he pointed said hoof at Haru. “I’ll pay you back for pulling me from class, but for now my friend, allow me to burn my face and name into your mind! Kisaragi Gentarou! I’m the stallion who will befriend any and all ponies!”

“Haruto Souma,” the magical dragon replied looking at the hoof. The hoof didn’t lower, so Haru used his claw to grip the hoof, “That’s quite a claim, especially since I’m not a pony, I’m a dragon.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Gentarou replied as he began to shake Haru’s claw. “Dragon, pony, machines, I’ll befriend everyone! That includes jerks like you.”

“Uh, right, well I apologize,” Haru said as he lowered his head slightly. “I was testing something out, and it was just an accident that you got pulled out here.”

Gentarou smiled brightly as he pulled his hoof away, only to use his hoof to tap into Haru’s claw, then bump it from top and whap it from the bottom. The dragon blinked a few times as the weird colt smirked wildly. “And with that, we’re true buds Haruto!”

“I can’t believe that’s all it takes for you to consider me a friend,” Haru admitted with a roll of his eyes.

“Nah, that’s not all,” Gentarou chuckled as he tapped Haru’s shoulder a few times. The friend loving colt pointed towards the dragon’s belt. “Cause I just figured out who you are!”

“Oh?” Haru questioned with a claw to his chin.

“Yeah! You’re Wi…” Gentarou started to say until he stopped. “Wiz… Wii…Ah! I can’t pronounce it! We’re warriors who fight ponity’s enemies in secret!”

Haru’s eyes widened when he heard that, then with a sly look of his own, Haru lifted his arms up, “Well, I’m just a meddling mage, Wizard.”

“AH! Yes! That’s who you are!” Gentarou announced as he pumped one of his front legs in the air. “Although, I wasn’t expecting to see a dragon be behind the mask.”

“And I wasn’t expecting an Earth Pony in that kind of a suit,” Haru retorted with a shrug. “I see you managed to survive that ordeal.”

“Right back at ya!” Gentarou laughed as he threw a front leg around Haru’s neck. “And that’s why we’re friends! Only a true friend helps another in a pinch!”

“Haru, who is this?” 

Both Haru and Gentarou turned to see that Twilight, Rarity and Spike had walked up to the two ‘friends’. When Gentarou’s eyes landed on the two mares, he gripped his chest and his eyes widened, “So pretty! This place isn’t half bad! Haruto! You are a true friend!”

Gentarou removed his arm and trotted up to the two mares, a friendly smile on his face, “I’m the trashiest of trash! The stallionest of stallions!”

The easily excited colt stood up on his hind legs and used one of his front hooves to beat against his chest before he held it in front of the two mares, “Kisaragi Gentarou! And I am the stallion who will befriend everypony here at… Uh, where am I?”

“Ponyville,” Haru stated with a loud sigh following. “And you do know what trash means, right?”

“It means the stallionest of stallions!” Gentarou proclaimed as he placed both of his front hooves at his hips. “And any friend of Haruto’s is a friend of mine!”

“My, Mister Kisaragi, you certainly have a ‘way’ with words,” Rarity pointed out with a nervous chuckle. “And such a ‘bold’ fashion sense.”

“Rarity!” Twilight hissed slightly.

Gentarou merely laughed loudly as he landed on his front hooves, “Not like I can match up in style like you. Besides, friends can be honest with friends! So, Haruto, who are these…”

Before Gentarou could even finish his sentence, he popped into the same runic circle that he appeared from and disappeared without a trace. Twilight, Rarity and Spike jumped in surprise at the quick disappearance of the mysterious colt. Even more concerning was that Haru was now on the ground, trying to catch his breath. 

“Haru! Are you okay?” Twilight asked as she used her magic to help the red dragon sit up. “What just happened?”

“I ran out of magic,” Haru answered as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “It’s kind of a side effect of using new rings – Since I haven’t gotten used to using them yet, my body uses a lot more magic in order to get used to them. And since I just summoned Gentarou, I can only assume that my magic pulled him from where he was, and my magic couldn’t sustain keeping him here, so he probably just popped back where he was before.”

“So, who exactly was that?” Spike asked. “You two seemed like you knew each other.”

“Well, I met the guy a little after I got my spells,” Haru explained as he took the ring from his claw and held it up. “I was still a newbie when I met him, but he was in trouble, so I helped him out. We’re kind of in the same business.”

“You mean he fought Phantoms?” Twilight inquired.

“Phantoms?” Rarity questioned with a slightly confused look. “You fight ghosts, Mister Souma?”

“Oh, right, you don’t know Rarity,” Twilight muttered sheepishly. “I’ll explain it in a little bit.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call them Phantoms,” Haru continued with a wave of his free hand. “But something like that. It’s kind of complicated, so let’s just say, I’m not alone in the cause.”

“Does that mean he has a suit similar to yours?” Rarity inquired as she trotted up closer to Haru. “Oh, if it’s even half as nice as yours Mister Souma, then I could get even more inspiration!”

“I’ve seen it, and it’s not what it’s called fashion savvy,” Haru sighed as he got to his legs, shakily standing up. “Anyway, I need to get some rest to recharge. Could someone help me back to the library?”

“Spike, if you could?” Twilight asked her scribe. “I still need to talk to Rarity about a few things.”

“Sure, I guess,” Spike sighed, not wanting to leave Rarity’s side. But if it got Haru away from his love, then he was all the more willing to do so. 

The two dragons slowly made their way from Carousel Boutique, and when they were out of eyesight, Rarity lifted up one of her fine hooves to reveal a familiar ring. “Twilight, darling, you don’t think Mr. Souma would mind me keeping this one, do you?”

“Rarity!”


TBC